Tuesday, November 6, 2012

AndroidGuys

AndroidGuys

Virgin Mobile intros $5 daily data plan

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 05:17 PM PST

Virgin Mobile USA is adding another option to its mobile Broadband2Go service today, kicking off a new special “Daily Plan”.  Priced at only $5 per day (24hrs), users will find they get up to 200MB of 3G data or where available, unlimited 4G service.
Plan options now include:
  • $35/month 2GB of 3G service/Unlimited 4G service
  • $55/month 5GB of 3G service/Unlimited 4G service
  • $5/day 200MB of 3G service/Unlimited 4G service
The fine print of it all is that plans include either: 500MB (Daily plan); or 10GB (Monthly plans), of full-speed 4G data. Virgin Mobile’s 3G/4G Broadband2Go service is available on two devices, U600 3G/4G USB Stick ($69.99) or the Overdrive Pro 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot ($119.99).

 

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RadioShack’s Black Friday ad leaks with multiple Android savings, freebies

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 11:03 AM PST

RadioShack’s Black Friday ad has found its way online and, as is usually the case, is full of Android savings.  While some might be for devices from larger companies such as Samsung and HTC, there’s also an offering from outfits such as DiGiX.  Nevertheless, if you’re heading out in the wee hours of the morning, you’ll find the following deals at RadioShack.  Some free stuff, some cheap stuff, some normal prices…

It’s worth pointing out that there’s a phone listed here that has yet to be announced, the Samsung Stratosphere II

Continue reading: RadioShack’s Black Friday ad leaks with multiple Android savings, freebies

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Jabra Solemate review

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 10:42 AM PST

With the holiday shopping season about to get underway, it’s time we start looking at some new accessories for our loved ones.  And for ourselves.  Don’t lie, you spend a bunch of money on your own goodies on Black Friday.  If you’re looking for something that works well for Android phones and/or tablets then you really should consider the Jabra Solemate.

At less than eight inches wide, this speaker delivers some of the most robust sound we’ve heard in a portable device.  Thanks to its pair of tweeters and subwoofer, the sound is deep and rich and far better than you’d assume.

As the name might imply, the Solemate could easily be mistaken for a shoe or rugged boot.  The bottom has a rubber grip sole that sticks to pretty much any surface and keeps it in place.  And, because it’s not a flat bottom, it sits just as comfortably in grass as it does on a desk. There’s also a very handy loop on one of end of the device which we’ve used to hang on a hook in the bathroom.  The Solemate is splash/dust/sweat resistant so, naturally, it has become our backing band for when we sing in the shower.

Continue reading: Jabra Solemate review

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Nexus 10 falls just short of iPad 4 in benchmark comparisons

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 09:37 AM PST

The Nexus 10 has already been dubbed an “iPad killer” (how many times have we heard that before?), but according to a recent benchmark comparison, it falls below the iPad 4 in nearly every performance category. It’s interesting to see that the Nexus 10 fares very well in comparison to some of the top smartphones of the day, but it can’t take the crown for the tablet world just yet. You can check out some of the benchmark results in the gallery below.

So do these results surprise you? Do they have any effect on which tablet you’re going to buy? Let us know in the comments!

Source PhoneArena

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Rovio provides gameplay trailer for Angry Birds Star Wars

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 09:25 AM PST

With only three days to go before Angry Birds Star Wars arrives, we’re finally getting a full-on trailer of gameplay footage. Rovio has released a new Youtube video, embedded below, which shows us pretty much all of the major players and a host of environments.  The more I see from this one, the more anxious I get. As much as I liked the Space edition of Angry Birds, I just didn’t return to it as often as I had hoped.  Star Wars, though, well… I fully anticipate trying my darndest to get three stars across the board.

Click through to check out the video

Continue reading: Rovio provides gameplay trailer for Angry Birds Star Wars

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John Lagerling explains the Nexus strategy in NY Times interview

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 09:03 AM PST

After announcing the Nexus 4, Nexus 10, and the 32GB Nexus 7, Google caused quite a stir in the tech community. Most of our first reactions were in response to the awesome new features and specs of the aforementioned devices. But after some time, many of us noticed several big changes to the overall direction of the Nexus line. John Lagerling, Android’s business development director, set out to clear a few things up in a New York Times interview.

We have to give props to Brian Chen, who conducted the interview. There are several really interesting questions thrown in, which gives us somewhat of an inside track to what Google is thinking with the Nexus line. One of the first questions was about prices, and how Google is able to pump out incredible devices but still keep the cost at a reasonable level. Lagerling had this to say:

 Basically we felt that we wanted to prove you don't have to charge $600 to deliver a phone that has the latest-generation technologies… We've all done the best we can to really reach these prices — $399, $299 is pretty amazing, if I may say so.

Okay, so lower prices are always good. But what about the diversity of the manufacturers? Chen asked Lagerling why Google went with LG, Samsung, and Asus for the respective Nexus 4, 10, and 7. The answer wasn’t necessarily what we were expecting, but it’s still interesting.

.. So Samsung just happens to be in a good phase match on a high-end display, which is exactly what we wanted to do at a low cost. LG had a good phase match with the hardware they were working on. Asus as well. It's just more about the timing being right. We've always done that with our lead devices… And now we've sort of streamlined what the Nexus program is.

When asked about where Motorola fits in all this, Lagerling simply says that Motorola fits where every other company fits, and would bid for a Nexus device like any other competitor. But in response to how Google can take advantage of the Motorola acquisition, he had a bit more to say:

There are players in the industry who were unhappy about more competitive pricing for the consumers. They want to keep the prices high, they want to force the price to be so high that operators have to subsidize the devices very highly… We simply believe there's a better way of doing it without extracting that much payment from end users, because there are other ways to drive revenues. Patents were used as a weapon to try to stop that evolution and scare people away from lower-cost alternatives. And I think with the Motorola acquisition we've shown we're able to put skin in the game and push back.

Here’s where it gets a little more interesting. One of the biggest complaints with the Nexus 4 is the lack of LTE, and the fact that T-Mobile is the only carrier officially offering the device. Chen mentions past Nexus devices being sold directly through Google, and how that venture wasn’t exactly successful. Lagerling gives a somewhat vague answer, but we’ve already heard from Andy Rubin about the LTE issue anyway.

Nexus One was very early. People didn't know what Nexus was or what Android phones were. I feel we're in a very different environment now and I feel the Nexus 7 has set the stage for the Nexus program at a new level, so we feel the time is right.

Moving right along, Chen references the reported 1 million Nexus 7 sales per month figure. Lagerling simply swats it away, saying that they haven’t announced numbers, but sales have exceeded their expectations.

Another aspect that’s not discussed very much is app scaling, and how/if developers are working to optimize their apps for tablets like the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. This is a big deal when it comes to the classic iOS vs Android battle. John seems sincere in his answer, and provides some optimism for the near future.

What I can say is that the Nexus 7 has been a superstrong catalyst to kick off developers' attention to making those expansions, so we've seen tremendous growth in apps for the larger screen size. The trending is very positive because of the Nexus 7. But before, I'll be honest and say, yes, there was a lack of tablet apps that supported bigger screen real estate. But I'll add that, I know we talked about the Cupertino guys, but obviously people who have smartphones are a huge target for us. If you look globally that's something we worry more about, not so much about competing with other smartphones, but more about, how can we get more people onto the Internet on mobile phones? And that's a big deal. That's why low cost is so important.

Closing out the interview, Chen asks one final question about how far Android has come in terms of development and software, saying that Android has become “more respectable.” Lagerling explained the growth and change quite eloquently.

We had such a long laundry list of things we wanted to do, and the fact we had to roll it out so it would work on a multitude of devices, it simply took a bit more time for us to get here. But the structure we've had for an operating system from day one including widgets, actual multitasking, notifications, it's finally coming to its true form right as the software has come into final polish.We have the right teams and maturity to deliver what we've always wanted to do. I'll admit we're finally much more closer to our actual vision in the past year than we have ever been.

So, what did you think? Did John Lagerling answer any lingering questions you had about the Nexus line? Drop a comment below!

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AT&T to offer Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 on November 9

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 08:40 AM PST

AT&T today announced that they’ll be offering their version of the Samsung Galaxy  Tab 2 10.1 on November 9.  Priced at $499.99, the 10.1-inch tablet is part of a limited time promotion which could earn AT&T subscribers a $100 savings.  If you happen to pick one of these up at the same time as a Galaxy smartphone then you’ll save $100 off the cost of any connected Samsung device of equal or lesser value.  Note that both devices will require qualified rate and data plans.

As a refresher, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is equipped for AT&T’s 4G LTE network, runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and features a host of Samsung-specific apps and services.  Details include Media Hub, Smart Remote, AllShare Play, on-device encryption and VPN access, and more.

 

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Samsung tops 30 million Galaxy S III sales well ahead of schedule

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 07:35 AM PST

Samsung had hoped to sell 30 million of its Galaxy S III smartphone this year, anticipating that it would be a top-selling product.  Well, they’ve already done that and there’s still two months left in the year.  A post on  Samsung Tomorrow tells us that it has only taken five months to hit the figure, well ahead of their expectations.  More specifically, it’s only 157 days since it first went on sale.

Say what you want about it paling in comparison to the iPhone, but it’s a very commendable figure.  With so many other Android players and devices, it’s quite an accomplishment to see one singular model do so well.

Samsung Tomorrow

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Samsung expected to get brand makeover in January

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:23 AM PST

Samsung is expected to get new branding and marketing come early January if Australian news outlet ChannelNews proves to be accurate.  Rumored to debut at CES 2013 in January, the new effort is said to be put together with help from players who have helped companies such as Starbucks and Nike. The new Samsung brand is said to be a “more vibrant, international image.” Should these details pan out, we can expect to see the blue Samsung oval logo ride off into the sunset.

“Even the advertising will change with products linked to lifestyle activities similar to what Nike does” said one source.

ChannelNews

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In Brief: 10 more Android things worth knowing (Nov 5)

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 06:06 AM PST

In Brief is a compilation of notifications, rumors, and Android-related news tidbits which, for whatever reason, did not end up with a post of its own on AndroidGuys.  These are things that we still feel are worth knowing, even if in a passing manner.  Consider it a grab-bag of Android goodies.  If you have something that you think is worth a mention on AndroidGuys, be sure to reach out to us via our contact page. 

This week features Skifta, T-Mobile, Lookout, Lapse-It, Safely Go, Gamevil, Harman Kardon, Nook HD, Pac-Man, Chain3D and more!Continue reading: In Brief: 10 more Android things worth knowing (Nov 5)

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Android turns 5 today!

Posted: 05 Nov 2012 04:53 AM PST

November 5, 2007

It was exactly five years ago today that Google and 33 other partners announced the Open Handset Alliance.  Some of you may recall that the weeks leading up to the unveiling were full of rumors that Google was ready to take on Apple with a handset of its own.  Rather than giving us all the much-anticipated gPhone, Google decided to go much bigger and unveil an open sourced platform – Android. Together, with this conglomerate of industry leaders, the OHA was going to provide the world with new tools and a fresh approach to mobile technology. Consumers were told to expect the first phones based on Android (T-Mobile G1) to be available in the second half of 2008.

“This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future,” said Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. “Today’s announcement is more ambitious than any single ‘Google Phone’ that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models.”

 

Although announced on November 5th, the first Android SDK would not be released for another week.

The SDK contains a rich set of tools for developers to build applications for the Android platform. Included are advanced development and debugging tools, a rich set of libraries, a true device emulator, in-depth documentation, sample projects, tutorials, FAQs, and more.

The Open Handset Alliance would later go on to add new members over the years, most recently bringing Andango into the mix.  After starting out with 34 total players, the OHA has grown to 84 firms including a variety of mobile handset makers, application developers, mobile carriers and chip makers.

The birth of AndroidGuys

It was also this day that AndroidGuys was born.  I remember watching the news feeds like crazy, wanting to glean all that I could about Google’s ambitions.  Together, with four of my best friends, we went on to create a blog that we would use to share information with one another.  As terrific as everything sounded that day, we had no idea just how big this thing would get.  Android is now the number one mobile platform in the world, powering new and cutting edge devices that seem to come out on a weekly basis.

Our site has gone through a number of changes over the years, adding new help along the way.  The four guys who helped me quickly diminished as the next few months proved to be rather quite on the Android front.  With nothing more than rumors and supposition, we had to read the tea leaves as to what was going to happen.  Today, we have to determine what doesn’t get covered on the site; there is simply too much to pass along – every single day.  Just ask Rob at Phandroid,  he’s been doing this since day one as well.

We’ve had a variety of growing pains, theme changes, and real-world obligations stand in the way from time to time, but I’m very proud of the site today.  As for my team, it too has grown over the years, and I couldn’t be more happy with the guys behind AndroidGuys.

If I had a magic phone…


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