News - 782/941 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Mythical T-Mobile HTC Pyramid Rumoured With A 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in HTC, News, T-Mobile

Another day, another Android phone rumour. Android And Me received a tip from a "regular source" about HTC's first dual-core smartphone set to launch on T-Mobile in May 2011. The phone, codenamed the "Pyramid", will reportedly feature a 1.2GHz dual-core MSM8260 Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm, a 4.3-inch qHD display (with a resolution of 960x540), and support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network for 4G connectivity.

We do not wish to speculate on the veracity of this rumour, however Taylor from Android And Me has stated that the regular source has provided accurate information in the past and in this case, TmoNews has confirmed the rumour through another independent source.

Feb

Honeycomb Will Come With An "Encrypt Tablet" Feature - Business Users And Spies Rejoice

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, XOOM

Earlier yesterday, Google demoed some of Honeycomb's most impressive features, however one of its best features seems to have slipped under the radar. While playing around with the Motorola XOOM, Engadget noticed an "Encrypt Tablet" option in the settings page.

At this time little is known about the encryption standard that will be used or whether the encryption process will affect the tablet's other features in any way. All that is known is that your accounts, settings, downloaded applications, media, and other files will be encrypted, and you will require a numeric PIN or password to decrypt the data. Additionally, it will take an hour (or more) to encrypt all your data.

Feb

For fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu Fans: Forever Alone SMS Widget For Stock Messaging App

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

Those of you who are familiar with F7U12 (FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU) comics will appreciate this: developer Jor dan has released a Forever Alone widget for the stock messaging app. When your unread SMS count is 0, the widget displays the Forever Alone face. When you have unread messages, it switches to the happy Forever Alone face (coincidentally, is there an official name for that?) and shows the count.

If this doesn't make sense to you because you're not familiar with the meme, perhaps the screenshots can help clarify:

^{Left: no unread messages because you're forever alone. Right: Yaaay, 2 unread messages!}

The app is free and available now in the market.

Feb

[Recap] Missed Today's Honeycomb Event? Here's All You Need To Know + Watch It In Full On YouTube

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Videos, XOOM

Today has definitely been one of the more exciting days this year, at least in the Android department. Last week, Google sent out invitation for a Honeycomb-related event, where we, of course, were expecting detailed walkthroughs of Android 3.0 and hands-on with the Motorola XOOM.

Rumors of the web store that was promised almost a year ago as well as Google Music, teased at the same time at Google I/O last year, were flying, and one of them definitely came true today - we've finally got ourselves a web-based Market with over-the-air app installations.

Instead of Google Music, we got a different present in the form of in-app purchases, which will, hopefully, put an end to multiple variations of apps (Lite, keys, Demo, etc), help curb piracy, and allow for easier microtransactions within existing aps and games.

Feb

SwiftKey Announces A Tablet-Optimized, Tron-Inspired Honeycomb Keyboard

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News, Videos

We can't say we didn't see it coming, considering we saw this preview of the tablet-optimized SwiftKey keyboard during CES, but what SwiftKey is announcing today looks quite a bit different, to say the least.

Allow me to introduce Swiftkey Tablet - a tablet-only Honeycomb keyboard set to launch around the same time as the Motorola XOOM tablet. Sticking with the 3-way-split design, the new holographic look reminds me quite a bit of Tron. If you watch the video below, you'll see that the UI is quite... magical, with suggestions floating up when clicked. The dual space bar design and the presence of arrow keys are very welcomed as well.

Feb

"Monster Madness" And "Great Battles" Demoed On Honeycomb Tablet, Coming Within A Month

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Games, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

We've already seen a few apps shown off at Google's live Honeycomb event, including two 3D games that take full advantage of both cores on the Tegra 2 processor. Monster Madness, ported from the PS3 to Android, is a hack and slash game with amazing 3D graphics and destructible environments, while Great Battles is an epic RTS that's also called an "educational game." While that doesn't sound that cool, just take a look at the pictures of the game in action. If this is what we can expect from Tegra 2 games, gaming on Android is about to get a whole lot better - and apparently sooner rather than later, as both games are expected to be released within a month.

Feb

Super LCD-Packing Samsung Galaxy SL Official, Could Replace GT-i9000 In Some Regions

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy SL, News, Samsung

I must admit that I was very skeptical of this morning's Samsung GT-i9003 rumors, simply because they involved a Galaxy S successor with a Super LCD display. This seemed suspicious to me because Samsung has spent a lot of time hyping up Super AMOLED, but it turns out the rumors are true - the Galaxy SL, or the i9003, is now official.

Besides the addition of the aforementioned Super Clear LCD screen, the SL differentiates itself with a 1GHz TI OMAP 3630 CPU; the original Galaxy S devices were powered by a 1GHz Cortex A8 "Hummingbird" processor. The phone will also ship with Android 2.2, 16 GB of internal storage, and a 1650 mAh battery (the GT-i9000 had a 1500 mAh unit) - all in a 9.9mm frame (the i9000's thickness was 10.59mm).

Feb

Dell Streak 7 Available Now - Are You Getting One?

Posted by David Ruddock in Dell, News, Streak 7, T-Mobile

The world's first 4G (subject to your definition) tablet is available now! Well, if you live on the East Coast, and assuming snow or rain or some terrible combination thereof aren't preventing you from going outside. Those of us west of the Rockies will have to wait another 2 hours before getting our Streak on, but I feel like my LA sunshine is worth it. Of course, anyone can order it online right now. Oh, and you can get it directly from Dell as well.

A quick reminder on the specs:

NVidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor
16GB internal SD storage plus SD card slot
7" WVGA display
5MP rear and 1.3MP front cameras
Android 2.2 w/ Dell Stage UI

While we were thoroughly unimpressed with the Streak 7 (see Brian's hands-on), there's no denying the attractiveness of Tegra 2 power and HSPA+ speeds.

Feb

[Updated: It's Back] Android Market Currently Experiencing Downtime - A Sign Of Things To Come?

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, Google, News

Update: And it's back, with no noticeable changes. Nonetheless, we'll be sure to let you know if and when Google announces something Market-related - stay tuned!

We don't want to jump to conclusions here, but it's February 2nd - the day of Google's Honeycomb- and "Android ecosystem"-related event, and the Market is currently experiencing downtime. It makes perfect sense given the rumors we've been hearing about an upcoming update to the Market, though it could, of course, be nothing more than scheduled maintenance. We hope we'll find out exactly what this is about later today - whatever it is, we'll keep you updated (pun intended)!

Feb

Samsung Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile's Fastest Smartphone Yet, Launching Later This Month Alongside An Expanded HSPA+ Network

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Galaxy S 4G, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

Following several wild conspiracy theories, a smattering of purported leaks and rumors, and an odd semi-announcement a few weeks ago, T-Mobile and Samsung have finally revealed the full specifications of their latest smartphone, the Galaxy S 4G.

While it's not exactly revolutionary, it does pack some unique goodies - most importantly, T-Mobile claims its Samsung ST-Ericsson M5720 HPSA+ 4G modem makes it capable of theoretical peak download speeds of 21 Mbps, whereas the G2 and myTouch 4G are limited to 14.4 Mbps. As an added bonus, T-Mobile just announced that it's expanding its HSPA+ network - it is now available in eight new major metropolitan areas.