EXCLUSIVE: Xperia SL poses for the camera, confirms known specs

We've seen the Xperia SL in leaked press shots showing its Various Colors, but now an anonymous tipster hooked us with the first live photos of the device.

Posing in its silver uniform, the Xperia SL (LT26ii) is known to be a slightly bumped version of theXperia S. It rocks the same MSM8260 Snapdragon chipset, but with a processor overclocked to 1.7GHz instead of 1.5GHz.

Other than that, our tipster tells us its the same as the Xperia S. This means 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, sans microSD card slot. At the front, there's a 4.3-inch LCD display with HD resolution and the funky illuminated strip above which are the three Android keys (Back, Home, Options).
At the back, there's a 12MP snapper with LED flash. On the front, there is the same 1.3MP camera for videocalls. Happily, the Xperia SL will ship with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, and not Gingerbread, as the Xperia S did.

T&T HTC One X gets updated to Android 4.0.4

The AT&T version of the HTC One X is getting a new software update today that changes the software number to 2.20.502.7 and the Android version number to 4.0.4.
As of now, only one notable change is known that is brought about by this update and that is the change in behavior of the Recent Apps key on the phone.
You may be aware of the annoying problem on the HTC One X and the One S where, due to the lack of a hardware menu button, the OS would display a soft menu key at the bottom of the screen in apps that have not been optimized for the Holo theme. On the Galaxy Nexus this was not a big issue as there were already three keys down there but the One X has none on the display itself and this the menu key would be the only one there, taking up precious display real estate.
With this latest update, HTC now allows you to use the Recent Appe button as a menu button. You have three choices now. You can let it open the recent apps as it did before, make it open the application menu with a press and the recent apps list with a long press or vice versa.
It's a bit of a wonder why it took HTC so long to implement this, especially when they had a similar system on the One V. The One V did not offer a choice of options like this but it automatically hid the menu in every app and let you show menu options with a long press of the Recent Apps key.
Anyway, it's good that this feature was finally implemented as it was a major pet peeve for a lot of people. Hopefully, the international model will get this soon.

LG Optimus L3 Dual now available for €120

Indian online retailerFlipkart.com has put up for sale the LG Potimus L3 E405 for 8299 INR, or €120.



The L3 features a 3MP camera, 800 MHz processor, 384MB of RAM, and 1 GB of internal memory all running on a 1500 mAh battery. The OS will be Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and we doubt it will be getting an ICS update.
The dual-SIM variant of the L3 is virtually identical to its single-SIM predecessor, with the only exception being the hardware home button is replaced by four capacitive keys instead. In addition to the three standard Android ones, the fourth one toggles the active SIM.
The LG Optimus L3 Dual is expected to rival Samsung's budget Android forays into the dual-SIM market, namely the Galaxy Y Duos  and Galaxy Ace Duos

The IFA 2012 schedule is out, see what you can expect and when

Berlin's IFA 2012 is right around the corner and this year it is going to take place from August 31 to September 5. But those are the days when the exhibition will be opened for the public. The really interesting part are the few days before that when most manufacturers will hold press-only events and the Berlin's Messe grounds will be opened only to those with press passes.
Here's the schedule for those pre-IFA press days. Let's take a look at which companies will be there and when they'll have their press conferences and product announcements.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

• 03:00pm - 04:00pm: Panasonic is expected to unveil a new Android smartphone at this years' IFA. The smartphone will be walking in the footsteps of the Eluga and the Eluga Power which were announced at this year's MWC back in February. Perhaps, we'll see some other AV product announcements, as well, including a new mirrorless camera.
• 04:00pm - 05:00pm: Sony plans to unveil the Xperia S refresh - the recently caught in the wild Sony Xperia SL (LT26ii) the Xperia LT29i Hayabusa and finally, the LT30i 'Mint', which as will go by the name of Xperia T. This will be one of the most interesting IFA's press conferences, for sure.
• 07:00pm - 08:00pm: Samsung already has a lot of people excited about its upcoming Galaxy Note 2 was Coming . The 5.5-inch phoneblet is one of the most anticipated Android devices to come out in the second half of the year.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

• 11:00am - 12:00pm: Samsung is holding a second press conference the day after its dedicated Unpacked event. This one, we presume, is going to show off products from the company's home appliances divisions.
• 01:00pm - 02:30pm: Lenovo will be quite busy too, come the end of the month. Starting off with the IdeaTab A2105 phoneblet, the company is also expected to showcase two new tablets - the 7-inch IdeaTab A2107 and the 9-inch IdeaTab A2109.
• 03:00pm - 05:00pm: LG has been really quiet about its upcoming IFA 2012 press conference. The company already launched its flagship Android smartphone, the 4X HD. However, they are likely to use the exhibition to showcase all of its 2012 smartphones, rather than unveil new ones. We'll surely see new stuff in the TV/home appliance department.

That's what's ahead for us all at this year's IFA edition. We'll be there to cover it live for you.
You can check out the full schedule in the source link below. Keep in mind the quoted times are in Berlin's CET time zone (GMT+2 during the summer).
Which press conference are you looking forward the most?

BLU announces the VIVO 4.3 dual-core, dual-SIM smartphone

04 August, 2012

Following the (large) footsteps of the Studio Android smartphone BLU Products announced the VIVO4.3. The Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone offers dual-core, dual-SIM functionality, to go with good looks and low price tag.

The BLU VIVO 4.3 features a dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU and MediaTek MT6577 chipset. The GPU is PowerVR SGX531. There's a gig of RAM and 4GB of built-in memory which can be further expanded via microSD card.
One of the most pleasant surprises in the BLU VIVO 4.3's spec sheet is the presence of a 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus display with WVGA resolution. An 8MP camera with 720p video recording, 1600mAh battery and customizable Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich complete the highlights of the device's spec sheet.
The BLU VIVO 4.3 will hit the shelves of major US retailers in September, priced at the sweet $249.99 without contract. Latin America and parts of Asia will soon follow.

Apple iOS 5.1.1 (for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)

• Pros
  No Mac or PC required for set up. Excellent notifications and alerts system. iCloud backup and recovery. Twitter integration. Users can now delete Photos from Photo Stream. Bug and security hole fixes.
• Cons Need to connect to a computer via USB to set up iTunes Wi-Fi Sync. AirPlay mirroring limited to iPad 2, third-generation iPad, and iPhone 4S. Using Mail and Notes with iCloud requires creating an @me.com account. Siri voice control only available on iPhone 4S.
  
• Bottom Line
  Apple iOS 5.1.1 is far from a huge update, but it fixes bugs and security holes in Cupertino's mobile operating system.

Contents

• Apple iOS 5.1.1 (for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)

iOS 5 was a significant upgrade to Apple's mobile operating system that added numerous long sought-after features such as computer-free setup, wireless syncing, and a fresh take on notifications. iOS 5.1.1 isn't as game changing as that update; in fact, 5.1.1. brings exactly five changes, all of which are under the hood bug and security fixes. It's not a sexy update, but a welcome one that you should download immediately. Note: iOS 5.1.1 is compatible with the iPhone 3GS , iPhone 4 , iPod touch 3rd Generation , iPod touch 4th Generation , iPad , iPad 2 

News Sony LT30i 'Mint' to be called Xperia T, certification reveals

The Sony Xperia LT30i Mint is yet to become official, but it has been a frequent visitor to our news section, it even got a lengthy preview.While it wore its unofficial guise in those appearances, it went in for DLNA certification under its official name.
DLNA's web site list the phone as Sony Xperia T - making it a member of the single letter Xperia club. Just a quick reminder, the phone has a 4.3" 720p screen, 1.5GHz dual-core Krait processor and a 13MP camera.

We tried to figure out if there's any pattern behind the letters, but gave up pretty quickly - T comes after S (as it should, being the newer model), but then comes U and that is a lower-end device than either of those two. Things get even more confusing when you consider the upcoming Xperia SL, which has two letters.
Anyway, the DLNA certification doesn’t give us much other than the name - DLNA capabilities are common among Android phones, Xperias included.
So, we'll probably just have to wait until August 29, when Sony is holding an event just before IFA starts. The Sony LT30i Xperia T is one of the likely candidates to be announced at that event, along with a few others.