News - 806/945 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

Vizio Jumps Into The Android Game With VIA Phone And Tablet

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, Vizio, VTAB1008

Last Updated: July 31st, 2011

CES hasn't even started yet, but we're already getting word of a newly announced Android tablet - as well as a handset - from television manufacturer Vizio. The specs are nothing to scoff at, either, as the VIA Phone can certainly hold its own against any phone on the market today:

4.0" high-resolution display
Front-facing camera
5 megapixel rear camera capable of HD video
1 GHz processor
HDMI output
microSD card slot
Wi-Fi N

The VIA Tablet, on the other hand, while definitely not underpowered, might be disappointing to those who are awaiting a dual core tablet:

8.0" high-resolution display
Front-facing camera
Wi-Fi connectivity
1 GHz processor
Three speakers for video conferencing

The devices are also running a custom UI called VIA Plus, which Matthew McRae, Chief Technology Officer at Vizio assures us will be found on any future smartphones, tablets, and TVs from the company.

Jan

eLocity Announces Seven 10-Inch Tegra 2 Tablets, Indicates That Honeycomb Will Be Android 3.0 Rather Than 2.4

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in eLocity, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Here's a little something to tide you over while you're waiting for CES: eLocity today made no fewer than seven Tegra 2-powered Honeycomb tablets official.

While the company hasn't publicized many details about the devices yet (they say in-depth specifications will be available at CES), here's what we do know:

All of them are members of the A10 line
They will feature "high-resolution" multitouch displays
They will be powered by dual-core Tegra 2 processors
They will include microSD card slots as well as USB ports and an HDMI port capable of 1080p output
They will ship with a front-facing camera

While this is all very exciting, there's another item of interest here: the press release consistently refers to Honeycomb as "Android 3.0," despite the previous information we had indicating that Honeycomb would be version 2.4.

Jan

Nielsen Releases Smartphone Market Share Figures, Android Domination Imminent?

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, News

America's most trusted name in bar graphs, Nielsen, released an updated look at smartphone market share distribution today. The results aren't terribly surprising: Android is growing, and quickly at that. Blackberry's free-fall into the abyss has slowed to a steady death march. But what about Apple's fare?

Since the release of the iPhone 4 in June, Apple's total share of the smartphone market has increased by a paltry 0.7%, while Android has gained 10.8% more of the smartphone pie to reach 25.8% of the total - a mere 2.8% behind Apple, as you can see below.

Meanwhile, Android is outright dominating smartphone purchases made in the last six months, representing over 40% of all smartphones purchased since June.

Jan

Android + PacMan + Google Maps = PacMap

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Apps/Games, News, Videos

Last Updated: January 11th, 2011

Yesterday, we received an email tip about a new app called PacMap, which blends virtual/augmented reality, Google Maps, and... PacMan. Unsure of what to make or think of this potentially dangerous, but extremely original and interesting concept, I decided to test the waters last night by submitting the app to reddit. This morning, it was #1 in /r/android, which shows that thinking outside the box is always welcomed. Oh, and did I mention that PacMap is open source? Bravo, Stefan Wagner (that's PacMap's developer).

The goal of the game is described by the author himself as follows:

Your goal is to eat all the dots.

Jan

Samsung USA's Official Update On The Galaxy S Froyo Situation: "We Are Still Running Tests"

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Captivate, Epic 4G, Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Vibrant

If you've been waiting for Android 2.2 "Froyo" to officially hit your Samsung Galaxy S device, be it Fascinate, Vibrant, Epic 4G, or Captivate, prepare to be disappointed, as Samsung is still stuck doing complicated testing required for the upgrade to go live. Countless over-promises and delays have upset many Galaxy S owners over the last months, but after releasing and pulling back Froyo upgrades in Canada, Samsung wants to really do things the right way this time. Back to the waiting room we go.

Source: @samsungtweets

Jan

Sprint's HTC EVO Shift 4G Specs Leak Online

Posted by Nate Kimmey in EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), HTC, News, Sprint

If you're counting down the days until the January 9th release of Sprint's next 4G handset, then you'll probably be interested in the leaked specs, even if you won't find anything too surprising. Thanks to LetsTalk.com, which powers Walmart's online cellphone store, we now know the following:

3.7" display
Android 2.2 with Sense
Slide-out keyboard
4G WiMax connectivity
8GB microSD card pre-installed (upgradeable to 32GB)
8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash
Front-facing camera
Dimensions: 4.63" x 2.3" x .47"
Weight with battery: 4.6 oz

Details on the processor are noticeably lacking. Even though the phone resembles the T-Mobile G2/Desire Z, the addition of a front-facing camera and higher resolution camera (as well as a sliding keyboard as opposed to the "Z-hinge") makes it clear that this is an entirely different device, so there's hope that it could see an improvement over Desire Z's 800 MHz processor.

Jan

MIUI Digital Clock Widget Hits Android Market - Give Your Handset The MIUI Feel Tonight

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Applications, News, Off-Topic

The MIUI ROM is definitely one of the most magical things on Android today. A mix between iOS and Android, the ROM is beautiful, fast, and allows for user-created themes. At times, it doesn't even look like Android. It is a real change; different, but great. In my humble opinion, two of the best parts of the ROM are the beautiful weather widget and digital clock widget. For some time now I have wanted both the digital clock widget and weather widget on my 2.2.1 Nexus One, and now thanks to the development team Factory Widgets, I am now able to use the MIUI digital clock widget outside of the MIUI ROM, and so can you!

Jan

Android: A Look Back To 2010, And A Look Forward To 2011

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Editorials, News

Looking Back: Andy Conquers The World (And Then Some)

What a whirlwind year for Android. Although the T-Mobile G1 - the first Android handset - dropped way back in October of 2008, it arguably took until 2010 for Android to become feasible for the mainstream. In fact, when the Nexus One was released in early January, it was widely hailed as being the first true Android competitor to the iPhone, in no small part due to the advancements made with Éclair.

From there, Android took off: Eric Schmidt announced in May that over 100,000 Android handsets were being activated daily. By June, the number was up to 160,000.

Jan

Verizon Now Selling Samsung Galaxy Tab For $499.99, Issuing $100 Refunds To Those Who Bought It Within The Last 14 Days

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Costco's been selling Verizon's version of the Galaxy Tab for $499.99 for a while now, but that doesn't make Big Red's latest deal any less exciting. As of today, customers can walk into any Verizon store and pick up a Tab for the aforementioned price of $499.99; only there's another bonus here: the package includes $60 of free movie rentals from Blockbuster or Samsung's own Media Hub. Additionally, if you bought a Galaxy Tab within the last 14 days, the carrier will offer you a $100 refund.

What's your take on the matter - is this proof of Verizon's generosity, a result of underwhelming sales figures, or simply a sign of things to come?

Jan

Man Uses Geek Wizardry, Magic To Use HTC EVO 4G As Garage Door Opener

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Off-Topic

In an impressive display of nerdery, XDA member JsChiSurf (who you may remember as the guy behind the re-mapped EVO buttons and a shout-out in Fresh 3.5) has used a host of tools and tricks to create an app that allows him to use his EVO as a garage door opener. Check out the video below (it's on the longer side at nearly 4 minutes, but it's got all the details).

In short, he connects an old Linux server (which was already running in his garage) to a serial relay controller, which is in turn connected to his garage door, to do the trick.