Report indicates an April launch for the Apple iTV

The rumours surrounding an Apple HDTV do not seem to be dying and on the contrary, as time passes; more reports about a Siri-enabled Apple iTV continue to arise. It all began last year when Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray revealed that Apple was working on an integrated television set that would be launched later this year or early next year. This revelation was backed by a quote from Steve Jobs’ biography in which Walter Issacson stated that the Apple co-founder did indeed speak about a television and told the author that he had ‘licked it.’ Walter Issacson went on to state that the Apple co-founder said that “There’s no reason you should have all these complicated remote controls,” when talking about the television, thereby indicating that it could be enabled by Apple’s voice recognition assistant - Siri. Though the news keeps trickling in, the forecasted launch date is expected to be by the end of this year but as per a recent report by TechnoBuffalo, a high ranking source with a major electronics retailer has informed them that a Siri-enabled Apple HDTV could be expected by April or May at the latest.

Apple iTV coming out in the next few months? (Image mock-up)

The report states, “Speaking on conditions of anonymity, the source said they’ve seen “gorgeous, very thin” pre-production versions of the set in person, and that they employ OLED panels at various sizes up to 42-inches.” Apart from this, the report goes on to mention that the source has informed them that apart from Siri, the television will also support facial recognition and plans for the Apple iTV’s voice control system will supercede those found on Apple’s iPhone 4S. Although it will be mostly voice controlled, users will have the option to control it with an iOS device which can be used as a remote control. The report further states, “Apple execs are reportedly describing the new product line as a “hub” for your life, replacing the PC as the most-used device in a consumer’s home.”

Apart from this the source adds, “Apple is exploring the notion of using the set to control other connected devices in the home; think along the lines of ovens that pre-heat while you’re watching TV before dinner, and garage doors that can be closed by voice command while you sit on the couch. No details were given as to whether Apple would consider manufacturing such devices, though given their history, a “Made for iPod” style accessory program would be a natural fit for a TV-based connected home system.”  He goes on to state, “Controls for the television set would be unconventional and unique, according to the retail exec. The TV will follow the Apple tradition of going into power-saving sleep mode more often than actually turning off.”

Reports are indicating that Apple understands the nature of the consumer and that one will not purchase a television set every year so they plan on adding the best features in it right from the beginning. Let us know your thoughts on these latest rumours about the Apple iTV in the comments below.

Sony Xperia S to come with a quick charging battery

Reports of the Sony Xperia S had surfaced much ahead of the time Sony actually intended them to. The handset was caught through image leaks and specification releases way ahead of its official debut and it had gone by the codename, Nozomi. The handset was officially unveiled under the Sony branding making it the second handset to be released under this new name change for their Xperia line up of handsets after the Xperia Ion. These two handsets were officially announced at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 at Las Vegas and though there was no real surprise regarding the Xperia S, the only thing different from the image leaks was the change in branding from Sony Ericsson to Sony. However, at the time of launch very few details had emerged regarding the upcoming Sony handset but a few days ago, the pricing of the Xperia S had been revealed and it is expected to retail at a price of £389.99 which translates to approximately Rs. 30,699. As per a recent report by the Xperia Blog, more details of the handset have surfaced with the Xperia S said to feature a fast charging battery and an anti-stain shell.

Xperia S to feature nano-coating that will repel dirt

According to a report by PocketPC.ch, a Sony Ericsson Product Manager for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands has confirmed this to be true and said that the Xperia S will feature a special nano coating that not only helps in repelling dirt but will also be UV Active. Apart from this dirt repelling properties, the handset will also feature a battery that is fast charging and reduces the charging time by half. As an example the website notes that a 10 minute charge would power up the device for up to an hour. Nowadays, battery life has somewhat taken a backseat as smartphone technology gets more advanced and if Sony has added this feature it looks like things are turning out for the better since handsets seem to discharge at quite an extraordinary pace.

What do you think about Sony adding these features to the Xperia S? Let us know in the comments below.

Asus Transformer Prime Ice Cream Sandwich problems will be fixed next month

Despite its delicious name, Ice Cream Sandwich has left some users feeling sour. The latest example is Asus’s ambitious Transformer Prime tablet, which recently upgraded to the latest and greatest version of Android. The only problem is handfuls of users started complaining that after the update, the device started locking up and requiring a manual reset.


The Transformer Prime is Asus’s big attempt to gain momentum in the tablet race, and its major selling point is the ability to turn into what is essentially a fully functional laptop. It’s also making waves as the first tablet to get the ICS nod, but of course there are always risks to being the guinea pig.
Asus has acknowledged that a problem exists, and the company’s technical marketing manager Gary Key was quoted as saying that the team “hope[s] to have a fix available in early February.” This isn’t the first time we’ve seen ICS upgrades present a problem. The Nexus S stopped its update process, and although no one confirmed there were problems with the update file, those who did manage to upgrade experienced similar problems. The Galaxy Nexus, which comes pre-loaded with Ice Cream Sandwich, has not suffered a similar outcry.

Motorola Wi-Fi-only Droid Xyboard is now available

The cheaper, Wi-Fi-only version of Motorola’s latest and greatest Xyboard tablet has begun shipping. Pre-orders for the units are now being fulfilled, and the product pages on Verizon’s website now show them as being available to purchase. The new products, which were originally scheduled for a January 18 launch, are geared at consumers who want a high-end tablet but don’t care about being able to take it online any time they want.



What could have potentially been one of the best moves for the Xyboard is that its official name is the Droid Xyboard. Unfortunately, most people just end up dropping the Droid moniker, and secondly that moniker has lost a lot of its value. Motorola should have captured that brand momentum with its first tablet, the Xoom. It isn’t making nearly as big a splash now.
Nevertheless, the availability of cheaper Xyboards should spark some new interest in the company’s second big attempt to cash in on the tablet war. There are four versions of the device, broken up into 10.1-inch models and 8.2-inch models, each with either 16 GB or 32 GB. Prices range from $400 to $600, a modest decrease from the cost of their 4G LTE-equipped counterparts.

Apple iPhone robbery thwarted by tech-savvy cop

How do you solve a crime in 30 minutes or less? All you need is a cop who knows his tech. Police Officer Robert Garland was able to successfully track down an iPhone thief and return the device to its rightful owner thanks to his quick thinking and his knowledge of the app “Find My iPhone.” It all went down yesterday in New York City.


It happened at around 7:00 PM. A cashier at luxury clothing and accessories store Tuci Italia was taking a break when a man walked into the store and pointed a gun at her. Presumably hoping to make as quick a getaway as possible, he demanded she hand over her iPhone which was in plain sight. The cashier rushed outside, and as fate would have it Officer Garland, an Apple enthusiast, was right there.
Garland quickly opened his Find My iPhone app, punched in the victim’s Apple ID, and instantly pinpointed the suspect about 10 blocks away. He and his partner hopped into their cruiser and continued to follow the spot on the app until it stopped near a local supermarket. At that time, Garland knew what to do – he pushed the “Play Sound” button on the app and, like clockwork, a pinging sound was emitted about 20 feet away. The victim, who was not identified, couldn’t believe she got her iPhone back so quickly. Good thing she happened to run into a police officer who knows Apple. Garland and his wife both have iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers at home.

LG Optimus 3D 2 to be called 3D MAX upon launch

A couple of days ago, we brought you the news about LG’s second generation 3D phones, dubbed the Optimus 3D 2 or the CX2. The fact that the Korean company is concentrating on another 3D phone probably means the phone was a hit, at least in some markets, possibly Korea, itself. At MWC, next month, they’ll be unveiling the successor to the Optimus 3D and rumor has it that it will launch with a retail name of 3D MAX or Optimus 3D MAX. Word has it that they may just lose the ‘Optimus’ tag in the title altogether. We guess they don’t want to get into a tussle with Hasbro, the way Asus did with the Transformer. Other than some leaked photoshop images, we don’t know what the final product will actually look like, so it could be the one you see below or something completely different.

The successor is coming soon

There’s no change in specifications from the last time we saw it. The phone will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor based on the TI OMAP chipset. It will also sport a 4.3-inch WVGA NOVA 3D display, which should give a much better 2D to 3D effect. The camera, sadly, will remain a 5MP shooter, but whether or not it gets 1080p recording is yet to be seen. Perhaps the worse piece of news is that it will still be running Gingerbread and not Ice Cream Sandwich, which makes LG the laziest smartphone manufacturer when it comes to the choice of OS. Well, technically second, compared to the ones that don’t bother releasing updates at all. In the other camp, there’s no rumour yet from HTC about any sequel to the Evo 3D. Looks like the company is focusing on getting their quad-core phone up and running before the big day.

Here’s a quick rundown of the specifications that we know of, so far:

Android Gingerbread

• 4.3-inch WVGA NOVA display with a resolution of 480 x 800

• 1.2 GHz dual-core TI OMAP processor

• 8GB internal memory

• 5 Megapixel rear camera

• DLNA-capable, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0

• 21Mbps HSPA, NFC

Google kills Menu button, brings action bar on the fore

As Ice Cream Sandwich begins rolling to more devices, you will not find the Menu button on Android devices anymore. Honeycomb 3.0 had reduced users’ reliance on physical buttons and now Google has decided to kill the Menu button and get its ‘action bar’ on the forefront. Now, action bar isn’t something new and was there, even before Honeycomb.

Menu out, action bar in

The Android developers’ blog states, “You might worry that it’s too much work to begin using the action bar, because you need to support versions of Android older than Honeycomb. However, it’s quite simple for most apps because you can continue to support the Menu button on pre-Honeycomb devices, but also provide the action bar on newer devices with only a few lines of code changes.” In the blog post, Google also tells its Android developers to start using the action bar, which is a dedicated space to the application and actions that users can perform. The app is recognized and gives it users several actions to choose from.

It tells developers that apps should stop relying on the hardware Menu button, and they should also stop thinking about activities using a menu button. The activities should provide buttons for important user actions directly in the action bar (or elsewhere on screen). Those that can’t fit in the action bar will end up in the action overflow. Basically, those actions, which don’t need to be on the screen can overflow off the screen. The action overflow is a three dotted icon found on the extreme right. Users can reveal the overflow and other options by touching an overflow button that appears alongside the on-screen action buttons.

So, even if an app supports older Android versions, it won’t display the Menu button for versions Honeycomb 3.0 and beyond. Those with apps developed for Android 2.3 and lower, and when running on the Honeycomb tablet of Google Nexus will see that the system adds the action overflow button besides the system navigation.

Did the Galaxy S III reveal itself on an official Samsung website

The news and rumours about the highly awaited Galaxy S III keeps making its way online. The first bit of information of the handset arrived late last month with the news that it would be expected by February of this year. At the time, there were a few specifications as well. Later on, an image leaked with the EXIF data showing a Samsung handset with the name I9500, however, in all likelihood, this may not be the Galaxy S III as the details show a 5 megapixel camera. Samsung, would not downgrade their specifications for their upcoming flagship handset especially since the predecessor, the Galaxy S II sports an 8 megapixel sensor. A few days back it was then reported that Russian tech blogger Eldar Murtazin indicated that he had firsthand experience with the handset and said it would be launched by April this year and rumours pegged the handset to be unveiled at the Mobile World Conference event in Barcelona which will take place next month. However, indications of an announcement were quickly quashed as Samsung views US as a major market for their handsets and if they announce it at MWC, then the gap between launch date in the US and the announcement would be long, which the brand hopes to avoid. The latest bit of information comes from a report by Pocketnow where they have come across an image which shows the possible model number of the Galaxy S III on an official Samsung website.

Is the I9300 the Samsung Galaxy S III?

The report states, “according to the image above, a certain Samsung GT-i9300 has appeared on Samsung's official page for the UAE. “ The report goes on to say that the Galaxy S was using the numbers in the i90xx range with it being the I9000 and the Galaxy S II using the I9100 model number. So in all likelihood this will fall under the I9300 naming.

As of now, this is highly speculative and there is no confirmation until the date of the official announcement. But what’s for certain is that the Galaxy S III is on its way and hopefully since this could be a possible name for it, the launch date should be just around the corner. Hopefully a possible appearance at MWC 2012.

Google dominates Indian Android app space

It’s no surprise that Google’s Android platform has turned out to be the most budding platform. It’s also the case in the slightly more price sensitive Indian market. Apple’s iOS-based iPhones and iPads are still pretty expensive for mainstream consumption in the Indian market, but it’s not the case with Android. Nielsen, a research company has released a blog post that states that Google also happens to dominate the mobile app terrain in India. The report states that Indian smartphone users tend to spend roughly 40 percent of their time using data apps. Out of all the apps on the market space, the majority of 25 percent are made by Google.

The most used app from Google’s portfolio surprisingly is the Android Market followed by Gmail and Gtalk and then, the rest. The most popular app on the other hand isn’t a Google one, though. Facebook, the popular social networking service launched their app on Android and iOS devices quite sometime back and on Android, it’s the most popular app around today. Nimbuzz also figures in this list and it’s the second most popular social networking app around, used primarily for chat. In terms of other categories of apps, GPS, video, e-mail and search apps dominate the terrain.

In terms of time spent, Google’s apps dominate in the Search, GPS, e-mail and streaming video sections. Other third party app developer apps are preferred as far as chat and social networking apps are concerned. For example, 99 percent of social networking apps used aren’t Google-based. It doesn’t appear as if Google+’s mobile app has taken off in India. The same goes with chat, where only 7 percent of the time is spent on Google-based chat applications. The Nielsen report also details age groups and the use of the popular Google apps, which you can find on the Nielsen report blog post. The report doesn’t really cover other apps across other platforms, so it’s hard to conclude, if these are the most popular apps in the Indian market today. However, considering how well Android is doing these days, it might be assumed that it’s the case.

What is open source? [Android A to Z]

What is open source? Open-source software is software that makes the source code freely available, for anyone to see and use. There are different open-source licenses that have different use conditions, from the GPL (GNU General Public License) -- which allows "free distribution under the condition that further developments and applications are put under the same license" -- to more liberal licenses like the Apache License, which doesn't require modifications to be open and have the source code available.  Android uses both of these licenses, and we'll have a look at them in turn.

The Linux kernel that is used in the OS is covered under the GPL.  This means that any changes made to the source code must be made available when a binary (geek-speak for a compiled, executable piece of software) is released to the public.  This means manufacturers like HTC, Samsung, Motorola and the rest must release the kernel source-code for any devices they sell at the same time they begin selling them.  For the most part, hardware manufacturers are pretty good about doing so, but they often miss the time frame and release the source code a little later than we would like.  These are the code releases you see us mention -- the kernel and other open-source "bits" that are covered under the GPL.

The Android OS source code is released mostly under the Apache License.  Anybody is allowed to download the source code and change it however they like, but they are not required to make their changes available in source code form to the public.  This is why we can't change and recompile things like HTC Sense or MotoBlur -- the changes to the base Android source code aren't available to us.  While many folks (myself included) don't like this situation very much, it does make sense from a business standpoint.  If manufacturers had to share all of their secrets, there wouldn't be as much monetary incentive to innovate, so the source was offered with a far more liberal license.  It certainly worked, as we see devices from many major players in the electronics world.

LG Spectrum review - Verizon gets another decent second-gen LTE phone

Our LG Spectrum review comes at an interesting time for both the smartphone manufacturer as well the carrier on which it resides, Verizon. On one hand you have LG, which has brought us some excellent high-end Android smartphones as well as a surprising low-ender in the Optimus line. And then you have Verizon, whose 4G LTE network is starting to mature at the ripe old age of 1 but at the same time can appear to have a glass jaw.
And now, we have the LG Spectrum. It's the U.S. version of the LG Optimus LTE -- the Korean manufacturer's second foray in to the latest in high-speed mobile data -- and cousin to the LG Nitro HD on AT&T. (The LG Revolution was one of Verizon's fledgling LTE smartphones.)
Join us after the break as we put the phone through its paces and see if it has what it takes to help carry Verizon deep into 2012.

---

Fast processor, fast data and a lot of customizations to make things easy for new(ish) users. Has a bright, high-resolution display.	The level of tweaks and customizations may turn some off. Battery life isn't stellar, slight UI lag in places.
The Spectrum is a solid phone for Verizon, but the highly skinned user interface is starting to look a bit cartoonish. The display is a strong positive, but yet again we're left waiting for the promised upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The hardware

When LG first announced the Optimus LTE, you couldn't help but be excited -- especially when Verizon picked it up. The Spectrum's got a 4.5-inch IPS display at 720x1280 resolution. LG calls it a "True HD IPS" display. And it's covered in Corning Gorilla Glass, which the kids are all about these days.

The display itself is pretty good. We've said before that once you go to a 720-pixel-wide screen it's tough to go back, and that remains true here. We do notice pixels ever so slightly on shades of white, but that shouldn't be a deal-breaker for anyone.
Fun fact: You actually get a little more screen real estate on the Spectrum than you do on the 4.65-inch Samsung Galaxy Nexus thanks to the GNex's on-screen buttons taking up some pixels. Go figure.
Above the display is the Verizon logo and a 1.3MP front-facing camera.

Below the display you have a trio of capacitive buttons -- yes, only three. You get menu, home and back. The home button has had a bit of design flare thrown at it. It's recessed ever so slightly under the glass, stenciled into a bit of silver metal with a ring design. It's a nice effect, especially when the buttons are backlit.
Why only three buttons? Why get rid of the search button? The Spectrum is far from the first phone to go this route. It could just be a design decision, or perhaps its in anticipation of the promised Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. (That would also point to LG having a prominent on-screen search bar, same as in the stock builds of ICS.)

The LG Spectrum has a decidedly plastic feel, and it's light -- 4.99 ounces. But it's also pretty big, at 5.33 inches tall, 2.71 inches wide. But like other recent 4G LTE phones, it's cinched in its belt and is just 0.41 inches thick. It's definitely got a bit of a boxy feel, but the corners are nicely rounded, as is the transition to the back of the phone. Whereas the front and rear of the Spectrum are decidedly dark, the bezels ring the phone in silver plastic.

Flip the Spectrum over and you'll see the expansive battery cover. It takes up the entire rear of the phone and is done in a deceptive checkerboard pattern that gives the illusion of depth. Here you'll find the LG and 4G LTE logos, speakerphone (which props the phone up every so slightly when it's on its back), and the 8-megapixel camera with flash.

The bottom bezel has only the notch with which you'll remove the battery cover. The left-hand bezel has a simple volume rocker.
The top bezel has the power button, secondary microphone, 3.5mm headphone jack and the microUSB port, hidden behind an easy-to-remove door.

Pop off the battery cover (which seems solid enough and is easy to remove) and you'll find the removable 1830 mAh battery, 4G LTE SIM card (it's a mini SIM card and not the smaller microSIM you'll find in the Verizon Galaxy Nexus or iPhone) and microSD card. The microSD card isn't spring-loaded or anything -- you just slide it loose with a fingernail.

What's under the hood

The Spectrum is powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor running at 1.5 GHz. You can feel a little bit of warmth coming from the top part of the phone when it cranks up, but we're not cooking eggs on it just yet.
For on-board storage, the Spectrum technically has 4GB of flash memory. But you've only got about 1.7GB on which to install applications. (The system dump is a massive 900MB or so, thanks to all of the preloaded apps.) The phone comes with a 16GB microSD card. As for RAM, you've got 1GB total.
The Spectrum is a 4G LTE device, meaning that in addition to using Verizon's CDMA 3G network for voice and data, it uses LTE for high-speed data. And it's fast stuff. But faster data still comes at a price -- and that's battery life. Yours will vary depending on how good an LTE signal you have (bouncing back and forth between 3G and 4G can be a killer) and how often you're using it.
The Spectrum also managed to fail what's long been a battery test for me -- the ability to spend the night off the charger without committing hari-kari. That's pretty disappointing, especially considering I've installed just a single app so far -- which means it's not likely anything I've done.

The software

This is where things get a little sticky for the LG Spectrum. You've undoubtedly heard us and others say that once you use an Ice Cream Sandwich phone (OK, there's really only one so far), it's tough to go back to anything else. And we're fighting through that with the Spectrum. Is that really fair? Probably not. But ICS is the new standard to which many of you (and us) will hold smartphones, and we're not going to shy away from that. We will, however, look at the Spectrum's software in a bit of a vacuum as well. And with that ...

Welcome back to Gingerbread -- Android 2.3.5, to be exact. And LG's got it heavily skinned, as it often does. The look and feel is still akin to Samsung's TouchWiz -- things are very, very colorful. (The swirly wallpaper included by default doesn't help matters any.) You've got seven homescreens on which to place apps and widgets; six of them have items on them already.

LG's slick multimedia widget -- sort of a flip-bookmark thing -- has returned, giving you quick access to videos, photos, albums artists and playlists. It looks nice, which is why it's a shame that the animations often are laggy. LG's weather widget is powered by Yahoo, and it's nicely done, with an attractive clock thrown in.
You've also got a social networking widget, as well as a newsreader, plus a cadre of app icons. Standard fare.

LG's got "Themes" (which very quickly and annoyingly change their names to "Scenes") tucked into the Spectrum -- sets of preloaded home screens for various purposes. There's the "current" theme, which is what you're working with by default. There's also Play (adds more social, photo and music widgets), Work (e-mail, calendar, news and contacts widgets) and Travel (a larger weather widget, calendar, dual time-zone clocks). These are nicely done and are relatively quick to switch between.

Here's a cool feature: LG's got a number of gesture settings available. Some of them work better than others (move cursor proved to be especially frustrating), but it's cool to see something like this included.

The Spectrum's notification pull-down has been customized. You've got toggles for vibrate, rotation, Bluetooth, GPS and airplane mode, plus a mondo button toggling Wifi (which is how it should be).
Now ... Let's talk about the app drawer. Most of us are used to grids of icons, and you've got that on the Spectrum. But LG's long been changing things up here. And while it's been a while since your intrepid reviewer has used an LG device, we're not liking some of what we're seeing here.

Apps are grouped into categories. That's a good thing, actually. And LG allows for a lot of customizations here. You can add, delete, rename or reorder categories. And you can rearrange apps within categories. (Hit menu>manage apps to do so.) Cool. We're on board so far.
But there's no option for just a straight alphabetical grouping of apps, in the traditional sense. You'll have to install a third-party launcher for that. For all the options LG gives, why not one to present apps in the traditional manner? Oh, and why in the name of all things holy is the "Applications" category empty? Does not compute.
If you just have to have things in alphabetical order, you can change to list view.
Now, this being a Verizon phone, the Spectrum is preloaded with a bunch of apps. Two dozen, in fact. They include:

• Amazon Kindle
• VCAST Apps
• Bitbop
• Blockbuster
• Finance
• Guided Tours
• Need for Speed Hot Pursuit
• Let's Golf 2
• My Verizon Mobile
• Netflix
• NFL Mobile
• Polaris Office
• Rhapsody
• Richnote
• ESPN ScoreCenter
• Setup Wizard
• Smart Movie HD
• SmartShare
• TuneWiki
• VCAST Media Manager
• VCAST Tones
• Verizon Video
• VideoSurf
• VZ Navigator

That's a lot of apps.

The cameras

The Spectrum has a front-facing 1.3MP camera and a rear facing 8MP camera. The latter records video in 1080p (1088p, precisely).

The camera app is nicely laid out and pretty self-explanatory. It doesn't have the most features we've seen, but it should get the job done.

All thumbnails below open in full resolution in a new window.

The front-facing camera (1.3MP, 720p video)

Youtube link for mobile viewing

The rear-facing camera (8MP, 1080p video)

Youtube link for mobile viewing

Other odds and ends

• The Spectrum has Wifi Direct, which allows you to connect to Wifi-enabled devices without going through a router.
• Wallpaper options abound -- you can even set a different one for when the phone is charging. (LG's included a water live wallpaper that shows the current charging level. Nice.)
• There's no easy 3G/4G toggle, but you can set the phone to only use CDMA by going to the network settings.
• The Spectrum's got a decent speakerphone. Not the loudest we've heard, but not the softest, either.
• If Wifi is available but you're not connected, the Spectrum will prompt you to. That'll help both with your data usage as well as battery life.
• NFC's nowhere to be found.
• You've got tethering settings, and you'll need a tethering plan to use them.
• There are two keyboard presinstalled -- LG's own, which isn't horrible, and Swype. Or you can install your own.

The wrap-up

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that. From a consumer standpoint, the LG Spectrum is a pretty nice device, hitting all the bullet points. The specs are high-end, the cameras are good. It'll be getting an update to Android 4.0. And LG's user interface provides a great starting point for building your own homescreens. Or it'll be entirely usable out of the box.
From a smartphone nerd/tech reviewer's point of view, jumping from the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0 back to Android 2.3 Gingerbread -- and a highly skinned version of Gingerbread at that -- is a bit of culture shock. There's a lot in Ice Cream Sandwich that we want to see carried over to manufacturers' implementations. The question is will they, and how long will it take?
For for right now, today, the LG Spectrum shows how far 4G LTE devices have come on Verizon in the past year. Slick and sleek are in. Big and bulky are out. (OK, big is still kind of in.) And for $199 on contract (at the time of this writing), the LG Spectrum is well worth a look.

'Optimus 3D MAX' branding rumored for next LG 3D phone

Earlier this week we saw reports that LG is preparing a successor to its Optimus 3D smartphone, to be unveiled at next month's Mobile World Congress. The LG CX2, as it's apparently codenamed, was to ship with a 1.2GHz CPU, 4.3-inch 3D WVGA NOVA display and dual 5MP cameras. Leaked renders also appeared, showing a device much thinner than the veritable brick that was the original Optimus 3D.
Today GSM Israel says it's learned from a "very reliable source" that the CX2's official branding will be "Optimus 3D MAX" (spelled the old-fashioned way, with just one X). If true, the new name would fit a device which appears to be more a refinement of last year's Optimus 3D than anything revolutionary.
It's likely we'll see more of the Optimus 3D MAX, or whatever it's called, in just a few weeks time at Mobile World Congress, so stay tuned

Yahoo cleaning house, lays some of their mobile apps to rest

I'm not exactly sure how many folks out there use apps from Yahoo but if you're among those that do, you'll want to check the list below. Reason being - Yahoo is laying some of their mobile apps to rest to focus on a whole new set of apps that more so meet users needs. So what apps got the cut?

• Yahoo! Meme (iPad and iPhone)
• Yahoo! Mim (iPad)
• Yahoo! Answers (Android)
• Yahoo! AppSpot (Android and iPhone)
• Yahoo! Deals (iPhone)
• Yahoo! Finance (BlackBerry)
• Yahoo! Movies (Android)
• Yahoo! News (Android)
• Yahoo! Shopping (iPhone)
• Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search (iPad and iPhone)

That quite a few apps to kill off but from looking at the list, it's looks as though those apps are smaller on the chain and may have a minimal amount of users.

Drunk Green Robots [Android Quick App]

What's more fun than playing a game on your Android phone?  Drinking while playing a game on your Android phone, of course.  Enter Drunk Green Robots, a new app from fiveHellions development.  It's easy to get started, just grab a friend or two, a bottle of Kentucky's finest (or less than finest works, too), and your Android phone.  It's the high/low black/red game most of us know, but instead of using a deck of cards you use your Android. 

Dares are included, and the less risqué package is free to download, but the raunchier and more sexually explicit ones require an in-app purchase of "shots".  You get 100 shots for a buck, and ad-removal costs a 100 shots as does the "naughty" dare pack.  It's not going to break the bank.  And everybody knows being naughty is always better while drinking, right?  Anyways, you take a turn guessing if the next card will be higher or lower than the current, or what color it will be.  If you're correct, your turn ends and you pass your phone to the next player.  If you're not correct you win lose and have to either take a shot, or a random dare.  I'd recommend the shot, but to each their own.

It's silly, it's fun, and involves getting hammered.  If you're of age (stay safe kids), check out a few screenshots and grab it for free using the link after the break.  Try not to drop your phone.

Via: Android Central games forum