TalkAndroid Daily Dose for June 19, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Jun 19th 2013, 11:13pm
tagged Daily Doses

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Apps

New App: ‘Rockmelt’ news reader released to Google Play

Falcon Pro pulled from Play Store due to token authentication issues

Dolphin Browser updates to v10, brings new UI and Web App Store

RSS feeds like ‘Feedly’ growing, end of Google Reader looms

‘Photo Editor’ by Aviary gets update to version 3.0

Carriers

AT&T set to launch LTE network in 9 new markets starting today

Verizon planning to end life of Droid DNA, prepping for arrival of HTC One

Official trailer for Verizon’s DROID combat AR game released

» Read the rest

Official trailer for Verizon’s DROID combat AR game released

by Jeff Causey on Jun 19th 2013, 10:26pm
tagged Augmented Reality, droid, motorola, Verizon

Yesterday we saw the reactivation of the @DroidLanding Twitter account with posts indicating a new scavenger hunt utilizing an augmented reality app was on the way to Verizon. Postings have continued today with a couple tweets of photos of some of the mechanized “wARriors” that will be available in the game. The account also released a link to a YouTube video trailer for the DROID Combat/D:COM app. The video shows some game play and screens for selecting your Droid warrior. » Read the rest

Verizon planning to end life of Droid DNA, prepping for arrival of HTC One

by Harrison Kaminsky on Jun 19th 2013, 6:03pm
tagged DNA, droid, HTC, incredible, one, RAZR, Verizon

Multiple sources are reporting that Verizon is currently flagging the HTC Droid DNA and the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE for “close out,” and retail stores have been running promos and sales to clear out remaining stock of the two devices.

Just speculating here of course, but this is probably due to the upcoming launch of the HTC One for Verizon— they need to make some room and clear out old phones from the same manufacturer. Although no firm launch date has been confirmed for the HTC One on Verizon, we’re expecting it to come very soon.

This recent move will leave the RAZR HD and RAZR M as the only Droid-branded phones left on Verizon. Of course with the recent hype from @DroidLanding tweeting about an augmented reality game possibly leading to the release of a new Droid device, more Droids could surely be on the way.

And for those of you worrying that you won’t be receiving any more upgrade support for your DNA, you may be in luck— remember, the Incredible, Rezound, and Thunderbolt all received upgrades long after their EOL. Of course no promises here, but there is some hope.

Source: Droid Life

HTC One Mini to hit AT&T around August

by Jared Peters on Jun 19th 2013, 12:10pm
tagged AT&T, HTC, HTC One Mini

Just yesterday we got confirmation about the HTC One Mini’s name and size, but no carrier availability. If you were planning on picking a Mini up if it came to your carrier of choice, you may be in luck, because according to a source close to HTC, the device will definitely be available first on AT&T’s network sometime around August of this year. They didn’t say if the device would be available on any other carriers, but if HTC can keep up what they’ve been doing, we may see this device on several other carriers in the US. And, if they get lucky, Verizon may carry the device sometime in late 2015.

To recap, the HTC One Mini has a 720p, 4.3″ display, a Snapdragon 400 CPU, and Android 4.2 out of the box. Anybody excited for this device later this year?

source: Phone Arena

HTC officially unveils the Butterfly S

by Robert Nazarian on Jun 19th 2013, 9:57am
tagged Butterfly S, HTC

HTC finally unveiled the Butterfly S and I am officially drooling. Why this isn’t coming to Verizon as the DROID DNA S, I have no idea, but rumors have it landing on Sprint. The Butterfly S is a beefier version of the One. It has a 5-inch 1080p LCD 3 display, a 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU, 2GB of RAM,16GB of internal storage, microSD, UltraPixel camera, 2.1MP wide-angle front camera, support for Miracast, a 3,200mAh battery, and Sense 5. Just like the HTC One, it features dual-speakers at the front along with BoomSound. Since the Butterfly S has Sense 5, you will get all the same features such as BlinkFeed, Zoe, and Video Highlights.

Expect a release in Taiwan in July for NT $22,900 ($766) with no announcement for other areas. Hit the break for a short teaser video and press release.

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for June 18, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Jun 18th 2013, 11:04pm
tagged Daily Doses

Apps

Dashclock widget updated to version 1.5, includes Daydream support

Carriers

AT&T announces Street Charge mobile charging stations around New York City

Verizon starts countdown, releases augmented reality DROID video

Phones

HTC announces the Desire 200 smartphone: a budget device with Beats Audio

Name of HTC One Mini, 720p HD screen confirmed

LG said to be working on a phone with always on voice commands that will arrive in 2014

» Read the rest

Verizon starts countdown, releases augmented reality DROID video

by Jeff Causey on Jun 18th 2013, 8:17pm
tagged droid, Teaser, Verizon, video

Surfacing from a long period of inactivity, the Twitter account @DroidLanding reappeared with activity this afternoon. At this point, the tweets are rather vague, though there are enough hints dropped in to stir the rumors of a new DROID device getting ready to show up on the Verizon network. That seems like a bit of a stretch unless Verizon renames the mysterious Motorola X Phone. Whatever Verizon may have up their sleeve, it looks like it will involve an augmented reality scavenger hunt game based on the latest teaser video to surface.

@DroidLanding‘s initial tweet merely announced the resumption of activity with the lead “Reactivation protocols initiated.” That was followed by another tweet announcing:

“Augmented Reality imaging matrix is online ::: Scavenge mode detected…”

The latest tweet from the account points to a YouTube video that shows footage of Transformer type combat DROIDs. The tweet mentions “wARriors” with the AR capitalized. The video includes “DROID Combat/D:COM” in the title. The last time the AR moniker was used was back in 2011 when the Droid Bionic ARena augmented reality scavenger hunt game was made available. That title was also created by MunkyFun, the developers mentioned in this latest video. Back then, the goal of the app was to win a DROID Bionic.

If Verizon is preparing to unleash a new augmented reality scavenger hunt game, what could the prize be? Hit the break for the video.

» Read the rest

Moto X (XFON XT1055) variant for U.S. Cellular shows up at FCC

by Harrison Kaminsky on Jun 18th 2013, 6:56pm
tagged fcc, Moto X, motorola, us cellular

Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside announced just a few weeks ago that multiple upcoming smartphones from the company would be broadly distributed across carriers. Among this next wave of smartphones from Motorola are the “Moto X” series phones that are already gaining a ton of buzz among consumers— and now it looks as though the Moto X (XFON XT1055) has finally hit the FCC as expected. This variant will head to U.S. Cellular (LTE band 12), making that at least four variants of the phone. We already knew of Verizon’s, Sprint’s, and AT&T’s variants— now the only major U.S. carrier without an FCC filing for the device thus far would be T-Mobile.

The device is expected to have a Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz, hold 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 10MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 720p display, and Android 4.2.2. All of these specs seem pretty mid-range and they don’t exactly jump out at you over any other phones currently on the market— that’s why we’re expecting some other cool features to come with this phone, such as unique sensors and software by Motorola that will do things such as turn your camera on the moment you pull your phone out of your pocket, and of course other features as well.

More news to come as we approach launch date for this highly anticipated device(s)…

Via: Ameblo
Source: FCC

Samsung will be streaming their Galaxy & ATIV event live via YouTube

by James Gray on Jun 18th 2013, 10:29am
tagged galaxy & ativ, Samsung, samsung galaxy camera, Samsung Galaxy S 4

For those of us not invited to Samsung’s Galaxy & ATIV event in London on June 20th, Samsung will be streaming it live at youtube.com/SamsungMobile. The event will start at 7 p.m. British time, or 2 p.m. EST.

Not much is known about the event, but its safe to assume Samsung will be showing off the new variants of their flagship S 4 (the Mini, Mega, Activ and Zoom) as well as a possible look at one of the two rumored camera’s Samsung will be introducing to their Galaxy line.

For those interested, tune in to the event on their YouTube page and let us know below what you want to see from Samsung on the 20th. I for one am hoping for an announcement regarding the Galaxy NX Camera and am excited to see what else Samsung has up their sleeve.