Android Phone Fans |
- Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [April Fools' Edition]
- Verizon Opens Up Trade-In Program to Tablets
- Sweeping Patent Suit Targets Google, Apple, Amazon, and Nearly Every Other Company Involved with Smartphones
- In Series of 1,000 Speed Tests, Verizon LTE Topples Sprint WiMAX for 4G Supremacy
- Google Introduces New Mobile Feature ‘Meow Me Now’ for Nearby Cat Location
- Nexus S 4G Launching at Sprint on April 18th?
- Sony Ericcson Xperia Play and Xperia Arc Up for Pre-Order at Rogers
- Amazon May Deploy their Own NFC Payment Service
- Canadians with a Clumsy Streak: Rugged Motorola Defy now Available at TELUS for $379
- 14 New Titles Gain OpenFeint Support
- Thin Wins, According to NEC MEDIAS Japanese Sales Performance
- Do We Even Need Faster Phones?
- MetroPCS Extends LTE Coverage to Tampa
- ABI: Android to Hold 45% of Global Market by 2016
- Rogers to Get Xperia Arc and Play Late April for $99.99?
| Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [April Fools' Edition] Posted: 01 Apr 2011 03:50 PM PDT
That wraps up April Fools’ Day. The weekend and a new month sit in front of us. Plenty of tidbits to dig into below, we can’t promise no jokes sprinkled among them. Any good pranks today? Ready for those April showers?
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| Verizon Opens Up Trade-In Program to Tablets Posted: 01 Apr 2011 02:51 PM PDT
With the recent push by nearly every company that ever had anything to do with electronics to put out a tablet, the devices are starting to become outdated at almost the same rate as smartphones. Perhaps it is for this reason that Verizon has opened up their trade-in program, first launched in the fall for cell phones, to tablets. Verizon claims tablets could score you up to a $300 gift card good towards a new device on their network, but real life appraisals come in much lower. How does $65 for a first-gen 16GB iPad in mildly used condition? [via BGR]
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| Posted: 01 Apr 2011 02:22 PM PDT
As I’m sure you have noticed by now, there are two ways to make money off of technology: develop innovative products that consumers buy up in mass quantities or become a patent troll. The latest example is perhaps the most unabashed of them all, as HW Technology is suing Google, Apple, RIM, Amazon, HTC, LG, Nokia, and pretty much any other smartphone-related company you could name over a 2009 patent that reads thusly:
In other words, if your device and the software it uses includes any sort of applications marketplace, you are guilty of patent infringement. Just another sad example of how the patent system is being manipulated to turn a quick dollar off of companies working hard to improve the smartphone ecosystem. Hopefully a judge will see the reality of the claims and want nothing to do with the lawsuit, but with the way these legal things go it could be quite some time before we know. [via MobileCrunch]
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| In Series of 1,000 Speed Tests, Verizon LTE Topples Sprint WiMAX for 4G Supremacy Posted: 01 Apr 2011 01:37 PM PDT
Sprint’s crown as the king of 4G has just been snatched. According to research by BTIG, the WiMAX network of Sprint is no longer the nation’s fastest, as Verizon’s freshly launched LTE network has come out on top during a recent battery of 1,000 speed tests taking place in New York City. Speeds were compared using the HTC EVO 4G for Sprint and the HTC Thunderbolt for Verizon and mobile hotspot functionality to pipe bandwidth to both an iPad 2 and Toshiba laptop. Verizon’s LTE recorded average speeds of 9Mbps down and 5Mbps up. The WiMAX of Sprint saw an average of 1Mbps for both downlink and uplink speeds Verizon peaked at a speedy 19Mbps down and 10Mbps up. Analyst Walter Piecyk also noted Verizon’s 4G as more reliable and had nicer things overall to say about the HTC Thunderbolt when compared to the EVO 4G. See the chart below for the full results.
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| Google Introduces New Mobile Feature ‘Meow Me Now’ for Nearby Cat Location Posted: 01 Apr 2011 12:47 PM PDT
It’s a pretty common problem: you find yourself in a new area with no idea where to turn for your fix of cuddly wuddly kittens. Thankfully we have Google constantly plugging away at such problems in an effort to make a better world. Where would we be without them? Just go to the Google homepage on your Android or iOS device and search [kittens] or by tapping on the Near Me Now drop-down. Would you look at that, within my range Meow Me Now has located the adorable Pepper, Posh, and Mr. Whiskers. Obviously, the Google Mobile team didn’t want to be left out of the companies April Fools’ Day shenanigans. You must commend the lengths they go to over there for top-notch jokes. How about Pig Latin for Voice Search? You’ve probably seen Gmail Motion by now, as well, but have you tried searching ‘Comic Sans’ on Google today? Oh, Google. Such jokesters. [via Google]
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| Nexus S 4G Launching at Sprint on April 18th? Posted: 01 Apr 2011 12:26 PM PDT
An image of unknown origin is suggesting the Nexus S 4G by Samsung will be landing at Sprint on April 18th. Wherever this news comes from, it appears training on the device is beginning soon. The Nexus S 4G is just as it sounds, your traditional Nexus S with a 4G (in this case WiMAX) radio. It should launch for $199.99 whether or not this date holds true. [via AndroidCentral]
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| Sony Ericcson Xperia Play and Xperia Arc Up for Pre-Order at Rogers Posted: 01 Apr 2011 11:54 AM PDT
We practically just heard a little rumor that Rogers would be getting the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and Xperia Arc in late April, but the two devices are now up for pre-order. You can reserve yours for the expected price of $99.99 if you can sign away the next three years of your mobile life. The timing of the pre-order aligns with the late April release we are hearing, though no confirmation is given to that end. An offer expiration date of May 2nd may provide a better clue as to when we could be seeing this one. [via Engadget]
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| Amazon May Deploy their Own NFC Payment Service Posted: 01 Apr 2011 11:26 AM PDT
As if Amazon hadn’t issued enough of a challenge to Google with the launch of their Appstore for Android followed shortly by the opening of their Cloud Player personal music streaming service, the company is reportedly exploring the possibility of launching their own NFC payment service. The mobile payment service would compete directly with the work being done by Google, Apple, and the joint-carrier endeavor Isis from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. The Amazon Payments branch of the company is currently exploring the pros and cons of entering the mobile payment market, so nothing is set in stone. Amazon’s recent moves show a company starting to make some Google-like moves, spreading out from their core service and exploring technologies and markets outside of online retail. [via Bloomberg]
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| Canadians with a Clumsy Streak: Rugged Motorola Defy now Available at TELUS for $379 Posted: 01 Apr 2011 10:50 AM PDT
The Motorola DEFY is now available through TELUS in Canada. As a refresher, this is the Android 2.2 device with a 3.7-inch Gorilla Glass display and bevy of other mid-range specs packaged in a life-resistant, military spec casing. You can score the handset for $379.99 without a contract or as low as$79.99 on a three-year contract. See more at the TELUS website. [via MobileSyrup]
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| 14 New Titles Gain OpenFeint Support Posted: 01 Apr 2011 07:58 AM PDT
OpenFeint have just announced that 14 new titles are in the Android market with support for their social gaming platform. You should note that all of these aren’t necessarily new (we know Meganoid and Guerrilla Bob have both been out for a while now), but added OpenFeint support is always welcome. Take a chunk of time out of your day to look at all of these. (You’ll especially love Meganoid if you’re a fan of old-style 8-bit classics.) The full list is below.
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| Thin Wins, According to NEC MEDIAS Japanese Sales Performance Posted: 01 Apr 2011 07:33 AM PDT
NEC came to market with what appears to be the world’s thinnest smartphone. It’s measured at a thickness of just 8.7mm thin and has some nice specs, to boot. According to IT Media, it outsold every device available in the Japan for the week between March 14th and March 20th. Sure, a fast start doesn’t always mean a fast finish, but it’s a very good start for NEC who has been trying to break into European and US markets as of late. I’m sure they’re happy with the performance but it remains to be seen if they can keep it up. Here were the top 10 devices for that week, courtesy of MobileCrunch:
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| Do We Even Need Faster Phones? Posted: 01 Apr 2011 06:23 AM PDT
When the T-Mobile G1 launched back in 2008 with its 528MHz Qualcomm-made processor, we thought it was fast enough for our needs. I personally went a year and a half without the urge to switch phones and I’m sure there are many who are the same. I even know people still holding on to the G1 to this day and they are some of the most die-hard Android fans I know. Times change, though. Although Android itself seems to demand less and less resources as each new major version of the operating system is launched, power users beg for more. They want more RAM, a faster processor, a better GPU and the whole nine yards. My question: when is enough enough? Chipset vendors Qualcomm, Samsung, Texas Instruments, and NVIDIA came to market with 1GHz single-core offerings and we were blown away. Finally, there’d exist a flock of CPUs fast enough to keep up with those who find themselves doing a ton of mobile multi-tasking. Suddenly, even that hasn’t been enough for some folks lately. All of the aforementioned vendors have come to market with dual-core offerings with NVIDIA being the only one with their technology currently inside of commercially available hardware. (The LG Optimus 2X Motorola XOOM and the ATRIX 4G, of course.) I can understand why you’d want more power in a tablet, but it seemed a bit excessive for a phone. My feelings changed a bit when trying out devices such as the T-Mobile G2X and LG Optimus 2X, the Motorola Atrix 4G and the HTC EVO 3D however. Navigating the user interfaces on these phones was a buttery smooth experience and I immediately longed to own a device that could finally stand up to the iPhone 4 in terms of speed. Android’s clear lack of UI responsiveness – even with 1GHz chipsets – compared to Apple’s devices bothers every Android user whether they like to admit it or not. We could wait for Google to implement system-wide hardware acceleration like iOS (something we expect to happen with the release of Ice Cream), but getting a dual-core phone is the next best choice for the foreseeable future. And while we’re still waiting for the market to be filled with more of these powerful handsets, folks like NVIDIA are already about to ship quad-core mobile chipsets. We’re sure that these will be more tailored to tablets and netbooks starting out, but just as with dual-core there’s a possibility these could come to smartphones as well. I’m not saying I don’t want to see devices get faster and better, but do we really need them to be? Do we see ourselves using all of that juice to its full potential or do we just want to say we have this many gigabytes of this and that many gigahertz of that? When is the industry going to get to a point where they’re happy with the advancements made in just a few short years? Chipset optimization is already prominent in the industry as vendors look to improve their current offerings and it’ll continue to be a focal point with dual-core devices going forward, but how optimized can you really get with phones? It’s not like the PC market where you have tons of different needs from different users. Although the market is heading in a mobile-dominated market, a phone can only do so much compared to personal computers. I know one of many benefits to dual-core technology is improved battery life due to the CPU not needing to work as hard for as long but most telecoms and manufacturers don’t use that advantage as part of their marketing campaigns. It’s usually the promise of faster speeds and batter graphics that they use to pull new customers in. That’s great for the growth of mobile gaming which Nintendo seems to be taking a harsh stance on. What else, though? I’m personally happy with where we’re at. My 1GHz device – a Samsung EPIC 4G – was more than enough for me for a long time. My EVO 4G before that was also sufficient enough for my needs - 3D gaming with today’s popular and most graphic-intensive titles wasn’t even a bad experience on it and it didn’t have the most powerful GPU in the world. I’m most likely going to move forward with a dual-core device but I don’t anticipate needing another device for a VERY long time after that. I want to know how you folks feel, though. Are some of you happy with the speed of your devices now or are you already itching for the latest and greatest to rest inside your pants pocket?
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| MetroPCS Extends LTE Coverage to Tampa Posted: 01 Apr 2011 06:06 AM PDT
MetroPCS subscribers in Tampa will be happy to learn that the carrier today announced the enabling of its LTE network in that market. The only Android handset that can take advantage of that network right now is their Samsung Galaxy Indulge, but it’s not a bad handset at all. I took a look at it in Orlando last week and – for plans starting at $50 including 4G data, I wouldn’t be the least bit disappointed to carry it. PRNewswire for the press release.
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| ABI: Android to Hold 45% of Global Market by 2016 Posted: 01 Apr 2011 06:00 AM PDT
Let me know if you”ve heard this one before. Another research firm – ABI, this time – expects Android to hold 45% of the market share by 2016. It closely mirrors IDC’s prediction the other day that states Android will enjoy 45.4% of the market by 2015. The breakdown below Android looks to be a lot different, however. IDC predicted Windows Phone 7 would be in the number two spot with 20% by 2016, but ABI thinks they’ll struggle to get more than 7%. iOS is said to be third on IDC’s breakdown while ABI predicts it will be second. A lot of number crunching lately, but we really don’t care about the specifics of competitors as long as Android comes out on top. (And by a convincing margin at that.) 2016 is a long time from now, but I can totally see it happening.
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| Rogers to Get Xperia Arc and Play Late April for $99.99? Posted: 01 Apr 2011 05:17 AM PDT
Our friends up north will be happy to hear that Rogers will be looking to carry the Xperia Arc and Xperia Play sometime this month. To be specific, the internal document specifically says shipments will be arriving between the 19th and 21st of April. Pricing also seems to have been confirmed for both phones – how does $99.99 on a three-year contract sound? Just this morning, Sony Ericsson officially announced availability and said to expect six new markets to get the new device within the next couple of weeks. Yes, we know April 19th falls outside of that “two weeks” threshold but who’s counting? Be on the lookout for presale opportunities by visiting rogers.com/xperia and sign up to be notified. [via MobileSyrup]
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