This successor to the Samsung Galaxy Mini S5570 has some subtle changes like a bigger 3.3-inch screen with higher resolution (HVGA), a faster 800MHz processor and 3GB of built-in storage. The mini 2 will also run some version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Other noteworthy specs of the mini 2 include a 3 megapixel camera and 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity, again, these are upgrades from the original. If you’re into the whole rounded corners look, and happen to love the design of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S then you’d like this offering. As a low-end device, the Mini should satisfy most users who want a decent Android device at an affordable cost. Looking at the picture and reading the specs, I didn’t catch any signs of a front-facing camera – this most definitely can turn potential buyers off.

Honestly, I don’t think the Galaxy Mini 2 is better than the Samsung Exhibit II 4G, which is another low-end handset that came out a while ago. That said, there’s no word as to what day the Mini 2 will launch, but the picture suggests we can look forward to a debut at MWC.

[via GSMArena]

According to Murtazin’s tweet, Galaxy S II users can expect to see the rollout of Ice Cream Sandwich on March 1st through Samsung Kies. This would definitely be quite a treat for users but we’re going to assume that if the update is available on March 1st, it will likely be limited to the international GSM version only. It looks like Samsung has learned its lesson from previous mistakes when it comes to updating its handsets in a timely fashion but we would seriously be floored if the update was available to US Galaxy S II owners on March 1st as well.

Expect all of that Ice Cream Sandwich look and feel to be mostly concealed by Samsung custom user interface, TouchWiz. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you like the custom UI, which isn’t the worst we’ve ever seen but you’ll be a bit disappointed if you’re expecting Android 4.0 to shine through a lot. We do know that Google is attempting to make certain elements of the operating system consistent from device to device, but this is limited to certain applications and menus for the time being.

If we can’t get the Galaxy S III during Mobile World Congress, then maybe Android 4.0 for the Galaxy S II will hold some over until the time comes. Either way, we’re just glad to see Ice Cream Sandwich going to a handset that’s not a part of the Nexus line officially.

We’ll be in Barcelona during March 1st, so there may be a chance that we get to see some Ice Cream Sandwiched Galaxy S II devices floating around in that time. Stay tuned!

[Via: TechCrunch, Twitter]

Phonescoop points out that the updated Foursquare Android app will tie into the Android Beam service by letting you share the places you’ve visiting by tapping your phone with another NFC-enabled Android device. This also includes NFC support for Venue, Lists and Me pages.

This appears to be one of the first high-profile apps to tap into the Android Beam functionality and I hope it’s not the last. Sure, only 1 percent of Android users have ICS and the Android Beam capability but you’d hope that this will soon be the baseline for Android and there could be a lot of interesting use cases for this technology once you let app developers hook into it.

As for Foursquare, it’s good to see it pushing innovation on multiple platforms. I’m actually finding it to grow more and more useful as it gets older. We’ve finally created a Foursquare account for IntoMobile – you can follow us here – so be on the lookout for our check-ins from Mobile World Congress, CTIA and more.

You can download the latest version of Foursquare for Android here.

For more information on Android Beam, check out our demonstration video:

[Via Phonescoop]

The handset also packs a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, a 4.0-inch qHD display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080P HD recording, front-facing camera for video chats, 1GB of RAM, 16 GB internal storage, 4G LTE and Android 2.3.5. The handset is on the short list to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream sandwich sometime in the near future. Think of the Droid 4 as a Razr with a gorgeous keyboard.

You can grab the Droid 4 online or in Verizon Wireless stores for $199 with a new, two-year contract. You can also check out a quick hands-on video we snagged of the phone when we were at CES.

[Via Verizon Wireless]

Like Skype, users who have the Vongage Mobile app installed can make free calls or texts to each other around the globe (data rates apply). You can also get free calls to Vonage home users around the world and you get low rates to handsets and landlines around the world. There’s also a limited-time promotion where you can get up to 3,000 free minutes to call any mobile or landline in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Vonage is also promising that this includes a high-definition Codec to ensure a good voice quality. I’m very happy to hear this because many of us have had the experience or poor voice quality over VoIP (particularly over 3G/4G), so it’s nice to see Vonage Mobile addressing this problem head on. The iPhone and Android calling app also appears to be well-thought out, as you can use your existing mobile number as your caller ID and even view your credits and international rates before you make the call.

Vonage specifically highlights why its apps are better than its Microsoft-owned rival by saying that its per-minute rates are roughly 30 percent lower than Skype’s rates. Additionally, you don’t have to create a new address book, as the Vonage Mobile app will scan your address book and let you make calls to your existing contacts. This is neat because it will also let you assign your number to your app if you use an iPad or a tablet. You can also look forward to in-app purchases, background notifications and a rather pleasant design.

We’re going to have a full review of the free calling app for you soon and we’ll let you know how this new app stacks up to the competition, which also includes upstarts like Tango. You can download the new Vonage Mobile app for iOS here and the Android version can be found here.

[Via Vonage]

– This post is sponsored by Vonage, and you can download the apps here. For more information about Vonage Mobile, please visit Vonage’s site and you can see it in action on YouTube. Please note that sponsorship will not impact the review.

The game is launching with four tables, including Tales of the Arabian Nights, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Theatre of Magic, and Black Hole. And that’s just a start, with two new pinball tables set to be added to the lineup every month. These upcoming tables will be available through in-app purchases either individually or as “themed” packs.

You can play for your own enjoyment or participate in online tournaments where you’ll be competing with other players.

It’s also important to add that not all tables are equally easy/hard to master. As a matter of fact, there’s an in-depth tutorial for each table which teaches players the most important rules and skills needed to beat all the goals and become a Pinball Wizard.

Finally, aside from smartphones, FarSight Studios wowed to bring the game to the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, Macintosh and PlayStation Vita in March of 2012 and will launch on PC and other platforms later in the year.

Pinball Arcade ($0.99) [iTunes link] [Android Market - couldn't find the link]

And now this handsome device is available in the UK, with the Carphone Warehouse scoring the exclusive launch deal. The 16GB tablet could be yours for 399 GBP (about $633), while the 32GB version is selling for 50 GBP more (449 GBP ~ $712).

Specs wise, Toshiba’s baby rocks TI’s 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP 4430 processor, 1GB of RAM, Wi-Fi connectivity, 10.1-inch 1280×800 pixels screen, mini-HDMI, mini-USB, microSD card slot, while Android 3.2 Honeycomb is running the show. Yep, it will definitely get its serving of the Ice Cream Sandwich, though at the moment we can’t tell when exactly that will happen…

[Via: EuroDroid]

These super-hot deals for 3-star and 4-star hotel rooms are available in cities around the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe and Washington DC. The inventory is updated at 11:00 a.m. local time, while room reservations can be instantly booked up until 11:00 p.m.

In order to be able to access them, all you need to do is update your existing priceline Hotel Negotiator app and then find hotels in the same-night stay listings. And if you still don’t have Priceline.com’s app installed on your smartphone, simply hit the appropriate link below and take it from there.

priceline Hotel Negotiator (FREE) [iTunes link] [Android Market]

Now jump ahead to the present: You and your friend still own those same phones, but which one out of the two feels like a worthless piece of crap? The Motorola Droid. This is the case with many Android and BlackBerry devices — they lose their value after a short period of time — and a new study from Priceonomics supports this.

Priceonomics studied cell phone resale values after usage for 18 months. It found that after that period of time, iPhones retain 53 percent of their original value. Android phones have only 42 percent of their initial worth and BlackBerrys have 41 percent. This means an 18-month-old iPhone would sell for $312.

Additionally, the total cost of ownership for BlackBerry and Android devices are far higher than that of an iPhone. Apple’s handset only costs an average of $13.20 per month, while BlackBerry is around $17 per month and Android phones are around $18 per month — the latter being 40 percent more than the iPhone.

Priceonomics had this to say about the study:

At Priceonomics, we firmly believe that resale value is the best objective indicator of product quality. If you wanted to figure out the best cell phone, you could look at all the reviews, test out all the phones, talk to all the experts, but still your assessment will be subjective. Or you could let the market tell you which phones are the highest quality by seeing which ones best retain their value over time.

Taking that belief into consideration, it’s clear the iPhone reigns in terms of overall quality, even in the long run.

[via Priceonomics]

With the Gameloft LIVE! app for Android, users will be able to connect with the over seven million Gameloft LIVE! users by making friends, sending & receiving game invites, sending messages and chatting in real-time within the app itself and without the need to fire up a Gameloft title. The app delivers a 3D interface and allows users to create their own customizable avatar which they can further customize with new items that can be unlocked from playing Gameloft titles. Users will also be able to gain direct access to Gameloft’s catalog of games, which of course I’m sure you would already guess would have been possible in this app.

The Gameloft LIVE! app should seem quite familiar with anyone who has used Xbox Live’s service as you can perform many of that service’s functions within this app. Although, one could easily debate that Microsoft stole the idea of avatars from Nintendo, but who hasn’t stolen the idea from another company in this crazy, mixed-up world? Either way, if you’re an Android gamer who has been looking for an Xbox Live-esque service, you can’t go wrong with Gameloft LIVE!

Gameloft LIVE! (FREE) – [Android Marketplace]

We do know that HTC’s new handset flow will begin to wane in 2012 in favor of better quality devices but we don’t know if that also translates to a greater focus on updating the massive amount of different handsets it released last year. At the moment, everything is just talk but we’re more than happy to hear HTC filling in its customers.

HTC has been working hard to get its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades ready, and we’re excited to announce that our first round of ICS upgrades will roll out by the end of March for the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation 4G and HTC Sensation XE, followed soon there after by the HTC Sensation XL.

In addition, we can confirm Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades will be coming later this year to the HTC Rezound, HTC Vivid, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD. Stay tuned for more updates on Ice Cream Sandwich releases in the coming weeks.

If you’re rocking a Sensation, which includes the 4G, XE, or XL, you can expect to get your handset updated within or around a month’s time. All other handsets will likely be waiting for a while. It doesn’t come as a surprise that HTC’s 2011 flagship handset line will be getting updated the quickest but most of the remaining handsets to be updated are more than capable of handling the next version of Android and Sense. It remains to be seen as far as the Incredible S, Desire S, and Desire HD are concerned. Hopefully there is enough space without stripping too much out.

HTC is the latest among a decent list of manufacturers who have already announced its upgrade schedule for Ice Cream Sandwich this year. Now, it’s time to wait and see which company does or doesn’t make good on their promises.

[Via: Droid-Life, Facebook]