David Ruddock - 44/142 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

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

Nov

Initial Impressions Of The DROID DNA: This Could Be The DROID You're Looking For

Posted by David Ruddock in DROID DNA, News, Phone Reviews, Verizon Wireless

The DROID DNA is, without a doubt, the most exciting HTC phone to come to Verizon since the original Incredible. And I can already tell you that it doesn't disappoint - this is a serious effort from HTC, whose US handset sales have dropped sharply in the last year. It could be the phone that catapults them back into relevance.

After spending a short amount of time with it, I'm going to try and give you my first-blush reaction to this spec sheet titan. (The full review should be coming some time next week.)

The Display: Not the jaw-dropper we were expecting.

Nov

[New Game] Waking Mars Lands On The Play Store

Posted by David Ruddock in Games, News

If you're into indie games, chances are you've heard of Waking Mars by now. If you haven't - check it out, this is one seriously awesome puzzle / platformer mashup with an epic story and amazing soundtrack. It actually just hit the Play Store, too, after being available on Android exclusively through the Humble Bundle that went live last week (still up now).

So, why buy it for $5 through the Play Store instead of the pay-what-you-want Humble Bundle? Well, I can't really think of a good reason aside from updates, or simply to support the developer (that's always a good reason).

Nov

[Deal Alert] Pre-Order The DROID DNA From Wirefly For $50 Less Than Verizon (New Contracts And Upgrades)

Posted by David Ruddock in Deals, DROID DNA, Verizon Wireless

If you're looking for the latest and greatest on Verizon, chances are you're curious about the DROID DNA. While we'll have our review up some time in the next week, if you can't wait, pre-orders are live on Verizon right now. But paying full price on a new, on-contract phone? That's for chumps, am I right?

Luckily, Wirefly also has the DNA up for pre-order - $150 on a new subscriber agreement or upgrade. That's 50 bucks less than Verizon. And considering this phone is insanely powerful, that's a pretty great price. As a reminder, the DNA is packing a 5" 1080p display - the first ever on a widely-sold smartphone, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM, and Verizon's 4G LTE.

Nov

[Update: Winner Selected] Win An HTC One X+ From AT&T And Android Police

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Contests / Giveaways, One X+

Last Updated: November 20th, 2012

This contest is now over. Here is our winner, selected at random:

Paul

Congratulations - you will be contacted for your information in the near future!

The HTC One X+

The HTC One X+ is a lot like the original One X - if you stuck the One X in an awesome-machine and painted it murdered-out black, that is. And AT&T and Android Police are giving one away. You do want a One X that got stuck in an awesome-machine, don't you?

You're likely already in the loop about the X+'s robust feature résumé, but let me break it down for you again, just in case.

Nov

Google Voice App Updated, Fixes Android 4.2 Crashes

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

The Google Voice app received an update this morning, one that comes much to the relief of Android 4.2 users, who have been enduring crashes that have essentially made the app unusable since the OTA landed on Nexus devices. As far as I can tell, everything's back to normal in this update, as I successfully sent a text from my Nexus 7 running 4.2 just a moment ago. Head over to the Play Store to grab the update now.

Google Voice

Nov

Samsung Mobile Chief's Refusal To Negotiate With Apple Is Posturing, And It's Probably Not Even True

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials, Legal, News, Samsung

I can't say I'm the biggest student of Gandhi, but that whole "an eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind" bit sure came to mind this morning when I read that Samsung's head of mobile, Shin Jong-kyun, said the company "[does not] intend to (negotiate) at all" with Apple. This came on news of HTC's settlement with Apple on Saturday, which I contend is objectively good for the industry and consumers, no matter how you spin it.

First, let's look at the backstory. Apple and Samsung are involved in probably over a dozen various legal entanglements across the world.

Nov

Android 4.2 Tip: You Can Now Clear All Cached App Data At Once

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.2, Tips & Tutorials

Chances are, if you're picking up an 8GB Nexus 4, or even a 16GB Nexus 7 (or are stuck with an 8GB N7), at some point you might run low on storage. It happens to the best of us.

Fortunately, in Android 4.2, Google's given you a new way to free up some space with just two taps. Instead of having to trudge through your entire list of installed apps one by one, you can now clear all cached app data straight from the storage menu.

Just head to settings, then to storage, and tap on the new "Cached data" section in the list.

Nov

[Deal Alert] From Nov. 16-17, T-Mobile Is Offering The Galaxy S III Free On Contract (Yep, It's A Mail-In Rebate)

Posted by David Ruddock in Deals, Galaxy S III, News, T-Mobile

Are you a T-Mobile customer absolutely fed up with the carrier's admittedly absurd on-contract pricing for phones? I probably would be, too, if I was on T-Mobile. Fortunately, if you're a savvy consumer, a few times a year T-Mo offers some legitimately good deals on its best phones for around 48 hours, and on November 16th, one of those sales is going to happen. And no, the Galaxy Note II isn't a part of it, sadly.

From Nov. 16th to the 17th, you'll be able to get any Samsung Galaxy phone that isn't a Note II for free on contract ...

Nov

JBQ: The Nexus 4 Is Not Supported In AOSP "At The Moment"

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Development, Jelly Bean 4.2, News, Nexus 4

While Android 4.2 is now making its way into AOSP (Android Open Source Project), support for one device in that code is not, and won't be for some time: the Nexus 4. Android maintainer JBQ (an awesome guy we quote a lot on days like this) has confirmed that the "Nexus 4 is not supported in AOSP at the moment: no source files, no binaries."

JBQ is not able to comment on why this is the case, or when we might expect the Nexus 4 to join Google's big happy AOSP Nexus device family, though obviously if Google could merge it into AOSP today, they would.

Nov

The Motorola XOOM And Nexus S Will Almost Definitely Not Receive Android 4.2

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), XOOM

With all the excitement of Nexus availability and the Android 4.2 source code being pushed into AOSP this morning, one little statement by Android developer JBQ regarding 4.2 device support in the AOSP announcement was easy to overlook.

-There is no support for 4.2 on Nexus S and Xoom. Those devices should continue using 4.1.2.

Yep, that (very, very likely - it's intentionally vague) means exactly what you think it does: it's the end of the road for software updates on the Nexus S and Motorola XOOM (and yes, that means all variants). At least, that's what's implied. When asked for comment, JBQ said no further information could be given about future updates for the Nexus S or XOOM, which is the standard response to such inquiries.