August 2011 Archives

Aug

HTC To Release Sensation Special Edition, With Bigger Battery, Faster Processor And Beats Audio

Posted by Nate Kimmey in HTC, News, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid)

It turns out we might not have to wait too long to see HTC implement the Beats by Dr. Dre audio technology into future phones. The Sensation will soon be getting an upgrade to the Sensation Special Edition 2 that brings a Beats in-ear headset, along with the following additional improvements:

Faster processor: 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon, up from 1.2 GHz
Bigger battery: 1,730 mAH, up from 1,520 mAH
More storage: 4GB, up from 1GB

These improvements will come at a cost - £520 (or around $847) off-contract, to be exact. No word on release date, or if we'll ever ...

Aug

LiveSorter Eases The Process Of Sorting Apps - RIP, Manually Maintained Folders

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

With somewhere around 200 apps on my phone at any given time, it can be a pain to scroll through all of them to find what I'm looking for. Categorizing apps into handy folders can also be time-consuming. Fazik Logic takes the concept of sorting your apps one step further however with LiveSorter, a new app that automatically sorts installed applications into appropriate categories.

Adding to the list of LiveSorter's benefits, it has relatively no resource drain as it only wakes when a new app is installed and needs to be sorted. At the moment the app only recognizes apps ...

Aug

Serval Mesh, A Network-Free Communication App, Finally Makes It To The Android Market

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Applications, News

It's now been more than seven months since we first caught wind of the Serval project, which promised to allow Android users to make phone calls when conventional cell networks aren't available or simply don't work. Recently, however, the team's initial stab at network-free communication - an Android app called "Serval Mesh" - has landed in the Market.

As briefly mentioned in the above video, the Serval team also has another form of network-less phone calls in the pipelines: an inexpensive, relatively small phone tower that can be dropped into disaster areas by air.

In the meantime, you can check ...

Aug

OneLouder Releases SportCaster - Live Scores And Twitter Commentary On The Go

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

If you've been looking for a sports app that gives you up-to-the-minute scores, stats, and live commentary from hundreds of people in the know, you're in luck. OneLouder, the developer behind TweetCaster and FriendCaster, has just released SportCaster - an app that allows you to follow a variety of sports from your mobile device, and view a constant stream of tweets from players and experts as well as all the info you need about what's happening in the game.

Like any new app it has a few areas for improvement, but it's definitely worth checking out if you don't ...

Aug

Samsung Posts Source Code For The Galaxy W Ahead Of Its Release

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy W, News

Last Updated: November 23rd, 2011

The Samsung Galaxy W is looking like a strong mid-range Android phone, packing a 1.4GHz processor, a 5MP rear shooter, 3.7" WVGA display and 4GB internal memory. Before its debut (slated for next month on Three network in the UK) Samsung has generously posted the device's source code.

For those who want to set to work on the W source code right away, grab the download here.

...

Aug

Samsung Galaxy S II For AT&T And T-Mobile Has NFC, Sprint's Variant Lacking

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S II, News

Adding to the pile of news surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S II this week, we have some new info -- some good and some bad . The good news is that the AT&T and T-Mobile variants will both be equipped with NFC. Engadget (along with François Simond) took a peak earlier today into the system files of AT&T's S II variant and found conclusive evidence of NFC presence, including a pre-installed app, but whether mobile payments will be one of the SII's capabilities remains to be seen. Additionally, FCC filings from T-Mobile confirm NFC is onboard for its GSII as ...

Aug

Sprint Changing Early Termination Policy, Upgrade Fee, And Dropping One-Year Contracts

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint

It looks like Sprint is changing the way things are done in order to keep up with the competition, which doesn't always translate into good news for the consumer. The early termination fee (ETF) is getting an overhaul that will go into effect on September 9th, which will bump the ETF on "advanced devices" (read: smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and notebooks) up to a maximum of $350, putting The Now Network's policy in line with that of VZW and AT&T. If you're in mid-contract and are thinking of jumping ship, just take the remaining amount of months left in your agreement ...

Aug

First Photos Surface: Toshiba's Beautiful New Excite Tablet

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Excite X10 / AT200, News

Remember a couple of days ago when we reported that Toshiba may be unveiling a slim new tablet at IFA to compete with the Galaxy Tab 10.1? It turns out the rumor was true, and Notebook Italia has released the first live photos of what we suspect will be called the Toshiba Excite.

Despite the iffy appearance of the various ports shown in the initial renders, Notebook Italia confirms that the tablet has microSD, microUSB, and mini HDMI ports. Rumor has it that this beauty is also packing a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (the OMAP4460 from Texas Instruments, to be exact)....

Aug

Sony Ericsson Announces Xperia Arc S At IFA- Brings 3D Panorama, Upped Processor And More

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson's original Xperia arc was a great phone, winning Best European Camera Phone from EISA, and another award for its sleek design. The arc's next iteration- the Xperia arc S was announced by Sony today in Berlin, and ups the ante over its predecessor by packing in a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a sweep panorama camera function that has the capability of creating 3D panoramas. The phone also comes with access to Sony's Music and Video unlimited services, bringing a lot more entertainment to your device.

Here's a list of known specs for the Xperia arc S:...

Aug

Mid-Range Kyocera Milano To Hit Sprint On September 9th

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Kyocera, News

It looks like Kyocera is giving this Android thing another go, this time in the form of a mid-range device set to hit Sprint on September 9th called the Milano. Sporting a 3-inch display, 800MHz processor, 512MB RAM, and Android 2.3, the Milano is nothing amazing, but if you're not looking for a powerhouse like the Epic 4G Touch, then this little daisy should work out just fine.

Not only that, but it won't break the bank, either -- the price is as small as the phone, at only $50 with a two-year agreement. Sounds like the perfect little ...

Aug

HTC: Gingerbread Will Be Coming To The Droid Incredible And ThunderBolt In September

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Droid Incredible, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Finally! The long awaited Gingerbread update for both the Droid Incredible and ThunderBolt will be hitting the airwaves in September, according to HTC's official Twitter.

While several leaked Android 2.3.x builds for each device have surfaced over the past few months, none of them were deemed good enough to achieve "official" status, so it's good to know that HTC has finally put the finishing touches on each.

No solid date has been set, so just know that your waiting will finally come to an end within the next few weeks.

...

Aug

Sony's Tablet P And Tablet S Officially Unveiled

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, S1, S2

Sony has finally lifted the curtain on its upcoming Tablet S and Tablet P, formerly known as the S1 and S2, at today's IFA event. While there is little left to known about this dynamic duo, it's nice to finally get an official look at each of them.

Previously known as the S1, Tablet S is a 9.4-inch Honeycomb 3.1 tablet that comes in the normal 16GB and 32GB variants, along with the dual-core Tegra 2 processor clocked at 1GHz under the hood. Around the outside of this wedge-shaped handheld you'll find a full size SD card reader, and five ...

Aug

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[Book Giveaway #8] Be One Of Five Lucky Readers Who Will Win "Teach Yourself Android Development In 24 Hours"

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Contests / Giveaways, Dev

Last Updated: September 11th, 2011

We're continuing our big giveaway-spree with another book giveaway from informIT. This time around, we've partnered up to award five copies of yet another book to help aspiring developers along their way.

Teach Yourself Android Application Development In 24 Hours

This go-round we're giving away Teach Yourself Android Application Development In 24 Hours (2nd ed.), written by Lauren Darcey and Shane Conder, published by Sams just over a month ago (the phrase "hot off the presses" seems to apply nicely).

The 512-page book is quite comprehensive:

Android is the world's #1 mobile development platform, and with the new

...

Aug

Google Voice For Android Finally Updated With Fixes For Self-Pausing Play Button And Delayed Notifications

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

The Google Voice app for Android, which I've been using as my primary voicemail provider after gladly abandoning Sprint's own visual voicemail, saw its first update in many months today, which, among other things, finally fixed the most annoying bug that's been plaguing it for as long as I can remember.

The bug I am talking about is, of course, having to click the Play button a second time after you've already clicked it once (the voicemail would stop playing 0-2 seconds into the call requiring this second press). Hallelujah!

The other bug fixes and enhancements in today's update v0.4.2.34 ...

Aug

[Update: AT&T And Sprint Respond] U.S. Looks To Block AT&T And T-Mobile Deal, Files Antitrust Complaint

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, News, T-Mobile

In the ongoing saga that is the AT&T and T-Mobile merger, yet another bump in the road has surfaced. This time it's directly from the United States government, who says that if the AT&T/T-Mobile merger were to go through, it would "remove a significant competitive force from the market." As a result, the U.S. has filed an antitrust complaint looking to block the proposed deal.

While this doesn't mean a guaranteed rejection, it is most definitely going to make progress much harder for Ma Bell. If the estimated $39 billion deal does get rejected, however, AT&T will still have to ...