Android Mashup: Recent Posts From Android Authority

Dual-booting ViewPad 10′s Android 2.2 Upgrade: A Perfect Marriage of Work and Leisure
Posted: Fri, 06 May 2011 05:49:01 +0000
Picture this. Superb entertainment combined with cutting- edge business apps to suit the working professional’s dynamic, on-the-go lifestyle. Seems surreal? Well, it’s no longer as far- fetched as you think.
The dual-booting ViewSonic ViewPad 10 just got an upgrade to Android 2.2. This means a refined zoom feature for the 1.3 megapixel built-in camera, built-in Twitter and a widget that makes it convenient for you to dial and to browse. And the Froyo upgrade also means better Flash and multitasking features.
Apart from the Google Android apps (and the Gmail, Calendar, Youtube apps), you can also run Windows 7 applications (Adobe Acrobat, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) simultaneously on your tablet. As to specs, you have the option of choosing either a Windows 7 Home Premium tablet with16 GB storage space or a Win 7 Professional one with 32 GB storage space.
You can now take your work with you while hitting the road without compromising the fun element. Chill and relax while accomplishing your day’s assignments. Play Angry Birds in between finishing your company audit report. Or even watch your favorite Glee episodes in between doing your company PowerPoint presentation. It’s so easy to switch in between Android 2.2 and Windows 7 after all, thanks to ViewPad’s dual operating system.
Whoever said you can’t blend work with play? Whoever said that you have to miss out on all the fun while hitting the road? ViewSonic ViewPad 10 is just the perfect counterexample to those sophistries, and it is bound to be a faithful and trustworthy companion for the typical working professional.
Check out ViewSonic’s website or dial 800-888-8583 to find out how you can update your ViewPad 10.
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Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V Review – Raising the Bar for Budget Android Phones!
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 18:41:56 +0000
Introduction
Welcome to Android Authority’s review of the Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V. The Optimus V is one of the Optimus One line of phones which has graced every carrier in the USA, as well as set sales records for LG. The fact that they sold one million phones in 40 days is no surprise to me anymore, as soon as I opened the package I knew why it sold so well.
This handset is only $199.99 at Virgin Mobile with no contract, and is a steal at that price. Combine that with Virgin Mobile’s unique pricing system for the United States, and overall this handset stands unmatched. The Optimus V is on their “Beyond Talk” plans which give you Unlimited Messages, and Unlimited Data with fixed amounts of minutes for very reasonable prices. Their cheapest offering is their 300 Min plan which is only $25 a month, which is perfect for your average person who has made the cultural switch to texting instead of one on one voice chatting. If 300 Minutes is too few for you, most likely their 1200 Minutes for $40/mo plan would suffice. Their most expensive offering at $60 includes Unlimited Minutes as well as Unlimited Data and Messaging.
Physical Design & Display
The Optimus V is your normal slate form factor with no physical keyboard and a screen that overtakes most of the front. It is funny how LG was able to pull off making this handset as cheap as it is because it has a very premium feel. It might be the fact that it is a slate form factor with no moving parts, but I thought it felt very solid especially in comparison to more expensive slate handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S series which is made up of a more flexible plastic than the Optimus V.
At 3.2 inches, the display isn’t very large, but most of us have been thoroughly exposed to 3.2” screened Android handsets. Something that is nice is this: in comparison to Virgin Mobile’s Samsung Intercept which has a 3.2” QVGA 320×240, is the Optimus V’s identical sized 3.2” screen that is HVGA or 480×320 pixels. One thing I was very surprised about that I had not heard anywhere was how bright the screens backlight is. At full brightness it was brighter than the Super LCD, on my myTouch 4G. Then I compared it to two different Samsung Epic 4G’s on Sprint and it was even brighter than the Super AMOLED panel on those handsets. I was absolutely astonished with how bright it was. I’m one of those people who loves their screens brightness burning out their retinas so this was a very pleasing device to me, while many would leave the screen dim and never notice how insanely bright it is. The Touchscreen is very accurate and didn’t have any issues in testing.
Other than the brightness there were many likeable features with the physical aspects of this handset. I was very pleased to see that it has physical Android navigation buttons instead of capacitive ones which seem to be unresponsive sometimes for me. One interesting feature of the Android Navigation Buttons is that they wake up the handset and bring it to the unlock screen. So you don’t have to use the power button to bring it back to life. The other physical buttons; power, camera, volume up and down are all very clicky which give a lot of confidence when pressed on whether the action was successful. Along with the normal buttons you’d expect to have, LG threw along a Voice Dial button on the side right above the camera button. This button is dedicated to doing “Call John Doe” or “Redial,” even though Google Voice Command probably would have worked just fine it is nice to have the option of a dedicated Voice Dial button if you chose. The Micro USB charging port is on the bottom of the phone in a great place for a charger location because it doesn’t conflict with Universal Dash Mounts. The last of the notable physical features is that LG was nice enough to put the MicroSD card slot on the left side of the phone under its own door, no more opening the back battery door, or having to pull the battery. I love them for this.
Software
Overall, the Optimus V is a very speedy handset with its stock vanilla version of Froyo (2.2.1). There were very few customizations of the OS itself, one of the only things I actually found that was different than a fully stock version of Froyo is that in the “About Phone” area they had an “Activate Phone” option. This does nothing but register the handset with Virgin Mobiles servers. This is a settings option I’ve never seen in another CDMA handset, not even the Sprint ones I’ve used.
Like I said the stock OS runs awesome on the 600MHz MSM7627 with Adreno 200 GPU. Everything was super snappy and never really lagged. One thing I found very surprising is when using Advanced Task Manager, it would clear up to having 350MB of RAM on a regular basis, and upwards of 430MB when first booted. I’ve not seen those amounts of RAM freed up since my 768MB myTouch 4G. The Optimus V has only 512MB of RAM so the fact that it can free up so much RAM is nice for running third party apps and shows you how much less overhead is needed on a vanilla build. Virgin Mobile did package along some third party apps that are not removable. The only apps I could find that weren’t stock were; the “Activate” shortcut, airG chat, Virgin Mobile Downloads, “My Account” shortcut, Poynt, SCVNGR, Twidroyd, Virgin Mobile Live, and Where. But I didn’t see any of these running in the background becuase I didn’t set them up. So they’re taking up space but not slowing down the phone at all.
I was surprised to see that the handset was able to run Live Wallpapers, and very surprised to see no hiccups at all in their animation, even while running a bunch of apps in the background. This is thanks to the dedicated Adreno 200 GPU I’m sure.
Call Quality / Speaker
Overall Call Quality was good, I did not have any dropped calls on any of the tests I tried. The earpiece was loud and clear with no distortion. The Speaker used for Speakerphone calls did seem a little crackly and provided poor quality sound. However the same speaker worked great when listening to music or playing Youtube videos, I was somewhat confused on that one.
Network Connection
3G Network speeds fluctuated between 300Kbps – 700Kbps, I never really saw anything over 700Kbps. On 2G I got 40-60Kbps. I did have a few issues with the phone stopping talking to the network, yet showing that it was connected to the 3G network with full bars. Afterwards it would not be able to get to the internet until I enabled Airplane Mode and then disabled Airplane Mode. One thing to note about this process is I’ve never seen a phone switch into Airplane Mode faster than the Optimus V. It was almost instantaneous upon touching the on screen button. This bugginess of their network was slightly inconvenient, but once figured out, was remedied very easily and isn’t enough of a problem to be dissatisfied with their $25 per month service.
Battery Life
Battery Life is great on this handset. I went through a whole day, using the handset on and off in a pattern that normally kills handsets by evening and the lowest it ever got in a single day period was 50%, some days it would only drop to 65%. I was amazed with this battery usage. It might be due to the 1500mAh battery that is supporting the 600 MHz processor, but regardless of whatever magic it uses, I was pleasantly surprised.
Camera / Camcorder
Camera quality was good, and they especially look good on the phones bright screen. Viewing them on a computer obviously results in the images losing a little bit of their quality, but still displayed very nice clarity. The shutter is controlled with a two stage dedicated camera button. However, there is no flash so taking pictures in dim light leads to poor shots. The camcorders video quality was very good for a handset of this level, however the audio recorded was crackly and of poor quality, with peaks of average quality.
Benchmarks
My testing procedure is to install all benchmarking apps on a clean phone, reboot and run them three times each one by one in alphabetical order, as overtime we will build a bigger database of handsets to compare versus each other.
An3DBenchXL: Score: 8645 – 8748
CaffeineMark: Score: 1717 – 2063
CPU Benchmark: 1532ms – 1547ms
FPS2D: Score 39 – 46      Stdev 16.99 – 19.48
Linpack for Android: MFLOPS: 7.365 – 7.542   Time: 11.12 – 11.38 seconds
NenaMark1: 21.0fps – 26.2fps
Neocore: 41.9fps – 43.6fps
Quadrant Standard Ed: Score: 454 – 504
Smartbench 2011: Productivity Index: 421 – 449       Games Index 435 – 442
Touch Test: Max of two touches, very accurate Touch Screen
Conclusion
Overall this is a great handset that has a very cheap set of plans associated with it. With the lowest priced plan, the overall cost of ownership makes it the cheapest Android handset you can have in the USA. The bang for the buck ratio is through the roof with this phone. If you’re looking to pinch a few pennies to be able to afford more toys like the new Honeycomb tablets that are coming out make the move to Virgin Mobile. In a lot of cases, breaking your plan and paying the Early Termination Fee would still put you into saving hundreds of dollars over a year or two of being under contract. Factoring in the ‘Bang for the Buck’ raises this one’s score.
Score
4.5 out of 5
Thanks for checking out our review of the Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V. Make sure to tune back in as we review more of the handsets that you want!
Gallery

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An Android Smartphone Designed for Women?
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 15:08:28 +0000
What would men be without women? It is a simple fact that women have been ignored when it comes to Android smartphones - design-wise With this in mind, HTC and Verizon have teamed up to create what they hope is an appealing Android smartphone geared especially for women. It looks to have the potential and the design to appeal to women.
Verizon and HTC have taken this into consideration and are alleged to be testing a new smartphone that will target women between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. As of this moment, the smartphone is known under the name of “Bliss” and is supposed to come to Verizon before the year ends.
Check out the dummy images of what the smartphone is supposed to look like. The HTC Bliss will have a softer color hue, offer various preloaded calorie counting apps and even shopping comparison apps such as the ShopSavvy, a wireless speaker dock, a rubbery back for women to have an easier grip on the device and a LED charm that will light up whenever there is an incoming call, text messages and also make it easier to pull the phone from the tight jeans that females that many women wear these days. Despite all of this sounding highly sexist, we think they are on to something.
I am pretty sure that women will love the HTC Bliss. As it stands we have no idea when this particular female-friendly smartphone will come into reality. For now, this is all just news. This idea from HTC and Verizon somehow makes sense. But if I were them, I would create a smartphone that would target both men and women.
To every woman out there, how is this sounding so far?
Source: ThisIsMyNext
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HTC Kingdom Is Not The EVO 3D
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 08:56:41 +0000
Just a few days back, a ROM of the HTC Kingdom was leaked all over the internet and many people believed it was only a code name for the Evo 3D. Most recently however, a tipster sent photos of the HTC Kingdom to PocketNow. While it resembles the Evo 3D, a closer inspection reveals some interesting differences. Upon closer inspection, you will see some slight variances that indicate it is in fact something different from the Evo 3D. The button layout on the bottom part of the smartphone tells us it is obviously not the Evo 3D. Close, but no cigar folks.
The recent ROM leaked is supposed to be on Qualcomm’s MSM7630 chipset, which provides CDMA world phone support, paired with the Adreno 205 GPU. It highlights 768MB of RAM and a 4-inch qHD display with a 1.3-megapixel front facing camera, while the rear camera will be 5 megapixels. You will be fascinated once you know that its ROM shows that the Scorpion single-core CPU is scorching at 1.2GHz, which is 200MHz greater than any of the other HTC alternatives previously, 800MHz and 1GHz, and matches its dual-core Scorpion cousins clock speed. Also, the HTC Kingdom will be running Gingerbread 2.3.3.
Still, the HTC Kingdom’s debut and how much it will cost remain a mystery – for now.
Will this be the less expensive alternative for the Evo 3D? Or even for the Evo 2? Any thoughts?
Source: PocketNow
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Fun-loving Zombies Invading Android Soon!
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 07:47:40 +0000
A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home, and your only defense is an arsenal of zombie-zapping plants. Use peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more to mulchify zombies before they reach your front door. The fun never dies with this one folks – this is what Plants vs. Zombies is all about!
The fastest-selling video game created by PopCap Games is coming soon to your Android phones! Plants vs. Zombies has been a game that almost everybody loves. In fact, Plants vs. Zombies has been nominated for the “Casual Game of the Year” and “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design” Interactive Achievement Awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. The game received nominations in “Best Game Design”, “Innovation”, and “Best Download Game” for the Game Developers Choice Awards. Furthermore, Plants vs Zombies was picked by Gamezebo as one of the ‘Best games of 2009′.
The official Twitter account of PopCap games tweeted that they are currently planning to release Plants vs. Zombies on the first half of 2011. Meaning to say, that would be anytime within the next two months. As of this moment, they said that they are working to port the game over to Android. Last January, it was reported that Plants vs. Zombies will be coming this summer, so it appears to be that the news was quite true. Let us just hope that this highly anticipated game will be available sooner rather than later.
Without a doubt, it’s a great game. This is going to be fun, isn’t it? BRAAIINNNS!
Source: AndroidCommunity
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Android Injector Installs APKs in a Snap
Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 07:24:58 +0000
Vexed because you can’t download those cool free apps from Mobango? Or just frustrated that Android Market doesn’t let people in your town download apps? Here’s some good news to cheer you up.
XDA member Enzola has come up with a new application that will enable you to install .apk files downloaded on your PC to your Android device seamlessly. This means that your mobile app options would no longer be limited to merely those found in the Android Market. Lots of developers opt to publish their apps in other marketplaces and in their own sites for more control on the distribution of the app, making sure that updates are always timely and avoiding the hassle of dealing with Google’s policies and payments.
Thanks to the heaven-sent Android Injector, you can easily transfer the apps downloaded to your PC from Getjar (or anywhere else, for that matter) to your mobile phone through the USB. (Yes, you got that right. Just the USB.)
You just have to enable USB debugging on your mobile device and install the necessary ADB drivers on your PC. You don’t even need to have your mobile device rooted. And yes, you also have the option of installing all the apps you want at the same time.
It’s a great solution really. And it came just when most Android users finally resolved to using apps offered by the Android Market. Now you won’t be chained to the whims of what Google wants and doesn’t want on your phone.
via XDA developers
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World’s First True Firewall for Android Just Launched
Posted: Wed, 04 May 2011 18:31:02 +0000
We’ve always been big proponents of security here at Android Authority, and talked about the Security Architecture of Android in a piece previously. There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the level of security on Android and the iPhone, and for good reason. Most of us have a significant amount of personal information on our mobile devices, and mobile security is likely to become an even bigger deal then it is currently. Most recently it was revealed by security researchers that the iPhone can potentially track the location of the user for a whole year, and transfers the log over an owners computers in an unencrypted file. Not to mention, the apps you install on your Android device send information back to the developers – and from their it can’t really be known what is done with it.
Thankfully, the development community has spoken, and an ingenious app from the developers at Whisper Systems have come up with a brilliant piece of software that gives you control over a dynamic firewall, with real-time connection monitoring, giving you unprecedented control over where your data is going and what your apps are doing., and the ability to restrict apps from sending out any information at all.
Security expert, Moxie Marlinspike launched the first dynamic Android firewall today, called Whisper Monitor. It monitors all outbound connection attempts by installed apps and the operating system, giving users a good idea of what’s going on with their phone.
“WhisperMonitor is essentially a small firewall for Android devices that allows users to restrict the behavior of any installed app and make decisions about what they want apps to be able to send to publishers and other third parties,” said Marlinspike.
Finally, a firewall for Android
WhisperMonitor provides a software firewall capable of filtering and real-time connection monitoring, giving you control over where your data is going and what your apps are doing. The app also includes access to the company’s existing WhisperCore security platform for Android, which provides platform-level encryption for Android devices, as well as some other security features. Additionally, both are offered for free.
Here’s what it can do:
Dynamic egress filtering.
When enabled, WhisperMonitor will monitor all outbound network traffic and issue dynamic prompts in order to determine egress filter rules.
Simple rule management.
WhisperMonitor provides a simple interface to modify or update rules defined by application.
Connection history.
WhisperMonitor optionally records the connection history of the software installed on your device, giving you insight into where it is connecting and how often.
How it works
If users think an app is accessing something that it shouldn’t, they have the option of blocking URLs or port numbers accessed with it. Users can also set firewall rules for individual apps and even provide connection history for apps on the phone.
We highly recommend you check this app out, so if you think that your phone is sending out data that it shouldn’t, or you want some extra protection for the files on your phone, head over to the WhisperSystems website to download WhisperMonitor for your Android phone.
Via: Threatpost
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DROIDX2, LG Revolution, Sony Xperia Play Verizon Release Dates Revealed
Posted: Wed, 04 May 2011 16:12:50 +0000
Hold off on buying any phone, Verizon subscriber. The PR Brigade at Verizon reached out to the boys at Droid-Life to “share” the upcoming release schedule for some amazing phones, like the DROID X2, the LG Revolution, and the Sony Xperia Play (Playstation Phone).
We live in a world of rumors, and every so often, we get these moments where the companies that provide the tech we all crave actually tell us what’s going on. Anyway, without further adieu, here is the release calendar from the boys at Droid Life for Verizon’s top upcoming phones:
- DROIDX2: May 12 – Reps are being told to sell through the remaining inventory of the original DX to make room for the DX2. And remember that the DX2 is expected to be Verizon’s first dual-core Tegra 2 phone.
- LG Revolution: May 12 – The next 4G LTE device, which will follow up the DROID Charge. It’s also expected to be the first Android phone to launch with Netflix support.
- Sony Xperia Play: May 26 – You all know it as the PlayStation Phone. It looks like it’s finally ready for the States. Should be offered in all VZW stores.
The LG Revolution in particular, is set to be one of Verizon’s best selling phones, and will have 4G LTE support to ensure blazing fast download speeds. Press releases likely to follow soon will definitely verify the authenticity of these dates, but we think they will hold up.
Via Droid Life
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World’s Thinnest Tablet – the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 – Hits the FCC, Due on North American Shores June 8!
Posted: Wed, 04 May 2011 14:55:24 +0000
Looks like some good news is coming your way, Honeycomb fans. Samsung unveiled a new ultra-thin version of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet at CTIA this year, and we’ve been eager to get our hands on it ever since. This is the world’s thinnest tablet, and with a 10.1 inch display, measures only 8.6 mm thin. Thankfully, the day of its imminent arrival is getting closer, and today, appeared at the FCC for testing, further underscoring its nearby release date. We know it’s the 10.1 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab because of the device’s distinctive silver accent on the upper side of its back, as well as a camera lens and flash.
Unfortunately, the FCC filings did not mention 3G, so it’s safe to assume that this particular variant is a WiFi-only version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Still, it’s packing awesome hardware, and features a dual-core 1GHz processor, up to 32GB of storage, front (2MP) and rear (3MP) cameras, and a 6860 mAh battery that should last for 10 hours. The FCC filings indicate support for 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will launch on June 8th, and will cost $499 for the 16GB version and $599 for the 32GB version.
Will you be picking one up on June 8th?
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Have a Mac? Have an Android Tablet or Phone? No Problem thanks to SyncMate!
Posted: Wed, 04 May 2011 13:55:18 +0000
About time Apple and Android learned to play nice. Don’t think this software is being made by Apple though, they won’t have any of it. Like most true software innovations that occur, this nifty piece of software has been created by a group of top-notch developers. The folks over at Eltima Software, developers of SyncMate software, have finally liberated Mac users to be able to sync their with Android phones and Android tablets too. SyncMate 3 fully supports Android synchronization and additional tests proved that SyncMate can sync Mac with Android tablets too.
Hey, and we won’t judge you because you are experiencing a technology identity crisis. Macs are great computers, and a lot of people use them.
SyncMate was designed from the ground up to allow syncing of contacts and calendars between Mac and Android devices, for free. However, if you want to give them a bit of cash, you can upgrade to their “Expert Edition”, and get full access to all the options SyncMate offers for Android devices. This includes folders, music, images, videos sync, bookmarks synchronization, the possibility to manage SMS messages on your Mac and mount Android as a Mac disk and lots more.
Check out how versatile this software actually is:
Basically, SyncMate is a versatile sync tool which allows you to sync data between your Mac, Android device(s), and accounts within one app. Nice!
Via: SyncMate
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