If you’re as adamant about your desktop computer as you are about your Android phone (and if you’re reading this, then odds are pretty good you fall into the latter category) then you’ve probably heard of Video LAN Player, colloquially known as VLC. The Swiss army knife of desktop media players has been on its way to Android for quite some time, but you can try out an unofficial build of the open-source video app now. This version is compiled using published code from the Linux desktop version – a more official app from VideoLAN.org is planned later this year.
Just as you’d expect from VLC, the app handles dozens of file types and codes without complain. The user interface isn’t exactly amazing (par for the course for VLC) but it’s functional and it gets the job done. This breakoff from the VLC code base is currently in its beta release for ARM11, Cortex 8 and Cortex A9-class processors. Video performance is largely contingent upon the power of your phone or tablts CPU/GPU combo, and each one will react differently. But in general terms, the faster your processor is , the smoother your video playback will be at any given quality. Some devices still don’t have hardware acceleration properly configured.
It’s hard to know exactly which version of the beta app you need. Have a gander at this handy guide created by the developers:
Snapdragon S1 → ARM11
Snapdragon S2/S3 → Cortex-A8/NEON
Snapdragon S4 → Cortex-A9
Tegra 2 → Cortex-A9
Hummingbird → Cortex-A9 (Current gen. only)
OMAP3 → Cortex-A8/NEON
OMAP4 → Cortex-A9
The basic interface is actually surprisingly good, borrowing here and there from the stock Music app with the handy addition of a visible index bar. Search functions make finding one song in a thousand pretty easy. If you’re not sure what kind of CPU architecture your Android phone or tablet has, look it up on Device.ac. Remember that this isn’t a final, or even official release – have fun playing local music and videos, but don’t be too upset if something goes bang.
It’s hard to overstate how cool Google’s digs at Mobile World Congress were. Just like last year they went big and provided a ton of entertainment for all comers, making an unmistakable impression that Android rules in Barcelona. The “Google Pod” played host to dancing Androids, Ice Cream Sandwiches, a moving parade of the latest Android phones and a whole lot more. Of course, not everybody can hop a cross-continental flight just to play around (well, we can, but that’s kind of our jobs) so we thought we’d share the experience with you.
With thousands of square feet in the Fira de Barcelona convention center, two stories and about a billion gallons of green paint, Google rocked the house and made its case. The main desk is where you check in and hunt down the various Android pins made specially for the conference, plus bag some candy – not that you won’t have that opportunity later. Running all along two sides of the booth is a powered conveyor belt holding protected Android phones and tablets from dozens of manufacturers.
Booths populate the entire area with apps and featured devices, interspliced with art booths, tech demos and the return of a full slide. A few demonstrations include an android-powered bejewled machine that creates custom backs for the Galaxy Nexus, an old-school claw machine, and a wall full of textile demonstrations. There’s enough at the Google Pod to keep kids of any age occupied for hours – it’s just a shame that we had a ton of other things to check out too.
So ends another year at Mobile World Congress. The Android Community team is safe and sound back in the States, wishing we all had smoothie bars in our houses as well. We hope you’ve enjoyed it.
Easily one of the best things about Android is its ability to cover the entire market: whatever your hardware or budget needs are, you can probably find a phone that fits them. The Samsung Rugby Smart is now on sale at AT&T, and it presents a fascinating little section of the market: mid-range hardware and specifications combined with a true ruggedized chassis for a small but tough Gingerbread phone. Samsung was kind enough to send us a review unit, and we immediately set to trying the Rugby Smart out.
Two years ago the Rugby Smart might have been a top-of-the-line phone, but today it’s in the shallow end of the Android pool. And speaking of pools, this little guy might be the perfect companion for a day in the sun: its water and dust-resistant frame can be submerged in up to a meter of water for thirty minutes without damaging the internals. Samsung manages this with a design that locks all the essential ports and pieces underneath swinging tabs and a back battery plate with a turning lock – yes, even with all that, you can still replace the battery yourself.
Aesthetically the phone isn’t much – it looks kind of like what an M-16 would if it were a phone. A 3.7-inch 480×800 screen is surrounded by impact-resistant plastic, and the familiar Android navigation buttons are real buttons, something I haven’t seen on a slate Android phone since the Droid X2. They’re pleasantly coated with the same rough, bumpy texture that covers the back. Other than the tank-like build, it’s a typical Samsung phone, with the power button on the right side and the colume on the left. The rear camera is 5 megapixels and shoots 720P video, while the front-facing cam is a generous 1.3.
Removing the back cover can be tricky – it’s possible to do it with your thumbnail, but a handy coin will make it a lot easier. Once you get it off the bay for the 1650mAh battery presents itself, along with a precariously empty MicroSD card slot. It looks like the card is actually held in place by the weight of the battery above it, which might be tricky to line up. Thankfully the camera gets the standard LED flash, so the Rugby Smart can take better pictures and double as a flashlight.
Inside you get a single-core Snapdragon processor running at 1.4Ghz, backed up by 512MB of RAM. That’s not going to smoke any of the recent superphones, but it’s more than enough to get around Gingerbread and TouchWiz. There’s no word on Ice Cream Sandwich, and with the target market it could take quite some time. The phone runs on AT&T’s HSPA+”4G” network, and comes with just 4GB of internal memory, though you can add a MicroSD card for more. As usual, the Super AMOLED panel is excellent, with bright, rich colors and great viewing angles.
Check the video below for the unboxing experience, and stay tuned next week for our full review. If you’r already convinced, the Samsung Rugby Smart is going for $99.99 with a two-year contract at AT&T stores.
If there’s one thing that’s sure to tick off an advanced Android user… well, it’s probably an iPhone user who thinks Siri is “innovative”. But if there’s another thing, it’s a needlessly locked bootloader making root access and custom ROMs on an otherwise excellent device. Case in point: Verizon’s stance on the DROID RAZR, and pretty much all of Motorola’s devices and anything else they can get away with to boot. In a recent and seemingly unsolicited letter to the FCC, Verizon explained its position and reasoning behind requiring its OEM partners to lock their bootloader (in some cases). The reason? Why, it’s all for you, of course!
Verizon justifies its official stance on locked bootloaders by claiming that it’s protecting “customer experience and support”: unlocked bootloaders, they argue, could cause problems for end-users, customer support staff and Verizon’s network in general. Repeating claims made at earlier points, Verizon stated that “unapproved software” could impact the wireless experience for other customers. Despite spectrum purchases from the US government in 2011, Verizon has no legal obligation to make the software on the devices it sells accessible to its customers – it only has to make access to the network available.
Time for a little editorializing: this is bull. (Eloquent, no?) First of all, unlockable bootloader like the ones found on the Galaxy Nexus and lately HTC’s phones don’t impact “normal” customers in the slightest. Most Android users don’t root their phones, don’t install custom ROMs and don’t unlock their bootloaders, and are perfectly happy with the experience they get (when the LTE network is working, right, Big Red?) Restricting access to the bootloader doesn’t affect the majority of Verizon’s customer base at all, it just pisses off advanced users – who of course tend to buy the most expensive devices the most frequently, not to mention spend more on data and extras like tethering.
The claims that an unlockable bootloader affects customer service is likewise a load of fertilizer. The people who root their phones and install custom ROMs aren’t going to call the generally clueless customer service reps when something goes wrong, they hop online and find others with the same problem, then fix it themselves. If anythning, customers who unlock their bootloaders are far less likely to be a thorn in Verizon’s side from a customer service standpoint. Between more expensive hardware, more data charges and lower per capita calls on Verizon’s human resources, rooted Android users must be some of the most profitable of Verizon’s end customers by a long shot.
The last point about potential harm to the network and other customers’ experience has been bandied about for years, and not by Verizon alone. That said, we’ve yet to see a single piece of empirical data that indicated “unauthorized software” running on Android has a negative impact on anyone. Yes, Android users bring down a lot of data, but frankly a company like Verizon can handle it, and shouldn’t shy away considering how much marketing they’re putting into being the most reliable option out there. Show us some evidence of real adverse effects from unlocked Android users, Verizon, or give up this specious line.
All that said, Verizon isn’t about to change its mind any time soon. The best hope that customers have is that after its acquisition by Google, Motorola will take Samsung and HTC’s lead and offer unlockable bootloaders on all its upcoming phones. (Verizon’s policies aren’t universal – they seem to be encouraging partners to lock down their devices, not requiring it.) In the meantime, vote with your dollars: if you’re a Verizon customer who’s fed up with this policy, move to another carrier, and make sure you tell them why. If you can’t (and that includes a lot of people) only buy phones that can be unlocked, and do so with reckless abandon.
If you’re as interested in Panasonic’s return to the global smartphone game as we are, then no doubt you’re aware of the ELUGA Power, a beefed-up version of their primary ELUGA Android phone with a bigger screen and battery. The device just went up for pre-order at United Kingdom-based electronics retailer Clove, and at present it’s set to ship sometime in April. The phone is going for £399 unlocked (about $636 USD) and £478.80 after value-added taxes.
The ELUGA Power bumps up the original’s 4.3-inch screen to a full five inches, placing it squarely in the same category as the Samsung Galaxy Note and LG Optimus Vu. Its battery gets a slight bump to 1800mAh, though it must be sad that that’s nowhere near the Note (2500) or Vu (2080), and all the big-screen phones will guzzle electricity when compared to mare conservative phones. The screen is a full 720p panel. Impressively both ELUGAs are launching with Ice Cream Sandwich, and Panasonic is one of the only manufacturers we’ve seen that’s embracing ICS’s virtual navigation buttons.
Elsewhere you get a 1.5ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, NFC capability, just 8GB of on-board storage (plus a MicroSD card slot), and an 8-megapixel camera. To accommodate the larger size, the ELUGA Power is 9.6mm thick – not skinny, but not excessively plump, either. The phone is IP57-certified dust and water resistant, and Panasonic has crammed in some battery magic that will recharge the phone up to 50% in just 20 minutes. Currently Panasonic has no publicized plans to offer the ELUGA or any other Android smartphone in North America.
Let’s call a spade a spade: for all its charms, the Galaxy Nexus’ battery is pretty awful, especially on Verizon’s LTE-enabled version. Samsung sells a 2100mAh extended battery and various 3rd parties have offered alternative, but by far the most extreme is Seidio’s 3800mAh battery with an extended battery bay door. The massive juice pack more than doubles the battery power of the stock Verizon phone, but previously it had an important omission: the NFC chip embedded into Samsung’s batteries. Rejoice, fans of long run life and Android Beam: you no longer have to make the choice between the two.
The LTE model of the extended battery is offered in addition to the original – it doesn’t replace it, despite being nearly identical. For the privilege of NFC capability you’ll pay $74.95 plus taxes and shipping in the US, a $5 premium over the non-NFC model. Sorry, importers: neither 3800mAh battery works with the international GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus, though Seidio offers both a standard replacement battery and a smaller 300mAh extended GSM version.
The extended battery and its blown-out cover ads nearly double the Galaxy Nexus’ own thickness, but what’s that to a man who wants 20 hours of LTE access? Speaking as someone who’s relied on the Verizon Galaxy Nexus (along with a gigantic external battery pack) for breathless CES coverage, I can say one of these babies would have been nice. NFC just sweetens the deal. The Innocell 3800mAh Super Extended Life Battery with NFC is in stock and shipping now.
Jealous of HTC’s partnership with the Beats audio company, coming to an HTC One phone near you? If you know your way around a custom recovery, you needn’t be. Like Sense UI before it, HTC’s proprietary audio technology has made its way to other phones thanks to XDA Developers member fuss123 (never change, guys). He’s reverse-engineered the Beats application, which is basically an advanced equalizer, and wrapped it up in a flashable package that works on any ROM based on Android Gingerbread, stock or custom. As if you needed more confirmation that Android modders know how to rock.
To apply the mod, just download the ZIP file found in the source thread, copy it it to your phone, reboot into ClockworkMod or another custom recovery, and flash it like any update package. Bada bing bada boom, you’ve got the Beats audio app on your phone. OF course, expensive Beats headphones are not required (though they might like you to think they are) and the experience of activating Beats can be generally though of as “bass-heavy”. Note that applying the software update will not magically cause that stylish red “B” to appear on your phone.
This sort of modification generally requires root, so consider yourself on your own as far as support goes, and remember to make a Nandroid backup. Currently the update doesn’t work in Honeycomb tablets or Ice Cream Sandwich, probably because there’s no HTC machines that use both the newer operating systems and Beats audio. That should be rectified once the HTC One phones come out ; even the budget-oriented One V features Beats.
We never had any real doubt that the Transformer Pad 300, a cheaper model of Asus’ Eee Pad Transformer Prime and the erstwhile replacement for the original Transformer, would be making its way stateside. But Asus seems intent on bringing it sooner rather than later: the tablets has already appeared in the standard Federal Communication Commission‘s certification systems. Asus is only seeking certification for the WiFi version in the United States so far – it looks like it’ll be a while before the LTE version makes it here, if ever.
The 300 is a more economical version of the Transformer Prime, keeping its Tegra 3 processor, 10-inch 1280×800 LCD screen and (since the January update) Ice Cream Sandwich. The Transformer Pad 300 changes things up a bit with a more down-market plastic casing, though you’ll be able to choose one of three colors, matched to the optional keyboard dock accessories. The new model should give the original Eee Pad Transformer (TF101) a well-earned retirement, and we hope and expect to see it hit the market at the same $399 price point for a 16GB model.
There’s a silver lining to the WiFi-only nature of the device in the FCC: it gets the latest and greatest in processors. Nvidia’s Tegra 3 platform is currently incompatible with LTE radios, and will be for some time – for LTE versions of the Transformer Pad 300 and the Transformer Pad Infinity 700, Asus is substituting Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon S4. The S4 is nothing to sneeze at, but it’a not quite as fast as the Tegra 3. And of course, it can’t access Nvidia’s partnered games in the Tegra Zone. We expect to see the Transformer Pad 300 show up on shelves in the US and elsewhere sometime this summer.
There’s more than a few early adopters of the Motorola DROID RAZR who felt miffed after Verizon unveiled the DROID RAZR MAXX at CES, just a couple of months after the original was released. As noted in our review, the hardware is staggeringly similar and the software is actually identical – literally the only difference is a slightly extended body to allow more room for the massive 3300mAh battery. So one XDA developer member did what those fellows do best ,and took apart both a DROID RAZR and the RAZR MAXX, swapped the batteries and the back half of the housing, and turned them on.
It worked. It looks like there’s no reason that the original RAZR can’t accept the expanded battery from the MAXX, if the person doing the swapping has the time, skill and inclination. Those qualifiers aren’t mere formalities: the DROID RAZR is built using some incredibly tough materials and isn’t intended to be opened like a standard smartphone – some very non-traditional methods have been employed thus far. And of course, you need a spare DROID RAZR MAXX that for some reason you’re ready to disembowel, not to mention voiding the warranty on your original phone. Maybe you picked up a unit with a broken screen second-hand. Otherwise, why not just swap the Micro-SIM and be done with it?
The DROID RAZR MAXX’s extended battery makes it an awfully compelling smartphone, even with the drawbacks of Gingerbread and a locked bootloader. In our torturous three-day test, the MAXX managed to make it through a Las Vegas business trip on a single charge (albeit with some tricks used to conserve power). We heartily recommend it over the original DROID RAZR due to the small increase in size and weight relative to performance. There’s no word on whether this bit of technological surgery will work between a US-formatted DROID RAZR MAXX and an international Motorola RAZR, but there’s no reason that a third party couldn’t make replacement batteries and casings for the do-it-yourself types.
More than a few of you have expressed concern over the HTC One‘s backwards compatibility, what with it’s three capacitive navigation buttons and lack of a menu button, check this out. Paul “Modaco” O’Brien has been playing around with the software headed for the HTC One X, One S and One V, and found out how HTC’s UI designers have gotten around this limitation: basically, a virtual navigation area springs up on the screen when needed, doubling down on both virtual and capacitive buttons. The Menu button appears centered, and acts just like it did in Gingerbread-based HTC Sense packages.
This does seem to beg the question: if you’re going to have to fall back on a Galaxy Nexus-style virtual navigation bar anyway, why bother with having the capacitive Home, Back and app switch buttons built into the hardware? Couldn’t that space be used more effectively by either extending the screen or shortening the case itself, to say nothing of the small yet considerable cost savings? For that matter, if you have to add the Menu button back in for incompatible applications, why not just put the standard four buttons on the capacitive row and be done with it?
HTC isn’t alone in its insistence on keeping hardware buttons alive with Ice Cream Sandwich. Pretty much every single new phone that we spotted at Mobile World Congress combines a high-definition screen, Android 4.0 and the familiar lower button row. Manufacturers will need to address this interface quirk themselves, or face some immediate customer backlash when they find that the higher functions of older apps can’t be accessed on a new phone.
Have you ever seen a MakerBot (digital fabricator) in action? It’s quite amazing how it can create essentially anything you design, and with amazing precision. Well Paint3D aims to bring 3D printing capabilities to your Android devices soon. It isn’t quite elaborate as programs used on your PC, but you’ve got to start somewhere right?
It isn’t available for the public yet, but the House 4 Hack team from Johannesburg have been working for the past few days on perfecting it. They are using a Samsung Galaxy Note to test it, and are primarily trying to make use of the included digitizer pen. They first plan to have users trace an uploaded picture, and then the program can add depth to the trace. Other shapes should then be able to be placed upon the primary layer.
It doesn’t allow wireless printing for now, but instead users will upload their creations onto a USB and plug them into the 3D printer. This project was primarily developed to enter into a science fair, in hopes to allow school kids a chance to experiment with the program. It is much more complicating than meets the eye, and one of the guys working on Paint3D described what’s in store for its future in great detail. This is definitely worth checking out!
A few weeks back, a Google Wallet vulnerability was found making both rooted and untampered devices with the application vulnerable to hackers. The crack exposed the PIN within seconds, and was since temporarily patched by Google. This patch disabled the use of prepaid cards, and since then we hadn’t heard much on the subject. Google is pushing three security fixes today that not only allow for prepaid card usage with Wallet, but offer core system fixes.
This update will also provide fixes to rewards card syncing in Wallet, and should increase stability in Google+ and Authenticator applications. Google Wallet had been considered insecure for months, so we’ll just have to wait and see if this update will block out those hackers for good. If you were one of the many that installed the Google Wallet .apk file to your Verizon Galaxy Nexus, the update will not be visible in your Android Market.
However, you’ll still be able to get the update – it will just take a little extra work. First, head over to http://market.android.com in your Android browser and search for Google Wallet. Next, just select install and sign into your Google account. After signed in, tap the back button until you are prompted to select “Market” or “Browser”. Select “Market” this time and you should be good to go.
If you hadn’t already checked out the Samsung Galaxy Beam, it is Samsung’s first device that combines a pico projector into an Android smartphone. Though a mid-range device, it is sure to turn some heads. We’ve just found out that it should hit the UK this July for £385 ($600). It will initially launch unlocked, but we should see it show up on a few carriers to allow subsidized purchases.
As for specs, the Galaxy Beam’s lamp offers 15 lumens of brightness; this is actually low when compared to practically any other projector out there, but hey – this one’s built into your smartphone. It is also said to last 20,000 hours, so unless you plan on using it all day every day for the next 2.3 years it should be fine. The Beam ships with a 4″ TFT display, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), a 5MP rear shooter, and 1GHz dual-core processor.
This is definitely not a Galaxy S II performance-wise, but at least the projector will set it apart from the rest. To aid the extreme battery consumption of the it, Samsung included a 2000mAh battery. This should be sufficient to allow a quick projection here and there while still lasting you throughout the day. We’ll put it to the test for sure when we get one in to review, but until then check out our hands-on from MWC!
We had known that Samsung would be producing flexible AMOLED displays in the future, but had no idea on a definite timeframe. Samsung Mobile Display has just confirmed that they will start mass production of flexible screens this year. More specifically, the first set of screens should start production in the second to third quarter, where the second production line will commence second quarter of 2013.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see these displays hit store shelves in 2012, that will require a bit more information from SMB. In all honesty, when these flexible displays hit the market – it could mark the end of cracked screens (for at least Samsung). Seeing as Google is trying to do away with capacitive buttons and encourage a completely touchscreen experience with Android 4.0, it may suit these flexible devices.
The Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S are both equipped with contour displays, so Samsung has been dabbling in this area for quite some time. When it’s finally released it will surely be the center of attention. It entirely depends on how flexible they end up, but it would be amazing to take a 10.1 inch display and roll it up like a magazine. It’s really hard to tell how far off we are from concepts like that, as new tech seems to be gaining momentum every year.
One of Android 4.0′s less-publicized but no less appreciated features is its focus on a refined interface, and Google’staking that to heart by making parts of it required for access to the Android Market. Those restrictions are for manufacturers, not developers, but a good dev always strives to make his or her app seamlessly fit in with the target OS. To that end, the Android Developers team has released a new set of digital stencils for app developers. T Hey can use this series of buttons, icons, shapes, colors and gradients to make their apps seamlessly flow with Ice Cream Sandwich.
Android’s latest (stock) interface is code-named Holo, and with the Tron-style series of glowing blue accents it’s not hard to see why. Far more stylish and eye-pleasing than the functional but dull stuff seen in Android 2.2 and previous. Gingerbread brought a little refinement, and Honeycomb was in many ways the beta test for Android 4.0. Now that Android looks as good as it performs, it’s more and more frustrating to see manufacturers like Samsung, HTC and Motorola continue to skin their devices with mostly useless interface overlays.
The stencils from the Android dev team were created with a definite slant towards Adobe’s design programs. Adobe Fireworks is the intended recipient, though the files should also work in Photoshop, Illustrator and OmiGraffle. If you’re not a developer but you’ve got a great idea for an app (and know your way around some basic graphic design programs) you can make some pretty great mock-ups with the tools provided. Download them here.
We got a preview of Qualcomm’s upcoming quad-core Snapdragon earlier in an official video, but being the sneaky and distrustful jerks that we are, we couldn’t believe it. So when we passed by Qualcomm’s booth at Mobile World Congress, we made a beeline for the Krait demonstration. Lo and behold, the prophecy had been fulfilled: four 720p videos, running concurrently on four cores, off of a mobile processor. The results were so pants-wettingly impressive that we had to whip out a camera and document it right then and there.
Qualcomm is a little behind in the “core race”, with the Krait architecture expected to come some time in the second half of 2011, a good nine months at least after the Nvidia Tegra 3. That said, the performance on display here makes it look like it will be well worth the wait. In the meantime, Tegra 3 isn’t an option if you want LTE connectivity; in the case of the HTC One X and Asus’ newest tablets, LTE versions are instead opting for Quialcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon S4.
Behold, computing power with a reckless and gleeful disregard for utility:
As noted, Krait quad-core processors won’t be on the market for several months at least. But with Android making moves towards the desktop and third parties like Motorola and Canonical pushing it along as well, performance is no longer about bragging rights – multi-thread capability may be just as important for your phone as for your PC in the near future. We can’t wait to try out.
If you loved the original Parrot AR Drone but couldn’t afford hundreds of dollars to spend on a flying remote-control quadcopter, here’s hoping you’ve been saving your pennies for the last year. The second iteration of the smartphone-controlled Drone has been confirmed for a May release. Even better, you can reserve your very own starting tomorrow, March 1st. Brookstone has the exclusive pre-order page, so check their website tomorrow if you’re interested.
If you need a quick refresher, the AR Drone 2.0 is a quad-copter about the size of a large RC car. You can control it via your Android smartphone’s WiFi connection with their special app. The Drone has a front-mounted 720p video camera that you can view remotely on your phone, not to mention record the video stream. The biggest improvement in the second revision is the FreeFlight control system. With the original, the drone’s controls stayed relative to its own direction, so you had to adjust it just like an RC car. With FreeFlight, the Drone’s controls are relative to the pilot: you turn left, the drone turns left, no matter which way it’s facing.
Check out our hands-on footage of the AR Drone 2.0 from CES last month:
We don’t know how much the Ar Drone 2.0 will cost, but since the original retails for $300, expect it to be the same or only slightly more expensive. Pricey for a toy, certainly, but it’s got some pretty amazing features – and with that padded bumper, it’s likely to survive at least one attack from your favorite household pet. Tinkerers take note: Parrot sells a host of replacement parts and visual modifications, so if that’s your bag, save a little extra for the side goodies.
Do you like Android? Want a look at the future of Android, and Google’s mobile strategy in general? Got about an hour and change in spare time? The sit back and watch Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt wax philosophical on the current state of mobile technology around the world, and where it’s going. Schmidt addressed Mobile World Congress at the pleasure of the GSMA yesterday as the keynote speaker, and while there wasn’t any earth-shattering reveal, it’s still worth your time if you want to delve deeper int Google’s motivations and goals for the platform.
Chrome takes a big part of the early section of Schmidt’s speech, with a demonstration from Hugo Barra. Clearly the recent release of Chrome for Android isn’t just a branding issue: there’s big plans for the browser, though unfortunately, it looks like it isn’t ever coming to pre-Ice Cream Sandwich versions of Android. Schmidt spends the majority of the rest of his time speaking about how mobile Internet access is both a boon and a liability to emerging markets, expounding on some interesting ideas about an emerging digital caste system… while taking some well-timed opportunities to hype up Android at the same time.
The juiciest part – from an Android fan’s perspective – is the question and answer section. Schmidt unveils the strategy for allowing Android to overtake the featurephone market and penetrate into still more areas, and how the acquisition of Motorola will affect both companies. One of the more fascinating revelations is that Schmidt isn’t particular bothered by Android forks – though he’d obviously be pleased if consumer forces drove more manufacturers to the Android Market. Oh, and Google has no intention of suing those who legitimately use Android… unlike some people.
That’s pretty much it for Mobile World Congress, folks. We’ll still be putting up a few more hands-on posts and other interesting tidbits over the next few days, but the big announcements and reveals are all over. We hope you had as much fun reading our coverage as we did writing it.
The best third-party browser for Android just got a little better. Taking a cue from Ice Cream Sandwich itself, the latest Dolphin Browser update adds a host of voice control features all rolled into a system called Sonar. Far from just translating your voice into text (which you could already do by combining the standard Android keyboard with any text field) Sonar adds browser-specific commands to its interface, allowing for more precise touch-free control. You can download the latest version of Dolphin Browser HD for free in the Android Market.
Naturally Sonar is focused on search, but since that’s already integrated into Android, there’s a host of other, more browser-specific functions. Navigation by voice is now possible, with back, forward, bookmark and even whole URLs capable of being dictated – though the latter seems to work with basic home pages only. Sharing any website is easy, too, with hooks into Android’s share API for just about any major social networking or bookmark app. More complicated commands, like “Facebook search Mary Jane Watson”, are built in sparingly.
Check out Dolphin’s commercial for Sonar here:
Other minor additions to Dolphin Browser HD include small UI adjustments and tweaks to the Webzine feature (don’t worry, it’s not returning to that controversial privacy issue from a few months ago). After quickly trying it out on my Galaxy Nexus, it looks like the gestures for Dolphin’s trademark side panels have been refined, making accidental activations a lot more rare. With the latest update, Dolphin once again shows its place at the top of the 3rd party browser game, and makes a compelling case against the excellent stock Ice Cream Sandwich browser and Google’s own Chrome – most importantly, that you can use it on Gingerbread and Honeycomb devices.
It doesn’t take much for the folks behind Google Music to throw a party. Just a couple of weeks after their romantically-themed Valentine’s Day sale, they’ve put on a promotion so special it only comes around one year in four – lucky for us that Google Music is less than a year old. The Leap Year sale starts today, February 29th, and may or may not end today, too. Take your pick of 29 different popular albums for the low price of $2.99 each.
Like previous sales, Google has tried to include an eclectic mix of artists in the promotion. That said, they’re leaning pretty heavily on pop, rap and R&B this time around. Albums from Drake, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, Big Sean, Jay-Z, Van Halen, Maroon 5, Mary J. Blige, David Guetta, LFMAO, Snoop Dogg, Pink Floyd, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Jay Dee, Dia Frampton, Elton John, Marvin Gaye and Selena Gomez fill out the ranks, plus NOW 41. (No Frank Sinatra or Willie Nelson? For shame, Google. For shame.)
Considering that most of these albums have 10 songs (giving you a cool average of $.30 per song or lower) and would cost at least twelve bucks in a retail store, it’s a steal if there’s anything you want. Remember that you can download and play Google Music form any PC or Android device, in addition to uploading up to 20,000 of your own songs or for free. To play your Google Music from a third-party app, check out Cloud Music Sniper. Get on it already – there’s no telling when this one will close.
Just in time to prepare your apps for the Galaxy Note 10.1, Samsung has released the first major revision to its stylus SDK to developers. The S-Pen Software Development Kit 2.0 expands on the tools first released even before the original Samsung Galaxy Note, allowing for various enhancements to pen input accuracy and new APIs for third-party applications to take advantage of. You can download the updated SDK at Samsung’s Innovator developer hub.
The additional resources come just one day after Samsung announced its S-Pen app contest, with a whopping $100,000 as a top prize. Developers can submit their completed apps before April 2nd to be in consideration, and there are also large cash prizes for runners-up. Earlier this week Samsung revealed its second major pen-based product, the Galaxy Note 10.1, an expansion of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab line to include the Wacom digitizer technology found on the original Note. There’s no word on price or availability, nut the WiFi version should hit retail in the next couple of months.
Building on the 1.5 release, the 2.0 SDK adds SCanvasView for animations and special video and sound effects, and Samsung Animated Multimedia Messaging Library Class for decoding various snippits of drawing and contextual data. Various bug fixes and enhancements are also along for the ride, most notably in stroke rendering and the undo function. Happy coding, developers – be sure to check out our hands-on look at the Galaxy Note 10.1 for a preview of your target hardware.
Toshiba’s Excite X10 made a splash when the company unveiled it at CES, and for good reason: it’s one of the most stylish tablets we’ve ever seen, something made even more impressive when considering that the original Thrive was universally panned as dull. See if you can hang on to your excitement as the tablet comes to market; the re-christened Excite 10 LE will be availablie in the United States starting on March 6th, starting at (gulp) $529.99.
That’s for the entry model, which gets you 16GB of internal storage. The 32GB version will be bumped all the way to $600 USD. Both versions get the admittedly awesome magnesium alloy chassis at an incredibly thin 7.7mm, plus 10 inches of Gorilla Glass screen on the front at 1280×800. Sadly the Excite will launch with Android 3.2, but Toshiba promises an update to Ice Cream Sandwich at some point later this year. The tablet runs on the TI OMAP 4430 1.2Ghz dual-c0re processor – speedy, sure, but it’s not going to outrun the latest from Nvidia or Qualcomm. At least storage fans can expand with a user-accessible MicroSD card slot. a 5 megapixel reas and 2 megapixel front camera round out the specs. At this point the Excite 10 LE is only planned for a WiFi release.
The tablet is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and no doubt that will get it a few sales – but the style-conscious without an OS preference are sure to be more inclined to buy that other tablet, especially since it starts at $30 less than the Excite. I had really hoped to see this one hit the market at $399, combining cutting-edge style and affordability. It’s been proven time and again that Android tablets can’t move in huge volumes when priced like the iPad; I wonder how many generations it will take Toshiba to realize this? Oh well, we can hope that the new 7.7-inch AMOLED tablet gets a more market-friendly price when it launches.
As someone who has personally tried to teach basic operation of a DROID 3 to a septuagenarian, let me tell you, it’s not an experience to be relished. Despite manufacturer’s claims to “Simplify” the admittedly complex Android user interface with a new skin, it’s just as hard if not harder for the non-technically inclined to learn basic smartphone operation these days. Enter Doro and their PhoneEasy 740, an Android slider handset that’s designed with an eye towards people who are, uh, rich in years.
Recalling similar but less capable devices like the Jitterbug, the PhoneEasy 740 combines a simplified interface with big, easy-to-push buttons to make for a smartphone that’s got more in common with the standard landline cordless handsets. Naturally the primary focus is on making and receiving calls, but those who want access to texting and web browsing won’t be left out. The phone is designed as a T9 vertical slider, a form factor that’s still pretty popular among feature phones.
Sweden-based Doro didn’t give up much in the way of specifications, but honestly, for a phone like this it doesn’t really matter – it’s not like the target audience is going to be playing Shadowgun any time soon. And that’s just as well, since it appears that the standard Google apps (including the Android Market) won’t be included in the phone’s software. The PhoneEasy 740 should be available in Europe sometime in the summer.
We had hoped that CES last month would bring better news for Google TV, but things only seem to be getting worse since Logitech abandoned the platform. According to Google’s first party Google TV apps in the Android Market, no single app – including seemingly essential ones like Youtube, Photos for Google TV and the ubiquitous program guide TV & Movies, has been installed more than a million times. That would seem to imply that less than a million total Google TV units have been sold and activated worldwide, despite being available for almost 18 months.
While adoption has been increasing since Google updated the software on Sony TVs and Logitech Revue devices, it apparently hasn’t been rising nearly fast enough. App research firm Xylogic agrees, stating that the most popular app for Google TV is music service Napster, with just over 900,000 users. Google itself has been mum on the subject; the last official word we heard from the big G was that Samsung, LG and and Vizio would come out with Google TV hardware this year, but the only company to actually show a consumer device at CES was Sony.
There’s no two ways about it: Google TV is struggling as a platform. Even though Google has enough resources and time to fund the Google TV project for years, it’s got no real reason to if it doesn’t start performing better, and quickly. Hopefully we’ll see more from Google’s hardware partners at Google IO this summer, with some new software features to compete with the hoards of Smart TVs headed into living rooms at the moment.
Even the staunchest of Android detractors would be hard-pressed to call the Galaxy S II anything less than a great phone – certainly not us, since Android Community named it the best Android device of 2011. 20 million people can’t be wrong, and the GSMA (the organization that puts on Mobile World Congress in Barcelona every year) would seem to agree. They’ve named the Galaxy S II as the Phone of the Year in their annual competition, with Samsung itself taking Manufacturer of the Year.
On the subject of the phone, the GSMA had this to say: "a phenomenal success around the world, this has outperformed all its Android rivals and demonstrated the maturity of the ecosystem.” Keep in mind that devices announced at the show usually aren’t considered part of the competition, mostly because the vast majority of them won’t reach the market for weeks or months. It’s also worth noting that Samsung was a major boon to the GSMA last year, when it chose Mobile World Congress as the launchpad for the Galaxy S II itself – an honor that, for one reason or another, has been curtailed this year. The Galaxy S III will be revealed at a Samsung-only event some time later in the spring or summer.
It’s not a clean sweep for Samsung: the GSMA awarded the Best Mobile Tablet to Apple for their iPad 2, stating that in both features and sales it defined the market. That too is hard to argue with, since Android tablets have only started to dramatically increase in sales since the last quarter of 2011. That said, it’s a big leap: in the last six months, Android tablets have jumped to around 40% of new tablet sales, mirroring Android’s early rise in the smartphone market. We’ll see how well Apple does next year, when it will undoubtedly sulk in the metaphorical corner by continuing to avoid each and every major trade show.
Here at Mobile World Congress there is tons of talk regarding Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 Krait SoC, and with good reason. Four cores aren’t always better than two and many different elements come into play with performance in general, especially on a mobile device. Today we’ve been given a chance to break down the new Qualcomm (Mobile Development Platform) MDP MSM8960 dual-core 1.5 GHz SoC S4 and are starting with the usual benchmarks.
Obviously we have tons more coming soon, but for now we are starting with the basics you’ve come to expect from Android Community in our different reviews from past months and devices. The benchmarks that have become a standard in our mobile world such as Quadrant Advanced, AnTuTu, and Vellamo. We’ll briefly compare with similar offerings and the competing quad-core Tegra 3, then break down everything in follow up posts.
Qualcomm’s new super-phone processor that will be inside many upcoming devices with the new S4 is looking quite impressive to say the least. While we can break it down with more details later for now we’ll compare with the Tegra 3. The NVIDIA Tegra 3 uses the older larger Cortex-A9 processor and has essentially smashed four of these together. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 we have two newer, faster Cortex-A15 processors instead. Not only that but it also uses Qualcomm’s new Adreno 225 GPU and put out surprisingly good results. From most benchmarks the graphics performance was steadily outpacing most of the competition.
Testing
Now this isn’t a real phone, so comparisons will always be a bit subjective — not to mention we have an odd 4″ 1024 x 600 resolution display. However it does run Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, have a 13 megapixel camera, and all sorts of ports and sensors you usually wont find on a smartphone.
Most of you probably know a little about these benchmark tests, but if not I’ll explain more about what they mean for the average user. For now lets see some of those impressive benchmarks. To start I have one word for this platform — WOW! Blazing fast in terms of performance on the device with browsing the web and such, and even more impressive on these general tests. Be prepared to be blown away with Quadrant scores passing 5,100 and Vellamo going beyond anything I’ve seen before.
Qualcomm S4 1.5 GHz dual-core / Tegra 3 quad-core
Quadrant 5531 / 3073
AnTuTu 6954 / 10,046
Vellamo 2164 / 1566
Linpack Pro 163 / unknown
Now as you can see from the benchmarks listed above (and pictured below) they are showing huge numbers for team Qualcomm. Overall performance in many key areas are just blistering fast and high. One hugely important area for smartphones and tablets is I/O results for retrieving data, accessing your photo gallery and more. Qualcomm was extremely impressive here with over 7000 in I/O on Quadrant. I’ve never seen anything reach those levels. Quadrant tests CPU, Memory, I/O, 3D and 3D. AnTuTu wasn’t as impressive but we’ve been told it focuses too much on cores on not on actual testing, so take it as you will. AnTuTu however tests memory, CPU Integer, CPU Floating point, 3D Graphics, SD card reading/writing speed, and Database I/O.
Last I want to mention in terms of what it tests in Vellamo. It is built in-house by a third party for Qualcomm and we’ve been assured its extremely accurate on all levels, not just for Qualcomm. Initially it was highly favoring the NVIDIA Tegra 2 but with the latest from Qually things are starting to change. It tests a little of everything from rendering, JavaScript, HTML 5, browser load times, rendering, scrolling, 3D, and much more. It is highly comprehensive and is only just getting started. Read our initial hands-on here.
So what does all this mean to the end users? Even if you are an average smartphone user or a diehard gamer that wants the best, we can assure you the Qualcomm S4 is one of if not the best option available. Once we get it on different devices, carrier or manufacturer overlays like HTC Sense UI and more things will obviously change thingd and these results could drastically change. From our initial first impressions Qualcomm and their new Snapdragon S4 processor is not only extremely fast and stable, but highly impressive and really taking things up a notch for the dual-core crowd.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 promises console-quality gaming, high-end performance, faster web browsing, and an overall much better experience across Android. This developer unit doesn’t have much for a battery so that isn’t something we can actually test, but we’ll be sure to look at this on actual released devices in the next few months.
This is only one in a series of tests, benchmarks, and hands-on with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait SoC so stay tuned for more details.
Clove has just released that the Sony Xperia P and Xperia U should be available on April 23rd. The Xperia P will retail for £315 ($425) and the Xperia U will set you back a bit less, at £199 ($268). These prices reflect the black versions of both handsets, but it’s likely they will carry over to other colors.
As for both models, and including the Xperia S, we’ll find they’ll ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). If that’s a ‘deal-breaker’ for you, then san update to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) should be ready and rolled out by Q2 of 2012. Most noticeable from each of these devices is the transparent strip found near the base of each. There resides the phone’s antenna, and it will also pulse as a notification LED.
It will be nice to see how customers like its transparency. After handling the Xperia S at CES this year, it looked and felt great. Be sure to check out our hands on with both the Xperia P and Xperia U. You’ll notice that between all three, only the color and sizes differ.
We just had some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 here at MWC, and it seems it just arrived over at the FCC just recently. This tablet has the same on-screen setup as the 5.3″ version, yet isn’t capable of making phone calls. It sports a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and will ship with Google’s Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
It will also include the Adobe Photoshop Touch and Adobe Ideas applications, preinstalled and free of charge. They work perfectly with the Note’s included stylus. The stylus, though larger on the 10.1 version, is actually much more precise then when used on the original Note. The new digitizer allows for better recognition of pressure sensitivity.
We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as the device passes through the FCC; it will likely hit store shelves around the same time as the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. And if you’ve taken a look at both devices, you’ll notice they look practically identical. However, the Note’s processor is quite a bit faster.
If you have a family, paying a monthly smartphone fee for each individual can cost an outrageous amount of money. We had thought Verizon family share plans would be here already, and now Verizon CFO Fran Shammo unveiled that they should launch by mid-year. This was revealed during an investors conference today, yet they’ve neglected to let us know projected plan prices.
Shammo disclosed that Verizon had been contemplating family data plans for the past year, and they were tying to determine if they would be profitable for the company. But as you all know, when Big Red finally initiates them, families will flock from all over so they can take advantage of their 4G LTE network at an affordable price.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean every Verizon customer can instantly switch over to their family share plan on a specific date and time. He stated this would be a rather long-term migration but will definitely commence midway through the year. Shammo didn’t reveal much more information on the plans, but when it hits, it will benefit both Verizon and its customers.
We’ve seen a few more hints at the future of Android today from Google’s MWC keynote. Eric Schmidt spoke for roughly an hour on what to expect for the future of Android development, how Android will become even more economically friendly than it already is, and how Chrome for Android is already the most secure/safe browser on the Android Market. We should see Android devices reach the $70 range by next year. More specifically, he stated “Last year’s $400 phone is next year’s $100 phone”. Apart from the keynote, Google’s vice president of engineering for mobile, Hiroshi Lockheimer, hinted for Android 5.0 Jelly Bean to have a fall release instead of the earlier summer rumor. This is somewhat comforting, considering Android 4.0 is finally starting to show up on non-Nexus devices.
We managed to get some hands on with the HTC One V, the most affordable of the three devices recently released by HTC. Most noticeable about the One V is that it brings back the ‘chin’ that was somewhat iconic for the international version of the Hero and Legend. It’s not nearly as powerful as the One X and S, but still a decent looking mid-range device. And yes, just like the other two you’ll find it will ship with Android 4.0.
Qualcomm showed off the Snapdragon S4′s 3D capabilities today, and they look extremely promising. There’s still no ETA of when we should see it implemented into mobiles, but it makes prior 3D renderings on a mobile device look prehistoric. It was a completely glasses free setup, and we snapped a video clip to show it off as best as we could. And as a reminder, be sure to check out the final winners of the WIMM Spring Developers Project. The list of all 10 winners is now up, so if you entered to win a WIMM One of your own, take a look to see if we picked you!
One of Android 4.0′s less-publicized but no less appreciated features is its focus on a refined interface, and Google’staking that to heart by making parts of it required for access to the Android Market. Those restrictions are for manufacturers, not developers, but a good dev always strives to make his or her app seamlessly fit in with the target OS. To that end, the 
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