Android Community |
- T-Mobile Galaxy S Blaze Q leaks, rumored for August 15th
- Original HTC G1 Android phone gets 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Gameloft’s next-gen game “Wild Blood” preview trailer unvealed
- Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE could launch August 19
- Samsung Galaxy Note II rumored to have flexible AMOLED screen
- Samsung Galaxy S III 64GB quad-core version available now – only $1200
- Bank of America check deposits coming to Android app
- Google Now voice search heads to iPhone
- Android climbs to 68.1% market share in Q2 2012
- Motorola backtracks, no new phone coming Friday
| T-Mobile Galaxy S Blaze Q leaks, rumored for August 15th Posted: 09 Aug 2012 11:11 AM PDT A press image of a new Samsung Galaxy device headed to the folks at T-Mobile has appeared, and along with it comes decent specs and a QWERTY keyboard. The ridiculously long name is the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S Blaze Q and we are even hearing this device could launch as soon as August 15th, but that looks pretty unlikely at the moment.
Motorola recently announced the PHOTON Q 4G LTE QWERTY slider for another carrier, and now T-Mobile and Samsung are following suite with a similar option. Adding Q in the name to signify a QWERTY hardware keyboard just like their myTouch Q. If you ask me, these long names are starting to get out of hand. Back to the device though, the Galaxy S Blaze Q looks to be an overall mid to high-end smartphone for T-Mobile, and we first spotted it back in June. This appears to be a slightly improved Galaxy S Blaze 4G, only with a keyboard of course. The specs include a 720p HD display of unknown size (likely 4.0 inches) and the same 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor as the powerful Galaxy S III. It features 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is on board too. Then on bottom is the 5-row slide out QWERTY keyboard that most either love, or hate. We don’t have any further details but being mid-range it will most likely offer a 5 megapixel rear camera too. T-Mobile seems to still be big supporters of the hardware keyboard, and this will make an excellent budget friendly back to school smartphone should they release it this month. We’ll be hearing more soon so stay tuned. [via TmoNews]
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| Original HTC G1 Android phone gets 4.1 Jelly Bean Posted: 09 Aug 2012 10:24 AM PDT Say hello to the HTC G1, the first of its kind original Android smartphone. The “when will my phone get updated” story is an overplayed one, but today the G1 has most of you already beat. Today we have a neat video showing the HTC G1 running on Google’s latest Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean. Pretty impressive for such an old phone.
The HTC G1 just won’t die, and we don’t want it to either. After managing to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich running on it, those fancy developers at XDA have done the same again with Google’s latest OS. It’s time to dust off that aging and ancient G1 and enjoy some Jelly beans. What you see above is a “somewhat” working version of CyanogenMod 10. Obviously with the internals of the G1 things will be slow. You don’t have hardware acceleration or any of the many many things needed to be smooth, but I still enjoyed it. Obviously with a phone of the G1′s old age we didn’t expect much. It is slow, laggy, choppy, and for the most part broken. The key here is it happened. Someone was able to successfully get it up and running, and usable. Just as the video says, you’ll never use this for your main phone, but it’s fun to dust off the old OG Android and give her a spin. This is one of the many reasons we love Android, and the entire developer community. Well done guys! [via XDA]
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| Gameloft’s next-gen game “Wild Blood” preview trailer unvealed Posted: 09 Aug 2012 09:35 AM PDT Gameloft unleashed the rumor mill last week after posting an awesome picture of their upcoming next generation title for Android and iOS. The game had no name, but we can now confirm is called “Wild Blood” and is their first game to use the wildly popular Unreal Graphics Engine. Unreal is behind the iOS hit Infinity Blade, and multiple games like Gears of War, and now is finally coming to Android full steam.
The first Android game with the Unreal Engine powering the impressive graphics was Dungeon Defenders, but Gameloft’s upcoming bloody battle game will be their best game yet. In what is surely going to be one of their most “Epic” games to date, here’s the first teaser trailer: Think God of War mixed with a little Infinity Blade, and this is what you get. Although the trailer didn’t reveal much. Epic Games, the developers behind the Unreal Engine have been powering some of the biggest games to date. From all the Tom Clancy games, Gears of War, Batman Arkham Asylum and City, and tons of others I can’t think of on consoles. Bringing their evolving and extremely visually impressive graphics to Android has been something I’m sure many gamers are excited about. Gameloft hasn’t shared any details on this upcoming game, but hopefully we’ll know more soon. After waiting almost a week since the first teaser image we now have an actual video. Our initial guess of “Wild Blood” turned out to be right after all. The graphics aren’t quite what I was hoping, but still look impressive. Gameloft teases there is a hint hiding about the story line in the preview. Can any of you spot it? Who’s excited about the just announced Wild Blood?   
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| Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE could launch August 19 Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:07 PM PDT Some new rumors are floating around this afternoon regarding Motorola’s upcoming 4G LTE device for the Now Network. And no this isn’t the announcement coming Friday. Motorola’s PHOTON Q 4G LTE was announced late last month along with a QWERTY keyboard but now we are hearing it might finally hit the streets in just a few weeks.
For those fans of the original PHOTON 4G, or wanting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and 4G this could be the phone for you. The PHOTON Q 4G LTE has way too long of a name but lets talk about it for a minute. New rumors are now floating around from PhoneDog that Motorola will indeed be releasing more details, or launching the phone come August 19th. The new PHOTON is supposed to be the first phone from Motorola that will have a bootloader that can be easily unlocked. For those unfamiliar, Motorola has been the most up tight manufacturer on this front for years and it looks like the Google acquisition might finally be changing that. The PHOTON Q 4G LTE will rock a 4.3-inch HD display, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and be powered by the same 1.5 GHz dual-core processor in the Galaxy S III and many other smartphones. If everything pans out for Motorola we could see the new phone arrive for the Now Network come Sunday, August 19th. For now stay tuned for additional leaks or details.
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| Samsung Galaxy Note II rumored to have flexible AMOLED screen Posted: 08 Aug 2012 01:22 PM PDT Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy Note II soon, but such a reveal not happening until the end of the month, so there’s plenty of time left for new rumors. This time around we’re told by Korea IT Times that Samsung will be including a 5.5-inch flexible AMOLED screen for the Galaxy Note successor. This screen will apparently be combined with unbreakable plane display technology (UBP) and a plastic substrate, which will allow it to be tougher than your typical smartphone display.
Don’t let the word “flexible” fool you however, as you won’t be able to actually bend the phablet. Using a flexible display will allow Samsung to bend the screen ever so slightly, and with that UBP backing it, it’ll be more resilient than other glass smartphone screens and will also save a bit of space. The new screen reportedly allows Samsung to cut 0.4mm off the total size of the phone, and while that doesn’t seem like anything to write home about, it will be enough to space to house a larger battery than the one found in the original Galaxy Note. Speaking of the original Galaxy Note, have a look at our reviews for the both the AT&T and T-Mobile versions. We’ve heard whispers of the Galaxy Note II’s AMOLED display before, just as we’ve heard about its UBP tech. It makes sense that the Galaxy Note II will feature a semi-flexible screen, as Samsung has been talking about including such a display in its devices for most of the year. In other words, it seems likely that this rumor is true, but it would still be a good idea to take it with a grain of salt just in case. We don’t have much longer before we find out about the specs of the Galaxy Note II, however, provided Samsung does indeed reveal it at its event on August 29. We’ve been hearing some exciting things about the Galaxy Note II, so be sure to check out our story timeline below for more information on the current rumors. As always, keep an ear to Android Community, as we’ll have all the details about Samsung’s press event shortly after IFA 2012 kicks off. [via SlashGear]
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| Samsung Galaxy S III 64GB quad-core version available now – only $1200 Posted: 08 Aug 2012 01:22 PM PDT I saw this price and almost had a heart attack. It looks like some select e-tailers now have Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S III, the quad-core international version available for sale in the 64GB storage option. US carriers opted for the 16 or 32GB flavors, but now those wanting 64GB of storage can get it. Only it will cost you an arm and a leg.
The folks from Mobile Syrup spotted the international 64GB version being offered up for sale for the low low price of $1167 CAD. Basically only $1,172 USD for those interested. Hey, at least we get free shipping right? That price gets you the same 1.4 GHz quad-core smartphone available internationally but with tons of storage, then of course you can also insert a micro-SD card for even more. This option is rather amazing if you ask me. Why anyone on earth would pay over $1,100 for a Galaxy S III seems crazy to us. Just get the 32GB option with a 64GB micro SD card and you are set. For those that truly need additional storage (for some unknown reason) I guess this will have to do. As a reminder the US Galaxy S III features a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, this version for sale is the international flavor with Samsung’s own quad-core instead. We’ve reviewed them both and you can see those links below. Who’s buying? Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
 Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
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| Bank of America check deposits coming to Android app Posted: 08 Aug 2012 12:50 PM PDT The wait for Android users to enjoy features such as mobile check cashing is finally coming to the Bank of America Android app. These features have existed for a long time, especially on that other platform, but anytime this week we can expect check deposit features to arrive for BofA users on Android.
This is nothing new. iPhones have been enjoying this feature for a long time from other banks, and even Chase’s Android app has the feature. Sadly one of the biggest banks in the US still never did. This week they’ve promised updates for Android, iOS, and yes even Windows Phone that will allow smartphone and tablet users the capability. The feature is rather simple. Just take a picture of the front and back of a check using your smartphone camera and the newly updated app (once it arrives) and then you can instantly deposit the check into your account. They’ll even offer options to distribute the deposit however and wherever you’d like. According to Mybanktracker the update for Android smartphones should have arrived for Android earlier this week, yet still hasn’t. Bank of America has rolled out this feature for iOS as of yesterday so we are expecting Android to get the update any day now. If using your smartphone to deposit checks from your couch or anywhere is of any interest, stay tuned for an update to arrive soon.
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| Google Now voice search heads to iPhone Posted: 08 Aug 2012 11:53 AM PDT Google’s extremely impressive voice search feature, Google Now, that was revamped and released with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is headed to iOS – wait what? Yup, you read that title right. Obviously the entire amazing feature set and “cards” of Google Now won’t be hitting the iPhone, but it comes close and is set to rival Siri on her own playing field.
Today over on the Google Blog they’ve announced that their voice search capabilities on iOS have been revamped to closer resemble those of which Android users now enjoy. Web voice search from Google on iOS has been available for some time, but not to this extend. Nor did it have the awesome speed and user interface of Google Now. When Google showed off Google Now at Google IO it was rather amazing. The knowledge graph and vocal responses are great, but it won’t tell you a joke. Although I don’t really need it to. Here’s the official video released today from Google: To be clear this isn’t Google Now for iOS, this is a new and improved “enhanced voice search” for iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. Simple things like “How’s the weather in San Fransisco,” or “will it rain today” all work like a charm on Android. While this isn’t available for iOS yet, Google states it is coming soon. My two questions that I’m sure many of our Android readers also have is: Why would they offer that awesome and impressive feature on iOS too? The answer is very clear though. It doesn’t matter what OS, it’s all about Google Search — as that is their true bread and butter. My second question is when will this be available for all Android devices, not just Jelly Bean. If you want to see all the amazing things that Google Now can do, check out our impressive Google Now hands-on. What do you guys think about seeing this on iOS?
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| Android climbs to 68.1% market share in Q2 2012 Posted: 08 Aug 2012 11:35 AM PDT The International Data Corporation has released its Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker results for Q2 2012, and things are looking great for the little green robot. IDC says that in all, 154 million smartphones were shipped in quarter 2 alone, and of those, 104.8 million were Android handsets. That gives Android a whopping 68.1% market share for quarter 2, and it appears that we have Samsung to thank for that.
That’s because 44% of all Android smartphones shipped in Q2 were manufactured by Samsung. True, that isn’t quite a majority percentage, but 44% is not a small portion by any means. In fact, that number is large enough for Samsung to be able to claim that it sold more smartphones than its seven biggest Android competitors combined. Obviously, the new Galaxy-branded devices introduced recently contributed greatly to this boost for Samsung, so don’t expect the company to lay off the Galaxy line anytime soon. Android’s success is compared to the number of smartphones Apple managed to ship in quarter 2, which comes in at 26 million. That’s 16.9% market share for iOS, and even though Apple saw double-digit growth in the quarter, IDC points out that it isn’t managing to keep up with the overall market. This means that we may see Apple begin to slip before long, but it doesn’t have much to worry about at the moment – iOS and Android make up 85% of the smartphone market, and Apple’s numbers for the quarter were good enough to put it in a solid (if not distant) second place. As is usually the case, Android’s growth in the quarter comes at the expense of BlackBerry and Symbian. Both were very popular mobile operating systems at one time, but in Q2, both slipped below 5% market share. Indeed, with BlackBerry sitting at 4.8% and Symbian sitting at 4.4%, things aren’t looking so good for either of them, and if Android keeps growing, they’re likely to lose even more market share. So, Android is looking great and iOS is still pretty healthy, but everyone else is suffering at the end of quarter 2. Android is likely to keep on growing as time goes on and more and more people begin making the switch to smartphones, so keep it tuned here to Android Community for more news about the robot’s climb to the top!
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| Motorola backtracks, no new phone coming Friday Posted: 08 Aug 2012 11:32 AM PDT The little game Motorola started yesterday appears to be going south already. After announcing a mystery 4G LTE smartphone would be unveiled on Friday, they’ve now backtracked on that to clarify that it won’t be a “new” phone, but they will unveil something after all the clues are figured out. So those expecting to see a new device, sorry for the bad news.
Basically this isn’t about a new phone, instead it is about brand awareness. After having a nice little hidden square and asking everyone to “guess the smartphone,” we all figured it was a new device. Why would we guess on something we already know. Either way here’s what they had to say:
After all the leaks of Motorola’s upcoming DROID RAZR HD, everyone assumed (us included) that we’d be seeing that new smartphone. Today however Motorola has spoiled the fun and changed the tune. Either they’ve decided not to unveil a new smartphone, or they never were planning on it to begin with. Here is the hint from today:
Yup, you guessed it. That would be the Motorola Atrix HD on AT&T — see our review. Motorola’s Atrix HD is a great smartphone on AT&T, especially for $99. Why they are running this little promotional guessing game this late after launch has us confused. Either way an update was in order. Sorry folks, we won’t be seeing the DROID RAZR HD on Friday. We’ll update when we know more on that device, because the Atrix HD is old news. [via Motorola]
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