Android Community |
- Android Community Nightly: November 30th, 2012
- Hardkernel unleashes ODROID dev boards for a budget price
- HTC One VX headed to AT&T December 7th
- Kindle Fire HD 8.9 review by SlashGear
- NVIDIA TegraZone passes 6 million downloads
- Ice Cream Sandwich update hits Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G
- SwiftKey Flow keyboard public beta starting soon
- OUYA dev consoles arrive on December 28
- Verizon Galaxy Note II vs HTC DROID DNA
- Dyzplastic announces new Frankie Frost Android collectible
- Aocos PX102 tablet is a Transformer inspired slate for $200 with 4.1 Jelly Bean
- HTC delivers DROID DNA source code
- Verizon Galaxy Note II pre-installed with Swype and SwiftKey Flow
| Android Community Nightly: November 30th, 2012 Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:42 PM PST Welcome to the second edition of the Android Community Nightly. Today we’ll be wrapping up everything that happened today in Android news. It was a mild day filled with Samsung Galaxy Note II info, budget Android tablets, and updates from Facebook regarding their Photo sync. Read on past the break and we’ll dig in regarding everything that mattered to us most today.
We’ll start with the Galaxy Note II, since it was pretty popular today. Verizon has officially started shipping Note II’s out to their customers as of yesterday and as usual, we snagged one up and posted a quick hands-on. Then because it has that awesome 5.5-inch screen and is on Verizon, we also compared the Galaxy Note II vs the HTC DROID DNA. Speaking of the DROID DNA, HTC posted the kernel source code for that awesome smartphone today for developers to crack into.
While we’re talking about Verizon, it looks like Samsung’s Galaxy Camera could head to Verizon with 4G LTE. Some pictures of Redbox Instant by Verizon leaked to the interwebs. Then last but not least for the Motorola DROID RAZR HD and MAXX HD are set to get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean next week. That should make plenty of owners happy. In other hardware news Nokia could be coming to Android. Yup, you read that right. A job posting hinted at it although nothing’s been anything near confirmed. The Tegra 3 powered OUYA game console is shipping to developers next month, and NVIDIA’s TegraZone has seen 6 million games downloaded since it’s birth. Congrats to NVIDIA! The Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 is getting 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich — don’t ask about Jelly Bean anytime soon — and an impressive tablet from China is available for $200 that doubles as a laptop like the Transformer Prime. To wrap up a few more bits on this fantastic Friday Friday the Dead Zebra guys announced a new Android collectible, SwiftKey Flow is set to enter public beta, our sister site SlashGear reviewed the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 and more. Lastly the budget friendly HTC One VX is headed to AT&T December 7th. Enjoy the weekend everyone, and stay tuned for the Android Community Weekly come Sunday.
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| Hardkernel unleashes ODROID dev boards for a budget price Posted: 30 Nov 2012 06:09 PM PST Let’s say you’re looking to pick up a new dev board, but you’re a little short on cash. Hardkernel doesn’t think that’s a problem, today introducing the world to its new, teeny-tiny ODROID-U and ODROID-U2 developer boards. As you can see below, the boards can fit in the palm of your hand, and they start at just $69, which isn’t bad at all.
With that price, you might think that you’re getting bottom of the barrel hardware, but the new boards actually come with nice equipment attached. For example, the ODROID-U comes with a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 processor clocked at 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM, quad-core Mali 400 graphics at 400MHz, a pair of USB ports, a micro HDMI port, 10/100 Ethernet, and a headphone jack. That certainly isn’t bad for $69. If you’re willing to plop down a little more cash, you can take home the ODROID-U2 for $89. This one features mostly the same equipment, with Hardkernel swapping out the processor in favor of a quad-core 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos 4412 Prime. You’ll also be getting 2GB of RAM instead of just 1GB, so there are some significant upgrades with the ODROID-U2 despite the fact that you’re only paying $20 more. Obviously, given the size of these board, there isn’t any storage included, so Hardkernel suggests that you pick up a microSD card or an eMMC module to add some flash storage. It’s also worth pointing out that the processors found in the ODROID-U and the ODROID-U2 are the same CPUs that are used by the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, respectively. Hardkernel says both are capable of running Android and “various Linux operating systems,” and they’re available to purchase from the company’s store. Are you thinking of picking one up? [via Mobile Geeks]
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| HTC One VX headed to AT&T December 7th Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:07 PM PST Earlier this month the folks from HTC and AT&T announced two new smartphones to grace their 4G LTE lineup. Those being the new and improved HTC One X+, as well as the budget friendly HTC One VX. Sadly the only one available is the One X+ and we’ve still not heard a word regarding the VX. Today however the carrier is stating they expect to be “fully stocked” with the One VX by December 7th.
So far we have no official details or announcement to go from, but the guys from Android Central got word apparently from AT&T themselves. Both these new phones were supposed to be available November 16th, but there’s no sign of the VX. New details are now claiming the smartphone will be fully stock and in AT&T stores available for all come December 7th. That means in just a few short days you’ll be able to go in and purchase this nice budget smartphone just in time for the holidays. The HTC One VX is an above average budget device for only $49. The specs include a large 4.5-inch screen, but sadly only qHD 540 x 960 resolution. Everything else is quality. That includes a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a few cameras. So why the price dip? It drops down to a 5 megapixel rear camera and only VGA front, as well as being shipped with 8GB of internal storage and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, instead of Jelly Bean. The few small drops make this a budget device over a top-tier smartphone, but certainly make that $49.99 price point extremely attractive. If you don’t need the best and biggest display, or a top of the line camera in your smartphone the HTC One VX might be perfect this holiday season. If that doesn’t have your interest piqued then maybe the Galaxy Note II would be a better fit. We’ll update once we hear more from HTC and or AT&T regarding this smartphone. Device Info
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| Kindle Fire HD 8.9 review by SlashGear Posted: 30 Nov 2012 03:44 PM PST The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 has a lot to live up to after the success of the original Kindle Fire. Amazon knew it had to impress with this latest installment, given the sheer amount of tablets out there vying for your dollar. Chris Burns over at SlashGear has delivered his full review of the device, and while you’ll have to head over there to get all the details, we’ll sum up some of the major talking points here.
Of course, we need to start with that excellent 8.9-inch screen, which is displaying at a resolution of 1920×1200. Though there are some other tablets that can beat that resolution, the display on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 still looks great. On the inside of the device, you’ll have a dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP4470 running the show, which is a processor we don’t see all that often. Performance suffers a little bit when compared to its quad-core competitors, with the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 taking home a score of 7247 in AnTuTu.
The tablet is running Ice Cream Sandwich, though you would never realize it behind Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD skin. The Android OS is hardly recognizable behind all of the tweaks Amazon has made, and that’s compounded by the fact that Google’s usual suite of apps is missing from the tablet. No surprise there, and if Amazon is one of your go-to places for online shopping, then you might not even miss them.
There are a couple of interesting features that make the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 stand out from the crowd, namely X-Ray and FreeTime. X-Ray serves as a link to the wealth of information found on IMDB, delivering it to you right there in the movie you’re watching. FreeTime allows you to set up a special screen for children, giving them access to apps that are appropriate while keeping them out of places they shouldn’t be. At the end of the day, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is a solid tablet thanks in no small part to that excellent screen. However, if you’re not going to take advantage of Amazon’s services – which are everywhere on this tablet – then you’re probably not going to find much value in the new slate. For much more information on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, be sure to check out the full review over at SlashGear!     
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| NVIDIA TegraZone passes 6 million downloads Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:59 PM PST Apparently all of us proud owners of the Nexus 7 love to play some Android games. Back in September we announced that NVIDIA and their popular TegraZone game store had surpassed 5 million downloads, but today they’ve topped that number rather quickly. If you’re a gamer and use Android, you probably have a Tegra-powered smartphone or tablet somewhere. Today NVIDIA has announced that in just two months they’ve reached another milestone.
As of November the NVIDIA TegraZone that brings us tons of quality games and apps for Android has passed 6 million downloads. In just two months alone they’ve added another million to that number. It looks like the number of Tegra powered devices and games is starting to gain some serious traction — although we knew it already had. Thanks to an extremely budget friendly and popular Nexus 7, the Transformer Prime, and a few quad-core Tegra 3 powered smartphones like the HTC One X NVIDIA’s been having a hayday making excellent THD (Tegra High Definition) games for Android smartphones and tablets. These numbers are a clear indication that we love us some games! For those looking for more details on NVIDIA’s powered quad-core Tegra 3, or their multiple Tegra games you’ll want to stop by our official Tegra Portal. It’s here you’ll find any and all Android news related to the Tegra platform. Our TegraZone is full of game reviews and hands-on, and you can stay up to date by getting NVIDIA’s own TegraZone Android App. It’s nice to see someone dedicated to quality games in the world of Android, and NVIDIA’s been doing a fine job. Check out some of their recent games from our timeline of links below.
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| Ice Cream Sandwich update hits Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:41 PM PST Some of us are always on the lookout for news of Jelly Bean updates, but of course, there are a ton of devices out there that aren’t even on Ice Cream Sandwich yet. There are many Android users who are patiently awaiting the arrival of an Ice Cream Sandwich update that may never arrive. It’s almost tragic in a way, but luckily, we’re finding out today that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G (GT-P7300) won’t be one of the devices stuck in the past.
According to the folks over at SamMobile, the update to Ice Cream Sandwich is beginning to roll out to the Galaxy Tab 8.9 3G. We’re talking Android 4.0.4 specifically, with SamMobile saying that users in Austria are able to download the update over-the-air or snag it through Samsung Kies. No word on other regions at this moment, but it stands to reason that Ice Cream Sandwich will be hitting most of the Galaxy Tab 8.9 3Gs roaming around out there in short order. Of course, Samsung is a little late to the punch with this one, considering that Android 4.0.1 released over a year ago. Better late than never though, right? Galaxy Tab 8.9 users should notice some pretty nice improvements after installing Ice Cream Sandwich, as it should make your whole tablet run better while increasing battery life at the same time. Ice Cream Sandwich isn’t as desirable as Jelly Bean might be, but there ultimately isn’t anything wrong with ICS, especially if you’ve been running an older version of Android all this time. Even with newer tablets and phones to worry about, we’re happy to see Samsung supporting its first line of Galaxy-branded tablets with this update. Check out our story timeline for more on the Galaxy Tab 8.9!
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| SwiftKey Flow keyboard public beta starting soon Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:02 PM PST We just received some good news from the folks at SwiftKey this afternoon. All you texting fans will be happy to know that SwiftKey’s next generation Flow keyboard will soon reach the public beta stage where we’ll all be able to enjoy the latest and greatest. SwiftKey 3 remains the top 3rd party keyboard for Android, and Flow will introduce gesture-based typing like Swype and the new Android 4.2 Keyboard.
We first mentioned this back in October when SwiftKey broke the news, but lately we’ve been hearing a bit of chatter regarding their keyboard. Samsung’s new Galaxy Note II already has SwiftKey Flow installed — or some variation of it at least. It’s safe to say the official version right from SwiftKey will be even better. This afternoon we received word right from SwiftKey’s own Community Manager, Evan Tapper, stating that the public beta was coming soon. An email is being sent out for those who signed up for the Flow VIP beta, and here’s what it had to say: “Hi, Thank you for registering your interest in SwiftKey Flow. We're very pleased that so many of you are eager to help us test it out. SwiftKey Flow is very nearly ready for beta testing. When it is, you'll receive an email with instructions on how to download it and how to leave us feedback. Your comments are very important to us – you'll be a vital part of making sure that the public release of SwiftKey with SwiftKey Flow is our best keyboard yet. All the best, Evan Tapper, We’re huge fans of SwiftKey 3 here at Android Community, and are even more excited for Flow. Having the power of their predictive engine with Flow will be impressive. The video above is a great example of just how quick and easy typing will become once Flow arrives for everyone. We’re expecting the public beta to launch hopefully sometime next week, with the official keyboard reaching the Google Play Store in December. Stay tuned for more details on SwiftKey Flow.
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| OUYA dev consoles arrive on December 28 Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:45 PM PST It’s been a while since we heard from our old friends at OUYA. Ever since the Kickstarter campaign for the Android gaming console came to an end, things have been pretty silent on the OUYA front. That all changed today, with the OUYA team delivering a major announcement: OUYA dev consoles will be shipping out on December 28, which just so happens to be one month from now.
Hearing that, it seems development on the console has been progressing swimmingly, as it means that dev consoles are shipping out on time. The team also shared an image of an OUYA prototype, which you can see above. The prototype looks almost exactly like the renders we saw during the campaign, so that makes it even better. December 28 is also the day that the OUYA SDK becomes available for everyone else, but you won’t be doing too much with it until your console is delivered. If you didn’t order a dev console, you’ll have to wait until March 2013 to get yours, which is when the rest of the OUYAs ship out to backers. We originally wondered if the OUYA team would be able to meet that March 2013 deadline, but with dev consoles shipping on time, it looks like OUYA is indeed on track to launch when originally intended. While we imagine the dev consoles and the consoles that ship in March will be mostly the same, the OUYA team does say there’s a “special surprise,” waiting inside these early dev units. That’s all we’ve got as far as details go, so it looks like you’ll have to wait until your console arrives to see what it is. Did you order a dev console, or did you opt for the less expensive model that will ship in March?
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| Verizon Galaxy Note II vs HTC DROID DNA Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:06 PM PST For those who like a larger screen with their smartphone, Verizon Wireless now offers both of the best options available on the market. Well, all three if you consider the LG Intuition. Yesterday Samsung’s popular Galaxy Note II finally arrived at Verizon stores nationwide and online so today we’ve decided to compare it to the impressive HTC DROID DNA. Below you’ll find a quick hands-on with the Note II, followed by a DROID DNA comparison and a few pictures for fun.
Both of these new smartphones are nearly as high end as it gets. We have HD displays, quad-core processors, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and more so lets run down the specs so you know what we’re working with, then let you enjoy the video. The Galaxy Note II features Samsung’s 5.5-inch 720p HD Super AMOLED display, a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an 8 megapixel camera. The HTC DROID DNA is only 5-inches and increases that resolution to 1920 x 1080p — making it the highest to date with 441 pixels-per-inch — and it’s gorgeous. It rocks a 1.5 GHz quad-core from Qualcomm, 2GB of RAM, as well as its own impressive 8 megapixel camera too.
Both new flagship smartphones run on the nearly latest version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but have their own respective skins over the top. Sense 4+ for HTC and TouchWiz for Samsung, but you guys probably already knew that. The important difference here between these two phones comes down to 3 things. The Galaxy Note II has a massive 3,100 mAh battery that lasts plenty long, while the DNA only has a measly 2,020 mAh battery. No matter how you spin in, the Note II wins. Then the Note II has a replaceable battery and micro-SD slot for expanding storage. The DROID DNA offers neither of those things. Enjoy the quick Note II unboxing and comparison video below. Above I mentioned there was three main differences with these two phones. The battery and removable storage, but the other biggie is price. The DROID DNA will be $199 with a new 2-year contract, while the Galaxy Note II will run you $299. That extra hundred gets you tons of additional features, a bigger display, better battery life, and a Samsung. While everyone is different the winner here probably should go to Samsung and their Note II, but it is pretty big. Most likely you’ll want to run into your nearest Verizon store and try them both out in your own hands. See if you can handle the size of these phones. Which would you rather have? Let us know in the comments!              Device Info
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| Dyzplastic announces new Frankie Frost Android collectible Posted: 30 Nov 2012 01:00 PM PST For whatever reason, we never get sick of talking about Android collectibles. Good thing for us, then, that Dyzplastic has just announced a new collectible for us to add to our stockpile. With December right around the corner, the folks at Dyzplastic thought it would be a good idea to release a winter-themed Android collectible, introducing us to the new Frankie Frost figure.
It certainly has a unique look when held up to other Android collectibles we’ve seen in the past, with artist Scott Tolleson looking to the classic stop motion holiday films we all know and love for inspiration. We think Frankie looks great, and he should add some winter flair to your shelf full of Android collectibles. Unfortunately, the new Android figure isn’t available to purchase quite yet. Dyzplastic won’t be putting it up on the Dead Zebra Store until December 6, with the company opening up orders at 11AM Eastern. If you miss your chance then, Frankie Frost will be available again later that day at 11PM Eastern. There’s a limit of just two per customer, so if you were planning on giving him out as gifts while keeping one for yourself, be warned that you’ll only have one extra to give away. This guy is a limited edition Android mini collectible, so be ready to order quickly once 11AM on December 6 rolls around. Considering how good Frankie looks, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him sell out quickly. Are you going to pick one up for yourself, or have you never been all that into Android collectibles? [via Dyzplastic]
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| Aocos PX102 tablet is a Transformer inspired slate for $200 with 4.1 Jelly Bean Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:35 PM PST The ASUS Transformer tablet really started a new trend in the world of tablets. Many have tried to offer similar options but ASUS is still leading the pack. As usual, those Chinese manufacturers have came up with their own alternative for half the cost. Meet the Aocos PX102 “Hummingbird” tablet with a 1.6 GHz processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and of course a Transformer-styled keyboard dock.
Obviously you won’t get all the aluminum and brushed design cues of the Transformer, but the Aocos tablet does offer some pretty decent specs all for around $209. It looks like US customers can even get their own for $230 should they choose. So what about this tablet? The Aocos PX102 comes with a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 resolution display, a RockChip 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and nearly the latest version of Android.
Not bad right? Being just $200 we were concerned about how the rest of the specs would line up but it handles the task ok. The tablet part measures just 9.6mm thick and features a single USB 2.0 port, Micro USB, Bluetooth, Wifi, and even HDMI out. They’ve also added a micro-SD slot for expanding on that 16GB of internal storage. Just like the Transformer, the Aocos has your usual battery built into the keyboard dock, which is rechargeable, and it connects via bluetooth. You won’t have any weird docking pins here. While there’s no docking pins it does dock in and connect rather tight, and will close and double as a nice screen protector as we’ve come to expect. We don’t know much about this tablet, or how stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is — but it looks fairly decent from the pictures. Get one from Chinagrabber if you’re interested. Would you take a risk on this $200 tablet from China?    [via Android Authority]
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| HTC delivers DROID DNA source code Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:20 PM PST Good news for those of you who value customization options: HTC has released the source code and binaries for the freshly launched DROID DNA. With a phone as nice as that, we can imagine that developers are all too eager to get their hands on the source code. The source code arrives just a few days after we learned that the DROID DNA’s bootloader was unlocked, so the phone’s potential tweakability just went through the roof.
This release is meant specifically for developers, so if you’re a person who casually likes to jump under the hood, it might be a good idea to wait a bit. That said, there’s nothing technically stopping you from snagging the source code and binaries from HTCdev and having a go anyway. Just keep in mind that it’s always risky to go tinkering with your phone, so if something goes wrong, it’s all on you. In any case, the source code HTC has released (v. 1.15.605.4) is based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It’s not hard to see why developers are so eager to make their modifications to the DROID DNA, what with that that beautiful 5-inch screen displaying at 1920×1080 resolution. It also comes equipped with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor clocked at 1.5GHz and 2GB of RAM, so users have a lot of power to work with. Add to that 16GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean installed from the start, and we’ve got a device worthy of the flagship label. We’re excited to see what the development community does now that the source code is available, as well as what this means for custom ROMs. Keep checking back here with us for more details on the DROID DNA! Device Info
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| Verizon Galaxy Note II pre-installed with Swype and SwiftKey Flow Posted: 30 Nov 2012 11:49 AM PST Today the Samsung Galaxy Note II from Verizon is arriving for multiple people across the states who pre-ordered this awesome 5.5-inch flagship smartphone. While enjoying it over the past few days we’ve noticed a few different keyboard options. Out of the box Verizon and Samsung have the usual Samsung keyboard, but then we noticed a few more. It appears both Swype, and the unreleased SwiftKey Flow are both also pre-installed for your choice.
Gesture typing is becoming more and more popular. Swype was the first 3rd party keyboard to truly take Android by storm with their swipe to easy and quickly type. SwiftKey however hasn’t added that feature to their arsenal quite yet, although the beta is merely just a few days away. SwiftKey 3 has been a favorite of ours for some time for their themes, layout, and of course their predictions that make typing a breeze. However with the Note II we have the best of both worlds. It appears that Samsung has struck a deal with SwiftKey, because the Note II on Verizon actually comes with some form of SwiftKey Flow pre-installed. It isn’t the SwiftKey we know and love, and instead the stock Samsung keyboard has the option to “enable” flow should you decide to use it. Not to mention Swype comes pre-installed for those who’d rather like that option.
SwiftKey recently announced their new Flow keyboard, but it still isn’t available for the public. We’ve been hearing the private VIP beta will start soon, but it’s interesting to see it already available with Samsung. For those that love 3rd party keyboard options the Samsung Galaxy Note II from Verizon is loaded full of choices. Should you run out and buy the Note II today, give it a try and let us know what you think. Don’t forget to check out our Verizon Note II hands-on. Device Info
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