Adblock Plus for Android released, Blocks ads in Mobile Browsers and Apps

Adblock Plus, popular ad-block extension / add-on on Firefox and Chrome is now available for Android. It blocks ads on most Apps and Browser over Wi-Fi even if you are not rooted. You need a rooted Android phone for ad blocking over 2G / 3G. It does not allow ads to be blocked on SSL encrypted websites. According to the Adblock site, the Android app only blocks ads Firefox and Opera browsers, but we tried it on the default Android browser and Chrome, and it worked fine.
Features of Adblock Plus for Android

• Blocks mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising, and much more.
• Rooted: Ads can be blocked on Wi-Fi and mobile connections.
• Non-rooted with Android 3.1 or later: Ads will be blocked on Wi-Fi connections only.
• Non-rooted with Android 3.0 or earlier: Some manual configuration for proxy settings is required.
• Over 40 continuously updating filter lists in over a dozen different languages
• Filter subscription list

Download Adblock Plus for Android from the Google Play Store for free.

Lava XOLO A700 Dual SIM Android Smartphone now available for Rs. 9999

Lava XOLO A700 that surfaced earlier this week is now available from online retailer Flipkart. It has a 4.5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) 16M color capacitive touch screen IPS display and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577 processor. It has Dual SIM support and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It comes with a 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash at the back with 720p HD video recording and a VGA front-facing camera.
XOLO A700 Specifications

• 4.5-inch (960 x 540 pixels) 16M color capacitive touch screen IPS display with 245 ppi pixel density
• 1GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577 processor
• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• Dual SIM (3G + 2G)
• 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash, 720p video recording, HDR, VGA front-facing camera
• 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
• 3G (HSPA 7.2Mbps; HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps) , WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1, aGPS
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• 1700 mAh battery

The XOLO A700 is now available from Flipkart for Rs. 9,999. It is expected to ship in 6 to 8 business days. The XOLO A700 would compete with the recently launched Dual SIM phone Karbonn A21 that also comes with a 4.5-inch display at qHD resolution and a dual-core processor.

Samsung Galaxy Premier review: A droid of stature (Our Rating-8/10)

Introduction

Spreading the Galaxy S III magic to as many market segments as possible is what Samsung is actively trying to achieve these days. After the power users were treated to the Note II and those looking for a premium experience in a compact shell got the mini, it's now time for the mid-range market to get some attention.

Samsung Galaxy Premier official photos

HTC One X+ vs iPhone 5

Introduction:

The HTC One X+ is shaping to be one of Android's battleships this season, thanks to its sped-up quad-core procesor and 64 GB of storage, so as always we are pitting it against the iOS flagship, Apple's iPhone 5.

Both handsets have sealed chassis, great LCD screens, and 8 MP cameras, but they target different categories of users from the onset with the size gap. What other differences are there between the two? Read on our comparison to find out...

Top 10 smartphone makers 2012

The third quarter of 2012 is now history, and as nearly all research agencies have published their numbers we have the top 10 smartphone makers ranking. There is a lot going on there with some companies rising, others falling, and yet other companies like Motorola flying off the top ten list.

The biggest move this quarter is without a doubt Nokia’s catastrophic drop to number 10. The company that until recently led the world with smartphone sales, and lastly ranked third, now sells less smartphones than Chinese Huawei, ZTE and even Lenovo. Nokia’s positions may or may not improve slightly in Q4 with the launch of its new Windows Phone 8 Lumia smartphones, but at present the company ranks last and it is not clear whether it can remain in the top 10 at all.

Samsung Galaxy S III = world's best-selling smartphone of Q3 2012

Well, well, well, it looks like the world has a new best-selling smartphone, at least for the third quarter of the year, and it's not an Apple! Now, that's a surprise... or maybe not?

According to some data by Strategy Analytics, Samsung's Galaxy S III has managed to grab the top spot by selling the whooping 18 million units during the three-month period, which accounts for a smartphone market share of 11%. The second place belongs to Apple, which has moved about 16.2 million units of the iPhone 4S. The success of the GS III is mainly attributed to its large touchscreen, global distribution and generous carrier subsidies, as well as customers holding off purchasing the 4S in anticipation of the iPhone 5.

However, Strategy Analytics believes that things are likely to change in the fourth quarter of the year, as the iPhone 5 has seen a solid start of its sales, and the GS III will probably not sell as much. Nonetheless, having a single phone model being such a competitive rival to the iPhone is very impressive and comes to show that Samsung is definitely on the right track.

Angry Birds Star Wars now available for download

After teasing it for over a month, Rovio has finally released Angry Birds Star Wars. The game is available for download on iOS, Android and OS X and although a Windows Phone and Windows 8 versions are promised neither are currently available for download. [Update: Now available for Windows Phone 8]

The game is priced at $0.99 on iOS for the iPhone version and $2.99 for the iPad version. Meanwhile, Android has two versions, one that is free but comes with ads and another ‘HD’ version, which despite the name looks identical to the standard version but costs $2.99 and does not include ads. The OS X version costs $4.99.
After playing it for a few minutes prior to writing this article, the game seems very similar to the standard Angry Birds, which means not all that exciting. Of course, I plan to play further and hopefully it gets better. You can expect a full review later this week.