Samsung and AT&T have started rolling out the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update for the Infuse 4G. The Infuse 4G was among the first phone’s on AT&T network to support its 21MBps HSPA+ network, and to use a mammoth 4.5-inch Super-AMOLED Plus screen.

Along with the bump in the Android version, there are quite a few other goodies as well included in the update. Below is the full change-log of the update -:

Improved Copy and Paste functionality

•             Redesigned Multi Touch Software Keyboard

•             Download manager for long running HTTP downloads

•             Improved power management and application control

•             Notification Shade: “Flight Mode” added (“Silent” removed)

•             New Fonts options added include Choco Cooky, Cool Jazz, Rosemary

•             Keyboard Changes: Android Keyboard with Wider Spaced keys and Quick Keys at the top

•             New Widgets: The name of the content provider will be listed on the widget list along with the widget name. Previously only the widget name was provided.

•             New Widget: Traffic (Android) added to list of available widgets

•             Menu Changes/New Apps: Downloads and Google Books added new, Promotional pre-load of Angry Birds removed*.

The update is not being rolled out via OTA. Instead, Infuse owners need to use Samsung’s KIES software to update their handset, which is only available for Windows. So, if you use a Mac and own an Infuse 4G, you are out of luck!

Also, Infuse owners who are hoping that their phone will get the Ice Cream Sandwich update, should give up the hope! I am pretty sure AT&T and Samsung will not roll out any further software updates for the handset, forget OS updates.

(Source)

Samsung has just sent out emails to all bloggers out there confirming that the Galaxy Note will be landing on AT&T’s network on Feb 19th. The pre-orders for the handset will begin from 5th Feb itself, and they will be shipped by 17th of February.

Samsung had announced the AT&T variant of the Galaxy Note at CES earlier this month. The AT&T variant of the Note is different from its European sibling in quite a few ways. Externally, the AT&T version comes with the four-usual Android keys while the European version comes with a physical Home button surrounded by two capacitive keys.

The biggest change in the AT&T variant of the Note is internally though. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 dual-core processor, instead of the beast Exynos 4210 SoC found on the European variant. The screen, a 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED with 1280×800 resolution, the S-Pen, and other connectivity features all remain the same though. The Note will also supports AT&T’s ‘true’ 4G LTE network, in areas where the carrier has already deployed the service.

The Galaxy Note will set users back by $299.99 on a 2-year contract with AT&T. Interested readers can find more information about the Galaxy Note here.

Just a couple of days ago, it was reported that the iPhone represented 55% of Verizon’s last quarter smartphone sales. Today, AT&T announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011, and revealed that the carrier reached a new record sale numbers for smartphones. AT&T reported that it saw sales of 9.4 million smartphones, which is double the previous quarter’s sales and 50% higher than the company’s previous record.

Turns out, the iPhone was the driver behind these smartphone sales for AT&T. The carrier reported that it saw 7.6 million iPhones activated during last quarter. Majority of these activations were iPhone 4Ses. That’s pretty surprising for a phone nobody wanted. AT&T also promoted its lead over Verizon in iPhone activations, noting that it has continued to outspace Verizon every quarter since AT&T lost exclusivity on the iPhone last year.

AT&T also noted that it has continued to improve its voice and data network. The carrier reports that more than 80% of data traffic is now coming over the carrier’s enhanced network that allows for “4G” speeds on devices supporting at least HSPA+, such as the iPhone 4S. In addition, the carrier also reported that “call retainability” has continued to increase.

Back in 2010, AT&T announced the Android powered Samsung Captivate smartphone. This handset is the AT&T’s version of the Samsung Galaxy S. The Samsung Captivate originally runs on the Android 2.1 (Eclair) OS. However, this handset was updated to the Android 2.2 (Froyo) OS during the Q1 of 2011. Now, Samsung has amazed the Samsung Captivate owners by rolling out the much-awaited Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) update. Check out the complete changelog below.

Changelog:

• Download management
• New layout for larger fonts
• Word prediction, multi-touch for numerical input
• One-touch word selection and copy/paste
• Fixed Top-menu in Gmail
• Voice Search added into the search categories
• Vertical play mode added to YouTube
• 3D graphic driver updates
• Additional Khronos standard such as OpenSL ES, EGL for better multimedia performance
• Concurrent Garbage Collector technology embedded to reduce lags in games
• Being able to show your face in public

It is advised to backup all you data before updating the device. You should also make sure that, the battery is fully charged before updating your phone. Sadly, this update is not available via OTA (Over-The-Air). You will need to manually update your phone, just by connecting you phone to the computer. To learn more, head over to this page.

As expected, AT&T and Nokia finally announced the much-awaited Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone. It is the first Nokia’s Windows Phone powered device to feature the high-speed LTE connectivity. This handset will be exclusively available for the AT&T customers in the US. Nokia Lumia 900 runs on the Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) Operating System. This handset comes with the Nokia Drive app, which offers free voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation with a dedicated in-car user interface that turns the Nokia Lumia 900 into a GPS navigation device.

“The introduction of the Nokia Lumia 900 with AT&T is another significant milestone in the ongoing rollout of Nokia’s global smartphone strategy,” said Chris Weber, president of Nokia Americas. “The Nokia Lumia 900 is designed specifically with the US in mind and the announcement of this collaboration with AT&T, in addition to other recent announcements, signifies a new dawn for Nokia in the US.”

Nokia Lumia 900 features a 4.3 inch ClearBlack display, sporting a resoulution of 800 x 480 pixels, 1.4 GHz Snapdragon processor, Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) OS, 8 megapixel rear camera with f2.2/28mm Carl Zeiss lens and dual LED flash, auto-focus and HD (720p) video recording, 1 megapixel front-facing camera for video calls, A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and much more.

It also comes with a 3.5mm headset jack, 4G LTE – up to 50 Mbps down/ 25 Mbps up, IE9 with HTML 5 support, 512 MB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, 14.5 GB user memory, SkyDrive, Wi-Fi Internet Sharing for up to 5 devices, Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps, Bing Maps, AT&T Navigator, Zune, AT&T Radio, Office 365, Xbox Live, Windows Marketplace, up to 60 hours of music playback in offline mode, up to 7 hours of talk-time, up to 300 hours of stand-by time and a 1830 mAh battery.

Nokia Lumia 900 will get 20 popular EA games in the coming weeks. This handset is expected to be available from March 18. Nokia will soon announce the price of this amazing smartphone.

AT&T just announced the powerful HTC Titan II smartphone at the CES 2012 in Las Vegas. This handset is the successor of the not-so-popular HTC Titan smartphone. The HTC Titan II is the company’s first 4G LTE smartphone. It runs on the Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) Operating System and it comes with an amazing 16 megapixel rear camera.

“HTC’s history of innovation in 4G technology includes delivering the first 4G-powered devices to each major carrier in the U.S., so it is exciting today to continue that leadership with our first 4G LTE Windows Phone, the HTC TITAN II,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp. “This full-featured smartphone combines HTC’s design with AT&T’s high-speed 4G LTE network and Microsoft’s powerful Windows Phone software, giving people more of what they crave.”

HTC Titan II features a 4.7 inch super LCD display, sporting a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) OS 4G LTE, 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S2 processor, 16 megapixel rear camera with f/2.6 28mm lens, dual-LED flash, red eye reduction and image stabilization, HD (720p) video recording, Full HD (1080p) video playback, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for on-the-go video chat over Wi-Fi, Windows Marketplace, Windows Phone Office Hub, Microsoft Exchange 2010, Outlook Mobile, 4G LTE Connectivity, HTC Hub and a 1,730mAh lithium ion battery.

This handset offers quick access to the latest movies and TV shows via HTC Watch and on-the-go gaming with Xbox Live. The HTC Titan II will be exclusively available for the AT&T customers in the U.S. in the coming months. The price of this device is still a mystery.

Along with the Galaxy Note, AT&T also announced Sony Ericsson’s first ever 4G LTE handset, the Xperia Ion. The Ion is also the first dual-core touting phone from the Japanese handset manufacturer.

The Xperia Ion comes with a 4.6-inch HD Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine with a 720p (1280×720) resolution. Internally, the handset is powered by the dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor from Qualcomm which is clocked at 1.5GHz, and is accompanied by an Adreno 220 GPU.

“With Xperia ion, we’re bringing together several firsts that will take users beyond the smartphone,” said Paul Hamnett, President, Sony Ericsson North America. “Designed to deliver a seamless experience across the multiple screens we use to play, watch, listen, and share, Xperia ion is the gateway to entertainment when and – most importantly – where you want it.”

At the back of the Ion is a whopping 12MP camera with Exmor R sensor, which is insanely fast as well. Sony states that the camera foes from standby mode to first run in just 1.5 seconds. There is a front-facing camera on the handset as well. Both the front facing camera and the camera at the back are capable of recording videos in HD resolution.

The Xperia Ion is also a PlayStation certified phone, which gives users early access to some high-quality games specially optimized for their handset. The handset will run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread with SE’s Timescape UX on top of it, and will get the Ice Cream Sandwich update sooner than later. Like all other handsets announced by AT&T, the carrier did not announce as to when and how much the Ion will cost.

AT&T just announced the Galaxy Note at their on-going Developer Summit at CES 2012. The news of this smartphone-cum-tablet coming to the carrier had leaked quite a few times before so it’s not really a big surprise.

Externally, the AT&T’s version of the Galaxy Note is similar to its European sibling except for some minor differences. While the beautiful and HUGE 5.3-inch HD Super-AMOLED display with a mind-boggling 1280×800 resolution is intact, the 2 capactive,  1 hardware key combo has been replaced by 4 capactive keys.

Internally, the difference between the European Note and the AT&T version is quite huge though. The AT&T version packs in a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor, an Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB of RAM. All other usual features like accelerometer, gyroscope and connectivity features like Wi-Fi, GPS etc. are also present. The Note will also support’s AT&T’s new and blazing fast 4G LTE network.

Sadly, AT&T did not mention anything as to when the Note will hit its network or how much it will cost.

A couple of days ago, Samsung and T-Mobile started rolling out a new software update for the Galaxy S II. Today, Samsung has teamed up with AT&T to release the Android 2.3.6 update for the the carrier’s Galaxy S II.

The Android 2.3.6 update for the AT&T Galaxy S II brings some security patches, and some minor improvements like the home button lag being fixed. The TouchWIZ launcher has also been updated and now scrolls screen circularly i.e. it will automatically take you to the first home screen when you reach the last homescreen while scrolling. The update also removes the bounce overscroll effect which happens when a user reaches the end of a list, with a blue glow effect. Users who have already installed the update are also reporting an overall smoother performance, and less battery drain while using the phone as an access point.

Many readers reported that the update failed to install for them for the first time. However, when they tried to install the update later on, it got installed successfully. The update is being rolled out in stages, so it might take sometime to hit your phone.  Alternatively, AT&T SGS2 owners can manually pull the update from AT&T’s server by going to Settings->About Phone and selecting the Software Update option.

AT&T has just announced a new addition to its true LTE range of handsets, the LG Nitro HD. The Nitro HD is also the first phone to hit AT&T’s stable which will come with a 720p HD screen.

With the LG Nitro HD as one of our last smartphones to arrive in 2011, we’re closing out the year with a bang,said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices,  AT&T Mobility  and Consumer Markets. We’ve seen others get close to a true HD experience on Android superphones this year, but Nitro HD is the one that does it right.

The LG Nitro HD sports a gigantic 4.5-inch True HD (720p) AH-IPS display. The handset is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and packs in 1GB of RAM along with 20GB of on-board memory (4GB internal+16GB microSD card). Other key features include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS with A-GPS, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct and a bunch of sensors.

At the back of the Nitro HD is an 8MP camera which is also capable of recording videos in Full HD (1080p) resolution. The handset will also support AT&T’s fake 4G network – HSPA+ – as well as the real LTE network. The handset will also come pre-loaded  with HD games from Gameloft and Zynga Poker HD.

The LG Nitro HD will be available starting from December 4th for $250 on a two-year contract.