Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Android Community

Android Community

Nook Tablet gets a price drop to better compete with the Nexus 7

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:13 AM PST

With the folks from Barnes & Noble recently launching their new NOOK HD and HD+ tablets at a competitive price point to fight against some other popular 7-inch tablets, they’ve now lowered the price on their NOOK Tablet and Color slates too. Between the Kindle Fire getting a price drop and the holidays quickly approaching the NOOK just got a bit cheaper.

On Friday Barnes & Noble announced the NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color would both be receiving a price drop just in time for the holidays. Hopefully you didn’t snatch one this weekend, because as of today the price drop is now in effect. Starting today the NOOK Tablet has been lowered to $159 and $179 for the 8GB and 16GB models.

Compare that to the $199 8GB price of the new NOOK HD, it isn’t a huge difference but for those on a budget it will certainly help out with your holiday shopping this year. Compared to the 16GB Nexus 7 for $199, you all know what we’d choose, but then again the NOOK line is pretty impressive too. Here’s what one B&N President had to say:

"Just in time for the holidays, these new lower prices make NOOK a great gift for anyone in the family," said Jamie Iannone, President of Digital Products at Barnes & Noble. "With everything from interactive children's books to the best collection of top 100 magazines in rich color, NOOK is perfect for anyone who likes to read."

B&N also lowered their pricing strategy of the NOOK Color, making it the lowest priced NOOK available for just $139. With the NOOK HD+ on the horizon, and now these price drops it’s safe to say customers have plenty of choices from the Barnes & Noble family — and tablets as a whole this holiday season.

[via BusinessWire]

Angry Birds Star Wars trailer dishes even more gameplay footage

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:34 AM PST

Rovio is all set to launch Angry Birds Star Wars later this week (November 8 to be specific), but before it does, it has one last trailer to push out the door. Last week we given a brief look at the title’s gameplay, and today we’re getting a longer one. That’s right – if you’ve ever wanted to see what Chewbacca looks like in Angry Birds form, now’s your chance.


We get to see nearly a full minute of gameplay footage from Angry Birds Star Wars in the trailer below. It looks like Angry Birds Star Wars will play similar to both Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds proper, with some levels taking place on the ground and others taking place in the vacuum of space. The birds will obviously have Star Wars-themed powers too, so that’s something to get excited about.

For instance, the Luke Skywalker bird can use his lightsaber to do extra damage to structures and deflect blaster bolts, while Han Solo bird can use his blaster to snipe the pigs as he closes in for the hit. There’s also an Obi-Wan Kenobi bird that can use force powers, along with a Chewbacca bird that has a little extra heft to throw around. Finally, the trailer wraps-up by showing us the Millennium Falcon as it wreaks havoc on the pigs’ carefully planned structures.

All in all, it should be a pretty fun ride, provided you like both Angry Birds and Star Wars. Just a few more days to wait until it arrives, and then after launch we can see how Angry Birds Star Wars fares in comparison to the rest of the Angry Birds games. We’re going to go out on a limb and say that it becomes the most popular Angry Birds game yet. Thoughts?

HTC DROID DNA 5-inch phablet leaks again, could arrive December 6

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:21 AM PST

HTC’s upcoming smartphone in the DROID DNA sure looks exciting. Late last week we received our first official press render and official leak of the new 5-inch 1080p HD smartphone phablet and over the weekend we received another. Not only that but a few rumors are stating a December 6th release date for HTC’s new flagship.

Our pal on Twitter known as @evleaks has delivered once again, giving us an even bigger HD picture of the upcoming HTC DROID DNA. Which you might also remember being called the Incredible X, or the dlx. This 5-inch 1080p smartphone with a blazing 440 ppi display, quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and more is officially headed to Verizon with 4G LTE.

We’ve heard plenty about this phone over the recent weeks. The HTC J Butterfly, but for Verizon Wireless and possibly others. According to multiple leaks the DROID DNA will in fact come with 16 and 32GB of storage options. Then Verizon and HTC opted for a larger 2,500 mAh battery in this model, something I’m glad to see although still believe it could easily be bigger.

The Galaxy Note was 2,500, and the new Note II is 3,300 so clearly Samsung has made the right choice. Hopefully HTC does the same but we’ll have to wait and see. Since revealing the image back on Friday we’ve received a few tips the HTC DROID DNA will arrive on Verizon Wireless come December 6th for $249. Previous rumors suggested $199 though. As usual, nothing is final until Verizon says so themselves and we could see a different price, and a later date as they’re usually in no rush to the market. Stay tuned for more details on this impressive looking phablet from HTC.


Samsung tipped to reveal new branding at CES 2013

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 09:53 AM PST

To many of us, Samsung is the Android manufacturer. The company routinely puts out sleek and sexy devices like the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, but its plain blue logo doesn’t match the attractive handsets it has on offer. That might all change come CES 2013, as Australia’s Channel News is reporting that Samsung is planning to reveal all new branding at the show in January.


According to this report, this new branding will “present Samsung with a more vibrant international brand image.” That means the blue logo we’re used to is on the way out, and each sector of Samsung’s larger business will get individually colored logos that give each sector its own identity while linking each to the larger Samsung brand at the same time. The sources Channel News spoke to say that Samsung has hired Scott Bedbury to help develop this new branding – Bedbury has done branding work for both Nike and Starbucks in the past.

These sources also claim that Samsung higher-ups have been told not to order new business cards, but instead to wait until January to do so. That little tidbit of information suggests Samsung will unveil this new branding at CES 2013, and we’re thinking that the company might choose to reveal its new logos alongside a brand new device. Perhaps we’ll get the reveal of the Galaxy S IV to go along with the announcement of Samsung’s new logos?

This new rumor is certainly an interesting one, and it makes a lot of sense considering that Samsung’s logo doesn’t seem to match its business. Of course, it’s always good to take whispers of such things with a grain of salt, but CES is only a couple months away, so we should be finding out if there’s any truth to the rumors soon. Keep it tuned here to Android Community for more information.

Clove offering pre-orders for 64GB Samsung Galaxy S III

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 08:23 AM PST

UK carrier Clove has just announced that it is taking pre-orders for a 64GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Clove first revealed that the device would be available in this size back in August, and now they are finally ready to start letting people put down their hard-earned cash for a device, sort of. They are selling the 64GB version for £500 (£600 including VAT).



Don’t get too excited though; as they are not expecting to have stock available for approximately two months. Another issue is that they are not guaranteeing they will stock the phone unless they receive enough pre-orders. This means that Clove will not actually charge your card until they know that they are going to stock the device.

Clove says that they will decide in two weeks time whether or not they will carry the device. If they don’t receive enough pre-orders, the orders that are placed will be canceled and they will not carry it. If they receive enough pre-orders during that two-week period, they will ask customers to confirm their pre-orders and actually pay for the devices. At this time, Clove will provide an ETA for the arrival of the device.

This is certainly an interesting way to do pre-orders, and its one we don’t see often. If you are interested in getting a 64 GB Galaxy S III, and you are in the UK, you better get your pre-order in or else they may not even carry the device at all.


AT&T to sell Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 4G starting November 9

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 07:35 AM PST

AT&T just announced that it is bringing the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 to its customers on November 9. AT&T will be selling the device $499.99. If you’ve been looking to grab the Android 4.0 tablet, now might be the perfect time. With AT&T, you will get the tablet with 4G LTE so you can use it wherever you go.



As part of the launch, AT&T is offering a special deal where if you pick up a Samsung Galaxy smart phone with a two-year agreement you will get $100 off the tablet. This allows you to get the tablet with 4G for around the same price as a Wi-Fi model. Of course this only applies if you are eligible to upgrade to a new device through AT&T or if you are opening a new account.

As the name implies, the tablet comes with a 10.1 inch touchscreen. It comes with android 4.0 installed. It comes with a 7000 mAh battery that should allow you to use the device for most of the day without it running dry. It also comes with a 1GHz dual-core processor for getting things done.

AT&T is not requiring a contract to get the tablet. In fact, according to an AT&T PR rep, you don’t even need a data plan to use the device. That being said, you can grab the Wi-Fi only version of the tablet for much cheaper, so if you plan on getting it from AT&T, it makes sense to have a 4G plan on the device. There’s no contract required and it can be added to an existing shared data plan through AT&T.

Android 4.1.2 update for Galaxy Note may include TouchWiz Nature UX and multi-window feature

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:44 AM PST

It looks like Samsung might be bringing another update to original Galaxy Note owners. The device may be over a year old, but that doesn’t mean Samsung is going to stop supporting it with new update. It looks like the original Note is going to be updated to Android 4.1.2, which will bring some awesome new features.



The update will add TouchWiz Nature UX and the multi-window feature that is available now on the Galaxy Note II. In fact, the multi-window feature is one of the main showcase features of the Galaxy Note II. This should be quite a useful update for device owners, provided it actually comes to fruition.

These rumors first started with SamMobile, and were further shown by a video on YouTube showing a Galaxy Note with the new features running on it. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily prove the existence of the update, but it doesn’t look like any custom firmware we’ve seen for the device previously. It seems likely that Samsung would continue to support one of its flagship devices, but we can’t be sure yet.

Samsung has not announced anything official regarding Android 4.1.2 coming to the Galaxy Note. SamMobile usually get these things right, but until we hear word officially from Samsung, we shall have to treat this as a rumor. As always, we will keep you posted and let you know if we hear anything more about these new features coming to the Galaxy Note.

[via SamMobile]

Samsung and Amazon chip away at Apple’s tablet dominance

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:05 AM PST

Android is taking a chunk out of Apple’s tablet dominance, and Apple saw its market share slip more than 15% in Q3 2012, according to IDC. The biggest factor in the slip was Android tablets from Samsung and Amazon. Sure, they may still hold 50.4% of the market, but it’s still a downward slide from where it was.



Samsung’s year over year market share increased 325%. In Q3 last year, Samsung had 6.5% market share and this year it jumped to 18.4% in Q3. In Q2 2012 Samsung also saw an impressive 115% increase. That’s good enough to put Samsung in second place on the IDC’s global leaderboard for tablets.

Of course, it wasn’t just Samsung who took the bite into Apple, Amazon also had a part. The Kindle fire HD lineup moved Amazon to third place. Asus came in at fourth place, with Google’s Nexus seven being its push.

The buildup to the iPad mini could explain why people were not purchasing as many iPads. However, the high price point for the iPad mini compared to Android tablets puts Android in a great position. Either way, it looks like Apple needs to watch its back because Android is coming for them. With Google launching the 16GB Nexus 7 for the same price as the previous 8GB model, they are poised and ready to take some of that market share.

[via SlashGear]

Samsung Galaxy Camera gets price and release data for UK

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 05:50 AM PST

Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Camera finally has a date and price for the UK. The device will be available on November 8. It will feature 16.1 megapixels, a 21x optical zoom, and android 4.1 Jelly Bean on a quadcore processor. It blurs the line between smart phone and digital camera in a way we don’t see very often.



The zoom on the camera is rare even in point-and-shoot cameras. Getting 21x zoom on a smartphone is nearly impossible, and it’s something you just can’t find on any device as you walk in the store. It also has full HD video recording and 120fps slow motion 720p videos.

Of course, it’s not just the camera, it can do almost anything your phone can do, besides make calls. It has HSPA+, WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI 1.4 for connectivity. It also has 8 GB of internal storage and a memory card slot. It also comes equipped with a powerful 1.4GHz quadcore processor.

Besides the November a release, we learned that the camera will be £399.99. It will be available in white and black at cell phone stores. Samsung will sell it a day early at its official brand store. In the US, it will be available in the coming weeks on AT&T.

[via SlashGear]

Android Community Weekly: November 4th, 2012

Posted: 04 Nov 2012 03:36 PM PST

Whew – what a week it’s been for the Android faithful. Things started off with a bang on Monday, as Google announced the Samsung Nexus 10, LG Nexus 4, and 32GB Nexus 7 (along with a new HSPA+ model), despite the fact that it had to cancel its Android event because of Hurricane Sandy. Later on in the week, we went hands-on with the Nexus 10 and the Nexus 4, before bringing you full reviews of each device on Friday. With each running Android 4.2 out of the box and each packing a number of new features, we’re going to have suggest that any Android fan at least give them a look.


Speaking of Android 4.2, we gave you a breakdown of all of the new features you can expect in the latest edition of the Android OS. Sadly, the Google Nexus Q was booted from the Nexus landing page this past week, which seems to suggest that Google has canned the project entirely. OUYA made another appearance this week with the Android console’s dev boards showing up, and we heard a whopper of a rumor that claims Google will soon introduce physical cards for use with Google Wallet.

We had a lot of statistics this week too. Reports from IDC and Kantar Worldpanel ComTech both have different percentages for mobile OS market share in quarter 3, but both show that Android still has a clear lead over the competition. We also learned that while Jelly Bean installs continue to climb, they’re doing so slowly, and have a long way to go before Jelly Bean finally catches up to Ice Cream Sandwich. The Galaxy Note II has a brand new smart dock that can turn it into a desktop, and Apple was forced to rewrite an apology owed to Samsung after accusing it of ripping off patents.

On Thursday, a Verizon listing gave us a name for HTC’s rumored five-inch phone: the HTC DROID DNA. On Friday, yet another leak told us that the phone will be heading to Verizon in early December, so it’s possible that the phone is only a month away. The Google Play Store hit a whopping 700,000 apps during the week, which means that the iTunes App Store and Google Play should be neck and neck as far as app offerings go.

ASUS told us that Nexus 7 sales are around 1 million per month, which certainly isn’t anything to stick your nose up at, and the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini was given a release date in the UK. There’s a new SMS phishing vulnerability that affects a number of different Android versions (don’t worry, Google’s working on a fix), the CM File Manager was released for CyanogenMod 10, and finally, the release date for the Android tablet version of Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition was bumped up by a couple of days, which is totally awesome. That does it for this latest installment of Android Community Weekly – keep it tuned here to Android Community throughout the week for more Android news than you can shake a stick at!
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