Monday, December 3, 2012

Android Authority

Android Authority


Samsung Mobile Beam Projector spotted online, only available in Korea for now

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:23 AM PST

Samsung's Galaxy Beam smartphone/pico projector didn't quite take off, but if you're still on the prowl for a light, portable and elegant slideshow assistant, we might have something for you.

Granted, the newly found solution is not as innovative and original as a phone with a built-in projector, but it does allow you to use your good ol' Galaxy S2 for some (low-quality) presentations. Meet the EAD-R10 "Mobile Beam Projector", a very cool and stylish accessory for your phones, tabs and PCs.

This can be hooked up with an MHL or HDMI cable to Galaxy smartphones, Galaxy Players, Galaxy Tabs and PCs, but, as you can imagine, you'll need those gadgets to support MHL/HDMI. The mobile projector is, as its name suggests, very portable, though we don't know its exact weight.

If we were to take a guess, we'd probably say the Mobile Beam Projector can't weigh in at more than 150 grams seeing as it's only 12.2 mm thick, 116 mm long and 60.4 mm wide. Those measurements are very close to Galaxy S3's dimensions, so carrying this around next to your phone won't be a major issue.

What you may not like very much however is what this little guy can actually do in terms of image projecting. The accessory can only display content in nHD resolution (640 x 360 pixels), while the brightness can go up to 20 lumens. Compared with the Galaxy Beam, for instance, the brightness level should be considerably higher, but the resolution is equally as disappointing, so don't be thinking about turning your living room into a high-def home theatre with only this and a phone or tab.

The 1,650 mAh built-in battery also sounds rather mediocre, being only rated at about 2 hours of continuous use. Then again, what would you have expected from such a teeny-tiny device?

All things considered, this bad boy really has its downsides, but also its upsides (versatility, functionality and "sex-appeal", to only name a few), so we're pretty bummed about the fact we're only now hearing about it. After all, if the guys over at Sam Mobile are correct, this has been available for a while already in Korea. No words yet on the Mobile Beam Projector being released outside of Asia, but fingers crossed, right?

Related Posts

LG wants to become known for their chips, plans to show first one off at CES

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 02:13 AM PST

Back in April 2011, LG issued a press release saying that they licensed ARM’s Cortex A15 CPU and ARM’s Mali-T604 GPU. If those processors sound familiar to you, then chances are you’ve read about the Exynos 5250 inside the Samsung Nexus 10 and Samsung’s ARM based Chromebook. But back to LG, according to an article published in The Korea Times, LG wants to become known for their chip design abilities. They currently have over 900 people working on designing chips for both smartphones and televisions. The company’s first chip, the H13, will be unveiled at CES 2013. The H in H13 stands for Home Entertainment, the 13 stands for the year. LG doesn’t want to make their own chips however, they’re going to leave that to TSMC, who right now makes 28 nanometer chips for just about everyone, with their most famous customer being Qualcomm.

So is this a good idea or a bad idea? LG is obviously trying to become a vertically integrated player. They make their own screens, batteries, camera sensors, so why not make their own chips? The thing is, anyone can become a fabless chip company. Samsung, arguably LG’s largest competitor, not only designs their own chips, but they make them too. Considering how few smartphones LG sells every year, and how few televisions, going fabless makes sense in the beginning, but we really hope the company starts investing in chip fabrication facilities.

We hate to spoil it for you, but the H13 will pretty much be nothing but an Exynos 5250, except it’s going to built on TSMC’s 28 nanometer technology instead of Samsung’s 32 nanometer technology. What’s Samsung’s response going to be? Rumor has it that their first quad core ARM Exynos chip will be built using 28 nanometer technology, and that it will end up in the next Galaxy S. Said phone will be out in the first half of 2013.

Again, we wish LG luck, but these days it always feels like they’re playing catch up.

Related Posts

Rumors: The Samsung Galaxy S4 is called Project J, a cheaper Note 2 is coming, the Transformer will be copied

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:49 AM PST

Rumors are a dime a dozen, so we want you to take the following article with a few fistfuls of salt. According to SamMobile, which isn’t ashamed to call themselves Samsung fanbois, here are three things Samsung is planning to launch in 2013.

One, the next Galaxy S. Their source tells them that it’s going to be announced in April and that internally the device is known as “Project J”. There are rumors flying around the internet saying it’s going to have a 1080p screen and a quad core processor under the hood, but those rumors are not from this SamMobile source. So why “Project J”? We don’t really know. We can only hope it’ll become more clear in the months ahead.

Two, Samsung wants people to fall in love with big phones, but they know people are cost conscious, so they’re going to launch a cheaper Note II. Said device will not have a stylus, it’ll be slower than the Note II, and SamMobile thinks it might even use an LCD instead of an AMOLED.

Three, the detachable screen form factor that ASUS nailed with their Transformer portfolio, Samsung is going to bet big on that. They’re going to launch a 13.3 inch tablet that uses the same basic design principles as the Transformer. It wasn’t said if this new device will run Chrome OS or Android, so feel free to speculate.

What do we think of all these rumors? The first one isn’t really important. Codenames? Who cares. The second one is really interesting, especially considering an article we published earlier today about a $200 5.3 inch Chinese smartphone. The Note II admittedly is pretty damn expensive, so we’re highly intrigued to see what Samsung can do to make monster phones more affordable. And as for the 13.3 inch tablet with a keyboard … we need more information before making a judgement call.

Related Posts

Nokia categorically denies Android smartphone rumors sparked by job ad

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:32 AM PST

Nokia Lumia 920
Remember the recently posted Nokia job ad on LinkedIn titled “Principal Software Engineer, Embedded Linux Middleware”? It sparked rumors that Nokia might be building its very own Android-flavored smartphones after all. The report was welcome news to many avid Android users and loyal Nokia fans, even though there was no official confirmation of it available anywhere–let alone from Nokia.

Fast forward to a few days later, and Nokia has finally issued a statement regarding the matter. Has it confirmed that yes, it is indeed making its own Android smartphones to compete with Samsung and HTC? According to Doug Dawson, a Nokia Media Relations person, the answer is a rather disappointing, “no.” His words, on Twitter:

Apparently, Nokia is looking for a new “Linux guy” only because it wants to introduce HERE Maps support for other platforms.

If Nokia wanted to hedge its bets, it should have done so a long time ago. But instead, it went with the Windows Phone-only route. And it seems that things aren’t going to change any time soon.

Related Posts

Samsung Canada rolls outs Jelly Bean update for Galaxy S3

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:26 AM PST

The wait for Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy S3 owners in Canada is over. Though it isn’t scheduled to come until December 3, the Android 4.1 software update has hit the handset early.

Those who run the Galaxy S3 on Telus, Rogers, Bell, Virgin Canada, and SaskTel should already see the tasty jelly treat on their phone. However, there seems to be a queue to get the update, with many users receiving the following message: "Access to the software update service is provided to users in order in which they request it. Try later."

Meanwhile, we don't think the Android 4.1 update has reached Wind Mobile and Videotron subscribers just yet. But the day is still long my friend, so there's still a good chance that you'll get to join the Jelly Bean party on the promised date.

Hit the comments below whether you've received Jelly Bean or not on your Galaxy S3.

Related Posts

Beta 2 of XBMC 12 released – Now with support for Android

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:22 AM PST

xbmc android

Looking for a new media center for your array of mobile technology? Something that has already proven itself to the masses? If you answered “Yes” to both of those questions, then you’ll be happy with what I have to say about the newly announced Beta 2 (Frodo) of XBMC. This new build not only brings many fixes over the previous beta, but you can now install its mobile version to any supported Android device!

XBMC is a much talked about open source media player that you can download for free and is compatible with Windows, Linux, and Apple. The biggest reason why it has amassed such a large user base is because of its customizable interface. The skins and add-ons available online can certainly add to the experience.

Speaking of, it is a delight to see that you can skin and customize the Android app to your liking.

Moving away from the main update, you will find a lot of work done on controller support, audio fixes, and other miscellaneous patches that you might want to check out.

If you want to take a gander at what this amazing team did for us Android lovers, head on over to their XBMC for Android compatibility list and make sure you have a supported device. If you find yourself doing a happy dance in your chair, then you are probably good to go and should download the .apk from the download page.

Remember that this is a beta and not everything has been ironed and pressed yet. You might notice that the buttons are a little too small even for average sized fingers. I wouldn’t fret though because, once the final build is released, we have full confidence that everyone will want a piece of XBMC for Android.

Related Posts

DOE to spend $120 million over 5 years to make batteries 5x bigger and 5x cheaper

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:19 AM PST

Image Credit: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

The United States Department of Energy has announced that they’re going to spend $120 million over the next 5 years to fund research into making batteries that hold 5x more energy than the ones that are out on the market today. They also intend make batteries that cost 5x cheaper. According to Computerworld, this new program will “reproduce development environments that were successfully used by Bell Laboratories in the World War II Manhattan Project that produced an atomic bomb.” Six national laboratories, five universities, and four private companies are going to get together to try and achieve these ambitious goals.

So why now? We’d like to think it’s because smartphones are popular, but it’s more complicated than that. Improvements in battery technology have been practically nonexistent for the past few decades because no one wants to invest the time and energy into making gizmos last longer. When you reframe the problem by looking at energy sustainability and manufacturing ultra clean cars, then the discussion changes completely.

Just imagine electric cars becoming mainstream because they’re finally cheaper? Or how about electric cars that can actually be used by industries that require vehicles that travel long distances? And think about soldiers who need to carry massive batteries to power their communications equipment, imagine making their load 5x lighter so they can carry either additional supplies or be more nimble?

We welcome America’s investments in this field, and we hope something similar will happen in other countries. China in particular comes to mind. If they can create not just revolutionary battery technology, but then also figure out how to mass produce it, then they’re going to put themselves in the driver’s seat of the future of the electronics industry. And what about Europe? Don’t they have scientists too? Why isn’t this a global project?

Related Posts

Carpad F7 could be the world’s cheapest 5.3 inch phone

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:03 AM PST

carpad f7 5.3 inch phone rear

$200 isn't a huge amount of money when looking to buy an off contract phone, but if you are willing to take the plunge and buy a Chinese phone, you could take home this 5.3-inch, dual-core device from Carpad.

At first glance, the Carpad looks a lot like the various Samsung Galaxy S3 clones which are making the rounds, but once in your hands and confronted with the screen you'll quickly realize this is a much larger beast! Measuring in at 149mm x 77mm and with a thickness if 9.7mm, the F7 isn't the largest phone on the market, but it could well be the largest at this price!

Obviously the main selling points for the F7 are it's price and screen size, but Carpad have also managed to bundle in a few other nice features including a dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM and 8 mega-pixel rear camera with LED flash.

As for the screen, it isn't the highest resolution display on the planet at 960 x 540, but when compared to phone of a similar price and specifications it begins to look pretty respectable. The rest of the hardware includes a 2500mAh battery, dual-sim standby, GPS, Wifi and Bluetooth.

carpad f7 5.3 inch phone front

The Carpad F7 will go on sale later this month at just over $200 (1299 Yuan) and will be available in the choice of either "Piano White" or "Marine Blue".

Related Posts

Google’s Knowledge Graph gets a shot of medicine

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:50 AM PST

google knowledge graph drugs

When struck by illness, we've all been guilty of playing doctor by relying on information that's available online to self-diagnose. Google, being the all-knowing search meister, gets enough queries on medicines and medications that it's now introducing a quicker and easier way to learn the A-Z of your favorite pharmaceutical drugs.

The next time you do a Google search on a certain prescription drug, the search results page will handily show key facts of the drug, such as its common uses, side effects, alternative names, and related medications, as well as additional in-depth resources, and more.

You don't have to worry about accuracy as the data is taken straight from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Library of Medicine, and other legit sources.

We tried to emulate the search on the picture, but it seems that the latest addition to Google's Knowledge Graph hasn't been rolled out yet – at least to this side of the world. So it's back to Mayo Clinic for most of us.

Related Posts

Samsung employee confirms the existence of the quad core Exynos 5440

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:41 AM PST

Part of the joy of being involved with open source software is being able to see a project being worked on in near real time. Kukjin Kim, who is a Senior Engineer on the Software Solution Development Team at Samsung Electronics, recently left a comment on the Linux kernel Git page that says:

“This patch adds support for EXYNOS5440 SoC which is including ARM Cortex-A15 Quad cores.”

Thanks to that one sentence, we now have confirmation that Samsung is working on a quad core ARM Cortex A15 chip that’s going to be called the Exynos 5440. We don’t really know anything else about the chip, which makes us kind of sad, but let’s speculate anyway, shall we?

First things first, we already know a lot about the Exynos 5250, the “slower” dual core variant of the Exynos 5440. It has two ARM Cortex A15 processors clocked at 1.7 GHz, it has a quad core ARM Mali-T604 GPU, and it’s built using 32 nanometer technology. Because this newly discovered Exynos 5440 is called the 5440 and not the 5450, we’re going to assume that it’s not two times as fast as the 5250. We’re also going to assume it’s not going to be built on 32 nanometer technology.

Does that mean the Exynos 5440 is going to end up inside a smartphone? Again, we can only assume. We know 1080p screens are going to be an essential feature of 2013 smartphones, and in order to drive such a high resolution display, you need a lot of horsepower. But four ARM Cortex A15 processors? That’s a bit insane, unless Samsung built said chip with 28 nanometer technology.

As you can probably tell by now, we really don’t know what to tell you. We want to say all will be revealed in Q1 2013, but even then, we’re not sure if that’s when Samsung is going to announced the Galaxy S IV.

Related Posts

Android and Me

Android and Me


Day 2: Win an ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T + Dock

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 06:10 AM PST

We’re back for Day 2 of the 25 Days of Tegra, and we’ve got another spankin’ new tablet to give away from @NVIDIATegra. More than 1,000 of you played on Day 1, getting things started off right. Here’s how it works: every day from now til Christmas, we’ll post a new...

Visit our site to read the full article.


Android Central

Android Central


Verizon Galaxy Note 2 rooted

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 02:20 PM PST

rootThe Verizon edition of the Galaxy Note 2 now has a root method.  As is par for the course with Samsung phones, you'll need to use ODIN and flash a rooted image file, but that's not nearly as difficult as it sounds. 

It's worth noting that this method introduces a couple bugs, namely a broken signal indicator (data still works, just the indicator is broken) and some folks say the phone isn't as smooth as it was with the factory image. 

These issues are both being worked on, and we imagine a rooted factory image will soon be available that keeps everything as it should be while just adding files needed for root

It's also worth mentioning that this is just root, not a custom recovery or a full bootloader unlock. Chances are someone with access will show up with files needed to rectify this, but in the meantime know that you won't be able to flash ROMs and kernels until some work-arounds are figured out.

In our own forums, DroidXcon is back and will soon have the newbie friendly version ready if you're a bit lost on some of the methods and commands used.

 We'll keep a close eye on this one, and let you know as things progress.

Source: XDA; via Android Central forums



From the Editor's Desk: Nokia doing Android, disappearing keyboards, and other quick hits

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 05:38 AM PST

Phil Nickinson

Good lord, it's December already. How did that happen? That means we've got about a month before CES in Las Vegas. For you new folks, CES is the first major event of the year, though it's definitely more focused on consumer electronics than mobile. But that doesn't mean there won't be more than enough to keep us busy.

We might still see a minor release or two this month, but more than likely we're done with the major phone announcements until 2013.

And now, for a few more quick thoughts on this fine Sunday morning ...

read more



From the experts: Debugging an Android application like a boss

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 04:04 AM PST

Developer options

Remember how you can tap things and do a little voodoo to enable developer options in Android 4.2? Most of us still won't need to enable any of these other than USB debugging, but folks who are developers have some serious tools at their disposal in there. That's why we're fine with them being hidden for more normal users. Out of sight, out of mind, and the folks who need them know where to look.

One of those folks is Romain Guy. He's an extraordinary photographer, but he's also an Android engineer at Google who focuses on graphics and animation. In short, he knows what he's doing. Turns out he's a fan of the new Falcon Twitter client, and likes it enough to notice that there might be a hiccup or two in the timeline scrolling. Software engineers are regular people for the most part, but in our imaginations they grab a cable and a laptop to investigate anything that gets them curious. This time, out imaginations are correct.

Have an excellent read of just how he uses the developer tools available to track down the issue, and see just what developers have to go through sometimes to pump out awesome Android applications. Chances are you'll only understand part of it, but that will be enough to have a better appreciation of what these guys do.

Source: curious-creature.org



Walmart Canada selling the Acer Iconia Tab A110 for $178

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 03:53 AM PST

Acer Iconia A110

Sure, it doesn't have the appeal of the Nexus 7 but the Acer Iconia Tab A110 does have some hardware additions the Nexus 7 lacks such as a microSD slot and an HDMI port. Acer started off selling the Iconia Tab A110 at a base price of $229.99 but if you're in Canada and looking for a great deal on one, your local Walmart will has them right now for only $178. For that money, you'll also get Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and Tegra 3 of course -- 8GB on board storage, 1GB of RAM, a 1024x600 display, a 3420mAh battery and finally a 2MP front facing camera. Impulse shopping at its best.

Source: Walmart Canada