Android Central

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• Strategy & Tactics: WWII and Tiny Token Empires just $0.99 each for July 4th
• The new Android Central Photography forums are open and feature Photosphere embedding
• Moto X custom color back plates allegedly caught on camera
• Google Play highlights great apps with the 'Beautiful Design Collection'
• Moto X customization details leaked: custom colors, engraving, your photo as wallpaper
• HTC One Mini pictured in black ahead of release
• ZEN & TECH 55: Parenting; Keeping kids safe on social
• Barnes & Noble drops Nook prices to £99/£149 in the UK, US price drops extended
• Sony Xperia Tablet Z video walkthrough
• Glympse teams with Evernote to keep track of your location 'trails'
• The Talk Mobile daily hangout you might not want your mom to see
• Samsung names Gregory Lee as new US Mobile Division president
• Would you want your mom to see this? - Talk Mobile
• Ubuntu Touch is no longer just another Android shell
• ShopAndroid Indepedence Day Sale: Save 15% on all Android cases and accessories!
• Make the most of your Fourth of July festivities with these apps
• Win a 24-carat Gold HTC One from Goldgenie and Android Central!
• A revived Falcon Pro brings a hidden feature to keep on Tweetin'
• Deal of the Day: Mobi Products Skin Case for HTC One
• HTC One Mini, One Max outed in O2 Germany docs
• Sony Xperia SP review
• EE 'double speed' LTE officially launches July 4
• Samsung ships 20 million Galaxy S4s
• Polaroid's own 'Polamatic' photo filter app hits Android, hipsters rejoice
• Geek.com talks with Steve Kondik and Koushik Dutta about Android security

Strategy & Tactics: WWII and Tiny Token Empires just $0.99 each for July 4th Posted: 03 Jul 2013 03:56 PM PDT Recognized Top Developer on Google Play HeroCraft Ltd has put up two of its great games on sale today to celebrate the Fourth of July Holiday. From today until July 5th, both Strategy & Tactics: WWII and Tiny Token Empires are cut down to just $0.99 each from $4.99 and $2.99, respectively. Strategy & Tactics is a more serious game focused on replaying the actions of World War II between the different world powers with turn-based gameplay. Tiny Token Empires on the other hand is a more light-hearted game that mixes strategy with brain teaser puzzle games set in the Roman times. Get Strategy & Tactics: WWII on Google Play Get Tiny Token Empires on Google Play Both games have already seen their discounts go live in the Play Store at the links above, so go take advantage of these great deals on top-rated games while you can.

The new Android Central Photography forums are open and feature Photosphere embedding Posted: 03 Jul 2013 03:26 PM PDT A great place to talk about the camera on your Android phone, and share the great pictures you take with it The new Android Central Photography forums are now open for business! Our Android phones are for more than calling and texting, and taking photos to share with friends and family is now a great reason to have one. Cameras are advancing, and while their probably never going to be as good as professional equipment, we've seen some awesome pictures snapped with the camera that's always in your pocket -- the smart phone. All of us here at AC are big picture takers as well. We know what it's like to have questions, or want to talk about the best way to use our phone cameras, and of course share pictures. Part of being a blogger for a big site like AC means learning how to take the best pictures you can, and we're often out and about depending on our phone to get the shot. you guys deserve nothing less than our best. We can't wait to talk and share with you guys and gals! One really great tool we've been working on is being able to embed your photosphere pictures right into your forums post. A whole lot of reading, a little bit of sweat and a cold bottle of refreshment or two later, and we have it up and running. In fact, we've got a dedicated forum designed for sharing them and we really want to see them all! There are full instructions with a video about how to post them, and it's a pretty easy affair.  So get your lenses wiped clean, grab your best pictures, and head into the forums to share with the world. We'll see you there! Join us in the Android Central Photography forums

Moto X custom color back plates allegedly caught on camera Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:37 PM PDT Candy colored Moto X back plates appear in alleged leaked photos And just like that we're seeing what's supposedly some of the custom colors that Motorola will be offering for the upcoming Moto X phone. Earlier we passed along the news that sources at ABC say the customization options consist largely of colored shells, and the French blog NoWhereElse has scored some images. Their source says there will be a total of 16 different colors to choose from, including subdued tones like blue and more bold colors like the ones pictured. We can only assume that the front facing shell will be using the same palatte if these photos are accurate. Hit the break to see two more pictures. Via: Android Community read more

Google Play highlights great apps with the 'Beautiful Design Collection' Posted: 03 Jul 2013 01:08 PM PDT A set of apps that show off the highest quality of design and function on Android today Every so often Google Play will put up "collections" of apps that fall into a certain genre or fit with a current season or holiday. This time the Android Design Team is taking time to highlight 11 apps that have taken design to the next level with the "Beautiful Design Summer 2013 Collection". In a blog post detailing the criteria for the collection, the team explains what makes an app "beautiful": "Transitions are fast and clear, layout and typography are crisp and meaningful, and design touches that delight you in surprising ways are sprinkled throughout." They have made up a list of 11 apps that exemplify these ideals -- Pattrn, Pocket, Timer, Eye in Sky Weather, NY Times, Grand St., Pinterest, Press, Expedia, Flipboard and TED -- of what great Android design looks like. And that doesn't mean that every one of these apps follows Android's Design Guidelines pixel-for-pixel, either. They're called guidelines and not requirements for a reason, because Google thinks that it is possible to make an app feel coherent to the Android aesthetic while still keeping its own personality. The team encourages all Android developers to take a look at these apps to get a feel for the design details necessary to "separate good apps from great ones." For users, you may want to grab a download of some of these as great examples of what is possible with Android apps today. Beautiful Design Collection on Google Play Source: Android Developers Blog

Moto X customization details leaked: custom colors, engraving, your photo as wallpaper Posted: 03 Jul 2013 12:18 PM PDT In addition, sensors and new software services are outlined by alleged insiders Sources at ABC News say they have confirmed details of the upcoming Moto X, and have outlined the supposed customization options. While many were hoping for things like choosing the internals, things are sounding more realistic -- at least according to ABC's sources. Through a website, buyers will be able to select from a palette of different colors. One color can be used for the back case and another can be selected for the trim of the phone. Users will also be able to engrave a name or message on the back cover as well as upload a personal photo through the site to be used as the wallpaper on the phone's screen, according to people familiar with the rollout. In addition, they say the phone will be running Android 4.2.2, which is currently being tested by U.S. carriers. The device is said to be available for purchase online as well as from carrier stores, though no pricing details were mentioned. More interesting is the alleged confirmation of the new sensors and "smart" technology Motorola will be building into the device. Examples given were flicking the phone to open the camera app, extended voice recognition services, and the ability to sense when you're driving and activating the speaker phone.  This may not be as "fully customizable" as people wanted or as we were led to believe by Motorola's recent ad, but be honest -- an Android Green version with a Lloyd engraving would be sweet. Where do I sign up? Source: ABC News

HTC One Mini pictured in black ahead of release Posted: 03 Jul 2013 12:14 PM PDT The best shots of the HTC One Mini yet, with a few more details on build materials and software Following up quickly on leaked documents that show an impending release of larger and smaller versions of the HTC One on O2 in Germany, we now have solid images of the HTC One Mini. As you can see from the picture, the device really is just a smaller HTC One, although not drastically so because we're talking about less than a half inch difference in diagonal screen size. Based on the images we have here, the rim around the outside of the One Mini appears to be the same (or similar) plastic as is injected into the antenna slots on the back rather than metal, but we'll have to wait for an official release to see for ourselves. The leak also pins down the specs that were rumored before: a 4.3-inch 720x1280 display, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Those in contact with the device also say it is running Android 4.2.2, building on the fact that it is rolling out OTA for the original HTC One currently. Stick around after the break for two more images of the One Mini. read more

ZEN & TECH 55: Parenting; Keeping kids safe on social Posted: 03 Jul 2013 12:06 PM PDT ZEN & TECH is our mobile lifestyle podcast, focusing not just on our phones, tablets, and gadgets, but how we can use technology to help us live better, richer, happier lives. It's how we center our inner geeks! On today's show, Georgia and Rene tie into Talk Mobile 2013 and, as part of our ongoing parenting series, look at how we can handle kids going online and onto social networks, from when they're very young, to when they're legally adults. Subscribe via RSS: Audio | Video Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video Download Directly: Audio | Video read more

Barnes & Noble drops Nook prices to £99/£149 in the UK, US price drops extended Posted: 03 Jul 2013 11:50 AM PDT The latest Nook tablets, now with Google Play access, receive price drops We've known about the impending demise of the Nook hardware division of Barnes & Noble for some time now, but that's not stopping them from putting out some killer deals on their not-long-for-this-world tablet hardware. Starting today, B&N is dropping the price of the Nook HD and HD+ in the U.K. to just £99 and £149, respectively. The current sale in the U.S. is being extended as well to $129 and $149 for the two versions, which start at 8GB of storage on the Nook HD and 16GB on the HD+. If you're interested in picking up a cheap tablet that now has access to all of the apps on Google Play with some solid hardware, now may be the time to jump on a Nook. Hit the appropriate source links below to check them out. More: Nook HD / Nook HD+ (U.S.) Nook HD / Nook HD+ (U.K.)

Sony Xperia Tablet Z video walkthrough Posted: 03 Jul 2013 10:45 AM PDT A 10-inch 1080p display. Water resistance. Eight-megapixel Exmor RS camera. 4G LTE support. Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core. The Sony Xperia Tablet Z certainly seems to check all the relevant boxes for a high-end, big-screen Android tablet, while packing its impressive internals into a thin and light chassis. But Sony isn't the first Android OEM to attempt to break into the large form factor tablet space, a section of the market dominated by Apple's full-size iPad. Meanwhile smaller, cheaper Android tablets have achieved greater success than their full-sized, full-priced brethren. So how does Sony's super-thin 10-incher measure up? Check out our video walkthrough after the break. We'll have a full review headed your way in the days ahead. read more

Glympse teams with Evernote to keep track of your location 'trails' Posted: 03 Jul 2013 10:37 AM PDT Glympse trails will now be available from your Evernote account Glympse, the pioneers of user-to-user real time location sharing, has announced that they're teaming up with Evernote to allow users to archive a list of their Glympse trails. Using the built in sharing features in Android, Glympse location data can now be automatically shared to a special "My Glympse Trails" folder in their Evernote portfolio. Many of our users have requested a way to save a snapshot of their Glympse map trails so they can view road trips, keep runs and bike rides, archive a special trip abroad, or just remember an interesting location. We wanted to make this feature simple and easy. Evernote is the perfect solution: users retain complete control over how they share their location and can choose to save their trips to their personal Evernote account for review at a later date. Each saved Glympse entry will contain details about the recipients, date, time, and duration of the Glympse as well as the destination if included. Of course, all this is stored in the user's Evernote account for easy access from just about anywhere. The changes are available in today's update, which you can download from the Google Play link above. Jump past the break for the full press release. read more

The Talk Mobile daily hangout you might not want your mom to see Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:59 AM PDT No, really. Today we're discussing the world of social and the parts you might not want your mom or your boss or your boss' mom to see. Come join the chat!

Samsung names Gregory Lee as new US Mobile Division president Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:55 AM PDT Former STA president Sohn headed to Korea as executive advisor to J.K. Shin Samsung has made some executive changes at the highest levels today, naming Gregory Lee as president of Samsung Telecommunications America (STA). Formerly president and chief executive officer of Samsung Asia Pte Ltd, Lee will be responsible for "leading the company's mobile business operations and strengthening the company's leading position in the smartphone market in the U.S." Don't shed any tears for outgoing STA president Dale Sohn though, as he has scored a gig as the executive advisor to Samsung's mobile division CEO JK Shin. Samsung owes much of their success in mobile to the U.S. market, and having the man who took them to the top of the U.S. mobile market and achieved "record results" with the Galaxy line makes great business sense. We wish both the gentleman much success, but more importantly we hope that this means Samsung will keep pushing the edge of technology forwards.  Via: Engadget

Would you want your mom to see this? - Talk Mobile Posted: 03 Jul 2013 09:04 AM PDT Even after nearly a decade of modern social networking, we're still having trouble grappling with privacy. We're not talking about when some server is compromised and your password ends up for sale in the seedier parts of the internet — no, this is about our own management of our own privacy. What are we supposed to be posting on Facebook and Twitter and Google+? What shouldn't we be posting? Can we depend on the privacy features these social networks offer, or should we just assume that if we post it online behind supposedly closed doors that it's not necessarily going to stay behind those closed doors? And once it's online, is it yours anymore anyway? Do our employers have the right to see what we're posting online? Should they care? And how are we supposed to teach our children how to properly and safely use social networking when we're clearly failing at doing so ourselves? Social networking can be awesome, and it can be dangerous. Just how are we supposed to manage our own social privacy? read more

Ubuntu Touch is no longer just another Android shell Posted: 03 Jul 2013 08:51 AM PDT A message on the Ubuntu developers list has some really good news for fans of Canonical's fledgling Ubuntu Touch mobile OS -- it's no longer running inside or on top of Android. Previously, Ubuntu Touch booted into Android and used a chroot to virtualize the Ubuntu OS on top of the Android core, much like hackers have been doing since the days of the Nexus One.  But Oliver Grawert tells us today that this is no longer the case, and the OS now boots into Ubuntu and virtualizes Android services inside an LXC (LinuX Container) during boot. This is a complete 180 flip, and is great news for all fans of Ubuntu on their mobile. The changes are available in the daily builds, have a look here if you're interested in running one. No word on when things will be merged into the official installer, but we imagine it won't be too far in the future. Source: Ubuntu-Devel; Via: +Oliver Grawert

ShopAndroid Indepedence Day Sale: Save 15% on all Android cases and accessories! Posted: 03 Jul 2013 08:49 AM PDT Independence Day for the good ol' U.S.A. is July 4, but we're kicking off the celebration savings a little early and going a little long this year, just to make sure all Android Central readers have a chance to take advantage of this special offer. Starting now and going until midnight PST on Sunday, July 7, you can save 15 percent on your entire order using coupon code 7413 at checkout (and yes Canadians, the coupon will work in our Canada store too!). The 15 percent coupon code covers all of our accessories, including Galaxy S4 cases, Galaxy S3 cases, everything for the HTC One — and all the spare batteries we got.   Shop now and save 15 percent all weekend!

Make the most of your Fourth of July festivities with these apps Posted: 03 Jul 2013 07:44 AM PDT Don't let the frustration of planning a party get in the way of enjoying July 4th We know that not all of our readers are located in the U.S., but for those who are the Fourth of July marks not only an extremely important historical event, but also a day to spend with friends and family. We've surely all had our fair share of great and horrible holiday party experiences, so this year we hope to ease some of the frustration with some great apps (and a few other picks) to help things move along more smoothly. Hang around with us after the break for a few suggestions on how you can make the most out of that last-minute run to the store, cook up some top-notch food and make sure that everything goes off without a hitch. read more

Win a 24-carat Gold HTC One from Goldgenie and Android Central! Posted: 03 Jul 2013 06:27 AM PDT OK, boys and girls. You've marveled over the 24-carat gold-plated HTC One — now it's time for you to win one of your own.  Yes, we're teaming up with Goldgenie to bring this one-of-a-kind Android smartphone (valued at $2,403/£1895) to one lucky Android Central reader.  Here's what Goldgenie founder and CEO Laban Roomes had to say when his company announced the gold phone last week: "We are delighted to welcome HTC's flagship phone the HTC One to the Goldgenie family. It is an extremely powerful phone with a beautiful interface & is a guaranteed jaw dropper when people see it embellished in Gold." And now, we're delighted to announce we're working together to give one away. Read on for the full details, and click here to learn more about the 24-carat gold-plated HTC One and Goldgenie's HTC One customization service. read more

A revived Falcon Pro brings a hidden feature to keep on Tweetin' Posted: 03 Jul 2013 06:09 AM PDT The Falcon Pro Twitter app is probably the biggest third-party Android client to have run up against Twitter's Draconian new API rules that significantly limit the number of users an app can have. But Falcon's doing its best impression of a phoenix, once again rising up (ugh, we know, but that's what it's doing) for another go. Developer Joaquim Verges today announced that while Falcon absolutely has run out of user tokens, the app itself absolutely is not dead. And if you still have a token through Falcon Pro, you'll be able to use version 2.0.4 of Falcon Pro. read more

Deal of the Day: Mobi Products Skin Case for HTC One Posted: 03 Jul 2013 06:03 AM PDT The July 3 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Mobi Products Skin Case for HTC One. Made of highly durable material that feels great when gripped, this sleek looking case features anti-slip properties that give your HTC One more grip on all types of surfaces. Plus, this case has a special anti-dust coating and cut-outs for all of your HTC One features! The Mobi Products Skin Case is available for just $6.00, 60% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping! Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

HTC One Mini, One Max outed in O2 Germany docs Posted: 03 Jul 2013 04:28 AM PDT Black and silver color options listed for the Mini in latest leak It's becoming more and more likely that the HTC One line will soon be expanded with the addition of big and small-screened versions of the current HTC flagship. New info has come to light this morning from O2 Germany documents leaked by Mobiflip, which appear to corroborate the names "HTC One Mini" and "HTC One Max" for the new devices. The Mini — formerly known by its codename "M4" — is expected to use a smaller 4.3-inch display, while the Max — or "T6" — is said to be a 6-incher. The Max is listed in silver, while the Mini is shown as available in black and silver. Rumored specs for the HTC One Mini include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU, a 720p display resolution and "Ultrapixel" rear camera. Sources have recently told Android Central that the One Mini will be making an appearance in early August, and that the 6-inch One Max should pack a 1080p display and use Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 800 CPU. read more

Sony Xperia SP review Posted: 03 Jul 2013 03:51 AM PDT With impressive internals and a unique design, is Sony's new mid-ranger as good as it appears on paper? Once an underdog in the Android world, Sony Mobile put out a strong showing earlier in the year with smartphones like the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. With these devices the Japanese manufacturer seeks to differentiate itself with high-quality materials and outstanding designs. So it’s interesting to see that in its new mid-ranger, the Xperia SP, Sony is looking back to its smartphone design heritage, resurrecting ideas like the transparent element from last year’s NXT series. On paper it’s packing reasonable specs, too — a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, 1GB of RAM, a 4.6-inch 720p display and an 8-megapixel camera, not to mention LTE support. Not too long ago that would've been considered flagship territory. So, with a good-looking chassis and powerful internals, does Sony have a mid-range hit on its hands? Check past the break to find out. read more

EE 'double speed' LTE officially launches July 4 Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:26 AM PDT Sharing plans to launch July 17, MasterCard-based mobile payments system on the way too Mobile network EE, currently the only operator to offer 4G LTE services in the UK, has announced that its new "double speed" LTE services will officially launch starting tomorrow, July 4. Initially the new, faster service, which promises "headline" speeds of up to 80Mbps, will be available in some 12 towns and cities including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield. (We've already seen speeds of between 50 and 80Mbps in London and Manchester as EE has been testing the new service.) In addition, EE has today announced that its shared 4G price plans will become available from July 17, as will its new Pay-As-You-Go 4G mobile broadband plans. The shared plans can give users unlimited calls and texts, and a central pool of up to 20GB to share between devices, TheNextWeb reports. But the new shared plans won't come cheap — the 20GB option is set to cost £112 per month. read more

Samsung ships 20 million Galaxy S4s Posted: 03 Jul 2013 02:07 AM PDT Two months on, Samsung's shifted 20 million devices worldwide Samsung has shifted 20 million Galaxy S4 smartphones in the just over two months since the device first went on sale, company co-CEO JK Shin has told the Korean press. To put that in perspective, the first month of availability for the S4 yielded 10 million shipments, while last year's Galaxy S3 took 100 days to reach the 20 million milestone. Of course, shipping a phone isn't the same as selling it to an end-user. However shipped devices have to go somewhere, and the number shows that Samsung's partners at the very least are keen to snap up the device. Samsung also reported Galaxy S4 sales of 500,000 in its domestic market of South Korea. via SamMobile

Polaroid's own 'Polamatic' photo filter app hits Android, hipsters rejoice Posted: 03 Jul 2013 12:21 AM PDT After over a year as an iOS-exclusive app, Polaroid has finally released its "Polamatic" photo filtering and manipulation app into the Play Store for Android users to enjoy. As we've come to expect from all classic Polaroid-influenced filter apps, Polamatic lets users take (or import) photos and process them with unique retro flair. The app includes 36 different Polaroid photo frames, 20 different filters and the ability to add hand-written looking captions to bring in the full effect of an old-school image. Photos can naturally be shared out to any service once you've given them the proper touches as well, or saved in the Polamatic Gallery for later editing and sharing. The app is now available to purchase for $1.99 and can be found at Google Play Store link above.

Geek.com talks with Steve Kondik and Koushik Dutta about Android security Posted: 02 Jul 2013 07:52 PM PDT Learn about the new privacy tools in CyanogenMod from two of the founding members Looking for a great way to spend 20 minutes? join Geek.com's Russell Holly as he has a great chat with CyanogenMod founder Steve Kondik and Koushik Dutta of CM and ClockWorkMod fame about Android security.  It's plain talk, and focuses mostly on Privacy Guard and PushSMS  -- two new services that help you control the bits and bytes that flow from your phone. Explained are things like how ease-of-use and fairness to developers are important, and you'll leave a lot wiser on how these tools can help you decide how your data is handled and who can see it. Of course things get a little geeky, but what would 20 minutes with these two fellows be without a little bit of nerdery, right? this one's definitely worth a watch. You can watch the video above, but be sure to direct questions and comments to Russell at Geek.com's Google+ page. Source: Geek.com

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