World Of SAMSUNG: 3 Feb 2012

Friday, 3 February 2012

AT&T Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S get Google Wallet

Google has released Google Wallet for the AT&T Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S, bringing the NFC-enabled smartphones up to speed with contactless payments. However, the download requires that an AT&T SIM be loaded into the phone – though you can still download over WiFi – since with a T-Mobile USA SIM the app simply disappears from the Android Market.

For those unfamiliar, Google Wallet allows you to register your Citi MasterCard or a Google Prepaid Card to your Nexus, and pay for things at participating retailers simply by holding the phone to a payment terminal. The app also pulls in Google Offers, discount vouchers and other promotions, based on your shopping history.
Google Wallet is available for AT&T Galaxy S and Galaxy Nexus users here or by searching in the Android Market on the device itself.
If you haven’t got an AT&T SIM lying around, there are some semi-sneaky ways in which you can grab a copy of Google Wallet for your Verizon or T-Mobile USA Galaxy device. Head over to Android Community for details

New Samsung Mobile World Congress press photo is almost certainly fake

There’s a rumored press photo for a shiny new Samsung smartphone making the rounds this morning. We caught a glimpse of it on Eldar Murtazin’s Twitter page, where the poster claims that it’s a leaked press photo for a new device set to launch at Mobile World Congress later this month in Barcelona. Based on the software displayed and the Ice Cream Sandwich-style buttons (which are still capacitive) it looks like Samsung’s first ICS phone following the Galaxy Nexus. But something’s rotten in Denmark, dear readers: to be blunt, this looks like an absolute fake.

How can you tell it’s fake? Oh, let me count the ways. First of all, the Ice Cream Sandwich updates for the Galaxy S II that have been leaked so far look nothing like the screenshot on the device in question. The early builds keep the look and feel of Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz skin intact, including the four-button bottom icon row on the homescreen. The photo above looks like a more even blend of AOSP Android 4.0 and TouchWiz, including the dividing bar and centered app drawer from unmodified Android 4.0. Even so, Samsung’s proprietary widgets and icons are seen hanging out next to the basic Android 4.0 folders.

There’s plenty of other things to suggest that this isn’t the real McCoy. International versions of Samsung’s phones almost always use a center button flanked by two capacitive buttons – the four-button Android standard is only adopted on Samsung’s US phones, which probably wouldn’t be revealed at a Spanish conference. Even the buttons themselves seem wrong, if only because Samsung rarely keeps the same design for the icons as Google’s Android spec recommends. Look closely and you can see errors in the photo itself: bad stitching on the left and right bezels and artifacts below the screen, probably where some modification has taken place to adjust the capacitive buttons. If I had to guess, I’d say the whole thing is a modification of the standard press image from the white version of the international Galaxy S II, seen here:

Could Samsung release a new phone at Mobile World Congress? We’d be very surprised if they didn’t. Could it run Ice Cream Sandwich? Certainly. But this isn’t that phone. The Galaxy S III won’t be in attendance either, thanks to Samsung’s delay. They probably postponed the high-profile phone to their own event so they could get better buzz versus the iPhone 5, and release the GSIII worldwide with fewer market interruptions.

Corning and Samsung team up for hardened curved OLED glass

If you’re a fan of the curved screen display Samsung’s showcased on the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, there’s good news in a new industry partnership. The phone manufacturer is teaming up with Corning, makers of the super-strong Gorilla Glass, to bring a brand-new substrate to the market. Lotus Glass is specifically designed for curved screens on organic light-emitting diode displays, which Samsung has been favoring for its mid-range and high-end smartphones for the last eighteen months.

So what’s so great about Lotus Glass? First of all, it can be curved to a much higher degree than standard tempered glass before cracking, allowing for a more dramatic curve in fixed screens. Considering that the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus both employ a screen curve that so subtle you need a little enhanced marketing to notice it most of the time, this should help make for some more striking phone designs. Lotus Glass is isn’t exclusive to OLED or AMOLED displays, but it is reformulated to allow for higher resolution and greater DPI in screens while maintaining strength and flexibility.
Samsung seems intent on continuing its curved screen designs. The Galaxy S Advance is the third model in as many years with a curved display, and the first in Samsung’s primary Galaxy family. The jury’s still out on how much utility a curvy display adds – aside from a more natural feel in your hand and when talking, there aren’t a lot of pros or cons when it comes to the aesthetic choice. While it’s possible that the Samsung-Corning partnership could lead to a curved design for the delayed Galaxy S III, we haven’t seen any hard evidence pointing towards this

Google Wallet now available on Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus on AT&T

Previously only available to Sprint Nexus S 4G owners, Google's NFC-based payment app, Google Wallet, has just been updated to add support for the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S on AT&T. So if you're a Nexus owner on AT&T, you can hit the Android Market and find out what all the fuss is about. We've confirmed that the app can now be loaded onto the unlocked Galaxy Nexus or any Nexus S, provided you have an AT&T SIM loaded. But right now it appears that the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is still unable to get Google Wallet officially, though there workarounds, of course. Same goes for the Nexus S on T-Mobile.
This is also good news for anyone considering picking up AT&T's version of the Samsung Galaxy Note in the weeks ahead. The AT&T Note supports NFC, and so barring any silly device-level limitations, Google Wallet should work just fine on that phone, too.
We've got Android Market links for all you AT&T people after the break, as well as some instruction for if it doesn't work right away for you.

1). from your phone, go to Market.android.com Make sure to go through the BROWSER
2). Search for Google Wallet. Should be the third result. Click on it. Make sure to keep selecting "Browser" instead of "market" but do not make this the default
3). Click on install. It will ask you to log in. DO so. It will then load your "device compatability list) and none will work.
4), hit the BACK button, and this time, select MARKET. This should pop you into your android market app, and it should install even as your phone informs you it's not compatible!
5). Profit.

Yet another ICS update leak for the Galaxy S II

Man, somebody at Samsung is just giving it away to modders and custom ROM enthusiasts. For the third time since the open-source code for Ice Cream Sandwich was released back in November, an official beta version of the Samsung Galaxy S II Ice Cream Sandwich update has found its way into the hands of some eager fans, this time over at SamMobile. The cheeky guys there say that the newest build, dated January 29th, is ready for regular daily use after a collection of improvements. The build number for the latest leak is I9100XXLPB.

Among the observed changes in the firmware are better battery, faster animations and other general speed, and a 3D effect when changing home screens, not unlike the stock Ice Cream Sandwich launcher. Samsung’s TouchWiz is still very much present. Between the speed and battery improvements, this build will be good enough for most modders to use as their daily driver ROM. You can install it via the standard Odin or custom recovery methods; SamMobile required an account on their site to access their files, but you can probably find them elsewhere if you look hard enough.
A little editorializing: three leaks for the same software in less than two months is surprising, even for the rabid Android crowd. So, either someone inside Samsung is consistently leaking firmware under the table (in which case I’d expect that person to be found rather quickly) or these software leaks are intentional, at least on some level. Samsung knows that there’s a gigantic community of advanced users, so why not take advantage of it? I think Samsung lets these builds leak out discretely, observes the community reaction and adjust accordingly. Rinse, repeat, and you’ve got a team of free, excited beta testers thousands strong, who have all joyfully voided their warranties. If true, I think it’s a great idea. Just a little speculation

Visible Green charging cable tells you when your phone’s battery is full

In yet another entry in Android Community’s “why didn’t I think of that” series, accessory maker Dexim has a new product that should help you stay green and keep a watchful eye on your phone’s battery. The Visible Green USB charge and sync cable is a standard MicroUSB cable with a trick up its sleeve: it actively monitors your Android phone’s battery level. As the battery reaches its full capacity, the cord glows in a series of running lights, getting slower the longer it charges .When the battery id full, the lights switch off, letting you know that your phone’s ready.

This little trick is achieved by a string of LED lights built into the clear plastic section of the cable itself. As your phone charges, the alternating pattern simulates running lights, giving a colorful visual indication of the level of charge in your Android phone. Since LED lights use a tiny amount of electricity, the loss to the charge itself is negligible. Not only do the lights shut off once your battery is fully charged, the cable keeps an eye on the battery itself, periodically shutting down and starting up to preserve up to 85% of energy from a wall socket or computer.
The cable costs $15.90 on Dexim’s web store – not bad at all, considering that you’ll often spend $10-20 on a cheapo charger at a department store, and I once paid $40 for an emergency USB cable in the Las Vegas airport. The cable should work with any MicroUSB device and data transfers as well, though sadly the myriad charging ports on Android tablets will leave most of them out in the dust. For an example of the light action, observe the video below, running on inferior hardware from some obscure brand.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance spotted in the wild, hits pre-order status

With Samsung’s Galaxy S III no longer expected to make a showing at MWC2012 later this month, we’ll have to settle for the new Galaxy S Advance instead. While not yet available the new Galaxy S Advance and its curved screen glass is already being spotted in the wild as a replacement to the Galaxy S Plus.

The naming scheme is starting to get a bit out of control over there in the Galaxy S factories but at least they keep churning out awesome phones like the Galaxy S II and this new Advance. The folks from TechPinas have already received some hands-on photos and video of the new Samsung device before it’s even been released.
The phone is no Galaxy S II but it’s no slouch either. Complete with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 768MB of RAM, 4″ WVGA Super AMOLED display with curved glass (just like the Galaxy Nexus), and a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. It also comes equipped with a 1.3 front camera, 8GB of internal storage and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
We wont be seeing the device in the US anytime soon but UK retailer Clove already has outlined pre-orders starting at £295 ($467) plus tax. If the Galaxy S Advance looks like something you’re interested in it should be shipping late February, right around the 27th so stay tuned and get your own reserved today.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance spotted in the wild, hits pre-order status

AOKP now at Milestone 3 for Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The last time we covered Team Kang‘s Android Open Kang Project, it was back on Milestone 1. Milestone 3 is available now for both the GSM and CDMA versions of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. AOKP has been through quite a few nighties since then, so here are some of the main features you could be missing!

One of the main additions in Milestone 1 was the incorporation of Roman’s power menu and ICS-like toggles. Another welcomed improvement since then includes the ability to unlink ringtone and notification volumes. The stock setting was quite irritating on my Galaxy Nexus, and hopefully this will be pushed into other ROMs as well. Using the ‘Phone’ app in landscape mode now works too! It’s great when trying to dial a number when your phone is docked in the car.
A tiny SMS icon has also been added into the lockscreen for easy access. This currently doesn’t help you Google Voice users, but eventually the team plans on making it configurable. Countless other fixes were also baked in, and head here if you want to take a look at them all. This is essentially a ‘nightly’, but Milestone builds are more focused on stability rather than the introduction of new features. Tell us how you like it! AOKP has been butter smooth on all our devices so far, so this one should be no different!

AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note’s Kernel Source Code Released

Samsung just pushed out the kernel source code for AT&T’s version of the Samsung Galaxy Note. There are three different versions listed for download at Samsung’s Open Source Release Center. Why three, you ask? Your guess is as good as mine at this point, but according to one developer, they are almost all identical save for one line of code. Any guesses? Now, lets see what the talented dev community brings to the table once the device is actually released.

Calculations 4.0 – What the stock ICS calculator should have been

The calculator; long before I ever had a smartphone I still had a calculator “app,” so by now they have become a completely ubiquitous element of every phone. Seeing as such, shouldn’t they meld with the OS? In Android 4.0 especially, they are really driving home the notion of some uniformity and yet, the stock ICS calculator sticks out, in an ironic sense, as the blandest piece of software; utilizing just two shades, of grey. The rest of the OS lends itself to electric blues and deep blacks, so what gives with the stock calculator.
Enter a cure.
That’s what brings me to Calculations 4.0. To begin with, this app is pretty. It follows ICS styling guidelines and looks like it was simply meant to be. Google, take notes. Honestly that would have been enough for me, but the developers wanted more and I’m glad they did. While primarily the app functions as a standard calculator, it also includes these modes:

Currency Converter: Real-time (as you type) conversion to up to 10 selected currencies
Measurement Converter: Convert units of length, area, temperature, volume, weight, and time as you type.
Mortgage: See the payoff details on a mortgage or any loan, including advanced options such as points, insurance, maintenance, taxes, bi-weekly vs. monthly payments, and an amortization schedule for Pro users.
Tipping Calculator: Enter your bill amount and calculate your tip quickly with a range of percentages to select from based on the service you received.

Writing for Talk Android, I encounter differences in currency plenty and I’m always Googling the exchange rate; no more. The measurement converter is great in the kitchen; perfect muffins for life. The tip calculator is a classic, improved upon. Again, where were these in the stock calculator? They just make good sense.

The Mortgage feature is definitely a differentiating factor for this app. Plenty of calculators are on the market with these functions rolled in, but this is the first I’ve seen with Mortgage Mode, and of course its still prettier than the rest while on ICS.

I just really love how polished the app is at its debut. Its the little things like the colors, measurement conversion on the fly, and correctly using ICS’s horizontally scrolling apps design. Thank you for including that. Simplicity. I love it.Good work White Gorrilla Media, Inc. I’m looking forward to the pending updates.

Screen Shots

So now that you’ve read my 2 cents, head over to Android Market and pick up the pro version for $0.99.

[Leak] Press shot of new Samsung phone running Ice Cream Sandwich ahead of Mobile World Congress

Samsung already made it official they won’t be showing the Galaxy S III next month at Mobile World Congress, but Mobile-Review EIC Eldar Murtazin just tweeted a press shot of a Samsung smartphone that will be unveiled at the event. Could it be the Galaxy S II Plus or something completely different? You can clearly see that Ice Cream Sandwich is running on it along with updated ICS buttons. One things I can say for sure is it looks gorgeous.

Canadian carrier Mobilicity launches Galaxy Nexus ahead of schedule

Mobilicity, a relatively new contract-free Canadian carrier, has launched its Galaxy Nexus four days ahead of schedule. This is incredible news for Canadian Android fans who desperately wish for a contract-free Galaxy Nexus experience. It’s retailing at Mobilicity for $599, and for a limited time you can also receive a Samsung HM1100 Bluetooth headset.

As an added bonus, if you’re so lucky as to have a Valentine for this coming lovers holiday, Mobilicity is also holding a promotion February 6th through February 17th. If you want a free Galaxy Nexus or Galaxy Mini with six months of unlimited service, you and your hubby should submit a video to their “Mobile Kiss Cam Contest” with the best kiss you can catch on video.

Apple’s Galaxy ban bid rejected by German courts…….again

Another day, another failed Apple lawsuit. Samsung’s latest flagship models, the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab 10.1N, have escaped unscathed after the Munich Regional Court rejected Apple’s bid to block sales of the devices in Germany.
Our good friends from Cupertino seem hell-bent on causing complications for Samsung’s big German sales push. Samsung had already redesigned the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 as the 10.1N as a result of a previous Apple lawsuit.
The patent war really gathered a head of steam in 2011 with Apple as the real driving force behind it. Unfortunately, 2012 seems to be promising more of the same with Apple entangled in court room battles with many of the major Android manufacturers.
Perhaps if Apple spent as much time on innovation as they do trying to sue the competition they might have produced something more imaginative than the underwhelming upgrade that was the iPhone 4s.

More ICS leaks for Galaxy S II – Build I9100XXLPB

It’s only been about a month since the last leak, and already we’ve got another, bringing the build up to I9100XXLPB. So what’s new? This build is big on performance improvements. Those who have spent time using it specifically cite better battery life, faster animations, and general speed. Its not all performance though, they have also added in a 3D effect for homescreen transitions, likely derived straight from ICS. The consensus is its ready to be a daily driver as well. So, if you think you’re ready to update then simply apply it through Odin or custom recovery. You can get the leak from SamMobile by clicking on the source link but you have to register as a member in order to download. Otherwise, its likely the build is elsewhere online just remember you’re looking for I9100XXLPB.

Search in the Samsung World

Friday, 3 February 2012