Android Central |
- No need to move to the LG Nexus, Problems since 4.1.2 update? [From the Forums]
- Leaked T-Mobile roadmap has dates for LG Optimus L9, Huawei Summit, and a color refresh for the Galaxy S2
- Android Central Podcast 111: Nexus, Nexus, LG and Nexus
- Verizon Galaxy S3 now available in black and brown
- Droid Incredible 4G LTE software update bringing international roaming and Isis payments
- LG Nexus prototype reviewed, unsurprisingly found to have software issues
- O2 UK network issues affecting 10% of subscribers, fix on the way
- Multiplayer Shadowgun: DeadZone goes into open beta
- Samsung Galaxy Note 2 coming to Canada on October 30
- IM+ for Android updated with rage face emoticons, new notification options
- Upcoming Gmail update for Android will have pinch-to-zoom, swipe-to-delete
- Sprint announces 22 more LTE locations
- Deal of the Day: Incipio SILICRYLIC DualPro Hard Case for Samsung Galaxy S3
- ZTE Grand X review
- Samsung, on the reversal of the Galaxy Nexus ban ...
- First Need for Speed: Most Wanted trailer released, coming soon to Google Play
- Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini up for pre-order at Phones4U, on-contract prices revealed
- Motorola RAZR i now available on Orange UK
- Gmail for Android 4.2 purportedly features pinch-to-zoom, new gesture controls
- Two new games hit the Tegra Zone -- Sumioni and Razor Salvation
- Motorola starting Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich soak test
- Get tablet-like productivity and entertainment benefits out of a phone with the LG Intuition 4G LTE
- 10-Inch Nexus tablet rumors, Extra sensitive touch on 4.1.2? [From the Forums]
- Heads up: No AC podcast tonight
| No need to move to the LG Nexus, Problems since 4.1.2 update? [From the Forums] Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:52 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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| Posted: 12 Oct 2012 03:07 PM PDT
The folks over at TmoNews got their hands on a leaked T-Mobile US roadmap for fall, and as expected there's several Android devices in the spotlight. First up on October 29 is a "color refresh" for the Samsung Galaxy S2. This one has our interest, because nobody is quite sure what colors will be offered. as the original already comes in black or white. Following closely on October 31 is the release of the Huawei Summit, a previously unknown Android phone. The specs are nowhere to be seen, but it's a pretty safe bet to say this will be an entry level handset. There's a leaked render after the break of the Summit. Also on October 31 is the scheduled release of the LG Optimus L9 (see our hands-on). While things like 4GB of onboard storage keep this one decidedly entry-level, our impression was that it's a surprisingly nice phone. At the right price, it could make quite a splash. Absent is the Galaxy Note 2, but we're not going to read too much into that. A device of that caliber will likely have a special launch of its own, and not be lumped with the rest of the fall lineup. Of course none of this is official until it's made official, but leaks and speculation are half the fun this time of year. Click through for the leaked Huawei Summit press shot Source: TmoNews 
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| Android Central Podcast 111: Nexus, Nexus, LG and Nexus Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:38 PM PDT Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc111.mp3 Thing 1 - CTIA a bust
Thing 2 - So ... Much ... Nexus ...
Thing 3 - Other stuff
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| Verizon Galaxy S3 now available in black and brown Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:37 PM PDT
We saw just a few days ago that Verizon had put up an information page indicating that two new colors -- black and brown -- of the Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) were going to be coming soon. Now Verizon has finally updated the device page with all four color options available for order. The original white and blue models are joined in-store and online by the black model, while the G1-esque amber brown model is only available for purchase online. By this point we feel like Samsung has sold a Galaxy S3 to every last man, woman and child on earth -- but if you've been holding off on your purchase for a couple more color options, now is your chance to pick it up. Source: Verizon 
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| Droid Incredible 4G LTE software update bringing international roaming and Isis payments Posted: 12 Oct 2012 01:51 PM PDT
The Verizon Droid Incredible 4G LTE by HTC (really? enough with these names) is getting an update today that brings both international roaming capability and Isis mobile payments. Verizon has unlocked several of its devices for international roaming lately, and now the Incredible 4G LTE is on the list. When the device is being used domestically, however, this update is supposed to improve LTE performance as well. Isis mobile wallet is the other big story here. Isis is the payment standard being pushed directly by the big carriers in the U.S. and competes directly with Google Wallet. We've seen indications recently that Isis is finally ready for an unveiling, so this update is coming just in time. The hefty update -- about 155MB -- will be coming OTA (Over the Air) to all devices and is considered a "mandatory system update" by Verizon. Instructions indicate that the phone will reboot 5 times during the installation, so don't be alarmed if it takes a while to install. If your device hasn't prompted for the update yet, you can check for it in settings > software update > check now. Source: Verizon; via: Droid Life 
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| LG Nexus prototype reviewed, unsurprisingly found to have software issues Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:52 AM PDT
What do you get when you take leaked, pre-production phone hardware running pre-production software and subject it to a full review? Well, you get something like the review that appeared at Belarusian tech site Onliner.by today. That's the same site that got hold of the upcoming LG Nexus ahead of time, and published several high-quality images of the device earlier this week. In today's "preliminary review," the site describes numerous issues with the build of Android 4.1.2 loaded onto the device, from hard locks to force closes, to certain buttons not responding. So it's safe to say that the software is very much pre-release, and this matches what we've heard from our own sources, who tell us the device is now being tested with Android 4.2. On the hardware side, the preliminary review reveals a device very similar in appearance to the current Galaxy Nexus. Main differences include a flattened front and back, an iPhone-style microSIM slot along one side, and a non-removable back panel furnished in LG's "crystal reflective process" finish. Like the Galaxy Nexus, it sports a notification LED beneath the screen. There are also some photo samples from the device, though quality is decidedly iffy, on account of the pre-release hardware and software. Camera quality has never been the Nexus line's strong suit, but we'd expect images shot with the final version to look a bit better. Really, there's only so much that you can tell from hand-on time with a prototype. As is the case with every Nexus, we imagine most of the exciting new stuff in this device will be software, not hardware-based. Source: Onliner.by More: What we know about the LG Nexus 
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| O2 UK network issues affecting 10% of subscribers, fix on the way Posted: 12 Oct 2012 11:02 AM PDT
Some O2 UK customers are experiencing service issues this evening, which the carrier says is affecting some ten percent of its subscribers. The O2 service status website, which is currently being inundated with traffic, says the issue, which first emerged earlier this afternoon, has been identified. O2 says its engineers are working on a fix --
The official O2 Twitter account provides more information, including the ten percent figure we mentioned earlier --
The network issues come just months after a widespread outage resulted in a third of O2's customers being unable to make calls, send messages or use mobile data. That outage latest almost a day, and resulted in O2 offering customers refunds on future bills. Fortunately, it seems today's outage is affecting fewer customers, and a fix seems to have been found more quickly. Anyone on O2 UK noticed any service issues over the past few hours? Let us know in the comments. 
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| Multiplayer Shadowgun: DeadZone goes into open beta Posted: 12 Oct 2012 10:27 AM PDT
Madfinger Games has kicked off an open beta for Shadowgun: DeadZone, a multiplayer version of their widely-recognized shooter title. It's only available for Tegra 3-powered devices as you might expect, and as a beta there are bound to be at least a couple of glitches along the way. The beta's free and here's what you get with it:
There are at least a few other characters teased on the Shadowgun Facebook page that aren't included just yet, like a robot named S.A.R.A., Sheriff Moregun, the Toltech Corps scientist, and Jessica "Widowmaker" Metzger. I wasn't able to log into a matchmaking server, but am eager to keep trying in the name of science. There are already plenty of positive reviews on Google Play, so it looks like it's working for at least a few people. There's already been one expansion squeezed out for Shadowgun, and I suspect that over time we'll be seeing at least a few more. Those that have downloaded and installed the DeadZone beta, what do you think so far? Does the engine work well for multiplayer? Any significant lag? How many of y'all enjoyed the original? 
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| Samsung Galaxy Note 2 coming to Canada on October 30 Posted: 12 Oct 2012 09:38 AM PDT
TELUS and Mobilicity have confirmed that they will be offering the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to Canadians on October 30. Mobilicity was a little coy about the information, nestling it into the e-mail response after signing up on their preorder page, while TELUS had the date front and center on their site. To encourage sign-ups, Mobilicity offered $50 off the cost of the giant new smartphone, though like every other carrier, they didn't mention anything about full pricing. No doubt Bell, Rogers, and WIND won't be far behind in letting us know when the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will be available on their shelves. Either way, it's good news since we weren't expecting the Note 2 to land in North America until mid-November. There's a lot of great stuff going on with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, as you can see in our hands-on video. Here are main points.
It's great to see such a broad release across Canada, but it certainly makes picking a carrier a bit more of a challenge for customers that are able to move around. Canadians, which provider would you go with? Is the lack of LTE on WIND or Mobilicity a deal-breaker? via: MobileSyrup 
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| IM+ for Android updated with rage face emoticons, new notification options Posted: 12 Oct 2012 08:36 AM PDT
The popular IM+ messaging app for Android by Shape has recently been updated to version 6.4 with a handful of solid new features, including fresh emoticons and a bunch of new notification options.
Rage face emoticons are a pretty sweet addition, and one I could see myself using pretty regularly. As is, IM+ ranks very highly in Google Play, and offers access to a whole bunch of networks, including the big ones like Gtalk, AIM, Skype, and Windows Live Messenger, to smaller regional services. You can get the full tour of the paid version in our review, but there's a free version available too. Which instant messaging services do you use most? Are your friends scattered across many of them? Do you need an all-in-one app like this, or is it just as good to have a bunch of separate native apps installed? 
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| Upcoming Gmail update for Android will have pinch-to-zoom, swipe-to-delete Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:46 AM PDT
A leaked version of Gmail 4.2 for Android has a smattering of handy new features, including (at long last) pinch-to-zoom in e-mail view. Swipe gestures from the list view on individual messages to be archived, deleted, or remove labels, depending on what you pick in settings. There's also a new option to report messages for phishing, as opposed to regular ol' spam. There's no leak for the APK just yet, though the source is trying to get one available to run on rooted devices with Android 4.0 and up. In the meantime, there's a video of the updated Gmail in action on a Galaxy Nexus. Are there any obvious feature gaps you guys would like to see addressed in the next version of Gmail? Personally, I wouldn't mind a visual advanced search box. Typing a whole "is:" search command just to view unread e-mails seems like something could be handled in a smarter way. Source: Android Police 
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| Sprint announces 22 more LTE locations Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:34 AM PDT
Sprint this morning took the wraps off of nearly two dozen upcoming LTE-laden areas. They include:
Sprint reminds us that it currently has LTE turned on it 24 metro areas and expects to have its LTE network rolled out by the end of 2013. Sprint also this week confirmed it's talking with Japan's SoftBank about a possible "substantial investment," meaning we could see some major ownership moves should any deal be reached. Source: Sprint 
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| Deal of the Day: Incipio SILICRYLIC DualPro Hard Case for Samsung Galaxy S3 Posted: 12 Oct 2012 06:42 AM PDT
The Incipio SILICRYLIC DualPro Hard Case is available for just $18.00, 40% 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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| Posted: 12 Oct 2012 06:40 AM PDT
ZTE continues to try and make moves into the western smartphone market with the mid-range, Tegra powered Grand X.In recent months, we've seen the Chinese OEM's, ZTE and Huawei, release a series of devices aimed at breaking into the western smartphone market. Their latest effort sees a mid-range device, the Grand X, land on UK shores packing reasonable specs at a reasonable price. The differentiator between this and just any old mid-range Android smartphone -- vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich. While not likely to excite the power users, the decision to go with stock ICS is a bold one. The market segment the device is aimed at isn't as likely to be excited for plain old Android in the same way a Nexus shopper would be. That said, sat side by side with the Jelly Bean toting Galaxy Nexus, there are very little visual differences. Priced around £100 less than the Galaxy Nexus too, could the Grand X introduce a new audience to the pleasures of vanilla Android? Click on past the break and we'll walk you through it. 
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| Samsung, on the reversal of the Galaxy Nexus ban ... Posted: 12 Oct 2012 05:09 AM PDT
A day after a federal appeals court overturned the (long since already stayed) injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the company released this statement via its "Samsung Tomorrow" blog:
Read the full order here. 
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| First Need for Speed: Most Wanted trailer released, coming soon to Google Play Posted: 12 Oct 2012 03:24 AM PDT EA has released the first teaser trailer for the mobile version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which is due to land on Android and iOS in the next few weeks. It's a short, 30-second affair showing some gameplay highlights, including the kind of nitrous-fuelled disregard for road safety we've come to expect from one of EA's leading racing franchises. As we'd expect from a big-budget title, it's visually impressive, and we hope high-powered Android handsets will be able to enjoy this level of eye candy when the game lands on Google Play later in October. Check out the trailer for yourself above. We'll keep you updated when the game eventually arrives on Google Play. 
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| Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini up for pre-order at Phones4U, on-contract prices revealed Posted: 12 Oct 2012 03:14 AM PDT
UK retailer Phones4U has placed the newly-announced Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini up for pre-order on its site, along with the first details of on-contract pricing. The phone, which will come in white and blue, will be sold on by P4U on Vodafone, Orange and O2, and will be available for free on contracts starting at £25 per month. That'll get you a 24-month contract on Vodafone, with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB. If you're after a little more data, O2 offers 500MB for £27 per month. Cheaper deals are available, but you'll pay an up-front fee for the phone. SIM-free prices were revealed yesterday -- in the UK, the Galaxy S3 Mini will set you back just short of £300 if purchased by itself. The Galaxy S3 Mini shares its design with its big brother, but the internal components have been downgraded to fit with the phone's smaller form factor and lower price tag. It's powered by a 1GHz dual-core CPU, and packs 8 or 16GB of storage, expandable via microSD card. Around the back, there's a 5MP autofocus camera. It does at least come with the latest version of Android -- 4.1 Jelly Bean -- along with Samsung's latest TouchWiz Nature UX. Anyone tempted by the S3 Mini given what we now know about pricing? Shout out in the comments. Source: Phones4U 
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| Motorola RAZR i now available on Orange UK Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:48 AM PDT
The European launch of Motorola's new Intel-powered RAZR i continues, with the phone's debut on Orange UK this morning. From today, UK buyers can pick up the RAZR i for free on tariffs starting at £31 per month. That'll get you 400 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB of UK data on Orange's "Panther" plan. As ever, more expensive plans are available with larger usage limits. The RAZR i is the first Intel-powered Android smartphone from a major manufacturer, and the first to ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (and a promised Jelly Bean update). It features a 2GHz Intel Atom CPU with HyperThreading technology, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera and a "edge-to-edge" qHD SuperAMOLED display. Aside from the CPU, it shares its design and many of its software components with the Qualcomm-powered Verizon Droid RAZR M. To learn more about the RAZR i, be sure to check out our full review. Alternatively, hit the source link to view Orange's pricing info. Source: Orange 
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| Gmail for Android 4.2 purportedly features pinch-to-zoom, new gesture controls Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:34 AM PDT
The Android 4.2 and LG Nexus rumors keep on coming, as this morning we're hearing reports of what could be in the next version of Gmail for Android. According to Android Police, which claims to have obtained the new version of Gmail from an LG Nexus system dump, we'll be able to look forward to some long-awaited features in Gmail for Android 4.2. First up, the site claims we'll finally be getting pinch-to-zoom in messages, a feature long absent from Gmail, and much requested by Android users. This should hopefully make large HTML-based emails a little easier to handle on mobile. Other reported changes include the ability to swipe messages away to delete or archive them, just like in the notification shade. And finally, there's now the ability to report phishing directly from within the app. Not huge changes, but we're sure many Gmail users will be pleased to see pinch-to-zoom finally arrive after all this time. It's also interesting that this new version of Gmail is marked as 4.2. Typically when a major new version of Android ships, Google apps are updated to bring them in line with the new OS software version. This would match what we've heard from our own sources, that the next Nexus smartphone is currently being tested with Android 4.2, rather than the older 4.1.2 seen in leaked photos. Not long now, folks. The LG Nexus, which has leaked in various forms over the past week, is reported to make its official debut towards the end of the month. Source: Android Police 
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| Two new games hit the Tegra Zone -- Sumioni and Razor Salvation Posted: 11 Oct 2012 10:24 PM PDT
If you've got a Tegra 3 device, like the Nexus 7, there are two great new games available -- Sumioni and Razor Salvation. Both are Tegra 3 optimized, meaning that the gameplay, textures and physics will be killer, When developers get together with Nvidia to build these Tegra-optimized apps, the experience goes beyond what anyone expects on a mobile device. We've got our hands on the apps, and will be giving them a solid look in the next few days, but in the meantime hit the jump to see some screenshots and descriptions. And of course, the download links. 
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| Motorola starting Droid Bionic Ice Cream Sandwich soak test Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:53 PM PDT
Some folks have sent emails into Droid-Life indicating that they've been contacted by Motorola to participate in a "soak test" for an Ice Cream Sandwich update on their Droid Bionic. If you haven't seen this go down before, Motorola likes to try and slowly offer an update to specific users to test out before pushing it to the rest of users. It's probably a good strategy in case there are any last-minute bugs, but hopefully it won't be too long of a process. Motorola has backpedaled a bit in their commitment to update the Bionic to Ice Cream Sandwich in the past, but this will be a good way to make amends with the loyal Bionic owners. Source: Droid-Life 
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| Get tablet-like productivity and entertainment benefits out of a phone with the LG Intuition 4G LTE Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:22 PM PDT Ashley Esqueda here for Mobile Nations, and this week I'm reporting in after having spent some quality time getting to know the LG Intuition 4G LTE. The LG Intuition 4G is what you might call an OVERSIZED phone. And that's a good thing. With a 5" true-XGA IPS display and unique 4:3 aspect ratio, it comfortably serves double duty as both a phone and tablet / e-reader. And to drive home that message of tablet versatility, the Intuition 4G LTE also comes with a stylus which works great with the preloaded and handy QuickMemo app. Put it all together and this is both a productive and fun device to use. On the specs front, the Intuition 4G LTE delivers. Performance is snappy, running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. And with 4G LTE, the download speeds are fast. One of my favorite features has to be the voice-activated camera. Yes, you read that right. If you want to go for that self-portrait beauty shot, all you need to do is SAY CHEESE! It's a brilliant feature. No more awkward trying to take a picture with outstretched arms. Hit up the video to see it in action, and to learn more be sure to hit up the link below. Learn More About the LG Intuition 4G LTE
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| 10-Inch Nexus tablet rumors, Extra sensitive touch on 4.1.2? [From the Forums] Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:46 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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| Heads up: No AC podcast tonight Posted: 11 Oct 2012 05:20 PM PDT
There was this little thing in San Diego, so the podcast is on hold. Don't worry -- we have a lot of Nexus rumors to chew through and we're planning on tackling them tomorrow with a special edition of sorts. You all will just have to settle for Biden and Ryan instead of AC's fab four tonight. 
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