Android Central |
- Favorite Jelly Bean ROMs, Removing WiFi reminder on One X [From the Forums]
- Pantech Star Q spotted, headed to Verizon packing 4G LTE
- Jelly Bean factory images released for (some) Nexus models
- HTC One X sees a price drop at Radio Shack, and the Trade & Save special is back
- Google Play Store down in Puerto Rico
- Out of Milk review - now you have no excuse for forgetting groceries
- HTC explains decision to drop Desire HD Ice Cream Sandwich update
- Lenovo goes outside the box, offers vanilla ICS build for the Lenovo IdeaPad K1
- Google Maps debuts higher resolution imagery around the world
- Original Final Fantasy now available in Google Play
- Samsung confirms Galaxy Note and Galaxy S3 appearance in Olympic opening ceremony
- Entry-level Sony 'Xperia J' photos leak out ahead of possible IFA arrival
- Samsung launches Olympic prediction app for Android
- OnLive cloud gaming announces Ouya console support
- Virgin Mobile introduces $79.99 entry level PCD Chaser
- Samsung's ChatON app updated with Olympic buddy
- Deal of the Day: Qmadix Vibe Flex-Gel Cover for HTC EVO 4G LTE
- LG Nitro HD gets Ice Cream Sandwich on July 31
- Get the best Samsung Galaxy S3 Accessories
- Motorola launches Motoluxe XT685 for China, and it runs Android 4.0
- Samsung launches limited edition Team GB Galaxy S3 at Carphone Warehouse
- Samsung restores local search on international Galaxy S3 with new OTA
- MetroPCS Q2 2012 sees profits go up, subscribers go down, LTE push for the remainder of the year
- Plume Update Brings UI Changes, Bug Fixes
- Jelly Bean now pushing to U.S. Wifi Motorola Xoom
| Favorite Jelly Bean ROMs, Removing WiFi reminder on One X [From the Forums] Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:03 PM PDT
Just in case you missed out on some of the Android news today, now is the time to go ahead and get yourself fully caught up. Here on the blogs and in the Android Central Forums there is plenty to talk about. Have some questions? Need some help or just looking to chat Android? You know where to go, check out some of the threads below to get started.
We've got nearly 1 million members helping members and nearly 2 million posts in our Android Forums. Are you one of them? Join today! 
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| Pantech Star Q spotted, headed to Verizon packing 4G LTE Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:55 PM PDT
Although Pantech hasn''t had a much success in the high-end market, they're still coming out with some entry level options to entice those people who may be jumping into the smartphone market for the first time. A new device for Verizon has now appeared going under the name Pantech Star Q. It's no head turner but considering it's suggested to retail for only $99 with 4G LTE it's worth a look:
It is, what it is. The 5-row QWERTY may appeal to some folks given there is a shortage of those on Verizon other than that, we know whoever has one in their possession has uploaded some pics to Picassa and certainly likes Hemp seeds. We'll leave it at that. Source: Android and Me 
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| Jelly Bean factory images released for (some) Nexus models Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:12 PM PDT
The Jelly Bean 4.1.1 images for selected Nexus models have been released by Google, allowing you to roll back to a safe, factory state no matter how bad you've f&%^#d up your Nexus. The particular models are --
This is good news for all of us who hack and modify our Nexus devices, as having an easy and safe way to return to a booting device is the first rule of Android hacking. You can grab the images at the source link, and be sure to hit the forums for more information about how this all works if you have any questions. Source: Android Developers; via Android Central forums 
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| HTC One X sees a price drop at Radio Shack, and the Trade & Save special is back Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:32 PM PDT
If you're looking to pick up a new Android phone on AT&T this weekend, you might want to swing by Radio Shack and have a look at the HTC One X this Sunday. The folks at the Shack are dropping the price down to $100 (on a contract, of course) and have brought back the Trade & Save specials. That means that if you bring in any working phone when you buy a new one (again, with a contract) you will score somewhere between $30 and $300. Beats the heck out of trolling Craigslist looking for a buyer, or just letting your old phone sit in the junk drawer. We know the best way to buy a phone is to get an unlocked GSM model and be free of pesky multi-year contracts. We get it. But not everyone is ready to spend upwards of $700 on a new phone, and if you're happy with your carrier and plan to be there for two years anyway, why not save some cash, right? Radio Shack is making it easy to get a great phone, at a great price, and maybe you'll even get some folding money from your old one. The promotion starts Sunday July 29, and the Trade & Save offer will run until Saturday Aug. 11. 
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| Google Play Store down in Puerto Rico Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:07 PM PDT
The Google Play Store appears to be down for users in Puerto Rico. A thread over at the Android section of the Google Code site has received lots of responses from people in Puerto Rico confirming the issue. The problem is affecting a variety of handsets, including the Motorola Xoom (pictured above) to the Galaxy Nexus. If you're in Puerto Rico and are also experiencing the issue, please head over and report it to Google. Make sure to tell them which device you have and what version of Android you're running. Hopefully this issue can be quickly resolved. Source: Google Code Image courtesy of gcolon 
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| Out of Milk review - now you have no excuse for forgetting groceries Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:58 PM PDT
Out of Milk has been providing a clean, feature-rich task management app for some time, and earlier this month they started offering list sharing and syncing for free, along with having a major UI overhaul. We decided to take a look because hey, who doesn't have trouble keeping track of all the stuff they have to do? The core functions of Out of Milk are just about what you would expect: make shopping lists, and mark them as done. There are dedicated interfaces for the pantry and more generic task lists, but groceries are really the main thing. If you're willing to pay $1.99 through an awkward separate app download, you can get even more, such as additional themes, fonts, home screen widgets, coupon tracking, and customizing tap and long-press actions. 
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| HTC explains decision to drop Desire HD Ice Cream Sandwich update Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:22 PM PDT
After a little confusion earlier this month, it was eventually revealed that HTC wouldn't be updating the venerable Desire HD to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich after all. At the time, the manufacturer simply said that the current Gingerbread-based firmware "provides customers with the best experience" on the phone. Now HTC has elaborated a little on the specific technical issues keeping the DHD from getting an Android 4.0 update. Basically, the system partition of the phone isn't large enough to hold Sense and Ice Cream Sandwich, and HTC found the device's performance on ICS to be below-par anyway. Here's the company's statement in full, which goes into a fair amount of detail about what's involved --
So that's that. Clearly there's no way HTC could have anticipated the hardware or partitioning requirements of ICS when designing the Desire HD in mid-2010, so it's the decision to cut the update is an understandable one. Nevertheless, we're sure custom ROM developers will still find a way to get ICS ROMs loaded onto the Desire HD's smaller partition setup. So if you're still rocking a DHD, the custom ROM route should still be open to you. Source: HTC Blog 
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| Lenovo goes outside the box, offers vanilla ICS build for the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:07 PM PDT
Although Lenovo IdeaPad K1 never really got much love, the folks from Lenovo have now gone ahead and prepared a little treat for tech-savvy buyers. Retail units have long since been pulled from brick-and-mortar and online shelves, leaving the device stuck on Android 3.2 Honeycomb. But instead of pressing forward with an update to Android 4.0 ICS to the masses, Lenovo has dropped a vanilla build for anyone who wishes to load it manually. They even outlined instructions on how to do it. A few caveats do exist though, as it's a vanilla build. You'll not find the Google Play Store loaded on this release plus, it's going to wipe everything you currently have loaded. But that's all minor stuff for the intended audience of developers and tech geeks. No matter how you look at it, it's a nice gesture from Lenovo and something that we'd personally like to see become more widespread. Good on ya, Lenovo. 
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| Google Maps debuts higher resolution imagery around the world Posted: 27 Jul 2012 11:55 AM PDT
While Google Earth recently impressed us with its 3D antics at Google I/O, its 2D counterpart, Google Maps is just as important. Today Maps sees its 2D imagery significantly upgraded in a number of countries, with higher resolution satellite pictures, aerial imagery and 45-degree shots. Google says it's rolled out high-resolution aerial and satellite-based images for 25 cities and 25 "regions/countries." And new 45-degree perspective shots are now available in a total of 28 cities, 21 in the U.S. and 7 overseas. While perspective shots have yet to be rolled out to mobile, Android users can get access to the high-resolution top-down images right away by enabling the "Satellite" layer from within the Google Maps app. We've got list of all the new cities and countries covered by the new high-res imagery after the break. Source: Google Lat Long Blog 
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| Original Final Fantasy now available in Google Play Posted: 27 Jul 2012 11:10 AM PDT
Final Fantasy isn't quite as aggressive as Final Fantasy III was with pricing, but $6.99 may still be more than you're used to paying. Of course, when it comes to nostalgia, sometimes money is no object. Any old-school gamers excited to get back into the first Final Fantasy? Download: Final Fantasy ($6.99) 
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| Samsung confirms Galaxy Note and Galaxy S3 appearance in Olympic opening ceremony Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:23 AM PDT
In what seems to be a slightly premature blog post, Samsung has confirmed the appearance of the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S III (S3) at the Olympic opening ceremony in London -- an event some four hours away at the time of writing. Referring to the ceremony in the past tense, a post on the official Samsung Tomorrow blog noted Samsung's position as a global Olympic partner, and said the phones were featured "as part of a dance routine," in the show seen by "more than one billion people across the globe." Samsung says to go to the official Samsung Mobile YouTube page for behind-the-scenes interviews from the opening ceremony, but it looks like these aren't live just yet. We'll know more when the ceremonies kick off at 9pm London time (4pm EDT, 1pm PDT) Source: Samsung Tomorrow 
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| Entry-level Sony 'Xperia J' photos leak out ahead of possible IFA arrival Posted: 27 Jul 2012 09:09 AM PDT
We're already expecting to see a couple of new Sony phones at next month's IFA show in Berlin, and now it seems they may be joined by a third, budget-oriented offering. The Sony ST26i, rumored to go to market as the "Xperia J," has cropped up on Taiwanese site ePrice, along with a set of purported specs. According to posters on the site, the Xperia J will sport a 4-inch FWVGA (854x480) display, a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Around the back there's said to be a 5MP camera with single LED flash. From what we can see of the design, the phone seems to be a plain old candybar/slab design, like some other leaked Sony handsets we've seen lately. The photos would also see to confirm at least three colors -- pink, black and white. We'd expect the "Xperia J" to appear alongside the LT30p "Mint" and LT29i "Hayabusa" at the Sony booth at IFA next month, but of course nothing's being officially confirmed ahead of the event. Keep watching in late August, as we'll be live on the ground in Berlin. Source: ePrice; via: XperiaBlog 
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| Samsung launches Olympic prediction app for Android Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:35 AM PDT
As the hours and minutes count down towards the opening ceremony in London, Samsung is once again getting in the Olympic spirit with a brand new social prediction app for the 2012 games. The Samsung London 2012 Predictor hooks into your Facebook account and allows you to play along against your friends, predicting who'll win gold, silver and bronze in certain events. There's also an Olympic scheduler built in to help you follow any events you're interested in live. The Samsung London 2012 Predictor app is available now for most devices -- not just Samsung phones -- running Android 2.2 or above. If you're looking for more Android apps to help you follow the London Olympics, you can check out our complete guide to the best Olympic apps. Download: Google Play 
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| OnLive cloud gaming announces Ouya console support Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:57 AM PDT
Cloud gaming service provider OnLive has just announced that they will plug into the upcoming Ouya Android gaming console. This means OnLive customers will be able to access traditional console games through Ouya, as well as a vast library of free, TV-optimized Android titles. Of course, Ouya's set-up stipulates that every developer has to offer something for free, so OnLive will give 30 minutes of play time for each game for free, and if players like it, they can pay up and buy the game directly or sign up for their subscription. Ouya quickly met its Kickstarter funding goal after their launch announcement earlier this month, and promises to do great things for Android gamers looking for a more in-depth experience. Usually we hear about OnLive as a way of accessing AAA games on Android phones and tablets, but they also have their own dedicated set-top box that could have just as easily been a competitor to Ouya as a partner. Luckily, OnLive is more interested in being available on as many screens as possible, and partners up regularly - including Vizio, for their apparently popular Co-Star Google TV box. Ouya is still going through funding on Kickstarter if you're interested in preordering one of the consoles. Any OnLive subscribers in the house care to comment on the service? Would OnLive support get you to pick up an Ouya, or would you be willing to give OnLive a shot if you were getting an Ouya anyway? Source: OnLive 
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| Virgin Mobile introduces $79.99 entry level PCD Chaser Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:35 AM PDT
Virgin Mobile USA has today introduced their latest Android smartphone, the entry level PCD Chaser for just $79.99 without signing a contract. Marketing for the Chaser is aimed firmly at customers currently using a feature phone but wanting to make the jump to a smartphone. Featuring a 3.2" touchscreen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 3MP camera and an 800MHz processor, the Chaser's specs won't set the world on fire. But, it's priced to move, and is currently showing up as temporarily out of stock on the Virgin Mobile website. It's available with Beyond Talk unlimited data and messaging plans, starting at $35 a month. The Chaser will be rolling out through nationwide retailers starting in September, but it is available online from today -- or when it's in stock it will be, anyway. Source: Virgin Mobile 
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| Samsung's ChatON app updated with Olympic buddy Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:13 AM PDT
Samsung's instant messaging client, ChatON, was just updated with a few new features, including an Olympic buddy that can keep you up to date with daily schedules, medal tables, and breaking news. Here's the full changelog.
As always, ChatON provide cross-platform instant messaging, group chat, file transfers, and lots of profile personalization options. If you're looking for more ways to follow the Olympics, be sure to check out our app roundup. Do any of you guys actually use ChatON? What's your favorite instant messaging client on Android these days? Download: ChatON (Free) 
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| Deal of the Day: Qmadix Vibe Flex-Gel Cover for HTC EVO 4G LTE Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:05 AM PDT
The Qmadix Vibe Flex-Gel Cover is available for just $14.95, 50% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy, fast shipping and friendly support. Grab yours today! 
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| LG Nitro HD gets Ice Cream Sandwich on July 31 Posted: 27 Jul 2012 06:53 AM PDT
AT&T has announced that the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update will hit the LG Nitro HD (see our review) on Tuesday, July 31st. A leaked version of the update was spotted in May and now it's been officially confirmed. The update will also bring LG's new Optimus 3.0 UI, which adds features such as the ability to swipe anywhere on the lock screen to unlock the phone. With the ICS update, you should see, among other features, a redesigned Gallery app and photo editor, enhanced multitasking capabilities, an updated home screen folder and favorites tray and Face Unlock. So if you're a LG Nitro HD owner on AT&T, get ready for the much anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich update. To update your phone, you'll have to visit LG's Nitro HD update site and follow their instructions. Make sure you back-up your data before updating. Full press release is after the break. Source: AT&T 
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| Get the best Samsung Galaxy S3 Accessories Posted: 27 Jul 2012 06:48 AM PDT |
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Motorola launches Motoluxe XT685 for China, and it runs Android 4.0
Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:11 AM PDT
When we reviewed the European Motorola Motoluxe, there was one thing that let it down drastically. The software. Motorola's build quality was there in bundles, and despite being a low-powered, budget device, there was a lot to like. But it arrived with Gingerbread, and it didn't do particularly well with it either.
Now, Motorola is set to launch the Motoluxe in China, and the XT685 as it is known comes much improved from the European one. The processor has been bumped up to 1GHz, but more importantly, the software has been bumped up to Ice Cream Sandwich. Otherwise, it looks very much the same as the European version with the same size 4-inch display, the 8MP camera on the rear and the darn sexy notification light strip in the bottom left.
The Motoluxe XT685 is available across China now, in Brown or White, for RMB 1,999 ($313/£199) which puts in pretty much on par with its European cousin. No word yet on whether or not this will make it to any other global markets, but it looks like the device the Motoluxe should have been when it first launched.
Source: Motorola
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Samsung launches limited edition Team GB Galaxy S3 at Carphone Warehouse
Posted: 27 Jul 2012 04:21 AM PDT
Today sees the official start of the Olympic Games, with the opening ceremony soon to kick off in London. Samsung, being a big Olympic sponsor, has decided to support the home team with a new series of official limited edition Team GB Galaxy S III (Galaxy S3) phones. Similar to the designs seen on the Olympic edition Galaxy Note, the Team GB Galaxy S3 models feature the union flag on a pebble blue background, or the Team GB lion on a marble white background.
Thoughtfully, Samsung realizes you might not want to celebrate the 2012 games throughout the entire multi-year life of the phone, so it's including a standard pebble blue or marble white back along with these Team GB designs. The Team GB Galaxy S3s will be available exclusively from the Carphone Warehouse from next Wednesday, Aug. 1, and will be offered on a range of contracts starting at £28 per month.
We've got Samsung's full press release after the break.
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Samsung restores local search on international Galaxy S3 with new OTA
Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:29 AM PDT
After local search was mistakenly stripped out in the most recent software update for the international Samsung Galaxy S III (Galaxy S3), the manufacturer has this morning issued another update to restore the feature. The update weighs in at just 5MB, and also purports to offer "stability improvements." Delving into the "About device" page, we can see a new software version, XXBLG8, along with a new baseband, XXLG8, plus a new Linux kernel built just yesterday morning. The software's still based upon Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The feature has been the subject of an ongoing legal dispute in the U.S., where Apple has been granted a patent broadly covering searching from multiple databases on a mobile device and displaying the results in a certain way. Apple's patent complaints recently resulted in the Galaxy Nexus being briefly withdrawn from sale.
Samsung first pulled local search on the international Galaxy S3 on Wednesday, giving the impression that it, like the U.S. versions, were having functionality stripped out so as to avoid further litigation from Apple. Yesterday the company released a statement indicating that the move had been made "inadvertently," and that it'd be restored within in a few days. Just 24 hours later and it's back on our unlocked UK Galaxy S3, so kudos to Samsung for the quick turn-around.
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MetroPCS Q2 2012 sees profits go up, subscribers go down, LTE push for the remainder of the year
Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:10 AM PDT
We're literally swimming in earnings reports this week, and the latest released comes from MetroPCS. The breakdown sees $1.3billion revenue for the quarter, and profits of $149million for the same period. This all comes despite subscriber numbers actually going down by around 200,000.
LTE seems to be the winner for the carrier though, with LTE subscriptions now sitting at 700,000, a massive increase from the Q1 numbers. If there was ever any doubt, LTE is absolutely a priority for the future:
Importantly, we should have a full 10MHz dedicated to 4G LTE in most major metropolitan areas by the end of the year. Our 4G LTE handset ecosystem is building and we remain on track to launch 4G LTE For All by the end of the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, we expect our 4G LTE For All initiative to lead to a return to subscriber growth.
As usual with earnings reports, the document in full is long and goes into just about every detail imaginable. The highlights of the report though read as follows.
- Quarterly consolidated total revenues of approximately $1.3 billion, an increase of 6% over the second quarter of 2011
- Quarterly service revenue of approximately $1.2 billion, an increase of 4% over the second quarter of 2011
- Record Adjusted EBITDA of $477 million, an increase of 33% over the second quarter of 2011
- Record Adjusted EBITDA margin of 41.1%, an increase of 900 bps over the second quarter of 2011
- Quarterly net income of $149 million, an increase of 77% over the second quarter of 2011
- Quarterly churn of 3.4%, down 50 bps from the second quarter of 2011
- Quarterly net subscriber loss of 186 thousand, resulting in a 2% increase in total subscribers over the prior twelve month period
- Quarterly ARPU of $40.62, an increase of $0.13 over second quarter 2011
- Surpassed 700 thousand 4G LTE subscribers, representing approximately 8% of total subscribers
If earnings reports are your thing, you'll find the full release at the source link below to browse through at your leisure.
Source: MetroPCS
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Plume Update Brings UI Changes, Bug Fixes
Posted: 26 Jul 2012 08:16 PM PDT
One of our favorite Twitter clients, Plume, was just updated with a couple of subtle but useful UI changes, features and the always nondescript "bug fixes". If you've used Plume before, you know it's hardly short on features and options to begin with. Even so, they managed to add a couple more. The "timeline" and "profile" sections have been redesigned with font color and a couple layout changes. User names are now displayed in a color that can only be described as "Twitter blue", and user's handles are kept in grey off to the right of the name. Additionally, links in the timeline display in the same way as they do on the Twitter website, colors and formatting in tact. The graphical changes aren't drastic, but they give Plume a bit more polish.
This update also brings volume button scrolling, a polarizing feature you either don't care about, or can't live without. Several other apps have implemented this, and just like most everything else in Plume, it's the user's choice to toggle on. If you haven't tried out Plume, then there's no better time than now -- trust us, it looks really nice on a big Galaxy Nexus screen. It's free in the Google Play Store at the source link below. If you like what this developer is doing, and want to support an app that's following holo guidelines, be sure to give the "Premium" version a look for $4.99.
Source: Google Play Store
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Jelly Bean now pushing to U.S. Wifi Motorola Xoom
Posted: 26 Jul 2012 07:36 PM PDT
We've received a few reports that folks with a stock Wifi Xoom (U.S. Models) are getting their Jelly Bean update pushed this afternoon -- enough of them for us to say with confidence that it's pushing out. Soak testers were asked yesterday if the update was ready for prime-time in their opinion, and apparently the answer was yes.
If you're still stock on your Wifi Xoom, it's time to start hammering some servers. Check for updates through the settings, and enjoy some tasty butter.
Thanks everyone who sent this in!
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