Thursday, November 3, 2011

HTC Flyer tablet lands at T-Mobile

2:43 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments


The popular 7″ HTC Flyer tablet has finally made a safe landing at T-Mobile this week. Way back in June it cleared the FCC with T-Mobile bands but that was the last we’ve heard of it until today. While not for sale from T-Mobile themselves you can buy the T-Mobile powered HTC Flyer right now from HTC’s website. With a new 2-year agreement the price is just $299, like it’s been for a while at Best Buy.



The Flyer is a 7″ Android 2.3 Gingerbread tablet (no official Honeycomb) with a 1024 x 600 resolution display, 1.5 GHz single-core Qualcomm processor, front and rear facing cameras, and stylus support with the HTC scribe pen . While it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread we do have a leaked Honeycomb build for those wanting to enjoy some tablet OS on the Flyer.
The slate is priced at $299.99 when purchased with new compatible individual plans for the tablet ranging from $39.99 for 2GB of data to $79.99 per month for 10GB of data and a 2-year agreement. Users can also choose to upgrade an existing plan or add the Flyer to it but that will run you a more painful $450 or so. The HTC Scribe stylus pen is still sold separately so that will be another purchase for those interested. Either way fly on down to HTC.com to pick up your own T-Mobile powered HTC Flyer tablet.

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DROID RAZR initiated on Droid Does and DroidLanding pages, get ready to hunt

2:41 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments


It looks like we are all in for another crazy round of @DroidLanding and DroidDoes.com for the new and upcoming DROID RAZR. Both have been initiated and all systems are a go. Put your tray tables in their upright and locked positions folks. We have seen this with the Bionic, the Charge and even the Droid X2 and now its the RAZR’s turn for a scavenger hunt.



I’m sure you all remember the party for the DROID Bionic and the huge augmented reality scavenger hunt that followed, we can expect something very similar for the new DROID RAZR. The same initiative for the DROID Charge had us tracking 5 devices around different cities, what do you think we’ll see with the RAZR?

Either way be sure to follow @DroidLanding on Twitter, and follow us at @Androids while you’re at it. I’d be checking that DroidDoes.com RAZR page periodically for updates too because once the party gets started things will get a little crazy up in this DROID world. We’ll be seeing a few tweets from @DroidLanding over the next few days as everything gets initiated and then the hunt will begin. I have a feeling we will be seeing some QR codes this time around, but that’s just me.

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Google Reader update brings ICS user inte

2:39 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments


We saw a few leaked screenshots of what was claimed to be an updated Google Reader application last night that turned out to be either fake, or a bit old. Today Google has officially pushed the brand new Google Reader v1.1.1 to the Android Market complete with a new user interface and widgets that resemble 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and plenty of other navigation and usage improvements. While the actual interface hasn’t changed a lot, they have added swipe navigation and it works extremely well.



Along with Google Reader, Google Docs also received a very similar update that has a slightly more noticeable change to the user interface — one that closely resembles Google +. Both Google apps have received a slight makeover giving them a closer appearance to that of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and we have the slide to navigate through stories or documents both, as well as enhanced share options that are closer to the web versions. Then the widgets, the new widgets look great and I’m loving my Google Reader unread ticker although I still feel it moves a bit fast. We've got a few screenshots below for you guys to see what your missing if you’re not yet a Google Reader user.

Like mentioned above, the slide to navigate feature is now present in Reader v1.1.1 and it works great. It marks the stories as read and the entire swipe gesture is simple, smooth, and very fast. You get an annoying notification below (shown in the picture) but you can quickly hide that as the feature is one you wont be forgetting any time soon. A few comments on the market said stories aren’t getting checked as “read” when swiping, but everything works great for me here and so far I’m loving the new improvements.
You’ll quickly notice all of the sharing and following type options that were present before have been removed, as those features are now offered by Google+. Instead we have the familiar share icon in the top right just like recently updated Android apps and the market have featured for some time.
The widget improvements are also quite nice and work great. I’ve thrown a few on my homescreen and took a screenshot for everyone to see them in action. Like mentioned above, the new unread ticker works great but still is a bit fast and I wouldn’t mind being able to manually set the refresh time myself.
You can see all of the screenshots in the gallery below for a better idea of what to expect with the new Google Reader v1.1.1 that was just updated today. Feel free to head to the market and try both of these new apps (links below). Interesting enough, Google Docs received plenty of changes yet the change-log remains untouched in the market, but I’m sure you can see the differences yourself if you’re a daily user.
Google Reader
Google Docs

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ASUS Transformer Prime heads through the FCC, Tegra 3 revealed in teardown [Update]

2:35 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments


The soon to be released and instantly popular ASUS Transformer Prime quad-core tablet has just hit the FCC, I’m getting excited just thinking about it. We’ve already seen it in the wild a few times and now its making a quick pit stop at the FCC before heading to the shelves — and our hands.


We were hoping to learn a few new juicy details from the filing bud sadly that isn’t the case although we know plenty already. The Transformer Prime tablet will be just 8.9mm thin while packing the extreme power of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Coming first with Android Honeycomb it will very quickly be updated to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. First teased in a promo video by ASUS, then quickly followed with an official landing page to keep us all patiently waiting.
Most of the important details are hidden in secrecy in the filings, I was hoping to see some sort of HSPA+ or even LTE bands on board but they didn’t reveal anything of that nature sadly. First shown off by ASUS execs at AsiaD and said to be coming soon a recently leaked roadmap confirms the Transformer Prime will be officially announced November 9th. We should be seeing and hearing plenty about this awesome new flagship tablet from ASUS and NVIDIA in the coming days so be prepared for the power that is the Tegra 3, and stay tuned for more information.
Update: Thanks to wirelessgoodness we now have teardown pictures revealing the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, wireless capabilities and more all in the gallery below.

transformer-prime fcc Kal-El prime tear 2 prime tear [via Engadget]
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Androidify Me prints your Androidify avatar on stickers or posters

2:31 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments


I’m sure many of our readers know plenty about the popular Androidify App from Google that lets you dress and design your own Android avatar as yourself, or anything else you have in mind. One of the best parts of Mobile World Congress 2011 was the Androidify print station Google had set up where users were able to print their own Androidify avatars and create stickers. Sadly not everyone was able to make it to MWC and partake in the fun. If you want your own Androidify Avatar as a sticker for your phone, laptop, tablet or anything else check out this new kickstarter project below for all the details.


With the same print station idea from MWC we present you with Androidifyme.com, a kickstarter project by Aleksandr Peredereyev that is looking for a few backers that can help get this project and awesome idea off the ground and into flight — or print I should say. So if you’d like to help by donating a few bucks all of the details can be found at kickstarter.com where a contribution will get you a set of stickers or your own t-shirt and more.

The image above is an actual picture of what to expect. Users create their Androidify avatar and the new Androidifyme project makes as many stickers as you’d like and sends them right to your door, how awesome is that? Like all kickstarter projects, you pledge a certain amount of money into the idea and will only be charged if the goal is met — in this case that goal is $4550. If the goal is not met you will not be charged a cent and will just move on to the next big thing.

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Amazon Facebook giving away 10 Kindle Fire tablets and $250 gift cards

2:29 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments


Who is excited for the new Amazon Kindle Fire? It was officially announced in September and pre-orders should start shipping November 15th (just a few more weeks guys). To help build the hype of their new Android-powered tablet Amazon is giving away not one, but 10 Kindle Fire tablets along with $250 gift cards for use on Amazon. You better hurry the giveaway ends November 4th.


What is the catch here? Basically all you must do is simply “Like” amazon on their Facebook page and you are entered into the giveaway — easy enough right guys? If you didn’t pre-order the Kindle Fire or are waiting for some official reactions and reviews this is a good chance to snag one for free. We will be reviewing the Kindle Fire as soon as its released so be sure to also stay tuned right here at Android Community for our thoughts and pictures.
You can also increase your odds of winning by doing the same steps and “liking” their other pages such as Amazon MP3, Amazon AppStore, Amazon Instant Video and more. So feel free to head over to the main Facebook page and get started.
We were live at the Kindle Fire event when it was officially announced and were able to snag some hands-on video with the new slate and you can see all of our coverage right here, or enjoy the video below.
Kindle Fire hands-on video



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Samsung Galaxy Note vs HTC Sensation XL

12:11 AM Simranpal SIngh No comments

Samsung's Galaxy Note takes on HTC's Sensation XL

We compare a couple of giants this time round as the HTC Sensation XL squares up to Samsung’s new Galaxy Note.

Form
Samsung Galaxy Note - 146.9x83x9.7mm,178g
HTC Sensation XL - 132.5x70.7x9.9mm, 162.5g
If you like small smartphones then you’re definitely out of luck here. These are both heavy hitters which are going to demand larger pockets than your average handset.
The Sensation XL is quite nice looking, although it’s typically curvy as HTC phones often are. It’s also very thin which lends it a sleek silhouette.
We like how the screen goes right out to the edges, the bezel is very narrow which is an attractive visual feature. Most of HTC’s marketing material shows the Sensation XL in white but we have to say it looks nicer in black in our view.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note is a much bigger beast than even the appropriately named Sensation XL, but despite its considerable girth we think it’s a remarkably elegant design.
Once again the display takes up an admirable proportion of the front panel which lends a premium appearance. It’s also quite minimalist thanks to its capacitive buttons and a discreet central home button.
The back panel is slightly curved and has a textured surface but apart from a neat and tidy camera lens it’s a stylishly uninterrupted expanse.
We have to side with the Galaxy Note on this one.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Note

DisplayThe Sensation XL is one of the bigger smartphones on the market and has a correspondingly large display. It’s the same size as HTC’s big Windows Phone, the Titan, at 4.7-inches.
The Sensation XL uses an S-LCD capacitive touchscreen, produced by Sony, at a 480x800 pixel resolution, giving a pixel density of 199 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
Sony’s screen technology has the same benefits as Samsung’s Amoled displays, which means a brighter and more colourful picture is possible and all with less power than a conventional LCD.
The latest version of HTC’s Sense user interface (UI), version 3.5, is pre-loaded onto the phone and we’ve found it less demanding on processors than earlier builds. Combined with the accelerometer and gyro sensors it allows for screen rotation functionality.
The Sensation XL supports multi-touch input and features four capacitive buttons.
If you think the Sensation XL’s screen is big then brace yourself because the Samsung Galaxy Note really is in another league.
At 5.3-inches it is positively colossal in scale, but Samsung has still managed to stretch its Super Amoled capacitive touchscreen technology to the task.
This means you get all the power efficiency, colour and brightness perks as other Samsung devices, and in this case its HTC opponent, on one massive panel.
The display resolution is a suitably meaty 800x1280 pixels meaning it also packs a sky-high pixel density of 285ppi.
Imagine, videos, pictures and games on the Galaxy Note are quite crispy, to say the least.
The Galaxy Note’s display is also made from reinforced Gorilla Glass, so you don’t have to worry about it cracking any time soon. The usual gyroscope and accelerometer sensors are included and the phone supports multi-touch input.
Samsung’s smartphone and tablet crossbreed is loaded with a customised TouchWiz 4.0 UI. Normally we wouldn’t labour this too much, but in this case it really is relevant as Samsung has  tried to make the best use of such vast screen space.
The main way it achieves this is through some nifty interface configuration – certain apps, for example, have split screen modes and configurable windows.
The other way in which TouchWiz innovates on the Galaxy Note is through the ‘S Pen’ – a stylus that's included with the phone. Stylus pens have a bit of a shaky history and the very mention often raises a few eyebrows.
Admittedly Samsung’s take is not perfect, but it is certainly the best stylus we’ve seen to date and more than usable as it stands currently.
Not everyone is going to like having a huge smartphone, but in this case they’re both quite big, and between the two we much prefer the Galaxy Note.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Note

Storage
HTC’s device has 16GB of in-built storage and 768MB of RAM. It is lacking a card slot though so there’s no expandable storage via microSD.
Against this, Samsung’s Galaxy Note has both 16GB and 32GB variants and in either case you get 1GB of RAM to play with. It also has microSD support for up to 32GB and a 2GB card included with the standard package.
Quite an easy win for the Galaxy Note this time round.
Winner – Samsung Galaxy Note

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Norton expands Android offerings with Tablet Security app

12:07 AM Simranpal SIngh No comments


Norton, peddlers of all things software security related, already has an established presence on the Android platform with its Mobile Security app, already available in the Android Market. Like always the company is looking to expand its offerings, and the latest comes in Norton Tablet Security, set to release soon for $39.99, recurring every year. Though it’s marketed as a tablet app, Tablet Security will work on all Android 2.2 Froyo devices and later.


Features include standard malware and virus scans, as well as a web filter that identifies malicious sites – both pretty similar to Norton’s desktop offerings. The web protection breaks any connection to a malicious website as soon as it’s initiated, essentially working as a firewall. Also included is a Lojack-style location tracker, which allows you to find your tablet via a web map if it’s lost or stolen. You can also secretly snap a photo via the front or rear cameras – the better to pass along to the police. A remote lock can keep others out of your personal data, and a “device lost” message can be display for those of a more civic-minded disposition.
Strangely, it looks like Norton Tablet Security won’t be offered in the Android Market. That may be because of the recurring yearly payment – I don’t know if Google has set up that kind of system just yet. Norton says that the software will be available from “select US and regional retailers”, so perhaps it’ll utilize a PC installation method.
[via PC Mag]

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Samsung Galaxy Note gets ClockworkMod and Root

12:05 AM Simranpal SIngh No comments


One thing I love about Samsung phones is they aren’t extremely difficult to break into and enjoy. No hoops to jump through like Motorola, or crazy bootloader unlocks like HTC. Instead they just need a few tricky developers and members of the community and we quickly have root access, overclocking kernels and more. This is the same situation with the Galaxy Note. It is very similar to the Galaxy S II but a little enlarged, and has many of the same file systems and goods under the hood making the process fairly quick. We have ClockworkMod and root already achieved thanks to XDA developers.


Now there are more than a few ways to root the new Samsung Galaxy Note and not all have been fully tested but there are plenty of options at XDA developers. I’m going to outline two here for you. The first you flash a custom ClockworkMod with Odin, then flash the root zip and you are good to go, the second is using the revolutionary tool to achieve root. For full Clockworkmod details and downloads check out this thread at XDA thanks to Netchip. Our friends at AndroidNZ also have a video walkthrough you can see here.

Obviously this is not for the faint at heart or those that are new to modding their Android devices, especially Sasmung unless you do your homework first. I’ve read the above method via Odin works but there is currently no way to reset the flash counter — something many Samsung users rely on to still honor their warranty so use that at your own risk. I’m only here to share the knowledge that has been passed to me. Next up the same guys that brought root to the Sensation, EVO 3D and many other HTC phones using their Revolutionary tool have just updated the zergrush Revolutionary tool to support Samsung. It will fully root your Galaxy Note with a few simple clicks of the mouse. If you look through the comments in this thread, many have rooted the Galaxy Note through Revolutionary with zero problems and are still able to reset the counter.
Like mentioned above this is one of those do at your own risk situations. If you are new or unsure you’d be better off waiting for an easier and safer one-click-root method as I’m sure they are coming, and soon. If you feel like taking the journey and rooting your new and shiny Galaxy Note feel free to drop us a comment and let us know how it goes.

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