Motorola’s Release of “Developer Edition” RAZR Ignites Online Protest, MOSH 2.0 Commenced

Well I thought most folks would be excited about the fact that Motorola is releasing an unlockable edition of the Droid RAZR, however that move is leaving a bad taste in their mouthes. While it does lend to the saying “give an inch, take a mile,” I can honestly see why. Those that recently bought the locked RAZR feel slighted, bamboozled or hoodwinked in the release of this device; so much in fact that disgruntled Motorola users are joining forces and starting online petitions. These petitions are in an effort to raise awareness to Motorola’s lack of follow through in regards to promises of unlocking bootloaders.

Operation: MOSH (Make Ourselves Heard) is out to raise awareness much like they did last year when they applied pressure to Motorola to unlock their bootloaders in the first place. Motorola promised to comply back in January of 2011, and again in April and also stated that we would see bootloaders unlocked on all their devices by the end of 2011. Given that we are almost through the first month of 2012 and we have yet to see an unlocked bootloader until now; people are frustrated that their devices are still locked up tighter than Fort Knox. The demands of this movement are quite basic. They are:

“To let Moto know that this ‘Developer Edition’ had better be available either as a trade for our devices, paying the difference, or not at all, since we all bought our devices in hopes that they would keep their word in the first place.”

If you are one of these folks that want to get on board you can sign the online petition by hitting the source link below for starters. If that isn’t far enough for you, you can email Moto executives, file FCC complaints and so on. All those details and links can be found on the XDA thread here. Here’s hoping that Motorola understands and is sympathetic to your frustrations, but like all movements of change you must first make yourself heard. Good luck.

source: MOSH Online Petition
via:  Phandroid

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Categorized as Android Carriers, Android Customization, Android Development, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Phones

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Galaxy Strike – Blast Aliens in this Nimble Spacer Shooter

Posted Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 1:25 pm by Antonio Wells Comments

Galaxy Strike is a simple space shooting game where your objective is to blast aliens that appear, collect diamonds through 60 levels and staying alive long enough to save the galaxy! Does it hold your attention long enough… lets find out in the review.

Price: Free

Tested on: Nexus One
Content Rating: Medium Maturity

Pros

Simple and casual game to pick up and play; OK time-waster.

Cons

Not much substance here; no real goals, a little too easy to play, no skill involved, no replay value and no extra end of level excitement such as bosses.Repetitive and easy to conquer.

Galaxy Strike is an easy to pick up time-waster space shooter game. Your goal is to basically stay alive by not getting shot by alien invaders and pick up blue diamonds, which boost your single pea-shooter to a triple blaster, through 60 levels of repetitive gameplay. It features Papaya mobile social network, you can match your high scores against friends and others on the network, or choose to check-in to Heyzap to let friends know what game you’re playing. To shoot, you simply tap your ship, and you move by tapping around the screen. If you get hit, you start all over to your unlock point and return to your single pea-shooter.

Now for the gripes… This game is almost pointless as there are no real goals to achieve and it’s awfully repetitive. It truly misses the basic characteristics any game must possess in order to be fun with replay value. I’ve already mentioned the lack of goals, it’s also super easy to play and beat by simply getting one blue diamonds and tapping repeatedly, about a quarter distance to the top and a three-quarters distance to the bottom of your screen to spray a barrage of infinite bullets. This virtually wipes out all aliens that may appear leaving you breezy room to snag an occasional diamond that may float past. Every now and again an enemy may get a shot off but you can easily dodge that. Not to mention when you to tap on the screen your ship just appears there versus flying there, thus, dodging enemy fire is a no-brainer as you can disappear/reappear out of line of fire. Whereas if the ship flew there it could be more challenging as you could possibly be hit. So the game does not have limits on your shooting power which force you to count your shots to really think and play. Lastly, there is not even a Pause or Menu feature to stop the action.

Galaxy Strike is fun for all of forty-five seconds until you realize it’s basically the same repetitive gameplay. Especially if you implore my previously mentioned tactics to play. It’s so bad, my personal challenge was to see how many levels I could beat without looking at the screen. This time-waster my friends is not if worth a waste of your time.

The graphics are good, simple and theming is suitable of the game. However, in all the levels I could bare with there was no change in scenery.

The background music is this funky upbeat primal number that is cool, but you notice the gap in the loop.

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Motorola RAZR Developer Edition coming soon with unlockable bootloader

For everyone that has been complaining about Motorola locking their bootloaders I’m sure this is going to… well let’s be honest this is probably just going to tick you off too.

Motorola has announced via their blog that a new version of the Motorola RAZR will be coming first to Europe and then to the U.S. “in the coming months.” This is a spin on the original RAZR, not the recently released RAZR MAXX, and will be known as the RAZR Developer Edition. The big headling feature of this newest rendition of the RAZR is an unlockable bootloader. While there has been something of a hue and cry from the Android population over Motorola’s steadfast locking of their bootloaders it seems unlikely that anyone’s ideal solution was yet another SKU in the RAZR family.

The full text of their post can be found below as they have subsequently pulled it from their blog. The date on their post was January 30th so someone probably just pulled the trigger on it a bit early.

Motorola is quick to attribute the need for locked bootloaders on their phones to “carrier and regulatory obligations” which is a bit puzzling considering other manufacturers don’t appear to be similarly hampered.

What are your thoughts on this move? Are you pleased that Motorola is at least making a product with an unlocked bootloader available to consumers or do you feel that they are letting current owners down by not finding a way to allow them this same freedom?

Show Press Release

We have some news for the community of people interested in unlockable/relockable bootloaders. Today, we announced a step forward in Europe with the availability of an unlockable version of our most in-demand product: the Motorola RAZR™ Developer Edition. This solution allows us to continue meeting our carrier and regulatory obligations, but also meets the needs being expressed by our developer community.

In the coming months, we also plan to introduce an unlockable developer device in the United States through MOTODEV, Motorola’s global developer network. Stay tuned to Motorola’s Developer site for additional info.

EU-based consumers can pre-order the Motorola RAZR Developer Edition through the Motorola Shop. Post-purchase, the MOTODEV site will contain all support info for unlocking, relocking and locating build files, as well as access to additional developer resources. The Developer Edition will have all the same great features as the Motorola RAZR: an impossibly thin design, hyper-vibrant Super AMOLED Advanced display, KEVLAR(R) fiber and more.

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Waze Social Navigation App Updated To 3.0, Brings Twitter And Facebook To Your Morning Commutes

 

The popular social navigation and GPS app Waze has been updated to version 3.0. In case you’re not familiar, Waze gives you not only a free traffic & navigation app, but the app also encourages users to become part of the local driving community in your area, joining forces with other drivers nearby to outsmart traffic, save time, and improve everyone’s daily commute. In addition to having the ability to create or join local driving groups or link up with other drivers for carpooling, users will now find even more social integration with built-in Foursquare, Twitter and of course, Facebook support. Hit the break for the full presser and Android Market link.

Waze, the World’s Fastest-Growing Driving Community Launches v3.0 for Android; Crowd Goes Wild

Foursquare & Yelp Integration Brings Social Layer to Android Navigation

(Palo Alto, Ca.) January 31, 2012 — Waze, the now 12 million-strong community of traffic resistors is happy to announce the newest tool in the battle against traffic: version 3.0 for Android. The latest iteration of the app features a complete overhaul from the ground up, including a new minimalist graphic interface as well as Foursquare and Yelp POI integration to make it the most powerful local search navigation system on the market.

New Minimalist UI

The new graphic redesign takes full advantage of Android phones’ screen size by minimizing the Waze interface to display only 2 large buttons on a full screen map. In addition, a new display of traffic and events en route helps drivers makes the smartest travel choices before they leave. The guidance system has also been amplified with large fonts and complete text-to-speech capabilities for optimized hands-free navigation — plus the new aesthetic gives the app a little more swagger and style.

The New Social Location Stack

Traditional GPS systems are built on static, old world maps and points of interest, which never reflect real-time information about new businesses, pop-up shops, or live local events. The new social eco-system provides a combination of consumer-generated data from people driving, checking in, and reviewing locations in real-time. This layer of social location information is now available to drivers in a navigation setting. With community-curated data from Waze, Foursquare, and Yelp, drivers can now search for real-time events as easily as they would find their local Walmart.

#1 Transportation App With 87,000 Reviews & 4 ½ Stars

The Waze Android community sure is passionate about outsmarting traffic together. Waze is consistently number one in the free transportation apps in the Android Marketplace, maintaining a steady 4 ½ star rating from nearly 87,000 reviews; nearly 5 times the count of the next most popular app.

Waze is available for free in the Android Marketplace or at http://m.waze.com.

About Waze

Waze is a social traffic & navigation app based on the world’s largest community of drivers sharing real time road info and contributing to the “common good” out there on the road. By simply driving around with Waze open users passively contribute traffic and other road data. Users can take a more active role by sharing road reports on accidents, police traps, or any other hazards along the way, helping to give other users in the area a ‘heads-up’ about what’s to come– and because it’s 100% user-generated, the more people who use Waze, the better (and more fun) it gets!

Android Market

 

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Categorized as Android Applications, Android News, Android Software

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Formspring Makes Its Way To Android, Now Available In The Android Market

Are you a part of the almost 30 million Formspring users but felt left out in the Android app dept?  Your time has come now that Formspring has officially delivered an Android application.  Check out the social network on your smartphone while on the go as it allows you to arrange small question and answer forums for your family and friends.  You can ask questions, toss in photos and even embed a video for all to share.

With the official Formspring Android App, you can respond to friends on the go, ask questions, and share photos to get your friends’ responses to just about anything from anywhere.

Features: 
* Ask a question to your friends and contacts. 
* Send photos from anywhere and get responses. 
* Respond to questions with text or a photo. 
* Smile at responses, and see who smiled at yours. 
* Choose to follow publicly or privately.

The only issue reported by users with this application is that if you’re a Galaxy Nexus owner, it tends to excessively force close. So, if you jumped on the G-Nex train when it launched, you’ll have to patiently wait for the dev to push out an update.  Other than that, you should be golden. Ready for the download?  Check out the Android Market link below or feel free to scan the QR code for an even added convenience.  Enjoy.

» See more articles by Joe Sirianni

Categorized as Android Applications, Android Customization, Android News

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A look at the first Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4 benchmark scores

When it comes to new phones, we’re all a little curious as to how they’ll perform when compared to devices currently on the market. Since Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960) CPU with Adreno 225 GPU will be all the rage at Mobile World Congress next month, you can probably imagine our ecstasy to see the first benchmark scores for the new chip hit the web.

Over the weekend, a mysterious device running Android 4.0.3 with a 1024×600 resolution display (a typical resolution for 7-inch Android tablets) hit NenaMark’s website, posting a score of 54.9 for NenaMark2. A score of 54.9 may not sound much higher than the 46.2 the Samsung Galaxy S II received running on a Cortex-A9 paired with the Mali-400MP GPU, but it does translate into an 18.8% performance increase. Add in that the mysterious device is pushing 60% more pixels than GSII, and you have yourself a pretty impressive feat.

Benchmark scores don’t always paint a full picture of how a device will perform in the real world, but they do give us an idea of how a device will be able to handle 3D gaming and multitasking. While we only have one benchmark to go on, it looks like the Snapdragon S4 chip will live up to the high expectations that Qualcomm has set before us.

How many of you are looking forward to purchasing a new phone powered by a Snapdragon S4 chip in the near future?

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Google Kicks Off Android Developers Google+ Page, Encourages Hangouts and More

Today, Google made another step in the right direction in its latest effort to further engage with the Android development community by announcing the launch of the Android Developers Google+ page. The page is intended as “a place for Android developers everywhere to meet, share, and connect with the people behind the Android developer experience”. Even if you aren’t a developer this should be an interesting page to keep an eye on.

From Google’s recent addition of the Android developers Blog, Google Groups, Holo and the new style guide, and now G+, it clearly seems that the big G wants to make Android a more inviting place for developers. Not only will these outlets provide a place for devs to get together, it should prove to help Google in keeping everyone on the same page.

It kinda seems like god ol’ Andy’s all grown up now, huh? He isn’t just a cute little kid anymore… *sniffle*. So anyway, if you want to keep tabs on Google’s new Android developers G+ page be sure to hit the link below and add them to your circles. You never know if/when Andy might stop by!

Android dev. Google+

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Samsung Galaxy Note Super Bowl commercial to be 90-seconds and was directed by Bobby Farrelly

Yesterday Samsung announced on Twitter they would run a commercial on the upcoming AT&T Galaxy Note during the 4th quarter of this Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI, and that it would be “one of the longest in the game.”

Samsung PR just told us it will actually be a 90-second spot and it was directed by Bobby Farrelly, who along with his brother Peter, created some of the funniest movies of all time: There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and Fever Pitch.

“During the past six months we’ve launched the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus and now the Galaxy Note super phone in North America bringing unparalleled innovation to the marketplace,” said Todd Pendleton, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Telecommunications America.  “The Galaxy Note ushers in the era of truly personalized communications, allowing people to capture, share and create like never before.”

This is one commercial I’m looking forward to.

Full press release after the break

Samsung Launching Revolutionary Galaxy Note Super Phone with 90-second Super Bowl Commercial

DALLAS – January 31, 2012 – Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S.1, is launching a revolutionary super phone, the Galaxy Note™ in the first-ever Super Bowl ad in the technology giant’s 71-year history.

“During the past six months we’ve launched the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus and now the Galaxy Note super phone in North America bringing unparalleled innovation to the marketplace,” said Todd Pendleton, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Telecommunications America.  “The Galaxy Note ushers in the era of truly personalized communications, allowing people to capture, share and create like never before.”

The game changing Galaxy Note required a launch platform just as significant which is why Samsung chose the largest event in North America to unveil this product – Super Bowl XLVI.

Samsung handpicked  Bobby Farrelly to direct his first ever TV commercial.  Farrelly, along with his brother, Peter, created the famous comedy films There’s Something About Mary,Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and Fever Pitch.

Another Super Bowl commercial first is Samsung using footage shot by the Galaxy Note’s HD-quality video camera in the ad.  Samsung is also one of the advertisers in the inaugural livestream of the Super Bowl broadcast.

The Galaxy Note ad will air during the 4th quarter of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5th.

An extensive digital and social campaign will accompany the ad release with Samsung Mobile US Facebook and Twitter followers gaining exclusive access to content and giveaways.

The Samsung Galaxy Note will be available for pre-order starting February 5th and go on sale at AT&T and Best Buy Stores nationwide on February 19th.

Key Product Features of the Samsung Galaxy Note include:

·         Integrated S Pen™ Solution·         5.3? HD Super AMOLED™ Screen (1280×800)·         Smartphone Portability with the Power of a Tablet·         Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE™)·         1.5GHz Dual-core Processor·         Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread + TouchWiz®·         Kies Air·         AllShare™·         Social Hub·         Media Hub HD·         Enabled for 4G LTE·         8.0 Megapixel Rear-facing Camera with LED Flash·         2.0 Megapixel Front-facing Camera·         1080p HD (30fps) Video Recording·         2500mAh Battery·         eReader Capabilities·         Enabled For Video Chat·         16GB Internal Memory·         Expandable Memory up to 32GB·         Swype™·         AT&T Navigator®·         Bluetooth® Technology

[1] Number one mobile phone provider in the U.S. claim for Samsung Mobile based upon reported shipment data, according to Strategy Analytics, Q3 2011 U.S. Market Share Handset Shipments Reports.

About Samsung Telecommunications America
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visitwww.samsungwireless.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine independent business units: Digital Media & Communications, comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LCD. Recognized for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

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German Appeals Court Sticking To Galaxy Tab 10.1 Injunction But For A Different Reason Than Apple’s Claim

And the Apple and Samsung news just continues to flow like water.  In recent news the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (an appeals court) is sticking to a preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and also states that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 may be in jeopardy of violating similar patents.  However, unlike the original file claim, the appeals court is basing this conclusion on a violation of a German unfair competition law, Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb, UWG (you’re going to have rely on Google Translate for that one folks).  And the lower court’s ruling was based on a “Community Design” which is equivocation to a U.S. design patent.  We initially saw the injunction issued in early August of last year where in the following September it was upheld and quickly appealed by Samsung to the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.  

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents summarises todays decision by the court and offers his unique perspective:

Apple can’t replicate the German decision in other countries since German unfair competition law is pretty unique. A win based on an EU-wide design right would have been strategically more valuable to Apple. Even though Samsung formally lost its appeal because the preliminary injunction remains in force, it succeeded in defeating Apple’s design right.A couple of months ago, Samsung launched a modified version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, named 10.1N, in Germany. In late November 2011, Apple requested a preliminary injunction against the 10.1N. For now, the 10.1N is still on sale. The Düsseldorf Regional Court held a hearing the week before Christmas and will announce a decision on February 9, 2012. The fact that Apple won today doesn’t necessarily mean that it will succeed against the 10.1N. If Samsung is allowed to continue to sell the 10.1N, the commercial relevance of today’s appellate decision is next to nil.While today’s decision was made by an appeals court, we are still talking about fast-track proceedings triggered by a request for a preliminary injunction (and an appeal against one). All those decisions are preliminary, and what matters most is the full-blown main proceeding in which Apple’s design-related claims against a total of 15 Samsung products are at issue. It’s too early to tell what the outcome of that case will be.In my opinion, the strategic value of those design-related lawsuits is relatively low. Preliminary injunctions based on such claims can have a temporary disruptive effect, but the world-spanning dispute between Apple and Samsung primarily hinges on the outcome of the parties’ technical patent infringement claims against each other. The first two patent infringement lawsuits Samsung brought against Apple in Germany have been dismissed. Decisions on Apple’s related claims will come down in the coming months.

I don’t know about you but I’m getting a little annoyed with these proceedings.  It’s getting more and more difficult on a daily basis for manufacturers to stay out of Apple’s cross-hairs. Feel free to leave your thoughts or rants in the comments below.

If you’ve missed any of our previous coverage regarding Samsung and Apple’s battles as well as Apple vs everyone else, check out our coverage below.

via: FOSS Patents

» See more articles by Joe Sirianni

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Humble Bundle: Android games for the price of… whatever you want?

We like games, and we like to be able to afford games. Sometimes purchasing game after game can burn a hole in your pocket. Humble Bundle has been a great solution for affordable gaming before. But this is the first time Humble Bundle has hit the Android platform.

The bundle offers 3 (4 if you pay more) cross-platform games. This means you could play the games directly from your Windows (via Steam), Mac or Linux computer. And you can choose how much you pay for them.

The included games are Anomaly, Osmos and Edge. If you pay more than the “average” you also get World of Goo. The average is currently at about $5.27. It will be going up, so hurry up and get it while it’s still cheap!

Anomaly: This game was recently released, so it’s definitely a good deal. It’s basically a “tower offense” game, where you fight through a field against enemy towers.Osmos: This is a very peaceful and relaxing game. The new age music soothes you into the zone. As a molecule, your objective is to become bigger by absorbing smaller molecules and avoiding bigger ones. (Highly recommended by Taylor).Edge: This game is a bit of a trip. You basically navigate a cube in an animated field. The field moves and changes as the game gets more complicated.World of Goo: Most of you probably know this one by now. It’s a bit of a surreal physics/building puzzle game. You can use globs of goo to build all sorts of things, like bridges, structures and even cannon balls.

Not only is this an affordable bundle for all the gamers out there, but customers would also be helping out with Child’s Play Charity. When purchasing, you have the option to divide your payment as you wish between the developers, charity and what they call a “Humble Tip.” Humble Tips go straight to Humble Bundle, Inc.

Not only can you name your own price, but you can divide your payment to most benefit whoever you see fit. If you’re looking to purchase some games for your spare time, this deal is quite the no-brainer. Go ahead and purchase the bundle straight from their site, and try to support with whatever you can!

Who’s getting this Humble Bundle? Have you guys enjoyed these deals before? Let us know what you think, and excuse me, as I will be playing these games for a while.

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HTC’s thinnest Android phone captured on video

Want to catch a glimpse of HTC’s thinnest Android smartphone ahead of Mobile World Congress? A YouTube video just appeared online which reveals the HTC Ville, a device that is rumored to feature a metal unibody design under 8mm thick.

Additional details that have been leaked so far include Android 4.0, Sense 4.0, 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 8 MP rear camera, VGA front camera, HSPA+, Bluetooh 4.0, and a 1,650 mAh battery.

The dual-core Snapdragon S4 will feature Qualcomm’s new Krait CPU core that offers a 60% performance increase compared to the existing Scorpion micro-architecture found in the Snapdragon S1, S2, and S3. A new Adreno 225 GPU will also provide 50% faster graphics performance.

In the video we can see the performance lags quite a bit, but this is pre-production software. Hopefully HTC can achieve the same smooth performance that we have seen on the Transformer Prime.

HTC is scheduled to hold their MWC press conference on February 26th at 8:30 PM (Barcelona Time) and we will be on-site to check out whatever they announce. Be on the lookout for more details over the coming weeks.

Update: The video has been pulled at the request of HTC. We saved a copy, but don’t want to piss off HTC by re-uploading it. A screen capture can be seen below.

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Ban Luck 3D – Chinese Blackjack, a Challenging game of 21

Posted Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 8:37 am by Paul Wilks Comments

Ban Luck 3D – Chinese Blackjack let’s you play Blackjack in a relatively polished 3D setting. There are stacks of achievements to unlock as you gradually progress through the rankings. If you’re a card game fan and need something new, this could be just the game you’re looking for.

Price: Free

Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone

Pros

3D Graphics!Challenging gameplay!Text-to-speech option!Papaya integrated!

Cons

Takes quite a while to build up levels and you are heavily restricted to start with.

Ban Luck 3D is a pretty cool Blackjack game which is designed in smart 3D. The benefits of this is the game is actually quite immersive. Instead of the cards being laid out in front of you which it often is in 2D card games, it kind of comes towards you- much like the way you would play naturally.

There are a few extra rules in this version of Blackjack; such as two cards of the same number being a winning hand. However this often speeds things along quite nicely and gameplay is delivered quickly. To start, you are heavily restricted by what you can bet. You have stacks of chips but initially you can only bet one at a time. The more you play, however, the higher the level you attain, which then lets you bet higher stakes. It does seem to take a while to accumulate levels after all and I often found it frustrating that it was at such a slow pace compared to actual gameplay.

The game itself is quite challenging. I’ve often played virtual card games to find it favours the player more often than not, certainly more favourably than real life cards. I guess this is done to encourage the user to play more, but this isn’t the case with Ban Luck 3D. The game instead feels more challenging and natural to play. Obviously you might lose more, and coin accumulation is slower but I found this aspect quite refreshing.

In addition to including various achievements and score sharing through the Papaya network, the game also features text-to-speak. When a hand is dealt the game will read your cards out to you, say ‘Bust’, ‘You Win’, etc. While this doesn’t add very much, it’s a nice touch and adds another dimension.

The game, once you get into it, is lots of fun. It would be much more so, however, if it wasn’t for the severe restrictions on betting.

I think most cards games can become relatively addictive. Whether in the past you’ve played Blackjack, Poker, Bridge or even Snap- there’s something evocative about table games which integrates itself into most cultures around the world.  Despite being an Android game Ban Luck 3D is still addictive and fun to play.

The graphics are 3D and quite reasonable. Certainly not the best in 3D graphics, and perhaps a bit scruffy around the edges, but the effect is still a positive one and an improvement on many dull 2D games.

I should mention here the text-to-speech engine which is used in the game. When you get cards delivered to you, and if you choose it, the game will read the cards out to you. This a novel affect and pretty good. It doesn’t add much to the gameplay, but it’s a genuinely nice touch.

Updating...Tags: 21, Android App, Android Apps, Android Game, AndroidTapp.com App Review, Ban Luck 3D Chinese Blackjack, Betting, Blackjack, Blackjack for Android, cards, Chinese Blackjack, Poker

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Samsung GT-i9300 Galaxy S III Receives Wi-Fi Certification?

Last week we told you about the believed Galaxy S III appearing on Samsung’s official UAE site as model number GT-i9300. The device has since been pulled from the sites listings but the model number has recently appeared elsewhere on the interweb in the form of a Wi-Fi certification. Unfortunately there is no additional information to be had from the certification document but I imagine we should start to see more details the closer we get to its announcement. Speaking of announcement, we are still unsure when we will get official word surrounding the GSIII, lets just hope Samsung’s launch “review” yields a MWC unveiling.

source: pocketnow

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Categorized as Android Leaks & Rumours, Android Phones

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Samsung offers personal engraving service for your Galaxy Note till March 31

If the Samsung Galaxy Note wasn’t already the coolest phone in the world, it is now. Samsung is offering a personal Galaxy Note Engraving service until March 31. This service is available at Samsung Digital Plaza locations across South Korea, and it will engrave whatever letters you wish with laser beams. As you can see in the above picture, they will not only do your initials, but your full name. Not bad for yourself, but also not bad as a gift idea.

I see only one issue with this and that’s resale value. When you go to sell it, how many people want to buy a phone with someone else’s name on it? Either way, this is a cool idea and one that I’m sure will be very popular with the lucky Galaxy Note owners.

[via oled-display]

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Best Buy Set To Release Galaxy Note Phone February 14th, $249.99 Pricing For Telus And Bell Versions

Canadians are rejoicing today because they are set to receive the awesome Samsung Galaxy Note next month. Best Buy Canada has just confirmed it will unleash the phone to the masses February 14th for a cool $249.99 on a 3-year contract. Considering AT&T is set to release the phone around February 19th in the States, Best Buy’s release date looks to be accurate. Best Buy lists the device will operate with mobile carriers Rogers, Telus and Bell, though pricing information is mysteriously absent for the Rogers version of the phone. No word yet on off-contract pricing, but you can expect it will be around or over the $600 mark. If you’re in Canada and you fancy a Galaxy Note, head on over to your local Best Buy store and pre-order that bad boy today.

source: Mobile Syrup
via: Best Buy

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DROID RAZR MAXX preliminary battery results

Remember that “unplugged” teaser Motorola did before CES? They weren’t kidding because I’ve had the DROID RAZR MAXX for a couple of days now, and all I can say is if battery life is any concern to you, you can forget about anything else and just buy this phone. I’m still conducting more tests, but I wanted to give you some of my preliminary results.

Day 1

I took the RAZR Maxx off the charger at midnight and it sat idle for 8 hours. I was sleeping so I can’t verify, but it should’ve been on 4G LTE most of that time, but it could’ve switched to 3G periodically since I don’t live in the heart of the city. It lost 20% during these first 8 hours, and by the time 24 hours rolled around, it still had 5% left. I would say it wasn’t a heavy day as far as usage. I played games for a couple of hours and streamed Slacker for maybe 40 minutes. The display was on 20% of the time or about 5 hours. The display was set to automatic brightness, but I realized late in the day that the GPS wasn’t turned on. Bluetooth was on (but rarely connected) and WiFi was off. All in all, I would say the battery performance was superb, but I decided to work it a little more for day 2.

Day 2

GPS on, Bluetooth on (rarely connected), Wifi off, and Auto display off and turned up to about 2/3's brightness. I took it off the charger at 7:00am and by midnight (17 hours later) it had 5% left. A lot less, but I did a lot more with it. Other than doing a little gaming and Slacker again, I played 4 hours and 15 minutes of video. The display was on a total of 42% of the time or a little over 7 hours. It was mostly connected to 4G, but some 3G was probably thrown in. 17 hours is tremendous considering the amount of video and the fact that the brightness was set fairly high, not to mention it wasn’t officially dead yet. It might have lasted another 2 hours with light usage.

To give you an even better comparison, my Galaxy Nexus also came off the charger at 7:00am, and it was dead by 7:30pm, 12 1/2 hours later. My Nexus has extended battery (2100mAh), was on WiFi the majority of the day, Bluetooth off, GPS on, auto brightness off and set to 2/3's brightness. The display was on 42% of the time or roughly 5 hours. I didn’t play any games nor did I play any video. Again, this was on WiFi all day except for about 2 hours.

Seriously, I never expected it to be a competition. It’s 3300mAh vs 2100mAh. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who’s going to win.

Motorola has really changed the game with the DROID RAZR MAXX. At 8.9mm thick and a 33oomAh battery, no competitive phone comes close. The DROID RAZR MAXX is the only phone I’ve used in which I don’t need to panic when it’s down to 10% remaining battery. It could easily go another 3 plus hours with light usage.

I will continue to conduct more tests and add those results in my full review.

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Notion Ink Gives Explanation of TI OMAP over Nvidia Tegra for Adam II

On the 21st of  this month we brought to you an article about Notion Ink‘s sequel tablet the Adam II and how it would be packing an OMAP processor. This is a complete change up to the Tegra platform they were running in their original Adam tablet. A lot of folk begin to question the change from one processor to the next. In fact, they’ve been questioned enough to release an official statement explaining the reason they made that switch. While we could argue various semantics with benchmarks, memory bandwidth and so on, what really matters is how the power is utilized. In the end this is the argument that was used by Notion Ink.

The main reason that they made the switch from Nvidia to TI is because they think that they can get a lot more mileage out of the chipset. In most documentations, white papers, etc TI’s OMAP comes out as top dog. If this is coupled with OMAP’s better battery life you have yourself a good reason to switch. Tegra 3 quad-core is built using a 40nm fabrication process while the new OMAP 5 chips uses a smaller 28nm process. This makes them cheaper to produce and sell to possible manufacturers while also consuming less power.

While right now this all looks good on paper, we will have to see it in a real world application in order to say one way or another. Stay tuned as we find out more information on this sequel device!

source: Designing Adam 2 Blog
via: Tech 2

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Categorized as Android Carriers, Android Customization, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Tablets

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To pirate, or not to pirate… that is Rovio CEO’s question

We’ve seen the battles the music industry has fought against piracy. Surely, it is a gruesome war, and it not only happens with music. Piracy exists within all content and products; we see it very often in the Android ecosystem. We tend to look down on it, as it is considered stealing. But is it always a bad thing? Rovio CEO Mikael Hed does not think so.

We could learn a lot from the music industry, and the rather terrible ways the music industry has tried to combat piracy.Mikael HedRovio CEO

There’s no doubt that the Angry Birds creators would prefer customers buy apps and products legally. But they simply don’t believe it’s worth the millions of dollars and effort to fight against it. Mikael Hed made a rather controversial appearance at the Midem music industry conference in Cannes, talking about how badly the music industry has handled this business.

Piracy may not be a bad thing; it can get us more business at the end of the day.Mikael HedRovio CEO

In fact, Mikael claims Rovio sees the court route as a pointless solution, with the exception of times when pirated products are harmful to Rovio. But if such unofficial products are not harming the company’s image, Hed mentions it could work as a booster to create a bigger fan base. The idea seems weird, but look at it as “free advertisement” and it should make more sense. The company may not be making any money from pirated products, but more people playing and more people having Angry Birds plushies will make more people aware of the product. This creates a fan base that will help Rovio earn profit in the future.

We took something from the music industry, which was to stop treating the customers as users and start treating them as fans. We do that today: we talk about how many fans we have.

If we lose that fanbase, our business is done, but if we can grow that fanbase, our business will grow.Mikael HedRovio CEO

Undoubtedly, Rovio has a much different business than the music industry. We’re sure it hasn’t lost as much money, either. But this philosophy may be the answer for many companies out there, because we’re also sure Rovio hasn’t spent even a third of the money music labels have trying to fight piracy.

Mikael Hed mentions that they are in fact trying to avoid piracy in other ways. For example, as you may have noticed, they use their own apps as a channel to their store. This might drive more legitimate sells in the future. But they have found a way to use the “bad boys” to their advantage.

As for pirating, we suppose you can feel a bit less guilty if you’ve ever illegally downloaded a Rovio app. But we’re not condoning any type of piracy. These guys work hard at what they do, and we believe they deserve the few bucks they ask for.

We often see a reverse psychology effect. For example, I tend to be much more dedicated to any assignments when I know the assigner is a bit more open, because there’s some kind of bond created — like a thankful appreciation. That responsibility to do right, because you’ve been treated right. This could be something that Rovio takes seriously. What do you guys think? Should more companies adopt this philosophy? Would it simply bring more chaos?

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Nexus S 4G one step closer to official Android 4.0.4 update

If you own the Sprint Nexus S 4G and are waiting on the official update to Android 4.0, then we have some good news for you. A new internal testing ROM was just spotted on Google’s servers that updates the Nexus S 4G to Android version 4.0.4, build number IMM26.

The file was quickly pulled after it was spotted, but if you are adventurous you can head over to xda-developers and grab a mirrored copy. I’d normally post a guide with instructions for the manual update, but since the official file has been removed from Google’s servers we just suggest the average user wait it out.

Reports suggest that this version was signed with release keys, which likely means it’s we will see the official update in the coming weeks. I’ve been using Android 4.0 on my T-Mobile Nexus S that I gave to a family member and its been running great so far. If you try out this leaked software on your Sprint Nexus S 4G, let us know how it performed in the comments below.

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Sonic 4 Receives ICS Compatibility Update

For those of you who were disappointed to see that the recent release of Sonic 4 Episode 1 wasn’t compatible with your ICS device, you’ll be happy to know there is a market update waiting for you right now.

Today’s Sonic 4 update brings compatibility to all devices running Android 4.0 and I was able to successfully test it out on the Galaxy Nexus and the Transformer Prime. Previously I was unable to get past the start screen but now I am happy to say that I can play the game without a hitch. Speaking of gameplay, it looks damn good and I haven’t noticed any glitches or hangs at all. Now if I only had a Big Gulp full of Slurpee in front of me I’d think I was a tween again! Hit the link below to get your well deserved update.

Android Market

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Categorized as Android Applications, Android Gaming, Android Updates

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Marble Droid brings amazing 3D playgrounds that will keep you entertained for hours [Hands on Video]

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed 3D Stunt Marbles, which is a cool game, but if you’re looking for something conceptually the same, but a little different, the folks over at Zebralightning Studios just released Marble Droid.

With 3D Stunt Marbles it’s more about getting from point A to point B without rolling off the track. With Marble Droid, you want to get from point A to point B, but the maze or playground isn’t as dangerous. You need to figure out how to collect the orbs the fastest way possible. I say they aren’t dangerous, but I’ve only played 3 levels. The playgrounds include ramps, elevators, moving platforms, bumpers, boost pads, and even teleporters for warping to other parts of the playground. I found myself completely immersed in the playgrounds that Zebralightning Studios created, and I’ve only played three levels so far. I can only imagine how awesome the higher levels are going to be.

You can use the Accelerometer by tilting your phone or tablet (or an on screen joystick) to navigate your marble around the maze. You can even jump with a flicking motion. You can also easily change the camera angles by tapping on the the top, bottom, right or left sides.

Like many games (Angry Birds and Cut The Rope), you’re graded. While most games use stars, Marble Droid uses trophies. Just like those other games, you will unlock the next level by completing the current level (earning at least one trophy), but ultimately you want to get all three trophies to feel like you truly accomplished the level. The faster you do it, the more trophies you earn.

Marble Droid also adds OpenFeint support and the ability to unlock twenty different custom marble skins. For starters, there are 24 levels, and you can play easy, medium, and hard.

Marble Droid is one of those games you know you’re going to love before you actually play it. It costs $1.99 which is worth every penny. If you want to try it out, there is a demo version as well, but trust me, go right to the paid version because this game will give you hours and hours of fun. I’ve tried Marble Droid on the Galaxy Nexus, DROID RAZR MAXX, and the ASUS Transformer Prime. The only issue I had was with the Transformer Prime, and it was minor. The marble seemed to jump too easily, but of course that can be adjusted. Checkout my quick hands on video, and hit one of the links below to download.

Android Market Link – Demo Version

Android Market Link – Paid Version

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GetGlue for Android gets a makeover

GetGlue, the popular media check-in app, just got a makeover bringing it up to par with the iPhone app. New features include a new visual stream, the ability to participate in multiple conversations, and personalized guides.

The stream has a new look that will inspire you to discover new shows, movies, and music through your friends. You can easily vote and reply on any check-in and/or get more details.

The new conversation screen displays comments from friends and other fans who checked-in to the same show.

The new Guides section will help you find things to watch, read, or listen to. It’s created based on personal tastes, friend’s activity, trends, and popular genres.

Android Market Link

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SlingPlayer for the Kindle Fire is now available in the Amazon Appstore

Those of you with an Amazon Kindle Fire can now grab the SlingPlayer app made just for you. Assuming you have a Slingbox Solo or Pro-HD at home, you will be able to watch anything from your home TV and DVR from anywhere on your Kindle Fire as long as it’s WiFi connected. You will also be able to change channels, control your DVR, and watch any live or recorded show. It costs $29.99, which isn’t cheap, but if you’re on the road a lot, it’s probably well worth it. Hit the source link to purchase and download.

source: amazon

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ClockworkMod Now Easier To Obtain On 2011 Sony Ericsson Xperia Devices Thanks To Auto Installer

 

Installing a recovery on your device is among the most popular projects for Android users. Of course achieving a recovery such as ClockworkMod involves the “simple” process of installing it on your phone, flashing a kernel or pushing the recovery to the right partition using the ADB in the Android terminal. Whichever method you choose, it can possibly be a difficult one– and that’s why we have the fine team at XDA helping to make our lives’ just a smidge easier. Senior member pvyParts and his associates recently posted an application that will install a recovery straight from the app itself. That means there’s no need for computers, a debug mode or any of the other potential problems. In other words, this is as straightforward as it gets. Here’s pvyParts himself as he shares his thoughts of the landmark app:

“This App will work with the 2011 Xperia porfolio. it will install CWM into the system partition so you can use recovery even with a locked bootloader!
The Recovery has been ported by nobodyAtall @xda for the Xperia phones!
All Credits to him!

all i did was bundle it into a nice easy installer. ( i also made some changes to the chargemon file to turn the LED on to signal when to pres your keys )”

This app is currently available for the 2011 Sony Ericsson Xperia Line of devices at this time. You can find more details for the app including additional details, change logs, a full compatibility list, screen shots and discussion in the original thread found at the link below. If you are bold enough to install the auto installer— do make sure you back everything… in case you commit an oopsie.

source: XDA
via: XDA Forums

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Categorized as Android Hacks, Android News, Android Phones, Android Software

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Samsung has two Android tablets codenamed P3100 and P5100 in the works

For Samsung Mobile, CES seemed to be about the AT&T Galaxy Note, and not much else. The speculation is rampant for what they will show us at Mobile World Congress. We were expecting a heavy dose of Galaxy S III, but that was squashed last week. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is starting to show its age, so it’s a safe bet that we will see an updated slate or two. With the iPad 3 on the horizon, and the likes of the ASUS Transformer Prime, Samsung needs to step up its game.

We recently reported that they have a 2GHz Exynos-powered tab in the works, and now two tabs just received WiFi certification – The GT-P3100 and GT-P5100. We don’t know anything more than these model numbers, but what we can interpolate from them is that it looks like they’re either 10-inch and 7 to 8-inch versions of the same thing or maybe one higher-end and one lower-end model. With the Amazon Kindle Fire tearing it up as of late, Samsung might consider a lower priced offering.

Could we see these tabs next month at Mobile World Congress? It’s likely, but only time will tell. I’m sure more details will surface soon, and we will let you know as soon as we find out.

One more image after the break

[via androinica]

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Categorized as Android Leaks & Rumours, Android Manufacturers, Android News, Android Tablets

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