The technology behind these seals has been available for years. They’re impressive, no doubt: basically, the system coats a phone or tablet with a near-invisible compound that can block out almost any liquid and moisture. It can repel several meters of water pressure for extended periods of time, making an accidental dunk in a tub or sink a non-issue. Liquipel’s coating technology penetrates into the device itself to cover all interior components as well: their demonstration below shows an HTC ThunderBolt running submerged with the battery cover off, as water trickles into contact with the protected mainboard and other components.

How likely is this rumor? Well it’s certainly not impossible. Liquipel currently offers its coating technology directly to consumers via a mail-in program, charging between $60 and $80 per device. Partnering with a huge company like Samsung or Apple could cut their per-device cost down to a couple of dollars, while adding a huge amount of value for end users. I’d honestly be surprised to see Apple adopt this – they tend to have a wait-and-see approach, never adding a feature if they don’t need to (case in point: the original 2G iPhone). But Samsung might add it to their flagship as yet another differentiation versus Apple.

All this is extremely speculative at the moment; just about the only thing we know for sure about the Galaxy S III is that it won’t shoe up at Mobile World Congress in late February. I’ve been hoping that someone would use one of these waterproofing processes on a mainstream device for a while now. Samsung, are you up to the challenge?

[via Cult of Android]

This game has picked up plenty of traction lately and not just on mobile. It’s currently available on Xbox live and even offered as a PC game so we are getting some intense graphics and awesome gameplay here. Obviously it wont look as it does on the PC side of things but the graphics are rather impressive for Android.

If you are a fan of “tower” type games you’ll want to check this out. It has received its fair share of awards such as Best Mobile Strategy Game from IGN and more from other mobile gaming sites. If the title doesn’t make things clear — this is the opposite of tower defense. Instead you’ll be on the offense throwing waves and waves of tanks into battle and hoping for the best. It’s all about strategy and choosing the right route, squad, and weapons.

Anomaly Warzone Earth HD offers excellent gameplay, an immersive story-like campaign and great graphics to seal the deal. If any of this interests you it’s available today from the Android Market starting at $3.99 so head down to the link after the video below and give it a try. Some are reporting the additional download wont start — give it a try and let us know in the comments below what you think.

Market Link

[via Anomalythegame Blog] — Thanks MarK

What caused this drop in enthusiasm? Without a doubt, it was Apple’s release of the iPhone 4S on October 14th. Though Android presents cutting-edge hardware from various manufacturers basically year-round, Apple fans get only one phone release a year, and 2011′s iPhone 5 4S was off the summer release schedule by several months. Though the 4S hardware is a modest update at best, the addition of a new US carrier, support for HSPA+ (late to the party, as usual) and Siri all made for a considerable showing for late 2011.

The Nielsen numbers don’t reflect total sales or marketshare, where Android soundly beats iOS in every market. In places like the UK and most of Asia, Android still outsells all iPhone models nearly two to one. Both platforms continue to grow in both total numbers and smartphone marketshare as RIM’s Blackkberry and Windows Phone shrink. That said, with Android and iOS’ combined smartphone share reaching towards 85%, one wonders where the saturation point is – soon enough, it’ll be a true duopoly. Then both operating systems will have no one but each other to take users from.

[via TechCrunch]

The Android app for Facebook has 58.3 million active daily users compared to the iPhone app having 57.4 million active users. This data comes from the AppData tracking service. Apparently, Android is growing very quickly with Facebook users too.

The app is said to be getting 550,000 activations per day. Timeline was also available on the Android app before iPhone app showing that Facebook may be favoring Android with updates coming to it first. It’s worth noting that when you look at an entire month, the iPhone app is still ahead with 99.1 million monthly active users compared to Android getting 85.4 million users monthly.

[via TechCrunch]

The 90-second ad is mostly about the phones’ respective cameras: both shoot 8 megapixel stills and 1080p video. T-Mobile argues in favor of the Amaze 4G, with arguments about panoramic views, face recognition and sports-friendly burst modes. And 8-bit robot samurai fists. You can probably guess who emerges victorious, but if you’re in suspense, check out the video embedded below:

Even as a rabid Android supporter, it’s hard to deny that the cameras in the iPhone 4 and 4S are impressive. But as our own Amaze 4G review states, the Android competition is fast catching up, and the Amaze 4G meets or beats just about every Android phone we’ve tested as far as camera quality goes. Better than the iPhone? Well.. no. But given the extra features and the lack of iPhone availability on T-Mobile, it’s definitely the best you can get on the carrier.

For even more iPhone-bashing ads, check out Samsung’s awesome Galaxy S II spot and T-Mobile’s previous efforts poking fun at Apple’s ubiquitous format.

It isn’t overly likely that the ban will be put into place. For one, Motorola would need to post a 100 million Euro bond if it wants to hold up the sales injunction. Moreover, these decisions are often overturned on appeal, as we saw with Apple’s case against Samsung in Australia. But weaknesses in Apple’s historically crack legal team are starting to show: the sales injunction against Samsung in Australia was overturned, the company failed to secure an injunction against the same company in the US, and now Motorola’s found a weakness in their patent portfolio in Germany, where a sales ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is still in place. When Samsung introduced a revised Galaxy 10.1N model, specifically designed to avoid infringement on Apple’s patents, Apple promptly filed suit on the new version.

I’m a die-hard Android fanboy, but that doesn’t mean I want Germans, or anyone for that matter, to be denied the choice of Apple products. The worldwide patent wars are getting ridiculous – IPCom, considered a patent troll even by corporate standards, has won a preliminary injunction against HTC that could force the company to exit Germany completely. There’s clearly something rotten in Deutschland when it comes to the world of intellectual property, and in the end consumers get the raw deal. If anything positive comes out of all this, it’ll be that Apple begins to think twice about firing patent lawsuits from the hip. It’s likely that if they can’t get today’s German ruling overturned, the case will be settled with Apple licensing the relevant patent from Motorola for lots (and lots and lots) of money.

[via SlashGear]

Overall Consumer Reports’ review was actually quite positive, citing that the iPhone 4S and the newer model of the iPhone 4 both outscored their previous incarnations, largely on strong battery life and the novelty of Siri. But they simply couldn’t recommend the iPhone over three recent Android phones: the Galaxy S II, DROID BIONIC and the LG Thrill. The larger screens on the Android phones, especially those that used Super AMOLED displays, were lauded in particular. Consumer Reports isn’t exactly the go-to place for electronics reviews, but many Americans and worldwide readers won’t make a major purchase without their seal of approval.

To be fair, Apple isn’t behind in every category. Though Samsung is outselling them on the worldwide stage and HTC is winning on the American home turf, Apple still pulls in more profits than just about anybody, and their customers are fiercely loyal to the company and the iOS platform. But with Android competing from dozens of major manufacturers, in every market and price point, the veneer on those shiny iPhones is definitely beginning to peel. Time to give those lawyers another run at your competitors, eh, Cupertino?

AT&T has released the results for Q3 and talks a bit about the iPhone and Android devices in with the usual profit numbers. AT&T notes that the iPhone was its most popular smartphone with 2.7 million activations during the quarter. That counts up to more activations than all other devices combines. However, AT&T also notes that the iPhone and Android together were almost half of its total 4.8 million smartphones sold.

Android is also catching up to the iPhone quickly on the network with sales of the Android devices on the network nearly doubling year over year. AT&T postpaid customers are now using more smartphones than dumb phones for the first time. AT&T reports a total of 68.6 million postpaid subscribers and 52.6% of that number is smartphone users. In the same quarter last year, only 39.1% of all users on the network were rocking smartphones.

[via SlashGear]

Ballmer said, “You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows phone and you do to use and Android phone…It is hard for me to be excited about the Android phones.”

While Ballmer blasts Android for usability, he is more forgiving on the iPhone and Apple in general calling the company “a good competitor” and especially praising the new Siri assistant feature on the iPhone 4S. Despite heaping a bit of praise on Apple, Ballmer still maintains that the Windows Phones are better than both Android and iPhone offerings.

He claims that Windows Phone is much better than the competition at putting the user’s information front and center. According to Ballmer with Windows Phone, you don’t have to go through icons and pages to find the information users want.

“Both [an iPhone and a Windows phone] are going to feel very good in your hand and both going to look very beautiful physically…. but when you grab a Windows phone and use it… your information is front and centre… and you don’t have to scroll through seas of icons and blah blah blah.”

“A Windows phone gets things done.”

[via SlashGear]

We give Apple a lot of grief here for outdated software, lackluster hardware, litigating for a monopoly, designing form over function, needlessly restricting their App Store, engineered obsolescence, hyperbolic marketing and… where was I? Oh yes, despite all that, Apple makes a fine-looking phone operating system. Many have tried and mostly failed to emulate the shiny, glossy look of iOS on Android, with possibly the best example being the custom ROM MIUI. If you’re not quite ready to take the flashing step, consider the new Espier Launcher, which will let you ape Apple’s darling design without lowering yourself to last year’s hardware.

Espier has been in development for some time, but now it’s available via a free download on the Android Market fore anyone running Froyo or later. The custom launcher app replicates the iPhone homescreen almost exactly, displaying 4×4 grids of apps and not much else. You can pin apps to the dock or bunch them up into iOS 4 folders, or if you need to search and can’t bring yourself to hit the nearest capacitive button, just slide over to the left. All joking aside, it’s an impressive achievement, and there are worse (and certainly uglier) ways to get your homescreen on.

Notably absent are any sort of widgets, resizing or many display options, but if iOS is your bag that’s part of the draw. There’s no app drawer because, well, they’re all right there, and the standard Android notification bar makes sure you won’t miss any alerts. Check it out in the Android Market before Apple stars launching their air-to-ground lawyers, and while you’re there, check out some other apps that have been performing iOS’s innovative “new” features for years.

[via Lifehacker]

That’s a steep decline from current Apple users. 44% of iPhone 3 and 3GS owners said they’d buy the new phone, while a surprising 42% of iPhone 4 owners said they’d spring for the modest upgrade. Keep in mind, nearly all iPhone 4 owners will be paying full price for the 4S, since they’re at most about 16 months into a 24 month cellular contract. What’s even more surprising is that only 24% of Blackberry users said they’d buy a new iPhone, despite RIM positively bleeding marketshare in the last few months – no points for guessing where the rest are probably going.

In other news, the iPhone 4S’s lack of true 4G connections is a major disappointment. Over 70% of smartphone owners and 50% of iPhone owners lamented the lack of LTE in the new model. The iPhone 4S will feature an HSPA+ radio, achieving speeds which AT&T has been advertising as “4G”, but it won’t be able to connect to the faster LTE network on Verizon or AT&T. That’s a pretty typical move for Apple – remember that the original iPhone launched with EDGE amidst a sea of 3G smartphones and featurephones.

There’s no denying that the iPhone 4S will sell a boatload of units, but as with previous generations, it’s mostly selling to the Apple faithful. Expect a larger turnaround when the true iPhone 5 appears next year – of course, by then Android phones will be even further ahead in specifications and market share.

[via eWeek]

The first is Vlingo Virtual Assistant, which is a free app with ads or $2 to remove the ads. It has more than a million downloads and the app is one of the best by some accounts. You can voice dial with the app, send texts, and emails as well as conduct local search. Sonalight Text by Voice is the next app and it will cost you $20 per year. It lets you text using your voice and reads them back to you too.

Google Voice Search/actions is the next on the list and it is free. You can access this by clicking the mic button on the keyboard. The fourth choice is Edwin, Speech-to-Speech. This gives you voice control for different features and you can ask it odd questions since it works with Wolfram Alpha. It is free as well. The last is Speaktoit Assistant, also free. This app is like Vlingo in functionality and has an avatar on screen you talk to.

[via ExtremeTech]

According to reports, the line in front of the Samsung store is longer than the line in front of the iPhone store. I’m surprised that fights between the Android geeks and the iPhone 4S geeks didn’t break out. There was a catch to the smoking good Samsung deal though. There are only ten of the Galaxy S II smartphones offered at the bargain price each day.

Apparently, the Samsung store is up and running until this Friday and then it will close. You had better count the folks that are in line to be sure you need to stand around at all if you want one of the smartphones. The iPhone 4S will go on sale in Australia this Friday so the Samsung store is closing as the iPhone 4S gets ready to start selling.

[via SlashGear]

I don’t even know what to say. His brilliant idea’s and designs will be forever remembered for what changed the mobile industry forever and more. This news is just hitting the wires and sadly we must report it.

Statement by Apple’s Board of Directors

CUPERTINO, Calif.– We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today.

Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.

Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook today sent the following email to all Apple employees:

Team,

I have some very sad news to share with all of you. Steve passed away earlier today.

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories and condolences in the interim, you can simply email rememberingsteve@apple.com.

No words can adequately express our sadness at Steve’s death or our gratitude for the opportunity to work with him. We will honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he loved so much.

Tim

This is a terribly sad day for the world in general, but especially for his entire family — that being those close to him, and the technology and mobile communities at large. We all love and enjoy everything Steve and Apple have created. He has now left at the early age of 56, he will be sorely missed.

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com

Samsung has provided almost every bit of information one would possibly need or want to know about both smartphones, and will leave it ultimately up to you — the users to decide. They’ve highlighted everything where the Galaxy S II stands out and is above the rest, and keeps things simple and honest. If anyone wants to see a real chart of all the top devices from Android we have our own in-depth comparison that can be seen here featuring many different top tier phones, not just the Samsung.

Some may argue how many people are actually concerned with the down right specs, but I know I am and many others are too. I’m sure most just want a good ecosystem and a reliable smartphone and trust me when I say that Samsung has provided just that. The Galaxy S II is one of, if not the best Android phones to date. Having better specs in almost every category over the iPhone 4S the choice is very clear for me. We’ve reviewed both U.S. Galaxy S II’s and you can see those here, and here.

We here at Android Community also have an extensive device database of all things android that can be seen at http://device.ac that you must check out for hardware questions on any device. We also have all the current Galaxy S II versions you can see by clicking here.

So, I’ll ask all of our loyal readers — What smartphone do you intend to buy, and would you ever consider the iPhone 4S and its little screen over the 4.5″ packing Galaxy S II?

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy S II

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : February 13, 2011

Release Date : April 28, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.27 Inch
• Resolution : 480x800
• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.93 Inch
• Width : 2.6 Inch
• Depth : .33 Inch
• Weight : 116 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type:
• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1650 mAh
• Talk Time : NA
• Stand By Time : 710 hours

Software

Android OS:
• 2.3.x

Audio Playback:
• AAC
• AAC+
• MP3

Video Playback:
• h.263
• h.264 / AVC
• MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging:
• SMS
• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Exynos

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 16 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage:
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC

Camera Features:
• Auto focus
• Flash
• 1080p Video Recording
• 720p Video Recording

Sensors:
• Accelerometer
• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

Network Technology:
• GSM

GSM Band:
• 850
• 900
• 1800
• 1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi:
• 802.11b
• 802.11g
• 802.11n

Bluetooth:
• Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features:
• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

NFC :

Samsung says that it intends to seek similar sales bans in other nations as well. The legal maneuver is the latest in a long saga of civil battles across the world, with Samsung and Apple’s being the most frequent and brutal. Apple claims that Samsung has “slavishly copied” its design and interface to mimic both the iPhone and iPad in its Android devices, and has won injunctions banning the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia and Germany. Samsung has counter-sued in many more locations.

In addition, Samsung is attempting to remove Apple’s design rights to the iPad in Europe, claiming that the basic design existed long before the iDevice. Apple won the design application seven years ago – long before any of the current mess – but Samsung asserts that the basic principle behind the slate form factor is neither new nor innovative. If they were to win their appeal, it could have serious worldwide implications for current cases.

The American front of the patent war will be heating up soon, as Apple’s civil case against Samsung will be heard later this year in California. Both Verizon and T-Mobile have filed in support of Samsung. While most patent fights end in some kind of settlement or licensing agreement, the fued between Apple and Samsung looks like it will continue unabated for the foreseeable future.

[via SlashGear]

As you can see, the iPhone still bests just about everything in screen resolution, but falls far behind in the screen’s physical size. That isn’t an important factor for some, but it’s a big deal for others. The iPhone 4S’ processor is well in line with the rest, but we don’t have numbers on certain specs like RAM and battery capacity, so a hard line comparison is difficult. The iPhone’s radio brings it up to speed with “4G” phones, but only on AT&T. While the iPhone’s most expensive model has a jaw-dropping 64GB of storage, Apple once again eschewed any sort of removable memory.

Of course, this chart only includes currently-selling phones. New competitiors like the Samsung Galaxy S II HD and Galaxy Note best the iPhone as far as the screen goes, and who knows what goodies are lying inside the DROID RAZR or Nexus Prime. We’ll have to wait a few weeks for details on the latest and greatest in the Android world – for new smartphone hardware from Apple, be sure to tune in in about 12 months or so.

The first thing you Android addicts will notice about this device is that it’s vanilla. This means that Huawei has done little to nothing to modify the Android OS as it comes straight from google. This is a GOOD thing if you like to do things down and dirty like the Nexus S does it. On the other hand, this device is running Android 2.2 FroYo, so you may still feel a little behind all of your top-tier pals with their Android 2.3 Gingerbread. On the other hand again, the display is fairly nice at 3.8 inches with an 800 x 480 pixel resolution, and the whole hardware package is, when it comes down to it, quite nice to hold.

The people this device is aimed at are those getting in to the smartphone game. While some entry-level Androids are, sadly, and I won’t name names, so low-quality that they’ll turn a consumer to iPhone, this Huawei device steps its game up and acts as a quite nice doorway into the basic Android ecosystem. Users will certainly be staying with Android after their 2 years on this lovely little skateboard are up, and they’ll likely keep it around with fond memories of Androids past once they move up.

The real question here (amongst the rest that you can feel free to ask in comments below before we do the full review) is whether this means Huawei will be ramping up in the USA for higher-grade devices in the future? We’d love that to happen, certainly, and look forward to a landscape with as many wonderful manufacturers as possible, including ones with names so hard to pronounce your tongue falls out of your head.

Check out the photos above and below and the unboxing video to see what this device is all about, and again, if you’ve got any questions or have tests you’d like us to run, don’t hesitate to comment!

Without getting into too much details here I’ll go ahead and throw up the entire open letter for everyone to read.

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Shocking news to say the least. While it has been known for a while that Steve had been dealing with a few health issues this has came without warning and is a huge surprise to everyone. This is a sad day in the technology world, even though we love all things Android here Apple played a large role in the success of Android. Apple has confirmed that Jobs will indeed stay on as Chairman. More details as this story develops.

Now there’s no way (or is there?) in the world Google isn’t going to be pushing this app to Android eventually, but the question remains: why start with iOS and not give its own mobile OS any love? This app connects you with friends across the universe via Vines – each Vine is a word or phrase, each photo added to a vine should have something to do with said word or phrase. Of course you can guess that there will be some loopholes and very possible inappropriateness going on in the future more than likely, but for now everything remains cute.

Google! How could you?! We want this super fun to use simple, neat, great, nice app for Android too! At least you’ve got to consider bringing it over to Android sooner than later. We don’t want to be late to the party! Meanwhile we’ll have to (SHHH) break out our significant other’s iPad or iPhone (perish the thought) to take a look while we wait.