Android Phone Fans |
- Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [March 3rd]
- Despite iPad 2 Launch, Analyst Says Android Tablets Will Dominate by 2014
- Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi Headed to Sam’s Club, Priced at $539.99
- HTC Droid Eris for Verizon Receiving OTA Update Out of the Blue
- Verizon HTC Thunderbolt In-Store Pamphlet Talks Up 4G LTE Speeds, Skype Video Chat
- HTC EVO 4G Headed to Japan with WiMAX Intact
- Samsung Galaxy Indulge Has a microSDHC Card that Sends Usage Reports Back to MetroPCS, All for the Sake of Iron Man 2
- Adobe Flash Will Be Pre-Installed on Motorola XOOM for European Launch, 3G Version Going for £599 at Carphone Warehouse
- [Update: Better Images] Verizon In-Store HTC Thunderbolt Display Spotted, HTC Releases Their Own Commercial
- Next PayPal Developer Challenge Will be All Android
- Google Maps Update Makes a Few Changes to Latitude and Hotpot
- Meganoid Brings Classic Old-School Gaming to Your Android
- Breaking: Rumors Say Blackberry Messenger to Be Launched for Android
- Nielsen US Share Graphic: Android Prevailing, But OEMs Still Trail Apple, RIM
- Cars.com Releases an Android Application
| Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [March 3rd] Posted: 03 Mar 2011 03:44 PM PST  As the business day draws to close, we have once again passed over a rumored HTC Thunderbolt release date for Verizon without an official announcement in sight. While Android fans continues to buzz in anticipation of that first 4G LTE handset on VZW, it might be easy to miss some of the other news that is being made. See below for a roundup of some of today’s stealthier headlines.
|
| Despite iPad 2 Launch, Analyst Says Android Tablets Will Dominate by 2014 Posted: 03 Mar 2011 02:08 PM PST In light of the launch of the iPad 2, what little hype recent Android Honeycomb tablets had begun to accumulate has been somewhat squelched. For whatever reason, Apple products have a tendency to do that. Still, RBC Capital Markets General Manager Mike Abramsky sees Android emerging as the dominant tablet platform by 2014. Though it’s still a few years away, Abramsky believes 40 percent of the projected 185 million tablets sold through the end of 2014 will run on some version of Android. By that time we will have the iPad 3, and no doubt even the iPad 4 to content with, but the key for Android will be the low-cost tablets coming from OEMs out of Asia. By that time, there is hope that what were once a $200 paperweights running older versions of Android will instead come with some variant of Android Honeycomb (or beyond) designed specifically for the tablet interface. The combination of user experience and low price will be key in winning the tablet war, something current big-name Android tablets have struggled with. [via IntoMobile]
|
| Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi Headed to Sam’s Club, Priced at $539.99 Posted: 03 Mar 2011 01:11 PM PST Who cares if Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said the Wi-Fi-only version of the Motorola XOOM would be priced at $599.99? The friendly folk of Sam’s Club are telling a different tale at their “Year Beginning” meeting. As you see in the image above, they very well look to be selling the XOOM for $539.99. Still no clear indication of when the Wi-Fi version will be available in the States, but if this is any indication, it might launch along with the European version in April. I shouldn’t have to point out that this puts the Wi-Fi XOOM (at Sam’s Club, at least) within $40 of the lowest priced 16GB iPad 2, which sells for $499.99. So please, take your complaints about pricing elsewhere. Unless this is some sort of placeholder price (and errors on the sign suggest it is still a work-in-progress), that is. [via DroidLife]
|
| HTC Droid Eris for Verizon Receiving OTA Update Out of the Blue Posted: 03 Mar 2011 12:57 PM PST Well this is certainly unexpected. The HTC Droid Eris for Verizon (remember the one that isn’t getting Android 2.2 Froyo and that seemed relegated to its current firmware) is receiving an OTA software update. We shouldn’t have to tell you it isn’t Froyo, but it does boost the software version to 2.41.605.6 and the radio to 2.42.01.04.27. The list of enhancements and tweaks includes:
As you can see from the above list, not a whole lot going for this update to get you too excited, but improvements it brings nonetheless. Anyone receive it yet? [Thanks, Paul!]
|
| Verizon HTC Thunderbolt In-Store Pamphlet Talks Up 4G LTE Speeds, Skype Video Chat Posted: 03 Mar 2011 12:02 PM PST The set of images we saw earlier of Verizon’s in-store HTC Thunderbolt display also came with a look at the in-store promotional pamphlet VZW will use to push the device. Among its pages we see numerous mentions of the speed of Big Red’s 4G LTE network and how it relates to a few key features found on the handset. Mobile Hotspot is one, but perhaps an even bigger focus is placed on Skype Video Chat. Can we say how excited we are to finally be able to video chat on our mobile devices with the same people we can video chat with on our PCs? Again, no release date is known as of now, but fingers crossed it will be soon.     [Thanks, Giuseppe!]
|
| HTC EVO 4G Headed to Japan with WiMAX Intact Posted: 03 Mar 2011 11:50 AM PST Almost a full year since it’s launch and we still have very few complaints about the HTC EVO 4G. It was the phone that defined the current generation of large-and-in-charge superphones with its 4.3-inch screen and 1GHz processor. Add in a 4G radio and we have a handset that still stacks up with even the most recent high-end Android phones. Now Japan will get a piece of the action, and the device headed to KDDI au won’t lose any of the charm that made it a huge hit in America. Losing the 4G tag but keeping the radio, the phone will known as the HTC EVO WiMAX ISW11HT. You can see it for yourself in KDDI’s promo video below. [via Engadget]
|
| Posted: 03 Mar 2011 11:25 AM PST O Big Brother, where art thou? MetroPCS is so stoked about their free offering of Iron Man 2 pre-loaded onto their Samsung Galaxy Indulge that they have implemented a system that regularly reports content usage statistics back to the carrier to help shape the content they choose in the future. That’s right, the microSDHC card that comes in the Indulge is set up to let the carrier know just how much you love (or hate) Iron Man 2.
Is that really necessary? We doubt the intention is anything sneaky or malicious on MetroPCS’s part. Still, it is a bit disconcerting. At least you get a free copy of Iron Man 2, right?
[via Engadget]
|
| Posted: 03 Mar 2011 11:05 AM PST Good news for Motorola XOOM owners (and soon to be owners) far and wide. Word from Adobe Flash evangelist Ryan Stewart is that when the Motorola XOOM touches down in Europe come April, it will come with Flash Player 10.2 ready to roll out of the box. While this should make those in Europe eager to try out the XOOM pretty excited, it also bodes well for those in the US. We assume the update for Flash Player will be live for all concurrently with the European launch (if not sooner). In other news, the unlocked, SIM-free 3G version of the XOOM has been priced at UK retailer Carphone Warehouse at 599.99 GBP. That’s 100 GBP more than the Wi-Fi only model seen priced at 499.99 GBP over at PC World. [via TalkAndroid, EuroDroid]
|
| Posted: 03 Mar 2011 10:51 AM PST An in-store display stand for the HTC Thunderbolt has been spotted at a Verizon retail store in New Jersey. It might not exactly speak volumes about when we could see the first 4G LTE handset for Big Red on shelves, but it does give us hope that it might be this month after all. Maybe even next week, as rumored. Also, you may have seen this ad running during commercial breaks, but in case you missed it here is a look at the Thunderbolt ad HTC whipped up without any help from Verizon. Now let’s just release the phone already. [Thanks, Giuseppe!]
|
| Next PayPal Developer Challenge Will be All Android Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:46 AM PST Paypal’s holding another one of those developer challenges they like to hold where the winner of the most impressive use of Paypal’s APIs for in-app payments will receiver $25,000. Often times these challenges see coders submitting web-based entries, mobile applications, and more. Paypal’s doing things a bit differently for their next challenge, though: it’s going to be all Android. Paypal cites Android’s remarkable growth in the past year and its emergence as one of the top mobile operating systems in the world (and the absolute dominant smartphone operating system in the United States) as reasons why they’ve decided to do this. They said that so many Android applications are submitted for their normal developer challenge that it only makes sense to create one specifically for the platform. You have until May 3rd to submit your applications for a chance to win up to $25,000 and more. Check this link out for more information. [via Venture Beat]
|
| Google Maps Update Makes a Few Changes to Latitude and Hotpot Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:14 AM PST Google’s issued a hot (as in you probably weren’t notified) update to Google Maps in the Android market that makes a few changes to Latitude and Hotpot. Firstly, Hotpot will now give you the ability to share your ratings to Twitter whenever you rate a new place. Subtle, but something I’m sure a lot of people won’t mind having. Secondly, Latitude now has a “Ping” feature that’ll let you ping a friend if they’re nearby. It’ll send a notification to that person with the message you choose to send and you guys can meet up for coffee, wiffle ball, or whatever it is you’re doing. And if you need to check in somewhere but it isn’t showing up in the list of places, you’ll be able to show more. All of these features should now be available to you if you have version 5.2 of Google Maps. [Google]
|
| Meganoid Brings Classic Old-School Gaming to Your Android Posted: 03 Mar 2011 08:37 AM PST The folks at Orange Pixel have pinged us to let us know that their new game – Meganoid – is now available in the Android market. Meganoid takes you back to those frustrating days as a child playing the same level of Mega Man over and over again as you secretly pray to God and ask him why he’s torturing you. I love the tagline they use for the game in the Android market: “THIS GAME IS NOT EASY!” 8-bit purists are going to love this title, but if you’re more of a casual player I urge you to stay away as it will make you want to kick babies and cry. Go ahead and find it for free in the Android market. PS: The name isn’t a play on the word “Android”, but rather a mix between Mega Man and Metroid, the two games Orange Pixel are said to have drawn their inspiration from.
|
| Breaking: Rumors Say Blackberry Messenger to Be Launched for Android Posted: 03 Mar 2011 07:01 AM PST In a move that will probably cause many BBM clone developers to collectively slap their foreheads, BGR is reporting that they’ve heard from several sources inside of RIM that they’re planning to release Blackberry Messenger for Android. (And iOS, if you care.) Unfortunately, that experience may not be as great on Android as it is on Blackberry. They say RIM may be looking to strip down the offerings on third-party operating systems so that friends who have different operating systems can still communicate without the Blackberry user having to shy away from their beloved messenger. To what extent they’ll dry the experience up they didn’t say, but I still don’t understand what’s so special about the service to begin with. It’s a glorified instant messenger, and those have been around long before Blackberry Messenger. A watered down version won’t do well to change the opinion of those who think the same way that I do. They say it’s expected to launch sometime this year. [BGR]
|
| Nielsen US Share Graphic: Android Prevailing, But OEMs Still Trail Apple, RIM Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:50 AM PST Nielsen has revealed an infographic showing something we’ve known for a long time: Android is the number one smartphone in the United States with Apple and Blackberry fighting hard to take their crowns back. Android holds 29% of the market share while RIM and Apple each account for 27% for their respective operating systems. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t the leaders against their hardware competitors, though: HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, and more all still trail Apple and RIM by a large amount even when you combine their smartphone offerings that run other operating systems. Another interesting tidbit they mentioned was that Android is more popular amongst youngsters compared to iOS and Blackberry. Check out Nielsen’s brief commentary on the graphic at their blog now. [Neilsen]
|
| Cars.com Releases an Android Application Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:24 AM PST Looking for a car? Use Cars.com? Great! You’ll be happy to know that you can now take your automotive searches mobile. (See what I did there?) You’ll be able to do mostly everything you’re able to do on the website with their new application. Take a look at some of the features they’re touting: • Sort search results based on your preferences You’ll be able to find the free application in the Android market right now.
|
| 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