While the company has already started rolling out Android 4.0 update for select phone in 2011 Xperia line-up, the Xperia S users have been waiting tirelessly for the update on their smartphone. The update would be rolled-out OTA and also via the PC Companion software.

Originally showcased at CES 2012 and released in India last month is currently running on Android 2.3. It features 1.5GHz dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, 12.1 MP rear camera, front camera and 4.3 inch 720p display.

The ICS update is expected to boost the smartphone performance overall and would certainly make it more enticing for the consumers.

via

The specifications are same as they were leaked yesterday – 3.5-inch HVGA display, 600MHz Qualcomm processor, 5MP camera and 512MB of RAM.

It will also come with Beats Audio integration, Android 4.0 and HTC Sense 4.0. There is no word on India launch right now.

Full Press Release:

New HTC Desire C – brilliant, entertaining and well connected
LONDON, UK — 15 May 2012 — Following on from the successful launch of the HTC One series, HTC, a global designer of smartphones, today unveiled its latest phone, the HTC Desire C. Featuring Beats Audio™ technology, this premium designed, yet affordable smartphone, allows you to hear your music just as the artist intended. The HTC Desire C also enables you to easily manage your professional and personal lives and share the moments that shape them.

Available in red, white and black, and coming with HTC Sense 4.0 integrated with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the HTC Desire C is great as a first smartphone or for those upgrading from an existing one. Packing a powerful battery and offering access to thousands of apps, games, music and movies – available through Google Play – you will always be connected and entertained whether at work, home or on the move.

“Listening to music is one of the most popular things people use their phones for, so it’s more important than ever that we deliver the power and emotion artists capture in the studio,” said Jason Mackenzie, President, Global Sales and Marketing for HTC Corporation. “The HTC Desire C offers customers excellent design, easy access to content and fast connectivity – making it the perfect all round device.”

Authentic sound without compromise

The HTC Desire C features a powerful, yet rich studio-quality sound experience that is enabled through the combination of optimized Beats Audio and amazing hardware. This integration enables a rich, clear audio experience to customers no matter if they’re listening to music or playing a game.

Premium design taken to a new level

Combining a durable metal frame with precision engineering, the HTC Desire C is ideal for those who want a premium-designed phone. Boasting a micro-drilled earpiece for sharp in-call sound, hyper-viewing angle display and metal camera bezel, this compact smartphone offers an unrivalled level of design and user-experience for its class.

Designed for sharing

Packing the latest mobile technology into a neat, eye-catching design, HTC Desire C’s vibrant 3.5-inch HVGA screen makes it easy to browse the Web, view photos or connect with friends and family. If you like to share personal experiences with your social network, HTC Desire C’s 5 megapixel camera and instant sharing capabilities will allow you to post any moment, seconds after it was captured.

Through HTC Desire C’s deep integration of Dropbox and 25GB of free online space[i], you also have the freedom to securely back-up, browse and share thousands of photos, videos and documents, whether stored locally or in the cloud.

Ensuring that HTC Desire C keeps pace with new mobile services as they become available there is also an NFC variant of this model, allowing users to make payments or access information and offers.

The specifications aren’t earth-shattering, but Desire C will be running on Android 4.0, which is a pleasant change from other manufacturers that are yet to announce a budget Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone till now.

Other features of the Desire C include a 600MHz processor, 3.5 inch 480x320p resolution display, 4GB of internal memory and a 5MP rear camera.

It is expected to launch around €200 ($260), which would translate to an HTC Explorer like pricing in the Indian market. While, there is no word on the exact launch date, we would expect India to be in the first list of countries getting Desire C, as the company did with HTC Explorer, another budget Android smartphone from the company.

HTC Desire C

HTC / Android 4.0

Add to Comparison

via GSMArena

ViewPhone 3 features 800MHz processor, 3.5 inch 480x320p resolution capacitive display, 5MP rear camera, 512MB of RAM, 512MB of internal memory and 1500 mAh battery.

Company has partnered with Reliance Digital to sell this dual-SIM phone at its outlets in the country. It will join the already existing dual-SIM smartphones from Samsung, LG, Micromax and Spice in under INR 10,000 price segment.

We spent some time with the smartphone and it worked decently. Device seemed a little laggy at first because of the 3D UI pre-loaded by the company, but after putting a third party launcher, that lag was gone. Browsing experience was also fine. One of the plus points for the smartphone is multi-touch support but the poor resolution of the display mars the experience.

Powered by 1GHz dual core processor, Xperia sola is expected to launch as early as May 18, as per the pre-order listing on Infibeam. The pricing of the smartphone is still now confirmed as Flipkart and Infibeam, both have listed different prices like INR 19,999 and INR 22,999 respectively.

It will be joined by Xperia U from the company in the mid-range smartphone segment, which is likely to become available sooner than sola.

Here is quick comparison between the two to help you decide.

Thanks Samar | inputs from TG

Originally announced back in March, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 310 7-inch display, HSPA+ , 1GHz Dual Core processor, 3 MP Camera on the rear and a VGA front facing camera.

It is expected to be priced aggressively to take on the recent flood of low-cost tablets from several Indian manufacturers. At launch, this will be the first Ice Cream Sandwich tablet from the company in the Indian market.

In other news, Samsung is also set to start the sales of Galaxy Advance from May 16 in the country. It was recently announced along with Galaxy Pocket.

via

We are not sure if this is a permanent price-cut or just a short term offer, so if you are inclined to buy it, don’t wait.

To remind you, LG Optimus 3D features 4.3 inch WVGA glasses-free 3D display, 1GHz dual core processor, dual 5MP cameras for 3D recording, Android 2.3 and a 1500 mAh battery.

Thanks Mashhood, kneerudge

Sony India has already announced it with Xperia S last month in the country, so we are just waiting for the official availability date.

We are looking at two prices right now; Letsbuy has listed INR 17,399, while Flipkart is showing just INR 16,499. We would suggest you to wait for it to become available to get the right pricing.

Sony Xperia U runs on Android 2.3, but will be upgraded to Android 4.0 in the coming months. Other features of the smartphone include 1GHz dual core processor, 5MP rear camera, VGA front camera, 3.5-inch capacitive display with 854X480p resolution, 512MB RAM, and 8GB of internal storage.

via  | Thanks Mashhood Ahmad

It further stated that the smartphone will be priced at INR 38,000, while the street price is likely to be in the vicinity of INR 34,000. The pricing is in-line with HTC’s One X, which is also the direct competitor to Galaxy S III.

To remind you, Samsung Galaxy S III features a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display, 1.4GHz quad core processor, 8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front camera and Android 4.0 with Touchwiz Nature UX.

Samsung is also planning big marketing push for Galaxy S III in the India and Delhi is part of company’s world tour featuring the smartphone.

Coming to the juicy details, Samsung Galaxy S III sports a 4.8–inch 720p display, 1.4GHZ Exynos 4 quad core processor, Android 4.0, include 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, 16 or 32GB of storage with microSD expansion, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with GLONASS, 802.11n Wi-Fi, NFC, and a 2,100mAh battery.

As the event is happening live right now in London, we will adding more and more interesting details, so keep coming back to check more.

The previous version of the smartphone ‘Galaxy S II’ was a big hit and Samsung has shipped over 20 million units of the smartphone.

Full Press Release

Samsung Introduces the GALAXY S III, the Smartphone

Designed for Humans and Inspired by Nature

Effortlessly smart and intuitively simple,

Samsung GALAXY S III reveals a new concept of smartphone

London, UK-May 3, 2012-Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced today the third generation GALAXY S, the GALAXY S III. Designed for humans and inspired by nature, the GALAXY S III is a smartphone that recognizes your voice, understands your intention, and lets you share a moment instantly and easily.

This sleek and innovative smartphone has the enhanced intelligence to make everyday life easier. With Samsung GALAXY S III, you can view the content like never before on the device’s 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display. An 8MP camera and a 1.9MP front camera offer users a variety of intelligent camera features and face recognition related options that ensure all moments are captured easily and instantly. Samsung GALAXY S III is powered by Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, with greatly enhanced usability and practicality to make life easier. Packed with intuitive technology, the GALAXY S III delivers a uniquely personalized mobile experience that refuses to be compromised.

“With the GALAXY S III, Samsung has maximized the consumer benefits by integrating superior hardware with enhanced smartphone usability,” said JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. “Designed to be both effortlessly smart and intuitively simple, the GALAXY S III has been created with our human needs and capabilities in mind. What makes me most proud is that it enables one of the most seamless, natural and human-centric mobile experiences, opening up a new horizon that allows you to live a life extraordinary.”

Introducing Natural Interaction

The GALAXY S III enhances the interaction experience between the device and user. Smart enough to detect your face, voice and motions, the GALAXY S III adapts to the individual user to provide a more convenient and natural experience. With the innovative ‘Smart stay’ feature, the GALAXY S III recognizes how you are using your phone – reading an e-book or browsing the web for instance – by having the front camera identify your eyes; the phone maintains a bright display for continued viewing pleasure.

The GALAXY S III features ‘S Voice,’ the advanced natural language user interface, to listen and respond to your words. In addition to allowing information search and basic device-user communication, S Voice presents powerful functions in regards to device control and commands. When your phone alarm goes off but you need a little extra rest, just tell the GALAXY S III “snooze.” You can also use S Voice to play your favorite songs, turn the volume up or down, send text messages and emails, organize your schedules, or automatically launch the camera and capture a photo.

In addition to recognizing your face and voice, the GALAXY S III understands your motions to offer maximized usability. If you are messaging someone but decide to call them instead, simply lift your phone to your ear and ‘Direct call’ will dial their number. With ‘Smart alert,’ the GALAXY S III will also save you from trouble by catching any missed messages or calls; your phone will vibrate to notify missed statuses when picked up after being idle.

Easy and Instant Sharing

The Samsung GALAXY S III is more than a personal device that can be enjoyed by one user – it wants you to share and experience smartphone benefits with family and friends, regardless of where you are. With the new ‘S Beam,’ the GALAXY S III expands upon Android™ Beam™, allowing a 1GB movie file to be shared within three minutes and a 10MB music file within two seconds by simply touching another GALAXY S III phone, even without a Wi-Fi or cellular signal. The ‘Buddy photo share’ function also allows photos to be easily and simultaneously shared with all your friends pictured in an image directly from the camera or the photo gallery.

With ‘AllShare Cast’, users can wirelessly connect their GALAXY S III to their television to immediately transfer smartphone content onto a larger display. ‘AllShare Play’ can be also used to instantly share any forms of files between GALAXY S III and your tablet, PC, and televisions regardless of the distance between the devices. Under AllShare Play is also the ‘Group Cast’ feature that allows you to share your screen among multiple friends on the same Wi-Fi network; you can make comments and draw changes at the same time with your co-workers, witnessing real-time sharing on your individual device.

Human-centric Design with Uncompromised Performance

The GALAXY S III not only presents features with enhanced usability, but also provides an ergonomic and comfortable experience through its human-centric design. Its comfortable grip, gentle curves, and organic form deliver a rich human-centric feel and design. Inspired by nature, its design concept is the flow and movement of nature. The elements of wind, water and light are all evoked in the physical construct of the GALAXY S III. In its essence, the minimal organic design identity is reflected in the smooth and non-linear lines of the device. Available in Pebble Blue and Marble White at launch, Samsung will introduce a variety of additional color options.

With a 4.8″ HD Super AMOLED display, the GALAXY S III offers a large and vivid viewing experience. Samsung Mobile’s heritage Super AMOLED display even enhances to HD and 16:9 wider viewing angles. To ensure faster content sharing and connectivity, the GALAXY S III offers Wi-Fi Channel Bonding which doubles the Wi-Fi bandwidth.

The GALAXY S III also sports a range of additional features that boost performance and the overall user experience in entirely new ways. It introduces ‘Pop up play,’ a feature that allows you to play a video anywhere on your screen while simultaneously running other tasks, eliminating the need to close and restart videos when checking new emails or surfing the Web. Its 8MP camera features a zero-lag shutter speed that lets you capture moving objects easily without delay – the image you see is the picture you take. With the ‘Burst shot’ function that instantly captures twenty continuous shots, and the ‘Best photo’ feature that selects the best of eight photographs for you, the GALAXY S III ensures users a more enhanced and memorable camera experience. HD video can be recorded even with the 1.9MP front-facing camera, which you can use to capture a video of yourself. Improved backside illumination further helps to eliminate blur in photos that result from shaking, even under low lights.

Mobile payment is also accessible with the device through advanced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The gaming experience is enhanced through ‘Game Hub,’ providing access to numerous social games, while Video Hub brings users high quality TV and movies. Furthermore, Samsung Music Hub will offer a personal music streaming service. Game Hub, Video Hub and Music Hub will be introduced in select countries initially and soon rolled out to global markets.

The Samsung GALAXY S III will be available from the end of May in Europe before rolling out to other markets globally.

Samsung GALAXY S III Product Specifications

Network

2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz3G (HSPA+ 21Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

4G (Dependent on market)

Display

4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED (1280×720) display

OS

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Camera

Main(Rear): 8 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Flash & Zero Shutter Lag, BSI

Sub (Front): 1.9 Mega pixel camera, HD recording @30fps with Zero Shutter Lag, BSI

Video

Codec: MPEG4, H.264, H.263, DivX, DivX3.11, VC-1, VP8, WMV7/8, Sorenson Spark

Recording & Playback: Full HD (1080p)

Audio

Codec: MP3, AMR-NB/WB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, OGG, FLAC, AC-3, apt-X

Additional

Features

S Beam, Buddy photo share, Share shot

AllShare Play, AllShare Cast

Smart stay, Social tag, Group tag, Face zoom, Face slide show

Direct call, Smart alert, Tap to top, Camera quick access

Pop up play

S Voice

Burst shot & Best photo, Recording snapshot, HDR

Google™ Mobile Services

Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude

Google Play Store, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies

Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk,

Google Places, Google Navigation, Google Downloads

Connectivity

WiFi a/b/g/n, WiFi HT40

GPS/GLONASS

NFC

Bluetooth® 4.0(LE)

Sensor

Accelerometer, RGB light, Digital compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer

Memory

16/ 32GB User memory (64GB available soon) + microSD slot (up to 64GB)

Dimension

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm, 133g

Battery

2,100 mAh