07
Nov
samsung-galaxy-note-image-23

Chart: Android Phone Size Over Time - We're Going To Need Bigger Hands

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, HTC, Motorola, Samsung

Android has a mysterious case of gigantism, and I'm not entirely certain why manufacturers keep feeling the need to have a bigger phone than the next guy. The size war (all male anatomical euphemisms aside) is on, and we're not sure when it's going to end. Take a look at these device charts for the three major Android manufacturers in (pretty much) chronological order of release:

HTC

samsung

moto

High-end phones only. No QWERTY devices. Phones ordered by release date - more or less. Data from GSMArena.com.

Somewhat ironically, Motorola has shown the slowest rate of touchscreen device size-creep of any of the major manufacturers, having started out pretty big with what, at the time, was the gargantuan DROID X.

06
Nov
motorola corvair

Motorola Corvair Android TV Controller Leaks, Aims To Dethrone Logitech's Harmony

Posted by in Gingerbread 2.3, Motorola, News

Remote controls have been around in one form or another since the middle of the 20th century, and little about them has changed in that time. They still comprise mainly of lots of buttons, most of which you have no idea how to use, and they're not exactly aesthetically pleasing to look at.

If Motorola has its way with this latest project, however, that may soon change. The Corvair, recently leaked on The Verge, is a 6-inch tablet device running Android 2.3, and according to the outer packaging of the product, it's a dedicated TV controller.

Leaked images also show the tablet's contents being displayed on a TV, so it's plausible that the device will be able to stream content wirelessly to compatible units, and control content that's already being displayed in addition to this.

05
Nov
image

PSA: No, This Is Not MSN 2012, Angry Birds 2, Or Modern Warfare 3 For Android - What You Can Do If You See Malware In The Market

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, Tips & Tutorials

In my continuous hunt for new apps, I sometimes run into such obvious malware/crapware that it causes an immediate virtual gag reflex. Sometimes, however, this malware is cleverly disguised and to an unsuspecting user it may seem legitimate.

Here, have a look at what I found today:

image

If you briefly scanned this page, you may have missed the fact that the publisher's name is MicrosDft Corporation (in all caps), or that it's requesting a permission to directly dial phone numbers without your intervention, or that the website in the listing is msM.com.

Thankfully, the amount of 1-star user reviews is now starting to look alarming, but that wouldn't have been the case if you saw it right as it came out.

04
Nov
Android-Money

Why You Should Never Buy A Low-End Android Phone On A Major US Carrier (Read: They’re Junk, And You’re Getting Screwed)

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials

Android’s massive worldwide popularity has, in large part, the availability of cheap, low-end handsets to thank. We all know this. In developing markets in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, Android powers almost all of the smartphones that are being purchased by growing numbers of prepaid subscribers.

Cheap Android phones are, for that reason alone, a great thing. They’re empowering consumers in developing economies, giving them access to the full web wherever they go - something that has generally been the privilege only of the wealthy and of Western nations in the past decade.

But there’s a dark side to cheap Android phones here in the good ‘ol US of A.

04
Nov
image

Download: Leaked Galaxy Nexus Full System Dump (ICL23D), Recovery, And Boot Images

Posted by in Development, Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung

I'm surprised this didn't come sooner, but better late than never, right? The full Galaxy Nexus (presumably GSM) system dump, together with boot and recovery images were leaked earlier today by none other than Paul O'Brien, the founder of MoDaCo, a talented developer, and creator of many custom ROMs. If you remember, previously only the apps as well as certain bits and pieces of Ice Cream Sandwich were made available for download.

The files were extracted by Paul from a test device running build ICL23D and are about 170MB in size combined. You can download all 3 of them over at MoDaCo.

02
Nov
troll-web_thumb

Patent Trolls: What Is Lodsys Actually Asking App Developers To Pay? You Might Be Surprised

Posted by in Android OS, Editorials, Legal

OK, before I even get into this post, let me be clear: this is based on old news. However, it was news that no one seemed to pick up at the time, and when we discovered it, we thought it was quite interesting.

If you're unfamiliar with Lodsys, let's start with a history lesson. They're better known as the shell corporation offspring of a company called Intellectual Ventures LLC, a patent clearinghouse owned by a group of, shall we say, enterprising individuals. Their purpose? Buy as many viable tech patents as possible, and force major corporations into licensing (paying royalties) deals when infringement on any of these patents, which is actively searched for, is discovered.

01
Nov
20110224233315!Android_Market

[Download] Android Market 3.3.11 Adds New Settings - Default Auto-Update, Update Over Wi-Fi Only, Shortcuts, And More

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games
Last Updated: April 25th, 2012

It appears an update to the Android Market is now being pushed out to handsets, and we've got the .apk file for you right now. Warning: this updated Market does not seem to work very well on Honeycomb tablets, there appears to be a number of glitches.

Download Android Market 3.3.11:

Note: Root is not required.

Note: If the Market starts force closing, just open Settings > Applications > Manage > Market, and clear data.

What's changed? So far, we've found:

  • New setting: Auto-update apps (presumably, sets all apps to auto-update mode, woohoo!)
  • New setting: Update over Wi-Fi only
  • New setting: Auto-add shortcuts (automatically adds homescreen shortcuts for new apps, a la Honeycomb)
  • Smaller font
  • New app drawer icon
  • Microphone (voice command) button in search menu
  • Star rating chart on app pages
  • Minor UI tweaks

wm_1 wm_2 wm_3

If you find anything else, let us know in the comments!

01
Nov
20110224233315!Android_Market

[Updated] Editorial: Full Disclosure - Should Developers Be Required To Disclose That Apps Are Ad-Supported?

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, Editorials

Update: Looks like MachineWorks listened -- Duke Nukem 3D is now ad-free.

Earlier today, a somewhat anticipated game went live in the Android Market - Duke Nukem 3D. We covered the release and the news that it was on the way. But reviews of the app on the Market are painting a picture of a less than satisfied customer base, because of a couple key pieces of information that Machineworks Northwest left out of the app description.

First, the game is ad-supported - but it still costs $1 to purchase. The ads cannot be disabled. Now, I'm perfectly OK with developers making paid apps that also have in-app ads, that's a business decision, not a philosophical debate.

01
Nov
20110224233315!Android_Market

Tip: Is Your Android Market App Loading Slowly, Especially On Wi-Fi? Give This Fix A Try

Posted by in Android OS, Applications, Tips & Tutorials

The intrepid folks over at XDA are always tinkering away to try and make using your Android device a better experience. And a few weeks ago, one of them (namely, temasek) found that the Android Market has some issues trying to resolve DNS servers when your device is connected over Wi-Fi. This can cause the Market to load slowly, and it's definitely something I've experienced on my own phone.

The solution? A popular app called Set DNS (note: root is required), which forces your phone or tablet to use a particular name server when connecting to the web, may speed up load times over Wi-Fi.

31
Oct
hi-124-2

Google+ App Updated To 2.1 With Ice Cream Sandwich Styling, Major Enhancements And Bug Fixes

Posted by in Android OS, Applications, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Update: It appears the widget for Google+ has disappeared in this update, and images now appear somewhat compressed and pixelated. It's unclear if this is intentional (It seems one of the app's developers has said the widget will return soon, over on Google+.)

The Google+ app team just dropped a surprisingly massive update onto the Market, and it brings changes galore. In fact, there's so many changes that they've called it a "completely new app." Take a look:

snap20111031_155642 snap20111031_160508 snap20111031_155704

The UI has taken a turn towards the styling we've seen in Ice Cream Sandwich, and menus have been reworked to resemble the next version of Android as well.

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