September, 2009 - Android Community

Monthly Archive: May 2013

LG Etna Android smartphone spotted

By Chris Davies
on 7 Sep, 2009

Nothing like a mysterious new Android smartphone to cheer up Labor Day, and today's fresh faced young marvel is the LG Etna. Caught on camera last week by German site Chip Online, the Etna was caught at a Vodafone stand and packs a 3-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard. There's also a 5-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, but beyond that the Etna is a mystery. We'd be very surprised should it turn out not to have WiFi b/g, 3G HSPA and GPS, and we don't think a digital compass and accelerometer are too much to ask either. Of course, this could well be the LG GW620, tipped back in July, but since that rumor lacked an image it's difficult to conclusively tie the two together. No word from either LG or Vodafone as to specific release dates, pricing or anything else, so it's a case of wait and see. [via IntoMobile]

Spotify Mobile hits Android Market

By Chris Davies
on 7 Sep, 2009

Spotify have finally released their official app into the Android Market, meaning that premium subscribers to the music streaming service can now access tracks on the move. As promised, the app delivers on-device database browsing, playlist creation and offline playback. The offline playback means that playlist contents are cached, and can be replayed while the Android device is temporarily without a 3G or WiFi signal or indeed switched to airplane mode. A third-party app delivering catalog access was released back in August, but removed at the request of the company themselves. Spotify Mobile for Android (and the iPhone/iPod touch app, which has also been released today) is available for download now, and requires a subscription to Spotify Premium. That costs £9.99 per month ($18); currently Spotify is only available in the UK, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Spain, though a US launch has been tipped for as early as the end of 2009. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ALGPknOsiU[/youtube] [via SlashGear]

Best Buy to Offer HTC Hero on Sprint

By Shane McGlaun
on 4 Sep, 2009

One of the things that I hate the most about buying smartphones is that the price you see typically isn't the real price of the phone. You have to hope for instant discounts and often you need to mail in rebates. Sprint has announced that on October 11 it will be offering the HTC Hero Android phone to its customers for $179.99 after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate. Best Buy is offering a sweeter deal for the same phone though.

Juicy Development offers Talk Radio app for Android

By Shane McGlaun
on 4 Sep, 2009

One of the things I hate about riding in the car with my dad is that he only listens to talk radio. If I wanted to hear people talk I could stay home all day with the wife and her friends (don’t worry she doesn’t read this site). There are fans of talk radio though and there is a new Android app just for you. Juicy Development has announced that its Talk Radio app originally developed for the iPhone is now available on Android platforms. The app uses the location aware nature of Android devices to locate top talk radio stations in your area.

T-Mobile gets the Android Huawei Pulse on prepay in UK

By Shane McGlaun
on 3 Sep, 2009

I don’t really understand why prepay service in the U.S. pretty much means that you will only be able to choose from the dregs of the handset market. However, prepay service over in Europe has some really cool devices like the new Huawei Pulse for T-Mobile. The Pulse is the first Android device offered for prepay consumers on the UK T-Mobile network. The device has a 3.2MP camera and ships with a 2GB microSD card. The handset also has GPS goodness and works on the HSDPA/HSUPS network.

Samsung i7500 Galaxy hits O2

By Shane McGlaun
on 3 Sep, 2009

We have known pretty much everything there is to know about the Samsung i7500, otherwise known as the Galaxy, for a while. The handset is the first one with Android to come from Motorola and one of the only things we were left wondering is when the handset would be available. O2 announced today that the i7500 is now available in stores and via phone sales. “O2 has become the home of smartphones and launching our first Android-powered phone with Samsung is a key part of this,” said Steve Alder, General Manager Devices, Telefónica Europe. “What I love about the Samsung Galaxy is the great user experience and the fantastic range of apps it brings to even more customers.” In case you live in a cave out in the woods somewhere, I'll run down the specs for you quickly. The handset runs Android and has the Qualcomm 7200A chipset with an ARM 528Mhz CPU. The screen is a 3.2-inch 320 x 480 AMOLED and the phone operates on the HSDPA 7.2Mbps network. The i7500 is an O2 exclusive in the UK for the first four weeks of availability and can be had for free on plans starting at £45 monthly.

HTC Desire may be next Verizon Android phone

By Shane McGlaun
on 2 Sep, 2009

Brighthand has caught word of a second Android handset destined to hit Verizon called the HTC Desire. There are little details to go on for the handset, but the device reportedly appears in the Verizon database as the ARD6200. The source who tipped the pub on the device says that it will be Google branded and therefore lacking TouchFLO. There are no other facts about the phone known at this time, as it hasn’t been one of the devices in the myriad of leaks floating around.

Archos 5 internet tablet gets unofficial pricing

By Shane McGlaun
on 2 Sep, 2009

We have been drooling over those Archos Android-powered Internet tablets for a while now. We already know quite a bit about them and the only real piece of information that we needed was how much the internet tablet would cost. CNET has some unofficial pricing up for the devices gleaned from a very short stint live on the B&H website yesterday. The Archos 5 will be offered in 16GB, 32GB, 160GB, and 500GB varieties for $293, $369, $319, and $419 respectively.

Top Android dev says Android Market sales are not good

By Shane McGlaun
on 1 Sep, 2009

Apps are a huge part of most mobile phone platforms today, especially the iPhone. Most mobile devices have access to an application store, but they aren’t all created equal. The Palm Pre application store has caught criticism because of its meek offerings and according to one developer; the Android Market is not generating sales. Android developer Larva Labs has offered sales figures for its wares on the Android Market.

Verizon a no show at big Motorola Android event?

By Shane McGlaun
on 1 Sep, 2009

With the big Motorola event mere days away on September 10, the anticipation of the event is high. It is widely expected that Motorola will be unveiling the Sholes mobile phone powered by Android. A few specs have been gleaned about Sholes so far including a 5MP camera, QWERTY keyboard, and a touch screen. We had previously though that the device would be offered on the Verizon network.