Friday, 1 October 2010

Android Community

Android Community

Fennec 2.0 Android Firefox Browser becomes 4.0 to keep pace with Desktop browser

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 10:28 AM PDT

Fennec, the codename for the Firefox browser on Android devices has had it's named changed from Fennec 2.0 to Fennec 4.0 to keep it more in line with the Desktop version of the browser. Currently in alpha, it is still being updated nightly and the "web rendering engines used in both browsers are the same."

Upon release, Fennec will be named "Firefox 4 for Android and Nokia N900." The simple name change will prevent the potential confusion Mozilla marketing will face when people may be confused why the mobile version is only 2.x, but the desktop version is 4.x.

[Via Mark Finkle's Blog]

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FourSquare gets 2.0 Update for Android Devices

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 07:28 AM PDT

Foursquare, the popular check-in based social networking app, has just been updated to 2.0 bringing in an array of new features. Among them is a newer, simplified UI. The new Foursquare app is geared directly towards collecting and communicating your real-world experiences.

One change is the Tips and To-Do sections have now been split and access is easier for both ultimately making it easier for you to add Tips and To-Do's. There also is a new "Add to My Foursquare" button that can be embedded on websites. If you see something online that you would like to do sometime, you can click the button and it will be added to your mobile To-Do list.

The update is available now, for free, in the android market. QR code below:

Foursquare 2.0 Download

[Via Foursquare Blog]

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Motorola ‘Begonia’ to feature T-Mobile WiFi calling

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 06:34 AM PDT

New information regarding Motorola's Cliq 2, codenamed "Begonia" has hit the web this week. Not too much information has been released but it is said to feature WiFi calling that we heard word of not too long ago.

Other information that we now know includes the following:

  • The device will ship with Android 2.2 featuring Blur
  • The keyboard is said to be "interesting" described as one solid piece without any gaps between keys. We'll see how this works out, but following the Cliq's keyboard, and competing with the G2 it will have to be very good for users to adapt.
  • WiFi calling

We heard about a WiFi calling app coming to T-Mobile Devices late last week. From a T-Mobile training slide – we learned that the new WiFi Calling application will be available only for select Android devices, and will give the user the ability to make calls over WiFi. However, it was not all good news, coming with many limitations, the WiFi calling option isn't as versatile as we could have hoped. One of these limitations is that your calls are tied to WiFi, this meaning that once you leave the WiFi radius, instead of switching to a normal call, your call would be dropped.

[Via Engadget]

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Galaxy Tab making Nov 1st UK debut says Samsung

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 04:23 AM PDT

Samsung has announced that their Galaxy Tab Android 2.2 slate will arrive in the UK on November 1st, later than the original timescale which saw them promising to deliver the 7-inch slate sometime in September 2010.  The company is yet to confirm pricing, but has said that the Galaxy Tab will be available “on a range of attractive price packages” which suggests both subsidized and SIM-free deals.

As for where you can buy it, Samsung has partnered with the Carphone Warehouse, Dixons Store Group and T-Mobile, as well as other online and high street retailers and carriers.  More on the Galaxy Tab here.

Press Release:

SAMSUNG ANNOUNCES UK AVAILABILITY OF GALAXY TAB

Android tablet device to hit the shops on 1st November 2010

Following last month’s global launch at IFA, Samsung Mobile today announces the Samsung Galaxy Tab (GT-P1000), will be available in UK stores from Monday 1st November.

Representing a new category of mobile products for the company, the Galaxy Tab features a 1GHz processor, Google’s Android 2.2, Froyo operating system, a front facing camera for video calls and a 7-inch TFT-LCD display. It can be used for everything from watching films and TV, viewing pictures, reading e-books and sharing documents, to talking to friends and colleagues via voice and video call, e-mail, instant messaging, SMS/MMS or social networking.

The light (380g) weight of the Samsung Galaxy Tab means it is extremely portable, with its dimensions easy to grip and use, it is perfectly sized for life on the go. Supporting the latest Adobe Flash Player 10.1, the device allows people to quickly and easily surf and view pages on the internet.

The ‘Readers Hub,’ Samsung’s unique e-reading application, provides easy access to a digital library, featuring everything from classical literature to the latest bestsellers and reference materials. In turn, films, videos and music are available via ‘Media Hub’ and ‘Music Hub’ applications, whilst all personal contact details, e-mail, calendar, social networking and instant messenger accounts, can be combined in the ‘Social Hub’.

Simon Stanford, Managing Director, Mobile, Samsung UK and Ireland said: “At Samsung we recognise consumers want to experience life without limits. The Samsung Galaxy Tab brings a very unique proposition to the tablet market and from 1st November, gives consumers the ultimate in connectivity and portability that they have been waiting for. It can be enjoyed by anyone – commuters, students, parents, businesses – who want to experience a complete range of entertainment, whether that be watching movies, listening to music, reading newspapers, or simply making a phone call plus much more besides.”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab will be available in the UK across all major networks, key high street and out of town electrical retailers and online such as Carphone Warehouse, Dixons Store Group and T-Mobile. The Galaxy Tab will be available on a range of attractive price packages, making it as widely accessible as possible to all consumers.

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disgo budget Android Tablet 6000 runs Eclair

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 03:51 AM PDT

£180 burning a hole in your pocket and a desire for a 7-inch Android tablet?  disgo have outed their latest budget offering, though a glance at the specs show the disgo Tablet 6000 doesn’t necessarily only do budget functionality.

For instance, there’s WiFi b/g/n and a miniHDMI port, as well as two USB ports (one Host, one Device) and, according to disgo, a separate 2D/3D graphics chip capable of HD.  It runs Android 2.1, though sadly lacks Android Market access, and is available this month for £179.99 ($285).

[via SlashGear]

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Epic 4G misses Sprint update over server issues

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 03:46 AM PDT

The Samsung Epic 4G update Sprint had promised would roll out on September 30th has failed to materialise, with the carrier blaming an “administrative issue” in getting the software onto Google’s servers.  The new firmware, which is said to address problems with the Epic 4G’s 3G upload speed, issues sending large emails, excess WiFi battery drain and problems downloading Amazon MP3s over 4G, was to come just as the 30 day return window for early adopters of the smartphone was expiring.

"We  were planning to release an update for your Samsung Epic 4G on 9/30.   The file was delivered and on track for distribution but late this  afternoon, we learned that an administrative issue prevented Google from releasing the update as we had planned.  We are working to resolve the  issue and will provide an update as soon as we understand the new  delivery schedule.

We  would like to clarify that the timing of this update has nothing to do  with the 30 day return window that many of you on these blogs have been  discussing and that this delay has nothing to do with any last minute  changes within the release package itself.  The delay is simply due to  an administrative issue that we are working to resolve." Sprint statement

There is no new timescale for the firmware’s release, but it will now inevitably come outside of that window for some owners.  No details on the particular administrative problem have been revealed.

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Samsung Continuum for Verizon gets in-wild play

Posted: 01 Oct 2010 12:28 AM PDT

Leaked details of a new Samsung Galaxy S family phone, the Verizon Continuum, have emerged, and it’s a curious development from the carrier’s existing Samsung Fascinate.  The Continuum SCH-i400 has twin touchscreens on its front – one regular panel that Android Central believe to be Super AMOLED, and a smaller, narrow OLED touchscreen at the bottom known as the “Ticker”.

That Ticker can be used for news, weather, RSS or other alerts, phone notifications, time/date and as shortcut controls; it’ll also work as a media playback control bar, and show new Facebook updates.  Swiping from side to side shows different control panes.

Meanwhile there’s a 5-megapixel camera, externally-accessed microSD card slot, dedicated camera key and TouchWiz; Verizon have also switched out Google for Bing, which is likely to disappoint a few people.  No word on how much this will cost, nor when it will arrive, but it’s certainly a curious device.

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HTC Merge/Lexikon User Guide hits the web

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 10:25 PM PDT

The upcoming HTC Merge/Lexikon's user guide has hit the web, bringing with it a lot of previously unconfirmed details. We now know that the phone, as expected, has global radios, Android 2.2, and a slide-out keyboard.

Further rumors point to this not being included in the exclusive "DROID" family, it was under consideration, but since then it has been scrapped. You can also notice from the additional pages from the user guide below that Bing is very heavily integrated with this phone. This will definitely be one of Verizon's Android featuring Bing phones that we have heard so much about over the past few days.

Screen shot 2010-09-30 at 11.20.30 PM Screen shot 2010-09-30 at 11.21.14 PM Screen shot 2010-09-30 at 11.20.55 PM Screen shot 2010-09-30 at 11.20.42 PM

[Via Droid-Life]

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Verizon future device releases revealed, a whole lot of Android Love is coming soon!

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 09:04 PM PDT

Just over a month after we got our eyes on the last Verizon roadmap for future devices, we now have new details regarding their current plans for future device launches on the carrier. Since the last roadmap we see that some devices have been canceled, some have been delayed, some have been added, and some we have yet to hear further word on. Check out for the full line-up of Android phones coming to Verizon in the next few months after the break.

October:

Samsung Continuum (SCH-i400) - This is the dual-screen Galaxy S phone that was leaked earlier this week. It's new processor, running under the code name "Garnett," will be shipping in the device and clocked at 1GHz. We have not heard much else about this device so it's probably still in the early stages of testing, expected to launch sometime in late October, and possibly November if things get further delayed.

Motorola Venus – The Motorola Venus is rumored to be the BlackBerry style Droid that we have seen as far back as July. The tipster to Engadget even claims it as being very similar to a BlackBerry with a "BlackBerry look and feel." This device will feature a full QWERTY keyboard, 1 GHz TI OMAP3 CPU, and GSM and CDMA radios.

Motorola Droid Pro - Finally a name for what we have been referring to as the Droid 2 World Edition. This may be the phone that will replace the Droid 2 making it standard as we have heard and will feature a 1.2-1.3 GHz processor. With shots and so much information we can definitely expect this by the end of October.

HTC Merge – Just as we saw a few days ago, Verizon is getting their own version of the Desire Z naming it the HTC Merge. The device has identical specs to the Desire Z and G2 and should be hitting shelves in October as well.

November:

LG enV Pro (with Android) – the enV pro will be a uniquely designed clamshell device with dual screens, global radio, and a 1 GHz processor. This is probably the same device that was hinted as the LG enV Touch 2. Following LG's habit of including NVIDIA Tegra 2 processors in their high-end phones, it's likely we will see dual-core in the evV Pro.

December:

Motorola Droid (Tegra 2) – With very little information on the upcoming Droid from Verizon and Motorola we can only assume it's going to be a new device and not an update of the Droid 2 when it ships in December.

2011:

Motorola Stingray – This is the Motorola tablet that we have been hearing about for quite some time now. Engadget has claimed that it will feature a 10-inch display, Tegra 2 processor, 16GB internal storage, and will be running Android 3.0 when it launches in early 2011. The tablet will launch with only 3G support but an LTE modem will be provided later in the year by Motorola.

So that's what is coming to Verizon in the next couple of months. Thoughts? Expectations? Let us know in the comments section!

[Via Engadget]

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Samsung Epic 4G update delayed due to administrative issues

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 08:38 PM PDT

The much anticipated Samsung Epic 4G update that was supposed to fix 3G uploading speeds has been delayed due to issues getting the software loaded onto Google's service. The update is ready, it just can not be downloaded, yet.

In an official statement from Sprint regarding why we have yet to see the update been pushed to devices, they stated:

“We learned this evening that there were administrative issues getting this software loaded to Google’s servers.  We don’t yet have an expected time when this will be available but will update you as soon as possible.  Please see the statement below that was sent by the Sprint Product Management team:  
 
We  were planning to release an update for your Samsung Epic 4G on 9/30.   The file was delivered and on track for distribution but late this  afternoon, we learned that an administrative issue prevented Google from  releasing the update as we had planned.  We are working to resolve the  issue and will provide an update as soon as we understand the new  delivery schedule.

We  would like to clarify that  the timing of this update has nothing to do  with the 30 day return window that many of you on these blogs have been  discussing and that this delay has nothing to do with any last minute  changes within the release package itself.  The delay is simply due to  an administrative issue that we are working to resolve. 

The update is set to fix the following:

  • an issue where the battery would drain as a result of the cell modem continuously searching for available networks while on standby
  • an issue with 3G upload speeds
  • an issue with Amazon not being able to download music over 4G
  • an issue where large emails would be slow to upload

More information on this coming soon, it can't be too long until the download is ready, and when it is – we will for sure let you know.

[Via Sprint Forums]

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SwiftKey dominates Android’s paid downloads, reigning in as top keyboard

Posted: 30 Sep 2010 11:26 AM PDT

Swiftkey, the insanely popular artificial keyboard in the beta stage of development, has now been the top paid app in the Android Market for a week and counting. If you do not know what SwiftKey is, it is an artificial keyboard that learns your writing style and habits and uses them to be the most productive and efficient typing keyboard on the Android platform.

Not only will it complete words for you, making typing even easier it will also complete full – commonly used – sentences further streamlining your typing experience. It has received great reviews and the public beta alone boasted over a quarter million downloads. Now it is available in the Android Market for a mere 99 cents, it is retaining it's popularity along with the number one paid spot on the Marketplace.

"SwiftKey uses TouchType’s patent-pending FluencyTM language prediction engine to learn a user’s writing style and complete words and sentences for them, making touchscreen typing easier. The technology, based on artificial intelligence breakthroughs from the University of Cambridge, understands the relationship between words and can accurately predict about a third of words before a user taps a key."

Click here to view the embedded video.



You can pick up SwiftKey using the QR code below

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