Posted: 06 Feb 2012 06:38 PM PST   Chances are, if you’ve downloaded your share of applications from the Android Market you’ve run into at least one situation where the the app will ask (sometimes require) the user to give it a 5 star rating in the Market before continuing. By clicking “yes,” a user will then be taken to the application in the Market where they can rate it. Whether or not the app is deserving of a 5-star rating is one thing, but did you know that you don’t even have to rate it the app at all to continue? It’s true. Simply click “yes” to rating the app in the Market and you can immediately click the back button to continue as usual. There is no way for an app to track and see if you’ve actually rated it. Now, if you’re downloading apps that are requiring you to rate before playing, not only should you be concerned (many apps containing malware will require this to bait more users) but you might want to warn other would-be downloaders by making this known in the Market. Keep in mind, many perfectly safe and deserving apps will ask or remind you to rate the app in the Market and you should. Android developers live and die by their app ratings and if you want to help make Android a better place by all means — RATE. Thanks, Marc! [Reddit] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 03:24 PM PST   Canadians are getting a chance to get in on some giveaway love. Samsung Canada wants people to express their artistic creativity with the Samsung Galaxy Note and are giving away five units of the 5.3 inch, Exynos-toting device. All you have to do is give up the normal slate of contact information and you’ll be entered for a chance to win. Head over there and take care of that now. [Samsung Canada via MobileSyrup] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 02:47 PM PST   Rdio 2.0 for Android has been released today. It brings an all new user interface – one that looks a ton better than the initial release – and has gotten full support for Android 4.0. They’ve also added a ton of new features including profiles, top charts, new releases, recommendations and improved search. The user interface is as pleasing to the eye as any application is and the added functionality is sure to make users happy after using a gimped experience compared to iOS for so long. Grab it here in the Android market and read on for full press details.
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Posted: 06 Feb 2012 02:27 PM PST   The folks at Lenovo had already set a target release of Q2 for the launch of Ice Cream Sandwich for their ThinkPad tablet but that was such a broad window. Today, they’re confirming that the update will be coming in the middle of that quarter – May, to be specific. It’ll be bringing performance improvements, browser enhancements and improvements to voice input. While it’s hard to get excited for an update that won’t be here for a few months it’s always nice to know it’s coming. [via Engadget] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 01:37 PM PST  This is quite the interesting rumor. 9to5Google is reporting that Google is definitely working on previously-rumored HUD-enabled glasses. Think “Terminator” or “RoboCop” for an idea of what the HUD might look like. The photo below is said to be close to what these Google glasses look like. It’s a pair of Oakleys THUMP MP3 glasses. Take those, apply steroids and you have what the source of this story is reporting. The pair of glasses will apparently use the same transparent display technology that we saw Samsung and others show off at CES 2012. One lens will display everything to ensure your vision is not entirely clouded by whatever it is you’ll be looking at. The device will apparently use head gestures to navigate the operating system, which we hear is Android-based.  We’re sure Android will be heavily adapted for something of this nature but it’s unsure to what extent. I imagine reading email, text messages, social network updates and receiving phone calls will be some of the main functions featured on this so-called device. Imagine being able to see who’s trying to contact you without ever having to reach for your phone. Imagine being able to take a call or respond to a text message without having to reach for your phone, too. Put a couple of microphones and a set of earphones like those seen above and you’ve got one of the coolest phones or phone accessories ever. The device will reportedly house a camera, as well. We’re not sure what the primary use for it will be but it would be great to have a head camera to capture moments through my eyes. That camera will apparently be accompanied by a flash so we can at least assume still shots will be a possibility. All of this is said to be in the works and to be unveiled soon, though it’s not yet known how Google will handle a launch. Since this product isn’t something that most people would keep their eye on (no pun intended) it could be a mistake for Google to mass produce these for retail. Instead, 9to5 suggests they’ll make them available through a program similar to the CR-48 Chromebook trials. I would personally love to have something like this. I wear prescription glasses but I wouldn’t mind throwing these on over those for the functionality alone, as silly as it may look. If anything, just owning it would be enough to appease my geeky needs. |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 12:47 PM PST  Artist Chris Bishop has designed another new T-Shirt for the Andy series. It’s called Android: Winning and it depicts the Android army up against the iOS army in battle. That’s about accurate when it comes to the same war in the smartphone game, we’d say. Android is seen smashing an iOS-branded helicopter.  This is actually an update to the Andy Versus T-Shirt. The new one adds tanks and choppers for Android, a visualization showing how many more Android devices are being sold each day. It’s also notably missing Steve Jobs, but we’re not surprised. All sizes can be had for $17 before shipping and handling and international users will be able to get one of their own. Grab yours here. |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 12:21 PM PST  The Carrier-IQ scandal still hasn’t blown over, but now a pro-consumer alternative – called Carrier Coverage – has found its way to Android Market. The app collects real data from real users to piece together an accurate and unbias picture of carrier coverage, segmented by location, carrier, and device. If the app gains a critical mass of users, it could become the defacto standard for independent carrier coverage information. The team is already planning additional features such as heatmaps, data speed tests, 3G vs 4G comparisons, and international support. Is the data accurate? Not yet. That’s why the Carrier Coverage Team is asking users for your help, patience, and participation: “It’s almost a chicken and egg scenario. It’s a Catch 22. You need the critical mass for the service to fulfill it’s potential, but you need a great service in order to attract a critical mass. We think we have a great service. We hope people will look at the app, look at the website, realize we’ve put a lot of thought and effort into the concept, and help us achieve what we’ve set out to do.” – Steve Albright, Lead DeveloperOne killer feature, which the team hopes to launch in the coming months, is reporting based on specific addresses. That’s right: pop in your home address, school address, work address, or any other specific address and Carrier Coverage will give you a summary of important info. This could be particularly helpful to determine whether or not your phone will get service during a vacation or road trip.  Specific address support isn’t yet enabled – the complexities of recording and querying millions of records make the feat difficult to accomplish – but the Carrier Coverage team hopes to include this feature (along with heatmaps) in an update this year. However further feature development will hinge on how quickly the app catches on: Carrier Coverage has already been in development for over a yearand hasn’t been cheap or easy. Hopefully, with support from the community, the app and site will flourish, allowing for continued development.So how will a free app with zero ads make money? The team hopes the companion website, located at CarrierCoverage.com, will have enough sponsorships and ad revenue to pay the bills. The website displays overview information for every carrier, device, and location that have been recorded by contributors. Currently, only the United States is supported, but additional countries and regions will eventually be added to the mix. The Carrier Coverage Android AppOn launch, Carrier Coverage is only available to Android users in the United States (download link). Because Android has hundreds of devices available from different manufactures and carriers, it offered the ideal landscape for Version 1. Hopefully an iOS and Windows Phone version will follow, but again, this hinges on the success of the project. Let’s take a look at the apps main screens: The first time you open the app, you’re prompted with terms of service to which you must agree. The app collects sensitive data such as your location, but unlike Carrier-IQ, you’re told exactly what you’re contributing and can even adjust settings to turn data collection off completely. After agreeing to the terms, you’re popped over to the “My Coverage” screen. My CoverageThe My Coverage screen keeps a running tally of your data points, providing you with your average signal strength over the life of the app’s use. I’ve currently got a 3.73 Average Signal based on 1878 data points- not bad. This count is based on my personal data, and just below, we see how my carrier and device are performing based on aggregate data collected by all users combined.This is interesting to see how your personal average compares to users with the same carrier/device in your immediate surroundings. If you want to dive into the details, you’ll see a Top Carrier and Top Device for your location, with a “List” button for the complete rankings. If you’re looking for data not found on the My Coverage screen, swipe over to the “Reports” screen. ReportsOn the reports screen, you’re able to create a custom report based on the specific data you’re seeking. You’re able to alter three options:
SettingsPress the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner of the app and you’ll get sent to a helpful settings pages that allows you to set some very important options. Most notable are the participant settings:
Will the concept take off?This depends largely on the users that choose to download. Hopefully, the app won’t get flooded with 1-star ratings and “no data in my area” comments- in order to display helpful and accurate data, lots of users need to believe in the concept rather than simply downloading the app for immediate glory. The first couple months should tell the story: with enough support and momentum, Carrier Coverage could become a truly powerful tool for consumers.The Future of Carrier CoverageRound 1 of Carrier Coverage keeps things simple, displaying only the most critical data. As more information is collected, it will allow for more detailed reporting, filtering, and sorting. Some of the features the Carrier Coverage team hopes to enable in the future include:
 Carrier Coverage was created by Neverstill Media, LLC, who also own Phandroid.com, AndroidForums.com, and AndroidApplications.com among other web and mobile properties. |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 11:51 AM PST  Apple lost a patent lawsuit to Motorola in Germany last week that forced their hand in briefly removing their 3G-enabled iOS products from store shelves. The lawsuit covered 3G/UMTS technology. While the products have returned, Apple is not in the clear. Motorola is still seeking damages of 2.25% of the revenue from each 3G-enabled Apple product sold. At that rate, Motorola would be owed $2.1 billion since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, plus royalty for future sales.  It may not seem like much considering Apple’s cash reserves of nearly $100 billion but it would definitely be a nice payday for Motorola who have been losing money for quite sometime (though they are on the right track). This figure might be denied as it may violate the FRAND rules that Motorola must operate under. Since the patent they hold is now a worldwide standard, they cannot deny Apple a fair shot at using the patent. They can still force Apple to pay for licensing the patent but the price per unit amount must be reasonable as decided by the judge overseeing the case. Either way, Motorola stands to be paid from one of the most lucrative mobile businesses in the world. [Engadget] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST   Swype revealed that they would soon be bringing an update to their Android application to support Ice Cream Sandwich devices and it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see that update land into the laps of users everywhere. They have tweeted that their next update is “only days away.” Other than the addition of Android 4.0 support this will likely be a slight bug fixer. We’ll be sure to let you guys know the moment that update goes live in the Android market. [Twitter] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 11:05 AM PST  NPD have released their US smartphone figures for the fourth quarter of 2011. As you’d expect, Android didn’t give up the lead but iOS did come close to taking the crown for that quarter. They grabbed 43% of the share compared to Android’s 48%. These numbers, of course, were due largely in part to the launch of the iPhone 4S and subsequent price drops on previous versions of the phone.  First time buyers preferred Android over iOS, however, with 57% of those folks choosing the former over 34% choosing the latter. This could be explained by the great deals to be had on Android phones during the Holiday season. Lots of feature phone owners were looking for free or cheap Android phones to ease them into the smartphone world. The general momentum Android has rolled on since its launch still deserves a lot of credit, too. RIM, Microsoft and Symbian were all shoved into that dreaded “other” category so we can pretty much assume that they’re still largely irrelevant here in the United States. NPD also showed an interesting stat which showed Samsung were responsible for two of the top five selling devices in the fourth quarter. The Galaxy S II and Galaxy S 4G won fourth and fifth place, respectively. As you might imagine, Apple’s phones accounted for the first three slots.Read on for NPD’s findings. PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, February 6, 2012 - According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, Apple leaped past Samsung and LG to become the best-selling U.S. handset brand in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2011. In a quarter that featured the launch of the iPhone 4S and the addition of Sprint, Apple’s three available models combined to capture 43 percent of the U.S. smartphone market in Q4. |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 09:43 AM PST  HTC will give us our first taste of their 2012 smartphone lineup at Mobile World Congress, but Japanese site Ameblo is giving us a look at one handset a few weeks early. The HTC Ville appears in a series of images only slightly less blurry than a video of the rumored dual-core device that came online last week. We don’t gain too much new info, but the photos re-emphasize the Ville’s thin profile, a design element that moves away from the chunkier casings of last year’s handsets (designs HTC called disappointing). The HTC Villa is said to run a 1.5GHz processor, make use of a 4.3-inch qHD AMOLED display, and measure in at a respectable 8.9mm. The phone should ship with Ice Cream Sandwich and an updates version of HTC’s Sense UI.    [Ameblo via AndroidCommunity] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST  2011 was a great year for Android. We saw a gobs of new devices with cutting edge dual-core processors, in what seemed like more of an arms race, than an attempt at giving the consumer what they really needed. These devices which were launching, what seemed like, every few weeks on just about every carrier (except Sprint) wasn’t quite accepted with the fanfare intended. Instead, it was met with bitterness and resentment over early adopters jumping on the latest device at the time. But it’s a funny thing, time. It moves. And when dealing with Android and OEM’s not just competing with the latest iPhone but now each other, technology seems to be moving even faster. Apparently, the problem many are having now is not that there are too few great devices out there, but that now there are too many. And it’s not just the overall quantity, which could be great for app developers and the platform in general but that these devices are launching too frequently. A new device today is considered by some “obsolete” when a better, more powerful, longer lasting model drops a few weeks later. This has been no better evident as when Motorola released the Bionic, only to get 1-up’d by the RAZR then the RAZR MAXX, a few months after. Now, I get it. You want to know the device you have is going to last you. You don’t want to spend your hard earned money on something when it can be considered “obsolete” the following week. But as a technology enthusiast first, and Android lover second, there’s no way, in my right mind, that I would ever want tech to move along at a slower pace. Especially on my account. Just because I couldn’t handle someone walking around the streets with a device that spec wise, is “better” than mine. The question I ask myself is, “Do these people really love tech – or do they love the status symbol tucked away in their jean pocket?” I’ve said it time and time again — competition is good. It drives innovation, pushing technology further and getting it more quickly in consumers’ hands. I can understand that some of you feel cheated. You were locked into another 2 years with your carrier only to find out something better was just around the corner. But really, what did you expect? Not only that but what other option is there? Slow things down? An OEM can’t disclose when every device will launch from here until kingdom come. Nobody would buy what just came out, knowing some better was just around the corner. Funny thing is, we do know something better is around the corner. There always is. That’s the way technology has always worked. You can go out and buy a new car. One that’s had the same body style and technology for years, only to find out that if you waited a few months longer, you could have had the all new, redesigned model. Sexier. Sleeker. Better technology. It’s how the world has always worked. Back in the summer of ’87, my Aerialbots were outdone by the Dinobots only a few weeks later. Yeah, it hurt. But ultimately, there were more Transformers to play with. A wise man once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile — you could miss it.” So, I say, enjoy the device you have now. Keep your youthful enthusiasm and eyes looking forward, but don’t let it get you down. When your 24 month jail sentence is finally over, you’ll have a smartphone playing COD MW3 like it was Pac-Man. All that being said, many major Android OEM’s have stated that things will slow down in 2012. If you ask me, the reason things got so mixed up last year probably had something to do with carrier delays messing up the timing of these big device launches, pushing them closer and closer to one another. Nothing Bible by any means, just my personal theory. So buckle up your seat belts, kids. Even if things do slow down in 2012 I’m sure it’ll move faster than some will still be able to handle. For those, I suggest a certain other phone that may be more suited to your liking. As for me and my house, we will follow the Android. |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 08:53 AM PST   Samsung is planning an event for March 22nd in France, and the speculation has immediately turned to the potential launch of the Galaxy S III. With the smartphone manufacturer opting to forego the announcement of their new flagship model at MWC and recent rumors pegging the phone with a May release date, the timing leaves the door wide open. Local press were first to receive invites — French site FrAndroid among them — suggesting that whatever is to be unveiled will be in one way or another infused with Google’s mobile OS. While we can make a strong case for a Galaxy S III reveal, we could also be dealing with an event related to Samsung’s Google TV product launch. The company is also making plans to introduce the world to their new selection of internet-connected TVs at a private event. Given a seeming lack of international invitations, we could also be dealing with a regional product launch not on the same scale as the unveiling of the latest and greatest product Samsung has to offer. Throw it in the stew of Galaxy S III rumors that has been simmering since the last iteration hit shelves and flavor it with a pinch of salt for now. [via UnwiredView] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 08:32 AM PST   After reporting a downturn in revenues, HTC’s top brass is conceding that some of their woes can be attributed to a disappointing crop of bulky, power-hungry LTE handsets. CFO Winston Yung wasn’t mincing words during the company’s quarterly earnings call, saying that HTC “dropped the ball” with last year’s lineup of high-end smartphones. Yung pointed to a lack of breakout specs and poor battery life as the main reason for less-than-stellar sales. Yung and HTC understand that this year’s models can’t suffer from the same overall poor design and are looking to correct course with the launch of several new models at Mobile World Congress, including the rumored quad-core HTC Edge. The Taiwanese manufacturer has been emphasizing quality over quantity in 2012, and with less on their slate they can devote more time to crafting great smartphones and great experiences with a more nuanced touch. [via Engadget] |
Posted: 06 Feb 2012 07:59 AM PST   The Android 4.0.4 update for the Galaxy Nexus was just sniffed out over the weekend, but French mobile provider SFR is already suggesting a fresher update for March. The carrier’s device update timeline lists an Android 4.0.5 version of Ice Cream Sandwich due for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S that month, a software iteration that, given its version number, shouldn’t provide any drastically new features. We can expect things to be further smooth out the ICS code and provide mostly bug fixes and software tweaks. Also worth noting from the SFR document is the scheduled arrival of Android 4.0 for the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S II. Both devices are slated to receive Ice Cream Sandwich during March alongside the Android 4.0.5 update for Nexus devices. [via Android Police] |
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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