Monday, April 23, 2012

Android Community

Android Community


Fake Instagram sends texts to premium numbers and steals data

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:21 AM PDT

Heads up, hipsters: if you got Instagram anywhere but the Google Play Store, you might want to get rid of it right now. Reports of a malicious copy are coming out of Russia, stating that once users download and install the malicious app it starts sending texts to premium SMS numbers making these little Trojan making hackers plenty of cash – you’ve been warned.

Why users would opt to download Instagram from anywhere but the official market (Play Store) beats me, but people do. Once users install this malware infested copy-cat there’s no telling what all it will do. From sending out contacts, stealing personal data and more. According to Trend Micro this Insta-Trojan is pretty serious once installed.

Trend Micro claims this is a popular strategy and there are multiple similar malicious apps like Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds and many others. We still feel the same as usual here, don’t download weird apps, and only get them from trusted sources — like the Google Play Store. Don’t do anything unsafe and you’ll be just fine folks. Oh and don’t forget to check out our Five alternatives to Instagram.

[via LifeofAndroid]


HTC looking to make its own low-end processors

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 09:03 AM PDT

Most phone manufacturers, or manufacturers of any consumer electronics, tend to farm out some of the more critical components of their devices. An excellent example is processors: currently HTC gets system-on-a-chip boards from Samsung and NVIDIA. But that may change soon, for some phones at least: ChinaTimes reports that HTC has partnered with fabless semiconductor company ST-Ericsson to create new chips for their low-end phones.

ST-Ericsson (not to be confused with Sony Ericsson, now absorbed into Sony itself) is a chip supplier that doesn’t get much media attention, because their component design handle the more mundane tasks in smartphones, like mobile data and GPS radios. The company has extensive experience in designing for Android-specific devices, including HTC’s. Creating a low-cost, low-power chip for more inexpensive phone makes a lot of sense for HTC, which provides a wide portfolio of entry-level Android phones. Creating or outsourcing their own unique chips may be cheaper than buying them from Qualcomm after initial expenses.

In any case, it’ll probably be at least 18 months before we see HTC-branded processors in HTC phones – creating new designs and integrating them into hardware won’t happen overnight. It can be hoped that this partnership will bring some better performance to the low-end, but that’s not really the aim here. We’ll keep an eye on the proceedings to see when the first hardware becomes available.

[via TheNextWeb]


Vodafone begins registration for Galaxy S III updates

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 08:39 AM PDT

While the rest of us bear with Samsung’s incessant teasing before its May 3rd announcement of “the next Galaxy”, UK carrier Vodafone has jumped the gun a bit. They’re already setting up for the release of what is almost certainly the Galaxy S III with a generic update registration page. The small banner uses the same font and galactic style as Samsung’s own preview website, but doesn’t mention a date. That’s probably because it’ll be a while after the press event itself that we actually see the phone released to retail.

There’s nothing here that definitively states that Vodafone is getting the Galaxy S III (even Samsung has been extra-careful not to use that particular moniker) but it’s just about a done deal at this point. It’s also no surprise that Vodafone will get the device, and presumably with a subsidized discount – carrier exclusives are rare in the United Kingdom, unlike the continuous game of three-card Monte that is the US carrier system. In all likelihood the phone will be available unlocked in Europe and Asia as well.

There’s still very little concrete evidence of the Galaxy S III going around, and Samsung has stayed mum on the subject. A quad-core Exynos and a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED HD+ screen were tipped by sources with notable connections to the company, but beyond that our best body of evidence comes from a Vietnamese video claiming to show a disguised or pre-production version of the phone. Find the lady, Android fans: the cards will be revealed on May 3rd in London, and Android Community will be there live to cover it.


Samsung SCH-i200 headed to Verizon with ICS and Snapdragon S4

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 08:21 AM PDT

News on new Samsung phones for Verizon has been a little dry as of late – their last major release for the carrier was the Galaxy Nexus five months ago. But new details about an upcoming phone were uncovered on the Bluetooth SIG website and GL Benchmark describing the SCH-i200 “Jasper”, complete with Verizon tags in its software. Most interestingly, it’s running Ice Cream Sandwich and Qualcomm’s celebrated Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 dual-core processor.

Other details are scarce at the moment: beyond Android 4.0.3 (and presumably the latest version of TouchWiz as an accompaniment) we know it’s got an 800×480 screen. That puts it at anywhere between 3.5 and 4.3 inches, but given Samsung’s propensities as of late I’d say that either 3.7 or 4.0 inches are the most likely candidates for screen size. Unless Samsung surprises us and announces a Verizon version of the Galaxy S III on May 3rd, the “Jasper” could be Samsung’s first Ice Cream Sandwich device on Big Red.

The SCH-ixxx series has tended to be rather low-end phones from Samsung – not something we’d expect to see a cutting-edge processor and OS running on. The SCh-i200 sounds like a something between the low-end and the mid range, so it should present a pretty good compromise between size, features and price. It also gives us some hope that Samsung is seriously working on releasing new phones at all price points running Ice Cream Sandwich.

[via PocketNow]


HTC DROID Incredible 4G spotted on Droid Does site

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 07:45 AM PDT

The good old Droid Does web portal has been a reliable vector for leaked information for nearly every single DROID phone to date, and that tradition continues with the upcoming HTC DROID Incredible 4G. This third iteration of the Incredible hardware was spotted on the portal this morning with a full complement of specifications, finally laying to rest the rumors surrounding the device. The site also lists a price of $299, but that’s likely a leftover element from the DROID RAZR MAXX sub-site.

The DROID Incredible 4G will essentially be rebranded version of the HTC One S. An identical 4-inch QHD display, 8MP rear camera and Ice Cream Sandwich with Sense 4.0 make it seem like a very similar device, but the 8GB of storage plus MicroSD card, 4G LTE connection and 1.2Ghz processor are a little different. The phone’s also considerably thicker at 11.6 millimeters, despite a relatively small 1700mAh battery. This may be due to a new plastic case. You can see the site yourself at this link, but hurry – Verizon’s bound to take it down soon.

There’s still no word on when the DROID Incredible 4G will make it to market, but if Verizon’s preparing media elements it can’t be too long. The latest Incredible sits just below the HTC Rezound as far as marketable specifications go. There’s no guarantee that we’ll see the DROID Incredible 4G any time soon, but a previous leak had it pegged for release sometime in April. Also note that the DROID Incredible 2 has disappeared from Verizon’s listings.

droid does incredible 4g specs droid does incredible 4g

[via SlashGear]


Motorola RAZR HD spotted running ICS in China

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 07:22 AM PDT

We’re seeing more and more evidence of an upgraded RAZR device coming from Motorola very soon. In addition to the DROID Fighter/DROID RAZR HD sneak peeks, Juggly.cn spotted a new model, the Motorola MT887, hanging out next to a couple of existing devices. The phone has a 4.3-inch screen as opposed to the larger one spotted on the DROID, but comes with an extra surprise: it’s running Ice Cream Sandwich. Connoisseurs take note: this has to be one of the best examples we’ve seen of blurrycam photography!

We’ve seen Moto’s ICS update for Verizon’s DROID RAZR, though they seem content to keep it to themselves for the time being. This software seems to be pretty similar, though obviously it’s using Chinese (the phone has a China Mobile logo emblazoned on the front). Specs match the current RAZRs with the exception of  720p screen: 1.2Ghz dual-core OMAP 4430 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8MP camera and an unknown amount of on-board storage. Due to this phone’s slightly chunky nature, it’s probably using the RAZR MAXX’s admirable 3300mAh battery. Also note what appear to be virtual navigation buttons, though those could be removed by the time of release.

Motorola seems comfortable with releasing a surprising number of phone variants in China, while most other markets just get the local flavor of the RAZR and RAZR MAXX. This being the case, it’s unlikely that we’ll see this particular phone, the “RAZR” MT887, outside of Asia. With Verizon preparing a bigger and probably badder version of the DROID RAZR, this model is likely just an incremental update for Chinese consumers who haven’t bought a RAZR yet.

motomt887-02 motomt887-01

[via GSMArena]


Samsung continues Galaxy S III tease with sheep-themed video

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:55 AM PDT

So Samsung’s countdown turned out to be a reveal for yet more cryptic information on what’s almost certainly the Galaxy S III, set to be debuted in London on May 3rd. Along with the basically useless website, they’ve also posted a new teaser video. But don’t get your hopes up – it’s just more marketing speak, pretty but superfluous graphics and a humorous twist at the end.

We can gather that the rumors of a 4.6 or 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display are probably close to hame at this point, thanks to copy like “your view of the world grows even wider” (oh, and that leaked video from last week). Other vague praise implies that a lot of work has gone into the ergonomics of the phone. Samsung also took another not-so subtle stab at Apple in a spiritual continuation of their recent Galaxy Note campaign.

Naturally there’s no hard info to be had anywhere, and we’re likely to receive the same teasing, aloof treatment from Samsung all the way up to the Unpacked event. It’s a good thing then that photos and videos of pre-production models are finally starting to leak out. Be sure to keep an eye on Android Community next week, as we report live from Samsung’s press event.


Sony Xperia P and Xperia U delayed to late May

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 06:25 AM PDT

The junior members of Sony’s new smartphone triforce will have to wait a little longer to distinguish themselves from the top of the line Xperia S. According to UK online retailer Clove, both the Xperia P and the Xperia U have been pushed back to a May 28th release. Technically we can only deduce that the delay is true for the United Kingdom, but given Sony’s general release habits this probably means it’s true for greater Europe as well.

The Xperias P and U are very much like the HTC One S and One V when compared to the One X. The Xperia P gets a 4-inch QHD screen, a dual-core 1.0Ghz dual-core processor, 16GB of on-board memory and the now-standard 8MP camera. The Xperia U is aimed squarely at the low end, with the same 1Ghz processor but half the RAM of the P, just 4GB of built-in storage and a 5-megapixel camera. The U gets some charming swappable panels for the “chin” area. Both will run Gingerbread at launch.

Both phones share the subtly futuristic styling of the larger and more powerful Xperia S, and will be available unlocked on GSM carriers. None of the phones feature LTE radios at this point, and as yet we haven’t heard of the P or the U heading stateside any time soon (the Xperia S is available unlocked and will debut on AT&T as the modified Xperia Ion). If Sony continues its usual methods, both phones should be available without a SIM lock no more than a couple of months after they show up overseas.

[via GSMArena]


Samsung Next Galaxy teaser site expanded

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 09:54 PM PDT

There’s more than meets the eye to be seen tonight before the big drop of “The Next Galaxy” from Samsung. As you may have heard, Samsung let loose a teaser for a teaser website at “tgeltaayehxnx.com” tonight, it having a countdown meter which will be up inside 8 hours from when the post you’re reading now was posted. Will it be a Galaxy S III, a Galaxy Tab, or something brand new? Nothing else really shows itself here on this teaser page on the surface, but under the lovely layers of the site’s source directories, we’ve found a few more telling clues.

Though you’re not going to get any specs for the phone (or the tablet) from what you’re about to see (above and below), it is going to get you one step closer to the truth. After a few clicks under the hood and a couple of choice re-typings of directory URLs, the following has come to us via an intrepid tipster. Inside the now-closed /assets/ page of /success, the set of images you see above can be found. What they lead us to understand is this: you’ll have to know how to spell in order to get to the next clue.

You’ll see the letters t g e l t a a y e h x n x set out in front of you tomorrow morning at the site and it’ll be your challenge to tap them “in order.” Of course this means you’ll have to click them like so: t h e n e x t g a l a x y, at which point you’ll see the blue button (also above.) This button will then link you to the site that’ll have the next big reveal: thenextgalaxy.com. Of course this site is currently password protected with the finest of web-based protection pop-ups, so we’re still stuck until tomorrow.

At least you’ll have the right URL instead of clicking and tapping though – see you then!

Also here’s a bonus – the background galaxy image from the countdown page incase you want to use it for a wallpaper – click the gallery image and right-click save-as!

bg


Android Community Weekly: April 22nd, 2012

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 05:53 PM PDT

Another week of Android happenings is behind us, but there’s one thing we’re still talking about ’round these parts: Android Community’s brand-new look! Hopefully you like it as much as we do – we’ve put a lot of work into making the site more readable and usable. But enough about us, let’s get to all the news you need to catch up on if you’ve spent the last week under a rock.

Plenty of new hardware was either announced or leaked this week: first of all, HTC’s One S finally got a release date on T-Mobile. You can pick one up on April 25th, and if you go to Costco you’ll get it for ten bucks off with a free $25 gift card. AT&T has started taking pre-orders for the HTC One X, but if you pre-order it from Radio Shack you’ll get a cool $50 off. In other HTC news, the “One J” (a modified One S) was spotted for Japanese carrier KDDI. We also saw glimpses of the Motorola DROID RAZR HD (AKA the DROID Fighter) via some sample camera shots.

Meizu finally announced the long-rumored MX Quad-core, surprisingly running a Samsung Exynos processor. Huawei’s super-skinny Ascend P1 is coming in May, as is the ASUS Padfone… but only for Europe at the moment. Acer released the Tegra 3-sporting Iconia Tab A510 for your purchasing pleasure, and a new leak indicates that the Samsung Galaxy Note is headed for T-Mobile sometime soon. The Galaxy Beam and its built-in pico projector were spotted in the FCC, complete with AT&T bands.

Of course a weekly wrap-up wouldn’t be complete without some Galaxy S III rumors. But this week we can put at least a few to rest: Samsung has officially announced “The Next Galaxy” press event for London on May 3rd. We’ll be there to cover it, naturally. The company teased us with Facebook glimpses and a countdown set for tomorrow. A few disguised/pre-production Galaxy S IIIs are finally making it out of Samsung – one posed for some photos, and one for a full walkthrough video.

There’s plenty to talk about on the software side of things. Acer’s Iconia Tab A500 and A100 tablets will be updated to ICS later this week, and while Samsung’s still mum on a date for the Galaxy Note’s ICS upgrade they were kind enough to show off some of the “premium suite” features. Unlocked Galaxy S II owners in the UK and the US can download their Android 4.0 updates via Kies. ASUS is taking reservations for the Transformer Prime dongle, which should alleviate those low GPS signals.

As far as apps go, Google Drive seems like a done deal. Leaks indicate that it’ll be launching this upcoming week, and the app itself was spotted on a developer phone. Google updated Chrome for Android with bookmark sync and a much-needed desktop mode. Spotify updated with a beta that integrates with Ice Cream Sandwich – it’s so fast and pretty we had to do a hands-on. Popular apps Draw Something and Temple Run added new features. Oh, and that patent war between Apple and Samsung may finally be drawing to a close: their two CEOs have agreed to start talking about settlements.

Here at Android Community we’ve had an unusually busy week. Just today we posted our review of ASUS’ brand-new Transformer Pad TF300. You can order one now, and if you’re in market for a 10-inch tablet, you should. We reviewed HTC’s One V, not to mention the Media Link streaming device and the official first-party cases for the One X. We’ve also got a secondhand review of T-Mobile’s One S  via our sister site SlashGear. The LG Viper 4G LTE got a good look from our reviewer too, as did the new app Pocket (formerly Read It Later). Finally, we’ve got a little editorializing on the Galaxy S III’s most important feature.

That’s all she wrote, folks. Stay in school, don’t do drugs and always make a Nandroid backup.


Samsung launches teaser site for Galaxy S III – More details tomorrow

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 02:24 PM PDT

If you want to learn more about the hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone you’ll want to tune in tomorrow. Samsung has just launched a teaser site for the new phone after scrambling “The Next Galaxy” into tgeltaayehxnx and launching tgeltaayehxnx.com earlier today. With a countdown ending early morning tomorrow we shouldn’t have to wait too much longer, only about 13 hours or so.

Samsung’s done a great job keeping this entire phone a mystery and they’ve continued it with these recent leaks. Posting nothing but a picture on Facebook stating May 3rd as the announcement date, and now this site. After going to www.thenextgalaxy.com I was greeted with a password encryption so the possibility that it will open up tomorrow is likely. We can expect to see more teasers, some sort of riddle, or possibly a scavenger hunt as some have suggested over on Twitter.

Sadly I don’t expect any sort of reveal or pictures of said device, only more teasing and something to keep us busy until May 3rd when we see the real thing up on stage at the London event. I’m hoping I’m wrong and maybe they’ll do a scavenger hunt similar to the DROID DOES promotions by Verizon. Looking at the countdown you’ll see "you can take the next step in” listed — so tomorrow morning we’ll all be headed for the next clue.

Update: Looking at the page source [here] you’ll notice the reference of “retina” as well as this quote:

Discover how Samsung is about to challenge the way you view the GALAXY once more

Stay tuned for all the juicy details, leaks, and possible riddles we are expecting from Samsung and their Galaxy S III. Don’t forget we’ll be live in London with all the details and hands-on coverage you won’t wanna miss. Who’s getting excited?


ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 now available

Posted: 22 Apr 2012 11:46 AM PDT

ASUS has finally released its follow-up to the Transformer Prime, the Transformer Pad TF300. Available for order now at all the usual major retailers, the new tablet will be replacing the original Transformer in the line up and sell along with the Transformer Prime. At $379 it should make it easier for people to get into a the popular tablet style computing device without having to break the bank.

Even though the TF300 is budget oriented, that does not mean you will be giving up tons of performance to get it. You still get the 10.1″ screen with a 1280×800 resolution. 1GB of RAM and the Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Where they save the valuable dollars is by changing the backing to a plastic one from the metal one of the Prime as well as a slighty lower quality display. Not necessarily bad cuts if you consider the plastic back should help with the antenna reception for the Wi-Fi. Also as part of the Transformer family, you get the option for the docking keyboard to add to its flexibility.

So if you are looking to get into a 10.1″ screen for a value, it is worth checking out. Thinking to yourself now you are glad you waited? We recently did a review on the TF300 and gave it pretty high marks so check it out here. Let us know in the comment section if are looking to get into one or if you get a chance to use one, let us know what you think about it. Others may like what you have to say about it.

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : Transformer Pad 300
    Manufactuer : Asus
    Carrier : NA
    Announced Date : February 27, 2012
    Release Date : April 22, 2012
    Also Known As :
Display
  • Screen Size : 10.1 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x800
  • Screen Type : IPS LCD
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 10.35 Inch
  • Width : 7.12 Inch
  • Depth : 0.39 Inch
  • Weight : 635 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Polymer
  • Battery Capacity : mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : Tegra 3
    CPU Clock Speed : 1400 Mhz
    Core : 4
    Ram : 1024 MB
    Internal Storage : 16 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution : 8 MP
    External Storage:
  • MicroSD
  • MicroSDHC
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

[via ASUS]