Saturday, 16 July 2011

Android Community

Android Community

Android 3.2 SDK Now Available for Download

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 10:55 AM PDT

Just that quick it’s now official. The Android 3.2 SDK is available for all according to tweets from the Android Developer Team. We have been seeing breadcrumbs, or honeycomb crumbs over the past few weeks like the Huawei MediaPad running 3.2 Honeycomb, as well as other comments. Yesterday Google announced the SDK.

First we saw Android 3.2 start rolling out to Xoom users, and now developers can access all the resources they need from the 3.2 SDK. They bumped the API to level 13 and released the SDK all in one run. Along with 3.2 comes support for 7″ tablets, official MicroSD support for Honeycomb, as well as some zoom features for those not so ready for tablet applications.

If you haven’t received it for your Wi-Fi Motorola Xoom you can download the 3.2 update right here. Also tweets suggest both the Asus Transformer, and the 3G Xoom should get updated in the “coming weeks”. I’m excited to see what else starts heading to the market now we officially have 7″ support. I still think 8.9″ is the perfect tablet size but would love a 7″ HTC tablet running on Honeycomb.

Android 3.2 SDK Info

[via Android Developer Blog]

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Android Community Weekly : July 16, 2011

Posted: 16 Jul 2011 10:16 AM PDT

It's the middle of July and tech news this week has been rock steady! Lets start off by saying that Google+ is now available for international users; and at this point it seems that all Google+ is missing compared to other social platforms is a wider userbase. In other Google news, their new project "Google Offers (Beta)" launched in NYC Tuesday. Think of this service as a way to save money with many different local businesses on a daily basis. This past Monday evening, HTC released information that the bootloaders of some of their more recent devices will be unlocked in the coming months of August and September. Some of their devices have already been unlocked over at XDA Developers, but I'm sure many have been awaiting an official fix.


As of Monday, the HTC Status was available for pre-order. For an acutal demonstration of that built-in Facebook button, be sure to check out the video. Earlier on in the week we were informed of both the release date and price of the T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide; the device actually proved to be a very solid in both Chris Burns official Android Community review, and in the hands-on/full walkthrough. Great aspects of this device include very impressive camera shots and great build quality. Yet another device handled the same day was the LG Thrill 4G on AT&T's network. It is essentially the same device as the LG Optimus 3D, just re-branded. The Motorola DROID 3 arrived at our doorstep Thursday, and Chris Burns produced a quick hands-on and unboxing. A more thorough review of the unit will be posted soon, but if you can't seem to wait that long – the DROID 3 hit Verizon stores Thursday as well.

The Motorola LTE-enabled XOOM crossed the FCC this week. XOOM [WiFi] owners have definitely been feeling the love lately with the 3.2 update to include SD card support; this update has been rolling out since Tuesday and is now available for download. Android 3.2 also features a "Zoom to fill Screen" option when using particular applications that would otherwise display improper aspect ratios.

Google announced their Q2 revenue statistics as a 32% climb over last years numbers. It's not too suprising considering Android is seeing 550,000 activations daily! A few Nexus 3 rumors surfaced this week, one stating that a Samsung Nexus 3 loaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich may be impending for late 2011. The other rumor specified that HTC would be manufacturing the device and labeling it as the "Nexus Google+". Personally, I loved the build quality of the Nexus One and would love to see another HTC inspired Nexus device. The Android Market was updated this week to include books and movies. Now that movies can be rented directly from the market, the mini-HDMI included on many recent devices seems even more appealing. Be sure to check out a great review/hands-on of this latest version of the market by Chris Burns. If you want to grab the new Android Market, head over to this page.

One of two crazy stories worth mentioning this week concerned an avid Android OS lover building his own RC Android mascot out of a trash can… Wow! The other was a DoCoMo version of the Samsung Galaxy S II sporting an ancient telescopic antenna, when was the last time you saw one of those?

Spotify, the amazing music streaming application, debuted in the US this week. Don't worry, we already have a review up of the Premium version of the application. If this seems like something you would like to download, Motorola has partnered with Spotify to give away 10,000 invites to the new service. These may very well be gone by now, but Android Community has a few of its own to giveaway! To win a free invite, just add +Vincent Nguyen to your circle(s) on Google+ and comment in the Spotify+ thread! If you're an actual Android OS developer and want a chance at some actual cash ($200,000), don't forget to sign up for the Adobe Air Developer's Contest.

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Motorola TRIUMPH Hands-On and Unboxing

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 04:16 PM PDT

Welcome to the greatest device ever to come sailing in on a pair of skis with a boombox attached to its knees – that’s right, it’s an Android and it’s on Virgin Mobile and yes, it’s Vanilla! That means that Motorola, in this case, hasn’t added very much if ANY sorts of modifications over the stock Android made by Google, that meaning here that it’s FroYo like it was meant to be seen. This phone, it’s also important to mention, is carried by Virgin Mobile which means you’re going to be able to purchase it completely off-contract.

The Triumph has a 4.1-inch 800×400 pixel resolution WVGA touchscreen display, VGA camera on the front, 5-megapixel camera on the back, and you’ll be able to record 720p videos back there as well. A rather cool feature you don’t often see on a device that’s anything less than dual-core that you’re going to get here is HDMI-out. Sadly you do not get the cord necessary to make this happen inside the box this device comes in, but it’s nice to know the port is there. Additionally you’ll find that this device has a 1GHz processor, runs basically all stock apps with only a few additions from Virgin, and weighs in at 143g (5.04 ounces).

On the back and around the sides you’ll find soft to the touch plastic, on the back you’ll find a rectangle containing a single LED flash aside the 5-megapixel camera, and over the battery cover you’ll see the Virgin Mobile logo below a cool shiny Motorola M. Without a doubt this is the new Android flagship on Virgin, calling all competitors like the LG Optimus V in with a whistle and a kind hearty laugh. Pink it is! Will it stand up against the heavily contracted competition?

It’s got a big fat screen, it’s relatively thin, the camera is alright, and it’s got no contract on a Vanilla Froyo build with a 1GHz processor. Sounds like a win to me, and holding it right here right now, I’ve got to say, it’s looking pretty dern enticing. We’ll have a full review of this device up for you come the 20th, aka the day of launch!

hero_01 battery fullview vanilla01 speakerside apps

BONUS : check out our other hands-on video from the first time we saw this device a few weeks ago in NYC:

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Motorola Working On Their Own Silicon for 4G LTE Chipsets

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 03:10 PM PDT

Motorola as we all may know announced the Motorola Droid Bionic way back at CES and after delay after delay it still has not managed to find its way to the market. They have recently launched the Photon 4G and the Droid 3 but they are still behind in terms of 4G LTE. HTC has the Thunderbolt, LG offers the Revolution and Sammy has the Droid Charge. So where is Motorola in this mix? Working on a few bugs to improve the technology it sounds like.

A recent story by Forbes Magazine is aiming to clear up a few questions as to what is really going on, and why we are still waiting for the Bionic months and months later. According to Forbes Motorola has been fixing up a few issues and weaknesses in the LTE technology and have opted to design their own silicon for their 4G LTE chipsets. We aren’t sure if these weak areas are specific to Motorola, or to Verizon’s LTE but Motorola want to have the best so they are working out the kinks.

On the professional networking site LinkedIn Motorola as recent as yesterday dropped a few posts suggesting they are looking to hire 4G LTE engineers. Hopefully they have a few already working hard because we are expecting the Droid Bionic to launch sometime this summer. Maybe they’ve already worked out enough of the weaknesses but I will believe it when I see it although the recent activity on actual Verizon websites gives us all hope. It was even leaked in a Best Buy ad last week.

For now we will have to keep on waiting as Motorola does what needs to be done. Hopefully we will be hearing more soon regarding not only the Bionic, but of other possible 4G phones headed to market. Interesting note the article also mentions Motorola is working on a 7″ Android tablet slated for a Christmas launch. Sounds interesting.

[via Forbes]

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Pixel Rain Live Wallpaper, Not HD But Who’s Complaining

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 02:47 PM PDT

I saw this yesterday and just had to download it and so far I actually really like it. This is a live wallpaper called Pixel Rain and it is full of options and features yet its completely free in the Android Market. I know everything is HD these days and all the apps keep getting updated to work with higher resolution screens and all that jazz, but this retro looking wallpaper just rocks.

From reading reviews everyone seems to enjoy it just as I am. With as many options as the developer provides all free of charge it’s worth a look that is for sure. You can change the amount of rain drops, make them multi-colored, change the size and speed of the falling pixel rain drops and more. I like that you can make the rain drops splash or “shatter” on impact but it was a little distracting.

Make sure you check this out and don’t forget to thank the developer Shawn Gilleland in the reviews if you like his one and only (and well done) application. For those that love LPW (Live Wallpapers) we also have the secret Galaxy S II LWP you can download here. Or we also covered the TrueBlood Wallpaper a while back. So go ahead and give Pixel Rain a try and let us know what you think.

Download: Pixel Rain LWP

[via AndroidSpin]

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HTC Status Showing Up At Best Buy Mobile

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 02:13 PM PDT

I know you guys just can’t wait to run down and buy that Facebook phone known as the HTC Status. I mean who wouldn’t want a cute phone with a dedicated Facebook button right? It’s pure genius! The phone wont be for sale for a few more days but its already showing up at Best Buy Mobile so maybe you can convince a nice employee to sell you one early.

We recently were able to enjoy the phone ourselves so feel free to check out our HTC Status hands-on and unboxing video. Burnsy is checking it out over the next few days and will report back a full review soon. While you wait you can also watch a few other videos AT&T posted about the Status.

Unless you get lucky it will still be a few days before you can run down and buy one yourself, but if you happen to get it early make sure to come back and leave us a picture and say hello in the comment section below as we’d love to see it. Once again stay tuned for our full review of the HTC Status coming soon.

[via Android Central]

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Verizon Wireless 4G Phones Wont Be Compatible with AT&T 4G LTE

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:56 PM PDT

I debated even running this story for a while this morning but my love for Verizon 4G LTE speeds made me give in. According to a Verizon spokeswoman the 4G LTE network over on Big Red will NOT be compatible with other LTE networks. So Verizon phones will not work on AT&T’s soon to launch 4G LTE network, or vice-versa. This doesn’t really come as a surprise at all. I mean did anyone expect Verizon or AT&T to share? I sure didn’t.

The 4G LTE networks run on SIM cards similar to current GSM phones and GSM users have been able to swap SIM cards in different devices and carriers. The next-generation technology in both Verizon and AT&T 4G LTE are basically the same but apparently will run off completely different frequencies.

Like I said, this comes as no surprise even though they could make them work together but clearly that would not be a good business decision. AT&T does not have any 4G LTE phones out at the moment so we will still have to wait it out. I have two questions though, first being will AT&T or Verizon phones be able to roam on the others LTE network if needed? and second, I wonder if our android developer community could figure out a way to get them to work together. That would be full of #winning. We will report back if and when we hear more on this.

[via PCMag]

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Samsung Fascinate Merged into Official CyanogenMod Source. Nightlies Coming Soon

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 01:55 PM PDT

MIUI may be making its own phone, but CyanogenMod is continuing its growth as the most widely ported Custom ROM. The phone in question today is the Samsung Fascinate, Verizon’s version of the original Samsung Galaxy S. Source for the device has been added to the CyanogenMod GitHub and nightlies are on the way.

CyanogenMod is as we mentioned, the most ported ROM there is, and its consistently one of if not THE most popular ROM for the phones its ported to. If you aren’t familiar with CM’s awesomeness, it is a stock based ROM (no more UI skins!) that adds a boat load of performance improvements and features, like wireless tethering, theme support, and incognito tabs in the browser.

Porting CyanogenMod isn’t always the easiest process, as we can see with the Galaxy S line. It took awhile for CyanogenMod to make its way to the original SGS, and separate branches had to be made for the Captivate and Vibrant variants. Unofficial alpha ports have been around for the Fascinate and Epic 4G versions, and late last night the Fascinate’s version was deemed worthy of being made official.

This is great news for Fascinate owners, and also a great time to give a big thanks to all the devs out there working on projects like CyanogenMod, MIUI, and all the other great hacks and mods we have in the Android community. These guys do a lot of great stuff, and most of the time don’t get anything for it. So thank you to everyone who develops and gives to Android, and in this case thanks to the CyanogenMod team for bringing the bacon to the Fascinate!

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Android Community Free Spotify Invite Giveaway!

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 12:56 PM PDT

It’s time for another giveaway Android Community style. We’ve got our own stash of Spotify invites and we’re giving them away to you, our loyal fans! For those that don’t know (or are stuck on iTunes), Spotify is a music streaming service where you’re able to access millions of tracks of music from artists new and old, all available from your computer and, if you’ve got a premium account, from your mobile device! I’m happy to say we’ve got a stash of like 100 FREE invites and we want to give them away to you! All you must do is give us a hollar on Google+! (See rules below)

We’re awesome I know! Lets start with a little background info on Spotify and Google+ because we have covered em both. Spotify launched in the U.S. by invite only just yesterday, feel free to read our Spotify App Review. Now for Google+ be sure to check out our Google+ 101 Guide, and don’t forget the Android App. Now that you’re all caught up, check out the details below!

All you’ve got to do is the following:

1. Add +Vincent Nguyen (url: vincent.tv/+) to your Circle(s) on Google+*
2. Comment in our Spotify+ thread [a new post each day!] with some witty banter
July 15th Thread URL: https://plus.google.com/103911183408644149411/posts/aYUYXLFYYw7
3. You’re entered into the contest! (Exciting huh)

*if you don’t already have access to Google+, send your name and email to giveaway @ slashgear.com

You’re already well on your way to getting Spotify for yourself – hours and days of endless magical musical entertainment for all!

Once we’ve picked you, the following will happen:

1. Vincent will ping you on Google+ to let you know you’re a winner.
2. You respond to that post.
3. Vincent gives you your invite code!

Good Luck!

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Verizon Posts Slew of Droid 3 Videos on Youtube

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 12:49 PM PDT

Well the Motorola Droid 3 is finally available in stores. If you are looking to learn more about its (or Motoblur’s…) features Verizon has published tons of how to videos to youtube. The videos, take you through a guided tour of the phone, each showing off a different feature of the Droid 3.

The videos show off how to use all of Motoblurs fancy social widgets, tethering, and accessories among other things. They may not be the most advanced protips to ever come from a carrier, but they’re a great place to start if you’re new to Android or Motoblur, or just want to see the Droid 3 in action.

If these videos look familiar, thats probably because a few of them were leaked in June (The videos were taken down since then). Now Verizon has put them up, along with a few more to help new Droid 3 users learn the ins and outs of their fancy new phone.

The Droid 3 is an undeniably nice phone, but that’s a lot of Motobluriness covering up the Gingerbread goodness underneath. With a locked bootloader there’s no way to get rid of it. I’m not a big fan of Motoblur, but maybe you’ll disagree. Check out the videos below and let us know what you think about it?




















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Motorola Xoom on Verizon Getting Android 3.2 in the “Coming Weeks”

Posted: 15 Jul 2011 11:53 AM PDT

We have been seeing a bit of news this week regarding Android 3.2 Honeycomb for the Motorola Xoom as well as hints of new features. Tuesday 3.2 Honeycomb started rolling out to Xoom Wi-Fi owners but all the Verizon 3G Xoom owners are sitting around waiting for news.

At least we got an update but sadly today Motorola tweeted that the Motorola Xoom on Verizon 3G will get the 3.2 update in the “coming weeks”. Not the best news considering most thought they’d come at the same time, but its better than nothing right. For now we will just have to wait, and those with a Wi-Fi Xoom can download the update right here.

We will keep you posted on Xoom update news as it should be coming soon hopefully. The Asus Transformer has the same fate and they should see the 3.2 Honeycomb update soon as well. While we are mentioning the Transformer don’t forget we have a Tabletpalooza Giveaway going on and you could win your very own Asus Transformer.

[via Twitter]

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