By Aldo Panessidi

The founder of one of Europe’s leading illegal movie-streaming sites confessed and apologized for his crimes and got his sentence cut in half by a German judge.  Deutsche Welle reported that 39-year-old Kino.to founder “Dirk B.” has been sentenced to 4.5 years in jail. He could have been ordered to spend 11 years in prison, but received a reduced sentence after confessing to his copyright infringement crimes.

Millions of eager viewers downloaded movies and watched them on the latest smartphones including the iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy2, HTC EVO 

Many viewers also used tablets like the New iPad/iPad 3, Samsung Tab, Motorola Xoom and the HTC Flyer 

Dirk B. will have to pay a $4.7 million fine to cover 1.1 million instances of copyright infringement. While in operation, Kino.to is estimated to have brought in as much as $8 million in advertising revenue.

Most recently, law enforcement officials in Sweden first raided The Pirate Bay in 2006, and the company’s founders were eventually sentenced to jail and forced to pay millions in fines. The service remained online, however, and it is still operational today.   “The Swedish district attorney Fredrik Ingblad initiated a new investigation into The Pirate Bay back in 2010. Information has been leaked to us every now and then by multiple sources, almost on a regular basis. It’s an interesting read,” The Pirate Bay said on its blog. “We can certainly understand why WikiLeaks wished to be hosted in Sweden, since so much data leaks there. The reason that we get the leaks is usually that the whistleblowers do not agree with what is going on. Something that the governments should have in mind – even your own people do not agree.”

By Adhurim Murtezai

Apple’s request for a court order to block the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphones in the US has been denied by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

Apple wanted a court order which would have prevented the June 21st market launch of Samsung’s latest flagship device. Reuters reported that the judge claimed the case would overload her calendar - she is overseeing Apple’s high-stakes trial against Samsung that is schedule to begin in July.

Apple isn’t getting anywhere with its aggressive legal strategy. Koh’s decision comes shortly after a federal judge tossed out Apple’s upcoming case against Google’s Motorola Mobility.

In its attempt to limit growth of Android, Apple has waged an international patent war since 2010. Last year, Google’s Android became the world's best-selling mobile operating platform. Apple's opponents say the iPhone 4S maker is trying to use patents to dominate the market.

By Aldo Panessidi

HTC refuses to offer cheaper handsets just to boost sales.  Despite struggling to match the sales numbers of its competitors, the company is sticking to its strategy of producing only medium- to high-end handsets.

HTC CEO Peter Chou defended the company’s strategy in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “We don’t want to destroy our brand image. We insist on using better materials to make better products that offer premium experience. Many consumers like that.”

Chou’s comments come at a time when many industry watchers are beginning to question HTC’s strategy. Motorola and Samsung are capturing the low-end handset market in the Chinese market, but Chao insists that HTC will not manufacture “cheap, cheap phones” to boost its market share.

HTC will increase its marketing efforts and expand its distribution network into emerging markets. Chou expects that 2012 Chinese shipments will reach three times last year’s total. Shipments to India and other emerging markets are steadily growing. Chou is adamant, “We think our strategy is successful.”

By Adhurim Murtezai

According to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) there’s a new standardized SIM format for mobile devices. The new “nano-SIM” cards are 60% of the size of the smallest SIM card- design currently on the market (the micro-SIM.) The nano-SIM will measure 12.3 millimeters wide by 8.8 millimeters high and 0.67 millimeters thick.

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Apple, Motorola, Samsung and BlackBerry, and others argued over the design of the proposed nano-SIM standard, but unconfirmed reports say Apple’s was the design ultimately chosen.

ETSI’s press release states, “The new form factor was adopted by industry with the involvement of major mobile network operators, smart card suppliers and mobile device manufacturers. The new design will be published in due course in ETSI’s TS 102 221 specification, freely available like all ETSI standards from the ETSI website.”

Enhance your mobility and turn your device into a power tool!  Discover select accessories such as; stylus & pens, micro SD memory cards, batteries, docking stations, Bluetooth headsets, data cables, HTC Media Link and XMI Speakers all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

A SIM card is used to securely associate a mobile device with a customer account, preventing fraud and ensuring that calls are correctly routed to customers. It is an essential security feature of mobile networks, and is integrated into every GSM, UMTS and LTE device.

By Aldo Panessidi

While cell phones are evolving to become one of our most valuable devices in our mobile lifestyle ... more and more cell phones are being damaged by water than any other way.  To this end, user's have clamoring for a completely waterproof protective cell phone case.

Otterbox  has responded to market needs with news of the June 24th release of their new Armor series cell phone case for iPhone 4S.  This new Armor cell phone case is designed to be dust proof, drop proof, waterproof and crush proof, thus offering topmost protection.

Otterbox has built a solid reputation for providing the safest cell phone cases on the market, their Defender and Commuter series of cases have won wide acclaim for delivering superior protection against the elements of the daily hustle and bustle.  The Otterbox Armor series is the pinnacle of protection, as demonstrated in the following video:

A strong competitor, Lifeproof also offers cell phone cases designed on their trademark 'Four Proofs' - that is waterproof, dirtproof, snowproof and shockproof.  You can rest assured that the Lifeproof cases are designed to be a total solution for protecting your iPhone 4S from the elements as can be seen in the following video:

The race is now on... which of these two top brands will be first to market a waterproof/shockproof cell phone cases for the BlackBerry and Android smart phones such as:

Samsung Galaxy S 3,  Galaxy S 2, Galaxy S2 X, Galaxy S 2 LTE

HTC One S,  HTC One X, HTC One V and HTC EVO 3D

Nokia Lumia 900 and Nokia Lumia 800

Motorola Droid RAZR, Motorola Defy and Motoluxe

Sony Xperia U, Sony Xperia ION, Sony Xperia Play

LG Optimus L7, LG Optimus 4G LTE 

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By Aldo Panessidi

For all you fellow you gamers have been patiently awaiting Ubisoft’s release of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Commander since it was announced back in April.  hold on to your game/console controller … a ready to play Ghost Recon Commander is now available on  Facebook.

More and more gamers are using tablets as their main gaming consoles... the iPad 3 with its  breakthrough retina display, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer and Motorola Xoom are among the gamers' the favored devices.

Unlike its console and PC counterpart game, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (which is also launching this week), Ghost Recon Commander is not a 3D first person shooter but a 2D version of the series.

Watch the following short debut trailer :

Ghost Recon Commander has an overhead viewpoint with social elements like players being given the option to team up with their Facebook friends to form alliances and complete missions. The Facebook game is also integrated with the console game, allowing players to unlock characters, and earn points and currency that can be used in both games.

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The Ghost Recon Commander screen features ten “re-playable missions, three difficulty levels and lots of weapons to for carrying out missions.  Other features and weapons become available as you progress in the game. Unlocks and other features that are provided in the Facebook environment can be used to unlock features within console and PC versions.

Games aren’t new territory for Facebook. The site is filled with social and casual games like AngryBirds and FarmVille. While Facebook followers have made these games incredibly popular, there haven’t been any titles to attract the hardcore gaming crowd. With the release of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Commander, Ubisoft wants to change that.

By Aldo Panessidi

According to a recent blog post from Motorola, the company will limit ICS updates to just the handsets it believes will benefit from the change.  For example, the Droid 3, Droid Pro and Milestone 3 will remain on Android 2.3 (a.k.a. Gingerbread), while some phones will keep versions of Android as far back as Android 1.5 and 2.1. 

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Here is the explanation in Motorola’s words: “You may be wondering why all devices aren’t being upgraded to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Here’s the deal. We work very closely with Google and cell phone carriers for every software update. And, obviously we want the new release to improve our devices. If we determine that can’t be done—well then, we’re not able to upgrade that particular device.”

To date, the only device that has received its update to Android 4.0 is the WiFi-only XOOM (and only the US and Canadian versions). All other devices remain in one of their four stages: development, test in-house, carrier test and release. (A beta field test may also be inserted between stages 3 and 4.)

Motorola has probably been the most candid and thorough device manufacturer when it comes to Android upgrade plans. Motorola has been good about maintaining their device update page found in their forums. Here is a summary of their ICS roll-out plans as of this month:

Android 4.0 update Q2 2012

Motorola XOOM WiFi-Only (Asia Pacific, China, EMEA, Japan & LATAM)

Motorola XOOM (Verizon)

Motorola RAZR (Asia Pacific, Canada, China, EMEA, Japan, Korea & LATAM)

Motorola DROID RAZR (Verizon)

Motorola DROID RAZR Maxx (Verizon)

Motorola MT917 (China)

Motorola XT928 (China)

Android 4.0 update Q3 2012

Motorola Atrix 4G (USA)

Motorola Atrix 2 (Asia-Pacific, LATAM, USA, and selected other markets)

Motorola XOOM Family Edition (USA)

Motorola XOOM 2 (Asia Pacific, EMEA, and LATAM)

Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition (Asia Pacific, EMEA, and LATAM)

Motorola Xyboard 8.2 (USA)

Motorola Xyboard 10.1 (USA)

Motorola DROID Bionic (Verizon)

Motorola DROID 4 (Verizon)

Motorola DROID Xyboard 8.2 (Verizon)

Motorola DROID Xyboard 10.1 (Verizon)

Android 4.0 update Q4 2012

Motorola Photon 4G (USA)

Devices that have no assigned dates (and no update guarantees)

Motorola Atrix/Atrix 4G (Asia Pacific, EMEA and LATAM)

Motorola Electrify (USA)

Motorola Photon 4G (Japan)

Motorola XOOM WiFi + 3G (Asia Pacific, EMEA and LATAM)

Motorola devices that will NOT get updated to Android 4.0

Motorola Admiral

Motorola Charm

Motorola DROID 3

Motorola DROID X2

Motorola Flipout

Motorola Milestone A854/A953

Motorola Milestone XT720/XT701/XT711

Motorola XT605

Motorola XT615 / XT685 / MOTOLUXE

Motorola XT882

Motorola MT870

Motorola Milestone 3

Motorola Milestone X2

Motorola Pro+

Motorola Devour

Motorola Cliq XT

Motorola i1

Motorola Dext

Motorola Quench MB501/XT5 XT502/XT3 XT502

Motorola Defy Mini

Motorola Defy MB525 (Europe & MEA) 

How much the Google buyout of Motorola will affect the release schedule is anyone’s guess. Google is very good at raising the bar, so we hope they lay some Google ambition on Motorola’s organization.

Keep up the good performance of Motorola’s line up of smartphones with device protection accessories like sleeves, cases, and skins. Keep them charged and ready to carry out their duties with desktop chargers, wall chargersand car chargers at prices that will prove you can afford more than you think.

By: Aldo Panessidi

Android 4.0 was first seen on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus six months ago. Still, millions of Android device owners are waiting for their Ice Cream Sandwich.  Thanks to the folks at Engaget, we have a list of the official downloads for the most popular legacy devices that have ICS, as well as those that the manufacturers have promised updates for in the future.

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Samsung 

Samsung has done the best job so far at adding Ice Cream Sandwich to many of their unlocked devices -- the  Samsung Galaxy S 2 in particular. Samsung’s list shows a lot more on their way, but updates to branded devices seem to stall in carrier-specific testing. Galaxy Tab users outside of Canada are still waiting for ICS.

Available Now

Galaxy S 2 (unlocked, Canada)

Galaxy S 2 LTE (unlocked, Canada)

Galaxy S 2 X (Canada)

Galaxy S 2 HD LTE (Canada)

Galaxy Note (unlocked, Canada)

Nexus S (unlocked)

Nexus S 4G (Sprint)

Galaxy Tab 7.0 (Canada)

Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus (Canada)

Galaxy Tab 8.9 (Canada)

Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Canada)

Coming Soon

Galaxy S 2 (AT&T, T-Mo, Sprint)

Galaxy Note (AT&T)

Galaxy S II Skyrocket (AT&T)

Galaxy S Blaze 4G (T-Mo)

Captivate Glide (AT&T)

Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus (unlocked, T-Mo, WiFi)

Galaxy Tab 7.7 (unlocked, VZW)

Galaxy Tab 8.9 (unlocked, AT&T, WiFi)

Galaxy Tab 10.1 (unlocked,T-Mo, VZW, WiFi)

Galaxy R

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HTC 

HTC offers two different versions of Sense on ICS: Sense 4 for phones natively supporting ICS, and another for legacy devices. If you own one of the devices listed below, you'll have Sense 3.6, the "lighter" iteration that stays true to the UI's older look.

Available Now

Sensation

Sensation XE

Sensation 4G (T-Mobile)

Vivid (AT&T)

Velocity 4G (Australia)

Coming Soon

Amaze 4G (T-Mobile)

EVO 3D (Sprint, Virgin Mobile)

Rezound (VZW)

Desire S

Desire HD

EVO Design 4G (Sprint, Boost)

Incredible S / Incredible 2 (unlocked, VZW)

Raider 4G

Rhyme

Thunderbolt (VZW)

Sensation XL

Sony 

Sony is finally rolling out ICS. They plan to push Android 4.0 to all 2011 Xperia smartphones. Sony has a forum post that goes into details on models that have already been upgraded.

Available Now

Xperia Ray

Xperia arc S

Xperia neo V

Tablet S

Coming Soon

Xperia S

Xperia arc

Xperia Play

Xperia neo

Xperia mini

Xperia mini pro

Xperia pro

Xperia active

Xperia U

Xperia P

Xperia sola

Xperia ion (AT&T)

Tablet P

Live with Walkman

Motorola 

Motorola has a forum page for progress on each device. A large number of phones and tablets not on this list are still in "evaluation and planning" stages. By that, Motorola means they are under consideration for receiving ICS, but not all of them will see it. The devices below will get an upgrade.

Available Now

Xoom WiFi (USA)

Coming Soon

Atrix 2 (AT&T)

Atrix 4G (AT&T)

Droid Bionic (VZW)

Droid RAZR (VZW)

Droid RAZR Maxx (VZW)

RAZR (unlocked)

Droid 4 (VZW)

Xoom (WiFi global, Family Edition USA)

Xoom 2 / Xoom 2 Media Edition (unlocked)

Xyboard 8.2 / Xyboard 10.1 (VZW)

Photon 4G

MT917 (China)

XT928 (China)

LG 

LG is taking its time getting ICS to its legacy devices. The company has plans for most of its latest handsets, but only a few phones will get ICS before the end of June. The rest will have to wait until the third quarter.

Available Now

None

Coming Soon

Optimus LTE

Optimus 2X

Optimus Sol

Prada by LG 3.0

myTouch Q

Eclipse

Spectrum (VZW)

Lucid (VZW)

Viper (Sprint)

Nitro HD (AT&T)

Optimus 3D

Optimus Black

Optimus Big

Optimus Q2

Optimus EX

A series of images uploaded by a software engineer and program manager with Motorola Mobility show what looks to be a DROID RAZR with HD design. The pictures show EXIF data specs for a “DROID RAZR HD“ handset that runs Android 4.0.3 and has a camera equipped with a f/2.4 aperture camera.

Now the question becomes, is the DROID RAZR HD really the DROID Fighter that is expected soon on Verizon Wireless shelves? The leaked specs for a DROID RAZR HD come on the heels of an image of what is believed to be the DROID Fighter, an image that surfaced on a Chinese blog forum in March.

If the rumors are true, one of the most exciting features about this phone is the battery. The device is said to be equipped with the same monstrous 3,300 mAh battery used by the RAZR MAXX. This design may also be the appearance of the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

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The image don’t show Android navigation buttons found on earlier RAZR models, so this may indicate that the handset uses the on-screen buttons found in the Ice Cream Sandwich. Add on a 4.6-inch high-definition display, and this phone is sweet.

By Aldo Panessidi

Is Samsung to have its tiara and sash taken away? Will Google choose another manufacturer to make the next Nexus handset and dethrone the reigning queen? And, *gasp* could it be an underdog victory for LG, the manufacturer that has had its fits and starts with Android smartphones?

If chosen, the lagging manufacturer would get early access to the next gen version of Android which means great buzz, great press and great sales. Samsung has been a perfect example of this success model by being the vendor bringing us the two latest Nexus devices: the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus. With experience working with Google and new, major Android OS version upgrades, there are a fair number positives in the incumbent’s favor. So if they have ushered in a Nexus for Gingerbread and now Ice Cream Sandwich, will they also be cobranded with Jellybean?

And how will LG Mobile win the bid when Samsung sold an impressive 300 million cell phones last year and is continually vying for top-smartphone brand ranking in the US? Honestly, the more likely competition will come from Google internally and its latest acquisition-in-the-works: Motorola Mobility. The tech conglomerate has made reassurances that it would not play favorites with Motorola, but… really? How would that make business sense?

If Google does opt to dole out Nexus rights to an external manufacturer, the status will not be quite so dramatic as Motorola would still get the perk of early iteration to next gen Android OS. And, by all accounts the company’s engineering and software teams will likely work closely post-acquisition which put Motorola in a position to help shape the Android platform. There is the question of how will peripheral devices, accessory appeal and that brand association affect these contenders and what will they bring to the table in terms of docking stations and power options to garner more attention and press?

What LG does have in its favor (despite notorious custom Android skins that have not won over customers) is their marked improvements from past years to this year’s MWC showing which introduced the optimistically improved LG Optimus 4X.  This shows ambition and a willingness to put in the work. A little bit of gumption, elbow grease, and a good ole fashioned Hail Mary Pass maybe do the trick for LG.