Android Community |
- Toshiba AT200 Excite Tablet hits the FCC
- Lenovo A1 7″ Gingerbread tablet just $199, available now
- Trinity Kernels for Nexus S and G2x receive updates
- Samsung Galaxy S II stock arriving at T-Mobile early
- Riptide GP racing onto all Android devices soon
- HTC Sensation XL hands-on [Video]
- Pantech Vega LTE announced with 4.5-inch 720p display
- In-app purchases coming to the Amazon Kindle Fire
- Pandigital SuperNova confirmed, 8-inch Gingerbread tablet for $229
- Samsung Nexus Prime specs leaked, Verizon only in the US
- HTC Flyer on sale for $99 at Best Buy – fly to your local store [UPDATED]
- Myriad Alien Dalvik 2.0 lets Android apps run on iPad and more
- T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q by LG are official, coming before the holidays
- Samsung Galaxy Note coming to Australia in early 2012
- The Passing of a Great Man: Steve Jobs
- A better look at the Nexus Prime teaser image
- HTC Rhyme hands-on and unboxing [Video]
- Haunted House HD Live Wallpaper, Just in time for Halloween [Video]
- Samsung compares the iPhone 4S to their Galaxy S II
- What Microsoft’s Xbox 360 TV announcement means to Google TV
| Toshiba AT200 Excite Tablet hits the FCC Posted: 06 Oct 2011 12:27 PM PDT Toshiba recently unveiled their brand new super thin Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet named the AT200. We’ve seen it a few times being rumored as the Toshiba Excite. Today it has cleared the FCC making this ultra-thin slate headed to the U.S sometime soon. This is the next tablet coming from Toshiba and will replace its larger brother, the Thrive.
Coming in at just 7.7mm thin, this will be one sleek tablet that is for sure. We saw plenty of it at IFA this year and we were able to sneak some hands-on video seen here. Being thinner than the Galaxy Tab 10, unless someone else beats them to market with something thin this will be the thinnest tablet around. Clearing the FCC is a good sign of things to come. An interesting note: the FCC documents from the listing show this device to have been constructed by Quanta, the same Chinese OEM that's about to be responsible for the Amazon Kindle Fire. We have a 10.1″ 1280 x 800 resolution display Android 3.2 Honeycomb Tab, powered by a TI OMAP 4430 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. Toshiba will be offering the tablet in three options: 16GB, 32GB, and even a 64GB flavor. The Toshiba AT200 (Excite) is said to be coming in Q4 for a holiday release, no pricing or official date has been set but with it passing through the FCC we should be hearing more soon. Again here is our hands-on coverage and a bonus video. Toshiba AT200 hands-on video:
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| Lenovo A1 7″ Gingerbread tablet just $199, available now Posted: 06 Oct 2011 12:03 PM PDT Lenovo is all set to start shipping their newest tablet offering. The Lenovo A1 Android 2.3 Gingerbread tablet with a 7″ display and powerful 1.0 Ghz processor. First spied way back in July, it was officially announced at the beginning of September coming in with 4 awesome color options available, we have all the details below.
The Lenovo IdeaPad A1 is an affordable 7″ Android 2.3 Tab. It will feature a TI OMAP 3622 Cortex A8 1.0 Ghz single-core processor, a 5 MP rear and 2.0 front facing camera. Coming in at 11.9mm thin (0.46 inch), and weighing just 400g. Lenovo is using a magnesium alloy roll-cage internal frame design to keep the tablet strong, yet thin,light and affordable. The 7″ LED display will have a 1024 x 600 resolution similar to the Galaxy Tab 7 and offers a great visual experience.
Starting at just $199 the IdeaPad A1 comes in 4 bright colors shown above. We have 2GB of internal storage for just $199, then all available colors are being offered with 16GB storage for just $249. This may not be a powerhouse Honeycomb tablet, but for the price you have a pretty well rounded Gingerbread tablet that is portable and should fit many users budget. My only concern is the $199 dual-core Kindle Fire might have something to say here, just a thought. Although we do have dual cameras and full Google support on the A1, rather than Amazon’s ecosystem they’ve been building with the Fire. For full details on the Lenovo A1 tablet head over to Lenovo.com, for a more detailed breakdown on colors and pricing you can click here. They are available for order right now and will begin shipping October 27th.     )
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| Trinity Kernels for Nexus S and G2x receive updates Posted: 06 Oct 2011 12:02 PM PDT If you are one of the many that indulge in the rooting, overclocking, and general tweaking of your Android phones this will be some great news if you own one of the mentioned devices. The extremely popular Trinity kernels by Morfic have all been updated with some awesome improvements to both top speed, and for those battery conscious users that also want great performance.
Mainly built for the Nexus S and S 4G, he also compiles awesome kernels for the LG G2x. Morfic’s main focus is on the Nexus S and we have kernels that range from underclocked and undervolted for extremely great battery life at just 880 Mhz, all the way up to 1.54 Ghz for the single-core Nexus S. Today’s latest update the new TEUV kernel has been completely tweaked and improved for top battery life and performance both. Lowering the Nexus S from the stock 1.0 Ghz down to .88 GHz (880 MHz), this gives the device amazing battery life while still managing to perform as good or better than almost any other single-core (and some dual-core) phones on the market. This is just a few of the many reasons we choose to root and toy with our Android smartphones. We’ve covered Trinity kernels before and with its help our G2x reached blazing fast speeds and list topping benchmarks. Then the Nexus S scoring well over 5000 in quadrant thanks to Trinity and CM7. I know benchmarks, overclocking, and tweaking isn’t for everyone — but for those that do the Trinity kernels are worth giving a try that is for sure. Since these types of things are to be done at your own risk, as always proceed with caution and if you are considering giving a few of these a try yourself you should already know how. All the details, downloads, and versions are available at the source link below. — Thanks Simms [via Trinity] )
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| Samsung Galaxy S II stock arriving at T-Mobile early Posted: 06 Oct 2011 11:11 AM PDT T-Mobile appears to be gearing up for some pretty impressive sales of the new Samsung Galaxy S II for their network. Codenamed the Hercules it will come to market as just the Galaxy S II for T-Mobile. Officially announced a few weeks back, the T-Mobile branded version of one of the best phones around will be available come October 12th. It appears T-Mobile stores are already starting to receive tons of stock, gearing for a big launch.
We all know plenty about this 4.52″ AMOLED packing 1.5 GHz dual-core powered superphone headed to T-Mobile but if you’d like to see some leaked benchmarks we have those too, just click here. The device should be available for pre-order on the 10th according to the press release, but with stores already getting tons and tons of stock (see photo), there is a small chance you might be able to pick one up in stores on the 10th if you’re lucky. The same phone will be the Galaxy S II X on Telus and you can click here for a full video preview of the amazing hardware. According to TmoNews, stores are seeing upwards of 50 units each, so it’s safe to assume T-Mobile expects this smartphone to sell fast. It will only be $199 with a new 2-year contract and available soon so be ready and waiting with that plastic or all those pennies you’ve saved. If you’d like to wait and see what everyone (we) think before making your decision be sure to stay closely tuned to Android Community because we will have one very soon to unbox and show you in detail. Device Info
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| Riptide GP racing onto all Android devices soon Posted: 06 Oct 2011 10:12 AM PDT I have some good news for all you non Tegra 2 device users today. The highly popular racing game Riptide GP will be splashing onto all Android devices soon. Riptide GP is the highly popular and visually stunning NVIDIA Tegra 2 exclusive game from Vector Unit but today the developers have announced it will be available for all Android devices here shortly.
This game was originally released only for the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform and we’ve been able to enjoy it on our smartphones and tablets for a while already. You can see our pre-release review here, then a follow up review with even more video when it officially launched. There are a few hacks around making this available for non Tegra devices but those days will soon be left behind when Vector Unit releases Riptide GP for the masses. Riptide GP Gameplay Demo Riptide GP is one of the best racing games for Android and being on water gives it a unique element most others currently cant rival. This is essentially a Jet Ski racing game if you didn’t catch that by now, but with stunning visuals, exceptional physics and lifelike water motion and more this really is one of the more polished and complete games I’ve enjoyed in a while. -12 dynamic, twisting, and futuristic water raceways Riptide GP is one of the awesome games that also supports the new Logitech Wireless GamePad F710 for Android. We were able to give that a try so click that link and see both this game and the wireless controller in action.
Vector Unit does mention that the minimum specification for playing the upcoming version for all devices should be an 800 MHz processor, although they recommend dual-core devices for optimal performance and experience. Most phones are currently 1.0 GHz or more so this shouldn’t be too big of an issue unless you have an older phone. We should be seeing Riptide GP for all Android phones and tablets sometimes this month, slated for a late October launch. [via DroidGamers] )
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| HTC Sensation XL hands-on [Video] Posted: 06 Oct 2011 09:55 AM PDT The HTC Sensation XL has been officially revealed, the company’s first Android smartphone to be built with Beats Audio in from the ground up, and toting a super-sized 4.7-inch Super LCD along for the ride. A 1.5GHz single-core MSM8255 handset with 768MB of RAM, all in a 9.9mm thick unibody-style chassis, the Sensation XL does make a few compromises: not least the WVGA resolution display. We caught up with HTC for some hands-on time and to ask a few spec decision questions.
Effectively an Android version of the Windows Phone based HTC Titan, the Sensation XL offers 16GB of integrated storage (12.68GB user-accessible; no microSD slot to expand it), an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus, dual LED flash, 28mm wide-angle f2.2 lens and back-illuminated sensor, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and Sense 3.5. Connectivity includes triband 3G/WCDMA, GSM/EDGE, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB, plus there’s GPS and all the usual sensors. HTC’s choice of WVGA rather than qHD – as on the Sensation XE – or indeed 1280 x 720 as Samsung and LG have been adopting confuses things somewhat; we’re used to big-screen phones having big resolutions, too. According to HTC’s Jeff Gordon, global communications manager, the decision was part on purpose and part to do with what Super LCD panels are actually available. 4.7-inches and high resolution are difficult to find in volume, it seems. HTC Sensation XL hands-on: In practice, mind, the Super LCD panel is a capable performer, and pixelation is something you need to specifically hunt for. It works well for video playback, too, including support for HTC Watch streaming content, and the company is positioning the Sensation XL as a multimedia device first. As with the HTC Sensation XE there are special headphones included: a set of in-ear urBeats – with in-line controls – are standard, but certain Sensation XL bundles will have a limited edition set of HTC Beats Solo headphones in the box instead. As ever, they’re bass heavy and HTC’s special audio profile – which kicks into action when a set of Beats Audio cans are plugged in – emphasizes that, though you can shut it off manually or tweak the equalizer yourself.
Although the Sensation XE strikes us as a better all-rounder, the HTC Sensation XL is a strong contender if you want a solid multimedia device with an emphasis on music. HTC says the Sensation XL will arrive in Europe and Asia from November (pricing TBC) but that there’s no plan to bring it to North America at this time; still, we’d be mighty surprised if a variant with similar Beats Audio abilities weren’t in the pipeline.                            )
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| Pantech Vega LTE announced with 4.5-inch 720p display Posted: 06 Oct 2011 09:31 AM PDT 720p seems to be the sweet spot for upcoming Android superphones: Both the Galaxy Nexus/Nexus Prime and the Samsung Galaxy S II HD LTE have a 720p screen, and the Galaxy Note bumps it up to 1280 x 800. Add another to the list with the Pantech Vega LTE. The newest from the South Korean manufacturer has a 4.5-inch display showing off the best of Gingerbread. Pantech’s translation is a little rough, but based on some quick measurements, it looks like the screen will be a full 16:10, 1280 x 800 panel.
Other specs include a zippy 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1Gb of RAM, 4G/LTE data speeds, a sizable 1860 mAh battery and 16GB of on-board storage. Like other Pantech phones, there appear to be some modifications to the UI, and users can control certain functions with hand gestures via the front-facing camera. All this is crammed into a svelte 9.35mm body. T-DMB mobile TV viewing and an NFC payment chip don’t hold a whole lot of sway in the American market, but they’re must haves for Korea, where SK Telecom will debut the Vega LTE later this month The Vega LTE isn’t slated for release anywhere outside South Korea at the moment. That doesn’t mean that is won’t ever see the light of a Western sun, but considering that Pantech is focusing on the mid-range of the smartphone market in the US, it’s not especially likely, either. Pantech’s latest in the US, the Breakout for Verizon, is roughly equal in specs to the original Galaxy S. [via Geeky Gadgets] )
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| In-app purchases coming to the Amazon Kindle Fire Posted: 06 Oct 2011 08:34 AM PDT Android users have been able to take advantage of in-app purchases via PayPal, Glu Mobile or the Android Market’s native tools for a while now, and Amazon is naturally going to be bringing the same capability to the Android-based Kindle Fire tablet. The online retailer is beginning a developer beta program for in-app purchasing even before the tablet goes on sale next month. Developers can request access to the program today.
The Kindle Fire uses a completely skinned/forked version of Android Gingerbread, and has precisely zero of Google’s proprietary software installed. That means that since it swaps out the Android Market for the Amazon App Store, developers selling apps for the Fire don’t have access to Google Mobile Services. Amazon’s solution will use their own extensive back-end to allow games and marketplaces to sell digital items and upgrades directly within apps. The pre-registration form for the beta program indicates that Amazon is targeting subscription apps and one-time purchases. The form also asks applicants if they’ve used Google Checkout, PayPal or the iOS App Store for in-app purchases before, but that’s likely just for research. I can’t imagine Amazon using anything except its own checkout process for purchases on the Fire. The Kindle Fire is currently set for a November 15th release. Amazon has already racked up more than 250,000 preorder sales. )
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| Pandigital SuperNova confirmed, 8-inch Gingerbread tablet for $229 Posted: 06 Oct 2011 07:31 AM PDT It’s positively raining cheap wifi tablets lately. The big brother to the original Pandigital Nova is the SuperNova, and after munching down a Super Mushroom it’s upgraded to an 8-inch capacitive display. Unfortunately, the resolution is still a rather disappointing 800 x 600 in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The budget tablet should hit retailers soon at a price of $229.
Other hardware details include a 1Ghz single-core processor, an onboard micro-HDMI port and Bluetooth 2.1. Internal storage is 4GB with a free MicroSD slot for expansion. Pandigital doesn’t have Google’s blessing for any of their tablet offerings, so users will have to make do with the GetJar alternative app store. A few built-in apps like Barnes & Noble’s ebook store, YouTube and Adobe Flash help spruce up the Gingerbread operating system before owners download anything new. According to Pandigital’s press release, the SuperNova will be available in mid-October at retail locations across the US. Slightly larger screen notwithstanding, it’s hard to see why anyone would pick up a SuperNova over any of its close competitors. If you’re looking for a cheap, hack-friendly tablet, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color is just $20 more (or even less if you play your cards right) and the solid HTC Flyer now provides a full Gingerbread tablet with access to the Android Market for $299. If you’re dead-set on a cheap tablet and you’ve got some spare patience, Amazon’s Kindle Fire will release in just over a month for only $199. )
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| Samsung Nexus Prime specs leaked, Verizon only in the US Posted: 06 Oct 2011 06:55 AM PDT The Nexus Prime leaks are coming fast and furious on the lead-up to Samsung’s Mobile Unbox event on Tuesday. BGR has a source that lays out all of the juicy details on Google’s next developer phone, including that it will be exclusive to Verizon Wireless in the United States. The details line up with what we’ve seen rumored over the last few weeks, except that the source claims the official name for the phone is the “Galaxy Nexus”.
According to the anonymous source, the Nexus Prime has a 4.65-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720, giving it a sky-high PPI value of 320. The panel will of course use Samsung’s Super AMOLED + technology, and feature the same concave glass surface as the Nexus S. Processing power comes from a 1.2Ghz dual-core TI chip, and the phone has a huge 32GB storage capacity with a full 1 GB or RAM. In Verizon’s case an LTE 4G radio will offer speedy downloads. All this powers the newest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Unfortunately, no price details have been leaked. Other more mundane details include a 1750 mAh battery, NFC capability, a rear camera of “just” 5 megapixels and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. The Nexus Prime will get the now-standard 1080p video recording. The phone is being listed at just 9mm thick, presumably not including the bend seen in Samsung’s teaser video. These specifications are from an anonymous tipster and have not been confirmed – be sure to check Android Community on Tuesday, October 11th for the official unveiling at CTIA. )
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| HTC Flyer on sale for $99 at Best Buy – fly to your local store [UPDATED] Posted: 06 Oct 2011 06:19 AM PDT After some already dramatic reductions last week, it looks like the HTC Flyer is getting the fire sale treatment from the US’ largest electronics retailer. The 7-inch Gingerbread tablet was marked down to just $99.99 sometime this morning, and has already sold out online. The discounted price may or may not be available at your local retail store and store pickup is not being offered, so if you want to take a chance on a great bargain, make tracks now. UPDATE: False alarm, folks. It looks like Best Buy had another ill-timed pricing error.
The HTC Flyer was discounted just last weekend from $500 to $300 in stores across the country. Speculation is that the move was the rock-bottom pricing of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, not to mention lowered consumer expectations after HP sold hundreds of thousands of its TouchPad tablets at just $99-$149. Stock of the Flyer was already dwindling, but after the latest price drop, they’re downright anemic for Best Buy at least. There is no indication that other online or brick-and-mortar retailers are following suit. The Flyer is a typlical pre-Honeycomb tablet in the vein of the original Samsung Galaxy Tab. Its 7-inch screen is pushing out a respectable but not amazing 1024 x 600 pixels, and it includes a 1.5GHz single-core processor and 16GB of storage. The camera is 5 megapixels, and while Sense-laden Gingerbread is as good as the software gets at the moment, a Honeycomb upgrade is coming soon. Unfortunately, it looks like the $79 capacitive stylus (which is now almost as expensive as the tablet itself!) is not being discounted. This solid little wifi tablet was pricey at $500 and considerable at $300, but it’s a downright steal at $100. If you missed out on your chance to pick up a cheap HP TouchPad, an HTC Flyer would make a great consolation prize. UPDATE: Droid Life is reporting that the $99 price for the HTC Flyer is an SKU error, and Best Buy stores will not be honoring the online price. It’s not known whether the sales already made on the website will be honored. )
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| Myriad Alien Dalvik 2.0 lets Android apps run on iPad and more Posted: 06 Oct 2011 05:49 AM PDT There have been a lot of people clamoring for the ability to run Android applications on some tablets and devices like HP TouchPad and other devices. Today Myriad has launched Alien Dalvik 2.0 and for the first time you can extend Android apps to run on all sorts of devices including automobiles, TVs, and tablets like the iPad. The company says that this new release is the first step towards a single app standard across all devices.
The company also says that the new software takes the fragmentation out of the market that makes some apps work well on one device and not at all on others. Alien Dalvik 2.0 will be shown off at CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011 next week while running Android apps on the iPad. The software promises to be seamless for the user. Myriad says that the Alien Dalvik 2.0 software is completely transparent to the user and installs without interruption. This is pretty cool. I think it will prove more useful with tablets and devices other than the iPad since apps are more likely to be offered on iOS and Android than alternative OS’ and devices. )
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| T-Mobile myTouch and myTouch Q by LG are official, coming before the holidays Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:31 PM PDT
After weeks of leaks and teases, T-Mobile just let us know that the newest members of the myTouch line will be arriving “in time for the holiday season” – which probably means November 2nd. The T-Mobile myTouch and T-Mobile myTouch Q are both manufactured by LG, the first myTouch phones not made by HTC. We’ve finally got full specs for you to check out below.
Both phones feature Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 1GHz processor and 5-megapixel cameras with 720p recording capability. Happily, both will operate on T-Mobiles’ HSPA+ “4G” network. That’s where the physical similarities end: the myTouch is a 3.8-inch slate phone with a Swype virtual keyboard, while the myTouch Q is a slider with a full QWERTY keyboard and a 3.5-inch screen. The myTouch also features a front-facing camera with Qik integrated. The T-Mobile branded phones will have Netflix’s Android streaming app and T-Mobile TV built-in, along with the line-standard “Genius Button.” T-Mobile neglected to mention the price for either phone, but according to a recent roadmap leak, they’ll both be $129.99 on-contract. You’ll be able to get the myTouch in either black or white, while the myTouch Q will come in gray or violet colors.   )
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| Samsung Galaxy Note coming to Australia in early 2012 Posted: 05 Oct 2011 09:02 PM PDT While the land down under isn’t getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 any time soon, Australian citizens can be glad that they’re getting the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note. Early tomorrow (or in U.S. terms, late tonight) Samsung announced plans to distribute the jumbo smartphone there in “early 2012.” Australia is only the second market confirmed to get the flagship device.
The Samsung Galaxy Note was announced at IFA in Berlin. It’s a 2.3 Gingerbread phone that shares a lot of characteristics with the best-selling Galaxy S II – except in a couple of key areas. Those areas are a massive 5.3-inch screen pushing 1280 x 800 pixels out of a Super AMOLED+ panel and a beefed-up 1.4GHz dual-core processor. The Galaxy Note also features a capacitive stylus and custom software to take advantage of the pen-style input. Check out Android Community’s hands-on footage with the Galaxy Note to see why we’re so excited. Samsung and Apple are still in a bitter patent battle over the former’s tablet designs, culminating in Apple refusing to accept a settlement on Tuesday. This is only the latest in a long line of patent battles spanning the globe, but so far, Apple has shown no intention of blocking sales of the Galaxy Note specifically. UK consumers will get their hands on the Samsung Galaxy note in November, and US residents may not be far behind. Device Info
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| The Passing of a Great Man: Steve Jobs Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:57 PM PDT Well, just one day after the announcement of the new iPhone 4S we have some terribly sad news. Today Apple board of directors have now confirmed that Steve Jobs has passed away. It deeply saddens me to have to write this story, Steve will always be remembered for his utterly amazing work and everything he has achieved and accomplished.
I don’t even know what to say. His brilliant idea’s and designs will be forever remembered for what changed the mobile industry forever and more. This news is just hitting the wires and sadly we must report it.
Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook today sent the following email to all Apple employees:
This is a terribly sad day for the world in general, but especially for his entire family — that being those close to him, and the technology and mobile communities at large. We all love and enjoy everything Steve and Apple have created. He has now left at the early age of 56, he will be sorely missed. If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com
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| A better look at the Nexus Prime teaser image Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:40 PM PDT Squinting to look at Samsung’s Nexus Prime teaser video? Trying to imagine what the phone thing looks like in good lighting? Well wonder no more: a generous reddit user calling himself or herself Greyhaven7 has put together a photo manipulation from stills in the Unbox Event video, and you can get your first solid look at the next Google superphone.
Without the fancy effects in the original video, the curve on the screen seems a lot less dramatic, and more in line with the Samsung Nexus S. That should make at least a few eager Android fans happy, as the original looked a little extreme for a pocket device. We can’t wait to see the phone in all its glory at CTIA next Tuesday – be sure to keep an eye on Android Community for all the latest updates. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] )
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| HTC Rhyme hands-on and unboxing [Video] Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:26 PM PDT There’s a lot of negative connotation out there when one says “female phone,” but the HTC Rhyme is aiming to change that (even if it doesn’t want to do so officially). the 3.7-inch Verizon smartphone arrived at my doorstep and I couldn’t wait to slip right into its
The first thing you notice when you pick up the plum-colored Rhyme is HTC’s typically solid build quality. Make no mistake: despite the more dull affairs that used to mark the sub-category, the Rhyme is a quality device that stretches into the upper ranges. A year ago this would have qualified as a “superphone” with its 1GHz processor, and it’s got the performance, fit and finish to prove it. The phone comes in other colors like grey, but ours is extremely… plum. The phone itself features Android 2.3 Gingerbread (yes!) with HTC’s Sense 3.5 running on top. There’s no surprises here if you’ve checked out one of HTC’s branded devices lately, but the additions are quick, unobtrusive and generally useful. A single Micro USB port hangs out on the left side, covered with a plastic protector. Slide off the battery cover and you can see that there’s no room to spare in the device, and HTC has provided users with an 8GB MicroSD card for music, video and photo storage. The 3.7-inch, 800 x 480 Super LCD screen is flanked by a 5MP camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front.
But what really sets the Rhyme apart is its included accessories. Of course you’ve got the basic charger/USB cable combo inside the slick packaging, but HTC has also included some custom earbuds, a desktop charging dock and the brand new Charm extension, which lights up upon receiving a call, text or email. Since I usually carry my phone in my pocket, I won’t get much use out of the Charm, but I can see how it would be handy for a constant purse or bag-totter who wants to remain unobtrusive. It seems like a solution for a very, very specific problem, but it’s a solution nonetheless. The dock is the real star here, at least for me. It’s made out of a stiff cloth material that’s pleasant to the touch, even if it does feel a little cheap. When you drop the Rhyme into the dock (provided you’ve got it plugged into a computer or power outlet) it immediately begins charging via the flush electrical contacts on back, just like the Nexus One. It also establishes a Bluetooth connection with the surprisingly loud speakers in the dock, immediately turning the whole thing into a speakerphone and music player. Nice. Check out the unboxing video below: While I can’t speak for the fairer sex, from a gadget hound perspective I’d say that the HTC Rhyme is a solid choice without immediately seeming spectacular. But the inclusion of a wide range of accessories in the $199 price tag ($439 off-contract) makes it worth a second glance, especially if you like to keep your phone docked on your desk or nightstand. Be sure to check out Android Community’s in-depth review, coming in a few days.       Device Info
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| Haunted House HD Live Wallpaper, Just in time for Halloween [Video] Posted: 05 Oct 2011 04:06 PM PDT Its been a few weeks since we featured a great live wallpaper but today we have a little treat just in time for the holidays. From the popular LWP developers DualBoot Games we have a brand new, just released live wallpaper called Haunted House HD. I have the new LWP in action with screenshots and video below so you can decide for yourself if you’d like to pick this up from the Android Market.
For a quick look at some of the developers other awesome work you can also see our coverage of the very popular My Beach HD LWP. DualBoot Games is known for making extremely well designed wallpapers that are full of details, have more options than most, and work great on both phones and tablets. This latest release is no different and it runs smooth and looks awesome on my tablet. With the many many different things going on inside this wallpaper you’d think performance wouldn’t be smooth — but it runs great, doesn’t take much battery, and will be worth showing off to your friends and family as Halloween gets closer.
Haunted House HD has more options than almost any LWP I’ve seen lately. Everything is highly customizable from inside and out. We can change the leaves, flickering lights, fog, windows, pumpkins, chairs, pictures inside on the walls, turn off the fire, get rid of the ghosts and more. They truly think of almost everything when making these wallpapers. Touch controls are also active where while touching around inside things like painting will change, and lights will turn on and off. This only works some of the time and these features and all the options can be seen below in my hands-on video preview. Haunted House HD Live Wallpaper hands-on video This and all of DualBoot Games Live Wallpapers can be seen in the market by clicking here. They make great wallpapers and keep them up to date and even play nice with the seasons so support their work and buy a few awesome wallpapers for your Android phone or tablet. I mentioned in the video Haunted House HD is coming soon but they’ve just launched yesterday and it too is available in the market right now. You can click or scan the QR code below to give it a download. Enjoy!
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| Samsung compares the iPhone 4S to their Galaxy S II Posted: 05 Oct 2011 03:50 PM PDT I don’t know about you guys, but I think Samsung has a point to be made here, and that’s the Galaxy S II hands down is just one awesome smartphone. After all the iPhone 4S news settled down yesterday (and quick), Samsung was nice enough to present us with a very informative spec sheet that should help anyone on the fence decide what smartphone is right for them. What we have is the ultimate Galaxy S II vs iPhone 4S comparison chart in the gallery below.
Samsung has provided almost every bit of information one would possibly need or want to know about both smartphones, and will leave it ultimately up to you — the users to decide. They’ve highlighted everything where the Galaxy S II stands out and is above the rest, and keeps things simple and honest. If anyone wants to see a real chart of all the top devices from Android we have our own in-depth comparison that can be seen here featuring many different top tier phones, not just the Samsung. Some may argue how many people are actually concerned with the down right specs, but I know I am and many others are too. I’m sure most just want a good ecosystem and a reliable smartphone and trust me when I say that Samsung has provided just that. The Galaxy S II is one of, if not the best Android phones to date. Having better specs in almost every category over the iPhone 4S the choice is very clear for me. We’ve reviewed both U.S. Galaxy S II’s and you can see those here, and here. We here at Android Community also have an extensive device database of all things android that can be seen at http://device.ac that you must check out for hardware questions on any device. We also have all the current Galaxy S II versions you can see by clicking here. So, I’ll ask all of our loyal readers — What smartphone do you intend to buy, and would you ever consider the iPhone 4S and its little screen over the 4.5″ packing Galaxy S II?     Device Info
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| What Microsoft’s Xbox 360 TV announcement means to Google TV Posted: 05 Oct 2011 01:26 PM PDT Today Microsoft announced they’ve partnered with tons of media and entertainment leaders all across the world to bring a better experience to TV’s and Xbox Live. After reading through all of the announcements and providers they have come to terms with I quickly found myself wondering how this will effect Google TV — with and without Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich. If set-tops like the Revue weren’t already facing an uphill fight, it just got even steeper.
Our sister site SlashGear has all the Xbox news since Microsoft doesn’t have much to do with Android (other than royalties for patents). So you can head over there to see all the latest information. Google TV has pretty much been a quiet little side project thus far and if they thought things were about to get better with Honeycomb, things might have just changed again with everything Microsoft and Xbox Live is bringing to the table. Google TV hasn’t seen much adoption from the mainstream users they’d hoped for, but sales were strong when the Logitech Revue dropped to $99. We have seen various Honeycomb leaks for Google TV and even an update preparing for the future. Will those updates be enough to save Google TV? We wont know until the updates finally hit and we start to see just what Google has planned for the platform. What I do know, is Microsoft has just tightened their grip on the market making Google TV look even weaker — Here is a •ABC iView – Australia If I said the list was small I meant large, that is what Google and their TV’s will be facing here soon coming from Microsoft. If you read over that list remember that those are only new editions being added on to the many already available. Some of the main features of Google TV such as YouTube, Pandora, FOX News, and Amazon have all been added to that list plus many more. The few really good points Google TV had going are soon to be available for Xbox users everywhere. I don’t mean to trash on Google TV, the option is a wonderful one and we’ve yet to see its true potential. I for one am hoping Google has a few tricks and special things planned for Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich when it comes to Google TV, otherwise they’ll be in a deeper hole than they are currently. So what all this technically means for Google TV — is that they better get moving and fast if it wants to stay relevant. )
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