Monday, October 1, 2012

Android Central

Android Central

Google Play Movies and TV now available for the Sony NSZ-GS7 [Google TV]

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 04:31 PM PDT

Google Play Movies and TV

Google has finally made their Movies and TV app compatible with the Sony NSZ-GS7 Google TV box. One would think that an app for viewing TV shows would work out of the box for a TV set-top box, but until today it just wasn't so. It's all part of the bigger issue Google has with delivering content and media to Android devices, which currently outnumber everything else on the market from a market share perspective.

The good news is that you finally can watch shows and films you're rented or purchased, right on your big screen via the Sony Google TV box. If you've been waiting to give it a try, now's your chance. Grab it from Google Play.

Via: +Google TV Friends

Google's final day of 25-cent apps features Horn, Nova Launcher Prime, Air Control and more

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:19 PM PDT

Android Central

Google Play's 25-cent promotional sale has gone into its final day with a handful of new apps and games that are just about as good as free. Topping the list are:

Check out our list of Android apps from the first four days below! Many of them have had their prices knocked back up to normal, but maybe you'll luck out. Oh, and be sure to leave a comment if you find any others that are on sale. 

read more

From the Editor's Desk: The silly season returns

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 07:46 AM PDT

Phil Nickinson

Ahhhhhh, fall. The temperatures finally are starting to drop. Football is in full swing. And the Android crazies are out in force.

It's kind of a weird time for product cycles, right? Most of the really big phones for the year are on the shelves, but we've still got the likes of the Galaxy Note 2 and the the Droid RAZR HD lurking for the U.S. markets. We'll still see a smattering of single-day events, but no huge shows like CES or MWC until we reach the new year. 

And that's were, I believe, the silly season comes from. Folks want to stay excited. And editors want to keep you excited. That's how we end up with rumors of 17 different Nexus devices. Or $99 Nexus tablets. Or, ZOMG, there might be a new Nexus out in the fourth quarter.

Sense the trend there?

read more

Sony begins to rollout ICS to Xperia U, Xperia Sola and Xperia Go

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT

Xperia U

Sony recent announced it has begun to roll out Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to three of their devices. The Xperia U, Xperia Sola and Xperia Go were all released with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) as they represent entry level devices in Sony's lineup. We saw an update a few weeks back for these devices and we wondered whether or not that would pave the way for ICS, and we're glad to see that it did.

Here are some of the new features you can expect with the update:

  • Lock screen with better functionality
  • Resizable widgets
  • Improved control of data consumption
  • New ways to experience your Sony content in WALKMAN, Album and Movies
  • The Xperia Sola will also be getting 'glove mode', which will add Sony's "floating touch" technology to make it work well while wearing gloves

Remember, if you are going to update, you'll need to ensure that your device is attached to a computer. The update is beginning to rollout today and it will continue over the next few weeks, so if you haven't seen it yet, hold tight.

Have you received your update yet? We'd love to hear from you in our Sony Xperia Forum.

Source: Sony
Posted by at 5:51 AM 0 comments

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Google Android News Android Forums

North Korea part of the Android tablet market?

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 03:04 PM PDT

If you were a looking for a tablet device in a closed country like North Korea, which is largely ostracized by much of the world even in matters of trade, how would you go about doing so? One option may be to get one from a company producing them "in country." That option may be a reality based on a photograph that recently surfaced from Pyongyang.

The photo shows Choi Cheol Min of the Chosun Computer company holding what appears to be about a 10-inch tablet. Based on the screen, the device may be running Google's Android operating system. In the background is a shelf full of boxes labeled with "Samjiyon" which is the name of a tablet maker in North Korea. However, it is not clear whether the device being held by Choi is the same device sold in the boxes.

Sources have noted the irony of a closed country like North Korea, which goes so far as to cut off access to much of the Internet, taking advantage of an open-source project like Android in order to produce a tablet device. We don’t anticipate an announcement any time soon regarding availability of the device in other markets.

source: Wall Street Journal

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon versions of Samsung Galaxy Note II may be in FCC pipeline

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 02:37 PM PDT

As we reported earlier, AT&T and Samsung have released a joint statement regarding the impending release of the Samsung Galaxy Note II. This followed news that Samsung was working with several major carriers to bring the device to the U.S. market. Samsung has scheduled an event for October 24th in New York where it is anticipated a more detailed announcement regarding the Galaxy Note II will be made.

Although no dates for availability in the U.S. and Canadien markets have been made yet, interest in the imminent release will be fueled by the discovery of what appears to be the Galaxy Note II wending its way through the FCC approval process for three different carriers. The first device spotted is an SGH-i317 with specifications that appear to be consistent with AT&T and possible Canadien carriers. Another device going by model number SCH-i605 has CDMA and GSM antennas along with a 700 MHz LTE band appears to be headed to Verizon as a dual-band device. Finally, an SGH-T889 might be headed to T-Mobile based on the inclusion of a 1700 MHz AWS frequency.

source: Engadget

Day 5 of Google’s 25-cent app deals is now live

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 12:49 PM PDT

It’s Day 5, and the final day for Google’s big 25-cent app sale. The first four days brought us some really hot deals, and day five is no exception. Hit the break for the full list.

Day 4 is still live so grab them before it’s too late.

source: Google Play

CyanogenMod Working On OTA Update Solution, Plans On Dropping ROM Manager In The Process

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 08:47 AM PDT

 

CyanogenMod is about to become a little bit better for all by bringing its own OTA update system to the masses. Many of you are scratching your heads and wondering what this means, right? Well if you’re a CM ROM user, you’re well-aware that in order to grab an update, you would traditionally use ROM Manager which allows users to quickly and efficiently pull updates manually to their ROMs. The only catch with ROM Manager is that it’s not open-source, unlike the CM ROM itself. So the CM team decided enough is enough and developed its own open-source updating method within its own builds.

The newly developed OTA update solution works in a simple way too. While it won’t include push notifications (that feature requires Google Apps framework), the updater will automatically check for updates at user-defined intervals and pull the update once something is available, pulling its info from get.cm. The awesome thing is the updater will allow users to pull updates whether they’re the official, alpha or nightlies builds.

At this stage, we only know it’s currently being worked on and will be on its way soon— though when soon exactly is is anyone’s guess.

source: Android Police

Average cellular data usage of Android users is about 870MB per month, says NPD

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 06:32 PM PDT

 

You would expect that the average Android smartphone user would use at least a couple of gigabytes a month. But according to statistics provided by NPD Collective Intelligence, it is much lower.

Research suggests that on average, Android smartphone users utilize only use about 870MB a month on cellular networks, as opposed to 2.5GB on home wireless networks. To be honest, when I read this I thought everyone was crazy, or it was time for me to get new glasses. Especially with network restrictions and data caps provided by large carriers like Verizon and AT&T, you think people would use as much data as possible without exceeding limits.

Using software by the name of "SmartMeter", NPD tracked 1,000 Android devices to obtain data for their recent tests. After collecting what the company needed, NPD categorized the experiment "by age". As it turns out, users that were 55 years or older, used a very light amount of 750MB on a monthly basis, while participants within the age group of 18-24 used around 1.05GB. This data consisting all on cellular data.

During the Wi-Fi usage tests participants 55 and older averaged at around 1.42GB/ month, while ages 25-34 used more than twice that, at 3.01GB. Though these statistics may seem a bit unrealistic, you have to take in to consideration that:

  • Location of subjects is unknown
  • Devices used are unknown
  • And chosen networks are still a mystery

NPD also revealed that they will be performing similar tests, on iOS users. Perhaps we should perform our own spin-off experiment on TalkAndroid. Would you participate? I would love to hear your comments.

Source: Fierce Wireless

 
Posted by at 5:40 AM 0 comments
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