Thursday, December 13, 2012

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Google Android News Android Forums

Fuhu Announces The Nabi XD Tablet For Tweens

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:06 AM PST

 

It’s never to early to have kids and especially teenagers exposed to the joys of Android technology and Fuhu realizes that by announcing its Nabi XD tablet. The device is marketed as a tablet that’s fully customizable and has fairly up-to-date specs including a quad-core Tegra 3 chip, 10.1-inch IPS HD display, NFC (!!!) and an astounding 10 hours of expected battery life. The most unique aspect of the tablet is not only the fact that it has Jelly Bean, but it’s got a custom UI called “Kanzi UI”. Kanzi is basically a tiled grid of dynamically updating gadgets, widgets and apps. In addition, users of the tablet can arrange as many gadgets, widgets or apps as they want on the homescreen and even define time or location-based rules that dictate when and where your favorite gadgets show up. So this may be a boon for parents that want to ensure that all of those Facebook & Instagram apps are closed while the kids are studying in their bedrooms and all.

While the tablet won’t quite be ready in time for Christmas, it will be released before the end of the year. The Nabi XD should be available late December in limited release and mid-January nationwide. As far as the specific cost, the 16 GB model will be priced MSRP $249, while the 32 GB will retail for $349. The Pad-folio cover and other accessories will be available mid-January starting from $19.99. You’ll find complete details in the presser once you hit the break.

Fuhu, Inc. Unveils nabi XD: The World's First Android Ultraportable for Tweens at $249 

Fuhu, Inc. defines a new market for tablet users with its nabi XD, positioned as a tween's first tablet with a keyboard dedicated to homework, gaming, social networking and kid-safe browsing

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 12, 2012 – Fuhu, Inc., the leader in tablets made just for kids, today unveiled the new nabi™ XD: an ultraportable tablet that combines the best of a notebook and tablet PC with an amazing 10.1-inch high-definition in-plane-switching (IPS), five-point capacitive touch screen. Positioned to be your tweens' first portable computer, nabi XD features an NVIDIA Tegra 3 4-PLUS-1™ quad-core processor, Android™ 4.1 Jelly Bean, front and back cameras, near field communications (NFC) technology, 10-hours of battery life and the 10.1-inch screen – all for only $249. The nabi XD is a first of its kind, an Android ultraportable tablet with productivity apps, incredible console quality gaming, modified parental controls for browsing and a dynamic and intelligent gadget-based user interface
that adapts based on the time of day and location. 

Featuring the NVIDIA Tegra 3 4-PLUS-1 quad-core processor

nabi XD features a beautiful 10.1-inch IPS 1366×768 HD capacitive touch screen running the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.  The NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with a 5th battery saver core helps extend battery life so that nabi XD can go up to 10 hours between charges.

nabi XD introduces an affordable yet incredibly powerful, ultraportable hybrid tablet and notebook solution with pad-folio and integrated silicone keyboard cover

nabi XD features a sleek aluminum body that mirrors nabi's trademarked flared corner design built for a long a productive life. Fuhu designers and engineers spent countless hours ensuring that each nabi is built with unmatched precision — meticulously thinking through every little detail. The result is a beautiful, thin, light, polished and refined look that feels incredibly strong and durable. Combined with its patent-pending optional pad-folio and integrated silicone keyboard cover that provides a traditional typing feel, nabi XD is your tweens' ultimate first tablet PC.

"Smart" 3-D User Interface

In partnership with Rightware®'s Kanzi® user interface solution (UI), nabi XD is taking UIs to the next level. A tiled grid of dynamically updating gadgets, widgets and apps headlines the new UI. Pin as many gadgets as you like and move them around just the way you want. Define time and location based rules that dictate when and where your favorite gadgets show up. Want news in the morning and games in the evening? Create a rule for that! nabi XD's UI lets you create multiple home screens each with your own layout of widgets, gadgets and apps. nabi XD's home screen gadgets are designed to give you the most relevant information that you want, when you want it. Set rules for your home screens based on GPS locations, Wi-Fi networks and time, allowing you to define which home screen is the most relevant for any situation.

Incredible Gaming Experiences

nabi XD will be the first of the nabi family of tablets to feature NFC technologies. NFC allows you to sync devices simply by touching them together – Great for Bluetooth syncing or sync nabi's exclusive family of 16 figurines with your nabi XD and challenge them to amazing battles while leveling up your unique character. Watch out for the Battle KINABIs™ game and figurines made for nabi XD!

"nabi XD features the most powerful specifications and brilliant display of the nabi tablet family. We are excited about what these new features bring to gaming and content," said Fuhu's CEO Jim Mitchell. "nabi XD represents a real transition in personal portable computing with an introduction of an Android-based productivity and gaming device."

Pricing and Availability

The 10.1-inch nabi XD will be available late December in limited release and mid-January nationwide. The 16 GB model will be priced MSRP $249 and 32 GB for MSRP $349. Pad-folio and numerous other accessories will be available mid-January ranging from MSRP$19.99 and MSRP$89.99.

 

Google pulls Nexus 4 factory images and binaries from its developers site

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 08:01 AM PST

 

Some hawk-eyed hackers noticed something strange this morning: the factory images for the Nexus 4 seem to have disappeared from Google’s developer site. A factory image is a file that allows you to restore your device completely to stock in case something goes wrong while hacking and tinkering with your device. Interestingly, the Nexus 7, Nexus 10, and Galaxy Nexus factory images are all still available to download, indicating that the Nexus 4 factory images were deliberately pulled by Google to make some changes to the core code. Could it be that Google is trying to completely disable the recently discovered 4G antenna? We hope not. It’s anyone’s guess really, what Google is up to. Anyone have any good theories?

Source: Google Developers

YotaPhone Brings One LCD Screen, One E-Ink Screen On One Device

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 07:14 AM PST

 

Is a smartphone that utilizes both a regular LCD screen and an e-ink screen possible? Russian wireless carrier Yota Devices wants to remind you that yes, yes it is possible with its new YotaPhone concept. Under the hood, the smartphone has a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB of RAM, an LTE chip and a 12-megapixel rear camera. However— the real kicker of the device is its two displays— one on the front, one on the back. The front display holds a 4.3-inch 1,280 x 720 (720P) display, while the rear one can display a full e-ink content. It appears the rear display will be best suited for displaying key information tied to a user’s everyday life like appointments, playlists or other things of that nature.

While the concept is indeed interesting, prospective customers will need to go through quite a wait before the device can get in the palms of their hands. The YotaPhone is expected to go on sale in Q3 2013 in Russia, while other markets internationally will see the device sometime after that. More details can be found in the presser once you hit the break.

 

 

Yota Devices

Yota Devices is an independent, private company that produces hardware and software
innovation-focused technology including LTE routers, dongles and modems. The company is
based in Moscow, Russia. The company is now developing a new dual screen smartphone with an electronic paper display on the second screen. The phone will be available for sale in Russia in Q3 2013 and the rest of the world by Q4 2013.

Yota Devices was established in December 2011 as a spin-off from the Yota Group, an
investment group that was focused in the IT and telecom sector. The Yota name has been kept to reflect the excellent brand recognition of the Yota Group and to emphasize that Yota Devices is a consumer-friendly, hardware and software innovator.

Yota Devices believes in a business philosophy strongly focused on innovation around the user experience. Yota Devices has a proven record in enhancing and modifying existing products to optimize customer interaction with their devices.

The company has produced more than 3 million connectivity devices, including modems,
routers and dongles. The company has 6% of the global LTE devices market.

YotaPhone

The idea for our new dual screen smartphone emerged in 2010 from the desire to change the
way users interact with their smartphones. The topic turned to the smartphone industry and
why it is obsessed with specs – bigger screens, more megapixels, lighter weight – rather than improving the user experience.

In September 2010, the initial concept of a smartphone featuring electronic paper display
technology on the second screen was presented to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The
company immediately began working on a prototype and, in 2011, presented the functional
YotaPhone prototype and business case to investors, who quickly realized that the company
was on the path to creating not just a highly competitive and innovative product – the next
generation smartphone – but a new industry trend. They also believed that this totally
product could be the engine for growing a sustainable business that continuously reinvests into new innovations and puts technology to work for users.

YotaPhone was unveiled to the public in December 2012 and production is underway. The
phone will be available for sale in Russia in Q3 2013 and internationally soon after that.

Connectivity Devices

Yota Devices is an experienced developer and provider of fast, reliable and elegantly designed modems, routers and dongles. The first 4G WiMAX products were introduced to the market in 2008. Since then, more than 10 devices have been developed. The latest is Amber and Ruby, the latest generation of multimode (GSM/UMTS/LTE) dongle and portable router and advanced LTE-only multiband dongle.

Key Yota products include:

LTE-only FDD multiband dongle. It was commercially launched on December 2011 in Novosibirsk, Russia, after successful trials earlier that year in Kazan. Today, more than 1 million units have been sold primarily in Russia and Belarus. When introduced, it was the smallest, fastest time to Internet (only 5 seconds after plug in) LTE dongle on the market. It has more than 5 patented features.

LTE/UMTS/GSM dongle simultaneously supporting FDD Bands 1/3/7/20 and TDD 38 unique
9.9mm thickness, seamless over-the-air software update and driver-less operation.

LTE/UMTS/GSM portable router simultaneously supporting FDD Bands 1/3/7/20 and TDD 38.
Featuring electronic paper display, absolutely unique battery lifetime (up to 60 hours active) and patented USB hinge design.

The newest generation of premium multimode dongle and portable router with unique
combination of materials: steel, natural leather and glass. Featuring embedded/cloud sync
memory storage, seamless updates and e-ink display. It is based on the latest MDM9225 by
Qualcomm.

OPPO Launches The Find 5 Smartphone: A Premium Device With A 5-Inch Screen

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 06:25 AM PST

 

If you’ve been looking to snag yourself a smartphone that’s bigger than normal, but find devices like the DROID DNA or Galaxy Note II don’t quite strike your fancy, then OPPO may just have the device for you. The Chinese giant has launched its latest device called the Find 5– a superphone with you guessed it a 5-inch IPS display with 441ppi that’s the most noteworthy feature of the device. In addition, the Find 5 has additional bells and whistles like a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 chip, 2 gigs of RAM and Jelly Bean. While it’s nearly identical to the DROID DNA specifically– there are some other things about the Find 5 that distinguish it from the competition: the 13MP camera and sound output. The 13MP camera supports full HDR photography unlike other smartphones, while the Find 5 offers full support for both Dolby 3D and Dirac HD sound– giving users a cinema-quality sound wherever they go. Very impressive indeed.

The phone may be attractive, but many of you are thinking that the device must come at a princely sum, right? Well the device is expected to have a premium price, but it’s likely going to be far less expensive than the competition at or around $500 for the US and Chinese markets. Oh and OPPO plans a major launch of the Find 5 sometime in early 2013 across select markets— so it just means you won’t need to wait too long for the next great thing. You can find additional details in the presser after the break.

 

Quality Meets Style with the OPPO Find 5 – The Fifth Element Unfolds

OPPO Find 5 Unveiled With 5″ 1080P Screen, 13 Megapixel HDR Camera and More

BEIJING －December 12, 2012 －At the OPPO Find 5 “The Fifth Element” Launch Event held in 798 Art District today, OPPO introduced one of this year’s most mysterious and anticipated mobile products, the OPPO Find 5. The all new, industry leading OPPO Find 5 was announced to an audience of over 500 members of the international press, OPPO fans, developers, and partners, in what marks a spectacular end of year for the mobile industry.

See – like you’ve been blind all along
The OPPO Find 5 features a 5.0″ 1080p IPS screen with a staggering 441 PPI pixel density, allowing you to experience a world of crystal clarity and the most realistic colors. With OGS technology that combines touch sensors with display, colors are more vivid and lifelike, and you’ll feel as if the screen contents are floating on its surface.

Despite its large screen, the OPPO Find 5 is easy to hold thanks to its super slim 3.25mm bezel. When the screen is off, the front becomes a borderless sheet of pure black, mysteriously calming yet satisfying to the eye.

Touch – and your fingers won’t stop
Industrial design has always been one of OPPO’s core strengths. An example is the Find 5 front frame. Although it only weighs a mere 6.3 grams, the front frame alone takes four hours to craft. Starting with a 210 gram piece of stainless steel, it undergoes 12 manufacturing processes, after which it is given a black chrome plating in a 1470 °F (800 °C) vacuum environment. The result from this demanding process not only protects the screen from impact, it also contributes to the Find 5′s amazing look and feel.

The overall design of the Find 5 is minimalist, relying on straight lines and simple shapes that removes distractions, while at the same time being built using the best materials and techniques available, giving OPPO Find 5 a simple and understated, yet refined and premium look and feel.

Cherish and share, the beauty from every journey
On the backside, OPPO Find 5 comes with the most advanced 1/3.06-type 13-megapixel camera sensor available on the market, adept at taking great photos in low light conditions. With market-leading Stacked CMOS technology, it features an f/2.2 aperture, 4-layer coating and blue glass filters. On the front, Find 5 it is fitted with a 1.9-megapixel camera.

OPPO Find 5 is the world’s first smartphone with hardware supported HDR photography and video recording. It redefines smartphone video recording, with its capability of recording video in 120 FPS, five times the speed that the human eye can perceive. Apart from videos being silky smooth in normal playback, they will also be smooth during slow-motion playback and clear during freeze-frames. In addition, the camera on the Find 5 is capable of taking 100 photos at 5 per second with Burst Mode.

OPPO Find 5 will bring you into a new era of wireless sharing. With NFC functionality, gently touching two phones will pair them in less than a tenth of a second, 50 times faster than Bluetooth pairing. OPPO’s NFC SmartTags with preset actions will add simplicity and convenience to your life. Find 5 also supports Wi-Fi Display and DLNA, two technologies that allow you to wirelessly project screen contents onto your television in HD.

Listen, and rhythm will touch your heart
Find 5 comes with the powerful Dolby 3D surround sound technology and the exciting Dirac HD technology, combination of hardware and software usually only found in high-end audio and cinema sound systems. With Dirac, you will clearly hear a difference, and become immersed in music the way the artist originally wanted to express it.

Love, for it is the Fifth Element
OPPO never set out to create the most powerful phone. Internally, we have always said that we create products in the intersection of romance and technology, and Find 5 is a product that OPPO employees worked passionately and relentlessly on. Just like Plato was convinced of quintessence, an element beyond thematerial world, there is more to the Find 5 than the mere sum of its parts. There is an element beyond the purely rational, and that element is love. OPPO Find 5 is infused with of our love, a love we wish to explore with the world.

OPPO Find 5 is set to launch in early 2013 across selected markets.

OPPO Find 5 Specifications

Network: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA+/HSPA+42 (850, 1700, 1900, 2100MHz), GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)
Processor: Qualcomm APQ8064 Quad-Core 1.5GHz
Display: 5.0″ 1080P 441PPI IPS (1,080×1920)
Memory: 16GB ROM, 2GB RAM
Camera: Main: 13 megapixel Stacked CMOS sensor with HDR, Front: 1.9 megapixel, 120 FPS video recording, f/2.2 aperture, blue glass filters
Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, NFC
Features: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), GPS, Wi-Fi Display, DLNA, Gyroscope, Digital compass, Microphone, Sensors (light, proximity, magnetic and gravity)
Battery: 2500 mAh built-in lithium-ion battery
Included Accessories: Power adapter, USB Cable, Headphones

Google News gets revamped for tablets with new interface and gesture support

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 08:01 PM PST

Google News is an extremely popular source for news articles, with Google citing 6 billion pageviews per month to linked articles. And with the growing popularity of tablets like Google’s own Nexus 7, it would only make sense for some adjustments to be made for those to conform to each other. According to Google, that’s exactly what’s going to happen over the next few days, too. The Google News site will be redesigned to better fit tablet sized screens, with a more spaced out layout for articles and gestures to find new articles and switching between sections, for example. It will also feature the “Explore in depth” feature that allows you to look at similar stories to a specific article.

All in all, definitely something to look forward to if you frequent Google News. At first it will only be available to US users, however, and it’ll take a few days to roll out to all users. Check news.google.com to see if it’s working for you on your tablet.

source: TechCrunch

Apple Icon, Guy Kawasaki, Abandons iOS For Android

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:54 PM PST

 

Guy Kawasaki, a former Apple employee who played a key role in marketing the Macintosh in the mid-eighties, has had some very interesting things to say about Android of late. He aggressively promoted Macs during a crucial time in Apple’s history and helped create the Apple fanaticism we know today. But like Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Kawasaki has expressed his admiration for the Android OS. Kawasaki has actually taken it a step further and has stopped using iOS devices altogether.

"I fell in love with Android on the smartphone, and then I got a Nexus 7 and started using Android on the tablet as well. To me the great irony is that Apple's slogan was `Think Different,' but today if you think different you're looking at Android," said Kawasaki. He said he originally made the switch for LTE but now that Apple supports LTE he’s not going back. He said, "I won't switch now, because I think Android is better."

Kawasaki cites NFC, multi-tasking and better control over installed apps (like being able to see them in alphabetical order) as reasons why he prefers Android. “Another thing I like with Android is they don't have some stupid proprietary cable. I can go to any hotel front desk and if I've forgotten my cable they always have a micro-USB around. I can use my Nexus 7 and it's on the same cable as my Samsung Galaxy SIII. What a concept! A standard cable," said Kawasaki.

Kawasaki wasn’t converted by Cybermen who forcibly upgraded him from Apple fanboy to devoted Android user. He did the math and came to the same conclusion that so many others have in recent months. Android’s growing appeal is unquestionable as it now holds an estimated 75% of the world’s smartphone market. The Samsung Galaxy SIII, of which Kawasaki is an owner, recently topped the iPhone as the best selling smartphone of the quarter. I’d like to believe the notion that competition spurs innovation, but when was the last big news from Cupertino that wasn’t about a court case?

Source: ReadWrite

Hulu Plus app adds kids sections and improved discovery in update

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:41 PM PST

 

Hulu has been pretty content with their Android app lately as it hasn’t seen much of an update in quite a long time. But in the shadow of some looming competition, it looks like Hulu is trying to improve the experience with a few new features on their Android application. The biggest new feature in Hulu’s latest update is kid-friendly; there’s a new section dedicated to things younger viewers want to watch, as well as the ability to lock out some of the more mature content. If you let your children watch videos on your phone or tablet, this is going to be a pretty useful feature. They’ve also added in some new discovery tools, which makes it easier to find something to watch if you just can’t decide on a movie or show. Overall, a nice update to the application. Hit the break for the download links.

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Google Play Download Link

Sprint, Clearwire moving closer to deal according to CNBC

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 07:15 PM PST

Reporting on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, show host David Farber indicated negotiations between Sprint and Clearwire have been heating up in the last few days. Sprint, which already owns a majority interest in Clearwire, has been rumored to be working on a deal to buy out the remaining shareholders. Discussions with some of the other major parties, like Bright House, Intel, and Comcast, have been held in an effort to work through some of the complexities of a potential buyout. According to Farber’s sources, Sprint is trying to gain complete control over Clearwire in order to have access to Clearwire’s spectrum.

Sprint is poised to become a subsidiary of Softbank, probably in March or April 2013. Individuals familiar with the negotiations think the closing of the Softbank deal and the Sprint/Clearwire deal should occur at the same time. In order to provide appropriate notice, Sprint will likely need to issue a statement before the end of the year. Clearwire’s debt holders noted the company did not call First Lien Notes yesterday, adding to the speculation that Clearwire does not anticipate being an independent company for much longer.

source: CNBC

NYTimes for Android app updated to better support tablets

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:30 PM PST

The New York Times released an update to their official app today, taking it up to version 3.0. The biggest changes involve optimizations for tablet devices. The app has been redesigned to adapt to different screen sizes. This is accomplished by changing layout properties like the number of columns displayed, adjusting image sizes, and typography scaling.

Along with the layout improvements, the NYTimes for Android app gives users better control over breaking news alerts and provides easier access to the latest news and features. As is typical for app updates, several bug fixes and performance enhancements are included in the latest update.

To get the app or upgrade your version, use one of the download links below. The NYTimes for Android requires Android 2.1 or better and is free.

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Google Play Download Link

Sky Go Streaming App Now Supports 25 Devices Including Nexus 4

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:27 PM PST

The Sky Go app, which lets Sky TV subscribers in UK & Ireland stream on demand and live TV to their Android device, has added 14 new devices to the list of supported devices. The updated app is now compatible with both the Nexus 4 and the Nexus 7.  The update includes an improved user interface and navigation. Other devices now supported include the HTC Desire X, HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy SIII.

Sky Go is currently available on all iOS devices and the Xbox 360 so it’s nice to see it working its way through more Android handsets. If you guys can watch the Doctor Who Christmas special, The Snowmen, I will be VERY jealous.

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Play Store Download Link
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