The folks at HTC have announced an "early access preview" of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for two of its current hero devices: the Sensation and the Sensation XE. These Android smartphones will have a very limited release of the Ice Cream Sandwich update across Europe only as HTC prepares the update for worldwide availability. This preview will be released to only a few hundred users who will be encouraged to play with, enjoy, and get used to the ICS experience with HTC's own user interface Sense.
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‘smartphone’ Stories
HTC promises Android 4.0 ICS updates early access preview tomorrow
HTC One X and One S coming to MWC
Official branding for HTC‘s Mobile World Congress smartphone line-up has emerged, suggesting that the quadcore device codenamed Edge/Endeavor will launch as the HTC One X, while the dualcore Ville will be the HTC One S. Insiders confirmed the impending One X branding to Pocketnow for HTC’s flagship, fitting with information SlashGear has heard independently about the mid-tier Ville’s launch name.
GMC announces IntelliLink for smartphone connectivity
GMC has announced a new system that will first be seen in the 2012 GMC Terrain SUV. The system is called IntelliLink and is designed to connect the drivers smartphone to the vehicle entertainment system and to provide voice-activated control of the audio system. IntelliLink allows voice commands to start a phone call, change the radio station, and to stream Internet radio. Drivers can even use their voice to control an iPod.
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LG X3 Tegra 3 benchmarks leak
Earlier this month we talked about specifications for a new LG smartphone expected to show up for the first time at MWC. The smartphone is called the LG X3 and is known internally as the P880. The main feature is the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip under the hood. Today, benchmarks have surfaced that give an idea of how well the smartphone will perform against other devices already on the market.
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HTC streaming Spotify rival tipped
HTC could take on Spotify and Pandora with a streaming music service for its mobile devices, sources indicate, building on its Beats Audio investment with more unique features to differentiate its smartphones. The company is working with music producer and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine on the unnamed streaming service, GigaOm‘s sources claim, in addition to new music-centric hardware such as Bluetooth-connected speakers that might debut as soon as Mobile World Congress later this month.
Samsung kills 32GB Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ model
Bad news if you've been waiting for the 32GB version of the GSM Galaxy Nexus, as according to retailers Samsung has cancelled plans to release the larger-capacity model. Already stung by delays, the 32GB HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus has now been dropped from production by Samsung altogether, according to a spokesperson from retailer Expansys, and "at this time it looks like they will not be releasing it."
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BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9981 Review
At first glance, Porsche Design and BlackBerry might not make obvious bed-fellows. Still, the car firm’s aesthetically-obsessed arm has taken up with Canada’s finest, and the Porsche Design P’9981 is the result: maple syrup by way of Stuttgart. The less forgiving might draw comparisons between Porsche’s legendary reluctance to diverge from its original 1963 car design, and BlackBerry’s struggle to break free of its old OS. The frugal will likely be too busy gaping at the $2,350 price tag. So, Porsche or Pinto? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
Google facing increased patent misuse attention after Motorola approval
Google may have won European Commission and US Department of Justiceapproval for its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, but the search giant still faces close scrutiny by both regulators over concerns around how it may use its upcoming patent haul to strategically penalize rivals. While the deal itself appears to have passed muster, it's Google's attitude toward patent licensing - specifically those deemed essential to standards - that have raised issues. In comparison to Apple and Microsoft, "Google's commitments were more ambiguous and do not provide the same direct confirmation of its SEP [standard essential patent] licensing policies" the DOJ antitrust division said in a statement.
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Apple’s 8-inch iPad could form iOS tablet triptych
Reignited rumors of a second, smaller Apple iPad have flourished, with signs pointing to not one but two new models in 2012 as the Cupertino company branches out into a twin-tablet strategy. Despite Steve Jobs' protestations to the contrary, back in 2010, insiders claim Apple has long maintained plans for a "tweener" tablet of its own; in fact, while twin-tier pricing for Apple's iPad has already been tipped for this year, with talk that the company might keep the current iPad 2 on as a budget model alongside March's new iPad 2S/3, it seems Apple's supply-chain may finally be up to the challenge of slotting in a new model.
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Google’s Motorola buy paves way to Nexus confusion
Google's $12.5bn acquisition of Motorola Mobility may have been given the regulatory go-ahead on both sides of the Atlantic, but the prospect for other Android OEMs - and users - is still unclear. The deal, in question for several months over concerns that hardware and software control around Android might give Google an unfair advantage, is likely to send Motorola's rivals like Samsung, HTC and LG scurrying to the drawing board as they face the challenge of competing with the dominant force behind their primary platform. Still, as Andy Rubin said last August, Motorola isn't necessarily a lock-in for the next Nexus device.
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PS Vita keeps mobile gaming, PS3 connectivity at heart of US push
As the PlayStation Vita readies its big release here in the United States, we've got more than enough reason to want to pick one up and not stop playing for days on end. And as the advertising world begins to size up the situation, they've decided to target the gamers amongst use with a tendency to not stop playing unless they must. PlayStation Vita is a gaming system that'll allow you to play your PlayStation 3 games at home, convert your save to your PS Vita machine, continue to play, and play again when you're back to your system - there's no need to play outside every again!
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PlayStation Vita OS coming to Sony Smartphones
It appears that with the relative success of the Sony PlayStation Vita in its relatively limited release thus far, the operating system aboard has garnered some attention in regards to a possible mobile phone port. When asked this past November what the possibility was for the operating system to be brought to mobile phones was, mister Yoshio Matsumoto, Director of Business and Sony Computer Entertainment SVP noted that though the Vita OS was made for the Vita itself, its applicability was certainly made with other devices in mind, this being the "thin edge of the wedge" for the operating system.
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