Samsung started to roll an update to the operating system of Galaxy S3 phones (I just got mine).
Android Jelly Bean is being pushed over the air or via the Samsung Kies software, first to unlocked Samsung Galaxy S3 phones.

Network operators Three, O2 and Vodafone previously made the OS available to their customers, leaving Orange and T-Mobile as the only major providers yet to offer it.

Samsung initiated a gradual roll out of the operating system in Europe last month.

In the US market Sprint is the first U.S. carrier to update the Samsung Galaxy S3 to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. To date, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular are still waiting for their turn.

Last week I got my new Galaxy S3 phone. Before getting this phone I was contemplating whether to get the HTC One X or the S3. While I like HTC very much (I have the HTC desire) I decided to try the Samsung S3.

So finally I got the new phone and after opening the phone and turning it on, I noticed that I have a defective screen. So I looked at the warranty card and found the number for the service provider. I called them and asked what to do. They told me to go to the main service location at a company called “C com Ltd“. So I drove there expecting to get a new phone instead of the defective one I got.

After waiting for the representative he told me that he can not give me a new phone, but I should leave my phone at the lab and they will replace the screen within two days.

Two days passed…Four days passed and I did not get a call from the lab telling me to pick up my phone. So I tried to call them and it took me two additional days get a hold of someone (they just don’t answer the phone nor returning a call after I filled the online contact form).

Eventually after waiting for 8 days I decided to drive over there and to pick up my phone. I reached the service station and the representative told me it is still not ready. I was very upset and I told the representative that in any other company I would get a new phone instead the defective one, and not have to wait for over a week to get a NEW phone fixed. He agreed with me, and made some phone calls to try to expedite the process and told me that they will deliver the phone to today to my office, but it is their policy and he can not give me a new phone to replace the bad one.

Needless to say no phone was delivered.

I think I’m done with Samsung. If this is their policy regarding defective phones, my next phone will not be Samsung. I know that if I had an iPhone and it was defected out of the box, I would get a new phone immediately instead of the defective one.

Now I have to point out that the phone is critical to my job and I need to be connected all the time, and they did not even give me a temporary replacement phone.

The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone, which went on sale last week, is suffering from a particularly annoying bug.

The glitch sees the handset drop the audio volume of its own accord. The phone goes suddenly silent, without warning, many an owner spent the weekend complaining on the intertubes.

Others have grumbled about the volume key becoming unresponsive, and even the power key sometimes ignores users’ presses.

Not every handset appears to be affected, but the consensus is that the bug only makes its presence felt when the Galaxy Nexus is operating in the 900MHz band for 2G communications. That’s a very commonly used band in Europe.

The main objective of this version is to prevent the hacking in Apple iOS devices which occurs through malicious pdf file. Another objective is to prevent the jailbreaking which occurs as a consequence of the previous effect.

In previous versions, the iOS device is easily vulnerable to attacks. It happens because of mishandling of fonts embedded in pdf file by iOS devices. It is quite common to download a pdf file through e-mail or web pages. Sometimes the downloaded file may be malicious and there is possibility that the file could inject malware into the iOS device — that gives a chance for the hackers to access the hardware of the iOS device.

iOS 4.3.4 has already been jail-breaked using RedsnOw and PwnageTool.

Read more: http://www.gizmocrazed.com/2011/07/apple-releases-ios-4-3-4-prevents-hacking-jailbreaking/#ixzz1SRzU7hdb

The latest version of Google’s Android operating system for tablets is official, which means the update will likely be arriving on a range of tablets in the near future.

Motorola has already begun to roll out the update on its Xoom tablet. Other tablet candidates for a 3.2 rollout include Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, Acer’s Iconia Tab 500, and Toshiba’s Thrive.

Samsung asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban the importation of Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iPods, ratcheting up its dispute against Apple.

The filing, dated Tuesday, says Apple’s iPhone, iPod digital music player and iPad tablet infringe on five of Samsung’s patents involving telecommunications standards and user interface inventions.

Samsung also filed a new patent lawsuit against Apple in a Delaware federal court on Wednesday,

The complaints are the latest salvo in a growing legal battle between the two consumer electronics giants.

In April, Apple sued Samsung in a California federal court, claiming the South Korean firm’s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copies the iPhone and iPad.

Samsung then countersued in California, and Apple last week filed another lawsuit in South Korea. An Apple spokesman could not be immediately reached on Wednesday.

The standard for detecting cancer cells in biopsies is immunohisochemistry — and detecting key antigens can be a time intensive process, requiring days to complete. Researchers at Harvard and MIT have developed a mobile mini NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) device operated by a smart phone that can be used at a patient’s bedside to detect cancer cells in under one hour.

Researchers state the parts to make the device cost $200 to manufacture, making it affordable for clinics or in poorer countries. More promising, however, are the results of a study just published in the Journal Science Translational Magazine that used the device to diagnose cancer. The study found the mobile device performed better than traditional methods of detecting cancer cells in biopsies.

Spotted at Rupert Murdoch’s splashy digital newspaper launch on Wednesday: a prototype of Apple’s newest iPad.

A Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference to mark the debut of News Corp’s Daily online paper in New York on Wednesday.

A source with knowledge of the device confirmed its existence, adding that the final release model could have other features. News Corp and Apple declined to comment.

Start-up Iway Mobile and Cellcom, Israel’s largest mobile phone operator, launched on Sunday a communications, Internet and entertainment system for the automobile.

While the Comodo Console will be sold first in February in Israel, where it will be marketed exclusively by Cellcom, Iway is in talks to sell the product to cellular operators in other countries over the next six months.

Iway founder and Chief Executive Danny Knafou said the first countries would likely be France, Russia and China.

The operating system is programed for 20 languages, including Russian, Arabic and Chinese, and more will be added.

Comodo includes a 4.3 inch touchscreen, speakerphone, a rear camera to increase security when in reverse, a GPS antenna and a cellular modem for an always-on connection to the Internet via a 3G cellular network. The driver can listen to radio stations from around the globe.

While mobile handset makers are focused on developing phones that are faster, smaller and better designed, Iway said it concentrated on giving the driver a different experience.

To ensure drivers’ safety, videos can be watched only when the car is not moving, and emails can be received but not sent. Text messaging and chatting services are not available, and the 80 applications can be activated with two clicks.

Knafou said he did not know of any other similar product.

The three-dimensional navigation system warns drivers when approaching a dangerous road or intersection and can alert when the driver is exceeding the speed limit or to problems up ahead, such as camels on the road.

The release date of one of HP’s upcoming webOS tablets, codenamed Opal, popped up on Engadget this afternoon courtesy of an anonymous tipster, along with renders of a second model codenamed Topaz. Some of the Topaz’s specs, like a front-facing camera and buttonless bezel, could be seen from the renders, while a release chart for Opal indicates most models will be out by September of this year.

Rendered front and back shots of the 9-inch screen Topaz tablet show it will have a microUSB outlet, front-facing camera, and no buttons on the bezel or sides. Engadget speculates that the HP tablets will have a three-speaker arrangement, with two on the left side and one on the right, for stereo sound in both landscape and portrait mode.

Google always has a lot going for it and new products coming out in 2011 showcase the Android operating system on myriad of products. The 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas had many new gadgets that showed a growing presence of Google in the consumer electronics industry.

What’s the buzz about Motorola’s Xoom?

The Motorola Xoom will debut the new Google Honeycomb operating system. The Xoom was named best tablet PC at the CES. Only a video preview was available according to PC Magazine. Honeycomb isn’t quite ready yet, which is why it didn’t have a demonstration model ready for the CES quite yet.

The product will be available sometime after the spring after Google perfects the new operating system

Google’s PowerMeter Web application can now track home electricity from a PC or smartphone using Wi-Fi and a home’s broadband connection.
Blue Line Innovations is expected to announce a deal tomorrow to tie its PowerCost Monitor to Google’s PowerMeter for monitoring home energy. Combined with a WiFi Gateway sold by Blue Line Innovations, a person can get real-time and historical information on electricity use. PowerMeter also lets people create a home energy budget, share efficiency tips, and predict costs.