phone - 4/18 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

Samsung, The Last Thing We Need Is A Knock-Off iPod Shuffle, Please Stop Doing Things

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Samsung

Last Updated: December 13th, 2012

Hi, everyone. I'd like to introduce you to the Samsung Muse. This is a music player with no screen and a mere 4GB of storage that requires a phone with music on it in order to sync. It costs $50 and is going on sale in the U.S. soon. Why is this handy little thingy going to be made available here? Because screw you, that's why.

'What is this device?' you ask? It's a music player. 4GB of storage for all the music you can handle so long as you can't handle that much music. Also, you need to have the music on your phone already.

Nov

[Weekend Poll] What Type Of Keyboard Are You Using On Your Android Phone?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Will/Do You Use The Multi-User Support In Android 4.2?

There's an absolute plethora of keyboard options available for Android devices - in today's poll, phones in particular. You can use the Android (AOSP) keyboard, the stock manufacturer keyboard that ships on your phone, or one of the hundreds of third-party options available in the Play Store. And if you go third-party, there are all different styles, from quirky options like 8Pen, to trace-based keyboards like Swype, and traditional predictive tap-based choices such as SwiftKey.

Nov

New 3DMark Set To Bring Consistent Cross-Platform Benchmarking To Windows, Windows RT, Android, iOS

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News

Popular benchmark and performance test maker Futuremark today announced that their 3DMark product, "the world's most popular benchmark and PC test," will be getting an update that brings it to Windows, Windows, RT, Android, and iOS, allowing the tool to join the ranks of cross-platform benchmarkers like the popular GeekBench.

The new version of 3DMark, which is expected to hit "before the end of the year," will include three all-new tests designed to benchmark devices from smartphones all the way up to high-performance gaming PCs.

The trio of new tests, which increase in intensity, methods, and purpose, include Ice Storm (for mobile devices and "entry level hardware"), Cloud Gate (for Windows notebooks and typical PCs), and Fire Strike (for high-performance gaming hardware).

Nov

Nexus 4 Bumper Cases Show Up On The Play Store For $19.99, Will Be 'Coming Soon'

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Nexus 4

The Nexus 4 launches tomorrow on the Play Store and it's sure to be a great day for Android fans everywhere. Of course, this will also be the first time that a Nexus device will have glass on both sides of the handset and traditional cases that cover the rear would make all that sleek engineering pointless. Fortunately, Google has you covered (I'm so sorry). A neat-looking bumper case has just shown up on the Play Store and will protect your $300+ investment for an extra $20.

The case actually looks pretty dang slick and fits in with the design of the Nexus 4 rather well.

Oct

MOGA Controller Review: This Is How You Build An Android Controller, But Not How You Program One

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, Reviews

Touchscreens have allowed a whole new era of innovation in mobile gaming and so far it's been pretty great. Sometimes, though, you just need buttons. There are a variety of companies out there trying to create the right solution and this isn't even the first review I've done on a third-party controller. With a unique grip to hold your smartphone, though, this one actually seemed like it stood a fighting chance of not disappearing into the nearest drawer. Of course, hardware is rarely the real problem for Android controllers, is it? But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The Good

Decent size.

Oct

[Weekend Poll] Do You Prefer The Classic 10" Tablet Layout, Or The New Hybrid UI?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Pick A Phablet Edition: HTC DLX, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Or LG Optimus Vu II?

The release of the Nexus 7 brought a new phone/tablet hybrid UI to Android tablets. And today, most people agree that it works well - on the 7-inch form factor, anyway. The latest leaks from the upcoming Nexus 10 suggest that Google will keep using that same hybrid UI, despite having a display that's a few inches bigger in each direction.

As David correctly pointed out, the result is that the phone and tablet UIs are now virtually identical.

Oct

New DMCA Exemptions Allow Rooting Phones (But Not Tablets), Unapproved Phone Unlocks Will Be A Thing Of The Past

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Legal, News

Good news, bad news, and really bloody ridiculous news, Android fans. Today, the latest round of DMCA exemptions has been passed and if you've ever jailbroken or rooted a phone, you'll be happy to know that this will continue to be legal. At least, for your phones. If, however, you want to gain su access to your tablet, you're fresh out of luck. Also, phones purchased after January 2013 cannot be legally unlocked for use on a carrier that didn't give you explicit permission. Yeah, it's kind of a mess.

Wait, What Are DMCA Exemptions?

A brief intro, for the uninitiated: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, signed into law in 1998, has a certain set of rules concerning circumvention of DRM.

Oct

Onyx International Working On Android-Powered E Ink Smartphone [Video]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, News

E Ink has long been lauded as a versatile, universally legible display technology, making appearances in NOOK tablets, Amazon Kindle devices, and a couple of weird prototypes over the years.

Onyx International, a manufacturer of ebook readers, has evidently created a prototype smartphone – powered by Android – that uses a full E Ink display.

The phone you see above is apparently the only prototype of this device in existence (so far). While the specs aren't named, we can see that the device is running Android Gingerbread, and not without its issues. Of course, as a – presumably – unfinished device, bugs are to be expected.

Oct

ASUS Makes The PadFone 2 Official – Sleeker Design, Updated Specs In Tow

Posted by Liam Spradlin in ASUS, News, PadFone 2

At an event in Milan this morning, ASUS made official the PadFone 2 – the tablet/phone combo device that looks to improve on its predecessor while continuing the goal of providing "incredible mobile flexibility." ASUS touts a redesign of both the phone and tablet elements, the integration of which appears to be much more elegant than the original, with the phone sliding vertically into the back of the tablet, ditching the clumsy door of the original PadFone for a sleek dock.

In its release, ASUS emphasizes the PadFone combo's battery first and foremost among its otherwise amped up specs. The PadFone 2 carries a 2140mAh pack, while the tablet component offers an impressive 5,000mAh that should keep things running for quite a while.

Oct

LG Escape For AT&T Review: The Best Budget Phone I've Ever Reviewed

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in AT&T, Escape 4G LTE, Phone Reviews

When it comes to the newest generation of phones, "budget" is closer to "flagship" than ever before. Two months ago, I reviewed the free-on-contract Pantech Marauder and came away highly impressed. Ron, too, reviewed the $100 Motorola Razr M and said "This is what budget phones are like now? Where do I sign up?" The old budget formula of taking last-gen hardware and slapping it in a cheap chassis has given way to current-gen hardware in a better chassis - not to mention that the optimizations and polish of Android 4.0 make the experience better than ever on virtually any level of hardware.