press release - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

US Cellular Expanding LTE Coverage To 30 New Markets In November, Mostly Northeast And Midwest

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in News, US Cellular

With T-Mobile acquiring MetroPCS, things are starting to look mighty lonely in the regional carrier department here in the States. Even so, US Cellular has been making admirable strides in rolling out LTE services to their relatively small customer base, even beating some of the bigger carriers to the punch in many of their markets. Starting on November 5th, US Cellular will be adding new markets and expanding existing LTE zones... just in time for Galaxy Note II owners to enjoy them.

LTE will be switched on in select cities in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, with LTE coverage expanded in Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Oct

SoftBank Officially Announces The $20.1 Billion Investment In Sprint

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Sprint

SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications and Internet corporation, has confirmed via a press release and a live event in Tokyo the $20.1bn investment that would give SoftBank a 70% ownership of Sprint. The news hit the rumor mill 3 days ago and was pretty much confirmed by CNBC yesterday. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2013 pending regulatory approval.

Roughly $12.1bn will be paid to the shareholders at $7.30 a share and $8bn will be used to "strengthen Sprint's balance sheet," grow the network, and perform "strategic investments."

Sprint's shares closed at $5.73 last Friday for a +144.87% gain this year so far.

Oct

Microsoft Allegedly Planning Native Office Apps For Android For Release In March 2013

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Last Updated: October 15th, 2012

According to a Czech press release unearthed by The Verge, Microsoft may be readying native Office apps for Android. As of right now, the only programs that have mobile versions on the Play Store are OneNote and Lync. Otherwise known as "the ones very few people care about." If this report is to be believed, though, we may see native versions of the entire Office suite.

According to the Verge's translations, Microsoft said this:

"In addition to Windows, Office will be also available on other operating systems, Windows Phone, Windows RT, Mac OS, Android, iOS and Symbian"

Redmond, by way of the Czech Republic, also pointed out that there would be new versions of its Office Web Apps.

Oct

HTC Unveils The One X+ With Sense 4+, Jelly Bean, Tegra 3 With LTE, And Improved Specs

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, One X (Endeavor), One X+

Last Updated: October 26th, 2012

The worst kept secret in HTC's recent history, the One X+, was finally officially announced this morning by the Taiwanese manufacturer. Let's take a closer look at what has changed.

Hardware

The updated One X variant features:

A beefier Cortex-A9 NVIDIA Tegra 3 AP37 processor running at 1.7GHz (up from 1.5GHz)
ULP GeForce NVIDIA GPU, running at 520MHz (up from 416MHz)
64GB of internal storage (up from 32GB)
2100mAh battery (up from 1800mAh), which HTC says may give you up to 6 hours of extra talk time
1.6MP front-facing camera (up from 1.3MP)
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Sense 4+
135g - slightly heavier but only by 5 grams (up from 130g)

The rest of the specs remain the same, including a 4.7" 1280x720 display, 1GB of RAM (a real bummer considering Samsung's and LG's latest offerings contain and really benefit from double that), Beats Audio, and an 8MP rear-facing camera.

Sep

This May Just Be The Best Email To Ever Hit Our Inbox

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Off-Topic

Earlier today, we received an email with the title "iPhone 5 PR Stunt Ends in Disaster Leaving 21 Homeless." You won't see any spoilers from me - just read:

iPhone 5 PR Stunt Ends in Disaster Leaving 21 Homeless

September 26th, 2012, San Francisco, in a series of "stunts" to gain public attention for a new Apple iPhone 5 and iPad game launch, a startup went overboard causing massive property damage.

At 7:00 am, a crew drove 3 cranes, equipped with 1.5 ton wrecking balls, to a mid-city housing complex. The wrecking balls were painted to look like roundish flying Yumbies, adorable characters who smash through buildings and other structures in the game.

Jun

It's Official – Samsung Galaxy SIII Headed To Five Carriers In The US Beginning This Month

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Galaxy S III, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless

Well folks, it's official. In a press release sent out just moments ago, Samsung confirmed that the Galaxy SIII, easily one of the most anticipated smartphones this year, will be available on five major carriers in the US beginning this month.

The carriers, which are expected to make individual announcements in the "coming weeks," include AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and US Cellular. And yes, the SIII's design will be consistent across all carriers. Feast your eyes on some official (non-carrier specific) press images below:

For those wondering, some of the rumors we've heard about the US' Galaxy SIII are indeed true.

Apr

Engadget Goes Hands-On With The NOOK Simple Touch With GlowLight - Shipping In May, Pre-Order Now

Posted by David Ruddock in Barnes & Noble, News, Nook, Videos

eReaders have long been plagued with the problem of being damn near useless in low-light scenarios, but thanks to the recently announced NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, those days are finally past us. Using a front-lit (as opposed to backlit, which doesn't really work with eInk) display, the new Simple Touch eReader allows you to enjoy the pleasure of eInk reading without having to worry about adequate ambient lighting.

This should be especially good news for those who enjoy reading in bed or during long flights. Check out the images and video of the new NOOK in action, and don't forget to hit up Engadget for the hands-on.

Jan

Motorola Announces Q4 Earnings: Only 200k Tablets Shipped, $80m Loss

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Motorola, News

Assuming the Google/Motorola merger goes through, Google might want to rethink that whole hands-off approach to managing its new hardware company. According to Motorola's press release, the company saw a net loss of about $80 million, after $3.4 billion in revenue. It's not the worst loss in the world, but shareholders are never happy when they see red.

The tablet sales figures are bad, though. Motorola says in Q4 of 2011, it shipped 200,000 tablets. That is not a typo. Two hundred thousand tablets shipped. "Shipped," by the way, is corporate-speak for "sold to stores." This doesn't necessarily mean that customers bought all of those tablets.

Oct

[Update 2: Full Press Release. Full Spec List] Galaxy Nexus Official Press Release, Release Date Narrowed Down To November

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: November 5th, 2011

Those lucky enough to fly all the way to Hong Kong have been given first access to the Galaxy Nexus Press Release - on a piece of paper.

Update: Here's a picture with full specs.

Here are all the details.

Galaxy Nexus – Main Features

Android 4.0 Ice Cream

4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED Screen with 720p resolution

1.2GHz dual-core processor

Redsigned UI in Android 4.0

Improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support, full web browsing

Android 4.0 features Software Navigation buttons – brand new

People App with Google+ Integration among other features

Redesigned camera with panorama mode, 1080p video, zero-shutter lag, silly faces and background replacement features

Face Unlock: Facial recognition to unlock your phone!

Aug

BREAKING: Google Signs Agreement To Buy Motorola Mobility For $12.5 Billion

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Motorola, News

Google has just announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The search giant will be paying $40 per share, a premium of 63% from the closing price of Motorola's shares from last Friday. The actual acquisition is expected to take place in late 2011 or early 2012 pending regulatory approvals.

A partnership between the developer of the Android platform and a top 3 Android device manufacturer is likely to light a fire beneath the likes of Samsung, HTC, LG, and other Android partners. However, to quell their fears Google's press release clarifies that Motorola "will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open...