Android Central

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• Tapatalk HD updated in Play Store today
• Google's director of privacy steps down, will remain at Google for transition
• TuneIn Radio adds new 'live' interface for music discovery
• Order your HTC One online with T-Mobile and get a free HTC car kit
• AT&T HTC One pre-orders reportedly will begin April 5 for $250
• Feedly welcomes 3 million Google Reader refugees with app updates
• 'Facebook Home' APK teardown still doesn't answer the important question: Why hardware?
• Andmade Share: For a more robust sharing menu
• HTC One tip: Pinch to customize your home screens
• Set your calendars: Google's Q1 2013 earnings call is April 18
• HTC One signs sighted in RadioShack, hint at $50 Google Play gift card deal
• Kindle Fire HD 8.9 gets AT&T's 4G LTE starting April 5
• Deal of the Day: Incipio Feather Hard Case for HTC Droid DNA
• Google Wallet ATM - because ... nah ...
• SwiftKey gets in on the April Fools' action with SwiftKey Tilt
• Start your week with the Greatest Android Podcast in the World!
• Monday Brief: BlackBerry Q4 earnings, a Google Watch, and the last Monday Brief ever!
• More April Fools' with Google+ photos and +Emotion
• Introducing The YouTube Collection - the entire YouTube catalog, offline
• Google still isn't done with the April Fools' shenanigans - introducing Gmail Blue
• Google Nose is Mountain View's third April Fools' joke

Tapatalk HD updated in Play Store today Posted: 01 Apr 2013 04:13 PM PDT Tablet owners that use Tapatalk have an update waiting for them in the Play Store today, bringing Tapatalk HD up to v1.2.0. The change log mentions a new camera and photo editor in the latest version, however I'm unable to verify that thanks to consistent force closes. Trying to attach a photo using the gallery or by taking a new one on my Nexus 7 always leads to Tapatalk HD cashing, forcing me to exit the app. Thankfully the new sub-forum search seems to be working without a hitch. It's now possible to search for keywords in sub-forum threads, search by thread title only, and search by author. The search results can be displayed as either threads or posts, depending on what you're looking for. "New Jelly Bean Notifications style" is also listed as a new feature, however this must be purely aesthetic since notifications are not expandable in Jelly Bean. Hit the Play Store link at the top to get the update. I hope my force close problems are isolated. Anyone else having better luck? Sound off in the comments.

Google's director of privacy steps down, will remain at Google for transition Posted: 01 Apr 2013 04:04 PM PDT Alma Whitten, Google's director of privacy, product and engineering, decides to step aside As Forbes first reported earlier in the day, and Google has now confirmed, Alma Whitten is retiring after a decade of work with Google, and as the director of privacy for product and engineering since 2010. She will be replaced by Lawrence You, who has eight years at Google under his belt and is a current infrastructure engineer who has been involved in current privacy efforts. You will report to Eric Grosse, the vice president of security and privacy engineering. Whitten will stay on board to help during the transition, and Google is confident that user data will be kept as safe and secure as in the past. We wish her the best of luck, and can imagine a three-year tenure as privacy chief at Google earns one a long and relaxing retirement. Source: Forbes

TuneIn Radio adds new 'live' interface for music discovery Posted: 01 Apr 2013 03:44 PM PDT "TuneIn Live", added in the latest update, aims to improve music discovery with a visually appealing interface. Popular music and radio streaming service TuneIn Radio is adding a new way to browse for interesting content via the "live" tab at the top of the interface. The so-called TuneIn Live area presents large tiles of album artwork for stations that are currently playing interesting things. By default the live feed will show a wide selection of stations from country, hip hop, jazz, news, rock and sports, but you can also choose to customize which genres you see if you have a TuneIn account. This is a great improvement for users looking to just browse through stations to find something new. One of the downfalls of TuneIn's extensive radio listings is that it becomes hard to choose just one. The update is now live (pardon the pun) for both free and Pro versions of the app, and you can find both via the Play Store link at the top of this post. If you haven't given TuneIn Radio a try before, it's certainly worth a look.

Order your HTC One online with T-Mobile and get a free HTC car kit Posted: 01 Apr 2013 02:29 PM PDT T-Mobile adds an official HTC One car kit to the $100 trade in for online HTC One orders While you can't officially pre-order the HTC One on T-Mobile just yet, T-Mobile has updated their sign-up page and is now offering a free HTC car kit to folks who order online. This is in addition to the $100 Visa card you get from the trade in offer from HTC.  What we don't know yet is when to expect the HTC One at T-Mobile. Registering for more information is fine and dandy, and shifting the Visa card program around to make sure everyone can qualify is a good thing, but people want to know when they can get their hands on the HTC One on T-Mobile's new LTE network. The new $99 down payment plan won't attract anyone if you don't have what they want on the shelf. In any case, if you're even slightly interested be sure to sign up for more information to cement your spot in the trade-in program, and consider ordering online for the free car kit. Hit the link below! Source: T-Mobile. Thanks, Jasmine!

AT&T HTC One pre-orders reportedly will begin April 5 for $250 Posted: 01 Apr 2013 12:55 PM PDT 'Exclusive' 64GB model to come later at $299.99, internal screens show According to some training information obtained by Engadget (above), the HTC One could be up for pre-order at AT&T as early as this week. While we could've pretty easily guessed between a couple of possible prices for the device, we're looking at a cool $249.99 on-contract for the 32GB version in either black or silver casing. While there is no specific launch date for the 'exclusive' 64GB model, it is said to be up for sale eventually at $299.99 with no indication of potential pre-orders. Be on the lookout for an official announcement from AT&T in the coming days, as rumor has it that you'll be able to get a head start a day earlier online if you're anxious to get your hands on the HTC One. T-Mobile has also revealed some pricing information on its HTC One, but there's no official launch date there either. Source: Engadget  More: Read our complete HTC One review; HTC One Forums read more

Feedly welcomes 3 million Google Reader refugees with app updates Posted: 01 Apr 2013 11:55 AM PDT New search, layout and sharing features for the popular news reader app Feedly, the heir apparent to the throne of RSS, has announced that it's brought onboard some 3 million Google Reader users since Google announced the mothballing of that service a couple of weeks ago. What's more, today sees the launch of a new version of the Feedly app for Android -- and iOS -- with new search and layout features. Most notably, a new search engine has been rolled out with access to over 50 million news feeds. Google+ sharing support is baked in, and directly accessible from Feedly's own sharing menu. In addition, you can now choose whether you want to hide read articles from the menu dropdown in list view, just like the web-based view. Existing Feedly users should appreciate an improvement in performance, too. Finally, there's a new layout for the Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and certain Samsung Galaxy handsets. So there's a lot to get stuck into. If you're already using Feedly, hit the Google Play Store to grab the latest update. Alternatively you can use the Google Play button above.

'Facebook Home' APK teardown still doesn't answer the important question: Why hardware? Posted: 01 Apr 2013 11:04 AM PDT Does HTC Sense and a new Facebook-centric launcher warrant its own hardware? We'll find out Thursday With the unveiling of Facebook’s “new home on Android” just a couple of days away, the folks at Android Police have gotten hold of a system dump for the fabled HTC-built Facephone, to which they’ve given the APK teardown treatment. Details included in the ROM seem to confirm earlier rumors of a relatively pedestrian Android smartphone, powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip (MSM8960), 1GB of RAM and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, running on a 4.3-inch 720p screen. (In addition, the “HTC Myst” codename is seemingly confirmed, along with AT&T radio support.) Also confirmed is the presence of Facebook Home, apparently a home screen launcher replacement based around the user’s own Facebook news feed. That's not a huge surprise -- Phil predicted as much in his Editor's column on Sunday and on Twitter a few days before that. The new Facebook Home launcher apparently includes the permissions needed to access and import settings from the stock Android, TouchWiz and HTC Sense launchers, indicating it might see a separate release at some point. (Incidentally, although the phone appears to run HTC Sense 4+, the Sense launcher is nowhere to be found in this system dump.) All of which leaves us with a few nagging questions. First, if Facebook Home won’t be exclusive to the “Myst,” then how is this different from the approach taken a couple of years ago in the ill-fated HTC ChaCha (Status) and Salsa. What’s the incentive to pick up a phone running last year’s hardware and last year’s software, for the sake of a custom launcher that’ll be available elsewhere anyway? Wrote Phil: All signs are pointing to some sort of new phone from HTC in conjunction with all this. Why? Why does a launcher or software layer or whatever the hell we're going to call it need new hardware? Is Facebook going to sell this hardware? Will it end up in Best Buy alongside the 5,000 other phones? On Amazon? Even if it ends up in carrier stores, that's no guarantee it'll sell enough to make it worth it. There’s every chance Facebook will have something to pull out of its sleeve this Thursday. But until then we’re left wondering just what Facebook and HTC will be doing to differentiate this new handset. Source: Android Police

Andmade Share: For a more robust sharing menu Posted: 01 Apr 2013 09:58 AM PDT The native Android sharing intents are extremely powerful, but that doesn't mean you can't shoehorn more functionality in there Andmade Share takes the already functional sharing intents found on every Android phone, and makes them even more capable with a new set of features. Instead of choosing to share to a single app or service, with Andmade Share you can select multiple services together. We wish the apps could just talk together and make this easy on users, but since that's unlikely to happen tools like this will save the day. Read along past the break to see a bit more of what Andmade Share adds in terms of sharing functionality on your device. read more

HTC One tip: Pinch to customize your home screens Posted: 01 Apr 2013 09:37 AM PDT The HTC One does things a little different than many other Android smartphones. For one, it's only got two buttons -- back and home. It also changes the way it home screens work -- making it a little more difficult to add apps and widgets. Not grossly so; just an extra step or so. Here's a little tip that'll speed things up a bit. One way to get to the home screen customization section is to long-press on an empty 1x1 spot on a home screen. But what if that home screen is full? You could swipe over to another home screen that has a blank spot, but that's annoying. Or you could pull down the notification bar and go to Settings>Personalize>Customize home screen. Also a pain. There's a better way. All you have to do is pinch your fingers together on a home screen -- full or not -- and it goes straight to the customization section. From there you can add widgets or apps all you want.  We've got more HTC One tips after the break. Be sure to collect them all! read more

Set your calendars: Google's Q1 2013 earnings call is April 18 Posted: 01 Apr 2013 09:16 AM PDT A quick heads up for those of you who like to kibitz on Google's earnings calls. The first-quarter 2013 earnings results will be posted on April 18, with the usual conference call taking place at 4:30 p.m. EDT. We typically get some sort of Android news out of the earnings calls. So we'll be there with bells on. Source: Google

HTC One signs sighted in RadioShack, hint at $50 Google Play gift card deal Posted: 01 Apr 2013 08:34 AM PDT $199.99 on-contract, with $50 Google Play credit and a $10 coupon The exact U.S. launch for the new HTC One might not be know just yet, but it looks like we're starting to see signs of stateside pricing deals for the handset. The photo above, grabbed at Radio Shack and sent to Phandroid, suggests the HTC One on Sprint will sell for $199.99 with a two-year plan (no surprises there) and come with a $50 Google Play gift card and $10 coupon. A $10 discount is nothing to sniff at, but that $50 Google Play allowance should count towards a lot of apps, movies and other content for new HTC One owners. We'd like to think that the appearance of signage like this indicates the nearing of a U.S. street date, but the closest thing to an official date we have is "before the end of April" for North America. In the meantime, you can always check out our full review of the HTC One. Source: Phandroid

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 gets AT&T's 4G LTE starting April 5 Posted: 01 Apr 2013 08:01 AM PDT Amazon's tablet runs $349 outright, or $249 if you sign a new contract If you've been holding out for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-incher to get some built in LTE love, this is your week. AT&T has announced it'll carry the Android-based tablet -- remember that it's using Amazon services instead of Google -- starting April 5 for $399. If you sign up for a new LTE line for two years, AT&T will knock off $150, making ithe tablet just $249. Or you can add it to an existing Mobile Share plan for $10 a month. Source: AT&T

Deal of the Day: Incipio Feather Hard Case for HTC Droid DNA Posted: 01 Apr 2013 06:36 AM PDT The April 1 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Incipio Feather Hard Case for HTC Droid DNA. Measuring less than 1mm thin, the Feather Case is ideal for the Droid DNA user seeking inconspicuous, first-class protection. It's made of an ultra light, ultra strong polymer for light as a feather, form-fitting durable protection without the added bulk. Color options include black, pink, blue and gray. The Incipio Feather Hard Case is available for just $16.00, 36% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping! Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts

Google Wallet ATM - because ... nah ... Posted: 01 Apr 2013 06:34 AM PDT OK. Google Treasure Maps was funny. Gmail Blue? We'll play along. Google Nose was nothing to sniff at. But now we have Google Wallet ATM, and we're starting to count the hours until April 2.

SwiftKey gets in on the April Fools' action with SwiftKey Tilt Posted: 01 Apr 2013 06:02 AM PDT "Whole-body typing experience" Not to be left out of the April 1 fun, popular keyboard app SwiftKey has today announced "SwiftKey Tilt," a new keyboard designed to offer a "whole-body typing experience." How's it work? Well, instead of typing with your thumb, simply guide a little pinball across the screen to spell out words. (And in doing so, look just as cool as the people above.) Video's after the break. SwiftKey says the new tilt keyboard will be available today for those "inquisitive enough to find it." (Try typing "tilt," then long-pressing that word in the suggestion bar.) read more

Start your week with the Greatest Android Podcast in the World! Posted: 01 Apr 2013 05:52 AM PDT It's no joke -- the Android Central Podcast did, in fact, invade many a listener's ears over the weekend. If you haven't caught it yet (we'll excuse you this time, holiday weekend and all), you missed some not-so-serious talk about the Nexus 4's updated design, T-Mobile's new "UnCarrier" plans, and even more Galaxy S4 and HTC One. The Android Central Podcast is your weekly peek into the world of Android, where we break down the news that really matters, and explain what's just a bunch of hype. Plus, we answer your e-mails and voicemails. You don't want to miss it. Check out the Android Central Podcast.

Monday Brief: BlackBerry Q4 earnings, a Google Watch, and the last Monday Brief ever! Posted: 01 Apr 2013 05:13 AM PDT Mobile Nations Podcast Feed Mobile Nations on iTunes Mobile Nations YouTube Debug 11: Don Melton and WebKit and Safari Iterate 43: Pocket Casts and going Android first   Confirmed: Nexus 4 shipping with updated design The Google Watch with Google Now - A wearable computer for the present Ouya consoles now shipping to Kickstarter backers    CrackBerry Vodcast 002: Better than expected! Thorsten Heins brings BlackBerry back in black BBM Stress Apr 1st  at 12 Noon EDT. Be there!!   Best Buy offering prepaid Verizon Palm Pre 2 contract-free for $51.99 Prevent autodial with No Call patches   T-Mobile USA to begin selling iPhone on April 12 for $99, no contract AT&T vs Verizon vs T-Mobile vs Sprint: Which iPhone 5 carrier should you choose? iMore live at GDC 2013   Microsoft releasing Temple Run and five more games today for Windows Phone 8 AT&T Nokia Lumia 920 1308 firmware update is now available Which countries is Windows Phone outselling the iPhone?

More April Fools' with Google+ photos and +Emotion Posted: 31 Mar 2013 11:29 PM PDT Google pranks with a feature many users would love to have -- automatically adding emoticons to Google+ photos Google just won't stop with the April Fools' stunts, and this one got more than a few people to fall for it -- an algorithm that automatically adds the right emoticon to a Google+ photo based on the facial expressions of the people in it. Dubbed +Emotion, it's said to "plumb the emotional depths of everyone in the photo, then summarize their feelings with a beautifully crafted, emotion icon" with the click of a button. Of course, there is no such button, but folks commenting on the Google+ posting sure seem to want it, and were sufficiently fooled. We cant blame them, it certainly sounds like something Google could -- and would -- implement.  We're used to Google pulling a bit of April Fools' silliness, but this year they seem to have kicked things into high gear. With 24 more hours to go, we expect to see more before it's all over. See also:  Youtube's shutdown Google treasure map Google Nose Gmail Blue Youtube collection rehash from 2012 Source: +Erik Murphy-Chutorian

Introducing The YouTube Collection - the entire YouTube catalog, offline Posted: 31 Mar 2013 10:33 PM PDT Google rolls out a 2012 gag for another April Fools' Day go Tired of missing out on that latest viral video because you're stuck offline, shackled deep in a dungeon, with nary a bit to bite? Jonesing for that latest Taylor Swift video but you've got not signal to sync up the singer? Well worry no more. Because with The YouTube Collection, you can take the entire freaking YouTube catalog with you in your choice of resolutions -- offline! That's right. Get your Gangnam Style at 240p. Catch cats at 480p. For the more discerning crowd, hit up high-definition videos at 720p and full 1080p. So, yeah. YouTube might be shutting down until 2023 (not really), but now you can take it with you, for the low, low price of putting up with yet another April Fools' Day post! (And what's more -- this one is from 2012, but Google's got it on the YouTube homepage again this year.) Want every cooking lesson ever uploaded? They can be yours for just 34,410 discs and $131,656, plus $59,302 in shipping and handling. Shit people say? That'll be a mere 90,000 discs! Need gift-wrapping? No problem! That'll cost just 5 percent extra. (Also available in video cassette, Laser Disc or Betamax. Additional delivery service charges apply. Shipping by freigh vessel also available.) Here's how to order! (Thanks, Marcch!) See also: Google Treasure Maps Google Noise Gmail Blue read more

Google still isn't done with the April Fools' shenanigans - introducing Gmail Blue Posted: 31 Mar 2013 07:44 PM PDT It's Gmail, only bluer! Determined to make bloggers miss the season three premiere of Game of Thrones, Google has released yet another April Fools' spoof -- Gmail Blue. It's everything you expect from Gmail -- rich text, attachments, threaded conversations, with a bunch more blue! Hit the break for the video, and the source link for all there is to know. Can it be Tuesday already? Source: Gmail blog read more

Google Nose is Mountain View's third April Fools' joke Posted: 31 Mar 2013 05:17 PM PDT Google says 'smelling is believing' but this one certainly smells a bit fishy Google still isn't finished with the April Fools' shenanigans, and the announcement of Google Nose may be the silliest one yet. Billing it as "the new scentsation in search", the website lists a full set of features: Your internet sommelier: expertly curated Knowledge Panels pair images, descriptions, and aromas. Take a wiff: the Google Aromabase - 15M+ scentibytes. Don't ask, don't smell: For when you're wary of your query - SafeSearch included. Street Sense vehicles have inhaled and indexed millions of atmospheric miles. Android Ambient Odor Detection collects smells via the world's most sensible mobile operating system. SMELLCD™ 1.8+ high-resolution compatible for precise and controlled odors. We've seen the "end" of Youtube, a pirate's map, and now smell-o-vision for your smartphone. Something tells me that Google isn't done yet. Hit the break to see the product video with the technical description of how it all works (yes, Google goes all-in for April Fools' pranks!) and visit the source link to try it out for yourself. Hopefully, you'll have better luck than I did -- everything smells like that turkey sandwich I was holding. Source: Google. Via: ‏@Dr_Mcq read more

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Google Android News Android Forums

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• 5000mAh battery could be coming to Chinese smartphone
• Featured Android App Review: DivX Stash [Media & Video]
• One Sony Line Will Start With 20 Megapixel Cyber-shot Camera
• LG Lucid 2 headed to Verizon on April 4th
• RadioShack gets HTC One signs a bit early, shows Google Play credit offer
• Android takes early lead in 2013 for U.S. smartphone sales
• More details about Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 mini surfaces including a possible release this week
• SwiftKey launches SwiftKey Tilt keyboard, just in time for April Fools
• Facebook’s new “home on Android” will actually be a forked OS called Facebook Home
• Samsung Galaxy S 4 gets rooted… well the Exynos 5 Octa version at least

5000mAh battery could be coming to Chinese smartphone Posted: 01 Apr 2013 01:49 PM PDT Reports surfaced over the weekend that Chinese phone maker Ding Xuan may be preparing a smartphone that will boast one of the largest batteries available in the market. Equipped with a 5000mAh battery, the device is expected to have a 4.5-inch display and run Android. Such a large battery may help the phone get through a whole day of use even with the screen brightness set to the highest level. It does not appear the monster battery is going to add much to the size of the device either. Images show what appears to be a slim body for the smartphone which is described as a “classy ‘business phone’ design.” source: Gizchina.com Come comment on this article: 5000mAh battery could be coming to Chinese smartphone Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Featured Android App Review: DivX Stash [Media & Video] Posted: 01 Apr 2013 01:39 PM PDT If you like to watch a lot of online videos from various sites, you will want to check out DivX Stash. DivX Stash lets you create a “stash” or locker of all your favorite videos so you can quickly call them up at anytime from your desktop or Android device. You can do something similar with YouTube favorites, but DivX stash lets you add videos from not only YouTube, but also Hulu, Vimeo, TED, CollegeHumor, Dailymotion, Howcast, BREAK, Funny or Die, The Daily Show w/John Stewart, and The Colbert Show. You can even categorize them in your own playlists. For example, you could create a playlist for all funny videos and one for music videos. The possibilities are endless. All you need to do is install and enable the Chrome extension and sign in via Facebook. When you see a video that you want to “stash”, just click the “Stash It” icon just below the video. You will be given the opportunity to add it to an existing playlist or create a new one. You can access your stash at anytime from your browser, but you can also grab the app in the Play Store that enables access from your smartphone or tablet. For now, you can only add videos from the desktop, but the developers are working hard at bringing that feature to the app. You can see all your videos uncategorized or by playlist. Just tap on any of the videos to play them. If you’re on the desktop, the videos will play from within the DivX Stash webpage, but if you’re using the app on your Android device, the appropriate app will open. If you don’t have one installed, it will ask you to download it. YouTube videos will play in the YouTube app, but other videos can utilize other third party video players such as MX Video. By logging into Facebook, you will also see all the videos that your friends recently shared in a separate tab. This way you will never miss a thing. You can also quickly share any of your own favorite videos from your personal stash. In talking with the developers, they are going to add support for Twitter, Google+, and others. This is one of those apps that already gives you a lot of features, but it will continually evolve. I had a conversation with the team, and they told me about a number of stuff in the works. Among the enhancements that I already mentioned, they plan to bring support for TV’s, the ability to play videos directly in the app, and to play a playlist continuously. For example, you could have a bunch of music videos playing if you’re having a party. DivX Stash is completely free, so give it a shot. It will make your life so much easier in that you will know exactly where to go to find that cool new video you saw last week. Check out my hands on video below as well as the trailer video, and hit one of the download links to get started. As always let me know what you think. Click here for more information and to install the Chrome Extension. Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video. Play Store Download Link Come comment on this article: Featured Android App Review: DivX Stash [Media & Video] Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

One Sony Line Will Start With 20 Megapixel Cyber-shot Camera Posted: 01 Apr 2013 12:53 PM PDT Last week we talked about Sony working on smartphones with Cyber-shot quality cameras and according to a new report, the One Sony line will start with a 20 megapixel Cyber-shot camera. Codenamed Honami, the flagship smartphone is rumored to have a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 5-inch full HD display, and either a 2700 or 3000 mAh battery. According to the source, it’s not fully decided upon yet, although design could be finalized by the end of April. Sony’s One line is part of the electronic giant’s initiative to better differentiate itself from the competition. Like Samsung with the Galaxy S line of devices, Sony hopes to leverage that winning concept. Via: Phone Arena Source: Esato Come comment on this article: One Sony Line Will Start With 20 Megapixel Cyber-shot Camera Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

LG Lucid 2 headed to Verizon on April 4th Posted: 01 Apr 2013 12:47 PM PDT If you’ve been looking to upgrade your Verizon phone but don’t need the latest and greatest, or you just want something on the cheaper side, Verizon has something in store that you’ll definitely like. The follow up to last year’s LG Lucid is slated to hit stores on April 4th, and will have the exciting name of the LG Lucid 2. It’s essentially LG’s Optimus F5 with Verizon branding, but it’s a more than capable mid-range phone, so nothing wrong there. It sports a dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 4.3 inch 540 x 960 display, and comes in weighing just 4.5 ounces. Plus, it has a 2460 mAH battery compared to the original Lucid’s 1700 mAH, and that’s always a nice addition. There’s also a inductive charging backplate being featured with the device. All in all, the Lucid 2 is a very solid mid-range phone, and with a wallet-friendly $1 price tag (on a 2-year agreement, of course) it’s bound to sell fairly well. Anyone planning on picking one of these up? source: Geek Come comment on this article: LG Lucid 2 headed to Verizon on April 4th Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

RadioShack gets HTC One signs a bit early, shows Google Play credit offer Posted: 01 Apr 2013 12:40 PM PDT It’s officially April, so if previous rumors hold up, we should see the HTC One hit shelves in the US by the end of the month. RadioShack appears to be one of the first to get some promotional materials for the big launch, though, and they’re beginning to market the device in stores with some eye-catching signs. The signs are specifically for the AT&T and Sprint versions of the phone, though, so if you’re a Verizon customer hoping for a last minute change of plans, sorry. The signs do show a promo for a free $50 Google Play credit if you purchase the One with a two-year agreement, as well as $10 off the $199 price of the phone. The Play credit nice, and the $10 off isn’t much, but it’s a nice gesture. (and if everyone else launches it at $199, why not get it at RadioShack?) There’s no official release dates on any of the signage, unfortunately, but I can’t imagine it’ll be too much longer. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon as anything else pops up. source: Phandroid Come comment on this article: RadioShack gets HTC One signs a bit early, shows Google Play credit offer Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Android takes early lead in 2013 for U.S. smartphone sales Posted: 01 Apr 2013 09:56 AM PDT Apple may wish this was an April Fool’s joke, but new data released today from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech shows Android has taken a lead in the U.S. market for smartphone sales for the quarter ended February 2013. The U.S. market has been a stronghold for Apple, which managed to maintain control of the market despite the growth of Android throughout other parts of the world. However, Kantar’s latest consumer panel, which focuses on sales, shows Android had 51.2% of smartphone sales for the period compared with 45.4% for the same period a year ago. According to Kantar’s data, Apple’s iOS landed in second place with 43.5% of sales for the quarter, a decline of 3.5% from the 47% share Apple enjoyed for the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, even lowly Windows managed to improve to 4.1% of sales. In case you were wondering, Blackberry has sunk all the way to only 0.7% of sales for the February 2013 quarter. Kantar’s analysis shows Samsung leading the way in sales, thanks in large part to price reductions, so much so that Sprint is starting to see its numbers impacted by the success of Samsung’s leading devices. Verizon is still the top carrier for all smartphones with AT&T in second place. Kantar’s research showed Samsung managed to entice buyers away from other brands, with 38% of buyers switching away from LG, HTC and Blackberry devices. Despite Samsung’s success in this area, brands like Motorola and Nokia saw small increases in their sales. Among Samsung buyers, Kantar found “handset cost” and “carrier brand” to be the leading factors in the decision-making process. Kantar believes the sales share figures are a leading indicator for market share trends, which means Android may be seeing more good news in the future. source: Kantar Worldpanel via: BGR Come comment on this article: Android takes early lead in 2013 for U.S. smartphone sales Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

More details about Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 mini surfaces including a possible release this week Posted: 01 Apr 2013 09:06 AM PDT   We already know that Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 mini is very much real and on the way, but it’s looking like the general public is going to see the smartphone much sooner than expected. Notorious info leaker SamMobile recently received a major tip containing much more information regarding the intriguing new device and claims it may be unveiled as early as this week. The tip alleges that we will see the device arrive in two colors (black mist and white frost) and will come in either single or dual-SIM variants. Additionally, the single-SIM variant will be identified as the GT-9190 and will feature a quad-core chip— while the dual-SIM variant will be identified as the GT-9192 and feature a dual-core processor. Aside from those differences, each variant will feature a 4.3-inch qHD display, 8MP camera and Android 4.2.2. No word on pricing yet, but the Galaxy S 4 mini should arrive by the end of may or the start of June. source: SamMobile Come comment on this article: More details about Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 mini surfaces including a possible release this week Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

SwiftKey launches SwiftKey Tilt keyboard, just in time for April Fools Posted: 01 Apr 2013 08:54 AM PDT SwiftKey has always created revolutionary ideas with their keyboards, and their latest offering, SwiftKey Tilt, continues that tradition. Instead of traditional finger typing, Tilt gets your entire body into the action. There’s a little ball on the keyboard that you “tilt” across letters to spell out your words. If you’ve played the labyrinth games where you guide a ball into a hole at the end of a puzzle, you’ll understand how this a full-body experience. SwiftKey has even put out a video showing it in action. Unfortunately, there’s no easily available link to try out the next generation of mobile typing, but SwiftKey said it will be available to those ”inquisitive enough to find it.” Let us know in the comments if you get your hands on the joke keyboard. Click here to view the embedded video. SwiftKey Tilt:  The Whole -Body Typing Experience LONDON — April 1, 2013 — SwiftKey today unveils SwiftKey Tilt, the future of smartphone typing. The revolutionary new input method transforms the everyday activity of typing into a whole-body, immersive experience. SwiftKey Tilt makes it possible to text loved ones, email colleagues and type soliloquies without even touching the screen; just rock, wiggle or shimmy your smartphone to insert words in a truly innovative way. Drawing on SwiftKey's mind-reading word prediction ability, SwiftKey Tilt is the most significant typing innovation since the quill. SwiftKey Tilt works by unleashing a pinball into the keyboard to power a third, exciting way to type on your device. While tapping or flowing words, the device accelerometer sends the brightly colored ball across the keyboard and when it collides with a prediction, the word is inserted. This frees up thumbs to make even quicker progress through a text, email or Tweet. It also offers users an eye-catching way to interact with their devices and is fully compatible with both the Macarena and the Harlem Shake. "We always felt that fundamentally typing is about how you express yourself," said Dr. Ben Medlock, SwiftKey co-founder and CTO. "We realized that we've never really focused on making that possible through physical movement, though. With SwiftKey Tilt we've changed all that.  By moving your whole body to control the little pink ball, users can now be more expressive when they type. Whether that's body poppin', Gangnam Style or my personal Tilting move of choice of 'the mash potato', it leads to a more expressive and personalized result." The innovative new typing method is available today for all SwiftKey users inquisitive enough to find it. SwiftKey is a No.1 best-selling app on Google Play in over 50 countries, with contextual predictions available in 60 languages and counting. For more information about SwiftKey, visit www.swiftkey.net. Come comment on this article: SwiftKey launches SwiftKey Tilt keyboard, just in time for April Fools Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Facebook’s new “home on Android” will actually be a forked OS called Facebook Home Posted: 01 Apr 2013 08:40 AM PDT Facebook recently sent out an invitation to an event on April 4th where they’ll be showing off their “new home on Android.” Well, we’ve got some new rumors about what that’s going to be a few days ahead of the event. That home on Android is actually going to be called Facebook Home, and it’s going to be a forked version of Android specific to the Facebook phone(s). There’s no word on whether this will still feature traditional Google apps and be more of a heavy overlay like HTC’s Sense, or if Facebook is going all the way and completely cutting ties with Google like with the versions of Android that ship on Amazon’s Kindle devices. Considering how well the HTC ChaCha didn’t sell, though, I think Facebook is likely going to want to take the Amazon approach here and tweak the entire experience around Facebook, not just adding a handful of extra apps. Aside from that, they’re still in discussion with carriers about the device, so hopefully we’ll learn more in a few days when it becomes official. source: 9to5 Google Come comment on this article: Facebook’s new “home on Android” will actually be a forked OS called Facebook Home Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

Samsung Galaxy S 4 gets rooted… well the Exynos 5 Octa version at least Posted: 01 Apr 2013 06:46 AM PDT   Sure we’re all eagerly awaiting the arrival of the hottest smartphone of the year, but that hasn’t stopped the gang at XDA from bringing the world glorious root capabilities. That’s why the gang has gone ahead and showcased its ROM is packaged with ROOT&Busybox into an image flashable via Odin. As exciting as it is to see the Galaxy S 4 being on its way to truly realizing its full potential, the gang at XDA highlights that the root method is only for the octa-core Exynos 5 variant of the smartphone, meaning the rest of us who will be on the Snapdragon version will be out of luck… for now at least. Now if we can only get some certainty that we’ll get some custom goodies taking advantage of the Galaxy S 4′s root, we’ll be in business. source:  XDA Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy S 4 gets rooted… well the Exynos 5 Octa version at least Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

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