September 2011 Archives

Sep

Be Careful Where You Stick Your Camera - Some QR Codes Are Dirty

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Android OS, News

According to Kaspersky, seller of the $10 Kaspersky antivirus app for Android, Android viruses are getting worse. Well, not really worse, just different. The latest attack vector comes in the form of malicious QR Codes. When you scan a QR code, your phone turns those funky squares into a URL. Just like any other form of URL obfuscation (eg, shorteners), that URL can go to a naughty place. Said naughty place could give you a virus.

Oh, I'm sorry, are you used to a little more hyperbole in your Android virus stories? ZDNet can help with that: "Hackers using QR ...

Sep

Sprint Delays Data-Throttling On Virgin Mobile Until 'Sometime In 2012'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Virgin Mobile

Back in July, Sprint announced plans to begin throttling speeds for customers who use more than 2.5GB of data in a month on its pre-paid subsidiary, Virgin Mobile. Naturally, this announcement did not sit well with Virgin customers, despite Sprint's claim that the change would only affect "3% of all data users."

However, the Now Network has decided to delay this throttling plan until sometime in 2012 to "ensure [they] have all the necessary systems in place so that [their] customer experience will remain positive."

There's no word as to exactly when this changeover will take place, but the company ...

Sep

Verizon Has A Bug List For The DROID BIONIC, First Maintenance Update Coming In November

Posted by David Ruddock in Droid Bionic, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

The DROID BIONIC, it's no secret, hasn't been launched bug-free. In fact, there's a number of bugs, particularly the dreaded data connection drop, that make using the BIONIC a major annoyance at times. Verizon has apparently been keeping track, and has a very detailed list of the glitches currently afflicting the phone, given to a customer in a support e-mail (weird, we know). The good folks over at Droid-life have compiled a "Top 10" bug list along with all the reported issues (here), and we've excerpted a few that we've noticed most:

1. Issue: 4G/3G Service –

...

Sep

Icebreaker Hockey Skates Into The Android Market - From The Creators Of Backbreaker Football

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, News

Do you like Backbreaker Football? Would you like to do that, but with skates and a big stick? Well today the makers of Backbreaker Football have released Icebreaker Hockey. "Crushing checks, slick moves, and super-addictive gameplay" awaits -- should you choose to download. It also has Xperia PLAY support, achievements, online leader boards, and unlockable items. If you've got a device running 2.1 and up, give it a shot.

It's available now for $2.99. To help with your purchasing decision, we've helpfully embedded a video -- of the iOS version. Blame them; not us.

Icrebreacker Hockey

QR code for https://market.android.com/details?id=com.naturalmotion.icebreaker

...

Sep

[Review] SGP Ultra Capsule Case For The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1: It's My Tab's New Soul Mate

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy Tab 10.1, Reviews

Before we get rolling with this review, I want to get one thing out in the open: I don't like cases. On any of my devices. They add bulk, restrict access to certain elements of the hardware (in some situations), and are just all around inconvenient. Honestly -- what's the point of having one of the thinnest tablets (or phones) on the planet just so you can fatten it up with a case? It basically just ruins the entire experience.

Or so I thought.

Then I got my hands on the Ultra Capsule Case by SGP for the Tab 10.1. ...

Sep

Madden NFL 12 Free For Verizon Customers Oct 1st - 3rd, Insert Football Pun Here

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, Deals, News

If you're the type of person who likes Madden, yet somehow managed to not purchase it four weeks into the season, I've got good news! From October 1st-3rd, Verizon customers can download Madden NFL 12 for the low, low price of "free." How you download it is a little bizarre, so listen up: You call -- that's right, call -- **MADDEN. That's "[Star] [Star] 623336", and somehow that will start the download. The instructions aren't very specific. Whoever wrote the press release decided obvious football puns were more important than clarity. The press release mentions something about ...

Sep

Best Buy Dropping Price Of Flyer To $300, Second Time HTC Has Made Sense

Posted by David Ruddock in Deals, Flyer, HTC, Tablets

The HTC Flyer was the Taiwanese handset company's first foray into the tablet game - a 7" device with a 1.5GHz single-core processor, two cameras, an SD card slot, and 16GB of storage (digital stylus not included). At $500, it was pretty obviously overpriced. But for 300 bucks, the this tablet is at least nearing what we'd call the competitive range.

The Flyer runs Gingerbread, though a Honeycomb update is in the pipes, and its bootloader presents no obstacles to the flashing of custom ROMs. Having used the Flyer myself, I can say it's a decently quick device and is ...

Sep

[Update: It Has Been Pulled] Gingerbread Update Officially Available For The HTC Thunderbolt - Get It While It's Hot

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Update: In a not-so-unexpected (read: expected) twist, Big Red has pulled the update for the TBolt, so if you haven't gotten it yet, now you know why. There isn't much info as to when it will start rolling out again, but we'll let you know when we find something out.

The wait is finally over - Thunderbolt users can now officially pull the latest update for their devices, Android Gingerbread 2.3.4, fresh from the oven.

The procedure for updating is the same as always - just hit Settings > Software Update > Check New, and you should be ready to ...

Sep

Rumor: A 10-Inch Kindle Tablet Is Probably Coming In Time For The Holidays

Posted by David Ruddock in Amazon, Kindle Fire, News, Rumors

When we reported that Amazon was working on a number of Android devices earlier this year, shortly thereafter, reports began surfacing that the company would release two Android tablets before year's end, one 7", the other 10". The 7" device, now known as the Kindle Fire, is obviously for real.

But what about its supposed big brother? At this point, it seems almost imminent that it will be released. It also sounds very much like Amazon will unveil this bigger, better, Fiery-er device in time for Christmas in the US, and now we've got at least two reasons to ...

Sep

LG Optimus Slider And HTC Wildfire S Coming To Virgin Mobile In October

Posted by Cameron Summerson in LG, News, Virgin Mobile, Wildfire S / Wildfire 2 (Marvel)

So there you are, at the end of the two-year agreement with your current carrier. You're at fork in the road. On one hand, you could drop a couple hundred bucks for a new phone, sign a new agreement, and start the cycle all over again. On the other, you could spend a couple hundred bucks with Virgin Mobile, nix the contract, and be a free man (or woman, whatevs). So what do you do?

We don't know the answer to that, but here's what we do know: Sprint just announced two new low-end phones for Virgin Mobile with equally ...

Sep

Nexus S 2.3.6 Update Is Nuking All Cellular Connectivity On Some Phones, Possible Fixes Inside

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, AT&T, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), T-Mobile

If you've downloaded or had the Android 2.3.6 update pushed to your AT&T, T-Mobile, or unlocked Nexus S recently without issue, consider yourself lucky. None of this applies to the Nexus S 4G on the Sprint network.

While we reported that the update was breaking Wi-Fi and USB tethering initially, it seems something much, much worse is happening to some users who have received 2.3.6 OTA.

If you check out this Google thread, you'll see a number of poor souls have had all cellular connectivity stripped from their devices after updating. The easiest solution so far? Roll back to ...

Sep

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[One-Day Giveaway] Win One Of Three Otterbox Cases Of Your Choice

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Contests / Giveaways, News

Last Updated: October 2nd, 2011

Who likes free stuff? You? Great, because we have some to give away (don't we always?)! Up for grabs today are three cases, courtesy of the awesome guys over at Otterbox. We all know and love Otterbox cases for the rugged, durable protection they provide our devices, but here's a quick look at each series of case.

Impact Series

Durable, simple, and stylish, the Impact Series is made of a molded silicon designed to protect your device from scratches, drops, dings, and other minor injury. It probably won't help if you toss your phone out of a helicopter, but how ...

Sep

Deal Alert: Refurbished NOOK Color For Just $150 Shipped, Ends At Midnight

Posted by David Ruddock in Barnes & Noble, Deals, NOOKcolor (Encore)

Looking to get a full-color eReader on the cheap? Or perhaps a CyanogenMod conversion candidate? DailySteals is offering up refurbished B&N NOOK Color tablets for just $150, shipping included (next best price we've found is $190 shipped for a refurb).

That's quite a steal for a 7" IPS display, complete with the NOOK's signature carabineer hook thing. The NOOK Color has been renowned for its hackability, particularly because you can get it to run CyanogenMod 7 pretty easily. And once you do that, you have a full-featured Android (albeit Gingerbread) tablet with Market access and a thriving developer community. For ...

Sep

Lumix Phone 101P To Debut In Japan This Fall, Promises A 13.2MP Sensor And A Host Of Other Features

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Panasonic

Panasonic has announced a unique Android offering headed for Softbank, a Japanese carrier, officially unveiling the Lumix Phone 101P today.

The Lumix Phone looks almost exactly like a pocket-sized digital camera, except for its 4" touch screen and Android 2.3 software. Under its surprisingly slender frame, it houses some interesting specs:

4-inch QHD LCD screen with 960×540 resolution
13.2MP CMOS Lumix sensor with “Mobile Venus Engine“
Waterproof body
TI OMAP4430 dual-core CPU (1GHz)
Ultra Speed compatibility (Softbank's broadband network)
microSD card slot
Infrared connection
E-wallet function
Digital TV tuner
A sleek body (64×123×9.8mm)
Android 2.3 Gingerbread

There's no word yet ...

Sep

Leaked System App List For The Next Nexus Shows Lack Of Bloatware... And A Few New Goodies

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

So, by now you've heard of the Galaxy Nexus/Nexus Prime/Droid Prime/Samsung Prime... or whatever we're calling it these days. If you haven't, well... you should find a rock with internet access to live under. Details are few and far between, but thanks to the guys over at MyDroidWorld, we have a full listing of the installed system apps to gander at while we wait for something better to come along.

There are a few notable entries in the list, but we can talk about those after you look over it in its entirety: