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- HTC and Verizon event set for November 13, DROID DNA on the Horizon
- MOGA Android gaming controller lands at AT&T
- Cellular networks almost back to normal after Sandy’s devistation
- Download all Android 4.2 core apps for Samsung Galaxy Nexus
- Gingerbread is the most targeted mobile OS for malware
- Samsung swings at RIM with its SAFE enterprise system in Europe
- Sony pushes back Xperia V release to add Jelly Bean update and price drop
- Samsung confirms 30 million Galaxy S III and 3m Note II sales
- Verizon App shop closing its doors in January
- HTC DROID DNA passes under the FCC microscope
- Crushed Silicon Li-ion tech could triple smartphone battery life
- Google Exec talks about the Nexus strategy
- Mysms update brings Evernote integration
| HTC and Verizon event set for November 13, DROID DNA on the Horizon Posted: 06 Nov 2012 11:15 AM PST In just a few more days the folks from HTC and Verizon will be unveiling their next big smartphone. We say big because most likely come November 13th in NYC at 11 AM EST they’ll be announcing and showing the world their new HTC DROID DNA. The 5-inch 1080p quad-core smartphone we’ve been dying to hear more about. More details after the break.
While we can’t be exactly certain what to expect from the press event come next Tuesday, multiple leaks lately have us all pointing at the HTC “dlx” — also called the DROID Incredible X — but latest leaks and even internal documents have all surfaced calling this the HTC DROID DNA. Verizon passed on the HTC ONE series that everyone else partook in, and we have a feeling this was why. For those not keeping track the HTC DROID DNA is expected to be a 5-inch 1920x1080p full HD smartphone. Packing 440 PPI inside that crisp and vibrant SLCD 3 display. Along with that impressive sounding display you’ll get Qualcomm’s 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, rumored 16GB of storage, 8 or 12 megapixel camera and a decent 2,500 mAh battery.
The image above is the latest leaked image, and we’re hearing it’ll launch early December with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Sense UI 4.1 on board. We don’t expect Android 4.2 this early in the game, but surely that will come soon. Leaks have stated December 6th as of late, but with an announcement coming next week we could see a late November launch. Just in time for all those holiday and Black Friday shoppers. We’ll be there live so stay tuned right here for full details, pictures, and hands-on video.
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| MOGA Android gaming controller lands at AT&T Posted: 06 Nov 2012 10:59 AM PST There are a lot of people who play games on their phone, but one of the complaints we hear coming from the “hardcore” crowd of gamers is that smartphone controls just aren’t a suitable replacement for more traditional controllers. PowerA is looking to combine the best of both worlds with its new MOGA Android gaming controller. Officially called the MOGA Mobile Gaming System, it’s available at a ton of AT&T stores across the nation today.
To get a little more specific, MOGA is available at 1,150 AT&T stores along with AT&T’s website. MOGA is compatible with phones running Android 2.3 Gingerbread or newer, so it should work with a vast array of Android devices. If you don’t have plans to pick up a new smartphone from AT&T (or you’re not an AT&T customer), you can pick up MOGA at a number of other places, including GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, and PowerA.com. The MOGA features all of the things core gamers crave in a controller, including a pair of shoulder buttons, dual thumb sticks, four face buttons, and finally, start and select buttons. It connects to your phone through Bluetooth and even features a cradle to hold your device. PowerA was touting the number of companies it has making MOGA-enhanced games for Android, which includes the likes of Gameloft, Sega, and Namco Bandai. Developers who would like to make their games compatible with MOGA can hit up PowerA for a MOGA SDK, while gamers who need to find games compatible with their new gaming peripheral can download MOGA Pivot, an app that shows you all of the MOGA enhanced games on offer. Even better is that the MOGA Pivot app is a free download from Google Play [download link]. Finally, MOGA comes with a price of $49.99, which isn’t too bad considering that first-party controllers for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii all cost around the same price. Are you going to pick one up?
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| Cellular networks almost back to normal after Sandy’s devistation Posted: 06 Nov 2012 08:47 AM PST Besides losing power in their homes, Sandy left many people in the northeastern part of the US unable to use cell phones. The power outages stuck many cellular stations and left many people without any way to make contact with friends and loved ones in other parts of the world. Well, it seems that things are almost back to normal, but not quite at 100-percent just yet.
AT&T is reporting that 95 percent of its towers in NYC are good to go, while Sprint Nextel says that 85-percent of its network is operational in NYC, New Jersey and Connecticut. T-Mobile has 95-percent of NYC covered as well. Many of these areas still do not have power, so carries have been forced to roll out generators to power the sites that they can actually reach. Between wireless and wireline facilities, AT&T rolled out over 3,000 generators. While everything is not perfect in terms of cell coverage in the areas where the mega-storm hit, it’s good to see the carriers taking steps in the right direction to put people back in contact with friends and loved ones. Hopefully, the rest of the cell sites are up and running in the next few days so everyone can use their phones and get back in touch with the world again. As always, we will keep you posted on this story. [via Info World]
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| Download all Android 4.2 core apps for Samsung Galaxy Nexus Posted: 06 Nov 2012 07:55 AM PST If you own a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, we have some good news for you. A developer that goes by the Twitter handle @KillDroidHack has managed to grab all of the core apps for Android 4.2 and uploaded them in a nice little zip file that you can flash to your phone and use. This should come in handy if you want to check out the latest stuff right this minute instead of waiting.
The one app that was notably missing was Google Wallet. Well, OMGDroid's Keyan has gone and uploaded a separate file with Google Wallet, so you can flash that to your device as well. Between this, and the larger ZIP file, you can get most of the Android 4.2 experience on your device right now. When you install these apps, make sure install them like a normal apk, or place it into your system apps. Be sure you know what you are doing; the last thing you want is to brick your phone trying to install these apps. This is definitely some good news for owners of the Galaxy Nexus. Looks like the holidays are here a little early for you guys. Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
 Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
 [via @DroidHackKill on Twitter]
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| Gingerbread is the most targeted mobile OS for malware Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:45 AM PST Last week we reported the latest numbers for Android installs, and in a surprise to no one, Gingerbread is by far the most used version of Android, with over 50-percent of devices carrying it. Because of this, it is also the version of the device most targeted by malware, according to a report from Kaspersky Lab. This only stands to reason; if you’re going to create malware, you’re going to make it for the OS with the most people using it.
The shocking thing about this report is how many attacks come from Ice Cream Sandwich devices. ICS has about half the install base of Gingerbread, but that did not equate to half the number of attacks. In fact, between 4.0.3 and 4.0.4, ICS had 38-percent of all attacks. Jelly Bean is not specifically mentioned in the report, so we are assuming it is in the “other” category, which had 6-percent of attacks. Android 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 added up to 4-percent of the total, which means malicious individuals seem to be moving on from the older devices. The most common types of attacks were carried out by exploiting Java vulnerabilities and SMS Trojans that steal money from users by sending text messages to premium services.
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| Samsung swings at RIM with its SAFE enterprise system in Europe Posted: 06 Nov 2012 06:22 AM PST Blackberry has been seeing its once dominate hold on smartphones decreasing a great deal lately. The one place they still had the market on lockdown is for businesses who need an enterprise device to give to a workforce. Samsung now has its eyes on that market with the launch of SAFE (Samsung for Enterprise) in Europe. For Samsung, this is just the beginning of a global rollout, which will see it going directly after RIM in the one part of the market RIM still controls.
The program includes SAFE Platform, SAFE Partner Program, and SAFE Quality Assurance. These combine to support a range of function such as dedicated apps for data and email, on-device encryption, virtual private networks and mobile device management. All of these are critical in a corporate environment where security rules all. Samsung is trying to make it easy for IT departments to evaluate SAFE’s security features. According to Jae Shin, VP of Samsung's B2B Alliance Division, “many IT departments find that when it comes to testing the security of mobile devices, it is extremely difficult to evaluate the various platforms and products available. SAFE provides clear security features. It allows users, IT departments and app developers to work to a common standard." [via TNW]
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| Sony pushes back Xperia V release to add Jelly Bean update and price drop Posted: 06 Nov 2012 05:46 AM PST Sony has decided to hold back the release of its European Xperia V smartphone. This might sound like bad news if you are in Europe waiting to get your hands on the device, but it’s actually a good thing. The reason Sony is holding back the release of the phone is so they can release it with Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean installed, instead of 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich that it was originally going to come with.
The news comes from he official Sony Xperia France Twitter account, so we know the price drop and release date change is definitely happening there. As far as other territories in Europe, we can’t be 100-percent sure, but it seems likely that Sony would not move the release date for just one country. Hopefully Sony puts word out if other parts of Europe should expect to see the device in December or January. Japan might be the one exception that receives the device on time. It is scheduled for release next week, and it seems unlikely that it would be pulled and rescheduled so close to its launch. Either way, it seems worth the wait for European buyers. Getting the device cheaper and with Jelly Bean installed is most definitely a good thing. [via Xperia Blog]
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| Samsung confirms 30 million Galaxy S III and 3m Note II sales Posted: 05 Nov 2012 04:55 PM PST Samsung has been kind enough to always update the public with numbers showing the sheer amount of devices or smartphones they’ve sold. Today they have released some impressive numbers for their popular flagship Samsung Galaxy S III. We knew it would be a big hit, just like the Galaxy S II, but now they’ve announced 30 million strong in sales.
Just a few months ago in September Samsung announced 20 million GSIII sales. While the smartphone launched this summer to a massive audience and with tons of eager customers, it looks like things aren’t slowing down anytime soon. With sales increasing 10 million in just the past two months alone it’s safe to say Samsung’s doing quite well. Surveys showed the loss to Apple in court actually helped the Galaxy S III sales all summer long, so that’s an interesting point worth noting. The real numbers according to Samsung is about 30 million units in the past 157 days, so just around 5 months on the market. This isn’t counting the fact that the Galaxy S III launched internationally first before hitting the US on 5 major carriers, which certainly helped sales. That isn’t all either. Samsung also announced their Galaxy Note II has sold 3 million units too — even though T-Mobile is one of the few US carriers already offering the device. AT&T will start shipping the Note II this week, and Verizon in the coming weeks so those numbers should surely climb soon. Still, 3 million Galaxy Note II smartphones in just under 30 days is pretty impressive too. It’s safe to say their Note II is another instant success. Keep up the good work Samsung! [via SamsungTomorrow]
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| Verizon App shop closing its doors in January Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:48 PM PST Today the folks from Verizon have confirmed some sad sad news. That sad news being that their extremely unpopular and widely forgotten VCast Verizon App store will be shutting down and closing its doors early next year in January. Verizon original set out to offer an app storefront but it never took off, and is now throwing in the towel.
Verizon has announced via their developer portal that the store will be shutting down, and most likely many users won’t miss the bloatware that came pre-installed on all Verizon Android smartphones. Hey, at least we’ll have one less icon now right guys? Originally launching the VCast Verizon App Store in 2010 for Android and BlackBerry users, Verizon wanted a storefront that could offer apps, security, and peace of mind for developers and users alike. Sadly it appears that their success wasn’t widespread and they had a hard time getting developers, and customers to partake in their offering. Originally it allowed subscriptions and carrier billing, something that just recently arrived on the Google Play Store for Verizon — but still it never was something people were interested in. Starting on January all Verizon smartphone will start getting OTA updates that removes the Verizon App Shop, and they expect that to be completed by March. We’ll likely see this as one of many changes in multiple software updates over the coming months. This was probably a good move Verizon, another app store really isn’t needed. [via AndroidPolice]
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| HTC DROID DNA passes under the FCC microscope Posted: 05 Nov 2012 03:08 PM PST The much-rumored HTC smartphone complete with a 1080p HD display in a 5-inch phablet form factor is getting closer to our hands by the day. After some official press photos leaked late last week, and again this morning, it looks like the HTC DROID DNA is getting checked out at the FCC. This brings this phone just one step closer to officially launching on Verizon.
The HTC DROID DNA, known as the dlx, has just cleared the FCC after going under the microscope which only means one thing. And that is that it’s headed to US shelves sooner than later. We’ve been hearing some rumors for a December launch date, recently as early as December 6th so things are starting to align here. The HTC DROID DNA, for those that don’t know, is said to sport HTC’s new 1920x1080p full HD SLC3 display, be 5-inches, rock Qualcomm’s 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage (possible a 32GB model too) and be powered by a decently sized 2,500 mAh battery. Initial leaks suggested Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and most likely that will be exactly what we get. Today’s FCC filing has confirmed the rumors that this device is indeed complete with Verizon 4G LTE radios, as well as GSM for those global roaming features Verizon’s been touting. Between website leaks, press photos, and now this we’re pretty certain this will be hitting Verizon shelves soon. Hopefully it’s before Black Friday but we’re still expecting an early December launch. [via Engadget]
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| Crushed Silicon Li-ion tech could triple smartphone battery life Posted: 05 Nov 2012 01:59 PM PST In a smartphone world of 5.5-inch HD screens, quad-core 1.5 GHz processor that rival old computers and more one thing that is still truly holding smartphones and tablets hostage is the battery life. Whether it be Android, iOS, or anything else for that matter battery technology has only come along so far, and that isn’t much. However, A new crushed silicon technique could see our battery life triple without using more real estate.
Lets be honest. While technology as a whole has been improving by leaps and bounds our battery life hasn’t. This is a massive selling point for devices with smaller screens, or happy-medium devices like the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX HD with a massive screen and a huge 3,300 mAh battery. Most users are lucky to get an entire day out of their smartphone in this connected world we live in, but that could soon be changing. Interesting news appeared today on SlashDot detailing a new crushed silicon method that could potentially triple our battery life, and soon. While I’m obviously no battery expert the details revealed were quite interesting. Instead of using the usual graphite anode construction many commercially available lithium ion batteries use, an improved silicon method has been developed. Apparently silicon has been in the mix for an excellent alternative and perfect material because it holds up to ten times more lithium ions than graphite, but has a few issues preventing it from currently being used. Surface area expands under certain circumstances, and previous silicon anodes didn’t have enough surface real estate to reliably cycle battery life. Well, Engineer Sibani Lisa Biswal and research scientist Madhuri Thakur have discovered that using silicon sponges and crushing them to get more surface area without adding size, have been able to produce functional batteries with up to 3x the battery life of current options. This is all pretty technical stuff, but if our smartphones can stay the same — or get thinner — while lasting 4-5 days and beyond we’re all for it. Current graphite anodes can handle around 350 mAh per gram, but this new technique allows for over 1000 mAh per gram. I don’t know about you guys, but this sounds excellent. The team is working to find the optimal materials and hopefully this can be one of the next major breakthroughs we’ve all been waiting for. That goes for the mobile market, hybrid smart cars, and everything in between. Interesting stuff right? [via AndroidSpin]
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| Google Exec talks about the Nexus strategy Posted: 05 Nov 2012 12:26 PM PST Google’s Nexus program is growing, and growing fast. With awesome devices available now, and a whole new array announced for this month things are looking good. The Nexus strategy is a push back at Apple and Microsoft’s greed according to one Google executive, who also states the acquisition of Motorola Mobility was more to "disarm" attacks than it was to dive into hardware. Read on below for more details.
The folks over at Bits managed to get some one-on-one time with Google’s own John Lagerling, director of business development for Android — and some of his comments we figured were worth sharing with our readers. He briefly talks about the new LG Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, the Nexus strategy as a whole, as well as the Motorola Mobility acquisition. The discussion took on many different topics, but a large part of the focus was on the Nexus program and strategy, as well as taking on the greed of Microsoft and Apple. Pointing to the LG Nexus 4 as an example John stated, "There are players in the industry who were unhappy about more competitive pricing for the consumers" but Google felt differently, and thus developed the $299 Nexus 4. Offering top end hardware for an affordable price, not a pocket-busting $600 price.
Regarding the Nexus strategy, Google is using devices like their extremely popular and budget friendly Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus, and the new Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 to shake up the mobile markets. At the same time they’re relying on their Motorola acquisition for patent ammunition should the others try to stop their attack — which hasn’t worked thus far. Lagerling went as far as to state Motorola stands where Sharp or even Huawei would stand in regards to treatment and partnership on a Nexus device. While I wouldn’t go that far, it’s safe to say Motorola won’t be getting any special treatment. The acquisition as mentioned above was more about protecting their OS in court, rather than being a segue into the hardware department. “We are really walled between the Motorola team and the Android team. They would bid on doing a Nexus device just like any other company." With Google’s Nexus One not quite pulling off the hardware sales they expected in their own store, Google now has a much better situation and outline for their plan. Android has evolved into a finely oiled OS, the hardware is top notch, and they’re even offering the cutting edge for a lower price than the rest of the competition. It’s an interesting approach that is still in its infancy, but between the Nexus 7, the new LG Nexus 4, and the ever-evolving Play Store things are looking pretty good. Check out our reviews of all the latest Nexus devices below. What’s your thoughts on the Nexus strategy? [via SlashGear]
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| Mysms update brings Evernote integration Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:17 AM PST If you’re the type of person who likes to log absolutely everything, then you should be pleased as punch by this next bit of news. Mysms has been updated, and with this update comes Evernote integration. Mysms and Evernote will now work in tandem to save logs of your text messages, creating a separate note within a dedicated notebook for each and every one of your text conversations.
Kind of creepy, no? It gets even better – once a note has been created for your conversation, new text messages will be archived automatically. This includes picture messages as well, so you can keep almost everything from your SMS conversations. We joke that it’s creepy, but really this could save Mysms users a lot of time and headaches. After all, people send useful information in text messages all the time, and with Mysms acting as something of a cloud hub for all of your text messages, it can get tricky to bring up that information after a while. With this Evernote integration, all you need to do is remember who gave you that information and then you can search the log of your conversation with them to find it. Not too shabby, if we say so ourselves. This will also be beneficial to those who send and receive picutre messages often, since Evernote will keep a log of all the picture messages that have appeared on your phone. If you want to take advantage of Mysms with Evernote integration, then good news, as the new version of Mysms is available on the Google Play Store now [download link]. Even better is that it’s free, so what are you waiting for? [via Evernote Blog]
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