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January 29 2012
Matias Duarte berättar om designfilosofin bakom Ice Cream Sandwich
Bakom varenda liten del av Androids gränssnitt finns en noggrant och omsorgsfullt utformad idé, tanke och filosofi. Androids chefdesigner Matias Duarte berättar gärna om den filosofin, vare sig det rör sig om plattformens nya font Roboto eller användargränssnittet i Ice Cream Sandwich.
I en ny intervju har Duarte delat med sig av filosofin bakom Androids nuvarande interface kallat Holo. Att veta hur androidteamet tänkte och resonerade när de utformade gränssnittet kan göra att det blir roligare och mer intressant att använda Ice Cream Sandwich. Häng med när vi går igenom designfilosofin bakom Android 4.0.
Undvik förlegade idéer och använd nya istället
Duarte tycker att det är dags att överge de gamla designriktlinjer som härstammar från program för datorer och istället skapa nya för dagens teknologi och enheter. Androids chefdesigner berättar att han vill att folk ska sluta tänka på appar som en ”hink med knappar” och istället se applikationer som en målarduk.
Det var en av teamets grundtankar när de utformade gränssnittet i Ice Cream Sandwich. Duarte inspirerades från det allra senaste inom grafisk design och ett av huvudmålen var att förvandla andoridenheter till objekt folk verkligen älskar och inte bara något de tycker är praktiskt och användbart.
”We’ve had 2,000 years of development in visual communication, and mobile computers typically don’t take advantage of that. It just makes sense that the next step in connecting to people and, especially connecting to them emotionally, is to look at the best lessons of how people have been connecting emotionally for the last thousands of years.”
Hoppa över knapparna och skapa en tidskriftskänsla
Gränssnitt i mobilapplikationer kändes till en början ofta som en funktionell samling knappar och reglage. Detta härstammade till viss del från maskiner, vilka ofta styrts av knappar. Om man vill få en maskin att göra något trycker man på en knapp.
Duarte ville undvika den känslan i Ice Cream Sandwich och istället skapa något mer luftigt och naturligt. Ungefär som om de olika skärmarna var sidor i en tidskrift, istället för en samling knappar och kryssrutor.
Själva telefonen i Ice Cream Sandwich är ett gott exempel på detta. Den ser inte ut att innehålla en massa knappar till skillnad från vissa andra mobilgränssnitt utan är istället platt och elegant. Allt detta är högst medvetet. Duarte berättar att varje skärm är utformad för att höja den ”känslomässiga genomslagskraften”.
Ett annat exempel på hur Duarte vill tangera våra känslor är kontaktbokens utformning. De flesta smartphones stödjer att en miniatyrbild förknippas med varje kontakt. I Ice Cream Sandwich tar å andra sidan bilderna upp merparten av layouten.
”We’re really visual creatures. We want the person to be the point of emotional contact.”
Därför hamnar kontaktbilderna i fokus för ens favoriter istället för själva kontaktinformationen. Det visuella spelar en central roll, på samma vis som i en tidskrift.
Fjäderlätta byggblock
Belamrad design?
Alla användargränssnitt har element som återanvänds och som ser likadana ut genom hela gränssnittet: kryssrutor, popup-menyer, listor och så vidare. Duarte säger att dessa element ofta blir ”designade på ett silverfat”.
Han menar att mycket tid läggs på att få dessa objekt visuellt tilltalande och perfekta, med avancerade kanter och 3D-känsla.
Enligt Duarte finns det ett problem med detta: när man sätter ihop dessa element tillsammans på en skärm blir varje litet inslag framträdande av sig själv. Layouten blir då lätt överhopad och belamrad.
Han jämför dessa överarbetade inslag med gamla handgjorda viktorianska utsmyckningar:
”Each is very pretty, but when you try to make a wall or a house out of them, all the embellishments fight with the larger building.”
Därför är alla olika byggblock i Ice Cream Sandwich så minimalistiska som möjligt. På så vis blir det helheten som fångar uppmärksamheten istället för de individuella delarna.
Meny-knappen behövs inte längre
Som Swedroid skrev om häromdagen kommer den klassiska Meny-knappen att fasas ut. Google uppmanar utvecklare att sluta använda knappen helt och istället införliva det så kallade actionfältet i sina appar.
Duarte säger att Meny-knappen har varit en frustrationskälla för användare: ”You never knew if there was going to be any functionality hiding behind that button or not”.
Androidteamet undersökte saken och upptäckte att menysystemet fick många androidanvändare att känna sig dumma, eftersom de inte kunde lista ut hur man fick fram alla dolda funktioner. Detta kan kanske vara svårt för oss initierade att förstå, men alla är ju inte teknikintresserade.
”We went through and eliminated all the hidden affordances [controls], places in the system where it wasn’t clear what you had to do, or where somebody would have to teach you, or where you’d have to just try it to figure out what it did.”
Duarte ville undvika all eventuell förvirring i Android 4.0 och göra plattformens funktioner så uppenbara som möjligt. Det skulle bli lättare att använda Android och alla viktiga funktioner skulle synas direkt på skärmen.
Nya fonten Roboto
Duarte var fast övertygad om att Androids font behövde uppdateras och bli optimerad för högupplösta skärmar. Därför var nya fonten Roboto ett viktigt inslag i Ice Cream Sandwich, vilket går att läsa om i en separat Swedroid-artikel.
Riktlinjer för text i gränssnittet
Varje tidskrift har sin egen stil och personlighet och framtoning, något som enligt Duarte inte fanns för Android förut. Plattformen hade inga riktlinjer för skriftspråk i gränssnittet, vilket kunde resultera i att texter blev onödigt tekniska eller omedvetet högdragna.
”In an attempt to be clear, it fell into the habit of being aggressive.”
Därför skapade designteamet en serie riktlinjer för den ton text i gränssnittet ska ha. Text ska vara ”omedelbart hjälpsam och stödjande”, säger Duarte, ”inte gullig, inte ursäktande, allvetande eller befallande”.
Duarte berättar att han inte stötte på motstånd från Googles chefer när han genomförde de hittills största gränssnittsförändringarna i Androids historia. Han berättar att Andy Rubin, Larry Page och Sergei Bin alla gav sitt fulla stöd:
”They really want to push Android to the next level, to take it into totally new directions, to make it something that is phenomenally successful, critically regarded by designers and consumers alike. And also to really use this as a platform to break new ground.
The mobile industry is changing faster than we could have imagined, and that comes after two or three decades of complete stagnation on the desktop. The interface paradigms there have been static. Mobile is an opportunity to take us to completely new types of ways of interacting with other people and having computers make our lives better.”
Vad anser ni som använder Ice Cream Sandwich om gränssnittet? Tycker ni Duarte har lyckats med sina ambitioner och märker ni av hans idéer? Är det några inslag i Android 4.0 ni tycker särskilt bra om och är något ni saknar saknar eller som kunde ha gjorts bättre? Ordet är som alltid fritt.
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If you are in the market for a new Sprint smartphone, then you might want to head over to Google’s site and register to receive more information about their Galaxy Nexus, the first 4G LTE phone on the Now Network. No release date has been provided, but Sprint’s 4G LTE network is expected to [...]
[Deal] Amazon Offering New Customers The HTC Rezound For Only $79.99
Amazon is at it yet again with another great deal for customers interested in grabbing a great phone. Today, it is offering the awesome Beats Audio-powered HTC Rezound 4G LTE phone for a stunning $79.99 for new Verizon Wireless customers when you sign a 2-year contract. That means you’ll be able to grab the phone featuring 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM and of course the custom Beats Audio Headphones for less than some Beats By Dre Headphones. If you’re a current customer and it’s time to upgrade that old Droid X finally, Amazon is also offering the upgrade to you for a mere $159.99, which is still quite a bargain. Don’t forget kids Amazon is offering free 2-day shipping when you order the phone by 3PM (Monday-Friday).
If or when you do go to Amazon to grab the phone, be sure to let us know how you like phone and thank us in the Comments section. Naturally, you’re all going to rave about the killer Beats Audio headphones and EQ setting on the phone, right?
Evi Personal Assistant App Gives Android Users Another Reason To Forget About Siri
Siri may be the most familiar personal assistant around, but there are a growing number of personal assistant apps for Android too. Enter Evi– the “Ask Me Anything” app. Developed by True Knowledge Ltd., the app understands what you want to know and gives back exactly what you’re after. If you need to know where the nearest bank is, Evi can tell you. If you’re going out for dinner but can’t decide where to go? Evi can help with that too. Evi is a personal assistant who looks to evolve with the individuals it is assisting. In addition to answering your common questions, the app features the following:
- Voice or text input – Chat to Evi in plain English and she will understand
- Local information for UK and USA – Shopping, news, dining and more. Evi knows where you are and gives answers based on your location
- Built in browser – No need to swap to a different browser, view web links within Evi’s app
- A learning and adapting intelligence – Rate Evi’s answers to help her learn more about the world
Evi is available for free today for any Froyo 2.2+ user. You can hit up the Android Market or scan it to your device using the nifty QR code found below.
Sprint Galaxy Nexus Official Sign-Up Page is now Live
I guess you don’t need to get to excited about this since it still doesn’t give any information about when Sprint will be releasing their Galaxy Nexus. We already know it’s going to work on Sprint’s LTE network which will be launching around mid-2012, which by our guess the Sprint Galaxy Nexus won’t be in our hands until June at the earliest unless they release it early.
We all know what the Galaxy Nexus has right? Well just in case let’s remind you of everything the Galaxy Nexus features. The Galaxy Nexus has a 720p, 4.65-inch display, running on a 1.2GHz dual core processor (although the Sprint Galaxy Nexus has been rumored to have a bumped up 1.5GHz dual core), with a 5mp camera on the back and a 1.3mp on the front, oh and the most important part, it’s running Android 4.0 – Ice Cream Sandwich.
Sprint has confirmed it will be offering the 32GB version to consumers, I wonder why our CDMA carriers haven’t been carrying the 16GB versions for those of who don’t need 32GB and like to pay less, since the 16GB is cheaper. Hit up the comments and give your prediction for when Sprint will release it’s Galaxy Nexus, we know that everybody is excited about it. So hit the source link below and sign up so you can get all the latest information about the Sprint Galaxy Nexus. No word yet on the Galaxy Nexus coming to T-Mobile or AT&T.
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This article, Sprint Galaxy Nexus Official Sign-Up Page is now Live , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
SpaceCat 3D For Android, A Perfect Ratio Of Cats And Flying Saucers (Video)
What do you get when you combine 3D graphics, flying saucers and cats? One heck of a ride for Android with SpaceCat 3D. The glasses free 3D game allows you to enjoy a rich graphics quality platform landing game on your Android smartphone. The challenge is to dodge both moving and stationary walls, lasers and tight spots all while snatching up all of the floating space mice you can find. On your quest, be sure to take out all of the annoying SpaceRats you can for the crew of humans you’re loyal to. You can even share your score with the rest of the world via ScoreLoop.
In the year 3122, man has conquered space and has taken his favorite pets with him: Cats.
Did you know which are the favorite toys of cats on space? Flying saucers! Even better, chasing mice while flying around! They are the only ones that can go into the narrow spaces and capture the SpaceRats, an evolved species that keeps annoying the crew of the spaceships.
You’ll have the option to choose from 10 different cats for game-play and several spaceships to match them up with. Each ship has different characteristics and themes that you can choose from as well. Ready to give the game a go? Hit the break for some screen shots of the game and check out the quick video demo of the app in action. Feel free to drop a comment or two below as well of what you think.
Click here to view the embedded video.
From The Developer:
== Something more ==
* Feels like is not a real lander? Try the realistic control.
* To enable XPeria Play / Gametel support you need to select on-screen controls.
* We recommend a minimum hardware of Motorola Droid, Nexus One, Galaxy S or HTC Desire.
* For low end devices, touching the screen can slow down the gameplay, alternatively you can use the menu button to thrust.
* The search button makes a screenshot of the game (in /sdcard/spacecat), just in case you want to show how cute your cat is with his spaceship. I know, you have never figured this out.
* 3D engine: jPCT-AE
* Sound effects from The Freesound Project (http://www.freesound.org/)
Because the world will be a better place with more cats in flying saucers.
Capture Screenshots of Entire Webpages with SnowDeer Web Scrapper
The time for partial screenshots of webpages viewed on your Android phone (and the tiresome stitching of those partial screenshots) is finally over. Thanks to the screen-grabbing powers of the SnowDeer Web Scrapper app for Android, you can now grab entire screens of webpages.
There already is a slew of screen-capturing tools available on the Android Market, but SnowDeer Web Scrapper stands out for one unique feature–it can grab a shot of the whole webpage, not just parts of the screen.
Say you want to take a screenshot of a whole webpage, from top to bottom, including parts that you’d need to scroll down to see. Many people are looking for that kind of screenshot–whether it’s for a school assignment, a personal project, or just so you have something to read on a long trip. Normally, longer-than-screen-size webpage screenshots need to be stitched together, but SnowDeer Web Scrapper one-ups that. Sporting a simple web-browser style interface, the app allows you to instantly capture screenshots of the entire webpage you’re browsing.
Save the whole page screenshot to a folder of your choice and even set a user-defined filename for it. The app even allows you to save each image in high-quality JPEG or PNG format.
Browse to the page of your choice using the app’s built-in address bar, or jump to your currently opened webpage. If you want to scrap it, you can find the Scrap button on the lower left side of the screen.
Afraid of overpopulating the default SnowDeer directory on your SD Card? No problem; you can easily make a subdirectory for a specific project. Even better is that you can view the thumbnails of your saved images so you won’t have to browse through every single file to find the one you need.
Specify the default image format you would like to save in through the app’s Settings, as well as enable/disable High Quality mode. The option to rename each captured image manually or automatically is also at your fingertips.
SnowDeer Web Scrapper also supports integration with other web browsers, such as Dolphin HD and Firefox, and can be initiated through the page sharing option within the browser of choice. This means that the webpage of interest is opened directly in SnowDeer Web Scrapper, ready to be Scrapped.
One downside to SnowDeer Web Scrapper is that, as of this writing, it only supports taking screenshots in portrait orientation only, even when you tilt the device to landscape. You may have to zoom in a bit further to capture the webpage’s content at a readable size.
Despite its flaw, SnowDeer WebScrapper is a handy tool for people who like to collect webpage screenshots for various projects and assignments.
If you like to start collecting screenshots of webpages now, you can download SnowDeer Web Scrapper (requires at least Android 2.2) from the Android Market.
Prior to SnowDeer Web Scrapper, what screenshot app did you use for capturing webpage screenshots on your Android phone?
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This article, Capture Screenshots of Entire Webpages with SnowDeer Web Scrapper , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
Top 5 Rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S3
Are you ready for some more rumors about the next line of Samsung Galaxy S Android phones? Well we don’t any new ones for you yet, we are going to go over what is most likely going to be in the Samsung Galaxy S3. We’ve been seeing rumors of the Galaxy S3 since late last year, and they have been getting stronger and multiplying ever since. Last year the Galaxy S2 was announced at Mobile World Congress which is set to take place next month from Barcelona and we are expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S3 make an appearance this year.
Samsung Galaxy S3, HD or 3D?
The big question, will the Galaxy S3 be 3D or HD? We just saw Samsung and AT&T launch the Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket HD at CES earlier this month which has a 4.65-inch and 720p resolution display. It’s much more likely we will see an HD phone whether then a 3D device. We haven’t heard to much about 3D since the hype about HTC’s EVO 3D went away, So here’s to hoping for an HD device from Samsung.
Gingerbread of Ice Cream Sandwich?
I would really hope it comes with Ice Cream Sandwich and not Gingerbread. At CES we were expecting to see some phones with Ice Cream Sandwich launching, but the only ones we saw would not be out anytime soon. With Ice Cream Sandwich being announced last October, I’d expect for Samsung to give their Galaxy S3 a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich to go with their Touchwiz User Interface. But Gingerbread isn’t to bad, it’s still way ahead of the technology on other smartphone platforms like Blackberry, iPhone and Windows Mobile.
Dual or Quad Core?
This is the big one, is Samsung going to put in a Dual-core Exynos processor or a Quad-core Exynos processor? Many of us are hoping for a quad-core, we always want more power right? I think the more important issue is which one works better with the battery? As long as the phone runs fast like the Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch on Sprint does, I am happy with dual-core as long as the battery is adequate to last the entire day.
1 or 2GB of Memory
Most phones are coming standard with 1GB of RAM these days, except for HTC they are still putting only 768MB of RAM in their phones with their heavy skin, Sense. But will we see a boost in the amount of RAM the Korean manufacturer of the Galaxy S lineup puts in their third generation of Galaxy S Android phones? If we see quad-core processor I believe we will see a boost to 1.5GB or maybe 2GB of RAM.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Pricing and Release Date
For the most part I am expecting the same pricing that we saw on the Galaxy S2 lineup. As far as release dates, if the latest rumors about the Galaxy S3 being a no show at MWC this year are any indication it looks like Samsung wants to make a smoother launch and launch the International and US versions together. Last year the International version was released many months before it was released on Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Opinions? What do you think about the Samsung Galaxy S3 so far? I am really hoping the renders we’ve seen lately are fake, with the screen going all the way to the edge with no bezel? It just looks odd, but I guess we could all get used to it right? We always want more screen real estate. Let us know in the comments what you think.
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This article, Top 5 Rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S3 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
The Best Android Phone of 2012
The year 2011 was all about “dual core”, becoming the standard for high-end smartphones. And we just witnessed what superphones like the Samsung Galaxy S II, DROID RAZR MAXX, and others are capable of. These phones are five times more powerful than anything released last year, and for this upcoming generation of devices, even more.
So, what next? This year, chip-makers have come forth with quad core processors supporting mobile multitasking comparable to the performance of a desktop computer of a few years ago, powered by Tegra 3 SoC’s and TI’s OMAP equivalent. More cores equal more power and a faster smartphone; certainly they are likely to offer increased power savings and a performance increase in the range of 300-500%. And, they actually have power saving features embedded in them too.
NVIDIA Tegra Product Roadmap
And the players include HTC, Motorola, Sony, Samsung, LG, and Meizu. We will look at the devices they are bringing to market one by one.
HTC
HTC might be launching the first quad-core smartphone in the market among the smartphone manufacturers. Dubbed HTC Edge, it will run on NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 having four cores (and a fifth, companion core for less demanding tasks) clocked at 1.5GHz allowing the processor to simultaneously run multiple sets of program instructions. Along with this, the battery life will increase two fold. With 1GB of RAM will be at your disposal, along with 32GB of built-in memory, this mammoth device will offer a 4.7″ screen with 720p HD resolution; big-screen junkies should be happy.
HTC Edge Specs
- 8MP camera unit with 28mm, f/2.2 lens
- 4.7″ screen with 720p HD
- NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad core clocked @ 1.5 Ghz
- 32GB of built-in memory
- 1GB of RAM
- Android 4.0 ICS
Other specs include an 8MP camera unit with 28mm, f/2.2 lens, capable of capturing 1080p videos will be present as well. Bluetooth 4.0 is expected on board, along with the rest of the usual connectivity. The HTC Edge will, reportedly, be only capable of 21Mbps HSDPA network speeds. In the software department, we can be all but certain to see Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. The Edge will also most likely come with Beats by Dr. Dre as well, for bass-fanatics, too. A number of new HTC content services are also expected like HTC Listen Music, HTC Read, HTC Watch and HTC Play. The HTC Edge is expected to hit the market between March and April this year.
MOTOROLA
Now, for Moto, if we are to believe the rumors, is gearing up with its Tegra 3 based devices lined up for the launch in the Q2 2012 and might be unveiled during MWC 2012. After the Motorola DROID RAZR and the Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX, the phones have been codenamed as Motorola Bullet and Motorola Jet. Supposedly the Bullet will be a straight-up slate, while the Jet will be a QWERTY slider. Remember though, very little in the way of rumors has surfaced over the past few months, so this is likely to be the least credible among the bunch. Still worth considering.
Motorola Bullet
The Bullet is a candy bar style 4.3″ qHD (960×540) phone, packing a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, and most likely 1.5GB of DDR2 RAM. It will also feature 16GB of on-board storage, an NFC chip, and a redesigned image sensor to capture amazing photos and HD video on its 12MP camera. It’s also alleged to be launching before its keyboard brethren, the Motorola Jet.
Motorola Jet
The Motorola Jet 4 will be adored by the Android QWERTY lovers and sports a smaller 4″ display, brandishing a qHD (960×540) display with an amazing QWERTY keyboard from its cousin Motorola Droid 3. Thankfully, it will be sporting the same Herculean hardware as its keyboard-less cousin, the Bullet, and will feature a 4″ qHD 24-bit screen, Tegra 3, up to 1.5GB of DDR2 RAM, 16GB on-board storage, same newly designed 12MP camera as the Bullet, NFC chip, and a fully redesigned 5 row (perhaps) style sliding keyboard.
Some also reported that Motorola is getting quite serious about putting world class image sensors in their upcoming phones, giving consumers the power to capture fast, awesome HD photos and video in low light. So, with Motorola making this a major focus, it’s looking like the chance of us being able to put our dedicated digital camera away sooner than we thought. Plus, with the promised processing power of the quad core Tegra SoC, it’s theoretically possible that these devices will be able to capture 60fps + at 1080p. Judging by the image above it looks like both devices will be running on Verizon’s 4G LTE – since they aren’t releasing any more 3G only devices – and both phones have the “Verizon” logo, and on the back there is the “4G LTE” logo. Here’s to hoping they find a way to get great battery life on 4G LTE.
SONY
The Arc was one of Sony Ericsson’s (soon to be just Sony) best smartphones last year. While it lacked dual core goodness, it was slim, as it was supposed to be, since most of their competition had phones like that already, and it was stylish. Design is still one of Sony’s strong suit, but it doesn’t go well with thick phones, which is how most of their phones still are. But they will be pushing other slim phones in 2012.
Sony Xperia S
Sony Xperia S Specs
- dual core 1.5 Ghz Snapdragon chip
- 4.3″ 1280×720 HD display
- 1 GB of RAM
- 32 GB of storage
- 1750 mAh battery
- 12 MP rear camera
Sony will be debuting the Xperia Ion this year, which is packing a dual core 1.5 Ghz Snapdragon chip, a 4.3″ 1280×720 HD display, 1 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, and a 1750 mAh battery. Also, it packs a 12 MP camera with full HD recording and HDMI port.
The Ion is not only proof of that, but it’s also a bit of proof that Sony Ericsson finally understands that they need to be on the edge with hardware specs, too. From what we’ve seen, it appears that Sony is taking the smartphone market very seriously, and is positioning themselves in 2012 to become a lot more competitive.
SAMSUNG
The giant Korean company, maker of the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S2, is poised to be a leader in this particular superphone death-match. Samsung’s phones and tablets have used ARM, Snapdragon and Tegra chipsets, but the manufacturer’s semiconductor division is working hard on the next generation of its own Exynos line of systems-on-a-chip. They are testing possible processors like the Exynos 5250, which isn’t quad-core, but rather a dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor. Samsung seems to be confident that the Exynos 5250 can produce benchmarks and performance competitive with a quad-core processor. Or it may even go with the 32 nm quad core Exynos 4412 (based on Cortex A9) having the same clock speed of 1.5 GHz.
One of the latest renderings of the Galaxy S3
Samsung Galaxy S3 Specs
- 1GB/2GB of RAM
- 4.6 inch 1280×720 AMOLED display
- under 9mm thin
- 12MP rear camera, with W750 BSI CMOS sensor
- 1.5Ghz quad core (potentially dual core, but unlikely)
- Multiple variants to be released to support different carriers
“The “safest” rumor about the Galaxy S3 has been that it has a quad core 1.5 Ghz processor, most likely based on Cortex A9. While that will certainly be competitive this spring, I don’t think the competitive edge will be that big for the Galaxy S3 to maintain the lead in performance for too long.”
If we take into consideration the specs of the device, the talks which are in the air reveal that the Galaxy S III’s design will be different from the current design of the Galaxy S series, and will thinner in size than its ancestor, the Galaxy S2. Samsung might be including 3D (glassless) functionality into the Galaxy S3 line of Android phones. Predictions indicate that it will feature a 4.6” Super AMOLED Plus HD screen, 2GB of RAM, LTE connectivity, running on Android’s latest ICS firmware with Touchwiz – Samsung’s own overlay. Also like its competitors, it might incorporate a 12 MP primary camera (with W750 BSI CMOS sensor) and NFC support.
If Samsung does unveil the Galaxy S3 at Mobile World Congress in 2012, we will see Galaxy S III earlier this May or even in April. If not, then look for it closer to the summer.
MEIZU
Meizu MX with Quad Core Launching in May 2012
Meizu MX Specs
- Tegra 3 Quad Core @ 1.5 Ghz
- 1/2GB of RAM
- 16 GB ROM
- 8MP Camera
- 1600 mAh
- 4 inch LED backlit display
Recently, Meizu CEO J Wong has confirmed that after first gen Meizu MX launched recently, its quad core version will be hitting the market soon installed with the Android Ice Cream Sandwich while it arrives in May 2012. He also confirmed in the official company forum that the second version of the Meizu MX will come with the Exynos processor. There is not so detailed information about the features it will showcase, but it will perhaps have a processor clocked at 1.5 GHz, 1/2 GB RAM, 16 Gb inbuilt memory, 8 MP or higher camera, full HD recording, HDMI port, 4+” LED display and a 1600 mAh battery.
Meizu have gained reputation in China, and their quality and powerful devices are starting to be acknowledged by the West, too, which means that it might not be long until they start selling them to Europe and US, as well struggling against the iPhone.
LG
LG's Quad Core Demon - the X3
LG X3 Specs:
- NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-core CPU
- A whopping 4.7 inches HD Screen (1280×720)
- 8MP Rear Camera and 1.3MP Front
- 16GB on a microSD card.
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box
- 21Mbps HSPA or LTE depending on region and carrier
- 2000mAh battery
- NFC
LG has received a lot of flack for slow updates, and for software that doesn’t perform at its best, all the time. That being said, they still are considered one of the top five, in terms of market share, at least. So it should come as no surprise that LG does not want to stand idly by. Rumors have it that they will be debuting a very powerful quad core device at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. In terms of specs, it seems to match a lot of these other top tier phones that we are looking at, and includes the extremely powerful chipset, Tegra 3, and will feature a high resolution, 4.7 inch display with a resolution of 1280 × 720. We’ve also had its dimensions confirmed by reliable sources that have told us it will be very thin – most likely under 9 mm.
Said to come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box, it will feature a 1.3 megapixel, and an 8 megapixel rear. Other specs include the usual suspects, including Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G/4G/LTE connectivity, depending on the region, and a fairly substantial 2000mAh battery.
These companies are not alone in the game. Panasonic, ZTE, Huawei and even Fujitsu are also planning to roll out their quad core phones soon, too. Anyway, no matter the number of devices, what we are in the midst of is truly a mobile computing revolution. At the end of the day, we, the consumers, will all benefit. After all, we are going to experience a whole new world of smarter, faster and buttery smooth mobile devices. Any thoughts? Which manufacturer do you think will bring to market the first quad core device?
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This article, The Best Android Phone of 2012 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
Top 3 Remote Desktops Apps For Android
An Android smartphone is a powerful computing device. However, there are some things that a smartphone can’t do or can’t handle. That’s why we have desktops, after all. However, we just can’t lug a desktop around. It’s also a bit of a hassle when a home computer is processing something and the user has to do a regular check-up on it – which maybe impossible if the owner of the PC happens to be several hours away at work.
That’s why remote desktop apps were created. Designed to give users access to their home computer via the Internet using work computers, they’ve successfully been transplanted to more mobile platforms like smartphones. Here are several of the best of them for use with Android-based mobile devices.
#3 GMOTE
Gmote is a very efficient and simple app for beginners in remote access use. All a user needs to do is download the app to their phone and the server to their desktop. Afterwards, users just activate the app and select the server and they’re good to go. It’s primarily designed so people can have access to their music and video files, but they can also use it to browse the Web and look at files on their PC.
#2 Remote Droid
RemoteDroid is a more work-oriented app. Smartphone owners can use it on their local Wi-Fi network to turn their phone into a wireless keyboard and mouse combination. Working on the same server and app partnership of Gmote, it’s also pretty easy to set-up.
#1 XtraLogic’s Remoted Desktop Client
XtraLogic’s Remoted Desktop Client combines the two: users can manipulate their files and use their phone as a keyboard over the Internet. This means they have full access to their home PC as long as they have their phone. Installation is also a breeze since most of the components come pre-installed in Windows. With a robust feature list and dependable security, this one is the best of the lot.
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This article, Top 3 Remote Desktops Apps For Android , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1-ägare: Vilka är era synpunkter på tableten?
Samsungs första Tegra 2-tablet, Galaxy Tab 10.1, har nu funnits ute på butikshyllorna i närmare ett halvår och även om vi tyckte oss ana en långsam start kantad av skärmproblem så har vi på vårt forum kunnat se att enheten har blivit mycket populär bland våra medlemmar.
Vi konstaterade i vår recension att Samsung hade lyckats bra med Tab 10.1, men att enheten hade sina brister – kanske främst vad gäller anslutningsmöjligheter och minnesexpansion – men att skärmen (som på just vårt exemplar var närmast felfri) var i en egen klass då vi jämförde med konkurrenter som ASUS Tramsformer TF101 och Acer Iconia A500.
I vanlig ordning så kan en enda recension inte mer än skrapa på ytan, oavsett hur grundlig man än försöker vara, så vi bollar nu därför över frågan till er Tab 10.1-ägare istället: Vilka är era synpunkter på plattan? Vilka är bristerna? Styrkorna? Hur har systemuppdateringarna fungerat? Vad skulle ni ändra på om ni kunde?
Kommentarersfältet törstar som alltid efter era synpunkter, men bara från er som faktiskt äger eller har ägt en Tab 10.1.
Länk | 2 kommentarer | Forum | Tipsa oss
LG Optimus Black får slutligen Gingerbread-uppdateringen
Den svenska, eller snarare öppna europeiska, versionen av LG:s Optimus Black fick för blott några dagar sedan slutligen uppdateringen till Android 2.3.4/Gingrebread. Black blir därmed den tredje telefonen ur den europeiska Optimus-serien från 2011 att uppdateras – efter Optimus One och Optimus 2X.
Återstår gör nu bara Optimus 3D, såvida man inte tar saken i egna händer och installerar en så kallad ”custom-ROM”, och sedan påbörjas en ny väntan på en uppdatering till Android 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich – som av LG har utlovats för tre av de fyra svenska Optimus-modellerna från 2011: 2X, Black och 3D.
Då LG har valt att använda sitt eget skal så är det visuella skillnaderna i Black med 2.3 i det närmaste obefintliga och som användare kan man egentligen bara se skillnaden under Inställningar -> Om telefonen. Telefonen upplevs rent spontant som aningen mer responsiv, något som dock är väldigt subjektivt och kan vara en ren placeboeffekt.
Undertecknad hade gärna sett att LG hade lånat dialogrutor och knappar och liknande grafiska element från Android 2.3/Gingerbread istället för att använda sina egna knappar, som med ett gråtråkigt gränssnitt dessvärre ser ut som Android gjorde i sin barndom.
Ni som har en telefon ur Optimus-serien och har fått uppdateringen till Gingerbread – hur upplever ni det hela? Blev telefonen snabbare? Märker ni liten eller ingen skillnad? Var det värt väntan? Dela med er i kommentarerna!
Länk | Inga kommentararer | Forum | Tipsa oss
January 28 2012
SwitchMe For Android Dual-Boots Your Device Using Multiple Profiles, Saves On Battery Life And More
Recall the Boot Manager app we covered a few months ago? Well, similarly, but slightly different, you’re unable to boot into different ROM’s like Boot Manager, however, SwitchMe is much less complicated to navigate. The application allows as seamlessly as allowable and with the touch of a button, to create a new installation of your current ROM minus all of the tweaks and settings. The application is extremely “tweak-able” if you will. The app is scaled down well for battery optimization as it allows you to switch through a number of profiles. Here’s some more suggestions from the dev as well:
The technology behind SwitchMe saves all of your applications and data, protects it and stores it as a file in memory. You can then log out of an account and log into a fresh installation of Android or another account with its own unique content.
Privacy—the most obvious benefit is that you can securely share one device among multiple users, which gives you privacy and peace of mind.
Testing—if you are a developer, you can use profiles as clean sandboxes to test your applications and their interaction with the system.
Gaming—with multiple installations of Android on a single device, you can now play online MMOs as different characters.
Speed—the games your kids play slow down your tablet, but with SwitchMe you can easily create profiles in without games or messengers.
Battery life—when the battery is low but there are important emails or documents to edit later, switch to a profile which only contains these essentials.
In addition, if you just wanted to use the app to dual-boot and not switch between ROM’s constantly, SwitchMe is a great way to go. You can check more information on the application via the download links below. Give it a go and don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments section. The app is free but also offers a pro key for $2 which allows you to create an unlimited amount of profiles as well as password protect them for added privacy.
Android Market Link
Dropbox to give Sense 4.0 Users 50GB of Cloud Storage
Yesterday we shared with you HTC’s next step in their skin for their Android devices, Sense 4.0 While there are a lot of visual changes, one we didn’t mention is that Sense 4.0 users that login to Dropbox from their device will receive 50GB of cloud storage. Now PocketNow did not indicate whether this was a trial or permanent. But with all the leaked Ice Cream Sandwich ROM’s running with Sense 3.5, we also got a 50GB upgrade in Dropbox which is permanent. So I’d imagine this would be permanent as well.
We heard a few months ago that HTC and Dropbox were teaming up to give users more cloud storage, mostly as a marketing tool to get more consumers to buy HTC devices since Sense only works on HTC Android devices. We will keep digging for more information so we can be sure whether it is just a 1-year trial or if you’ll have that 50GB of space for life.
How many of you use Dropbox daily? What do you use it for? How would 50GB help you with your Dropbox account? Hit up the comments and let us know.
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This article, Dropbox to give Sense 4.0 Users 50GB of Cloud Storage , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
Android screen chaos: A feature, not a bug
Originally posted at Deep Tech
Largest Android Malware Campaign Discovered
If you downloaded something off the Android Market today, there is a chance that you are one of the 5 million users who have been duped by the largest-ever Android malware campaign. Symantec has dubbed this as the ‘Android.Counterclank’ and was found on 13 infected apps created by three different publishers. The titles of these infected apps include ‘Counter Strike Ground Force’ and ‘Sexy Girls Puzzle.’ Unfortunately of these infected apps were still found available on the market as of 3pm Friday.
In an interview, Symantec’s Security Response Team Director, Kevin Haley said:
“They don’t appear to be real publishers. There aren’t rebundled apps, as we’ve seen so many times before.”
This was in reference to a common tactic which Android malware makers use to deceive innocent users into downloading the infected app. They would normally repackage one legitimate app with an attack code before re-releasing it to the marketplace hoping that this will confuse users to download the fake along with the one that’s real.
Symantec has put an estimate number of the downloaded apps; something the Android Market has only shown as a range. By combining the download totals of the 13 apps, Symantec was able to derive a figure between 1-5 million. “Yes, this is the largest malware [outbreak] on the Android Market.” Haley admitted.
The malware is actually a Trojan that attacks Android smartphones. Upon installation, it collects a wide scope of data, including the handset maker and bookmark copies. Moreover, it modifies the home page of the browser. As a result, hackers have earned some money from the malware by pushing some unwanted advertisements on the compromised Android devices.
One of the reasons why the malware has affected such a huge number of Android users is because they do not bother reading privacy agreements. They simply approve these apps, without even reading information on them.
“If you were the suspicious type, you might wonder why they’re asking for permission to modify the browser or transmit GPS coordinates,” Haley said. “But most people don’t bother.”
If you can still remember the Trojan horse discovered last June 2011 called the Android.Tonclank, today’s malware is a minor variation of it.
Even though the malware was only discovered yesterday, some of the 13 infected apps have already been on the Android Market for at least a month. This is based on the revision dates posted on them. Even Android users did not notice anything fishy.
One user downloaded ‘Deal & Be Millionaire’ last January 16 and had this to say about the app:
“The game is decent… but every time you run this game, a ‘search icon gets added randomly to one of your screens. I keep deleting the icon, but it always reappears. If you tap the icon you get a page that looks suspiciously like the Google search page.”
Deal & Be Millionaire is one of the 13 infected apps.
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This article, Largest Android Malware Campaign Discovered , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
Sony Ericsson is no more, It’s Sony all the way
There’s been some talk of this happening and over the past week it has. As of January 26th, the company, Sony Ericsson, is solely owned by Sony. Their former partner Ericsson sold their stake for $1.47 billion. Sony Ericsson had a rough year, clsoing out 2011 with a $318 million dollar loss in the 4th quarter of 2011. Moving forward the company’s aim is to update their device line to ICS in hopes that consumers will pick up their devices on confidence of updates. Of course, they also have some exciting new devices slated including the Xperia Ion and Xperia S. Here’s hoping Sony makes good of their acquisition.
Will We Finally See the Release of the Samsung Epic 2?
The sequel to the original Samsung Epic 4G was rumored to be seen on Sprint‘s network way back in quarter three of last year. However there hasn’t been much in terms of news regarding this device since then. Heck, the phone hasn’t even seen a release since it was first announced. Well it appears that we may actually see a release after all, as the device (SPH-D705) has made a showing in the Cellebrite system (see below). Usually this means that the release is imminent in the near future.
Photo Courtesy of ACSyndicate
While it’s nice to see the possible release, as you can see near the Epic 4G Touch, at this point the phone’s specs aren’t really that impressive; at least in today’s multi-core age. It comes with a 4-inch qHD display with 1.2GHz single-core Hummingbird processor, and an 8MP camera. Who knows, maybe they’ve beefed up the phone since its first showing with some upgraded specs. We will have to wait and see.
So while being in the Cellebrite system doesn’t guarantee that we will see the phone released it sure is a sign that the phone is moving forward. Why would Samsung add support for a phone that wouldn’t be released? Again, only time will tell so keep it locked here as we bring you more information regarding this device.
[top image courtesy of PocketNow]
CM9 is now available for the original Galaxy Tab
So any of you sporting the original Galaxy Tab have likely realized by now you’re never going to see an official ICS update. Don’t let it get you down though cause there’s an alternative that in all likely hood is even better. The Galaxy Tab is now supported by CyanogenMod 9. This device was added just recently so there are still some kinks, such as the camera not working; a typical omission at this stage in development. You’ll also have to build this one from source. If those aren’t hurdles for you check in at the XDA thread for full instructions.
By the way if you have a Galaxy Tab of the 10.1 variety, I have it on good authority that a certain kang of CM9 is a brilliant. You can check that one out here.
The Kindle Fire is Blazing the Trail to Most Popular Android Tablet
The most recent analytics from Flurry show the startling rise of Kindle Fires popularity. Back in November when the Fire launched it accounted for about 3% of tablets used. The reigning champ at the time was the Samsung Galaxy Tab accounting for 63%. Fast forward to this January and the numbers tell a strikingly different story. The Fire has since garnered 33% more share tying it with the Galaxy Tab at 36%.
Flurry’s method of data collection isn’t necessarily the most accurate because the data aggregation is incorporated into certain apps, but its no secret that the Fire has been a hit with consumers. Amazon’s low entry point seems to have made the Fire the little tablet that could.
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