Catch That Plane Faster with your Smartphone!

If you're flying US Airways and have a smartphone, your airport experience just got a whole lot easier -- and faster!

Customers will get an email with a "digitally signed and encrypted 2D bar code" that can be used at various locations in your "airport experience". The barcode will work with US Airways kiosks and can help you bypass check-in lines so you can head straight to the security checkpoint where the barcode is scanned (and validated). Once you get to the gate, the barcode can be used for boarding as well.

Barcode-based check-ins are nothing new to air travelers. Where this solution differs from that of traditional paper-based barcodes is in the paper -- you don't need it. Smartphone screens have improved to the point that most scanners can now read barcodes displayed on their screens.

US Airways has been piloting their NCR Mobile Pass solution at in Las Vegas Charlotte, N.C. since December 2010 and it's currently available in 14 U.S. airports.

What's more, since this is email-based it doesn't require an app to be installed and set up to function, making it cross-platform out of the box.

"Consumers increasingly expect more control at their fingertips," said Tyler Craig, vice president and general manager, NCR Travel. "By expanding its self-service offering beyond kiosk and web to include NCR Mobile Pass, US Airways is furthering its commitment to providing a seamless and convenient passenger experience."

Source: Market Watch
Image: Flight Story blog

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Meizu MX Quad-Core Android Smartphone Priced-Out

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According to what's since become clear was an overly-ambitious timeline, the first quad-core Android tablets would be a reality by now, with quad-core chips in smartphones by the end of the year. NVIDIA's plans for its Kal-el are a little behind scheduled at the moment, but that's just the opportunity another player needs to swoop in for the glory. China's Meizu is planning to release its MX smartphone by the end of the month, and it includes an option for a quad-core processor. The pricing structure for the Android has just been revealed, and Chinese Android fans will soon be able to take this powerhouse home for just under $800.

Only the 32GB model of the MX has four cores under its hood; a cheaper 16GB version is dual-core and will sell for about $625. We're still not sure whose chip will make it into the phones, but Samsung has a component (being used in the next PlayStation portable system) that might fit the bill.

Regardless of storage capacity or processor might, both versions of the Meizu MX will have a 4.3-inch qHD display. We're still in the dark as to a lot of the smartphone's specs, but we have a feeling that "quad core" is all many of you need to know about the handset.

Source: Engadget Chinese (Google translate)
Via: Engadget

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ViewSonic V430 To Be Company's Largest-Screened Smartphone

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This past winter marked our first exposure to ViewSonic Android smartphones, with the company revealing its ViewPad 4 and V350 models. Now the company is ready to come out with a new model that makes some upgrades from that previous pair, but are the changes going to be enough?

The V430 is powered by a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon, has 512MB of RAM, and a five-megapixel rear camera (VGA front-facer). Those aren't bad specs (though certainly far from high-end), but they're also specs shared by the ViewPad 4. The V430 does matter to pack-in a larger 4.3-inch display, but it keeps the earlier WVGA resolution. Perhaps most damning of all, the smartphone is set to arrive still running Android 2.2 Froyo; really, in this day and age?

On the plus side, the phone does look pretty sharp, and maybe it will be cheap enough to be worth looking at for certain smartphone buyers. We're just not sure what it will end up going for, and don't know much about its release plans short of an expected appearance in Russia.

Source: Mobile-review
Via: PhoneArena

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HTC Smartphone Lineup To Feature Less Metal, More Plastic?

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When properly executed, the use of metal in smartphone construction can make a huge impact on the subjective impression of handset reliability and build quality. While largely-plastic phones can still have those attributes, there's just something about metal that many smartphone users love. HTC, though, may be planning a big push towards plastics, with a rumor suggesting the company will drastically cut back on the use of metal in its phones.

According to industry rumors, HTC will transition next year from having about 60% of its phones with a metal chassis to a figure more around 30%. This move may be related to the company's interest in Nano Molding Technology, which we looked at this past spring, that would offer new ways to construct phones using fewer connective components.

More plastic use should mean lighter smartphones, and possibly even increased reception, but what about the trade-offs? Will they feel as solid in your hand? And what about holding up to abuse? We doubt HTC would want to appear as if it was producing inferior handsets, so we have faith that its upcoming designs will address these concerns, but (assuming this rumor is true) we'll withhold final judgment until we can actually get our hands on one of these 2012 models.

Source: DigiTimes
Via: WMPoweruser

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First U.S. Cellular LTE Smartphone Revealed?

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Though Verizon may have gotten the ball rolling, every carrier and his brother is now looking to get into some LTE action. MetroPCS is ahead of the pack, and AT&T is in the process of launching its own LTE offering. We know that Sprint will be joining-up further down the line, but who can we look to for LTE service in the near future? U.S. Cellular had announced plans to start its network off in 25 markets by the end of the year, and we've just received some evidence of what may be its first LTE smartphone undergoing some pre-release testing.

By the looks of this screenshot, Samsung's SCH-R930 could be the smartphone to help christen U.S. Cellular's LTE network. We don't know much about the phone itself; it received its WiFi certification back in June, and has also been cleared by the Bluetooth SIG. Presumably, we're looking at an Android device, and other Samsung smartphones with similar model numbers reinforce the picture of an Android on a non-major carrier. The R910, for instance, is the Samsung Indulge on MetroPCS LTE, the R915 the Indulge on Cricket, and the R920 is a MetroPCS model we've spotted taking test pics.

We don't have any details on when this specific model might arrive, but presumably plans are still on-track for an end-of-year LTE launch.

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Samsung Announces Galaxy Note Smartphone (the Stylus is Back!)

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And you thought the stylus went extinct along with Windows Mobile of yesteryear? Think again! Companies like HTC, and now Samsung, are bringing back the stylus, this time on capacitive screens. Today Samsung announced the Galaxy Note, a impressively powerful smartphone with a massive 5.3" Super AMOLED (but not S-AMOLED Plus, oddly) display that rocks *slightly beyond* HD resolution, at 1280x800, making for a pixel density of 285. Inside it has the dual-core Exynos that we've come to love, but clocked at a faster-than-Galaxy-S-II 1.4GHz per core. The Galaxy Note will come with Gingerbread, and will be HSPA+ capable. In terms of size and weight, Samsung has managed to keep the Galaxy Note quite lean: it's less than 10mm thick, and weighs 6.3 ounces. As a point of comparison, the Dell Streak, another smartphone/tablet hybrid (but with a 5" display and lower resolution screen), is 7.7 grams, and around the same thickness. There's also plenty of battery power to drive the big display with a 2500mAh battery.
The stylus is actually included within the device, compared to, say, the HTC Flyer, which has no stylus silo built in. It looks like Samsung has done some impressive integration with the stylus, as you can see in the below video.

The question remains whether the Galaxy Note is too big to be a phone. In any case, you'll have time to think about it: no availability has been announced.

Source: Engadget

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Samsung's Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 Is An Android Smartphone, Sans Phone

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The just-announced Samsung Note is one of those devices that makes pigeonholing hardware into a nice, neat category a real challenge. With its 5.3-inch screen, should we stop considering it a smartphone, and more a tablet? That handset is just one gadget out of many that walks the tightropes between traditional product families. There's another just-revealed Samsung that fits that profile as well, but for a different reason altogether.

Samsung's Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 looks like your average Android smartphone, but lacks a cellular radio, for both voice and data. Like the iPod touch, you'll have to rely on WiFi access points in order to get the device online. That limitation aside, the GSW isn't much different from other Galaxy S models - calling it just a "media player" would be a gross understatement. There have been what look like some cost-cutting measures made, like the fact that the main camera has an only two-megapixel resolution. In spite of that, there are also some relatively progressive features, such as the inclusion of a front-facing camera, making the hardware a bit of a contradiction. As you can guess by the name, the handset has a 3.6-inch screen; it will also pack a 1GHz TI processor and arrive running Gingerbread.

Who's the Galaxy S WiFi 3.6 for? Maybe you're a die-hard BlackBerry or iPhone user but still want to check out the world of apps available for Android. You don't need another expensive data plan to worry about, and maybe you'd rather not pick up a used smartphone on Craigslist? If that sounds like you, think about giving the GSW a look-see. It will launch in the UK in 8GB/16GB versions for what works out to $242/275.

Source: Mashable

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Smartphone Location-Gathering Concerns Target Microsoft

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Back in the spring, there was a bit of a kerfuffle surrounding smartphones and privacy violations, with accusations flying around about gathering location data and tracking users without their knowledge or permission. Ultimately, the reaction may have been disproportionate to the actual impact of any questionable data gathering, but it did get the public thinking about the issues surrounding their mobile privacy. We would have hoped that companies were paying attention and had taken steps to avoid that kind of mess again, but it looks some aftershocks are still being felt; a new lawsuit accuses Microsoft of using the Windows Phone camera app to surreptitiously gather data without permission.

According to the suit, seeking class action status, use of the camera sends Microsoft your phone's location data, without ever getting permission to do so. If this claim is accurate, it would appear to go against statements the company made to Congress that it only collected such information with express permission.

This does sound bad for Microsoft, but right now we don't have all the facts. We'd like to see some connection logs, at least, before we pass judgment.

Source: Reuters
Via: WMPoweruser

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The smartphone: Our new tool for sharing experiences

Attending Keith Urban’s concert in Philadelphia last night, my wife and I were lucky in our seat selection. Oh, we had marginal, average-priced tickets; near the back corner of the venue which had an end-stage set-up quite far away. But as the show neared conclusion, Keith carefully walked the entire length of the concert floor — flanked by security, of course — and walked up the steps near us where a temporary microphone rig magically appeared. For us it was the highlight of the night. It also shows how prominent camera-enabled, connected smartphones have become in the U.S., as nearly all of section 103 started snapping pictures.

Limited to the aging 5-megapixel shooter in my old Google Nexus One, most of the pictures I took are unusable. (Yes, I should have taken the myTouch 4G Slide!) But a few were good enough to share the experience. Thanks to the impressive Google+ Android app, all of my shots were uploaded in the background and I was able to quickly post a few during the moment. Aside from lacking picture quality though, folks on Google+ quickly noted all of the smartphones in the images. It seems like everyone was capturing memories, and I’m willing to bet that most were immediately doing as I was: Sharing those memories with friends around the world.

Whether you share on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, use a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android handset, it’s simply amazing to think about the smartphone’s rise to prominence in our culture over just the past few years. I saw my first Keith Urban concert before I had a smartphone although I remember trying to snap photos of him back then. I couldn’t share easily share the images, and to be honest, the fuzzy pictures weren’t worth sharing with anyone. But now? It’s actually part of our daily experiences thanks to superb image sensors, fast processors, smart software and mobile broadband.

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1/4 of smartphone users rely on their device for Internet access

For one-quarter of smartphone users, their handset is the primary way they access the Internet, according to new data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. It’s a sign of the growing dependence on smartphones and also shows that for a sizable chunk of users, it’s out of necessity because they don’t have a home broadband connection.

Among smartphone users, 87 percent said they used the Internet or email on their device including 68 percent who say they do it on a daily basis. Twenty-five percent said they go online primarily with their phones rather than on a computer. That’s in part because one-third of these respondents come from cell-only households that don’t have home computers. This is particularly true among smartphone owners under the age of 30, non-white smartphone users, and smartphone owners with relatively low income and education levels.

The Pew study also found that 35 percent of American adults have a smartphone, with smartphone adoption strongest among richer households as well as with younger users. Almost six in 10 (59 percent) smartphone users come from households with $75,000 or more in income, while 58 percent of American cell phone owners between the ages of 25 and 34 own a smartphone, and 48 percent of people ages 18-24 have a smartphone. Among African-Americans and Latinos, 44 percent own a smartphone. Android was particularly popular among African-Americans, with 26 percent of all cell phone owners in this group using an Android device, far ahead of whites and Latinos. Overall, Android led the way with 15 percent of all cell phones owners, followed by the iPhone and BlackBerry at 10 percent each. The Pew results are based on a national telephone survey of 2,277 adults conducted between April 26 and May 22, 2011.

The survey results are interesting for a couple of reasons. Some imagine the smartphone market as if it were solely a tech geek or early adopter phenomenon that is spilling over now to middle class mainstream users. But for many users, who sometimes don’t have the income for pricier smartphones and data plans, they’re still turning to the devices because it’s their primary link to the Internet. And the devices are extremely popular with minority groups who see a lot of value in smartphones. It’s a big opportunity I’m not sure marketers completely understand: The smartphone is bridging the digital divide for some communities, helping them leap ahead. Cheaper pricing and more affordable data plans can help encourage this trend.

The other interesting thing is that with so many people turning to the Internet from their smartphones, websites should consider upping their mobile game. Many sites are still oriented toward desktop users and assume that consumers have larger screens and technology like Flash to navigate through content. But I believe there are missed opportunities in websites that aren’t optimized for mobile, which can lose customers and possible transactions because they’re not geared for mobile users with more limited screen real estate. Google, for example, recently started offering free mobile Google Sites templates to businesses interested in building out their mobile presence. Google said it found that 61 percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing from their phone, and 40 percent go to a competitor’s site. Getting up-to-speed on mobile is becoming less of an option and more of an imperative for companies trying to do business on the web.

With so many people turning to smartphones and many of them primarily using them for Internet access, these are just some of the implications that need to be considered. We’re on our way toward a smartphone majority soon, but it’s unfolding in interesting ways that can provide some new opportunities for those paying attention.

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