From 9to5Toys.com:
Grab it here and upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS. Read more
Google Music leap year sale: 29 albums for $2.99
Google is currently advertising a one-day leap year sale for Google Music that will let you grab 29 select albums for just $2.99 each. Among the albums offered include Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die,” Drake’s “Take Care,” Rihanna’s “Talk That Talk,” Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” Jay-Z’s “Watch The Throne,” Van Halen’s “A Different Kind of Truth,” Lil Wayne’s “The Carter IV,” Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of The Moon,” Eminem’s “Recovery,” and The Band Perry’s self-titled album. All 29 albums should be advertised in a special section in the Google Music store shortly, but the albums listed above are already available for $2.99.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 hits Verizon on March 1 for $499
Samsung announced in a press release this morning that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, also known as the “world’s thinnest 4G LTE tablet,” would land in Verizon stores March 1 for $499 on the typical two-year commitment. In case you do not remember the 7.7-inch tablet originally introduced at CES, the device packs a Super AMOLED Plus display, Android 3.2, 16GB of user storage (up to 32 via microSD), a 3.2-megapixel main camera with LED (2-megapixel front camera), and a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor. Samsung’s claim of being the “world’s thinnest” tablet comes from the device’s 7.8mm thin profile. AndroidCommunity reported the device would cost $699 without the two-year agreement, but there was no mention in today’s announcement.
The full press release is after the break. Read more
Grab your official MWC Android app now
If you are not attending the Mobile World Congress 2012 show now underway in Barcelona, Spain until March 1 but want to stay on top of the latest trends in mobile, worry not as Google just released the official MWC app for Android devices. Called “Android MWC” and available as a free download from Android Market, this useful little program lets you check out Google Mobile apps featured at the show, retrieve information on the company’s featured partners and events, browse booth and partner maps, check out videos, use the Android Pin checklist to keep track of your Android pins and more.
Release notes are after the break.
Samsung amps up Galaxy message with exclusive Angry Birds deal
Samsung Electronics joined forces with Angry Birds maker Rovio in a partnership that will see the two companies market Samsung’s mobile devices and Rovio’s upcoming game Angry Birds Space. A new trailer released featuring Angry Birds Space on Samsung’s Galaxy Note ahead of the game’s official launch announcement on March 8. Angry Birds Space is due to hit iOS, Android, PC, and Mac on March 22.
It is interesting that Rovio also partnered with NASA for rights to use its famous Moon landing footage in an Angry Birds Space teaser (included after the break). The deal is a nice fit for the South Korean consumer electronics conglomerate that rose to become the leading Android vendor. Samsung is also looking to expand its presence in the gaming space, if a patent filing discovered by Patent Bolt is anything to go by.
ZTE vies for No. 3 vendor spot in global handset market, hopes new devices will lead the charge
ZTE Corporation wants one of the top three vendor spots in the global handset market by 2015, and the firm is challenging leaders in the market with a range of handsets and tablets announced at the “Mobile World Congress 2012” event in Barcelona.
According to a recent study, industry analyst Gartner ranked ZTE as No. 4 for world handset shipments in Q4 2011, and ZTE smartphone sales are accelerating faster than any other vendor—aside from Apple, of course.
“Our long-term goal for the Terminals Division is to achieve a compound growth rate of above 40 percent per year for five consecutive years from 2010, and to become one of the top three vendors in the global handset market by 2015,” said ZTE EVP and Head of the Terminals Division Mr. He Shiyou in a press release…
