Sony has announced the launch of the new Sony Entertainment Network online store in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. The store, which was tested by a release in Europe last month, allows users to browse and buy games from the PlayStation Network as well as movies and TV shows.

The store is accessible via the web and allows you to buy content for use on your PlayStation 3, PSP, and PlayStation Vita, and the UI closely matches the recently updated PlayStation Store experience. No, Android devices can’t download content from the store at this point. But who knows what Sony has in mind for the future.

To get set up, visit the store site and login, then simply browse and purchase the items you’re interested in. The purchase will be made available for download for whichever compatible device you want to use.

It’s about time that Sony finally brings such a store offering to the table. Agree? Has anyone tried it out yet?

Amazon has announced that it has acquired Ivona Software, which specialized in text-to-speech software. The company had already been working close with Amazon, providing text-to-speech, voice commands, and Explore by Touch features to the Kindle Fire.

What might this acquisition mean for Amazon? Well, it could mean that the company is looking to develop more advance voice recognition features for its lineup of Kindle devices. Perhaps they intend to offer up competition to Apple’s Siri and Google Now.  The move also makes sense if Amazon enters the smartphone market as often rumored lately.

Regardless of where Amazon’s purchase of Ivona leads, it sure makes for interesting speculation. What say you, Android Authority readership?

My first thought upon coming across this bit of information was “Wow…” It’s hard to picture now, but Siri was almost an Android feature. Way back in 2009, Verizon struck a deal with Siri (the company) to pre-install its voice assistant on all Droid smartphones. Verizon even filmed commercials to promote the new feature.

So why didn’t it happen? Well, Apple swooped in and bought Siri, which at the time was a fledgling startup. The details on Siri’s journey from an almost Android to eventual Apple killer feature emerged in a Huffington Post feature.  The article details Siri’s history before eventually becoming property of Apple – in the beginning it was based on the HAL computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Android platform eventually had its own voice search and assistant feature in Google Now, but one can only wonder how the smartphone landscape might have differed if Siri had landed on Droid handsets all the way back in 2009. What do you guys think? Would Siri have even taken off on a large scale being limited to Verizon devices? Would Google Now be here in its present form, or perhaps even developed sooner by Google?

Samsung’s top executive confirmed to South Korean reporters that an eight inch Galaxy Note tablet is indeed real. Samsung’s president of mobile business, Jong-Kyun Shin, told iNews24 that the Galaxy Note 8 would be fully introduced at Mobile World Congress next month in Barcelona.

The eight inch tablet is expected to compete with the iPad Mini, which has almost the exact same screen size (7.9 inches). Beyond its existence, Samsung hasn’t announced any features of the Galaxy Note 8, although we know it will include the S-Pen and the other digital pen-centric software features of the rest of the Galaxy Note lineup. Previous rumors about the device suggest a 1280×800 display and a form factor similar to the 10.1 inch Note.

No word from Shin regarding the rumored Samsung Galaxy S4 beyond stating that it wouldn’t be making an appearance at Mobile World Congress. Bummer.  What do you guys think about a smaller Galaxy Note tablet? I for one love the 10.1 inch version.

Samsung has announced an updated version of the Galaxy S3 Mini that will include NFC capability. The diminutive device will hit the market in the UK by the end of this month. The addition of NFC will allow Samsung to include S Beam and faster data transfers with WiFi Direct.

The NFC-equipped Galaxy S3 Mini will also have the capability to use mobile wallet services, although Samsung has yet to clearly indicate if or which providers would take advantage of it. Samsung also hasn’t announced a price, but it will likely be about the same as the original, which is $429 unlocked and off-contract – perhaps the most appealing thing about the device.

While the features that the addition of NFC will provide are nice, the rest of the device’s specs remain as disappointing as before, including a WVGA Super AMOLED 4-inch display and a dual-core processor. Are any of you guys excited about the slightly updated Galaxy S3 Mini?

Anyone remember the official Qi-based Nexus 4 wireless charge orb announced back in November? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Well, the ever elusive device has finally popped up on the radar on the Norwegian retailer site Dustin Home with an estimated shipping date of February 12.

The official Nexus 4 charge orb is up for pre-order on their site price at 739 kr, which comes out to about $114 U.S. The price seems a bit high for the U.S. market, but you can bet that the price will be more reasonable when it hits the States.

It should be noted that while it has taken seemingly forever for the official charge orb to be released, the Nexus 4 is compatible with any third-party Qi-based wireless charger. That said, if you’ve been holding out for the very cool looking official charger, you won’t have to wait much longer.

If you’re curious as to how these fancy wireless charging gizmos work, check out my previous feature about wireless charging.

Are any Nexus 4 owners still looking forward to this, or have you already gone with a third-party option?

If you’re a Sprint customer with a Galaxy Nexus and you’ve been waiting impatiently while other Nexus owners have been rocking Android 4.2 since November, you’re wait is over.  The Jelly Bean 4.2 update for the Sprint Galaxy Nexus is now available on Google’s servers. It’s also likely that an OTA will soon follow.

If you don’t have experience with manually updating your phone, you may want to wait for the OTA. If you’re experienced and can’t wait for an OTA rollout, however, just download the update straight from Google. Updates from Android 4.1 to 4.2 include features such as Photo Sphere, Google Gesture Keyboard, and Google Now improvements.

Still no word on when Jelly Bean 4.2 might be available for the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus.

Groupon recently announced that Groupon Payments has been added to its Merchant app for Android phones. Groupon Payments allows merchants using the app to take credit card payments by plugging a small card reader into their smartphone. The app was first launched for iOS in December and then soft-launched for Android later that month.

Groupon Payments will allow the company to compete with Square and Paypal, among others, in the smartphone card reader space. Groupon hopes that by bundling it with its Merchants app, it will gain more traction with the help of all the other Merchants features. These other features include the ability to redeem Groupon deals, email receipts, add tips and scan barcodes.

Fees for swiping payments via Groupon Merchants are 1.8% on Visa, Mastercard, and Discover plus $.015 per transaction. The fee percentages are slightly higher if you’re not a Groupon merchant, at 2.2% at $0.15 per transaction. The charge for American Express swipes is between 2.3% and 3.5% and $0 to $.015 per transaction.

Groupon has seen its struggles recently, but their diversifying of services has paid off with an increase in share price over the last couple months or so. The company will release Q4 and full 2012 results on February 27.

Samsung Canada has announced that they’ll finally be pushing out the Jelly Bean 4.1.2 update to Galaxy Note 2 devices within the next week or so. Exact availability isn’t known quite yet and will vary by carrier.

Also good news for Canadian Galaxy Note 2 owners is that Multi Window support, which allows for two apps to be open on the screen at the same time, will be included in the update. Users will also be able to use Pop Up Video in conjunction with Multi Window.

Here’s the word from Samsung Canada:

“Samsung Canada announced today the upcoming availability of the latest update for the GALAXY Note II smartphone, which offers Multi Window allowing users to interact with two separate applications simultaneously.

The OS update (Android 4.1.2) gives customers the ability to personalize and customize their smartphone experience and interact with two apps at the same time. Samsung Canada now allows GALAXY Note II customers to change app positions within the Multi Window in addition to having the capability of using Pop Up Video while using Multi Window.

Also, included in this software update is the inclusion of both simplified and traditional Chinese language support. Easily accessible from the device’s settings menu, the software can change the language for most menus and applications and also support handwriting of Chinese characters to be transposed into text.”

What do you say, eh? Any large-screen loving Canadians excited about the news?

If you thought that LG’s next flagship smartphone release would be the Optimus G2, think again.

It looks like LG will hit the market with a new high-end smartphone in the first quarter of 2013. The phone, codenamed GK, will feature a 5.5-inch full HD screen and a quad-core processor. Judging by these specs, the device is one to keep an eye on leading up to its launch. It’s very likely that we’ll see this GK phone at the upcoming fair Mobile World Congress in late February.

LG’s display making unit has taken to CES 2013 to show off its 5.5-inch full HD display, which is likely to equip the next flagship device from the Koreans.

Word from South Korean news agency Yonhap News is that LG’s goal with the device’s first quarter release is to carve out a bigger share of the market by releasing before the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Apple iPhone 5S. That seems to be the same strategy that HTC has adopted for the launch of its flagship M7. Both LG and HTC are aware that Samsung will steal the show with the Galaxy S4, leaving their hard-worked creations to gather dust. The only solution for the two smaller Android manufacturers is to make a meaningful impact before the S4 lands.

The recent rumors about an upcoming Optimus G2 seemed to be debunked by this report. The successor to the G2 was supposed to come at CES, which obviously did not happen. According to Yonhap, LG is now gunning for an autumn release window.

Sounds like a sound strategy if the GK turns out to be a great device. What do you guys think? Does LG have a shot at cutting out a bigger piece of the smartphone pie?