Android Steals The Show At MWC

The absence of Apple at the Mobile World Congress has definitely given Google’s Android the definite edge over its competitors at the show in Barcelona this year. With the MWC for this year coming to a close today, everyone who’s been at the event has only one thing to say – Android is brilliant. With Nokia disbanding its own phone OS Symbian and partnering with Microsoft for Windows based Nokia phones, they did not have anything to offer this year. Almost every phone, be it the Motorola Xoom or the Samsung Galaxy S or the Sony Xperia Play smartphones or the Samsung’s second generation tablet or LG Slate, everything has been Android. There was Blackberry Playbook that was not running on Android but spoke of including Android apps and HP’s Tablet – TouchBook that did not use Android but WebOS.

So, this MWC belonged to Android completely.

Verizon iPhone 4 Registers Below Par Sales?

All the hoopla surrounding the Verizon iPhone 4 is indeed receding rapidly. The pre-order commotion, Apple having to shut down the sale of Verizon iPhone 4 on the online store prior to the release date, 700,000 pre-orders in-queue, all said and done, insiders’ reports are that the sales of the Verizon iPhone 4 have not met the expectations of either Apple or Verizon Wireless. Insiders who got a look at the sales reports are also claiming that the sales of the iPhone after the first five days has definitely not exceeded that of AT&T. The rumored sales reports are from five stores across the US. Another interesting fact is that the total number of handsets pre-ordered on Verizon has only totaled to 550,000 and not 700,000 which was the estimate of the initial reports.

As a matter of fact, most users who switched to iPhone 4 were previously using either Android or the Blackberry devices and only a meagre percentage switched from AT&T.

Apple Documents The Differences Between GSM and CDMA iPhone 4

For long now, Apple has been doing only GSM versions of the iPhone. But, the release of Verizon iPhone 4 has seen the advent of the CDMA iPhone 4. In order clear user’s confusions about the differences between GSM and CDMA devices, Apple has now come up with a document detailing the differences in the functionalities of the two devices.

The first and foremost difference between the two devices is with regards to call forwarding, caller ID and call waiting. On the GSM handsets, these features can be turned on or off by going to the Settings panel, while on the CDMA handsets, this has to be done by dialling in a number combination. Another difference is with regards to conference call. On the GSM sets, up to 5 people can connect via conference at once, while the CDMA set allows the numbers of only two users. Pausing a call is possible on the GSM handsets and there is no such option on the CDMA handsets.

Google Coming Out With Hardware For Ice Cream

Google’s executive in charge of Android Andy Rubin has confirmed that Android 2.4 or Ice cream will be accompanied by a smartphone. He has also confirmed that from now on every new Android version will be accompanied by hardware, meaning a new device. Both Andy Ruben and Eric Shmidt, the chief executive have confirmed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that Ice Cream will be a combination of the tablet features of Honeycomb and the smartphone features of Gingerbread.

Google had already released the Google Nexus S last December alongside Android 2.3 or Gingerbread and according to Google, the sales have been extraordinary. Following pursuit, both Motorola and Samsung came out with their respective tablets based on Android 2.3. No other hardware specs nor make of the next smartphone were revealed at the keynote, though.

Acer Iconica Smart Emerges At The MWC

The new smartphone from Acer – Iconica Smart which was previewed back in November has now been officially launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This new smartphone from Acer possesses an impressive 4/8″ touchscreen display and the device runs on Google’s Android 2.3 or Gingerbread. Acer has stated that the Iconica Smart would be available from the second quarter of this year, which should be 6 weeks from now.

To complement the wide display with a 1024×480 pixel resolution, is the Dolby Surround Sound Technology. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm 1GHz processor and the Acer user interface 4.0, codenamed Breeze. The phone also comes with Flash Player 10.1 which would also ensure a smooth browsing experience. There is an 8.0 mega pixel camera at the phone’s rear and a 2.0 mega pixel camera on the front.

New Pwnage iOS 4.2.1 Tool To Fix The iBooks Issue

It was only yesterday that Apple started blocking the iBooks app from reading DMR content on jailbroken devices that Pwnage has come with a new iOS 4.2.1 tool that would fix the iBooks issue apart from allowing users to jailbreak all the old versions of the iPhone Verizon iPhone 4, iPad and the iPod Touch devices and the Apple TV 2. This iOS 4.2.1 tool is an untethered tool that helps users unlock their devices as well.

This new tool also comes in the wake of Apple blocking jailbroken devices from opening purchased ebooks. With the help of the Pwnage tool this issue can be fixed. Also fixed can be the issues with Wi-Fi on the Apple TV 2. So, all the people who jailbroke their devices yesterday and were unhappy about Apple’s move, here is your chance to fix it.

HTC Unveils Desire S, Incredible S and Wildfire S Smartphones

HTC along with its tablet, Flyer, has also unveiled three new smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today. Along the lines of Flyer, these three smartphones Desire S, Incredible S and the Wildfire S will be running on Google’s Android 2.4 OS. As you can see these three smartphones are the upgraded versions of their respective predecessors, viz. Desire, Incredible and Wildfire. The videos of the phones have also been posted on the HTC website.

As far as the specs of the phones are concerned,

the HTC Desire S comes with a 3.7″ touchscreen display, 5.0 megapixel camera with flash, 1GHz processor, High-Def video recording at 720p and a 1450mAh battery,

the HTC Incredible S comes with a 4″ touchscreen display, 8.0 megapixel camera, 1GHz processor, High-Def video recording at 720p and a 1450mAh battery,

the HTC Wildfire S comes with a 3.2″ touchscreen display, 5.0mega pixel camera, 600mHz processor with flash and autofocus and a 1230mAh battery.

iOS 4.3 on Feb 28?

The latest buzz is that iOS 4.3 would be launched on the 28th of February. We also heard rumors last week that iOS 4.3 was going to be out on the 14th of February and later on the 15th, which apparently has not happened. According to earlier rumors, the iOS 4.3 upgrade was supposed to be launched at 10 am PST and for those who were waiting eagerly, the launch did not happen. The delay in the release could be due to the extension of subscription date for The Daily.

Wondering what does the subscription of The Daily have to do with the launch of iOS 4.3. We know that iPad 2 will be featuring The Daily. For The Daily can only be implemented on iOS 4.3 systems until which time, the subscription would remain useless not allowing any income. So, it is now in the hands of The Daily to release iOS 4.3.

Nokia-Microsoft Partnership Helps Microsoft Earn Billions

Now that the Nokia-Microsoft partnership is official and both Nokia and Microsoft are trying to cope up with the competition being offered by Google and Apple, arises the question, who benefited the most from the partnership. Apparently, it seems like Microsoft is the bigger beneficiary when compared to Nokia. Why? It is rather simple to answer. Nokia has let go off its phone OS Symbian and has embraced Windows as its new phone OS. For doing this, it has to pay an unknown number of billions to Microsoft for allowing the use of Windows on Nokia phones along with paying some hefty royalties to Microsoft.

Following the announcement of the partnership, Nokia’s stocks slid by 14 percent. Under the pressure of the current situation, Nokia is planning to release its first Windows based handset by the end of this year. The once king of mobile technologies is indeed going through a tough time.

Sony Xperia Play, Finally Here

After all the rumors and the reports of the inside sources, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play has been officially launched yesterday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Sony Xperia Play, the first ever smartphone to be certified by Sony Playstation is based on Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread. Xperia Play comes with the Playstation Suite that would allow users to access Playstation content on the phones. Also, the phone runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor.

Other features of the phone include a multi-touch display screen which would slide to reveal the gaming controls that include a touchpad, directional pad and the typical Sony select buttons. The smartphone would enable 3D gaming at 60 fps and 50 new games from 20 publishers are going to be released for the phone along with the older classics.

Both the GSM and CDMA versions would be hitting the markets soon.