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Dec

Samsung Breaks 1 Million Galaxy Tabs Sold, Shooting For 1.5M By End Of Year

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy Tab, News

Last Updated: July 2nd, 2011

Holy crap, that was fast. Less than a month after being released in the US (and a bit longer in some parts of the world), Samsung has managed to move over 1 million Galaxy Tabs - which may or may not be surprising, given the range of opinions on the device (although I just thought it was super). Despite the Tab being available in 64 countries, roughly 100,000 of the sales are in Samsung's homeland of South Korea. (Minor note: it's not clear whether this is units sold by Samsung to stores, or units sold by stores to consumers.)

_{Yes, this is a Galaxy S, not a Galaxy Tab.}

Dec

Logitech Revue, Meet Recovery Mode

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Google TV, Logitech, News, Revue

Last Updated: December 4th, 2010

While Android hackers figured out how to boot Sony's Google TVs into recovery mode sometime ago, the Logitech Revue has been waiting for something similar. But now the wait is over, thanks to @Stericson, who took no more than a day to accomplish the task on his Revue unit, sent to him by Google.

While we are now one small baby step closer to having root access, I feel obligated to remind you that Sony's Google TVs have yet to see any real attempts at root or software mods of any kind, despite having had access to recovery mode for over a month now.

Dec

Deal Alert: Archos 5 500GB Android Tablet Sees Its Lowest Price Yet - $255 (49% Off MSRP)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in 5, ARCHOS, Deals, News

The Archos 5 has never been the most popular Android tablet - it has its plusses and minuses, but the 500GB version at almost half off that popped up on Amazon today may make you forgive and forget some of its flaws. Considering that with the Market hack, Archos 5 gets full access to the Android Market, this little device could end up being the largest portable media hub you can get for the price.

Handy price history, courtesy of CamelCamelCamel (I just love that site name) below:

Source: Amazon

Dec

All Droids (Excluding The Pro) Now Part Of Verizon's Holiday Buy One Get One Free Offer

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Deals, Droid 2 Global, Droid X (Shadow), HTC, Incredible, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

With the cheapest one costing $149.99, Verizon's Droids aren't exactly stocking stuffers, but at least the price comes with double the value now. That's right - the infamous BOGO (buy one, get one free) deal has now been extended to the carrier's flagship Android devices... all except the Droid Pro, that is. Additionally, the original Droid 2 is excluded from the ad despite being part of the deal, most likely because its global brethren already appears in the ad. However, why the Droid Pro is being left out of the fun is anyone's guess.

Source: VZW via Phandroid

Dec

Kite UI Is The Next Mind-Bending Android UI Concept, Looking For More Coders

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, News

Despite the frequency with which I check the XDA forums, I'd never heard of Kite UI before today. You may think that another UI alternative is the last thing Android needs, but give Kite UI a glance and you'll realize it's pretty mind-blowingly awesome... or at least, the concept video makes it look that way.

At the moment, the project is still in the process of being coded, but the team is looking for help. Yesterday, they released a teaser video that provides a brief demonstration of what they have in mind, and it looks damn impressive. Check it out:

Think you've got the coding know-how to help speed this on its way to reality?

Dec

[Updated] "Similar"/"Related" Tabs Appearing In The Market For Android Users

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

Last Updated: December 4th, 2010

Update: ~~Looks like it's not~~ We're not sure if it's the Flash update that does it - that was just a coincidence for Brian and utcarbs (update: And Bateluer in the comments). We're also not sure which phones this is affecting... I've tried updating Flash on my EVO, as well as uninstalling and reinstalling, to no avail. --Aaron

Update #2: As I expected, this is definitely not related to Flash. I updated Flash yesterday and didn't get the new tab. Today, I updated some random programs and the tab showed up. I'm pretty sure the Market UI is server-side, so checking the Market app's version does not help (my /system/app/Vending.apk is 1.82).

Dec

DryCase Review: Keep Your Electronics Dry At The Beach. Or The Bar

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I may be stating the obvious here, but stay with me: most people reading this right now probably own a number of expensive gadgets - for example, a phone, a digital camera, or an MP3 player. It's also safe to say that just about everyone who isn't living under a rock knows that liquids and electronics rarely go well together. So then, what's a gadgeter to do when they expect to encounter liquids but want to keep using their electronics?

A company called DryCorp thinks it has the answer with its DryCase, which is exactly what it sounds like: a clear case that keeps your electronics dry.

Dec

Theft Aware Giveaway - Win 1 of 20 Free Licenses (EUR10 Each)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Contests / Giveaways

Last Updated: December 12th, 2010

Ingenious apps come out very rarely, but when they do, I make sure to have them installed on all my Android phones and recommend them to everyone I know. Theft Aware is one such app, as you may have already found out if you've read my review. It hides itself in your phone so well, especially if it's rooted, that unless the thief installs a whole new ROM (a hard reset doesn't remove Theft Aware on rooted phones) or knows you are running Theft Aware for a fact, you will be able to track your device for as long as it has battery life.

Dec

T-Mobile UK Delays Android 2.2 Update For Samsung Galaxy S Devices Yet Again After Announcing It Was Ready

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

T-Mobile UK is certainly digging itself into a ditch on this one, and seriously pissing customers off in the process. You can't really blame people for being upset: after promising the Froyo update for Samsung Galaxy S owners by November 30 via FOTA, then reiterating just two days ago that the update was ready to roll out, they've now pushed it back at least a week. Turns out they're also not going to be able to do it over-the-air, either - rather, it's going to be installed with Samsung KIES instead. The official post on T-Mobile UK's support forum:

Hi folks

I've been talking to the handset team and the Samsung people today and the latest news is as follows.

Dec

Android Gingerbread UI Gets Exposed In The Crispest Video To Date

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Gingerbread 2.3, News, Videos

Wow, this went unnoticed for a while, didn't it? On November 23rd, Google's own GoogleinHK YouTube account posted a video walkthrough of the new Google Voice Search in Cantonese. With only 2100 views, this official Google-authored video did not grab anyone's attention, until someone noticed that it featured over a minute of the clearest Gingerbread user interface video we've seen to date. The greens, the blacks - it's all there. Have a look:

Update #2: the original video was pulled but luckily, I found another copy: