Apple's new chairman: "There is an arrogance" in the company

Apple's 8-men board of directors has often been described as being almost family-like. Starting from yesterday, it has accepted Arthur Levinson to the role of non-executive chairman. Levinson has been on the board since 2000, so this might not seem like a change that would change the way Apple works. However, Levinson shared some of his thoughts about Cupertino's ways of talking to the public right away.

The former CEO of biotech company Genentech, mentioned that the company sometimes shows off its swagger and this attitude is not the right one for the world's biggest firm by market value.

"There is an arrogance," at Apple, which has to subside after Cupertino's growth to the top of the most valuable companies' list. "We need to make the transition to being a big company and dealing with the hubris issue," Levinson told Steve Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson.

Interestingly, Isaacson also reveals that Levinson pushed Steve Jobs on introducing the App Store for the iPhone, but at the same time was a big opponent of Apple Stores. Well, it seems that he was right about one of these things, but what about Apple's attitude – does it really need to change in your opinion, or does it give you one more reason to be proud of owning an Apple device (if you do!)? Let us know in the

BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 announced

Today RIM announced two new additions to its lineup of smartphones. The QWERTY-packing Bold 9790 and the full-touch Curve 9380 both run on BlackBerry OS 7 and feature HVGA+ (480 x 360 pixels) screens.

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 comes with a 2.45" touchscreen display, a 1GHz Marvel Tavor MG1 processor, 768MB RAM, 8GB internal storage, 5 megapixel camera with VGA video capturing and a microSD card slot. The Bold 9790 is well geared connectivity-wise too - Wi-Fi, 3G with HSPA, GPS and even NFC.

BlackBerry Bold 9790

HTC Zeta image leak, has a 2.5GHz processor and runs ICS

Possible design and specs of an upcoming handset codenamed HTC 'Zeta' have been leaked courtesy of Engadget. This phone is supposed to have a 2.5GHz quad-core APQ8064 CPU and 1GB of RAM. Other interesting items on the spec sheet are a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 display and Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed along with Sense UI.

Sony Ericsson details the ICS update for the Xperia lineup

Sony Ericsson promised that their 2011 Xperia lineup will be updated to the latest version of Android, 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, back in September, but now the company has stepped up to bring some further details about the update.
Sony Ericsson confirmed that the following devices will be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich update:

• Xperia arc
• Xperia arc S
• Xperia PLAY
• Xperia neo
• Xperia neo V
• Xperia mini
• Xperia mini pro
• Xperia pro
• Xperia active
• Xperia ray
• Live with Walkman

As you can see there are no absentees to the list and the company will really deliver on its promise.
Sony Ericsson also mentioned that its developers are working on merging our current Xperia experience with the new features in Android 4.0, which suggests that they will be bringing their launcher customization to ICS, as well.
Unfortunately, we still don't have an exact date for the update roll-out start, but hopefully they the Sony Ericsson R&D won't take much longer than the CyanogenMod Team to finish it.

O2 UK starts tests of its 4G LTE network, London will be first

Great news for everyone eagerly waiting the arrival of the LTE network in the UK. O2 is starting to test their newly built 4G network in London.

The test run of the network will cover Canary Wharf, Soho, Westminster, South Bank and Kings Cross, and 20 additional sites with a total area of 40 square kilometers. O2 has engaged more than a thousand testers to gather performance statistics and feedback.

While this all sounds very encouraging, don't expect the LTE revolution to begin by the end of the year. If the network tests go well, O2 plans to launch the network some time in 2012, but when exactly is yet to be known.

Google finally releases Ice Cream Sandwich source code

After a few weeks of waiting, Google has finally released the source code for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

This means you will soon be able to get the latest update running on your Android devices, assuming you have the programming skills. Or you could just wait for your favorite custom ROM to be made available in Ice Cream Sandwich flavor.

But before we get all excited, there are a few things to note. Google is saying that the code is still being pushed due to its large size and if synced at the moment it will end up being useless.

Their advise is to wait for them to tell you when it's ready to sync.







The code is actually the 4.0.1 update, the exact same one that the Galaxy Nexus will be running on.

This code will have to be modified in order to run on other devices. It also comes with a full history of the Android source code tree, including Honeycomb, which was till now unavailable. However, Google wants developers to concentrate on ICS instead, for obvious reasons.

We guess it won't be long now devices other than the Galaxy Nexus will be running ICS.

BlackBerry London leaks out

It is no secret, that RIM is going through difficult times these days. The Canadian company's recently announced BBX platform is expected to change its current state of affairs for the better by (finally) integrating BlackBerry OS and QNX.

Today, we have the first leaked shot of a BlackBerry device sporting the new OS. Dubbed "London", the smartphone is likely to become the company's flagship sometimes next year.

In terms of specs, the handset reportedly packs a dual-core TI OMAP CPU, clocked at 1.5GHz and a gig of RAM. The expected built-in storage is 16GB. An 8MP camera is on board, accompanied by a 2MP front-facing unit. The device is rumored to be thinner than iPhone 4S.

While we were preparing the news for you, another report popped up on the web, confirming the existence of the above shown BlackBerry. Q3 of 2012 is expected to be the launch time for the device.

Since we are talking rumors here, we advise you to take all the information with a tiny pinch of salt. As always, we will keep you posted on any developments on the subject.

Apple allegedly scrapped plans for the iPhone 5 with a larger screen months before the 4S launch

Apple has reportedly indeed been working on a prototype iPhone 5 with everything we've heard about it - larger screen, thin chassis with aluminum or Liquid Metal backing, 10MP camera, touch-sensitive home button area, the works.

It was allegedly scrapped about three months before the launch, since Steve Jobs concluded it's a device that will fragment the iPhone line too much. It was also eventually loaded with Siri, which was called Assistant, according to a murky source, who is reported to have played with a prototype for two weeks.

It's an interesting theory, but the reporter acknowledges that he hasn't been able to verify the claims with a second source, so for now it might be just a theory put quickly together by someone, not to mention the publication has a penchant for sensationalist stories.

Motorola DROID RAZR gets a version with HD display and 13MP camera for China

Now what's better than the thinnest Android phone the Motorola DROID RAZR other than a RAZR with mightily improved specs. That's exactly what was caught on camera - version with a 13MP camera instead of the standard 8MP shooter, and with an HD display.

The 13MP variant on the left is for China Telecom's CDMA2000 network. It is coded as XT928 and only gets the camera upgrade, while externally it looks like something from the DROID X series, suggesting that it might come to the US as the DROID X3 or something similar.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Nozomi LT26i leaks in live pictures

It's been a good five months since the first time we heard a rumor about a dual-core handset by Sony Ericsson.
By the time the Nozomi name popped up in late August, we were seriously anxious to catch a glimpse of the upcoming Android powerhouse.
Well, folks, here it is - after months of expectation, we have the first live shots of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Nozomi LT26i out in the wild and, boy, it looks like it has been well worth the long wait.



In terms of specs, not much is known at the moment. The smartphone is rumored to pack a dual--core CPU, clocked at 1.5GHz and a gig of RAM. The device's 4.3" screen is bound to be a thing of beauty with its 1280x720 pixels resolution. We still don't know the capability of the camera units of the Nozomi.
As you can notice in the pictures above, the device in the leaked shots is running Android 2.3.5
Gingerbread.
Given the phone's design however (the hardware buttons can be barely seen on the device), don't be surprised if you see it ship with Ice Cream Sandwich on board.