Android Phone Fans |
- Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [March 8th]
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Play On eBay for US Buyers
- Google Holding Competition With Google I/O Passes as Prizes
- Foursquare 3.0 to Add Leaderboards, Exploration Features, And Group Check-Ins
- Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Headed for Optus and Vodafone This April in Australia
- Exclusive Leaks: They’re Not Easy To Get!
- Samsung Stealth Caught Working in the Wild
- Pocket Legends Developer Makes More Money on Android Than on iOS
- EVOtainment Setup Pairs Your EVO 4G With Nintendo Wii Peripherals
- Which Android Tablet is Right for You? [AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES]
- Verizon CTO: Working Through 4G Device Rollout Problematic, But Still Committed to First Half of 2011
- We’re Hiring: Android & iPhone Developer [Part-Time/Full-Time]
- Dual-Booting Viewsonic ViewPad 10 Available Today, Not Even On Eclair
- We’re Hiring: Full-Time Writer & Utility Player
- CTIA Awards Site Teases Two Unnamed LG Phones [Sprint, T-Mobile?]
| Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [March 8th] Posted: 08 Mar 2011 03:59 PM PST
Lots of new apps announced, released, and updated today. There’s a bit to be had here for developers, too. Check out the things we couldn’t get to, but the things you shouldn’t miss in your daily dose of Android news. We’ll be back tomorrow with even more.
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Play On eBay for US Buyers Posted: 08 Mar 2011 03:54 PM PST
The Game Developers’ Conference has wrapped up and a lot of lucky developers walked out with some pretty exclusive hardware – the yet-to-be-released Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. The phone is slated for Verizon this Spring, but no other carriers have announced plans to carry it. Those on AT&T and T-Mobile may be able to get an early pass, though, as a few of those developers have put their quad-band Xperia Play units up for sale on eBay. One device is already going for as high as $700, while this one hasn’t even been bid on yet – it sits at one penny. You’ll want to jump in on this if you’re on a GSM carrier and were planning to buy the device off contract when – and if – your carrier of choice announces it. [Thanks, Benny!]
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| Google Holding Competition With Google I/O Passes as Prizes Posted: 08 Mar 2011 03:34 PM PST
Wanted to get in on Google I/O? Couldn’t buy a ticket before they were all sold out in just 59 minutes? Google’s got something to tell you: they’ve been holding on to 100 more and they want to give them away. Vic Gundotra just posted on their blog about a contest they’re holding that’ll see 100 lucky coders heading to Google I/O. The contest starts March 16th and goes on for 10 days with a chance to win one of 10 tickets each day. Two rounds will be oversought: a preliminary question answering round, and a coding challenge for those who make it through. The challenges will be themed by day. Here’s a list of the dates, times, and different categories you can take a crack at:
Take a look at their contest site for the full details. The contest is open to everyone in the 50 United States of America. [Google]
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| Foursquare 3.0 to Add Leaderboards, Exploration Features, And Group Check-Ins Posted: 08 Mar 2011 02:53 PM PST
Buried beneath a very personal (to them) post today, Foursquare announced version 3.0 of their application. New features include a revamped leaderboards system, an Explore and Me tab that’ll show you in a glance where you and your friends go most often, and it gives business owners the ability to offer deals to friends who check in at the same time. You’ll be able to see group and single deals nearby using another new feature they’ve added: you don’t have to guess who’s offering discounted lattes. They’ve only shown the iPhone version here, but expect all of these changes and more to come to the Android version very soon. (As soon as tonight, even.) Go on and read their blog post on the update: it’s a warming read if you’re a huge Foursquare fan.
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| Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Headed for Optus and Vodafone This April in Australia Posted: 08 Mar 2011 02:29 PM PST
The Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc will soon be launched in Australia according to new reports. Both Vodafone and Optus will carry the device starting in April. There’s no word on how much either of these will cost, unfortunately, but it’s not a bad phone to keep an eye on if you need a new one. It launches with Android 2.3, Sony Ericsson’s custom skin on top, has a 4.3 inch display with Sony’s bravia engine, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and a lot more. Take a look at our hands-on preview with it from CES. [via Unwired View]
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| Exclusive Leaks: They’re Not Easy To Get! Posted: 08 Mar 2011 02:14 PM PST
Hilarious… and we think it speaks volumes about the passion of Android enthusiasts in general. We want to take a minute to thank ALL of our awesome tipsters – both those who graciously take credit and the anonymous ninjas lurking in the shadows of the night – for being huge contributors to Phandroid and the greater Android community craving the latest inside information ASAP.
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| Samsung Stealth Caught Working in the Wild Posted: 08 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PST
The Samsung Stealth really has been quite the stealthy phone compared to other Verizon offerings. We’ve seen it with our own eyes before, but we never got the opportunity to actually use it – its software was nevery ready. More pictures of it have hit the interwebz, thankfully. The folks at TechnoBuffalo received these shots of the device being used on Verizon’s 4G network. It’s supposed to be running full-blown TouchWiz on top of Android 2.2 once it officially hits the airwaves but only parts of the overlay are implemented here. (And don’t worry: Samsung did state that this phone would be upgraded past Froyo, for what it’s worth.) Battery life is said to be quite decent with 4G data enabled – their tipster is boasting 8-10 hours. Doesn’t sound like much, but these 4G radios really are juice guzzlers. Take a look at the rest of the images over at their site.
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| Pocket Legends Developer Makes More Money on Android Than on iOS Posted: 08 Mar 2011 01:12 PM PST Beneath the harsh perception developers have regarding generating revenue on Android lie a few gems that produce tear-jerking success stories. One is that of Spacetime Studios’ – the popular Pocket Legends MMO for multiple platforms. They profess that twice as many Android users download the game daily opposed to our iOS counterparts. (The rough numbers are 9,000 vs 3,000-4,000, if you care.) And download counts are only half the story: daily activity on Android is a lot higher than it is on iOS. For Spacetime, that means more people will look to buy gold or other items using their real-world money. Even with the lack of a native in-app purchasing system, they are able to attract more paying customers than non-paying customers.
CEO Gary Gattis says Android has definitely become their primary interest. If you haven’t seen it with their constant and timely updates, optimization for new devices, and other development, then perhaps you’ll believe them now. I’m not exactly sure why this is, but I’d venture to guess that the small amount of competition in the Android market has been a god-send for their efforts. For users, this means more content will stream your way as they look to capitalize on a market where they seem to have found their groove. It also means more games as more studios look to emulate their success. For Spacetime, it means more money for them. That’s always a good thing. [via Computer World]
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| EVOtainment Setup Pairs Your EVO 4G With Nintendo Wii Peripherals Posted: 08 Mar 2011 12:44 PM PST
While the Game Gripper serves its simple purpose quite well (and it’ll be even better once the Bluetooth version is out), there are still devices out there that don’t have hardware keyboards to facilitate non-touchscreen gaming. That changes with the EVOtainment setup that one man – Jack Malone – put together. Using a Wii-mote, a Wii classic conroller, and the steering wheel accessory used for Mario Kart, Malone created an all-in-one wonder for those who play emulators on Android. We’re even more appreciative of his work after remembering that a Nintendo 64 emulator has just hit the market: using those analog controls won’t be so bad now. I’m sure something like this could be fitted for other devices. Just make sure you learn how to engineer such a work of art. Click ahead for the full suite of images. [Engadget]
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| Which Android Tablet is Right for You? [AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES] Posted: 08 Mar 2011 12:03 PM PST With the tablet explosion that has occurred in the past year, some of you might be doing some tablet research for the first time. So, which device is right for you?
The Premium Tablets (XOOM, Galaxy Tab, Optimus Pad) The Motorola XOOM 10.1″ tablet is the newest Android tablet while the Galaxy Tab is currently the reigning 7″ champion. In addition to these current offerings, Samsung has a new 10.1" tablet coming out soon along with an 8.9" tablet coming from LG called the Optimus Pad. While you are considering these “high end” devices, there are a slew of other Android tablets available of which many people may not even be aware. If you want the Tablet to work right out of the box without any modding or hacking, your best options currently are the Xoom or the Galaxy Tab. The Xoom is a more capable device based on specs alone, but if you are looking for a 7″ screen, the Galaxy Tab may be more appealing to you. These devices get a lot of media attention, and rightfully so, but maybe they are a little out of your price range? Don’t worry...you don’t have to feel completely left out! Aside from the premium tablets, there are several other devices available in a variety of sizes and at different price points. Archos has several tablets ranging in sizes from 3.2″ all the way up to 10″. The ViewSonic gTablet sports the same Tegra2, dual-core processor found in the Motorola Xoom and it has a 10.1" screen of its own. And let’s not to forget the unlikely competitor with the 7″ Android powered NOOKcolor by Barnes & Noble. If you don’t mind performing some tweaks, you can pick up a very capable device at a fairly low price. While there are many "budget" tablets currently available, we will highlight a few of the most popular. Here is a basic rundown of some various tablets you might want to consider: Archos Gen 8 Tablets (28, 32, 43, 70, and 101 models): You will most likely want to install the Android Market on these devices as soon as you open the box. The tablets all come with a secondary market pre-installed from the manufacturer but the number of available apps is not comparable with Android Market. It is a very simple process and should not scare off even the most novice user. If you want to stop there, you can. You DO NOT have to root your device to add the Android market, this WILL NOT void your warranty, and you will be able to install future OTA firmware upgrades without worry. Further community development for the Archos tablets is rather slow at this time. There aren’t any custom ROMs (aka "firmware" or "operating system") to speak of and the only real tweaks you can do just make the device run a little faster and remove the 256MB installed app storage limit. The 28 (2.8" screen) and 32 (3.2" screen) models are a little lacking with 800MHz processors and both have resistive touch screens. The 43 (4.3" screen), 70 (7" screen), and 101 (10.1" screen) models all sport a 1GHz processor and have the ever convenient kickstand (where is that on the high-end tablets?), and the latter two of those have a capacitive, multi-touch LCD screen. The biggest downfall of these devices is the 256MB of RAM vs. the 512MB seen on the comparable devices listed below. But these Archos tablets are valued priced as shown here (all models expandable via micro USB):
Viewsonic gTablet: It seems like this tablet had a pretty rocky start in the retail stores. The few retail stores that carried this device pulled them off the shelves initially because of the many software issues that plagued it. So why is it a viable choice? Because the Android developer community has turned out some excellent ROMs that rid the device of the custom firmware that ViewSonic implemented on this device. To say ViewSonic missed the mark might be a bit of an understatement. But after doing a little modding, you will have a smoothly running, future proofed 10.1" tablet with a dual-core processor that will give you "high end" specs at a pretty reasonable price of about $399.99 (but if you shop around and you may find one for less than that). The device has been criticized since its release for having poor viewing angles but most owners appear to say that is an issue that was blown slightly out of proportion. Fact is that this device has high-end specs at a mid level price. The NVIDIA Tegra2 1.0GHz processor, and 512MB of RAM set this apart from the other budget tablets. You won’t find 3G connectivity here, but an excellent choice if you are looking for a wifi only powerhouse and don’t mind installing one of the aftermarket ROMs to replace the factory installed operating system. Barnes & Noble NOOKcolor: So it is probably not new news to many of our readers that the NOOKcolor e-reader can transform into a functional Android tablet. This little powerhouse may not "wow" the people chasing down the high-end tablets, but it is quite possibly the best value of any device currently running the Android OS. For $250 (or less), you will have an 800MHz powered device capable of running Honeycomb (albeit, not perfected just yet) with a high resolution 1080×600 capacitive, 7" multi-touch LCD. The highest stable overclock is currently 1.1GHz and the 512MB of RAM is a nice touch that the Archos tablets are missing. Bottom line...the NOOKcolor was born to be a tablet and not just an innocent little e-reader! The build quality of this device is stellar which makes it a tad on the heavy side but it is very thin and feels nice to hold. Once again, this device requires some modding but most users do not have problems with it. If you do run into problems, you can rest assured that your device is not "bricked" (meaning the device will not boot and there is NOTHING you can do to fix it). The NOOKcolor will always boot from SD card if you have a disk image loaded on it. So if you delete your recovery image, along with your firmware do not panic...just burn a disk image to a SD card and salvation is just minutes away. Because this device is almost completely unbrickable, that may offer beginners a little piece of mind. In reality, most devices are hard to completely foul up. But if we were going to crown a winner for being the hardest to brick, the NOOKcolor would get my vote. What’s best for you? So first, you should figure out what you are going to do with an Android tablet. Does the extent of your everyday use entail surfing the web, checking out Phandroid, watching YouTube videos, listening to music, watching movies, and checking out new music videos with the free VEVO app? If so, maybe you are better off with one of the surprisingly capable, yet surprisingly affordable tablets. Every user needs to find a device that meets their specific requirements and budget. Don’t forget to head over to the tablet specific section of our forums to help you with your buying decision. There are many active conversations taking place right now that may just help you find the right device for you. http://androidforums.com/android-tablets-mids/ And if you’ve already purchased an Android tablet, what device did you choose and why?
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| Posted: 08 Mar 2011 11:56 AM PST
Looks like we just got an indirect “reason” from the horse’s mouth. Verizon’s chief technology officer Tony Malone – speaking at Credit Suisse’s Convergence conference – kind of spilled the beans about why the HTC Thunderbolt has faced so many delays. He didn’t mention the phone by name, but he says they have always been committed to bringing devices out before the second half of this year. He’s right: you can’t really blame Verizon for the amount of time it’s taking them to deploy their first 4G phone when they didn’t give a definite release date to begin with. The technology they want to deploy is so far ahead of its time, it seems, as Verizon could have even waited well beyond this year to announce plans to carry LTE devices. They are the only major network with a 4G network of its kind. Unfortunately for them, the industry’s “4G” crave has blown up into an uncontrollable monster and we all know you can’t sleep in this game. Their hand was forced and they’re doing the best they can. I have no qualms with that, and neither should anyone else. [via Droid-Life]
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| We’re Hiring: Android & iPhone Developer [Part-Time/Full-Time] Posted: 08 Mar 2011 11:43 AM PST
What we’re looking for:
Requirements:
Compensation:
How to apply:
We’re anticipating a large quantity of feedback and simply cannot respond to every applicant we get. We want to thank everyone in advance for their interest and we’ll follow up with potential candidates in the near future.
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| Dual-Booting Viewsonic ViewPad 10 Available Today, Not Even On Eclair Posted: 08 Mar 2011 11:24 AM PST
Viewsonic’s finally launched their dual-booting ViewPad 10 tablet. The 10-inch hand computer will run Windows 7 alongside – you guessed it – Android. There’s just one problem: it’s running Android 1.6 and there’s no telling if it’ll be upgraded (to even 2.1 or 2.2). Let’s hope some hackers will get their hands on this one and go to town. It’ll have a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of memory, a WSVGA resolution of 1,024×600 and more. Read on for full press details.
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| We’re Hiring: Full-Time Writer & Utility Player Posted: 08 Mar 2011 10:54 AM PST
Please read EVERY DETAIL of this post before submitting an application - attention to detail is crucially important. What we’re looking for: Full-Time Utility Player to cover overnight hours (7pm to 3am EST) What does “Utility Player” mean?
Who we’re looking for:
Expectations:
What you’ll get:
How to apply:
We’re anticipating a large quantity of feedback and simply cannot respond to every applicant we get. We want to thank everyone in advance for their interest and we’ll follow up with potential candidates in the near future.
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| CTIA Awards Site Teases Two Unnamed LG Phones [Sprint, T-Mobile?] Posted: 08 Mar 2011 10:21 AM PST
Just as with most major trade shows, CTIA will be holding an awards ceremony for the best phones/smartphones at the trade show. Three finalists have already been revealed: the HTC Thunderbolt the Motorola Atrix 4G and the LG Revolution Two more have yet to be named, though, and they’re both from LG according to CTIA’s site. Internationally, LG has introduced the Optimus 2X and Optimus 3D, but if the trend of the CTIA only choosing phones on major American carriers holds strong, then we may have just gotten confirmation of new devices for both Sprint and T-Mobile. T-Mobile is said to be carrying the Optimus 2X as the T-Mobile G2x. It’s a rumor that came out of nowhere but didn’t completely surprise us. The Optimus 2X for T-Mobile is said to follow the trend of all of their “G” devices – it could run stock Android. Sprint may also have a phone from LG in the works. A rumored “EVO 3D” is expected to be announced at CTIA and just because it’s a part of Sprint’s best-selling brand doesn’t mean the device will be made by HTC. (The brand belongs to Sprint, after all.) Their phone could definitely be a reworked Optimus 3D that was unveiled at Mobile World Congress last month. Then again, these could also be Windows Phone 7 devices. Or two completely new Android devices that the world has yet to hear of. No one ever truly knows outside of LG’s halls, but we’d bet our money on these unnamed devices being their latest (known) Android offerings. (A small amount of money, anyway.) [PCMag via BGR]
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Inside scoops, exclusive info, leaked pics: these are the tidbits that spell blogging gold. Phandroid works hard to bring our readers exclusive content, but it’s the anonymous tipsters who TRULY deserve an outstanding amount of credit. When one reliable and anonymous source was recently asked if they had anything new, they responded:
It’s a trend that is – unfortunately – not common in the Android market, but it gives us hope that we’ll soon reach a point where any developer can make money on Android. (Granted their app is halfway decent.)
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