Android Community |
- Android Community’s Device.AC video tour
- Android Community’s NVIDIA TegraZone Anniversary Tegra Pack Giveaway!
- Samsung SHV-E170K brings Snapdragon S4 to Korea
- Google Play Store gets another minor update
- LG LS970 leaked with quad-core Snapdragon
- Expansys begins pre-orders for the Galaxy S III
- HTC One X white version doesn’t mix with blue jeans
- Baidu Cloud OS to fight Android in China
- Android Community CTIA 2012 Wrap-Up
- Samsung Galaxy S III hands-on with TouchWiz
| Android Community’s Device.AC video tour Posted: 11 May 2012 10:31 AM PDT If you’re a regular Android Community reader, you’ve no doubt spotted out little device specification boxes beneath most stories. That’s Device.AC, our database of Android devices. Device.AC has a new look, updated to reflect the changes on the main site a few weeks ago. We’ve also introduced a few new features, so we figured we’d show them off in the video below.
We’ve always had our listings set up in handy categories, so you can search by carrier, manufacturer or even the processor manufacturer. And our Device Finder, which allows you to find specific phones or tablets with multiple variables, is unchanged. The big new feature is the Compare Devices function. It shows you our complete listing of information and specifications for up to six phones and six tablets at one time. So if you’re torn between, say, the HTC Rezound, HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE and the Galaxy Nexus for your next Verizon phone, just click the little green “+” mark under each phone, then click “compare devices” on the right-hand side. Check out the short instructional video (go full-screen and set it to 720p to see all the details): We strive to keep a comprehensive and accurate database of Android phones available, so we don’t add new devices until we can verify the essential specifications. We also keep separate entries for models of the same phone and tablet that have important differences, like the international, AT&T and T-Mobile versions of the Galaxy S II. We hope you enjoy the updates and find them useful. You can reach Device.ac at any time by clicking the “DEVICES” link on the main navigation bar.
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| Android Community’s NVIDIA TegraZone Anniversary Tegra Pack Giveaway! Posted: 11 May 2012 10:12 AM PDT We’re back with another awesome giveaway for all the gamers out there. Android Community has partnered with NVIDIA and ASUS to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone. Just like our previous giveaways this isn’t just a free tablet. We’ll be offering the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 quad-core tablet, the TF300 keyboard dock, a Logitech Wireless game controller, and even a Jawbone Jambox portable speaker. Add all that up and you get a top quality mobile gaming system that could rival consoles. We will be giving away 3 of these “Tegra Packs” so you have multiple chances to win. Read on for all the details.
Over the next few weeks Android Community will be giving away 3 of these ultimate gaming packs to some of our loyal and lucky readers, as will our sister site SlashGear. Along with our giveaway, NVIDIA is also doing the same and will be giving away 7 packs so you essentially have tons and tons of chances to win some Android tablet goodness right here. Our rules are below, as well as what you’ll need to do to win from NVIDIA. They want your input on what the best Tegra game is, and we do too. From ShadowGun to Riptide GP. Tell them for your chance to win. First have a look at the rules to enter and win from Android Community, then below will be the links for NVIDIA’s side of things.
It’s just that simple folks. A few clicks and you could be the lucky and proud owner of an awesome quad-core Android tablet ultimate gaming bundle thanks to NVIDIA. Next, you can get even more chances to win by voting on your favorite game (as mentioned above) over at NVIDIA’s TegraZone site itself. NVIDIA is calling this the Players Choice Awards and you can get in on the action by clicking here or by scanning the QR code below with your smartphone or tablet.
If you’ve never experienced the awesomeness that is an NVIDIA Tegra-optimized game you’ll want to check out all of our links and reviews below of multiple impressive games, as well as our full review of the Transformer Pad TF300 and Prime tablets. ASUS also explains it well with this little comment: "Running latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the ASUS Transformer Pad is a value packed tablet that with multi-color style, and productivity with expandability when connected to the mobile dock. With a 1.2MP front and 8MP rear auto-focus camera with large F/2.2 aperture and exclusive office software, staying connected and productive has never been easier."
Prize consists of a pack including one ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 tablet, one TF300 mobile keyboard dock, one Logitech game controller, and one Jawbone Jambox Speaker. There is no other alternative for prize winners unless this prize should become unavailable, in which case SlashGear reserves the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value. Good Luck!
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| Samsung SHV-E170K brings Snapdragon S4 to Korea Posted: 11 May 2012 09:02 AM PDT It’s been just over a week since Samsung announced the Galaxy S III, but industry watchers will know that the company has never let something as small as a flagship launch months in the making get in the way of yet another launch. So it is with the Samsung SHV-E170K, a phone curiously devoid of Galaxy branding and headed to the KT wireless carrier in South Korea later this month. SammyHub spotted the phone among some other, older phones being introduced to the carrier.
The SHV-E170K seems to be a mild update to the Galaxy S II, with the most important change being a shift to Qualcomm’s excellent Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor. While the rest of the hardware is hardly state of the art, the Snapdragon will put the phone’s performance within range of much more recent devices. Other changes include a boosted QHD resolution on the 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display. The rear camera has strangely been reduced from 8 megapixels to 5. Most exciting, this phone will launch with Android 4.0, which Samsung finally seems ready to send out in earnest after launching the Galaxy Tab 2 series. If you’re hoping to see the SHV-E170K outside of Asia, keep on hoping: like the Skyrocket HD, the coming of the Galaxy S III probably means there won’t be a lot of interest in this upgraded hardware. [via Engadget]
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| Google Play Store gets another minor update Posted: 11 May 2012 08:29 AM PDT Google sends out pretty constant updates to their app and media store, and the latest went out just this morning, bringing the Google Play Store up to version 3.15.19. There’s no changelog and no noticeable change from previous versions, so we wouldn’t be in a hurry to force update your phone or tablet. Everyone in the US at the very least should be getting the update over the next couple of days, but if you must, you can download and install it here.
The biggest thing to hit the Google Play Store lately has been carrier billing for every major US carrier except Verizon, which was recently extended to books, movies and music. That happened more or less automatically, and the new update doesn’t seem to affect it one way or the other. Unfortunately there’s still no way to get carrier billing on Verizon, no matter how much modding you do – likely they’re still holding on to their proprietary V-CAST service. Updates to the Google Play Store (formerly the Android Market) are among the more mild mods one can do to his or her Android device – you don’t even need root. Just check the Applications section of your Settings menu and make sure you’ve got outside sources available. We’ll be updating this post if we find anything significant. [via Android Police]
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| LG LS970 leaked with quad-core Snapdragon Posted: 11 May 2012 07:45 AM PDT Man, LG is just piling on the flagships at this point. In addition to the Optimus 4X HD and the new Optimus LTE2, BriefMobile has spotted what they’re calling the LS970, a previously unknown LG model with some super high-end components. Chief among these is a quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, which we can only assume is the much-anticipated Krait – the source identifies it as the APQ8064 chipset.
Other impressive numbers include 2GB of RAM (matching the Optimus LTE 2) an odd screen with a size of 4.67 inches and a resolution of 1280×768, and a non-standard LTE radio specifically for The Now Network. Following the trend, LG has put a 13-megapixel camera on the back. The processor runs at 1.5Ghz on all four cores, with an Adreno 320 GPU pulling graphics duty. While no mention of software was made, we’d certainly expect this one to launch with Ice Cream Sandwich. The source says the phone will come to market as the Eclipse 4G LTE, which is certainly possible given The Now Network’s tendency to throw established manufacturer branding right out the window. It’s also set at 8.6mm thin. The rumored release date is in the fourth quarter, so we could be looking at a very different device if and when it hits retail shelves.
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| Expansys begins pre-orders for the Galaxy S III Posted: 11 May 2012 07:03 AM PDT Dying to get your hands of Samsung’s latest flagship, but can’t wait around for AT&T and T-Mobile to get around to releasing it sometime this summer? Than import specialty shop Expansys is your new best friend. They’ve put the Galaxy S III up for pre-order on their website for a pretty astounding $694.99, plus shipping. They don’t have a date on the listing, but it’s pretty safe to assume that they plan to grab as many as they can when the Galaxy S III launches in Europe on May 29th.
Import shops like Expansys and Dynamism are a good way to get gadgets that aren’t available in the US, but in this case we’d recommend caution (not to mention patience). We know for a fact that the Galaxy S III is coming to multiple US carriers, almost certainly including AT&T and Verizon at the very least. And in the case of all of the Big Four, you’ll get access to an LTE connection (except for T-Mobile, where you’ll still need a local version for optimum HSPA+). If you’re absolutely set on getting the Galaxy S III a few weeks or at most a couple of months ahead of your American friends, you’ll be happy to know that you can review and confirm your order before it ships out. At the moment Expansys is offering the phone in both Pebble Blue and Marble White, so pick your poison. And try to ignore those pangs of buyer’s remorse when it shows up on your carrier for $199 on contract the next week. Device Info
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 [via DroidDog]
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| HTC One X white version doesn’t mix with blue jeans Posted: 11 May 2012 06:44 AM PDT When Levi Strauss created the prototype denim trousers over a century ago, he couldn’t know that he was making what would be come one of the most popular garments of all time. He also couldn’t know that someday people would be cramming Android superphones into them. Flash forward to 2012, and some users of the white version of the HTC One X have found that the blue dye used in their blue jeans seems particularly attracted to the finish on HTC’s latest flagship.
Superficial stains can be cleaned with Windex or a similar solution. But since many users (I would assume a majority of them, in fact) keep their phones in the pocket of blue jeans on a regular basis, the dye tends to accrue on the case, especially around the corners and on the edges. There’s no way to confirm this, but I’d guess it’s a function of the One family’s Micro Arc Oxidation finish, since we haven’t seen significant dye buildup on other phones. The black version of the One X and the other phones in the line don’t seem to have this problem, or at least it isn’t noticeable on them. So if you wear your 501s every day, be sure and pick up the black model. AT&T customers can choose between both models at the moment, though there’s no way of telling which retailers have which version in stock. If you’ve already got a white One X, you could always throw on a case. Or carry around a bottle of Windex. Device Info
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[via AndroidPit]
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| Baidu Cloud OS to fight Android in China Posted: 11 May 2012 03:19 AM PDT In September 2011, we talked a bit about the Chinese search engine Baidu and Dell working on an Android-based operating system for smartphones. Baidu is set to make a move with its very own operating system with the goal of rivaling Android in the Chinese market. The operating system will be called Baidu Cloud.
The smartphone platform will integrate with company’s cloud-based storage service and other web products. Baidu is the number one search engine in China. This will be a completely different product from the Yi Android-based OS. This sounds a lot like Google’s move years ago when it unveiled Android to compete with other mobile operating systems. Baidu executives claim that the company is in talks with global partners for use of the operating system. However, the company didn’t offer specific details on the operating system or launch plans. Those details will come next week when the Chinese search engine has promised to reveal partners and more. Baidu has already been tipped to be working with Foxconn on a so-called Baidu Phone. This device could well be running the new operating system and the prices been tipped at the equivalent of $159. [via The Next Web]
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| Android Community CTIA 2012 Wrap-Up Posted: 10 May 2012 06:33 PM PDT Another mobile event has finally wrapped up only this year we had the opportunity to enjoy New Orleans for CTIA 2012. Below we’ll run down a quick list of some of the things that were worth seeing this trip. With Samsung and HTC making announcements earlier in the year we were worried, but still found plenty of excitement in the Big Easy. To start off right hit our CTIA 2012 Portal for all the goods, then enjoy the pictures, galleries, and video below.
From accessories, cases, charging packs and more we saw plenty in New Orleans but we’ll start off with the new HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE heading to Verizon. Officially announced at the show we have some hands-on and plenty of pictures of the latest DROID to get the Verizon 4G LTE treatment. We were covering everything live at our sister site SlashGear too. Check out what they reported by the CEO of EA games and the death of consoles and mobile gaming. Then we saw some impressive water-proof techniques to save our precious devices from HzO and their Waterblock. OtterBox had a slew of new cases for the HTC One series, the iPhone, the new DROID Inc 4G LTE, and even the Galaxy Note. We also took a minute to check out more from team LG, stopping in for a hands-on with the LG Optimus Vu Phablet — as well as the Tegra 3 quad-core LG Optimus 4X. The folks from Kyocera (remember them?) announced a few new budget friendly Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phones and you can see our hands-on of both of the new phones from Kyocera by clicking here. More importantly, we also enjoyed some time with the brand new HTC EVO 4G LTE and have some impressive pics from its camera below but to start here is our hands-on video. ZTE was showing off their new 10-inch Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet with 4G LTE running on a 1.7 GHz Qualcomm processor, one of the faster tablets on the block and we even had a few minutes to sit down and talk with the CMO and Community Managers from the popular 3rd party keyboard for Android SwiftKey. We were able to enjoy more time with the Samsung Galaxy S III and even got some hands-on showing specifically some changes to the software side of things with their improved TouchWiz user interface. I really want this phone and can’t wait for more details on the US launch. Last but not least was more about the impressive new HTC EVO 4G LTE. Thanks to the folks from HTC I had the opportunity to take a full tour of New Orleans as well as test out the 8 megapixel camera on the EVO 4G LTE in our New Orleans photo tour through the lens of the EVO 4G LTE. The photo below was captured by the new EVO while on a moving vehicle — impressive right?
We have a lot of interesting news we can’t share yet at this time, and tons of exciting things we’ll be bringing you over the course of the next few days and weekend. Once more hit our CTIA 2012 Portal for all our news, and stay tuned to Android Community for more coming soon.            
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| Samsung Galaxy S III hands-on with TouchWiz Posted: 10 May 2012 05:30 PM PDT You can never get too much of the new Samsung Galaxy S III right? Announced last week and detailed in full with all of our hands-on coverage today we have even more to show you guys. While enjoying our time in New Orleans for CTIA 2012 we stopped by Samsung to get a second look. Below we have some hands-on specifically showing the software and TouchWiz side of things such as facial recognition in the photo gallery, as well as the new screen unlock features and more.
You already know all the details and specs of this phone but just in case those are: A 4.8-inch 720×1280 resolution Super AMOLED HD display, and the powerful quad-core processor that keeps Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung's TouchWiz user interface as fast as ever. Check out the two videos below showing a few more reasons why Samsung’s “next galaxy” is better than ever. Samsung has revamped and personalized the photo and camera gallery. Once you snap a few photos of friends or family with their new 8 megapixel camera you can instantly tag faces of that pretty girl at the party, a girlfriend, family, friends and more. From that point they’ll then be recognized and tagged in the rest of the phones gallery if you chose, then you can instantly share the picture with them (if they are in your contacts) click their face in a photo and get call/text menu’s for quick actions, or tweet the picture directly from the gallery with them tagged and more. Pretty neat little features that shows they can improve on more than just the hardware spec sheet. Here’s another video that is a little shorter for ya’ll. As you can see from the video above Samsung has gone above and beyond the direct-to-camera screen unlock features of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich — just as HTC and a few others have in the recent past. Like many others with TouchWiz you can now quickly open the dialer for a call, camera to snap quick photos of those special moments and not miss a beat, or anything else the user would like. I'll personally have Yahoo! Sports and TweakDeck on my quick list. Samsung has made these gestures clean and simple without cluttering up their lockscreen, and I’m really looking forward to all of the new software side improvements of the phone along with everything else. Don’t forget to check out our Galaxy S III Portal for all things SGSIII including their new S-Voice Siri rival, as well as the CTIA 2012 Portal for all the news from New Orleans this year. Device Info
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