Android Central |
- Vodafone Australia finally rolls out Jelly Bean on its Nexus S
- Sprint Motorola Photon Q release rumored for Aug. 19
- LG Optimus Vu with Ice Cream Sandwich hands-on
- Stitcher Radio updated with Facebook timeline integration
- Gallery Lock review - where to hide pictures on your Android device
- Contest Winners: Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories and Tablified Market HD!
- NoiseHush NX26 Stereo headset review
- Verizon Galaxy S III review
- Splashtop 2 HD now available - Free for a limited time and updated to be faster, more secure
- Ouya's Kickstarter campaign ends tonight - did you pledge?
- The IDC's quarterly numbers show Android leading in market share and shipments
- Five podcast apps for Android now that Google Listen is dead
- Nikon said to have an Android-based camera in the works, too
- Current Caller ID - would you like some Facebook status with that incoming call?
- Apple v Samsung trial makes it to Conan in comedic fashion
- Samsung Galaxy Note, myTouch and myTouch Q all available from T-Mobile today
- Deal of the Day: Seidio Desktop Charging Cradle
- HTC 'Endeavor C2' rumored to be a spec-bumped One X for late 2012
- Stock Talk: HTC's problem is getting worse
- IM+ Pro review: All your instant messaging in one place
- Galaxy Note 2 reported to use flexible AMOLED panel
- Sony Xperia Miro appears at Carphone Warehouse, due later this month
- Android After Dark: Sex, booze and other things we're not supposed to talk about
- Online Backup tool is pretty awesome, as long as you have some time to spare
- Capture frames from video for photos, Change permanent programs in Touch-Wiz [From the Forums]
| Vodafone Australia finally rolls out Jelly Bean on its Nexus S Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:41 PM PDT
You might remember that Vodafone Australia halted the roll-out of Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean to its version of the Nexus S last month, following regulatory concerns over the handling of emergency calls. Well, it now seems everything's been straightened out, as according to Ausdroid, Aussies are waking up on Thursday morning to a brand new Vodafone Nexus S OTA. In addition, customers on the Vodafone-based Crazy Johns network (yes, that's a real carrier name down under) are reporting that their Nexii are also seeing the update to Jelly Bean. It's bound to have been a frustrating few weeks for subscribers on these networks, as U.S. and international Nexus S phones started to receive Jelly Bean way back on July 19. But it seems the wait is over now, so if you're on Vodafone Australia, head to Settings > About phone > Software updates to see if it's your turn to grab the OTA. Source: Ausdroid 
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| Sprint Motorola Photon Q release rumored for Aug. 19 Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:28 PM PDT
The claims follow earlier reports that Sprint staff had begun training with the new Photon -- usually a sure-fire sign that release day is fast approaching. Officially, though, Sprint and Motorola are still offering no firm release window for the Photon Q. Last we heard was from the announcement press release, which said the phone would be "coming soon." In addition to a full physical keyboard, a dual-core CPU and support for Sprint's shiny new LTE network, the Photon Q offers Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, an 8MP rear camera and a qHD "ColorBoost" display. All in all, that probably makes it the highest-spec'd QWERTY slider around. Tempted by Sprint and Moto's latest offering? Shout out in the comments if you're planning on picking one up. Source: PhoneDog 
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| LG Optimus Vu with Ice Cream Sandwich hands-on Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:09 PM PDT Oh Optimus Vu, what an odd little device you are. Developed as a less than subtle knee-jerk reaction to Samsung’s Galaxy Note, the Vu went on sale in Korea earlier this year, and it’ll soon be making its way to Japan on NTT Docomo, too. Stateside, a Verizon launch is rumored, though far from certain. Shaped more like a placemat than a telephone, the Optimus Vu is one of the most outlandish-looking devices to have ever passed across our desk. In any case, this is LG’s 5-inch, stylus-using, 4:3 aspect ratio squarish slab. It ran Android 2.3 at launch, but it’s recently received a substantial update to version 4.0 and the new LG Optimus UI 3.0, and that's what we're looking at here today. For LG phones like the Vu, ICS provides not only performance improvements and new features, also a much needed visual refresh. We'll bring you a full review of the Optimus Vu with ICS soon. In the meantime check out our video walkthrough above. More: LG Optimus Vu non-unboxing unboxing 
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| Stitcher Radio updated with Facebook timeline integration Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:08 PM PDT
A little while back, Stitcher Radio updated their iOS app with some new features and now they've finally arrived on Android as well. Many folks use Facebook each day and often spend a lot of time sharing music, podcasts and more with their friends. Given that Stitcher Radio is a great resource for such things, they've now added Facebook timeline integration to their app that makes use of Facebook login. Now, you'll be able to share your stuff directly as well view what others are listening to and sharing with you. In addition that all of that, Stitcher was mindful to add in privacy controls along with usage data. You can view your listening habits through a full social graph. Now, just be sure to tell everyone when you're tuned into the Android Central podcast! 
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| Gallery Lock review - where to hide pictures on your Android device Posted: 08 Aug 2012 02:42 PM PDT
Do you have pictures on your phone that you don’t want just anybody to see? Don’t answer that, just plead the fifth. Gallery Lock is a free, secure app to hide your personal pictures from prying eyes. Tucked away behind a the phone dialler is a secret gallery that isn’t viewable from other spots on an Android device. 
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| Contest Winners: Samsung Galaxy S3 accessories and Tablified Market HD! Posted: 08 Aug 2012 02:14 PM PDT
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| NoiseHush NX26 Stereo headset review Posted: 08 Aug 2012 01:48 PM PDT
Sometimes you want to relax and pump up the tunes and still be able to take a phone call on your Galaxy S3 or other Android phone.NoiseHush makes all kinds of headsets, car kits, Bluetooth accessories and more. The NX26 is a full size over-the-ear stereo headphone that also fields your phone calls and lets you control your music like many smaller headsets. 
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| Posted: 08 Aug 2012 01:08 PM PDT
It has been one heck of a summer for Samsung, with both good press (Olympic sponsorship) and bad press (ongoing litigation with Apple) fueling sales of its biggest device to date, the Galaxy S3. Since it went on sale just a few short months ago, the GS3 has been flying off the shelves, with nearly 10 million sold to date. Late to the party is Verizon, the last of the big carriers to release its Galaxy S3 into the wild. So how does it stack up to the rest of Big Red's cache, and more importantly, how does Verizon's flavor compete with the rest of Samsung's flagship line? 
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| Splashtop 2 HD now available - Free for a limited time and updated to be faster, more secure Posted: 08 Aug 2012 12:20 PM PDT Looking to expand their app further, the folks from Splashtop have now introduced Splashtop 2 HD to the masses. With over 7 million users accessing their desktops remotely, Splashtop 2 HD brings along a newly refined UI and promises to be faster and more secure than ever before. Splashtop 2 HD for Android tablets features:
For a limited time, Splashtop 2 HD is available as a free download. I'm forced to use the term free lightly because it's not really a full-featured version. The access the basic version allows for is up-to two systems over your local Wi-Fi. In order to make use the truly remote desktop options you'll need to add the Anywhere Access Pack that is available for $0.99 USD per month or $9.99 USD per year. If you're running Windows 7, Vista, and XP or Mac OS X 10.6+ and in need of a remote desktop solution, it's worth looking into as a viable solution. Need some more info? Full press release can be found below. 
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| Ouya's Kickstarter campaign ends tonight - did you pledge? Posted: 08 Aug 2012 11:12 AM PDT
Tonight's the night, folks. Ouya's record-breaking Kickstarter campaign comes to a close, and then begins the wait for what may prove to be one of the most highly anticipated gaming consoles the world has ever known. Wait. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves here. (Then again, that's kind of the the point.) Ouya, if you haven't heard, is a proposed Android-based gaming console. The idea is to make it easy for developers to get their game into gamers' hands, and to make it easy for gamers to play. To that end, OnLive is on board. As is VEVO. And XBMC. TuneIn Radio. iHeartRadio. If this thing doesn't take off, it won't be for a lack of backers. And tonight, it all comes to a head. Oyua has nearly 59,000 kickstarter backers for $7.96 million in pledges, as of this backing. Will it break $8 million by 1 a.m. EDT? We'll find out. And full disclosure: Android Central is one of those nearly 59,000 backers, despite there not actually being a physical product to purchase. So we're going to take this ride together. Did you back Ouya? Hit the poll below and let us know. Source: Ouya on Kickstarter 
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| The IDC's quarterly numbers show Android leading in market share and shipments Posted: 08 Aug 2012 10:42 AM PDT
The International Data Corporation (IDC) released its Q2 2012 data today, which shows Android maintaining a firm lead in both market share and overall shipments between April and June. Android’s market share has grown to 68.1%, up from the 46.9% it held at this time in 2011. iOS holds the number two spot with 16.9% of the market, while Blackberry continues its decline with 4.8%. In terms of overall shipments, Android pushed 104.8 million during the three months. The surge, says Ramon Llamas, a senior research analyst at the IDC, can be attributed to the release of flagship devices across multiple manufacturers (i.e. the HTC One series and the Galaxy S III from Samsung) as well as the rising prominence of Ice Cream Sandwich.
To put it in perspective, only 50.8 million Android devices were shipped during Q2 2011. A full breakdown can be found at the source link. Source: IDC 
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| Five podcast apps for Android now that Google Listen is dead Posted: 08 Aug 2012 10:27 AM PDT
Google Listen is officially dead. It was fun while it lasted, but the app's demise hardly signals an end to podcast listening on Android. See, much like the Nexus line of phones and tablets, Google Listen appears to have existed as an example to developers of what to do and encourage them to build upon it. The community responded positively and now Android has a plethora of podcast apps. Some are good, some not so good, but the bottom line is that developers are being aggressive in the podcast space, and that’s a good thing. Here we present five podcast apps that we like in case you’re wandering around after being a loyal Google Listen user. Admittedly, there are many more podcast apps on Android, many probably very good, but these are five that we like in particular. Let’s get started, shall we? And don’t forget to check out the Android Central podcast, which can be found on all of these. 
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| Nikon said to have an Android-based camera in the works, too Posted: 08 Aug 2012 09:19 AM PDT
Well, how about that. Nikon apparently has an Android-based camera in the works, according to some Indonesian Communication Agency docs uncovered by Nikon Rumors. The pointer-and-shooter in question, which is said to possibly go by the Coolpix S800 name, apparently has a a 25-250mm lens and a 3.5-inch OLED display (nice!). It'll be running Android 2.3 (which might seem lame, but it really shouldn't be a big deal) and have access to the Google Play store. Wifi and GPS are on board, which makes sense. If you stop and think about it, here's one Android fork we should all get behind. It's exactly what Android is made for. Suddenly, cameras become extensible. Never mind games -- it's the sharing features that really open up an entirely new world for casual shooters. No more of that ridiculous Kodak EasyShare software. (Which should be on its way out anyway, we suppose.) Just shoot and upload. Done. Oh, contrary to popular belief, this is not the first Android-based camera we've seen. We took at look at the Polaroid SC1630 back at CES in January. Source: Nikon Rumors 
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| Current Caller ID - would you like some Facebook status with that incoming call? Posted: 08 Aug 2012 08:48 AM PDT
After getting a short preview at Mobile World Congress, we’ve now got a chance to try out the latest Android app from WhitePages. It takes the usual caller ID utility, and ties LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to contacts so their latest status pops up with every call. You can also see their local weather and news when checking out their contact details.
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| Apple v Samsung trial makes it to Conan in comedic fashion Posted: 08 Aug 2012 08:27 AM PDT Apple v Samsung is everywhere, you can't escape it. This TeamCoco video that aired on Conan O Brien is a little different though and proceeds to make light of the whole thing. Take a look, and for a short time forget about all the bad stuff. Source: TeamCoco 
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| Samsung Galaxy Note, myTouch and myTouch Q all available from T-Mobile today Posted: 08 Aug 2012 07:08 AM PDT
Great news for all of you T-Mobile customers as the Samsung Galaxy Note (see our review), myTouch and myTouch Q are all available starting today. If you've anxiously been awaiting the Galaxy Note, you can purchase it a couple of different ways. It will cost you $249.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a 2-year contract. If you choose instead to go with one of T-Mobile's Value Plans, it will be $199.99 up front with $20 installments thereafter. Keep in mind also, that the Note is set to receive a minor update out of the box, so be on the lookout. The newest additions to T-Mobile's myTouch family are both manufactured by Huawei. They represent low to mid range devices and sport near identical specs (including Gingerbread), the only difference being that the myTouch Q has a QWERTY keyboard. They will each cost you $49.99, also after a $50 mail rebate and with a 2-year contract. More phones on T-Mobile and more choices for consumers are always a good sign. We know lots of you have been anticipating the Galaxy Note, so if you plan to pick one up, let us know in the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note Forum. 
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| Deal of the Day: Seidio Desktop Charging Cradle Posted: 08 Aug 2012 06:29 AM PDT
The Seidio Desktop Charging Cradle is available for just $24.95, 17% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping. Deal also available in the Canada store Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!
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| HTC 'Endeavor C2' rumored to be a spec-bumped One X for late 2012 Posted: 08 Aug 2012 06:01 AM PDT
HTC's flagship One X may be set to receive a minor specification bump before the end of 2012, according to reports from Stuff. The re-vamped model is known only by its codename "HTC Endeavor C2" -- note that the original One X was "Endeavor". It'll allegedly ship with a souped-up 1.7GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, along with an "improved" battery, new color options and urBeats earphones included in the box. Stuff also claims that the new "Endeavor C2" will be compatible with all existing One X accessories, which to us implies that the chassis design will remain identical. Essentially, the C2 could be to the One X what the Sensation XE was to the original Sensation last year -- the same design, with slightly upgraded internals. The news also converges nicely with rumors we've heard from T-Mobile USA, suggesting an "HTC One X+" may be arriving on that network later in the year. Some software enhancements are reported too, including ClearVoice tech for improved voice call quality, in addition to "HTC Watch 2," a new version of the HTC movie streaming service. Though not confirmed in today's leak, we suspect Jelly Bean and HTC Sense 4.1 may also be on the cards, depending on the timing of the eventual release. Speaking of which, the Endeavor C2 is said to be slated for a UK release around Oct. 1, with on-contract prices reportedly around £5 more per month than the original One X. HTC isn't expected to have a big showing at this year's IFA event, but if this release date turns out to be accurate, it's possible we might see an official announcement sooner rather than later. Source: Stuff 
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| Stock Talk: HTC's problem is getting worse Posted: 08 Aug 2012 05:54 AM PDT
Late last week, HTC posted its Q2 results for 2012, and they weren’t pretty. Profits are down 60 percent year over year. But perhaps the most visible sign of decline comes from revenue. After all, consumers don’t necessarily know if a company makes money based on what it sells. But if HTC sells fewer phones, it’s a highly visible change. And that’s exactly what has been happening. HTC revenues dropped by more than 25 percent in Q2. This week the Taiwanese manufacturer posted results for July, and sales were down by 45 percent. This is worrisome because it suggests HTC’s revenue woes are accelerating, not easing. 
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| IM+ Pro review: All your instant messaging in one place Posted: 08 Aug 2012 05:28 AM PDT
Shape Services' IM+ Pro client has been around on Android for a few years now. Essentially, the application is an all-in-one instant messaging client which integrates a whole range of services, and in addition to working on Android smartphones, it also has a tablet mode. In this day and age where many of us now rely on using data for communication rather than good old fashioned SMS, the number of instant messaging services out there has grown massively. So if you are going to be running instant messaging apps on your Android smartphone it makes sense to me to combine them into one neat and tidy application. The services that are supported include Facebook, Skype, MSN/Live Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, RenRen, Jabber, mig33, SINA Weibo, Fetion, Mambu.Ru, VKontakte, Yandex, Odnoklassniki.Ru and Mail.Ru Agent. That's a lot of messaging. IM+ also has their very own IM service called Beep, which is ideal if your friends also use IM+. If not then, I wouldn't worry about it too much. We've got a complete breakdown of IM+ Pro for Android after the break. 
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| Galaxy Note 2 reported to use flexible AMOLED panel Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:07 AM PDT
Samsung's flexible AMOLED displays, long demonstrated to slack-jawed journos at trade shows, could be about to find its place in an upcoming smartphone, if reports from South Korea are accurate. In a recent article on the latest AMOLED display innovations, the Korea IT Times reports that the Galaxy Note 2, due to be unveiled in Berlin on Aug. 29, will utilize the bendy display tech. In addition, Samsung's new, thinner Unbreakable Plane (UBP) tech is also said to be used in the Note 2, freeing up space for extra battery capacity. That's interesting given that just a month ago the Korean press was reporting that UBP was off the table for the Note 2. These rumors, combined with recent reports of RGB AMOLED displays reaching pixel densities of 350ppi, make for encouraging reading, suggesting that Samsung's upcoming stylus-toting smartphone may usher in a host new display technologies. In particular, the reported use of flexible AMOLED might suggest some sort of curved device encompassing a curved screen. Samsung has dabbled with curved glass in its phones before (in the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus, to name a couple), so it's possible the Note 2 might develop these ideas further by curving the AMOLED display beneath. (It should go without saying that the actual phone itself won't bend.) We still know almost nothing about the Galaxy Note 2, but rumored specs suggest it'll sport a 5.5-inch, 16:9 display, up from the 5.3 inches of the original Note. Whatever form it takes, we'll be live from Berlin on the 29th to bring you full coverage of the next Galaxy Note, so keep it locked to AC. Source: Korea IT Times 
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| Sony Xperia Miro appears at Carphone Warehouse, due later this month Posted: 08 Aug 2012 02:38 AM PDT
Alongside the usual specs and pre-registration stuff, the page points to a tentative release date later this month -- that'd give the phone some time to gain traction before Sony shows off its new hotness at IFA in a few weeks. There's no pricing or network info just yet, but pre-order pages at other retailers suggest it'll go for between £180 and £210 off-contract. Announced after a Facebook promotion earlier this year, the Xperia Miro sports Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on a 3.5-inch screen with a 5MP camera and an 800MHz CPU running the show. Design-wise, it's as if someone took a rolling pin to the Xperia Tipo -- the Miro sports the same design in a thinner chassis, spread over a larger surface area. With phones like the Xperia Tipo and Miro, Sony certainly has all its bases covered at the low end. We'll be hoping for more bleeding-edge high-end stuff at the company's Aug. 29 IFA press conference. Source: Carphone Warehouse 
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| Android After Dark: Sex, booze and other things we're not supposed to talk about Posted: 07 Aug 2012 08:31 PM PDT
It's a big world out there, and it's not all Rated G. Welcome to Android Central's NSFW section - home to sex, booze and other stories of an adult nature."The Android phone is for porn." Remember that? Android has at times been chastised for its open nature, allowing the big bad world to sneak in (through the front door) and appear on our smartphones. The horror. But the world is not Rated G. Adults use smartphones. And adults can use smartphones for adult-type things. Sex (as it so often is) is the first thing to come to mind. From the time the first WAP browser reached a two-inch display, low-resolution naked people appeared on tiny screens. Contrary to popular belief, smartphone cameras have always been used to take more than just pictures of food. Candid photography, if you will. Sex is just one aspect, of course. There are others. The Android ecosystem has always been open to nearly any kind of app. So we, too, won't shy away from that. This page is your portal to those stories at Android Central. Some may hit the home page. Some might not. Some might offend you. And that's OK, too. You don't have to read them. So click with care. Read on if you like. Welcome to another side of Android, where few dare to show their faces. That's a shame. We're all adults here. 
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| Online Backup tool is pretty awesome, as long as you have some time to spare Posted: 07 Aug 2012 06:40 PM PDT
The Internet's been talking about a new tool from Ameer1234567890 over at XDA that allows you to run a Nandroid backup without booting into recovery. It's a novel idea, and we've taken a closer look at it to compare it to the current method of just using recovery to generate a set of system images. That's what a Nandroid backup is -- images that can be used to restore your phone or tablet to a specific date and time. It certainly works as intended, but probably isn't for everyone. Read on. There are a few pre-requisites for using Online Backup, but they are ones most people who want to use this tool will already have in place. You'll need to be rooted, have Busybox installed, ClockWorkMod recovery (or a CWM-based recovery) installed, and either a terminal client or one of the front ends available in Google Play. For our test purposes we used the Online Nandroid Backup client from Thomas Otero as well as testing from a terminal.
The application and the backup binary both were easy enough to use, with the nod going to the app, simply because tapping a button is always easier than typing. When you launch the app, it checks for the latest version of the Online Backup program and will install it if it's not present. This works exactly as advertised. On the terminal side, one simply has to get root by typing in su, then run the program by entering onandroid. You have a few parameters like a custom folder name (careful to only use "legal" characters) and time settings, but you don't have to do either. Just type and go. Then you wait. And wait. Sure enough, the program collects all the files and converts them into a handy Nandroid package, which you can use to restore from ClockWorkMod recovery. Like all dinosaur neckbeards, I have a bit of healthy skepticism about backing up a live file system (like the /data partition) but Ameer says it has been tested, and so far there haven't been any issues. The only ding is how long it takes. It took well over a half-hour, during which my Galaxy Nexus was pretty unresponsive. Thinking it may be the front end I was using from Google Play, gave it a go through the terminal. Same result -- at least a half hour of slow, laggy Android reminiscent of the G1. Now anyone who hacks their Galaxy Nexus knows that it takes forever and a half to run a Nandroid on it. So we wanted to compare it to the next easiest way, which is to install ROM Manager and just click the button to backup the current ROM. Nine minutes later, I was rebooted and We're not knocking the development work Ameer has done here. In fact, I'll go on record saying it's totally freaking awesome and something that deserves a ton of respect and love. When something is new and novel, you have to appreciate it, ya know? To top it off, he has the full source of how he's pulling this off available for anyone to have a peek at (its simplicity is pure genius) and is constantly working on improving things. In the end, you're left with a full backup that restores as intended, it just takes longer than the current method. We tip our hat to you Ameer, and hope you keep up the good work! Of course you'll want to have a look at this yourself. Hit the source link for instructions and downloads, and be sure to show some appreciation while you're there. Source: XDA-Developers 
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| Capture frames from video for photos, Change permanent programs in Touch-Wiz [From the Forums] Posted: 07 Aug 2012 06:28 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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