Update - 206

HTC Further Details Update Schedule For Android 4.0 Rollout – Sensation 4G, XE and XL First In Line Posted: 13 Mar 2012 06:50 PM PDT It wasn’t too long ago that HTC clued us in on their plans to bring Android 4.0 to their devices, starting with their Sensations like the 4G and Sensation XL although, no specific time-frame was given. Well, today, according to HTC’s blog post, it looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is all set to rollout for those handsets and is currently in the “early stages” of deployment for a few others like the Sensation and Sensation XE who should see something in the next few weeks. So what about the rest of HTC’s lineup? Well, here’s a list of 16 additional devices confirmed to receive Android 4.0 soon: DROID Incredible 2 by HTC HTC Amaze 4G HTC Desire S HTC Desire HD HTC EVO 3D HTC EVO Design 4G HTC Incredible S HTC Sensation HTC Sensation XL HTC Sensation 4G HTC Sensation XE HTC Raider HTC Rezound HTC Rhyme HTC Thunderbolt HTC Vivid HTC also mentioned that once they start pumping out updates, it could take some time before carriers in every country will receive it and even though they’re working closely with their carrier partners to “nail down and update schedule,” these updates will need to go through the usual (sometimes slow) screening process before they hit your device. It will be interesting to see which carrier will be first to update their HTC devices to Android 4.0 and if this will beat out the release of the HTC One X and One S. Sprint? T-Mo? …Verizon? [HTC Blog]

HTC One S Gets Fried With 10,000 Volts of Electricity For Durability And Design [Video] Posted: 13 Mar 2012 05:47 PM PDT Back when the HTC One S was first announced, HTC mentioned a little something on the unique process that went into creating the device’s durable, ceramic-like unibody skin. Described as “micro-arc oxidation,” some of this process was shown in their wrap up video and now, they’ve decided to highlight this little known “feature” of the device, and give us a little more back story with the some of the designers who helped make this possible. Micro-arc oxidation starts off with aircraft aluminum (that would look cool enough as-is on a smartphone) that is zapped with around 10,000 volts of electricity that almost makes the metal catch fire. The result? A new metal with a ceramic type coating that is 3 times stronger than stainless steel and 50 times stronger than adamantium. Pretty impressive. There’s been a lot of talk about ceramic cased smartphones making their way around the rumor mill. It’s been said that Samsung will offer a device — the Galaxy S III — with a ceramic casing and while that doesn’t sound too durable, maybe it’s using a process similar to HTC. I’ve seen the a couple of hands-on videos around the net and apparently the rough surface provides great grip and can even file a finger nail if you scratch it. You can check out the (excessive?) process in HTC’s new video below.

Giveaway: Win 1 of 7 Androidified Cases For The Galaxy Nexus From Cruzer Lite Posted: 13 Mar 2012 04:01 PM PDT Greetings, my Phandroid friends. As we so like to do every-so-often here on the site, we’re throwing another giveaway, this time brought to you by the fine folks at Cruzer Lite who make the popular line of “Androidified” TPU cases. We actually featured these cases for the Galaxy Nexus a few weeks back and after the wonderful feedback, we want to give some away to you guys simply for being awesome. You are awesome right? Good. Let’s get to the rules. To enter, simply leave a comment below with why you would want to win one of these Android-reppin,’ phone-protectin’ cases for your Galaxy Nexus and we’ll select 7 random winners by the end of the night. There’s no telling what color you’ll win, with a 1 out of 7 chance or winning the pink one (call it “salmon” if it makes you feel better). Good luck to everyone and of course, special thanks to Cruzer Lite for supplying us with these awesome cases to give away to you guys. You can find, and follow, Cruzer Lite via their social sites below for updates on new cases and anything else they got planned for the future. Cheers! [Cruzer Lite on Facebook | Cruzer Lite on Twitter | Cruzer Lite on Amazon]

Barnes & Noble brings comics to tablets with latest Nook for Android update Posted: 13 Mar 2012 03:20 PM PDT Barnes & Noble is bringing content once only available on their own Nook devices to a wider selection of Android tablets. With an update to Nook for Android, B&N’s catalog of comics, graphic novels, and manga will now be accessible on all slates ranging from 7 to 10 inches and running Android 2.2 or higher. Nook Comics includes a selection of titles from Marvel, IDW, Dark Horse, and more. The version 3.1 update to Nook for Android also includes enhancements to the Nook Shop for easier entry of credit card information and better library management. The new update can be found in the Google Play Store now. Google Play Store Link: Nook for Android [via B&N]

HTC One S gets root courtesy of MoDaCo’s Superboot Posted: 13 Mar 2012 02:33 PM PDT The HTC One S has been rooted using the same tool that made superuser access possible on its big brother the One X. MoDaCo’s Superboot works in an identical fashion, which means it also comes with the caveat that you will need a bootloader unlocked device. As anyone who has worked with an HTC phone in a technical capacity will be aware, the manufacturer isn’t in the business of shipping devices with S-OFF as the default. Fortunately for us, HTC has been making an effort to provide official unlock tools for a large range of their devices, and the One series should be no different. How quickly those tools become available is another story. In the mean time, head over to MoDaCo to read up on how to root the One S and to download Superboot. [via AndroidCentral]

7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 appears in FCC filing Posted: 13 Mar 2012 01:40 PM PDT The 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 is slated for a March release in the UK, making it the perfect time for a friendly visit with the FCC. The filing doesn’t tell us much we didn’t already know about the sequel proper to Samsung’s original Galaxy Tab, but it does reveal support for 3G bands associated with AT&T. Whether the tablet sees a launch on that carrier or any other in the US has yet to be announced, but it wouldn’t come as too surprising. The Galaxy Tab 2 will run Ice Cream Sandwich with the aid of a 1GHz dual-core processor and come in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB varieties. Expect the tablet to be priced on the lower end of Samsung’s range. [FCC via Engadget]

Samsung Galaxy S III entering production, retail orders reaching new highs [RUMOR] Posted: 13 Mar 2012 12:50 PM PDT Industry insider Eldar Murtazin — often more ‘hit’ than ‘miss’ with his leaks — is back with yet another piece of tantalizing Samsung Galaxy S III info. Though Samsung has denied rumors of an April release (some of which originate with Murtazin himself), the latest report is that the GSIII design has been finalized and sent off to the production lines. Murtazin also claims that pre-orders from mobile operators and retailers have reached an all time high for the Galaxy line. The sequel to last year’s Galaxy S II and the next member in Samsung’s flagship line is rumored to feature head-of-the-pack specs including a quad-core Exynos processor, 4.8-inch HD display, and quad-core processor. Murtazin also suggests with his latest tweet that a ceramic case will be utilized. Samsung has plans to host their own event to unveil the Galaxy S III occurring closer to the retail availability of the device. If these latest rumors hold any salt a release shouldn’t be too far off. [Twitter via UnwiredView]

Bugsense: Must Have Tool For Android Developers Posted: 13 Mar 2012 11:57 AM PDT One of the major challenges as a developer on the Android platform is supporting a large variety of devices running different versions of the Android OS.  Add factors into the mix such as app version, network or WiFi connections, screen dimensions, location and so forth, and as you can imagine it quickly becomes a major task to keep up with what bugs are effecting what devices and on what configurations. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a tool that collects and analyzes all these different bugs and crash reports?  A tool I personally use and recommend does exactly that and it’s called Bugsense. If you are in need of a tool that can help manage your crash reports I highly encourage you to check out BugSense.  You can sign-up for a free account to see how beautiful errors can be. Okay, not the errors themselves, but the reporting of the errors. I admit, I am a sucker for eye-candy in web apps but BugSense is not just eye candy.  The reports show critical information regarding your bugs and their adverse effects in a clean and organized package… and did I mention in real time? Find bugs fast by using their grouping, tags and OS filtering.  Grouping is one my favorite features which provides total occurrences which ultimately allows you to visualize what bugs need immediate attention. When you resolve your bug you can record what version you issued a fix.  This is great so you can easily tell if you get old bugs that no longer need attention.  BugSense also provides a very unique feature which can send a notification to a user if they experienced a bug that you have already fixed.  I have not yet set this up for apps I’ve worked on personally, but it does seem tempting and could prevent unnecessary support emails (not to mention bad ratings and uninstalls). Depending on your Bugsense purchase plan you can look back through up to 90 days of data (the free version offers 7-days of data retention).  Seven days is a nice trial but may be impractical for your needs: an affordable $19/month “Indie plan” offers a sizeable 30 day window to see bugs.  Developers of larger apps/games or full scale businesses may want to consider the Plus ($99/month) or Premium ($299/month) accounts which admittedly cost a bit, but if it saves you time and time is money? It’s a drop in the bucket. Not to mention, better bug reporting can help you build a better product, and that’s the pinnacle of importance. If you have an opensource application you will be glad to learn that BugSense will now offer you a Premium account for FREE!  That’s right – read their official announcement on the topic – that’s what I call a team player! Getting Started with Bugsense Now let’s dive into some quick discussion about how to get started. The best attribute about this tool is that it literally takes only a few minutes to setup an account, and get working in your application. Setup and Install Step 1) Go to http://bugsense.com and create an account.  Easy peasy: you can even use your Google account to sign-in.  Once logged in you will need to create a new project so you can get an API Key, which will be use later in Step 4. Step 2) Make sure your application has permission to access the Internet by adding one line of code to your manifest: <uses-permission android:name=”android.permission.INTERNET” /> Step 3) Download the BugSense Library for Android here and then place the lib file in your project structure Step 4) Add a few minimal lines of code to your app as such: Import the main file: Add one line to your onCreate: (using the API Key from Step 1) Already using ACRA? No problem here if you are using ACRA 4.x (which most should be), BugSense has built in support for this as well!  It just takes one extra line of code as well as the extra variables you would like to pass… BugSense alone does an excellent job in capturing all of the important variables you as a developer should need.   ProGuard Support? If you have important proprietary code you most likely use (or should use) which is a free Java class file shrinker, optimizer, obfuscator, and preverifier.  What is that?  In layman’s terms it makes it harder for your application to be decompiled.  It also makes it harder to troubleshoot since you would manually have to re-trace your file to figure out what a reported bug actually is. If you have a large user base you may want to check out BugSense’s solution which is a Plus and above feature called "Symbolication on the fly".  It’s as simple as uploading your pro-guard mapping file and then letting BugSense do its magic.  From personal use of this feature I can’t even begin to explain the amount of time it saves… not to mention the HUGE convenience.   Detailed Docs Keep in mind that BugSense handles all unhandled exceptions automatically but there are times when you need to handle the exception yourself.  To view all of these snippets along with some other more complex examples, please visit their detailed docs section located here.   Summary With BugSenese offering a free trial plan it’s an absolute no brainer to give it a try.  If you find it doesn’t help you out, no loss, but in most cases I feel developers will benefit from this kind of tool.  You can manage multiple applications from one account and even setup access for multiple users so if you have a dev team, you can all play nice together.  If you support multiple mobile platforms you will be pleased to hear that they also support iOS, WP7, Google AppEngine, HTML5 and soon even Blackberry. How many of you developers use Bugsense? Not a developer but still enjoyed the article?… Let us know in the comments below :)

T-Mobile expands 4G HSPA+ network to new markets, looks ahead to LTE in 2013 Posted: 13 Mar 2012 11:14 AM PDT T-Mobile has announced the expansion of their HSPA+ network into several new regions today. Abilene, Amarillo, Odessa, and Victoria, Texas; Bakersfield, California; Eau Claire, Wisconsin;  and Joplin and St. Joseph, Missouri are all now blanketed in TMo’s 4G speeds. Abilene, Amarillo, Odessa, and Victoria are all covered under the carrier’s 42Mbps infrastructure. Though it’s fast, T-Mobile’s network isn’t true 4G. Moving ahead CTO Neville Ray says the carrier is considering a couple of options for increasing data speeds. A 4G LTE rollout is planned for 2013, but there is still potential for 84Mbps HSPA+ coverage to bridge the gap. Ray provides a few more details, including an explanation of how the failure of the proposed AT&T merger resulted in a renewed commitment to rolling out a true next-gen network. Check out the interview at the T-Mobile blog post sourced below. [via T-Mobile]

Google I/O registration opens March 27, but be prepared to pay Posted: 13 Mar 2012 10:36 AM PDT Google I/O is taking place about a month later than usual, but registration time is right around the corner. The official page has just gone live revealing the day interested parties can register for the event and exactly how much they can expect to pay. Spoiler alert: prices have skyrocketed. Beginning at 7AM PDT on March 27th, hopeful attendees can pony up $900 to reserve a spot at the developer-focused conference. The whopping registration fee nearly doubles the cost of last year’s show. The price drops for students — down to $300 — but that’s triple the rate offered previously. The high prices are unlikely to deter those looking to be a part of I/O. The event sold out in less than an hour last year. So start counting your pennies now, you’ll want to jump on top of registration as soon as it opens if you plan on making it out to the Moscone Center this year. [Google I/O Registration via DroidLife]

Motorola MOTOACTV Now Available in Canada Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:54 AM PDT Canadian fitness buffs can now purchase the MOTOACTV as it has been released in the North American country. You can buy the 8GB configuration for $250. Accessories, including a replacement wristband, a soft wristband, and a universal clip (to fit on a bike or an existing watch) come in at $30 a piece. Call your nearest Running Room store to see if they have it in stock. We do urge you to call before heading there because Motorola says it’s only available in select stores. You can also find it online at thesource.ca. [via MobileSyrup]

Next Wave of Galaxy S II ICS Upgrades Going Out March 19th, UK Users to Get in on the Fun Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:40 AM PDT While many users in European countries have been able to pull down the exciting upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich for their Samsung Galaxy S II. Unfortunately, Samsung temporarily suspended the rollout. It’s likely not due to any issues, but due to them wanting to test the waters before rolling it out to everyone. They’ve confirmed to Pocket-Lint that they would resume rollouts on March 19th for Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Korea, and newly-added UK. The Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Tab 8.9 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 will soon follow. Of course, due to carrier testing your specific model may be delayed far beyond these days, so I advise you to get excited only if you own and unlocked, unbranded version.

Virgin Mobile Adorns Venture Presale with Formal Press Release Posted: 13 Mar 2012 09:15 AM PDT The Venture, an exposed QWERTY device for Virgin Mobile, was spotted available for presale the other day. It mysteriously appeared without any press release, but Sprint and Virgin Mobile have today released one for those of you who absolutely need one. Nothing’s changed – it’s still coming out on March 15th for $100, still has a 2.8 inch display and still only has a 600MHz processor. Read on for full press details for more information. WARREN, N.J. (BUSINESS WIRE), March 13, 2012 – Virgin Mobile USA, recently ranked "Highest Ranked Customer Service Performance among Non-Contract Wireless Providers" by J.D. Power and Associates,1 bolstered its lineup of Android-powered smartphones today with the addition of the Venture from ALCATEL ONE TOUCH®. Keeping with the promise of A Higher Calling™, the Venture provides Virgin Mobile consumers with an affordable new smartphone available for $99.99 under the industry-leading plan of unlimited data for $35 a month. Virgin Mobile USA’s new Venture provides consumers with an affordable new smartphone available for $99.99 under the industry-leading plan of unlimited data for $35 a month. (Photo: Business Wire) A perfect starter device, the Venture -brought to market by Personal Communications Devices (PCD) - is ideal for consumers who want the newest Android technology with a QWERTY keyboard, an entry level price, unlimited data and messaging plans, and all without a contract. It will be available for purchase at www.virginmobileusa.com as of March 15 and at retail following that; visitors to the website can pre-order the phone as of today as well. As Sir Richard Branson states in his video manifesto for A Higher Calling, "Why pay for minutes when it’s unlimited data you really want?" Operating on the Sprint Nationwide Network, Virgin Mobile USA offers tremendous value for those customers who text, IM, post, email, friend, like and tweet more than they talk. Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk plans start at just $35 a month for 300 minutes of voice and include unlimited messaging and data. For those looking for a bit more talk time, the $45 plan offers 1,200 minutes of voice, and the $55 plan offers unlimited voice minutes each month. All plans include unlimited messaging and data. "We’re excited to add this new entry-level Android to the Virgin Mobile lineup," said Mark Lederman, business line director, Virgin Mobile USA. "As part of A Higher Calling, we’re bringing customers a number of different options to experience the power of Android while getting only the services they want for a good price. The Venture is a great addition to the Virgin Mobile family for those people looking to purchase a sleek, easy-to-use smartphone at a great price." "Wireless technology continues to expand beyond traditional voice devices," said James Daurio, vice president, Western Region, PCD. "With the introduction of the Venture, PCD continues its long tradition of bringing the latest in wireless communications to market. The Venture offers total connectivity and is perfect for anyone who wants to be connected while on-the-go." The Venture comes with Android 2.3 [Gingerbread], a 2.8-inch touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard for the ultimate in texting and email convenience; a 2MP camera with LED flash and video capture; and Bluetooth 3.0. Customers have access to the Android App Market, which includes Virgin Mobile Live, the 24/7 streaming music place to be with live performances and interviews by DJ Abbey Braden and the latest news about Virgin Mobile. Preloaded on the Venture is Mobile ID, a new customizable user interface with The Essentials ID Pack, where customers get the coolest applications hand-picked by Virgin Mobile, in one easy-to-use pack including for social networking such as Facebook®, music apps such as Pandora®, helpful shortcuts, and widgets. Customers can then choose from other ID Packs to personalize their device, including Entertainment, Socially Connected, and Green as well as brands like ESPN and E!. Additional specs include: Battery talk time - up to 229 minutes [4 hours]2 Standby time - up to 300 hours [12.5 days] Weight - 4.30 oz. Memory - 2GB microSD cards comes included [supports cards up to 32GB] About Virgin Mobile USA Virgin Mobile USA, one of Sprint‘s prepaid brands, offers millions of customers control, flexibility and connectivity through Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk™ No Contract plans with unlimited data for mobile phone service, including Android-powered smartphones and prepaid Broadband2Go high-speed Web access on the Nationwide Sprint Network. Virgin Mobile-branded devices are available at more than 40,000 retail stores, including Target, Walmart, Best Buy and RadioShack. Top-Up cards are available at approximately 150,000 locations nationwide and can be used for Broadband2Go services. Experience Virgin Mobile on the Web atFacebook, Twitter, You Tube and purchase Virgin Mobile USA products at www.virginmobileusa.com. About PCD PCD (www.PCDphones.com) is committed to bringing you the wireless world through innovative wireless devices and rich service offerings. PCD serves as a global gateway for technology partners, providing high-quality, reliable and versatile wireless communications devices including handsets, smartphones, messaging devices, wireless broadband modems and unique wireless accessories to carriers throughout North and South America. PCD conducts product planning and development on CDMA, GSM/GPRS and HSDPA platforms, and provides technical testing quality control as well as marketing and warranty support for its carrier and technology partners, differentiating it from other wireless industry suppliers. PCD is based in Hauppauge, N.Y., and maintains operations and support facilities in Brea, Calif., and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. About ALCATEL ONE TOUCH ALCATEL ONE TOUCH® designs, develops and markets globally a growing range of mobile and Internet products designed to be as individual as the people who use them. One of the fastest growing of the world’s top 10 mobile phone manufacturers, ALCATEL ONE TOUCH makes access to today’s mobile lifestyle simple by offering colorful, easy-to-use devices equipped with the technology people need most at prices they can afford. ALCATEL ONE TOUCH is a brand of TCL Communication, a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (2618.HK) and part of TCL Corporation one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. For more information, please visit www.alcatelonetouch.com. 1 Virgin Mobile USA received the highest numerical score among non-contract wireless providers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Customer Care Non-Contract StudySM - Vol. 1. Study based on responses from 2,840 consumers measuring 6 non-contract wireless providers and measures opinions of consumers who contacted customer care within the past year. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed July-December 2011. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com. 2 Battery power consumption depends on factors such as network configuration, signal strength, operating temperature, selected features, vibrate mode, backlight settings, browser use, frequency of calls and voice, data and other application usage patterns. Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50201494&lang=en

HTC Velocity (HTC Vivid) Receives Ice Cream Sandwich in Australia [video] Posted: 13 Mar 2012 08:34 AM PDT Telstra customers who own the HTC Velocity, which would be known as the HTC Vivid here in America, are reporting that they are being notified of an incoming software update for their phones. The upgrade has stepped them up to Android 4.0, apparently – a relatively fast turn-around time and something we’re not used to from HTC. More than that, HTC Sense 4.0 – which, up to this point, was only promised for HTC One devices – seems to be joining along the ride. That should be good news for those of you in the United States, but nothing is promised. [via Android Communuity].

Verizon Wireless Experienced Brief Data Outage Posted: 13 Mar 2012 06:47 AM PDT It looks like Big Red may have suffered another data outage, folks. We’ve got reports from Kentucky, Idiana and Colorado so far, with yours truly being affected by the outage at one point here in Wisconsin. I was unable to access both 3G and LTE at one point, but 3G came back after some time and 4G continued to be nonexistent up until a few minutes before this article was published. This outage was relatively short (about 15 minutes for me) compared to previous ones and may have gone unnoticed by some. We’ll be monitoring our connection to see if it happens again. Did you notice/experience the outage? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!] [Update]: Reports to Droid-Life indicate that some users experienced the outage longer than others, and some are even still without data. One of our readers had data restored, then taken away shortly afterward. We’ll be contacting Verizon for an update.