Polaroid Android Camera In The Works (Rumor)

Right now, Samsung is having the lion’s share of the Android-powered digital camera market with their Samsung Galaxy Camera, but that might change in the future with a leak from Russian social networking site VK that Polaroid is looking to jump aboard the bandwagon with an Android-powered camera of their own, known as the Polaroid IM1836.

Right now, Samsung is having the lion’s share of the Android-powered digital camera market with their Samsung Galaxy Camera, but that might change in the future with a leak from Russian social networking site VK that Polaroid is looking to jump aboard the bandwagon with an Android-powered camera of their own, known as the Polaroid IM1836.

The rumored Polaroid IM1836 is set to feature a mirrorless interchangeable lens system, and this would mean Polaroid has joined the Micro Four Thirds ecosystem, marking a departure from the Polaroid’s flagship instant film-based models.

The leak that depicted the Polaroid IM1836 showed off an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich powered device, although who knows whether Jelly Bean will be incorporated into the final version or not. Other hardware specifications packed into the Polaroid IM1836 include a 3.5-inch touchscreen display, an 18.1-megapixel sensor, a pop-up flash, Wi-Fi connectivity and HDMI/headphone out. Oh yeah, storage is handled by a microSD memory card slot.

Overall, the rounded edge design does seem to make it look like the Nikon 1 J2 mirrorless camera at first glance, but I guess it has a design character that grows on you eventually. Do you think that Polaroid would have the will to actually give birth to the Polaroid IM1836 Android-powered camera eventually?

View the original article here

Continue reading →

HTC Thunderbolt Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Update Coming “Soon”

The HTC Thunderbolt was quite the powerhouse when it was released to the markets earlier last year, sporting LTE connectivity that offered blazing fast Internet speeds on-the-go, but it also drained the phone’s battery faster than you can say, “Ice Cream Sandwich”. Speaking of Ice Cream Sandwich, this long awaited OS update (yes, the Thunderbolt still runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread) is said to arrive soon for the HTC Thunderbolt.

Whispers of an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update began to make its rounds back in August this year, and four months later, nothing can be seen on the horizon, with Droid Incredible 2 owners, too, moping around and joining HTC Thunderbolt owners on their accursed luck.

HTC USA and HTC claims that they are hard at work on the Ice Cream Sandwich update for the HTC Thunderbolt and the Droid Incredible 2, but so far, the specifics on the timing has yet to be worked out. Hopefully this would mean sooner rather than later, and a good example would be T-Mobile making a u-turn on their Windows Phone 8 Portico update for the HTC 8X which was said to be delayed due to “tweaks” indefinitely, before it was pushed out in under 24 hours afterwards.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the HTC Thunderbolt’s Ice Cream Sandwich will arrive before Christmas as a memorable present.

View the original article here

Continue reading →

Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Update Arrives In Asia

The last day of the year proved to be a fortuitous one for all new Samsung Galaxy S3 mini owners in Asia. New owners of this smartphone have reported, from Indonesia and Vietnam, that they have received the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update right out of the box. In fact, it was as recent as last month that the Galaxy S3 mini arrived with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, so to see it hit Android 4.1.2 is a pleasant way to end 2012 and usher in 2013.

The difference in the version number might be minimal, but there is a whole lot more “meaning” behind it as majority of the updates included in Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean by Samsung to its Galaxy range have also seen the inclusion of its highly recommended Premium Suite.

Premium Suite is a name that consists of the entire slew of new features, including the addition of Page Buddy, Multi Window support, Paper Artist, Group Cast, Smart Rotation, a new customizable notification panel, and a new gallery app among others.

Too bad folks in the US will not be able to enjoy the Galaxy S3 mini, as this smartphone will not be sold there by Samsung as part of a deal with Apple, where Cupertino has agreed to drop the Galaxy S3 mini from its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in that part of the world.

Are you a proud new owner of the Galaxy S3 mini in Indonesia or Vietnam, or even if you aren’t living in either country, have you seen a whiff of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean on your device, and love all that it offers?

View the original article here

Continue reading →

Surviving 21/12/12 With Your Android Smartphone

We all know that the world did not end today, as you are sitting comfortably in front of your computer (or tablet and smartphone), reading this article on just what your Android-powered smartphone is able to do when the apocalypse comes. First of all, don’t just own any Android-powered device, try to get something that has a large screen - the larger, the better. The Samsung Galaxy S3 would be a good bet, and the Galaxy Note 2 (as seen above) might be even better. I will get to the reasons after the jump.

For starters, you ought to have some sort of protective case for your smartphone/phablet to make sure that your device is able to last as long as possible, in addition to the all essential solar-powered charger. Once equipped with those, then you are more or less good to go. Some of the stuff you can do with your Android device over the apocalypse would be as follows...

Store as many e-books as possible, including at least one survival book just in case you end up in a less than ideal situation. Of course, having your favorite storybooks would also keep you occupied should you end up all alone on an island, or trapped in some corner, somewhere.

Other essential software would be a note taking app to jot down your thoughts and write your memoir (not connected to the cloud, as all communications networks might be down, and for a long, long time, too), in addition to a slew of games (various genres would be great, and long, drawn out ones like RPGs are ideal to help kill time. After all, you can never quite tell how long it will be before life returns to a semblance of normality, right?).

As for why you need a larger display, the simple reason is this - you might need to use it as a flashlight, or you can download one of those flashlight apps from the Google Play store beforehand that uses your phone’s camera flash as a flashlight. Otherwise, the large display would do well to offer some light in pitch black situations.

As for the bigger physical dimensions, when you couple that with a durable protective case, it could work as a crude weapon to knock someone over the head without compromising your smartphone’s structural integrity. Should you find yourself stranded on an island and want to eat some shellfish you caught for dinner without any rocks in sight, the volume and weight of the smartphone would make for a decent “hammer” to help you get to the sweet, succulent flesh within without doing a number on your pearly whites.

Of course, I am quite sure that there are far other innovative uses that you can think of for your Android-powered smartphone. Would you care to share some of them in the comments below?

View the original article here

Continue reading →