Android and Me |
- Family data plans coming soon to AT&T
- HTC EVO V 4G landing on Virgin Mobile on May 31st for $299.99
- Top 10 most popular apps from last week: AirDroid, Solid Explorer, Apex Launcher
- AT&T and Google exchange blows over Android update process
| Family data plans coming soon to AT&T Posted: 08 May 2012 10:28 AM PDT  AT&T has finalized plans to offer a shared data service to families, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega told CNET yesterday. The plans are set to be unveiled later this year, though de la Vega was unwilling to provide details as to timing, plan details, or pricing. AT&T joins Verizon as the two companies considering rolling out a shared data plan as early as this summer. Many wireless customers gripe at having to pay two separate data plans on family lines, especially when neither person comes remotely close to the standard 2-3GB limit most companies offer. Some would rather pay for the ability to share the same allotment of data and mitigate the need for costly separate plans. Of course, data plans tend to be where carriers make their money, so we’ll have to wait and see what AT&T come up with as final products for shared data services. We should be learning more details of AT&T and Verizon shared data plans in coming weeks, perhaps as soon as a few days as the wireless industry settles into the big easy for the CTIA Spring 2012 show. Our own Taylor Wimberly is on hand in New Orleans, and we’ll be bringing you all the goods from the show floor as it emerges.
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| HTC EVO V 4G landing on Virgin Mobile on May 31st for $299.99 Posted: 08 May 2012 08:29 AM PDT  On May 31, Virgin Mobile will launch the HTC EVO V 4G. The new HTC device is essentially last year’s HTC EVO 3D without Sprint’s branding. Virgin has kept the 3D display, dual cameras and the phone’s awkward design. While Sprint’s HTC EVO 3D is still running on Android 2.3, the EVO V 4G will debut with Android 4.0 and HTC Sense 3.6 – similar to what HTC’s been delivering to its older devices as they are updated to Ice Cream Sandwich. Virgin Mobile and HTC have not released details about the phone’s processor, but we assume the EVO V 4G is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz Qaulcomm S3 chip. HTC EVO V 4G specifications
The HTC EVO V 4G will cost $299.99 and can be used with Virgin’s Beyond Talk plans which start at just $35 a month for 300 minutes, unlimited messaging and 2.5GB of data at 4G speeds. According to Virgin, the launch of the HTC EVO V 4G proves ”that customers don't have to sacrifice technology to choose a prepaid smartphone that keeps them connected.” Virgin Mobile’s lineup may not include any true flagship Android devices, but the HTC EVO V 4G is certainly a great option if you don’t mind living with last year’s technology.
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| Top 10 most popular apps from last week: AirDroid, Solid Explorer, Apex Launcher Posted: 08 May 2012 08:29 AM PDT  Every week we cover Android gaming on Wednesday, followed by Top 10 app updates on Friday. Now every Monday (or Tuesday) we will look back and see which ones were the most crowd-pleasing among our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps from your peers. 1. AirDroid
Debuting at the top spot in our weekly roundup is AirDroid. This app is a fast, free service that lets you wirelessly manage your Android device from your favorite browser. The developer released a major update this week that added a ton of new features. Our very own Clark loves this app and uses it daily, so check it out if you need a way to manager your phone from your desktop PC. 2. AfterFocus
Wow, really guys? AfterFocus remains in the top 2 spots on our site for the 4rd week in a row. We know you love camera apps and the developer just released another update, but even I’m surprised that this app has such staying power. If you haven’t tried it yet and want to create DSLR-style background blurred photos, then download it from the link below. 3. Shot Control
Shot Control won week 3 of #thenextinstall and it jumped all the way up to our 3rd most popular app this week. If you prefer to just point and shoot pics and know nothing about photography, then this camera app might not be for you. However, if you love to play with all your camera settings to get that perfect shot, then Shot Control is easily worth the $1.99 asking price. 4. iris
Iris is the original Siri-clone and this week it saw a significant update that added several new features. I’m not a fan of the apps that let you talk with your phone, but this is one of the best reviewed ones with an average score of 4.2. 5. LogiType
LogiType claims they have a “new groundbreaking technology to give you the easiest and fastest touch-typing keyboard available for Android tablets.” I haven’t tried it out yet, but it has an average review score of 4.3 and I’ve heard mostly positive things about it. If you have an Android tablet and want to test out a new input method, check it out and let us know what you think. 6. Schemer
Google’s own Schemer finally opened up signups last week and new users are quickly joining the service. The app claims to help its users “start doing more awesome stuff.” The app integrates with Google+ and uses your circles to suggest the perfect scheme for the moment, which sounds like a cool idea. I’ve had access to Schemer for a couple months now and I have yet to really explore it, so maybe now is a good time to show it some love. 7. Apex Launcher
Last week Nova Launcher appeared in our Top 10 list, and this week Apex Launcher makes an appearance. Both of these launchers are the new kids on the block and target devices running Android 4.0. They provide a ton of tweaks for performance and customizations, but Apex has a slightly higher review score. Both are worth checking out if you love mixing your home screen up. 8. Weatherwise
Weatherwise returns this week but drops six spots down to number eight.. This weather widget looks pretty cool, but the free version only comes with a single skin. Additional themes will cost you $0.99. Average review scores have been stead at 4.3, so the early users have enjoyed the app thus far. 9. Oven Break
Oven Break from Com2uS is the only game to crack the Top 10 this week. It’s free so I gave it a try, but I was bored within minutes. Maybe the game gets better as you progress, but it didn’t keep my attention long enough to find out. 10. Solid Explorer Beta
Solid Explorer is amazing. The app is still in beta, but it’s already one of the best looking file managers I have tried on Android. I guarantee you this app will return next week and it should be in the top three. Try it out right now and tell me it’s not your new favorite file manager.
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| AT&T and Google exchange blows over Android update process Posted: 08 May 2012 07:28 AM PDT  AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson isn’t too happy with the Android update process. In a response to a question about the slow update process, Stephenson put the blame squarely on Google, stating: Google determines what platform gets the newest releases and when. A lot of times, that's a negotiated arrangement and that's something we work at hard. We know that's important to our customers. That's kind of an ambiguous answer because I can't give you a direct answer in this setting.Randall StephensonAT&T It’s unclear exactly what Mr. Stephenson is referring to here. This response flies in the face of how we understand the upgrade process to work. When Google finalizes an operating system update, it pushes that update as open source to source.android.com as soon as the first device with the new software is released. That gives handset makers access to the release, which they then customize to their heart’s content, then submit to carriers for approval. AT&T has a whopping two devices that has been upgraded to Android 4 “Ice Cream Sandwich,” Google’s own Nexus S and the HTC Vivid. All other Android handsets on the carrier’s network are running either Android 2.3 Gingerbread or 2.2 Froyo, though some Samsung Galaxy S II devices have ICS coming soon. It’s possible Stephenson is referring to the Verizon-branded Galaxy Nexus, which went nearly 5 months without getting an update from 4.0.2 (to 4.0.3 or 4.0.4), an update rumored to fix several issues with the device and bring it in line with the most recent version of ICS. Still, only a handful of devices are currently running Android 4, with all of Google’s Nexus handsets running on the newest platform except for the three year old Nexus One. It’s clear to us that Google has done all it can to get the update out to devices, and that the delayed implementation lies in the hands of handset makers and carriers. Google was obviously bothered by Stephenson’s criticism, and issued the following response: Mr. Stephenson's carefully worded quote caught our attention and frankly we don't understand what he is referring to. Google does not have any agreements in place that require a negotiation before a handset launches. Google has always made the latest release of Android available as open source at source.android.com as soon as the first device based on it has launched. This way, we know the software runs error-free on hardware that has been accepted and approved by manufacturers, operators and regulatory agencies such as the FCC. We then release it to the world.Google Google obviously doesn’t want to take blame for the Android 4 update mess, which sees only a handful of smartphones running the latest version of Android, which has been available to handset makers for over 5 months. Motorola, soon to become part of Google itself, provided insights as to the upgrade process back in December, and it was crystal clear from their account that the bulk of time taken in the update process is attributed to handset makers updating/re-building their custom UIs, and carriers adding the customary bloatware. I think we can safely say that Mr. Stephenson got his facts wrong here, and that handset makers and carriers (including AT&T) need to take some responsibility for the delayed upgrade cycle. We’ll bring you any updates from AT&T as they weigh a response to Google’s statements this morning.
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