Android Community |
- T-Mobile Vibrant Gets a GPS update, still no word on 2.2
- Firefox 4.0 Beta available now
- MLB Playoffs Live Coverage available on EVO, Epic, And Droid Incredible
- Notion Ink sign digital comic deal for Adam tablet [Video]
- Yahoo! Messenger with Video Calling Coming To Android
- T-Mobile Responds to G2 Root controversy
- Samsung Galaxy Tab “Porn” button prompts double-take
- Sprint Galaxy Tab to be $399 with 2yr agreement?
- Amazon set to launch its own Android app store
- Glu brings Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock to Android
- CSL Spice Mi700 (aka Viewsonic ViewPad 7) gets early review
- Augen will toss six new tablets onto market all packing Android
- Dell Streak gets unofficial Froyo 2.2 ROM [Video]
- Adobe AIR now Available in Android Market
- NYT, WSJ and USA Today planning Samsung Galaxy Tab apps
- Samsung Galaxy Tab Dutch pricing €749 for 16GB, €849 for 32GB? [Update: Confirmed!]
- T-Mobile Motorola DEFY gets water-tested [Video]
- Motorola DROID 2 Global prematurely outed
- Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 now shipping
- HTC Merge/Lexikon poses for more leaked photos
| T-Mobile Vibrant Gets a GPS update, still no word on 2.2 Posted: 08 Oct 2010 10:43 AM PDT Many people have noticed that the T-Mobile Vibrant has been pushed an update. And although it's not 2.2 like many users would have hoped, it's still a useful update fixing some GPS issues. 
Registered as Baseband version T959UVJI6 – ECLAIR.UVJI6, the update is re portly fixing the annoying GPS situation. Now your location can be determined quicker and then more precisely. The update is still being pushed over-the-air so keep a lookout detailing the update’s availability for you. ) |
| Firefox 4.0 Beta available now Posted: 08 Oct 2010 10:24 AM PDT Last week we heard word of the official rebranding of Fennec 2.0 to Firefox 4.0 to stay current with it's desktop counterpart. Well now it's officially in beta for Android. Firefox is built on the same technology platform as the desktop browser and is optimized in many ways for mobile browsing. 
This build's major focus is to increase and fine tune the application's performance and responsiveness. Changes to the app include Electrolysis and Layers, Electrolysis allows the browser interface to run in a separate process from the rendering web content which, in turn, creates an overall faster browsing experience. Layers brings improvements to performance in graphics such as scrolling, zooming, and animations. The beta is available now for free from Firefox and they are currently looking to the masses to test their much anticipated browser. QR to Firefox Download:  [Via Firefox Blog] ) |
| MLB Playoffs Live Coverage available on EVO, Epic, And Droid Incredible Posted: 08 Oct 2010 10:05 AM PDT If you are a fan of baseball and have the Sprint EVO 4G, Epic, or Droid Incredible, you're in luck. The MLB.com At Bat 2010 application has not only lowered it's price to $4.99 to accommodate the coming end of the season, but it has added the ability to watch live video. 
If you own one of the devices listed above you are only $4.99 from MLB on the go live video coverage of the playoffs. This is a whole $10 less than it was on launch at the beginning of the season. QR Code:  |
| Notion Ink sign digital comic deal for Adam tablet [Video] Posted: 08 Oct 2010 09:56 AM PDT Notion Ink and LongBox Digital have just announced a partnership that will see the Adam tablet – and, indeed, any devices running the company’s Genesis interface released over the next two years – preloaded with a comic app for browsing, downloading and viewing digital comics. The app has a distinctive, comic-style UI of its own, as you can see in the video below.
Meanwhile there will be a generic Android version of the LongBox Digital app, together with iOS versions for iPhone and iPad, and we’ve guessing you’ll be able to transfer comics to the company’s existing Mac/PC apps too. Click here to view the embedded video. [via SlashGear] ) |
| Yahoo! Messenger with Video Calling Coming To Android Posted: 08 Oct 2010 09:56 AM PDT Video calling has become the new thing in mobile communication ever since the world heard of FaceTime. Many video calling applications have come to many platforms, but none with the brand recognition that Yahoo! boasts. 
Yahoo! plans to bring video calling to the masses via it's popular Yahoo Messenger instant messaging service. Users of the free app will not only be allowed to call between Android devices, but calls can be placed to and from Apple's iPhone, and even from Yahoo Messenger for PCs. According to Yahoo, Messenger's user base consists of 81 million users worldwide bringing the availability of video calling truly to the masses. Unlike Apple's FaceTime, Messenger's video chat will work over both WiFi and your carriers network. We should be seeing Yahoo! Messenger in the Android Market soon. [Via Reuters] ) |
| T-Mobile Responds to G2 Root controversy Posted: 08 Oct 2010 08:44 AM PDT Fans of rooting Android devices to make them more useful or different were hit with a road bump this week when the G2 was found to have a chip preventing software modification. After some stir up T-Mobile has now responded to this issue with a short Press Release. 
The press release doesn't give us much information that we didn't already know. But this chip provides a safety rollback in case the system's software gets corrupted. It has been said to be a software issue, and the issue has been passed on to HTC for further review. Press Release: The HTC software implementation on the G2 stores some components in read-only memory as a security measure to prevent key operating system software from becoming corrupted and rendering the device inoperable. There is a small subset of highly technical users who may want to modify and re-engineer their devices at the code level, known as "rooting," but a side effect of HTC's security measure is that these modifications are temporary and cannot be saved to permanent memory. As a result the original code is restored.” ) |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab “Porn” button prompts double-take Posted: 08 Oct 2010 06:02 AM PDT We’re obviously far too mature to laugh at this sort of thing, but we will admit to a sly smile at the sight of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab with a “Porn” button in the menus. No, this isn’t the Korean company’s attempt to corner the tablet erotica market – that Steve Jobs so memorably said the iPad offered “freedom” from – but a poorly judged design decision on the Romanian version of the Froyo slate.
Mobilissimo spotted the incongruously labeled button on the Galaxy Tab, and handily have an explanation too. Apparently the Romanian for “start” can be translated as “Pornire”, which Samsung’s UI engineers have subsequently abbreviated. Pressing it will, we’re guessing, take you back to the Android homescreen, rather than unlocking a cornucopia of illicit thrills. [via SlashPhone] ) |
| Sprint Galaxy Tab to be $399 with 2yr agreement? Posted: 08 Oct 2010 05:05 AM PDT More rumored Samsung Galaxy Tab pricing, and this time it’s one of the US models getting some figures attached. A BGR source at Sprint is claiming that the Sprint Galaxy Tab will be priced at $399 with a new, two-year agreement when it arrives on November 14th.
Meanwhile the full retail price for the CDMA Froyo slate will apparently be $599. According to Samsung at the official US Galaxy Tab launch event, the Sprint model will be able to make video calls over WiFi but not 3G. ) |
| Amazon set to launch its own Android app store Posted: 08 Oct 2010 04:44 AM PDT
Amazon is set to offer up its own app store for Android smartphones according to the Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the plans. The WSJ reports that some developers have already been approached by Amazon about participating in the project. According to documentation, Amazon wants 30% of the sales price for the apps sold on its store. That is the same fee that Apple and Google charges developers right now. Amazon has offered no official comment on the story other than to say it doesn’t comment on rumors. ) |
| Glu brings Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock to Android Posted: 08 Oct 2010 04:32 AM PDT I think that many of us can admit easily enough that one of the big things that drew us to smartphones was the ability to play some cool video games wherever you may end up. Mobile gaming consoles like the PSP and DS have a lot more competition now with smartphones that pack in powerful 3D graphics capability.
One of the most popular video games around is the Guitar Hero franchise and Glu has announced that it has a new version of the game landing on the Android platform soon. The game is called Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The game will let players share scores using Open Feint and earn achievements. The game has 18 achievements to unlock and has full length songs. The look of the game has been tweaked for noobs and fans of the franchise that are familiar with the game alike. An unlockable Warrior state can be played to boost the player’s special power. The game is on the Android Market right now for $7.99. ) |
| CSL Spice Mi700 (aka Viewsonic ViewPad 7) gets early review Posted: 08 Oct 2010 03:22 AM PDT The CSL Spice Mi700 may not sound especially familiar to you, but you’ve probably heard of it as the Viewsonic ViewPad 7; the same CSL/Foxconn hardware is used by both companies, and will also launch as the Camangi FM600 and the OlivePad. Carrypad managed to acquire a unit and have kicked off the first part of their review.
So far only the hardware has been covered, but that generally gets a thumbs-up. The 7-inch display is a mere WVGA resolution – in contrast, the Samsung Galaxy Tab runs at 1024 x 6000 – but everything is solid and as you’d hope, even for a relatively budget slate. We’ll have to see how the software side holds up, but when you consider Carrypad’s Steve Paine is already saying it’s “the best Android tablet so far” that has to bode well. |
| Augen will toss six new tablets onto market all packing Android Posted: 08 Oct 2010 03:18 AM PDT Augen will toss six new tablets onto the market with screens from 7-inches to 10-inches in size with prices running from $199.99 to $599.99 and all will use Android 2.2. The tablets will also all support Adobe DE DRM. The 7-inch units include the Latte and Latte Grande and both will pack WiFi, HDMI out, 2GB of storage, and a SDHC card slot. The normal Latte has a 7-inch 800 x 480 screen and a stylus for $199. The Grande version has a 7-inch multitouch screen and an 800MHz CPU, 800 x 600 screen, compass, light sensor, and an accelerometer for an extra $50 over the base version.
The Espresso will have support for Android 3.0 and pack in WiFi, Bluetooth, a 3MP camera, accelerometer, compass, and light sensor. The most basic Espresso has a 7-inch 800 x600 screen 1GHz cortex A9 CPU, 8GB of flash storage, microSDHC card slot and will sell for $349. The Espresso dolce will pack in a 10.2-inch screen that is multitouch capable with 1024 x 768 resolution, a 1GHz A9 CPU, 8GB of storage, and microSDHC for $429. The Espresso Doppio is a netbook style tablet convertible with dual booting of Android and Ubuntu, a 10.2-inch screen, 1GHz CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth, 8GB of storage, dual USB ports, trackpad, 160GB HDD, and HD capability for $599. The final model is the Espresso Firma with a 7-inch screen 600MHz dual-core CPU, Bluetooth, WiFi, 2GB of storage and a price of $349. The machine is crammed into a portfolio that looks like a notepad with paper on one side that is supposed to send what you write to the tablet automatically.     ) |
| Dell Streak gets unofficial Froyo 2.2 ROM [Video] Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:39 AM PDT Dell’s Streak tablet has seen its Android 2.1 update – in certain regions, anyway – but how about Android 2.2 Froyo for the 5-inch slate? It’s not an official update, instead being a port of a vanilla CyanogenMod ROM that’s been fettled by Stephen Hyde (aka DJ_Steve), but it’s a way to get the latest version of Android on your Streak with no delay.
There are a few hiccups with this particular build, including the occasional random reboot, and the installation process isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but the end result is Froyo on the Streak and well in advance of any official Dell option. Anyone brave enough to try it out? Click here to view the embedded video. [via StreakSmart] ) |
| Adobe AIR now Available in Android Market Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:24 AM PDT Adobe AIR is the cross-platform application system that we heard about earlier this year with plans for a Q4 release. After seeing some demos and hearing word of coming applications it has now been released on the Android platform.
This opens up a whole new way for apps to get ported to Android, without any coding at all if the application is built on the AIR platform. As seen in the video below, you can see an AIR app running on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS both on an iPod Touch and iPad. This is all done without any change in code. The download itself is just the runtime, so use to the end user is not quite there. New applications will be available to download directly from the Android Market. This opens up a whole new way for developers to publish apps. Working on only one set of code they can truly release their application cross platform. Click here to view the embedded video. More info to come regarding app releases, stay tuned. [Via AndroidCentral] ) |
| NYT, WSJ and USA Today planning Samsung Galaxy Tab apps Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:59 AM PDT Pricing for the Galaxy Tab may not be the only thing yet to be finalized, according to the WSJ. They’ve heard that news outlets are circling the 7-inch Froyo slate, viewing it as potentially opening up the mobile news market. Their sources claim that the NYT, WSJ and USA Today are all developing news apps for the Galaxy Tab for release later this year.
Certain Galaxy Tab models will be supplied with the NYT app preloaded, according to the source, with content free until January 2011. The WSJ app will offer content on a subscription basis. The three organizations are apparently hoping that their software will allow them to further break into the Android handset market, after making its debut on the Samsung slate. ) |
| Samsung Galaxy Tab Dutch pricing €749 for 16GB, €849 for 32GB? [Update: Confirmed!] Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:41 AM PDT Another day, another set of supposedly official prices for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, this time for the Dutch market. According to MobilityMinded, the 7-inch Android 2.2 slate will be priced at €749 for the 16GB version and €849 for the 32GB version when they arrive in the Netherlands.
Meanwhile a 64GB iPad 3G slots in-between those figures, at €799 in Europe, with a bigger display and more memory. If true, it’s ambitious pricing for Samsung. Update: Pricing confirmed by Dixons.nl [Thanks Peter!] |
| T-Mobile Motorola DEFY gets water-tested [Video] Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:17 AM PDT We had a chance to play with Motorola’s DEFY – headed to T-Mobile USA – this past week at CTIA 2010, and it’s certainly a tough little thing. Unlike other rugged smartphones it still gets a big display – 3.7-inches in this case – and doesn’t feel like a great block of rubber.
Meanwhile, Engadget managed to find a tank of water and promptly dunked the DEFY, only to discover that T-Mobile’s claims about the smartphone’s water-resilience are indeed accurate. Last month we saw the DEFY hold up to a few other durability tests, which certainly suggests this is one tough phone.         ) |
| Motorola DROID 2 Global prematurely outed Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:10 AM PDT Details of Motorola’s DROID 2 Global edition prematurely leaked onto the company’s site, confirming the global-roaming CDMA/GSM smartphone and its potentially-potent 1.2GHz processor. The page has since been yanked – though is partly visible in Google’s cache – but not before confirming quadband WCDMA/HSPA for European use, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 5-megapixel camera and Android 2.2.
There’ll also be a dual LED flash, WiFI b/g/n, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, as well as the usual microSD slot content with up to 32GB cards. Adobe Flash Player Mobile 10.1 will be preloaded, and Motorola is claiming “improved touch screen technology”. Unfortunately there’s no sign of a release date or pricing, but we do know this one is headed to Verizon. [via PhoneScoop] ) |
| Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 now shipping Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:01 AM PDT Sony Ericsson has confirmed that the XPERIA X8 has begun shipping, the company’s latest Android smartphone and what’s tipped to be the cheapest model in the company’s line-up. The XPERIA X8 slots in-between the X10 and the X10 mini in terms of screen size, with a 3.2-inch panel, but has a 3.2-megapixel fixed-focus camera.
We grabbed some hands-on time with the X8 recently, and you can’t really miss the family resemblance. It’s a reasonably sturdy device, if slightly uninspired in its design, but its biggest flaw is Android 1.6. While Sony Ericsson has said it plans to update the XPERIA X8 to Android 2.1, it still doesn’t have a public timescale for that taking place. |
| HTC Merge/Lexikon poses for more leaked photos Posted: 07 Oct 2010 03:06 PM PDT Just a few days after the HTC Merge/Lexikon's user guide hit the web, more photos of the visually impressive device have hit the web. While details are still scarce we know that the phone will be sporting a 800MHz chip and will be global ready. 
Further rumors point to this not being included in the exclusive "DROID" family, it was under consideration, but since then it has been scrapped. In the user guide leaked last week we saw that it was heavily integrated with Bing. Gallery below: [Via DroidLife] ) |
There is huge money to be made in the app market with games and software to add features to Android devices and other smartphones selling for big profits. While the iPhone is very much locked down with Apple being the only place you can buy apps without jailbreaking the device, Android smartphone users can get their apps from wherever they want.
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