Leading Android handset maker HTC has partnered with Dropbox to offer new customers 5GB of free cloud storage.
“We’re happy to share the good news with you here, first,” wrote HTC on its official Facebook page on October 24. “We recently partnered with Dropbox! So, now Dropbox will come pre-installed on all Android phones, giving you 5GB of storage.”
Last month, Pocket-lint reported that Dropbox would come pre-installed on all new HTC handsets that run its Sense 3.5 user interface. The news today confirms that anyone with an HTC handset will have access to the complimentary cloud storage.Dropbox currently offers any user 2GB of free storage. For $9.99 a month, users can upgrade to 50GB of storage, or 100GB for $19.99 a month. Anyone who downloads the free Dropbox app can gain mobile access to the free 2GB offered through the service, so while the HTC does offer added value to its customers exclusively, the benefit of at least some free Dropbox storage isn’t limited to HTC’s Android customers.
HTC’s deal with Dropbox does, however, strike a direct blow at Apple, which also now offers users of its iOS devices 5GB of free storage through its newly launched iCloud service. For users who opt-in to the service, any media purchased through iTunes is automatically uploaded to iCloud, and does not deduct from the allotted storage. Users can also choose to have all their new photos, up to 1,000 pictures, automatically uploaded to iCloud. Users of iCloud can also upgrade to 10GB($20 a year), 20GB($40 a year), or 50GB($100 a year).
Big picture-wise, it would appear the trend toward storing mobile data on the cloud is on the up-and-up. This likely means that, at some point in the near future, internal storage will become a less and less important spec for mobile devices, and cloud services – like music and video streaming – may eventually become a norm. Excited? We are.
Nokia, the Finnish cellphone maker, introduced two smartphones Wednesday, the first fruits of its alliance with Microsoft, in a bid to curb its declining market share. Nokia's chief executive, Stephen Elop, presented the Lumia 800, a 420 euro ($584) touch-screen device, and the Lumia 710, a 270 euro handset at a company product introduction. Both devices are being sold in six European countries and will be sold later this year in parts of Asia. Other smartphones are planned for the United States but not until early next year.
Analysts said the Nokia smartphones, the result of an eight-month collaboration with Microsoft, could also help Microsoft extend its dominant computer software business into the cellphone and mobile device market. The software has received positive reviews, but few handset makers are using it.
The new lineup aims to revive Nokia's tarnished reputation as an innovative force in mobile phones, an industry it pioneered and dominated until Apple and Google, helped by more user-friendly software, wrested control of the smartphone business four years ago.
"Nokia really needed this to happen today, and this is a new start for the company" said Pete Cunningham, an analyst based in London with the research firm Canalys. "This helps stop the bleeding and will help Nokia get back in the game."
Elop, a former senior Microsoft executive who made the decision to enter the software alliance with his former employer in February, said the new Lumia devices showed that Nokia, which is based in Espoo, Finland, was delivering on his promise of a turnaround. "This signals our intent to be today's leader in smartphone design and craftsmanship," Elop told 3,000 people attending the company's Nokia World conference in London.
During an interview, Elop said Nokia was planning to push its smartphones into the United States, where it has struggled, early next year. He said Nokia was in advanced talks with the four major U.S. operators, which together sell more than 90 percent of all cellphones in the country. Nokia's new smartphones for the United States, Elop said, will run on high-speed 4G networks that use a technology called LTE, or Long Term Evolution, as well as on older 3G networks.
They also will be made to run on networks that use the CDMA standard, which is used by the market leader, Verizon Wireless.
Elop said Nokia was listening closely to phone operators and would be flexible in meeting their demands. "If you do the math, you may come to the conclusion that clearly we are in good conversations with those operators," he said.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., is using its business connections -- its server software powers a lot of cloud computing centers used by network operators -- to help Nokia re-establish relationships with U.S. operators, he said. "When we enter a market, it is not just dipping your toe in the market but coming in with the appropriate levels of investment by us," Elop said. "It takes work. It takes money. We are being very deliberate."
With Lumia, Nokia aims to beat Apple and Google by designing handsets that are easier to use than the two best-selling smartphones, the Apple iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S II, which runs Google's Android software. The Lumia 800's start screen is a wheel of interactive tiles. By clicking a tile, users are taken directly to a preferred task, like text messaging a friend, tracking a sports team or listening to a favorite song, without having to enter and close applications.
The software interface, developed by Microsoft but refined by Nokia, is designed to remove as much laborious touch-screen tapping as possible. Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia's head designer, said the smartphones used fluid, rather than linear, design logic, which eliminated many of the intermediary steps required with the array of static app icons that Apple and Google's Android favor.
Shares of Nokia closed at 4.80 euros, down 0.6 percent, in European trading.
One investor said Nokia and Microsoft must still overcome skepticism about the venture. "I have seen no evidence that Nokia and Microsoft are making a game of it -- yet," said Jeffrey P. Davis, the chief investment officer at Lee Munder Capital, an investment fund manager based in Boston with $5.4 billion under management. "Android is winning the mind space on the consumer front. The business world will probably follow."
Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics, estimated that Nokia was paying $15 to Microsoft for each Windows smartphone it produced, less than the estimated $20 other handset makers must pay. The new Windows phone lineup, he said, has the potential to help restore Nokia's fortunes in the smartphone market. "One thing I have learned in this business is to never say never," Mawston said.
A Nokia employee demonstrates a new Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone during the Nokia World 2011 at the ExCeL ICC center in London, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Nokia Corp. on Wednesday unveiled its first Windows cell phones, in a bid to recapture lost ground to chief rivals(Apple and Google's Android) in the tough top-end smartphone market.
Nokia Lumia 710 - The less expensive smartphone of the two, to be launched, weapons of Nokia to "Re-Get" the loosing market share in the smartphone industry!
Tony Fadell, the man who oversaw the first 18 generations of the iPod, announced the first product of his stealth startup Nest Labs Tuesday: a sexy, world-saving ... thermostat"Nest" is a $249 programmable thermostat that can also program itself.At first, users might frequently adjust the thermometer when they get up in the morning, leave for work, get home from work and go to sleep. Eventually, however, it will learn their patterns and adjust the temperature to appropriate levels automatically. If they leave on a trip, the thermostat will figure out the house is empty and turn the heat and air conditioning to an energy-saving mode. 90% of programmable thermostats are rarely or never programmed, even though the EPA estimates that programming a thermostat to reduce heating or cooling while out of the house can cut 15% off of a heating and cooling bill. By making it easier to "program" temperature, Fadell's thermostat could put a much bigger dent reducing energy waste and bills than its traditional counterpart. He has told several publications that users can expect to cut up to 30% of their utility bills.All this, and Nest is a looker, too.
“If you don’t make it look beautiful, people don’t cherish it,” Fadell told Wired. “I want it to be a jewel on the wall so that it’s a conversation piece. People come over and they go, ‘What’s that on your wall?’ and you go, ‘Oh, you’ve got to check this out.’"The thermostat is round like a jewel. Instead of faint numbers that make users squint, the temperature on Nest is bold and large, front and center. To adjust, you twist the rim around the "jewel." It turns blue when it's cooling things down and red when it's heating them up. A small leaf image discreetly points users toward energy efficient settings.Should users forget to make a temperature adjustment before they leave the house, they can control the thermostat with any Internet-connected device, an iPhone app or an Android app."The Nest is the iPod of thermostats," says Levy. And it is. But it's also still a thermostat, and a thermostat that costs about $100 more than most competitorst. Can an Apple-eye for design turn a traditionally boring product into something for which people pay a premium to display?We likely won't begin to find out until November, when the device goes on sale. Best Buy and Nest Labs's website are taking pre-orders.
Games are the most popular apps to download for any smartphone, but the iPhone is widely perceived as the best gaming smartphone. That's mostly because it has the biggest game library, including a number of exclusive titles from both indie and name-brand publishers.
The selection of games on the Android Market, while growing, still in no way surpasses the iPhone's. But the latest smartphones running Google's open-source Android operating system have dramatically improved potential for gaming - especially those running the newest version of Android, called Ice Cream Sandwich.
Game controllers The first tablet version of Android, called 3.0 "Honeycomb," introduced support for USB controllers. Meanwhile, Android enthusiasts and hobbyists have been rooting their devices to add support for controllers like the PlayStation 3's SixAxis for some time now. The Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, however, adds official support for game controllers, plus resources for game developers to easily add gamepad support to their titles. Several Android games already have or will soon add support for game controllers ... a feature best paired with HDMI screen mirroring, on phones that support it.
The PlayStation Suite Sony-Ericsson's Xperia Play smartphone (the "PlayStation Phone") and Sony's Tablet S now both run Sony's PlayStation Suite, which includes access to some of the PlayStation Network's features and the ability to buy select PSOne games. The Xperia Play also has a slide-out game controller, which is supported by dozens of games, and has seen a number of temporarily exclusive titles. Don't have a Sony device? Sony's chairman, Kaz Hirai, said at a recent conference that the company was "in discussions" with others "to bring them on board," and that "This is not just for Sony devices."
Under-the-hood improvements The release of Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" late last year saw a dramatically improved Native Development Kit, or tools for game developers to create more high-performance titles, that bypass Android's Dalvik virtual machine and access system features directly. Meanwhile, the popular 3d game toolkit Unity 3d recently shipped its official Android version. Games made using Unity 3d are already widespread on iOS, and can also be found on PC, Mac, and even the Wii.
OnLive The streaming game service called OnLive began its Android experiment as a partnership with HTC, for the company's HTC Flyer tablet. While its first attempt was just a streaming game viewer, that let you watch others play, it demoed a prototype game-playing app at this year's E3. Obviously, the ability to pair an actual game controller with it will enhance the experience.
Apple's new iPhone 4S is expected to be released on 14th October, 2011 and according to AT&T they have received more than 200,000 pre-orders of iPhone 4S.
Below is a list of new features introduced in iPhone 4S:
Siri, the intelligent assistant that helps you getthings done.All you have to do is ask.
Now you can use your voice to use your iPhone. Just talk to Siri as you would to a person: “Do I need an umbrella?” or “Any great burgers around here?” or “Where’s the closest ATM?” Siri not only understands what you say, it knows what you mean. It figures out the right apps to use to find the right answer. Then, just like a personal assistant, it answers you. Siri makes phone calls, sends messages, schedules meetings, sets reminders, and more. How much more? Just ask, and Siri tells you that, too.
Dual-core A5 chip.
The most powerful iPhone processor ever.
Two cores in the A5 chip deliver up to two times more power and up to seven times faster graphics. And you’ll feel the effects. Fast. iPhone 4S is quick and responsive, which makes all the difference when you’re launching apps, browsing the web, gaming, and doing just about everything. And no matter what you're doing, you can keep on doing it. Because the A5 chip is so power-efficient, iPhone 4S has outstanding battery life.
iPhone 4S is great for gamers. The A5 chip pushes graphics up to seven times faster. So games run smoother and they’re even more realistic. And graphics-intensive apps perform even better.
The power-efficient A5 chip and iOS 5 deliver outstanding battery life. So you can keep making calls, checking email, playing video, and browsing the web.
iPhone 4S CAMERA: The you-can’t-believe-it’s-on-a-phone camera.
This just might be the best camera ever on a phone. And with all-new optics, it just might be the only camera you need. Because behind every shot, you’ve got 8-megapixel resolution and a custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture. Not to mention an improved backside illumination sensor, excellent auto white balance, advanced color accuracy, face detection, and reduced motion blur. It all means that no matter how many people, how much light, and how much action you capture, everything looks exactly as it should. And just wait until you see the photos.
The iPhone 4S camera gives you 8 megapixels — that’s 60 percent more pixels than the camera on iPhone 4. And they’re engineered with a higher, full-well capacity to collect even more light. With more megapixels and more light, you’ll see a dramatic difference in the resolution and details of your images.
The custom lens uses five precision elements to shape incoming light, which makes the entire image sharper. The larger f/2.4 aperture lets in more light, so photos look brighter. And the advanced hybrid infrared filter keeps out harmful IR light for more accurate and uniform colors.
Touch up photos right on your iPhone — without the help of photo editing software on a computer. You can crop and rotate photos, enhance the image overall, and even remove red-eye.
Video recording. In 1080p amazing HD.
Shoot stunning 1080p HD video everywhere you go. With all-new optics, the light is always right, the color is always vivid, and everything will look even better than you remember. Video stabilization steadies shaky shots. And you can edit video right on iPhone and share your lush life as fast as you shoot.
Record amazing 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second. The advanced backside illumination sensor and larger aperture let in even more light. Improved auto white balance makes color even more accurate. And temporal noise reduction helps you take great videos in low light.
Video stabilization removes unwanted motion caused by unsteady hands. And if you’re recording a scene with subjects in both the foreground and the background, the camera focuses where you want with a tap.
It’s easy to edit your HD video right on iPhone. Just drag to select start and end points on a filmstrip to trim your clips. Or make a mini-blockbuster in iMovie with Apple-designed themes, titles, transitions, and even a soundtrack.
iOS. The world’s most advanced mobile operating system. And the easiest to use.
With every iOS advancement come even easier ways to do everything. That’s what makes iOS years ahead of anything else. iOS 5 leaps even further ahead, bringing over 200 new features to iPhone 4S. Here are just a few of our favorites.
Notification Center
Twitter Integration
<--It’s one place to see what’s new. Preview your latest texts, email messages, reminders, friend requests, and more.
Sign in once under Settings and tweet directly from Safari, Photos, Camera, YouTube, and Maps.-->
iCloud is the easiest way to manage all your stuff, because it manages it all for you. iCloud stores your music, photos, apps, mail, contacts, calendars, documents, and more. And wirelessly pushes them to all your devices. It’s automatic, effortless, and seamless. And it just works.
With iCloud, the music you buy in iTunes appears automatically on all your devices. You can also download your past iTunes purchases. So your music collection goes where you go.
With Photo Stream, you can take a photo on one iOS device and it automatically appears on all your other devices, including your Mac or PC. Your photos show up, just like that. And you can show them off everywhere.
iCloud can automatically keep your presentations, reports, and other documents up to date across all your devices. Even when you update them, they're updated in the cloud automatically.
Retina display. Clearly remarkable.
The sharpest, most vibrant thing you’ll see on iPhone 4S is everything. The Retina display is the highest-resolution phone screen ever. In fact, the pixel density is so high that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels. But without a doubt, you’ll notice crisp text, sharp graphics, and stunning images. It’s more remarkable than the printed page. And you’ll be completely absorbed.
FaceTime. It’s even better face-to-face.
FaceTime lets you hear a voice and see the face that goes with it — iPhone to iPhone, iPad 2, iPod touch, or Mac over Wi-Fi. So no matter where they are, no matter where you are, you’ll always be there. Making a FaceTime call is just as easy as making a phone call. And it’s even easier with Siri. Just tell Siri “FaceTime with Mom” and you show up, smile, and wave hello. You’ll never miss a big event, an important meeting, or a good laugh. And who wouldn’t be happy to see your face?
Call it better, faster, and even more worldly.
iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to transmit and receive, so call quality is better. It also doubles the maximum HSDPA data speeds to 14.4 Mbps. Which means faster connections, faster loading and reloading, and faster downloads. And iPhone 4S is a world phone, so you can use it almost anywhere. Whether you’re a GSM or CDMA customer, you can roam GSM networks in 200 countries around the world.
Built-in apps. They do just about everything. So you can, too.
You’ll do everyday things in extraordinary ways on iPhone 4S. Take amazing photos and shoot HD video. See your friends and family with FaceTime. Browse the web on the Retina display. Check email. Send messages. Set reminders. Check calendars. Or just ask Siri to help you get things done — it figures out the right apps to use.
and the list goes on . . .
Don't forget to share your experience with iPhone 4S and your favorite features of iPhone 4S with us!
AT&T sold more than 200,000 of Apple Inc's latest iPhone in the first 12 hours and said it had seen "extraordinary demand" for a gadget unveiled a day before the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
The iPhone 4S was unveiled on Tuesday and immediately underwhelmed fans who had hoped for a revolutionary design after a wait of more than 15 months.
But Wall Street analysts are betting that hardware updates and software enhancements, including a well-reviewed voice-recognition software system, will pull in buyers.
AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint began taking U.S. online orders for the device on Friday.
Comparisons are difficult because the iPhone is now carried by three wireless operators, versus just one. Last year AT&T was the only carrier to sell the phone. But the previous generation of the smartphone, the iPhone 4, was the fastest-selling mobile in Apple's history, with 1.7 million devices selling in the first three days.
Estimates vary, but some analysts expect Apple to sell about 27 million to 28 million iPhones in the October-December quarter.
The latest iPhone 4S hits store shelves around the world on October 14. It debuts at a critical juncture for Apple.
Phones based on Google Inc's Android -- such as Samsung's <005930.KS> Galaxy -- are providing heightened competition just as a new CEO, Tim Cook, takes the reins.Jobs, who died on Wednesday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, ceded the top job to Cook in August.
Some analysts say people seeking to commemorate the legacy of Apple's iconic co-founder may scoop up the very last iPhone to be unveiled in his lifetime, giving sales a bump.
Apple was not immediately available for comment. Sprint iPhone sales were not mentioned during a an unrelated news conference by Spring on Friday.Shares in Apple were holding steady at $370 in after-hours trade.
Earlier this week, Google added a new button to the Google Maps Web interface that allows the user to view a 3D birdseye view of the route. To utilize the new feature, simply plug in a start point and a end point to the directions section of Google Maps.
After calculating the route, look for a “3D” button next to the text “Driving directions”. After pressing the new “3D” button, the map shifts into Google Earth view and begins navigating the route. The concept is similar to the Soarin’ Over California attraction at Disneyland’s California Adventure, a theme park ride that lifts people into the air and simulates a flight over scenic portions of California.
The 3D simulation of the route can be paused at any time and users can rotate the map exploring the terrain of the surrounding area. After resuming the simulated flight, users can view each leg of the trip by watching the highlighted section within the directions on the left side of the screen. Users can also jump to other sections of the trip by clicking on a specific section within the directions. Users can also pop back into 2D mode at any time during the animation. In addition to the 3D animation, users can also stop during the simulation to click on pictures and information links to learn more about the surrounding area or major landmarks.
The 3D helicopter view is currently being rolled out slowly across different regions and may not be available for all users yet. Google Maps recently received a bit of negative attention when criminals in Chicago used the service to satellite view to seek out expensive homes next to highways. Google Maps helped the man in question burglarize nine suburban homes and steal $100,000 worth of jewelry and electronics.
In a study conducted earlier this week by research firm Localytics, nearly 37 percent of all Android smartphones are now 4G-enabled. While the term 4G is still a loose description of faster data speeds beyond 3G capable phones, the research firm defined LTE, WiMAX, or HSPA+ capable phones as being 4G-enabled. The top three smartphones driving this growth of 4G adoption include the HTC Thunderbolt on Verizon, the HTC Evo 4G on Sprint and the Samsung Droid Charge on Verizon. Other contributing smartphones include the Sprint Epic 4G, HTC myTouch 4G on t-Mobile, Motorola Atrix on AT&T, EVO Shift 4G on Sprint, Samsung Galaxy S 4G on T-Mobile, HTC EVO 3D on Sprint and LG Revolution on Verizon.
Of the major carriers, Verizon uses LTE, Sprint uses WiMAX and AT&T as well as T-Mobile utilize HSPA+. Verizon has been the fastest in rolling out a 4G LTE network reaching about 160 million Americans across in over 117 U.S. cities. While this roll-out has occurred in just over eight months, Verizon expects to reach nearly 175 U.S. cities by the end of the year as well as push out the service to more rural areas. Verizon claims that the 4G LTE network is capable of delivering download speeds of 5 to 12 megabits per second. AT&T has been slower in rolling out their LTE network with plans to cover only 15 markets by the end of the year. AT&T LTE coverage areas include Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Dallas and San Antonio.
Sprint also plans to launch a LTE network in early 2012 and has relied on WiMAX to provide higher download speeds in the interim. With possible competition to Android 4G phones, all eyes are on Apple while the company prepares an announcement around the new iPhone scheduled for October 4. While the company stated concerns about the first-generation LTE chipsets in April 2011, the company is reported to be testing 4G LTE with the iPhone 5.
Apple plans to unveil its next generation iPhone next month, technology blog AllThingsD said Wednesday.
AllThingsD cautioned that Apple could "change its plans anytime," but said the present plan calls for Apple's new chief executive Tim Cook to preside over the launch of the iPhone 5 on October 4.
Cook, 50, replaced Apple's ailing co-founder Steve Jobs as chief executive of the Cupertino, California-based gadget-maker last month.
Citing "sources close to the situation," the Dow Jones-owned AllThingsD said the iPhone 5 would go on sale within a few weeks after the announcement.
Jobs, 56, the Silicon Valley visionary behind the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iPhone and iPad, stepped down as Apple's CEO on August 24.
Jobs has presided over Apple's splashy product launches in the past and AllThingsD said "the pressure will be on Cook to turn in a good performance."
"What will be interesting to see, of course, is if Jobs himself will also make an appearance, which is something that is likely to be determined by his health, in a decision that will be made very close to the event," it said.
Jobs underwent an operation for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009.
Apple released the iPhone 4 in June 2010 and sold 20.34 million of the devices last quarter.
Apple shares have been trading at record highs this week and the stock was up 1.37 percent at $419.13 on Wall Street on Wednesday.
