Sunday, September 30, 2012

Android Central

Android Central

Apps of the Week - Space Images, Mini Motor Racing, WatchESPN and more!

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 03:09 PM PDT

Android Central

It's the last week of September, and the Android Central writers have another diverse set of app picks for your enjoyment. Have a look into space, play some games, watch your favorite sport and keep yourself from getting lost with these picks this weekend. And remember, Google is still running its $0.25 app promotion to celebrate 25 billion downloads. Read on, then head to the Google Play Store and grab a few great apps.

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Whatever should we do with these?

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 02:09 PM PDT

Android Central

If you're not yet registered with the site, now's the time. How else are you going to win one when we start giving away these sold-out Series 3 Android Minis?

Acer Cloudmobile now available in the UK for £290

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 01:14 PM PDT

Android Central

It's been a long time since the pretty stunning looking Acer Cloudmobile was unveiled -- Mobile World Congress in February -- but now, finally, the device is on sale in the UK. Online retailer, Expansys, now has the Cloudmobile in stock for £289.99, a slight increase on their pre-order price after the original expected September 5 date was missed.

Priced firmly in the mid-range category, the Cloudmobile is an attractive offering in this sector of the market. Packing a 4.3 inch 1280x720 HD IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A Processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. The battery isn't the largest at 1460 mAh, but it is removable, and there is a microSD card slot on board. 

While the whole unveiling, disappearing, re-appearing release saga may put some off, the Cloudmobile still offers excellent value for money at this price point. While launching on Ice Cream Sandwich, it's pretty stock looking Ice Cream Sandwich, right down to the on-screen buttons. Flicking through the user manual for the Cloudmobile, it looks as if there are a few Acer customizations, such as in the lockscreen, but generally it's a pretty stock experience. And, it looks absolutely stunning, let's not forget that. 

Source: Expansys, More: Acer Cloudmobile User Manual

Android Central International round-up - September 29, 2012

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:51 PM PDT

Android Central

The smartphone silly season continues, and now that we're about done with major announcements, it's time for the reviews and hands-on coverage to start rolling in. This past week we've published our review of the Motorola RAZR i, the first Intel-powered phone from a major manufacturer. And we've also got our grubby hands on the Galaxy Note 2, and delivered our hands-on walkthrough -- stay tuned for the full review!

Other major stories this week surround the launch of Sony's new flagship smartphone, the Xperia T, and rumors surrounding the HTC One X+, which is said to be a spec-bumped version of the earlier HTC flagship. And in Galaxy Note 2 launch news, we learned that the phone will be available a day early -- tomorrow, Sept. 30, in fact -- at Samsung's leading brand store in Stratford, London. Lucky consumers in South Korea have already had the chance to buy their version of the phone, which launched earlier in the week.

And in update news, the international Galaxy S3 finally started to get its Android 4.1 Jelly Bean updates, a little later than we expected. The S3 becomes the first non-Nexus device to receive Jelly Bean, though we're expecting more than a few new phones to ship with Android 4.1 out of the box over the coming month.

Next week promises to be busier than ever. Keep it locked to AC for more hands-on coverage, reviews and news!

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News:

Day 4 of 25-cent Google Play sale features Madden NFL 12, Ski Safari, Cut the Rope and more

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:44 PM PDT

Android Central

Google Play's 25-cent promotional sale has gone into day four with a handful of new apps and games that are just about as good as free. Topping the list are:

Check out our list of Android apps from the first three days below! Many of them have had their prices knocked back up to normal, but maybe you'll luck out. Oh, and be sure to leave a comment if you find any others that are on sale. 

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 video hands-on and initial review

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 06:42 AM PDT

Android Central

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 hitting select UK stores imminently, it's time for us to go hands-on with the finished product. We first tested out the Galaxy Note 2 at IFA in Berlin in late August, and it's taken just over a month to finalize the device. The original Samsung Galaxy Note has proved a surprising success over the past year. With the second-gen Note being bigger and more powerful than ever, Samsung will be hoping its efforts are reflected in even stronger sales this time around.

Check out our first hands-on video with the final, retail Galaxy Note 2 after the break, along with a quick overview of the device.

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Mysterious Android tablet shows up in North Korea

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 04:21 AM PDT

North Korean tablet

Yes, you read that correctly; a tablet was spotted presumably running Android in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang. The photo was taken during a trade fair where various approved electronics were being shown off.

Due to the closed nature of North Korea, we don't know much about the tablet. No hardware specs, no software information and certainly no dates for availability. One of the only tidbits that was discovered was a box in the background that read Samjiyo, which is the name of another North Korean tablet introduced in June.

From the photo, it looks to have around a 10-inch screen and has some applications installed. Other than that, it's anybody's guess. If we were to surmise about a North Korean tablet, we'd assume it's extremely locked down and will not run Google's core services. Remember North Koreans are prohibited access to the wider Internet. Interestingly enough, it seems as though the Seoul Google office took interest in this photo as well and are trying to find out more information, just as we are.

There's a certain irony in a closed nation like North Korea being able to develop its own tablet because of an open-source OS like Android, don'tcha think?

Source: WSJ

Atrix 4G, Photon 4G and Electrify will not receive Ice Cream Sandwich, says Motorola

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:35 PM PDT

Motorola Mobility

Well this is tough news. Motorola Mobility has been maintaining an update chart and evaluating its current device lineup as to which devices should go forward with Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean. Just a few days ago, they delayed several devices having previously said they would get the upgrade in Q3. Now, they have announced the Atrix 4G, Photon 4G and Electrify will not be receiving the update and will be remaining on Gingerbread.

This is not good news.  We hope this is just a difficult transitional period for Motorola and that they will learn from this. We bet that they will, but that still doesn't help all of you who currently own these devices.

So we feel for you and we'll be here to help you install unofficial updates. You'll probably want to sound off in the forums, and we don't blame you, so here are the links:

Their update chart has also been updated to reflect the changes.

Source: Motorola Mobility

Here's open webOS OE running on a Galaxy Nexus

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:28 PM PDT

The folks at WebOS Ports have released a video of open webOS booting and running on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus today, hours after HP announced the code release. As we understand it, the device boots up and Wifi is working, but the core function of things like cellular radios, sensors, and the like aren't yet active. Nor is any soft of graphics acceleration, as you can see from the video.

I'll say this right now -- don't discount this because it looks laggy and, well, sucky. The folks behind the project have had access to the code in beta form for a while, but it tales a lot of time (and the right device) to make something like this happen. When it's ready for public consumption, even at an alpha level, I'm sure the people at WebOS Ports will be there to share and help out. In the meantime, be sure to hit up webOS Nation to keep tabs on how this one plays out.

Source: WebOS Ports; via webOS Nation

 
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