Android Community |
- Google Edition HTC One and Galaxy S4 on sale now – ship July 9
- Motorola: “A Google Company” new logo revealed
- AT&T 4G LTE further expands across six states
- CyanogenMod Tegra 2 status update details an end of support
- Boomerang for Gmail launches for Android
- Motorola X phone image leaks by way of LTE testing
- Samsung GALAXY S 4 LTE-A gets official with Snapdragon 800
- Sony Xperia Ion gets updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Google Glass shows us the life of a Pro Tennis player in new video
- OUYA already sold out from Amazon, still available at retail stores
- Foursquare update brings the ability to check a friend in
- Leef Bridge unveiled as dual USB/microUSB flash drive for Android
- AT&T Innovation Facility to focus on digital life and the “connected car”
- T-Mobile HTC One S update brings battery life improvements
- AT&T drops all smartphones to half off for rest of June
- HTC aims for 15 percent of the global smartphone market
| Google Edition HTC One and Galaxy S4 on sale now – ship July 9 Posted: 26 Jun 2013 10:33 AM PDT There has been plenty of chatter about Google Edition smartphones lately. The rumors began before Google I/O, however they were confirmed when the GALAXY S 4 Google Edition was officially announced. Since that point we have also seen an announcement for the HTC One Google Edition as well as rumors dealing with others such as Motorola, Sony and OPPO.
The good news as of today though, the GALAXY S 4 and HTC One Google Edition phones will be arriving in the Play Store today (June 26th). The GALAXY S 4 will arrive priced at $649 and the HTC One will arrive priced at $599. Both devices will be running a stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean installation and perhaps more important — both will follow an update pattern that is similar to what we see with Nexus devices. Basically, this means both the GALAXY S 4 and HTC One will receive regular updates that are not slowed by the manufacturer or carriers. Or in other words, these Google Edition handsets will updates will follow shortly after they are announced by Google. These Google Edition handsets will also be contract-free, which just goes to touch on why the prices may seem so high as compared to the regular carrier versions.
Both devices available as we speak from the Play Store are stock Android 4.2.2 as mentioned above, but they do have a few little tweaks from what we’re hearing. An updated camera app is on board, and the HTC One still has Beats Audio, apparently. Then of course they are LTE compatible, and will work with both AT&T and T-Mobile 4G LTE here in the US. Today Google has finally made both available from the Play Store, as expected, but they aren’t getting any special coverage on the front page of the store just yet. According to Google these won’t start shipping until July 9th. The wait is almost over guys! Get em from the links below. |
| Motorola: “A Google Company” new logo revealed Posted: 26 Jun 2013 09:26 AM PDT While we’ve yet to hear or see a confirmation from official channels, multiple sources and images have emerged this morning revealing the new logo and tagline for Motorola. With a new minimalistic design and lowercase M we have “motorola: a Google Company” being graced by a nice soft purple logo, as well as the multicolored one shown below.
Gone are the days of the bright red M and the bold MOTOROLA branding of old, and now we have a smooth, simple, and minimalistic design to go along with the new owners at Google. At least according to all reports flooding in this afternoon. Again while we mention it hasn’t been officially announced, they chose to use it for a recent advertisement for Techweek. As shown at the bottom of the page, the Techweek conference in Chicago is being presented by Motorola, and that’s where the purple logo was revealed. However, we’re now getting another look from the folks at The Verge, who are claiming the new multicolored option is the real deal.
The new tagline “a Google Company” appears below the logo, and now we’re waiting for Motorola to announce it themselves. The lowercase design and minimalistic look fits right in with Google, just look at the logo for Google Glass, and everything else from Google as of late. This comes right in time as the Google owned Motorola is soon going to announce their new American-made Moto X smartphone, and we can’t wait to learn more. Stay tuned. What do you guys think of these new logos? |
| AT&T 4G LTE further expands across six states Posted: 26 Jun 2013 08:37 AM PDT AT&T has once again returned with some news on the 4G LTE expansions. This time around the new LTE coverage is coming for those in a handful of markets across six states. Those six states include Arkansas, California, Georgia, Minnesota, North Dakota and Ohio. Basically, if you happen to have coverage available — now seems like a good time to make sure you have an LTE handset at the ready.
Diving right in, how about we begin with the newly added Arkansas coverage. This coverage includes the Hot Springs area and extends into parts of Hot Springs Village, Jessieville, Lake Hamilton, Paron, Piney, Pleasant Hill and Rockwell. The California coverage includes Visalia-Porterville and the coverage for Georgia deals with Jackson County. Specifically, the Georgia coverage includes parts of Jefferson and Commerce as well as expanded coverage for those in Athens. The Georgia LTE coverage has also been expanded into Oconee and Barrow counties. Those in Minnesota will now have AT&T LTE coverage available in Brainerd Lakes and Grand Rapids. Shifting to the North Dakota coverage and we see LTE being added for those in Minot. And last but certainly not least, the newly added LTE coverage for Ohio includes Mount Vernon. With the coverage now being available, some may start looking towards an upgraded handset. That being the case, AT&T has recently kicked off a half-off smartphone sale. Not to mention, the Galaxy Note 8.0 recently launched with a $199 package deal price for those grabbing the tablet along with a smartphone. |
| CyanogenMod Tegra 2 status update details an end of support Posted: 26 Jun 2013 08:08 AM PDT CyanogenMod 10.1.0 shifted from a release candidate to general release phase yesterday. This initial general release brought support for a wide variety of devices, however there were a few that were intentionally left out. The folks at CyanogenMod moved forward without support for those with a Samsung Exynos or a Tegra 2 powered device. They did however promise a status update.
With that in mind, that promised status update has arrived for the Tegra 2. This isn’t necessarily going to be good news, however things will not be coming to an end just yet. Basically, it looks like the support for Tegra 2 devices will end with the next major release. Or to put that another way, those with a Tegra 2 powered device will have support through the 10.1 releases. This news also comes with an explanation that goes a bit more into detail. What it seems to come to is something called NEON. It was said that the Tegra 2 is non-NEON capable whereas devices with a Tegra 3 are NEON capable. The CyanogenMod posting goes on to describe this as follows;
The talk goes on to mention how there is a trend with Android 4.1 (and above) that has devices leaning towards greater reliance on NEON support. A provided example talks about Google Now and voice recognition. Some of the other Google apps that are starting to rely more heavily on NEON support include the Photosphere and the Gesture keyboard. Bottom line here, the folks at CyanogenMod have said they plan to “continue to release 10.1 weeklies for the Tegra 2 platform until such time that we move on to the next Android release.” SOURCE: Google+ |
| Boomerang for Gmail launches for Android Posted: 26 Jun 2013 07:36 AM PDT Boomerang is an email management tool for Gmail users. In the past Boomerang has been available for those using Gmail on the web, however as of today those using Android now have an app available. The app has already landed in the Play Store and it is titled as follows; Boomerang — Best Gmail App. While we are not sure everyone will consider this the best Gmail app, having been fans of Boomerang in the past, it only seemed natural to move forward with an installation.
First and foremost, Boomerang offers features such as the ability to snooze an email. Other goodies include scheduling that email for later, response tracking and more. Despite using the Boomerang app as your mail app, you still have the features that you want and/or expect from Gmail. For example, you are still able to search for messages across all your Gmail folders and you still have access to all your labels. The Boomerang app also integrates with the contacts app for auto-complete, has support for email signatures, the ability to view and include attachments, an infinite scrolling inbox and perhaps key for some — support for multiple accounts with the ability to switch between those accounts relatively quickly and easily.    Boomerang will work with Gmail and Google Apps email accounts and again, the key features are in management. When sitting in your inbox view a swipe to the right (on a message) will archive. A swipe to the left (on a message) will offer a variety of options to include archive, delete and boomerang as well as labels, mark as read and star. A tap of the boomerang option will then present a handful of new options. Once here you will be able to “Boomerang this message” based on several criteria. You have an option for only if there is no response or to set the boomerang to return at a specific date and time. There are also several preset options to include tonight, tomorrow, in 2 days and more. Bottom line here, if you are a Gmail user and want a bit more control over your inbox — Boomerang may be worth checking out. VIA: TNW SOURCE: Boomerang for Gmail, Google Play Store |
| Motorola X phone image leaks by way of LTE testing Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:56 AM PDT The latest Motorola X phone rumors are pointing towards an announcement on August 1st. While that remains to be seen, it looks like a recent leak is offering a solid look at the handset. The image comes by way of the folks at phoneArena who have it listed as the Motorola XT1056.
As you can see below, the image is clear, but unfortunately it was not published with much else in terms of specs. This image is said to have come as a result of a recent Sprint LTE testing session, which does confirm support for LTE. Of course, given the smartphones we see released today, it would be more of a surprise if the handset didn’t have LTE. The person who managed to grab this picture wasn’t able to measure or otherwise check the display size. Previous expectations and rumors suggest the X phone will have a display that is somewhere between 4.5 and 4.7-inches. The display is said to be 720p and the handset should arrive powered by a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Other rumored specs look to include 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. And on a positive note, the Motorola XT1056 does have a removable battery. This particular leak centered around the image of the handset, but in the past we have heard the Moto X will be launching as a contextually-aware smartphone. What that means is the handset will be aware of its surroundings. Dennis Woodside from Motorola previously talked about using the handset while in a car. Woodside noted; "Imagine when in the car, the device will know it is going 60MPH and it is going to act differently so you can interact with it safely. Those are the kinds of things we're doing with fundamental technology." |
| Samsung GALAXY S 4 LTE-A gets official with Snapdragon 800 Posted: 26 Jun 2013 06:29 AM PDT Samsung was recently showing the GALAXY S 4 LTE-A and as of today they have returned with the official announcement. Given we have seen some of these details before this news is arriving more as confirmation. Not to mention, as somewhat of a teaser for most of the world as the GALAXY S 4 LTE-A brings support for LTE-Advanced and will only be available for those in Korea.
Samsung has said the handset will be available in Blue Arctic and Red Aurora for the launch with additional color options coming at a “later date.” The initial release is set for sometime this summer and so far Samsung hasn’t offered a specific date. But again, for now the handset is only expected to arrive in Korea. While there are a few differences between the LTE-A and the regular GALAXY S 4, one notable difference will be in the processor. Samsung has the GALAXY S 4 LTE-A packed with a quad-core 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800. Otherwise the specs should sound familiar for those who have been paying attention to recent Samsung releases. Basically that is to say the GALAXY S 4 LTE-A will have the 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display (at 441 ppi), 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, microSD card slot and 2600 mAh battery.    Those considering this model will also find a handset with a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, 13 megapixel rear-facing camera and running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Additionally, this particular model will weigh in at 131 grams and measure in at 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm. Aside from the hardware, there are a few another unique features on the Korean version of the GALAXY S 4 LTE-A. Those others are called ImageON and Digital Media Broadcasting (DMB). The ImageON is something that will analyze images the users are viewing. With this the handset will be able to identify and play videos related to the image with just a single click. Finally, as some will recognize, the DMB feature will allow for the viewing of live television while on the go. SOURCE: Samsung |
| Sony Xperia Ion gets updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Posted: 25 Jun 2013 04:32 PM PDT The folks from Sony have been on a roll lately, and to many peoples surprise. After launching the Xperia Z Ultra this morning with a 6.3-inch display, and updating multiple smartphones this month to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, they are on quite the roll. Now we’re hearing the aging Xperia Ion is also getting Jelly Bean, albeit an older flavor.
The smartphone has been enjoying Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for sometime on that aging 4.55-inch 720p display and Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, but starting this week users are in for a treat. We’re hearing Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean is rolling out for the AT&T model, although you won’t be getting the update over the air as usual. Users will be required to have Sony’s PC companion software installed, and plug their smartphones into their PC to pull and install the latest update, but at least you’re getting Jelly Bean. It isn’t 4.2.2 like the Xperia Z or ZL, but the update does bring many features you’ve probably been waiting for. Google Now voice search will be included, not to mention expandable notifications and support for Google’s Keyboard. Then of course Jelly Bean introduced project butter for an even faster and better UI experience across the board. The AT&T Xperia Ion is getting updated to build version 6.2.B.0.211. Get the latest update and give it a try, then let us know how things go in the comments below. We’ll be on the lookout for a changelog. VIA: XperiaBlog |
| Google Glass shows us the life of a Pro Tennis player in new video Posted: 25 Jun 2013 03:52 PM PDT If you want to see people using Google Glass in daily life, we have you covered. Yesterday we showed you how one surgeon was using Google Glass while in the operating room during surgery, and today we have another inspiring video. Google posted the details on Twitter, sharing a neat video of Pro Tennis star Bethanie Mattek-Sands using Glass in daily life, and while preparing for Wimbledon.
Google Glass is still in the “explorer” or beta stage, but they’ve been handing them out to all sorts of lucky folks, and today we’re getting a video from Google themselves showing us a day in the life of a tennis star. Bethanie has been using glass to keep up with her daily routine, look up recipes for healthy eating, and even recording her practice sessions. Overall the video is pretty neat, inspiring, and just one more of many ways we’ll be able to use Glass. Sadly we didn’t see as much actual glass footage as I was hoping, and the same can be said about live footage of her playing tennis through Glass. Now that would of been cool. Either way take a peek below: Those serves sure come out quick through glass though, too bad that wasn’t a bigger part of this video clip. As I’m sure you’d all love to see that too. From appointments, itineraries, flight information, reminders to get her racquets and more, Glass does it all for her. These are some awesome videos from Google, and they’ll need to continue to show us how Glass can enhance our lives without being a distraction, as that is key. Stay tuned for more coming soon. SOURCE: @Google |
| OUYA already sold out from Amazon, still available at retail stores Posted: 25 Jun 2013 03:06 PM PDT Just as we reported earlier this morning, the OUYA game console powered by Android went up for sale today from multiple retailers and online shops. As of writing, it appears to have already completely sold out on Amazon, and we’re hearing scattered reports of Gamestop being sold out too. Sales look strong for the $99 game-console, but below we’ll remind you where you can get your own.
After becoming a massive hit on Kickstarter and raising tons of money, the project has seen an array of launch delays as they’ve prepared for the final push. After multiple delays, today they’ve finally released the $99 quad-core Android-powered game console to multiple outlets, and here’s what we know. So far Amazon is the only one that appears to be sold out, but Gamestop still has stock online, and you’ll need to call your nearly stores for additional details. OUYA is also being sold at Best Buy and Target for $99. As a reminder, that comes with a single controller, and an additional controller for dual-play will be $49. Amazon does have those in stock, though, so get em while they last as it shows as 20 left. It certainly isn’t an Xbox One (or 180) and it isn’t a PlayStation 4, but for $99 the OUYA has a lot of promise. Not to mention it runs on our favorite mobile OS – Android. With more than 170 games at launch, two more announced today in the post above, and more coming soon we’ll be sure and update as things progress. We’re not sure how much stock all these online retailers have so if you’re interested, you’d better hurry. VIA: CNET |
| Foursquare update brings the ability to check a friend in Posted: 25 Jun 2013 01:48 PM PDT The latest Foursquare app update has arrived in the Google Play Store and this is one that should be welcomed by those who are often checking in with others. The folks at Foursquare have said this new feature has been their most requested. With that, Foursquare for Android users will now be able to check-in for friends. Thankfully though, this update does involve more than simply being able to check your friend in (or have your friend check you in).
Well, that is the core of the update, however there appears to have been some thought into how this will all work. The check-in process will begin with the user finding the location where they happen to be — basically the same as before. Once here though you will see an option for something called “I’m with…” and tapping that is where you can check-in with/for your friend. At this point your friend will receive a notification asking for approval. Assuming they give the expected approval, you will be able to check them in moving forward. To make this clear — once you grant approval for someone to check you in they will be able to do it whenever they want moving forward. With the basics out of the way, here is the part that appears to have involved the extra thought.
If a friend happens to beat you to the check-in, you can still check yourself in. In this case Foursquare will then show your check-in that way your photo will be displayed and your message (assuming you have something to say) will be shown. This will be the case regardless if you check yourself in before or after a friend does. Basically, your personal check-in will override your friends check-in. The other aspect here is in the notifications. You will get a notification message every time someone else checks you in somewhere. This should make it easy to keep track of where your friends say you happen to be located. And for those times when a friend checks you in at a place you would rather not make public — there will be a delete button available. SOURCE: Foursquare Blog, Google Play Store |
| Leef Bridge unveiled as dual USB/microUSB flash drive for Android Posted: 25 Jun 2013 01:06 PM PDT Leef Technology has announced a new and somewhat unique flash drive. This little gadget is called the Leef Bridge and it is being touted as the first USB flash drive that allows for file sharing between Android devices and regular computers. Basically, the Leef Bridge is a flash drive that has a USB and a microUSB connector.
Or in other words, you can swap the Bridge from your computer to phone (or tablet) without the need for any additional cables. The Bridge is available in a 16GB or 32GB storage option and is priced at $17.99 or $28.99 respectively. While all this sounds interesting enough so far, there is one catch that comes with the supported devices — for now this will be limited to those running Jelly Bean. Aside from Jelly Bean, there is a device compatibility list because unfortunately not all Jelly Bean devices are supported. The Bridge also needs devices with support for a micro USB On-The-Go (OTG) connector. The list includes a variety of Samsung, HTC, Motorola and LG smartphones as well as Samsung, Lenovo and Asus tablets. Also worth noting, the Leef Bridge drive does support the Samsung Galaxy Camera.    The Leef Bridge will work with a variety of file managers on Android, however it comes with the recommendation of ASTRO File Manager. And for those looking to avoid any additional cost, ASTRO File Manager is available as a free download from the Google Play Store. Otherwise, on the computer side the Leef Bridge supports Windows, Mac and Linux (with Kernal 2.6 or later). At present the Leef Bridge is available by way of the Leef website. Finally, while storage is limited to 16GB or 32GB at the moment, Leef has said a 64GB model will be available relatively soon. Pricing for the 64GB Bridge has yet to be announced, however the drive is expected to arrive in July. SOURCE: Leef |
| AT&T Innovation Facility to focus on digital life and the “connected car” Posted: 25 Jun 2013 12:15 PM PDT AT&T is a leader in innovation, and today they’ve announced they’ll be opening two brand new world-class facilities. Their award-winning foundry for innovation will be expanding in both Atlanta, as well as Dallas, Texas. The most important for us, is their new Atlanta facility that will be focusing on developing the company’s latest technologies and applications.
More importantly, it will be focusing on technology and applications that will enhance their customers “digital life” as well as improve the “connected car” according to a recent blog post. Located near Georgia Tech, AT&T will test and develop products and services of all kinds. Their home security and automation service will be under development. The team will also be tasked with creating new apps and services for the "connected car," mobility, emerging devices, and AT&T U-verse. Apparently Cisco will also be on board, and will help find and bring in developers, investors, inventors and other entrepreneurs to help shape future products, technology, and apps. With a $100+ Million investment between five different facilities in the USA, AT&T is pushing forward with innovation. A huge part of the connected car and apps from AT&T will revolve around the cloud, and it will be interesting to see what AT&T brings to the tablet next year with these new innovation centers. The full details can be found from the blog post above. Keep up the good work AT&T! |
| T-Mobile HTC One S update brings battery life improvements Posted: 25 Jun 2013 12:00 PM PDT T-Mobile updated the HTC One S towards the end of April and it looks like another update has recently arrived. This latest is a small update, but one that may be considered very important for those who are having battery related issues. Simply put, this latest update deals with one item and that item just so happens to be battery life improvements.
The update is available as of June 25th and will be pushed to devices over the course of the next few days. T-Mobile has said the update will be pushed through June 28th. This is considered to be a mandatory update and will have your handset sitting at Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean with software version 3.14.531.17 710RD. At this point we suggest HTC One S users with T-Mobile keep an eye out for an update notification, which assuming the timeline holds, should be arriving fairly soon. Otherwise, these is also the option to take the proactive approach. In this case users can grab their handset and navigate to Menu -> Settings -> About phone -> Software updates -> Check now to try and get the process started. While we suspect few will take this last approach, T-Mobile has said the update will also be available (over USB) by way of the HTC website. T-Mobile has also said users should have at least 50 percent battery life before getting started with the update process and that their handset cannot be rooted and will need to be running 3.14.531.11 710RD. For those with an HTC One S, we would love to hear all about your battery woes — both about the before and the after, which will hopefully bring some real improvements. SOURCE: T-Mobile |
| AT&T drops all smartphones to half off for rest of June Posted: 25 Jun 2013 11:37 AM PDT If you’re in the market for a new smartphone this summer, the folks from AT&T are hoping to steal a few potential customers over to the blue side with their stellar summer sale. What is it? All smartphones are currently half off for the rest of the month. You only have a few more days to decide, but devices like the Galaxy S 4 or HTC One are half off, and they’re even waiving activation fees. Crazy right?
This little deal isn’t just for a few mediocre smartphones from AT&T. They are offering 50% off of ALL of their devices, including all the top sellers and flagship phones. Being able to snag the Galaxy S4 from AT&T for $99, instead of $199 from others sure sounds nice right about now. Then you can spend that extra cash for games to enjoy this summer, or for a 6-pack to take to the pool. So obviously these types of deals are for people signing new contracts, as they aren’t in the business of giving phones away for free. What’s important though is you don’t have to sign a 2-year contract to get the 50% off deal. They’ll give the same discount for those signing a 1-year deal too, at least according to reports. So that essentially means you can pay a bit more than you normally would for a 2-year contract price, and only be locked in for 12 months. Yes please! I’d get that Galaxy S4 for $249, sign a 1-year contract, and it’ll be up next year in time for the next wave of flagship phones.
We’re unable to get the 1-year option online, but have received a few tips that people have been able to do both 1 and 2 year deals. The screenshot above shows the 50% discount, as well as the activation fee being waved. This is a pretty stellar deal AT&T. Now we’re just wondering why. AT&T is offering this 50% sale for the rest of June, so you only have a few more days to hurry and decide what you’d like to do. A few great options is the Galaxy S 4, the HTC One, or even the recently lowered Optimus G Pro that is now $99. That means with this deal you’ll get that 5.5-inch flagship LG phone for $50 bones. Hurry and get in while it lasts.    VIA: AT&T |
| HTC aims for 15 percent of the global smartphone market Posted: 25 Jun 2013 11:19 AM PDT Last time we heard from HTC CEO Peter Chou was when he denied ever saying that he had plans to quit the company. Chou addressed those comments as rumor and made it clear that he was “not going to find another job.” And well, it looks like he also had a few things to say on the topic of a comeback and market share during a recent shareholder meeting.
Speaking during that meeting Chou talked about how the company managed to maintain a 4 precent global market share last year. But more to the point here, Chou asked for some time with the promise of a comeback. The goal seems a bit lofty given the present situation, however he asks for this time based on “more than six years of strenuous efforts” and due to HTC having already “built up a clear brand image.” With that in mind, HTC is aiming to bring their global market share up to somewhere between 10 and 15 percent.
There wasn’t anything specific in terms of how long into the ‘future’ this will take, but Chou does appear determined. Further comments talk about how 2013 will be a “watershed year” and about how the company has made big breakthroughs in the product line. Of course, that brings us to the HTC One, which at present is being pushed by a few US carriers. In fact, this brings another point from Chou. He went on to talk about how the US availability of the HTC marks the first time four US operators have promoted the same HTC handset at the same time and that this is part of the company’s new marketing strategy. Time will tell whether HTC will reach the goal of 10 to 15 percent, however if nothing else, Peter Chou doesn’t appear ready to throw in the towel just yet. VIA: BGR SOURCE: Focus Taiwan |
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