Android Community |
- Samsung GALAXY S 4 doubles iPhone 5′s benchmark scores
- T-Mobile March 26th event to highlight major changes
- Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue spec sheet leaks
- Samsung GALAXY S 4 will be Qi wireless charging compatible
- Gmail for Android update adds reply and archive from notifications
- Motorola DROID 4 Jelly Bean update coming soon [Updated]
- FCC cracks down on political related robocalls
- Google to combine all its chat services under Babble
- Motorola device codenames leak as the Ghost, Yeti and Sasquatch
- ASUS rumored to preview new Nexus 7 in May, new phone in June
- HTC One for Verizon Wireless may not be happening
- Android 5.0 prematurely outed by Galaxy Note II tipster
- Google Keep details surface, shows signs of being a note app for Drive
- Purple Samsung Galaxy S III may be heading our way
- AT&T goes big with Mobile Share data plans up to 50GB
- T-Mobile to finally launch 4G LTE network this month
- Google Maps now showing some of the world’s tallest mountains
- T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II receives major LTE/Jelly Bean update
- Rockchip RK3188 devices running Android 4.1 get rooted
- Micromax Bolt A51 Android 2.3 smartphone breaks cover
| Samsung GALAXY S 4 doubles iPhone 5′s benchmark scores Posted: 18 Mar 2013 03:12 PM PDT There’s no doubt that the Samsung GALAXY S 4 is the most highly anticipated phones of the year, but how does it compare to the other phones on the market? Primate Labs decided to answer that question by performing a series of benchmarks. They benchmarked the Samsung Galaxy S 4, HTC One, LG Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy S III (international and United States versions), Blackberry Z10, and of course the iPhone 5.
Primate Labs used the Geekbench 2 app to do the benchmarking. The results stated the obvious that the Samsung GALAXY S 4 would be the best out of the competition. It scored a 3163 on its benchmarks. Coming in second place is HTC’s flagship phone, the HTC One with a score of 2687. LG’s Nexus 4 follows in 3rd place with a still impressive 2040 score. 4th place belongs to the international version of the S III, with a score of 1717. What’s surprising is the iPhone 5 actually came in at 5th place (pretty ironic), with a score of 1596, nearly half the score of the S 4. The Blackberry Z10 comes in at 1480, and the U.S. version of the S III comes in last with 1410.
This benchmark was done with the United States version of the Samsung GALAXY S 4 and its 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. It’ll be very interesting to see how much more the international version of the S4 and its Exynos 5 Octa processor will dominate the competition. To be fair, the iPhone 5 is about half a year old, but it’s still surprising to see the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S III beat it. Smartphones have come a very long way. It’s only been a year, but the Samsung GALAXY S 4′s score is more than twice that of the U.S. Samsung Galaxy S III. It also shows how much technology has advanced since the first Geekbench score of 130 on the original iPhone. The Samsung GALAXY S 4 is expected to roll out to several markets by the end of April. It features great specs like a 5-inch Full HD display, and a 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. While the specs are amazing, most of its strengths lie in its improved software. [via Primate Labs] Device Info
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| T-Mobile March 26th event to highlight major changes Posted: 18 Mar 2013 02:36 PM PDT T-Mobile is set to hold an event on March 26th in New York. T-Mobile will be making a lot of huge announcements at the events, many of which we have already heard about. We know that T-Mobile is planning on getting rid of phone subsidies, contracts, overages, and more. You can pay for your new smartphone in installments over the course of 25 months, and there will be more simplified plans for everyone.
From the looks of it, the new plans start off at $50 for unlimited talk, text, and 500MB of data. Every additional 2GB of data is $10, or you can get unlimited data for $20. Family plans start at $80 for 2 lines, with each additional line costing $10. You can add unlimited data for each line at $20 each. Along with the announcement of the cheaper, data-filled plans, T-Mobile will also be announcing the launch of its 4G LTE network. The event is the perfect time to announce its LTE network launch, because the launch is set to take place by the end of this month. This launch cities will most likely be Las Vegas and Kansas City, however T-Mobile plans on covering 100 million people by mid-2013, and 200 million people by the end of the year. Speed tests show that users can average about 55-60Mbps on T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network. T-Mobile will also be announcing its upcoming merger with MetroPCS, which just got the greenlight from the FCC a week ago. Now all that’s left for the merger to go through is approval from the companies’ shareholders. And while this isn’t important news for all of you Android fans, T-Mobile is also expected to launch the iPhone this year, and there’s a good chance they’ll make the announcement at this event. While it doesn’t necessarily matter to us Android owners, it will help T-Mobile grab a larger share of the market place. We’ll provide you updates on the day of the event. [via All Things D] |
| Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue spec sheet leaks Posted: 18 Mar 2013 02:00 PM PDT The low-budget Android tablet market will be seeing another addition to the group. Huawei plans on releasing another low-end 7-inch tablet dubbed the Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue. The device was leaked by none other than EVLeaks. It appears that the device was certified back in February 22nd. It also appears that there may be two variants of the tablet released, although they will stay under the same name.
The specs for the Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue aren’t terrible, but not exactly high-end either. Both variants of the device will ship with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. One version of the device will have a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, and the other will ship with a similar, but faster 1.5GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor. The devices will have 7-inch displays with a mediocre 1024×600 resolution display. The devices will also have HDMI out, and apparently 3 sub-variants of the devices will be released. There will probably be WiFi-only, 3G, and 3G + WiFi versions of the tablets. The budget Huawei tablet is said to be designed for entertainment and gaming. Pricing has not been released, but given the specs and the brand, it shouldn’t break the bank. Perhaps it will be priced closely to the HP Slate 7. The HP Slate 7 will sell for only $169 and it features the same 7-inch 1024×600 resolution display, a lesser 1.6GHz dual-core processor, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. With so many low-budget tablets being released, the IDC may be correct when they said that Android tablets will dominate the tablet market share this year. These devices are on the lower-end of the spectrum, but they should work fine for casual users who just need a tablet that they can read books on or watch a few YouTube videos with. These low-budget tablets, even well priced, will most likely see a lot of competition coming from ASUS’s next-gen Nexus 7 tablet. [via EVLeaks] |
| Samsung GALAXY S 4 will be Qi wireless charging compatible Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:56 PM PDT Wireless charging was discussed in regards to the GALAXY S 4 prior to the announcement event, however we didn’t hear all that much on the night of. Not to mention, we haven’t heard much since. That thought can be put to the side though as the Wireless Power Consortium has come forward to clear things up. Simply put, yes, the GALAXY S 4 has support for wireless charging.
Specifically, the GALAXY S 4 will support the Qi Wireless Charging system. The key here, most GALAXY S 4 users will likely never take advantage of this feature because it will only be supported with an optional back battery cover and charging pad. Basically, if you want to wirelessly charge your GALAXY S 4 you will need to buy the replacement back cover and charging pad. We haven’t seen any pricing just yet, however previous wireless charging system price points are the exact reason why we believe few users will take advantage. The nice part here is that the GALAXY S 4 uses the Qi system which means there may be additional support in the future given this seems to be a standard that is being adopted. For example, select McDonald’s restaurants in Europe are now testing the system with Qi-enabled tables. We have also seen Toyota announce that the 2013 Avalon Limited will include an integrated Qi system in the center console. While these are just two limited examples, we do hope to see this pick up traction. Otherwise, it was noted that the collection of Qi products now includes more than 170 products and so far, they are the only wireless power solution that has direct integration in both flagship smartphones and automobiles. Device Info
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| Gmail for Android update adds reply and archive from notifications Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:20 PM PDT Google has rolled out the latest update for Gmail on Android. This latest update is available by way of the Google Play Store and it brings some new functionality for those running Jelly Bean. This update also brings some performance improvements for those running older flavors of Android.
Beginning first with the goodies for Jelly Bean users. These deal with the notification shade and are rather simple. They are also rather convenient. Basically, those running Android 4.1 will now be able to reply, archive or delete a message directly from the notification shade. In other words, moving forward less opening of the Gmail app will be required. The changes for those running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich include faster search. Google notes that the faster searching should also be seen when you are running offline. Ice Cream Sandwich users have also gotten some unspecified performance improvements and bug fixes. Finally, those running Android 2.2 or later also have some unspecified performance improvements. Those with Android 2.2 or later also have a new labels API available for third party app developers. All said and done, while it seems that Jelly Bean users got the best deal here, it is nice to see Google paying attention to the older versions as well. With that, those with an Android device in hand should launch the Play Store on their device and proceed to update. [via Official Gmail Blog] |
| Motorola DROID 4 Jelly Bean update coming soon [Updated] Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:20 PM PDT It turns out that the rumors we heard about the Motorola DROID 4 last week turned out to be true. DROID 4 owners, you shall be seeing an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update heading your way sometime soon. There wasn’t an exact time frame set, however Verizon Wireless already has the update support page prepared in anticipation for the roll out. So lets go into detail about what you can expect.
First off, Voice Search should bring you more accurate search results and answers. This should make hands-free operations much more easier. The notifications panel will see an update that brings in a variety of new functions for services like emails, music, media sharing, and more. You will get the Jelly Bean keyboard that brings more accurate predictions as well as Swype like messaging. And finally, the biggest update you’ll see is Google Now, which brings you up-to-date information on a variety of things such as weather, news stories, events, package shipments, and more. Jelly Bean also brings a smoother experience to Android devices thanks to Project Butter. The Android user experience is improved significantly with Jelly Bean, with a much, more lag-free experience as well as improved aesthetics. Motorola DROID 4 owners (and other Android owners) have been anticipating the Jelly Bean update for their devices for quite a while. It has been about 7 months since DROID 4 owners were updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Alongside the news of the DROID 4 receiving Jelly Bean, there is also a new speculation that Motorola will be releasing 3 more Android devices in the future. These smartphones aren’t the X-Phone, but they’re still impressive. The Motorola Ghost will have a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 720p display, and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean at launch. It will also be released on all 4 major carriers. Not much is said about the Motorola Yeti or the Motorola Sasquatch, but those devices should be heading to AT&T and will be running Android 4.2+. [Update]: Verizon Wireless has announced that the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update will begin rolling out to Motorola DROID 4 users beginning tomorrow (March 19th). The upgrade will be pushed out in phases, so keep checking periodically to see if the update has reached your phones. [via Verizon Wireless] |
| FCC cracks down on political related robocalls Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:56 PM PDT While politics can be a touchy subject for some, we think most will agree that unsolicited political robocalls may be amongst the most unwelcome of all robocalls. And on that note, it looks like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently begun to crack the whip. Specifically, the FCC has cited two marketing companies for making millions of illegal robocalls.
These calls were for both sides, the Republican and Democrat and were made to mobile phones over the course of two years, 2011 and 2012. As one would expect, both firms have been ordered to stop. The key here, as pointed out by NBC News, is that political robocalls “are allowed to most landline telephone numbers if certain rules are followed.” Mobile devices on the other hand are not allowed unless the person receiving the call has given prior permission. Well, that or the call is being made for an emergency situation. According to the FCC, “consumers have increasingly been sounding the alarm on robocalls.” And in this particular case, the FCC has cited Dialing Services of Roswell, New Mexico and Democratic Dialing of Aurora, Colorado. As part of the investigation the FCC spoke with 20 people who had received these calls — none of which had given permission. At this point these look to be citations only. Michele Ellison, chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau did say that “these citations set the stage for significant monetary penalties if violations continue." As to the potential violations, the maximum penalty is $16,000 per call. |
| Google to combine all its chat services under Babble Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:48 PM PDT Google is apparently looking to bring together all of its communication services under one single platform. The platform will be dubbed “Babble”, and it will solve Google’s fragmented chat services. Right now, Google users can communicate through Google Talk, Google Hangout, Google Voice, Google Chat, Gmail Chat, and Google+. However, those services fail to communicate directly with each other.
According to Geek.com, Babble is being built from scratch and will combine all of these services into a closed-communication platform. With Babble, you will be able to chat with anyone on your Google contacts list, and all of the signature features from each individual chat service will be available in one chat box. You can have a hangout, share pictures, and send e-mails from one service. It’s speculated that once Babble launches, Google will be able to take on the likes of other popular messaging platforms such as iMessage, Blackberry Messenger, and Facebook Messenger. This new service has been long overdue and it should make chatting using Google’s services a much more refreshing experience. Babble should help Google get more consumers to convert over to its services. Google is expected to announce Babble at its upcoming Google I/O conference in May. The service will be available for all PC users, and there should be an app released for it on Android devices as well as Chrome OS devices. There isn’t an expected release date for this service, but hopefully everything will be clarified at I/O. Are you excited to have all your chat services unified under one app? [via Geek.com] |
| Motorola device codenames leak as the Ghost, Yeti and Sasquatch Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:25 PM PDT A fair amount of the Motorola related chatter has circled around the X-Phone. Well, that is aside from the handset that leaked last week. That particular device was the XT912A (pictured below) and judging from a look at the specs, it was clearly not the Motorola X-Phone. Putting that to the side though, it looks like some new device codenames have leaked for Motorola. And while these are fairly early details, at least one appears to have some promise.
The device names include Ghost, Yeti and Sasquatch. Given the Ghost is the one that has some intrigue, we will begin with this one. Keep in mind though, the Ghost does not necessarily have intrigue because it has super high-end specs, but because it looks like it could be a single handset headed to all four major US carriers. A GLBenchmark filing for the Ghost is showing a handset with a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro (MSM 8960) processor, a 720p display and Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. It was also said that this device will likely launch with Android 4.2.2. Next up is the Yeti, which is looking like a handset destined for AT&T. The only details on the Yeti at the moment include a handset that will be running Android 4.2. Otherwise, the final handset of the bunch is the Sasquatch. This one is similar to the Yeti in that the details are still rather light. So far the Sasquatch has been spotted in a 0xbenchmark filing and shown to be heading to AT&T with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. All said and done, we obviously still need plenty in terms of these three handsets, but they are at least in the open as far as items to keep an eye out for. That said, given the lack of specs and details, the Yeti and Sasquatch names do seem fitting. [via Droid-Life] |
| ASUS rumored to preview new Nexus 7 in May, new phone in June Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:20 PM PDT Rumor has it that ASUS is planning on showing off a couple of new devices in the coming months. After launching the ASUS FonePad in April, ASUS is said to be previewing the next generation of Nexus 7s in May (most likely at Google’s I/O conference), and launching a brand new phone in June. The rumors come from sources who tipped off Digitimes. The rumors don’t seem far from the truth, however, because we already know that Google plans on launching a successor to its current Nexus 7.
First up is the new phone. ASUS’s new smartphone will have a 5 to 5.5-inch display, and will also have an Intel Atom Z2580 Clover Trail+ processor. Intel processors may start being a trend for ASUS, who is also using an Intel Atom 2420 processor in its ASUS FonePad. But unlike the 1.2GHz single-core processor on the FonePad, ASUS’s upcoming smartphone’s processor will be dual-core and will be clocked up to 2GHz. Next up is the next generation of Nexus 7s. The devices will obviously see enhancements, but unfortunately the sources did not state what kinds. The device will see a price point starting at $249 and will directly compete with the high-end 7-inch and 8-inch tablets heading to the market. Rumors have circulated that the device will have a Full HD display as well as a thinner bezel. Both of the devices are set to impress. Despite the Intel Atom Z2580 being only dual-core, benchmarks have shown it beating out the Snapdragon S4 Pro time and time again. The CPU supports up to 2GB of RAM, HSPA+, 16MP rear-facing cameras, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It is said to also be great at optimizing battery life. The new Nexus 7, judging from its predecessor, shall be an outstanding device as well. [via DigiTimes] |
| HTC One for Verizon Wireless may not be happening Posted: 18 Mar 2013 11:52 AM PDT Just last week we had been hearing about how the HTC One was going to be coming available with Verizon Wireless. The chatter was suggesting that Verizon was going to launch the One, but that they were going to do it about a month after the other carriers. Well, based on what we are seeing from the HTC USA Twitter account, the One may not be coming to Big Red after all.
The tweets, of which there have been two discovered, one has since disappeared. The first tweet was spotted by the LA Times and read rather simply. HTC had said the “One will not be available on the Verizon network.” Nothing to misunderstand with that. That same message ended with a push to a current Verizon handset, the Droid DNA. Certainly a decent option, but not necessarily the same as the One. Anyway, while that tweet has since gone away, the second has remained. This one actually came as a reply to another users question. This was also rather clear in saying that they are “not bringing it to Verizon.” The interesting part, or the part that leaves some room for speculation said that if they hear differently “we’ll let you know.” Basically, while this is a no for the One on Verizon, it still leaves the door open for a possibility. Otherwise, touching back on that story from last week. This actually came from one of our sources. This story was also independently confirmed by AllThingsD. Basically, what we had been told was that the HTC One would land with Verizon Wireless a month or two after the initial US launch by AT&T and T-Mobile. This would certainly be good for HTC as it would place the One with all four major US carriers, just like the GALAXY S 4. [via SlashGear] |
| Android 5.0 prematurely outed by Galaxy Note II tipster Posted: 18 Mar 2013 11:35 AM PDT Remember when I said that Samsung Galaxy Note II users are getting a plethora of good news today? Well add this onto the list. A Note II tipster has leaked an Android OS update schedule for several devices. Under the “To get Android 5.0″ list, it shows that Samsung Galaxy Note II and Note II LTE owners will be updated to Android’s latest OS in the future. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for its predecessor, the original Samsung Galaxy Note.
While many of us already assumed that the device would be seeing Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, it’s still nice to get some sort of confirmation. Samsung Galaxy S III and Samsung Galaxy S III LTE owners should also rejoice because they’ve made the list as well. Of course Samsung has to upgrade the S III, or else it’ll have about 50 million angry S III users attacking them with hate mail and complaints. Also on the list is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablets, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and GALAXY S 4 devices. So what will happen to the owners with the original Note and Galaxy S II devices? You won’t be upgraded to Android 5.0 (at least not officially), but your devices will be be updated to the latest Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update in the future. The tipster also stated that this is only a pre-list and more devices could be added in the future. There is also a good chance Samsung will make an announcement for these devices during May’s Google I/O conference. So along with receiving the Android 4.1.2 update today (or soon at least), and T-Mobile Note II users getting their LTE chips activated, Note II users will also have Android 5.0 to look forward to. [via SlashGear] Device Info
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| Google Keep details surface, shows signs of being a note app for Drive Posted: 18 Mar 2013 11:16 AM PDT Google appears to be readying a new note-taking service. While we cannot necessarily call it a replacement for Google Notebook, it does appear to be along those lines. Well, that and maybe some potential competition for Evernote. The service is called Google Keep and hints of the service (along with the icon) have recently been discovered in the source code for the Google Drive website.
The details were discovered by 1E100 who found a new Google Account Service named "Portal." For a brief time if you had signed into that, you would have seen a new service, called Google Keep in the “your products” listing for your Google account. Of course, at the moment none of this can be accessed as it seems Google has pulled everything back. Basically, it seems that the Google Keep service slipped out for just a little bit. The unfortunate part at the moment is that we are not all that certain as to what Google has planned for Keep. There are some guesses and some speculation, but official details are nonexistent at the moment. Google seems to be working on Keep is pretty much what can be said at the moment. Otherwise, further hints suggest that Keep will be tied in with Google Drive and that it will have a mobile app. Presumably an Android app as the g.co/keep website has been referring to a google.android.keep listing in the Google Play Store. While we are happy to see an Android app being included, support for other mobile platforms would likely be welcomed. In the meantime, we will keep an eye out for additional Keep details. [via Android Police] |
| Purple Samsung Galaxy S III may be heading our way Posted: 18 Mar 2013 11:01 AM PDT The Samsung Galaxy S III may soon be receiving a new color option, and not the color people have been asking for. This news comes from EVLeaks, who has been a great and reliable source for leaks in the past. The color will be called “Royal Purple” and it should be making its way to the United States come mid-April. But not only is it a strange color, the release comes just a couple of weeks before the Samsung Galaxy S IV rolls out to the market.
The purple option will be a carrier exclusive, so that means users who are on T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, or AT&T will “unfortunately” not be able to grab the device. It also looks like the Purple Samsung Galaxy S III will be just like the other S III’s on the market, meaning it’s not part of the upcoming revamped S III’s coming out in the future. The revamped S III features an HD screen, larger battery, and wireless charging. The pricing of the phone shouldn’t break the wallet. It’s speculated to be sold at $99.99 on a new two-year contract, and possibly only a penny if Amazon Wireless begins selling it. But honestly, who will be picking this phone up instead of the next-gen Galaxy device? Samsung would most likely convince consumers to buy the Samsung Galaxy S III if instead of the color being purple, it was black (you know, the color consumers have been asking for?). Nonetheless, if purple is your color, this is great news for you. But I would encourage you to wait for the Samsung GALAXY S 4. It has a 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, 5-inch HD display, 13MP rear-facing camera, 2MP front-facing camera, 2,600 mAh battery, and a plethora of added software to make your smartphone much more feature-packed. If not the S 4, the HTC One is also a great device. [via SlashGear] Device Info
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| AT&T goes big with Mobile Share data plans up to 50GB Posted: 18 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PDT AT&T seems to have stepped things up quite a bit in terms of data allotments for Mobile Share plans. With the previous plans offering data options from 1GB up to 20GB, AT&T has since announced plans that offer up to 50GB. More specifically, the carrier has added a 30GB, 40GB and 50GB option. The one catch — they don’t come cheap. These new higher data plans are going for $300, $400 and $500 per month.
Aside from the new limits for data, the same Mobile Share rules apply. That is to say that each plan will still carry a $30 fee for each smartphone. Messaging phones will also be priced at $30 each with laptops, connect cards and netbooks coming in at $20 each and tablets and gaming devices coming in at $10 per month. Of course, those going over any of these new limits will find themselves spending a bit more for the overage, in this case, $15 per GB. These new plans are available for consumer and business and also include unlimited voice minutes and messages. On the consumer side you will be able to add up to 10 devices per account (for any plan). The business side will vary by plan and allows for up to 10 devices for plans up to 20 GB; 15 devices for 30 GB plans; 20 devices for 40 GB plans and 25 devices for 50 GB plans. That all being said, these plans will go into effect on March 22. In addition, AT&T will also begin offering data-only Mobile Share plans on March 22. These plans will be available for consumer and business plans ranging from 4GB to 50GB in size. These data only plans will be eligible for use with tablets, laptops and “other connected devices.” [via AT&T] |
| T-Mobile to finally launch 4G LTE network this month Posted: 18 Mar 2013 10:29 AM PDT After delaying its 4G LTE network month after month, T-Mobile looks like it will finally be launching its network by the end of this month. It’s the last carrier to launch its LTE network, with AT&T and Verizon being miles ahead of the company. However, while Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T may already have their LTE networks up and running, T-Mobile one-ups them all by having both its HSPA+ and 4G LTE network on one chip, meaning its devices will have superior battery life compared to the LTE devices on other networks.
Samples of T-Mobile’s LTE data speeds have been impressive so far. The speeds have reached up to 62 Mbps, and has stayed consistently between 55-60 Mbps per test. However, these sample tests may be misleading once the network goes live. Once the network becomes more saturated with people, there will be a definite decrease in speeds, but you will still see great speeds nonetheless. So far the only devices that can take advantage of T-Mobile’s LTE network are the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Blackberry Z10. The Samsung Galaxy Note II will actually be seeing a major update soon (some of you will even get the update today) that will both switch on its LTE as well as upgrade it to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean for an improved user experience. T-Mobile plans to cover around 100 million people with its 4G LTE network by mid-2013. By the end of the year, it hopes to cover up to 200 million people with its network. As of right now, Verizon Wireless is the best 4G LTE network, covering over 480 markets and over 275 million people. AT&T comes in 2nd with 155 markets covered, and Sprint is a very far 3rd with only 67 markets covered. Those of you with T-Mobile’s unlimited data plans will be very pleased with T-Mobile’s LTE network. [via SlashGear] |
| Google Maps now showing some of the world’s tallest mountains Posted: 18 Mar 2013 10:23 AM PDT Google has released the latest ‘special collection’ for Maps. This time the collection includes some of the most famous mountain ranges in the world. These include Aconcagua in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Everest Base Camp in Asia. This means you can now explore these locations virtually. Not to mention, quite a bit safer as compared to being on the ground.
Aside from simply exploring these mountains using Maps, Google has also provided a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to get the data. Lets just say that this is probably not a journey that many would be happy or willing to take. The Google Maps blog notes the journey as be beginning with “the trek to Everest Base Camp” which when said like that sounds pretty mellow and calm. More to the point that, the team that captured this data further notes that they “spent 12 days in the mountains battling altitude sickness, an earthquake, mudslides, snow storms and flash floods.” All this to achieve an altitude of 18,192 feet (higher than anywhere in the contiguous US) and with more than 70 miles of hiking. Of course, that is hiking with a full-rig of camera gear that allowed the team to capture everything. Bottom line here, while it is easy to sit back behind a display and check out some of these wonderful images, it is also rather nice to get a small bit of detail in terms of what it took to get them in the first place. Granted, we don’t think anyone thought getting images of Everest Base Camp was easy, but sometimes you need that reminder and behind-the-scenes look. Anyway, thanks to Street View being available on mobile and desktop, you can now sit back and do some virtual exploring. [via Google Maps Blog] |
| T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II receives major LTE/Jelly Bean update Posted: 18 Mar 2013 10:03 AM PDT T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II users are getting a plethora of good news today. First comes news that T-Mobile plans on launching its 4G LTE network this month, and now news that their Samsung Galaxy Note II will not only get their LTE switches turned on, but they will also be receiving an update to their Android OS as well, adding a bunch of new features as well as improvements to performance.
The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II will be updated to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. With this update, the Note II will have some new alterations to its notification toggles, a customizable notification panel, the options to disable the brightness slider as well as multi-view, and the option to change the status bar from grey to black. This update will also make the Note II’s browser smoother, add continuous input on Samsung’s keyboard, add a new ink effect on the Lockscreen, and add the Group Cast app to the device. T-Mobile’s LTE network will launch at the end of this month, and it will cover around 100 million people by mid-2013. It’s goal is to cover over 200 million people by the end of the year. So far, the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Blackberry Z10 will be the only devices capable of utilizing T-Mobile’s LTE network. Samples from T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network showed data speeds of up to 60 Mbps, an amazing number especially if you have T-Mobile’s unlimited data plan. Note II users can get their update via OTA or by downloading it manually from SamMobile. With the new update, and being able to use T-Mobile’s LTE network, you will see a new level of satisfaction with your Note II’s. You will also be glad to hear that your Note II will fall back seamlessly to T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 42Mbps network if you lose your LTE signal. The two networks are on the same chip, which means not only will you have constantly fast speeds, but you will also have amazing battery life compared to the LTE devices on other networks. [via SamMobile] Device Info
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| Rockchip RK3188 devices running Android 4.1 get rooted Posted: 18 Mar 2013 05:44 AM PDT Tablets and other devices running Android are starting to hit the market using a new quad-core processor from Rockchip. The processor is the RK3188 ARM Cortex-A9. Devices using this particular processor are starting to trickle onto the market now and early adopters of devices running the processor have figured out how to root the device already.
Instructions for rooting the device have now turned up online and the process is reportedly very similar to the steps you take to root devices running Android 4.1 using the Rockchip RK3066 dual-core processor. The processor has two more cores than the older RK3066, but it uses a similar hardware architecture and similar software. That means users can use the same security vulnerabilities to root the new quad-core chip. The entire rooting process has 12 steps. You need some software to perform the root, as you always do for this sort of task. The software includes RKtools unloaded 1.6 and Moborobo. The instructions also say to download and install SuperSU. If you unlock a device using the new RK3188 processor, be sure and let us know if these steps work for you. Be warned, the instructions are in Spanish and Google Translate is notoriously sketchy. [via Liliputing] |
| Micromax Bolt A51 Android 2.3 smartphone breaks cover Posted: 18 Mar 2013 05:28 AM PDT A new Android smartphone from Micromax has launched as an entry-level mobile device. The smartphone is called the Bolt A51 and will be available for retail purchase soon. The smartphone uses a 832 MHz Broadcom processor and features a 3.5-inch display.
The screen has a native resolution of only 480 x 320 pixels. The phone is designed to be cheap and runs Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread. Power comes from a 1500 mAh battery promising 4.5 hours of talk time and 140 hours on standby. The rear camera is a 2.0-megapixel unit and the smartphone has a 0.3-megapixel front camera. The device sports dual SIM cards and features 256 MB of RAM. Storage is only 512 MB but the phone has a microSD card slot for storage expansion. That memory card slot will support cards with up to 32 GB of additional storage. The phone has integrated 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. This phone is being aimed at the Indian market as a cheap entry-level device. Pricing and availability for the A51 is unknown at this time. [via Gadgets.ndtv.com] |
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