Saturday, November 10, 2012

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Google Android News Android Forums

With Jelly Bean for DROID RAZR M now released, Motorola releases 5 videos showcasing the update

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:37 PM PST

As we previously reported earlier today, the official Jelly Bean update for Motorola’s DROID RAZR M has now been released. With the update, Motorola has released 5 videos that showcase the all new features of Jelly Bean for your RAZR M. Check out the videos below after the break!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Official Jelly Bean update coming to Motorola DROID RAZR M today

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 02:11 PM PST

For you Motorola DROID RAZR M owners, today is a great day as the official Jelly Bean update for the device was set to launch today. The update will bring the version to 4.1 and you’ll receive all of its features such as Google Now and several enhancements. Also, it looks like the ISIS mobile payment will also make its way into the update.

For more information on the update, you can check the source link for Verizon’s official update page.

source: Verizon

Samsung Galaxy Note II review and hands on: Being noteworthy just got better

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 12:46 PM PST

The original Samsung Galaxy Note shocked the world with success when most thought it was just a flashing star. It was the first phone to sport a display bigger than 5-inches, 5.3 to be exact. Was it too big, was it a tablet, or was it a phablet? Nobody knew what to think about it, but it didn’t stop consumers from gobbling it up. Was it the S Pen or the large display that caught everyone’s attention? I lean towards the latter, but there’s no argument that the Galaxy Note was a hit for Samsung, and it’s now time for the next chapter. We already saw a tablet version called the Galaxy Note 10.1, but this is the second chapter for the phone. Called the Galaxy Note II, it sports an even bigger display along with a more powerful processor and a larger battery all in a body that is no bigger than it’s predecessor. Does the Galaxy Note II live up to the hype? Hit the break to find out

Design

The Note II resembles the Galaxy S III in design. It has the same plasticy love or hate feel along with the “inspired by nature” theme. Other than the size, you wouldn’t know the difference between the Note II and the Galaxy S III. The big question is how does it feel in the hand? It feels good, but you can forget one handed operation unless you have extra large hands.

The S Pen has a new design, which is similar to the Note 10.1′s version. It’s more comfortable in the hand, and the button isn’t as easy to hit by mistake. Just like the original Note, the S Pen slides perfectly into the holder. It fits so good that I guarantee that if you didn’t know it came with the phone, you might not notice it for a while.

As I mentioned in my opening, the display is larger than it’s predecessor (5.5-inches vs 5.3-inches), but the body didn’t get any bigger. Well it did get a little longer, but since it’s thinner and not as wide, it doesn’t feel larger. Last year’s model was 5.78-inches high x 3.27-inches wide x 9.65mm thick. The Note II is 5.95-inches high x 3.17-inches wide x 9.40mm. This year’s model is a little heavier, 183 grams vs. 178 grams, and is most likely because of the larger battery.

Since it’s the same design as the Galaxy S III, the buttons and ports are identical. Along the right side towards the top, you will find the power button. On the left side also towards the top you will find the volume rocker. The top sports the microphone jack to the left, and the bottom has the microUSB port. Just like the Galaxy S III, Samsung decided to ignore Google’s guidelines for onscreen buttons and opted for the large menu button at the bottom center along with capacitive buttons to the right and left for back and menu.

For colors, the choices are Marble White or Titanium Grey

All in all, I am not a fan of Samsung’s build, but it’s definitely an upgrade over the original Note because it’s thinner and sleeker.

Hardware

The Galaxy Note II sports a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED (1280 x 720) display, a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos Cortex A9 processor, Mali-400MP GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16/32/64GB of storage, microSD for up to an additional 64GB, 8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front camera, Corning Gorilla Glass 2, 3100mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, GPS, and NFC.

As far as radios go, the Note II is compatible with just about any type of network you can think of: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, HSDPA 850/900/2100, HSDPA 850/900/2100 – N7105, and LTE 800/1800/2600/900 – N7105. I happen to be testing the U.S. AT&T version with LTE.

Performance

The 1.6GHz quad-core blows through anything you can throw at it. It is one of the fastest phones available today and I dare anyone to disagree with that. As you know, I am not a fan of benchmarks, and it seems even more meaningless with a phone like this, but I did run the obligatory AnTuTu, which came in at 13,568. That is one of the highest scores I have ever seen, which isn’t surprising. A similar quad-core phone, the Optimus G scored 11,213.

The Note II has slightly less resolution than the original Note. The original had a 5.3-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800, while the Note II has a 5.5-inch display with 1280 x 720. Samsung makes some of the nicest displays out there and the Note II is no exception. Yes it’s PenTile, and it isn’t up there with the HTC One X, but you need a really keen eye to find any faults. It is 5.5-inches of pure beauty and I have zero to complain about.

Battery

The Galaxy Note II sports a whopping 3100mAh battery. That seems large, but surprisingly, it’s still smaller than the 3300mAh battery found in both the DROID RAZR MAXX and DROID RAZR MAXX HD. This is a much bigger phone, but since the battery is removable, it was probably hard to match the prowess of Motorola. It does have a larger display to push so its life isn’t going to last as long as Motorola’s offerings, but it’s still is one of the best out there. I did my usual rundown test running continuous video while the display is turned up to 2/3′s brightness and it’s connected to 4G LTE (AT&T). I also made sure to have GPS turned on and  both WiFi and Bluetooth turned on but not connected. I was able to get 9 hours and 30 minutes, which is very good. In everyday life terms, you should get through wake up to bedtime without having to plug it in, which is what’s really important.

Software

The original Galaxy Note was one of the more innovative phones when it came to software, and the Galaxy Note II steps it up a ton. Samsung already enhanced the S Pen functionality with the Note 10.1, and the Note II takes that and adds a little more.

The highlight is that Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is onboard and it’s the first Samsung TouchWiz phone to sport it. It also has all the familiar features that came with the Galaxy S III, such as Smart Stay, Popup Video, Share Shot, Group Cast, S Beam, and AllShare Play.

What the Note II brings to the table is a plethora of S Pen enhancements. The familiar note taking and document creation tool is back, but with more features. With S Note you can have multiple pages and insert just about any object including clipped images, maps, or even videos. It now has an audio recording feature as well. Upon opening S Note for the first time, you will find a lot of examples (books) for business style, education, idea sketches, and lifestyle. You will also find templates such as a simple note, idea note, meeting note, magazine, diary, recipe, travel, memo, and birthday. When you go into one of these templates, you will see predefined areas for adding images and text. Just like the Note 10.1, you will find tools that will turn your crooked shapes into real ones, as well as the ability to solve your formulas, and convert your handwriting to text. You can still change your pen type and colors with ease as that type of functionality hasn’t changed much.

The next improvement is Airview. Airview allows you to hover your S Pen over things and see further information. For example, in your list of emails (stock email app only) screen, you can hover over individual ones to see more text without actually going into the email, and in the gallery, you can hover over a folder to get a glimpse of the images that are in it.

Speaking of the gallery. You can now create your own photo albums. So if you want to create one for your vacation it’s as simple as adding an album and selecting the photos you want to add to it and dragging them. The other cool feature is the ability to write on the back of photos just like the old days. Once you have a photo on your display, just tap the menu button and choose “Draw on image.” The photo flips over and you can write notes on the back of the photo.

New to the Note II is a S Note pop up when you remove the S Pen. The assumption is since you removed the S Pen, you are probably ready to take notes. You can quickly go right into a previous note or create a new one.

I mentioned that Popup Video is included in the Note II, but there is also Popup Note, which is a miniature version of the S Note. Just double tap on the screen with the S Pen and it appears over whatever application you are using.

There is also the multi-window feature, which lets you have two apps on the display at the same time. For example you could have an internet page on top of the display and the S Note app at the bottom. Samsung believes this is true multitasking in that you can crop an image easily and drag it to an S Note or maybe you want to drag an image to your email. You open a second app by long pressing the back button, which will give you a list of available apps that work. Apps such as Gmail, S Note, YouTube, Maps, the Browser and so on. We saw this first implemented with the Galaxy Note 10.1, but this time it features more apps. It’s only available on the international version and Sprint version so far. Software updates should take place soon for the T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon versions soon that will enable it.

You can see many of these features I explained in my hands on video below

Click here to view the embedded video.

Camera

The camera is the same camera that’s in the Galaxy S III. It’s one of the best cameras on a smartphone. I personally prefer the HTC One X, but I know it’s a constant debate as to which one is better. You will get the same quality along with the same great features as the Galaxy S III like burst shooting, Best Photo, Share Shot, HDR, panorama, and so much more. One feature that I believe is new with the Note II is Best Faces. When you take a photo of a group, you will hear the shutter sound a few times in a row. Then when the photo preview opens, you will see a yellow box atop each face. You can tap the yellow box for each face and get different choices. You can select whatever faces you want for each person and save it, which is pretty slick.

I have included some example photos (last two required flash), but again it’s the same quality as the Galaxy S III. As with most smartphone cameras, shots involving movement is always an issue, and it’s no exception with the Note II.

Closing

Samsung has really created a niche for themselves with the Note line. You won’t find functionality similar to the S Pen on any phone to date. You also won’t find too many phones with displays larger than 5-inches. I do think the Note II is a lot of phone for most people, and I am not talking about the size. There is so much functionality that the average consumer will never utilize it. That’s why I think most consumers are drawn to the size of the Note as opposed to the S Pen. I think they look at the S Pen as a perk and expect to use it, but in my humble opinion, I don’t think they use it so much. I have nothing to back that up on other than my feeling. In the end, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have that functionality just in case. The bottomline is if you want the biggest display on your phone money (approximately $299) can buy? If you do, then the Note II is for you. The next question is if you really think you will use the S Pen? If so, then again, your decision is easy. If you answered no to both of these questions, then it’s also quite simple. Save $100 and get yourself a Galaxy S III. You can’t go wrong with either one.

Notion Ink’s Adam II tablet comes out of hiding

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 12:29 PM PST

After nearly a year after being announced, it looks like Notion Ink is slowly beginning to unveil the followup to the original Adam tablet via Twitter. Last we heard, the Adam II will rock a TI OMAP 4400-series dual-core processor with Android 4.0. The main draw, at least Notion Ink’s thought, is that it’ll allow users to ‘customize apps’ through a drag and drop type architecture. It sounds a lot like a Business Objects type setup allowing users to “access every single hardware feature” according to Notion Ink, but I suppose we’ll find out soon. Keep a lookout here for more information soon.

source: Engadget

Android co-founder says wireless carriers should spend more time and money customizing interfaces for Android phones

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 10:38 AM PST

What was that? Everybody put your hands over your ears now, especially the carriers. At the Open Mobile Summit conference, Google Ventures General Partner and Android co-founder Rich Miner said that carrers should spend more time and money creating unique interfaces for Android phones. He’s actually surprised that carriers like Verizon and AT&T haven’t put more time into it. He points to the fact that Android is open and that anyone can modify it to their heart’s content. True, but that doesn’t mean they should.

“There’s a big opportunity that they seem to have left on the table,” Miner said. “I’m a little curious as to why” carriers haven’t done more to customize their Android phones.

We have already seen wireless carrier stuff over the years. For example, Sprint introduced Sprint ID, which packages Android apps, ringtones, and wallpapers based on themes. Sprint also collaborated with Google Voice as the only carrier to offer the ability for subscribers to use their current number with Google Voice. T-Mobile has aded VoIP calling as well as Lookout Mobile Security. The difference with these is that they aren’t changing the Android UI, they are add ons.

We haven’t seen true customizations until now. AT&T’s version of the LG Optimus G has a different settings menu. It’s more tabbed and I would imagine this was a directive by AT&T, which is ludicrous. Could we see more of this and more importantly, should we see more of this? Absolutely not. It’s one thing for the manufacturers to offer all of these customizations, but why should the carriers? Does anyone think for a second that consumers will change carriers because their Galaxy S III has some unique feature in it? How many subscribers switched to Sprint for Sprint ID. Lets hope this is something that dies down quickly.

source: fierce mobile

 

Featured Android Game Review: International Snooker Pro THD [Sports]

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:50 AM PST

I remember how much fun it was hanging out in the pool halls years ago, and now it’s so easy to bring the experience with you on your phone or tablet. International Snooker has already been available for Android for some time, but our friends at My Interactive just released a PRO THD version for Tegra devices. It’s priced a little higher, but Snooker and Billiard fans will appreciate the additional features along with enhanced audio and visuals.

The Pro version adds a Career Mode, which lets you compete in 15 tournaments in 14 locations around the world each “year”. As you play the tournaments, you gain credits that you can cash in for better cues or chalk. The gameplay is straight forward and to the point. Just aim your shot by swiping, pick where you want to hit the cue ball (as in what type of spin if any), adjust the power, and shoot. You can quickly see different angles by sliding your finger, and it you want an aerial view, no problem.

The graphics are absolutely spot on (no pun intended). My only gripe with this game is the tournament mode only supports Snooker, which I am not familiar with. Here in the U.S. we mostly play 8-ball and 9-ball. You can play either game, but only in quick mode. With quick mode, you can play against the computer or against a human utilizing WiFi or Bluetooth. There is also an internet option to play people from all over the world, but I couldn’t find it.

Priced at $4.99, you will need to be a Snooker fan to enjoy all the aspects of the game. If I were into it, I would definitely make the purchase, but since I’m not, I will stick with Pool Break Pro. If Snooker is your thing, check out my hands on video (showing 8-ball) as well as My Interactive’s trailer below, and hit one of the download links to get started. Let me know what you think.

Features

  • A Career Mode places you in a full 'rolling' year on year professional snooker career, playing 15 tournaments in 14 locations around the world competing to be world number 1.
  • Fill your trophy cabinet with 16 trophies from 7 major and 7 minor events, 1 invitational event plus the coveted 147 trophy.
  • Includes three Quick Play Pool modes: UK 8-ball, US 8-ball and US 9-Ball.
  • Back spin, top spin and swerve the cue ball with simulation quality physics.
  • Earn a 147 maximum break and entry to the exclusive 147 club.
  • Use Career Mode winnings to upgrade equipment to increase power, swerve, spin and player kudos.
  • Frame by frame replays with slow motion and dynamic cameras including pocket cams and the new 'follow the ball' cam.
  • Referee voiced by Michaela Tabb the world's favourite referee of snooker and pool competitions.
  • Stats and Achievements with full Scoreloop integration.
  • All new graphics engine with an even greater level of detail and realism.
International_Snooker_Pro_THD_01 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_02 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_03 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_04 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_05 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_06 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_07 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_08 International_Snooker_Pro_THD_Splash_Banner

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

My Interactive’s Trailer..

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Nvidia talks cheap PCs vs tablets

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:40 AM PST

 

Everybody has seen how well the tablet market is doing, and it’s no surprise that this is coming at some expense to traditional PCs and laptops. Nvidia Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang talked about how the versatility of tablets plays an important role in tablet sales. He noted that most people realize that a ”great tablet is better than a cheap PC,” and it’s true. There are very few things a high-end tablet can’t do that a laptop can, especially with Microsoft Office right around the corner for mobile devices. He also stated that Microsoft’s Surface tablet is erasing the lines between the cheap notebook and tablet market.

Of course, Nvidia also realizes that traditional computers won’t disappear overnight, and right now, their mobile business isn’t as large as their laptop and desktop business. With that being said, their mobile business grew a whopping 50% last year alone. Huang expects Nvidia to ship out 30 million Tegra chips this year, which is a pretty significant figure. He also expects this to steal the business from the low-end market. It’s worth noting that dedicated Nvidia graphics cards generally aren’t found in cheap laptops, so they aren’t dependent on low-end sales.

Even so, it’s good to see a company embrace a new idea for their computers, instead of bucking and fighting it. With the strides Nvidia is making with Android chips in addition to their push with the new Windows 8 tablets, I think Nvidia has set itself up to be a major player with tablet hardware for Android and Windows. Couple that with their new Kepler GPUs in desktops and laptops, and Nvidia has a well-rounded business model.

Personally, I think tablets will eventually replace low end PCs, simply for the portability and ease of use. What do you guys think? It’s obvious that tablet sales are up and PC sales are down, but is that just a fad or the future of computers? Let us know in the comments.

source: CNet

Samsung Captivate Glide to receive Ice Cream Sandwich on November 10th

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 09:12 AM PST

 

Great news for any AT&T Captivate Glide owners! According to AT&T’s consumer blog, users will be able to download Android 4.0 onto their devices starting on November 10th. From the wording on the blog, it doesn’t seem to be an OTA update, though. More than likely, the update will have to be done through Samsug Kies, since AT&T linked to a Samsung support page for instructions on the update.

Sure, it’s a pretty delayed update, but anything is better than being stuck on 2.2 or 2.3 like many other devices, right? Hit the source to read the full blog post from AT&T.

source: AT&T Consumer Blog

US Gets Sony Xperia Advance AKA the Xperia Go

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 08:09 AM PST

 

 The rugged Xperia Go has made its way to the US as the Xperia Advance. The 1 GHz dual-core processor and 512 MB of RAM isn’t going to break any benchmark records but the $249 contract-free price might make it an attractive option for some. It’s designed to be dust & water resistant and its 3.5-inch display will even support wet finger tracking. The Xperia Advance looks like an excellent choice for the cheap frugal and/or clumsy. Our friends to the North should get their chance at the Xperia Go this month as well.

Source: Newegg

EE Delaying Rollout Of 4G LTE SIM-Only Plans For Up To 2 Weeks

Posted: 09 Nov 2012 07:24 AM PST

 

While EE has recently begun rolling out its blazing-fast 4G LTE network, it might have encountered a minor snafu for potential customers as it recently announced it's behind schedule to launch SIM-only tariffs. For many customers in the UK, there was the expectation that the SIM-only tariffs would be available starting today, but EE at the last-minute highlighted the specialized plans won’t be ready for up to a few weeks from now– likely because the 4G LTE spectrum is a bit more complicated than the traditional 3G spectrum. While the difference in wireless spectrum is likely the culprit for the delay, here’s EE’s exact statement regarding the matter:

 

"The launch of SIM only plans (due Nov 9) will be delayed by a few days as a result of our comprehensive testing process over-running slightly. We know many customers are anticipating these plans and apologise for this short hold up. However they will be reassured that we are determined to offer the very best service possible.

 

EE then later came out an highlighted the following statement below:

 

Our 4GEE SIM only plans will now be launching within the next two weeks. We know many customers are keen to get their hands on our SIM only plans and we are looking forward to offering them as soon as our testing process is complete. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

 

Hopefully this delay won’t cause too much of an inconvenience for prospective EE 4G LTE customers. We know most of you are itching to take advantage of those Samsung Galaxy S III phones, so just be patient for just a smidge longer

source: Tech Crunch
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