availability - 3/4 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jun

US Cellular Announces The Samsung Galaxy S III, Pre-Orders Begin June 12

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Galaxy S III, News, Samsung, US Cellular

Alongside Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile, regional carrier US Cellular has made official that it will be carrying Samsung's Galaxy S III, with pre-orders beginning on June 12th. Pricing has yet to be announced, but as a regional carrier, US Cellular often has slightly higher premiums than its national counterparts, so potentially expect something above the standard $199 price-tag for the 16GB model.

As with all the announced US Galaxy S III devices, it is packing a Snapdragon S4, rather than a quad-core Exynos processor, which means full LTE support.

US Cellular will offer the device in both blue and white; however, only the Marble White color will be available with the 32GB capacity version.

May

Samsung Galaxy SIII 16GB Now Available For Pre-Order For £499.95 From Amazon UK

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Galaxy S III, News

Update: It looks like Amazon Germany also has the device up for pre-order for the slightly lower price of EUR 588.90 ($766.34). There is no release date indicated, but the earlier press release suggests it will be available from May 29th, 2012.

Samsung's next flagship smartphone finally launched last week and we spent many paragraphs proffering our opinions on it. Most of us cannot wait to get our grubby hands on it, but it looks like UK customers will be getting it pretty soon, as the Galaxy SIII has gone up for pre-order on Amazon UK.

The 16GB version of the Galaxy SIII in Pebble Blue or Marble White will retail for £499.95 ($806.67) and will be available from the expected release date of May 30th, 2012.

Mar

Hyatt Releases Official Android App – Find Locations, Check Availability, And Book Your Next Stay In An Instant

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Hyatt Corporation, looking to make customers' hotel experience just that much easier, released an official Hyatt app to Google's Play Store recently. The app allows users to find Hyatt hotels across the globe, viewing details about each location, booking, managing reservations, and more, all from their Android-powered device.

Besides a full suite of booking and check-in functions, Hyatt's new app gives users access to weather, maps, and turn-by-turn navigation to their Hyatt destination. The app also allows Hyatt Gold Passport members to access account details and track points.

Overall, Hyatt's official Android app seems to be just what the doctor ordered for those who prefer booking with the popular hotel operator, and is definitely worth picking up.

Mar

Panasonic Eluga Coming To Japan On March 29th, Europe In April

Posted by John Thompson in Eluga, News, NTT DoCoMo

Last Updated: January 21st, 2013

Panasonic is set to enter the high-end smartphone market in Europe and Japan in the coming weeks with the waterproof and dustproof Eluga.

We first saw the Eluga at Mobile World Congress last month, and although it looks like a great phone on paper, with a dual-core CPU and qHD display, it disappointed us when we went hands-on. Nevertheless, this is still big news for the European market, where Panasonic isn't known as a smartphone brand at all. The waterproof feature is sure to give the phone a head start against its competitors; in case you didn't know, it tends to rain a lot in England...

Feb

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G Set For March Availability From T-Mobile

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy S Blaze 4G, Gingerbread 2.3, News, T-Mobile

T-Mobile and Samsung announced just moments ago that the Galaxy S Blaze 4G that was unveiled at CES earlier this year will be available beginning in "late March," priced at $149.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate card) for two-year agreements with qualifying voice/data plans. The S Blaze 4G will be a T-Mobile exclusive device, and will evidently include T-Mo's 4GPro App Pack, meaning the phone will come with apps like Dropbox, Evernote, Square, TripIt, Camscanner, and LinkedIn preloaded.

Besides coming with a few practical items of software, the S Blaze 4G packs some decent specs for a phone in its range (though there's no word on the phone's RAM or internal storage capacity):

Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 Dual-Core Processor clocked at 1.5GHz
3.97" Super AMOLED display
5MP rear shooter with 720p video capabilities
1.3MP front-facing camera
Expandable storage via microSD slot

While there's no word on exactly when the S Blaze 4G will be available, we'll be here to track any relevant details as they emerge.

Oct

Game Review: Shadowgun Is The Most Advanced Shooter On Android To Date, And It's Out Now

Posted by David Ruddock in Games, Reviews

Be sure to check out our Shadowgun Giveaway pack post, too - you could win an Galaxy Tab 8.9, a Jambox, and a $25 AMEX gift card!

Shadowgun is a game we've been following since its announcement for Android earlier this year. A couple weeks back, we received a preview build to test the game out (that link contains a gameplay video as well). Now, I've played the full version of the game and can report my findings more completely.

My conclusion? Shadowgun takes Android gaming to the next level, and while it's not without its flaws, it sets the bar very high for the somewhat low $5 game price point.

Oct

GSM Version Of The DROID RAZR Spotted At FCC - Headed To AT&T Or US Regional Carriers

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Carriers, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX

The clever folks over at WirelessGoodness located an FCC filing today that indicates with a fair degree of certainty that a GSM version of the upcoming DROID RAZR is headed to either AT&T or US regional carriers, as the phone does not support T-Mobile frequencies. The filing doesn't say anything about the RAZR itself, but it does contain a part number matching the RAZR's unique non-removable battery, the first on a Motorola smartphone.

While the phone will likely be renamed for regional carriers or an AT&T release, there's every reason to think it'll otherwise be pretty much the same phone. In fact, with the LTE radio removed, the GSM version of the RAZR could be even thinner than it's already svelte 7.1mm Verizon sibling, due to come out early next month (November).

Jun

[Updated: Now On Amazon Too] Toshiba Thrive Pre-Orders Live On Toshiba Direct Starting At $429, Shipping In Mid-July

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Tablets, Thrive / Regza / Antares / AT100, Tips & Tutorials, Toshiba

Update 6/14/11: All 3 Thrive variations are now on Amazon as well, for those who prefer themselves some tax-free shopping.

Ever since we saw Toshiba's then-unnamed tablet at CES in January, we've carefully put our ears to the ground to learn all we can about this surprisingly capable device. Today's Thrive news, then, has us excited - pre-orders have started, and all iterations of the tablet (8/16/32GB) will be shipping on the same yet-to-be-announced date next month (Toshiba's site now says "Mid-July").

Unlike the Office Depot pre-order, Toshiba Direct allows you to order the thriftier 8GB model, which comes in at a very reasonable $429.

May

ASUS Says Eee Pad Transformer Delays Are Due To Demand, Ramps Up Production To Meet It

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Eee Pad Transformer, News

We've all heard the rumors surrounding the shortage of Eee Pad Transformers, but now an ASUS spokesperson has come forward to let us all know the real deal: demand. One would assume that a company like ASUS would be able to predict that putting out the most economical device in its category would generate a lot of demand, but apparently it doesn't work that way.

ASUS spokesperson David Chang said that they would be dropping 100,000 Transformers in May, with an additional 200,000 to be shipped in June. If that still doesn't meet demand, Chang said that they would "have to continue to ramp up production in order to fulfill our customers' demand."

Sounds like good news for everyone that has been patiently waiting to get their hands on this tablet-netbook-hybrid...

Apr

Samsung DROID Charge Shows Up On Walmart Site, Still Unannounced

Posted by David Ruddock in Charge (i510), Samsung

Verizon's doing about as well keeping the Charge under wraps as Sprint did with the EVO Shift 4G - and now, the Samsung DROID has shown up on Walmart's online wireless store, albeit only in the form of a stock photo:

For a phone that's still unannounced (technically), and reportedly being released tomorrow, Verizon doesn't seem too concerned with generating fanfare for its second LTE device.

After the release date flip-flopping on the Thunderbolt, it wouldn't surprise in the least if the Charge was facing a [sort of expected] minor delay.

Droid-life