Android Community |
- Say goodbye to the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus
- AT&T Galaxy S IV reportedly shows up in UAProf
- Chrome Beta for Android found to be hiding a full-screen browsing mode
- Huawei MediaQ M310 Android set-top media player detailed
- PSA: Unlocking your phone is illegal starting today
- AT&T Pantech Discover Review
| Say goodbye to the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus Posted: 27 Jan 2013 11:22 AM PST With no help from Verizon Wireless it looks like one of the most promising and exciting smartphones from last year has reached the end of its life. We’re talking about the 4G LTE powered Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Verizon. Being the first “Nexus” (and I say that gently) to be available with 4G LTE and the nations largest carrier, it was a big deal. Sadly it wasn’t a big deal to Verizon and recently it took its last breath.
Not literally took its last breath, as the community, CyanogenMod, and the wave of developers will keep this epic smartphone alive for months and years to come. We mean from Verizon themselves. They never gave this handset a chance. I’m saying that right now! That sad fact aside the Galaxy Nexus has reached EOL and is no longer being offered from Big Red. Either online or in stores. Between hitting daily deal sites, and coming in and out of Verizon’s pre-owned sales page the time was slowly running out and now it has reached the end of the rope. The folks from Droid-Life are reporting the device is officially no longer available from Verizon Wireless. This is pretty bittersweet for someone like me, who still uses the device daily. Although I threw Verizon’s lack of support out the window a week after bringing it home and haven’t looked back thanks to CM9, CM10, and now Android 4.2.1 with CyanogenMod 10.1 keeping things fresh. The Verizon Galaxy Nexus was hardly a Nexus device. It never received a fair shake, and as it stands today it’s what — 3 updates behind the international model. Verizon still has us sitting on 4.1 Jelly Bean. We haven’t seen 4.1.2, let alone the latest and greatest 4.2 Jelly Bean that was announced back in October by Google. At this point we’re not really sure of its future. We do know they aren’t offering it anymore, and updates have been lacking since birth. Hopefully we see an update to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean soon — but that’s anyone’s guess at this point. It looks like the next chance to get a piece of maybe pure Google on Verizon Wireless is the much rumored upcoming Motorola X-Phone so stay tuned. What are your thoughts on the Verizon Gnex? Is yours still running strong? Mine sure is! Device Info
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| AT&T Galaxy S IV reportedly shows up in UAProf Posted: 27 Jan 2013 10:35 AM PST We still don’t know much about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S IV smartphone, but if all the leaks and rumors are accurate we should start seeing plenty of details soon. While we’ve heard nothing but rumors to this point, a new full HD smartphone has appeared in a UAProf complete with AT&T on board. Many believe this leak shows the upcoming flagship Samsung Galaxy S IV for AT&T.
Just like the Galaxy S III we can expect this new phone to arrive in the same form for all US carriers, as well as internationally. For now however, we have no idea what that design actually will be. We’ve heard plenty of rumors, seen supposed leaked press renders, and some are hoping for that curved flexible AMOLED display tech shown off at CES. While we’ll have to wait for more concrete evidence, the full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution is pretty much a given. That is needed to match the competition and what everyone else is aiming for in 2013. Today some new documents have been found by PocketNow showing what appears to be the UAProf for the AT&T Galaxy S IV. It doesn’t reveal much, but clearly we see Samsung SGH-I337 (leet) not to mention the full HD and AT&T parts.
Samsung teased their neat curved AMOLED displays at CES, but most likely we can expect to see those at a later date. However their impressive 4.99-inch 1920 x 1080p full HD 440 PPI display was also briefly mentioned. Which should make its way into this new flagship smartphone. The AT&T Galaxy S III was the SGH-I747, so the model found above is either the Galaxy S IV, or another upcoming full HD device from Samsung headed for AT&T. We’re still hopeful for an Octa-core processor and a curved display, but we’ll have to wait til March or April to finally find out. Stay tuned and hit the links below for what we know so far. [via SamMobile] |
| Chrome Beta for Android found to be hiding a full-screen browsing mode Posted: 27 Jan 2013 07:05 AM PST It seems Google may have hidden a full-screen browsing mode in the latest Chrome Beta release. Though, before anyone thinks of switching to the beta — we should point out that this seems to be more of an unintentional discovery at this point. Simply put, the latest Chrome Beta can enter a full-screen browsing mode, however there are a few things that need to be done in order to make it work. Not to mention, there are some glitches when returning after you have closed the app.
If nothing else, this does give some hope in terms of what is to come. And at the very least, the process to get the full-screen browsing enabled and running is fairly interesting. That being said, lets begin with — the full-screen is based off of what we saw come from last weeks Chrome Beta update. You will first need to launch the browser and type "chrome://flags" in the URL bar. From this point scroll down and enable the option for WebGL. This will prompt you to relaunch the browser. With the first steps completed you then head to the Boids and Buildings experiment. This one can be found by navigating here and aside from bringing the full-screen mode, we also say this is where that previously mentioned interesting part comes in to play. Boids and Buildings is described as being a “procedural city constructed and animated in realtime.” This experiment basically just creates a line drawn city. The side effect of this is the full-screen browsing. That of course is the happy sounding part of this story. The bad part includes this being a part of the Chrome Beta, an app that not everyone is going to need and/or want to run. The other side is that the full-screen is somewhat glitchy. It hasn’t caused the browser to crash or act funny per say, however it does seem to be hit or miss. In some testing we were able to get it running and have it stay running until we closed the browser. Some subsequent relaunches had the browser remain in full-screen and some had it back to normal. Bottom line here, you should now be able to full-screen browse in the latest Chrome Beta however we are unsure if it would be more accurate to describe this as a hidden feature or bug that worked out nicely. Still, if for no other reason, we suggest going through the steps and watching the Boids and Buildings experiment for a few minutes. [via Reddit] |
| Huawei MediaQ M310 Android set-top media player detailed Posted: 27 Jan 2013 06:18 AM PST Huawei unveiled the Ascend D2 smartphone during CES and we are expecting the Ascend P2 to arrive during Mobile World Congress. But lets put the smartphones aside for a moment though, because it looks as if Huawei also has plans to release a set-top media player with Android. The box is the MediaQ M310 and details have recently surfaced by way of CNX-Soft.
In addition to the M310, there is also talk of a higher-end version, the M810. So far we have yet to see anything firm that suggests a price point or a release date. Unconfirmed reports have suggested that the MediaQ M310 will debut in a few months and be priced somewhere around $80. Nothing so far in terms of pricing for the M810. Moving over to the specs for these devices, the talk is that they will be powered by a HiSilicon K3V2 ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor. They will both be running Android, however which version remains the million dollar question here. Other specs for the MediaQ M310 include 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI (in and out), a pair of USB 2.0 ports, SPDIF audio and a 3.5mm head phone jack. The graphics will be Vivante GC4000 with support for 1080p. Moving over to the M810 and the spec bumps on this one look to include 2GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and Ethernet connectivity in addition to the Wi-Fi. The M810 will also include two empty hard disk drive bays and TV tuner. All said and done, assuming the price points arrive as expected, these could be interesting devices. [via Liliputing] |
| PSA: Unlocking your phone is illegal starting today Posted: 26 Jan 2013 12:35 PM PST In case you haven’t heard, starting today it will be illegal for users to unlock their phone. Yes a device you’ve actually paid for. While this has absolutely nothing to do with root, jailbreak, and tweaking phones like we all love to in the Android Community, it’s still a shame. Thanks to some edits and tweaks made the the DMCA back in October it’s now illegal to unlock a phone without carrier consent.
For those that might be confused, let us explain. All phones come carrier locked and only are usable on the carrier you’ve purchased it through (unless bought unlocked) and usually people just use tweaks, software, or hacks to unlock them. As of today that’s an illegal act folks. That shiny iPhone 4S you bought used on eBay or Craigslist you plan to use on T-Mobile is easily unlocked, but now that’s a crime. This is a large scenario because T-Mobile doesn’t offer the iPhone. The same thing happens with just about every GSM Android smartphone. The Galaxy Nexus (not Verizon’s) and all the phones on AT&T and T-Mobile work together in sorts. Being able to unlock that HTC One S and use it on AT&T with 3G HSPA+ has been something I’ve seen in the past. The edits made to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act go in act today effectively making any unlocking without exclusive carrier support and consent illegal. Getting a carrier to willingly unlock your device is like pulling teeth, so this could be a problem for many. You can always use the “I’m going out of country and want to buy a pre-paid SIM” approach, but carriers are still usually reluctant to play along. Don’t worry though guys. Unlocking our phones will still be extremely simple and this won’t effect how easy or often it happens, but you could potentially get turned in by your carrier. We have a feeling not much will change, so we’re not too concerned. There’s already a few petitions going around to change this outrageous law so stay tuned for more details. [via SlashGear] |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2013 11:55 AM PST Today we have a new phone from the folks at Pantech to share with everyone. They’re usually known for their low priced cheapo phones but the new and improved Pantech Discover looks to shake them of that reputation. This device comes with a 4.8-inch HD screen and more than enough power under the hood to get the job done. All of that is just $49 from AT&T too. Read on for our full rundown on why this could be one of the best budget handsets on the market.
Hardware Made of a durable lightweight aluminum and hard plastic the build quality is by far one of Pantech’s best yet. They’ve added stereo speakers and one of the better cameras I’ve seen in anything under $200. This enjoys a 12.6 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front for video chat and self portraits. 1080p video was actually rather decent (as was the sound) and you can see more on that below. Under the hood we have a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1GB of RAM to keep things smooth, 16GB of internal storage and micro-SD for added options, then one of the only downsides is the 2,100 mAh battery could be a bit bigger.
With on-screen navigation buttons, a thin bezel, and a sleek and thin profile this phone actually feels smaller than a 4.8-inch handset like the Galaxy S III. Phones will smaller screens like the 4.5-inch RAZR HD are actually larger in size, so Pantech gets added points for that. To take you around the hardware we have micro-USB on bottom, the volume up/down rocker to the left and a stereo speaker grill. Up top is the 3.5mm headphone jack and a nicely placed power button. Then the right edge is graced with the second quality sounding stereo speaker. It looks odd from the side but this handset is actually really clean and sharp looking. I’m diggin in.       Overall the hardware is extremely well built for Pantech, especially for a $50 device, and had no issues or creaks from our limited time with the phone. In general Pantech’s certainly stepped up their game and we hope more like it are coming soon. Software
Pantech’s added some great value and nice UI improvements to enhance usage, but their skin could use some work. I might have been a bit harsh above. It’s certainly manageable and decent to work with but we’ve seen better. Their colors were odd with different shades of Grey (no 50 shades of Grey jokes please) Orange, some occasional teal greens and more. It doesn’t feel very uniform would be a good way to describe it. That aside, they have pup-up play features for dual-screen video watching, or note taking. They’ve added multiple shortcuts for extra icons on the app drawer, and the same shortcut icons are on the bottom of the web browser. Here’s the pop-up feature we mentioned:
You can move it wherever you’d like but sadly we can’t re-size it. If they enable resizing with the Jelly Bean update, we’d really be happy. We have the usual AT&T bloatware everywhere, and they even have their own folder full of bloatware apps right on the home screen. Delete that right away. Here’s some screenshots of the UI for a better idea of what to expect.       Another unique and nice idea is the notification bar. We have the usual quick toggles, but an advanced screen can be opened for more settings and options. Sadly the button to open that or clear notifications are too close together and I found myself hitting the wrong one. Same thing can be said about the settings button. It’s oddly shaped and crammed up top and hard to hit at times. I don’t want to focus so much to do simple tasks. Is that too much to ask? In the end the software is quick, stable, fluid, and runs surprisingly well being Ice Cream Sandwich riddled with an overlay on top. The video below will give you a better idea of hardware, software, and everything else so take a peek. Benchmarks
Performance was swift and speedy, and an update to Android 4.1 (or hopefully 4.2) Jelly Bean should improve the overall usage, but we had no complaints from day to day. AT&T 4G LTE Speedtest
Camera We snapped a few photos throughout the house and outside with this overcast weather and rain in Vegas, but images turned out crisp and not too grainy. Low light could use some help, but otherwise this will handle daily pictures and your average quick shot with ease.       Phone & Speakers
Using the actual phone function – yes like for phone calls – the Pantech Discover was pretty stellar. The earpiece was loud and crisp, almost too loud, and of course speakerphone was top notch. AT&T call quality is always good so we had no complaints. For $49.99 this is as well rounded as it gets. Battery life
Wrap-Up AT&T does have the HTC One X which offers a similar package, better display, and a UI that certainly has a little extra polish around the edges with Sense UI. Or you could spend the extra $100 and grab the Samsung Galaxy S III. To end we’d have to say you’ll need to hit a store and see for yourself. If you’re on a budget and want one of the best phones for the price, the Pantech Discover is it. If you can manage a little extra surely go with another option, but for $49.99 this can’t be beat. We’ll say it again. For $49.99 the Pantech Discover is as well rounded as it gets! Enjoy the rest of the pictures below.             Device Info
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