Android Community |
- Droid X and Droid 2 Get Root in Addition to Gingerbread
- T-Mobile assures customers, answers questions about the merger
- Cool Verizon spot races onto TVs
- Firefox 4.0 for Android Download Available Now
- HTC ThunderBolt Kernel Source Revealed
- LG Optimus Big Revealed – 4.3″ NOVA Display in Tow
- Lenovo second-gen LePad tablet due by October tips CEO
- Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi-only P1010 ships March 31 tips Amazon
- Google Lands Java Creator James Gosling
- Amazon Launches Cloud Player for Android
- Olympic Paint offers ColorClix app for Android
- Sony Ericsson unlocking bootloader for some 2011 Android phones
- European launch for HTC EVO 3D confirmed says HTC France
- Sprint officially opposed AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
- LG Optimus V Hands-On and Unboxing [SUPER CUTE!]
- Angry Birds … the Movie?
- Android gets booted into the HTC Touch Pro 2
| Droid X and Droid 2 Get Root in Addition to Gingerbread Posted: 29 Mar 2011 10:13 AM PDT You remember a couple days ago when those fine folks at MyDroidWorld gave a leaked Gingerbread build to both the Motorola Droid X and the Motorola Droid 2? Well check it out, they didn’t stop there, they went on to ROOT both of those builds, and now that root can be yours!
You’re going to have to go through a similar process to what you did when you first grabbed Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread from these same fine folks, so this time it shouldn’t seem like such a hassle if you’d never before done such a thing. Beware, even though these guys and gals know what they’re doing, you should always take the utmost caution when doing some sweet hacks such as these. The process you go through to install either one of these builds can mess up your device real quick! That said, head over to the thread called Droid 2 Gingerbread (2.3.3) – Release – PreRooted for the Droid 2 release, or head straight to the thread called Droid X Gingerbread (2.3.3) – Release – PreRooted for the build on Droid X. Let us know how it goes! )
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| T-Mobile assures customers, answers questions about the merger Posted: 29 Mar 2011 10:03 AM PDT T-Mobile has come out with assurances that customers of both AT&T and T-Mobile will see improved performance and more widespread 4G LTE deployment with the merger of both companies. C.O.O. Jim Alling explains that merging both companies allows for deployment of a “robust” 4G LTE network to 95% of the US population. Without the merger, neither company could accomplish this goal within the same time-frame. Alling also promises improved voice and data performance almost immediately after the networks are integrated.
AT&T announced last week that it was buying T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion in cash and stock. The merger is expected to take at least a year to undergo FCC approval and meanwhile, T-Mobile assures customers that the network will remain both an independent company and competitor to Ma Bell. But users have had questions Alling goes on to address several of them, including upgrading user phones to AT&T devices. Alling says that T-Mobile has no plans to alter their 3G/4G network in a manner that would render customer phones obsolete. The integration of T-Mobile’s network into AT&Ts is expect to take several years and will be phased so that users can replace phones according to the natural retirement of their contracts. Alling goes on to say that now is a great time to upgrade phones as the merger will mean even stronger service and more variety of phone choices. Alling also has interesting answer to the question if the “Get More network” will be getting the iPhone. He completely dodges the question, rather saying T-Mobile will offer cutting edge 4G devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Sidekick 4G, and G-Slate tablet. T-Mobile also says that the merger does not effect T-Mobile’s 4G network roll out plans. Currently, while claiming to be America’s largest 4G Network, T-Mobile is planning to expand to more than two dozen markets including Las Vegas, New York and Orlando starting this week. )
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| Cool Verizon spot races onto TVs Posted: 29 Mar 2011 09:32 AM PDT If you’re an Indy racing fan, Verizon has a cool new service that will help you keep up on your favorite racing team … Team Verizon! The spot is for the Indy Car Mobile app, which follows the IZOD Indy Car Series. With the app, users can listen to in car audio, keep track of races with leader boards, highlights, and even special tweets from the drivers (I hope while not racing!). Upcoming features to include live in-car camera for Verizon sponsored drivers, press conference streaming and Indy Car Nation exclusive content. According to the YouTube page, the app currently follows Indy racers Will Power, Helio Castroneves & Ryan Briscoe.
The spot features the HTC Thunderbolt, but according to the Indy Car Mobile App site, it’s not available for the Thunderbolt just yet. The app is, however, available for Motorola Droid phones, HTC Incredible and Droid Eris, LG Ally and Vortex, and Samsung Fascinate, Continuum, and Gem phones. In addition to the HTC Thunderbolt, the app will be coming soon to the HTC Merge, and the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tablets. If you have one of these phones, you can text INDY to 3406 to download the app. Text and data rates apply. But you can also download it from the Android Market. The app is free to all supported users.      )
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| Firefox 4.0 for Android Download Available Now Posted: 29 Mar 2011 08:58 AM PDT Behold the newest version of Firefox for Android, Firefox 4, or 4.0 if you prefer, a browser that Mozilla is saying is clocking in at three times the speed of Android’s stock browser. They say there’s JavaScript engine tweaks (this is what’d make it much faster,) tabbed browsing (I hope so!), Firefox Sync, and yes, add ons! They’ve added an official walkthrough video of the new features and we’ve got it for you here below – descend upon it while you download the massive 13MB file from the Android Market!
Included in this new release is Firefox Sync, a sister that pulls all your desktop bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, form data, and passwords to your mobile version, back to your desktop version, and back and forth again forever into infinity! This means you’ll only have to log into YouTube or Facebook in one place and you’ll be good to go anywhere you go! We’re happy there’s some HTML5 support in the mix, but sad to see a lack of Flash support. Surely this will be cooked up soon. Oddly enough, this new version is also being offered up for Maemo, a Nokia software platform also made for mobile devices. Check out the big list of new items here in this official release, take a peek at that video, then check your download because if it’s not done by now, you’re not on a fast enough network – truth!    )
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| HTC ThunderBolt Kernel Source Revealed Posted: 29 Mar 2011 08:37 AM PDT It appears that HTC has gotten quite wise in the ways of the open market, releasing this week the kernel source for the HTC ThunderBolt. For those of you who know what this means, head below for the link directly connecting you to the files you’ll be needing to hack up the world. For those of you that don’t, let me break it down as simply as it needs to be broken down: between the applications you use and the hardware you use your applications on, there’s a kernel. A kernel is the central component of your Android operating system – with it, you can do just about anything.
Why ladies and gentlemen of the hacker and developer community ought to be excited about this news bit is that with the HTC ThunderBolt kernel, they’ll be able change and edit basically anything inside the phone, creating custom kernels as well as ROMs to suite even the most wildly finicky smartphone users desires. You can grab the kernel for yourself over at HTC’s Developer Center where they’ve very generously provided it. If and when you do download this kernel and find wonderful things or decide to develop with it, creating wonderful dreams and nightmares of builds for the HTC ThunderBolt, please feel free to let us know, we’d be glad to explore what you’ve got and write up a post about it! On the other hand, you could also post your tinkering over in our [HTC ThunderBolt Portal] in the discussion forums! [via XDA] )
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| LG Optimus Big Revealed – 4.3″ NOVA Display in Tow Posted: 29 Mar 2011 08:24 AM PDT For those of you paying rather close attention, you’ll remember back a few months ago when we showed you the LG Optimus Black, an Android handset that employed a brand new NOVA display. That phone had a 4-inch screen, was said to be carrying Android 2.2 Froyo, and will be coming in at 6mm at its thinnest point. What we’ve got here is a big brother to that, codename Optimus Big, a 4.3″ monster that’ll be coming out on an LG U+ carrier in Korea starting in April 2011. Will it be coming to the states? We hope so!
On the other hand, it does have kind of a cheesy looking white casing around it. But then again, maybe it’ll come to the Western world in a nice silver or black? And what’s this NOVA all about, you might be asking? A NOVA panel, LG says, is one that saves around 50 percent of the power usage when compared to a normal LCD, but still burns bright at 700nits brightness (that’s BRIGHT!) This phone’s only other released detail is also a leak (right alongside the image we’ve got above which comes from Xportsnews, is that this phone will be released with a 1GHz single-core chipset. Perhaps to make the case for as long lasting a battery as possible. And what version of Android will it be running? More than likely the same situation that’s true of the Black will be true here: Android 2.2 at launch, upgradable to 2.3 Gingerbread when it becomes available though whichever carrier this phone is carried on. This phone look familiar to anyone? Perhaps a different manufacturer? [via PhoneArena] )
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| Lenovo second-gen LePad tablet due by October tips CEO Posted: 29 Mar 2011 05:54 AM PDT Lenovo’s second-generation LePad tablet will arrive in September or October 2011, according to company CEO Yang Yuanqing. While the exec failed to detail any of the new tablet’s hardware specifications – we’re guessing it will continue to use Android as the OS – he did say that it would be slimmer than the current model.
Interestingly, Yuanqing also revealed that the new model had been developed in parallel with the existing LePad, with a different team taking responsibility for its design. It’s not the first talk we’ve heard of a tablet OEM looking to shift around control of a tablet project in an attempt to better take on the iPad 2, though Lenovo hasn’t said anything about changing the second LePad’s focus, only that the decision helped ready the new model in just nine months. The CEO also suggested that Lenovo’s two advantages in China were brand recognition and pricing, which suggests the second-gen model will also undercut the iPad 2. [via Engadget] )
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| Samsung Galaxy Tab WiFi-only P1010 ships March 31 tips Amazon Posted: 29 Mar 2011 04:49 AM PDT Amazon UK is taking pre-orders for the WiFi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab P1010, with the 7-inch slate expected to begin shipping on March 31. Priced at £299 ($477), the P1010 is £100 less than the unlocked, SIM-free 3G version that has been on sale for several months now.
Last we heard, the US launch of the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab would take place on April 4, though currently the slate is nowhere to be found on Amazon US. However, the dates certainly align, suggesting Samsung’s cheaper version is finally ready to make its debut. Although Samsung reached the market quickly with the original Galaxy Tab, it faced significant criticism over pricing. US carriers had demanded that the voice-call capabilities be disabled, and sold the slate with a data contract (generally lasting two-years). )
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| Google Lands Java Creator James Gosling Posted: 29 Mar 2011 04:31 AM PDT
The poaching of the man behind Java can’t sit well with Oracle. Gosling has stated in a blog post that he doesn’t know what he will be working on yet. Yeah right, Gosling is headed to the Android team if he is going anywhere. Gosling noted that he passed on several spots before landing at Google. He wrote, “[the new job] looks like interesting fun with huge leverage.” Gosling developed Java in 1911 at Sun and the language went live in 1995. [via Mashable] )
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| Amazon Launches Cloud Player for Android Posted: 29 Mar 2011 04:21 AM PDT Amazon has launched some new offerings today with one of them being Cloud Player for Android devices. The other services are Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player for the Web. The services work together to allow the storage of music on the cloud and the ability to play it from computers and mobile devices.
The Cloud Drive service is free for 5GB of storage space and Amazon MP3 customers get 20GB of storage. The new purchases go directly to the Cloud Drive and don't count against storage. Other tracks can be uploaded from other sources too. The Cloud Player for Web allows you to stream from any computer. The real interesting bit for Android fans is the Cloud Player for Android. The player is now bundled with the Amazon MP3 app and allows the user to play the music stored on the cloud on their device. The user can create playlists and sort by artist and more. You can download the app now. )
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| Olympic Paint offers ColorClix app for Android Posted: 29 Mar 2011 04:04 AM PDT When it comes to painting, it always seems that my wife wants a color that we can’t match at the store. We end up standing there with her trying to match a color from a napkin or something. Olympic Paint has a new app for Android devices called ColorClix that will make this sort of matching problem go away.
With the app installed all the user needs to do to match a color is snap a picture of whatever the object is that they want to match and then take it to one of the Olympic sellers to get samples and order paint. Colors can also be picked from existing images. The app also offers other features to let users browse their paint collections to find complementary colors. It will also let the user narrow down a shade using colors families. The app is available right now on the Android Market and is offered for iOS and computers too. )
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| Sony Ericsson unlocking bootloader for some 2011 Android phones Posted: 29 Mar 2011 01:15 AM PDT Sony Ericsson has announced that it will be taking a more flexible approach to unlocking the bootloader on its Android smartphones, though the functionality won’t be available until later in the year. According to Karl-Johan Dahlström, Senior Program Architect at Sony Ericsson, certain models of the company’s 2011 range – including the XPERIA Play, Arc, Pro and Neo – will offer an open-bootloader option for flashing third-party firmware.
Only SIM-unlocked versions of the handsets will be eligible for the official bootloader unlock, which Sony Ericsson says is because its carrier and other partners are cautious about files and apps being pulled from the secure storage of the devices they offer. Certain markets and configurations of handset will also be ineligible. Basically, Dahlström says, if you can connect your phone to the Fastboot tool in the Android SDK, you’ll be able to unlock it. The original X10 will not be eligible. The company also cautions about the potential impact on owners’ warranties, with the possibility of a “handling fee” should Sony Ericsson repair your device after it has been flashed with unofficial firmware. Still, this is good news for the Android community, which has grown used to being able to use its ROM of choice on its preferred device. More news about the functionality in the spring. )
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| European launch for HTC EVO 3D confirmed says HTC France Posted: 29 Mar 2011 12:36 AM PDT HTC France has confirmed that the HTC EVO 3D will get a launch outside of the US, with the GSM version of the glasses-free 3D smartphone apparently keeping the same name for its European debut. According to the tweet, no launch date for the dual-core handset has been confirmed.
Still, we’re legitimately excited about the EVO 3D, and not particularly because of the autostereoscopic 3D capabilities. Instead it’s the 1.2GHz dual-core processor and qHD resolution display that have us keen, both making their debut on HTC devices. Of course, that’s not to say that the ability to shoot 3D photos with the EVO 3D’s dual 5-megapixel camera array isn’t interesting, it’s just that we still need a little convincing about 3D photography. More on the HTC EVO 3D in our hands-on report here. HTC EVO 3D hands-on: [via Smartdroid.de] )
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| Sprint officially opposed AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Posted: 28 Mar 2011 02:28 PM PDT Sprint has made it official that it plans to challenge the FCC over the sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T for a reported $39 Billion. According to the press release, Sprint’s position is that the sale will reduce competition, limit innovation, and end up hurting consumers. Those are all the usual complaints that come from from a rival company when one of their competitors gets swallowed up by another. But if that’s the case, why isn’t making exclusive deals and locking down cellphones anti competitive as well?
In Sprint’s announcement, the Now Network says that for nearly 30 years, the federal government has acted to break up large corporate communication concerns in an effort to keep US markets open to competition. Sprint feels that competition has fueled innovation, job creation, and investment in the American Economy. And then there’s the gloom and doom prophecy that if AT&T is allowed to buy T-Mobile, ALL of that will be undone. All? Really? Sprint goes on to say that both Verizon and AT&T are already “big enough,” and that this merger would make Ma Bell three times larger than poor little Sprint. And Sprint would be powerless to defeat what it calls a “duopoly” that would be entrenched in the wireless market. Well, gee, Sprint. How about being more competitive in your pricing? How about investing more in your network and providing better phones and better customer service? You claim you stand ready to compete in a “truly dynamic marketplace,” and maybe you have a point. But I can’t help but wonder if you’d be opposed to it if you were in AT&Ts shoes. The FCC has already come out and said the deal will receive no “rubber stamp.” So AT&T indeed has it’s work cut out for it in making the deal work according to FCC wishes. )
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| LG Optimus V Hands-On and Unboxing [SUPER CUTE!] Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:51 PM PDT Take a peek at this, an Android phone that’s basically free, runs Android 2.2.1, and wont take up more than a tiny wallet’s worth of space in your pocket. This is the LG Optimus V, the other-toned relative of the LG Optimus U which we’ve already taken a look at a few months ago. This phone is surprisingly similar, it’s hardware essentially exactly the same save for the coloring (this one’s black where that one’s blue,) with a spiffy new box made to be sold off the shelves in stores all day long.
First Impressions The box that this phone comes in lets us know what we’re in store for – a phone that although might have been an OK experience when we saw it carried on US Cellular (Optimus U), is now a rock and roll super experience made to kick its brothers and sisters all around the town. Inside the box we get a few books so we know what we’re dealing with, a few cords just incase we didn’t have them already, and a spiffy handset that, if you’re new to Android, might totally impress you with its power in such a small package.
This isn’t the type of phone you upgrade to if you’ve already used an Android product. Instead, it’s the perfect package to be given to a person who’s used feature phones their whole life, or maybe even someone who’s never used a cellphone before! It’s hardware is extremely simple to understand, and the Android system inside is free from too many frills, making the whole situation free of fret.
Unboxing Take a look at the unboxing of this phone to see what sort of experience the folks at Virgin Mobile are presenting to you. This isn’t your everyday carrier package that’s meant to be held under the counter while the salespeople do the talking, no way! This is a package that almost swallows the phone whole it’s so loud and expressive. Slashes and blasts of color here and there and every little bit of information you’d ever want on the phone printed on the outside of the package.
Does the phone live up to the whirlwind of pop-art presence? If the LG Optimus U was any indication, it totally depends on what you’re expecting. If you expected a full fantastic top of the line experience with the U, you’ll be sorely disappointed. If you expected a fully functioning but somewhat limited in scope by its screen size and tiny processor – you’ll be in for a treat! Check out the video and the pics and prepare yourself for a full review soon!                                      )
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| Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:27 PM PDT If you’re a fan of the hysterically funny Red vs. Blue, and you can’t get enough of playing Angry Birds (isn’t it the law now?), you’re gonna love this trailer for Angry Birds … The Movie. Okay, before you get too excited, the trailer is a fake. But it’s a pretty good one. It’s a parody of the action genre. But to be honest, it’s pretty well conceived and the production values give it heft.
The story follows a covert operative who is charged with infiltrating the Pigs territory and liberate the eggs they’ve taken. And he’s given the military’s latest top secret weapon … of course, it’s the Angry Birds and a slingshot. And the puppets of the birds look pretty awesome. The story details the operative’s struggle as he uses and kills the birds in attacking the pigs fortresses. His disillusionment over his mission, and eventually his triumph. But even though it’s meant to be rather comical, I think it would be far funnier if it had more of the Angry Birds in it. The ending has the operative saying “you wouldn’t like me Angry … Birds.” Huh? What’s the game about again guys? Don’t get me wrong, I love Rooster Teeth’s work. Red vs. Blue is some of the funniest machinima on screen. But if the name of the parody is Angry Birds, it helps to make them more of the focus. Like these guys did.
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| Android gets booted into the HTC Touch Pro 2 Posted: 28 Mar 2011 12:05 PM PDT There’s a great video showing a user successfully testing a dual boot of the HTC Touch Pro 2 running on Android. The Touch Pro 2 originally came running Windows Mobile and Sprint users have been itching to see how well the little robot can work on it. Well the good news is, it’s performance is quite sound. Navigating the screen works with snap, the hardware keys can go to home and turn the display on and off, there’s also a power off option including booting back into Windows Mobile (though why would you?).
Phone calls work great, as does the notifications bar and SMS text messaging. The App tray pops up, but it is a bit lagging. Adding shortcuts, widgets and folders work with some hesitation. But the browser launches showing data exchange works. Both Hardware and software keyboards work just fine and speed will depend on your connection. All messaging and emails work, and the tester was able to install apps from the Amazon Marketplace with no trouble at all. In fact, it’s more of a question of what doesn’t work – which is limited to GPS, sound and bluetooth functions. Video backgrounds stream pretty impressively and the tester has gotten about 7 hours of battery life with what he calls heavy use. No word on what flavor of Android was used, but the feat was done as part of the XDAndroid project for Windows Devices. Man, considering that the Touch Pro 2 was designed to be a Windows platform, the flexibility of Android to be ported onto it with slick performance is nothing short of impressive. [via PocketNow] )
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Word has surfaced that Google has made another hire, and he is a prominent hire indeed. The new Google worker is one James Gosling, the dude that invented Java. Interestingly Google and Oracle, who now owns Java, are in a legal battle over the alleged use of Java code in the Android stack.
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