July, 2012

• 3 July

  Wait for the iPhone 5 or go Google Android?

  

  It’s going to be pretty hard for Apple to top the Samsung Galaxy S III and the latest release of Android 4.1 that will be running on the Galaxy Nexus later this summer. In this edition of Ask Maggie I offer some advice on whether it’s worth it to wait for the new iPhone expected …

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• 3 July

  Android Jelly Bean statue blows up as thief strikes

  

  Android explosion! The giant Jelly Bean-filled Android on the front lawn of Google headquarters has literally blown up — and been struck by a thief to boot. The statue celebrating Jelly Bean, version 4.1 of Google’s Android software for phone and tablets, overheated in the Californian sun. Google employee Dan Morrill revealed on Google+ that the top of the statue “partially …

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• 3 July

  Samsung GT

  

  Leaked snaps have surfaced showing a new Samsung smart phone, reckoned to be running Ice Cream Sandwich, and — curiously — sporting a full Qwerty keyboard. Images showing the front and back of the mysterious mobile were spotted by Sammy Hub, with the finger-friendly phone bearing the name GT-B5330. That’s not such a catchy moniker, but I’d expect the phone to …

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• 3 July

  RIM CEO: No, really, we’re not in a ‘death spiral’

  

  Research In Motion, despite delays in its upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system and continued disastrous financial performance, is just dandy. That’s according to RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, who denied the company was in a “death spiral” and said on a radio interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that “there was nothing wrong with the company as it exists now.” The …

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• 3 July

  Pix & Stix bring real

  

  Apple’s GarageBand gives wanna-be and real-world musicians alike the instruments they need to make music on an iPad. But when it comes to drums and guitar, there’s something lost in translation; your fingertips just don’t measure up to the feel of drumsticks and a guitar pick. Of course, the real deal won’t work on an iPad’s screen; wood and plastic …

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• 3 July

  Jelly Bean, Firefox OS and bedworking in Phone News video

  

  Now playing: Watch this: Phone News: Jelly Bean launch 2:31 Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has arrived — but when’s it coming to your phone? Click play on our spiffy Phone News video to find out the latest. We’ll also update you on some new phone map technology that can go where GPS can’t, Firefox finding its way to phones, and …

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• 3 July

  Android updates guide: All the features of every version

  

  For fans of Google’s Android OS, regular updates are sweeter treats than the sugary codenames that grace the various versions. A delayed update can feel like slow torture, and a new version is a geeky joy to receive. This is the place to find all the details on every version of Android, past and present. Bookmark this page as reference …

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• 3 July

  Skytex announces pair of budget Android 4.0 tablets

  

  The Android tablet wars gained two new combatants today when Skytex Technology announced a pair of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices for release later in July. Priced lower than most products in their class, the tablets might have been much more appealing if only they arrived a few months earlier. On the lower end of the spectrum, the Skypad …

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• 3 July

  Samsung Galaxy S3 lands on Verizon July 10

  

  Break out the bubbly. Verizon will begin shipping its CDMA, LTE-ready version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 (reviewed here for T-Mobile) on July 10. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich stunner will sell in blue and white shades, and in 16GB and 32GB storage capacities — for $199.99 and $249.99, respectively. You’ll be able to buy the 32GB version online …

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• 3 July

  Get Google Now on your (rooted) Android 4.0 phone

  

  Google Now is the Mountain View, Calif.-based monolith’s apparent answer to Apple’s Siri — a voice assistant that responds to requests for information and other commands, while also trying to anticipate what bits of data you might want by digging into your search history and other interactions with the Googleverse. It’s a buzz-worthy feature available only on Android 4.1 Jelly …

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