Carriers - 58/217 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

[Updated: Changelog/RUU] AT&T HTC One X Getting OTA v2.20.502.7 (Android 4.0.4) Eliminating Menu Bar, Giving Users Remapping Options

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, One X (Endeavor)

There's no question – HTC's latest flagship, the One X, is a fantastic device. One major gripe that users have had from day one however (besides broken multitasking) was the pesky menu bar that served to replace its missing capacitive counterpart. Any time users opened an app that wasn't optimized with the Ice Cream Sandwich-style "action overflow" button, the large black bar would appear.

All that is changing for owners of the AT&T-connected One X today though, as a 270MB OTA update (carrying software build 2.20.502.7 and bringing the handset up to ICS 4.0.4) eliminates the bar, instead giving users options to remap the device's multitask key to follow one of three sets of behavior: Always open recent apps, press for menu and long press for recent apps, or press for recent apps and long press for menu.

Aug

Back To School Buyer's Guide 2012: The Best Smartphones For Students (Or Anyone Else)

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, EVO V 4G, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III, News, One S (Ville), One X (Endeavor), Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile

Last week, we took at a look at the best tablets for students and parents alike. Today, we've picked through the hundreds of offerings out there to pick the best overall and best on-a-budget smartphones on all the major carriers. As a bonus, we took a look at the latest offerings on some of the more popular pay-as-you-go carries, which can oftentimes be the best choice for a student.

With that, let's get started.

Best Overall

For the first time in the history of forever, there is one clear winner for "best Android phone" on all major carriers:

The Samsung Galaxy S III

As I started working on this roundup, I realized after completing two carrier breakdowns that nothing would trump the GSIII on any of the Big Four (or U.S.

Aug

MetroPCS To Launch Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G, Still Comes With Gingerbread For $459

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy S Lightray 4G, MetroPCS, News

Today, MetroPCS announced yet another addition to its stable of prepaid Android smartphones. One of the pricier off-contract handsets, the device retails for $459. So, what do you get for a significant portion of your rent for the month? Well, for a Metro PCS phone, it's actually a pretty decent spec list:

4.3" Super AMOLED display
1Ghz processor
8MP rear-facing camera w/ flash
1.3MP front-facing camera
LTE
32GB of "external memory"*

*Note: It's a little unclear what they mean by "32GB of external memory." The device's spec page also lists a 16GB memory card, so it may be that the device has an SD card slot that supports up to 32GB, but only includes a 16GB card.

Aug

[Deal Alert] HTC One X Drops To $79.99 On Amazon Wireless And Costco With New Account Or Upgrade

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Deals, One X (Endeavor)

HTC's latest flagship – the One X – is a gorgeous device, both inside and out. From its incredible Super IPS LCD2 display to its dual-core processor, the One X is a piece of hardware not to be taken lightly. Those of you who may have been lusting after the One X since its debut earlier this year, but who haven't been able to justify its price tag are in luck – the One X (in both white and gray) has dropped to just $79.99 on both Amazon Wireless and Costco.com when you buy it to upgrade from your existing AT&T-connected handset or opening a new account.

Aug

Verizon Confirms HTC Rezound ICS OTA In Official Update Document, Includes The Changelog For Good Measure

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Rezound, Verizon Wireless

If you still had any doubts at this point that the HTC Rezound Ice Cream Sandwich update was indeed rolling out as reported by the first batch of users, let me dispel them right now. Verizon Wireless just updated the official document detailing the Android 4.0.3 rollout (it's indeed HTC build version 3.14.605.12 and Sense 3.6). Here are some screenshots of the doc along with the changelog:

With this upgrade, your device will now run on Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Additionally, here are some feature enhancements included with this software release.

Applications & Widgets
+ V CAST Media Manager has been updated to Backup Assistant Plus with an enhanced user experience.

Aug

HTC Rezound Ice Cream Sandwich Update Finally Starts Rolling Out (v3.14.605.12)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Rezound, Verizon Wireless

After countless leaks, a rumor of questionable origin, and a missed target release timeline of June-July, it looks like Verizon has opened the flood gates, and the HTC Rezound ICS update has started rolling out to the first batch of users, just a few days late.

Update: Verizon just officially confirmed.

The 299MB OTA bears the same version 3.14.605.12 that we heard about a few weeks ago and may take several months to become fully available to 100% of devices. That's the bad news.

The good news is that we've actually been in the possession of the full .12 RUU for a while but haven't bothered releasing it unless we could verify it was indeed the final OTA (it seemed too minor compared to the previous .10 leak).

Aug

New Jelly Bean (JRO03H) Binaries Up For Nexus S/4G, Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi, And Verizon, GSM Galaxy Nexus

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, AT&T, Development, Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

In a post to Google's Android Building group today, Jean-Baptiste Queru once again acted as the bearer of good tidings for developers and tweakers everywhere, announcing that "a new set of proprietary binaries for Jelly Bean are available."

The new batch of binaries includes those of the Nexus S and Nexus S 4G (Crespo and Crespo4G respectively), the latter of which we just recently saw added into the AOSP fold.

The set also includes updates to the both the GSM Galaxy Nexus (maguro), and Verizon's Galaxy Nexus (toro, which itself is ever so close to full AOSP support).

Conspicuously absent from the party is Sprint's variant of the Galaxy Nexus, but there's no surprise there.

Aug

U.S. Cellular Announces Two New Motorola Smartphones: The Electrify 2 And Defy XT

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Motorola, News, US Cellular

If you're just not happy with the current selection of Android devices on U.S. Cellular, two more options are being added to the table: the Motorola Electrify 2 and Defy XT.

Electrify 2

Available online today and in stores tomorrow for $199 after a $100 mail-in-rebate, the Motorola Electrify 2 is (obviously) the successor to last year's original Electrify. This successor is essentially a slightly watered-down Atrix HD, featuring a 4.3" ColorBoost display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Kevlar coating, and Android 4.0.

Defy XT

If rough and tumble is more your speed, then the Defy XT may be a better choice.

Jul

AT&T's HTC Inspire 4G Getting OTA Update To 3.20.502.2, Full RUU Available For Download Now

Posted by Liam Spradlin in AT&T, Inspire 4G (Ace, Stallion), News

It looks like owners of AT&T's Inspire 4G should be expecting an OTA update any time now – HTC posted a notice to their support site earlier indicating that an update carrying software build 3.20.502.2 would begin rolling out July 31, 2012 (today).

The update, which AT&T recommends setting aside about 20 minutes for, brings just a few new features and a small handful of fixes/enhancements. New features include HTC Sense 3.0, "Task Manager," and AT&T Address Book.

Today's OTA also carries call optimization improvements (meant to reduce dropped calls), improved security, a fix for SMS thread contact display, and an improvement to the phone's use of background data.

Jul

Verizon Gets $1.25 Million Slap On The Wrist From FCC For Blocking Tethering Apps, Via Block C Spectrum Rules

Posted by David Ruddock in Legal, News, Verizon Wireless

The FCC and Verizon settled out an ongoing dispute about Verizon's removal of tethering apps from the then-Android Market for devices operating on its network, stating that the "Block C" spectrum rules it agreed to when it purchased the frequency bands obligate it to provide its customers open access to software. Those rules, if you haven't seen them before, are essentially:

[Verizon] shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee's C Block network.

The scope of the FCC settlement (meaning Verizon decided it was no longer worth fighting) is quite narrow - Verizon must now allow customers unfettered access to tethering apps, and in return the FCC will end the investigation.