Android Community |
- Samsung GALAXY S 4 now on sale throughout Canada
- Gameloft teases new open-world Android game ‘Gangstar Vegas’
- World’s thinnest smartphone comes in at 5.6mm thanks to China
- Samsung GALAXY S 4 ad shows off features and pokes fun at iPhones
- Tweetdeck lives a little longer with Twitter API v1 extension
- ItsOn tipped to launch as Verizon MVNO with focus on plan flexibility
- AT&T LG Optimus G Pro hands-on and unboxing
- Google Photo Sphere images now embeddable on any website
- Google hosting Ingress events during I/O 2013
| Samsung GALAXY S 4 now on sale throughout Canada Posted: 03 May 2013 04:37 PM PDT For all those folks living North of the U.S. we have some excellent news to share. In case you haven’t been paying attention or seeing TV ad spots, Samsung’s GALAXY S 4 flagship smartphone is available starting today across Canada on most major carriers. The launch isn’t going quite as smooth as they planned, but it’s now readily available.
Already being available in the US on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon later this month, all the folks up in Canada will be happy to know they can get one of the best smartphones on the planet starting today. We’re hearing all major carriers in Canada are offering the 16GB model today. And again we’re only seeing the 16GB model and it sounds like the 32GB flavor could be delayed. In one swift motion the GALAXY S 4 is available on Rogers, TELUS, Bell, FIDO, Virgin, and more. So basically all the big carriers not to mention plenty of others and their sub-brands. They’ve been available for pre-order from many of these carriers with heavy anticipation, but hopefully you can walk into your carrier of choice and grab one today. You might want to call before heading down just in case. The GALAXY S 4 offers an incredible viewing experience on a new 5-inch 1080p full HD display, quad-core processing power and 2GB of RAM, and of course only 16GB of storage. You’ll enjoy a 13 megapixel camera, a 2,600 mAh battery and enough features to spend an entire week learning. With S-View cases, air-view gestures for hands-free usage and more Samsung really brought out all the stops. One of our favorite features is the IR blaster and TV remote control app. Get it and give it a try today. Before you decide the S4 is right for you, check out our in-depth GALAXY S 4 Review and then a comparison with the HTC One. Device Info
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| Gameloft teases new open-world Android game ‘Gangstar Vegas’ Posted: 03 May 2013 04:12 PM PDT Today we’re getting our first look at what could be a pretty awesome game from the folks at Gameloft. In their usual fashion we’re getting nothing but a teaser trailer today, and we’ll probably get another in a few weeks when they officially announce more details. It looks pretty awesome but sadly there’s no actual gameplay footage.
Gameloft has continued to push out pretty impressive games lately, we’re just hoping this won’t be full of in-app purchases. The new game is called Gangstar Vegas, and follows along with their other Gangstar game franchise titles that have been popular on Android and iOS. It might not reveal much, but for those who love a good game this could be worthy of checking out. Gameloft really doesn’t reveal anything here, like at all. The only real hint comes from the YouTube description mentioning we’ll be able to “plunge into Las Vegas’s Underworld” in this new acclaimed open-world game. It certainly isn’t Grand Theft Auto, but it’s close. The preview is pretty awesome, and graphic because this is Vegas, so use caution. Only in Vegas can you find all of that with ease. Especially at 0:15 seconds. You get a glimpse or 3 of the city, but nothing of the actual game. We’ll have to wait for another video for that. While we’re still patiently awaiting Gameloft’s Blitz Brigade to be released, this new Gangstar Vegas is listed as coming soon. Stay tuned! |
| World’s thinnest smartphone comes in at 5.6mm thanks to China Posted: 03 May 2013 03:45 PM PDT Lately there has been an ongoing trend to try and earn the title and crown of having the “world’s thinnest smartphone.” The folks from OPPO, Huawei, and many others have all joined in on the fun, but the record keeps getting beat every few months as technology advances. Today a Chinese company is looking to smash all the competition with a truly razor thin smartphone.
Currently the smartphone that holds the title for the thinnest smartphone is the recently unveiled Huawei P6 coming in at 6.18mm. Before that was OPPO, and before that was another Huawei device. Honestly, we feel like a decently thin smartphone with a large battery is much more warranted, but to each his own. Meet a rather unknown Chinese company called UMeox and their new Brand X5 smartphone. This thing truly is one of the slimmest and sleekest handsets we’ve ever seen. It doesn’t just beat the Huawei P6 by a few millimeters either. It comes in at under 6mm thick. Something no one has delivered quite yet. Their device is less than a quarter of an inch thick, coming in at just 5.6mm, and looks pretty sharp from the image shown above. Full dimensions are 118 x 60 x 5.6mm and it comes with a decent 4-inch display according to reports. If you love a super thin phone this Chinese device might also make its way to Europe according to reports. Do you like this idea? Or would you rather compromise on a few mm in favor of better battery life? [via GizChina] |
| Samsung GALAXY S 4 ad shows off features and pokes fun at iPhones Posted: 03 May 2013 03:23 PM PDT Samsung is back with those ads we all seem to either love or hate, showing off their latest smartphone the GALAXY S 4. In their latest ad airing during the NBA playoffs called “Pool Party” you’ll get to see many of those new features that make the GALAXY S 4 stand out against the competition. Then, what kind of Samsung commercial would it be without poking fun at Apple. Take a peek below.
As expected, Samsung is already blasting their new smartphone on social media and TV across the nation, and we’re only going to see more of it as the weeks and months pass. Samsung does a pretty good job at TV advertising, even if their launch events are extremely cheesy. The ad shows off a few of the many new features being delivered with their new smartphone. Things like air gesture controls for answering the phone, their dual-shot camera mode, IR-blaster for controlling the TV and much much more. It’s pretty nifty, shows that they have plenty of cash being spent on adverts, and is actually pretty funny. Here it is: As usual, Samsung’s aiming right at Apple and poking fun at all those iPhone users. Going as far as to say not all smartphones are as smart as each other. Having owners questioning their decision about getting an iPhone and more. Then of course teases the iPhone for not having NFC for S-Beam photo sharing. Yup, we knew that was coming. I have a feeling this is just one of many new commercials we’ll be seeing soon, and we’ll be sure to post the good and the bad right here. Do you like the approach of them always knocking their competition? Don’t forget to check out our GALAXY S 4 Review. |
| Tweetdeck lives a little longer with Twitter API v1 extension Posted: 03 May 2013 01:56 PM PDT Just when I was starting to come to the sad realization that Tweetdeck was shutting down, and Twitter would be retiring their original v1 API on May 7th, we learn that they’ve extended the date. For those confused, many original legacy Twitter clients like the super popular Tweetdeck all run on v1, and once it’s retired they’ll no longer work. Twitter confirmed today they’ve delayed the retirement date.
Arguably one of the most popular Twitter clients, on both desktop and mobile, is Tweetdeck. Sadly this will no longer function once API v1 is shut down, and as a result Twitter will be killing off Tweetdeck and a few others completely. Their new API is supported by most of the popular Twitter clients on both desktop and mobile these days, but any that are no longer in development will cease to work soon. Today Twitter announced that they’ve delayed the retirement a little over a month, and the new shut down date has been penciled in for June 11th. This means you all get to enjoy TweetDeck (TweakDeck) and other v1 clients for another month or so before the end comes. There’s hundreds of thousands of Twitter users running older clients, so now you have a little longer to find a replacement. Twitter will be conducting blackout tests, so many of those older clients will have moments where they fail you. So you better find a replacement soon. Speaking of Android, there’s tons of options available in the Google Play Store for Twitter. Falcon Pro is popular, Carbon is decent, but lately my personal favorite has been a new Twitter app called Robird. If you’re interested check it out in our full review. More details and questions can be answered in the Twitter forum link below. [via Twitter] |
| ItsOn tipped to launch as Verizon MVNO with focus on plan flexibility Posted: 03 May 2013 01:44 PM PDT It looks like those in the US will soon have another wireless carrier to pick from. This latest will be introduced by ItsOn Inc, though the name of the service has yet to be announced. Charles Giancarlo from ItsOn has said the service (and the name) will be announced later this month and it will bring a focus on flexibility. The service will be a pay-as-you-go offering and while that does mean paying full price for your device, it also means you will not be tied into any long term carrier commitment.
ItsOn CEO Greg Raleigh has said they will be offering “the least-expensive service in the country." Going on to say that a family of three will be paying less than 50 percent of what they are currently paying. He later referred to this as the “un-plan.” Further talk touched on how those using the service will be able to “easily” allot voice minutes, texts and data limits on a per line basis. The service is said to be launching as competition for already established no-contract carriers such as MetroPCS, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile and Leap Wireless. While this Bloomberg report didn’t mention which carrier network they would be operating under, speculation points towards Verizon Wireless. In fact, a Reuters report from October 2012 noted ItsOn Inc as previously having secured funding from Verizon Communications, Vodafone Group Plc and Best Buy. Otherwise, in a bit of good news for Android Community readers, it looks like the initial handset selection will consist primarily of Android devices. So how about it, anyone interested in or already using a similar service? We have to admit, the freedom and flexibility sounds appealing, but there is quite a bit of comfort in being with one of the big four carriers. [via 9to5Mac] |
| AT&T LG Optimus G Pro hands-on and unboxing Posted: 03 May 2013 01:12 PM PDT Today we have the pleasure to be working with another one of those larger than usual phones. The LG Optimus G Pro quad-core powerhouse smartphone from LG, available next week from AT&T. This is arguably LG’s flagship smartphone at the moment and aims to take on the GALAXY S 4 and the Note II, with a 5.5-inch 1080p display and more. Take a peek at our extended hands-on below.
LG officially announced the Optimus G Pro back at Mobile World Congress and we got some time with it then, but then May 1st they confirmed it would be available exclusively in the US from AT&T complete with 4G LTE. Can this compete with the Note II? Read on to get a glimpse of what to expect. The LG Optimus G Pro has nearly every single feature checked in the must-have category as of late. A 5.5-inch 1080p full HD IPS+ display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 1.7 GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, an impressive 13 megapixel camera, and much more. We won’t have all those S-features like the GALAXY S 4, but it’s still impressive.
LG wrapped the device in a lightweight plastic, and the back is removable revealing a 3,140 mAh battery and micro-SD slot for expanding storage. Then of course we have a 2.1 megapixel front camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, an IR-blaster (remote control) Quick Memo (on-screen writing) and AT&T 4G LTE all on board. So it’s a pretty packed device. Sadly we only get Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, unlike Samsung who’s releasing most devices lately with the absolute latest version of Android. Here’s our hands-on and unboxing: As you can see, the Optimus G Pro is pretty massive. It has a very similar look and feel as the Note II, but is actually quite a bit lighter and easier to hold. Then again you won’t get an S-Pen stylus, or the WACOM digitizer either. The IPS display looks pretty gorgeous, and we love the 1080p, but we’ll need more time with it to fully decide what we think. One important note is their attempt to simulate Samsung’s success here. They’ve added that dedicated home button on bottom, which we aren’t fans of, but it feels sturdy and is easy to tap. Overall the hardware is decent from our initial impressions but again, we’ll need more time to fully decide what we think. Check out a few additional pictures below and stay tuned for our full review. Would you take this over the Note II, or are you waiting to see what the rumored Note 3 has in store? Let us know.           Device Info
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| Google Photo Sphere images now embeddable on any website Posted: 03 May 2013 12:36 PM PDT Photo Sphere is a feature that was introduced with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Basically that means only a limited amount of users are able to capture Photo Sphere images at the moment. Not to mention, the options and places to view these images has also rather limited. In the past, Photo Sphere viewing was previously limited to Google+ pages, the device that took the picture and on Google Maps (provided they were uploaded).
As of today however, it looks like Photo Sphere images can now be seen on any website. This process is handled with a bit of JavaScript code and the Google+ API. The code will need to be placed on the website where you plan to have your Photo Sphere images viewable. The trick is, the images themselves are not actually hosted on your website. Instead, the images will still need to be uploaded to Google+ or Picasa first. Google has provided a detailed set of directions on the Developers pages, those can be found here. Google also provided a working example of how these images will appear to visitors and that page can be seen here. Bottom line, while this doesn’t mean more people will be able to capture these images, this update will make them easier to show off. Finally, those who simply want to browse around and check out a wide variety of Photo Sphere images may want to check out the Google Maps Street View page. [via Google+] |
| Google hosting Ingress events during I/O 2013 Posted: 03 May 2013 11:49 AM PDT Ingress is still only available as a closed beta, however it looks like the game will be getting some attention during the upcoming Google I/O conference. Google I/O will run from May 15th through May 17th and according to recent details coming from Google, they will be hosting Ingress events on the 14th, 15th and 16th.
We are hopeful this could mark the end of the beta period for Ingress, however that remains unclear at the moment. For now, Google has said they will be sending an Ingress invite to everyone that is registered for I/O. Those planning to attend I/O (that want to participate in the Ingress games) are encouraged to have your account setup and activated before arrival. That said, the game on the 14th will take place between 4PM and 6PM on the first floor of Moscone West. The game on the 15th will take place at the I/O After Hours Party (from 7PM to 10PM) which is on the third floor of Moscone West. The third Ingress event will also be for two hours (from 7PM to 9PM) on the 16th, however Google describes this one as being a “major Ingress-wide game event in San Francisco.” There will also be an I/O session on the 15th that will give details about the design vision behind Ingress. Anyway, if you are registered for Google I/O you should probably be on the lookout for your invite. All others, you can hope this means the end of the beta period. Of course, even if the beta continues after I/O, it would appear as of Google’s Niantic Labs will be offering plenty of additional details. We just have one thought left; Which side will you be picking? The Resistance or the Enlightened. [via Android Police] |
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