Android - 161/169 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jun

AT&T To Customers: You Can Have Any Android You Want, As Long As It Sucks

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Aria (Liberty), AT&T, Backflip, Carriers, HTC, Motorola, News

If you’ve been paying attention to the news releases regarding the HTC Aria, you know that AT&T will once again be locking down the apps users can install by restricting unofficial app downloading. If you’ve been paying attention for a while now, you also know that they did the same thing to the Motorola Backflip – the only other Android phone they offer.

Both phones already feature smaller, lower def screens, when compared to their Android brethren available on other networks. They both also have significantly slower processors than most Android phones. What gives?

Now granted, I’m no expert, but that just seems like bad business to me.

Jun

Sony Ericsson Announces 3” Xperia X8 With Android 1.6, Coming In Q3 2010

Posted by John Thompson in Devices By Manufacturer, News, Sony Ericsson, Xperia X8 (Shakira)

Today, Sony Ericsson officially announced the Xperia X8, formerly known as ‘Shakira’, which will offer a middle ground between the Xperia X10 and X10 Mini.

Running Android 1.6, the software used on the X8 makes the most of the limited screen estate on offer. Utilizing Sony Ericsson’s signature application used in the other Xperia devices, the X8 allows the user to stay connected with social networks using the Timescape application.

If you aren’t already familiar with Timescape, all information about one contact is kept in the same place, so the user can easily access their contact’s Facebook posts and Tweets, or simply find an email address or phone number.

Jun

Android Does 3D Too: Top 5 3D Games For Android

Posted by Andrew Huff in Game Reviews, Games, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

As time progresses and more game developers come over to Android, whether to port the iPhone version of their game or develop new games, more and more 3D games are appearing - high quality ones at that. 3D games come with a slightly higher price, which is usually redeemed by the extra quality you get. However, choosing which games to buy can be a little daunting.

Here is a rundown of our Top 5 3D games currently available for Android, as well as some honorable mentions.

Crusade of Destiny

Crusade of Destiny is developed by DvideArts who made the jump recently to Android.

Jun

Android Increases Mobile Web Share To 20%

Posted by Mattias Ahlvin in News

With Android-based handsets such as the EVO 4G selling out quickly, it comes as no surprise that Android as an OS should continue to gain in other areas as well. Today, Quantcast confirms that the Android OS has increased its web consumption share to 20%, mostly at the expense of the iPhone, and taking share from all other platforms. Although the iPhone still maintains a significant lead, it can be expected to continue to lose share to Android.

Compared to just a year ago, the Android OS platform has doubled its share while the iPhone has continued its slow decline.

Looking at the annual, quarterly and monthly numbers, Android has constantly been increasing its share at the expense of all other platforms.

Jun

Motorola Launching A 2GHz Android Phone Before The End Of 2010

Posted by John Thompson in Devices By Manufacturer, Motorola, News

If you thought that the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip used in the Nexus One and EVO 4G was fast, try this on for size!

Speaking at the Executives Club of Chicago yesterday, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha discussed the company’s plans to release a smartphone with a 2GHz processor before the end of the year.

Although Jha didn’t go into specific details about Motorola’s plans, it’s certainly exciting to hear about the rapid pace of development in the smartphone market, especially whilst it’s still in its infancy.

Of course, such a powerful phone is only as useful as the software that powers it, but with Android development still going strong with frequent updates, we could be seeing some exciting smartphones in the next few months.

Jun

Norton Smartphone Security App Launched For Android

Posted by John Thompson in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Are you worried about viruses on your smartphone? Neither was I until I noticed Symantec’s Norton security application in the Android Market! The company has recently released a Beta version of their security app, which comes as a 90 day free trial.

I’ve been a user of other Android security applications, such as WaveSecure, for quite some time now, so I was intrigued to see if Norton’s offering brought anything new to the table.

Whereas WaveSecure is focused around backing up your personal data and remotely tracking and wiping your phone, Norton security offers an Anti-Malware scanner, as well as a call blocking service.

Jun

Motorola Droid Gets Unofficial Android Froyo (2.2) Update, Available Immediately

Posted by John Thompson in Development, Devices By Manufacturer, Droid (Sholes), Froyo 2.2, Motorola, News

Last Updated: June 6th, 2010

Nexus One users had their taste of Froyo already (check out what Froyo is all about for more info) and now Motorola Droid owners can get a piece of the pie too, courtesy of My Droid World!

Unfortunately, the update comes at a price, as there’s no Wi-Fi support in the current build. The reason for this is because the original kernel has been replaced to protect the identity of the source. However, if that’s a price you’re willing to pay, head over to the source link and try out Froyo for yourself!

The update itself is a Nandroid image (have a look at our Nandroid backup/recovery guide here), which means you need to have an already rooted Droid, with recovery flashed.

Jun

Everything You Need To Know About Android 2.2

Posted by John Thompson in Android OS, Froyo 2.2, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I’ve been using Android 2.2 (codenamed ‘Froyo’) on my Nexus One for a while now, and it’s packed with lots of additions and tweaks that make it the best version of Android to date. Although we’ve since been informed that the leaked version of Froyo is in fact a release candidate, and not a final release version, I’ve found it to be perfectly stable, and haven’t had any issues with it after constant use for the past two weeks.

Home Screen

The first thing you will notice when seeing Froyo for the first time is a slight tweak to the home screen.

Jun

Carrier Billing For Android Applications Without Google

Posted by Andrew Huff in Apps/Games, News

As a developer myself, one issue with the Android market has always been the payment methods…or rather, the lack thereof. Aside from Google Checkout and carrier billing for some companies within the US, there really aren’t a whole lot of options to consider, especially when dealing with the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement.

Well, as with all things in the world of technology, a company seems to have found a bit of a loophole in regards to carrier billing for developers, or more specifically, integrating it into their applications and games. This has a lot of implications, including a big one: countries without access to paid apps and games on the Android market could still purchase them through free demos released by the developer.

Jun

Google Update Platform Versions Chart, Call Fragmentation A ‘Bogeyman’

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Android OS, Devices By Manufacturer, News

Yesterday, Google Open Source & Compatibility Program Manager Dan Morrill (his business cards have to be 10 feet long to fit that title) wrote a pretty interesting blog post over at the Android Developers blog, where he called the idea of fragmentation a ‘bogeyman’.

He tries to diffuse a lot of the controversy that the idea of Android fragmentation has stirred up – indeed, it’s probably the biggest argument used against Android by its detractors.

He doesn’t directly address the fact that there are still a lot of devices in the wild that are running legacy versions of the operating system, and are unable to take advantage of some of the new APIs the newer versions have introduced, but instead implies that it doesn’t necessarily matter anyways.