Verizon rolls out DROID CHARGE Gingerbread OTA update

If you bought a Samsung DROID CHARGE when it launched back in May, you’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time. After numerous leaks, Verizon is finally sending out its Gingerbread update to eager DROID CHARGE owners. As always, you can wait for the over-the-air rollout to come to your area or initiate it manually in the Settings menu. Verizon has a boilerplate for their software updates, and in addition to Gingerbread the CHARGE will get a download manager, the new UI color scheme that was seen in the leaked version, and options for encrypting both the phone and storage card. The calendar app has been updated with some user interface enhancements, and selecting, copying and pasting text should be considerably easier. Perhaps...

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Foxit Mobile PDF Reader available in the Android Market

If you’ve been using the Internet for any amount of time at all, you probably know one of its founding principles: Adobe Reader sucks. Many savvy desktop users choose a lightweight alternative for displaying simple PDFs, and Foxit PDF Reader has long been a favorite among them. Now Foxit Software has released an Android port of its popular reader, and you can download it now in the Android Market. Unlike the desktop version, only a $2.99 paid app is available, but that’s comparable to the other 3rd-party PDF viewers on the Market. The standard zoom and reflow features are present, as well as bookmarks. Foxit seems to be focusing on its reader experience with a set of noted additions: the app will automatically load the last document...

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Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition vs Samsung Galaxy Note

The Media Edition of Motorola's upcoming Xoom 2 Media Edition is a device very much aimed at people on the move. It's a smaller, easier to handle device that still packs a decent punch. To get a view of the device's quality we've decided to measure it against Samsung's Galaxy Note, a device which has more power than most tablets twice its size.SoftwareThe Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition runs on version 3.2 of Android, otherwise known as Honeycomb, which is the version of the platform specifically tweaked and re-designed for tablet use.The software is smart, fast and very easy to use and includes re-designed core apps, a neat new UI and plenty of other add-ons to boot.There are plenty of apps on offer for the OS in the Android Market, but tablet-only...

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Motorola Xoom 2 vs Apple iPad 2

Android tablets are numerous but few have managed to come close enough to Apple's iPad 2 to provide a real challenge. Today's contender, the upcoming Xoom 2 from Motorola, aims to change that.Will the Xoom 2 win the day, or will it be yet another contender steam-rollered by the iPad 2's seemingly limitless charm and good looks?Build & FormApple iPad 2 - 241.2x185.7x8.8 mm, 607gMotorola Xoom 2 - 253.9x173.6x8.8mm, 599gThere isn't much between these devices in terms of design and build. They are both slim, relatively light and admirably crafted.The Xoom 2, with its nicely rounded off corners and slim bevel certainly looks as if someone with an artistic eye has had a hand in its design, and the improvements over the previous model are easy...

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Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones get colorful for the holidays

Thinking of picking up a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones this holiday season? Well, we’ve got some good news for you. The company has announced the launch of the new Beats by Dr. Dre Studio Color headphones. These are basically the same Studio headphones you already know just that they will be available in a spectrum of candy colors to suit your taste and personality. This is not the first time the Beats Studio headphones have been given limited edition colors, but I guess there’s always an excuse to splash new colors onto something. Check out the new commercial for the Studio Color headphones after the break. The headphones are available now in blue, pink, orange and green, with prices starting at $349. ...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Root Method Available

The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus hasn’t been out for long but those of you who have picked one up since its launch can finally root the thing. We’d advise against trying this method on the T-Mobile version right now as we’re not sure if the method is the same for all versions of the device. If you got the unlocked/WiFi models through retail (P6200) then it could be worth a shot. Just remember that you’re taking your own risk and doing this and anything that happens to your device is no one else’s responsibility. Be sure to ask questions at the XDA thread before applying it. You can also find the links and instructions you’ll need there. [XDA, Thanks Kamal!]...

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December 8 is Transformer Prime

One of the tablets that has us really excited is the Asus Transformer Prime. There had been rumors that the tablet would be launching on December 8 with that date surfacing for shipping on Newegg this week. Asus has now reportedly confirmed to the geeks at NetbookNews that December 8 is the US launch date. That date is a week after the tablet launches in Taiwan. If you are in Europe and are lusting after the Transformer Prime you will have to wait longer than geeks in Taiwan and the US, the European launch is set for January. We already know all there is to know about the tablet and it sounds to be a very nice one indeed. It will rock the Tegra 3 quad-core chipset for instance and will have an optional keyboard dock that turns it...

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Volume fix for Galaxy Nexus rolling out now OTA

If you are a proud owner of a Galaxy Nexus smartphone and have been waiting with baited breath for the volume fix to land today is your day. Word is that the volume fix is being pushed out OTA today by Samsung. The roll out will be staggered according to Clove in the UK. Staggered would mean that not all users of the smartphone will get the update at the same time. Oddly enough, the handsets that were expected to arrive with the volume issue fixed turned out to not have the fix applied after all. Buyers of the new devices that still have the issue will be prompted to download the update shortly after turning their new Galaxy Nexus on. Our own Chris Davies has a Nexus in his possession and has reported that the update isn’t available...

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Samsung Exynos 5250 running at 2GHz coming by Q2 next year

We’ve been dreaming about it, but not quite sure when we would see the first Android device clocked at 2GHz (officially of course). The Samsung Exynos chips running at 1.0GHz, 1.2GHz, and 1.5GHz have functioned amazingly well in their Galaxy S II line, and knowing we should see the 2.0GHz SoC in a future tablet is definitely good news. Samsung was very clear this SoC would be geared towards high-end tablets, but maybe we’ll find it in a few smartphones too. At the rate Android and the overall technological world is progressing, it wouldn’t be so surprising to see 2.0GHz as the new “norm”. Either way, the chip is said to double the performance of the current Exynos 4212 and even offer 4X speedier graphical rendering. The new chip will...

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Samsung and its Galaxy Tab triumph over Apple’s temporary ban

What a great feat for Samsung today! As you may have heard, Samsung has been in quite the legal battle with Apple Inc. in recent months over whether their Galaxy Tab 10.1 could rest on Australian shelves. Court rulings had prohibited sale of the device with a temporary ban until now. Australians rejoice, for you’ll be able to buy as many Samsung products as you want – and just in time for the holidays too. Hopefully, Samsung lawyers can cook up some more magic in the case against blocked tablet sales in Germany. Either way, hard-core Android followers will surely get there hands on one – even if they’re required to hop a train towards nearby France to pick it up. It’s hard to even think of the iPad and Galaxy Tab lines as similar. With...

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Google claims volume fix will be pushed within the week

In case you haven’t heard, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has had a few volume bugs; very unfortunate for such an anticipated device. On the bright side, updates for the Galaxy Nexus come straight from the team at Google. They’ve always been punctual at releasing proper fixes soon after an obvious issue arises. It turns out that Google themselves now claim that “We’re currently rolling out a fix for the volume issue which will reach everyone in the coming week”. We’ve know for about a week now that a fix was indeed coming, but now that a general timeframe has been set we can rest assured that it will be early December by the time it reaches everyone. It will be pushed via an OTA (Over-The-Air) update, so be patient and wait for it to show...

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Lenovo LePhone S760 unveiled for China

China’s getting a lot of Android attention these days, and among its home-grown manufacturers no one’s treating them better than Lenovo. Engadget spotted the latest entry in latest entry in le smartphone line, the LePhone S760, a mid-range Gingerbread device with at least one distinguishing feature. The 3.7-inch screen uses an AMOLED panel, still relatively novel in the Chinese market. As far as hardware goes, the phone has a 1Ghz processor and 512MB of RAM, making it roughly the equal of the original Nexus One or DROID Incredible. That’s still plenty of power to handle Android 2.3.5, and should keep the off-contract price nice and low. You can spot front and rear cameras in the trade show photos. Since it’s running a pretty heavily...

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Dragon Shout Android app is Google Maps for Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a big, big game. You can spend days just wandering around its mountains and tundra, finding villages and dungeons. But crafty gamers soon won’t have to: the Dragon Shout app is an interactive game world map for Android and iOS. It will let players navigate and take notes while they explore Bethesda’s magnum opus. I’m an admitted Skyrim addict, and since the game’s made an impressive $450 million in worldwide sales across PC and console platforms, odds are pretty good that a few of you are as well. The upcoming app will allow multi-touch navigation a la Google Maps across the parchment-style game world. You can make notews at particular locations – very handy for remembering where you left your pack mule...

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Time Warner Cable tablet app now available for Android, doesn’t stream live TV

We saw a few leaks regarding this application early this year and have been patiently awaiting its arrival. Today the Time Warner Cable app for Android Tablets is finally available over in the Android Market. Before all you TWC TV users get too excited — no it doesn’t stream live TV (like the iPad can), and it only works for a select few tablets. It’s a start though right?Being called TWC TV in the market and for paying TWC customers this free app will give you all sorts of options and features to enjoy. It’s a TV guide, a full on remote control and you can even set your DVR right from the device, even when your not home. Sadly since we don’t have live TV streaming like that other platform this is basically just a massive remote control...

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Galaxy Nexus his NTT DoCoMo in Japan on December 2nd

Yes, America, everyone gets the Galaxy Nexus before you. The latest is the Japanese market, where Samsung will release the phone into the open arms of carrier NTT DoCoMo. The Galaxy Nexus lands in the land of the rising sun gets it on December 2nd, this Friday. DoCoMo gets the GSM version that’s currently on sale in Europe, but there’s no mention of a price just yet. Those of you not-so-patiently waiting for the U.S. release will note that Verizon’s rumored pre-order has resolutely failed to appear, after reports that it would begin today supposedly came from a customer support representative. You may send your complaints to Computer World, care of Richi Jennings, who claimed a second-hand conversation with customer support as a “confirmation”....

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Nielsen: Android extends its lead in the US

No points for guessing who’s on top in the smartphone race. For the time period of July, August and September, Android’s U.S. market share grew from 39% to 42.8%, extending its lead once again. The Nielsen numbers match up pretty well with other statistical reports. The market is growing enough that Apple also increased its share, up to 28.3%. 44% of US mobile users now own a smartphone of one kind or another. Breaking down the share of Android sales, HTC remains top dog in America with a 15% market share overall, with 35% of Android sales. Next is Motorola with 24.3%, followed closely by Samsung at 23.6%. That’s an interesting metric, considering that Samsung is far and away the top manufacturer of total phones worldwide. Other...

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Futuremark 3DMark App coming soon to Android, brings benchmarks to a new level

Oh man, this is awesome news for enthusiast and gamers alike in the world of Android. We have many benchmark applications such as Quadrant or CF Bench and what not for Android that tests overall performance but today I’ve now learned the best of the best in the benchmark business, FutureMark, will be coming soon to Android phones and tablets early 2012. I’ve used FutureMark 3DMark 06, Vantage and even 11 on my PC for years to test gaming and overall performance and I’m happy to announce this is coming soon for Android. The Finnish company FutureMark has been making some of the best and most trusted and highly rated benchmark suites for PC enthusiasts since early 1998 and are now moving to add Android to the list. They’ve begun development...

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N still under attack by Apple

Uh oh folks, it looks like Apple isn’t ready to stop just yet and apparently the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N that Samsung released in Germany specifically to avoid Apple’s lawsuits didn’t manage to escape. Samsung has been under some heavy attack in Germany, Australia and other parts of the world for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 because Apple claims it infringes on their patents and design. Today Apple seeks another injunction on the new Tab 10.1N and a court date has been set.  Clearly Samsung made a few changes in hopes to avoid the fruit company by tweaking the design and making the bezel actually wrap around front of the device rather than lay flat. The video linked to above goes through the changes for those interested. Today FOSSPatents...

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Archos 101 G9 “Turbo” 1.2 GHz dual-core Honeycomb Tab now available

We’ve been following Archos and their line of cheap and affordable budget Android tablets but lately their entire naming scheme is getting out of control. Today we have learned the new Archos 101 G9 “Turbo” edition is available now — in Europe. We got our first glance at the new Archos G9 series a few months back featuring a 1.0 GHz dual-core processor and Android Honeycomb. Today they’ve released the same devices only with the addition of “Turbo” to the name with a faster 1.2 GHz TI OMAP dual-core processor. They have the G9, the G9 Turbo, the Arnova series, and even a G9 G2 was seen at the FCC. Without getting you confused basically the original Archos 80 and 101 G9 series have now been improved with a faster dual-core processor...

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus receives the iFixit teardown treatment

In the usual iFixit fashion today they’ve been nice enough to share the details on the innards of the new Samsung Galaxy Nexus flagship Android smartphone. Like they always do, today they’ve tore it down and they give us a look at every little piece inside this new device. Plenty of pictures are available after the break. I’m just sad I don’t have one yet while they are shredding it to pieces already. From that 4.65″ screen to the snazzy new 5mp camera and more they show you everything you did, or didn’t want to know. Sadly we still haven’t seen or heard a peep from Verizon so they are nicely tearing down the international GSM model that has been available for more than a few days already. In case you missed it, we have already...

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CyanogenMod 7 Makes its Way to the Amazon Kindle Fire

Now that the Amazon Kindle Fire has been rooted it’s time to start booting up some custom ROMs. Standard choice CyanogenMod has made its Amazon debut, as xda member JackpotClavin has the first shots of CM7 running on the new media slate. All is not cherry, though. While many features seem to be working properly (including WiFi), touchscreen input problems are slowing the roll of those working feverishly to get a working build out to the public. As The Verge notes, CM7 will provide a more full-fledged Android experience on the Kindle Fire but it will come at the cost of the total Amazon integration that the tablet flaunts as its biggest selling point. [xda via The Verge]...

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