Android Phone Fans |
- Bad Guy Google? Acer Cancels Launch Of Non-Android Device After Pressure From Google
- Critter Escape No Longer Amazon Exclusive – Now Available In The Play Store
- Sony giving away free headphones and movies with NSZ-GS7 Google TV box
- Game Genome Project looks to deliver game suggestions using the very “DNA” of what you’re looking for
- Sprint and Samsung officially announce the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE; September 16th for $100
- Google Wallet usage more than doubled after adding support for all credit cards
- LG to show us how to “live without boundaries” September 19th
- Watch along as iPhone fans mistake the iPhone 4S for the iPhone 5 [IRONY/VIDEO]
- NYC Phandroids: Verizon Event Tonight For Evolution 2.0 Store Grand Opening
- FCC filing shows AT&T LTE support for Tegra 3-powered HTC One X+
- Sony Xperia T makes the journey to the FCC
- Sprint Asks: Is the Galaxy S3 the World’s Best Phone? [POLL]
- The Woz weighs in on Apple-Samsung patent war: “I hate it”
- Ford’s 11,000 cars sold highlights potential of mobile advertising
- SouthernLINC Wireless to receive low-end Motorola XT626
| Bad Guy Google? Acer Cancels Launch Of Non-Android Device After Pressure From Google Posted: 13 Sep 2012 06:04 PM PDT It was announced a few nights ago that Acer would release a new device running the Linux-based Aliyun OS developed by Alibaba for China. Dow Jones reported today that this didn’t sit too well with Google who — according to an Acer representative – told Acer they would “terminate its Android-related cooperation and other technology licensing with our partner.” It’s this strong language that caused the last minute shutting down of an Acer unveiling event, leaving the press who were to attend the event scratching their heads. Acer is still talking it over with Google and would like to go through with releasing an Aliyun OS device for the Chinese market, but it’s up in the air at this point. In reaction to the news, Alibaba was quoted by CNET today saying, “we respect and understand our partner’s decision to postpone the introduction of the phone, and are dismayed by the impact this dispute has had on our partner.” Google has long had a reputation for having a lax relationship with its Android partners, letting them slice and hack up their OS to suit their tastes (and motives). This marks the first we’ve heard of Google playing hardball with OEM’s and we have to admit, sounds very unlike Google who’s seemingly okay with manufacturers releasing devices with rival OS’s (Windows Phone 8) around the world. That being said, something sound fishy about all this and we’ll have to wait for Google to issue a statement to hear their side of the story. For those interested, I’ve included a quick video showing off the mobile OS that allegedly has Google in a tizzy. I admit, it doesn’t look half bad but maybe that’s because it’s essentially a fork of Android (can even run Android apps natively).
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| Critter Escape No Longer Amazon Exclusive – Now Available In The Play Store Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:12 PM PDT After a brief stint as an Amazon Appstore exclusive, Kiz Studios’ Critter Escape is now officially available in Google’s Play Store for Android gamers to enjoy. The game is an interesting take on a stealth adventure. Players take control of a small Minion-like character (ala Despicable Me) who’s found himself kidnapped by some evil corporation for testing purposed. It’s up to you to guide the little guy out of the labs, using a variety of stealth tactics and powerups. Controls are a little different that many are probably used to when gaming on their smartphone. You can go the traditional virtual d-pad route, or choose to draw a path onscreen that the minion will follow. Some of Critter Escape’s features include:
The production level of this game is top notch. Characters are well animated and there’s a fun comic styled story line you can follow along with. The best part is the game is offered free of charge in the Play Store. Give it a download and let me know what you think. [Via: DroidGamers Thanks, guys!]
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| Sony giving away free headphones and movies with NSZ-GS7 Google TV box Posted: 13 Sep 2012 03:21 PM PDT It looks like Sony needs to move some units of its $199.99 Google TV set-top box, and they’re looking to do so by providing some free accessories and content with your purchase. For starters, you’ll get a decent pair of headphones for which to listen to all the music you can handle. These won’t be the best pair of cans on the market, but hey — it’s free. They’ll also be giving users some free movies — 3 to be exact — should they decide they want to go the Sony route for their Google TV. You’ll have 15 different movies to choose from, too, so even if they don’t have exactly what you want you can at least choose something that you think might fit your interests. The headphones would come with the Google TV box, and the movies will be available for download once checkout is complete. Just use the code YOUTUBEFAN at checkout and you should be on your way. Be sure to read our review of the device here, and let us know if these goods are enough to get you to drop $200 on the thing. [Sony via GTVSource]
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| Posted: 13 Sep 2012 03:02 PM PDT App and game discovery tools have been trying to “get it right” since before I can remember. Even with Google’s nice strides to improve recommendation in the Play Store, some companies believe it still isn’t good enough. One of those companies is making something called the Game Genome Project. So, if you didn’t know what a genome is:
So apply that to the make-up of a game. Games have certain “DNA” or properties about them: it can be 2D or 3D, it can use touchscreen controls, tilting, or a gamepad. It can be a racing game, RPG, shooting game — you name it. Well, much like the Music Genome Project to help people discover the exact type of music they’re looking for using musical tones, rhythm, themes, and more, the Game Genome Project will let you look for games using the same type of criteria.
They’re calling their tool the “Blender,” and that name does good work to illustrate what, exactly, you’re getting. It’ll blend all the different elements of a game you want, and out pops a game or several games that would be perfect for you based on that exact search. The Game Genome Project is launching this October on Best Apps Market, but you can already try it out over on their site to see the exciting recommendation tool in action. I’ll just say that I absolutely can’t wait for its arrival.
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| Sprint and Samsung officially announce the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE; September 16th for $100 Posted: 13 Sep 2012 12:57 PM PDT Samsung and Sprint have just announced the forthcoming availability of the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE. It’s going to come in as a mid-range device that should house enough power for those who don’t need to control the world with their smartphones. It’ll debut with its 4 inch display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor alongside an attractive $100 price point. It’ll also feature a 5 megapixel camera capable of shooting HD video, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and NFC support. For software, you can expect Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with TouchWiz. You can expect to find this device for sale in Sprint stores and online this Sunday, September 16th. Read on for full press details.
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| Google Wallet usage more than doubled after adding support for all credit cards Posted: 13 Sep 2012 12:47 PM PDT Google’s commerce blog has posted an article to help their retail and banking partners provide a better Google Wallet experience for their customers, and while much of that is of little concern to you and I they dropped a little nugget of information. Google Wallet activity has apparently more than doubled since Google has given users the ability to use any major credit card and debit card with the service. It’s not surprising, really, but it does seem to show that more people were interested in having their credit cards tied directly to the service instead of having to go through a prepaid card element. Google’s done away with the prepaid cards now, and it looks like things couldn’t turn out any better for them. Have any of you started using Google Wallet more since they’ve added support for more vendors?
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| LG to show us how to “live without boundaries” September 19th Posted: 13 Sep 2012 11:52 AM PDT It looks like LG’s looking to drop something big son. They’ve started issuing press invites for an event set to take place in New York September 19th. It’ll be a joint event with Qualcomm, and their goal will be to show us how we can live without boundaries. They’re no doubt teasing a phone, and we have strong reason to believe it’s going to be the LG Optimus G. The device has been hyped to no end by LG for other markets and to think it won’t eventually make its way to the United States is a bit foolish. LG has a lot of ground to make up after a disappointing streak as of late, and they feel like the Optimus G will be the device to turn the tide. We’re expecting the Optimus G to feature a 4.7 inch display, Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13 megapixel 1080p HD camera, and more. The specs sound like they promise to turn the tech world upside down, but it’ll be the device’s build quality and software that should determine whether or not LG is on the right path. Circle back on September 19th as we look to bring you more details straight from New York.
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| Watch along as iPhone fans mistake the iPhone 4S for the iPhone 5 [IRONY/VIDEO] Posted: 13 Sep 2012 11:12 AM PDT Much was made about Apple’s remarks regarding consumer confusion at retail. According to them, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Tab devices looked so similar to the iPhone and iPad that they’d mistakenly buy Samsung over the latter. No one has really tested this theory yet, but Jimmy Kimmel took to the streets to see if iPhone users would be able to tell the difference between an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5. He walks around with an iPhone 4S and tells people that it’s an iPhone 5 — they foolishly believe him, of course. A couple of the unfortunate victims even tried comparing it to their own iPhone 4S and noted how much lighter, thinner, and faster it was. I’m sure there were more people Kimmel talked to that weren’t as naive as those in the video, but it’s a funny example of how consumer confusion doesn’t come from the products — it comes from the consumers. Crazy, huh? Watch along above. [via iSource]
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| NYC Phandroids: Verizon Event Tonight For Evolution 2.0 Store Grand Opening Posted: 13 Sep 2012 09:46 AM PDT Verizon has opened its first Evo 2.0 store, a retail experience that looks to change the game among America’s major carriers. Think of it as the Apple store, except this is for all things Verizon and is a lot more exciting than the usual, rather boring corporate store experience. It will be located in Grand Central Station in New York City It’s the first store of its type in America, and Verizon’s celebrating with a smash-mouth grand opening ceremony. Starting today, September 13th, Verizon will be offering live performances, refreshments, exclusive offers, and more. For starters, Pentatonix, an a-cappella group from The Sing-Off, will be performing at the location from 4pm to 4:30pm today. It’s the “pre-ceremony” of sorts, but tomorrow calls for even more fun — especially if you’re a New York Giants fans. The goings-on begin from 12-6, and here are all the things you can look forward to. From 1-3pm Verizon will have the Lombardi trophy that the Giants won in Super Bowl 46 on display, and you can get close enough to take some nice photos with it. We imagine it’ll be surrounded by glass or something, but that’s more than understandable. There will also be free food and refreshments, including some nice baked goods from Crumbs Bake Shop, WXRK 92.3 NOW FM will be on-hand to provide live entertainment, and those who visit the store between September 14th-30th will be eligible for some exclusive offers that no others can get. It’s an interesting move by Verizon, but one that is no doubt welcome. Big Red’s attempt to streamline the sales and support of their retail presence is something that you might not think you need, but something you’ll probably appreciate once you visit. Verizon will be able to show you how their devices can help your life in a more meaningful way. They’ll also be able to offer better in-store workshops to help people learn how to get the most out of their devices and services. See if you can’t clear some time during your lunch period today and tomorrow to check it out. Read on for full press details.
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| FCC filing shows AT&T LTE support for Tegra 3-powered HTC One X+ Posted: 13 Sep 2012 09:27 AM PDT We’ve heard plenty about a potential HTC One X+ to the point that there is no doubt the device exists. Further proof comes in the form of an FCC filing, though few details are provided about the handset. Rumor has the phone shipping with an upgraded Tegra 3 chipset clocked up to 1.7GHz, and if that holds true it will be the first version of the device in the US to feature both a quad-core processor and 4G LTE. Just about the only thing to be gleaned from the FCC report is that the phone carries LTE support for AT&T bands 4 and 17 as well as bands 2 and 5. We’ve heard that Tegra 3-powered devices with LTE would launch before the end of the year, and it looks like the One X+ is right on track.
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| Sony Xperia T makes the journey to the FCC Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:45 AM PDT En route to a release later this fall, the Sony Xperia T has made a pitstop at the FCC to gain the governing bodies approval. The phone, which was unveiled at IFA earlier this month, is shown stripped and shelled, giving us a real insiders look at the device. Pardon the pun. What we do know is that the version we see here is not the one potentially headed for AT&T. The filing reveals pentaband HSPA+/MTUS support but there is no sign of LTE, making the most likely stop T-Mobile, if it makes it there at all. Not every handset reviewed by the FCC gets a proper American release, after all. Given that a version of the device with AT&T branding has surfaced and the history of AT&T releasing Sony’s Xperia phones, we still say there is more than a good chance we’ll get the T on Ma Bell’s network. The phone launches on October 1st in the UK. US release details haven’t been announced.
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| Sprint Asks: Is the Galaxy S3 the World’s Best Phone? [POLL] Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT Back in June we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S3 on Sprint (watch the video below), the latest device in a series of epic Galaxy smartphones, and Kevin Krause concluded, “Consider us impressed.” Even after yesterday’s highly anticipated iPhone 5 announcement, Phandroid readers overwhelmingly picked the Galaxy S3 as the better of the two devices. And it wasn’t even close (click and scroll down to view poll). Make no mistakes… the Galaxy S3 is the real deal. But is it the best phone on Sprint? Is it the best phone in the world? Sprint’s hoping you’ll once again watch and read our review of the Sprint Galaxy S3 and decide for yourself. Then vote below. (This post is sponsored by Sprint, check out their Galaxy S3 at Sprint.com!)
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| The Woz weighs in on Apple-Samsung patent war: “I hate it” Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:23 AM PDT While catching up with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to get his reaction to the iPhone 5, Bloomberg also wanted to get the tech icons take on the recent ruling out of a California courtroom that found Samsung guilty of infringing upon several Apple patents. Years removed from working with the company, the Woz offered a candid take, saying, “I hate it.” He continued, “I don’t agree with it,” questioning the validity of the patents. “Very small things,” he said, “I don’t call that innovative.” Wozniak’s opinion is that the decision of the court will be overturned upon further review, and he hopes for a world where tech patents are exchanged freely in an effort to improve software and hardware as a whole. And, in case you were wondering, while Woz has been known to carry an Android device or two in his pocket, he has every intention to pick up the new iPhone, saying Apple took some “important steps” in advancing the latest iteration of their flagship device. [via Bloomberg]
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| Ford’s 11,000 cars sold highlights potential of mobile advertising Posted: 13 Sep 2012 07:16 AM PDT As smartphone and tablet users, we spend a lot of our time trying to avoid the display ads that often crowd our mobile screens. Just look at the recent stir that was caused when Amazon revealed that all new members of the Kindle Fire family of tablets would feature “special offers” as a default part of the user experience. For the retailer, the built-in display ads are a means of subsidizing tablet pricing. For the consumer, they can be a real nuisance. Taking our inherent dislike of mobile advertising into account, it is easy to see how one might write off display ads in apps and on the mobile web as inefficient and unsuccessful. But consider a figure provided by Ford: for Q1 of this year, the auto maker says the sale of some 11,000 cars can be traced directly to the influence of ads within a smartphone browser. The number is a mere fraction of the total number of cars Ford sold in Q1, and even if the figure remained steady for the remainder of the year it would only account for a drop in the proverbial bucket, but it highlights the potential of mobile ads, specifically highly targeted ads. Simon Wajcenberg, CEO of Clash Group, sese the mobile device as a means of consolidating the research that normally goes into purchasing a new car. Typically, a TV commercial would get a potential buyer interested in a specific model of car. That potential buyer would head to the internet to research the car. The buyer would then likely phone local dealerships to get a better idea of what was available. With targeted smartphone ads, the entire process can center on a single device. In the case of Ford, ads geared towards males were placed on mobile sites such as ESPN. Once the seed is planted, a consumer can research vehicles directly on their phone and dial out to dealerships just as easily. Better yet, they can locate a dealership on Google Maps and drive over to see the car in person. Most have a misconception that display ads are not succeeding if users are not clicking on them to be redirected to sponsored content. This model may work for lower value items, but the example of Ford demonstrates how display ads can work to push big-ticket purchases as well. It’s a definitive shift in the way consumers conduct their shopping. 11,000 cars might not seem like much, but that’s 11,000 cars that may not have been sold 10 years ago.
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| SouthernLINC Wireless to receive low-end Motorola XT626 Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:27 AM PDT Regional service provider SouthernLINC Wireless looks to add a new entry-leve Android handset from Motorola this fall. Named only by its model number, the Motorola XT626 will hit the carrier’s shelves in November. The XT626 has been previously released in South Korea as the Double V, where it featured dual-mode iDEN and 3G support. The push-to-talk features look to carry over to SouthernLINC. Documents provided to us by a tipster suggest the phone will be marketed as a followup to the Motorola Titanium that SouthernLINC currently hosts on its network. The handset features a 4.3-inch display, 8MP camera, and 1.2GHz processor. It does ship with Android Gingerbread on board, and any plans for an update to ICS or Jelly Bean are uncertain at this time. No word on pricing, but if pricing on the Titanium is any indication the XT626 could go for as low as $69.99. [Thanks, Matt!]
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