Share Anything Together

Reports out of Korea today cite a milestone figure for LG Optimus G sales, and information on the device's arrival finally in Europe. Since the launch of the Optimus G in the latter part of 2012, LG says they have sold more than 1 million of the phones. While this pales in comparison to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3, not to mention the iPhone, considering the limited availability of the Optimus G it's not all that bad.

Currently available in Korea, Japan, Canada and the United States, an LG spokesperson has hinted that the company reportedly plans to continue their push on the Optimus G throughout the first quarter of this year. Before Q1 is out, the intention is to ship the Optimus G in several European markets and in China.

LG is on the increase in terms of smartphone sales, in Q3 they bested their previous best figures for smartphone sales, and that was before the Nexus 4. LG's next set of earnings are due to be released on Jan. 30 for Q4 2012, and it will be interesting to see what comes out of that.

Source: Yonhap News Agency via The Next Web

We're still waiting for hard facts on pricing and release date for the newly announced Sony XperiaZ, but at least one carrier in Germany, O2, is committing to carrying it. The handset has shown up on the O2 Germany website with an expected release window of "February," but no specific timing other than that is available at this time. There's also no pricing, and your only option is to make a reservation price-unseen.

One interesting thing to note is that as one of Germany'sLTE carriers, its version of the Xperia Z will haveLTE support on-board, provided you're willing to pay the extra tariff to have the faster data speeds. Extra connectivity options aside, this is looking like the same device we've seen before, in the same black and white color options. Eager Germans among us can head to the source link and reserve one, again price-unseen, if you know that the XperiaZ is the device for you.

Source: O2 Germany; Thanks, Dhatam!

The Sony Xperia ZL may be coming to market in more than just black and white if these photos of a deep red model are to be believed. We had a look at the black and white versions of the Xperia ZL back at CES in Las Vegasand really enjoyed the quality of the handset, but the red version was nowhere to be found. The photo above is reportedly a prototype model handled at a South East Asia launch event, and word is that we shouldn't expect this for a worldwide launch like the other colors. The design is apparently identical, save for a back plate that's smooth rather than textured.

This is a touch confusing considering the white and black models were shown off so extensively at the major launch event in Las Vegas. Sony may have some final tweaking to do on the red model before it's ready for a consumer release, or it may be holding the third color as a special edition or regional device. Red version aside, we have no firm pricing or release date for the Xperia ZL (or it's brother, the Z) anywhere in the world. If you happen to be holding out for the device to make an appearance in the states, you may want to prepare to have it imported from overseas.

XperiaBlog has a good handful of pictures of the red Xperia ZL, if you're so inclined, at the source link below.

Source: XperiaBlog; Via:Pocket-Lint

Developers (and bloggers) who shelled out the $1500 for early access to a Google Glass unit are invited to a pair of hackathons dedicated to the wearable units at the end of the month.

On January 28 and 29, things get underway at Google San Francisco office, and the festivities continue on February 1 and 2 at the Glass Foundry in New York. Registration starts January 18, and we're guessing that seats will sell out quickly.

In addition to learning about the Google Glass Mirror API, Google engineers will be on site to assist and answer questions. Of course, devices will be on site for developers to use, although no word on when devs will receiveunits of their own, or when to expect any retail units. The full letter is after the break

Via: All Things D

Join us for an early look at Glass and two full days of hacking on the upcoming Google Mirror API in San Francisco or New York. These hackathons are just for developers in the Explorer program and were calling them the Glass Foundry. Its the first opportunity for a group of developers to get together and develop for Glass.

Well begin the first day with an introduction to Glass. Youl have a device to use while on-site. Next well take a look at the Mirror API, which gives you the ability to exchange data and interact with the user over REST. Well then dive into development with Google engineers on site to help you at any point. At the end of the second day well have a lively round of demos with some special guest judges.

If youd like to attend this first Glass Foundry, please choose and register by Friday, January 18th at 4pm PT. There is limited space. If you are accepted, you will receive a confirmation letter with additional details and required terms after registration closes. Please dont make any travel arrangements until your attendance is confirmed.

Glass Foundry San Francisco
January 28th & 29th at Google SF
Glass Foundry New York
February 1st & 2nd and Google NYC

Here's a great time-saving tip and way to show off the power of Android all in one -- use a widget to dial contacts directly from your homescreen. Widgets are one of the most powerful and customizable parts of Android, but most people relegate them to simply displaying weather or offering music playback toggles. With Simple Dialer Widget, you can put that homescreenspace to good use by having a fully functioning phone dialer front and center on the phone.

The dialer works just as the proper dialer does, with a full call log and favorites list (although some of us are having issues with favorites) accessible with tabs on the widget. There's a crazy amount of customization available when you make the widget -- from colors to date format and text sizes -- as well as the ability to resize it to your liking. It also works on the lockscreen of devices running Android 4.2, which is a nice plus.

Interested in taking a look? Head to the Google Play Store link at the top of this post to grab a download of Simple Dialer Widget -- it's free and certainly worth a try.

Via: ComputerWorld

But perhaps signing a 24-month deal on a 6-month old device isn't the smartest of moves

A "special offer from AT&T" has just showed up on the Play Store listing for the HSPA+ Nexus 7 that shows a $100 credit offer for signing a service contract with your new tablet purchase. Similarly to the deal offered by T-Mobile on the Nexus 4 early-on, Google seems to be making small carrier partner deals to try and get some people locked into contracts with their devices even from the Play Store. This deal stipulates that if you sign a 2-year contract of at least $14.99/month (which gets you 250MB of data,) you'll receive a $100 service credit to put towards that data for a few months.

This may seem like a great deal up-front -- as is the case in most contract situations -- but when you think about it this really isn't. You're signing up for 2 years of service to save $100 on a device that's already 6 months old, which in the long run means very little considering the cost of data for these plans. Most users will likely wantat least 3GB of data, which will run you $30 a month (before taxes/fees.) Taking the true cost of ownership into mind, getting basically 3 months of free service in return for being forced to pay for another 21 months seems a bit less of a great deal -- especially when considering you're still having to pay the full $299 for the tablet.

If you're an existing AT&T customer, you're far better off adding the device to your current MobileShare plan. If you're interested in having just the tablet separate, you're going to be better served by AT&T's own prepaid options that let you use data one month at a time and have the same monthly rates. Remember, the HSPA+ Nexus 7 also supports T-Mobile's frequencies, which opens up even more choices as well.

Source: Google Play; AT&T
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Well, you can't say they didn't give it a good run. A couple years after they first got hitched, Target and Radio Shack have called it quits in the mobile business, with their divorce taking effect April 8. That'll seemingly affect the 1,500 stores that have Target Mobile in place -- and that means a lot of Android phones in front of a lot of eyeballs. It sounds like prepaid and accessories might have been the sticking point.

From Radio Shack's press release:

Since October 2012, RadioShack had been renegotiating the terms of the relationship with Target to establish an agreement that would be profitable to both companies. At that time, RadioShack executed a termination notice that would allow the company to exit the Target business if an agreement could not be reached.

We'll have counselors on hand for anyone who needs 'em.

Source: Press release