Category Archives: Misc

Google Launches New Developer Portal, Makes First Google+ API Available

Posted by on September 15, 2011 No comments

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All you developers out there listen up: Google’s been cooking something up for you. That something is a new developers’ portal that’ll keep you updated on the latest news, events and announcements for your coding lifestyle.

To commemorate the launch, they’ve finally released the first of many APIs to come for Google+. This one is simple – it’ll allow developers to read the public posts of a user after the user has granted that application permission to do so.

There are a few different use cases where this could be employed and Google’s left it up to you guys to make it happen.

That’s not even scratching the surface, though. This is the only API available for the time being, but Google has mentioned they will be bringing many more Google+ APIs in the near future. Get started here and here. [Source, Via]

Amazon Registers AmazonBoomerang.com – What is It?

Posted by on September 12, 2011 No comments

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After Amazon went and secured KindleScribe.com and KindleScribes.com, it seems they have something else called the Amazon Boomerang as they’ve registered AmazonBoomerang.com. I should note that we have no idea what this could be – Amazon has yet to file a trademark with such a name (from what we can find) that could have given a bit of insight into what we’re expecting. This could be a phone, a tablet, or even a popcorn maker. But you all know we’re hoping this will be that second device with Android we keep hearing Amazon will be bringing. [Fusible]

Guy Turns His Love for Android Into a Tattoo [Video]

Posted by on September 9, 2011 13 comments

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Think you love Android more than this guy? Guess again. In a video about brand loyalty, a narrator backdrops the scene of a Phandroid reader named Steve who loves Android so much that he’s willing to get it tattooed on his leg. It’s a real tattoo, too – no rub on here. Our mascot is highly detailed and looks to be cruising on a skateboard, something I’m sure many Cyanogen users have seen time and time again. I say kudos to Steve and the awesome tattooist who got Andy down perfectly. Check the video out above! [The Brand Show, Thanks Steve!]

Motorola DROID Bionic User Manual Now Available for Download

Posted by on September 1, 2011 1 comment

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Here’s another piece of the puzzle leading up to an imminent September 8th launch of the DROID Bionic. A user manual for the phone has found its way online. It’s nothing but the boring, usual stuff you’d see in most user manuals – showing you how to add contacts, open emails and the like – but it’s there for your perusal anyway. It’s a .PDF download and you can get it by right clicking this link. [Droid-Life via AndroidForums.com]

Motorola DROID Bionic Twitter Account is Fake

Posted by on August 29, 2011 No comments

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You’ve probably seen “confirmation” of the DROID Bionic’s September 8th release date running rampant. This is due to a @DroidBionic twitter account that posted such information, claiming it to be “official” and posing as an officially-sanctioned account of Verizon’s answer release questions and generating buzz.

Unfortunately, we must inform you all that this account is a fake as confirmed by Verizon and Motorola themselves. We figured as much due to the fact that whoever was behind that account typed like they’d just graduated from the third grade.

We also kind of have a knack for how to spot out who’s PR and who’s not, so we didn’t elect to report the rumor when it originally started to spread. And that’s the story – don’t trust ANYTHING you read on that twitter account (though we still encourage you to keep an eye out on September 8th). [via PCMag]

HTC Sense 3.5 Gets Spotted in Screenshots

Posted by on August 25, 2011 No comments

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Wondering what the next major version of HTC Sense will look like now that some of the world has gotten a taste of 3.0? The always-insightful folks at XDA.cn got their paws on screenshots of the UI known as HTC Sense. It’s said to be called HTC Sense 3.5. That’s quite a big leap from 3.0, but if we’re judging by these initial shots then there’s not much new to see here.

Everything looks fairly the same save for the new bottom area for launching the app tray and the phone dialer. There are also what look to be widgets on the homescreen, though we can’t say for sure. Finally, HTC Watch seems to have gotten a bit more polish and shine.

The biggest change that users won’t “see”, though, is that HTC Sense 3.5 will supposedly be able to run on devices that don’t have huge, beefy processors. As you know, only the HTC Sensation and the HTC EVO 3D officially support Sense 3.0, leaving a whole lot of other HTC owners out of the party.

We hope to see more of this UI, but more than that we’re wondering what phones we’ll see it on. According to XDA.cn, the HTC Bliss will be the first that has yet to be released but let’s keep our fingers crossed for an eventual release on other handsets.

Not sure when to expect it, either, so all we can do is sit and wait for the time being.

Verizon Users in New York Having Weird GPS Issues, We’ve Got a Temporary Fix For You [Forum Talk]

Posted by on August 22, 2011 No comments

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The HTC Droid Incredible section at AndroidForums.com was filled to the brim with users on Verizon – who also happen to live in New York – having GPS issue. Some users were getting GPS coordinates placing them in Spain and France, while others weren’t able to receive a lock at all. There’s also a sizable thread going over at Google’s support forums.

We’re not exactly sure if Verizon is aware of what’s going on, but we’ll ping them just in case. In the meantime, a user at AndroidForums.com has come through with a temporary workd-around that many users are reporting does well to fix their issue. You’ll have to repeat this process every time you reboot the phone, but it’s better than nothing. Look below for the simple steps, and be sure to thank AndroidForums.com user csg261 as he is our benefactor for this one.

We also hear that getting the latest official Gingerbread build will do the trick – more on that in a bit.

turn on gps

activate airplane mode

run gps test by mike lockwood – menu>clear aiding data

exit airplane mode

satellites seen and lock

Huawei IDEOS Making a Big Splash in Kenya

Posted by on August 17, 2011 No comments

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While we sit around speculating for months at a time over the next big handset and bitterly complain about the cost of carrier contracts, it is often easy to overlook that there are some areas of the world where mobile phones, especially smartphones, are out of reach for a majority of the population. Thanks to Huawei and their low cost IDEOS handset running Android, for the first time one such area is seeing a flourish in smartphone use. Over 350,000 Kenyans have purchased the $80 Huawei IDEOS since its launch on Safaricom earlier this year. This is still a pretty amazing figure considering nearly 40 percent of the Kenyan population survives on a meager $2 per day or less.

The phone is nowhere near the heavy hitters we drop hundreds of dollars on here in the US and other developed parts of the world, but it is far from anything those living in Kenya have ever had access to. The introduction of such smartphones has the potential to create a huge impact on the peoples of developing nations. Agriculture and healthcare apps will provide those in areas still heavily dependent on farming and far removed from cities with their large and capable hospitals with quick access to tools to increase productivity, educate, and diagnose.

The Kenyan smartphone boom also illustrates a decisive advantage that Android holds over its competition. The ability for OEMs to implement lowcost solutions catered to specific world regions opens up a large market for the mobile platform. It would be hard to imagine Apple devising an $80 iProduct. Huawei has been known for their budget priced offerings in China and more recently branching out to the US and Europe, where they offer competitively priced options for entry-level smartphone users and beyond.

We often hear stories of technology being used in ways that negatively impact society, strip the land of its resources, and turn people against each other. Is it that outlandish to hope that a simple smartphone could bring about a wave of change for the underprivileged?

[via SingularityHub]

Nokia Tries to Remain Relevant By Commenting on Google/Moto Acquisition

Posted by on August 16, 2011 No comments

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I’m not one to usually lash out at Android’s competitors when they comment on industry happenings, but Nokia’s comment on the Google’s acquisition of Motorola makes no sense to me. It screams “read me, I need my name to be relevant because, as of now, it isn’t.” Here’s the statement in question:

“This further reinforces our belief that opportunities for the growth of Nokia’s smartphone business will be greatest with Windows Phone. This could prove to be a massive catalyst for the Windows Phone ecosystem. Additionally, with our respective intellectual property portfolios, Nokia and Microsoft are working together to build and nurture an innovative ecosystem that benefits consumers, operators, developers and other device manufacturers.”

It makes no sense to me because I don’t see how the acquisition could be a “major catalyst” for them and I don’t see how Nokia believes this will help them. For the time being, the acquisition is about patents and protecting Android.

Google didn’t take a competitor off the market and the acquisition won’t change anything on the forefront. This acquisition isn’t going to get a Windows-based phone out of the door any faster and it certainly won’t help revive their free-falling market share. You’re staring to sound like a bitter old hag, Nokia. In short, we don’t want to hear it. [Engadget]

HTC Making a Major News Announcement Tomorrow

Posted by on August 10, 2011 No comments

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This just popped into our (and seemingly every body else’s) inbox – HTC says they’ll be making a “major news announcement” tomorrow morning during an 11:30am (eastern) teleconference. That was it – no hints, no nothing. A device? A new HTC media store? A unicorn? Whatever it is, we’ll be here to report it all tomorrow. What do you guys think it’ll be?