Android Central |
- Weekly photo contest: Purple Haze (lens flare)
- Intel reports Q3 revenue of $13.5 billion as they continue to progress in mobile
- Affordable Android-powered MG device targets young gamers
- Best Buy's Insignia Flex reportedly priced under $259
- Sprint Optimus G benchmarks and hardware testing
- PSA: Remove all of the protective plastic before you complain
- Jawbone Jambox review
- Starbucks updates app to follow holo design guidelines
- 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' now available for Android
- Samsung Galaxy S3 lasts slightly longer in blender than iPhone 5
- AT&T Optimus G pre-orders start today
- Apple to invent smaller tablets Oct. 23
- Top LG Nexus 4 forum threads
- HTC offers up 64GB One S Special Edition in Taiwan
- Deal of the Day: Amzer TPU Hybrid Case for Google Nexus 7
- Sprint's Samsung Galaxy Note 2 drops Oct. 25 for $299
- Gameloft's Real Soccer 2013 now available in the Play Store
- An indoor test of the Sprint Optimus G camera
- ASUS Padfone 2 announced - quad-core phone/tablet dockable with LTE
- Android 4.1.2 OTA rolling out to Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom
- Alcatel One Touch 960c coming to Alltel for $199.99
- Grab all the medieval debauchery you can handle with The Bard's Tale, on sale now for only $2.99
- Nexus 7 vs. PlayBook, Android 4.1.2 OTA For Yakju [From the Forums]
- Google TV coming to Korea on LG Uplus IPTV
- Sprint's LG Optimus G first impressions
| Weekly photo contest: Purple Haze (lens flare) Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:38 PM PDT
Photo taken with the iPhone 5 by iMore.com's Leanna Lofte A tricky subject in this weeks photo contest -- lens flare. Supposedly every camera ever made has a level of purple flare surrounding bright lights in the viewfinder, but looking through past photo contests I sure don't see much of it. I'll let the experts argue that one, and let you guys get all sorts of funky and show me some high quality lens flare in this weeks photos. The real question is how to create this purple flare. You should get varying degrees of it by adjusting the angle between your camera lens and any bright light sources. Now we don't want anyone staring into the sun, but we do want to see folks get creative and force some flare into their pictures. It doesn't have to be purple, but bonus style points if you can pull it off. The prize is worth it, as it turns out we still have a few of the series 3 Android mini-collectables left, We've got five of them for the five best pictures, so get into the forums and show us your stuff! While I'm still working on a proper gallery, here's last week's winning panorama shot.
Taken by cguella with his Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Congrats cguella, check your inbox! Enter this week's photo contest
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| Intel reports Q3 revenue of $13.5 billion as they continue to progress in mobile Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:40 PM PDT
Intel's Q3 earnings report has dropped today, bringing word of a $13.5 billion revunue for the quarter. While representing a dip year-on-year, the figures still beat the analyst estimates. A global downturn in PC sales can be held partly accountable for the drop, with CEO Paul Otellini saying in a statement; "Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment." Intel is a new player to the Android world, but almost no details were spoken during their investor call of the chip giants venture into the mobile marketplace. They did, however, discuss briefly the overall progress being made, pointing to the recent launch of the 2.0GHz Motorola RAZR i -- see our review for more. Additionally, acknowledgement was paid to the transition the global computing market currently finds itself in. Furthermore, no mention was made of any OEM's that Intel may be working in partnership with for projects during 2013. Of course, we already know that Intel has a multi-year, multi-device partnership with Motorola. We're sure we'll be hearing a lot more from Intel in these parts throughout 2013. For the full run down on todays earnings report, be sure to visit the source link below. Source: Intel 
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| Affordable Android-powered MG device targets young gamers Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:35 PM PDT
A Wi-Fi-only Android device called the MG was announced for pre-order today. Apparently MG stands for More Game, or My Generation, or something. It isn't made by anybody you've heard of, but they're hoping the low pricetag, preloaded games, parental controls, and included $10 credit towards Google Play apps will rope in at least a few moms and dads. The MG has a Gorilla glass-clad 4-inch 480 x 800 display, a 1880 mAh battery with 3.75 hours of playtime, and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by a single-core 1 GHz processor. Needless to say, hardcore gamers may be more interested in the Xperia Play, aged as it may be, since there are familiar hardware gaming controls included. It seems like MG is geared more towards to younger kids and their parents that want to monitor usage, though. 
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| Best Buy's Insignia Flex reportedly priced under $259 Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:12 PM PDT
Will buyers bite at a Best Buy tablet? At between $239 and $259, it could be a sweet purchase for a mid-range device, if the latest reports from Reuters are to be believed. The news agency sites "a source familiar with the matter" in a report published today. According to details revealed on the Insignia Products Facebook page earlier this week, the retailer’s Insignia Flex Android tablet will be on the shelves on November 11. Specs include a 9.7-inch, dual-core 1GHz slate running Android 4.0 with ten hours of battery life. The Insignia branding is Best Buy’s house brand, aimed at competing in the discount electronics range. Source: Reuters, Insignia Products 
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| Sprint Optimus G benchmarks and hardware testing Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:05 PM PDT It's no secret that I dislike benchmark applications on Android. I've got technical reasons that involve native code and virtual machines, but the fact remains that plenty of folks do like them, and I'm here to deliver what you guys want to see. I've put away my dislike for a moment today, because the Sprint Optimus G just blows the doors off of everything else and it deserves a look. The quad-core APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro, high-speed RAM and Nand, and Adreno 320 GPU mean the Optimus G is a well-oiled killing machine when it comes to performance. In every benchmark we ran, it handily beats everything out there -- even while running less than optimal stock software. We didn't stop at benchmarks. This was also a perfect opportunity to check the hardware performance as well, so you'll see some numbers and graphs for Wifi, GPS, and multitouch, too. Spoiler -- you'll be pleased. Hit the break and check it out. 
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| PSA: Remove all of the protective plastic before you complain Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:58 PM PDT
Remember the one where Jerry said he was bothered about the fake chrome trim on the Sprint Optimus G, and how it didn't seem to sit flush? Yeah. Always remove the plastic before you complain. That's all it was. With the protective plastic gone, things are smooth and fit nicely. Crow is delicious! 
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| Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:52 PM PDT The Jawbone Jambox is a popular stand-alone Bluetooth speaker with sharp style, heavy bass, and relatively rich app environment. Audio from the jawbone Jambox is pretty solid, and especially heavy on the bass. I didn't have any issues with distortion, even at higher volumes, The lack of hardware playback controls, like pause and play, is a pretty serious downer. The Big Jambox has the full selection of hardware buttons, but costs an extra hundred bucks. Need more? We got more. Read on! 
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| Starbucks updates app to follow holo design guidelines Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:35 AM PDT
They just keep coming. More and more developers have been publishing updates to their apps recently that apply the latest Android design guidelines. Starbucks joins the list today with an update to their app that brings a pretty noticeable UI redesign. The new design follows the "holo" design language -- destroying the legacy menu button (which makes Galaxy Nexus uers happy) and replacing it with an overflow settings button. Tabs across the top of the app offer a cleaner look to navigation, and Starbucks simply changed the color scheme from default blue to a dark shade of green. The map of nearby stores is cleaner, and the entire UI seems to have received little bits of polish. If you haven't given the Starbucks app a try yet, it's really worth a look. The app is free at the Google Play Store link above. If you're just curious about the new UI, we've got a few screenshots comparing the old (left) and (new) designs after the break. 
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| 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' now available for Android Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:02 AM PDT
It's that time of year when we see a few Halloween apps, and that list wouldn't be complete without a Charlie Brown storybook app. "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is coming to the Play Store in the form of an interactive storybook, narrated by Peter Robbins -- the original voice of Charlie Brown. The app incorporates remastered animations and original voice material from the original 1966 TV special. Surely this storybook recreation will do the original some justice. Accompanying this storybook app is an interactive game, The Great Pumpkin Festival. With this app, you can create your own avatar with plenty of costumes and customizations, carve pumpkins, vote on other people's creations and complete achievements to get new costumes for your avatar. For just over $5.00, this Charlie Brown classic can be yours at the Google Play Store link above. If you're content with a smaller bit of the experience, The Great Pumpkin Festival is available free on the Play Store as well. 
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| Samsung Galaxy S3 lasts slightly longer in blender than iPhone 5 Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT
The fine folks at BlendTec have continued their fine heritage of appliance-based science by seeing whether or not the Samsung Galaxy S3 or the iPhone 5 are able to survive industrial-strength spinning blades. The short answer is no, neither of them can withstand BlendTec's whirling wrath, but as you can see from the video below, the Galaxy S3 manages to stay mostly in one piece longer than the iPhone 5. Some other decidedly more practical (though less scientific) toughness tests have show that the SGS3 doesn't fare quite as well against the iPhone 5 in drop tests. 
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| AT&T Optimus G pre-orders start today Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:17 AM PDT
Well, AT&T followed through on this one. Following announcement of pricing and availability for the LG Optimus G on AT&T yesterday, the pre-order page at AT&T's website is now live. $199 with a two-year agreement -- $549 outright -- and a circle on your calendar for Nov. 2 is all you need to reserve LG's latest flagship. If you're still on the fence about this device, don't worry, Phil and Jerry are working to bring you their official Optimus G reviews. In the meantime, we've got a few sneak peeks at certain parts of the devices. Source: AT&T 
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| Apple to invent smaller tablets Oct. 23 Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:22 AM PDT
So Apple's going to invent a smaller iPad next week. It'll probably be really, really good. Frankly, it'll probably be better-built than the Nexus 7 we've been enjoying for a few months now. And you know what? That's probably a good thing. Google got itself a bit of a gem in the Nexus 7. It's not perfect -- what device is? -- but for $200, it's easily our favorite Android tablet. Apple getting into the "mini" game will make Android manufacturers better. They'll have to be. Because Apple's going to sell a shitload of its smaller tablets. (That's a technical term analysts like to use, by the way.) Will the Nexus 7 wither and die? Hardly. Neither will the Amazon Kindle Fire. Or even the Barnes & Noble Nook line. They're going to have to step up their game, for sure. But you can bet your bippy each company has been hard at work on future products anyway. Think about how much innovation (and iteration) we've seen in the Android tablet space in the span of two years. From the original Galaxy Tab and the defunct HTC Flyer, to the likes of the ASUS Transformer Infinity and Nexus 7. No. A smaller iPad won't kill off Android tablets any more than the iPhone has ended sales of Android smartphones. The balance may shift, as balances are prone to do. That's a good thing. Because the best is always yet to come. 
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| Posted: 16 Oct 2012 08:45 AM PDT
Sure, the LG Nexus 4 (or Optimus Nexus, or whatever) doesn't actually exist yet. Except, it does. And you guys are talking up a storm. Here's a quick look at some of the best threads we've spotted in our Rumored Devices forum:
And it's still early yet. 
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| HTC offers up 64GB One S Special Edition in Taiwan Posted: 16 Oct 2012 07:26 AM PDT
The HTC One S is probably one of the most under-appreciated devices of the year, so it's nice to see the phone getting a little bit of extra attention as HTC refreshes its Android line-up this fall. Alongside the One X+, the company's debuted the One S Special Edition (or "SE") in its home country of Taiwan. The changes aren't as sweeping as in the One X+, but they're no less striking. The phone gets an ice-white coat of paint, making it more One X-like in appearance, and the internal storage has been bumped up to 64GB -- although it's still non-expandable. Other specs, like the 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 SoC, 1GB of RAM and 8MP ImageSense camera, remain unchanged. Storage space was one of our main complaints we leveled against the One S when we reviewed it back in April. The international version comes with 16GB of space, and of that only 10GB is available for music and other media. With 64GB on-board, that suddenly becomes much less of an issue. Right now we're not seeing any signs of the HTC One S Special Edition outside of Taiwan, but we've asked HTC about any international release plans, and we'll update this post with any info they provide. 
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| Deal of the Day: Amzer TPU Hybrid Case for Google Nexus 7 Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:43 AM PDT
The Amzer TPU Hybrid Case is available for just $9 in black, clear or white -- that's 55 percent off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping. Deal also available in the Canada Store. Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts! 
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| Sprint's Samsung Galaxy Note 2 drops Oct. 25 for $299 Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:13 AM PDT
Sprint this morning announced that its Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will be available Oct. 25 for $299 on contract. It'll be available in Marble White or Titanium Gray. More: Read our complete Galaxy Note 2 reviewThe Galaxy Note 2, as you'll recall, sports a massive 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display and is running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, with a ton of customizations and features from Samsung thrown in. It's all powered by a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor and has a rather ridiculous 3100 mAh battery. Source: Sprint 
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| Gameloft's Real Soccer 2013 now available in the Play Store Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:44 AM PDT
Gameloft's soccer simulation game, Real Soccer, has received a nice update to a 2013 edition. The update brings improved graphics and animations, along with a new management mode that provides a better in-depth game experience. So, does Real Soccer 2013 have what it takes to challenge the incumbent FIFA 2012 (and impending FIFA 2013)? A gameplay trailer from the developer can be found below. If it seems like something you'd like, you can grab a download from the Google Play Store link above. 
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| An indoor test of the Sprint Optimus G camera Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:09 AM PDT
A lot of folks want to know how the 13MP camera in Sprint's Optimus G fares when it's time to take some pictures indoors. Forget the MegaPixels, camera technology is about the sensor, the lens, and the software that assembles the data into a finished image. A good camera on my smartphone is important to me, so I took a few minutes, a frosty malted beverage, and checked it out. Hit the break, and have a look at the camera with three different lighting scenarios and see how it does. 
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| ASUS Padfone 2 announced - quad-core phone/tablet dockable with LTE Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:57 AM PDT
This morning at events in Milan, Italy and Taipei, Taiwan, ASUS has announced its second-generation phone and tablet hybrid device, the Padfone 2. Like the original Padfone, it’s an Android phone which can slot into a tablet dock to deliver a full-blown tablet experience. Time time around, ASUS has boosted specs throughout the device, including an upgrade of the CPU to a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip. The device also packs 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera and a 4.7-inch, 720p IPS display, matching the specs of leading Android phones like the LG Optimus G. Unlike the first-generation Padfone, the Padfone 2 fits inside its tablet dock without needing to be secured in place with a door. What’s more, the weight of the entire package has been reduced to 649 grams, down from 853 grams in the original. On-stage in Milan today, ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih demonstrated the same seamless transition from phone to tablet UI, just as we saw from the original Padfone at Mobile World Congress. On the software side, it’s running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with an upgrade to Jelly Bean promised in the future. Connectivity options include NFC and 4G LTE support, though no carriers were mentioned at today’s events. The device will ship in Europe and Asia before the end of the year, in 32 and 64GB flavors, which will retail for €799 and €899 respectively with the tablet dock included. At this price, the new Padfone remains a niche product, but ASUS will be hoping that a focus on hardware specifications and a slimmed-down tablet chassis will help the Padfone 2 succeed where its predecessor stumbled. Anyone tempted by ASUS’s latest Padfone iteration? Shout out in the comments! We've got more images after the break. 
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| Android 4.1.2 OTA rolling out to Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:04 PM PDT
Falling right into line with the Galaxy Nexus devices receiving an OTA, the Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom seems to be getting a 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update as well. Users in our forums are starting to report that their devices are pulling down the update and although these updates are usually on a staggered rollout, we would expect it to start showing up on all devices shortly. We've seen the official 4.1.2 Jelly Bean changelog at this point -- with most improvements coming to the Nexus 7 -- but have yet to receive an official update page from Motorola. It will likely be put up once the OTA is a bit more widespread. If you're antsy, you can grab a direct download of the OTA file at the second source link. Before flashing, why not check out the forums and make sure you've got all the tips and tools you need. Source: Android Central Forums; OTA download 
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| Alcatel One Touch 960c coming to Alltel for $199.99 Posted: 15 Oct 2012 08:45 PM PDT
Yes, Alltel Wireless is still around. The small carrier that focuses on value and no-contract plans in specific regions has a new mid-range device in the Alcatel One Touch Ultra 960C (yes, that's the real name). The device has pretty unassuming specs and is what you'd expect for this price and target market:
The 960C will set you back $199.99 off contract, or $19.99 with a two year agreement, with Alltel plans starting at $45 per month for unlimited talk and text. A full press release for the device can be found after the break. The phone will be available starting Oct. 18. 
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| Grab all the medieval debauchery you can handle with The Bard's Tale, on sale now for only $2.99 Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:48 PM PDT
If you're looking for an epic action RPG to get into and have had your eye on The Bard's Tale, now is as good a time as any to pick it up. The game which, will keep you occupied for around 20-30 hours if you play through it all, is on sale right now in the Google Play Store for only $2.99 -- that's half price from it's original launch price of $5.95 in case you were wondering. You'll want to check your available device space however as this one comes in at over 3.5GB when all is said and downloaded. 
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| Nexus 7 vs. PlayBook, Android 4.1.2 OTA For Yakju [From the Forums] Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:13 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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| Google TV coming to Korea on LG Uplus IPTV Posted: 15 Oct 2012 06:56 PM PDT
It's Google TV, Gangnam style. Google is making a pretty big step into the Korean market, partnering with LG Uplus (yes, they're an internet service provider too) to offer IPTV set top boxes with Google TV preloaded. The combination of an existing IPTV network with Google TV's offerings brings live TV, along with 50,000 on demand titles and the whole host of Google TV apps -- Search, YouTube, Google Play and of course the Chrome browser. This is the first IPTV network to offer an integrated Google TV experience, and Korea is now the tenth country in the world with Google TV available. New and existing LG Uplus subscribers can get the new Google TV-equipped box starting today. The rest of us outside of Korea can wish for the day when IPTV becomes a reality. Source: Official Google TV Blog 
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| Sprint's LG Optimus G first impressions Posted: 15 Oct 2012 05:59 PM PDT
The unapologetic first impressions after 10 minutes of useFrom time to time we review phones here at AC. Some of us are really good at it, with a fine eye for detail, some of us have used so many phones, we have an excellent idea of how they compare to each other, and some of us think a bit differently and look at things normal people wouldn't think to. That's how we roll, and I think it makes for a great mix, especially when more than one of us get to look at the same phone. I'm holding Sprint's LG Optimus G (coming November 11) in my grubby claws, and after 10 minutes of sitting in my chair and toying with it I've got a couple things to say -- both good and bad, The good
The bad
I've put all my other toys away and will be using the G exclusively, look for more soon. 
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