Friday, March 18, 2011

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Things We Missed, You Shouldn’t [March 18th]

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 04:08 PM PDT

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Another week in the books, and what a week it was. The HTC Thunderbolt was finally released, Adobe released Flash Player 10.2 with Honeycomb compatibility, and the anticipation for CTIA is building up. The tech conference next week should bring plenty more Android news, but for now check out what we missed below:

Adobe Flash 10.2 Now Live in the Android Market

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 03:05 PM PDT

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As promised, the update to Adobe Flash Player 10.2 scheduled for today has gone live in the Android Market. You should be prompted to update if you already have Flash installed, or you can get the updated version direct from the Market. Finally, the full web browsing potential of the Motorola XOOM and Android Honeycomb can be realized.

Market Link: Adobe Flash Player 10.2

[Thanks to everyone who tipped us off to this!]

Sprint Promises ‘Exciting’ Android Announcements at CTIA

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:38 PM PDT

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There was no question Sprint’s CTIA showing would be chock full of new Android devices for the carrier, but Sprint has gone ahead and confirmed the matter via a Twitter post late this afternoon. First asking “How much do you love Android?”, the tweet  goes on to say the curators of the nation’s only 4G WiMAX network are “looking forward to an exciting week of announcements at CTIA.” The hash tag #AndroidUnlimited suggests this will be the banner under which they will tout their new lineup of smartphones that should include the Nexus S 4G the HTC EVO 3D and  an HTC Flyer with 4G radio at the very least. We may even see a WiMAX XOOM tablet and Motorola Atrix announced for the network, though recent rumors leave no suggestion as to when those may be unveiled.

[via Electronista]

Android 2.2 Froyo for the HTC Desire Rolling Out to Cellular South Subscribers

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:25 PM PDT

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Cellular South just pulled the trigger on the Android 2.2 Froyo update for their HTC Desire according to their Facebook page. The new Android software is being distributed as an OTA update that should trickle out to handsets over the coming days.

Users who wish to attempt to pull the update down manually can check under System Software Updates in the About Phone menu of your Android settings, though not all handsets will have access to this method of updating immediately. See more about the update over at the Cellular South Discover Center.

[via AndroidCentral]

Leaked Logo for the Nexus S 4G Further Confirms Sprint’s CTIA Announcements

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 02:05 PM PDT

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While we can say with some certainty that the a WiMAX-enabled Nexus S 4G will make it’s way to Sprint in coming months, a freshly leaked logo said to be that of the device in question seems to solidify the device in the carrier’s lineup. Word is that this bad boy will be unleashed next Tuesday at Sprint’s CTIA press conference, and we’ll be there to get a first look at the Nexus S 4G (and any other devices) the carrier has up their sleeve.

[via Engadget]

JD Power Rankings Shows Android Manufacturers Trailing Apple’s Number One Spot

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 01:58 PM PDT

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In a report that is sure to incite some  a bit of fanboyism on all ends, JD Power & Associates have unveiled their yearly smartphone rankings, and news could be better for Android. Apple and their iPhone hold the number one spot for the fifth consecutive year, though Motorola and HTC trail  by only a small margin. Those two manufacturers were rated above the industry average, while Samsung fell to the bottom of the list. The Galaxy S manufacturer was only able to best RIM, which lands in last place. This may have something to do with customer dissatisfaction over promised updates for their devices and poor device support. Read the full press release below for all the details.

J.D. Power and Associates Reports:
Social Media Use Drives Higher Satisfaction among Owners of
Smartphones and Traditional Mobile Phones

Apple Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Smartphone Manufacturers,
While Sanyo Ranks Highest among Traditional Mobile Phone Manufacturers

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 17 March 2011 -- Overall satisfaction with smartphones and traditional mobile phones is considerably higher among owners who use their devices for social media activity, compared with satisfaction among owners who do not access social media platforms on their phones, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction StudySM--Volume 1 and the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction StudySM--Volume 1, both released today.

Among smartphone owners who use their device to access social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, satisfaction averages 783 on a 1,000-point scale--nearly 22 points higher than among those smartphone owners who do not often use social media sites on their device. Currently, more than one-half of smartphone owners report having used their device to access social media sites via the mobile Web or mobile applications. While rates of mobile social media site usage are not nearly as high among owners of traditional mobile phones (9%, on average), satisfaction among traditional handset owners who use their device for social media is notably higher than that of traditional handset owners who don’t access social media (754 vs. 696).

"It’s not unexpected that smartphone owners access social media sites from their device more frequently than traditional mobile phone owners due to features such as larger screens and QWERTY keyboards," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, these findings demonstrate that equipping devices with powerful features and service is key to creating positive customer experiences with wireless devices."

The study finds that wireless users who engage in mobile social media activity on their mobile device also tend to use it more often for calls, texts and data; are more likely to purchase additional wireless services in the future; and are also more likely to provide positive recommendations for their handset brand and service provider, compared with users who don’t use social media on their device.

"It’s clear that the gap in satisfaction between customers who use social media applications on their device and those who don’t is driven by several factors, but the critical ingredient is whether the user has a positive experience with the wireless device itself," said Parsons. "Providing features that facilitate social networking activity and make it easy for users to communicate and share information between various social media sites may be an effective way for service providers to further engage customers and increase loyalty."

These two studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones among owners who have used their current mobile phone for less than two years, by examining several key factors. In order of importance, the key factors of overall satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets are: operation (30%); physical design (30%); features (20%); and battery function (20%). For smartphones, the key factors are: ease of operation (26%); operating system (24%); physical design (23%); features (19%); and battery function (8%).

For a fifth consecutive time, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones in customer satisfaction with a score of 795 and performs particularly well in ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. Motorola (763) and HTC (762) follow Apple in the smartphone rankings.

Sanyo ranks highest in overall wireless customer satisfaction with traditional handsets with a score of 715. Sanyo performs well in three factors: physical design, battery functionality and operation. LG (711) and Samsung (703) follow Sanyo in the traditional handset rankings.

The studies also find the following key wireless handset usage patterns:

The average price of a traditional wireless mobile phone continues to decline and averages $73 in 2011, compared with an average of $81 at the beginning of 2009. The decline is primarily due to discounts provided by handset providers and wireless service carriers to incentivize sales. Currently, 46 percent of owners report having received a free mobile phone when subscribing to a wireless service, which is a historical high.
Mobile applications continue to enhance the smartphone user experience. Two-thirds of owners say they have downloaded games and social networking applications to their device. More than one-half (54%) say they have downloaded travel software, such as maps and weather applications, while 53 percent indicate having downloaded entertainment-oriented applications. This indicates that smartphone owners are continuing to integrate their device usage into both their business and personal lives.
Ownership tenure impacts overall satisfaction with the device experience. Those who report owning their device less than one year are significantly more likely to be more satisfied than those who have owned their wireless phone for a longer period of time (773 vs. 728). Newer devices tend to offer more features, services and better quality than older phones.
The 2011 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study--Volume 1 and the 2011 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study--Volume 1 are based on experiences reported by 7,275 smartphone owners and 11,347 traditional mobile phone owners. The studies were fielded between July and December 2010.

For more information on customer satisfaction with wireless service, wireless retail sales, cell phone handsets, customer care, prepaid wireless service and business wireless service, please visit JDPower.com.

About J.D. Power and Associates
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company providing forecasting, performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions. The company’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy. Leading brands include Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2010 were $6.2 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

GM Announces New 2010 Models to Receive OnStar Mobile Support

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 12:19 PM PDT

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When it comes to app download figures, 56,000 may not seem like much. When each download is coupled with an OnStar compatible vehicle, the number seems a bit more significant. Taking the early interest in OnStar Mobile for Android as a success, the company in conjunction GM has announced a new lineup of 2010 vehicle models that will feature support for mobile interactions.

This year we can expect to see OnStar mobile support in the Cadillac DTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV and EXT, Buick Enclave and Lucerne, GMC Acadia, Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Chevrolet Avalanche, Impala, Suburban, Tahoe, and Traverse.

With the popularity of the OnStar Mobile app, Chief Marketing Officer Sam Mancuso revealed some potential new features for future iterations, including destination search, send-to-car transfers, and even a navigation mode. See the press release below for the full scoop.

Consumer Use of OnStar Mobile Apps Surges
Availability for more 2010 vehicles expected to boost downloads beyond current 56,000

DETROIT - Since being launched last year, the OnStar mobile app has been downloaded by more than 56,000 active users who have amassed 1.3 million interactions.

That number is expected to grow in coming months as OnStar today added 14 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles from 2010 that allow users to download vehicle data and more to their mobile devices.

The expanded list of 2010 model year vehicles includes the Cadillac DTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT; the Buick Enclave and Lucerne; the GMC Acadia, Yukon, and Yukon XL; and Chevrolet Avalanche, Impala, Suburban, Tahoe and Traverse.

OnStar customers are increasingly using their smart phones to remotely check fuel levels and tire pressure, start their vehicles and make sure doors are locked via OnStar’s mobile app, according to data released today from the company. Drivers of the Chevrolet Cruze and Silverado use the app most frequently.

"I think it’s safe to say we are very pleased with how drivers have not only downloaded, but interacted with our mobile app," said Sam Mancuso, chief marketing officer, OnStar. "This overwhelming reaction has confirmed our plans to continue to enhance the mobile app, including the potential development of a destination search and send-to-car feature."

Details on the app’s potential navigation features will be made available at a later date.

The top use of the app for all vehicles is updating vehicle data, which includes checking fuel levels, oil life, next scheduled maintenance, and other vehicle usage, status and maintenance information. Owners of the Chevrolet Volt electric car with extended-range capability take advantage of data supplied only for that vehicle, including battery charge level and electricity rate tables.

For drivers of other GM vehicles, the second- and third most-used features of the app are locking and unlocking doors remotely and remotely starting the ignition.

OnStar to host mobile app web chat today

Steve Schwinke, director, advanced systems development at OnStar, will host a web chat today from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT, to discuss the availability of the mobile app for the aforementioned 2010 vehicles. The web chat will be hosted on OnStar’s Facebook page.
About OnStar

OnStar, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors, is the leading provider of connected safety and security solutions, value-added mobility services and advanced information technology. Currently available on more than 40 MY 2011 GM models, OnStar soon will be available for installation on most other vehicles already on the road through local electronics retailers, including Best Buy. OnStar safely connects its more than six million subscribers, in the U.S., Canada and China, in ways never thought possible. OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is a recipient of the 2010 Edison Award for Best New Product in the technology category. More information about OnStar can be found at www.onstar.com.

TELUS Motorola Milestone to Receive Android 2.2 Froyo Next Week

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:27 AM PDT

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Earlier in the week we saw the first batch of Motorola Milestones begin to receive Android 2.2 Froyo when the update went live in Europe. We also learned Canadian carrier TELUS would be bringing the same OS upgrade to their Milestone in the near future. We now have a more specific time frame in which to expect Froyo in the Great White North. Motorola Canada has made a post their Facebook page promising the update for next with a download link to follow as soon as it was available. With the update already available in other regions it would a shame if it were delayed.

[via AndroidCentral]

INQ Cloud Touch Priced and Dated for UK Release

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:02 AM PDT

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If you were wondering when you would be able to get your hands on the INQ Cloud Touch with Facebook integration, you now have an answer. Today the phone went on pre-order through UK retailer Carphone Warehouse with units expected to ship April 6th. The Android 2.2 mid-range phone will come priced as low as free with a £20 tariff , or is available on a pre-pay plan for £199.95. For the phone sans SIM card you will pay £299.95.

It is also revealed that the INQ Cloud Q with QWERTY keyboard would become available sometime in June.

PHONE FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATION ARRIVES IN THE UK

The INQ Cloud Touch launches exclusively at The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy

March 18, 2011 - The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy are pleased to announce the arrival of an exclusive new Android device, the INQ Cloud Touch. Specially designed for social media fans, it has Facebook at its heart and provides quick access to the latest news and whereabouts of friends. It is now available to pre-order from www.carphonewarehouse.com, and will be available from 6 April from just £20 a month on contract, £199.95 on PAYG or £299.95 SIM free.

The INQ Cloud Touch is a sleek touch screen device which runs on the latest Android operating system providing super-fast access to all the latest functions and apps. It features a new Facebook app that streams a live feed to the homescreen while easy to use one-touch links to Chat, Friends, Messages, Wall and Notifications allow users a direct click-through to friends’ updates, pictures, videos and webpages. The phone is also the first to use the Facebook social graph API, which enables users to follow updates from the friends they interact with most.

Consumers can also check in to their favorite shops, restaurants and clubs with Facebook Places, which is also active on the central home screen. If that wasn’t enough, Facebook Events fully integrates with the Google Calendar on both devices.
The INQ Cloud Touch is the first mobile phone to hit the market that has been designed specifically for Facebook users. More devices are expected in the coming months, including the INQ Cloud Q in June, which will also be exclusive to The Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy.

“The Shack” Posts Great Trade-In Deals For the Weekend

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 09:55 AM PDT

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The Shack is trying to get users into their new trade-in program by debuting a smorgasbord of deals for different phones this weekend. You can get as much $100 for certain phones when trading them in which can go a long way if you don’t like dealing with eBay or Craigslist. They also have the Samsung Epic 4G for $99.99 this weekend – the device is normally $249.99 from Sprint. Check out the full slate of Android deals from Radio Shack below.

·         Sprint HTC EVO 4G: From March 18 through April 2, customers will receive a $50 guaranteed trade-in when they trade in their old handset and activate a new the EVO.

·         Sprint HTC EVO Shift 4G: Beginning Sunday, March 20, customers will receive a $100 guaranteed trade-in when they trade in their old handset using Trade & Save and activate a new EVO Shift 4G. The $100 trade-in value reduces the Shift 4G to only $49.99 on new two-year activations!

·         Sprint Samsung Epic: From now through Saturday, March 26, this handset is only $99.99 for new activations.

·         AT&T HTC Inspire 4G: Currently priced at $49.99 through Saturday, March 19. Beginning Sunday, March 20, customers will receive a $50 guaranteed trade-in when they trade in their old handset using the Trade & Save Program and activate the Inspire 4G on new activations and upgrades. The $50 trade-in value reduces the Inspire 4G to only $49.99 on new two-year activations and upgrades!

 

Google Releases Experimental Version of Translate for Japanese Language in Light of National Disaster

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 09:22 AM PDT

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Everyone’s been coming together to help the folks out in Japan after a national disaster destroyed homes, shut down businesses, rendered public transportation options inoperable and made way for another big nuclear scare. Google’s the latest to show their colors by releasing an experimental version of Google translate that’ll translate 50 languages to Japanese and vice-versa. (Speech-to-speech translation can only currently be carried out using Japanese, English, and Spanish.) Click here to download the APK file or scan the QR code at this page. (You’ll need to enable unknown sources in Settings > Application Settings. Sorry, AT&T users.) [via Android Central]

Is Amazon Ready to Make A Push With Android-Based Kindle? New Job Listings Suggest So

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 09:07 AM PDT

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It’s been a long time since we’ve revisited the rumor about an Android-based Amazon Kindle. Those rumors were rekindled after we learned Amazon would be opening their own application store for Android, but nothing substantial has come up since.

Job postings reveal a lot, though, and Amazon’s looking to hire. They’ve posted at least five new listings this week looking for software developers with Android experience. I tried not to jump ahead of myself when reading that as I’m aware they have an Android application and any number of things is a possibility.

They could be looking to beef up their Kindle application team to produce a new version of the app for Honeycomb tablets, of course. That’s the easy way out as far as guesses go, though. Another plausible guess is that they’re stocking up on developers to make this Android-based tablet a reality.

I still believe in this rumor and for a number of different reasons – the biggest of which being that Amazon hasn’t really clearly stated their direction for the application store. We saw a glimpse of their plans when we learned users would be able to select applications to have preinstalled on Android devices bought from Amazon Wireless, but that can’t be all they’re building a store for.

Let’s take a look at some tidbits from one of these job postings:

Software Development Manager, Systems -

Lab126 is an inventive research and development company that designs and engineers high-profile, portable, hand-held consumer electronics products, like the Kindle. The products we design and engineer are easy-to-use and offer users benefits that are only made possible through tightly integrated digital technologies and wireless connectivity.

As a Software Development Manager, you will be responsible for building and managing a team to work on the next generation platform. In this role, you will work closely with the hardware team to define and productize the hardware platform for the next generation of devices. Your responsibility will range from the early bring-up of the platform to the complete productization and support of the derived products. Your role will also require managing and building a strong team who will take on this challenge. Your team must deliver very high quality and robust products while focusing extensively on power management and performance.

Here they specifically mention that the developer who fills this role will lead a team of engineers who will design high-profile and portable hand-held products, “like” the Kindle. In the text below that, they specifically note that they will be at the heart of the team who works on the “next generation of devices.” A strong fluency in Linux is a must, says the listing – Android runs on top of a Linux kernel, doesn’t it?

It’s not just that the aformentioned crop of Android-specific listings are there (pull them up in one fell swoop by searching for “Android”), it’s that they showed up on the same day of the development manager position (and several hardware-centric positions beneath whoever is lucky enough to fill that role).

Amazon’s not just adding people to their Kindle for Android team, but instead are creating an entirely new team within Lab 126 and is bringing together both software and hardware engineers for whatever these “next generation of devices” will be. Fun times ahead, Kindle fans. [via New York Times]

Illegal iPhone Tetherers on AT&T to be Slapped With Fees; Android Users Next?

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 08:33 AM PDT

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AT&T’s bringing the banhammer down on unauthorized tethering, it seems, after they discovered users on iPhone and iPhone 2 sharing their data connection using an application called MyWi. After reading several accounts of the story, it appears AT&T has only targeted this specific group.

The letter sent to suspecting tetherers warn them that such actions are against the carrier’s terms of service and that if they don’t stop before March 27th, they’ll be automatically added to AT&T’s Data Pro plan (which affords users two extra gigabytes per month allowance for account-wide data and enables tethering.)

Us Android power users know the act of “illegal” tethering well, of course, so this story worries me as it may come back to haunt you AT&T users. Folks can remain hopeful after hearing iPhone users take advantage of iOS’s built-in tethering mechanism to facilitate their needs. This means AT&T can most likely detect whether or not you’re supposed to be doing what you’re doing.

On Android, phones with Froyo+ have tethering options built-in (at the carriers’ discrection), but most rooters (including those on 2.1 and earlier) use third-party applications which don’t interface with Android’s built in mechanism and that may make it difficult for AT&T to determine whether or not you’re tethering.

You folks should be safe for the time being, but take this as a quick PSA letting you know that your days could be numbered if AT&T figures out a way to catch you. You can find a full copy of AT&T’s letter to tetherers here. [TUAW, Thanks James!]

Flash Player 10.2 Update Out Today, Supposedly Improves Performance on Non-Honeycomb Devices

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 07:21 AM PDT

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It’s finally March 18th and that means Adobe should be issuing the update to Flash Player 10.2 sometime today. The update adds support and performance enhancements for Android 3.0 Honeycomb which explains why the Motorola XOOM didn’t ship with the Player.

According to Adobe, though, other changes and fixes have improved Flash performance for more than just Honeycomb dual-core devices. I haven’t gotten the update yet myself (and I didn’t install the one that was floating around the internet last week), but Engadget says there’s a noticeable improvement in performance when playing back a 480p video on YouTube using their Motorola Droid 2 (That device has a 1GHz OMAP 3 processor, by the way.)

They say that the Motorola XOOM played those same 480p videos back “perfectly smooth”, though HD 720p still gave them trouble. Unfortunately, this is because Adobe has not yet enabled hardware acceleration in what is said to be a beta release. It’ll be switched on in a future update that Adobe says should make HD playback “really smooth”. Look out for the upgrade on your Android 2.2+ device today and let us know when it appears by hitting us up here.

Guerrilla Bob Hits Android Market; Offers Cross-Platform Shooting Gameplay to Mac OS, iOS [Video]

Posted: 18 Mar 2011 06:54 AM PDT

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Tons of titles are making their way from iOS to Android. Unfortunately, it’s hard to cover every single one of them but Guerrilla Bob (yes, with two “r”s) is one that immediately caught our attention if only for its graphics alone. Guerrilla Bob is a 3D shooter that sees Bob – your ordinary military badass – taking on the world.

Angry Mob Games – the folks who developed the title – are touting a hefty selection of unique weapons, epic boss battles, and several different game modes. All that stuff sounds great alone, but what caught our attention was the ability for players on Android to play the game with those on Mac OS or iOS devices. (Windows-based PCs will eventually be supported.)

There is a catch, of course: the two players must be on the same local Wi-Fi connection to play. We would have liked to have seen multiplayer possible over 3G with any player in the world, but we’ll take what we can get. The game looks like it’s worth it for the single player experience alone.

Check out the trailer and cross-platform action above, and take a look below at a specific version of the game for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. Find the game in the Android market for $2.99. [Thanks Geoff!]
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