NFC in smartphones is a very promising and exciting technology. Yet it’s unfortunate that the feature is not gaining a lot of traction here in Malaysia. In any case, more and more devices release this year will come equipped with NFC and like it or not, operators will have to pay attention and start offering compelling service propositions for consumers who are obviously ready and eager to adopt the technology.

While we wait for that faithful day when we can start using our NFC-equipped smartphones as cinema tickets or Touch n’ Go cards, here’s a comparison video we made comparing the rather rudimentary implementation of NFC on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the more integrated approach in Ice Cream Sandwich through Android Beam.

What are your thoughts on NFC? We think local operators, banks and payment services are taking way too long to take advantage of this massive potential.

While the possibility of LG Optimus line getting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is almost zero, here’s something to cheer about.

LG Mobile has announced via their Facebook page that their Optimus smart phone line will be upgraded to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. They have named 3 receipients – LG Optimus 2X, LG Optimus 3D and LG Optimus Black. The update will be rolled out for open models starting in Europe beginning this month and this will be followed by a global roll out later on.

Malaysian users should expect the update soon and it is likely to happen before the year is out. So LG finally is on the Android Gingerbread bandwagon. It look them long enough but like the saying goes, it is better late than never.

[ SOURCE, VIA ]

Sony Ericsson has announced its global roll out of their Android 2.3.4 update. The update is offered the following Xperia models:

• Xperia arc
• Xperia PLAY
• Xperia neo
• Xperia mini
• Xperia mini pro
• Xperia pro
• Xperia ray
• Xperia active
• Xperia neo V
• Xperia arc S
• Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman

Thanks @fizie76 for the heads up!

[ SOURCE, VIA ]

To resolve Desires memory issue and enable the upgrade to Gingerbread, we will cut select apps from the release.

Look for status updates starting next week. We apologize for any confusion.

It looks like memory limitation is indeed a serious issue for the Desire but its great to see that HTC is taking consumer feedback and giving users what they want. Also it looks like Desire users could have Gingerbread on their devices as early as next week

The take out from this is that HTC looks to be a very proactive company able to take in feedback and decisions quickly based on the feedback. They are really creating a lot of positive public perception for themselves with this exercise.

[via

It’s not everyday you see a brand admit to being wrong. HTC UK’s official Facebook page did an about face on their earlier statement and are now saying that the Gingerbread update is indeed coming to the HTC Desire.

Earlier HTC UK claimed that there is simply not enough memory in the Desire produce a smooth user experience with the Gingerbread and HTC’s latest version of Sense UI put together. We find this a bit odd as the 1GHz processor and 576MB of RAM should be enough for Gingerbread and Sense UI to run fine.

Now apparently HTC is able to cook something up.

The very short Facebook update only affirms that the Desire will be getting a Gingerbread update but no timeline or other details are made available, so it could be tomorrow or it could be next year.

Further reading here.

Thanks to commenter Lolness and Twitterer @chiamck for the tip.

UPDATE: Gingerbread is still coming to HTC Desire! Read more here.

Some bad news for HTC Desire users. Earlier on the HTC Desire was expected to be officially upgraded to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Today HTC had broke the news that it won’t be happening at all.

According to their UK Facebook page, there’s simply not enough memory to deliver both Gingerbread and their latest Sense UI together. They explored all possibility to maintain the HTC Sense experience but had finally gave up due to technical constraints. Of course, for those who are adventurous can still find a way of getting Gingerbread update through unofficial channels. Hint: XDA Forums.

We also wonder how is Sony Ericsson doing with their Xperia X10 Gingerbread update. It should be available anytime now.

[ SOURCE ]

Dual core Android devices are creating a lot of buzz lately with both Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Sensation running at 1.2GHz. The Samsung Galaxy S II is powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 2 while the HTC Sensation uses Qualcomm’s dual-core MSM8260 processor. In terms of screen, the Galaxy S II boasts having the best display quality with its Super AMOLED Plus while the Incredible is pushing out higher resolution with its qHD display at 960×540.

Just recently, the folks at SlashGear were lucky enough to have both devices at hand. With some ample playtime, they managed to post a brief comparison review of the two.

In terms of design, the thicker HTC Sensation at 11.3mm is reportedly better in the hands compared to the thinner 8.49mm Galaxy S II. They also mentioned that the Sensation feels smaller due to its rounded corners and edges.

On the screen display, the Galaxy S II is predictably better in terms of viewing angle, colour reproduction and contrast but loses out to the Sensation when it comes to resolution. In situations such as viewing a full web page, the texts are obviously much more readable on the higher resolution Sensation without the need to zoom.

Are both dual-cores smart phones equal? The Quadrant Advanced test results revealed that the Galaxy S II’s Tegra 2 chip is better, scoring a 3504 points compared to the Sensation’s 2245. Slashgear gave a note that the benchmarks may not portray the full picture as it each manufacturer may throttle its CPU differently depending on environment. Plus, it is still too early to tell as both manufacturers could still be tweaking their softwares before it is officially released in our markets.

Note: As pointed out by chocolate, the Galaxy S II tested might be using a Exynos variant instead of Tegra 2 which explains the big difference in Quadrant scores. The Galaxy S II offers 2 different SoC dependent on region.

Head after the break for their video hands-on and more comparison shots.

You can read the full comparison article over at Slashgear.

[ SOURCE ]

Maxis has finally updated its website with its Sony Ericsson Xperia arc bundling offers. As expected with any other Android devices, the Xperia arc comes bundled with a data plan contract bolted on a Value Plus postpaid plan 50 and above. You’ll also get additional RM10 monthly rebate on your data plan, making the 3GB option costing RM78/month.

As revealed moments ago, the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc is offered with contract at RM1749 for 12 months, RM1599 for 18 months and RM1499 for 24 months. Outright, it goes for RM2099.

In addition, those that purchase will get extra accessories as shown above, which includes HDMI Cable and also a USB Car Charger.

For more information, head over to Maxis’s Android page. You can check out our previous Xperia arc posts here.

Click to enlarge

UPDATE: Sony Ericsson Xperia arc official pricing: RM2099 outright, RM1749 for 12 months contract, RM1599 for 18 months contract and RM1499 for 24 months contract.

Today Sony Ericsson will be revealing the Xperia arc in Malaysia market with contract availability on Maxis. While we await for the event to start, the Sun had carried an ad which shows its official pricing of RM1499 with 24 months subscription of Maxis postpaid plan.

At the same time, they are doing a roadshow at Midvalley at the East Atrium from today until Sunday. If you’re planning to get one, they are also giving RM429 worth of items such as a wireless hi-fi headset, HDMI cable, screen protector and car charger.

We will update more on the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc offering as soon as we get more info.

Sony Ericsson which was previously plagued by legacy Android versions is turning for the better. For 2011, we’ve seen the new range of Xperia arc, Xperia Play, Xperia Pro and Xperia Neo which runs on the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS.

With the newer models running the latest versions, Sony Ericsson has announced via its product blog that it will also extend its latest Gingerbread development on its former Xperia X10 devices which carries the version number of 2.3.3. Several months back, Sony Ericsson had released its Android 2.1 Eclair update for the X10 and with no future updates expected after that.

Why the change of heart? According to Sony Ericsson, they had listened to feedbacks and their recent development of Gingerbread integration for its current line also made it possible to extend such upgrades for the Xperia X10. Unfortunately this coming upgrade is only applicable for the top of the line Xperia X10 and there are no plans to extend this for Xperia X10 mini, X10 pro and X8.

The Xperia X10 Gingerbread update is expected to roll out between Q2 and Q3 this year, which is probably as early as next month or as late as September. Considering Gingerbread is a huge update that skips Froyo, some functionalities will be lost such as:

• The current plan is that the Xperia^TM X10 will get the Android standard Camera user interface and therefore features like e.g. face recognition, smile shutter etc will be lost.
• Moxier is replaced by the gingerbread native EAS functionality.
• Mediascape is being replaced by the media experience widgets and music player included in our new 2011 products.
• DRM keys for protected content on your phone will be lost in the upgrade process.
• The Sony Ericsson Backup and Restore client is not supported in the Gingerbread version and will therefore be lost.
• Support for bi-directional languages will be reduced compared to the latest version of the 2.1 version of the Xperia^TM X10.

Great to see Sony Ericsson being proactive with Android software updates and if this goes as plan, it will certainly gain back confidence from Sony Ericsson loyalists out there.

[ SOURCE ]