Daily News Courier

International roundup: HTC One and Galaxy S4 rumors, new LG phones confirmed and an early Xperia Z launch

As Phil mentioned in this week's column, the next two weeks in the smartphone world are going to be particularly crazy. We've got events from HTC and Sony next week, and Mobile World Congress starting the following weekend. (And we have a feeling March is going to be even more action-packed.)

So in the run up to these events, there's been plenty of international news to report from all the major manufacturers. Head past the break to find out what's been stirring these past seven days with the rumored HTC "One," Galaxy S4, Optimus G Pro and Sony Xperia Z.

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Trailer debuts for ‘The Internship,’ shot on location at Mountain View

By now you've likely heard of a forthcoming movie, The Internship, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson that sees Google at it's core. The trailer for the flick, set for release this summer, has debuted, and looks to be a hilarious take on life on the Mountain View complex. 

Vaughn and Wilson play 2 out of work salesmen who apply for internships at Google. It may be a comedy, but The Internship actually had many scenes shot on the actual Google campus, with full support from the company. 

Speaking to UK newspaper, The Sun, director Shawn Levy says that capturing the culture of working at Mountain View was very important, and that Google has been most co-operative:

It's been a really interesting partnership in my production and Google where… it's not like I have to do everything they want in the script, it's very much still a comedy and a narrative, but trying to get the culture of Google right has been a big part of the work we have done.

We've a little while to wait until release, set for June in the US, but for now enjoy the trailer as we all continue to wonder what working at Google is really like. 

via The Sun

Android 4.2.2 reportedly rolling out to Nexus 10 and 7, GSM Galaxy Nexus

If some screenshots are to be believed, an OTA update to Android 4.2.2 is rolling out now to the Nexus 10, Nexus 7 and GSM Galaxy Nexus. Early reports started trickling in on Reddit about the Galaxy Nexus having its update waiting, but the screenshots have only shown the (trivially easy to fake) "About" screen. Android Police has pretty legitimate-looking OTA screenshots from a Nexus 10, so we're going to assume this is rolling out to at least some users at this point.

Alongside the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 10, there is some word that the Nexus 7 is seeing the update as well. No word on the Nexus 4, interestingly enough, but we'd assume if the rest of the Nexuses are getting it, the Nexus 4 will be on that train too. We're of course not sure what all this update has in it, but we're not expecting much considering it's just a x.x.1 jump.

So have at it folks, start checking your devices for that update.

Source: AndroidPolice; Reddit; Thanks, Karl!

LG announces Optimus L series II device family

We've heard about a refresh of the LG Optimus L-style phones coming, and LG just made things official. There aren't many surprises here, as all three of the phones look to be mid-range devices, and based on dual-SIM specification, we assume they are destined for central and eastern Europe. 

First out of the gate will be the Optimus L7II, which debuts in Russia this week. It's a 4.3-inch (WVGA; IPS) Jelly Bean powered phone, with 768MB of RAM and an 8MP camera. The dual-SIM specification already mentioned is on board, and it's all powered by a healthy 2460mAh battery. On the software side, the L series II devices include LG's unique features like QSlide and QuickTranslator. 

Releasing at a later date, the Optimus L5II will be a 4.0-inch version with a 1700mAh battery, and the Optimus L3II will feature a 3.2-inch display and a 1540mAh battery. You can find LG's full press release after the break.

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Google Now shown off in latest Nexus 4 commercial

Google just posted up their latest Android-specific commercial, and it's all about the Nexus 4 and Google Now. We've long said that Google Now is the killer feature of Android, and tonight's ad pushes that point home. Weather, train schedules, local guides and translation portions of Google Now all get their time in front of the camera, and the one minute spot ends with a calendar reminder of a hangout where a road warrior spends some time with his son. 

While we expect Google to pimp out the Nexus 4 a good bit, it appears they also know that Google Now is pretty damn awesome. It's about time they show off both the phone and Google Now a little for everyone who hasn't been able to  experience either it first hand. The full video is after the break, be sure to check it out.

Via: Youtube

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Google Now shown off in latest Nexus 4 commercial

Google just posted up their latest Android-specific commercial, and it's all about the Nexus 4 and Google Now. We've long said that Google Now is the killer feature of Android, and tonight's ad pushes that point home. Weather, train schedules, local guides and translation portions of Google Now all get their time in front of the camera, and the one minute spot ends with a calendar reminder of a hangout where a road warrior spends some time with his son. 

While we expect Google to pimp out the Nexus 4 a good bit, it appears they also know that Google Now is pretty damn awesome. It's about time they show off both the phone and Google Now a little for everyone who hasn't been able to  experience either it first hand. The full video is after the break, be sure to check it out.

Via: Youtube

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Wordsplosion is a new word game I can’t stop playing

If you like word games and want a new challenge, you need to check out Wordsplosion. The game play is easy enough to get a handle on — you have five chances to guess a five letter word. You can get hints if you do well, and your number of lives raises with your score. If you guess the word correctly, you move on to another word. If you're wrong, you lose a life. Lose all your lives and the game is done, and you want to kick yourself for missing the easy ones. But you can share your score to Twitter or Facebook to make you feel a little better.

The words themselves are simple, five letter words we use every day. But sitting up there without any context makes this one a real challenge. All your guesses must be words from the dictionary, so you can't cheat and try aeiou to find the vowels (foiled again!). The game is beautifully done on the design and graphics side, and everything runs smooth. The only thing not to love is the annoying in-line ads every three or fours turns, and those are easy to remove with a single in-app purchase of $2.99. Well worth it for an app I'll keep around for a long while.

The game trailer is after the break, and you can grab it from the Google Play link above and give it a try.

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Verizon lists which apps will kill your battery and use up your data plan

The folks at Verizon have put up a couple of interesting apps lists. Of course there's the requisite "Must have apps", but they are taking things a step further in app recommendations.

They are providing a list of the top 25 apps from Google Play, and rating them based on battery usage, data usage, and security. The list has a few surprises, like Draw Something getting bad marks for battery drain, while HD Widgets (which most users report as using plenty of battery) gets a perfect score. They qualify their ratings like so:

A low rating means the app might negatively affect your overall experience with your device. If you see a low rating on an app you currently use or intend to download, you should review the potential areas of concern to decide if it’s an app you want to have on your device.

In addition, they have created a naughty list of 13 apps that they are calling high risk because they "might have serious negative effects on your device." The nominees include favorites like Wreck it Ralph and GTA III, as well as Fruit Ninja free (but not the full version).

They mean well, and we're not going to fault them for trying, but one can't help but think some of their choices are a bit odd. We think your best bet when looking for information about a particular app is right here at AC, where the forums are filled with folks using all the awesome apps on Google Play. 

Source: Verizon (1), (2); Via GigaOM

Evleaks: ‘HTC M7 coming to market as simply the HTC One’

Well here's an interesting rumor to end the week on — notorious Twitter leaker @Evleaks is claiming that HTC's upcoming handset, codenamed M7, will come to market as simply "HTC One." Not One X II, not One Y or One Z, just HTC One.

The M7 codename leaked out late last year, and in the absence of any official branding, it's been the only name we've had to refer to the upcoming HTC flagship. The use of "HTC One" would keep things simple, while not putting to waste the brand awareness that HTC's built over the past twelve months. (Also remember that HTC CEO Peter Chou was caught shouting "HTC One" right after "M7" at a recent company party.)

Evleaks has a good track record when it comes to pre-release leaks and rumors, but we'd still take this with a pinch of salt until we hear the official word from HTC on Feb. 19.

In the meantime, how would you feel about picking up an "HTC One" later this year? Share your thoughts on the possibility down in the comments!

Source: @Evleaks on Twitter

LG Viper 4G LTE getting a small maintenance update

The LG Viper 4G LTE has a small update coming according to Sprint. Relax, it's not Jelly Bean. It's actually even better, as the update addresses LTE network acquisition improvements. This means that your Viper 4G should find and connect to LTE towers better, improving the data connection (and as a secondary, the battery life). 

While an update that isn't full of bells and whistles, or a full on OS version update, isn't very exciting, they are pretty important. Keeping the phone working the way it was advertised is the best thing any of the manufacturers can do for us. If we want more, we can handle that ourselves.

Source: Sprint. Thanks, Tommy!