Android Community |
- Angry Birds Nailed by The Oatmeal
- ThunderBolt Available in HTC Store, But No Checkout
- Record Calls on your Galaxy S
- SlingPlayer for Android updates with HQ Video mode
- Firefox 4 Beta for Android “really” is that much faster
- Sony creates ultra-fast phone camera packed with MP
- Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play to get extra attention at GDC 2011
- Gingerbread update adjusts colors in Nexus S
- Sprint suspends Epic 4G Froyo roll-out
- Android Gaming: Vendetta Online for Tegra 2
- CyanogenMod 7 gets a beautiful Statusbar Pulldown Mod
- Push App helps Facebook and Twitter users save battery life
| Angry Birds Nailed by The Oatmeal Posted: 25 Feb 2011 04:20 PM PST Do you know about The Oatmeal? They’re a pretty awesome group of folks who make illustrations and have an awesome, awesome blog. Occasionally they post something rather relevant to Android, like this Angry Birds infographic, and we just cannot resist. Take a peek at the first bit here, then go down the scale to the least likable birds in the pack. Can you guess which ones they are?
I’d have to say that this is basically the most accurate chart about the likability of Angry Birds that I’ve ever seen. From top to bottom, with the exception of that red bird, who I just cannot believe continues to come up later in the game, even fat, and think should be at the bottom of the chart, this chart is great. I must mention though that I don’t speak for everyone on our team, each person in the Android Community is of course an individual, and since this topic is an important one, I’ll leave it up to them to decide on their ideal chart.
Now you might notice the lack of a couple of birds on this chart. That is because we’ve left the tail end off as it is so common that someone will take a “The Oatmeal” chart in its entirety without linking back. In this case, we’ve decided to be incredibly noble and leave the last bit to them to display right over [here]. [via The Oatmeal] )
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| ThunderBolt Available in HTC Store, But No Checkout Posted: 25 Feb 2011 03:34 PM PST An intrepid or otherwise heavily obsessed fan of the upcoming HTC ThunderBolt has been poking around the HTC store online, today finding a way to actually get the ThunderBolt in their cart. Sadly, all this amounts to is shattered dreams as the phone is just in the system, not available for purchase. To do this, all you’ve got to do is copy an address, paste an address, change a number, and submit! So simple. Maybe it’s better that you don’t even try it – no more tears.
The following is the method our tipper friend “asdfasdf,” also known as “anonymous,” the real anonymous, not the hacker group, has used to attain the goal image you see above. Have a look and try it out yourself!
All of this is of course done over at http://www.shopamerica.htc.com/, a place where they clearly enter in objects well(?) before they’re ready to roll. Have a look at ALL of the rest of the dates and pushbacks via our bit fat [HTC ThunderBolt] portal – so many dates! )
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| Posted: 25 Feb 2011 02:33 PM PST Like we often talk about, the devs over at XDA Developers are hard at work like they always are. This time XDA member antsm has developed a modification of the Phone.apk that will allow users to record phone calls. This is still very much a work in progress like many things and will only get better with time. He is working on it for the Galaxy S but once it gets working better I’m sure it can be added to many other devices.
Features include: * Automatic call recording for incoming/outgoing calls Like I mentioned above this is still a work in progress. Things will likely improve and be easier as time goes on. I’d also like to point out that like always when messing with sensitive parts of your phone such as the Phone.apk be sure to do a nandroid backup before changing anything so you can always revert if needed. [via XDA Developers] )
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| SlingPlayer for Android updates with HQ Video mode Posted: 25 Feb 2011 02:17 PM PST Slingbox has updated it’s popular SlingPlayer for Android app and added a high quality video mode for those who love to watch their TV on the go. In addition, the new update fixes a connectivity issue that some T-Mobile and Motorola Atrix users have been frustrated with. And users can now enjoy a full screen mode when on composite, s-video and coax inputs.
Sling is a really cool technology that marries TV to the Internet and makes it possible to not only stream video, but watch live TV. When connecting over 3G or WiFi to a Slingbox Solo or Pro HD box, the SlingPlayer software can allow users to watch live TV on their Android phone, change channels and even control their DVRs. Adding a high quality video also future proofs the app, which is looking to take advantage of 4G networks and future dual core processors for more serious HD video quality. The only thing stopping them are the arbitrary bandwidth limitations by the wireless providers. But at least WiFi doesn’t stop them. The SlingPlayer app isn’t cheap at $30, but considering the ability to watch your favorite sporting event live wherever you go, it’s a bargain. Check it out in the Android Marketplace.    )
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| Firefox 4 Beta for Android “really” is that much faster Posted: 25 Feb 2011 02:17 PM PST Yesterday we told you about the Firefox 4 Beta 5 for Android that was released to the Android Market yesterday morning. Mozilla claims they have not only made it more stable, and more efficient. They also mentioned two things that are a huge part of what browser I use on my Android Phone and that is speed, and size. With each beta release the browser has got a little faster, and the file size once installed has got a little smaller. When it was first released to beta it was slow and huge and not able to transfer to your SD card. Things have changed with the last few updates and Mozilla and Firefox are well on their way to having a great browser for mobile.
So just how fast is the latest beta 5. FAST! We here have been testing it ourselves and I used it for most of the night. Things seem to be steadily improving in all those area’s they mentioned. Above we have a graph for you that is showing Firefox 4 Beta 5 on multiple devices all showing significant speed improvements. Tested on the Galaxy S, the Nexus S and One, as well as the Galaxy Tab for a wide variety of models and Android versions. Seems to be pretty stable and fast across the board. Take into consideration this is just one test out of many. They also had a graph of the Javascript V8 Engine with similar performance improvements. Whether you plan to change browsers or not, it’s always fun to try new things and I recommend giving it a little test drive. For those using Firefox as a daily driver, check out this Add-On called Quit Fennec that will close the browser completely to conserve battery rather than use a task killer. [via AndroidCentral] )
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| Sony creates ultra-fast phone camera packed with MP Posted: 25 Feb 2011 02:04 PM PST Sony is developing a camera phone sensor with the serious photographer in mind. The new sensor is packed with nearly 18 MP and can fire off high speed burst photographs. Traditionally, phone camera sensors bog down in speed, but Sony has developed a technique where the camera can process pixels in parallel, which takes up to 75 percent less time to generate an image.
In addition to high speed photography, the CMOS based sensor will be able to do half speed video, and option never before available in a camera phone resulting in video imaging at 120 frames per second. Naturally, it would depend on phone processor strength and storage capability and more likely, the added speed would be used for continuous still image photography at lower resolutions. No word on when the the new sensor will make it’s way into the cellphone of the future, but Sony also says it plans on using the new technology in it’s Cyber-shot point and shoot platforms. [via Electronista] )
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| Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play to get extra attention at GDC 2011 Posted: 25 Feb 2011 01:20 PM PST Back at Mobile World Congress 2011 Sony Ericsson officially announced the Xperia Play. Dubbed the “Playstation Phone” it has been leaked time and time again and still looks to be a killer device. Especially for those Android Gamers. Come next week at Game Developers Conference 2011 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the Xperia PLAY will most likely get some extra attention during two special GDC sessions featuring Kim Ahlstrom. He leads Sony Ericsson's Platform Software Development team.
Kim Ahlstrom will host or be a main speaker in two session. One being the “Gaming Just Got Smarter” on Wednesday, March 2, 10:30-11:30 am (Room 309, Esplanade) at GDC, and the other will be a key speaker for the session, “Traditional Games and the New Social World” on Thursday, March 3, 1:30-2:30 pm (Room 123, North Hall). There is plenty of good things to come from GDC and Sony Ericsson and I can only imagine all these sessions will only help the cause. Like I said in a post earlier today about gaming on Android. Things are about to get exciting, interesting, and can only get better from here. For those that are able to make it out to GDC 2011 this year be sure to stop by the Sony Ericsson booth (#608) on the exhibition floor to get a hands-on demo of the Xperia PLAY and the lineup of other Xperia™ devices. For those that can’t make it, you can watch our very own Xperia Play Hands-On. [via Sony Ericsson Blog] )
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| Gingerbread update adjusts colors in Nexus S Posted: 25 Feb 2011 01:20 PM PST Nexus S users enjoying the pure Google experience may find the colors a bit muted after upgrading their OS to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Additionally, some users are complaining that colors seem washed. Google says that the colors in the Gingerbread update reflect an adjustment to the color temperature settings. The adjustment makes the Gingerbread UI darker which directly affects how the colors themselves are perceived.
It’s great that Google seems to be listening to users who found issues with the lower brightness levels affecting how the colors look and as such, tweaked the color temperature to make them look more accurate. But color gamut is a tricky thing and is always subjective. Many users may not like the new color temperature settings because they’re used to the way it looks. And although Google is trying to be proactive, the responses from users in the Google support forum indicate that more adjustments may be needed. [via Google Support Forums] )
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| Sprint suspends Epic 4G Froyo roll-out Posted: 25 Feb 2011 12:59 PM PST Yesterday, we posted a work around for Spring Epic 4G users who were having trouble with the Android 2.2 (Froyo) upgrade. The issues were reported to be with data connectivity to the SD card and failure to access photos, music etc. The work around revolved a hard reset. But it seems now that the issue is more involved than previously thought as Sprint has completely suspended the Froyo roll-out until they can figure out where the issue really lies.
In addition to the Epic 4Gs microSD card not being recognized, many users have been reporting apps, including the camera app, force closing. Data connection issues still persists and there’s also sync issues with the Calendar app. Sprint is currently working with Samsung to troubleshoot the situation. Meanwhile, those who already undergone the Froyo update, can use the reset options outlined in our article yesterday, as well as a ##RTN reset. Fore more information, users are advised to visit the CE Device portal for more information at RSP>Service & Repair> CE Device Portal > Device Solutions. [via Android Guys] )
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| Android Gaming: Vendetta Online for Tegra 2 Posted: 25 Feb 2011 12:27 PM PST Vendetta Online looks to be an amazing game, Brought to us by Guild Software. Android Gaming is about to get much more exciting over the next few weeks and months. With the onslaught of Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual Core phones and tablets things are surely to get interesting. Tegra 2 is a very powerful Dual Core 1 Ghz processor as you all know, and it will be one of the main factors in taking Android gaming to the next level and more as we prepare to start the rise to beat iPhone in gaming.
Vendetta Online is a port of the very same game for PC and Mac, and it will soon be available in Beta for Android. It was shown around a little at CES and now it has appeared in the Verizon Motorola Xoom Commercial. The game will require a Tegra 2 device and it is suggested to play on a tablet such as the Xoom but will also work on phones as well. Check out some gameplay footage in the Motorola Xoom Commercial below, then followed with a HD clip of Vendetta Online for PC which has a similar look and feel. Edit: If the first two video’s weren’t enough. Here’s a bit of a demo as recorded at CES 2011, we’ll have much more on the actual final build for Honeycomb here at AC soon.
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| CyanogenMod 7 gets a beautiful Statusbar Pulldown Mod Posted: 25 Feb 2011 11:26 AM PST With the ever so changing and continued development by the amazing TeamDouche Developers, CyanogenMod is always improving. They add things daily and push nightly builds for all you crack flashers like myself. With the quick development we at times run into issues where things like MOD’s or Morphs don’t work or are outdated. It’s good they move so fast, but a bad thing for those that like to personalize their Android phone. Those that follow some of the pulldown status bar mod’s for CM7 I’m sure you all know who @rorifree is. If not, he is the man behind this great looking MOD.
Lucky for us the developer rori~ is always updating and keeping track of his MOD so it always seems to be working perfect. For those looking for a good statusbar mod but can’t find one that is almost always compatible with nightly CM7 builds. This MOD is for you. If you read the thread Rori mentions that it should work with all CM7 Nightly’s after the RC1. He also has confirmed it working perfectly with these said phones but should work for all official CM7 phones: * LeoGingerBread The new design includes: * Gingerbread themed icons Not only does it look excellent, but he also gives you a few options on how it will look. The image above you can see the “Clear” button now spans the entire bottom. That is how I have mine. If you’d like it how it was on the side only, rori~ has also included that version as well. Use file HDPI_v1.5F for the full clear bar, and v1.5L for it on the left like default. For more information you can check out the thread over on the XDA Forums. As always with a MOD or a Zip, Do a nandroid backup first and use Caution. Latest Download Files: * PulldownMod_HDPI_v1.5F.zip [via XDA-Developers] )
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| Push App helps Facebook and Twitter users save battery life Posted: 25 Feb 2011 11:01 AM PST Tired of having to sync his Android device every give minutes to update his Twitter and Facebook feeds, XDA developer “rosenbaa29″ has found a workaround thanks to an app called “PUSHEE.” The app is designed to bypass the automatic refresh cycle of apps like Facebook and Twitter, which can drain an Android battery pretty quickly. Still in it’s BETA stage, Pushee is the first ever social push notification app for Android designed to save battery power and notifies users by push notification, rather than sync.
Here’s how it works. Instead of your Android phone checking the Facebook/Twitter servers for updates, Pushee’s servers check your accounts every 60-90 seconds. When an update is found, a push message is sent to your phone. The result, is no battery drain. Course, that means users have to give log in information to Pushee, but that’s nothing new with third party apps. Users wishing to give Pushee a try can get it at the Pushee Development page. To install, make sure the “Unknown Sources” tab in Settings -> Application screen before downloading to allow installation this app. [via XDA Developers] )
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