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Apr

Android/Mobile/Google April Fool's 2012 Roundup From Around The Web [Updated Throughout The Day]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Off-Topic

Last Updated: April 3rd, 2012

Simultaneously the most despised and glorious day of the year is upon us - April Fool's day 2012. The day we spend questioning whether anything and everything we see is real and expect a prank around every ~~corner~~ link. Click, click, rickroll, click, rickroll, .

So, let's take a look at the best Android, mobile, and Google-related jokes that hit the web this year.

*** Check in here throughout the day as the page will be continuously updated ***

Want to refresh your memory? Check out April Fool's pranks from 2011.

If you want to contribute something Android / Mobile / Google-themed (let's not get off-topic here) not already in the list, feel free to post worthy trolls (including source urls) in the comments, and we'll put the best ones up.

Feb

[New App] Avira Jumps Into The Android Security Game, Combines Tried-And-True Functionality With A Polished Interface

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Avira, a "worldwide leading supplier of self-developed security solutions," has thrown its hat into the Android security ring, releasing Avira Free Android Security to the Market today. The app offers a bevy of familiar anti-theft functions, including remote lock, scream, GPS tracking, and device info monitoring, among others.

Though Avira's solution offers the old standbys as far as anti-theft functionality, the app also has a few unique touches and key features that make it worth checking out.

First off, the service can handle multiple devices, which is a huge plus in my book. The app also allows users to add a convenient button to the lock screen which will call a predetermined phone number, allowing the person who finds your phone to get a hold of you quickly and easily.

Feb

[MWC 2012] Samsung Announces Galaxy S WiFi 4.2, For The Android Lovers Who Don't Need A Phone

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Samsung

Android typically makes its bread and butter on phones, with a side order of tablets. Palm-sized media players aren't usually on the menu, save for Samsung's own offerings. Today, the company announced a refresh for its handheld phone-less device. The notPod may not be the most in-demand category of devices, but if Samsung's taught us anything this week, it's that the company isn't one to turn down a niche market.

Here's a look at the full specs for the device:

No word yet on whether this device will see an Ice Cream Sandwich update. It's also worth noting that, while Samsung talks up gaming on this handheld, the spec sheet lists the CPU as a "1GHz Processor." No mention of multiple cores.

Feb

Excellent Mobile Security App Cerberus Hits 100,000 Users, Offers Free Lifetime Licenses For A Few Days To Celebrate

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, News

A few months ago, Liam spent some time with 17 mobile security apps, one of which was an app called Cerberus. He came away quite impressed - so impressed, in fact, that he crowned it the winner (and, as a license is just $4, it was also crowned the best for the budget-minded).

The app is always free to download and comes with a 1 week free trial, but a lifetime license is normally $4. I say normally because, as you have likely deduced from the title, the developer is offering free lifetime licenses in celebration of hitting 100,000 users.

To get the license, just download the app and register an account (it requires a username, password, and email address - nothing tricky), then fill out the form and hit Submit.

Feb

HTC Continues The Countdown, Teases "Something Authentic" And The Number 4 (With 4 Days To Go Until MWC)

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, News

Yesterday, HTC dropped a teaser on their Facebook page: a vector outline of a phone with an HTC logo and a big "5" in the center and a caption of "This Sunday you'll discover something fast." With 5 days to go until MWC began, we took a few stabs at what it could mean. Today, the company has followed up with a "4" teaser image on their Facebook, with the caption of "This Sunday, you'll hear something authentic."

I'm going to go out on a limb here and do some speculation, so take everything with a major grain of salt.

Feb

New 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) Dual-Core CPU Benchmarked, Absolutely Blows The Socks Off All Other Publicly Released Phone CPUs

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News

The de facto hardware experts over at AnandTech have spent some time with the newest CPU from Qualcomm: the MSM8960, sporting the new 28nm Krait architecture in dual-core, 1.5GHz form. They've put it through their suite of benchmarks including Linpack, SunSpider, BrowserMark, Vellamo, and Basemark OS. In a nutshell: the MSM8960 absolutely destroys every other phone/CPU on the market right now in every. single. benchmark.

^{An example of what to expect.}

The Krait architecture supports 1, 2, and 4 CPUs, and the smaller transistor size (28nm) means that it should outperform most (if not all) comparative 40nm CPUs and offer better battery life.

Feb

[New App] Design Review Mobile From Autodesk Hits The Market, Enables On The Go Design Editing

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Looking to expedite (and ease) the process of reviewing designs, Autodesk has released another handy app for Android – Design Review Mobile. The app allows users to open 2D and 3D DWF (Design Web Format) files from their Android-powered phone or tablet for quick review and red-lining on the go.

Design Review Mobile gives the user plenty of options, from viewing meta data, to creating easy markup or callout notes, to pushing and pulling files to and from the Autodesk Cloud.

Besides its core functionality, Design Review Mobile has an exceedingly intuitive interface, using familiar panning, zooming, and rotation methods for quick, easy inspection.

Feb

LG's Tegra-3 Sporting P880/X3 Specs And Quadrant Leak - And It's Every Bit The Beast We Expected

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in LG, News, X3/P880

Shortly after CES ended, we heard word of a new phone from LG that would be the first to sport NVIDIA's impressive new quad-core CPU, the Tegra 3. Other specs were rumored to include a 4.7" 1280x720 display, 16GB on-board storage (plus a microSD slot), a 2000mAh battery (!), an 8MP camera in the rear, and a 1.2MP front-facer.

Now, the extremely reliable Paul O'Brien of Modaco has word from a source that those specs are correct - the sole exception is that the front-facing camera is 1.3MP (not 1.2). The build used in the shots sent to him runs Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.3) and the latest kernel from NVIDIA, and suggests little UI customization by LG.

Feb

Scalado Reveals "Remove" - Mobile Imaging Software That Can Remove Unwanted Moving Objects (Read: Photobombers) From Pictures

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, News

Last Updated: February 24th, 2012

Let's say that you are touring a new city with your family. You stop in front of a famous monument and gather all the kids to take a picture, but because it's a popular spot, there are tons of people walking around in the background. Kind of ruins the picture, doesn't it? Short of some serious Photoshop talent, there isn't really a good way to get around this problem. But now, a company called Scalado has revealed software they call "Remove" which allows you to do just that - remove unwanted moving objects from an image.

Still not clear on what I mean?

Feb

Facebook Set To Introduce In-Line Ads To Mobile Users Next Month

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News

Hot on the heels of filing for a $5 billion IPO, rumor has it that Facebook could introduce in-line ads into its mobile interface as early as next month. While few details are known at this time, it's said that these ads will show up directly in users' timelines as "featured stories."

There's no word if this will affect both the mobile web version of Facebook and mobile apps alike, but it looks like we won't have to wait very long before finding out.

[Reuters]