News - 747/941 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

No Leaks Necessary: Official Adobe Flash 10.2 Is Now In The Market

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

One of the more criticized features of the Motorola XOOM was its lack of Flash at launch. It was promised to be updated within a few weeks, and today Adobe has held true to its promise. While XOOM owners have been playing with a leaked version for a week now, the official update to bring Android's Adobe Flash Player up to 10.2 is now in the Market. The new version brings Flash support for dual-core and Honeycomb-running devices. This is the first time the Motorola XOOM can officially utilize Flash.

This does have a different version number from last week's leak (the Market update carries the number 10.2.156.12, compared to last week's 10.2.155.67) so we would definitely recommend that XOOM-owners download the official release.

Mar

[Exclusive] How To Root The HTC Thunderbolt - Instructions By Team AndIRC (V1.02 2011/03/18)

Posted by Justin Case in Development, Exclusives, HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

Update: This method is outdated - please refer to this guide instead.

Jamezelle, jcase (that's me), and all of AndIRC (i.e. everyone - AndIRC is an open dev group), the same folks who rooted the pre-production Thunderbolt in February, proudly present:

A Very Dirty HTC Thunderbolt Root V1.02 2011/03/18

Pros

Root with read/write access to /system
Ability to downgrade and flash any RUU (i.e. signed firmware)

Cons

No custom recovery [yet]
No custom kernels [yet]
The root procedure currently requires flashing a slightly older version of the firmware (RUU_Mecha_VERIZON_WWE_1.05.605.0_Radio_1.07.00.0108r_NV_8K_1.38_9K_1.54_release_166255), which could potentially have more bugs. Right now, we cannot confirm whether LTE/battery bugs are present in this version or not.

Mar

Adblock Plus Adds Support For Firefox Mobile 4

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Applications, News

Blocking obnoxious ads while browsing the web is something that I believe should come built-in to all browsers, or at least those on mobile devices with limited bandwidth. Although the beta version of Firefox 4 for Android (aka Fennec) released some time back, it was only yesterday that Adblock Plus released a development build for its seminal ad-blocking extension for the mobile version of Firefox.

According to the Adblock Plus devs, everything seems to be working smoothly, save for the following:

do-not-track support is not working; and
the number of synchronous requests needs to be reduced (on the to-do list)

Unfortunately, the user interface of ABP on the mobile version of Firefox is quite limited as you are only able to subscribe to one filter at a time.

Mar

Dell Streak 7 WiFi Only Android Tablet On Sale For $379 On Amazon

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Streak 7

Although not yet officially announced by Dell, Amazon has made the Wi-Fi-only version of the Dell Streak 7 tablet available for pre-order on its website for $379.99.

The 4G version of Dell's latest tablet went on sale over a month ago, however its unsubsidized price on Amazon is $449.99. So, the sub-$400 price tag of the WiFi version of this tablet may be an attractive proposition for first time tablet purchasers looking to get their feet wet.

Reviews of this tablet were lacklustre but it may be a compelling device for those looking for a smaller form-factor.

The specifications of this version of the tablet are largely the same as the earlier 4G model, only lacking the cellular radio:

7" WVGA display
Android 2.2 with Dell Stage UI
5MP rear camera
1.3 MP front-facing camera
16GB internal SD storage plus SD card slot
WiFi
Bluetooth
GPS

There is no word yet on when the device will start shipping.

Mar

AT&T Putting The Smack Down On Unauthorized Tethering

Posted by Will Shanklin in AT&T, News

AT&T users who have been tethering their phones' data plans under the radar (either using MyWi on a jailbroken iPhone, or one of many apps like Wireless Tether for Root Users on a rooted Android phone) have been receiving a little nudge from AT&T asking them to sign up for a tethering plan - or face possibly getting signed up for it without consent.

In a lengthy email, AT&T writes "Tethering can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T’s mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with important people and information.

Mar

Unnamed Toshiba Honeycomb Tablet Appears On Amazon - No Word On Price

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Thrive / Regza / Antares / AT100, Toshiba

Last Updated: April 16th, 2011

Over a month after Toshiba first demoed its Android Honeycomb tablet with an awesome teaser site, Amazon has put up a product page featuring the tablet with its specifications and capabilities. The tablet cannot actually be purchased from Amazon yet and there is also no word on pricing or when it will finally become available.

As expected, the tablet's specs are as follows:

10.1" display (1200x800)
NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
Android 3.0 Honeycomb
5.0 MP rear camera with autofocus
2.0MP front-facing webcam
Stereo speakers
USB, mini-USB, and HDMI ports
SD card reader
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
Gyroscope, Accelerometer, e-Compass, GPS and Ambient Light
Screen rotation lock switch
User replaceable battery
Interchangeable rubber backplate, available in a variety of colors

Let us at least hope that Toshiba come up with a name for this device before it starts shipping.

Mar

Rumors Confirmed? Image Of Sprint XOOM Pops Up Online

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Rumors, Sprint, XOOM

Just yesterday, we first heard word that Motorola may be launching versions of the XOOM (and the Atrix) on Sprint's network next month. Today it looks even more probable, as an image of a Sprint-branded XOOM has been posted by SprintUsers forum member r0fl.

The tablet looks identical to the Verizon model, aside from a Sprint logo. While something like this could easily be Photoshopped, keep in mind that the poster of the image "has a proven track record when it comes to unreleased Sprint hardware," according to BGR.

As we had not even heard wind of this two days ago, nothing else is known at this point.

Mar

Rovio (Of Angry Birds Fame) Valued At Over $200 Million, Has Already Raised $42 Million In Funding

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Apps/Games, Games, News, Off-Topic

The success that the Angry Birds games have brought to Rovio is stunning, really: the company was reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy when it released the game, and today, revenue is estimated to be between $50 and 70 million annually. It's perhaps no surprise, then, that the company raised $42 million in funding earlier this month, and they enjoyed the luxury of picking and choosing their investors. They even reportedly determined the terms of investment - quite the reversal of roles.

Rovio's valuation is estimated to be over $200 million already, but the company hopes that's merely the beginning.

Mar

HTC Employees Discuss Thunderbolt In Short Promo Video

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless, Videos

From what we've seen around the AP offices, the Thunderbolt is the most highly-anticipated Android phone in some time. It's no surprise, either: between HTC's respectable name, tested-and-true hardware, and LTE, all accounts describe it as a fantastic piece of kit. HTC has released a short promo video featuring some of the key employees behind development of the device, and it's actually a surprisingly well-shot, well-cut, interesting view - definitely worth the few minutes it takes to watch it.

Our man Jaro has just received our Thunderbolt review unit, so expect our full (and likely exhaustive) review in the coming days.

Mar

Still Waiting For Froyo On Samsung Epic 4G And Transform? Circle Monday, March 21st On Your Calendar (EB28, EC05)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Epic 4G, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Sprint, Transform

According to one of our trusted tippers and backed up by a leak that surfaced earlier today at Android Central, Samsung Epic 4G and Transform owners will be finally getting a taste of Android 2.2 "Froyo" in 4 days - on Monday, March 21st.

It wouldn't be the first time Sprint tried to throw the delicious treat at Epic users - the long-awaited Froyo update began rolling out on February 21st but only lasted 3 days before getting shut down by Sprint due to multiple complications with SD cards and data connectivity. Froyo's most coveted features, such as push notifications, native apps2sd, and Adobe Flash support, plunged into an abyss of unknown depth yet again for those who didn't get a chance to upgrade.