Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Chrysler Announces First Wireless Charging Equipped Vehicles – Makes Debut In 2013 Dodge Dart

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 06:58 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

Everybody likes to claim “firsties.” And today, Chrysler hopes to claim that title with their “industry first,” in-vehicle wireless charging system for the 2013 Dodge Dart. The wireless charging system will come as an available option and carry a cost of $200 plus installation. After installation, the system will be found inside the center console where a user can simply toss their compatible device in, start their car up, and begin charging. Just set it, and forget it.

Of course, you will need a phone with these capabilities either built in (super rare) or with some sort of 3rd party solution to take advantage of wireless charging. Still, with rumors that the Samsung Galaxy S III’s “killer feature” could be wireless charging, maybe we’ll start seeing this become more of a trend in the coming months. Full press release can be found below.

Chrysler Group LLC Introduces Industry-first In-vehicle Wireless Charging

Charges iPhone, Blackberry, MP3 Players and Droid-based devices
New Mopar® Feature First Available on All-new 2013 Dodge Dart

April 9, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Look mom, no wires.

After being the first to eliminate heavy, bulky owner manuals from its vehicles, Chrysler Group LLC, through its Mopar® division, will now be the first to eliminate unsightly dangling power cords in its vehicles by offering in-vehicle wireless charging.

The company will first make the technology available on the all-new 2013 Dodge Dart that arrives in dealerships in the second quarter of this year.

"At Mopar, we look for every single opportunity to make our customers’ lives easier," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. "Our industry-first in-vehicle wireless charging system is the perfect solution for those connected customers who are always on the go."

For easy access, a seamlessly integrated power bin, measuring 8.27 inches by 9.5 inches by 3.25 inches, is installed just below the center stack and in front of the center console. The bin has a built-in charging grid that is activated when customers place in their battery-powered device. The unit begins to charge when the vehicle is started. A phone case, specifically designed for a variety of smartphones, is required and included with the feature.

Mopar in-vehicle wireless charging is available for $199.99, plus installation (part number 82213216).

[BGR]

[Update: Confirmed] T-Mobile To Launch HTC One S April 25th?

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 04:48 PM PDT

This image has no alt text

Those of you on T-Mobile who have been holding your breath for the upcoming HTC One S will soon be able to exhale. A few leaked images from some newly leaked internal training slides hint that a launch is fast approaching. Really there’s not much here we didn’t already know about the device, but it’s interesting to see how T-Mobile will try and market the device.

TMoNews also goes on to report that the April 25th is looking like the new launch date, providing everything goes according to plan and there’s no unexpected delays. Any T-Mobile customers have their checkbook ready for the One S? Or will you continue holding out for something better?

UPDATE: Looks like TMoNews was able to get a hold of another leak, this time confirming the April 25th launch date directly from inside those T-Mo training slides.

Tumblr for Android Gets Completely New User Interface

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 03:17 PM PDT

Tumblr for Android has received an update that many of you Tumblr users (Tumblrs?) might want to grab ASAP. They’ve completely redesigned the user interface. It features a nice hue of blue and a host of soft buttons. Improved photo browsing, Tumblr Radar, better notifications and more all grace this new update. Android 4.0 users won’t see anything specially tailored to them, but the user interface is nice regardless. Find it in the Google Play Store here.

Salisbury, MD Getting Verizon 4G LTE April 19th

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 01:35 PM PDT

While we love it when Verizon announces a ton of new 4G LTE markets at once, we still appreciate hearing about lone releases – even if it’s for the little guys. With a population of about 30,000 people, Salisbury, MD probably isn’t a milestone market for Verizon but we know they’re keen on showing Maryland a lot of love. Those who live in the area should be able to enjoy the new speeds beginning April 19th (and even a bit sooner, if they’re lucky). On a completely unrelated note, I’m suddenly in the mood for Salisbury steak. Read on for the short press release.

Google Updates Android Emulator to Include GPU Acceleration Support for Android 4.0.4 Image, Other Nice Changes

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 12:49 PM PDT

Google’s made some pretty nice changes to their Android emulator which should please many-a developer. It’s no secret that the Android emulator isn’t the best, performance wise, but thanks to the update things should be a lot better. SDK revision 18 brings GPU acceleration for the Android 4.0.4 image.

Developers with OpenGL ES 2.0 games will now able to run their software inside the emulator. While I’m sure developers prefer to test their games on actual devices, this should prove to be a great tool for developing games for many different devices.

Google’s also added support for new device sensors such as Bluetooth and NFC, and the emulator would be able to utilize these sensors on any device that is tethered which enables developers to test phone-to-phone communications. Find the SDK here if you don’t have it already and download revision 18.

Those who already have the SDK should know what to do. Check out a video of the improved emulator support in the video above. Oh, and note that these changes are being considered beta so you may run into some issues. Google notes that not all GPUs have been tested yet. Should you run into any issues, you can submit a bug report via this form. [via Android Developers Blog]

Sprint’s First LTE Test Site is Kankakee, IL

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 12:12 PM PDT

Sprint is working hard to fulfill their promise of LTE deployments by the middle of this year, and it looks like they could be on track to keep that promise. They’ve revealed that they’ve started testing the network in its first test site – a little town in Illinois called Kankakee. With a modest population of around 27,000, Fierce points out that it is an odd area to test in.

Perhaps it is, but perhaps Sprint is playing it safe and wants to take baby steps to make sure they get this thing right. As I’m no expert in LTE networks and optimal testing conditions, I can’t say that is the case myself. Whatever the reason may be, however, we at least know Sprint is on its way to building out a 4G network that can compete in today’s crowded space. [WSJ]

Facebook to Acquire Instagram for $1 Billion

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:46 AM PDT

Less than a week ago, Instagram was in the news for making its way to Android, pissing iPhone users off, and procuring at least one million downloads in the Google Play Store. Its had quite the busy week, but it’s not over. Facebook today announced they will soon close a deal to acquire the company and app for $1 billion in cash and stocks.

Before you guys all let out a collective sigh, Facebook claims that Instagram will continue to exist and operate separately. Of course, the last time a major social network company bought a major client and promised it would continue to operate normally is when Twitter bought TweetDeck and pretty much killed it through the lack of support.

That’s a bit of a different situation, however, as Instagram isn’t a Facebook client and does not exist as an alternative. It’s more of an “enhancement,” if you will. A “companion,” rather. For now, Facebook leaves us no reason to believe they’ll eventually force the developers behind Instagram to abandon it and work on the social network.

So there you have it. With backing from a huge company like Facebook, the small company – 13 employee are the extent of its staff – gets some security for the future, Facebook gets a new cash cow, and users get the same old Instagram. If you want the formal version of  all this let your eyes wander to the press release below.

Facebook to Acquire Instagram

MENLO PARK, CALIF. -- April 9, 2012 -- Facebook announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Instagram, a fun, popular photo-sharing app for mobile devices.

The total consideration for San Francisco-based Instagram is approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, posted about the transaction on his Timeline:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.

Multitouch hack takes the ‘simple’ out of the Nook Simple Touch

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 07:33 AM PDT

If it runs Android, it’s going to be pushed to its limits. That’s the general rule of thumb when it comes to the voracious modding and hacking community that has sprung up around Google’s mobile OS. Even a basic e-reader like the Nook Simple Touch hasn’t been safe from rooting and the loading of various Android services never meant to be experienced on the device’s monochrome eInk display. Taking things a step further, a member of xda-developers has hacked multitouch capabilities into the $99 Nook, making its touch far from simple.

As you can see in the videos above and below, the Simple Touch doesn’t look half bad running Angry Birds and multitouch gestures are a go when viewing a PDF. There are some bugs with the initial hack, including random screen lockups, but otherwise it turns a boring eReader into an intriguing tablet option.

[via The Verge]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) priced at $309 in QVC’s online store

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 06:29 AM PDT

Towards the tail-end of last week an Office Depot page came online for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) with pricing included. A few days later the smaller Galaxy Tab 2 variant has had its price outed in a similar fashion. A landing page at QVC’s online store shows the 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 with a price of $309.96. The figure seems right on the money considering the 10.1-inch model’s $400 price tag.

The Galaxy Tab 2 is expected to be delayed in order to ship the tablet with Android 4.0 out of the box, though QVC’s site appears to be taking orders. We’ll chalk that one up to a clerical error and wait for further word from Samsung.

[via PhoneArena]

Samsung launches pink Galaxy Note in Korea

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 06:13 AM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy Note just got a whole lot…pinker. As with the Galaxy S II before it, a pink version of the 5.3-inch behemoth has launched in Samsung’s native land of South Korea. It’s not just the phone that gets the new color treatment, either. The included S Pen and protective cover also carry the hue. Samsung isn’t mincing words when they say that they intend for the latest color option to appeal specifically to women, but with 5 million units already sold we can’t say they are acting out of desperation. There is no word on a pink Note gracing other regions, but we’ll keep an eye open for it.

[via Samsung]

LG D1L rumored to feature 4.7-inch HD display and Snapdragon S4, could launch as Galaxy S III competitor in May

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 05:19 AM PDT

Though LG seemed content to stick with the lineup unveiled at Mobile World Congress, it now looks like those won’t be the only handsets we see from the Korean manufacturer this year. In an apparent bid to go head-to-head with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III and newly release HTC One X a new handset has surfaced with a potential May release date. The phone, known as the LG D1L internally, will features a 4.7inch display with 720p resolution and a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4. The D1L will ship with Ice Cream Sandwich and will be an LTE-enabled device.

The codename has been confirmed, but any details are still the result of only rumors. DDaily broke the the news.

[DDaily via The Verge]

Lenovo reveals 9.7-inch IdeaTab S2109 with Ice Cream Sanwich

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 05:00 AM PDT


A Lenovo tablet first spotted in an FCC filing has been officially outed. The Lenovo S2109 is an Android 4.0 slate with a 4:3 9.7-inch display. A short promotional video shows off some of the finer points of the new tablet, including its unibody design, quad speakers with SRS Trumedia support, and 10 hour battery life. We are also keyed into the tablets 8.9mm thickness.

The S2109 will feature both Google Play and the Lenovo App Shop and looks to be a mostly pure Ice Cream Sandwich experience. No word on when the new tablet from Lenovo will be available, but its looking like it won’t be too far off.

[via NotebookItalia]
Posted by at 7:46 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)