Android Community |
- Google acknowledges Gmail service issue, notes that it “should be resolved”
- LG Optimus G2 rumored to have 5.5-inch 1080p display and coming in May
- T-Mobile strengthens 4G network in three major markets
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 spotted with with Verizon Wireless LTE
- ASUS Padfone 2 gets updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Google announces a $99 Samsung Series 5 Chromebook offer for the classroom
- Samsung teases ‘Something New’ coming in January
- HTC Butterfly available for pre-order in the UK
- Barnes & Noble announce NOOK Video for UK-based Nook HD and HD+ users
- LG Optimus L-Series smartphones break 10 million units in sales
- Sony’s 2013 flagship device rumored to bring a 6-inch display, 3,500 mAh battery and 3GB of RAM
- Xperia E and Xperia E dual price information released for Germany
- Next Launcher now available, arrives as a $16 launcher replacement with 3D effects
- Grab an Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 for $50 off today only
- Samsung announces the rest of its Galaxy S III “Premium Suite” update
- Motorola Mobility to leave South Korea in 2013
- Android Community Weekly: December 9th, 2012
| Google acknowledges Gmail service issue, notes that it “should be resolved” Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:38 AM PST A bit earlier today, shortly before noon on the east coast, we began seeing reports of issues with Gmail. Specifically, users were complaining that it was down. Most of the reports were talking about Gmail, however there was also some that mentioned other Google services including Drive and even Chrome.
Anyway, Google acknowledged the issue a short time later. The message came at 12:30 and appeared on the Google Apps Status Dashboard and stated rather simply that they are “investigating reports of an issue with Google Mail” and that they would “provide more information shortly.” The basic we are having issues type of message. True to the promise, 40 minutes later Google posted a follow-up letting everyone know that the issue should be resolved. The key here, the issue “should” be resolved. In other words, while the issue should be taken care of, some users could still have an glitch or two and if you happen to be having issues, rest assured in knowing this is not an issue with your connection. The funny part here, while Twitter broke out with numerous messages making it sound like the world was coming to an end, we suspect a few people were actually able to get some work done given they could stop paying attention to email for a few minutes. Of course, if you were using Chrome, you may have been held up with a crash or two as a result of Chrome Sync. Regardless though, things should be back to normal now. [via Google Apps Status] |
| LG Optimus G2 rumored to have 5.5-inch 1080p display and coming in May Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:07 AM PST LG has been making some serious progress in the mobile front as of late. With their highly impressive Optimus G selling quite well, to their new LG Nexus 4 we all know plenty about. Back in November we reported the LG Optimus G2 was already under construction with a 5-inch HD display but now we’re hearing conflicting reports that claims LG is aiming a bit bigger. A 5.5-inch Note II competitor instead.
Early reports suggested LG was going to quickly jump on the 1080p full HD bandwagon with a new Optimus smartphone, but now it looks like they might be blending a few products into one ultimate flagship device. According to the Korean site Asiae the LG Optimus G2 will actually sport a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080p full HD IPS+ display. LG’s odd phablet in the Optimus Vu wasn’t what I’d call a success, even though their Optimus L lineup has sold over 10 million strong. If these reports are accurate LG will instead be competing with the Galaxy Note II, and topping Samsung’s upcoming 4.99-inch Galaxy S4 with their new Optimus G2. LG’s getting serious folks! LG didn’t disclose any sales numbers for the rest of their smartphones, yet, but either way they are looking to have a strong 2013. The Optimus G2 (or whatever they’ll call it) should rock that 1080p HD IPS display, a quad-core processor, 2 or 3GB of RAM, a larger battery and hopefully the latest version of Android. Whether that will be 4.2.1 Jelly Bean or the upcoming Key Lime Pie, we’ll have to wait and see. We’ve seen a few benchmark leaks of this device for AT&T, so that might be the first carrier with this flagship smartphone. Who’s excited about LG’s future? As long as they update timely and keep pushing the cutting edge next year is looking rather bright. [via UnwiredView] |
| T-Mobile strengthens 4G network in three major markets Posted: 10 Dec 2012 11:00 AM PST T-Mobile continues to push forward with its network refarm, today announcing that it has strengthened its mobile network in three key markets. Those living in Seattle, Minneapolis, and Atlanta should see faster data speeds on unlocked devices. T-Mobile’s network refarm seems to be coming along swimmingly, as it was just last week that the company announced it had expanded 4G service in a number of other markets.
Of course, while T-Mobile says that it has improved its network in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Seattle, there are a handful of surrounding areas that are also experiencing improved data speeds too. T-Mobile has also been continuing to expand on the enhancements made in the San Francisco, Oakland, and Silicon Valley last month. Here’s the full list of areas straight from T-Mobile:
In other T-Mobile network news, the company said that it’s continuing to modernize its network in areas like Boston, Chicago, San Diego, New York, and Los Angeles, so be on the lookout for faster speeds if you live in one of those areas. This network refarm is part of a plan that sees T-Mobile putting up a whopping $4 million dollars, so the company’s network modernization can’t exactly be called cheap. This is all happening while we wait for T-Mobile to launch its 4G LTE network. It has said plenty of times in the past that it will begin rolling out 4G LTE in early 2013, so there may not be much longer to wait until T-Mobile enters the 4G LTE space. Check out our story timeline below for more on T-Mobile! [via SlashGear] |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 spotted with with Verizon Wireless LTE Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:43 AM PST While nothing is official until we hear something from Verizon Wireless, a recently discovered document from the Wi-Fi Alliance website suggests the carrier is planning to launch the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. No hints yet as to when an announcement may arrive, however assuming we see this launch, the Galaxy Note 10.1 will join the Verizon tablet lineup alongside a few others from Samsung as well as a pair from Motorola.
As far as the Wi-Fi Alliance document, it shows a Galaxy Note 10.1 with a model number of SCH-i925 and was discovered by the Japanese site Blog of Mobile. More to the point here in terms of connectivity, the document shows support for LTE/CDMA2000/W-CDMA/GSM connectivity along with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n. Verizon, of course, also has the Galaxy Note 2. Phablet aside though, as far as the Galaxy Note 10.1 pricing goes, we can look towards the other Galaxy branded tablets for some hints. Taking the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 as an example, this model sells for $499.99 on a month-to-month agreement. Those interested in a Galaxy Note tablet but in a model without cellular connectivity, the Note 10.1 can be found with various retailers and is priced from $499.99 for the 16GB model. Speculation on the price aside, the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet has a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) display, quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, 7,000 mAh battery, 1.9 megapixel front facing camera, a 5 megapixel rear facing camera and the S Pen. The one catch, or in this case hope — that if Verizon does indeed launch the Galaxy Note 10.1 — they do so with the tablet already running Jelly Bean. Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
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Hardware
 Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
 [via unwired view] |
| ASUS Padfone 2 gets updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Posted: 10 Dec 2012 10:17 AM PST ASUS has been pretty busy as of late updating all of their tablets to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and today they’ve started the rollout for one more slate. The impressive ASUS Padfone 2 smartphone tablet hybrid has just started receiving the over the air update this week. More details are available below for those interested.
Earlier this year ASUS was quick to update their tablets in the Transformer lineup to Jelly Bean, including the 1920 x 1080p powered ASUS Infinity Pad 700 series. Today however their smartphone will be able to enjoy the Jelly Bean luxury too. The Padfone as you know, is a tablet that runs off of a smartphone at its heart, so now that they’ve updated the phone to Jelly Bean the tablet gets to also enjoy the treat. The Padfone 2 was announced back in October and most markets are still waiting for the device to become available, but for the select few regions that it’s available for sale you can get this update as we speak. With Jelly Bean ASUS is bringing all the goods like project butter, expanding and improved notifications, Google Now voice search, as well as an improved keyboard — just to name a few. The Padfone 2 is an impressive quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro powered smartphone with 2GB of RAM, a 13 megapixel camera and a sleek design all on a 4.7-inch 720p HD display packing device. Now that you have Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to go along with it this phone sure is looking impressive. Hopefully ASUS can roll it out globally to more markets soon. Feel free to head to settings > about phone > check for updates and get the latest and greatest right now. Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
[via GSMArena] |
| Google announces a $99 Samsung Series 5 Chromebook offer for the classroom Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:43 AM PST Regardless of how you feel about Samsung, it is pretty hard to ignore the name when it comes to Android. In addition though, Samsung also makes a device that happens to be running the other OS from Google. You remember, Chrome OS. And on that note, Google, along with Lakeshore Learning has announced a new offer for the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook. One that means very low prices for those in the classroom.
In short, Google will be offering the Chromebook for $99. That is down from the regular price of $249. Despite the low price, this offer still includes the management and support. Keep in mind though, not everyone is going to be able to score one of these deals. According to details coming from Google, this offer is open for full-time teachers in the US and those looking to take advantage will need to go through DonorsChoose.org. Those interested will need to make the request prior to December 21 and thankfully, the process seems simple enough. It begins with a visit to the DonorsChoose website where you will need to fill out a short form to get the process started. This beginning step is nothing more than giving an email address along with your name and the amount of Chromebooks you plan to request. From here you can expect an email within 24 hours that will get the process moving forward. The next step would be to create the actual request on DonorsChoose and get the funding process started. Yup, that may be the catch — the request and the option to get the Chromebook for $99 assumes your project gets funded. On the positive side though, anyone can fund these projects, which means you can get help from a variety of sources to include family and friends as well as your school. [via Official Google Blog] |
| Samsung teases ‘Something New’ coming in January Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:41 AM PST The folks from Samsung had a pretty impressive year here in 2012, and they are showing no signs of slowing down for the next year. As you all know, one of the biggest tech events of the year is quickly approaching. CES 2013 in Las Vegas kicks off early January and Samsung is already teasing us with a quick video. It sure doesn’t reveal much, but lets take a look.
The past few years CES has been filled with 4G LTE phones, followed by dual-core processors and 720p displays. This year could really be anything as we prepare for the next wave of smartphone technology. Samsung today has released a quick teaser video by SamsungTomorrow reminding us to “get ready” and that “something new” is coming in January. They flash a few hints on screen such as innovation, ideas, design, technology and more but that is something we expect with almost each new flagship device anyways. Most likely we won’t be seeing their new Galaxy S4 just yet, but we have a feeling Samsung has a few tricks up their sleeve. Possibly test the waters with their new flexible and unbreakable screen tech with a device they’ll announce, then perfect it for the Galaxy S IV which we’re expecting in March or April. Samsung makes some amazing TV’s, Refrigerators, cameras and more so this video really could be anything at this point. Either way we’re expecting Samsung to still offer an impressive showing in the mobile front — while they prepare for their next wave of flagship devices a few months after January. Below is a timeline of what we could see. I’m betting on the Galaxy Note 7 tablet with Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. Obviously we’ll be live at CES so remember to stay tuned when the time comes. [via SamsungTomorrow] |
| HTC Butterfly available for pre-order in the UK Posted: 10 Dec 2012 09:03 AM PST One of the most exciting phones hitting the market is ready for pre-order in the UK; sort of. The HTC Butterfly, or Droid DNA as it’s known in the US, is finally ready to be reserved for buyers in the UK. Online retailer Expansys has posted the listing today, however, there is some critical information missing from the listing such as price and release date.
Just last week we heard that the Butterfly is coming to China, and now it seems likely that UK will receive a version of the device as well. This could be a premature listing or it could be the real deal, but either way, this seems like a serious indication that phone should be making its way to UK shores one way or the other, and it will probably happen fairly soon. Hopefully HTC announces something official about a UK release of the phone soon. Edit: It’s worth noting this device hasn’t been announced for the UK, meaning this will be imported and sold by Expansys and may not be fully covered by HTC’s typical warranty. The version listed on the Expansys website comes with a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM. It also comes with 16GB of internal storage. Oh, and of course, there is the impressive 5-inch screen that supports a beautiful 1920X1080 resolution. It is also an unlocked, SIM-free version, which means it will likely have a high price-tag. The version announced for China comes with a price tag of around $700, and the UK version is likely to carry a similar price tag. [via SlashGear] |
| Barnes & Noble announce NOOK Video for UK-based Nook HD and HD+ users Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:36 AM PST Barnes & Noble first announced Nook Video back in September and as we often see with new video offerings, the availability was limited to select markets. In the case of Nook Video, this was made available for those in the US with the promise of UK availability coming before Christmas.
And well, it looks like Barnes & Noble has made good on that promise. Coming this morning, Nook Video is now available for those in the UK. This also makes Barnes & Noble the first retailer that is offering Ultraviolet titles in the UK. Perhaps more to the point though, the availability of Nook Video in the UK means those with a Nook HD or Nook HD+ will be able to easily watch movies and television shows. Nook Video will have content available from a variety of studios and providers to include BBC Worldwide, HBO, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, STARZ and Warner Bros. Entertainment. The content will be available for download and streaming and include a mix of classics, hits and new releases as well as original television series and local favorites. The video content will be available from the Nook Store and then stored in your Nook Cloud. The cloud option may not be as exciting for those with only one device, however Barnes & Noble did make mention of other Nook Video apps. These are said to be coming soon and will allow you to watch your Nook Video content on “other” devices. Finally, as one would hope for, Barnes & Noble is already working on new content partnerships. And while they have yet to reveal anything specific, they did offer the following teaser;
[via Barnes & Noble] |
| LG Optimus L-Series smartphones break 10 million units in sales Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:32 AM PST LG is puffing out its chest today with the announcement that its Optimus L smartphones have passed 10 million units in sales. The devices included in the Optimus L series are the Optimus L3, Optimus L5, Optimus L7 and the more recent Optimus L9. Screen sizes for the device range from 3.2 inches to 4.7 inches, so LG is hitting all different segments of the market.
It’s hard to argue with the results, as 10 million devices from one line is no small feat. Diversifying has certainly worked out LG, as they have phones for all different types of consumers. Not to mention the fact that LG makes the Nexus 4, which is a device carriers and Google cannot keep in stock. LG’s Optimus L series of phones are available in 50 different markets nationwide, which almost certainly helped LG get that high number of units sold. LG also cites five specific design elements that it thinks have attracted users to its phone. According to LG, these are “Modern Square Style for a comfortable grip, Floating Mass Technology for a slimmer look, Seamless Layout for a more intuitive arrangement of keys, Harmonized Design Contrast utilizing metallic accents and Sensuous Slim Shape.” [via LG] |
| Sony’s 2013 flagship device rumored to bring a 6-inch display, 3,500 mAh battery and 3GB of RAM Posted: 10 Dec 2012 08:02 AM PST This is far from the first time we are hearing rumors about upcoming Sony devices. In fact, we have already been talking about a few that are expected to launch next year. The devices are the Yuga and Odin and they are both expected to debut with a 5-inch display. Based on recent rumors, it looks like Sony is not going to stop with a 5-inch display.
In fact, chatter coming from IT168 suggests that we may be seeing a Sony device with a 6-inch display in the latter part of 2013. And sure, that seems like a big display and a long time away at this point, however based on the current trend — a 6-inch display may be the norm at that point. Aside from a 6-inch display size, this handset is also expected to bring a 3,500 mAh battery and 3GB of RAM. Otherwise, some of the other leaked details point towards another handset with a 5-inch display. This one is said to be 1080p and also featuring a 16 megapixel camera, 3GB of RAM and a 3,000 mAh battery. This device is expected to be announced sometime around October of next year. In other words, we have some time before any of this will likely be officially announced. Moving past these two devices, there is also talk of one more, though the specs on this one are not quite as exciting sounding. This last device is said to have a 720p display along with a MSM8960T processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, 1,800 mAh battery and a 12 megapixel camera. All said and done, assuming these rumors prove accurate — Sony is going to be pushing the limits of display size. [via phoneArena] |
| Xperia E and Xperia E dual price information released for Germany Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:56 AM PST Last week Sony released details the Xperia E smartphone. They announced that it would be an affordable device with some decent specs. However, they left off one key piece of information, and that is the price of the device. Well, Sony Mobile Germany released recommended pricing for the device, and now we know that is truly affordable.
The Xperia E and it’s dual-sim toting brother have the same specs. While not top-of-the-line by any means, they are certainly solid phones, especially for the price. They both come with a 3.5-inch screen with a supported resolution of 320 x 480. The phones also have 1GHz single-core MSM7227A Snapdragon S1 chipset with 512MB of RAM. The Xperia E and Xperia E dual come with 4GB of internal storage. They also have microSD support for expanding the memory of the device. You will also find a 1500mAh removable battery, and a 3.2MP camera with VGA video recording support. The phone is expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2013. [via XperiaBlog] |
| Next Launcher now available, arrives as a $16 launcher replacement with 3D effects Posted: 10 Dec 2012 07:04 AM PST One of the perks that we have with Android is the ability to customize. Some of those customizations are smaller, and some come in the form of home screen replacement apps. It was just a short while back when we saw Action Launcher, which came by way of Chris Lacy, the developer behind Tweet Lanes. Action Launcher aside though, it looks like the Go Launcher Dev Team has released their latest launcher — Next Launcher.
And as many would have guessed, Next Launcher can be found in Google Play. The Next Launcher is currently sitting at version 1.0 and has arrived with support for Android 2.2 or later. The app description is touting the launcher replacement as being “full of glorious 3D elements and dynamic effects.” That may give a hint as to what is coming next — while the Next Launcher will run on devices with 2.2 or later, it is recommended for devices with Android 2.3.3 and a dual-core processor. Probably nothing all that surprising, or even limiting at this point in time, but that may rule out some of those with older devices. Anyway, limits and restrictions aside, lets get into the features, of which there are many. Some of the perks include unlimited screen layout possibilities, live wallpapers, quick screen management, a rotatable dock and a stereoscopic screen preview which is described as being able to show “lots of screen display effects, dazzling animation of screen switching about adding or deleting screen.” In addition, the Next Launcher brings 3D effects and will also offer 3D widgets in a future release. Simply put, Next Launcher seems to be for those looking for something different. Something that is visually appealing, but also with more than enough features to keep from feeling limited or restricted. All said and done, while the Next Launcher looks kind of nice, we do see one point that may cause some complaints, the price. The Next Launcher is selling for $16. [via Google Play]        |
| Grab an Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 for $50 off today only Posted: 10 Dec 2012 06:58 AM PST Sure, the latest Kindle Fire model just hit the market, but that doesn’t mean Amazon is not going to drop the price on it, even if it’s just for one day. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 normally starts at $299, but for today only, Amazon is taking $50 off the price. That means the 16GB is $249 today and the 32GB is available for $319.
Amazon took to Twitter to announce the deal. Amazon was quick to remind everyone that it could run out quick. Amazon probably has tons of the tablets in stock, but that does not mean that they will not run out quickly once the price is dropped a bit. In case you did not know, Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is Amazon’s top-end tablet. It comes with an 8.9-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920×1200. As far as the powerhouse goes, it has a OMAP4470 dual-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz from Texas Instruments and 1GB of RAM. It also has a front-facing 1.3MP camera for video chatting. [via Slashgear] |
| Samsung announces the rest of its Galaxy S III “Premium Suite” update Posted: 10 Dec 2012 06:35 AM PST At the end of last week, Samsung released a video for the Galaxy S III Premium Suite upgrade that broke down some of the new features we should expect to see on the device such as multi-window. Now, Samsung has pushed part two of the video which lets us see the rest of the features that we will be enjoying on the S III. There is definitely some good stuff, and it gives users even more reason to constantly check that update screen on their devices.
Samsung is also adding easy mode. This is designed for first time smartphone users to get a feel for the device with five of the most popular widgets. Another cool feature to help new smartphone users is the Setup Wizard. This opens the accessibility menu right away and gets everything up and running more easily. Samsung is also adding Sound Balance, which allows users to control the volume of each earphone individually. The update also combines Samsung’s Talk Back and Face Detection features to have the camera tell you how many faces it can see before you snap the photo. The video above breaks everything down directly from Samsung. [via TechCrunch] |
| Motorola Mobility to leave South Korea in 2013 Posted: 10 Dec 2012 05:45 AM PST Motorola is going to be leaving South Korea next year as part of the reorganization that has been happening within the company since Google purchased them. Only about 10% of Motorola’s employees from the local research and development department will remain with the company. Those that do will be offered relocation packages.
Motorola Mobility began notifying employees today that it will cease operating in South Korea. While we know the job loss will be somewhere over 500, Motorola declined to provide an exact number of people who would lose their jobs. Motorola did note that the 10% that will remain active is only R&D staff, but that does not tell us much, as most of the staff consists of R&D. Motorola Mobility says that closing operations in South Korea are a part of its ongoing effort to consolidate its research and development operations. Motorola is also hoping the move will help it compete in markets where it can be most effective. It’s just unfortunate that this move comes at the cost of many individual jobs. [via Slashgear] |
| Android Community Weekly: December 9th, 2012 Posted: 09 Dec 2012 04:18 PM PST We had an exciting week in the world of Android Community. For those dying to snag a new LG Nexus 4 the wait is still a little long, but we’re hearing they are shipping at a faster rate as of late to those who have ordered. Samsung had plenty of announcements, and Motorola had a lot of update news. Read on for the full rundown of the past week.
First off Motorola and Verizon updated the DROID RAZR HD and MAXX HD to Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, and now you can all enjoy Google Now, project butter and everything else we love about the latest from Google. Motorola also detailed their update roadmap again, with the Atrix HD next up for the Jelly Bean update. Samsung updated the Galaxy S III to Jelly Bean in Canada, and we saw an Android 4.1 leak for the Galaxy Note as well. We had a lot of gaming news this past week too. For starters Gameloft’s entire 2013 game lineup was leaked, and Grand Theft Auto Vice City launched Thursday — only to be removed a few minutes later and delayed until next week. Hopefully soon we can enjoy that classic game on our Android devices. Archos released their 7-inch Gamepad tablet, a Draw Something style game with words was released called WordTag, and GameKlip released their universal game controller that attaches to Android devices. Last but not least Gameloft’s Modern Combat 4 is coming soon too. In hardware news LG’s 1080p quad-core smartphone leaked for AT&T, and Samsung had a few announcements too. Samsung’s S Pebble music player is available now in the US as the Galaxy Muse Player. Then some really exciting news from Samsung, we’re hearing the new Galaxy S IV will have a nearly unbreakable screen made of a hardened but bendable plastic instead of fragile glass.
In some other interesting news Verizon’s 4G LTE turned two years old this week, and we learned the Galaxy Camera will be headed to Verizon this month with LTE support. Then Google announced their I/O 2013 event dates, set for the middle of May so get ready for Google-style fun. We’ll end on two good notes. The first being Apple’s multitouch patent was deemed invalid this week, so that should stop some lawsuits. Then the all-in-one SwiftKey Flow keyboard was released in public beta. We’d highly suggest you give that awesome keyboard a try. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! |
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