Karthik R

that is a big let down Value Pack is mere eyewash.

In a tweet touting the holiday numbers, Andy Rubin, Google's Senior Vice President of Mobile, said that 3.7 million Android devices were activated the weekend of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Ice Cream Sandwich brings some of the most dramatic changes to Android we’ve seen since the OS moved from version 1.6 to version 2.0. Everything from core applications to how you unlock the device has been transformed. If you’re one of the lucky people upgrading from an Android 2.x device to Android 4.0, here are a few things you should be aware of - PcWorld Link .

Now it seems Samsung is backpedaling on their earlier decision and re-examining their stance on updating the original Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab after our outcry. There is hope still

ICS will be coming to a number of LG smartphones sometime in the middle of next year, according to a post on the company's Facebook page.

False news. SMS charged @ Rs.1.

Remember how agonizingly long we had to wait to get our Galaxy S phones - Epic, Fascinate, Captivate,etc updated to Android 2.2 Froyo. It seems Sammy is purposefully avoiding the phones so that they can sell more of their next-generation phones. P.S Apple is way better is this regard! The latest iOS 5 is compatible with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and the third generation iPhone 3GS.

Cutting the line of leading telcos, the department of telecommunications (DoT) today has ordered them to immediately stop 3G services in circles where they don’t have spectrum. Read more here

Check out some tips and shortcuts for Android 2.3 users Google has posted to help you navigate the many changes you'll see on your device. Google announced that last year’s Nexus S handset will start to get the new software; the GSM models first over the coming month. Sprint Nexus S is a CDMA model and won’t see Android 4.0 in this round of announced updates, but it’s likely to follow soon.

Review @ Engadget, PcWorld, cnet, The Verge. Android ICS is getting fantastic credits.

Great news HTC Desire owners – it looks like you’ll soon be able to enjoy the all the goodness of the latest version of Android on your aging handset. Developers have been working on an Ice Cream Sandwich port for the phone and it looks like they’ve had a breakthrough recently. The folks over at XDA-developers have announced the beta release of the Ice Cream Sandwich ROM for the phone and have posted it online for the public. As usual, not every single function of the phone is working (camera, USB tethering etc) but there are quite a number of things that do work i.e. WiFi, SMS, GPS, Sound, Calling, Touchscreen, Stable 3G, Gmail sync + calendar, SD read/write, all sensors, Bluetooth, Hardware acceleration, WiFi tether, Market with paid apps and more so it’s safe to say you can use it as a daily phone (assuming you have no use for the camera or USB tethering). Judging by the video demonstration, it’s safe to say Ice Cream Sandwich can run pretty well on this 21 month old phone. Sure it’s not as smooth as the Galaxy Nexus, but this definitely gives hope to all the other Android users out there without dual-core phones and looking forward to having Ice Cream Sandwich on their devices. Now, if only phone manufacturers would spend as much effort as the developer community when it comes to updates.

Google pulls Android Market malware that exploits SMS hole Google's reportedly pulled 22 malicious apps after two security firms tipped them off that the malware was tricking users into sending SMS messages to premium-rate phone lines.Android.RuFraud poses as popular games like Angry Birds, Assassins Creed or Tetris and can affect users across Europe and Russia. Fortunately the apps are easily spotted and deleted, but were downloaded 14,000 times before being pulled. Via : Engadget

Microsoft tipped to buy Nokia smartphone division in 1H 2012‎ (or just another rumor?) link

Google nabbed Clever Sense this week as an answer to Siri. Clever Sense developed Alfred, an app the company has designated as "your personal robot." And while you can't speak to Alfred like you can with Siri, the app provides recommendations on restaurants, bars, coffee shops and clubs based on your preferences, location, and other factors, eventually "learning" what you like over time. Read more here.

Do we really need quad-core processors in smartphones? phonedog shares its view here

Bought Backstab HD. Downloading 550+ Mb over wifi now.

There you have it, folks. Apple has just announced the iPad 2, the successor to the portable device that paved the way for all slates to follow. The iPad 2 features a mighty dual-core A5 chipset clocked at 1GHz and with a 33% thinner body The tablet will hit shelves of the US market on March 11, while another 26 countries will get it on March 25th. In the meantime take a look at the breakdown of the specs of the iPad 2 on the left and the original iPad on the right! The iPad 2 (on the left) brings a dual-core chipset and is noticeably thinner than the original iPad (on the right) The second-gen iPad's body measures at the razing sharp 0.34 inches (8.8mm) of depth, significantly less than the original iPad's 13.4mm. Yes, it's even thinner than the iPhone 4 and it will weigh only 601grams! Courtesy : PCWorld, phonearena and Apple

Got Beautiful Widgets. Nice one with lots of skins.

Belkin Basic N150 wireless modem-router for Rs.2300. Home use.

^ ^ ^ unstable power supply?

If you are with R-CDMA network, get a Samsung Nexus S 4G for 13K. Specs are light years ahead of Pop.

Obviously 64K SIM cards have more memory than existing 32k SIM cards. This improves wireless phone’s capabilities by allowing phones to select the network with the best coverage in the calling area and reduce potential service interruptions.

^ ^ CDMA fares so badly

SlashGear recently did an extensive review of ICS update. Read it here.

Helpful post. Thanks for sharing!