December 2010 Archives

Dec

How To: Customize Your WidgetLocker Lockscreen

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Mods, News

Many people who use custom themes or launchers are familiar with WidgetLocker. What many people don't realize, though, is that customizing WidgetLocker itself is a fairly straightforward task. Better still, there are plenty of existing customizations available, meaning that you have to do little more than shove your modified .PNG files into the APK.

_{Before / After}

Dalton Gore - better known as @colormeandroid - is responsible for gathering the individual mods and creating the guide. While the guide is a little too light on details for newbies, it does provide the luxury of choices - he provides ...

Dec

Firefox 4 Beta For Android Gets Updated, Finally Enters The Market

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Mozilla's been pretty good about keeping the mobile version of its ever-popular Firefox browser up to date (both with the current beta and with the old Fennec Alpha), and it looks like they have every intention to continue that trend. Just today, the third beta of Firefox 4 went live in the Android Market, bringing a number of minor additions along with it:

Several UI modifications
Easier discovery of add-ons
The ability to save websites as PDFs so you can read them later
Support for complex scripts (i.e. Arabic and Persian) on devices with the appropriate fonts
The ability

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Dec

OTA Update Fixes Bugs, Brings Latest Version Of Maps To Samsung Nexus S

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

The Nexus S may have just been released, and it may be running the latest version of Android - but Samsung and Google aren't holding back on software updates. Instead, the two have teamed up to release the first OTA update for the device, which contains "important bug fixes" as well as the latest version of Google Maps. Don't feel like waiting for the update to hit your device? The file is already available to download from Google's servers, so after this, you can simply flash it as you would any other ZIP file:

After the file is

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Dec

Five New OpenFeint-Enabled Titles Launch Today, Six Existing Games Receive Updates With Feint Compatibility

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Games, News

OpenFeint, a social gaming network for Android and iOS users, already comes included with 158 Android games - not too shabby. However, it's about to get even better - five titles completely new to Android are launching today:

Additionally, the following six games have just been updated with OpenFeint compatibility:

Aliens Require Brains by Humble Gaming Ltd.
Astraware Casino by Handmark
Can Knockdown by Infinite Dreams
Impossible Level Game by

...

Dec

"Android Data" Trademark Withdrawn From Erich Specht, Google Free To Continue Calling Android "Android"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Google, News

If you were worried that Google would no longer be able to call its mobile operating system "Android," fear not.

From 1998 to 2002, a gentleman by the name of Erich Specht ran a company called "Android Data." Android Data went bankrupt in 2002, and Erich hasn't used the name since. However, when he heard of Google's use of the "Android" name, he put together a website to "prove" that Google had infringed on his trademark. Shortly after, he sued Google, Android Inc., and the Open Handset Alliance for infringing on the name for $94 million.

Luckily for us Android ...

Dec

Android Market Updates Continue With New Application And Game Categories

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Applications, Apps/Games, Games, News

Continuing with the numerous Android Market updates, Google just refreshed the categories that users can use to filter and browse Market apps and games. The changes are now live on both the backend Developer Console and the live Market.

Here is a table showing the previous and new categories (new categories are in green, modified in yellow):

Previous app categories	New app categories	Previous game categories	New game categories
	Books & Reference	Arcade & Action	Arcade & Action
	Business	Brain & Puzzle	Brain & Puzzle
Comics	Comics	Cards & Casino	Cards & Casino
Communication	Communication	Casual	Casual

...

Dec

AT&T Will Buy Wireless Spectrum For $1.93 Billion To Expand Its 4G Offerings

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in AT&T, News

AT&T will be purchasing wireless spectrum from Qualcomm, the computer chip manufacturer, for $1.93 billion to provide higher speeds for its 4G network. The spectrum is in the lower 700 MHz frequency band and covers 300 million people in the United States.

The AT&T mobile network has been criticized heavily for some time because of connectivity issues which have caused poor service for its iPhone users. The iPhone uses more data than any feature phone and most smartphones (but not Android phones), so having exclusivity over the phone has put a severe strain on AT&T's network. Customers in heavily populated ...

Dec

Gameloft Giving Away Hero Of Sparta For Android For Free Today, December 22nd, 2010 (Reg. $4.99)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Deals, Games, News, Videos

Gameloft, the game publisher with arguably the most advanced Android games, which you, unfortunately, won't find in the Market (I guess they really hate giving Google the 30% fee), announced its latest daily Christmas promotion. On the 22nd day of December, Gameloft is giving away Hero Of Sparta, an RPG with awesome 3D graphics, for absolutely free.

The game's dedicated page lists it at $4.99, but this special url offers the freebie in exchange for your phone number, which Gameloft promises to use exclusively for sending the download link.

While all countries are supported, not all phone models are. ...

Dec

Fresh ROM v3.5 For EVO 4G Is Out With The Newest OTA, Radio, WiMAX, PRI And Improved Battery Life

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

It's no secret that my EVO 4G runs a custom ROM called Fresh - it is one of the best EVO ROMs, free of bloatware and full of tweaks that make it fast and efficient, while keeping stability rock solid. The developer, flipz, is very good - he's responsive to Sprint OTA updates and bug reports and usually sorts out any issues in a matter of days.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics. If you’re unfamiliar with some of the terms, hit up our primers here:

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Dec

More EVO Shift 4G Pics Emerge, Still Looks Like Mutant Offspring Of G2 And EVO 4G

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), HTC, Knight, Sprint

Last Updated: January 4th, 2011

Sprint's current WiMax-capable phones are no slouches, but there's no denying the lineup could use a third phone, if only for the sake of keeping things fresh. The HTC EVO Shift 4G could be just what the doctor prescribed - it looks like the love-child of the T-Mobile G2 and the original EVO 4G. In fact, according to PhoneArena's tipster, the G2 and the Shift 4G share the same processor - an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7X30 unit - though the latter has inherited the EVO's plastic casing (lame) and HTC Sense UI (also lame). Additionally, the G2's optical trackpad has ...

Dec

NexusKang Live Wallpaper App Updated, Now Includes Nexus S Live Wallpaper And Gingerbread Compatibility

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Applications, Apps/Games, Mods, News

Earlier today, Kmobs updated the NexusKang live wallpaper app with the Nexus S live wallpaper background, compatibility with Android 2.3, and some bug fixes for good measure. For those unfamiliar with the app, it's pretty damn cool, letting you build customized versions of the standard Nexus live wallpaper found on the Nexus One. Users can choose their own backgrounds and even their own custom colors to fly around the screen. For a custom live wallpaper app, this one is top notch!

If you have any interest in building a custom Nexus live wallpaper, or just want to load the Nexus ...

Dec

Will The FCC's Net Neutrality Order Cost Smartphone Users?

Posted by David Ruddock in Carriers, Editorials, News

In a word: yes. Wireless carriers in the US (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) have long been deeply opposed to net neutrality over their so-called "mobile broadband" networks, but today they've been given a power they have long desired to see the FCC put into writing.

If you haven't been following the net neutrality saga, you might want to find out what exactly "net neutrality" is, or what it means.

What is "net neutrality"?

It's a loaded term, to be frank. Net neutrality activists will tell you it means the complete freedom of information from corporate interference by requiring that ...

Dec

AppBrain Adds A Filter To Hide Sexually Explicit Apps In The Android Market

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Applications, News

Google's recent updates to the Android Market have further refined the process of installing and purchasing apps, but they still haven't developed a suitable desktop alternative to browsing the thousands of Android apps available. AppBrain is a third-party website that fills this gap by allowing users to browse apps on their computers and then choose which ones to install on their phones.

AppBrain is a great tool, but it is limited by the policies of the Android Market, which allow almost any app to be installed. Unlike Apple's App Store, Google does not employ any kind of filtering system, so ...

Dec

[Update: Possibly Fake] Best Buy Reduces Price Of Verizon's Galaxy Tab To $500 Without Contract

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Though it previously retailed for $599, the Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab can now be purchased from Best Buy without a contract for just $499. The price drop may be an indication that the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab could retail for much less.

Update: It looks like this is fake! Our own source at Best Buy, as well as calls to various brick-and-mortar locations, suggest to us that this is just a case of Photoshop trickery. Sorry for any confusion! -- Aaron

Update 2: According to commenter K, this deal has indeed been going on for a

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Dec

Motorola Tablet Teaser Site Goes Live With Countdown: Jan 5th At 4:15PM PST

Posted by David Ruddock in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News

As yesterday's teaser video implied, it seems that we can expect Motorola's much-anticipated Android tablet at CES. Motorola has launched a small teaser site to generate media buzz about the launch, with a countdown that expires at 4:15 p.m. on January 5th, 2011. You can also sign up to receive e-mail notifications of any news on the announcement.

Motorola's tablet will be sporting a Tegra 2 system-on-a-chip, and will presumably be the first consumer device to run Honeycomb, a version of Android tailored for tablet use. Coupled with Verizon's network, it could set the bar for Android tablets from here ...