The people at xda-developers have compiled a list of changes in the new version, which they are constantly updating. Among the things that they have added so far includes:

Faster performance.
Android OS bug fixed (in battery stats)
Improved 3G/4G switching.
Improved signal strength.
New Power Menu. New from 4.0.2, similar to the one on the 4.0.3 ROM.
Faster boot-up time.
Auto-brightness Functionality changed. Smoother transition.
Holding down camera button now refocuses again.
Multitouch issue seems resolved.
Autorotate is faster.
Browser performance noticeably improved.
Recent apps list opens faster.
Miscellaneous camera UI changes.
Increased volume.
Keyboard fixes.
Updated News & Weather app UI.
Improved quick controls in browser, similar to the ones in 4.0.3.

The link to download the update can be found in the source link below. As mentioned before, this update is only for the Verizon CDMA version and not for the GSM version.

The AT&T version of the phone looks a bit different due to the four control keys below the display instead of the two touch keys and a physical Home button on the international model. It will also be different on the inside, carrying a 1.5GHz, dual-core Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon processor instead of the Exynos processor in the international version. Apart from this, both the AT&T and the international models are identical.

It will be running Android 2.3 at launch but hopefully Samsung and AT&T will upgrade it to Ice Cream Sandwich along with the international version.

You can watch the Super Bowl ad for the phone here.

The products are only being pulled from Apple’s online store in Germany and the brick and mortar stores will still have them in stock. This is because Motorola only sued the German subsidiary of Apple, which is only in charge of handling the online side of the sales.

Apple, meanwhile can still challenge this decision and get it suspended so that it can appeal in a higher court.

Update: Apple has won a temporary suspension, which means it can go back to selling the previously pulled products on its online store for now. We are not sure what their next step will be but will keep you informed.

There is no difference between the newcomer and the tough as nails, regular Xperia active, which we came to like quite a lot, save for the Billabong branded back cover and some software additions. The latter include exclusive Billabong screensavers, preloaded videos, and an app to keep you up to date on surfing news.

Yet another product of the newly formed partnership between the two companies is the Billabong Surf Trip – a Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY exclusive video game.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia active Billabong edition is already available in selected markets.

We also get a glimpse of the back side of the phone, that shows the camera lens along with an LED flash in the top left corner of the phone.

The new design doesn’t look anything like any current BlackBerry phone out there. However, it does look a lot like existing smartphones, with the HTC HD2 and Motorola DROID X2 springing to mind first. The phone does look quite good though and also very slim. You can see by the large amount of space above the display that suggest that RIM has really stretched the phone to get as much battery in as possible while keeping the phone thin. The software also looks good, even though all we can see of it is the music player interface.

We hope this one makes out of the gate before the end of this year, along with that new BlackBerry 10 platform that RIM has promised us.

LG put most of their eggs in the LG Optimus LTE basket (and its many carrier-specific version) and that obviously turned out enough to drag the mobile business back in the black. Unfortunately for the Koreans, the LTE market is bound to become more and more crowded, so they will need some extra effort to keep their strong position there.

In Q4 LG shipped 17.7 million phones, which is a decrease compared to Q3, but the increased share of smartphone meant that those sales actually brought in more cash. The company hopes to continue that trend as the LTE markets expand and will keep the 4G network support as the focal point of the development of their portfolio.

Follow the source link below to find out the full breakdown of the last financial quarter and the complete 2011 of LG.

We’ve heard that the Galaxy S III is slated for an April launch, but the validity of the rumor is questionable. A Dutch site is claiming a March launch instead.

Samsung didn’t say what they’ll be announcing at the MWC, but they promise exciting mobile products. According to the rumor mill, that means Windows Phone handsets and tablets.

We’re a little disappointed that we won’t see the new Samsung flagship droid this month, but let’s hope the wait will be worth it. Anyway, we’ll be live covering whatever other hot gadgets Samsung has to show at the MWC.

Samsung Galaxy S Advance I9070 live shots

On the hardware side of things the Galaxy S Advance looks like a cross-pollination of the Galaxy S and the Galaxy S II. The curved screen does set it apart, though at 9.7 mm thick it is more an S than an S II.

The specs are already well known but just in case you’ve missed them – the Advance has a curved Gorilla Glass 4″ Super AMOLED display of WVGA (480 x 800), a dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor, a 5 MP snapper on the back with 720p video recording abilities and, upon launch at least, Android Gingerbread 2.3.6.

The LG Optimus 2X prides itself in being the first dual-core smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy R follows at quite some distance but runs on the same chipset – the NVIDIA Tegra 2. Both have comparable screens too: 4″ of WVGA IPS LCD on the Optimus and a 4.2″ WVGA SC-LCD on the Galaxy R.

What sets them apart is imaging – the Optimus 2X is in line with the current flagships with an 8MP still camera and 1080p video, while the Galaxy R stops at 5MP/720p.

Here’s a quick summary of the ups and downs of the two phones in direct comparison.

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R over LG Optimus 2X:

A bigger screen: 4.2″ vs. 4″
Thinner: 9.5mm vs. 10.9mm
Double the RAM: 1GB vs. 512MB
Faster HSDPA: 21Mbps vs. 7.2Mbps
Slightly better battery life
USB On-The-Go support
Bluetooth 3.0 vs. 2.1

LG Optimus 2X over Samsung I9103 Galaxy R:

Better still camera: 8MP vs. 5MP
Better video camera: 1080p vs. 720p
HDMI TV-Out (with cable in the box) over no TV-Out at all

The Optimus 2X has fewer wins in its column, but they’re all major victories. At least on paper – we’ll see if the difference holds up in our tests or if the Samsung camera can make up for the lower resolution with better detail.

There are, of course, other differences too. It’s between Samsung’s TouchWiz and LG’s custom skin on top of Android Gingerbread. And there’s the design and build quality too: both have metal inlays on the back but the Galaxy R is more than a millimeter thinner.

LG Optimus 2X Samsung I9103 Galaxy R

In case you’re not aware, the DROID 4 is like the DROID RAZR but with a full QWERTY keyboard. It has dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 processor, 1GB RAM, 4.0inch, 960 x 540 resolution TFT display, 16GB internal memory, 8 megapixel camera and 1080p video recording.