Sunday, December 4, 2011

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

More Accessories for the Galaxy Nexus Appear in Verizon Stores

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 05:15 PM PST

A couple of days ago we mentioned that Verizon stores were receiving a few Motorola XYBoard tablet accessories and now it looks like a couple more Galaxy Nexus goodies have arrived as well. As soon as you can get your hands on this new beauty of a phone (when they finally decide to release it), you might want to check these out.

There is a “Power and Protection Package” that includes a black hard case and holster with built in kickstand (similar to the RAZR’s), a universal car charger with extra USB charging port, and three screen protectors for $49.97. The “Spare Battery Charging Kit” looks to be the real gem out of the two and includes a spare 1850mAh battery with charger, and a dual USB cable so you can charge the spare battery and your Galaxy Nexus Simultaneously. According to the photos, retail price for the spare battery set-up appears to be $39.99, and with LTE’s notorous excessive battery drain, that might be money well spent.

We are still crossing our fingers for the rumored Galaxy Nexus release this Friday, Dec 9th, and we will let you know once we get some official confirmation. Jump past the break for some more accessory photos. I know this is kind of a tease but at least this means we should be getting close.

galaxy_nexus_case1 galaxy_nexus_case2 galaxy_nexus_charger1 galaxy_nexus_charger2



Droid Bionic Gets Alpha Build Ice Cream Sandwich ROM

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 03:41 PM PST

 

Good news for those with rooted Bionics. A somewhat functional, alpha build of Ice Cream Sandwich has been released for the Bionic thanks to dhacker29 of the Th3ORY ROM team.   Not everything works as of right now, so using this as a daily driver is probably not a good idea. Here is what works:

- Graphics working smooth now
- Adb is working so we can track the rest
- Touchscreen
- Capacitive buttons
- Charging indicator
- BlueTooth
- External SD Card
- Gallery
- Builtin Screenshot
- Reboot menu

However, wifi and phone data aren’t working and the developer still needs to get the internal SD card to mount. This should happen sooner rather than later though.

If you are interested in trying this out, you need to make sure your Bionic is rooted, which you can do by going here. Keep in mind that this is an alpha build and is intended for preview purposes only. As always, what happens when flash the ROM is your responsibility. If that doesn’t deter you, hit the break below to download the ROM or view the source for more details. 

Ice Cream Sandwich Alpha Build ROM

Senseg’s E-sense Technology Creates Texture on Touchscreens, Aims for Availability in 2012

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 02:35 PM PST

Some pretty incredible technology is right around the corner that will not only blow your mind, it will change the way we view touchscreens for the better. Im not sure if you have heard of a company called Senseg, but it has been their mission to incorporate textures into the mobile touchscreen world. With a technology that they are calling e-sense, you can actually feel textures on a tablet or smartphone with their electrostatic field-based system that allows touch screen displays to produce varying degrees of friction.

Senseg has been working on this idea for a few years now but a recent live demo on CNET proves they are almost ready for commercial deployment. Just imagine using your tablet and being able to actually feel textures on the screen with your finger. For example, a picture of a rock or sandpaper will feel rough or gritty, and a picture of silk could reproduce a super smooth texture.

Some of the more practical uses of the technology would the use of braille for the blind or even improving on the tablet typing experience by replicating the key textures theoretically improving overall typing speed. The demo video also shows a demonstration of how developers could incorporate the e-sense technology into games, adding another element of interactive fun.

If all goes well Senseg plans to make the technology available for device manufacturers in 2012. In order for us to reap the benefits of texturized touch screens, the manufacturers must be on board as it would be required that they use the technology when designing and manufacturing their mobile devices. To see this crazy-cool stuff in action check out CNET’s video with Senseg’s Dave Rice and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below. I know that I would love to get my hands on something like the Transformer Prime running e-sense technology. Completely brilliant.

 

 

Verizon Galaxy Nexus Hands-On Video

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 08:11 AM PST

Are you ready to actually get your hands on the Verizon Galaxy Nexus? Well right now you can! Only problem is that you’d have to go to New York and you’d only be fondling a pre-production demo unit that’s tethered to a display.

The LTE Galaxy Nexus has finally made an appearance on US soil and can been seen/touched at the Samsung Experience in Columbus Circle. Unfortunateley the store is not selling the phones and the demo units are missing SIM cards. There is no real way to see how the device is going to work on Verizon’s LTE network but at least you can see ICS first hand. Speaking of ICS, these demo units are running Android 4.0.1 not the final 4.1 version that is expected with launch.

The guys over at Engadget have provides us a little hands on video that shows the use of a Verizon MiFi to speed test the network connectivity (hardly a true sign of device performance, but interesting nonetheless). Results ranged from 5000-7000kbps down and upload speeds of 300-2000kpbs using Verizon LTE over Wi-Fi. Jump past the break to check out the short video or if you’re somewhere near NYC, cruise over the the Samsung Experience for your very own hands-on time.

Acer Officially Launches Iconia Tab A200 10.1

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 06:52 AM PST

 

It seems like it has been ages since we’ve heard something regarding the Acer Iconia Tab A200. I mean sure we saw the mouthwatering promo video recently, but we haven’t heard too much else regarding the attractive tablet. Well, we finally have word that Acer has launched their long-awaited device in select countries. The Iconia Tab A200 10.1 will ship with Honeycomb (Android 3.2) preloaded, but Acer promises to quickly upgrade the device to Android 4.0. In case you’ve forgotten, the Iconia Tab A200 will feature a speedy 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 1280 x 800 resolution and a 3280mAH battery— which should be good enough for 400 hours of standby time and 8 hours of video playback.

There are also some noteworthy enhancements to Honeycomb on the device. In addition to the standard features, Acer features a cool built-in UI layer called the Acer Ring which is specifically meant to help improve a user’s productivity and multitasking by creating simple and direct access to applications from any screen. Also jumping one step ahead of ICS’s built-in screenshot feature is an app created by Acer which is called— you guessed it– Screenshot. Screenshot can take stills from  within just about any application: web articles, images and even stills from video calls.

There’s no word on the exact pricing or which countries will have the tab first. However consumers can expect to find the device in both Metallic Red or Titanium Gray. Hit the break for the full press release from Acer.

 

 

Acer Presents the ICONIA TAB A200
The tablet for sharing good times with family at an affordable price

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (December 2, 2011) — Acer Inc. announces the release of the ICONIA TAB A200, the company's latest tablet. Ideal for sharing good times via gaming, e-books, movies, music, photography, social networking and more, this tablet is an amazing hub of activity for people of all ages, and it comes at a very affordable price. Shipments in select countries include the Android 3.2 OS (code named Honeycomb) beginning in November. Shipments with Android 4.0 (code named Ice Cream Sandwich, or ICS) will start in January 2012 worldwide. A free ICS upgrade to current ICONIA TAB A200 users will also be made available at that time.

Priced right and looking sleek from all angles, the ICONIA TAB A200 stands out in Titanium Gray or Metallic Red. The rear side is soft to the touch and features an eye-catching pattern. Made especially for multimedia enjoyment, this tablet packs hardware and apps for loads of fun. Visuals are fantastic on the generous 10.1″ multitouch screen, and even thrilling games run smoothly thanks to the NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2 Dual Core 1 GHz processor and gyrometer.

The ICONIA TAB A200 improves multitasking with the Acer Ring interface for setting easy-access apps from any screen. It also features Screenshot, which quickly captures web images, articles, Google Maps and even smiling faces from video calls. Screenshot can be used in any app on any screen for maximum convenience.

Adapted perfectly for mobility, this tablet has a full-size USB port for hooking up other devices and a MicroSD slot for passing data. A 2 MP web camera enables face-to-face chats for keeping friends and family close at hand wherever you are. Whether on the road or at home, sharing multimedia is easy; you can read an e-book or watch a streaming movie, anytime. For enhanced social networking the ICONIA TAB A200 includes Acer SocialJogger, which consolidates Facebook, Twitter and more.

Google Begins Official Testing Process Of Android 4.0 On Nexus S… For Google Employees Only

Posted: 04 Dec 2011 06:17 AM PST

Things just got a little more interesting if you’re a Nexus S owner. Apparently Google employees who are Nexus S owners are in the midst of the “dogfooding” process of testing Android 4.0 on their devices. Yes, you read that right– Google employees are testing an official (albeit early) build of that sweet, sweet new treat. Dogfooding is “a practice of having company employees use products before releasing them to the public (“eat your own dog food” in this sense apparently originated in Microsoft back in 1988), thus weeding out bugs while the products are still revolving in a relatively contained environment”. If you don’t believe us, we have a nice little snippet from Google employee Adel Saoud’s Google+ page:

“Just got Ice-cream Sandwich update on my Nexus S & it’s looking great :)“

and

“Yeah an OTA, but it’s an early one for Google employees so we test it further so it’s even more awesome when you guys get it. So sadly I can’t comment on it more at this time…”

 

This is widely unexpected, but welcome news for Nexus S owners! Now that we know the official ICS update is out there and being worked on, we can expect the fine folks in Mountain View to work out any kinks and release the official update in the next few weeks at the earliest.

[Leak] Official render of Sony Ericsson Nozomi surfaces

Posted: 03 Dec 2011 08:52 PM PST

We first heard about the Sony Ericsson Nozomi in late August along with rumors of a 720p screen along with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, which sound appetizing to say the least. The image above is small, but other than its nice looks, there is one we can verify, which is that it will come with a dual-core processor. The specs are cut off, but we can make out the word “dual.” It’s hard to believe that the Nozomi wouldn’t be a dual-core processor, considering this is going to be a flagship phone for Sony Ericsson, and surprisingly, this will be the first dual-core phone offering from SE.

Don’t expect the final name to be the Nozomi because you can make out the “Xperia” name at the top of the picture. It also appears that there is only one word after Xperia, which rules out the previous rumor of the Xperia Arc HD being the official name. Forget names, lets hope the rumored 12MP camera and Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box sticks.

Stay tuned folks because I’m sure we will have more info sooner rather than later.

 

Apple suffers defeat in attempt to block Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the U.S.

Posted: 03 Dec 2011 08:32 PM PST

The bitter battles between Samsung and Apple continue with the latest ruling resulting in a blow to Apple. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple’s request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the U.S.

“It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung’s accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed,” Koh wrote.  Koh also said that Apple must demonstrate both infringement and validity to succeed in its lawsuit.

This war of giants has created over 20 cases across 10 countries, including Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea. This is far from over folks, but its nice to see Samsung getting the upper hand for once.

 

 

 
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)