android fun blog
admin
This user hasn't shared any biographical information
Posts by admin
UK getting the Pink Galaxy Note this June
May 18th
If you didn’t know, Samsung introduced some alternate colors for the Samsung Galaxy Note. Unfortunately, those alternate colors only launched in Korea. Well, it looks like parts of Europe are about to get in on the fun as Carphone Warehouse have pegged June 2012 as the launch date for the berry pink version in the UK. You can sign up to be notified of its arrival if you’re into it. Head to Carphone Warehouse to do just that. [Recombu via Android Central]
Refurbished 32GB HP TouchPad on sale for $195 at Woot; today only
May 18th
While this isn’t the lowest price this tablet has ever been available for, the HP TouchPad is a bit hard to find. Paying nearly $200 for this tablet might be justified, all things considered. Woot is offering the 32GB-equipped device for $195 for one day only.
It’s a refurbished model, but if you take a look at the going rates on eBay you’ll find that it’s a bargain: there, the 16GB version is going for as high as $275! The 32GB is close to $500. Are you starting to see why this would be a good idea?
Sure, WebOS was pretty much driven into the ground, but the Android community couldn’t help themselves and they got all sorts of ROMs made for the device. Do some research over at XDA and RootzWiki to get started, but in the meantime make sure you purchase one of these at Woot pronto.
Android Overload: HTC One X Only $130 For New Customers and Upgrades, HTC EVO LTE RUU Now Available, and More
May 18th
Congrats. You’ve mad it to the Android Overload. These are all the stories form throughout our day that didn’t make it onto our front page — but because we like to keep our readers well informed, we posted them here for y’all to take a final look at. There’s always something here for everyone, so, pull up a chair and dig right in!
- HTC One X is only $130 at Amazon Wireless for new customers and upgrades. [Amazon Wireless]
- Motorola Xoom WiFi now receiving Ice Cream Sandwich update in Canada. [Motorola]
- Verizon clarifies: customers can keep grandfathered unlimited plans as long as they pay full price for upgrades. [NYT]
- Samsung devices account for 40% of all Android smartphone sales. [eWeek]
- LG Optimus 4X HD gains FCC certification. Sports global bands and AT&T compatibility. [FCC]
- Sony teams up with leading accessory makers to make cases for Xperia devices. [SonyMobile]
- HTC EVO 4G LTE RUU now available. Sense ROMs soon cometh. [XDA]
Samsung Galaxy S3 For T-Mobile and AT&T Make An Appearance At Bluetooth SIG
May 18th
We’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy S3 to arrive on the big 4 carriers here in the US, but unfortunately, nothing’s been announced yet. Well, here’s some good news for AT&T and T-Mobile customers. Both versions of the GS3 have just made their way through the Bluetooth SIG, revealing not much other than their BT capabilities, and corresponding model numbers (generic images have been used).
Following the model number patterns with current Samsung devices, the SGH-T999V will be headed to T-Mobile, while the SGH-I747 will arrive on AT&T. Word is, these US models will sport Qualcomm’s dual-core S4 processor with an added RAM boost to the tune of 2GB. Looks like it wont be much longer until we find out.
Best Buy Now Alerting HTC EVO 4G LTE Pre-Orders of Indefinitely Delayed Shipment Date
May 18th
Earlier today, we reported that Best Buy was notifying pre-orders that the HTC EVO 4G LTE would arrive on May 23rd, a few days later than the original May 18th launch date. This came after news that both the EVO and One X were being held up at Customs, and lead a few to believe (or hope, rather) that this would be the new “official” launch date.
Well, Best Buy is now sending out emails correcting the mix up, letting Evolte pre-orders know that the device has now been delayed indefinitely, with no expected date on when it may arrive. Still bad news, I know, but that sounds more in line with what we’ve been hearing. As you were…
Thanks, Alex!
Amazon To Begin Selling Ad Space On Kindle Fire’s Welcome Screen For $600,000
May 18th
In a move I would have expected to see Google jump on first, it looks like the other Google (Amazon) is attempting to make back some of that money they’re losing on every Kindle Fire sold by selling “prime” location ad space on their 7-inch tablets. For a measly $600,000, you too can advertise your latest rap album, product, or service, directly from the Kindle Fire’s welcome screen. The half a mil reportedly gets you 2 full months of ad time, with your ad showing up on every boot, adding to the “sponsored screensaver” ads that appear whenever the device shuts down.
There are a few complications, however. Advertisers aren’t completely sold on this new opportunity, and Amazon isn’t quite sure how they’re going to implement this new… “feature.” Apparently, they are still undecided if they will add it to current Kindle Fires, or just in future ad-supported models. There’s also the potential of upsetting current customers who wouldn’t exactly be pleased to find ads popping up out of nowhere on their once ad-free device.
What do you guys think? Would having ads pop up on your tablet justify a heavily discounted tablet? Think Google should implement something similar to drive down the price on their rumored $250 quad-core tabbie?
Expect Assistant, aka Majel, to be shown off at Google IO
May 18th
Last year we reported that Google was working on a secret project codenamed Majel that was meant to be a direct response to Apple’s Siri. A trusted source told us a working Android app was already in testing and we thought it could debut in December, but then Alexia Tsotsis of TechCrunch reported that the service would be called Assistant and it was slated for a Q4 2012 release.
This week Google introduced the Knowledge Graph which attempts to make search smarter by using context to understand exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want. Google revealed that their system now contains more than 500 million objects (landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more), as well as more than 3.5 billion facts about and relationships between these different objects.
“We hope this added intelligence will give you a more complete picture of your interest, provide smarter search results, and pique your curiosity on new topics,” said Amit Singhal, SVP, Engineering. “We’re proud of our first baby step which will enable us to make search more intelligent, moving us closer to the ‘Star Trek computer‘ that I’ve always dreamt of building.”
Lots of engineers at Google are obsessed with the Star Trek computer, and the next logical step is a natural voice input and output system to interact with their Knowledge Graph. If they were already testing it late last year, then I fully expect to see a working demo of Android Assistant at Google IO next month.
Check out the latest Google video below and let us know what you think of their Knowledge Graph. Are you ready for Assistant to become a part of your daily Android experience?
