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Google I/O Sessions Calendar Now Available – Start Planning Now
May 17th
For the lucky few developers that were quick enough to get their hands on one of Google’s golden tickets, and will be attending Larry Page’s Chocolate Factory this year — otherwise known as Google I/O — the Sessions calendar is now available for you to scan, and schedule your trip accordingly. Looking through the scheduled sessions and events, there were no real giveaways on what will be announced at this year’s keynote, but I did rather enjoy the clever wording on Day 3′s “For Butter or Worse: Smoothing out Performance in Android UI’s.” Ah, those Google guys… they just “get” me.
Of course, Phandroid will be on hand for the entire event, bringing you the very latest on whatever Mt. View manages to cook up. I’m crossing my fingers for an affordable Nexus tablet.
Thanks, Steve!
Google I/O Sessions Calendar Now Available – Start Planning Now
May 17th
For the lucky few developers that were quick enough to get their hands on one of Google’s golden tickets, and will be attending Larry Page’s Chocolate Factory this year — otherwise known as Google I/O — the Sessions calendar is now available for you to scan, and schedule your trip accordingly. Looking through the scheduled sessions and events, there were no real giveaways on what will be announced at this year’s keynote, but I did rather enjoy the clever wording on Day 3′s “For Butter or Worse: Smoothing out Performance in Android UI’s.” Ah, those Google guys… they just “get” me.
Of course, Phandroid will be on hand for the entire event, bringing you the very latest on whatever Mt. View manages to cook up. I’m crossing my fingers for an affordable Nexus tablet.
Thanks, Steve!
Chamleon Launcher Looks To Make Your Android Tablet’s Home Screen More Beautiful and Functional
May 17th
I’ve always been a sucker for a good UI, and despite the bad press surrounding the Grid 10 tablet, I must say, I kinda had a “thing” for their unconventional homescreen. As it stands, Android’s tablet UI isn’t very much to look at. Essentially, you have a larger smartphone home screen which, I understand, is fine for some. But in the spirit of Android and the wonderful options she provides, a new home screen replacement is looking to make Android beautiful again, with the Kickstarter funded Chameleon launcher.
Chameleon is a home screen replacement only for Android tablets and features big and beautiful full featured widgets that are “designed to fit your lifestyle.” Similar to HTC’s Scenes, Chameleon gives user the ability to set, and customize home screens according to the time of day, or location. A user can set a work homescreen triggered by GPS location or connected WiFi network. When returning home, a new homescreen will be displayed, giving you easy access to social networks and leisurely content. Sounds neat, right? You can see more in their Kickstarter video below.
Currently, Chameleon has 100 backers on Kickstarter with only $1,000 pledged of their $50,000 goal (wow) and 29 days left to go. Those that back with $5 can get early access to the launcher in August, that’s a full month before it lands in the Google Play Store. Anyone thinking Chameleon could be the tablet home screen for them?
Thanks, Ken!
Chamleon Launcher Looks To Make Your Android Tablet’s Home Screen More Beautiful and Functional
May 17th
I’ve always been a sucker for a good UI, and despite the bad press surrounding the Grid 10 tablet, I must say, I kinda had a “thing” for their unconventional homescreen. As it stands, Android’s tablet UI isn’t very much to look at. Essentially, you have a larger smartphone home screen which, I understand, is fine for some. But in the spirit of Android and the wonderful options she provides, a new home screen replacement is looking to make Android beautiful again, with the Kickstarter funded Chameleon launcher.
Chameleon is a home screen replacement only for Android tablets and features big and beautiful full featured widgets that are “designed to fit your lifestyle.” Similar to HTC’s Scenes, Chameleon gives user the ability to set, and customize home screens according to the time of day, or location. A user can set a work homescreen triggered by GPS location or connected WiFi network. When returning home, a new homescreen will be displayed, giving you easy access to social networks and leisurely content. Sounds neat, right? You can see more in their Kickstarter video below.
Currently, Chameleon has 100 backers on Kickstarter with only $1,000 pledged of their $50,000 goal (wow) and 29 days left to go. Those that back with $5 can get early access to the launcher in August, that’s a full month before it lands in the Google Play Store. Anyone thinking Chameleon could be the tablet home screen for them?
Thanks, Ken!
Chamleon Launcher Looks To Make Your Android Tablet’s Home Screen More Beautiful and Functional
May 17th
I’ve always been a sucker for a good UI, and despite the bad press surrounding the Grid 10 tablet, I must say, I kinda had a “thing” for their unconventional homescreen. As it stands, Android’s tablet UI isn’t very much to look at. Essentially, you have a larger smartphone home screen which, I understand, is fine for some. But in the spirit of Android and the wonderful options she provides, a new home screen replacement is looking to make Android beautiful again, with the Kickstarter funded Chameleon launcher.
Chameleon is a home screen replacement only for Android tablets and features big and beautiful full featured widgets that are “designed to fit your lifestyle.” Similar to HTC’s Scenes, Chameleon gives user the ability to set, and customize home screens according to the time of day, or location. A user can set a work homescreen triggered by GPS location or connected WiFi network. When returning home, a new homescreen will be displayed, giving you easy access to social networks and leisurely content. Sounds neat, right? You can see more in their Kickstarter video below.
Currently, Chameleon has 100 backers on Kickstarter with only $1,000 pledged of their $50,000 goal (wow) and 29 days left to go. Those that back with $5 can get early access to the launcher in August, that’s a full month before it lands in the Google Play Store. Anyone thinking Chameleon could be the tablet home screen for them?
Thanks, Ken!
Dual-Core Samsung Galaxy S3 with 2GB of RAM Headed To Japan – Could The US Be Next?
May 17th
Yesterday, we told you guys about the Samsung Galaxy S3 (and 19 other devices) slated to arrive in the land of the rising sun via Japanese carrier NT Docomo. Normally that wouldn’t be considered very important news to you guys, but get this — NT Docomo is listing their GS3 with the same dual-core S4 processor that’s been leaked to arrive in the US and, get this — it will supposedly arrive with 2GB of RAM.
Now, this could be nothing more than a typo from a carrier with more high-end Android devices in their lineup than they know what to do with. But it got me thinking… If Samsung does opt for a slightly less powerful Qualcomm S4 processor for the US (to ensure compatibility with our LTE bands), it could make some sense that they would try to pick up the slack by increasing performance in other areas.
When it comes to marketing, sometimes specs are a purely a numbers game. If Samsung wants to make sure the GS3 makes a big splash here in the US, that extra 1GB of RAM could give them a leg up on the competition (especially when they can’t boast “extra cores”). Would you guys be happy if Samsung threw us a bone with 1GB of extra RAM to make up for an admittedly, very capable dual-core CPU?
Via TechnoBuffalo | SammyHub | NTDocomo (PDF)
Deal Alert: T-Mobile Offering Buy-One-Get-One Free Deal on 4G Smartphones – Starts This Weekend
May 17th
Starting on Friday, T-Mobile will be throwing another one of their “Magenta Deal Days” BOGO promotions. New or existing T-Mobile customers with an available upgrade can take advantage of T-Mobile’s buy-one-get-one deal on some of the hottest 4G phones T-Mo has available. Simply buy two phones — yup, you’re going to have to fork out the cash for both up front — and T-Mobile will reimbursed for the second via a mail-in rebate. HTC One S and Samsung Galaxy S II (Hercules) are both included in the deal. Calling up my parents right now to let them know what’s up (they just bought a One S yesterday). Mark it on your calendars, because it’s only good until May 28th. Which 2 phones will you be getting?
T-Mobile Proves That Two Is Better Than One
From May 18 to May 28, T-Mobiles "Magenta Deal Days" continues, offering customers a free 4G smartphone when they purchase one of equal or lesser value
BELLEVUE, Wash. — May 16, 2012 – T-Mobile is showing customers how two is better than one. For a limited time, customers who purchase a select 4G T-Mobile® smartphone will receive a second smartphone of equal or lesser value for free, after a mail-in rebate card, making it more affordable than ever for families to upgrade and have amazing 4G experiences on Americas Largest 4G Network®. The promotion will take place from Friday, May 18, through Monday, May 28.
T-Mobiles "Magenta Deal Days" Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO) promotion offers customers a mail-in rebate card worth up to $329 toward a new device with the purchase of a select T-Mobile 4G smartphone or mobile broadband device. Customers can choose from T-Mobiles latest and fastest devices, including the HTC® One™ S 4G, Samsung Galaxy S® II 4G, HTC Radar™ 4G, Sonic® 4G Mobile Hotspot and the Samsung Galaxy S® Blaze™ 4G, among others, running on Americas Largest 4G Network®.
"Our latest Magenta Deal Days promotion continues our commitment to giving our customers the ability to enjoy all the 4G experiences of a smartphone on our best plans ever," said John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. "Whats better than getting one of the sleekest, fastest 4G devices on the market? That would be getting two for the price of one."
New and existing eligible (meaning 22 months or more on their current contract) customers can take advantage of this promotion and receive their second device for free after a mail-in rebate card when they sign up for a new two-year contract on any qualifying Classic Plan™1 or paying a $0.00 down payment after mail-in rebate card on their second device when signing up on a qualifying Unlimited Value™2 plan.
The "Magenta Deal Days" BOGO promotion will be available at participating T-Mobile retail stores nationwide. For more information about T-Mobiles products, services and a full list of eligible devices: http://t-mo.co/IFiLii.
1 Standard upgrade eligibility rules apply for existing Classic customers who stay on a Classic plan.
2 On approved credit and 0 percent APR. Down payment and unfinanced portion required at purchase. Remaining balance paid in 20 monthly installments. Total price of each device equals down payment amount plus 20 times the monthly payment amount.
[T-Mobile: Magenta Deal Days | Via TMoNews]
Sprint brings carrier billing for books, movies, and music
May 16th
Up until recently, the Google Play Store only supported carrier billing for applications and games. When Google added music, movies, and books to the Play Store they didn’t bring that functionality over. They finally announced its development last month, but no carriers were on board with carrier billing with those pieces of media.
That changes today, though, as Google announced on Google+ that Sprint has become one of the first carriers to sport the functionality. It’s no surprise they are the first considering their longstanding and fruitful relationship with Google.
They were the first (and are still the only) to bring Google Wallet, and they were the first (and are still the only) to bring Google Voice carrier integration.
We’re sure AT&T and T-Mobile will jump on board for widespread carrier billing before too long, but for now Sprint customers are an exclusive crowd of those who can get anything the Google Play Store has to offer without having to pay for it until they pay for their monthly bill.
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer receives 9.2.1.24 OTA update
May 16th
The original Eee Pad Transformer by ASUS has received a firmware upgrade to version 9.2.1.24 today, and it brings with it some fixes and enhancements that I’m sure a few people will appreciate. One new feature that many of you should definitely appreciate Face Unlock. Sure, it’s not the most secure and practical method for unlocking a device, but it’s still nice to have.
Other changes include the ability for the status bar to maintain on the display during gameplay, and improvements to the email application. Head to the About Tablet section of the device and hit the firmware update to check for it. This should only be available to the US and Canada for the time being. [via AndroidForums.com]
Go unauthorize some of your devices from Google Music right now [UPDATE: Google Issues Statement]
May 16th
Earlier today it was reported that Google may have imposed a device deactivation limit of four devices per year on Google Music. This was likely to protect the recording industry against music sharing, but this adversely affects many users in ways Google probably overlooked. Namely, ROM updates and installs can sometimes be counted as a new device on your Google Music list. Once you hit 10 devices you have to unauthorize some to use Google Music on another device.
Most ROM users will find that their list is filled with duplicate entries, and if they can’t deauthorize devices more than four times in a single year, they’ll soon be SoL on using Google Music on future ROM installs.
You either limit the ROM installs or you get rid of Google Music, and it’s a choice that yours truly was faced with upon hearing this news. Users tried to deauthorize more than four devices earlier to confirm that this was the case, and they were indeed met with an alert.
But it seems Google’s lifted the limit for now. We’re not sure if they’re doing this temporarily to allow users a chance to deauthorize, if this is a permanent move, or if they’re looking into a different method for counting authorized devices (a MAC address or IMEI number would work great, we think).
We’re hoping it’s the latter two situations, but Google hasn’t released any official word to let us know either way. If you need to unauthorize more devices, now is your chance to do so. Head to Google Music and click the ‘music settings’ button in the upper right corner.
UPDATE: Google has issued this statement via their Google Play FAQ:
Yesterday we made a change to our device policy for music on Google Play. Any user can associate up to 10 devices to his or her account. Once you have connected 10 devices, you may add a new device only by deauthorizing an existing one from your account, and you may do this up to four times per year.
We limit the number of times you can swap out new devices at the request of some of our music partners in an effort to limit abuse. We understand this has caused some issues for users who often deauthorize and reauthorize the same device, and we are currently re-implementing the solution in a way that works for our users and music partners.
We apologize for any inconvenience and will update this page as new changes are made.
