It's that time again - time for the Android Police Week In Review (and probably for you to find something more productive to do on a Sunday). Don't forget, you can catch a lot of this news on our weekly podcast, which we can transmit directly to your ears, free of charge.
Hardware Reviews
Carrier 411
- AT&T wants to let you stream Netflix without it counting against your data plan. Presumably, this has absolutely enraged everyone.
- AT&T also wants to change your entire phone plan to one big data plan. Please, lower your expectations now.
- Sprint is ditching Google Wallet to start its own next-generation mobile payment service that only it will use. Because WiMAX went so well.
Rumor Roundup
- Google+ Events is going to do something with themes. I don't know - Ron's been digging around in apk's again and wrote something. You should probably read it.
- Verizon's getting another RAZR, which now makes like what, 12?
- And another ATRIX is coming that looks significantly less... sucky than the last two.
Android at Arms (legal news)
- Surprise, surprise, Apple's suing HTC for patent infringement again. The M. Night Shyamalan twist? It's over the same patent!
- Oh, and Apple says the Galaxy S III is going to kill countless babies or something, because why else would they be freaking out over it so much?
- A judge says Apple's patent lawsuit against Motorola has failed to prove any ascertainable damages, throws it out. In other news, the Android community agrees with a judge for the first time in history.
Code Google
- Google Maps - in threeeeeeeeeeeee deeeeeeeeeeeeee. And offline maps, too.
- Google bought QuickOffice, so expect the Drive app's spreadsheet editing to stop sucking quite so much. Next year.
The Hotsheet (device news)
- Verizon gets a Galaxy S III, AT&T gets a Galaxy S III, Sprint and T-Mobile get Galaxy S III's, EVERYBODY GETS A GALAXY S III! And that's important, so I wrote some words about it.
- There will be no delay of the blue Galaxy S III in the US, even though Samsung totally blue it in Europe.
- Dropping a Galaxy S III, surprisingly, will break it. More at 11.
- The Galaxy Note 10.1 gets some face time. There's an Apple joke in there somewhere.
- ViewSonic's 22" Android screen will surely enhance your, uh, I mean make it easier to, err, well, it's big. So that's good.
- ASUS has made some sort of Frankenstein's monster Android-Windows hybrid. Toaster-oven not included.
- Acer has made some new cheap tablets. They're new. And cheap.
- Crash Bandicoot could be headed to your HTC One series phone soon enough. Mountain Dew, Nirvana t-shirt, and CD Walkman not included.
- Sony's recent update to the SmartWatch has now made it a StupidWatch. Escalator temporarily stairs.
- Device Updates: T-Mo Galaxy S II, Google TVs (Sony and Logitech), Xperia Mini Pro / Xperia Live.
App Update
- Microsoft made an app for scripting actions on Android. This is the part where you laugh.
- Zombie game zombie game zombie game. And some other stuff from E3.
- Foursquare has received a complete overhaul. 14 year olds everywhere rejoice.
- Sid Meier's Civilization and Pirates! are coming to Android and I will give one of my kidneys to be in the beta.
In Other News
- Tactus: the first touchscreen that touches you back. Creepy.
- Intel did some kind of wireless charging thing with a Fascinate and a laptop and it's actually pretty cool.
- Qualcomm is working on an LTE chip with more frequencies so you can have moar gees on more carriers.
- NVIDIA's Kai platform is important, and you should read this article about it.