Lenovo 10.1-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with 1.6GHz Tegra 3 by year's end

You wouldn't think a giant like Lenovo would stop at just three (or four) Android tablets now, would you? In fact, a little birdie has informed us that said Chinese company will release a new 10.1-inch tablet by the end of the year, and unsurprisingly, Ice Cream Sandwich along with NVIDIA's Tegra 3 T33 are on the menu. Other features include 2GB of speedy 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM, a standard USB host socket (covered by a not-so-elegant pop-out flap), a back-facing camera of unknown resolution, a "Special Fusion-Skin Body" and, most interestingly, a fingerprint scanner that apparently doubles as an optical joystick on the seemingly flat backside -- only time will tell whether this layout makes sense. Our source hasn't spilled any info on the dimensions and weight, but judging by the photos in our gallery, this 1.6GHz quad-core slate should be significantly thinner than the IdeaPad K1 or LePad sitting underneath. As always, you'll hear from us as soon as we find out more.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Google has taken the stage in Hong Kong to make the next version of Android OS, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, a thing of reality. Better known as Android 4.0, the update offers a massive redesign to the user interface and adds a plethora of new features. Some of the highlights include an NFC-enabled feature called Android Beam, offline search in Gmail, new lock screen features and a fancy unlocking method called "Face Unlock," which uses facial recognition to ensure strangers can't use your phone without permission.

Ice Cream Sandwich also includes enhancements in almost every native app within Android itself. The SDK is already available for Android 4.0, and the update itself will make its first public appearance on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, also unveiled tonight. After the break, we'll cover all of the nitty gritty details, along with some excellent screenshots below. So come along, why won't you?

Here's some of the enhancements found in Ice Cream Sandwich:

1. Option to use virtual buttons in the UI, instead of taking up capacitive touch buttons
2. Widgets are in a new tab, listed in a similar list to apps
3. Folders are much easier to create, with a drag-and-drop style similar to iOS
4. A customizable launcher
5. New phone app with visual voicemail functionality that lets you speed up or slow down voicemail messages
6. Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar
7. Gmail has offline search, a two-line preview, and new action bar at the bottom
8. Swipe left or right to switch between Gmail conversations
9. Integrated screenshot capture by holding power and volume down buttons
10. Improved error correction on the keyboard
11. Ability to access apps directly from lock screen (similar to HTC Sense 3.x)
12. Improved copy and paste
13. Better voice integration
14. Face Unlock, a facial recognition service
15. New tabbed web browser, allowing up to 16 tabs
16. Browser now automatically syncs your Chrome bookmarks
17. Modern "Roboto" font
18. Data Usage section in settings lets you set warnings when you reach a certain amount of use and disabling data when you go over your limit
19. Ability to kill off apps that are using data in the background
20. Camera app: zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, zoom while recording
21. Built-in photo editor
22. New gallery layout, organized by location and person
23. Refreshed people app with social network integration, status updates and hi-res images
24. Android Beam, a NFC feature that lets you exchange websites, contact info, directions, YouTube, etc.
25. Don't like some of those preloaded carrier apps? Disable 'em. Android Engineer Dan Morrill mentions that, among other new features, any app can be disabled, and while it will still take up space in ROM, it won't be snatching any of your precious resources or clock cycles again if you don't want it to.

Sync Picasa on Your Android device

Picasa Web is one of the world’s most widely used Cloud application provided by Google to store, retrieve and share your pictures anywhere on any device. But when it comes for Android device which is also powered by Google should have some benefits.



Yes, now you can Sync your Picasa Web Album to your Android devices so that you can upload, share and view picture and videos from your Android device itself. Here we will explain in a step-by-step procedure of doing it.

Note:
1. We are using Samsung Galaxy Tab here to demonstrate but our procedure is the same for all Android Devices.
2. We are using UPPER CASE letters below for making User-Readability efficient.

Step 1: Hit the “MENU” button and then Open “SETTINGS”.
Step 2: Scroll till you come across “ACCOUNT and SYNC” option and select it.

Step 3: You have already set your Google Account during the time of your Android device initialization, so you should now see your Google Account listed there, and do press it.
Step 4: On the following entries search for “SYNC PICASA WEB ALBUMS” and make a check on the checkbox, if it is not already checked. It will take up few minutes to complete the process of Synchronization to your device.

Step 5: That’s it you have done with Synchronization of Picasa Web Album with your Android device and you can find all your images being imported in “GALLERY” Folder available in the Gallery Application on your device.

Now you have got a special power of Uploading, Sharing, Managing from the PC’s Browser or even from the Browser of your Android device and with the help of Google +(Plus) Account.
Exploit your power to the Web World. Let your friends know your powers powered by Google.

Ice Cream Sandwich Android Update to Be Release

Ice Cream Sandwich

Latest reports have revealed that the Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy S2 and other Android-powered Samsung (SEO:005930) tablets will be receiving the Ice Cream Sandwich Android update.

The Ice Cream Sandwich Android update for these devices was confirmed through a recent statement from Samsung Italy although the actual release date has yet to be confirmed. However reports have pointed to a possible release of the update by April to June of next year.

The other Samsung devices that will reportedly receive the Ice Cream Sandwich Android update include the Galaxy Tab 7.0, Galaxy Tab 7.7, Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Reports on the release of the update for the devices began circulating a week ago and some industry watchers have hinted that Samsung Galaxy S2 users in the United States may have to wait longer before the Ice Cream Sandwich Android update will be made available.

It was also noted that the Ice Cream Sandwich Android update will only be available for the newer models of Android devices such as the Motorola Droid Razr, Motorola Droid Bionic and the Nexus S.

Older Android devices such as the Nexus One will not receive the Ice Cream Sandwich Android update since the 1GHz processor of the device is not fast enough to utilize the latest version of the Android OS even as some representative from Google have revealed that devices using the Gingerbread Android have the potential in using the latest Android OS.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Samsung Galaxy Note are shipped with the Gingerbread Android OS. No information was released on whether these devices will be receiving the Ice Cream Sandwich Android update without any customizations on the user interface by Samsung or not. The Samsung Galaxy S2 and the Samsung Galaxy Note feature a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 1.4 GHz dual-core processor respectively.