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. |
With the DROID 4 now officially available, it was only a matter of minutes before Amazon Wireless and Wirefly unceremoniously beat Verizon's in-store and online pricing for the device.
Over at Amazon, they're currently offering the DROID 4 for $99 on a new 2-year agreement, and $149.99 for upgrades.
At Wirefly, you can get it for $149 on a new agreement, and at the same price for an upgrade. Head on over to pick one up now.
Earlier today, when I read comments from Motorola executive Christy Wyatt over on PCMag explaining that lagging software updates could be blamed in large part on hardware variation, my first response was "really?" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Motorola has iterated so much hardware in the last year that it has actually promised to cut down on the number of versions of Android handsets it will make.
Specifically, Wyatt made a point of the obvious fact that when Google releases the source code for Android, the only devices it will readily compile on fall into the "Nexus" category.
After indicating it would not announce the Galaxy S III at MWC last week, Samsung has now all but confirmed to PCMag it won't be showing off anything particularly exciting in Barcelona this month - because they won't be holding any sort of press conference during the event. Yikes.
After the S III unveil rumor was shot down, we had been guessing that Samsung would be using this opportunity to announce some sort of successor to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but that now seems exceptionally unlikely, as well. Samsung is known for its high production value keynotes and press events, and we highly doubt they'd unveil any kind of noteworthy mobile computing product without a full-blow dog and pony show to go with it.
Sprint posted its fourth quarter earnings this morning, and they definitely painted a mixed picture of the company's financial position. On the one hand, the Alamo of unlimited data increased its subscriber base by 1.6 million in the last quarter, with big thanks likely owed to the addition of the iPhone to Sprint's lineup - giving them a significant advantage over their primary price point rival, T-Mobile.
Unfortunately, also because of the iPhone, the company managed a $1.3 billion net loss for the quarter, owed in large part to the massive cost of providing the device ($15.5 billion over 4 years) to customers at heavily subsidized price points.
Steve Kondik (aka Cyanogen) put out a public update to the situation with CyanogenMod 9 earlier today, and revealed a few interesting tidbits about Team Douche's progress. Here's a few excerpts we thought were particularly important:
Android 4.0 contains many internal changes that require updated graphics drivers. Unfortunately, these drivers are almost always closed-source and don’t appear until a device or devkit is released with them. For many devices, our hands are tied...
We’ve eliminated the CMParts app, instead choosing to add our custom features directly into the main settings. We are also taking a “just works” approach when it comes to configuration- CM7 had too many options that just weren’t widely used...
Google Voice received its first major update in some time earlier today, undergoing a major UI refresh for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices (Gingerbread devices only see minor changes, such as the app icon), as well as new interface for Honeycomb and ICS tablets. Under the hood, SMS offline message queuing is now supported and works for multiple recipients.
Unfortunately, it still is ungodly slow to load on my Gingerbread phone, and scrolls like something from Android 1.6. I hear it's a lot smoother on Ice Cream Sandwich, though. Hit up the Market to download it now.
Are you outside one of the eligible countries for the Chrome for Android Beta? Good news - we've pulled the .apk (the app installation file). Simply download the file from one of our mirrors, then run it from the Downloads menu on your device. Remember, this only works on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices.
If you're a BIONIC owner (sadly, I am), you've probably been itching for a major update to the device for quite some time now to fix a number of bugs, glitches, and other technological gremlins the phone has had since release. This latest update promises to excise quite a few of the BIONIC's worst software demons, including the dreaded black screen bug. The update has just hit Verizon's support site, so that means a rollout will likely be taking place in the next couple of weeks. Check out the changelog, below:
When it comes to high tech, downsizing is often looked at as a sign of progress. Microprocessors meant whole computers, for the first time, could fit on a desktop. LCD displays made them portable - in the form of laptops. Moore's law proved that chips that once would have been classified as capable of enterprise-level computing now occupy devices that easily fit in your pocket. And advanced lithium-ion batteries meant you could finally take yourself off the AC teat for an appreciable amount of time, and you could charge your gadgets over and over without worrying about the ridiculous cycling fatigue that plagued earlier rechargeable systems.
I don't like talking about "industry insider" rumors. They are inevitably wrong about one detail or another, end up being total speculation, or are just downright trolls. Those that are true tend to be the ones that are very detailed and often leak their way out days, or hours, before a device's launch. Rumors that circulate months beforehand? Not so much.
But the Galaxy S III (if it will even be called that) is likely going to be the most anticipated Android device of the year, especially after the worldwide success of the Galaxy S II. As a result, we feel obligated to participate in some of the ritualized rumor-mongering that happens every time a new and exciting Android thing is on the horizon.
115,762
64,442
0
8,273
You can subscribe to RSS feeds for individual categories and receive updates on what interests YOU.
![CyanogenMod[1]](http://cdn.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CyanogenMod1_thumb.png "CyanogenMod[1]")
Loading ...
