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  EU gives Sony green light to buy out Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  The European Union has given Sony the go ahead to purchase Ericsson's share of the Sony Ericsson joint venture. Sony initially announced its plans to purchase Ericsson's half of the company for 1.05 billion EUR (US$1.47 billion) and re-brand it under its own name back in October, and it even showed some Sony branded mobile phones at CES 2012 earlier this month. Now that it has been given approval for the buyout, Sony can go ahead with its plan to transition the brand completely within the first half of this year.
  source: Reuters, via: The Verge

  newsbriefs · sony · financials

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  review

  Wunderlist - the Best iPhone App Ever this week

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  There is no shortage of to-do list apps for the iPhone, but the one that keeps grabbing our attention and to-dos is Wunderlist by 6Wunderkinder. Wunderlist's attractive looks, easy syncing, and cross-platform capabilities make it an obvious choice for the Best iPhone App Ever...this week. More
  

  reviews · software · apple ios

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  video

  Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX (Verizon) video tour

  By Michael Oryl on Friday January 27, 2012

  The Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX for Verizon Wireless is a 4G LTE Android smartphone that sports a massive 3300mAh battery. It also features a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 4.3-inch qHD resolution Super AMOLED Advanced touchscreen, and a 1080p HD capable 8 megapixel camera. It does everything the original DROID RAZR does, just for a much longer time. More
  

  video · motorola · droid razr maxx · verizon · smartphones · android os

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  news

  Former Palm boss Jon Rubinstein makes his exit from HP

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  All Things D broke the news today that former Palm CEO and spearhead of the development of webOS, Jon Rubinstein, has left HP. Rubinstein became a part of HP in 2010 when HP bought Palm in its entirety for $1.2 billion. More
  

  news · hp · financials

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  Nokia, Samsung lead phone shipments to new heights in 2011

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  Mobile phone shipments hit a record 1.6 billion units in 2011 according to a new report by Strategy Analytics. Leading the charge were perennial stalwarts Nokia and Samsung, but Apple's smartphone business contributed a significant amount as well. More
  

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  Google tells Android developers to do away with the menu button...again

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  If the disappearance of the menu button on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich hardware wasn't enough of a hint for developers, Google has now flatly said that it suggests that developers stop using the menu button functionality in their apps. Instead, it suggests that they use the ActionBar methodology for additional app functions, as introduced in Android 3.0 Honeycomb and continued in Android 4.0. More
  

  news · google · software · android os

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  Apple beats Samsung in Q4 smartphone shipments, reclaims top spot

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  According to a new report released by research firm Strategy Analytics, Apple has overtaken Samsung as the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world after losing the title in the third quarter. Strategy Analytics' research upholds what many have already assumed thanks to Apple's record holiday quarter. More
  

  news · apple · smartphones

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  Samsung loses to Apple again in German patent case

  By Dan Seifert on Friday January 27, 2012

  A court in Germany has dismissed another patent complaint related to 3G and UMTS technologies levied against Apple by Samsung. Just a week ago, the same court denied one of Samsung's earlier patent complaints, which was also related to the same technologies. More
  

  news · samsung · financials

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  Samsung Telecommunications sees smartphone shipments rise 30 percent in Q4 2011

  By Michael Oryl on Friday January 27, 2012

  This morning mega-corporation Samsung Electronics posted its quarterly and year-end earnings and performance figures. The giant electronics conglomerate showed record high revenue of 165 trillion KRW ($147 billion) for 2011, which is up 7% compared to 2010. More
  

  news · samsung · financials

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  Motorola ships 200,000 tablets, 5.3 million smartphones in Q4 2011 on flat revenues, down profits

  By Dan Seifert on Thursday January 26, 2012

  Motorola released its Q4 2011 financial figures this afternoon, and to the surprise of few, revenues were flat year over year and total profits were down. The phone maker shipped fewer mobile phones in total compared to Q4 2010, but it did ship more smartphones while also dishing out a handful of tablets. More
  

  news · motorola · financials

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  Google improves Calendar and Gmail sync with Windows Phone 7.5 smartphones

  By Dan Seifert on Thursday January 26, 2012

  Google has improved its Google Calendar syncing with Windows Phone 7.5 smartphones, now allowing users to easily select multiple calendars to sync with their devices. More
  

  news · google · software · windows phone

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  HTC to focus on "hero" smartphones this year, release fewer models overall

  By Dan Seifert on Thursday January 26, 2012

  In an interview with Mobile Today, HTC's head of operations in the UK, Phil Roberson, claimed that the company plans to release fewer smartphone models this year, and instead will focus on select "hero," or high-end models to re-energize its business. More
  

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  Samsung's own Galaxy Note teardown reveals unannounced NFC support

  By Dan Seifert on Thursday January 26, 2012

  Samsung released an interesting and informative breakdown of the components found within the LTE version of the Galaxy Note for AT&T and, in effect, revealed that the smartphone/tablet hybrid has support for Near Field Communications, something that was not revealed when the Note was announced. The NFC antenna can be found inside the battery cover, a bit different from the implementation on the Galaxy S II smartphone that has the NFC chip affixed to the battery itself. Until we get extensive time with an LTE version of the Galaxy Note, we won't know if it comes with any software to actually make use of the NFC chip, or if AT&T will provide any services to go along with it. We don't doubt that the enterprising Android community will likely find a way to make Google Wallet work with the Galaxy Note shortly after it is released, however.
  source: Samsung, via: Engadget

  newsbriefs · samsung · galaxy note · at&t · smartphones · android os

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  Tylenol alleviates smartphone user pain by adding barcodes to packaging

  By Michael Oryl on Thursday January 26, 2012

  Tylenol has started putting smartphone-friendly 2D barcodes on its packaging in order to make it easier for consumers to get quick access to use and safety information on its products. More
  

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  LG Spectrum updated with Netflix compatibility fix

  By Dan Seifert on Thursday January 26, 2012

  LG's Spectrum smartphone for Verizon Wireless has been on the market for just about a week, but it is already receiving its first software update from Verizon. This small (10MB) update apparently addresses one, important thing for many users: Netflix compatibility. Apparently, the Spectrum was having issues playing back video from the Android Netflix app. Now owners shouldn't have to worry about that any more. Users should get a notification on their devices when the update is ready to be downloaded and installed.
  source: Verizon Wireless, via: Android Central

  newsbriefs · lg · spectrum · verizon · smartphones · android os