July 2010 Archives

Jul

Unlocked European Desires Getting Froyo And A Few Other Features This Weekend

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Froyo 2.2, News

HTC is not resting on its laurels with the latest version of Android. Hot off the heels of yesterday’s announcement that the EVO would be the first phone to receive an update to Android 2.2 (other than the Nexus One, of course), HTC has told Engadget that unlocked European Desires would be receiving the update this weekend, which would also include an App Sharing widget, 720p video recording, iTunes sync, and improved Caller ID.

Anyone who happens to have an unlocked European Desire should receiving a notification within the next two days telling you an update is available. It is ...

Jul

Samsung Shows Off All US Samsung Galaxy S Series Phones In This Promo Video - Share It With Your Non-Android Friends

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, Vibrant, Videos

Samsung Galaxy S series phones - Captivate, Vibrant, Epic 4G, and Fascinate - are definitely the cool new kids on the block, and Samsung wants everyone to know that.

In this relatively lengthy promotional video, Samsung has showcased all 4 models (though, we don't get much of the Fascinate past the initial glimpse), highlighting some important aspects of these devices, such as:

Super AMOLED display
keyboard on the Epic 4G
1GHz Hummingbird CPU speed
3D audio
DLNA output
Android 2.1 Eclair (though, the Froyo upgrade is only 1-2 months away)
TouchWiz interface
HD video
Swype
social integration
apps and

...

Jul

It's Official: Android 2.2 FroYo Rolling Out To HTC EVO 4G Starting August 3rd, Possibly Earlier If You Ask Nicely

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in EVO 4G (Supersonic), Froyo 2.2, News, Sprint

EVO 4G owners, we have some great news for you today. According to the official Sprint press release that just came out, the Froyo update will be pushed out in waves to your devices starting August 3rd and continuing through the middle of the month.

Sprint will allow *any* EVO to receive the update without waiting for a notification by initiating the update request manually (Settings > System updates).

It's interesting to note that earlier today, Engadget spotted what looked like a slide from the Sprint's internal system, shining some light on the upcoming rollout process. The leak, which promised ...

Jul

UK Samsung Galaxy S To Receive Froyo Official By The End Of September

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News

According to the Samsung UK Twitter account, the Froyo update for all Galaxy S phones in the UK is on the way, and is set for release on every carrier by the end of September. They’ve given themselves a full two months of wiggle room, so this seems like a date you can put some faith into.

This is still good news for everyone outside of the UK. The update may still be in the development phase, but a September release means carriers in countries outside the UK should be receiving the update in the same timeframe (which is good, ...

Jul

Motorola Droid 2 User Guide Leaked

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Droid 2, News, Verizon Wireless

As usual, Droid-Life has come through with another leak – this time, it’s the Droid 2 user guide, available for your download and viewing pleasure here. We already know most of the details about it, including the launch date (soft launch on August 12), and the specs:

5 MP Camera
3G Mobile Hotspot
1 GHz CPU
8 GB onboard memory
8 GB mSD card installed, support for up to 16 GB
Dark chrome color (rather than black)
Roughly the same size as the original

Turns out that the Droid 2 will rock the same custom UI as ...

Jul

Meet Andy: Android’s History In A Nutshell

Posted by Ron Hamelin in Android OS, Carriers, Cupcake 1.5, Devices By Manufacturer, Donut 1.6, Eclair 2.1, Editorials, Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, News

Last Updated: November 5th, 2010

Before Apple's iPhone and Google’s Android OS burst onto the mobile device scene in 2007, there were few significant advances in mobile technology. Frankly, "smartphones" (if we could even call them that at the time) were boring: they did little more than email, general messaging, picture taking, some basic apps and games, rudimentary internet browsing, and enterprise integration.

The biggest players at the time were Microsoft Windows Mobile, RIM's Blackberry, Palm, Symbian, and Linux. They all had their respective place in the mobile world (see chart below).

The Status Of Mobile Operating Systems In Late 2006

EMEA (Europe, Middle East, ...

Jul

[App Of The Week] ExtendedControls, A Power Control Widget On Steroids + Giveaway For 50 Licenses!

Posted by David Ruddock in App Reviews, Applications, Contests / Giveaways, Reviews, Videos

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

This contest is now over. We have selected the winners - see if you are one of them towards the bottom of the page.

ExtendedControls - Power Control On Steroids

Do you like Android’s native Power Control widget? Are you unable to go through the day without using it more times than you can count? Do you wish it had a few more buttons (for things like Airplane Mode, or a flashlight) and that they could all fit in one row? Then you’ll probably be very interested in ExtendedControls—an app which takes the wonderful idea that is the Power Control ...

Jul

Review: Samsung Intercept (Sprint) – Android Hits The Mainstream

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Intercept, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

A few weeks ago, Samsung was kind enough to send us an Intercept for review. While it may not be of Galaxy S caliber, it’s not intended to be. Rather, it’s more so aimed at the feature phone crowd – those who want something more powerful than a feature phone, but maybe not all the bells and whistles of a high-end smartphone. We spoke (unofficially) with Samsung about what other phones they think people will cross-shop the Intercept to, and they agreed its target is something like the enV Touch.

There are two compelling things about this phone. First, the ...

Jul

HTC Android Devices In China To Ship With Android 2.2

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Dream, Froyo 2.2, HTC, News, Tianyi, Wildfire (Buzz)

Two days ago, HTC told the world that they were bringing HTC-branded phones to China. Today, word from HTC is that the phones sold in China will ship with FroYo (2.2) – and with Sense to boot. Pretty interesting that the Wildfire and Desire will both be shipping with FroYo, while the rest of the world won’t get the update until “before Christmas.” Bastards.

[Source: Engadget]

...

Jul

Video Review Of Samsung Galaxy S Running Android 2.2 Froyo

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, Videos

Yesterday night, a build of Froyo for Galaxy S was leaked by a previously relatively unknown Samsung firmware site Samsung-Firmware.com. Now, keep in mind, while this is an official build that came from Samsung itself, it is only a test version still using an Éclair kernel.

I wouldn't recommend you flash it just yet - instead we can enjoy this 9 minute video preview by the guys from HDBlog.it who already dared to take this ROM out for a spin. HDBlog.it is an Italian tech blog, but they were kind enough to provide an English version (though the speaker ...