Jan

2012

Verizon Drops 16GB DROID RAZR To $199.99

by Roy Alugbue
tagged Droid Razr, DROID RAZR MAXX, verizon wireless

With the DROID RAZR MAXX on its way, it was only inevitable for the original DROID RAZR to see a drop in price. How about a $100 drop in price? That’s right kids, Verizon Wireless is set to offer the DROID RAZR for a mere $199.99 on contract. The price is definitely attractive, but what’s the catch? Well, there’s no microSD card included with this variation of the phone while the original does include a 16GB microSD card. But hey, who needs an extra 16GB included anyways, right?

Look for the RAZR MAXX to now takeover that $299.99 price point.

[via Verizon by Phandroid]

Categorized as Android Carriers, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones | Full Post

Jan

2012

HTC Pledges To Remove Carrier IQ From All CDMA Handsets This Month

by Joe Sirianni
tagged Al Franken, Carrier IQ, HTC

It’s going to be a long time before everyone forgets the stunt Carrier IQ pulled by secretly loading its tracking software on mobile devices and kicking it back to carriers. It still baffles me how a company like this can easily be turned upside down by the voice of one developer. It’s a constant reminder to me that on the web, we all have a voice. In further Carrier IQ news, HTC has jumped on board and pledges to remove the software from all of its CDMA handsets as we’ve seen with the HTC Evo 3D, one of the devices reported as definitely housing the software. The monitoring software will slowly but surely be removed from all of the company’s devices as per a statement by HTC:

“HTC can confirm that we’re working with Sprint to provide maintenance releases that will remove Carrier IQ and provide security enhancements and bug fixes beginning in January”

So there you have it. After this month, there should no longer be any personal user-information periodically being sent back to any specific carrier without the knowledge or consent of the subscriber. According to their site, Carrier IQ offers a number of “tiers” of monitoring and tracking when it comes to how the device functions on a specific network and not so much “personal user” interaction. However, in the manner of which the company went about preloading the software on handsets, bigger guns like Senator Al Franken was already engaging FBI directors on its usage (see video below). Let us know what you think in the comments section. And don’t forget, if you’re not sure whether or not your device has Carrier IQ’s software on it, you can use the Carrier IQ Detector app from Look Out labs here.

[via The Verge]

Categorized as Android Applications, Android Carriers, Android Development, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones, Android Rants, Android Security, Android Software | Full Post

Jan

2012

Samsung Galaxy S II HD Geared For A UK Launch?

by Joe Sirianni
tagged new release, Samsung Galaxy S II HD, uk

There’s no denying how widespread and accepted the Samsung Galaxy S II has been in the mobile market shooting into 2012 and it looks like our friends over in the UK are going to benefit from the hefty “HD” version of the monster handset which is supposed to hit the mobile market some time this year. The Samsung Galaxy S II HD, rocking a 1280 x 780 display along with some other new tidbits under the hood appears to be all set for a UK launch in the near future. As if a Super AMOLED Plus display wasn’t enough, the new addition’s HD display will be more than welcomed by the mobile community. It’s no wonder Samsung has managed to stay afloat in the mobile industry. thanks to the company’s constant innovation and breakthrough products. Keep ‘em coming Sammy. In addition to the HD display, there’s further rumors of a bigger screen (4.65-inches), an NFC chip on board and a bigger battery (1850 mAh’s). Stay tuned to Talk Android as we dig a little deeper on pricing and a release date for the device as well as Samsung’s new and upcoming, highly anticipated, Galaxy S III device. Happy salivating.

[via TNW]

Categorized as Android Carriers, Android Leaks & Rumours, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones | Full Post

Jan

2012

Samsung Gives the UK a Valentines Day Gift — The Pink Galaxy S II

by Stacy Bruce
tagged Galaxy S 2, Pink, Samsung, uk

Last November, Samsung announced that they would be making a pink version of the widely popular Galaxy S II, and since then it has landed in South Korea, Sweden, and most recently Taiwan. Well, apparently those three countries aren’t the only countries that look pretty in pink as Sammy just announced the flesh-toned phone will be heading to the UK as well, and just in time for Valentines day.

As we mentioned before, the specs of the device will remain the same, and according to Phones 4 U, should be available on February 13th. The phone will run a reasonably priced £21.50 a month on a two-year contract. For those who want a contract-free pink SGSII, online retailer Very will sell you one for £499.99 so they must be pretty proud of this phone to be selling it at that price! Currently Very lists the device as available, but in reality they are awaiting shipment and the phone should arrive within the next week.

This would most definitely make for a great Valentines day gift, or would be good for any dudes out there who think pink is punk. Anyone want one?

[via So Mobile & Android Central]

Categorized as Android Manufacturers, Android Phones | Full Post

Jan

2012

T-Mobile Huawei Springboard Review

by Robert Nazarian

Huawei is one of the lesser known brands in the U.S., but things are starting to change. A few months ago they released the Springboard on T-Mobile which is essentially the MediaPad. I still don’t see a big market for tablets with 3G/4G connectivity, but if you’re looking for such a device and a T-Mobile customer, you have two choices – The Springboard or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. As of the time of this writing, The Springboard is priced at $249 on contract while the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is $299. This is my full review, but you can also checkout my initial hands on video and Joe Sirianni’s review of the Galaxy Tab 7.0.

» Read the rest

Jan

2012

You Know that CyanogenMod Music App We Told You About? Well It’s Here

by Jack Holt
tagged Andrew Neal, cm9, CyanogenMod, ICS, music player

About three weeks back we told you that the CyanogenMod team would be bringing more customizations and gesture support to the stock Ice Cream Sandwich music player. We didn’t have an exact time frame for a release but with that you can’t rush creativity. Well even with that said, Andrew Neal brought the customized, beefed up music player to us in a very timely fashion. He brought to us a slew of touch gestures as well as even more added functionality to the app. As he puts it:

“The app comes with a degree of customization that you won’t find in any other Music app, or possibly, in any app. You can shop the Android Market for the currently playing song at the push of a button, share what track you’re listening to with all your social outlets, set your favorite song as ring tones, delete unwanted tracks, and search your music from anywhere in the app. “

With gestures you will be able to do things like flip your phone over to quickly play and pause music. The shake action is customizable and both of these features can run in the background allowing you to use them no matter what you’re doing on your phone. These features will come in handy if you ever need to quickly shut off your music.

While I have yet to play with the app fully, it looks to take the stock player to a whole new level. It isn’t in the market yet as Mr. Neal is figuring out what to call it but you can hit the break below to download the app or view the source. You can also get the template for the app to which should spur a host of templates down the road and the app will also be featured in CM9. Let us know what you think! » Read the rest

Categorized as Android Applications, Android Customization, Android Development, Android News, Android Phones, Android ROMS, Android Rooting, Android Software, Previews | Full Post

Jan

2012

Mystery Samsung Phone Appears, Mock Up Of Galaxy S III?

by Roy Alugbue
tagged Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II, galaxy s iii, Samsung

Hmmmmm, the above picture of the Samsung device sure doesn’t look familiar. It’s not the Galaxy Note, so could this be an actual mock up of what will be the Galaxy S III?

The mysterious phone made its brief appearance during a video Samsung released to commemorate its press conference at CES 2012. You can see the phone casually being used by an actor appearing after the 7-minute mark in the video. Of course this phone again could be a mock up and perhaps pure speculation, but this phone sure does grab one’s attention, doesn’t it? This is especially true with this mystery phone’s gorgeous screen that appears to be bigger than the 4.3-inch Galaxy S II and more in line with the Galaxy Note. Also of note is the top bar and more specifically– the battery icon appearing to be a tad different than traditional Androids, but again we can’t stress this enough: this could just be a mock up, not an actual depiction of the Galaxy S III.

Stay tuned with Talk Android for updates regarding this mysterious Sammy device. In the meantime, check out the video below to get a better view of the mystery phone in action.

(mysterious phone appears at 7:11 in clip)

[via All About Samsung]

Categorized as Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones | Full Post

Jan

2012

Apple Files Another Lawsuit Against Samsung, This Time Targets Galaxy S II and Nine Handsets In German Court

by Roy Alugbue
tagged apple, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 10.1N, lawsuits, patent infringement, patents, Samsung

In another turn of events with the never-ending drama between Apple and Samsung, Apple has decided to go on the offensive… again, this time in the Dusseldorf Regional Court in Germany. In this chapter, Apple is seeking to you guessed it— ban a total of 10 handsets, including the Samsung Galaxy S II.

The Cupertino giant isn’t stopping there either. Apple also started a separate suit against five Samsung tablet computer models related to a September ruling banning the Galaxy 10.1. All of this despite Samsung making changes to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 after the original German court ruling. It’s starting to get difficult to keep tabs on all of the various suits between the two companies. There’s always another twist to the heated fight, then another, then another… and then another.

The new lawsuit is still developing, so stay tuned with Talk Android for any updates.

[via Bloomberg]

Categorized as Android Lawsuits, Android Manufacturers, Android Phones, Android Tablets | Full Post

Jan

2012

Clove UK Announces Samsung Galaxy Nexus Accessories Will Be Delayed To February

by Roy Alugbue
tagged accessories, Clove UK, galaxy nexus, Samsung, uk

So much for our excitement for UK owners finally getting Galaxy Nexus accessories. We initially thought Galaxy Nexus owners across the pond would see the first batch of accessories by mid-January, but Clove has formally announced a change in the release date to around February 13th. Clove is quoted as saying that “delays from Samsung” are the sole reason for the unexpected turn of events.

While this is disappointing for UK Galaxy Nexus, at least February 13th isn’t too far away.

[via Clove UK]

Categorized as Android Accessories | Full Post

Jan

2012