All that is fun about android
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Android Overload: LG Optimus LTE headed to TELUS, KISS Angry Birds, and more
Feb 3rd
How was that for a relatively calm week in Android news? Despite a last minute scare the Google might be stripping of Galaxy Nexus of its Nexus-given rights (thankfully there was another explanation), we managed to make it through without too much drama. Things are sure to pick up in the coming weeks as Mobile World Congress draws near. For now, we’re headed into Super Bowl weekend. (Did you see our contest?) It’s Patriots vs. Giants, who do you got? (Oh, sports aren’t your thing? There’s always the Puppy Bowl…)
- The LG Optimus LTE is headed to Canada’s TELUS. [MobileSyrup]
- The Samsung Galaxy Y Duos and Galaxy Y Duos Pro have gone on sale across Europe. [UnwiredView]
- Sony Ericsson has partnered with Billabong to release a custom version of the Xperia Active. [AndroidCentral]
- Foodspotting has been updated to version 3.0, creators call it “Pandora for food.” [Foodspotting]
- Seesmic Ping allows for one click posting to all social networks, allows for scheduled posts as well. [Android Police]
- Costco is offering the Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Nexus for $219.99 through February 7th, throwing in free extended battery. [DroidLife]
- Is Rovio working on a KISS-themed Angry Birds? [DroidGamers]
Super Bowl 2012 Photo Contest: Show Us Your Game Face Using Camera ZOOM FX
Feb 3rd
It’s Super Bowl weekend and we, at Phandroid wanted to do a little something fun for you guys. We’re teaming up with AndroidSlide — developer of the hit Android app, Camera Zoom FX — to throw another fun filled photo contest that everyone can join in on. Since you’ll most likely be partying it up at home or with friends come Super Bowl Sunday, all we want is for you to capture how you celebrate the big day — whether it’s on your couch, with your family, at a bar, or painted up with your posse at Lucas Oil Stadium — and share it with us. The wilder and more crazy you get, the better.
The rules are simple:
- Download Camera ZOOM FX (now 40% off in the Market)
- Download Camera ZOOM FX’s “Buddy Pack” (free add-on in the Market)
- Select the Phandroid logo from the list of “buddies” (FX > Overlay > Buddy > Buddy Pack x1)
- Capture your best Super Bowl moment!
- Post the pic to either Facebook or Google + and tag our Phandroid page: Facebook | Google+
Winners — selected at random — will receive these awesome prizes:
- 1st Place Winner: Kinivo Wireless Bluetooth Mini Speaker and a $50 Amazon gift card
- 2nd Place Winner: Kinivo Wireless Bluetooth Mini Speaker
- 3rd Place Winner: Kinivo Mini Portable Speaker (No Bluetooth)
If for some reason you can’t (or wont) download Camera Zoom FX — don’t worry. AndroidSlide still wants to hook you guys up too. Simply use the camera app of your choice to snap a pic of your Super Bowl moment and post it in the comments below. 20 runner ups will be selected to receive a free complimentary download of Camera Zoom FX. Of those 20 runner ups — 2 lucky winners will also receive:
- 1st Place Winner: 32GB micro SD card (plus Camera Zoom FX)
- 2nd Place Winner: 16GB micro SD card (plus Camera Zoom FX)
Sound like fun? Deadline for all entries will be 11:59PM PT on Super Bowl Sunday (2/05/2012). All winners must be 18 years of age or older and currently living in the US. We will contact you via Facebook, Google+ or the email tied to your Disqus account.
Good luck to everyone, your teams and have a great, safe weekend.
Super Bowl 2012 Photo Contest: Show Us Your Game Face Using Camera ZOOM FX
Feb 3rd
It’s Super Bowl weekend and we, at Phandroid wanted to do a little something fun for you guys. We’re teaming up with AndroidSlide — developer of the hit Android app, Camera Zoom FX — to throw another fun filled photo contest that everyone can join in on. Since you’ll most likely be partying it up at home or with friends come Super Bowl Sunday, all we want is for you to capture how you celebrate the big day — whether it’s on your couch, with your family, at a bar, or painted up with your posse at Lucas Oil Stadium — and share it with us. The wilder and more crazy you get, the better.
The rules are simple:
- Download Camera ZOOM FX (now 40% off in the Market)
- Download Camera ZOOM FX’s “Buddy Pack” (free add-on in the Market)
- Select the Phandroid logo from the list of “buddies” (FX > Overlay > Buddy > Buddy Pack x1)
- Capture your best Super Bowl moment!
- Post the pic to either Facebook or Google + and tag our Phandroid page: Facebook | Google+
Winners — selected at random — will receive these awesome prizes:
- 1st Place Winner: Kinivo Wireless Bluetooth Mini Speaker and a $50 Amazon gift card
- 2nd Place Winner: Kinivo Wireless Bluetooth Mini Speaker
- 3rd Place Winner: Kinivo Mini Portable Speaker (No Bluetooth)
If for some reason you can’t (or wont) download Camera Zoom FX — don’t worry. AndroidSlide still wants to hook you guys up too. Simply use the camera app of your choice to snap a pic of your Super Bowl moment and post it in the comments below. 20 runner ups will be selected to receive a free complimentary download of Camera Zoom FX. Of those 20 runner ups — 2 lucky winners will also receive:
- 1st Place Winner: 32GB micro SD card (plus Camera Zoom FX)
- 2nd Place Winner: 16GB micro SD card (plus Camera Zoom FX)
Sound like fun? Deadline for all entries will be 11:59PM PT on Super Bowl Sunday (2/05/2012). All winners must be 18 years of age or older and currently living in the US. We will contact you via Facebook, Google+ or the email tied to your Disqus account.
Good luck to everyone, your teams and have a great, safe weekend.
Develop an Android app, submit it to BlackBerry App World and get a free PlayBook
Feb 3rd
RIM wants Android apps in their BlackBerry App World market so bad, they’re practically giving away PlayBooks to developers who submit them. What’s that you say, they actually are giving away PlayBooks? Oh RIM, what’s happened to you?
Instead of building quality hardware, pairing it with quality software and attracting users and app developers the old fashioned way, a clearly desperate RIM is giving away PlayBook tablets to any developer who submits their Android app to the BalckBerry App World market.
You see, RIM has developed software for the OS running on the PlayBook that allows Android apps to be ported to BlackBerry with just a few simple clicks. Apparently, RIMs plans to leech from the Android Market isn’t turning out quite like they imagined. Even after drastically lowering the price on PlayBooks, RIM still can’t get rid of them. So why not give them away in exchange for apps?
RIM’s future is still very uncertain at this point, but a free tablet is a free tablet. Need an ereader for your kids? A $500 coaster? A chew toy for your dog (just kidding, don’t give your dog a PlayBook to chew on)? You have until February 13th to submit your app and take advantage of this generous offer.
[Update from Google] The CDMA/LTE Galaxy Nexus is no longer considered a developer device
Feb 3rd
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. The number one reason you should buy a Nexus device is because your updates come directly from Google. Meaning you have first dibs and the lastest and greatest Android has to offer.
When we learned that some GSM Nexus devices were not going to be updated by Google, instead being controlled regionally by carriers and Samsung, we were a little disappointed. But at least Verizon’s CDMA/LTE Galaxy Nexus is safe. Well, it was.
There’s been no official word from Google, but the Android Developers website tells it all. The CDMA Galaxy Nexus, codename “toro,” is no longer supported on the Android Developers website. Special CDMA radio installation and download instructions have been yanked, and factory images for the CDMA Nexus are listed as “archived, for reference only.”
There’s no telling exactly what is going on, but it doesn’t look like a mistake. Perhaps Verizon wanted more control over the device? Maybe they needed to add more custom apps, or decided they wanted to exclusively handle the updating procedure? Whatever the case, this is a sad day for Verizon customers who thought they were buying a developer device. It’s not that this will really impact consumers for the most part, but enthusiasts will surely feel let down.
We’ll let you know if the situation changes.
Update:
Dan Morrill has taken to the Android Contributors Google Groups page to explain the situation.
For various technical reasons, recent CDMA Android devices implement core telephony functionality in .apk files provided in binary form by the carriers. To function correctly, these .apk files must be signed by the so-called ‘platform’ key. However, when an individual creates a custom build from the AOSP source code, they don’t use the same signing key as these CDMA flies were signed with.
The result is that these files don’t work properly, and pure AOSP builds running on these devices can’t place calls, access mobile data, and so on. Because we aim to make sure that we are as clear as possible about the degree of support that devices have, we updated the docs over at source.android.com to reflect this reality.
We will still make available as many as possible of the closed-source binaries for these devices, and Nexus devices will continue to have unlockable bootloaders. And, of course, GSM/HSPA+ devices are still supported, as are any other devices we’re able to support. We’ve simply updated the documentation to be clearer about the current extent of CDMA support.Dan MorrillGoogle
It looks like there’s nothing really going on here. Developers compiling and using pure AOSP builds are leaving CDMA phones less than functional. Your weekend has been saved.
Best Buy offering flip cover case with Galaxy Note pre-orders
Feb 3rd
Best Buy has announced that customers pre-ordering the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T beginning February 5th will receive a little something extra for their interest. Pre-ordering the Note at a Best Buy/Best Buy Mobile store or online earns future owners a flip cover case to protect that sizable 5.3-inch display. The case normally retails for $29.99. The Galaxy Note will retails for $299.99 when it launches February 19th.
[via Best Buy]
Best Buy offering flip cover case with Galaxy Note pre-orders
Feb 3rd
Best Buy has announced that customers pre-ordering the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T beginning February 5th will receive a little something extra for their interest. Pre-ordering the Note at a Best Buy/Best Buy Mobile store or online earns future owners a flip cover case to protect that sizable 5.3-inch display. The case normally retails for $29.99. The Galaxy Note will retails for $299.99 when it launches February 19th.
[via Best Buy]
[UPDATE: Google responds] Verizon Galaxy Nexus, other CDMA devices, no longer listed with Google developer support
Feb 3rd
UPDATE: The Android Team’s Dan Morrill has posted an explanation for the removal of the Galaxy Nexus and other CDMA devices from the official developer support page. This has nothing to do with Google Wallet (we never thought it did) and everything to do with the way the Android code is compiled for CDMA devices. In short, if a dev were to simply compile the pure AOSP source code for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus the build would be lacking in full telephony functionality. Google still plans to support the devices directly via software updates.
A quick visit to the Android developer support page reveals some startling news. It appears as if Google is dropping the “developer device” tag of once-listed CDMA models. The Samsung Nexus S 4G, Verizon’s Motorola XOOM, and even the LTE Galaxy Nexus have disappeared from the site, leaving us with a note explaining exactly which versions of these devices will be supported moving forward. For the XOOM, only the “wingray” WiFi-only version of the slate gets developer designation. The GSM “crespo” version of the Nexus S also retains support. For the Galaxy Nexus, the GSM/HSPA+ “maguro” build is supported, but only if it originally shipped with the “yakju” build of Android 4.0.
We can speculate as to exactly why Google has decided against the inclusion of CDMA developer devices, but the fact that Sprint’s Nexus S 4G didn’t make the cut should silence those ready to blame Verizon and Google’s past disagreements about Google Wallet. In reality, Google is likely looking to simply streamline support and GSM tends to be the more global-ready network technology. CDMA devices function on a very limited portion of the globe’s cellular networks (despite Verizon and Sprint, two of the world’s largest carriers, both utilizing CDMA).
Does the removal of these devices from the developer support page mean they won’t be treated to the quick Android software version updates typically associated with the Nexus line? We get the feeling OS updates will still reach these devices just as quickly, if only due to their stock user interfaces. It’s hard to imagine Google neglecting any member of their Nexus family, lest they want to send mixed signals. And we’re not looking to have our hearts toyed with like that.
[via DroidLife]
[UPDATE: Google responds] Verizon Galaxy Nexus, other CDMA devices, no longer listed with Google developer support
Feb 3rd
UPDATE: The Android Team’s Dan Morrill has posted an explanation for the removal of the Galaxy Nexus and other CDMA devices from the official developer support page. This has nothing to do with Google Wallet (we never thought it did) and everything to do with the way the Android code is compiled for CDMA devices. In short, if a dev were to simply compile the pure AOSP source code for the Verizon Galaxy Nexus the build would be lacking in full telephony functionality. Google still plans to support the devices directly via software updates.
A quick visit to the Android developer support page reveals some startling news. It appears as if Google is dropping the “developer device” tag of once-listed CDMA models. The Samsung Nexus S 4G, Verizon’s Motorola XOOM, and even the LTE Galaxy Nexus have disappeared from the site, leaving us with a note explaining exactly which versions of these devices will be supported moving forward. For the XOOM, only the “wingray” WiFi-only version of the slate gets developer designation. The GSM “crespo” version of the Nexus S also retains support. For the Galaxy Nexus, the GSM/HSPA+ “maguro” build is supported, but only if it originally shipped with the “yakju” build of Android 4.0.
We can speculate as to exactly why Google has decided against the inclusion of CDMA developer devices, but the fact that Sprint’s Nexus S 4G didn’t make the cut should silence those ready to blame Verizon and Google’s past disagreements about Google Wallet. In reality, Google is likely looking to simply streamline support and GSM tends to be the more global-ready network technology. CDMA devices function on a very limited portion of the globe’s cellular networks (despite Verizon and Sprint, two of the world’s largest carriers, both utilizing CDMA).
Does the removal of these devices from the developer support page mean they won’t be treated to the quick Android software version updates typically associated with the Nexus line? We get the feeling OS updates will still reach these devices just as quickly, if only due to their stock user interfaces. It’s hard to imagine Google neglecting any member of their Nexus family, lest they want to send mixed signals. And we’re not looking to have our hearts toyed with like that.
[via DroidLife]
Yahoo attempts to stay relevant, now searches Android Market apps
Feb 3rd
Because apps are the answer to any woe, Yahoo is trying to turn people’s obsession with smartphone software into page views with the introduction of Android Market (and iOS) search results. An apps tab can now be found when using Yahoo to search the web. Users can view Yahoo’s suggested apps or poke around for whatever suits their taste. Results can be filtered by operating system, price, and category. Application pages provide reviews from the Android Market as well as Yahoo users, but do little more than act as a forwarding page to the Android Market. Was this even necessary? Save a step and search directly through Google.
[AndroidCentral via Engadget]
