Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums


HTC Rezound has Sound Issues Through Headphones (iBeats Too)

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 03:02 PM PST

HTC Rezound with Beats Audio

Chalk this up as coincidence, as irony, or as yet another Verizon phone being buggy, but it appears that the HTC Rezound is having sound issues. Android forums all over the internet are a buzz with users that are complaining of a static sound or some sort of interference when headphones are plugged in. Readers over at Droid Life are also having this issue.

The Static issue can be replicated with both streaming and internally stored audio leading others to believe this isn’t Beats Audio related. Some believe that it has something to do with the 4G radio while others have been able to replicate the issue regardless of which radio is active. I have personally been able replicate it on my co-worker’s Rezound and we are in a non-4G area. So at this point I have no idea what the issue is.

Some folks are lucky and don’t have this issue, or it just hasn’t come up yet. Given the other phones either on or coming to their network, the Bionic (the whine and signal issues) and Galaxy Nexus (volume rocker issue) are having bugs of their own, Verizon doesn’t need another flagship phone giving them issues. What about you guys out there with Rezounds? Are you having these issues?

 



Motorola Releases Car Finder App for DROID RAZR (Plus I Explain How to do Virtually the Same Thing on Any Device with Google Maps)

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST

For those of you DROID RAZR owners who live in larger cities (or those with poor memory), Motorola has released a car finder app that allows to to locate your vehicle after parking in spot that may be hard to find again. In the city where I live, I can’t imagine a real need for such an app, but for those who live in areas with huge parking lots, I could imagine this coming in hand. I picture going to Magic Mountain or some place similar where this might actually be of use.

The application is called Motorola Car Finder and can be found as a free download in the Android Market. This is one of many car finder apps out there but this one is designed to work with the DROID RAZR with further device support coming in the future. I tried downloading this to another device (DROID Charge), and while I was able to install it, it was unusable because a Motorola navigation dock was not present.

Similar to many other car finder applications, you can pinpoint your parking location via GPS and even log a couple pictures and voice memos for later reference. Once you are ready to return to your car, simply pull up the app and the GPS will guide you back to your ride without question. I guess one caveat could be if you were parked underground or somewhere where a GPS signal would be hard to obtain, then you may find it near impossible for this app to function properly. If you are in an area with adequate GPS signal then this app may handy with such features as:

- Customize your view by toggling between satellite or map view
- Take a photo to remind you of your parking location
- Enter a memo about where you parked
- Record a quick voice note about your car's location when you're in a hurry
- Be guided by a large compass arrow when walking to your car
- Obtain walking, driving or transit directions back to your car's location
- Remember where you parked while traveling by viewing a time stamped history of your saved parking locations (rename your location by long pressing on any saved location)

For those of you still reading who don’t own a RAZR, you might be surprised to know that you may already have a similar solution already installed on you phone. I am not sure if you knew this but you can use Google maps to do essentially the same things but without all the bells and whistles of Moto’s new app. If you simply enable your GPS settings and open the Google Maps app, you can mark your current location as “My place” and pull that up later when you’re ready to return to it. Google maps will then guide you back to your preset location via GPS, similar to Moto’s app without the added functions. Here, let me break it down real quick like.

So your parked, right? Okay, now you open Google Maps and look for the blue arrow designating your current location. Hit that arrow and a bubble will appear, tap that bubble and then press the grey star in the upper right corner (star will turn yellow). You have just marked your current location as a “My Place” which gets saved for future reference. When you are ready to return to that “My Place”, open your Google Maps app again and press the phones menu button. From there all you need to do is hit the ‘More’ button then select the “My Places” tab. Now you just select the location that you just previously saved and tell the app to give you walking navigation directions to that location. It’s that easy! Google Maps Is generally pretty accurate and while it might not guide you directly to your car, it should get you within spotting distance. Give it a try sometime, you might be surprised!

For those who just want the link for the new Moto RAZR app, I appologize for rambling on and your download links are below. :-D

Android Market

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Droid Incredible 2 Now Has Beta Ice Cream Sandwich ROM Available!

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 12:22 PM PST

 

Droid Incredible 2 owners are about to start salivating big time! That oh-so delectable new treat is available now for owners courtesy of ProTekk of beloved RootzWiki. While it is available everyone, keep in mind that this custom ROM/build of ICS is still in its infancy stage– so like any ROM in beta, it has its fair share of bugs and missing functions. Here’s a quick rundown of what works and what doesn’t work in this build of the beta:

What works:

Booting
Wi-Fi
SMS
Calls
Audio
Sensors
Capacitive keys
SU
SDCard
EGL
Rotation
3G

What doesn't work:

Headsets (logcat claims that the kernel doesn't support it)
Gallery
Live Wallpapers
Camera
GPS
Bluetooth

 

The mere fact that most of the needed basic functions working correctly is nothing short of amazing. For those of you willing to brave it out and be ahead of the rest of us Android users, back up your files and give the ROM a try. I mean hey, rooting your Droid Incredible 2 is why you bought the device, right? Be sure to give your props to ProTekk at RootWiki and let us know if you plan on rooting your Droid Incredible 2 or how it works out for you if you’ve already jumped ship and rooted it.



Free Version Of UNO Now Available In the Android Market

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 12:09 PM PST

The folks over at Gameloft want you to enjoy a nice version of the popular hit game UNO, on the house of course.  Gameloft is now offering a free version of UNO so long as you’re ok with the embedded ads.  If not, and you’d rather bypass the ads, there’s always the $2.99 ad-free version which can be found on the Android Market.  UNO is a popular card game in which all players need to match colors and numbers until a player is left with one card.  You can play in multiplayer match up mode via online pairing or with local players over Wifi and Bluetooth.  The app will run both on standard Android smartphones as well as Honeycomb tablets.  Hit the break for a few more screen shots and to snag the download links.  And don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments below.    UnoForAndroid UNO5 UNO1 UNO2 UNO3 UNO4

Android Market Link

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Verizon Announces Motorola Xoom Tablet HLK75F Update

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 12:02 PM PST

Another “secret that wasn’t really a secret” has just been revealed. We just mentioned to you earlier today how the upcoming Motorola Xoom tablet update would be a minor update aimed at helping pay-as-you-go users. Now there’s a definitive confirmation from Verizon as it has announced the HLK75F update which you guessed it– includes an improved Google Setup Wizard to improve the reliability of the pay-as-you-go detection when you first power up the device. Oh and since we know you guys care, the update is approximately 8.9MB in size. Not exactly a major update, but hey– an update is an update.



Lenovo Gets Official With 4.3″ IPS Display LePhone K2 and 3.7″ S760 Models

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 10:16 AM PST

Lenovo has taken the guess work out of our previous notions regarding what type of devices might be released by the company over the next few weeks.  Finally, the company has come right out and made it official, stating that they’ll be releasing a 4.3-inch IPS display device along side a 3.7-inch AMOLED smartphone.  So, no tabletphone in site but check out what the two devices do have to offer upon launch.

Lenovo LePhone K2:

The K2 offers a 4.3-inch IPS display with an unknown resolution at this time.  In addition, there will be a powerful 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU by Qualcomm (MSM8260).  Furthermore, they’ve added 1GB of RAM, 1GB ROM, an 8 meg camera capable of recording 1080p video and Android 2.3.5 (sorry, no ICS at this time).  Who knows, maybe they’ll add it to the device at the last second since technically there is no price or release date.  Stay tuned.

Lenovo LePhone S760:

The S760 offers a more compact device with a 3.7-inch display running Android 2.3.5 as well and houses a 1GHz single core CPU, 512 mb of RAM, an AMOLED touch display and a 5 meg camera.  In addition, Lenovo has added tidbits of their custom UI in an attempt to compliment Android.  It’s been noted that the device should be released sometime towards the end of December.



Contest: Win one of five Expert Editions of SyncMate

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 10:00 AM PST

If you own a Mac computer, you need SyncMate. With SyncMate you can sync your Mac to your mobile phones, other computers, portable devices and online accounts, all within one app. For example with your Android phone you can sync your Address Book and iCal in your Mac with your Android Contacts and Calendar. You can also sync your favorite images and videos as well as create SMS Text messages directly from your Mac.

SyncMate has a free version, but you really want the Expert Edition. The free version only includes the syncing of contacts and iCal, along with reading SMS messages. With the Expert Edition, you get the added benefit of syncing Safari bookmarks, folders, iTunes & Video, and iPhoto albums. In addition, the SMS Manager, mount disk, and call history plugins, as well as autosyncing all come with the Expert Edition. I can guarantee you that if you try the free version, you will be hooked.

SyncMate Expert is priced at $39.95 which is an incredible deal considering what you get. Of course, Free is also nice so the folks over at SyncMate were nice enough to provide free codes for the Expert Edition for five lucky TalkAndroid readers. Just head over to our forum post (link below) to enter. You have until Sunday, December 4 at 11:59pm EST. We will randomly pick five winners. Good Luck!!

Contest Forum Thread

 

 



The Acer Iconia Tab A200 in Leaked Promo Video

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 09:02 AM PST

Acer Iconia Tab

 Given that the holiday season is upon us, and that the idea of being around those close to us is engrained in our brains, a newly leaked video is circulating the internet that demonstrates Acer Iconia Tab A200 with that in mind. This tablet has a Nvidia Tegra 2 processor with 1GB of RAM, which compared to Acer’s Tegra 3 tablets coming out,  seems pretty mundane. That doesn’t mean that the tablet will be a slouch by any means, and if pricing is somewhat lower this could very well be a solid contender in the tablet market. However, those interested in power may want to check out Acer’s quad-core options first.

The video does show off some of the A200′s features. The form factor is displayed as well as the use of a full sized USB port. This is nice considered that these ports should be standard by now. There isn’t a release date yet but given the theme of the video, I would guess sometime here this holiday season. Given the rumors saying otherwise, it’s nice to see Acer pushing forward in the Android tablet market. For those that are interested, hit the break to check out the video. While the narration may come off as almost creepy it shows the tablet in a wide array of uses. 

Click here to view the embedded video.



ASUS Transformer Prime Release Date Plays Musical Chairs

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 08:30 AM PST

Oh man. Looks like the ASUS Transformer Prime is following in the footsteps of the Galaxy Nexus and release dates are being ‘confirmed’ and suggested left and right! Gamestop is responsible for most of the confusion, saying the device would release on Dec. 9th, then Nov. 28, then changing it back to the 9th again bringing us to this mornings claim of December 19th! Which is it Gamestop!? And to only make matters worse, now NetbookNews has reported to Phandroid, claiming that an ASUS spokesman has verified Dec. 8th as the day that US customers will be able to get their hands on the illusive quad-core beast. Unbelievable! That’s pretty much all I can say about the round-about nonsense surrounding the release of this Tablet and that everything at this point is precisely that, unbelievable.

Until we get further notice straight from the horse’s mouth, we can’t wont predict a ‘confirmed’ release date. There is too much going on for me to be a betting man, but I am more inclined to believe NetbookNews over Gamestop. Pick a date and cross your fingers.

 

 



Sonos adds Android tablet support, Slacker Radio, and new Spotify features

Posted: 30 Nov 2011 08:27 AM PST

Sonos just announced Sonos System Software 3.6 which brings Android tablet support. Sonos is the leading manufacturer of wireless music systems, and it allows you to stream “all the music on earth” wirelessly in every room. Now you can control it wirelessly with an Android tablet, including the Kindle Fire, HTC Flyer, Motorola XOOM, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Sony Tablet S, and others. Previously it was only available to Android phones.

In addition, you can now listen to your favorite or custom Slacker Radio stations. Spotify integration is now improved as users now have access to their Spotify Inbox and can now play music from Spotify’s new releases and top tracks.

Last but not least, Sonos is introducing Sonos Labs, which is a new Beta environment. Users will have the ability to test out new services before they are officially launched.

Full press release after the break:

SONOS ADDS MORE CONTROL AND MORE MUSIC TO WIRELESS HiFi SYSTEM

Sonos Now Offering Android Tablet Support, Slacker Radio in US and Canada, and New Spotify Features

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – November 30, 2011 – Sonos, Inc., the leading manufacturer of wireless music systems, today announced Sonos System Software 3.6, an innovative update that adds more control and more music to the Sonos Wireless HiFi experience. This free software is available to all Sonos customers via a one button update to their system.

"Today's feature update reaffirms our commitment to persistently innovate so that Sonos users have the ultimate music experience in every room of the home," said John MacFarlane, founder and CEO, Sonos, Inc. "Endless music and effortless control are what will keep us as the gold standard for listening out loud in the home."

The free Sonos Controller for Android now supports Android® tablets as well as smartphones, letting you control Sonos from any Android device.  With Sonos, you can stream all the music on earth wirelessly in every room, and now control it wirelessly on a larger screen with any Android tablet running 2.2 or higher, including the Kindle Fire, HTC Flyer™, Motorola Xoom™,Samsung Galaxy Tab™, Sony Tablet S™, and many others.

Plus, Sonos Controller for Android includes new enhancements such as alarms, music library management and Twitter support for Android smartphones and tablets alike.  Download it fromAndroid Market.

Slacker® Radio is now available as a free music service on Sonos in the United States and Canada.  With Slacker on Sonos you can tune in for free to over 150 expert-programmed stations and create unlimited custom stations from a library of millions of songs. You can even read artist biographies as you listen in every room. Upgrade to Slacker Radio Plus for an ad-free experience or Slacker Premium Radio for even more features like on-demand access to millions of songs, albums and artists and the ability to create custom playlists. Subscribers can also fully personalize their ESPN Radio stations with their favorite shows, plus team and sports updates.  To register or learn more about Slacker on Sonos, please visit slacker.com/Sonos.

With Sonos 3.6 software, Sonos is also introducing Sonos Labs, a new Beta environment where customers will be able to test out music services before they're officially launched on Sonos.  New music services will be added to So
nos Labs on an ongoing basis.  Media and music service developers can learn more about becoming a Sonos Labs music partner at http://musicpartners.sonos.com.
Sonos 3.6 also includes improved Spotify® integration on Sonos, giving Spotify fans on Sonos access to their Spotify Inbox and ability to play music from Spotify's new releases and top tracks.

Other features of Sonos 3.6 include:

  • AAC+ codec support
  • More local language support with Danish and Norwegian