Thursday, June 2, 2011

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

The Toshiba Thrive with Android 3.1 Gets A Ship Date and Pricing

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 07:02 PM PDT

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I guess Toshiba was feeling left out of the tablet market and who can blame them? Just about everyone has an Android tablet these days (saw a pretty nifty one at Kohls the other day) and if its one thing that makes Android great, it’s options. Say hello to the Toshiba Thrive.

So what exactly makes this Honeycomb tablet so special? Well, the fact that it comes in a wide array of options (there’s that word again) like an 8GB version for $430, 16GB for $480, and 32GB for $580. I personally think the 8GB version would more than do the trick seeing how it is the only tablet I’ve seen thus far offering a full sized SD card slot (no micro) and even full sized HDMI and USB connections. Wowzers.

Other notable specs include a removable battery (good for when Honeycomb freezes up on you), standard dual-core Nvida Tegra 2 processor, 5MP rear/2MP front facing cameras. Toshiba has also included some handy apps like Swype and upscaling software Resolution +.

The Toshiba Thrive will be the company’s first Honeycomb powered Android tablet to hit the U.S. and Best Buy will allow you to pre-order the device as early as June 13th with a rumored launch date of somewhere around July 10th.

This tablet sounds like a true winner to me (just hate the silver thing around the camera) hitting all the requirements I would look for in a tablet. But what about you guys? Out of all the Honeycomb tablets hitting this summer, which one will/would you pick up?

[Via Engadget]

HTC Announces New OpenSense SDK for Developers – Wants Moar Apps

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:13 PM PDT

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It’s been a few years since HTC first unleashed their beautiful “Android skin” known as Sense UI. We first saw it on the HTC Hero and since then, it has evolved, matured and even become the central focus for HTC and the reason, they feel, consumers would want an HTC device over all the rest. There’s no denying the beauty of Sense and the amount of polish all the native apps have about them but that was offset by the majority of apps having a stock “vanilla” Android UI to them. But after years of honing Sense on a plethora of devices and refining it to what we see today, HTC has formally announced their commitment to the developer community and has opened up their new site HTCdev.com.

Now, using their OpenSense SDK, developers from all over the world now have the API’s they need to tinker around and create apps built around and tailored to HTC’s custom UI. One of the cool API’s devs now have access to is the Scribe Pen API which could lead devs to creating some interesting and unique apps using HTC’s Scribe Pen in gaming apps and/or note taking apps. Or how about about HTC’s 3D API devs can use in their apps to create eye-popping 3D visuals in their apps? Pretty exciting stuff.

HTC is hoping this new move will help distinguish their UI from the multitude of devices from OEM’s all over the globe by giving them the edge where it matters most – apps. App exclusivity seems to be a hot topic going around these days and it looks like we’re just getting started. I, for one, am excited to see what developers will come up using the OpenSense SDK. Viva, la Android!

[Via Twitter]

Why +1 Could Crush Facebook (And How Google Could Blow It)

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 12:40 PM PDT

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We’ve seen Google make a ton of failed forays into the social scene: Remember Google Buzz, Google Wave, Google Knol, Orkut and other ominously hopeful attempts? Yesterday they were joined in hope by Google +1, and while many are saying that it too will fail, I believe Google has a SERIOUS opportunity here. But it’s an opportunity they could just as easily squander. We’ve seen that before.

What is Google +1?


For the unfamiliar, +1 is Google’s version of the Facebook “Like” button. Any page on the internet can be “liked” and webmasters across the globe can add “+1″ buttons to their content, allowing visitors to easily like and share content they deem valuable.

The Wave of Buzz Before +1

There is one crucial difference between Google’s launch of +1 and previous services like Buzz and Wave. Think about the unique proposition of the past products. Google Buzz allowed you to “shout” comments to other Buzz users based on physical locations. Google Wave allowed you to communicate with other Wave users based on a “Next Gen E-Mail” concept. Google Knol attempted to collect in-depth reviews from users to create a Wikipedia competitor. Heck, Google even launched their own social network with Orkut allowing you to connect with a closed circle of friends.

All of these have three key elements in common:

  1. The initial strategy starts and ends with providing an awesome service to the end user
  2. The concept doesn’t properly reach it’s potential if critical mass don’t buy into the idea
  3. If momentum dies… so does the idea

With all of Google’s immensely popular services, with their ridiculous reach and clout, you’d think they could leverage good, new ideas into instant success. Not quite. With Buzz and Wave, Google learned they could influence a large number of people to try something new. But if all their friends weren’t using the service, what’s the point? Both services quickly lost their luster with Wave becoming (NSFW) little more than a novelty/comedy act and Buzz falling into disfavor due to privacy concerns. Although you can get users to try something new once or even many times, creating habits and changing existing habits is a completely different ballgame.

The Fatal Flaws

Facebook isn’t a social network with brilliantly original ideas. When MySpace was still successful (if you can remember that far back), any idiot could have created their own social network that did very similar things. Why was Facebook the juggernaut success story?

It isn’t just about Facebook being a great product. Lots of companies create great products. But is it a great product, in the right place, at the right time, under the right circumstances, in the right environment, and marketed correctly? Facebook enjoyed the perfect storm of momentum, growing organically and somehow fueling itself into the figurative snowball that became an avalanche of success.

Google, on the other hand, (with Buzz/Wave) built what they considered to be the perfect products, flipped the switch, and expected all the moths to flock to the light. I’m being a bit harsh, but it illustrates an important difference in strategy, and one they’ve diverged from with +1.

The +1 Difference

It might be impossible to create the perfect storm, but how about creating the perfect conditions for a perfect storm to manifest? With +1, Google is flipping the three elements found earlier in this article directly on their head, and it could be exactly what the doctor ordered for their social woes.

(1) Forget End Users, Focus On Our Users

While Google still fundamentally believes in and follows through with creating awesome products and services, marketing them is a completely different ballgame. People are finicky. People are creatures of habit. People are very different from one another and Google doesn’t quite have “people” – in general – figured out yet. However, Google does have one huge and strategically important group in their pocket.  What group collectively runs the internet and – in their own voice towards their own unique circle of friends – can motivate their “circle” to adopt Google’s products and services?

Webmasters. Think about it: what benefit do end users currently have to use Google’s +1? Almost none. Click the +1 button and see the number go up, but beyond that, does anything interesting happen? Not really.

Webmasters on the other hand have a huge opportunity by implementing +1… and run a huge risk in not implementing. Google has explicitly stated that +1 statistics can and will directly affect organic search results, a source of traffic that is responsible for the majority of traffic for most websites. Why deliver the message themselves when Google has an army of people closer to the end users, willing to recruit the masses?

(2) If You Build It, Bring It To Them

Field Of Dreams is one of my favorite movies on the planet and it features the memorable line, “If you build it, they will come.” referring to building a baseball field that will automagically attract the spirits of former ballplayers.

That’s what Google has done in the past: built it and expected them to come. And they did… but with socially oriented products, they left just as quickly as they came. With ideas that require a critical mass, you’ve got to have a more strategic and proactive approach then what marketers call “pitching and praying”.

This time around, with +1, Google is taking their product directly to the front and center of user’s focus. Not only will webmasters across the globe be implementing +1 in the hopes of attracting social clicks that improve their overall Google rankings, but Google themselves are walking the talk by showing +1 implementation in key places that define their business. For example, see what happens when I search for “phandroid” on Google:

When searching Google (which everyone does) and seeing the faces of your friends who have +1′d results, you’re forced to keep the service top of mind. If you don’t know what +1 is and you see these results, chances are you’ll be trying to find out. And since your favorite websites will likely be shoving +1 buttons down your throats, chances are lots of people will be +1′ing even before there are real benefits involved.

Google has also implemented the +1 button on Android Market, allowing users to +1 application pages on the web version of the market. Go ahead and visit the Phandroid App on Android Market and give it a +1!

Notice how you can +1 or Tweet but there is no sign of Facebook Liking anywhere? Yeah… that’s NOT a coincidence. The social war is upon us. Might they use this for ranking apps in Android Market as well? Possibly, and I’m sure app developers are taking note, suggesting their users +1 their application. Google will almost assuredly roll out +1 options in other places as well… but more on that later.

(3) Keep The Ball Rolling

Google Buzz and Google Wave lost steam quickly. The novelty wore off, everyone’s friends weren’t using it which made it less useful, people put it down which made it even less compelling and momentum went in the exact opposite direction as intended. Creating the perfect storm isn’t easy, but by:

  • Enlisting the support of webmasters
  • Incentivizing webmasters with better rankings
  • Plastering +1 and friends’ faces across their most visited pages

…Google is ensuring the service will get mass attention and for a decent amount of time. Webmasters will push +1 until it’s deemed useless and Google will push it on their homepage and other key places unless it fails. And it very well could fail if Google doesn’t follow up with more features. To keep the ball rolling, Google needs to extend a unique proposition and key benefit to end users. They’ve bought themselves a nice window of time by employing a new strategy… but they’ll squander the opportunity if they don’t follow it up with the awesome end-user product we hope they have under wraps.

Flattening Facebook

The Google +1 button isn’t going to do much all by its lonesome. But if Google is able to integrate the services they have made successful into one consumer-friendly social haven- watch out! Facebook only has one hugely successful product: Facebook. Within Facebook they’ve got some hugely successful features such as photo albums and up-and-coming features such as Places and Offers, but take a look at Google’s products that people rely every single day: Web Search, GMail, GTalk, Calendar, YouTube, Maps, Navigation, Chrome, Google Voice, Android and many more. Not to mention they’ve got their own picture service (Picasa), recently announced Google Offers and Google Wallet, and projects like Google TV and Chromebooks will further intimate the Google experience in your life.

On a service-by-service basis, Google is light years ahead of Facebook in key areas and if they’re able to harness all that power into one social system? They could potentially flatten Facebook.

They’ll never wipe Facebook out, but they can compete and possibly even win.

For example, with Google Maps and Google Nav on both Web and Android, they dominate the local search arena and give businesses a HUGE reason to cooperate and prioritize their relationship with Google. GTalk is tons better than Facebook Chat, Google Buzz offers location based discussion with friends, and Google Latitude and Places both offer incredible check-in and tracking type functionality. They’ve got video content locked down with Youtube and Youtube LIVE promises unique sharing abilities between friends. Did you forget about the announcement of Google Music? It’s all there…

Google is missing one key thing in competing with Facebook on the social scene: a single destination.

While Google has a lot of different services that people love and use, they all exist in their separate silos that don’t talk to each other. People love having one destination for each activity in their life and Google has accomplished this with many of their services. Want videos? Go to YouTube. Want E-Mail? Go to GMail. Want Maps? Go to Google Maps. Want to stay organized? Use Google Calendar. Want a phone? Use Android. Want Music? Google Music. Want Chat? GTalk. And the list goes on. But people also want one single destination for social.

Google has all the features and resources to integrate their amazing services into one user interface that allows people to share all types of various information with their friends, family, co-workers and whoever else they deem worthy in a simple, intuitive and fun way. They just need to do it. And now.

Where it could all go wrong…

As I already explained, creating the perfect storm is nearly impossible, especially when you’re competing head-on with a social powerhouse like Facebook. Google has all the tools to succeed and they’re building an environment to foster the organic creation of a perfect storm. That being said… it could all end up being a dud and here are a few key reasons why:

  • Lack of “Cool Factor”: Google doesn’t exactly have the “cool” factor when it comes to social and it’s a wildcard element that’s hard to piece together. It’s not just about the perfect service. It’s in the name, marketing, look/feel, and so much more. Google is known for many things but the social connectivity cool factor isn’t one of them… and overcoming that hurdle could prove problematic. If you ask me, Google would benefit by using a name/domain not directly associated with Google.com (think Youtube instead of Google Video).
  • Privacy Concerns: Although people like getting all their stuff in one place, people might feel that they already get enough from Google- also sharing their social information is just one step too far. For personal reasons, many people like keeping their social life separate from the rest of their life and by using a Google social service, many consumers may feel there are too many risks in potentially sharing information they really, really didn’t want to share. People like different outlets for different needs but will the masses want one company in charge of everything?
  • Anti-trust/Monopoly: It would be a great problem to have if Google made a social service so popular that the government came knocking on their door saying they’re too big. But the fact that this is inherently a risk is part of the reason the “cool” factor is hard to achieve- everyone likes an underdog and that’s how Facebook started out. Not to mention, the government already has their eyes on Google for this sort of thing.
  • Failure to Launch: This whole articles is predicated on the fact that Google +1 is the first step in unleashing a larger and comprehensive social strategy in the near future. Google +1 in it’s current state isn’t much of a threat to anyone. If Google doesn’t follow it up with front-facing end-user features, it’ll go the way of Buzz and Wave. Now that they’ve made +1 public, they have a window of time to roll out the rest of their masterplan. If they don’t have a masterplan? Bye bye +1. If they do? We’ll see what it is. But the next month or two will illustrate if Google has learned anything with the relative failures of Buzz and Wave.
  • Half-Bake Launch: Similarly, if Google rolls out something half-baked, people will try it for a little bit, not like it, leave, return to Facebook and never come back.

I have to think that Google planned/hoped to launch a lot of awesome social stuff at Google IO but just wasn’t ready. Learning from Buzz/Wave, they decided to wait until all the pieces were in place before they moved forward. They know that if they launch a Facebook competitor and it flops, consumers might not ever give them a second chance and that’s WAY too big of a risk to take by “rushing”. Now that the pieces are ready… +1 indicates step 1 of the plan.

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe +1 is just another service Google is getting wrong. Maybe it’s a solitary service and Google doesn’t have plans to immediately integrate/promote it with a larger social product. The opportunity is here and now; Google should either capture it while they can or they should have waited to launch +1 altogether until they were ready. And don’t forget… just as Google could enter the Social Hemisphere in a big way, so could Facebook march into Google territory.

What do you think?

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T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide Caught in the Wild, Android 2.3.4 On Board

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 12:06 PM PDT

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The T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide is said to run “much faster than the myTouch 4G.” Perhaps it was moving to quickly to grab a non-blurry photo. BGR got hold of a source who was able to snap off some photos of the upcoming device, codenamed Doubleshot, in the wild. Aside from comparing the device’s speed to the original myTouch 4G, the source also claimed the 4G Slide ran “just as smoothly as the HTC Sensation ” Confirmed is an 8MP camera, Sense UI 3.0, and Android 2.3.4. The screen isn’t said to be much, and the Android keys and keyboard are compared to those of the G2. The insider pegged early July as the estimated launch date for the phone.

[via BGR]

Updated Platform Distributions Chart Shows Honeycomb Still Struggling to Break Ground, Gingerbread Slowly Rising

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 10:04 AM PDT

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It seems like forever ago since we got one of these. Google’s released a new platform versions chart chart for the two weeks ending June 1st. At first glance, Honeycomb still hasn’t broken much ground. Android 3.0 and 3.1 make up for a combined .6%, even after Google gave all of those tablets away at I/O a few weeks ago. We hope for that to change drastically with competitively-priced tablets from ASUS, Acer and Samsung being heavily produced starting this month and more to come from other manufacturers soon.

Last time we saw Gingerbread, it was sitting at a combined 4%, but it’s clawing and scratching its way near the top as it now accounts for 9.2% of all devices. This is most likely due to the successful launch of the Samsung Galaxy S and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia PLAY and Arc, and with more older phones getting upgrades to Gingerbread this summer, we should see it with double digits in no time. (Is 20% before the end of the summer asking too much?)

Eclair and Froyo are still dominating with a combined 85.8%, but Froyo thankfully has a majority of that at 64.6%. It seems like it was just yesterday we were talking about how Android 1.5 and 1.6 were still dominating the charts while Android 2.1 was struggling to break ground, and now those latter two are just about extinct. We couldn’t be happier about that. (Don’t get me wrong, though – I do still love green-frosted cupcakes and donuts.) [Android Developers]

HTC Flyer Benchmarks

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 09:43 AM PDT

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Although the device has a 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor inside, it seems underpowered. Overall system performance isn’t as snappy as, say, an NVIDIA Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablet or even Samsung’s Hummingbird processor clocked at 1.2GHz. I, of course, wanted to see if this would be reflected in benchmarks so I took it through the gauntlet and here’s what I found, starting with AnTuTu.

AnTutu – I really have no knowledge on this benchmark, but I can tell you that it took the Flyer a hell of a long time to complete. It scored 2739 when all was said and done, with most of that obviously coming from high amount of RAM (1GB) and the increased clock speed on the CPU. 2D and 3D graphics performance scores weren’t terrible, but were nothing special. The only device not overclocked that I could put it up against was the Motorola XOOM, which apparently scored a 5752 at  stock 1GHz speeds. The XOOM dominated CPU performance, staying in the 1400-1900 range down the board.

Linpack – Linpack scores were impressive, but no less was expected from a Snapdragon chipset clocked at 1.5GHz. It scored an average of 56 MFLOPS, though this isn’t as impressive as it once was when Linpack first became the premier benchmark for testing CPU efficiency. Competing (single-core) overclocked to similar speeds actually produce better scores.

Neocore – Although this device doesn’t have Qualcomm’s absolute latest GPU inside, the Adreno 205 was enough to muster up exactly 50 frames per second. Neocore now seems outdated, however, with low resolution and polygon counts being a cakewalk for most GPUs. Note: The Neocore benchmark was made by Adreno Graphics, a brand of Qualcomm’s.

Nenamark 2 – Nenamark is a lot more taxing and it shows in its benchmark results. At the end of it all, 10.9 frames per second was all the Flyer could average and that low framerate was visibly noticeable throughout the benchmark.

Quadrant – 1899-2100 is what I kept scoring with Quadrant, and compared to some stock phones with supposedly weaker chipsets, this isn’t too great of a score.

Smartbench 2011 – The Flyer scored a 1495 in productivity and a 2332 for games. They’re modest scores up against competition but more powerful devices easily has it beat.

I don’t claim to know a lot about CPUs, GPUs, file system performance and the inner-workings of these benchmarks, but I just wanted to provide a bit of commentary with my findings. What drove me to try all of these in the first place was the fact that overall OS performance on the Flyer isn’t that great, a point I’ll be touching on in our official review. In the meantime, feel free to take these scores and measure the Flyer up against your own device, phone, tablet or otherwise.

Editor’s Note: each benchmark was run a minimum of 5 times. Some were run 10 times. Inconsistent scores were averaged, while I took the highest score for consistent scores. Video does not always depict length of benchmark as some clips were sped up to save time. And I apologize for the horrible selection of music.

HTC EVO 4G Officially Getting Gingerbread Beginning Tomorrow

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 09:23 AM PDT

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That was just a tad bit sooner than we expected, but who’s complaining? The folks at Sprint have just informed everyone that the HTC EVO 4G will be getting its official Gingerbread upgrade tomorrow, June 3rd. The update won’t be pushed to your phone at this time – you’ll have to ping Google’s servers for the goods. Those who’d rather wait for Sprint to notify them can wait until Monday, June 6th, but there really is no point unless you don’t want to be a guinea pig to any potential issues. Read on for the full details, courtesy of Sprint. [via Gizmodo]

HTC EVO™ 4G from Sprint will receive the Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread, update through an over-the-air maintenance release beginning on Monday, June 6.

 

Sprint will send update notifications to users in waves. The notification will let users know the update is available and provide the simple two-step, over-the-air download instructions.

 

 

  1. Users will receive a notification that Android 2.3 is available for download.
  2. Once the user has downloaded the update, they will be prompted to install the update. The user will be notified that their device will be disabled during the installation process. The phone will be ready to use once the process completes.

 

Can’t Wait Until June 6?

 

For those who just can’t wait to get Android 2.3, there will be an easy user initiated option to download the upgrade starting on Friday, June 3. To access the update - from the home screen/Menu/Settings/System updates/HTC software Update. This will initiate the upgrade process.

 

The software release upgrades HTC EVO 4G to Android 2.3, Gingerbread. This version of Android improves download management through the Downloads application, offering the user easy access to any file downloaded from the browser, email or another application. It also fixes the devices ability to stream media through certain applications for the device.

 

Gingerbread restores HTC EVO 4G’s ability to sync multiple Gmail™ accounts, display email attachments in the email client and fixes battery discharge issues.

 

 

1.8GHz Dual-Core OMAP4470 by Texas Instruments Sounds Amazing

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:29 AM PDT

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Texas Instruments just upgraded their OMAP4 line with the 4470, a 1.8GHz dual-core chipset with a PowerVR SGX544 that’s said to be 2.5x faster than its predecessor. It can handle resolutions up to 2084×1536, stereoscopic 3D in HD over HDMI and more. TI’s OMAP4430 already looked amazing when we got our eyes on it at Mobile World Congress so we’re surprised to see them 1up it so quickly.

It’s shipping out to OEMs in the second half of this year, but devices aren’t expected to use the powerhouse chipset until mid-2012. We expect Motorola to revisit TI for their high-end chipset needs as NenaMark benchmark results have already suggested.

Verizon’s 4G LTE Tab 10.1 Pre-Orders Coming June 8th, Too

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 08:05 AM PDT

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I was wondering why information about the 4G version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was missing from Samsung’s latest press release – Verizon wanted to announce its availability themselves. They’ll be offering two colors – gray and white – for $529 and $629 (16GB of storage and 32GB of storage, respectively). We expect these versions of the Tab 10.1 to have SD Card slots somewhere near that 4G LTE SIM card slot, but we’re not sure if things have changed since CTIA.

This one is definitely 4G-enabled out of the box, though, so there’s no sending your device back to Samsung for an LTE upgrade like the Motorola XOOM. (Which should be happening right around the end of this month if Motorola and Verizon keep their promises.) It’s just like the Tab 10.1 we reviewed here, but you’ll be drowned in 4G LTE goodness. It’ll be available for pre-order starting June 8th, but no launch date has been mentioned. You can sign up to be notified of its availability here. Read on for full press details.

erizon Wireless Adds 4G LTE-Enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 To Portfolio

4G LTE-Enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1, Exclusive from Verizon Wireless, Measures Only 8.6 Millimeters Thin

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and DALLAS, TX -- Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), today announced the 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 will be available on the fastest, most advanced network in coming weeks. The slim and sleek Galaxy Tab 10.1 debuts with Android™ Honeycomb and will be available in either Metallica Gray or Glossy White. Customers will be able to pre-order the device online on June 8 at www.verizonwireless.com/galaxytab4glte. When the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits Verizon Wireless stores this summer, it will be accompanied by an array of optional accessories such as a full-sized keyboard dock and a multi-media docking station.

"The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a great option for customers who want to enjoy the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network - the fastest network in America," said Jeff Dietel, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless. "Customers can also use the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 wherever they are on the nation’s largest 3G network."

Dietel added, "The tablet market is exploding as customers are discovering new uses for the technology that features a large screen, powerful processing speeds and access to Android Market™’s 200,000 applications. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is perfect for customers who want to take advantage of Google™’s new movie rental option and view their favorite film on-the-go."

"Samsung Mobile is excited to expand its mobile tablet portfolio with Verizon Wireless to include the 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1," said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. "The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the thinnest and lightest tablet in the world that delivers a truly mobile multimedia experience on an Android Honeycomb platform."

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 offers full support for Google™ Mobile Services, including Gmail�", YouTube™ and more. Customers will relish the 10.1-inch enhanced display with a1280x800 resolution HD screen, 1 GHz dual core application processor, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. Both consumers and business customers will find a multitude of uses for the Galaxy Tab that range from video chat to business tools, including those that allow for the opening and editing of documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 features Adobe® Flash® Player to deliver an enhanced Internet browsing experience and access to content-rich Websites.

Verizon Wireless will offer two 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 models both priced with two year customer agreements: $529.99 for the 16GB model and $629.99 for the 32GB model. For more information on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, go to:www.verizonwireless.com/galaxytab4glte.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visitwww.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library atwww.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Samsung Telecommunications America
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visitwww.samsungwireless.com.

Android is a trademark of Google, Inc.

Adobe and Flash are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Sony Ericsson Announces 20+ New Games for Xperia PLAY to be Shown at E3, Including 10 Exclusive Titles

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 06:34 AM PDT

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Sony Ericsson has just announced 20+ new titles that will be optimized for the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY. Ten of those titles will be exclusive and they include some pretty big names. Minecraft, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Rainbow Six Shadow Vanguard are only a few of the titles Xperia PLAY owners can look forward to.

They’ll be showing most of these wares off at E3 this year and we’ll be on the scene to take a look at all of them. Things kick off June 7th so stay tuned to Phandroid for all the latest Android gaming news coming out of the event. Read ahead for the full list of titles that’ll be on hand in LA.

New Android Games Exclusive on Xperia™ PLAY:

  • Minecraft™ by Mojang
  • Battlefield Bad Company 2 by Electronic Arts
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Shadow Vanguard by Gameloft
  • Desert Winds by Southend Interactive
  • Ruined by Bigpoint
  • Icebreaker™ by NaturalMotion
  • Sleepy Jack by SilverTree Media
  • Cracking Sands by Polarbit
  • Armageddon Squadron 2 by Polarbit
  • An unnamed fighting game from Khaeon Gamestudio

New Games coming soon on Xperia™ PLAY:

  • Pocket Legends by Spacetime Studios
  • Star Legends: The Black Star Chronicles by Spacetime Studios
  • Eternal Legacy by Gameloft
  • Guns ’n’Glory 2 by HandyGames
  • Dungeon Hunter 2 by Gameloft
  • Pocket RPG by Crescent Moon Games
  • D.A.R.K. developed by Gamelab
  • Samurai II: Vengeance by MADFINGER Games
  • Vendetta Online by Guild Software
  • Order & Chaos - Gameloft
  • Happy Vikings by Handy Games
  • A Ball Game by Trendy Entertainment
  • Lumines by Connect2Media

 

Galaxy Tab 10.1 Available Only in NYC June 8th, Nationwide June 17th

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 05:39 AM PDT

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When Samsung told us that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be available from June 8th starting at $500, we assumed everyone would get it. That isn’t the case, unfortunately. They’ve just issued a press release that states only one store in one city will be getting – a Best Buy in Union Square – June 8th. Everyone else will have to wait until June 17th.

If you were looking forward to picking this thing up in six days you may need to fly to NYC and get one if you don’t already live there. Or just get one from eBay. (Though that can be relatively expensive at this point.) If  you’d rather wait, you will be able to pre-order from your local Best Buy or online starting June 8th, as well.

Another nice tidbit from the press release states that this thing will be coming with stock Android 3.1 when it launches, but a software update in the future will surely enable TouchWiz. Full press details are straight ahead. Be sure to check out our review of the Tab 10.1 here.

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, and Samsung Electronics America, a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced the upcoming retail availability of the Galaxy Tab™ 10.1, starting June 8. The WiFi-enabled tablet measures at just 8.6 millimeters slim, making it the thinnest mobile tablet currently available in the world. The 32GB version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi edition will be available for $599, while the 16GB version of the device will be available for $499.

A limited quantity of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi edition will be available for purchase exclusively at the Best Buy Union Square store in New York City on June 8. Best Buy customers may also pre-order the Galaxy Tab 10.1 online or in-store beginning that day.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is powered by Android™ 3.1 Honeycomb, offering faster and smoother transitions between different applications, more intuitive navigation to and from home screens and broader support of USB accessories, external keyboards, joysticks and gamepads.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the thinnest mobile tablet currently available in the world, measuring in at an ultra-slim 8.6 millimeters. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 also boasts an incredibly light weight of just 1.25 pounds (565 grams) for outstanding mobility and comfort in the user’s hands.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is designed with a brilliant 10.1-inch HD touchscreen display with WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution delivering vibrant colors and crisp clarity. This expansive screen is centered inside a narrow bezel to enhance the wide viewing angle.

“Ensuring that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 launched with Android 3.1 Honeycomb was part of our constant commitment to meeting the needs of our customers,” said Dale Sohn, President and CEO of Samsung Mobile. “The Galaxy Tab 10.1′s ultra-thin design and 10-inch touchscreen are impressive differentiators in the tablet market place. We’re going to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 even more powerful, entertaining and secure through a series of upgrades coming to this device.”

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will receive these new upgrades through a software update that customers can access over the air in the near future. Those upgrades are currently scheduled to include:

FEATURES/SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH FUTURE SOFTWARE UPGRADE

Customized User Experience “Samsung TouchWiz UX”

Samsung’s TouchWiz user experience is designed with a Live Panel menu for customizing the home screen of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with digital pictures, favorite Web sites and social network feeds.

In addition, the TouchWiz UX includes a “Mini Apps” tray of commonly used features such as task manager, calendar and music player which can be launched while other major applications are already in use.

Samsung Media Hub

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 software upgrade will introduce the evolution of Samsung’s popular movie and TV content service, known as Media Hub. Media Hub has been redesigned with a new user interface for even easier downloads of rented or purchased content. The new version of Media Hub also includes an HD Extender which allows the user to playback Media Hub content on TV through an HDMI cable from the Galaxy Tab 10.1 dock or adaptor.

Readers Hub & Social Hub

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will also gain access to Samsung’s Readers Hub service, which is a robust library filled with more than 2.2 million books, 2,000 newspapers and 2,300 magazines. Also, the software upgrade will install Samsung’s Social Hub service, which aggregates email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar and social network connections into a single interface.

Optimal Enterprise Solutions

In addition, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 integrates several enterprise solutions to provide support for exchange device management policies, improve the security of data and services maintained on the tablet and meet IT guidelines for remote device access. The enterprise solutions include:

On-device encryption of user data
Enhanced Exchange ActiveSync Support
Cisco AnyConnect SSL VPN
F5 SSL VPN
Versatile Content Sharing

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will also receive Samsung’s Allshare service, for seamless content transfer between the tablet and other DLNA-enabled devices such as HDTV’s, monitors and digital cameras. The software upgrade will also transform the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 into a device capable of accepting streaming content from a TV to the tablet itself.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES AVAILABLE AT PRODUCT LAUNCH

Impressive Speed, Power & Battery Life

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity to deliver rapid mobile download speeds and reduce data transfer times. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 also includes a Nvidia Tegra 1GHz dual core application processor for powerful gaming and multimedia performance. The Tab’s ultra-thin design does not sacrifice battery life, thanks to a 7000 mAh battery providing up to 9 hours of continuous use on a single charge2.

Full Adobe Flash Player Compatibility

The device offers extensive Web browsing access through Adobe® Flash® Player compatibility. Flash Player delivers beautiful HD video, faster graphics rendering, and high performance on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and is designed to take advantage of native device capabilities – enabling richer, more immersive user experiences.

Quality Cameras and Sound

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 features a 3 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera providing smooth video chat capabilities and seamless 1080p HD video playback3. High quality speakers are positioned on the right and left sides of the device for a rich, deep audio experience.

Google™ Mobile Services

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is preloaded with the full suite of Google Mobile Services including access to more than 60,000 Android Market™ applications for Galaxy Tab 10.14, Gmail™, Google Search™, Google Maps™ 5.0 with 3D maps, and Google Talk™ with video and voice chat.

Availability & Pricing

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi edition will be available exclusively starting June 8 at the Best Buy Union Square location in New York City. Starting June 17, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available at Best Buy online and in-store along with Fry’s Electronics, Amazon.com, Micro Center, Tiger Direct and Newegg. These retail outlets will have the 32GB version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi edition available for $599, and the 16GB version of the device will be available for $499. In addition, the WiFi version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available through Sprint starting mid-summer 2011. Visit www.samsung.com for additional details.

Faceniff Allows You to HiJack Unencrypted Facebook, Twitter & YouTube Logins [Video]

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 05:29 AM PDT

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Not that we condone this sort of stuff or anything, but since it already seems to be taking the blogosphere by storm we might as well report it. A developer created Faceniff, an Android application that’ll allow you to login to someone’s Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts if they login on shared WiFi networks without SSL encryption. The video above demonstrates the disturbing functionality.

We don’t even want to dig deep into how it works, and we’re feeling a little guilty putting a spotlight on this app, but perhaps this’ll encourage folks to use HTTPS from now on. You’ll need to be rooted and you can’t find it in the Android market. In fact, I think I’ll just leave anyone interested to find it for themselves. [via Mashable]

HTC EVO 3D For Dummies, & What You Need to Know About Its 3D Display [Forum Talk]

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 05:12 AM PDT

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We went fishing in the big ocean of conversation that we call AndroidForums.com and, considering it seems to be EVO month, caught a couple of nice things we thought might interest you. First up, forum user Vanquished whipped up the most awesome HTC EVO 3D guide you will ever find. (Naturally, he’s calling it “ HTC EVO 3D for Dummies”.) Every stinking spec you could care about is there, you’ll have a good source of information about the device’s obscurities, and they include links to more discussions about bootloaders, a closer look at its specs and a whole lot more.

One of those links contained some very interesting insight into the 3D technology used in the EVO 3D. Novox77, one of our awesome and very gracious moderators, did some digging into 3D in general and found that it can be very easy for content creators to inadvertently misuse the display, causing an undesirable viewing experience. Here’s a quick excerpt from the post:

Regarding images that pop out: already proven possible with the screen technology. But will the phone’s camera be able to capture a subject and then show it popping out? Most likely, but not guaranteed.

In another thread, I incorrectly concluded that the focal point determines the threshold where things pop out or appear behind the screen. Actually that threshold is fixed based on the distance between the lens and the offset of the sensors behind the lenses. I have no visibility into how the E3D’s sensors are set, so there’s no way to guess what the zero parallax line lies. However, once the phone is released, it will be trivial to determine this by taking a picture of a ruler that extends from the camera. If you overlay the stereo images in photoshop, the ruler will appear as a thin X. Where the convergence of the X is on the ruler will be the zero parallax line (aka point of convergence).

It only gets more informative from there, folks, so be sure to hit that thread up at your earliest convenience, as well as some of the others linked in the exhaustive EVO 3D for Dummies post mentioned above.

HTC EVO View 4G to Launch Alongside EVO 3D June 24th?

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 04:33 AM PDT

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June 24th is starting to sound like a very popular date. First, we let word go that the sequel to Sprint’s biggest flagship phone is said to be here June 24th by RadioShack, and now an internal shot from a Sprint debit card rewards system suggests the EVO View 4G could be set to come on that same day. Oh, and it looks like that EVO 3D is already in training if that left sidebar is anything to go by. June’s looking like a very eventful month, folks. [Engadget]

Android Overload: Motorola Atrix Now on T-Mobile (UK), Qualcomm’s Quad-core CPU Coming Soon and More

Posted: 02 Jun 2011 01:22 AM PDT

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Hello again, everyone! It’s time to get your daily dose of Android Overload. This is the place where all good news stories go to die… Well, sort of. These are just the stories we couldn’t squeeze onto our illustrious front page with all the Android news going on today thanks to Computex, D9 and some little event Qualcomm has been busy with down in San Diego, CA. Speaking of Qualcomm, they’ve been getting a lot of attention lately and it looks like they’ve managed to find their way into the Overload tonight. So sit back, relax and feast on these Android tidbits from today.
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