Saturday, March 30, 2013

Android Community

Android Community


Samsung confirms Exynos 8-core CPU supports all major LTE networks

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 03:41 PM PDT

An interesting comment was made this week by the official Samsung Twitter account. Confirming the companies impressive Exynos 5 Octa 8-core mobile processor not only has support for LTE, but all 20 4G LTE bands currently being used around the globe. Our first thought immediately was why aren’t they offering this in their GALAXY S 4 flagship smartphone.

samsung-exynos-5-octa-official-1-540x374

As we all know, the Samsung GALAXY S 4 flagship smartphone will be released with two models being available. One being their Exynos 5 Octa processor mentioned above with all 8-cores, and the majority of the smartphones in the US and UK will all come with Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 600 series quad-core instead.

Originally the thought was Samsung was using Qualcomm for their wide array of full 4G LTE support in the US and UK, as Samsung’s previous Exynos CPU’s didn’t have full support. However, the Galaxy Note II launched with Samsung’s latest Exynos quad-core and it works on AT&T, Verizon, and many other LTE networks without a problem. So what gives?

Supply and demand is the problem here folks. While many of you are probably shocked to hear Samsung isn’t using their own impressive 8-core in their new smartphone. The reason is supply. With Samsung expecting to ship nearly 100 million GALAXY S 4 devices, they need to have someone keep up with that demand. That clearly is Qualcomm. The Note II had high sales, but nothing near the projections for the GS4. Most likely that rumored Galaxy Note III will be rocking this 8-core though, that’s for sure.

[via SamMobile]

Lenovo looking to buy NEC’s mobile division for Android push

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:57 PM PDT

We’ve been hearing a lot of different rumors lately surrounding the fact that Lenovo wants to jump deeper into the Android smartphone market. They have plenty of impressive phones, but we’ve heard they are looking to buy RIM (BlackBerry) and now new reports claim NEC could be selling their mobile division to Lenovo.

Screen Shot 2013-03-29 at 2.13.38 PM

According to CNET NEC’s ailing mobile unit is possibly on the auction blocks, although nothing has been officially reported or confirmed at this point. Reuters claims someone close to the situation is stating they are looking at Lenovo for a possible acquisition.

NEC is a Japan-based company and their smartphones while decent, haven’t made it to any US soil for the most part. We’ve seen various odd dual-screen smartphones from the company but nothing major that has gained any traction. The same could also be said about Lenovo’s smartphones, so the two combining efforts could be a good move.

“We’re considering a number of ways to bolster the competitiveness of our mobile phone business, but nothing has been decided.”

The quote above comes from NEC in a statement to investors earlier this week, so at the moment nothing is even official. The company also denied any buyout talks, but that is to be expected. Lenovo has some impressive 5-inch 1080p phones with impressive battery life, Intel-powered smartphones and more so it will be interesting to see if anything comes of this report.

[via SlashGear]

Google patent has camera checking local weather for optimal settings

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:01 PM PDT

Google’s been on a roll lately with patents and they aren’t slowing down anytime soon, even if a few of those patents are for odd features we might never see in a smartphone. That or Google is taking the way Google Now works to other aspects of our devices. This new patent has our cameras checking GPS and local weather to enable optimal settings for the perfect photo-taking experience.

google-camera-weather-patent

Yeah, you read that right. According to the USPTO Google’s just applied for a rather odd patent. This patent will use things like GPS, local weather, time of day and more all combined into an application or software built into our camera. The end result of the gathered information will be up to the minute optimal settings for your phone to take the best photo possible.

We’ve heard Google big wigs mention upcoming Nexus devices will have insanely great cameras, and this could just be one step in many to perfecting the mobile cameraman’s daily activities. The patent even covers GPS in a way that the camera app knows if you’re indoors, and if so, adjusts accordingly and increases the ISO for a better image vs being out in the sunlight.

nexus_hero2-540x358

ISO options, white balance, shutter speed and more may all be a factor in this upcoming camera application patent. Something that will make even the worst environment easier for our phones to handle. Automatic and pre-set modes are pretty popular, but Google’s looking to get rid of all that and offer an easier and quicker experience. Pretty interesting to say the least. This would really help Google Glass take better photos and video too, not just our smartphones.

[via Engadget]

MLB At Bat 2013 updated with redesigned team and news pages

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:04 PM PDT

Just in time for the 2013 season to officially get under way, the folks from the MLB development studio have just released their brand new app for Android. It just arrived on the Google Play Store with fastball-like speeds and is full of new features, an improved design, and more. All you MLB fans will be happy to know the tablet layout got improved too.

MLB

The app was recently updated for the 2013 season with plenty of action for Spring Training, but today is all about a new app with better visuals, more content, live audio and more all for the fans. Today they’ve added multi-platform live audio for MLB subscribers, something I’m sure many will be happy to hear about.

There’s full subscriber support on both smartphones and tablets, and both have received a small UI change for the better. The MLB states the smartphone app now features redesigned individual team pages for a better more personalized experience, then they’ve also improved the look and navigation of the news section.

That isn’t all either. We will now have a much better experience with the video highlights. You’ll be able to get game highlights easier than before, so that’s a plus. As usual the MLB At Bat subscription for the entire year will run you $19.99 so if you want the latest and greatest information, get it now. The new app is available as we speak from the link below.

[via Play Store]

OUYA game console ships with over 100 available games

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:53 PM PDT

We had known the OUYA game console was set to begin shipping to Kickstarter backers on March 28. And well, that seems to has begun without any delays. The OUYA team shared the news on their company blog in a post titled Shippin’ — the interesting part here, they begin with a thank you. You see, they are thanking the backers for well, backing them and making the console a success.

ouya_console-580x4131-540x38411

Or maybe more accurately, a success to date. You see, there is still the non-internet crowd that they will need to please. We are not going to see how well that turns out until June 4 when the console makes its way into retail outlets. The good news for now though, the OUYA team managed to drive enough buzz and enough hype to convince developers that it will be worth their time to bring games to the console.

According to details coming from OUYA, they were able to launch the console with 100 plus games. As of last evening they were claiming 104, but that number may have already grown. Regardless of the specific amount, some of the game titles new OUYA users can look forward to playing include one called Save the Puppies as well as Final Fantasy III, Beast Boxing Turbo, Stalagflight and Knightmare Tower.

Time will tell which, and how many additional games will follow. OUYA has also said they signed up over eight thousand developers. The eight thousand developer count makes it seem like additional games are a given, however looking at this from the other side brings us to wonder why eight thousand developers and only 104 games.

[via OUYA]

Facebook announcing their own flavor of Android

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:28 PM PDT

Last night Facebook sent out invites for an upcoming event focused all on Android, and it has the rumors a swirling this afternoon. We’re hearing their own Facebook phone, a home screen replacement full of News Feeds and all sorts of craziness. One in particular from the New York Times seems to be logical, but anything is possible.

Screen Shot 2013-03-28 at 12.20.29 PM

According to the New York Times Facebook will be announcing their own version or flavor of Android next week, one that will obviously completely cover up stock Android in favor of Facebook. I’m sick to my stomach already. The entire term “Facebook Phone” just needs to die, as does this entire concept but it never will. The details simply state the Android flavor will make Facebook more prominent.

Sources are reporting that Facebook will have their own skin, or basically their own version of Android much like Amazon’s Fire UI that will resemble and be all about Facebook. HTC is said to be on board as the first to partner with their new UI. On first boot you’ll be instantly greeted with your news feed, full of pointless details from your friends and family. Then all of the core apps will feature Facebook instead of regular Android.

Right down to the camera being specially designed by them like we’ve seen in the past, and of course it will auto-upload right into Facebook to share with the world. Essentially things like messenger, camera, gallery and more will all be core features and apps with a touch of Facebook. With free Facebook friend calling with VoIP, their integrated messenger service, and core Camera app we saw last year all the pieces are potentially in place – even if I don’t want them to be.

We’ll be there to capture all the details for you Facebook fans, so stay tuned for more details.

[via NYT]

Vine glosses over Android with new Embeds for web

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:55 AM PDT

Android users were given another reminder about an app that they cannot use. That app is Vine and the reminder came along with news of web embeds and an update to the iOS app. Vine originally launched back in January. That initial launch was clearly intended for iOS, however some hints of an Android app arrived about a month later by way of a Vine job posting.

vine-logo-540

It seems Vine had been looking for a lead Android engineer, which sort of implies they are at least considering an Android app. The catch though, Vine has yet to say anything specific. And since that point, the talk of a Vine app for Android has remained quite. Well, more specifically, there hasn’t been anything said since that point in time.

The Vine news today did bring back the desire to create some 6-second looping videos and while that cannot be done on Android, we did begin the search for alternatives. The problem is, there isn’t really any viable alternatives. Sure there are some other apps that bill themselves as social video, but even with that you lose what comes with Vine, the simplicity and the network of Vine users. This is sort of like it was trying to find a replacement for Instagram before it launched on Android.

That is to say, there are some options, but none of them are Vine. Just like none of them were Instagram. There is however, a Vine viewer for Android. You know, just in case you feel like you must have a way to view Vine videos while on the go. Of course, watching on your Android device aside, we suspect Vine uploads will get a little kick today given the news. And as part of that news included web embeds — we suspect that you will be seeing them in more places than before.

Basically, we are just looking for that official word from Vine. But in the meantime, they seem to have forced this Android user to do the unthinkable — grab an old iPhone 4S, download the Vine app and begin playing. While the iPhone 4S feels pretty tiny as compared to my Galaxy S III, at least I will be have some Vine videos at the ready for when (or if) the app finally launches for Android.

[via Vine Blog]

Android Authority

Android Authority


Galaxy S4 with Exynos 5 Octa CPU and LTE coming to South Korea (model number SHV-E300S)

Posted: 30 Mar 2013 02:27 AM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S4 3 aa 600

Only a few days ago we learned that the Exynos 5 Octa chip will indeed support LTE bands, and now we hear that South Korean Android fans will soon be able to order their Galaxy S4 smartphone with the eight-core chip inside (model number SHV-E300S) complete with LTE powers.

While Samsung wasn't apparently able to mass-produce enough Exynos 5 Octa SoCs for a more widespread launch and had to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 quad-core alternative for most of the models that will go on sale in the coming weeks, at least the phone that's launched in its home country will pack the company's next-generation processor.

According to Japanese site Naver, the South Korean Galaxy S4 model will launch at the end of April or in early May. Apparently Samsung has just finished testing the handset in the wild and it's now ready to launch the handset in the country – a local Unpacked event may be held to announce the handset locally.

Pricing details are not available at this time, and we have no exact launch dates from local carriers, but it's probably only a matter of weeks until the handset will be made official.

HTC One vs Galaxy S4 benchmarks

Interestingly, the publication reveals that Samsung has been testing the Galaxy S4 in South Korea for 29 days, carrying the device in square protection cases meant to conceal its design – the handset was officially unveiled only a couple of weeks ago, at a special media event in New York City.

Recent benchmarks have revealed that the Exynos 5 Octa can offer a significant performance bump on top of what the Snapdragon 600 has to offer, but those international buyers that are looking to get the most powerful Galaxy S4 version will have to wait a while until Samsung will launch this model in other markets.

Before getting too excited about this Exynos 5 Octa-based Galaxy S4, we’ll remind you that Samsung is yet to confirm launch details (including model version) for South Korea.

The post Galaxy S4 with Exynos 5 Octa CPU and LTE coming to South Korea (model number SHV-E300S) appeared first on Android Authority.

Razer Edge now shipping for all who placed pre-orders this month

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:12 PM PDT

razer-edge-project-fiona-official-3
Nearly three full months after it was first officially announced, the Razer Edge is now shipping out to all those who pre-ordered it earlier this month, to usher in what is purported to be the next generation in PC gaming. When Razer started taking pre-orders, it didn’t specify when exactly it would start shipping the Edge out to customers, so this is really good news.

According to a post on the official Razer Facebook page, the first retail units of the Razer Edge are going to arrive soon for all those who were able to get their pre-orders in as part of the “March batch.” Even though the wording makes it look as if the Razer Edge will only be available to a certain sub-set of customers — well, for now — at least there’s also kind of an assurance that it will start shipping for for everyone else soon enough.

The Razer Edge is a one-of-a-kind Windows 8 tablet PC that sports an integrated NVIDIA GT640M LE GPU to take care of gaming duties. Its other highlight features include an Intel Core i5 processor, USB 3.0 compatibility, and support for an external gamepad controller that’s available as an add-on accessory.

The Razer Edge is available for $999 per unit.

The post Razer Edge now shipping for all who placed pre-orders this month appeared first on Android Authority.

Alltel Galaxy S2 Jelly Bean update available, phone skips Ice Cream Sandwhich

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:20 PM PDT

banner-galaxy-s2-gt-i9100-android-4-1-jelly-bean-120728

The Sprint Epic 4G Touch is not the only U.S. Galaxy S2 version that has finally received its Jelly Bean update, as the Alltel Galaxy S2 can also be upgraded to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.

Interestingly, Alltel is skipping Ice Ceram Sandwhich altogether, which means Alltel Galaxy S2 owners will move directly from Android 2.3.6 to Android 4.1.2, in what will feel like a significant upgrade:

This software update will update your device operating system from Android 2.3.6 to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Because we are skipping Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and going straight to Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, the file will be too large to update over the air and will need to be downloaded to a computer.

As you can see, the upgrade is not available directly over-the-air (OTA,) and Alltel Galaxy S2 owners will have to download the necessary files to their computer first via the "Simple Upgrade Tool" and then update the handset following the available instructions.

Let's hear it from you, Alltel subscribers, did you upgrade your Galaxy S2 to Jelly Bean yet?

The post Alltel Galaxy S2 Jelly Bean update available, phone skips Ice Cream Sandwhich appeared first on Android Authority.

Google X Phone to be followed by 3 other Motorola non-Nexus handsets this year, new report reveals

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:53 PM PDT

motorola-leak-vietnam-x-phone-1

Google X Phone rumors are hitting from left and right this time of year, on an almost daily basis. A new report is now claiming that the X Phone will not be Google's only Motorola-made this year, not that we’d be surprised to hear Moto is working on more Droids for 2013.

Phone Arena says that Motorola will have three other devices in stores later this year that will not be part of the X Phone or Nexus families.

Not many details are available for these devices, other than that two of them would be launched in the third quarter, one bigger and the other one smaller, while a third model will be available in the following quarter.

The latter "may be offered unlocked at a price point that may be lower than the Nexus 4," although that feature alone won't make it a Nexus phone. Will Moto also design a Nexus handset this year? While yesterday's report seems to suggest that's a possibility, today's X Phone-related story says that there’s no indication that any of these three other Motorola Android phones will come with Nexus branding.

Moreover, the publication says, once again, that the X Phone will not come with hardware customization features, which is what the latest X Phone rumor also said, and that the "release window has always been for late June or July for the handset, so there has been no delay," as previously suggested.

We'll remind you that these are all unconfirmed details at this point, and we have no way of telling whether they’re real or not. We'll certainly be back with more reports on upcoming Motorola devices, X Phone included, but in the mean time tell us what kind of Motorola-made phone you'd like to buy from Google this year.

The post Google X Phone to be followed by 3 other Motorola non-Nexus handsets this year, new report reveals appeared first on Android Authority.

Verizon Galaxy S4 apparently spotted at the FCC, global roaming features included

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:17 PM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S4 2 aa 600

The Galaxy S4 will be available in the U.S. from at least six mobile operators, with Verizon's version having been apparently spotted making its way through the FCC.

An FCC filing for the SCH-I545, which is most likely the model number for Verizon's Galaxy S4 considering that SCH-I535 is the model number for Verizon’s current Galaxy S3, says the device will support the 700MHz LTE band (Band 13) right alongside Verizon's 1700MHz AWS frequencies (Band 4).

Just like Sprint's Galaxy S4, which has also been seen at the FCC, Verizon's Galaxy S4 will come with global roaming features – in addition to CDMA and LTE, we're also looking at GSM and WCDMA support (850MHz and 1900MHz bands). But we have no idea when Big Red will launch the handset, or whether the device will actually offer global roaming features at launch.

So far, only T-Mobile and AT&T mentioned pricing details for the Galaxy S4, and only AT&T and U.S. Cellular announced pre-order dates for the handset. From the looks of it, pre-orders will start around April 16 (AT&T, U.S. Cellular,) with the first Galaxy S4 orders shipping a few weeks later, possibly starting with May 1 (T-Mobile).

The on-contract Galaxy S4 is currently priced at $249.99 with AT&T, while the off-contract T-Mobile version costs $99 plus a number of monthly installments of $20 each.

What carrier are you buying the Galaxy S4 from?

The post Verizon Galaxy S4 apparently spotted at the FCC, global roaming features included appeared first on Android Authority.

Unreal Engine powered EPOCH now available in the Google Play Store

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:48 PM PDT

epoch unreal engine

Uppercut Games’ Unreal Engine powered EPOCH is now available to download from the Google Play Store.

EPOCH is a visually stunning game set in a post-apocalyptic world where robots are battling for survival in a never-ending war. Players will use their robots to battle other robots in a immersive single-player campaign with a dramatic yet interesting storyline.

Players will have the option to outfit their robot with upgrades, which will allow a player to take on larger waves of enemies. There are a plethora of upgrade options available, including some really cool weapon upgrades.

While the game is powered by Epic Games’ powerful Unreal Engine 3, there isn’t a whole lot of roaming that players will be able to do. The game, for the most part, has you set on a direct path to accomplish the mission at hand, which is by no means a bad thing.

In order to download the game, you’re going to have to be using a device powered by Android 2.3 or higher. EPOCH is 500MB in size, so it is suggested that the download is done over a Wi-Fi connection. If you’re interested, EPOCH costs $4.99 on the Google Play Store.

The post Unreal Engine powered EPOCH now available in the Google Play Store appeared first on Android Authority.

SoundHound update brings tablet optmization, improved social features

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:19 PM PDT

SoundHound Android app

The SoundHound Android app has received a major update, and those using it on their tablets probably have the biggest number of reasons to be happy about it.

The update is for the Google Nexus 7 and 10, as well as the Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire, as the press release below says (an update for smartphones is also available). SoundHound’s new interface is much easier to use on tablets, as everything seems to have been made larger and more accessible.

A new feature is LiveLyrics, which allows users to sing to the song they’re listening to. The app has also improved its social side quite a bit, as users can now easily share the tracks they discover on the SoundHound Android app with their friends on their favorite social networks. The moment the share button is pressed, a special screen comes up and all the social networks the tablet supports can be directly used. Location can also be included in the post (or removed from it).

SoundHound’s partnership with Rdio has also been extended, and US users are able to listen to songs after SoundHound has worked its magic. Also, the widget which allows for the app to recognize songs directly from the home screen, without the need to start it, is still present.

As for the smartphone update, it promises faster song recognition, as well as easier navigation through the history of songs.

Do you use the SoundHound Android app?

Show full PR text

SoundHound Unveils Stunning New Design For Android Tablets, Enhancing Overall Engagement, Content Accessibility and User Experience

Santa Clara – March 28, 2013 – SoundHound, the revolutionary sound search company with more than 130 million users around the world, today released a completely redesigned version of its mobile application for Android tablets, leveraging Google’s new graphical user interface. The updated version of SoundHound features an entirely new layout and design, making content more easily discoverable and accessible and a generally improved browsing experience.

The redesigned SoundHound app is available today for Google’s Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets as well as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Kindle HD.

“SoundHound on Android tablets is now not only stunning in appearance, it offers improved functionality and an enhanced experience for users,” said James Hom, SoundHound’s Vice President of Products. “By utilizing the tablet’s larger screen space and leveraging new tools from Google, users can much more fluidly navigate within the app and have access to more content in one location.”

As part of the design launch, SoundHound also deepens its relationship with Rdio, the digital music service. Rdio is the launch partner for this new tablet in the US and continues as the featured partner for SoundHound’s interactive mapping feature that allows users to see what songs have been recently SoundHound’ed in their geographic area. Since launching in December with Rdio, interactive mapping has become one of the most popular SoundHound features as users can tap on a SoundHound’ed song displayed on the map and link directly to Rdio to hear the full track.

Google Nexus tablet users can access the new design by updating their SoundHound app in the Google Play store while Kindle users can do the same via the Amazon Appstore.

The post SoundHound update brings tablet optmization, improved social features appeared first on Android Authority.

The Friday Debate: Is the Uncarrier model the future of phone contracts?

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:13 PM PDT

The-Friday-Debate aa Image: Evan Forester/Flickr

We are all mobile geeks, here at Android Authority. We love everything with a power button. We like to comment the latest news and endlessly argue over which phone is better. On the Friday Debate, we pick a hot issue and proceed to discuss it. Join us!

“Stop the bullshit!” said T-Mobile’s colorful CEO John Legere on Tuesday. After months of speculation and leaks, the magenta carrier finally unveiled its Uncarrier strategy. Legere was referring of course to the pricing model of American carriers, which T-Mobile is decided to turn on its head. Uncarrier means that T-Mobile won’t subsidize phones anymore. Customers will pay their devices, either when signing up for the contract or through monthly installments. But is this new way of selling services a viable business for T-Mo? Will the no subsidy model spread in the US, or is it just a false alarm?

At this week’s Friday Debate, we ask: Is the Uncarrier model the future of phone contracts?

Read our arguments, vote in the poll, sound off in the comments!

Joe Hindy (G+): no-contract is going mainstream

Over the last year or so, there has been a lot of talk of no-contract plans in the United States. Companies like Straight Talk and PlatinumTel are gaining a loyal following of customers who enjoy all the services of more expensive carriers at much less of a cost. It isn’t mainstream yet, but it’s gaining traction.

This is why T-Mobile’s move to no-contracts is so brilliant. As much as our audience may dislike this analogy, it’s a lot like the release of the iPhone right when smartphones were gaining mainstream attention. Similarly, no-contract plans are gaining traction, but T-Mobile will be making them mainstream. Whether or not it’ll increase their customer base remains to be seen. However, I would not be surprised to see the other carriers in the US shoring up their no-contract offerings and giving the US much better no-contract options than we’ve ever seen before. The age of contract plans is coming to an end and T-Mobile was just smart enough to cash in on it first.

Daniel Charlton (G+): Marketing is crucial

Most places in the world emphasize the contractless approach.  I think it’s smart of T-Mobile to go this way.  I also like that they are bringing a non-subsidy model for reducing up-front device costs.  It gives the consumer a lot better visibility into the fact that they are paying $X per month for service and some separate $Y per month for the device.

I think where they are tripping up is in their marketing materials.  They are focusing entirely on the ‘unlimited’ marketing but ignoring the fact that most people don’t care about that.  It’s especially a problem for the ‘base” portion of the plan.  $50 per month gets you unlimited minutes and texts.  People are using increasingly fewer minutes and non-SMS based texting (Google Voice or like a thousand other options).  T-Mobile still has options that are not unlimited minutes and texts (at least according to their customer service response to my G+ post asking about it), but they don’t appear anywhere on their website or in their marketing materials.  I know at least for me, the new pricing (with that $50 base cost) is more expensive that I pay right now for my (on-contract) T-Mobile service.

Marketing the unlimited everything plan at $70 is great, but it’d be just as useful to know that consumers can get an ‘everything they need’ plan for more like $40 or $50 a month.  Showing off the lower end of the pricing spectrum would put the company in a position to compete on price with the likes of Cricket and Metro PCS and the high end providers like Verizon and AT&T at the same time.  Right now, they are really only targeting that higher end with their marketing.

Derek Ross (G+): T-Mobile could pull it off

T-Mobile’s move to re-brand themselves as the ‘UnCarrier’ aligns their non-contract approach with the rest of the world. This approach has been successful outside of the United States for quite some time. John Legere put it best when he said "”Customers love smartphones, everyone hates contracts".

While T-Mobile’s methods might be great on paper, when it comes to overall coverage, they still don’t have that large of a footprint compared to their competitors. As T-Mobile continues to gain traction, such as their Metro PCS acquisition and LTE rollout, hopefully we’ll see their “UnCarrier” methods shake-up the mobile industry here in the US. Someone needs to do something to advocate change. I think T-Mobile might just be the company to do it.

Tanay Sood (G+): More than swagger is needed

Well, the rest of the world is following this system, so why not T-Mobile? They definitely know what they are doing as evidenced by John Legere’s newly found swagger and confidence. As long as T-Mobile puts their money where their mouth is and start actively promoting the potential savings to be had after switching to their new plans, I feel consumers will start to consider the switch sooner rather than later. They have the plans, they now have the phones (the iPhone 5 and all the 2013 flagships including the HTC One and the Samsung GS4 will be making an appearance on the carrier), all they now need is the coverage.

People are not going to switch unless T-Mobile provides excellent coverage and speeds in their area; as they keep improving their network, the reasons to keep ignoring them will continue to decrease.

Brad Ward (G+): Give me coverage

T-Mobile’s uncarrier model is the future, but I doubt it’s going to shake up the wireless industry in the U.S. right away. The mobile operator is offering a lot of nice things that will no doubt attract a truckload of customers, but as +Derek Ross said, their footprint isn’t that large compared to their competitors.

The model already works outside of the U.S., and there’s no doubt that it’ll shake things up here when T-Mobile is able to better their coverage. T-Mobile can offer all of the nice discounts they want, but it’s not going to shake things up until their coverage gets better.

When T-Mobile gets coverage on par with AT&T and Verizon, the uncarrier model will really take off. Who knows, it may even force AT&T and Verizon to start switching things up.

Vote in our poll and join the discussion!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The post The Friday Debate: Is the Uncarrier model the future of phone contracts? appeared first on Android Authority.

On the road with Nexus

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:31 PM PDT

NexusRoad

My regular life has me working from home, using a heterogeneous set of mobile platforms. Recently though, I’ve been travelling, which coincided with starting to use the Nexus 4, in complement to my Nexus 7. This is my story of going from familiar surroundings and being platform agnostic to living on the road and having Nexus devices being my front-line tech. 

Choosing apps and transitioning from Windows Phone to Android

Prior to the Nexus 4, I had not used Android as my phone for quite a while. My main use of Android was with the Nexus 7, where I found Android’s widgets and the extra real-estate of the 7″ screen made much more sense. At the risk of raising the ire of the Android Authority readers, I had been using Windows Phone 8 as my phone operating system (on a Lumia 920). Without making the case for Live Tiles here, I’ll just say that it took me awhile to figure out how to best configure the discrete phone homescreens for my needs. I’m glad to say that six weeks later, I’ve fine tuned things to something that makes sense to me.

It was that building of homescreens that I found the hardest part of the transition to using Android as a phone again. As for apps, it will come as no surprise to hear that for every app Windows Phone has, there are several alternatives on Android. The hardest substitute to find was an office suite, an area in which Windows Phone has a natural advantage. Having spent a good deal of money on several office suites for Android I decided, somewhat ironically, that the free of charge Kingsoft Office was the best all-round office app for both phone and tablet. With that out of the way, adapting a largely Microsoft dominated workflow to Android was easy given that it has OneNote and SkyDrive clients.

Nexus 4 vs Lumia 920

Nexus 4 vs Lumia 920

When living in an unfamiliar city, the smartphone is a great aid to finding your way around. As someone who spends his working life talking about mobile devices, I felt obliged to pit the Lumia’s Nokia Maps against Google Maps Navigation for walking directions (I don’t drive). While Google Maps was able to route me through the footpaths of nearby municipal areas, Nokia Maps’ walking directions were limited to roadways. Also, while Nokia Maps has a good set of local search results for most areas, it’s no substitute for being able to overlay a Google search onto a map. This was demonstrated when searching for local branches of well known UK stores, rather than the prescribed tourist attractions and places to eat. On the other hand though, the user interface for all of the Google Maps products need some work. It’s not always obvious where to find options and the presentation of results are somewhat basic.

Curious directions from Google Maps walking navigation

Curious directions from Google Maps walking navigation

One way in which both navigation packages fell down was with a niche of public transit navigation. While both Nokia’s and Google’s offerings could suggest bus routes, neither were aware of the tram system in the city I was visiting.

Another phone function that is particularly important to me is the camera. I think most Android watchers would agree with me that the Nexus 4 camera is acceptable but definitely average, this meant that the Lumia 920 was often kept at hand for camera duty. I also found that the Jelly Bean camera application was continually losing focus lock and starting to hunt for a focal spot all over again, which made it difficult to quickly take an in-focus photo.

An example of a Microsoft PhotoSynth photo

An example of a Microsoft PhotoSynth

2013-02-28 17.30.09-1

An Android Photo Sphere

An area in which Android did surpass the imaging capabilities of Windows Phone was with Photo Spheres. Microsoft has its own implementation of these Street View like wrap around images, known as PhotoSynth. However, I found the results to be much less impressive with distinct distortions and visible joins between images, whereas Android’s Photo Spheres, if taken carefully, produce much smoother and convincing results.

Dealing with limited connectivity

While travelling in the UK, I had unlimited mobile data but the signal coverage was often poor. To save going over the restrictive bandwidth cap of the place I was staying, I made use of mobile data via the Nexus 4 as much as possible. While using the (WiFi only) Nexus 7 as a substitute laptop, it was a cinch to set up the phone as a WiFi hotspot. Furthermore, SMS communication could also be handled on the tablet thanks to the “Tablet Talk” app, which allows the phone to synchronise with the tablet and send real time notifications of messages – most importantly it allows you to reply to messages on the tablet without having to get up and fetch your phone!

Things got more complicated when I wanted to get online with my Windows 8 laptop via the Nexus 4. Setting up a WiFi hotspot should have just worked, but there were frequent issues where the laptop reported a “Limited” connection, meaning while they were connected, I couldn’t get online. Fortunately, Android has a trick that Windows Phone is still lacking, that is USB tethering. I find this to be a much better way of getting online via a phone as relaying data between two different radio systems is a power hungry activity, and so it’s good for the phone to leech some power from the laptop it’s serving.

Android data monitor

Android data monitor

The data counter that was included from Ice Cream Sandwich made it far easier to keep a track of my usage. While I was on an allegedly unlimited package, it was still reassuring to keep track just in case I was dinged with a fair usage penalty.

The next leg of my journey took me to Nova Scotia, Canada. There, mobile data is prohibitively expensive, and so any smartphone is suddenly restricted to only working at its full potential while in range of a WiFi hotspot. This means staying at home or stopping off at somewhere like Tim Horton’s or Starbucks. Otherwise, my shiny new Nexus 4 felt somewhat hobbled when out and about.

Google Now is changing how phones might work

As I was using a Nexus 4, I thought I ought to adopt Google Now as much as I could, even going so far as to place its widget on my primary homescreen. Prior to going off on my travels, I bemoaned Google Now for only providing information about weather and stock prices. Many Android users will readily point out that Google Now will give you navigation tips for getting from home to work and back – that’s great but I typically work at home and so never benefited from that.

However, once I started moving around, I began to see these transit hints popping up and even though they weren’t relevant to me, I saw how they could be useful. While visiting a friend in London, he showed me how that even though he had not informed Google Now as to where he worked, it had eventually learnt his work location based on where he was going and spending his time. Moreover, it even started to suggest that he wasn’t taking the most optimal route and suggested better routes. Given his local knowledge of the London transport system, I am not sure Google knew best in this case, but still it was impressive to see what Google Now was doing on its own initiative.

Another transport feature Google Now occasionally displayed to me was showing me how far I had walked around while exploring the areas I’ve been living in. However, it has only shown the pedometer card once, and I would like to know how to see it again!

Public Transport advice from Google Now

Public Transport advice from Google Now

Things got more interesting as I approached railway stations and airports. Not only did Google Now display a card of photos taken nearby, but it also started to show departure times. However, the departure times were always for buses leaving the station, not the trains or planes that were coming and going.

I can see how bus times for getting connecting transport could be useful, but I’d have much rather have seen a card appear showing a departure board so I could see whether the train or plane I’d just arrived for was on time or not. While in London, Google Now did exactly that when approaching tube stations. It fetched data directly from the Transport for London web service and let me know when subsequent underground services were due.

On the other hand, Google Now excelled in the case of handling flight information. I’d booked a flight from London to Halifax (NS) with Air Canada. Google detected that email, and the night before my flight, the Google Now widget started showing me a card to reassure me that my flight was on time. I loved this, but the night before seemed a little premature to let me know one way or another.

gnow-flights

I’m writing this feature from Nova Scotia, but Google Now knows that the UK is my home country. As such, the widget always shows me up to date exchange rates. In the Google Now app, it constantly shows me the exchange rate, nearby attractions and the time at home. The latter is great for working out what friends and family are doing and whether it’s too late at night to phone home.

Google Now is clearly in an early state, I don’t feel that it has reached its potential, for me at least. However, there is nothing else out there that offers useful information before you even think about needing it. While the iPhone has a great virtual assistant in Siri, Google Now is working to give you what you want before you realise you need it.

Google Now offers useful information while abroad

Google Now offers useful information while abroad

The story so far

So far, the Nexus devices have been excellent companions for travelling. The Nexus 7, when combined with the nifty little Bluetooth keyboard we’ve seen before, is a great substitute for my laptop in many cases and has the advantage of fitting into my coat pocket.

nexus-open

As for the Nexus 4, this is obviously the reference model for Jelly Bean, and does a great job of embodying all the new features. The downsides of the Nexus 4 are that it has a non-replaceable battery (forcing me to carry a portable charger) and it’s fragile without the bumper case (I have two).

If you can't find an official Nexus 4 bumper, GenX make some colourful options

If you can’t find an official Nexus 4 bumper, GenX make some colourful options

Don't forget your Nexus travel charger!

Don’t forget your Nexus travel charger!

The other downside to the Nexus 4 is its average camera. Especially when travelling you want to capture precious memories and sights. I’m loathed to entrust the Nexus 4 to be the device I use to photograph the things around me. I have been using it to a limited amount, but the twitchy focusing of the Android camera app simply makes it a chore. It’s for this reason that the Lumia 920 is sticking around in my tech bag.

The post On the road with Nexus appeared first on Android Authority.

Magicka – Wizards of the Square Tablet available for Android tablets, promises cross-platform fun

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:57 PM PDT

Magicka - Wizards of the Square Tablet

Magicka – Wizards of the Square Tablet is now available on Android and iOS tablets, and promises co-op gaming as well as lots of action and fun.

The tablet edition of the PC game that gained quite a following in the past couple of years is now available in the Google Play Store, for $1.99. “Tablet edition” may not be the best words to describe it, since this is a totally different game, with 2D graphics, but one that keeps quite a few elements from the title that inspired it.

As you would expect, Magicka – Wizards of the Square Tablet does offer the possibility to combine spells in a lot of ways, and it doesn’t lack the trademark humor. The most interesting thing is probably the fact that the game, available for Android and iOS platforms, offers co-op playing for up to four players, and it will work across platforms. You can get a pretty good idea of what it looks like in the trailer below.

The reactions from fans of the franchise have already appeared on the Google Play Store page, and, while they’re very good, a list of supported devices, (hopefully, not as short as the one for Oil Rush 3D), would be a very good idea. At the moment, Magicka – Wizards of the Square Tablet looks like can’t be played by Google Nexus 7 users (like the author of this article).

How about you? Did you try Magicka – Wizards of the Square Tablet?

The post Magicka – Wizards of the Square Tablet available for Android tablets, promises cross-platform fun appeared first on Android Authority.

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans


Report: Facebook will unveil custom Android interface using proprietary camera and messaging apps

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:01 PM PDT

Facebook is hosting an Android-oriented event next week and speculation is sure to run wild. Reports emerging today may shed some light on what we can expect come April 4th. According to the most recent chatter, Facebook will unveil a custom version of Android with a focus on the social network’s apps and experience. Think [...]

LG Optimus G2 for T-Mobile spotted running Snapdragon 800 CPU

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:11 AM PDT

A benchmark report is shedding light on T-Mobile’s LG Optimus G2, the rumored followup to last year’s Optimus G. The phone, which will reportedly launch with Key Lime Pie sometime during the second half of the year, made an appearance in the GL Benchmark database as the LG D801. The most notable detail gleaned from [...]

Hands-on: OUYA unboxing and software review [VIDEO]

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:03 AM PDT

After abandoning the OUYA launch party for the pure purpose of getting our OUYA gaming on, we resisted our urge to tear the box in half and performed the obligatory yet often chastized unboxing video. We’ve seen the Dev Console unboxed, but we couldn’t go without an official unboxing of the retail-ready OUYA. It’s built [...]

Behind the scenes at the OUYA launch [VIDEO]

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:49 AM PDT

Last night was the official launch of OUYA, the long-awaited Android gaming console that started as a Kickstarter project. While our friends at OUYAboards.com and GameFans.com have been ferociously devouring all the OUYA they can get, we decided to roundup some of the OUYA news in consolidated posts. OUYA Founder’s Pre-Launch Speech Prior to the [...]

Game for Fame: Beat our Beach Buggy Blitz high-score to win a ASUS Transformer Pad (TF300) [Contest]

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:37 AM PDT

We are happy to announce the next round of Game for Fame! Thanks everyone for making last week’s Game for Fame a big success!  We would like to congratulate Phandroid.com reader Alan Farris on winning a Nexus 7″ Tablet as part of last week’s contest. In case you missed it, the concept is pretty simple: [...]

Latest factory images posted for Sprint and Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:16 AM PDT

For those that like to live life on the edge, it’s always good to have a backup plan. In the case of Android users, that comes in the form of an official factory image, which can be flashed to restore a phone to its original state should anything go awry. Considering the Nexus line of [...]

US Cellular Galaxy S4 pre-sales begin April 16th

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 09:05 AM PDT

While much attention has been on the plans of major carriers Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile regarding the Samsung Galaxy S4, a number of regional carriers will also receive the handset. The first to announce a pre-sale of the device is US Cellular. The Galaxy S4 will be available for preorder from the carrier beginning [...]

Google pledges not to sue open-source developers for patent infringement

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:18 AM PDT

These days it seems every time the word ‘patent’ is mentioned it is usually followed by ‘lawsuit.’ In a refreshing change of pace, Google is doing just the opposite. Today the company has taken the Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge, which states that they will not take legal action against distributors and developers of open-source [...]

Samsung Exynos 5 Octa supports LTE, why not on the Galaxy S4?

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:50 AM PDT

The Samsung Exynos team’s official Twitter account has confirmed that the new Exynos 5 Octa  chip not only supports LTE, but all 20 bands of it. So what gives with the Galaxy S4? The phone, as we all know by now, will be released in two variants: the GT-I9500 and the GT-I9505. The latter will [...]

PrimeTime for Google TV gets Amazon Instant Video support

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:16 AM PDT

Google TV’s PrimeTime app seeks to be a total replacement to your TV guide, and it’s slowly getting better at doing the job. Aside from incorporating your television operators channel lineup, Google has slowly been adding providers like Netflix and HBO Go to the mix. The latest is Amazon Instant Video by way of Amazon [...]

HTC One teardown is not for the faint of heart

Posted: 29 Mar 2013 07:05 AM PDT

The folks at iFixit have torn apart HTC’s latest flagship, and they have one piece of advice: don’t try this at home. Any self service to be performed on the phone is not for the faint of heart. The HTC One’s solid, gapless construction creates quite a few issues when it comes to getting inside the [...]

Official: OUYA begins shipping, hits retail stores on June 4th

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 08:57 PM PDT

We’re at the OUYA launch event and heard a speech from founder, Julie Uhrman, just as she pressed the “publish” button on the last Kickstarter blog post. We heard from Julie directly: “Nobody knows about this,” she said, “Although the Twitter universe will soon know… we actually started shipping the OUYA yesterday.” That’s right, folks. [...]