News

Google patents some lockscreens

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:49:29 +0000

If unlocking your phone by looking at it is already old hat, fear not: Google have filed a patent that would allow you to access your phone using your voice. I should make it clear that this doesn’t appear to necessarily mean voice recognition unlocking, but perhaps allowing a user to set their phone to respond to an “Oi, wake up” sort of command.

Either way, I can’t see that particular function catching on as - while certainly novel in the same way Face Unlock is - it’s not the most discrete way of getting into your phone, and would be utterly nightmarish if it were to catch on with those numpties who insist on checking Facebook in the cinema.

But it’s good to know that Google is getting some more tricks up its sleeve to counter the slew of lockscreen-based legal disputes arch-rival Apple has brought upon Android manufacturers like Samsung.

More after the break...

The patent makes mention of other methods of unlocking too, like accessing shortcuts from the lockscreen by dragging said icons to an activation point (or points) to simultaneously unlock the handset and perform a desired secondary action, allowing direct access to an app or contact for example.

Of course this is nothing new to HTC Sense 3+ users. Or MIUI users. Or, to a lesser extent, Ice Cream Sandwich users. And certainly not WidgetLocker or custom ROM users. But nonetheless, given recent courtroom troubles, the more that can be protected in the name of Android, the better, it seems.

Source: Patently Apple

CloudMagic - lightning fast search for your Goo...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:26:36 +0000

If you, like many Android users, have given much of your digital life over to the big G in the sky (Google that is, not, you know...) and like a bit of Twitter, then perhaps CloudMagic is for you.

It is a simple-to-use search app that will rapidly (and I mean very rapidly) scour multiple Google accounts for Gmail, Docs, Contacts, and Calendar as well as the aforementioned Twitter.

Even entering a couple of letters will turn up a quick and invariably accurate search of all your G goodies, or narrow it down to searching just one of the services you use. If you want to be more specific still you can enter an operative “from:...”, “filename:...” to hunt down exactly what you’re after.

Voice searches are supported, but either due to my East-Midlands non-accent or feeling I’m being put on the spot by my phone, these things never seem to work well for me, so I’ll just say that the option is there.

The app is very good as it stands, but in order to make it truly indispensable the CloudMagic wand needs to be waved over other services such as SMS, Google+, GoogleTalk, Facebook, even your apps and so on. I know they aren’t all strictly “cloud” based, but I’d love to see the speed and simplicity of CloudMagic applied in a way you can use it for everything.

In spite of that it’s well deserving of the 4.5 stars it has on the Android Market.

Source: Android Market

Optimus Vu announced before MWC 2012

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:18:26 +0000

On the 12th February, we brought you this leak. On the 19th February, LG has announced the Vu!

The Vu has a 5 inch screen, 8 megapixel camera, 1.3 mega pixel front camera and a 1024x768 resolution 4:3 aspect ratio display(!)

The screen, while lower resolution than the 1280x800 Super AMOLED item on the Galaxy Note, has a display brightness of 650 nits, and is IPS. IPS stands for In-Plane Switching, its name comes from the main difference from TN (Twisted Nematic) displays, that the crystal molecules move parallel to the panel plane instead of perpendicular to it. This change reduces the amount of light scattering in the matrix, which gives IPS its characteristic wide viewing angles and good color reproduction.

Other important specifications are:

8.5mm thick
168g in weight
2080 mAh battery

It has a 32gb eMMC, which is an embedded storage solution, it may not be upgradable or removable, and there is no mention of an additional memory card slot. It will support HDMI and DLNA, and the CPU is a 1.5ghz dual core Qualcomm processor.

Lastly, it is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but LG have promised within 3 months of release (not sure if those are actual months or 'LG months', an Android 4.0 ICS update will be available.

Are any of you guys interested in this? Will you be replacing your Dell Streak with one of these, or considering the Galaxy Note?

Source:LG

CyanogenMod - You don't ask, you don't get

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:47:33 +0000

Enormously popular custom ROM builders CyanogenMod recently requested help from the Android community to help fund the purchase of new servers.

Having lost access to a large computer cluster, the team were no longer able to get through the 50+ nightly builds they were used to.

While you might expect our beloved Android community to rally round rather quickly, the level of funding necessary was reached in less than a day - the plea and the thank you message on CyanogenMod.com both being published on 18th Feb!

Quote

“I am absolutely amazed at the support we have just been shown. We’ve reached our goal, and maybe a bit more. We will be ordering the servers next week (Xeon-class boxes with lots of RAM), and should have the builds going again soon!

Thank you again for the support!”

- Cyanogen

Stories like this are a perfect illustration of how tight-knit the Android universe is, and how valuable both top-notch developers and faithful, supportive users are to its future. Keep on keeping on, Android fans.

Source: CyanogenMod

MoDaCo Recommends... Best Social Media Client

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:57:28 +0000

In the second of our fortnightly 'MoDaCo Recommends...' features, we would like to know about your chosen social media apps for Android or Windows Phone.

How do you keep up with your Twitter feeds, Facebook timeline, or other Social Media platforms? Which tool gives you the best user experience? If you are like me, you will have tried a variety of apps before settling on one or two that satisfy your need.
Now is your chance to share your favourites with the MoDaCo community.

Make your nominations in the comments - you have until Thursday evening to give us your suggestions, with the voting starting at 9am on Friday.

Please only give a single nomination, along with any reasons for using your chosen app.

Get nominating!

Orange San Francisco (ZTE Blade) for £62.99 at ...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:12:38 +0000

Fresh from Hot UK Deals comes another bargain price for a ZTE handset, and this time it's the popular favourite Orange San Francisco aka ZTE Blade.

When this phone was released back in 2010 it very quickly became the fastest selling and most popular budget Android device ever - and it's still popular even today!

Argos.co.uk are selling both the grey and the white phones for £63.99 and £62.99 respectively. A mandatory top up of £10 is required as pointed out by some readers.

The phone will come with an Orange customised build of Android 2.1. Power users may want to follow our easy guides to upgrading the phones to Android 2.2 or Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Those living on the edge might even want to try the Android 4.0.3 alpha builds currently available thanks to some talented people. /wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

We are proud to have the largest ZTE Blade forum around and if you buy one of these phones, why not join in?

You can go to the product listings on the Argos website by clicking these links:
Orange San Francisco in grey
Orange San Francisco in white

UPDATE: Sadly stock has almost run dry for this deal.

Source: Hot UK Deals

Samsung Galaxy Ace now down to £99.99

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:40:17 +0000

If you are looking for a cheap Android phone and the Orange San Francisco isn't your thing then you will be pleased to know that Three have reduced the Galaxy Ace down to £99.99

Coming with Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box with a reasonable 800MHz CPU and 320x480 resolution it's quite a decent little phone for the money... and with it being a Samsung the build quality is pretty good.

Three.co.uk have this tasty little phone available online or in store right now. Click the link below for more details!

Source: Three.co.uk

Swype Beta supports Android 4.0, at last.

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:46:19 +0000

At long, long last the Swype Beta has made its way (officially) to Android 4.0 and the Galaxy Nexus. Rejoice!

I was dumbfounded when I booted mine up for the first time and was punched in the face with the news that Swype wasn’t compatible with my phone and its odd 720x1184 resolution.

‘Big deal,’ I thought and got down to business using the stock keyboard to text a man about a dog. I may as well have eaten my thumbs and bashed at the keyboard with my nose for all the sense my messages were making. I even bought SlideIt (for a cool 10 pence) as an alternative. It works, but it’s not the same.

More after the break...

As well as Ice Cream Sandwich support, the Swype Beta brings improved accuracy, downloadable languages for tablets (though I the language list never loaded for me), and Dragon Go!* dictation add-on support. It's as smooth and well-designed as ever, so I'm pleased to finally have it installed again.

One thing does annoy me a little however: when Gingerbread was the OS to have, Swype was blue themed, not orange. Now ICS is where it’s at, they ditch blue for orange. Go figure.

Swype’s not everyone’s cup of rooibos, admittedly, but it truly makes my Android experience much slicker and more enjoyable. If you don't believe me, believe the wildly over-the-top music in this video.

In fact, I'd like to tell you that I Swyped this entire article, but that'd be showing off. And lying.

Register and/or download the beta directly from Swype.com

*I should note that while the Market version of Dragon Go! appears to be US-only, I had no trouble downloading and installing it from within the Swype Beta app itself - no poking, prodding, cracking or hacking required.

EXCLUSIVE: New details on the forthcoming HTC E...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:10:38 +0000

[Edit: More details online in this post!]

We've just had some details drop in our inbox about the HTC Endeavor (sic), HTC's forthcoming flagship that is expected to launch at MWC later this month.

Our source confirms what we've heard about the Endeavour already, namely it's an ICS phone with a 4.7" 720P screen. It seems that it will be packing an 8 Megapixel Camera, 1.3 Megapixel front facing camera, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. 1GB RAM is onboard.

Chipset wise, the Endeavour seems to be Tegra 3 based (1.5GHz Quad Core) - something of a departure from HTC's Qualcomm focus of old. The phone is toting quad band HSPA+ radio, not penta-band (thereby not a true worldphone).

Sense 4.0 is of course on board, as well as HTC's usual software tweaks, as well as the full Beats experience.

I'll be posting more information as we get it, stay tuned! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

EXCLUSIVE: New details on the forthcoming HTC E...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:09:47 +0000

Following on from our exclusive details on HTC's forthcoming Endeavor flagship phone... our tipster has some more details for you! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

We already covered a lot of the basics in our earlier post, but now we have some more specifics!

First and foremost is one of the key selling points of this phone. We don't have exact dimensions but it's THIN, without compromising HTC's renowned build quality. There's a lot of thin devices out there now, but many leave something to be desired in the construction... the Endeavor will buck that trend.

There has been a lot of discussion about the button configuration and although leaks have shown hardware buttons on the front, we can confirm that the keys will be on screen, with only a power button and volume rocker adorning the device. If you are a fan of the multi colour LED on the Galaxy Nexus i'm afraid you're going to be disappointed here... the Endeavor is packing a green / amber notification LED only.

As you'd expect, the audio experience on the device is 'Beats' branded both in software and on the back of the device and as with the Sensation XE / XL, the device will ship with a pair of Beats buds in box. Like the Galaxy Nexus, the Endeavor has a 5-pogo-pin setup for a speaker dock that is also likely to be Beats branded as is an optional Bluetooth speaker bar... let's hope HTC can ship in a more timely fashion than Samsoogle! /tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

Another feature the device shares with the Galaxy Nexus is no microSD slot! Nope, no microSD expansion... although at least the device has 32GB of onboard memory as standard, which, intriguingly does support mass storage mode, which isn't offered in stock ICS. That said, i've been told by someone with one of these mythical beasts that, as usual, a relatively small slice of the 32GB is lost immediately to system partitions etc.

If you're coming from anything but a RAZR or an iPhone, get ready to trim your SIM. In the quest for thinness, only microSIMs are welcome here.

Power comes for a 1800mAh battery, we're not sure if this is removable as yet.

The Tegra3 processor is now confirmed as a 'nVidia AP33 1.5GHz / XMM6260' device, so we shouldn't be short of horsepower, along with 1GB RAM. The 4.7" HD720 screen is of the Super LCD variety... no OLED here - whether that is a positive or a negative i'll let you decide. Whether this means the device will or will not have a pentile matrix configuration a-la-Galaxy Nexus i'm not sure... if it doesn't that'll be a definite bonus.

We spoke of the quad band HSPA radio before, this will be HSDPA 3GPP Release 7 compliant with a 21Mbps peak rate and HSUPA for the upstream with a 5.76Mbps peak rate. Bluetooth 4.0 is present (we'll see this grow in popularity over the coming months) along with 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi (2.4GHz/5GHz).

All the usual array of sensors are present... A-GPS, motion sensor, FM radio (this is a GOOD thing in my book), a digital compass, proximity sensor, light sensor and gyro. NFC is included as you'd expect for a flagship device now.

The camera is a 8 Megapixel item with a backlit sensor (so the snaps should be pretty decent) and LED flash, 1080P recording with stereo mics (also used for noise reduction)! The front facing camera is 1.3MP for HD video calls.

Software wise, as you'd expect Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 is on board, although our sources tell us this is likely to get bumped to at least 4.0.5 prior to launch. This is combined with Sense 4.0, which streamlines HTC Sense and sources say will be much more appealing to both existing Sense users and power users.

I don't know about you, but i'm putting my name down first on the list for one of these babies... /wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

Why you should not buy a Defy Mini

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:22:59 +0000

On the 9th February, Motorola Mobility announced they are releasing the Defy Mini in Europe.

It's a cute device, running Android 2.3.7, and is IP67 certified, With dust-proof, water-resistant and a scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass display.

Hardware highlights include; MSM7225A 600mhz ArmV7 processor, 512mb RAM, 3 Megapixel Camera, LED Flash, and a 3.2 inch HVGA display.

But that is where the good stuff stops, because since Motorola's Software Update Release schedule has been published, it's clear that the Defy Mini is the new Motorola Flipout, in other words it's staying on it's release version of Android indefinitely. Add in the fact that Motorola lock down their bootloaders, this handset has little chance of a custom rom community.

I would advise to avoid this handset unless Motorola change it's mind and announce Android 4.0 ICS for it as an update... do you agree?

Source:Motorola

Windowed multitasking may be coming to CM9

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:22:12 +0000

An interesting post was recently put up on CyanogenMod’s Google+ page. In it, Sven Dawitz discusses the use of OnSkreen’s recently open-sourced window manager – Cornerstone. The plan is to integrate it into the tablet version of CM9.

At the current stage, it’s just in testing, but there are some shots that prove it works. CM says:

Quote

We should clarify; this is experimental, and not guaranteed to be mainlined into CM. If it is done, it needs to be done right and not break apps all over the market or be a nightmare to upkeep down the line.

So, we could theoretically see it if all goes well. Obviously the software is of most use on tablets, where the extra screen space affords the use of more windows. A multi-paned approach is being taken by Microsoft in Windows 8’s Metro interface, and the addition of it to Android may boost the utility of Android tablets quite significantly.

Source: Google+

Motorola Android Software Update Plan - grim re...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:21:56 +0000

Motorola have spilled more beans on their Android software update plan. For now, we have confirmation that the DROID RAZR, DROID RAZR MAXX, DROID 4, DROID BIONIC, DROID XYBOARD 8.2 and 10.1, and MOTOROLA XOOM WiFI + 3G/4G will be upgraded to Android 4.0 ICS, but no exact details of when.

Motorola have historically been very vague (and often late) with Android software updates. Their flagship device, the Motorola RAZR, has been marked with a "ICS upgrade rollout begins in Q2 2012" tag. From this information all we can glean is that the update may arrive from April onwards...

Here at MoDaCo we hope that the planned, and almost completed, takeover of Motorola Mobility by Google will change the way Android updates are rolled out to devices. If you're a Motorola device owner, we hope you'll be singing "ICS ICS Baby!" by the end of 2012.

Hit the link below for the source at the Motorola Mobility Owners' Forum to get excited (or maybe disappointed) with the upgrade plans.

Source: Motorola Android Software Update News

Quadrant gets a much needed update

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:53:28 +0000

The popular Android benchmark tool Quadrant has just received its first update in a fair while. With it comes multicore and ICS support - things that had been notably missing from before.

The previous version had long gone un-updated through the beginning of the Dual Core era, where it gradually started drawing disdain as it could easily be fooled with small software tweaks. Now that true support for newer devices is in, perhaps this benchmark will regain some credibility it had lost in the last year or so.

It is worth noting that the scoring system has changed, and thus you cannot compare results from version 2.0 with those from previous editions. All versions have been updated, including the free version on the market and the Advanced version on SlideMe.

Get it now from the Market: Quadrant Standard
Or Quadrant Advanced from SlideMe: Quadrant Advanced

EXCLUSIVE: LG to attack the high-end with Tegra...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:24:22 +0000

Well, it looks like the HTC Endeavor (or whatever it shall eventually be called) won't be the only device appearing at MWC sporting a Tegra 3 chip... as it will be joined by the LG X3 (internal name P880), LG's new flagship device!

Our secret source inside LG has been in touch to let us know that the features include...

4.7" HD 720x1280 screen
Tegra 3 Quad core processor (1.5GHz on single core, 1.4GHz when on 2-4 cores) + SMP Core (core companion) for IDLE task operations which will save battery life
2000mAh battery
16GB internal memory + microSD slot
8MP camera with ultra fast shutter
1.3MP Front Facing camera
Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3

Now, not only has our contact spilled the specs (which confirm what have been posted elsewhere), but they've winged us a couple of screenshots too, which i've posted below (click for full size versions).

What can we glean from the screenshots? We can see the device is benching at a jaw-dropping 4412 points in 'new Quadrant' and we can see the device is indeed running Android 4.0.3 but with a 2.6.39 kernel, which is the latest release from Nvidia (thanks flibblesan for pointing that out!). The theme in the screenshots looks fairly vanilla, so hopefully LG won't hack about stock Android too much on this one (I know, wishful thinking!)

I also took the opportunity to prod said contact about the forthcoming Optimus 2X update to ICS and, predictably, it's 'in progress but not ready yet'. LG device buyer beware...?

Budget Windows Phones, at last!

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:18:01 +0000

Two morsels of cheap Windows Phone goodness for you today.

First is news of a ZTE Tania price drop. As seen on Clove, the Tania will be launching at £199.99 unlocked on 16th February. £200 is a very decent price for a 4.3in smartphone, considering it also packs a 1GHz CPU and a sizeable chunk of that fee also goes towards licencing Windows Phone from Microsoft.

The Tania’s direct competition is from the Nokia Lumia 710 here in the UK, which is £250 unlocked, but £200 PAYG. However, what if you want to go even lower in price?

A report from TechRadar suggests that we will be seeing a lower specced Lumia appearing at MWC. The device, the Lumia 610, will apparently feature Windows Phone Tango, an interim version that will increase hardware support, presumably to allow for lower end devices. Hence we may see the 610 with a smaller, low res screen, or maybe a slower, cheaper CPU. Either way, it seems we may know by the end of the month.

Tania: Clove
Lumia 610: TechRadar

HTC Flyer available today only for £189.95 + de...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:12:43 +0000

The HTC Flyer is a great little device. Originally shipped with Gingerbread but now updated to Honeycomb, the 7" tablet offers rock solid build quality, 16GB of internal memory (plus a microSD slot), dual cameras, HTC Sense and HTC's innovative but super effective 'Scribe' pen technology.

Of course, the problem with the Flyer was the price. It was priced far too high to begin with compared to it's peers and only recently have we seen discounts to bring prices in line more with what one would expect.

WELL... discount website iBood are offering the 16GB non-3G Flyer today for a rather bargainous £189.95 + delivery! This offer is only available today while stocks last, and includes the aformentioned 'HTC Scribe' pen.

The official line on whether the Flyer will get an Ice Cream Sandwich is somewhat muddied but, at the price, if you're in the market for a 7" Tablet it's a bit of a no brainer! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Ready to order? Head on over to the iBood website!

Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 - on the way with better ...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:55:22 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 (S6500) seems to have been leaked before its official announcement due at MWC.

As reported by SAMMOBILE the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 (S6500) have been considerably beefed up compared to the Samsung Galaxy Mini (S5570). The screen resolution has been upgraded in size (3.3" from 3.14") and resolution (480x320 from 320x240). The processor speed is faster (800MHZ from 600MHZ) and there is loads more on board storage (3GB from 160MB).

All these specifications may or may not be confirmed in less than a fortnight at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. As usual keep your eyes on the MoDaCo News section for updates!

Source: SAMMOBILE Image: T3

MEEP! a little tablet for kids

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:50:38 +0000

No, not a junior paracetamol, rather an Android device for children.

Smartphones and tablets are a natural plaything for small children - my two-year-old niece loves them and (as a testament to intuitive UI design) can use them surprisingly well. She switches on, unlocks and watches videos, plays games and reads interactive books, all on her own.

I say “on her own,” but the thought of her lugging around several hundred pounds sterling of ASUS Transformer or Galaxy Nexus with jam-covered fingers has my heart in my throat, so I’m constantly coiled, ready to leap headfirst between my falling gadgets and the hard floor.

I need a MEEP! and by MEEP! I mean the new 7” Android tablet from Oregon Scientific, designed with children in mind.

More after the break...

Coloured rubber grips double as bumpers/shock absorbers when the inevitable drops occur, and the size looks suitable for toddlers to get along well with. While specific details (including price) are a little thin on the ground, reports reveal that it will be WiFi capable, have an SD card slot and G-sensor.

Times that by Android and the aforementioned videos, games and books ought to be easily accessible.

Of course, the tablet will feature parental controls (accessible remotely) meaning kids can be left to their own devices (ba-dum tsh!) without the grown-ups panicking they might stumble upon something they shouldn’t. I, for one, hope the screen is a tough little capacitive jobbie - a cheap resistive screen would make this a nightmare to use for an adult or child.

The tablet is to be unveiled at the American International Toy Fair this coming weekend. Hopefully, this will be a piece of kit worth coming back to.

Source: PR Newswire

Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility c...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:15:12 +0000

As we all know, Google proposed to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion back in August 2011. A purchase this big isn't something that can happen over just a few days but instead must be approved by some jurisdictions before it can be fulfilled. This week two of the most important jurisdictions have approved the acquisition, the European Commision and the US Department of Justice. It seems there is just China remaining.

Google stated very early in the process that they sought to buy Motorola Mobility to "supercharge" Android, making use of the many patents registered to Motorola. The Department of Justice concluded that it wouldn't have too big an impact on the mobile market, granting the acquisition the green light.

The Department of Justice said:

The division concluded that the specific transactions at issue are not likely to significantly change existing market dynamics. Google’s commitments were more ambiguous and do not provide the same direct confirmation of its SEP licensing policies. The division will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action to stop any anticompetitive use of standard essential patents rights.

Microsoft, Apple and RIM also got the Rockstar Bidco purchase of Nortel approved in the same ruling. It was also stated that these patents bought are considered to be essential, therefore giving Google (and other manufacturers) the right to get license agreements on fair (FRAND) terms.

This can all be very interesting with regards to the ongoing patent wars, as it seems The US Department of Justice is tired of all the patent suits going on.

Source: AndroidCentral x2

And the inaugural 'MoDaCo Recommends......

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:17:33 +0000

...Google, with Chrome for Android!

Despite only being released less than a week ago, having no flash player, and being supported only on Android 4.0, Google's Chrome browser took first place in our poll with just over 31% of the vote. Chrome is still in Beta but initial reports from users are extremely encouraging. Chrome for Android supports syncing bookmarks and tabs with Chrome on other devices, Chrome-to-phone, and incognito browsing. Chrome is being reviewed currently so keep your eyes on the site for all the details.

For those of us not fortunate to have an ICS toting device around the best choice, as voted by the MoDaCo community, is Dolphin which gained a respectable 25.5% of the poll. With its full featured HD version and the lightweight Mini version Dolphin covers pretty much all the functional options you will need. Dolphin also supports a large number of plug-ins which add functionality to the browser.

Third place went to the stock browser, with almost 22% of those polled opting to stick with the built in browser.

You can download the browsers from the Android Market:

Chrome Beta
Dolphin HD

T-Mobile UK's non existent speed cap update...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:20:14 +0000

When T-Mobile UK recently announced their new 'Full Monty' all you can eat data plans, they were understandably very proud of their unlimitedness... but forget to mention the dreaded 'T-Mobile speed cap'.

For years now there has been a speed cap on T-Mobile connections that could only be removed by calling customer services, requesting a service plan they denied existed any more while standing on your head chanting backwards Latin [note: 50% of previous statement is actually true]. A bit of a nightmare for all concerned.

Now, with the launch of their new plans, a bit of a storm was raised about said capping, which they denied, admitted, then claimed to have removed. The official party line now is that there is no cap on the speed.

However...

I'm getting a lot of reports from Full Monty customers that while their download speed is much improved (and actually, this change seems to have been rolled out across the network), there is still a very obvious (albeit higher rate) speed cap taking place on downloads, but more worryingly, a pretty low speed (sub 0.5Mb/s) upload limitation.

Now, i'm thinking that if T-Mobile are managing their network traffic in this way, they should at least come clean to you and I, their paying customers. With this in mind i'd like to collate some data about download / upload speeds, whether you are seeing a cap and whether you are seeing changes... both as regular and Full Monty customers.

Please post your experiences below!

LG's interesting competition to the Galaxy ...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:22:50 +0000

We all know LG isn’t doing all too well in the handset business (and considerably worse with tablets). What they really need is an amazing product. Something they can shout about, that has good design and great software. Unfortunately, what we seem to have is the Optimus Vu - a 5 inch phone/tablet thing akin to the Galaxy Note, complete with a 1024x768 resolution

Initially we only had an announcement video, but now images leaked from Korea show the Vu up against its fellow countryman, the Samsung Galaxy Note. It’s now that we have this comparison we can say….what?

The body of the device seems as tall as the Note, but also substantially wider. Then the screen itself is a much smaller percentage of the surface area of the device, encapsulated with massive top and bottom bezels. LG’s own video makes some allusions to the increased surface area afforded by the screen’s 4:3 aspect ratio, but when the direct competitor to the Vu has a larger screen is a smaller chassis, it makes getting excited about this product quite difficult.

However, we shouldn’t judge it until we can play with it. I for one just hope LG would try to do something more original with their devices, instead of producing competitors to whatever Samsung makes.

Source: helloadam100

Survival mode now included in Minecraft - Pocke...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:15:01 +0000

The title says it all... a new update has just dropped for Minecraft - Pocket Edition which includes a number of updates, including Survival Mode!

The full list...

Quote

Major version 0.2.0 (first survival update)
New mode! Choose between Survival and Creative mode when creating a map
New blocks; most notably doors, fences and fence gates
Added flying to Creative mode (double tap jump)
Added mobs; sheep and zombies being the first
Day and night in Survival mode, with monsters coming at night...
Gather resources from nature!
Tools for different purposes (digging, attacking.. shearing /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />)

Minecraft Pocket Edition is $6.99 from the Android Market.

[Thanks Reesters for the tip!]

Trial Extreme 2 - Winter Edition is free today ...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:14:25 +0000

Regular readers will know i'm a fan of Trial Extreme (and to a slightly lesser extent Trial Extreme 2). With this in mind, it's very cool to see that Trial Extreme 2 - Winter Edition is free today on the Amazon Appstore! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

The winter themed game features 30 levels of action, where you...

Quote

Ride through rough trails and collect as many stars as possible
Negotiate hundreds of obstacles including ramps, jumbo tires, planks and more
Challenge yourself with 30 levels in a cold, snowy environment
Enjoy incredible graphics, realistic physics, and an intuitive tilt-control system
Submit your high scores to OpenFeint

Well worth a download, especially at the price! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Grab the game from the Amazon Appstore on your device or the Amazon site. If you are outside the US, you can use our how-to guide to get up and running, and follow @aafaotd on Twitter to keep up to date with the daily free apps!

MOTOLUXE, coming to the UK and Germany soon

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:12:26 +0000

Motorola have announced the MOTOLUXE, an Android 2.3 powered, 8 megapixel autofocus camera toting, 4 inch display wielding, 'fashion' smartphone.

The screen resolution is FWVGA 854 x 480, weight is 122 grams, and the device is only 9.8mm thick and available in two colours: Licorice (Black), and Glacier White.

Quote

Incorporating Motorola’s MotoSwitch user interface, the MOTOLUXE learns who you talk to and which apps you use the most, and puts all that information front and center.

To do this, the MOTOLUXE includes Social Graph to work out who you contact most and put that information at your finger tips. Similarly the included Activity Graph focuses on your app habits, creating customised menus of your most used applications.

There is no mention of Android 4.0 in the press release and we will be asking Motorola about this for you.The release date is stated as the end of February, Motorola has already priced the device in Germany as €279 handset only, with UK pricing yet to be revealed.

Does this device appeal to any of our readers? It seems to have decent if not groundbreaking specs at a reasonable price...

Source:Motorola

Toshiba AT200 Android Tablet Now Available From...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:07:25 +0000

The Toshiba AT200 Android Tablet has gone on sale in the UK. Exclusively at the Carphone Warehouse, you can now purchase the 10.1" tablet which has a dual core 1.2 GHz processor, 1GB RAM and a 1280x800 screen. The Android flavour currently on the AT200 is Honeycomb (3.2), and it should be later upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich (4.x).

There are two variants on sale: one with 16GB storage for £399 and one with 32GB storage for £449. Both versions are WiFi only, so no 3G option at the moment.

Sources: Android Central, Carphone Warehouse

Sky Go for Android update - it's bad news f...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:07:08 +0000

When SKY released 'Sky Go' for the iPhone and iPad back in July, Android owners were soon asking 'what about us'?

Sky's initial response was "it's coming in the Winter". This estimate was updated in a press release on 31st January 2012 which stated 'next month', i.e. February.

Early delight amongst the Android community however is now turning sour as more info is coming out of Sky regarding the compatibility list for Sky Go on Android - they have listed just 7 devices for initial release, namely:

HTC Desire
HTC Desire S
HTC Desire HD
HTC Incredible S
HTC Sensation
Samsung Galaxy S
Samsung Galaxy S2

Further caveats have been also been highlighted in the following post in the Sky help forum, including:

ICS not initially supported (so no Galaxy Nexus)
Android 2.2 and 2.3 only
It will NOT WORK on rooted phones

Sky also state that if any of the above manufacturers release ICS and you upgrade your phone, you are likely to break Sky Go... yesterday's announcement that HTC phones are getting ICS in March couldn’t have come at a worse time if you were thinking of installing the application.

Finally, to add insult to injury, there is no mention of any Android tablet getting Sky Go. Crazy!

I have no idea why Sky are making the application so device specific, Netflix etc don’t seem to have such an approach... I get the feeling this is debacle is going to run and run! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

[Thanks Zarch1972 for the tip!]

Feed your HTC an Ice Cream Sandwich in March

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:57:19 +0000

Great news for (some) HTC owners - the Taiwanese manufacturer has announced that it will be rolling out Android 4.0 to its flagship handset the Sensation and its 4G, XL and XE variants “by the end of March.”

But don’t fret if you aren’t a Sensation owner - the post on HTC’s official Facebook page also stated that several other handsets are set to receive the highly-anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade: the Rezound, Vivid, Amaze 4G, EVO 3D, EVO Design 4G, Incredible S, Desire S and Desire HD.

So while HTC hardly stormed out the blocks when ICS was announced, there are many out there who will be equal parts relieved and joyous that they haven’t been forgotten.

The company’s brief post doesn’t mention phones like the Wildfire S (which isn’t surprising given its budget spec) nor the Thunderbolt.

Check out our scribblings on the leaked video of Sense 4.0 to see what’s in store for those lucky enough to get the ICS update for ICS.

Source: Official HTC Facebook page

Google Voice suddenly got handsome

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:53:02 +0000

The popular-in-the-US-because-it’s-only-available-there app Google Voice has been updated.

Although I’m in the UK, and therefore unable to use Voice, this update has nonetheless pleased me as the bright new speech bubble style icon fits right in with the stock Ice Cream Sandwich Messaging and Talk icons. Pretty shallow, I know but emphasis on the “pretty” ok?

If you actually have reason to tap on the nice new icon, you’ll notice the UI has been re-designed to fall in-line with (you guessed it) Android 4.0 and, in my opinion, looks all the better for it particularly if you run ICS or Honeycomb.

The big change in terms of functionality is that Google Voice now supports “Asynchronous SMS sending” or in layman’s terms: it’ll queue text messages you’ve written when sans signal and then fire them off to their respective recipients once back in civilisation/signal range.

Get it from the Market if you're in the US, or just want your phone to look like it is.

Source: Gizmodo