fail - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

[Fail] Samsung Either Lazy Or Trolling - Rips Off iPhone Maps Screenshot For Galaxy Player 50 Graphic

Posted by Liam Spradlin in News, Off-Topic

It looks like Samsung, on its webpage for the Galaxy Player 50, has ripped off the iPhone's Maps app, altering a screenshot ever so slightly for use in a web graphic of the 50. For reference, here's the original screenshot vs. Samsung's image:

The intentions here are unclear, but one can assume that this was no mistake - the red pushpins are a dead giveaway for the iPhone screenshot, and it's unlikely that this screenshot would be haphazardly tossed into a web graphic due to laziness, when it's so obviously ripped from an app featured on a device ...

Sep

Best Buy Verizon Ad Fail: Can You Hear Me Now On That Unactivated/Roaming Device?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Off-Topic, Verizon Wireless

While watching the latest episode of Breaking Bad today (which I must say is one of the best shows on TV right now), I witnessed the latest ~~Verizon Wireless~~ Best Buy commercial advertising Verizon Wireless phones, boasting VZW's incredible network coverage, ultra speeds, and reliability.

It was going so well until I saw a close-up of the phone that lasted a good number of seconds for everyone to witness... no, not the 4G LTE symbol, and not even the 3G symbol. Nope - the phone is roaming (it has also been pointed out in the comments that on some devices ...

Jun

Google Translate Fail: Android 2.3.4 Translated From German To English Is...

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

Every once in a while we get a humorous tip that is just too good to pass up. Check out what happens when you translate "Android 2.3.4" from German to English with Google Translate:

Whoops! It looks like you'll get the same result when you search for any version with 3 digits, from 2.2.1 to 2.3.4. Hit the link below to see it for yourself.

[Source]

Thanks, Josh!

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Jun

[Updated] Happening Now: It's Not Just You - Android Market Throwing Server Errors En Masse

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

We don't really know what's going on with the web and possibly on-device Market right now, but we do know that it's fallen a bit sick, throwing Server Error pages left and right. At first, I thought the apps I was looking at were getting deleted, but then I noticed that the familiar-looking screen actually mentions a server error. After trying 10 more random apps, I got a total of 7 consistent errors and 4 successes. According to our quick polls on Twitter and Facebook, you guys are experiencing the same thing, so it's not just tied to my Market ...

May

Vodafail: The Story Of The Stolen Xperia Play Shipment In New Zealand Is Fake, Just A [Tasteless] Marketing Ploy

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Vodafone

Earlier this morning, news broke of a horrible deed - the entire stock of Xperia Play phones was allegedly stolen from Vodafone NZ, leaving hundreds of giant-thumbed customers button-mashing nothing but air for the foreseeable future. We deliberately skipped this story, even though it was spreading like fire, but what happened next prompted me to grab my ~~pen~~ keyboard and give this crime some coverage.

Remember those missing devices? Yeah, never happened. The whole event that started with last night's post on Vodafone's own Facebook page, later augmented with video footage of the alleged attack, was a carefully orchestrated ...

Apr

Facebook For Android Updated To V1.5.4; Now Allows You To... Use Facebook Without Force Closes

Posted by Brad Ganley in Applications, Apps/Games

You may remember a couple of days ago when Facebook for Android received an update and, for many users (myself included, on all 3 of my Android devices), became a blue-tinted cavalcade of force-closes. Well, it seems that the Facebook team took notice and pushed an update out that (hopefully) remedies the situation for everyone. It now seems to be working flawlessly (well...from the stability standpoint) on both my EVO and Nook Color. Go to the market and grab it now. Your friends miss you.

Facebook for Android

QR code for https://market.android.com/details?id=com.facebook.katana

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Apr

[Updated: Now With Changelog] Google Maps 5.3.1 Arrives Without A Changelog Or: How Google Maps Got More 1-Star Ratings In A Day Than Ever Before

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

When developers release updates to their apps without listing the changes, normally about half of the Market comments turn sour, especially considering Google added the changelog feature into the core of the Market a few months ago. When Google itself does it to one of the flagship products... let's just say things are not pretty.

Version 5.3.1 of Google Maps arrived a few hours ago without a single mention of any novelties or bug fixes. The result? Pages upon pages of 1-star reviews - in fact, there are so many of them that I gave up clicking after page 40....

Mar

HTC's HTCSense.com Remote Locking Capabilities Are Useful. In Theory. When They Work...

Posted by David Rutland in HTC, News

The ability to locate your expensive bundle of joy, when lost or worse, stolen, is priceless. And arguably more so, is the capability to prevent whoever is using it from accessing your personal data and photos while placing premium rate phone calls to xxx numbers in Eastern Europe.

It's peace of mind that even if your phone is truly gone for good, then the biggest expense you'll incur will be a new handset, and hell, the insurance that you are paying through the nose for, should cover that.

This is why apps such as Lookout Mobile Security, Theft Aware...

Mar

[Photoshop Fail] Is Orange Trolling Us Or Does Nokia Have An Android Phone?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, News, Orange

I won't lie: I have no qualms about calling shenanigans on this one, especially considering the recent Nokia/Microsoft alliance. So with that said, let's proceed to examine what is, most likely, the latest entry in the Android Photoshop fail series:

Indeed, it appears that Nokia and Google have overcome their differences and created an almost button-less, Deezer-running Android phone for the masses... or so says Orange. Reality, of course, begs to differ.

Source: PointGPhone (thanks, Adrian)

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Nov

Awesome Android Stop Motion Animation: The Evolution Of Android, With A Twist

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Off-Topic, Videos

To end our relatively calm and Gingerbread-less Friday, I present to you The Evolution Of Android - a stop motion animation created by YouTube user droidsans. It's kind of like our Meet Andy: Android's History In A Nutshell, except it's not. And it's got a twist at the end. Can you guess what it is?

My favorite part was when Andy spit it (I'm still not telling you what "it" is - watch the video) out - thanks for making our Friday night a little more fun, droidsans!

[Bonus] To finish the night off, here is an Apple ...

Oct

Google Maps 4.6 Goes Up, Android Market Goes Down...

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Applications, News

As you may have noticed over the last couple of days, the Android Market hasn't been doing too well. Downloads have started, and then failed, failed to start, started to fail, and just generally failed in every imaginable way. There once was a time when clearing such-and-such cache would fix this sporadic issue, but it seems that even this black magic no longer suffices. Threads have been popping up all over the Android-tinted corners of the 'net with people unable to download anything from the Market.

This happens to coincide nicely with a Google Maps 4.6 update, which is said ...

Oct

T-Mobile's HSPA+ "Not Ready In All Areas"

Posted by Brad Ganley in G2 (Vision), T-Mobile

Allen Kiehl over at AndroidSpin has recently posted a pretty unbelievable tale about his experience with network issues on his G2 and what T-Mobile recommends he do about them. The story starts out pretty commonplace: he was experience network issues such as dropped calls, not receiving calls or text messages at all, and a finicky data connection. All of these are symptoms of a bad device, right? Wrong.

What happened next blew both Allen and myself away. T-Mobile recommended he swap it out for an entirely different device or leave their network. Here is what they told him exactly:

I

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Oct

HTC Desire HD Stricken With Proximity Sensor Issues?

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Desire HD (Ace), HTC, News

You may envy those who have their hands on a Desire HD already, but early-adoption is rose-like with its obligatory thorns attached. Many owners on XDA-Developers are reporting issues with their phone's screen when making and receiving calls. Outbound calls appear to deactivate the screen permanently and render the phone entirely unresponsive, save for a battery-pull and fresh boot. Receipt of calls conversely keeps the screen on and active, even when pressed against your ear.

The issue seems to be tied to the light-sensor , with some users noticing their device not experiencing the aforementioned problems in brightly-lit conditions. It ...

Oct

Samsung Pulls Update For Epic 4G, Community Begs To Differ

Posted by Brad Ganley in Epic 4G, News

Aw, snap! That update Sprint was supposed to deliver to the Epic 4g yesterday didn't happen due to "administrative issues" per this announcement from Sprint:

We learned this evening that there were administrative issues getting this software loaded to Google's servers. We don't yet have an expected time when this will be available but will update you as soon as possible. Please see the statement below that was sent by the Sprint Product Management team:
We were planning to release an update for your Samsung Epic 4G on 9/30. The file was delivered and on track for distribution but late

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Sep

Sprint Launches An Epically Awful Ad Campaign To Promote Samsung Epic 4G And Media Hub

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Epic 4G, News, Sprint, Videos

I'm not sure how much money Sprint spent on this but I'm sure whatever the amount was, they overpaid. In an effort to promote the recently launched Samsung Epic 4G handset and the new Media Hub, the company shot a series of short movies, all with the word "Epic" in the titles.

The website layout, production quality, and presentation are all top notch. What is not top notch, however, is the most important part - the content. Plain and simple, it sucks. It is mostly the opposite of I would call funny or entertaining, ends way too abruptly (yeah, they ...