Latest Windows Phone from HTC to Run on AT&T’s 4G LTE Network in U.S.

LAS VEGAS — Jan. 9, 2012 — At the 2012 International CES, HTC Corp. today introduced the HTC TITAN™ II as the company’s first Windows Phone to run on a 4G LTE network. Available in the coming months to AT&T customers, the smartphone includes the largest display among Windows Phones, an advanced 16-megapixel digital camera and access to 4G LTE* speeds.

“HTC’s history of innovation in 4G technology includes delivering the first 4G-powered devices to each major carrier in the U.S., so it is exciting today to continue that leadership with our first 4G LTE Windows Phone, the HTC TITAN II,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp. “This full-featured smartphone combines HTC’s design with AT&T’s high-speed 4G LTE network and Microsoft’s powerful Windows Phone software, giving people more of what they crave.”

The HTC TITAN II comes equipped with a brilliant 4.7-inch super LCD capacitive touchscreen display for an optimized viewing experience when watching movies, playing games or enjoying photos and videos. The HTC TITAN II offers quick and easy access to the latest movies and TV shows via HTC Watch and on-the-go gaming with Xbox LIVE.

Packed with advanced imaging technology, the HTC TITAN II features a 16-megapixel camera with a wide-angle lens, autofocus, dual LED flash, red eye reduction, image stabilization, a backside-illuminated sensor and a physical camera button, offering a viable replacement for digital point-and-shoot cameras. The HTC TITAN II delivers a number of features that HTC has developed to help consumers capture photos in a variety of conditions; for instance, panoramic shot for sweeping landscapes and burst shot for action photography. The smartphone also enables 720p HD video recording with the rear-facing camera, as well as on-the-go video chat over Wi-Fi with its 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

Access to AT&T’s speedy 4G LTE network paired with Qualcomm’s 1.5 GHz Snapdragon™ S2 processor, enables the HTC TITAN II to deliver fast Web surfing, streaming and downloading. This new powerful smartphone will also feature a 1,730mAh lithium ion battery to support the robust mobile experience on one of the fastest 4G LTE networks.

Featuring the latest version of Windows Phone, the HTC TITAN II enhances connectivity, efficiency and productivity for busy consumers with its large on-screen keyboard and instant access to Windows Phone Office Hub, Microsoft Exchange 2010 and Outlook Mobile. The Live Tile display brings friend and family groups to life and delivers the latest updates and news from popular social networks directly to the home screen. HTC TITAN II customers will also be able to download a number of exclusive HTC applications for free within Windows Marketplace through HTC Hub.

The HTC TITAN II is expected to become available exclusively from AT&T in the U.S. in the coming months.

A number of handset makers in China, including Lenovo, ZTE, TCL, Coolpad and Konka, has formed an alliance in preparation to counter possible patent infringement lawsuits to bring upon by international players, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

According to data compiled by Strategy Analytics, shipments of smartphones in the China market totaled 24 million units in the third quarter of 2011, making China to outperform the US, for the first time, to become as the world’s largest smartphone market.

Viewing the growing market in China, international players such as Apple, Nokia and Microsoft are expected to strengthen the protection of their patents in the market, said the sources, noting that Microsoft has asked companies such as Huawei Device to pay royalties and Nokia has filed patent lawsuits against some makers.

However, the sources pointed out that China-based handset makers are not completely unable to defend themselves, given that Huawei and ZTE have secured a number of patents for wireless communications technologies and many makers are able to develop localized interfaces and even operation systems.

Additionally, China-based telecom carriers and operators of social networking websites have been eagerly launching own-branded smartphone models targeting market segments other than those dominated by international branded players.

If you read my previous article on the fab Samsung Galaxy S II you will know what an Über cool phone this is. Well, guess what? Now the Galaxy S II is going to be available from T-Mobile in WHITE. And just in time for the holidays, too!

Just think how beautiful the phone will look against the falling snowflakes?

Check the states on the phone here:

Samsung-Galaxy S II

Barnes & Noble also announced enhancements and incredibly new low prices for NOOK Color, the first-ever Reader’s Tablet(TM), and NOOK Simple Touch, the first breakthrough touch E Ink® device. The critically acclaimed NOOK Color will be even better next month, with more than 100 feature enhancements, access to top video and music services, popular apps, comics and more – and an even better value at today’s new incredibly low price of $199. The new and improved NOOK Simple Touch features the world’s fastest page turns and longest battery life, and an amazing new price of $99 – with no annoying ads.

"In NOOK Tablet, we’ve created the best wireless media tablet in the portable 7-inch class.  NOOK Tablet’s VividView display has been designed to be the world’s finest screen for readability and viewing content. We’ve utilized that breakthrough display technology to bring consumers the largest digital catalog of color and interactive books, magazines, children’s books and high-quality apps through our NOOK Store. Additionally, we’ve seamlessly integrated today’s top entertainment services like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Pandora in a product that’s powerful, easy-to-use, under a pound, and a tremendous value at only $249," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "We’re also excited to announce that we’ve lowered the price of our award-winning and recently improved NOOK Simple Touch to just $99, ad-free. Lastly, our incredibly popular NOOK Color has a new low price of only $199, giving customers the ability to enjoy its unparalleled reading experience, apps, Web and email. These three products, at these super-low prices, represent the highest-quality portfolio of reading and entertainment products on the market at the best value. We welcome customers to learn more about our bestselling NOOK product line from our friendly and well-trained NOOKsellers at our new NOOK Digital Shops at their neighborhood Barnes & Noble."

NOOK Tablet: Built for Speed… and Beauty
NOOK Tablet was designed for customers who want to read and be entertained with a variety of apps and media. Barnes & Noble designed the device for power, speed and responsiveness using the latest and most advanced technology. With a highly tuned 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, there’s plenty of memory to stream HD videos smoothly, browse the Web, and switch between books, magazines, videos and apps effortlessly. Barnes & Noble developed revolutionary battery life with NOOK Tablet, enabling 11.5 hours of reading time or nine hours of video viewing – the equivalent of five full-length movies. Everything looks stunning on NOOK Tablet, which features the world’s most advanced VividView(TM) display for viewing content, with 16 million colors and a resolution purity that’s simply gorgeous. Barnes & Noble invested in full IPS lamination to reduce reflection and glare and offer extra-wide viewing angles – perfect for sharing.

Best in Entertainment
NOOK Tablet gives customers the best names in entertainment so they can choose the TV shows and movies they love from leading services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, both pre-loaded on NOOK Tablet and offering free trials. Customers can instantly stream brilliant HD-quality videos. Also coming soon to NOOK Tablet: Flixster with UltraViolet(TM), for newly released movies and TV shows from Warner Bros. and other leading studios. NOOK Tablet owners can listen to millions of songs using the hottest music services, including Pandora, pre-loaded on NOOK Tablet, as well as Rhapsody®, Grooveshark and MOG, all available with a free 14-day trial. NOOK Tablet owners can also listen to their own songs wherever they go with the built-in music player.

Your Reading and Entertainment Content – Anywhere
A powerful HD entertainment machine designed for maximum portability, NOOK Tablet is well under a pound (14.1 oz.), making it one-third lighter than the leading tablet and 10 percent lighter than the award-winning NOOK Color. Sleek and thin with a soft touch back design, NOOK Tablet can be held comfortably for extended periods with just one hand and slips easily into a pocket or purse for reading and entertainment on-the-go. And with 16GB of storage – double the space of some other tablets – plus expandable memory, customers have ample space for their reading and entertainment content, regardless of Wi-Fi availability.
Customers can also access their personal NOOK Library(TM) through the free, stable and secure NOOK Cloud(TM) service, which also powers the seamless integration and synchronization between devices, as well as NOOK’s best-in-class shopping experience and social features.

Thousands of Must-Have Apps, Web & Email
Barnes & Noble offers NOOK Tablet customers a wide array of top-rated NOOK Apps(TM) to play, learn, organize and explore with must-haves like Angry Birds Rio and Seasons, SCRABBLE, Epicurious, My Cast Weather, Taptu, Style.com, Spanish for Dummies, Bejeweled® 2, Ms. Pac Man and more. There are hundreds of popular apps for kids, including Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat, Drawing Pad and Pop Up Peter Rabbit. All NOOK Apps are the best, highest-quality versions available, optimized for NOOK Tablet’s beautiful and ultra-responsive 7-inch color touchscreen. By the holidays, Barnes & Noble will offer thousands of high-quality NOOK Apps from leading third-party developers and content providers that can be enjoyed on NOOK Tablet, as well as NOOK Color.

NOOK Tablet also features lightning-fast Web browsing so customers can surf their favorite sites, from Facebook to YouTube, and stream brilliant HD videos. NOOK Tablet’s built-in email also makes it easy to stay connected with friends and family.

Barnes & Noble’s Award-Winning Reading Experience
NOOK Tablet customers can shop the world’s largest bookstore, featuring more than 2.5 million books, enhanced books, interactive magazines, newspapers, comic books and children’s books.  Content downloads lightning-fast, usually in less than 10 seconds over Wi-Fi.

• NOOK Newsstand(TM): Choose from more than 250 newspapers and full-color, interactive magazines, delivered like magic to NOOK Tablet’s Active Shelf on the Home screen as soon as they become available. Barnes & Noble offers the largest digital collection of top 100 magazines, including PEOPLE, Food Network Magazine, Us Weekly, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, TIME, National Geographic and many others. Colorful interactive magazines offer Barnes & Noble’s ArticleView(TM), new animated page turns and smooth pinch, zoom and panning. Many special edition NOOK Magazines(TM) feature videos, quizzes, image galleries and more.
• New NOOK Comics: Barnes & Noble is offering a vast new collection of full-color comics, graphic novels and kids’ comics in high resolution that virtually make the action jump off the page. NOOK Comics will feature the world’s greatest superheroes with the largest digital collection of Marvel’s graphic novels available through a third party, as well as titles from other leading publishers, including Archie, IDW and Dynamite.
• NOOK Kids(TM): This holiday’s largest collection of more than 1,000 interactive children’s picture books and more than 12,000 chapter books just got even better. Bestselling books feature animation and engaging activities. With the new Read and Record(TM) feature, parents and grandparents can use NOOK Tablet’s built-in microphone to record and save their reading of any NOOK Kids picture books so children can listen to their favorite storytellers anytime.
• More to read:  Barnes & Noble continues to expand its NOOK Bookstore(TM) with the vast majority of books available for $9.99 or less. New PagePerfect(TM) NOOK Books(TM) feature cookbooks, craft and art books rendered with rich precision to retain all the beauty of their stunning print versions.
• Enhanced reading: Reading is even more dynamic with PDF thumbnail page views, and image pinch, zoom and pan in books and PDFs.
• Unparalleled recommendations: Learn what to read next from Barnes & Noble’s knowledgeable booksellers, from must-read new releases to up-and-coming authors. Barnes & Noble’s personalized recommendations are based on what customers already love. In any book a customer is reading, a simple tap on the new NOOK Discover(TM) icon offers instant recommendations.
• Get more social: NOOK Tablet now makes it easier than ever for customers to share their reading experience with friends. They can connect with Facebook friends and others through NOOK Friends(TM), and find out what they have to say about their books, magazines and newspapers. Customers can also share their thoughts about the books they’re reading via email, Facebook and Twitter. Owners can share books, as well as browse and borrow books, from NOOK Friends using Barnes & Noble’s exclusive LendMe® technology.
• Continuous reading: Read what you love, anywhere you like(TM) on NOOK devices and with FREE NOOK Reading Apps. NOOK Cloud automatically syncs a customer’s library, last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across all of their devices, so a customer can start a book on NOOK Tablet, and dive back in on their computer or smartphone.
  NOOK Color: Even Better, Now $199

The highly acclaimed, bestselling NOOK Color will be even better starting in December with Barnes & Noble’s largest software update ever and a new low price of just $199 starting today.  The first ever Reader’s Tablet, NOOK Color combines an award-winning reading experience with tablet essentials including apps, Web and email. The millions of existing NOOK Color customers will automatically receive the update at no cost via Wi-Fi, beginning in early December. Highlights, also available on NOOK Tablet, include:

• More entertainment and apps: NOOK Color customers will be able to download Netflix to watch movies and TV shows. Hulu Plus will also be available for NOOK Color in the coming months. Customers will enjoy top music services and thousands of apps including games, children’s apps and many others.
• Read your way: Customers requested the flexibility to read books in portrait or landscape and adjust the text with even more font sizes to choose from.
  The most user-friendly library: Customers will have faster, easier access to all of their content. NOOK Library is organized with tabs for books, magazines, newspapers and apps. The magazine display shows virtual stacks of covers with dates so customers can just tap on the issue they want and dive in.
• Enhanced shopping: NOOK’s amazing new Shop experience makes it easier than ever for customers to find their next great book, kid’s book, newsstand title or app. The NOOK Store(TM) is even easier to use, and more social and streamlined to show the breadth of content.  Customers get suggestions based on their favorite authors, reviews and recommendations from their NOOK Friends plus top NOOK Newsstand picks, free trials and new NOOK Daily Finds.

NOOK Simple Touch: Best Reader, Best Price
The award-winning NOOK Simple Touch now has the most advanced E Ink display with lightning-fast page turns – 25 percent faster than any other E Ink product on the market. Best-Text(TM) from Barnes & Noble meticulously optimizes each letter so words are ultra-crisp and clear, even in bright sunlight. NOOK Simple Touch has an ergonomic, contoured design with a soft-touch back that makes it easy and comfortable to read, even with just one hand, and for extended periods of time. And Barnes & Noble has extended NOOK Simple Touch’s best-in-class battery life even further for its customers who love to read for long stretches. On a single charge, customers can now read for up to 2 months for one hour a day. NOOK Simple Touch also puts the focus on reading with no annoying ads, and instead lets customers personalize their screensaver with their own photos.
Now just $99, still with no ads, NOOK Simple Touch is the world’s best reader at the world’s best value and a must-have this holiday season for anyone who loves to read. Existing NOOK Simple Touch customers can also enjoy these new benefits through a free v1.1 software update available today for immediate download at www.nook.com/update. Customers can also receive the free update over the air when connected to Wi-Fi in the coming weeks.

Give the Gift of Reading
This holiday, Barnes & Noble will make it easier for customers to give the gift of reading. Whether shopping in a Barnes & Noble bookstore, or beginning next month, online at BN.com, customers can give any NOOK Book or NOOK App as gifts. NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color customers will also be able to apply their Barnes & Noble gift cards – physical or digital – while shopping on their devices.

Availability
NOOK Tablet can be pre-ordered for $249 today and is expected to be in stores and in homes late next week, in plenty of time for the holidays. Experience NOOK Tablet, NOOK Color and NOOK Simple Touch at www.nook.com or at the NOOK Digital Shops and displays in one of Barnes & Noble’s more than 700 bookstores and other leading retailers. Barnes & Noble offers Always Free NOOK Support in all of its neighborhood bookstores, with more than 40,000 NOOKsellers across the country ready to assist customers with setting up their NOOK devices or choosing their next great read.

After all, cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices are very ubiquitous these days. And modern clothing has already been altered to adapt to our brave new world.

The mujjo is designed with a difference. It keeps your entire hand fully functioning in the touchscreen universe. You will not have to “relearn” to use your phone or tablet with just your index finger while the winter snows swirl about you. Just do what you normally do with all your fingers. The actions are the same – just with an extra skin.

Check out
mujjo.com

“Capacitive touchscreens work by sensing the conductive properties of your skin. Mujjo gloves are made of high-quality silver-coated nylon fibers knitted into the fabric of the glove. These silver-coated nylon fibers make the gloves conductive and therefore touchscreen compatible!”

Even if these gloves seem a bit thin, one can always add an extra pair of mittens for warmth over the mujjo’s.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Tablets are quickly becoming a must-have tool for staying connected, getting work done and having fun at home and on the road,” said Victoria McManus, marketing director UK & Ireland, Motorola Mobility. “We are very excited about these two new additions to our tablet portfolio that build on the success of the original Motorola XOOM to now deliver more powerful tablet experiences to the European market.”

The new Motorola XOOM 2 and Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition both feature Android 3.2, a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, brilliant displays with Corning® Gorilla® Glass and a splashguard coating for a go anywhere, do everything attitude. In addition, both tablets include the new MotoCast™ app that lets you stream all your music, photos, videos and documents between your PC or Mac and tablet without any media tools, apps, or cords.

Motorola XOOM 2: Lighter and Brighter Motorola XOOM 2 with Wi-Fi sports a 10.1-inch widescreen HD display and Android 3.2 Honeycomb like its predecessor, but the similarities end there. The display is brighter and more vibrant than before with color enhancement, and the edges have been strategically designed to make the tablet more comfortable to hold — this tablet is easy on the eyes, and easy on the hands. It is compatible with the optional Motorola Stylus that is great for note-taking, hand-writing emails and sketching. Motorola XOOM 2 is loaded with Business Ready features like VPN support and data encryption.

Motorola XOOM 2 with Wi-Fi features MOTOPRINT integrated into key apps so you can print wirelessly from your tablet. It is approximately 100 grams lighter than the original Motorola XOOM to make it even easier to take on the road, and can withstand poolside use, spilled drinks or dashes out to the car in the rain thanks to its new splash-guard coating. A battery delivering more than 10 hours of video playback means it can go with you wherever you need to be.

Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition: Beat your Boredom Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition with Wi-Fi is easy to hold with one hand thanks to its 8.2-inch display, and easy to take with you wherever you go, weighing less than the best-selling paperback you’ve been carrying around. Optimized for entertainment, it has a wide, 178 degree viewing angle. Hold it up to someone across the room, or share it with someone sitting next to you, and everyone gets a brilliant view.

Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition has a 20 percent improvement in graphics performance over the original Motorola XOOM for smoother gaming, features adaptive virtual surround sound with booming bass that’ll delight your ears, and stands out from the crowd with the fastest multi-tasking in its class. It can even be a universal remote control for home AV equipment with the personalized, custom remote control app pre-loaded on the tablet. Lastly, a splash-guard coating provides extra protection against the spills that are bound to happen when you’re having fun.

Accessories to connect to your life easier, from anywhere

With the Work and Play kit, plug your tablet into the HD Multimedia Station to connect to your HDTV, speakers and other peripherals for large-screen entertainment. Get more done, faster with the included keyboard and mouse with Bluetooth technology. Now, when your tablet is docked, the Smart Controller lets you MC the show from the comfort of your couch. For Motorola XOOM 2, no accessory discussion is complete without mentioning the Motorola Stylus with Precision tip – your tablet’s best friend.

Multitask efficiently—browse the web while streaming video to your TV wirelessly, with zero wait time and no buffering. The AT&T 4G LTE service will launch Nov. 6 in Boston, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Indianapolis and Athens, Georgia. AT&T offers the only smartphones that are able to utilize both the LTE and HSPA+ 4G speeds, for a consistently fast connection in and out of LTE areas.

“We are thrilled to continue growing our relationship with AT&T and excited for the HTC Vivid to be one of the first LTE devices on AT&T for the holiday season,” said Jason Mackenzie, president of global sales and marketing, HTC. “The HTC Vivid combines an exceptional display in a premium device that delivers a powerful smartphone to our customers through AT&T’s fast LTE and HSPA+ 4G network.”

HTC Vivid is equipped with the acclaimed HTC Sense user experience, which includes a customizable active lockscreen that puts the most important information and content, such as social updates, photos, weather or stock updates, at the forefront. Complete with an 8MP camera and dual microphones, you can record video in 1080p HD quality with surround sound and upload to YouTube to share with those closest to you. The camera records in high speed with 60 fps, and you can use the HTC movie Editor to clip and manage your video – all on your phone.

The HTC Vivid will arrive in AT&T company owned retail stores and online Nov. 6 for $199.99 with a two-year commitment.

Lightning fast reflexes powered by a 1.5 GHz dual core processor and AT&T 4G LTE speeds make the Galaxy S II Skyrocket faster for Web browsing and all your favorite apps.  A Super AMOLED Plus display spanning 4.5-inches is the brightest, most colorful screen on the market.

• 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display(800×480 pixels)
• Android Gingerbread (2.3.5)
• 1.5 GHz dual-core processor
• 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, with 2-megapixel front-facing camera
• 1080p HD video recording
• 16 GB of on-board memory, microSD expandable to an additional 32 GB

The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket will arrive in AT&T company-owned retail stores and online Nov. 6 for $249.99 with a two-year commitment.

Nokia just announced the Windows Phone based Lumia 800 smartphone. There were some rumors floating around about a Lumia 900 devices, but I doubt that’s going to happen at this Nokia World as the biggest announcements usually happen on Day 1. This means that the Lumia 800 is going to be the top dog for now. Here’s a quick recap and commentary of those important bits and pieces.

Nokia Lumia 800

-Lumia means light, signifying “a new dawn for Nokia.” I love the name! It’s easy to remember, and sort of gives the line a “face” and some personality. I also have a feeling that Nokia’s smartphone line is going be all about names that have something to do with light, so you probably can expect names like Aura, Sun, Ray, Beam etc in the future. Giving the line is also much easier remembers than numbers. Nokia didn’t complete depart from the numbers, these stay indicating the position of the device in the range.

-Design: Think of the N9 in terms of design, the same polycarbonate plastic unibody construction and curved glass, but this time with Windows Phone 7.5 Mango. The N9 is easily one of the best looking devices on the market, praised by almost every review for it’s beautiful design. The 800 continues with this design language but with a smaller 3.7” (instead of 3.9” on the N9.) The 800 and N9 have the exact same dimensions of 116.45 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm and the exact same volume of 76cc, but the 800 weighs more at 142 g vs the N9’s 135g.Question is, why the smaller screen of the body’s dimensions are exactly the same? As you can see from the image above, it’s really hard to tell them apart. But if you look closer, the Lumia 800 has a camera shutter button and a smaller screen.

-Colors: It comes in three colors: Cyan, Magenta and Black, the exact same colors as the N8. No surprises here, as the as Nokia’s recent trend has been all about bold bright colors for everything from the N9, N8 and even accessories like the Play 360 and Luna.

-Price: The estimated retail price of the Nokia 800 16GB is going to be around 420 Euros, which is a bit lower than what we usually see from Nokia’s flagship. In comparison, the N9 16GB version at the time of shipping was about 480 Euros.

-Battery: At 1450mAh the battery might seem on the small side, but considering that this phone is not running a dual core processor and Nokia’s ability to squeeze a lot of battery life out of relatively small battery, it probably won’t last really long, but it should get you through an entire day with heavy usage.

-Performance: Under the hood there’s a Qualcomm S2 MSM8255 Snapdragon/Scorpion 1.4Ghz (single core) processor paired with an Adreno 205 GPU. In terms of current landscape, the Lumia 800 specs are mid-end, but again considering Nokia’s ability to squeeze a lot out of lower-clocked CPU’s the 800 should be fast. Also ad the fact that unlike other platforms, Windows Phone seem to run quite speedy with single core 1Ghz processor, so the 800 should be plenty fast. Andy Lees in an interview with AllThingsD did say that Windows Phone 7.5 devices will be "all single core, but I suspect that they will be faster in usage than any dual-core phone that you put against it, and that’s the point."

The use of a single core mostly has to do with Microsoft specs requirements for Windows Phone Mango, but it also means that the 800 should get good battery life out of a relatively small battery. As for the graphics, it should be enough for the most recent games, this is the same chip found on a dedicated gaming smartphone like the Xperia PLAY

-Video: While the 800 has the HD video capture, it’s running a bit behind with “only” 720p video as many smartphones are starting to push 1080p.Nokia has yet to produce a device that can do 1080p video capture, but this leaves some room for what undoubtedly will be a 900 or 850 device.

-Screen: A 3.7” in screen, as indicated earlier, smaller than the N9’s 3.9” screen. The N9 also has a much higher screen res at 854 x 480 pixels, while the 800 has 800 x 480 pixels. It’s an AMOLED screen that uses the ClearBlack technology, so basically same great display as the N9. The difference in size becomes clearer from the image above, not a dramatic difference, but one that you will definitely notice.

Software: I thought Nokia would bring more customization to Mango, but in this case it was limited to Nokia Drive, Music and ESPN Sports Hub. I would get the 800 just for the Drive navigation alone as Nokia has about the best navigation in the business and it works completely offline. This makes the Lumia line the only Windows Phone with full navigation built-in. I thought Nokia Drive was going to be part of Bing Maps on Mango software, but apparently it’s not and is a Nokia exclusive.

-Camera: The same 8 megapixel camera as the N9 and 720p HD video with continuous autofocus. Yes it’s also the same f/2.2 aperture lens. Not N8 level quality, but it should be pretty good. The 800 does lack a front facing camera. Now that Microsoft own Skype and will surely make it a key part of Windows Phone, not having a front facing camera is a big negative point.

-NFC: The N9 had NFC, Nokia now has a several NFC enabled accessories and has the largest range of NFC enabled, so why isn’t the N800 NFC enabled.

Overall the Lumia 800 looks like a solid device with the amazing hardware and design borrowed from the N9. Coupled with the modern UI of Windows Phone it should help push those sales numbers for Windows Phone. A look at the specs however suggest the 800 to be more of a Mid-end devices, indicating that Nokia should have a device with high spec and price with a dual core CPU in the near feature. On the other hand one could argue that in terms of Windows Phone specs, this is as good as it gets, which up till now has been all about fast performance from mid-end hardware. However the lack NFC and a front facing camera are big omissions in my opinion.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Today, Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) and Verizon Wireless announced DROID RAZR™ by Motorola, the world’s thinnest 4G LTE smartphone. A true marvel of design, this smartphone packs strength and smarts into a stylish package offered exclusively from Verizon Wireless.

Measuring 7.1 mm thin, made with KEVLAR® fiber for strength and Corning® Gorilla® Glass for scratch resistance, the DROID RAZR is ready to face the elements. Speed limits are just an illusion with a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and Verizon Wireless 4G LTE. DROID RAZR customers can expect to rip through the Web with speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G.

“DROID RAZR by Motorola combines style, performance and the power of Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network into one innovative device,” said Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “These are two iconic brands that separately symbolize the best technology available today. The combination will provide an unsurpassed wireless experience for customers.”

“DROID RAZR by Motorola is a testament to the innovation and design possibilities that stem from a strong partnership between Motorola Mobility and Verizon Wireless,” said Sanjay Jha, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Mobility. “We set out to design the best smartphone on the planet and delivered DROID RAZR which is thinner, smarter, stronger than any device on the market.”

Not only does DROID RAZR by Motorola deliver heart-pounding speed, but it has a mind-bending 4.3-inch hyper-vibrant display with more colors than most LCD HDTVs. The Super AMOLED™ Advanced display with qHD resolution dishes out beautiful images and smooth action so on-the-go movies and TV shows aren’t a blur, whether customers stream from Netflix™ or rent from Android Market™. It’s the first smartphone capable of streaming movies and TV shows through Netflix with up to HD resolution.

DROID RAZR customers can take advantage of the Super AMOLED Advanced display and 4G LTE speeds to stream videos with NFL Mobile, only from Verizon. Fans can stay up to date on news, schedules and scores from their favorite teams on the go. NFL Mobile is included at no additional charge for 4G LTE customers for the remainder of the 2011 season.

If cutting-edge visuals are its beauty, apps on DROID RAZR are its brains. Enter MotoCast™, the free Motorola app that lets you stream or download your music, pictures and more from your PC to your phone. The Smart Actions app helps automate everyday tasks and optimizes battery efficiency by letting customers create rules, such as automatically setting the phone to vibrate during work hours or dimming the display at a specific battery level. The revolutionary webtop application allows customers to combine the device with separately sold accessories, like the Lapdock™ 100 or HD Station, unleashing the power to edit documents and browse the Web with a full Firefox® browser on a larger screen – all while charging the device.

Additional features:

• Powered by Android^™ 2.3.5, Gingerbread
• 1GB RAM for a fast user interface and multi-tasking
• 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p HD video capture and image stabilization technology for crisp and clear videos
• Front-facing HD camera for video chat over 4G LTE, 3G or Wi-Fi
• 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot capable so customers can share 4G LTE speed with up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices
• Water repellent nanocoating protects the phone, and even the inside components, against everyday spills
• Remote wipe, pin lock and government-grade encryption for email, calendar and contacts as well as voice and video chat conferencing
• Use Quickoffice® to view, create and edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on your mobile device from anywhere at anytime
• Bluetooth 4.0 low energy
• 32 GB memory: 16 GB on board and 16 GB microSD^™ card pre-installed (actual formatted capacity is less)
• Powerful 1780 mAh battery

Offering a portable, rich multimedia experience on a 7-inch display, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus packs power and productivity into a chic lightweight design, weighing just 345g and measuring 9.96mm thin. The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus runs Google Android^TM Honeycomb platform, enabling an easy and intuitive user experience. In addition, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus delivers a smooth and intuitive user experience with powerful performance powered by a 1.2GHz dual core processor.

Featuring built-in infrared capabilities, the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus can control the user’s home theater/TV setup. The Peel integration on the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus goes beyond the Peel application available for download today by no longer requiring additional hardware or cables for TV control functionality. Peel allows users to control any home entertainment system regardless of manufacturer.

Peel displays personalized programming recommendations in an intuitive and content-driven graphical interface, completely eliminating the need to scroll through traditional channel-listing grids. The application’s home screen displays colorful thumbnail images of “Top Picks,” or favorite shows. Touch one of the thumbnails and the application displays what channel that show is on as well as a brief description of the episode that is playing. Simply tap “Watch On TV” and the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will automatically change the channel to the selected program.

“The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus optimized with the innovative Peel application will enable users to connect seamlessly to view their favorite TV shows,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Mobile. “Our partnership with Peel further builds on Samsung’s convergence strategy to create enhanced user experiences.”

Peel combined with the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus can control the entire home entertainment system, including the TV, set-top box, DVD, Blu-ray player and AV audio system. Peel will provide Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus users with a social aspect as well, connecting them directly to Facebook and Twitter to share what they are watching with their social networks.

“This partnership continues Peel’s vision of eliminating the barriers between you and your favorite shows,” said Greg Lindley, chief experience officer for Peel. “The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus – with its built in IR remote functionality – is a great platform for the Peel app and creates an ideal second screen experience for any TV lover.”

The 16GB Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will be available nationwide through Best Buy, Amazon, Tiger Direct, Fry’s and other fine retailers starting November 13^th for $399.99. Pre-orders will begin October 23^rd with select partners.

Samsung’s relationship with Peel is part of Samsung’s overall commitment to convergence and the companies are working to integrate the Peel Smart Remote Application into future Samsung mobile devices.

¹ Number one mobile phone provider in the U.S. claim for Samsung Mobile based upon reported shipment data, according to Strategy Analytics, Q2 2011 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipments Reports.

Hong Kong – October 19, 2011 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a leading mobile device provider, and Google, today announced GALAXY Nexus™, the world’s first smartphone running Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest release of the Android platform. GALAXY Nexus features a 4.65” HD Super AMOLED display technology at 720p resolution and a 1.2GHz dual core processor.

“Samsung and Google have closely collaborated to push the mobile experience forward. We are pleased to deliver the best Android smartphone experience for customers with GALAXY Nexus. We will continue to move forward with Android to provide the compelling consumer experience in mobile world,” said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.

“Ice Cream Sandwich demonstrates the Android platform’s continued innovation with one release that works on phones and tablets and everything in between. Features like Android Beam and Face Unlock show the innovative work our team is doing, and GALAXY Nexus showcases the power behind Ice Cream Sandwich,” said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile for Google.

Update: We just found this video showing a quick overview of new Android 4.0 features!

Click here to view the embedded video.

 Ice Cream Sandwich brings an entirely new look and feel to Android. It has a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and a full web browsing experience. GALAXY Nexus features software navigation buttons, a first for Android smartphones. The lock screen, home screen, phone app, and everything in between has been rethought and redesigned to make Android simple, beautiful, and useful.

Ice Cream Sandwich also features a new People app, which lets you, browse friends, family, and coworkers, see their photos in high-resolution, and check their latest status updates from Google＋ and other social networks. GALAXY Nexus features a redesigned camera which introduces panorama mode, 1080p video capture, zero-shutter lag, and effects like silly faces and background replacement.

GALAXY Nexus is also connected to the cloud, keeping your email, contacts, and all other data synced across your devices. You have access to more than 300,000 apps and games from Android Market™, or, in certain countries, you can buy and read books, or rent movies and stream them instantly from your phone. In the U.S., you can also upload your music to the cloud with Music Beta by Google and listen anywhere, even when offline.

Ice Cream Sandwich introduces innovations such as Face Unlock which uses facial recognition to unlock your phone. Using NFC technology, Android Beam allows you to quickly share web pages, apps, and YouTube™ videos with your friends by simply tapping your phones together. You can even use fun effects while shooting video or video chatting with Google Talk™.

Google Experience

 GALAXY Nexus is designed to provide a “pure Google,” experience, and with it, you will be the first to receive software upgrades and new applications as they become available.

It also features a number of Google Mobile services, including: Android Market, Gmail™, Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps and turn-by-turn navigation, Google Earth™, Movie Studio, YouTube™, syncing with Google Calendar™, and a redesigned Google＋ app.

Best-in-class hardware meets the most advanced software

GALAXY Nexus is the first smartphone to feature a 4.65’’ display with a market-leading resolution of 720p (1280×720), ensuring you can enjoy GALAXY Nexus’ immersive entertainment capabilities and fast web browsing in superior clarity.

Succeeding the original Contour Display of Nexus S, GALAXY Nexus comes with a rounded shape that fits perfectly within your palm or to your face for phone calling. Hyper-skin backing on the battery cover improves the ergonomic feel of the device and makes the phone slip-resistant. At just 8.94mm thick, with a minimal 4.29mm bezel, GALAXY Nexus provides superb portability alongside an expansive screen.

GALAXY Nexus also features an ultra-fast 1.2GHz dual core processor, providing superior power and speed, ensuring you can take full advantage of GALAXY Nexus’ enhanced multitasking capabilities with ease, or enjoy the large, vivid display to its full capacity with high-definition gaming or video streaming. LTE or HSPA＋ connectivity combined with a dual core processor delivers high-speed web browsing which ensures you always have the web at your fingertips, wherever you are.

GALAXY Nexus will be available in the U.S., Europe, and Asia beginning in November and gradually rolled out to other global markets.

For multimedia content and more detailed information, please visit www.samsungmobilepress.com/
Note to Editors:

GALAXY Nexus Product Specifications

＊ Specifications above may differ on the LTE version.
＊ All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company consists of nine independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Memory, System LSI and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, semiconductor chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com

Google, Nexus, Android, Android Market, YouTube, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Calendar are trademarks of Google, Inc.