Polycom video conferencing app coming to Motorola Xoom

Get your briefcases and ties out business folks, cause Polycom (you know, that ugly triangular telephone on the boardroom table) is coming to the Motorola Xoom. No doubt Motorola sees this as a move to help push the Xoom into more businesses as a tablet solution in the workplace, which is currently dominated by the iPad. Giving the Xoom more work appeal can bring in the cash (look at RIM) especially when the Xoom has apps on it that are designed for the business realm like Polycom telepresence.
Motorola Mobility’s corporate VP and CIO Walter F. Oswald had this to say regarding this announcement;

Polycom telepresence provides tremendous value to our business in terms of improved collaboration and productivity between our locations. The ability to extend telepresence to mobile workers via Motorola tablets will further enhance collaboration with employees in the field and drive greater value and return on investment for our video investments overall.

All the Xoom needs now is a nice shiny leather bound case with gold clasps and it’s ready for Wall Street.
[via intomobile]

Sony Ericsson Experia X10 will get Gingerbread this summer

Earlier in the year, Sony Ericsson announced that there would no longer be any future updates to the Experia X10. There seems to be a change in heart because Rikard Skogberg, of Sony Ericsson,  announced that Gingerbread 2.3 will be coming to the Experia X10 by the end of quarter 2 / beginning of quarter 3 this year.
Skogberg goes on to say, “We have listened to our consumers.” Apparantly the work on their upcoming Xperia PLAY, Xperia arc, and Xperia neo helped them to start working on bringing Gingerbread to the X10.

Sony Ericsson expects the X10 will have similar software and functionality as the new upcoming Xperia line. They would like to provide the majority of the functionality from Gingerbread and Sony Ericsson specific features. They also expect to lose some of the current functionality. It is still a work in progress, but some of the changes are as follows:

• The current plan is that the XperiaTM X10 will get the Android standard Camera user interface and therefore features like e.g. face recognition, smile shutter etc will be lost.
• Moxier is replaced by the gingerbread native EAS functionality.
• Mediascape is being replaced by the media experience widgets and music player included in our new 2011 products.
• DRM keys for protected content on your phone will be lost in the upgrade process.
• The Sony Ericsson Backup and Restore client is not supported in the Gingerbread version and will therefore be lost.
• Support for bi-directional languages will be reduced compared to the latest version of the 2.1 version of the XperiaTM X10.

This update will be not be delivered via over the air, but by PC only. This will be the final update to the X10 and they will not update the Xperia X10 mini, mini pro, or Xperia X8. Hit the source for the full press release.
[via sonyericsson blog]

Beef Up Your Google Calendar With Business Calendar For Android

If you’re anything like me, the apps you tend to search for in the Android Market are those that assist with productivity.  For me, the entire point of having a smart phone is to be….productive.  And one of the most used and worn out feature on any smart phone I own is the calendar functionality.  I have to admit however, as ancient as Windows Mobile feels to me, I do miss various aspects of the integrated calendar features.  I especially enjoyed and benefited from the view that allows you to see a whole week at a time and all of the functions under each individual day of that particular week in one screen shot, something the Android calendar does not offer.  Well, as former president Harry S. Truman once stated, “The buck stops here”.  Business Calendar for Android, by developer Mikado Software,  gives you all of those missing functions that should have been embedded in Android after the Cupcake or Donut update (1.5 & 1.6), in my opinion.  

Sprint to drop the mail-in rebate process?

I can speak from experience, that if this rings true, and Sprint does officially drop the mail-in rebate, I will be thrilled. As will many others I’m sure. The process is long and annoying.
About 2 months ago, I bought the wife an HTC Evo Shift, and my son an LG Optimus S, both including a mail-in rebate which totaled around $200. So to make a long story short. I ’snail mail’ the rebate to Sprint….wait….wait….nothing. A month goes by. I check the status a few times, I come to find out it gets declined. Why? I call and talk to the customer rep, and they feed me some line that we (the customer) needed to have the devices for 30 days before I can even submit the form for the rebate. As of today, we are still waiting on the rebate to show up in our mailbox. I’m going to keep the faith, and trust Sprint will get it to me in a semi-timely manner. So this information on possible cancellation of the mail-in rebate is more than welcome. And I like the sound of ‘INSTANT’ rebate!
Click the source for more on the story…….
[via bgr]

HTC locks Incredible S bootloader – No custom ROMS

It looks like a new trend is beginning with HTC. First it was the Thunderbolt and now it looks like the Incredible S has a signed bootloader and recovery image. This means you will not be able to install custom ROMS unless someone discovers a viable workaround.
If you are somehow able to flash a custom recovery to your phone, HTC’s signature check will kick in. If the signature check sees anything other then the stock HTC key, you will not be allowed to access recovery, which means you cannot flash custom ROMS.
This lockdown is something new at HTC so the androidpolice contacted HTC at CTIA. They were told it was from carrier pressure. If the Incredible S is an unlocked GSM device, how could a carrier cause this? It sounds like they could be fed up with warranty claims of bricked phones from failed mods. Motorola adopted this same strategy last year. I had heard that there were a lot of claims for bricked Droids and that was most likely the cause for their change of heart. Either way, it sounds like this will be the norm for HTC moving forward.
[via androidpolice]

Samsung Mesmerize finally gets Android 2.2 update from US Cellular

A couple months back now, US Cellular made their updating intentions known on facebook by letting everyone know approximately when we’d be seeing Android 2.2 Froyo on their devices. They have finally made good for Samsung Mesmerize owners who have been waiting much longer than some of the other device owners have. US Celluar said they would have the Froyo update available “around March”, so a little late, but at least it’s here. The update is available to download at US Cellular at the source link below.
[via uscellular]

Google holding Honeycomb source code – not ready yet

Our friends at DroidLife have heard from @p3droid that Gingerbread is ready to go for the Droid X. Apparantly it is up to Motorola and Verizon. He goes on to say that it may arrive as early as this Sunday. This is only a rumor and I do believe that Gingerbread is ready, but I do not think it will happen this weekend. Usually when updates are about to happen with Verizon, a document leaks out showing what the changes are. Nevertheless, Droid X users could see Gingerbread sooner rather than later and that is good news. We will keep you posted as more information surfaces.
If you want to see leaked images of the new Gingerbread for Droid X, check out our older post.
[via droidlife]

HTC Evo 3D: Official Promotional Video

Now on you can find a fresh promo video from the YouTube channel ’sprintnow’. I’ve been pretty excited about this new device. The video starts off giving you a few great close up shots of the phone and its features. Then proceeds throw in some special effects to hold your attention. Check the video. It’s a great little spot that’ll wet your appetite for the soon to arrive HTC Evo 3D!
Quoted from the sprintnow YouTube Channel:

Once you try the EVO 3D, the nation’s first 3D phone with QHD screen, you’re going to want one. It lets you shoot, watch and share 3D video. No 3D glasses required. It also comes with a bunch of other awesome EVO features, like dual cameras and the ability to connect at 4G speed with unlimited 4G data. Only from Sprint. http://sprint.com/evo3d

ZTE to debut Style S and LTE tablet in the US

ZTE products have never made it to the US, but that is going to change. In the second half of 2011, the Style S and LTE tablet will land in America.
The Style S is a 4.3 inch Android phone that packs Android 2.3, a 5 megapixel rear facing camera, a .3 megapixel front facing camera, and a 1350mAH battery. It was on display at CTIA, but was only a mockup.
The LTE tablet was behind glass and will have Honeycomb, a 10 inch screen with 1280×800 resolution, two cameras, a 6800mAH battery, and a 1.2GHz processor. It is expected to be aggressively priced.

Will the Motorola Droid X see the Gingerbread update starting this Sunday?

Our friends at DroidLife have heard from @p3droid that Gingerbread is ready to go for the Droid X. Apparantly it is up to Motorola and Verizon. He goes on to say that it may arrive as early as this Sunday. This is only a rumor and I do believe that Gingerbread is ready, but I do not think it will happen this weekend. Usually when updates are about to happen with Verizon, a document leaks out showing what the changes are. Nevertheless, Droid X users could see Gingerbread sooner rather than later and that is good news. We will keep you posted as more information surfaces.
If you want to see leaked images of the new Gingerbread for Droid X, check out our older post.
[via droidlife]

AT&T Customers Ask – Where’s the Amazon App Store?

Since news broke that Amazon would soon have an ‘app store’ available to the Android community, we’ve posted a few articles on the development. I guess the ‘dark side’ of AT&T strikes again, and at the expense of their customers. Since the Amazon App Store has been available for download, AT&T Android device users have been unable to use it. Why you ask? Come on, I thought you guys would know this by now. AT&T does not allow installation of apps that are not regulated through the Android market. So what I’m saying is any Android Package file (.apk) that you may find on a site, or thru a third party app store, your out of luck.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel…..Just maybe. AT&T is working with Amazon to resolve this issue, at least for the Amazon App Store specifically. AT&T has provided a form for its customers to fill out, submitting their email address and phone model so they can be notified when the Amazon App Store will be available.

So if you’re an AT&T customer, go ahead and fill this form out. Let us know what you think of this Amazon App Store and being restricted from using it for the time being in the comments. As for now, I’m going to go back to playing Angry Birds RIO that I downloaded from the Amazon App Store, on my Sprint HTC Evo 4G

Source: http://www.talkandroid.com/

Android App Go SMS Updated to 2.19

For those that like to spice up the stock android messaging application, you can find many different flavors out there in the Android Market. Just to name a few, Handcent SMS, ChompSMS, and Go SMS. All of which have their own unique messaging experience. Our own Joe Sirianni wrote on Go SMS eariler this month in his personal app review.
Today Go SMS has been updated to 2.19. Check out the screenie below for the details!

 

Source: http://www.talkandroid.com/

TalkAndroid Mini App Review: Androidify

Androidify is a Google-made app that easily allows you to create yourself or your friends as Andy’s! You can dress up your Andy’s, add accessories, and easily export your works of art to various online sharing platforms.

In this mini app review, I’ll be highlighting all the fun features of Androidify with screenshots and provide a download link down at the bottom. Stay tuned!

Sprint Unveils EVO 3D and EVO View 4G (update)

The rumors were true, folks!
Sprint has just officially unveiled the EVO 3D and the EVO View 4G. The rumored specs were also dead on and I am one excited boy. The EVO 3D will be sporting a 4.3 qHD autostereoscopic (hence its name) screen with a 960 by 540 resolution. Also on board will be a dual core 1.2 GHz processor pushing out Android 2.3 Gingerbread and two 5 megapixel cameras for pushing out that 3D goodness. No other specs have been announced yet. [update: Evo 3D will also have the 1750 mAh battery previously rumored. For all of you people not into the whole 3D thing, this feature will be able to be turned on and off at will.]

The EVO View 4G will have identical specs to the Flyer, including a 1.5 Ghz processor and the latest version of Sense. Like the Flyer, a capacitive stylus will be available for purchase. [update: will be releasing with 2.3 Gingerbread, but will be updated to 3.0 Honeycomb as soon as it's available. Will also be sporting a 4000 mAh battery.]
Both devices will have DLNA and HDMI out on board.
More information as it’s released folks!
[via engadget]

LG G2x announced for T-Mobile, available in spring with Tegra Zone

T-Mobile has made the LG G2x official at CTIA and it will be available this spring. The rest of the world knows it as the LG Optimus 2X. This will be a pure vanilla android device, but it will come with preloaded apps like Qik, Need for Speed Shift HD, T-Mobile TV, and DTS Ultra Mobile sound enhancer. The G2x will ship with Froyo. Other specs include:

• Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor from NVIDIA
• 4 inch display with 480 x 800 resolution
• 8 megapixel rear camera
• 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
• 1080p video recording
• HSPA+ 4G network

NVIDIA reported that the G2x will be the first phone to ship with Tegra Zone. With the Tegra Zone app, users will be able to easily find games that are optimized for the Tegra mobile processor.
Are you guys excited for vanilla android?

Samsung Announces the Release of 10.1 and 8.9 Inch Tabs

So who says HTC and Sprint have to have all of the tablet glory today? Samsung has unveiled two new Tabs, one at 10.1 inches and one at 8.9 inches, and boy are they thin! At 8.6 millimeters (0.34 inches), the two tablets are thinner than anything currently announced. The new iPad 2 as a contrast is 8.8 millimeters (0.35 inches), which granted, isn’t that big a difference, but still gives Samsung some bragging rights, considering the boasting that Apple was doing. The devices are also extremely light, with the 10.1 inch weighing in at 595 grams (1.31 pounds) and the 8.9 inch weighing in at 470 grams (1.03 lbs).
Other specs include:

• 3.0 Honeycomb OS  with TouchWiz elements
• Dual-core 1 GHz processor
• Samsung Reader & Music Hubs
• built in 16, 32, or 64 Gig variants along with microSD slot

Thus far only GSM builds have been announced, though one would assume that there’s probably CDMA versions on their way down the pipeline. This does seem like quite a year for Android tablets and any customer wanting to purchase one will have plenty to choose from. Then again, choice is what Android is all about.
What tablet are you planning on getting? Let us know in the comments!
[via samsung mobile]

My review of the controversial Ultimate Droid ROM

WARNING: Dragons ahead

I want to say this right off the bat: I don’t, nor did I ever, take a side in the WWIII-resembling forum war that occured between Ultimate Droid and Cyanogen and his team of developers. For those of you that don’t know what happen I’m not going to go into too much detail. In summary, Black Droid (the developer of Ultimate Droid) created a ROM called Ultimate Droid that gathered a large following. The developer got in a big fight with a CyanogenMod developer and all hell broke loose. Cyanogen showed that Black Droid had essentially copied their ROM and gave no credit for it (his full account can be found on his blog, here). Black Droid was banned from several forums and blacklisted by all but his followers (which is still a very large community).

Will Motorola stop production of the XOOM? Not likely

Yesterday DigiTimes reported that Motorola will start to slow production of the XOOM in April and eventually stop by June. BGR contacted Motorola for a statement and they said the report is inaccurate and they will continue to manufacture the XOOM.
According to DigiTimes, Motorola ordered between 700,000 and 800,000 units for the first quarter. For April, orders will be 300,000 and May will be below that. The source said that they were not sure of the reason, but felt it was either because they will produce another version of the XOOM or they will re-evaluate their position in the tablet market.
Earlier in the year Motorola Mobility CEO, Sanjay Jha, said he expects total XOOM shipments to be 3 to 5 million units for 2011. He also hinted that they would offer different tablet sizes.
I think Motorola will be in the tablet market for the long haul. Every Android phone maker will have tablets out by June and I doubt Motorola will just abandon this growing market.
[via bgr]

Verizon Wireless moves forward, Expanding 4G LTE Coverage

Fast on the heels of the LTE capable HTC Thunderbolt that was released to the masses last week, Big Red has sent out a press release stating the projected expansion of 4G LTE coverage. The Tbolt was a huge hit on March 17th, and sales continue. It’s very possible that the pre-sales numbers over at Wirefly.com (the leading online retailer of wireless devices) were taken into consideration.

First Look At Cricket’s Samsung Indulge and Huawei Ascend 2 At CTIA

Cricket, making an appearance at CTIA this year, announced a couple of devices they have in the works to be released “very soon” (Q2).  The company introduced two handsets that look to be promising in the up and coming year for the company.  First up to bat, the Huawei Ascend 2, a pretty descent successor to the original Ascend which we saw released last year.  The device will tout an HVGA screen (same as the original Ascend) however, the company is looking to keep the price point along the same lines as the original model, coming in at $150.00.  In addition, the device will sport an updated camera coming in at 5MP from the previous 3.2MP along with an 800 MHz CPU.

Next on the smartphone arsenal list is the Samsung Indulge, running on Cricket’s standard 3G bands, as the company currently does not have an LTE network.  The Indulge also sports an HVGA screen and comes with a bit of a hefty price tag coming in at around $350 for a new 2 yr agreement.  Keep heading back to Talk Android as we continue to dig for more info on release dates and confirmed official pricing for these handsets.  And as always, let us know what you think of them in the comments below.

[via engadget]

Hands on with the Sprint Nexus S 4G

The Sprint Nexus S 4G was made official yesterday and BGR was able to get some photos of it. You won’t notice much of a difference as compared to the T-Mobile Nexus S. The only difference is the WiMAX radio. It will also come with Gingerbread and Near Field Communications.  Given that “pure” Android phones, free of custom UIs and carrier-installed software, are becoming fewer and farther between, the flagship Nexus line has been very popular amongst developers. It’s good to see it landing on Sprint, especially given the new relationship between T-Mobile and AT&t.
Pre-orders for the Nexus S 4G started yesterday at Best Buy. The price will be $199 and it will be available in the spring.

[via bgr]

Skyfire 3.2 for Android, “MAJOR” Changes

As of right now we are all browsing on our Android devices (if we choose to) using Skyfire 3.0. Well via a tweet just a few minutes ago, @Skyfire announces:

So lets all stay tuned to find out what these MAJOR updates will be. I checked the Skyfire site and there is mention of 3.2, instruction to go to the Android market and download, but it’s not yet showing up. So I wait patiently. I strictly use Skyfire as my default browser. It does so much as a mobile browser. Just check out the list of features below:

• Flash Video
• User Agent Switching
• Facebook QuickView
• Fireplace Feed Reader
• Popular Pages
• Related Ideas
• Skyfire OneTouch Search
• Facebook Like Button

Stick around and watch for more information on the latest updates to Skyfire for Android, that the popular browser is calling “MAJOR”.
Via: http://www.talkandroid.com/34249-skyfire-3-2-for-android-major-changes/

Muvee shows off HD video editing for Android

Every smartphone has a video camera, and with the growth of YouTube and Facebook, video is very popular. Consumers need an easy way to edit their footage and Muvee is hoping to be a key. In February, Muvee announced the availability of their new HD video editing tools for Android. They are demonstrating it at CTIA in hopes of signing up a manufacturer or carrier.

Samsung’s TouchWiz UX to be the First Custom Honeycomb UI?

The folks over at bgr got a chance to play with the new Samsung Galaxy Tabs and made a realization. Samsung has already brought their custom UI to the table. This can be either good or bad news. Some users stand by custom UI’s and what they bring to the table (HTC’s Sense tends to be the most popular) so lovers of Samsung’s TouchWiz will rejoice. Other users much prefer the stock Android feel, and this will probably be even more prominent with how well Honeycomb feels by itself. For better or worse TouchWiz UX is here and it does bring some nice additions. First off, Samsung has ported several of their TouchWiz widgets, including their calendar, gallery, address book, a music player and a few more. A cooler application is how users will be able to resize certain widgets. bgr noted that if users wanted more data on their weather widget all they had to do was drag a corner of it so that it expanded and additional information was added to the new space. So why there will always be the hardcore, stock Android users that will root it right away to remove it, TouchWiz UX doesn’t seem to change too much and adds a few useful things. The great thing about Honeycomb is that Google has set it up so that no matter what custom UI is put over top of it, you’re going to love your tablet.
[via bgr]

FCC Reports on the Samsung Galaxy S II, AT&T Bound?

At Mobile World Congress 2011 Samsung announced the Galaxy S II. Following its predecessor the Galaxy S, the second-gen model will sport many great new features. In terms of performance, the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS will be powered by the dual-core 1GHz Samsung Exynos 4210, and the phone will pack 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal memory expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. Read more information on this release in an earlier article we did back in February on MWC 2011.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now has this new Samsung device in its database. Here are the Exhibit Reports for those of you interested in all the technical mumbo jumbo. Maybe I’m just a geek, but I love to scan through these reports, even if  I don’t understand them all. Within these reports, we find that this Galaxy S II is stuffed with the GSM frequency’s necessary to receive a spot in the line of AT&Ts Android devices. Let us know what you think of the device, or how you think it’ll stand up to the iPhone 4 if slated for AT&T.
[via Engadget]