Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Android Authority

Android Authority


What apps support Samsung Galaxy Note 2’s multi-window feature?

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:10 AM PDT

One of the niftiest features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is its ability to run two apps side-by-side at the same time. While not everyone has been lucky enough to see the feature on their device from the get go, a firmware update has been pushed out by Samsung to enable it. For those who are wondering just which apps support the multi-window feature, here's a list that members of XDA-Developers have compiled.

The thread starter, Lennyuk, has divided the list into Samsung Apps, Google Apps, and third-party apps. Here are the tested apps:

Samsung Apps

  • ChatON
  • E-mail
  • Gallery
  • Internet
  • Messaging
  • S Note
  • Video Player

Google Apps

  • Chrome
  • Gmail
  • Google Maps
  • Google Talk
  • YouTube

Third-party Apps

  • Facebook
  • Official Twitter app
  • Polaris Viewer

And as for a quick tip, make sure you use Samsung keyboard when you activate the multi-window feature if you don’t want the keyboard to block the bottom screen.

If you've been using other apps that support the multi-window feature on Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 10.1, and even the upcoming Japanese variant of the Galaxy S3, that are not listed up there yet, feel free to complete the list by dropping your comments below.

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Isis Mobile Wallet details leaked: ISIS SIM card, supported devices, extra credit, and more

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:31 AM PDT

The new mobile payment system backed by three carriers (AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile), dubbed as Isis Mobile Wallet, has been pushed back from its original September launch. A leaked internal memo, as attained by Tmonews (and as we've reported before,) shows that Isis will now be launched on October 22 in two cities – Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas. But the memo also reveals more details.

We now get a better glimpse of how the mobile payment solution works. In order to use Isis, you'll have to apply for a special ISIS SIM card — regardless of the carrier of choice – that contains an NFC chip. This is probably done to improve the security aspect of the system, such as the remote wallet locking feature.

Especially for T-Mobile, the NFC-based payment system will work on the Galaxy S3, Galaxy S2 (software version LH2 or newer), and Galaxy Relay 4G (LH1 or newer) for now. As for Verizon, we know at least one device on the carrier that supports Isis, the Droid Incredible 4G LTE. For your information, the app, when it becomes available on Google Play, won't work on rooted devices.

As part of the push to make Isis alluring for customers, users will get $10 when they activate Isis and an extra $15 when they "convert the Isis Cash Card to a reloadable prepaid card". While only T-Mobile and Verizon have so far confirmed the bonus, we're sure AT&T would offer something similar.

What good is yet another mobile payment system if you can't use it in most places, right? You'll be pleased to hear that you can use Isis Mobile Wallet at merchants that support Visa PayWave, MasterCard PayPass, Discover Zip, American Express, and Google Wallet.

As far as pilot project goes, launching the service in two cities is a not a terrible start. But the fact that it requires a special SIM card isn’t something that many customers will find too appealing.

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New and improved Android Developer Console launched by Google

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:27 AM PDT

Good news for all you Android developers – Google has rolled out the new version of the Android Developer Console. There's a sexy new interface that's fast to load and easy to navigate and search. You'll also find more statistics to help you analyze your app's performance and the app publishing workflow has been streamlined for clarity.

It was first shown off back at Google I/O earlier in the year, but it has been tested, tweaked, and almost perfected since then. You can log in and try it out by clicking "Try the new version" in the header. It's not quite done because multiple APK support, APK Expansion Files and announcements are not yet supported, but you can access them by clicking "Switch back" in the header to go back to the familiar old version.

Beyond the fact that it looks better and usability has been improved, the user rating analysis is probably the most interesting addition. There's a graph that can display changes in the user rating over time or help you analyze a specific day or period. You can break those all-important user ratings down by device, app version, Android version, carrier, country, or language.

You can compare old and new versions of your app before publishing, which should help catch any errors before they go out. You can also publish your app description for Google Play and have it automatically translated into 49 languages with no action required from you.

If you do check it out there's still time to help Google improve it – simply click the "Feedback" link in the header and give your impressions or suggestions. This looks like a decent update to us, what do you think? Post a comment and tell us.

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Motorola Razr M to reach Australia on October 30, now up for pre-order from Telstra

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:12 AM PDT

We're only a couple of days away of the Droid Razr HD and Maxx HD's launches, but before Moto's new flagship devices can see the light of day, the mid-range Razr M and Razr i are continuing their gradual global conquering.

We've seen the Intel-powered Razr i unveiled in UK, Brazil, France and China lately, with its Qualcomm counterpart getting the attention in the States and Japan. Now the Razr M is extending its reach to Australia too, where it should start shipping on October 30.

In the meantime, Aussie tech lovers can pre-order the device from Telstra without worrying about any upfront payment. The nation's number one carrier has the Razr M for free on 24-month contracts with four different plans.

The most affordable of these, the S plan, will have you pay $60 per month for 1GB of data, unlimited texts and $600 worth of calls, while the priciest of the bunch (XL) includes 3GB of data, unlimited texts and talk time for a monthly fee of $130.

There's no noticeable difference between the Australian Razr M's spec sheet and the phones' features in the U.S., but if you missed the Verizon Razr M introduction, here's a very quick rundown:

  • 4.3-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with 960 x 540 resolution
  • Dual-core 1.5GHz Krait CPU
  • 1GB of RAM
  • Android 4.0 ICS (upgradeable to Jelly Bean "soon")
  • 8GB of on-board storage
  • MicroSD support
  • 2,000mAh battery
  • 4G LTE

Anyone excited about the "full-screen phone" down under in Australia? Or would you rather wait and see if the Razr HD and Maxx HD will ever make their way towards you?

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Android 4.1.2 now rolling out to Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:02 AM PDT

You can accuse Motorola of a lot of things, especially in relation to ICS and Jelly Bean updates, but if there's one product that got regular software support from Google's subsidiary, that's the Xoom tablet.

Moto's 2011 flagship 10-incher has been among the first couple of devices to be treated with Jelly Bean's "butter" way back in July, and now the Wi-Fi version of the tab is getting the (much less significant) leap to Android 4.1.2 early again.

The update has been unofficially available starting yesterday, courtesy of some industrious members of the XDA forum, but now it's officially here, too. That means anyone owning a Wi-Fi only Motorola Xoom should dive in Settings – About Tablet – System Updates and have a new software package awaiting there.

If that's not the case, you should either try to find a better network connection, reboot your tablet once or twice, or simply have a little patience. If you happen to own a rooted device, you might have some trouble with getting the OTA update automatically, so here's a link where you can directly download the official firmware.

Motorola is yet to post an updated changelog, so we're unsure about the exact tweaks and customizations you should notice on your Xoom tabs, but based on what the Nexus 7 got, don't expect anything major. Just a couple of bug fixes here and there and possibly a minor bump in performance. After all, the update only weighs in at around 7 MB.

So, who’s got the update lined up already? Is there any major improvement or tweak to report?

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Asus launched the PadFone 2 in Taiwan, comparison video with the original is up

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:13 AM PDT

Right on cue, the Asus PadFone 2 has just been officially unveiled in Taipei, Taiwan. While the second launch event in Milan won't start until a couple more hours, which we believe is the one intended for the global audience, here's what we can tell you about its launch party in Asus' home country.

Starting with specs, the leaks have been pretty right on the money. The successor to the PadFone boasts the top-of-the-line 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, and a bigger 4.7-inch Super IPS+ display with 1,280 x 720 resolution.

The 13MP sensor on the rear camera, which is made by Sony, allows users to take up to 100 burst shots. There's also a 1.2MP front-facing camera to take vanity shots and for Skype-ing.

The rest of the specs include 2GB of RAM, 16/32GB/64 internal storage, 50GB of web storage, NFC, 2,140mAh battery, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Disappointed about the lack of Jelly Bean? Given its track record and the great relationship that Asus is enjoying with Google, we can expect Android 4.1 to make an appearance real soon.

As for the new PadFone Station, as we found out from the leaked press shots, it no longer has a cover for the handset unlike the first one, which gives way to a thinner and noticeably lighter (514g) tablet shell. Unfortunately, the battery capacity has also been reduced to 5,000mAh. The new PadFone Station maintains the screen size of the first one, so you'll still get a 10.1-inch IPS display with 1,280 x 800 resolution.

Here are the prices for the Asus PadFone 2 when the smartphone and tablet combo hits stores in Taiwan this week: 16GB – NT$17,990 or US$616 (16GB), 32GB – NT$19,990 or US$684, and 64GB – NT$21,901 or US$750. The PadFone Station, meanwhile, is expected to carry a price tag of NT$8,990 or US$307 on its own. If you buy the slate add-on as part of a bundle, then it's only NT$6,000 or US$210.

And as an extra, here's a video comparison between the original PadFone and PadFone 2, courtesy of Mobile Geeks.

If your heart is set on the Asus PadFone 2 and its tablet companion, you’ll want to stick around for more news of its global release and pricing details, which we expect to hear at the Milan event.

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Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Premier gets benchmarked, it’s really fast

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:08 AM PDT

Samsung is going to announce a phone later this year called the Galaxy Premier. It’s basically a Galaxy Nexus that looks like a Galaxy S III, except that the TI OMAP 4460 has been swapped out for what we think will be the dual core version of the 32 nanometer Exynos 4412. That and the camera has been improved, it’ll be 8 megapixels, just like the Galaxy S III.

Now before you go mad, yes, we completely understand that Samsung has gone insane when it comes to naming their devices, but there’s nothing we can really do to stop them. We know how crazy it sounds to have a 4 inch (GS3 Mini), 4.65 inch (GP), 4.8 inch (GS3), and 5.5 inch (GN2) version of a device that looks the same, but that’s just how this company operates.

Anyway, onto today’s news. According to SamMobile, the Galaxy Premier has been benchmarked in China of all places. It scored a little over 7700, which easily makes it an impressive device. To put that number into perspective, we have a Galaxy Nexus kicking around the office that regularly scores in the 6300 range. Samsung’s second generation Note on the other hand, that easily breaks 13000, which is just bananas.

The guys at SamMobile go on to say that the Galaxy Premier will hit store shelves in December, which isn’t too far off. Now we just want to know how much it’s going to cost. The Galaxy S III Mini will retail for about 400 Euros, while the Galaxy S III can be had for around 150 Euros more, depending on where you live. That means the Galaxy Premier is going to have to fit between that tight gap.

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What’s new on Android 4.2? Two-layer notifications [video]

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:55 AM PDT

The LG Nexus 4 and Android 4.2 seem to go hand-in-hand, mostly because Google's upcoming Nexus phone has been tipped to have an updated Jelly Bean on board. There were some duds along the way, but other signs do point to the imminent arrival of Android 4.2.

While we may not be getting a new customization center or Project Roadrunner, one thing that the latest version of Jelly Bean will have, as uncovered by Android Police, is two notification panels.

By now you should already master the art of pulling down the notification tray on your phone. In Android 4.2, as the embedded video shows, you can now pull down a second notification on top of the first one, but the second layer contains only quick settings.

It seems the implementation is not done yet, because there's only a placeholder image for it at the moment, as seen above. But the second layer of the notification menu will most likely give you quick access to WiFi, Tethering, Bluetooth, Brightness, and the likes.

The two pull down menus should help keep things neat and uncluttered. Sound off in the comments below whether you dig Google's implementation or not.

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Sprint LG Optimus G: $199 with a 2 year contract, on sale November 11th

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:40 AM PDT

LG’s new flagship phone, the Optimus G, will be available on Sprint on November 11th for $199 with a 2 year contract. Yesterday AT&T announced their pricing and availability for the Optimus G, and it’s pretty much the same: November 2nd for $199. Are there any differences between the AT&T and Sprint versions? Yes, the Sprint Optimus G has a 13 megapixel camera whereas the AT&T version has an 8 megapixel camera. Also, AT&T disables tethering by default, making you pay more for it.

Should you buy this phone? That’s hard to say since we haven’t played with one yet, but all things considered … we’d rather wait for the Nexus version of this thing. According to the rumors floating around the internets, it’ll be announced at the end of this month. We don’t have any pricing information, but it’s safe to say that it’s going to cost at least double what AT&T and Sprint charge. That’s what you get for going SIM free!

Other things that should be noted: Sprint’s network is abysmal, so if you do plan on signing your life away for two years, then do yourself and get the AT&T Optimus G. Yes, Sprint has unlimited data, but do you really want to be consuming it at less than 100 kilobits per second?

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Congressman tells the FTC to leave Google alone, does he have a point?

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:56 PM PDT

Go to Google.com, do a search for a local restaurant, and guess what’s shown first? That restaurant’s location on Google Maps. The results from Yelp are also on the first page, but buried towards the bottom. This kind of behavior, where Google prefers to shows users Google properties first instead of sending them away to another website, is what the Federal Trade Commission in the United States wants to stop. Democratic Colorado Congressman Jared Polis, who calls himself a “high-tech entrepreneur”, thinks the FTC should be careful when it comes to passing laws telling Google how to run their company. He has threatened to reduce the FTC’s power should they go ahead and bring a case against Google. How exactly will he do that? He doesn’t say.

So who’s right and who’s wrong? That really depends on your political beliefs. If you think the government shouldn’t regulate businesses, then obviously the FTC are a bunch of Fascists. If you think the government should protect the people and pass laws concerning every little detail of modern life, then you see this as wonderful news. The thing is, governments are composed of people, and people, more often than not, don’t really understand how things work.

If a competitor comes up with a better service, then what’s stopping them from becoming the next big thing? No one is actually forcing anyone to use Google. This isn’t the 90s when Microsoft put Internet Explorer in Windows and killed Netscape. Still, there’s a feeling deep within our bellies that Google has become a little bit shady by promoting their pages instead of linking to something that clearly has better information.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this story since it has the potential to blow up. Imagine for a second if the FTC made Google stop linking to Google Maps? Pretty scary.

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Android and Me

Android and Me


Video: Android 4.2 to feature second pull down panel with quick settings

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:42 PM PDT

Now that Android 4.1.2 has hit the air and revealed itself to be a rather lackluster release, you’re probably already wondering what Android 4.2 will bring to the table. We’ve taken a look at some of the changes coming to the Gmail app expected to be introduced with Android 4.2. Today,...

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Solavei offers free month of service to new members

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:06 PM PDT

Do you have an extra T-Mobile or unlocked phone laying around? Want to test out a new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that pays you to refer other customers? For the rest of the month, Solavei is offering a special promotion that makes it even easier to sign up by offering a free [...]

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Archos Gamepad gets hands on treatment in new video

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 10:53 AM PDT

Several months ago Archos announced their new Gamepad would be available in late October, and this week we get our first look at the device. Nicolas Charbonnier of ARMdevices.net got to spend some quality time with the device and uploaded a seven minute video to YouTube. We originally reported...

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Top 10 most popular Android apps from last week: Lemon Wallet, Ovo Timer, EyeEm

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 10:21 AM PDT

Every week we cover Android gaming on Wednesday, followed by Android Rookies on Thursday, and Top 10 app updates on Friday. Now every Monday we will look back and see which ones were the most crowd-pleasing among our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps among your peers from last...

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Gameloft shares developer diary for Modern Combat 4

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 08:02 AM PDT

Want an in-depth look at the most anticipated Android game for 2012? Gameloft just uploaded the first episode in a series of developer diaries for their upcoming shooter Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour. We already know the game is coming to Android this fall, but the only thing we have seen so far is a...

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Did the “Sony Nexus X” just leak out? [Update: Maybe not]

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:41 AM PDT

Did the “Sony Nexus X” just leak out? Keep in mind these things can be easily faked, but someone just uploaded a pair of pics of an unknown Sony smartphone to Picasa and tagged them “Nexus X”. We already know that a LG Nexus is in the works, but persistent rumors have...

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Softbank to buy 70% of Sprint, will provide services that U.S. citizens have never experienced

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 06:59 AM PDT

Early this morning Japan’s Softbank and Sprint announced they had entered into a series of definitive agreements in which Softbank will invest $20.1 billion in Sprint. They will form a new publicly traded entity, New Sprint, which Softbank will own approximately 70% and Sprint equity holders...

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