Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Android and Me

Android and Me

DroidLanding Verizon Twitter account reactivated; new Droid launch imminent?

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 01:57 PM PDT

It’s been nearly two years since Verizon’s DroidLanding Twitter account, used to promote new Droid series devices using cheesy robotic language and B-movie quality special effects, has uttered a peep. Today,  June 18, is the day we will remember as the day DroidLanding rose again.

We have absolutely no idea what the DroidLanding Twitter account could be preparing for, but you can bet it will be something big. The tweet doesn’t reveal any details on what Verizon’s working on, but it does assure us that, whatever it is, it’ll be going down in true Droid fashion:

Reactivation protocols initiated ::: Systems nearing operational status ::: Stand by for further instructions...DroidLandingTwitter

Could it be as simple as Verizon giving away some phones for the summer? Is it to announce a new Droid device? If so, from whom? Motorola? HTC? Right now, we have more questions than answers. Feel free to speculate on what Verizon has in the works in the comments below. And remember, Droid does.

Update: Verizon has posted a corresponding video to YouTube and game to the Play Store (D:Com) centering around giant mechs. The video shows the mechs in a number of locations across the U.S. and the game puts you at the helm of one of the mechs in a multiplayer augmented reality battle.

  • Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn
  • Clark Street in Chicago
  • The Pier (Santa Monica?)
  • Moose Junction (Wyoming? Wisconsin?)
  • Douglas Lake in Tennessee

AT&T scores yet another exclusive: Galaxy S4 in red

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 01:23 PM PDT

As if AT&T doesn’t have enough exclusives to drive customers away from other carriers and into their expensive (but well covered) arms, today the US carrier will start selling a red version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 for $199 on contract.

Aside from its very rouge exterior, AT&T’s exclusive Red Aurora Samsung Galaxy S4 is no different than the boring ol’ Black Mist and White Frost versions we’ve already come to know and love. You still get a 5-inch full HD 1080 display, a 13MP camera and of course, access to AT&T’s LTE network.

The Red Aurora S4 is just the latest in a string of AT&T exclusives. Ma Bell looks to be going all-out on offense, securing as many handsets and special edition devices as possible to use as ammunition against rival carriers. It’s not like other carriers aren’t participating; T-Mobile just announced the Sony Xperia Z as an exclusive today. But AT&T seems especially keen to open their pocketbooks and tempt manufacturers.

What do you say? Do you see a red Galaxy S4 in your future, or does something else have your attention?

Reps rank HTC One no. 3 in sales

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 12:56 PM PDT

Talking to in-store reps can reveal a lot about what customers want. It may not be the most scientific approach when computing device sales, but it clearly illustrates what the consumers are buying and asking about. R.W. Baird's William Power talked to reps of each of the four major US carriers to find out what phones were selling the best, and the results aren’t too surprising.

The two top selling phones for all four carriers were the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S 4. We didn’t expect anything different, and we’re sure you didn’t either. However, the device that came in third place was a pleasant surprise. At AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, it was often mentioned that the HTC One is their third best selling device.

With a recent history of diminished profits and failed products, it’s great to see HTC succeeding. Their newest device is a game changer with the UltraPixel camera and BoomSound front-facing speakers. But making an amazing product doesn’t always help; there’s more to the equation. Their advertising, though still spotty, is getting better. Their ad campaigns are pushy, borderline insulting and have people talking.

Since the HTC One is not available on Verizon, it seems that the RAZR models have been the alternatives to the Galaxy S 4 and iPhone. Fortunately, the HTC One will be coming to Verizon sometime this summer, so HTC might win third place on Verizon, too.

This doesn’t say much about actual sales, because many sales are online. It also doesn’t account for business sales. But in the end, it’s a good way of seeing what the customers want and have been purchasing. What do you think of these results?

Humble Bundle with Android 6 is live; cheap games, help charities!

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 12:06 PM PDT

The Humble Bundle with Android is back in its 6th iteration, sporting a grand total of seven games. All games but one are cross platform, supporting Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. And the second best part? You pay what you want!

The package contains seven games, five of which have no pay limit. Aquaria, Fractal, Organ Trail: Director’s Cut and Stealth Bastard Deluxe are all cross platform games that can be installed on Android when purchasing the Humble Bundle. Pulse is an Android-only game you also get when buying. However, there are two games with a minimum fee. If you pay more than the average purchase price, you’ll receive Frozen Synapse and Broken Sword: Directors Cut.

Yes, you can pay a dollar and get five games. To get all of the games, you have to pay above the average price, which currently stands at $4.55. But please, don’t pay a dollar. Pay a good price for these games, because they’re worth $95 if purchased separately, and the developers deserve a big cut of the pie.

In my opinion, the best part of the Humble Bundle is giving to charity. Some of the money goes to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Child’s Play Charity. What’s better than getting cheap games and donating to charity at the same time? Other than pie? (Pie is delicious).

You can customize the amount that goes to each party, giving most to developers, charity or the Humble team. There are awesome sliders that let you customize the payout, so you get the most out of your purchase. The Humble Bundle has made $13.5 million for charities so far, so give a big amount and feel good about yourself. This is an amazing opportunity that benefits everyone, so take advantage of it. Hit the source link and get to buying!

Source: The Humble Bundle

Motorola XT1055 passes FCC with US Cellular bands; possible XFON variant?

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 11:01 AM PDT

The Motorola X Phone is one of the hottest rumored devices on the planet. All sorts of crazy rumors have popped up about this device, and it’s been entertaining to say the least. Now the mysterious Motorola device has popped up in FCC filings for various carriers: AT&T (XT1058), Sprint (XT1056) and Verizon (XT1060). The latest to pass through the FCC was the Motorola XT1055, which has compatibility for the LTE Band 12 that US Cellular uses. Hopefully we’ll soon see a T-Mobile model, too.

MotorolaXT1055FCC

The AT&T model’s filing revealed an image that looked exactly like previous leaks of a device titled the XFON, which looked like other leaks that were showing off the X Phone. All of these model numbers are close together, so they should all be variants of the same device. This means we just might see this X Phone across all US carriers.

Yesterday, evleaks revealed the specs of the Motorola X. Evleaks is known for accurate leaks of high profile devices, so we’re inclined to trust him. The specs revealed a Snapdragon dual core, 2GB of RAM, a 720p display, a 10MP camera and Android 4.2.2. These specs aren’t high-end by our fancy standards (especially compared to the quad cores and 1080p displays in the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4), but they’re definitely nice for a mid-range phone.

With FCC filings left and right, this device may come out very soon. We still don’t know of a release date or even the price, but we’re sure the info will come soon enough.

It’s surprising to see even regional carriers get the same Motorola device; we haven’t really seen a truly cross-carrier Motorola device in a long time. Naturally, we’re excited to see what Motorola and Google cooked up. With Google’s guidance on this device, it may be something very special. What would you like to see from the X Phone?

Via: Droid-Life
Source: FCC

Huawei won’t be participating in the Google Edition program

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 10:38 AM PDT

For those of you hoping Huawei would join in on the fun and release a stock Android “Google Edition” Ascend P6, let’s just get this out of the way right now: Huawei has no plans to participate in the Google Edition program.

Where Samsung, HTC and now Sony have all seen value in producing a variant of their flagship devices that run stock Android, with updates provided and managed by Google, Huawei does not. At today’s Ascend P6 unveiling, Richard Yu, Chief Executive Officer for the Huawei Consumer Business Group, spoke out against the Google Edition program, saying that Huawei has no plans to turn the P6 into a Nexus device. Huawei is proud of their Emotion UI and of how it works in sync with the hardware they’ve been hard at work perfecting.

While not everyone may like the changes implemented in third-party manufacturer UIs, they do feature a handful of enhancements and optimizations. Without Sense and Touchwiz, the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 will be missing features and selling points that were tailor made for their specific hardware. Other manufacturers undoubtedly recognize this, but only Huawei appears to be acting on it. As we approach the release date for the Google Edition One and S4, we can’t help but notice the hype surrounding the devices has died down considerably, leading us to believe sales of the $600+ phones will fall flat. It looks like Huawei may be making a smart move here.

Entry-level HTC Desire 200 becomes official

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 10:23 AM PDT

It seems HTC has finally settled on some solid brands. High-end offerings are marketed under the One line and the Desire line-up hosts entry-level devices. The latest member to the Desire family is the Desire 200, a phone that’s definitively low-end. It has a mixed design that resembles some of HTC’s older models but also takes subtle cues from the One line-up. The final product isn’t too bad-looking, though, so we can overlook the blended styles.

The specs are extremely low-end; the phone has a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 display, 1GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 512MB RAM, 5-megapixel camera, 4GB storage and a microSD card slot. While it is admittedly lackluster in specs, HTC says it will come with a pair of high-quality Beats in-ear earbuds, which is a nice touch. A 1,230mAh battery keeps the device juiced up, and the phone supports 7.2Mbps HSPA. Per usual, HTC has their Sense overlay on the phone and a special feature called “Intelligent Display” that will resize text for better viewing, zoom in and dial a phone number with a single step, store articles for offline viewing and more.

There’s no doubt in our minds that the HTC Desire 200 is intended for a very entry-level market. But with a price of $165 in Taiwan, it looks like it should be well received in that market. If anybody has thoughts on the Desire 200, let us know in the comments!

Via: Engadget
Source: HTC

Samsung teases Premiere 2013 event with new photo

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 10:03 AM PDT

Samsung’s Premiere 2013 event is coming up, and they’re doing their best to keep people excited. And people should be excited, because we’ll be seeing some pretty cool devices there–some Android related, some not. The image is simple and quite attractive, but really doesn’t say much about the event. Luckily, we know quite a bit already.

Samsung should announce a few new Galaxy S 4 variants there, as well as show off some that were already announced. We’ve heard that the Galaxy S 4 Mini will launch at the event. Plus, they’ll be showing off their newly announced Galaxy S 4 Active and Galaxy S 4 Zoom to the public. They’ll also have some ATIV products running Windows or Windows Phone, which might interest some of you. It’ll be a good time!

But the star of the show just might be Samsung’s new smart camera, the Galaxy Camera NX. Unlike the first iteration of their Galaxy Camera, this one will have a mirrorless design. Samsung’s JK Shin confirmed this himself. However, some leaked photos of it floating around have demonstrated a DSLR-like body with an APS-C sensor and interchangeable lenses, making this camera look a lot more professional. The biggest complaint with the original Galaxy Camera was poor image quality for the price, so this just might be their solution. We can’t wait to see it.

As always, Samsung will stream the event, so head to Samsung’s YouTube page come June 20! The event starts at 19:00 BST, which is 2:00 PM EST or 11:00 AM PST. Keep your eyes peeled for some cool new stuff, and stay tuned to Android and Me for some sweet, sweet coverage. Is there anything you’re excited to see at the event?

Source: SamMobile

Former HTC executives launch Kazam, smartphone start-up to challenge the norm

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 08:57 AM PDT

The technology world is filled with start-ups formed around a new product or service. But it’s not often we see a new company that plans to go head-to-head with Samsung, Apple, HTC, Sony and all the other big players in the smartphone space. Michael Coombes and James Atkins, former executives at HTC, are planning to challenge the status quo by launching a new smartphone manufacturing company, Kazam.

Coombes and Atkins are not quite ready to reveal what their smartphone will look like, but we should expect Kazam products to focus on “stunning design, robust hardware and intuitive technology, underpinned with improved customer service.” Kazam will focus primarily on the European market, enabling the company to zero in on the exact needs of the local market and be nimble enough to quickly react to changing consumer demands. Kazam should be ready to push out its first batch of smartphones later this year.

There is a real opportunity for a new mobile brand to disrupt the status quo. We are passionate about delivering a truly positive mobile experience that doesn't just stop once you've bought the phone.James AtkinsKazam

We do not know if Kazam will use Android to power its smartphones, but it feels like the obvious choice. While HTC and other smartphone manufacturers have struggled to compete with dominating forces like Samsung and Apple, Kazam may be able to carve out a small niche for itself in the smartphone market space.

What do you think it’ll take for Kazam to succeed?

Sony Xperia Z comes to T-Mobile

Posted: 18 Jun 2013 08:25 AM PDT

The Sony Zperia Z is Sony’s flagship for 2013, but unfortunately, it hasn’t yet sailed its water-resistant body across the pond to visit a US carrier. That’s changing today. T-Mobile will be the first US carrier to offer the Xperia Z. With the exception of a small T-Mobile logo on the back of the phone, the device is pretty much the same as the international model. That means consumers can still expect to see a 5-inch 1080p display with Mobile Bravia Engine 2, 13MP rear camera with Exmor RS, HDR video and an IP57 rating against water and dust.

The Xperia Z for T-Mobile throws another color option into the mix; there’s a purple Xperia Z in the works. And because it’s nice and new, it does feature support for T-Mobile’s blossoming 4G LTE network as well as the HSPA+ and 3G bands.

The Xperia Z is among the recent high-end phones that feature water-proofing. It’s a nice trend to see, because we’ve all heard horror stories about people dropping their phones in the toilet. As for pricing or a release date, we don’t know anything except that it will be available “in the coming weeks.”

Now that it’s officially available from a US carrier, who’s going to take a look at the Sony Xperia Z?

Via: PhoneDog
Source: T-Mobile
Posted by at 7:37 AM

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