Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

AT&T Expects to Let Go of Some Markets, Employees in Merger

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 04:06 PM PDT

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Some bad news has come out of AT&T’s Randall Stephenson. He shed some light on negative effects of the merger – something I bet they haven’t been trying to talk about – and admits that AT&T will have to drop a few pounds in the process should the FCC grant them T-Mobile’s hand in this very unorthodox marriage. (Yes, I know that joke. No, I won’t tell it… at least not here.)

He told the Wall Street Journal that AT&T would have to divest some markets in order to bring all of those T-Mobile customers over meaning a few of you might have to join up with Verizon or Sprint once it’s all said and done. Randall couldn’t state which markets would be affected which is understandable as the deal hasn’t even been approved yet.

They also regret to inform everyone that some employees will have to be let go as the two entities merge. It’s a common nasty side-effect of mergers in any industry but it never does sit right with us whenever we hear some folks will be out of a job in this troubled economy.

Stephenson did attempt to make this episode more cheery, though, as he states that the merger would make AT&T’s network more reliable and customers may even experience price drops on voice and data plans because of it. We’ll hold our breath on that claim until AT&T actually goes to integrate all of those new customers and contracts, though.

Dungeon Defenders: First Wave Now Free to Play on the Android Market

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 03:49 PM PDT

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The folks at Trendy have just dropped us a note letting us know that their highly popular action RPG Dungeon Defenders: First Wave is now a free game for all to play and enjoy in the Android market. The news comes to us in light of the launch of Google’s native in-app payments system for Android.

Trendy is now banking on in-app purchases to make money since Google’s made it easier for users to carry out micro-transactions. The game itself has remained the same so if you were holding off on trying it out due to its $5 price tag then you’ll want to head over to the Android market. [Note: web-based market does not yet reflect this change. Search for it using the Android market application on your phone.]

Google Introduces +1 Button on Desktop Search Engine [Video]

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 03:41 PM PDT

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Google’s continuing to make their search engine – and other tools – more social and personal to you by introducing a simple “+1 button”. The premise is very simple: if you find something you like while searching, hit the button and your friends will know that it’s something cool or something that you like and is worth taking a look at if they end up searching for something similar.

Simple enough, right? And yes we know this is only for the desktop version of Google Search for now but we’ll assume Android will be getting some +1 love in the future. (They did it for something as complex and cool as Instant, so why not?) Check out a quick demonstration video above.

Petitioners Pressure Motorola to Change Bootloader Encryption Practices

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 02:58 PM PDT

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A group of power users have gotten just about peeved with Motorola and their bootloader encryption for many of their MOTOBLUR phones. (In fact, I think the only Android phone of theirs that remains unencrypted is the original Motorola Droid on Verizon. Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.) Anywho, they’ve taken to Groubal – an online petition service – to collect virtual signatures and to spread the word.

As of the time of this posting they’ve gathered over 3,800 signatures and more are sure to be added. It’s a noble cause, but I have doubts about Motorola’s response, if any – 3,800 people is small compared to the amount of users who probably don’t care for this kind of low-level access. Still, perhaps outlets like us shining some light on the petition could help a bit.

It’s worthy to note that Motorola has already reached out to the development community and have publicly stated their intent to look at several different solutions that’ll allow both sides to meet halfway. Many of you wrote it off as PR fluff to keep the negative press and word-of-mouth at bay, though. The description on Groubal acknowledges Motorola’s previous statement and essentially serves as fire under Motorola’s figurative butt to get things moving with an official announcement about their plans.

The petition on Groubal is the biggest the site has ever seen and has featured the cause on their front page. I chose not to put too much stock into that fact, though, considering there are only 580+ petitions on the site making up for 12k+ signatures overall.

I’m also not going to hold my breath for Motorola to give in as online petitions – even those with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of signatures – rarely work these days. (Physical petitions have all but gone the way of the dodo, too.) I do want to see Motorola live up to their word, of course, but I’m not sure a petition is going to change anything in their timeline.

We’ll be monitoring the situation closely from here on out and will be sure to let you folks know if any interesting developments unfold. Be sure to let your concerns be known over at Groubal if this is something that’s of great importance to you. [Thanks to all who sent this in!]

Cisco Cius Tablet Hits the FCC

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 02:26 PM PDT

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Cisco is more of a quiet player in the Android world right now. They’ve long been talking about their Cius tablet but have been taking their time on engineering it. The tablet is set to be part of a bigger office package for business professionals who need a desk phone that’s more than just a desk phone. It was originally slated for a 2011 release and it looks like we may be seeing this thing before fall if this FCC approval is anything to go by.

The listing also brought to surface new details. Firstly, it most likely will be a WiFi-only device. It’s a tablet that was designed with the desk phone in mind so we can’t really complain about that. More interesting than that, though, is that the documents were submitted by OpeanPeak. If you don’t remember, they’re working on a tablet for AT&T but we haven’t heard a peep about their progress since September of last year. Take a look at the full FCC listing for yourself if you’re curious. [via Wireless Goodness]

Plagued With Muffled Sound Recording, 3G Data Problems on Your Thunderbolt? [Issues]

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 01:48 PM PDT

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The Thunderbolt has been out since the 17th of March and enough users have it in their hands to uncover some unsettling issues. Before I go on, you should know that both HTC and Verizon have identified the respective issues and are working on fixes. First up – we hear some of you are still having data issues while on Verizon’s 3G network.

Word on the street is that Verizon’s already working to fix the issue with their network but we’re not sure how long it’ll take. Thankfully for us, the Android community consists of some very smart brainiacs and they’ve come up with a solution to get things back to normal. You can find instructions below. (Thankfully it doesn’t require root or a device factory reset.)

  • Go to the ThunderBolt’s phone dialer. Enter ##778# and hit Send.
  • You’ll get a pop-up labeled EPST, with the choice to “View Mode” or “Edit Mode.” You want “Edit Mode.”
  • You’ll be asked for a password. It’s 000000.
  • Now flip down to “Modem Settings,” and then choose “Rev. A.”
  • Change the setting from eHRPD to “Enable,” hit OK, then press the Menu button on the phone and tap “Commit Modifications.”

In other Thunderbolt news, it seems there’s a problem when recording video – audio will sometimes appear to be muffled when the original recording wasn’t captured with something covering the device’s microphone hole. HTC has identified the problem and is working on a fix but they were unable to offer a time-frame. Are any of you having these issues? [via Android Central 1|2]

 

Samsung Galaxy S Plus Will Feature Gingerbread, 1.4GHz Processor

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 12:53 PM PDT

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Ok, Samsung, how many different Galaxy S variants can you REALLY make? Not enough, apparently, as the folks at Samsung Hub have learned that the Korean manufacturer is set to introduce a Samsung Galaxy S Plus. It’s said that this device’s design will be similar to that of the original Galaxy S but will have a metallic back plate instead of a plastic one. (Yes, I wish their earlier models would have gotten that kind of love, too.)

Other details include a 1.4GHz processor (no word on which chipset exactly), Android 2.3 (we’ll assume TouchWiz 4.0 will sit on top of that), 8GB of internal memory, a 1650mAh battery and a 4-inch super AMOLED display. This one will only be headed to Russia for now where it’ll cost you 23,990 rubles to walk home with it. (That’s around $840 in US dollars.) Expect it to launch at the end of April.

WOW: 3000+ Facebook Fans = More Money! [CONTEST]

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 12:51 PM PDT

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A few days ago I started a Facebook Contest asking Phans to “Like” our page and promising $200 in Amazon gift cards as prizes for random winners. We started with 564 Facebook Fans… and now? We’re over 3,000+ and still have a couple days left!

But with every extra “liker” your chances of winning go down (sad face). That’s why I’m tossing $100 extra bucks in the pot (two $50 gift cards) as a way to say “thank you” to all our friends. If we reach 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 and beyond I’ll continue dropping in a few extra dollars so your chances of winning don’t drastically decrease.

So hit up your FB Wall and encourage your friends to Like us on Facebook! Thanks to all of you and good luck being randomly randomized as a totally random winner come Friday!

Massive List of Android Market Games Optimized for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 12:32 PM PDT

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While the phone isn’t out yet, developers are already adapting their existing titles to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play’s unique game pad. It’s going to be a tough time finding all the compatible titles yourself, though. Why not let someone do it for you? Below is a link to a list of games available in the Android market – it consists of titles that take full advantage of the device’s controls. (Note that there may be more that we don’t know about.) This list is probably useless for many of you right now, but you’ll want to keep it handy for when Verizon and other telecoms release the Xperia Play in the very near future. [via Droid Guy]

SoundHound is Today’s Free Paid App of the Day on Amazon

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 11:48 AM PDT

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Many of you expressed discontent for Shazam when the full version of their app was free in the Amazon Appstore and made a plea for SoundHound instead. Luckily for you guys, SoundHound has followed suit and their application is today’s free app of the day. It’s normally $5 for the paid version (which affords you unlimited song tags). It’s one of the best deals so far and we’d be remissed if we didn’t spread the word. Go ahead and grab it on your Android device now.

SPB Shell 3D for Android Handsets Now Available [Video]

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 11:10 AM PDT

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Although the folks at SPB told us they’d be working on OEM partnerships to bring their custom user interface to Android devices instead of offering it as an home replacement in the Android market, SPB Shell 3D is now available for all to download. (Previously it was called SPB Mobile Shell 5.0.) It’s been in development for a long time and we felt we were as close as we’d ever get to an official release when they had the app at Google’s mega-booth in Barcelona last month.

We didn’t think it’d cost as much as it does, though – $14.95. Steep for a home replacement app these days, SPB. We would have easily given you our money back in the old days of Windows Mobile 6.x but those days have long passed. If you like what you see in the video above and don’t mind dropping 15 bills on it, though, head to the Android market.

New HTC Pyramid Shots Confirm qHD Screen, HTC Sense 3.0

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 10:42 AM PDT

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Well what do we have here? The HTC Pyramid was expected to be announced alongside T-Mobile’s other wares at CTIA but it never made its way to the “official” foreground. Fortunately, leaksters exist. The latest was sent to XDA and shows more than we’ve seen before.

To put it simply – yes, it looks like T-Mobile’s version of the EVO 3D. (Without the actual 3D and other things unique to Sprint, of course.) It has the same qHD display that was rumored in recent specs and – surprisingly enough – has HTC Sense 3.0. (It runs on top of Android 2.3.) This version differs from 2.1 found on the HTC Thunderbolt the new “S” line of phones, and other recent HTC products. We’re surprised because we were led to believe that this version of Sense would be exclusive to the EVO 3D for quite some time.

I took a look at Sense 3.0 on the EVO 3D at CTIA – you can see one very cool unique feature that HTC’s added here. (Long story short: it makes your default lock-screen awesome.) Other than that there’s not much new to see here. Still, we know how eager some of you T-Mobile subscribers are to get your hands on a new 4.3 inch device so these pictures should hold you over until T-Mobile’s ready to make things official. More can be found at the source link. [via XDA]

ASUS Gives Price Tag to Eee Pad Transformer in UK

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 10:21 AM PDT

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We learned that ASUS’s pair of Android tablet/netbook hybrids would be going to the UK and that they’d be accepting presales for them, but hadn’t been able to get some solid information as far as pricing goes. Today we’ve learned that the Eee Pad Transformer – the one compatible with the optional detachable keyboard – can be had for just £379 for the 16GB version.

Alternatively, you can get the keyboard and 16GB tablet bundled together for £429. The 32GB version will cost £429 alone but there is no word on whether or not it’ll be getting a keyboard bundle, as well. These prices come out to be $607 and $688 respectively, lining up with what ASUS said to expect before.

The Transformer won’t be a slouch of a device, either, with its NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 10.1-inch display, front and rear facing cameras and – most importantly Android 3.0. Expect this tablet to ship on April 4th. [via Electronista]

Google Adds Support for Indonesian, Malaysian, and Latin American Spanish to Google Voice Search

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 09:53 AM PDT

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Google has flipped the switch on Indonesian, Malaysian, and Latin American Spanish support in Voice Search. Speakers of those langauges from around the world now have access to the wide range of voice-searchable items on their smartphones and mobile devices that those speaking languages such as English have had for quite some time now.

While the expanded support is pretty cool, the real story here is the way Google collected the data necessary to provide new language support. Rather than program a computer for what it could expect to hear, Google went the crowd-sourcing route and enlisted local users from around the glob to collect voice data and train their software for proper detection of accents and dialects across regions. They call the whole thing “word of mouth,” which is both clever and true. You can read more at the source link below.

[via Google]

Motorola Atrix 4G Update Rolling Out Now, Has it Hit Your Phone?

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 09:01 AM PDT

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The first reports are coming in that the latest update for the Motorola Atrix 4G has begun rolling out to handsets. The install file comes in the form of an over-the-air update, and once installed brings your system version to 4.1.57. As you may know, the new software doesn’t enable HSUPA support or fix call quality issues some are experiencing with the handset, but it does have some other tweaks and fixes on board.

Have you received yours yet?

[via Motorola]
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