Sunday, July 8, 2012

Google Alert - android

News10 new results for android
 
Android Malware Botnet Claims Doubted as Researchers Review Evidence
eWeek
Initial reports earlier this week of a new Android malware botnet could now be erroneous, according to follow-up interviews with the security researchers who made the original claims.
See all stories on this topic »
Android OEMs: 1 Wins, 1 Loses
DailyFinance
The life of a Google (NAS: GOOG) Android handset maker isn't always so glamorous. For some, it can mean the key to becoming the largest phone.
See all stories on this topic »
Android: The cable guy analogy
CNET
My Motorola Xyboard isn't the only Android device out there plagued with tardy updates. Read this blog post by Brooke Crothers on Business Tech.
See all stories on this topic »
The 20 Best iOS And Android Apps Of 2012 (So Far)
TechCrunch
Editor's note: Brad Spirrison is the Managing Editor of mobile app discovery services Appolicious, AndroidApps.com (which includes the Appolicious Android App) and AppVee. This is his third year of writing a semi-annual TechCrunch post on top mobile ...
See all stories on this topic »

TechCrunch
Is This the Next Android?
DailyFinance
Do you remember the original goals of the Android platform and Google's (NAS: GOOG) very own Nexus phones? Here's a little reminder from.
See all stories on this topic »
Google's Galaxy Nexus Phone Is Shipping Again After Temporary Ban
Business Insider
Summary. Android is a mobile operating system, owned by Google. Android Inc. was the startup company that developed the initial Android OS. Google acquired the company in July 2005, and many of the original Android Inc. founders work... More » ...
See all stories on this topic »
Nexus 7 guns for the Kindle
LubbockOnline.com
Google makes its Android operating software available for any device manufacturer to use. Amazon and Barnes & Noble took Android and modified it heavily. Namely, they took out the applications that point to Google's services and the advertising it sells.
See all stories on this topic »
Nexus 7 is fast, light, priced right
Jackson Clarion Ledger
Google's brand new Nexus 7 represents a clean slate for Android tablets. It also may be the answer for consumers asking, 'Which tablet should I buy now?' - certainly those conscious of cost and not wedded to a bigger display.
See all stories on this topic »
Amazon Building an iPhone Competitor [REPORT]
Mashable
Amazon is reportedly working on a device to grab a slice of the pie currently dominated by the iPhone and Android smartphones.
See all stories on this topic »
Download Android 4.1 Jelly Bean For Nexus S And Nexus S 4G Custom Port
Geek WIth Laptop
Android enthusiasts around the world can't wait to get their hands on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. This incremental Android OS update was announced a few days back at Google I/O 2012. While it does not pack tons of new features, it does bring some fair ...
See all stories on this topic »

Blogs2 new results for android
 
Google refutes Android botnet spam reports - AME Info
Google has disputed a report by a Microsoft researcher that many Android phones have been infected with a virus that makes them churn out spam, BBC has reported. Last week, Microsoft researcher...
ExcitingAds! AME Info Latest News
FOSS Patents: German court doubts that Android infringes Apple's ...
By Florian Mueller
The first reason for which the UK court believed that Android doesn't infringe this patent is that there isn't a separate touch flag associated with each user interface object. The purpose of an exclusive touch flag is to suppress touches on other ...
FOSS Patents


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Android Authority

Android Authority


How to root the Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 [Video]

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:29 AM PDT

Looking for full control over your brand new Samsung Galaxy S3? In less than ten minutes, you can safely root your brand new Galaxy S3 using the desktop program Odin. Interested? Let’s begin the process.

  • First you will need to download Odin. This is a desktop program that transfers to your phone the files necessary for root. Get it here.
  • Next, you will need to download the root package. Find it here.

  • Unzip the attached Odin.zip file using winzip or similar utility
  • Unzip the CF-Root-SGS3-vX.X.zip
  • Start Odin by clicking the .exe file
  • Click the PDA button, and select CF-Root-SGS3-vX.X.tar
  • Put your phone in download mode (turn off phone, then hold volume-down + home + power to boot – if it asks you to press a button to continue, press the listed button)
  • (USB) Connect the phone to your computer
  • Make sure Repartition is NOT checked
  • Click the Start button
  • Wait for Android to boot

Your Galaxy S3 will boot into ClockworkMod Recovery, just wait out the process, as it will reboot once again.

You will then be able to identify the SU app in your app drawer, meaning you have gained successful root.

Watch our video below for step-by-step instructions.


This article, How to root the Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 [Video] , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Where are the long battery life superphones?

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:21 AM PDT

There are some people who don’t like smart phones. It isn’t because they don’t like the touch sensitive screen, it’s not an ease of use issue, but rather they don’t like the battery life. In the good old days of feature phones, you could charge up your phone once a week, you could talk for hours, and, if you battery showed only one bar left, you knew it would work for the rest of the day. But not so with smartphones. With a nice bright display to power, plus Wi-Fi, plus GPS, and of course 3G or even 4G, a smart phone battery might last a day, maybe two.

A typical feature phone might use a 1100mAh battery, where as a smart phone could have a 1650mAh battery. Sure, the smartphone has a bigger battery but it isn’t proportionally larger compared to the juice needed to power it. That is with the exception of the Motorola RAZR MAXX that is. The RAZR MAXX sports a high capacity 3300mAh giving 21.5 hours of talk time, 2.5 days of listening to music, and 12 hours of Internet over Wi-Fi use. These numbers seem better suited to a tablet than a phone!

motorola-droid-razr-maxx

But is that it? Surely, with every forum and smartphone related website carrying articles and tutorials about battery life and how to extend it, more manufacturers would be selling phones with bigger batteries. The answer seems to be no. There are just one or two companies selling phone with better batteries. The Galaxy S3 has a pretty good, 2000mAh+ battery, but they still only last about a day with full usage.

Huawei is touting its Ascend D quad as the world’s fastest smartphone, but it is also looking at the battery aspect. Alongside the Ascend D quad, Huawei will launch the Ascend D quad XL. It has exactly the same specifications as the Ascend D quad but with a 2500mAh battery, which Huawei reckons will last for two or three days with normal usage.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note also has a 2500mAh battery but this only gives it a battery life comparable to the S3 or the HTC One X. The reason its battery life isn’t better than the S3 is because of its huge 5.3 inch display. The display is the most power hungry component in any smart phone. It doesn’t matter if you are using Wi-Fi or not, if Bluetooth is on or off, or if you have the GPS enabled, whatever you do on your phone (other than listen to music) you need to use the display, and that takes power. The rumors are that Samsung is preparing the Galaxy Note 2 with a even bigger display (possibly 5.5 inches) and it is hoped that Samsung will include a bigger battery, maybe even a 3000mAh one.

So what is the problem? It really is a bit of a mystery. The phone manufacturers are busy adding more features to phones, quad core CPUs, better cameras, larger screens, higher resolutions, but where is the push to add more battery life? The problem shouldn’t be cost related as a 1600mAh battery costs around $5 where as a 4000mAh battery costs $10. So adding $5 to the bill of materials for a bigger battery isn’t a problem, especially when compared to the cost of the display or flash memory. Could weight be a problem? Since phones are designed to be mobile it is conceivable that some manufacturers are concerned about overall weight. But even adding a battery with an extra 500mAh shouldn’t make the device unreasonably heavy.

Is Android to blame?

Leaving the RAZR MAXX to the side, battery tests show that the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S have quite reasonable battery lives. In the same test that showed the RAZR MAXX supporting 12 hours of  Internet over Wi-Fi usage, the iPhone 4S managed 11 hours. But here is the startling thing – the iPhone 4S only has a 1432 mAh battery. That is smaller than the average Android smartphone and more than half the size of the RAZR MAXX’s battery. Could it be that Apple have been able to tweak iOS to consume less power than Android? Is it because Apple own their own ARM chip design team and the chips are made exactly as they want them, rather than having to use off the shelf parts form the likes of Qualcomm or NVIDA?

Anandtech

Or could it just be screen size? As mentioned above, bigger screens require more power. Most of the devices listed in the graphic above have 4 or 4.3 inch displays, except for the iPhone. Apple has stuck rigidly to its 3.5 inch form factor. Instead it has chosen to increase the pixel density and improve the screen resolution. But this is likely to be a huge factor in terms of battery life. Powering a 3.5 inch display for 11 hours of Internet usage requires a lot less juice than powering a 4.3 inch display for the same about of time. Is this why Apple hasn’t released a 4.3 inch phone yet?

What about sealed batteries?

One thing the RAZR MAXX and the iPhone have in common is that the battery isn’t user replacable. It is built into the device and is formed and molded to occupy the entire space available. That is how Motorola managed to keep the RAZR MAXX so thin. But many phone use more traditional batteries that can be quickly popped out by the user. Is this fear of the sealed battery stopping manufactueres from squeezing the most out of the space available?

Let me know your thoughts? Happy with your battery life or do you desperately need something better? What about sealed batteries? Do you think Android is to blame? Are Apple better at getting more from their devices? Please leave a comment below.

No related posts.


This article, Where are the long battery life superphones? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Galaxy Nexus sales ban temporarily lifted by appeals court, Apple has a week to retaliate

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:43 AM PDT

Judge Lucy Koh may have turned down Samsung's appeals on the injunction of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Nexus, but the Korean's appeal in the federal court has finally borne some favorable result for the latter. A federal appeals court has temporarily lifted the sales ban on the Galaxy Nexus, thus paving the way for Google's flagship phone to start making its way to its digital storefront once more.

Note that the battle is far from over, because Apple still can argue for the sales ban to hold in the appeals court.  Cupertino will be given until Thursday of next week to state its case in the appeals court. The hearing will then determine whether the ban should be put in place all the way, until the first trial between the two feuding tech giants is scheduled to start, which won't be until July 26.

At the heart of the banning is the alleged use of Apple's patented "unified search" feature on the Galaxy Nexus. Even without the temporary relief, Google was already planning to roll out a software update for the Nexus, which not only brings Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but also a simpler search feature to avoid the patent infringement accusation from Apple. With the release of the patch next week, the Galaxy Nexus should be able to roam free in the Google Play Store.

A quick check at Google Play reveals that the Galaxy Nexus hasn't been put back for sale. Google is probably playing it safe by waiting until it rolls out the workaround before putting the phone back online. And that's your best bet to get the Galaxy Nexus and all of its Jelly Bean goodness before things get uglier.

No related posts.


This article, Galaxy Nexus sales ban temporarily lifted by appeals court, Apple has a week to retaliate , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Oracle might have to pay $4 million for Google’s legal expenses

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:33 AM PDT

The Oracle vs Google trial was one of the biggest legal spats in the tech industry in quite a while, with Oracle standing to gain billions of dollars from Google. At least that’s what Oracle wanted us (and the judge) to believe when they filed the lawsuit against Google. Judge Alsup has repeatedly asked Oracle to drastically reduce their damages claims and patent infringement claims, even before the trial started, because he never considered that Oracle deserved to win that much, even if Google did infringe on their intellectual property.

When the trial started, the tides started to quickly turn in Google’s favor, with the judge saying that, if Oracle won, they’d only deserve around $35 million at most. That’s quite a difference from Oracle’s original claims of $6 billion in damages. At that point, many in the development community were upset with Oracle for trying to get APIs copyrighted, and it seemed that, even if Oracle had won the case, they would’ve probably lost a lot more in the long term.

Fortunately, Google won the case, and although in the US there’s no rule that the losing party has to pay the trial expenses of the other party, sometimes judges can request it, especially on a big case between corporations like this one. Google has submitted a bill for $4 million that Oracle needs to pay, and this is only for things like transcripts, documents, and the damage experts, not the actual fees they paid to the lawyers. Adding the lawyers’ fees to the bill would amount to tens of millions of dollars.

This is Google’s list of items that they say cost them $4 million:

  • In total, Google collected 97 million documents from more than 86 sources. An outside documentation services vendor, FTI Inc., searched those documents for relevant terms and converted the relevant results to TIFF images for Oracle to examine and for use at trial.
  • Google handed over more than 3.3 million documents in response to Oracle’s requests, spanning more than 20 million pages.
  • Sixty witnesses were deposed, with several deposed more than once.

If Google paid that much for their defense, I imagine that Oracle paid at least as much as well. So, again, even if Oracle won the case, they would’ve still been on the negative at the end of the trial, which makes the whole lawsuit a pretty reckless move on Oracle’s part.


This article, Oracle might have to pay $4 million for Google’s legal expenses , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Verizon locks the bootloader on its Galaxy S3 model

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:17 AM PDT

If there’s a good phone out there that doesn’t have too many flaws, and it arrives in the US, you can usually count on Verizon to ruin it.

It happened with the One series from HTC, which they made unrecognizable by turning it into the less pretty and underpowered Droid Incredible 4G LTE, which also comes a name to match its looks. The same thing is now happening with the Samsung Galaxy S3, which Verizon decided to release with a locked bootloader.

Verizon is known for consistently locking bootloaders on Motorola and HTC phones, but until recently, we weren’t sure if it’s the manufacturers or the carriers who are to blame for the policy. It was usually the manufacturers who got the backlash, though. But now, I’m starting to think that it was actually Verizon forcing their hand all along.

Carriers are even imposing certain phone designs on manufacturers, which goes to show how powerful the carriers have become in their relationship with manufacturers. The only example that I’ve seen to buck this trend lately is the Galaxy S3, which, surprisingly, managed to keep the same design across all carriers in the US. I guess Samsung didn’t win everything, which explains the locked bootloader on Verizon.

Carriers want locked bootloaders for different reasons. The main reason they will bring up is security. They don’t want phones to be hacked. But I think the actual reason why carriers want locked bootloaders is because they don’t want users to use tethering apps or other such apps that they wouldn’t normally approve on their network.

But if carriers are are genuinely worried about the customer’s security, then there are better alternatives to locking down the phone.

HTC’s model of allowing power users to unlock their phones through a webpage is a pretty good one, but I believe Google’s model for the Nexus devices provides the best compromise between security and full user access. On Nexus devices, rooting and unlocking the phone is done easily through a command sent via ADB to your phone. This approach secures the user’s data against being stolen, by wiping the phone out when the device is lost. So, if someone steals your phone (and presumably it has a PIN or lock), he won’t be able to access your data, even though rooting and unlocking the phone is very easy to do.

Samsung hasn’t recognized this “issue” yet, let alone provide tools for unlocking the Verizon Galaxy S3, like HTC does. But the guys at XDA developers are hoping to find a way to unlock and root the phone soon.

No related posts.


This article, Verizon locks the bootloader on its Galaxy S3 model , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.


Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans


Sony Xperia Ion coming to Canada exclusively through Rogers?

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 05:51 PM PDT


US residents may already be blessed with the option to purchase the Sony Xperia Ion straight from AT&T. Our Canadian neighbors are still waiting, though. And while they are used to a much more diverse and free mobile system it seems Roger may be pulling an American move on them. The Sony Xperia Ion could be coming exclusively, via Rogers.

At least that is what Mobile Syrup’s leaked document claims with the following sentence:

“We are pleased to announce the device will be coming soon exclusively to Rogers.”

We still do not know any other details for our Canadian friends, and we must consider this is still a rumor. The document does seem to have a bit of a discrepancy, as the first sentence states that an announcement would be coming on July 3rd. July 7th is almost over and still no news.

Grain of salt, friends. Don’t forget the grain of salt.

[Via: Mobile Syrup]


Did Google fail to impress Google TV fans at IO 2012?

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:49 PM PDT


Android fans were short of breath at this Google IO’s keynotes. What is not to love? We got some Android 4.1 Jelly Bean goodness, the $200 Nexus 7 and the Nexus Q were announced and the Google Glass announcements were one hell of a show (with skydivers, bikers and all). But Google forgot about one very important thing at Google IO, and apparently, so did we (surrounded by so much hype). There was no mention of anything related to Google TV.

The Search Giant’s smart TV platform saw its birth during 2010 and its fall seems to be coming much sooner than we expected. We have been hoping for Google’s epic return in this department, but that seems rather unlikely as Google did not even speak about where Google TV stands, and its future, during any of the keynotes. This makes many of us feel like Google is slowly, but surely, abandoning Google TV.

We know the platform is not dead yet. Manufacturers are releasing better and more affordable products. Like Sony’s and Vizio’s newest, affordable options. Plus Google has announced that the Play Store for Google TV will receive a significant update this year.

With that in mind, we know this platform isn’t being let out to die. But why did Google not at least say something, or even acknowledge its existence? A simple “we have some great plans, so stay tuned” would have been enough to let us know that the company still cares.

Instead, all the advertising and hype is mostly being carried out by the manufacturers. This may be a huge reason why some partners are feeling wary of investing too much in it. Not to mention developers, and of course customers.

Google had the opportunity to try to boost Google TV during one of its keynotes, and the sad fact is they did not. Why not give away a $99 Vizio Google TV box to attendees? Or a Sony one? We are sure many attendees would have preferred it over the Samsung Chromebox. Maybe talk a little bit about that Play Store update?

As Google/Android fans, we have high hopes for Google TV. It is a fun platform with much potential, while it has its flaws. It definitely deserves much more than a few developer sessions and some apps being featured at the sandbox.

But instead of complaining too much, we would like to see what you think. After all, you (the customer) is the most important factor here. Do you believe Google should have squeezed in at least a few minutes to give some love to Google TV fans? What else could Google do to bring the platform up? Do you think they are simply giving up on it?

[GTV Source]


Rovio planning next game, turns things around by playing on the pigs’ side – Angry Pigs? [Rumor]

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 04:02 PM PDT


Rovio must have broken some kind of record by now. The developer has created what is easily the most popular mobile game of history and has managed to stay relevant for about 2.5 years now. But there is only so much Rovio can do with its birdies, right? Well it seems like it, as the latest rumors indicate the next game will have you playing the pigs’ side.

According to Pocket-Lint’s sources, Rovio is planning to release a game in which those pesky green pigs are the stars. Of course, there are some of us that always wonder why everyone hates the pigs so much. After all, we make bacon out of them – does that make us worst?

Either way, it seems this upcoming game will have you protecting those precious stolen eggs from the birds we have all grown to love. The game will feature a variety of pigs with different abilities, as well as wooden, stone and ice blocks. All for the sake of keeping those little eggs.

The same sources state that the game will be ready before Christmas. Until then, let’s just be happy flinging good ol’ birds.

[Via: Pocket-Lint]


Weekend Poll: To Overclock Or Not To Overclock?

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 03:21 PM PDT


Rooting a device can bring many advantages to a device. Smartphones are powerful devices, and taking full control of one can highly improve its performance. A very popular way of improving a user’s experience is by overclocking, which means clocking a processor’s speed higher than the manufacturer normally allows and recommends.

Overclocking used to be much more popular with older-generation devices, as their hardware and software were not enough to provide a solid and fluid Android experience. As smartphone technology advances, this technique has become much less popular. Smartphones are now powerful enough to give a smooth performance, even with stock software and settings.

But there is no doubt overclocking still has its advantages. It usually gets rid of whatever lag there may be, and it makes games and other apps much faster and more responsive.

Overclocking definitely comes with its caveats, though. For one, it can damage your phone in the long run. There are reasons why manufacturers and SoC makers recommend that processors be clocked at certain speeds. It is the best they can perform without harming the product’s security.

In fact, not only can it damage your hardware, but also your experience. If a processor is clocked too high, the device might have many issues; such as glitches and bugs. Overheating is also a known problem, as well as random reboots. One can usually find the sweet spot, though. That clock speed that makes the device faster while stable.

We must remind you that rooting, ROMing and overclocking is not for everyone. You must be willing to do your research and take full responsibility of your actions. Tampering with a device’s guts may void your warranty and/or harm your device.

For those that are now Android-literate, though, it is a very fun way to take your device to its fullest potential. So let’s see where our readers stand! Please participate in our poll and let us know what you think in the comment section.

I have been known to root and overclock a few of my devices. This is something I have not done in a while, though. I simply no longer find the need to, as my latest devices have been polished and smooth enough.

Take Our Poll


Galaxy Nexus back on sale from the Google Play Store

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:52 PM PDT


Taking deep breaths and counting to 10 were not good enough to calm the anger and anxiety after this week’s news. After being found to infringe on Apple’s search-related patent, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was banned in the US until further notice. Google has been working on a fix and planned to put the device back on sale next week, but it seems the moment of glory has come a bit sooner than expected.

The Pure Google device is back in the Play Store and ready to be shipped in 2-3 weeks. All quirks should be fixed by then, so let’s hope everything goes smoothly this time around. For now, those that have been planning to take advantage of the new $349 price-drop should rush to the Google Play Store and get their Galaxy Nexus.

It will soon have Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, so get it while you have a chance! And for all those Verizon users: you might be getting an update soon, so stay tuned.

[Google Play Store]


[Poll] Would you help crowdfund an app?

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:22 PM PDT

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Crowdfunding has grown significantly over the last year or two, and given the degree of competition on Google Play currently, I’m certain a few developers have looked at it as a potential revenue model. We’ve already seen Kickstarter pledges help Teknision raise $66,804 for their Chameleon launcher for tablets.

I’m still a bit skeptical about crowdfunding, since I’ve had a couple of bad experiences. However, I’d love to know the general perception about it. Would you take part in crowdfunding an Android app? Put in your votes, and give us your more detailed responses in the comments.

 
Take Our Poll


Official app for the Olympics Games now available on Google Play

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:03 PM PDT

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The greatest sporting spectacle is just a few weeks away from us, and the organizers have released an Android app to help you keep track of all the events. The app is pretty comprehensive (though some data still needs to be fed in) and what I am most happy about is tablet-support. The features, as detailed on Google Play, are:

Results: Covering all events for the 36 sports for the Olympics and 21 sports for the Paralympics.

Live Schedule: Follow the latest sporting Olympic events that are currently in progress. View results in real-time and share with your friends. View live updates: news, photos and social commentary from the Games.

Calendar Schedule: View day-by-day which sporting events are taking place in the Olympic schedule. Set favourites or reminders to create a personalised selection tailored for you.

Sports: View details of each of the sports; all the latest results, latest news, latest pictures and background information including football, swimming and track.

Medals: View the overall Olympic medal count as they are awarded throughout the Games – by country, by individual and by sport. Learn more about the medals.

Athletes: View all the participating athletes and review their details and current Olympic standings for London 2012. Use the sophisticated search tool to personalise your experience and follow the performance of your favourite athletes.

My Games: Follow any participating country and receive news and updates tailored to your needs. Manage your favourites, reminders and settings. Stay informed: set up notifications and alerts to keep you posted throughout the Games.

The “Presented by Samsung” indicator on the splash screen, and a Galaxy S III ad I spotted makes me believe they might have developed the app themselves as part of their sponsorship, though I can’t be certain of it. What I would love to know, though, is whether similar Samsung ads would be shown on the iOS version, too.


Remember that S III that exploded? Yeah, the owner’s friend kinda put it in a microwave before

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 10:35 AM PDT

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You might have heard of the Samsung Galaxy S III that quite randomly (or so we thought) exploded in Ireland. The damage was quite extensive, and did worry at least a person or two about the phone. Let’s face it, nobody likes stuff exploding on a whim.

However, Samsung hired a team to investigate into the claims of the user, and it turns out that the phone actually cause was a little more… human (I was going for stupid there, but opted for the synonym). The phone apparently suffered some water damage, and the owner’s friend put it in a microwave. The heat generated caused the issue, and the owner has retracted his earlier statement.

If anyone happens to be a member on boards.ie, where the owner made the claim, then I urge you make a suggestion to him to follow Phandroid (and request him to forward the message to his friends). If he had, he might have come across my experience with water damage which, even if not successful, would at least not have led to what happened with him.

[Samsung Tomorrow via The Verge]


ASUS tweets upcoming covers to protect your Nexus 7

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 09:10 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

With the shipments of the Nexus 7 tablet almost upon us, I’m certain quite a few of you who pre-ordered the device have been looking around at how to protect your new toy. ASUS tweeted the image above, showcasing their offerings. There’s no information regarding pricing or availability.

Have any preference from the above? If I do end up buying the tablet, I’ll probably get the orange one.

[via Twitter]


Google claims $4 million legal fees from Oracle

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:42 AM PDT

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If you’ve been following the Oracle vs Google case, you might remember that at the time of coming to a $0 damages agreement, the Judge provided Google’s representatives 14 days to file their claim for recouping legal fees from Oracle. We now know the sum they want, and it’s a biggy: $4 million. The entire sum has been broken down by at Electronista.

$2.9 million for organization of copied court-necessary documents, $143,341 for transcript services, and $986,978 for compensation of the court-appointed experts.

Oracle had stated earlier that they would contest any claims, and this is in no way the last we’ve heard of this case anyway. Oracle will be appealing certain parts of the final ruling, and they seem confident to win partially at least. However, considering they initially believed that they could claim as much as $6.1 billion, I wouldn’t take that too seriously.

Since I’ve got next to zero understanding of the legal scene, I cannot comment on whether or not Google’s demands are likely to be met. However, I can’t deny that I hope Oracle is made to pay up. The case has already set a precedent when it comes to the determining that APIs cannot be copyrighted. If Oracle is forced to part with that large a sum, it could deter similar frivolous lawsuits in the future, and we’ve seen far too many of them.

[via Electronista]


Verizon Galaxy S III comes with a locked bootloader, Rootzwiki has you covered

Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:06 AM PDT

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Verizon might have thrilled several of their customers who pre-ordered the Samsung Galaxy S III by delivering the devices almost a week early, but unfortunately for those looking to root the device, the phone carries with it a dark secret: a locked bootloader. Considering all other carrier versions are easy-to-root, and historically Samsung doesn’t tend to do so, it’s quite clear that the decision came from Verizon.

However, if a developer’s claims on Rootzwiki were to be true, it might turn out that Verizon’s efforts to close down the device have already gone down the drain. Personally, I would just head to another network if it were an option. If you can’t, and want to root your new S III, then as always: do so at your own risk. And thank the original developer.

Thanks, Jason.

[via Engadget]


Must Watch: Retro 16-Bit Inspired Android Cartoons From Google IO Session [Video]

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 08:09 PM PDT

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Yesterday, I came across an interesting Google I/O session from the GoogleDevelopers’ YouTube channel. You’re right, I haven’t even the slightest clue when it comes to Android development, but I do find it weirdly peaceful to listen to sessions while I work. One of the more interesting ones I came across was the “Making Good Apps Great: More Advanced Topics for Expert Android Developers.” While eaves dropping on the video, I noticed a few familiar “bleeps and bloops” from my childhood and almost lost my sh*t at what I stumbled onto.

While introducing the 3 main techniques developers can use to build better Android apps — Invisibility, Efficiency and Reliability — each topic was introduced with a quick, 16-bit-esque Android cartoon, that was equal parts nostalgic and “epic win.” The kids still say that, right? Either way, I just wanted to share with you the old-school bitmapped cartoons that warmed my heart. Hopefully they’ll bring a smile to your face like they did mine. (Protip: pause and take a screen shot for a totally awesome/retro wallpaper for your desktop). Enjoy!

Oh, and for our developer friends out there who might have missed the session, you can watch the entire presentation here. For more on Android app development, check out Reto Meier’s blog here. The guy responsible for the amazing animations posted a blog entry along with a ton of background info, going into depth on all the easter eggs found in the clips. [IGN Pandamusk]