Thursday, April 14, 2011

Android Community

Android Community

HTC Sense 3.0 Not coming to older devices, but they will get pieces

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:08 AM PDT

Earlier today there was a tweet by a HTC employee that has now made it’s rounds throughout all the blogs. He mentioned that legacy devices, even ones like the Desire S and Desire HD will NOT be getting Sense 3.0 due to hardware requirements. You can see that tweet here. That would not be good news for many of you that have just jumped into one of those exciting new phones.

That was some pretty bad news for many, but now an official clarification tweet from @HTC themselves has put this entire story to rest. The official clarification goes on to mention that some aspects of the new Sense 3.0 like what is in the HTC Sensation will not work with older devices, but that they are working to incorporate all other aspects that can and will work with older devices.

This is some good news. Because the new HTC Sense 3.0 sure looks to have some cool features that I would not want to miss out on if I was a HTC buyer. From the never ending rotating 7 or however many screens you have, to the beautiful weather animations and more. If you’d like to see the HTC Sensation, and Sense 3.0 you can check out this video below.

[via @HTC Twitter]

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Android Surpasses iOS Globally for First Time, already did in U.S.

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:52 AM PDT

Looks like today the numbers are finally in, again. This time it is something that was well, sort of expected. The Android train has been going ahead full steam for a long time now, and Q4 2010 and Q1 2011 has only got faster and stronger. According to InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, revealed its monthly network data analysis findings in its Mobile Insights Report: Global Edition March 2011. They are showing Android ad impression sales has now finally surpassed iOS Globally.

InMobi has the largest and most comprehensive report of its kind is based on data from the InMobi network which serves 31.9 billion monthly mobile advertising impressions to over 220 million consumers. This report now shows Android global ad impression share has surpassed iPhone OS for the first time. Although iPhone OS and Android both continue to capture share on a global basis, over the last few months Android growth has been increasing and has now surpassed that of iPhone OS.

They go on to mention that the global smartphone revolution has been going strong for a while, and with Android getting bigger and stronger in 2011 it is about to take the next step in its evolution. With varied price points and options, android devices are being an ever so popular tool for accessing data, replacing laptops and even desktop computers worldwide.

InMobi also goes on to mention the North American market. That it has increased around 50% in just the last 90 days, and that even though iOS had a successful boost with the Verizon iPhone and captured +9.7 share points. It was the first time they’ve grown more than Android in recent history, but it wasn’t enough and Android still has the lead.

Although iPhone OS enjoyed a boost with the Verizon launch, Android captured +4.0 share points and leads iPhone OS by 5.2 share points.

This all comes from the latest ad impression reports from InMobi, so take it as you will. We all can agree that Android has continued to grow into the beast that it is now, and the way things are starting to look there is NO slowing it down. Android will continue to surge worldwide as more and more adopt it. I can’t wait to see what the rest of 2011 holds for Android. We will be here right with you the entire way.

[via PR Newswire]

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Motrola Xoom for Sprint appears again, with updated case

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:27 AM PDT

First off we heard a little rumor that Sprint was getting the Atrix and Xoom with Wimax, then we saw some pictures leak of the Motorola Xoom sporting a Sprint logo. Some people said it looked fake, or that it wasn’t real. Now it seems to have reappeared again with the same Sprint logo, as well as the same updated portfolio case.

We are glad to be seeing the Motorola Xoom coming to another carrier, as more options are always better. If it comes with Wimax that would make it even more special. I also couldn’t help but notice the portfolio case in the image looks very similar to the current one that shipped with the Verizon Xoom, but updated. I must say, that is a good thing because the original portfolio case was pretty terrible and the iPad2 smart cover made it look pathetic. It covered ports and was hard to type while standing at an angle. I’m sure we will be hearing more about this device in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

[via Pocket Now]

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Motorola Droid X2 dual-core boot animation [video]

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:00 AM PDT

It looks like one more piece has just been leaked to go along with the many different things we have found for the Motorola Droid X2. First we saw benchmarks showing dual-core and the qHD 960×540 screen you can read all about that here. Now we have a boot animation showing the same DUAL CORE logo as the Motorola Xoom.

With no word from Motorola, or Verizon yet. We keep hearing or seeing things like this that make us happy. So far things are slowly starting to look better and better for Verizon. Over the past few months other than the Thunderbolt, they’ve not really done a lot. Sprint has the EVO Shift, the EVO 3D. T-Mobile has the HTC Sensation and the G2x, AT&T has the Atrix, then there is Verizon with the single core Thunderbolt.

Things are soon about to change and this entire battle is going to start heating up again this summer. Droid X2, Droid Bionic, Samsung Droid Charge, LG Revolution are all devices coming to Verizon at some point this summer or sooner. Check out below for the video and source.

[via Android Central]

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LG Revolution pictured again, coming to Verizon as 4G LTE device

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 09:45 AM PDT

The LG Revolution has been quiet since we heard about it at CES, and even did a little Hands-On. Back then everyone was being quiet about what processors all these Verizon phones would have. So that hands on report saying 1 Ghz could very well be wrong, as things change so fast in this crazy mobile industry. It will probably launch with a Tegra 2, we wont know til more details emerge.

For those that don’t know. The Revolution is a 4.3″ touting Verizon 4G LTE device, that should be plenty fun, with HDMI out and all the other bells most phones have these days. It will be running Android 2.2 at launch and should see a 2.3 update in July is what we are hearing. It is just starting to hit testers hands, so soon we should be seeing more of it.

We don’t know final specs, unless you want to go off of what we heard at CES2011, and those could be correct, but they also didn’t tell us much and were keeping a tight lid on things, just like with the Droid Bionic. This phone might have a 1 Ghz CPU, and may have a dual-core Tegra 2. We aren’t sure yet but hopefully we will know soon. I have a feeling Verizon is planning for a big May/June right around summer push. More pictures at the source.

[via Android Central]

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Samsung Galaxy S II Blows up the Quadrant Benchmark

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 09:19 AM PDT

We have all been seeing a lot of dual-core phones on the horizon, and one thing we always do first is a Quadrant benchmark or something of that sort. Now this does not represent real world testing, but it gives us a pretty good idea on what is to come. We have the Galaxy S II here ripping through any other stock quadrant score we’ve yet to see.

Yes this is fast, It is even faster than the Motorola Xoom, the LG G2x, and the newly announced 1.2 Ghz dual-core HTC Sensation, but there is a big reason for that huge score. A lot of that is screen resolution. My Motorola Xoom scores over 3300 when overclocked to Galaxy S II speeds, and the Xoom has a 1280×800 resolution, way larger than the small 800×480 of the Galaxy S II. The HTC Sensation also has a qHD High-res screen with a 960×540 resolution so it has to push a lot more pixels, making its benchmark score lower.

We all know that Samsung had the best processor for a long time in the Galaxy S line, and they aren’t planning on letting that go. I’m sure they have been working hard to make sure this device will be blazing fast, and so far it looks like it will be. I’m still irritated it has the low resolution 800×480, but some will say it will still look better than the qHD because the Super AMOLED + it has on board. We will see. The same issue is why I might not buy the G2x, low resolution screen in a HD screen era. That is all for now, we will report more as we see it on the Galaxy S II.

[via PocketNow]

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YAAM Android Market Promises Developers 100% Profit Share

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 07:28 AM PDT

Perhaps you’re aware of the current oddity happening inside the Android environment as far as app stores go? No? Lemme explain real quick. First, there’s the Android Marketplace. This is the market that you see on most Android-based phones you’ll be purchasing from USA-based mobile carriers. Manufacturers must go through a process to get Google Approved to be able to have this market on their device. Then there’s alternate markets, the most notable one of late being the Amazon App Store. No market, until now, has been able to give the developers of the apps 100% of the profit earned via the sales of apps – YAAM fills that gap.

YAAM is an Android app sales market that was created by a member of XDA Developers, a website dedicated to mobile phone operating systems like Android and Windows Phone 7, and their developers. YAAM stands for Yet Another Android Market, and it certainly doesn’t have the same zazz in aesthetics that Google or Amazon’s markets to, but it does have 100% profit share. That matters so very much, my eyeballs are about to fall out.

There’s currently what the creator says are 23,000 users using this new market which contains 400 applications. Another fantastically important element in play is the ability to use PayPal to purchase apps. I cannot express enough how powerful this could be, as one of the major reasons people do not trust the Google market is its checkout system. Amazon came around the corner to offer their trusted services, but again, they don’t have 100% profit sharing.

They’re not quite completely set up to go yet, in my opinion, per the following statement by the creators:

Paid applications are managed this way : You have a YAAM account, you send money on this account (via paypal, allopass, etc…), and you use this money into the application, to buy applications. In that way, you can easily manage your consommation…
We are surely going to create an enterprise, to manage this money legally !

But we’re pretty pumped up at the possibilities!

[via XDA Developers]

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Virtual Zippo app hits Android

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 06:19 AM PDT

I can remember when I was a kid and we would go to the movies, the Bic lighter commercial would come on and everyone would hold up their lighters and flick them. You can't do that today, but if you are the sort that finds the need to flick a lighter and you don't smoke Zippo has a new Android app for you called Virtual Zippo Lighter.

The app has been on the iPhone before and has been downloaded about 14 million times. The app is now on the Android Market and it is free. It is optimized for the Droid, Evo 4G, and HTC G2 according to Zippo. It’s doesn’t seem overly complex so I would think it will run on any Android device.

The app has 28 different designs that you can put on your virtual lighter. As you move your Android device around the flam will move with you and when you blow on your phone the flame will go out. It’s an interesting app, even if it has no real purpose.

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Texas.gov launches first Android app for Texans

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 06:12 AM PDT

There are apps for just about anything on the Android platform and if you live in Texas, the state has a new app that will make it easier for you to get information and renew certain types of licenses. The app lets you browse the Texas.gov site in mobile mode, find details about the government, and locate government offices.

It also has images of the different landscapes within Texas and you can ask and answer questions for other people. It also links you to Twitter and Facebook accounts for the state government. The coolest part of the app though is that it links you to details for license renewals.

That means you can use the app to get information on concealed handgun licenses, drivers licenses, vehicle registration, and birth certificates. The app is on the Android Market right now and it is free.

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Motorola testing rugged Android tablet aimed at enterprise users

Posted: 14 Apr 2011 03:14 AM PDT

Most tablets and gadgets live in the world of indoor spaces in the home or an office. They might be carried around and used in other places, but most of us keep our gear indoors where it is protected. Some users live their life outside in the service industry or in another business field and a normal tablet will find that it’s a hard life. Life expectancies can be short for a normal tablet with one drop spelling doom for the gadget.

According to Engadget, a source has told it that Motorola has been testing a rugged Android tablet just for the workers that are outdoors all day, but need a tablet that can give access to all sorts of content and will be more likely to survive the rough and tumble world outdoors. The tablet has no official name at this point. According to the image that Engadget has it will run a dual-core 1GHz OMAP4 processor, have 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of NAND flash storage.

The OS will be Android 2.3 and the screen is a 7-inch transmissive 1024 x 600 resolution unit supporting capacitive multi-touch. The rugged design will allow the tablet to survive a four-foot drop onto plywood and the tablet is IP54 sealed. It sports Bluetooth, WiFi, HDMI output, and has a USB port for peripherals. The front camera of the device is a 1.3MP unit and the rear camera is 8MP.

[via Engadget]

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Beautiful Widgets now supports tablets, looks great on Xoom [Mini Review]

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:22 PM PDT

Beautiful Widgets by LevelUp Studios has been one of, if not the most downloaded app for Android other than some games. Everyone that doesn’t have HTC Sense seems to use Beautiful Widgets. They have now updated the widget pack to support Android tablets and the new look and interface for my Xoom sure looks like. I have some pics for you all to enjoy. It just recently finished it’s BETA.

They have completely redesigned the layout, and menu’s and what not to be fully compatible with Android 3.0 Honeycomb and I must say, they did a good job. It works great, it’s smooth, and the new Moon phases sure are cool. I have Weatherbug for Honeycomb but the widget disappears every 3 minutes, very irritating when you can’t see it to remove it. So for now I’d have to recommend Beautiful Widgets.

On screen look of Beautiful Widgets on my Xoom, this is one of many different looks, you can make it completely custom, change colors, font, opacity and everything.

Next up is inside the app when you touch the sun, or the clouds. the animation into full-screen is smooth and clear and you can still see the home screen under it, me likes.

Here we have the new Moon Phase option, it is really cool and I’ve used it for the last few days just to check it out. It is really neat to see the different phases. Nice touch levelup, nice touch. They use honeycomb’s context menu on the top right of course.

Now to keep this short I’ll just show one of the settings tab, You can go in and change whatever is needed. Here is a screenshot of me changing the widget from showing weather and the sun, to my battery life instead. Options, and more options are what we get with Beautiful Widgets. That is why they are so popular.

I told you I would keep it short, and I really tried. They have just done a great job making the widgets and animations smooth and well, beautiful. So I had to show a few screenshots and what not for you all. I’m sure more updates and options will come as they tweak it for tablets, as the phone version sure has tons and tons of options. I’ve downloaded a few skins and made it look pretty funky so far, but for now I’m going to keep it simple. Go ahead and get Beautiful Widgets in the Android Market now and enjoy it, I’ve used it since my G1 days. Thanks for reading, don’t forget to click the gallery below for larger pictures.

beautiful screen-20110413-1311 screen-20110413-1311-1 screen-20110413-1311-2 screen-20110413-1312 screen-20110413-1311 )


T-Mobile Press Event Invites Tease G-Slate and G2x

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 01:49 PM PDT

We’ve been invited to an event that’ll be the place where T-Mobile officially ties themselves to two of what are sure to be blockbuster devices: the LG G-Slate and the G2x. We’ve had short looks at both of these devices in the past and let me tell you: they’re in for some big fat sales. This is an invite-only event and we’ll definitely be there for you to be gawking with us!

This event, oddly enough, will be accompanied by the musical groups Dev and the Cataracs as well as DJ Chachi. These and the invite itself point toward a totally relaxing event – relaxing for YOU, not for us, we’ll be charging through the updates like there’s no tomorrow! All for the betterment of the community, of course.

Behold the expansion of the G-Series and the ever-expanding excellent of LG, where Life is Good. Take a look at all of our coverage of the G-Slate first, then head back to our looks at the G2X as well. Portals galore for two devices that’ll be pumped full of dual-core magic. NVIDIA Tegra 2 to the rescue!

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Android Community’s Gigantic XOOM Contest!

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 01:19 PM PDT

What’s that? You’re completely unaware that Android Community is giving away not one, not two, but THREE Motorola XOOM tablets? That’s right, our pals at NVIDIA have busted open their generosity boxes and worked with us to give away three XOOM tablets here on Android Community and two more over on our sister site SlashGear. The entry rules are magnificently simple, two or three clicks and you’re in – everyone has an equal chance at winning – what are you waiting for?!

The following is the shortened ruleset that tells you what you must do in order to enter. To see the FULL ruleset including who exactly’s eligible to win as well as what the limitations of the contest might be in strange circumstances, head over [here]. Otherwise get your entering boots strapped up and win yourself a XOOM!

To win one of these fabulous tablets, you must:

1. “like” us on Facebook: facebook.com/androidcommunity.com
2. Comment on the wall saying something nice like “Android Community and NVIDIA have no less than dual-core generosity!”

– what you say does NOT dictate how we choose the winners. All entries are considered equal, no matter the text. It would be nice though for you to be kind and thoughtful!

Contest begins April 11, 2PM PST, and ends May 1, 2PM PST. A winner will be announced every Monday @ 5PM PST here in the main news feed and at our official Facebook page.

WINNERS will be given the opportunity to submit a review of their XOOM and have it posted on the front page of AndroidCommunity.com! *Reviews may be edited or modified before publication and are considered works for hire under the 1976 Copyright Act. Submissions will be ineligible for payment or remuneration.

Contest provided by SlashGear/Android Community. Prizing provided by NVIDIA. Any questions regarding this contest should be directed to chris@androidcommunity.com.

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Motorola Droid X Gingerbread 2.3 OTA already rooted

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:58 PM PDT

That was fast, before most people even got the OTA for the Motorola Droid X to Android 2.3 that we mentioned yesterday it has already been rooted by none other than TeamBlackHat. @P3Droid has already posted pictures on twitter of the About Page and superuser permissions being accessed. Cool!

Back during the end of March the Droid X Android 2.3 Gingerbread OTA was nearing its final stages and it was leaked and brought to us by the same guys over at TBH. You can read about that here. They have friends at Verizon, or Motorola, or both because they always seem to be hot on the chase when it comes to anything Motorola.

For now this is only a screenshot of the official OTA that has been rooted. I’m assuming that by tonight, or sometime tomorrow they will be releasing instructions and all that other good stuff so all you Droid X users can root your updated device. Stay tuned for more info, as it should be coming soon.

[via P3Droid Twitter]

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T-Mobile LG G2x up for Pre-Order at Walmart for only $179

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:44 PM PDT

Looks like Walmart is at it again, trying to beat everyone with pre-orders and with pricing. Today they have started pre-orders for the LG G2x for $20 off the T-Mobile price of $199.99 with a new contract of course. Walmart has came out with the same pre-order at $179.99 but you better hurry, as it probably wont last long.

You should probably all know the G2x by now, if not here are a few links for you. Here is our G2x Hands-On, and talk of it working with both T-Mobile AND AT&T if the merger goes as planned. I also must mention that this beautiful phone will most likely be getting my favorite 3rd party software, CyanogenMod.

Walmart has done this in the past, they usually ship the same day as T-Mobile so users that choose to pre-order from Walmart over T-Mobile should get the device around the same time, or maybe early because that has happened before also. To be honest I think I’ll be pre-ordering it tonight myself. Yay for dual-core phones.

[via Walmart Wireless]

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Carrier Billing for Android now on Sprint, and in Japan

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:22 PM PDT

Since early last year Google has been working on Direct Carrier Billing for Android Market purchases. Simply put you can purchase an app in the android market and charge it right to your carrier account. T-Mobile and AT&T already have this feature, and now Sprint is also joining the party.

After reading around on the Android Developer Blog, Google also mentioned the same Direct Carrier Billing is now coming to Japan, our very own writer ewdi is over there and will be trying it out when he can. The developer blog went on mentioning that they’ve recently launched Direct Carrier Billing to users on three popular networks in Japan — SoftBank, KDDI, and NTT DOCOMO.

So with all that, T-Mobile, AT&T, and now Sprint, it looks like carrier billing is well on its way to being a normal thing for Android. This is good news, and a key piece of Android’s Marketplace. With many places not having access to credit cards, and many other reasons, carrier billing is the future of app purchases. Stay tuned as more partners will be announced soon.

[via Android Developers Blog]

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Verizon Droid Incredible 2 Promo Materials Arriving in Stores [Pics]

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:19 PM PDT

Our good buddy Zapados appears to have taken some sneaky shots of promo materials delivered to his local Verizon store. Included is a poster that notes the Incredible 2′s ability to take front-facing video, the fact that it’s got a 1GHz processor, and that it’s Global Ready for use in “more than 200 countries.” Sounds like quite the fashionable phone, yes? And it’s got that nice crystal droid eye too!

I’m sure WordFlowOne isn’t going to like this, but we appreciate the tenacity in the hearts of all your Verizon workers out there. What you’re going to want to peek at next is the Droid Incredible 2 press shots that surfaced a few days ago, a lovely Verizon 2011 roadmap that puts the release date for this particular handset on the 28th of April – this would fall right in line, wouldn’t it?

Then have another look at that crystal Droid eye. Isn’t it magnificent? For those of you that know me, Chris Burns, I’m a graphic designer at heart, having gone to the completely rock and roll school MCAD in Minneapolis, I’ve got totally lustful eyes for such fabulous reds and blacks. Well played, designers, well played.

IMAG0061 IMAG0064 IMAG0063 )


Angry Birds Cross-Platform-Sync coming soon?

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:06 PM PDT

The world just can’t get enough of Angry Birds, or can we? Seems like they are always in the news. Earlier today we mentioned the newest bit to join the party, Angry Birds Seasons Easter. Now it seems we have even more exciting news regarding your favorite birds.

Rovio Mobile today has tweeted that cross-platform-sync is a difficult task, but they have been working extremely hard on it, and getting close. What this means is you no longer will have to start over when you get a new android phone, or when you make that very smart move from the iPhone to a better, more powerful dual-core Android phone like the HTC Sensation you wont lose your progress.

You can play Angry Birds on your iPod touch that you have had forever, or your shiny new android phone, or that exciting Motorola Xoom you just got and all the levels you beat already you wont have to redo. This is huge as I lost all progress once and I’m still not back to where I was and rarely play the game now. I do however backup all my game saves data on android using Titanium Backup, but once the cross-platform-sync gets finished we will no longer have to worry about losing our precious hard work. I can’t wait to hear more about this in the coming weeks or months.

[via Rovio Mobile Twitter]

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Design with Android, AutoCAD WS coming soon to Android

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 11:45 AM PDT

AutoDesk has just recently announced that the popular AutoCAD WS Mobile app is now coming to Android. Time to get your design on. They said this has been the most asked question since the launch of the iOS version and that they are happy to be bringing this to Android. It will be available in the Android Market starting April 20th. It also plays very nicely with Tablets.

After looking over the Autodesk site it looks like they have done some exciting work with the mobile app, as they will all work together. Cross Platform compatibility was a big thing for them, and they are happy to report that it will work seamlessly across all platforms.

AutoCAD WS allows you to share your files with anyone and collaborate in real-time. Using your Android phone or tablet, you can work with clients and colleagues using any other Android device or any iOS device or any desktop computer with a browser.

Sometimes we Android users get apps that are already in the Apple App Store, but aren’t as feature rich or are some way different. AutoDesk has made sure to include every single feature for Android, users are all set up and ready to go starting April 20th. Check out the app in use on the Motorola Xoom teaser video below.

[via Autodesk]

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