Android Phone Fans |
- Android Overload: Galaxy Camera gets significant update, Droid RAZR Maxx HD for $99, LG Optimus G Pro and more
- Display calibration – Sony’s next step in smartphone technology
- Will Kim Dotcom’s Mega cloud storage service destroy the competition? [POLL]
- Review: $5 Poetic Palette case for the HTC Droid DNA [VIDEO]
- Watch your Nexus 7 boot up with this Phandroid boot animation! [VIDEO]
- Android Overload: Jelly Bean now available for Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2, LG Optimus G sells 1 million units, and more
| Posted: 19 Jan 2013 05:51 PM PST
Welcome to your Android Overload, where we bring you all the stories that didn’t make it to our homepage! These are still worth a read, so make sure you get your Android fix before you head out the door for your weekend adventures. First things first, guys.
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| Display calibration – Sony’s next step in smartphone technology Posted: 19 Jan 2013 04:42 PM PST
Smartphone displays can’t get much better at this point. Full HD resolution screens are becoming a standard and there is a type of display for everyone, but many times the phone you want doesn’t have the type of display you prefer. Sacrificing your favorite display type for better specs/features is simply necessary sometimes, but Sony is here to revolutionize the way we look at this. All displays have their pros and cons. AMOLEDs are known for deep blacks and saturated colors while LCDs are known for realistic colors (and better viewing angles). Until now, though, no Android smartphone has given us the option to calibrate the screen. Some Samsung devices will allow you to adjust saturation, but that’s about it. The Japanese manufacturer will be the first to bring us full-featured screen calibration with the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL.
Different displays technologies will still have their clear separations, but at least we will be able to get them closer to what we prefer. Imagine being able to make colors brighter on an LCD screen to make it look more like a Super AMOLED (or vice versa). Or what about darker blacks? Or whiter whites? Manufacturers need to understand not all of us like their optimal screen settings. It’s the same reason why I never want my TVs to be professionally calibrated. I don’t like those “realistic” images. I want blacks to be dark… and colors to be bright and pop out. I even like that “soap opera” effect that makes movies look weird to others. Many call my TV settings surreal, but that is the way I enjoy TV and I am glad no TV manufacturer is forcing me to use their settings. Smartphone displays are no different, and this is why I tend to lean towards AMOLED displays. I know I would be more likely to purchase a non-AMOLED smartphone if I could calibrate it to my will. I am also sure many of you wouldn’t avoid AMOLED so much if you could change the way it looks. This might partially be a rant, but it is a very valid one. How can we claim our OS is the most flexible when we can’t customize the display itself? Props to Sony for making it happen. I hope more manufacturers start giving us this option – do you? [via secafe] |
| Will Kim Dotcom’s Mega cloud storage service destroy the competition? [POLL] Posted: 19 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST
Are you willing to trust Kim Dotcom again? This is a question we ask ourselves today as Mega is released to the public. MegaUpload’s revival brings a completely new philosophy in mind. In comes Mega, a cloud storage service that has turned into a tornado within the first hours of after its launch. Competitive pricing and privacy have turned Kim’s legacy upside down – from a defeated empire in technology to a rising behemoth. Could it be Google Drive, Dropbox and the like have something to worry about? Well, let’s look at the prices first. Mega Cloud Storage Pricing OptionsWe won’t go into too much detail about this, but Mega’s prices destroy the competition. Google Drive’s 2 TB plan goes for $99.99, 5 times the price Dotcom is offering. In comparison, Dropbox’ price for the 500 GB plan costs $49.99 a month. Again, 5 times more expensive than Mega. And by the way, there are no file size limitations. Sure, there are no apps or computer programs yet, but this product is in its beta stage. Hundreds of thousands of users have signed up in just a few hours. Servers are overloaded. There is definitely a demand for Mega, and all of those apps and features will be coming soon, guys. There is simply no competition here. No other major cloud storage service offers such prices, or 50 GB of storage for free subscribers. But there is much more you guys are probably worried about. Kim Dotcom’s reputation is to follow him, probably to his grave.
All files are encrypted during the uploading process and they can only be shared via a link (sounds familiar?). Files will be readily available only to those you give access to. Mega is, in essence, pretty much another cloud storage service. Except with killer prices. Mega simply gives you the space. It is yours. If copyrighted materials are somehow pirated, responsibility will fall under the host (but even that is hard to come by, as files are encrypted). This one is really looking to be a winner. Anybody can now sign up and beta test Mega for free at mega.co.nz/#start. But we would like to know how you guys feel about this. Do you trust Kim Dotcom with your files after what happened a year ago? Do you think this is a great way for Kim Dotcom to take his empire back? Let us know! [Source: Mega Via: ChromeSpot] |
| Review: $5 Poetic Palette case for the HTC Droid DNA [VIDEO] Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:12 AM PST
The brand is Poetic and the product is their Palette case for the HTC Droid DNA (my latest Android daily driver). You may have seen this brand before thanks to their super cheap $5 Nexus 4 case found on Amazon. Reading positive reviews on that case, I was optimistic about their case for the DNA. Taking a look at the case in-box, everything checked out. The box itself was of nice quality (featuring nice little knife accents along the front and back). Even after inspecting the case after removing it from the box everything checked out. The case is made of a simple piece of plastic, coated in a nice soft touch finish. What could possibly go wrong? Sure there were some blemishes along the edge but let’s remember — this is a $5 case. I can’t even buy #5 combo at McDonald’s for that price.
Finally, I slipped my phone into the case and lo and behold… the damn thing doesn’t fit. Well, let me rephrase that — the phone fits into the case just fine, it’s the case doesn’t really fit the phone very well. The case has the grip of a 6 month old baby and there’s a noticeable amount of “give” when pressing the phone into the case. It’s almost as if this case was made for a slightly thicker HTC DNA or one already wearing a case (double case protection?).
In any case, I am disappoint and I felt the need to share with everyone here so that they wont be duped by the same case. Again, I hear good things about their bumper case for the Nexus 4 and maybe I just received a bad batch. Had the case fit my DNA properly, I’d be raving about it. Especially for only $5. I’ve reached out to Poetic to see if mine was simply a defective unit. Will update this post once I hear more. |
| Watch your Nexus 7 boot up with this Phandroid boot animation! [VIDEO] Posted: 19 Jan 2013 09:00 AM PST Looking for a cool new boot animation to apply to your Nexus 7? Why not wake your device up with the Phandroid logo giving you a nice big smile? “AFAinHD” from XDA created the boot animation using our winking little friend you see at the top of our site every day, and I must say that it’s quite nice. Considering we caught a lot of flack for having the winking eye on the wrong side of the face in our previous logo, the error in this boot animation caught my eye right away. Perhaps it was an intentional way of paying homage to our blunder of yesteryear, but it does have a bit of charm to it and we don’t mind it one bit! This download link will net you all of the files you’ll need to get started, and this XDA thread will have all the instructions you need to apply the boot animation (and a nice selection of other boot animations) if you feel like showing Phandroid some love on your Nexus 7. If you happen to adapt the boot animation to other devices be sure to let us know in the comments section below and we’ll update this post with any more that happen to be floating about! [Thanks John!] |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2013 08:08 PM PST
The Android Overload is where we stash all of the stories/articles/news bits that didn't make it onto our front page from throughout the day. But just because they weren't featured, doesn't mean they aren't worth taking a look at. In fact, there's almost always a little something here for everyone. So, take a look around and let us know if you find anything of interest.
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