Size up the Galaxy S4 Mini in this new video spot

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Mini.

(Credit:

YouTube/Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Consumers can catch Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Mini up close in a new video posted by U.K. mobile carrier Three.

The video starts off by showing the Mini in the hand of Brendan Arndt, the device portfolio manager for Three. Arndt’s grasp of the phone shows that many people will likely find it easier to hold than they do the full-sized S4. The next clip displays the Mini along with its bigger brother and the upcoming Galaxy Mega to contrast the sizes of all three.

With a screen of just 4.3 inches, the Mini seems quite compact nestled next to the Galaxy S4 with its 5-inch screen and the Galaxy Mega with its sizable display measuring 6.3 inches.

The Mini then takes the stage for a few close-ups as the video ticks off some of its specs, including a Super AMOLED display, 1.7Ghz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of memory, and 8-megapixel camera. Equipped with
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, the Mini also comes with up to 8GB of storage and a microSD card slot capable of holding 64GB of data.

Arndt then plays up the smaller size of the Mini, saying that some people have told him they don’t like 5-inch display phones because they’re too big to carry around. He says that the Mini offers the “premium and best features” of the Galaxy S4 in a “more pocketable size.” That last comment lays on the advertising a bit thick, however. The Mini is certainly more pocket-friendly than its big brother but it lacks many of the beefier specs of the larger Galaxy S4.

Samsung announced the Mini on Thursday but has yet to reveal pricing or availability. The company could spill more details on the phone at a London launch event slated for June 20.

Size up the Galaxy S4 Mini in this new video spot

Android now owns half of China"s smartphone market

(Credit:

CNET)

Android has upped its lead in the growing Chinese smartphone market.

Google’s mobile OS reached a milestone at the end of the first quarter as it gobbled up a 51.4 percent slice of all smartphones owned in China, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said on Friday. That figure showed a gain of 2.8 percent over the fourth quarter of 2012.

Among all
Android vendors, Samsung proved the fastest growing with a 15.2 percent share among Chinese smartphone owners. And Kantar expects more growth on the way.

“Samsung has recently launched the
Galaxy S4, selling over 10 million units globally in less than one month,” Craig Yu, consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said in a statement. “We predict the launch of Galaxy S4 Mini in the not too distant future will greatly increase its product reach in urban China.”

Nokia’s Symbian took the No. 2 spot in China last quarter with a market share of 23 percent, down 2 percent from the prior quarter. As Nokia phases out its older mobile OS, Kantar expects Symbian to drop to third place sometime in the next two quarters. Apple’s iOS came in third with a 19.9 percent share.

Smartphones in general continue to see heavier demand among Chinese buyers. Smartphone ownership reached 42 percent in China last quarter, up 1.2 percent from the prior quarter. Much of that growth came from owners of feature phones upgrading to smartphones. Almost half of feature phone owners who changed their devices last quarter opted for a smartphone.

“Feature phones are losing their price advantage as Android smartphones are rapidly becoming more affordable and delivering better value,” Yu said. “We expect to see accelerated smartphone adoption in China in the coming months.”

Android now owns half of China"s smartphone market

Get Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on Android Home with SO.HO

(Credit:

Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

SO.HO by Inq Mobile wants to be the first thing you see when picking up your
Android smartphone by replacing your launcher — TouchWiz, HTC Sense, stock, and so on. Instead of only offering access to Facebook updates from your connections, SO.HO lets you see updates from Twitter and Instagram as well.

(Credit:

Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

To get started, you’ll need to install the most recent version of SO.HO on your Android. Then, connect the social-media accounts you want to see updates from. Once finished, you can easily switch social-media accounts from the top left-hand corner menu.

(Credit:

Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

The formatting for social feeds is easy on the eyes, and includes in-line images so you don’t have to open anything extra to view them. You may notice that quick launch icons along the bottom of the screen feel a bit out of place if you’re used to a manufacturer launcher, because SO.HO mimics stock Android 4.0. To top off the appealing look of this home replacement, it also packs a bit of function, too. The social-media menu lets you post quick updates to Facebook or Twitter, and offers a quick link to Instagram (but doesn’t take you directly to sharing a photo). You can even like and comment on things from within the app.

(Credit:

Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

If you’re interested in making SO.HO what you see when you press the Home button, just make sure to select it as default when given the option. And if not, you can still use it as a standalone app to access all three services at once. 

According to Inq Mobile, this app is still in beta and they will be adding more of your favorite social networks in the future. What do you think? Better than
Facebook Home? I noticed many comments on the Google Play entry for SO.HO saying that making a widget version of this app would be ideal. Share your own thoughts in the comments.

Get Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on Android Home with SO.HO

Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and 10.1 apparently confirmed on Samsung’s website

Galaxy Note 3 concept

The Galaxy Note 3 and other unofficial devices have been spotted by a publication on a Samsung Kazakhstan web page detailing a VIP service for the region.

First seen by TechTastic, the web page is still up and seems to include a variety of Samsung devices including Android-based smartphones and tablets. The Galaxy Note 3 is clearly listed on the page as the SM-N9000 (see following image), although other details about the upcoming handset are not offered.

That said, we’re certainly intrigued by that particular model number. In previous reports, the Galaxy Note 3 has been associated with GT-N7200, a model number that made plenty of sense considering that the previous Galaxy Note versions have model numbers GT-N7000 and GT-N7100.

Comparatively, the Galaxy Note 8 has model number GT-N5100, while the Galaxy Note 10.1 has model number GT-N8000. So why would the new Note’s model number be that different?

In addition to the Galaxy Note 3, we have spotted other unannounced Samsung devices, which have likely been confirmed by mistake thanks to this published page. You’re certainly going to recognize them from previous rumors and leaks:

• Galaxy S4 Zoom – SM-C1010


• Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 – SM-T311


• Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 – GT-P5200

For what it’s worth, the model numbers of these three devices match the model numbers seen in previous rumors.

We’ll remind you that Samsung has a special event schedule for June 20, during which it will surely unveil new Android devices.

The Galaxy Note 3 is only expected to arrive later down the road, around IFA 2013 in September – although at least one rumor puts the launch of the handset in July-August. The device is rumored to pack a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and to feature optical image stabilization technology.

Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and 10.1 apparently confirmed on Samsung’s website

LG Optimus L9 II shown in leaked pic and benchmark results

Ever wonder what happened to the Optimus L9 II, the follow-up to last year’s LG Optimus L9? It’s still in the works, and it’s still coming out in the future, which can happen pretty soon according to new information pieced together by the guys at TechTastic.

What we have here is a photo of the Optimus L9 II itself, or at least half of it, as it rests on top of an LG laptop’s keyboard. Our biggest clue that it is indeed the Optimus L9 II and not some Chinese knockoff — not that there’s anything wrong with those — is that it has a sticker right above the display that says “L9II EU.” Also, based on results that recently appeared on the web site gfxbench.com, it looks like the phone is already fit for some action.

In case you’ve forgotten, the LG Optimus L9 is a 4.7-inch Android device that uses a 1GHz dual core Cortex A9 processor with a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. It come with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and just recently received its highly-awaited update to Android Jelly Bean. Now, its second iteration, which is expected to be called the Optimus L9 II — and rightly so — is now said to be very close to the original in terms of both hardware and software.

Based on what we know so far, some of the Optimus L9 II’s main features include the following:

• 4.7-inch 720p HD IPS screen


• 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU


• 1GB RAM


• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

As for when exactly it’s supposed to come out, LG hasn’t given us any real clues yet. But current speculation points to a summer 2013 release, so watch for it to appear in the coming weeks.

LG Optimus L9 II shown in leaked pic and benchmark results

Cricket Samsung Galaxy S4 goes up for pre-order, starts shipping on June 7

An easy way to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S4 at a somewhat affordable price is now available courtesy of Cricket Wireless, which has just put up Samsung’s latest flagship Android smartphone for pre-order on its official web site.

The information on the Cricket Wireless pre-order page for the Samsung Galaxy S4 states that the handset can be bought at a discount rate. Normally, a unit of the Galaxy S4 costs $599.99 a piece. However, those who pre-order from the Cricket web site can get a discount of up to $125, which brings the price all the way down to only $474.99.

And what about the accompanying monthly plans? Firstly, there’s a $50 monthy plan that gives users 1GB of data per month. And secondly, a $60 monthly plan upgrades that data allowance to 2.5GB per month. Every purchase also includes a matching flip cover for the handset.

The best thing about the Galaxy S4 listing on Cricket is the fact that it is scheduled to start shipping only a few days from now, on June 7. Availability is limited only by a customer’s location, so if you want to know if you can really buy one right now, we suggest checking out the pre-order page yourself and entering your zip code to see what happens.

Cricket’s Samsung Galaxy S4 is available in white and black.

Cricket Samsung Galaxy S4 goes up for pre-order, starts shipping on June 7

Acer all-in-one will run Android

The Acer DA220HQL AIO will be priced just above $400 at most resellers. Note: That’s an Android — not a Windows 8 — screen.

(Credit:

Acer)

Update: This article was originally posted on May 30 at 1:31 PM PDT.

Less Windows, more
Android. Acer is about to give us a taste of this trend, as Android PCs begin to creep onto the market.

The Acer DA220HQL comes with a 21.5-inch multi-touch display 1,920×1,080 display, Android 4.0, and a Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 dual-core ARM Coretex-A9 processor.

(Note: resellers are incorrectly listing it with an Intel “Haswell” 4430 processor. See correction below).

It also includes 1GB of memory, 8GB internal storage, front-facing camera, built-in speakers, Wi-Fi, Micro-HDMI, Micro USB 2.0, and wireless keyboard and mouse.

Acer confirmed the AIO with CNET on Thursday.

Acer’s new AIO system will go for less than $400 at some resellers, though most listings put it about $425. Some are higher than $425.

And that’s the appeal of Android. Systems sans
Windows 8 can be priced lower and require less hardware.

Updated on May 31 at 1:35 p.m. PDT: corrects processor. Though the system as listed on reseller sites was confirmed with Acer on Thursday, those specs are incorrect. Resellers are incorrectly showing the AIO with an Intel 4430 processor. It is a Texas Instruments 4430 ARM chip.

Acer all-in-one will run Android