Daily News Courier

Samsung unveils the Galaxy S2 Plus, minor spec bump over the original

Samsung has today introduced another new Android smartphone to add to its portfolio, and you'd be right in thinking it looks an awful lot like the Galaxy S2. That's because it does, and this new device is the Galaxy S2 Plus. The most nobable improvement is the software. 

Running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung's latest Touchwiz Nature UX, the rest of the specs are either a minor bump from the Galaxy S2 or pretty much the same. The Plus houses a 4.3 inch WVGA Super-AMOLED Plus display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8MP and 2MP rear and front facing cameras respectively. On board storage is just 8GB, but is expandable by microSD card which Samsung says is supported upto 64GB.

Otherwise, that's about all she wrote. Looking through the specs there appears to be an NFC version and a non NFC version, and the camera has a pretty nice sounding zero lag shutter speed. No word as yet on price or availability, and you'll find the full press release after the break.

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Original Droid RAZR and RAZR MAXX receiving Jelly Bean OTA update

It's a Christmas Eve miracle! Seemingly out of nowhere, the original Droid RAZR and RAZR MAXX are pulling down an OTA update to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Several different users in our forums are reporting that their handsets are (often slowly) downloading a very large update, and being greeted with Jelly Bean goodness when they reboot. We don't have any official support documentation from Verizon yet, but it doesn't get much more official than updates currently being downloaded.

So are any of you seeing the update hit the notification bar of your RAZR or RAZR MAXX? Head to the forums and let us know.

Source: Droid RAZR Forums; Droid RAZR MAXX Forums; Thanks, Sean!

Apple Finally Gets Patent For Original iPad

Phone Arena reports that Apple has finally been awarded with the patent for the original iPad. According to Phone Arena, Apple filed a patent application for the design with the USPTO on the day before Steve Jobs announced the very first iPad, back in January 2010, although it seems much longer ago than that! Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive are just two of several people named in the patent. Apparently the iPad?s design also refers back to another patent from 1947. What this actually means for Apple is that its lawyers will now be able to use the fact that Apple holds the iPad patent should any more cases arise where they accuse rival tablets of copying the iPad?s design. Apparently the patent is not concerned with the inner workings of the iPad, instead concentrating on, ?the ornamental design for a portable display device, as shown and described.? The patent is number: D669, 069.

Source: Apple receives patent for original Apple iPad design; it’s one more arrow in the quiver

Confirmed by Apple – Original iPad Will Not Get iOS 6

Following on from the excitement of Apple’s announcement of iOS 6 at its WWDC today, the obligatory press release to accompany the announcement brings with it some sad news for owners of the original iPad. There it is, in black and white, the news that iOS 6 will only be available for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, the new iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch fourth generation. Here’s what Apple’s senior vice president of iOS Software, Scott Forstall, said about the new update. Sounds great, but only if you’ve got an iPad 2 or 3.

Quote:

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“iOS 6 continues the rapid pace of innovation that is helping Apple reinvent the phone and create the iPad category, delivering the best mobile experience available on any device,” said Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS Software. “We can’t wait for hundreds of millions of iOS users to experience the incredible new features in iOS 6 including the new Maps app, expanded Siri support, deep Facebook integration, Shared Photo Streams and the innovative new Passbook app.”

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Source: Apple

New iPad Has Already Passed US Usage Share of Original Model

Boy Genius Report writes that according to a new survey from software analytics firm Localytics, Apple?s new iPad managed to grab 14% of the US iPad market share in just four days when it was launched, with over 3 million devices sold, and has now already surpassed the US usage of the original iPad with a share of 20% during the week of May 16, just two months and one week after its launch. The iPad 2 still has the lion?s share of the US usage stats, with 60% of all iPad usage. For the newest iPad to already be on a level footing in terms of usage with the original iPad, which has been on sale since April 3, 2010, just slightly more than two years ago, really is incredibly impressive. Localytics bases its figures on the numbers of apps seen to be using Localytics for app analytics for each version of the iPad.

Source: Apple iPad market share: New iPad share tops original in U.S.

Nyan Cat [original]

for PJ. gif by prguitarman www.prguitarman.com song by daniwell-P/Momone Momo UTAU momolabo.lolipop.jp ***used with permission; I own neither*** prguitarman is selling t shirts and jewelry and an iPhone game: www.levelupstudios.com www.heychickadee.com itunes.apple.com

Mr. Trololo original upload

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JESUS CHRIST IN RICHMOND PARK: ORIGINAL UPLOAD

Fenton the Labrador not benton chasing red deer in Richmond park, London This video was uploaded from an Android phone.

U.S. Cellular updating original Samsung Galaxy Tab to Android 2.3.5

It might not be the belle of the ball any longer, but U.S. Cellular has approved an update for  the original 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, bringing it some Gingerbread live in the form of Android version 2.3.5.  While it's not Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich, it is a vast improvement over the Froyo (Android 2.2) build the Tab shipped with, and should breathe new life into your faithful electronic companion.  Besides the advantages of Gingerbread itself, the change log has a few nice bullet points:

• VPN support
• Improved volume control when playing a video or movie while listening with a headset
• Google security patches:  DigiNotar certificate revocation; Libpng security update
• Remove auto accept of Bluetooth paring for Handsfree Profile (HFP). This vulnerability allows a nearby third-party to auto connect to Bluetooth HFP and potentially access contact data on the mobile device.

Now, for the bad news.  The update is not an Over The Air (OTA) style affair, and must be done via the USB cable and a Windows computer.  This means that it's going to wipe away the data on your Tab, and of course involves software and driver installation on a PC.  Samsung has set up a nice support page for the issues that are bound to crop up, and of course the Android Central forums are full of people who can help — don't be afraid to hit them up.  Check out the links if you're needing to update.

Source: U.S. Cellular.  More: Samsung

Thanks, Mark!

Original Galaxy S 2.3.5 update reportedly pushing in the UK

Still using the original Samsung Galaxy S? We bet that there's quite a few of you out there still carrying around this venerable device, and in the UK at least Samsung have reportedly started pushing out an Android 2.3.5 update.

The changelog promises a whole batch of bug fixes, along with the usual performance improvements you might expect from an OS update, better battery life, and enhancements to the messaging app and to the camera. 

GSMarena is reporting though that this update could wipe your apps and your data, which sounds pretty messed up for a minor OS update. But take heed and make sure everything is backed up just in case. If you've seen the update hit us up in the comments and let us know how it went.

Source: GSMarena