Ads within Android apps found to consume 75% of the app's power

A team of researchers from Purdue University and Microsoft have made a rather starling discovery. It seems apart from being obnoxiously annoying, those pesky ads that pop-up within your Android apps are actually taking up to 75 percent of the app's total power consumption.

This result was found with the help of an energy profiler named EProf that can analyze the power consumption of a device by monitoring each and every app. The team performed this test on a Nexus One running Android 2.3 with some popular apps such as Angry Birds, FreeChess and the New York Times app.

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LG Optimus LTE P936 previewed before announcement

What we have here is yet another member of LG's ever-expanding Optimus LTE family. Called LG Optimus LTE P936, the smartphone isn't officially announced yet, but already got its first preview thanks to the guys from GSM Dome.

   
LG Optimus LTE P936 live shots

The LG Optimus LTE P936 is almost identical to the Korea-bound LG Optimus LTE SU640 in terms of both specs and design.

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Specs for Verizon-bound LG Lucid 4G droid leak

The leaked specs of the LG Lucid 4G mark the second LTE-enabled LG phone rumor for the day. TheLucid 4G (also known as Cayman) is a Gingerbread droid of the mid-range variety that is heading to Verizon.

It has a 4" NOVA IPS-LCD display with 480x800 and Gorilla glass protection. There's a 1.2GHz dual-core processor powering the LG Lucid 4G (the chipset isn't clear yet). There's also 8GB of built-in memory. 

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AT&T releases Android 4.0 update for the HTC Vivid

AT&T has started rolling out the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to all the HTC Vivid users in the US. Along with the usual Android 4.0 features such as Face Unlock, GPU-accelerated UI, homescreen folders, etc., users will also get the new Sense 3.6 UI along with Beats by Dr. Dre Audio.

But the HTC Vivid is not the only device that will be upgraded to Android 4.0. AT&T has revealed a list of handsets that will be getting updated as well in the coming months. It includes the following devices.

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Reuters: Apple iPhone 5 to launch in Q2 with a 4.6-inch LCD

We are still several months away from the iPhone 5 launch, but we are still getting the occasional rumor about the next Apple smartphone. We just got a particularly juicy one, courtesy ofReuters.

The international news agency quoted an unnamed industry source, who revealed in front of the South Korean Maeil Business newspaper that the next iPhone will be packing a huge 4.6" display. What's even more surprising, Apple will reportedly be unveiling it in Q2, merely 9 months after the 4S was announced.

Unfortunately, exciting as this rumor might all be, we seriously doubt its credibility. You see, switching from a 3.5" to a 4.6" display is as drastic a change as you can imagine and such drastic changes risk alienating some customers.

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1,000 people to lose their jobs at Nokia factory in Finland

As part of its plan to improve production efficiency, Nokia is axing 1,000 jobs in its plant in Salo, Finland.

The unpleasant talks have been discussed with all the staff in the Nokia plant and as a result, the job cuts will be made gradually throughout 2012. Nokia says most of the layoffs will be made in the end of June

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Samsung I9300 live photo surface, might be a disappointing S III

Another day, another Samsung Galaxy S III leak. Today we've got a live photo that's allegedly depicting the Samsung I9300 Android smartphone. The model number has previously been associated with the next Samsung flagship, though there's no confirmation that this is in fact the Galaxy S III.

With the Samsung Galaxy S lineup carrying I90xx model numbers, the S II series getting I91xx model numbers and the Galaxy Nexus leading the I92xx smartphones, it would make a lot of sense for the international Galaxy S III to get I9300. However, the pictured device looks nothing like those renderswe saw over the previous few days.

The screen bezel seems quite wide, so if the pictured smartphone really does have a 4.7" screen it will be quite large and hard to handle. Plus, the alleged I9300 obviously lacks the design sophistication that would befit a successor of the very successful Galaxy S II.

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Sony Xperia S granted access to the PlayStation store

The Sony Xperia S is a fully PlayStation certified device, though at launch it lacked access to the PlayStation Store - not any more though. Sony just opened the doors and let the Xperia S and Xperia Acro HD (the Japanese version of the S), but the others of the NXT lineup will have to wait.

The placeholder app will download two new apps to your Xperia S (or Acro HD) - PlayStation Store, where you get games, and the PS Pocket, which serves as a launcher for games. 

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