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Apr

Larry Page Shifts Google Executives, Bumps Andy Rubin Up To SVP In The Process

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

It didn't take long for Google CEO Larry Page to start making drastic changes to the way the company does business once he got in the saddle earlier this week. As of today, he reportedly promoted seven of the top executives in the company, including Android's own Andy Rubin. It has been suggested that Page is making these changes in order to streamline the company's decision making process, something that he feels has slowed dramatically over the years.

In an effort to return the company to a startup mindset, Rubin, along with the other six newly promoted execs, will now report directly to Page.

Apr

Samsung DROID Charge Launching April 14 At Sears, Incredible 2 To Follow On April 21

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News, Rumors, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Verizon Wireless, Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Last we heard, Samsung's DROID Charge was scheduled to be released on April 7th - yesterday. Well needless to say, that date has come and gone without so much as a mention of Samsung's LTE handset; however, thanks to Sears, we now have a new timeline: April 14.

The leak also brings news that's bound to make HTC fans smile - the Incredible 2's release date has been rescheduled from April 28th to the 21st, a decidedly welcome change.

Finally, Sony Ericsson's Xperia PLAY is, apparently, still pegged for a 4/28 release, despite reported supply shortages.

Of course, all this info comes with a disclaimer - in the words of the leaked pamphlet itself, "[these] launch dates [are] subject to change." Still, it's refreshing to at least have a general idea of when these three smartphone behemoths will be available for purchase - that way, you can start preparing yourself and your camping materials for a long night outside your local Verizon store.

Apr

Google Makes Android More Attractive For Google Apps Users With New Remote Capabilities

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

Just another step in Google's efforts to make Android more appealing to businesses - an update to the Google Apps Device Policy application has added three new features to make your Android device more secure:

Remote Location: Any Android 2.2+ device can be located remotely via GPS or by making it ring. The PIN or password can also be remotely reset.
Data Encryption: Android 3.0 introduced data encryption, and now Google Apps users have the ability to encrypt this data remotely as long as the App Device Policy is already installed on the device.
Google Apps Lookup: An entirely new app, Google Apps Lookup allows Apps users to find contact info for anybody in the Google Apps Global Address List.

Apr

Deal Alert: Motorola ATRIX 4G Now $50 At Amazon Wireless, $100 Off Webtop Accessory

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Deals, News

If you have been lusting over the Motorola Atrix 4G but waiting for the perfect deal to come along, wait no more. Throughout the weekend, you can grab this super-hot dual-core device for only $50 with a new two year agreement on AT&T from Amazon Wireless. Unfortunately, this deal doesn't apply to upgrades on existing plans, so those of you that are already with AT&T will be stuck paying $99, which is still quite a good deal for a phone this beastly.

Just in case you have forgotten how awesome this phone is, here is a quick look at the specs:

1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor
1GB RAM
16GB built-in storage
4-inch LCD
5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera
Android 2.2 with Motoblur

If you really want to go for the gold, you can also get $100 off of the Webtop accessory via a promotional code that will be sent your way after you purchase the ATRIX.

Apr

Calibrate Your Battery Stats The Easy Way To Improve Battery Life

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News, Tips & Tutorials

If you're a rooted user, chances are that you flash new ROMs fairly often. What you may not know, however, is that your phone saves the battery statistics from old ROMs, and if you've never recalibrated your battery before, then your time away from the charger may not be as good as it could be.

This is for rooted users only.

Resetting battery stats can be an intimidating task for those who don't spend a lot of time in recovery (or who have never even booted into recovery). Fortunately, XDA member marosige has created an app that makes battery calibration a snap.

Apr

Notion Ink Launches Official Support Forums, Support Email Inbox Must Be Full

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Adam, News, Notion Ink

Notion Ink is one of the most controversial companies in recent Android history - it's gone through product delays, building up one of the most passionate communities around, followed by communication issues that you could write a suspenseful thriller about (I am fairly sure there is enough for a trilogy with twists at the end of every chapter), and some of the weirdest reasons for shipments delays we've ever seen.

So far, the only communication methods available were commenting on the official blog, where your thoughts were quickly drowned in a sea of others', and emailing customer support, which probably resulted in more frustration and rage than trying to have a meaningful conversation with a concrete wall (those walls just don't get it, do they?).

Apr

Let The Tablet Pricing Wars Begin: Acer Iconia A500 Coming Out For $449 On April 24, Pre-Order Now

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Acer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Iconia Tab A500, News

Last Updated: April 29th, 2011

Just last week we reported the first reasonably priced Android tablet, the Asus EEE Pad Transformer, and it already looks like the competition is going to get thick where pricing is concerned. Acer has officially announced its Iconia A500 tablet, which will be hitting the Best Buy sales floor on April 24th for a cool $449. This brings it in at $50 above the rumored price of the Transformer, but still $150 less than the almost-equally-spec'd Motorola XOOM.

If you haven't heard anything about the Iconia A500, here's the skinny:

1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor
1GB RAM
10.1 inch, 1280x800 screen
2MP front camera and 5MP rear camera
16GB built-in storage (a 32GB model is in the works)
SD Card slot that supports up to 32GB
Stock, vanilla Android 3.0

If you plan on picking this little gem up and want to make sure you get it on launch day, you can pre-order it right now through Best Buy's website.

Apr

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, Neo, And PLAY Will All Face Supply Shortages, Neo Delayed

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Facing massive infrastructure disruption caused by the earthquake and tsunami last month, Japanese manufacturer Sony has been forced to cut back production on all of its upcoming Xperia devices.

The Xperia PLAY and Arc are both going to be in short supply at launch, just how short Sony Ericsson will come up on shipments is unknown. This could be a massive blow to the much-hyped Xperia PLAY, which Sony has spent a bundle advertising here in the US and abroad.

The super-thin Xperia arc will also be feeling the crunch, having launched in the UK with its US-debut presumably right around the corner.

Apr

FCC Gets Hands On: Regulates Data Roaming And Suggests Signal Boosters

Posted by Zak Stinson in AT&T, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

When we talk about the Federal Communications Commission, we usually do so in regards to a new and highly anticipated device they have just finished testing. Today, there is a little something different in the news regarding the FCC. On Thursday, the FCC made a couple of moves that have received mixed responses from the major wireless carriers.

Roaming Data

The first order they passed was to establish a rule forcing carriers to allow competitors to send and receive data on their networks for an established price. This move means that no matter where you are outside of your carrier's network, you will have roaming data coverage.

Apr

Canucks Rejoice: Nexus S and Motorola Xoom Now Available In Canada

Posted by Zak Stinson in News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Rogers, TELUS, XOOM

If you travelled back in time to the middle of 2010 and asked your average Canadian about the selection of Android devices available to them, you would not be impressed with their answer - it seems that up until this year, the Android selection in Canada was about 6 months behind the curve.

Canadians, myself included, can now stop bemoaning their second rate options. As of today, two major new devices, the Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom, have been made available to those in the Great White North.

The Nexus S has landed on Videotron, Mobilicity, Telus and Koodo as of today, with Wind and Rogers expected to release it in the very near future.