The American Red Cross has decided to make the availability of apps on Android devices part of their mission to provide aid and assistance in times of emergency. They released a First Aid app a couple months ago to help walk people through a variety of medical emergencies. Now they are following up with their just released Hurricane app.
If you are interested in getting your hands on a new Samsung Galaxy device, like the Samsung Galaxy S III or Samsung Galaxy Note, and could use some funds to help with the purchase, Samsung may have just what you need. Samsung recently announced a new buyback program via their Facebook page. You just provide information on the type of phone you are trading in, purchase a new Samsung device, send in your old phone, and Samsung promises you’ll receive a check within 30 days. It does appear the offer will apply retroactively to at least some purchases as Samsung indicates you only need to have your receipt ready.
A quick check of what Samsung is offering looks like they may be offering about two-thirds what you can get by selling your device yourself on eBay. That may be enough for some people who don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling their old phone. There are other buyback programs one can use to trade in their old phone, so it may be worth shopping around.
If you want to start the process, just hit the source link to visit the Samsung Facebook page for the offer.
source: Samsung Mobile USA Facebook
Android Does, the makers of Apex Launcher, have done it again, this time getting you closer to Jelly Bean then ever. Early this week they released a new version of Apex Launcher Beta and it comes complete with the Android 4.1 transitions and the features you have come to know and love. This is because Apex Beta is rebuilt on top of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean based code. You will experience speed enhancements and many other features that JB brought, like auto-resizing when there is no space available, and widgets that auto move when placing them on home screens. Again, this is the Beta version of Apex and not the version that’s currently in the Play Store (ICS based). Hit the break for the full changelog and download link.
You are well aware of an update AT&T pushed out to HTC One X users recently, and today, we have a changelog detailing the new features and fixes you can expect. Have you received the OTA yet?
New Features:
Fixes/Updates
source: Android Central
It’s no secret that Verizon has major intentions to bring its FIOS service to Android devices. We first had a glimpse of this notion when Verizon announced its FIOS app for smartphones and tablets. Then we saw the always Verizon-friendly brand Motorola try to sneak out an Android TV tablet for TV rooms. Now there is actual proof indicating a WiFi-only tablet is on the way for Verizon FIOS subscribers. Apparently FIOS subscribers were sent a survey recently which sought some opinions and feedback of a new device which “may be available in the future”. This device will feature Android 2.3 (sighs)– while allowing users to run a full assortment of apps and of course the ability to stream certain channels. All in all, all signs point to the Corvair finally becoming a reality.
Of course Motorola and Verizon are still trying to see how people feel about the device and whether it’s necessary or not. My guess is that many (if not all) subscribers wouldn’t mind having a new toy to play with. Let’s hope we see this thing sooner than later.
source: Engadget
As Apple and Samsung continue to go back and forth in their respectful disagreements with one another, Apple was dealt an irrelevant small setback. If you recall, Apple and Judge Lucy Koh weren’t too pleased that Sammy released confidential court information to the media and both wouldn’t allow Sammy to use clever movie clips either. As a result, Apple requested Judge Koh lay the smackdown on Sammy— which Judge Koh seriously considered. However, after some deliberations and interviewing jury members to see if they were affected by the leaked information, Judge Koh decided to abstain from any further action regarding this. Apparently four jurors saw the leaked info and claimed it wasn’t a problem at all with themselves. Still, Judge Koh expressed her desire for all the jurors to not read any further information about the leaks and she is quoted as saying this for her reasoning:
“Those remedies are not warranted by the current record. I will not let any theatrics or sideshow distract us from what we are here to do.”
Despite all that, Apple still claims that the leaked information as well as the subsequent Samsung devices has affected the company as a whole. Apple’s marketing lead Phil Schiller claims Samsung’s design thefts has hurt Apple’s overall profits:
“I was pretty shocked at the appearance of the Galaxy S phone and the extent to which it copied (Apple products,)… I absolutely believe it’s had an impact on our sales.”
Not sure of what to make of this latest development, but just when you all think it can’t get any messier— it gets a little messier folks.
source: The Register UK
When HTC announced the One series of phones last February, Sense 4.0 was being hailed as a huge step toward a lighter, less laggy manufacturer skin that was closer to vanilla Android with some UI improvements. Though Sense 4.0 is significantly better than past versions, it still contains some bottlenecks (home screen, live wallpaper, and app drawer lag) and UI quirks (unsightly menu bar for legacy apps).
Looks like HTC is on the case, however, as the leaked Sense 4.1 RUU shows. Tech site Geeksaber has gone hands on with this new version and lists the following promising observations:
- Live wallpaper lag has been fixed
- There’s a dedicated button in the Camera app to switch between Front/Backward facing cameras. (earlier you’d have to go into the menu for that.)
- A dedicated button to switch tabs in the browser. (You’d have to go into the menu for that, too)
- Complete removal of all 3D-Effects in the launcher leading to a completely lag-free experience.
- Probably the most important- Rebased on Android 4.0.4
- Added ability to remap the recent apps button/ Long-press recent apps/ Long-press Home as Menu. (yes, it removes the Virtual menu bar) under Settings->Display, Gestures and Buttons
- New, blazing fast kernel. We mean it. It scored a pretty impressive 59oo+ in Quadrant benchmark (compared to 5100+ on Sense 4)
- Wifi-dropping/ Icon showing weak signal Fixes.
- Better Battery life- 5 Hour+ Screen-on time as compared to a measly 3 Hour+ on Sense 4.
Not sure whether this is the same version currently being pushed to the AT&T One X, but it seems likely.
XDA developer football already has a ROM based on this version of Sense called HTC One maXimus V2.2, which is available for the international Tegra 3-powered HTC One X. Hopefully, this new Sense will make it to all One series phones soon, including my Evo 4G LTE.
Word is trickling in about a new HTC model that is expected to debut later this year: codenamed ‘Proto.’ The device appears to be a refreshed One V, but we’re not sure how HTC will position it. It very well could be a new device in the One series. The Proto is only 9.62mm thick and has a 4-inch WVGA SLCD display. Compared to the HTC One V, this is a slight bump in specs but nothing to impressive. The One V has a 3.7-inch display, a 5MP camera, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM, and 7.2Mbps HSPA. In terms of processor speed, the HTC One V has only a single-core processor, and the Proto will have a dual-core Qualcomm MSM8225 (lower-end Snapdragon S4) rated for 1Ghz, a welcomed upgrade for you One V users out there. The Proto is supposed to have Beats Audio in tow, but we’re unsure if the recent realignment between Beats and HTC, will have an adverse affect.
So tell me, are you excited for the HTC ‘Proto’? Sounds like a great mid ranged device to me!
source: The Verge
The description for a new game from Gameloft, Monster Life, starts out, “Join the cutest (and fiercest) monsters ever, in a thrilling adventure! Discover a magical world of cute monsters and exciting battles!” Monster Life is a “papercraft” game where users collect and raise monsters for eventual battle against bad guys. While not your typical hardcore gamer title, it still shows promise and puts an interesting spin on a familiar storyline. The app only requires Android 2.2 and the price is free. So it may be worth a spin, especially if you have a gaming fan looking for something “cute.” Hit the download link to access the Google Play store to grab Monster Life.
Yesterday on the Google Official Blog, Max Ibel, Director of Engineering, announced several changes to Google products. Included was the news that Google is officially pulling the plug on the Google Listen app. Launched in August 2009, Google Listen was a way to access podcasts. According to Google, there are many other apps for finding and listening to podcasts available through Google Play, so Google Listen is no longer needed. The app will continue to work for listening to podcasts for users that have it installed. However, after November 1st, podcast search will no longer function. Users can still use Google Reader to locate their subscriptions and use the download function.
source: Google Official Blog
Owners of the HTC One X, one of the top smartphones on the market, have discovered that game apps may not perform up to their expectations. The hackers at XDA pinpointed several issues that affect the performance and figured out how to get around the problems. However, doing so involved several manual steps to several different settings. To change that, some XDA members combined forces to put together the RENOVATE Gaming Boost app.
The rumor mill on this device has certainly gone a full circle. Initial rumors of this supposed T-Mobile device first surfaced 
As you can see, we can expect the new NVIDIA quad-core 1.7GHz Tegra 3+ processor along with a 1280×720 HD display. If you recall on our previous post covering the One X+, there was a debate whether HTC would include the Tegra 3+ or the upcoming quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor. I’m also glad to see that this test phone already includes Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, considering the current One X (international and AT&T version) are still on 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
While this device has always been expected to hit T-Mobile, there’s also a rumor that this device is also known as the HTC Evitaire and will be making its way to AT&T. Whether that’s true or not, I’m sure we’ll know more in the near future.
Seems like all we need now are some blurry cam images, don’t you think? It’s glad to see an HTC powerhouse landing on T-Mobile this fall. With the specs this great paired with such a powerful mobile CPU, I hope HTC decides to beef up the battery as well.
As soon as we learn more about this impending device, we’ll be sure to fill you in!
source: Android And Me
HTC announced today their third consecutive quarter of declining profits in conjunction with the release of their second quarter audited earnings report. HTC brought in approximately $3.0 billion in revenues to go with a gross margin of 27% and an operating margin of 9%. This yielded after tax net income of $247 million, down 58% compared to the first quarter of 2012.
Seems as if Samsung has been testing LTE Broadcast technology for TV over 4G using a standard known as eMBMS (evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service). While mobile TV has been popular over in Japan, it hasn’t quite made the leap to any other market or country. The large amount of bandwidth that LTE offers could help persuade other carriers to consider this technology and could very well be a hit to consumers in this on-the-go society that we currently live in. While it’s certainly still unclear what Samsung’s goal ultimately is with this technology, I’m sure it has a good chance to be successful considering Samsung is one of the worlds most successful smartphone manufacturers.
You can head over to the official press release after the break.
Thorsten Heins, the CEO of RIM, made some controversial and stunning headlines during an interview conducted on Thursday. According to Telegraph, Heins openly admitted that RIM will not be able to keep up with Apple and Samsung with out outside help. While it’s always surprising to hear CEO’s admit something like that, you almost can’t blame him considering the market shares that both Apple and Samsung currently dominate. It’s no secret that RIM has been substantially slipping these past couple of years, and I can’t see the company rising back up with out some sort of help regardless of how the success of Blackberry 10 plays out.
If that wasn’t shocking enough for you, Heins also admitted that the company was seriously considering switching to the Android platform. While they took it into consideration, they ultimately decided against it. According to Heins:
