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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.

Follow @rdr0b11

Apr

Download: Test Android Market Reveals New Versions Of Music, Gallery, Clock And Camera

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Applications, Apps/Games, Development, News

This probably isn't going to be nearly as exciting as the title might lead you to believe - though it's good news nonetheless.

Techfrom10's Samsung Galaxy S was accidentally given access to the test Android Market via an OTA update, and they stumbled upon some goodies while using it. The Market itself has undergone no noticeable changes aside from the addition of the "Content Rating" information publishers are now asked to include as part of their submissions to the Market, so there's not a lot to see on that end.

However, they did find new versions of Music (much like the previously leaked APK, but presumably a newer version), Desk Clock, Camera, and Gallery.

Apr

Google Bids Almost $1 Billion On Patent Portfolio To Protect Android, Chrome

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, Editorials, News

Well, not solely for Android and Chrome - but presumably those products are the headliners affected by this patent bid. Google is currently bidding on a collection of over 6,000 patents held by Nortel Networks, which is selling the portfolio as part of bankruptcy proceedings. Google tossed its name in the hat with an initial offering of $900,000,000 - not exactly chump change.

Many of the patents relate to wireless technology (such as LTE) and data networking, but undoubtedly Google found some of them to be in the particular interest of protecting Android and Chrome, as Google's General Counsel indicted on the company's blog.

Apr

ASUS Compares Eee Pad Transformer To Duct-Taped iPad And Keyboard

Posted by David Ruddock in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Well-known budget electronics manufacturer ASUS has a big splash-page promo up on Best Buy's website right now for the upcoming Eee Pad Transformer, the manufacturer's first Honeycomb (Android 3.0) tablet, and it's not exactly subtle:

It's a fair comparison - both will probably break their hinges around the same time

The (unintentional) irony here being that ASUS's product aren't exactly known for their top-notch materials (I'm not saying their products are faulty - just a little flimsy). Still, the Transformer is a kind of neat idea - we'll have to reserve judgment on how ASUS's execution of the concept fares in the real world.

Apr

PowerAMP Updated With App To SD, Dolby/SRS Support, Open API For Developers

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Apps/Games, Development, News

The popular Android music player PowerAMP received an update this morning with new features and numerous bug fixes. Take a look at the change log below:

New:
- PowerAMP now has open API for 3rd party developers. Please check PowerAMP site for reference, samples, and complete Widget Pack sources
- PowerAMP now can be moved to SD card. You can still use PowerAMP widgets if you install PowerAMP Standard Widget Pack
- added Dolby/SRS support for HTC Desire HD (and few other HTC phones with Dolby/SRS) (Equalizer => DHD button)
- added song number/total counter (Settings => Look And Feel Tweaks => Show Track Counter)
- auto-advance option for queue (Settings => Auto-Advance Settings)
- PowerAMP now re-shuffles lists on repeat
- playlist/queue reordering can be now toggled on/off via special icon in list headers
- PowerAMP now shows embed lyrics from tags in its Album Art area.

Apr

Honeycomb On A Budget: 7 and 10" Acer Aspire ICONIA TAB A100/A500 Pre-Order On Amazon UK

Posted by David Ruddock in Acer, Deals, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Iconia Tab A500, News

Last Updated: April 29th, 2011

Update: The 10.1-inch big brother of the A100, the A500, is also available for pre-order and ships on April 20, though it will cost you the substantially larger sum of £449. Why? It's packing an LED-backlit display (as opposed to LCD), 32GB of HDD space, and 1GB of RAM.

This one only applies to our friends across the pond for the moment, but Acer's first attempt at an Android 3.0 tablet has just gone up for pre-order on Amazon UK. It will ship on April 20, and it'll set you back a paltry £299.

With 512KB of RAM, my printer is giving the A100 a run for its money (Amazon typo much?)

This is without a doubt the most competitively priced piece of Honeycomb hardware we've seen to date, but its specs appear markedly different from the 7" prototype Android tablet we saw at one of Acer's press conferences last year.

Apr

Updated: AT&T Raising Smartphone Prices For 1-Year Contracts, Full Retail, And Early Upgrades

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Carriers, News, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: April 4th, 2011

Update: BGR just confirmed with AT&T that the early upgrade price bump listed for iPhones applies to all smartphones - that means early upgrade pricing for 2-year agreement customers will go up by 50 bucks on all Android phones.

Well, there's not a lot of ways to spin this positively, and it's pretty clear what's going on - AT&T is disincentivizing its 1-year and no contract plans in order to goad customers into making more economical 2-year agreements. Customer retention method much?

If you want to go month to month (no contract) on AT&T, the full retail price of your smartphone of choice will shoot up by $50, for no apparent reason other than to discourage you from making that decision.

Apr

Verizon's 4G LTE Up To 10 Times Faster Than Sprint's WiMAX 4G, Says Independent Testing

Posted by David Ruddock in Carriers, Editorials, News, Sprint, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless

An independent test conducted by a research firm in New York City comparing the speeds of Verizon's and Sprint's respective 4G networks has made at least one thing clear: Big Red owns the Big Apple. After conducting over 1000 individual network speed tests in various locations throughout the city, BTIG Research tallied up the averages, and it's not a pretty picture for Sprint:

The connections were tethered through an HTC Thunderbolt and an HTC EVO 4G, respectively

You're seeing that right - Verizon's 4G LTE is averaging a whopping 10.3Mbps (down) when on a laptop tethered to an HTC Thunderbolt, while the EVO 4G barely eeks out 1.6.

Mar

PSA: Verizon's Warranty Exchange Policy Is About To Get A Lot More Strict Starting Tomorrow

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless

It appears Verizon has altered the terms of its "Certified Like New Program" ("CLNP") (pray they don't alter them further) to be a lot more demanding regarding the condition of exchanged devices.

Namely, if you send in your destroyed DROID, don't expect to get a shiny new replacement without a serious penalty - all phones sent in on warranty exchange must now meet the following requirements:

CLNR Cosmetics Standards

CLNR Cosmetic Standard Summary:

No blemishes are permitted on front surfaces such as the touch screen, keyboard

No more than two flaws, which must be less than 5mm in length, are permitted on other surfaces

No flaws or defects on lens

No dust, dirt, or fibers under lens

Ports must be free of foreign material and corrosion, be in operating condition, and have the plugs in place if applicable

This means even if your Android device suffers from a warrantied defect and fails, you may be out of luck trying to get it exchanged if you haven't kept it in tip-top condition.

Mar

PSX4Droid Emulator Gets Pulled From The Market - Probably For Trademark Infringement

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Development, Games, News

Engadget is reporting via a number of tipsters that the popular PlayStation emulator PSX4Droid has been pulled from Android market. Google's statement on the issue?

"We remove apps from Android Market that violate our policies."

Well, that's helpful. Actually, upon a short perusal of the US Patent and Trademark Office database, the reason became clear to us: PSX4Droid is infringing on a trademark owned by Sony for the acronym "PSX." This means PSX4Droid probably just needs a name change before being given the green light for republication. Considering the impending release of the Xperia Play, Sony seems to have timed its complaint rather strategically.

Mar

Amazon Appstore Doubles Down: Farm Frenzy And Newsweek Mobile Both Free Today

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Deals, Games, News, Tips & Tutorials

That's right, Amazon's offering not one, but two free apps on the Amazon Appstore this morning! You can pick up the popular HeroCraft title Farm Frenzy along with the official Newsweek Mobile app from Amazon free of charge.

I don't know about you - but I can't tell which is which.

Newsweek Mobile offers Amazon's "Test Drive" in-browser emulation, so you can try it from your browser before making the 15 second commitment to put it on your phone. Anyways, load up the Amazon Appstore (if you can) and grab these freebies while the getting is good.

Update: We've gotten in touch with Herocraft, the developer of Farm Frenzy, about extra permissions that their game uses (such as access to contacts).