September 2011 Archives

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:

ApplicationsProvider.apk
BIP.apk
BackupRestoreConfirmation.apk
Bluetooth.apk
BooksTablet.apk
BrowserGoogle.apk

...

Sep

Droid 3 Currently Receiving Update To Build 5.6.890 - Includes Google Talk With Video

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Droid 3, News

An update began rolling out to Droid 3 users earlier today, upgrading the device's build to 5.6.890, and bringing with it Google Talk (with video capabilities), and a long list of bug fixes.

Users can go ahead and grab the update in the usual manner, by visiting Settings > About Phone > System Updates. Download, install, and enjoy.

via Droid Life

...

Sep

[Updated] Download: Updated Android Market For Honeycomb, Includes In-App Review Publishing

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, XOOM

An update started rolling out to the Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi earlier today, bumping the build number up to HTK75D. While we're not entirely sure of everything that this update brings, there is one obvious difference: the Market.

Yep, a long-awaited update to the tablet Market is definitely in full effect, and it looks nearly identical to the phone Market. This is no coincidence, either-- remember the minor update that El Goog pushed to phones last week? It turns out that is the same exact version that's being pushed to the XOOM. Yeah, that means you can simply download the ...

Sep

Editorial: Is Samsung's Patent Licensing Deal With Microsoft The End Of Royalty-Free Android?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, HTC, LG, Motorola, News, Samsung

It certainly seems like it. Yesterday, Microsoft announced via blog that it had concluded negotiations with Samsung and reached a licensing deal for the same seven patents it previously licensed to HTC for Android (along with other, smaller Android manufacturers). There were rumblings about just what royalty rate Samsung is paying, but the guess is anywhere from $5 to $15 per handset (it's likely on a percentage-of-MSRP basis - so think about 1-3% per $500 MSRP phone).

When it comes to royalty agreements, rates are usually internally fixed regarding certain categories of IP to avoid confusion about damages in lawsuits, ...

Sep

[Update: Today's The Day!] Motorola Xoom 4G LTE Upgrade Will (Finally) Be Ready To Go Starting September 29th

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Tablets, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Update: So, today's the day. Who plans on living the tablet-less life for the next week?

Verizon Wireless has just announced in a press release that the Motorola Xoom's 4G LTE upgrade process can finally begin Thursday the 29th (tomorrow).

To get the upgrade, customers need only go to Verizon's Xoom upgrade page. Oh, and send off their Xoom for approximately 6 business days.

Verizon also announced that Xoom tablets with 4G LTE built in will be available starting October 13th for $499.99 on a new two year contract. Broadband data plans will begin at $30/month for 2GB of ...