Posted: 31 Jan 2012 02:23 AM PST Android fans simply love the design and beauty of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich's skin. Consumers are allured by the captivating wallpapers, animated icons, the Roboto font, widgets, and every corner found on its skin. Google surely made a piece of art that captivates users to the point that many attempt to make their desktop PCs look exactly like that of Ice Cream Sandwich running on a big screen (e.g., tablet). David Molina, an avid fan of Android did exactly just that. He customized his Windows 7 desktop and made it look ICS-like. Here’s how Molina’s desktop looks like (courtesy of 9davidandres on Flickr):  You can also set your Windows 7 desktop to look like that, or even customize it further according to your own preference. In the rest of this article, you will learn how to theme your Windows 7 desktop and make it look like it’s running Ice Cream Sandwich–from wallpaper, to app icons, to Roboto font, and more. Read on to bring ICS’s looks to your Windows 7 desktop. Required Components and Setup InstructionsYou will need to download and install the following components (in the order they appear here) to set up the Ice Cream Sandwich theme on your Windows 7 desktop:
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKENo related posts.This article, How to Make Your Windows 7 Desktop Look Like It’s Running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 31 Jan 2012 12:16 AM PST  London commuters (yes commuters, not commoners) now have a way to check if their bus is arriving at any of the 20,000 bus stops throughout London. Through your Android smartphone device, you can now check the Buschecker app and see if you are going to be late on your bus. According to FatAttitude LTD. (the app developer), the app is UK's best selling travel app. Apart from the paid version, there is a lite version which allows users to test drive the app for 30 days and use its full features. The paid version only costs $1.95 with features including:
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This article, London Buschecker App for Travelers and Daily Commuters , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:13 PM PST  We initially speculated that Samsung will be revealing the Galaxy S3 at next month's Mobile World Congress. However, Chris Ziegler (The Verge) and other German sites are reporting that the Android manufacturer will not be announcing the device in Barcelona. For many people, this is a complete surprise, especially since both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II first made a debut a day before last year's MWC. So if you're hoping to see the successor of the company's flagship smartphone on February 27, you might end up disappointed. One of the reasons why experts believe the announcement of the Galaxy S3 will be delayed is because the company is 'uncomfortable with another long lag between the global launch and US availability' (Ziegler). That's a huge possibility. Perhaps Samsung is concentrating on the Exynos 5250 SoC? Considering its biggest rival is quad-core chips, it might be possible Samsung is doing its best to launch off the chip soon. As of this writing, there are no specifics of the specs included on the Galaxy S3. All we have are speculations and rumors. So until an announcement has been made, that's all we'll have to share. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Rumor: No Galaxy S3 Unveiling Anytime Soon , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 10:11 PM PST  Here's a funny survey: 87% of Android users admitted to using their device while on the toilet. 11mark surveyed 1000 Americans and discovered neither men nor women are going to the bathroom empty-handed. They found out that 74% of men and 76% of women use their mobile phones in the bathroom. Out of this number, 63% of people take calls and 41% initiated a call. Moreover, 67% read text messages while 38% surf the internet. Surprisingly, men are the ones who are more attached to their smartphones compared to women. 30% of men said "I don't go to the bathroom without my mobile phone," only 20% of women answered yes to this. 20% of men also work from their bathroom cubicle; while only 13% of women do this. On the subject of which smartphone people use on the toilet, 87% of respondents use their Android device, while 84% and 77% were BlackBerry and iPhone users, respectively. Compared to BlackBerry users (who answered phone calls), Android and iPhone users were most likely using a social network or an app on the toilet. "The writing is on the stall," says 11mark's Nicole Burdette "This study confirms what we all know – that the last private place is no longer private. And, that the 'mobile-everywhere' phenomenon is flushing out a host of new opportunities for savvy communicators." How about you? What do you do when you use your smartphone in the loo? Let us know in the coments below. New IT in the Toilet Study Shows Americans Aren't Spending Alone Time Alone Study Highlights Americans’ Habits Behind Closed Stalls Alexandria, Va., January 30, 2012 – Three-fourths of Americans with mobile phones report they use their phones in the bathroom, according to a new study by 11mark, a new integrated marketing agency. Americans are texting, emailing, and yes – as you may have heard – talking on the phone in the bathroom. Approximately one quarter of Americans report they don‟t go into the bathroom without their phone. The new report, "IT in the Toilet," uses the "bathroom benchmark" to examine just how connected we have become. The survey of 1,000 Americans reveals that neither men nor women are going to the bathroom alone today – 74 percent of men and 76 percent of women report they have used their mobile phone in the bathroom. 63 percent report they have answered a phone call, and 41 percent have initiated a phone call. Many (67 percent) have read a text, and 38 percent have surfed the Internet. Men are a bit more attached, however, with 30 percent reporting, "I don‟t go to the bathroom without my mobile phone," versus 20 percent of women. Men also work more from the bathroom – 20 percent say they have participated in work-related calls versus 13 percent of their female colleagues. Droid users are slightly more likely to use their phones in the bathroom overall; 87 percent have used their phone while indisposed, versus 84 percent of BlackBerry users and 77 percent of iPhone users. BlackBerry users are most likely to answer a call in the bathroom. 75 percent of BlackBerry users report they have done so, versus 67 percent of Droid and 60 percent of iPhone users. But, Droid and iPhone users are more likely to browse a social network or use an app (in the bathroom) than their BlackBerry colleagues. As expected, Gen Y respondents are the heaviest IT in the toilet users. Ninety-one percent use their phone in the bathroom, but older generations are not far behind. Eighty percent of Gen X report they use the phone in the bathroom, as well as 65 percent of Boomers, and 47 percent of the Silent Generation (guess they are no longer silent.) Americans are using apps to connect to their favorite content, quickly – 59 percent of Gen Y, 43 percent of Gen X, and 22 percent of Boomers have used an app in the bathroom. While online, they are doing more than just surfing; 16 percent of Gen Y report they have made an online purchase while in the bathroom. iPhone users are particularly likely to browse and buy in the bathroom – 22 percent have made a purchase, versus 10 percent of Americans with mobile phones overall. "The writing is on the stall," says Nicole Burdette, principal, 11mark. "This study confirms what we all know – that the last private place is no longer private. And, that the „mobile-everywhere‟ phenomenon is flushing out a host of new opportunities for savvy communicators." The "IT in the Toilet" study is based on an online survey of 1,000 Americans with mobile phones in October 2011. To learn more and download the full free report, please visit http://www.11mark.com/IT-in-the-Toilet. About 11mark 11mark is an integrated marketing agency that serves up innovative communications solutions. We offer independent counsel and big ideas to help clients influence opinions, shift perceptions, and win in competitive markets. 11mark is a 300Brand company. For more information, visit http://www.11mark.com/. Stay YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Survey Says: 87% Android Owners Use Their Device on the Toilet , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 10:00 PM PST  T-Mobile is preparing for a new bunch of Android smartphones and tablets that they will be exhibiting at next month's Mobile World Congress and the CTIA. This means is that they will be clearing out their shelves to make room for the new models. And yes, they're letting go of 6 Android devices which TmoNews has gathered to be: There hasn't been an exact shelf life for these models. We heard that it will vary depending on each device. But it is possible that some of the HTC models could stick for a while, since they are still being advertised by T-Mobile. As for LG, we really can't say the same…. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, LG, HTC Among the 6 Devices T-Mobile is Putting on the Chopping Block , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 06:54 PM PST  Since the first talk at CES, Android Authority has been following the Droid Razr Maxx for some time now. Released on January 26, the Maxx sports an impressive 3300 mAh battery. That's enough for around 21.5 hours of talk time! Now that is quite special, however there isn't much difference between the Maxx and its past brother, the original Razr. With models of the original Razr now offering white and purple, along with the previous option of black stirs up a deep battle. HardwareFor hardware it is essentially all the same. It contains the same TI OMAP, 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Tagging along with 1GB of RAM.With a kevlar sealed backing, you are highly ensured for leakage and internal damage to the battery and other contents. Of course in extreme situations, nano-coating inside the device will help protect from an Android death. On the top of the Maxx you will find two ports; a micro-USB and mini-HDMI port. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack for music and other entertainment. Elsewhere on the phone there really isn't anything, besides the SD card slot and volume rocker. Getting into the camera, you will have a rear 8 megapixel camera along with a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. Looks like this phone is almost identical of the original Razr. SoftwareLike the predecessor it is running on Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. Unfortunately there is still a noticeable lag between screen switching and menu scrolling. The good news is that 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is right around the corner.And carrying on traditions of Motorola products, Motoblur is a known factor when picking up the device. But, if you cannot wait for the official ICS update, there are a few ROMS out there to fulfill your needs. Style and DesignThe Razr Maxx is an excellent device, even though many changes haven’t been added. Motorola really kept the great design from the past Razr, making it just a little bit thicker.The final thickness comes in only at 8.99mm. This gives you enough room in your pocket with a great profile. Once it is in your hands, the Maxx has a great build, making it very sturdy and reliable. Perhaps they took some advice from Casio? Along with the sleek design, comes accessories compatible with the device. The only downfall in the accessories department is that original Razr cases will not fit the device, as it is a bit larger. You will still be able to fit screen protestors and maybe "some" universal docks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKvJCh5fDzQ One Hit Wonder: The BatteryWithout the battery on the Droid Razr Maxx would be like a Ferrari with no engine. There would be really nothing else selling the device. The 3300 mAh battery is capable of 21.5 hours talk time or even 2.5 days of listening to music.Now of course you will not be able to achieve maximum life every time, because it depends on which settings for battery saving you have enabled. But, wouldn't it be nice to play games all day at work and still have juice left for the GPS ride home? However, in order for Motorola to unleash their beast of a battery, they needed to add the restriction of keeping it internal, to maintain the slim design. Round-Up: Best Phone of 2012?Would I say it is the best phone of 2012? It is one of the top competitors, but simply not the best. I believe if Motorola added an even faster processor, more RAM memory and more "in-box" perks it would be groundbreaking. But you have to think, "how would they sell the original Razr?".The battery is a major positive when it comes to purchasing the phone. But the lack of internal storage is quite depressing. Seeing how the white and purple models just released with an option of 32GB and 16GB, a little more time could be spent in adding more storage. So the bottom line question is quite simple. Should I buy a great phone with an outstanding battery, or wait for the upcoming 2012 phones to release? But that is the problem. We cannot always wait as these devices are changing quickly. This is essentially why you are reading off of sites like Android Authority.        The Maxx is available on Verizon for $299.99 on a 2-year contract. I think you will be happy with your purchase, especially with the future ICS Android 4.0 update. What do you think about the Droid Raxr Maxx? Will it be in your pocket soon? And, if you have the Razr Maxx, what is your experience with it? I would love to hear your comments. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Exclusive Review – Droid Razr Maxx Review [Video] , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 06:39 PM PST  There is what about 200+ Android devices on the market right now? But which one are you using? Perhaps the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch on Sprint, or maybe the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon or the GSM version, could it be the HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile, or the Motorola Atrix 2 on AT&T’s LTE network, or some other device?Personally I am running the Motorola Droid Bionic on Android 2.3.4, which is rooted stock on Verizon’s blazing fast 4G LTE network. You can add as much of that information into the comments below, we love seeing our readers get involved in our posts. Feel free to add all your devices or just your daily driver, it’s all up to you. Just don’t say you own an iPhone or Blackberry, some of us might start looking at you funny. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, What Android Device(s) are you Rocking Right Now? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 03:30 PM PST  Some people seem to think that because the $47 ($23 for students) Android tablet from the Indian Government is built with the minimum necessary specs for it to function, then it’s just a gimmicky tablet and no one will want it. First of all, a lot of people already want it and over 1.4 million units have been sold. So you can’t say people don’t want it. They clearly do. Now, the argument may be that “ok so they bought it, but now they are going to be very disappointed with it”. I wouldn’t be so sure to decide that. Why would they be disappointed with it? You can only be disappointed when you have something to compare it with. Will the performance be frustrating at times? Sure. But disappointing overall? I think that’s far from the truth. And here’s why. Not having a capacitive touchscreen is a first world problem. Resistive screens are definitely not as responsive as capacitive ones – but unusable? Far from it. Instead of touching it with the tip of your finger, you have to press a little harder, almost as if you were pressing a very sensitive physical button. Is that such a big deal that makes the tablet unusable? I don’t think so. Not having a dual core Cortex A9 processor is a first world problem. I probably hate the ARM11 processor, which is about a decade old (hard to believe, right?), probably more than anyone, and I think we should’ve gotten rid of it a long time ago. Cortex A5 was supposed to replace it, but for some reason it hasn’t so far, and now I’m starting to think they’re just waiting for Cortex A7 to appear and replace both ARM11 and Cortex A8, as a much cheaper and more efficient alternative. So yes, the ARM11 is barely suited for a full modern mobile OS like Android, and having it run at 333 Mhz, which is half of what low-end smartphones have today, is even worse. But you know what – as long as it doesn’t crash all the time, and the only downside is being slower, I think that’s more than ok for most Indian people. Here’s why people who argue against this are missing the point. The performance of the tablet is NOT the killer app. Having access to the World Wide Web, being able to read free e-books, perhaps from Google Books or from school, and play some low-end games, ARE the killer apps of a tablet. This may be hard to believe for many of us who take these for granted now, and to us is like having access to clean water. But to most of them it’s not like that at all. Having access to the web’s information is not something that comes easy for them or something they are used to. So having to wait say 1 minute instead of 15 seconds for a webpage to load on their tablet will not be a huge problem that makes such a cheap tablet unacceptable. That’s like us saying 10 years ago that 3.5 KB/s dial-up speeds were unacceptable because they made loading pages too slow. Does anyone still remember those days? Sure the pages loaded slow, but we were too excited to actually see that information and that website, to care about how slow it loaded. So this is exactly how most of the owners of this tablet will feel, too. The Aakash Android tablet will be a portal into a world of knowledge to which they didn’t have access before at all. Being 5x slower than what most of us can deal with will not stop the Indians from buying this very cheap tablet and be happy they did. Besides, the people buying this tablet now are only the “early adopters” from the “poor people” in India. And we all know that early adopter types are the ones who can deal with the bugs and slow performance the most, because of the “potential” of such a device. By the time the majority of Indians will want a $50 Android tablet, it will probably be 3 years from now, and it will have a dual core Cortex A7, and Android 5.0 on it. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, The $47 Aakash Android Tablet Should Not Be Dismissed So Easily , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:38 PM PST  Thanks to a NenaMark benchmark on their own site, someone managed to capture a screenshot of a Galaxy Nexus device featuring a PowerVR SGX544 GPU, much like a TI OMAP 4470 chip would have. Although, it has never happened before for Google to release a “Plus” version of their Nexus, they did release a “4G” version of the Nexus S. Also, seeing how Samsung is on a spree of making “Plus” versions of all their older phones, could it be that there’s an actual upgraded Galaxy Nexus device on the horizon? I would take these rumors with a huge grain of salt, because it’s still possible the benchmark was spoofed (it also appears a lot of people are overclocking their CPU’s), but what if Samsung/Google are actually going to upgrade the Galaxy Nexus? And why would they do that anyway? First of all, I’m pretty sure this will upset many Galaxy Nexus owners, because they will feel as if they got the short end of the stick and just bought the “weaker” version. This is why, although I could agree with “Plus” versions of phones, it would have to be at least 6 months after the release of the original version. Otherwise the original buyers might hate the company for it. I think a Plus version is fine, as long as it actually comes with significant upgrades in every way: processor, display, storage, RAM, and last but not least, the OS version (phone design should probably stay mostly the same, to recognize it). Google is already on a 2-per-year major Android versions cadence, so I could see how a “Plus” version can serve as a mid-life kicker for the original device, that also comes with Google’s latest and greatest major Android upgrade. Of course, this doesn’t mean in any way that the manufacturers can slack off and not release an update for the original version as soon as possible. What I don’t like though, is when they release a new phone 3 months later, it barely has anything changed other than a 20% faster CPU, and comes with the exact same version as the original. What’s the point of that? It might give a short boost to their sales, but it will get them fewer sales in the future if their customers start feeling ripped off. Again, I think this could be just a benchmark spoof, because even though it says SGX544, it’s not as powerful as it should be compared to an OMAP 4460 GPU, and the CPU is also way underclocked compared to what an OMAP 4470 should have (1.8 Ghz). So don’t get too worked up about it until we have more official news. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
This article, Rumor: More Powerful Galaxy Nexus on the Horizon? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source. |
Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:32 AM PST  For those of you that want the latest news on Android development before Android Authority can bring it to you, you may want to go onto Google+ and circle Android Developers now. If you are already following Android Developers on Twitter, then why not follow them over on Google+? They will probably be using Google+ more then Twitter since it is a Google product, but we will see.We’ve seen Android give away some cool prizes on their Google+ account, so I’m sure Android Developers will do the same. Make sure you go and circle Android Developers soon, in the first hour since they launched the page they have had over 3,000+ people circle them! While you’re at it, don’t forget to add Android Authority to your Android circle, and get all the latest news from the best Android site on the web! If you’re looking for a specific author here at Android Authority, head over to our About page and you can add us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and grab our RSS feed to our posts. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE |
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
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