LG Optimus LTE, Vu, and LTE Tag will get the ICS treament in June

June is bound to be a good month for the owners of LG Optimus LTE, Optimus Vu, and Optimus LTE Tag. The Korean giant has announced that it will kick off the update of the smartphone trio to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on June 4, which is less than a week away.

Quite expectedly, the ICS update will include LG's latest version 3.0 of its proprietary UI. You are welcome to get a sneak peak of it in our hands-on of LG Optimus L7 over here.

Compared to its siblings, the LG Optimus Vu will get some additional software tricks utilizing its 4:3 aspect display.

Photos of the next iPhone panels reveal larger screen, metal back

After all the rumors of the next iPhone getting a 4-inch display, we finally get to see a glimpse of what the end result might look like. Acquired by 9to5mac from a Chinese iPhone parts supplier, the allegedly authentic photos below show the next Apple smartphone from both the front and the back.

Most notably, it looks like the width of the phone hasn't been altered and the phone is much taller. As a result, according to various sources the resolution is 1136 x 640 pixels, making the screen 3.99 inches in diagonal.

The next major change is the back, which is now almost fully metal with only a small part of the top and bottom being glass. Again, this may be just a prototype Apple has been working on, but if it turns out to be the real deal, the aluminum back from iPhones of old is back.

China-bound Alcatel OT986 and Motorola RAZR V revealed

Today Motorola and Alcatel announced two new tempting smartphones for the Chinese market.

Surprisingly, the Alcatel's OT986 is a high-end device. It has a 4.5-inch HD IPS LCD screen and is based on a TI OMAP 4460 chipset (the same as the Galaxy Nexus) with a 1.5GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, PowerVR SGX540 GPU and 1GB of RAM.

  
Alcatel OT986

The rest of the specs include a 5MP camera with a LED flash, a 2MP front snapper for video calls, 8GB internal storage and HSPA+ support. The OT986 runs on stock Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich and relies on virtual controls, instead of hardware ones.

The Alcatel OT986 will cost 2000 yuan (about €250). It will also have a cheaper version with a 1.2GHz clocked processor and just 4GB of internal storage, but there is no info on the pricing yet.

The other newly unveiled China-bound droid is the Motorola RAZR V. It packs a 4.3-inch qHD screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording support, and a microSD card slot.

   
Motorola RAZR V

The RAZR V is running on the Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich. It also drops the hardware controls in favor of the on-screen ICS keys.

There is no info on the RAZR V pricing and availability yet.

ICS updates finally hit I9100 and I9100G Galaxy S II in India

Most of the Galaxy S II users out there have been enjoying their due ICS serving for a while now, but those unlucky ones living in India were still waiting. Well today this finally changed as both versions of the smartphone available in the the country started receiving the ICS updates.

According to numerous user reports we received, both the Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II (based on the home-brewed Exynos SoC) and the Samsung 9100G Galaxy S II(running atop a TI OMAP 4430 SoC) are now getting notifications to apply the Ice Cream Sandwich update.

The update can be applied over the air, but it's many MB worth of download so you better use a Wi-Fi network for the purpose. Alternately, you can hook up your smartphone to Kies and download the update using your computer's internet connection.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in

EXCLUSIVE: Why the Pebble Blue Galaxy S III is delayed

Today we received official confirmation that Samsung is delaying the Pebble Blue Galaxy S III units due to some manufacturing issues regarding the paintjob and the panels' material.

The official statement went like this:

Samsung’s Galaxy SIII Pebble Blue version comes with a newly invented blue colour and special hyper-glaze material.

In order to meet the highest internal quality standards and to provide the best quality Galaxy SIII to customers, a short supply of Pebble Blue version is expected in some regions in the next 2-3 weeks.

Samsung is working hard to ensure that customers will get the Pebble Blue coloured devices as soon as possible.

ICS update now rolling out for the Sony Xperia arc and Xperia Neo

Two more members of the Xperia family are joining the Ice Cream Sandwich club - congratulations to the Sony Ericsson (well, technically Sony now) Xperia arc and Xperia neo.

What they're getting is Android 4.0.4 - the latest available from Google - but they're sticking with an older kernel - 2.6.32. The update is being rolled out in stages, so it might not be available for your unit just yet.

Owners of an Xperia arc can check this page to see if the ICS update is available for their unit (you need to check the phone's SI number printed under the battery) and Xperia neo owners can have a look here.

Some Samsung Galaxy S III stock delayed in the UK

It appears that some Samsung Galaxy S III units won't make it in time to the UK.

Clove has informed preorders of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III will be delayed until June 1st, rather than the announced May 30th release date. The blue variant is expected to be delayed even further, with supplies set to be available on June 5th, although that date is tentative.

Crosstown retailer Vodafone has stated that the 16GB version of the white S III will be available on tomorrow’s launch date, while the 32GB version will face an unspecified shipping delay. This same delay applies to both the 16GB and 32GB blue variants of the device.

Carphone Warehouse UK recalling HTC One X units?

We received a tip that HTC One X phones have been recalled from Carphone Warehouse stores in the UK due to software issues. This was reportedly triggered by customers returning phones with complaints.

The exact nature of the software issues isn't clear but the phones will be flashed with an update that fixes the issue, after which the phones will be shipped back to the stores. There's no official confirmation from Carphone Warehouse that One X phones are indeed recalled, though, so take this with a pinch of salt.

Nokia announces Batman-themed Lumia 900

You may remember the limited edition The Dark Knight Rises Lumia 800 that Nokia announced late last year. Nokia will now be making a similar version of the new Lumia 900 as well.

Just like the Lumia 800, the 900 will be available in Black and have the Batman logo on the back. The logo is not just printed on the phone but engraved on it, so you can feel the depression. Other than that the phone will also have some other content on the phone such exclusive wallpapers.

HTC Sensation XL ICS update is now seeding

We have some good news for those of you sporting the imposing looking HTC Sensation XL droid. The smartphone's Android ICS update has begun seeding.

The speaker-less Kyocera Urbano Progresso hits Japan May 30

Kyocera is launching its latest Android smartphone dubbed Urbano Progresso in couple of days in Japan and its key selling point is its lack of speakers. Thanks to its Smart Sonic Receiver tissue-conducting technology, the Ubrano Progresso is able to transmit sound through vibrations when placed next to your ear.

This groundbreaking technology is a result of Kyocera's teaming up with Japanese carrier KDDI, which will offer the Android smartphone on May 30. In fact, Kyocera claim that the phone will truly shine in really loud urban environments, and could be easily heard through headphones, hats or earbuds.

Nokia plans to make all Lumia and PureView phones waterproof

Nokia have a history with hydrophobic technology for their phones - but they're also planning to take the technology beyond the concept stage and bring it to all future Lumia and PureView devices and make them waterproof.

Here's what the VP of Nokia Western Europe, Conor Pierce, had to say about the technology:

"What happens when a drop of water lands on a lotus leaf… has baffled scientists for generations... but our team in Cambridge UK found a solution.

Nano technology lets us do it. Superhydrophobic technology makes water bounce, it stops it, rolls it off the device and leaves it water impregnant, that’s the magic, that’s what we’re going to bring to the party."

You can check out a demo we caught on video last year when Nokia showed of a waterproofed 700 - you can see water bounce off the superhydrophobic coating in slow motion.

Unlike current waterproof phones whose outer shell keeps the water out, Nokia plans to coat both the outside and the inside with the stuff, so even if water gets inside the phone it won't do any damage.

Of course, Pierce was mum on when Nokia will start using superhydrophobic technology in their phones. Hopefully, we'll get more details during one of the Nokia World events in early September.

Facebook allegedly planning on releasing a phone next year

Once again, we are hearing reports of Facebook working on making their own mobile phone. The latest one comes from The New York Times, who have spoken to several Facebook employees and engineers who have been briefed on the plans.

According to these people, Facebook is currently working on a Facebook phone, which it plans to launch next year and this time it is going to be more than just a button to launch the app. For this the company has also hired more than half a dozen software and hardware engineers who formerly worked at Apple on the iPhone and iPad.

This is Facebook's third attempt at making a Facebook phone, with the first one being abandoned back in 2010 and last year they worked with HTC to create a smartphone, codenamed 'Buffy', but the only thing that actually reached the retail stores were the two phones, ChaCha and Salsa, with just a Facebook button on them. However, it is said that the Buffy project is still being worked upon and the phone that is supposed to launch next year could be the culmination of that project.

According to one of the employees with whom the NYT spoke to, Zuckerberg feels that Facebook should make its own phone or it will end up being just an app. Having their own phone will also serve as a source of revenue, something that the free apps cannot achieve.

There is no information on what OS the phone will be running on but if we have to guess we'd say Facebook would go with a forked version of Android, the way Amazon did with the Kindle Fire. We also think that it would only allow access to the apps on the recently announced Facebook Store instead of Google's Play Store. This should allow Facebook tighter control over the kind of apps people install on their phones, including preventing installing apps for other social networks such as Twitter. But all those are wild guesses, of course.

Motorola releases demo videos for Android 4.0 update

Motorola has released a bunch of videos on its Japanese site detailing the upcoming Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for its phones.

The videos are meant to highlight the changes between the current Gingerbread ROM and the new ICS ROM. We must say we are very impressed with what Motorola has to show here. While most of the other OEMs are busy slapping heavy layers of custom skin on top of stock Android, Motorola's is practically stock.

ICS-running Xperia S leaks on video

The Sony Xperia S is scheduled to receive ICS at the end of the month but thanks to SonyXP we get to see the Sony flagship running the latest Android version early.

Sony has preserved their custom launcher on Android 4.0.4 and has even added a couple of new tricks to it. There's a new Walkman music player and a new Gallery, which looks great and supports gestures for increasing and reducing thumbnail size (much like Control and the mouse wheel do on Windows).

The original video was taken down, which gives it more credibility. Here's a copy of it, though.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Galaxy S III expected to go on sale in Canada and US by June 20

According to a leaked screenshot by the MobileSyrup.com, the Samsung Galaxy S III is expected to go on sale in Canada on June 20. The screenshot says 'Pre-order today', although there is no way to tell when exactly 'today' is.

We can also see names of the four major Canadian carries, including Rogers, Bell, Telus and Virgin Mobile who will be selling the phone on launch day.

But it seems Canada won't be alone in getting the phone on June 20. TMoNews is reporting that T-Mobile in the US will also be getting the Pebble Blue variant on the same day, with the Marble White version arriving on July 11 and only in 16GB variant.

All of these are just rumors at this point and it's best not to dwell too much on them. We'll let you know when we hear something concrete.

Samsung unveils dual-sim Galaxy Ace Duos with GSM radios

The world-wide edition of the Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos is now official.

It's been a while since we saw the dual-mode version of the phone get announced for India. Now we finally have the two-SIM-slot variety intended for for international GSM markets.

   
international Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos

Specs-wise, the Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos is no surprise. There's a 3.5” HVGA (320x480px) LCD screen, 5MP camera with VGA video recording, 832MHz processor, 512MB RAM and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The user-available on-board storage space is supposedly 3GB, but there's a microSD slot as well. The battery on this one is mere 1,300 mAh unlike the one on the CDMA variety, which is 1650 mAh. But hey, perhaps CDMA networks strain battery consumption harder.

The good news are that at 11.5mm thickness, the new dual SIM variety of the Galaxy Ace Duos is as slim as the original Galaxy Ace and it's less than 10g heavier.

The smartphone comes with Samsung’s proprietary ‘Dual SIM always on’ feature, which automatically forwards calls from SIM 2 to the SIM 1 when when the user is talking on SIM 1, meaning there are no calls missed calls.

The Galaxy Ace Duos will launch first in Russia this June but it will later roll out to the rest of Europe, CIS, Latin America, Southeast and Southwest Asia, Middle East, Africa, and China.

The GSM+CDMA version costs $240 in India, so we should probably expect similar pricing with the worldwide edition as well.

Nokia confirms that Carla update for Symbian is not cancelled

A couple of days ago we ran a story that stated the Carla update for Nokia Belle has been cancelled. However, we have now been contacted by Nokia regarding this matter, stating that this is not the case at all.

We have been told that what we know as Carla was just the codename for the Belle Feature Pack 1, which started rolling out last month for the Nokia 603, 700 and 701. The upcoming Nokia 808 PureView will also be running on this same OS. You can read more about the Belle FP1 update here.

We apologize if any misinformation was spread due to our previous post and hope that Symbian continues to get major updates in the future.

Untethered GreenPois0n Absinthe jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 now out

Even though we were anticipating a new jailbreak tool sooner or later, the unveiling came as a surprise today from the developer known as Pod2g. The Absinthe 2.0 was announced on-stage at the Hack in the Box 2012 in Amsterdam in a “one more thing” fashion.

The GreenPois0n Absinthe tool is rather easy to use as you'll notice in the tutorial in the source link at the bottom of this news post.

Supported devices include all A4 and A5 iOS devices (iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches). The only exception is the latest iPad 2, which has a 32nm A5 CPU. Support for that will be added later.

Get it HERE along with a tutorial how to use it. Update: Currently the download link is down and we are yet to find mirrors.

And don't forget, if you try it, let us know how it went.

Sony quietly removes Xperia PLAY from ICS update list

Xperia PLAY users waiting for the Android 4.0 update, we have some bad news for you. It seems that Sony won't be updating the ill-fated device to the latest version of Android.

Back in December last year when Sony (then Sony Ericsson) released the Android 4.0 update roadmap, the Xperia PLAY was part of the list of devices mentioned. However, the latest list put up on the Sony Mobile website does not mention the Xperia PLAY anywhere. Instead we can only see the following handsets