Devices By Manufacturer - 433/534 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

Sprint Officially Launches 4G (WiMax) In The SF Bay Area For San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, And Oakland

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Epic 4G, EVO 4G (Supersonic), News, Sprint

Earlier this year, on June 16th (which also happens to be my birthday), I stepped out of a train in Mountain View and, to my delight, caught my first ever 4G signal in the Bay Area. It seems I was not alone, and soon many of you were reporting seeing a weak signal, which slowly grew stronger and spread across the Bay.

Fast forward 6 months, and the announcement is finally here - Sprint just unleashed the 4G hounds and is officially supporting San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, and Oakland in full capacity. The new WiMax connection has smaller latency and is over 5 times faster than 3G, although the coverage area still lacks quite a bit.

Dec

US Cellular LG Optimus U Review: What Free Phones Should Be Like

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in LG, Optimus U, Phone Reviews, Reviews, US Cellular

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

Let's face it: free phones are usually synonymous with crap phones. That's what the Optimus U is trying to change - and, at least on paper, it looks like it might just be able to accomplish the task. That said, this is a phone sold by LG and US Cellular, both of whom have yet to display real talent when it comes to Android - and there's a lot that could go awry, what with the lack of Flash (both on the camera and in the browser) and the 600 MHz processor. So did the two companies succeed? Has a free Android phone that doesn't suck finally been made available?

Dec

Costco Reduces Price Of Samsung Galaxy Tab To $500 With One Month Of Data From Verizon

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News

Last Updated: December 26th, 2010

Though we still couldn't reliably confirm a similar Galaxy Tab deal at Best Buy, here's a legitimate sale - Costco is selling Samsung's seven-inch tablet for just $499.99. Customers purchasing the device from Costco will also have to pay an activation fee (refundable with a mail-in-rebate) and sign up for at least one month of data from Verizon, who offers the following data plans for the Galaxy Tab:

$20/month for 1GB of data
$35/month for 3GB of data
$50/month for 5GB of data
$80/month for 10GB of data

The reduction in price is great for customers who are looking to get a taste of the Android OS in a tablet form factor.

Dec

[Exclusive] HTC EVO Shift 4G Appears In Best Buy's System: $150 With Contract, $550 Without

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in EVO Shift 4G (Speedy), Exclusives, HTC, Knight, News, Sprint

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

If you've got your eye on Sprint and HTC's latest WiMax-capable baby, you're in luck - an anonymous source at Best Buy has just sent us the following shot of their system:

It appears the EVO Shift 4G, or SKU 1768561, will retail for just $149.99 on contract. As an unexpected (but very welcome) surprise, shoppers looking to upgrade to the phone from an older device will be charged the same $149.99 as new customers, provided they also sign up for a new two-year contract.

Those of you who prefer to buy your devices off-contract will be coughing up $549.99, while those who would rather go with a one-year agreement will be handing over $299.99.

Dec

Samsung UK Says Froyo Update Now Available For All UK Networks

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Carriers, Froyo 2.2, Galaxy S, News

Fresh off the presses (read: Twitter), @SamsungUK has just tweeted saying that Android 2.2 (Froyo) is now available for the Samsung Galaxy S "on all networks." As this is SamsungUK,I'm guessing that means in the UK only, but I've tweeted back asking for clarification just in case - although whether I hear anything back is dubious at best. Regardless, I'll post here once we have some clarification. It looks like the update will have to be applied manually, through Samsung's KIES software.

To anyone unfamiliar with the situation, this update has been a long time coming after having been delayed a few times - which would explain why people were fairly pissed.

Dec

Well, This Should Sell A Few Phones - Google Builds A Fully Operational Gigantic 42" Nexus S For Best Buy [Video]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung, Videos

Still playing with dummy units while shopping for your next phone at your local retailer? Those things are annoying, aren't they? You can hold them in your hand, but you can't touch or interact with them in any way.

Best Buy may just have the solution. You'll have to take a few steps back in order to see the new Nexus S demo unit in all its glory, because it's a fully functional 42" monster, complete with a working touch screen, live wallpaper, apps, and everything that a real Nexus S contains.

After hearing the news of the largest Android phone ever arriving to the San Carlos Best Buy, Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch rushed to get some hands-on with a device you can't even fully hug.

Dec

Next Version Of HTC Sense UI To Feature Online Media Store, "Natural Interaction"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, News

I'm no huge fan of UI overlays, but even I have to admit that HTC's Sense is getting better and better. With features like HTCSense.com and even an e-books store, there's no arguing that it's become more than just an Android skin - in Europe, at least.

It looks like the US is finally on the agenda for the new Sense. According to Drew Bamford, HTC's head of User Experience, the company will be rolling out a new version of the UI next year, which, among other things, will bring us Americans the features Desire HD and Desire Z owners have been enjoying for a while now.

Dec

HTC Hints At Its Next 4G Phone, Unveil Coming January 6th - A Verizon Phone At Last?

Posted by Brian O'Toole in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

HTC's released plenty of phones lately, but Verizon - arguably the biggest Android carrier - hasn't been getting any love since way back with the release of the Droid Incredible. What better way to bring it all back than with an LTE launch phone? Judging from HTC's rather smug (who can blame them?) teaser page, they're set to hit the ground running with a launch of the "Incredible HD" on January 6th. That coincides happily with the start of the Consumer Electronics Show, where Verizon are already expected to be pushing their LTE agenda.

It may not be the only LTE device readying itself for action with Big Red, but staunch HTC fans have been somewhat starved of choice on the famously reliable CDMA network of late.

Dec

OTA Update Fixes Bugs, Brings Latest Version Of Maps To Samsung Nexus S

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

The Nexus S may have just been released, and it may be running the latest version of Android - but Samsung and Google aren't holding back on software updates. Instead, the two have teamed up to release the first OTA update for the device, which contains "important bug fixes" as well as the latest version of Google Maps. Don't feel like waiting for the update to hit your device? The file is already available to download from Google's servers, so after this, you can simply flash it as you would any other ZIP file:

After the file is downloaded, rename it to "update.zip".

Dec

"Android Data" Trademark Withdrawn From Erich Specht, Google Free To Continue Calling Android "Android"

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Android OS, Google, News

If you were worried that Google would no longer be able to call its mobile operating system "Android," fear not.

From 1998 to 2002, a gentleman by the name of Erich Specht ran a company called "Android Data." Android Data went bankrupt in 2002, and Erich hasn't used the name since. However, when he heard of Google's use of the "Android" name, he put together a website to "prove" that Google had infringed on his trademark. Shortly after, he sued Google, Android Inc., and the Open Handset Alliance for infringing on the name for $94 million.

Luckily for us Android enthusiasts, the judge in charge of the case wasn't convinced and consequently threw both the lawsuit and Erich's original trademark out the window, stating that the latter could result in confusion with Google's trademark and that Erich had used his mark "as a sword" against Google.