March, 2011 - Android Community

Monthly Archive: June 2013

HTC ThunderBolt Annihilates Masses of Quadrant Competitors, Overclocks to 1.8Ghz with “unboLTEd 0.2″

By Chris Burns
on 29 Mar, 2011

Before we begin, there's two important things to note: one, that we don't know Derek Rodriquez well enough to know for sure if these scores are real or accurate, but it appears that with his kernel "unboLTEd 0.2," incredible speeds and scores have been achieved. Overlocking to 1.8GHz is no small feat one a single-core machine, neither is achieving a score of 2772 in Quadrant benchmarking - but is it real? We can certainly cross our fingers and hope for the best!

Firefox 4 Android Benchmarks on HTC ThunderBolt and ATRIX 4G

By Chris Burns
on 29 Mar, 2011

What we've got here are two rather different phones and three sort of similar browsers, the phones running on two rather different carriers and the browsers whose creators would all hope to gain your attention long enough to browse the internet with their application over the competition. What we're using to test out the browsers in question, the newest of which, Firefox 4, was just released today, is a JavaScript Benchmark by the name of SunSpider. It's a sweet test that can test everyone equally.

Google Ditches XOOM, Courts LG for Google Tablet [RUMOR]

By James DeRuvo
on 29 Mar, 2011

There's whispers bouncing around the interwebs that Google's isn't exactly thrilled with the performance of the Motorola Xoom and may be developing their own, pure, Google Tablet for LG to make. Now why on earth would they do that? It may be that Google wants to expand their Nexus brand name with a Nexus Tablet, but the only reason Nexus really exists is because cellphone companies like to add overlays like TouchWiz and Blur which bog down the phone and cause Google to rework updates to run with them. But with Tablets, Google is essentially enjoying a free hand as every tablet runs a pure Android experience. So what gives?

Samsung Droid Charge eyes Droid lineup

By James DeRuvo
on 29 Mar, 2011

Samsung looks to add to Verizon's line of Droid handsets with the Droid Charge that sports a clever new red eye icon. As the exclusive licensee of the Droid name from Lucasfilm, Verizon has been adding to the Droid brand with phones from Motorola and HTC. The Droid Charge, originally code named the Samsung Stealth V, has identical specs to the Galaxy S but brings a larger, 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen and 4G LTE speed to the mix. The Charge has a single core 1Ghz processor and the same 8mp camera used in the Samsung Fuse 4g, and capable of shooting full 1080p HD video. The Droid Line originally launched under Verizon with the Motorola Droid. Motorola has since expanded it's robot reach with the Motorola Droid X, Motorola Droid 2, and Motorola Droid Pro. HTC wasn't about to be left out and camera along in between with the HTC Droid Eris and Droid Incredible. Now, the Droid family grows against with Samsung's Droid Charge. But what's really interesting is how Samsung is pushing their own, more ornate version of the iconic Droid Red Eye that Motorola launched. HTC wasn't privy to adding the red eye to their marketing, but Samsung has managed to use it with flair. Did Samsung just change it enough to get away with it or are they being allowed to under the terms of their deal with Verizon? Kinda much ado about nothing since it's the phone that really matters, but it's just one of those things that make you go "hmmmmmm." [via PocketNow]

Premium edition of Angry Birds Seasons free today on Amazon AppStore

By James DeRuvo
on 29 Mar, 2011

Every day, the Amazon AppStore for Android is offering a free premium app to encourage a return to the AppStore more often. And today it's Angry Birds Seasons Ad-Free edition by Rovio Mobile. The app is free for all Amazon account holders in the US and customizes Rovio's insanely successful game with holiday themes. Currently, themes include Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day. This premium version comes without any ads and is available free for one day only.

Droid X and Droid 2 Get Root in Addition to Gingerbread

By Chris Burns
on 29 Mar, 2011

You remember a couple days ago when those fine folks at MyDroidWorld gave a leaked Gingerbread build to both the Motorola Droid X and the Motorola Droid 2? Well check it out, they didn't stop there, they went on to ROOT both of those builds, and now that root can be yours!

T-Mobile assures customers, answers questions about the merger

By James DeRuvo
on 29 Mar, 2011

T-Mobile has come out with assurances that customers of both AT&T and T-Mobile will see improved performance and more widespread 4G LTE deployment with the merger of both companies. C.O.O. Jim Alling explains that merging both companies allows for deployment of a "robust" 4G LTE network to 95% of the US population. Without the merger, neither company could accomplish this goal within the same time-frame. Alling also promises improved voice and data performance almost immediately after the networks are integrated.

Cool Verizon spot races onto TVs

By James DeRuvo
on 29 Mar, 2011

If you're an Indy racing fan, Verizon has a cool new service that will help you keep up on your favorite racing team ... Team Verizon! The spot is for the Indy Car Mobile app, which follows the IZOD Indy Car Series. With the app, users can listen to in car audio, keep track of races with leader boards, highlights, and even special tweets from the drivers (I hope while not racing!). Upcoming features to include live in-car camera for Verizon sponsored drivers, press conference streaming and Indy Car Nation exclusive content. According to the YouTube page, the app currently follows Indy racers Will Power, Helio Castroneves & Ryan Briscoe.

Firefox 4.0 for Android Download Available Now

By Chris Burns
on 29 Mar, 2011

Behold the newest version of Firefox for Android, Firefox 4, or 4.0 if you prefer, a browser that Mozilla is saying is clocking in at three times the speed of Android's stock browser. They say there's JavaScript engine tweaks (this is what'd make it much faster,) tabbed browsing (I hope so!), Firefox Sync, and yes, add ons! They've added an official walkthrough video of the new features and we've got it for you here below - descend upon it while you download the massive 13MB file from the Android Market! Included in this new release is Firefox Sync, a sister that pulls all your desktop bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, form data, and passwords to your mobile version, back to your desktop version, and back and forth again forever into infinity! This means you'll only have to log into YouTube or Facebook in one place and you'll be good to go anywhere you go! We're happy there's some HTML5 support in the mix, but sad to see a lack of Flash support. Surely this will be cooked up soon. [youtube 5hm_7JOU6Jw] Oddly enough, this new version is also being offered up for Maemo, a Nokia software platform also made for mobile devices. Check out the big list of new items here in this official release, take a peek at that video, then check your download because if it's not done by now, you're not on a fast enough network - truth! [gallery]

What’s New in Firefox for Android and Maemo: Streamlined Interface Focus on Web content: Features like tabs, one-touch bookmarking and browser controls that stow away when not in use help users focus on the websites they visit Browse More, Type Less Awesome Screen: Type less with easy access to history, bookmarks and open tabs Save to PDF: Capture important websites, like directions or a boarding pass, to view offline Share Page: Share websites via apps like email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader and more Add Search Engine: Customize your search engine list. Private and Secure Synchronization Firefox Sync: Access Awesome Bar history, bookmarks, open tabs, passwords and form data across multiple computers and mobile devices with secure end-to-end encryption Most Customizable: Firefox offers thousands of ways for users to customize the features, functionality and look of their mobile Web browser with Firefox Add-ons Cutting Edge Tools for Web Developers: Firefox improves existing tools like CSS, Canvas and SVG to enable developers to make exciting Web pages HTML5 support in Firefox for Android and Maemo includes Location-Aware Browsing, device orientation, accelerometer, desktop notifications and more. The JavaScript engine incorporates the new JägerMonkey JIT compiler, along with enhancements to the existing TraceMonkey JIT and SpiderMonkey’s interpreter for faster page-load speed and better performance of Web apps and games

HTC ThunderBolt Kernel Source Revealed

By Chris Burns
on 29 Mar, 2011

It appears that HTC has gotten quite wise in the ways of the open market, releasing this week the kernel source for the HTC ThunderBolt. For those of you who know what this means, head below for the link directly connecting you to the files you'll be needing to hack up the world. For those of you that don't, let me break it down as simply as it needs to be broken down: between the applications you use and the hardware you use your applications on, there's a kernel. A kernel is the central component of your Android operating system - with it, you can do just about anything.