David Ruddock
David's phone is an HTC One X+. He is an avid writer, and enjoys imparting a legal perspective on Android news where it is relevant. He also doesn't usually write such boring sentences.

30
Oct
Android1

Timeline Graphic: US Android Phone Releases - We're Definitely Moving Faster, But How Fast Is Too Fast?

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials

There's been some discussion of late that, perhaps, Android phone manufacturers are iterating handsets at a pace which is detrimental to product polish and subsequent software support. In fact, a couple of days ago I took a look at the state of Android phones on US carriers with a few simple charts.

I also promised to write another post looking at how quickly, as opposed to how prolifically, Android handsets are moving in the US marketplace. I decided to look at two carriers - T-Mobile and Verizon. In the interest of cleaning up the timelines, I decided not to include budget handsets or QWERTY phones, because we all know the subtext of this whole conversation: the iPhone.

28
Oct
ShopApps_slide

Rumor: Barnes And Noble Getting Ready For The Next NOOK On November 7th

Posted by in Barnes & Noble

According to The Digital Reader (confirmed by The Wall Street Journal), Barnes and Noble stores are expanding their NOOK areas in retail stores for the holidays, and likely in time for the next generation of NOOK.

Digital Reader claims that on November 7, B&N will make an announcement regarding the NOOK line of products, and that the expansion of the NOOK Boutique in retail locations is being undertaken to prepare for the arrival of the new Android-powered color eReader.

Many have speculated that B&N would unveil a new NOOK before the holiday season here in the U.S., as the NOOK Color has reached a practical end of life when compared to the hardware of its primary competitor, Amazon's Kindle Fire.

28
Oct
Android1

Chart: Are There Really Too Many Android Phones? That Depends On How You Look At It

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials

After reading a couple of great pieces on Droid-life about how Android manufacturers seem to be moving at breakneck pace to advance hardware and iterate handsets like crazy, I had an idea - let's visualize it in different ways. First, we'll start with a pretty basic comparison, showing the US's four major carriers and the number of Android devices they currently offer.

graph1

*includes upcoming DROID RAZR and Galaxy Nexus on Verizon. Based on respective carrier websites as of 10/28/11.

Next, we'll see how much each of the major handset manufacturers contributes to these numbers at the present moment.

graph2

*includes upcoming DROID RAZR and Galaxy Nexus.

27
Oct
RoC_23

[Update: Gameplay Trailer Added] Race Of Champions For Android Screenshots Make Us Drool, Want To Go Go-Karting

Posted by in Games, News

I've never really thought racing games could work on tablets or smartphones with touchscreen controls, maybe the upcoming title Race of Champions will change my mind. I sure hope it does, because by the looks of it, this game is shaping up to be awesome. Take a look at some of these screenshots:

Update: Here's the gameplay trailer, as well:

RoC_00 RoC_12

RoC_23

RoC_29

This will probably be as close as I ever get to driving a KTM Crossbow.

These were taken on what appears to be an emulated instance of the game iPad (the resolution is 1024x768), but given the hardware in most newer Android phones, we wouldn't expect any decrease in quality once the game makes it debut on the small screen.

27
Oct
Sprint

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

Posted by 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 the iPhone, on average, is less data-hungry than its competitors.

26
Oct
screen_20111025_2144

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

Posted by 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 the bar very high for the somewhat low $5 game price point.

26
Oct
Generic_White_Galaxy_Tab_9_h_front_thumb1

[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 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:

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 get a little more detailed about the two bigger pieces of the prize pie you'll be entering to win.

24
Oct
verizonwirelesslogo

PSA: Verizon Locking Bootloaders On LTE Devices Likely Does Not Violate FCC Block C Spectrum Rules

Posted by in Legal, News, Verizon Wireless

It seems there's been some renewed interest in the subject of Block C LTE "no locking" provisions after news that the Motorola RAZR will come equipped with a locked bootloader per Verizon's request. About four months ago, I published an article on this very topic. To summarize: Verizon can basically do almost anything it wants with handsets on its network in the name of reasonable network management - subject to a few limitations and caveats.

But before we get into the reasoning for this, let's talk history.

The Block C Auction Of 2008

Back in 2008, the FCC auctioned off a block of the 700MHz wireless spectrum dubbed "Block C." Verizon was the sole purchaser of the block, having bid $4.7 billion to acquire the chunk of spectrum.

24
Oct
Android-Money

Microsoft Getting Royalties From Over Half Of All US Android Phone Sales, Plus: An Interesting Android Licensing Infographic

Posted by in Android OS, Legal, News

Yesterday, Microsoft announced its latest Android licensing deal with Taiwanese manufacturer Compal, marking the company's tenth such agreement to date. While such a small manufacturer in terms of market share makes little overall difference in Microsoft's profits derived from Android, its deals with HTC and Samsung, combined with various smaller manufacturers like Compal, means it now receives royalties from over half of all Android smartphones sold in the US (the figure may be even larger on a global scale).

6036.usandroidmarket

The major holdouts on the graphic above are Motorola Mobility and LG, though Moto is obviously the majority of that 47% chunk of green.

24
Oct
20110224233315!Android_Market

New Data Shows Android Has Surpassed iOS For App Downloads, But Still Has Far Fewer Apps Downloaded Per Person

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

An analysis of recently compiled data by ABI Research indicates that Android phones are for the first time downloading apps in greater numbers than Apple's iPhone. This would seem like a milestone, but ABI's research also shows that while the total number of apps downloaded onto Android devices in the last quarter exceeds that of the iPhone, Android handsets outnumber iPhones by a factor of 2.4 to 1.

This means that Android users are still downloading far fewer apps on an individual basis than iPhone owners - ABI suggests by a ratio of 2 to 1 one, in Apple's favor.

The growing marketplace for app revenue on Android is clear, as Android growth continues to outstrip the iPhone by a significant margin, app developers are turning their attention to the mobile OS that was once considered a lost cause in terms of making a profit.

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