Android Community |
- XOOM 2 and XOOM 2 Media Edition get UK pricing
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus shipping early from Amazon, get one today
- Dueling dates: Galaxy Nexus may arrive on Verizon November 17th
- Modaco roots the Samsung Galaxy Nexus already
- First HTC Rezound press shots leak ahead of NYC announcement
- Apple CEO dismisses Kindle Fire as “more Android fragmentation”
- Google Offers expands with new Android app
- Kobo Vox available now, beats Kindle Fire and Nook Color 2 to market
- XOOM 2 and XOOM 2 Media Edition tablets confirmed
- Download the DROID RAZR boot animation and sound files now
- Cartoon Wars: Gunner+ is the animated violence you crave for free
- PayPal may finally be coming to the Android Market
- HTC Flyer tablet lands at T-Mobile
- Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 Review [Video]
- DROID RAZR initiated on Droid Does and DroidLanding pages, get ready to hunt
- Toshiba Thrive 16GB Wi-Fi tablet just $299 from Groupon [Deal]
- Google Reader update brings ICS user interface and widgets, swipe navigation, more
- ASUS Transformer Prime heads through the FCC, Tegra 3 revealed in teardown [Update]
- Androidify Me prints your Androidify avatar on stickers or posters
- Amazon Facebook giving away 10 Kindle Fire tablets and $250 gift cards
| XOOM 2 and XOOM 2 Media Edition get UK pricing Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:12 AM PDT The much-leaked Motorola XOOM 2 and its little brother the XOOM 2 Media edition got an official UK unveiling today, and now the prices are coming as well. According to UK retailer Clove, the 10.1-inch XOOM 2 will be £325 and the Media Edition will be £299, both before a hefty value added tax. Both prices are for the Wifi editions.
After a little price conversion, that comes out to$520 and $477, respectively. After value added tax, those prices jump to $624 and $572. It sounds expensive in US currency, but the XOOM 2 models are in line with current prices in the UK – for example, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 Wifi version currently costs £399, while the original Motorola XOOM is now £274.99, down from £449.99 in March. A Carphone Warehouse ad put the XOOM 2 Media Edition at 399 Euros, or about $550. What can we learn about US pricing from this information? That when the XOOM 2 and XOOM 2 Media Edition arrive, they’ll be competitive with current Android Honeycomb tablets in the same price range. Prices for consumer electronics in Europe in general are higher than they are here, and in the United Kingdom that’s even more true. As far as hardware goes, both XOOM 2 models have upgraded to a 1.2Ghz dual-core OMAP processor, skipping the Nvidia Tegra 2, just like the recently-released ATRIX 2. There still isn’t a version of the Tegra 2 available with a clock speed of more than 1 gigahertz, so manufacturers may be waiting for the Tegra 3 before committing to more high-end hardware. The upcoming Asus Transformer Prime is expected to use the quad-core Tegra 3, and an official announcement from Asus is tentatively scheduled for November 9th. )
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus shipping early from Amazon, get one today Posted: 03 Nov 2011 10:12 AM PDT It looks like Amazon might have pulled the trigger a little early for this round of Samsung tablets. The brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus was made official by Sammy in late October but with a shipping and availability date of November 13th. Amazon has been offering pre-orders since early October and look to be shipping now, with overnight delivery available too — get yours tomorrow.
The Tab 7 Plus is the replacement for the original 7″ Galaxy Tab although this time we get Android 3.2 Honeycomb rather than Gingerbread, along with a beefed up dual-core processor and more. All the specs are listed in our device database graph below. We have a 7″ 1024 x 600 resolution display (no 1280×800 here sadly), with a 3MP camera on the rear and 2 up from for video chatting. All powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and like mentioned, Android 3.2 Honeycomb.
The new Tab 7 Plus comes in both 16GB and 32GB flavors and according to the picture above, and Amazon, are available right now and started shipping yesterday. Users should be receiving their orders any time now and overnight delivery is available for those interested. Pricing starts at $399 for the 16GB model, and $499 for 32GB respectively. Pricing sounds a little high if you ask me, especially with the Transformer and Kindle Fire pricing. Either way this is one portable and powerful little tablet, and if the price is ok with you then I’d hurry and buy one because Amazon seems to be ready to roll already. Get your own ordered today by clicking here. Feel free to send us some pictures if you get one delivered today at tomorrow by hitting the TIP US link. Device Info
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 [via GalaxyTabLife] )
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| Dueling dates: Galaxy Nexus may arrive on Verizon November 17th Posted: 03 Nov 2011 09:35 AM PDT A rumor can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on, and in the case of the Galaxy Nexus, it’s made a few laps already. After a Verizon internal advertising sheet implied that the Galaxy Nexus wouldn’t be launching until after Thanksgiving weekend, yet another internal leak points to a November 17th release. According to the anonymous source, promotional material will appear in stores on the 15th, with the phones arriving two says later.
Note that this doesn’t necessarily contradict the post-Black Friday leak, since that was merely an an advertising outline. It’s entirely possible that Verizon intends to ignore the Galaxy Nexus in its nationwide advertising for quite a while, focusing instead on the Motorola DROID RAZR and/or HTC Rezound. Since those two phones will feature a lot of Verizon branding, not to mention built-in apps and services, Big Red’s got a lot more to gain from selling those phones to early adopters at the same $299 price point – more bang for their corporate buck. With three high-end phones releasing in the same month, Verizon’s marketing team has its hands full. The November 17th release lines up well with the European release set for the same day, and would allow Google and Samsung to capitalize on a worldwide media focus. Verizon, Samsung and Google have yet to announce an exact date for the Galaxy Nexus in the US, though we do know that the Verizon LTE version will be the first to be released in the States. The price hasn’t been set either, but according to yet more leaks, it will probably be $299 with a two-year contract. Check out our hands-on looks at the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich below: Galaxy Nexus Hands-on Ice Cream Sandwich Hands-on Device Info
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| Modaco roots the Samsung Galaxy Nexus already Posted: 03 Nov 2011 09:11 AM PDT Veteran Android modder Paul O’Brien, AKA “Modaco”, is one lucky duck. He’s gotten his hands on the Galaxy Nexus before its release in the UK, currently set for November 17th. And like any good Android developer and/or ROM maker, he’s set to rooting that sucker. The first step in the process is a bit of code called a superboot, which executes from a desktop computer and roots the device with a bootloader work-around.
Since the Galaxy Nexus is a Google developer phone, there was never any doubt that a root was coming, and soon. You can even unlock the bootloader on the phone without any external tools. But it’s nice to see the the process for gaining root on Ice Cream Sandwich hasn’t become any more difficult. This is a technique for advanced users, and easier methods will certainly come about after the Galaxy Nexus is released. Now we’ve just got to wait… and wait… and wait for the device to arrive. On that note, it looks like US Verizon customers may be waiting even longer than their UK counterparts. A leaked advertising schedule puts Samsung Portfolio ads, including the Galaxy Nexus, on schedule after Black Friday weekend at the end of November. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t launch earlier – Verizon has high-profile releases in the DROID RAZR and HTC Rezound to worry about – but it definitely isn’t encouraging. Check out our hands-on looks at the Galaxy Nexus and Ice Cream Sandwich below: Galaxy Nexus Hands-on Ice Cream Sandwich Hands-on Device Info
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| First HTC Rezound press shots leak ahead of NYC announcement Posted: 03 Nov 2011 08:46 AM PDT There’s no doubt in our minds that the New York City HTC event set for later today will see the arrival of the jumbo-sized HTC Rezound, but if you just can’t wait that long, take a gander at the photo below. It’s the rift official look we’ve had at the Verizon phone, courtesy of PocketNow. The shots line up with the numerous leaks of the Rezound (codenamed “Vigor”) in all its glory.
You can see that the Rezound takes a lot of design cues from the original DROID Incredible – that red ring on the speaker grill and camera lens probably extends inside as well, according to a leaked hands-on video. Check out those snazzy red capacitive buttons, t0o. They’re reminiscent of some of the Envy laptop models that HP released with red-on-black Beats branding, which you can see mirrored on the back of the phone. Unfortunately, we don’t know if the Rezound includes its wireless charging back plate by default or if it’ll be an add-on accessory. Leaked specs for the Rezound point towards a 4.5-inch 720p screen, a 1.5 GHz processor and a 4G LTE connection, the latter of which these photos confirm. That makes the Rezound a match for the upcoming DROID RAZR and Galaxy Nexus on one spec or another, though unfortunately it will probably launch with Gingerbread. The phone is HTC’s first US device to take advantage of its Beats acquisition, and may or may not include a free pair of Beats earbuds. Leaked internal documents form Verizon point towards either November 10th or November 14th as a launch date, with a retail price of $299 on-contract. The HTC event starts at 5PM EST. Keep it here for the latest news. )
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| Apple CEO dismisses Kindle Fire as “more Android fragmentation” Posted: 03 Nov 2011 08:29 AM PDT
Never let ‘em see you sweat, huh Apple? In a recent interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, a question was posed about the disruptive power of the Kindle Fire, which many see as the first tablet to pose a threat to the iPad due to its $199 price. Cook responded that the Fire simply represents more fragmentation, and that that will lead more consumers to Apple’s walled garden of hardware and software.
There’s a bit of an issue with Cook’s reasoning, however. One, Android software is thriving despite the fragmentation issue, largely because most apps released will work on Android hardware running 2.2 or later, now comprising more than 85% of the devices sold worldwide. And two, Amazon’s approach to the Kindle Fire is basically its own walled garden – a closed-off boutique of media and software that can only be purchased directly from the company. Sound familiar? Sure, it’s technically running Gingerbread, but how many of the hundreds of thousands of people who pre-ordered know that, and how many simply care that the Fire can get them movies, music, books and apps at less than half the price of the iPad? Apple has already lost the battle in the smartphone market, and signs are appearing that their stranglehold on tablets might be slipping. Current estimates give Android 27% of worldwide tablet sales in Q3, to the iPad’s 67%. This isn’t the first time that Cook has been dismissive of Android on tablets either: back in January he called Android competitors “bizarre” and “vapor.” With Amazon expected to ship at least a quarter-million Kindle Fires on launch day, and a capability of delivering 5 million during the holidays, it’s easy to see why Cook might want to start engaging in a flame war with a soon-to-be rival. Don’t worry, Apple – if you lose yet another mobile market to Android, you can always just sic the lawyers on Jeff Bezos. [via SlashGear] )
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| Google Offers expands with new Android app Posted: 03 Nov 2011 07:41 AM PDT Google’s home-grown deal engine Google Offers is getting a mobile makeover. Google released its first official app for the service in the Android Market today, and you can download it now for free. The local-driven deal finder has been available for a while on the web and via an email list, but now you can get live updates sent directly to your phone. Keen-eyed readers will note that yet again the Ice Cream Sandwich interface makes an appearance, just like in recent updates to Google Reader and Google+.
Probably the most useful feature is the live update that appears in your status bar. It’s basically an alternative to Google Offers’ daily email, and should help some of us cut down on the volume in our Gmail accounts. Featured Offers and Recent offers are available, though it has to be said that the local listings aren’t nearly as comprehensive as Groupon or Living Social, which both offer their own local deal apps. Upon installing, Google Offers immediately uses your location to recommend local deals. An integrated QR code reader will let you see if there’s a better price available online, and thankfully, you can disable the notifications if you want to browse deals passively. The app automatically keeps track of the offers you’ve redeemed in the “My Offers” section. Initial reviews are overwhelmingly positive, so why not give it a try – you’ve got nothing to lose but retail prices. )
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| Kobo Vox available now, beats Kindle Fire and Nook Color 2 to market Posted: 03 Nov 2011 07:05 AM PDT The e-reader tablet market that the original Nook Color opened up last year is about to explode, and dark horse Kobo doesn’t intend to linger around the starting gate. The company’s Kobo Vox reader, with a form factor and specs that fall roughly in line with Barnes & Noble and Amazon’s offerings, is available online at retailers across the U.S. and Canada. The Android Gingerbread based tablet is tied into the Kobo bookstore, and costs $199.99 – almost exactly the same price as the upcoming Kindle Fire.
Like its competitors, the Vox isn’t designed to light the world on fire with powerhouse specifications. A 7-inch, 1024 x 600 screen is optimized for book and periodical reading, while a modest 800Mhz processor and 512MB of RAM should cover basic web browsing and non-gaming apps well. Like its full-color competitors, the Vox has Wifi and no 3G connection. 8GB of storage will hold plenty of books, and if you fancy movies, music or extra apps a MicroSD card slot should have you covered. Kobo’s customizations to Gingerbread make it ineligible for the Android Market, but the company is claiming “Access to over 15,000 free apps” via its own custom app store. Kobo is claiming that users will have “unencumbered access to Android 2.3,” with an emphasis on “Freedom”. Does that mean that third-party apps will be enabled via side-load? Will the Kobo’s source code become available any time soon? We’ve reached out to Kobo for clarification and are currently awaiting a response; we’ll be sure to let you know what they say. The Vox is available in black, pink, green and blue, but it looks like their online orders are backed up at the moment, and there’s currently a 5-day wait for shipment. With Amazon’s Kindle Fire shipping out on November 15th and the Nook Color 2 announcement likely on the 7th, those looking for cheap, reader-specific Android tablets will soon be spoiled for choice. )
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| XOOM 2 and XOOM 2 Media Edition tablets confirmed Posted: 03 Nov 2011 05:51 AM PDT Motorola’s much-rumored new tablets have been made official, in the UK at least, with the 10.1-inch Motorola XOOM 2 and 8.2-inch Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition both being confirmed today. Each packing a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, splash-resilience and a pair of cameras – 1.3-megapixels upfront, 5-megapixels on the back – the only real disappointment is that they run Android 3.2 Honeycomb rather than 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Inside, each packs 1GB of RAM along with 16GB of storage. There are various preloaded business apps on the bigger tablet, while the Media Edition gets Motorola’s music/video streaming app preloaded. The Media Edition also boasts 178-degree viewing angles. The XOOM 2 is 253.9 mm x 173.6 mm x 8.8 mm and 599g, 100g less than its first-gen predecessor, while the XOOM 2 Media Edition is 139 mm x 216 mm x 8.99 mm and 386g. Both have Gorilla Glass. No word on pricing, but they’ll each arrive in the UK midway through November.         [via SlashGear] )
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| Download the DROID RAZR boot animation and sound files now Posted: 02 Nov 2011 11:30 PM PDT Not all of us are lucky enough to afford a Motorola DROID RAZR – two-year contracts can be so cruel. But if you’re itching for the RAZR without a pre-order or any intention of actually purchasing one on November 10th, you can slake your gadget lust with the latest DROID eye boot animation and a new selection of “DROOOOIIIIID” ringtones and alerts. The files have been posted online a week before the phone’s release.
The files come from a kind and anonymous source, and if you’re the type to get excited about a five-second boot animation, then you probably know what to do with them. If not, well, you obviously need to be rooted, then swap out the bootanimation.zip and audio file with your current one, usually in the /system/media folder (some phones vary). You might want to back up your current boot animation file just in case. The ringtones and alerts you can add in the normal way. The files should work on just about any phone, but due to the qHD display on the RAZR, smaller phone may not look as good. Man, Verizon has really nailed that HAL-9000-meets-Death-Star look over the last couple of years, haven’t they? U.S. Verizon customers can get a hold of all 7.1mm of the DROID RAZR on the 10th, but Canadians on Rogers can get it even sooner on the 4th, in the phone’s international “Motorola RAZR” moniker. If you’d like a shot at getting a DROID RAZR free, gratis and for nothing, be sure to follow the @DroidLanding Twitter account – the latest in a long line of DROID scavenger hunts is likely to begin any day now. Check out our hands-on of the Motorola DROID RAZR: Motorola DROID RAZR hands-on: Device Info
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[via Droid-Life] )
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| Cartoon Wars: Gunner+ is the animated violence you crave for free Posted: 02 Nov 2011 10:59 PM PDT Back in the nineties there was a big scare about cartoon violence. Lots of angry mothers with nothing much to decided to make sure that Spiderman couldn’t punch anyone with a closed fist and the Animaniacs had to have a Wheel of Morality. Well you’re an adult now, and you can have all the gosh-darned cartoon carnage you want. To celebrate that fact, why not try Cartoon Wars: Gunner+, a free download from the Android Market.
Cartoon Wars fits broadly in the action side-scroller genre, kind of like Battletoads and X-Men from the good old 16-bit days. You guide a bloodthirsty stick figure revolutionary though 2D levels filled with… other stick figures, which are bad. Somehow. You start with a bow and arrow, and by killing bad guys you gradually upgrade your equipment with various guns, lasers, armor, et cetera. Naturally your enemies advance as well, with dragons, zombies and other two-dimensional terrors filling the post-apocalyptic screen. The game itself is a free download but uses a “freemium” model. Your character earns gold to buy better equipment slowly, but you can use real money to buy more gold and get the good stuff faster. After trying it myself I had to make myself put down the phone and write up this post for you fine people – definitely worth a look. Cartoon Wars comes from Gamevil, makers of previous hits like Zenonia and Baseball Superstars. It’s some serious fun with a retro kick; try it out if you’re still missing your Sega Genesis. [via Android Community forum] )
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| PayPal may finally be coming to the Android Market Posted: 02 Nov 2011 05:54 PM PDT There are a lot of supporters, and to be fair, detractors, for PayPal. But since Android is all about choice, the lack thereof has irked the debit-card-toting masses behind the eBayer’s payment of choice for some time. But according to some of the folks at AndroidGuys, some code found in the latest Android Market indicates that the payment service will be added soon.
Rumblings of PayPal support have been running around the Android rumor mill for years, but so far, it’s been just that: rumor. Of course there’s the official PayPal app, and you can use PayPal for many in-app purchases, like ComiXology, but the addition to the Market could make paid apps a lot more accessible to international Android users, or those who just don’t want to sign up for yet another online payment system. The code found in the Market app is certainly promising. It’s hard to imagine why Google would put it in there if they didn’t intend to use it, and soon. And it’s a bigger deal than you might realize – lots of contractors and online workers get most or all of their salary via PayPal, and official support would mean one less hoop for them to go through to get some app action. With Google expanding into book, movies and soon music, they might be eager to make paying as easy as possible. [via Phandroid] )
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| HTC Flyer tablet lands at T-Mobile Posted: 02 Nov 2011 05:25 PM PDT The popular 7″ HTC Flyer tablet has finally made a safe landing at T-Mobile this week. Way back in June it cleared the FCC with T-Mobile bands but that was the last we’ve heard of it until today. While not for sale from T-Mobile themselves you can buy the T-Mobile powered HTC Flyer right now from HTC’s website. With a new 2-year agreement the price is just $299, like it’s been for a while at Best Buy.
The Flyer is a 7″ Android 2.3 Gingerbread tablet (no official Honeycomb) with a 1024 x 600 resolution display, 1.5 GHz single-core Qualcomm processor, front and rear facing cameras, and stylus support with the HTC scribe pen [HTC Flyer Review]. While it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread we do have a leaked Honeycomb build for those wanting to enjoy some tablet OS on the Flyer. For some screenshots and information on how you can get Android 3.2 Honeycomb on your own HTC Flyer just follow the instructions here. The slate is priced at $299.99 when purchased with new compatible individual plans for the tablet ranging from $39.99 for 2GB of data to $79.99 per month for 10GB of data and a 2-year agreement. Users can also choose to upgrade an existing plan or add the Flyer to it but that will run you a more painful $450 or so. The HTC Scribe stylus pen is still sold separately so that will be another purchase for those interested. Either way fly on down to HTC.com to pick up your own T-Mobile powered HTC Flyer tablet. Device Info
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[via SlashGear] )
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| Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 Review [Video] Posted: 02 Nov 2011 05:21 PM PDT Any casual tech observer knows that Android power more than just phones, like tablets, netbooks, and on occasion actual androids. But Samsung’s Galaxy Player 5.0 seems like a gadget in search of a problem to solve. Ostensibly a competitor to the iPod Touch, albeit one that’s built at a plus-sized scale, this Wifi-only media player may be music to the ears of those who want a huge screen and no phone contract (or, indeed, a phone at all) to worry about.
Hardware If you’ve seen a Galaxy S, you’ve seen a small Galaxy Player. The 5-inch LCD screen dominates the front of the device, with three capacitive soft buttons below it – as usual with Samsung’s carrier-free devices, the Search button is absent. The placement of some of the buttons and ports seems odd – an empty MicroSD port hides behind a tiny plastic door, while the headphone jack and Micro USB port are on the bottom. The right side gets Samsung’s standard power button and volume rocker combo, the left is bare, and the plastic white back features two stereo speakers, a the camera, and a flash. The 9.9mm-thick device is undeniably large; it dwarfed my DROID X and makes a standard paperback book fear for its dead tree delivery system. That said, it’s not uncomfortable in the hand as it might seem, and it slid into the pocket of my jeans without complaint. (Your mileage may vary here, of course.) When showing the device off to some of my friends they said they preferred the large screen to their own phones and didn’t mind the bulk – until I told them it couldn’t make regular phone calls.
On the inside you get a last-generation 1GHz Hummingbird processor and 8GB of storage. That should be enough to play a few videos and some music, but large collections will have to be loaded off of an SD card. The LCD (notably not AMOLED) screen has a resolution of 800 x 480, despite its massive size. While it’s crisp and clear, and a good bit brighter than most, those with an affinity for counting pixels will be unnerved, as you can definitely see jagged edges on text and photos when viewed up close. The Galaxy Player ruins Gingerbread and has full access to the Android Market. A 3.2 MP rear camera is complimented by a VGA front cam, but neither are worth writing home about. The 2500 mAh battery should last days for light browsing and music, but video and games are of course more taxing. Software TouchWiz is present in full force, and like most Gingerbread devices, it’s smooth and mostly stable. I did notice some freezes when returning to the homescreen, and if you ask me, the whole experience apes the iPho… er, iPod Touch a little too much. Thanks to the device’s Wifi-only status, it’s blessedly free of bloatware. There’s plenty of custom Samsung apps here, though, and for the most part they’re welcome. Customized video, music and photo apps are there, along with Samsung’s Smart Viewer TV sharing app. Other than that, it’s just your basic Android apps, with the odd addition of a file manager and a link to Samsung’s approved app downloads. This is in addition to the Android so I don’t know why you’d use it. A Swype keyboard is included, but the huge screen makes it almost impossible to use with a single hand, especially in landscape mode.
The device itself is only mostly stable. Nine times out of ten worked without complaint, but every once in a while I encountered a nagging hang on one app or another. This is a troubling precedent for a device that’s designed to be loaded with apps, especially games. The Galaxy Player has an odd way of mounting the SD card, too: all the free space on the device is in the standard /sdcard folder, but anything on the actual card has to be found in /sdcard/external_sd/. Luckily, the automatic scanner is nice and fast, so media loads into the appropriate app very quickly. Media The Music and Video players were simple and competent, though the later is picky about codecs. AVI and XVID videos worked fine, but a downloaded trailer in the relatively universal MOV format choked. It’ll handle anything formatted for its 800 x 480 resolution without complaint, but once I threw a 720p video on there, there was too much tearing and stuttering for it to be useful. Music was an enjoyable experience on the standard player, especially since controls are built into the notification bar and lock screen. It’s a wonderful music playback device made even better by a pair of loud, if not particularly clear speakers.
Unfortunately some of the advanced playback was wanting. Flash is iffy on the 1GHz single-core processor, and I imagine Flash video is something that prospective buyers will be very interested in. When I connected my Bluetooth A2DP headphones playback was too choppy to be enjoyable. Netflix and HBO GO stuttered for a passable experience only. Basic games were fine, but more advanced games slowed down quickly. Price and Value At $270, the Galaxy Player 5 is considerably more than the entry-level iPod touch. For that you get a much larger device with a larger screen, but the resolution and storage are both lower. Since Android doesn’t have an integrated music store (yet) you’ll have to make due with your own collection or third-party apps, and streaming video is a frustrating affair. It’s hard to recommend the Galaxy Player over an iPod for anyone but the most die-hard Android fan.
Wrap Up The device is a lot less unwieldy than you’d think, and for some, it might be time for a 5-inch upgrade – but again, without a phone, the Galaxy Player 5 is a novelty at best and redundant at worst. Bring on the Galaxy Note, Samsung – I want to see how this form factor works on current hardware with a truly mobile experience. Check out our hands-on unboxing video below: Device Info
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| DROID RAZR initiated on Droid Does and DroidLanding pages, get ready to hunt Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:57 PM PDT It looks like we are all in for another crazy round of @DroidLanding and DroidDoes.com for the new and upcoming DROID RAZR. Both have been initiated and all systems are a go. Put your tray tables in their upright and locked positions folks. We have seen this with the Bionic, the Charge and even the Droid X2 and now its the RAZR’s turn for a scavenger hunt.
I’m sure you all remember the party for the DROID Bionic and the huge augmented reality scavenger hunt that followed, we can expect something very similar for the new DROID RAZR. The same initiative for the DROID Charge had us tracking 5 devices around different cities, what do you think we’ll see with the RAZR?
Either way be sure to follow @DroidLanding on Twitter, and follow us at @Androids while you’re at it. I’d be checking that DroidDoes.com RAZR page periodically for updates too because once the party gets started things will get a little crazy up in this DROID world. We’ll be seeing a few tweets from @DroidLanding over the next few days as everything gets initiated and then the hunt will begin. I have a feeling we will be seeing some QR codes this time around, but that’s just me. Device Info
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| Toshiba Thrive 16GB Wi-Fi tablet just $299 from Groupon [Deal] Posted: 02 Nov 2011 04:07 PM PDT Who wants a 10″ Android Honeycomb tablet for a bargain bin price? It might not be the thinnest, lightest, or have the best looks but this tablet can do it all, and today it’s just $299 for the 16GB version. Yes, we are talking about the Toshiba Thrive 10″ Honeycomb tablet. I recently saw it for $370 at Walmart although this deal is even better than that, but it wont last long.
I’m sure you know plenty about the Toshiba Thrive these days but in case we’ve forgot you can see our full review right here. Like I said, it might not be the thinnest tablet but you have full sized HDMI, USB and a slew of other ports making this one ultra powerful tablet with tons of options and port connectivity. Today at Groupon.com it’s only $299 for the 16GB model.
This makes it a better deal than the recently announced Thrive 7″ slate from Toshiba too, so I’d jump on this price while it lasts if you’ve been waiting for a good deal to take the dive into Honeycomb. My only problem is I have that super thin Toshiba AT200 tablet in my head that we had some hands-on time with at IFA and would love to buy it once available but we still haven’t heard anything new. According to Groupon the Thrive will be at this awesome and easy to handle price of just $299 for the next 2 days and 6 hours to be exact. If this is something that interests you then gather up those pennies, convince the wife or significant other, then head to the source link below and snatch one up. Device Info
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[via Groupon] )
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| Google Reader update brings ICS user interface and widgets, swipe navigation, more Posted: 02 Nov 2011 03:23 PM PDT We saw a few leaked screenshots of what was claimed to be an updated Google Reader application last night that turned out to be either fake, or a bit old. Today Google has officially pushed the brand new Google Reader v1.1.1 to the Android Market complete with a new user interface and widgets that resemble 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and plenty of other navigation and usage improvements. While the actual interface hasn’t changed a lot, they have added swipe navigation and it works extremely well.
Along with Google Reader, Google Docs also received a very similar update that has a slightly more noticeable change to the user interface — one that closely resembles Google +. Both Google apps have received a slight makeover giving them a closer appearance to that of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and we have the slide to navigate through stories or documents both, as well as enhanced share options that are closer to the web versions. Then the widgets, the new widgets look great and I’m loving my Google Reader unread ticker although I still feel it moves a bit fast. We’ve got a few screenshots below for you guys to see what your missing if you’re not yet a Google Reader user.
You’ll quickly notice all of the sharing and following type options that were present before have been removed, as those features are now offered by Google+. Instead we have the familiar share icon in the top right just like recently updated Android apps and the market have featured for some time. The widget improvements are also quite nice and work great. I’ve thrown a few on my homescreen and took a screenshot for everyone to see them in action. Like mentioned above, the new unread ticker works great but still is a bit fast and I wouldn’t mind being able to manually set the refresh time myself. You can see all of the screenshots in the gallery below for a better idea of what to expect with the new Google Reader v1.1.1 that was just updated today. Feel free to head to the market and try both of these new apps (links below). Interesting enough, Google Docs received plenty of changes yet the change-log remains untouched in the market, but I’m sure you can see the differences yourself if you’re a daily user.       )
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| ASUS Transformer Prime heads through the FCC, Tegra 3 revealed in teardown [Update] Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:53 PM PDT The soon to be released and instantly popular ASUS Transformer Prime quad-core tablet has just hit the FCC, I’m getting excited just thinking about it. We’ve already seen it in the wild a few times and now its making a quick pit stop at the FCC before heading to the shelves — and our hands.
We were hoping to learn a few new juicy details from the filing bud sadly that isn’t the case although we know plenty already. The Transformer Prime tablet will be just 8.9mm thin while packing the extreme power of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Coming first with Android Honeycomb it will very quickly be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. First teased in a promo video by ASUS, then quickly followed with an official landing page to keep us all patiently waiting. Most of the important details are hidden in secrecy in the filings, I was hoping to see some sort of HSPA+ or even LTE bands on board but they didn’t reveal anything of that nature sadly. First shown off by ASUS execs at AsiaD and said to be coming soon a recently leaked roadmap confirms the Transformer Prime will be officially announced November 9th. We should be seeing and hearing plenty about this awesome new flagship tablet from ASUS and NVIDIA in the coming days so be prepared for the power that is the Tegra 3, and stay tuned for more information. Update: Thanks to wirelessgoodness we now have teardown pictures revealing the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, wireless capabilities and more all in the gallery below.
    [via Engadget] )
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| Androidify Me prints your Androidify avatar on stickers or posters Posted: 02 Nov 2011 12:56 PM PDT I’m sure many of our readers know plenty about the popular Androidify App from Google that lets you dress and design your own Android avatar as yourself, or anything else you have in mind. One of the best parts of Mobile World Congress 2011 was the Androidify print station Google had set up where users were able to print their own Androidify avatars and create stickers. Sadly not everyone was able to make it to MWC and partake in the fun. If you want your own Androidify Avatar as a sticker for your phone, laptop, tablet or anything else check out this new kickstarter project below for all the details.
With the same print station idea from MWC we present you with Androidifyme.com, a kickstarter project by Aleksandr Peredereyev that is looking for a few backers that can help get this project and awesome idea off the ground and into flight — or print I should say. So if you’d like to help by donating a few bucks all of the details can be found at kickstarter.com where a contribution will get you a set of stickers or your own t-shirt and more.
The image above is an actual picture of what to expect. Users create their Androidify avatar and the new Androidifyme project makes as many stickers as you’d like and sends them right to your door, how awesome is that? Like all kickstarter projects, you pledge a certain amount of money into the idea and will only be charged if the goal is met — in this case that goal is $4550. If the goal is not met you will not be charged a cent and will just move on to the next big thing. For more pictures and all the details visit the Kickstartker page and Androidifyme.com for more information. — Thanks Aleksandr! )
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| Amazon Facebook giving away 10 Kindle Fire tablets and $250 gift cards Posted: 02 Nov 2011 12:30 PM PDT Who is excited for the new Amazon Kindle Fire? It was officially announced in September and pre-orders should start shipping November 15th (just a few more weeks guys). To help build the hype of their new Android-powered tablet Amazon is giving away not one, but 10 Kindle Fire tablets along with $250 gift cards for use on Amazon. You better hurry the giveaway ends November 4th.
What is the catch here? Basically all you must do is simply “Like” amazon on their Facebook page and you are entered into the giveaway — easy enough right guys? If you didn’t pre-order the Kindle Fire or are waiting for some official reactions and reviews this is a good chance to snag one for free. We will be reviewing the Kindle Fire as soon as its released so be sure to also stay tuned right here at Android Community for our thoughts and pictures. You can also increase your odds of winning by doing the same steps and “liking” their other pages such as Amazon MP3, Amazon AppStore, Amazon Instant Video and more. So feel free to head over to the main Facebook page and get started. We were live at the Kindle Fire event when it was officially announced and were able to snag some hands-on video with the new slate and you can see all of our coverage right here, or enjoy the video below. Kindle Fire hands-on video Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
Cellular Network Device Connectivity
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Like mentioned above, the slide to navigate feature is now present in Reader v1.1.1 and it works great. It marks the stories as read and the entire swipe gesture is simple, smooth, and very fast. You get an annoying notification below (shown in the picture) but you can quickly hide that as the feature is one you wont be forgetting any time soon. A few comments on the market said stories aren’t getting checked as “read” when swiping, but everything works great for me here and so far I’m loving the new improvements. 
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