Android Phone Fans |
- Apps of the Day [6/3]: Curvy, Read it Later Free, and More!
- Android Overload: HTC ChaCha Takes on the World, Android Updates, and More
- HTC Sensation 4G Unboxing and Initial Impressions [VIDEO]
- XOOM 4G Delay Limps Past Galaxy Tab 10.1 Launch
- Acer Iconia Tab A100 Passes through the FCC
- Droid X Gets New Life as Motorola Milestone X for Cellular South
- Lyric Legend Lets Shower Singers Have Guitar Hero Type Fun [GAME REVIEW]
- 9mm more than borrows from GTA series in latest trailer [NSFW]
- Samsung Rocks NYC with Phandroid Readers
- Droid X2 Feeling a Bit Bloated? Some Pre-Installed Software Can Be Given the Boot without Root
- Sanjay Jha: Blame Poor Apps for Poor Battery Life, Blur Could Fix That
- Onlive Shows Off New Universal Wireless Controller – Working Flawlessly On HTC Flyer
- EVO 4G’s Gingerbread Update Going Out Right Now
- Samsung Kies for Mac Beta Finally Available
- Recent Adopters: Is Android Pleasing You so Far?
| Apps of the Day [6/3]: Curvy, Read it Later Free, and More! Posted: 03 Jun 2011 03:58 PM PDT We’ve got some goodies for you today. We’ve once again scoured the Android Market and reader suggestions to come up with some apps you don’t want to miss out on. Lyrics? We got it. Fighting the undead? Check. Oh and Read it Later is now free. How convenient. Check it all out below.
Curvy – Curvy is yet another puzzle game, but it’s quite unlike any one I’ve played. You get a board of hexagons. Each of them has lines on them and can be rotated any number of times in each direction. The object of the game is to get the hexagons in their correct spot to form the shape that the lines make. I won’t lie – I had a ton of trouble with this game. It’s a head scratcher for sure, but if you like a challenge give it a shot. [Market - Lite | Full]
Lyric Legend - This is a somewhat unique title by the same folks who created the widely-popular TuneWiki music application from Android. They specialize in lyrics, so you had to imagine that this would be the game they’d make, if any. Think of it as Guitar Hero, except you’re trying to tap the words to the song you’re playing as they’re sung. The selection of music starting out is decent, but the only way to get more is to buy them. (Yes, with real money.) The free songs are worth a shot to see if you really like this challenging rhythm game. Check out our full review here. [Market]
Read it Later (Free) – Read it Later isn’t new to the Android Market, but for the first time it is available in a free to download version. The app does it exactly what the name describes: saves articles and web content for reading later, whether you are online or off. And it does it well. If you are an online news junkie but haven’t tried our Read it Later based on price, now you have no excuse at all. You know you’ll need it to catch up on all these Phandroid articles, anyway. [Market]
Age of Zombies – Another app that isn’t new, per se, but that has just become available for many more handsets. Originally a Sony Ericsson Xperia Play exclusive, Age of Zombies is now available for all multi-touch capable handsets running Android 1.6 or higher. The game is from Halfbrick Studios — makers of Fruit Ninja — and features top-down 2D gameplay in a world run-a-muck with Zombies (and Zombie dinosaurs). It’s addictively fun, too. [Market]
|
| Android Overload: HTC ChaCha Takes on the World, Android Updates, and More Posted: 03 Jun 2011 03:55 PM PDT  The short week wraps up with another overloaded roundup of Android news. Many things afoot in the world of mobile as we head into the weekend. Next marks that other manufacturer’s big WWDC event, which is sure to provide much fodder for speculation and debate. But for now revel in all things Android. Huzzah!
|
| HTC Sensation 4G Unboxing and Initial Impressions [VIDEO] Posted: 03 Jun 2011 03:34 PM PDT A little birdie just dropped off a package on my doorstep, and I didn’t want to keep it to myself. Inside was none other than the HTC Sensation 4G for T-Mobile, and the above video features my rather breathless unboxing of the beast. So far this thing really smokes and looks pretty darned good doing it. I will need some more time to really delve into what makes the Sensation tick, but for now enjoy this first look and look for my full review next week.
|
| XOOM 4G Delay Limps Past Galaxy Tab 10.1 Launch Posted: 03 Jun 2011 01:20 PM PDT When I bought the Motorola XOOM a few months ago, I partially bought it with the understanding that 4G would be on the way. It would take an annoying hardware upgrade to complete the process, but nonetheless it would come. Here we are several months later with the competing Galaxy Tab 10.1 about to launch on Verizon with 4G capability and approximately zero XOOM owners have been invited to upgrade their hardware.
What gives? Several sites have reported that Sanjay Jha, at a recent tech conference, all but put the blame on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset- an issue we would contest. Talking about Motorola’s recent delays, Jha mentioned “betting everything in one place” and suggested in the future they’ll want to work with more chipset manufacturers. Of course the Motorola XOOM runs Tegra 2. Um, yeah, but so does the Galaxy Tab 10.1. We got in touch with our contact at NVIDIA who emphatically dismissed the attribution of delay, expounding on some really good points we’ve already made:
Considering the Galaxy Tab is also running Tegra 2 – and running it brilliantly – I find it a little bit suspicious that NVIDIA would ever have been blamed. Maybe Jha meant Verizon. Or maybe – and I think this is most likely – maybe he was clamoring to come up with some type of PR speak that would attribute the blame elsewhere without attributing it to any one entity. Sounds about right. I assume there are a lot of irritated XOOM owners who have long been expecting the 4G upgrade. And given the fact that the upgrade process is hardware intensive, are any of you nervous how that will go once you’re finally able to get the one-up to the next level? XOOM owners speak now or forever hold your peace!
|
| Acer Iconia Tab A100 Passes through the FCC Posted: 03 Jun 2011 01:13 PM PDT
Though the Acer Iconia Tab A100 isn’t scheduled to hit the streets until the tail end of the summer, the FCC had its way with the 7-inch Honeycomb tablet a few months early. The A100 is no doubt solidified in the hardware department — it sports a Tegra 2 processor, 512MB of RAM and dual cameras — but apparent troubles with tailoring Honeycomb for its 7-inch screen have delayed its release. If it weren’t for such issues, the A100 would have joined the A500 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet on shelves this month. We aren’t quite sure what could be holding up Honeycomb, as the tablet-specific version of Android was shown off on several other 7-inch tablets at last week’s Computex. [FCC via WirelessGoodness]
|
| Droid X Gets New Life as Motorola Milestone X for Cellular South Posted: 03 Jun 2011 12:40 PM PDT
Just because the Droid X2 does a pretty good job of outmoding the original X doesn’t mean the phone still doesn’t have a bit of life left in it. We’ve seen the Milestone X making its rounds with the smaller local carriers around the US, but the handset (a carbon copy of the first Droid X) is now available through Cellular South. The phone might be last year’s news, but it still gets priced at $199. The price does take a cute thanks to a $50 reward card rebate. Those prices include a two-year contract and data plan. If you have been wanting to get your hands on what still remains an Android staple on a regional network, head over to Cellular South now to order it up. [via Android Central]
|
| Lyric Legend Lets Shower Singers Have Guitar Hero Type Fun [GAME REVIEW] Posted: 03 Jun 2011 12:02 PM PDT Take the concept of Guitar Hero where you press notes as they pass your screen in tune with the song. Now instead of musical notes, pretend you’re the singer: you’ve now got to nail the lyrics. Don’t worry… no singing involved! I really enjoy the concept of this game. It takes a new twist on a familiar concept and, because there is no singing involved, allows anyone to play. Even people like me who sing in the shower, car, and sleep without hitting one note properly. Unless I’m rapping.
With a bit of polish and extended music library, Lyric Legend could become an incredibly popular game. In fact, I’d be surprised if we didn’t see more similar games geared towards lyrics or even see current favorites introduce the idea in this manner. Final Verdict: Very fun game but needs a lot of UI work and a bigger library of songs. Great for beta though. Recommended. Go ahead and download Lyric Legend from Android Market and let us know how you like it!
|
| 9mm more than borrows from GTA series in latest trailer [NSFW] Posted: 03 Jun 2011 12:01 PM PDT 9mm is quite the impressive looking game, if only for the amount of action crammed into a package designed for deployment on mobile devices. This ain’t no Angry Birds, that’s for sure. A new trailer has been released for the upcoming sandbox third-person shooter, and while we can’t let the glaring similarities to the Grand Theft Auto series go without mention, we might just let it slide for the impressive undertaking of bringing that style of game to smartphones and tablets. Whether the final product comes off as a mere imitator or a mobile gaming innovator is yet to be decided. A warning: the below trailer is not safe for work.
|
| Samsung Rocks NYC with Phandroid Readers Posted: 03 Jun 2011 11:34 AM PDT Last night in NYC, a lucky bunch of Phandroid readers and AndroidForums members joined Samsung with an exclusively awesome event featuring the Galaxy Tab 10.1. About 500 people gathered to check out the unreleased Honeycomb Tablet, meet other Android enthusiasts, and eat some awesome food.
A HUGE line was gathered outside and this was the inside when only a few had entered. Perhaps the coolest part of the event was the fact that this was TRULY a behind the scenes look into the press world. Whenever we attend exclusive press events for device releases, we have a press conference and presentation, followed by the hands-on demonstrations in rooms decorated and filled just like this. For those who attended, they got an awesome glimpse into our world, complete with a device that hasn’t yet been released.
Above is our very own Contributing Editor, Kevin Krause, along with Steven58 and TwoSpirits – two moderators of the very best Android Forums in the world. The gentlemen on the left is Manny, an AF member who ALSO walked away with a 7-inch Galaxy Tab. BOOYAH!
There were a couple tables of delicious food and we couldn’t eat it quicker than they brought it out. It was always stacked to the brim with mouth watering treats- one of our favorite parts of attending press events! The drinks were all non-alcoholic- since anyone could sign up for the event we needed to keep it safe and sound- but MAN did they serve some amazing diet coke. The headliner of the show was the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which will be launched on June 8th. If you weren’t at the event and want to know more, I suggest you read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Review. Spoiler: our very own Quentyn Kennemer says, “the hardware is unmatched by any tablet manufacturer regardless of what operating system they use.”
We didn’t get nearly as many pictures as we would have liked, but that’s because we were busy having an awesome time and meeting the great people who read Phandroid and post (or lurk) on AndroidForums every day. We would absolutely love to have more events like these – and we will – but PLEASE show your thanks to our partners by tweeting something like:
If you’ve got pictures or videos from the event that you’d like to share with others, please post them in the comments or E-Mail them to me and I’ll add them to the bottom of this post as they come in. Thanks everyone, great meeting you all and thanks SO much for being the best readers, members and community on the planet. You guys seriously rock!
|
| Droid X2 Feeling a Bit Bloated? Some Pre-Installed Software Can Be Given the Boot without Root Posted: 03 Jun 2011 10:53 AM PDT
One thing carriers love doing is overloading their new handsets with what has affectionately been dubbed bloatware. This pre-installed software often takes up a lot of precious storage on your new handset and even more often sits collecting virtual dust in your app drawer. This is especially true for game demos, which become useless unless you are willing to pony up the cash for the full version. The removal of this mandated software is often accomplished through rooting the Android handset, but in a rare instance the new Motorola Droid X2 has been blessed with pre-loaded app that can be uninstalled. OK, so not all of the junk that came on the X2 can be given the wave goodbye. Blockbuster, Slacker, and all your VCAST apps are there to stay, but those pesky game demos can be taken care of in quick order. Good to know if you ever need to free up some space (or if you just want to flip VeeZeeDub the virtual bird). [via DroidLife]
|
| Sanjay Jha: Blame Poor Apps for Poor Battery Life, Blur Could Fix That Posted: 03 Jun 2011 09:21 AM PDT Oh, boy. In a conversation where the topic steered on over to poor battery life in phones, Sanjay Jha says apps in the Android market who aren’t written properly are to blame. He claims that 30%-40% of a users’ quick battery drain is due to third-party applications from the Android market, suggesting users need to cut down on apps or closely consider what they’re installing. He says Blur can, in the future, warn users about specific applications which can have a large impact on battery drain. As I don’t know the ins and outs of Blur, I can’t say for certain that Blur and other custom user interfaces cause battery life and, in some cases, poor device performance. But I do know that people see vast improvements in both these areas when using custom ROMs that strip out all of the fluff that users feel shouldn’t be there.
It reminds me of the Carrier IQ debacle with Sprint’s Samsung (and possibly other OEMs) phones. ROM developers of the Samsung EPIC 4G discovered Carrier IQ’s presence in the phone, but they didn’t want to believe that all they collected were metrics in order to gather and report trends for carriers. No, they sat much deeper within the underlying operating system with code that can read your SMS and MMS messages, browsing sessions, battery change notifications, every XML file and every stroke on the device’s physical keyboard. It records which applications you use, which type they are, and how long you use them. And even every touch on the device’s touch screen is recorded. The only positive note to take out of all of that is that Carrier IQ doesn’t actually store any of this information in its log files, meaning they aren’t technically collecting the data. Privacy concerns aside (this is about battery life, after all) k0nane – the famed developer of Android Creative Syndicate who uncovered this stuff – found that removing it actually improved battery life and system performance greatly. Being a user of a Samsung Epic 4G myself using a ROM with CIQ disabled, I can say that this is absolutely true. Who’s to say whatever Motorola is injecting into BLUR isn’t to blame for poor battery life? Or HTC for Sense? And Samsung for TouchWiz? I don’t think it’s right to blame third party applications for poor battery life and system performance without much proof or any scientific evidence. Whether or not it’s true I can’t say, but I definitely won’t believe that carrier and OEM customizations have absolutely nothing to do with it. [Engadget]
|
| Onlive Shows Off New Universal Wireless Controller – Working Flawlessly On HTC Flyer Posted: 03 Jun 2011 08:07 AM PDT
Okay, you can file this under, holy @!$^%@$^#! Looks like the boys over at OnLive have been busy trying to bring the console experience to just about every device under the sun but had me doubting how faithful that experience would be using a touchscreen only device like a tablet. Nothing can ever beat a good old fashioned gamepad and it looks like OnLive is fully aware of this, which is why they’re looking to release their new Universal Wireless Controller onto the market. That’s right, you can now play games like Assasin’s Creed, Street Fighter, Sonic the Hedgehog and more using a full sized, dual-analog wireless controller that will work on your tablet, phone, micro console — Pretty much anything compatible with OnLive’s service. Engadget was lucky enough to catch the new controllers working flawlessly on the HTC Flyer and I can’t even pretend like my jaw didn’t hit the ground. After mopping up my drool from the floor, I found out that the controllers aren’t even using a bluetooth connection (which is how I was expecting them to work with all these devices) but exactly what is powering them, OnLive’s CEO, Steve Perlman, isn’t saying. There’s just something strangely arousing about seeing a full console/game experience on something as multifunctional and portable as an Android tablet. I had been holding off on a tablet purchase for awhile now, but the prospect of using one as my portable gaming console definitely has me lusting. If you live in the UK, it looks like you can sign up here for Onlive in 3 more days and reserve your gamertag, which will give you early access to the service when it launches this autumn. [Via Engadget]
|
| EVO 4G’s Gingerbread Update Going Out Right Now Posted: 03 Jun 2011 07:03 AM PDT
Those of you who were trying to pull this thing down since 12am can now rest easy knowing that the upgrade to Android 2.3 for the HTC EVO 4G is now available. Reports from AndroidForums.com and a ton of emails in our inbox say as much, anyway. The upgrade is nearly 110MB in size and will step you up to build 4.22.651.2. Unfortunately, you won’t be getting the latest and greatest version of HTC Sense, but we’re sure you folks have already taken care of that with a ROM or two. Go ahead and venture into the settings menu to pull the upgrade down. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
|
| Samsung Kies for Mac Beta Finally Available Posted: 03 Jun 2011 06:47 AM PDT
Samsung users, rejoice! The folks at Sammy have finally released Kies for Mac, an application that was previously only available for Windows. Kies can be used to sync data and multimedia and helps users upgrade firmware that can’t be had over the air. Some folks don’t prefer the application, but others actually need it in certain instances. Unfortunately, this release is only beta and only a couple of devices – the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Samsung Galaxy Tab – are supported, but we expect Samsung to add their older devices over time. And only media management is supported with this initial release. Grab the download here. [via Samsung Hub]
|
| Recent Adopters: Is Android Pleasing You so Far? Posted: 03 Jun 2011 06:32 AM PDT
With over 400,000 devices being activated each day, there are tons and tons of new Android users being added to the massive army we have been growing since 2008. We’re wondering how some of you new Android users are liking it. And while you’re at it, which operating system are you coming from? Do you like it compared to Android? Or are you considering going back? Curiosity killed the cat, but we’re humans, so let’s hear it in the comments section below!
|
| You are subscribed to email updates from Android Phone Fans To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment