If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, two of the best cameraphones out there were pitted against one another in a shootout rematch and a very handy widget was added to the latest nightly builds of CyanogenMod. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of December 31st, 2012.
As recently as yesterday, Google was explaining its auto-redirect of Google Maps on Windows Phone devices to Google.com as a question of incompatibility rather than one of choice. "The mobile web version of Google Maps is optimized for WebKit browsers such as Chrome and Safari. However, since Internet Explorer is not a WebKit browser, Windows Phone devices are not able to access Google Maps for the mobile web," Google told us yesterday. Case closed, right? Apparently not.
As The Next Web reports, Google's changing its tune today, and is working on a redirect as we speak. "We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users," the statement reads. "In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that's why there is no redirect for those users," it continues. The kicker? "Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect. We will continue to test Google Maps compatibility with other mobile browsers to ensure the best possible experience for users." So! It looks like Windows Phone users employing Internet Explorer for Google Maps will soon be back in business. As of right now, we're still seeing the redirect in place, but feel free to let us know if you're already seeing the fix enabled!
Samsung Galaxy S II owners waiting for an update that adds features (instead of taking them away) may not have long to wait, now that support pages for the official Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update -- announced months ago -- have been found on the company's Korean website. Listing details for all three local carriers, the update will arrive via KIES and change the amount of available internal memory from 12GB to 11GB. Other than the usual list of Android 4.1 features, it will also preload the Google+ and some additional Play apps while adding Samsung features like Smart Stay. There's no word yet on exactly when the official update will arrive (or a schedule for rollout on US carrier editions), but once it's out in Korea it shouldn't take much for owners of the GT-I9100 international version to try it out as well.
Word of a Sprint pay-as-you-go service crossed our desks just yesterday in the form of a leaked slide, and now Big Yellow has confirmed to FierceWireless that the effort, dubbed Sprint As You Go, will launch on January 25th. The Now Network's new initiative will offer a $70 monthly plan for smartphones and a $50-a-month plan for feature phones. Both options won't offer premium features such as WiFi tethering and Sprint Navigation, but Sprint says customers will see neither hide nor hair of data caps or speed throttling. As for hardware, the smartphone tier includes the LTE-enabled Samsung Victory at $250 and the LG Optimus Elite for $150. On the feature phone end of the spectrum, Samsung's Array and M400 handsets are available on the service (presumably ringing up at $80 and $50, respectively). Angling to take advantage of Sprint's new offer? You'll have to forgo online shopping this time, as the firm is making the offer available exclusively through it's brick-and-mortar Sprint Stores.
Microsoft's SmartGlass and Microsoft's Halo 4 apparently aren't quite getting along on Windows Phone 8 devices. Using SmartGlass, Halo 4 players can normally access their stats and other info about their android supersoldier using the long-established Waypoint service -- except for Windows Phone 8 users, apparently. A forum thread dating back to Halo 4's November launch highlights the issue -- as Xbox.com forum user "Scion Eon" puts it: "Whenever I try to log into SmartGlass on my phone while playing Halo 4, I am immediately greeted with a message that says 'Your device is missing certain required features.'" As it turns out, Mr. Eon isn't the only one experiencing said connectivity issues -- specific to Windows Phone 8 devices -- and Microsoft's aware of the situation.
"We are aware that there is an issue with the Xbox SmartGlass experience for 'Halo Waypoint' on Windows Phone 8 devices, which may prevent users from accessing Halo 4 player stats," a Microsoft rep told us this afternoon. Thankfully, Redmond's also taking care of a solution. "We are actively working on a fix and expect to have a solution within the coming weeks. We appreciate your patience as this gets resolved and apologize for any inconvenience this causes," the statement reads. Of course, should you want to access Halo 4's Waypoint functionality on SmartGlass before that fix, you can always use Microsoft's competitor's devices. But then who'd do that?
[Thanks Colin!]
The perpetual gotcha for T-Mobile's Monthly4G prepaid service has been the absence of truly unlimited data -- you could have one advantage or the other, but not both. TmoNews understands that this either/or choice is fading away after spotting what looks to be leaked promo material. Come January 9th, the carrier is reportedly replacing its 5GB Monthly4G tier with an unlimited alternative. The same $70 should net the previous unlimited talk and text, but skip the pesky throttling for very frequent users. As long as customers have good coverage, it's hard to see a downside for them if this proves real; next week can't come soon enough.
With all the recent leaks of Sony's upcoming 5-inch Xperia Z, it's a good thing the smartphone will have a water resistant body, according to the latest one. The formidable device will also sport HDR photo / video capturing capabilities, a "skeleton frame structure" for durability and a so-called Full-HD reality display, according to a fresh leak from Chinese retailer E-price and micro-blogger Weibo. Those go along with specs that Sony inadvertently revealed on its own site a few days ago, including a 1080P display, quad-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, 13MP Exmor RS-equipped rear cam and Adreno 320 graphics. While these latest tidbits ought to be digested with the requisite NaCl, they jibe with the other specs floating around -- so, hopefully Sony will have something to report when it outs the camera for real at CES on January 7th.
Google Play's magazine subscriptions have always, sadly, existed separate from a publications print offerings. Meaning, even if you already had the paper edition of Beer Advocate delivered to your home, you still had to cough up for the digital version. That's finally changed, however, which should make many magazine hounds quite happy. Now when you select a new periodical, you'll be offered the standard monthly and yearly subscription options, along with the new "free for print subscribers." You'll need to verify your subscription before Google will allow you to download issues, but that's one less barrier to entry for those looking to dip their toes in the digital magazine pool. For a bit more info check out the source link.
The RCA DMT580D may not be memorably named, but the television-centric tablet stands out for other reasons: most notably, its combination of DTV and Dyle-powered mobile TV. RCA's toting its "Mobile TV Tablet" as, "the electronics industry's first dual-tuner mobile TV" -- making your on-the-go viewings of The View all the easier. Oh, and the other 130 mobile TV stations Dyle also offers certainly don't hurt; you'll be able to scoop up regular ol' digital TV signals using the tablet's telescoping antenna. It's essentially an upgrade to RCA's previous efforts in the TV-centric tablet market.
If the TV angle isn't enough for you, RCA promises a fully featured Android tablet otherwise: an 8-inch HD IPS screen, 802.11b/g/n WiFi capability, a Cortex A5 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of flash storage memory (expandable via MicroSD). Should you wish to capture the facial reactions you'll assuredly make during those daily View broadcasts, front-facing and rear cameras are also part of the equation, and the whole shebang weighs in at roughly 1.4 lbs. Around four hours of battery life are expected if you're going whole hog on the TV bit, which balloons to 10 if you're just surfing the web / playing Angry Birds / etc. At $299, you'd better be really into those television features -- the RCA Mobile TV Tablet arrives at retail "this coming spring."
AT&T's snagged exclusive rights to Sierra Wireless' latest touchscreen LTE hotspot, the AT&T Unite. Packing a 2.4-inch display, the unit will keep you informed of your usage allowance, let you manage what devices are allowed access and tweak network settings without any additional fiddling. It's able to handle up to 10 simultaneous connections and, naturally, can be added to existing Mobile Share plans for $20 extra per month. We asked if it wanted to reveal details of pricing and availability, but AT&T suddenly went all shy and hid under the couch -- so we'll have to wait and see.
ZTE may be warming up more than one phone for tech writers making their way to CES this weekend. Alongside the company's top-drawer Nubia Z5, Unwired View has spotted yet another phone and this one measures in at 5.7 inches. Currently going under the moniker P945, the screen resolution has apparently 720p (unlike the 5-inch 1080p display found on the Nubia device) while there's an unnamed quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz doing the heavy lifting. A 3,000mAh battery should (hopefully) be able to power that screen for a decent amount of time, with a front-facing 1-megapixel sensor paired with a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera for your imaging needs. This particular phone has China Mobile livery along the bottom edge and according to the leak, it should arrive over in Asia around the end of Q1 this year.
HTC's mid-range One VX just recently made its debut on AT&T, and we now have some official word on the US debut of its slightly smaller counterpart, the LTE-equipped One SV. It will be available solely on Cricket Wireless starting January 16th, where it will set you back $349.99 off-contract. That will buy you a 4.3-inch WVGA display (of the Super LCD 2 variety), a 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, front and rear-facing cameras (5 megapixel, f/2.0 and 1.6 megapixel, f/2.2, respectively), a microSD card slot and Android 4.0 with HTC's Sense 4 interface. As you can see, it also comes in a bright Flame red color, which is the only option for the time being.
If you own a Galaxy S III that appears to have suffered some form of cardiac arrest, failing suddenly for no apparent reason, Samsung is aware of the problem, and is working on a fix. The issue, being referred to in the forums as "sudden death," seems to be relatively rare: a Samsung spokesperson told Tweakers that the problem affects "only a very limited number" of devices. So far, we know the problem applies to users running the stock software, as well as custom ROMs. For whatever reason, too, these defective models are all 16GB variants, according to Samsung. In any case, Sammy says it will push out a firmware update to correct the problem, though the company hasn't said when that patch will be ready.
[Thanks, Zhewei]
The pieces of the BlackBerry Z10 puzzle are slowly coming together -- and today, that's almost literally true. ETrade Supply has obtained what's claimed to be the LCD, touchscreen digitizer and housings for RIM's future flagship device. The more production-worthy components appear to fit together properly, and they hint at a mid-size smartphone with a 4.3-inch screen and a microSD card slot. The biggest surprise may be the SIM slot, whose position varies depending on the parts at hand: the incongruity could either reflect late-stage design tweaks or else variants for different networks. We'll have to sit tight until January 30th to know what the individual elements represent when they're part of a working device, but those who don't mind seeing an upcoming phone in its rawest form can catch a video after the break.
After a week off to take advantage of the holidays, the Distro crew is back in action. In the latest issue of our tablet mag, we run down all of the major categories with a preview of what our editors expect to see -- or not see -- when CES cranks up in a few days. On top of that, Eyes-On has a look at a Lomography panoramic camera, Hands-On offers impressions on some of the latest gadgetry and tech writer Taylor Hatmaker drops by for the Q&A. Once the annual Las Vegas tech madness gets started next week, we'll be publishing daily issues of this e-publication beginning Tuesday, January 8th to keep you up to speed with all of the happenings in the desert. Arriving just in time for the events, our Windows 8 Distro app is now available and can be procured like its Android and iOS counterparts, via the download links below.
Distro Issue 72 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
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Distro in the Windows Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
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