Android Central

---

• The Sprint Epic 4G Touch possibly has a fix on the way soon for loss of signal and other bugs
• Multiple app markets crossing streams, causing problems for some
• Chances are you won't be this cool with your Galaxy Nexus
• Android Game Review: Great Little War Game
• Google Catalogs available for download now, just in time for Christmas
• Mobile Nations Live!
• Android Game Review: Ground Effect Pro XHD
• My Consumer Cellular app now available in the Android Market
• Skyrocket in white, afternoon delight
• World of Goo has arrived on Android
• Google IO 2012 changes dates to June 27-29 in San Francisco
• AT&T announces the LG Nitro HD with 720p display and LTE
• Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket review
• Amazon says Kindle Fire sold a bunch, but won't say how many
• Head to head: Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 4S
• Cyber Monday Savings in the ShopAndroid.com Phone Store!
• Monday Brief: November 28, 2011
• ASUS Transformer Prime user manual, kernel, drivers now available
• ARM announces free Community Edition of ARM Development Studio 5 [programming]
• LG confirms Optimus 2X, Optimus Black, Optimus 3D and Optimus LTE to get Ice Cream Sandwich
• Cyber Monday Savings on Android Phone Accessories at ShopAndroid.com!
• The Week in Android News

The Sprint Epic 4G Touch possibly has a fix on the way soon for loss of signal and other bugs Posted: 28 Nov 2011 02:58 PM PST The Sprint Epic 4G Touch has been plagued by a known issue for quite a while now.  Not everyone experiences it, but enough do to make it a serious concern for many people, including the folks at Samsung.  We're talking about the "LoS" (Loss of Signal) bug -- it mostly happens in areas with spotty coverage and affects both 3G and 4G networks.  It's fairly simple to recover, just reboot your phone, but that's clearly not the correct way to go about resolving it.  Thankfully, it looks like Samsung and Sprint have a fix in testing to address this, as well as some other minor annoyances that come with every new smartphone. Epic 4G Touch user kingsway8605 says he currently has the testing patch from Samsung, and he received it after a conversation with a developer who responded to his cries for support.  Supposedly the explanation for the bug itself is as follows: It is isolated to areas with spotty coverage, which is why some don't experience it at all. If you are in 4G and leave 4G coverage, or in 3G coverage and leave 3G coverage, and in the process of sending packets, there is apparently a bug where the phone does not detect this and would just give up after it could no longer talk to the old tower. This makes sense from an engineering perspective, and if the fellows at Samsung are right this patch should address it.  The new OTA is Android 2.3.6, with a baseband of SPD710.10.S.EK02, and a build number of GINGERBREAD.EK02.  According to kingsway8605, if this passes initial testing we should see it in December.  Developers are already exploring ways to help retrieve the OTA files from the cache partition, so maybe we won't have to wait. Source: XDA-Developers; via Android Central forums.  Thanks, Anthony!

Multiple app markets crossing streams, causing problems for some Posted: 28 Nov 2011 02:20 PM PST Now this is interesting. Seems that some of you who have purchased apps from the Amazon Appstore are starting to see conflicts with the Android Market. A couple scenarios appear to be playing out. In some instances, the Android Market sees an app that was purchased from the Amazon Appstore, knows an updated version is available, but then fails on updating because the app wasn't actually purchased from the Android Market.  While we're not exactly sure what's going on, it may be an issue where some developers use the same signing key for applications in both the Android market and other app stores.  This could cause your phone or tablet to see the applications as identical.  That's just a hunch, and chances are google has a better grasp of the situation than we do. Reversing things, as TWiT's Jason Howell points out, the Amazon Appstore app can see that you have an app installed and offer to unassociated it .. that other market ... so that you can get updates and such through its services instead. How handy. But it also smells of someone standing next to your car in a parking lot, pointing out a dent you know wasn't there when you left your car, and then recommending a friend who can fix it on the cheap. There's just something offputting about it. This could end up being an interesting push and pull, but we've got a feeling Google's got the upper hand here, being able to more easily and quickly tweak code to keep things in line. And as violent23 points out in our forums, Google's already aware of this and is on the case. Should be interesting to see how it all works out. Source: Android Forums; More: +Jason Howell

Chances are you won't be this cool with your Galaxy Nexus Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:55 PM PST Youtube link for mobile viewing Still. Google+ Hangouts with up to nine other people on a Galaxy Nexus are pretty damn sweet. But you still can't (yet) start a hangout from a phone, right? Source: +Android

Android Game Review: Great Little War Game Posted: 28 Nov 2011 01:33 PM PST YouTube link for mobile viewing What happens if you take one part Advance Wars, one part any tactics game, give it a hilarious storyline with a rough-and-tumble stereotypical general, and release it for Android? Oh, well then you'd have Great Little War Game by Rubicon Development. In Great Little War Game (or GLWG, as it's named in the app drawer), you're part of Force Blue (my name, not theirs), whose leader, Generalissimo, is hell-bent on eradicating the armies of Force Red. (Red vs. Blue, anyone?!) Gameplay is classic turn-by-turn based combat, where you move your forces around, attack your enemies, and when you're done, they do the same to you. The map is broken up by circles, and every circle is one step a unit can move. A unit can only move a certain number of spaces per turn, so plan your offense accordingly. In the very first missions of the campaign, you're limited to using the most basic of units (grunts and snipers), but as you move through the story, you'll see your forces grow to include other units like the engineer, bazooka man, and even vehicles like the tank and jeep. Missions on each map vary, from simple objectives to wiping out all your enemies, to other, more complex objectives like taking over your enemy's base (something only the engineer can do). My latest mission had me lasting eight days (or turns) without the general being killed, and once the eighth day ended, I won. Trophies are awarded if you complete a mission's objective in a quick amount of time, and you can keep track of what trophy you'll be awarded in the same area of the screen that tells you what day your mission is on and how much money you have. You can also buy more troops with the funds you receive at the start of each turn. If single-player gaming isn't your style, GLWG also has a "Pass & Play" setting, where you can play against a friend, and you just pass the game to them when it's their turn. It definitely hearkens back to the days of Mario Bros. on the SNES, and I like it. There's also OpenFeint achievements scattered over the game's 20 missions, for the true completionist, and a Skirmish practice mode, for those looking to hone their war-making skills. Overall, Great Little War Game exemplifies some of the best traits a game could have: humor, challenging gameplay, and replayability. The fact you can save up to three games at once is a great feature, too, and ensures you'll never have to start over (unless you want to). Great Little War Game is $2.99 in the Android Market. We've got download links after the break. read more

Google Catalogs available for download now, just in time for Christmas Posted: 28 Nov 2011 12:16 PM PST The latest addition to the Google Android application circle has been launched today, as the Google Catalogs app becomes available for download for tablets. Put simply, the app pulls together 400 digital catalog issues from such brands as Nike, Sephora and Nordstrom for you to browse at your leisure. Interactivity is the name of the game with images and videos sewn throughout the pages and pages of shopping treats. Another neat time saving touch is the unified search box, which allows you to search across all the catalogs for a specific item. Purchasing is as easy as one tap to find the product nearby or at a retailers website, kind of similar to the Google Shopper app.  This is sadly for those of us in the rest of the world, another U.S.-only application for the time being. But if you're Stateside and fancy a helping hand with your Christmas shopping, check out the promo video after the break, and hit up the download link below.  Source: Google read more

Mobile Nations Live! Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:57 AM PST The Mobile Nations Podcast brings together the heads of state of Android Central, CrackBerry, PreCentral, TiPb and WPCentral. More at MobileNations.com

Android Game Review: Ground Effect Pro XHD Posted: 28 Nov 2011 11:27 AM PST YouTube link for mobile viewing If there's one game I loved playing as I was growing up, it'd have to be Hydro Thunder. Piloting souped-up speed boats with ridiculous turbo jets tacked onto their backs was one of the highlights of any trip to the arcade, and I could burn endless amounts of quarters playing again and again and again. While Ground Effect Pro XHD isn't Hydro Thunder in name, it's pleasantly similar in design and gameplay. You pilot an incredibly fast hovercraft over all sorts of different terrain, taking corners at ludicrous speed, all while racing against computer-controlled opponents for the top spot. When you open the game up, there's three game modes to choose from: Race, Ghost Race, and Just Cruise. Race is the main game, and where most of the action is at. You pick your favorite hovercraft (they're all the same, spec-wise), pick your race track (there are 14 of them), and hit the ground water running. To ensure you follow the course fairly, there's checkpoints every so often you have to pass through. if you miss a set, you've got to turn around to go through it, which usually loses you a lot of time. Try to avoid obstacles, too. If you happen to go careening off into a mountainside or something, your craft will explode and you'll be reset close to a checkpoint. Ghost Race is a sort of practice run, where you're racing a single computer opponent, fighting for first place. It's a bit less hectic than the normal eight-man racefests the normal mode has, and is awesome for learning a particular track. Just Cruise is exactly what is sounds like: you, by yourself, just cruising around a track of your choosing. This is the ultimate practice, because there's no competition, no stress, and you can really enjoy the digital scenery (and secretly wish you had a boat of your own). You control the hovercraft by turning your device like a steering wheel. The controls are fairly tight, so if you're like me and have a tendency to overcompensate turns, you'll definitely see the effects of that on screen. Aside from that, there's two solitary pedals on the bottom-right corner of the screen. The left pedal is your air brake and the right one is your Hydro Thunder-esque super boost. Both abilities are limited (the brake is the green bar, the boost is yellow), but they replenish fairly quickly. Oh, and did I mention you've got to place in the top three in a race to unlock the next track? That's the game's brilliant way of making sure you're not in over your head. Ground Effect Pro XHD's other big feature (aside from tight gameplay) is that it not only supports stereoscopic 3D on devices that support it (I'm looking at you, EVO 3D), it also supports regular 3D using those tinted-lens glasses that were all the rage back in the day. From the settings menu, you can choose either red/cyan, yellow/blue, or green/magenta glasses, and the game will adjust itself appropriately for your extra-dimensional gaming pleasure. If there was a race you just absolutely killed it on, you can watch a replay of the entire thing from the Hi-Score/Replay menu. Very cool stuff. Ground Effect Pro XHD is awesome. It's long (14 levels!), it's tricky, it's got a kickin' soundtrack, and it supports 3D (if you're into that sorta thing). If you like racing games (or have a soft spot for Hydro Thunder), give this one a look. Ground Effect Pro XHD is $5.99 in the Android Market. We've got download links after the break. read more

My Consumer Cellular app now available in the Android Market Posted: 28 Nov 2011 10:48 AM PST Consumer Cellular announced today that its My Consumer Cellular Android app is now available for download on its sole Android offering, the Motorola Bravo. Consumer Cellular is a  no-contract provider that caters to an older audience (it's the exclusive wireless provider for AARP members) and with its new app, users can track usage, shop for plans, and view and pay bills. And if you're an AARP member, the app includes a scan-ready AARP card to replace your wallet's hard copy. Hit the break to grab the free app from the Android Market. Source: Consumer Cellular read more

Skyrocket in white, afternoon delight Posted: 28 Nov 2011 10:47 AM PST Read our Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket review We're still not seeing it on AT&T's product page, but Samsung most certainly does have a white version of the Galaxy S II Skyrocket waiting in the wings, for those of you who are into that sort of things. Specs look to be identical to the black Skyrocket, save for the shell. Keep an eye out for this one to be available at some point, we reckon. Source: Samsung; Thanks, Eric, for the tip!

World of Goo has arrived on Android Posted: 28 Nov 2011 10:03 AM PST 2D Boy's popular title World of Goo is now available in the Android Market for a cool 40% off sale price of $2.99 through December 5. Previously available on PC, Mac, Wii, and iOS, World of Goo is an physics-based puzzle adventure through the world of goo balls, which sounds slightly sillier than reality: the game won IGN's Wii Game of the Year along with MetaCritic's iPad Game of the Year, accolades which don't go unnoticed in the gaming world. There's also a demo version available in the Android Market for the remaining skeptics. Hit the break for the download link. Source: 2D Boy read more

Google IO 2012 changes dates to June 27-29 in San Francisco Posted: 28 Nov 2011 09:24 AM PST Can't get enough of Google IO? Google's developer conference has just announced expanded dates -- moving from two days in April to June 27-29. The conference will still take place in San Francisco, at Moscone Center West. Source: Google Developers

AT&T announces the LG Nitro HD with 720p display and LTE Posted: 28 Nov 2011 09:17 AM PST AT&T today took the wraps off the LG Nitro HD -- the carrier's verison of the Optimus LTE. Leading the specs charge is the phone's 4.5-inch display (it's an "Advanced High-Performance IPS display, if you must know), with the new high-end resolution of 1280x720. It's also got a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and will run on AT&T's LTE network, which has hit 15 markets. The Nitro HD will be available in stores and online Dec. 4 for $249.99 with a two-year contract. Hit the break to see our pal Stephanie -- aka the LG Girl -- give the Nitro HD the what-for. Source: AT&T; More: LG Nitro HD Forums read more

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket review Posted: 28 Nov 2011 08:04 AM PST It was a long wait between the release of the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S II and a version for AT&T, but the U.S. carrier has now ended up with two of them.  One version is pretty faithful to the original (check out our review here), and the second version, the Samsung Skyrocket, is what were looking at today.  There's a good bit of difference, both the obvious (a larger 4.5-inch screen and an LTE modem) and the not so visible (different chipsets), but the user experience is the same for the most part.  Hit the break where we dive in and have a look at what the Skyrocket has to offer, besides having one of the best device names since the OG Droid. The beautiful screen looks even better at 4.5-inches.  Handoff times from LTE to a GSM/HSPA network are quick.  HSPA+ fallback when not in an LTE area offers a better experience to the user.  Overall the phone is very smooth, like we're used to from the GSII line. LTE is hard on battery life.  A 4.5-inch screen may be too big for some.  AT&T's LTE network is in its infancy and still full of holes.  The different internals may mean longer wait times for updates from Samsung and AT&T.  NFC is once again notoriously absent from the software. The Skyrocket stays faithful to the Galaxy S II line, offering the same (or better) performance and an identical user experience.  AT&T still needs to work on its LTE network, but with a fast handoff and fast HSPA network speeds to fall back on, the casual user will be pleased with its speed on the Internet.  The big, beautiful screen and LTE radio are hard on the battery (especially when compared to using it in a non-LTE enabled area) but that can be solved by carrying a spare battery or plugging it in when possible. Inside this More info Hardware Software The LTE network Samsung Skyrocket specs Samsung Skyrocket forums read more

Amazon says Kindle Fire sold a bunch, but won't say how many Posted: 28 Nov 2011 06:41 AM PST Amazon's Kindle Fire was expected to be a success because of the Amazon brand name and $199 price point, but the tablet has continued to outsell predictions and is now the best selling item on Amazon for the eighth straight week. Black Friday saw enormous interest in not only the Fire, but the entire Kindle family, Amazon said, though it didn't actually release any numbers to back that up. See the full press release after the break. Source: Amazon read more

Head to head: Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 4S Posted: 28 Nov 2011 06:28 AM PST Read our Galaxy Nexus Review! Take the two top smartphones available today and put them side by side, and you have what we present before you here -- the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The former needs little introduction. It's the iterative follow-up to the original iPhone 4, faster with a better camera and that newfangled Siri to chat with. The latter is the latest "Pure Google" phone, the first with the Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" operating system. Let's take a brief look at the two phones side-by-side. Galaxy Nexus Forums | Galaxy Nexus Specs | iPhone 4S review read more

Cyber Monday Savings in the ShopAndroid.com Phone Store! Posted: 28 Nov 2011 06:14 AM PST Cyber Monday is upon us, the ShopAndroid Phone Store has the biggest online shopping day of the year covered with some great discounts if you're in the market for a new Android phone. We've got savings on the HTC Wildfire, Droid Incredible 2 and Inspire 4G, the LG Marquee, the Motorola Photon and the Samsung Stratosphere -- plus more of your favorite phones in stock. Follow the links below to learn more and take advantage of the savings. The sale ends tonight, so hurry! Cyber Monday Deals at the ShopAndroid Phone Store HTC Wildfire S on T-Mobile HTC Inspire 4G on AT&T (or in red) LG Marquee on Sprint Motorola Photon on Sprint Samsung Stratosphere 4G on Verizon HTC Droid Incredible 2 on Verizon

Monday Brief: November 28, 2011 Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:30 AM PST Youtube video link for mobile viewing   Iterate 11: Campaign Monitor ZENandTECH 24: Handling the holidays iTunes Feed for all Mobile Nations Podcasts Verizon's online advertising points to $199 on-contract Galaxy Nexus, still no date What's really going on with the Galaxy Nexus volume bug MOTOACTV review Android Central Podcast Jakarta BlackBerry Bold 9790 launch discounts cause chaos among consumers White BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Curve 9360 now available from Rogers! Leaked OS 7.1.0.74 for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 with Wifi Hotspot (Mobile Hotspot Mode) CrackBerry.com Podcast HP reports Q4 and 2011 full year results – lost $3.3 billion on webOS HP to make decision on webOS by early December; sale may be contingent upon HP getting webOS for printers TouchPad nabs the #2 tablet slot for the first three quarters of 2011, not likely to repeat PalmCast Podcast Top 10 apps for new iPhone users 2011 iPhone and iPad gift guides Apple television rumors get crazier iPhone Live / iPad Live Windows Phone 7 receives "operating system of the year" award Unofficial Pandora app "Metro radio" for Windows Phone 7 in the works [Video] AT&T HTC Titan - Review WPCentral Podcast

ASUS Transformer Prime user manual, kernel, drivers now available Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:08 AM PST You can't buy it just yet, but ASUS has gone ahead and released the user manual, kernel source, drivers and other software related to its upcoming Transformer Prime Android tablet. You're not going to find much you haven't already read in our Transformer Prime preview -- you're looking at a 10.1-inch tablet running the new quad-core Tegra 3 system on-a-chip. The Transformer Prime is still set to launch sometime in early December, with an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich to follow soon after. Source: ASUS; thanks, @tomtsp, for the tip! Transformer Prime Forums | Transformer Prime Specs | More on NVIDIA's Tegra 3

ARM announces free Community Edition of ARM Development Studio 5 [programming] Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:03 AM PST There's more than one way to write Android apps, and if you're working on something intense, you know using the NDK and native code is the way to go.  If you're a part-time developer or anyone not part of a big mobile development house, you also know that some of the native development and debugging tools aren't cheap.  ARM has you covered by releasing the "Community Edition" of their DS-5 tool suite, and the great price of free.  It's distributed as an Eclipse plug-in, and an easy install will give you access to a C, C++, and Assembly graphical debugger, a software performance profiler and system analyzer, and more tools to help your development of native ARM code. For those of us who aren't programmers, using native ARM code has some serious advantages.  It's up to 400 percent faster than code ran through the Dalvik virtual machine, makes for truly portable code (even between platforms), and because most Android phones and tablets run ARM processors developers can take advantage of platform specific instructions for apps that run better and use less resources (like battery power!).  ARM's new development suite offers app devs tools for native development built right into the same IDE they use for Java based code -- Eclipse.  Not having to learn new software while also debugging insanely complicated source code means the devs can better focus on their work.  All around it's a good thing. Whether you're a developer with a need, or just a curious bystander who wants to learn more, hit the source links to find out all about it. Source: BusinessWire; More: ARM

LG confirms Optimus 2X, Optimus Black, Optimus 3D and Optimus LTE to get Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 28 Nov 2011 05:01 AM PST LG this morning on its Facebook page announced four of its smartphones -- its top four, in case you're wondering -- will receive updates to Ice Cream Sandwich. The lucky quorum are the Optimus 2X, Optimus Black, Optimus 3D and Optimus LTE. Timing for the upgrade schedule is yet to be determined. Here's the skinny: LG confirms today that the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS will be initially available for the following high-end LG smartphones which were introduced this year: the Optimus 2X, the Optimus Black, the Optimus 3D and the Optimus LTE. We are also continuing to evaluate the ICS OS to determine whether it is compatible with the functionality, features and performance of other LG smartphones to make the ICS OS available on as many LG smartphones as possible. In December this year, the forthcoming upgrade schedule and additional specific models for the ICS OS upgrade will be posted on our LG Mobile Global Facebook page (www.facebook.com/LGMobile) and on our local LG websites. Please stay tuned for more updates from LG. No idea just yet what that means for the likes of the T-Mobile G2X, the Thrill 4G on AT&T or any other U.S. derivative. Stay tuned. Source: LG Mobile Facebook

Cyber Monday Savings on Android Phone Accessories at ShopAndroid.com! Posted: 27 Nov 2011 10:14 PM PST *10% off coupon ends tonight at Midnight PST.  Deep discounts on items above are only while supplies last, so hurry!

The Week in Android News Posted: 27 Nov 2011 06:29 PM PST Another Android filled week behind us, odds are that you missed something along the way, so let's take a quick look at some of what you may have missed! General News Welcome to the cloud, iOS users What to do if an app doesn't work with an Ice Cream Sandwich port Hardware News Samsung Galaxy Nexus review (international version) Samsung Galaxy Nexus gets 'opened' Verizon announces holiday savings, kicks it all of with announcement the red Droid Incredible 2 LG Optimus 4G LTE arrives on Bell in Canada Samsung Mobile announces the Samsung Illusion with Verizon Wireless Fresh "HTC Ville" render sighted, now sporting capacitive buttons Tablet News Big update for the VZ Messages app includes tablet and phone SMS/MMS sync ASUS Transformer Prime up for preorder on Amazon Ice Cream Sandwich previewed on the ASUS Transformer Prime Gameloft, ARCHOS teaming up for preloaded content on G9 tablets Sony Tablet P on sale in the UK, brings hefty price tag with it ASUS Transformer Prime available for pre-order at Best Buy

You are subscribed to email updates from Android Central - Android Forums, News, and Help To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610