Tuesday, July 24, 2012

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Google Android News Android Forums

Sprint’s Samsung SPH-L300 “Gogh” Poses for a Photo Shoot

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 04:56 PM PDT

Back in May, a photo of Sprint’s upcoming Samsung SPH-L300 “Gogh” leaked for the first time. Thanks to Brief Mobile, more pictures of the impending device has surfaced thus confirming that the mid-range phone will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Considering the device has already passed through the FCC last week, an official announcement shouldn’t be too far away.

As for the specs of the phone you can expect a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 4″ WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED Plus screen, a 5MP camera and 1GB of RAM. Other than the size and resolution of the screen, it certainly doesn’t seem like a mid-range device with the top notch processor and the good amount of RAM. We’ll provide you with a price and a release date as soon as we know. Until then, what do you all think of the quite powerful mid-range device that’s coming to the Now Network? One more pic after the break.

source: Brief Mobile

Mysterious Samsung Galaxy Stellar is Verizon bound

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:29 PM PDT

Samsung seems to register new suffixes for it’s Galaxy range of phones every other month these days. Some of the names surface as regional variations of Samsung’s flagship devices and others are tacked on to the end of the entry level phones. Step up the Galaxy Stellar, a name that Samsung trademarked a couple of months ago and has recently appeared on the Verizon inventory. The question is, what exactly is it?

Could it be that the incoming SCH-I200 has an official name? Keep tuned in to TalkAndroid and we’ll be sure to keep you posted as further news arrives.

 

Source: Droid Life

Minecraft Creator, Mojang, Sued for Patent Infringment In Android Game

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:25 PM PDT

Uniloc is a patent protection company based in Australia that specializes in anti-piracy technologies. They have decided to start suing Mojang, the developers of Minecraft, for infringing on an Android-related patent called”System and Method for preventing unauthorized access to electronic data”. Essentially it’s a system for authenticating license data. I wonder how they proved this because it seems like it’d take a lot of code-digging. The lawsuit says:

“Mojang is directly infringing one or more claims of the '067 patent in this judicial district and elsewhere in Texas, including at least claim 107, without the consent or authorization of Uniloc, by or through making, using, offering for sale, selling and/or importing Android based applications for use on cellular phones and/or tablet devices that require communication with a server to perform a license check to prevent the unauthorized use of said application, including, but not limited to, Mindcraft.”

(Apparently, in a official court order, they misspelled Minecraft.) You can see the full lawsuit here. Notch, the mastermind behind Minecraft, is against software patents. After obtaining the lawsuit, he wrote up a cunning blog post linked below and tweeted:

“Software patents are plain evil. Innovation within software is basically free, and it’s growing incredibly rapid. Patents only slow it down.” 

Ric Richardson, the founder of Uniloc, has a different opinion on the matter:

“It amazes me that people complain about paying a royalty for a technology that stops up to a third of a software companies sales from being lost to piracy. What are you saying? “Its all right to steal from Uniloc as long as it helps stop pirates stealing from me? … I had to spend $40,000 back in 1992 to protect my idea. It was not frivolous for me… it was the difference between having a deposit for a house and having a patent.”

Uniloc has requested a jury trial. They’ve also requested that Mojang pays them for both previous and future royalties. I hope that Mojang is able to get this all sorted out. I watched Notch’s tweets and blog posts as he developed the game, I don’t think he would ever try to infringe on a patent.

I think I agree with Notch that software patents are evil and only slows down innovation. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below!

sources: Notch, Richardson, Actual Patent

Featured Play Store Game: Four in a Row HD +riddles

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:14 PM PDT

Four in a Row HD +riddles has been around for about a year now, but through various updates it’s quite popular with its 4.4 rating. This game includes the very classic game Connect Four, but there’s so much more with what they call “riddles” which literally turns this into a pretty cool puzzler. There are over 200 riddles which are basically partially played games in which you have a task at hand. For example you might have to win the board within a certain amount of moves. They have various boards set up for you to win with two, three, four, five, and six moves. You will find 39 variations withing each level. Then there is Claustrophobia which utilizes different sized boards.

Of course you can still play traditional Connect Four either against the computer, against a friend with the same device, or an online opponent. Plus if you’re looking for another variation of the classic game, you have two more to choose from: DON’T connect 4 and Fill the board. DON’T connect 4 is just as it sounds in that you don’t want to get a connect 4. The first person who does loses. Fill the board is all about getting multiple Connect 4′s. The person who gets the most wins.

If it’s settings you like, you will get a slew of them here. You can set the AI level according to your ability; Easier, Easy, Normal, and Hard. You can even select the board size; 6×7 (classic), 6×8, 7×7, 7×8, 8×8, 7×9. Last but not least, you have your choice of six skins for your board; Plastic (vector graphics), Metal (HD textures), Wood (HD textures), Ice (HD textures), Random, and Naughts and Crosses (grayscale screens).

Four in a Row HD +riddles will look good on both phones and tablets, and works in both portrait and landscape mode. It supports both English and Spanish, and most of all it’s free. If you love this classic game you have no excuse to give it a try. Just hit one of the download links below.

QR Code generator

Play Store Download Link

 

Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus Now Priced at $99

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 10:58 AM PDT

Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Nexus is now priced at $99 with a 2-year contract, which means it will probably get discontinued soon. The biggest sin is the full retail price still remains the same at $649.  It’s still a great phone and you can’t beat the price for those that want to get the stock Android experience.

Will you be getting the Galaxy Nexus now that it’s only $99? Tell us in the comments below!

source: Verizon Wireless

Unofficial CM10 and AOKP Builds Released for Verizon’s Galaxy S III

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 10:36 AM PDT

Verizon’s locked bootloader on their Galaxy S III hasn’t stopped development at all to this point. Two unofficial ports of AOKP and CyanogenMod 10 popped up, with each either being as close to fully working as can be or with a couple of minor bugs that are currently being worked on.

AOKP Milestone 6 appears to be ready for release and a daily driver without any known bugs so far. CM10 is currently still being referred to as an “alpha”, however, data and all the other most important core features are working. You may just want to look into either one of these, especially CM10 as they always do a outstanding job and go beyond the call of duty.

These ROMs are only possible thanks to CVPCS's kexec boot sequence and will appear to boot twice during the bootup process. That’s all normal and is just the kexec doing it’s work.

sources: RootzWiki, DroidHive
via: DroidLife

Commercial for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 pops up on YouTube

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 09:28 AM PDT

As reported earlier, Samsung is promising to unveil their next U.S. Galaxy device on August 15th. We have speculated that it could be either the Galaxy Note 10.1 or the Galaxy Note 2. To add to the mystery, a new video surfaced on YouTube today from the company that handled casting for a new Samsung commercial. The video is a commercial for the Galaxy Note 10.1 and shows off a couple features like dragging with they stylus and the shape match function. Viewers may also notice the commercial is targeted at business users.

Hit the break to view the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: Phandroid

Sony LT29i ‘Hayabusa’ Pictures Leaked, Looks Like Xperia GX

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 08:45 AM PDT

By now we all know that the Sony Xperia GX (SO-04D), that is getting ready to release in Japan very soon, will be making an international release under the Sony LT29i model number and is codenamed, “Hayabusa”. The phone looks almost identical to the Sony Xperia GX with only a few signs that the device is different. It does look like an early production model as it’s still carrying the Sony Ericcson logo on the top of the device. Since both phones are very similar to each other, I would almost expect to see a new design from Sony.

For starters, the Xpeira GX has the NTT DoCoMo logo on top and the Sony logo on the bottom of the device. This “Hayabusa” has the Sony logo (Sony Ericsson for now) on the top of the device and the Xperia logo on the bottom that will presumably light up. The Hayabusa does not have the FeliCa logo under the LED flash like the Xperia GX has. The “About” screen of the phone also shows the device as the LT29i running Android 4.0.4 and firmware version 7.0.A.1.155. I hope this leak means we will be seeing an official announcement of the phone in the near future.

More pictures after the break.

source: Xperia Blog

AT&T Motorola Atrix HD Review: Premium Features For A Budget Price And Easily The Best Smartphone Under $100 Available

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 08:05 AM PDT

 

17 months ago, the idea of a smartphone’s capabilities changed with the introduction of the Motorola Atrix 4G at CES, a premium device on AT&T’s “4G” HSPA+ network. The original device is one that holds a special place in my heart because it is the single smartphone that swooned me into the world of Android. Pegged as a revolutionary all-in-one device, the Atrix 4G included features like the Tegra 2 dual-core processor, fingerprint sensor and the WebTop accessory– which allowed owners to essentially eliminate the need for a laptop. Within the same year, Motorola introduced the Atrix 2, which boasted items like a TI-OMAP dual-core processor, 8MP camera and WebTop support that gave AT&T customers not one, but two appealing high-end Motorola devices to choose from in the 2011 calendar year. As appealing as the Atrix 4G and Atrix 2 have been, times change rather quickly and with the arrival of Spring 2012, both devices have quickly been surpassed by several high-end devices released in the last 3 or 4 months such as the resounding HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III smartphones. Each of those devices were released with immediate fanfare and success as they have again raised the bar for Android smartphones that feature incredible displays, impressive cameras and Android 4.0 among the noteworthy features. But what about Motorola? How can one of the world’s largest Android manufacturers sit idle and allow its competitors to literally snatch the dollars from consumers’ wallets?

Well, Motorola finally figured out it needed to get its act together and offer up a “modern” smartphone for 2012. Don’t forget Motorola’s strategy: it pledged to focus on the quality of existing devices— not bombard consumers with a ton of devices in a single calendar year. That’s a novel idea and all, but HTC and Samsung seemed to develop their now flagship devices months in advance, while Motorola seemed to sit and watch how everything unfolded and rely on the success of its existing phones like the Atrix series. Realizing it was quickly falling behind, Motorola saw the success of the DROID RAZR smartphone on Verizon’s network and came up with a new strategy for the Atrix line on AT&T’s network. Instead of developing a brand new smartphone, it looks like Motorola brought elements of the original DROID RAZR, but included up-to-date amenities such as a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, 720p display, an improved 8MP camera, 4G LTE radio and Android 4.0. So how does all this fare? Does Motorola’s new strategy result in an appealing option for AT&T customers? Read on to find out in this review.

 

Design

 

 

Many of you may have read our initial hands-on review of the Atrix HD and had a sense of déjà vu, which is completely understandable. To the untrained eye, the device features a general likeness to the DROID RAZR. However, when looking a little deeper you’ll find some noteworthy differences. The Atrix HD has a high-end type of plastic that covers the device, but unlike the DROID RAZR’s squared or somewhat boxy corners, the Atrix HD is much smoother around the device and has rounded corners. There are no physical keys on the front of the device, so it’s all virtual buttons on this bad boy. In addition, you’ll find the clear-coated glass which contains the 4.5-inch screen that’s surrounded by the bezel. Speaking of the bezel— Motorola left a sour taste in my mouth by using up too much real estate on the front of the device by including an oversized bezel. It’s not far-fetched to believe Motorola could have easily achieved an even bigger screen by reducing the bezel. The matters are made worse with AT&T’s decision to include a fairly large logo at the bottom of the screen. The original Atrix 4G has it’s logo on the back of the device and the Atrix 2 has a minimal logo at the bottom of the smartphone, so it was quite unusual for Motorola to include an intrusive AT&T logo at the bottom of the bezel on the smartphone.

 

That minor annoyance aside, the rest of the phone’s design is appealing for the most part. It comes in at 8.4mm in total thickness. While that is heavier than the DROID RAZR, it feels incredibly light yet sturdy in your hands. Like most modern smartphones, the Atrix HD is definitely easy on your hands, yet doesn’t feel flimsy in the least bit. I suspect most of the 8.4mm in size comes from the “hump” at the top of the smartphone, which contains the 8MP camera as well as the non-removable 1,780mAh battery. The Atrix HD also features a heavy dose of Kevlar coating on the back which offers a nice feel and grip on the device, but is definitely a fingerprint and smudge magnet. To the bottom left side of the device are the microSD and microSIM slots which are fairly easy to open, but difficult it was difficult to insert the cards secure into the terminals since I have big hands. To the top right-hand corner are the power buttons and volume rocker buttons which are fairly easy to access when needed. To the top of the device are the HDMI-out and microUSB-out slots, which I would have personally preferred on the side or bottom of the device. Something I noticed missing immediately was a dedicated camera button, though I quickly understood why it was left out after using the phone more and more.

 

 

Hardware

While the original Atrix 4G has a dual-core Tegra 2 chip and the Atrix 2 features a TI-OMAP chip, the Atrix HD features what some could argue as high-end features. For starters, it has a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor– the exact same processor found in the U.S versions of the One X and Galaxy S III flagship devices. The speedy chip is accompanied by an ample 1GB of RAM, 8MP rear camera with 1080p video and 1.3MP front-facing camera with 720p recording, WiFi Direct (though there’s the strange absence of NFC) and 8GB of on-board storage. Something I have complained about in the past is the alarming rise of meagre amounts of on-board storage found in newer smartphones. However, the Atrix HD does manage to keep up or even improve on competitive devices on AT&T’s network. The Atrix HD features expandable memory via a microSD slot. So while the Galaxy S III comes in a 32GB option and the ability to expand memory even further, the HTC One X features 16GB of on-board storage, with no microSD slot. That means the Atrix HD could hypothetically have up to 40GB of total storage (8GB of internal memory + 32GB of expandable memory), compared to the One X that is only given 16GB of on-board memory. And don’t forget, all of the “premium” features available in the Atrix HD adds up to a cost that is far less than the similarly-spec’d HTC One X, which might be pretty appealing to a vast array of customers.

Display

 

 

The display is where the real heart and soul of the device lies. As mentioned before, the device features a 4.5-inch screen that puts it right on par with other premium devices available on AT&T’s network. You can see right off the bat Motorola and AT&T decided to rid the Atrix brand of the familiar qHD displays. The end result is the Atrix HD featuring vivid colors and sharp texts on its new screen. This is due to the fact the Atrix HD features a 1280 x 720p, non-PenTile display. Moreover, the device has an astounding pixel density of 326 pixels per inch (ppi), which puts it right on par with Apple’s iPhone 4S in terms of the incredible level of detail seen on the screen. To further elaborate the Atrix HD’s high ppi count, when you zoom in on text or photo details on the Atrix HD’s screen, you won’t find a single trace of pixelation on the screen. This is complimented by great viewing angles, even in direct sunlight. Let me reiterate this again: you don’t see a single trace of pixelation on the device’s screen. Simply put, the Atrix HD’s display is in the same class as other premium devices like the One X and Galaxy S III’s display.

 

If there’s one negative to the display– it’s easily attributed to the again the design of the device. The Atrix HD could easily have increased the resolution of the display, even if it was minimal by reducing the intrusive bezel. At least on-screen virtual buttons don’t take up too much space which allows for a greater amount of content to be displayed on the device at once.

 

Software

The software is the second-most noteworthy feature of the smartphone. This is Motorola’s first device to be shipped with Android 4.0 here in the States, regardless of carrier, so it’s only natural we spend some time talking about it. If you recall Rob Nazarian’s brief walkthrough of Motorola’s rendition of Ice Cream Sandwich on the DROID RAZR MAXX, you’ll remember he praised Motorola’s decision to keep the skinning to an absolute minimum— an act that is also seen here in the Atrix HD. While there are still some familiar elements of Motorola’s controversial BLUR UI like the contact widgets, the overall feel of ICS here feels stock. In fact— I’d argue that the phone is just about in stock form, the minor differences are minimal like the different icons used for apps such as the camera and email apps for example. Otherwise, users can look forward to the stock features such as the default lock screen, which allows you to open up various apps like your camera, phone book or messaging app in addition to unlocking your screen.

 

 

To distinguish itself, Motorola has included some of goodies that makes customizing the phone a breeze. The first item to note is the excellent Smart Actions app, which allows the phone to literally adjust itself depending on its location. This means that if you’re at home, the phone can automatically change the volume level on its ringer or even assign a default ringtone. Conversely, if you’re at the office or driving, the phone will adjust itself to turn off the ringer as well as send an automated text indicating you’re unavailable to speak or respond. The second item is on the content on the actual homescreen. Upon powering the smartphone for the first time, it’s quickly noted there’s only one default screen initially though, you can add multiple homescreens and include whatever content you might deem suitable for your needs. And of course, the last noteworthy item is Motorola’s Motocast, which gives users easy access to pictures, files, and videos from one’s home or office computer, while also streaming video as well.

 

 

And yes— the device comes with the usual assortment of AT&T bloatware, but fortunately most of the apps can be either hidden or removed completely from the device.

 

Performance

 

The device features a 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 dual-core chip, so you know it’s going to be snappy and fluid for everyday users. The device is definitely responsive and there were minimal hints or instances of slowdown. The average user may or may not care about benchmarks, but here are some benchmark scores that the Atrix HD achieved after our testing and general use of the device:

 

  • Antutu – 6,011 (in comparison, the HTC One X scored a 6,772 during our testing)
  • Vellamo – 2,322
  • Quadrant – 4,856

As you can see, the device is no slouch when it goes head-to-head with the other big boys, the Galaxy S III and One X smartphones. However, the average consumer doesn’t care about benchmarks— all they care about is the fact the phone is responsive and speedy and the Atrix HD certainly does deliver.

Battery Life

The Atrix HD’s battery life is something that surprised even us here at Talk Android considering Motorola’s astounding pedigree. As you read earlier, the Atrix HD features a non-removable 1,780mAh battery. By comparison even the Atrix 4G had a bigger battery pack that was at least removable, so it was certainly a gamble by Motorola to decide to go the DROID RAZR route and include a non-removable battery. The result is nothing short of shocking— and not in a good way either. While mostly idle, the device lasted well over 15 to 16 hours, which is decent for the most part. But let’s face it, you’re not going to buy a phone just to let it sit idle. During my average day to day use out here in the NYC metro area, a fully charged battery at 7:00am would deplete to around 70 to 80 percent by late morning. This is shocking because of the fact that yes, the device latched onto a 4G LTE signal to push various tweets, emails and status or news updates— but the device screen was hardly on during that time and the notifications were mostly in the background. By the evening time (6:00pm or so), I found the device would be completely depleted and I would need to spend about 3 or 3.5 hours to fully charge the device again.

To confirm the Atrix HD’s poor battery life, Rob Nazarian did a standard continuous video rundown test using a 4G HSPA+ signal with the device’s screen at two-thirds of brightness. He was only able to manage an operating time of only 4 hours and 45 minutes, so the time would be roughly half if connected to an LTE signal. Motorola definitely dropped the ball on the Atrix HD’s battery life and should have perhaps spent more time optimizing the software and/or the display in order to get maximum efficiency with the device’s battery. It’s recommended that prospective owners of the device will keep a spare charger nearby if they plan on using the device on a regular basis.

Network Quality

The Atrix HD utilizes AT&T’s fairly new 4G LTE network. While the device does enjoy a 4G LTE signal, the speeds were average at best– nothing to go crazy about during our time spent with the device. Our use of the device was mostly in the New York City area. In case you’re not familiar— New York City by itself has a population of well over 8 million, while the metro has a population upwards of 19 million. That dense of a population means the speeds of AT&T’s 4G network would be greatly reduced when compared to other metros around the country. During off-peak hours, the Atrix HD occasionally got speeds of around 11 to 12Mbps download and 1.5 to 2Mbps upload. However, during peak hours— and I’m talking about from 7:00am to 7:00pm— the Atrix HD averaged around 6Mbps to 9Mbps download and 1Mbps to 1.5Mbps upload. Of course there are some instances where I saw faster speeds in areas like Brooklyn or Essex County, New Jersey compared to Manhattan, but the fact of the matter is I hardly saw noticeable improvements on AT&T’s LTE speeds on the Atrix HD compared to its HSPA+ speeds on the Atrix 4G.

 

 

On the flipside, call quality was terrific on the Atrix HD. That means the sound was crystal clear. There was no trace of static or hissing sounds when on a call either to your ear or on speaker. Motorola also included a noise-cancelling mic which also worked impressively well as those I spoke to were not able to hear too much distracting background noise.

Camera

This is another area in which the Atrix HD somewhat disappoints. The phone features an 8MP camera that’s capable of capturing full 1080p HD video, which sounds enticing and attractive to the average consumer. However, when taking a photo– you’ll quickly find that the camera is average at best. Many of the photos that were taken suffered from bad distortion— i.e. blues that appeared blue-greyish or over-exaggerated brightness in the colors. It looks as if Motorola didn’t spend much energy trying to optimize either the camera sensor or the various settings in the camera app as features like the image sizer are missing and would have been welcomed by even average smartphone users.

 

 

Fortunately, Motorola did redeem itself somewhat with its video settings. The colors are still a bit dull and the frame rate tends to drop at times, but the overall video quality will suffice for the average consumer— especially both Motorola’s and AT&T’s mid-range target customers. In addition to being able to record full 1080p HD video at 30fps, Motorola came through by including some what looks to be automatic focus included in the app. That means as you’re recording video, users won’t need to worry about having blurred or out-of-focus video. There’s also the ability to take full size 8MP snapshots as you’re recording video— so the Atrix HD is comparable to other top-end smartphones in that regard. So on that note— in keeping in mind that Motorola wanted to keep the overall costs of the phone down, it had to put more focus in other areas like the processor and display. Still— it’s certainly not unreasonable to imagine Motorola could have at least tweaked the software a bit more in order to get better picture quality.

 

Here’s a sample video in full 1080p taken from the Atrix HD’s video camcorder function:

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

The Good

  • Gorgeous 720p screen featuring rich colors and impressive details
  • MotoCast and Smart Actions takes productivity to another level
  • Near-stock Android 4.0.4 software
  • Snappy performance and responsiveness
  • $99 price point brings high-end features to a wider window of AT&T customers

 

The Bad

  • Horrendous battery life– even for moderate daily use
  • Lacks NFC
  • Camera and camera software are disappointing, especially compared to the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III
  • Only 8GB on on-board storage, though the total memory is expandable via microSD

Final Thoughts

So how does one classify the Motorola Atrix HD smartphone? It has premium items like a fast processor, 720p display and the latest Android software, so that should hypothetically place it into the higher-end category. Yet is priced under $100, which clearly places the Atrix HD more into the mid-range category. The problem with this is that it’s painfully obvious that the phone is missing certain details that would really position it to compete with other flagship smartphones such as it’s average camera function, its disappointing battery life and no WebTop support— though one would imagine that the absence almost certainly signals Motorola’s intention to phase out the lackluster accessory. Still, the Atrix HD gives so much value to AT&T customers looking to upgrade their smartphones. If you can afford to get a phone with more pizazz, do yourself a favor and splurge on the Galaxy S III or One X smartphones. However, if you are looking to get the most out of a mid-range phone or just want to save as much money as possible, you can’t go wrong with the Atrix HD—especially for those of you who have been longing for the DROID RAZR on Ma Bell’s network. It’s easily the best sub-$100 phone on AT&T’s network. Heck, it might be the best sub-$100 phone around— regardless of the wireless carrier.

 

 

 

 

 

New Plex Update Brings New Transcoder And Remote Control From Mobile Devices

Posted: 23 Jul 2012 08:04 AM PDT

 

Tired of waiting for XBMC to come to your Android device and ready to get in on some media center action? Well Plex has been available for Android users for some time now and is has recently been updated to version 2.2.0.5. This new version includes features like the ability to accept remote control commands from any of the company’s other mobile clients, while also adding “QuickSilver” media transcoder from the latest Plex Media Server release that’s expected to provide improved video quality, such as devices like the Kindle Fire or the HTC One series.

We know you’re itching to try out the app, so head on out to the Play Store to grab Plex today. The app will run you about $5 and will operate on any Android 1.6+ device.

 

Play Store

 
Posted by at 6:01 AM

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