Tag Archives: Android4.0IceCreamSandwich

Google Calendar for Android becomes stand-alone app

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Google Calendar for Android becomes standalone app

Google has historically broken out preloaded Android apps like Gmail and Maps as stand-alone titles so that they don't have to be upgraded in lock-step with the main OS, but its Calendar app typically hasn't had that privilege. The isolation ends with a newly distinct Google Calendar that's treated as just another Google Play download. You'll need at least Android 4.0 or 4.1, which leaves relatively few differences between the download and what's already on your device, but that's not the point -- the change really lets Google move users on to the Jelly Bean app and beyond, even if their device makers aren't ready. Owners currently running Jelly Bean will still get a few extras, such as better support for non-Nexus hardware and a wider time range for calendar syncing. Hit the source link if you're game for that kind of futureproofing.

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Google Calendar for Android becomes stand-alone app originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Official Blog  |  sourceGoogle Play  | Email this | Comments

Sony Xperia VL brings dash of toughened-up LTE to Japan

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Sony Xperia VL brings dash of extrathin LTE to Japan

We were intrigued by Sony's Xperia V back at IFA, but deals with specific carriers haven't been very forthcoming. Japan's KDDI is covering that gap by pledging to carry Sony's mid-size Android 4.0 phone as the Xperia VL. Everything we know and (mostly) love about the dust- and water-resistant phone is intact, including that thin sensor-on-lens 720p display, the 13-megapixel camera, the 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4, NFC and LTE-based 4G. The one question remaining is a definitive release date: Sony will only promise an Xperia VL launch before the end of the year, although there's talk at Impress Watch of a release on November 2nd for ¥30,000 ($381) after carrier discounts. Let's hope for the company's sake that other carriers sign up for the V and VL sooner rather than later.

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Sony Xperia VL brings dash of toughened-up LTE to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Sony Xperia Product Blog  |  sourceSony Mobile (translated)  | Email this | Comments

Reuters says Insignia Flex Tablet may cost $239 to $259, we’d say it faces stiff odds

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Insignia Flex Tablet

Best Buy omitted a handful of details when it unveiled the Insignia Flex Tablet last week, not the least of which is the price that usually sells Insignia-branded gear. A Reuters tipster claims to have filled in that blank: the 9.7-inch, Ice Cream Sandwich-based slate will reportedly cost between $239 to $259 when it ships November 11th. That's not bad for a tablet at the size of the Flex, but you'll be giving up a lot to get that screen size if the price tag is real. A similar outlay could net a (likely faster) 32GB Kindle Fire HD, for starters -- and while we don't know any details of what's coming from Apple's "little" event next week, we have a hunch that it just might overshadow Best Buy's hopes of being the value leader in the tablet field. Without an official confirmation or denial, we'd suggest fence-sitting for a little while longer if you're not already in love with the big-box retailer's in-house brand.

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Reuters says Insignia Flex Tablet may cost $239 to $259, we'd say it faces stiff odds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bell may get Samsung Galaxy Rugby LTE on November 1st, give Canadians rough and tumble 4G

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Bell poised to get Samsung Galaxy Rugby LTE on November 1st, give Canadians rough and tumble 4G

Americans won't get to keep the Galaxy Rugby Pro all to themselves. As long as internal documents gleaned by MobileSyrup prove true, Bell should be carrying Samsung's ruggedized 4G phone as the Galaxy Rugby LTE on November 1st. Other than the name change, it's likely to be a match for the AT&T version down to the very wide frequency support we saw at the FCC, when it appeared as the SGH-i547. You're looking at a modest 4-inch screen, 768MB of RAM and 5-megapixel rear camera, but also a quick 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 and that dust- and waterproof body. Pricing is an unknown, although the partly toned-down features imply that the Galaxy Rugby LTE will skew well below the $160 contract price for a Galaxy S III on Bell's network.

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Bell may get Samsung Galaxy Rugby LTE on November 1st, give Canadians rough and tumble 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile makes LG Optimus L9 official, carries big-yet-budget Android this fall

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TMobile makes LG Optimus L9 official, carries supersized, lowcost Android this fall

We knew it was coming -- we just didn't expect official news quite so soon. T-Mobile has confirmed that its edition of the LG Optimus L9 will be available this fall. The magenta network's supersized yet entry level Android 4.0 phone won't be significantly different than its international cousin in hardware outside of the necessary 3G frequency switch, but the American GSM variant will support WiFi Calling, allow five-device hotspots and ship with a preloaded copy of Slacker Radio. Any pricing and an in-store date will have to wait; even with that 4.5-inch screen and 2,150mAh battery, though, it's easy to picture the L9 costing less than many of T-Mobile's smaller smart devices.

Continue reading T-Mobile makes LG Optimus L9 official, carries big-yet-budget Android this fall

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T-Mobile makes LG Optimus L9 official, carries big-yet-budget Android this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huawei Ascend P1 LTE hands-on

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Huawei Ascend P1 LTE handson

We've had the unexpected early opportunity to try what should be a production-grade Huawei Ascend P1 LTE -- early enough that the phone has yet to formally ship to its initial carrier. While we've seen hints of the 4G model towards the start of the year, what's landing in our hands is at least different than devices like the original Ascend P1, P1 S and P1 XL; months of extra engineering time, the LTE chipset and that bigger 2,000mAh battery have clearly had an effect. But by how much? Read on past the break for a quick tour of the refreshed design.

Gallery: Huawei Ascend P1 LTE hands-on

Continue reading Huawei Ascend P1 LTE hands-on

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Huawei Ascend P1 LTE hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 11:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SlingPlayer for Android gets a long-awaited update, adds reminders and better Android 4 video quality

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SlingPlayer for Android gets a longawaited update, adds reminders and better Android 4 video quality

Fans of both Android and Slingbox streaming have had a long wait for a significant update to the SlingPlayer app, to put it mildly -- the last major upgrade was to introduce Kindle Fire support at the start of the year. Imagine our delight when Sling Media posts a pair of low-key but significant updates for Android phone and tablet users alike. Smartphone owners get the most out of the upgrade with a new electronic program guide, a fresher overall look and better high-quality video for any phone using Android 4.0 and beyond. Tablet users do get a more optimized interface for the Nexus 7, however, and both form factors will let avid placeshifters remind themselves when a much-anticipated show goes live in the future. Neither of the updates is a complete revolution, but we would say they're coming just in time.

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SlingPlayer for Android gets a long-awaited update, adds reminders and better Android 4 video quality originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Bill Stebbins (Twitter)  |  sourceGoogle Play (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Oregon Scientific MEEP! tablet ships for $150, gives kids a safe, exclamation-filled place to play

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Oregon Scientific MEEP! tablet ships for $150, gives kids a safe, exclamationfilled place to play

For all the enthusiasm Oregon Scientific put into launching (and naming) its MEEP! tablet, the company has been a bit timid about getting the kid-friendly Android device into the market -- we're just seeing it go on sale eight months after it was first shown to the world. Now that the slate is here, it may be worth the patience from parents. The 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 chip, 512MB of RAM, 800 x 480 screen and 4GB of storage won't have the adults regretting their Kindle Fire purchases, but the MEEP! does come in a smash-resistant form with remote parental control and an allowance-based store that lets kids 'buy' apps with virtual coins. Oregon helps its case through the use of Ice Cream Sandwich, preloaded games like Angry Birds and a raft of accessories for games and music. The $150 asking price is just low enough that we can see a few families starting their youngest technophiles on a MEEP! before graduating them to bigger, badder tablets with less punctuation in the name.

Continue reading Oregon Scientific MEEP! tablet ships for $150, gives kids a safe, exclamation-filled place to play

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Oregon Scientific MEEP! tablet ships for $150, gives kids a safe, exclamation-filled place to play originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual reach the US in unlocked form, give Americans a taste of dual SIMs

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Sony Xperia tipo hands-on

Few of us who live outside of Asia or Eastern Europe know the potential convenience of a dual SIM phone. Own one and you can globetrot, or else keep separate home and work lines without the bulk of an extra device in the pocket. Sony is gambling that enough Americans have that multi-line desire by selling the Xperia tipo dual and its regular, single-SIM counterpart in the US as unlocked GSM models. Neither of the Android 4.0 phones is what we'd call a powerhouse with the same 3.5-inch screen, 3.2-megapixel camera and 800MHz Snapdragon inside, but both can latch on to HSPA 3G on AT&T, refarmed T-Mobile coverage and 2100MHz carriers abroad, even if the single-SIM tipo curiously has 900MHz 3G support that the tipo dual lacks. It's undoubtedly price that Sony is counting on more than anything: at respective contract-free prices of $180 and $190 for the tipo and tipo dual, the pair of Xperias may be sold most often as travel-only phones for the jet set.

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Sony Xperia tipo and tipo dual reach the US in unlocked form, give Americans a taste of dual SIMs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cellcom carries HTC Desire 4G LTE as its first LTE phone September 21st, hopes you’ll notice

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Cellcom carries HTC Desire 4G LTE as its first LTE phone September 21st, hopes you'll notice Good news: Cellcom is offering its first-ever LTE phone on September 21st, in what will no doubt be one of the carrier's biggest phone launches of the year. Only it's not what you think. While Cellcom is indeed picking up the iPhone 5 soon, its major device launch this week is the HTC Desire 4G LTE, its rebranding of Verizon's Droid Incredible 4G LTE. Other than the lack of Big Red badging and apps, it's a match for the mid-tier Android 4.0 handset on the larger (and shared) network. Buying one will even cost the same $150 on contract, or $420 at full price. Much to our relief, though, Cellcom isn't leaving us with one 4G phone per platform. The provider should start selling a relabeled Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX, the $200 RAZR MAXX 4G LTE, at an unspecified point in the near future. Let's hope for better timing with the second wave of releases.

Continue reading Cellcom carries HTC Desire 4G LTE as its first LTE phone September 21st, hopes you'll notice

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Cellcom carries HTC Desire 4G LTE as its first LTE phone September 21st, hopes you'll notice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCellcom (Desire 4G LTE), (RAZR MAXX 4G LTE)  | Email this | Comments