Saying goodbye to 2011 and wishing you a Happy New Year

As we say goodbye to year 2011, we cannot help but have a look back at all the work we've done. Thanks to you, our readers, it's been a successful year for us at GSMArena.com. This year you pushed our website up in the list of the Top 500 websites globally (currently at the 429th spot), according to the independent internet statistic company Alexa. We cannot thank you enough for that.

We also introduced numerous new features and fine-honed existing ones.

One thing's for certain, it's been the year of the video and social networking for us - a quite natural consequence of the global trends.

GSM Arena, Saying goodbye to 2011 and wishing you a Happy New Year

Plantronics Marque M155 Bluetooth Headset Review

Plantronics recently added a number of Bluetooth headsets to their lineup. I am familiar with Plantronics from my call center days. They make very nice headsets. I also owned a Calisto Pro at home that I only very recently retired in favor of my VTech cordless phone system.
Two of their new headsets are designed to work with a new Android and iOS application called My Handset. I was given the opportunity to review their Marquee M155. They even sent me one of the limited edition white ones.










The Gadgeteer, Plantronics Marque M155 Bluetooth Headset Review

Chevy puts out APB on missing Sonic brake pads, issues recall

We report on a lot of recalls, and most are seemingly innocuous defects that require the solar system to perfectly align before anything catastrophic could happen. Then there are recalls like this one for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic that appear to be much more dangerous than they probably are. It turns out that Chevrolet let a few Sonics built between June 2 and November 21 leave its factory in Orion Township, Michigan minus a brake pad. General Motors claims that of the 4,873 Sonics built during that time, some 20 to 30 may be missing either an inner or outer front brake pad.

Autoblog, Chevy puts out APB on missing Sonic brake pads, issues recall

Motorola's Droid Xyboards now $50 cheaper at Verizon

Available at Verizon since earlier this month, the Motorola Droid Xyboard 8.2 and Droid Xyboard 10.1 were launched at prices starting at $429.99, and going up to $729.99. Now Verizon seems to have realized that those prices were too high (especially since they all require a new 2-yr contract agreement). So it decided to offer each of the Xyboard models (8.2 16GB, 8.2 32GB, 10.1 16GB, 10.1 32GB, and 10.1 64GB) for $50 less.

Unwired View

See also:
itworld, Motorola's Droid Xyboards now $50 cheaper at Verizon

Remote shutter release for camera made from knockoff gaming controller

Sometimes those knockoff peripherals that you buy for your gaming consoles actually turn out to have more use than one, and this is exactly what Duncan Murdock discovered when he decided he wanted a remote shutter release to go along with his brand new Canon DSLR camera he received for Christmas. Digging around his parts drawer, he came across some items that could no longer be used, like a knockoff Nintendo Wii nunchuck as pictured above. As you can see in the photo, the design of the nunchuck isn't too far off from what an actual camera remote shutter release looks like.

Ubergizmo, Remote shutter release for camera made from knockoff gaming controller

Meizu MX goes on sale in China this Sunday

Meizu's flagship device, the Meizu MX, will be made available for purchase in China on January 1st, 2012. The phone has been highly anticipated since it was announced awhile ago as the successor to the Meizu M9, the company's previous flagship phone. In addition to going on sale in China, the phone will also be made available in Hong Kong on the same day - a first for the company. No word on whether the MX will be released in the US, but I'm pretty sure there are a number of folks who would love to get their hands on the phone.

Ubergizmo, Meizu MX goes on sale in China this Sunday

ITG xpPhone 2 is out, promises Windows 7x8 in a smartphone

Intel is looking forward to powering Android-based phones with its Medfield platform, but ITG still havenÂ't given up on the dream of running a proper desktop OS on mobile phones - namely, the Windows 7/Windows 8 OSes. Yep, it's the new version of the xpPhone, the xpPhone 2, and it was just released in China with Windows 7 (it will jump to Windows 8 when Microsoft releases it). It's a device that ITG call a "post-smartphone" and have their sights set on beating the iPhone 4S and the other big names in the smartphone world (but the iPhone specifically).




GSM Arena

See also:
wareground, ITG xpPhone 2 is out, promises Windows 7x8 in a smartphone

HTC and Samsung LTE Windows Phone arriving by early 2012

One of the key features missing from Windows Phone device spec sheets is 4G LTE connectivity. However, it seems that won't be the case for long. We already knew that Nokia will be launching their LTE enabled Windows Phone device (ACE) early next year but now we're hearing that HTC and Samsung will also be joining Nokia with their own LTE enabled Windows Phones. The HTC phone is codenamed Radiant whereas the Samsung phone is being called Mandel.

GSM Arena, HTC and Samsung LTE Windows Phone arriving by early 2012

Intel Xeon E5-2690 Sandy Bridge-EP performance revealed

TechPowerUp received a “leaked” presentation that allegedly details Intel's Sandy Bridge-EP platform, along with early performance numbers. Intel is taking its newly launched Core i7 Sandy Bridge-E platform to the enterprise market with a new line of Xeon processors. Intel's new enterprise variations include the Sandy Bridge-EN and Sandy Bridge-EP. The Sandy Bridge-EN is designed for high-density, low-power servers, while the Sandy Bridge-EP is designed for high-performance servers and workstations.





2DayBlog.com, Intel Xeon E5-2690 Sandy Bridge-EP performance revealed

Toyota tops recall list again in 2011, overall number of U.S. recalls down

Toyota launched a total of 13 recall campaigns in 2011 covering over 3.5 million vehicles. Those figures put the Japanese automaker at the top of the most-recalled list for the third year in a row, according to Ward's Auto. Between 2009 and 2010, Toyota recalled nearly 11.5 million vehicles in North America for a variety of reasons, including troublesome floor mats and sticky accelerators tied to the company's unintended acceleration woes. The company says that around 85 percent of vehicles involved in the pedal recall have been fixed, with lower volume models continuing to trickle into dealers.

Autoblog, Toyota tops recall list again in 2011, overall number of U.S. recalls down

Deal of the Day – 53% Off Planar PX2710MW 27-in 1080p 2ms LCD Monitor

Today's LogicBUY Deal is the 27″ Planar PX2710MW 1080p 2ms LCD Monitor for $219.99.  Features:  thin black bezel, HDMI, 1200:1 contrast ratio, built-in stereo speakers, more. $469.99 – $250 coupon code = $219.99 with free shipping. This deal matches their Black Friday price.
This deal expires January 4, 2012 or sooner.

The Gadgeteer, Deal of the Day â€" 53% Off Planar PX2710MW 27-in 1080p 2ms LCD Monitor

Keep your Wine Safe with a Wine Bottle Lock

The Combo Liquor/Wine Bottle Lock from Franmara will keep your important spirits safe from sneaky sippers. The lock is constructed of stainless steel and provides a customizable 4 digit combination lock.

The Gadgeteer, Keep your Wine Safe with a Wine Bottle Lock

Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs Nokia Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S Comparison/Review. Part 1 - Hardware & Performance

Choosing a smartphone to carry for the next year or two is a difficult task these days. There are tens of devices running on 7 operating systems/platforms, at prices ranging from 100 to 600 Euro. To make that choice a little bit easier we took a closer look at the flagships representing 3 smartphone platforms,  to see how will they fare against each other. Samsung Galaxy Nexus represented Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, iPhone 4S stood for Apple's iOS 5 and Nokia Lumia 800 for Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

In the first part of this comparison/review we look we checked out the device hardware and performance.










Unwired View, Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs Nokia Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S Comparison/Review. Part 1 - Hardware & Performance

HTC updates bootloader unlock utility to support latest Android lineup

It wasn't long ago that HTC's bootloader unlock utility hit the masses, thereby righting the company's silly decision to lock its phones down in the first place. Now, continuing its commitment to mod-lovers and those who appreciate freedom, The House of Chou is announcing that its latest lineup of Android phones can find a similar (and proper) fate. The company has released an updated bootloader unlock tool that supports all Android devices released after September of this year. Naturally, this includes such handsets as the HTC EVO Design 4G, Rezound, Rhyme and Vivid.

2DayBlog.com

See also:
itcrowd, HTC updates bootloader unlock utility to support latest Android lineup

Acer founder says company still making tablets in 2012

Back in November, unnamed sources from the “upstream supply chain” said that Acer, Asus, and other big-name PC vendors will gradually phase out of the tablet sector in 2012. This assumption was based on poor sales of current tablet offerings, a lack of strong content support, and highly competitive price points offered by Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others. But Acer founder Stan Shih is denying any kind of “phase out,” reporting that the company will release new Android-based models in 2012.

2DayBlog.com, Acer founder says company still making tablets in 2012

RunCore outs new storage solutions for CES, Marvell-based Falcon series included to give SandForce a catfight

If you're looking to quell your inner storage enthusiast after the holidays, RunCore may have something to satisfy your appetite. The company announced that it has two products intended for launch at CES. The Falcon series is a Marvell-based storage solution that boasts R / W IOPS speeds that best the outfit's Pro V SATA 6Gb/s SSDs.

2DayBlog.com, RunCore outs new storage solutions for CES, Marvell-based Falcon series included to give SandForce a catfight

M-Edge suit accuses Amazon of corporate bullying, patent infringement over Kindle cases

Case maker M-Edge filed suit with a Maryland court last week accusing Amazon of “unlawful corporate bullying” and patent infringement relating to the company's line of Kindle cases. According to M-Edge, the company signed a three-year agreement with Amazon in November 2009 for a 15-percent sales commission, only to have the retail giant demand a new contract with a 32-percent cut a mere two month later. A lawyer for M-Edge told The Wall Street Journal that Amazon punished the case maker over its refusal to play ball, after threats of burying the company's products on its site.

2DayBlog.com, M-Edge suit accuses Amazon of corporate bullying, patent infringement over Kindle cases

RunCore outs new storage solutions for CES, Marvell-based Falcon series included

If you're looking to quell your inner storage enthusiast after the holidays, RunCore may have something to satisfy your appetite. The company announced that it has two products intended for launch at CES. The Falcon series is a Marvell-based storage solution that boasts R / W IOPS speeds that best the outfit's Pro V SATA 6Gb/s SSDs. Speaking of the Pro V series, RunCore is looking to set up shop in Ultrabooks with a 7mm model of its 2.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s SSD with 500 MB/s read and 540 MB/s write speeds.

Engadget, RunCore outs new storage solutions for CES, Marvell-based Falcon series included

Windows Phone Marketplace hits 50,000 app-submission milestone

Just over one month after crossing the 40,000 app-submission threshold, Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace has hit another milestone: 50,000. According to analyses done by All About Windows Phone, the Taj Mahal of tiles has seen developers submit just over 50,000 applications for review - 42,655 of which are currently available in the United States. What may be more telling is the rate at which developers are submitting their wares. Over 17,000 apps have been submitted to the Marketplace in the last 90-days from over 13,000 different publishers (an average of 265 per day).

Engadget

See also:
gadgeter, Windows Phone Marketplace hits 50,000 app-submission milestone

Analysts predicting up to 14M auto sales in 2012

Automotive industry analysts are projecting a better sales year in 2012. According to Automotive News, a number of culminating factors could see sales of up to 14 million units next year. That's thanks to factors like decreasing unemployment, improved credit availability and a larger portion of the population looking to replace older vehicles. Don't think that means the overall economy will be any stronger next year, however. According to the studies, buyers have simply grown more callous to news of repeated financial crises and aren't likely to let that news impact their new vehicle purchases.

Autoblog, Analysts predicting up to 14M auto sales in 2012

Wicked Audio's Solus headphones let you listen like a DJ at the flick of a switch

For what it's worth, Wicked Audio has a habit of producing egregiously loud headphones - looks-wise, that is. Hence our surprise, when we glanced at its latest red and black offering in our Gmail into your next track. No word on specs (not that we'd expect any), but letting go of a Benjamin will snag you the Solus when it officially releases at CES. Wicked.

Engadget, Wicked Audio's Solus headphones let you listen like a DJ at the flick of a switch

Vending machine in Japan dispenses drinks and WiFi

Vending machines typically dispense foodstuff, such as drinks and snacks, but what about one that dispenses WiFi. Well, technically it does not actually dispense WiFi, but Tokyo-based Asahi Soft Drinks recently took the wraps off a new vending machine that not only dispenses the company's products, but also emits a WiFi signal within a 50m radius. There is no catch here and users will not have to purchase a drink in order to use the WiFi, although there is a 30 minute limit before the user is cut off although it appears that reconnecting is possible.

Ubergizmo, Vending machine in Japan dispenses drinks and WiFi

Samsung Galaxy S i9000 to get a Value Pack update instead of Android Ice Cream Sandwich?

Samsung recently said that the original Galaxy S i9000 and the Galaxy Tab P1000 would not be updated to Android 4.0. However, a few days later, it stated that it's still investigating the possibility of bringing ICS to the two devices. Now a new report from Korea is claiming that the Galaxy S i9000 will almost certainly not get Android ICS.

Unwired View, Samsung Galaxy S i9000 to get a Value Pack update instead of Android Ice Cream Sandwich?

NeoDroid Brings Neo Geo Emulation To Your Android Device – Now Available In The Market

Fresh to the Android Market is the newly released NeoDroid bringing Neo Geo emulation to your smartphone. The emulator is actually based off another emulator called GnGeo and will play all those games that were WAY too expensive to buy as a kid. Emulators tend to fall into this gray area so to avoid any legal or moral issues you should always make sure you own the original before digging around the net for ROMs. With that out of the way, playing a ROM follows the standard emulation process:.




Android Phone, NeoDroid Brings Neo Geo Emulation To Your Android Device â€" Now Available In The Market