The first- and third-largest South Korean handset manufacturers make deal to strengthen partnership

Samsung announced today that it is acquiring a 10-percent stake in rival handset maker Pantech, one that will set the worlds largest handset manufacturer back a mere $47.6 million. While known more for making lower-end and spec devices for carriers here in the states, Pantech is actually quite a large company and the number three seller of handsets in its native South Korea. But this deal is likely less about taking a position in a smaller rival company and more about furthering a partnership for handset components that has already been established.

Like many large companies, Samsung and Pantech alike make many of the components needed for handsets on their own to reduce costs. For everything else, they need to buy from an outside source and in this case, Samsung and Pantech already have a standing partnership in both semiconductors and display technologies that will grow with this new investment. If Samsung plans to continue buying and selling components with Pantech, a small investment like this makes sense for such a large company.

Source: Yonhap News Agency; Via: TNW

Miss it live earlier today? Fear not, the recorded version is now available for everyone to watch

Just in case you missed it, the folks over at All About Android on the TWiT network were nice enough to have our very own Phil Nickinson on for their weekly show tonight. All of the fun and Android talk went down earlier today live, but fear not as the recorded version has just been put up to watch. Phil joined Jason Howell, Ron Richards and Gina Trapani to talk about Google I/O, Google Glass and everything else that has happened in the last week.

Swing on over to the link below to watch or download the full hour and half of Android goodness.

More: All About Android Episode 110 on TWiT

The darker side of the HTC One reaffirms the device's status as the most attractive smartphone on the market today

If you thought the HTC One was already the most handsome smartphone on the market today, you'll want to do yourself a favor and check it out the"Stealth Black" variant, available on both Sprint and, as of last week, AT&T. HTC is onhand here in Vegas showing off the darker side of the One and we've got to admit we're pretty smitten. Its aluminum finish is sleek, stylish, and dare we say "stealthy", though you'll notice it does appear to show blemishes, and especially fingerprints, more easily than its silver brother. Whichever flavor you prefer, we still stick by our guns and say that you'll have a hard time going wrong with HTC's flagship. Some more glamour shots can be found after the break.

Coolpad continues to stay under the radar and is hoping to make another splash in the low-end market

Coolpad, a name that may not come to mind as a common phone manufacturer, is showing off a couple of its latest devices here at CTIA 2013 -- the Quattro II 4G and a recently announced TDD/FDD device for China Mobile. If you'll recall back to August of last year, Coolpad introduced the original Quattro for the prepaid market on MetroPCS at the staggering price of $79 without any contract or subsidy. We're hearing about some pretty impressive sales numbers from that handset and Coolpad is hoping to follow that up with this sequel device. We're looking at a full plastic shelled device with a few different textures that feels nice but very light, with some basic specs. You'll be getting a 4.5-inch qHD (540x960) display, CDMA and LTE networking, Android 4.1, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon (MSM8930) processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a 5MP camera.

Coolpad isn't ready to announce any specific pricing or carrier partners at this point, but has said that they are in talks with multiple carriers for deals to offer the handset. We can probably be on the lookout for this one to hit one of the prepaid providers at a super low price once again. Stick around after the break where you can see a full gallery of the Coolpad Quattro II, as well as a few pictures of another (unnamed) device that is the first TDD/FDD LTE handset available, which was just launched in partnership with China Mobile.

More: Android @ CTIA 2013

Google Now voice search goes live in the latest Chrome desktop builds

Ladies and gents, it's time to upgrade your Chrome browser. Google Now style voice search has just went live in the latest Chrome stable version for the desktop (Version 27.0.1453.93). As far as we can tell from playing around testing things, the full contextual search isn't running like we saw in the demo during the Google I/O keynote, but the basic voice search and response is ready to go.

To get the latest update is easy. Open the settings in the Chrome browser, and click the Help line entry. Give it a second or two to start checking, and when it tells you to restart Chrome, just restart your whole browser session. When things come back, head to www.google.com and click the microphone in the search box. 

You have to give permission (look for the bar across the top of the window) to listen to your voice, then start asking questions. Welcome to the future! We've got a couple screenshots after the break just in case you're not able to update or don't use Chrome.

Thanks, Christian!

OTA starts rolling for the latest update previously only available with a manual install

Well then, here's a nice surprise. Our unlocked Xperia ZL (that's the C6506 model) has just received a 66.1MB OTA update touting improved battery life, user experience and software performance. The update is to version 10.1.1.A.1.253, which is the build that has been available for a couple of days (according to Sony) but only via its desktop companion software. After quickly downloading, the update will install with just one more tap and indicated that it will take "about 9 minutes" to update (which seems about right). You'll still be on Android 4.1.2 and likely won't see any other cosmetic changes from what we can tell.

We obviously haven't had enough time to evaluate whether or not Sony's claims of improved battery life and software performance are true, but we'll take any improvements they have for us. If you have an unlocked Xperia ZL, be sure to head into your settings menu and check for the update.

More: Sony Xperia ZL Forums; Sony Support

Real world examples and practices from the Android design team make this session from Google I/O 2013 a must-watch -- even if you'll never write your own app.

See how Android apps should look and act, and see what the folks behind Android say about why they should be this way. Whether you're into design, or just into great looking Android apps this one is a treat. Catch it after the break.

Major update delivers new features and support for new animations, notifications, bug fixes 

Ingress, everyone's favorite sci-fi virtual reality simulation game, got a major update this afternoon. Everything you love about the game is still there, with less bugs, but a couple very nice features were added.

• Portal health and faction control info on Portal Keys in the Inventory carousel.
• Android Notifications for "Portal under attack," "Portal neutralized," and "@<codename>" messages.
• Support for Jarvis Virus and ADA Refactor objects.
• New Recharge visual animation.

The new notification system will get all the attention, but the new information displayed about your Portal keys in inventory is probably the change people will use the most. The Jarvis Virus is something new started earlier this month, and it will flip an infected Portal to the opposing faction. 

You can get today's update from the Google Play link above, and learn more about Ingress (and try to score an invite) in the Ingress forums.

Via: +Ingress

From 5 to 9 a.m. on May 22, you'll have to get your "Girls" fix somewhere else. Don't worry, we're all in this together.

HTC's Zoe feature is a perfect way to play with Auto Awesome motion on Google+

Google+ got some great new image tools and toys last week and Google I/O, including the "motion" portion of the Auto Awesome tweaks. How it works is, it takes any series of pictures of the same subject that have been shot in quick succession and transforms them into an animated gif image. You can then share it on Google+, or download it to share anywhere. Everyone loves animated gifs!

As it turns out, the Zoe feature on HTC's Sense 5 camera software is perfect for this. A Zoe is a series of high resolution stills that get stitched in series to create an animation on the phone, and since they are individual jpg files, Google+ can work its magic the same way. 

To play with it, you'll have to either turn on auto-upload to Google+ on your HTC One, or find the frames of your Zoe and upload them individually. You'll then find all 20 stills, the small video that your phone exports, and a single gif file of the full animation in your Google+ photos. If you're a nut about housekeeping, you can then delete the 20 stills and the video, leaving your animated masterpiece available for the world to see. 

Now get out your Ones, hit the Zoe button, and drop some links in the comments to show off your stuff! Hit the break to check one out.

Via: Android Central forums;  Phil's humidifier