Germany is about to be treated to a taste of 4G LTE courtesy of Vodafone and HTC. The carrier has confirmed plans to carry the HTC Velocity, the phone known as the HTC Vivid in the US and HTC Raider in other parts of the world. The Velocity features a 4.5-inch qHD capacitive display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and 1GB of RAM. The Gingerbread handset also sports 16GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera with 1.3MP front-facing camera, and plenty of network support. Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE is onboard as well as dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA on the 900/2100MHz bands. Even better, the handset comes with dualband LTE support at 800/2600 MHz. Sure, the Velocity comes from a crop of LTE devices that HTC has dismissed for poor design and battery life, but it still offers an impressive list of features on top of its blazing fast network speeds.

[via Engadget]

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Vonage is crossing deeper into territory currently ruled by Skype with the launch of a new app for Android and iOS. Vonage Mobile opens up the internet calling service to anyone with a smartphone, whether they are a Vonage subscriber or not. Users get free VoIP calls and texts over WiFi, 3G, and 4G, and Vonage looks to undercut the competition by offering international calling at 70 percent the average per-minute rate of mobile carriers. More importantly, the rates best Vonage’s biggest competitor Skype by 30 percent. Calling credit can be added in increments of $4.99 or $9.99 and calls from the app to Vonage home or business lines are free. Vonage Mobile takes advantage of the user’s current mobile phone number and contact list, meaning integration is instant.

The app is a big step for Vonage, a company that was on life support just a few years back. Vonage Mobile has the potential to attract a whole swath of mobile users looking to save big on calls. They’ll still have to clear that Skype hurdle, an even bigger challenge now that the service is backed by Microsoft, but an improved smartphone experience is a big step towards doing so.

Android Market Link: Vonage Mobile

[via TechCrunch]

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The Motorola MOTOLUXE, part of a pack of international handsets we got a first-look at during CES, will soon find a home in the UK. The handset is being touted as a stylish choice for fashion-conscious types wanting a phone to match their flair. With some sharp lines and a slim profile, the MOTOLUXE should be a great choice for those looking for a mid-range handset that doesn’t look cheap. It features a 4.0-inch display, 800MHz single-core CPU, and 512MB of RAM coupled with an 8MP camera with 0.3MP front-facing camera and 1GB of internal storage. Pricing details were not revealed.

Motorola Mobility’s MOTOLUXE™ Smartphone to Launch in the UK

Ultra-stylish, ultra-vogue smartphone from Motorola Mobility coming soon to UK fashionistas. At a price that looks good, too.

Feb. 08, 2012

LONDON – Feb. 8, 2012 – Calling all British style gurus! Get ready to flaunt your fashion flair with the ultra-vogue, rail-thin MOTOLUXE™ from Motorola Mobility UK Limited, expected to be available late February.

When it comes to panache, this Android™ 2.3 powered smartphone sets the bar high. With a 4-inch touchscreen that’s perfect for writing emails, surfing the Web and watching movies, you’ll always be connected, clued-up and entertained – whether at work, hanging out with friends or out on the town.

For photo buffs, an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with flash lets you shoot like a pro. You can even instantly share the pics with friends and family using the phone’s pre-loaded social networking apps.

But there is a reason this is called a smartphone! Incorporating Motorola’s MotoSwitch user interface, the MOTOLUXE learns who you talk to and which apps you use the most, and puts all that information front and center.

The Social Graph feature gives you easy and fast access to the people who really matter. It learns who’s most important to you and uses that information to populate the home screen. The more frequently you communicate with someone, the bigger their icon becomes. The Activity Graph focuses on your app habits; automatically changing to reflect the apps you use the most to provide customised menus.

With Music Now you can now play your favorite music while the Smart Gallery feature displays your favorite pictures as collections.

When you’re on the go, MOTOLUXE’s GPS technology will point you in the right direction and make sure you get to where the action is. If that isn’t enough, the phone is Bluetooth®1-enabled, as well as your portal into the Android Market™ where you’ll find thousands of games, apps, music, books and movies.

MOTOLUXE also sets itself apart with a lanyard slot that lights up. So you can see when you’ve missed a call, received a text or have an email waiting for you.

"By combining sleek style with Android brains, MOTOLUXE is ideal for people who want the latest technology in a sophisticated package," said Marcus Frost, senior marketing director, Europe, Motorola Mobility. "Not only does this smartphone have a big screen and the latest, greatest entertainment tools, it’s affordable and won’t take a bite out of your budget."

Price and Availabily

Motorola MOTOLUXE is expected to be available from authorized Motorola resellers from late-February.

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Want to see a cool example of Android 4.0′s animation abilities in the newly released Chrome beta? In a few simple steps you can be saying “wow” with the rest of ‘em. Here’s how:

1. Pop open Chrome
2. Navigate to the “Tabs” screen
3. Flick up through the open tabs (about five times)

Did one of your tabs just do a backflip? A nice little touch for the Android geeks out there. Has anyone uncovered any other cool easter eggs in Chrome? Let us know!

[via Google+]

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The biggest change in the new extension is the ability to send links to devices selectively: you can finally pick which Android phone or tablet you need to send the link to. (This seems tailor-made for jaded mobile reviewers who are logged in to a couple of dozen devices at a time – thanks, Google!) You can still use the service to send phone numbers or texts, but wait, there’s more: now the Chrome to Mobile function can also send an offline version of the page directly to your Android device, making it accessible later when you don’t have a connection, such as on a plane or in the subway.

Unfortunately the service isn’t interchangeable with the old Chrome to Phone app, just the new Chrome browser. That means that this new toy is just for Ice Cream Sandwich users for the time being. On the plus side, once the link is sent you can open it in any Android browser - good news for those who aren’t impressed with Chrome Beta’s somewhat lacking initial feature set. Once the connection is set up, you don’t need the old Chrome to Phone on either your desktop or mobile device, so feel free to uninstall them both.

Read more @ Android Community

The 1.0.3 version of Steam includes better support for Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich’s native graphical acceleration, which should make for some speed improvements on the applicable devices. Stability enhancements should make it run better on older phones as well, especially 2.1 phones, where store browsing is now enabled. A few UI tweaks like automatic links in chat make for smoother use all around. Based on a few minutes of tinkering with my own Steam account the overall app seems very much improved, and more like the ubiquitous desktop version – kudos, Valve.

You can download the app for free in the Android Market for just about any Android phone or tablet. Of course, your choices in Steam access are significantly curtailed after dozens of third-party Steam apps disappeared from the Market without notice. Valve still hasn’t commented on the removal, but a few have come back under different names: the unofficial ”Steam for Android” app that we previously covered is now “Vapor for Android ” (nice), and can be downloaded in the Market for free once again. This solidifies the idea that Valve objected to other Steam apps on copyright grounds.

Read more @ Android Community

As far as hardware goes, you get a combination of a decent screen and low power in the phone’s somewhat unique shell. a 4-inch 854×480 LCD display runs over an 800mHz processor and 512MB of RAM. That won’t be setting any benchmark records any time soon, but for Gingerbread 2.3.7 it’s fine; an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade seems unlikely at this point. A single gigabyte of user-accessible data isn’t much, but it can be supplemented with a MicroSD card. Sadly, the phone’s cellular radio is limited to HSDPA (aka basic 3G) speeds. Motorola’s standard 8MP camera hangs out on the back of the device.

More interesting than the numbers is the design itself. The MOTOLUXE uses the soft-touch plastic of previous Moto phones like the DROID X, but abandons the industrial look for a more rounded, beveled appearance. Most striking is the LED notification light hidden in a recessed horizontal dip just below the capacitive buttons. This makes alerts glow in a unique fashion – it probably won’t turn heads, but it should get a few interested glances at the very least.

The MOTOLUXE is the first phone to receive “MotoSwitch 2.0″ interface, which we suppose is what they’re calling the Blur UI this week. The reviewer wasn’t impressed, and we tend to agree – unlike TouchWiz and Sense, Motorola’s custom interfaces tend to be little more than an icon and palette swap which still manages to hamper performance. At least Moto’s added some lockscreen shortcuts.

All in all, the MOTOLUXE is a decent choice if you want a reliable mid-range phone and don’t want to spend the pounds to reach into the high end. For the UK’s unlocked networks, you could do worse – and if you’re willing to shell out more initial money, you could do a lot better, too. The MOTOLUXE will be on sale at online and retail locations within a few weeks.

Read more @ Android Community

LG has begun teasing the internet with their next big smartphone, posting a short and mysterious video online. When we say big, we mean Galaxy Note and Dell Streak big. According to the details, this new LG Optimus Vu is a 5-inch Android smartphone with a rather unorthodox 4:3 aspect ratio.

Additional hardware rumors suggest that the handset is not just massive, but it’s also as powerful as anything on the market. Specs include a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, an 8-megapixel camera, and NFC support. Expected to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Optimus Vu’s screen is said to be a 1024×768 IPS display. Considering the four buttons across the bottom and the aspect ratio, we’re not only betting on the 2.3, but we’re also extremely intrigued.

There is no indication as to when we might see the Optimus Vu but you can bet we’ll be paying extra attention at Mobile World Congress.  Check out some of the images we pulled from the YouTube video below.  We’ve brightened them up quite a bit in order to get a better look at the handset.

Via: The Verge

LG teases Optimus Vu, a 5-inch Android with 4:3 aspect ratio originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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Check out our gift ideas for Android owners

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Despite a net loss of $1.3 billion during the fourth quarter of 2011, Sprint’s latest earnings report was more positive than negative. The carrier added 1.6 million subscribers during the final months of the year, a good portion of which can be attributed to sales of the iPhone, which hit Sprint’s network back in October. The number of new customers was the largest quarterly gain since 2005 and brings Sprint’s subscriber base up to 55 million (33 million postpaid). The company also posted its first year of positive adjusted operating income with an OIBDA $842 million for the quarter and $5.1 billion for 2011.

A good portion of the carrier’s earnings will go to fund the expansion of their fledgling 4G LTE network. It was also announced today that the total number of cities to launch Sprint’s new next-gen network will reach six by mid-year with the addition of Baltimore and Kansas City to the roadmap.

Sprint Nextel Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Results

Quarterly year-over-year Sprint platform postpaid ARPU growth of $3.69 is the best on record in the industry
Largest sequential increase in net operating revenues in more than five years
Sprint serves more than 55 million customers – highest level ever
1.6 million total net subscriber additions in the quarter – best since 2005
539,000 postpaid net additions on the Sprint platform in the quarter
Strong iPhone sales – 40 percent to new customers
Network Vision on schedule and on budget; six major cities to launch 4G LTE by mid-year with the addition of Kansas City and Baltimore
Adjusted OIBDA* of $842 million and the first year of Operating Income since 2006

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 08, 2012 – Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) today reported Adjusted OIBDA* of $842 million for the fourth quarter and nearly $5.1 billion for the full year 2011. Wireless service revenues for the fourth quarter increased more than 7 percent year-over-year, driven by Sprint platform postpaid ARPU growth of $3.69 – the largest year-over-year increase on record across the U.S. wireless industry. Strong revenue growth and cost management partially offset the impact of increased equipment net subsidies and sales expense associated with the successful launch of the iPhone®. Forty percent of Sprint’s 1.8 million iPhone sales in the fourth quarter were to new customers. Based on internal estimates, including incremental costs associated with iPhone sales, the combined impact of iPhone and Network Vision costs reduced fourth quarter Adjusted OIBDA* margin, which was 10.8 percent, by approximately 8.8 percentage points.

The company reported total net subscriber additions of 1.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 – the best quarterly result in six years – bringing total ending subscribers to the highest level in the company’s history. Total postpaid net additions of 161,000 for the fourth quarter represent the tenth consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement and were driven by continued strength of the Sprint platform, which had net postpaid additions of 539,000. This is the seventh consecutive quarter of net postpaid subscriber growth on the Sprint platform.

"Our strong fourth quarter performance illustrates the power of matching iconic devices like the iPhone with our simple, unlimited plans and industry-leading customer experience," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. "During the past year, Sprint added more than 5 million net new customers and grew wireless service revenue by more than 5 percent, including 17 percent for the Sprint platform. This momentum gives us confidence as we execute our Network Vision upgrade and 4G LTE roll-out."

The company continued to rapidly grow the number of prepaid and wholesale and affiliate subscribers in the fourth quarter. Prepaid net additions were 507,000 bringing total prepaid subscribers to nearly 14.8 million at the end of 2011, an increase of 20 percent since the end of 2010. Net additions of 954,000 for wholesale and affiliates in the fourth quarter were the highest in seven years.

Additionally, the company reported a net loss of $1.3 billion and a diluted loss of $.43 per share for the quarter, which includes pre-tax, non-cash charges of $241 million, or $.08 per share, consisting of asset and impairment charges of $78 million on property, plant and equipment, $135 million on Sprint’s investment in Clearwire and $28 million in severance costs.

Sprint’s Network Vision initiative remains on schedule and on budget. In the fourth quarter, the company completed field integration testing and launched the first multi-mode base station and first cluster of cell sites, validating improved 3G data performance metrics, such as voice quality, call drops and blocks and improved data speeds. The company expects to bring approximately 12,000 sites on air by the end of 2012 and to complete the majority of its Network Vision roll-out in 2013. In addition, as part of Network Vision Sprint has announced it expects to begin launching 4G LTE by mid-year 2012. In addition to Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Atlanta, Sprint today announced Kansas City and Baltimore will be among the initial six major cities to launch.

The company also raised a substantial portion of the additional cash needed to fund the Network Vision deployment, debt maturities and working capital requirements over the next few years. During the fourth quarter, Sprint raised additional financing of $4 billion and repaid all 2012 maturities prior to scheduled maturity. Sprint’s next scheduled debt maturities include $300 million due in May 2013 and $1.5 billion due in October 2013.

Sprint generated $257 million of Free Cash Flow* in the quarter. As of Dec. 31, 2011, the company’s total liquidity was approximately $6.7 billion, consisting of $5.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and $1.1 billion of undrawn borrowing capacity available under its revolving bank credit facility.

In 2011, Sprint’s Customer Satisfaction and First Call Resolution scores improved year-over-year for the fourth consecutive year and third parties continued to affirm Sprint’s customer experience leadership. In the fourth quarter, Frost & Sullivan awarded Sprint the North American Customer Value Enhancement of the Year Award in the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communications market, and Analysys Mason gave Sprint the highest M2M scorecard ranking among North American-based communications service providers. Last month, Sprint received the ATLANTIC ACM Best-in-Class Network Award for Global Wholesale Excellence. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine’s annual 2011 Best of Everything list awarded top honors to Sprint’s unlimited data plan, no annual contract offerings from Boost Mobile and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Last week, Virgin Mobile USA received the highest ranking in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Customer Care Non-Contract Study – Volume 1, with Boost placing second. Sprint’s sustainable efforts also continued to gather accolades. Following Sprint’s third place ranking among U.S. companies on Newsweek’s 2011 Green Rankings in October, Sprint joined the exclusive World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers Program – one of only 27 global partners selected since 1999.

Besides adding the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s to the company’s industry-leading line-up of devices, Sprint also launched several other innovative products during the fourth quarter including HTC EVO Design 4G™, the company’s 25th 4G device. Sprint also launched the first three Sprint Direct Connect® phones, Kyocera DuraMax, Kyocera DuraCore and Motorola Admiral™, the first Sprint Direct Connect Android™ smartphone. Earlier this year, Sprint announced the initial group of devices that will operate on its 4G LTE network: Galaxy Nexus™, LG Viper™ 4G LTE with eco-friendly features and Sierra Wireless™ Tri-Network Hotspot. Also during the fourth quarter, Sprint unveiled a redesigned website for business, www.sprint.com/business, launched 4G Fixed Business Access, a business solution that turns any area into an instant office, and collaborated on M2M solutions including wireless kiosks to capture health and wellness information remotely.

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We’ve just received word from the folks at Clove UK that we can expect the white version of the HTC Sensation XE to drop its Beats Audio during the week of February 20th. Along with the inclusion of Beats by Dre audio technology, the Sensation XE sees a bump up in specs from the standard model with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor powering the phone’s Android 2.3 operating system. A 4.3-inch qHD display, 8MP camera with VGA front-facing camera, 768MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage round out the phone’s hardware. Clove has the Sensation XE in white up for order now at a price of £408 after VAT.

Read more @ Android Phone Fans