Android Central |
- Android A to Z: Nandroid backup
- Get exclusive items in selected games during Collectibles Week on Google Play
- Microsoft Kinectimals for Android: Cute little fellers hop platforms for $2.99
- Cincinnati Bell gets the HTC One S on June 25
- How to get music and videos onto your HTC EVO 4G LTE
- Verizon reminds Droid RAZR/MAXX owners that Ice Cream Sandwich is coming
- How to disable the water droplet sound on the Samsung Galaxy S III
- Carphone Warehouse offering free Galaxy Note on £21 contract for next seven days
- ShopAndroid Daily Giveaway #85: HTC 2750mAh Extended Battery for Rezound, Galaxy Note Stylus & more
- HTC Desire C: First look at the budget smartphone
- Angry Birds drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles
- Google Play books now available in Spain
- Deal of the Day: Ballistic Shell Gel (SG) Series Case for HTC One X
- Android Central 99: Verizon a go-go
- Rdio for Android updated with bug fixes and stability improvements
- Fancy Snap makes sexting fun and easy [AC After Dark]
- Pocket for Android update brings enhanced settings, true black background, and improved device support
- Android Central Podcast - Live!
- Motorola Atrix 3 passes through the FCC
| Android A to Z: Nandroid backup Posted: 15 Jun 2012 03:22 PM PDT
If you've read about hacking or rooting your Android phone (or tablet, or media player) you've seen the word Nandroid used. When tinkering with your device, there's always a very good chance you'll be left with firmware that won't boot, leaving you in a bit of a lurch. A Nandroid backup can mean the all the difference here. What it is, is a full backup of partitions on your device's NAND flash (NAND stands for NOT AND, a type of electronic logic gate -- it's like the hard drive of your Android device) storage. Think of it as a snapshot of the current running system, and it can be used to restore that that point at any time. Both user data and system files are backed up, and it's a far cry from what we think of when talking about a traditional backup from other software. In fact, it's something that many folks wish was part of the stock Android recovery. Yes, to preform a Nandroid backup you'll need a custom recovery on your device so that the executable files and scripts are there. These have been left out of the stock recovery, likely over issues that would arise if users can backup proprietary files. Getting the custom recovery on your device is the hardest part, thankfully. Once installed backing up and restoring with Nandroid is simple, involving nothing more than choosing the option and verifying -- no wires needed. Even if you never plan to hack your phone ( I like stock ICS on my Galaxy Nexus), flashing a custom recovery and running a Nandroid backup is always a good idea. You can find more information about custom recoveries, as well as methods to install and use them, in the device-specific section for your device in the Android Central forums. Give it a look, and decide if it's something you're interested in doing. Check out the complete Android Dictionary 
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| Get exclusive items in selected games during Collectibles Week on Google Play Posted: 15 Jun 2012 01:57 PM PDT
Google is kicking off a fun little promotion in the Google Play store today, and for the next week you'll be able to get exclusive content inside more than 20 games. The items and the games themselves are a pretty eclectic mix, some are Android themed like a t-shirt in Stardom or an Android monster in Monster Park, others are more mundane, like patio furniture in The Sims Freeplay. This promo is available for everyone and not limited to the US only (Hooray!). If you're a fan of games with premium content, and want to grab some exclusives, hit the source links for more information. Collectibles Week: US, outside the US; via: +Google Play 
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| Microsoft Kinectimals for Android: Cute little fellers hop platforms for $2.99 Posted: 15 Jun 2012 01:17 PM PDT Kinect for the Xbox 360 has been one of my best tech purchases in the past year. (Yeah, I was a little late to that party.) My kids, particularly, have loved Kinectimals, a game in which you roll around and play with cute and cuddly animals. And today, Microsoft's brought the game to Android for $2.99. The Android version (there's one for Windows Phone as well) is a pretty faithful companion to the console version, though the app itself is a little lacking. (But by purchasing this Android version, you also unlock a few extra creatures for the Xbox side.) If you're unfamiliar with Kinectimals and how the game works, you're going to pretty lost at first. (Hint: Find the "How to play" section ASAP.) Once you've found your way around, however, you've got the same sort of challenges and playtime that's on the Xbox version -- it's just smaller. It's also pretty graphically intensive, so don't be surprised when your phone starts getting hot in your (or your kid's) hand, and your battery takes a hit. But that's also a pretty good sign of a fun app. We've got more after the break. Download: Kinectimals for Android 
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| Cincinnati Bell gets the HTC One S on June 25 Posted: 15 Jun 2012 12:51 PM PDT
Cincinnati Bell today announced that it'll carry the HTC One S starting June 25. This is the same 4.3-inch qHD, Android 4.0 device we've come to know and love over the past couple months, and it's still got the same excellent 1.5 GHz Qualcomm S4 processor. It'll cost $299 up front on a two-year contract, and you'll have a $100 mail-in rebate to deal with afterward. Full presser's after the break. 
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| How to get music and videos onto your HTC EVO 4G LTE Posted: 15 Jun 2012 12:40 PM PDT
Your HTC EVO 4G LTE is capable of doing much more than simply managing your life. Your powerful Android phone can also be a media powerhouse – once you figure out how to actually get your media onto the device.Getting your media from your PC or Mac onto your HTC EVO 4G LTE (or other Android phone) is not always as straightforward as you might hope. Fortunately, however, there are a few very good options for transferring your music and videos onto the phone. The first thing you need to decide is whether you want to “buy into” the Google ecosystem in a similar manner as to how an iPhone user buys into iTunes. If so, this is probably the easiest way to get your media content from the computer onto the phone. 
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| Verizon reminds Droid RAZR/MAXX owners that Ice Cream Sandwich is coming Posted: 15 Jun 2012 12:11 PM PDT
Folks have started getting text messages today from Verizon saying that their Droid RAZRs and RAZR MAXXs "soon will be upgrade to Android 4.0," which is good to hear because the update's still due in the second quarter, according to Motorola's update chart, and that ends in a little more than two weeks. Here's the full message:
The only slightly bigger news is that Verizon will have to kill off its own IM app because it's not compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich. There's a better than even chance that if you're reading this, you weren't actually using Verizon's IM app in the first place, but we still appreciate the heads up. More: Droid RAZR forums; thanks to everyone who sent this in! 
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| How to disable the water droplet sound on the Samsung Galaxy S III Posted: 15 Jun 2012 09:06 AM PDT Samsung's marketing campaign for the new Galaxy S III focuses heavily on how the visuals and sounds in its software are "inspired by nature." But one of the less welcome results of this is the water droplet sound that plays every time you press an on-screen button, menu or widget. Thankfully there's an easy way to make this quieter -- or completely silence it -- if it's not your cup of tea. Check out the video above for a quick walkthrough. 
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| Carphone Warehouse offering free Galaxy Note on £21 contract for next seven days Posted: 15 Jun 2012 08:38 AM PDT
The Samsung Galaxy Note is one of the surprise Android success stories of the past six months. And now British retailer the Carphone Warehouse is offering the device for free on a surprisingly reasonable £21 per month, 24-month service plan. In addition to a free Galaxy Note, the deal gets you 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 750MB on T-Mobile UK, which is a pretty competitive package for the UK market. Carphone says the deal will be available to new customers online and in-store for the next seven days. Although it's more than half a year old at this point, the Note still stands up alongside current high-end Android phones, with a 1.4GHz dual-core Exynos chip, a 1280x800 SuperAMOLED display and an 8MP camera. Better still, it's just been updated to the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. If you're unfamiliar with the Galaxy Note, be sure to check out our full review of Samsung's 5.3-inch stylus-toting beast. 
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| ShopAndroid Daily Giveaway #85: HTC 2750mAh Extended Battery for Rezound, Galaxy Note Stylus & more Posted: 15 Jun 2012 07:53 AM PDT As we wrap up another week of giveaway's from ShopAndroid.com, lets take a look at the last four items up for grabs today. Featured below is the HTC 2750mAh Extended Battery w/ Door for Rezound, Samsung Stylus for Galaxy Note, Seidio ACTIVE Case for Droid Bionic, and the Case-Mate POP! Case for Samsung Skyrocket. To become eligible to win one of these items, leave your pick in a comment below. We'll select one lucky winner at random and announce them next week! HTC 2750mAh Extended Battery w/ Door for RezoundTalk longer, text more, play longer, and take more pictures with the HTC 2750mAh Extended Battery that's nearly double the capacity of the stock OEM Rezound battery. This extended battery for the Rezound allows you to take full advantage of Verizon's 4G LTE network by making sure your Rezound has the power to keep on going when you need it the most. The battery comes with a replacement door which accommodates the larger cell. 
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| HTC Desire C: First look at the budget smartphone Posted: 15 Jun 2012 07:06 AM PDT
With three new Android devices released in the past few months, HTC have been pretty busy on the 'high end' side of things. Luckily they haven't forgotten about the low end market, as the Desire C launches as the company's new budget offering. It may not have the best specs, but it doesn't need them with its target market. What it does offer though is the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as Sense 4.0 which many Android lovers have grown to be fond of. For the price, which is around the £180 mark on pay-as-you-go, you get reasonable value for money. There's a smooth Android experience with decent build quality, which we have come to expect from HTC. Taking a further look at what's powering the HTC Desire C, we only get a 600MHz Snapdragon processor, which doesn't sound like much. However, coupled with its 512MB or RAM the device performs surprisingly fluidly. Its 3.5-inch screen may not have the highest resolution, and in comparison to its big brothers, the One X and One S, seem a little washed out. But you are never going to get the same technology in a budget smartphone compared to a £500 one. On-board storage is limited to 4GB. That's not a huge amount, but it can be expanded with a MicroSD card (up to 32GB cards are supported). All the main applications that we have seen on the One series appear to be present in the Desire C, so if you are an HTC fan but cannot commit to a huge, powerful, expensive smartphone then this new creation may well suit your needs. We'll have a full review in the near future but my early impressions are very positive. Another good job, HTC. Give yourselves a 'budget' pat on the back from me. We've got video after the break. 
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| Angry Birds drafted to the Philadelphia Eagles Posted: 15 Jun 2012 06:35 AM PDT In a shock news conference breaking out of Philadelphia this week, it looks like their NFL team, the Eagles, has drafted five new players -- the Angry Birds, including the Mighty Philadelphia Eagle. Just writes itself doesn't it? OK, so it's yet more Angry Birds, but just like the Heikki Kovalainen tie-in, it makes for an interesting prospect. According to the WSJ, this coming Monday. Rovio will officially announce the partnership that will see a new, Eagles themed title appear in the fall. The deal is said to include a massive marketing campaign, that will even see Angry Birds animations used on the stadium's video board. Andrew Stalbow, Rovio’s General Manager for North America, has said that the partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles is part of the company’s “aggressive road map.” Aggressive seems about right for this one; let's play some Football! Oh, and er, check out the 'news conference' while you're at it. Source: WSJ 
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| Google Play books now available in Spain Posted: 15 Jun 2012 06:20 AM PDT
A day after making its debut in Deutschland, Google Play Books are now available in Spain. That means books on your tablets, books on your phones, and books in your browser. Go get your read on, folks! Via @Google 
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| Deal of the Day: Ballistic Shell Gel (SG) Series Case for HTC One X Posted: 15 Jun 2012 06:17 AM PDT
The Ballistic Shell Gel (SG) Series Case is available for $19.95, 43% off the standard price today only. Supplies are limited to get yours today! 
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| Android Central 99: Verizon a go-go Posted: 15 Jun 2012 04:47 AM PDT Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/acpc-99.mp3 Thing 1: Verizon's new shared data plans
Thing 2: The HTC Media Link HD reviewThing 3: Other stuff
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| Rdio for Android updated with bug fixes and stability improvements Posted: 14 Jun 2012 09:43 PM PDT
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| Fancy Snap makes sexting fun and easy [AC After Dark] Posted: 14 Jun 2012 08:36 PM PDT
We all want our sexting to be fun and easy, right? A new Android app dubbed Fancy Snap promises that with an ingenious way to send pictures so that they aren't saved on the phone you sent them to. Set a time limit, and your picture "self-destructs" when the limit is reached, keeping your goodies from ending up on some weird Tumblr blog that your dad might read. Neither party has to subscribe to anything or open an account anywhere, and the recipient doesn't have to have the app installed. There's a built-in photo editor for effects and accessory stickers, in case you want to add a touch of flair to your naughty bits. You can even tell if the recipient has read the message or not. Sounds fun and easy to me. The app is free to send up to three messages per day. If you need to send more than three pictures of your rack or your wiener, you can buy the premium unlocker for $1.29. Grab it at the link below, then lock the door and turn the lights down low. If you're in my contacts, brace yourself ... 
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| Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:54 PM PDT
Although Instapaper for Android has arrived, the folks from Pocket aren't letting a competitor get the jump on them when it comes to Android support. Pocket has now rolled out a pretty stellar update that includes a number of fixes and improvements, as well as some new settings that have been requested from the user base. The list of changes, additions and fixes is as follows: New Settings:
Reading Improvements:
Fixed:
If you're like me, you're probably wondering what the heck the "true black" setting is. As it turns out, it's to help those who have OLED screens. Users can now enable the “True Black” option, which sets the Article View background to true black instead of the deep gray that was set before. Personally speaking, having Instapaper come to Android is a good thing but Pocket still wins on the feature set in my opinion. The update is available now or you can download it below. Source: Pocket; Download: Pocket for Android 
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| Android Central Podcast - Live! Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:53 PM PDT
It's Android Central! It's a podcast! It's the Android Central Podcast! And it's happening live, right this very second! (Or will be very shortly!) And tonight we've got a very special guest! And we've got CrackBerry Kevin! Watch the Android Central Podcast!
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| Motorola Atrix 3 passes through the FCC Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:43 PM PDT
The Motorola MB866, aka the Atrix 3 here in the states, has just passed through the FCC with all the support needed for AT&T's LTE network. A look at the radios (quad-band EDGE, 850/1900 HSPA+, and LTE) make things pretty clear that this one will sport the Qualcomm Krait S4, and rumors say it has a 720p screen and Ice Cream Sandwich -- which every phone launching now should have. It looks like a very nice successor to the Atrix name, and AT&T's blossoming LTE network looks to be a good place to put this one. We're not sure how it will fare against the other high-end phones on AT&T, namely the Galaxy S III, One X, and iPhone 4s, but Motorola has a strong following. No word yet on when to expect the Atrix 3, but at least now it's ready to be sold. Source: FCC 
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