Android Community |
- Motorola planning a DROID Bionic 2
- Transformer Prime update rolling out – Face unlock not included
- AOKP and stock ROMs update to Android 4.0.4 for the Galaxy Nexus LTE
- HTC One S could head to T-Mobile April 22nd
- Papyrus note app launches with HTC and Lenovo stylus support
- Samsung updates South Korean Galaxy S with “Value Pack”
- ICS mod gives Nexus phones Windows Phone 7-style multitasking
- Dell exits the US smartphone market for good
- HTC One series gets priced and dated in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
- Clarion shows off 6.5-inch Android powered car stereo
- Samsung trademarks Galaxy Premier, Grand, and Next names
- Huawei’s MyTouch for T-Mobile gets the hands-on treatment
- Archos 101 G9 Turbo Hands-on
- Android 4.0.4 ICS rolling out for Nexus S, Xoom, and Galaxy Nexus
- Temple Run on Android tweaked for older devices
- Google Maps update adds preferred transit mode and new navigation menu
- Lucid by LG hands-on and unboxing
| Motorola planning a DROID Bionic 2 Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:14 AM PDT Why Motorola? Why? That is the first thing that came into my mind when reading news of a DROID Bionic 2 this afternoon. While this could very well be a mistake, the source that it comes from leads us to believe it is true, and that Motorola might actually be making a successor to one of their biggest flops of the past 6 months.
For those that have ever had to replace a smartphone after an accidental drop or problem, Asurion is who Verizon uses for their insurance and replacement program. Today the folks at Droid-Life spotted the Motorola DROID Bionic 2 in the Asurion open enrollment forms for people signing up and seeking replacements. Maybe they can delay this phone 6 months and have 8 design changes then release it with a slew of bugs needing to be fixed like they did the first one – just a thought. Now obviously this could be a mistake. Verizon also recently started selling the DROID Bionic for $100 less than the original model, only the cheaper one does not come with a 16GB micro-SD card. Could this be the way Asurion decided to label it, if so someone wasn’t thinking clearly. What do you guys think? Is Verizon and Motorola prepared to release a Bionic 2 this summer, and if so, would you buy it?
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| Transformer Prime update rolling out – Face unlock not included Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:48 AM PDT Earlier this week ASUS informed everyone that another update would soon be rolling out for the Transformer Prime quad-core tablet. Teasing that it would bring “awesome” features to the device. We’ve been on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for months with this tablet, and it has seen a good 4 incremental updates since then or more. Today we can confirm the newest release is rolling out to devices as we speak.
I wish other tablets were updated this fast. The update for the Transformer Prime should have introduced a few new features to the tablet. One being the face unlock feature from the Galaxy Nexus – according to what ASUS said yesterday. We’ve received the latest update for the Prime this morning with the latest version 9.4.2.21 and the build date is March 23rd, but the new face unlock feature doesn’t seem to be present anywhere that we can see — including the usual places. ASUS said we’d get face unlock, new lockscreen notification options, Ethernet support with a USB converter and more but I’m not seeing these changes. I do have an updated build version for both GPS, and WiFi again, as well as the new build #9.4.2.21 that was said to have all these features. This update made some changes to GPS and WiFi again so hopefully we see some improvements in that area. For now we’ll have to wait for another update, or a comment from ASUS because face unlock is missing for me. These aren’t a huge deal, but to announce them as coming and then not add them to the release seems silly. Update: We do have the new lockscreen notification controls, but no face unlock. Has anyone else got the newest update rolling out today? Are you seeing the “awesome new features” promised by ASUS earlier this week? Let us know in the comments. Device Info
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| AOKP and stock ROMs update to Android 4.0.4 for the Galaxy Nexus LTE Posted: 29 Mar 2012 10:01 AM PDT If you’re an owner of Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus LTE and feeling a little left out of the Android 4.0.4 party, you’re not alone. Yesterday Google updated the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus, along with the Nexus S and XOOM WiFi, to the latest version of Ice Cream Sandwich. Thankfully they updated the code in the Android Open Source Project at the same time, happily allowing anyone to download and compile Android 4.0.4 for themselves. And you know what that means. Droid-Life spotted the latest build of the Android Open Kang Project (AOKP) ROM and at least one stock ROM rocking the updated software. Android Open Kang Project is a real up-and-coming hit in the fickle world of Android ROMs. Though it started on the Galaxy Nexus, it’s spread 20 devices from Samsung, HTC, ASUS, Motorola and more, with dozens of “kangs” branching off of the open-source builds. The updates and added features are coming fast and furious from the creators, who started off from the popular CyanogenMod base code. Picking and choosing mods and features from all over the Android community, the AOKP ROMs have made quite a name for themselves – yours truly runs AOKP on my Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Tab 8.9. With the “Angry Unicorn” boot animation disabled, of course. Those who prefer their Ice Cream Sandwiches with Vanilla flavor can download the stock AOSP build, compiled by notable ROM developer Birdman. The rest of the popular Android ROMs, including CyanogenMod 9, should start merging their code with the 4.0.4 build in the next week or so. There’s no word from Verizon on when the CDMA version of the Galaxy Nexus or XOOM will get an update… and since both devices have lost their official blessing from Google, it might be quite a while. Device Info
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| HTC One S could head to T-Mobile April 22nd Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:29 AM PDT Fair warning, T-Mobile customers: treat this one as rumor, because that’s what it is. Now that that’s out of the way, TmoNews has gotten a tip that HTC’s One S will be headed to the American carrier on April 22nd. That conclusion comes from what looks like a pre-release web element, showing off the brand-new phone with an unmistakable “countdown” timer ending on the Monday in question. The phrase “sell the HTC One S on launch day” probably means that this picture was taken from an internal T-Mobile intranet, meant for retail employees or associates. When it launches on T-Mobile (on a date that still hasn’t been verified) the One S will be one of the most powerful phones on the network, to say nothing of its style. A 4.3-inch qHD AMOLED display shows off Ice Cream Sandwich and Sense 4.0, HTC’s Android 4.0 version of its custom user interface. The phone features a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory and an 8MP camera with HTC’s much-lauded F/2.0 lens. All this is in a phone just 7.9 millimeters thin, with an anodized aluminum body that’s easily one of the prettiest HTC’s ever made. April 22nd seems like a safe enough bet – HTC’s One series will be available as soon as April 2nd overseas, and T-Mobile could use a new flagship phone at the moment. The Galaxy S Blaze 4G is nice, but basically an upgrade to the original phone, not a replacement. There’s still no word on price, but considering the fact that AT&T’s HTC One X will almost certainly be $299 when it’s introduced, I’d bet on $199 or $249 for the One S. If the launch date is accurate, we should start seeing more leaks and an official announcement within the next week or two. Device Info
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| Papyrus note app launches with HTC and Lenovo stylus support Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:56 AM PDT With all the styli floating around the Android tablet world, it was only a matter of time before someone made a really excellent notation app for pen-based input. That app is Papyrus, a long-term project from indie developer Steadfast Innovation. The free app introduced its first beta version today, and you can download it on the Google Play Store. While it’s technically possible to use standard finger input in Papyrus, it’s specifically designed for Android tablets running 3.0 or later with stylus input options. Papyrus brings the tried-and-true notation app into a more modern setting with full support for Android’s tablet interface, making the various writing tasks much easier. There’s also active gestures for quick stylus-based control – a lot like the old PalmOS used to have when every pocket computer came with a plastic pointer. You can share your notes via the standard email and Evernote services, or save them for your own as PDFs. Also, strokes are saves as vectors – a small thing, but trust me, it’s useful if you’re planning on importing any saved data into any sort of graphic design program. Papyrus supports HTC’s Scribe Pen on the Flyer, EVO View 4G and the Jetstream, as well as the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet‘s built-in stylus. There’s a distinct lack of support for the Samsung Galaxy Note and its S-Pen, but that’s probably because the app is designed only for Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich. Once the Note gets its ICS upgrade and/or the Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet hits shelves, the app will probably be updated to support the S-Pen SDK. Owners of other tablets can use a passive stylus (the cheap ones you see in all the electronics stores) but will miss out on pressure sensitivity.   
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| Samsung updates South Korean Galaxy S with “Value Pack” Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:23 AM PDT Say, Galaxy S owners, you don’t want Ice Cream Sandwich, do you? No, that great performance and all those posh new features are for snobs who buy more than one phone every two years. Surely you’ll be more than satisfied with a few ICS imitation features added to reliable old TouchWiz via a “Value Pack“. Sarcasm aside, that’s the attitude that Samsung seems to be adopting with its add-on Value Pack for Gingerbread. The first country to get the update for the Galaxy S is Sammy’s home state of South Korea. The additions do their best to emulate some of the more forward-facing features in Android 4.0, such as face unlock, a tweaked Launcher app and the ability to take photos while recording video. If (for some reason) owners are still using Android 2.1 or 2.2, they’ll need to upgrade to 2.3 before getting the update. The software is installed via Samsung’s Kies desktop application, not over-the-air. While the international (i9000) model of the Galaxy S should see updates for English and other languages, who knows if any of the four American variants of the Galaxy S will be updated. Considering carriers’ general attitudes towards “out of date” hardware, it seems unlikely. Modders and custom ROM enthusiasts have been running honest-to-goodness Ice Cream Sandwich on their Galaxy S phones almost since it was released, and why not, since the hardware is almost identical to the Nexus S. With the Galaxy S II’s Ice Cream Sandwich out in the wild, it shouldn’t be too long before someone clever ports the updated TouchWiz back to the original. Even so, the lack of a real update leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those without the means or the inclination to modify their phones. Device Info
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[via Samsung Tomorrow]
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| ICS mod gives Nexus phones Windows Phone 7-style multitasking Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:55 AM PDT While we at Android Community are understandably loyal to the little green guy, that doesn’t mean we don’t take notice of the competition. And it must be said, some of the phones coming out running Windows Phone 7 (especially those made by Nokia) are real head-turners. While a full WP7 port or popular Android devices is unlikely, various modders have ported elements of the MetroUI to Android. The latest is XDA member “evilisto” (never change, guys) who’s added WP7-style multitasking to stock Ice Cream Sandwich. When using a Windows Phone 7, uh, phone, users can tap and hold the Back button to bring up a series of thumbnail previews of open tasks in a horizontal layout. Truth be told, it’s a lot like WebOS’ card interface, though not quite as essential to the phone’s operation. (Note also that Android lifted liberally from WebOS for Ice Cream Sandwich’s “open apps” button.) This being the case, evilisto’s mod is basically a skin of Android 4.0′s app switching interface, moving around labels and ratios and adding an ice-blue background. Speaking as someone who’s used WP7, it’s a pretty spot-on imitation. Check it out in action below: The original mod can be applied to any Nexus S Ice Cream Sandwich ROM, but due to differences in screen size it needs to be adjusted for qHD or larger phones. A conscientious modder has a pre-packaged version for the Galaxy Nexus. If you’ve ever flashed a custom ROM or applied an interface mod, you know what to do: download the ZIP file, reboot into recovery, make a backup, and flash the file. Just press the app switch button like normal to activate it.
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| Dell exits the US smartphone market for good Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:58 AM PDT In what’s now more or less a formality, a Dell spokesman told PC World that the company has no intention of producing more smartphones for the United States market. While a few of its Android devices like the 5-inch Dell Streak gained some notoriety, the Venue line and others never caught on in Dell’s home country, at least not enough to make them profitable. Dell is continuing to produce and sell smartphones in India and some Asian territories. The last we heard, Dell had partnered with Chinese search engine Baidu for a special edition of the Streak Pro. “Mobility products have shorter lifecycles than laptops and desktops,” said the representative, referring to customers’ tendency to keep computers for much longer than the standard 2-year contract cycle for smartphones (in the Americas at least). Dell didn’t have much success in that department, either: very few of its Venue and Streak phones and tablets were ever sold through wireless carriers, where the majority of American consumers buy their mobile hardware. Dell did mention that it has plans for mobile hardware later this year, but don’t get your hopes up: that’s almost certainly a reference to Windows 8 tablets or similar devices, which will be able to run on the same ARM-based hardware that Android and other platforms use. So long, Dell – the Streak was novel, even if you couldn’t keep it up to date. Don’t feel so bad; it’s not like HP could do any better. [via SlashGear]
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| HTC One series gets priced and dated in Austria, Germany and Switzerland Posted: 29 Mar 2012 06:29 AM PDT If you happen to live in central Europe, in one of those countries where the language has about three times as many consonants as it really needs, then you’ll soon be able to pick up one one of HTC’s shiny new consonant-themed smartphones. The HTC One X, One S and One V have been given proper release notes in Austria, Germany and Switzerland: all of them will be available unlocked starting on Monday, April 2nd. The One X will be €599 (about $795 or £500) The One S will be €499 ($(663) and the One V will be €299 ($397). The report comes from The Unwired and is confirmed by the German arm of carrier O2, which says that it will begin carrying both the One X and One S next week. As usual with European phone releases, the three smartphones will all be SIM agnostic and should work on any HSPA+ carrier network. The early April release approximately matches HTC’s debut schedule for the UK and elsewhere, though not all regions have been confirmed to get all phones. On our side of the pond, AT&T is getting the One X (in an LTE variant with a Snapdragon processor instead of the NVIDIA Tegra 3) while T-Mobile takes the One S, and various regional carriers have dibs on the One V. None of the carriers have confirmed when customers can pick them up or for how much, though both seems pretty set for an early summer release. Gadget hounds can always import any of the phones for use on AT&T (or Canadian carriers, though Rogers is getting its own version) if they don’t feel like waiting and/or signing a contract. [via Engadget]
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| Clarion shows off 6.5-inch Android powered car stereo Posted: 28 Mar 2012 05:32 PM PDT Android’s greatest asset (besides a few billion dollars in Google development and promotion) is its flexibility. We’ve seen it power everything from video glasses to robots – and on that scale, a car stereo is relatively mundane. Even so, Clarion’s Mirage is an impressive piece of vehicular tech, and will certainly catch your eye if you happen to fall at the intersection of car stereo and Android enthusiast. In addition to basic music and sound management, the Mirage feature audio-in and Bluetooth connections for playing music on your phone or tablet. The stereo runs Android 2.2 (I know, I know) on a 6.5-inch touchscreen of unknown resolution. It’s got all the features of a standard Android smartphone including telephony. For digital music you can load it up with an SD card or thumb drive, but the Mirage doesn’t have a CS drive – a bold move that will alienate some customers and won’t matter to others. Obvious apps like maps and GPS are included, as well as more mainstream fare like Facebook, Angry Birds and a photo slideshow. Hopefully there’s some kind of safety function that keeps stupid drivers from doing anything too distracting while actually moving. The Clarion Mirage is being marketed towards car manufacturers for the time being. That means you won’t be seeing this head unit on display at Best Buy any time soon. But the company is talking with large-scale manufacturers in the South Pacific, so it could be headed to a more general production eventually. Prices weren’t mentioned (since they’re only looking for wholesale customers) but if this one ever makes it to retail, expect it to be expensive.    [via Android Police]
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| Samsung trademarks Galaxy Premier, Grand, and Next names Posted: 28 Mar 2012 04:57 PM PDT Samsung is no stranger to trademark filings. We saw four or so new trademarks for Galaxy devices earlier in the month and apparently they are at again before the month ends, and have just trademarked an additional three names. Samsung releases lots of smartphones in the high end range, and everywhere else. Today they’ve branded Galaxy Premier, Galaxy Grand, and Galaxy Next to their name.
Recently they’ve been coming up with some pretty great names if you ask me. Buying a high end quad-core phone called the Samsung Galaxy Premier sounds nice right? I think so! Funny thing here is the Galaxy Next was already released early last year as a very low-end device, so it’s odd to see that name appearing again. It hasn’t stopped them before because Samsung is about to release their second device in April under the same Galaxy Beam name. Earlier in the month we saw Samsung trademark names such as the Galaxy Stellar and Halo, but you add these new ones to the list and they all sound pretty high end. I can’t imagine a mid-range phone with a single-core processor being called “grand” or “premier” can you? Obviously this is only speculation for now and some of these we might never see reach the market. With top-tier flagship phones like the Galaxy S III on the way soon we could see a few of these actually be used, but for now we’ll just have to wait for Samsung to make their next move. [via PocketNow]
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| Huawei’s MyTouch for T-Mobile gets the hands-on treatment Posted: 28 Mar 2012 04:48 PM PDT The MyTouch label has seen better days: when Huawei’s still-unofficial pair of phones become the latest member of the family, it will have changed to its third manufacturer in less than a year. T-Mobile still isn’t saying when they plan to unveil the slate and QWERTY phone, but Engadget got a look at it in Huawei’s home office in China. After a few minutes with the QWERTY version of the new MyTouch, they came away impressed – it’s not going to set the world on fire, but it looks like a pretty solid mid-range phone. The Huawei MyTouches ( U8680 and U8730, respectively) look to be 4.0-inch Gingerbread phones with mid-range specs, and almost certainly mid-range prices. While not as swanky as some of Huawei’s more powerful options, they seem to fit the bill well enough. Reversing the company’s trend for unadulterated Android, it looks like both phones will be sporting a custom interface- though considering the rather poor experience we had with the T-Mobile Springboard/Huawei MediaPad, I wonder who made the final decision there. Huawei is calling the QWERTY phone the Ascend G312, so we may see similar hardware pop up in other markets. Pricing and availability are up in the air, but early summer and ~$100 (with a two year contract, of course) seem like safe bets. While T-Mobile hasn’t said why it took the MyTouch brand away from HTC and then LG, they may be trying out different manufacturers to see which one can best them, or just looking for the lowest bidder. In either case Huawei is a strong choice, since they’re definitely on the rise in the mobile market.   
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| Posted: 28 Mar 2012 04:01 PM PDT Archos has been around for a lot longer than Android tablets have, pumping out reliable if uninspiring media players for videophiles on the go. While the 101 G9 is a solid enough tablet and equivalent in most respects to the first generation of Honeycomb devices from bigger manufacturers, almost a year later it’s become somewhat left behind. That’s why Archos has introduced a Turbo edition along with Ice Cream Sandwich. In addition to running Android 4.0 right out of the box, it gets a fast 1.5Ghz dual-core OMAP processor to handle the more strenuous software. Archos has a design principle that can be described as “function over form”. To be blunt, the 9th-generation tablets aren’t pretty – they use a conventional screen bezel that’s more evocative of cheaper tablets than the sleek, skinny machines we’re used to. What Archos does do well is capability. No-nonsense buttons and ports make for the tablet equivalent of a pickup truck. Along the left side you’ll find the power button, a microUSB port (which also charges – score!) a Mini HDMI port and a standard headphone jack. The right side has the volume button, and that’s it as far as controls go. Around back you’ll find a retractable plastic kickstand – a feature that I dearly wish could be found on more Android devices – a large, loud speaker and a dummy slot for an emty USB port. This is for an optional 3G model that won’t mean much to our American readers, since they couldn’t use it if they wanted to. There’s no camera on the back (something that I must admit I won’t really miss) but the front-facing camera has a surprising 720p resolution. The real star of the show is the software. And if you’re a fan of vanilla (ba-dum bum) Ice Cream Sandwich, you’re in luck. Aside from a few free games and Archos’ own media apps, which tend to be as good or better than Google’s anyway, the system is bone stock. Seeing Ice Cream Sandwich as it was meant to be seen is refreshing, especially as larger manufacturers continue to to add needless skins and customizations. All the 4.0.3 features you want are included, along with the Android Market/Google Play Store, unlike some earlier Archos tablets. What few changes Archos has made to the ICS interior are there for the modem and internal storage management. The extra capability in the hardware is self-evident when using Archos’ video app. 720p playback on the 1280×800 LCD screen was smooth, even when rapidly tracking between scenes. I wish the screen were a little brighter, though, and at one point I had to recalibrate it – something that should never happen on a capacitive display. Music is loud and surprisingly clear – the 101 G9 is definitely designed for media consumption first and foremost. The Archos 101 G9 Turbo starts at $329.99 for the 8GB model. (Retail is over $300, We’ll have a full review up later this week. Check out the hands-on below:          Device Info
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| Android 4.0.4 ICS rolling out for Nexus S, Xoom, and Galaxy Nexus Posted: 28 Mar 2012 02:26 PM PDT Whoa! It looks like Google maybe saw a few angry comments around the Android ecosystem about the lack of updates because in one huge massive announcement they just made tons of people happy. The update to Android 4.0.4 ICS is rolling our right now, as we speak to multiple devices. Those include the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GSM), Nexus S, and the Motorola Xoom WiFi. Looks like Verizon users of the Gnex and Xoom will have to wait a little longer.
Google just made the official announcement over at +Android on Google+ stating that not only are all three of those devices getting the latest version of Android starting today, but that 4.0.4 ICS has also been merged with the AOSP source tree. This means developers like CyanogenMod and everyone else has full access to the official tweaks and changes to version 4.0.4 and can integrate them into their ROM’s. We are hearing Google has added over 100 improvements, tweaks, and changes to Android 4.0.4 over the previous version 4.0.3 that was only rolled out for a short while. Among those changes we can expect faster screen rotation, better camera support and stability – as well as improved photos, and they’ve added more support for exchange in the email client. That is just a tiny list of the over 100 changes, and while they all wont be noticeable at face value, you can expect this latest version of Android to be even better and faster. Android 4.0.4 has already been merged to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and we can expect ROM developers to integrate these new features and changes very soon. The updates should be arriving on handsets as we speak, or just wait for your favorite developer to add the new features. I’d be heading to settings > about phone/tablet > and checking for updates if I were you. Let us know when you get the update with a comment or two below. Enjoy!
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| Temple Run on Android tweaked for older devices Posted: 28 Mar 2012 02:01 PM PDT So the super hit sensation game Temple Run was finally released for Android yesterday, with great excitement and tons of happy Android users. Sadly many of you quickly realized your phone was too old or was not officially supported. We received countless complaints and comments from angry users that couldn’t enjoy it. Today I’m happy to report it’s already been hacked to run on older phones, and you can get it right now.
The developers behind Temple Run, Imangi Studios, went to Twitter and defended the fact it wasn’t supported on some phones stating they officially support over 700 Android devices. They also mention older phones like the Galaxy Ace, Mini, HTC Wildfire, LG Optimus One and others all are older phones on the Arm v6 processor platform. None of these were initially supported, but they plan to add more devices to the supported list very soon with future updates to the game. If your smartphone is on this list (among others) it is NOT supported at this time and you can’t download and enjoy Temple Run for Android. Thankfully we have an awesome developer community and I’m happy to say they’ve already hacked and tweaked Temple Run to work for all of those older or low-end phones. If you have an Arm v6 or v7 device (basically most older phones with a processor slower than 1 GHz) and Temple Run from the Play store doesn’t work with your phone the links below will help you out. Arm v6 Temple Run: Download Thanks to this XDA thread we have tweaked versions for everyone. I must warn you right now though – Just because its been hacked to install and run on older phones doesn’t mean you’ll have an enjoyable gaming experience. This game has not been optimized for these older and slower phones, and you might experience slowdown, lag, or possibly game crashes. If you don’t care about any of that and just want to play Temple Run on Android then hit the links above and give it a try. Let us know how it goes in the comment section below. Remember to enable “install from unknown sources” in settings on your phone first. Enjoy!
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| Google Maps update adds preferred transit mode and new navigation menu Posted: 28 Mar 2012 01:22 PM PDT Google has just issued another update to their famous Google Maps today with even more support for HD displays like the Galaxy Nexus and other 720p and higher HD screens. Along with the update we also get some new features to Google Navigation. Previously we could get walking, driving, or biking directions but today they’ve added that same “preferred transit mode” option to Google Navigation. So now you can get full voice-guided navigation while driving or walking.
As you can see from the picture above and in the gallery below the Google Navigation home screen has been completely redesigned making it even easier to get full navigation directions. The new nav screen has starred locations such as your home or place of business, shortcuts to popular or recent destinations, and even a quick toggle to get addresses from your contact list. The new screen is especially helpful while driving as they’ve added four large tile sized icons to quickly, easily, and safely start a new navigation session. Any location you’ve saved in Google Maps and Places is also easily accessed by swiping to the side and entering the new starred menu. The video above, just released by Google shows off some of the awesome features we’ve come to love and expect from Google Maps. Showing it all off on their flagship Galaxy Nexus. This new Maps version also supports higher resolution maps, and navigation for devices like the Nexus that have a higher resolution screen – as we mentioned above. For more details and to get the latest Maps head to the Play Store from the link below to get started.   
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| Lucid by LG hands-on and unboxing Posted: 28 Mar 2012 12:46 PM PDT The latest phone to grace Verizon Wireless is finally here. This is the Lucid by LG with 4G LTE and a dual-core processor all for one low price. This phone comes in a neat little package and will be available starting tomorrow. Lucky for you we have it on the test bench and did a quick hands-on and unboxing to start things off, and will be taking it through the trenches over the next few days.
The Lucid by LG is the latest phone to be powered by Verizon 4G LTE, but as they said a few weeks ago, all smartphones in 2012 will be LTE capable. The Lucid is poised to compete in the mid-range market based on its price but the specs are near the top of the pack. It comes with a cute little design and a powerful dual-core processor. The specs include a 4-inch IPS display complete with a 480 x 800 resolution, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage and a micro-sd slot to expand storage should you choose. With a plastic design and rounded edges all around it feels comfortable in the hand and has no square corners to cause discomfort. On the rear LG has added a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash that is capable of 1080p video capture. We get a VGA front camera for video chat and a 1,700 mAh battery that should get you through a days use. Once we give the Lucid by LG a full rundown and review this week we’ll be sure and test battery life, performance, and those LTE speeds. LG has pre-installed an app called Video Producer, which is their own in-house video editing software so we’ll be sure and give that a quick test too. The Lucid by LG (why can’t we just call it the LG Lucid) will be available starting tomorrow March 29th on Verizon Wireless for only $79.99 with a new 2-year contract. That is an excellent price considering the specs of this phone, although you’ll have to send off a mail in rebate. LG has stated it WILL be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich but there’s no telling when that will be. Stay tuned for our full review on this impressively priced and spec’d smartphone and sound off in the comments if you have any specific questions. We’ll let you know if this is a lucid dream or not soon.       Device Info
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