Friday, April 29, 2011

Be Wowed By Shadow Galaxy Live Wallpaper For Android



One of the better Live Wallpapers I’ve seen to pass through the market has definitely got to be Shadow Galaxy by developer maxelus.net.  We’ve seen a few Live Wallpapers from this developer before  and it looks like they are showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to innovation.  If you’re a Live Wallpaper buff, then this one has definitely got to make it onto your device and into a “this is freaking cool” folder.  Once activated, your desktop is immediately hurled into outer space where you’ll be lightly swirling through a vortex of galaxies along with distant shadows of bits and pieces of debris and planets everywhere.  It doesn’t get any cooler than this one folks.  The only thing that would make this wallpaper even more of a hit would have been to add some interactive functionality or some settings for speed etc.  Otherwise, this is sure to appeal to everyone and definitely something to show off to your non smartphone buddies.  Hit the break for some more pics of the app and to snag the QR code for the download.  Follow the market link for a video demo of the app in action.  Feel free to plug away in the comments below.   
 
 

Android users sue Google over tracking



When the allegations that Android smartphones were tacking the users location without the user approving it, I think we all knew that suits were coming. The same thing has already happened with the iPhone and Apple has class action suits pending against it right now. Google is now in the same boat with some Android users filling suit.

Two users have reportedly sued Google over claims that the Android device they own was tracking their location without their consent. The two people that filed suit are residents of Oakland County in Michigan and field on April 27 in a Federal court in Detroit. Both of them use HTC Inspire 4G phones. The users both claim “[the Android devices track them] just as if by a tracking device for which a court-ordered warrant would ordinarily be required.”
The plaintiffs are looking to turn the case into a class action and want $50 million in damages and a court order to force Google to eliminate the tracking. A Google spokesman told Bloomberg in an email, “We provide users with notice and control over the collection, sharing and use of location. Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and is not tied or traceable to a specific user.”
[via Bloomberg]
 

The 7 Most Hackable Android Smartphones



 

There are two types of people who want to buy an Android smartphone: those who simply don't want an Apple product, and those who want to trick out their phones fancier than a Honda Civic from the set of The Fast and the Furious.
If you belong in the latter crowd, you may be familiar with at least some aspects of the hardware-modding community. But what of the layman who wants to pimp his phone and hasn't a clue where to begin?
We've gathered a handful of the most mod-worthy Android phones, complete with straightforward instructions on how to fully go "Vin Diesel" on your smartphone. That is to say, we show you how to gain root access — or superuser, full-permissions status — to each phone. That allows for customization far beyond what you can accomplish with a stock device. After root is achieved, the sky's the limit.
Warning: More often than not, rooting or unlocking your phone voids your warranty, which means you'll get no love from your carrier's tech-support line if you accidentally screw it up. You also run the risk of "bricking" your phone — essentially rendering it useless — when performing some of these procedures.
So, proceed at your own risk!



HTC Nexus One

Available now only through Google as a "developer phone," the HTC-manufactured Nexus One was Google's first "pure Android" experience phone. That means there are no clunky user interfaces slapped on by the phone manufacturers. More importantly, the phone comes with an unlockable bootloader, which allows you to load a custom ROM and overclock the phone's CPU.
If you want to root your Nexus One, head on over to Lifehacker for a streamlined, step-by-step guide.

HTC Incredible and HTC Evo 4G

Not more than a few months after the Incredible's debut, the modding team over at Unrevoked released version 3.0 of its eponymous rooting tool. After downloading the Unrevoked3 software, all you have to do is connect your phone to your desktop PC and let the program run. You'll be given root permissions, and the ClockworkMod program will be installed, which lets you load custom ROMs and apps otherwise blocked by HTC.
The Unrevoked site hosts its rooting program for Mac, Windows and Linux users who want to root their Incredible, Evo 4G or one of a slew of other HTC phones.




Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung's Galaxy S line has been massively popular with the general public. More than 10 million Galaxy S handsets were sold as of the end of 2010. Each of the big four U.S. carriers has its own branded version of the Galaxy S phone, which makes for lots of developing across a family of similar devices. That means lots of custom ROMs to be had.
If you want to root your Verizon-carried Samsung Fascinate DroidForums provides a comprehensive guide on how to do it. If you're a T-Mobile Vibrant user, IntoMobile's rooting tutorial is a breeze. The Epic 4G rooting instructions on the XDA-Developers forum for the Sprint users out there. Finally, AT&T Captivate users can find comprehensive instructions on using a program for an easy one-click root.

Motorola Droid

Unlike most of its pesky Motorola brethren, the Droid One comes with an unlocked bootloader, which gives you the ability to flash custom kernels as well as ROMs. Essentially, custom-kernel flashing allows for more control over the device's hardware than would otherwise be possible with a locked bootloader (which Motorola is notorious for including).
For those of you with the first Motorola Droid phone, Lifehacker provides a nicely detailed rooting guide.

Samsung Nexus S

We couldn't forget the successor to the Nexus One. Like its little brother, the Samsung-made Nexus S offers a "pure Android experience," debuting with stock version 2.3 (Gingerbread). And just like the One, the S is easily unlocked and rootable. The recently released version 7.0.2 of the highly popular CyanogenMod ROM — a custom interface that improves hardware performance and offers a nifty set of subtle enhancements — is supported on the Nexus S (among 20-plus other devices).
As the site NexusSHacks.com shows in its instructional video and guide, rooting the S is about as simple as rooting its predecessor.



Sony Ericsson Xperia Phones

While these phones aren't yet released, Sony Ericsson has made headway into making its Xperia line very mod-friendly. Earlier this year, the company released instructions on how to unlock the bootloader on its forthcoming Xperia Arc, Neo, Play and Pro handsets. After launching mod-unfriendly, locked-bootloader phones like the X10, this seems like Sony Ericsson extending an olive branch to the developer community.
While we know the phones aren't out yet, Sony Ericsson's unlocking instructions are available for eager developers' eyes to see on the company's site.
 

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Rooted




Looking to root that Android 3.0 from Acer called the Iconia Tab A500? The folks at XDA were working to bring this to you ASAP – as they always seem to do – and have publicized the root method used to achieve deeper access to Android. In time, custom ROMs and other hacks and mods are expected to surface just as they did for the Motorola XOOM. Make your way to XDA if you need to get your root up and running.
 

Google I/O 2011 Schedule For 20+ Android Sessions Now Available



Google I/O 2011 is almost here – can you feel it in the air? Personally, I’m counting down days to May 10th when I’ll be waking up extra early to gallop over to the Moscone Center in San Francisco and try to attend at least some of the 22 planned Android sessions, including fireside chats and office hours with the Android team.


The [almost - there's 1 TBA] final schedule for these sessions is now up at the I/O site, so if you’re one of the lucky attendees, have a look below or hop on over to this document to see the whole timetable in its full glory.
Day 1 (May 10th, 2011)
Day 2 (May 11th, 2011)

To grab more details about each talk, visit the sessions page and filter by Android.
I’m particularly excited about the Fireside Chat with the Android Team on May 10th at 2:30PM – feel free to submit some questions for them in the comments, and I’ll see if I can get them answered.
Building Android Apps for Google TV is another session on my radar, because, well, the Google TV API is not out yet and is probably going to be revealed at I/O.
Source: Google Code blog

Nexus S Android 2.3.4 update can be manually installed!


I hate waiting for things. I especially hate waiting on software updates. I would install an update manually in a second if it meant that I would get it right now rather than having to wait until a device maker felt like pushing it out OTA. I bet that a lot of you are the same way, and if you have a Nexus S smartphone and you are waiting for the Android 2.3.4 update to get pushed to you, why wait?



You can grab that update manually and patch your smartphone right now if you are tired of the wait. The big new feature that the update will add to your smartphone is the ability to video chat through Google Talk. That is a compelling reason to update for many people. The official file is up for download and the steps you need to follow to be able to install the update file manually are below. Have fun!
First you need to download the official file from this link. Then place the file in the root of your storage. Next turn the phone off and reboot into the bootloader by holding the volume up while you turn the phone on. After that, you can use the volume buttons to choose “recovery” from the menu and then hit the power button to select the option. After that, you should see the triangle on the screen, and you can hold down the power button while pressing volume up and get the list of options. After that choose the file you downloaded to update to Android. Use those instructions at your own risk.
 

Patent app shows what a single hub for Google social networking might look like



I think most of us can agree that Google will at some point end up with its own social network and that the network will be heavily tied into anything running the Android OS. With the popularity of Android, a highly integrated social network could be very successful even though almost everyone on the web uses Facebook today and other social networks are quickly becoming also runs. Google already has many different offerings that are based on social interaction, but they are all accessed separately making the services fragmented, for the most part.



A new patent app surfaced today that shows what a central hub for different Google social networking offerings and other Google services might look like. It’s a very simple layout that reminds me more than a little of the Facebook news feed. It also looks a lot like a Twitter news feed. Neither of those are a bad thing considering how well known they are for most of us today.
The second image in the gallery below is much more interesting than the first. It appears to show the ability to check out feeds and updates from just about all Google social networks and services in one place. An integrated hub on Android devices that will show you the updates across Google’s varied offerings all in one vie would be something very cool. The patent app also describes the possibility of an availability indicator that would show the user or the person that posted the updates is available for interaction.
 

Leaked ROM Reveals Full Specs for T-Mobile Mytouch 4G Slide




Earlier today Quentyn reported some fun little leaks of upcoming HTC devices thanks to 911sniper and briefly mentioned the HTC Double Shot (now known as the Mytouch 4G Slide). The guys over at PocketNow were able to crack open the ROM and what came pouring out were rainbows, kitten whiskers and an impressive list of specs. According the build.prop found inside the ROM,  T-Mobile may have something really great in store for the sequel to the Mytouch 3G Slide.
The QWERTY slider will be coming equipped with one of Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon processors and a not too shabby 768MB of RAM. The screen will come in at 3.7-inches and feature an 800×480 resolution (which I’d say is perfect for a QWERTY slider). Another interesting tidbit is the fact that phone supports the codec for 3D video playback indicating the possibility of a 3D screen? And just like the screen, the 8MP camera will also support 3D video recording. The handset will also have a .3MP front facing camera, perfect for video calling seeing how the phone supports HSDPA category 10, capable of 14.4Mbps down on T-Mobile’s network.
Honestly, I am quite impressed with the list of specs on this phone. If you guys remember not too long ago it was rumored that T-Mobile was going to receive a dual-core, 3D qwerty phone nicknamed the Sidekick Twist (Project Emerald anyone?) but it never came to fruition. Although a little late, maybe those rumors weren’t too far off after all. One thing is for certain, if this phone has the same keyboard as the HTC Arrive, you can slap my face and call me jealous.
What do you guys think of this possible HTC QWERTY superphone? Are you second guessing upgrading to the Sensation after seeing this spec list?
[Via PocketNow]
 

HTC ThunderBolt vs. Samsung DROID Charge: Battle Of The Specs


Verizon’s pair of LTE handsets are sure to confuse some shoppers – though one is from Samsung (the DROID Charge) and the other from HTC (the ThunderBolt), the two sport relatively similar feature sets and designs that somewhat resemble one another. So what’s the difference? Well, aside from the Charge being $50 more expensive than the already-pricy ThunderBolt, there really aren’t many differentiators – let’s take a side-by-side look at their spec sheets:
Spec type
ThunderBolt
CPU
1GHz Hummingbird
1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655
Display
4.3" Super AMOLED Plus
4.3" SLCD
OS
Android 2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz UI
Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Sense UI
Front camera
1.3MP
1.3MP
Rear camera
8MP with 720P HD recording
8MP with 720p HD recording
RAM
512MB
768MB
Internal storage
2GB
8GB (though not all of that storage is usable)
Included SD card
32GB
32GB
DLNA support
Yes
Yes
Buttons
Physical
Capacitive
Size
130 mm x 68 mm x 12 mm
122 mm x 66 mm x 13.2 mm
Weight
143g
177g
Battery capacity
1600 mAh
1400 mAh
Price on contract
$299
$249
As you can see, neither device is anything to scoff at, though – at least in my eyes – the fact that the ThunderBolt runs Sense UI turns the tide in its favor (despite the Charge’s superior screen and slightly thinner profile). Additionally, the Charge’s $300 asking price isn’t exactly the most budget-friendly deal in town, making it hard to recommend over the T-Bolt. Scroll down for images and videos of each device before commencing holding your breath in anticipation of our DROID Charge review.