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Cameron Summerson

Cameron is a self-made geek, Android enthusiast, horror movie fanatic, and musician. When he's not pounding keys here at AP, you can find him spending time with his wife and kids, plucking away on the 6-string, or watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on repeat.

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Jul

[Exclusive Download] Leaked 1.70.605.0 Update For The HTC Thunderbolt (No, It's Not Gingerbread)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Exclusives, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

It's no secret that there's an update coming to the HTC Thunderbolt that should start tonight - but no one likes to wait, so - thanks to TeamAndIRC - we've got you covered with an exclusive download.

This update brings a number of fixes to the Thunderbolt, including the annoying reboot issue. Other notable fixes:

Improved data connectivity
Enhanced call history view
Improved Bluetooth discovery
People search enabled
Desktop cradle app
...and more.

*THIS WILL WIPE YOUR DATA*THIS WILL WIPE YOUR DATA*THIS WILL WIPE YOUR DATA*

Instructions:

Download the file below, and re-name it to (without quotes) "PG05IMG.zip"
Place PG05IMG.zip on the root directory of your SD card
Turn off your Thunderbolt
Holding Volume Down and then Power simultaneously, wait until the phone boots into the bootloader - it should begin flashing the update immediately.

Jul

HTC: Our Testing Has Gone Well, So We Will Begin Rolling Out Gingerbread For The Desire By The End Of July

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Gingerbread 2.3, News

Ah, what a turn of events the HTC Desire has seen as of late. It went from not getting Gingerbread, to okay, we'll give it Gingerbread, to testing, and now, to will be released by the end of July.

According to HTC's official Facebook page, the update should begin rolling out by the end of July - but we all know how these things work. I'm sure it's coming, but I wouldn't hold firm to any single date until you actually see the update on your device.

Of course, this also brings up one question: what has been sacrificed to allow Gingerbread to actually fit on the device?

Jul

HTC EVO 3D And Sensation 4G Get Sticky-Temp Root

Posted by Cameron Summerson in EVO 3D (Shooter), News, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid)

In the ever expanding quest for root access on the EVO 3D and its T-Mo cousin, the Sensation 4G, another chapter has unfolded. XDA devs have achieved sticky-temp root on both handsets, which basically means that temp root will now survive reboot. This still isn't permanent root, though, as the SU binaries are not in the default path(s), but instead an alternate location which can lead to some root apps not functioning properly.

For the full skinny, including instructions, head over the this thread on XDA. Good luck!

Jul

[Rumor] Samsung Epic 4G To Get Gingerbread At The End Of July?

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Epic 4G, News, Sprint

A few weeks ago, we saw a leaked Gingerbread build for the Samsung Epic 4G and it looks like Sammy has been putting the finishing touches on it since then. According to SprintFeed, Epic owners could see an OTA hit their device around July 24th. This is a tentative date, so don't grab the sharpie and make it permanent on the calendar just yet (oh, who am I kidding - no one uses a traditional calendar anymore).

Further details are basically non-existent at this point, but we'll make sure we keep our eyes on this one and fill you in as we get more info.

Jul

[App Mod] Krad+ Brings Inverted Colors To The Google+ App

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

If you've been using the Google+ Android app for any amount of time, then you've probably noticed one thing: there's a lot of white. The majority of the screen - especially on a tablet - is blanketed in with a white backdrop consistently throughout the app. This is, of course, hard on the eyes (especially in a dark room), and can negatively impact battery life on phones with AMOLED displays.

To the rescue comes XDA forum member santiemanuel, offering his own themed mod of the G+ app, simply called Krad+. It's offers a completely inverted theme, and it looks damn good doing it.

Jul

[Deal Alert] LG Revolution $50 With New Two-Year Agreement At Wirefly

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Revolution

The second part of the "Deal Alert" for this morning is the LG Revolution. As long as you're willing to jump from your current carrier and sign on the dotted line with VZW, then you can grab its newest 4G handset for a mere $50 from Wirefly. That's an easy $150 price drop compared to the Big Red sales floor, and $50 less than Amazon's current price.

The Revolution is rocking some pretty decent specs:

4.3 Inch 480*800 display
1GHz Snapdragon processor
16GB built-in storage
5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front
Android 2.2

Aside from the ridiculously low price, this phone also includes a $25 Android Market card, saving you even more money.

Jul

[Updated: Even Cheaper From Costco & Amazon] Vizio Android Tablet Now Available For Pre-Order, Ships On July 18th

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Vizio, VTAB1008

Last Updated: July 31st, 2011

Update: If you're not into the idea of dropping $379 on this, then you can per-order it from Costco for $50 less ($329). Similarly, Amazon has the pre-order priced at $350, which is still a bit cheaper than ordering direct from Vizio.

If you've been counting down the days until Vizio releases its 8-inch Android-powered tablet, then you can breath a sigh of relief, as pre-orders are now live. The tablet itself is $379, but you can drop $20 extra and get a 16GB SD card and folio style case to go along with it. Here is a quick look at the specs:

8 inch 1024x768 display
512MB RAM
Front facing camera
MiniUSB port
Micro HDMI out
4GB built-in storage, SD Card slot
Android 2.3

Although this tablet is sans-Honeycomb, it may still be worth the money for those of you who have a Vizio Google TV, as it's designed to accompany said device.

Jul

Sprint Offering $50 Incentive To Customers Close To The End Of Their Contract

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint

If you're one-or-two months away from the end of your Sprint contract, or your renewal date has already passed, the Now Network has a new incentive going to draw you back into the store to grab a new phone and sign on the dotted line. According to an internal document nabbed by SprintFeed, if you meet the aforementioned conditions as of July 8th, you will receive a $50 credit when you renew your contract.

This is definitely a good deal for anyone on the fence about upgrading, so you should probably pop into your local Sprint store and take advantage of it before it ends on August 2nd.

Jul

[Rumor] Is Android 3.2 Coming To The Motorola XOOM In A Few Days?

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Rumors, XOOM

Here's an interesting tidbit of information for the XOOM owners out there: there may be a system update heading your way within the next few days that bumps you up to Android 3.2. Details are pretty scarce right now, but here's what we can tell you: in the comments of AOSP issue number 16992 - which is in regards to the lack of Exchange support post-3.1 update on the XOOM - one line stands out. The line simply states that "there should be a 3.2 update coming within days, and that should help those of you with Xoom [sic]." Now, while it may not be a lot to go on, and there is no confirmation of the source aside from the fact that s/he appears to be a Google employee - this is still quite promising information.

Jul

Popular Tablet News Aggregator 'News360' Now Available For Phones

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

News360 has been the go-to news aggregator for Honeycomb tablets since its release a couple of months ago, and now, you can get the same top-notch newsreader on your phone. News360 for phones brings over 4,000 different news sources to the palm of your hand, displaying them in an easy-to-navigate, concise manner. You can pick and choose the news that's important to you for quick access, as well as user GPS or WiFi to get local news delivered directly to your handset. If you're on the road a lot, you can also connect News360 to TripIt in order to pull the local news from upcoming locations along your route.