Android Community |
- International HTC One X getting Android 4.0.4 update, with fixes
- Samsung Galaxy Tab with 11.8-Inch 2560×1600 resolution rumored again
- Motorola RAZR and MAXX international models getting ICS
- Samsung Exynos 5 Dual CPU detailed, set to dominate the competition
- Samsung Galaxy Beam Review
- HTC confirms ICS for Thunderbolt, Desire S by end of August
- Google Translate Android update adds image translation
- Transformer Pad TF300 Quad-core LTE tablet hitting Germany
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 student bundle headed to Best Buy for cheap
- OUYA now available for pre-order
| International HTC One X getting Android 4.0.4 update, with fixes Posted: 10 Aug 2012 11:18 AM PDT Just like the AT&T HTC One X received earlier this week, the international model is getting an over the air update today that should make many users happy. Along with improving the OS to Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, you also get a much needed change to the menu and multitasking button. This will help remove the large black bar present for the “menu” button on Sense UI.
HTC has formally announced the update today, and mention multiple other enhancements and fixes specific to HTC Sense UI, as well as Android as a whole. With 4.0.4 the camera has been improved, browser has received enhancements, and they’ve added tons of stability tweaks. Here’s what HTC had to say regarding that menu button:
What this means is the two square looking multitask button can now be used as the “menu” button for Android too. You can enable it in settings, and long pressing that will bring up any menu options now that many are on-screen with Android 4.0 ICS and above. After the update head to Settings > Display > Gestures and Buttons to change how you’d like the multitask and legacy menu button to operate. This is basically just an added option for those two don’t like the current implementation. We can expect this same update to be arriving for the HTC One S and other Sense 4.0 devices in the coming weeks, but today it’s available right now for the international HTC One X. Be sure to check for updates as usual, or just wait for the notification and enjoy. Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
 Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
 [via SlashGear]
|
| Samsung Galaxy Tab with 11.8-Inch 2560×1600 resolution rumored again Posted: 10 Aug 2012 10:46 AM PDT It might be time to fire up those rumor mills again because we are seeing some activity on the Samsung Galaxy Tab front. Last year rumors of a Galaxy Tab with “Retina” level resolution for the display was talked about, and never heard of again. Recently multiple reports have come out confirming the tablet again, and it might of even hit the FCC.
During the Apple vs Samsung trial a document leaked, found by The Verge show the tablet to be real, as our friends at SlashGear reported. Now we are hearing the same rumors starting to appear again, as well as an FCC filing with a very similar model name — possibly trying to hide the impressive tablet.
With Samsung’s announcement of their new Exynos 5 Dual processor for smartphones and tablets yesterday, that also states support for 2560×1600 and higher resolutions, this is all starting to make sense. Now a recent FCC filing appeared with Samsung GT-P8110 as the model number — which resembles the P10 branding from the leaked Samsung documents. This could all be coincidence, but we could be seeing a new 11.8″ tablet coming this year. Samsung has a lot of announcements this month starting with the Galaxy Note 10.1 August 15th, followed by the Galaxy Note 2 at the end of the month at IFA in Berlin, Germany. Chances are we might get a surprise 11.8-inch tablet unveil to end, and steal the show. An 11.8-inch tablet with a powerful new dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and possibly 4G LTE connectivity sure sounds nice. Right? Stay tuned for more details.   
|
| Motorola RAZR and MAXX international models getting ICS Posted: 10 Aug 2012 10:14 AM PDT Starting today Motorola has begun pushing out an update to their international models of the Motorola RAZR and RAZR MAXX. After hearing reports from GSMArena that the update was starting today, Motorola’s European Facebook page announced it was rolling out to “select users” this afternoon.
As a reminder this is not the Verizon models, which already have ICS, but the international GSM versions of Motorola’s popular sleek phone. Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich has arrived for select handsets, and more can expect to see it arrive for them shortly. Basically it sounds like this is a soak test just like Motorola does here in the US with their feedback network, only for the international market. The update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich brings tons of new and improved features, an enhanced UI, as well as Moto’s new lockscreen and desktop widgets. Multiple links below will give you an idea of what to expect, as the Verizon models received the update last month. After Motorola teased this update way back in early July with a promotional video, the wait has been a long one. Especially after watching the Verizon DROID RAZR’s get the update well ahead of them. For those with a GSM international Motorola RAZR or RAZR MAXX the wait is almost over, and you can expect ICS to arrive within the next week or two. Drop us a comment below if you’ve already received it.
|
| Samsung Exynos 5 Dual CPU detailed, set to dominate the competition Posted: 10 Aug 2012 09:58 AM PDT Last time we heard anything about Samsung’s upcoming Exynos 5 mobile processors was back in November, but today they’ve detailed the all new dual-core 1.7 GHz Exynos 5 Dual chipset in the 5250. For those wondering why not quad-core, they have that too, but this is their newest chipset similar to Qualcomm’s recent dual-core S4 in the Galaxy S III. Samsung’s being very vocal about this new chipset, so lets take a look.
What makes the new Exynos 5 Dual special is the fact it’s running two brand new Cortex-A15 processor cores instead of an older A9. You get much higher performance, yields, and battery life just to name a few. Samsung has them running upwards of 1.7 GHz, and state they’ll get over twice the performance of current dual-core processors.
This all means we can expect some mighty powerful Galaxy Tab smartphones here in the future, and possibly even see this in their upcoming Galaxy Note 2. The new 32nm SoC packs twin 1.7GHz cores and supports up to 2560 x 1600 WQXGA resolutions. Not to mention 3D graphics, USB 3.0, and even SATA3.0 support. They even have a new feature called Panel Self Refresh for reduced power consumption. Add all this together and they expect desktop level performance, while getting 30% better battery life and power consumption than their current dual-core. Don’t be fooled by the “dual-core” in the name, these will be some powerful processors powering their next generation smartphones and tablets. I’m still hopeful to see it in their new Galaxy Note 2. [via SlashGear]
|
| Posted: 09 Aug 2012 05:19 PM PDT Today we have the one and only Samsung Galaxy Beam smartphone to show everyone. This isn’t actually the one and only, as Samsung’s released a phone with the same name in 2010. This is a new and improved Galaxy Beam — just don’t look into the light. What we have here is a decently powerful mid-range smartphone, complete with a 15 lumen bright Texas Instruments DLP (Digital Light Processing) pico projector. If you want to stream movies to the wall in your room — this phones for you. Head on down for our full review.
The Galaxy Beam is a unique device indeed. It’s a great mid-range smartphone, and a decent pocket pico projector too. It won’t have some expensive projector specs, but for what they’re offering it is a great device. This might not be what you had in mind when considering a smartphone, but this is a great phone for more than just a business professional. Check out our full review and multiple videos below.
Hardware The entire device measures in at 124 x 64.2 x 12.5mm at 145g light. The Beam might not be the lightest, or the thinnest around but the simple fact that it also is packing along a projector makes it full of win. It’s a little on the heavy side, but not when you take into account the double package it offers. We’ll talk more on the DLP projector below so for now here’s a quick rundown on the hardware and a quick overview in our hands-on and unboxing video. On the side you have a dedicated on/off for the projector, that happens to be near where Samsung usually has the regular power button. I found myself occasionally hitting that but you have to long press so won’t need to worry about accidentally turning on the projector. The right side also features a micro-SD slot as you saw above. Then on to the left side is the 3.5 jack, volume rocker, and of course the Sim slot for HSPA+ support. We’re using T-Mobile here stateside since this was launched outside of the US.    Overall I’m really enjoying the feel and durability of the phone. It feels very sturdy and nice in the hand, the weight gives it a premium feel, and the rubber coating on the back makes for a comfortable grip during usage. Since this is more than just a projector, and also a smartphone, you’ll be happy to know its a great mid-range smartphone too. Should you never use the projector this would still be highly acceptable as a regular everyday smartphone. Software
The Novathor processor keeps Android smooth and steady, the software isn’t anything new and the only important part here is the projector app — which we’ll dive into shortly. Apps, games, and YouTube works great on the 4-inch screen, and are even better being projected to 50-inches on my wall. Since this is more about the projector we’ll also take this moment to talk about performance. Benchmarks were average at best for a dual-core. Scoring higher than some Tegra 2 devices you’ll have no problem with any games, or streaming video to the projector. Quadrant breaks 2,700 and AntuTu was decent as shown below. Benchmarks are just that, benchmarks, and real world usage was just fine.
Projector For the many usage scenarios Samsung lists: personal theater, fun group sharing, mood generator, outdoor entertainment, professional presentations, education, and room decoration amongst your options. I’ve been streaming Olympics (volleyball if anyone caught that below) over the past few days and came away highly impressed with this Galaxy Beam. I could see myself taking this camping too. Check out our hands-on demonstration below From the many fun uses, you also have the professional aspects. Give a presentation at work, show a slideshow to the class and more. The options are only limited by creativity, and the amount of space/light you have to work with. To be honest we love reviewing many things here at Android Community, but many are the same in too many ways — that isn’t the case with the Beam. This is an awesome little device. Battery and Camera
As far as regular usage. For a smartphone with a medium speed dual-core processor, a small 4-inch screen that isn’t HD, and no 4G LTE this 2,000 mAh battery will last you more than the entire day. You’ll have no problem with battery life, and then even have an extra should you play games all day too. This gets some top of the barrel battery life as just a smartphone. The camera is 5 megapixels and is pretty average at best. It records 720p video should you have the need, and the VGA front is there for those who video chat. The camera was decent but the shutter speed could have been faster. Overall results were about as expected. Here’s a sample with a few more below.  Wrap-Up
It isn’t every day we get to review a smartphone with a unique capability such as this one, and I found it rather exciting and fun to use. We wouldn’t recommend buying it on the projector feature alone, but someone with the occasional need will love it. I’ll certainly be taking this camping with me in the future. The impressively fun Samsung Galaxy Beam is available as we speak internationally. Mainly in the UK, France, Singapore, India and Brazil — and we hope it will be coming to the US soon because it’s quite the little phone.                  Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
|
| HTC confirms ICS for Thunderbolt, Desire S by end of August Posted: 09 Aug 2012 03:17 PM PDT HTC has announced a time frame for the update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for many of its devices through Facebook. The company was responding to a flood of users asking when their particular device will be getting the ICS update, such as the Thunderbolt and Desire S. The time frame given for both of those devices was “by the end of August,” so watch out HTC faithful, because it looks like you’ll be getting Ice Cream Sandwich pretty quickly here.
HTC also says that the update will roll out to all of the devices “that have been announced” by the end of the month too, meaning that any devices left over from the company’s recent ICS update frenzy – such as the DROID Incredible 2 – should be taken care of by the time September arrives. HTC does warn that while it’s planning to have the Desire S update out the door by the end of August, it may not be able to so. Should that end up being the case, HTC promises that it will update Desire S owners about any kind of delay. The Desire S was originally supposed to get the update to Ice Cream Sandwich back in June or July, but when HTC cancelled the ICS update for the Desire HD, a lot of Desire S owners were worried that the company would cancel their update as well. That doesn’t appear to be the case, so Desire S owners can breathe a sigh of relief. The Thunderbolt was scheduled to get Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in July or August, so as long as HTC delivers the update by the end of the month, it will still be within its original time frame. Of course, things don’t always go as planned, so it’s possible that HTC may miss the window it has given itself to get ICS on these phones. It sounds like HTC is pretty confident that it can get the update by out the end of the month, but just in case, you might not want to get your hopes too terribly high. We’ll update you if HTC announces a delay for any of these handsets, so keep an ear to Android Community. [via Android Police]
|
| Google Translate Android update adds image translation Posted: 09 Aug 2012 01:42 PM PDT Google has unleashed a pretty major update for its Google Translate app, and it adds quite a few things users will find of interest. Most importantly, it adds the ability to translate text from pictures, and it only requires that you snap an image and highlight the text you want to translate with your finger. Google takes care of the rest after that, but it should be noted that this feature requires an Internet connection to work, so it may not be a good idea to translate every sign you see while globetrotting unless you’ve got access to a Wi-Fi network.
Another to thing to note is that this functionality is only available with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and higher. If you’re using an older version of Android, we’re sorry to say that you’re being left out in the cold with this one. This image translate feature is joining Google Translate’s support for 64 languages, 17 of which are supported by voice-to-text functionality. Indeed, Google Translate has become quite feature-packed since launch. Speaking of voice translation, this update also helps improve that feature by adding dialect preferences. The app will now begin automatically translating while you’re typing, and increases support for Japanese characters, adding the ability to recognize multiple characters at once. You can grab it right now from the Google Play Store for the very reasonable price of absolutely nothing. These additions will undoubtedly be appreciated by those who use Google Translate on a frequent basis, and it makes us pretty excited for the seemingly not-too-distant future. As time goes on, Google Translate will become even more feature-rich, which is definitely something to look forward to. Check out our story timeline below for more posts on Google Translate! [via SlashGear]
|
| Transformer Pad TF300 Quad-core LTE tablet hitting Germany Posted: 09 Aug 2012 01:32 PM PDT When ASUS announced their new Transformer Pad lineup back at Mobile World Congress they mentioned a 4G LTE model more than a few times. Originally stating a quad-core Tegra 3 TF300 would hit, then be followed with a model that also supported 3G and 4G LTE networks. New reports are stating this LTE version, model TF300TL could arrive in August.
According to multiple reports, including from The Verge, ASUS is preparing to launch their 4G LTE model for Germany, and even Austria. Our first question was what about the US, will we be getting one too? It will be interesting to see if ASUS makes any formal announcements on this tablet. If you remember, the quad-core Tegra 3 version available now is WiFi only. Back in February ASUS announced the TF300 would be the first quad-core LTE tablet — so that is most likely what will be going up for sale in Germany on O2. If reports are correct the slate is rather pricey too. Coming in around $750 with the keyboard dock.
We are hearing it will be available in all the same color options as the WiFi brother, and can be purchased with or without the optional keyboard dock. Hopefully we learn more details about a possible US release, and we’d love to see the same option in the recently released Infinity Pad TF700 and its 1920 x 1200 HD display. Stay tuned for more details as this looks to be the first quad-core 4G LTE tablet. Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
|
| Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 student bundle headed to Best Buy for cheap Posted: 09 Aug 2012 12:49 PM PDT Samsung is getting prepared for the school year it seems after we’ve spotted a student bundle deal headed to a Best Buy store near you. Their somewhat popular tablet refresh, the Galaxy Tab 2 in the 7-inch flavor is getting a nicely priced bundle deal just in time for back to school shoppers. Head on down past the break for more details.
It might not be the best tablet around, especially with the Nexus 7 coming onto the scene, but it still packs a decent bunch. You’ll get a sleek design, 7-inch display, a dual-core processor, micro SD support, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich all for a low price. The Tab 2 7-inch debuted at $249, but it seems they are sticking to that same low price while offering a few included accessories. Over at Best Buy you’ll be able to snag the Galaxy Tab along with an included Bluetooth keyboard dock and stand. This will keep you typing away with ease in class, and do all sorts of other things like holding it up for reading. Then Samsung tossed in a USB connector to use their proprietary 30-pin port for regular sized USB devices. All of this essentially comes free considering it’s the same $249 price as the tablet initially went for sale at. According to the folks at Engadget this tablet “student edition” will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide starting on August 19th. It might not be as powerful as the Nexus 7, but it’s thinner, has a keyboard dock, and supports SD cards. This is a pretty good deal if you ask us, and most likely it’ll see Jelly Bean at some point too.   Device Info
Display
Dimension & Weight
Battery & Power
Software
Hardware
Cellular Network Device Connectivity
|
| OUYA now available for pre-order Posted: 09 Aug 2012 12:01 PM PDT The Kickstarter campaign for OUYA wrapped up earlier this morning, bringing in a grand total of $8,596,475 in funding from 63,416 backers. A mind-numbing figure to be sure, but now it’s time for the OUYA team to get to work on bringing this Android-based console to market. They haven’t wasted any time either, as OUYA pre-orders are now available through the official site.
Looking at the pre-order page, we’re also given an expected ship date. Those who pre-order through the site will begin receiving their consoles in April 2013, one month after Kickstarter backers get theirs. The cost for one console and one controller is $109.00 if you’re living within the United States, while international buyers have to shell out an additional ten dollars. You also have the option of purchasing more controllers with your console, but doing so will naturally cost a bit more money. Still, the cost of an OUYA console and four controllers only comes in at $200, which is pretty inexpensive as far as game consoles go. It’s good to see the OUYA team hit the ground running, but with the immensely successful Kickstarter campaign now behind us, backers wouldn’t expect anything less. OUYA scored some big partnerships throughout the course of its campaign, announcing team-up with XBMC, OnLive, iHeartRadio, and VEVO, so the console will come complete with some nice bonuses when it arrives next year. There are also plenty of developers pledging support for OUYA, but whether or not they follow through with those pledges will be determined by the console’s success.
Indeed, OUYA has its work cut out for it, because Kickstarter success – though great – is far from actual success at market. There seem to many people who are already very excited for OUYA, however, so perhaps the stage is set for OUYA to take the console world by storm. We hope you’re ready for a ton of hype, because there will be no lack of it as we get closer to OUYA’s 2013 launch date. [via SlashGear]
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android Community To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment