Nate Kimmey - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

[New App] Panasonic Flag Tags Lets You Show Your Olympic Spirit, Paint Your Face With Chosen Flag Colors

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

With Olympics season in full swing, we've seen plenty of apps to help you keep track of which teams are winning which events, but not many that help you show off a little bit of national pride. Fortunately, Panasonic's Flag Tags app is here to help.

The app is a bit of a novelty, but it works surprisingly well. You simply choose the flag colors you would like, take a picture of yourself (or select one from your gallery), and select the area of the photo in which your face appears. The app then paints your chosen flag colors onto your face in a surprisingly realistic way.

Jul

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Jets To Be Outfitted With Android-Powered Entertainment Systems

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Android OS, News

Though we've seen Android run on a number of devices beyond just phones and tablets, it's always nice to see another company turn to Android for specialized purposes. It seems that Boeing is doing just that, having recently unveiled Android-powered entertainment systems for their 787 Dreamliner jet.

Boeing announced that it will offer two different entertainment systems for the 787, both of them running Android - the Panasonic eX3, and the Thales TopSeries Avant. However, more specific details have only been announced for the Thales model, which was shown off during a demonstration at the Farnborough International Airshow.

The TopSeries Avant was shown in both 10" and 17" sizes, and for such specialized devices they feature fairly modern specs: a dual core ARM processor and 1GB RAM, and a whopping 256GB of storage, due to the fact that they are primarily media devices.

Jul

Facebook Updated To v1.9.7, Brings Bug Fixes But Requires Froyo And Up

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

Another update to Facebook for Android has rolled around, and even though it doesn't bring the complete overhaul so many people desire, it does bring some helpful changes. In addition to the usual bug fixes, version 1.9.7 speeds up the login process as well as navigating through the app, and front-facing camera support has been added.

Unfortunately for some, the update requires your device to be on Android 2.2 or above, meaning that the < 6% of users on Android 2.1 and below are stuck on the current version.

It is a manual update to the fact that it now requires the (unexplained) "Read phone state and identity" permission.

Jul

HTC Releases Kernel Source Code For T-Mobile One S, EVO 4G LTE

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Development, EVO 4G LTE (Jewel), News, One S (Ville)

It may have taken over a month longer than the international version, but HTC has finally released the kernel source code for T-Mobile's version of the One S. HTC has offered no explanation for why the US model's source code was delayed for so long, but perhaps this means that the AT&T One X will see its kernel source released at some point.

They also released the kernel source for the EVO 4G LTE. Developers - or anyone who is interested - can grab the source code from the link below.

Source: HTC Developer Center

Jul

HBO GO Update Brings Support For Android Tablets Up To 4.0.4

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

Back in May, HBO updated their HBO GO app to support Ice Cream Sandwich, but even then the app was still missing support for tablets, a major issue for an app designed for streaming video. Fortunately, they've rolled out an update today to address that problem, bringing support for tablets running anything up to Android 4.0.4 (sorry, no Jelly Bean support here yet). Oddly enough, HBO's MAX GO app was also updated today, but still lacks support for tablets.

As per usual, you won't be able to use the app unless you already have a cable package and a subscription to HBO.

Jul

Motorola MOTOACTV Updated To Version 7.10/7.11, Bring A Host Of Bug Fixes

Posted by Nate Kimmey in ACTV, News

Motorola has released yet another pair of updates for their Android-based sports watch, the MOTOACTV, bringing the version number up to either 7.10 or 7.11, depending on your model. The 7.10 update is only for devices that already have the golf features installed, while the 7.11 update is only for some versions of the 8 GB ACTV that do not have the golf features. Fortunately, you don't have to do anything to determine which update to download - simply plug your ACTV into your computer and the MOTOCAST software will download the appropriate update.

Both version of the update include the following bug fixes:

Fix “Application Force Close” in WORKOUT and NOTIFICATIONS.

Jun

Unannounced Motorola Device On Sprint Leaked: Features QWERTY Slider, ICS, And On-Screen Buttons

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, Sprint

It seems Motorola is having a tough time keeping its upcoming releases under wraps. First, a press shot of the Dinara (believed to be the Atrix 3) was leaked, and now somebody grabbed a shot of an unannounced Motorola device heading to Sprint.

Similar to the Dinara leak, the device seems to be running a fairly light version of Motorola's custom skin. While some icons are changed it appears that the Android 4.0 launcher remains mostly intact. Also similar to the Dinara is the presence of on-screen buttons. But this unnamed phone's biggest differentiator is a sliding, 5-row QWERTY keyboard.

Jun

Samsung Galaxy S3 Not Eligible For 50 GB Dropbox Offer On AT&T Or Verizon

Posted by Nate Kimmey in AT&T, Galaxy S III, News, Verizon Wireless

Although it isn't a new feature, one of Samsung's software perks with the Galaxy S3 is the inclusion of 48 GB of free space in a Dropbox account, an offer that lasts two years. Unfortunately, according to an official Dropbox support page, some U.S. users won't have the option to take advantage of this free space.

AT&T and Verizon have chosen to opt out of this promotion, though their reasoning is unclear. The page does mention these two carriers by name, and makes no mention of the promotion's availability on Sprint or T-Mobile, so there is still a chance that this offer may reach us stateside.

Jun

Verizon 4G Xoom Android 4.0 Update Now Rolling Out, Manual Download Available

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

It's been a long time coming, particularly for the pioneer Android tablet, but the Ice Cream Sandwich update for Verizon's 4G Xoom is rolling out today as expected. The update brings the Xoom to the very latest version of Android available - 4.0.4.

An over-the-air rollout has started today, but if you are too impatient to wait for that, you have the option of installing the update manually (this method requires the use of a USB host cable):

Download the update here.
Place the file on a USB stick.
Turn off the device.
Enter Recovery by pressing Volume Down at the "M" logo, then pressing Volume Up.

Jun

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson Says Customers Can Expect To See A Move Toward Data-Only Cell Phone Plans In The Next Two Years

Posted by Nate Kimmey in AT&T, News

We've reported on AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson's ideas on "toll-free" data usage, but it looks like he's expecting another big shift in data plans - the availability of data-only cellphone plans.

Indicating that we could expect such plans to arrive within two years' time, Stephenson said that text messages and phone calls "would be considered just another form of data." So, instead of having limits on minutes, text messages, and data usage, all would be combined under a single counter.

Carriers such as AT&T make a good deal of their profits from calling and texting plans because they use such little data, but Stephenson believes that these data-only plans are necessary because of the growing prominence of apps such as Skype that replace the functionality of phone calls using data.