Saturday, May 5, 2012

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Google Android News Android Forums

AT&T Shuts The Doors On Ability To Unlock Bootloader For HTC One X Smartphone

Posted: 04 May 2012 12:17 PM PDT

 

We know the AT&T HTC One X is one beast of a device, but could AT&T’s policies deter the masses from buying the LTE variant of the smartphone? Apparently AT&T is being conservative with the device by not allowing owners of the phone to flash any type of ROM onto the device. Curious wizkid Paul O’Brien at MoDaCo recently attempted to flash a custom ROM onto the device, but was denied the ability to unlock the bootloader. Specifically— when he reached one of the final steps before unlocking the bootloader, he was greeted with the following “MID ERROR 160″ notification:

 

As you can see, the action of unlocking the bootloader is clearly “not allowed”. Of course this could be a minor gaffe or snaffu on AT&T’s part, so we could very well see an update from HTC addressing this like it has done with its other devices– especially considering the European and Canadian versions of the LTE smartphone don’t have a locked bootloader. The battle of unlocking AT&T One X smartphones continues for now as AT&T owners of the HTC One X won’t be able to flash any type of ROM on their device.

source: MoDoCo
via: Phandroid

HTC introduce official One S cases, complete with kickstand

Posted: 04 May 2012 10:51 AM PDT

 

Still lamenting the lack of kickstand on your shiny new HTC One S? It looks like HTC might have a solution to remedy the problem. The lucky guys over at Engadget received a batch of official cases for review and promptly posted them online for the rest of us to enjoy.

The precision-molded flexible plastic shell is soft to the touch with grade A build quality, the case only encloses the back of the phone leaving the screen exposed. There are four colours available: grey, granita, navy blue and black. The kickstand is spring loaded and made from metal alloy, unfortunately it blocks access to the micro USB port whilst it’s in use. Not much use for a movie maraton!

The kickstand loaded case will cost you $39.99 however there’s also a standard cover minus kickstand for only $24.99. We don’t have any word at this time on availability but as ever we will update you as soon as we have more news. Will you be looking to pick up one of these cases? Check out some further images below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

 

htconescaseslead01 HTC-One-S-case-kickstand-550x390 htc-one-s-kickstand-case-540x400

 

source: Engadget

 

“Shared with me” Auto Playlist Adds One Convenient Location For All Music Shared With You in Google Music

Posted: 04 May 2012 09:25 AM PDT

One of the handy features of Google Music is the fact that friends and family who use the service and buy music from the Google Play Store can share the albums with you for a free listen. Well Google took it a step further today in creating an Auto Playlist called “Shared with me.” This playlist takes all the music shared by your friends and family and puts it in an “inbox” style setting. All music that you have yet to listen to will be in bold and you can see who sent to you. Next to who sent it to you will be a blurb from them as to why they shared it. This list can be sorted by album, artist, duration, sharer, song, etc. You can also delete any of these tracks or albums and if you want to buy the song, each song has a handy link allowing you to purchase it.

I went and checked my Google Music and there it was, so it’s a safe bet that you should have it as well. However those outside the U.S. will have to wait as it’s only available for those in the U.S. right now. So if you’re in the U.S. and use Google Music head on over to your music page to check it out. I do have to say that this is a pretty awesome added feature. What do you guys think?

 

source: Google+

 

 

Samsung Brings Free Scan-and-Match Feature to Its Music Hub Subscription Service

Posted: 04 May 2012 08:48 AM PDT

In the wake of the official announcement and unveiling of the Galaxy S III there have been some other announcements made by Samsung that you should take interest in. For instance Samsung also announced that it will be bringing a Scan-and-Match feature to its Music Hub Subscription service. Similar to iTunes Match, this service will scan your hard drive for any and all music and if it matches a song from Samsung’s library in the cloud it will be accessible to you via the cloud. However there is one key difference between this feature and iTunes Match; Samsung’s feature is free where iTunes is a $24.99 per year charge.

Music Hub costs $9.99/month for one smart phone or tablet or $12.99/month for the ability to access the service from up to four devices and the web. One could argue that it’s not actually free as you have to pay the monthly fee but it’s important to note that there isn’t an additional cost for this feature. As the subscription service contains over 17 million tracks this Scan-and-Match feature sounds pretty good. The music service and this feature are available on any Galaxy S II or newer device, the Smart TV, Galaxy Tab, Smart Blu-ray player, smart home theatre systems or even through the good ol’ internet from your favorite browser. So if you are a user of Samsung’s Music Hub service you can expect to see this feature real shortly if not already. If you missed the full S III event and would love to see it then you’re in luck as we have it here for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

SwiftKey Beta 3 Recieves Update Which Brings New UI And Bug Fixes

Posted: 04 May 2012 08:44 AM PDT

 

The best Android keyboard alternative in the game just got a major update. SwiftKey Beta 3 has been updated to version 3.0.0.190 which brings a new UI (finally!) and a host of improvements including improvements to Smartspace functionality, less lag on certain devices— and oh some bug fixes as well which will ensure most users a smoother experience. In case you all haven’t gotten a taste of the quality keyboard yet, SwiftKey tweeted the download links and we have them here for you all now— so make sure you hit the download links in case your ready for some SwiftKey action on your smartphone or tablet.

Smartphone download link

Tablet download link

source: SwiftKey VIP Forums

 

 

Wikipad Gaming Tablet Makes Another Appearance, This Time Shouts It Will Team Up With Gaikai To Bring Console-Quality Streamed Games

Posted: 04 May 2012 08:16 AM PDT

It’s no secret we all love gaming on our Android tablets. That’s why Wikipad’s Android tablet looks to revolutionize the face of Android gaming as we know it. The tablet will be designed as a general portable gaming unit, instead of having a traditional tablet slate. You will find the standard D-pad, dual analog sticks and buttons galore in order to control your games. Wikipad also took some time to pump up the features of its gaming tablet— which will feature a 10.1-inch screen, a quad-core processor and optional 3G for those who choose to use that to connect to the cloud gaming service if you don’t want to play a game locally on your device. Speaking of which— Wikipad also announced it’s teaming up with Gaikai to bring high-quality console games which will be streamed to gamers of all types.

No word on what games will be available at launch nor do we know of when the intriguing device will be released, but we suspect that they’ll want to release it soon– especially as summer is around the corner. Hit the break for the full presser.

GAIKAI AND WIKIPAD PARTNER TO DELIVER CLOUD GAMING ON THE WORLD’S FIRST GAMING TABLET

(Cision (English) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Innovative Tablet Maker Wikipad Partners with Gaikai as the Provider for Streaming High-end Console Quality Games Directly onto its State-of-the -Art Media Tablet LOS ANGELES, CA – May 2, 2012 – Gaikai (http://www.gaikai.com/) (http://www.gaikai.com/)Inc (http://www.gaikai.com/). (http://www.gaikai.com/), the innovative cloud gaming service, today announces the signing of a partnership with Wikipad Inc., makers of the first tablet to offer an attachable, console-quality gamepad controller. The partnership will see the Gaikai client integrated into the tablet, making game streaming available to Wikipad users.

Cloud gaming is changing the way video games are consumed. Today gamers have to either drive to a store, wait for games to arrive in the mail, or download games, which can take as long as visiting the store itself. Cloud gaming removes the friction and makes games — no matter how large — appear instantly. The Wikipad is capable of running games locally but will also offer extremely high performance games from Gaikai’s cloud gaming platform. Without cloud gaming, many incredible console quality games could never appear on tablets.

“We chose to partner with Gaikai’s game streaming service for its leading performance, graphics, and content,” stated Fraser Townley, President of Sales for Wikipad. “It is the leading game streaming solution with the best library of AAA games and we are thrilled to offer these high quality experiences to our users where Gaikai’s network is deployed.” “The Wikipad is one of the most exciting devices for gaming to date. The tablet was designed with the needs of gamers in mind, enhancing the mobile gaming experience with a set of controls on par with today’s consoles and PC gamepads, enabling gameplay mechanics that have been previously unavailable with just touchscreen controls,” said Robert Stevenson, EVP of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships at Gaikai. The Wikipad concept was announced earlier this year with an enthusiastic response from gamers and press at CES 2012. The tablet offers the first-of-its-kind combination of HD graphics, optional 3G module and game console style controls that feature dual-analog sticks as well as a d-pad and video game buttons. Wikipad also features a unique Wifi-Direct optional accessory which will allow games to be played on HDTV monitors or televisions, allowing players to use the tablet as a portable console gamepad as well as a premium Android tablet.

Wikipad has listened to feedback from gamers worldwide since CES and will launch its tablet with a full suite of the latest immersive entertainment features and enhanced specifications including replacing the 8.1″ version with a premium 10.1″ screen, ultra-light chassis, optional 3G antenna for mobile provider subscriptions and a quad core processor. The official launch date for the enhanced Wikipad has yet to be announced.

Samsung Galaxy S III shreds the iPhone 4S in GPU benchmarks

Posted: 04 May 2012 06:54 AM PDT

Looks like Tim Cook has some explaining to do. Did you expect anything different from Samsung’s Exynos quad-core? It’s built on Samsung’s 32nm high-k + metal gate LP process. It integrates four ARM cortex A9s that run up to 1.4 GHz. Each core can be controlled individually when needed to save power consumption. They also operate on their own voltage and frequency plane. You won’t find a fifth core, but Samsung feels they don’t need it with the 32nm HK+MG LP process.

The GPU is still the same ARM Mali-400/MP4 from the dual-core Exynos, but we aren’t sure how it clocks. Also the same is the dual-channel LPDDR2 memory controller that feeds the SoC. This performance should be competitive with NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 with lower power levels.

As you can see in the above image, the GPU side of things are quite impressive. Samsung is now the new king, but will that hold up when the iPhone 5 launches later this year?

For the Browser and CPU, the Exynos quad-core takes out the iPhone 4S, but there is considerable competition from the HTC One X and the Lava Xolo X900. Of course the Vellamo benchmark below is Qualcomm based so take that for what it’s worth.

source: anandtech

Samsung to provide ‘Pop-Up’ stores in the coming months

Posted: 04 May 2012 06:38 AM PDT

Yesterday was a pretty exciting day for all things Samsung. Along with the new Galaxy S3 announcement, Sammy let us in on some extra goodies like the S-Pebble and my personal favorite, the Allshare Cast Dongle. Now the company is looking to expand their accessibility, much like the way Apple has, with “pop-up” stores for all of your Samsung needs. It’s unclear whether or not the actual stores will resemble what was displayed at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event yesterday, but Sammy is looking to open up shop starting in London in the coming months.

Missed the Samsung Galaxy S III event? Check it out here

Posted: 04 May 2012 06:28 AM PDT

I know most of you weren’t able to make it to London for yesterday’s big event. Our own Chris Stewart did and he said it was amazing as pretty much all Samsung events are. Of course it was streamed live for anyone to watch, but in case you missed it, Samsung has made it easy for you. Just hit the source link below and you can see all the fun. Even if you’ve seen it before, it might be worth another look since there’s always things you catch the second time around. So was it worth the wait?

source: thenextgalaxy

How Does The Galaxy SIII Compare To The Galaxy SII, Galaxy Nexus, and HTC One X?

Posted: 03 May 2012 11:32 PM PDT

Now that Samsung has released their latest flagship, the Galaxy SIII, everyone wants to know how the specs compare to some other heavy hitters. The folks at Droid Life have put together a handy comparison chart between the Galaxy SIII, Galaxy SII, Galaxy Nexus, and HTC One X. Click the image above to see the details.

source: droid-life
Posted by at 5:49 AM

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