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Feb

Google Releases Android 2.3.3 Update .ZIPs For Nexus One And Nexus S

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus One (Passion), Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Google may have jumped the gun on announcing that the Android 2.3.3 update for the Nexus One was available - although they did say that it could be a few weeks until the update deployed OTA, it wasn't available for download and install, either. Or, rather, it wasn't until now: the update .ZIPs have been posted and can be downloaded directly from Google.

Nexus S:

Nexus One:

2.2.2 FRG83G -> 2.3.3 GRI40 update

Obviously, Gingerbread brings a ton of new features, and 2.3.3 builds upon them even further. Install instructions are the same as previous updates:

I grabbed these instructions from Android Central, so be sure to show them some love:

Download the update from here.

Feb

Hello, Literature: Books Page Goes Live On Android Web Market

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News

You read that right: the Market now includes a totally awesome Books site. To be honest though, none of us is really sure what all has changed, since none of us really used it before - but it doesn't seem like a lot, other than a flipped switch. Let's start with what it looks like:

Notably, there's now a dropdown to sort by genre (to the left of the search box, above). When you select a book (protip: Sherlock Holmes is free... or if you're like Artem: Walden is free.), you're presented with the option to read it on the web or, assuming you already have Google Books set up and synced, on your Android device.

Feb

It's Official: Samsung Captivate Froyo Update Now Available Through Kies Mini

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in AT&T, Captivate, Froyo 2.2, News

It looks like the Captivate is the next domino to fall, much as expected: AT&T just confirmed via twitter that the Froyo update is now available for Captivate owners through Kies Mini. Similarly, that support page we stumbled upon last week before being pulled has gone back up, and it looks just like it did then.

Obviously as the update is done through Kies Mini, you'll need that to start. Once you've got Kies all ready to go, you need to do a minor amount of jiggering to get the update installed. Not quite as easy as most OTAs, but nothing too strenuous either.

Feb

[Hands-On] WiMAX Hits CyanogenMod 7 Nightlies - One Moar G, Way Moar Speed

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Development, News

Last Updated: August 1st, 2012

Last night, Cyanogen revealed on Twitter that WiMAX had officially landed in CM7, via the latest nightly. No small feat, given that the team had to write their own code entirely from scratch. And while CM-based builds with WiMAX have been floating around for a few weeks now, this is the first official release - effectively addressing the last major qualm many EVO owners had with CM.

I have to say, WiMAX in CM7 certainly doesn't fail to impress: I managed to hit 6.5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. In 3 tests, I averaged 5470 Kbps download and 1041 Kbps upload - handily beating the roughly 4.5-5 Mbps download I hit on stock-based ROMs.

Feb

Motorola XOOM Review Roundup: An Android Tablet, Done (Mostly) Right

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

It's launch day for the XOOM, and already the major news outlets have had a chance to spend a few days with the much anticipated device. Not only does the XOOM bring a new standard in high-end to the masses (a la Tegra 2), but it's also the first device to ship with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) on board. It's also really the second major Android tablet to launch (the Galaxy Tab being the first), and the first to match the 10" form factor of the iPad. But how does it fare? Let's take a look at what our reviewers thought.

Feb

The Flood Of Tegra-Optimized Games Begins: Fruit Ninja THD And Backbreaker THD Now In The Market, 'Cept You Probably Can't Play Them

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Apps/Games, Editorials, News

The raw power behind NVIDIA's soon-to-be ubiquitous Tegra II chipset makes for some interesting possibilities when it comes to gaming. However, there are certain pitfalls when one manufacturer leap-frogs the competition. Being the first to market in this latest generation of system-on-chips, NVIDIA has developers and exclusives pretty much at their beck and call. Who are you doing to develop for, the company with a multitude of devices hitting the market right now, or the "other guys" without any firm release date? NVIDIA's in a strong position right now, and it's going to do its best to solidify that.

Some of you may recall the stunt NVIDIA pulled with their PhysX engine, essentially crippling graphics on hardware without PhysX enabled - namely their ATI rivals.

Feb

HTC Desire Z: Long-Term Ownership Hardware Review

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Desire Z (Vision), Devices By Manufacturer, G2 (Vision), HTC, Phone Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Take a look at the top tier of Android phones right now and you might notice something. They all kind of look the same. Black front fascia, large touchscreen, minimal waistline. Boring, right? Well that's just the way things are going. Alternatives to the slate way of living are becoming increasingly rare, which puts the HTC Desire Z with its hardware keyboard in an intriguing light. With its metallic accents and suave grey pallet, the Desire Z cuts a different path. So how do I mean rare? If you want a top-level QWERTY Android phone in the USA you have a fairly limited selection to choose from: Sprint has the Samsung Epic 4G, Verizon the Motorola Droid 2 and T-Mobile the HTC G2.

Feb

Trademark Research Fail Or Balls Of Steel? ChaCha Suing HTC For Trademark Infringement While Xoom Corp Is Going After Motorola

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Chacha, HTC, Motorola, News, XOOM

You would think that large hardware manufacturers, such as HTC and Motorola, would dedicate at least a few hours to trademark searches before naming their products and investing millions of dollars into promotional efforts for said products. That would be a fair assumption, right? It seems like the answer sometimes is: not exactly.

HTC ChaCha

Last week at MWC, HTC unveiled 6 new devices, one of which was bearing the name ChaCha (that's one of the Facebook phones). Unsurprisingly, exactly a week later, on February 22nd, ChaCha Search Inc, which owns the trademark ChaCha in the U.S. and Europe, filed a trademark infringement suit against HTC America.

Feb

Lookout Launches Lookout Labs And Its First Android App - The Ingenious "Plan B" [Hands-On Review]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in App Reviews, Applications, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Lookout Labs

Lookout Inc's Lookout Mobile Security app is one of the most popular and trusted security apps on the Market, and while the company is going to continue active development of its flagship product, today it is launching Lookout Labs - a separate Android Market developer account dedicated to "pushing the bounds of mobile apps."

Plan B

Introduction

The first fruit of Lookout Labs' labor is a brilliantly simple yet very useful app called Plan B. Plan B was only made possible recently, after the release of the official Android web Market. The app is designed to be the last resort for finding a lost (or maybe even stolen - more on that later) phone and getting its latest position emailed to the account associated with the Android Market.

Feb

Roseville Best Buy Thinks HTC Thunderbolt Is Delayed Till March 4th, But Can It Be Trusted To Use A Calendar?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, News, Rumors, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Last Updated: October 10th, 2011

Among all the Thunderbolt delay rumors, here comes the latest one from the Roseville Best Buy #129. Their Twitter account, currently followed by 372 people, tweeted a few hours ago that the launch has been delayed further than we were anticipating - till Thursday, March 4th.

If true, this means earlier rumors of the February 24th and 28th launches will have turned out to be false, arousing even more suspicion around the reasons behind such a disastrous release of Verizon's first LTE handset. Are there last-minute problems with the LTE network? With the device itself? We don't know, but our curiosity sure is peaking.