The gripping appears to disrupt the phone's antenna that spans the phone's outer edge.
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Some of these have been significant, such as Sprint's first WiMAX phone, Verizon's first LTE phone and anyone's first Android phone.
Most notably, an update to Apple's mobile operating system left the phone's map, which replaces Google Maps as the phone's default travel tool, a spotty mess with lots of locations missing.
This could again be excused by the fact the Arc's intended for a casual audience (and the videos do indeed look quite spectacular on the phone's own display), but there's an HDTV-loving HDMI output among this phone's ports and you won't be best pleased with the results once you decide to look at them on an actual big screen television.
But Espelien believes they will choose Android because of its open nature, noting they will be able to access PacketVideo's multimedia tools as well as the phone's contact lists, calendar and phone dialer.
Sony's understandably proud of the Ion's 720p panel -- so much so that it's hung the phone's entire existence on its performance as an "HD Everywhere" hub.
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And it's an extra that the phone's data-hungry users can't do without.
Kopetsky's stepfather says the cell phone's long silence makes him suspicious.
Canada's Rogers Wireless has made the lives of prank callers and shy or paranoid individuals a bit harder (and the rest of ours a bit more convenient) with the launch of Name Display, a new service that'll show a caller's name even if it's not stored in the phone's memory.
At its destination, the kiss can be replicated in vibrations on the recipient's KissPhone, stored in the phone's memory or even uploaded to the Web.
Another nice feature available on the Android, but not Google's iPhone app or Apple's software, is that the phone's screen enters a night mode when you're driving at night.
There's a DVB-H tuner in there, too, but here's the best part: the phone's going to sport a nice, thick 16GB chunk of internal Flash -- in addition to a microSD slot!
If your phone's silent switch is on, the phone won't make noise no matter how Do Not Disturb is set.
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But again, it's playing in a league of Windows Phone's single-core own.
Sadly, you won't find anything like the Infinity screen on the One X and One S, which gently drapes over the phone's edge.
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Apple's engineers were scrambling to revise the phone's software, and the company delayed by a week a software development kit that would open up the iPhone to outside developers.
There's no need to worry if your phone's short of juice while you're on the move: VAIO T Series makes a handy 'any time' charger for your smartphone if there's no AC socket nearby.
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There's no micro-drilled detail here, while a substantial screen composed of the border around the AMOLED display, the phone's edge plus the casing around it makes the phone wider than it perhaps needs to be.
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The download manager has been improved and maps are now stored on the phone's SD card (if available) to save valuable phone memory.
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In a room at the lab a researcher picks up a Nokia N75 and aims the phone's camera at a red shoe, and immediately the phone retrieves from the Web information about nearby shoe stores.
Luckily, a community fostered fix seems pretty simple too -- XDA user RyanZA has already created a patch to modify write permissions on affected devices -- though Galaxy S III users are reporting that the fix cripples the phone's camera app.
WMExperts is reporting an official statement released by the carrier claiming that GPS has remained locked down on many of its models simply because it hasn't met Verizon's "performance goals, " which granted, sounds like a crock -- but to Verizon's credit, they're the ones getting the phone calls when things aren't working smoothly, not the phone's manufacturer.
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There's also a "Nearby" function that taps into your phone's GPS for moments captured in your immediate vicinity.
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On the software front Xiaomi's decided to jump straight to Android Jelly Bean for the phone's MIUI ROM, which itself packs several new features as well.
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Apple's patent claim against Samsung's Galaxy S III mini is no more, with Cupertino citing the phone's lacking availability in the US for the amendment to its original November filing.
ENGADGET: Apple withdraws patent claim against Samsung's Galaxy S III mini
The BBC's consumer rights show, Watchdog, will be focusing on the smartphone in next week's episode, and the fact that almost half of the phone's memory is already occupied by Samsung's own software and apps.
In addition, the upgrade will pack what's said to be a world's first Dual Camera feature (taking a page from the phone's Dual Recording feature, of course), which creates picture-in-picture shots by using the hardware's two cameras.
If the phone's been lost or stolen, users can remotely lock the phone, forward calls and texts to another phone, send a message to the phone to arrange its return or even remotely wipe all personal data from it.
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The social-oriented interface looks seriously tricked out with faces (hopefully of people the user knows) moving in and out in three dimensions -- usability is an open question, but at least it's pretty to stare at, which is really what a good phone's all about anyway, right?
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Samsung's bright idea here has been to use the accelerometer to recognize the phone's lateral motion and react to it by moving you through the homescreens.
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