In Other News: 26/02/2013.

• Today Twitter have updated their app for Windows Phone. There's a sweet little redesign to go along with new Live Tile options and new search and tweet buttons which are now ever presents in the app. You can also expect to get:

"New navigation. Four new tabs – Home, Connect, Discover and Me – bring you closer to the things you care about.
Home: View Tweets from the accounts you follow; tap a Tweet to expand it and see more content, such as photos, videos and website summaries.
Connect: Keep up with your mentions; see who has followed you or retweeted or favorited one of your Tweets.
Discover: See trends, and find new content on Twitter –– browse categories, find friends on Twitter and see suggestions for accounts to follow.
Me: Read and respond to your direct messages; see your lists, favorites and more; view and update your profile." Twitter Via Slashgear.

•  LG have added the new 'VR Panorama' feature to their Optimus G Pro. This is essentially a knock off of Google's Photosphere, but that doesn't stop it being cool!
  Via AndroidCentral. 

• New research from NPD suggests that illegal downloads aren't anything like the problem they were a few years back! The research indicated that peer-to-peer (P2P) usage declined 26% in 2012 compared to a year earlier, the total amount of people illegally downloading music dropped 17%, that old tradition of sharing CDs at family gatherings was down by a huge 44% and music sharing through hard and flash drives was down 25%! So why are record labels still complaining? Well it turns out the Spotify and streaming services seem to be making all the difference with users opting for the free, legal option instead!
  Via Slashgear.

And finally, there's been a lot of issues lately with Twitter's 100,000 user token limits and Falcon Pro is the latest app to be smacking up against Twitter's limit! So Falcon's developer, Joaquim Verges, has taken the decision to raise the price of the app to $132.13 (£87.46) to discourage people from buying the app! If you check the Play Store listing now you will be greeted with this in the description:

** ATTENTION PLEASE READ THIS **
** TOKEN LIMIT REACHED – DO NOT BUY – WORKS ONLY FOR ONLY FOR EXISTING USERS **
** THE APP WILL NOT ACCEPT NEW USERS BECAUSE OF TWITTER LIMITATIONS (100k tokens max) **
Help me Extend the access token limit by signing this petition :http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/extend-falcon-pro
And Please RELEASE your access token from the Twitter settings on the web if you’re not using the app anymore.

    Twitter aren't happy with people developing apps for their system, they want users to use the official app. That doesn't mean that they are right, but that's why the limit is there in the first place. If you want to help out the dev you can either release your token so someone else can use it or sign the petition in the quote above!
Via AndroidAuthority.

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LG confirms the Optimus G Pro!

   LG are having a hard time keeping things secret at the moment. They accidentally announced the 15 millionth sale of their L-Series about a week ahead of schedule and the Optimus G Pro has been more leaky than our bathroom tap!

   Not to worry though, LG has confirmed what we already knew about the 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro and they've even revealed a launch date in Korea, specs and a time frame for when they expect US availability to begin.

   So what will your money buy you with this thing? Well on the inside there's the brand new quad-core Snapdragon 600 which is clocked at speeds up to 1.7Ghz, this processor isn't quite the pinnacle of Qualcomm's offering this year, it's one tier down, but it is essentially last year's Snapdragon S4 Pro with some upgrades!

LG helpfully made a little bullet point list of the other key specs of the device and this looks to be a really solid phone for 2013 and with a bit of luck this will become the new standard!

"• RAM: 2GB DDR
• Memory: 32GB / microSD (up to 32GB)
• Display: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 400ppi)
• Camera: Rear 13.0MP with LED Flash / Front 2.1MP
• OS: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• Battery: 3,140mAh (removable / wireless charging capable)
• Size: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm"

   For the moment we know that this device will be available in Korea on SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus from this Wednesday for 968,000 won ($897). The device is expected to arrive in North America and Japan in Q2, although we're not sure about European availability, but we expect it'll arrive!

Via Engadget.

OPTIMUS G PRO, LG'S FIRST FULL HD SMARTPHONE, LAUNCHES THIS WEEK IN KOREA
LG's 5.5-inch Full HD IPS Display Device to Make Appearance at MWC
SEOUL, Feb. 18, 2013 - Hot on the heels of the success of Optimus G, LG Electronics (LG) today introduced the newest addition to the G family to the Korean public. With the largest display yet to appear on an LG smartphone, the 4G LTE-equipped Optimus G Pro with 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display and new UX features was developed to meet the growing demand for smartphones with large screens.
The Full HD IPS display on the Optimus G Pro - developed in partnership with LG Display - delivers 1920 x 1080 pixels at 400ppi. The smartphone offers the largest battery capacity in its class at 3,140mAh, allowing for Full HD viewing enjoyment for hours on end. And with an improved 13MP rear and 2.1MP front camera, users can also capture images and videos in Full HD, the same quality found on high definition TVs.
The Optimus G Pro also comes with advanced UX features developed specifically for the device, such as Dual Recording and Virtual Reality (VR) Panorama. Dual Recording allows users to capture video with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously for a unique picture-in-picture experience. And VR Panorama allows shots of entire horizontal and vertical environments for a full 360o view. Creative and innovative UX features popular with Optimus G users have been added to the Optimus G Pro, such as an upgraded QSlide, Live Zooming and QuickMemo.
"The Optimus G Pro was developed specifically to deliver vivid and superb picture quality in a large display smartphone form factor," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "We will continue to expand our position in the premium LTE smartphone segment with our superior display technology and unique user experience."
Visitors to 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) can experience Optimus G Pro and its advanced UX features for themselves at LG's Booth in Hall 3.
Optimus G Pro Key Specifications:
• Chipset: 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm? Snapdragon™ 600 Processor
• RAM: 2GB DDR
• Memory: 32GB / microSD (up to 32GB)
• Display: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 400ppi)
• Camera: Rear 13.0MP with LED Flash / Front 2.1MP
• OS: Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• Battery: 3,140mAh (removable / wireless charging capable)
• Size: 150.2 x 76.1 x 9.4mm

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18/01/2013: Samsung Galaxy Xcover II and the LG Optimus G Pro leaked! Rumours of GAME buying out HMV and much more!

Samsung's Galaxy Xcover II leaked!

   The guys over SamMobile have done it again with yet another leak and this time it is the follow up to Samsung's ultra durable Galaxy Xcover! The full list of specs includes:

• Code name: Skomer

• Android: version 4.1 / 4.2 Jelly Bean

• Official name: GALAXY X Cover 2

• Product codes: GT-S7110

• Battery: 1700 mAh

• Dimension: 130.5×67.7×11.9mm , 148 gram.

• Display: 4” TFT 480×800 WVGA

• GSM networks: EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) HSPA+21.1Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps (850/900/1900/2100)

• Camera 5 Megapixel (BACK)

• Camera 0.3 megapixel (FRONT)

• 4GB intern + microSD (up to 32GB)

• Connections:  BT 4.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, A-GPS

   Now this isn't going to be a high end device, but with extra durability and reasonable specs this should prove to be right up some people's streets! What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
Via SamMobile.

LG's Optimus G Pro leaks as well!

   The leaks seem to have been the order of today's news and so we're not surprised to hear something about next gen devices from LG given their lack of new devices at CES. The LG Optimus G Pro, as pictured above, will supposedly be a new device destined for NTT DoCoMo. The rumoured specs will reportedly include:

• 5-inch 1920 x 1080 p display

• Android Jelly Bean

• 1.7Ghz Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064

• 2GB RAM

• 32GB internal storage

• 13-megapixel camera

• 2.4-megapixel front-facing camera

• 3000mAh battery

• 4G LTE

• 139 x 70 x 10.1mm

   This will certainly be a flagship device and it will have a couple of extra NTT DoCoMo specific features such as One-Seg and NOTTV support. With a bit of luck this will have a cousin which will arrive in the United States and Europe, but we'll have to wait for MWC to find out about that!
Via Engadget.

In other news:

• Asus UK's store now has the music dock for the Nexus 7 available! The dock can be yours for £24.99 (plus £6.00 shipping), only thing is that the dock will be with you within 14 days of your order, so we're not entirely sure if this is pre-order because the product will only display if you directly search for it on the site, no explicit link is available so this one may have been let out of the bag a bit early! You can order the dock here, but we'd recommend waiting until this is officially available just to be safe!
  Via AndroidCentral.

• Sharp has “nearly halted” production of 9.7 inch displays for Apple's iPad, supposedly the result of people choosing Apple's iPad Mini instead of the full version of the iPad. Reuters has cited “industry sources with knowledge of Sharp's production plans,” as they describe how Sharp has decreased production of 9.7in screens at its Kameyama, Japan plant to the lowest possible level.
  Via ITProportal. 

• The Samsung Galaxy S4 has supposedly been spotted in some AnTuTu benchmarks. The model numbers SHV-E300S and GT-I9500 have both been spotted and a few of the benchmarks have noted that there is Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean running on a 1.8Ghz Exynos 5 Octa-core processor!
  Via SamMobile.

• LG has announced that their Optimus G handset has shipped one million units! Now that might not sound like much but the phone hasn't landed in either China or Europe yet so that's not bad going!
  Via TheNextWeb.

• ABI Research have published some findings about Apple's projected performance over the next few years. In line with most estimates, they predicted that the company’s market share will plateau this year and will reportedly remain flat in the next 5 years!
  Via PhoneArena.

• We already know Sony is aiming for the high-end smartphone market to save their company. Sony CEO, Hirai said, “We are more in toward the high end of the market as opposed to trying to get into the commoditized portion” where Sony’s phone unit operating loss remains huge. We see where Sony is trying to go, but they face very stiff competition from Samsung and Apple if they want to go for the top end of the mobile market.
  Via Bloomberg.

And finally, HMV may well have a very unlikely buyer coming to the fore. That buyer was one of the first companies to feel the squeeze on the high street and that was GAME. GAME boss, Martyn Gibbs, expressed his interest in buying a limited number of stores, but he didn't offer anything concrete. There is currently 40 HMV branches where there is no GAME stores so these places could well double up as the best of both stores! We'll have to wait and see how this plays out!

Via CNet.

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