Android Community |
- Sony Leaks S1 PlayStation Tablet
- Motorola Xoom pricing confirmed at $799
- Amazon puts HTC Flyer up for pre-order in Germany
- [ALERT] New Trojan called Hong Tou Tou lurking
- MapQuest announces new free Android app
- Good Technology to Secure Android Devices for Sprint business users
- Redbox debuts new Android app for finding and reserving movies
- Swype’s new Global Shortcuts bypass Google’s search box [Video]
- Another Dual Screen Android phone pops up … sort of
- NVIDIA Reveals Project “Kal-El” Quad Core Super Chip – A Future of Astronomical Speed
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Hands-on [Video]
- Samsung Galaxy S II Hands-on [Video]
- Twelve new Android phones coming to AT&T
- Doubletwist turns Android into a Media Server
- Motoblur gets an update
- Solar Powered Phone takes a giant leap for Android kind
- Android 2.x (Ice Cream) to be Honeycomb for smartphones
| Sony Leaks S1 PlayStation Tablet Posted: 16 Feb 2011 10:12 AM PST Sony is finally getting into the tablet game with their development of the S1 Playstation Tablet. And it looks to be game centric with Playstation games, Sony music, eBooks and video on demand linked through Qriocity, Sony’s proprietary subscription service in Europe.
The S1 will be Playstation certified and will come with PS One games preloaded. It will be a 9.4 inch screen running a Tegra 2 processor and Android 3 (Honeycomb) as you would expect. But Sony is also tweaking it’s own UI, pulling software hands from the VAIO, Reader, Playstation and Sony Ericsson working groups to create an experience they believe will rival the iPad. And the design is definitely unique. It’s curved top is supposed to be inspired by an open paperback book turned back on it’s spine. It’ll sport dual front and rear facing cameras, a USB-A port for thumb-drives and media devices a single on/off button. An IR port will also be featured which will enable the S1 to control any Bravia TV. Price is rumored to be about $599 for the 9.4 inch version with a planned shipping window in the fall. [via Engadget] )
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| Motorola Xoom pricing confirmed at $799 Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:36 AM PST Looks like we hit the nail on the head with the price on the Motorola XOOM a few days back. Motorola has confirmed a price of $799 unsubsidized at Verizon, with a WiFi only version coming in at $600. That puts it head to head with the other 800 pound gorilla in the category.
The XOOM caught many an eye when it captured Best in Show at CES last month after it was announced it would run Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), Google’s from the ground up tablet OS. And with the widespread popularity of Honeycomb, Motorola has announced that their tablets will be Android centric across the board. And with Nokia’s marriage to Microsoft, competition could be stiff, at least CEO of Motorola Mobility Sanjay Jha, hopes so.
[via Reuters] )
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| Amazon puts HTC Flyer up for pre-order in Germany Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:16 AM PST The HTC Flyer has been priced by Amazon Germany, with the retailer putting the 7-inch Android tablet up for pre-order at €699 ($944). TabletGuys spotted the listing, despite the tablet only being announced at MWC 2011 yesterday.
€699 is actually the same as Apple Germany is asking for the 32GB iPad WiFi + 3G, though we’re expecting some carrier subsidization when the slate launches in early Q2. [via SlashGear] )
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| [ALERT] New Trojan called Hong Tou Tou lurking Posted: 16 Feb 2011 09:12 AM PST One of the good things about Android is that it’s open source. But on the other hand, that also means it can sometimes be the Wild West out there with exploits sneaking in under the guise of legitimate looking apps. Such is the case as Lookout’s official blog has an alert for a Trojan known as “Hong Tou Tou.”
Affecting mostly Chinese speaking users and distributed through app markets and forums, the trojan (also known as ADRD) needs additional user permissions before executive a stealthy series of search-related activites while users are oblivious to the activity. The trojan also “phones home” and sends encrypted data containing device IMEI and IMSI to a remote host. The trojan has been found in over fourteen different Android apps including the popular game RoboDefense, as well as numerous Android wallpaper apps. Those subscribed to Lookout are already protected, but if users simply disable the installation of apps from “unknown sources,” to avoid it. Here’s a few other ways to steer clear: * Only download apps from trusted sources, such as reputable app markets. Remember to look at the developer name, reviews, and star ratings. [via Lookout Blog] )
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| MapQuest announces new free Android app Posted: 16 Feb 2011 06:02 AM PST MapQuest has announced a new mobile navigation app for Android users that offers voice-guided navigation for free. The app has international functionality, error-reporting, and uses open-source mapping. The app is on the Android Market right now and can be downloaded free.
Other features of the app include voice search that allows a diver to speak destinations for directions. The app has a map toolbar that allows you to find places to eat or buy gas among other things with one touch. It will work for both driving and walking directions and shows live traffic flow and incidents as well with coverage updated every five minutes. The app sounds to be very full featured considering that it is free. You can download it now on the Android Market. )
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| Good Technology to Secure Android Devices for Sprint business users Posted: 16 Feb 2011 04:08 AM PST Good Technology and Sprint announced a partnership at MWC 2011 that will see Good secure Android devices on the Sprint network for business users. The partnership will see the Good Technology business-grade security and device management features on the Sprint line of Android devices.
The solution is called Good for Enterprise and allows customers of all sizes control the security of Android devices with ease. The partnership will protect the Galaxy Tab, Evo 4G, Epic 4G and any other Android offering. The Good for Enterprise Android solution has two key parts including the Good Mobile Control and Good Mobile Messaging. The Control portion allows OTA device management and on-device encryption of data, remote application password policies, and remote wiping of data. The Messaging component allows for enterprise mobile email and personal information management with a calendar and contacts. )
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| Redbox debuts new Android app for finding and reserving movies Posted: 16 Feb 2011 03:30 AM PST Redbox has announced a new Android app that will let movie fans find what movies are in stock at Redbox locations near them. The app follows the iPhone version that has been around for a while now.
The Android app offers search capability that lets the user find kiosks close by, reserve films, and the app provides box art for the films and a synopsis of the movie so you can see if the flick sounds interesting. The app will work on Android devices running Android 1.6 and up and is on the Android Market right now. “The free redbox Android app and upgraded iPhone app provide mobile users an interactive portal to view and rent new release movies from any of our more than 26,000 locations nationwide,” said Gary Cohen, senior vice president of marketing and customer experience, redbox. “Our online and mobile tools instantly connect consumers to our retail locations nationwide, delivering real-time access to inventory at any location from virtually anywhere.” )
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| Swype’s new Global Shortcuts bypass Google’s search box [Video] Posted: 16 Feb 2011 02:16 AM PST Google may be all about search, but it looks like Swype is hoping to usurp their search box as the easiest way to find things on Android devices. The company showed Android Community an upcoming version of the app which adds text-based global shortcut support: type your search term into any text box, double tap it and then use Swype commands to trigger new Twitter and Facebook messages, Google Maps searches, and more.
So, if you’re texting someone to invite them for a drink and you want to find the nearest coffee shop, you could Swype in “coffee shop” into the body of your SMS, highlight it, and then gesture from the Swype key up to G then M. Swype will automatically load Google Maps and search for that term. When the new version ships, Swype will preload a selection of shortcuts, but also allow users to define their own. Meanwhile, the app also gets multi-tap text entry support, useful for those who ever have been frustrated by trying to Swype in non-dictionary words. The app switched seamlessly between the two modes with no settings changed. More in the video below.
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| Another Dual Screen Android phone pops up … sort of Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:49 PM PST Murmurs were abound this week as Kyocera announced a dual-touchscreen phone that looked like a Nintendo DSi that makes phone calls. Now there may be another as Fujitsu looked poised to jump into the dual-touchscreen pool. Only, instead of a landscape style screen, they’re doing for a portait vibe … with “options.” And it’s very interesting.
Rumored to be out sometime this summer or fall, a prototype dusal-touchscreen phone was displayed at Fujitsu’s booth at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. And what’s really cool about it is that the protype had dual swivel screens, making for portrait, landscape, or a little of both. Now the proof-of-concept was actually running Symbian, not Android since that’s a very popular phone OS in Japan. But the word is, it will definitely be running Android when it debuts later this year. Til then, it’s just a wild rumor. [via UnWiredView] )
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| NVIDIA Reveals Project “Kal-El” Quad Core Super Chip – A Future of Astronomical Speed Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:05 PM PST Let me preface this by noting that we’ve got a roadmap of NVIDIA’s future plans for speed and chipsets. Each one of these potential markers along the line from 2010 all the way down to 2014 is code-named after a superhero. Take care to remember that these are code-names and are NOT final names for the chips, nor are they in any way affiliated with Marvel or DC comics. That said, let it be known that NVIDIA revealed to our good friend Ben Bajarin some tasty tips such as the speeds NVIDIA hopes to deliver with future versions of their chipsets, starting at TEGRA 2 and working its way up to STARK. The first brand new chipset, Kal-El, is said to be delivering performance at 5X what it TEGRA 2 does today.
What the folks at NVIDIA showed Ben was a demo on what appeared to be an un-released yet complete tablet running Android. This demo showed first NVIDIA’s latest and greatest quad-core chip decoding a video stream at 1440p resolution, that being roughly double the resolution of 1080p, outputting video at 2560 x 1440 to a computer monitor set to 2560 x 1600. The NVIDIA folks continued by showing a demonstration of a game which, sadly, Ben did not get permission to name, nor photograph, nor film due to the copyrights on the game not yet being completed. Ben does mention however that the game was both vibrant and visually stunning. While the tablet running TEGRA 2 was showing this game off at 18-20 FPS, the demo of the game on their new quad-core chipset was running strong at 50-55 FPS. Another demo they ran at this NVIDIA demo was War Drum Studios’ Great Battles: Medieval, this time the quad-core Kal-El delivering scenes at right around 3x improved over the TEGRA 2. Ben did get to take a peek at this game with his camera, a video you’ll be able to see below this paragraph depicts this demo – note, if you don’t hear it, that the tablet running Kal-El is on the right, and is the only tablet in the frame for most of the video. Ben mentions that in addition to the impressiveness in the demo, the fact that War Drum Studios CEO Thomas Williamson had just gotten access to the quad-core development board less than 24 hours previous to this meeting, yet he was able to successfully port this game for tonight’s demonstration. Amazing and awesome. The most important point Ben mentions is in the release, as NVIDIA executives stated that they were targeting August 2011 as a time frame for the availability of tablets that would be running Kal-El, with superphones close behind at the holiday season near the end of the year. This means that both quad-core tablets and quad-core phones might very well be available by the end of this year. )
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Hands-on [Video] Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:55 PM PST Looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, it’s easy to notice more than just the larger screen. This follow-up to the original Galaxy Tab concept is more powerful thanks to the NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor working in concert with Android 3.0 to do all the heavy lifting. And although it is designed to go head to head with the iPad, it’s actually lighter than it’s Cupertino cousin.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is easy to hold thanks to it’s newly textured back panel and has a sharp 8-megapixel camera that has both autofocus and can shoot Full HD in 1080p. Playback with DNLA over WiFi a/b/g/n is straightforward, but wtihout an HDMI port, it could prove problematic for the unitiated to enjoy video streaming otherwise. Viewing wise, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 couldn’t swing a Super AMOLED Plus display like it’s Galaxy S II little brother. That would’ve blown the price point out of the water. But the TFT LCD screen does it’s best to be sharp and colorful even when viewing at an angle. Still no word yet on price, but it’s scheduled to hit European stores in March through Vodafone.     [via SlashGear] )
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| Samsung Galaxy S II Hands-on [Video] Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:35 PM PST The gang at SlashGear got a hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S II recently. As you recall, Samsung set record sales revenues in 2010, driven by Android devices like the original Galaxy S. So, with part II, it’s safe to say that Samsung isn’t resting on their laurels with this attractive sequel. Here’s what stands out …
Thanks to it’s killer specs: 4.27-inch Super AMOLED plus display, 8 megapixel rear facing camera with 1080p full HD recording and dual-core 1Ghz processor, the Galaxy S II is seamless, narrow and fast. The Super AMOLED screen is seriously crisp and vibrant in color and clarity. Running Gingerbread in concert with TouchWiz 4 on top, the interface has gotten more mature and easier to navigate through. In addition to giving TouchWiz a nip and tuck, Samsung is also planning to incorporate media “hubs” for entertainment, movies, gameplay and more. The Galaxy S II will arrive in Europe and Asia later in the month. Sadly, the US won’t get to play just yet.     [via SlashGear] )
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| Twelve new Android phones coming to AT&T Posted: 15 Feb 2011 02:12 PM PST The old axiom that the universe hates a vaccum looks to be true with AT&T. Looking to fill a gaping hole left by their now defunct exclusive iPhone deal, AT&T is looking to HTC to provide up to twelve smartphones. And not only that, but these phones will have a serious Facebook presence on them, thereby referring to them as “Facebook Phones.”
Though the phones will not be the HTC Salsa or ChaCha models announced today, the phones will be similar in that they will have Facebook interactivity at the touch of a button. This will include status updates and photo and link sharing. In addition to the HTC phones, AT&T will also be offering Android smartphones from Samsung, the Motorola Atrix phone and Xoom tablet. [via All Things Digital] )
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| Doubletwist turns Android into a Media Server Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:59 PM PST There’s been an upgrade to the popular DoubleTwist AirSync app which adds a serious new feature that Android phones can take advantage of. Using the feature known as “AirTwist,” Android phones can now stream video wirelessly to a TV through an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 game console. More DLNA devices are also coming.
Once enabled, the AirTwist feature in the DoubleTwist app makes the user’s Android device appear on the game platform’s media menu where it can stream movies, photos and music directly to the TV . The upgrade is free and is compatible with devices running Android 1.6 and above. [via Phone Scoop] )
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| Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:46 PM PST There’s a new MotoBlur UI coming to Motorola Android Phones. Some phones, like the Atrix 4G will receive the new UI through an update, while others will have it shipped on device later this year. Many of the upgraded features include enhanced photo-sharing and media syncing and location based social interaction.
Other feature updates include: There will also be push notification options when friends comment.
[viaUnwired View] )
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| Solar Powered Phone takes a giant leap for Android kind Posted: 15 Feb 2011 01:01 PM PST The Umeox Apollo Solar Powered phone is slick looking, I’ll give it that. Running on Android, it takes about 2.5 hours of sunlight to recharge from a day’s use, trickling the phone with current throughout the day. But if it’s dead, it’ll take nearly 17 hours of continuous sunlight to bring it back to life. There are plans for two models: one for the US (MTK6573) with support for 850/1900Mhz bands, and one (MTK6516) that works in Europe and much of Asia.
Here’s a breakdown of the specs: * 3.2″ 320×480 Display Green initiatives aside, why would someone need a smartphone that is powered by the sun? Well, there are cases, like hiking, where a solar option is ideal. I myself have had to charge my phone while camping with my son’s scout den. And it was a frustrating affair since the sun moves and the phone doesn’t. And then there’s that pesky cloud thing. Then again, traveling out of the country, there’s concern over power issues and converters. So being able to just leave the phone near a window that has sunlight when not in use is quite beneficial. But a 3MP camera is sort of ho hum. And considering the abuse that a cellphone can get riding in a pocket or purse, will that kind of work cause a drop in how well it charges? Would a protective case help or hinder the sun’s transmission of solar power? It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on to see how well it performs or if the idea will catch on. [via SlashGear] )
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| Android 2.x (Ice Cream) to be Honeycomb for smartphones Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:10 PM PST During his keynote address, Google’s outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt clarified speculation that’s been buzzing around MWC about the next Android OS for mobile. Schmidt said that for this unnamed future OS (which he says starts with an “I” and is a dessert [Ice Cream or Ice Cream Sandwich, obviously],) Google is going to apply some of the lessons and features learned in writing Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) for tablets. The future will still contain two separate versions of OS, that being a tablet track and a smartphone track, but they’ll be much more compatible upon the release of whichever version is next for mobile.
Scmidt also went on to say that current Android updates are on a six month cycle (Gingerbread was released last December with the Google Nexus S but hasn’t really populated to nearly the % of users on Froyo.) Keeping with the six month cycle, the next version of Android for mobile (be it 2.5, 2.6, or so on) may get leapfrogged and a new update released in April instead. [via SlashGear] )
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