Eric Ravenscraft
Eric is a snarky technophile with a taste for the unusual. When he's not obsessing about Android, you can usually find him obsessing about movies, psychology, or the perfect energy drink. Eric weaves his own special blend of snark, satire, and comedy into all his articles.

04
Mar
galaxys3tiny

Verizon Preparing To Release 4.1.2 (VRBMB1) Update For Galaxy S III With Minor Improvements

Posted by in Galaxy S III, News, Verizon Wireless

It's not Jelly Bean yet. Well, I mean it is. It's the older Jelly Bean. Not the newer Jelly Bean. I'm sure this isn't confusing. However, Verizon is getting ready to roll out an update to the Galaxy S III that will bump the phone from 4.1.1 to 4.1.2. Unfortunately this isn't the 4.2 upgrade most users were likely hoping for. Among the listed improvements are a better keyboard and the ability to take pictures while on a call.

2013-03-04_15h04_19

Additionally, the update will bring a few minor tweaks such as adding a refresh button to the lock screen stock ticker (try saying that three times fast), better email syncing and improved Bluetooth performance.

04
Mar
presidentialseal

White House Officially Responds To Cell Phone Unlock Petition: "We Agree"

Posted by in News

We've been waiting on this for a couple weeks now and the White House has finally come through with its response to the cell phone unlock petition. The short version, for the tl;dr crowd is simple: "The White House agrees." Citing not just smartphones but tablets as well, the Executive branch of the U.S. government states, in no uncertain terms, that there should be no reason that carriers should block a customer from switching carriers once contractual obligations are fulfilled.

The White House also pointed out that it kind of already supported this (sorta) by way of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is itself an agency of the Department of Commerce under the Executive branch.

04
Mar
2013-03-04_11h21_45

Samsung Entrusts The Secrets Of The Galaxy S IV To A Richie Rich Clone In This New Promo Video

Posted by in News, Samsung

At this point in the smartphone wars, it's not enough to build an awesome handset. You need to market it. That's the trouble that the One X had last year and the One faces this year. Well, so far the One has opened with its initial shots of BoomSound®, Ultrapixels and Zoe. So, what is Samsung returning fire with? A small, blonde-haired boy named Jeremy.

Okay.

For those unable to watch the video at work (thanks for spending your time with us instead of doing your job), here's the gist: a young boy's butler drives him to a board room where he is told he will be the "secret messenger" for the Galaxy S IV by a title screen.

03
Mar
2013-03-03_22h34_37

ASUS Is The First To Roll Out Android 4.2 To A Non-Nexus Device, Starting With The TF300T In The U.S.

Posted by in ASUS, News, Transformer Pad 300
Last Updated: March 13th, 2013

It's been over four months since Google officially announced Android 4.2 and slightly less time since the initial round of new Nexus devices running it went up for order. Much like the gunshot that kicks off the 100-meter tortoise race, that launch signaled the silent contest to see which manufacturer could get out a non-Nexus update first. Today, we have our winner: ASUS, with a shiny new version of Jelly Bean for the Transformer Pad (TF300T).

The manufacturer has also promised that there will be updates to its App Locker, Virtual Keyboard, Lock Screen, and Setup Wizard applications. Initially, the update will only be available via OTA for U.S.

02
Mar
01A_AndroidPolice-logo-with-bg-242x242_thumb_thumb1_thumb4

[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 51: Get The Hell Off My Spreadsheet, Lenovo

Posted by in News, Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 51.

Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The unedited video version of the podcast can be found here - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, tangents, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter as we prepare. Watch at your own risk!

Also, be sure to tune in next week for a very special 1 Year Anniversary show!

01
Mar
2013-03-01_19h40_23

[Editorial] Here's Why All The Google Glass Skeptics Are Wrong (And A Few Ways It Might Fail Anyway)

Posted by in Accessories, Editorials, News
Last Updated: March 3rd, 2013

I'm going to be up front: I want Glass. I'm thoroughly intrigued with the idea, I love the possibility of having an always-available camera that sees whatever I see, and completely hands-free Google sounds like a perfectly natural progression of the things like Google Now and voice actions. In the world where personal digital assistants seem commonplace, why should we not expect those things to be always accessible and visible?

Well, apparently there are a lot of reasons. And don't get me wrong. There are many legitimate causes to be skeptical. As is typical of the tech community, however, some things people have focused on are completely silly.

01
Mar
gavel

Judge Koh Vacates $450m From The $1b Samsung Owes Apple, Second Trial To Reassess Damages

Posted by in Legal, News
Last Updated: March 3rd, 2013

Last year, Apple won what was perhaps the largest legal victory in its war on Android when a court ruled that Samsung infringed its patents on a significant number of devices and owed the Cupertino company in excess of a billion dollars. Today, however, that same judge is vacating $450m from that total until a second damages trial with a new jury can commence.

That amount won't be stripped away entirely, mind you. The problem comes from the fact that the jury made some errors when it passed judgment on 14 of the infringing devices. Samsung's lawyers broke down the numbers for its damages and discovered that there were certain flaws in the way they were calculated.

01
Mar
amiigo

Conversations With An Amiigo Founder: This Fitness Bracelet Is For Everyone, Whether You Lift Or Not

Posted by in Features, News

Last month, we covered the Amiigo which, frankly, looks kind of awesome if it works as advertised. For those who missed it, here's the gist: you put on a bracelet and a shoe clip and the two track your workout. The system then logs that data and feeds it into some fancy software that analyzes your sessions and tells you how much weight you're losing, how many calories you're burning, and what other exercises might be right for you.

The big question that a system like this faces, of course, is one of accuracy. If the device can't really measure what you're doing reliably, then it's not going to be any good.

01
Mar
galaxystellar

Samsung Galaxy Stellar Jelly Bean Update (JZO54K.I200VRBMA1) Coming Soon, Google Now Comes To The Mid-Range

Posted by in Galaxy Stellar (SCH-I200), News
Last Updated: March 4th, 2013

Samsung seems to have gotten the hang of updating phones besides the major flagships. While it's still coming about nine months after the release of Jelly Bean and nearly six months after the release of the handset, the Galaxy Stellar will be upgraded to 4.1 "soon", according to these Verizon support docs. The OTA will bring the much-beloved Google Now as well as expandable notifications and all the other goodies of the newest tasty treat.

2013-03-01_13h37_43

The update is 403.6MB in size, so you're going to want to be on WiFi when you download it. While we don't yet know exactly when the OTA will start, it usually doesn't take too long between the arrival of these support docs and the initial rollout.

01
Mar
fcclogo

FCC To Investigate Cell Phone Unlocking Ban, Unsure If It Has Any Authority To Enforce Any Change

Posted by in News

The President still hasn't weighed in on what he plans to do about the cell phone unlocking ban (he's been a little busy with that sequester business that's gonna cost some people their jobs), but FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is a little closer to the situation. Speaking to TechCrunch, the communications head said the organization plans to "look into" the issue and decide whether action should be taken and, if so, what action there is to take.

While Genachowski doesn't sound ready to start pummeling carriers just yet (though it wouldn't be the first time), he admits that the ban is worrisome (and it is!), saying the "ban raises competition concerns; it raises innovation concerns."

On the subject of pursuing any course of action: "It’s something that we will look at at the FCC to see if we can and should enable consumers to use unlocked phones." Those words "can" and "should" are the two major hurdles that the FCC has to get past, though.

Page 16 of 103«First...10...1415161718...304050...Last»