News - 838/946 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Eco-Friendly Motorola Citrus Launching Today On VZW For $50AR, Amazon And Wirefly For Free

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Citrus, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Motorola Citrus, Verizon's newest Android phone that is launching today, won't be turning many heads - it's as budget as it gets. If you remember the specs, it has Android 2.1 (update: no MOTOBLUR on this phone - thanks, Laclyn; however, it's still not entirely stock 2.1 - the launcher and widgets look like MOTOBLUR), a tiny 3" 320x240px screen, and a 3MP camera - it is surprising that Verizon dares charge anything, let alone $50 after a $100 rebate. Add Bing, which now replaces Google search on all Verizon Android phones, and you really have to wonder why anyone would go for something this low-end.

Nov

RUMOR: Dell Opus One To Succeed Streak, Feature Dual-Core CPU And 5" HD Screen

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Dell, News, Opus One

This one is definitely, definitely, firmly in the rumor bin, folks - and if history teaches us anything, it's that in the Android community rumors tend to stick to the lines of "Somebody tells you something somewhat ridiculous, but plausible. Post. Watch it spread like wildfire." Still, sometimes we get things right, too, and with that in mind, I present to you the Dell Opus One.

_{AndroidPolice render of the Dell Opus One}

The Opus One was leaked by somebody who attended a private Dell presentation. Supposedly scheduled for release in May 2011, the phone/tablet is easily mind-blowing on paper: it features a dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU and a 1280x800 ("or somewhere in that range") 5-inch screen.

Nov

Tim Bray Reveals Android Market Now Has Support For Developer "Draft Uploads," Recaps Previous Improvements

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Apps/Games, Development, News

Last night on the Android Developers blog, Tim Bray recapped a few improvements that have come to the Android Market since Froyo landed. Most of them (five out of the six) are old news by now, but the sixth is one we haven't heard about before:

Sixth, Market now has a “draft upload” feature; this removes a lot of the tension and strain from the app-update process. Get your screenshots and feature graphics and text and APK all squared away with as much editing as you need to, then update them all with one click.

Hardly a major improvement, but it illustrates the fact that they're still working on the market - particularly from the developers' side of things.

Nov

8pen Updated To v1.1 Bringing New Features And A Free Price Tag

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Applications, Apps/Games, News

It seems that the creators of 8pen have been listening intently to user feedback on their radical new input method (see our original post for a video demonstration), because yesterday they released a rather nice update. One of the main issues of contention that Android users had with 8pen was that it was not free, and simply took too long to get used to to trial fairly within the Android Market's 24-hr refund period. It appears that 3qubits have either made enough money from 8pen already, or are planning to pursue a different revenue model, since this update removes the entry fee altogether.

Nov

Motorola Backflip Finally Officially Hits Android 2.1

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Backflip, Eclair 2.1, Motorola, News

It's hardly the latest and greatest, but it's a hell of a lot better than what users of the AT&T Backflip were stuck on previously - that's right, a manual update to Android 2.1 Éclair for the much ballyhooed device is now up on both AT&T's and Motorola's servers.

It's not an OTA (over the air), and it comes with an installation guide worthy of a novel, just like the Cliq yesterday. Unlike the Cliq upgrade, however, Backflip owners have a choice of an automated online upgrade tool in addition to the manual approach. Hey - we'll take our dessert regardless of the delivery method.

Nov

More Rumors About The HTC Incredible HD Arrive, LTE-Packing HTC Merge Comes Along For The Ride

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, Merge, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

When it comes to Verizon engineers and Twitter, there really aren't any secrets - some employees kind of just let it all out. Such is the case with Jeremiah Nelson (@V3RDICT), who today tweeted out not one, but six items of interest to future LTE customers.

To recap, according to Jeremiah, HTC Merge will not get released this month due to a late decision to equip it with an LTE chip (that's Verizon's version of 4G). The delay could potentially be caused by something else, but Jeremiah is certain that Merge will come out as an LTE phone, whenever it does happen.

Nov

Motorola Introduces Droid 2 Global In A Series Of Videos

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Droid 2 Global, Motorola, News, Videos

Verizon's upcoming Droid 2 Global, which replaces the still relatively young Moto Droid 2, has exposed some skin today on Verizon's how-to video page. Here, the CDMA/GSM packing world phone is shown off in an official introduction, along with a handful of how-to videos demoing specific phone functions. The $200 QWERTY speed demon (it's clocked at 1.2GHz) is scheduled to be released later this month.

And now, onto the goodies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3_KD9b0--Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGnki4khsg8

Watch the rest of the how-to videos in how2moto's YouTube account.

Nov

Samsung Demoes Amazing New Screen Tech At FPD2010: AMOLED In All Sizes, Folding And Flexing

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Devices By Manufacturer, Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung

In a Galaxy Tab far, far away ... there is a 7" AMOLED panel. While other manufacturers are fretting over OLED panel shortages, no such difficulties seem to be presenting themselves to Samsung, as the screen display technology was out in full force at their FPD2010 booth today.

First up is the previously alluded to 7" panel, which appears to be a direct upgrade from the TFT panel used in the current Galaxy Tab. With the same 1024 x 600 resolution, applications should run fine on any potential new model, saving Samsung from any porting legwork with their bespoke apps. The screen also boasts more than 100% of the NTSC colour gamut, 16.7 million colours, and a brightness of 250 cd/m².

Nov

Sony Xperia X12 "Anzu" Photographed In The Wild Running Éclair With Gingerbread To Come

Posted by Brian O'Toole in News, Sony Ericsson

Poor old Sony Ericsson fans; as soon as their X10s get updated to Android 2.1, a new phone leaks out to let them know that end-of-life for their tragically neglected handsets is not far off. However, with this shiny new leaked photograph of the "Anzu", X10 owners can at least take some solace in the fact that even Sony Ericsson's test devices are running outdated versions of Android, despite being rumoured to run Gingerbread on release.

As for the device's hardware, the X12 can be seen to take some cues from the Droid X and EVO 4G, ticking off the same 4.3" screen and HDMI output in a slimline body.

Nov

T-Mobile myTouch 4G Says "Me Too!", Joins The Permanent Full Root Club

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Development, myTouch 4G (Glacier), News

Hot on the heels of this morning's full and permanent G2 and Desire Z root, XDA-Devs members (apparently headed by grankin01) have released a similarly full and permanent root for the T-Mobile myTouch 4G. In fact, the method is very nearly the same, in grankin's words:

unforgiven512 [who contributed to the G2 root] deserves most of the credit for this tutorial as all I did was rewrite this tutorial in my own words (while looking at his in another window), edit the kernel module, and paste links to it and the hboot file with this tutorial. Also, thanks to adwinp for the instructions on hexeditting the kernel module to make it work with our devices.