Android and Me |
- HTC One X battery life boosted 10-20% with unofficial Tegra 3 power management fix
- HTC Golf press shot shows off HTC’s upcoming entry-level Android 4.0 phone
- Hexage releases Radiant Defense to Google Play Store
- Top 10 Android App updates: Friendcaster, Springpad, n7player, Touchpal, …
| HTC One X battery life boosted 10-20% with unofficial Tegra 3 power management fix Posted: 13 Apr 2012 03:24 PM PDT  While putting the final touches on the HTC One X software, HTC's developers managed to place an application in the wrong directory, causing some issues for the Tegra 3 power management software on the phone. The misplaced NvCPLSvc.apk file was discovered in the /system/bin folder by mike1986 while developing a custom ROM for the HTC One X. To correct HTC's mistake, users can push the file to /system/app via ADB. Those who have already tried this fix are reporting a 10-20 percent improvement in battery performance on the HTC One X. Over the past few days, we’ve heard rumors that HTC has been prepping an update for the HTC One X to enhance its battery performance. There’s no guarantee that HTC’s fix will address this specific issue, but we’d definitely understand if you don't want to take fate into your own hands when an official fix may only be days away. For detailed instructions on how to apply this battery fix on your own, check out the source link below. If you do give it a try, leave us a comment and let us know if your battery life on your HTC One X gets any better.
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| HTC Golf press shot shows off HTC’s upcoming entry-level Android 4.0 phone Posted: 13 Apr 2012 01:11 PM PDT  The HTC One V may be the value proposition of the HTC One family, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be HTC’s entry-level handset for 2012. A press shot of the HTC Golf (rumored to launch as the HTC Wildfire C later this quarter) has surfaced, revealing a design very similar to the HTC One X. While the HTC One X and HTC Golf may look alike, their specifications are polar opposites. The HTC Golf is rumored to have a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 pixel display, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, 5 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The software setup should include Android 4.0, HTC sense 4.0, Beats Audio and 25GB of cloud storage through DropBox. The processor on the HTC Golf is still unknown, but we hope it’ll pack a little more punch than the 600 MHz processor included in last year’s HTC Wildfire S. With the price of the HTC One V coming in at less than $350, we can’t see HTC charging more than $300 for the HTC Golf. We doubt any of you are planning to purchase the HTC Golf, but it could be a huge seller for consumers who want to jump on the Android bandwagon for the same price it would cost them to buy a feature phone. Do you think the entry-level HTC Golf fits into HTC's new strategy for 2012?
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| Hexage releases Radiant Defense to Google Play Store Posted: 13 Apr 2012 10:26 AM PDT  Millions of aliens will die in Hexage’s latest game Radiant Defense. Yesterday we revealed that Hexage had a new project in the works and today it hits the Google Play Store. Radiant Defense is free to play without any ads, but players who would like to delve deeper into the game can unlock packs of additional weapons for more tactical options using in-app purchases. Radiant Defense was made to be a classic tower defense game at its core, but Hexage tells us it features a unique style and gameplay. The game is set to the universe of the 8-bit shooter Radiant, which is one of my all time favorite shooters on Android. There are over 300 waves of aliens across 10 missions, 9 upgradable weapons to kill the aliens with style, 3 superweapons of mass defense, and a signature soundtrack by Kubatko. I’m not a huge fan of tower defense games, but I have no problem in recommending this title because everything that Hexage releases is awesome. Seriously, go check out all their previous titles in the Google Play Store. Gallery
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| Top 10 Android App updates: Friendcaster, Springpad, n7player, Touchpal, … Posted: 13 Apr 2012 10:03 AM PDT  Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most upgraded apps for the week. I've found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to look at what people are actually updating, and not focus on which apps have the most installs. To find the most updated apps, I turn to AppAware. It's a great tool that shows me which apps have active support from their developers and sometimes reminds me of an old app that I might have removed long ago. Make sure to install it so your activity can help determine our weekly top 10 list. This week I'm going to do things a little different. I normally filter out apps that have over 10 million installs, but I'm going to make an exception for popular apps that had significant updates. I hope you enjoy this weekly feature and discover some apps that you might find useful. NVIDIA TegraZone – Version 2.5.1
TegraZone is nearing its first anniversary and now boasts between 1-5 million installs, but the daily download numbers have skyrocketed since the release of the HTC One X in Europe. We saw an overhauled version of this showcase app back at CES, but that has yet to be released yet. This minor update turns off the notifications by default and adds support for larger displays. Even if you don’t have a Tegra-powered device, this app is still a cool place to check out the best Android games. Dolphin Browser HD – Version 8.0
My two browsers of choice are the default Browser and Google’s Chrome, but Dolphin Browser HD is still a great alternative. The latest update to version 8.0 includes a new design for numerous features and performance improvements. It maintains a stellar average review score of 4.7. Springpad – Version 3.0.1
Springpad is a free, easy-to-use app that lets you create notebooks for any topic or area of interest. They just released a major update to version 3.0 that includes a new look a ton of new features. I’ve never used the app, so I defer to their new promo video below. Google Currents – Version 1.1.0
Google Currents has always impressed us with its slick user interface, but the app was always painfully slow. Thankfully the latest update improves sync speeds by 7x and also includes instant online sync. If you were frustrated by the old version, make sure you grab this latest update. And be sure to subscribe to Android and Me while you are at it. AppAware – Version 3.1.1
Regular readers know by now that we love AppAware. The latest update includes a simplified UI and UX, plus a smaller file size and reduced permissions. If you have an And Me Account, you can now edit your profile to connect your AppAware account and display your installed apps on our site. Check out my profile to see the 188 apps I have installed. Instagram – Version 1.0.4
Instagram has only been out a couple of weeks and it has already passed 5 million installs. Several updates in the last week have added support for tablets, and improved support for Tegra 3 devices. The latest update included multiple bug fixes and it finally works with the newly released HTC One X. GPS Test – Version 1.2.7
If you are looking for a simple app to test your GPS, then GPS Test gets the job done. It’s not as full featured as GPS Essentials, but it still has five screens of useful information. The latest update includes several new color schemes, along with time to first satellite fix. Friendcaster for Facebook – Version 5.0.2
The official Facebook for Android app has 549,285 1-star reviews, so it’s no surprise that users are turning to alternative apps to get their Facebook fix. Friendcaster is one of the more popular options that includes everyone’s favorite Facebook features and promises faster features. The latest version 5.0 includes five new themes, real time Facebook notifications, and support for multiple accounts. n7player Music Player – Version 1.1.8
I’ve never used n7player, but after reading over the market description I’m going to install it. N7player visualizes your music as a single plane full of album covers. Users can zoom in and out using multi-touch to see different views of their music. The latest update is mostly bug fixes, but you should still check it out if you need a new music player. TouchPal Keyboard – Version 4.8.6
Looking for a keyboard that does slide input instead of tapping? Swype is still one of the most popular alternative keyboards, but it’s not available to download in the Google Play Store. TouchPal offers most of the same features, and they claim to be “most innovative and the best keyboard on Android.” I’ll stick with the stock Android keyboard, but I know a lot of people like sliding keyboards so you might want to check this one out. Honorable mentionsDid you see any Android apps that received notable updates in the last week? Share your suggestions in the comments below and we will add them to our honorable mentions list.
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