Monday, January 28, 2013

Android Central

Android Central

From the Editor's Desk: Let's just do this already ...

Posted: 27 Jan 2013 04:44 PM PST

Phil Nickinson

Instead of using this sentence to write a proper lede, quite possibly with (or without) a bit of wit, can we agree to stipulate that there are what I believe to be a few decent thoughts on the other side of this post, past that "Read more" thing that does double duty of breaking up a long-ish post and keeping the front page clean while, yes, requiring you to add one more click to your experience here at Android Central?

Holy crap. That sentence itself should have had a "Read more" break. It's been one of those weekends.

So, yeah. Click on through to the other side for a few thoughts on some of the goings-on of the past week or so.

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Samsung reportedly planning wider device availability for Music Hub

Posted: 27 Jan 2013 01:38 PM PST

Android Central

Since Samsung first announced their Music Hub service, the global reach has been somewhat limited. Initially launching only in the UK, the U.S. soon followed, but one thing remained. Device exclusivity to Samsung devices, more specifically the Galaxy S3 and then the Galaxy Note 2. Now though, a new report suggests that Samsung is looking towards expanding the reach of its music service, and go toe-to-toe with the likes of Google Play and the Amazon MP3 Store. 

TJ Kang, SVP for Samsung Media Services, in speaking with The Next Web said that Samsung plans to expand the availability of Music Hub. Initially taking in the Samsung range of connected devices, to include tablets, smartphones, Smart TV's and even refrigerators, the expansion wouldn't end there. Beyond this, Kang also acknowledged that the service could be seen on Android devices from other OEMs, stating it would be easier for Samsung, since consumers often own devices covering a broad range of manufacturers.

Currently the Samsung Music Hub is available in six countries worldwide, but further global expansion is also reportedly on the cards for 2013. As you might expect this is subject to territory specific deals, but also Samsung's 2013 device release plans. No potential timeline was offered for making the service available beyond the walls of Samsung, but Kang did go on to say that such availability was the company's goal. 

So, perhaps the question we should be asking -- is there room for yet another music service fighting for our business? With Google Play and Amazon already established in selling music, and the likes of Spotify and Rdio offering compelling streaming offerings, is there room for another? Currently Music Hub could be seen as more of a convenience for those who can access it, but surely to break through Samsung would have to offer something compelling. What about you guys -- would you use a Samsung music service in place of whatever you currently use? Hit up the comments below and share your thoughts with us. 

Source: The Next Web

First look: The Carbon for Android Twitter app

Posted: 27 Jan 2013 10:30 AM PST

Carbon for Android

After many months and a few false starts, the long-awaited client prepares for initial release

It's tough to talk about the Carbon for Android Twitter client without saying a few things up front:

  1. No, it's still not available. But that we've been given a pre-release version to share should tell you something.
  2. Yes, we're all very much aware that we've been talking about Carbon, off and on, for more than a year now. (A whopping six stories out of some 6,000 written over 13 months, if our math is right.) Announcements of imminent release have come and gone, followed by long periods of silence. You can either choose to get over that, read this preview and give this app a shot when it's released in the near future, or not. 
  3. There are now two Carbon apps for Android. This one, obviously, is the Twitter app, from the developer dots & lines, which first brought Carbon to webOS, where it garnered much praise. It later came to Windows Phone before being put out to pasture, much to the chagrin of this Microsoft faithful. The other Carbon app is a backup and sync client from Koushik Dutta. We're not sure which app will see first public release (our money's on the backup app), but having two apps with the same name is about as fun for us as it is for you, we reckon.
  4. Carbon (the Twitter app) may well be the best-designed Twitter app we've used yet -- and there are some good ones out there.

So with those things in mind, join us for our first look at the long-awaited Carbon Twitter app.

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Five apps to take advantage of Daydream in Android 4.2

Posted: 27 Jan 2013 07:55 AM PST

Android Central

Daydream was pretty quickly glanced over by most people when it was announced as part of the Android 4.2 release, but luckily some developers have started to make apps using the new feature. The latest revision of Jelly Bean just isn't available to that many people and the number and quality of daydream apps reflects that, but luckily there are some gems to be found if you go searching for them.

Read on past the break and see the top apps available right now to take advantage of the daydream functionality in Android 4.2.

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Verizon modifying prepaid plans Feb 1 with new $60 500MB tier

Posted: 27 Jan 2013 06:58 AM PST

Android Central

Verizon doesn't put much focus on its prepaid plans, but according to a leaked document obtained by PhoneArena it will be dropping prices on prepaid offerings starting February 1st. Verizon's current offering is at $80 for smartphones, with unlimited talk/text and 2GB of data during its double data promotion. When the new plans take effect next week, the $80 plan is going away, making room for two new tiers at $60 and $70. The lower tier will offer 500MB of data, the higher 2GB, both with unlimited talk and text.

The document specifically says $80 plan users will be grandfathered in, but considering the new price structure there's no reason to stay on it. Users wanting more than 2GB of data will be paying $20 per 1GB overage, which is $5 more than adding an extra 1GB to a postpaid plan. Also remember that Verizon's prepaid plans are 3G only for the time being. This is still a good option for a select set of people though, so we're glad to see Verizon drop its prices a bit. Stick around after the break to see the document and details of the new plans.

Source: PhoneArena

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What you need to know about cell phone unlocking

Posted: 26 Jan 2013 07:07 PM PST

unlocked

Did you know that as of Jan 26, 2013, it's "illegal" to unlock your phone? Of course you did. You've seen the "Sky is falling!" headlines

It's not quite that simple, but that's what you'll hear around the Internets today. The too-long-didn't-read simple version is that you'll likely not be affected in any way (minus the personal freedom aspect). But after seeing so many people worried, and some of the poor information they were receiving, we knew it was time to talk about it a bit. 

In 1998 Congress passed a law that provides copyright protection to the software (and software means written code, remember) that locks your cell phone to a certain carrier. This has nothing to do with rooting, or bootloader unlocking. It only covers locking your phone to a GSM carrier through software. As a provision of this law, the Librarian of Congress (which I imagined as a totally hot babe with her hair in a bun, and was quickly disappointed when I investigated) is allowed to grant exceptions, and did until his October 2012 decision to allow the DMCA to regulate cell phone locking. Fast forward to today, when the exceptions expired, and now the software used to lock phones is covered under the same copyright laws as most other software.

It sounds scary. But it's really not. Let's have a look.

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