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Sony announced on Monday that Japanese carriers will soon offer the Xperia UL, a 5-inch 1080p HD experience. Specifications include a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB RAM, a 2300mAH battery, 16GB internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and front-facing 3.1-megapixel camera. As is the case with many of Sony’s models of late, the Xperia UL is waterproof and dust proof. Offered in three different colors (black, white and pink), the handset will be available through KDDI and NTT Docomo in the coming weeks. Sony (Japan) The post 5-inch Sony Xperia UL introduced for Japan appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Mobile security is becoming more and more important as our devices increase in functionality and sophistication. While losing one device would cause most of us to have a panic attack, what if you’re responsible for multiple devices? According to recent research $7M worth of mobile devices are lost EVERY DAY in the U.S. Meanwhile in... View ArticleIT Managers: easily manage Android and iPhones 3CX Mobile Device Manager (Sponsored) is a post from: AndroidTapp.com Check Out More Related: Remotely manage mobile apps with 3CX Mobile Device Manager (Sponsored) What to do if I lose my phone with sensitive business information? 3CX Mobile Device Manager is a solution. (Sponsored) 3CX Mobile Device Manager – an app for corporate device and/or family location management

Well hi-diddly ho there, aspiring app developer! Has the life of a recent CompSci grad got you down? Does the world of independent mobile app programming leave something to be desired in the area of, say, ostentatious sports cars and penthouse apartments? Samsung would like to help you out with their Smart App Challenge 2013. A cool $800,000 has been reserved for the makers of ten winning apps, with 200,000 American greenbacks going to the top entrant. But don't start up your IDE just yet. In order to qualify for any of the prizes, the apps will need to take advantage of the Chord SDK, Samsung's multi-device connection and syncing system built on the ZeroMQ library. Done With This Post? You Might Also Like These:Get Ready For Augmented Reality Awesomeness - Qualcomm To Reveal Winners Of The $200,000 Challenge At MWC [Sneak Preview Video] [For Developers] Samsung Releases Chord SDK For Easier Peer-To-Peer Connections [Updated: Here Are The Winners!] Mega-Holiday Giveaway #9: Santa's Samsung Grab Bag: Win A Verizon Galaxy Nexus, T-Mobile Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab 10.1 And More [Updated: Here Are The Winners!] Giveaway: Win One Of Five Ballistic Shell Gel Cases For The Samsung Epic 4G Touch Samsung Launches Smart App Challenge 2013 For The Galaxy S4 And Chord SDK: $800,000 In Total Prizes, $200,000 For First Place was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Mobile Nations Podcast Feed Mobile Nations on iTunes Mobile Nations YouTube Debug - Paul Haddad talks Tweebot, Netbot, NeXT, and his beefs with iCloud and AppKit Everything you need to know about Google I/O 2013! From the Editor's Desk: After Google I/O Mystery Google media player drops by the FCC Everything you need to know about BlackBerry Live 2013! Farewell from CrackBerry Live at BlackBerry Live! Behind the scenes of CrackBerry Live! No new news but the webOS Nation forums are still busy! As of today, every major mobile competitor... also makes apps for iOS Hangouts for iPhone and iPad review: Google+ cross-platform messaging service iMore show 349: Live from Orlando The Lumia 925 – Hands on with Nokia's new flagship in video and photos Google to Microsoft: Remove your YouTube App from the Windows Phone Store Itsdagram, the first fully featured Instagram client for Windows Phone 8, is now available!

Sony's latest only headed for Japan at present, but packs some good looking specs Yet another Sony smartphone has been formally announced, but like the Xperia A before it, this one too is destined only for Japan at the moment. Previously rumored, it's called the Xperia UL, and appears to be cut from a similar mould to the Xperia Z. Spec wise, we're looking at another 5-inch, 1080p display. Underneath, propelling everything along is a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM and a 2300mAh battery. On-board storage is 16GB, and cameras come in at 13MP on the back and 3.1MP on the front. And, in true Sony fashion the Xperia UL is waterproof and dustproof. The Xperia UL retains some of the same design features as the Xperia Z too. That same on/off button on the side, but the glass back is gone. It appears to be available in three different colors -- black, white and pink -- and is said to be heading to both KDDI and NTT Docomo in the coming weeks. Source: Sony via Phonearena

A couple of previously rumored Samsung devices have been spotted in an app update over in he Google Play Store, while a third new phone -- the Galaxy S4 Mega -- makes its debut in the rumor mill.

Korosirego/Flickr YouTube is now eight years old, and decided to thank all of its users for helping it reach this milestone. While the service won’t be closing on its eighth anniversary, as the joke went on April Fools Day, the blog post does mention a fascinating fact — over 100 hours of video content are getting uploaded every minute (a pretty amazing figure, you have to admit). The blog post also reminded us the previously known fact that it has over a billion users every month. The post links to some examples of what YouTube can do, including offering access to news (the example is some surveillance video footage related to the Boston bombings) or offer answers to questions (with a video on how big is the Universe provided to prove the point). Of course, it would have been impossible not to mention the extremely annoying (for some) Gangnam Style, which serves to show the influence of YouTube, at its current 1.6 billion views (and growing). What will the next eight years bring? The Google-owned video service still has a lot of room to grow from here. There have been rumors of the service going into the streaming music business, which certainly makes sense, given that the success of artists nowadays is measured in the number of YouTube views their music videos get. Still, the most important direction in which YouTube will develop over the next few years seems to be paid subscriptions. The pilot program for paid subs has already started, and, with more content providers presumably joining in the future, it could totally change the way we consume video. What do you think the future will bring for YouTube?

The current Android titans — that’s how the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One are referred to these days. They’re Samsung’s and HTC’s most powerful offerings to the high-end Android market, and the two phones bring with them not just processing might or camera power, but also display prowess. Both 1080p Full HD phones, the S4 and the One can be expected to deliver rich details, amazing color, and overall visual pleasure on their respective screens. However, at the end of the day, what will most likely sway you will not be what technical experts say but what your very own eyes tell you when they see the awesome display on either phone. And, I’m telling you right now that whichever of these two phones you choose, you’ll find very few reasons — if at all — for disappointment over its display. I’m not saying that the two phones are equals in terms of display power. They aren’t. One simply has an edge over the other in certain aspects in the display department. In this comparison of the Galaxy S4 vs HTC One displays, we take a closer look at the display on both phones and find out which one seems better, how, and in what area. (For a video version of this comparison, jump ahead to the end of this post.) Display Specs Galaxy S4 HTC Screen size 5.0 inches 4.7 inches Screen resolution 1080×1920 1080×1920 Screen technology Full HD Super AMOLED IPS Super LCD 3 Pixel density 441 ppi 469 ppi Pixel Arrangement PenTile RGBG matrix RGB matrix Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 2 The HTC One packs all its Full HD glory inside a smaller screen (0.3 inches smaller than the Galaxy S4′s), resulting in higher pixel density, which technically makes the HTC One’s display sharper and crisper. The two phones also differ in screen technology: Full HD Super AMOLED on the Galaxy S4 and Super LCD 3 on the HTC One. Samsung’s Super AMOLED screens have been quite known for bright, vibrant, and saturated colors, while Super LCD 3 screens are known for realistic colors and overall brighter display. For protective cover, the Galaxy S4 uses Corning Gorilla Glass 3 while the HTC One uses Corning Gorilla Glass 2. According to Corning, Gorilla Glass 3 has Native Damage Resistance, which makes it more damage-resistant than its former glass components and up to three times damage-resistant than Gorilla Glass 2. Though scratch-resistant, both phones aren’t shatter-proof. See our drop tests for both HTC One and Galaxy S4 for more info. Matrices: PenTile RGBG vs RGB The HTC One’s display uses the RGB (red-green-blue) matrix, a pixel arrangement in which each pixel consists of three subpixels — one each for red, blue, and green. Here’s how the HTC One’s RGB matrix looks like up close: RGB matrix on the HTC One (image credit: AnandTech) In contrast, the Galaxy S4 stayed with the PenTile RGBG (red-green-blue-green) matrix, which the Galaxy S3 also used. In this pixel arrangement, a picture element consists only of two subpixels (either red and green together, or blue and green together). Since the two subpixels need a third one to form the trinity of primary colors, they do so by borrowing the appropriately colored subpixel from a neighboring pixel. According to DisplayMate Technologies’ Raymond Soneira, screens using such pixel arrangement reportedly are easier to make, cost less, appear brighter, and “reduce aging effects.” On the Galaxy S3, the PenTile RGBG matrix looks like this: PenTile RGBG matrix on the Galaxy S3 (image credit: AnandTech) But, on the Galaxy S4, the subpixel shapes and layout have changed : PenTile RGBG matrix on the Galaxy S4 (source: Samsung via DisplayMate Technologies) Soneira explains that, to pack the most number of subpixels and reach the highest possible density (ppi), Samsung used Diamond Pixels — for red and blue, in particular — the shape of which

Credit: Yonhap LG announced it would showcase a 5-inch OLED flexible screen at SID this week, along with the world’s first full HD 7-inch LCD display. There’s a serious rivalry going on in Korea over the leadership in the booming OLED business. While Samsung, through its daughter company Samsung Display, makes a vast majority of the OLED displays sold today, LG Display is coming hard from behind and makes its own claims of industry leadership. LG has recently launched the world’s first curved OLED TVs, and is said to be working to deliver the first mass produced flexible OLED screens ahead of its crosstown rival, Samsung. But up until now, only Samsung has demoed working flexible OLED displays, branded Youm, and even some neat prototypes based on Youm, like those shown on stage at CES in January. LG Display is about to introduce its first flexible panel at the Society for Information Display’s (SID) Display Week trade show in Vancouver. Visitors to the event will get to see a 5-inch OLED flexible screen, apparently mounted on a smartphone that is due for release later this year. LG’s official press release doesn’t offer, however, any details on this device or on the flexible panel. Along with the new OLED bendable display, LG announced a couple of noteworthy developments in LCD technology as well. The Korean company will show a 5-inch panel based on the Oxide TFT technology with a bezel that is just one millimeter wide, allowing for the manufacturing of virtually borderless phones. Also, LG teased an upcoming 7-inch tablet with Full HD resolution and over 300ppi pixel density, which would be a world first. Product demoes and prototypes are exciting, but what we really want are commercial products coming to the market. When should we expect them? Rumor has it that LG might actually beat Samsung to market with a flexible OLED device this year. As for the new 5-inch and 7-inch LCD panels, we hope we’ll see them in products by the end of 2013. LG Display Introduces Next Generation Display Technology at SID 2013 Curved 55-inch OLED TV and 5-inch plastic OLED panels on exhibit Seoul, Korea (May 20, 2013) – LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading innovator of display technologies, will showcase the latest TV, mobile, and other products representing the future of display technology at the Society for Information Display’s (SID) Display Week 2013. Underscoring its leadership in OLED technology, the company will introduce both a curved 55-inch OLED TV and a 5-inch plastic OLED panel. Also exhibited will be mobile panels applied with Oxide Thin Film Transistor (TFT) which is viewed as the next generation TFT technology. “Recent trends indicate that the small- and medium-sized display market is moving towards high resolution and low power consumption, and the large panel market to OLED and Ultra HD,” said Dr. Sang-Deok Yeo, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display. “With the resulting rapid need for new display advancements, LG Display, at the forefront of these trends, is well positioned to lead the market with its differentiated and cutting-edge technologies.” Industry Leadership in OLED LG Display will demonstrate its industry leadership in OLED technology by showcasing a curved 55-inch OLED TV, as well as its award-winning standard 55-inch OLED TV at SID 2013. Based on the same WRGB OLED technology as the standard set, now widely adopted as the most effective OLED application for large-sized panels, the new curved 55-inch OLED TV offers a glimpse into the future of TV design. In addition, for the first time to the public, the company will unveil an unbreakable and flexible 5- inch plastic OLED panel for mobile devices. The development comes at a crucial time when smart devices are being used more than ever and at increased risk for damage from drops, hits, and other accidents. Next Generation TFT LCD Method LG Display will also introduce 5-inch and 7-inch HD LCD panels based on Oxide TFT,

New Samsung handsets outed in changelog for WatchON TV application Rumors have been circulating for a few weeks that Samsung is working on a "Galaxy S4 Mini," as well as a ruggedized version of its current flagship device. Today an app changelog entry for the Galaxy S4's pre-loaded TV app could indicate that both are on the way, along with another device known as the "S4 Mega." The shot above, sent our way by tipster Paul, shows that the recent 5.0.4 update for Samsung WatchON adds "support for [the] upcoming S4 Mega, S4 mini and S4 Active." The changelog has since been updated to remove the reference, suggesting that someone let the cat out of the bag a little early. The S4 Mini name has been rumored for some time, and the device is refers to extensively leaked. The S4 Active name would seem to refer to the rumored "waterproof" S4 variant. But the S4 Mega is a bit more of a mystery -- could the existing Galaxy Mega have been renamed? Or might this be a different large-screened S4 variant. Whatever the case, the fact that WatchON has been updated with support for all three devices suggests that they'll likely include the S4's TV-controlling capabilities. We'll have to wait and see if and when the Galaxy S4 Active, Mini and Mega emerge. Whatever form these handsets take, Samsung looks set to fully capitalize on the halo effect created by its high-profile Galaxy S4 launch. Thanks to Paul for tipping us the image above through the new Android Central app!