Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Android Alert: Enjoy Using Google Wallet? A Factory Reset Could Break It Forever

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:25 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

While there aren’t too many merchants that accept NFC payments (that’s soon going to change) there are probably even fewer devices that come with Google Wallet pre-installed. Maybe that’s why there hasn’t been much commotion over a potentially huge issue some Google Wallet users have been facing over in our forums.

One such Google Wallet user is having difficulty getting the app up and running again, after performing a routine factory reset on his HTC EVO 4G LTE. It all started after an app (Sense) began force closing repeatedly. Normally, under a situation like this when things start acting awry, a factory reset has long been the go-to method for fixing up a device’s software issues good as new. Anyone who has ever contacted tech support when dealing with a software issue knows this well. But that’s actually what started this whole mess.

While the factory reset managed to fixed up the little Sense crashing issue, it actually managed to disable all Google Wallet functionality on the device. Keep in mind, this all happened without any kind of warning, prompt or popup that this could potentially kill Google Wallet purchases from his device (a common selling point for NFC enabled devices) forever.

After a quick call to Google to find a solution, their response? Your fault. You need warranty coverage and your device will have to be replaced on your dime. When it comes to NFC enabled devices, there’s a security mechanism inside the NFC portion of the phone called the “secure element” that, if tampered with — or in this case a simple factory reset — will brick it, causing a “secure element error” when attempting to make NFC purchases Google thinks this common method of fixing up issues on the phone and also required before re-selling a device, is some kind of an attempt at someone engaging in some kind of nefarious activities by attempting to gain access to your funds.

And this isn’t unique to the EVO 4G LTE either. A quick Google search will show you this is a common issue for any NFC based device currently using Google Wallet (yes, even the Galaxy Nexus) and has been going on for quite sometime. The problem is Google, as well as the manufacturers with Google Wallet enabled devices (Samsung, HTC, LG),  should at the very least warn Wallet users — either with a prompt or upon opening the Google Wallet app — that performing a factory reset will completely kill all Google Wallet functionality in the handset, and the device will need to be replaced (although Android Beam and NFC tags work fine).

However, there is a method for preventing or fixing the issue. For prevention, just make sure that before you perform a factory reset, you go into your Google Wallet’s settings (inside the app itself) and click on the option for “Reset Google Wallet.” This will delete all payment information from the device and you can factory reset to your heart’s desire. Fixing the issue is a little more difficult and requires someone who is experiencing the issue after flashing a custom ROM to restore a backup, before everything went down. No backup? No dice.

As someone who often (always) recommends friends and family perform a factory reset when their devices are acting “funny” — as well as a chronic custom ROM flasher — I’m glad I found this information when I did. Lest my friends, family or I be forced with a device crippled with reduced functionality. Spread the word, Phandroids. Oh, and be extra careful when buying previously owned Google Wallet devices.

[Android Forums 1 | Android Forums 2 | Android Forums 3 | RootzWiki | XDA]

GameStop Goes Full Steam Ahead With Android – More Tablets Coming To 1,600 Stores Across The Country

Posted: 28 May 2012 03:42 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

After a trial run that started in 200 stores last October, GameStop is going full steam ahead with Android, offering up Android gaming tablets like the ASUS Transformer Pad (among others), at more than 1,600 retail locations nationwide.

Joining the lineup of the original OG Transformer are the newer models (Prime, Pad), as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Acer Iconia Tab A200 and A100, followed by the Toshiba Excite 10. Not exactly bloatware per se, the tablets will come with bonus games pre-installed such as Sonic CD and Riptide, and apps like Kongregate Arcade as well as a free issue of Game Informer digital.

While pricing isn’t exactly competitive (you can expect to pay typical retail price for the tabs), in typical GameStop fashion, customers are encouraged to trade-in used merchandise for store credit (even old iOS devices) gaining them a potential discount. If the Android tablets aren’t yet available at your local GameStop, you can also find them for sale online.

It’s interesting to see Android mature into a gaming platform, finding itself offered in game-specific retails chains such as GameStop. Where current generation Android tablets are still a bit on the pricey side (most are more expensive than current gen game consoles), we can only imagine how the landscape will change once Google’s affordable Nexus tablet burst onto the scene in a few short months.

[Gamestop | Via PC World]

Droid RAZR HD Pops Up In Cellebrite System With Model Number XT926

Posted: 28 May 2012 02:19 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

We’re getting closer, folks. The Droid Razr HD (XT926) has officially begun showing up in 3rd party Cellebrite systems. While normally this wouldn’t be indicative of an imminent release (corporate Verizon stores are better for that), this one is accompanied by a more official model number. According to previous leaks, the Droid Razr HD (aka “Droid Fighter”), was targeted to launch sometime this month, but for one reason or another, has eluded us thus far.

Expect all the bells and whistles of current top of the line Android phones (including an S4 processor), the Droid Razr HD will finally bring Motorola up to speed with the 720p equipped devices we’ve seen offered for months now from the likes of HTC, Samsung, Sony and even LG.

[DroidRzr | Droid-Life]

Ice Cream Sandwich Leaked for the LG Spectrum – Over-The-Air Update Rolling Out Soon?

Posted: 28 May 2012 01:27 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

There’s no denying that Android users everywhere are clamoring for Android 4.0 on their devices. A few weeks ago, the LG Spectrum received a software update to software version VS920V6, but to many a user’s dismay, it wasn’t the sweet taste of Ice Cream Sandwich they were hoping for. While bug fixing updates are always welcomed, some were disappointed to find that it was nothing more than an incremental Android 2.3.6 update.

Well, it looks an official ICS OTA may soon be underway, with an official leaked Android 4.0 build for the LG Spectrum making its way onto XDA forums. Users have been having a tough time applying the update, so you might be better off just waiting for an official rollout for the update to come your way via Verizon. Let’s hope this means the OTA is just around the corner. Looks like LG, who doesn’t exactly have the best reputation for delivering timely software updates, may be trying to change that old image after all.

[XDA | Via AndroidForums]

Sorry, Huawei – The Oppo Finder Is Now The World’s Thinnest Smartphone

Posted: 28 May 2012 11:59 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

It was short lived, but the crown of the world’s thinnest smartphone has just been removed from the Huawei Ascend P1 S. Only beating the P1 S by a mere .03mm, the Chinese manufactured Oppo Finder has successfully gained the title of the world’s thinnest smartphone — something heavy weights like Samsung, HTC or Motorola wont soon be claiming.

The Finder measures in at 6.65mm thick and features a healthy set of hardware specs like a 4.3-inch AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 8MP shooter with 1.3MP front facing cam, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. To help show of it’s new title, the Oppo Finder goes head-to-head with the iPhone 4 (9.30mm), Samsung Galaxy S2 (8.45mm), and Motorola RAZR (7.10mm) in their new ad spot. You can check it out below.

Don’t expect to see the Oppo Finder hit anywhere outside of China but the phone will be released on June 6th. Wouldn’t be surprised to see another device shave off a mm and take the title by then. Of course, these new sub 7mm devices always beg the question: how thin or too thin?

[SuperTechBlog | Tech2 | MobileDista]

Clove UK Confirms Samsung Galaxy S3 Delay

Posted: 28 May 2012 11:04 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

Rumors of a Samsung Galaxy S3 delay have been sweeping across the net since last week and now we have another retailer, confirming our worst fears — the GS3 has been delayed… a whole 3 days. Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but when a device launch is so close you can almost taste it, any delay could feel like an eternity (especially for those looking to upgrade their older Android devices).

Clove posted the news via their website and while the June 1st launch date is specifically for the white version of the device, the blue version will see an even slightly lengthier delay. Clove is hoping to get the Pebble Blue Galaxy S3 in their hands by June 5th, but that date is still up in the air at this point.

I’m curious to see how this slipped launch date will affect the US release of the device, if at all. We’ll let you know when/if we hear a more official word from Samsung.

[Clove]

LG introduces 5 inch 1080p display

Posted: 28 May 2012 09:54 AM PDT

“Is that a TV in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” That’s the line some of you might be hearing if LG’s newly-revealed display technology ends up in phones. They’ve introduced a 5 inch AH-IPS display that can push out a 1080p image. 1080p is the standard “full HD” resolution that you’ll find on televisions, laptops, tablets, monitors, and more.

Most people think the 5-5.5 inches range is the border for the difference between a phone and a tablet, especially after the advent of the Samsung Galaxy Note. Not only does this display have the highest resolution than any we’ve seen in this size range, it also has the highest pixel density count at 440ppi. That’s just insane. I’ll just end this by saying I definitely want my next phone to have one of these. [via Pocket-Lint]

S Voice working on all phones again?

Posted: 28 May 2012 08:50 AM PDT

The wonderful development community that surrounds Android achieved something great when they ported S Voice to work on many phones — even those not made by Samsung. It seemed as if Samsung caught wind and temporarily suspended the service, but reports are flowing in that things are back to normal today.

Could it be that Samsung only disabled the service because the Galaxy S3 hadn’t launched yet, or is the service being back on just a glitch? No one knows for sure, but go ahead and reinstall the app to see if it’s working again on your device, and keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t go down again! [via The Verge]

LG E970 shows up in benchmark result with Adreno 320 graphics

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT

It looks like LG is just about ready to introduce another superphone. One LG E970 has made an appearance in GLBenchmark. From the looks of things, it apparently houses a 720p display and an Adreno 320 GPU, a chip found on Qualcomm’s most powerful chipsets. Believed to be an AT&T phone, the device scored 60FPS (give or take a few tenths of a point) in both the 2.1 Egypt and 2.1 Pro standard tests.

Of course, a display with vsync would limit the tests from pushing frame rates higher, but there should be no doubt that the E970 would be able to handle the most exhausting tests. For now, we’ve got a name and a benchmark, and if we hear anything more we’ll be bringing it straight to you. [GL Benchmark via Engadget]

ASUS teases the “next transformations” in three days

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:04 AM PDT

ASUS has something sweet cooked up for Computex 2012, it seems, as they’ve released a teaser video stating the “next transformations” will have the world excited on May 31st. This undoubtedly teases a new tablet or tablets in the Transformer line, but we haven’t the slightest clue of what that might be.

The video also quickly mentions ever-changing clouds, but we’re not sure if that has anything to do with cloud services like backups or if it’s just a convenient tagline for marketing. We’re inclined to guess the former with all the actual clouds present in the video, but nothing’s certain. Take a look above and stick with us come May 31st as we cover whatever announcement ASUS may bring (unless it turns out to be something totally unrelated to Android).

Motorola DROID Bionic now free on contract

Posted: 28 May 2012 06:06 AM PDT

The Motorola DROID BIONIC for Verizon is not the worst phone the carrier has to offer, but it can now be had for the low, low price of “free.” The carrier has dropped the price of the phone in what is likely to be a move to clear as many shelves as they can. While the phone isn’t bad, it wasn’t launched in the best situation.

Not only was it launched far beyond its initial announcement, it was launched alongside arguably better devices. Plug in the fact that bugs plagued the phone starting out and it’s clear as day why Verizon decided to drop the price on this phone so quickly. In any case, $0 is a great price for this phone, all things considered. Take advantage of it here. [via Droid-Life]
Posted by at 8:08 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)