Sunday, April 15, 2012

Update - 270



Posted: 21 Mar 2012 05:32 PM PDT
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Well, I’ll be… Back during the HTC’s official press announcement for their upcoming One line of handsets, they showed off their all new and improved Sense 4.0 (or Sense “lite,” as we like to call it). It was later learned that the lower-end HTC One V wouldn’t be given the same treatment as its higher-end One brethren instead, coming preloaded with the lower software version — Sense 3.6. This same version will be making its way to ICS updates on the Sensation and Evo 3D in the future.
While this didn’t cause much of an uproar with the press or even in Android circles, I, for one, was a little disappointed to see that the device with a single-core processor wouldn’t be receiving the less-bloaty version of Sense when it seemed like it could use it the most.
Fast forward to today where MobileSyrup got some hands on with an early prototype of the One V for Telus in Canada and to everyone’s surprise, this reincarnated HTC Legend was running the latest version of Sense 4.0 — not 3.6. OEM’s have been known for changing their minds on a whim and it looks like HTC may have done just that, upgrading the software on the HTC One V to match its siblings. Check it out in the video below.

We can’t be exactly sure if this will be the new software for One V’s in all regions and will have to wait for confirmation from HTC. For a company essentially going for a new start in 2012 it makes sense that they would be going for a more unified approach for their new line, launching them all with the same software regardless of whether it’s Sense or Android firmware. Kudos to HTC on this one.
[MobileSyrup]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 04:52 PM PDT
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It’s official. 2 days ago, we told you guys about the speculation that Zynga could be buying up OMGPOP for a substantial amount of money and today, we finally have official confirmation. While financial terms weren’t specifically mentioned, it’s estimated Zynga spent around $200 million for the social game developer (Zynga only spent $40 million when they acquired Words with Friends). That’s a lot of money for a 40 person team based in New York. OMGPOP had this to say in their official announcement:
“The game will stay true to you and what you love, and it’s my solemn vow that the magic of Draw Something will not change,” he said. “With the added resources we now have, and the deep gaming experience we can draw from, we can’t wait to continue to surprise our users. If you’re a fan, a player of ours, I can’t wait to show you what’s in store – it’s going to be drawsome.”
Looks like the game will only get better from here on out with more money to put towards development of new features and more funner/wacky/sometimes gross words. Draw Something has been a runaway hit on Android and iOS garnering around 12.2 million daily users. I’m hoping someone will come up with a charades like title using your front facing cam.
[Google Play Link | Via PCMag]


Posted: 21 Mar 2012 03:54 PM PDT
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Our friends at TechnoBuffalo have received some information regarding the launch of five new devices – three from HTC and two from Sony – on their way next month.
We’ve got confirmed dates for the HTC One phones. O2 UK already confirmed the One X would be here April 5th, and, as expected, they’re launching the HTC One S and HTC One V on that very same date.

Not launching on the same day are the two Sony phones, the Sony Xperia U and Sony Xperia P. (The Xperia S is already available.) Those will be in stores April 23rd. And beyond all of that, we’ve even got tariff requirements for those who want the phones for free:

HTC One X

Release date: April 5th.
Requirements: Minimum 500MB data plan, £10.00 to insure, 24-month contract with 900 minutes and unlimited text messages.
Price to insure: £10.00

HTC One S:

Release Date: April 5th.
Requirements: Minimun 500MB data plan, £10.00 to insure, 24-month contract with 600 minutes or 500 O2 to O2 minutes.
Price to insure: £10.00.

HTC One V:

Release Date: April 5th.
Requirements: No data required, £6.00 to insure, 24-month contract with 50 minutes and 250 texts.
Price to insure: £6.00.

Sony Xperia P:

Release Date: April 23rd.
Requirements: £6.00 monthly data plan (presumably 500MB also), 24- month contract with 900 minutes and unlimited texts.
Price to insure: £7.50 to insure.

Sony Xperia U:

Release Date: April 23rd.
Requirements: No data required, £6.00 to insure, 24-month contract with 50 minutes and 250 texts.
Price to insure: £6.00 to insure.
So there you have it. Five great looking phones landing in one month. Are any of you O2 customers planning on getting one?

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 02:15 PM PDT
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Sony headed to Singapore to give those folks a taste of what’s to come in their smart TV developments. It’s a new Google TV-enabled set-top box. Made of a glossy material, the box doesn’t look all that special itself (besides, it’s the software that counts). The remote definitely sucks us in, though, with its dual-sided nature. You’ve got a trackpad and general buttons on one side and a nice QWERTY keyboard on the back – it looks like next-to-perfect consolidation, though I have no idea how it feels to use. Take a look at the photos above and below for a quick glimpse and keep your fingers crossed for a price and date soon. [CNet Asia via Android Central]



Posted: 21 Mar 2012 01:37 PM PDT
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While Google has made nice progress with Google Wallet since announcing it last year, it’s no secret that rate of adoption could be better – a lot better, in fact. As many feared, NFC and mobile payments is too primitive a technology right now.
While the required components are available in consumer-ready phones, the very small club of participants – including retailers and carriers – is making it difficult to drum up any interest. According to new reports, Google may have an idea to change that.

They’re reportedly considering an idea to share revenue they make from coupons and special offers with carriers. They had no problem bringing Sprint on board, but AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile are all in the ISIS basket, and many other carriers worldwide aren’t even an option at this point.
It makes sense for Google to start by swooning carriers – the more of them they get on-board, the more merchants will want to support the service due to an increased pool of potential users. Of course, this is hardly a “chicken before the egg” scenario.
Focusing on getting more and bigger merchants first could give users incentive to try Google Wallet, which would then make it easier for carriers to come around. I’m no marketing guru or anything, but it could work just as well. The good news is that they’re doing something, though, if this story turns out to be true.

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 12:52 PM PDT
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A rumor originally pegged March 21st as the launch date of T-Mobile’s Galaxy S Blaze 4G and it appears that date held up… somewhat. The device is now available at “select” T-Mobile retail locations around the United States. There’s no way to figure out which stores have it unless you somehow have access to an inventory system of theirs.
Technically it’s out, just not available for everyone. We’ll definitely be seeing a wide-scale launch in another week, though, as they’ll be offering it in stores and online March 28th. You can get it for $150 (classic contract) or $120 ($15 equipment installment charge per month value plan) after $50 and $30 mail-in rebates, respectively. [via TmoNews]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 11:56 AM PDT
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A lot of you won’t like this story. It appears that Google Music has a streaming music limit which will keep you from streaming songs to your devices after hitting some sort of cap. A user was met with a message alerting him of the unfortunate circumstances and was simply told to try again later.
It’s a most odd situation considering Google hasn’t made any mention, or at least any clear mention, of a streaming cap. We’re not sure if the cap is for time or data, but Google doesn’t make it clear. They also don’t inform the user of when their service will be restored.

Things like this is why a completely cloud-enabled future is tough to swallow. To know that I could be blocked from content I own, some of which I buy from Google, is unsettling. And I’m not so sure that I’m as mad about there being a potential cap as I am about the fact that there is seemingly nothing you can do about eradicating it.
If Google needs to impose a cap, fine. I have absolutely no qualms with that. But allow me to pay my way out of it so I can enjoy my music whenever and however I want. Of course, you could always download your music (PC) and make it available for offline streaming (Android) but that pretty much obliterates the point of offering cloud services.
This could simply be a mistake, too. We’re not sure if some glitch in the system caused this (perhaps Google is testing a forthcoming pay service) but it’s another possibility we have to consider. Either way, I can imagine it’s pretty frustrating. The issue doesn’t seem widespread so it’ll be interesting to see what Google says. [via Droid-Life]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 09:22 AM PDT

Huawei’s first quad-core smartphone, the Ascend D Quad introduced at this year’s Mobile World Congress, will hit shelves in July according to Chinese website CNMO. The phone is set to go into mass production a month prior in June, giving the D Quad a bit later of a start than most expected. The handset’s processor was developed in-house by Huawei and will compete head to head with the Tegra 3 chipset found in HTC’s One X and the quad-core Exynos processor developed by Samsung, which should debut in the Galaxy S III.
If Huawei holds true to its reputation, it could find an advantage over more recognizable brands with an aggressive pricing model. This may not be as easy to accomplish compared to previous offerings given the mobile manufacturer’s latest flagship features high-end specs that include a 4.5-inch 720p display, 8MP camera, and 1GB of RAM. The Ice Cream Sandwich phone will launch during a summer season chock full of quality handset releases.
[via Unwired View]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 08:23 AM PDT

Virgin Mobile USA has announced via their Facebook page that service has been restored after an outage that began yesterday evening. Data, texts, and calling should all be in working order for subscribers. For those still experiencing issues Virgin recommends a battery pull and device restart. The carrier offered the prerequisite apology for any inconveniences.
[Facebook via Engadget]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 07:48 AM PDT

Toshiba has been making a hobby of creating Android tablets that simply refuse to catch on despite a good touch of quality features and design, including the ultra-thin Excite. It should surprise no one, then, that yet another model is on the way to get us scratching our heads. The Toshiba LT170 is a mid-range tablet that would typically fall into the “budget” category, but with a price tag of about $400 (€299) there isn’t much “budget” about the 1GHz Freescale CPU-wielding slate.  Other specs include a 7-inch display, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.
We’d rather use the same money to pick up the upcoming ASUS Transformer Pad 300 or any number of aging but still adequate Android tablets at a discount. Then there is always the rumored 7-inch Nexus tablet said to be priced at a mere $149, which seems to be a bit more in the business of providing bang for the buck.
[via Engadget]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 07:07 AM PDT

The Sony Xperia S is now shipping globally and should be available from retailers and carriers shortly. Dubbed “first Sony smartphone” in a blog post making the announcement, the Xperia S was unveiled at CES and is among the first from the company to ship after their acquisition of Ericsson. Final pricing and availability will be determined by carrier partners.
The Xperia S features a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, 12MP camera, and 720p display, putting at the top of Sony’s early 2012 lineup. The phone will launch with Android 2.3. An upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich is expected in the coming weeks.
[via Sony]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 05:59 AM PDT

The above image is yet another purported look at the Samsung Galaxy S III. The above image is likely a fake. Though it bares some resemblance to a previous leak (the veracity of which can also be questioned), the latest render provides a look at a design distinct from previous images claimed to showcase Samsung’s next big thing. In this case, the on-screen image is taken from a round of Galaxy S II press renders and the rest of the device borrows from the Galaxy S WiFi 4.2.
While it’s definitely a possibility that the Galaxy S III will share design elements with the Galaxy S WiFi 4.2, which in turn takes cues from the redesigned Galaxy Tab 10.1 N, we’re just not seeing this as the real deal. Sure, it could be an early mockup or hastily assembled bit of promotional material if we are really looking for reasons to believe that what we are looking at is Samsung’s next flagship device, but we wouldn’t hold our breath.
[via GSM Helpdesk]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 05:32 AM PDT

Though it’s name won’t draw the same attention as the latest from Samsung and ASUS, the Le Pan III offers a spec sheet that can hold its own. The tablet was easy to lose in the crowd of devices unveiled at CES in January, but that hasn’t put a damper on Le Pan’s plans to launch their 1.5GHz dual-core Ice Cream Sandwich slate. The device was recently spotted among the filings at the FCC en route to release. When that release will come is still a question mark — Le Pan’s site only says “coming soon.”
Other specs include a 9.7-inch display, 1GB of RAM, and a 5MP rear camera with 2MP front-facing.
[FCC via Engadget]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 05:18 AM PDT

Though the folks at Samsung have previously denied rumors of an April launch for the Galaxy S III, one executive still sees it as a possibility. Kim Young-Ha, president of Samsung Greater China, says there is a possibility that the company’s next Android flagship could see its release moved up from May. Plans for the phone’s public availability have not been finalized.
Young-Ha’s comments were among the talking points presented to press in Beijing about Samsung’s desire to be more aggressive in the Chinese market and grow its share there. Whether or not an April release comes to fruition, we now have a Samsung executive on record stating that the phone will launch by May, a fact most assumed to be the case.
[via The Verge]

Posted: 21 Mar 2012 01:17 AM PDT
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Well, Tuesday has finally come to an end and with that, comes the Android Overload. This is the place you can turn to when you just need to make sure you’ve caught up on all the day’s happenings, regardless of whether or not they were featured on our front page. Because we believe a well informed reader is a happy reader, take a look below and see if anything tickles your fancy.
  • Mozilla caves in to offering h.264 support in future versions of Firefox. [The Verge]
  • A new trailer has launched to get Angry Birds pumped for the next game in the series, Angry Birds Space, launching this Thursday. [YouTube]
  • T-Mobile’s “Magenta Deal Days” offers mid-end handsets at affordable prices. March 21st through April 3rd. [TMoNews]
  • Oracle could get as little as $32.3 million in Android lawsuit. [Electronista]
  • Judge denies Apple’s motion to obtain Google data from Motorola. [Bloomberg]
  • LG Optimus M on its way to MetroPCS. [PocketNow]
  • HTC Sensation mod allows for uncompressed image capture. Vastly improved video and pics. [XDA]
  • Verizon and Comcast get ready for senate hearing on wireless cable alliance. [GigaOM]
  • Google trademarks “Showy” for a device that turns into a remote. [Fusible]
  • Android ads could now pose possible privacy security risk? [BGR]
  • When it comes to smartphones, men are more price-sensitive. Women look towards features. [TechCrunch]

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