Friday, February 18, 2011

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

PhanCast #36: Live in Barcelona at 8:30PM

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 05:23 PM PST

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So we’re still in Barcelona and we’re having a good time. Sweet! And to take a break from all the touristy stuff we’ve been doing and all of the… “business” we’ve been doing at certain Irish… “establishments”, we’re going to jump on another episode of the Phandroid podcast. No one seems to know how, but we’ve made it to episode 36, and while it may be one of the most random episodes we’ve ever done, it’s going to be just as entertaining as any of them. (Are any of them even entertaining? I wouldn’t know.) Anyway, it’s episode 36 and you’ll probably want to listen in if you need some entertainment tonight.

Listen to internet radio with phandroid on Blog Talk Radio

[Update: WalMart, Too] Samsung Galaxy S 4G Shipping Feb. 23 From Wirefly, Presales Start Today

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 11:44 AM PST

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Wirefly has published their presale plans for T-Mobile’s Samsung Galaxy S 4G, an HSPA+ enabled follow-up  to the Samsung Vibrant You can get the phone a bit cheaper than you would get it from T-Mobile, and it should be on your doorstep sometime next week. Click on through to Wirefly to check it out.

[Update] And now Wal-Mart is starting to get their devices in, though they aren’t allowed to put it up for sale until February 23rd – just like Wirefly. Awesome. Let us know if any of you are planning to grab this up. [TmoNews]

Twidroyd Won’t Let You Tweet?

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 11:30 AM PST

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Many of you have probably tried tweeting form Twidroyd in the past 24 hours. Many of you have also probably been met with errors as your frustration rises. The reason behind that is because Twitter suspended them for policy and privacy violations, according to RWW.

Here’s an excerpt from the official statement they put out:

We have suspended UberTwitter and twidroyd for violating our policies.

Every day, we suspend hundreds of applications that are in violation of our policies. Generally, these apps are used by a small number of users. We are taking the unusual step of sharing this with you because today’s suspension may affect a larger number of users.

We are committed to helping you continue to use Twitter during the disruption of these applications. You can download Twitter for Blackberry, Twitter for Android and other official Twitter apps here. You can also try our mobile web site or apps from other third-party developers.

So there you have it. Twitter didn’t go into detail about why Twidroyd – along with UberTwitter on Blackberry – was suspended, and Twidroyd has yet to get back to RWW on the issue. The only thing we can do is tell you to try another Twitter application. I hear TweetDeck is pretty nice these days.

Motorola Atrix 4G Pre-Orders Already Shipping, Is Yours?

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 11:12 AM PST

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This just in from our own AndroidForums: Several members are confirming that their Motorola Atrix 4G pre-orders have begun shipping as of today, with the handset expected to arrive early next week (or sooner). This lines right up with the now confirmed street date of February 22nd, though initial reports seemed to indicate phones bought on pre-order wouldn’t ship until the 21st. The majority of those seeing their orders shipped are AT&T premier customers, though there have been a few instances where that wasn’t the case.

If you pre-ordered the Atrix and want a place to say “Mine shipped, too!” sound off below (or over at the AndroidForums thread). Who’s ready for some laptop-docking action?

[Thanks, Roze!]

Android Market Text Looking a Bit Clearer? Update Changes Fonts for High-Res Displays

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:59 AM PST

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Blink and you’d miss this one. Or maybe it should be ‘go about using Android Market as usual and you will probably still miss this one.’ And that’s a good thing. The Android Market has gotten a slight tweak to better its appearance on higher-res displays with the change of font for display text. Compare the old on the left to the new on the right.

Again, nothing major, but it is looking a bit more crisp and clear, if a bit smaller. But as a big aesthetics nut I will take anything that has a final aim of making the OS I use look prettier.

[via EuroDroid]

Lenovo LePad Coming June, $400 Bucks Or So

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:51 AM PST

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Lenovo launched an Android phone called the LePhone in Asian markets last year and now they’ve got a tablet called the Lenovo LePad they’re on the brink of releasing. We already knew the IdeaPad U1 Android/Windows hybrid would launch in June for $999 and now we’re hearing the LePad will be priced at $400 or so and also see a June release.

Check out our preview of the LePad at CES:

I find it hard to believe the LePad will only cost $400 but I’d be pleasantly surprised if that ends up being the price. Whether or not it’ll run (or upgrade to) Android 3.0 is also a concern of mine. I just don’t see how the LePad would cost 2.5 times the Hybrid – and keep in mind most higher end Android tablets are going for much more than $400.

I’ve always liked Lenovo devices but, beyond their laptops, they don’t have much of an American focus. Even in the states, Lenovo hardware seems to be quite rare and doesn’t enjoy the type of brand equity others have created. While the product is great, it isn’t always easy to break into foreign markets regardless of your international reputation – just ask Nokia.

Either way, we’ll be excited for both the Ideapad and LePad to launch in the United States and it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against the other newly announced Android tablets. As we’ve seen with the excitement of the Atrix, there seems to be a market for the tablet/laptop/phone hybrid and Lenovo’s devices seem to mix the environments quite well.

[Via PCworld, CrunchGear]

Bluetooth Sharing with the Speed of NFC Now Possible Thanks to Android 2.3.3

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:50 AM PST

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How many times have you wanted to transfer something like a picture, webpage, or contact information between your phone and another device only to find that the process often requires multiple steps and isn’t very quick at all. Sure, things like Chrome to Phone and apps like Bump have made the process easier, but in the latest release of Android Gingerbread, version 2.3.3, APIs are now available that combine NFC and Bluetooth technology to create instant sharing simply by tapping devices together.

It works by avoiding the normal pairing process associated with Bluetooth and setting up a temporary socket between devices by sharing the pertinent information quickly via NFC. In a world where this tech is fully realized, tapping your phone to another enabled device such as a laptop or tablet could pop open the  whatever you are currently browsing on your phone on a larger device, a trick that hasn’t been touted nearly as much as the payment solution that NFC provides.

NFC technology is just starting to come into its own, and really won’t break out until it becomes more prevalent in our every day lives as a means of payment and sharing information, but we are glad that Google is staying ahead of the curve on this one.

[via Engadget]

Sports Illustrated Thunderbolt Ad Set to Roll Next Week

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:50 AM PST

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This Thunderbolt craze is starting to make us nauseous, but here goes: the February 21st issue of Sports Illustrated is set to roll a full-paged HTC Thunderbolt ad. It doesn’t give many details, but if we take what we know about mobile phone advertising – that the trend lately has been to go public a few days before launch – then we might assume that the Thunderbolt’s rumored 24th launch was never in limbo to begin with. Then again, we’ve seen ads online already. But then again, online ads usually do come out a good deal earlier than print, radio, or television ads. Whatever. We just want our freaking Thunderbolt already. [via Zifnab]

White Xperia Play is Exclusive to O2 in the UK

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:42 AM PST

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We’d already heard there was a white version of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play coming out, but we didn’t think anything of it. It seems not everyone will be able to get it, though, as O2 UK has announced that it has exclusive rights to carry the alternate device in that part of the world. It’s not a huge slap in the face to anyone who was looking forward to it – it’s just a color – but it’s something to think about if you’re conscious of that sort of thing. [via Engadget]

Samsung Vibrant’s 2.2 Source Uploaded, Too

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:31 AM PST

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First we just got the source code for Sprint’s Samsung EPIC 4G froyo update and official word that it’d be rolling out February 21st, and now we’ve learned that Samsung has also uploaded the source code for T-Mobile’s Samsung Vibrant Samsung and T-Mobile had already released an update for the Vibrant through Mini Kies, but considering they didn’t push it out over the air, we all considered that unofficial, in a sense. No more talking needs to be done: go grab that source. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

[Update: Feb 21. Rollout Official] Epic 4G Froyo Source Code Finally Publicized

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:05 AM PST

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It’s been a long wait, hasn’t it? We’ve been waiting for official word from either Sprint or Samsung on the upgrade to Android 2.2 for the Samsung EPIC 4G While today’s publishing of build EB13′s source code isn’t exactly an over the air upgrade, it tells us we’re as close as close can be. And not only that – wonderful developers at XDA can start making ROMs based on it. All is well in that corner of the Galaxy S world, it seems. Now let’s try to get folks on T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon situated. [via XDA, Thanks Ninja!]

[Update]: And we’ve now got confirmation from Sprint themselves. An admin on their forum says to expect this update starting February 21st, though you may have to wait from anytime between then and the 25th to actually get it as it’ll be a staggered process. Go ahead, you can party in the streets. [Sprint, via Android Forums]

Words With Friends Update Allows You to Disable Sound, Customize Notifications

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 02:23 AM PST

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The folks at Zynga have released a new upgrade to Words with Friends for Android. At first glance it doesn’t seem to add much, but it does add two new features that will make life easier for a number of users: the ability to disable sound and customizable notification options that allows you to set the move-check interval or disable notifications altogether. Go ahead and find the update in the Android Market.

Priced for Pre-Order at Amazon: Xperia Play, Arc, Neo & HTC Wildfire S, Desire S, Incredible S, Flyer

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 02:06 AM PST

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Amazon Germany has listed a bunch of phones announced at Mobile World Congress for purchase and pre-order and since many of them haven’t had pricing announced yet, we thought you’d be eager to see what they’re going for at Amazon:

  • Xperia Play – 649 EUR ($882 USD)
  • Xperia Arc – 599 EUR ($814 USD)
  • Xperia Neo – 479 EUR ($651 USD)
  • Wildfire S – (299 EUR ($406)
  • Desire S – 499 EUR ($678 USD)
  • Incredible S – 519 EUR ($705 USD)
  • HTC Flyer – 669 EUR ($909 USD)

We’ve seen other prices on these devices at various Amazon country strores – some of them conflicting – but we’re guessing this has something to do with contracts, premium pricing for pre-orders and other elements. All these devices are looking really expensive if you ask me. If Sanjay Jha got abused for the XOOM’s $800 pricetag than what about Peter Chou for a $900+ Flyer?

Hopefully on contract these drop dramatically, and they will, because there is no way anyone is paying $400+ dollars for the Wildfire S. We’ll let you know when official prices come in.

[Thanks Juhani!]

Sprint May Be Forced to Switch to LTE Soon

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 01:48 AM PST

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Sprint’s been having a lot of trouble lighting up new WiMax towers as of late – it’s been a REALLY, REALLY long time since we last saw another city get 4G. Part of it is due to Clearwire’s financial situation that’s all but frozen their efforts to expand their WiMax offering.

If you thought Sprint might have wanted to consider LTE before because of the situation, then you’ll be happy to learn that they’ll probably have no choice. PC World caught up with Sprint’s Bob Azzi, who is their senior vice president of networks.

If Sprint wanted to move on without Clearwire, then they’d have to use LTE technology because the spectrum they own will soon only be compatible with LTE after a rebanding occurs. They’ll go from 120MHz in the 1900MHz band to 14MHz in the 800MHz band.

And the conversion wouldn’t be hard at all, says PC World, as all it’ll take is installing new baseband cards at their network facilities and running a software upgrade. It’s clear Sprint’s hand is being gripped so tightly that they’re looking to make a major move – any major move – sometime this year. And fortunately for Sprint users, an LTE conversion might be the only route to go.

Motorola Atrix 4G System Dump Now Available

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 01:47 AM PST

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The Motorola Atrix 4G is still a few days away from release, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get an up close and personal look at the software contents of the handset. The Atrix 4G’s system dump just came online last night giving us a look at what sort of goodies we can expect to come nestled on the phone’s memory. Interestingly, the Olympus codename can still be found scattered throughout the contents.

You can find the whole thing over at AndroidForums, and reading through the thread will bring you to ringtones, wallpapers, and the boot animation if you are interested in grabbing any of those goods for yourself. Here’s a look at the boot animation picked up and running on a Samsung Captivate

Not the flashiest of start up animations, but they had me at dual core. Check it all out via the source link below.

[via AndroidForums]
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