android phones

Are you guys ready for the first week’s TegraZone anniversary and Player’s Choice Awards contest courtesy of NVIDIA? We know we are. If you aren’t in the know, NVIDIA’s just hit their one-year anniversary with TegraZone and they’re holding a Player’s Choice Awards! You can also snap a photo of the QR code directly below.

You’ll get the chance to vote for your favorite games in three categories, including best graphical game, best gameplay, and best overall game. With your vote, you’re entered for a chance to win one of 7 Transformer Pad TF300 prize packs. More details on that specific contest are here.

But there will be three more chances to win a prize pack with the good folks of Phandroid! We’ll be holding a contest every week for the next three weeks, with three prize packs to be given away in all. The first contest starts today so you’ll want to read through the bottom for more details.

• Up for grabs today (May 11th, 2012) is one ASUS Transformer Pad 300 prize pack. The prize pack includes the ASUS Transformer Pad 300, a special NVIDIA themed JAMBOX by Jawbone, a keyboard dock compatible with the Pad 300, and a wireless controller. Running the latest Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the ASUS Transformer Pad is a value packed tablet that with multi-color style, and productivity with expandability when connected to the mobile dock. With a 1.2MP front and 8MP rear auto-focus camera with large F/2.2 aperture and exclusive office software, staying connected and productive has never been easier.
• To enter, simply submit a comment telling us your favorite TegraZone game, and why.
• Only one entry per person allowed.
• The entry period will expire at 12:00am Eastern on May 12th, 2012.
• The winner will be chosen at random.
• If we can not get in contact with you within a 24 hour time period, a new random winner will be selected. This will continue until a winner is determined.
• If you don’t use real contact information, we can’t send you real cool stuff!

And that’s all there is to it! Why don’t I start off by giving you guys an idea of what my favorite TegraZone game is? It’s only the first game to set the 3D GTA craze. That would be Grand Theft Auto 3, and it’s  not just because there’s nostalgic value packed into such a cheap download.

If I tried to play GTA 3 on my old PS2, it would look downright insulting on an HDTV. The TegraZone version is high definition, has just as many, if not more, particle effects, great draw distance and I can’t take my PS2 on the go.

It’d be great if we could get all the PS2/Xbox versions of Grand Theft Auto on TegraZone, but the Liberty City whirlwind is more than enough for me at this point. Get started in the comments section below!

After uncovering a YouTube video on ASUS’s channel claiming that the soon-to-be-released ASUS Padfone’s battery was capable of up to 102 hours of use when in laptop mode, the folks at Engadget decided the numbers were a bit too good to take at face value. They went straight to source and got the slightly more realistic answers they were seeking. Turns out the original figure was based on 2G talk time.

When it comes to 3G service and browsing the web, the hours add up to significantly less, but remain impressive. In laptop mode (which provides the device with additional battery support from both the tablet and laptop docks), the Padfone is getting 14.1 hours of continuos 3G browsing. The number was deduced from ASUS’ own in-house testing. In its other various mode? The with a WiFi connection, the Padfone got 2.6 hours of continuous browsing in phone mode, 10.7 hours in tablet mode, and 17 hours in laptop mode. For 3G ASUS measured 2.1 hours in phone mode, 8.9 hours in tablet mode, and the aforementioned 14.1 hours in laptop mode.

Still, these numbers represent an ideal lab situation. Will actual real world use amount to less (or more) longevity? We’re itching to find out.

[via Engadget]

If you’ve used a Tegra-based device in the past year you are likely no stranger to TegraZone, NVIDIA’s game and app showcase highlighting the best of the best for Android devices. Celebrating its first year as a source of high-quality software for some of the world’s most powerful smartphones and tablets, NVIDIA is turning to gamers to decide which games take top honors in the first annual TegraZone Player Choice Award’s. Not only will you be deciding the winners in thee categories covering gameplay, graphics, and overall fun, but you will have several opportunities to score some sweet gear.

Three weeks of voting culminates at a special E3 event taking place June 6th to unveil the winners. We’ll be live at the year’s biggest gaming show to share in the festivities. You have until May 31st to make your voice heard.

When voting via the QR code or link provided below you will automatically be entered to win one of seven ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 prize packs, which includes a dock, Logitech wireless controller, and Jambox speaker to go along with the Tegra 3 tablet. If you need a refresher on why you desperately want the Transformer Pad, here’s the word straight from the horse’s mouth:

Running the latest Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the ASUS Transformer Pad is a value packed tablet with multi-color style and productivity with expandability when connected to the mobile dock. With a 1.2MP front and 8MP rear auto-focus camera with large F/2.2 aperture and exclusive office software, staying connected and productive has never been easier.

But we’re giving you even more opportunities to win the tablet of your dreams. Along with the seven prize packs NVIDIA will be giving away, we are personally awarding three ourselves. That’s one a week until voting ends.

We’ll be back later with details of how you can win the first of three Tegra-infused ASUS Transformer Pad prize packs a bit later, but for now you can scan the QR code or head over to TegraZone to start casting your vote.

The Samsung Galaxy S III isn’t the only new phone in town. But you would have missed the Samsung SVH-E170K if you weren’t looking for it. The phone was launched for the South Korean market and features specs that read more as a minor Galaxy S II upgrade than a GS3 counterpart. The SVH-E170K features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display at qHD resolution, 5MP rear camera, and 1.3MP front-facing camera. Samsung didn’t reveal too many more details, but SammyHub was able to sleuth out benchmark tests that reveal slightly more. It looks like the phone will feature a dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU clocked at 1.5GHz and run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The LTE-enabled phone is headed for KT Wireless, and there does not appear to be plans for a release outside of Korea at this time.

[via Engadget]

Google has pushed out an update to the Play Store yesterday, bringing the version number up to 3.5.19. Although it’s not entirely clear what is new in this version, we’ve gotten a few reports that the ol’ Market is feeling a bit snappier. Typically, this is the result of the placebo effect, but I’ll let you decide for yourself. The Play Store has been extracted and upload for your downloading pleasure. Enjoy.

Google Play Store 3.5.19: Download | Download 2 (If other link not working)