Posted: 27 Feb 2012 03:04 PM PST  I know a lot of you folks out there like games. I like them, too, and it's a big part of the reason I'm a fan of what NVIDIA has brought to Android with their Tegra chipsets. When you build the hardware and help developers optimize their software for it, you get something that works great, looks great, and is a load of fun. It's the reason that companies like Apple can have games and apps that perform so well without having great hardware specs. NVIDIA powered devices, especially ones with the new Tegra 3 chip, have great specs. They also have optimized software available for them, through the Market or places like the Tegra Zone. When you mix the two together, they really shine. Tonight, NVIDIA has set the bar a bit higher and is bringing a new set of Tegra optimized games to Market -- Sonic 4: Episode II, Golden Arrow THD, Dark Kingdom THD, Eden to GREEEEN THD, and Hamilton's Great Adventure THD. Hit the break to have a preview of each of them. More: NVIDIA read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 02:04 PM PST  Huawei have definitely hit the ground hard at Mobile World Congress. Following on the quad-core theme is their latest tablet offering, the Mediapad 10 FHD. The aluminium unibodied Mediapad 10 will arrive packing their own 1.5GHz quad-core processor, Ice Cream Sandwich, and a glorious 1900x1200 10 inch IPS display. We're also treated to a healthy dose of Dolby surround sound technology. The good news -- especially for you guys in North America -- is that the Mediapad 10 will support LTE as well as HSPA+  As with the Ascend Quad D, Huawei are making big claims with this tablet, labelling it the "fastest quad-core tablet available." It's thin, at just 8.8mm and it's light at just under 600g. The rear camera comes in an 8MP, coupled with a 1.3MP front facer. There's nothing in the release about on board storage, but all in all the Mediapad 10 looks like an impressive tablet. Huawei really have upped their game with this latest batch of devices. Maybe, just maybe they have what it takes to become a major player. The Mediapad 10 FHD is set to be available in the global market during Q2 2012. read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 01:55 PM PST    
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 01:48 PM PST  It seems like we've been waiting forever for the official Samsung Galaxy Nexus desktop dock to arrive, and when we saw it finally appear in stock we had to grab one. It came in today, so that means it's review time! When you open the package (which was just a brown cardboard box, nothing fancy here), you notice that it's pretty heavy. It's not ridiculously heavy, but it weighs about twice as much as the phone. Combine that with the rubber base plate, and it's not going to slide around from the weight of a cable. It's pretty sturdy. It's plastic, of course, but it's hard coated plastic and feels very nice. I almost don't want to say this, but it feels nicer than the plastic the phone itself is made out of. It's a solid grayish-black that matches the color of the GNex itself. On appearance, it gets high marks. The reason we all have been wanting this one is because of the pogo pins. There's three of them, and they line up with the three contacts on the phone to provide a charge. In the dock itself, there's also a small recess so that the power button isn't depressed when you drop the phone in. Around back, there's a 3.5mm line-out jack and a micro USB connector. The micro USB connector only provides power, so you can't transfer files of debug through it. The line-out jack is a standard 3.5mm jack, and it works well with speakers of headphones. You'll need one or the other, because when it enters "Car Mode" by going in the dock, the external speaker is silenced. It's a bit of an annoyance, and one I'm sure could be fixed with a bit of hackery. When you drop the phone into the dock, it enters Car Mode and everything goes horizontal. We've seen this with other phones when docked, so we weren't really surprised. Everything turns, and you'll have no problem maneuvering through the OS while it's docked. Samsung lists this on their website as being for the i515 only, which is the Verizon LTE version. We took a gamble, and it seems to work just fine with the unlocked GSM version as well. We just have to mention that officially, this one is only for the i515. They also want $90 for it. That's a lot of money for a desktop dock. So is it worth it? As I mention in the video (after the break), maybe. If you're the type of gadget geek who has to have the best as soon as it's available, then yeah, go on and order it. You'll be pleased with the way it's built and the way it works. If you just need a desktop docking station for your Nexus and the thought of spending $90 on one is a bit much, them you might want to wait and see if a third party comes up with a good solution. Either way, I'm glad I got this one. Hit the jump to see a short video and some more pictures. read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 01:32 PM PST 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 01:06 PM PST  At HTC's Mobile World Congress press event on Sunday evening in Barcelona, it was a strickly look-but-don't-touch affair for the HTC One V. Disappointing, to say the least. Today at the Google booth we got a chance to muck one up with our grubby fingers, and let us just say this about that: The HTC Legened is reborn. The iconic form factor that many of us fell in love with two years ago at this very conference has returned. The chin, obviously, is what makes this phone stand out. But It's been updated for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and now sports just three capacitive buttons below the 3.7-inch Super LCD display. It's got the same unibody design as the original Legened. It's got a 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 processor and 512MB RAM. (We'd love to tell you how fast it is, but the software's not yet finished and we've yet to see a working model.) Put it this way: If you loved the fit and finish of the orignal Legend, you're going to want to check this one out. We've got more pics after the break to hold you over while you wait for this one's release. read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 12:45 PM PST Not a day goes by in which we don't get an e-mail from you fine folks out there asking about antivirus and security applications, and which one we'd recommend. That's a tough question, because it's tough to judge which one is the best at spotting malware. We caught up this evening with our pals at NQ Mobile (aka NetQin Mobile), makers of the NQ Mobile Security & Antivirus app. And they've got a convincing argument for using their app over the others -- it was designed and developed in the world capital of viruses and malware. (Bonus points if you can guess the country.)Check out our video above, and check out the app in the Android Market. Basic features are free, and premium features cost on average about $5 a month, depending on where you live. read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 12:16 PM PST  Making use of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core mobile processor the ZTE Era as it's known will arrive with Android 4.0 on-board along with a 4.3-Inch 960 x 540 display with 8GB of memory expandable with a MicroSD card and HSPA+ connectivity. When it comes to size, the ZTE comes in at only 7.8mm thick. There was no mention of availability time or carriers currently but the ZTE Era will serve as ZTE's flagship device in the coming months. You can view the full press release past the break. read more 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 12:12 PM PST  One of the cooler things we've seen this week at Mobile World Congress was HTC's video of how the HTC One S gets its microarc oxidation (MAO) coating, basically turning aircraft-grade aluminum into a ceramic coating. It feels great, and HTC's video of the baking process is akin to frying metal in a microwave -- it's quite impressive. But what about the other HTC One S?As it turns out, there's a second version of the No. 2 phone in HTC's 2012 lineup. The internals are the same, but it's traded in the deep black MAO finish for a more traditional metallic paint job. HTC calls it a "gradient paint color sheet," and it's got a decidedly more traditional feel. It's not bad, just different, with more of a smooth finish. The silver color is straight out of the old-school HTC playbook as well, and we'd be more than welcome to find a place in our pockets for either one of these phones. We've got loads more pictures of the other HTC One S after the break. read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 11:36 AM PST  It's been a long, long time since we've seen the words "Galaxy S" without a II folowed closely thereafter. But that's exactly what we have here in the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G. Don't let it fool you, though, it's got 2011's specs -- better known as Galaxy II specs. And for what it lacks in hardware prowess, it makes up for in network speed, as it's able to lock onto TMo's 42Mbps network. Otherwise? It's fairly unimpressive but should serve as a capable beginner smartphone with a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display, dual-core Snapdragon processor at 1.5GHz, and a slew of preloaed apps. Still no word on when it's coming, other than "later this year." We've got hands-on video and pics after the break. read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 11:27 AM PST  Help Us Improve Our Forums: We want to continue to make our communities even stronger. We've put together ten quick questions that will help guide us on that mission. Whether you visit the forums often or just casually lurk, we want want to hear from you. The survey will only take a minute or two, tops. Thanks for participating! Take the Survey! 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST  LG brought a lot of phones to Mobile World Congress this year. So many, it took us a while to get around to seeing them all -- but see them all we did. And we have video that we know you wanna see. Rather than dig through the onslaught of news that has been the past two days, we figure it's best to round them all up in one tidy package for your viewing pleasure. That's what we're doing here, in our first inaugural LG Mobile World Congress device hands-on video roundup. Sit back, navigate through the magic of lightboxes, and enjoy -- we sure did, and can't wait to get some of these in our hot little hands to review.
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 09:48 AM PST  It sure has been a long time coming, but finally the BBC iPlayer application has been updated to allow streaming over 3G. The app itself has been with us since February 2011 in WiFi only form, but all that changes from today. 3G streaming works for both video and audio content. The BBC have been working alongside the British carriers in bringing this to the market, and have pledged that it works on all UK mobile networks. On top of 3G streaming, feedback regarding the quality of the video has been addressed. Work has been done to improve this taking advantage of an updated Flash Player. At first glance, 3G streaming seems to work very well. However, I'm still not convinced the video quality is anything to write home about. In an area of full signal on Three UK's HSPA+ network the video quality was significantly poorer than most videos streamed from YouTube. Still, the BBC have made the leap, and have already said the app will continue to evolve and be refined. One last point to note, 3G streaming doesn't work on Honeycomb -- and one would presume Ice Cream Sandwich -- tablets. BBC still have some work to do on refining the experience for larger devices, so for now 3G streaming requests will re-direct to the mobile website. Download links can be found after the break. More: BBC Internet Blog read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 09:25 AM PST  Dr. Ben Medlock, CTO of SwiftKey explains: “As we are interacting with more devices, technology that accurately understands what a user is trying to say or do with their devices is vital. It only takes a cursory look at user groups to realize that typing is one of the biggest frustrations that people have on tablets and smartphones. The launch of our SDK will give OEMs access to better typing experience, with their own look and feel.”The SwiftKey SDK is being made available to various platforms including iOS, QNX/BlackBerry 10, Windows and more. You can find the full press release from SwiftKey past the break for you all. read more 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 09:10 AM PST  We dropped in to visit the folks at Acer and have a look at the Iconia A700, and it's impressive. The first thing you notice is how thin and light it is (9.9mm and 600grams, respectively), and then you turn it on. The 1920 x 1200 resolution will absolutely blow you away, and the quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 inside pushes all those pixels nice and smoothly. Acer's also made the A700 a complete media center. You have HDMI out, as well as HDMI to VGA support so you can use a projector, and the microUSB port supports USB host mode so you can connect things like your camera through the included micro to full size USB adapter. Now the switch to MHL in Ice Cream Sandwich (which the A700 ships with -- no "update soon" nonsense here) makes more sense. Add in features like Dolby Mobile 5.1 HD audio output and a microSD card slot, and this looks like one of the tablets to buy in 2012. Hit the jump for a hands-on video read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 09:07 AM PST  "We are proud to be the first carrier to bring our LTE network to St. John's," said John Boynton, Rogers Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "With Rogers LTE wireless network coverage, customers have access to speeds similar to broadband connections, making it easier for people to use their mobile devices to download apps, stream HD videos and music or play on-line games, with virtually no delays or buffering."The HTC One X will join their already existing line of devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE, the HTC Raider and finally, the HTC JetStream. The full press release can be found past the break. Source: Rogers read more
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 08:41 AM PST Welcome back for another week of ShopAndroid.com Daily Giveaway's! Today we'll be featuring the Seidio Innocell 3800mAh Super Extended Battery for Verizon Galaxy Nexus, Case-Mate Barely There Case for HTC ThunderBolt, Body Glove Flex Snap-On Case for Motorola Droid Bionic, and the Talon Hard Shell Case for HTC EVO 4G. Leave a comment after reviewing our featured accessories for today, and you'll be eligible to win the accessory of your choice! Winners will be announced next Monday. Seidio Innocell 3800mAh Super Extended Battery for Verizon Galaxy NexusThe Seidio Innocell Super Extended Life Battery for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is for the avid traveler who can't always get to a charger. This extended battery provides more than double the capacity of the original stock battery of the Galaxy Nexus, and comes with a black replacement door featuring Seidio's signature soft touch coating. read more 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 08:03 AM PST  Join us after the break for our first impressions of the Galaxy Note 10.1, along with an initial hands-on video. read more 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:45 AM PST Acer's brought its brand-new entry level Liquid Glow smartphone here to Mobile World Congress. Not a whole lot to write home about -- 3.7-inch display and a 5MP camera. But it's available in pink, white or black and has NFC. So it's got that going for it, which is nice. The Acer Liquid Glow will be available this summer. 
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 07:31 AM PST
This Hard Case from Mobi Products is designed specifically for the Motorola Photon 4G and has cut outs for all of the devices features while leaving the screen exposed for full functionality. The Mobi Hard Shell Case is a two-piece design that snaps around the Photon 4G protecting against bumps, drops and scratches. Available in black, blue, red, purple, and pink. Take advantage of this great deal while supplies last! |
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:57 AM PST
Normally when we show you new devices, we give you the display first. The business end of the Samsung Galaxy Beam, however, is an a decidedly different location. That's a 15 lumen pico projector tucked into the phone, meaning you can fire video from the device up to 50 feet away or so. We kept things a tad closer, and sure enough, it works just fine.
There's a dedicated projector button on the right-hand-bezel, just above the power switch, that turns the projector on and off. (It's quicker at turning the projector off than on.) It also cycles through projecting the display either in portrait or landscape mode. The projector may be a novelty, but it does appear to work fairly well, even visible in a well-lit room.The rest of the phone is pretty solid, too. It's a Gingerbread device (boo), but it will be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich (yay). It's not the thinnest phone in the world, but neither does it feel horrible in the hand. We're a little worried about how long the 1850 mAh battery will last while blasting away video.
We've got no idea if a projector phone will sell this time around. But if you've just got to have the ability to shoot video across the room from your phone, you'll soon have a new option in Samsung Galaxy Beam.
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:30 AM PST
Yeah, new hardware is great and all, but the Google booth is where it's at at Mobile World Congress. They've got developers, phones, tablets, smoothies and a slide.
Yeah. This is our job.
Hit the break for a slew of pics of what goes on in Never Never Land.
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 05:20 AM PST
Having teased it for over a year, today ASUS publicly unveiled the Padfone in its final form, at its Mobile World Congress press conference in Barcelona. In addition to the much-hyped phone-within-a-tablet functionality, ASUS has brought along a few surprising new features, including a capacitive pen which doubles as a handset. It's also expanded upon the Transformer concept, introducing a keyboard docking option for the Padfone. That's right, you can plug the phone into the tablet, then plug the tablet into the keyboard dock. Crazy stuff to be sure.
Read on to find out what we thought of ASUS' ambitious three-in-one device.
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 05:19 AM PST
Getting a hot pizza delivered just got a little easier, thanks to Domino's Pizza and their Android application. Getting a cool Android phone free with a new contract did as well, again thanks to Domino's Pizza. Confused? Don't be, it's simple, really. Domino's knows you love pizza (we all love pizza) and they've made it super-simple to get one. Grab the new Domino's app from the Market, click through to make your order, and wait for the delivery. You can even watch the progress of your order right from the app, just like you can from the website when you order online. It's like the best invention of the 20th century (pizza) meets the best invention of the 21st century (Android), and it's a perfect match.
So perfect in fact, that Domino's wants to help make it happen by offering free Android phones when you sign a new agreement with a US carrier. Offerings like the Motorola Droid 3 from Verizon, or the HTC Wildfire S from T-Mobile are yours for the taking from Domino's online, and fulfilled by Simplexity, and authorized agent for the carriers.
So what are you waiting for? The app is free in the Market for phones running Android 2.1 or higher, and the phones are free from Domino's when you sign up for a new agreement. We've got more screenshots, the press release, and the download link after the break.
More: Domino's
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Posted: 27 Feb 2012 05:13 AM PST
More love for the good folks in Spain today from Motorola. News out of MWC confirms that Spain will be receiving the global version of the Motorola RAZR via carrier Yoigo. The best part -- the RAZR will be available free on contract.
It's no secret that we love the RAZR here at Android Central, and the people of Spain will be able to enjoy it starting in March. No exact dates have been provided at this time, but needless to say they won't have to wait too much longer.
While launching with Gingerbread, the RAZR will be upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich at some point in Q3 2012.
Source: Motorola
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