device

Feb

[Public Disclosure] Vulnerability In HTC Android Devices Exposed Wi-Fi Credentials To Apps Which Knew How To Ask (But, Thankfully, Didn't)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, News

A serious vulnerability that affected the way some popular HTC Android phones handle 802.1x usernames, passwords, and SSIDs was disclosed publicly today by engineers Chris Hessing and Bret Jordan. The bug allowed applications with only an ACCESS_WIFI_STATE permission to read your Wi-Fi SSIDs, usernames, and, most importantly, passwords on at least the following devices:

Desire HD (both "ace" and "spade" board revisions) - Versions FRG83D, GRI40
Glacier - Version FRG83
Droid Incredible - Version FRF91
Thunderbolt 4G - Version FRG83D
Sensation Z710e - Version GRI40
Sensation 4G - Version GRI40
Desire S - Version GRI40
EVO 3D - Version GRI40

...

Dec

Meanwhile In Indonesia… Nexian Offers Android Magic A893 – A Familiar-Looking Device Which Allows Users To "Switch Up"

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Videos

Adding to the ever-growing list of knockoff devices found overseas, Nexian (an Indonesian mobile phone manufacturer) brings us the Android Magic A893 – a device that looks awfully similar to the iPhone, but which packs Android 2.2 Froyo and rings in at IDR 1,599,000 (about $175 USD). To get a better idea of the device's eerily familiar form factor, check out this unboxing video:

And here are the device's (less than magical) specs:

Android 2.2 Froyo
WCDMA 2100MHz and GSM 900/1800 MHz compatibility
HSPA/EDGE/GPRS
3.5" HVGA multitouch display
VGA front shooter and 2MP rear camera
Wi-Fi connectivity
Bluetooth
FM Radio

...

Dec

Kick-Ass! Web Android Market Now Allows App User Review Filtering By Device Model, Latest Version, And Specific Star Rating

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Dev, Google, News

Looks like the new Email Developer feature that the web Android Market received on Friday was just the icing on the cake! While it was nice to finally have the ability to contact developers without having to go through the device Market, it was still a pretty minor addition. Don't fret - Google was nowhere near being done - you can now:

filter user reviews by device model, currently limited to All and individual devices registered to your account.
filter user reviews by app version, currently limited to All or Latest
filter user reviews by specific star rating

...

Sep

Pricing And Specs Revealed For Meizu MX: First Quad-Core Android Phone

Posted by Zak Stinson in Meizu, News

That glut of quad-core awesomeness that Nvidia claimed was to begin this August didn't exactly happen. While this is a disappointment, it is clear that the second doubling of cores is on the not-so-distant horizon.

Today, Chinese manufacturer Meizu announced the pricing and specs of its newest handset: the MX. The Meizu MX comes in two flavors, the 16GB dual-core variety and the 32GB model with a quad-core processor. Both devices sport 4.3" qHD displays and A9 CPUs, but they do vary in price. The 16GB model will cost around $470 USD while the big-daddy 32GB version will run you ...

Sep

[Review] Samsung Epic 4G Touch: Big Power, Big Performance, Bigger Package

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Epic 4G Touch, Reviews, Samsung, Sprint

Here we are: the launch of the first Samsung Galaxy S II to hit a U.S. carrier, dubbed the Epic 4G Touch (E4GT) and landing on Sprint today. It certainly took long enough for the SGSII to hit U.S. shores - it was announced by Samsung in February during MWC, and launched as early as May in some markets. It was a huge success even before launch, with Samsung receiving millions of pre-orders, and for good reason - the SGSII was incredibly well rated, with reviewers universally praising it as one of (usually the) best Android device available. ...

Aug

The First MIUI Phone, MI-ONE/M1/Millet, Officially Revealed In China - 1.5GHz Dual-Core Scorpion And $313 Price Tag Blow Us Away

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in MI-ONE, News, Xiaomi / MIUI

MIUI, one of Android's most popular custom ROM flavors, has been limited to purely software for existing devices... until today. Made by a Chinese company Xiaomi which has been in charge of MIUI's software development, the MIUI phone was just announced in China (where Xiaomi is based), and I must say - it's no hush puppy and leaves us highly impressed.

First and foremost, the MI-ONE, or Millet, sports a whopping 1.5GHz dual-core MSM8260 Scorpion CPU (from the 3rd generation Snapdragon family).

Dissecting the beefy specs further, we find the Adreno220 GPU, 4GB of ROM and 1GB of RAM, ...

Jun

[Review] The LG Revolution: Don't Let The Name Fool You; It's Just Alright

Posted by Brad Ganley in LG, News, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Revolution

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

It's been a long time since my opinions on a device have been so torn. On the one hand, the Revolution is a pretty impressive piece of hardware, but on the other, there are some seriously annoying things about it (specifically some software elements - the lock screen makes me want to assault something adorable). All the handset's different aspects ultimately lead to one conclusion: MEH.

I can honestly say that this is the closest to not having an opinion I've ever come in regards to a device. Seriously, I'm EXTREMELY neutral here. More neutral than you, that's for sure. ...

Jun

[Rumor] The Next Nexus Phone: The Nexus 4G - LTE, 720p Display, Dual Core, No Function Buttons?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Rumors

Take this with a massive grain of salt, but BGR has just let loose an article detailing what they claim will be either the next Nexus phone or, if not a Nexus, simply the new Android reference handset. Far more exciting than that is what BGR's source has told them what kind of features the phone will be packing:

A 720p "monster-sized" display - exact size unknown (also, goodbye qHD - nice knowing you)
Dual-core processor @1.2 or 1.5GHz (either a TI OMAP 4460 or a ULP Qualcomm 28nm Krait Snapdragon)
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (possibly dubbed Android 4.0)
Software

...

Jun

[Weekend Poll] Google Doesn't Allow Rooted Devices To Use Android Movies - What Are Your Thoughts?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Applications, Mods, News, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see What Manufacturer Will Your Next Device Be From?

Two weeks ago, an Android Central tipster noticed that Google had officially stated that they wouldn't allow rooted devices to use Android Movies.

AC's Jerry Hildenbrand makes some very valid points about why that just doesn't quite seem right, if a bit (understandably) bitterly. As an Android lover and power user, I'm more than inclined to agree. But at the same time, we're effectively blaming the messenger; Google has little control over the situation. The entertainment industry as ...

May

[Weekend Poll] What Manufacturer Will Your Next Device Be From?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Devices By Manufacturer, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week’s, see I/O 2011 Aftermath & Recap: What Has You Most Excited?

In light of this week's bootloader lockdown bonanza, it makes sense to ask something related. We know that as an Android-centric blog, our readers are likely to be a bit more hack-'n-mod oriented, so we're interested to see: who will manufacture your next device?

The "why" isn't crucial, though you're certainly encouraged to share your reasoning via the comments. Really, we're just interested in seeing how much HTC's new open policy has helped it, and ...

May

HTC Lead For AT&T System Dump Leaked, Reveals 4.3" Screen, Dual Cores, Gingerbread

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Dev, HTC, News

For round one of the HTC device leaks today, we present for your consideration the HTC Lead - a device that will be coming to the AT&T network at some point in the future (...most likely).

The ever-vigilent 911sniper blog "stumbled" upon a system dump for the upcoming phone, and it reveals some interesting tidbits in regard to its specifications:

Dual-core MSM8660 1.2GHz processor
4.3" WVGA (800x480) display [not qHD - oddly]
768MB RAM
Android 2.3.4
5MP rear camera (no front camera)
AT&T support (presumably some kind of 4G - either HSPA+ or LTE)

The WVGA resolution and screen size, ...

Apr

Compared: HTC Droid Incredible 2 vs The Original Droid Incredible [Specs]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Droid Incredible, Editorials, HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow)

It's April 28th, the official release date for the 2nd generation Droid Incredible from HTC, and if you haven't studied this phone in detail yet, you're probably wondering just what exactly has changed since the original "Dinc" entered the market last April. Let's have a look, shall we?

Key Differences

Network

First and foremost, just like the Droid 2 Global Edition, the new Incredible 2 is a world phone with both CDMA and GSM frequencies. Verizon Wireless provides the following interesting numbers:

voice service in over 220 countries
data in over 200 countries
3G speeds in more than 125

Quite ...

Apr

[Weekend Poll] Thinness Vs. Battery Life: FIGHT!

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Devices By Manufacturer, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the newest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see How Significantly Will The Number Of Cores Factor Into Your Next Phone Purchase?

In keeping with the more technical nature of the last Weekend Poll: what's more important to you - battery life or thinness? Obviously there is something of a balance there, but not all phones strike it well. So which is more important to you? Would you rather have a sleek, thin device with middling battery life? Or something of a porker that allows you to power-use all day without worrying about your phone running ...

Apr

One Size Does Not Fit All: Andy Rubin Responds To Recent Cases Of Misinformation And FUD In The Press

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, News

Android In Recent News

Fragmentation has been one of the biggest criticisms of the Android platform. Essentially, Google allows anybody to take the Android code and tweak it suit their own needs. This is how manufacturers like Motorola, HTC, and Samsung are able to create custom layers (MotoBlur, Sense UI, and TouchWiz, respectively) over the vanilla Android interface and how some carriers load up new phones with crapware. Although this is a price to pay for openness and customizability, a recent study indicates that 86% of developers are unhappy with the state of Android fragmentation (24% of them describing it ...

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 ...