Sprint iPhone 5? AT&T Doesn’t Scare That Easily

Last time a U.S. carrier other than AT&T launched the iPhone, we heard from various officials of the Dallas-based company that iPhone availability from the competition will not hurt business even if that priceless exclusivity is lost.

AT&T has been the only mobile operator carrying the iPhone in the USA for more than three years. But then Verizon launched the iPhone 4 in early 2011. At the time it was believed that the company would lose plenty of customers to Big Red because of all the problems the exclusive iPhone deal brought along. AT&T’s network wasn’t exactly the most reliable place to be for iPhone users, especially in congested metropolitan areas. And while AT&T continued to upgrade its network, consumers still complained about the network’s reliability in certain situations.
Nevertheless, AT&T stayed atop its iPhone game and continued to cash in on the iPhone 4 even after the Verizon iPhone was launched. Big Red sold more than four million iPhones in the first two quarters of the year, but AT&T still remained the number one iPhone carrier with more than 7 million iPhone sales during the same period, an increase year over year.
Now AT&T is sharing similar optimistic opinions on its iPhone-related future while assuming that Sprint would also launch the iPhone 5. Or better said, confirming it? Speaking at Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference today, AT&T CEO Randal Stephenson kind of hinted that Sprint will be selling the iPhone soon by saying that his company “would do very well” even when facing competition from a Sprint iPhone 5.

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Cellular South Announces The Samsung Admire With Android 2.3

We had been expecting MetroPCS to announce the Samsung Admire given we saw those leaked in the wild style images hit the web a short while back, however it looks like Cellular South has beaten them to the punch and officially announced the handset.

The details have come by way of the recently added “Introducing the Samsung Admire” page on the Cellular South website. Sadly though, that bit comes with some good news and some disappointing news.
First, the good — this is not a rumor or speculation and we know the handset is coming. Second, the disappointing — Cellular South has yet to offer up anything in terms of when the Admire will be available or how much they will be selling it for. At this time there is the overview of the handset with some basic specs and a place where you can trade some personal information for the privilege of being “among the first to find out when the Samsung Admire is available.”
Moving on though, judging from what we have seen, it looks like the Admire is going to be a mid-range device with a fairly reasonable price tag. Some of the specs include a 3.5 inch HVGA touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5 mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot for your storage needs. And on a positive note, the Admire will be arriving with Android 2.3 Gingerbread as well as all the Google goodies including the Android Market.
All said and done, assuming a fair price, the Samsung Admire could be a nice device. Lastly, while we are waiting for more information from Cellular South

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Acer Iconia Smart FCC Appearance Suggests An AT&T Release Is Coming

We watched as Acer unveiled their 4.8 inch Iconia Smart smartphone during Mobile World Congress back in February and at the time we were given a complete set of specs but left wondering which carriers the handset would come available with.

And strangely, things remained rather quite on the rumor front. But that aside, it was noted that the handset would be available beginning May 1st, but again, with which carrier was the question. Well, flash forward till today and a recently discovered FCC filing may have some clues.
According to the filing, the Iconia Smart will have support for the North American friendly 850, 1900 and 2100 MHz bands. In other words, this handset could be released with AT&T in the US as well as Rogers up in Canada. Given that, it seems strange that we have not seen any announcement from either. But who knows, maybe Acer quietly delayed the handset. Or maybe we are going to see a press release drop sooner rather than later.
With that, we offer a reminder in terms of the specs and also a bit of warning — this will probably not be a phone that everyone is going to lust after given the size of the display — its more tablet like if you ask us. With that, the Iconia Smart will be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and featuring a 4.8 inch display with a 1024 x 480 resolution, 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor, 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, 1500 mAh battery and a 2 megapixel front facing camera along with an 8 megapixel camera on the back.
So how about it, any AT&T and/or Rogers customers looking forward to seeing a tablet-like smartphone come available? If nothing else, judging from some of the comments that we have seen in the past defending the Dell Streak 5, we know there is a loyal, albeit small group that should be happy.

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Google I/O 2011: Acer’s Chromebook Hits The Stage

More hardware emerges from the Google I/O show, which does not cease to fascinate me in the slightest. But after Samsung made its showing, we’ve got a second one coming out to consider, and this time, it’s from Acer.


Admittedly, most of us don’t likely immediately think Acer when we think about quality laptops, or quality computers, for that matter, but they’re going to bring out a rather interesting–if somewhat bargain basement–model for us to consider here.
Here’s the rundown: Acer’s Chromebook brings us an 11.6 inch LED HD display, backed up by an Intel Atom N570 processor, a 16 gig solid state drive, two USB ports, a webcam with noise-cancelling microphone, an HDMI output, dual-band wi-fi and a 3G option if you’d rather, a 4-in-1 memory card slot, a full-size Chrome keyboard, oversized clickable trackpad, and a battery life of fully 6.5 hours.
The big selling points on the Acer are that it’s a bit more responsive than its Samsung counterpart, packing instant-on capability and an eight second boot time, but also, it’s offering up its product at a much lower price–$349 for the wi-fi model and a little more for the 3G option.
You’ll be able to get into this one June 15th also, and you’ll also be able to order from Amazon and Best Buy, just like with the Samsung. The question here becomes just which one you actually go with.
Clearly, if you’re on a budget but you still want Chrome, the Acer beats the Samsung handily in price, but if performance is more an issue, it looks like, right now, the nod is going to go to Samsung with its stepped-up processor, longer battery life, and more besides. So I’ll open up the floor for you guys–you’ve seen the Samsung Chromebook, and the Acer Chromebook, so which one looks the more appealing to you?

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Panasonic Shows Off New Camcorder, Talks Concepts

The IFA show out in Berlin is actually starting to get some news out there, and it’s not too big of a surprise to see a new bit land from the folks at Panasonic. What they announced at the show was pretty impressive by itself, namely, the HDC-Z10000 camcorder, but what they were only talking about out there was actually even more so.


The HDC-Z10000 camcorder is a dual-lens camcorder, which means you’ll be shooting your home videos in 3D with this monster., as well as straight 1080p video in 2D. It handles stills at 13.1 megapixel with its dual CMOS sensors, and offers up a glassesless LCD display measuring a very solid 3.5 inches. And for those of you who like the 3D macros, this one will shoot them as close as 17.8 inches, which is, at last report, a record for this sort of thing as far as twin-lens camcorders go.
But that wasn’t all the folks at Panasonic were looking to drop, no sir (or ma’am as the case may be), they were also talking about a new “concept” camera. Details were thin on the ground about this new camera, but that’s not surprising since the IFA show is only getting started in earnest. The camera in question is a twin-lens model, much like the HDC-Z10000 camcorder, and can also shoot 3D video but also 3D still photos. It’s built around a set of dual 4x lenses, so while zoom will likely be short (as is often the case with digital cameras), it will still shoot in 3D, which is impressive enough in its own right.
There aren’t any details yet on pricing or release dates for either of these, but you might figure that the HDC-Z10000 will at least make it to stores in time for the holiday shopping panics.
But what do you guys think? Like Panasonic’s new move to embrace 3D photography in both still and video? Or do you think that the HDC-Z10000 and its ilk will likely be overpriced and under-utilized?

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Panasonic Shows Off Lumix Camera With Unusual Addition

Panasonic was showing off one of its newest Lumix cameras out at the IFA show, which has already been home to a variety of exciting new gadgets. This particular Lumix, though, has an exciting new feature that you don’t often see on most compact digital cameras.


The new feature in question, as you’ve probably surmised from the pic above, is none other than 3D shooting. Panasonic had a couple of their prototypes under glass out at the IFA show, and even talked about getting another model out on shelves by the wintertime.
Meanwhile, the Lumix that they were showing off was set to have a matched pair of 4X zoom lenses, folding optics, and optical image stabilization. That stabilization would extend to both video and stills, at last report, and would even be able to handle video and stills simultaneously, which considering the thing has two lenses, wouldn’t be that big a stretch. It’s also set to pack stereo microphones, a tripod mount slot, support for SDXC memory cards (necessary considering we’re talking about 3D images here) and even an HDMI output so you can put your 3D images up on much bigger screens that likely also pack 3D capability.
It seems there are progressively more companies offering 3D capability on their stuff, be it televisions or cameras, though I find myself wondering just how far this will go. Sure, companies are likely dying for something new to sell given that the flat-panel television is getting down to commodity pricing level these days, but people making 3D home movies doesn’t seem like a huge demand item. Consider your last Thanksgiving family gathering and think how much better that would have been if the home video from it was in 3D. If you’re not seeing a big change, well, you probably won’t be looking to upgrade your camera capabilities to 3D.
No word yet on pricing as far as this goes, though a release before Christmas seems like a possibility. But what do you guys think? Is 3D video our future? Or will people be too slow in adopting it to make it worthwhile for companies to get into?

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Sony Unveils The Alpha A77 Camera

Camera buffs out there, brace yourselves, because the camera that even we’ve been keeping an eye out for since last year, the Sony Alpha A77, just got shown off out at the 2011 IFA show, and it’s looking pretty sharp indeed.


Part of a pretty extensive array of cameras that Sony was showing off this morning during their live address, the Sony Alpha A77 offers up 19 point autofocus systems with fully 11 cross-type sensors, as well as a 50 ms front shutter curtain, Bionz image processor, three inch LCD viewfinder with a three way tilt system for optimal viewing, a variety of shooting modes and filters to adjust your photos accordingly, AVCHD video shooting capability and a 12 frame per second burst shooting mode. It will also pack in interchangeable lenses so you’ll always be able to tailor your shot, a magnesium alloy body that’s been weather-sealed (good for the rain, from what I gather, but don’t go trying to take Shark Week photos on this one), as well as 24.3 megapixel resolution.
And if you’re interested in picking up one of these clearly top-end shooters for yourself, you won’t have long to wait–the Alpha A77 shows up this October, but you’ll be shelling out $1400 just for the body. The lenses, meanwhile, are extra.
This sounds like it’s going to make a lot of shutterbugs’ day when it finally comes out, and though we’ve been hearing about this one off and on since last year’s Photokina show back in September, it should really impress the high end shooters. Pricey, sure, but it looks like it’s offering more than enough options to keep anyone satisfied.
But what do you guys think here? Think that this is the type of top-notch camera you want in your arsenal? Or should Sony’s Alpha A77 have spent even longer in hiding?

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Sony Vaio L All In One Makes An Appearance

It really does seem like more and more companies are looking to get in on the all in one PC market, and now Sony’s joining the fray with their own all in one, the Sony Vaio L, getting shown off right now out at the 2011 IFA show.


The Sony Vaio L offers up 3D video, though not without a set of rechargeable active shutter glasses, sadly (though these are the same kind of glasses used on the latest Bravia televisions, at last report, so that’s definitely a shot of good news), on a 24 inch LED touch screen display showing in full HD. It can upscale from 2D to 3D with just one button and even offers up an HDMI input so you can patch in your Playstation and the like and use it as an independent, if somewhat small, display. It’s also got an integrated Blu-ray writer, so you can not only play your Blu-rays on it, you can also burn to blank ones as well.
Oddly, the main battery of specs–including processor type, hard drive size, and memory among others–was absent at this debut, but with something like this more information is sure to follow.
Still though, it looks like a reasonably good quality setup with a lot of options and accompanying utility. If the specs can be kept up to match then most people really shouldn’t have a problem getting along here, and you’ll have a whole host of ways to use this besides, which puts it ahead of a lot of other all in one systems that I’ve seen so far. Indeed, just how useful this one will be for you will depend on a lot of different, separate factors but it’s probably going to be one you’ll want to keep an eye out for all the same, just based on the variety of ways you can use this one.
But what do you guys think? Think that the Vaio L will bring the kind of utility you’ll want in an all in one desktop? Or do you think this one will ask too much and give too little, like a lot of others in that market space?

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Ford Makes An Appearance To Talk Evos

Give Ford credit for making the rounds on this one; they may not have actually sent their new Ford Evos out to the IFA show in Berlin, but they did send their Chief Technology Officer out to talk it up. And what he had to say about it was impressive enough in its own right.


Basically, what separates the Ford Evos from most other cars is not its fuel performance, but rather that it’s the first car to be “connected to the cloud”, or, have a continuous access to data storage. One of the key things about this cloud connection, or so Ford’s CTO Paul Mascarenas mentioned, is that it would learn your preferences and respond accordingly, almost like a car that has cookies.
For instance, in the Ford Evos, it might remember your favorite style of music, and access it when you drive. Or it may adjust the car’s performance according to your particular driving style, altering things like suspension and braking. It may even be able to go sufficiently far as to monitor your heart rate and temperature and then make adjustments in the car accordingly.
Personally, I find myself of two minds on this one. While I love a device that’s capable of performing multiple tasks at once, and this one definitely looks like the kind of Swiss Army device that makes me very happy, I can’t help but look at it and think that this is just more possibilities for things to go wrong. And when it comes to a car, losing one function is often enough to lose most of the others, including the all too important one of driving. And what happens when the car goes into the used market? Do you wipe the cloud clean and start afresh?
So what do you guys think about the Ford Evos? Sound like a good idea, or an invitation to trouble? No matter how you feel about this one, head on down to the comments section and let us know just what you think about it.

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L.A. Noire Complete Edition Spotted In The Wild

L.A. Noire is unquestionably one of the biggest games of the year, and from the look of things, it’s about to get even bigger. An L.A. Noire Complete Edition has been spotted over in Europe, and perhaps the most exciting news is that this “complete edition,” is slated for a PC release.

Of course, we’ve known for a while that L.A. Noire will eventually come to the PC, but this is the first time we’ve had anything other than Rockstar’s word to go off of. The L.A. Noire Complete Edition was originally spotted by Eurogamer Czech after a publisher in the Czech Republic, Cenega, let the cat out of the bag.
Apparently, the L.A. Noire Complete Collection is launching in November and will come will all of the DLC released for Team Bondi’s open-world crime caper so far, which makes this a pretty hefty bundle. Given the fact that this new bundle includes L.A. Noire‘s DLC, it’s pretty safe to assume that it will be a full-priced package, but no details on pricing were given.
At the moment, there’s been no confirmation that this bundle pack is going to release in any other region aside from the Czech Republic, but it’s a pretty safe bet that it will considering that Rockstar will want to cash in on an enhanced edition of L.A. Noire – which is already one of the best selling games of 2011 – in as many regions as they can.
Make no doubt about it, this is a pretty interesting development regardless of how many details we currently have.

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VLC Player Pre-Alpha Version For Android Released

Late last year, we reported that the VLC media player is making its way to Android devices. Hindered by Android fragmentation, the player has already been long available for Apple devices before the Android version was even announced. The plan was to have the Android iteration available by early 2011, but perhaps due to some setbacks, it’s only now that it could be released.

VLC is an open source media player than can be used to play any type of file. So if ever you want an alternative to your built-in media player, VLC’s a viable option. Some technicalities about the Android prevent the developers from releasing only a single version, however. Two types have been released for pre-alpha testing: the NEON and the NONEON.
To know which type you should use, simply use a file manager or an ADB, and locate the file /proc/cpuinfo

If the file has neon written on it like below, then download the NEON version. Otherwise, download the NONEON one. Hit the source for the download links!

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Sony’s Upcoming Tablets To Get Gameloft HD Games

Gameloft just announced that the company is optimizing five games specifically for Sony’s upcoming tablets, the Tablet S and the Tablet P. All the games are going to be in high-definition, and will “directly be accessible” on the devices, although whether that means they’re preloaded or not is yet to be known.

The five games in Gameloft’s list are: Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD, N.O.V.A. 2 – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance HD, Real Soccer 2011 HD, Spider-Man: Total Mayhem HD, and Green Farm HD. Back in August, Gameloft posted a gain in game sales most probably brought about by its mobile games. Indeed, Gameloft titles sometimes even get bundled with devices upon release such as the LG Optimus 3D in Korea and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play during E3 this year. Hence, it’s definitely possible for these games to come integrated with the Sony tablets – it’ll do the devices a lot of good, too, considering they’ve been getting a lot of flak.

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Sony Ericsson Unveils The Xperia Arc S Smartphone

SONY ERICSON has taken to the stage at IFA 2011 and unveiled the latest Xperia branded handset. The model is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S and it will arrive as an Android 2.3.4 running handset with support for the Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services.

In terms of the when and how much — so far those details are a bit on the light side. Sony Ericsson has stated that the Xperia Arc S would be available “globally in selected markets from Q4 2011.” In other words, we can expect to learn a bit more as the release date gets closer. And for the price, nothing yet.

That aside, lets discuss the specs. The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S is going to arrive with features to include a 4.2 inch (854 x 480) Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine and powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor. Additional features include 320MB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, aGPS, HDMI, DLNA and an 8.1 megapixel camera with an Exmor R for mobile image sensor.

The Xperia Arc S will come in a variety of colors to include pure white, midnight blue, misty silver, gloss black and sakura pink. In addition, the handset will ship with an 8GB microSD card included in the box. As for the size, the Xperia Arc S measures in at 125 x 63 x 8.7 mm and weighs in at 117 grams. And hardware features aside, Sony Ericsson is touting the Xperia Arc S as coming with support for the Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services which break down as follows;

• “Music Unlimited” has a global catalogue of over 10 million unique songs with access to your personal music library and ad free radio channels across multiple devices.
• “Video Unlimited” (currently exclusive to Sony Ericsson Xperia™) is the ultimate source for the latest Hollywood blockbusters, all-time classics, and TV shows from all major studios.

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Sony Ericsson Announces The Xperia Neo V Smartphone

It looks like Sony Ericsson has announced yet another Xperia branded handset. The latest is the Xperia Neo V and it arrives as an Android smartphone. In fact, it will arrive as an Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread running smartphone. Furthermore, Sony Ericsson also offered up some details in terms of which existing Xperia devices will get the 2.3.4 update and when it can be expected to arrive.

But first, lets begin things with the new handset — the Xperia Neo V. At this time Sony Ericsson has yet to announce anything solid in terms of a price. And in terms of a release date, that is still set for the general sounding “will be available globally in select markets from Q4 2011.” In other words, we can expect to learn more as we get closer to the release.

Moving onto the specs for the Xperia Neo V and we find a smartphone with a 3.7 inch (480 x 854) capacitive touchscreen scratch-resistant display, Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, 320MB internal storage, microSD card slot, aGPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, DNLA, HDMI, 1500 mAh battery and a 5 megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, auto-focus, LED flash and 720p HD video recording. In addition, the Xperia Neo V will ship with a 2GB microSD card and come available in three colors to include white, silver and blue.

Shifting from the new handset to the current lineup of Xperia devices and the potential for an upgrade to Android 2.3.4. According to Sony Ericsson, “all the 2011 Xperia smartphones” will get Gingerbread. As to when, the update will begin rolling out on a global basis sometime in October. Xperia users will receive an update notification and then be able todownload the update over-the-air using a 3G or Wi-Fi connection. In addition, there will also be the option to update using the PC companion software. And lastly, in terms of what Xperia users can expect with Gingerbread, here are the main features;

• Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones with front-facing cameras
• Updated Facebook inside Xperia functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities. We have talked about Facebook  inside Xperia on previous posts. 
• Xperia smartphones introducing world’s first 3D sweep panorama functionality powered by Sony.
• The software upgrade will enable consumers to turn their Xperia  smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
• Swipe text input – text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
• Screen capture – allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone

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