Android Central |
- Moving info from device, AOKP ROM's [From the Forums]
- Adobe Reader adds eSignatures capability - Electronically sign and send documents without printing or faxing
- HTC One X screen flex 'flaw' -- should we worry about it?
- From the mail bag: Accidentally erased everything!
- POGO Games bring Poppit, Word Whomp and other favorites to Android
- Netflix update brings stability improvements and improved volume control UI
- HTC One S review (European version)
- ICQ changes gears to focus on mobile, releases new ICQ Messenger for Android
- How to manually update your Nexus S 4G to Ice Cream Sandwich
- Motorola announces the MotoACTV in Argentina
- Amazon Appstore now allowing in-app purchases
- From the forums: An Open Letter to HTC and Sprint - How About a Compromise?
- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit [Android Game Review]
- Tapatalk v2.0 out of beta, ready for updating
- ShopAndroid Daily Giveaway #47: OtterBox Commuter for Droid 3, Case-Mate Tough Case for Vivid & more!
- Toshiba unveils 7.7-, 10.1- and 13.3-inch Excite tablets
- Deal of the Day: Incipio Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for Samsung Galaxy Note
- Contest Winners: ShopAndroid Daily winners, Speck cases, and Android Central swag!
- Google Play Music introduces labs features: Desktop notifications, HTML5 audio and 5-Star ratings
- DroidDoodle: Project Glass tests are going just fine, thank you
- Grab an unlocked Tegra 3 model HTC One X from Daily Steals
- Disabling HTC apps on Sense 4.0 probably isn't a very good idea
- Ice Cream Sandwich factory images now available for the Sprint Nexus S 4G
- Internal calendar, big green arrow point to T-Mobile's HTC One S launching April 25
- Tumblr for Android gets overhauled with a new UI, better photo browsing and more
| Moving info from device, AOKP ROM's [From the Forums] Posted: 10 Apr 2012 04:40 PM PDT With Tuesday comes to end of the long weekend for some and that means trying to get back into the swing of things after having consumed copious amounts of chocolate. If you're looking to get caught up on all the latest, check out what's new on the blogs and in the Android Central forums:
If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today. 
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| Posted: 10 Apr 2012 04:06 PM PDT Adobe has rolled out their latest improvement for their Adobe Reader application and it solves an issue that you may have ran into in the past. Adobe Reader now includes the Adobe Echosign feature for allowing you to sign, annotate and even request signatures on the go across all of their offerings be it on smartphone, tablet or desktop:
In addition to the Echosign feature being added, Adobe has also improved upon other features in the app as well such as annotation of documents, sticky note comments for PDF files and a new form fill option that allows you to fill out forms, save them and then forward them off to others. The full press release and download can be found past the break. 
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| HTC One X screen flex 'flaw' -- should we worry about it? Posted: 10 Apr 2012 03:45 PM PDT In the process of reviewing the HTC One X, CNET UK flagged up a potential build quality issue. On four different review units, they reported that pushing down on the edges of the screen caused it to flex and produce a series of discoloured pixels on the display. Going back to the Creative Director at One & Co, HTC’s design consultancy, they received the response, “we would never let that ship.” So that would mean retail units shouldn’t be affected, yes? Well, no. See, I purchased a shiny new HTC One X on Three UK, and should I press down on the edges of the screen, I see exactly the same as CNET reported. HTC haven’t confirmed anything either way, but based on my retail unit alone I’d say that there’s little point in denying it. A more important question should be, should you worry? Is this a reason to not buy the phone? Any kind of design flaw is not exactly welcome, especially in such a high end, expensive device as the One X. But you have to press -- really press -- on the sides of the screen to replicate this yourselves. How many of us do that in general day-to-day use? Apart from this one time, in the name of research, I am pretty much sure that I won’t be doing it again. Neither will you guys most probably. The HTC One X is exceptionally well made, so much so that perhaps some have been looking for reasons to score it down. After all, how many of us have done something like this whilst trying out a new phone for the first time? This is really a non-issue. If you’ve already bought a One X, or are planning on doing so, don't worry and enjoy it. I know I’m enjoying mine a whole lot, and that’s all that matters. Oh, and don't forget to check out our extensive review as well, just in case you need a little help deciding. Source: CNET UK 
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| From the mail bag: Accidentally erased everything! Posted: 10 Apr 2012 02:26 PM PDT Kelly writes,
Yikes! Sometimes the settings can confuse the best of us, and we imagine this sort of thing happens from time to time. For most people, it's an easy fix. Go through the setup you're seeing and get signed back in to Google. The apps that came with the phone will still be there, and anything you downloaded from the Android Market is still available, just not installed. You can find all the apps you installed from Google here: https://play.google.com/apps. Make sure you're signed in on your web browser, and open each one you want to re-install and they will be sent right back to your phone. Good luck, Kelly! Have a question you need answered? (Preferably about Android, but we're flexible.) Hit up our Contact Page to get in touch! 
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| POGO Games bring Poppit, Word Whomp and other favorites to Android Posted: 10 Apr 2012 01:51 PM PDT If you have ever been bored on the computer and looked to kill some time, odds are you have stumbled across some of the POGO Games. Today the folks at EA have made some of the classics from POGO available on Android devices. Bringing titles like Poppit!, Word Whomp, Turbo 21, Sweet Tooth 2 to Android is a great thing. In addition to access to these free games, you have the ability to unlock World Class Solitare, and if you are interested in joining Club POGO you will gain access to 40 more games, plus the removal of adds. If you want to get down with some of your computer classics, be sure to hit the break and download this today! Download: North America; rest of world 
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| Netflix update brings stability improvements and improved volume control UI Posted: 10 Apr 2012 01:24 PM PDT Every ones favorite content streaming service, Netflix, has gone and pushed out a minor update to their Android application into the Google Play Store today. It still isn't the app we all want it to be, but it gets the job done. Todays update brings with it promised stability improvements, along with a handful of fixes for some pesky bugs. We also get an improved UI for the volume control function. Probably not top of your list of priorities, but it's still nice they're working on it. Download links can be found after the break. 
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| HTC One S review (European version) Posted: 10 Apr 2012 12:11 PM PDT HTC knows it has to deliver in 2012. The past few months haven’t been kind to the veteran Android manufacturer, with tumbling revenues and unrelenting competition from Samsung and Apple. And so, as it hopes to reclaim some lost glory, HTC has launched its new range of “hero” handsets, the HTC One series. Much of the media attention since the HTC One announcement at Mobile World Congress has been focused on the new flagship product, the One X. And with good reason -- the One X is a fantastic phone, and one that makes smartphone history as the world’s first quad-core phone. But equally alluring is the X’s smaller, sleeker sibling, the HTC One S -- a 7.8mm-thick, metal-framed device powered by a next-gen Snapdragon processor. Unlike the polycarbonate-clad One X, the One S retains the classic HTC aluminum unibody design, with both vanilla and plasma-fried flavors unveiled at MWC. Though it lacks the pin-sharp 720p display found on the One X, the One S nevertheless is a premium product. But now that it's actually available to purchase, where does the 4.3-inch One S fit in the broader Android landscape, and has HTC been able to cram all this high-end hardware into the phone’s slender shell without compromising in other areas? Find out after the break, in our definitive HTC One S review.
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| ICQ changes gears to focus on mobile, releases new ICQ Messenger for Android Posted: 10 Apr 2012 11:48 AM PDT Back in 1996 when Motorola was still building the Motorola StarTac, a PC based instant messaging program called ICQ was released. It eventually grew to over 100 million registered users but after a while, many other instant messaging programs showed up and ICQ sort of fell off. Now though, the company is making another strike at the mobile business having released a new ICQ for Android and a whole new set of features to go along with it:
I'm not entirely sure if ICQ will ever reach the masses the way it did in the 1990's but the new messaging app does have a lot to offer, you'll find their full press release and download past the break. 
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| How to manually update your Nexus S 4G to Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 10 Apr 2012 11:18 AM PDT So you've got the Sprint Nexus S 4G, and you're well aware that the official Ice Cream Sandwich update is coming. But what if you don't want to wait? The crazy cats in our Nexus S 4G forums have the manual download and install method, and it goes a little something like this:
And that's it. Enjoy, tell your friends, and hit the link below if you need some help. More: Nexus S 4G forums 
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| Motorola announces the MotoACTV in Argentina Posted: 10 Apr 2012 11:07 AM PDT
Source: Motorola 
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| Amazon Appstore now allowing in-app purchases Posted: 10 Apr 2012 09:32 AM PDT
The Amazon Appstore has been a great alternative to the Google Play Store for many users for various reasons. Whether you enjoy grabbing the free app of the day, or you are unable to get access to the Google Play Store, Amazon has been there for you this year. Until now Amazon did not offer an in-app purchase option for developers, so this meant that they got their money when the app was originally purchased, or never. Many developers utilize in-app purchases for things like buying extra coins, removing ads, upgrade and many other things, and now they will be able to do this through the Amazon Appstore. If you are a developer, Amazon has put together some sample code and other resources for your use, so be sure to check that out for even more details. Source: Amazon 
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| From the forums: An Open Letter to HTC and Sprint - How About a Compromise? Posted: 10 Apr 2012 08:26 AM PDT From Starfleet Captain: Dear HTC, As a customer and consumer, I want to thank you for the excellent phones that you continue to make every year. My very first HTC—made smartphone was the Windows Mobile 6.1 device called the Touch Diamond on Sprint. Since then, I was in line before dawn to pick up the HTC Evo 4G on the day it was released, and a year later, the HTC EVO 3D. I want you to know that I have greatly enjoyed these best in class devices over the years. After reading through the press releases from your company and Sprint for your new upcoming device, the HTC EVO 4G LTE, as well as the many first impression reviews on the web, I can only conclude that you have another blockbuster winning device on your hands. I, for one, as has become a yearly tradition it seems, plan on being in line on the morning of the release of this excellent smartphone. That being said, many consumers in the Android community seem to take issue with a design decision on this device. Read the rest in our EVO 4G LTE Forums 
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| Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit [Android Game Review] Posted: 10 Apr 2012 08:17 AM PDT Before anyone can say anything, I know, I'm bad at racing games. I was bad at the ones you sat in at the arcades with an actual steering wheel, bad at ones on consoles with funny button configurations and control schemes, and I'm bad at ones that use accelerometer support to simulate a steering wheel, too. Thing is, Let's get the talk about the awesome graphics out of the way now. They're awesome (some of the best on Android, of course), but when your game is made by a huge studio that's used to producing AAA games, I'd expect nothing less. Still, racing (and subsequently crashing into everything in front of me) was still a visual treat, and that's to be commended. Gameplay-wise, it's racing. Be default, automatic transmission is enabled, but you can switch to manual if you're feeling particularly skilled. The game starts you off with a little tutorial that teaches you how to do 180-degree turns easily and stuff, and let me say, had that not been there, I would have been even worse come recording time. There's a couple of different options once you get out of the tutorial, like quick racing or playing through the career mode. Quick race is just what you'd think: you select some options based off of what you've got unlocked (what role you're playing, your vehicle, the time of day, etc.), and then you're off. Career mode pits you against a computer-played adversary, whichever role you don't choose. You can pick between the cop and the street racer, and depending on which you choose, that tailors your mission objectives. More often than not, the cop is trying to catch the racer and the racer is trying to avoid being caught. Pretty straightforward stuff. As you continue to race, you'll earn bounty (even if you lose), and after you collect so much bounty, you'll "level up" and unlock another, better car to use. Keep earning bounty and leveling up, and eventually you'll have the sweetest car in the game. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit also has a bevy of in-game achievements, like drifting for 25 seconds or getting five roadblock hits. Each achievement seems to unlock another, better tier of the achievement (like drifting for 50 seconds), so there's plenty to work on while you race around the world unlocking cars and earning cash. Sure, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit might not be the newest game out on Android, but that doesn't detract at all from how solid a game it is. Awesome graphics, tight controls, lots of missions and careers to play, and achievements all make it worthy of your time and money. We've got download links after the break. 
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| Tapatalk v2.0 out of beta, ready for updating Posted: 10 Apr 2012 07:31 AM PDT Tapatalk, the app that makes browsing vBulletin forums a breeze from a smartphone, has come out of its Version 2.0 beta and is now available for downloading. The biggest feature is an improved UI with multiple theme support, improved moderation tools, a nicer conversation style, and cloud-based account sync. The official Tapatalk app runs $2.99 in Google Play. And, yes, we'll be updating our own Tapatalk-based Android Central Forums app in short order. 
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| Posted: 10 Apr 2012 07:27 AM PDT Today's ShopAndroid.com Daily Giveaway will feature the OtterBox Commuter for Droid 3, Case-Mate Tough Case for HTC Vivid, Incipio Feather Ultralight Case for Samsung Droid Charge, and the Seidio Spring-Clip Holster for HTC Inspire 4G. Leave a comment below stating which item you'd like to have for your Android device, and you'll automatically be eligible to win! Check back next week when we announce the winner from today's giveaway. OtterBox Commuter Series Case for Motorola Droid 3The OtterBox Commuter Case features three layers of protection for your Motorola Droid 3. A clear protective film covers your screen preventing scratches, a durable silicone mid-layer help absorb impact, and finally the one-piece custom molded polycarbonate shell that brings it all together encasing the entire device-- making it an excellent option for the outdoor user. 
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| Toshiba unveils 7.7-, 10.1- and 13.3-inch Excite tablets Posted: 10 Apr 2012 07:12 AM PDT Toshiba this morning announced a trio of new tablets, ranging from 7.7 inches to 10.1 inches to a whopping 13.3 inches, all bearing the "Excite" name. (What you see in the picture above is the Excite 7.7, which we took for a beta test drive at Mobile World Congress back in February.) The three tablets have a lot in common, most notably that they're powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 3 processor. Each has a 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera, runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and is covered in Gorilla Glass. So it's the physical attributes (and pricing) that really differentiates them. Here's the breakdown:
One noticeable (but not really surprising) trend is that pixel density goes down as screen size goes up. That's prone to happen, and we shutter to think where the Excite 13 pricing might have ended up if it tried to compete with the iPad's 264 pixels per inch. Regardless, Toshiba's been putting out some some sleek hardware after the relatively uninspiring Thrive line. Will the new Excites compete on any sort of scale? We'll see. But they've at least got a chance. We've got the full presser and pics after the break. 
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| Deal of the Day: Incipio Feather Ultralight Hard Shell Case for Samsung Galaxy Note Posted: 10 Apr 2012 06:38 AM PDT
The Incipio Ultralight Hard Shell Case is available for just $14.95 today only, 40% off the regular price. Get yours while supplies last! 
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| Contest Winners: ShopAndroid Daily winners, Speck cases, and Android Central swag! Posted: 10 Apr 2012 06:27 AM PDT If you're a registered member here at Android Central then you know our forums always have a contest happening. And if you're not registered, well -- now is as good a time as any. This week's winners are as posted after the break, and if you were chosen watch your email as we'll be following up during the week. Stay tuned for more upcoming contests folks. Congrats to the winners! 
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| Google Play Music introduces labs features: Desktop notifications, HTML5 audio and 5-Star ratings Posted: 10 Apr 2012 05:52 AM PDT Google has long since been known as a company that enjoys placing some not quite complete features on a few of their products out there to mix things up. Those items usually fall under a beta or "labs" moniker and that's exactly what they've done with Google Play Music now. While most of use are making use of Google Play Music through the Android app Google offers, there are a number of folks who also like to use it on the desktop as well and for those folks Google has introduced:
With Google making changes to Google Play Music for desktop users, we kind of have to wonder if they're also going to working on labs for their mobile version as well. Can you all think of any features you'd like to see added that would be of use? Sound off in the comments. Source: Engadget 
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| DroidDoodle: Project Glass tests are going just fine, thank you Posted: 10 Apr 2012 05:37 AM PDT | ||||||||||
| Grab an unlocked Tegra 3 model HTC One X from Daily Steals Posted: 09 Apr 2012 09:54 PM PDT We usually don't worry too awful much about the various people importing and hawking unlocked phones on the Internet, but sometimes things just need passed along. The deals site Daily Steals has the unlocked, Tegra 3 version of the HTC One X up for sale, and if you want to part with $630, you can get your hands on the world version. We're not going to get in the middle of the debate over which version is best, and chances are the average user would see zero difference between the two, just know that it's very possible the only way to get the quad-core version is to import one. Note that this won't have 3G/4G (or 11G) of any sort on T-Mobile (it lacks the 1700MHz band) unless you live in one of those freakish areas where T-Mo also transmits on AT&T's frequencies. And it also lacks network optimizations for AT&T, but for the most part it will work just fine. If seeing how smitten Phil and Alex are with theirs makes you want one of your own, here's your chance. Source: Daily Steals Thanks everyone who sent this in! 
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| Disabling HTC apps on Sense 4.0 probably isn't a very good idea Posted: 09 Apr 2012 09:40 PM PDT One of the things folks really (really) like about Android 4.0 is the way you can disable system applications from the settings menu. It doesn't delete them, but it does keep them quiet and out of the way while perusing the app drawer. Anything that gives more control to the user is a good thing, and we're just as glad to see it as you guys are. Adios, City ID! But for some apps, it makes very little Sense (pun intended, tip your waitress, try the veal) to try to zap them away -- especially core components of the operating system. HTC Sense 4.0, at least the software versions floating around of the One X and One S review units, has a couple listings that make you just want to try it. There's an entry called "phone" and an entry called "dialer". There's also two separate contacts apps listed, one is a measly 8k and the other is a measly 28k. Don't disable any of these unless you're sure about what you're doing. If you disable one of the contacts apps, your dialer and phone app stop working. If you disable the other, the whole phone UI resets. If you disable either the phone or dialer apk, let's just say that the debugger goes hawg wild (as opposed to normal hog wild) and things get a little wonky. We're sure there's a rhyme and reason to what's going on with duplicate apps, and we have our guesses. But until devices ship with final software to folks who can take the time to look at them and play a bit, we're going to go on record and say don't disable the core Sense apps. Android hackers will soon build a list of what's safe to disable or delete, and what isn't. For now, if you've lain your hands on one of these beauties, enjoy it as-is. We are! Discuss in the Android Central forums
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| Ice Cream Sandwich factory images now available for the Sprint Nexus S 4G Posted: 09 Apr 2012 08:09 PM PDT A few days back, Sprint announced the update to Ice Cream Sandwich was ready to go, and today Jean-Baptiste Queru (the AOSP guru at Google) has announced that the sojus factory images are available as well, bringing the Nexus S 4G up-to-date with the GSM versions. These aren't files to update your phone. On the contrary, they are there to restore your phone back to stock if you've knocked it out of whack whilst fooling with it. As JBQ recommends, if you're running a stock version of Gingerbread on your NS4G, just wait for the OTA -- it's coming. But if you're the adventurous type, you could use these images to get your NS4G to the exact state it would be if all OTA updates were applied -- ICS IMM76D. It takes a bit of keyboard wizardry while in Fastboot, and it will wipe everything. Know this going in. No matter which way you're going to roll with it, you'll find all the help a person could ever want in the Nexus S 4G forums. High-tail it in there and join in the frenzy. Source: +Jean-Baptiste Queru; Google Nexus S 4G forums
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| Internal calendar, big green arrow point to T-Mobile's HTC One S launching April 25 Posted: 09 Apr 2012 06:27 PM PDT It looks like T-Mobile's gonna roll out its HTC One S on April 25 -- at least according to this leaked internal screen shot and big green arrow. The timing's as good as anything, we suppose, and trust us when we say you TMo fans are going to want this in your hands sooner rather than later. It's a little slice of sexy. But T-Mobile employees aren't the only ones getting their learn on. We're running our own HTC One S clinic in our aptly named HTC One S forums. Come on in, sit down, and ask away. Source: TMo News 
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| Tumblr for Android gets overhauled with a new UI, better photo browsing and more Posted: 09 Apr 2012 05:59 PM PDT Use Tumblr for your blogging services? If so, you'll want to fire up the Google Play Store and grab the latest update available. This release brings a whole new UI to the app as well many other improvements that have sorely been needed:
Sadly, Tumblr left tablet optimization out of the mix so you'll still have to find other ways to make use of it on any of those devices -- we're sure you all will figure it out though. Either way, it's a worthy update. You can jump past the break for some more screenshots and the download link. 
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