Security flaw discovered in AT&T's Galaxy S II lock screen

BGR has come across a security flaw limited to AT&T's Galaxy S II where the secure lockscreen can be bypassed without having to enter the password using a simple trick.
Most of you will be aware of the pattern and password lockscreen options available in Android, along with the regular non-secure swipe lockscreen. They require a specific pattern or a number to be entered to unlock the device. With this little hack, however, you can easily bypass either of the two locks.
As you can see in the video above, all one has to do to bypass the lock is wait for the display to timeout on its own and then press the power button. This removes the previous secure lockscreen and replaces it with a standard, non-secure lockscreen.
Depending upon what you store on your device, you may think of this as trivial or a matter of national security. Either way, you'll be glad to know that Samsung and AT&T have acknowledged the issue and working on fixing it.
Source

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Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 review: Utility droid

Introduction

Samsung’s QWERTY messengers have not exactly been setting the world on fire. They have done well though to set the scene for this one. The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 follows on the heels of Omnia and Corby. It puts Android in a time-tested form factor and is ready to entertain upgraders coming from dumbphones and PocketPCs alike.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 official pictures
The Galaxy Pro has a clear objective – deliver the full Android experience, a good social package and hassle-free messaging. What does it need to meet those tasks? Well, a comfortable QWERTY keyboard obviously, possibly a touchscreen, enough processing power and at least some basic shooting skills to capture the important moments. Of course, a messenger is nothing without a proper OS and this is where the Android Froyo comes in. But let’s see what else the Galaxy Pro has to offer.

Key features

• 2.8" 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution
• Full four-row QWERTY keyboard
• ARMv6 800MHz CPU, 270MB RAM, 180MB of user-available storage
• Android 2.2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz 3.0 UI
• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n with hotspot functionality
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 3.15 MP autofocus camera
• QVGA video recording @30fps
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• microSD slot (up to 32GB, 2GB in box)
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Document viewer out of the box, paid editing
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Light and compact
• Smart dialing

Main disadvantages

• The QVGA screen looks bad and limits the choice of apps
• Portrait homescreen ported to landscape takes some time getting used to
• QVGA-only video recording
• No shutter key
• No Adobe Flash support in the browser
• No secondary video-call camera
• No ambient light sensor
• No dedicated video player app
• No multi-touch
• Android 2.2 Froyo, instead of latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread

It should be clear by now the Galaxy Pro B7510 isn’t your typical Android powerhouse for HD video, quality imaging or heavy-duty internet browsing. Gaming is out of the picture too. To be honest, the Galaxy Pro doesn’t quite make the grade as a BlackBerry competitor. To make up for it, it is social and friendly – and a great texter too. Virtual keyboards have been getting better but the Galaxy Pro’s superbly laid-out keypad is the prefect addition to Gmail.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 live shots
So the Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 it is and, although this is not the typical Android package, let’s hope the experience is up to scratch. With a handful of Samsung Ch@ts, Corbies and Omnia messengers gone almost unnoticed, we’re about to see if our Galaxy Pro here has what it takes to leave a mark. Our traditional hardware check-up is due right after the break.
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_pro_b7510-review-601.php

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Galaxy S II vs. Galaxy S Plus vs. Optimus 2X: Head to head revisited

Introduction

Are you ready for more heavyweight droid action, with superclocked punches thrown around and more blood on the floor? It’s time for round two of our dual-core battle of the flagships. The Samsung Galaxy S II and the LG Optimus 2X are fully updated and ready to show their best. We’ve also thrown the Samsung Galaxy S Plus in the ring to see if one, faster core is better than two slower ones.


The first time around, we had a pre-release Galaxy S II on a 1GHz dual-core CPU and the Optimus 2X has since received a few firmware updates up to stock V10B, which made it noticeably zippier.
Not only that, but we also got the latest 1.2GHz Galaxy S II, we felt obligated to redo the tests now that we’ve got a final Galaxy S II with a 1.2GHz processor (updated to the I9100XWKE7 firmware). A Galaxy S Plus with a faster than usual single-core processor makes it a three-cornered fight.
Now, our Galaxy S Plus unit runs at just 1.2GHz instead of the 1.4GHz planned for the final version. Stil, we can’t wait to see if 2 x 1GHz is better than 1 x 1.2GHz – a 20% increase in clock speed should bring a big improvement in single-threaded tasks of which there are many, considering we’ve only recently entered the world of dual-core phones.

Samsung Galaxy S II official photos
Now, the Plus version could breathe new life into the old Galaxy S but it’s still using the old 5MP camera with “just” 720p video recording and the old PenTile SuperAMOLED screen.
The Samsung and LG flagships on the other hand boast 8MP cameras with 1080p video capture. And in the case of the Galaxy S II, the screen is a massive improvement.

LG Optimus 2X official photos
So, here’s what we’ll cover in this repeat head to head comparison.
For starters, we’ll look at the screens again but having seen the Galaxy S, S II and Optimus 2X last time there’s nothing really new to say here – the screens of the phones are exactly as before.
After that we’ll test the 8MP sharpshooters (the Galaxy S Plus need not apply) and see if the firmware changes affected the camera. Maybe improved bitrate for the video recording has allowed finer detail in the videos, we’ll have to check.
Then, we’ll be testing the processor and graphics performance – cutting edge CPUs and GPUs simply beg to be benchmarked. Browser performance is another topic we plan to cover – it’s taxing on the system (especially with Flash) and is used almost daily.
What else? Some real-life games, of course, we shouldn’t put too much trust in benchmarks. We’ll also want to try out the GPS capabilities of the phones – it’s got nothing to do with fast processors but flagships should be good at everything, right?
Well, let the tests begin. It’s about which one’s the best if money is no object and what the latest and greatest phones can deliver.
http://www.gsmarena.com/galaxy_s_ii_vs_galaxy_s_plus_vs_optimus_2x-review-602.php

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Sega Taps OpenFeint’s Plug And Play Social Gaming Platform For iOS App

hours ago

OpenFeint is announcing a pretty big partner today for its plug and play mobile social gaming platform-Sega. The Japanese video game company is using OpenFeint to provide social gaming for its newest mobile title, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing for iOS.
OpenFeint’s plug and play mobile social platform and application for smartphones includes a set of online game services such as leaderboards, virtual currencies and achievements running in a cloud-based Web environment.
With OpenFeint, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing players can add friends on OpenFeint’s gaming network, access leaderboards and achievements, and post updates to Facebook and Twitter. SEGA can also send players direct, actionable messages. The app will be available on iOS later this summer.
Previously, OpenFeint has helped other gaming giants like Taitu and Capcom go mobile. For OpenFeint, a deal with Sega is another well-known partner to add to the list of its rapidly growing community of developers.
And the company just got bought by Japanese gaming giant GREE for $108 million. With GREE’s resources, OpenFeint could be cooking similar
techtrunch.com

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Sony Ericsson ST18i Urushi leaks again, pics galore

Sony Ericsson is preparing a new intriguing smartphone – the ST18i codenamed Urushi. It’s expected to be a smaller version of the Arc, running on the same hardware but packing a smaller 3.2-inch display.

Sony Ericsson ST18i Urushi
Today we got a batch of photos for an upcoming Sony Ericsson device – the previously leaked ST18i. According to our tipster, its codename is 'Urushi' and it runs on the same hardware as the Xperia Arc – a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset with a Scorpion CPU and an Adreno 205 GPU.

Sony Ericsson ST18i Urushi
The Urushi’s display is a 3.2-inch display with the whopping resolution of 854x480 pixels and the proprietary Bravia Mobile engine. The phone runs Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread with the typical Sony Ericsson customizations and has the same camera as the Xperia Arc - an 8 megapixel snapper with 720p recording and a LED flash.

Sony Ericsson ST18i Urushi
The handset is supposed to launch in September. We guess the official announcement should happen soon.
Thanks, Zack1536
gsmarena.com

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HTC Sensation doesn't offer a unibody design after all?

The HTC Sensation, which was promised to boast the company's unique unibody design might not have it after all. The first live photos and videos that surfaced clearly show that the back panel of the Sensation is removable, rather than being firmly attached to the frame surrounding the front.

The official HTC Sensation page claims that the device features the famous HTC unibody design, but as it turns out, it might be just a cheap marketing trick. Of course, it could be possible that SlashGear have just gotten a review unit with a non-final design, but we wouldn't count on that.
We are expecting HTC response about this discrepancy, we'll let you know once we hear back from a rep.

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Bada 2.0.1 OS screenshots leak, UI change imminent

Here is something interesting. A new Bada OS is coming, but until today we haven't heard a thing about it. But now you can see the first batch of Bada 2.0.1 screenshots coming from a beta OS release running on a Samsung Wave II .
We've already seen Bada 2.0 in action, demoed at the MWC 2011 in February but back then it looked just like the Bada 1.0. Obviously Samsung has decided to change the UI concept a bit along the way and Bada users will be getting the 2.0.1 instead.
Besides some new looks, the homescreen UI concept has changed as well - there are only two homecreen panes now. The first one is the widget section (marked with a rectangle), while the secondholds your regular shortcuts. The widgets section is scrollable so you still get all the varied content.
Bada 2.0.1 OS
The icons have also changed so you can now fit four of them in a row. Samsung just made them smaller and they are more condensed now.
Bada 2.0.1 OS
The Bada 2.0.1 OS screenshots are from the S8530 Wave II so the new Bada should be compatible with the older devices when it becomes available.
Last but not least, we managed to confirm these as genuine with Samsung reps but we couldn't get a further comment.

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Huawei to announce MediaPadtablet at CommunicAsia

Huawei has just announced its plans to present a new tablet called MediaPad at the upcoming CommunicAsia expo in Singapore. It will most probably run on Android and will be part of their IDEOS lineup.
While the hard facts are scarce at this time, at least we have press photos of the tablet.
Huawei MediaPad
Huawei claims that "the MediaPad is our smartest, smallest and lightest tablet ever – guaranteed to transform the consumer’s entertainment experience" .
Whether this will come true or not, we’ll know onJune 20, a day before the CommunicAsia kicks in Singapore.
Source: Huawei

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Mixcloud brings its ‘YouTube-for-radio’ to iPhone

Mixcloud , the ‘YouTube of radio’ (see our recent TechCrunchTV interview ), has finally brought its offering to the iPhone in the form of a native app.
The Mixcloud iPhone app gives on-the-go access to the London startup’s library of on-demand radio – DJ mixes, radio shows and podcasts, along with 100s of thousands of other “Cloudcasts” that have been uploaded to the service. The is app currently in Beta and thus is being offered for free.
As for the future business model around mobile, Mixcloud appears to be weighing up its options andwants to learn how users use the app first: “we’d like to get a wide range of beta users on board and understand the different usage habits before committing to a particular approach”, says co-founder Mat Clayton.
Features of the app include: What’s Hot (based on community aggregated listening data), Categories, History and Favourites, User Profiles and Search. Additionally, there’s support for AirTunes and background streaming.
get widget minimize
Mixcloud
Mixcloud image
Website: mixcloud.com
Location: London, United Kingdom
Founded: July, 2008
Listen to the world’s best radio presenters andDJs on Mixcloud - all for free.
Mixcloud connects great radio content to listenersmore effectively by re-thinking radio - making it more social, personal and democratic. Learn More
Information provided by CrunchBase

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Nokia lowers Q2 outlook, promises WP7.5 smartphones in Q4

Nokia revised its smartphones and services outlookfor Q2 and full 2011 and there are some good news and some bad news to investors and users alike. The company will generate substantially less revenue from smartphones and services in Q2, but the Windows Phone smartphone development is going ahead of schedule.
With the sales of the Nokia current portfolio apparently not going according to plan the companysays that it won’t be able to achieve its target revenue of €6.1 billion. The estimated operating margin of 6% to 9% will obviously be beyond reach for Nokia too with the revisited forecast suggestinga breakeven quarter.
The company is so far away from its targets that it has given up on its full 2011 forecasts altogether. It says that it will do everything it can to arrest thefall though including some restructuring that should be able to save about 1 billion a year from 2013 on.
On the positive side, the development of the first WP smartphones carrying the Nokia brand is obviously going well and the company is getting increasingly optimistic that it will be able to launch them in Q4.
As you can see the partnership with Microsoft is now vital to the future of Nokia so we really hope itworks out. The software giant has already brought its mobile platform a huge step forward with the Mango update so we are now to see if Nokia will deliver on the hardware end.
gsmarena.com

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Samsung Infuse 4G review: Extra legroom

Introduction

In America, it is widely believed that bigger is better. Or so Samsung must have thought when they decided to launch the phone with the biggest and brightest screen first in the United States, and with the biggest network – AT&T. The Samsung Infuse 4G is definitely meant to stand out – its 4.5” Super AMOLED Plus screen is nearly unmatched on the market, and a beauty to look at. It makes 4-inchers look petty and irrelevant.

Despite its humongous screen, the Samsung Infuse 4G has an impressively thin body. At 8.99 mm, it is only a tad thicker than a Galaxy S2. It does have an excuse though – it’s packing a larger screen than the current Samsung flagship. That’s the spirit.

Key Features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4.5" 16M-color Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen of WVGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution
• 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 512 MB of RAM
• 8 MP wide-angle lens auto focus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
• 720p video recording at 30fps
• Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
• 16GB internal storage, microSD slot
• Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out (1080p) support
• Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• FM radio with RDS
• Great audio quality
• Super slim and lightweight at 8.99mm and 139g
• 1.3MP secondary camera, video-call
• Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration enable 1080p flash video playback in the web browser
• Document editor
• File manager preinstalled
• The richest video format support we’ve seen

Main disadvantages

• All-plastic build
• No dedicated camera key
• Super slim body has poor grip when taking pictures
• Single-core processor
• No 1080p video recording despite having the same camera unit as the Galaxy S2
• Sheer size raises questions about single-handed use
• Non-hot-swappable memory card slot
• The device ships with Android 2.2 (Froyo), not the latest Gingerbread

Certain comparisons are not in the Samsung Infuse 4G’s favor. It looks like a flagship, but it’s not quite there. The Infuse just doesn’t have the raw processing power of the Galaxy S2. What’s fair’s fair though – it does look even more impressive.

Oddly enough, Samsung has decided to go with their older generation, single-core CPU which we know well from the Galaxy S line of phones. Is it going to be enough to power the Infuse 4G? We are about to find out.
Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include all of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our office and test lab. The Samsung Infuse 4G is a US-only phone, so it will probably never get to the shores of the Old Continent. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!

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Motorola XOOM review: The Big Bang

Introduction

Phones far and wide wanted to be the iPhone killer and you know what – tablets are no different. The iPad needs to get used to living with a bounty on its head. And always be ready for the likes of the Motorola XOOM.
But the XOOM is no ordinary competitor. We’re talking the first Honeycomb tablet, a cornerstone for Android. It’s Motorola’s first tablet too. If they play their cards right, it could be a big money earner for a company in trouble, so we know Moto gave it their best.

Motorola XOOM official photos
The XOOM has a 10.1” screen of 1280 x 800 pixels resolution, Google’s latest Android OS (after the update rolls out in full), purpose made for tablet use, and a powerful Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core chipset with 1GB RAM. Barely a few lines into the spec sheet and we already like the sound of it.
The Motorola XOOM has more to offer than that. The Verizon US version will be getting a (delayed) LTE update, while dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) sounds sweet too.
But we won’t go on and on about the specs of the XOOM. Here go the highlights followed – as usual – by what we didn’t like.

Key features

• 10.1” capacitive touchscreen of 1280 x 800 pixel resolution; multi-touch
• 730g of weight
• Dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity; Wi-Fi hotspot
• Optional 3G connectivity (data only) – HSPA or 1xEV-DO (LTE via upgrade)
• GPS with A-GPS support on all models
• 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H Dual Core processor
• 1GB RAM
• Android 3.0 Honeycomb, upgradable to 3.1
• 16/32/64GB of onboard storage
• microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Accelerometer, compass and three-axis gyro-sensor; barometer sensor
• 5MP auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash
• 720p video recording at 30fps
• 2MP secondary video call camera
• HD TV-Out via microHDMI port
• microUSB with host functionality
• Flash-enabled web browser
• 10 hours video playback, 3.3 days of music playback

Main disadvantages

• Seems quite laggy despite the 1GHz dual-core CPU
• Screen is very reflective, hard to use outdoors
• Quite a porker at 730 grams
• No kickstand – it cannot be stood up on a table without a dock
• Non-replaceable battery
• Can’t charge off USB
• LTE-enabling update not out yet for the Verizon version
• Still waiting for an update to enable microSD slot as well
• No document editor pre-installed, not even a viewer

We’re really curious to try out the tablet minded version of Android – the one we’ve tested before was clunky to use and clearly not intended for big screens. And we’ve had a positive experience with the Tegra 2 platform. It’ll be interesting to see how it performs inside a tablet.
And let’s just say that seeing a standard microHDMI port was a pleasant surprise – no need of an adapter to get the TV-Out working. The competition doesn’t even have a standard microUSB port so thumbs up for Motorola and keeping to standards.

Motorola XOOM in our office
The XOOM we’re about to get started with is the 3G-enabled variety with 32GB of inbuilt storage. And yes, it’s got Honeycomb inside – the version of Android meant for tablets. We can hardly wait. Jump to the next page and try to keep up
gsmarena.com

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 comes to the office, makes calls

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 has just arrived in our office and, boy, do we have some news for you. It turns out that the Honeycomb slate takes on from where its 7” predecessor left off, and brings native telephony capabilities to an even larger form factor.
Yeap, we are talking regular GSM network phone calls and even some video-calls if you wish. There’s no dialer on board, but you can either get a 3rd party app from the market (as we did), or use your contacts list for initiating calls.

Samsung Galaxy Tab makes calls too
Much like with the 7” Galaxy Tab, you can either use the built-in microphone and speakerphones, a handsfree plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack, or a Bluetooth handsfree for calling. Pretty cool, eh?
But of course telephony is not why people would go for the Galaxy Tab 8.9. The reason why people would probably choose the ultra-slim tablet is the great mix of portability and functionality that it offers. Despite being as powerful as its larger competitors, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 comes in a shell that’s way more portable and easier to handle (due to the reduced weight and unbelievably slim waistline).

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 live shots
Anyway we shouldn’t be getting ahead of ourselves here. We’ll see if the Galaxy Tab 8.9 will manage to live up to the high expectations when the preview is created. In the meantime, feel free to check out how it compares to its larger brother and the iPad 2 on paper.
gsmarena.com

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Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 review: Utility droid

Samsung’s QWERTY messengers have not exactly been setting the world on fire. They have done well though to set the scene for this one. The Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 follows on the heels of Omnia and Corby. It puts Android in a time-tested form factor and is ready to entertain upgraders coming from dumbphones and PocketPCs alike.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 official pictures
The Galaxy Pro has a clear objective – deliver the full Android experience, a good social package and hassle-free messaging. What does it need to meet those tasks? Well, a comfortable QWERTY keyboard obviously, possibly a touchscreen, enough processing power and at least some basic shooting skills to capture the important moments. Of course, a messenger is nothing without a proper OS and this is where the Android Froyo comes in. But let’s see what else the Galaxy Pro has to offer.

Key features

• 2.8" 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of QVGA (240 x 320 pixels) resolution
• Full four-row QWERTY keyboard
• ARMv6 800MHz CPU, 270MB RAM, 180MB of user-available storage
• Android 2.2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz 3.0 UI
• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g, n with hotspot functionality
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass
• 3.15 MP autofocus camera
• QVGA video recording @30fps
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0
• microSD slot (up to 32GB, 2GB in box)
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Document viewer out of the box, paid editing
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Light and compact
• Smart dialing

Main disadvantages

• The QVGA screen looks bad and limits the choice of apps
• Portrait homescreen ported to landscape takes some time getting used to
• QVGA-only video recording
• No shutter key
• No Adobe Flash support in the browser
• No secondary video-call camera
• No ambient light sensor
• No dedicated video player app
• No multi-touch
• Android 2.2 Froyo, instead of latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread

It should be clear by now the Galaxy Pro B7510 isn’t your typical Android powerhouse for HD video, quality imaging or heavy-duty internet browsing. Gaming is out of the picture too. To be honest, the Galaxy Pro doesn’t quite make the grade as a BlackBerry competitor. To make up for it, it is social and friendly – and a great texter too. Virtual keyboards have been getting better but the Galaxy Pro’s superbly laid-out keypad is the prefect addition to Gmail.

Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 live shots
So the Samsung Galaxy Pro B7510 it is and, although this is not the typical Android package, let’s hope the experience is up to scratch. With a handful of Samsung Ch@ts, Corbies and Omnia messengers gone almost unnoticed, we’re about to see if our Galaxy Pro here has what it takes to leave a mark. Our traditional hardware check-up is due right after the break.
gsmarena.com

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