Android Phone Fans |
- Verizon posts changelog for Droid 3 update, 224MB chock full of bug fixes
- Facebook Messenger for Android updated with location features
- Verdict could be coming soon in Google vs. Oracle case
- HTC One X pre-orders arriving early from AT&T for some
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 now up for pre-order, dual-core Ice Cream Sandwich for $399
- HTC One X (AT&T) Review
- HBO Go and MAX Go updated to support Ice Cream Sandwich
- LG Optimus LTE2 crams 2GB of RAM inside
- [Update: DROID 3 owners, too] Motorola DROID X2 receiving firmware OTA 1.3.418?
- Developing a game? Here’s a convenient list of more than 60 engines to use
- Samsung puts entire Samsung Galaxy S3 Unpacked event online
- Android Overload: Flipboard for Android Spotted On GS3, Google Lost Money With Android In 2010 and More
- HTC One S Gets A Kickstand With Introduction of Official OEM Case
- AT&T’s HTC One X Bootloader Locked Up – Other Variants Get Off Scott-Free
| Verizon posts changelog for Droid 3 update, 224MB chock full of bug fixes Posted: 04 May 2012 03:02 PM PDT
Earlier today we learned of a soak test for a new Motorola DROID 3 software update, and less than 12 hours later Verizon has posted the official changelog. While large in size, the 224MB update isn’t a bump up in OS version to Android 4.0. Instead it will address a plethora of bugs while updating bloatware apps and providing other minor enhancements such as security patches. With the update notes live on Verizon’s support site, it’s only a matter of time before the general userbase will receive the new software. [via DroidLife]
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| Facebook Messenger for Android updated with location features Posted: 04 May 2012 02:56 PM PDT
Google Play Link: Facebook Messenger [via AndroidPolice]
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| Verdict could be coming soon in Google vs. Oracle case Posted: 04 May 2012 12:55 PM PDT
A jury that yesterday was having difficulty coming to a consensus decision in the Oracle vs. Google trial has reached an agreement on all but one question, according to reports emerging from the courtroom. A note was passed on to Judge William Alsup informing him of the progress, though the jury foreperson also informed Alsup that the group did not agree that sending notice of the partial agreement was necessary. This could signify that jurors aren’t as close as it would seem to reaching a unanimous verdict, but just the same we could be hearing the fate of Google in light of Oracle’s accusations very soon. [via The Verge]
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| HTC One X pre-orders arriving early from AT&T for some Posted: 04 May 2012 12:29 PM PDT
Good news for those that pre-ordered the HTC One X from AT&T. Reports are coming in from all over that shipments are beginning to arrive at the doorstep of those eagerly awaiting the new handset. As for us, we just wrapped up our review of the One X and had nothing but positive things to say. If you didn’t pre-order and are still on the fence about picking up the phone, which launches next week, head on over to read our thoughts on and praise for the One X. [via AndroidForums]
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 now up for pre-order, dual-core Ice Cream Sandwich for $399 Posted: 04 May 2012 12:24 PM PDT
The bad news is that rumors of a quad-core upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 didn’t pan out. The good news is that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is now up for pre-order. Office Depot has the slate, which still features a dual-core processor and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, priced at $399.99 along with free delivery. The Tab 2 10.1 is set to ship on May 11th, according to the order page. The perfect companion to the newly announced Galaxy S III? We’d say so. [Office Depot via Engadget]
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| Posted: 04 May 2012 12:07 PM PDT
HTC set out to create a device so desirable that consumers would immediately tag it as the “one” for them. So does the HTC One X live up to expectations? AT&T’s version of the device doesn’t carry the same quad-core Tegra 3 processor as its international cousin, but it’s hardly missed. The One X mixes beautiful design, powerful hardware, and refined software to provide one of the most polished Android experiences to date. We jumped right in and put HTC’s flagship handset to the test. Read on for our full review. HardwareThe HTC One X is a big handset with a screen measuring in at 4.7-inches, but it is by no means bulky. The phone still manages to stay pretty light while feeling solid at 4.6 ounces and measures in at 0.36 of an inch thick. You’ll be thankful for the large display for its brightness and clarity at 720p HD resolution. The 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor is coupled with 1GB RAM and the phone boasts 16GB of onboard storage. Unfortunately, there is no expandable memory via microSD. In fact, the unibody phone features no removable back cover and provides no access to its 1800mAh battery.
The design of the phone is similar to previous unibody handsets from HTC, but gets a few nice touches including the use of polycarbonate and a screen bezel that curves into the phone’s one-piece casing, creating a gentle flow between materials. Otherwise the One X is rather minimalistic, featuring only microUSB and 3.5mm headset ports, a volume rocker and power on/off/standby button, and an 8MP camera with LED flash framed in the middle of the device’s upper rear. There is also a front-facing camera. A row of contact pins serves as a connection for docks and accessories. The power housed within the One X was obvious, and the difference between the AT&T version and its international counterpart was hardly felt. Navigating the phone’s interface, surfing the web, viewing media, and playing games were all strong points of the One X. Coupled with the speed of AT&T’s growing 4G LTE network, the One X doesn’t miss a beat. Call quality was as good as any we have come across on AT&T. SoftwareThe thing with the One X, though, is that it’s software is so perfectly tailored to take full advantage of the device’s hardware, and vice versa. The handset launches with Ice Cream Sandwich and is among the first crop of phones to feature Sense 4.0, which strips out many of the flashier elements bloating previous builds and focuses on speed and ease of use. There is still plenty of customization, including the ability to assign shortcut keys to the phone’s dock, but it all seems to work better. Other features include the ability to launch apps such as the dialer or camera directly from the One X’s lock screen and a sortable app tray. Beats Audio is directly integrated into the handset and launches a special audio profile whenever a Beats headset is detected. The experience is improved over previous Beats phones like the HTC Rezound, and audio enhancements now apply to any audio source.
HTC has opted to go with hardware soft keys for the Android navigation buttons over Ice Cream Sandwich’s on-screen software alternatives. It’s really a matter of preference, however, and shouldn’t take away from the experience. One curious decision comes with how HTC handles the multi-tasking key. Instead of a series of overlaid tiles that can be flicked off the screen, the multi-task button on the One X launches a full screen dialog with a carousel of recently used apps. It’s not as intuitive as Google’s solution. Camera
While the hardware and software of the HTC One X are pretty great on their own, the phone’s best trick comes from the merging of the two. ImageSense is a new technology that takes advantage of a newly developed camera sensor and couples it with software refinements that provide one of the best photo taking experiences ever to grace a smartphone. The One X can focus and snap a photo with lightning speed, but if that’s not quick enough the camera also offers burst mode, capturing a series of photos in quick succession and letting you choose the best shot later. It’s perfect for grabbing an action shot. If that action is better suited for video, no problem. The presence of both the camera shutter button and the video record button on one screen means you won’t have to waste time switching between modes. If you decide after capturing a video that pictures would have been nice, too, no problem. The One X’s camera and gallery allows you to easily capture still frames from a previously recorded video.
The One X offers plenty of options when it comes to photo settings, and a nice selection of effects can be applied and previewed on the fly. One of my favorites is the depth of field effect, which you can see in the a couple of these sample shots. Color and light reproduction was great, and the camera functioned pretty well in all lighting conditions.
Video was also a treat, with full 1080p HD resolution to boot. Video mode had a similar response to color and lighting as did camera mode, and the results were equally as impressive. ConclusionHTC has hit one out of the park with their latest offering. It’s hard to find a better combination of hardware and software in a smartphone, and the whole thing brings a refined, savvy touch that many feel Android is missing. Excellent photo capabilities and enhanced audio only add to the One X’s charm. Sure, it lacks a removable battery and comes up short on removable storage, but that should only deter some of the pickier consumers. On AT&T’s network the One X’s full power is unleashed. So is it the One for you? It sure is for us.
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| HBO Go and MAX Go updated to support Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 04 May 2012 09:26 AM PDT
HBO Go and MAX Go users who have devices running Ice Cream Sandwich were initially left out of the mobile on-demand options, but new updates today eradicates those issues. Those on Ice Cream Sandwich devices are now fully supported so you can watch all your favorite content on the go. They’ve also made performance enhancements and fixed bugs, but didn’t go into detail about what exactly changed there. Find both updates in the Google Play Store here and here.
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| LG Optimus LTE2 crams 2GB of RAM inside Posted: 04 May 2012 09:20 AM PDT
LG’s officially announced a new entry into their LG Optimus Line. We’re looking at the LG Optimus LTE2, and with some of the features LG’s touting we believe its worthy of being a sequel. For now, we know it has a True HD IPS display, a 2,150mAh battery, LTE radios, and last but not least, 2GB of RAM. Yes, 2GB. We’re not sure why anyone would possibly need all that RAM, but we won’t complain. Unfortunately there’s not much else we know regarding the rest of its innards yet, but we’re sure those details will come to light before too long. This one will be available in Korea first, with additional markets possibly getting in on the fun at a later date. [LG Korea via Droid Dog]
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| [Update: DROID 3 owners, too] Motorola DROID X2 receiving firmware OTA 1.3.418? Posted: 04 May 2012 07:22 AM PDT [Update]: the OTA is, in fact, only going out to those who signed up for the soak test. A soak test is also going out to DROID 3 users. Neither, as you might imagine, is Ice Cream Sandwich. If you’re in Motorola’s test program and you have either of these devices unrooted, be sure to update whenever you get the chance. Some weirdness is going on with the Motorola DROID X2, it seems. We know Motorola was prepared to begin soak tests for a maintenance update in the middle of March, but we haven’t really heard from them since. Well, it looks like at least some users are starting to see the update to firmware 1.3.418 in one way or another.
We received a tip claiming that they were starting to see the upgrade, and a user over at AndroidForums.com says their replacement DROID X2 received yesterday came with the firmware pre-installed. It would appear that Motorola is rolling it out to at least some. Whether these people are part of a soak test still going on or not hasn’t been confirmed. Verizon’s support document still says that the update is “coming soon” which would lead us to believe that it’s the latter. It would explain why a replacement device would come pre-installed with it: Asurion probably had access to the test upgrade and applied it to the phone before sending it. We’re not sure if that’s common practice if that’s the case, but it’s the only logical reason we can think of outside of this being a wide-spread OTA rollout. In any case, check your DROID X2 for the update and let us know if you are seeing it. [Thanks _____!]
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| Developing a game? Here’s a convenient list of more than 60 engines to use Posted: 04 May 2012 05:42 AM PDT Game developers know that a game can live or die based on its engine. Some are fine with creating their own, but a vast majority find it more convenient to use one of many great game engines already available. If you’re searching for a game engine that’s right for you, MobileGameEngines.com has a list that may pique your interest.
They list over 60 different engines which can be used to create Android. Heavy-hitters include Unity 3D and Unreal Engine 3, and those sit alongside more modest options such as Papaya’s social game engine and Alien3D. The site provides descriptions of each engine, including whether it’s used for 2D development, 3D development, or both. They also have pricing, information on which platforms are supported, and links to each respective engine’s website for easy downloading. Be sure to take advantage of this valuable treasure trove of development tools the next time you think of a 5 star game. [Mobile Game Engines, Thanks Jason!]
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| Samsung puts entire Samsung Galaxy S3 Unpacked event online Posted: 04 May 2012 05:09 AM PDT If you missed Samsung’s Galaxy S3 presentation yesterday and wanted to watch the full thing, you’re in luck. Samsung has made the entire Unpacked event available for viewing online. While some may not be overwhelmed with what they saw, it’s still worth checking out just to see some of the innovative things Samsung’s introduced in the software side. You can either hit up the embedded video above or head over the The Next Galaxy, Samsung’s official site for the Samsung Galaxy S3.
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| Posted: 03 May 2012 10:59 PM PDT
Well, folks. It looks like Samsung Galaxy S3 is finally over and it was a fun ride. There was still a little tidbits of news leftover from throughout the day and if you’re interested, you came to the right place. This here is the Android Overload. Enjoy.
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| HTC One S Gets A Kickstand With Introduction of Official OEM Case Posted: 03 May 2012 09:47 PM PDT
Looks like HTC is getting into the accessories business — well, at least making a bigger push into it. Now that they’ve launched their One line across multiple carriers and countries around the world, it’s time to dress up those sexy devices in some stylish cases, starting with the One S. It’s been talked about time, and time again in Android circles. Probably the most lustworthy feature in a phone isn’t the display, it’s not battery life or even “teh corez.” Ever since the introduction of the HTC EVO 4G almost 2 years ago to this day, the world has been clamoring for a… the kickstand.
Well, for HTC One S users, it seems Peter Chou and Co are bringing their dreams a little closer to reality with these stylish, protective cases for the One S featuring that oft requested kickstand. The case itself is a plastic hard shell case with soft touch finish ($25) and comes with the optional, spring-loaded aluminum kickstand version for $40. Not much protection across the top/bottom and front, but that’s often the price we pay for added pleasure.
HTC also revealed plans for a variety of TPU cases (my personal favorite form of protection) for the HTC One X which should be made available around the same time as these One S versions. HTC says, “soon.” Anyone thinking of picking these up? [Engadget]
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| AT&T’s HTC One X Bootloader Locked Up – Other Variants Get Off Scott-Free Posted: 03 May 2012 08:14 PM PDT
Looks like the AT&T version of the HTC One X differs from the international version in more ways than just the processor found inside. Paul O’brien and friends over at MoDaCo have uncovered an interesting bit of news about the AT&T One X that could pose a problem for those looking to flash custom ROMs onto the device.
According to Mr. Obrien, he and a few others are being greeted by a “MID ERROR 160″ when attempting to unlock the bootloader on the AT&T One X through HTCDev. Again, this error hasn’t showed up when unlocking the Euro or Canadian version of the One X and seems to be a unique issue only to the AT&T version. There’s a wide range of reasons why a carrier would want to go through the trouble of requesting a device’s bootloader remain locked and it’s also very possible that a future update could fix this roadblock. But as it stands today, the HTC One X on AT&T is currently un-unlockable.
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Facebook Messenger for Android has been updated to version 1.7 with a changelog that includes new location features and the ability to see when your messages have been read by their recipient. The “What’s new” section on the app’s Google Play page has been updated accordingly, though it reads more as an add promoting messenger as alternative to using the texting plan you already pay for. And that’s about all you can expect. Pro tip: location tracking is turned on by default when installing the latest update. It can be disabled via the app’s settings menu.
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