Friday, August 24, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

New Samsung Store Opens In Australia – Yet Another Example of Apple Envy?

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 05:11 PM PDT

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The jury is still out on the Apple vs Samsung patent trial leaving the fate of the 2 companies’ wallets hanging in the balance. Not one to slow down, Samsung is going full steam ahead with their plans to open their own Samsung-branded retail stores around the globe. We saw their first North American retail store open up in Canada a few weeks back, now Samsung is bringing that same aluminum on wood “where-have-I-seen-this-store-before” vibe to Australia.

Okay, okay. I get it. Apple didn’t invent (despite what they’d have you believe) nor patent this storefront style. They simply made it iconic. If I could be a fly on the wall, I’d love to see how many grandmas and soccer moms casually walk in asking for the new iPad — only to have a Samsung “Smart Tutor” in a bright blue shirt point them into the direction of the new Galaxy Note 10.

But is Samsung really that crazy? Yeah… crazy like a fox.

[Samsung]

 

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note already hitting End of Life?

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 03:33 PM PDT

Some disturbing news has just tricked in, folks: the Samsung Galaxy Note on T-Mobile is already close to reaching end of life status. After being incredibly late to the party following a long string of delays, T-Mobile finally released the Galaxy Note in early August.

But the timing was just horrible: not only did the Galaxy S3 steal any thunder the Galaxy Note had, it was threatened by the impending launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Those two variables alone are enough to spell disaster for Magenta’s 5.3 inch smartphone.

The device has hit backorder status, and for some people the device is even no longer visible on their website. It appears they’ll be trying to burn through any remaining inventory they have to usher the device out of the door and forget about it like an ugly red-headed stepchild.

So does this mean they’re looking at the Samsung Galaxy Note 2? It’s tough to say. Samsung could be pushing for an “all carriers” launch like they did with the Samsung Galaxy S3, and if that goes down then it’s safe to say T-Mobile will be invited to the party.

Although Samsung’s expected to announce the second iteration of the Galaxy Note by the end of this month we probably won’t get information on US availability until a bit further down the line, so sit back and let the chips fall where they may. [via Android Police]

Early “HTC Proto” test shots leaked

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 02:49 PM PDT

HTC is just about due to churn out another round of devices for the holiday season, and The Verge has outed a device which may lead the charge. It’s being called the “HTC Proto,” and it looks like HTC will position this thing to dominate the mid-range segment of its lineup.

It’ll come to town with a 4 inch display, a 5 megapixel camera, a 1GHz dual-core processor, and the shots show that it may come with Beats audio. Recent rumors suggest HTC may be moving away from their Beats efforts soon, and if that’s true then this being an early press shot would explain the logo’s presence.

But all that aside, it looks like it will be a decent device that should hit the market at an affordable price point. Have a quick look above.

Motorola and Verizon to introduce DROID M at September 5th presser?

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 01:57 PM PDT

We’re fully expecting Motorola and Verizon to reveal the highly anticipated Motorola DROID RAZR HD at their upcoming joint press conference September 5th, but new rumors suggest they’ll be bringing two devices to the party.

It’s supposedly called the Motorola DROID M, and it will come with a 1.5GHz S4 processor, 4G LTE radios, and NFC. Judging by the photo we could be looking at a 4 inch device, though it’s always tough to judge scale in a photo without anything to compare it to.

The suggestion that it’ll have qHD resolution would fit the 4 inch mark, though there are conflicting reports out there suggesting this will come with an HD display. We’d be more inclined to believe the former considering this would interfere with the high-end space that the DROID RAZR HD is slated to fill.

It doesn’t even sound like a mid-range device based on the specs we know, but it’s said to be coming in at a nice price point of $150. We still have roughly two weeks until this all goes down so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens in New York. Phandroid will be in attendance so be sure to come back around for the latest news, hands-on, and more straight from the event. [BGR]

Mark Zuckerberg reportedly forcing Facebook’s Android team to use app and see how bad it is

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 12:35 PM PDT

It’s no secret that the Facebook app for Android hasn’t been the most thrilling experience in the world. While their app is a lot better than what it used to be (and believe you me, it stunk), there’s still a ton of room for improvement.

But for all the critics there are on the Google Play Store ranting about the app’s shortcomings, the most important critic of all has reportedly said “enough is enough.” According to Business Insider, Facebook is so fed up with its subpar Android app that he is forcing its developers to ditch their iOS devices in favor of Android devices.

They apparently want their developers to suffer the same nonsense Android users do every day, and perhaps then they’ll come together and get serious about offering an exceptional experience.

Yours truly has flown the coop on the official Facebook app in favor of alternatives like Friendcaster long ago, and until I see substantial improvement I don’t see myself coming back anytime soon. You can imagine the intrigue this story stirred within me, and I’m sure it’s stirring within you all the same.

If this story happens to be true then we should definitely be headed for greener pastures before too long. If you haven’t heard the news, the iOS version of Facebook was updated today to rebuild the app from the ground up.

That means they got rid of the HTML5-ridden mess and decided to make full use of iOS’ native user interface elements. Having used the update on my iPad I can say without a shadow of doubt that change was for the better.

Hopefully they are looking to do the same for their Android app. Oh, and let’s not forget that they don’t even have a tablet interface yet — we’re going to want that whenever you can get it to us, Zuck. What do you think of the current Facebook experience? Let us know in the comments section below!

Amazon issues invites to press for upcoming September 6th event

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 11:44 AM PDT

Amazon seems to have something brewing in the coming weeks as we have just received an invite to attend a press conference they’re hosting. They’ll be hosting us in a rather large Santa Monica, CA venue September 6th at 10:30am Pacific, and with virtually no hints on the invitation itself we aren’t given a clue as to what we’ll be seeing.

But the Phandroid crew getting an invite is a hint itself: there’s obviously something Android related being shown. Amazon began their Android endeavors by opening up the Amazon Appstore and offering the 7 inch multimedia device known as the Kindle Fire.

If you don’t remember, Amazon was said to have a couple more devices in the pipeline when the Kindle Fire was originally rumored. We’d been led to believe that they would be looking to bring a 10 inch option to market, and that they might even look into bringing an Amazon-branded smartphone.

Those rumors haven’t quite panned out just yet, but they were never quite put to rest either. It’s possible (and a bit more likely) that we’ll be seeing that 10 inch variant flaunted for all to see and groomed for an early holiday release, but anything could happen.

Another expectation is for Amazon to introduce a refresh to the 7 inch model. We’d love to see something with a camera and SD/microSD card slot, as well as an option for 3G connectivity alongside WiFi. A chipset with a bit more power wouldn’t hurt, though with Amazon likely to focus on keeping costs down we wouldn’t be surprised to see them take a shortcut in that are.

We also wouldn’t be mad at all to see an Amazon smartphone introduced, though those rumors have been a bit less frequent for us to believe they’re ready to tackle the highly competitive phone space.

Whatever it is, we’ll be in Santa Monica to take it all in and bring you an up-close look at what should be a very exciting announcement. Dial it in right back here September 6th for all the live coverage you can handle.

Timer Is A Beautiful Holo Themed App – New Update Brings Jelly Bean Notifications and Dark Theme [Video]

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 11:23 AM PDT

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One of the features you may have noticed lacking from the Jelly Bean experience was a complete absence of of timer functionality in the stock Clock application. As a man who’s been known to fire up a batch of impromptu brownies on occasion, I dived into the Google Play Store and I came back with this treasure. It’s called Timer and as the simple name suggests, minimal is the name of the game.

The developers have constructed one of the most beautiful Holo themed applications I’ve come across in the Play Store. There’s no fluff. No hyper realistic, ultra high-resolution graphics of grandfather clocks or stop watches. Users are simply presented with a dial that can be adjusted to set the desired amount of time. Simple, easy, and to the point. But it’s not just easy on the eyes, Timer gives users the ability to have multiple timers running simultaneously, in case you wanted to take power nap, bake a cake, and remind yourself to pick up the kids in 30 minutes. Timers can also be labeled and saved for later use with the option to back up timers to their Google accounts.

New to the version just updated in the Play Store today is the inclusion of Jelly Bean notifications and an all new dark theme. The Jelly Bean expanded notification lets you pause/resume and end the current timer straight from the notification bar and when collapsed, simply notifies you that you have a timer running. To alleviate concerns of battery drain due to the bright color scheme of the app, the developers have now introduced the option to use a dark theme complete with orange accents looks equally as stunning. I’d love to see an option for more color accents in future versions but it doesn’t take away from anything without.

You can find Timer by Opoloo right now in the Google Play Store for one, simple dollar. If you give it a download, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Play Store]

European RAZR and RAZR MAXX owners now receiving Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 10:54 AM PDT

Our friends across the pond will finally be able to enjoy Ice Cream Sandwich on the Motorola RAZR and RAZR MAXX as it has begun to push out to everyone. The 375MB update will bring everything you already know Ice Cream Sandwich has to offer.

Motorola has offered a new, simplistic user interface to go along with the look and feel of the Holo theme introduced in Honeycomb. Many have said that the new design makes their phone look much nicer and makes it easier to use, so you’ll definitely want to get it for that alone.

Alongside that, Motorola has made improvements to its lock screen. The upgrade is being offered over-the-air, and with 375MB of goods to download you’ll likely want to accept that over WiFi.

Remember that availability is subject to carrier approval, so those who bought theirs through a carrier need not panic if they find that it’s not yet available. Go ahead and check for the upgrade in the settings menu. [via Android Central]

T-Mobile Concord announced as affordable no contract smartphone, retails for $99

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 09:25 AM PDT

T-Mobile just dropped word of a new budget device designed for those wishing to forego an annual contract with the carrier. The T-Mobile Concord is available starting today for only $99.99 with no ties to a service plan other than the carrier’s Monthly4G options or Walmart Family Mobile. The Concord is manufactured by ZTE (a rebranded member of the Blade series, it appears) and features Android 2.3, a 3.5-inch display and 2MP camera.

T-Mobile Expands Its No Annual Contract Android Lineup with the T-Mobile Concord
T-Mobile to offer its most affordable no annual contract Android smartphone for under $100

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Aug. 23, 2012 — T-Mobile USA, Inc., today announced the availability of the T-Mobile® Concord™, T-Mobile's most affordable no annual contract Android™ option for those stepping up to their first smartphone. The Concord will be available to T-Mobile customers through a variety of no annual contract plans, including via T-Mobile Monthly4G™ and Walmart Family Mobile™.

Manufactured by ZTE, the T-Mobile Concord is equipped with the necessary features to keep customers connected with friends and family. The 3G smartphone is powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is ideal for basic Web surfing, searching for a location via Google Maps or accessing favorite social networking sites. Coming in a sleek, midnight blue color finish, the new smartphone features a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display and is equipped with a 2-megapixel camera, making it easy to capture and share memories.

Paired with one of T-Mobile's single-line, Monthly4G no annual contract plans, customers have access to unlimited talk, text and worry-free data that doesn't have a hard cap or result in overage fees, as well as access to T-Mobile's nationwide 4G network. The T-Mobile Concord can also be paired with Walmart's Family Mobile service, a monthly, no-annual-contract wireless plan option for individuals or families, also powered by T-Mobile's nationwide network.

The T-Mobile Concord is expected to be available at Target starting Aug. 26 for $99.99 with a qualifying Monthly4G plan. The T-Mobile Concord is also currently available at Walmart for $99.98 paired with a Walmart Family Mobile no annual contract plan.

DEAD TRIGGER tightens up 1.5.0 release, celebrates with new trailer

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 09:16 AM PDT

Just last week MADFINGER GAMES updated their zombie FPS Dead Trigger to version 1.5.0, which included new arenas, weapons, and items to use as you fight off hoards of the living dead. Today, a much smaller update to version 1.5.1 has gone live to clean up a few bugs found in the prior release. In addition to a few AI bugs, the patch fixes a problem that saw the game crash after the initial loading screen as well as adds in Back button functionality throughout the GUI. Dead Trigger will also now support GamesStop wireless controllers.


As an added bonus, MADFINGER has unleashed a brand new trailer showing off some of the elements added in version 1.5 of Dead Trigger. Check it out above.

Download from Google Play: Dead Trigger

Google Goggles gains support for phones lacking auto-focus in latest update

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 08:32 AM PDT

Google Goggles has been updated today with a selection of improvements, including one that should make owners of lower-tier smartphones quite happy. The app, which was once relegated to devices with auto-focus cameras, now supports phones with fixed focus image snappers. Google has also made object tracking in Goggles’ continuous shooting mode “faster” and “more robust.” The full list of changes is as follows:

  • Search-from-camera no longer requires search history to be enabled.
  • Faster, more robust object tracking in "continuous" mode
  • When scanning a QR code that has a URL encoded:
    • The thumbnail of a page is shown
    • URL is checked against a malicious URL blacklist
    • More complete barcode coverage
  • Support for non-autofocus cameras
  • When Goggles fails to find an exact match – search for products that look similar.

Head on over to the Google Play link below to snag the latest version of Goggles. But I will leave you with a question: who actually uses Goggles in their daily lives to perform visual searches?

Download from Google Play: Google Goggles

Ice Screen is a 26-inch smart TV powered by Android

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 07:31 AM PDT

An interesting smart TV concept has emerged from China as the brainchild of Tencent and TCL Multimedia. The Ice Screen is an Android-powered television that looks more like an oversized tablet at 26 inches. The display resolution tops out at 1366×768 and is your window to web surfing, videos, music, and games. Internally the Ice Screen is powered by a dual-core Cortex A9 CPU at 1GHz with Mali 400 graphics and 4GB RAM. The device sports WiFi, USB, HDMI, and SD card support and is designed to function in both portrait and landscape modes.

Again, the concept isn’t one we have seen executed in this manner previously, foregoing the big screen media experience for something that functions closer to a personal computer with a TV tuner. The hardware itself look well-executed, and remote control via an Android app rounds out the features. No word if this will ever land anywhere other than China, but it will be available forthe approachable price of ¥1,999  (~$315).

[via Engadget]

Android Overload: Loads of Apps Updated In The Play Store, Final Fantasy Legends Set For Aug 31st Release, and More

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 07:22 AM PDT

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Greetings, Phandroids. It’s time for another episode of the Android Overload. Because we didn’t want to bombard our front page with nothing but app updates, we stashed a good portion of them here for you to sift through. There’s a few other news bits that also didn’t quite make the cut, so check those out as well.

  • Google Play Magazines updated in the Play Store with better support for Nexus 7 and Jelly Bean devices. [Play Store]
  • Facebook updated in the Play Store. Now 20MB’s, adds emoji’s, faster picture uploading and other fixes/enhancements. [Play Store]
  • Flickr updated in the Play Store. Refreshed UI, camera selection, HTML support, pull to refresh, and bug fixes. [Play Store]
  • Reddit Sync updated in the Play Store. Brings Jelly Bean notifications, comment options, and bug fixes. Tablet version coming soon. [Play Store]
  • Adobe Connect Mobile updated in the Play Store. Adds loads of new features and options. [Play Store]
  • Chameleon Launcher for Tablets updated in the Play Store. Performance improvements, new widgets, and bug fixes. [Play Store | Chameleon]
  • Final Fantasy Legends coming to Android in Japan on August 31st. Will be split into 5 chapters. Let’s hope for speedy localization. [Andriasang]
  • Canadian Motorola RAZR will see Ice Cream Sandwich in early September. [MobileSyrup]
  • FTC clears Facebook’s purchase of Instagram. [Electronista]
  • Xiaomi gathers 1.3 million pre-orders for souped up Mi-One S phone. 200,000 will begin shipping August 23rd. [Engadget]
  • Humble Bundle for Android 3 adds 4 new games to the mix. World of Goo, Osmos, Anomaly, and Edge. [HumbleBundle]
  • Google TV heading to Germany next month. Without Neflix or Hulu, what will there be to watch? [GigaOM]
  • Google Canada Blog now officially open for business. [GoogleCanada]

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 receiving software update

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 07:12 AM PDT

We’ve received several reports this morning that the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is receiving its first over-the-air update. Registering at around 50MB, the update likely looks to provide little more than a few post-launch tweaks and bug fixes to keep the user experience smooth, but we don’t have much information on the exact details at this time. The software update brings the Note 10.1′s software build to IMM76D.N8013UEALH2 and keeps the slate at Android 4.0.4.

[Thanks, Eric, Frank, and the rest that sent this in!]

Verizon takes highest ranks in national J.D. Power network quality rankings, earns top honors in five of six regions

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 06:40 AM PDT

J.D. Power and Associates just wrapped up a round of surveys to determine which networks provide the highest quality experience for their customers. Surveying wireless subscribers across the country between January and June 2012, Verizon received the top ranking in five of six national regions, including the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Southeast, West, and Southwest. In the North Central region Verizon didn’t top the J.D. Power list, but still scored north of the industry average and outranked three national carriers.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study asked customers to rank networks based on several factors, including experiences with wireless voice, text messaging, and data usage in an effort to gauge overall carrier performance. The only other carrier to receive top honors was US Cellular, which was the only carrier to perform better than Big Red in the North Central region.

Verizon Communications Inc. : J.D. Power and Associates Ranks Verizon Wireless Highest In Network Quality

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Aug. 23, 2012 — Once again, Verizon Wireless leads the way in network quality, ranking highest in five regions covering 43 states and the District of Columbia in the latest J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study(SM), Volume 2. The company also performed significantly above the industry average in all six regions nationwide.

J.D. Power and Associates measures network quality in terms of voice, text and data usage, including the growing number of 4G LTE data users, among the major U.S. wireless service providers. Verizon Wireless ranked highest in:

  • Northeast Region, which covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
  • Mid-Atlantic Region, which covers Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
  • Southeast Region, which covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
  • West Region, which covers Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa,Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
  • Southwest Region, which covers Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

In the North Central Region, which covers Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, Verizon Wireless scored above the industry average and ranked higher than three national wireless carriers in the study.

“This latest study once again speaks loudly and clearly to the outstanding performance of the Verizon Wireless network in terms of customer satisfaction,” said Nicola Palmer, chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless. “With our 4G LTE high-speed network’s blazing fast speeds and superior nationwide coverage, Verizon Wireless remains committed to providing its customers with the best networks, devices and innovative services.”

Approximately 27,000 wireless subscribers were surveyed by J.D. Power and Associates between January and June 2012 about their experiences with wireless voice, text messaging and data usage based on factors that impact overall carrier performance, including dropped calls, calls not connected on first try, calls with audio problems, failed or late voicemails, lost calls, message transmission failures, late text messages, mobile Web connection errors, excessively slow mobile Web loading, and email connection errors.

Verizon Wireless has invested more than $70 billion since it was formed – more than $6 billion on average every year – to increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services. Verizon Wireless leads the way with America’s largest 4G LTE network, covering more than 75 percent of the U.S. population. Currently available to customers in 371 markets across the country, the company’s 4G LTE network, which offers speeds up to 10 times faster than before, supports a wide array of 4G LTE-enabled devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S® III and DROID INCREDIBLE 4G LTE by HTC.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
Posted by at 7:56 AM

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