Sunday, December 30, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Android Overload: Apple vs Samsung, US Cellular Galaxy Note 2 gets Multi Window, extended battery for Galaxy S3 and more

Posted: 29 Dec 2012 06:19 PM PST

A new year is right around the corner, so let’s welcome it with what could be the very last Android Overload of the year. Before you go out and party your guts out, make sure to check out what has been going on in the Android universe and give these articles a read.

  • ITC wants Samsung to post a bond of 88% of its U.S. smartphone sales due to Apple patent case [FOSS Patents]
  • Apple withdraws Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini from patent case [Reuters]
  • Samsung announces 1.1 million square foot R&D center for Silicon Valley [Android Community]
  • Samsung Galaxy S3 extended battery to be available January 5th [All About Samsung]
  • LG Optimus G receives Carbon Free certification [Unwired View]
  • US Cellular Galaxy Note 2 gets update with Multi Window support [US Cellular]
  • South Korea to ban poen and profanity on teenagers’ smartphones [Newsis]
  • Lenovo ThinkPad Helix swings through the FCC with AT&T-native LTE [Engadget]

Foursquare updating privacy policy, will start sharing more of your info

Posted: 29 Dec 2012 02:34 PM PST

Information is one of the most valuable assets in the era of communications. This is the reason why so many internet-based companies strive to get as much information from their users as possible. It is also why many times their services are so affordable (or free) – they get some good cash out of your info. But we tend to draw the line at a certain point, and the best thing any company can do is being transparent about their privacy policy. Foursquare is accomplishing just that by creating their “Privacy 101” page.

This is an easier-to-read version of their full Privacy Policy. It is shorter and explained in a much simpler tone, making it simpler to go over and understand. But a brief, simpler read won’t exactly make people happy. Foursuare is planning to update their privacy policy, and your information won’t exactly be becoming more private.

Starting January 28, Foursquare will be changing two main things: your full name will be displaying your full names and businesses will see more of their customers’ info (for more than 3 hours).

1. We will now display your full name. Currently, Foursquare sometimes shows your full name and sometimes shows your first name and last initial ("John Smith" vs. "John S."). For instance, if you search for a friend in Foursquare, we show their full name in the results, but when you click through to their profile page you don't see their last name. In the original versions of Foursquare, these distinctions made sense. But we get emails every day saying that it’s now confusing. So, with this change, full names are going to be public. As always, you can alter your 'full name' on Foursquare at https://foursquare.com/settings.

2. A business on Foursquare will be able to see more of their recent customers. Currently, a business using Foursquare (like your corner coffee shop) can see the customers who have checked in in the last three hours (in addition to the most recent and their most loyal visitors). This is great for helping store owners identify their customers and give them more personal service or offers. But a lot of businesses only have time to log in at the end of the day to look at it. So, with this change, we’re going to be showing them more of those recent check-ins, instead of just three hours worth. As always, if you’d prefer not to permit businesses to see when you check into their locations going forward, you can uncheck the box under 'Location Information' at https://foursquare.com/settings/privacy.

People are still hyped up over Instagram’s recent change in their TOS, which would allow them to sell your images for advertising. Instagram/Facebook had to revert to their older TOS to keep users happy, and the social network is even confronting a class action lawsuit. Of course, these changes are not as drastic as Instagram’s.

We would go as far as giving props to Foursquare because there is a solution for every possibly negative change. You can simply edit your full name if you don’t want it readily available to everyone, or stop businesses from seeing your information by simply checking a box under the Location Information section. Foursquare is handling privacy concerns much better.

If you want to give the privacy policy a quick read, you can go ahead and check out their Privacy 101 page. It is not really much shorter than the regular Privacy Policy document, though, so I would spend a few more minutes and get more informed. That is if I were that worried – by now we should all understand that using all these services comes with a price. After all, Google probably knows more about us than most of our friends and family do.

But what do you guys think? Are these upcoming Privacy Policy updates something to worry about?

Meet my friend Andru, the cutest USB charger in the world

Posted: 29 Dec 2012 12:16 PM PST

This image has no alt text

Christmas has come and gone and if you have friends or family in other cities/states/countries, you’ve probably received a few gifts after the fact. This was the case for me when a good friend of mine was kind enough to send me the single greatest gift ever. His name is Andru and a few days ago he showed up on my doorstep. Let me introduce you to him.

Andru is a universal USB charger in the shape of everyone’s favorite mascot, Android’s “Bugdroid.” As an Android fanboy, you probably can’t get enough of this little guy and whether he’s on your shirt, car, or phone. A USB charger is the final component to complete and total Android fandom.

Build quality

Now, before you write off Andru as some cheaply manufactured, 3rd rate charger, upon closer inspection you’ll find that Andru is as premium a USB charger as money can buy. The soft touch finish gives Andru a smooth feel and antennae are made of a flexible rubber. Andru’s Ample 1A output means there’s enough output here for a wide variety of devices. Even the USB cable itself was given special attention, constructed with a strong rubber material and accented with matching colored tips. As a bonus, his light up eyes make a great night light. I’d dare you to find something of this quality outside of an official OEM charger.

Bonus: He’s alive

The best part about Andru is he doubles as an actual Android figurine (although not for children). His arms move, and matching stand allow him to be displayed on your desk. This makes Andru more than just a USB charger — he’s your smartphone’s best friend. Andru’s maker, Gen, has made Andru available in 3 colors: classic green, black with red eyes (perfect for Droid devices), and albino white (compliments a white Samsung device perfectly).

Value

There’s no question: at $25 Andru is definitely more expensive than your run of the mill generic USB charger. But that makes sense with the amount of thought and attention to detail put into Andru. Then again, it’s nothing more than you’d pay for an official OEM USB charger from your phone’s manufacturer. When it comes to buying for myself, the frugal buyer in me would more than likely go with some cheapy $.99 cent charger on eBay. But as a gift, therein lies the difference. As a gift, I wouldn’t think twice about buying one of these for an Android friend. And I know, for a fact, they’d love it.

There is a slight downside to consider when adopting an Andru. Bigger devices like the Galaxy Note 2 require a bit more output from a charger (up to 2A). This means Andru could take a little longer to charge larger devices than when using a stock OEM charger. Still, when it comes to battery health, a slower charge could keep your phone holding a charge for longer over time.

If you’d like to buy Andru either for yourself or a loved one, all colors are available via the links below.

Andru (Green)

Andru (Black)

Andru (White)

 

ZTE targets the iPhone and Galaxy S3 – Will the Grand S or Nubia Z5 be their weapon of choice?

Posted: 29 Dec 2012 11:35 AM PST

This image has no alt text

A few days ago we showed you guys a few images of the ZTE Grand S, a sexy new offering from the Chinese manufacturer with a spec sheet that would make even the highest-end of smartphones blush. Said to be shown off at CES in just a few weeks, the Grand S will come equipped with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of multitasking RAM, high-res 13MP camera, and a next-gen 5-inch 1080p full HD display. Impressive? You betcha, especially coming from a company who’s mostly known around these parts for their low-end hardware.

When we showed you a glimpse of the device yesterday, the question many of our readers had was simply: will this device even hit stateside? Well, perhaps the Wall Street Journal‘s interview with ZTE Executive Vice President He Shiyou can shed a little light on the subject. According to He, ZTE isn’t satisfied with their current 5% market share in the US, and they’re looking to go head-to-head with Apple and Samsung for title of the world’s top 3 smartphone brands. World wide, ZTE ships 7.5 million smartphones, just 4.2% shy of Apple’s market share.

In the interview, Shiyou expects that the US will be the key to their success with hopes that it will soon become their #1 source of revenue. Of course, these are words we’ve heard before. It was in January of this year ZTE made similar statements, and the most we saw from them stateside were devices like the Sprint Flash and Sprint Fury.

So, just how can ZTE hope to compete against high-end devices like the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3? Well, the ZTE Grand S could be just the device to take ‘em to the top (or at least the #3 spot). Of course, we know a handset maker can only get so far without the blessing of the US’ top for carriers. ZTE is well aware of this and one of their priorities will be working on improving their relationship with our carriers to become a “strategic partner.”

There’s also the ZTE’s new Nubia sub-brand in which we saw the wonderfully spec’d Nubia Z5 officially announced just a few days ago. You may have noticed carriers like Sprint tend to rebrand ZTE’s devices as their own, and while we can’t be sure if it’s because of brand unfamiliarity with consumers or perhaps the company’s shaky past with the US government, perhaps Nubia can get them past all that. With cutting edge design and high-end hardware, Nubia seems like the perfect brand for ZTE to swoop in and become successful in the US. If you’ve seen the hardware specs on the Nubia Z5, you probably want the device to come stateside as much as I do.

We’ll have to wait and see what 2013 has in store for ZTE, with their showing at CES giving us a first glimpse at what they may have planned. In the crowded smartphone market, we could always use one more Android OEM to shake things up and ZTE/Nubia looks like they could be the ones to do just that. Anyone else excited at the prospect of ZTE Grand S or Nubia Z5 coming stateside?

More leaked images give us an even better look at the 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 09:18 PM PST

This image has no alt text

With the Galaxy Note 2 in its sights, the massive 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate is showing up again today in a handful of leaked pics. It was “leaked” yesterday by Huawei themselves but we only got a glimpse at the front of the device as it dwarfed Huawei Chief Richard Yu’s hands.

Tonight we are finally able to get a good look at the back of the device, which looks very similar to its smaller sibling, the Huawei Ascend D2. The most notable difference being in the finish Huawei is going with the Mate, looking aluminum in appearance. Other than that, there’s nothing too impressive or terrible looking about the device, although the smashed HTC One X-esque camera is a bit of an eye-sore.

As a refresher, the Huawei Ascend Mate is expected to carry a heft set of specs under the hood like a quad-core CPU, 4,000mAh battery 2GB of RAM and of course, it’s formidable 1080p full HD 6.1-inch display. Of course, we should get a much better look at the device when it’s unveiled at CES in just a few short weeks. So far, how’s the Mate looking to you?

[UnwiredView]
Posted by at 8:57 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)