Well, this didn’t take long. The LG Optimus Sol has been made official by the Korean manufacturer only hours after we took a glimpse at its leaked press shots. We have yet another mid-range smartphone joining the Optimus lineup today packing some decent hardware under its hood and powered by the Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system.

However, being a mid-range device does not mean that the LG Optimus Sol does not have a few tricks up its sleeve. It is equipped with a so-called Ultra AMOLED display, which is said to have “a two-fold advanced reflection rate compared to standard AMOLED displays” in order to reduce image quality degradation. In plain words, the 3.8-inch WVGA display on the Optimus Sol should be clear and easy to see even in bright and sunny conditions. Another feature that the smartphone brags with is its advanced power management system, which promises to boost the life of its battery by using as little juice as possible when the device is idle.

The LG Optimus Sol gets its processing power from a single-core MSM8255 chipset clocked at 1GHz. There is a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera on its back, and the front-facing shooter can come in handy when you are in the mood for a video chat with your buddies. Being 9.8 millimeters thick means that the Optimus Sol will be hardly noticeable while it is resting in your pocket, and its 7.2Mbps HSPA radio will easily get you hooked up to the 3G airwaves of your carrier of choice.

The LG Optimus Sol is scheduled for release in mid-September when it will be made available throughout Europe. Soon after its debut, the smartphone will be launched in Central and South America as well. Unfortunately, there is still no word regarding its pricing or whether it will ever set foot on US soil.

source: LG

We aren’t terribly shocked to see the LG Thrill 4G in the latest Target circular, priced at $79.99 with a signed 2-year contract. No, it has nothing to do with being so hardened that nothing surprises us anymore. Actually, as we reported last week, a picture of a display for the retailer showed that it planned on offering the 3D enabled handset for that price. While the circular confirms the price, the next step is to find out the launch date.

The LG Thrill 4G appears in a Target circular priced at $79.99 with a 2-year contract

Originally planned for a release yesterday, the latest news on a release date that we have told you is to expect the phone to launch on September 4th. That news came from a leaked Radio Shack document that seemed to point to AT&T as the decision-maker behind the delay.

The stereoscopic handset (a fancy way of saying that you don’t need special glasses to view the 3D effect) has already toured Europe as the LG Optimus 3D. In the States, the LG Thrill 4G will hook up with AT&T’s HSPA+ network, hence the 4G in the phone’s title. Under the hood is a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP4 processor while Android 2.2 runs the show. 512MB of RAM is aboard while the dual 5MP cameras on back capture video in 1080p at 30fps for 2D and 720p at 24fps for 3D. 8GB of storage comes on the LG Thrill 4G with expansion to 40GB possible using the microSD slot.

As you can see in the circular, besides having to tie yourself up for 2 years with AT&T to get the subsidized pricing for the LG Thrill 4G, you need to commit to at least a $15 per month data plan. The handset without the contract is priced at $549.99.

source: BradyDuran via AndroidCentral

Skype has just announced that they have purchased the company GroupMe, the creators behind a group messaging application of the same name that is currently available on many smartphone platforms.

The purchase will give Skype direct access to the group messaging software produced by GroupMe. Skype has been recently been purchased by Microsoft and this latest acquistion could allow for even deeper Skype integration on Windows devices in the future.

GroupMe is currently offered on iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices. Because this application can be used cross-platform, it is different than similar apps such as BlackBerry Messenger.

The group messaging application can be used over a data connection so devices such as the iPod Touch can get in on the fun. Anybody using GroupMe can share pictures within any conversation. We don’t really know what Skype’s plans for this app are, but if you want to check it out for yourself it can be had for the price of free. Tell us what you think of this latest acquisition in the comments below.

source: Electronista

Digitimes reports that in order to boost sales and clear inventory due to weaker than expected demand, Android, webOS and QNX tablet makers are planning across-the-board price cuts by the end of September.

We don’t see it as much of a surprise that the tablet prices will be falling about six months after launch, and the process had even started with some manufacturers. HP recently made the $100 price cut for its HP TouchPad permanent, and now we are seeing the Toshiba Thrive appearing for $368 at Walmart, and the Acer Iconia Tab A500 $322 at Amazon.

The sources believe that prices will gradually slide to $350 on average by October, and go down to $300 in time for the holidays.

If quality Android slates, like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, or the Acer Iconia Tab A500, which used to command pretty decent $399 price tags already, get slashed 25%, this will certainly increase the market share of Android’s tablet OS, which is still quite low compared to the iOS slates.

source: Amazon & Digitimes

If you are among those fans of glasses-free 3D goodness who had August 21 marked in their calendars, we have some disappointing news to share with you. Of course, we are talking about the LG Thrill 4G, AT&T’s version of the LG Optimus 3D, which allegedly was scheduled for release on that very date.

According to a leaked document coming straight from Radio Shack’s internal system, the release date for the LG Thrill 4G is now being pushed to September 4. As a result of this, the retailer will not be accepting pre-orders of the smartphone anymore, and those customers who managed to place one will be contacted and informed about the delay. The document does not point out the exact reason for the Thrill 4G release date to be changed once again, yet it seems like the decision has been taken by AT&T itself.

The release date of the LG Thrill 4G is pushed to September 4, according to this document

Sure, AT&T never really announced an exact release date for the smartphone and stated only that it is scheduled for a summer release, yet the summer is rapidly coming to an end. Furthermore, we are sure there are plenty of Android enthusiasts out there waiting to get their hands on the LG Thrill 4G for a fresh dose of 3D action. Let’s hope the wait is going to be worth it.
source: Android Central

The FTC is currently reviewing Google’s procedures and policies for antitrust issues. The probe mostly covers search and privacy practices, but recently we learned that it also includes Android for some reason.

While the mobile industry can hardly be called uncompetitive in this very moment, Android went from zero to hero and almost fifty percent of the smartphone market worldwide in just three years, so the FTC is looking into how much power Google has to exert pressure on app developers and device manufacturers to get its way.

Compared to the other mobile operating systems Android is pretty open, free and popular, plus there are a number of handsets that use generic Android without Google Services on it – no Android Market, no Maps, no Gmail, and so on. Moreover, companies are often installing their own software, like Sprint with its ID packs, Verizon using Bing, and manufacturers have their own skins like Sense UI.

The FTC, however, is apparently not satisfied, and is issuing inquiries into third parties whether Google is flexing muscles when it comes to replacing its core services with something foreign to the ecosystem. A case in point has been the lawsuit filed by Skyhook, which accuses El Goog in applying pressure on manufacturers to drop its localization technology from their handsets, and keep Google’s service. “Baseless” has been the only comment by Mountain View regarding the accusation, but it definitely looks like Android is being pressured on many fronts right now – whether this is a concerted campaign, or just that success always attracts the spotlight, remains to be seen.

For all we know, the Justice Department has launched a probe whether the Nortel patent bid by Apple, Microsoft, RIM, Sony and others, has been purposefully won by these cutthroat competitors for the patents to be used against Android’s domination. Google is not sitting still too – it bought more than a thousand patents from IBM, spent record amount of $2.06 million on lobbying in Q2 2011, and is hiring 12 more K street firms to protect its interests with Uncle Sam.

source: WSJ

Remember that leaked LG roadmap from not long ago? It gave us a glimpse at what we are likely to see rolling out of the company’s workshop in the forthcoming months, and the devices that the leak introduced us to have already started popping up on the web one by one. After the LG Prada K2, which starred in that leaked spy video, the LG Optimus Sol (or LG Victor, as it was known as in the roadmap) has boldly stood in front of the camera for a photo shootout and a brief hands-on video.

The LG Optimus Sol is shaping up to be nothing more than a mid-range device. As it has been already mentioned before, the smartphone is powered by a single-core 1GHz processor and packs a 3.8-inch AMOLED display with WVGA resolution. Judging by what we see in the video, the phone appears to be pretty slim in profile, yet the guys mentioned that it is quite prone to collecting fingerprints. There is a front-facing shooter in tow and a 5-megapixel camera on the Optimus Sol’s back, yet sadly, there is no LED flash anywhere in sight. A nice addition to the smartphone’s specs sheet is the presence of a secondary microphone for noise cancellation. In terms of software, Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread is in command with the Optimus UI running on top of it.

It is not clear whether the LG Optimus Sol will ever make it to the US, yet judging by the carrier icon in the device’s app list, the smartphone will most likely be offered in Europe by Vodafone. Feel free to check out the video below and share your thoughts with us in the comments.

source: BestboyZ (translated) via Boy Genius Report

We remember reading a couple of years ago about Bill Gates’s fully automated, yet cosy mansion, with its 40 miles of optical fiber, floor sensors that can track your location with up to six inches accuracy, and a hot tub, which can be set for the desired water temperature before you get home.

We were then just drooling, sad that we can’t outfit our own cribs like that. Well, in a few short years, the field of home automation (HA) received a significant boost, the technology is within the reach of many, and now smartphone owners have the perfect tool to carry the control unit with them at all times.

Home automation can be divided into a few broad categories, depending on what you are trying to control – lighting, HVAC, appliances, security, entertainment or others, like sprinklers or a cat feeder. We won’t be delving into the hundreds of brands and ways to adjust your home environment from afar, since there are currently more than 10 competing standards, but barely a thing you can get from Home Depot on the cheap and drive home to install yourself – we are just looking at how HA relays to your smartphone or tablet…

Read the full article at PhoneArena

Foodspotting, the food and restaurant centered social network, announced today that it has reached 1 million app downloads in just 18 months. Although iTunes doesn’t release download numbers, it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of those downloads have come on iOS. The Android Market lists the app in its 50k-100k download range, and just given the overall user size of Windows Phone 7, it’s safe to assume WP7 brings up the rear in the download list. And, to celebrate the 1 millionth download, the Foodspotting apps for iOS and Android have received updates.

The new Foodspotting versions for iOS (v2.5) and Android (v0.0.4) have each received the same new feature: following. That’s right, it’s time for Foodspotting to become a real social network rather than a discovery source. With the new versions, you’ll be able to find your friends from Facebook or Twitter and follow their recommendations. You’ll also be able to follow experts like the Travel Channel or Mario Batali or even follow your favorite restaurants. And, to top it off, the new versions support higher resolutions images throughout.

Foodspotting is free in the iOS App Store, Android Market and Windows Phone Marketplace, and should be coming soon to BlackBerry App World.

source: Foodspotting blog via ReadWriteWeb

The rise of McDonald’s burgers has been slow but steady – the franchise took nearly half a century to sell a hundred billion burgers. But today’s mental staple food – apps – don’t have that time. With a smartphone in nearly every pocket have they managed to outpace our need for burgers? Well, not that those two are somehow interchangeable, but this infographic does well in illustrating what a brilliant job Apple and Google have done in distributing apps as both are well on track of delivering its 100 billionth application.

While now the app download count stands at some 15 billion for Apple, a milestone proudly announced by the company a couple of weeks ago, the rate at which users download application is only speeding up. Actually, if it follows the envisioned pattern, in a mere five years and a half since its launch the App Store may reach McDonald’s 100 billion mark.

You might wonder where does that leave Android and rightly so. The platform has been enjoying booming popularity as it covers devices from the low-end to high-end, and subsequently app downloads are growing even faster there. The time span expected for it to reach the same milestone is just 3.5 years. Bottomline seems to be that you could only eat so many burgers, while app gluttony with a 100 billion apps might seem insatiable. Have you found your app downloads growing with time?

source: TheAtlantic