Check Out The New Trailer For Shadowgun Enhanced For Nvidia Tegra 3 [Video]

We’ve heard a lot of talk from the developers Madfinger Games that their near console quality shooter, Shadowgun, will have an enhanced version optimized to take advantage of Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor. Well, Nvidia decided to give us a little sneak peak of how things are coming along and if you look closely, you may notice a few improvements.

The most notable improvements come in the enhanced physics, particle effects, and more complex textures. When hit with a shotgun blast, enemies fly across the screen thanks to the addition of ragdoll physics. Water, which seems oddly placed in random areas of the game, ripples and glistens when the player or enemies make their way through it. It’s all these little details that separate the men from the boys. Now let’s hope Madfinger can use some of that extra processing power to enhance the AI a bit.
You can check out the preview video for enhanced Tegra 3 version of Shadowgun below.

[Twitter | Nvidia]

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HTC Sensation Software Update Rolling Out Now – Brings Bug Fixes And Improved Battery Life

A much welcomed (and long overdue) OTA update is rolling out for HTC Sensation 4G users on T-Mobile. The update will address a few issues the device has been experiencing since it’s release a few months ago. T-Mobile and HTC are promising both stability and improved battery life with a few “minor” improvements like an improved Trace dictionary, more responsive screen, smoother icons, and an improved WiFi connection.
The update will bring users up to software version 1.50.531.1 and Android version 2.3.4. If you haven’t yet been prompted on your device, you can “pull” the update by jumping into your phone’s Settings > About Phone > HTC Software Updates > Check Now. Let us know in the comments if you’ve received your updates and if you notice any other improvements (or bugs). Good luck!
Thanks, Marcus!
[T-Mobile Support]

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus boxes arriving at Verizon and RadioShack. Still not for sale.

It’s almost cruel running this story, but news is news. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has already begun shipment to a few Verizon and RadioShack stores – and there’s a picture to prove it. The bad news is – we’re not getting one. Another leaked email states retailers must not under any circumstances sell these units unless they receive word from corporate.

It’s really starting to look like December 14th as the final launch date, but lets not kid ourselves – we still haven’t a clue. Yet, we have come away with some very important information from all this. One, we know the device exists – and two, we know precisely where it is! The fact may be that Verizon didn’t want to launch three superior phones in such a short timespan. The Motorola DROID RAZR and HTC Rezound are amazing devices, and they may just want our Galaxy Nexus to shine on the pedestal it rightfully deserves. However, there’s no excuse for the lack of advertising and absence of information.

We shouldn’t have to piece together info for months that could easily be conveyed to the public in a matter of seconds.

[via Phandroid]

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Apple loses final Australia appeal, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is ready for a retail return

Early news out of Australia indicates that Apple has lost its appeal of a decision made in an Australian federal court, dismissing their patent case against Samsung and its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. AusDroid reports that the decision came early Friday morning. The two companies have been locked in a legal battle for months, culminating in a rejection by an Australian Federal court after a long period of injunction against Samsung. The High Court denied the appeal, meaning that there is basically no way for them to continue with the case on its current merits.

The High Court chastised the original ruling granting a sales ban against the Samsung tablet, calling the judicial decision “replete with error” and saying that Apple won the original suit “by the skin of its teeth”. Android fans would agree, and this certainly puts a cramp on Apple’s worldwide crusade against Android and Samsung. Apple is still continuing its legal battle against the South Korean manufacturer in Germany.
Samsung issued the following statement after the news broke:

As the High Court has today rejected Apple’s leave to appeal, Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased to announce the highly anticipated Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 will be available in stores in time for the Christmas shopping period from a RRP of $579 (16GB WiFi variant) and a RRP of $729 (16GB 3G variant).
Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased with today’s judgment by the High Court of Australia to deny Apple’s request to appeal the decision of the Full Court.
The Full Court of Australia decision on November 30 clearly affirmed our view that Apple’s claims lack merit and that an injunction should not have been imposed on the GALAXY Tab 10.1.

The good news from Down Under follows a US Federal Court decision to reject Apple’s case against Samsung last week. In the United States, Apple failed to achieve a sales injunction, as the district court judge rules that the continued sales of Samsung’s tablets and phones did not damage Apple’s core iPad business. The decision is being appealed by Apple, and Samsung may still be liable for infringement of design patents, but it’s unlikely that a ban will be put into place. A leaked court document laid out some colorful requirements that Apple suggested to Samsung to avoid infringement, including non-symmetrical designs, thicker devices, and tablets that used shapes other than rectangles.
Apple’s fight continues in many territories, and with billions of dollars in reserves, they’re unlikely to be too discouraged. But with two major countries essentially rejecting Cupertino’s patent trolling, sanity seems to be returning to civil courtrooms worldwide.

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ZTE pushes for the high end, starts with 7-inch V66 Verizon LTE tablet

At the moment, ZTE is one in a field of Chinese hardware makers that do well enough on low and mid-range devices here in the US. Like Huawei, the company hopes to change that in the upcoming year, and it looks like their first attempt will be with Verizon. The G-men at the FCC have got their hands on said device, and it looks promising.

The V66 was previously announced with a 1.2Ghz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, plus a 1280 x 800 resolution screen – an absolute must for a tablet that wants to be considered high-end. Android 3.2 will provide the software end, and while an Ice Cream Sandwich update before launch is technically possible, it would be much more likely to come afterwards. You can see from the filing and the logo that it uses Verizon’s LTE network. All these specifications add up to a device that just slightly beats the T-Mobile Springboard, AKA the Huawei Mediapad. That tablet didn’t fare well at all in our review, but not because of the hardware.
Verizon doesn’t currently offer and of ZTE’s Android devices, so a branded tablet could help bump up the company’s mindshare in the US… if it is ZTE branded. There’s nothing in the FCC filing to show the ZTE logo, and carriers have a nasty habit of simply ignoring smaller manufacturers, as in the Springboard, or even larger ones, as in LG’s “T-Mobile” G2x. And of course, it’s got to sell, but then there’s room in Verizon’s lineup for a smaller tablet device. We’ll see when the V66 launches, likely in Q1 2012.
[via Engadget]

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Samsung 11.6-inch tablet with insane 2560 x 1600 resolution rumored for February

Samsung’s flagship tablet the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a fine tablet. In fact, until the Transformer Prime came along, I would have argued it was the best out there, yes, even beat that other one. But the hardware is getting a little long in the tooth, and lots of Android users are wonder what Sammy’s got up its sleeve for the next generation. According to BGR, it’s a new tablet with Samsung’s own Exynos SOC architecture and an incredibly dense screen.

The anonymous source claims that the 11.6-inch screen will have a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. That’s a format most commonly associated with 30-inch computer monitors, and it’s considerably higher than even the best high-definition TVs. If the rumors are true, it’ll have a pixel density of 260, much, much higher than any comparable device on the market. The source claims that even though the screen is bigger, the tablet itself is about the same size, with a smaller bezel making up the difference.
And the screen isn’t the only thing eye-popping. A claimed Exynos dual-core processor will run at 2 Ghz, making it competitive with the latest quad-core attempts from ARM and derivatives. Android Beam is on board, so we assume that means Ice Cream Sandwich at launch, and a wireless media dock will make it a movie powerhouse.
Specs are often inflated early in a release cycle, so to put it bluntly, don’t get your hopes up. But with quad-core, 1920 x 1200 devices rumored from Lenovo and Acer, and Asus already making waves with the Transformer Prime, Samsung needed something to stay on top of the Android tablet game. This device, if it is indeed real, would do nicely.

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International users can get in on Google’s new Currents app with leaked APK

We’re just now starting to get a peek into Google’s new Flipboard-style news service, Currents, but unfortunately non-United States users can’t download the app from the Android Market. Luckily, they don’t have to: a kindly XDA-Developers member has posted a leaked version of the international app. It looks like just about anyone outside of the fifty states can get in on the action, so head on over there to give it a try.

In case you haven’t already, check out our initial impressions of Currents, with a hands-on video. It’s basically a new style of aggregation engine that adds support for paid sites, though all the content that’s already in Currents is free. That means that international newshounds should be to access everything at the moment. The app plays out like a grown-up version of the Android Genie widget, which is almost certainly already installed on your smartphone under “News & Weather.”
The magazine-style layout is exciting, and while it doesn’t display as much raw information as something like Pulse, it does it in a very organized, readable way. Will Currents remain as an essential Google service, or fall by the wayside like so many others? (I’m looking at you, Google Listen.) Only time will tell, but it’s sure got a promising start.
[via SlashGear]

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Motorola DROID Bionic bugfix update coming soon

I have some great news for all of the DROID Bionic owners around these parts. Remember that huge list of bugs that Verizon acknowledged and said they’d be fixing in a future update? Well it’s finally ready and should be rolling out extremely soon. We recently heard it would be released before the end of the year, and it looks like Verizon will hold true to their word because they’ve just informed us that it’s ready and will be rolling out soon.

The image above is the update documents provided directly from Verizon Wireless Support and the full version will be posted below so you can read all the new features in the update. The last we’ve heard of this update was when Motorola started asking for beta testers almost a month ago. Everything went ok because the update is slated to start any day now.
The list is huge so I wont go over everything and instead mention a few of the big ones:
– faster autofocus and general camera improvements
– fixed reliability and power cycle issues
– improved 3G/4G connectivity and switching
– fixed data lockup issues
– increased hotspot limit to 8 devices
– more
Those are just a few of the biggest issues that most will be happy to see. I for one know the camera is quite dreadful and users should be extremely happy to see an update on that front. The list of improvements and fixes is quite extensive and the update is being listed at around 54MB in size — so it’s fair to say they have a lot of fixes coming so get excited Bionic users. Usually when these official documents land on Verizon the update is pushed within a few days but could take up to 2 weeks. I’d be hitting that check for updates button starting tomorrow night if I had a Bionic.
Bionic Update Details

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Barnes & Noble “Birds & Noble” Angry Birds scavenger hunt December 11th

Today Barnes & Noble has announced they will be celebrating Angry Birds second birthday coming this December. To celebrate the second anniversary of the hugely popular game they’ll be hosting a “Birds & Noble” scavenger hunt in stores nationwide on December 11th starting at 11 AM. Stores will be loaded with golden eggs, hidden Mighty Eagle tokens and more.

If you’re lucky you might even find an Angry Birds T-Shirt of a free NOOK Tablet. They also have some tasty Angry Birds cookies on sale (pictured below) but they are going fast so you better hurry. Rovio has chosen Barnes & Noble as one of their US partners and this celebration should be a huge and fun event for fans of all ages. The scavenger hunt isn’t the only activities either. They’ll also have coloring contests, design your own Angry Birds characters, parades and more depending on location.
We are also hearing that Angry Birds cookies wont be the only apparel available in stores and that B&N will also have calenders, coffee mugs and cups, posters and all sorts of goodies fans can pickup and show their love for the Angry Birds. All the games will be available in stores as well as plenty of the brand new and exciting Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet.
Who’s ready for some bird hunting? Get ready and head down to Barnes & Noble come December 11th for all the fun.

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