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September, 2010 Articles

Galaxy Tab for Verizon Gets Internally Confirmed for Official Announcement on Thursday

by Kevin Krause on September 14th, 2010

While it has been known for quite some time that Verizon would be seeing the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the company is officially announcing the device to their employees in preparation for Thursday’s public unveiling in New York City. Though other carriers including at least Sprint and AT&T will also announce availability at the same event, [...]

Fruit Ninja Slicing Its Way onto the Android Market Tomorrow

by Kevin Krause on September 14th, 2010

Hot on the heels of the wildly successful release of the Angry Birds beta (yeah, that was only the beta), another popular iOS game is bringing its simple yet addictive gameplay to Android. Whether you can’t get enough fruit or prefer the silent killer they call the ninja, Fruit Ninja probably has you covered. If [...]

Skyfire Reaches 1 Million Users, New Version to Support More Handsets

by Kevin Krause on September 14th, 2010

Not many apps can attest to reaching the 1 million mark on Android, but Skyfire has just broken that mark putting the mobile browser in the top 0.2 percent of of all apps in the Android Market. Put that number in perspective: 99.8 percent of Android apps have less users than Skyfire. As you probably [...]

Phandroid Gear (and Phones) at Phandroid LIVE!

by Rob Jackson on September 14th, 2010

There are only a few more spots open for Phandroid LIVE on September 21st in Baltimore so if you want to attend but haven’t yet… SIGN UP NOW! In addition to the already announced mayhem, every person who attends will be getting some Phandroid Gear to take home: Phandroid bags, Phandroid stadium cups, Phandroid pens [...]

Acer Liquid E Ferrari Goes to India

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

India’s next up to get the Ferrari edition of Acer’s Liquid E, a phone that’s been out for a while, now, but has gotten a makeover in lavish red and donned with Ferrari logos. Nothing else can be said at this time except that it’s headed to India because we’ve heard everything we need to [...]

The OpenPeak Tablet Doesn’t Look Bad in this Hands-On

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

Looking for an iPad competitor now? OpenPeak gave SlashGear the privilege of what appears to be the first hands-on preview of the 7-inch device fresh out of its pre-production phase and I must say: I like what I saw. It still comes packed with that beefy 1.9GHz Moorestown processor and it really does make for [...]

Uh Oh: Adobe Warns Against Critical Security Flaw in Flash

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

Steve Jobs, are you laughing yet? We call Jobs naive, scared, and all of these other things as he downplays Flash due to its performance issues and security risks, but the fact of the matter is he’s right: with Flash comes the vulnerabilities and downsides that’s always plagued the platform. Adobe’s discovered a critical security [...]

Samsung Galaxy S (i9000) to get Android 2.2 September 23rd?

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

A new rumor regarding the upgrade to Android 2.2 for the Samsung Galaxy S comes from AndroidSpin: according to their source within the Finland branch of Samsung Mobile, Samsung’s repairs department will… “definitely receiving new software for repairing froyo builds on the 22nd of September, with the build expected to be released on the 23rd” [...]

Orange to Launch “Project Jal” as the San Francisco, Delayed Until End of Quarter

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

A small bit of news for those of you with the carrier Orange: “Project JAL” – a phone identified to be a carrier-branded ZTE Blade – is now getting a name change. It’ll be known as the Orange San Francisco, for whatever reason. It’s a weird name, but there’s nothing else significant to note. It’s [...]

V Cast App Store Looks to Provide an Alternative to the Android Market; Why You Shouldn’t Cry Wolf

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

Apparently, Verizon’s not OK with the Android market being the goto source for apps on their Android-based handsets. They’ve announced the advent of their V Cast Apps store with the goal of giving developers an easy, free, and fast way to get your apps to a large number of users. I didn’t quite understand the [...]

AMOLED vs LCD – Can the Naked Eye Tell the Difference?

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

As Samsung struggles to churn out AMOLED displays for partners such as HTC – who were struggling to ship phones like the Desire, Nexus One, and the Droid Incredible due to the shortages – everyone’s turned their heads toward Super LCD. Much noise has been made that there really is no difference between the two, [...]

Garmin May Consider “Hanging it Up”

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

Please excuse my pun in the title of this report, but Garmin’s not too confident about the future of their mobile phone front in the face of today’s competition. Once upon a time, it was cool to want a Garmin navigation because – well – who wouldn’t want a phone with navigation features built in? [...]

Verizon Drumming Up to Android 2.2 for the Droid X?

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

We know Verizon and Motorola has plans to bring Android 2.2 to all of you 4.3-inch Droid-loving folks, but until now Verizon’s kept quiet on the status of its ETA. A few leaks here and there seemed to put us closer to an official rollout, but Verizon and Motorola didn’t acknowledge them outside of warning [...]

LG Launches the Optimus One and Optimus Chic

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 14th, 2010

LG’s launched the nice pair of Android phones we’ve been talking about for some time now – the LG Optimus One and their Optimus Chic – today. Powered by Android 2.2 with LG’s custom launcher sitting on top of it, these phones aren’t the powerhouses we once thought them to be, but they still look [...]

Samsung Galaxy Tab for AT&T Gets Spotted, Three Other Phones to AT&T Before December

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 13th, 2010

Not even half a day removed from the original report of the Samsung Galaxy Tab going to AT&T (and America’s two biggest CDMA carriers), the tablet/phone hybrid for the iPhone-loving carrier has been spotted. We’re treated to a shot of the device with a back cover branded with an AT&T logo. Engadget – the leaksters [...]

As If You Didn’t Already Have Enough to Build With Legos

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 13th, 2010

I’ve seen lots of things built with lots of legos, but a realization of our beloved Android mascot in all of those plastic-y, puzzle-y pieces makes me want to go out and do what I used to spend so much time with as a child. It’s probably one of the biggest three-dimensional figurines we’ve seen [...]

id Mobile Hiring an Android Programmer; to port Rage?

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 13th, 2010

id Software – the guys behind staple gaming franchises Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein – are looking for an Android developer to join their mobile development team. The exact listing looks for “…a talented and experienced programmer to help bring our next big Mobile game to the Android space.” The one “big game” we can think [...]

SCEA: “No New Mobile Launches This Year”

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 13th, 2010

A bit of gaming news for you folks familiar with Sony and the rumored “PSP Phone” that might be coming with the Sony Ericsson banner: Sony Computer Entertainment America’s marketing extraordinaire Peter Dille was asked about the momentum Sony’s enjoyed in their gaming business and whether or not that’ll continue with any mobile launches. His [...]

How to Develop For Multiple Screen Sizes and Resolutions, Including the Galaxy Tab

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 13th, 2010

Google’s admitted that Android – in its current state – is not optimized (or meant) for tablets, but that doesn’t mean they want developers to hold off on targeting devices with bigger screen sizes and higher resolutions. Specifically mentioning the Galaxy Tab to set up a quick primer on programming with pixel density in mind, [...]

Samsung Galaxy Apollo Now Available at T-Mobile UK for a 20 Pound Unlimited Data Tariff

by Quentyn Kennemer on September 13th, 2010

The Samsung Galaxy Apollo was expected to land for T-Mobile UK last month, but that window came and went as we didn’t hear anything about it. T-Mobile’s started to quietly stock the phone now, however, and it’s available free for a low 20 pounds per month tariff that comes with 300 minutes, 300 text messages, [...]