Android Community |
- Telenav nets 30 million navigation subscribers
- ASUS opens registration for Transformer Prime GPS dongle
- HTC One V Review
- Meizu announces MX Quad-core with Samsung Exynos chipset
- Google Play Store mod removes location-based restrictions
- DROID RAZR HD aka DROID Fighter spotted in EXIF data
- Report: up to 3 million Android tablets made every month in China
- ASUS Transformer Prime GPS dongle pictured
- Samsung to reveal “The Next Galaxy” on May 3
- Android Community Weekly: April 15th, 2012
- DROID Bionic update incoming with visual voicemail fixes
- Rockchip budget quad-core processors coming later this year
| Telenav nets 30 million navigation subscribers Posted: 16 Apr 2012 10:56 AM PDT If you’re a regular user of Google’s built-in Android navigation, you’re probably not aware of TeleNav, an alternative available on both Android and iOS. But plenty of others are: the company announced today that it had passed 27 million paying subscribers and 3.3 million free users as well. On Android four versions of TeleNav on offer: the standard app, a tablet version and modified versions specifically for Verizon and T-Mobile. They’ve also got an HTML5-based web navigation service that can be accessed by apps.
The company itself announced some impressive numbers at their event today: between 2009 and 2011, their revenue grew from $12.5 million to $35 million. A portion of that came from Android users who either don’t have or don’t want Google’s solution, perhaps helped along by feature additions like voice control, live traffic, multiple route options and a database of locations in the US and abroad. Currently the “Generic” app is sitting at somewhere between one and five million downloads. Elsewhere there are exciting things happening with TeleNav’s Scout app, but unfortunately this premium service still isn’t available for Android. Company representatives didn’t say when or if the more roboust navigation suite (including integration with some in-dash units) would be coming to Android, but we live in hope. For now it remains one of the better non-Google alternatives out there.   
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| ASUS opens registration for Transformer Prime GPS dongle Posted: 16 Apr 2012 10:07 AM PDT If you’re an owner of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, listen up: you’re automatically eligible for a free GPS dongle to alleviate some less-than-stellar satellite reception. ASUS has just opened their registration page with instructions on the four-step process to claim your free hardware. The GPS dongle (which ASUS is calling the “external GPS extension kit”) fits into the Transformer Prime’s docking port and comes in a dark or light color to match your tablet.
In order to claim your dongle, you’ll need to log in or register for the ASUS VIP support site. From there you register your Transformer Prime (you know, that tedious process that none of us actually do) and click the “GPS Extension Kit Apply & Inquire” link. Enter your tablet’s serial number and your delivery address and you should be good to go. ASUS doesn’t say how long it’ll take to get there, but since shipping is presumably free it could be a week or two. If you want the free GPS dongle, hurry it up: the offer’s only valid through July 31st. We saw a sneak peek of the dongle earlier this morning, and to be honest… it doesn’t look good. T’s bulky, plastic, and generally ruins the Prime’s premium aesthetic. It also won’t allow you to use the dongle and a charger or keyboard dock at the same time. But all things considered we’re glad that ASUS is offering them, and even more glad that they’re doing it for free. After all, it’s better than being told that “you’re holding it wrong”. Future Transformer models like the Transformer Pad 300 shouldn’t supper from the GPS reception issue. Device Info
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| Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:54 AM PDT It's clear by now that HTC had a somewhat disappointing 2011. Their handset range was all over the place, so at MWC this year, they decided to buckle down and simplify things, introducing the One range. While we've already taken a look at the mid-range and high-end handsets, there's still One more to look at: the HTC One V. It doesn't have the horsepower of the other two phones, but it hopes to make up for that in terms of overall experience and affordability. Head past the jump for our full review.
Hardware While the HTC One X opted for a unibody polycarbonate, and the One S showed us aluminum treated with micro-arc oxidation, the One V offers up a simple unibody aluminum chassis. It's durable, it's lightweight (115g), and feels fantastic in the hand. That's partly thanks to the size, too. While we understand the love for bigger screen sizes, there's also a good argument for something in the 3.5 to 4-inch ballpark, so the One V's 3.7-inch screen sits perfectly well with us. Spec wise, you're looking at a Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 MSM8255 single-core processor clocked at 1Ghz, with Adreno 205 graphics. A five megapixel camera with LED flash and f/2.0 lens can be found on the back of the phone. The display on the One V is a Super LCD 2 panel with a 800×480 resolution. It's a shame not to see the same high resolutions found on the One X and One S, but it doesn't disappoint in the other critical departments. Viewing angles are excellent, colors are vibrant without being oversaturated, and the brightness can be cranked up to eye watering levels. Sure, the pixel density can't touch the One X or Galaxy Nexus, but it's good enough for the entry-level user, and frankly the One V's display is excellent for this price point.
In terms of storage, the HTC One V only has 1GB for the user to access, and 95MB for phone functions. A microSD card is a necessity, and the slot can be found lurking underneath the cover at the bottom of the phone, along with the SIM card slot. It takes regular size SIM cards too, unlike the One X and One S. On top of the device you'll find the power button, 3.5mm headphone jack, and LED for notifications. The volume rocker is on the right side of the phone, while the microUSB port is on the left. Software The One V is running on Ice Cream Sandwich, and brings Sense 4.0 along for the ride. While it's mostly the same as you'll find on the higher end handsets in the One series, there are a few graphical flares missing thanks to a lack of processor grunt. First, you only get five homescreens to play with instead of seven, and you won't get a zoomed out view if you try and pinch any of your homescreens. Transitions have also been pared back: you won't get any fancy 3D effects or smooth animations.
The keyboard is also slightly different to what you'll find on the One X or One S thanks to the decreased resolution. The navigation keys at the bottom have been removed, and even then it feels a little claustrophobic given the lower resolution of the screen. Otherwise, it's the same Sense 4.0 that you'll find on the other two phones in the line, with stock Ice Cream Sandwich elements occasionally making themselves known.
Performance and Benchmarks This is unfortunately where the One V falls short. The 1Ghz single-core processor simply can't keep up with some of thesoftware, often being sluggish and unresponsive, particularly in the browser. Webpages can sometimes be slow to load and process, even on WiFi, and pinch-to-zoom, scrolling, and panning can all be a laborious task. Content heavy sites can even cause the phone to lock up for several seconds before continuing duties, and the phone often stopped for a few moments when typing in search queries in the browser address bar.
Otherwise, the phone wasn't bad: flicking between homescreens, even with numerous widgets, wasn't an issue, and apps were relatively quick to load. Just don't expect the performance you'd see from even a last-generation dual-core processor. With the lower price comes a sacrifice in performance, but even then it's disheartening to see it come at the expense of the overall user experience. As for benchmarks, we put the phone through the usual gauntlet. Quadrant returned a result of 2030, AnTuTu came in at 2626, and NeNaMark 2 hitting 28.8fps. Pointing the browser towards SunSpider 0.9.1 gave us a score of 3314ms. The Qualcomm created Vellamo benchmark will favor phones with Qualcomm processors, just like the HTC One V, and predictably returned a strong result: 1169.
Camera The One V shares the same f/2.0 aperture found on the One X and One S, but with a five megapixel sensor instead of eight. Photos are generally solid, and definitely better than other cameras around this price bracket, but there are a few issues. Colors can sometimes look inaccurate depending on lighting conditions, resulting in dull photos, or shifted towards a certain hue.       While photos with subjects that sit a close to medium distance away from the camera generally turn out well, far away objects like buildings can result in a blocky mess. JPG compression seems to be the culprit, with photos coming in undersized (typically around 650 to 800KB), and any detail to be found on buildings seems to have been smoothed over, with a healthy dollop of blocking and ringing added for good measure. Don't get us wrong, it's a decent camera overall, it's just let down by aggressive compression. That could possibly be fixed once you're rooted and poke around the camera settings, but for those who don't delve into such things and prefer stock devices, it's something to be wary of. Battery Life There's a 1,500mAh battery sealed into the One V, and that capacity matched with the frugal processor makes for good battery life overall. We used the phone for a couple of days, and while we would consider our usage lighter than most, it still managed to get us through two days without needing a recharge. Even with heavier usage, you should be able to make it through a full working day without any issues.
We also performed a more strenuous video rundown test. That involved a 720p H.264 High Profile L3.1 video with AAC audio played on loop with screen brightness set to 100%, WiFi and 3G left on, and headphones plugged in with volume set at 50%. The One V managed to last five hours and five minutes before it was begging for the charger. Wrap-Up The HTC One V is a good phone overall. It will appeal to those looking to make the jump into the smartphone world for the first time, and it's a good step up for those still stuck on aging 528MHz devices. What ultimately lets it down is the sluggish performance in the browser thanks to the single-core processor. It's not an automatic deal breaker, but you'll definitely run into circumstances on heavier sites where the phone will stutter, pause, and try to catch its breath.
Having said that, it's only one knock against an otherwise enticing package. You get great build quality, the latest version of Android along with a restrained Sense experience, a solid camera, and excellent screen, all for an affordable price. Negri Electronics has the phone in stock for $345.50, and we imagine if US carriers start offering the phone it will be close to (if not) free. If that turns out to be the case, then the HTC One V is very much worth considering.        
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| Meizu announces MX Quad-core with Samsung Exynos chipset Posted: 16 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT Meizu, the often-ridiculed but lately impressive Chinese manufacturer, has pulled the covers off its latest flagship. The Meizu MX Quad-core is an updated version of last year’s MX with, you guessed it, a quad-core processor. But the interesting thing isn’t that it’s coming out – there’s plenty of quad-core phones and tablets around – but which company’s providing the power. According to Meizu’s press release, the phone will be using a Samsung Exynos A9 processor. Could this be the very same quad-core chip that a Samsung executive hinted would show up in the Galaxy S III? We should find out soon enough.
Meizu is claiming that the new phone will have a 60% processor boost and a 50% GPU boost when compared with the current model. According to their DPI numbers the 4-inch screen will also have a higher resolution, but they haven’t given an official resolution yet. (The MX uses 960×560.) 32GB and 64GB capacities will be offered, and the 8MP camera gets a respectable F/2.2 lens. Meizu doesn’t so much skin Android as fork it, but their latest “Flyme OS” is based off of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. At the moment the phone is only going to be offered in Hong Kong and greater China, and given Meizu’s history with its flagship devices that’s unlikely to change. The 32GB phone will go for 2999 yuan (about $475 at current exchange rates) and the 64GB version will be 3999 yuan ($635). The standard phone will come with a black front and white battery cover, with five replaceable pastel options. The MX Quad-core is scheduled to go on sale in June, and the current MX has been immediately reduced to 2399 yuan.
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| Google Play Store mod removes location-based restrictions Posted: 16 Apr 2012 08:34 AM PDT Are you Slovenia’s biggest Android fan, but bummed that you can’t download apps that aren’t available in your country? Then the latest mod from XDA might be right up your alley. XDA member Deeco7 has posted a modified version of the “Vending.apk” Google Play Store app file, with the aim of allowing anyone to download any app, regardless of their own location or the restrictions built into the app. The modified app works with Android 2.2 or later, and you don’t even need root to install it.
It’s a long way from perfect: those outside the US still can’t buy music, movies or books in the Google Play Store, and paid apps may be something of a challenge in remote areas as well. There’s also considerable technical issues, including some Ice Cream Sandwich compatibility problems that arose with the original mod. Another developer posted a repaired APK and instructions for more reliable installation, but you’ll need root access and a working knowledge of the Android file system and permissions to take advantage of it. Even so, it’s nice to see some attention coming to this annoying issue. Previous solutions involved modding the phone’s build.prop file or using a proxy server, neither of which was easy or ideal. Though success with Deeco7′s seems to be somewhat hit or miss, it’s a lot better than having no options at all. The next timely update to the Google Play Store (which usually comes as a background download) will likely knock it out, so those of you with custom recoveries may want to make a backup just in case. [via XDA blog]
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| DROID RAZR HD aka DROID Fighter spotted in EXIF data Posted: 16 Apr 2012 07:56 AM PDT We’ve still only seen a fleeting glance at the DROID Fighter, now thought to be a codename for Motorola’s DROID RAZR HD, but it looks like someone’s been using it to take some nice still-life photos. The elusive phone was spotted in the EXIF data of an otherwise innocuous photo with the model of “DROID RAZR HD”, at once confirming both Verizon as the carrier (as they’re the only ones who use the “DROID” brand) and Motorola as the manufacturer. Alas, we’re still in the dark as far as a release date is concerned.
The model name certainly indicates that the screen will be updated past the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX‘s somewhat disappointing QHD panel, presumably to a full 1280×720. At least one of the RAZR variants spotted in China did just that. It might also refer to a more powerful camera – the EXIF data doesn’t mention a megapixel rating and the photo was taken in a low-fidelity mode, but the F-stop value was an appreciably low (for phones anyway) 2.4. When last we saw the DROID RAZR HD/DROID Fighter, it was hanging out next to its older brother showing off a purportedly 4.6-inch screen, in a body that looked nearly identical with a little extra room. One can only hope that the HD version comes with the incredible DROID RAZR MAXX battery by default. It’s also rumored to ship with Android 4.0.3, but since it was previously rumored to ship on April 12 (last Thursday) it might be best not to speculate. [via Droid-Life]
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| Report: up to 3 million Android tablets made every month in China Posted: 16 Apr 2012 07:29 AM PDT Android may still lag behind iOS in the mindshare of consumers when it comes to the tablet space, but according to a report from DigiTimes, its sheer numbers are increasing by a dramatic amount. The supplier news source says that up to three million “white-box” Android tablets are being manufactured every month, up 300% from the same figure last year. Most of these devices are being sold directly with in China, or being shipped off to the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America. At least some are being sold cheaply elsewhere.
“White box” is an industry term meaning a piece of electronics created from readily-available parts, and resold quickly at retail. In this context it primarily means cheap tablets with little or no branding, sold to consumers who are unlikely to want or be able to afford the $300-500 price most tablets from more reliable manufacturers are going for. A typical model will have a 10-inch screen with a low 1024×600 resolution and 4GB of built-in storage, going for just a little over $100 US in local currency. The good news is that apparently most of these tablets are being shipped with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. And why not, since the software is freely available as an open-source download, and most of the popular OEM components have already been integrated with Android. For Chinese OEMs, Ice Cream Sandwich is the new Gingerbread – off-brand Honeycomb tablets never made a splash because the source code wasn’t made available at the time. Due to a lack of Google certification, this considerable influx of ICS tablets is unlikely to show up on Google’s monthly Android distribution reports. [via PC Mag]
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| ASUS Transformer Prime GPS dongle pictured Posted: 16 Apr 2012 07:03 AM PDT We’re going to need need a bigger dock. After months of complaints of low GPS reception on ASUS’ flagship Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet, the company has committed to sending out free GPS dongles for affected customers. Land of Droid managed to grab a photo of the purported dongle, and, well… it’s more of an antenna. And assuming that this is indeed the final hardware, it’s very, very big. From the fuzzy pictures provided it looks like the dongle is about the same size as the locking mechanism on the Transformer Prime’s keyboard dock.
The dongle itself is pretty simple: it uses the proprietary port on the bottom of the Transformer Prime for communication, and reportedly improves the tablet’s GPS reception by an appreciable portion. (It better, right?) A couple of tabs and a locking mechanism are the only other additions. Technically the dongle does match the color of the tablet, and will presumably be matched to the registered color from applicants, but the dongle’s made of plastic that contrasts poorly with the Transformer Prime’s metal chassis. Ergonomics seem to be something of an issue – the photos show the user holding the tablet “upside down”, probably to avoid the uneven feel of the dongle fitting into the bottom. But since Android tablets are designed to be used in any orientation, this isn’t a huge problem. Charging and docking are more of a concern: with no pass-through connector to be found, users will have to remove the dongle each time they want to charge it or use an accessory. Obviously cases will be an issue as well. Invitations to order the free dongle are being sent out today to those who have registered their tablets with ASUS. Head over to the ASUS VIP registration page if you haven’t done so already. While this situation is certainly frustrating, it’s good to see that ASUS is doing right by its customers – no on’es being told that they’re holding it wrong, after all. Future versions of the Transformer hardware, like the all-plastic Transformer Pad 300, shouldn’t suffer from the same low GPS and WiFi signals.    Device Info
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| Samsung to reveal “The Next Galaxy” on May 3 Posted: 16 Apr 2012 06:27 AM PDT After months and months of speculation, to say nothing of a truly unprecedented amount of rumor and fakery, Samsung has finally set an announcement date for what will almost certainly be the Galaxy S III. The Samsung-only event will be held in London on Thursday, May 3rd, fulfilling their commitment to announce the Galaxy S II’s successor outside of the usual trade show venues like Mobile World Congress. Naturally there’s no other official details to be had at the moment, but the event is being christened “Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2012″, setting up months before last year’s October event.
The Galaxy S III (if indeed that ends up being the smartphone’s final moniker) is hands-down the most rumored and least leaked Android phone we’ve ever seen here at Android Community. What seems like dozens of fake renders and blurry Photoshop jobs have passed across our desks, each less convincing that the last. The only compelling evidence we’ve seen thus far is the OLED Association’s assertions that the screen will be a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED panel with a non-Pentile layout, almost certainly with a 720p resolution. An unnamed Samsung executive was also quoted as saying that the phone would be powered by a quad-core Exynos chip. There was considerable speculation after Mobile World Congress that Samsung had delayed the Galaxy S III to better position it against the inevitable iPhone 5 – if sales trends from the GSII and iPhone 4S continue, the two devices may become the best-selling hardware on their respective platforms. While recent evidence that the phone was still in the concept stage just weeks ago would indicate that the delay was more practical than strategic, there’s no denying that Apple and Samsung are setting up for an epic retail showdown. Release and price are up in the air at the moment, but given Samsung’s past patterns, expect the international version of the Galaxy S III to be available the following month. [via SlashGear]
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| Android Community Weekly: April 15th, 2012 Posted: 15 Apr 2012 06:23 PM PDT Welcome once again to our weekly update on everything you need to know in the Android universe. If you’ve neglected your news for the last seven days, take a few minutes to consider the following – everything else is a sideshow. There’s a considerable amount of hardware, software, modding and business news to cover in the Android world, so settle in. While no earth-shattering announcements were made this week, those who like big tablets and even bigger acquisitions should be well satisfied.
One of the most interesting bits of hardware news came right away on Monday, when Toshiba announced brand new 7.7, 10 and 13-inch (!) tablets in their Excite line. All three Tegra 3 ICS machines should be out by the summer. HTC had some rather humdrum announcements for new Desire phones in China, and leaks are beginning to show off the low-end HTC Golf and Verizon’s HTC Incredible 4G. Those waiting for the One S on T-Mobile won’t have to wait too much longer: a launch party and dummy units make the rumored April 25th date seem likely.
As usual there’s a lot of movement in the Samsung camp: the Galaxy Tab 2 10-inch gets an official price of just $399 for the 8GB version, and rumors indicate that even more 7-inch and 10-inch tablets are coming under the “Espresso” label. Finally, the Galaxy Note 10.1 may not be in its final form just yet. Both Lenovo and Barnes & Noble are showing off new devices, the former with a new IdeaPad 10-inch tablet and the latter with a lighted version of the Nook Simple Touch. LG’s new Optimus L7 is coming to France this month, with its little brother the Optimus L5 following in May. A pair of smartwatches made splashes, Sony’s Xperia SmartWatch for coming to the US, and the brand-new Pebble e-ink smart watch for getting an incredibly successful Kickstarter campagin. Finally, ASUS’ toned down Transformer Pad 300 will be here in the US by the end of the month.
The biggest industry news was Facebook buying the photography app Instagram for an incredible one billion dollars. There were rumors of Google trying to sell Motorola’s hardware division to Chinese handset manufacturer Huawei, not to mention some interesting statements on low-cost tablets during their quarterly earnings call. Nearsighted folks like yours truly will be glad to know that Google’s Project Glass will work with prescription eyeglasses, and we finally found some concrete evidence of the Samsung Galaxy S III’s screen buried in an OLED Association report.
In update news, Motorola’s showing off some Ice Cream Sandwich training videos for the DROID RAZR… but still won’t say when the update is actually coming. At least there’s some progress on a community-created workaround for that pesky locked bootloader. If you’ve got an international HTC One X, you’ll want to check out this easy battery-saving mod. At least one Samsung Galaxy S III has been spotted in the wild, but it’s in disguise. Sony’s started updating their Xperia phones to ICS, as promised, but only in northern Europe so far. Finally, if you’re a Dolphin Browser HD user, you’ll want to check out their latest update to Version 8.0.
Here at Android Community we’ve got lots of fresh content for you. You’ll want to check out our in-depth look at the HTC One V, and a second-hand review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7-inch version. We’ve also got a review of the latest Samsung PMP, the Galaxy Player 3.6. Galaxy Nexus owners wishing for a little more longevity will definitely want to read our review of Mugen Power’s 3900mAh extended battery. On the software side we’ve got an in-depth review of the new Next Issue magazine subscription service, and a look at the incredibly useful social widget BlingBoard. Finally, we’ve tracked down the five best alternatives to Instagram, for those who aren’t into the hipster scene. As always, stay in school, don’t do drugs and always make a Nandroid backup.
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| DROID Bionic update incoming with visual voicemail fixes Posted: 15 Apr 2012 04:59 PM PDT
One good update deserves another, but before you ask, no, it’s not Ice Cream Sandwich. Motorola is sending out a test update for the DROID Bionic, and given their history that means that is should be getting a wide release within a month or so. Build 5.9.904 is regrettably still Android Gingerbread, but it brings along a few much-appreciated fixes. If you’re not a member of Motorola’s official support forum you won’t be getting it (at least directly), but Verizon should be sending it out before too long.
Fixes include a revised Visual Voicemail alert system, tweaks to Bluetooth headset volume, and various bugfixes for the power button and Internet connection. Significantly there are adjustments to the way that the DROID Bionic handles the new IPV6 standard, which should make for noticeably faster wen performance on some sites. Overall it’s not an essential update, and perhaps not the one that Bionic owners have been waiting for, but those still on a stock ROM should be happy to see it. There’s been no official word on an Ice Cream Sandwich Sandwich update beyond the fact that it is, indeed, coming. Motorola’s timelines for its Verizon devices are frustratingly nebulous, though at least one pre-release version of Android 4.0 for the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX has leaked out. With a Verizon lineup full of locked bootloaders, the wait for an official update becomes even more frustrating, as there’s no way to reliably create true custom ROMs without updated kernels. Device Info
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[via Droid-Life]
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| Rockchip budget quad-core processors coming later this year Posted: 15 Apr 2012 01:31 PM PDT Rockhip might not be a household name like the big three in NVIDIA, Qualcomm, or Texas Instruments but they’ve been around plenty long and are ready to aim for higher standards in 2012. Rockchip processors have been found in multiple chinese, or cheaper Android tablets as of late but in 2012 they are set to release a new improved Cortex A9 dual-core, and follow it with their own quad-core come Q3.
The new quad-core will be known as the RK32xx and for now we don’t have any additional details regarding full specs, clock speeds, or an actual release date but another quad-core option is more than welcome. We have the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core available now, and Samsung, Qualcomm, and TI all have their own coming later this year. Rockchip could beat them to market, but we’ll have to wait and see. Their processors usually find their way into cheaper or budget friendly tablets, but that doesn’t mean they are of low quality. They just are a cheaper alternative to some of the others. This year Rockchip is seeking Google’s approval so devices running their CPU can have full Google support with the Play Store, and other Google Apps. Many come with Google apps hacked-on from the Chinese markets, but this will make them official. With details still light on Samsung’s Exynos quad-core, as well as TI’s we could see Rockchip possible enter the market around the same time to tighten the competition. Would you be interested in a budget friendly quad-core tablet running Rockchip? [via Liliputing]
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