Samsung Galaxy S2 now available from Bluegrass Cellular

Despite the fact Samsung has rolled out the Samsung Galaxy S3, the Samsung Galaxy S2 is still making its way into new markets. Rural carrier Bluegrass Cellular has now added the device to their lineup for $110 with a new two-year contract. No doubt, it's a little on the higher end of pricing for the carrier but it's also one of the better devices offered.

One stand out item though is that they list the device as coming with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and no mention of Android 4.0. As we know it, Galaxy S2 variations have been getting updated to ICS for a while now but there's no telling if the update will be waiting for you as soon as you open the box or if you'll be waiting for Bluegrass Cellular to push it out.

Source: Bluegrass Cellular, Thanks Thoth19!

Deal of the Day: Incipio FAXION Case for Samsung Galaxy S3

The August 2 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Incipio FAXION Case for Samsung Galaxy S3. Shock-absorbing TPU and impact resistant polycarbonate are fused into one sleek design. The custom-molded FAXION case is the epitome of reliable and stylish protection for your Galaxy S3. There are cutouts for all device features and the case comes in black, white, pink and blue.

The Incipio FAXION Case is available for just $21.95, 37% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!

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A brilliant look at one man's mobile life over six months

What does your mobile carrier know about you? Just how much information do they collect? And what the hell does it look like? German Green politician Malte Spitz has a brilliant TED talk showing what happened when he fought Deutsche Telekom to see just what was being collected under a European law -- and won. His prize? Six months of his mobile life. Some 35,830 lines of code. And an eye-opening look at what carriers, governments and, yes, private companies could learn about you.

It's far too easy to cry that the sky is falling when it comes to online privacy. (See Exhibits A, B, C and D, to note but a few.) But that doesn't mean there's not cause for concern, or that developers don't take it seriously. (They most certainly do.) Spitz, along with ZEIT ONLINE, has given us an incredible granular look at some of that data, but we each still need to be vigilant with our online lives. Be sure to hit the link below for the full infographic.

Source: TED; Infographic: ZEIT ONLINE

Comscore: Modest growth for Android and iOS in June, Samsung still top manufacturer

Analytics firm Comscore has just released its latest stats covering the U.S. smartphone market for the quarter ending in June 2012. Overall, the picture hasn't changed much since they released their last set of numbers. Samsung is still the largest smartphone manufacturer by market share, and Android still lays claim to a bigger chunk of the market than any other OS.

Apple's share of mobile subscribers grew 1.4 percent at the expense of all Android OEMs but HTC, which grew by 0.4 percent compared to the previous stats. In terms of OS share, Android continues to advance beyond half of the U.S. smartphone market, with a 51.6 percent share compared to 51 percent last time. Apple's growth was a little more aggressive, going from 30.7 percent to 32.4 percent. Lower down the table, RIM, Microsoft and Nokia's Symbian OS continue to slowly bleed market share to the big players.

We'll be interested to see how the numbers pan out for July, as we'd expect a fairly sizeable bump for Samsung and Android on account of the U.S. Galaxy S3 launch.

Source: Comscore

Google Wallet update takes things to the cloud, lets you add any credit card

This is big, folks. Google Wallet finally has been opened up to more payment methods. Mainly, it now works with any credit card and lists credit cards previously tied to your Google account. It's taking a new approach to mobile payments, moving everything into the cloud and off your device. That means a couple things. For one, you'll still need a PIN to use Google Wallet, and Google (and us as well) recommends you have a lock on the entire phone. But should things go awry, you can lock and remotely disable Google wallet on a lost phone. As Google points out, that's not something you can do with your leather wallet.

After that, alls you need is a Google Wallet-compatible device (here's the list of 'em), and you're off and running. No more exclusives. No more errors.  So head to the Play Store and smash that update button, and be sure to let us know in the comments how it goes adding cards to the app.

Source: Google Commerce Blog

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How to change the font size and style on the Galaxy S3

Without rooting or installing additional apps, you can easily change the style and size of the fonts on your Galaxy S3.

Changing the font size is nothing new – all Android phones running Ice Cream Sandwich can do that.  Changing the font style, however, used to require a rooting of the device and/or the installation of a third party app.

The Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) offers tremendous capabilities when it comes to personalizing your experience on the phone. As we have covered in other “How To” articles, you can change the way your home screens are arranged, as well as apps, icons, and sounds -- pretty much anything you can think of.  Changing the style of the font as well as the size really makes a difference in the way everything looks on the phone.

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Ematic hopes you will spend your $79 on their Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, the eGlide

A cheap tablet you say? Yeah. Here's is another. Ematic has just announced their release of the eGlide, their all new 7 inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet that is destined for Walmart. Powering this tablet is a 1Ghz processor with 512MB of RAM, which isn't terrible, but also far from the best we have seen. Internally you will have access to 4GB of storage for your favorite applications, games and more, and they are also offering 5GB free in the cloud for other stuff to be stored as well. That not enough for you? Well, the device is additionally equipped with a micro-SD card slot, so expand up to 32GB if that is what your heart desires.  The eGlide comes pre-loaded with a voice recorder, Office Suite application for your document needs, and Kobo ebook reader as well. 

Coming in at the $79 price point, it does seem like you get a decent amount for your money here, and if you are in the market for a cheap Android tablet, maybe for the kids or just to travel with, this may be an excellent choice for you.

Buy: Walmart