Michael Crider

Author: Michael Crider

Verizon rolling out 4.0.4 OTA for the Galaxy Nexus

By Michael Crider
on 31 May, 2012

Nexus owners, mark your calendars: it's been exactly five and a half months since the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was released exclusively on Verizon in the United States. In that time the phone has received one and only one official update, to Android 4.0.2.... which was almost immediately overshadowed by 4.0.3, then 4.0.4 over two months ago. Today reports are spreading that Verizon is finally, finally sending out the 4.0.4 update over the air, making its LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus officially current for the first time in almost half a year.

Intel and Orange prepare Medfield-powered San Diego for the UK

By Michael Crider
on 31 May, 2012

Well UK readers, those of you desperately waiting for an Intel-powered smartphone (all six of you) won't have to wait much longer. Earlier today Intel and carrier Orange officially unveiled the long-awaited San Diego smartphone... in London. Someone get those guys an atlas. The San Diego is the retail-ready hardware based on concept designs known as the San Francisco and Santa Clara, with a 1.6Ghz single-core Atom (Medfield) processor inside.

Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 slated for June release

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

Lenovo's tablet selection in the US has left a little to be desired of late, but that's about to change. The company announced today that the IdeaTab S2109, first shown off last month, will be hitting the States in June. The price is a little disappointing at $349.99, but it comes with at least one unique feature that you won't find anywhere else: four external SRS surround sound speakers. That alone should make it one of the most capable tablets on the market from an audio perspective.

ZTE Athena is the newest world’s thinnest smartphone

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

Wow, Oppo didn't even last a week before somebody swooped in and took their "thinnest smartphone" badge for the finder. The corporate griefer in this case is Chinese manufacturer ZTE, whose new "Athena" smartphone was spotted by Weibo looking positively anorexic. The Athena beats the Finder by a whole .3mm, for a total Z-height of 6.2mm. Pricing and availability are, of course, up in the air.

Flipboard for Android enters public beta, we go hands-on

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

Well, we reported this morning that iOS smash-hit newsreader Flipboard would be entering beta soon, catering to specific handsets in order for the developer to get used to multiple screen resolutions. Well we were only half right, but we were half right really fast, so I'm going to call it a win. All interested parties can now download the Flipboard beta APK from their website, and navigate the news with aplomb using RSS feeds, social networking and gestures. Which is what we did, rather promptly, for your enjoyment.

Rogers taking Galaxy S III pre-orders, Canadian pricing revealed

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

Canadian Samsung fans, today is the day you've been waiting for. Just hours after regional carrier Videotron put up their standard sign-up page for the Galaxy S III, Rogers has begun taking pre-orders for the flagship device. Current Rogers customers can reserve theirs at this website, and prospective switchers can sign up for information. Unfortunately, there's no word on pricing or availability.

Evernote Hello contact manager hits Android

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

Evernote is branching out from its standard notation/bookmark/link sharing service into something a little more relatable. Today they're launching Evernote Hello, a contact manager that aims to make remembering your contacts much easier with contextual information. The free app builds on Evernote's established services by backing up said contacts in your Evernote account, eliminating that annoying need to send out a Facebook message to tell everyone you lost your phone (not that Android users have to worry there).

Archos Child Pad packs Ice Cream Sandwich… and Chipmunks

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

The resurgence of Alvin and the Chipmunks is baffling. It's always been a bit of a cringe-inducing franchise, but the trio of CG-live action movies has been grade-A adult repellent for five years now. Even so, kids seem to love them - to the tune of about 1.1 billion dollars international gross across three movies. This being the case, it's hard to blame Archos for wanting to get in on the action with their new ARNOVA Child Pad, which ties into the home video release of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Sigh.

No Chrome OS tablets coming any time soon

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

Those of you hoping for a convergence of Google's mobile and cloud desktop operating systems won't be fulfilled any time soon. In a recent interview with Tech Radar, Googler Linus Upson put rumors of Chrome OS tablet - and full integration between Chrome OS and Android - well and truly to rest. The teams working on Chrome and Android are to remain separate, with the obvious exception of Chrome for Android.

Flipboard beta planned for multiple devices [Update: Download]

By Michael Crider
on 30 May, 2012

If you're at all excited about Flipboard making a long-overdue appearance on Android, odds are pretty good that you've already tried out the APK ripped from the Galaxy S III. But soon enough more Android users will be able to get in on the action. The developers have stated that they intend to release a beta version of the app for just a few devices, in order to test out different screen resolutions.