android mwb

Smartphone war starts ahead of holiday season. Starts with iPhone 5, then Windows phone 8 follow up, such as Nokia Lumia 920, Windows Phone 8X by HTC, Samsung ATIV S. The Nexus 4, announced yesterday and rumored for about 50 years before, goes on sale directly from Google starting November 13. The Smartphone war is heating up as smartphones play a bigger role this holiday season.

Thinking about buying a new smartphone for yourself or as a gift this holiday season? People are spending a whole lot of time with their smartphones these days, so here's a list of the top smartphone choices to make sure it's time well spent.

1. Nokia Lumia 920
The Nokia Lumia 920 is the new flagship smartphone of the Windows Phone 8, which features a 4.5 inch PureMotion HD+ display, LTE, 8.7MP PureView camera, 1.2MP front camera, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, wireless charging, 2000 mAh battery,1GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal memory , Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia City Lens. Nokia claims its new handsets are “the world’s most innovative smartphones”. I know many of you have already added it to your list this holiday season, so do I. Now Nokia Lumia 920 is available in Canada (at Rogers). More units will be shipped in the near future.

2. Windows Phone 8X by HTC
The Windows Phone 8X by HTC is a premium Windows Phone 8 device that packs a punch with a beautiful 4.3-inch HD-resolution super LCD 2 screen, a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor, impressive 8MP camera with HTC's custom Image Chip technology and a very-wide-angle 2.1MP front-facing shooter on the other side. Customers will enjoy the feel of the pure unibody design in California Blue, access to Windows Phone’s Live Tiles, immersive studio-quality sound with Beats Audio™ and incredible camera capabilities of the Windows Phone 8X by HTC.

3. LG Nexus 4 runs on Android 4.2
The Nexus 4 has a 4.7-inch, 1,280 x 768 pixel resolution display, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor from Qualcomm, 2 gigabytes of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera and either 8 or 16 gigabytes of storage. It also has NFC, a micro USB port and micro HDMI output. For bells and whistles, Google is touting built-in wireless charging (though you’ll need to supply your own compatible charging mat) and a Photo Sphere feature that can shoot 360-degree panorama photos but it doesn’t support 4G LTE. LG Nexus 4 runs on Android 4.2, which comes with a lot of new features, like updated Google Now, and multiple user accounts. It also adds a Swype-like trace keyboard, built right into stock Android.

    See also: Android 4.2's four best new features

4. Samsung Galaxy Note 2
If you are interested in larger screen, then galaxy note 2 may be your best choice. The Galaxy Note II will be featuring HSPA+ and 4G LTE connectivity, a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, an 8 megapixel auto focus rear-facing camera with a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, S Pen stylus, Bluetooth 4.0, a 3100mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and microSD card support up to 64GBs. The Galaxy Note II will also be coming in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models along with a white or black color to choose from.

5. iPhone 5
“The iPhone has always been an innovator since its 2007 release and its true potential really came out with the 4 and 4S models, but the iPhone 5 is the king of them all,” said junior Caleb Hughes.

The iPhone has a 4-inch LED-backlit IPS TFT display featuring 326ppi pixel density with 640 x 1136 pixels and also has Gorilla Glass, features a A6 chipset with 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and of course the PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU, 1GB RAM, has an 8-megapixel on the rear and a 1.2MP on the front, as well as 1080P HD video, geo-tagging, HDR, panorama, LED flash, autofocus and face detection. The iPhone 5 comes in 16, 32 and 64GB versions, which is running iOS 6. Price of the iPhone 5 is relative high than other smartphones.

With shoppers getting ready to kick off the holiday season the day after Thanksgiving — or sooner — retailers are ready for consumers to pull out their smartphones or tablets, NRF's Shay said. So Which one is your next mobile device as the holiday gift ?

Since Stephen Elop, CEO, unveiled the Lumia 920 prototype in New York City On September 5, The Nokia Lumia 920 has gained a lot of attention from both the media and consumers. As Nokia’s flagship Windows 8 phone, many people are waiting for it, even though iPhone 5 has already been released part days ago. Now with the shopping season coming, AT&T is likely to launch the Nokia Lumia 920, which incorporates Windows Phone 8 operating system, Nov 11, states a BGR report.

The Lumia 920 and the iPhone 5 have many things in common, some of which are the exceptional industrial design cues, top-notch build quality, top internal specs and most notably, the synergistic hardware-software implementation that boasts an extremely robust and smooth-running software environment. Then many consumers are wondering which phone they should purchase. To help you make the best decision, it is necessary to explore both phones and the features each has to offer.


1. Design and Build

The most noticeable differences between the two phones is the build. Both are made with quality design. The iPhone 5 looks very much like the iPhone 4 and 4S, but it is slightly longer. Like its two predecessors, it is available in only black or white. The Nokia Lumia 920 boasts a beautiful polycarbonate unibody that is similar to the Lumia 900, except that it is glossy instead of including a matte finish. It is available in a variety of colors as well — yellow, red, black and gray.

The iPhone 5 is narrower and significantly lighter than the Lumia 920 which means that the device can be used easily with one hand compared to the latter; the Lumia 920 is also slightly thicker than the iPhone 5 which can be good or bad to some, just a little something to keep in mind.

2. Hardware 


The iPhone 5′s standby time lasts up to 225 hours on 2G/3G, up to 8 hours of talk time on 2G/3G, music playback of up to 40 hours and internet browsing of up to 10 hours.

The lumia 920 can last up 400 hours on standby mode under the 2G/3G networks, gives users up to 17 hours of talk time via 2G and 10 hours on 3G, music playback clocks in at around 67 hours.

As Engadget has proved it, the Lumia 920 is simply better, photography-wise, than the iPhone 5, especially in low-light


Engadget also proves that the 920 – which features optical image stabilization – bests the iPhone 5 when it comes to video recording, too.

On the hardware front, the Lumia 920 certainly wins over the iPhone 5 due to its hardware-related features.

3. Software

The iPhone 5 is powered with Apple’s own iOS 6 mobile operating system while the Lumia 920 runs on the new Windows Phone 8 operating system with a tiled user interface.


The Lumia 920 on the other hand boasts the Windows Phone 8 with a revamped UI which lets users gain even more control over their device’s Live Tiles UI, added HD resolution and multi-core CPU support, background multi-tasking, NFC and many others.

It’s worth noting that the Windows Phone Marketplace is still populating its app portfolio since Microsoft is having a hard time increasing the Windows Phone market share so they’re having difficulties luring-in developers to create apps for their mobile operating system as a result, thus, it still lacks in comparison to Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Given that Microsoft seems to be gaining traction with the upcoming launch of the Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 on the 29th of this month, it’s not too hard to see that the Windows Marketplace will no longer look like a ghost town in the next few quarters.

4. Price

The Nokia Lumia 920, according to sources from third-party retailers, is still more affordable than the Apple iPhone 5. Keep in mind that we’re talking about unlocked phones here. The latest price list shows that the Nokia Lumia 920 base model is sporting the tag price of $700, while the most affordable unlocked iPhone 5 is still expensive with $900 asking price. The original SRP or suggested retail price of the iPhone 5 is $650, but due to underwhelming supply, the phone’s price online is still unchanged.

As a conclusion, the Lumia 920 wins this duel thanks to its mightier spec list and Microsoft’s history in software development making the Windows Phone platform a viable choice for those who are planning to try a new mobile computing experience. So this time it is a good time to switch to the Nokia Lumia 920 as your next handset, whether you are an android user or iPhone fan.

Halloween is around the corner. There are lot activities on Halloween, such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, lighting bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and above all, my favorite part is watching horror films.

What better to watch on Halloween than a horror Halloween movie? So if you are a horror films fan, here is a list 5 of the best Horror movies on YouTube for Halloween to help get you into the spooky season’s spirit.


I’ve watched some of them and most of these horror movies are really frightening. So attention please, if you are afraid of this HORROR movie, does NOT click it.

1. Halloween (2007) $2.99

After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution (where he was committed as a 10 year old) and he immediately returns to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. Anyone who crosses his path is in mortal danger.

2. Zombieland ($9.99)

A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, and a gun-toting tough guy trying to find the Last Twinkie and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America.

See also: Zombieland Now On Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital Download

3. Trick 'R Treat ($1.99)

Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband.


4. Nosferatu (Free)

The first screen adaptation of Dracula, this is one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Light and shadwo highlight Max Schreck's unforgettable perfomance as the evil vampire Count Orloff. Young estate agent Thomas Hutter agrees to help Count Orloff relocate to the city. Soon, Hutter and his wife are ensnared by the vampire's deadly powers.
5. Vampire Hunters ($3.99)

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.

Warning: These movies do not depict reality. They are for entertainment only.

Windows Phone 8 is going to launch next week. Microsoft is gearing up for the launch of the Windows Phone 8 operating system with a number of handset manufacturers announcing new smartphones for the platform, such as HTC ,Nokia and Samsung, in order to complete with Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.

When it comes to Windows Phone 8 it’s clear there are three major choices at the moment, the Nokia Lumia 920 or the HTC Windows Phone 8X, or the Samsung Ativ S.

Few Days ago, Best Buy has opened up pre-orders for the Nokia Lumia 920 and the HTC Windows Phone 8X, according to WPCentral. Nokia Lumia 920, which ships with 32 GB of on-board store, is available for $149.99 with a 2 year contract, while at the same time, HTC 8X, with 8 GB of on-board storage, costs just $99 with a 2 year contract. Both devices cost $599.99 unlocked. Best Buy began accepting pre-orders for the new Nokia Lumia 920 on Sunday, but the link to the product page has since been removed. Samsung ATIV S price remains a mystery, but retailer Handtec recently took a stab with a whopping £431.99. Obviously, HTC 8X and Samsung Ativ S is cheaper than the Lumia 920, but I don't think it is a good idea to leave the Lumia 920.


Now let’s take a look the full specs about the phones.

The full specs of Nokia Lumia 920:

• Display: 4.5-inch AMOLED PureMotion HD+ display, 1280 x 768, 332 ppi
• CPU: 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor
• Memory: 32GB , RAM 1 GB
• Wireless: Bluetooth 3.1 
• Ports: 3.5mm audio, microUSB
• Cameras: Front- 1.2 MP, Rear- 8.7 MP, LED flash and autofocus, PureView Camera
• Audio: Dolby Audio
• Battery: 2000mAh
• Dimensions: 5.1 x 2.8 x 0.42inches, 6.52 ounces
• NFC capable, Yes
• Yellow: red, white, black, yellow and cyan
• Extras: Wireless charge

The full specs of HTC 8X:

• Display: 4.3-inch super LCD 2, Gorilla Glass, 1280x720, 342 ppi, CPU: Qualcomm S4 1.5 GHz dual-core
• Memory: 16 GB, RAM 1 GB
• Wireless: Bluetooth 2.1 
• Ports: 3.5mm audio, microUSB
• Cameras: Front- 2.1 MP, f/2.0 aperture, ultra-wide angle, 1080p recording; Rear- 8 MP, f/2.0 aperture, 28mm lens
• Audio: Beats Audio
• Battery: 1,800 Ah
• Dimensions: 5.21 x 2.6 x 0.39 inches, 4.58 ounces
• NFC capable, Yes
• Colors: California Blue, Graphite Black, Flame Red, and Limelight Yellow colors

The full specs of Samsung Ativ S:

• Display: 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, 1280x720, 306 ppi
• CPU: Qualcomm S4 1.5 GHz dual-core
• Memory: 16 GB, RAM 1 GB, expand to a further 32GB using a microSD card.
• Wireless: Bluetooth v3.0 
• Ports: 3.5mm audio, microUSB v2.0
• Cameras: Front- 1.9 MP, Rear -8 MP, 
• Battery: 2300mAh
• Dimensions: 5.40 x 2.78 x 0.34 inches,  4.76 ounces
• NFC capable: Yes
• Colors: Not much is known about the colors of ATIV S, but the Samsung Web site shows a gray model.

The Windows Phone 8X will be available in November from 150 carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile in the US. Lumia 920 will be exclusive to the mobile carrier for the first six months after the phone’s launch.

The thing is, we’ve been looking at the tech specs again and actually the Nokia Lumia 920 is better suited as a rival to the  HTC Windows Phone 8X and Samsung Ativ S, This would leave the Nokia Lumia 920 as a true flagship and device of pure innovation, what do you think?

Related article:

• Samsung ATIV S and HTC Windows Phone 8X joining Nokia Lumia 920 on Rogers
• Dear Samsung - Here is a 101 reasons why I will NOT be getting an ATIV S
• Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 land stateside on AT&T's 4G LTE network this November

With the developing of mobile devices，now more and more people appeals to have fun at any time anywhere with its portal device. Whether watch the YouTube videos or chat with friends, all of them have inspired company should pay attention to its mobile service. That includes the social networking giant–Facebook.

Whether you are riding the subway to work, walking in the park, or simply chilling at home, music is obviously the best way to help us get into a good mood. If you’re the type that needs to have music on hand at all times, then rest easy, Today, I picked up 5 best music apps for Android for you in the Music streaming market, and some of them are free. Now let’s get it start.

Now Let’s go through some of the best Android apps for music lovers.

Top 5: Spotify (Rated: 4.0)
Spotify gives you instant access to millions of songs on your Android device.With the Spotify app, you can choose to listen for free, or subscribe to Spotify Premium.

Spotify also offer Free radio service, but US only. US users can listen to radio for free. Discover and save music on the go!  If your station plays a song you really like , you can save it with a single tap. Unlimited songs and stations are Provided.
Top 4: Winamp (Rated: 4.4)
Winamp is a Ultimate Media Player for Android.

With the app, you can play, manage and sync music from your Mac or PC to your Android device. Winamp for Android offers a complete music management solution (2.1 OS & above) featuring wireless desktop sync (latest Winamp Media Player required), iTunes library import, & access to thousands of internet radio stations with SHOUTcast. Visit the Official website to learn more.
Top 3: SoundHound (Rated: 4.4)
What's that song? You can Identify it FAST with SoundHound.

Unlimited music recognition! Featuring the world's fastest, most accurate music identification, exclusive singing search, and now: free unlimited LiveLyrics for over 1 million of your favorite songs
Top 2: Shazam  (Rated: 4.5)
Shazam can identifie a song you don't know instantly. Free and Unlimited.

Faster tagging. With the app, discover, explore and share more music, TV shows and brands you love in as little as one second.
With free and unlimited tagging use Shazam as much as you want, and experience more of what you like, faster.
Top 1: Pandora® internet radio (Rated: 4.5) Free
Pandora radio is a personalized radio service that streams music on your phone.
Pandora is free, personalized radio that plays music and comedy you'll love. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs, comedians, or composers and Pandora will create a custom station that plays similar tracks. Pandora features hundreds of music and comedy genre stations ranging from Dubstep to Smooth Jazz to Power Workout.

With the app, whether you are in the car, at the gym, or on the train,you can listen wherever and whenever you're in the mood for great music.
Now Microsoft will introduce its new Xbox Music on Oct. 26, initially targeting Xbox 360 consoles before expanding the streaming service to tablets and PCs running Windows 8 and Windows RT, as well as smartphones powered by the forthcoming Windows Phone 8. Microsoft is also planning to support rival platforms, including Apple's iOS and Google's Android. It seems that the music streaming industry is becoming increasingly popular.

It's October, and you know that means Halloween is getting closer to us. It is the best time for horror fan to enjoy their time, even though Horror movies come out all throughout the year. Here's The Top 5 Horror Movies 0f 2012, a list of what we're looking forward to for the rest of October.
Related articles:

• HALLOWEEN PREVIEW: 6 NEW MOVIES TO GET YOU IN THE SPIRIT 
• Halloween 2012: 10 Bad Horror Movies
• Halloween 2012: Horror Movies To See In Theaters [VIDEO]

Samsung confirmed on Wednesday that it will launch the Galaxy S3 mini at an event planned to be held on Thursday. The new handset is expected to run Google's latest version of the Android operating system, Jelly Bean, with Samsung's TouchWiz interface.


According to J.K. Shin, the boss of Samsung Mobile Communications, the company will reveal a 4-inch Galaxy S III named Galaxy s3 mini. He also said that’s because “there is a demand of a 4-inch Galaxy S III in the European market”.  To some degree, the success of Apple’s Give them a hint.

The Samsung galaxy s3 mini puts the new device in direct competition with Apple's iPhone 5; both of them have a 4 inch screen.

In fact, The Galaxy S3 saw a huge successful launch when it reached 20 million sales in its first three months in markets all over the world, even Breaks T-Mobile sell records .The series of products launched by Samsung show that Samsung have never defeated by Apple, although loss in the patent battle with Apple.

German mobile phone website Mobile Geeks claims that Galaxy S3 mini will come with a 4.0-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with an 800 x 480 pixel resolution, while the iPhone 5 have a 1,136x640-pixel display.

It also will house a STE U8420 dual-core 1.0 GHz processor, which is not as powerful as the Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU found in the larger S III. The camera is claimed to have a 5-megapixel sensor (the S III has 8-megapixels), although it will contain the same amount of RAM, 1GB.

Obviously, the S3 mini goes head-to-head with Apple's market-leading iPhone, put pressure to Apple, the company which have dominance the US market.

The Samsung Ativ S Windows Phone 8 smartphone is also said would be released either in October or November. More important, Samsung started selling the Galaxy Note 2 in Europe and Asia last week, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 US variants to hit the stage on October 24.

Luckily we've not got long to wait, with all our questions being answered In the near future. Can iPhone still be a legend as before, it will remain to see.

Realated articles：

• Specs for Samsung's 4" Galaxy S3 Mini fall well short of Apple's iPhone 5
• Samsung's Galaxy S III Mini blows away iPhone 3GS, yes, the 3GS

According to the results of its 13th annual Best Global Brands report, which released by Interbrand a few days ago, Samsung enters top 10 of global brands, Ranks 9th On Interbrand’s Best Global Brands. While at the same time, Samsung’s biggest competitor Apple is now the Second Most Valuable Brand in the World.
Coca-Cola (KO) was able to retain its number one spot, although not by a wide-margin. Then Apple follows. The value of Apple’s brand increased by 129% in the past year, jump to second place thanks to its Outstanding sales in both developing and emerging markets ,ahead of all other technology companies, including IBM, Google and Microsoft.

But even that, it doesn’t mean that Samsung fall far behind Apple. Samsung has made a big surprise appearance into the Top 10 for the first time in history. The Korean company’s brand is now considered to be the 9th most valuable in the world, and said to be worth $32.8 billion.  And according to betanews,  Samsung brand perception rises, as Apple falls。

Samsung have become the world's largest maker of mobile phones. Interbrand considers the fact as a key reason for this. However, the consultancy also counts the amount of buzz that the Korean company has been able to generate regarding its flagship devices, the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note, as instrumental in making Samsung break into the Top 10.
Samsung’s huge campaign at the 2012 Olympic Games in London also helped its brand a lot. As the official phone of 2012 London Olympic, Samsung galaxy S3 has achieved a great success. And also T-Mobile announced through their Twitter feed that Samsung’ Galaxy S3 device is their best-selling device of all time. And it certainly looks like the company’s legal troubles prompted by Apple haven’t done anything to tarnish its brand’s value.

Other brands featured in the report and which have something to do with mobile stuff include Google at No.4, Microsoft at No.5 (down from No.3 last year), Nokia at No.19 (compared to No.14 in 2011), Amazon at No.20, and Sony at No.40.

But I think that will soon change, as Nokia will release its flagship smartphone- Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 come with windows phone 8.  The competition between Smartphone and Tablets will become more intense. Today, like Amazon and Google, Microsoft pay a lot of attention in the smartphone and tablets market.

The full Interbrand report is available here.

Related article:

• Apple is Now the Second Most Valuable Brand in the World 
• Apple, Amazon and Samsung make the biggest jump in brand value, study finds