Samsung starts rolling out Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update for Galaxy S in India

Android Gingerbread

At last, Samsung has started rolling out the much-awaited Android 2.3.3 update for its former Android flagship, the Galaxy S in India. You can update your Samsung Galaxy S now using Kies, which can be downloaded from here.

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Airtel, Aircel launch iPhone 4 in India

Airtel and Aircel today launched Apple's iPhone 4 in India. The phone has been priced at Rs 34,500 for the 16 GB version ,and Rs 40,900 for the 32GB versions.

Aircel Plan:-
Aircel, which launched the phone a little earlier than Airtel, is offering 100 per cent value back to its iPhone users though two plans. The plans are available only for postpaid customers.

Under the Advantage Money Back Plan, Aircel is offering up to 50 per cent of the value of the handset to its postpaid customers. While, Premium Money Back plan offers up to 100 per cent money back over a two year period. Both these plans are available for 16 and 32 GB iPhone versions.

Aircel users will also get up to 1GB of free 3G data usage after which the users will automatically be switched to a 2G data plan for which they will be charged at 10 paisa per KB. Aircel has kept the tariffs simple with both local and national call charges at 1 paisa /second.

Airtel Plan:-
Airtel is offering 50 per cent savings (per month) with plans ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 2,000. A person, using the Rs 2,000 pack, will save Rs 24,000 over a period of two years.

In Rs 2,000, Airtel is giving 1,900 minutes of Airtel to Airtel calls and 1,350 MB of data at 3G speed. You will also get 2,000 local SMS free. If you subscribe for the Rs 600 plan, you will get 550 minutes of Airtel to Airtel local calls, 500 local SMS and 300 MB of 3G data.

Apple iPhone 4

Specifications:-

• 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor with PowerVR SGX535GPU, Apple A4 chipset
• iOS 4
• 512 MB RAM
• 16/32 GB internal storage
• 3.5" LED-backlit IPS capacitive touchscreen (640 x 960)
• Quad band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• Secondary camera with video-calling over WiFi only
• 1420 mAH battery

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HTC Desire HD and Incredible S get Gingerbread update

Gingerbread

HTC Incredible S

HTC Desire HD

 

 

 

 

 

HTC has released Gingerbread updates for two of its premier smartphones in India - the Desire HD, and the Incredible S. The updates are available Over The Air and you will be getting an update notification soon, or you may update manually by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Update.
Desire HD update is about 100 MB, while the Incredible S update is about 85 MB in size.
The Official update changelog for either phone hasn’t been released till now.

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Motorola Defy gets the Froyo update at last

Motorola has released the much awaited Android 2.2 (Froyo) update for Defy in India today. The update is available as a download from Motorola Update website. There is no OTA (Over The Air) option for the update. The update can be downloaded from here.

Motorola Defy

Update Changelog:-

• Adobe Flash 10.1 support
• Apps on SD card support
• Improved Keyboard
• Performance Improvements
• Task Manager
• Smart dialing support.

 The complete changelog is available here.

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HTC Wildfire S now available on preorder in India

HTC's entry-level Android handset, the Wildfire S just went on preorder at various online stores today including Flipkart, Letsbuy and Indiaplaza.

HTC Wildfire S, which is the successor to the entry-level HTC Wildfire, features Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), a 600 MHz processor, a 5 MP camera, 512 MB RAM and a 3.2 inch QVGA display.


The phone will cost ranging from  Rs. 13,999 at Letsbuy, to Rs. 14,999 at Indiaplaza, with the Flipkart price at Rs. 14,510.

HTC Wildfire S

Specifications:-

• 600 MHz processor
• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 512 MB RAM, 512 MB internal storage
• Expendable memory upto 32 GB
• 3.2" HVGA capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass (320 x 480)
• Quad band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
• Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, EDR
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• 1230 mAH battery

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Samsung Galaxy S-II Launched in India

Samsung Galaxy S-II

Samsung India today launched its premier Android smartphone, the Galaxy S-II in India at a press event in New Delhi. Samsung has launched the phone at Rs. 32,890 for the 16GB version and it will be available starting June 3 at any Vodafone store, or from June 9 at any other retail store.
The Indian version will also feature the Super-AMOLED display, 1.2 GHz Exynos processor, and a NFC chip. Rest of the specifications can be found here.

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Samsung Galaxy S-II India Launch tomorrow

Samsung Galaxy S-II

Finally, Samsung's new Flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S-II, will be launched in India tomorrow. The Gingerbread carrying smartphone is already getting rave reviews worldwide, and was hugely anticipated here. Pricing too will be announced tomorrow, but it is expected to be around Rs. 35000. Specifications for the smartphone can be found here.

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Samsung starts rolling out the Galaxy S Gingerbread update again.

The official Gingerbread update for the Samsung Galaxy S first started rolling out through Samsung's Kies in March, but was later withdrawn due to some technical issues. It seems that the update is being rolled out again for the popular handset. 
The update is currently being made available to some Galaxy S users in the UK, but Samsung has confirmed that it might take a while longer to appear in other countries like India.
The Gingerbread update should bring several key improvements to the smartphone - improved performance, less battery drain as well as a better UI being a few.

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Spice launches dual-sim Android smartphone MI-270 in India

As we reported earlier, Spice mobility has launched its first dual-sim Android smartphone, the MI-270 in India. The phone costs just Rs. 5,700 in stores although the official price is Rs. 6,500 which is quite cheap. This is because of the presence of a Mediatek processor in the phone which is quite cheap.

Spice MI-270

Specifications:-

• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• 2.8" QVGA touch screen (240x320)
• 600 MHz Mediatek processor
• Dual Sim GSM
• WiFi, 3G
• Bluetooth, Exchange Support
• Audio, Video Player
• 2 MP camera
• Memory expendable upto 16 GB
• 1000 mAH Battery

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Micromax Bling 2 now available on preorder

Micromax Bling 2, the successor to the original Bling has just been made available for preorder on Flipkart. The phone will be officially launched next month.

Specifications:-

Micromax Bling 2

• 2.8" QVGA capacitive display (320x240)
• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• SWAROVSKI ZIRCONIA in the front & back panels
• Pristine White Metallic Finish
• 3 MP camera with 720p Video recording
• Trendy White Carry Case With A Mirror And Lip Gloss Pouch Enclosed
• 150 MB internal memory
• Memory expandable to 32 GB  
• 1000 mAh battery
• Quad-band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• 600 MHz processor
• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
• WiFi, 3.5mm audio jack

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Nokia to launch X7 in India next month

Nokia is preparing to launch its new smartphone the X7 in the Indian market next month. The device will feature the latest version of Symbian operating system (Anna), a Gorilla Glass protected AMOLED screen, a new and improved browser and many such features.
The phone will most probably cost about Rs. 25,000

Nokia X7

Specifications:-

• 680 MHz ARM 11 processor with Broadcom BCM2727 GPU
• Symbian Anna OS
• 256 MB RAM, 1 GB internal storage
• Expendable memory upto 32 GB with 8 GB included
• 4" nHD AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass (640x360)
• Quad band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP
• 8 MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, 720p video recording
• 1300 mAh battery

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LG Optimus 2x launches in India

LG has finally launched the dual-core Android smartphone Optimus 2x in India. Online retailer Flipkart is now selling it for Rs.25,990, about Rs. 4,000 less than the recommended price of Rs. 30,000.

LG Optimus 2x

Specifications:-

• Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• Android 2.2 (Froyo), upgradable to 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 512 MB RAM, 8 GB internal storage
• Expendable memory upto 32 GB
• 4" WVGA IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass
• Quad band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, WiFi hotspot
• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
• 1.3 MP secondary camera
• 1500 mAH battery
• HDMI, GPS, Flash 10.1 support

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Acer Iconia Tab A500 launched in India

Acer Iconia Tab A500

As we had reported earlier, Acer has launched India's first honeycomb tablet, the Iconia Tab A500. The tablet just went for sale on futurebazaar.com and indiaplaza.com for Rs. 27,690 and Rs. 29,990 respectively.

For detailed specifications, click here.

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Acer delays Launch of its Android Honeycomb Tab A100

Acer Iconia Tab A100

Acer is delaying the launch of its 7-inch Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablet Iconia Tab A100 until the second half of 2011.
The delayed release date of Acer's tablet means that it will now be released along with a larger group of 7-inch tablets running Android 3.0.Acer is yet to make an official announcement regarding the delay.

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Gingerbread updates announced!

Both Samsung and LG have announced Gingerbread updates for their Android smartphones.

A video showcasing LG Optimus One with Android 2.3.3 on-board was uploaded by LG on YouTube.com. Optimus One’s performance seems to have been improved after the update and even the benchmarks are confirming that.

Android Gingerbread

Samsung has also announced upcoming Gingerbread update to its Galaxy series of smartphones and devices including Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Gio, and Galaxy Pop/Mini.

The update roll out will begin from UK and Nordic countries in Mid-May and gradually continue to other European markets, North America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East Asia, Africa and rest of the world.
The company is pushing the update via Samsung Kies.




Update:-
It seems like Sony Ericsson does not want to be left behind in the Gingerbread competition. The latest news suggests that the Gingerbread update for the Xperia X10 will be released in early Q3; that translates into what we hope is a couple of months at most. Originally, X10 owners were told that Android 2.1 would be the only version of android on their device, but had a change of heart later.

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Spice to launch Android tablets in July

Spice MI-700

According to a report in the mobile indian, Dilip Modi, managing director of Spice Mobility, announced the launch of 7", 9" and 10" Android tablets based on Android v2.3 (Gingerbread) in mid-July  for less than Rs 20,000.

Spice MI-700 Specifications

Out of these, the 7" tablet, is named Spice Mi-700, will have secondary camera for video calling and will be powered by a Qualcomm chipset.

The specifications for the tablets were not released although it is quite similar to that of the accompanying picture. It was announced that they will be available in both 3G and WiFi flavors.

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Sony Ericsson to launch two new Xperia smartphones

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini

Sony Ericsson has unveiled two new Android smartphones, Xperia Mini and Xperia Mini Pro. The smartphones are successors to Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro launched last year.

Both handsets feature a 3-inch touch display, 5-megapixel camera, and 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The major difference between the two smartphones is that the Xperia Mini Pro has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. In addition, Mini Pro also has a front-facing VGA camera for making video calls.

Both Xperia X10 Mini and Xperia X10 Mini Pro run Android 2.3 and feature Sony's Reality Display touchscreen with Mobile Bravia Engine. Both of these phones are expected to launch in July this year.

These phones also feature a new, tighter integration with Facebook, better linking the picture gallery, music player, phonebook and calendar to the social network.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro

Specifications:-

• 3" HVGA Reality display capacitive touchscreen ( 320x480)
• 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8255 Snapdragon processor, Adreno 205 GPU
• 512 MB RAM
• Memory Expendable upto 32 GB
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 1200 mAh battery
• Full QWERTY keyboard and secondary VGA camera in Xperia Mini Pro.

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BlackBerry PlayBook to launch in India in June

According to a report on themobileindian, Blackberry playbook will be launched in India in June. The launch, earlier slated for May, was delayed due to an unexpected delay in shipments. The tablet does not have a GSM or CDMA version, meaning it will only work over WiFi, but may be easily tethered to any Blackberry smartphone. The memory will  vary from 16 GB to 64 GB without any option for an extension slot. The price, while not confirmed, will be about Rs. 30,000
Specifications:-

BlackBerry Playbook

• 1 GHz Dual Core Processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 7" Multitouch capacitive WSVGA display (1024 x 600 )
• Micro USB , Micro HDMI and DLNA connectivity
• WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Powered by QNX platform with multitasking
• Full Adobe Flash 10.1 support
• Built-in support for HTML 5
• 5 MP Camera
• 3 MP Front Camera
• Pair with any Blackberry Device (Min OS 5.0 device)  via Bluetooth for Push Email , Calendar , Docs and BBM
• Internal storage - 16, 32 and 64 GB models

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Acer also launches two Windows 7 tablets

Acer India has also announced the launch of two Windows 7 Tablets, the dual screen Acer Iconia 6120 and the Acer Iconia W500. 

6120 Specifications:-

Acer Iconia 6120 Dual screen Tablet

• Dual 14" multi-touch Gorilla glass WXGA LED backlit screens (1366x768)
• Intel Core i5-480M Processor 2.66GHz -2.93 GHz
• 4GB DDR3-1066 RAM 
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
• Windows 7 home premium 64-bit
• Multi-Touch Virtual Keyboard,Virtual Numeric Keypad, Virtual Touchpad
• 1.3 MP Webcam
• Intel HM55 chipset with integrated HD graphics
• 2 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0 ports
• 3000 mAh battery
• 640 GB hard disk
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Dolby Home Theater v3 Audio 
• 2.8 KG weight

Acer Iconia W500 Tablet

W500 Specifications:-

• 10.1" WXGA capacitive touchscreen (1280x800)
• AMD C-50 'Fusion' APU 1 GHz
• 2 GB RAM
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• AMD Radeon HD 6250 (Fusion graphics)
• Dual 1.3 MP cameras
• Quad-band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• 32 GB SSD
• Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
• 3.5mm audio, 2 USB 2.0 ports
• Optional Chiclet Keyboard Dock
• 3260 mAh battery.

Prices, while not confirmed, will go upto Rs. 70,000 depending upon the model

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Acer announces launch of Iconia series smartphone in India next month

Acer, along with its two tablets, as reported here, also announced the launch of its new smartphone, the new Iconia Smart, which runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The phone is quite large in size and will inevitably be compared to the Dell Streak. There are no details on pricing yet.
Specifications:-

Acer Iconia Smart

• 4.8" HXGA LED backlit capacitive display (1024x480)
• 1 GHz Qualcomm processor
• 512 MB RAM
• Quad-Band HSDPA 3G
• 8 GB Memory expendable upto 32 GB
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• 2 MP secondary camera
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Android 2.3
• 1500 mAh battery
• HDMI, 3.5 mm port

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Acer to launch India’s first Android Honeycomb tablets

Acer today two announced two new Android Honeycomb tablets for launch in the Indian market. The two models are named Iconia Tab A500 and Iconia Tab A100. Out of these, A500 will be launched in the next two-three weeks, while A100 will be launched next month.
The A500 is going to be sold at an MRP of Rs. 27,990, while the A100 is expected to cost about Rs. 22,000-23,000

Acer Iconia Tab A500

A500 Specifications:-

• 10.1" WXGA capacitive touchscreen (1280x800)
• 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 250 dual core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Memory expendable upto 64 GB with 16 GB built-in
• Android 3.0
• HDMI, 3.5mm port, Stereo Speakers
• 5 MP autofocus Camera with LED flash
• 2 MP secondary Camera
• Quad-Band, HSDPA 3G
• 3260 mAh battery

A100 Specifications:-

Acer Iconia Tab A100

•  7.1" WSVGA capacitive touchscreen (1024x600)
• 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 250 dual core processor
• 512 MB RAM
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Memory expendable upto 32 GB with 8 GB built-in
• Android 3.0
• HDMI, 3.5mm port, Stereo Speakers
• 5 MP autofocus Camera with LED flash
• 2 MP secondary Camera
• Quad-Band, HSDPA 3G
• 1530 mAh battery

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Samsung enables app purchase through mobile bills

Samsung Apps

Samsung Apps, Samsung's own application store, has introduced a new way to purchase apps. Instead of furnishing your credit card, prepaid card or online payment portal details; users can buy these apps and the money will be deducted directly from the user’s mobile account.
For postpaid users, the amount will be added to their monthly bill, and for prepaid customers, the amount will be deducted from their balance. Samsung  has rolled out the service in eleven countries, including India and will launch in other countries soon.
Samsung has also announced a promo called ‘Buy Hot Apps, Get Cool Gadgets!’ in which any users making a purchase in the promotional period are entitled for a prize draw where random winners can win prizes. The promo period is from 17th May to 20th June and winners will be announced on the 27th of June.

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Microsoft launches new tool to convert apps from iOS to Windows phone 7

Microsoft has launched a new developer tool last Friday called the iOS to Windows Phone 7 API mapping tool and helps developers to port their iOS apps over to Windows Phone 7 platform.

This means that the developer will not have to work from scratch to write the WP7 app, thus saving him a lot of simple coding. Microsoft plans to add more platforms to the tool, and Android will surely be one of them. The tool converts iOS code snippets directly to the equivalent C# for WP7 apps.
Microsoft is the platform with the least number of apps, quite far behind both iOS and Android, so it is a good effort to rectify the situation, and lure more developers to the platform.

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New Android version will be named Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich

According to a comment made by an official Android worker named Romain, the next Android version will be named Ice Cream Sandwich. The guy wrote, “A bug fix will be provided in Ice Cream Sandwich.”

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9 to launch next month in India

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 8.9

Samsung today confirmed that they will launch the new versions of their Galaxy Tabs- both 10.1 and 8.9 in India next month. According to Samsung Mobile India Head, Mr. Ranjit Yadav, the tablets will be launched for an MRP of Rs. 35,000 and Rs.28,000 respectively.
Both these tablets feature dual core processors and Android 3.0 (Honeycomb).

It is not clear whether these prices are for WiFi only versions or WiFi+3G version, although from the price of the original Galaxy Tab, we guess that these are for the WiFi only version.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 specifications

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Spice to launch dual-sim Android smartphone in India

Spice is going to launch its first dual-sim Android smartphone in India this week. According to Spice Mobility Managing Director, Mr. Dilip Modi, Spice MI-270 will be launched for about Rs. 9,000 and will feature a number of pre-loaded Apps.

Spice Mobility

Specifications:-

• Android 2.1
• 3.7" Capacitive touch screen
• 600 MHz Mediatek processor
• Dual Sim GSM
• WiFi, 3G
• Bluetooth
• Audio, Video Player

Honestly, the phone has nothing much to write home about. It is Spice telecom's third Android handset after MI-300 and MI-310 to launch in India.

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Samsung Galaxy S-II display will have Gorilla Glass

Samsung Galaxy S-II

According to Hankil Yoon, Vice President of Smartphone Product Planning, Samsung Electronics, Samsung's Flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S-II will have a Gorilla Glass display.
More details on the handset can be found here.

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