Google Planning To Sell Tablets Straight To Consumers

Here we go again: the rumors of Google branching out into the tablet space have been floating around for what seems like ages now, and the Wall Street Journal has jumped into the fray. They cite the usual handful of unnamed sources, who this time say that Google is planning to open up their own online store à la Amazon to sell Android tablets.

Not just any Android tablets, mind you — co-branded ones that bear Google’s name along with that of the manufacturer. Google does many things (some better than others), but they’re definitely not in the consumer hardware production game. Instead, Google is said to be working with hardware experts at Asus and Samsung (and presumably Motorola at some point), and is also considering the possibility of subsidizing the tablet’s price to fall in line with devices like Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

If these whispers hold true, then Google could be onto something. That theoretical store could already have a flagship if the oft-rumored $199 Nexus Tablet actually materializes, and the package only gets sweeter if it ends up running Jelly Bean, which the WSJ reports will hit in mid-2012. To date, the only Android tablet to give the iPad a run for its money is the Fire, but if Google can get close in price while beating them out on specs, Amazon could be in trouble. The formula may not exactly prove to be an iPad killer, but a strong second place in the tablet race is nothing to sneeze at.

What gets me though is how Google is reportedly thinking of selling these things. Google has toyed with this sort of online retail model before — the Nexus One was sold unsubsidized by Google, even though T-Mobile provided the network for it. By the time Google’s next Nexus made the rounds though, the search giant wised up and tapped Best Buy to help put the Nexus S into people’s hungry hands. Getting those tablets out into meatspace could do wonders for visibility, and brick and mortar retail certainly has a sense of immediacy about it — there’s little delay between seeing something you want and owning it.

Still, the direct-to-consumer approach has its advantages. By cutting out the retail middleman, Google gets to retain that much more control over the situation (not to mention the revenue they don’t have to share with stores). The Nexus One seems like a dicey precedent, but people who shied away from it didn’t do so because it was a bad phone, they did so because it was $529.99 without a contract. With potentially aggressively priced tablets and a decent payments system in tow, Google should be able to lock up this new revenue stream pretty tightly. That is, of course, if they can keep on top of demand for a cheap, Google-approved tablet.

Manually update your GSM Galaxy Nexus to 4.0.4

Are you a GSM Galaxy Nexus owner, but for whatever reason you can’t pull down the much-anticipated 4.0.4 update? Maybe you’re stuck in a low coverage area or you just don’t want to spend the data before (or after) you reach your cap. For whatever reason, you no longer need to wait: Google has posted the full ZIP update for earlier versions. Installing is simple, even if you’ve never done this sort of thing before – but you will need the proper Android ADB tools and drivers installed on your computer. Before you begin, click here to download the English GSM Galaxy Nexus update file, or check this XDA thread for localized versions in other languages or older updates.

Once you’ve finished the download, go to the Settings menu on your phone. Tap Developer Options, and make sure USB debugging is enabled. Connect your Galaxy Nexus to your computer and unlock it. Copy the ZIP file to the Internal Storage folder in your device. If you’ve downloaded it on your phone, use a file browser to copy it to the /sdcard folder. Open a Command Prompt or Terminal window in the same folder as your ADB install. Type “adb devices” and make sure that your Galaxy Nexus appears in the list.

Now type “adb shell”, press enter, then “su”, then press enter again. Type exactly the following, without quotes: “cp /sdcard/7f97fbc19417.signed-yakju-IMM76D-from-ICL53F.7f97fbc1e.zip /cache/7f97fbc19417.signed-yakju-IMM76D-from-ICL53F.7f97fbc1.zip” (If you downloaded another language update, change the name of the ZIP file appropriately.)

Type “exit”, then press enter. Type “exit” and press enter again. Now remove your Galaxy Nexus from the USB cable and power it down. Now press the Power, Volume Up and Volume Down buttons together to bring it into Bootloader mode. Press Down Volume twice, then the power button to enter the stock recovery. Use the volume buttons to select “Apply Update”, press the power button, and you’re golden. Once it finishes, reboot your phone.

XOOM Wifi and Nexus S owners can follow the same basic guides if you find links for the official updates, though the exact method of getting into the bootloader and recovery varies. If you need a non-English update, check the XDA link above; it should have just about everybody covered. Galaxy Nexus LTE owners, you’re out of luck for the time being… unless you’d like to try your hand at some custom ROMs.

BlackBerry maker RIM abandons battle with iPhone and Android

Research In Motion has conceded its BlackBerry smartphones cannot compete with iPhone and Android in the consumer markets. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty

The BlackBerry maker, Research in Motion, is to pull back from trying to compete with Apple’s iPhone and the Android mobile platform and instead return to its original focus on business users.

The shift in strategy came with a management shakeup that includes longtime executive Jim Balsillie leaving the board and severing ties with a company he helped build.

RIM said it will focus its consumer efforts on targeted offerings that tap the company’s strengths. That included devices that employees would want to buy on their own and bring to the corporate environment. The company was exploring partnerships and other opportunities for consumer products that were not deemed central. Those products could include software and features that were then incorporated into RIM’s own offerings.

“We can’t do everything ourselves but we can do what we’re good at,” said RIM chief executive Thorsten Heins.

RIM has had limited success trying to enter consumer markets in recent years, particularly with high-end devices that have the touchscreens popular with consumers.

Heins said a turnaround required “substantial change”.

“We believe that BlackBerry cannot succeed if we tried to be everybody’s darling and all things to all people,” Heins said. “Therefore we plan to build on our strength.”

Heins, who joined RIM four years ago and was most recently its chief operating officer, replaced co-CEOs Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in January after the company lost tens of billions in market value. Lazaridis founded the company and Balsillie joined in its early years.

RIM said on Thursday that Balsillie has resigned from its board after 20 years with the company. David Yach, chief technology officer for software, and Jim Rowan, chief operating officer for global operations, are also leaving.

The company said it was undergoing a comprehensive strategic review. Heins said he was open to selling the company, but “it is not the main direction we are pursuing right now”.

The Canadian company has long dominated the corporate smartphone market. Its BlackBerrys are known for their security and reliability as email devices. Barack Obama has been an avid user.

RIM has sought to expand its appeal to consumers but has had trouble because the phones aren’t perceived to be as sexy as its chief competitors’. RIM has been counting on improvements with its forthcoming BlackBerry 10 system but that has faced multiple delays. BlackBerrys also lag iPhones and Android phones when it comes to running third-party applications. Its touchscreen models that lack physical keyboards have largely flopped.

For that reason BlackBerrys are even losing ground in the business world, as employees demand iPhones or Android devices over BlackBerrys.

Apple sold 37m iPhones in the last three months of 2011 – more than what RIM shipped in the past three quarters combined. RIM shipped 11.1m BlackBerrys in the latest quarter, which ended on 3 March.

RIM also bombed in its efforts to produce a tablet computer to compete with Apple’s iPad. Among other things the PlayBook received negative reviews because it launched without an email program and the popular messaging service BlackBerry Messenger. In December the tablets that originally cost $500 were selling at $200, below the cost of making them.

BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis said of the latest announcement: “They are conceding the high-end consumer market with all these services that are wrapped around the platform. At least there’s some reality here. Are they going to compete against iTunes? No way.”

Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies & Co in New York, said RIM should have recognised three years ago it was a niche player and had lost the battle with Apple three years ago. It should have looked at partnering with other companies last year rather than now.

RIM announced the changes as it produced quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street expectations. Net loss was $125m, or 24 cents a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter. This compares with $934m, or $1.78 per share, a year ago.

After excluding one-time items, adjusted income was 80 cents per share, a penny short of expectations from analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue fell 25% to $4.2bn from $5.6bn. Analysts had expected $4.5bn.

For the full fiscal year RIM earned $1.2bn, or $2.22 a share, on revenue of $18.4bn. That compares with net income of $3.4bn, or $6.34 a share, on revenue of $19.9bn in fiscal 2011.

In extended trading after the results came out, RIM shares fell 33 cents, or 2.4%, to $13.40. During the regular session the stock increased 6 cents to close at $13.73.

Sony Xperia S now available worldwide

Sony’s new flagship has been getting a decent reception in early reviews from Europe, but if you’ve got a hankerin’ to get your high-end smartphone on elsewhere in the world, you’ve been out of luck. Until now: the Xperia S is now shipping directly from Sony to retailers all over the world. For a paltry $674.99 (or its equivalent in local currency)  you too can get the stylish dual-core phone. Just add an active GSM SIM card and you’re ready to go. And yes, Americans, you can get in on the action as well – Sony’s one of the few phone companies that regularly releases unlocked versions of its phones in the United States.

As Sony’s latest and greatest, the Xperia S stands head and shoulders above the rest of its stable-mates (if not the other phones shown off at CES and Mobile World Congress). A 1.5Ghz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM run Gingerbread at the moment, but Sony has promised an Ice Cream Sandwich update sooner rather than later (and given the introduction of the Xperi neo L, we believe them). The 4.3-inch 720p display has some incredible pixel density, and that’s not the only stylish thing around: get a look at that transparent navigation bar/indicator light.

Sony is pushing NFC capability hard on the Xperia S, along with a downright amazing 12-megapixel primary camera. It’s all crammed into a body that’s smaller than most, if not especially thin. If you’re in the US and can’t stomach nearly seven hundred dollars, AT&T’s getting its own version called the Xperia Ion soon enough. The AT&T version has a slightly retooled body that unfortunately does away with the swanky transparent elements. The carrier hasn’t announced a timeframe for availability, but its subsidized price should be somewhere in the $200-300 range.

Men In Black III game coming to Android from Sony and Gameloft

Recently mobile games have really been taking off, but to partner with a game developer and release it on the same day as a major movie just seems like a good idea. The popular and highly anticipated Men in Black III is coming to theaters on May 25th. Along with the release will be a game designed and released by Gameloft for Android.

Gameloft and Sony haven’t released too many details, but as launch date edges closer we’ll be hearing more. For now we know the MIB III game will be released on smartphones and tablets, and be available the same day as the movie hits the streets. Not two months later. I wish everyone did the same thing, and released things at the same time but sadly that just doesn’t happen. Take Mass Effect 3 for example. They released a lousy live wallpaper for Android along with the game, and that was all.

The Men In Black game for Android will be a freemium title. Meaning it will be free to download and play but users can also make in-game purchases to go farther, unlock levels, or buy guns and such. The actual type of gameplay hasn’t yet been revealed but most likely will be some sort of side or top down shooter with aliens, but we have nothing to confirm that speculation.

With a movie this big, and the game launching on consoles, iOS, and Android we have a feeling it will be better than just some tossed together game — or we hope so at least. Gameloft and Sony will be giving players the “keys” to the Men in Black universe starting on May 25th, same day the movie launches. Are you excited about this movie, or the game for that matter?

Android 5.0 Jelly bean due in Q3

There’s still very little official information to be had about Android’s next major version, though even Google seems to have settled on the name Jelly Bean. Today DigiTimes quotes its anonymous sources (which are almost always hardware or component suppliers) saying that Android 5.0 is due in the third quarter of 2012. For those without a pocket planner handy, that’s between July and September. They also note that a new OS revision may be detrimental to the platform if Ice Cream Sandwich adoption continues at its glacial pace.

To be frank, DigiTimes excels at these sort of vague predictions. Based on Google’s previous development cycles, the next version of Android is almost guaranteed to come some time in the latter half of this year, whether it’s Jelly Bean or Android 5.0 (they may do another Gingerbread-style incremental update instead). Q3 is a little earlier than we expected, since both Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich came in the fourth quarter, with Honeycomb serving as a sort of beta for the Android tablet platform. Given these extrapolations, their sources have a 50% chance of being right or wrong.

There’s an astounding lack of information on the next version of Android, with the sole rumor so far being centered around a docked desktop-style interface. We’ll almost certainly get some more information from Google at the Google IO conference in late June, including a confirmation of the name and version number. Until then, it’s all a chasing after the wind. You can expect another big reveal media event for the new OS, and whatever device ends up being its hardware counterpart, in late 2012.

Nokia N9 gets ICS and Meego dual-boot hack

What’s more fun than modding an Android smartphone? Well, lots of things, but one of them is modding a competing smartphone to run Android. There are many who admire Nokia’s beautiful hardware and industrial design, but lament its home-grown software (or the Windows Phone 7 platform they’re now stuck with). A group of like-minded modders at the NITDroid forums dedicated to bringing Android to Nokia hardware have shown off their latest and certainly greatest project: fully functional Android 4.0 on the MeeGo-powered Nokia N9.

This is no small job, either. All the essential functions of the phone are working, including calls, texts, data, WiFi, Bluetooth, et cetera. Sound and video are working fine, though YouTube playback seems a little choppy. The only real features that seem to be missing are the camera (wasn’t mentioned in the forum post) and automatic rotation (though the accelerometer is working, so that could be just a matter of time). The ROM is in its first Alpha release, so expect a lot of the bugs to be ironed out eventually.

The best part is that this ROM can be installed with a custom boot partition, preserving the original MeeGo OS in a fashion similar to the Android ports on the HP TouchPad. There’s even a work-around method that allows users to mount MeeGo’s My Documents folder as Android’s virtual SD card, giving some rudimentary cross-platform file access. This isn’t quite the same as getting Android on Nokia hardware like many of use were hoping for last year, but it’s about as close as we’re likely to come.

Google Voice update integrates voicemail with phone app

If you’re like most heavy Google Voice users, you keep your GV voicemail and standard carrier voicemail separate. This is great for managing different numbers, but it’s a bit of a pain to wrangle all on the same phone. Android and Google Voice get a little closer today, as GV’s voicemail service is available from the native Android phone/dialer app. The update treats voicemails like calls, so you’ll see them in the same place that you usually see Google Voice incoming and outgoing calls in the dialer. Download the updated Google Voice app to apply the changes.

Unfortunately, this feature is limited to Android 4.0 at the moment. Google may back-port the voicemail integration into an earlier version, but that seems unlikely – if I had to guess, I’d say that this is something Google’s been planning for a while and had to code for specifically in Ice Cream Sandwich. On top of that, early reports indicate that phones without a mostly stock Android system can’t use the feature; skins like Samsung’s TouchWiz and HTC’s Sense UI usually completely replace the dialer and contact system. HTC Vivid users with their brand new Android 4.0 update are reporting that the feature doesn’t work for them. Another new feature that’s exclusive to ICS (but probably works for all Android 4.0 builds) is access to Google Voice folders from the app itself.

The addition is a handy one for the admittedly small intersection of Google Voice users and stock Ice Cream Sandwich (or a suitably close ROM) users. While this isn’t the VOIP addition to Google Voice that many have been hoping for, it’s one more way that your Google Voice number and identity can easily move between Android devices. There’s just no way to match this kind of integration on another platform – something that Google’s surely proud of.

LG Optimus LTE P936 appears headed for new markets

The Optimus LTE is LG’s flagship phone, at least until the Optimus 4X HD arrives. That being the case, it’s strange that it’s only available in four countries: LG’s home turf South Korea, neighbor Japan, plus Canada and the United States (as the Nitro HD and Spectrum on AT&T and Verizon, respectively). GSM Dome got their hands on a familiar looking model, the Optimus LTE P936, that appears to be identical to the international version except for branding. The new model is obviously headed somewhere, though there’s no indication of where that might be.

The specifications of the P936 seem to match its less mysterious counterparts: 4.5-inch 720p IPS screen, 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera, et cetera. Other details like storage space aren’t mentioned, but are probably the same as the Optimus LTE models we’ve already seen at 4GB plus whatever you want to add with MicroSD. The Quadrant benchmarks are right in line with our own tests on the Nitro HD and Spectrum, so presumably it’s running with the same 1GB of memory and LG’s modified version of Gingerbread.

There’s no branding on the phone, so it’s unlikely that it’s headed for an American or Canadian carrier. That leaves the few markets outside of the US, South Korea and Japan to feature LTE wireless. There’s always the unlocked option and a few regional networks in Europe have added the capability, but my money’s on Australia, where both Telstra and Optus are both well on their way to populating their most crucial markets with LTE. There’s no official confirmation from LG on the Optimus LTE variant, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Motorola Xoom WiFi update coming soon, could be 4.0.5

Motorola’s not so popular Motorola Xoom tablet received Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich back in January so we can rule that out for this impending update. Like usual, Motorola is sending out emails for their soak test update that is coming soon for the Xoom. We don’t have any details yet but its possible the Xoom will receive Android 4.0.5 in the coming weeks.

Now most likely this is a small bug fix type of update coming from Motorola and going out privately to their feedback networks. Something major like Android 4.0.5 like we’ve seen rumored lately would probably be pushed directly from Google in a more controlled manner.

This update is slated for the WiFi Xoom only at this time and will be available to a few lucky members of the Motorola Feedback network. If you’ve received updates from them in the past you’ll probably get this too. As usual feel free to shout off in the comments below once you see the update as we’d love to see or hear what all it includes. Maybe this will prep the Xoom for the 4.0.5 update that is rumored to be here in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more info.