News - 786/946 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

[Weekend Poll] The Great Divide: Is The Tablet/Phone Split Going To Hurt Android?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

Welcome to the first of a new series of polls, where every weekend, we'll ask your opinion on a timely Android-related topic. The goal is to see where the populus stands on issues and foster discussion to broaden our view. So without further ado, let's get into our first poll.

The Great Divide

Ever since the SDK was released, there's been discussion on whether Honeycomb would make it to phones or not. Most of the team here firmly said no - but a few of us thought it could. The debate was fueled by the SDK preview release - specifically, as Ars Technica noted, the emulator could scale down to WVGA resolutions.

Feb

Angry Birds v1.5.1 Is Here With A Wild West-Themed Episode, 30 New Levels, And A Graphics Toggle For Lower-End Devices

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Games, News

Angry Birds fans, you might want to check the "My Apps" section of the Market now - your favorite game just received an update, and it's a big one.

In addition to goodies like a graphics toggle for lower-end devices and support for the code that will be displayed in Rovio's Super Bowl ad (the code will unlock another level), update 1.5.1 adds a fifth episode - "Ham 'Em High." It includes 30 new Wild West-themed levels, as well as 15 levels currently marked as "Coming Soon." Have a look:

Just like previous Angry Birds levels, Ham 'Em High is insanely addictive.

Feb

Honeycomb's Boot Screen Looks Just As Amazing As The Rest Of The OS

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

It's pretty much universally agreed upon that Honeycomb's UI overhaul looks awesome, with its Tron-inspired holographic UI touching just about every part of the operating system. But what about the boot screen? It turns out that looks just as slick - TechCrunch managed to grab a video of it, and - despite the poor lighting - we can see that it looks nothing like previous versions of Android, which featured the Nexus "X" animation. Check it out in the video below:

Also noteworthy: The XOOM boots in less than 10 seconds. Mmm, Tegra 2 goodness.

Source: TechCrunch

Feb

Interview With Uwe Maurer, The Co-Founder Of AppBrain: "The Android Web Market Is Here - Now What?"

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, Editorials, Interviews, News

Last Updated: April 14th, 2011

Google's web-based Android Market announcement earlier this week was by all means no surprise to anyone - we've been waiting for it to arrive ever since its announcement at last year's Google I/O. In the meantime, alternative web-based markets, such as AppBrain.com, have skyrocketed in popularity because they allowed Android users to browse apps and games from their computers rather than being confined to their small phone screens. Even more importantly, alternative web markets had full control over app presentation, which allowed them to develop their own app discovery mechanisms.

AppBrain is probably the best example of such innovation - it combines easy-on-the-eye looks with functional app pages that don't look overbloated with ads, and their slicing and dicing of the Market using advanced filters goes way beyond Google's - it's simply excellent.

Feb

Official uTorrent Remote App Debuts - Manage All Those Perfectly Legal Downloads From Your Android Phone

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Before anyone jumps on me, I know there's a number of remote torrent management applications out there on the Market, including ones that work with uTorrent. This app, however, is being put out by none other than BitTorrent Inc., the owners of uTorrent. That means you can expect a remote torrent client that actually works, as opposed to the aforementioned mediocre alternatives. Not to mention the fact that uTorrent Remote packs a feature set other remote torrent apps simply can't match.

What a suspiciously legitimate download queue.

Unfortunately, there's a catch. You need to be using the 3.0 Alpha build of uTorrent on your PC (get it here) in order for this app to work, which is currently only available for Windows.

Feb

Motorola Releases 15 Seconds Of The XOOM Super Bowl Ad, Pokes Fun At Apple Yet Again

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Off-Topic, XOOM

Super Bowl XLV is going down this Sunday, and while most people can't wait to see the Steelers face off against the Packers, Android fans have another reason to be excited: Motorola plans to air a commercial for the world's first Honeycomb tablet during the big game.

However, for those of us who simply can't wait any longer, Motorola's released 15 seconds of the ad - check it out:

As you can see, Motorola has decided to take yet another jab at Apple and the iPad's lack of customizability - not exactly the most innovative approach, but so long as it piques the public's interest, it should suffice.

Feb

Mysterious HTC Desire 2 Pops Up in Vodafone Inventory System, Is It The Pyramid?

Posted by David Ruddock in HTC, News, Vodafone

A German HTC fan blog by the name HTC Inside published a shot from Vodafone's internal inventory system last night, revealing the existence of an HTC phone by the name "Desire 2". Phandroid pointed out that this may be a European version of the upcoming and equally mysterious dual-core Pyramid, and I'd say that's not too farfetched a theory.

We'll probably find out what this thing is at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (which starts on the 14th), so the mystery shouldn't last a whole lot longer.

HTC Inside via Phandroid

Feb

Motorola XOOM Coming To Best Buy On February 24th, HTC Thunderbolt On February 14th

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), XOOM

A short while ago, the Best Buy Grand Rapids Facebook page prematurely posted a status update indicating the release dates of the Motorola XOOM tablet and the HTC Thunderbolt.

The status update suggests that the Motorola XOOM will be available for sale at Best Buy from February 24, while the HTC Thunderbolt will be available starting February 14 (the day after Mobile World Congress 2011 officially kicks off). Additionally, the Verizon iPhone 4 will be coming to Best Buy on February 10, and the Samsung Presto 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot will be available from February 17.

A Facebook page of a Best Buy outlet does not seem like the most appropriate place to disseminate information on release dates; however, we have also received independent confirmation from a reliable source indicating that the HTC Thunderbolt will go on sale online on or around the date mentioned in the Facebook message.

Feb

Nearly 90% Of Android Devices At Version 2.1 Or Above

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

Google released its monthly update of the Android version distribution charts today, and the battle against fragmentation is slowly being won.

Froyo now accounts for almost 60% of all Android devices, with Éclair hovering around 30%. Donut and Cupcake now make up only one tenth of all Android devices in the wild. Compare that to only 6 months ago, when they took up over 35% of the pie. Android's evolution is certainly impressive, and it doesn't seem like it'll be slowing down any time soon.

Gingerbread represents around 1% of the Android population right now according to Google, which makes sense, as the Nexus S remains the only Android handset being sold with Android 2.3.

Feb

Dell Venue On Sale Now For $500 From Dell; Shipping February 18th

Posted by David Ruddock in Dell, News, Thunder

Do you have $500 laying around to spend on a smartphone? Well then, have we got a deal for you - Dell's most attractive piece of Android hardware to date, the Venue (formerly know by its code name "Thunder"), is up for grabs on Dell's website right now. At $500, it's not too exorbitant a price for an unlocked handset, and you get your choice of frequency band versions: AT&T or T-Mobile. You can expect it ship by the 18th of this month.

There will be no contract pricing, at least for the moment. The plus side to that, of course, is that on T-Mobile you can get a reduced pricing plan as a pay-as-you-go customer off contract.