'Froyo'

Android fragmentation rears its ugly head once again

By: |Apr 3rd, 2012 at 10:35AM
Filed Under: Mobile, Software, Tablets
0

Google updated its Android version tracker on Monday, revealing that the latest version of its mobile operating system — Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich — has more than doubled its installed base over the past month. Unfortunately, that only carries Google’s current Android build to a 2.9% share of all devices. Combined with Honeycomb, this means that as of March 2nd, just 6.2% of Android devices are now running a modern version of Android. Meanwhile, the bulk of Android devices run the 15-month-old...

iOS apps crash more than Android apps, study shows

By: |Feb 3rd, 2012 at 01:01PM
Filed Under: Mobile
0

Apps running on Apple’s iOS devices crash more frequently than Android apps according to a new study preformed by mobile app monitoring company Crittercism. The data, which was collected between December 1st and 15th last year, spans 23 different versions of iOS and 33 different Android versions. The latest version of iOS (5.0.1) leads all others with 28.64% of all crashes, Forbes reports. The OS build is still relatively new, however, so much of the poor performance could be attributed to apps that hav...

New Android tablet undercuts Kindle Fire at $179

By: |Oct 25th, 2011 at 11:40PM
Filed Under: Tablets
30

Leader International announced a new tablet on Monday that undercuts Amazon’s upcoming Kindle Fire by $20. The $179 Impression 7, also known as the I7, is equipped with a 7-inch display with an 800 x 480-pixel resolution, a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, two USB 2.0 ports, a microSD card slot, a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera and support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks. We admit, the price caught our eye until we noticed the I7 runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), an operating system designed for ...

AT&T unwraps five new Android phones for the holidays

By: |Oct 11th, 2011 at 07:30AM
Filed Under: Mobile
38

AT&T committed to the launch of 12 Android smartphones in 2011 but once the carrier’s latest batch of devices hits store shelves, it will have surpassed that goal. AT&T on Tuesday announced five new Android-powered handsets from the CTIA show in San Diego, bringing the carrier’s total to 19 devices this year. The star of the show is likely the highly anticipated Motorola ATRIX 2, pictured above, which features a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 8GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, ...

Netflix app now supports all Android Froyo/Gingerbread devices

By: |Sep 9th, 2011 at 05:15PM
Filed Under: Mobile, Software
43

Netflix updated its Android application on Friday with support for any smartphone running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). Netflix launched an Android app in May of this year, but it initially only supported a handful of high-end devices. Netflix slowly added support for a few more devices over the past couple of months, but anxious users were turning to leaked .APK files to try to get the service up and running on unsupported devices. Now, thankfully, getting the app on your Android phone wo...

Review

LG Thrill 4G review

By: |Aug 17th, 2011 at 12:00PM
Filed Under: Mobile, Review
35

The Thrill 4G is the second Android smartphone in the United States capable of recording and displaying 3D video and photos without the need for special glasses. We first saw the phone during CTIA earlier this year and, after delays, it will launch soon on AT&T for $99.99. I spent the better part of the last three weeks carrying the LG Thrill 4G everywhere I went. Are the 3D effects useful and fun or are they just a lame gimmick? Does the “4G” in its name equate to faster data speeds or does i...

Featured

Dear tablet makers: You’re doing it wrong

By: |Aug 9th, 2011 at 12:11PM
Filed Under: Featured
220

Needham analyst Charlie Wolf issued estimates on Monday that put Apple’s iPad atop the mountain of forthcoming consumer tablets for a full decade. Wolf sees the tablet market climbing to 233 million units sold in 2020, and he thinks Apple will own 60% of the market at that point in time. Apple is on a tear right now, of course, and estimating that Apple will dominate the smartphone or tablet market moving forward is becoming akin to estimating that the sun will rise tomorrow. At the same time, there is ...

Samsung Dart now available from T-Mobile, free on contract

By: |Jun 15th, 2011 at 10:36PM
Filed Under: Mobile
4

Samsung’s newest budget Android phone is now available in the U.S. from T-Mobile. The Samsung Dart is a Froyo phone that sports a 3.14-inch QVGA display, a 3-megapixel camera with video capture support, 512MB of internal memory, microSDHC support up to 32GB and a 1,200 mAh battery. The specs clearly seem a bit dated, but for the low price of free on contract, this is a great budget Android phone for teens and first-time smartphone buyers. (more…)

Sprint Motorola XPRT hands-on

By: |Jun 15th, 2011 at 12:05PM
Filed Under: Mobile
17

FedEx just buzzed by and dropped off Sprint’s latest QWERTY Android smartphones, the Motorola XPRT. The XPRT reminds us a lot of the DROID Pro on Verizon Wireless, but it feels just a bit cheaper, which likely explains the lower price tag. It lacks the polished finished of the DROID Pro and it feels much more plasticky. That said, the keyboard feels pretty stellar so far and we are already whizzing away while typing emails and other messages. The big selling point for the XPRT is that it also supports i...

Verizon’s DROID Charge gets updated, personal hotspot bug fixed

By: |Jun 13th, 2011 at 11:58PM
Filed Under: Mobile, Software
8

Over the weekend, Verizon Wireless began issuing a software update to the Samsung DROID Charge that addresses a number of issues. Most notably, the update repairs a bug that caused the Charge’s mobile hotspot feature to work only if users set the date back to last month. Beyond the personal hotspot fix, the update is said to bring improved web browsing and email, improved battery life, and several other enhancements. Users will be notified automatically when the over-the-air (OTA) update is ready for th...

Opinions

How Apple stole notifications from Android and beat them with iOS 5

By: |Jun 13th, 2011 at 01:35PM
Filed Under: Opinions, Software
541

If you haven’t seen the pattern before, well, you just haven’t been looking — Apple might not be the first with a feature all of the time, but the company almost always has the last laugh. Remember what happened with copy and paste? It’s almost unimaginable to think that the iPhone didn’t have this feature until almost three years into its existence, but when Apple introduced it, it worked like nothing before it — and by that, I mean it worked, and worked effortlessly. Notificatio...

HTC sees record revenue for second consecutive month in May

By: |Jun 9th, 2011 at 03:10PM
Filed Under: Business, Mobile
17

HTC saw its monthly revenue in May surpass NT$40 billion for the first time in the company’s history. Taiwan Economic News reports on Thursday that HTC’s May revenue came in at NT$40.6 billion, or US$1.6 billion, thanks to continued high demand for its smartphones. Revenue was up 115% compared to the same month last year, and up from NT$38.73 billion last month, which had also set a company record. The cell phone maker’s revenue now totals NT$183.5 billion (US$6.3 billion) through the first ...

T-Mobile intros Samsung Gravity SMART, Exhibit 4G Android phones

By: |Jun 3rd, 2011 at 03:10AM
Filed Under: Mobile
3

On Thursday T-Mobile introduced two new Android phones that will be priced under $100 after rebates: the Samsung Gravity SMART and the Samsung Exhibit 4G. The Exhibit 4G runs the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system, has a 1GHz processor, a 3-megapixel camera, and offers support for T-Mobile’s 21Mbps HSPA+ 4G network. The Gravity SMART runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), has 3.2-inch touchscreen display, a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash, and also offers a full four-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard. T...

Review

LG Revolution review

By: |Jun 1st, 2011 at 12:00PM
Filed Under: Mobile, Review
55

“4G” can mean a lot of things these days. For some carriers, it started out as marketing speak that did little beyond confusing customers. For others, 4G represents a next-generation network that might help ease the strain of a new breed of data-hungry smartphone users that have brought a nationwide 3G network to its knees. But while certain carriers were busy lobbying the International Telecommunications Union or launching crafty marketing campaigns, Verizon Wireless launched the fastest cellular...