Liam Spradlin - 91/99 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Besides being an avid Android fan and blogger, Liam is a photographer with a degree in both Anthropology and Sociology. He can usually be found reading through blogs, taking photos, or studying ancient pottery. Liam has been known to leave on international trips at a moment's notice, and can't resist a new challenge.

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Sep

T-Mobile Announces Details, Release Dates For Samsung Galaxy S II

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy S II, News, T-Mobile

Following on the heels of Sprint's Galaxy S II debut and AT&T's S II Announcement, T-Mobile has announced its planned release date and details surrounding its variant of the S II. The T-Mobile variant packs many of the same impressive specs as the original Galaxy S II, but replaces the original Exynos processor for a 1.5GHz Snapdragon, and gets a size upgrade.

T-Mobile's S II fact sheet indicates that pre-sales will begin at T-Mobile.com October 10th, with a nationwide retail store release slated for October 12th. The device will be $229.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate card on a two-year agreement.

Sep

[Mobile Security App Shootout, Part 16] XtraSEC Mobile Security Offers The Most Basic Protection At A Very Modest Price

Posted by Liam Spradlin in App Reviews, Applications, Mobile Security App Shootout

Landing at number 16 in the Mobile Security App Shootout is XtraSEC Mobile Security, from developer wedjohn57. XtraSEC is dedicated specifically to loss and theft protection, providing a clean, no frills experience, an intuitive interface, and support for multiple devices.

At A Glance

XtraSEC is certainly a lightweight app, housing most of its power in the app's online interface. XtraSEC comes in both free and paid flavors. The free version lacks Remote Locking, Data Wipe, Battery Info and on demand SIM information, but the paid version comes in at a modest $1.99/year. The app's design is straight-forward, and the online interface is convenient and intuitive, offering up all your options in only a couple of screens.

Sep

Superuser Updated To Version 3.0 - Major Overhaul Brings PIN Lock, NFC Tag Writing, App Backup, And More

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Superuser, the preferred app to "hook into your phone's power," has at last been updated to version 3.0, bringing a huge overhaul both in terms of design and functionality.

The release of version 3.0 into the Android Market brings with it many bug fixes and new features, perhaps the most notable of these being the ability to write NFC tags, the ability to backup apps and preferences, and PIN capabilities (available with Superuser Elite).

The update also brings an automatic malware scanner, making Superuser an app that does much more than simply remember root preferences for your apps.

For a full list of changes and bug fixes, check out Superuser's full changelog.

Sep

CyanogenMod Nightly Builds Are A Go For The Motorola Backflip

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Backflip, News

The Motorola Backflip may be a slightly aged device, and not much news has come its way of late, but it seems that the time is finally here for Backflip users who have been patiently awaiting some CyanogenMod goodness. It's worth noting that CM has not yet released a stable build of CM7 for the Backflip, but the nightly updates should be able to hold ambitious users over until a stable release is available.

CyanogenMod just released the Backflip's first nightly yesterday evening, so if you've been wanting to install one of the most popular ROMs for Android on your beloved device, head over to CM's download page, grab the zip file, and enjoy.

Sep

New Details Surrounding Xoom 2 Leak Out - More Than One Version In The Works

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Tablets, XYBOARD / XOOM 2

When we first reported on Motorola's alleged Xoom 2, very few - if any - details were certain. An anonymous tipster has been piling on the information since then, however, providing photos, (some) specs, and perhaps the most interesting detail of all - a second, smaller version of the Xoom 2, expected to be billed as an "e-reader replacement."

The Xoom 2's smaller relative appears to have the same rear buttons (power and volume rocker) as its larger counterpart, and a generally similar form factor, if not yet completely polished.

Obviously a full list of specs has not been confirmed, but here's what we think we know so far about the Xoom 2, thanks to the tipster:

Sleek 9mm thickness
1.2GHz Processor (of unknown origin, possibly an OMAP 4)
1GB RAM
1080p video recording with a 5MP rear shooter
LTE Compatibility

The smaller tablet, suspected to be a "media version," supposedly shares the same specs as its larger relative, but is rumored to add an onboard IR remote and subwoofer, as well as an 8.2" HD IPS display.

Sep

[Hunt For The Best Dialer, Part 4] GO Contacts EX - Buggy At Times, But Full Of Convenient Options

Posted by Liam Spradlin in App Reviews, Applications, Hunt For The Best Dialer

Bringing us familiar dialer features and fun design touches, GO Contacts EX is coming in at number four on our Hunt for the Best Dialer replacement for your Android phone. GO Contacts comes to us from the always awesome GO Dev Team, the developers behind other popular apps including GO launcher, GO keyboard, GO weather, and GO SMS (Note from the editor: If you haven't tried out GO SMS Pro, I highly recommend it.).

At A Glance

GO Contacts EX appears to be a simple enough dialer replacement, with all the features we've come to expect - the dial pad, call log, contacts, groups and favorites.

Sep

Motorola Edison (Possible Successor To The Atrix 4G) Gets A Hands-On Preview - Set To Bring High-End Specs, Smooth Form Factor To AT&T

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Motorola, News

A new Motorola phone, codenamed "Edison" and headed for AT&T, has been in the rumor mill for a while now, but today it got in front of the camera when This Is My Next published a hands-on preview of the device.

TIMN speculates that this phone may be destined to replace the Motorola Atrix in AT&T's lineup, and its design hints at similar webtop capabilities confirmed by special webtop options found in the device's settings.

The Edison seems to be closely related to the Droid Bionic, set to bring many of the Bionic's best features to AT&T. Speaking of features, the Edison is no lightweight in the specs department.

Sep

New uTorrent Alpha Release Adds Integration For Android, iOS, PS3 And Xbox - Allows Users To Drag And Drop Downloaded Content To Their Mobile Devices, Consoles

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News

uTorrent, one of the most popular BitTorrent clients in existence, has released a new alpha build that brings an awesome new functionality. Users can now drag and drop downloaded content to various devices (including Android phones and tablets) directly from the uTorrent interface.

uTorrent also plans to add video and audio file conversion support in a later, paid version of their software, uTorrent Plus. These features are not new, however. Vuze, a competing BitTorrent client, added device integration and file conversion long ago and has seen great success.

It would appear that the development team at uTorrent is looking to follow that successful model, while still gaining revenue from it.

Sep

How Getjar's New Gold Program Is Treating Its Participating Developers, As Told By One Of Them

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Until recently, Amazon's Appstore for Android has been the only game in town when it comes to (legally) obtaining paid apps for free. Getjar has changed that, however, by beginning the Getjar Gold Program which offers an entire catalogue of paid apps absolutely free and without ads. It would seem that Getjar's new program is a huge success, at least in the case of one development company.

Mobisoft, developers of Imperio RDP remote desktop client, released a press statement recently reporting on the company's experience thus far with Getjar Gold, boasting "three times the revenue" in its first week as part of the program over revenue generated by the Android Market.