LG Optimus 2X finally gets the Gingerbread update

We recently reported that LG would be rolling out the Gingerbread update to the LG Optimus 2X and according to reports online it looks like the update has started to arrive. So for those of you living in Europe or you purchased the international/unlocked version of this phone - start looking out for the notification to update on your phone. That's assuming you haven't already flashed a custom ROM for Android 2.3.

There's no word on whether those with subsidized/locked devices will be getting the update, but hey - at least some Optimus 2X owners can enjoy the official update, which is better than nothing. With the Gingerbread update set in place, let's hope that Optimus 2X owners won't have to wait this long for the Ice Cream Sandwich update once it's finally released.

In addition to releasing the Android 2.3 update for the Optimus 2X, LG has also announced the same update for the Optimus 3D and Optimus Black which should get it on the weeks commencing November 21st and 28th respectively. And yes, these dates are for unlocked/Europe versions of the phone.

Nokia 600 cancelled

A few months ago Nokia announced the launch of its “loudest smartphone to date” - the Nokia 600. Well for those of you that were waiting for the entertainment-filled phone with super loud speakers, we've got some bad news for you: Nokia has cancelled the phone. It all started when some people noticed that web pages dedicated to the phone were silently removed from the Nokia servers, and the Nokia developer website didn't have any mention of it. Even videos featuring the phone were removed from the Nokia YouTube channels.

If there wasn't the official announcement previously, it would have appeared as if the phone never existed in the first place. Well, a concerned fan recently asked about the phone on Nokia's Facebook wall and the Finnish mobile giant gave him a reply: “The thing is, after careful consideration, we have decided not to ship the Nokia 600.”

They didn't give any reason to their decision, but it looks like we definitely won't be seeing it anymore. Given Nokia's commitment to Windows Phone now, we wouldn't be surprised if other announced Symbian devices get axed along the way. Farewell Nokia 600, we hardly knew you.

T-Mobile's Nokia Lumia 710 is codenamed Sword

We all know that the Nokia Lumia 710 has already gone through the FCC while supporting T-Mobile's radios, so it is a given that the smartphone will be arriving Stateside via that carrier next January, although T-Mobile decided to keep things under wraps by calling it ‘Sword' as a nickname. I guess this kind of covert operations, so to speak, is not going to help much in this day and age.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is understandably the lesser of the two Windows Phone devices which was recently announced by Nokia at Nokia World 2011, where it will come in a bevy of colors if you happen to switch the back cover, of course, while the front leaves you with but two boring choices – black or white. It seems that T-Mobile's strategy with the Nokia Lumia 710 would be to penetrate the entry-level segment. As for the rest of the system specifications, you might want to read up on our past coverage of the Lumia 710.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Is Rooted

You don’t own one yet, but you can sure as heck root the Samsung Galaxy Nexus when you do. Android wizard Paul O’Brien of MoDaCo fame has put together a “Superbot” program that installs a new boot image the GNex, rooting it upon startup. Doesn’t get much easier than that, but if it still seems difficult, remember: you still have at least two more weeks to work out exactly how you are going to root your Galaxy Nexus, be it through the use of mockups, sketches, simulations, or what have you. It won’t be necessary but it never hurts to be prepared.

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc HD in the works?

If you're wondering about what Sony Ericsson could be up to next, well there's a chance that it's working on a sequel to its current flagship phone - the Xperia arc. According to GSMArena who was tipped off by a reader, there is going to be a Sony Ericsson Xperia arc HD. The phone will feature a 720p HD display, and will support 1080p HD video recording.  The Xperia arc HD is also said to be able to capture full-res photographs while recording video - just like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

The phone is also said to be blazing fast - and judging by the phone's speculated 720p HD display and full HD video recording, we're pretty sure it's going to pack a dual-core processor. It should also be running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. While there's no solid proof of the existence of such a phone, we'll just have to wait and see if it turns out to be real. The Xperia arc HD is expected to be announced at the MWC in Barcelona, February 2012.

HTC Rezound hands-on

As expected, the HTC made the Rezound official at today's event in New York. Also, as expected, this is one multimedia-centric phone we're looking at here, starting with its big and bright 4.3-inch 720p display. Despite its decently large screen size, the phone is surprisingly light and feels nice in the hand. Unlike Motorola and Samsung, however, the company wasn't all that focused on thinness with the Rezound, and the thing rocks a slightly convex back - not unlike the HTC Vivid on AT&T, which has a prominent hump on the back cover. However you slice it, though, it's a great looking phone. The company clearly put some though into the appearance of the device, with its textured back featuring red accents as a reference to the company's partnership with Beats.

Unfortunately, the company wasn't showing off those custom Beats earbuds for our demo, and we had to settle for an over-ear pair - naturally, we rocked a little Dre on the thing. As you'd expect, the sound is extremely bass-heavy. You can thank Beats for that, no doubt. The music continues to play, even as you launch other apps, which can be bit a distracting when you're trying to stream a video using the phone's LTE radio. For the record, that video loaded quite quickly.

The latest version of Sense (3.5) - last seen on the HTC Rhyme - runs smoothly here, thanks to 1.5GHz processor inside. Flipping through apps is breezy, as is launching the camera app the company talked up during today's event. The Rezound is coming at you on Verizon November 14th for $299. Until then, have a gander at our gallery of preview shots

HTC Rezound Preview

“Best in sight and sound” is how HTC is marketing the Rezound. With a beautiful HD screen, Beats audio and a hefty 8-megapixel camera, HTC's going where no other smartphone has gone before – up and beyond what consumers expect. We had a brief hands-on with the Rezound after its announcement and here are our thoughts. Click on for the full preview of HTC's next great Android smartphone.

Specifications 4.3-inch screen (720p HD)

Android 2.3 Gingerbread (HTC Sense, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-ready)

1.5GHz dual-core processor

8-megapixel camera

32GB Storage (16GB flash / 16GB micro SD)

1GB of RAM

Verizon 4G LTE

Design The Rezound takes its design cues from the Droid Incredible 2 – even the inside, which is made of red translucent plastic is breathtaking. I've never had any reason to really look inside of a smartphone, but now I do.

The Rezound's translucent red innards are gorgeous.

Another view of the inside with the 16GB micro SD inside.

As you can see in the shot above, the battery is hot swappable. It's a 1,620 mAh battery in there.

Very nice texturized grip on the back.

Standard Android home buttons here.

The back sports a texturized grip and a very simple Beats logo. It almost feels like a darker Thunderbolt tossed into a blender with an Incredible. You'll also see that it tapers ever so slightly on its butt. It's significantly thicker than the iPhone 4 (nearly twice as thick), but the build quality doesn't feel cheap which makes not feel extra bulky in your front pants pocket.

There's a slight taper there. Can you see it?

The Rezound is thicker than the iPhone 4

Display 4.3-inch 1280x720 display

This is the first smartphone with a 4.3-inch HD 720p display that HTC is releasing. It's on par with the Galaxy Nexus's 1280 x 720 display. It's fantastic. When I checked out the Droid RAZR, I thought its qHD was already a huge notch above the rest of the smartphones out there, but HTC's really hit a home run with the Rezound. Video has really never looked so good on a smartphone.

The entire screen really engulfs everything and is the centerpiece to making the Rezound one of the best mobile devices available.

Performance HTC Sense 3.5

The Rezound is runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with the latest HTC Sense 3.5 skin. It doesn't have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but HTC said the smartphone is shipping as ICS-ready, meaning it'll get it ASAP when Google finalizes it. From our hands-on, we can proudly report that the 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM definitely never lagged. The Rezound is really fast and responsive. Though, to be fair, what dual-core smartphone that isn't a piece of junk isn't these days?

HTC said it was gracious to help kickstart the 4G LTE revolution with its lineup of smartphones such as the Thunderbolt and it follows through to the Rezound. HTC touts being able to download an audio track in four seconds via 4G LTE. We'll have to wait to review the Rezound it before making any judgments on data speed performance.

With 32GB of storage (16GB internal + 16GB micro SD), the Rezound is definitely not lacking.

Camera 8-megapixel with dual LED flash

One of the problems that HTC says its smartphones lag behind is in camera quality. With the Rezound, HTC aims to fix that with an 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 lens that can take great photos in extremely low light. Couple that with the dual LED flashes and pictures should look sharp.

How's the video recording? Keeping up with what's already on the market, the Rezound has 1080p HD video recording.

2-megapixel front facing camera

Neat features like Action Burst, Instant Capture, Panorama, Slow-motion various effects to pictures and video to share the moment as it takes place in real time round out the Rezound's camera. Impressive indeed.

Various photo effects. It's like a built-in Instagram!

See how it's warping in real time? Effects work live for video and photos.

Sound Beats audio earbuds included in the box.

One of the major features that HTC is playing up on the Rezound is it Beats Audio sound. After buying a 51 percent stake in Beats in August, HTC's worked hard to revolutionize mobile audio. By integrating Beats audio into the Rezound, HTC's managed to “figure out the degradation of sound” on the mobile phone.

We gave the Rezound a quick listen and it does sound kind of deeper, but we can't be sure how much of an improvement the audio really is over the pumping speakers at this HTC event. It does also have intelligent acoustic switching, so it automatically optimizes the sound based on what you're doing. Or you can do it manually (see below).

Toggle Beats audio when you want that extra oomph in your music.

Right in the box, you'll aso get a pair of slick looking Beats earbuds that'll allow owners to have quality sound, without the need to run out and drop $200+ for a decent pair.

Conclusion The Rezound drops in the U.S for Verizon on November 14 and will be in Verizon online shops, Verizon retail stores and Best Buy for $299.99 with two-year contract. My overall impression is that the HTC Rezound is a beast. It's fast, it's slick, it's backed by Beats audio, and that display is to die for. This is going to be a fantastic smartphone.

Windows Phone surprise next week

Microsoft has announced on the official Windows Phone blog that it has something special in store for us next Monday. The only hint that was given in the blog post is that it's going to be something fun, and they're going to bring Windows Phone to life in a “big, big, way.” For some reason the idea of a giant Windows Phone bouncing castle just springs to mind but hey, what do I know? Anyway, if you happen to be in New York City, check out Herald Square on Monday (November 7th) at noon to see what the fuss is all about. Be sure to let us know if we haven't reported about it already by then.

Any guesses to what this “big, big” surprise could be?

Rogers' Samsung Galaxy S II LTE Shipments Are In, Expected to Ship Within a Week

Just as Rogers expected, they have gotten their shipments of the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE in this week for use on their network. While they currently have the shipment, you know logistics dictates when they can actually ship devices to consumers and make them available in-store. Fortunately, they say the timeframe of “within a week” hasn’t changed at this point, though anything can happen between now and whenever. At least we know you all won’t have to wait long into the autumn days for it. [via MobileSyrup]

HTC Rezound Is Now Official

HTC and Verizon Wireless have officially announced the HTC Rezound at the HTC event in New York City. Powered by the Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, the smartphone comes jam packed with a 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a fast 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 dual-core processor, a 1GB of RAM, a 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS and a 1,620mAh battery. The HTC Rezound features an 8-megapixel rear-facing AutoFocus camera to capture special moments and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls. The HTC Rezound is also known as the first smartphone in the US with Beats Audio integration. Other specs include Verizon 4G LTE and 4G hotspot capability for up to 10 devices. The HTC Rezound will be released on November 14th, 2011 for $299.99 with a 2-year contract. Each purchase comes equipped with a 16GB microSD card. [Ubergizmo]