Welcome to the Android Police Week In Review, your source for the biggest and best Android stories of the week, in an easy-to-digest and totally-not-humorous format. Really. I mean it. So, what have we got this week?
Also, don't forget, you can catch a lot of this news in our weekly podcast.
Special Features
- Our own Ron Amadeo has made this amazing chart of Android version distribution over time, and if you don't like big colorful charts, we just can't be friends. Well, unless you're colorblind. In which case, I'm sorry, I take it back. We can be friends.
Hardware Reviews
- The Acer Iconia 510 is made by Acer, out of plastic, and it has a really corny Olympics partner logo on the back. Surprisingly, this didn't end with our own Cameron Summerson slitting his wrists - he actually loved the thing.
- Aaron Gingrich reviewed the HTC One X in the international Tegra 3 flavor, and that display must be made from unicorn blood, because there's just no other way it could work beside magic. Next week, we tour HTC's top secret unicorn farm.
- The ASUS Transformer Pad 300 is really just a Transformer Prime that got lost on the way to the aluminum unibody chassis factory.
- The Capta is a camera tripod for your phone that isn't actually a tripod and uses alien goo to hold your phone. Gross, or brilliant? Or both?
- Samsung tried to make some high-end earbuds called the EHS-71 and oh god why Samsung, why?
- Meelectronics' S6 sports earbuds are sporty, which happens to be something I know nothing about, so you should probably read the review.
Carrier 411
- Part of Verizon's Ice Cream Sandwich update list slipped out, at which point several dozen XOOMs across the nation were thrown at various hard objects, set on fire, or given very disappointed looks.
- Part of T-Mobile's ICS list leaked too, but it took longer and doesn't cover as much as Verizon's (it actually covers more. I lied. Come on, I had to make that joke).
- Republic Wireless has begun beta invites, will presumably become Empire Wireless after it figures out how making money in the telecom industry actually works.
Rumor Roundup
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Galaxy S III rumors are a lot easier to read after you've stared directly at the sun for an hour. Go on, try it.
- This is probably a Galaxy S III in a decoy case which isn't like what Apple does at all.
- It's going to be the i9300, so if you were holding the world's saddest, nerdiest office pool of all time, there's your winner.
- TheNextGalaxy.com launches, crashes, goes back up, hugely disappoints.
- The GSIII will have four cores and that might excite you if you have a beard.
- T-Mobile is getting the Galaxy Note, and the image in my head here is basically Andre The Giant driving a Geo Metro.
- The Incredible 4G shows up on DroidDoes.com, not like that's ever happened with a fairly boring, unanticipated DROID device before. Gee, I wonder why that is, Verizon?
Code Google
- Google is selling unlocked Galaxy Nexuses for $400 and - wait, what's this? I'm hearing Verizon headquarters has just been attacked by an angry mob. We'd bring you live video, but it seems no one there has a phone with more than 15% battery remaining.
- JBQ talks about how Sony has done more for Android's source code than any other manufactuer and that should be no surp- whaaaaaaaaaa?
- Google Drive is live, and if you've thought to yourself at some point "Gee, I wish sharing files in the cloud was harder," you're going to love it!
The Hotsheet (device news)
- Tegra 3 vs. S4 One X: one of the biggest mobile chipset fanboy face-offs of all time (though that probably isn't saying much).
- The HTC One S is now available on T-Mobile, but don't forget your money-dollars - you'll need 200 of them.
- The unlocked GSII is now receiving ICS in the US, which is exciting news for approximately 12 people.
- Sprint's Galaxy Nexus is having technical difficulties with the Sprint network, wrote the least surprised man ever.
- Device Updates: Sony Tablet S, Acer Iconia A100, GSM Galaxy Nexus, Amaze 4G, T-Mobile G2x, Transformer, RAZR / MAXX.
App Updates
- Eden To GREEEEN is a very pretty game that I could not for the life of me figure out, which either says very little for my intelligence, or the game's intuitiveness.
- We review Dark Meadow, and like many Android games, it will haunt your dreams, but surprisingly, not because it's awful. I'll try it out at some point. In a well-lit room. With the sound off. On easy.
- TGI Friday's has an app that makes paying for your food easier, though I'm not sure how you'll manage that with your hands covered in grease, ranch dressing, and mozzarella stick crumbs.
- Apex Launcher has gone Pro. It's pretty neat.
In Other News
- Pixel Qi has a new display technology. I'll believe it when I see it. That one was probably a low for this roundup.
- Dan Rosenberg, one of the world's foremost beard authorities, has made a security presentation about Android and rooting vulnerabilities.
The Weekend Poll
- Are you using Google Drive? Well, or trying to use.