Pinch of salt time. As mobile manufacturers polish up those final test models ready for us to pore over in just a few weeks, someone’s possibly jumped the gun. What you’re looking at here are apparently benchmarks from the Galaxy S II Plus — yep, another incremental step-up for an existing Samsung device. According to the results, the phone will carry the same resolution screen of the original (800 x 480), but will purportedly be the first device to carry a dual-core 1.5GHz Exynos processor — placing it just ahead of even the Galaxy Note. Unfortunately, the benchmark read-out also lists Android 2.3.4 for the phone — a little old (and unlikely) when we’re seeing version 2.3.7 if not a leap to Ice Cream Sandwich. Benchmark results featuring a Galaxy Nexus with a 2GHz processor (possibly overclocked) has also got us all kinds of suspicious. We’ll be keeping our eyes on this one.

SOURCE via An3DBenchXL

A Parisian commercial court has upheld a lower court’s ruling against Google France, ordering the company to pay a fine of €500,000 for giving away its maps services. The plaintiff, Bottin Cartographes, claims that Google leveraged the market share of its Maps platform — and the fact that it’s free — to undercut and stifle competition attempting to sell their topographical wares to businesses. “We proved the illegality of [Google's] strategy,” said Bottin’s counsel, noting that this was the first time Google has been convicted of malfeasance for this particular piece of software in the country. A representative from the search giant said it plans to appeal the decision, and reiterated the company’s belief that competition exists in the space. Personally, we think the court got it right. Why should people get an awesome product for free when they can pay for an inferior one, right?

SOURCE via AFP

Google has had its fair share of malware-related problems in the Android Market, but that’s hopefully about to change, now that the company has announced a new security-enhancing service. Codenamed “Bouncer,” Mountain View’s new program sounds pretty simple, in principle: it just automatically scans the Market for malware, without altering the Android user experience, or requiring devs to run through an app approval process.

According to Hiroshi Lockheimer, Android’s VP of Engineering, Bouncer does this by scanning recently uploaded apps for spyware, trojans or any other lethal components, while looking out for any suspicious behavior that may raise a red flag. The service also runs a simulation of each app using Google’s cloud-based infrastructure, and regularly checks up on developer accounts to keep repeat offenders out of the Android Market. Existing apps, it’s worth noting, will be subject to the same treatment as their more freshly uploaded counterparts.

Lockheimer went on to point out that malware is on the decline in the Market, citing a 40 percent drop between the first and second halves of 2011, and explained some of Android’s fundamental security features, including its sandboxing and permission-based systems. Head for the source link below to read the post in full.

SOURCE via Google

You may have already moved on to more ‘Amaze-ing’ HTC phones, but there’s nothing like a new coat of paint to rekindle consumer interest in its older, less Sensational offerings. And so, the handset that ushered in Sense 3.0 and its signature lockscreen is getting a visual refresh and a belly full of Google’s latest mobile OS, just not at the same time. A release from Dutch PR firm Whizpr has that handset, newly encased in a White Ice-colored unibody, pegged for a March 1st release overseas running Ice Cream Sandwich. No mention was made as to whether the device would actually ship with the new UI onboard or if it’ll bear the marks of Sense 4.0, but knowing the company, you can likely count on it. For the rest of you current Sensation owners, don’t despair, an OTA update keeping that O.G. handset up-to-speed should be on the way “soon.” This white ice Sensation will actually ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box. A planned update to Ice Cream Sandwich is still on track for some time early this year.

SOURCE via Whizpr(Translated)

While Samsung was more than willing to redesign its flagship tablet in the face of the German court’s ruling last year, the higher regional court in Dusseldorf maintains that the original still can’t be sold within its borders.

As Samsung and Apple continue their legal fisticuffs worldwide, the claim from Cupertino that the 10.1-inch Android tablet is too similar to its own iPad has seen more attention than most. Samsung returned the favor by counter-suing over mobile technology patents, although it’s been just as unfortunate here, losing two out of the three infringement claims. The final case will be ruled on in early March. Today’s decision will also encompass the Galaxy Tab 8.9, although given that this ruling is based on Germany’s own unfair competition law, it’s unlikely to be replicated elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N remains on shelves — and very desperate tablet fans remain just a short drive away from neighboring countries still able to sell the original.

SOURCE via Reuters

If you didn’t already know, roughly a week ago Google issued a major overhaul of its privacy policies — condensing some 60 scattered terms of service into a single document covering a vast majority of its internet empire.

Of course, this raised concern, confusion and led to stories circulating the web about the inherent danger of the revised TOS. Truth be told, most of the wild-eyed fear mongering was done by those who either had not read or had not understood what the simplified policies mean (though, we hardly fault them for being suspicious).

Google is looking to allay those fears however, and has released the full text of a letter written to congress clarifying the new TOS. The important information here is presented on the Google Public Policy Blog as bullet points and that is what’s not changing.

Users will still be able to search without signing in, opt out of targeted ads, export their data and maintain fine-grained control over their private data. Oh and Google will never, we repeat never, sell your information to advertisers. Hit up the source link if you’re still in need of more details.

SOURCE via Google

Google clearly didn’t want to blow everyone’s mind right away with its Google Docs app for Android. That’s why it’s been slowly rolling out the updates, incrementally adding features and turning what began life (more or less) as a glorified web browser into a useful app. The latest upgrades deliver possibly the most requested feature — offline access. Now there’s an option to pin individual files for local storage and the app will automatically sync the latest version anytime you’re on WiFi. If that’s not often enough, you can manually update whenever you have a data connection. There’s also a new layout for viewing docs on tablets that allows you to swipe left and right to flip between pages and a scrubber at the bottom for quickly jumping from one part of the doc to another. Hit up the Android Market now to score the update for yourself.

SOURCE via Google

It has finally been confirmed, folks! Samsung has formally announced that the successor to the wildly popular Galaxy S II will be unveiled at a dedicated non-MWC event in the first half of this year, close to its launch.

The news comes from TechRadar in the form of a short post in which they discuss Samsung’s press statement and what to expect from the heavily anticipated device.

Samsung’s statement on the rumors surrounding the launch of the Galaxy S III:

“Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012.

The successor to the GALAXY S II smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.

Samsung stays committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world.”

This means, unlike what we’ve hearing all this time, there won’t be a Galaxy S III announcement at Mobile World Congress, which will be held later this month.

Still, Samsung will be there to announce “new mobile products”. We have no idea what these products will be, but one thing is for sure: it won’t be a flagship, top-of-the-line smartphone.

The decision to unveil the Galaxy S III “closer to commercial availability of the product” may be due to some manufacturing issues for the device or because the company is looking to directly rival the iPhone 5, which is expected to be announced and launched in July*.

The Samsung Galaxy S III is rumored to pack a quad-core chip and a 720p Super AMOLED HD display in order to compete with NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chips and, of course, the HD-ready displays that devices such as the Galaxy Note, HTC Rezound, and Galaxy Nexus sport.

I don’t know about you, but after getting a good taste of Android Gingerbread (and soon, Ice Cream Sandwich), this writer will be getting himself an iPhone 5 later this year. Android is pretty flexible, but it has lots of little annoyances, which we will discuss in another article.

*Apple might decide to announce/launch the iPhone 5 in October though, considering how the iPhone 4S was announced last October.

Dual-SIM phones are perfect for when the carriers are desperate for your business, keeping your work life separate, or to mask your philandering. But what if two isn’t enough? LG is producing a phone with a third SIM slot, only one less than the ridiculously equipped OTECH F1. The A290 candy-bar throwback sports a 176 x 220, 2.2-inch display, 1.3 megapixel camera, LED flashlight and a 1,500mAh battery. Russians (for the phone is exclusive to that particular nation up north) looking to swell their SIM collection can do so from next month at the cost of €75 ($100).

SOURCE via Hi Tech Mail

We’ve heard rumblings about the Huawei Honor before, but now it’s officially available on our shores, Malaysia! The Huawei Honor runs Android 2.3.5 and is also pretty much ready to run Android 4.0 when it comes out in Q2 of 2012. Packing a 1.4GHz processor, 4.0Inch 16:9 capacitive touch screen, 512 RAM, 8-Megapixel camera, and a whopping 1,930mAh battery all in a 10.9mm thin frame, the Honor does sound like quite a good alternative to what is already in the market today.

“Huawei Honor encapsulates the Huawei brand – it features simple-to-use, advanced technology that allows people to share and connect easily. Honor provides a package of features that elevates the smartphone user experience, including an ultra-long battery life, so critical to the performance of smartphones but yet is often downplayed,” said Victor Xu, chief marketing officer of Huawei Device. “Consumers now have a high-performing smartphone that lets them communicate, connect, entertain and share content for an extended period of time without compromising on looks, technology or style.”

The Huawei Honor is available in Malaysia and will retail for a cool RM1,099 at over 110 dealer outlets. For more info on where to find it, check out Huawei’s Facebook page here!