October 2011 Archives

Oct

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Not Exclusive To Verizon After All?

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy Nexus / Nexus Prime, News, Verizon Wireless

How long have we been hearing that the Galaxy Nexus would be exclusive to Verizon? Quite a while -- probably since rumors of the "Nexus Prime" first started surfacing. It looks like those rumors have been around so long that Verizon itself started to believe it, too... until they were told it wasn't true.

Last night, Big Red threw an exclusive tag on Galaxy Nexus banners floating around on its site. Today, however, that specific tag seems to have vanished into thin air. Was it Halloween trickery? Alien abduction? Or perhaps a hint that Verizon won't be the only US ...

Oct

[Infographic] Android Fragmentation Visualized... If You Like Biased Information, That Is

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

Apparently there are a whole slew of pissed off users because Google decided that the Nexus One will not be getting updated to Ice Cream Sandwich. As a result, an infographic was made to represent the fact that Apple can support its four devices better than manufacturers support their ump-teen Android devices. The infographic compares the all the iPhones of the past three years (so it excludes the 4S) to most Android devices of the same timeframe.

Let's have a look before we continue:

At first glance, it seems like a well put together graphic with attention to detail, right? ...

Oct

Dan Hesse: The Sprint iPhone Is Actually Helping Keep Unlimited Data Around Longer For Smartphones

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sprint

When Sprint confirmed that the iPhone 4S was headed to the US's Alamo of unlimited data, current Sprint subscribers feared that a tidal wave of iDevices could finally force the company to surrender to tiered data pricing.

Speaking to Forbes, CEO Dan Hesse said the iPhone was actually having the opposite effect, and that Apple's smartphone would actually reduce the rate of growth of smartphone data consumption because it uses Sprint's network more efficiently. Hesse claims the iPhone uses significantly less mobile data, and hits the network less often, than Android devices. Apple's strict guidelines about app network efficiency mean ...

Oct

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Google+ Now Open For Google Apps Subscribers, Brings Features Specifically For Businesses And College Students

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

While the bulk of us have been enjoying Google+ from our personal accounts for a few months now, those who exclusively use Google Apps (GApps) have been left in the dark... until today. Google+ is now open to all GApps users, and it even brings some new features for some users.

Additional Sharing Options

When sharing posts on Google+, you have the choice of sharing content with specific users, specific Circles, or publicly. With G+ for GApps users, there is another option: sharing with your organization. This is enabled by default -- no need to create a circle just for ...

Oct

[New App] Need To Keep An Eye On System Stats? Check Out 'Cool Tool'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

On Android, there are plenty of ways to monitor your processor, battery, RAM usage, etc. However, there is really no way to monitor said information while continuing to do other tasks, since Android only allows one window in the foreground at a time. That's where Cool Tool, a simple resource monitoring app, comes into play.

Cool Tool is different than other resource monitors on Android because it has an option to stay on top of other windows or the notification bar, allowing you to constantly monitor your hardware statistics. While this option isn't all that practical to use ...

Oct

Motorola Droid 4 Leaked Images Show Up, Looks Mighty Sexy

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Droid 4, News

When Motorola announced the Droid 3, there was a lot of negative energy directed at the device for its lack of an LTE radio. Of course, it was still better than its predecessors in every way -- larger, more vibrant screen, better keyboard, less intrusive Blur -- it was an all around nice piece of kit. Moving forward, Moto knew that it had to one-up the D3 with the newest iteration of the iconic Droid series, and, according to these leaked images, it looks to have hit that nail on the head with the Droid 4.

So, did ...

Oct

[Deal Alert] Amazon Gold Box Deal Of The Day: BodyMedia FIT Armband Weight Management System For $140 - Wirelessly Syncs Calorie Information With Your Android Device

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News

It's a pretty well known fact that, when trying to lose weight, you have to create a caloric deficit -- for every 3500 calories burned, that's one pound of weight lost. Thus, it takes a combination of diet and exercise to create said deficit. However, it is exceedingly difficult to keep track of your caloric intake, as well as calculate the calories burned for various activities. If you're serious about getting in shape, though, there is a solution: using an automatic body monitoring system like BodyMedia's FIT Armband.

So, what does this have to do with Android, you ask? The ...

Oct

Sony All Set To Buy Ericsson's Half Of 'Sony Ericsson' For €1.05 Billion

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sony, Sony Ericsson

We heard that Sony was looking to buy Ericsson's half of Sony Ericsson earlier this month, and now that deal has come to fruition. Sony will purchase Ericsson's part of the joint effort that has been over a decade in the making for €1.05 billion cash. Aside from the obvious, the deal will also land Sony a cross-licensing agreement that includes access to a few "essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology."

The purchase will allow Sony to better streamline all of its current markets, including game consoles, smartphones, tablets, computers, and more into one unified subset of devices. ...

Oct

[Deal Alert] Nexus S Available For $299.99 From Mobile Daily Steals With International Warranty

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

For those unable to wait on the Galaxy Nexus, Samsung's Nexus S can still hold up against the competition in many ways. It may only pack a single-core processor, but it's a Nexus phone, meaning it is still one of Google's flagship Android devices, and will have active development and timely updates for a while yet. If you've been patiently waiting for your shot at a bargain on the Nexus S, now's your chance - Mobile Daily Steals is offering this beauty (unlocked) for just $299.99 with an international warranty, about $60 lower than Amazon's lowest price (without warranty)....

Oct

Gameloft Unveils The Adventures Of Tintin HD For Android, Bringing Classic Mystery Action To Your Mobile Device

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Games, News

The Adventures of Tintin is certainly one of the most enduring comic book series, making its debut in 1929, and finally finding its way to the silver screen in 2011. Gameloft has expanded Tintin's domain recently, by releasing The Adventures of Tintin into the Android Market, bringing the wunderkind's sleuthing prowess and action-infused storyline to the palm of your hand.

The game looks to be a fun interpretation of the film adventure, tying in the characters we love from the original comics and a familiar storyline that's been adapted for the big screen.

Interestingly, the game has multiple ...

Oct

MobileMount - A Crowd-Funded Suction Mount Which Promises To Keep Just About Any Device In Place While On The Go

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News

The main factor that has kept me from buying a windshield mount for my Android phone or tablet is the fact that, for the most part, each device requires its own mount, adding a significant amount of clutter to my window.

Looking to change that, JR Sanchez has begun a project at kickstarter.com surrounding the MobileMount, a suction cup mount that will support just about any mobile device.

The mount consists of two twist-to-lock suction cups, meaning you can mount your phone, tablet, or MP3 player on just about any flat surface. Besides its insane versatility, the ...

Oct

[Upcoming] Capta Is A Multi-Functional Accessory That Brings A Tripod Mount To Your Smartphone

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

Out of all the awesome accessories for smartphones on the market, Capta has to be one of the coolest I've seen in a while. It's a multi-functional accessory that works as a tripod mount/desktop stand, bringing some incredibly useful functionality to your device. Just take a look for yourself:

I know what you're thinking: how does it stick?! Yeah, I wondered the same thing after watching the video for the first time. Fortunately, there's an answer to that, as well:

Honestly, I can't believe someone didn't make this sooner. It looks like a really simple, yet highly useful accessory.

...

Oct

Game Review: Shadowgun Is The Most Advanced Shooter On Android To Date, And It's Out Now

Posted by David Ruddock in Games, Reviews

Be sure to check out our Shadowgun Giveaway pack post, too - you could win an Galaxy Tab 8.9, a Jambox, and a $25 AMEX gift card!

Shadowgun is a game we've been following since its announcement for Android earlier this year. A couple weeks back, we received a preview build to test the game out (that link contains a gameplay video as well). Now, I've played the full version of the game and can report my findings more completely.

My conclusion? Shadowgun takes Android gaming to the next level, and while it's not without its flaws, it sets ...

Oct

[Updated: Here Is The Winner!] Giant Giveaway #12: Shadowgun Edition: Win A Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 16GB + Jambox Wireless Speaker + $25 Giftcard

Posted by David Ruddock in Contests / Giveaways, Galaxy Tab 8.9

Last Updated: November 3rd, 2011

We just posted up our review of the brand-new 3rd person shooter Shadowgun, by Madfinger games. Now, thanks to NVIDIA, we're celebrating the release with yet another amazing giveaway. One winner will receive the following:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Honeycomb tablet
Jambox wireless Bluetooth-enabled speaker
$25 AMEX Giftcard

As always, we'd like to thank NVIDIA for providing us with these awesome prizes to give away to you, our readers. NVIDIA has been an amazing partner and allowed us to conduct so many awesome giveaways that we're not quite sure what we'd do without them. So, without further ado, let's ...

Oct

Winamp For Android Gets Updated, Now Offers Pro Version And Sync With Mac

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

In what seems to be its biggest update since the initial release, the Winamp team just pushed some pretty major changes to Winamp for Android. For starters, this update now allows Mac users to sync with Winamp -- something that has previously been missing. Aside from that, there is now a pro version available, offering enough new features to easily justify the $5 pricetag: