Android Community |
- Google & T-Mobile file to support HTC in Apple lawsuit
- Nexus Prime hits the FCC with AT&T and T-Mobile bands
- Samsung Galaxy S II Benchmarks [T-Mobile vs AT&T]
- N3xGen is your custom launcher skin database
- HTC Jetstream hands-on video from SlashGear
- Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on and unboxing [T-Mobile]
- Samsung Stratosphere 4G LTE Slider hits Verizon October 13th
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich screenshot gallery leaks
- Ice Cream Sandwich Google+ 2.0 and new Google Music 4.0 Apps revealed [Download]
| Google & T-Mobile file to support HTC in Apple lawsuit Posted: 08 Oct 2011 12:52 AM PDT T-Mobile and Google have both filed friends of the court briefs supporting HTC against Apple’s patent lawsuit. The two corporations are protecting interests in the Android platform and its manufacturers, as both of them are actively supporting Samsung in a similar case. The reasoning behind their support briefs is the public interest, and both claim that if Apple keeps HTC from selling competitive devices, various negative effects will be felt by American consumers.
The move mirrors amicus curiae briefs filed by both Verizon and T-Mobile last week in support of Samsung, which is also being sued by Apple in the United States and countries around the globe. Apple contests that both HTC and Samsung have violated their hardware and software design patents, and have filed injunctions to stop sales of devices competing with the iPhone and in some countries the iPad as well. Apple has already secured injunctions against Samsung in both Germany and Australia. The reasoning behind Google’s brief raised eyebrows at FOSS Patents, a popular blog covering the legal aspects of free and open-source software. Google touted Android’s expansion of the mobile market into low-income ares and its effectiveness during natural disasters, as well as its use by important infrastructure such as the U.S. Army. Google claims that Apple is using the patent system as a means of creating a monopoly, and that their attempted injunction against HTC threatens competition. Google also highlighted Android’s status as “the only open mobile computing platform.” Editorial note: say Google, Honeycomb came out more than six months ago – would you mind releasing the source code for this open mobile OS you’re so keen on?
T-Mobile basically repeated their support for Samsung, claiming HTC as a major business partner and that an injunction would cause irreparable damage to their future sales. T-Mobile called out Apple’s suggestion that companies supplement a lack of Android devices with “iOS for iPhone, Blackberry OS, and Microsoft Windows” as unreasonable. The company also said that an injunction against HTC would damage its continuing rollout of a 4G network. So, will these supplementary briefs help HTC and Samsung? It’s hard to say. Patent cases like this end in a settlement more often than not, but it looks like Apple won’t be satisfied with anything less than a ban on Android devices from both major manufacturers. Apple’s refusal to settle in the Samsung Australian case indicates that the worldwide patent battle won’t be ending any time soon. )
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| Nexus Prime hits the FCC with AT&T and T-Mobile bands Posted: 07 Oct 2011 11:08 PM PDT What exclusive? Thanks to a forum tipster, we now know that the Samsung GT-I9250, which is thought to be the Nexus Prime, is passing through the FCC’s wireless certification process. What’s confusing about it is that this particular model features a GSM radio with wireless bands for both AT&T and T-Mobile. According to all the leaks and rumors heard thus far, the Nexus Prime was supposed to be a Verizon exclusive – that was thought to be part of the reason the carrier was the only one in the United States to pass up on the Samsung Galaxy S II.
The device being examined by the Federal Communications Commission lacks any sort of CDMA radio, ruling out a universal model a la the recently-announced iPhone 4S. Unfortunately, it also lacks any HSPA+, aka “4G” bands, which is odd, since there’s already a 4G model of the Nexus S. A possible answer is that we’re talking about two separate phones, perhaps with different code names – Nexus Prime, Galaxy Nexus, Droid Prime and Droid Nexus have all been bandied about lately. At this point it’s difficult to say which carrier might get the phone first, or how long it might be exclusive to any carrier. The only thing we can say with any certainty is that Samsung has a new high-profile Android phone in the works, with a release date nebulously set for “soon”. Samsung had planned to unveil the device at CTIA in San Diego next Tuesday, but due to the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, the announcement has been indefinitely postponed. Rumor has it that Samsung and Google may reschedule the Unbox event for October 27th, with a possible London venue. [via Phandroid] )
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| Samsung Galaxy S II Benchmarks [T-Mobile vs AT&T] Posted: 07 Oct 2011 04:17 PM PDT Today the Samsung Galaxy S II has just arrived for T-Mobile, while not available yet in stores we’ve been putting it through its paces and you can see our hands-on coverage here. We’ve also fully reviewed the AT&T Galaxy S II and that can be seen here. Today, just for a comparison we have a few screenshots of both running the popular benchmark Quadrant for everyone to enjoy, results can be seen below but lets just say this is one fast smartphone.
These phones are nearly identical (as are the other Galaxy S II’s) except the T-Mobile version comes with the Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and NOT the 1.2 GHz Samsung Exynos the AT&T and others carry. I was hoping to see a nice boost in performance from the upgraded processor but that just isn’t the case. Yes it is faster, but not by much. I ran a few tests on both smartphones and on average the T-Mobile SGSII scored around 3800. This is faster than any other phone on the market stock out of the box, so this is one extremely fast phone. It’s just the regular 1.2 GHz SGSII scores around 3700 stock, so the 1.5 GHz increase didn’t do all that much for performance, although I’m certainly not complaining. Next I wanted to briefly mention the new HTC Amaze 4G, also with T-Mobile, we received it for some hands-on this morning too. The Amaze 4G sits nicely along with the Galaxy S II on T-Mobile and features the same 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor. So what we have with the Amaze is a 4.3″ smartphone with the same 1.5 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and all that jazz, yet it performs no where near as high as the Galaxy S II (in Quadrant at least). Some might say benchmarks don’t mean anything, and for many they don’t. As long as you have great overall performance that is smooth, fluid and runs great then who cares what the benchmarks say. The Amaze 4G scores around 2800 if its lucky in Quadrant, while the Galaxy S II scores around 3800. Pretty big difference right?
Clearly the HTC Amaze 4G with the same processor is severely lacking in regards to this benchmark. We could blame HTC, HTC Sense UI, or we could simply chalk this up to Samsung produces some excellent hardware and they tweak the OS to support the hardware at the same time. I’m not calling out HTC here, as Samsung has always performed very well in Quadrant results, but this just seems pretty crazy if you ask me. Could Sense UI cause benchmarks to suffer, although it makes the user interface smooth and clean, it’s a real possibility here. This could also be because the EXT4 filesystem Samsung uses on their smartphones, if you look at the I/O performance, this is truly where Samsung shines and is able to squeeze out all that performance. Samsung scores 8400 while HTC scores 2900, as far as input and output performance Samsung clearly has an advantage here. I’m not going to read into all of this too much, and from initial thoughts both devices perform extremely well and just as a powerhouse dual-core smartphone should, I just thought I’d mention it for our readers. As a little bonus the DROID Bionic only scores 2700 in Quadrant with the TI OMAP 1.0 GHz dual-core it has on-board, just for a little more comparison. What does everyone think here — Are benchmarks not nearly as important as we make them out to be? Or do they help sway your choices when considering a new smartphone? Feel free to leave a few thoughts or comments in the section below. We’ll have plenty of benchmark results from other apps in the full review of both these T-Mobiles phones coming soon, so stay tuned. Full device specs can be found under the gallery below.     Device Info
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| N3xGen is your custom launcher skin database Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:40 PM PDT
Homescreen themes themselves have been around for a long time, but they had to be either side-loaded from a MicroSD card or downloaded from the Android Market. Since the Market’s search tools are still pretty rudimentary, developer Bentobox decided to create an app that put them all in the same place. Currently N3xGen Theme Manager has entries for ADW, Launcher Pro and CyanogenMod’s theme engines. Theme makers submit their creations to the N3xGen to be presented to the app’s users. The app supports both the free and paid themes from the Android Market, and its search tools can be broken down by platform, category (like Gingerbread-style themes) or even color. In a nice touch, you can set the filter to only free or paid themes. N3xGen Theme Manager is a free app, it’s currently in its Beta release, though that hasn’t kept it from scoring an impressive 4.7 rating in the Market. You can download it now. [via Lifehacker] )
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| HTC Jetstream hands-on video from SlashGear Posted: 07 Oct 2011 03:14 PM PDT Have you got an empty space in your backpack,but a wallet that’s full to bursting? Then HTC’s new Jetstream tablet might just be for you. It’s a solid offering of a Honeycomb tablet that’s tragically hamstrung by a $699.99 on contract starting price from AT&T. If that doesn’t deter you, the folks at SlashGear have a hands-on and unboxing video for your viewing pleasure.
Now HTC makes some incredibly solid phones and tablets. For my money (well, not my money, at least not in this case) they’re the best all-around manufacturer of Android devices bar none. And according to the initial impressions, that quality is all over the 10-inch Jetsteam, from its top-of-the-line specifications to its metal housing (not unlike its little brother the Flyer). In addition to the dual-core 1.5GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, this is the first tablet we’ve seen from any manufacturer with an 8 megapixel camera and 1080p recording. THe Jetstream in the first tablet we’ve seen that doesn’t trwat the camera like an afterthought. Once you get past that impressive fit and finish, there’s still a lot of high-end specs to consider. Other highlights include a massive 7300 mAh battery, a user-accessible MicroSD card slot, 32GB of internal storage and a “4G” HSPA+ wireless connection. Is all this worth the steep entry fee, not to mention a total life cost of ownership stretching past $1200 at the cheapest? That’s for you to decide. Check out device.ac’s HTC Jetstream page for an in-depth look under the hood.         Device Info
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| Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on and unboxing [T-Mobile] Posted: 07 Oct 2011 02:06 PM PDT Everyone say hello to the big boy on the block, the T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S II. With its awesome 4.52″ AMOLED display, 1.5 GHz dual-core processor it surely will rule the T-Mobile streets for a few weeks. This being the third Galaxy S II available in the US — first being the Epic 4G Touch, second being the AT&T Galaxy S II I’m excited to show everyone this top contender for Galaxy S II supremacy so check out our unboxing video and pictures below.
First things first, the Galaxy S II from T-Mobile has a few things that make it stand out from the pack. It features the fastest processor of all the SGSII’s available and is rocking a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm dual-core processor while the others all have 1.2 GHz Samsung Exynos chips — why T-Mobile and Samsung chose this route we aren’t sure. I doubt anyone will complain about the faster processor though right? Next up, unlike the AT&T version, the T-Mobile model (codenamed Hercules) packs a 4.52″ AMOLED display instead of 4.3″ like the others. What we have is one of the biggest, fastest, and thinnest smartphones on the planet all neatly wrapped in one lightweight package. All powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread and T-Mobiles newest 4G network — that being HSPA+ 42.
I wont get into all the dirty details yet because the Galaxy S II wont be available from T-Mobile until October 12th. Don’t worry though, I’ll have a full out review with all my thoughts and details and as many photos as you’d like in said review before the official launch date. As always you can expect a wide array of benchmarks and us testing the new HSPA+ speeds with speedtest when the time comes, so stay tuned. Below you’ll find our video and a few photos that should hold you over for now. In order from left to right we have the T-Mobile Galaxy S II, the Epic 4G Touch with WiMAX, then the AT&T Galaxy S II on the right with the smaller display Just for fun we’ve also took a few quick Quadrant benchmarks as I know everyone would love to see a few before our full review. The Samsung Galaxy S II from T-Mobile scored an impressive 3819 completely stock out of the box. The 1.5 GHz processor seems to do well here, but not only that, it is Samsung’s simple tweaks and EXT4 that gives them the edge. The Amaze 4G with the same Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual core only scored 2900, probably because of the changes from HTC and Sense UI.
Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on and unboxing                Device Info
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| Samsung Stratosphere 4G LTE Slider hits Verizon October 13th Posted: 07 Oct 2011 01:28 PM PDT The Samsung Stratosphere comes to us as no surprise today. We’ve seen countless leaks of this mid-range QWERTY slider in the past. Spotted on some Verizon roadmaps, cleared the FCC last month, and full press shots have leaked a few times too. Verizon’s 4G LTE device range is about to get one more added soon, that being the Samsung Stratosphere.
While pricing and details have not been released, we now know the Samsung Stratosphere 4G LTE QWERTY Slider will hit Verizon Wireless on October 13th and should make for another great mid-range LTE option just like the Pantech Breakout we recently reviewed.
For those unfamiliar, the Stratosphere is basically a last generation Samsung Galaxy S (not a II). It features a 4.0″ AMOLED Display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 1.0 Ghz single-core Samsung processor, 5 MP camera on the rear and the usual specs we’ve come to know from the Galaxy S line. The Stratosphere is basically the Samsung DROID Charge with a smaller display and a hardware keyboard, that should sum it up quite nicely. The Samsung Stratosphere 4G LTE smartphone is no DROID Bionic, or the upcoming Nexus Prime, but it will be an awesome low priced mid-range smartphone for those wanting to jump into the LTE market. Stay tuned for official pricing and more. [via Droid-life] )
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| Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich screenshot gallery leaks Posted: 07 Oct 2011 12:56 PM PDT News of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the Nexus Prime are appearing everywhere. It seems the Ice Cream has finally started to melt and everyone wants a scoop. Earlier today a full Nexus Prime video was leaked, then the Nexus Prime and ICS launch event was canceled (possible on the 27th now), and in general the news just keeps getting better for Android fans.
While the leaked video gives us a pretty good look at what to expect with Android 4.0 ICS, now it seems a full gallery with plenty of photos is also floating around. Most of this has already been seen in the video but for those not wanting to pause and deal with a shaky video, we have actual screenshots for you to gaze at for hours while we dream for a full leaked build. Before we post the full gallery here is the video just for fun, If you are like me you probably just can’t stop watching it over and over. If this isn’t enough Ice Cream Sandwich for you don’t worry, we have even more. Along with the vanilla, chocolate and whatever other flavors Google has included, we have a brand new Google+ 2.0 application, as well as Google Music 4.0. Full details and downloads for those can be found by clicking here. Get ready for an Ice Cream overload because its just getting started. I might need to work out Monday after consuming all this dairy. Without further ado, here’s the full gallery:          )
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| Ice Cream Sandwich Google+ 2.0 and new Google Music 4.0 Apps revealed [Download] Posted: 07 Oct 2011 12:32 PM PDT Today we’ve seen plenty news regarding the Samsung Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich. It appears a few are out in the wild and the leaks are finally starting to flood in so prepare for a few crazy days. Obviously there will be tons of changes and new apps, features in Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich but a few that are already leaking have just hit the wires. We have a new Google+ application, version 2.0, with a few changes, then a brand new Google Music app too. More details and download links below.
First off it appears the new Google+ app comes pre-installed and is version 2.0. Recent updates changed Huddles to Messenger, and if this leak is accurate Google is changing it yet again to something called “Chord”. Personally I think messenger was fine and Chord will only confuse people, but what do I know right? We still may see another name come the official launch, but with it being version 2.0 this looks like a final build of some type. There are also numerous UI changes and you can see all of that and more at the source. Next up we have a brand new Google Music application, this excited me even more. I love Google Music and now we are seeing a new and improved version 4.0.1 from the Ice Cream Sandwich leaks. Basically what we have is a revamped but similar user interface, a clean and simple look, much better controls, and an overall design looking very similar to ICS. It looks quite similar to version 3.0 but just overall cleaner and much more simple. The playing now tab on bottom seems smaller too, check out the picture.
Everything looks nice. I wont get into the details too much because all of this is just starting to hit the wires. Sadly the Nexus Prime CTIA event was canceled in respect to Steve Jobs, so we’ll all have to wait a little longer to get a full look at Ice Cream Sandwich, although I’m sure plenty of leaks are coming shortly so stay tuned to Android Community. Google Music 4.0.1 download [via Android Police] )
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Android users like to customize their phones. A lot. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. And while the more obvious application of this customization fever is a community-authored ROM like CyanogenMod, a less drastic method of sprucing up your phone is a skin for your custom homescreen/launcher. Now there’s an easy way to find new ones, with 
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