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- Samsung Exynos 5 Octa Will Support All 20 LTE Bands
- How to send SMS or MMS text messages from your PC or tablet using your Android phone number
- Google’s Babble is actually Google Babel and will come to Android, iOS, Chrome, Gmail, and G+
- Sony rumored to be working on Cyber-shot and Walkman-based Xperia smartphones behind the scenes
- HTC One first smartphone to receive iFixit’s lowest possible repair score
- TalkAndroid Daily Dose for March 28, 2013
- Rendered Image Leak of Meizu MX3 Confirms Previous Design Spec Rumors
- Facebook to unveil “new home on Android” April 4th
- Google’s Takes ‘OPN Pledge’ to Protect Open Source and Patents
- Leaks & Rumors about Motorola’s X and Upcoming Nexus Smartphones
| Samsung Exynos 5 Octa Will Support All 20 LTE Bands Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:14 AM PDT
While those of us in the U.S. will just get the Galaxy S 4 with a quad-core Snapdragon processor, other countries are fortunate enough to get the Exynos 5 Octa on-board. If you are able to get your hands on the S 4 or future Samsung device with an Octa processor, there is some good news when it comes to LTE support. According to the official Samsung Exynos Twitter page, the Exynos 5 Octa will support all 20 LTE bands allowing fast data speeds worldwide. As far as what modem it will be paired with and how many bands will be supported on a single device, Samsung has yet to release more information. Source: Official Samsung Exynos Twitter page
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| How to send SMS or MMS text messages from your PC or tablet using your Android phone number Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:14 AM PDT
Our little Android devices can do almost as much as some PCs, but it’s easy to forget that your smartphone is still a phone at heart. And with all the instant messaging services available for you to communicate, sometimes text messaging gets put in the backseat to the more robust features of something like Google Talk. Being able to keep up a conversation across multiple devices is incredibly handy, and it’s often much easier to type on a full computer keyboard as opposed to a smaller smartphone keyboard. Using instant messaging isn’t without it’s flaws, however. If you have friends that all use different IM services, or friends without smartphones, it can be difficult to keep up with all of them in different programs and browser tabs on your desktop, and in the case of messaging someone without a smartphone, you’ll have to use your phone to send traditional text messages anyway. With this guide, we’re going to get into a few different apps that add many of those instant messaging features to your SMS text messaging, including being able to send texts from different devices and syncing conversations across devices.
DeskSMS is an application developed by Koush, who’s also responsible for a handful of other extremely useful Android applications, like Carbon, which we’ve discussed as one of the best ways to backup your phone data. The premise of DeskSMS is simple; you link your phone to your Google account, and sign into a website (or browser extension) with your Google account, and you immediately have access to your SMS logs and can freely send and receive texts, all from the comfort of your full-sized keyboard. DeskSMS is great for a number of reasons. First, it’s simple to set up, and simple to use. Sending texts is just like opening up an app on your phone, typing away, then hitting enter to send the text. The devices don’t need to be connected to the same WiFi network or through Bluetooth. As long as they’re tied to the same Google account, you’re in business. Second, DeskSMS offers many ways to send text messages. Want a browser extension for Chrome or Firefox? No problem. Would you rather use a website? You can do that. Maybe you want your texts to link into your Google Talk account or Gmail account? You can do that, too. Possibly the coolest feature of DeskSMS is text forwarding to Google Talk (or any third party IM application that supports Talk), so you can essentially turn a text conversation into an instant messaging conversation without the other person doing anything differently. Koush also offers a TabletSMS app, which syncs and pushes your text messages to any tablet with the app installed. Of course, you may not even need to do that if you’re using the Google Talk or Gmail forwarding, but we’re never going to complain about having more options. DeskSMS itself is free, but the service costs $4.99 per year. Of course, for the convenience of being able to send text messages from any internet enabled device, it’s definitely an app worth passing up on coffee one day for.
SMS Text Messaging ↔PC Texting from MightyText is similar to DeskSMS. It’s an easy to use, free app that syncs SMS from your phone onto your computer or tablet. It works very similarly to DeskSMS by syncing through your Google account, but it does also offer a handful of extra features, like the ability to see your phone’s battery level and see who is calling you on your phone before answering. It also lets you securely back up your SMS and even MMS messages to MightyText’s servers, which is handy for extra data backup. MightyText also offers tablet texting via an extra app just like DeskSMS. Plus, there’s no monthly or yearly service charge to pay for here. MightyText is extremely functional, but it is a bit more bloated than DeskSMS. If you’re looking for all the extra features, you’ll definitely want to give this app a shot. Below is the main app to download, and the companion tablet app. You’ll only need the tablet app if you want to text message from your tablet.
Play Store Download Link (Tablet App)
If you’re not much on communicating on your computer, and it’s more about the tablet for you, then Tablet Talk might be the way to go. It’s more lightweight than either of the first two options and doesn’t need to latch onto your Google account to make things work. Essentially, Tablet Talk tethers your tablet and your phone together, either through a WiFi network or Bluetooth. Once connected, Tablet Talk becomes a fully functional SMS application for your tablet and automatically syncs up with your phone messages. It also adds in the ability to make phone calls through your tablet, which neither of the other options can do. While holding a tablet up to your face isn’t practical, if you use a Bluetooth headset and would prefer to do everything through your tablet, this is a great option. Tablet Talk is completely free, and there’s only one app you need to install. It automatically detects if it’s installed on a phone or tablet and sets up accordingly. And if you’re into extreme customization, there’s plenty of themes for Tablet Talk in the Play Store.
If you’re a Verizon customer, you have access to a solution for cross-device text messaging through your Verizon phone number. Their Verizon Messages application is a simple way to enable that functionality; install the app and link up your Verizon phone number and you’re good to go. You can use the app on your PC or tablet and see up to 90 days of saved messages, and freely send and receive SMS. The Verizon app also has a few other unique features, like the ability to set up an auto-reply, report spam messages, full group messaging support, and even a widget with a badge counter for unread messages. It’s definitely a robust app, and if you’re already a Verizon customer, this one is definitely worth checking out. These are three extremely simple-to-use apps to enable text messaging across multiple devices to help SMS keep up with instant messaging. A few OEMs do offer this functionality through other services on their products, (Samsung’s KIES software comes to mind) but in many cases, it’s easier to pick your own software for compatibility and flexibility. Are there any apps you use that didn’t make the list?
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| Google’s Babble is actually Google Babel and will come to Android, iOS, Chrome, Gmail, and G+ Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:01 AM PDT
If you’ve been keeping up at home, we’ve heard a ton of reports lately that Google is releasing a unified chat client called “Babble.” Well, turns out that client is actually called Babel, but many of the other rumored features were right. Babel will be available cross-platform on Android, iOS, Chrome, Gmail, and Google Plus, but as of right now, Google Voice isn’t part of the list. It may come at a later point, but not right out of the gate. Babel will allow you to access the same conversation list from any of those platforms, and features a new, conversation based UI, picture messaging, improved cross-device notifications, and picture messaging. That’s a pretty fully featured app, and it’s definitely going to improve our communication experience as a whole. Babel as a name does make sense for Google’s project, though, especially if you consider the Biblical meaning of the word and the story of the Tower of Babel. However, it still might not be the official name of the app, whenever it’s released, so take it with a grain of salt. Personally, I think Google will opt for something a bit more accessible and catchy, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough. source: Droid Life
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| Sony rumored to be working on Cyber-shot and Walkman-based Xperia smartphones behind the scenes Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:07 AM PDT
Yup— it’s looking more and more like 2013 is shaping up to be the year of the Sony devices for Android fans. New rumors have surfaced indicating that the ever-growing manufacturer is all set to bring in some topnotch camera and sound capabilities in its Xperia line of handsets. Let me explain– rampant rumors have surfaced recently regarding speculation of Sony’s Cyber-shot and Walkman technologies into the following upcoming flagships: a 5-inch Cyber-shot-based smartphone with unrivaled camera capabilities, a 5-inch Xperia Walkman-based device featuring an integrated amplifier chip, an “iPhone competitor” with a small form factor and finally, a mysterious phablet-type device. The neat thing is the fact that each rumored device are expected to feature top of the line guts inside which presumably include a hyper-fast processing chip and a current/up-to-date version of Android. Naturally Sony is staying mum on the possibility of some attractive devices on the horizon, but considering it has plans on sitting at the big boy table in the near-future, these rumors shouldn’t be too far-fetched. source: PhoneArena
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| HTC One first smartphone to receive iFixit’s lowest possible repair score Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:27 PM PDT
The HTC One looks to be a fantastic device, but if you buy electronics based on how easy they are to repair, you’re probably going to want to pass on this one. According to iFixit, the One is pretty much impossible to repair, scoring a 1 out of 10. Unfortunately for HTC, that’s the lowest score ever given to a smartphone in iFixit’s ratings. According to the rate, opening the the rear case without damaging it is nearly impossible, and it is impossible to replace the screen without removing the rear case. On top of that, there’s a sheet of copper inside the phone that protects the guts, and it’s easy to wrinkle and distort, which makes the whole process that much more difficult. The One is a gorgeous device, and I’m sure it’s going to sell extremely well, despite component delays. But if you do decide to pick one up, make sure to grab insurance, too. source: iFixit
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| TalkAndroid Daily Dose for March 28, 2013 Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:23 PM PDT
With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!! ReviewsGuidesHow to automatically receive MMS picture messages AccessoriesImage of Samsung Galaxy S 4 wireless charging accessory AppsTasker's New Holo Redesign Graduates to the Play Store, Brings It to Android 4.0+
CarriersEE Turns On 4G In 13 New Locations, Now Covers 50% Of The UK Google's Takes 'OPN Pledge' to Protect Open Source and Patents PhonesHTC One first smartphone to receive iFixit's lowest possible repair score Did Google and LG quietly update the Nexus 4 design? It sure appears to be the case 4.2.2 Verizon Galaxy Nexus and 4.2.1 Sprint Galaxy Nexus Factory Images Posted Rendered Image Leak of Meizu MX3 Confirms Previous Design Spec Rumors Leaks & Rumors about Motorola's X and Upcoming Nexus Smartphones AT&T announces pricing, pre-order schedule for Samsung Galaxy S 4 Sony prepping entry-level smartphone with 5-inch display for Q3 TabletsMiscellaneousSamsung continues to strenghten their ecosystem with launch of the 'Content & Services' app store Toshiba Launching Thinnest Ever 13 Megapixel Camera Sensor Nearly half of all commuters admit to texting and driving Samsung Stores find their way into Best Buy, just in time for Samsung Galaxy S 4 launch Texas Instruments Develops New Chips That Cut Battery Recharge Time In Half Facebook to unveil "new home on Android" April 4th
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| Rendered Image Leak of Meizu MX3 Confirms Previous Design Spec Rumors Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:06 PM PDT
China’s mobile smartphone manufacturer, Meizu, is at it again. They have improved on their original MX2, with their latest and greatest handset, dubbed cleverly enough as the MX3. The device was previously rumored to contain a 5.1-inch full HD display, Exynos 5410 Octa processor, and a narrower bezel. Although the leaked rendered image above does suggest that the MX3′s screen will be at least 5.1, with a narrow bezel, there is still nothing firm from our sources to confirm the Exynos 5410 processor, but since the rest of the rumors appear to be holding true, this may not be too far of a stretch from reality. You will recall that the Exynos 5410 is the same latest generation 8-core processor the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is flaunting, which is very impressive indeed. The image, if legitimate, reveals that the MX3 will resemble HTC’s flagship handset, the “One”, in many ways. If we were to speculate on the design specs based on what we know thus far, we could come to the conclusion that we may also see the following specs on the new device:
We are still speculating as to the product launch date, but all signs point to sometime in the summer. I think Meizu is really going to have to bring it hard if they want to be competitive with their latest handset right out the gate. With more and more handsets launching with high-end specs at lower prices, it is going to be difficult for the underdogs to stay afloat for sure. And with the recent imposition of US Technology Restrictions on China’s tech merchandise, it is going to be that much harder for China’s vendors to turn a profit in the US. Via: Unwired View
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| Facebook to unveil “new home on Android” April 4th Posted: 28 Mar 2013 09:02 PM PDT
Facebook is planning something pretty big for a large unveiling on April 4th, according to their latest press invitation. What big thing, you may ask? Their “new home on Android.” What exactly does that mean? We don’t know, but we can make some pretty good guesses. Facebook has recently been testing the waters with updates through their app outside of Google Play, so it makes sense that they may be launching something, like a phone that’s been in the rumor mill for ages. We’ve heard all kinds of rumors leak about the “Facebook phone,” and with Amazon’s success with their Kindle lineup, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine Facebook taking another stab at the phone market, despite their first attempt not doing so well. While all the signs point towards a Facebook phone announcement on April 4th, it’s important to remember they are still rumors. Facebook could just announce more changes to their Android application, or anything else. When the 4th rolls around, though, we’ll be sure to let you know. source: The Verge
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| Google’s Takes ‘OPN Pledge’ to Protect Open Source and Patents Posted: 28 Mar 2013 08:54 PM PDT
Following in the footsteps of Open Source pioneers IBM and Red Hat, Google has taken a giant leap forward in preserving the purity of Open Source and Patents in the world of technology. In a recent blog post on Google’s “Open Source Blog”, Senior Patent Counsel, Duane Valz, makes a less-than-obvious attack on patent and money hungry technology companies (like the one named after that one fruit that Eve took a bite out of that started this whole mess). He states the importance of protecting this purity to ensure continued innovation in the world of computer software, and continued advancement in cloud computing, the mobile web, and the internet in general. Today, Google announced its “Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge“. In it they pledge “NOT to sue any user, distributor or developer of open-source software on specified patents…unless first attacked.“ Gotta love that last part! Google, in their infinite wisdom, has included an Apple escape clause (Oops! Just came right out and said it that time). At this point Google has only identified 10 patents relating to MapReduce in their initial pledge list, but vow to expand on that list, adding “past, present or future” open-source software that might rely on pledge patents. Good for you Google! Google, a member of the Open Invention Network, hopes to complement their efforts on cooperative licensing with this new pledge. They are working with “like-minded” companies to develop patent agreements that would cut down on lawsuits. They claim that they will “continue to support patent reforms that would improve patent quality and reduce excessive litigation“. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of companies “required to defensively acquire ever more patents“, and to remain committed to an open internet. The pledge includes, but is not limited to upholding the following ideals:
With this new OPN Pledge Google hopes to mentor other companies to “put their own patents into the service of open-source software” which they believe will “continue to enable amazing innovation“. Source: Google Open Source Blog
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| Leaks & Rumors about Motorola’s X and Upcoming Nexus Smartphones Posted: 28 Mar 2013 06:34 PM PDT
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for some interesting news from the rumor mill. We have been seeing a hint here and another one there indicating what Google & Motorola has planned for its upcoming X smartphone. And although there have been rumors and speculation floating around for a while now, we have in fact, began to see more and more leaks about Motorola’s upcoming X phone. As if you all haven’t had enough yet, we now have more rumors to share with you courtesy of our friends from Android and Me. These leaks and rumors seem to come from a “confirmed source” of proven reliability…so hang on to your seats as we break down the latest and greatest!
New Rumor #1: “The target launch date for the Moto X has slipped from June to July due to manufacturing issues.“ Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): Sources originally leaked a launch date of June 2013, so a shift to the right by a month doesn’t seem like such a far stretch. The source report also eludes to some type of “exclusive” launch sometime in July followed by a “broader” launch around the Thanksgiving time-frame. Which means we may be looking at an “internet only” initial launch followed be a carrier launch a few months later. If this launch date holds true, then we can expect to hear an announcement of the release at Google I/O in May. We shall see… New Rumor #2: “X phone customization will be limited to the ‘design of the phone (to include color combinations, and material for the outer casing, like plastic, metal, or carbon fiber)’, ‘internal storage’, and ‘personalized software settings’.“ BLUF: Original leaks led us to believe the customization would be endless, causing readers to infer that they would have complete customization control right down to the amount of RAM to be used. Although a little disappointing, this new rumor further validates the original customization rumors, while adding an additional layer of believability to the rumor by placing restrictions on the types of customizations that can be done. I know I had a hard time believing the original reports, as it was hard for me to wrap my head around the production process and how Motorola would be able to afford the many changes they would have to make throughout the production cycle to make endless combustibility an affordable and worthwhile reality. I have to admit, the idea of software customization, as we have seen made possible through HTC’s “Get Started”, would be nice. I have to admit, being able to logon to an online dashboard using my Google account prior to the arrival of my ordered device to customize the desktop, wallpaper, ringtones, preinstalled apps, and the like, would be a welcomed feature. Something like this would save me hours of customization when I first jump on my new handset. New Rumor #3: “The specs of the first Motorola X phone will be comparable to the HTC One, but will not be an iPhone or Galaxy S 4 killer.“ BLUF: Initial reports were that the Moto X phone line of devices would be marketed with an emphasis on customization capabilities, with additional options for expansion through connected devices like Google Glass and the upcoming SmartWatch. Basically, OEMs feel the specs are irrelevant due to the focus shift from hardware specs, which lets face it, have far outgrown software capabilities, to app, services, and experiences that the devices can deliver. I mean, to be honest, even the Galaxy S 4 would be just another high-end smartphone if Samsung didn’t pack it full of their “life companion” innovations, right? Besides, if Motorola focused strictly on hardware advancements with the Moto X line, then they wouldn’t be able to keep their promise of “heavily subsidized retail pricing”, like we have seen with the affordable Moto RAZR line of devices, would they? New Rumor #4: “The Moto X will feature a Motorola logo on the back of the device that acts as a touch sensitive button that allows you to launch commands.“ BLUF: This rumor holds true at this point in time. No changes here, other than Motorola may give users the power to control what the new logo button launches when pressed. New Rumor #5: “Motorola will still release several more Droid phones this year.“ BLUF: Google has admittedly inherited an 18 month production pipeline, which means this rumor is more than likely accurate. New Rumor #6: “Motorola will release a Nexus phone at the end of the year, that is not associated with the Moto X line.“ BLUF: Although the rumor mill is running rampant with whispers of another LG Nexus phone, we should not discount this one. There is nothing to suggest that Motorola won’t release its own Nexus handset. If the past is any indicator, than the release of both ASUS and Samsung Nexus tablets last year shows us that it is completely plausible that this can, and may, happen with LG and Motorola’s handsets. If Motorola did decide to release both lines in parallel, this could pose a significant financial burden. The amount of money they would have to dish out in advertising alone would be a significant financial blow, one that smartphone sales alone may not be able to soften. Which means Motorola (Google) would have to pull resources from other markets to cover cost. Not sure if the initial losses would justify the overall gains, but I am no financial guru, so I will let the bean counters worry about this one. If they were to release the two handsets, then the Nexus would probably end up as the “stock” option, leaving the Moto X line the dominant of the two as the only “customizable” option. If both smartphones are in the manufacturing pipeline, then this might explain why design spec leaks are all over the map and we are having a hard time narrowing down these leaks a rumors to a more specific list. New Rumor #7: “Google Watch will be announced and sold at the same time as the Moto X.“ BLUF: All rumors up to this point in time indicate the release of a “Google Watch” being released sometime this summer. There have been no rumors to indicate otherwise at this point, so we are going to have to put some stock in these rumors for now. For all we know, these “Google Watches” may be released as companion accessories under the Motorola brand name, so for all intents and purposes, I wouldn’t put too much stock in the rumored name of the device just yet. BLUF: As far as we can tell, the “customizable RAM” rumor may be the only one debunked with this newly released information, leading us to believe everything else previously reported has a strong potential to be true! Great news for those of us who are diehard Motorola fans. I am excited to see what surprises Google will unveil at the upcoming 15-17 May I/O conference. Source: Android and Me
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