Android Community |
- Off-Brand Google Android Toys Walk Toward Total World Domination
- Samsung Aims at 60 Million in 2011, Will Reveal New Galaxy S at WMC
- Samsung Mobile USA Re-Intros Android 2.3 Gingerbread on the Nexus S
- California Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Cell Searches Legal
- Total Jerk Developer Steals Beta Game He Was Supposed to be Testing, Publishes to Android Market
- Why I want the Scrappy Little Motorola i886 Android Smartphone on Sprint
- Verizon iPhone 4: What Does it Mean for Android?
- Samsung Epic 4G Now Only $199.99 from Sprint
- Samsung Fascinate Receives Maintenance Update
- Samsung Galaxy S2 to have 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus & NFC tips report
- LG Optimus 2X gets £500 UK pre-order ahead of Feb 21 release
- Dell Streak 7 torn down on video
- Prototype cyclometer from Pioneer is Android-powered
- Imo.im app for Android gets voice IM and more
- Android Community Daily Wrap Up: January 10 2011
- MetroPCS Leaks First LTE Android Phone, the Samsung SCH-R910
- Amazon Drops Samsung Epic 4G Price to $99
- HTC Droid Incredible the One to Stop the Bullet? [UPDATE]
- Goodbye, CES 2011 – It’s been fun
- HTC to Ship Around 10 Million 4G Smartphones in 2011
| Off-Brand Google Android Toys Walk Toward Total World Domination Posted: 11 Jan 2011 11:50 AM PST Well would you look at that? It was bound to happen eventually, and this isn’t the first time it’s ever happened, but finally there are some super cute knock-off Android toys we can have walking along our desktops. In contrast with the super fine and amazingly well-made official Android toys that were launched into outer space, manufactured by DYZPlastic, and designed by Andrew Bell, these walking versions are made cheaply and to be used only in emergencies (like when you need an Android toy and only have $4.
These cuties come in a pack of three and indeed do only cost $4 for the whole set, or $1.90 for each individual piece. They’re made of some unnamed plastic, come in red, black, and green, and are all wind-ups. Their dimensions are 2.68 in x 1.73 in x 1.26 in (6.8 cm x 4.4 cm x 3.2 cm) and they each weigh 2.72 oz (77 g.) I can hear them wurrring and clicking now. Invasion! [Via DealExtreme] )
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| Samsung Aims at 60 Million in 2011, Will Reveal New Galaxy S at WMC Posted: 11 Jan 2011 11:27 AM PST Sixty million what, you may ask? Sixty million smartphones, of course. Seem like a large number to you? It is. This year they sold right around one third of that, Shin Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung's mobile business division saying the following: “I think we did better than our previous goal of selling 270 million mobile phones in 2010. The 20 million smartphones sold gives us a foundation to build on in the premium segment too.” He told this to Korea Times on the sidelines of CES 2011. He went on to note that they’ll aim at strengthening their positions in regions such as Southeast Asia, China, and Central and South Ameria.
Shin also noted that Samsung will be unveiling a brand new version of the Galaxy S handset at World Mobile Congress in Barcelona in February. This new phone will be powered by a dual-core processor and will have a super AMOLED-plus display with enhanced density and will of course be running on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Also Shin noted that they’d be expanding their Galaxy Tab lineup and will be releasing more detailed business plans and WMC. Shin noted, “Upping our competitiveness in applications and content is crucial for us to improve our smartphones. We will continue to invest in our four-major content hubs (Readers, Media, Social and Music) and strengthen our collaboration with developers and encourage them to produce premium content,” and added that he expected the global mobile-phone market to go up by 10 percent this year, with the smartphone market blowing this number away with a 30 to 40 percent increase. [Via Korea Times] )
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| Samsung Mobile USA Re-Intros Android 2.3 Gingerbread on the Nexus S Posted: 11 Jan 2011 11:13 AM PST Neato. Just incase you have no idea what Android 2.3 Gingerbread is, or would just like to feel excited all over again about CES 2011, Samsung Mobile USA has just uploaded a video of an official fellow showing off the Nexus S packed with Gingerbread once again. Why release this video today? Maybe to punch Apple in the gut for releasing the iPhone 4 on Verizon today? Idunno.
While we’re here, lets talk about presentation. How do you view this fellow? It seems to me that he’s got all this info memorized, and to the layman he might even seem to be really interested in the phone and perhaps even talking like he’d never rehearsed? Take a peek. Judge him! [Via Samsung Mobile USA] )
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| California Supreme Court Rules Warrantless Cell Searches Legal Posted: 11 Jan 2011 11:03 AM PST Oh crap, better set your phone’s texts to auto-destruct if you’re living in the good ol’ CA and plan on dealing drugs or whatnot. I don’t know what illegalities you’d be texting in the first place, as it seems to me to be completely idiotic to write down, photograph, or otherwise record the things you’re doing you know could get you in trouble, but check out this new law: A 5-2 decision in People versus Gregory Diaz released just yesterday says that a case involving the arrest of a drug dealer way back in 2007 stands. This case is important because it was an appeal by the dealer, Diaz, saying his arrest should have been thrown out because the police searched his cell phone’s text messages without a warrant. California court says that’s alright now.
These cops were well-versed in drug language, if you’d like to know, since the actual text that got this fellow in trouble read like this: “6 4 80″ which the officer interpreted to mean that a buyer wanted to purchase six tabs of ecstasy for $80 USD. When the officer confronted Diaz with this text, he admitted to participating in the drug sale. What?! Doesn’t that seem wacky to you? But that’s not the point. The point of this whole story is that Justice Ming Chin wrote in the majority opinion that the contents of a cell phone “are like the contents of clothing or a cigarette pack found on a suspect’s person.” The US Supreme Court has previously found that those types of items do not require a warrant to search under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The dissenting opinion, which I’m inclined to agree with a bit more, Associate Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar writes that the cell phone is different from those listed items simply because of the large amount of totally personal information that can fit inside – “Never before has it been possible to carry so much personal or business information in one’s pocket or purse,” Werdegar wrote. You can check out the full PDF of the case [here]. [Via YahooPC] )
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| Total Jerk Developer Steals Beta Game He Was Supposed to be Testing, Publishes to Android Market Posted: 11 Jan 2011 10:42 AM PST This is why we can’t have nice things. Cripes. A couple days ago, a fellow by the name of cyberniko (this is his name on XDA forums) intended on sending his game out to a small group of developers who where then supposed to take a look at it on their Android devices, let him know how it worked, give him feedback, etc. That happened all fine for the most part, except for one gigantic terrible jerk move on the part of another XDA forum member. This terrible jerk downloaded the unsigned APK of the game, signed it himself, and submitted it to the Android Market just as if it were his very own game. Evil.
The following message now appears aside the now-updated real version of the game, available for download in Beta still:
I suppose that most people, people like myself, would like to know the name of the developer who took the time to thief this game and a pass it off as their own work? We just happen to have that name: DavinciDevelopers. After you’ve gone nuts all over those fellows for the crimes beyond recognition, head over to here: http://vuxia.com/ironsoldiers.apk to grab the Beta game for your own to test and love on. As you might guess, the actual developers site is the same: http://vuxia.com/ and you should report all bugs and mishaps going on with the game there. So take a look at that game – it kinda totally rocks, and have some awesome fun with it, and think about the difference between soliciting people to take a peek at the game as the developer VS soliciting people to download the game as a person who did NOT develop the game. Hard stuff! [Via XDA] )
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| Why I want the Scrappy Little Motorola i886 Android Smartphone on Sprint Posted: 11 Jan 2011 10:14 AM PST This phone is amazing. Not in the ways that most of the phones we report about are amazing, especially not in the screen real-estate or high-class camera areas, but in the ruggedness and the only-what’s-required features on it. This is the phone that those of you who’ve hated every step of the way out of the home-only phone generation will want. It does what you think it’ll do, plus a little more, in a completely easy to handle and RUGGED package. Totally bad.
This Motorola i886 meets 810G requirements for dust, shock, vibration, low and high temps, low pressure, and solar radiation. That’d be enough for a hardcore lady or dude like you, but there’s more excellence as well. It’s got a regular numeric pad (surprisingly rare these days) as well as a slide-out QUERTY keyboard. It’s got a small display (just large enough for the things you need to do on it, you basic dude you,) a 2 megapixel camera on the back, GPS capability, Bluetooth, 1380mAh battery, and a microSD memory card slot. This phone is a tiny 116.3×51.1×18.5 mm and weights right around 141.2 grams. It’s available right this second from Motorola for $79.99 after $50 mail-in rebate and attached to a 2 year contract. I want it – do you? Or is the promise of giant screens, fantastic graphics, and a phone that actually lists what version of Android it’s using in the listing too much to bear?! Do tell.     [Via Sprint] )
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| Verizon iPhone 4: What Does it Mean for Android? Posted: 11 Jan 2011 09:20 AM PST The big question today on the Google side of the mobile world is – what will the iPhone 4, now carried by Verizon, do to Android’s Verizon share? A few things we’ve got to take into account. First and perhaps most importantly – this new Verizon iPhone 4 DOES NOT run on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, instead only running at 3G speeds. How much of a leg-up does this give the oncoming torrent of Android phones?
Next, lets consider the fact that Verizon answered a question about their exclusiveness of contract with Apple – there is none! If this also means that iPhone will be going on different networks like Sprint, should the rest of the 3G phone family be worried as well? After that, our source at Verizon tells us that the company has told their employees that if they add an iPhone 4 to their employee account, they will blacklist the number from their employee account program – harshness! This Verizon iPhone 4 comes in white. [UPDATE - this was just another mixup where the item was listed "accidentally"] This Verizon iPhone 4 does not suffer from “Death Grip” destroying of its connection bars like the AT&T version did (and does.) Finally, a small but potentially important blow to manufacturers of cases for iPhone (this has become a big industry!) – the ringer switch has been moved to accommodate a change in the antenna! Obviously this is the death of the iPhone altogether! What do you think? Also feel free to check out the rest of our Verizon event coverage on SlashGear:
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| Samsung Epic 4G Now Only $199.99 from Sprint Posted: 11 Jan 2011 08:50 AM PST In response to the launch of the EVO Shift 4G, Sprint has cut the Samsung-made Epic by $50. Coming in now at only $199.99 the device sports a 4-inch SuperAMOLED display which is .4-inches bigger than the Shift.  Being an all around impressive device, the major drawback is that it’s still running Android 2.1. Just now as Gingerbread has been released, we’re expecting phones to be updated to the new software, but not even the brand new Shift comes pre-loaded with Gingerbread. If you’re looking for a Sprint 4G device that features a keyboard, both of these devices should be a great option. If you would like more information on the Shift, check out our full review coming later today. )
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| Samsung Fascinate Receives Maintenance Update Posted: 11 Jan 2011 08:38 AM PST Good and bad news for Samsung Fascinate owners, you will be receiving an update soon, however, it’s not Froyo. The update being pushed to users now and fixes bugs found with the devices GPS (?) and updates many of the pre-installed apps.  The update is rolling out in phases so don’t worry if you have not received the push yet. Have you received the update? Do you feel the GPS issue has been fixed as claimed, or are you one of the many who still see it not functioning properly? Let us know in the comments! [Via AndroidCentral] )
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| Samsung Galaxy S2 to have 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus & NFC tips report Posted: 11 Jan 2011 06:07 AM PST Further details on Samsung’s Android smartphone plans for MWC 2011 next month continue to drip out, with a new Korean report confirming screen size and NFC support for the Galaxy S successor. According to Etnews, the unnamed Samsung smartphone – dubbed by some as the Samsung Galaxy S2 – will use a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, smaller than the 4.5-inch panel in the Samsung Infuse 4G.
Meanwhile the Galaxy S2 will also have NFC support, as in the Samsung-made Nexus S. Yester, word broke that Samsung was intending to use a dual-core processor for the new handset, as well as launch new Galaxy Tab tablets at the Barcelona show. [via OLED-Display] )
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| LG Optimus 2X gets £500 UK pre-order ahead of Feb 21 release Posted: 11 Jan 2011 05:23 AM PST UK retailer Expansys has put the LG Optimus 2X up for pre-order, with the Tegra 2 powered Android smartphone expected to arrive on February 21 2011. Priced at £499.99 ($779) SIM-free and unlocked, the Optimus 2X runs Android 2.2 on the NVIDIA dual-core 1GHz chip and has a 4-inch display and 8-megapixel camera.
There’s also an HDMI port and support for 1080p HD recording and playback. More on the Optimus 2X in our hands-on over at SlashGear. LG Optimus 2X hands-on:
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| Dell Streak 7 torn down on video Posted: 11 Jan 2011 05:03 AM PST The Dell Streak 7 is an interesting sounding little tablet computer that was shown off at CES. The machine has a 7-inch screen and runs Android 2.2. The choice of the older OS was a big question in many minds when the other new tablets at the show were landing with Android 3.0.
Other than the older version of the OS the device has nice hardware with a 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, WiFi, HSPA+ 4G support, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 1.3MP webcam. The screen gets Gorilla Glass to help prevent breaks and scratches. The geeks over at Tinhte.vn have taken their Streak 7 and torn the tablet apart. It’s always interesting to see what's inside the gadgets we love and you can hit the video below to see the full teardown in its gadget porn glory. Via Engadget )
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| Prototype cyclometer from Pioneer is Android-powered Posted: 11 Jan 2011 04:41 AM PST I am not a bicyclist myself, but bike riders are common all over my city. I seem them riding in packs of 20 or more bikes all the time and a few of them have these little handle bar mounted cyclometers on their bikes too. These little computers track all sorts of stats on the ride including speed and more.
A new prototype cyclometer from Pioneer has surfaced that runs Android. The device has a 2.2-inch color screen and can track four parameters. Those parameters include speed, cadence, heart rate, and power. The device uses a sensor attacked to the crank to measure force. The device has a trackball for navigation and supports ANT+, GPS, microSD cards, and it has a microUSB port. I assume that the microSD slot is for storing media to the device and the USB is for charging. There is no word on availability or pricing at this time, but an Android-powered cycling computer proves Android is ending up everywhere. Via CrunchGear )
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| Imo.im app for Android gets voice IM and more Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:48 AM PST
The app has a new feature that has just been added that will make it even more useful for some users. Imo has announced that the Android app now supports voice IM as well. The user can send voice messages up to 30 seconds long to other app users. To record a message the user presses the mic button on the open chat window and holds it down to record and then release the button to send your message. Some other new features are added as well. You can log into your chat screen names on the app even if you are logged in on your computer, you can get chat and buddy request notifications, and you can store your chat history on imo.im. Messages can now be previewed before you change to the conversation window. Favorite buddies can be viewed in a new view and a chat view feature lets you see all your active chats clearly. You can grab the app for free right now. )
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| Android Community Daily Wrap Up: January 10 2011 Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:16 AM PST Oh my crap, is it 2011 already? Where did the years go? Last time we spoke (or I should say, last time you spoke with my pal Dylan,) we were getting all pumped up about CES 2011. Well guess what? That totally happened! Now you get the awesome task of having a swim through the massive amount of posts we made while the week was happening! What you’ll see below is a link to the main collector post as well as a list of links from this past weekend. Android Community welcomes you back (or us back, as it were,) home!
Editor’s Choice Also in this edition of the Android Community Daily Wrap Up, take special care to keep your eyes peeled for the words “review” and “hands-on” as there are so many of them here and in that Complete Break Down post that they’re not individually labeled (it’d be a mess!) Better just open all posts and save time! Android Community If you’d like to find more collection posts here on Android Community, just head on over to the tag: [Daily Wrap Up] and click away! )
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| MetroPCS Leaks First LTE Android Phone, the Samsung SCH-R910 Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:25 PM PST What an exciting name, huh? It’s just the model number, we’re sure there’ll be a snappier name on the way. This lovely looking phone from the future comes in the form of a photo snapped by a contributor to BGR, a photo which pictures the phone in a slightly blurry pic (as always) that also seems to confirm that this device will only be working on Android 2.2.
This device is also said to be working with CDMA and LTE radio and will be operating with Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. The device seems as through it’ll be buzzing along on a 1GHz Hummingbird processor and will be snapping pics with a fabulous 5 megapixel camera on the back. And bonus: there’ll be a user-accessable micro-SD card slot all the way down underneath the battery cover. Prices with no contract will be somewhere between $329 and $399 USD. [Via BGR] )
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| Amazon Drops Samsung Epic 4G Price to $99 Posted: 10 Jan 2011 06:04 PM PST This is fabulous considering the fact that Sprint, even after dropping it’s price down $50 from its release, still has the device up for sale for $199.99. Amazon seems to be rocking pretty hard (as always) with the cheaper pricing on phones – earlier today news had it that Amazon was selling HTC EVO Shift 4G for $119.99, again cheaper than directly from it’s carrier (again, Sprint,) this time by $50.
All of these prices include a 2-year agreement tied on, but you don’t worry about that, right? Head on over to Amazon now here and drop a few cool fifties for a sassy little slider. [Via UnwiredView] )
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| HTC Droid Incredible the One to Stop the Bullet? [UPDATE] Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:41 PM PST Remember a couple days ago when we totally brought you that news story about the bullet being stopped by an HTC phone before anyone else did? At that point it had been picked up by WSBTV, a news network from Atlanta, the same location as the shooting. Turns out that same day the AP released the video that WSBTV purchased to run on their show. That version of the video can be seen below. Also that same day, the periodical by the name of BGR ran a story similar to ours – with one difference: they name the phone.
The video doesn’t have the name of the phone, nor does the AP (or WSBTV) give any clue other than a quick flashing of a phone at the end of the video (the WSBTV version.) How then has this note saying that the phone was a HTC Droid Incredible started? Perhaps the notion that the story is… incredible?! See the AP video and a couple screenshots of the reporter from WSBTV holding the phone below: NOTE: the phone the reporter is holding, he says, is “the same phone” that the man who was shot had on him. This phone is not the same one that was shot, thus the lack of a bullet hole.
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| Goodbye, CES 2011 – It’s been fun Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:29 PM PST So CES 2011 has wrapped up and the tech industry is about to go back into their day-to-day happenings. First off: what a week, the SlashGear and Android Community team has been incredibly busy, and although we have seen plenty of innovation and groundbreaking announcements for the 2011 calendar year, we're glad it's over.  We can all agree that this was the year of 4G, Superphones, and tablets. Not only did we finally see the unveiling of Google's tablet-based Android 3.0 Honeycomb, but we saw many Android phone announcements – the best including NVIDIA's new Tegra 2 processor. In 2011, we will see devices such as the revolutionary Motorola ATRIX, and ultra-powerful phones such as the DROID BIONIC and LG Optimus 2X. 2011 is going to be an exciting year for Android, and all technology all together. We are going to see many revolutionary devices launched as well as a few new updates to the Android operating system. As always, we will keep you updated with all of the latest happenings in Android throughout the year with breaking coverage, expert opinions, reviews and hands-ons so stay tuned! If you’ve missed any of our coverage, be sure to check out our CES 2011 Android Community Breakdown! )
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| HTC to Ship Around 10 Million 4G Smartphones in 2011 Posted: 10 Jan 2011 02:22 PM PST And that’s only 20% of HTC’s total shipments! Man, it’s like they’re a giant brand or something. Digitimes is reporting that HTC’s 4G-enabled smartphones working with either WiMAX or LTE will top 10 million units in 2011. That’s a lotta hooch. HTC is also said to have shipped 3.5 million 4G phones in 2010, 3 million of those being HTC EVO 4Gs to Sprint and 500,000 HTPA+ myTouch 4G units to T-Mobile. The groups responsible for this giant jump in shipments are again Verizon and Sprint, but also clients in Europe and Japan.
Digitimes makes a point to note the specs of the HTC EVO Shift 4G (Qualcomm MSM7630 processor, and equipped with 3.6-inch capacitive touch panel and 5-megapixel camera,) as well as mention the HTC / Verizon unveiling of the LTE speed HTC Incredible HD on January 6, 2011 – this mystical phone being shipped to Verizon in the second quarter of 2011, so they say. [Via Digitimes] )
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