Android Phone Fans |
- Google Earnings Call: Android Activations at 350,000 Daily, 3 Billion Apps Installed from Android Market
- New Leaks Confirms April 28th for HTC Droid Incredible 2 Launch
- Walmart’s Droid Charge Price Tag Shows Verizon Was Serious about that $300 Two-Year Pricing
- Motorola Droid Pro Due for an Imminent Update? [Update: Rolling Out Now]
- Game Developers Express Distaste with Amazon Appstore Pricing Policies
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sense UI Leaks for HTC EVO 4G
- First Shots of the Eco-Friendly Samsung Replenish Emerge
- Android Goes on Safari with Sub-Saharan Africa Developer Challenge
- Samsung Aiming for Q3 Launch of Samsung Galaxy S II in Canada
- AT&T and T-Mobile to File Merger Paperwork with FCC around April 21
- Is Verizon Passing on the Droid Bionic in Favor of the Motorola Targa? [RUMOR]
- Sprint to Hold Press Conference April 15th at 11:30am Pacific About Green in Wireless [Samsung Replenish to be Announced]
- “Dual-Core Powered” Motorola DROID X2 Makes Quick Appearance on Video
- Motorola DROID CommandOne Appears to Be on Sale for $130 Already [Headset, Case Pictures]
- PocketCloud Updated for Honeycomb Support
| Posted: 14 Apr 2011 03:09 PM PDT Today during their Q1 earnings call, Google’s Jeff Huber provided some insight onto the current state of Android activations and app installs. The number of devices activated daily equals some 350,000 handsets. And with all of these activations the number of app installs from the Android Market have increased by 50 percent since the final quarter of 2010. App installs now sit at 3 billion. Also out of the earnings call: the actual earnings. Google pulled in a gross revenue of $8.58 billion across all of their ventures, a 27 percent increase over the first quarter of 2010. It is less than what analysts expected, with decreased profits being attributed to Google’s growing work force, now 28 percent larger than it was last year, and spending on recent acquisitions and investments.
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| New Leaks Confirms April 28th for HTC Droid Incredible 2 Launch Posted: 14 Apr 2011 01:48 PM PDT You might remember a supposed Verizon roadmap from a couple weeks back that gave April 28th as the launch date for the HTC Droid Incredible 2. With marketing materials already hitting stores, speculation was mounting that the handset might actually land on April 21st. Now a new leak from inside Verizon’s computer system has back on the 28th, with that date pegged for the release of the DInc 2 via all channels. The handset is expected to retail for $199.99 when it does launch. [via DroidDog]
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| Walmart’s Droid Charge Price Tag Shows Verizon Was Serious about that $300 Two-Year Pricing Posted: 14 Apr 2011 12:49 PM PDT When leaks first suggested the Samsung DROID Charge would have a price point of $299.99 on a two-year contract, many scratched their heads and wondered how Verizon thought they could get away with it. Was the pricing not including some sort of rebate to be applied at the time of purchase? According to new pricing information gathered at Walmart, there was no need for confusion. $298.88 is the price Verizon is asking when the phone is picked up on a two-year contract. Without a contract? A whopping $700. All for a phone that doesn’t do much to best the first 4G LTE phone from Verizon, the HTC Thunderbolt in terms of specs. Perhaps its a surcharge for the Droid branding. [via DroidLife]
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| Motorola Droid Pro Due for an Imminent Update? [Update: Rolling Out Now] Posted: 14 Apr 2011 12:31 PM PDT [Update]: The update in question appears to be rolling out now to some handsets. Head over to Verizon’s site for all the info on the new software (version 3.8.7.XT610), which includes improved ActiveSync support and access to the VCAST Appstore. According to a response to a posting in their official support forums, there is “an impending update” in the pipeline for the Motorola DROID PRO The Motorola representative posting about the update didn’t have much to say about what fixes and enhancements to expect with the update, but from the sounds of it the Droid Pro could be receiving it any day now. This is the first we have heard of a new update to the Droid Pro since Verizon issued one to the handset back in January. We expect the update will be little more than a bug fix/minor enhancements patch and wouldn’t put any money on Gingerbread being part of the upgrades. We will keep our ears to the ground on this one, though. [via Motorola Support Forums | Thanks, Kai!]
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| Game Developers Express Distaste with Amazon Appstore Pricing Policies Posted: 14 Apr 2011 12:19 PM PDT An email sent to members of the International Game Developers Association today, the organization took issue with the pricing of games on the Amazon Appstore, claiming the retailer is using “developer’s content as a weapon with which to capture marketshare from competing app stores.” The statement contends that Amazon’s pricing policies will have a negative impact on developers in the long run. Amazon requires that developers lower application pricing permanently to match discounted prices in competing app markets, even if the discount is only temporary. The IGDA doesn’t believe Amazon should lower prices on games that are selling well, thus reducing income for the developer. Amazon is currently working with the IGDA to address these concerns, but the organization fears that as their Appstore becomes increasingly popular, developers will have little choice but to submit to whatever terms the retailer requests lest their games miss out on sales from the app market. The IDGA’s concerns are only the most recent in a long history of developer complaints about the profitability of Android apps and games. Game distributor Gameloft is one company which flat-out skipped over the Android Market due to fears of software piracy and now offers their titles via the Amazon Appstore, a big win for the retail giant. The IDGA is primarily focused on independent developers. Amazon has yet to issue an official response. [via Reuters]
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| Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sense UI Leaks for HTC EVO 4G Posted: 14 Apr 2011 12:02 PM PDT A few days after hearing the EVO 4G is included in HTC’s plans for devices receiving the Android Gingerbread update, what appears to be an official build with the Sense UI layer on top had leaked. The leak comes in the form of a system dump that the boys over at XDA Developers are already hard at work crafting into an easily flash-able ROM for installation. While the timing of the leak is no true indicator of when we might see the update sent out to owners of the EVO, it is a good sign that development is moving along. Speaking of development, expect some new custom ROMs to be cooked up based around the release. [911sniper via XDA, thanks to all that sent this in!]
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| First Shots of the Eco-Friendly Samsung Replenish Emerge Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:32 AM PDT Earlier today we learned Sprint would be hosting a press event tomorrow focusing on green in the wireless industry tomorrw, April 15th. The plan is to unveil the eco-friendly Samsung Replenish at that event. Just a day shy of the official announcement, the first press shots of the phone have come online via Samsung, accompanied with the following description:
The phone for earth-lovers looks a lot like a feature phone/smartphone hybrid, and should go on sale soon (just in time for Earth Day), though the image suggests a raspberry pink rendition won’t launch until June. Expect it to be economically priced, as well. [via Samsung]
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| Android Goes on Safari with Sub-Saharan Africa Developer Challenge Posted: 14 Apr 2011 11:22 AM PDT As Android strengthens its hold on the global smartphone market, it continues to expand in areas where wireless technology is still developing but becoming increasingly relevant. One such location is Sub-Saharan Africa, where mobile devices are gaining ground as not only communications devices but as the main platform for accessing the web. Check out the growth in search requests for “Android” occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa: In support of over 10,000 developers and tech enthusiasts from the region with whom Google has been in contact with over the past year, Sub-Saharan Africa is getting its very own edition of the Android Developer Challenge. The winner of the contest will be announced on September 12th at G-Kenya, and will be the recipient of an Android phone and $25,000 USD. For more information head over to the source link below. [via Android Developers]
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| Samsung Aiming for Q3 Launch of Samsung Galaxy S II in Canada Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:49 AM PDT After rumors were squashed that the global launch of the Samsung Galaxy S II would be delayed until the summer, more information is coming to light on when we can expect the handset in North America. During a recent Nexus S launch event in Canada, Samsung’s Paul Brennan revealed that the great white north can expect the handset by early Q3. He remained hopeful a late Q2 launch might even be possible, but assured the Galaxy S II would be available in Canada by the fall. For those wondering when the S II will launch on US soil, Brennan suggested Canada would have it first. We’d still imagine fall would be a good time to expect a larger North American rollout. [via MobileSyrup]
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| AT&T and T-Mobile to File Merger Paperwork with FCC around April 21 Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:33 AM PDT On or around April 21st the clock will begin ticking on an FCC investigation into the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, proceedings that could last the better part of a year or longer. AT&T placed a bid to acquire T-Mobile from Duetsche Telekom for a hefty $39 billion, but whether or not it is approved depends on the findings of the FCC as to how the merger could affect the telecommunications industry. The US Justice Department has also requested to review the merger with concern to antitrust laws. If AT&T successfully buys out T-Mobile, 80 percent of wireless subscribers in the US would be split between that conglomerate and Verizon. Sprint, the lone underdog, has vocally opposed the notion. There have been numerous independent analyses going both in the favor of AT&T and against the proposed merged, some saying customers will benefit while others believe the wireless subscriber loses in the long run. It is an issue that will continue to be hotly debated until the FCC reaches their final decision. [via Reuters]
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| Is Verizon Passing on the Droid Bionic in Favor of the Motorola Targa? [RUMOR] Posted: 14 Apr 2011 10:19 AM PDT Let’s dust off the name Droid Bionic, it’s a handset we haven’t talked about much since it was initially unveiled at CES this January past. About the only time the dual-core handset slated for Verizon comes up is when discussing rumored release dates, or word that those rumored release dates have been delayed. This latest news isn’t about a release date or delay, though. According to an insider posting over at HowardForums, the Motorola DROID BIONIC might have been scrapped altogether. Word is the handset is being passed over in favor of the Motorola Targa a phone we only heard of recently when images of the mysterious device surfaced. A reliable tipster of our own is backing up the claim. We don’t know a whole lot about the Targa, but it’s a safe bet it most isn’t ready for a May launch. If the Droid Bionic is indeed cancelled don’t expect the Targa to show up anytime before late summer, leaving an absence of a dual-core handset on Big Red. Unless, of course, the upcoming Droid X2 rocks a dual-core chip as was recently suggested, making it a suitable placeholder for the time being.
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| Posted: 14 Apr 2011 09:56 AM PDT Remember the Samsung Replenish? Sprint’s first phone to take their new “go green” initiative by the horns? We first heard it was supposed to be announced on April 15th with a vanity site to go up sometime that day, and now Sprint has announced a press conference for – you guessed it – tomorrow. They’ll take to San Francisco starting at 11:30am Pacific time to talk about “wireless innovation and green mobile devices.” And we just got our first unofficial-official confirmation of the Samsung Replenish. We’ll be on the lookout for the full presser tomorrow along with official images and hopefully a video or two.
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| “Dual-Core Powered” Motorola DROID X2 Makes Quick Appearance on Video Posted: 14 Apr 2011 09:42 AM PDT If you didn’t believe this thing was real and that it’d be powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor then perhaps this video should do well to quell any of those doubts. Not much to see in this video aside from the boot-up process, but it’s yet another indication of the device’s impending launch. [via Android Central]
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| Motorola DROID CommandOne Appears to Be on Sale for $130 Already [Headset, Case Pictures] Posted: 14 Apr 2011 09:16 AM PDT The powerful (and pricey at an apparent $130) Motorola Droid CommandOne headset was announced at CES this past January, but it was only just recently that we learned of its DROID-branding. (Odd for a device that’s not a phone, I must say.) We were wondering when this thing would go on sale, but it would appear it’s already making the rounds at at least one Verizon location. We were sent these images of the device in all its glory and a more clear shot of that nice case in which you’d store the “headset so smart, it texts handsfree.” A picture of the headset itself inside the box sits above while two pictures of the case – one while opened and one while closed – sit below. [Thanks for the heads up, Chris!]
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| PocketCloud Updated for Honeycomb Support Posted: 14 Apr 2011 08:47 AM PDT The folks at Wyse have updated their PocketCloud to version 1.2 which adds support for Honeycomb. It’s natural progression for an app that allows you to view your desktop or laptop computer remotely and edit files on the go. Other changes include a new user interface that takes advantage of the added screen real-estate that tablets provide. You can find the update in the Android market now. (A free version affords you access to one computer, while the pro version lets you access more.) Full press details ahead.
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