O2 rolling out Android 4.1 to Samsung Galaxy S3 today

Buttery smooth experience with Android 4.1

O2 has confirmed that it will start rolling out the Android 4.1 update to its Samsung Galaxy S3 customers today.

Three was the first network in the UK to push the Jelly Bean update out to Galaxy S3 owners yesterday, and it has now been joined by O2.

The news was revealed yesterday on O2's community forum, with Abs from the O2 Social Media Team saying:

"From tomorrow, 19th October '12, you'll be able to upgrade to the much awaited 4.1 Jelly Bean update over Wi-Fi or via Kies."

Auto-update alert

In our Samsung Galaxy S3 review the handset received high praise and sits proudly at the top of our 20 best mobile phones in the world today – which goes some way to explaining why it's been so popular.

We're yet to hear from Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone on Jelly Bean, but all three are expected to push the update to customers in the coming weeks.

Update: A T-Mobile spokesperson has told TechRadar: "T-Mobile is working closely with its device manufacturing partner Samsung to roll-out a Jelly Bean update for as soon as possible. As soon as we have an exact timeline in place we will confirm."

Update: Samsung has told us: "Samsung UK can confirm that the roll out of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) has begun for our Galaxy S III customers and will be available across all networks over the coming weeks, pending software testing and approvals."

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/o2-rolling-out-android-4-1-to-samsung-galaxy-s3-today-1105501

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Rockmelt social browser launches on iPad offering a ‘fast and fun’ mobile experience

If you fancy a new kind of web browsing experience on your iPad, check out Rockmelt, a Safari "fast and fun" alternative with social media at its core.

Alongside Firefox, Safari, IE and Chrome, Rockmelt is but a small player in the world of web browsers, but with the introduction of its new browser for iPad, that could be about to change.

Founded by Eric Vishria and Tim Howes in 2009, Rockmelt set out to provide a “fundamentally better web experience” by building a browser around how people use and interact with the web today, with a social media focus at its core.

Its ambition has inspired a number of backers to get involved, including venture capital firm Andreeson Horowitz, helping the California-based start-up to raise $40 million to date.

Now it’s moving from desktop to mobile with the launch of a free iPad version that maintains its social media focus, creating a mobile web browsing experience which is more touch than type and a breeze to use.

Imagine a coming together of Flipboard and Pinterest, creating a browser populated with content from your Facebook and Twitter feeds. Scroll down the image-heavy front page until something catches your eye, tap on the item and away you go. Read it without formatting or tap the specs at the top and view the content in its original form on its webpage.

Once you’re done, perform a two-finger pinch to lose it and return to your main page or swipe to the right to save it for later.

You don’t have to go for content from your own social media feeds – tap the browse button at the top of the screen and choose from a long list of other categories, including business, cute, geek, news, science and shopping.

Being a browser with social media at its heart, there are sharing options aplenty. Buttons for Facebook, Twitter and email are all within easy reach, but Rockmelt goes one step further, offering so-called emoticodes such as like, lol, want, wtf?, aww, and hmm for a one-tap response that makes a statement without having to pull up a keyboard.

Yes, it is a browser, so at the top there’s a window where you can tap in an web address if you really must, or a word or phrase to initiate a search on Google. Chances are, however, you’ll be too busy tapping away on the endless streaming content to think about heading elsewhere.

According to a blog post announcing the launch of the app, it took a team of developers eight months to create Rockmelt for iPad, with its main aim to make it fast, fun to use and easy to share content. “It is an entirely new way to explore the web, built for you and your iPad from the ground up,” it says in the post.

It’s definitely worth checking out. If you’re a frequent user of, say, Flipboard, you’ll get what it’s about pretty quick. If you’re coming straight from Safari, it might take a little longer to get your head around. For many, however, it may soon become the iPad browser of choice. You can find out more about it here. 

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/rockmelt-social-browser-launches-on-ipad-offering-fast-and-fun-experience/

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SportStream brings its second screen app to the iPhone

SportStream continues its mission to connect fans with socially-sourced sports data with its new iPhone app.

If there’s any market that’s primed for the social, second screen experience, it’s sports. What with the stats, player news, fantasy teams, and of course, heavy dose of trash talking, the two are made for each other. That’s not to say there isn’t still plenty of friction in this space, but developers are doing their damndest to figure out how we want to use social platforms and mobile devices to enhance the experience of watching sports.

And today, one of the biggest names in this market, SportStream, is taking another step into the thick of it with the debut of its iPhone app. At the moment, SportStream is available via Web or iPad app, but the team has wisely noticed that plenty of users are content to multitask during TV watching from the palm of their hands as well: A recent Pew report found that more than 50 percent of adults use their phones while watching television.

“People watch sports in real-time: The don’t DVR,” says co-founder and CEO of SportStream Bob Morgan. “They want to see outcomes, share their comments and trash talk in real-time, too. This creates a very interesting opportunity for second screen experience. Our primary goal is to provide fans with the best content for every game, while connecting them with each other.”

The SportStream iPhone app brings with it everything available in the iPad and Web versions — commentary, sideline reports, and game stats. Except these aren’t sourced from what you’re already seeing on TV; it’s all aggregated from sports personalities’ and experts’ social media accounts. If that makes you raise a skeptical eyebrow, consider that Packers guard TJ Lang’s Twitter slam against the replacement NFL refs quickly became the most retweeted post of all time. There’s an inarguable connection between fans and sports figureheads, be they players or pundits, and it’s being made using social platforms.

In addition to features like Twitter and Facebook sharing (with some slick focus on trending hashtags focused on your content and improved technology to filter out any irrelevant social noise), SportStream’s recent integration with Are You Watching This?! (RUWT?!) also shows up in the new iPhone app. RUWT?! is an algorithm-based system that alerts users when games get exciting — it’s supposed to keep you from beating yourself up for turning the TV off during that assumed blowout only to hear the next day that your team made an epic comeback (points at self).

SportStream, which launched in June, has been building fast. The iPhone is an interesting next iteration, given the startup’s early tablet focus. “We’ve seen tablet and Web browser use as fairly similar — it appears users have one or the other open during games,” Morgan tells me. “This isn’t too surprising given the research in this area. With the launch of the iPhone app, we’re very interested to see how people interact with the app on their phones, while on the go. One of the most interesting things we’ve seen is how low latency game information and commentary is on Twitter. This makes for a really rich, 360-degree view of a game.”

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sportstream-brings-its-second-screen-app-to-the-iphone/

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Shazam now recognizes 160 television channels to enhance TV viewing experience

Shazam announced its foray into providing auxiliary content to enhance your television viewing experience in over 160 channels.

Shazam, boasting over 250 million users worldwide, announced today that the app will now support television programming on just about any channel, at any hour.

You may have noticed during American Idol, the Super Bowl, or the London Olympics that a Shazam icon would appear at the bottom corner of your TV screen, during a participating commercial or programming. If you’ve ever bothered to press on “Touch to Shazam,” during a show, additional information about the programming would pop-up on your mobile device. With today’s announcement, Shazam users will be able to access complimentary content through over 160 participating television channels and its users won’t be required to own any cable or satellite television subscriptions.

A Pew Research study from its Internet and American Life Project, which we reported on earlier, is evidence to the growing demand by consumers for additional content that accompanies the television viewing experience. In fact, 52 percent of adult cellphone owners will supplement their television watching with their smartphone. 

Now for those of you that use the Shazam app used while watching television, you’ll be able to find further details about the show that you’d otherwise be forced to tediously Google. Shazam’s television integration will determine what music is playing from the show’s soundtrack, what actors and actresses appear in the program (including other shows that the actors have appeared in), and relevant links to the show’s IMDB and Wikipedia pages, and the official website. You’ll find some interactive and social features that you could access during the downtime during commercials including the latest celebrity gossip about the show and stars, trivia about the show, and a live Twitter feed where viewers can read or weigh in on what other fans are saying about the program.

And if it’s a sporting event that you’re watching, in lieu of cast information you’ll be provided stats, scores, and schedules.

“Over the last year, Shazam has been testing and learning what works by building dozens of custom interactive second-screen experiences for select television shows and events,” Shazam Chief Revenue Officer, Doug Garland, said in a statement. “We’ve applied what we’ve learned to our newly expanded service, and will continue to work closely with our network partners and show producers to build special, unique second-screen experiences for their tent-pole television events and many of the most popular shows on TV.”

Shazam’s also doing what it can to boost its own social integration, a necessity for most apps today. In the coming weeks, Shazam also make its way on your Facebook newsfeed and Timeline when your friends are tagging the shows that they’re watching.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/shazam-blowing-up/

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The next-generation tech powering your Sony Xperia T

Taking the smartphone to the next level with powerful features

With the Xperia T, Sony has created its best ever smarpthone for the ultimate HD experience - but what about the technology powering these innovations?

Let's begin with the Mobile BRAVIA engine: using similar technology to that found in Sony's top end BRAVIA TVs, the technology gives your photos and videos a boost to make them look more sparkling than ever.

Be it boosting contrast to bring a more vivid picture or adding sharpness and detail to your favourite movies, the Sony Xperia T's picture quality is without equal on a smartphone.

Worried about the slightly noisy photo you just captured? That's no problem for the Mobile BRAVIA Engine, bringing the best of your snaps our thanks to intelligent image rendering on the large 4.6-inch HD screen of the Sony Xperia T.

Everyone knows that a smarpthone can be a decent alternative to the compact camera, but when it comes to the Sony Xperia T you're getting the best of Sony's photography prowess in a super slim smartphone.

Using its Exmor R sensor, the Xperia T brings your photos to life in a way never before experienced.

The Exmor R CMOS sensor helps you capture the amazing moments you don't want to miss, record in perfect 1080p HD video and offers up still images that are packed full of contrast, rich colours and less picture noise than ever before.

Even if your favourite time for photography is later in the evening, the Xperia T's Exmor R sensor is on hand to help out, with industry-leading low-light sensitivity bringing out the best in your snaps even if the light is fading.

And if you're too busy to worry about constantly changing your smartphone settings then the one-touch sharing via NFC on the Sony Xperia T will help cut the hassle of every day life.

Team it up with Xperia SmartTags and you're only ever a tap away from jumping into the car and starting up Bluetooth, GPS and online radio. Or place a tag in the kitchen to swiftly open your favourite recipe app or the calendar to see what the day holds.

The NFC chip inside the Sony Xperia T can do so much more than simplify your life – it can eradicate the more mundane tasks too. If you've got a compatible Bluetooth speaker dock, you won't have to mess around with pairing the Xperia T; one tap and you'll be set to hear your tunes in jaw-dropping bass and perfect clarity.

So there you have it: the technology powering your next smartphone, bringing the best in photography, screen quality and contactless technology in your pocket.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/the-next-generation-tech-powering-your-sony-xperia-t-1097474

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