honeycomb - 30/36 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Google Releases Final Honeycomb SDK, SDK Tools r10, And ADT Plugin 10.0.0

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

It's definitely an exciting day for Android developers - first, Motorola confirmed that their XOOM tablet will be open for development, and now the the final Android 3.0 SDK is available. Additionally, the SDK tools and ADT plugin have been updated to versions r10 and 10.0.0, respectively, with the following improvements and additions:

UI Builder improvements in the ADT Plugin:
New Palette with categories and rendering previews. (details)

More accurate rendering of layouts to more faithfully reflect how the layout will look on devices, including rendering status and title bars to more accurately reflect screen space actually available to applications.

Feb

This Changes Everything: Motorola XOOM's Bootloader Will Be "Unlockable/Relockable"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Development, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Sure, the first part of that title might sound like a Steve Jobs quote, but Motorola's latest tweet merits the expression:

That's right - unlike almost all other Motorola devices in recent memory, the XOOM will ship with an unlocked (or at least "unlockable/relockable") bootloader. That means modders will be free to create custom ROMs and kernels for the tablet - not as surprising as it would be were the XOOM not a flagship Google device, but still very reassuring.

Now, Motorola, about your other devices' bootloaders...

Source: Motorola (Twitter)

Feb

Wirefly Unboxes Motorola XOOM: "The Next Generation In Tablet"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

OK, so unboxings aren't exactly the most exciting videos on the web, but when they involve a certain tablet called the "Motorola XOOM," they're definitely worth a look. Such is Wirefly's latest creation:

Items of note:

Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) - boot times seem really fast
10.1-inch 16:10 display - larger than an iPad
1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor
32GB of internal storage
2MP front camera
5MP rear camera capable of recording 720p HD video

Interestingly, the video mentions a slot for a 4G SIM card, which is odd since Verizon and Motorola say the XOOM will require a ~~hardware~~ software upgrade to connect to LTE.

Feb

Motorola XOOM Will Cost $599 On Contract, Launching On February 24th [Official]

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Verizon's latest press release confirms rumors that the Motorola XOOM will cost $599 with a 2-year contract and $799 without (though we already knew the latter price thanks to Verizon's website) when it launches this Thursday.

Data contracts will start at $20/month for 1GB of data, with Verizon confirming once again that the XOOM will be upgradeable to 4G LTE in Q2 of 2011 at no extra charge.

Read more about it in the official press release:

MOTOROLA XOOM TABLET TO BE AVAILABLE ON THE VERIZON WIRELESS NETWORK ON FEB. 24

“Best of Show” Winner at 2011 Consumer Electronics Show Delivers the World’s First True Tablet Experience, With Upgrade to 4G LTE in Q2
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.

Feb

[Updated: Nexus One & Desire] Android 3.0 SDK Preview Ported To The Droid Incredible, EVO, Desire HD - Actually Looks Like Honeycomb

Posted by Zak Stinson in Desire HD (Ace), Development, EVO 4G (Supersonic), Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Incredible, Videos

Update: If you're a Nexus One or Desire owner and you're feeling a little left out of the Honeycomb SDK fun, I have some good news. The folks over at XDA managed to get a port running on both devices over the weekend. Hit up the links below to check them out and remember, these ports lack the basic functions of a phone and should only be used by people who know what they're doing. Enjoy!

Desire: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=962759

N1: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=961994

(Also, Brian gave the N1 port a shot. He only made it a few minutes before flashing to a normal ROM.

Feb

[Updated] Wirefly Opens Pre-orders For Motorola XOOM: $799.99 With A Month-To-Month Contract, $599.99 2YR

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Last Updated: February 23rd, 2011

Wirefly just opened pre-orders for the highly anticipated Motorola XOOM, the world's first Honeycomb tablet, and like Best Buy, they'll be selling the device for $799.99 on a mandatory one-month contract that will cost a minimum of $20 (oh, and what's up with the "Switch My Existing Wireless Number to my new MOTOROLA XOOM" option?).

In related news, Wirefly lists a February 24th shipping date, though they note that this is "subject to change." Additionally, if you pre-order an unreleased phone along with your XOOM, your whole order will be held until both items are ready to ship (as opposed to something like Amazon's model, where your orders are shipped separately).

Feb

Motorola XOOM User Guide Leaked, Now Available To Download

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Sure, you've already spent hours salivating over the Motorola XOOM, checked out some apps built for Android 3.0, and even played with the Honeycomb emulator, but obviously, the one thing you've really been longing for is the XOOM's user guide.

Thanks to Droid Life, you can now sift through that clumsy collection of instructions you never would have read otherwise. Nonetheless, go ahead and download the guide if you so desire; we didn't discover anything previously unknown during our preliminary reading, but who knows - something new and exciting could be contained within!

Download link

Source: Droid Life

Feb

[Rumor] Toshiba's Honeycomb Tablet To Be Called "Antares"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Rumors, Thrive / Regza / Antares / AT100, Toshiba

Last Updated: April 16th, 2011

Toshiba has already spend a good deal of time talking up its forthcoming Honeycomb tablet, but one thing the company hasn't mentioned - yet - is the device's name. However, if you believe Dutch website TabletGuide.nl, NVIDIA might have spilled the beans - at its MWC booth, the chip maker reportedly showed off a prototype of the tablet loaded with stock Android 2.2. And in the "About phone" section of the Settings app, the tablet listed "Antares" as its model number.

It's worth noting that this may not be the name of the final retail unit - not to mention the fact that a handset's model number isn't always the same as its title.

Feb

Sanjay Jha On Motorola XOOM Pricing: 3G Version Will Cost $799, WiFi-Only Model To Retail For $600

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Told you so - the price of the XOOM will indeed be significantly less than $1,200 (at least according to Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha). In fact, if you decide to take the WiFi-only route, the tablet will cost just $600 - half of the price Best Buy put up (and subsequently took down). 3G connectivity will come with a $199 premium (jacking the price up to $799), though it's worth noting that the XOOM's radio will see an LTE upgrade sometime down the road.

Of course, there's probably one question on your mind: "How does this look next to Apple's pricing?" Well the cost of the WiFi-only model actually compares favorably - a 32 GB WiFi iPad costs $599, so the two tablets will be neck-to-neck.

Feb

Android Movie Studio For Honeycomb Unveiled At MWC By Eric Schmidt, Looks Awesome

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Right now at MWC, Eric Schmidt is showing off a brand-new, Google-developed Android app: Movie Studio. The app, as the name may suggest, is a video editor. It's designed specifically for Honeycomb tablets, and as a video editor, that sort of makes sense. It's pretty rough trying to edit video on a smaller screen, though not impossible (which is to say, I imagine an XDA port for phones will happen as soon as an APK gets leaked).

Movie Studio will contain most of the features you'd expect in a competitive (*cough* iMovie *cough*) video editing app: transitions, audio import, splicing, A/V timeline, and multi-format export and sharing options.