24
Nov
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OK, so it might not be the Galaxy Nexus, but HTC's Wildfire S for Virgin Mobile is a fairly decent smartphone (the carrier's second best option), and it is available off-contract for a fraction of the price of a more high-end handset. Under regular circumstances, the device comes in at just $199.99 without any sort of contract, but from now until Saturday (November 26th), it's half off - $99.99.

Again, that's less than a Benjamin for a fully off-contract Wildfire S, complete with:

  • Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
  • WiFi/3G radios
  • Bluetooth
  • A 3.2-inch touch screen
  • A microSD card slot
  • A 5.0MP
  • ...

24
Nov
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Any time a new game shows up in NVIDIA's TegraZone, we immediately hop on to take a look - after all, only the best of the best games with gorgeous graphics make it that far.

The newest addition to TegraZone this time around is Meltdown On Mars THD - it's what I would call a mix of tower defense and Gun Bros, executed in a way kind of similar to Dungeon Defenders. You can move your main character around freely like in an RPG/action game, all while planting defensive turrets, barricades, and mines in an effort to ...

24
Nov
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Today is the day when most of us in the U.S. spend time with our family, stuff our faces full of delicious food, and relax. While you're spending time with your family, the Android Police family would like to wish you all a very special holiday - of all the things we're thankful for, you, the reader, are at the very top of the list. Without you, none of this would be possible.

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From all of us at AP to you - have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

P.S. - Pass the gravy.

...

24
Nov
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Still rocking the HTC G1, the world's first Android phone? Didn't think so, but if you have one laying around somewhere, you may want to grab that thing and knock the dust off of it. Why, you ask? Because there's a "working" (I use that term loosely here) port of ICS ready to flash.

As you may imagine, it is incredibly slow and nearly unusable, but c'mon - you have to admit that it's pretty cool. Here's a video of it in action (again, I use that term loosely).

There are a few things that still aren't working in this ...

23
Nov
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17

Trevor Eckhart, a developer involved in uncovering a huge security vulnerability that affected several HTC devices, was recently threatened by Carrier IQ (CIQ), a company involved in gathering various forms of user data and sending it to carriers or manufacturers for analysis. For those who haven't  been following the story, here's what happened:

Trevor Eckhart found several training manuals on CIQ's website. These were publicly available. Trevor shared them with the community, explaining just how far-reaching CIQ's data collection practices are. At this point, CIQ became aware of the fact that sensitive information had been exposed, and pulled the files ...

23
Nov
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It seems like Asus' Transformer Prime has been constantly making headlines since before it was announced. Giving those looking forward to the tablet/netbook hybrid another bit of news to drool over, the first hands-on video of the Prime has surfaced on YouTube.

http://youtu.be/ZHaczwP3nHI

It's worth noting that the tablet featured in this video is pre-production – it's running Android 3.2.1., and using hardware that may not be finalized for production or sale. That being said, it looks just as sleek, fast, and powerful as we expected, and did you notice the benchmark? It seems the Transformer Prime scores somewhere ...

23
Nov
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A few weeks ago, we launched what ended up being my favorite creative Android Police contest to date - the wallpaper design contest. With over 250 submissions, it took me a little while to sort through everything and pick out the two winners, the top 25 runners-up, and even one hilarious entry that we absolutely had to include.

As promised, the first place entry will receive a 16GB Sony Tablet S, and the second one will get the Philips Fidelio AS851 that we reviewed earlier.

For a history of creative contests, see these posts:

23
Nov
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There's been quite a stir caused in the past few days about a mysterious volume bug which surfaced on the Galaxy Nexus. The bug began drawing attention over at XDA's forums, where several users reported ostensibly random muting, and erratic response from the Nexus' volume rocker.

It was quickly discovered that the issue seemed to have something to do with the use of 2G signal, specifically the use of a 900 MHz frequency used by many European carriers. The bug could also be replicated using other phones situated near the Galaxy Nexus, leading to concerns that perhaps the bug ...

23
Nov
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Not in the mood to wait around for Verizon to finally decide to put a firm release date on the Galaxy Nexus' head? Tied to one of the other carriers? If your answer to either of those questions was affirmative (and if you have three-quarters of a grand lying around), you'll be delighted to know that Expansys just put up a page from which customers can purchase the I9250 GSM variant of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Screen Shot 2011-11-23 at 3.57.53 PM

At $750, it won't come cheap, but as this is an "intermational" handset (Expansys' "be first" motto apparently means it ...

23
Nov
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2

If the smokin' fast Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus still isn't fast enough for you, we have good news. Samsung just released the kernel source code for the device to its Open Source Release Center. This will allow developers to see what the Exynos processor under the Tab 7 Plus' hood is really capable of.

Sammy also dropped the source code for the new Galaxy Tab 10.1N, the redesigned Tab 10.1 that was released in Germany to avoid Apple patent infringement.

Hit the respective links below to grab the source!

Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Galaxy Tab 10.1N

...

23
Nov
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Never one to keep its source code hidden away from the public's prying eyes (certainly more than can be said for, say, HTC), Motorola has decided to release the DROID RAZR's source code. This should make ROM development significantly easier, so hopefully we'll see a few more alternatives to MOTOBLUR pop up shortly. Devs, get on it!

Download link: SourceForge

via Phandroid

...

23
Nov
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Last Updated: December 20th, 2011

A few days ago, we received a mystery package from the good folks at RadioShack. Inside the package were three phones - the Samsung Stratosphere on Verizon, HTC EVO Design 4G on Sprint, and Samsung Infuse 4G on AT&T. Since these phones are ours to do with what we please, we've decided to do what we always do when we end up with extra goodies: give them away.

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Since we have three phones to hand out, we're going to make each contest quick and dirty. Each one will last for one day, and one day only.

RadioShack's Pre-Black Friday Sale...

23
Nov
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Update: Looks like it's now available for pre-order from several other retailers in the US and Canada, including Best Buy, TigerDirect, B&H, and GameStop. Go here for more info.

2011-11-23 11h43_21

We've been talking about it for a couple of weeks now and have even seen some nice hands-on action and a video, but, finally, the official site went live for for the ASUS Transformer Prime last night. In case your memory is failing you, here's a quick refresher on this sexy beast of a tablet:

  • 8.3mm thick
  • Weighs 86g 
  • NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 Quad-core CPU
  • Android™ 3.2 Honeycomb (4.0 Ice
  • ...

23
Nov
2011-11-23 10h03_00
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Update: Steve Kondik (Cyanogen) himself verified via his Google+ page that TeamDouche was not involved in the project.

I guess you can finally buy a phone with something that resembles CM on it. Unfortunately, our team wasn't involved in this.

Under normal circumstances, I find unboxing videos to be pointless and boring. However, this isn't what I would call normal circumstances. A beta tester for the new Republic Wireless service received her phone yesterday and decided to do an unboxing for all to see. When she powered the phone up, it's clear that it's not running stock Android - it ...

22
Nov
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Last Updated: November 24th, 2011

In a new 60-second ad spot that could be described both as hilarious and extremely bold, Samsung tells consumers that "the next big thing is already here" with the Galaxy SII, while taking a pretty strong shot at die-hard Apple fans, satirizing Apple's cult following.

The spot opens with customers happily waiting in line outside a very Apple Store-ish location nine hours before opening. We then see a eureka moment when the customers catch sight of a Galaxy SII. Some are amazed. Others resist with retorts such as "I could never get a Samsung – I'm creative," to which another ...