Android Central |
- ZTE Vital for Sprint leaks in press renders, looks a lot like the Grand S LTE
- Your old phone could be worth up to $300 off the purchase of any Samsung phone at Radio Shack
- Redbox Instant from Verizon now available for select Google TV devices
- Plague Inc. Mutation 1.6 infects Android in August
- Android US market share dips slightly, remains on top as of April 2013
- Verizon weighs in on the future of the 'DROID' brand
- Wikipad 7-inch gaming tablet launches June 11 for $249
- What's the dark side to mobile gaming?
- White Nexus 4s apparently being intercepted, returned to Google [Updated]
- Some of your kids' favorite shows move from Netflix to Amazon
- Deal of the Day: Case-Mate Tough Xtreme Case for Samsung Galaxy S4
- Help us reach a YouTube milestone!
- Toshiba announces Excite Write, Excite Pro and Excite Pure tablets
- HTC COO reportedly steps down
- HTC sees revenue improvement in May 2013
- Sony announces entry-level Xperia M
- Three UK experiences widespread data outage [Updated]
- The saga continues: Sprint fights back against Dish offer for Clearwire
- Who won the trip to NYC for the Talk Mobile launch party? Find out now!
- '4G ready' Xperia Tablet Z hitting Vodafone UK for as little as £99
- Qualcomm announces new quad-core Snapdragon 400
| ZTE Vital for Sprint leaks in press renders, looks a lot like the Grand S LTE Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:20 PM PDT
Another well-specced device to expand Sprint's LTE offeringsPress images and specs of what's purportedly called the ZTE Vital have leaked out today, giving details on another new LTE device destined for Sprint. Details on the device given to Engadget list a 5-inch HD (assumedly 1080P) display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2500mAh battery, 13MP camera, 1GB of RAM and what looks to be basically stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Naturally the device will run on Sprint's LTE network, sitting alongside the other high-end devices currently on offer such as the Galaxy S4 and HTC One, although pricing or availability aren't known right this moment. The detailed renders and specs list we have available today, if true, line up almost exactly with ZTE's latest flagship device the Grand S LTE. First shown off back at CES in January, the Grand S LTE basically packed in every piece of top-notch hardware available at the time, and should hold up against other high-end offerings even 6 months later. Sprint had ZTE have partnered up in the past for some specialty and mid-range devices, but nothing this highly specced. It will be interesting to see how it is priced and presented if it becomes available. Several more renders of the device can be found at the source link below. Source: Engadget 
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| Your old phone could be worth up to $300 off the purchase of any Samsung phone at Radio Shack Posted: 04 Jun 2013 03:40 PM PDT
If you're considering picking up a new Samsung phone, Radio Shack wants to talk to you -- and they have money to spend on your trade-inFrom now until July 7 Radio Shack is offering a trade-in program on purchases of any Samsung phone from Verizon, AT&T or Sprint. Your old phone is guaranteed to get you at least $30, with several phones like the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 netting you as much as $300 in like new condition. The phone you're trading in has to be working, and you'll get more money by including the cables and charger. For more information, have a look here. This is how you move product folks. Get people interested with special promotions like this one with Radio Shack, then keep them interested once they see the great products you've made. It's no wonder Samsung is making all the money off of Android, because they have the best business plan. Other vendors should take note if they want to compete with the Samsung juggernaut. 
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| Redbox Instant from Verizon now available for select Google TV devices Posted: 04 Jun 2013 02:20 PM PDT
Your $8 monthly subscription for Redbox Instant now goes a little further, as the service is available for a handful of Google TV devicesVerizon and Redbox have made their Redbox Instant app available for a select group of Google TV devices, bringing another streaming on-demand service to the bigger screen in your living room. For an $8 monthly subscription, folks using the 47G2 and 55G2 Google TV-enabled Smart TVs from LG, NETGEAR's NeoTV Prime with Google TV, the Sony Internet Player NSZ-GS7, or the Vizio Co-Star can instantly stream a movie, rent or buy content, and even reserve a DVD for pick up at the local kiosk. Getting started is easy, simply fire up the Google Play store on your supported device and search for Redbox Instant by Verizon-GTV and install the app. You can then enroll for a free trial month right inside the app or on the web here. For Google TV, content is king. It's nice to see more of it being delivered, even if it is on a scale limited a little more than we like. Source: Google 
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| Plague Inc. Mutation 1.6 infects Android in August Posted: 04 Jun 2013 01:34 PM PDT
Plague Inc. -- a longstanding favorite here at Android Central -- will be bringing its latest "mutation" to Android come August. The update for the strategy game, in which your goal is to kill every last man, woman and child on earth, adds options for speed runs, official content from the Centers for Disease Control, translations for Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Russian, and a few other in-game enhancements. The update will be free when it lands in Google Play. (It'll hit the iOS version of the game first.) We've got the full rundown after the break. 
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| Android US market share dips slightly, remains on top as of April 2013 Posted: 04 Jun 2013 01:19 PM PDT
Samsung holds a strong first place in the Android manufacturer numbers with 22-percent of all mobile devices soldIndustry analyst comScore has just released its market share numbers for the U.S. mobile industry, reminding us that Android is still dominant in the states, as is Samsung when it comes to the sale of Android handsets. For the three month period spanning from the end of January to the end of April, Android's market share dipped slightly by 0.3-percentage points to 52-percent of the mobile market -- trailed by Apple at 39.2-percent, up 1.4-percentage points. Adding up to less than 10-percent together are BlackBerry, Microsoft and Symbian, naturally.
On the manufacturer side, Apple is still king in terms of individual manufacturer market share, naturally with 39.2-percent of the market (as it is the only manufacturer of iOS devices). Trailing notably is Samsung, with a solid 22-percent share, up 0.6-percentage points. Rounding out the top five are HTC (8.9-percent), Motorola (8.3-percent) and LG (6.7-percent), as you would expect. There should be no surprises here, as Samsung continues to take off as the leading manufacturer of Android devices in every shape, size, name and variation. Source: comScore 
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| Verizon weighs in on the future of the 'DROID' brand Posted: 04 Jun 2013 11:49 AM PDT
No DROID devices in nearly seven months? Oh, noes!The Verizon HTC ONE will not be the Verizon DROID HTC One. That's probably a good thing, if only to spare us all from the cursed "DROOOOOOOOOOID" notification sound. That's not to say it won't come without any other horrid sounds, but at least can expect that one to not be there. Anyhoo. A "DROID" phone it is not. It's been some months since we've seen a new "DROID" phone from Verizon. (That'd be the Droid DNA in November 2012.) The branding and ensuing marketing campaigns, of course, is what helped launch the first real generation of consumer-friendly Android smartphones. T-Mobile's annoying uncapitalized "myTouch" brand fizzled, HTC's original 2012 "HTC One" brand was a marketing mess, and Sony's Xperia line spans basically every letter in the English alphabet. (We got the Xperia M today, for what it's worth.) But through it all, DROID has persisted, even if some of us dropped the all-caps spelling. The original Motorola Droid. The Droid Eris. Droid Incredible. Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global. Droid Incredible 2. Droid Incredible S. Droid X. Droid 3. Droid Charge. Droid Bionic. Droid Pro. Droid 4. Droid XYBOARD 8.2 and 10.1 tablets. The Droid RAZR. Droid RAZR M. Droid RAZR Maxx and Maxx HD. And that's just off the top of our heads. So it's natural to question the future of the DROID brand after going nearly seven months without a new DROID device. Verizon's answer doesn't shed any light on any upcoming devices -- not that we expected it to -- but give the appearance that we've probably not yet seen the end of DROID. Verizon spokeswoman Brenda Raney, in an e-mailed response to Android Central, told us that "the Droid brand is very important to us and will continue to represent the best of the best that is exclusive to the Verizon Wireless network." Parse that any way you want, but we wouldn't hesitate to put a little money on the arrival of a new DROID-branded device this year. 
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| Wikipad 7-inch gaming tablet launches June 11 for $249 Posted: 04 Jun 2013 11:07 AM PDT |
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What's the dark side to mobile gaming?
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 09:00 AM PDT
Until a few years ago, mobile gaming was confined to Minesweeper, Solitaire, Brick Breaker, and a handful of strategy-style games like the classic Warfare Incorporated. The rise of iOS, Android, BlackBerry 10, and Windows Phone has changed that, bringing immersive, innovative, and addicting gameplay to our mobile devices.
Yet the renaissance of mobile gaming has brought with it a dark side -- sometimes the games are too immersive and too addicting. The virtual people in our lives can displace the real ones, if we let them. And sometimes, with the new freemium and premium payment models, that's exactly what the developers intend...
But how bad can it get? What's the dark side of mobile gaming?
Let's get the conversation started!
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White Nexus 4s apparently being intercepted, returned to Google [Updated]
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 07:54 AM PDT
Update: Google Play support tells us that white Nexus 4 buyers should disregard the "intercepted" message, and that delivery times should be unaffected by the error. We've got the full statement after the break.
Original story: Those of us waiting on our white Nexus 4s to be delivered today apparently are going to have to wait a little longer. On Monday, the UPS shipping status was updated to "The shipper has requested a Delivery Intercept for this package. / Return to sender pending."
And this morning, we're now showing "The Delivery Intercept request for this package was successfully completed. / Shipper requested return of package."
LG announced the white version on May 28, and it went on sale in Google Play in the U.S. a day later. The 16-gigabyte version is currently listed as being out of stock, while the 8GB model is still for sale.
A quick call into the Google Play support line tells us that they're aware of the "intercepted" updates, but we don't have much more to go on than that. We've got e-mails into Google to see what's going on, and when the white Nexus 4 may ship again, or be delivered again, or whatever. Stay tuned.
More: Nexus 4 forums
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Some of your kids' favorite shows move from Netflix to Amazon
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 06:44 AM PDT
Viacom deal brings Dora, other kid TV along with the more adult Tosh.0 to Amazon Prime Video
Amazon this morning announced that it has scooped up Viacom's suite of children's shows, bringing some of your kids' favorite episodes to Amazon Prime Video. Previously available on Netflix, you'll now have to move to Amazon for "The Backyardigans," "Bubble Guppies," "Team Umizoomi" (that's the one with the robot that Android fans sometimes think is a Bugdroid) and "Blue's Clues," among others. You'll also be getting future episodes of "Dora the Explorer," "SpongeBob SquarePants," the "Fresh Beat Band" and more.
Basically, anything a toddler refuses to turn off.
The multiyear, multination deal also brings MTV and Comedy Central shows such as Tosh.0 and Awkward.
Source: Amazon; More: Android for kids
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Deal of the Day: Case-Mate Tough Xtreme Case for Samsung Galaxy S4
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 06:20 AM PDT
The June 4 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Case-Mate Tough Xtreme Case for Samsung Galaxy S4. The Xtreme Case combines high quality protection with a custom color combination for your Galaxy S4. Dual layers form together to guard against any fumbles and a form-fitting silicone skin surrounds the device completely, absorbing shocks and impacts. Comes in black and pink.
The Case-Mate Xtreme Case is available for just $20.00, 50% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping.
Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!
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Help us reach a YouTube milestone!
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 05:21 AM PDT
Have you subscribed to the Android Central channel on YouTube yet? Now would be a fine time pressing that button, because we're just a stone's throw away from the almighty 100k, as our pal Cory points out on Twitter. And you know how we get when we reach milestones -- we like to give stuff away!
So as soon as we cross that 100,000-subscriber threshold, we'll dig up something to offer up to you fine, YouTube-subscribing readers. Thanks!
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Toshiba announces Excite Write, Excite Pro and Excite Pure tablets
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 05:08 AM PDT
Two new high-def Tegra 4 tablets and a budget Tegra 3 offering
Toshiba has taken the wraps off three new 10-inch Android tablets this morning -- the Excite Write, Excite Pro and Excite Pure -- all powered by NVIDIA's Tegra processors. Both the Excite Write and Excite Pro are powered by the chipmaker's latest Tegra 4 chip, while the budget-centric will use the previous-generation Tegra 3. The high-end tablets also pack super-high resolution 2560x1600 displays, 8-megapixel f/2.2 camera and a Harman Kardon-branded speaker setup, whereas the Excite Pure opts for a less eye-catching 1280x800 panel. All three tablets come with microUSB, microHDMI and microSD connectivity.
On the software side, you're looking at mostly vanilla Android 4.2 Jelly Bean across all three tablets, which should please Android purists. Toshiba's also touting the Excite Write's improved digitizer, which has 1024 pressure points and is designed to work better with pen input. To that end it's also bundling a TruNote note-taking app on the Write.
The new Toshiba tablets will compete with the latest Android slates from ASUS and Samsung, both of which announced new 10-inch offerings yesterday at Computex.
Anyone in the market for a high-end, 10-inch Android tablet? Or the 7-to-8-inch screen size still the sweet spot for tablet devices? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:34 AM PDT
Matthew Costello is the most senior exec to step down after string of high-profile departures, Bloomberg reports
HTC Chief Operating Officer Matthew Costello has joined the list of high-profile executives to step down, according to a report from Bloomberg. Costello becomes the most senior employee to leave his job at the Taiwanese manufacturer, after a series of high-profile resignations were reported last month. According to an internal email seen by Bloomberg, HTC's president of engineering and operations Fred Liu will take over Costello's duties in a new, expanded role. Costello, the publication reports, will stay on in an executive advisory role following a move to Europe.
News of Costello's departure comes soon after the company reported improved May 2013 revenues following the launch of its flagship HTC One smartphone. However HTC has seen its market share and revenues dwindle over the past year, only recently showing signs of a turnaround off the back of the HTC One launch.
Other recent HTC departures have included the manufacturer's Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik, EMEA president Florian Seiche and Chief Product Officer Kouji Kodera.
Source: Bloomberg
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HTC sees revenue improvement in May 2013
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:00 AM PDT
May revenue of $970 million gives HTC its best month of 2013
HTC has reported its unaudited revenue for May 2013, announcing that last month it brought in NT$29 billion ($970 million). This brings total revenue for the year so far to NT$91.4 billion ($3.06 billion), and revenue for the quarter so far to NT$48.6 billion ($1.62 billion). The numbers indicate that May was HTC's best month of 2013, putting it within striking distance of its expected Q2 revenue of NT$70 billion ($2.34 billion). The last time the Taiwanese phone-maker brought in this much cash in a single month was June 2012.
The increase in revenue follows the launch of the HTC One, the company's much-hyped flagship handset. HTC had endured lackluster revenues in recent months following delays to that handset brought on by component shortages. In recent weeks the company has also recently lost several high-profile executives. The resolution of these supply problems and the crucial U.S. HTC One likely contributed to the higher May numbers, and it was recently reported that HTC had sold around five million HTC One handsets as of mid-May. HTC will be hoping for continued strong sales in June and beyond, despite increasing competition from rival Samsung.
Source: HTC
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Sony announces entry-level Xperia M
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 02:35 AM PDT
Jelly Bean on a 4-inch FWVGA screen, with a dual-core CPU and dual SIM option
Sony Mobile has added to its 2013 stable with a new entry-level offering, the Xperia M. Sharing many design traits with earlier Xperias, including the Xperia Z's trademark rounded power button and the Xperia T's chassis trim, the Xperia M is unmistakably a Sony phone.
The device has a 4-inch FWVGA (480x854) display on the front, along with on-screen buttons. Around the back there's a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.
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Three UK experiences widespread data outage [Updated]
Posted: 04 Jun 2013 02:11 AM PDT
Data connections return after outage of around 14 hours
Update: We're now seeing Three data services return to our devices. Three says it expects the whole network to return to normal this afternoon.
Original story: British mobile operator Three has confirmed that it's experiencing connectivity issues on its 3G data network. The outage is affecting many of us on the Mobile Nations team, and a quick look at Twitter reveals many other Three subscribers in the same position. Those affected are unable to connect to 3G data, with devices hanging when attempting to connect to the data network. Calls and text capabilities, however, do not seem to be affected.
Three says it's aware of the data issues and is working on a fix --
We're having some issues with our data network this morning. It's being worked on as a priority, sorry for any inconvenience. More to follow.
It's the first widespread outage to affect Three in recent years, but not the first to hit a major UK carrier. A series of high-profile network issues plagued rival network O2 in 2012, and more recently EE offered customers free data as an apology for network issues.
Three (and its customers) will be hoping that its own issues are resolved in short order, and we'll keep you posted with any further developments. Three customers -- are you affected by today's outage. Shout out in the comments!
Source: @ThreeUKSupport
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The saga continues: Sprint fights back against Dish offer for Clearwire
Posted: 03 Jun 2013 08:50 PM PDT
Sprint claims accepting Dish's terms would violate Clearwire's equity holder agreement
As we would all expect, Sprint has publicly voiced its opposition to Dish's attempted purchase of Clearwire -- citing a whole host of reasons why the deal should not and will not go through as long as it is involved. Following the announcement by Dish late last week that it had offered a $4.40 per share -- a full $1 more than Sprint -- to acquire 100-percent of Clearwire, it's a natural progression that Sprint will oppose the deal. Sprint's first defense against the deal is sheer numbers -- it currently owns a majority share of Clearwire. This means that the deal to sell the entire company to Dish effectively cannot go through without Sprint's approval, which it of course has no intention of doing. Barring some crazy turn of events, Dish's ability to purchase the whole of Clearwire is off the table as long as Sprint is involved, so the next step is to keep the minority shareholders from wanting to sell even a portion of the company to Dish.
Sprint thinks that it has a solution to this problem as well, citing that Dish's demands related to its buyout attempt would violate Clearwire's equity holder agreement, as well as Delaware law. Specifically referencing Dish's request for a minimum of three board of director appointments, Sprint claims that the demands are outside of the realm of possibility for the deal. In it's letter to Clearwire, Sprint made this statement:
"Many Clearwire stockholders appear to be under the mistaken belief that Dish's proposal is a viable alternative to the Sprint merger agreement, and this is simply not the case."
Sprint is banking (literally, in fact) on a revised June 13th Clearwire shareholder vote to determine if it will accept Sprint's offer to buy the other 49-percent of the company at $3.40 per share. The Now Network will need approval from at least half of the minority shareholders in order to get its deal through, but it is facing strong opposition from several big players that hold nearly 25-percent of the minority shares. These opponents see the Dish deal as a clear (pardon the pun) victory for the Clearwire shareholders given the 29-percent boost in price over Sprint's offering.
We don't see this ending simply. Remember, it's all just a big game of poker.
Source: Reuters
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Who won the trip to NYC for the Talk Mobile launch party? Find out now!
Posted: 03 Jun 2013 06:11 PM PDT
Did you get your RSVP in for the Talk Mobile launch party in New York City next week? It's going to be a spectacular event, with all the Mobile Nations editors and a ton of fans and some very special guests all together under one roof to celebrate. This is the first time we've done a cross-site celebration like this, and we have no doubt that it's going to be a night to remember. We have DJ Mia Moretti lined up for some sweet aural stimulation as well as good food, strong drinks, and thousands of dollars in awesome prizes to be given away throughout the evening!
Aside from the lucky fans that managed to snag a spot at the party by RSVPing online, we had a contest to send one lucky reader and a guest to NYC for the party, with paid airfare and hotel, and it's time to announce who that person is!
Drum roll please...
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'4G ready' Xperia Tablet Z hitting Vodafone UK for as little as £99
Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:38 PM PDT
Two different data plan prices save you a good amount of money up-front
Vodafone UK just announced today that it will be carrying a cellular data-enabled version of Sony's latest tablet, the Xperia Tablet Z, in both black and white for £199 on a £28 per month data plan or £99 on a £32 plan. As a price comparison the 16GB Wifi-only model of the Tablet Z is currently retailing for £399, and those plans will get you a respectable 1GB or 2GB of data per month to use on the glass-laden waterproof device. Just as a quick refresher, the Xperia Tablet Z is a 10.1-inch 1920x1080 resolution tablet with a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM and both 8MP rear and 2.2MP front cameras.
The carrier hasn't yet flipped the switch on its LTE network -- hence the "4G ready" branding -- but the tablet will indeed support the upcoming network as soon as its available. Vodafone is making a strong effort to have customers on LTE devices in preparation for the upcoming network launch, but we're not sure how many people are going to bite on a tablet like this before the LTE network is ready with a relatively expensive plan.
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Qualcomm announces new quad-core Snapdragon 400
Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:17 PM PDT
Designed for high-volume units, the Snapdragon 400 gets a quad-core counterpart
Qualcomm has had a busy day, and they recently announced the new additions to the Snapdragon 400 line. We've seen the Snapdragon 400 used in the HTC First and were impressed with it's mix of performance and price, so today's news should get everyone's attention.
The new 8926 quad-core variants will not only deliver even more processing power. The chips also house support for LTE and HSPA+42 networks, TD-SCDMA support for the Chinese market and dual-SIM configurations with dual standby and dual active functions. This is in addition to Miracast wireless connectivity, Qualcomm's VIVE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth, FM, NFC and QuickCharge. The 8926 has been certified as compatible with both Android and Windows Phone 8 platforms.
Expect to see a new reference device from Qualcomm later this year, and the chip itself should be available in bulk for manufacturers by the end of 2013. The full press release is after the break.
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