Author: Robert Nazarian

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. The week started off with some of the best April Fools jokes Google has ever done. Then later in the week, Facebook and HTC made a splash with the HTC First and the Facebook Home launcher app that will be available for select Android phones. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

What you need to know about the T-Mobile Simple Choice Plan

Five top live wallpapers for Android [April 2013]

Reviews

DivX Stash [Media & Video]

Strategy & Tactics: World War II [Arcade & Action]

Fynch for Twitter [Social]

Todoist: To Do List, Task List [Productivity]

Accessories

New and official Nexus 4 accessories hit the Google Play Store

Apps – New

Facebook announces ‘Facebook Home’ replacement launcher for Android [Video]

Facebook Home Not Launching With Ads, Will Eventually Come To Cover Feed

Facebook talks privacy concerning Facebook Home

Feedly Rolls Out New Mobile App, Adds Over 3 Million New Users

WWE Presents: Rockpocalypse now available in Google Play Store

3DMark comes to Android platform, now available in Google Play Store

3 Bonus Games Added to Humble Mobile Bundle

Rovio’s social-based Angry Birds Friends game officially on the way to mobile devices

New SphereShare.net app provides gallery for Photo Spheres

Apps – Updates

TuneIn Radio update brings new intuitive design to discover new music

Google targeting all business users by making QuickOffice available for free for all Google Apps users

Twitter Goes Holo in New Update

Flipboard gets minor update to support hover actions

Colourform (HDW theme pack) for HD Widgets officially out of Beta

iHeartRadio update adds “Perfect For” and alarm clock functions

Google TV Remote app now includes voice search

ES File Explorer Hits Build 3, Now Available for Testing Over at XDA

April Fools

The complete listing of Google’s April Fools Jokes for 2013

SwiftKey launches SwiftKey Tilt keyboard, just in time for April Fools

Carriers

AT&T Working on HD Voice capabilities for its customers due for arrival later this year

Are Verizon and AT&T Working on a Vodafone Buy Out Deal? Verizon Says No

AT&T Launches 4G LTE In 14 New Markets

AT&T Clarifies Galaxy S 4 Pricing

Verizon CEO Reportedly Open To Eliminating Contracts

HTC First to be an EE exclusive in the UK

U.S. Cellular launches unique program to let customers test network

Google

Androidbooks, as in Android notebooks, could show up by Q3

Latest Android Distribution Reveals Gingerbread Down 4.4% and Jelly Bean Up 8.5%

Sources speculate as to why Android’s Rubin is starting new chapter

Google Glass

Rent Google Glass starting April 30th?

Watch the complete ‘Building New Experiences with Glass’ presentation from SXSW

Hardware

ARM Teams Up With TSMC To Create First 16nm Cortex-A57 Processor

Snapdragon powered devices to receive Facebook Home performance enhancements

Phones – HTC

The HTC First Is Real, Launches April 12 Running Facebook Home [Video]

Watch the Facebook Home announcement

RadioShack gets HTC One signs a bit early, shows Google Play credit offer

HTC One preorders to begin on AT&T this week, $249 for 32 GB variant

T-Mobile Offers Official HTC One Car Kit with Online Orders

AT&T to offer the HTC One smartphone April 19th, will start from $199.99

Add Sprint to list of carriers offering HTC One on April 19th

Chinese HTC One smartphone to feature dual-SIM support and microSD slot

HTC One Heading to Canada on Apr 19th and Australia on Apr 23rd

HTC One Developer Edition pre-orders now open

HTC to include “Live Experience Tour” in 11 cities for HTC One marketing campaign

Wirefly Offers Sprint HTC One Pre-Order for $150

HTC officially unveils its Desire P smartphone

HTC M4 Very Similar To HTC First, May Not Ship With Facebook Home

Phones – Lenovo

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 barely beats out the Galaxy S 4 in benchmarks thanks to Intel CPU

Phones – LG

Verizon Offering Dual-Core LG Lucid 2 For Free Starting April 4

LG confirms Optimus G Pro sales have already topped the 500,000 unit mark

Phones – Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S 4 gets rooted… well the Exynos 5 Octa version at least

AT&T’s Galaxy S 4 hits the FCC

More details about Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 mini surfaces including a possible release this week

Samsung Fonblet now known as Galaxy Mega and will come in two sizes

Mid-range Samsung Galaxy Win leaked courtesy of Vietnamese retailer

Samsung working on new generation Galaxy Ace device

Samsung announces the stylish and compact Galaxy Star and Galaxy Pocket Neo

Samsung introduces the Galaxy Trend II and Galaxy Trend II Duos smartphones

Purple Galaxy S III to hit Sprint on April 12th, $99 with mail-in rebate

Samsung SPH-L500 cruises through FCC, headed to Sprint

Phones – Sony

One Sony Line Will Start With 20 Megapixel Cyber-shot Camera

Phones – Misc

5000mAh battery could be coming to Chinese smartphone

Tablets

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9 coming to AT&T’s 4G network on April 5th

$79.99 7-inch tablet from Ematic hits the market, powered by Android 4.1

Updated Nexus 7 with Qualcomm Snapdragon and better display coming in July

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 now on sale in the U.K.

Official Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Accessories Now Available for Pre-Order from GearZap

Updates

Want to know if your HTC phone will get Sense 5 with Android 4.2.2? Here’s the latest list

LG Optimus G on AT&T beginning to receive Jelly Bean update

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity to receive Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update

Austrian Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus beginning to receive Android 4.1.2 update

Galaxy Axiom on US Cellular receiving OTA Jelly Bean update

Miscellaneous

Android takes early lead in 2013 for U.S. smartphone sales

Man Behind HTC One Camera Talks More About The UltraPixel

Samsung sets new goal: 500 million handsets in 2013

Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Samsung Experience Shops coming to 1400 Best Buy Stores

WiFi-only Samsung Galaxy Camera on the way to US stores and will arrive “later this month”

German court invalidates Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent in patent suit with Motorola

Samsung Infringes Key Portion of Apple Patent

Latest comScore report shows Android market share continues to shrink in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics Grows Profit By 53%, Fifth Record-Breaking Quarter In A Row

OUYA to Launch in 59 Days, Brings with it Software and Hardware Improvements

 

 

 

 

 

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for April 1 – April 7, 2013

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Reviews

Todoist: To Do List, Task List [Productivity]

Apps

Facebook Home Not Launching With Ads, Will Eventually Come To Cover Feed

Carriers

HTC First to be an EE exclusive in the UK

Google Glass

Watch the complete ‘Building New Experiences with Glass’ presentation from SXSW

Phones

HTC One Developer Edition pre-orders now open

HTC M4 Very Similar To HTC First, May Not Ship With Facebook Home

HTC to include “Live Experience Tour” in 11 cities for HTC One marketing campaign

Tablets

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 now on sale in the U.K.

Updates

Austrian Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus beginning to receive Android 4.1.2 update

Galaxy Axiom on US Cellular receiving OTA Jelly Bean update

Miscellaneous

Latest comScore report shows Android market share continues to shrink in the U.S.

Samsung Electronics Grows Profit By 53%, Fifth Record-Breaking Quarter In A Row

 

 

 

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 5, 2013

Todoist has always been one of the best personal task managers, but it was only available on the desktop until November of last year. That’s when Doist released native apps for both Android and iOS, which brought Todoist’s robust elements to users for on-the-go task management. With the addition of the app, Todoist users are now synced across nine platforms, which include Android, iOS, Web, Chrome, Firefox, Outlook, Thunderbird, Windows, and Mac.

I generally don’t use the desktop to manage my tasks, although it’s important to me that the tasks are synced and accessible from various platforms. With that said, the desktop Web interface is a tremendous application for those that really need a lot of control for their tasks. The Todoist app for Android brings most of those features to your phone or tablet.

Todoist is aimed at the professional and is more comprehensive than most of the other task managers available on Android. What separates Todoist from other todo apps is the ability to organize tasks into projects with labels. You can even create sub tasks as well. By including projects, it effectively organizes everything in a logical manner. Who wants to look at a list of 30 todos when you can look at a list of 3 or 4 projects. Tapping on projects will give you the list of todos that are only related to that project. Color-coding is quite popular as well, and Todoist has you covered. You can select from 22 different colors to help you further organize things.

If you’re new to Todoist, you will need to setup an account in order to sync data to the cloud. You can simply use your gmail or any other email account. This enables you to utilize the app or the desktop via your favorite Web browser. If you’re using Chrome on your desktop, you can also install the Chrome Extension, which will allow you to manage tasks from your toolbar. You can also use it as a “read it later” type of app  in that you can add URLs as tasks. It even integrates with Gmail so that you can add any email as a task.

When using the app for the first time, you will find handy popup tutorials walking you through some of the basics. The interface is very clean and easy to get around. Everytime you open the app, you will see the tasks that are due today. Just swipe to the right, and the side menu appears. This is where you will see the list of your color-coded projects. Tapping on any of the projects brings you to the tasks that are due for the respective project. You will also see “Manage projects” at the bottom, which lets you add, edit or delete projects. The labels tab will show you any labels you have created and what tasks are associated with those labels. It works the same way as Projects in that you tap on the labels to see the listed tasks. You will also find “Manage labels” at the bottom. The last tab is filters, and this is where you can create predefined filters. For example, you could have a filter for all tasks that are due on Friday or all tasks that are labeled as personal and due next Wednesday. Again, you will find a “Manage filters” option at the bottom.

Setting up a task is quite easy. Once you are in a project, just hit the “+” sign at the top right. You can title the task, give it a due date, assign a project, label it, set the priority (1-4), and assign a sub-task. Now this is where things get a little weird. You can enter textual dates in the date field, and there are a number of abbreviated commands to learn such as “tod” for today, “tom at 16:30″ for tomorrow at 16:30, “+5″ for 5 days from now, “ev day” for every day, “ev 7″ for every 7th of the month, and so on. Thankfully you can tap the three dot menu for the full list of commands. You can still enter a date by tapping the clock icon, but the displayed calendar is very small, and unless you have a magnifying glass, you won’t be able to read the dates.

One of my biggest complaints is the use of reminders. The only way to set a reminder (in the app) is to type a command as part of the title of the task. So you would have something like this: Wash the car <remind tom at 13:00>. For an app that stresses productivity, this is highly unproductive. I believe they will resolve this issue with a future update so I wouldn’t use it as a reason to detract you from trying the app. On the flip side, you can easily manage reminder notifications from the desktop by just entering the date and time. If you’re someone who likes to manage your tasks from the desktop then it won’t be an issue, but for those of you that are on the go or would rather use the mobile app, it’s not the best situation.  Even using the desktop isn’t so easy as you should be able to just click on a date and pick a time rather than being forced to type it out. As far as notifications go, you can set the default to be push (notification panel), SMS text, or email. You can only do this via the desktop interface, but once it’s set, you shouldn’t need to change it that often.

Just like most Android apps, a widget is included. They only offer one size (4 x 3), but it’s resizable. You can also choose what information you would like to show up in the widget, and that includes any of the default views (tasks due today or the next 7 days), Projects, Labels, or Filters.

As you would imagine, an app like this probably isn’t free or at least there has to be a premium version. The app itself is actually free, but the premium version is my second biggest complaint. It costs $29 per year. The premium version adds notification reminders, use of the labels and filters, task notes, SSL encryption, access to iCalendar, task searching and the ability to add emails as tasks. If you don’t rely on notifications and you think you can go without labels and filters, the free version can do a lot for you. For me personally, $29 is too much because I am not a heavy todo and task user. With that said, I think Todoist is the best task management app I have seen, and is sure to suit those that need more productivity out of their todos.

It seems to me that Doist is going after the serious professional only, and not catering to the casual user. I would rather see the free version offer everything the premium version offers, but make it a trial for 14 days. After the trial period has ended, offer a version priced at $4.99 (one time purchase) with a limit of how many projects, labels, and filters you can have so that casual users can enjoy this type of productivity. If someone needs to manage more projects and tasks, they can pay the annual fee of $29.99. If you’re in that camp, it’s not too much to ask for something as powerful as Todoist. Either way, if you’re someone who could use a little more organization and productivity in your life, then you need to look at Todoist. It won’t cost you a dime to see what it’s all about, and you probably won’t find anything better.

Check out my hands on video below and hit one of the download links to get started. You can also visit their website for more information. As always, let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Featured Android App Review: Todoist: To Do List, Task List [Productivity]

Android is still the king when it comes to OS market share in the U.S., but all indications show that it has peaked since the last few comScore reports show Apple gaining slightly at the expense of Android. For February 2013, Google’s Android came in at 51.7%, which is down from 53.7% from November 2012. Last month Android came in at 52.3% so you can see they are dropping a little each month. Even so, they are still the dominate OS as Apple came in at 38.9%, up from 35% 3 months ago. The rest of the pack includes the usual suspects, BlackBerry, Microsoft, and Symbian.

As far as smartphones go, 133.7 million people in the U.S. owned one at the end of February 2013, which is 57% of all mobile phones. Apple continues to be the top manufacturer (OEM) with 38.9%, which is up from 35% in November 2012. Samsung was up slightly at 21.3%, as opposed to 20.3% in November.  HTC, Motorola, and LG were next in line, but it should be noted that their respective market shares all dropped, while HTC was the biggest loser of the three.

source: comScore

Come comment on this article: Latest comScore report shows Android market share continues to shrink in the U.S.

In the U.S., the HTC First is an AT&T exclusive, but in the UK it’s going to be EE. No word on pricing or availability, but we are assuming it will become available soon after the U.S. April 12 launch.

The HTC First is the first and only phone to have the complete Facebook Home experience out of the box. Of course, people can still enjoy Facebook Home on other phones by downloading the app (starting April 12), but it will only be available on the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S 4, the One X, and the One X+, at least for now.

source: Slashgear

Come comment on this article: HTC First to be an EE exclusive in the UK

Last month we told you about a Google Glass presentation at SXSW in which they showed early stages of popular apps designed for Glass. The presentation was called “Building new experiences with Glass”, and it just became available for all to see. It’s about 50 minutes long so you will want to make sure you set aside some time for this one. The presenter was Timothy Jordan, who is a developer advocate at Google on Glass. He gives a sneak peak at the Google Mirror API, which is what developers will use to build apps for Glass. He walks through the building blocks as well as show early builds of Evernote, The New York Times, Path, and Gmail.

The concept behind Google Glass is giving you information when you need it, and Timothy said this regarding current tech vs Glass:

“It feels like tech is often getting in the way more than it needs to and that’s what we are addressing with Project Glass. It’s so that you can still have access to the technology that you love, but it doesn’t take you out of the moment.”

Hit the break for the full video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More information: +TimothyJordan

Come comment on this article: Watch the complete ‘Building New Experiences with Glass’ presentation from SXSW

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Guides

Five top live wallpapers for Android [April 2013]

Accessories

New and official Nexus 4 accessories hit the Google Play Store

Apps

Facebook announces ‘Facebook Home’ replacement launcher for Android [Video]

Colourform (HDW theme pack) for HD Widgets officially out of Beta

iHeartRadio update adds “Perfect For” and alarm clock functions

Google TV Remote app now includes voice search

Carriers

Verizon CEO Reportedly Open To Eliminating Contracts

Phones

The HTC First Is Real, Launches April 12 Running Facebook Home [Video]

Watch the Facebook Home announcement

Chinese HTC One smartphone to feature dual-SIM support and microSD slot

Samsung introduces the Galaxy Trend II and Galaxy Trend II Duos smartphones

Purple Galaxy S III to hit Sprint on April 12th, $99 with mail-in rebate

Miscellaneous

Samsung Experience Shops coming to 1400 Best Buy Stores

WiFi-only Samsung Galaxy Camera on the way to US stores and will arrive “later this month”

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 4, 2013

 

As expected, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the HTC First Facebook phone today, but he also introduced a complete home replacement for many popular Android phones (and eventually tablets). It’s called Facebook Home, and according to Zuckerberg, “It sets the tone for your whole experience.”

Although the new launcher will work with all the apps that are installed on your phone, it changes the focal point to people as opposed to apps. The Coverfeed allows you to scroll through updates with large photos. You will be able to quickly see all the comments and respond inline. You will also find a notification pane that includes SMS messages and other important posts.

Chat Heads allows you to utilize Facebook Messenger or SMS while using any other app. You can simply carry on a conversation without closing the app. Floating pictures of your friends appears on the screen, and you can move them wherever you want. If you want to converse with any of your friends, just tap their picture to start chatting via SMS or Facebook Messenger.

You will also find a major change when it comes to notifications. They are now sorted by friend instead of apps. It’s all about telling you what your friend is doing rather than if an app has something to tell you. In a sense, your phone becomes one huge newsfeed. Check out more in this video…

Click here to view the embedded video.

The rumors leading up to today were that Facebook would fork Android, but Zuckerberg praised the openness of Android and said, “You don’t need to fork Android or modify the OS to do this.” 

Facebook is offering Facebook Home to all manufacturers as far as making their phones compatible to it or by releasing phones that have it pre-installed. Some partners already signed up include HTC, Samsung, Sony, Huawei, and chipmaker Qualcomm.

Since it was announced that some phones already on the market would be compatible, it’s unclear whether an over-the-air update is necessary to enable this compatibility. These phones include the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, the upcoming Galaxy S 4, the HTC One, and the One X+. If you have one of these phones, you can simply download the app from the Play Store when it becomes available on April 12, which is the same day the HTC First will become available. Tablet support is on the way, but no timeframe was given.

Come comment on this article: Facebook announces ‘Faceook Home’ replacement launcher for Android [Video]

Remember the HDW: Colourform Test Pack  Beta trial that HD Widgets released in early February? Well it’s now an official app in the Play Store, so if you’re an HD Widgets user, go grab it now for 99-cents. This is an add-on theme pack, so you will need the HD Widgets app in order to use Colourform. If you’re new to HD Widgets, you might want to check it out since it’s one of the best looking widgets for showing you the time, date, and weather, along with some cool utility switches.

With the Colourform theme pack you get:

• 58 more widgets for phones & tablets – 2 – 1×1 / 5 – 2×1/ 36 – 4×1 / 12 – 4×2 / 1 – 6×1 / 2 – 6×2 (tablets)
• ICS / JB style
• tons of color settings w/ full color range
• background opacity, tiles, & textures
• new Quick Settings & Indicators
• more Roboto fonts including the 4.2 hipster clock

Check out their demo video below and hit one of the download links to get started.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link – Colourform HDW Theme Pack

Play Store Download Link – HD Widgets

Come comment on this article: Colourform (HDW theme pack) for HD Widgets officially out of Beta

We already reported that Samsung is planning on opening Experience Shops within Best Buy stores, but what we didn’t know was how many stores. According to a press release, the plan is for 1400 stores. You can expect to see 900 stores by early May with the remainder to follow by early summer. The emphasis will be on mobile products such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, connected cameras, and accessories.

Best Buy is one of the more popular electronics retailers so this makes sense for Samsung. Instead of opening full-fledged stores, this is more cost effective. Samsung is planning on selling 500 million smartphones this year, and Experience Stores like these can only help them achieve their goal. Hit the break for the full press release.

SAMSUNG JOINS FORCES WITH BEST BUY TO PROVIDE CONSUMERS A UNIQUE MOBILE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

Samsung Experience Shops in 1,400 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores creates a destination where consumers can experience Samsung’s extensive mobile ecosystem of products and learn how they work together from dedicated Samsung experts

Richardson, TX – April 4, 2013 – Samsung Electronics announced today a unique relationship with Best Buy, the world’s largest consumer electronics retailer, centered on retail innovation for customers to explore, purchase, activate and service the broadest portfolio of Samsung mobile products and accessories. The Samsung Experience Shop™ will be installed in more than 1,400 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores across the U.S. beginning this month. By early May, 900 Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile specialty stores will feature the Samsung Experience Shop, with the remainder launching by early summer.

At the Samsung Experience Shops, consumers can experience Samsung’s full range of mobile products including smartphones, tablets, laptops, connected cameras and accessories, all in one location. The shops enable consumers to interact with and buy Samsung’s latest mobile products and experience how the devices connect together to enrich their lives.

Select Best Buy stores will have Samsung Smart Service™, which includes dedicated Samsung Experience Consultants™ and Best Buy blue shirt sales associates to assist customers with purchasing and activating mobile products on the carrier of their choice, understanding their device and supporting them throughout the lifecycle of their product. The specially trained Samsung Experience Consultants will assist with product demonstrations, basic product services, Samsung account set up, warranty registration and post purchase support.

“Samsung has been delivering the latest innovation across the consumer electronics category for some time,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Telecommunications America. “With the Samsung Experience Shops, we are ensuring consumers get the most of that innovation by learning how to leverage their mobile devices across our ecosystem of consumer electronics. Consumers will have one place to not only explore and learn about our full portfolio of mobile products, but also the support of a Samsung expert to help with selecting and servicing them. This will truly be a unique mobile shopping experience.”

The shops vary in size, with the largest being approximately 460 square feet. Within the larger shops, the Samsung Connected Solutions™ area creates a place for customers to see how easily Samsung devices connect and share content across multiple screens.

“We look forward to showcasing Samsung products in the Samsung Experience Shop in all Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile locations. This is part of our Renew Blue transformation strategy – working closely with vendor partners to innovate and drive value, while also updating our stores to focus on growing and profitable categories,” said Shawn Score, head of U.S. Retail for Best Buy. “Our promise to our customers is simple: we’re committed to providing the best value, service and selection. Our partnership with Samsung on the Samsung Experience Shop is another way we’re delivering on that promise.”

In addition to the in-store experience, a Samsung Experience Shop launches today online – www.bestbuy.com/samsungexperienceshop – featuring product shopping aisles and a full overview of the Samsung Experience Shop.

Come comment on this article: Samsung Experience Shops coming to 1400 Best Buy Stores

If you’re an accessory fiend and you really want the “official” stuff, Google has you covered. They just released three brand new accessories to go along with your Nexus 4. You can grab a wired headset with microphone for $19.99, a Micro USB cable for $9.99, or a Power Adapter for $15.99. All appear to be in stock and should arrive at your doorstep within 3 to 5 business days. More images and Play Store links after the break.

sources: Google Play – Wired Headset / Micro USB / Power Adapter

Come comment on this article: New and official Nexus 4 accessories hit the Google Play Store

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Guides

What you need to know about the T-Mobile Simple Choice Plan

Apps

Google targeting all business users by making QuickOffice available for free for all Google Apps users

Rovio’s social-based Angry Birds Friends game officially on the way to mobile devices

Twitter Goes Holo in New Update

Flipboard gets minor update to support hover actions

Carriers

AT&T Launches 4G LTE In 14 New Markets

Google

Sources speculate as to why Android’s Rubin is starting new chapter

Phones

First look at Facebook Home UI

Mid-range Samsung Galaxy Win leaked courtesy of Vietnamese retailer

Samsung working on new generation Galaxy Ace device

Samsung announces the stylish and compact Galaxy Star and Galaxy Pocket Neo

AT&T Clarifies Galaxy S 4 Pricing

Tablets

Updated Nexus 7 with Qualcomm Snapdragon and better display coming in July

Updates

LG Optimus G on AT&T beginning to receive Jelly Bean update

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity to receive Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update

Miscellenous

Man Behind HTC One Camera Talks More About The UltraPixel

Samsung sets new goal: 500 million handsets in 2013

Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

 

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 3, 2013

The Galaxy S 4 will be the most successful phone for Samsung this year, but there is still a huge market for entry-level phones. They just announced the Galaxy Star and Galaxy Pocket Neo, which will end up in emerging markets. The only glaring difference between the two phones is the CPU. The Galaxy Star comes in at 1GHz, while the Pocket Neo comes in at 850MHz. You will also find a digital compass on the Pocket Neo as well. Both phones feature a 3-inch QVGA (320 x 240) display, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory, microSD slot for expandable memory, 2MP rear camera, dual-SIM capability, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

No word on pricing or availability yet, but I can’t imagine they will be too expensive.

source: Samsung

Come comment on this article: Samsung announces the stylish and compact Galaxy Star and Galaxy Pocket Neo

We already reported that the next Nexus 7 will sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU instead of the current NVIDIA Tegra 3, and Reuters is now confirming it. Also unsurprisingly, they are reporting that it will have a better display. We expect the next generation Nexus 7 to be unveiled at Google I/O in May, but Reuters is saying that it won’t be available till July.

Pricing is going to be key now that Amazon has lowered their pricing. Google may choose to stick with the $199/$249 plan, but there is a rumor that they will drop to $149/$199. I believe they will opt for the latter, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they drop the price of the Nexus 10 around the same time.

source: Reuters

Come comment on this article: Updated Nexus 7 with Qualcomm Snapdragon and better display coming in July

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Reviews

Strategy & Tactics: World War II [Arcade & Action]

Fynch for Twitter [Social]

Apps

WWE Presents: Rockpocalypse now available in Google Play Store

3DMark comes to Android platform, now available in Google Play Store

Carriers

AT&T Working on HD Voice capabilities for its customers due for arrival later this year

Are Verizon and AT&T Working on a Vodafone Buy Out Deal? Verizon Says No

Google

Androidbooks, as in Android notebooks, could show up by Q3

Hardware

ARM Teams Up With TSMC To Create First 16nm Cortex-A57 Processor

Phones

Facebook phone images leak, likely to be called the HTC First

AT&T to offer the HTC One smartphone April 19th, will start from $199.99

Add Sprint to list of carriers offering HTC One on April 19th

LG confirms Optimus G Pro sales have already topped the 500,000 unit mark

Verizon Offering Dual-Core LG Lucid 2 For Free Starting April 4

Samsung Fonblet now known as Galaxy Mega and will come in two sizes

AT&T’s Galaxy S 4 hits the FCC

Tablets

$79.99 7-inch tablet from Ematic hits the market, powered by Android 4.1

Updates

Want to know if your HTC phone will get Sense 5 with Android 4.2.2? Here’s the latest list

 

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 2, 2013

We recently reviewed SayIt Voice Launcher from Rn Software, and they just came out with another very cool app called Fynch for Twitter. Although it integrates with the official Twitter app, it’s not a full-fledged Twitter client. It’s a tool for enhancing your experience. Twitter timelines can be very overwhelming, which could result in you missing a lot of stuff. For example, everyone you follow might not tweet 100 times per day. Some of them only tweet once every few days, but that doesn’t mean those tweets aren’t important to you. Fynch will notify you of any activity from those less active users. Fynch will also tell you when someone starts tweeting a lot more than usual, which is perfect for breaking news stories or events. Last but not least, Fynch will also let you know when someone you follow mentions a trending topic.

The best part of Fynch, other than it works great, is that there isn’t much to set up. Fynch does everything on it’s own based on it’s own algorithm concerning the people you follow. Once you install the app, it will take a day or two to get going as it analyzes the people you follow. The other cool thing is that it learns from your actions as well. For example, if you constantly ignore certain people, Fynch will know not to report it to you anymore. What’s really nice is how Fynch condenses the tweets. For example, if I get notified that one of the Boston sports writers I follow just Tweeted 5 times in 15 minutes, I will be able to see all 5 tweets together. With other Twitter clients it’s more cumbersome to get that information. Again, Fynch isn’t a client and it won’t replace your Twitter client of choice. It makes Twitter better.

If there is one negative, it is that you can’t open links within tweets, reply, retweet, or favorite unless you have the official Twitter app. When you tap on an individual tweet, it will automatically open it in the official Twitter app if you have it installed. At this point you can take the appropriate action. For now, it will only integrate with the official Twitter app, but they are likely to add more popular Twitter clients in the near future. If you don’t have the official Twitter app installed, you can still get Fynch notifications, and still be able to read the entire tweet. You just won’t be able to do those things I mentioned.

As I stated above, Fynch works on its own without the need for you to do anything, but there are a couple of tweaks that you can make. You can set how often Fynch will notify you as well as how sensitive to make the algorithm. You can set notifications for either 5, 10, 15, or 30 minutes and you can tell Fynch to be either conservative, moderate, or liberal. You don’t get a notification for each tweet, you simply get notified for how many Fynches you have.

So far, I’m loving it during sporting events since the beat writers are always tweeting more often during the games. Being able to get each person’s most recent tweets on one page in a quick fashion is ideal. Also, since I follow a lot of people who don’t tweet constantly, those tweets aren’t getting lost in the shuffle.

Fynch is absolutely Free, so give it a try. Check out my hands on video below and hit one of the download links to get started. Let me know what you think.

Features:

• Automatically analyzes your timeline for interesting patterns of activity.
• Carbon fiber holo theme.
• Google Now style cards.
• Expandable inbox style notifications (Jelly Bean+).
• Uses notification priorities (Jelly Bean+).

Requirements:

• A Twitter account.
• The official Twitter app if you want to reply to, retweet, or favorite a tweet.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Featured Android App Review: Fynch for Twitter [Social]

HeroCraft is at is again with yet another game to add to their incredible repertoire in the Play Store. This one is called Strategy & Tactics: World War II, and it’s a lot like RISK or other similar strategy games. You won’t find explosions or special effects, it’s simply pure strategy. The game takes place during World War II, and in the first part of the game you will command the Axis to conquer Europe. Later, you will command the armies of the USSR and Allies to retake it. The game offers three play modes: play against the computer AI, 2-player (hotseat), and 2-player over WiFi.

Gameplay is pretty simple, but accomplishing the task isn’t necessarily the case. Early on in the game, you will start with just soldiers, but eventually you will be able to utilize vehicles and planes. You job is to take over certain regions depending on the mission, of which there are 18 in all. You simply move your armies into nearby regions with the hopes of surrounding the enemy and taking it over. There are two ways to figure out if you will win an attack. For example, you are given a certain amount of soldiers. If you have 10 soldiers in region A and your opponent has 5 soldiers in region B, there’s a good chance you will win. The other factor is the meter below your soldiers icon, which tells you how weak they are. You can split up your soldiers as in divide and conquer or keep them together. You can also attack from multiple locations at the same time to increase your chances. If you find that you don’t have enough forces, and you will, you can ”buy” more soldiers, vehicles, and planes depending on how much currency you have earned while playing the game. Just like any other game like this, you can cut to the chase, and use your own hard earned cash as well.

There is a really good tutorial at the beginning of the game, but I found that I had to go through it two times since the game itself can be a little overwhelming. Sometimes it’s hard to tell how many moves you’re allowed to make per turn and it can also be cumbersome in the way you move your forces as in it’s not simply a tap or a drag. You have to choose if you’re attacking, moving, or assisting the attack. It’s also strange in that you are forced to attack regions in which there are no enemies occupying it. For example, if your opponent was in a region, and moves out of it, you can’t just move your soldiers there. You have to attack that region even though there isn’t anyone to fight.

Still, I found this game to be pretty addictive, and I had a hard time putting it down. If you really like strategy games, you will want to check this one out. The one negative is the price. It’s $4.99. Now $4.99 for a good game is not too much to ask for, but usually when an an app or game costs that much, it’s the last purchase you will need to make. As I mentioned earlier, you’re given the option to buy more troops through in game currency or in app purchases. You can probably conquer the game without app purchases, but it won’t be easy. There is always that thought that comes into your head, “Can this really be done without purchasing something, or by including in app purchases, are they telling me that it’s impossible if I don’t?”

Check out my hands on video below as well as their trailer, and hit one of the download links to get started. As always, let me know what you think.

Features

• 3 full campaigns with 18 historical missions
• Play multiplayer across different smartphones and tablets
• Realistic global strategy with historically-accurate maps
• A wide array of game modes
• Juggle military, economic and scientific development
• Several hardcore scenarios and a endlessly replayable skirmish mode

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link

Come comment on this article: Featured Android Game Review: Strategy & Tactics: World War II [Arcade & Action]

Over the weekend, we told you that the HTC One X would get the Sense 5 update along with Android 4.2.2, but that can’t be the only device can it? Although this information isn’t confirmed by HTC, it comes from @LlabTooFeR, who has a very good track record when it comes to updates. If you own any of the following phones, you can expect to see Sense 5 with Android 4.2.2. Unfortunately we really don’t know when the updates will take place, but all things point to the summer. Just like any other update, expect further delays for the carrier-branded ones, but this is good news for a lot of consumers still in contract. Hit the break for the complete list.

• DROID DNA (DLX_WL)
• Butterfly – Taiwan (DLXB1_U)
• One X (Endeavor_U)
• One X+ (ENRC2B_U)
• One XL (Evita_UL)
• One X+ USA (Evitare_UL)
• DROID Incredible 4G LTE (Fireball_WL)
• EVO 4G LTE – (Jewel_CL)

It is also believed that the One S (Ville) and the Butterfly (DLX_U) will also get the update, but it hasn’t been confirmed.

source: @LlabTooFeR

Come comment on this article: Want to know if your HTC phone will get Sense 5 with Android 4.2.2? Here’s the latest list

Ever since Sundar Pichai took over the Android team, rumors started to swirl that Chrome and Android would merge since Sundar is also in charge of Google Chrome at Google. Shortly after, Eric Schmidt put a kibosh to that by saying they will remain separate, but to expect more overlap. As you know, Chrome is primarily in notebook computers, and the closest thing we have seen of Android on a notebook would be the ASUS Transformer series. The DigiTimes is reporting that Androidbooks, as in Android notebooks, are coming this fall.

It wasn’t mentioned in the report, but if the Androidbook were to have a detacheable display, I’m not sure what more it would offer over the Transformer line. Of course, it they were to be similar to the Chromebooks, where the display is permanently attached, it would be inferior. If there really is an Androidbook in the works, what makes the most sense is for it to not only have a detachable display, but it should also have both Chrome and Android with the ability to boot into either OS. I’m very interested to see what this rumor develops into.

source: DigiTimes

Come comment on this article: Androidbooks, as in Android notebooks, could show up by Q3

When we first heard about the Samsung Fonblet, it was rumored to have a 5.8-inch display. Then last week, a 6.3-inch version showed up in Samsung’s Global Download Center. Word is they aren’t going with the “Fonblet” name, and instead going with “Galaxy Mega.” It also appears that there will indeed be two devices. The smaller 5.8-inch version has a model number of GT-i9152, and the larger 6.3-inch version will be GT-i9200. Expect the 5.8-inch version to only be offered in white and to be available by the end of May. The 6.3-inch should be available by the middle of June and will be offered in both white and black.

source: SamMobile

Come comment on this article: Samsung Fonblet now known as Galaxy Mega and will come in two sizes