Android Phone Fans |
- LG: Production of the Nexus 4 proceeding as planned, Nexus 5 rumors unfounded
- Chrome Beta updated in the Play Store, brings loads of fixes and plenty of bugs
- AT&T Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro now receiving Jelly Bean update
- Sony to focus on higher-end smartphones, Xperia Z test photos and videos surface, ZL confirmed for Canada
- Minecraft: Pocket Edition 0.5.1 update to add clouds, signs, gravity for sand/gravel and more
- ClockworkMod dev working on new app called Carbon to backup and restore apps from the cloud
- Samsung display roadmap confirms 4.99-inch 1080p display, timing suggests Galaxy S4
- Sprint Kyocera Torque hits the FCC
- Nexus 4 handset en route to T-Mobile stores
- Taptalk HD leaves beta, goes on sale for $.99 today only
- Sighting in video fans the Android 4.2.2 flames
- Samsung “Godiva” SCH-i425 for Verizon shows up in GL Benchmark
- Archos GamePad coming to the United States February 2013
- Huawei to reclaim world’s thinnest smartphone status with Ascend P1 S followup
- Groupon Merchants update brings mobile credit card transactions to Android
| LG: Production of the Nexus 4 proceeding as planned, Nexus 5 rumors unfounded Posted: 14 Jan 2013 06:31 PM PST
There’s been a lot of finger pointing when it comes to the “failed” launch of the Nexus 4. You may remember the whole fiasco that involved the crashing of the Play Store on release day and many would-be Nexus 4 buyers being left out in the cold for months on end. Some placed the blame on Google for not anticipating obvious high demand by ordering enough units. Others pointed the finger at LG, saying they weren’t producing enough units to fulfill orders. Today, we’re getting LG’s side of the story and according to them… nobody’s to blame. In an interview with a Korean website, an LG official was quoted as saying Nexus 4 production proceeding “without a hitch” at their plant in Pyeongtaek and that there is no problem with supply. This is in contrast to what Google has been saying, you remember they were once quoted as saying N4 shipments from LG were “scarce and erratic.” So exactly who’s telling the truth? Well, it could be both of them. Sounds like LG is making exactly as many Nexus 4′s as they want to. Why is that? It may have something to do with the fact that LG is making so much less profit off of the Nexus 4 — offered at an extremely low $300 off-contract — when compared to their $700 flagship like the Optimus G. Couple that with plans to unveil the Optimus G2 at Mobile World Congress 2013 and things are starting to make sense. On a side note, you may have read rumors that LG and Google were teaming up again to launch a Nexus 5 to be unveiled at I/O. According to LG, these rumors are completely unfounded (of course) so don’t get your hopes up. |
| Chrome Beta updated in the Play Store, brings loads of fixes and plenty of bugs Posted: 14 Jan 2013 05:36 PM PST
If you’re one of those types that likes to be on the bleeding edge of tech, testing out buggy software and new features before they go live for the rest of us, then you might want to try out the latest Chrome Beta update. The update addresses a handful of bugs while bringing a whole new set along for the ride. Here’s what you can look forward to:
Chrome Beta version 25.0.1364.33 will be hitting the Play Store over the next few hours, so be patient if it’s not showing up for you. Once this has been fully tested, expect it to go live for the stable release of Chrome in the coming weeks. |
| AT&T Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro now receiving Jelly Bean update Posted: 14 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST
Good news if you’re the proud owner of the rough n’ tough Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro. Looks like AT&T has officially been pushing out the Jelly Bean update for the device (SGH-i547), bringing the device’s firmware all the way up to Android 4.1.1. Your SGRP should have already prompted you for the 383MB update, but if an unsuspecting parent or loved one exited it, go ahead and jump into the device’s settings to pull the update again. With Android 4.1.1, Rugby Pro owners can finally get their hands on services like Google Now and added TouchWiz improvements like:
While sales of the Rugby Pro most likely weren’t ground breaking, it’s nice to see both Samsung and AT&T still giving the device some love even 2 months after its release. Thanks, Drew! |
| Posted: 14 Jan 2013 03:21 PM PST
There’s no question when it came to Android announcements at last week’s CES 2013, Sony stole the show with the Xperia Z and ZL. A pair of high-end devices to compete with the best Samsung and even Apple have to offer, the phones combine top-of-the-line specs with solid build quality and design. We had the opportunity to play with both of them (as seen in our CES coverage here), even testing out the devices’ camera functions. Touted as one of the best in the biz, Sony’s packing a new 13MP Exmor RS sensor into each of its Z’s. Unfortunately, the devices we played with weren’t connected to WiFi, so we had no way of uploading said images and video online. No worries, it looks like some lucky fellas over at BestBoys.de were able to quickly take the devices cameras for a spin, uploading the resulting images and video (in HDR) to the interwebz. Let’s take a look at a few of ‘em:      The video and images look rather crisp and well exposed. Guess the Exmor RS sensor wasn’t all talk after all. Remember, the Sony Xperia Z and ZL are both able to crank out HDR photos and video, creating images that rival even the iPhone’s or One X. It’s this attention to hardware details that makes the Xperia Z and ZL one of the highest-end Android devices to date. Speaking of high-end, wheree Samsung and other Android OEM’s tend to blanket the market in entry-level, mid, and high-end devices, Sony could be taking a entirely different route this time around. In an interview with Cnet, Sony’s Xperia Product Manager Stephen Sneeden mentioned Sony could be forgoing lower, entry-level devices, focusing all their attention on superphones like the Xperia Z. Apparently this has more to do with brand image than anything with Sneeden saying in the interview:
In the Android space, attention is definitely a good thing. With a smaller product line to focus on, a manufacturer could — hypothetically speaking — offer more timely firmware and maintenance updates to address bugs. Sounds like a winning strategy for both Sony, and consumers if you ask me. ‘Course, I’m sure if you ask any Android manufacturer, they’ll tell you none of their devices are “entry level,” they’re simply “more affordable premium devices.” Also, as if there was any question the Sony Xperia ZL would be making its way on over to Canada it seems the official Twitter account for Xperia Canada has confirmed the device will in fact be available in Canada, although no specific date was given. Now, we just have to play the waiting game to see which US carrier will be the first to snatch up and announce either the Z or ZL here in the states. My gut is telling me AT&T with the Z, and possibly T-Mobile with the ZL but anything can happen. |
| Minecraft: Pocket Edition 0.5.1 update to add clouds, signs, gravity for sand/gravel and more Posted: 14 Jan 2013 02:31 PM PST Minecraft junkies who like to take their overly-pixelated building adventures mobile will be happy to know that the Pocket Edition of the title will soon receive a pretty nice upgrade. More features were confirmed for version 0.5.1, including gravity for sand and gravel blocks, clouds for devices with certain chipsets, signs and a tone update for the skies — they’ll now be bluer in the daytime. These are some pretty big editions. For starters, giving sand and gravel blocks the element of gravity will create new dynamics of danger for those doing some exploring. Take it from someone whose character survived a zombie riot in a cave only to have his last ounce of health taken away by sand as I tried to dig out of a cave: it’s not fun. Not at all.
Speaking of caves, it’s been confirmed that caves are being worked on, but they are causing some framerate issues on older devices. The developers may add caves as an optional feature for those who feel their device is up to task, though, so not everyone will be left out of the fun of going deep into the core of the world. That particular feature not might make it into the game until version 0.6.0 is released, though, so don’t hold your breath just yet. Minecraft: Pocket Edition still has a long way to go before it catches up to its PC and even its console counterparts, but to be a handheld title this game is shaping up to be very nice for those of us who just can’t get enough of the experience. Thankfully, Mojang has provided a demo for those who want to see what the game is all about and to see if it can run well on their devices. If you decide that you like what you see then take the plunge on the full version for $7 in the Play Store — trust me, it’s worth every pretty penny you have. [via Droid Gamers] |
| ClockworkMod dev working on new app called Carbon to backup and restore apps from the cloud Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST
If you’re a ROM flashing addict, you’re no doubt well acquainted with ROM Manager, a popular application for rooted users to quickly and easily backup and restore custom ROMs and recoveries. Looks like the developer, ClockworkMod (also known as Koushik Dutta) is back again, taking a break from some of his other great apps like DeskSMS to work on a new project dubbed Carbon (no, it’s not a Twitter app). Carbon is an app that will backup and restore applications (and all their data) for easy restoring onto new devices, or fresh ROM flashes. Sure, there are plenty of apps that do similar, but Carbon will not only backup apps to your SD card and your PC and/or cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox, but allows you to sync apps between multiple devices as well. Still very much in beta form, the app is not yet available on the Play Store, but can be downloaded from Koush’s post on Google+ for free (although it will expire after 1 week). In this early state it does require root permissions to perform backups, but the final version will be available to everyone — root or not. [via Google+] |
| Samsung display roadmap confirms 4.99-inch 1080p display, timing suggests Galaxy S4 Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:51 PM PST
Rumors of a Galaxy S4 unveiling at CES didn’t pan out, but a roadmap that surfaced during the show has provided tantalizing evidence of what we can likely expect when the next-gen phone is announced. Just about every report on the GS4 has referenced a 4.99-inch 1080p display with a pixel density of 440ppi. The existence of such a display has been confirmed and the timing of its arrival on the market matches closely the speculated launch date of the next Galaxy smartphone. The slide technically doesn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know, but it gives us enough to keep us yearning for more info on the Galaxy S4. Will the phone launch with Samsung’s freshly announced Exynos octa-core CPU? Could it gain S-Pen support? If the launch date matches the phone and the phone matches the screen, it sounds like we might be hearing more by the end of the first quarter. |
| Sprint Kyocera Torque hits the FCC Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:14 PM PST Spring is quickly approaching and Sprint knows folks will be looking for trails, mountains and hills to tackle. That’s why it’s readying a new rugged Android smartphone outfitted with 4G LTE radios. The Kyocera Torque has been rumored to come with Android 4.0 and will have a display with WVGA resolution, front and rear cameras and build specifications that might mirror military-grade handhelds.
The device has hit the FCC today, and the listing confirms the existence of NFC, something Sprint seems to be taking seriously seeing as it’s the only carrier partner Google has for Wallet. The leaked screen shot would suggest that this device will be mostly stock with the exception of some Sprint-specific pre-installed applications. There’s a thin line between “easy on the eyes” and “butt ugly” when trying to design rugged smartphones, and Kyocera looks to have straddled that line quite nicely with this device. A carbon-esque look to it just exudes confidence in its toughness, but we’ll have to see it put to the test before we can give it the “tank” seal of approval. [FCC via Unwired View] |
| Nexus 4 handset en route to T-Mobile stores Posted: 14 Jan 2013 11:51 AM PST
Earlier this month we were tipped off to T-Mobile’s plan to stock the Nexus 4 in all retail stores, giving those having a hard time finding the phone in stock perhaps their best chance yet to get their hands on the latest Google Experience device. Now TMoNews has stumbled upon a shipping manifest confirming that the Nexus 4 is indeed en route to local T-Mobile outlets. That’s the good news. The bad news? It appears most locations won’t receive a large stock to work with. The number of devices available will likely vary by store, but in this case only five Nexus 4 units are set to arrive. It is reasonable to believe that the device will sell out quickly in this instance as well. T-Mobile customers awaiting the shipment of their online orders are also reportedly receiving shipping notification. It’s taken some time but it would seem Google and LG are finally catching up on that backlog of Nexus 4 orders. [via TMoNews] |
| Taptalk HD leaves beta, goes on sale for $.99 today only Posted: 14 Jan 2013 11:31 AM PST Everyone’s favorite forum perusal app, Tapatalk, recently came to the big screen in beta form, and now it looks like the goods are ready for stable consumption. Taptalk HD has dropped its beta tag and is now available in the Google Play Store for a small fee. You can find the app for $.99 today only, but expect the price to increase at the end of this day.
We’re not sure how much the tablet version will cost after the sale expires, but it’s safe to assume that it’ll be at least as cheap as the smartphone version which currently costs $3. Tapatalk HD makes better use of screen real estate for tablets, and brings some new features that the phone version can’t currently enjoy. For starters, a gallery view will let you discover new forums and discussions by going through photos. It’s an easy and beautiful way to find something new to get into. Push notifications will alert you to private messages, new posts in subscribed forums and more as soon as it happens. The app got off to a decent start with a 4-star rating on 127 reviews, so it should be a safe bet to spend the $1 they’re asking for as of the time of this writing. Give it a try and see if it becomes yet another killer app for your tablet in a sea of many. |
| Sighting in video fans the Android 4.2.2 flames Posted: 14 Jan 2013 10:29 AM PST
The next update to Android Jelly Bean is no doubt in the works, but it may already be in the wild. That’s what a video from Czech site SmartMania.cz suggests. During a video overview of the Nexus 4, a look at the “About phone” section of the Settings menu (seen at 6:30 in the clip) quite clearly shows Android 4.2.2 as the software version. The brief spotting is glossed over, the rest of the video serving only to highlight elements of the Android 4.2 OS that we are already familiar with. This either suggests that somehow the Android version shown in the clip is off or inaccurate, or that Android 4.2.2 will be a quite small update bringing along the sort of behind-the-scenes tweaks and fixes that there isn’t much fuss to be made about. If the latter is true, it would seem Google has already started pushing the update (or it’s shipping out of the box for newer hardware). We await confirmation either way. [via Engadget] |
| Samsung “Godiva” SCH-i425 for Verizon shows up in GL Benchmark Posted: 14 Jan 2013 09:52 AM PST It appears Samsung and Verizon are teaming up on yet another mid-range device as a new handset has hit the results database of GL Benchmark. It’s being called the “Godiva,” and its model number is SCH-i425. That model number suggests this is another entry into the Stratosphere lineup as the previous devices were the SCH-i405 and SCH-i415. Should that be the case, we could be looking at another QWERTY device, and while that sort of form factor is a bit taboo in this day and age Verizon and Samsung probably feel that there’s still a market for a full physical keyboard. Most users get along quite fine with touch-screen keyboards, but if you can avoid alienating that stubborn group of folks who just can’t give up tactile feedback then you should.
The Samsung Stratosphere line has never introduced cutting edge hardware for the time of each installment, but the devices still tend to provide very nice performance at some very nice prices. We would be surprised if this thing had anything less than a dual-core chipset (early murmurs are saying 1.4GHz with Adreno 305) with 1GB of RAM, LTE and a 4.3 inch display and HD resolution, but for now it’s just a guessing game as the GLBenchmark result doesn’t provide much in the way of specs. More substantial evidence in the future should paint a more clear picture than the one we have now. As for when to expect the device, we most likely will have to wait until Q2 for a release, but the Samsung Galaxy S4 might be enticing us with an irresistible package by the time that rolls around. What do you think we’ll be seeing out of this bad boy? [via PhoneArena] |
| Archos GamePad coming to the United States February 2013 Posted: 14 Jan 2013 08:33 AM PST Our friends in Europe have been enjoying the Archos GamePad since December, but Archos wasn’t interested in letting us US folks in on the fun at the same time. Heck, the company didn’t even give a peep as to when we might be seeing the gaming tablet in the United States at CES. We knew it’d be Q1, but had no clue which month to expect it.
Thankfully, an Archos rep at CES confirmed the release window for the device here in the States. We shouldn’t be going past February without seeing this device hit retailers, he says, and the price should be around $170. For that price, you’ll be getting a 7 inch 1024×600 display flanked by your standard affair of game controls. These controls can be mapped using an app that will come pre-installed on the device. Internal specs include a 1.6GHz dual-core processor with a quad-core GPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. It should be powerful enough to run most games without any issues, but we won’t know until we try it out with games not totally optimized for Archos’ hardware. Some users might be more inclined to go with a standalone tablet and pair it with a Bluetooth game controller for the sake of flexibility, but this is a nice, inexpensive package for anyone looking for little more than something to get their game on with. We’ll be looking to get a more refined date from Archos as we get closer to February. |
| Huawei to reclaim world’s thinnest smartphone status with Ascend P1 S followup Posted: 14 Jan 2013 08:13 AM PST
There were plenty of companies parading around super slim handsets at CES, including Alcatel, whose One Touch Idol Ultra was declared the thinnest smartphone in the world. The Ultra Idol measures in at 6.45mm, but Huawei’s Richard Yu is promising we will see an even thinner device at Mobile World Congress. Naturally, the phone will be the followup to last year’s Huawei Ascend P1 S, the phone that once held the title of world’s thinnest. What might logically be dubbed the Huaweid Ascend P2 S looks to reclaim the crown. Yu also says to expect an octa-core processor in the near future. We’d act surprised, but after Huawei dropped their own in-house quad-core chip at last year’s MWV, nothing is out of the question. Will the eight core technology be married to the ultra-thin Ascend P1 followup? That’s left for speculation. [via Engadget] |
| Groupon Merchants update brings mobile credit card transactions to Android Posted: 14 Jan 2013 07:33 AM PST With entities like Square and Paypal taking over the mobile payments scene it’s hard for new competitors to break in, but Groupon is looking to improve its chances by bringing Groupon Payments to its Groupon Merchants app for Android. The service allows merchants to accept credit card payments in an easy and secure fashion through the use of a 3.5mm-based card swiper. The service can be activated within a matter of minutes via your Android device, and aside from the big feature discussed above users can also look forward to improved analytic data, namely the ability to view live transaction history, check daily sales reports, track deposits to external bank accounts and analyze revenue trends.
Groupon Merchants users are subject to a charge of 15 cents plus 1.8% (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) or 3% (American Express) of the bill for each transaction made, standard rates for a service like this. You’ll be paying for the convenience of being able to accept payments with a mobile device, something that’s oft-desired for many different types of businesses (food truck owners, rejoice!). Of course, as we mentioned before, Square and PayPal offer competitive rates and advantages of their own so if you haven’t already settled on a service then these three are worth putting head to head in order to carefully scrutinize the advantages and disadvantages of each. Head here for more information on Groupon Merchants and see if it’s right for you and your needs. Read on for full press details.
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