Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Samsung Releases Droid Charge Source Code

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 07:00 PM PDT

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Say what you will about Samsung and their shady business practices with keeping up to date on the latest Android firmware. But you have to hand it to them, they still fall in line when it comes to Google’s Open Handset Alliance.

Take the Droid Charge (formerly Droid Stealth) for instance. Samsung has just released the source code in their Open Source Release Center for ROM modders to dive in and begin cooking custom ROMs for a phone they haven’t even laid hands on yet.

If this and Verizon’s leaked roadmap is any indication of the phone’s arrival, we could see the Droid Charge hitting retail stores any day now.

Looks as if Sammy may be rushing to beat LG and join the Thunderbolt as Verizon’s latest 4G offering.

[Via Samsung]

Samsung Galaxy S 2 Sets The World Ablaze With New Benchmarks

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 05:29 PM PDT

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It wasn’t too long ago when we saw the Samsung Galaxy S II benchmarked but a few things have changed since then. That change came in the form of Samsung’s Exynos processor gaining a slightly higher clock speed (1.2Ghz vs previous 1Ghz). This was most likely fueled by competitor HTC and their newly announced 1.2 Ghz dual-core Sensation.

Looks as if Samsung may be trying to rain on HTC’s parade by leaking these scores online. It appears as if the Galaxy S II has almost doubled the benchmarks of rival HTC Pyramid’s in Smartbench2011 (I hold my benchmarks to a higher standard: i.e., Angry Birds).

When it comes to popular benchmarking app Quadrant, the Galaxy S II scored a blistering fast 3,053. Some people have mentioned that is faster than a Motorola Xoom but you must keep in mind that the Xoom has almost double the amount of pixels to push which would result in a lower benchmark. That being said, take benchmarks with a grain of salt as they don’t always represent a true sense of real world speed for the end user.

Finally, I will leave you with this video showing off the new Touch Whiz UI of the Galaxy S II. What truly “wowed” me was the speed of the 3D Gallery. Can’t say I’ve ever seen the normally sluggish gallery app move that quickly.

When Android manufacturers aren’t fighting directly with the iPhone, its nice to see them fighting amongst themselves. Competition is always good for consumers and things are definitely heating up this summer!

[Via Engadget]

In Other News… [April 13th]

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 04:03 PM PDT

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New name! And with that comes the return of our wrap-up feature where we go over some of the news stories that may be interesting to some of you but weren’t urgent enough for the good ol’ front page. More Nexus S in Canada, more cheap tablets, and a pocket full of new apps and app updates. Check all those links out below.

DROID Incredible Getting Android 2.3, Says HTC

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 03:55 PM PDT

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More OTA confirmation by way of online HTC support representatives. This time, the helpful bunch have confirmed that the HTC Droid Incredible (the original) will be getting Android 2.3. They offer “summer” as far as a window goes, but we’ll believe it when we see it. We’re glad to see HTC being as vocal as they can be regarding forthcoming upgrades. [via Android Central]

DROID 3 Receives Bluetooth Certification?

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 03:33 PM PDT

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Looks like a device named the XT862 by Motorola Mobility has just passed Bluetooth certification – and it’s probably the DROID 3. Nothing concrete to go on here, and the model number does sound weird compared to Verizon’s other Moto DROID offerings, but there really are no other notable Motorola devices headed to North America that we know of. [via Droid-Life]

DROID X2 to Be $199.99, LG Revolution $249.99, Others Priced Says MAP Timeline

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:59 PM PDT

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Our friends at Droid-Life seem to have gotten their hands on an updated MAP sheet for some of Verizon’s upcoming phones. Standouts include the Droid X2, the Samsung DROID Charge, the HTC Droid Incredible 2 and the LG Revolution coming in with minimum advertised prices of $200, $300, $200 and $250, respectively. Yes, we too are praying that DROID Charge price is nothing but a late April Fools’ Day joke or a horrible, horrible typo.

Samsung Galaxy S Plus Official for Russia

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:12 PM PDT

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Samsung’s officially set to release the Samsung Galaxy S Plus in Russia despite a forthcoming Galaxy S II. If you don’t remember, this was a slightly more beefy version of the Galaxy S. The choice of processor is interesting – a 1.4GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset sits inside with an Adreno 205 GPU. We’re not sure why Samsung decided to skip out on their own Hummingbird chipset, but it’s their prerogative. Other notable features include Bluetooth 3.0, a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, 8GB of internal storage and Android 2.3. You can find it for 21,9990 rubles ($781) inside Russian stores this May. [via GSMArena]

Google Closes ITA Acquisition – Official Flight App Surely to Come

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:01 PM PDT

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We could be seeing a “Google Flight” app headed to the Android market soon as the search giant has announced that their acquisition of ITA Software – organizers of airline data – has closed. The U.S. Department of Justice finally approved the deal last Friday after nearly a year of antitrust trials. (This is what T-Mobile and AT&T have to go through, in case you didn’t know.) Now that it’s closed, Google will begin integrating their team into the Google Plex to begin work on “exciting new flight search tools for all our users.” Read those last three words carefully – surely a flight application for Android will come of this. Google Flight doesn’t sound like a bad name at all. [via Google]

Verizon Lowering Prices on Phones After Obliterating One-Year Contracts?

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 01:06 PM PDT

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Verizon is set to eliminate one-year contracts VERY soon (this Sunday, to be exact, and the process is already underway) but it looks like they’ll be giving customers a break on device pricing. Several phones were spotted with lower-than-normal full retail pricing on their website. The Thunderbolt for instance, has been discounted to $570. Older devices such as the DROID X and DROID Pro have also been taken down a notch at $399.99 and $429.99, respectively. While they aren’t exactly the same prices you’d get for a juicy one-year deal, they are still significant discounts. What do you guys think? [Droid-Life]

Google Spreading NFC Marketing Tools to More Cities

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:24 PM PDT

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Google’s continuing their NFC push here in the United States. If you didn’t know, they partnered up with businesses in Portland to put NFC stickers in their windows which allows customers to get more information on the store or to grab a deal going on simply by tapping their phone against it. The program seems to be successful as they’re now expanding to 4 more cities. Those include Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; Charlotte, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. Google’s not slowing down with their initiative so expect to see more cities added over the course of the year. [via NFC World]

Motorola Said to Be Testing Ruggedized 7 Inch Gingerbread Tablet Aimed at Enterprise

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:18 PM PDT

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Motorola’s looking to continue their push into enterprise with tablets now that their phone business has gotten its fair share of enterprise-level devices, according to Engadget’s tipster. Specs? Why, of course: Android 2.3 (ouch), a 7-inch transmissive LCD display (outdoor ready) with a resolution of 1024×600, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a 1GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor, and a design made to withstand the bumps and bruises of the world outside. (And if the Motorola DEFY is anything to go by then they won’t have any problem pulling that off.)

Other features include an 8 megapixel camera on the back, a VGA webcam, a stylus to collect signatures, USB connectivity, Bluetooth, tons of enterprise-level security features and software and – well just look at the graphic because there’s a lot here. We can’t say we like Android 2.3 being the platform of choice for this device, but I’m sure Motorola has a good reason for not going the Honeycomb route. (Especially considering they were the first to do so with the Motorola XOOM.)

T-Mobile Cans That Truly Unlimited Plan for Even More Plus Customers

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 11:56 AM PDT

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A couple of days ago we learned T-Mobile would be introducing new unlimited plans for their customers and all of Magenta-land rejoiced! Unfortunately, half of that land – the Even More Plus half – won’t have anything to celebrate anymore: their unlimited plan would never see the late of day, or so says this email sitting comfortably on someone’s Android device.  We’re not sure if they’ll be bringing this plan back sometime down the line, but for now you folks are left outof the equation. Even More customers can still get their $79.99 data plan by calling, stopping in to a store, or going to T-Mobile’s website. [via TmoNews]

Sony Ericsson Bootloader Unlock Site Now Live For 2011+ Models

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 11:45 AM PDT

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Well this came about sooner than we thought. We knew Sony Ericsson would be introducing a site to help new Xperia owners to unlock their bootloaders, but we didn’t expect it to be published for a few weeks. It’s up right now, though, and the process is simple: give them your IMEI and your email address and you get a shiny new code to unlock that Xperia Play, Arc, Neo, Pro, and whatever other models are set to come out this year onward.

Sony Ericsson says that this “may void the warranty of your phone.” That statement can be taken a couple of different ways but we’d say just consider your warranty void as soon as you enter that unlock key. Go to unlockbootloader.sonyericsson.com to get started. (Full instructions and everything you’ll need can be found there.) [via XperiaBlog]

Droid X Gingerbread OTA Rooted

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 11:43 AM PDT

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And just like that, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread Over the Air update for the Motorola Droid X has been rooted. We reported earlier today that the 2.3 rollout had begun and you could even get yourselves the leaked update to apply manually.

Not soon after, the guys over at Team Black Hat have managed to get Super User permissions up and running. Still not available for general consumption but I’m sure we will see it in no time.

Great work guys. The Droid X modding community salutes you.

[Via Twitter]

[Update: $149.99 From LetsTalk, Wirefly] Pre-order the T-Mobile G2x From Walmart Today for $179.99

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 11:33 AM PDT

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The T-Mobile G2X isn’t set to launch until Friday, but you can stake your claim to one right now thanks to Walmart. They’ve put the device up for pre-order and we expect they’ll ship your device at the same time T-Mobile will.  You can get $20 off by going through Walmart, too, but that ends tomorrow so get a move on it if you want to take advantage of that deal. Otherwise, T-Mobile’s official launch is just a couple of days away. [via Cellphone Signal]

[Update]: Looks like LetsTalk and Wirefly are getting in on the pre-order and are offering even better discounts – how’s $150 sound? Yep, you want it. LetsTalk here, Wirefly here.
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