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

Apr

NOOK Color Official Froyo Update: It's Almost A Real Tablet Now, No Hacking Required

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, NOOKcolor (Encore)

The Barnes & Noble NOOK Color has been the e-reader of choice for many Android power users because of its hackability, making it easy to transform it into a full featured tablet. B&N must've taken note from the Android dev community, because an update has just been released for the NOOK Color that brings Froyo, apps, flash player, and more to this budget friendly device.

Before you get too excited, though, it's not exactly what you think. There is no access to the Android Market, nor does it include any Google Apps. In order to keep the user experience consistent, B&N has its own set of proprietary libraries that developers must use when writing apps for the NOOK Color, so everything flows together within the NOOK ecosystem.

Apr

Vodafone Portugal Selling Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v For €589.90 Starting Tomorrow

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy Tab 10.1, News, Samsung, Vodafone

Remember the wafer-thin new Galaxy Tab 10.1 we saw at CTIA? Yeah, well, you might have to wait a while longer before you can get your paws on one of those - but if you live in Portugal and you're willing to sacrifice some of that slimness, you'll be able to obtain an ever-so-slightly thicker model called the Galaxy Tab 10.1v starting tomorrow. The tablet will be sold through Vodafone for the price of €589.90 and will be:

10.9mm thick
Running on stock Honeycomb
Powered by a dual-core 1 GHz Tegra 2 CPU
Including an HPSA+ radio
Featuring an 8MP rear camera

Vodafone will also be selling the 10.1v in the Netherlands, though they have not yet announced its price there; the only detail we have so far is that it'll launch in "week 17," which should mean sometime before May 1st.

Apr

CyanogenMod Gets Updated To 7.0.2, Brings Many Bug Fixes (Including GPS On The EVO)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Development, News

The CyanogenMod crew seem to have had a pretty busy Easter weekend - first they released the pre-alpha for the Thunderbolt, and last night they dropped an update to CM7 for all other platforms. This update brings the current version of CyanogenMod to 7.0.2 and is primarily a bug fix release, but it is also the first "stable" release of CM7 that we've seen for the OG Motorola Droid.

Among the many bug fixes included in 7.0.2 is the GPS issue that EVO owners have been experiencing since the initial release of CM7. Some other common fixes include memory issues, status bar tweaks, and the inclusion of new CM community wallpapers (okay, that last one isn't really a fix).

Apr

Updated: [Download] CyanogenMod 7 For The HTC Thunderbolt (Pre-Alpha) Now With Fast Mirror!

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Yes, you read right - CyanogenMod 7 for the Thunderbolt. We're super excited, too, because we can finally get our Thunderbolt Gingerbread on! But, please be careful, this is a pre-Alpha release (that means the release before the release before the beta), so be careful. Here's what does not work:

-USB Tethering does not work.
-Phone Testing menu does not display correct radio options. If you play with it, you will have to relfash a Stock based rom to 4G back.
-Possible Data/Voice bugs and issues.
-Possible Mic issues on phone calls (try a reboot)

This is basically saying your Thunderbolt might not work very well as a phone.

Apr

Lenovo's Honeycomb-Powered ThinkPad Tablet Leaked, Set For Release This Summer

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Lenovo, News

In case you aren't sold on any of the current crop of Honeycomb tablets, Lenovo is about to throw their hat in the ring with the ThinkPad Tablet (also called the Think Slate). The folks at This is my next got ahold of a PowerPoint with all the specs, and this tablet can certainly hold its own amongst the competition:

NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
Android 3.0 with custom Lenovo UI
1280 x 800 IPS 10.1" display
16, 32, and 64 GB models
USB, micro USB, mini HDMI ports
Full SD card reader
3G and possible 4G connectivity

Interestingly enough, the Think Slate will also ship with two key optional accessories: a pen and a "keyboard portfolio case," which seem to mimic the HTC Flyer and Asus Transformer, respectively.

Apr

[Weekend Poll] Thinness Vs. Battery Life: FIGHT!

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Devices By Manufacturer, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the newest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see How Significantly Will The Number Of Cores Factor Into Your Next Phone Purchase?

In keeping with the more technical nature of the last Weekend Poll: what's more important to you - battery life or thinness? Obviously there is something of a balance there, but not all phones strike it well. So which is more important to you? Would you rather have a sleek, thin device with middling battery life? Or something of a porker that allows you to power-use all day without worrying about your phone running dry?

Apr

HTC Flyer To Be Available For Pre-Order April 25 For $499

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Flyer, HTC, News

Everybody's favorite non-Honeycomb tablet is inching closer and closer to its US launch. The WiFi-only version of the HTC Flyer will be available for pre-order exclusively from Best Buy starting this Monday (April 25) for the rather competitive price of $499. It may be lacking in a dual-core processor, but hey, at least it won't be identical to the upcoming flood of Honeycomb tablets.

Source: Best Buy via Droid-Life

Apr

[Story Time] Sprint + Google Voice Integration: I Did It, And Here's How It Went

Posted by Brad Ganley in Carriers, Editorials, News, Sprint, Tips & Tutorials

Back in March, when we first heard about Sprint getting the Nexus S, we also heard about their fancy new Google Voice integration plan. The idea was simple: Let Sprint users do one of two things:

Use their current Sprint phone number as a Google Voice number, enabling all of Voice's awesome features to be utilized without having to create a group on Facebook to give out your new number.
Allow current Google Voice users to use their Voice number for their Sprint line without having to port the number to Sprint, because, a while ago, they went through the trouble of creating a Facebook group and gave everyone they know their Google Voice number so now nobody has their Sprint number.

Apr

HoneyReader Is An Android Feed Reader Made Specifically For Honeycomb

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Last Updated: April 24th, 2011

While browsing the XOOM xda forum today, I saw this announcement of HoneyReader, a new application built specifically with Honeycomb tablets in mind. Because it doesn't have to support pre-Honeycomb versions of the OS or small-sized phone screens altogether, the authors concentrated on making it a great tablet experience, and I must say, their first take is pretty good.

HoneyReader uses the native to Honeycomb Fragments API that on the surface translates to fluid and flexible UI elements that can divide the screen into separately scrollable independent areas with their own lifecycles. If you're familiar with the CNN app, for example, you know what I'm talking about (I personally think the Fragments API is the greatest thing in Android since...

Apr

[Giant Giveaway #1] Win A Free Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi For Doing Close To Nothing!

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Contests / Giveaways, Motorola, XOOM

Last Updated: July 18th, 2011

Earlier this week, I dropped a hint on Twitter that we have a few awesome giveaways lined up here at Android Police, and I really wasn't kidding.

To start things off, NVIDIA and Android Police have teamed up to give away a free Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi edition. The dual-core Tegra 2 tablet can be yours - all you have to do is enter by following the rules below.

More great - even better - prizes are coming up shortly, so be sure to keep following Android Police on Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.

Giveaway

And here is the winner (picked at random):

@keef319 (Keef) from Walkern, United Kingdom, who entered using Twitter on April 23rd with this comment "Go on..Turn from the dark side, Android is your friend," you are now the owner of a brand new XOOM Wi-Fi tablet.