Android Community |
- Slickdeals app comes to Android – aims to lighten your wallet
- US Cellular testing a ‘try before you sign’ program
- Motorola DROID Bionic 4.1 Jelly Bean update hits the testing phase
- US Cellular begins the Samsung Galaxy Axiom Jelly Bean update
- HTC M4 spec leak tips UltraPixel camera and 16GB storage
- HTC One hitting the road with the Live Experience Tour
- Google Glass SXSW demonstration video now available for viewing
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 UK availability begins today
- HTC One Developer Edition pre-orders begin April 5
- Google TV Remote app gets its first update in years
- iHeartRadio app for Android users gets updated
- Samsung announces record estimated Q1 financials
- Box for Android users updated to version 2.1.5
- Facebook Home is about people, not apps – and it cripples Android
- YouTube updated with ‘My subscriptions’ list and better channel branding
- Facebook Home App vs HTC first phone: what’s the difference?
- comScore: Android remains top smartphone platform with 51.7%
- T-Mobile reports first positive branded growth in four years
- New beta version of Deezer available for Android users
- HTC first and Facebook Home hands-on
| Slickdeals app comes to Android – aims to lighten your wallet Posted: 05 Apr 2013 10:46 AM PDT Today we have some good news and bad news for those on a budget. The good news is the number one place for great deals on the internet has finally released an official app for Android. The bad news being if you install this you’ll probably go broke because the deals are so awesome. We’re talking about Slickdeals, the biggest community-driven deals site around.
It looks like they released the official Slickdeals for Android app back on Wednesday, and it’s already getting tons of attention and massive amounts of downloads. For those wanting to find amazing deals and spend all their cash, this would be a good place to start. Personally I installed it for screenshots and made myself delete the app, otherwise I’ll be buying stuff all day. Out of the gate the Slickdeals app looks and works great, but you’ll notice it does have a few bugs. It has a nice and simple layout with the slide-out left panel like YouTube, Facebook and others, and is extremely smooth. Sadly it doesn’t work too great on tablets, landscape view isn’t available, and you’re required to sign in to even see the deals. You can use Facebook sign-in if you’d like.
The slideout shows options to navigate to frontpage, popular, or local deals with Google Maps. Then it also lets you head into settings to control all the push notifications, as well as head to the forums for deals discussions. Yes the push notifications will blast your notification bar and make you spend more money. And that is why I had to uninstall this amazing app. Overall it isn’t bad for their initial release, and hopefully they fixed a few bugs and offer a better tablet experience in the coming weeks. For those who love a good deal or are already fans of Slickdeals get it from the link below. [via Play Store] |
| US Cellular testing a ‘try before you sign’ program Posted: 05 Apr 2013 10:34 AM PDT US Cellular has begun testing out a new trial program. One that will allow perspective customers to test out the network before they sign a two-year commitment. This program sounds interesting enough, but at the moment it is limited to a select few markets. The testing is being done in Knoxville, Tennessee; Medford, Oregon and Rocky Mount, North Carolina and could be expanded if this trial period goes well.
US Cellular hasn’t offered any details in terms of when the trial period will come to a close, however they have given some details on the program itself. It all seems simple enough, basically, those considering a switch to US Cellular would be able to use a device on the network for one full week. The carrier is saying that customers “deserve to know what to expect from a wireless network” before they sign. Hence the one week trial period. After all, one weeks worth of regular usage should be enough time to tell you whether you will see sufficient service in the area where you live, work or play. On that thought, while US Cellular may not be as big or as talked about in comparison to other US carriers, they do have a decent selection of devices. They recently launched the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet and have even announced that pre-orders of the GALAXY S 4 will go live on April 16. US Cellular also has the Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S III which are currently priced at $299.99 and $99.99 respectively. [via Fierce Wireless] |
| Motorola DROID Bionic 4.1 Jelly Bean update hits the testing phase Posted: 05 Apr 2013 09:52 AM PDT If you’re still proudly rocking the Motorola DROID Bionic we have some rather exciting news this afternoon to report. It looks like the highly anticipated update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the Bionic is finally in the testing phase, and should hopefully wrap up and be delivered to users shortly. Get ready for that Google Now you Bionic fans!
We’re getting multiple reports that Motorola has indeed started sending out their usual soak test (beta) invites for members of the Motorola feedback network to test the latest version of Android for the Bionic, which just so happens to be 4.1 Jelly Bean. Motorola’s been doing a bit better in the update department as of late, and this is the next device on their radar. In case you missed it, last week they updated their update roadmap and confirmed the Bionic would see Jelly Bean in Q2 of 2013, so now it’s only a matter of time. Usually these soak tests don’t state exactly what the update is, but this time around it clearly mentions the Jelly Bean software release. So get excited folks! Motorola has recently updated the RAZR, RAZR HD, DROID 4 and more so things are looking better in update land for Moto. Now we just need to see that rumored X-Phone and we’ll be happy. If all goes well with this soak test hopefully we’ll see Android 4.1 Jelly Bean released for the DROID Bionic this month. Stay tuned and we’ll report back when we know more or see a build leak. Device Info
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| US Cellular begins the Samsung Galaxy Axiom Jelly Bean update Posted: 05 Apr 2013 09:42 AM PDT The US Cellular branded Galaxy Axiom has become the latest Samsung device to get an update to Jelly Bean. In this case, that means Android 4.1.2. Those who happen to be carrying this particular handset should be able to grab the update immediately. The one small catch is that you will need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network in order to do so though.
Once connected to Wi-Fi, simply navigate to Menu -> Settings -> About Device -> Software Update to get the process started. Assuming your handset gives the expected response in that an update is waiting — follow the on-device prompts to complete the process. Aside from 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, this update will have your Galaxy Axiom sitting with baseband version R830VXBMB2. Of course, more important here, this update will bring a few nice perks such as Google Now and the enhanced notifications. Some of the notification enhancements include being able to see the full text of an SMS message or even the full image from a MMS message. You also get the smoothness that comes along with Project Butter as well as a new photo experience and additional options when it comes to customization. This will likely come with little surprise at this point, however Jelly Bean is a nice update from Ice Cream Sandwich and one that you will want to grab as soon as you can. US Cellular originally launched the Galaxy Axiom back in late-November 2012 and had it with a fairly nice price point. The handset originally dropped at $79, but as of today it can be picked up for $29.99 on a two-year agreement. [via US Cellular] Device Info
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| HTC M4 spec leak tips UltraPixel camera and 16GB storage Posted: 05 Apr 2013 09:10 AM PDT Its been some time since we last heard anything in terms of the HTC M4, however an updated set of specs has recently surfaced. These are not all that different from the previously leaked specs, however they do come at an interesting time. Basically, that is to say we can now look at the HTC M4 as compared to the HTC first — as opposed to as compared to the HTC One, which was previously dubbed the HTC M7.
Putting the comparison to the side for a moment though, lets take a look at the latest leak for the M4. These are coming by way of the LlabTooFeR site, who unfortunately does not reveal all that much about where these details have come from. The specs for the M4 have the handset sitting with a 4.3-inch 720p display and powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor with 1GB of RAM. Other points include Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and Sense 5.0 along with a 1.6 megapixel front-facing camera, HTC UltraPixel camera on the back, 16GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. While the M7 and M4 codenames would imply a step down in terms of specs going from the M7 to M4, these specs actually seems closer to that of the HTC first, the Facebook phone. The HTC first also has a 4.3-inch 720p display and dual-core Snapdragon 400 processor with 1GB of RAM. Of course, there are some obvious differences in that the first does not have Sense 5.0. Another notable difference here would be in the rear-facing camera, which on the first is a 5 megapixel. Bottom line here, we still need some oficial information on the M4, however as of now it is now looking like the HTC M4 could be a non-Facebook version of the first. [via Blog of Mobile] |
| HTC One hitting the road with the Live Experience Tour Posted: 05 Apr 2013 08:21 AM PDT HTC seems ready to push the One smartphone towards everyone that will listen. While the US availability may not have come as quickly as some would have hoped, HTC does seem to be doing a fairly decent job in terms of keeping the talk going. And in this case, it looks like they are just about ready to take the handset out on the road with something they are calling the Live Experience Tour.
This tour will be for those in the US and it will hit a total of 11 major markets across the country. The tour looks to contain three pieces — one for the HTC BoomSound Lounge, one for the HTC One Showrooms and one for the HTC One Cinema Experiences. These three sections also seem to have their own schedules. For example, the HTC BoomSound Lounge will be opening today and can be found in six cities including Columbus Circle in New York, Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco, Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, Wrigleyville in Chicago, Franklin Square in Philadelphia and Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. The HTC One Showroom on the other hand will not be opening until April 11. The showrooms will be found in high-traffic malls and each of them will remain open for a minimum of three months. Those who visit an HTC One Showroom will be able to check out the HTC One, the features of the handset and generally just talk and chat about the phone. The showrooms will be in eight US cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Lastly, the HTC Live Cinema Experience will be the, well, most interesting of the bunch. This one will be found in movie theaters. HTC has said they will be “treating moviegoers to hands-on opportunities.” The Cinema Experience will include everything from a demo of the device to being able to view the latest commercial on the big screen. Bottom line here, while these may not be all that close, or for that matter, all that interesting for some users — we do have to give some credit to HTC for trying. Device Info
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| Google Glass SXSW demonstration video now available for viewing Posted: 05 Apr 2013 07:35 AM PDT SXSW may have already ended, however it is just now that we are being given the opportunity to check out the “Building New Experiences with Glass” talk from the event. This talk came courtesy of Timothy Jordan who is a Developer Advocate with Project Glass. The talk measures in at just over 50 minutes in length and appears to put a bit more realistic view on the glasses.
The video covers some of the basics such as how Google Glass is part of Google X, but goes into talking about a users relationship with Glass. Jordan goes into talking about technology that is there when you want it, but out of the way when you don’t. This goes to talk about being at an event and seeing everyone capturing things and viewing them through the display, as opposed to being in the moment and enjoying what is actually happening. One interesting take here, Jordan has said that these are still early days. In theory, that makes perfect sense, however it may be something we forget from time to time. Bottom line here, those who are overly interested in Glass will likely want to check this out. This video aside though, the Google Glass sign-up page recently went live. That is a page where you can get all the currently available information about Glass, and also give up your email address to hopefully get more information when it comes available in the future. Aside from the teaser page, we have also recently learned that Google Glass will be manufactured in the US as well as some potential use cases based on patents. Patent wise we have seen everything from recognizing friends to opening your garage door. A little simpler, Google has also shown some apps and how they will work. These were shown back in mid-March and included Gmail, Path and Evernote. [via SlashGear] |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 UK availability begins today Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:58 AM PDT Samsung has announced the immediate availability of the Galaxy Note 8.0 for those in the UK. The one catch with that though, for now the tablet will only be available at one retail location. That spot is the Samsung Experience Store which is located in Westfield Stratford City. Samsung has yet to offer a release date otherwise, however they have said availability in other channels will follow.
The model that is available is the 16GB Wi-Fi only and Samsung has it priced at £339. Samsung has also said those who make the purchase will be getting some freebie extras. This is said to be a £60 value and includes Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 as well as 50GB of Dropbox storage for two years time. The remaining freebies include one month of access to the Samsung Music Hub, a £20 voucher to use in the Samsung Learning Hub, AVG Anti-Virus Pro and a two month free trial subscription to The Times newspaper. Freebies aside, the Galaxy Note 8.0 also has some software goodies included for all. These are often designed for use with the S Pen and in the case of the Note 8.0 — include Paper Artist and Photo Note as well as the new Reading Mode which will allow you to annotate, highlight, cut and paste while you are reading. Bottom line here though, if you are in the UK and cannot wait any longer to get a Note 8.0, today is your day. Device Info
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| HTC One Developer Edition pre-orders begin April 5 Posted: 05 Apr 2013 06:27 AM PDT HTC will have a developer edition of the One smartphone available shortly. The handset, which has been dubbed the HTC One Developer Edition, will be available for pre-order beginning on April 5. More specifically, the pre-orders will be available from 10AM EST on April 5. The interesting part here, the developer edition HTC One will give you something that we previously thought would only be available from one carrier.
That something is storage — 64GB of it. Of course, that also seems to tie in with where users will be taking their Developer Edition HTC One. The handset will arrive with support for AT&T. HTC has said the Developer Edition One will have LTE and 3G connectivity for AT&T. Alternatively, the handset should also work with a T-Mobile SIM. HSPA+ connectivity on the One Developer Edition comes courtesy of the 850/1900/2100 MHz bands. Given this is a developer edition handset you can expect a few things. To begin with, the handset will be unlocked (hence being able to use it on those previously mentioned carriers), it will also have an unlocked bootloader. Touching on the unlocked portion, the handset will also be purchased off-contract which means no carrier subsidy. Simply put, expect to pay $649 to purchase the HTC One Developer Edition model. Otherwise, the HTC One pre-orders have already begun to go live with the carriers. Pre-orders began yesterday with AT&T and some others should be starting up today. The AT&T pricing will be $199.99 (32GB) or $299.99 (64GB) on a two-year agreement. Finally, the HTC One Developer Edition is expected to begin shipping the same day as the AT&T branded model — on April 19. In the meantime, check out the timeline below which details some of our previous HTC One coverage including our full review. Device Info
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| Google TV Remote app gets its first update in years Posted: 05 Apr 2013 04:33 AM PDT Most application developers are constantly tweaking their app and offering new features via updates. Google does this with some of its applications, but it hasn’t offered anything in the way of updates for its Google TV Remote application. This app has been available for about three years now without an update.
That has all changed this week with Google offering the first official Google TV Remote app update ever. The update brings with it some significant new features including a new voice search option. This means that users can now use their voice to search for movies, TV shows, and other content across the Google TV platform. The update also adds a new D-Pad that allows users to navigate through menus and other content by swiping or tapping the directional pad. The app also has a pointer mode allowing the user to control the mouse pointer on the screen and use gestures for scrolling and zooming on webpages. It’s nice to finally see Google putting some attention on this rather ignored application. The app is available as a no-cost download via Google Play right now. The Google TV Remote app supports devices running Android 2.2 or higher. [via CNET] |
| iHeartRadio app for Android users gets updated Posted: 05 Apr 2013 04:27 AM PDT If you’re a fan of listening to streaming radio stations, you may be familiar with the iHeartRadio application. This application allows you to listen to broadcast radio stations in your local area and from all around the country using your Android smartphone. Earlier this week the application was updated to a new version bringing some cool new features.
The new features include one called “Perfect For” that let you discover and play stations that are perfect for any activity, mood, or situation. You can choose stations that are “perfect for” things like working, driving, studying, or exercising. The app also has a new alarm clock feature. The new Alarm Clock feature allows users to set their smartphone alarm clock or reminders to alert or wake you up to your favorite music or the streaming radio station of your choice. That means when you’re on vacation, you can still wake up to your local radio show if it’s on the app. The app still has all the old features including the ability to pick an artist or song to create your own commercial free custom station. The app offers a catalog of 15 million songs from 400,000 different artists. The best part about the streaming application and the service is that there is no cost, it’s free to download the app and free to use the service. [via Google Play] |
| Samsung announces record estimated Q1 financials Posted: 05 Apr 2013 04:15 AM PDT Business for Samsung is booming on the back of incredibly popular devices such as the GALAXY S 3. The end of Samsung’s Q1 2013 has come and the company is offering up estimated financial information for the quarter. The good news for Samsung investors is that the company has done an amazing job and is expecting record profits.
The final financial information for the quarter will be available on April 26. However, Samsung is estimating a record $7.7 billion in profit for a 53% increase compared to the previous quarter. If the estimated data holds true, Q1 2013 will be the fifth quarter in a row for Samsung to set profitability records. We can expect even better financial success for Samsung when the new GALAXY S 4 hits store shelves around the world in the coming weeks. Currently Samsung is valued at about $220 billion. Samsung’s estimates put its smartphone sales for the quarter at between 68 million and 70 million won. The Note and Galaxy S devices are Samsung’s most popular products. While a lot of Samsung’s profit does come directly from its smartphone and tablet operations, the company is also very successful in other business areas. Specifically the Samsung display business is also generating significant profit. Hopefully more profits mean more and better products on the horizon from Samsung. [via SlashGear] |
| Box for Android users updated to version 2.1.5 Posted: 05 Apr 2013 04:06 AM PDT If you’re a user of the Box application on your Android smartphone, a new update is available on Google Play. Box is an application designed to make it easy for users to share, access, and edit files and stay connected with a team of other users. The application is particularly effective for sharing files with coworkers, keeping presentations at your fingertips, and commenting on documents that other users upload.
The application for Android users has been updated to version 2.1.5. The update brings with it some nice new features including the option to customize permissions for newly created shared links. The update also brings the ability to preview audio and video files. The ability to preview media files such as audio and video offerings has been a feature that many users of Box had been missing for a long time. One catch is that to be able to preview video, you do need a Box Enterprise Account. The update also adds a Polish translation and a Hebrew translation. The updated app is available for download at no cost now and still includes 5 GB of free storage. Check out the video below for more details and the updated app. [via Engadget] |
| Facebook Home is about people, not apps – and it cripples Android Posted: 04 Apr 2013 05:29 PM PDT Today Zuckerberg came out swinging in the world of Android with their all-new approach called Facebook Home. The software brings the social site deeper into Android than ever before, and everything is as integrated as humanly possible. It isn’t a fork in the Android OS, but it might as well be. With Home being all about people and social, and not about apps, it essentially cripples many of the things we love about Android.
While so far it would appear that many users initial reactions have been positive – at least those who enjoy Facebook – at the same time we’re seeing tons of negative comments. What it really comes down to is Facebook Home is about people and not about apps. For some that might be a good approach, but with smartphones being a computer in our pocket don’t we want apps? I know I do. And this brings me to my next point. Widgets. With Facebook Home the standard widgets we all know and love on Android are completely tossed aside. Instead they are replaced with essentially one large Facebook widget delivering us social status updates, friends messages, missed calls and maybe a few 3rd party notifications for Spotify and the likes. The same can be said about the calendar and many other apps we might use daily. Don’t get me wrong, the Calendar is still there, but those who use a calendar widget, Gmail widget, and many other things simply can’t do that with Facebook Home – or a Facebook Phone.
Facebook’s Cover Feed will show you incoming emails from Gmail, so that won’t be completely lost. It’s the design and style that everyone knows and loves on Android that will be lost. It’s how we use these features that will be dropped and missed. It is the very nature of Android being completely open, customizable, and personalized to your liking that will all go out the window with Facebook Home. In a report by CNET Zuckerberg states that Facebook Home will be good for Android, it doesn’t compete with it, and instead offers just one more high quality experience. While we agree this is one more option, which is something that makes Android great, it takes away from so many things that truly makes Android the best mobile OS in the world.
Another thing worth mentioning is the quote above from Mark Zuck himself. You can look at that and say it’s both a good thing and a bad thing. For one Facebook will be able to go the direction they want and would like, and not have to deal with Google. At the same time Google won’t be able to stop them from crippling the Android OS even further. I don’t know about you guys but being able to customize icons, add and remove widgets as I please (and resize them) and tons of other customizations and such surely will be missed. However, it’s worth noting that expandable notifications, Google Now, and even Android’s standard 4.1 Jelly Bean multi-tasking are all still present – even on the HTC first. Just long press that round home button and you’ll be enjoying those usual features in no time. Another extremely important point is the HTC first has a setting to disable Facebook Home, which would leave you with stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Yay! For now it’s truly hard to grasp everything about Facebook Home until it’s in the wild and we get our hands on it for a bit longer. In the end I’m sure many Android enthusiasts will still feel the same way I do now. In closing we’d love to hear what all of you guys think about Facebook Home. We know those loyal readers that root everything, flash nightly CM ROM’s and more won’t like it, but that isn’t the only market for a smartphone. Honestly, can you see this being something the mass public or people that aren’t “Android enthusiasts” will enjoy? Let us know in the comments below. |
| YouTube updated with ‘My subscriptions’ list and better channel branding Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:19 PM PDT Today isn’t all about Facebook, and we have some details regarding the latest version of YouTube for Android. Today, Google rolled out an update to YouTube that brought a few new features, fixed some pesky bugs, and added more options for content creators to brand their channel and more. For those interested we have the changelog after the break.
Google has added a nice little option in the left sidebar (as shown above) to easily access your ‘My subscriptions’ feed. This allows you to see the most recent videos from all the channels you subscribe to, not just one, or only suggestions from the main page. This should make finding the latest Android Community video even easier if you’re subscribed to our parent channel SlashGear! Then, for YT channels that have signed up for something called One Channel, which allows creators to better personalize and tweak their YouTube Channel, you’ll now see changes and tweaks right inside the app and more. Then as usual Google states they’ve solved a few more bugs.
The changelog provided above claims a bug that caused accounts to sign out on Android has been fixed, something that was probably irritating for those who had the issue. Then the usual comment of “bug fixes and stability improvements” was thrown in for good measure. It’s a pretty minor update but I’m glad to see the My Subscriptions option get improved. Now be like me and watch some Sam Kinison on YouTube, he’s hilarious. Get it now from the link below. [via Play Store] |
| Facebook Home App vs HTC first phone: what’s the difference? Posted: 04 Apr 2013 02:17 PM PDT Today the brand new Facebook Home social network experience for Android has been revealed. It’s the companies own fresh take on how Android should feel, completely wrapped in Facebook‘s world. There’s still plenty of questions regarding the future of Facebook on mobile, and the regular app, but for now we had a few comments regarding how the newly announced Facebook Home app will differ from the experience out of the box – like with the embedded and integrated system of the HTC first phone.
Facebook Home will be coming to an array of Android devices like the HTC One, One X, Galaxy S III, Note II and more over the coming weeks, and will hit the Google Play Store on April 12th. However, for those who love Facebook and opt to buy the newly announced HTC first – also available April 12th – the experience will be different. And is it worth it to buy a phone specifically made for Facebook Home? That question can only be answered by you since you’ll be using it, but here’s what we know. The HTC first and other devices that come with Facebook Home out of the box will have a few unique features to make the experience even better. Things like the intuitive and new style of Facebook Home and the Cover Feed will be able to access all notifications, not just a few Facebook-related ones. The video below is an extended look at the HTC first and Facebook Home, but around 5 minutes in we talk about the difference between the native experience, and the app from the Play Store. This means Instagram, Spotify, and any and all 3rd party apps you download will also work with Facebook’s notification system should you choose – as long as you buy a “Facebook Phone.” For all those two opt to simply get the app from the Google Play Store the notifications will be standard to Android, and only Facebook’s Cover Feed of missed calls, texts, messages, friends, chat heads and such will be a part of the experience. So in the end this isn’t a huge deal, but the level of integration will be more seamless and perfected if you purchase the HTC first, or any upcoming Facebook Phones that launch with Home out of the box. We’re also hearing Facebook Home the app will have ads just like Facebook currently does, and the dedicated phones like the HTC first won’t. So that’s a biggie too. We’ll report back when we know additional details. For those extremely excited about Facebook Home, does this change your mindset moving forward for buying a device or just downloading the app? We’d love to hear your thoughts! |
| comScore: Android remains top smartphone platform with 51.7% Posted: 04 Apr 2013 01:37 PM PDT The latest comScore report has recently been published and once again we are seeing a similar story with Samsung and Android as well as Apple and iOS taking the majority of the shares. This report in particular is dealing with the smartphone subscriber market share — taking a look at the tops in terms of device manufacturer and also the platform.
Looking first by manufacturer and we have Apple sitting in the top spot with 38.9 percent. Apple saw some growth as compared from the previous (November 2012) report which had them at 35 percent. While Samsung is in second here, they are a decent ways down from Apple. Samsung has 21.3 percent, which while lower, did show some growth. The previous Samsung numbers had them sitting at 20.3 percent. Rounding out the top five here and we have HTC, Motorola and LG with 9.3, 8.4 and 6.8 percent respectively. Coincidentally, the increase of Apple and Samsung came as a result of HTC, Motorola and LG losing ground. HTC had the biggest drop of the three with a decrease of 1.7 percent. Motorola had a 1.1 percent drop and LG had an ever so slight drop of 0.2 percent. Shifting over to the platforms here and we have Android with the majority at 51.7 percent. Apple and iOS are sitting in second with 38.9 percent. While the drop from Android to iOS is pretty significant, moving into third and we are seeing percentages in the single digits. BlackBerry, Microsoft and Symbian round out places three through five and they are sitting with 5.4, 3.2 and 0.5 percent respectively. Interestingly enough, while Android remained in the top slot, they actually dropped 2.0 percent from the previous (November 2012) report. Apple on the other hand saw an increase of 3.9 percent as compared to the previous report. [via comScore] |
| T-Mobile reports first positive branded growth in four years Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:38 PM PDT While this is all a bit soon to be a reaction from the recent T-Mobile UNcarrier event, it does appear as if the carrier has some good news to share. Whether that good news will continue will be a story for another day, however as of today T-Mobile is reporting “continued positive momentum and the building of a solid foundation for growth.”
This is all coming by way of a recent T-Mobile issued statement, which is coming ahead of the full set of Q1 2013 results. Those are due to be released on May 8, 2013. Touching back on the positive momentum comment and we have word that this quarter has “generated positive branded net customer additions.” T-Mobile is reporting a “significant improvement in branded postpaid net customer losses and continued improvement in churn performance in the quarter.” It seems as if things are looking up for the UNcarrier. While we wait for the full report, not to mention the next report, lets cover some of those highlights that are available at the moment. T-Mobile has reported a customer base increase of 579,000, which brings the total up to 34 million. Those branded net customer additions totaled in at 352,000 and the branded postpaid net customers losses improved to a loss of 199,000. The other point was the postpaid churn, which declined to 1.9 percent. That all aside, perhaps this point that matters most here, John Legere, President & CEO of T-Mobile USA has said these “results display positive momentum and the first positive branded growth in four years." [via T-Mobile] |
| New beta version of Deezer available for Android users Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:35 PM PDT Android smartphone users that are fans of streaming music may be familiar with Deezer. The company has announced that it has a new exclusive beta version of the Deezer app that is available exclusively for Android users. The beta version of the application brings several notable features to the application.
Key features of the new beta app include a predictive search capability that is able to predict the name of the artist or track people are trying to find, making it easier to search for new music. The beta app also has a built-in permanent mini-player allowing people to navigate between tracks outside of the application. That means you can change tracks while using another application or sending a text message. The updated app also brings a new ergonomic design that’s easier to use and makes finding new artists easier to accomplish. The company says that the new features are focused on easy access to music for users around the world. The beta version of the app is available to download as of today. Deezer says that the final version of the app will be accessible via Google Play soon. Deezer apparently plans to bring these new features to other versions of the application for additional smartphone platforms. [via Deezer] |
| HTC first and Facebook Home hands-on Posted: 04 Apr 2013 12:20 PM PDT After months of rumors and speculation, today the first true Facebook Phone has finally been unveiled. While we still want to call it the Facebook Phone, it really isn’t. Instead it’s just the ‘first’ of many that will be coming soon. Facebook Home will launch on April 12th, and the HTC first with an embedded and unique Facebook Home experience will too. We just got our hands on it, so read on for our initial thoughts and a quick video.
In case you guys haven’t been following along with the news today, Facebook Home is essentially an extremely skinned version of Android that takes over nearly every aspect of the main features of a phone. We have everything and more below, but for now lets focus on the HTC first and Facebook Home. The HTC first is a decent little mid-range phone, and so far we’re actually pretty fond of the hardware. HTC is no stranger to offering excellent hardware, and the HTC first is built with quality in mind. They’ve gone with a unibody design coming in black, white, red, or light blue and we’ve got the black version in our hands as you can see below. And no, the back is not removable. With a 4.3-inch 720p HD display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 series dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, it’s fairly fast. You get a 5 megapixel rear camera and 1.6 front shooter, and of course AT&T 4G LTE for blazing fast speeds. As you can see we have an odd round home button, then a back and ‘minus’ button. A good idea of the look and feel, we’d direct you to the HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE with a focus similar to the One.    Facebook appears to have really improved their skills lately, because it seems much faster than the usual Facebook app. Not to mention our data speeds are slow here. We’re pretty impressed with the visuals and animations, and the full HD beautiful content is a bit refreshing. It’s like they took Google+ and made it bigger, filled the entire screen, and covered it in Facebook love. We are a little worried that users will be accidentally liking things on accident – like all the time. A simple double tap will like an image and with them easily filling your screen, it might happen more than you’d think. We have more videos If you’re interested in this the HTC first and Facebook Home will both be available April 12th. Hit the links below for more details on both and stay tuned for even more video coming up quick!        Device Info
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