Android Central |
- Context-sensitive Chameleon launcher now available
- T-Mobile offering all phones for zero down next week
- Win a 10Terra Eco Friendly bamboo case for your Nexus 7
- Reminder: We're live from New York City tomorrow with announcements from HTC
- HTC Trade Up: Get up to $300 for your old phone
- Pocket for Android can now read saved articles to you
- PSA: Nexus 7 $25 Google Play credit promo ends Sept. 30
- Bloomberg Radio+ finally comes to Android
- Twitter for Android v3.4 now available - New profile pages, photo streams and more included
- HTC teases new device to be announced tomorrow
- Current version of Chrome not compatible with RAZR i, Intel-friendly update coming soon
- Motorola RAZR i initial photo and video samples
- Fujitsu launches rugged, business-ready Stylistic tablet
- Amazon Cloud Player launches in the UK ahead of the Kindle Fire's arrival
- Motorola RAZR i specs
- Family Guy and more Twentieth Century Fox content heading to Google Play
- ZTE announces super-slim quad-core Grand Era U985
- Kobo adds 64GB version to their Arc lineup, available in November starting at £160
- Deal of the Day: Body Glove Encore Case for Motorola Atrix HD
- Hands-on video with the LG Optimus G
- Motorola RAZR i gets priced from Clove in the UK
- Motorola RAZR i hands-on gallery
- Hands-on with the Motorola RAZR i
- Motorola announces the RAZR i with Intel
- Samsung calls BS on Galaxy S4 rumor
| Context-sensitive Chameleon launcher now available Posted: 18 Sep 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Chameleon, a slick widget-based home screen launcher that we spied earlier this year after a successful Kickstarter campaign, has just been released on Google Play for an even $10. Chameleon is really focused on Android tablets more than anything, and offers a unified look and feel for a whole bunch of widgets. Chameleon has an API available for developers that want to make their own widgets. Here are the ones available at launch.
There's still the familiar app tray included, but the real cool part is the context-sensitive layout switching. Imagine HTC Scenes with triggers. So, if you enter a particular Wi-Fi network, or are close to particular GPS coordinates, Chameleon can morph appropriately to its surroundings. You can get a look at our hands-on time with an early build over here, but we'll be doing a thorough review this week. Did anyone pledge to the Kickstarter campaign? How have those betas been treating you up until now? 
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| T-Mobile offering all phones for zero down next week Posted: 18 Sep 2012 02:57 PM PDT
If you've been holding off on picking up a new phone on T-Mobile, your time to strike approaches. From September 21 to September 30, T-Mobile will be running a Zero Down promotion, whereby anybody willing to sign a two-year contract and pay off the device through installments will be able to get their phone without paying anything up-front. Well, sort of. You still have to send off that mail-in rebate, but after that, it almost feels like you're getting a free phone. T-Mobile's making a point to highlight the Samsung Galaxy S 3 in this promotion, but there's a lot of decent hardware available, like the Blaze 4G, Galaxy S Relay, One S, and the new myTouch. Who knows, maybe with a bit of luck we might see a T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 before the promo finishes. There are an awful lot of strings attached to a promotion like this, but for starving students looking for a new phone and not having a lot of money for a hefty down-payment, this is a pretty sweet deal. More information on the promotion is available over at T-Mobile Anybody biting? 
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| Win a 10Terra Eco Friendly bamboo case for your Nexus 7 Posted: 18 Sep 2012 02:56 PM PDT
Remember that two-piece bamboo Eco Friendly case for the Nexus 7 from 10Terra I loved? We talked to the folks at 10Terra and rather than send it back to them they gave us the go-ahead to pass it on to one of you guys! Make no mistake -- this is one of the nicest cases you'll find for your Nexus 7. It's sleek, beautiful, and protects your tablet from whatever crap life can throw at it. I'm in the middle of checking out all sorts of cases for the Nexus 7, but so far I'm thinking that this is the one I'll order when it's all said and done. Entering to win one is easy, just hit the Android contest forums and holler. We'll pick a winner at random and send it out so your Nexus 7 can look great and stay safe. We've got one to give away, but the folks at 10Terra can hook you up with one of your own if you don't win, just see their Kickstarter page for details. Don't miss out on this one! Enter to win an Eco Friendly bamboo case from 10Terra
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| Reminder: We're live from New York City tomorrow with announcements from HTC Posted: 18 Sep 2012 02:36 PM PDT
Today's announcements were just the beginning. Tomorrow we'll be live from another big event in New York City, where HTC is scheduled to unveil major new products. Possibilities for the Taiwanese manufacturer include new Windows Phone devices, a revamped "One X+" and a rumored 5-incher on Verizon. There's only one way to find out exactly what's going on, and that's to follow our exhaustive live coverage of the event on Android Central, WPCentral and live.mobilenations.com. It'll be double-liveblogged on AC and our sister site WPCentral. Following the events, we'll likely have hands-on time with the new devices, so keep watching both sites. HTC does its thing starting at 11am EDT (8am PDT, 4pm BST). Don't miss it! 
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| HTC Trade Up: Get up to $300 for your old phone Posted: 18 Sep 2012 01:19 PM PDT
Have you been eyeing one of HTC's new phones? Well you're in luck because HTC just announced their Trade Up program. Very similar to what Samsung is also doing, HTC is willing to give you up to $300 for your old (working & non-damaged) phone. However unlike the Samsung offer, HTC doesn't specify what device you have to buy, as long as it is a new HTC phone. I crunched a few numbers for you and assuming the phone has no liquid damage or corrosion and the screen isn't broken, damaged or leaking, here is what HTC will offer for the following: (I used AT&T for the carrier)
The phones listed above are just to give you an idea of what HTC is offering for some popular devices. If you've been looking at getting a new HTC, head on over to their Trade Up site, enter your old device info and see how much it's worth. via: HTC 
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| Pocket for Android can now read saved articles to you Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:17 PM PDT
Pocket for Android was just updated with a great new feature that enables text-to-speech playback. This means if you'd like to catch up on those articles you had saved for later, but have to keep your eyes elsewhere (like, say, on the road), you can rely on audio. Playback controls include a speed slider, and it uses Android's built-in TTS system, so Pocket can read in any language packs you have installed. As with any text-to-speech system, you'll have to deal with a slightly robotic tone and an inability to handle nonstandard words, but it's sure better than nothing. Any heavy-duty Pocket users out there? I've been loading Pocket up for a while now, but it's becoming clear that Pocket is where all of the good articles go to die alone and unread. Maybe this new TTS feature will change that around... 
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| PSA: Nexus 7 $25 Google Play credit promo ends Sept. 30 Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:05 PM PDT
A quick reminder in case you weren't aware -- Google's $25 Play Store credit offer for new Nexus 7 purchases will expire in just under a couple of weeks on Sunday, Sept. 30. Previously buried in the small print, the expiry date for the Google Play promotion has been confirmed by a recent tweet from the @GoogleNexus Twitter account. Nexus 7 owners are reminded that all they need to do to claim their $25 credit (£15 in the UK) is sign into their new tablet with a valid Google account and fire up the Google Play Store. For anyone yet to splash their cash on a Nexus 7, Google will be hoping the ticking clock will prove an added incentive. Source: @GoogleNexus 
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| Bloomberg Radio+ finally comes to Android Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:51 AM PDT
Finance nerds rejoice! Bloomberg has finally released its Radio+ into the Android ecosystem. Having been on iOS nearly a year (actually 364 days, but who's counting) people have been waiting on the inevitable Android release. Featuring 24/7 access to the smartest names in finance, the app allows you to listen live to interviews and expert analysis on everything from the world of Finance, Business, Economics and Investments. Besides listening live, some of their most popular shows are even available on demand, allowing you to listen in when it's convenient for you. Using the app is fairly straight forward. Listening live starts by default and as the apps main functionality, that makes sense. Tapping the gear in the lower left brings up the settings menu, on which the only option is to personalize the scrolling ticker. Tapping menu onscreen brings up what you see on the right-most screenshot. That's how you can access Bloomberg's On Demand shows, you can view their schedule, your saved shows, etc etc. Initial reviews on the Google Play store are positive and it's free, so if you're a finance buff and Android enthusiast, the Bloomberg Radio+ app may be just the thing for you. Thanks gekko! 
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| Twitter for Android v3.4 now available - New profile pages, photo streams and more included Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:48 AM PDT
For those of you out there who prefer to use the official Twitter for Android app, you'll want to head on into the Google Play Store and grab v3.4 which, Twitter has now made available for download. This release comes with plenty of changes and additions. Whether or not those tweaks will be welcome remains to be seen but here's the list:
Overall, the list looks great but you'll have to put the new features to the test yourselves to see if it they will make you give up any of the many third-party clients out there. If you decide to give the latest update a go, let us know how it's working out for ya. One thing I noticed, it seems third-party image hosting is out. it now forces you to use Twitter image hosting. 
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| HTC teases new device to be announced tomorrow Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT
HTC has released a cryptic teaser on their Facebook page for a device to be announced tomorrow. It really doesn't say much, and it's anybody's guess what 10:08 means; presumably that's the time we'll have to tune in to HTC's various channels to see what's up. We've heard of at least two potential devices that HTC could be introducing. There's the One X 5, which is looking more real than ever at this point, and there's the considerably murkier Droid Incredible X, with what could be a 1080p-resolution display (that that would fit in pretty nicely with the 10:08 on the clock, wouldn't it?). Of course, there's also the very real possibility that there's nothing Android going on here at all, and that HTC will in fact be announcing a Windows Phone instead. That clock font sure looks Windows Phoney to me, but what do you guys think? What kind of Android devices is HTC going to announce tomorrow? Do you think they'd lump in a Windows Phone on the side? Source: Facebook 
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| Current version of Chrome not compatible with RAZR i, Intel-friendly update coming soon Posted: 18 Sep 2012 10:53 AM PDT
Upon loading up our pre-release Motorola RAZR i with our favorite Google apps, we were surprised to find one that simply refused to install -- Google's popular Chrome browser. Google Play allowed the Intel-powered phone to download Chrome, but promptly displayed a "package file is invalid" error upon installation. Suspecting an incompatibility with the RAZR i's Intel Atom CPU, we contacted Motorola. The manufacturer confirmed our hypothesis -- the current version of Chrome is indeed incompatible with Intel-based Android phones, though there's good news for anyone considering picking up a RAZR i when it's released in early October. Motorola expects an updated, Intel-friendly version of Chrome for Android to be available around launch time. Here's Moto's statement in full --
In the meantime, we're managing just fine with the RAZR i's nippy native browser. 
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| Motorola RAZR i initial photo and video samples Posted: 18 Sep 2012 10:37 AM PDT
For what's ostensibly a mid-range phone, we've been pleasantly surprised by the quality of images produced by the Motorola RAZR i's camera during our first few hours with the phone. The device comes with an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 1080p video recording -- a spec it shares with just about every mid-to-high-end smartphone out there. But the images and video pumped out by the RAZR i are substantially above average. Maybe not HTC One X level, but certainly impressive given the class of the device. In normal snapshot mode, image capture is near instant, something chipmaker Intel was keen take credit for in today's press conference. HDR mode takes a little longer to complete, but produces great results in bright outdoor scenes with a no noticeable ghosting. Helpfully, the camera app advises you to activate HDR mode where you're shooting images with very bright and dark areas. We did notice occasional discoloration in HDR images, however, likely the result of the post-processing and contrast enhancement that's employed by the phone's software. There are a few conspicuous absences in the built-in camera app, however, notably panorama mode. And there's only a sparse selection of effects, including black-and-white and sepia modes. In our brief time recording sample video on the RAZR i, we were also pretty impressed with the footage produced. The frame rate was consistent, audio was relatively clear, and dynamic range was entirely reasonable. So the overall picture is a positive one. If you're unconvinced, you can take a look at our sample shots and video after the break. Note that our RAZR i is running pre-release firmware, so the image quality in the retail version may vary somewhat. 
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| Fujitsu launches rugged, business-ready Stylistic tablet Posted: 18 Sep 2012 08:29 AM PDT
Fujitsu released a 10.1-inch Android tablet in Japan today, squarely targeting business users. Not only does it have ample horsepower with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 1.4 GHz quad-core processor inside, but the Fujitsu Stylistic M532/EA4 is also military-grade ruggedized for protection against dust and extreme temperatures, and has an impressive 13.4 hours of battery life. There's a 2 megapixel camera on the front for video calling and an 8 megapixel shooter on the back to boot. The usual selection of connectivity is built in, such as Wi-Fi, GPS, and 3G, plus a handful of inputs, including micro USB, audio line-in/out, a custom dock connector, and a memory card slot. The 1280 x 800 display resolution and running Android 4.0 (instead of Jelly Bean) might not win it any favors, but something tells me that stuffy business-types won't care that much. Shipments outside of Japan are expected in early October. Fujitsu is still making a name for itself in the Android world, and it will probably still be awhile before their mobile devices become a recognizable sight over here in North America. The last thing we noticed from them was a cool LTE waterproof phone at Mobile World Congress; we can always use more waterproof gadgets, so hopefully we'll see more of Fujitsu's stuff stateside soon. Source: Fujitsu 
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| Amazon Cloud Player launches in the UK ahead of the Kindle Fire's arrival Posted: 18 Sep 2012 08:01 AM PDT
The Amazon ecosystem may well be pretty established in the United States, but in the rest of the world it still remains distinctly lacking. One such service is the Amazon Cloud Player, that today has launched in the UK ahead of the impending arrival of the Kindle Fire. The Amazon MP3 application is the portal to the Cloud Player, and has received an update in the Play Store to enable the feature which is available to download now. Available in two different tiers, free and premium, every Amazon user at least gets the opportunity to try it out without laying down the green. As with the U.S. version, all music bought from Amazon's music store will automatically become available in your Cloud Player account, free of charge and don't count towards your limits. The free service allows you to upload 250 tracks to your Cloud Player, rising to 250,000 for the premium tier. The premium service will cost an annual fee of £21.99, a pretty reasonable price considering how much music 250,000 songs is. Kindle Fire or no Kindle Fire, with Music missing from Google Play in the UK, Amazon has a real opportunity to succeed in bringing their content services here. Click on past the break to read the full press release, and if you're becoming more tempted by a new Kindle Fire, be sure to check out our first impressions of the 7 inch HD version. More: Kindle Fire HD 7 hands on 
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| Posted: 18 Sep 2012 07:56 AM PDT
Hands-on with the Motorola RAZR i | Motorola RAZR i Gallery
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| Family Guy and more Twentieth Century Fox content heading to Google Play Posted: 18 Sep 2012 07:35 AM PDT
How have we ever coped until now, without being able to get our Family Guy fix in Google Play? Well, that's all about to change, as today Google has announced that Family Guy, along with 600 other Twentieth Century Fox titles, will be coming to the Play Store sometime soon. It isn't just limited to content you may have already seen either. As of today, you can buy Prometheus from Google Play, in HD, a full three weeks before the general release date. Over the coming weeks we're also promised such titles as X-Men, Ice Age and Black Swan, alongside TV shows such as Modern Family, Glee and New Girl. Say what you will, but these are some popular titles and their presence in the Play Store is more than welcome. Initially -- and unsurprisingly -- these titles will initially only be available in the United States. Google has promised that they are working to bring them to other countries soon. They also made the point that they're now working with all six major studios and many independent studios to bring us the content we so desire. Source: Google Blog 
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| ZTE announces super-slim quad-core Grand Era U985 Posted: 18 Sep 2012 07:23 AM PDT
ZTE announced a new handsets for China called the Grand Era U985 today. It's boasting a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 display, an 8 megapixel camera, and an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Although ZTE is touting the Grand Era U985 as "the world's slimmest quad-core smartphone" at an average 8.6 mm thickness, it's done out by the recently-announced LG Optimus G, which is only 8.45 mm thick. At its slimmest part the Grand Era U985 is 7.9 mm, however, so take that as you will. ZTE is planning on showing off a few other handsets soon, including the quad-core Grand Era V985 and the Grand Era LTE, as well as the lower-end Grand V970 and Grand U930. We'll be keeping an eye out for those. The Grand Era U985 is due to launch in China within the next couple of days with full support for the local TD-SCDMA network. It's a little hard to get especially excited about something just launching in China, and there doesn't seem to be a lot here that would make anyone seriously wish it was available stateside. Besides, how big of a deal is slimness at this point? Does a difference of a millimeter or two of thickness really matter to you? Source: ZTE 
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| Kobo adds 64GB version to their Arc lineup, available in November starting at £160 Posted: 18 Sep 2012 07:15 AM PDT
Kobo has already taken the covers off their Arc lineup but to sweeten the deal a little but further, they've now gone ahead and added a brand new 64GB version to the mix. If you recall, the Kobo Arc will come running fully Google certified Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with a custom skin Kobo has dubbed Tapestries. The concept being that you have all your info being right there, in front of you in easy to consume chunks. Overall, it's a content focused UI designed for tablet use. The Arc series is packing a 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP processor, and 1GB of RAM. In addition to that, the 7-inch screen is a 1280x800 IPS panel with a reasonable PPI of 215 as well as a front facing 720p HD 1.3MP camera and a microphone. Of course, specs are not the real highlight here -- it's the prices Kobo has set that may grab some folks. The Kobo Arc will be available for £159.99 (16GB), £189.99 (32GB) and now, the freshly announced £229.99 (64GB) with preorders starting ahead of availability in November. Something to consider for the holidays as a gift? Full press release is below for everyone. 
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| Deal of the Day: Body Glove Encore Case for Motorola Atrix HD Posted: 18 Sep 2012 06:35 AM PDT
The Body Glove Encore Case is available for just $13.00, 48% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping. Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts! 
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| Hands-on video with the LG Optimus G Posted: 18 Sep 2012 05:43 AM PDT We've finished up another day in Seoul, South Korea -- this time with the LG Optimus G under our wing for the better part of the afternoon. You've read our initial thoughts. Now it's time for a little video. A reminder, though -- we're playing with preproduction hardware and software here. Things can get a little wonky, though you won't see it in this video. But the bottom line is this: LG has some serious hardware on its hands here. And it's throwing some serious software at it. Yeah, it's still Ice Cream Sandwich. But it's completely usable. LG's new user experience -- it's dubbed "Life without boundaries" -- probably won't satiate most of our readers. Let's not pretend otherwise. But it's definitely a step in the right direction. And, frankly, the speed at which it moves makes us not care all that much. We've been using the stock keyboard all day. And while the secondary functions could use some tweaking, it's still got a really good feel to it. The lack of haptic feedback might be making things seem that much smoother. The app drawer is a bit of mess, but we're not going to hold that against it, seeing as how it's full of Korean apps we've never heard of and will never use in our daily lives. Still, it's a bit busy, and you'll definitely want to make sure you filter it alphabetically. We -- and everybody else here -- have been pretty impressed with the camera. Some pics seem to be a bit hazy, but that could just be from our grubby fingers, or the prepro software. We'll have more samples later this week. For now, enjoy the quick hardware overview above. There are a ton of software features we'll get into more when the software's a bit more finished. 
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| Motorola RAZR i gets priced from Clove in the UK Posted: 18 Sep 2012 04:21 AM PDT
Hot off the heels of todays Motorola RAZR i announcement in London, Clove Technology has already dropped us a line with prices and pre-order details. The device is expected in stock in the first week of October (as mentioned at today's presser) so if you fancy one you won't have long to wait. The new Android Intel super powered smartphone will set you back £285 (£342 inc.VAT) SIM-free, which isn't cheap, but considering the hardware inside, isn't too bad. Also be sure to check out our hands-on video and photo gallery. Source: Clove 
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| Motorola RAZR i hands-on gallery Posted: 18 Sep 2012 04:15 AM PDT
Want to see more of the new Intel-powered Motorola RAZR i? You're in luck -- we've got wealth of hands-on photos waiting for you after the break. 
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| Hands-on with the Motorola RAZR i Posted: 18 Sep 2012 03:00 AM PDT
We're live in London where Motorola and Intel have just taken the wraps off the RAZR i, a new Intel-powered smartphone with a 2GHz Atom CPU and edge-to-edge SuperAMOLED display. It's a big deal for Moto and Intel -- the RAZR i becomes the company's new international flagship, and it's also the first Intel phone from a top-tier smartphone manufacturer. The phone also sees Moto take a step forward in terms of build quality, with an aluminum-framed screen and significantly smaller bezel than its earlier efforts. We've just had our first hands-on with the phone, so check past the break to get a quick tour of Moto and Intel's new baby. More Motorola RAZR i -- 
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| Motorola announces the RAZR i with Intel Posted: 18 Sep 2012 02:34 AM PDT
This morning in London, Motorola and Intel have announced the Motorola RAZR i - the first smartphone to feature a 2GHz Intel processor. Running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and combined with a 4.3inch qHD edge-to-edge display, a 2000 mAh battery and a 1080p 8MP camera (which can take 10 pictures per second) the RAZR i looks like a good piece of kit. The device will launch in the beginning of October with UK partners Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin, Tesco and Phones 4U. We're still on the ground in London, so stay tuned to AC for our first hands on with the new Motorola RAZR i. You can check the full press release below: 
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| Samsung calls BS on Galaxy S4 rumor Posted: 18 Sep 2012 01:25 AM PDT
Samsung, through its Samsung Tomorrow arm, has called BS on that Korea Times story claiming the Galaxy S4 will be announced at Mobile World Congress the last week of February 2013, with general availability in March. Shocked. Shocked, I say. Writes Samsung (and roughly translated):
Well, at least the 2013 part should be true. Source: @samsungtomorrow 
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