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Mar

Could Sprint And T-Mobile Be Merging?

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Rumors

News comes this morning that Deutsche Telekom has been having talks to sell its T-Mobile US unit to Sprint in a deal that would combine the third and fourth largest US carriers. Deutsche Telekom would reportedly still have "a major stake" in the newly merged company, so this would be seen as more of a merger than a selloff.

Deutsche Telekom Chief Financial Officer Timotheus Hoettges said about the possible deal: "In general, all options are open in the U.S. -- the sale of the whole business or of parts." Business Week reports that the talks have been on and off and that one of the biggest hindrances to a deal has been the failure to come to a mutual agreement about the value of T-Mobile.

Mar

[Updated: Now With EVO View 4G Trademark Filing] Sprint's Own Website All But Confirms The Rumored Nexus S 4G, EVO 3D, And EVO View Devices

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in EVO 3D (Shooter), EVO View 4G, HTC, News, Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Rumors, Samsung, Sprint

Sprint has been mum about its 2011 lineup throughout this whole year until yesterday, when we finally got a break and caught wind of not 1 but 3 upcoming Sprint Android devices - the Nexus S 4G, the EVO 3D, and the EVO View tablet. The rumors were dropped to both Engadget and AndroidAndMe by an anonymous tipster, but both sites seemed confident in their sources, meaning it wasn't the first time the same credible tipster provided reliable information.

If you are sensitive to unconfirmed rumors and have trouble believing anonymous tipsters, even you will be pleased with what these pretty darn good hints planted around Sprint's own website.

Mar

CyanogenMod 7 RC2 Rolling Out Now, Packing Android 2.3.3, New Features, Bugfixes

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Development, News

Cyanogen has just announced via the CM blog that CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidate 2 is rolling out now for supported devices. The team has managed to work in the changes found in Android 2.3.3, and this is the first RC to pack WiMAX for the EVO (previously it was only found in nightlies). CM7 has been feature-frozen with RC2 as well, meaning the team will focus on fixing bugs from this point on.

CHANGELOG

7.0.0

Common: Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) - Google

Common: Fixes and changes from AOSP master - Various

Common: ClockworkMod Recovery 3.0: Koush, Cyanogen, Zinx

Common: Themes engine - T-Mobile

Common: Performance enhancements for Qualcomm hardware - Code Aurora

Common: New boot animation - 73v1n - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYXiKWwp0DQ

Common: Fix readahead values for NAND/MMC devices

Common: Revamped notification widget - cvpcs

Common: Updated various graphics for GB style - blunden

Common: DSPManager updated for 2.3 - alankila

Common: Restyled music app and forward-port of features - Jason Asher

Common: Rotary answer in Phone app - James Peterson

Common: BT VoiceDialer fixes - Matthew Sparby

Common: Calendar enhancements - James Peterson

Common: Stagefright fixes for 7x30, 8x50, and 7x27 - Zinx, arcee, Cyanogen

Common: Pacman package manager - Kmobs

Common: Workaround for unknown phone number - Jiri Tyr

Common: Trackball answer/hangup - Juan Rodriguez

Common: CMParts reorganization - Robert Burns

Common: Optional screen on/off animations - Diogo Ferreira

Common: New browser incognito mode - optedoblivion

Common: New trackball/trackpad wake - Zinx, Cyanogen

Common: Legacy sensor/GPS support - arcee

Common: Enabled v8 javascript engine on armv6 (msm7227/msm7225) - arcee

Common: Customizable overscroll - arcee

Common: Torch cleanup - defer

Common: 2D compositor backwards compatibility - arcee

Common: OpenGL backwards compatibility - Zinx, Cyanogen, Sileht, ezterry

Common: SMS templates using gestures - Riccardo Ciovati

Common: Phone Goggles - David Bidorff

Common: Option to always show battery percentage on lockscreen - Robert Burns

Common: CPU frequency/scaling control in CMParts - Robert Ramiega

Common: Option to pause/play music with camera button - cvpcs

Common: Allow SIP User-Agent configuration - arcee

Common (non-HTC): Fixed mobile connection suspension - arcee

Common: New music widgets - Jason Asher

Common: Updated FLAC support - cvpcs, Cyanogen, kroot

Common: Updated wallpapers - Fitsnugly, Prash

Common: Customizable search/long-press search - Sven Dawitz

Common: New lockscreen styles - Rotary Revamped (default) and Lense - Sven Dawitz, Stefano Pignataro

Common: Customizable app launcher on rotary lockscreen - Sven Dawitz

Common: Now playing and album art on lockscreen - kmobs

Common: GPS fixes - CodeAurora, arcee

Common: Breakfast/Brunch - arcee

Common: Statusbar battery percentage with mini icon - Sven Dawitz, design by Jazz Kalsi

Common: SMS split for braindead carriers - Mike Wielgosz

Common: CMParts cleanup - Sven Dawitz

Common: Notification profiles - Martin Long

Espresso/Legend: Enabled native WiFi tethering - Cyanogen, OMAPZoom.org

Z71: Enabled MPEG4/AAC video recording - arcee

Z71: Enabled native WiFi tethering - arcee

Passion/Bravo/BravoC/Supersonic/Inc: Kernel 2.6.37 - Google, Cyanogen, defer, Kali-, toastcfh, slayher

Vision/Glacier/Espresso: WiFi calling compatibility and optimization - Zinx

Vision/Glacier/Ace: Unified kernel - HTC, Cyanogen, Zinx, Kali-, defer

Vision/Glacier/Ace: Fix FM radio on 2.3 - Zinx

Vision: Only install WiFi calling on TMUS devices - attn1

Espresso/Legend/Liberty: Unified kernel - HTC, Cyanogen, attn1, jznomoney, Alex Hofbauer

Supersonic: WiMAX support - HTC, Shinzul, toastcfh, shift, #teamwin, Cyanogen

ONE: Enabled native WiFi tethering - arcee

For those who don't know, CyanogenMod is the largest and most popular custom ROM for Android.

Mar

[Updated: Amazon Provides Clarifications] Amazon App Store's DRM To Be More Restrictive Than Google's?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Android OS, Applications, News

An interesting little tidbit came across to us in an otherwise ordinary posting on Amazon's app developers' blog. While developers will have the option to use DRM or not in their apps, those that do use the digital licensing service may present problems for those users who are temporarily without an internet connection.

Comparing it to the way Amazon currently handles the storing of Kindle books, the curious part of the post reads:

"Any app that has Amazon DRM applied to it will require users to have installed and signed-in to the Amazon Appstore client to access the app. When an app is accessed by the user, it will verify with the Amazon Appstore device service as to whether the user has an entitlement to the app.

Mar

Goodbye, Voice Minutes? First Signs Of Google Voice VoIP Emerge

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

We may have just seen the reasoning behind Google's announcement last week that they were shutting down VoIP service Gizmo5. Apparently a SIP address has surfaced that allows those with an SIP-to-SIP account (such as sip2sip.info) to call Google Voice users for free. While this may not sound Earth-shattering at first, this is most likely an early sign that true Google Voice VoIP (that many users have been eagerly anticipating) is on its way.

Say you are wanting to contact your friend, whose Google Voice Number is (555)123-4567. You could now sign up for a free SIP to SIP service, register your account via an SIP app (such as csipsimple or sipdroid), and contact +15551234567@sip.voice.google.com.

Mar

Does HTC Lack Confidence In The Flyer? Only 1 Million Reported To Ship By August

Posted by Will Shanklin in Flyer, News, Rumors

In what could be construed as a white flag being waved before even marching into battle, a new report is saying that HTC will only ship one million of their upcoming Flyer tablets between its launch (which is still unknown) and August. The news comes from a Chinese language newspaper, which also reported that the new slate would set buyers back $600.

The 7" tablet, which will march to the beat of its own drum (with a stylus and Android 2.3 with Sense overlay), has been met with largely ho-hum anticipation compared to larger, Honeycomb-running tabs like the XOOM, G-Slate, and Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Mar

Latest Thunderbolt "Release Date" Shot Down

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Rumors, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

You can chalk up another false rumor on the list of "impending releases" for the HTC Thunderbolt. The latest speculation to be debunked is that the March 10 date that had been teased is a no-go, according to a leaked Verizon chart picked up by Droid Life. The internal memo shows the much-delayed Verizon phone falling sometime after the iPad 2 launch (which is March 11).

This news makes sense, as, despite the anticipation for the first 4G phone on Verizon's LTE network, the iPad 2 launch would likely take priority with Big Red. The chart below, highlighting the launch of Apple's latest tablet, clearly shows the order of launches Verizon has planned:

To add another rumor to the list, our sources are telling us the end of March will be the real release date (possibly landing on the 24th).

Mar

New Google Navigation For Android Utilizes Traffic For Routing

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

A feature that has been long-awaited by some Android users has now been added to one of the most practical (and free) apps out there. Google has just announced on their mobile blog that their Android Navigation feature (part of the Google Maps app) is now incorporating current traffic information into the routing that it predicts for you.

A "fastest route" that only lands you in a traffic jam doesn't do you much good and this update attempts to remedy that with more of what Google likes the most: data. This from Google's mobile blog regarding the update:

"Before today, Navigation would choose whichever route was fastest, without taking current traffic conditions into account.

Mar

The Android-Controlled Shirt: Yes, I'm Serious - Complete With Flaming Skulls

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Off-Topic

Can you tell news is a little slow in the world of Android this morning? Either way, this is absolutely, 100%, ridiculously awesome (not that I would ever, ever wear it):

The shirt works via Bluetooth connection with an Android device and a custom app that utilizes the accelerometer in your phone to light the skull eyes up based on your movement from side to side. I think, had he worn it, this could have made up for Nicolas Cage's performance in Ghost Rider. Oh well - too little, too late.

@wubbahed