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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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Apr

Sony Announces Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) For The Xperia P, go, And E Dual - Rollout Starts This Week; Xperia S, SL, acro S, ion End Of May

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Device Updates, News, Sony, Xperia Acro S (Hikari), Xperia Go (Lotus), Xperia Ion (Aoba), Xperia P (Nypon), Xperia S (Nozomi)

Last Updated: April 26th, 2013

It's been a long time coming, guys – we've definitely seen our fair share of upset Xperia P owners who've been waiting for this update. But, the good news is that it's finally here, and the P is joined by the go and E Dual.

According to the Sony blog, the 4.1 update not only brings Jelly Bean, but also a slew of new enhancements that Sony has been working to "blend" with the OS. Among these new features, you'll find updated versions of WALKMAN, Album, and movies; a way to make your battery last longer with "Battery STAMINA Mode," a more customizable launcher, more home screens, and more.

Apr

[New App] Icon Themer Lets You Use Any Icon Pack With Any Launcher On Rooted Devices

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Yesterday we covered an app that lets rooted users tweak certain aspects of the system, so why not one that'll let you tweak it aesthetically, too? Icon Themer, a new app from developer Faruq Rasid (HelixLauncher, QuickDesk), aims to bring any icon pack to any custom launcher. That's a pretty big deal for those who've bought icon packs for specific launchers but have since started using something different, or those who feel tied down to a particular launcher because of a beloved theme that won't work with others.

Icon Themer is fairly straightforward, though it does require Xposed Framework (the app can automatically install this) so the IT module can be activated.

Apr

Dead On Arrival 2 Coming Soon To Android, Private Beta Registration Now Open

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

If you're a fan of the top-down zombie carnage free-for-all that is Dead on Arrival, good news: N3V Games just opened registration for the private beta of the game's sequel – the appropriately named Dead on Arrival 2.

There are a few requisites, of course – namely in device specification. For starters, you must have a device with at least a Tegra 2 (or equivalent), though a Tegra 3 (or equivalent) is recommended. Aside from that, you'll need a minimum of Android 3.0 (though 4.0 is suggested). Past that, the additional recommendations are the best part:

Have a stomach for wave after wave of bloodshed and mayhem!

Apr

Amazon's Tablet-Optimized Mobile App Updated, Now Available In China, Japan, And Canada

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Amazon just threw a bone to its users in China, Japan, and Canada, as it has finally made its tablet-optimized shopping app available to users in all those areas. This brings the total available locations up to nine: Japan, China, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, UK, and the US.

Also as part of the most recent update, Amazon added the ability to subscribe and save subscriptions to the Your Account page, along with fixing some issues with Bluetooth keyboard input on certain tablets.

The app is, of course, a free download – hit the widget below to give it an install.

Apr

[Deal Alert] AT&T's 32GB HTC One $150 ($50 Off) For New Accounts And Upgrades From Amazon Wireless

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, Deals, News, One

While HTC's newest flagship may have just hit the streets a few days ago, that hasn't stopped Amazon Wireless from starting to hack away at the price. The company is offering AT&T's 32GB variant of the device for $150, which is $50 off what Big Blue is asking right out of the gate. That price is good for both new contracts and upgrades, so it's a worthy deal for anyone looking to grab what could be HTC's best handset to date.

Processor: 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
GPU: Adreno 320
Operating system: Android 4.1.2
Display: 4.7" S-LCD3 1920x1080 (469 DPI)
Memory: 2GB RAM, 32GB storage
Cameras: 4MP rear, 2.1MP front
Battery: 2300mAh, non-removable
NFC: Yes
Ports / expandable storage: microUSB / none
Thickness: 9.3mm
Weight: 143g

If, for whatever reason, you're not into buying from Amazon, an equivalent deal is also available at Wal-Mart.

Apr

Facebook Messenger Updated With Sticker Support, No More Trying To Find The Invisible Button

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Hey guys, good news – remember the little trick to get access to Facebook Messenger's sticker feature? (If you've already forgotten about it, you may need to see a doctor. We just told you about it yesterday.) Well, that whole "hit the tiny invisible area beside the plus sign" is a thing of the past. Facebook Messenger was just updated with official support for those funky fatheads that apparently everyone loves.

To use the feature you need only update the app, open a chat dialog (must be FC chat – not SMS) and hit the smiley on the right side of the input box.

Apr

Verizon Updates Spectrum 2 Support Docs, Jelly Bean Incoming (Build VS93021B)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Device Updates, News, Spectrum 2, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: April 26th, 2013

Looks like Verizon's on a roll – two OTAs in the same day! Earlier today, it updated the support docs for the original Stratosphere with details of an upcoming incremental update, and now it looks like Jelly Bean is getting ready to hit the airwaves on its way to the LG Spectrum 2.

Aside from Jelly Bean goodies, the update also packs a few fixes and tweaks:

+ Weather application and widget have been updated
+ NFC LG Tag+ help has been improved
+ Brightness option has been moved to notification panel for global access
+ Browser now loads Google account bookmarks
+ Improved readability for email conversation
+ Optimized Bluetooth® connect/disconnect and audio stream switching implementations
+ User can back up contacts when the SIM is swapped to a new device
+ Preloaded widgets including Social+, Today+, Finance, News and Power Control have been removed

Once Big Red updates its support docs, that usually means an OTA is imminent – this one should likely start heading out sometime this week.

Apr

eBay App Updated To v2.2, Brings Shopping Cart To The US And UK

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

How many times have you been browsing around eBay on your mobile device, only to find about half-a-dozen things you intend on buying? Gone are the days of repeated transactions, because today the official eBay app has been updated to version 2.2, which brings the long-awaited shopping cart feature to mobile, at least in the US and UK.

With this new feature, you'll be able to add items to the cart to save for later, pay for multiple items in a single transaction (even those from different sellers!), and even be notified when an item in your cart is ending soon.

Apr

[New App] eXperience Pro Brings A Handful Of Useful Tweaks To Rooted Devices Without The Need For A Custom Kernel

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

One of the best things about Android is its nearly-infinite customizability for users who are willing to put in the effort it takes to make it happen. The thing is, in order to get some of this functionality, less-than-savvy users are daunted by the task of doing things like flashing custom kernels. On the other side, some users just don't want to be troubled with kernel tweaks, but still want the advanced functionality that they can bring.

Enter a new app that looks to change all that: eXperience Pro. This app brings some features to rooted handsets that were formerly only available by using custom kernels.

Apr

Verizon Readies Small Update For The Samsung Stratosphere, Brings Several Bug Fixes

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Stratosphere, Verizon Wireless

Hey Stratosphere owners – think Verizon forgot about you? That doesn't seem to be the case, as the company has just updated its i405 support docs with details of a new OTA update that should begin rolling out shortly. It's mostly a bug fixer, which looks to fine-tune the experience after the most recent OTA.

Post-update, you should find that voice calls sound better, emails should send more reliably when using Outlook, and some of the Verizon-specific apps (like My Verizon and VZtones) have been updated. This OTA also removes some of the bloat – IM, Blockbuster, Verizon Video, and Verizon Vcast should all be a thing of the past.