With over 20 million users there’s no denying that Instagram is a very popular application but at the moment it is for iOS only. The developers have mentioned that an Android version is currently in the works but there’s no indication of when users can expect the popular app to make the leap. But if this screenshot captured from a promotional notification on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is anything to go by, Instagram for Android may only be days away from its much-awaited debut.

This is still far from definitive but it gives a glimmer of hope that Instagram could only be a few day away from being available in the Android Market. Would Instagram for Android be a big deal for you?

[via]

	Android, Mobile Apps, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Rumour Mill
	Android, android app, Instagram, Instagram Android, Instagram for Android

Bloomberg says the next iPad (iPad 3) will sport a HD display, a faster processor, run on LTE and go on sale this March citing “three people familiar with the product”. The sources also claim that Apple’s manufacturing partners in China have started ramping up production of the new iPad this month to meet what Apple expects is a huge demand the new tablet and also to make up for the massive Lunar New Year exodus where factories in the country will halt production. Mass production for the new iPad started this month with factories running 24 hours a day, one of the Bloomberg sources said.

Bloomberg requested for comment from Apple on the matter but a spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on rumor and speculation.

The new iPad is expected to feature a high resolution display with pixels so small and packed in so tightly that it makes images appear like printed material. According to information found in the iOS 5 SDK, the new display could have a resolution of up to 2048×1536 pixels.

Assuming Apple will stick with the 9.7-inch screen form factor, that gives the display on the iPad 3 a pixel density of around 264ppi – well below the 300ppi threshold where Apple claims the naked eye is not able to discern individual pixels. In comparison, the Retina Display on the iPhone 4 and 4S pushes 326ppi.

The iPad 3 is expected to feature a slightly thicker case to accommodate the HD display and a larger battery. The larger battery is said meet the higher power requirements of LTE allowing Apple to make the iPad 3 its first LTE device. For countries outside of the US where LTE is not prevalent, users can expect the iPad 3 to deliver considerably better battery performance, possibly double that of the iPad 2.

In addition to the bigger battery and higher resolution display, the iPad 3 is said to feature a quad-core processor and possibly a new GPU as well. One of the Bloomberg sources said that the new processor will bring faster multitasking capabilities and allow video playback to happen instantaneously.

Apple rumours are a whole different animal altogether, there are so many flying around it get difficult to separate the truth from the fluff but when a credible news source comes in with information that is in line with some of the many rumours that has been going around, then you know something is up. This is going to be interesting.

[source]

	iPad, Mobile Devices, Rumour Mill
	apple, iPad, iPad 3, iPad 3 display, iPad 3 specs

Yahoo! Singapore reports investment firm Kim Eng in Singapore has revealed that operators on the island republic are planning to reduce generous data caps, scrap the current unlimited data option in 3G packages, and roll out more usage-based plans in the future.

The report noted that the review comes after the ever-increasing adoption of instant messaging platforms and Voice over IP (VoIP) applications such as WhatsApp and Viber. Such tools allow mobile users to send text messages and make phone calls for free, thus eroding the need to pay for costly voice calls or SMS.

A spokesperson for StarHub confirmed with Yahoo! Singapore that the company is indeed working on reviewing the price scheme for its data packages and may consider rolling out usage-based data pricing.

“We are reviewing current pricing plans and consider introducing usage-based data pricing to ensure optimal network quality for our customers,” said Chan Kin Hung, StarHub’s head of products and solutions.

“In addition, we will not offer unlimited mobile broadband plan on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) platform when we launch our LTE service, which is likely to take place in the second half of 2012,” he added.

Mobile data usage is through the roof, this is a global phenomenon and the advent of increasingly powerful mobile devices and apps will only fuel this momentum, but what are operators doing to cope with the surge in demand?

Bandwidth, just like water, electricity or oil, is a finite resource. There is a cost that’s tied up to bandwidth and someone has to pay for it. As revenue from traditional streams like voice calls and SMS slow down, operators are hard pressed to find other ways to turn a profit.

Data is the next big thing for operators but unlimited plans are not feasible for business, at the end of the day something has got to give and by the looks of it, consumers are being served the short end of the stick.
Will Malaysian operators resort to doing the same? It looks very likely. The number of mobile devices is on the rise and so too is mobile data usage. At the same time, voice and SMS usage has plateaued. As a result, operators are now applying more stringent control over subscriber data usage. Where before you could get away with bursting your monthly data cap, chances are operators are not so lenient anymore.

It might be a couple of more years or perhaps a little bit more but the days of the unlimited mobile internet plans are numbered, wherever you are. The sad fact about all this is that there’s pretty much nothing we can do about it. When the time comes, we will all have to bite the bullet and start being responsible with our data just like how we are with our water and electricity. Internet has indeed become the utility of the modern world. Like any utility, there is a cost that we will all have to bare.

[via]

	Industry in General
	data, Internet, mobile internet plans, unlmited mobile internet

Update: At 1625hrs DiGi announced via Twitter that services in affected areas in Petaling Jaya and Damansara has been fully restored.

If you’re using DiGi and are in Petaling Jaya and Damansara and are currently experiencing problems getting connected to the internet and, making and receiving phone calls, well then you’re not alone.

As it turns out the DiGi is currently having issues with its network in Petaling Jaya and Damansara. We can’t determine how many customers are affected by this but the fact that DiGi has made a public announcement about the issue via its Twitter account indicates to us that the issue is something that affects a lot of people.

DiGi is currently undergoing an ambitious network upgrade exercise. Whilst this is going on, DiGi say subscribers can expect intermittent network disruption but referring to the update schedule posted by DiGi, upgrades in Petaling Jaya should have been completed by December 16. In the schedule, DiGi assures that “there would be no service interruptions in your area if it is not listed in the Upgrade Schedule” and Damansara is currently not listed in the update schedule. It’s also worth pointing out that the schedule has not been updated since December 2.

With the network upgrade DiGi hopes to be the first LTE network in the country by the end of the year and also at the same time deliver a more robust and reliable 3G service to customers. While DiGi’s aspirations are indeed noble, we’re not sure if subscribers are patient enough to wade through the disruptions as DiGi sorts out its network. Chances are most won’t be.

	DiGi, Industry in General, Network Outages, Players on the Field
	DiGi, DiGi LTE, DiGi network, DiGi network interuption, DiGi network upgrade, DiGi service interuption, lte, LTE Malaysia, network, network outage, network upgrade, service interuption, service outage, Tomorrow Network

This is the almost certainly confirmed Sony Ericsson Xperia HD, one of the possibly three Sony Ericsson smartphones that’s scheduled to make their world debut at CES next week. As you can see, there is not much difference from the Nozomi device we saw earlier.

In terms of specs, it looks like the rumours are valid as well. The Xperia HD — as it would likely be called — features a 4.3-inch display with 1280×720 HD resolution. The 12MP camera is also present and you can expect it to be able to shoot 1080p HD videos. In addition to that, there’s a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor (a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8660 unit), 1GB of RAM and 8GB of on board storage. Unfortunately, the device does not have expandable memory. We believe the Xperia HD will not carry the “arc” monicker because its design does not feature a prominent arc that made the Xperia arc and arc S so distinctive.

Also unfortunate is that the Xperia HD runs on Android Gingerbread 2.3.7 rather than Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This is weird because Sony Ericsson said last year that all new phones released in 2012 will run ICS. Another way to look at this would be that Sony Ericsson wanted to be able to launch the device at CES and didn’t have enough time to develop a custom UI for ICS. If this is indeed the case, we assume that the Xperia HD will very likely get ICS soon after release.

With just a few days away from the unveiling of Sony Ericsson’s 2012 line-up, we’re pretty excited to see what the manufacturer has in store – though we can’t agree with the new design direction. The Xperia arc and ray are amongst some of the most aesthetically pleasing smartphones in the market today, it’s sad to see that Sony Ericsson didn’t continue this trend for 2012.

In any case, we will be at the heart of the action at a regional Sony Ericsson launch happening at the same time as CES in Shanghai. You know what to do.

[source, via]

	Mobile Devices, Rumour Mill, Sony Ericsson
	Android, dual-core sony ericsson, LT26i, Sony Ericsson Nozomi, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD, Sony Ericsson Xperia HD, Sony Ericsson Xperia HD Malaysia, Xperia Arc HD

This is the Sony Ericsson Xperia MT27i “Pepper”. Rumoured specs include a 1GHz dual-core processor, a 480×854 3.7-inch screen, and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video. Other hardware noticeable in the blurry pictures includes a secondary mic for active noise-cancellation, a front-facing camera, and a notification LED.

The MT27i is believed to be the successor to the Xperia neo V and it looks to have been inspired the Sony Ericsson T610 and that can be a good thing.

So as things pans out, it looks like Sony Ericsson is set to reveal three new devices next week — the high-end LT28at aka the Xperia Ion, the Nozomi and this one. We’ll be close to the action when it happens, so keep it locked on to SoyaCincau.com for the latest.

A couple more pictures of the MT27i after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

	Mobile Devices, Rumour Mill, Sony Ericsson
	Android, dual-core sony ericsson, LT26i, LT28at, MT27i, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson 13MP, Sony Ericsson LT28at, Sony Ericsson MT27i Pepper, Sony Ericsson Nozomi, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD Malaysia, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ion, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ion Malaysia, Xperia Arc HD

A new teaser was released by Sony Switzerland & Austria which is currently speculated as Sony’s new smart phone. From the teaser pic, it only reveals the “S” which is the same font used in Sony branding.

On the Facebook page, there are comments guessing that this is a new smart phone but we are inclined to believe that this could be just another Portable Media Player Walkman. Even Xperia Blog has also updated that the teaser pic resembles very closely with Sony Walkman Z, an Android powered walkman device. All shall be revealed on 10th January at CES.

If it is indeed a smart phone, this could mark a new rebranding of future Sony Ericsson devices. 3 months back, Sony has taken over Ericsson’s stake in Sony Ericsson which marks the end of Sony & Ericsson 10 years partnership in the mobile device business.

[ SOURCE ]

	Android, Mobile Devices, Mobile OS, Rumour Mill, Sony, Sony Ericsson
	Sony, Sony Ericsson, Sony Walkman, Walkman, Walkman Z

Since December 2011, DiGi has begun a network upgrade of epic proportions. DiGi says the exercise is the single most ambitious network modernisation the operator has embarked upon. That’s also indirectly saying that its network was probably not able to cope with the ever growing hunger for mobile data in Malaysia.

The upgrade is expected to continue through 2012 and within this period DiGi targets to upgrade over 400 sites a month on average. Once completed, a total of over 5,000 DiGi sites will have been upgraded.

DiGi says its “Tomorrow Network” will be Malaysia’s first LTE-equipped network by the end of 2012. At the same time the upgraded network will also expand existing EDGE and 3G coverage to 95.8% of the Malaysian population. In addition, DiGi also promises a more stable and environmentally friendly network once the year round upgrade is completed.

It’s certainly interesting to see what this new DiGi network can deliver to consumers. But we noticed that DiGi didn’t specifically put a number to how large its LTE network will be. Being Malaysia’s first publicly accessible LTE network is commendable but if it’s just a small coverage area confined to city centres, it wouldn’t be that useful either.

In this respect, Yes did an amazing job with its WiMAX network covering over 60% of the populated areas in West Malaysia from day one. What Yes did is a hard act to follow but it is not impossible and we’re pretty sure DiGi is aware of this. So we’re expecting DiGi’s LTE footprint to be considerable so that it will be practical.

While all this is fine and dandy, DiGi subscribers can expect some network disruption as the operator upgrade its network in stages. DiGi has put up an upgrade schedule where you can check which areas are currently being upgraded (thus will be prone to network disruptions). At time of writing, areas in Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and Subang are affected. Do check the website periodically to see the latest areas affected by the upgrade.

We would like the information presented in the upgrade schedule to also include areas in which the upgrade works have been completed. This way, users can try the new network out for themselves and see if there are discernible increase in network performance and stability.

All the best in your network upgrade DiGi. To DiGi subscribers in the upgrade areas, do let us know if you noticed any difference in network performance and stability. Thanks!

For more on DiGi’s Tomorrow Network, click here.

	DiGi, Network Outages, Players on the Field
	DiGi, DiGi LTE, DiGi network upgrade, lte, LTE Malaysia, network upgrade, Tomorrow Network

Click for larger image

Update: A closer inspection of the picture reveals the dedicated camera button to be virtually identical to the one on the Xperia arc and arc S. The previously thought HDMI port is actually a microUSB port that again, when compared to the Xperia arc, looks pretty much the same. Could the HD lettering in the picture also mean that the new device will carry the “HD” monicker? If this is true then are we looking at the Xperia arc HD? A picture of the Xperia arc is available for comparison after the jump. See for yourself.

Sony Ericsson is expected to unveil its new flagship smartphone (or two) at CES 2012 that’s happening next week on January 10.

Building up to the launch, Sony Ericsson has released a couple of clues in the form of pictures posted on its global Facebook page. One, released yesterday, suggests that Sony Ericsson might unveil a Windows Phone-based Xperia and this latest one shows some elements of the new device.

The image suggests that the new Xperia is going to be a camera-centric phone with a dedicated camera button. There’s also an HDMI out. On top of that, the picture almost certainly lay to rest the rumour that Sony Ericsson is unveiling a Windows Phone Xperia – just look at the right bottom corner of the picture, the camera toggle soft-switch doesn’t look consistent with what you would see on a Windows Phone device. First clue revealed yesterday is available after the jump.

We’re expecting to see more than one device to be unveiled. One is the LT28at (also known as the Xperia ion). The LT28at is said to have a large 4.55-inch HD Reality Display with 1280×720 resolution with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. The main highlight of the LT28at is the massive 13MP camera that features a back-lit Exmor R sensor. On top of that, the front facing camera is said to be capable of doing 720p videos.

The other one is the Nozomi (aka Xperia arc HD). While the official name is not yet known, some of the specs have. The Nozomi will come with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread — yes, Gingerbread and NOT Ice Cream Sandwich. It will feature a 4.3-inch LCD display with 720p resolution (1280 x 720 pixels). There’s also apparently a whopping 12 megapixel camera with full 1080p HD video recording. You also get a HDMI out to push those 1080p video easily to your HDTV. The device will be powered by a dual-core 1.5Ghz Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM to keep things smooth.

We won’t be at CES but Sony Ericsson will be having a regional event in Shanghai at the same time as CES and we will be there to see what Sony Ericsson has in store for 2012. As always, will keep you updated. You know what to do.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts about this latest clue?

Read the rest of this entry »

	Mobile Devices, Rumour Mill, Sony Ericsson
	13MP Camera Phone, Android, dual-core sony ericsson, LT26i, LT28at, Sony Ericsson, Sony Ericsson 13MP, Sony Ericsson LT28at, Sony Ericsson Nozomi, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD, Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD Malaysia, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ion, Sony Ericsson Xperia Ion Malaysia, Xperia Arc HD

Remember the ASUS Eee Pad Memo? It looks like ASUS is still looking at releasing this 7″ tablet soon and it could be called a Transformer Prime Mini.

According to Notebook Italia, the refreshed tablet will be making an appearance at CES and shall run on 1.2GHz dual-core snapdragon processor with 16GB to 64GB options. A 3D version is said to be available as well. With the Transformer Prime having the brushed aluminium body, we would expect the Eee Pad Memo to have a similar redesign as well.

Another device worth looking out is the ASUS Padfone which is expected to debut in February as well.

[ SOURCE, VIA ]

	Asus, Mobile Devices, Rumour Mill
	Android Ice Cream Sandwich, Android Tablet, Asus, Asus Eee Pad, ASUS Eee Pad MeMO, Asus Eee PadFone, ASUS PadFone, ASUS tablet, Eee Pad Memo, Ice Cream Sandwich