Sony Xperia making Preparations for New Xperia Nexus

Xperia Nexus along with LG Optimus Nexus and Galaxy II Nexus rumored to hit Docomo

We understand that how you all must be feeling now. Yes, but the rumor surely has lots of potency. Initially there was a word that New Nexus would come up on Samsung alone. But as per Japanese site Android Noodles, it is indicated that NTT Docomo will have Sony Nexus, LG Nexus and Samsung Nexus. Also, there’s an indication that these handsets will be released by the end of this year.

Many people follow Sony as a brand blindly. Similarly many people preach LG as well as Samsung in their own special way. For them this news will serve as a treat. Xperia Nexus hitting Docomo is something many people might have expected. Now when these rumor round ups are getting stronger it is surely going to thrill the people.

We are sure now you would have started getting ideas as to how will the new Sony Xperia Nexus look or for that matter what will LG offer for its Nexus handset? Even though the rumor mill has only these three Nexus handsets, in reality it is anticipated that by November 5 in total five Nexus handsets will come to life. This is because in November Android will celebrate its fifth anniversary and thus something special is surely going to come up. Even though we don’t have HTC’s name in any of the rumors, it might also be part of the Google’s partnership. This is because HTC is a leading brand and when we are talking of multiple Google partners coming up with new Nexus, HTC should naturally be inside the tray.

Many Sony guys will ask that will the new Xperia Nexus have Jelly Bean. Well, the answer is mostly, yes. The new Xperia Nexus with Jelly Bean will have amazing features and the same thing we can say about Optimus Nexus and Samsung II Nexus.

But this is the most we can say about the new Nexus line at this point in time. But we promise you to keep you updated on this as and when we come across some news on this. We hope you liked this post. Also, we would love if you would share your views and comments right here on the comment section. So, all we can say is, just stay tuned!

Sony and Panasonic to co-develop cheap OLED panels for TVs

Sony and Panasonic have announced plans to jointly developnext generation OLED panels for use in televisions and large-sized displays. The two companies will each utilize their core and printing technologies to mass produce low-cost panels starting next year.

The venture might seem like a desperate attempt to remain afloat but with other vendors dominating the television market and the technology behind it, it might not be a bad idea after all. The duo will work together to develop the panels but each will continue to sell their own branded products.

The two companies are well-versed in producing sets as it was Sony that introduced the world’s first OLED TV back in 2007 with the XEL-1. This set had a screen size of 11-inches, a native resolution of 960 x 540 and was the world’s thinnest television at 3mm when it debuted.

LG and Samsung are responsible for a large portion of television profits. Sony has had an especially tough time in this market as their television line hasn’t been profitable in eight years. Last month they announced the largest loss in the company’s 55-year history. They plan to turn things around with the “One Sony” initiative that will focus efforts on gaming, mobile and digital imaging.

New OLED sets from Sony and Panasonic could reach customers by late 2013 or early 2014 and with any luck, some of the savings in development costs will be passed along to the buyer.

Gaikai reportedly wants to sell streaming game business for $500+ million

Cloud-based gaming company Gaikai is reportedly up for sale. The firm has already hired bankers to shop a deal that is expected to bring in over $500 million, according to sources as reported by Fortune.

If you aren’t familiar, Gaikai is a streaming video game company that is very similar in function to OnLive. The service hosts games on powerful remote servers, allowing the end user to play titles on a device that would otherwise not be powerful enough to run the game. Platforms that would benefit from a system like this include low-end notebooks or desktops, tablets and even smart TVs.

Gaikai launched in February 2011, generating nearly $45 million in venture capital in just over a year’s time and secured another $40 million from HTC. Investors include Benchmark Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, Intel Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Qualcomm Ventures. The company has been successful in working with partners like Electronics Arts, Facebook, YouTube and Walmart. Television makers LG and Samsunghave both signed deals with Gaikai to bring the service to their smart TVs.

It’s too early to know who might acquire Gaikai but the publication thinks that it could be useful to gaming companies like Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony. Other ideas could include cable / broadband providers such as AT&T or Comcast or maybe even a large game publisher.

The Verge reached out to Gaikai for comment but came up empty-handed, as the company said they didn’t comment on what they characterized as rumors.

LG set to show Intel smartphone at CES 2012

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is fast approaching, and in true form, rumors and information are starting to appear. The latest news of interest comes from LG and Intel, who look set to show off a new Intel powered smartphone at this year's CES held January 10th-13th at the Las Vegas Convention Center, according to sources speaking to the Korea Times.

The phone will likely feature Intel's new Medfield chipset coupled with Android's mobile OS, and could hit store shelves as early as March according to Intel Korea's chief Lee Hee-Sung. "Intel’s chief executive Paul Otellini will release Intel’s first Android smartphone using our own platform at the CES," he commented.

"LG Electronics will produce Intel’s first Android smartphones that use Intel’s own mobile platform. The device will be shown at the CES," a top ranking LG official also told the newspaper.

At CES 2010, both manufacturers showed off a jointly developed phone prototype. Ultimately, the smartphone (video above) never made it to store shelves but the Intel dual core Atom based Moorestown chipset displayed impressive performance when demonstrated at the show.

Reports are conflicting though, with an LG executive speaking on the condition of anonymity saying he doubts the phone will be released, adding that in his personal opinion "it is somewhat possible that LG might push the reference of Intel mobiles but that this will include huge subsidies on the part of Intel for promotional purposes."

Requests for more information via official channels have resulted in both firms declining to confirm any information unfortunately, so we will have to wait until CES to see if the phone makes it to the show floor.

LG Nitro HD Review

The new LG Nitro HD represents the company's premier Android smartphone in the United States. Without a doubt, it has a stellar spec sheet that includes 4G LTE data (AT&T), a 4.5-inch 720p HD resolution display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, and a 1080p HD video-capable 8 megapixel camera. It's also fairly thin, light, and attractive.

The Nitro HD should fear no other device when it comes to specifications.

But when it comes to real world performance, not all of its specs live up to user expectations. Yes, LTE data transfers are mind-blowingly fast, and the 720p display is drop-dead gorgeous. The 8 megapixel camera takes some of the best shots I've seen on a smartphone, too. But the phone is not without issues. Lag on a dual-core 1.5GHz processor equipped phone is not something I understand, and three hours of talk time from a massive battery is no easier to comprehend.

There is a lot to love about the LG Nitro HD, but all the 'oohs' and 'ahhhs' come with a couple of 'ughs' thrown in. Read on.

Hardware

The HD part of the LG Nitro HD's name doesn't stand for the 1080p full HD video it can record, but rather for its gorgeous 4.5-inch, 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixel) capacitive touchscreen display. Photos look amazing, even the most tiny of fonts are smooth and crisp, and it's a solid performer in the viewing angle department. In spite of the phone's ferociously fast 4G ~LTE performance, the Nitro's HD display is its defining element.

In addition to the screen, there's plenty to like about the Nitro HD's hardware. The build quality is very solid. It's a big phone, at 134mm x 68mm x 10.3mm (5.3in x 2.7in x .4in), but it's still narrower than the Motorola DROID RAZR and it weighs an easily tolerated 136g (4.8oz). I'd prefer that the top-mounted power button be located on the right hand edge, in Samsung style, since the phone is so long, and I could certainly do without the cover on the micro-USB port. I wish an MHL adapter was not needed for outputting to an HDTV, but if I stretch any further looking for things to complain about, I'll sprain something.

So instead, how about something I love? LG has dropped the dedicated capacitive button for the search function that normally sits under the display on Android phones. Instead it integrated that into the menu button. Why is this great? Because now you really know where to press to get the function you want -- without looking. You can mash a thumb down anywhere near the center and get the home function, the right side is back, the left is menu/search. You don't have to be accurate, you just slam it and get what you expect. That's far better than the 4-button layout found on most every other Android phone. You do lose the ability to long-press the search button to access voice commands, though.

The rear cover on the LG Nitro HD has a somewhat difficult to look at texture that I ended up liking for its feel. The cover has to be removed to gain access to the battery, SIM card, and microSD memory card slot. A 16GB card is pre-installed, which augments the roughly 2GB of available built-in storage.

Usability

While I find that the user interface tweaks LG placed on top of Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread are entirely usable, there are some issues with the phone as a whole. In spite of a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and a reasonable 768MB of RAM, the Nitro HD user is subjected to the occasional lag or stalls when navigating through the phone. It's not chronic, and won't leave you pulling out hair, but the phone just isn't as smooth as its peers from Samsung and HTC.

Apart from that, I really like the shortcuts for wireless settings and ringer mode that LG placed in the notification area, and I like the lock screen music controls quite a bit. Speaking of the lock screen, LG lets users drag down missed event notification icons on the lock screen to jump to the appropriate application, such as the SMS app or the call log, this works quite well. There's no real theme support on the Nitro HD, but LG pre-installs a number of system fonts that you can quickly switch between to customize the look of the phone beyond the normal assortment of wallpapers and home screen widgets. LG also lets you configure multiple home screen "layouts" and widgets that you can switch between easily.

There are 7 home screens available. They can be viewed in thumbnail fashion with a pinch gesture, and the order of the screens can be easily changed from there - as can the default panel that appears when you press the home key.

Text input is handled by the Android Gingerbread keyboard (default) and the LG keyboard. Both are solid, and the large touchscreen makes hitting the right key easy enough. It also aids the use of the copy and paste functions which are pretty good. Voice input on the phone is overall accurate, and the surface of the touchscreen display is particularly well suited to swiping and scrolling. LG's homegrown social networking integration is decent, as it integrates status updates, text messages, and email into a tab on the the contact screen for each of your contacts. Twitter and Facebook are supported out of the box.

LG unveils Xnote Z330 ultrabook in South Korea

LG has officially joined the Ultrabook fray with the unveiling of its Xnote Z330 in South Korea. Like most laptops in this category, the Z330 features a 13.3-inch display wit a standard 1366×768 resolution. However, using its own Shuriken display technology, LG's Ultrabook differentiates itself from the crowd with a narrow 8mm bezel that allows it to fit into a chassis that would normally house a 12.1-inch system.

The Xnote Z330 measures 0.6 inches (14.7mm) thick and weighs about 2.7 pounds (1.21kg). In terms of specs, customers can go for either an Intel Core i5-2467M or Core i7-2637M processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and a choice of 120GB SATA 6Gbps SSD or a 256GB SATA 3Gbps SSD. Graphics are handled by the integrated GPU on Intel's Sandy Bridge processors, while connectivity features include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0, and Intel's WiDi wireless display technology.

LG says the Z330 will run for more than six hours on a single charge. There's no word on when or if we'll see LG's Ultrabook hit the U.S. market, but the Xnote Z330 is launching in the company's home country this month with prices starting at about $1500.The top model is set to sell for ₩2.6 million, or around $2,300.