iPad mini review roundup: Amazing build quality, impressive battery life, high price

The first iPad mini reviews hit the web on Tuesday, and as expected, many award high marks for the tablet’s build quality and components, but warn the price and lower resolution screen may be deal-breakers for some.

Hands-on with Android 4.2′s Gesture Type keyboard [Video]

Yesterday, Google officially took the wraps off their latest firmware upgrade: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. While the name hasn’t changed, there are a couple of noteworthy additions making their way into the software, one of which was a new virtual keyboard Google is calling Gesture Type. Similar to Swype(and soon, SwiftKey), Google’s new keyboard gives users the option of making swiping gestures when inputting words instead of the traditional tap-to-type method. Definitely not for everyone, a key benefit to swiping is easier single-handed use, which, if you’re anything like me, your other hand always seems to find itself preoccupied with other things.

Android remains the world’s most popular operating system in Q3 , iPhone 5 gives it heat in the States

Android has grown its share almost all over the globe and remains theworld’s most popular operating system, according to the latest report by UK-based analysts from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

The Kantar report focuses on the state of the mobile market in the United States, the UK and Europe as a whole in the third quarter of 2012.

So what are the numbers? Android leads in the United States, but with less. Its commanding 66.4% share has shrunken down to 57.5%, cannibalized by the growth of the iPhone which now has a 35.7% share. Interestingly, RIM has now become less popular than Windows Phone, but both have a very marginal sub-3% representation in the States.

Microsoft’s Ballmer calls Apple a “low volume player” in all markets except tablets

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sat down with the Wall Street Journal to touch on a few things including smartphones and the recent launch of Windows 8 and theMicrosoft Surface tablets. He said that numerically, there is nothing interesting to report following the launch of the new OS or the tablets. He did say that retailers would say that the two products are off to a good start and that some stores are out of stock on the Microsoft Surface tablet.

“We like our model, as we are evolving it. In every category Apple competes, it’s the low-volume player, except in tablets. In the PC market, obviously the advantage of diversity has mattered since 90-something percent of PCs that get sold are Windows PCs.

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean: the new features

1. Android 4.2 has widgets on the lock screen

Lockscreen widgets! If we had to point out the most exciting new feature in Android 4.2 that would be it. Now, you can add all kinds of widgets to the lockscreen, and you simply access them by swiping to the left or right without needing to unlock the phone. This is one easy productivity boost that we’ve been wishing for in a while. Google’s Matias Duarte showed how you can set up a widget to access the camera by just swiping to the right, but you could also set up Gmail, weather and all sorts of useful widgetry.

ADzero–World’s first bamboo smartphone

It is so refreshing to see a small startup like this grow.  The ADzero team are re-thinking smartphone design, to give something that is just that little bit different, you could even say special.

Slowly and surely they have developed the design and they have now finalised this.

The specs have been confirmed too:

• Processor: 1.4GHz Samsung Exynos 4 Quad
• Display: 4.5-inch TFT LCD with 720×1280 HD Resolution, 326ppi
• Handset Dimensions: 134 x 68 x 11.8 mm
• Operating System: Stock Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich + ADAOS (Open Bootloader)

LG Nexus 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs Samsung Galaxy S III specs comparison

Google just announced what might turn out to be the worst-kept Android secret – this year’s green robot flagship, the LG Nexus 4. It is certainly a device to be reckoned, with the quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, and large the in-cell touch display.

How much of an upgrade is it, compared to last year’s Android poster child, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus? and how does it stack up against the most popular Android high-end now, the Galaxy S III?

Have a look at our specs comparison chart below, and tell us whether the LG Nexus 4 is all you hoped for, or whether you think Google has cut some corners to fit into the price point of device that will spread the Android fire fastest amongst fans with its latest Android 4.2 version, and timely updates.

Google announces Nexus 4 smartphone, Nexus 10 tablet, Android 4.2

Google on Monday introduced a new Nexus 4 smartphone to take on Apple’s iPhone 5, a 10-inch iPad competitor named the Nexus 10, and launched a new version of its Nexus 7 tablet with cellular data connectivity.

The trio of new products all run Android 4.2, what the company called a “new flavor” of its mobile operating system code-named Jelly Bean.

The products were initially planned to be unveiled at a media event in New York, but Hurricane Sandy prompted the search company to cancel its media presentation. As such, the new products were simply unveiled via a press release on Monday.

Android 4.2 is now LIVE . Still called as JellyBean

Android 4.2: A new flavor of Jelly Bean.

Android 4.2 takes the speed and simplicity of Jelly Bean to a different level – a completely new camera experience that’s beyond smart, a new form of typing that helps you power through your messages, and much more.

Simple, Beautiful and Beyond Smart

Amazing Photo Sphere camera

Up, down and all around you, it’s like no camera you’ve ever seen. With Android 4.2, snap pictures in every direction that come together into incredible, immersive photo spheres that put you right inside the scene. View your photo spheres right on your phone, share them on Google+ with your friends and family, or even add them to Google Maps for the world to see.

Explore incredible photo spheres from photographers around the world.

LG Nexus 4 hands-on video released prematurely by Three Sweden

The LG Nexus 4 has to be one of the most-leaked phones in recent memory – the latest premature release comes from the official YouTube channel of Sweden’s carrier Three, who posted a quick hands-on with the upcoming Nexus (which was supposed to be announced today, maybe 3 Sweden didn’t get the memo about the cancellation).

The quick UI demo doesn’t really show much, but there are new notification area toggles which look quite interesting. They are not placed above the notifications as usual, but are instead a separate screen you can access by tapping a button.

The top left icon is for the user, which might mean we’re finally getting multi-user support (the makings of which are already in Android) but it could just be a link to your social networking account (like WP7′s Me tile).