Sony Xperia Tablet Z available for preorder, includes free cradle offer

Preorder a 32GB version in white by May 24 to qualify for a free cradle

Sony has officially started taking preorders for its newest 10.1-inch Jelly Bean tablet, the Xperia Tablet Z. This incredibly thin, IR-sporting device was announced in late January, and shown off during the Mobile World Congress. It comes with a 'Full HD Reality Display' (1920x1200p WUXGA), 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB RAM, a 2MP camera up front, and an 8MP camera in the rear.

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Samsung announces the Galaxy Tab 3, 7-inches of mid-range tablet

Styled like the Galaxy Note 8.0, the Galaxy Tab 3 has more than a whiff of the mid-range about it

Samsung has pulled the wraps off their latest addition to the Galaxy Tab range with this, the new Galaxy Tab 3. This particular tablet is the 7-inch version, which will launch in a WiFi only flavor at the beginning of May. A 3G-enabled sibling will then follow in June. 

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Qualcomm-based Galaxy S4 models now have a root method

AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile versions can now be rooted with a simple tool

Well that certainly didn't take long, did it? With only AT&T's variant shipping to pre-order buyers, Sprint's launch mere hours away and T-Mobile's launch pushed back, we now have a root tool available for these Qualcomm-based Galaxy S4's. The tool, created by djrbliss over at XDA, which was originally made for Motorola devices seems to be working for these Galaxy S4 models as well. Many users in that forum thread are reporting that their devices are being successfully rooted with the tool, which simply takes a few steps of setup and running of a program to root the device.

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HTC First review

Is it just reference hardware for Facebook Home, or a true candidate for your next smartphone purchase?

There are few things in the mobile industry that have been constant over the last few years, but one that has is the rumor of a mythical "Facebook Phone." The idea of a phone that could only interact with people and services around Facebook didn't make a whole lot of sense to most people -- and apparently it didn't make much sense to Facebook itself either.  Because rather than a proper Facebook Phone, at a press conference on April 4th we were given this, the HTC First.

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LG launching Optimus F5 globally, starting with Europe

France the first European country to have the device; South and Central America to follow

The LG Optimus F5, which is the first of the new F Series devices to be unveiled, is ready for a global debut following its unveiling at MWC in Barcelona. The device, which is targeted at a mid-range price point but still packing some high-end design and LTE, is set to be available in France starting April 29th with a whole host of countries in Central and South America as well as Asia to follow. The F5 runs a Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core processor, has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, a 540x960 (qHD) 4.3-inch display, 5MP/1.3MP cameras and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. LG is also working hard to bring some of the interesting elements of the Optimus G down to these lower devices, with similar hardware design languages and UX improvements like QSlide and QTranslator.

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Iron Man 3 now available in Google Play

Iron Man 3 flies his way to Android, grab it for free from Google Play

Gameloft has published Iron Man 3 to Google Play this morning, bringing the Marvel hero to life on your Android phone or tablet. Fly your way through this endless runner meets on-rails shooter, fighting against A.I.M. forces in Malibu Shores, New York city, and China.

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Sprint Photon Q Jelly Bean update starts its roll out today

Jelly Bean and a long list of bug fixes highlight the OTA that begins today

Fans of the Motorola Photon Q have a reason to celebrate today, as Sprint and Motorola have released the Jelly Bean update for the slider. The 9.8.2Q-122_XT897_FFW-5 update brings the Photon Q to platform version Android 4.1, brings the Jelly Bean goodies like Project Butter and Google Now, and has a laundry list of fixes and patches. Here's that list:

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iBomber: The popular game comes to Android

A popular iOS game for years (yes, years) has finally made its way over to Android, and is packing many gameplay features that took two full game releases to hit the other platform. iBomber is a top-down plane bombing game set in the WWII era, with quality graphics and gameplay that won't blow you away but will certainly leave you satisfied. The game mechanics itself are simple to pick up, but are deceptively hard to master.

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Chrome Beta updated with better rendering and bug fixes

Page rendering performance and frequently occurring crashes addressed in today's update

Chrome Beta has been updated in Google Play this afternoon, and along with the usual (and often cryptic) fixes and enhancements, this version was specifically updated with an "Improvement to page rendering performance."  Here's the full list of changes, because we know some of you are into that sort of thing.

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Sony Announces Jelly Bean Android 4.1 for the Xperia P, Xperia go, and Xperia E dual

Sony started sending out updates to the Sony Xperia P, the Sony Xperia go, and the Sony Xperia E dual to bring the up to date on Android 4.1. The updates will be over-the-air except the Xperia go, which will need to be connected to Bridge for Mac or to a PC Companion.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 review

The Galaxy S4 represents a refinement of Samsung's earlier efforts, but is that enough to guarantee its success in the smartphone market of 2013?

Enter, the Samsung Galaxy S4. Despite the abundance of unique hardware from a wide variety of manufacturers, the smartphone space remains a two-horse race, dominated by Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy series. Arguably a triumph of marketing as much as technology, the Galaxy S3 emerged as the Android king in 2012, selling some 30 million units worldwide. Longtime foes HTC and Motorola struggled to compete with Samsung, and the Korean behemoth cemented its position as the alpha Android later in the year with the pen-toting Galaxy Note 2.

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Sony: Work on Jelly Bean for several Xperia phones in final stages

Sony says Jelly Bean is close for a range of 2012 Xperia phones via an official Twitter account

An official Sony Twitter account has spilled the beans on the upcoming Jelly Bean update for a handful of Xperia phones today. Users with an Xperia P, Xperia Go, Xperia S, Xperia SL, Xperia Arco S and Xperia Ion should be seeing Android 4.1 in short order, as work on the updates is in the final stage.

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How To: Root Your LG Nexus 4

Are you an Android user and love rooting as much as every other Android user does? And you happen to be having a LG Nexus 4 too? LG Nexus 4 is the best Android device till date that is released by the LG – Google combo. It is bundled with a quad-core processor and Android 4.2. And with rooting done, the possibilities are numerous. On rooting, you will be getting the root access to your Nexus 4, get the chance to install ultra cool root-only apps like Titanium Backup Pro and a lot more. The benefits that one gets on rooting an Android device are unimaginable and numerous.

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T-Mobile launching the Samsung Galaxy S4 from April 24

Highly anticipated Galaxy S4 to be available for $149.99 up front plus monthly payments

Improving on their initial May 1 release date for the Samsung Galaxy S4, T-Mobile has announced that Samsung's latest and greatest will be available online beginning April 24. The upfront price -- $149.99 with 24 monthly payments of $20 for the phone with their Simple Choice plan. If you're still not so sure on how the 'un-carrier' goes about selling things these days, be sure to check out Andrew's run through.

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AT&T pushing out Jelly Bean update for LG Escape

Update to Android 4.1 also includes AT&T Drivemode app, available as an OTA

The LG Escape on AT&T is a decent enough offering for the more budget conscious smartphone buyer, but when it launched in late 2012 it still came packing Ice Cream Sandwich. Definitely not unusual, especially for an LG phone at the time, but AT&T has announced an update to Android 4.1 is now available. 

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Don't forget your $25 Google Play credit with your Galaxy Note 8 purchase

Register your new tablet with Samsung for $25 to spend at any of the Google Play stores

If you already picked up a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, or are considering it, don't forget that Samsung has $25 worth of Google Play credit they want to give you with your purchase. All you need to do is register your new device with Samsung, which is usually a good idea anyway for warranty issues.

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Google Play Store gets a new look

Google's content portal gets a lighter, brighter visual refresh

Following some recent leakage, it seems the new look Google Play Store app is finally official. Google has just announced that the new-look Play Store app will begin rolling out to Android devices today.

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Jelly Bean for the Galaxy S II Skyrocket now available via Samsung Kies

The update brings Google Now, Project Butter, and all the Jelly Bean treats -- along with some device specific fixes and enhancements

When we saw the T-Mobile Galaxy S II get it's Jelly Bean update, we knew the Skyrocket couldn't be far behind. They're essentially the exact same phone, and folks are using them interchangeably between T-Mobile and AT&T. We also figured it would be done via Kies, and sure enough, there's an update ready and pushing out to folks who connect to Samsung's desktop utility.

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Leaked Galaxy Mega 5.8 specs seem to confirm mid-range leanings

5.8-inch qHD display, dual-core Exynos CPU

It's around a week since we first heard of the Samsung Galaxy Mega series -- supposedly two big-screened devices due to launch later this year. Now oft-reliable Samsung rumormonger SamMobile says it has more details on exactly what kind of hardware will be found within the 5.8-inch variant (GT-i9152), and unfortunately for those hoping for a Galaxy Note 2 successor, it's a rather mid-range affair.

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Sony Xperia Z review

Sony bets big on a 5-incher for the European market. But is the Xperia Z the high-end handset it needs?

Don’t count out Sony Mobile. Sure, the Japanese giant’s smartphone arm may be an irrelevance in the U.S. market right now, for reasons we won’t get into here. But it’s made steady progress in Europe and the UK, where it’s now number two in Android market share behind Samsung. Admittedly, much of that has been down to Sony’s numerous entry-level and mid-range devices like the Xperia Tipo and Xperia U, rather than its high-end stuff.

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Samsung announces Galaxy Win - a mid-ranger that's almost a Galaxy S3

Quad-core processor, 4.7-inch WVGA screen, 5-megapixel camera

Another day, another mid-range Samsung phone. Today sees the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Win -- a middling Android handset that looks like a cross between a Galaxy S3 and a Galaxy S4. The internals are decidedly less high-end than either of those handsets. There's a 4.7-inch WVGA (800x480) LCD TFT screen on the front, a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU inside, coupled with 1GB of RAM. On the software side, it's running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Sammy's TouchWiz UI. Around the back there's a 5-megapixel rear camera.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S3 comparison review

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has finally arrived so we've taken a look at how it compares to the Galaxy S3. Read our Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S3 comparison review to find out more.

Samsung's Galaxy S3 was one of the most popular smartphones of 2012 but how does it compare to its replacement, the Galaxy S4? We take a look at how the new flagship handset compares to its predecessor in our Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Galaxy S3 comparison review. Updated on 26/03/2013. Take a look at Samsung Galaxy S4 release date in UK.

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HTC One review

HTC returns with a sleek aluminum design, re-imagined software and a bold new camera experience

We’re all out of poetic ways to describe HTC’s current situation. A frustrating 2012 saw some of the year’s best mobile hardware being met with declining sales and market presence for the Taiwanese manufacturer. Once the leader of the Android pack,  HTC is increasingly seen as an also-ran.

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U.S. Cellular's Galaxy Axiom gets Jelly Bean

Galaxy S3's little brother gets over-the-air update to Android 4.1.2

U.S. Cellular has announced that the Galaxy Axiom -- its version of theGalaxy S3 Mini -- is today getting its update to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The Axiom first launched back in November, with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, a 4-inch WVGA display and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

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Apps of the Week: AppSales, Goodreads, Epoch and more!

It's "Apps of the Week" time, and the first weekly post of April is looking to be a good one

If you haven't been keeping up on things, each of the Android Central writers take the opportunity every week to tell you about an app that they've been using regularly on their device. We package 'em up nicely and post them on Saturdays -- Apps of the Week. This week we have a good way to get slick deals on apps (how meta), a way to keep up on your reading, a great new game and a few odds-and-ends.

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Bootloaders have been unlocked on the Droid RAZR HD, Atrix HD, RAZR M

The locked and encrypted bootloader on several popular Motorola phones has been exploited, but OMAP powered phones need not apply

If you're using a Droid RAZR HD, RAZR MAXX HD, Atrix HD, or RAZR M here's a potentially good piece of news -- researcher Dan Rosenberg has found a method to unlock the bootloader of your device. He's not yet released the method, but testers have shown results (like the one above) and given Rosenberg's past work with Motorola devices we've no doubt this is legitimate and should be ready for public consumption shortly.

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How to capture better pictures in low light conditions (Sony Xperia)

Here are a few tips on settings you can change to capture better pictures in low light conditions with your Xperia phone.

• Use Normal capturing mode instead of Scene recognition capturing mode. Once you are in Normal capturing mode, use the Party scene setting and/or the Multi autofocus setting for better results.
• Use Fill flash mode.
• Use the Infinity focus setting when recording videos.
• Use the camera key correctly. Press the camera key halfway down to activate the auto focus setting. Press the camera key fully down to take a photo when the focus is locked correctly.
• Your subject should be as still as possible while you are taking a photo.
• Your camera should remain as steady as possible.

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Root WT19i Live with Walkman on 4.0.2.A.0.62 latest firmware

Since rooting Sony Ericsson Live Walkman WT19i after 4.0.2.A.0.62 firmware update is reported to create issues with the normal rooting method which we discussed earlier last week. We did a little research to root the phone with the updated Android version 4.0.2.0.62. And we found that at present there is only one working method to root WT19i on 4.0.2.A.0.62 . We scanned through many XDA pages and found this method to do so with latest version. So if you are desperate to have root access on your phone then your are left with two options:

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