Mobiles Buzz - Cell Phone blog

Galaxy S III gets 9 million pre-orders from 100 global carriers

Uday — Sat, 19 May 2012 18:09:37 +0000

Korea Economic Daily is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S III has received over 9 million pre-orders from 100 carriers around the world. This information comes courtesy of a Samsung official who remains anonymous.

Whichever way you look at it, that’s an impressive figure. We knew the Galaxy S III was going to sell big but these numbers are much higher than what we would have bet on. It’s predecessor, the Galaxy S II, took 10 months to ship 20 million units and the Galaxy S III took two weeks to reach almost half of that. Also, these are pre-order figures, not shipments, and are almost as good as actual sales figures.
Looks like Samsung has another winner on their hands. Obviously, this does not bode well for rivals such as HTC and LG. And even though this figure is nowhere close to the iPhone 4S pre-orders, Apple should be feeling the heat as well, especially considering the 9 million figure excludes Apple’s key market, the US of A.

LG Optimus TrueHD LTE goes on sale in Portugal

Uday — Sat, 19 May 2012 18:09:14 +0000

It seems that LG are keeping true to their word, as the LG Optimus TrueHD LTE is at long last available in Europe.
The device, which has only been available in North America and Korea until now, had previously been announced by LG for a limited European launch in three markets: Portugal, Germany and Sweden.
Portuguese retailer Vodafone has the device listed as the LG Maximo True HD LTE, due to naming conflicts with local mobile operator Optimus Telecomunicações.

The Gingerbread-running LG Optimus/Maximo TrueHD LTE has dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion CPU, 4GB of internal memory, 1 GB of RAM, a 4.5 inch HD (720 x 1280) display, and an 8MP camera that can shoot full HD video, and is listed at €489.90.
We’ll let you know if we hear anything else about the other markets of the TrueHD LTE – namely Sweden and Germany.

WP reportedly overtakes iPhone in China with

Uday — Sat, 19 May 2012 18:08:51 +0000

While 7% of the Chinese smartphone market may seem like nothing to get excited about (especially considering Android had a staggering 68.4% last time we checked), it is an impressive statistic if you take into account that two months ago, not a single WP-powered device was for sale in China.

Growth of this speed has only been seen in one other market so far: Nokia’s backyard of Finland. Reports also indicate that WP is gaining tracktion in Russia too.
Furthermore, Michel van der Bel, COO of Greater China Region for Microsoft, claims that the campaign in China is only just getting started, with Microsoft having deployed a 2,500 person R&D team to focus exclusively on the Asian market.
We do take the explosive growth figure with a grain of salt, however, since there are hints that the original source may have misinterpreted the statistics to mean the entire market, as opposed to just one operator. For now, though, it seems that WP is getting some major love in China.

Windows Phone marketshare reportedly overtakes the iPhone in China

Uday — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:10:27 +0000

All eyes were on Microsoft’s rather important launch of Windows Phone in China earlier this year. Nokia followed up with the Lumia 800c, released on China Telecom. According to Michel van der Bel, COO of Greater China Region at Microsoft, the company has achieved 7% marketshare in the country, overtaking the iPhone (sitting at just 6%).
Before you think “well 7% isn’t something to get excited about”, remember that the platform has only officially been available for just under two months. Windows Phone has captured 7% of the Chinese smartphone market in just 60 days, and the campaign has only just begun. This kind of growth is a struggling goal for the platform in other markets, so it’s positive to see Chinese consumers choosing the Windows Phone experience. Plus, it’s always a great headline when Windows Phone beats the popular iPhone.
With manufacturers also on-board and attacking supported countries, Windows Phone should look to repeat the success story currently being written in China, especially with Nokia powering through marketing budgets. There’s still much more to do in China though, as van der Bel went on to admit the company understands the difficult task ahead and has deployed a 2,500 head strong team in its R&D department to focus on the Asian market.

Quickly create ringtones on Windows Phone from YouTube

Uday — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:08:19 +0000

Early this morning we reported on the mini song “Metro” by Matt Oglesby created on nothing but free Windows Phones apps. The tune has a chill yet vibrant feel to it and as a few of you noticed in comments, it would make a solid ringtone on your device.
While there are browser plugins that will easily rip YouTube audio and convert it to an MP3, there is a much easier way to do it directly on Windows Phone. The free app YouRang by Red Pegasus Media allows you to search YouTube, bring up the video in a small window and then by using pre-selected arrows, you can edit the section you want for a ringtone on your phone.
The app is free, beautiful and super simple to use. It maintains the full audio quality, volume and lets you “max out” the length of the ringtone according to Microsoft’s specifications. In short, there’s no reason not to get it even if you just want “Metro” for your ringer (just search for ‘Metro’ – Track Created…).

HTC confirms One X multitasking tweaks in Sense 4

Uday — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:08:13 +0000

There’s been quite a bit of brouhaha over at xda-developers lately about changes HTC’s made to the way multitasking behaves on the One X compared to stock Ice Cream Sandwich. We’re not just talking about obvious UI tweaks here — Sense 4?s horizontal, card-like arrangement vs. Android 4.0?s default vertical list — but actual differences in memory and task management. While we’re not running into any problems with our One X review unit, some users have noticed that background app are getting terminated too aggressively, so we reached out to HTC for comment. Here’s what the company said:
HTC is aware of some questions in the enthusiast community about how the HTC One X handles multitasking and memory management for background apps. We value the community’s input and are always looking for ways to enhance customers’ experience with our devices. That said, multitasking is operating normally according to our custom memory management specifications which balance core ICS features with a consistent HTC Sense experience.

Phones4U offers 32GB microSD card, flip case with S III preorders

Uday — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:04:57 +0000

It seems that the UK is a great place to get a Samsung Galaxy S III – Phones4U is the latest retailer to offer a little something extra if you place your orders there. If you pre-order an S III, you’ll get a free 32GB microSD card along with a genuine Samsung case – the Flip Case – for your new flagship droid.

The deal goes for both the Blue and the White Galaxy S III units and the free memory card, will give you total storage of 48GB. Phones4U offers the S III with contracts on Vodafone, Orange and O2, there doesn’t seem to be a SIM-free version.
Phones4U still lists the delivery date as May 30, though they still have a chance to change their mind and move the launch to the 29th.

For more deals, you might want to check the Carphone Warehouse (they also have deals for Three). If you pre-order from them, you’ll score a 16GB microSD card, an in-car charger and a screen protector (at first they offered a free Galaxy Tab 10.1, but that deal ended pretty swiftly)

LG Optimus LTE2 packs 4.7-inch screen, dual-core Krait CPU

Uday — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:04:54 +0000

LG announced the Optimus LTE2 and bragged about the 2GB of RAM but said little else about the device. Today, they decided to fill in the blanks. There is no official word on a worldwide release of the LTE2, but it probably will venture out of South Korea – the specs sheet reads like a true Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC One X challenger.
The phone has a 4.7″ TrueHD IPS screen with 720p resolution. The device measures 134.7 x 69.5 x 8.9 mm and weighs 145g. It supports wireless charging with an optional charging pad ($85) and battery cover ($33).
The LG Optimus LTE2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 chipset with a dual-core Krait processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB of RAM (a world’s first as the press release is keen to point out) and Adreno 225 graphics. It will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box and a customized interface.
The LTE2 will come with an 8MP main camera (with LED flash) and a 1.3MP front-facing camera.
The phone’s connectivity credentials (besides the LTE) include NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, USB 2.0 with MHL (which features 5.1 channel audio output). LG did a lot of work to improve power efficiency (up to 40%) and the Optimus LTE2 will reportedly last for up to 10 hours of talk time and up to 255 hours of standby. The 2150mAh battery helps here too.
The LG Optimus LTE2 will ship this week in South Korea with an price tag of about 935,000 won (that’s about $800).

UK customers to get the Galaxy S III a day early

Uday — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:04:16 +0000

Samsung have announced that eager customers who pre-order the upcoming Galaxy S III flagship from the Samsung Brand Store in Westfield Stratford City, can receive their device a day before its official release date – specifically on May 29th at 6pm.
If you’ve already pre-ordered your device from another UK retailer, don’t fret, as Samsung have also announced that other Samsung retail partners can also make the device available on the 29th, except at 7pm, and at their discretion.
If you’re in the Stratford area and are thinking about picking up an S III, why not head over to the official Samsung store and get it a day early?

CIBC and Rogers lay out their plans for the future of mobile payments in Canada

Uday — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:39:44 +0000

CIBC and Rogers Unveil the Future of Mobile Payments in Canada

CIBC and Rogers Communications today announced an agreement to launch Canada’s first joint mobile payment solution, allowing Canadians to pay with their CIBC credit card at the checkout counter using their Rogers “Near Field Communications” (NFC) enabled smartphone. Beginning later this year, customers will be able to use this payment capability at merchants across Canada where contactless credit card payments are accepted.

This announcement represents the first time a bank and a wireless carrier have joined forces to offer a commercially available mobile payments solution to Canadians that leverages the secure SIM card inside an NFC-enabled Rogers smartphone. This new solution aligns to guidelines announced yesterday by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, as well as those developed by respected international associations such as the GSM Association (GSMA), the association of mobile operators and related companies dedicated to standardizing and supporting GSM technology.