There’s an upgraded version of S Note, with improved digital note-taking tools, as well as a new S Memo widget for the homescreen. There are more details in Samsung’s overview video, below.

Samsung Premium Suite overview:

Ice Cream Sandwich’s most obvious changes – to the UI – have been masked, however, with the latest version of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. That should help preserve some consistency of experience for users, but we can’t help but wish Samsung had pared TouchWiz back somewhat and revealed the cool, crisp Roboto loveliness of native 4.0.

According to SammyHub, German Note owners can also access the new firmware by plugging their handset into the desktop Kies app. Let us know if you’re seeing the OTA notification in the comments!

[via SlashGear]

It’s also listed as having 16GB of internal memory and a microSD card slot to augment that, along with an LED flash. OS is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. However, there’s no image to confirm Samsung’s much-rumored aesthetic changes.

Those specs in partially match up with those of the leaked prototype caught on video in Vietnam yesterday, but with some key differences. The prototype had, it was estimated, a smaller screen than the 4.65-inch Galaxy Nexus, something Amazon says is untrue of the production model, which would be larger.

Meanwhile, the Amazon listing apparently sides with early talk of a 12-megapixel camera, whereas the prototype had an 8-megapixel camera. That could well be down to the age of the leaked handset: it dated back to December 2011, according to labeling spotted on the device, and as such Samsung could have upgraded its camera plans since then.

Either way, there’s not long to go to find out for sure. Samsung will officially unveil the Galaxy S III in London on May 3, and Android Community will be there to bring back all the details!

[via SlashGear and via BestBoyz]

That’s the same as what we saw earlier in the week in still photo form, though this new leak also confirms 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, an NFC-equipped 2,050 mAh battery and 16GB of internal storage. The latter gets a microSD card slot to augment it.

Tinhte’s article and video went down shortly after they were published, but not before all the goodies were extracted. You can see the clip below (complete with English subtitles):

Samsung is expected to officially announce the Galaxy S III – or whatever the new flagship is called – at a London event on May 3. Android Community will be there to bring back all the details!

[via SlashGear]

Intel has harbored mobile ambitions for several years, but until now its chips have been too power-hungry to cope with smartphone-scale batteries. The new Medfield Atom, however, promises up to 5hrs of 3G browsing, up to 45hrs of audio, or up to 8hrs of talktime.

The XOLO X900 is an interesting mixture of decent specs and merely mediocre ones. The display resolution is fair, as is the camera, but the Bluetooth 2.1 and clumsy design – not to mention Gingerbread OS, although an ICS OTA update is promised “shortly” – feel stale.

Otherwise there’s microUSB and micro HDMI connectivity, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and 16GB of storage, along with twin microphones and stereo speakers. It’ll hit India next Monday, priced at INR 22000 ($424), with broader availability later in May.

[via SlashGear]

At the time, some reports indicated that Yung had been a significant player in the Beats Audio investment by HTC, and pointed to the executive switch-up as a sign that the company might be having a change of heart. Not so, says HTC CEO Peter Chou in the following statement given to Android Community:

On Monday, HTC announced the appointment of Chia-Lin Chang as Chief Financial Officer with Winston Yung, his predecessor, transitioning to a corporate development role.

“Media speculation that ties this announcement to HTC’s partnership and investment in Beats By Dre is categorically inaccurate,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “HTC and Beats have made impressive progress in innovation and brand awareness and the integration of the Beats brand and technology in the new HTC One series is a clear indication of our commitment to this partnership.”

Nonetheless, there remain questions around how much Beats hardware HTC will bundle in future devices. Earlier this month saw suggestions that Beats Headphones would no longer be bundled as a matter of course with HTC devices.

Inside there’s 32GB of storage and 1GB of RAM, along with WiFI a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. A front camera runs at 1-megapixel and is fixed focus, while the 5-megapixel rear camera supports autofocus and can simultaneously snap stills while recording HD video.

Polaris Office 3.5 along with various other apps are preloaded, together with Acer’s own clear.fi DLNA streaming system and the Acer Ring UI. The chassis is 10.2(w) x 6.9(d) x 0.43(h) inches and weighs a little over 24 oz, and bears both Acer and Olympics logos as it’s apparently an “Olympic Games Tablet Edition.”

The Acer Iconia Tab A510 is up for pre-sale today, priced at $449.99, and available in black or silver. A matching case with integrated stand is priced at $39.99.

For instance, there’s the DANGER ZONE pack, with 30 of what developers Rovio Mobile says are the “most difficult levels” every offered. The regular game itself features a number of hidden levels, including one focused on anti-cyberbullying.

The Android version of the game is a free download, unlike the iOS versions which kick off at $0.99, though that does mean you get adverts. You can download Angry Birds Space here.

[via SlashGear]

Because smartphones and tablets will be able to fire off data at faster rates, Qualcomm tells us, they’ll be able to shut down their radios sooner and save on battery life. Whereas current 11n devices get around 70-80Mbps in the real-world, those using 11ac should see more like 300Mbps.

The real speed will be seen in router and computing applications, however, where multiple antennas will combine to squirt data over 5GHz spectrum at up to 6.9Gbps. Eventually, Multi-User MIMO will be implemented, a system that can concurrently connect to up to eight wireless clients rather than serving them data sequentially, as well as ensuring faster throughput at the very edges of coverage.

The first 802.11ac kit should start showing up in early 2013, with the WiFi Alliance beginning to accept hardware for certification from February that year. There’s more information on 11ac over at SlashGear, and we’ll be going hands-on with Atheros 11ac at MWC 2012 next week.

Next up is the LG Optimus L5, a 4-inch midrange smartphone. It also runs Android 4.0, and like the L7 has a 1,500 mAh battery. Both devices have a leather-effect rear panel and throw some metal highlights into the mix.

Finally, there’s the smallest model in the range, the LG Optimus L3. It has a mere 3.2-inch display, and rather than running ICS it gets Android 2.3 Gingerbread. LG isn’t saying what processors, cameras or other specs each handset offers, at this stage.

Still, we’ll likely get those details at Mobile World Congress, now less than a week away. Android Community will be headed there to pick through all the new phones and bring back any juicy details we unearth!

So, stick the Car Mode tag – which LG calls LG Tag+ – to your dashboard, and when you hold the Optimus LTE Tag against it, it’ll automatically load up the in-car UI. When you’re going to bed, a silence mode tag on your nightstand can automatically shut off the ringer and any other alerts, so that you won’t be disturbed.

All of the Tag+ actions can be customized, and some of the stickers are seemingly left “blank” for users to program their own macros. Other hardware details of the Optimus LTE Tag are left mysterious, though it has a front-facing camera and unfortunately runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread rather than Ice Cream Sandwich. Unlike the Optimus Vu, LG hasn’t given a definitive upgrade window for Android 4.0 on the Optimus LTE Tag either.

LG will likely tell us more at MWC 2012 next week, so join us for all the details on the company’s new range when we hit the Barcelona show!

[via SlashGear]

LG believes the 4:3 aspect is the ideal one for note-taking. The Optimus Vu has a smaller screen than that of the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, but it’s shorter and broader for longer lines in the Memo app. Overall, the Vu is – at 139.6 x 90.4 x 8.5 mm and 168g – shorter and thinner than its Samsung predecessor, as well as being lighter, but LG does make do with a smaller 2,080 mAh battery versus the Note’s 2,500 mAh.

Other specs include LTE and T-DMB – at least for South Korea’s SK Telecom and LG Telecom – along with WiFi Direct, DLNA and HDMI connectivity. There’s a rear 8MP camera with autofocus and flash, a 1.3-megapixel front camera, and 32GB of internal storage.

Android 2.3 Gingerbread is running on a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, and LG promises an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade within three months of the Optimus Vu’s South Korean launch in early March. No word on international launch plans, but we’ll likely find out more when we meet with LG next week at Mobile World Congress.

Motorola’s regular range of consumer handsets come locked-down, a precaution by the company and its carrier partners to avoid modifications and tweaks to the core user-experience. However, Motorola says, the new Developer device “allows us to continue meeting our carrier and regulatory obligations, but also meets the needs being expressed by our developer community.”

There are some compromises involved if you’re interested in the Developer Edition, however. The new RAZR is sold without a warranty, which means if you brick the device during your play you can’t expect much in the way of help from Motorola to get it working again. There are plenty of warnings – along with other information on unlocking and modifying the phone – at Motorola’s developer site.

The European RAZR Developer Edition is up for pre-order now, priced at €499 ($657), though there’s no indication of when it will ship. The US version will go on sale “in the coming months” Motorola claims.

The “theme engine” is the root of that customization support, meaning “every drawable (images, backgrounds, etc), all text views, and each seek bars can be themed.” The native theme resembles Google’s own app.

However, unlike Google’s version, this new app supports play/pause control by flipping the phone face down on the table, as well as shaking it to perform custom actions (such as randomizing playback). Both flipping and shaking are supported while the Music app is running in the background, too. There are new homescreen widgets, fully integrated search, social sharing and more.

The app – which will be renamed before release – is expected to drop in a the next few weeks. It will be included as part of a future CM9 build, but will also be released via the Android Market.

The capacitive buttons are also working, together with the back buttons, and it’s now possible to mount an SD card. Audio is functional – though the HDMI output only delivers video, not sound, at present – and the various sensors (including the digital compass) work.

However a sleep bug remains, preventing the Adam tablet to come out of sleep mode unless a tweak is made to the WiFi settings, and the tablet’s rotating camera is also non-functional. USB isn’t working – either for mass-storage, flash drives or other purposes – and 3G won’t work either. The light sensor remains obstinate, and HQ-quality YouTube videos don’t access hardware acceleration.

Notion Ink has also decided to play a lower profile in the media, perhaps stung by negative feedback to the original Adam after its launch. The company promises a news update on the next-gen hardware next week.

You can download the ICS alpha here.

The exact nature of those bug fixes isn’t explained, however. Our handset automatically downloaded the new firmware OTA and flagged up the update in the notifications bar; if your device hasn’t already spotted v4.0.2, you can prompt a check for new firmware through the settings menu.

Despite the new version, GSM owners of the Galaxy Nexus are just getting up to speed with the Verizon Galaxy Nexus LTE, which is currently running Android 4.0.2 already. We’re hoping this new software addresses some of the minor issues we’ve been having with the GMS Nexus, including the occasional restart and incoming calls going silent within the first minute of answering. Let us know how you get on in the comments.

Android Design is split into three main sections, opening with Google’s “Creative Vision”, “Design Principles” and “UI Overvice” and then launching into detailed tutorials on Style, Patterns and Building Blocks. Some of the more noticeable aspects of ICS are name-checked, such as the emphasis on photos rather than text, the virtual buttons and pared-down contextual menus, and the ease and consistency of finding your way back out through an app.

There’s also a section on how Google’s iconography, controls and UI style in Android differs from that of iOS and Windows Phone, as a caution to those developers hoping to use relatively universal apps across all three platforms.

“Deviate with purpose” Google says, suggesting that developers are free to change things up but only if there’s particularly good reason for it. With the risk of fragmentation a well-worn theme about Android, this could be Google’s opportunity to herd its coders into a more iOS-like equilibrium.

[via SlashGear]

Aesthetically there are a few new changes to the Galaxy S II style, mainly amounting to rounded off corners and some extra swoop up at the top rear panel. Samsung and T-Mobile are being coy with the full specs, however, though we’re guessing on an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, a front facing camera for video calls and the usual mixture of WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Pricing and availability are also unknown, with T-Mobile saying the Galaxy S Blaze 4G will be “coming soon this year.” Our guess is somewhere around the $200 mark with a new, two-year agreement.

[via SlashGear]

Sony Xperia SmartWatch:

Battery life is said to be between a day and a week, depend on how heavy your usage is. Control is via various gestures and swipes, and thanks to the watch being Android-based this time – unlike its LiveView predecessor – there should be more flexibility as to what functionality can be added along the line.

Sony expects the SmartWatch to go on sale near the end of Q1, priced at $149.99. It should work with non-Sony/Sony Ericsson devices too, and comes bundled with a clip and a wrist-strap for a choice of how you wear it.

More details in our Xperia SmartWatch hands-on at SlashGear.

Both have NFC, HDMI outputs capable of 1080p Full HD video, and 12-megapixel main cameras that can record Full HD too. Front-facing 1.3-megapixel cameras are used for video calls and vanity shots, and there’s the usual WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS along with Sony’s Timescape interface.

Sony Xperia ion hands-on:

Sony also revealed some compact NFC tags, which can be used to launch apps or to instantly switch the Xperia handsets into different preset modes; you could have one on your nightstand, for instance, and automatically toggle the smartphone into silent mode before bed. The Xperia ion will arrive on AT&T sometime in Q2, while the Xperia S will arrive in the same quarter on various carriers. No pricing as yet.

More information in our full Xperia ion hands-on and Xperia S hands-on over at SlashGear.

That extra-large power pack should address two of the most common criticisms of the original DROID RAZR: that its battery life is too short, and can’t be extended by swapping in a bigger alternative. It’s still non-removable, but now at least should hold up to some serious LTE hammering. Verizon says buyers of the $299.99 smartphone can expect over 21hrs of talktime on a single charge.

DROID RAZR MAXX hands-on:

As for the DROID 4, that has a 4-inch qHD display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel camera, along with that all-important physical keyboard for messaging addicts. It will run Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread initially, with an ICS upgrade in the near future according to Motorola, and has LTE and a mystery price tag.

DROID 4 hands-on:

More details over at SlashGear in our DROID 4 hands-on and DROID RAZR MAXX hands-on.