Android Central |
- Dyzplastic reveals the 8th piece in their third series of Android collectibles
- HTC Trade Up: Trade in your iPhone, buy a One X & get a $99 urBeats headset
- Verizon Galaxy S 3 developer edition now available
- Manually update your Verizon Galaxy Nexus to the official Jelly Bean build
- Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE hands on
- Rumored Verizon roadmap features LG Spectrum 2, HTC Droid Incredible X, and others
- ASUS Padfone 2 gets rumored pre-announcement specs
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 now available in Canada
- What do you take to an Apple party? Why, a Samsung Galaxy S 3 of course!
- Pink Samsung Galaxy S3 sighted in Korea
- Sony Xperia Tablet S gets new update to fix Wifi woes
- Today is iPhone 5 day...
- Galaxy Note 2 rumored for European release in next two weeks
- Jelly Bean rolling out to some Verizon Galaxy Nexus units as Verizon's support page goes live
- ARCHOS 101 XS now available in their Europe web store
- Deal of the Day: Qmadix Xpression Cover for Samsung Galaxy S3
- Motorola RAZR i gets carrier priced in the UK
- Samsung Flip Covers to come bundled in time for holiday season
- Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 makes its first stateside public appearance
- LG Optimus 4X HD coming to WIND and Videotron in October
- Nexus 7 note taking, Setting ringtones and notifications [From the Forums]
- Qualcomm updates Vellamo benchmark suite for Android, we had a nice chat with them about it
- Heads up: No AC podcast tonight
| Dyzplastic reveals the 8th piece in their third series of Android collectibles Posted: 21 Sep 2012 04:17 PM PDT
Well we know that Dyzplastic's Series 03 of their Android collectibles are being released on September 24th, All that's left now is for them to release the rest of the designs for the series. Their newest one (part 8) is cleverly named Professor Skully McRivethead and it's obvious to see how they came up with that. In case you've missed the last few previews, check'em out: Part 6 & Part 7 It's obvious these guys have quite the creative force behind them, as I would've ran out of ideas for these little guys a long time ago. source: Dyzplastic 
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| HTC Trade Up: Trade in your iPhone, buy a One X & get a $99 urBeats headset Posted: 21 Sep 2012 02:38 PM PDT
If you're a current iPhone user who has no interest in the latest from Cupertino, HTC wants your business. If you trade in your working, non-cracked iPhone and purchase their One X, they'll throw in a $99 urBeats headset. If you remember our article on the Trade Up program from a few days ago, the going rate from HTC for a 16GB iPhone 4S is $215. However a quick eBay search will reveal that the same phone is going for roughly double. But if you don't trust eBay, need a new headset, and/or are OK with getting less money for your phone, then this deal might be for you. The deal ends on October 21st, so you've got some time to make up your mind. source: HTC
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| Verizon Galaxy S 3 developer edition now available Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:54 PM PDT
Look who showed up late for the party! It's the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S 3 (Galaxy S III) "developer edition", and it's available for sale to the last few people who still care. It's in Pebble Blue, and the 16GB version will set you back $600, while the 32GB version is $650. The rest of the details -- specs like a Qualcomm S4 Krait and 2GB of RAM under a 4.8 Super AMOLED screen -- are identical to the retail version, but the bootloader on the dev model is easily unlocked. Hey, that's just like the retail version, too. OK, I'll stop sounding so bitter. Verizon releasing an unlockable developer edition of this one is a really good thing. They just took way too long, and with the retail model getting cracked nobody really cares anymore. I really wanted to get behind this idea and support Verizon (who has been less-than-hacker-friendly on occasion), and hope the next time they get 'er done in a more timely manner. If you're interested, hit the source link below and get out your credit card. Source: Samsung; via Android Task Force, Phandroid 
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| Manually update your Verizon Galaxy Nexus to the official Jelly Bean build Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:37 PM PDT
You've been waiting since July for some Jelly Bean on your Verizon Galaxy Nexus, and you just can't wait any longer. It's pushing out as we speak, but who knows when it will make it to your device. There's no way in hell you're going to sit one more day and read about everyone enjoying Jelly Bean while you mash the button to check for updates. We got ya. The good news is you don't have to wait. The easy to unlock bootloader on the Nexus means it's relatively easy to flash the update yourself, and you too can join in the Jelly-fest. (I'm trade marking Jelly-fest, BTW). You'll need to be running a stock build, and have all the right tools, but thankfully the fellows in the Verizon Nexus forums have you covered. They'll have you up and running in no time with clear and simple directions, and they're there to answer any and all questions should something go haywire. Click the link, grab your cable, and don't forgot to thank the dedicated folks who took the time to put this one together. How To: Official Jelly Bean JRO03O for the Verizon GNex
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| Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE hands on Posted: 21 Sep 2012 12:55 PM PDT
Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the quieter Android launches, like the low-key release of the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE earlier this week by Sprint. It’s a 4-inch budget-friendly device that Sprint is touting as one of their most affordable LTE-capable options, and it's in stores now. For $100 on contract, you can’t really go wrong with that the Victory has to offer; It’s got a 800 x 480 display, a Snapdragon S4 MSM89610 Lite processor, 4 GB of internal storage, and ships with Android 4.0.4 onboard. It’s also got a decent 5 MP rear camera, 1.3 MP front shooter, and Samsung’s signature TouchWiz interface. We took a brief look at it last night here in New York—hit the break for our knee-jerk reactions. 
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| Rumored Verizon roadmap features LG Spectrum 2, HTC Droid Incredible X, and others Posted: 21 Sep 2012 12:42 PM PDT
A fresh batch of upcoming release windows for Android devices on Verizon has been leaked, giving us a rough idea of what to expect all the way to the new year. The supposed source document identifies the HTC Droid Incredible X as the ADR6435LVW, and is due to launch in November with LTE connectivity. The LG Spectrum 2 should be available in early October. The Samsung Stratosphere 2 is expected by the end of the month, while something called the Pantech Perception, a follow-up to the Breakout, didn't get a solid release date or specs. There are also two ZTE tablets on the roadmap, though the 10-inch one may have been canceled. Finally, the Motorola Droid RAZR HD should be landing in the middle of Q4, with the Droid RAZR MAXX HD dropping sometime in the middle of November. As with any rumor provided without any kind of documentation to back it up, take this information with a grain of salt. That said, how likely do you guys think it is that this roadmap will pan out? Source: PhoneArena 
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| ASUS Padfone 2 gets rumored pre-announcement specs Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:37 AM PDT
We're expecting ASUS to unveil the Padfone 2 on October 16, but why wait for details? This is the back of what looks to be the back of the box for the next smartphone from ASUS, and breaks down all of the important specs.
Keep in mind that this is coming from some random dude on a Chinese forum, but it looks convincing enough to me. We had already heard from some leaked benchmarks that the next Padfone would have a quad-core processor, and this certainly corroborates that. What I'm mostly interested in is the dock and tablet companion devices; how much will they cost, and will they do anything more than the originals? What would the ASUS Padfone 2 have to offer in order to pull you away from more established smartphone makers? Source: Mobile 01 Via: Engadget 
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| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 now available in Canada Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:04 AM PDT
After a few hints of an impending launch, Samsung has announced that the Wi-Fi version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is now available at a variety of retailers across Canada starting at $499. The Android tablet includes all of the good stuff you'd expect, like the dual-screen multitasking, the S Pen accessory, and 50 GB of DropBox storage. Online stores like Best Buy and Future Shop are still showing preorder status and an expected release in five days, but with any luck that may change before the end of the day. Pop in to your local store to see if they have stock, and let us know in the comments. An LTE model for Rogers, Bell, and TELUS may find its way to shelves before the end of the year, but no official word on that just yet. Full specs for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 are tucked away below in the press release. Any Canadians considering getting one of these? Our review had a few criticisms of the tablet, some of which may be deal-breakers for you. 
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| What do you take to an Apple party? Why, a Samsung Galaxy S 3 of course! Posted: 21 Sep 2012 10:46 AM PDT
This one definitely brought a smile to our faces. Of course, today is iPhone 5 day. And, like all good siblings, we've been helping out our sister site, iMore, cover the day's craziness. The crowds at the UK's flagship Apple store, Regent Street in London, were plentiful -- to the number of 2000 we heard from one member of staff. Yes, 2000. Naturally, scouring the crowds produced a sea of Apple devices. So, imagine our delight to see this proudly lofted high above the iPhone toting masses. Literally, as the doors were opened, a member of the gathered press lofted this Samsung Galaxy S 3 high above the crowds to film the action. And, we can't be sure, but at the same moment it was as if a black cloud gathered above the Apple store. OK, we kid. While we may have been rocking Android devices ourselves, given the storied history between Apple and Samsung, this one just made us smile. And, we thought it might have the same effect on you guys, so it's got to be worth sharing. 
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| Pink Samsung Galaxy S3 sighted in Korea Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:10 AM PDT
The site reports via its tipster that the pink version will arrive on Korean shelves from next week, and branding has been leaked for all three of the major Korean mobile networks. The baby pink Galaxy S3 will join the brown, red, black and grey versions announced last month, as well as the original marble white and pebble blue. There's no word on whether Samsung will seek to launch its pink S3 outside of its home territory, but given the endless variety found within the company's mobile line-up, we wouldn't be surprised if this model found its way to Europe before long. Source: GSMArena 
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| Sony Xperia Tablet S gets new update to fix Wifi woes Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:51 AM PDT
If you've recently picked up Sony's Tegra 3-powered Xperia Tablet S, you'll want to check for software updates this morning, as reports indicate that the device has just had software release 5 pushed to it over-the-air. The software is still based on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, but it does include fixes for a potentially troublesome issue with Wifi connectivity. Release 5 claims to improve Wifi performance overall, hopefully eliminating connectivity problems reported by some Xperia Tablet S owners. If you're rocking a Sony Xperia Tablet S, head on over to Settings > About tablet > Software updates to get yourself updated. Source: XperiaBlog 
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| Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:43 AM PDT
That's right, Apple's iPhone 5 lands today, and Apple Stores across the world played host to the familiar sight of thousands queuing outside in hope of snagging one on launch day. If you're a cross-platform mobile fan, or you'd just like to chuckle at Apple followers exposing themselves to the elements in order to buy a telephone, then you'll find all the iPhone launch day coverage you could want at our sister site iMore.com. More: iPhone 5 launch day coverage at iMore 
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| Galaxy Note 2 rumored for European release in next two weeks Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:29 AM PDT
When Samsung announced the Galaxy Note 2 back at IFA, an early October launch was hinted at by the company's booth staff, and today the latest round of rumors suggests it could arrive in some parts of Europe even sooner. SamMobile, which has a fairly good track record when it comes to obtaining insider info from the Korean manufacturer, reports that Germany and Italy will get the Note 2 on Sept. 27 and 28 respectively, while most European countries will have to wait until Oct. 1 or 2. The purported list of release dates is as follows --
So, some possible good news for Germans and Italians, and if the rest of the dates are accurate, most of Western Europe will have its hands on the 5.5-inch device within a couple of weeks. As always, remember to take unconfirmed dates like this with a pinch of salt, but we're certainly crossing our fingers for an earier than expected Note 2 release. Source SamMobile 
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| Jelly Bean rolling out to some Verizon Galaxy Nexus units as Verizon's support page goes live Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:18 AM PDT
Finally, some users are reportedly receiving the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) update for their Verizon Galaxy Nexus. As OEMs such as HTC announced their Jelly Bean update schedules, a owners of this key device have been anxiously and impatiently awaiting the update. Verizon's official support page for the update has also gone live, suggesting that they may be gearing up for a mass rollout. The update will be 146.6MB in size and appears to only be available via Wi-Fi. The build number, JR003O, appears to be official as it is the same one referenced in the support document. If you have a Galaxy Nexus on Verizon and have seen the same update, we'd love to hear from you in our Verizon Galaxy Nexus Forum! Sing out, send a screenshot, enjoy the Jelly Beans! Source: Verizon, Android Central Forums Thanks Lakers! 
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| ARCHOS 101 XS now available in their Europe web store Posted: 21 Sep 2012 07:41 AM PDT
Good news today for all our Android brethren across the pond! The ARCHOS 101 XS tablet is now available in the ARCHOS Europe webstore. It's funny how sometimes products are first available in the US and not Europe... or sometimes the exact opposite. Anyway, the ARCHOS 101 XS has 10.1-inch display at 1200 x 800 resolution, stereo speakers, and a front-facing camera. All that is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz OMAP 4470 CPU with PowerVR SGX544 GPU and 1 GB of RAM. Source: ARCHOS' Facebook 
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| Deal of the Day: Qmadix Xpression Cover for Samsung Galaxy S3 Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:13 AM PDT
The Qmadix Xpression Cover is available for just $17.00, 51% 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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| Motorola RAZR i gets carrier priced in the UK Posted: 21 Sep 2012 03:58 AM PDT
If you missed our hands on video with Motorola's new offering you can catch it here. 
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| Samsung Flip Covers to come bundled in time for holiday season Posted: 20 Sep 2012 07:51 PM PDT
Samsung was on hand at Pepcom's Holiday Spectacular tonight in New York with an emphasis on myriad of accessories for its flagship models, the Galaxy S 3 and the Galaxy Note 2. In time for the holidays, Samsung says it will begin offering its singature Flip Cases in a variety of colors for the two devices, including Light and Cobalt Blues, Pink, Mint, Lime Greene, Orange and Yellow, in addition to the standard Titanium Gray and Marble White. Samsung will also begin offering bundled packages of the cases for those who want to swap out and accessorize at will. The bundles will include four cases and will cost $100, a bargain considering one case currently sells for $39.99. Samsung said that the bundles will hit the market sometime this Fall.
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| Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 makes its first stateside public appearance Posted: 20 Sep 2012 07:49 PM PDT
Another sign that the US release of the Galaxy Note 2 is now on the radar: the phablet itself, in the flesh for the first time on American soil here tonight in New York. We stopped by Pepcom where Sprint was onhand with its holiday lineup, including its just-announced iteration of the Note 2, which the carrier says will be on shelves no later than "this Fall." It's nothing you haven't seen in our in-depth hands-on of the international version; in fact, Sprint's demo model was identical, lacking any carrier branding whatsover. Regardless, we'll take it as the obligatory first sign that the Galaxy Note 2 is nearly ready to make its American debut. Hit the break for some hands on shots. 
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| LG Optimus 4X HD coming to WIND and Videotron in October Posted: 20 Sep 2012 07:41 PM PDT
The folks at Mobile Syrup have received confirmation that the LG Optimus 4X HD will be coming to Canadian carriers WIND and VIdeotron in October. The Optimus 4X HD is a pretty spectacular device, packing a 1.5GHz Tegra 3 SoC, NFC and an 8MP camera under a beautiful 4.7-inch IPS True HD display. It's one of the best we've seen from LG. On the software side, the 4X HD runs Ice Cream Sandwich, with a promise of a Jelly Bean update "soon". We don't put much stock on promises of updates from OEMs or carriers, so take this with a grain of salt. Also, interesting news for those of us south of the 54° 40' line -- WIND and Videotron both use the same AWS bands as T-Mobile in the states. Whether or not this means LG is talking to T-Mobile remains to be seen, but we've seen this play out that way before. There's no word on pricing or an exact date yet, we'll keep an eye out for any news. Source: Mobile Syrup 
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| Nexus 7 note taking, Setting ringtones and notifications [From the Forums] Posted: 20 Sep 2012 07:22 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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| Qualcomm updates Vellamo benchmark suite for Android, we had a nice chat with them about it Posted: 20 Sep 2012 05:24 PM PDT
The popular Vellamo benchmark suite got a pretty big update today, bringing new features and a really nice UI to the popular software from Qualcomm. We talked with Sy Choudhury, senior director of product management at Qualcomm about it earlier in the week, and while they haven't convinced me that benchmarks are the perfect way to measure the performance of our Android phones and tablets just yet, they did answer a couple questions I've had and have me looking at the issue again. That's no small feat -- I'm pretty stubborn. First, let's talk about the app itself. A benchmark tool doesn't have to look ugly, and Vellamo really does things up nicely. The main screen of the app lets you chose between HTML 5 based browser benchmarks, "Metal", as in hardware measuring, benchmarks, or a set of extras like tools to measure touch screen response, the Octane benchmark, and "advanced" video benchmarking tools. Benchmarking is easy, just tap one of the circular icons and let it run. When finished, you can compare your scores with others, or look a bit deeper to evaluate each test individually. You can also long press on the main benchmark icon and select individual tests. The settings allow you to run multiple tests to get the best average (recommended), email the comprehensive set of results to you when finished, and turn the tutorial on and off. Most importantly, a link to a full description of each test is provided right in the About section. It's no use to run these things if you have no clue what it all means, and Qualcomm does a great job explaining each test in both the HTML 5 and the Metal category, as well as the extras. This is what makes Vellamo my recommendation for folks who are fiddling with software and want to test the result on their phone. Sure, Qualcomm can send me a well written pdf file (they did, and I thank them for it) about each test but putting it out there for everyone using the app to read is pretty damn smart. Excellent move, Qualcomm. As mentioned, Mr. Choudhury from Qualcomm took a few minutes to talk with us about Vellamo. He walked me through each of the tests and tools, but more importantly they shared a little about why they made the app and how they use it. Vellamo started as an internal testing suite for engineers and developers at Qualcomm. Some of their customers (folks like Samsung and HTC) requested the tools for themselves. Qualcomm obliged, and then decided since they had to build a stand alone app anyway that they would release it to the public. While it's not exactly the same app the fellows designing Qualcomm chips is using, it does provide the same exact tools they use to test performance. Learning about the how and why is always cool, and talking with Mr. Choudhury let me know that they take performance of our mobile devices pretty seriously at Qualcomm -- at least as seriously as we do. Of course, I asked about any weighting or bias towards Qualcomm-powered devices -- a popular theory around the Internet. The tests used in Vellamo are industry standards, and are unmodified. The reason Qualcomm devices often score better on Vellamo is because, as mentioned, it's the tool they are using in-house to improve their chips. The engineers address issues they may see in Vellamo, and that means that the end product will score well in Vellamo. There are no sneaky software edits to make Snapdragons outperform other chips. I'm still not convinced that software based benchmark tools are a good way to compare the way one device runs versus another. There are too many variables, and nobody worries about the raw data given and instead uses the big number at the end as an Internet manhood measuring tool. But if you want to see how flashing different ROMs or making other software edits affects the phone or tablet in your hands, Vellamo is a pretty damn good way to do it. It's free in Google Play, grab it from the link above ad check out the product video after the break. 
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| Heads up: No AC podcast tonight Posted: 20 Sep 2012 05:23 PM PDT
We're skipping this week folks, Phil is globetrotting, and Rene has his jacket on and is on the lookout for folks from Samsung at the Apple store in Montreal. Next week we'll make sense of it all -- see ya then! 
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