News - 63/942 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

[APK Teardown Exclusive] The HTC Myst Facebook Phone - The Facebook App Is Now A Launcher, Looks Like They're Planning A Play Store Release, Too

Posted by Ron Amadeo in APK Teardown, Exclusives, HTC, News

We've managed to score a system dump of the Facebook phone! There's nothing in it that's too earthshattering, and you could probably guess most of the features, but, since we've got it, we might as well take a look at it.

[This is not an April Fool's joke. I promise.]

Now, this being Facebook, nothing really works unless you sign in. The problem is, all of this is pre-release, so it's set up to only work for Facebook employee accounts. Everything is basically packing unintentional always-on DRM, so screenshots are going to be a little sparse. This is all it will do right now:

Build.Prop Specs

The build.prop file will give us a basic idea of the phone this ROM is meant for, so let's take a look.

Mar

DROID DNA Ends The Disappearing Act At VerizonWireless.com While LG Lucid Goes Missing [Updated]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in DROID DNA, News, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: April 1st, 2013

Earlier today, the DROID DNA disappeared from VZW's site. This, combined with all the Verizon-bound HTC One rumors, prompted some in the Android community to wonder whether such a One variant is almost upon us - after all, why would Big Red take down one of its most powerful smartphones so suddenly? The vanishing act didn't last long, however, as the DNA just returned, seemingly alive and well:

It's unclear at this point whether the phone was briefly missing by mistake or Verizon put it back because people noticed, but we've reached out to the media relations team to find out and will update this space if they respond (which is unlikely to happen before Monday).

Mar

Small OTA Updates Rolling Out To The Kyocera Rise On Sprint, Wi-Fi Archos Cobalt 80

Posted by Cameron Summerson in ARCHOS, News, Rise, Sprint

While these two devices are essentially unrelated in general, today they have one thing in common: they're both getting small OTA updates.

Sprint's Kyocera Rise is getting bumped up to build 1.011sp, which brings a few enhancements and general bug fixes:

Kyocera Rise Software Update - 1.011sp

Enhancements/Fixes

Qchat enhancements

Camera Gallery App crashes when attempted to edit picture

User can not pull down status bar during a call

Overlap when signing into Gmail™

Bluetooth connectivity issues

On the other side of the fence is the Archos Cobalt 80, which appears to be getting its first update. This one's just a very small bugfixer, which resolves a couple of issues:

Version 20130202 - March 29th, 2013

Fix an issue with Google talk no sound on loudspeaker on video chat.

Mar

Microsoft Releases Lync 2013 For Android, Brings Holo To The Collaboration Party

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Back in December of 2011, Microsoft released the first version of Lync for Android, which brought real-time Exchange collaboration to mobile. Considering that version came before ICS and the Android Design Guidelines, it looks a little (read: very) outdated on modern smartphones. Thankfully, Microsoft just released Lync 2013, which brings a nice looking Holo-meets-Windows-Phone sort of UI along for the ride.

The app essentially retains all the functionality of the previous version, allowing you to IM, collaborate, and video chat with other colleagues using Lync. It's noted in the Play Store that some features may require Lync Server, though it doesn't make specific mention of what those may be.

Mar

[New App] BBQScreen Mirrors Your Display On A Computer At 25FPS (Root Only)

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Getting your Android display output shared to a larger screen is usually a pain in the butt. You can fiddle with HDMI cables on some devices, rely on sluggish apps, or just wash your hands of the whole thing. But wait, recognized XDA developer and CyanogenMod associate XpLoDWilD and recognized XDA developer nebkat have released BBQScreen. This is a root app that blasts your live Android interface up to a computer over WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB.

Setup is largely painless. Just grab the app and install the client on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. Everything should sync up once you enter the device's IP address in the client.

Mar

[New Game] PIKPOK's 'Into The Dead' Throws You Into The Middle Of The Zombie Apocalypse, And It's Absolutely Terrifying

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

You're cruising the skies in a helicopter, when tragedy strikes. The chopper goes down and everyone dies. Literally, everyone. Except you. You awake in a new world. A world filled with the undead... and they're everywhere. There's nothing to do but run. For your life.

That's essentially the tone set for Into the Dead, a new first-person endless runner that just hit the Play Store. The game is quite popular on the iOS side of things, and for good reason – it looks amazing. Seriously, if you haven't watched the above trailer yet, please do so now. It's so surreal and eerie, and the music sets the mood perfectly.

Mar

[New App] DISH Releases DishWorld For Android – International TV Streamed Right To Your Device

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

If you're reading every word of this post and running it through an internal translator to output a language your brain understands, DISH has something for you. The DishWorld app has launched on Android, bringing over 90 channels in 12 (non-english) languages to your device over the internet. It requires a subscription, but no hardware on the roof.

DishWorld programming is currently offered in Arabic, Bangla, Brazilian (Portuguese, presumably), Cantonese, Filipino, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Vietnamese (Mandarin and Taiwanese are coming soon). The channels cover a wide range of interests including sports, movies, news, and drama. While the service is aimed at live TV, there is also an "8-day replay" option to rewatch any program that has aired on any subscribed channel in the last 8 days.

Mar

Verizon And Delphi Officially Launch Vehicle Diagnostics Service - $250 For The Module, $5 A Month On Your Bill

Posted by David Ruddock in Accessories, News, Verizon Wireless

If you're a car nut, a paranoid parent, or a small business owner looking to do a little, uh, company vehicle economy analysis, Verizon's teamed up with Delphi to create the Vehicle Diagnostic system. It's actually pretty cool!

Verizon will sell you the Delphi hardware module, which should work with a majority of ODBII-compliant vehicles 1996 and later. You hook this little guy up to your vehicle's ODBII port, and it automatically starts sending data back to your web dashboard (and/or the Android app) via its built-in data connection. If you have a Verizon Share Everything plan, it will set you back $5 a month, though the data usage it brings will likely be pretty near negligible.

Mar

AT&T Pushing Small Update (I777UCLL6) To Galaxy S II With Bug Fixes And Security Enhancements

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in AT&T, Galaxy S II, News

According to a forum post on AT&T's support site and some scattered user reports, the carrier's Galaxy S II variant is receiving a small update today. Rolling out over the air as you read these words, the software fixes an issue where devices would become unresponsive or power down while idle.

The update also includes the requisite "security enhancements." If you haven't updated your phone to 4.0 yet, well for starters, why not? Secondly, you'll need to do so first before you can apply the update. This is rolling out over the air, so hit your Settings app to find it or just wait for the notification to show up.

Mar

[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 55: Cheap Unsubsidized Jack Blacks

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 55.

Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The unedited video version of the podcast can be found here - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, tangents, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter as we prepare. Watch at your own risk!