Android Community |
- Spotify Premium Android App Review [USA]
- Spotify lands in US with beta Android app ready to go
- Amazon picks Foxconn for 10.1-inch tablet construction claim sources
- SwiftKey X Lauching Today for Phones and Tablets, We go Hands-On
- ViewSonic VB730 priced at $229
- Hulu Android app expands to cover more devices
- Virgin Mobile USA to start data throttling in October
- Official: Spotify Coming to U.S. Tomorrow
- Asus Transformer Update to 3.2 Honeycomb Coming “Soon”
- Sony S1 and S2 Tablet Hands-On Reviews
- Xiaomi M1 Dual-Core Android Phone, Call it the MIUI Phone
- Amazon Android Tablet Could Come Before October, Priced to Sell Millions
- Tabletpalooza 2011 Giveaway Week 2 : Asus Eee Pad Transformer!
- Twitter Update: Adds Push Notifications for Android
- Verizon Demos Video Chat App over 4G at LTE Innovation Center
- LG Optimus Slider Hits the FCC
- Motorola PHOTON 4G Officially Coming July 31st for $199
- WhitePages Localicious App Hits Android, Doesn’t Wait for Apple’s Approval Process
- Adobe Offering 200,000 in Cash Prizes to Developers Using AIR
| Spotify Premium Android App Review [USA] Posted: 14 Jul 2011 08:57 AM PDT I’ve been lucky enough to get myself a PREMIUM account for the brand new Spotify service that just launched this morning in the USA. I’ll be showing you it right now. If you didn’t know Spotify is a digital distribution service giving you access to over 15 million songs all available on-demand and buffer free. I’ve been enjoying it over the past few days and so far I’m completely amazed, I’ve spend hours and hours listing to all types of music I forgot I even knew. It has been available in the UK for almost 2 years now but is just finally landing on the U.S. and you guys should all be excited.
To start I want to thank Spotify for granting me access to check out this amazing new service and for finally bringing it here to the U.S. as I have friends and co-workers that have been bragging about its awesomeness for months. Spotify is basically the new frontier in music in the cloud if I can call it that, like Google Music Beta you can access to all this music without wasting storage space, but with spotify it isn’t just songs you own, its the millions you don’t and they are right at your fingertips only a half a second and a single click away — utterly amazing! They are launching in limited beta so you better sign up for an invite, and quick. Here are the plans they are offering: Spotify Free – With an invite, enjoy on-demand, buffer-free access to over 15 million songs on your computer, great social features, manage your own music files through Spotify, and sync with your Android or iPhone. Features occasional advertising. Spotify Unlimited – all the special features of our free service but with uninterrupted, ad-free access to Spotify on your computer. All for only $4.99 a month. Spotify Premium – the all-singing, all-dancing, top-of-the-range Spotify experience. Premium gives you access to all the music, all the time. Listen online or offline, on your computer, your cellphone and a whole heap of other devices. Enjoy enhanced sound quality and access to exclusive content, competitions and special offers. Premium costs just $9.99 a month (that's the equivalent of a few fancy coffees).
Spotify is sort of like iTunes just way better, all those millions of songs you can actually listen to, not just preview. For $10 a month like shown above you’ll have access to almost every song your heart desires anywhere you have the internet. Your favorite music you can store locally offline in the device or computers cache. When you start the app it opens right to the picture shown above. Instantly check for new music, your inbox shows music friends and family can send your way, or quickly hit search and find that song you just heard last night. Star your favorite songs, access your playlists and more.
When searching it brings up almost instant results for everything you can imagine and you can them filter my tracks, albums, or artists. You can then choose just the song you were looking for or the entire album and hear new songs to love and enjoy. One of my absolute favorite features is you can select an artist and it will show you “top hits” so when your looking up a unique group like MGMT as I’ve done or a band you don’t know very well, you’ll see the top hits and immediately hear some of the good stuff. SMALL TIP: I did search for Mumford and Sons and got zero search results, but search for Mumford & Sons brought all the music up. It gives suggestions but try different things if your first search doesn’t work, but that only happened once for me.
When a song is currently playing you have a easy to use and simply designed user interface for controlling everything. Artwork is shown and there is the slider up top, simply flip down the currently playing tab and instantly you are back at home to check inbox, search for new songs or find something from your playlist. Being able to switch between the app home and currently playing this fast and easy makes it super convenient.
FUN TIP: Swipe the album cover left or right to access the next or previous track. This is the most appealing visually when you've got a playlist of many different albums, but works on a single album too. Buffering… what is that? Here on Spotify buffer times are seriously a thing of the past as songs begin instantly and sound great. I thought if I fast-forward a minute into the song it might have to play catch up but amazingly it just keeps churning out the song without skipping a beat. This was by far one of the things that really made me realize the power of Spotify. The i button in the bottom left is an “info” button that keeps you on the now playing tab but throws some additional options on top to easy search the currently playing artist by name and album, they also let you star the song or quickly add it to a playlist for later listening. I added so many songs to playlists, then they all appear neatly and right on the PC when you sign on. Your iTunes playlists also will sync just to make things easy — I’m in love!
Like I mentioned the Playlists sync from iTunes and that is a nice touch, but creating your own with Spotify is just as easy and there is so much music to choose from I’m having a hard time deciding what to add into my playlist. Add single songs right from the “i” button while listening, or add entire albums to your playlist. On the PC you just click and drag for adding to the playlist. Everything is very easy and well designed.
I’m sure you are wondering about any and all settings, options and sound quality so I’ll cover that now. Lucky for us in the U.S. Spotify has already done plenty of testing and learning over in the UK because all the settings I was looking for they already had. You can completely push Spotify offline to save data, sync over 3G or W-Fi only — or both, clear cache and more. They also let you set the quality of streaming music.
The quality I found overall quite amazing. The mobile app by default sets audio quality to 96 kbps but this is because you are streaming over most likely a cell phone connection. they also allow a 160 kbps option for those that want a higher bitrate song. CD’s are 128 but most music these days I have are in 320 and iTunes sells 256 kbps. For me setting it to the higher setting of 160 kbps there was once again ZERO butter time, songs started instantly and now I’m wishing I had a higher bitrate option. Streaming in my truck over bluetooth was exciting and I think I’ll be throwing my iPod away this week.
To wrap things up I just want to once again mention how amazing the sound quality was. For being streamed over my 4G (and sometimes 2G/3G) connection here on T-Mobile things were extremely fast and stable. I actually NEVER had a song skip or freeze the entire time I’ve used it and that includes going 80 MPH on the freeway. When I get in my truck it syncs over bluetooth and I have the huge library of over 15 million songs right at my fingertips and luckily for me I don’t have to attempt to fit that on my 16GB MicroSD card. Spotify makes services like Amazon MP3, Google Music Beta, and anything else “in the cloud” to an entirely different level with the huge library they offer. Spotify really has one-upped them all with this and so far I love it. The UI is fluid and easy to use, the widget may need a little work but so far it works great. The free account may be great for some, but the premium account is MORE than worth it to have both unlimited home and mobile access to the world of music. Invite and purchase Spotify right now by heading to www.spotify.com               )
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| Spotify lands in US with beta Android app ready to go Posted: 14 Jul 2011 07:00 AM PDT Well today was the big day that music fans in the US have been waiting for a very long time. The Spotify music streaming service has finally launched in the states. We mentioned yesterday that when the Spotify service landed in the US it would bring with it an app for the Android user to enjoy on the go. That app is here now and our sister site SlashGear has already reviewed the Spotify service.
For now the Spotify service in the US is in a beta trial mode and you have to get an invite to get in on the beta trial. The full service will be launching “soon” whatever that means. The full premium service in the US will sell for $10 monthly and is the version that brings support for mobile users. The app in the photo here is the Android version. A basic service for computer use only is $4.99 monthly. The review over at SlashGear goes in depth into the use of the Android app and it sounds really cool with tons of options and features. If you pay for the Premium service and get your mobile app you can play the tracks in your car if you have an aux input. That sounds like a good alternative to satellite to me. In the end, the Spotify service is something that any music fan needs to buy. [via SlashGear] )
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| Amazon picks Foxconn for 10.1-inch tablet construction claim sources Posted: 14 Jul 2011 06:22 AM PDT When Amazon decided to get into the eReader market the etailer set the market on fire and it’s Kindle sparked the eReader market that had been stagnant for years. Amazon is hoping it can do that again with some long rumored Android tablets that are in the works according to sources. At this point, we have few hard facts about the tablets. Rumors claim that the Amazon Android tablets will land in time for the holiday season this year.
Another new rumor has cropped up today from sources cited by DigiTimes. According to this new rumor, Amazon has picked Foxconn to build its coming 10.1-inch tablet. The sources claim the tablets aren't set to start shipping until 2012. That could mean the tablets might miss the holiday season we have heard the tablets would be available for in the past. The same source claims that another hardware company has been chosen for another tablet from Amazon. A 7-inch screen tablet is reportedly being constructed at Quanta Computer. Foxconn and Quanta Computer have neither offered official comment on the rumors, as is expected. It's worth noting that Foxconn is building the Kindle so it would make sense that the firm would land tablet orders too. DigiTimes reports that Foxconn is expected to produce 12 million Kindles, 38-40 million iPads, and 80-85 million iPhones per year. That is certainly a lot of construction. [via DigiTimes] )
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| SwiftKey X Lauching Today for Phones and Tablets, We go Hands-On Posted: 14 Jul 2011 06:08 AM PDT SwiftKey X by Touchtype has been in public beta for the past few months and even received a few updates but this morning it is finally ready for prime time and they have left beta. Today Swiftey has launched their newest version Swiftkey X and Swiftkey X Tablet available now in the Android Market.
Lucky for you readers, and for us at Android Community we were able to do a little hands-on already and we have all the details and plenty of pictures and screenshots of the amazing new 3rd party keyboard for Android. So make sure you continue reading and check them out below to get a better idea of this keyboard. Today I’m looking mainly at SwiftKey X Tablet because the Phone version has been in the market and free beta for a few months, but the tablet version is new and exciting.
Now for a little background on SwiftKey, the original Keyboard launched on the Android Market 1 year ago today and it is now in the top 10 globally for top paid apps and has became extremely popular in just 1 short year. SwiftKey looks to build on that success with the launch of SwiftKey X today. Here are some specs and features about the new versions: -Updated UI, improved installer and settings menu. SwiftKey X is available starting today, July 14th and retails for $3.99 I’ve been using it for the past week or so on my Motorola Xoom and I can tell you that without a doubt the split key thumb option in SwiftKey X Tablet is by far the most amazing experience I’ve had typing on a tablet. First it takes some getting used to as you know where the key should be, but it is actually much closer and available to easily reach with your thumbs. And the different themes look great.
the installer has been updated and makes the entire process extremely easy. Many have installed 3rd party keyboards and then struggled to figure out how to enable it over the default keyboard. Thanks to SwiftKey the installer guide is extremely simple, easy, and you couldn’t mess up if you tried. It guides you step by step just as the image below shows and makes sure you get the right language, set SwiftKey to default, and then shows you tips and tricks to make learning even faster.
SwiftKey X Tablet Key Highlights Video: Overall I’m really impressed with the tablet version. I liked the stock Honeycomb keyboard already and didn’t think I’d be replacing it, but after using SwiftKey X Tablet in split key (thumb mode) I have learned to be extremely quick and efficient and it just feels natural. I can’t imagine having to switch back to the standard keyboard because stretching and reaching for keys is quite difficult. The only concern I might have is the way it learns from your typing with the Twitter, and Facebook options as I type completely different on Twitter with the character limit as well as anytime I’m on my phone, but when I’m writing emails in Gmail I don’t say the things like “u” or “ur” like I do in text messages or Twitter. When I’m on my tablet I type full words as they are easy and most the time already predicted by Swiftkey. I hope in the future they plan to integrate a system so each device learns your style on its own if that makes sense. Like we mentioned above both versions are available starting today and are currently in the Android Market for the 1-day introductory price of $1.99 and I highly recommend you try it out. What do you guys think, have you tried the new X yet and do like it? Please feel free to leave some comments below.            )
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| ViewSonic VB730 priced at $229 Posted: 14 Jul 2011 05:11 AM PDT There are a lot of people out there that are on a budget, but still want some cool gadgets like a new Android tablet. The Xoom and some of the other really expensive tablets out there don't fit the budget for lots of people interested in a new tablet . Some folks are shopping for a simple and cheap tablet with decent performance. Often these are the folks that end up rocking the cool Barnes & Noble Nook eReader powered by Android.
There is another cheap option for an Android tablet for those that want something built intentionally to be a table. ViewSonic’s ViewBook VB730 is cheaper even than the $249 Nook Color these days with a price of only $229. The VB730 is shipping right now on Amazon for $229 making its price $20 under the Nook Color. You can't expect iPad dominating performance at that low price. What you get for your $229 is a tablet packing in a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480. It uses a Cortex A8 processor at 1GHz. ViewSonic crams 8GB of internal flash storage into the device along with 512MB of RAM. The operating system is Android 2.2 and the tablet has WiFi and Bluetooth. The front camera has VGA resolution and the tablet rocks HDMI out and a microSD card reader. The battery promises eight hours of use per charge. [via Netbooknews] )
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| Hulu Android app expands to cover more devices Posted: 14 Jul 2011 03:00 AM PDT One of the apps that many users of Android devices were clamoring for was the Hulu Plus app allowing access to the streaming video Hulu offers on the go. The app finally came to the Android platform back in late June. The only caveat at the time was that the app was only supporting a very limited number of handsets. At launch, the app would work with the Nexus One, Nexus S, HTC Inspire 4G, Motorola Droid II, Motorola Droid X, and the Motorola Atrix smartphones.
Hulu has announced today that it has added support for four more Android devices to the mix so more users can stream their favorite shows and movies. The Hulu Plus app now supports the HTC Evo 4G, HTC ThunderBolt, HTC myTouch 4G and G2 in addition to the phones supported at launch. That makes ten smartphones that will work with the Android app. Hulu also notes that it will continue to work on adding support for more handsets to the app. The Hulu plus app is on the Android Market right now to download. Obviously, users of the new handsets will need a Hulu Plus account at about $9 per month to watch the content. )
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| Virgin Mobile USA to start data throttling in October Posted: 14 Jul 2011 02:29 AM PDT If you are an Android fan that hates contracts and use pre-paid service on Virgin Mobile USA you need to be enjoying the last months of the all you can eat data buffet. The parent company of Virgin Mobile USA has announced that Virgin will start data throttling come October. Virgin notes that the move will only affect about 3% of its users.
The magic number before they start to throttle your data speeds is 2.5GB of usage per month. That isn't a particularly astronomical number if you are the sort that likes to watch lots of streaming media or listen to streaming music on your device. Once you hit the magic 2.5GB number your data speed will be throttled back and you will see longer page load times and slower video streaming. The speed will be chopped to 256Kbps once you reach the 2.5GB threshold. The data speed will remain at that cut back rate until the next billing cycle. Many of the post-paid carriers are going the other route and charging overage fees that can add up quickly. I would rather have the cut back speeds than risk a big bill. Virgin Mobile USA says that throttling heavy users is the best way for the company to deal with the exploding data use on its network. [via SlashGear] )
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| Official: Spotify Coming to U.S. Tomorrow Posted: 13 Jul 2011 04:04 PM PDT Spotify is the extremely popular and award winning digital music service millions of Europeans use every day, and tomorrow morning Spotify is announcing it will be available for the U.S finally. We heard it was coming and they have a great Android app to go along with it, but this is official news and I am excited. My co-workers in Europe love spotify and use it daily.
Luckily for me, I’ve been using it for the past few days and can say that so far I love it. Being able to access hundreds of thousands of songs in a matter of seconds, and have them stream literally instantly right over my Android phone or PC is awesome. We are still waiting for more details and they will most likely emerge tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM ET when Spotify officially announces its entry to the States. From what we do know it will be available by invitation and subscription.
As soon as we get more details we will be sure to include them all for you. The app is currently available on Android but not for the U.S. so searching for it brings zero results for the moment. We can expect them to launch the Android app along with the service tomorrow morning so we are excited to see this take off. The desktop client is smooth, stable and works great. Being able to tag songs and add entire albums to my playlist, then listen to them in the car via my Android phone has been a blast the past few days. For our last look at the Spotify Android app check out this story, we go over the new features last time it was updated. Stay tuned to Android Community because we will be posting a full review of the current service for Android as soon as we can tomorrow. )
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| Asus Transformer Update to 3.2 Honeycomb Coming “Soon” Posted: 13 Jul 2011 03:15 PM PDT We have just received word that the Asus EeePad Transformer will not be left out of the Android 3.2 Honeycomb circle. If you recall the Motorola Xoom started getting 3.2 Honeycomb OTA early yesterday and quickly after it was available for download. ASUS didn’t waste any time and have updated everyone on the Transformers status.
Today @ASUS outed the news that they too are getting 3.2 Honeycomb and that they are currently running it through the testing phase and it will be “coming soon”. This is great news and we can assure you they will get it rolling out OTA (Over the Air) as soon as possible. They didn’t mention much else regarding the update but we can assume it will have all the same updates the Xoom received as well as a few bug fixes most likely. I don’t know about you but we have perfect timing here at Android Community. We are giving away just that, a ASUS EeePad Transformer THIS WEEK in our Tabletpalooza Giveaway. Yup a brand new Transformer will get shipped to a lucky follower sometime next week. you’ll have to open the beautiful tablet and accept the 3.1 update and by then hopefully ASUS will be rolling out Android 3.2 to the Transformer. Again make sure to click here and enter the giveaway. [via Twitter] )
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| Sony S1 and S2 Tablet Hands-On Reviews Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:55 PM PDT Rumors started awhile back about Sony’s tablets, and now they’re finally out in the open and Sony showed the two tablets off today. We don’t have any specs or a release date yet, a bit odd but we’ll have to take what we can. We’ve got all the juicy details and a look at the different hands-ons around the web for you right here.
Sony has two tablets in the works for us. First up is the S1, a 9.4″ tablet with a 1280×768 display. The tablet has a lip at the top, which the lucky ones who got to get their hands on agreed made it feel great in their hands. The S1 will be WiFi only. The Sony S2 is one of the most unique tablets yet. Similar to the Nintendo DS or Kyocera Echo, the S2 folds in a clamshell design with two 5.5″ screens. With its smaller size, the S2 is going to come with AT&T HSPA+ on top of WiFi for mobile data. Both Tablets run Sony-fied versions of Honeycomb, with some interesting enhancements. LaptopMag.com took a pretty neutral stance on the tablets, and we can’t blame them at this point. They do point out a lot of the unique features though:
In a quick demo of Crash Bandicoot on the S2, the 3D graphics were smooth, but having the whole 5.5-inch screen on the bottom dedicated to the gameplay buttons seemed like a bit of wasted space. We asked about titles that are truly optimized touch input, and Sony says those are coming. As you'll see in the video, Crash plays at full screen on the S1, with the buttons arranged around the side of the screen. With Playstation games, a la the Xperia Play, the S1 and S2 tablets could be big sellers to gamers. Other cool features include DLNA support and the ability to use the S1 as a remote control thanks to an IR blaster. As far as physical design, Engadget had good things to see about the S1′s lip:
They didn’t rave as much about the S2, saying that like the Kyocera Echo it suffers from a bezel separating the two screens.They do point out that the screens on both tablets are fine, but since Sony only demoed the tablets indoors, how they perform in direct sun is undetermined. Finally PCMag.com gives us more detail in Sony’s interesting enhancements to the Honeycomb system. Specifically, Quick View, which loads images on web pages quicker, and Quick Touch which supposedly improves responsiveness of the touch screen:
We wish we had a bit more info on these tablets, but it looks like we’re finally starting to see some creativity and variety in tablets and that’s a win. Look forward to more details in the future as Sony releases them, and we get our own hands on these two interesting tablets. )
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| Xiaomi M1 Dual-Core Android Phone, Call it the MIUI Phone Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:35 PM PDT Xiaomi will be introducing a new phone called the M1 in China, for now I’m just going to call this the MIUI Phone. For those that don’t know, MIUI is probably one of if not the biggest custom ROM currently available for Android Phones. With the main competition most likely CyanogenMod. This phone will launch, and come new with a custom MIUI Rom out of the box — and I want one ASAP!
The above photo does look a little similar to an iPhone or a Galaxy S, but that is what first appeared over on MIUIandroid.com but was quickly removed. We aren’t sure if that is the final design but if they plan to ship in August like suggested, most likely that is the final design. I really like the look because it is clean, simple and elegant. And we can’t forget it will be running that blazing fast MIUI stuff. The news broke today right on MIUI’s website and while they don’t have all the specs listed they have enough to have a lot of people excited. Packing a Qualcomm dual-core 1.2 Ghz CPU (probably the same as the Sensation) 4″ 480×854 Sharp Super-LCD display, most likely it will feature 1GB of RAM and 768MB of ROM but that was not listed yet. I can almost guarantee it will come out of the box already rooted, and probably include an overclocking kernel to get that 1.2 Ghz dual-core chip moving even faster. The device will begin shipping around mid August or early September 2011 so we should be seeing and hearing more very, very soon. This is a first in the world of Android, having a phone launch with a custom designed ROM like MIUI is a huge step that I’ve been hoping would come for a long time. I’ve been occasionally commenting or tweeting about a CyanogenMod Phone for over a year now. I want a HTC Nexus CM1 but that is a wild and crazy dream that will never see the light of day. I’ve seen some of the team at CyanogenMod make comments like this before and I have a feeling with this MIUI announcement the CM team wont be far behind. Things are about to get super interesting. [via MIUI] )
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| Amazon Android Tablet Could Come Before October, Priced to Sell Millions Posted: 13 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT We have heard more than a few comments over the past few weeks and months regarding an Android Tablet that might come in a brown unmarked box with that Amazon logo across the side. We have been hearing a few of the same comments as recent stories like this one in the Wall Street Journal regarding when we might actually see these tablets come to life.
Last we heard they were expected sometime this holiday season and we even heard a few codenames, but latest news and tips are saying much earlier, possibly as soon as October. Sometime in September would be a great time frame to release such a product, and with the Amazon App Store getting more popular and more apps every single day they could even launch without Google’s golden Market and other apps. Although most users will probably still want Gmail, Google Maps, and more. From sources “close to the matter” the Android Tablet coming before October will be rocking a 9″ IPS Display, but somehow they’ve chosen to not have a camera on board. That makes me wonder how much of an iPad competitor it actually will be, but they are after the android tablet market after all. I have a few tips I’ve heard over the past few weeks that are saying Amazon is aiming for a “high quality” and “affordable” tablet that will be able to undercut the competition. They want top notch build quality but wont have things like a camera (I’ve never used my tablet rear camera anyways) and instead will offer a quality product at an affordable price similar to the extremely popular Amazon Kindle. The Kindle has been a huge success, if Amazon can get a quality Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet rocking some solid specs inside to push things along, continue to build the Amazon App Store, and then launch a tablet in say the $299 range I could see this being a highly popular device and a hot seller come Christmas time. What do you guys think? )
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| Tabletpalooza 2011 Giveaway Week 2 : Asus Eee Pad Transformer! Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:49 PM PDT What is this, a Galaxy Tab 10.1 festival? Our sister-site is participating in this same Tabletpalooza you’re in right now, and they’ve just gotten done giving away a Galaxy Tab 10.1, and by the looks of it, so has everyone else in Android land! Now here’s the thing: we might MAYBE just happen to have another one lying around to give to you later, but for now, we’ve got something many consider to be even BETTER: The Asus Eee Pad Transformer! This is another 10-inch Android 3.0 Honeycomb NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor tablet, and it’s super sweet, man! Let’s go ahead and get this lovely beast in your hands, shall we?
This device is one of the sweetest tablets out there, and we’re not just talking Android. Have a look at what we’ve got for a full review of this device then come on back for some fun because you’re about to own it – for free – for reals! And not only that, it’s simply, and not only that, it includes everyone’s favorite new social network in the mix, Google+! Also be sure to check out our sister-site SlashGear’s continuation of this contest as well, they’ve got a G-Slate this week! Now for the rules!
To win one of these fabulous tablets, you must:
If you do not have early beta access to G+, don’t worry, we’ll invite you when we get more invites to send out! Double win! Full rules are as follows:
Contest provided by SlashGear/Android Community. Prizing provided by NVIDIA. Any questions regarding this contest should be directed to Giveaway@SlashGear.com )
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| Twitter Update: Adds Push Notifications for Android Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:18 PM PDT Twitter has finally updated their app for Android and they added one of the most requested features and that is PUSH notifications, Finally! That isn’t the only big change, users have also been wanting the option to use multiple accounts for a long time and today that wish came true also. The update is available in the Android Market already and both feature seem to be working great.
Instead of setting Twitter or your 3rd party client to update every 5 or 10 minutes and kill your battery, now it will push notifications to your device no matter what you are doing. When you get a mention or a DM you will instantly be notified. In your account settings, select "automatic refresh" and choose to receive updates and you’re done, it’s that easy. Mutliple accounts have also been added so now you can easily check and tweet from as many accounts as you need. Being able to easily and quickly tweet from my personal account, as well as our @Androids account will be even easier now. This was a update that was much needed and users have been long awaiting for. The new Twitter is available in the Market right now. [via Twitter Blog] )
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| Verizon Demos Video Chat App over 4G at LTE Innovation Center Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:10 PM PDT Yesterday was the opening of Verizon’s new LTE Innovation center and some goodies were found inside. LaptopMag got a look at a handsome new video chat app working on a pair of HTC Thunderbolts. The app, called VoLTE in the video, uses 4G LTE, rather than limiting you to WiFi as some video chats do.
Verizon’s Innovation Center in Massachusetts was created to show off and encourage awesome uses for its LTE network. The first example we have is this new video chat app. While we have lots of other video chat apps now, this one is showing some promise. Click here to view the embedded video. The video looks really stable for mobile. I’ve only used Google Talk myself, and its not the smoothest video chat there is. The possible downside though is that if it ends up being a Verizon exclusive app, you would be limited in who you could call, while being able to call others easily is the strongest point of apps like Google Talk and Skype. Good to see some good old fashioned innovation though. Lets hope there’s more in store! )
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| LG Optimus Slider Hits the FCC Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:53 PM PDT We have just seen a render of what appears to be the LG Optimus Slider and we don’t know much about it yet although it just hit the FCC. This slider could feature a QWERTY keyboard but it also might be the dual-screen LG Slider we saw here just without the T-Mobile radios.
Known by the model number LS700, the Optimus Slider is a CDMA/EvDO Android smartphone and was found in the FCC by our friends over at Wireless Goodness. We have seen a lot of LG in the news the past few days with the LG Thrill for AT&T, an LG 4G LTE for MetroPCS, and even a Blackberry looking Optimus Pro. LG looks to be hitting the Android world hard and are covering just about all the bases from hardware keyboards, 4G LTE phones, and even sliders like mentioned above. We have seen an increasing amount of news regarding an LG Slider, and now this FCC filing makes things pretty clear. We don’t know much else regarding the Optimus Slider but we will report anything we hear for those interested. [via Wireless Goodness] )
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| Motorola PHOTON 4G Officially Coming July 31st for $199 Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:39 PM PDT The next big dual-core phone coming from Motorola is the PHOTON 4G and it will be packing a kickstand and some WiMAX 4G speeds. Today they have officially announced that the Motorola PHOTON 4G will hit the streets starting July 31st for $200, and available for premier customers early on July 28th. The PHOTON 4G was announced back in June, then like recent Motorola phones we quickly learned it will have a locked bootloader.
The official press photo above shows August 11th on the calender, that might have been the original launch date planned and was possibly pushed forward to beat the Droid Bionic to market as last we heard it might see the shelves come August 4th. In case you missed our PHOTON 4G Hands-on video it features a NVIDIA dual-core 1 Ghz CPU, a 4.3″ qHD display, a kickstand and 8MP camera on the rear. And should come with all the accessories, car docks, laptop docks and more just like the Motorola Atrix for AT&T. The PHOTON 4G comes with 16GB internal storage and 1GB RAM to keep things fast and stable. I’ll spare you the long press release as it comes with everything I’ve mentioned recently as well as tons of other accessories and car mounts etc. As always the price of $199 is only with a new 2-year agreement. Now the hard question, do you choose the HTC EVO 3D or the PHOTON 4G? HTC will be unlocking the bootloaders come August so that might sway your decision unless you don’t care to root your phone. Stay tuned for more information about the PHOTON 4G. )
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| WhitePages Localicious App Hits Android, Doesn’t Wait for Apple’s Approval Process Posted: 13 Jul 2011 12:11 PM PDT WhitePages has just today launched a new app called Localicious for Android, an application that will help users find delicious food locally right in your neighborhood hence the name Localicious. WhitePages has been very clear that they’ve been planning this launch for Android and iOS but Apple’s long and difficult approval process makes planning a launch impossible.
WhitePages currently has a popular app for Android called Caller ID that was also first to launch on Android because of the long and drawn out approval process Apple currently has in place, eventually iOS did get the app and it is now available for those iDevices as well.
Nakao went on to mention that even when Apple does approve an app they don’t give any sort of clear time frame, and that too makes planning a launch or any sort of event difficult to say the least. This all sounds pretty familiar and goes right along with recent comments by Android Co-founder Rich Miner basically saying developers should target Android first given its success. When talking about the new Localicious app Nakeo made clear that its most distinguished feature from similar apps is the ability to search locally by neighborhoods and streets rather than a geographic location. This way users can find “What’s Good in the Hood” as WhitePages calls it, right around the corner rather then heading over the bridge or into the valley. For those that want to find some tasty food and give Localicious a try, it is available now in the Android Market for free. All those iDevice users will have to wait til Apple deems the app worthy of their neighborhood. Download: Localicious [via AllThingsD] )
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| Adobe Offering 200,000 in Cash Prizes to Developers Using AIR Posted: 13 Jul 2011 11:47 AM PDT When Adobe AIr started showing up on Android everyone was excited to see what it would bring as far as rich applications and games. We have seen quite a bit but I honestly thought it would see more use. You can read more about Adobe AIR here. It has not had the most support latest and news regarding AIR has been few and far between, but this latest report should get developers rocking on Adobe AIR soon.
Sony and Adobe have partnered and are starting a developer contest and will be handing out over $200,000 in cash prizes for users and developers that specifically target Adobe Air, as well as develop apps for Sony products like the Xperia Play or the new Sony S2 Tablet. This will be a great opportunity for start-ups and small developers to test their skills and possibly score a nice chunk of change courtesy of Sony and Adobe. They are looking for some quality and creative applications and games using Adobe AIR and have faith in the Android development community. I have a feeling they are looking for apps and games specifically for Sony’s new tablets so utilizing both of those 5.5″ screens on the S2 could really help you win some of that cash. [via Phandroid] )
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