Sharp Pantone 5 ICS Smartphone a Sure Hit in Post-Fukushima Japan

It is rare to see Japan-made smartphones with full touch screens, but with the growing popularity of the iPhone in the country, domestic companies need to catch up as their customers begin throwing away their clam shell feature phones. Sharp introduces its Ice Cream Sandwich-based iPhone rival. The Pantone 5 features a 3.7-inch touch display with 854 x 480 resolution, a 4-megapixel rear camera, 0.3-megapixel front shooter, and it is built to withstand dust and water splashes.

Gadget.com, Sharp Pantone 5 ICS Smartphone a Sure Hit in Post-Fukushima Japan

Photos of the next iPhone panels reveal larger screen, metal back

After all the rumors of the next iPhone getting a 4-inch display, we finally get to see a glimpse of what the end result might look like. Acquired by 9to5mac from a Chinese iPhone parts supplier, the allegedly authentic photos below show the next Apple smartphone from both the front and the back. Most notably, it looks like the width of the phone hasn't been altered and the phone is much taller. As a result, according to various sources the resolution is 1136 x 640 pixels, making the screen 3.99 inches in diagonal.

The next major change is the back, which is now almost fully metal with only a small part of the top and bottom being glass.



GSM Arena, Photos of the next iPhone panels reveal larger screen, metal back

Remote controlled Café receives instructions from smartphones

“There is an app for that”, or so the saying goes. I suppose that this is a fact, as smartphones get more and more powerful over time, gaining additional functionality with its greater array of electronics inside. Swedish agency Perfect Fools (what a cute name) came up with the concept of an Internet controlled Café Kauko for a couple of months during World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, where Tony Sajdak mentioned, “We wanted to show people how much design affected their everyday lives. Highlighting good design seemed easier by demonstrating how bad design could be!".

Ubergizmo

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gadgeter, Remote controlled Café receives instructions from smartphones

HTC Sensation XL update being rolled out across some of Europe

The HTC Sensation XL in Europe seems to be joining the Ice Cream Sandwich party as the device is now seeing rollouts across parts of Europe. Those with the unlocked device in many countries should be able to pull down the 197MB update over-the-air, and those on Three seem to be the first with a carrier-specific phone to be seeing the update. It’s odd that they’re seeing it so soon, but we’re no less excited for them. You’ll want to connect to WiFi and see if the update is headed your way ASAP. Let us know if it is.

Android Phone, HTC Sensation XL update being rolled out across some of Europe

Judge denies that woman can be held accountable for her “electronic presence” in texting-while-driving accident

Last week we reported that a woman was currently being sued as being responsible in a texting-while-driving car accident involving a motorbike. It does sound pretty straightforward but in case you might have missed our coverage, here's the kicker – the woman was not the one behind the wheel, but rather she was the one sending the text messages to the person behind the wheel (her boyfriend). According to the victims' lawyer, she is just as guilty since her messages were apparently written in such a way that it required a response.

Ubergizmo, Judge denies that woman can be held accountable for her “electronic presence” in texting-while-driving accident

Guild Wars 2 second beta weekend to take place on June 8th noon PDT

Some time last week, we reported that ArenaNet had confirmed that they would not be using the Memorial Day long weekend as their second Guild Wars 2 beta weekend. We're sure that this bummed out many Guild Wars 2 players, and if you were worried that it might be a while before you see the next beta weekend, fret not as ArenaNet has come forward officially via their blog and has announced that come Friday, June 8th, players with beta access to Guild Wars 2 will be able to partake in the second beta weekend. The beta weekend is expected to run from noon PDT until Sunday, June 10th at 11:59pm PDT.

Ubergizmo, Guild Wars 2 second beta weekend to take place on June 8th noon PDT

I've got you under my skin: Huawei to cover Android in new Emotion UI

In the animal kingdom, reptiles shed their skins. In the mobile marketplace, Android smartphones do just the opposite. So, in keeping with the natural order, Huawei's preparing a June coming out party for a UX of its very own, dubbed Emotion UI. The Chinese manufacturer's no stranger to custom interfaces, as we saw at CES 2012 with the optional 3D launcher it employed on the Ascend P line. But as the company continues its trek towards major mobile player status, certain stock perks were sure to fall by the wayside.

2DayBlog.com, I've got you under my skin: Huawei to cover Android in new Emotion UI