Android Community |
- Android Community Weekly: October 1, 2011
- Verizon aknowledges DROID Bionic bugs, promises patches in November
- Amazon Kindle Fire manufacturing cost: $209.63
- Download the VLC media player pre-alpha now
- Archos and TigerDirect build cheap, custom tablets for publishers
- AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II lock screen security flaw, and how to fix it
- Verizon offers Madden NFL 2012 free to customers this weekend
- Virgin Mobile won’t start throttling customers until 2012
- HTC Amaze 4G caught on video testing T-Mobile speeds and more
- Google Nexus Prime concept design looks amazing, and accurate
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray heads to the US, unlocked and on sale now
| Android Community Weekly: October 1, 2011 Posted: 01 Oct 2011 11:20 AM PDT Welcome back to the 20th issue of Android Community Weekly! We finally have have a quick video demonstration of Android 2.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) in action, Amazon has realized an amazingly affordable tablet, and more devices continue to emerge before this holiday season. T-Mobile recently announced their version of the Galaxy S II to launch October 10th for $229. Though, more expensive than the Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G on the “Now” network, it hopefully ships without many of the Epic Touch overheating problems.
We finally have an extensive review for the AT&T Galaxy S II available! Consistently scoring higher benchmarks over any Galaxy S II device thus far, we dub this device king over the others. Most different in this version than the others is even higher quality materials used giving a less-plastic feel. Tuesday, SanDisk 64GB micro SDXC cards were reported working on multiple Android devices. Unfortunately, having a smartphone available to readily access that amount of external memory will set you back $219.00. Android 2.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) was demonstrated on video this Wednesday. The UI and lockscreen went through a complete overhaul from 2.3 (Gingerbread). Hopefully, an application for face recognition will be available upon release! An amazing Nexus Prime concept was recently previewed, and I’m sure we all hope the actual device will resemble even some of these design concepts. Yet another device planning to debut with Android 2.4 on board will be the Sharp Aquos 104SH. We were also able to attend Amazon’s debut of the Kindle Fire the week! Fortunately, we were able to get some hands-on time with the device – and most noticeable was the inclusion of the vibrant IPS display. Amazon did not skimp in the least when manufacturing the Kindle Fire. Though it was announced for $199, the actual tablet costs Amazon $209 to manufacture! The company is surely banking on users to purchase books and subscriptions from Amazon’s App/Kindle Store to come out of this with some profit. The Fire will indeed run Android OS and be compatible with the many apps available in the Android Market. RIM has recently enlightened the public with details on their Blackberry Runtime project to run Android applications. This will only improve Blackberry’s chances in retaining those of their customers with second thoughts in their non-versatile OS. Finally, the Motorola Xoom 2 tablets have been confirmed for a November launch just in time for the holidays! )
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| Verizon aknowledges DROID Bionic bugs, promises patches in November Posted: 30 Sep 2011 08:28 PM PDT The DROID Bionic is one heck of a flagship device, but it’s not without its faults. Early adopters have been complaining about a litany of issues large and small, and Verizon has apparently been listening. They’ve detailed all of the bugs and glitches in a massive official list, but the carrier says that customers will have to wait until November for a patch.
Among the bugs are some real doozies, like the promised 8-device mobile hotspot being mysteriously limited to only 5, and an inability to reconnect to the 3G network. Some bugs can be helped by a little user elbow grease (have you tried turning off and on again?) but most are simply going to be there until the patch comes. Some of the more frustrating issues, like the Bionic only charging via official Motorola-brand cables and chargers, are swept away as design decisions. For example, the popular Exchange client Touchdown is marked as “No resolution required, working as designed and approved by Verizon Wireless” – what gives? Here’s the full list for your perusal. Issue: 4G/3G Service – Data Connectivity
Issue: High Pitch Headset Noise:
Issue: Mobile Hotspot User Limitations:
Issue: Non-branded Chargers:
Issue: USB Cables:
Issue: Google Talk Video Calls:
Issue: Touchdown Compatibility:
Issue: Lapdock low memory warning:
9. Issue: Mobile Hotspot Security Modes:
Issue: Home Panel Application Shortcuts:
Issue: MMS Media Message View:
Issue: Recent Applications Display:
Issue: 3 Way Calling – Ending Last Call:
Issue: MEID Displayed:
Issue: Verizon Wireless Media Store Ringtones:
Issue: Post OTA Update – Favorites:
Issue: SIM Swapping Blocks OTA Updates:
Issue: Answering incoming calls while in the Lapdock:
Issue: Camera use while in Lapdock:
Issue: NFL Mobile – Lapdock Videos:
Issue: Sleep Mode After HD Dock Use:
Issue: Resets during Visual Voicemail:
Issue: Visual Voicemail Power-up Message:
Issue: Message Thread Order – Device Rotation:
We’ve had a lot of input from Bionic owners on both sides of the fence – some report multiple major problems, while others say their phones work just fine. If you’re having so much difficulty that you can’t use your DROID Bionic effectively, remember that Verizon has a Device Info
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Battery & Power
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| Amazon Kindle Fire manufacturing cost: $209.63 Posted: 30 Sep 2011 05:35 PM PDT Amazon is riding a wave of tech buzz after stunning pundits and consumers with its $199 Kindle Fire tablet. The manufacturing experts at iSupply estimate that the Fire’s hardware costs just over $209 to make, undercutting other estimates by about $40. Amazon is hoping to offset the discrepancy with increased sales of physical and digital goods from Fire users.
As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said, the real aim of the Kindle Fire is to get customers to pay for Amazon’s digital content. Unlike a typical Android tablet, the Fire is optimized for reading Kindle books and magazines, watching Amazon Instant Video movies and TV shows, listening to music from the Amazon MP3 store, purchasing apps from the Amazon App Store, and of course, shopping with the included Amazon catalog. When you consider that the purchase of just one Kindle book could offset Amazon’s losses on the tablet itself, the company’s strategy comes in to focus. It’s not a new strategy, either. Companies with an integrated hardware/software/media model often sell hardware for less than it’s technically worth, because software (and now media) is practically free to duplicate and monetize. Game consoles in particular sell at a relatively huge loss early in the product cycle. Amazon has applied this model to its cloud-based properties, and if the initial consumer reaction is anything to judge by, it’s a winner. Device Info
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Battery & Power
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Cellular Network Device Connectivity
[via SlashGear] )
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| Download the VLC media player pre-alpha now Posted: 30 Sep 2011 05:34 PM PDT We’ve been waiting almost a year for the Android version of the popular does-all media player VLC after it was unceremoniously booted out of iOS. It looks like that wait is slowly drawing to a close. Thrill-seeking users can download the pre-alpha (is that even a real term?) APK for their phones now.
Don’t fire up that download link just yet, though: you’ll have to do a little preparation before you’re ready to install. VLC uses some pretty advanced hardware acceleration to playback video smoothly, so to satisfy the diverse requirements of various Android devices, two versions of the app are available. The wiz kids at the XDA-Developers forums have a lot of technical jargon posted, but all you really need to do is this: 1. Start your trusty file explorer or terminal app Now take a look at the fourth line of text. If you see the word “neon”, you’ve got a phone with a processor that supports NEON extensions, and you should download the VLC version labelled “vlc-neon.apk”. If you don’t see the word “neon” on the fourth line, your phone doesn’t support NEON, so download the version labelled “VLC-noneon.apk”. Simple. Enjoy a multitude of video formats on your Android phone. And remember, VLC is still in pre-alpha, so don’t be too harsh if it’s slow or buggy at the moment. )
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| Archos and TigerDirect build cheap, custom tablets for publishers Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:28 PM PDT It was estimated in 2009 that if the New York Times sent every one of its paying subscribers a free Amazon Kindle, they would still save half the cost of physically printing and delivering the newspaper every day. It looks like Archos and TigerDirect are taking that thought experiment into the real world. They’ve begun a program that lets publishers customize and brand an Android tablet to their subscribers’ needs, then subsidize the cost of the tablet for cheap, efficient e-reading.
The first model of the tablet appears to be a heavily modified version of on one of Archos’ 10-inch tablets. It features a webcam and (I suppose) a wifi connection for reloading regular content. The program, named PubTab, utilizes Archos’ manufacturing expertise and TigerDirect’s customer support infrastructure. So far only one publisher has jumped on board: Philadelphia Media Network Inc., owner of Philly.com and various local print publications. Their version of the tablet features four apps that automatically fetch the latest daily or weekly version of the print magazine they’re paired with. The concept is and interesting one, and as electronics become more inexpensive and powerful, expect similar ventures to start popping up in all sorts of industries. The New York Times may not be abandoning its paper pages for many years, but when it does, you might just be holding an NYT-branded e-reader. )
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| AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II lock screen security flaw, and how to fix it Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:19 PM PDT It seems like the shiny new AT&T version of the Samsung Galaxy S II has at least one dull spot. There’s an easy work-around that will let anyone access your phone if you’ve implemented Android’s unique pattern-based or PIN lock screen. Don’t worry, though, an industrious early adopter has already found a way to secure the Galaxy S II while keeping the lock screen in place.
The flaw works like this: a phone with the pattern lock will work normally if simply turned off and then back on again – you have to hit the correct sequence of dots or enter a PIN in order to access anything except a 9111 call. But if you rapidly turn the screen off and on again, eventually you see Samsung’s TouchWiz unlock screen, and you can just swipe the screen up to access anything on the phone. Strangely, the bug doesn’t affect the lock screen immediately after the phone powers on, or users with Microsoft Exchange security in place. Samsung says that’s they’re aware of the issue and are “looking into it.” Here’s a video example: In the meantime, there’s a quick workaround found by one user: set the lock screen time to immediate in the “Location and Security” section of the Galaxy S II’s main menu. Annoying, but functional. Device Info
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[via an.Droid-Life] )
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| Verizon offers Madden NFL 2012 free to customers this weekend Posted: 30 Sep 2011 03:24 PM PDT Do you need something to do while you watch Verizon commercials during the time outs of the Cowboys game this weekend? There’s no reason to break your momentum – download the latest version of Madden for your Android phone, courtesy of Verizon. The network will allow customers to install the game free of charge from October 1-3. It looks like you won’t be able to install Madden NFL 2012 from the Android Market, where the game is still sitting pretty at $6.99 USD. In order to download, you’ll need to call **MADDEN (**623336) from a Verizon Android phone. You’ll then receive a text message with a link for installing the game. That being the case, you might want to back up that file, since it won’t be stored in your Android Market purchased app list. Madden NFL 2012 features a full roster of thousands of real NFL players, enhanced high-definition graphics for powerful Android phones, and an enhanced user interface that allows you to slow down time on either side of the ball for evasive scramble moves or punishing tackles. The number and the download won’t activate until tomorrow (it won’t work early, so save yourself a few seconds). While you’re waiting, check out the DROID Bionic in the latest Verizon commercial for the NFL Mobile service. )
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| Virgin Mobile won’t start throttling customers until 2012 Posted: 30 Sep 2011 02:53 PM PDT While Virgin Mobile is technically unlimited (and aren’t they proud of it) their parent company had intended to begin throttling its data-hungry users some time in October. Today the company issued a statement saying that while they still intend to slow down the connection of their most active customers, the change won’t happen until an unspecified date in 2012.The information was released as Virgin Mobile confirmed that it’s offering the LG Optimus Slider and HTC Wildfire.
Previously, the company stated that their customers would begin to see intentionally reduced speeds after they used 2.5GB of data. They didn’t say when they would actually put the policy in place, just that they would let customers know. Accrding to Virgin Mobile, that’s less than 3% of their customer base – which is probably small comfort to the people who fall into the category. I suppose they intend to let their customers know that while yes, they’re going to be getting a restricted level of service while paying the same amount, they’re in a very small group of likewise restricted customers. It’s exclusive. With more and more United States carriers switching to a capped data system, throttling seems to be the method of choice for those situations where unlimited plans are an inconvenient necessity (for the carriers, at least). T-Mobile still offers unlimited plans, but already has a 2GB limit before customers are throttled. Those legacy customers on AT&T who still have unlimited terms in their contracts will be throttled beginning October 1st if they’re in the top 5% of data users, no matter how much data they’re actually using. So gather ye tethering apps while ye may, Virgin Mobile power users. You’ve been granted a reprieve for another few months at the very least. )
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| HTC Amaze 4G caught on video testing T-Mobile speeds and more Posted: 30 Sep 2011 12:38 PM PDT We’ve seen plenty of the HTC Amaze 4G as of late, but now we are receiving a few videos showing off everything T-Mobile and the Amaze 4G have to offer. Leaked more than a few times, and then being spotted in the wild earlier this month it was only a matter of time until we caught it on video. Today we have not one, but two videos showing some T-Mobile 4G speedtests and more all available after the break.
Earlier this week on Monday T-Mobile officially announced the new HTC Amaze 4G, coming to the market on October 10th as their first smartphone capable of their new HSPA+ 42 Mbps network speeds. Along with a 4.3″ qHD display and a blazing fast 1.5 GHz dual-core processor this looks to be the new king of the hill over at T-Mobile. Thanks to an anonymous youtuber we now have some videos for you below. Don’t those speedtest results look impressive? That is faster than the recently reviewed DROID Bionic with Verizon 4G LTE if the tests are accurate. Quadrant results are pretty decent too racking in around 2400 although I’d expect it to be a bit faster with that new 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. Maybe he should use Quadrant Advanced. Not only that but Ktwist311 wasn’t done with that and has also provided another video showing browser performance based on the new networks speeds and they seem quite great too. Obviously location and many other factors play a role here but it’s nice to get a few early looks of HTC’s newest Flagship smartphone headed to T-Mobile. [Update] [via YouTube] )
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| Google Nexus Prime concept design looks amazing, and accurate Posted: 30 Sep 2011 12:10 PM PDT We have another awesome concept design by Federico Ciccarese and this time it is of the much rumored Google Nexus 3. Also known as the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus Prime, DROID Prime or whatever else you wanna call this Samsung Nexus device. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen his stunning work, but with all the hype surrounding the next Google Experience device this was too awesome to pass up. Check out the photos of his amazing Nexus 3 concept design below.
What Federico has done here is taken the neat and elegant design we know and love about the Google Nexus S and made it bigger, thinner, much more attractive and added in a few details from recent Ice Cream Sandwich leaks and rumors. We have heard it will be called the Samsung Galaxy Nexus but everything is still unconfirmed at this point. He keeps it simple and just calls this beautiful conceptual art the “Nexus 3″ (but forgets to remove the capacitive touch buttons).
Just like the original we have that slightly curved glass for the display, and he’s neatly added all the juicy bits and pieces we’ve seen regarding Androids next version 2.4 (or 4.0) Ice Cream Sandwich with the Honeycomb clock, Google search up top as well as the beautiful cyan colors that should round out the next version of Android. We don’t really have much to say here, other than this concept design was very well done and simply put — looks awesome. We could get into rumored specs and all that but instead we’ll just let your minds wander while you check out these concept images in the gallery below. Enjoy!    [via Ciccarese Design] )
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray heads to the US, unlocked and on sale now Posted: 30 Sep 2011 11:43 AM PDT Sony Ericsson today has just announced the SE Xperia Ray for the US markets. We last saw the Ray clearing the FCC with AT&T radios but now it is finally here and available for purchase unlocked and ready to rock. You can buy it now at many online retailers including Newegg.com and more for just $429 fully unlocked.
The Xperia Ray may not be a top tier high end smartphone but it has the specs to hold up well against most of Sony’s current offerings. A decent mid range phone the specs come in with a 3.3″ 480 x 848 display with Sony Ericsson’s Bravia engine for true colors, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a Qualcomm single-core 1.0 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and a powerful 8.1 megapixel camera capable of some amazing HD video capture. Here are a few more images and video to see more if you’d like.
Xperia Ray features video The best part of that awesome video demo has to be the Michael Bay moment when the Xperia Ray transforms into an HD camcorder, who agrees? Again this Android 2.3 powered smartphone is available now in the US and comes fully unlocked. This means you can use it on AT&T, T-Mobile, and any other GSM carrier you choose. This is a well rounded smartphone and while it may not be dual-core, everything else is quite nice and will make any photography or SE fan plenty happy. The Xperia Ray was announced at $429 but today Neweegg.com has it on sale for just $379 in all four colors (shown below). So head on over to Newegg and snatch up one of these fully unlocked smartphones. Then if you dare, flash some CM7 once it becomes available.     )
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