Breaking news: Samsung Galaxy S III - global shortage of "Pebble Blue" handsets imminent?

Could this have been the last time I hold
a Pebble Blue Galaxy S III?

Ruh-Roh Galaxy S III fans.

If you were after a Pebble Blue handset at launch, and every forum post I've seen suggests most of you were, it looks like trouble is on the horizon.

Details after the break...

Android further extends its lead in smartphone OS market share

Another quarter, another increase in market share for Android, with a commanding 59%, representing 89.9 million handsets shipped. That’s a year on year change from  36.1% or 36.7 million units, which works out to growth of 145% if you’re keeping score.

Based on the number of days in the quarter, Androids were selling at 988,000 phones each and every day, just a sniff under the million a day milestone. Given the growth trend, it seems inevitable that as of right now, two thirds of the way into the second quarter, that the million threshold has been passed and there will be partying going on at Google HQ.

Because We May - Game Sale on until June 1st

Not all developers are created equal. Some are stuck selling their games at a price decided by the distribution service they choose. Fortunately the Google Play Store allows developers the freedom to price their own products.

Because We May is about celebrating this freedom by temporarily lowering the price of a huge number of games! This sale is only running until June 1st so make sure you get in quickly.

Here's a number of the games that we can recommend:

• Great Little War Game 
• World of Goo
• Apparatus
• Sentinel 3: Homeworld
• Riptide GP
• Whale Trail
• Osmos
• Shadowgun

Also on sale is Grand Theft Auto III which has 80% off and is down to $1.32 NZD until 28 May

If you're still reading, what are you waiting for? go buy some games!

Jury rejects Oracle’s suit against Google in patent spat

In what was unlikely to surprise those paying attention, and as predicted by AndroidNZ two weeks ago, Oracle’s attempt to extort six billion dollars from Google over Android’s supposed infringement of Java patents has been rejected by the jury in the long-running case.

As a result, there will be no penalty phase in the trial, and Oracle will have to resort to appeal to try to salvage something from a litigation that must surely have already cost the company many hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, perhaps millions.

New instalment of the HTC One X "real-user" review up, 4-way camera shootout ensues!

Hi all, quick note to let you all know that the next instalment for my One X review has gone up at the Telecom Tech Blog. Catch the camera review here, and don't forget to cast your votes on the camera shootout at the bottom of the page - HTS One X Vs Samsung Galaxy Note Vs iPhone 4S Vs a standalone digital camera!

The Samsung Galaxy S III: AndroidNZ goes hands-on, brings you our thoughts and exclusive details

One can almost sense the near-palpable nervousness of the
One X capturing this shot... I think it came over all Mr Blurrycam
because it was shaking with fear (or maybe that was my excitement)

Something great happened to me today; I got the rather unexpected joy of being able to play with the Samsung Galaxy S III. The pieces fell together quite unexpectedly yesterday, when a nameless benefactor temporarily came into possession of an S3, and was kind enough to give it up for a couple of hours today (I don't think I could have been so generous, I would have been more in the "from my cold dead hands" camp I think).

Anyways, what follows is an account of my brief two hour experience with the S3, and some of my thoughts and early impressions. I unearthed a few things that nobody else has covered in relation to the S3, so I hope you'll enjoy it (you didn't think exFAT support was all I had for you, did ya?).

Catch you after the break.

Galaxy S3: Rooted!

In keeping with the fine tradition of Samsung handsets being Rooted before release we are happy today to report that the Galaxy S3 has been Rooted, courtesy of none other than Chainfire. This Root is currently working on a pre-release firmware, so its worth bearing in mind that Samsung may yet make changes in the release firmware that prevent this exploit from working.

Full details are available here.

Before we sign off, here's a quote we very much enjoyed from Chainfire himself, which sums up our feelings about other companies bootloader policies rather nicely:

Now, everybody say thanks to Samsung! I don't always agree with them, but so far they have been the first and IMHO still are the only high-end Android OEM who aren't complete douchebags in the unlock department!

Samsung Galaxy S3: User manual causes exFAT consternation, we have an update!

The recent release of the User Manual for the S3 has caused a bit of a stir for those looking forward to the exFAT support we reported is native to the S3. It states there is support only for Fat32 formatted cards up to a maximum size of 32GB, which is obviously counter to what our research found, and even contradicts Samsung's own official launch announcement where they specifically mention support for cards up to 64GB in size.

If the presence of an official Samsung document excluding exFAT support has set your teeth on edge, we have some good news.

You see, I'm in touch via Twitter with @Amon_Ra - known Android developer and all around good guy (follow him now!), and he has actually had an S3 in his possession since last week for testing
purposes. I asked him to test exFAT support for me, and this was his reply:

@NZtechfreak I formatted an 8Gb microsd to exFAT using Windows 7. It works without issues in the S3.

So there you have it, actual user confirmation that exFAT works natively on the S3. You can relax now on that count. Now all you have to worry about is the million other questions you have about the S3, and the interminable wait for it's release...

Video Review: Speck CandyShell for HTC One X

In the continuation of our HTC One X accessory coverage, I've decided to take a look at the CandyShell case, which comes from the folks over at Speck Products. The CandyShell case first came to existence in early 2009, when it was produced for the iPhone 3GS. Its popularity was quickly noted by consumers and the case design spread to many other devices.

Due to its simplistic yet stylish approach and design, this remains Speck's most popular case, so it is no big surprise it was ported to the One X. The case itself is a hybrid, composed of a plastic shell with a silicone inner layer, although the real treat is that the materials are molded into one single piece. Due to its design, it is extremely protective, yet slimmer than most other hybrid cases.

Check out the full video review below for more info:

Samsung Galaxy S3, more secrets revealed: Samsung extends USB OTG and bluetooth capabilities in ICS

If you were with us earlier today then you'll have noticed that my update path to the official ICS release for the Note was less than smooth, but could have been far worse. Long story short: I'm on official ICS on my Note and its running well, for now at any rate.

As per usual I soon got down to testing some of the connectivity options at the Note's disposal with various peripheral devices. Not only were my findings very interesting for Galaxy Note owners, they also give us some additional and previously unknown insights into the connectivity options that we're likely to see enabled in the Galaxy S III.

I may be drawing a longer bow here than I did in my previous secrets revealed piece, but I think the conclusions will prove sound.

Make the jump for the big reveal...


(For now let me just say that gamers and composers will be pleased!)

Official ICS starts rolling out for the Galaxy Note

IMPORTANT UPDATE - RISK OF HARD BRICK WITH ICS UPGRADE:

So, last night I updated to the new official ICS release firmware from Samsung. I was coming from the leaked ICS repack, so it was a riskier and more difficult proposition than it might be for people who are still on Gingerbread. I managed it in the end, but not without some tribulation in the form of bootloops at a couple of junctures in the two-part flash.

I was just starting to think about getting down to writing my guide for you all when I was alerted to this thread at XDA (via Chainfire on Twitter). The thread is a dire warning about a bug in the firmware that can result in a hard brick. If you're not familiar a hard brick means your phone is dead without chance of recovery. Dead. Without. Chance. Of. Recovery.

The thing is that the bug is unpredictable, and short of abstaining from flash there is no way to protect yourself from it. This seems to apply mostly to unofficial methods of installing ICS and the use of CWM recovery, but there are ominous and thus far unsubstantiated reports of hard bricks with the official update too. For that reason I will not be producing a guide for flashing to the ROM at this time, and will also be removing my instructions for flashing to the Chinese repack once I'm done with this post. Naturally once the issue is resolved you can expect a guide for safely flashing up to ICS here at AndroidNZ, but for the meantime I can only recommend that you remain on Gingerbread until it rolls out to you officially. Sorry folks, but there it is.

Google wants penalty phase dropped in Oracle's lawsuit

Google is expected to file a motion to have the third phase of the patent action the company is currently fighting, dropped from the case.

If you’ve recently returned from some interplanetary travel or have just awoken from a two year slumber, you may not be aware that Oracle, owner of Java, has sued Google over its use of certain Java code in the Android operating system.

The HTC One X "Real-user" Review at the Telecom Tech Blog, first two parts up now

The One you're looking for?

Hi everyone, very brief post here to let you know that my first two posts, The HTC One X “Real-User” review, Part One: Initial impressions, Design/build quality, Screen and Benchmarks, and
Making sense of Sense are live at the Telecom Tech Blog.

Unfortunately some loss of formatting errors when it was posted resulted in a fair number of problems in the first post in the form of words that were clipped and so forth, so don't be surprised if you feel it's not up to our usual standard here when reading it (I'm working on sorting those issues out, but it's generally sound in the sense that what I intend is reasonably clear). The second post seems to have made it through unscathed, so hopefully we'll be good from here on out. 

With luck the third part will go up this week, dealing largely with the camera, so keep an eye out here or there for that. In the meantime there is other content there from the other members of the Telecom Tech One X group to tide you over.

As per usual feel free to throw questions my way here, there, or on Twitter @NZtechfreak

Jury finds Google infringed Java copyright

Google has been found to have infringed on Java’s API (application programming interface) copyright by a jury in Northern California, at the end of the first phase of a suit brought by Oracle against Google. As owner of Java, Oracle is seeking around a billion dollars US in damages against Google, owner of Android, in a three part action.

This result was expected since Google’s own witnesses have admitted that the existence of nine lines of code forming a range check must have been included verbatim from the original Java code, and therefore not possibly Google’s own work. However, Google claimed “fair use” in its defence and the jury was unable to agree on whether or not that common copyright element applies in this case.

Video Review: Case-Mate Tough for HTC One X

Seems a lot of you liked the Galaxy Nexus accessory coverage I brought to the site, with that said, the Galaxy Nexus is slowly becoming a last generation device. In my transition away from the Galaxy Nexus, I've gotten my hands on the HTC One X - which will be used in the next couple of weeks until my Galaxy S III arrives.

In order to protect the new investment, the folks at Case-Mate hooked me up with one of their new Tough cases. Like the name states, this is an ultra protective case featuring a dual hybrid layer design. The inner silicone is nothing special, average quality at best. However, once paired up with the hard plastic shell, the phone feels extremely solid and resistant. This case offers a great amount of protection, albeit at a premium price point.

Check out the full video review below for more info:

Samsung Galaxy S3, secrets revealed: Battery life, exFAT, Apt-X (bonus scandal: the iPad2 buyers lottery)

If you read our 'reactions to the S III' piece you will have seen us reference the Voodoo Report-generated hardware analysis from Supercurio, in particular the use of the excellent Wolfson DAC (digital to analog converter; the phones sound card if you will, which all but assures class-leading audio quality in the Android phone realm). Well, we've been poring over that report, and also reading a few other things around the net that point to some extremely interesting and unheralded aspects of the S III.

Read on after the break as we join a few important dots...

[UPDATE] Don't forget to check out our follow up piece with even more fresh features of the Galaxy S III!

2degrees innovate with shared data plans

A few months back, NZ's newest and most innovative mobile carrier, 2degrees, asked for suggestions for plans and products on their Facebook page. I tend to avoid service providers' major social media avenues simply because the average user comment in such places tends to be loud, uninformed, unaware of basic business practices, and thus annoying to read. I braved these murky waters and gave them a lengthy tongue-in-cheek comment about how great shared data bundles would be. They told me to wait and see. I have, and from today's reports, that was well worth doing.

Samsung about to prevail in more patent battles with Apple?

Apple’s litigation in Germany against Samsung over alleged infringement of a photo gallery page flip patent, has today taken a turn for the worse. 

The Mannheim Regional Court Judge (Andrea Voss) has issued a stay of proceedings in the case, the likely outcome of which will be that the court will find the patent to be invalid. According to German ‘patent suit’ junkie, Florian Mueller, courts in Germany issue a stay of this nature only if the likelihood of the defendant demonstrating invalidation of said patent are in excess of 80%.

Real-user reactions - Our thoughts on the Galaxy S III

The new Samsung Galaxy SIII in pebble blue

At a London-based event on Friday May 4, Samsung announced their next generation flagship handset, the Galaxy SIII. After months of hype fuelled by media and multiple conflicting rumours floating around the web, expectations were through the roof. Unfortunately, because of this there seems to be a phenomenal amount of negativity surrounding the announcement of what was to be the pinnacle of Samsung's innovation. I get the feeling that some people were expecting a holographic display and built in personal teleportation device, which unfortunately did not substantiate. Vlad Savov from The Verge even had a bit of a cry; saying that Samsung broke his heart. Frankly I found it a little over emotional when he is talking about a company releasing a new smartphone, not an estranged lover cheating on him. 

MWAOAR Windows Phone at AndroidNZ?

If you've visited here more than once you might have noticed that while everyone here uses an Android device, we're hardly the most partisan blog out there. Android suits our needs best for now, but we've always got an eye and an ear out for what else is happening in the mobile space. Windows Phone, for all it's lack of consumer traction to date, is one of those happenings. Several of us here are following developments in that space closely, even actively hoping Windows Phone does well. You see regardless of what OS we end up using, competition breeds innovation and price point tension that's good for everyone.

We've covered Windows Phone here at AndroidNZ before - you may recall Nik put his money where his mouth is and procured a Windows Phone handset to really see how life was for the other half (or half a percent, for you statistics pedants out there).  If you don't recall, a refresher is only this far away, and it's a great read.

Recently editor Anita Paling got a chance to try out a Nokia Lumia 710, as part of the activities of the Telecom Tech Blog (who will posting my own content on the HTC One X over the coming 6 weeks). She posted a number of pieces for them, and also a few pieces on aspects of the device that were well covered by others in the review group and never made it to the blog. We're going to republish these here at AndroidNZ for you guys n gals over the next week or so, so that you can catch up with Anita's thoughts on the Lumia and Windows Phone.

For my part I hope you'll enjoy them, I know I did. If however if you're a one-eyed Android fanboy, I guess you'll just have to avert your eyes and pretend these pieces never happened (no doubt the S3 will provide ample distraction for you). Catch you real soon with the first instalment of WindowsPhoneNZ.

Buyer's guide to Smartphones in NZ

Image courtesy of DigitalTrends.com

So you've decided you want to buy a smartphone but don't know anything about them? Well you've come to the right place, especially if you want to buy an Android smartphone. 

This guide was written for first time buyers to describe what Android smartphones do and what you should be looking for when buying one. I've broken the article into sections with Budget, Mid-range and High-end handsets with some options for each price range along with a recommendation. 

For our foreign readership, all prices are quoted in NZD and include 15% GST. Handset pricing was found using PriceSpy.

If you are buying your first smartphone, or even just your next smartphone then read on!

Setbacks for Apple in patent suits against Motorola

 

In the Apple vs Motorola patent suit taking place in Chicago, Motorola has scored an important victory, gaining a summary judgment motion on a touchscreen patent in dispute. In addition, presiding Judge Richard A. Posner has narrowed Apple's claims of infringement by rejecting several other claims which he believes have no merit.

An undoubted setback for Apple, the outcome of this suit may well strengthen Motorola’s position in other litigation in the US and Europe.

Samsung takes top mobile phone sales in Q1

Samsung has surged into number one spot globally in handsets sold and perhaps more importantly, in smartphones, the latter being the future of mobile.

Despite Q4 2011 smartphone champ Apple’s iPhone range collaring the Cupertino Colossus a healthy 35.1 million units shipped in Q1 2012, it wasn’t enough to beat the efforts of its nemesis Samsung. The Korean company sold 42.2 million smartphones in Q1 2012, an impressive 267% increase over the same quarter last year. This compares more than favourably with Apple’s 88.7% increase year to year.

From the Editors Desk: Thoughts on the Galaxy S3 Announcement

I don't often write editorials here at AndroidNZ. It's not that I have nothing to say so much as I have neither the time nor the energy. I just find editorials draining. You can't pad them with ludicrously detailed physical descriptions of a device, or hide behind some benchmarks. It's laying open your own personal thoughts to scrutiny, hoping your insights aren't too rudimentary, or just plain dull. There's a degree of investment inherent to the editorial that just isn't present in most of the other content a blog casts into the web. I suppose then it's appropriate that my first real editorial here is, in many ways, really about investment and perspective (or in this case a perspective on the loss of perspective).

In the end it took something momentous like the Galaxy S3 announcement to force my editorial hand, I figured you just can't call yourself an Android blog if you say nothing about the S3 prior to it's announcement. Despite the imperative to say something, I'd just feel too cheap doling out some stale speculation on it's specs. So hit me up after the break for what I hope will be a thought provoking read, one that maybe even has something fresh to say about the S3.