Lose It! can help you get the summer body you want

Though you might not know it from looking at me now, I’ve always struggled with weight. In the summer between high school and college, I topped out at 225 pounds, which with a 6’0? frame put me square in the “Morbidly Obese” category. I justified my increasing weight and waistline by my athletic physique; after [...]]]>

Jet Set Radio skating onto Android 'this summer'

Here's a blast from the past for everyone. Sega has been pretty good at bringing us some of our favorite games from yesteryear to play on our Android devices, and this summer we get to play another one. It's been announced today that the HD remake of Jet Set Radio, due to land on consoles, will also be coming to Android. 

Anyone who owned a Sega Dreamcast will quite possibly remember, fondly, Jet Set Radio from the first time around. In my case, I've still got a copy. The mobile version will have some mobile-centric features too, one of which is Openfeint integration. Apparently, players will also be able to use pictures taken on their device as the in-game graffiti. Now that's a nice touch. Just don't do anything rude with it, OK, kids. 

We're really looking forward to this one, and despite no more accurate date than "this summer," we're sure it's going to be worth waiting for. Check out the full press release after the break. 

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StubHub takes me out to the ball game this summer

Football and basketball season are over, but baseball is starting to heat up as we enter the second half of the year. Now is the time to head to the ball park, but make sure you check out StubHub before you purchase your next ticket. The service offers an online marketplace for tickets and their [...]]]>

Keep track of your summer workouts with Endomondo Pro

Working out can be hard when you don’t have any real goals you want to achieve. But once you have your goal set, put on your shoes, grab your Android phone and load up Endomondo Pro as you head out the door. Endomondo is one of the best fitness apps on Google Play and allows you [...]]]>

HTC One V coming to the US this summer

The HTC One V has gotten much less attention than its beefier brothers, the One X and One S smartphones making their way to AT&T (One X), Sprint (One X), and T-Mobile (One S) as early as this month. HTC has just announced that the entry-level One V will be shown off at CTIA later this week in New Orleans, and that the One V will go on sale on “a variety of US partners” later this summer.

The HTC One V is an entry level device that has the benefit of the beautifully-designed HTC One line. This is not your average entry-level phone, with the looks of the One S and One V with entry level specs that should see the device come with an extremely low price tag. We don’t yet know which partners will be getting their hands on the One V, but we expect this to receive a widespread US launch in just a few months.

If someone prices this device at around $300 unlocked, we can see it flying off store-shelves. Full specs for the One V are as follows:

1GHz single-core Qualcomm processor3.7-inch TFT capacitive display (480 x 800)HTC Sense 4.0Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)512MB RAM4GB built-in storage5-megapixel camera w/ LED flash and AFMicroSD card slot (up to 32GB)Bluetooth v4.0 w/ A2DPMicroUSBDimensions: 120.3 x 59.7 x 9.2mmWeight: 115g

We’ll bring you the details as we learn of US releases for the HTC One V. Anyone out there considering the One V as a cheap alternative to the ever-more-expensive crop of devices hitting the market?

Virgin Media UK to stock the Samsung Galaxy S III 'this summer'

Just when you thought it was safe to step outside, another UK carrier comes forward with plans to stock the Samsung Galaxy S III. We already know the plans of the major carriers, and some of the unlocked SIM-free prices. Step forward Virgin Media though, who have announced their own decision to carry the latest Samsung flagship. 

Pricing and availability are yet to be announced, beyond coming "this summer." Where Virgin stand out though, is their range of discounts for customers of their other services like TV and Broadband. Virgin Media customers could potentially be on to a winner with this one, so if you're one of them, it could be worth watching out for. 

via Pocket-Lint

The One X vs the Galaxy S III – Android’s summer showdown

Another year, another epic showdown between HTC and Samsung. Last year Samsung and HTC went head-to-head with the Galaxy S II and the Sensation. Both phones featured amazing specs sheets, but Samsung ultimately came out on top.

This year, the story’s pretty much the same. The only things that have really changed are the names of the phones and a few key specifications. HTC has stepped up its game with the introduction of the One X, which went on sale across Europe in early April. HTC’s phone features a 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD2 display which wraps around the edges of the phone’s unibody polycarbonate shell. Powering the One X is a quad-core 1.5GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor paired with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

While the phone features incredible specs, the One X’s 8 megapixel camera with dedicated ImageChip and ImageSense technology is what HTC is using to really differentiate the phone from the competition. But things aren’t that simple.

The HTC One X may have the advantage of an early start, but Samsung’s plan to hold back the unveiling of the Galaxy S III gave them the opportunity to see HTC’s offering and make sure their flagship device was on par, or better. The Samsung Galaxy S III features a 4.8-inch pentile Super HD AMOLED display, Exynos 4 Quad processor and an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with zero shutter lag technology. The SGSIII is wrapped in a sleek 8.6mm polycarbonate shell with curved edges.

The spec comparison may be similar, but Samsung chose to equip its phone with a larger 2100 mAh battery and an expandable storage slot. Most consumers will gloss over these two features, but power users will certainly be drawn to them.

Each phone has its unique advantages, but we all know that it’s not always about having the best specifications. A manufacturer’s reputation plays a huge role in a consumer’s purchasing decisions. Picking the right Android phone is a daunting task and we don’t envy the uninformed masses who will need to choose between the Samsung Galaxy S III and the HTC One X.

I have not used the Samsung Galaxy S III yet, but that doesn’t really matter. Samsung has proven time and time again that they can deliver phones with incredible specifications, but the experience of owning a Samsung phone doesn’t even come close to what HTC has to offer. The HTC One X may not have a removable battery, but it doesn’t seem imperative to have more than a full day of battery life on a smartphone. When it comes to design, the HTC One X is light years ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S III which seems to take design cues from the Palm Pre which was released in 2009.

On the software side, HTC Sense is far better than any implementation of TouchWiz and then there’s always the question of getting software updates when new versions of Android are released. Samsung does a decent job of rolling out updates, but our research has shown that HTC has the best track record of updating its phones to the next version of Android.

Who do you think will be the winner in Android’s big summer showdown? Is the HTC One X good enough to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S III?  Let us know which features or specs have the most influence on your purchasing decisions and which phone you will be purchasing this summer.

Samsung Galaxy S III coming to US carriers “this summer”, optimized for the fastest LTE and HSPA+ networks

Today Samsung announced that the Galaxy S III would be coming to some international markets by the end of May, but they were not very specific about the US release date. Thankfully Samsung Mobile US sent us a statement that narrowed down things a little bit. Read on for the full details.

“Samsung Mobile is planning a U.S. version of Galaxy S III, optimized for the fastest LTE and HSPA+ networks in the U.S., which will be available in the summer of 2012.  Exact timing and retail channel availability is not being announced at this time. We believe the Galaxy S III is the most anticipated product in the 20-year history of Samsung Mobile; therefore, we will continue to share information as it becomes available.”

We also spotted on Samsung’s site that is says, “Specifications may differ on the LTE version.” No processor model has been announced, so the US version could end up with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 chip as rumored.

Hopefully, we will get some more information next week at CTIA Wireless in New Orleans.

Update: Various sources are reporting the Galaxy S III will arrive in the US in June. Chris Ziegler of The Verge says sources told him it is coming to Sprint.

Android tablets running on Nvidia Tegra 3 to hit $200 this summer

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said in a recent interview that their recent cost reductions on the Tegra 3 processor will enable manufacturers to launch Android tablets with $199 pricetags, and that we'll see them as soon as this summer. As Huang explains, this can seriously lower the barrier for entry. 

“We took out $150 in build materials, things like expensive memory. At $199, you can just about buy a tablet at a 7-Eleven.”

$200 is a sweet price point, as proven by the success of the Amazon Kindle Fire, and now others, like the ZTE Optik, are trying to follow up. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more decently powerful Android tablets that also happen to be reasonably priced, but maintaining quality at those lower tiers is going to be a challenge. 

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