Android Central

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• Texas Instruments Q1 2013 results: $362 million in income on $2.89 billion revenue
• An HTC One Developer Version and two Nexus 4 devices have new homes!
• T-Mobile Unlimited Plans may get tethering bundled starting Wednesday
• AT&T shipping some Galaxy S4 preorders 'early' - expected as soon as April 25
• Minuum keyboard fundraiser a runaway success - coming soon to Android
• Google Glass could be up to a year away for consumers, says Eric Schmidt
• A Netherlands court agrees HTC One may be using microphone technology exclusive to Nokia
• Runtastic branches out with two new biking apps
• Xbox SmartGlass now available on Amazon appstore for your Kindle Fire
• Shipments of low-cost smart phones poised to dramatically increase
• T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 Jelly Bean update rolling out now
• Jelly Bean now available for the Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G
• Quick look: Cut the Rope Time Travel
• Cricket unveils new $40 per line 'unlimited' family plan
• Samsung Galaxy S4 screen weathers a flurry of blades
• Rogers opens up LTE in 7 new markets
• Deal of the Day: LLOYD Overlord T-Shirt
• Get ready for #tm13
• Monday Brief: The HTC One launches in the US, BlackBerry 10.1 for developers, and more!
• Facebook Home hits 500,000 installs, but what about active users?

Texas Instruments Q1 2013 results: $362 million in income on $2.89 billion revenue Posted: 22 Apr 2013 05:02 PM PDT Smart phone and tablet products officially winding down, revenues expected to decline appropriately Texas Instruments is reporting its Q1 2013 earnings today, and the overall numbers are looking quite good. Although revenue for the quarter was down slightly, TI has posted net income and EPS that were near the top of their expected range. Here's a quick breakdown of the high points: $2.89 billion in revenues, down 8-percent year-over-year $362 million in net income, up 37-percent y-o-y $0.32 Earnings Per Share, up 45-percent y-o-y $3.9 billion in cash and short-term investments on hand If it wasn't clear last year that TI is shifting away from the business of consumer chipset products, it should be after reading this earnings release. On its segmented earnings, TI has officially pushed its wireless business -- now dubbed "legacy wireless products" -- into the "Other" category of the sheet, which should give you an indication of where it is headed. Looking forward for Q2 2013 and beyond, TI is advising that its revenues will continue to decline in the legacy wireless business. TI now says that a full 77-percent of its revenues come from "Analog and Embedded Processing", which means products aimed at the consumer space are far from the priority now. Aside from a cheap alternative to the more popular processors out there right now, don't look for OMAP processors to be making their way into too many products in the coming months. Source: Texas Instruments

An HTC One Developer Version and two Nexus 4 devices have new homes! Posted: 22 Apr 2013 04:24 PM PDT We had a contest for a 64GB HTC One Developer Version phone. Phil then threw in a couple of Nexus 4s because there were so many awesome entries. You were excited, we were excited, everyone was just excited. Then some stuff happened, people tried to cheat, and made the whole thing less fun that it started out to be. In any case, we persevered and Lloyd has chosen some winners for these fantastic phones. Check out the entries below to see who won the phones!   read more

T-Mobile Unlimited Plans may get tethering bundled starting Wednesday Posted: 22 Apr 2013 04:01 PM PDT Value and Classic plans could get tethering pre-packaged with 500MB, 2.5GB, and 4.5GB options In a screenshot recently obtained by TmoNews, it appears T-Mobile may be doing further restructuring of its post-paid plans. If true, unlimited data for both the Value and Classic plans will come pre-bundled with various tethering options starting on Wednesday. Basically, instead of buying unlimited data and a separate tethering bucket, subscribers will buy unlimited data with 500MB, 2.5GB, or 4.5GB of included tethering. Currently, 500MB of tethering is already included with unlimited data. Instead of subscribers getting a $10 add-on for 2.5GB of tethering with their $20 unlimited data plan, the same plan will start at $30 and include tethering. For $40 a month, there is also a 4.5GB tethering option. Classic Plans will get the same changes: a $30 base plan with 500MB of tethering, a $40 plan with 2.5GB of tethering, and a $50 plan with 4.5GB of tethering. It makes sense to see further simplification of T-Mobile's plans, making customer choices easier and less confusing (and in some cases cheaper). We'll be waiting for the official announcement in the coming days to see if these changes pan out. Source: TmoNews

AT&T shipping some Galaxy S4 preorders 'early' - expected as soon as April 25 Posted: 22 Apr 2013 03:19 PM PDT Preorder shipping updates have gone out, and they're full of good news If you preordered your Samsung Galaxy S4 from AT&T, keep an eye on your inbox. AT&T has sent out updates to at least a few people stating the following: Thank you for ordering the Samsung Galaxy S® 4 from AT&T. We are excited to announce that we are able to ship devices earlier than originally expected. Customers who preordered their smartphone early can begin receiving it as soon as April 25th. They go on to say that shipping notices will be sent as soon as devices leave the shelves, and of course thanking folks for their order.  The actual release date for the phone is a bit of a mystery. We've heard dates from April 23 to May 1, and nothing seems to stick -- today AT&T says shipping April 30 on their own site, which matches up with what we saw originally.  Update: AT&T has now slated a release in-stores of April 27 via their Twitter account. What we do know is that official communication from AT&T says April 25, for at least some folks. If you preordered yours, did you get the same message? Shout out in the comments! Thanks, Craig!

Minuum keyboard fundraiser a runaway success - coming soon to Android Posted: 22 Apr 2013 02:22 PM PDT Supporters will get access to the first beta version in June Whirlscape started an Indiegogo campeign about a month ago to raise funds for development of their new keyboard. The fundraiser started with a goal of $10,000, and ended today with a total of $87,369 raised (almost 900% of the original goal). The solution to the problem that this keyboard proposes to deliver resonated with over 9,500 financial supporters. The goal of the Minuum Keyboard Project is to create a keyboard that is both effective in typing and small in screen real estate. Taking down keyboard rows to just one, the Minuum keyboard allows for highly imprecise typing by using a specialized auto-correction algorithm. A magnifying function will allow for precise typing when needed, such as when entering passwords. A second 'stretch goal' was hit once the fundraiser reached $60,000. This money will be put towards the wearable development kit (WDK). In the demo video, the potential of typing using wearable items was shown, which could be extended to peripherals like watches, glasses, or even rings. This could be the perfect complement to the upcoming Google Glass. It's too late to get access to the early beta, but it shouldn't be long before we see a general release as well. If this keyboard delivers the functionality it promises, this could be the biggest thing in mobile typing since Swype. Source: Indiegogo

Google Glass could be up to a year away for consumers, says Eric Schmidt Posted: 22 Apr 2013 12:29 PM PDT Feedback from Explorer Edition to help fix issues before consumer release Speaking to BBC Radio 4's "World at One" today, executive chairman of Google Eric Schmidt fielded among other things a few questions about Google Glass. While the shipping of "Explorer Edition" Glass units last week has the new gadget in the news cycle, Schmidt was a bit less optimistic about the availability of a general release to consumers. His official wording was that Glass for consumers "is probably a year-ish away". While Schmidt isn't exactly well-known for giving perfect predictions on products, you have to assume he has some knowledge of the timetable on a consumer Glass release. This seems to be a bit of a flexible window at this point, however, as previous statements pegged a consumer release for the end of 2013. Surely as more developers get their hands on the Explorer Editions of the devices, the feedback to Google should help with the final tweaking before a broader release. Google I/O 2013 is just around the corner as well, where we could certainly be given more information. Source: BBC Radio 4 Via: The Verge

A Netherlands court agrees HTC One may be using microphone technology exclusive to Nokia Posted: 22 Apr 2013 11:55 AM PDT ST Microelectronics allegedly provided parts designed by, and for Nokia's sole use to the Taiwanese manufacturer An Amsterdam district court has granted Nokia an preliminary injunction based on the hardware components in HTC's new One phone. It seems the dual-membrane microphone setup in HTC's latest was manufactured using technology "exclusively for Nokia" by ST Microelectronics. According to sources at Engadget, ST used patented tech and breached an NDA between themselves and Nokia to build the microphone, which shares a common identifying number between the components used in the HTC One and the Lumia 720. While there is a very good chance that Nokia will also pursue action against ST Microelectronics, the first step is to try and put a halt to the sale of devices that have the offending parts inside. In a statement to Engadget, HTC says they are "disappointed in the decision", and "are considering whether it will have any impact on our business and we will explore alternative solutions immediately." In Nokia's defense (though they don't need any), this is different from squabbles over software patents. If what they are saying is true, ST had no business selling the fruits of Nokia R&D to any company other than Nokia, and they deserve ample compensation. But HTC is the last company that can afford to be caught in the crossfire of this sort of mess. Source: Engadget; via: WP Central

Runtastic branches out with two new biking apps Posted: 22 Apr 2013 11:47 AM PDT From amateurs to professionals, you now how have two more biking exercise options Runtastic, best known for its high-quality running, fitness and health apps, is branching out to include biking fitness apps to its catalog on Google Play. The two new apps, Runtastic Road Bike and Runtastic Mountain Bike, provide all of the great tracking and fitness features you come to expect from Runtastic, tailored to those who prefer to get their workout on two wheels. New biking-specific features like climb rates, live tracking, weather data and offline maps should compliment your rides well. The apps are also highly customizable, so you'll always have the data you want most in view. As Runtastic tends to do, each of the new apps has both a free and paid version. We've linked to the free Road Bike app at the Play Store link above, but you can also find the Mountain Bike app right here. The paid versions each ring in at $4.99, and have extra features available.

Xbox SmartGlass now available on Amazon appstore for your Kindle Fire Posted: 22 Apr 2013 11:07 AM PDT Microsoft brings their "second screen" application to Amazon's storefront for Kindle Fire devices About six months ago Microsoft released their Xbox SmartGlass app for Android to generally good reviews. If you haven't been paying attention, the app acts as a sort of controller for your Xbox, allowing you to surf the net from the console, act as a media controller remote and even change your Xbox 3D avatar. But until today, users wanting to use the app on their Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD devices had to resort to hackery to use Google Play or outright sideload a copy. No longer, as it's now officially available from Amazon. We're not sure just how many folks want to use a tablet as a remote versus use a smartphone, or how many of the folks who do will be using a Kindle Fire, but if you're one of them, click this link to grab it, or check out the appstore from your Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD. Via: Engadget

Shipments of low-cost smart phones poised to dramatically increase Posted: 22 Apr 2013 10:58 AM PDT Sub-$250 devices could represent as much as 46-percent of smart phones sold by 2018 As much as the latest high-end devices steal the news cycle (especially at a time like this), a large number of the phones sold around the world are still decidedly mid- and low-end. If analysis by ABI Research is to be believed, shipments of these low-end devices are going to increase at a much faster pace than the market as a whole. In 2018, 788 million low-end smart phones are expected to be shipped, compared to mid- and high-end devices combined at 925 million. Depending on the market, the reasons for this may be slightly different, however. For emerging markets that are much more price-sensitive, low-end devices may be the only option those consumers have to get their hands on something with internet access. As carriers in those areas look to maximize profits from data traffic, they will push to have very inexpensive smart phones available for them. In less price-sensitive (or heavily subsidized) markets like Western Europe and the U.S., there are still millions upon millions of people waiting to make that move from their feature phone onwards to a smart phone. Factoring the jump to a more expensive monthly rate including data, those consumers may need a stepping stone in the way of a more affordable (think $0 on-contract) option. These inexpensive phones also have the added bonus of carrying a smaller subsidy for the carriers to manage. Remember that while we like to focus on the highest of high-end devices, there's a whole market out there for phones that are a little more pedestrian. Source: ABIresearch (BusinessWire)

T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 Jelly Bean update rolling out now Posted: 22 Apr 2013 10:28 AM PDT 350MB update will start hitting devices today over the air It's not the latest, greatest, biggest or fastest device out there, but the LG Optimus L9 on T-Mobile will benefit from an update to Jelly Bean just the same. Today the carrier announced via a support page document that the move to 4.1.2 will be coming OTA (Over The Air) to devices starting today. The European models of the L9 started receiving the update just last week, so it's nice to see a U.S. variant fall right in line. There aren't too many specifics on the T-Mobile support page about the update, other than the fact that you'll need over 50-percent battery to accept the OTA and that you'll be downloading a sizeable 350MB file for it. Have an Optimus L9 on T-Mobile? Keep an eye out for this update, or drop a comment below if you've already received it. Source: T-Mobile Support

Jelly Bean now available for the Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G Posted: 22 Apr 2013 10:11 AM PDT This solid mid-range qwerty slider has an update to Android 4.1.2 ready and waiting both OTA and via Samsung Kies The Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G now has an official Jelly Bean update ready and waiting from Samsung and T-Mobile. The update to Android 4.1.2, version T699UVBMC5 is available both over the air, and through Samsung's desktop software Kies. The OTA update will remain available until May 30, and devices must be running version T699UVMA2, T699UVLJ1 or T699UVLH1 to be able to install today's update to Jelly Bean. This new platform update brings along the features from Android 4.1.2, including notables like Google Now and Project Butter and should make quite a nice difference in performance and reliability. If you're using one of these solid sliders, you'll want this one. While the Galaxy S3 may have captured most of the attention from Samsung last year, the fact is they made plenty of other quality, mid-range devices. The Relay 4G is one of those, and we're glad they were able to bump the version up for the folks that picked up this one. For more information about updating, see the source link below. Source: T-Mobile

Quick look: Cut the Rope Time Travel Posted: 22 Apr 2013 09:29 AM PDT The extremely popular franchise just keeps growing with this new addition There may not be a casual mobile game franchise more well-known than Cut the Rope at this point. And while other names come and go, developer ZeptoLab just keeps cranking out great iterations of this simple concept. It looks like they have yet another winner on their hands with the latest iteration -- dubbed "Time Travel" -- with new game mechanics, sounds and a few new friends as well. Stick around after the break to get a quick primer on the big changes you can expect in Cut the Rope: Time Travel. read more

Cricket unveils new $40 per line 'unlimited' family plan Posted: 22 Apr 2013 08:37 AM PDT Cricket has announced a new affordable rate plan for multi-phone households. Families who opt for the automatic bill pay  feature and have two or more phones will now be able to have unlimited talk minutes, unlimited text messaging, and unlimited (1GB at "full-speed") data for just $40 per line. That's a $10 savings over the standard $50 that a single-line plan costs. Also included is a subscription to Muve Music, which allows for unlimited music downloads and streaming as well as access to ringtones and ringback tones. Cricket also offers $60 monthly plans with 2.5GB of full-speed data per month, and $70 plans with 5GB of full-speed data monthly. Both of these plans include Cricket's mobile hot spot capability so that customers can attach additional wireless devices to their smartphone, and also offer the same Muve Music subscription. The new plan will be available for everyone starting today, and more information can be found at company-owned stores nationwide. Hit the break for the full press release. read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 screen weathers a flurry of blades Posted: 22 Apr 2013 07:37 AM PDT Over the weekend, one Romanian reviewer put the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 through a gauntlet of durability tests. Three different knives, a pen, a set of keys, and a fistful of coins didn't seem able to put the slightest mark on the S4's front face. This is good news for those that are on the verge of picking up one of these bad boys.  The Galaxy S4 is the first handset to use Gorilla Glass 3, which we've seen take a pretty harsh beating at CES, showing that it can do as well with impacts just as it can with scratches.  After seeing the video below, are you any more convinced about picking up a Samsung Galaxy S4? How highly does screen durability rate in your purchasing decisions?  Via: SamMobile read more

Rogers opens up LTE in 7 new markets Posted: 22 Apr 2013 06:51 AM PDT Canadian carrier Rogers has begun rolling out into the 44 markets they had promised a few weeks ago. Seven new markets go live today, including a few in my hometown of Ottawa. Ottawa, including Kanata, Nepean, Gloucester, Stittsville and Cumberland Airdrie, Alberta Langley, B.C Keswick; Ontario Hamilton, including Grimsby in Ontario Orillia, Ontario Stratford, Ontario As ever, Rogers is touting their access to the 2600 MHz band for faster speeds on the Samsung Galaxy S4. Any Canadian readers in these new markets? How many Rogers customers out there happy with their LTE service?

Deal of the Day: LLOYD Overlord T-Shirt Posted: 22 Apr 2013 06:20 AM PDT The April 22 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the LLOYD Overlord T-Shirt. These new Lloyd T-shirts are eco-printed in San Francisco on the finest charcoal colored 100% combed cotton jersey that we could find. We love these T-shirts and they have survived stringent wear and wash tests. Available in sizes small to XXXL. The LLOYD Overlord T-Shirt is available for just $9.95, 67% off today only. Grab yours while supplies last! Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

Get ready for #tm13 Posted: 22 Apr 2013 05:18 AM PDT Mobile Nations' own Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry, Phil Nickinson of Android Central, Rene Ritchie of iMore, and Daniel Rubino of Windows Phone Central, are joined by John P and Cali Lewis of GeekBeat.TV to tease their huge new [redacted]. That's all we can say for now, but stay tuned to all of our sites, follow us on Twitter and G+, and look out for #TM13 for more!

Monday Brief: The HTC One launches in the US, BlackBerry 10.1 for developers, and more! Posted: 22 Apr 2013 05:04 AM PDT   Mobile Nations Podcast Feed Mobile Nations on iTunes Mobile Nations YouTube Debug 13: Mike Lee and Lemur Chemistry   HTC One gains greater availability - here's what you need to know The Samsung Galaxy S4 is coming - Read all the latest updates Moga Pro controller review - a must-have for gamers   Blaq for BlackBerry 10 now available BlackBerry 10.1 now available to developers for the Dev Alpha B, Dev Alpha C and BlackBerry Z10 BlackBerry 10.1 is bringing plenty of changes - Here's some of what we're seeing The Great webOS Nation Giveaway: Here are four winners, of AT&T Pre3s; webOS haiku The Great webOS Nation Giveaway: Comment to win a Pixi, Pre 2, or Veer   T-Mobile iPhone 5 review Facebook Blast: Threaded group chat could be coming soon to Messenger app I spent $1800 on iOS and Mac App Store apps in 2012 Full render of the Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon, now in white First images of Nokia’s aluminum Lumia, codenamed ‘Catwalk’, have surfaced [Updated] Sneak Peek at Indigo, the upcoming personal assistant for Windows Phone [Video]

Facebook Home hits 500,000 installs, but what about active users? Posted: 21 Apr 2013 08:17 PM PDT Sometimes a big number is just... a big number The new "love it or hate it" app out there, Facebook Home, has surpassed a pretty notable milestone in the Play Store today: 500,000 installs. That's half a million installs of an app that many said would appeal to a very small section of people -- those who are presumably "all in" with Facebook. But what does that 500,000 number even mean? Not that much, actually. Any time that someone clicks "install" on the Google Play store, it counts as an install. It doesn't matter if the user never actually launches the app, whether they set it as a default launcher or even whether it stays installed on their phone for more than 10 minutes. It's kind of like a hamburger restaurant saying "10 million customers served". Well, sure they were served, but did they actually enjoy the food? Lots of users may be taking one bite out of Facebook Home and throwing it in the trash, and the Google Play numbers simply don't reflect that. The real number we'd love to take a look at is active installs. How many people have installed Facebook Home, then continued to use it. Given the current ratings it is receiving in the play store -- an average of 2.2 out of 5 -- we have to guess that number is well below 500,000. And without that "active installs" number, we don't believe there's any comment to be made about the success of Home this early in the game.

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