Daily News Courier

Samsung Galaxy S III heading to T-Mobile U.S. on June 20?

The Samsung Galaxy S III is still real hot news, and quite rightly so. As we approach the impending international launch — starting May 29 in case you forgot — the big release date questions are still coming from eager Android fans in the US. According to a rumor posted by TmoNews, ?for T-Mobile at least, the wait might not be too much longer. 

Apparently, the Pebble Blue variant of the Galaxy S III, in both 16GB and 32GB form, will be available from June 20. The 16GB Ceramic White version will then follow on July 11. This follows on from the leaked June 20 graphics showing availability north of the border in Canada. (And this latest leak also pegs the Galaxy Note for July 11, so there's that.)

Big disclaimer though folks as usual, this is a huge old scoop of rumor. Nothing short of what we'd expect with such a massive launch as this one. But Samsung did show off an enormous "U.S. in June" slide at the London keynote, so there is a possibility of there being something behind this one. 

Source: TmoNews thanks junglejunkie! 

HTC One X leak performance, What keeps you on Android? [From the Forums]

We've steamrolled through plenty of content this week despite the fact we skipped the Android Central podcast. Missed out on something? Get yourself get up here on the blogs and in the Android Central Forums. On that note, stay safe this long weekend folks and enjoy your Memorial Day:

• HTC One X Forums - Leaked AT&T 1.85 update
• HTC EVO 4G LTE Forums - It's still 4G… right?
• Samsung Galaxy Note Forums - Note problems that bug you the most
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus Forums - What's really keeping you tied to Android?
• Android Contest Forums – ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 giveaway — week three

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Sony Xperia Play won

Sorry, Sony fans, but so much for Ice Cream Sandwich. Despite originally including the Xperia Play among the list of devices first promised to receive an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Sony has backtracked and said that the Play will not receive ICS after all.

Sony had originally stated that all of its 2011 line of Xperia phones would be updated, and it has mostly been on track to keep that promise. However, the Xperia Play has been removed from the list of devices because of problems associated with the upgrade to Android 4.0.

A member of the Sony Mobile team has confirmed that because the team was unable to develop an ICS-based ROM it could guarantee was a “consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming,” the update was scraped. There are no further plans to introduce Android 4.0 to the Xperia Play.

This news will likely disappoint many Xperia Play users, especially when considering that Sony managed to develop an Android 4.0 ROM good enough for beta testing in March. But it was that very ROM, which pointed out several bugs and problems that the company was unable to overcome, that led to the decision to keep the Xperia Play on Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Our priority has and always will be, to provide the best possible user experience on Xperia smartphones. In this instance the ICS upgrade would have compromised stability, where we look to ensure a quality gaming experience with games optimized and developed for Xperia PLAY.

Sony Mobile

Related Stories

• Samsung starts Galaxy Note Android 4.0 ICS update process right about…now
• HTC Amaze 4G on T-Mobile receives Android 4.0 today
• T-Mobile USA HTC Sensation gets Android 4.0 this week, HTC Amaze to follow in “coming weeks”

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 redesigned to have new S-Pen compartment and quad-core processor

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has had a rather quiet spring following its introduction at Mobile World Congress in February. Samsung’s next tablet has been rumored to be getting a small redesign before it hits the market, and a recent appearance at a press event appears to confirm that to be true.

At a private event in Germany, the Galaxy Note 10.1 was on display, showcasing the largest screen we’ve seen yet for Samsung’s S-Pen stylus input. The tablet also revealed a compartment that can store the S Pen within the device. In the corner of the device, there’s a slot for which users can insert the stylus, and the slide it back out once their ready to start scribbling again. It’s a larger version of the design used for the original Galaxy Note.

Samsung also took the time to redesign some of the internals of the Galaxy Note 10.1. When the tablet was first seen in February, it was slated to have only a dual-core 1.4 GHz processor. That has been upgraded to a quad-core processor, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone considering that Samsung has all those Exynos chips laying around.

Considering that Samsung made a major shift in design between the Galaxy Tab 10.1 shown at Barcelona and the one that made it to retail in the U.S., we can only imagine what other improvements might be available once the Galaxy Note 10.1 goes on sale.

Tablet Community via PocketNow

Related Stories

• Best Buy offers refurbished Galaxy Tab 8.9 and accessories for only $300
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Android Central international round-up – May 19, 2012

Compared to all the drama stateside surrounding the customs woes of HTC's new handsets, it was a fairly quiet week for international Android news. But even a quiet week here in the Android world has its share of phone launches, update news, release announcements and the like, so let's dive right in.

We got our first peek at the HTC Desire C this week, as HTC prepares to launch its successor to the Wildfire S. With NFC, ICS and Beats Audio on-board, the Desire C looks like a surprisingly feature-packed little device, and we're looking forward to getting our hands on it in the near future for a full review. Speaking of reviews, we wrapped up our Motorola Motoluxe review this week — Richard found it to be a well-built entry-level handset, albeit one that's limited by Moto's slightly janky software additions.

And the countdown to the Samsung Galaxy S III launch continues — T-Mobile UK announced its pricing for the device, and we heard that some stores in the UK will be opening the evening before the official launch day to give eager pre-order customers the chance to pick up their handsets.

We also got a release date for an Android flagship from another manufacturer — LG revealed that it'll launch the Optimus 4X HD in Europe starting in June.

Check out some choice cuts from the past week's international Android developments below, and if you've got news, be sure to tip us at the usual address.

Special features:

• Multiple Nexus devices could be a game-changer for Google and Android
• Motorola Motoluxe review

News:

• 200 movies available to rent for 5p on HTC Watch this weekend
• Another minor OTA for the international HTC One X
• Pink Samsung Galaxy Note headed to the UK in June
• Samsung Galaxy S III sees 9 million pre-orders
• Samsung reveals official Galaxy S III TV ad
• Samsung opening first store in Canada
• Motorola XOOM Wifi Android 4.0.3 OTA available in Canada
• HTC and Samsung reportedly make up 86% of UK Android sales
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus vehicle dock launches in the UK on May 22
• Samsung Galaxy S III up for pre-order at T-Mobile UK
• Sony Xperia ICS updates coming 'late May, early June'
• HTC Desire C arriving May 24 for £190, says retailer
• Samsung Galaxy S III available a day early for pre-order customers
• Samsung Galaxy S III user manual appears online
• HTC Desire C is official – ICS, NFC and Beats on a 3.5-inch screen
• O2 UK reportedly rolling out DC-HSPA in 'major cities'
• HTC One XL now available in Australia from Mobicity
• LG Optimus 4X HD coming to Europe in June
• Motorola launches Xoom 2 in Sweden and other countries
• Three UK HTC One S OTA update now rolling out
• Official Samsung Galaxy S III accessories sighted
• T-Mobile UK reveals Galaxy S III pricing

Pink Samsung Galaxy Note headed to the UK in June

When the "berry pink" Galaxy Note first launched in Korea in early April, we doubted whether Samsung would look to release the device outside of its home territory. What fools we were.

Today the Carphone Warehouse reveals that it's planning to launch the pink Galaxy Note in the UK starting next month. There's even a pre-registration page open for would-be buyers to sign up for additional info on the mauve monstrosity.  We're not sure what more information can be offered, though — as far as we're concerned it's the same old Galaxy Note, only with a hideous new coat of paint.

In any case, if the existing black and white Galaxy Notes are just too subdued and tasteful for you, you can find out more about the pink variant over at the source link. (Spoiler alert: it's a Galaxy Note, in pink.)

Source: Carphone Warehouse; via: Recombu

AT&T 4G LTE goes live in New Orleans & Naples, FL, downloads now jazzier and faster

New Orleans played host to the U.S. mobile industry last week for the CTIA Wireless show, and it looks like AT&T left a little gift behind to thank the Big Easy for being so welcoming – a 4G LTE network.

AT&T announced today that 4G LTE service is now officially available in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as well as Naples, Florida. These three cities join the small but growing list of cities to gain LTE service from AT&T this year. Customers from the Northshore and Southshore should now see mobile Internet speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G. That’s provided that the customer has an LTE-capable device like the Samsung Galaxy Note or the AT&T One X (though I hear those are hard to come by these days.)

Aside from the faster download speeds, there should be a considerable increase in upload speeds and improved network performance. LTE offers faster responses to data transfer with lower latency, which comes in handy for things like viewing or broadcasting higher quality video.

Based on what we’ve heard from some AT&T customers who have been in LTE markets, subscribers can expect some great speeds for the first few weeks since there are fewer users when it first launches. However, expect network performance to taper just a bit as more people log on. (It will still be much better than your current speeds.)

UPDATE: Naples, Florida got 4G, too!

UPDATE #2: Baton Rouge, too. Geaux get it!

Related Stories

• Best Buy may begin shipping HTC EVO 4G LTE pre-orders on May 23
• HTC EVO 4G LTE & HTC One X “delayed” in customs because of ITC investigation. That stinks.
• Several Sprint stores will open at 8AM on Friday to launch the HTC EVO 4G LTE

AT&T 4G LTE goes live in New Orleans, downloads now jazzier and faster

New Orleans played host to the U.S. mobile industry last week for the CTIA Wireless show, and it looks like AT&T left a little gift behind to thank the Big Easy for being so welcoming – a 4G LTE network.

AT&T announced today that 4G LTE service is now officially available in New Orleans, joining the small but growing list of cities to gain LTE service from AT&T this year. Customers from the Northshore and Southshore should now see mobile Internet speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G. That’s provided that the customer has an LTE-capable device like the Samsung Galaxy Note or the AT&T One X (though I hear those are hard to come by these days.)

Aside from the faster download speeds, there should be a considerable increase in upload speeds and improved network performance. LTE offers faster responses to data transfer with lower latency, which comes in handy for things like viewing or broadcasting higher quality video.

Based on what we’ve heard from some AT&T customers who have been in LTE markets, subscribers can expect some great speeds for the first few weeks since there are fewer users when it first launches. However, expect network performance to taper just a bit as more people log on. (It will still be much better than your current speeds.)

Related Stories

• HTC EVO 4G LTE & HTC One X “delayed” in customs because of ITC investigation. That stinks.
• Several Sprint stores will open at 8AM on Friday to launch the HTC EVO 4G LTE
• The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket HD launch reportedly canceled

Took back the One X, Rooting the One S [From the Forums]

We're rolling through this week pretty quick so if you happened to miss out on anything thus far, make sure you get yourself caught up. You can head on back a page or two and you'll be good to go. While you're at it, make sure you check out the Android Central Forums for plenty more discussion:

• HTC One X Forums - Why I took back my AT&T One X
• HTC One S Forums - How to root the HTC One S (Windows)
• HTC EVO 4G LTE Forums - Does multitasking work correctly?
• Samsung Galaxy Note Forums – Can I manually install official ICS onto an international Note?
• Samsung Galaxy S III Forums - What to expect when the phone launches on different providers?

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

T-Mobile USA HTC Sensation gets Android 4.0 this week, HTC Amaze to follow in

The long wait for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is finally ending this week for customers of T-Mobile’s HTC Sensation 4G. T-Mobile USA has updated its support forums to reveal that beginning on May 16 (Wednesday), a software update will roll-out to the Sensation. That update will be the long-awaited upgrade to Android 4.0.3.

It was only a few weeks ago where we asked out loud what’s taking so long for T-Mobile to update one of its phones to Android 4.0 or at least give a definitive date on when the carrier would deliver it. T-Mobile said it was working hard and it’s finally ready to show the fruits of it’s labors. Sensation owners can follow the steps outlined by T-Mobile to trigger the update on Wednesday, provided that their phone is not rooted and has at least 75 percent battery life (T-Mobile actually says 50, but I always say 75 to be safe).

HTC Amaze 4G owners haven’t been forgotten. T-Mobile has made a similar page revealing that the Amaze will receive its update in “the coming weeks,” which is a blanket statement that could mean in the next two weeks or the next two months. While you wait, here’s a list of features that both the Amaze and Sensation will see in the next update:

• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Sense 3.6
• System bar enhancements to easily view recent apps.
• Re-sizeable widgets
• Lock screen actions including pull down notifications and adjust volume while device is locked.
• Data usage controls.
• Face Unlock
• Home screen folders
• Improved battery life
• Note: HTC Sensation 4G will be required to add Wi-Fi Mobile Hotspot feature in order to use the service after completing this update.

via Android Guys

Related Stories

• Galaxy S II, Sensation 4G, and Amaze 4G receive rumored ICS updgrade dates
• Samsung starts Galaxy Note Android 4.0 ICS update process right about…now
• T-Mobile loses 510k contract customers, gains 187k net customers because of pre-paid