Thursday, 19 August 2010

Android Community

Android Community

Acer Waiting for Android 3.0 to Launch Tablet

Posted: 19 Aug 2010 09:40 AM PDT

The rumors about an Acer tablet aren’t necessarily rumors, anymore, we don’t imagine. The company has come out and shown an Android tablet, after all. With that announcement, though, was the revelation that the tablet would launch with Android 2.2. Nothing wrong with that, more or less, but when the public already knows there’s a newer version of Android on the way (set to be unveiled later this year), you can see why manufacturers might want to wait to get the latest software before they release a product. And, according to this new report, that’s exactly what’s happening.

Acer is apparently putting their tablet dreams on a short-term hold for the moment, as they wait to get their hands on Android 3.0, or Gingerbread. There’s no confirmation as to what Gingerbread brings to the table, other than support for higher resolution screens, but we imagine that it must hold plenty if these companies want to put their manufacturing plans on hold to get the latest and greatest software. The new tablet was scheduled to launch by the end of this year, but with the wait for 3.0, Acer is said to be getting ready to launch the tablet next year, hopefully in the first quarter.

[via DigiTimes]

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Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile GPS Fix Coming in September

Posted: 19 Aug 2010 09:31 AM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy S variant for T-Mobile, the Vibrant, is known to have some issues with its GPS. In fact, it’s not the only US-based Galaxy S with the problem. Luckily though, Samsung has admitted to the situation, and have been diligent about getting a fix out the door to alleviate the problem. They’ve even gone as far as to issue a statement about it, and have promised a software fix by the early weeks of September.

Here’s what T-Mobile has to say about it:

“Samsung Mobile is aware that under certain conditions, the GPS on our U.S. Galaxy S devices may not be meeting performance expectations. We are diligently evaluating the situation and will provide an update as soon as possible.”

We know that they’ll have to fix the Network Assisted (which is for indoors), and the Autonomous (outdoors) receivers, as both have an issue coordinating the owner’s location. But, we’re confident they can push out a fix in the time frame they’ve outlined. It would be nice, though, if it were packed nicely with the update to Android 2.2. It is September we’re talking about here, after all. But, beggars can’t be choosers, we guess.

[via Cellphone Signal]

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Google Uses Honeycomb for Next Android Codename, After Gingerbread

Posted: 19 Aug 2010 09:21 AM PDT

Google’s usage of codenames in the vein of tasty treats isn’t new — it’s been this way since the beginning. And generally, they tend to leak out well before the software even gets shown off. We knew about Gingerbread well in advance, and that has yet to even be officially announced. And now we can say we knew what was coming after that even sooner.

According to a new rumor, it’s sounding like Google has chosen “Honeycomb” as the next codename for Google’s Android Operating System. That comes after Gingerbread, or Android 3.0. The rumor goes on to say that Honeycomb won’t actually be another major revision number, like from Android 2.2 to Android 3.0. Instead, it will be somewhere like Android 3.1 or 3.2. Then again, with a new name to the OS, it could very well mean they’ve already got big plans for the update. It’s good to see that Google’s planning this far in advance. What do you think of Honeycomb?

[via Boy Genius Report]

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Pandigital unveils new Android eReader

Posted: 19 Aug 2010 05:00 AM PDT

Pandigital didn’t do so well with its first eReader offering having some serious issues. The company is set to come back with a new eReader that will launch next month for $199.99. The eReader will run Android and has some features that sound good on paper.

The reader will have a 7-inch color TFT LCD screen that is touch sensitive and has a stylus that can be used for input as well .The device will be able to access the web via WiFi and view video and other multimedia content.

The tablet will use an ARM 11 processor and have 2GB of internal storage. That storage can be expanded by SD card sup to 32GB. The player measures 5.2″ x 7.2″ x 0.5″ and weighs 11.8 ounces.

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Droid Incredible for Verizon Not Getting Android 2.2 Today

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 01:05 PM PDT

Have to love those rumors, right? Unfortunately, we’re not really fans of them when they turn out to be dead-ends. For example, that rumor last week that the Droid Incredible, manufactured by HTC, was getting Android 2.2 starting on August 18th? Well, turns out that it isn’t true at all.

According to Verizon Support, thanks to Twitter, the Droid Incredible update is in limbo. About as much limbo as it can be. Their newest tweet basically says that they’ve got no information, and that the update that was supposedly happening today, isn’t. Just like that, it gets shot down. So, for all those folks out there that aren’t rooted and not already running Froyo, you’ll just have to keep on waiting. But hey, it can’t be too much longer now, right?

[via Verizon Support]

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Samsung Galaxy U Specifications Revealed

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 12:30 PM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy U may not have been the cream of the crop at all, or ever, but it’s certainly worthy of its own praise. Just uncovered over at Samsung Hub, the specifications for the upcoming Galaxy U have been unveiled. And while it may not be as impressive as its S-branded sibling, it’s still worthy of the Android platform that it carries.

The Galaxy U features network specifications for J-CDMA and CDMA Rev.A, and it features a 3.7-inch AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen display with 16M color support, and resolution of 480×800. The processor under the hood is 1GHz, and there’s a 5MP auto-focus camera on the back, with the ability to record video up to 720p HD. Obviously, it’s running the Android Operating System, but there’s no word quite yet on what version number it is. We’re hoping Android 2.2, at least. It has a 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS connectivity, and it has a microSD card slot (there’s apparently going to be an 8GB card bundled with the phone come launch day, but it can be expanded to 32GB). The battery is said to be 1500mAh. No word on exact release date or how much it will cost, but that should come soon enough. Oh, and it comes in white and black.

[via Samsung Hub]

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Symantec Identifies Stealth Trojan in Tap Snake Game

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 11:31 AM PDT

While trojans and viruses have always been a big problem for the PC market, it’s just been a generalized urban myth for the Android mobile Operating System since its debut. While there was plenty of speculation about the damage you could do to the Android system, and someone’s phone or data, it had never managed to make it to the mainstream. Until now. This is the second, or third, time that something like a trojan has managed to make headlines. But unlike a wallpaper, this one’s embedded in a video game.

Symantec has positively identified a stealth trojan tucked away inside the video game, Tapsnake. The game is available in the Android Market, so we’ll go ahead and say this: don’t download it. A few people started to notice that, when you start the game your satellite indicator would pop-up in the right-hand part of the notification bar. This entailed that GPS data was indeed being transmitted, in some fashion. When Symantec dove deeper, this is what they determined:

“What was requesting this data? Well, it was a Trojan included with the game, which then uploads data to a remote server, allowing another person to monitor the location of the phone without the knowledge of the user.”

However, that’s not all. To make the stealth trojan actually work, a second, paid-for application has to be installed on another Android-based device. As Symantec puts it, “In order to receive the GPS coordinates, a second, paid-for application called ‘GPS Spy’ must be installed on another Android device. In this case, the developer describes it as an application to track another mobile.”

Symantec has verified that Tapsnake uploads your GPS data every 15 minutes to a free App Engine service. Then, with that second paid-for app, someone can then download that data and use it to make points in Google Maps. It boils down that someone can know where you were, the exact location and time, at all times.

[via TG Daily]

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Dell Streak Ripped Apart by iFixIt

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 11:18 AM PDT

There’s a few folks out there that, when they get a shiny new toy, immediately want to take it apart and find out all the cool little intricacies of the device. Find out how it ticks, more or less. And, most of them work for iFixIt. The group that’s become notorious for ripping apart shiny new gadgets, and detailing what exactly makes them so noteworthy, has done it again. And this time, the Dell Streak made it under their fingers.

While there’s plenty of details in there for someone who’s really interested in hearing about what’s inside the Streak, the single most noteworthy thing would be the LCD panel. That is actually bonded to the front glass, so you can’t actually just replace the LCD assembly. But, like we said, if you’re itching to find out what circuits make what do what, then go ahead and follow the source link below.

[via iFixIt]

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