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Droid RAZR now available in blue from Verizon
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Design, Google, Handhelds,
Not feeling all the black and (sometimes) white Android devices out there? Well, prepare yourself, because Verizon has announced that a blue version of the Motorola Droid RAZR is on the way. Just to be clear, the only thing changing here is the color, so you'll get the same 4.3-inch display and Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS that all the other RAZRs are rocking. The blue model officially goes on sale next week, but you might be able to find it at physical Verizon stores a little sooner than that.
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Instagram now available for Android
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Software,
Today marks the released of what may, quite possibly, be the most anticipated iOS-only app to hit Android, as Instagram has finally arrived on the Google side of the fence.
Instagram is the massively popular photo-sharing social network that's garnered over 25 million users, and up until this point, it's only been available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. That changes today. Instagram for Android works on any Android device running version 2.2 or higher, as long as they support OpenGL ES 2. Similar to the iOS version, you can share your Instagram posts to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Foursquare. Soon, Flickr will be an option as well.
You can download Instagram for Android right now from Google Play, completely free.
HTC One S: Dual core, unibody enclosure, awesome camera
Posted by Andrey Malskiy Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Google, Handhelds,
The HTC One S, looks just like any other average phone on the market at first glance. It doesn’t feature the screen real estate that would make your plasma blush, or screaming specs to that blow your computer outta the water. Instead, what HTC has accomplished is that they've created a phone that meets anyone’s mobile needs. The phone features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a new 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8260A.) The HTC One S will be running Ice Cream Sandwich paired with the newest version of Sense UI, making it one of the still few smartphones to run Android 4.0. Alongside the new processor, HTC has also beefed up its camera and software; the phone sports an 8 megapixel f/2.0 autofocus lens and HTC’s ImageChip. With the new improvements you’ll be able to shoot your videos in 1080p and simultaneously take snap shots. Lastly, and this is a cool one, the body is actually made by a plasma-heated micro arc oxidation process that results in a unidoby aluminum frame with a nice ceramic finish and helps this phone achieve its 7.9mm thinness. Throw in Beats Audio, and you've got hat amounts to a very capable smartphones in the One S. Expect this one to hit T-Mobile soon.
Check out a video that HTC put together of the One S after the break.
Click to continue reading HTC One S: Dual core, unibody enclosure, awesome camera
Leaked images of LG Optimus 3D successor CX2
Posted by John Ball Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors,
Thanks to Pocket Now, we have our first look at what is rumored to be the successor to the LG Optimus 3D, currently known as the CX2. From initial information and pictures, the new phone is not much better than the Optimus 3D, having what seems to be a higher focus on form factor rather than function. With an upgraded CPU that goes from 1.0 GHz dual core to 1.2 GHz dual core, and with 8 GB of internal storage, there is not much difference between the two phones in the hardware department.
The thickness of the device, as it stands right now, is 0.39 inches. That's considerably less than the Optimus 3D at 0.47 inches. The width of the display on the CX2 is around 4.7 inches, which matches the original specifications, although it is said that LG swapped out the original display panel for a brighter one. The last morsel of knowledge that we have right now is that the device will, by default, be running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. We can hope to find out more about this phone next month at the Mobile World Conference.
Samsung Galaxy Note coming to AT&T’s 4G LTE network
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
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Samsung has announced that its Galaxy Note mini-tablet/super-big phone will officially be coming to AT&T in the near future. The Galaxy Note sports a 5.3-inch 800x1280 Super AMOLED Plus display, runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and even includes a fancy stylus (though, they call it an S-pen.) The device will run on AT&T's newly-launched 4G LTE network. We're still waiting on a shipping date, but hey, at least it's confirmed now!
Here’s how to run almost any Android app on the Kindle Fire
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Software,
The new Amazon Kindle Fire is a powerful, dual-core Android tablet for only $200. It doesn't have the quarter-million apps from the Android Market, though; by default, you can only load the "thousands" of apps in Amazon's App Store.
But that's OK. If you have an Android phone around, you can use free tools to load almost any Android app onto the Kindle Fire. You don't need to hack, alter, or "root" your phone or tablet to do this, and Amazon doesn't oppose sideloading apps.
The Kindle Fire can install any app in the standard Android APK format, but I strongly suggest only installing apps you've moved over from a phone or downloaded from a major app store. You can find APKs scattered around the Internet on various sites, but don't use those, even for free apps.
Why not? Developers can't track APKs that are just floating around the Net, so they don't know their apps are being used. That discourages developers, especially small developers, from upgrading and making new apps. Peer-to-peer app piracy sites are also sinks of malware, as they have none of the safeguards you'll find on an app store.
So here's how to move any app from an Android phone running Gingerbread (Android 2.3) to a Kindle Fire. It's a lot of steps, but I'm just being very clear; they go quickly.
Click to continue reading Here’s how to run almost any Android app on the Kindle Fire
Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. Nook Color: The Details
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Handhelds,
The low-cost Android tablet space is heating up. And just in time for the holidays.
Barnes & Noble today unveiled the Nook Tablet, a beefed-up follow-up to the popular Nook Color ebook reader/tablet. The Nook Color also remains in the company's arsenal, but with a lower price. The Nook Color is available now, while the Nook Tablet is available for pre-order and ships by November 18.
Amazon, meanwhile, last month took the wraps of its first color touch-screen ereader/tablet, the Kindle Fire, which is currently on pre-order and ships by November 15.
Click to continue reading Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. Nook Color: The Details
Nook Tablet: The new $249 multimedia tablet e-reader from Barnes and Noble
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,
This morning Barnes and Noble unleashed their answer to the Kindle Fire, and it's the Nook Tablet. The Nook Tablet focuses on multimedia consumption, and keeps true to its e-reader roots with a great book and magazine reading experience. It's got a 7-inch display with Wi-Fi built-in and 16 GB of storage as well. It's thinner and lighter than the Nook Color, with a much faster 1 GHz dual-core processor as well.
The Nook Tablet also has 1 GB of RAM, and weighs in at under a pound. B&N says you should expect 11.5 hours of battery life from the device, which runs a customized version of Android 2.3. That customization, by the way, means that this isn't the type of Android tablet that you can just take and do your will with. It's geared towards things like reading books/magazines/periodicals, email, Internet browsing, video streaming, etc. In fact, a partnership with Netflix means you'll have deep integration of the platform on this tablet, with suggestions showing up on your home screen. Expect games, music services like Pandora, and other entertainment options (like Hulu) as well.
The Nook Tablet ships on November 18th, and can be pre-ordered now.
HTC Rezound, first Beats Audio smartphone, headed to Verizon
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds, Music,
Verizon Wireless and HTC on Thursday unveiled the first Beats Audio-paired smartphone, the HTC Rezound. It will hit Verizon stores and Best Buy on November 14 for $299.99.
The HTC Rezound is a 4G LTE device featuring a 4.3-inch 720p HD display, a 1.5-GHz dual-core processor, 32GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, and the latest version of HTC Sense. It also sports an 8-megapixel camera that comes with an F2.2 lens and records video in 1080p.
It will ship with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, though HTC promised to update it to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich "early next year."
Click to continue reading HTC Rezound, first Beats Audio smartphone, headed to Verizon
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus launches next month
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Handhelds,
Samsung's big hardware upgrade to its first-ever tablet, the 7-inch Galaxy Tab, had a name as of the device's announcement late last month. And Samsung has now finally gotten around to announcing a release date and price for the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. According to the company, the upgraded version of the Galaxy Tab will start selling in the U.S. on November 13 for $399.99 – all of $100 less expensive than the starting price for tablets from Samsung's chief rival as of late, Apple (it's also much smaller than the iPad as well.)
So what are some of the big improvements arriving on this 7-inch tablet refresh? For starters, the 7.0 Plus is taking a leap from Android 2.2 to Android 3.2 – that's a move from the Froyo iteration of Google's operating system to Honeycomb. Samsung's still slapping its Touchwiz interface on top of Honeycomb, which includes new resizable widgets and a sticky "mini app" tray that can be pulled up from any screen on the device and used to load a variety of preset apps on the device.
Click to continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus launches next month
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