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Rugged phones seem to be all the rage these days, and with Samsung, Sony, and others releasing high-end devices with allegedly lifeproof qualities, it's hard to know whose rectangular slab really is the toughest. In reading about devices like the Galaxy S4 Active, Xperia ZR, and Casio G'Zone Commando LTE, you've probably seen some ruggedness "ratings" tossed around. Sometimes, these rating come with a bit of information (eg., waterproof to 1 meter up to 30 minutes), but rarely are the ratings explained in a particularly satisfying way. Well, let's see if we can shed some light on some of the more common ones.
This weekend's poll is simple, and quite related to a poll we had at the beginning of this month. After weighing the pros, cons, and costs of a Google Play Edition Galaxy S4 or HTC One, did you end up dropping cold, hard cash to get your hands on one? These "vanilla" Android devices provide a Nexus-like user experience on what are likely the two best Android phones currently on sale, something enthusiasts have been clamoring for since, well, probably before I ever started writing for Android Police.
[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 67: Bromance Denied
The Android Police Podcast: Episode 67: Bromance Denied
Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 67.
The Backstory
If you head over to Facebook Engineering's latest note, you'll find a lot of words that generally don't in any way forgive the fact that Facebook's official Android app is nothing short of an abomination. You will, however, find instructions on how to join the beta testing program for that app buried in this manifesto, near the bottom. Here are those instructions.
I have to admit, if you were to tell me one year ago today that devices like the Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play edition would exist as things, I'd call you a liar. And I'd probably secretly hope that they did exist, too. These handsets, or really, the idea behind them, have been the enduring dream of almost every Android enthusiast from the early days of MOTOBLUR and TouchWiz. Those skins, which were bywords for "UI lag" and "carrier bloat," became synonymous with everything that made Android worse than the stock experience Google provided on Nexus devices. There were real reasons to hope that something virtually identical to the Google Play edition hardware that went on sale yesterday would eventually grace Android lovers everywhere.
There's been a lot of speculation about just how Nexus-like the Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play edition phones will be, particularly from a technical / software update standpoint. Now, we have some relatively concrete information that sheds light on these issues.
After a two week stint with the BlackBerry Z10 last month, I happened upon another chance to go across the platform border, this time into the Windows world - with the Nokia Lumia 928.
[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 66: Shaq-Man-Vulcan-Boy
The Android Police Podcast: Episode 66: Shaq-Man-Vulcan-Boy
Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 66.
This isn't exactly breaking news, but some time in the last week or so Samsung began shipping the Galaxy S4's official MHL adapter through its site and various retail partners in the US. The new adapter has been on sale for over 2 months abroad, but is just now finding its way to American shores.
Update: As has been brought to our attention, there are other apps that do this, like Screen Filter and Lux.
Are you looking for a highly ruggedized QWERTY keyboard phone in a candybar form factor that runs a version of Android which was released almost two years ago? Of course you are! And that's exactly why A&T and NEC have announced the Terrain, so that when you get fed up with Android 4.0, you can throw it at a wall with complete and utter confidence. And type frustrated emails really, really quickly.
Two days ago, we reported on the rumored existence of a new Galaxy S4 iteration with LTE-Advanced support headed to Korea. It seems that device has been all but confirmed today, thanks to a leaked user manual with device specifications found by Japanese blog rbmen.
One of Android's most popular productivity suites, OfficeSuite, received an update to version 7.2, adding a host of new features, though most are specific to the Pro version of the app (considering how many times it's been on sale at this point, you should have it).
AT&T announced a few new LTE markets today, along with expanded cover in a handful of others. The respective areas are listed below, with expansions in italics and the specific areas which the expansion covers in parentheses.
There's a lot of speculation floating around right now about the "reactivation" of the DROID Landing Twitter account, which is typically used by Verizon to tease new DROID phones. Unfortunately, we're going to have to deflate some of that speculation. Here are the tweets from the account this afternoon: