Android Central

Android Central


Motorola announces the new Motorola Lapdock 100 - Coming soon to Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and AT&T

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 05:00 PM PDT

Motorola Lapdock 100

Motorola made us all fully aware of the fact they were going to be bringing top notch accessories to their higher-end devices in the future. What started with the Motorola Atrix 4G, webtop has now expanded into Motorola's latest accessory announcement being the Motorola Lapdock 100.

Equipped with a bright 10.1 inch high resolution screen, high quality audio, large ergonomically-slanted keyboard with dedicated Android™ keys, touch-pad, multi-tasking capabilities, and desktop-class tabbed web browsing using Wi-Fi or the smartphone’s data plan, the innovative companion device is now more affordable, lightweight, and intuitive.

Motorola LAPDOCK 100 supports full multi-tasking - making it easy to respond to an incoming text or take a call while browsing the web, using any one of the thousands of Android™ apps available, viewing pictures, or listening to music.

At a mere 2.2lbs (less than 1Kg), Motorola LAPDOCK 100 is designed to be as mobile as its owners’ lives. Compact enough to carry in a back-pack or briefcase, use in the office, in the classroom, at a café or on the couch at home, the device’s up to five hour* battery charges the phone so a user never loses their freedom to be mobile.

Motorola LAPDOCK 100 is compatible with multiple Motorola smartphones, including Motorola ATRIX™ 2, PHOTON™ 4G, and DROID BIONIC by Motorola.** It will also be compatible with future Motorola webtop-enabled devices.

So when will it be available? The Motorola Lapdock 100 will be available online at AT&T on 10/17. It will also be available through Verizon Wireless and Sprint later this quarter. No pricing was announced as of yet either but you better believe we'll keep you all up to date on that.

Source: Motorola

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Motorola Spyder and Xoom 2 appear again in new images

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 03:29 PM PDT

Motorola

We know Motorola has something ready for us all, they've made no bones about teasing everyone with it, so it's not surprising more leaks have now shown up for the devices known as the Xoom 2 and Spyder / Droid HD / Droid RAZR.

The Xoom 2 hasn't changed all that much since we last saw it, though it is noted that these devices are as close to final form as can be. Looking at the Spyder though, we can see Verizon logos all over the thing, leaving no doubt about where it will drop.

Noted also is the info that the Spyder actually has a 1.5GHz processor but when it arrives in consumers hands it'll only be clocked at 1.2GHz -- nothing new but still interesting.  Also, the back of the device is said to be kevlar coating, though I'm sure it won't be stopping bullets any time soon. More shots can be found past the break for you all.

Source: Engadget

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Atrix battle, Devices upgrades [From the Forums]

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 02:58 PM PDT

From the Forums

We're up and running at CTIA and while we had a few things trickle out, there is still more to come. You'll want to stick around either here on the blogs or in the forums for more Android news as it happens.

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.


Hands-on with the Samsung Stratosphere

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 02:38 PM PDT

Samsung Stratosphere

The Samsung Stratosphere made a brief cameo at CTIA today, two days ahead of its official launch on Verizon, and we were there to catch all of it's full QWERTY, LTE goodness. The Stratosphere is Big Red's first LTE slider, and if you've ever encountered Sprint's Epic 4G, you'll know what to expect.

The Stratosphere has a 4-inch Super AMOLED display that looks just as good as what we've come to expect from Samsung. The QWERTY keyboard doesn't disappoint, either. The slider mechanism works and feels great and you'll have plenty of room to let your thumbs do some walking. In the back you've got a 5 megapixel camera; up front, a 1.3 megapixel shooter.

Inside, it's got a 1 GHz single-core Hummingbird processor with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB system storage. Oh, and let's not forget Verizon's blazing-fast LTE. While the specs might not be the biggest we've ever seen, performance didn't suffer for it. The UI (yes, it's TouchWiz) felt zippy and smooth, and coupled with 4G data speeds, the Stratosphere should be able to handle most of what you throw at it.

The Samsung Stratosphere officially launches on October 13 on Verizon for $149.99 with a two-year contract. Until then, enjoy the photos and the video after the break.

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BlueStacks now available, brings Android apps to your PC in style

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 02:34 PM PDT

Android Central

It seems forever ago that BlueStacks was announced as coming soon but no -- it's finally here. In case you don't remember, BlueStacks is for now, a Windows application that allows you to run Android apps directly on your computer and easily switch between say Windows and Android.

The BlueStacks Android Player was released in Alpha form last night and to go along with that came of course, the Android app syncer as well. The App Syncer application allows you to sync any Android app on your device with the BlueStacks cloud service. When synced, the apps will then become available for use on your PC.

After having given it a go, I have to say it is pretty impressive. Most of the apps I synced worked quite well. Some apps did lag, and some apps for whatever reason refused to sync but that's to be expected as it is still Alpha testing. If you give it a go, make sure you send the BlueStacks team some feedback as that will help their offersings progress. You can hit the source link for more info plus, a demo video can be found after the break.

Note: You do need a Facebook account in order to have access. Other methods are on their way but for now, Facebook it is.

Source: BlueStacks

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Google+ updated, includes bug fixes

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 01:44 PM PDT

Google+

An update for the Google+ app is hitting the Market today that includes mainly bug fixes. There was a sizeable update a few weeks ago and while this one is not as feature-rich, it is just as important.

Here is the changelog:

  • Fixed a bug that prevented installation on some devices
  • Improved messenger notification reliability
  • Numerous crash fixes
  • Disable speakerphone when headset is plugged in for hangouts
  • New translations

If you don't see the update now, it will be rolling out to more users this afternoon. If you don't have the app yet, check the links after the break and make sure to follow your favorite writers from Android Central!

As always, if you have questions or comments about the app, please visit our Android App Forum.

 


Android 101: Uninstalling apps on Honeycomb

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 01:27 PM PDT

Honeycommb

While it may seem an easy task, I will admit when I first started using Honeycomb I used the old school methods of uninstalling apps. However, there is a much easier and simpler method of uninstalling apps on Honeycomb and here is how you do it:

  • Find the app you wish to uninstall, hold down on it.
  • Your screen will then change and in the top right will appear a trash can.
  • Drag your app to that trash can, where it will then confirm uninstallation.
  • Once confirmed, your app will then uninstall and be removed from your device.

This can be done anywhere on your device that apps icons are visible. You will either see remove or uninstall in the top right, depending on where you are but you will always see a trash can beside it.


Hands-on with the T-Mobile Springboard with Google

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 12:36 PM PDT

T-Mobile Springboard with Google

Here's our first look at the lastest in the line of 7-inch Android Honeycomb tablets -- the T-Mobile Springboard with Google. Not a whole lot here you haven't seen before. It's Honeycomb (Android 3.2, to be exact), and it's 7 inches. Nothing's really been customized, though you've got a wealth of T-Mobile apps.

Physically speaking, Huawei's made a nice little device here. It's reminiscent of the BlackBerry PlayBook in look and feel, and that's not a horrible thing. It's got HDMI out and microUSB and, well, that's about it. It's powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm 8260 processor. It's got a 5MP camera on the back, and 1.3MP up front.

Still no word on pricing, but Huawei said this morning that "you'll be impressed." Pics and video are after the break.

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Hands-on with the AT&T Impulse 4G

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 12:35 PM PDT


Youtube link for mobile viewing

And here we have the AT&T Impulse 4G from Huawei. It's a nice little entry-level phone, with a 3.8-inch display running Android 2.2. Not a whole lot to say -- it's snappy enough and has a 5MP camera. And while being a little portly, it still feels pretty good in the hand. It also feels good in the wallet -- it's just $29 on contract.


Android App Review: Theme Chooser Themes

Posted: 11 Oct 2011 11:57 AM PDT

Theme Chooser Themes

I'm a bit of a themaholic. It's not the same as a flashaholic (although I am one of those, too), but it's in the same vein. Up until now, I had to really search for good CM7 themes, but with the discovery of this app, I'm sure my problem is only going to get much, much worse.

Theme Chooser Themes is a CM7 theme collector/list that displays not only themes that are in the Market, but also themes that are on XDA. They're color coordinated by price, with green being free, blue meaning there's free and paid versions, and red being paid.

You can also filter the themes by free, free/paid, paid, by a developer, and screen size support. You can also search for themes using the theme's name, a description of the theme, or the developer's name.

If I had any complaints, it'd be screenshot previews of the theme before you get redirected to the Android Market or XDA, but I'm not sure how time consuming and/or data intensive that would be. Still, it's something I'd like to see in the future.

Theme Chooser Themes comes is ad-supported normally, but if you opt to buy the donate version (99 cents), you can kiss those ads goodbye. 

We've got download links and more screenshots after the break.

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