Monday, June 25, 2012

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Google Android News Android Forums

Samsung Patent Filing Shows New Folder Interactions For Android

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 03:55 PM PDT

Samsung has submitted a patent application with the USPTO late last year for a different method of handling folders in Android. This was done presumably to get around Apple’s folder paradigm and avoid future lawsuits, as well as to provide a cool interaction that differentiates themselves from other Android UI’s.

Sammy’s application shows folders stacked like playing cards which can be pulled open accordion-style with a quick drag of the finger. They can also be expanded and collapsed by a single finger tap with a vertical scrolling function. The creation of the card stacks is done by dragging one icon onto another, just like the current Ice Cream Sandwich folder creation method.

Samsung also outlined an alternate way of opening folders which can display the folder contents in a second screen. See the screenshot below.

No word on when we might be seeing these interactions in an upcoming version of TouchWiz, but it sure looks like Samsung is trying hard to differentiate themselves from all the other Android manufacturers.

Hit the source link for more details and screenshots from Samsung’s patent application.

source: patentbolt

BugKing Gives Gamers A Chance To Show World Who The Top Insects Are

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 01:19 PM PDT

What do you get when you have different groups of bugs that want to stake a claim in total dominance and make it into a cartoonish strategy game? You get the visually challenged, yet surprisingly decent game called BugKing. This strategy game gives a whole new meaning to the idea of world domination, for the better of course. Playing as a sect of insects, users will need to go up against swarm of itty bitty competitors. You’ll have your home base and will try to conquer other neutral territories in a level— once you conquer all the territories, you pass the level. Believe me— the premise is simple, but the execution is difficult. Users will need to build up their home base and then expand their expanding army to the other territories, which is done by swiping your finger in order to literally draw out a path for the reinforcements to follow. While you’re doing that, you’re competitors will have the same idea in mind, so you’ll need to not only build up your army— but you’ll need to get to the neutral territories first, while simultaneously taking over your enemies’ home base. The best part is while the controls can be at times unresponsive when it comes to where you want to direct your troops, there’s plenty of gameplay to keep casual gamers interested as there are 48 levels of gameplay at your disposal.

The game is available in the Play Store now for all Android 2.0+ devices for the price of free. Keep in mind however— the free version has an unacceptable number of ads and banners within the game, so there’s also paid (and more importantly— ad-free) version of the game available for a reasonable price of $1.62. It’s definitely not too bad of a way to release your inner desires of you know— wanting to be the top bug on earth.

Play Store

Google CEO Larry Page loses voice, to miss Google I/O

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 12:22 PM PDT

According to a new Wall Street Journal article, Google, Inc., is reporting that chief executive Larry Page has lost his voice.  Beyond noting that Page lost his voice, Google provides scant details about the reason or other possible health issues.  The lack of additional information seems to be a bit disconcerting for those in Silicon Valley and other Google watchers who have fresh memories of the passing of Apple's Steve Jobs after a closely held medical condition. For his part, Mr. Page sent an email to company employees stating, “there is nothing seriously wrong with me” and that he would “continue to run the company.”

Mr. Page missed the company's annual meeting this past Thursday. He will also miss the upcoming Google I/O developers' conference later this week and the second-quarter earnings conference call expected to be scheduled for mid-July. Doug Anmuth, a stock analyst with JP Morgan, notes that Page has not made any public posts on his Google+ account since late May. The absences and lack of activity are only adding to the speculation that something more serious may be behind the announcement.

Reports indicate that Google co-founder Sergey Brin noted lightheartedly that losing his voice "will make Larry a better CEO because he’s going to have to choose his words very carefully.” Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt indicates Page continues "to run the company, he’s running all the strategic business decisions and all that.”  Others inside the company have provided similar reassurances that the situation is just a minor one involving Page's voice.

Hopefully Mr. Page's condition truly is one that is not serious and we will soon hear from him again. Until then, work continues at Google and our own Stacy Bruce will be at Google I/O getting all the juicy details first hand.

source: Wall Street Journal

Samsung “Jasper” Smartphone Makes An Appearance At The FCC, Comes Dressed In Verizon’s LTE Bands

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 04:52 AM PDT

It looks like we’re getting closer and closer to seeing the mysterious Samsung “Jasper” smartphone on Verizon’s mobile network a reality. If you recall a few months ago, we told you about how the “Jasper”– aka the SCH-I200– made an appearance at the Bluetooth SIG and subsequently saw some leaked benchmarks for the device. The benchmarks only told us the device’s OS and screensize, which is Android 4.0.3 and a WVGA screen, respectively. Well now we have more exciting news about the upcoming device as documents show the device recently took a stroll through the FCC and came bearing LTE/CDMA/EVDO radios… which essentially confirms the device will be added arsenal for Verizon’s ever-growing 4G LTE network.

Now that we know the device is probably headed to Verizon stores in the near-future, let’s see some additional details leak already Verizon and Sammy!

source: FCC
via: pocketnow

Is This Confirmation Of The Samsung Galaxy Note 2?

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 09:50 PM PDT

 

Did Samsung Mobile Arabia just confirm the Galaxy Note 2 on Twitter? They just tweeted the following:

Which one of these are you excited about: #GalaxyBeam #GalaxyTab2 #GalaxyNote2?

Of course, Samsung Mobile Arabia doesn’t speak officially for the whole company, but this tweet sure is compelling. An earlier Korean leak provided specs for the next Note, including a thinner profile, a 12MP camera, a slightly larger screen than the original's 5.3-incher and a quad-core processor. Android 4.1 JellyBean is also expected to be on board.

Samsung is expected to show the Galaxy Note 2 at IFA in Berlin later this summer.

source: samsungmobilearabia
via: sammobile

 
Posted by at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Android Central

Android Central

The one where CrackBerry Kevin buys a $200 Android app and gets a picture of an iPhone ...

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 04:11 PM PDT

Oops. I did it again. Back in January at CES 2012 I got double-dog dared into buying the most expensive app in BlackBerry App World. I paid $500 for a clock widget. Stupid? You bet. But somebody has to take one for the team.

I didn't start today planning on buying the most expensive app in the Google Play store, but somehow between the booze, the crowd and the tension that's exactly what happened.

I was at a local watering hole taking in the quarter final Italy - England match at EURO2012. Scoreless at halftime, I figured I needed to download a Vuvuzela app for the second half of the game so I could cheer on Italy (I'm engaged to an Italian -- my life is a lot easier when they win).

I found a lot of free and/or cheap Vuvuzela apps in the Google Play store, but I also found the Vuvuzela World Cup Horn Plus for $200, which is the maximum price Google allows apps to be sold for. I was shocked to see Google Play tell me it had 50+ downloads, and there was one other rating in there, so my curiosity got to me. What magic and wonders could a $200 Vuvuzela app possess?

Surprisingly enough, the answer to that question is that the app features a picture of an iPhone holding a Vuvuzela! Hilarious. The developers really should be ashamed of themselves for this one. I also found the app crashed a lot, and though it looked like there was a menu for more options, it never opened and the app crashed a lot.

A complete ripoff? I should say yes... but Italy did come through with a the victory in an overtime shootout, so I'm not going to complain on this one. Hit the video above to see it how it all went down. And to the developer who just made a whack of cash off me. ... I sure hope you put it to good use.

AT&T Galaxy S II Ice Cream Sandwich update available again via Kies

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 12:14 PM PDT

AT&T Galaxy S II

A quick heads up that the fine folks in our AT&T Galaxy S II forums are reporting that the phone's Ice Cream Sandwich update is available again from the Samsung Kies software. The update briefly went live last week only to disappear again; AT&T says it was just testing things. But now it appears to be ready and willing.

So fire up Kies, and hit the link below to see what everyone else is seeing.

More: AT&T Galaxy S II forums

Official-looking pics of the T-Mobile-branded Galaxy Note

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 08:15 AM PDT

T-Mobile Galaxy Note

We've seen the blurry-cam and unofficial pictures leak out of a Galaxy Note carrying T-Mobile branding, but the folks over at CellPhone Signal got their hands on what they're calling official images. Not a lot of other details have leaked out, but the few that have are pretty tasty -- the T-mobile version will come in Navy Blue, run Ice Cream Sandwich (as we saw in the previous leak), and have HSPA+ enabled on 850/1900 MHz bands along with standard AWS bands. T-Mobile is slowly shifting radio frequencies for HSPA+, and as a bonus it means it should work on AT&T once factory SIM unlocked with no rooting or fiddling. 

The also tell us to expect to see it for sale on July 11, so keep your eyes peeled for more info soon.

Source: CellPhone Signal

Sony Xperia Ion Review

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Sony Xperia Ion

The Sony Xperia Ion is launching today on AT&T, more than 5 months after being announced - and with last year's version of Android. So is it still worth your time?

The hunt for an Android device is one that is never ending, and it ultimately comes down to an internal battle of when "enough is enough" and one device is good enough to last you for the term of your contract. Is there ever a perfect device for everyone? No.

The beauty of Android is that there is a ton of devices to chose from, some big and some small, some powerful and others just spec'd for the entry level consumers. Back at CES 2012 we first caught wind of the Sony Xperia Ion, and until recently the device was in a sort of black hole. Sony is finally ready to put this device in consumer hands and that means it's time for you to begin wondering if this could be your next device. There is no definite yes or no for everyone, but let's hit the break together and go through some of the good and bad and see just how this device stacks up.

read more

Pinterest for Android to be unveiled at Google IO?

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 06:27 AM PDT

Pinterest for Android

Pinterest has been the hot new service of 2012, but we're still lacking an official Pinterest Android application. It looks like that might finally change this week at the Google IO developer conference in San Francisco. Our eagle-eyed pals at Ausdroid spied Pinterest listed in the Sandbox attendees. And, sure enough, in the description line it says "Now available for Android." You can't actually download it yet, but that's a pretty good sign that we should see Pinterest for Android this week.

And don't forget that we'll be at Google IO all week, so bookmark this page for all the updates! Here we go, folks!

Via Ausdroid
Posted by at 5:46 AM 0 comments

AndroidGuys

AndroidGuys

All injunctions in Apple vs Motorola patent war thrown out

Posted: 24 Jun 2012 11:13 AM PDT

Judge Posner, the judge presiding over the cases of Apple vs Motorola and their patent war, has gotten fed up. The entire case, consisting of 4 alleged patent infringements against Motorola Mobility, has been thrown out of the courts. This is after the previously requested jury trial was tentatively dismissed a couple of weeks ago. The whole thing began 2 years ago (well before the Google / Moto merger), and is finally tucking and rolling off the bandwagon.

Judge Posner seemed, however, to side on Motorola's side, stating:

No more can Apple be permitted to force a trial in Federal Court the sole outcome of which would be an award of $1.

Sounds to me like Judge Posner was wise to the fact that Apple was probably never looking for any type of financial gain in the first place, but rather trying to keep Motorola from getting product out to the public in a timely manner. Motorola responded:

We are pleased that Judge Posner formally dismissed the case against Motorola Mobility. Apple's litigation campaign began with their attempt to assert 15 patents against us. As it relates to Apple's violation of our patents, we will continue our efforts to defend our own innovation.

The question now is, will Apple try to appeal? Given their track record of using the courtroom as a personal battlefield (in this editor's opinion), I have a feeling this isn't the last time Motorola will be pulled back into the ring.

What are your thoughts? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.

All injunctions in Apple vs Motorola patent war thrown out originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

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Posted by at 5:40 AM 0 comments
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