Garmin launches its first fitness app for Android

Garmin has announced today that it has its very first fitness app for Android users is on the Android Market right now. The app is called Garmin Fit and it is used to turn the Android smartphone into a training device for athletes. The app offers all sorts of metrics about your workouts that you can save and upload to your computer for tracking over time using Garmin Connect.

The app can track metrics for your workout like speed, distance traveled, route traveled, and calories burned. On Android, devices that are ANT+ enabled the app will interface with fitness sensors. The Garmin ANT+ sensor is for the iPhone only. If you have a bunch of music on your Android device, the Garmin Fit app will let you access those tunes without closing the Fit app.
Once you are done walking or running the app will ask you to name the activity and enter more details about the weather and such. The activity can then be sent to Garmin Connect for free. You can download the Garmin Fit app right now for 99 cents.
[via SlashGear]

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Official Galaxy Nexus Multimedia Dock and Vehicle Mount Appear Online For Pre-Order

A pair of Samsung OEM accessories for the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus (i515) appeared for sale online. Well, almost appeared seeing how there are no actual images of the accessories. The Samsung multimedia dock ($69) and vehicle mount ($50) are both up for pre-order with an “expected” release date of November 21st. This gives us another clue on when to expect the actual device to launch on Verizon seeing how the dock is specifically made for the slightly thicker i515.

The dock accessory was actually spotted for a brief moment during the joint Google/Samsung Nexus event and connects via the 3 connector pins found on the side of the device. The MSRP on both these accessories sound a bit steep for a man of my means but as you can see, retailers will most likely be offering them at varying discounts.
[Via WirelessGoodness]

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Gingerbread OTA Update For The HTC Thunderbolt Rolling Out Again

I know there are more than a few T-Bolt users upset with HTC and Verizon after releasing the Gingerbread (2.11.605.3) update for the device and then promptly yanking it after a major security flaw was found. It’s been a long time coming but a new version is currently making the rounds (2.11.605.5) with “improved security features that reduce device vulnerability.” The update should be rolling out to Thunderbolt users in the coming days so be on the look out for it. Now might be a good time to manually check for a system update but I’m sure you already knew that.
[Via Droid-Life]

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Google Settles With FTC – Agrees To Have Privacy Practices Monitored For Next 20 Years

After being investigated for various privacy concerns related directly to the now defunct Google Buzz, today, Google has finally reached a agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The settlement calls for Google to be audited for the next 20 years.
According to the FTC, Google was involved in sketchy practices back when they launched Google Buzz back in 2010 for not allowing Gmail users to easily opt-out of contact sharing. The FTC said in a statement,

"In response to the Buzz launch, Google received thousands of complaints from consumers who were concerned about public disclosure of their email contacts which included, in some cases, ex-spouses, patients, students, employers, or competitors."

The FTC’s settlement with Google requires “G” to obtain user consent before it shares any information with third parties. It also leaves Google open to 20 years of privacy audits every 2 years by an independent 3rd party monitoring service. In an email Google’s Senior Manager of Global Communications Chris Gaither said,

"We’ve strengthened many of our internal privacy and security controls over the past year. For example, in October we appointed longtime Google engineer Alma Whitten to director of privacy across product management and engineering. We’ve increased privacy training for all our employees. We’ve tightened our compliance controls for those who deal with sensitive data. And last fall, we added a new process to our existing privacy review system requiring every engineering project leader to maintain a Privacy Design Document for each initiative they are working on. This document records how user data is handled and is subject to regular review."

This should help Android users sleep well at night with all the information Google has on us at their disposal. Everything from where you live, what eat, to credit cards and personal information — it’s nice to know our information is safe. For now.
[Via Electronista]

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus vs HTC Sensation XE

Samsung's new Galaxy Nexus takes on HTC's revamped Sensation XE

We see how Samsung’s new Galaxy Nexus compares to HTC’s enhanced Sensation XE.

Form:
Samsung Galaxy Nexus - 135.5x67.9x8.9mm, 135g
HTC Sensation XE - 126.1x65.4x11.3mm, 151g
The Sensation XE is one of HTC’s more attractive looking handsets. It still has the company’s typical rounded-off design but thanks to its lengthy proportions and stylish red accents it ends up looking quite appealing. It is the bulkier handset of the two being 16g heavier and quite a bit thicker than its opponent.
Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus also benefits from an elongated design, it’s similarly curvy on the corners and quite often this can make a handset look peculiar.
The other distinguishing feature is its curved profile which means it sits in the hand quite comfortably and its remarkably thin at only 8.9mm.
As nice as the Sensation XE looks we think the Galaxy Nexus is the more elegant of the two.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Display: Both phone displays are on the larger side, which is always good news as far as we’re concerned. The Sensation XE has a 4.3-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen at a resolution of 540x960 pixels, giving a high pixel density of 256 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
Sony’s S-LCD technology is similar to Samsung’s Super Amoled in offering a more energy efficient and brighter display with richer colours.
The Sensation XE comes loaded with the HTC Sense user interface (UI) and supports multi-touch input, while an accelerometer and gyro sensor enable screen rotation.
The Galaxy Nexus’ screen is even bigger at 4.6-inches and has a very impressive resolution of 720x1280 pixels, as a result the pixel density is way above its rival at 316ppi.
Samsung is using its own Super Amoled HD screen tech, which has more or less the same positive properties as its competitors S-LCD display.
The capacitive touchscreen uses curved glass and has an oleophobic coating to repel fingerprints. It also supports multi-touch input. Accelerometer and gyro sensors complete the package.
Screen technology is the Galaxy Nexus’ trump card so it easily wins this round thanks to its large size display, high resolution and amazing pixel density.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Storage: Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus comes in two variants: 16GB or 32GB of in-built storage. In either case there’s 1GB of RAM to help keep things running smoothly.
Unfortunately there’s no card support on the Galaxy Nexus so if you’re looking to expand your storage you’ll be left wanting.
The Sensation XE has 4GB of onboard storage but only a mere 1GB of this is user accessible, but unlike its opponent it has full microSD card support up to 32GB.
At 768MB of RAM it has less than the Galaxy Nexus but should still provide an ample boost to the phone.
Technically, you can get more storage space on the Sensation XE thanks to its card slot, if you use a 32GB card added to the 1GB of onboard.
On the other hand, card storage is slightly slower to read.
Onboard storage is much more stable and a bit faster too and we’d be happier with more internal capacity, so our vote goes for the Galaxy Nexus. However, other users may have the opposite view.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Processor: HTC’s Sensation XE is a powerful specimen, running a dual core Qualcomm processor clocked at 1.5GHz on the MSM8260 Snapdragon chipset, backed up by an Adreno 220 graphics processing unit (GPU).

Considering it was supposed to be a flagship device the Galaxy Nexus’ processing power is a little disappointing.

The Galaxy Nexus uses an ARM Cortex-A9 1.2GHz dual core processor but the chipset and GPU aren’t quite as cutting edge with the TI OMAP 4460 chipset and a PowerVR SGX540 GPU.

It still has a reasonable amount of grunt, enough to allow it to sit comfortably towards the top of the pile as a ‘premium’ handset but it pales in comparison to the Sensation XE and other well equipped phones such as the Galaxy S2.

Winner – HTC Sensation XE

Operating System: These are both Android phones but where the Sensation XE runs 2.3 Gingerbread, the new Galaxy Nexus uses the latest build of Google’s operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich.

Gingerbread offers good performance, particularly on dual core devices such as the Sensation XE, but in terms of features it feels very much like the stepping stone to later versions of Android, Honeycomb 3.0 for tablets and now the new 4.0 for both tablets and phones, which the Galaxy Nexus runs.

One of our major gripes with Gingerbread was the native web browser, which although better than its predecessors in terms of smooth scrolling and pinch zoom, was still a little on the slow side and also lacked any kind of tabbed browsing.

Thankfully, Ice Cream Sandwich’s browser, along with the rest of the system, has brought across the improvements made in 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets.

A particular strength of the Android system across both versions is the multi-tasking, which is efficient, fluid and in the case of Ice Cream Sandwich easy-to-use thanks to some handy app-switching interface controls.

We are, of course, in favour of progress and Ice Cream Sandwich has made plenty of headway over Gingerbread, which by comparison is looking a little dated. Samsung wins this round.

Winner – Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Camera: Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is surprisingly tame when it comes to the camera setup with a 5-megapixel primary at 2592x1936 pixels. Video calling is supported via the phone’s 1.3-megapixel secondary camera.

On the primary, video capture is 1080p HD quality. Features include LED flash, autofocus, touch focus, face detection and geo-tagging.

The HTC Sensation XE’s primary camera is rated at 8-megapixels and boasts a resolution of 3264x2448 pixels. It also sports a VGA secondary with video calling capability.

Video capture is at 1080p HD and records stereo sound. The phone’s primary camera features autofocus, touch focus, geo-tagging and dual LED flash as well as image stabilisation, face detection and instant capture.

HTC’s handset has a preferable camera setup on this occasion.

Winner – HTC Sensation XE

Final Thoughts: Although the Galaxy Nexus didn’t impress us as much as we’d hoped on launch, it still has a better operating system, a better display and a snazzier design.

Also it has a storage setup which we prefer.

However, in many other areas it feels a little lacking and the Sensation XE is generally more favourable thanks to a few key areas, most notably the processor.

The Sensation XE’s camera is also a strong point and the display, while not as good as the Galaxy Nexus’, is also excellent.

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Chillingo Bringing A Handful of Mega-Hit iOS Games To Android

Chillingo has been publishing some of the iPhone’s and iPad’s biggest, mega-hit applications and they’re finally looking to bring some of that good ‘ol fun to the Android Market. Chillingo Co-General Manager Chris Byatte said in a statement,

“Android’s install base is steadily rising and we are working with our talented indie developers to bring fun, entertaining titles to this expanding platform,”

With new Android devices popping up every other day, you’re darn right we’re expanding. Chillingo currently has a few Android titles in the Market like Spider Jack, Office Gamebox and plans to bring another 5 in the coming weeks. You can look forward to future Chillingo titles like My Vampire Boyfriend with more games that include:
Roll in the Hole

Contre Jour

Little Lost Chick

Parking Mania

Chillingo was recently acquired by Electronic Arts EA back in 2010 and now works inside EA Mobile. This new Android push may have a little something to do with EA’s attempts at tapping the booming mobile gaming market.
[Via IGN]

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LG DoublePlay launching November 2nd on T-Mobile

Have you got a hankering for a unique dual-screen form factor and a T-Mobile account? Then you might want to mark November 2nd on your calendar. TmoNews got a hold of a T-Mobile inventory screenshot that says that’s the day the LG DoublePlay (AKA the Flip II) will be released on the carrier.

If you’re not familiar with the DoublePlay, it’s a Gingerbread phone with a slide-out keyboard dominated by a tiny secondary screen. The phone itself is mid-range by today’s standards, with a 3.5-inch main screen at 480 x 320, 1GHz processor and a 5MP-720p camera. In addition to basic app shortcuts, LG’s custom APIs will allow apps to take advantage of the lower screen for custom apps. Like most of the new phones on T-Mobile, it takes advantage of the carrier’s HSPA+ “4G” network.
There’s still no official word from T-Mobile about pricing or availability, but the new leak lines up with a previous leak that places the “Flip II” on the same date with a 149.99 price. Naturally, that’s with a two-year contract. The phone is unique to say the least, and one of the really cool things about Android’s open source nature is that it allows for these little oddities that might not make it to market otherwise.
[via Phandroid]

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Aussie retailers skirt Apple injunction to sell Galaxy Tab 10.1

Apple won a major victory in its “thermonuclear war” with Android in Australia, where the civil court upheld a sales injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab based on Apple’s practical and design patents. But the courts are no obstacle for the determined, and a collection of crafty online retailers are still selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 down under. Like Prohibition smugglers they get their stock from outside the continent and sell the tablets as import items, exploiting a loophole in Australian law.

Naturally Apple isn’t happy. The American company has forwarded copies of the injunction to eTail Solutions and and MobiCity, two of the online shops currently selling the contraband tablets. Other retailers currently offering the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to underserved Aussies include import specialist Expansys, Techrific, dMavo and eBay, though not all of these have been contacted by Apple. According to an eTail Solutions manager, to stop the sales Apple would have to also win an injunction against Samsung where the tablets are being imported from, in this case, Hong Kong.
Retailers are still prohibited from purchasing the tablets directly from Samsung, but Samsung is trying to overrule the courts’ ruling with an appeal. If that fails there isn’t a whole lot Samsung can do, since Apple has flat-out denied any sort of appeal. Similar cases between Apple and Samsung are being waged all over the world, with troubling developments here in the United States as the circuit judge in charge of the case declared Samsung in violation of some of Apple’s technical patents.

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Motorola commits to Ice Cream Sandwich and unlocked bootladers

Motorola got no end of grief when it made the decision to lock the bootloader on its latest flagship device, the DROID RAZR. Though we later learned that international versions of the phone would be user-unlockable, their current and past reliance on custom software and locked bootloaders has been a sore spot with the Android mod community for years. Moto has decided to come clean with a forward-facing new start, instructing curious users to two separate sites for unlocking and upgrading.

For Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades to current devices (like the DROID BIONIC and XOOM) as well as future software upgrades, head over to the Motorola Android Software Upgrade News page on the official Motorola forum. For news and instructions on bootloader unlocking, check out MOTODEV, a long-standing arm of Motorola’s software department. These two locations will have updates and instructions for all the devices that apply, presumably all the Android devices the company makes for U.S. carriers.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Motorola is serving the carriers first and foremost, and in Verizon’s case that means that they won’t be providing unlocked bootloaders any time in the near future. Prospective DROID RAZR owners can take heart in the fact that an unlock for the international RAZR will probably be reversed-engineered for US owners. In the meantime, the two sites are a good place to start in your modding endeavors – not to mention in making Motorola aware of your frustration.

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