Android Community

Samsung DROID Charge updating rolling out soon
NFL 2012 Preseason Live app for tablets only $20
New updates for T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide and G2 arrive
Android Community’s gigantic TegraZone Nexus 7 Giveaway!
Samsung Galaxy S III black color option coming soon

Samsung DROID Charge updating rolling out soon

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 04:04 PM PDT

Early last week Verizon started pushing an update out to their popular Samsung DROID Charge but quickly stopped and pulled the update. Today however it appears to have the green light again from Samsung and Verizon, because Verizon has just confirmed it’s on the way. Head down past the break for more details and support documents.

As usual Verizon has just updated their support page with full details and update information. The change log and update looks to be rather large, but seems to be the same as previous versions. For now we aren’t fully sure what the update will bring but Verizon is stating quite a bit.

Below is the update information that states UI tweaks, performance enhancements, call quality improvements and more but sadly they’ve also added more bloatware. Everything listed below was also listed on the update back in March so we’re assuming this is mainly a bug fix update. It also could be preparing the phone for a possible Ice Cream Sandwich update coming soon, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Has your Samsung DROID Charge seen an update? If not we can expect the update to arrive in the next 24-48 hours as they usually do after hitting Verizon’s support page. Charge owners, let us know when you get this and if you notice anything new.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name

Manufactuer

Carrier

Announced Date

Release Date

Also Known As

Display

Screen Size : 4.30 Inch
Resolution : 480x800
Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

Height : 5.11 Inch
Width : 2.66 Inch
Depth : 0.46 Inch
Weight : 143 Grams

Battery & Power

Battery Type

Lithium Ion

Battery Capacity : 1600 mAh
Talk Time : NA
Stand By Time : 280 hours

Software

Android OS

2.2.x

Audio Playback

Video Playback

MPEG-4 (MP4)

Messaging

Hardware

CPU

CPU Clock Speed

Core

Ram

Internal Storage

Front Facing Camera

Camera Resolution

External Storage

MicroSD
MicroSDHC

Camera Features

Auto focus
Flash
720p Video Recording

Sensors

Accelerometer
Ambient light
Proximity

QWERTY

Cellular Network

Network Technology

CDMA

CDMA Band

800
1900

Device Connectivity

Wi-Fi

802.11b
802.11g
802.11n

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features

Compass
GPS
Cellular location
Wi-Fi location

FM Radio

NFC

[via Droid-Life]

NFL 2012 Preseason Live app for tablets only $20

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 03:37 PM PDT

Who loves Football? For those not in the US I’m talking about the NFL. Preseason is off to a great start. The regular season is almost here and although we love Android, many also love NFL just as we do. For those interesting in following their teams progress and pre-season you can watch every single game live, or on demand with the official NFL app, but it’ll cost ya.

The NFL offers a Preseason Live package for only $20 and you’ll get to see any and every game live, or on demand from any computer or even your favorite Android tablets. Just head to NFL.com/preseason for more details. Sadly we are hearing pretty terrible reports when it comes to the actual Android app, and it is only available for tablets with no smartphone support. You can still watch on a computer though.

For those interested you can get the NFL Preseason Live 2012 app from the Google Play Store. It is a free download but will require a subscription to the $20 Live subscription, but for those die-hard fans this should be perfect. Hopefully the app will work better for some than what we are seeing in the reviews section, because it isn’t looking good. The app was just recently updated and hopefully another is on the way to fix a few pesky bugs.

The season has started off great. Manning is throwing balls again, Rodgers will be amazing as always, and Tebow will continue to be popular simply for taking his shirt off — and that’s all. We can’t comment on the quality of the Android app, but using the service on a computer last year was amazing and I watched every game of my Packers. Head to the links above and enjoy your favorite NFL teams.

As a reminder, Verizon users can get NFL Mobile for awesome content as well.

New updates for T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide and G2 arrive

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:59 PM PDT

Today T-Mobile and HTC are pushing new updates for two phones that are getting on in age. The myTouch 3G Slide and the G2 are both receiving minor updates, despite the fact that both have been around since 2010. True, that was only two short years ago, but two years in smartphone time may as well be an eternity.

Regardless of their age, they have both been updated. Don’t expect to find much of anything in these updates, however, as both only deliver a security patch and improve software stability. Sorry, but there aren’t any of the cool, new features you were hoping for when you read the title.

Both of these updates are only available as RUUs from HTC’s website, so you won’t be receiving any OTA notifications. You can snag the update for the G2 here, while the update for the myTouch 3G Slide can be found here. The pair of updates will delete the personal data from your phone, requiring you to back up your data if you want to keep it, so you’ll be doing a bit of work if you want to install them.

These phones are both showing their age these days, with the G2 still running Android 2.3.4 and the myTouch 3G Slide stuck way back on Android 2.2. Sadly, we probably won’t be hearing too much about future updates for either of these phones, though you never know. After all, with these updates surfacing today, HTC and T-Mobile may look to fix a few more things before they move on from the handsets entirely.

[via Android Police]

Android Community’s gigantic TegraZone Nexus 7 Giveaway!

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 01:32 PM PDT

Welcome back to another fabulous giveaway from Android Community and NVIDIA – this time we’ve got no less than 3 Google Nexus 7 16GB tablets for you, hot off the manufacturing line! What we’re going to ask you to do is get involved in the Android Community forums and represent for your favorite Tegra-toting device or TegraZone game. It’s easy!

We’ve got a total of three brand new Google Nexus 7 tablets (see our full review here) that you’ll be able to get a chance to win by following the following three steps. ALSO NOTE: SlashGear has a similar giveaway going on connected to their own Tegra hub – 3 more Nexus 7 tablets up for grabs there!

It’s quite simple – all you’ve got to do is show your NVIDIA love:

1. Head to [this Android Community forums post] — and if you don’t yet have an account, register here.

2. Comment on your favorite NVIDIA Tegra 2 or Tegra 3 device on the market OR your favorite TegraZone game. These can be games and devices that are out now or will be out soon – and you can find a vast collection of both [here in our Tegra hub] and be sure to say WHY you love or want it!

3. Sit back and cross your fingers!

This giveaway starts on Friday, August 10th, 2012 and runs until Friday, August 17th at midnight. We’ll pick a collection of our favorite entries and from that set we’ll choose three winners at random – we’ll announce the winners on Monday, August 20th in the forums and right here in this original giveaway post!

Competition is open to residents of the US only, over the age of 18. One entry per person. Family members of NVIDIA, ASUS, Google, and SlashGear/Android Community are not permitted to enter. Competition entries are only accepted via the specified Android Community forum post; entries left in the comments section of this or any other post will not be recognized.

The winners will be contacted by an Android Community/SlashGear staff member IN THE FORUMS upon being selected and will be expected to respond to that staff member; they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected.

Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winners agree that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to Android Community, SlashGear, and NVIDIA.

Each of the three prize packs consist of a pack including one Google Nexus 7 tablet, and that’s it! There are no other alternative for prize winners unless this prizes become unavailable, in which case Android Community reserves the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value.

Giveaway provided by SlashGear/Android Community. Prizes provided by NVIDIA. Any questions regarding this giveaway should be directed to giveaway [AT] slashgear.com.

Samsung Galaxy S III black color option coming soon

Posted: 10 Aug 2012 11:58 AM PDT

This week the folks at Samsung have caused a little disturbance for those who don’t like the current color options for the Galaxy S III smartphone. For some unknown reason Samsung decided against the traditional black color, and only have a Marble White, Pebble Blue, and Garnet Red flavor. However Samsung’s Facebook showed off a black model, and now retails could be confirming the news.

The Facebook photo linked to above clearly showed black during Samsung’s Olympics coverage. Many spotted a few screens showing either a black model, or a poorly photoshopped blue smartphone. However the image above, and now Carphone Warehouse’s inventory listing could prove otherwise.

Above is a screenshot from the online retailer Carphone Warehouse, clearly showing a Galaxy S III black color option. Now this could be old, but on initial launch their system only showed blue and white according to Android Police. This leads us to believe Samsung is set to start shipping black versions of the Galaxy S III. This also matches previous reports that “multiple” color options will be available this fall.

Pretty odd for people to get all fired up over the color of their smartphone, but I know many wanted the regular plain Jane black color option, and didn’t get it. If Samsung does plan to offer different colors, we expect them to make a formal announcement at IFA 2012 August 29 and on in Berlin, Germany. We’ll be their live too so stay tuned for all the details.