14
Dec
rsevo2
Last Updated: December 26th, 2011

And so it begins - Android Police's First Annual Mega-Holiday Giveaway Series. For the next ten days, you'll have chances to win all sorts of awesome Android phones, tablets, and other goodies. (As a note to our international readers, this first contest features prizes that don't work outside the US, but don't worry, we have some more stuff coming for you later today.)

This contest is now over. Here are our winners, selected at random:

13
Dec
204096-331x600

If you've got a Droid Incredible 2, you may want to grab it and hit the Settings > About phone > System updates option, because a new OTA update just started rolling out. This one is mostly a big fixer, but it does add a bit of new functionality to the device:

Security Features:

  • Includes Google BT/DigiNoTar security patch.
  • Includes Google security patch for upgrading libpng to 1.2.46
  • Includes Wi-Fi password security patch.

Device Features:

  • Support local video playback when in Airplane Mode.
  • 5 bar Received Signal Strength Indicator support.
  • Improvements to Clock and Alarm features.
  • The "Disable While Roaming" selection will work accurately when roaming in Canada.
08
Dec
sensation

If you own a HTC Sensation 4G on T-Mobile, you'll be glad to hear that Big Magenta has started rolling out a performance and stability software update for your device. This update, Android 2.3.4 / software version 1.50.531.1, will include a list of improvements, and should hit all devices by January 15. Here's a full list of what the update has to offer:

  • Software stability
  • Improved battery life
  • Improvements to Trace dictionary
  • Screen unresponsiveness resolved
  • Device taking screen shots resolved
  • Icon pixilation resolved
  • Improved Wi-Fi connection
  • Green lines on photo resolved

From what it looks like, Sensation 4G owners will be pleased with this one.

07
Dec
htc-logo

Remember this? 

Apparently the demand for a hardware buttoned, Gingerbread packing, 7 inch tablet (with optional pen input!) at full price isn't very high, because the HTC Evo View 4G is hitting the bargain bin yet again.

This time it's over at 1saleaday.com, where you can get an Evo View 4G for $234.98 (after shipping), that's a full $4.97 less than it was 3 days ago (which sold out in minutes), and $165 less than Sprint's theoretical $400 off-contract price.

Untitled-1

Their title is wrong. It says dual core, but trust us, unless they have some super secret prototype we've never heard of, the tablet you receive will be strictly mono-core.

05
Dec
htc-flyer-tablet

The European GSM variant of HTC's foray into the tablet world, the Flyer, is currently getting its long-awaited bump up to Honeycomb 3.2.1. The update brings many new features to the tablet, including the latest version of Sense for Tablets with "enhanced internet browsing, mail, calendar, and more all optimized for the 7-inch screen."

2011-12-05 11h27_26

The Wi-Fi-only version hasn't been left behind completely, either - HTC states that it will receive its Honeycomb update soon, but no ETA has been given.

While this is definitely a welcome update to the Flyer, it comes shortly after the release of the ICS source code - let's hope that HTC can get the ball rolling and push the 4.0 update a lot quicker than it did with 3.2.x.

03
Dec
image

Amid the turmoil surrounding Carrier IQ, the company's VP of Marketing, Andrew Coward, has come forward in a series of interviews with a few clarifications.

For those not in the loop, the controversy around Carrier IQ is based on developer Trevor Eckhart's findings which indicated that Carrier IQ's software was indeed collecting a vast array of information, and his demonstration showing that said data could be read using a simple command – one that could be executed by any malicious app with access to logcat. This data includes location information, SMS messages, and key taps.

Before we dive into Coward's remarks on the issue of security (and why he says CIQ is not to be blamed for insecure logs), it's important to look at how CIQ actually functions on a device.

03
Dec
image

Yesterday, we caught early wind of two class action lawsuits filed against CarrierIQ, HTC, and Samsung in Chicago and St. Louis. You can now add a whole new class action suit to the pile, except this time it also names AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Motorola, and Apple in addition to the aforementioned three companies.

Led by law firms from Delaware and New Jersey - Sianni & Straite LLP, Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow & McElroy LLP, and Keefe Bartels L.L.C. - the lawsuit "asserts that three cell phone providers (T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T) and four manufacturers of cell phones (HTC, Motorola, Apple and Samsung) violated the Federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act." CarrierIQ is not named in that quote, but it is listed in the press release's title, so don't worry - the whole gang is included.

02
Dec

Although it wasn't among the select few HTC devices confirmed to be receiving Ice Cream Sandwich, we have reasons to believe that T-Mobile's myTouch 4G will indeed be receiving the update in early 2012, according to an HTC customer support representative. Here's the original message:

First I want to thank you for the amazing job you've done building and maintaining my phone.  It's my favorite phone I've ever owned by far.  I'm incredibly excited for android 4.0 (Ice cream sandwich) and am really hoping for the update to come to the T-mobile mytouch 4g.  I absolutely love the phone and don't want to replace it with another.  I'm emailing to request that the T-mobile mytouch 4g be put on the forefront of update candidates.  Thank you again.

02
Dec
carrierIQ

We all knew it was going to happen - the first lawsuits are being filed against Carrier IQ and its data-stealing nature. Not only is CIQ getting hit with a suit, but HTC and Samsung are also being thrown into the ring since many of their phones support the software.

The suit claims that Carrier IQ is in violation of the Federal Wiretap Act, which makes intercepting "oral, wire, or electronic communications" illegal. The punishment isn't a light one, either - $100 per day for every incident; that could potentially cost Sammy and HTC millions of dollars.

Information is just now becoming available about the suit, but we'll make sure to keep you posted as more details become available.

29
Nov
htc-logo

If you haven't heard, Germany has pretty much become the hotspot for smartphone and tablet patent litigation. Most recently, HTC has been hitting headlines in its ongoing battle against IPCom, an intellectual property firm. IPCom claims that HTC's smartphones violate a number of its patents in the realm of 3G GSM technology. HTC says that the last time it made a phone which might have violated those patents was in 2009, and that it has since developed a workaround which does not infringe on IPCom's patents.

A court in Karlsruhe issued an injunction against HTC because of these patents last week.

Page 37 of 117«First...102030...3536373839...506070...Last»