Saturday, August 11, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

International Motorola RAZR Ice Cream Sandwich update headed out now

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:56 PM PDT

Earlier today we caught wind that the Android 4.0 update for the Motorola RAZR (the international version) would be headed out later today. And now we have confirmation that things have indeed kicked off. The update is hitting folks in Europe first it appears, but it’s not clear exactly where the new software is live yet. Owners of the HSPA version of the RAZR can now start obsessively refreshing the system updates dialog.

[via GSMArena]

LG Eclipse stops at the FCC on the way to Sprint

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 02:13 PM PDT

The FCC report has been published on the LG LS970, otherwise knows as the LG Eclipse, which should be headed to Sprint soon. The details confirm as much with support for CDMA 820 / 850 / 1900 and LTE band 25. The 3G/4G is complimented by Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi a/b/g/n, and NFC. The phone is rumored to sport a quad-core Krait CPU with Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM. A potential 4.67-inch display fits the phone’s reported dimensions of 5.2 x 2.8 inches.

[FCC via Engadget]

Black Galaxy S3 appears in Carphone Warehouse inventory

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:38 PM PDT

Yesterday, images of what appeared to be possibly just maybe a black variant of the Samsung Galaxy S3 appeared on Samsung’s official Facebook page accompanied by swift denials of the existence of the new color option. Many chalked the confusion up to images that were the subject of poor color correction transforming what would otherwise be a Pebble Blue GS3 into something different altogether. But a newly leaked Carphone Warehouse inventory screen might just take this rumor to the next level.

Listed alongside the Pebble Blue and Marble White Galaxy S3 handsets is an entry for none other than the black version that has caused so much speculation in the past 24 hours. Will it amount to anything? The chances seem likely, regardless of whether or not the mystery images actually portray the device or not.

[via AndroidPolice]

Motorola Droid RAZR joins Amazon’s 4G phone sale at a penny

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:30 PM PDT

Earlier this week we tipped you off to a 4G phone promotion over at Amazon that has seen great devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S3, and HTC EVO 4G LTE on sale for just a penny. Now the Motorola DROID RAZR is getting in on the savings. The same deal applies as the RAZR has had its price slashed to a single cent when purchased on contract with Verizon. You get the 16GB handset with free two-day shipping.

The deal might tempt a few waiting for the Droid RAZR HD to pull the trigger early, and there is no reason not to. The Droid RAZR still ranks as one of the better phones available on Verizon’s network. Plenty of other devices are on sale, so be sure to check out the full selection.

[via Amazon]

T-Mobile posts up minor updates for myTouch 3G Slide and G2

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 12:22 PM PDT

HTC and T-Mobile are touching up the pain on a few older models with the release of new software updates for the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide and T-Mobile G2. The updates don’t come with a change in Android version, but they do move the needle on the software versions. The myTouch3G Slide moves up to 2.15.531.5 while the G2 will now rest at version 2.16.531.6. The contents of the update includes a security patch and stability improvements.

Neither will be issued over the air, instead they are available as a download direct from HTC. If you are still running one of these aging devices it can’t hurt to give the new software an install. They might just be the last we see for the pair.

[HTC, 2 via AndroidPolice]

Don’t Miss Droid World, A Gathering of Android Devs, in October

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 12:01 PM PDT

Droid World is quickly approaching (things are kicking off October 2nd in London), and we couldn’t be more excited to get the word out as an official media sponsor. Droid World is a natural extension of Apps World, the free developers’ conference that’ll offer priceless discussion, connections, and experiences.

In short, it’s a developers’ conference that tailors toward those who’re focused on Android. With over 150 exhibitors and tons of workshops to sink your teeth into it’s sure to be an event every Android developer will want to attend.

The best part? It’s all free! With no outrageous ticket prices to deal with it only makes sense to attend and get a better understanding about the fastest growing mobile platform in the world. Here are the main things you’ll be doing should you decide to attend:

  • Developer Zone sessions — These sessions are focused on how you, as a developer, can hone your general skills in things like marketing, monetization, proper use of HTML5, and creating social experiences.
  • Droid World sessions — These will focus more on Android itself. Experienced and successful developers will discuss things such as apps discovery and monetization in the Google Play Store, using location to deliver more innovative experiences, and more.
  • Technical Briefing — These discussions get down into the core of development and distribution. You’ll be talking about the topics that will help you break into the market with the best possible strategy for growth.

All of these sessions will be run by some great speakers who you can bet know the ecosystem down to a single atom. Click each one above to find out more about what you’ll be talking about and who you’ll be speaking with.

These sessions are interactive in that the speakers will be open to questions, suggestions for talking points, and so on to make sure each developer gets the most out of their time.

 

 

Speakers like Google’s Grant Allen (who is also the author of Beginning Android) and Facebook’s Simon Cross are just a couple of the many who will offer their expertise from deep within the industry.

All of this is going down October 2nd through October 3rd in Earls Court 2 on Warwick Road in London, England. Get your travel plans in order because we’re sure you won’t regret spending your time and money to attend.

Everything you need to know about the event is available right here so be sure to give it a good look and see if this is something you’d like to participate in.

And if you’re not able to get to the UK for this event be sure to know that a North American event of the same cloth will take place in San Francisco, CA on February 5th, 2013. You can find more info about that particular event here.

 

Sprint to give away free ZTE Optik tablet with purchase of any smartphone starting August 12

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 11:17 AM PDT

Sprint must be sitting on a slow moving pile of ZTE Optik tablets, because they are about to kick off a deal that will see the device delivered free of charge to  any customer purchasing a new smartphone. Details of the deal recently leaked, pinning the fire sale to August 12th. The ZTE Optik is by no means a bad tablet, but it isn’t a great one either. Given the recent launch of the Nexus 7 and other aggressive maneuvers in the 7-inch display market (including rumors of an iPad Mini), the Optik doesn’t stand much of chance. If Sprint can get rid of a few while coaxing customers into buying some smartphones, they will do better than they might otherwise. The deal ends September 30th.

[via TechnoBuffalo]

Verizon posts changelog for Droid Charge FP5 update

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 10:39 AM PDT

Verizon has been teasing us a bit on an upcoming update for the Samsung DROID Charge. They posted information about the update last week only to pull it with no actual rollout of new software occurring. Now Big Red has posted the full changelog for software version FP5, one that largely mirrors the log for the Charge’s FP1 software. So instead of many tweaks and enhancements, users can expect a solid bug fix patch. The appearance of the changelog suggests a rollout could be imminent.

[via DroidLife]

Screw the traditional drop test, why not just drag race with phones attached to your car? [VIDEO]

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:40 AM PDT

Ah yes, the drop test. It’s something that causes a bit of controversy in the tech world when performed (even if only in the form of YouTube comments) but we can’t get enough of them anyway. The latest test technically isn’t a drop test, but it does test the screen durability of the Samsung Galaxy S3 up against the iPhone 4S in a rather unique way.

It’s no secret by now that the iPhone 4S has some pretty fragile glass draping the chassis, but does Samsung’s Galaxy S3 with Gorilla Glass pose better protection for these $600-$800 investments?

YouTube user “aperfectgalaxy” went completely insane and decided to figure that out with a drag race scratch test. That’s right, a freakin’ drag race scratch test. Well, the name is cool but it isn’t really a drag race. Instead, he attached the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4S to the trunk of the car with long string.

Gorilla tape (I didn’t even know such a thing existed) is used to hold the phones securely in place on the other end of the string. The phones are placed flat down onto the pavement and off they go!

The crazy tester hops into the back of the trunk and asks his friend to take off. They weren’t going the the upwards 140MPH like you’d see in a drag race but it was pretty violent speed for being nestled into the back of a small, unsafe trunk.

A couple of bounces and a lot of cringing later, the car is stopped and the Samsung Galaxy S3 comes out unscathed. I have to be honest — I was completely uninterested in the result knowing what would happen. I just wanted to see if that guy would fall out of the back of that track. Exhilarating. [APerfectGalaxy, Thanks Mel!]

Huawei MediPad 10 FHD one step closer to arrival with FCC stop

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 08:54 AM PDT

The Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is one of the company’s most highly-anticipated devices, and it looks like it’s gotten the green light to be sold here in the United States. Today’s stop at the FCC means we should be close to a launch, but it’s a bit hard to pinpoint when, exactly, that launch could happen.

Huawei caught the undivided attention of the tech world when they published a near two-minute video showing the device off in all its glory. While they are banking on the 10 inch 1080p display to be enough to grab sales there’s a lot more to like here.

It’ll house their home-brewed 1.2GHz quad-core processor which has a 16-core GPU, will run Android 4.0, and more. Take a look a that video above if you haven’t seen it before, and keep this one on your radar (yes, even with the Transformers and Galaxies of the world captivating millions). [FCC]

Leaked document says Kyocera Riise launching on Sprint August 19th for $20

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 08:29 AM PDT

The Kyocera Rise made an uninspiring debut at CTIA this past May, but it looks like it may finally be ready to launch here in the United States for whoever is willing to buy it.

The device will apparently head to Sprint stores August 19th and will be available for $20 according to materials received by TechnoBuffalo. With a 3.5 inch display and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard it might be a nice option for those who are looking for a capable smartphone for cheap.

Users will enjoy Android 4.0 powered by a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. There are no LTE radios to be had, unfortunately, but I’m guessing you’d figure that considering its rank on the Now Network.

If this rumor turns out to be true Sprint should be making an announcement any day now. Be sure to check out our hands-on time with the device from CTIA 2012.

Will the Motorola RAZR (international) receive Android 4.0 today?

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 07:45 AM PDT

It seems like August is the month that most will finally be getting Android 4.0, and if new rumors are correct it looks like Motorola RAZR owners could soon be joining the party.

An unconfirmed report by GSMArena suggests the device will be getting Ice Cream Sandwich today, but there haven’t been any reports from users corroborating this fact just yet.

I should clarify that this is not regarding Verizon’s Motorola DROID RAZR, but rather the international version without the DROID moniker.

But none of that will matter if this rumor doesn’t end up being true so let’s wait until we can get some confirmation before getting all giddy and whatnot. If you have the device be sure to check for the update throughout the day and report back if you’re able to pull anything down.

International One X receives update to bring legacy menu button option

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 05:50 AM PDT

HTC has been upgrading all its HTC Sense 4.0 phones to bring some much needed changes to the way legacy menu buttons work. Since HTC’s device features capactive navigation keys instead of virtual ones they needed a sensible way to allow users to access Android 2.x menus.

The original way forced users to put up with a huge, black bar which took up prime real estate at the bottom of the display. This new update eradicates that issue by giving users the option to use a long-press of the recent apps button instead.

HTCInside also notices a new tab button that can be accessed without going into the browser’s menu, better performance, tweaked homescreen animations, and more. This 148.13MB update (which brings build 2.17.401.2) is said to be headed out to devices right now so check for it in the settings menu.

Samsung Galaxy Prevail is Samsung’s best-selling US Smartphone since June 2010, says court documents

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:57 AM PDT

This Apple vs Samsung spat has brought about interesting developments since the trial first hit courtroom a while back. The latest development is perhaps the most interesting (though it may not be very significant to the overall grand scheme of things). Samsung has released its sales numbers for their tablets and smartphones in the United States from June 2010 to July 2012.

Samsung sold 21.5 million smartphones in total in that time period here in the United States. Sprint was one of Samsung’s best carrier partner for the Galaxy S line (Galaxy S3 not included yet, of course) with both the Samsung EPIC 4G (Galaxy S1) and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch accounting for 1.9 million and 1.67 million units, respectively.

Surprisingly enough the Samsung Galaxy Prevail was the absolute best seller with 2.25 million units sold. There are a lot more smartphones on the list so open the picture above to view them all if you’re interested (you might be quite surprised by some of the phones’ performance).

It’s worthy to note that these numbers include US sales only so don’t be surprised that they seem low compared to the numbers Samsung usually tout in their press releases. Apple also released some numbers of their own.

While they didn’t go into detail about which devices did which numbers, they revealed That the iPhone sold 85.9 million units in the United States since the line’s launch in 2007. IN THE UNITED STATES. I don’t even want to see the number for worldwide sales.

If we were going by the same time period Samsung went by, they’ve sold 62.8 million units, clearly showing that a majority of their smartphones were sold on the back-end of its existence (not that that’s surprising or anything).

Apple also revealed it sold nearly 20 million iPad units its launch in Q2 2010, a number that is no doubt impressive for the tablet space that is so hard to break into. You can find those numbers below if you so choose. These charts also include full revenue from each line so you can see just how rich these two companies have become in the mobile space.

Comcast users gain access to WatchESPN

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:31 AM PDT

We have a feeling today’s story will make some of you Comcast users happy. Those who have ESPN as part of their cable TV package will be happy to know that they can now use WatchESPN on Android. It’s always frustrating to know that you are not getting the most out of your cable TV subscriptions by being able to use mobile apps to watch your favorite content on the go (believe me, I know this all too well as a Time Warner Cable customer) so be sure to make no delay in getting the app from the Google Play Store.
Posted by at 8:11 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)