Android OS - 113/164 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

May

Google Patches GingerBreak Exploit, But Don't Worry - We Still Have Root (For Now)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, Development, News

Well, that was fast. It hasn't been very long since the vold exploit was found that allowed root access to Gingerbread and Honeycomb systems, but Google has already patched it and moved the fix into the AOSP code (see these commits: [1], [2], [3], [4]). This means that once this update is pushed, we will need to find another route to achieve root access on devices running Gingerbread and Honeycomb.

Don't let this stop you from buying a new device right now, though, because it's far from certain when this fix will actually end up hitting devices.

May

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Shipments Running Low - Quality Control To Blame Rather Than Component Shortages?

Posted by Zak Stinson in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Rumors, Tablets

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is quickly becoming the darling of the Android tablet world. With all the specs (dual-core, Android 3.0, keyboard dock - the list goes on) and a price tag at $400, this may just be the one Honeycomb tablet to rule them all. Alas, when a great product and a great price meet, there is great demand - and when there is great demand and a less-than-great supply level, there is a high level of dejected customers leaving their electronics retailers with empty hands.

The low shipment volumes of the Transformer have been news for the last couple of days, with as low as 10,000 units being moved per month.

May

RIM To Bring Blackberry Enterprise Solution To Android And iOS

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

It's no secret that RIM (Research In Motion) has been dipping their figurative toes in the Android water lately, and it looks like running Android apps on the Blackberry Playbook was just the beginning. RIM plans to bring Blackberry Enterprise Solution to both Android and iOS, further helping businesses manage their wireless infrastructure and security.

Once it's released, network administrators will be able to handle a lot of the mobile grind remotely - everything from activation and software updates, to resetting passwords and wiping devices - all over the air. This will be a big win across the board in corporate environments, as we all know that Blackberry is renowned for its tight security.

May

[Update: It's Something Else] HTC Kingdom Gingerbread ROM Leaks - Is This The Sprint EVO 3D? [Analysis, Download Mirrors]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, EVO 3D (Shooter), Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Rumors

Last Updated: July 18th, 2011

A few days ago, the Chinese HTC blog 911sniper that most HTC ROM leaks originate from posted images and a minimal amount of information on HTC's 2 newest and mysterious devices: the Rider and the Kingdom. Not much was known about either, except that the Kingdom has a qHD (540x960px) resolution.

Today, 911sniper gave birth to an actual ROM of the Kingdom, which cleared up quite a few things to us.

Update: Porting of this ROM to the Desire HD is already in progress.

Update: Looks like it is indeed a whole new device - it's got a smaller, 4" screen, compared to EVO's 4.3" and is possibly a world device.

May

Nexus One Owners, It's Your Turn - Download Android 2.3.4 Now (GRI40 -> GRJ22)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, News, Nexus One (Passion)

Nexus One owners, tonight you're getting a nice treat in the form of the incremental Gingerbread update 2.3.4, previously available only to Nexus S owners. To recap, ~~the main feature in this release is~~ ~~the video and audio enabled Google Talk~~, although since the N1 lacks a front-facing camera, it's not going to be as useful as it was for the Nexus S.

Update: Err, looks like there is no video or audio support in this release at all, according to those of you with Nexus Ones. Why Google didn't just disable the phone's camera and left it a one-way video and two-way audio is beyond me, but at this point you may as well try the Gtalk version that was extracted from the Nexus S for everyone with Gingerbread to play with.

May

Download: Google Talk With Video/Audio Calling For Rooted Android 2.3 Devices (Ported From The Nexus S)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Gingerbread 2.3, News

One of Android 2.3.4's main new features, which was officially released to the Nexus S late last week, was video and audio calling in Google Talk. While having this feature on the Nexus S is great for its owners, Android users of other devices were left behind. If there is one thing Android users don't like to do, it's wait, which is why britoso from xda managed to rip out the app from his Nexus S and modify it to be compatible with most devices running Android 2.3.

Unfortunately, because he had to modify the apk, he needed to sign it with a different key, which means you need root to install this version (you won't be able to install it over the original Google Talk app as an update due to mismatched signatures, which means you need to uninstall the original app first, and that's not possible unless you're rooted - Google Talk is a system app).

Apr

[WTF] Barnes & Noble Responds To Microsoft's Android Lawsuit, Reminds Us Why MS Is The Devil

Posted by Brad Ganley in Android OS, Editorials, News, NOOKcolor (Encore)

Last month, Microsoft took bookseller Barnes & Noble, the company responsible for the Nook and Nook Color, to court over some patents infringed because B&N used the Android operating system in the Nook and Nook Color. This is definitely nothing new in the world of mobile devices. It happens all the time, especially with companies like Apple and Microsoft trying to take complete dominance of every arena they enter. That's not the big story here. The big story is the extremely, and I mean EXTREMELY douche-tastic way Microsoft is trying to attack Android with these patents.

One of Android's biggest advantages (besides being vastly superior, of course) is that it costs exactly nothing.

Apr

[New App] File Manager HD Is A Honeycomb Optimized File Browser For Your Tablet

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Up until now, if you needed a file manager on your Honeycomb tablet you were stuck using one that was designed for phone versions of Android, which didn't always translate well to the larger screen. Software developers Rhythm Software saw this issue, grabbed it by the horns, and took care of it. The end result? File Manager HD.

File Manager HD is the first file manager specifically designed for Honeycomb tablets (according to the developer). It offers a slew of useful features:

* Based on Android 3.0 new feature and theme
* High definition(1280*800) support
* 3 sets of commercial icons for 60+ different file types, toolbar and menu items
* Cut, copy, paste and cancellable progress dialog
* List and grid view for file browsing
* Compression and decompression support
* Search and share files
* Multiple selection and sorting support
* Thumbnail for photo, pictures and apk files
* Built-in text editor and swf player
* Fully tested on Motorola Xoom

This isn't their first rodeo, either - Rhythm also has a phone version of File Manager, and it's rocking a near-five-star rating.

Apr

Adobe Releases Major Update To Flash 10.2, Including Enhancements For Honeycomb

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Acer, Applications, ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Iconia Tab A500, LG, Motorola, News, Optimus Pad / G-Slate, XOOM

The latest update to Flash 10.2 for Android (version number 10.2.157.51) hit the Market earlier today and introduced several enhancements, most notably hardware acceleration for 720p videos (mentioned here earlier), albeit only on Honeycomb tablets.

Browser integration in Honeycomb has also been improved, and "important bug fixes and security enhancements," including a fix to the "critical" vulnerability discovered a few weeks ago, have been made across the board - not just in Honeycomb.

The only problem - both of the Honeycomb enhancements above require a yet-to-be-released system update, which could potentially bear version number 3.1, at least according to the app's initial changelog.

Apr

PSA: Take It Easy, AT&T Isn't Targeting Unauthorized Android Tethering (And May Never)

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, AT&T, Editorials, News, Tips & Tutorials

There's been a lot of talk about AT&T's crusade against rogue tethering lately, and it all comes back to this AT&T text message sent to some poor iPhone customer(s):

AT&T Free Msg: We’ve noticed you’re continuing to enjoy the tethering feature with your smartphone service. Remember, you need a tethering plan ($45/mo, incl. 4GB) to use this feature, so we’re planning to update your line with the required plan soon.

Yes, the carrier everyone loves to hate is cracking down on unauthorized tethering - and they are automatically switching violators onto AT&T's 4GB data plan with tethering access, at a steep $45 a month.