Devices By Manufacturer - 405/532 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Android 2.2 Is Here For HTC's Aria

Posted by Zak Stinson in Android OS, Aria (Liberty), AT&T, Froyo 2.2, News

Just as promised, AT&T unleashed the Froyo update for the HTC Aria today. They provided a link to HTC's official download site, complete with instructions for applying the update and a warning that application will result in a hard reset of your phone. The mandatory reset does seem like a great idea, as the issues that plagued the Epic Froyo update were reportedly solved via a hard reset.

There hasn't been any word of major issues with the update - in fact, some users are praising it on AT&T's Facebook page, though this may be due to the small number of people who have actually gotten their hands on it.

Feb

Updated: [Deal Alert] Walmart Wireless/LetsTalk Now Selling Motorola Atrix 4G + Laptop Dock Bundle For $250 On Contract

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in AT&T, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Deals, Motorola

Update: LetsTalk/Walmart Wireless now says "this product is no longer available." When we called them, we were told the sale was a mistake. We aren't yet sure whether the $250 price will be honored for customers who already bought the bundle.

We've already seen some surprisingly hot deals on the powerhouse of a phone that is the Atrix 4G, but LetsTalk/Walmart Wireless' latest offer tops everything. Thanks to them, you can now snag both the Atrix 4G and its laptop dock for just $250 - half of AT&T's price.

The deal is, of course, available only to customers signing up for a new two-year contract (the off-contract price for the bundle is still $1,099.99), but nonetheless, if you've been waiting to pick up an Atrix, this is the perfect opportunity.

Feb

HTC Desire HD, Desire Z, Incredible S Set To Join The Gingerbread Club, But...

Posted by David Ruddock in Desire HD (Ace), Desire Z (Vision), EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), G2 (Vision), Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, Incredible S (Vivo), Merge, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

SlashGear has confirmed with HTC today that the Desire HD, Desire Z, and Incredible S (along with the standard Desire) will be receiving the bump to Gingerbread some time in the second quarter of this year. But, there's a potential caveat: US phones might not be included.

It remains unknown if HTC was also referring to carrier-branded versions of the aforementioned devices in its statement, and if it was, if those devices would be receiving updates at the same time as their unlocked, HTC-branded siblings. Phones in this category include the HTC Thunderbolt and Inspire 4G (both based on the Desire HD), as well as T-Mobile's G2, the EVO Shift 4G, and possibly the HTC Merge (all based on the Desire Z).

Feb

Now That The Verizon XOOM Is Here, When Will We See That Wi-Fi-Only Model?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Editorials, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

If you began drooling from the very first murmurs of a "Pure Google" tablet running Android 3.0 'Honeycomb', to the buzz at CES, through the anticipation building up to launch: your day has arrived and you likely now have a Motorola XOOM in your hands. Congratulations. Of course that would be the $800 Verizon Motorola XOOM that's in your hands. But what about that $600 Wi-Fi-only XOOM? Not only is it not in anyone's hands, but there has yet to be a confirmed release date either.

With nearly every Android phone capable of generating a wireless hotspot to share its data plan with a tablet, taking on the burden of yet another monthly data bill can seem like an unwelcomed guest to many users.

Feb

HTC Officially Announces The Merge, Coming This Spring To North America

Posted by David Ruddock in HTC, Merge, News

Well, after some rumors that the HTC Merge might never arrive, it seems the mysterious but often-seen slider device will be coming stateside sooner rather than later. An official HTC press release for the company's first Android CDMA world-phone popped up only minutes ago:

The HTC Merge™ Smartphone Brings Android™ and HTC Sense™ to HTC's First CDMA Android World Phone

BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HTC Corp., a global designer of smartphones, today announced that the new HTC Merge smartphone will be made available through multiple North American carriers beginning in spring 2011. The HTC Merge smartphone combines a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard with the power of Android 2.2, the HTC Sense experience, a large 3.8-inch touch-screen display and a 5 megapixel camera to create a complete mobile experience for those looking for a truly complete smartphone.

Feb

New Ad Shows $299 Price For Thunderbolt, Continues To Be Most Confusing Device Launch Ever

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Well, another day, another HTC Thunderbolt rumor. Today's addition to the Thunder-rumor-dome is a little different, but don't worry - it's still pretty upsetting. A new Best Buy Ad has shown up with an advertised price of $299 for Verizon's debut 4G handset. Yuck. The Android Police team already thought $249 was a little steep, but $300 for a phone based on a platform that's been around more than 4 months worldwide?

Along with that, there's some delightful speculation about the Thunderbolt's release date having been pushed back to March 10th (which now seems fake). Hats off to Verizon and Best Buy for the best ongoing smartphone troll of all time.

Feb

Motorola XOOM Gets A Teardown, 4G LTE Chip Upgrade Takes 10 Minutes, Not 6 Days

Posted by David Ruddock in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

The good folks over at iFixit gave the Motorola XOOM a teardown this morning, and aside from the ridiculous 57 screws holding it together, it has been deemed pretty tinker-friendly, scoring an 8/10 on the repairability meter.

One interesting piece of information did emerge during the XOOM's disrobing, though - in regard to its much-touched LTE upgradeability. The teardown's author noted that the XOOM ships with a dummy mini-PCI board, presumably holding the 4G LTE radio's slot. What's so fascinating about that? Well, the author claims a seasoned technician could swap out the dummy card and close up in about 10 minutes.

Feb

Samsung Galaxy S II i9100 Pre-Orders Are Live, Shipping In March?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Galaxy S II, News

Could the ship date for Samsung's Galaxy S II i9100 be moved up to March? So says UK eTailer Clove, who has apparently had pre-orders open for some time now, with prices at £510 and £590 for the 16GB and 32GB versions. Surprisingly, it turns out they're not the only one with open doors - Mobile City Online is taking pre-orders for the i1900 as well, charging $700 with free shipping, with a ship date of Q1 2011 (which would be by the end of March). While Mobile City doesn't say whether that's the 16GB or 32GB version, Clove's prices would suggest that it's likely the 16GB.

Feb

Android 2.2 "Froyo" Update For HTC Aria To Be Available Tomorrow, February 25th

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Aria (Liberty), Froyo 2.2, News

It's been a long time coming, but AT&T is finally about to show some love to the HTC Aria: they've announced via their Facebook page that an update to Froyo will be made available tomorrow. The post tells users to check back tomorrow to "learn how to download the update," so this might not be a nice and easy over-the-air procedure. But at least it tells us that one manufacturer is still developing for its older devices.

Source: AT&T Facebook page via Android Central

Feb

Froyo Update For Samsung Epic 4G Halted After Reports Of SD Card Access and Data Connection Problems

Posted by Zak Stinson in Android OS, Epic 4G, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Sprint

Samsung has a reputation for not being the greatest at updating their devices, but this week has been especially rough for them. First, Microsoft had to halt an update to the Samsung Omnia 7 due to reports of bricked devices. Today, Sprint has just stopped pushing the Android 2.2 update for the Epic as users have found hardware problems after applying it.

According to Sprint's support forum, there have been an increased number of calls into their Care Centre about issues with wireless data connectivity and the ability to access the SD card. While it's a relief that no one has reported a bricked phone, I can imagine the long wait for Froyo would be made that much worse by having it break some core functionalities of your device.