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October, 2011 Articles

iPhone’s Siri Got You Green With Envy? Try Out Iris for Android [Download]

by Chris Chavez on October 17th, 2011

One of the biggest selling points of the iPhone 4S is definitely its voice recognition feature, Siri. I’ll admit — although I would likely never use it — it’s pretty neat. It’s so good in fact that I’ve even heard around the Twittersphere it’s managed to sway a few longtime Android devotees on over to [...]

Apps of the Day: Remember the Milk and Espier Launcher (iOS-style Launcher)

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Got a couple of great apps for you today ahead of all the chaos set to ensue tomorrow. Before I hand things over to Chris Chaves, I just want to remind everyone that we’re covering all bases tomorrow. From Motorola’s DROID RAZR unveiling in New York to the Ice Cream Sandwich and Nexus Prime showing [...]

Samsung Canada Tells Consumers to Stay Tuned to Samsung’s Hong Kong Announcement, Promises “Samsung’s Coolest Smartphone” is Coming

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Not that Canadians needed to worry about whether or not the Nexus Prime would be going to the great white north, but Samsung Canada has told users to keep an eye out on their announcement in conjunction with Google tomorrow in Hong Kong. The statement then went on to say this: The coolest Samsung smartphone [...]

Samsung Galaxy S II vs Apple iPhone 4S Camera Comparison

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Our friends at PCWorld have put together a detailed comparison (they use number ratings and all that junk) of the Apple iPhone 4S’ camera up against the Samsung Galaxy S II’s. The former is a 8 megapixel camera with 720p HD video while the latter is an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video. Both boast [...]

Google Wallet Update Brings Deals, Rewards and More

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Google’s issued another big update to Google Wallet, their mobile NFC-based payment system. American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy’s, OfficeMax and Toys”R”Us have all implemented the digital deals and rewards features that Google detailed a while ago. The service is called SingleTap and will allow you to redeem coupons and [...]

PSA: DROID RAZR, Ice Cream Sandwich and Nexus Prime Coverage Tomorrow Includes Hands-on, IRC Chats and More!

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Tomorrow’s the big announcement day. Not only do we get a new version of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) fully unveiled, but we also get two devices – the Motorola Droid RAZR for Verizon and the Nexus Prime/Samsung Galaxy Nexus (also likely for Verizon starting out but should certainly be heading to other carriers. Rob’s already [...]

Importation of Apple Products Will Not be Banned in the US

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

The US ITC has declared that Apple’s products will not be banned from importation, according to Reuters. HTC sparked the lawsuit up in early 2010 to fight off a series of attacks from Apple who is pretty much suing everyone on the planet right now. HTC has also sued Apple in other US courts, though, [...]

As Teaser Site is Revealed, Official Shot of the DROID RAZR is Uncovered

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Motorola unleashed their teaser site for the phone they’re set to announce tomorrow – the Motorola Droid RAZR – and left us with nothing but our wits to figure out what it’s all about. Aside from a quick teaser video, random images and an input field to submit a code, there wasn’t much… but there [...]

Next Major Firefox for Android Update Said to Add Flash, Bring Native Honeycomb/ICS Version

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Mozilla has mentioned that their browser for Android – Firefox, of course – will be getting some key features in the next update. The biggest “want” any of us have is flash support, something missing from Firefox that has kept people away from it. We’ll supposedly be getting that alongside a native version of the [...]

Next Google I/O Dated for April 24-25th 2012

by Quentyn Kennemer on October 17th, 2011

Google has announced the dates for their annual Google I/O developers’ conference. We’re looking at an April 24th 2012 start date with all of it culminating on the conclusion of the following day. Google I/O brings all the developers out for not only sessions and workshops, but also for showcasing great apps and new features [...]

Samsung Galaxy S II Survives Drop Test, iPhone 4S Takes a Licking

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

Sure, Apple sold over 4 million iPhone 4S handset over the weekend, but can it survive a fall from waist height? Apple’s decision to got with glass on both the front and back of the handset looks beautiful, but in practical terms creates a rather fragile handset. The true beauty of its design is typically [...]

Nexus Prime Appears in RadioShack’s Cellebrite System

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

Both Verizon and Best Buy started showing the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in their Cellebrite system’s last week, and now RadioShack has joined in on the fun. Listing the Samsung SCH-I515 once again as the Nexus Prime, confusion remains on whether or not the handset will be released in some capacity under the name. There is [...]

Enhanced Photo Editing Coming in Ice Cream Sandwich?

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

The launch of Android’s next update, Ice Cream Sandwich, is looking more and more like the biggest to date. Aside from a completely revamped user interface, the majority of Google’s mobile apps will be refreshed with new features and functionality. Android Police got their paws on a collection of icons said to be from a new [...]

Motorola Lapdock 100 Coming to Sprint October 21

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

Motorola hasn’t quite give up on the Lapdock technology first introduced with the Motorola Atrix. Admitting that the high price of the peripheral was a major setback for adoption, the company vowed to produce a lower-cost alternative to the original laptop dock. While the pricing on the Lapdock 100 isn’t clear at this point, we [...]

Motorola Website Counting Down to Droid RAZR Announcement

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

Call it poor timing on Motorola’s part — or perhaps misfortune — but what looks to be their biggest holiday product unveiling has been overshadowed by a rescheduled Google/Samsung event. That event, which takes place on a different calendar day as Moto’s but falls within the same 24 hour thanks when taking time zones into [...]

Motorola Atrix 2 Now Available from AT&T

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

When it comes to smartphone sequels, the freshly released Motorola Atrix 2 may be the quickest turn arounds to date. The followup to the AT&T handset released less than a year ago is now available for the carrier at an appealing $99.99 on a new two-year contract. The Atrix 2 features a 1GHz dual-core processor [...]

Official: Dual Touchscreen, QWERTY LG DouplePlay Announced for T-Mobile

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

With the market for a dual-touchscreen phone with a QWERTY keyboard lacking, LG has announced the bizarre experiment known as the LG DoublePlay. Calling the phone the “ultimate multitasking handset,” the DoublePlay features a clamshell design withsplit QWERTY keyboard. a secondary touchscreen 2.0-inch display comes nestled between the two halves. The main display measures in [...]

Ice Cream Sandwich ROM Running on the Samsung Galaxy S II [Update: No It's Not]

by Kevin Krause on October 17th, 2011

Hello there, Mr. Galaxy S II. What’s that you have for us mere days before the official unveiling of Google’s next Android update? A sneak peek at Ice Cream Sandwich running on a Samsung flagship that doesn’t have the word ‘Nexus’ in its name? It sure looks like it. While we have no way of [...]

Hong Kong, Here I Come

by Rob Jackson on October 15th, 2011

When Samsung announced an unveiling that overlapped with CTIA in San Diego, and involved Google, I was ecstatic. When Samsung canceled that same event once I was already in San Diego, I was disappointed. The good part? I was in San Diego. But when Samsung and Google rescheduled that event for one week later in [...]

Samsung Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound Priced in Verizon MAP

by Chris Chavez on October 14th, 2011

From what I’ve been reading in our comments, probably the 2 most sought after Android phones due later this year are the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the HTC Rezound (Vigor). Both devices will launch on Verizon in the coming weeks and their “minimum advertised price” has been revealed in this leaked Verizon MAP. Typical with [...]