Alex is global Executive Editor for Android Central, and is usually found in the UK. He has been blogging since before it was called that, and currently most of his time is spent leading video for AC, which involves pointing a camera at phones and speaking words at a microphone. He would just love to hear your thoughts at alex@androidcentral.com, or on the social things at @alexdobie.
Samsung has announced the South Korean launch of its new 5.5-inch smartphone, the Galaxy Note 2. By now we're all familiar with the Note 2's impressive spec sheet -- a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos CPU, 2GB of RAM, 5.5-inch 720p non-PenTile HD SuperAMOLED display, 4G LTE connectivity. Today the device launches across all three main South Korean carriers -- SKT, LG U+ and KT, where it'll be...
T-Mobile USA's HTC One S is receiving its biggest software update yet today, bringing the aluminum-clad handset up to Android 4.0.4 (from 4.0.3) and HTC Sense 4.1 (from 4.0), according to reports from the Android Central forums. It looks like Tmo's One S is getting the update that was originally pushed to European One S phones just over a month ago, meaning owners can look forward to...
So much for all that fuss about limited Sony Xperia T SIM-free availability. UK-based online retailer Unlocked Mobiles is now offering the Sony Mobile flagship for sale, stand-alone and unlocked for just £414.98 inc. VAT. That's a surprisingly reasonable price tag, considering the phone comes packed with a dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 4.6-inch, 720p HD Reality Display and...
A T-Mobile-branded HTC One X+ has made its first appearance appearance on Twitter in a wholly unofficial manner. Though we don't get much more than this brief glimpse, we've heard previously about a handful of specs. Size: 134.36 x 69.9 x 9.3mm Weight: 129g NVIDIA AP37 1.6GHZ quad core, 1.7GHZ single core ROM:32GB RAM: 1 GB Battery: 1800 mAh Android 4.1...
Boost Mobile has announced a new addition to their lineup, the LG Venice. The Venice will represent an attractive choice to customers who prefer a no contract phone, especially because it has decent specs for the price. While not equal to the top of the line phones, they're nothing to scoff at either. The Venice boasts: 4.3-inch screen (with Gorilla Glass) 1GHz processor...
Barnes and Noble has made the 7-inch Nook HD and it's bigger brother the 9-inch HD+ official this evening. They're quick to mention that the Nook HD is the lightest and highest resolution mid-size tablet on the market, and that the HD+ is the world's lightest full HD tablet with it's 1920 x 1280 resolution at 256 ppi. In fact, they're really talking up the screens on both the units,...
Texas Instruments, possibly better known by most for their calculators than their smartphone chips, looks to be shifting away from the business of providing systems on a chip for smartphones and tablets. Some of the bigger names in processors, like Qualcomm and Samsung, have really run away with the top-of-the-line chip business, which has put TI in a tough position. Looking into the...
Earlier today we talked about the Motorola Atrix 2 soak test, with the assurance from some insiders that it would indeed be the Ice Cream Sandwich update everyone has been waiting for. One of our helpful ninjas took a few minutes to send us this screen cap, showing some of the build numbers and software versions. Soak tests are Motorola's way of doing final beta testing, and they are...
ASUS Sweden has taken to Facebook and let everyone know that users of the Transformer Prime in Sweden should be seeing an OTA update to Jelly Bean available. While there is no word on other areas, this is a good sign that ASUS is prepared to roll the update out en masse shortly. My own source "close to the matter" says we should see it in the U.S. in early October should everything go...
A few days back Verizon finally got the LTE Galaxy Nexus updated to Jelly Bean, and that means new factory images to play with. Google has updated the Nexus factory image page to include build JRO03O, which is unadulterated, pure Android and frankly sexy as hell. Ask anyone who just got the update -- Jelly Bean brings the Galaxy Nexus right up to the front of the smartphone pack, even...
As Sony prepares to launch the Xperia T in the UK this week, eyes are already on the T's quirky sibling, the Xperia V. Unveiled alongside the Xperia T at IFA last month, the V boasts water resistance and LTE connectivity, in addition to similar internals to the Sony flagship. The screen's been shrunk down to a 4.3-inch panel, although the resolution remains the same, at 1280x720. Today...
The Google Nexus Q is the coolest sphere sitting atop our entertainment center. OK, so it's the only sphere we've got. And despite how cool it looks, and its great build quality, it really doesn't do all that much, especially when you consider its $299 price tag. Of course, that was before Google decided to shelve the Nexus Q, ceasing sales and giving away a free sphere to anyone who...
A quick way to tell if your Samsung phone is at risk, and what to do if it is There's a lot of confusion as to exactly which Samsung phones are affected by today's big scary USSD vulnerability, which could cause some phones to factory reset themselves upon visiting a malicious web page. Some Galaxy S2 and S3-class phones are susceptible, others less so. In some cases it depends if you'...
Update, 09/26: Samsung has told us that the latest Galaxy S3 firmware fixes this exploit. Our own testing has shown other phones, particularly Galaxy S2 models, may still be at risk, however. If you're still concerned, you can check our USSD vulnerability test to see if your phone is vulnerable. A major security vulnerability has been discovered in some TouchWiz-based Samsung...
The Internet's in a bit of a tizzy this morning over reports from a Korean news that Samsung has begun development of its own WebKit-based mobile browser, to be used in future smartphones. ETNews reports that Samsung's browser will be offered as an alternative to Google Chrome on mobile. WebKit, of course, is the open-source software at the core of many mobile and desktop browsers,...
Samsung has announced that its latest smartphone/tablet hybrid, the Galaxy Note 2, will land on British shores next Monday, Oct. 1. Like the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 before it, the Note 2 will be available first at the Samsung brand store at the Westfield shopping center in Stratford, London, as well as major UK networks, and independent retailers. That roughly fits with what we...
Google has a treat today for all Android fans in Japan. The Google Nexus 7 is now available in the country, and brings with it Google Play Books for the ride. Available from the Play Store for 19,800 Yen ($250) for the 16GB variant, it's good to see the same great pricing expanding across the world with the device. Despite rumors of an upcoming launch in India before the years end, this...
UK SIM-free pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 emerged some time ago, but if you're still wondering much it'll set you back on-contract, then wonder no more. The answer, it seems, is a lot. Independent UK retailer Phones4U has published its subsidized prices for the Note 2, which it's offering on Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and Orange. But if you want to pick up a Galaxy Note 2 for free,...
Motorola's latest Android offering, the Droid RAZR M, has a complete and thorough teardown video available now thanks to the folks over at DirectFix. This is a pretty quick turnaround considering the RAZR M just hit Verizon stores, and we're glad there are people out there who are willing and capable of tearing these new gadgets apart. If for some reason you need to know how to replace...
The Motorola XPRT, that BlackBerry-like keyboard phone on Sprint, has finally made its move to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Along with bumping up to the next platform version, the update brings a decent grouping of bug fixes for the device: Email User Interface fixes. Contact User Interface fixes. UXD fix to color backgrounds (remove red). Fix the ability to use Bluetooth...