Germany’s Federal Environment Agency backs ban on sealed smartphone batteries

For the longest time, Android owners put removable batteries on the list of pros that they’re phones had over arch rivals, iPhones. Recent offerings from OEMs like HTC and Motorola have been devices with non-removable batteries. The Federal Environment Agency in Germany wants to do something about it.
The Federal Environment Agency in Germany has called for a ban on sealed smartphone batteries. Also called non-removable batteries, The President of the agency is quote as calling them grotesque and environmentally unfriendly. After all, if you can’t remove the battery, how are you supposed to recycle them?

Read More

Rumored Xbox TV could compete with Google and Apple TV devices

Recent rumors suggest that Microsoft is looking to take on Google and Apple TV with a set top box of their own known as Xbox TV. Sources close to the company seem to believe that Xbox TV will be competitively priced, and will run on Windows 8.
Much like the Xbox Surface tablet, Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny any Xbox TV rumors. If Xbox TV can match the prices of Apple TV, and Google TV devices like Vizio’s Co-Star, then Microsoft will have a good chance of winning the battle for the living room.

Read More

ony applies for patent for stylus with friction-based haptic feedback

While a lot of patent-related news these days is a slightly more complicated take on who is taking their ball and going home, Sony’s latest patent application is actually sort of interesting. Who would have thought that was still possible?
Sony’s patent application is for a new sort of haptic feedback, in addition to the vibration that phones currently use. A stylus with a ”rolling contact ball gripping mechanism” would be able to make it easier or harder to move the stylus on the screen.

Read More

Thoughts on the patent system aside, we’re all pretty tired of the constant litigation. OEMs are spending money and time in court battling one another instead of on their products. As it turns out, not everyone shares that opinion. Patent Chief David J. Kappos believes everything is working fine.

Read More

Google Fiber is impressive, says analysts, but when will it launch for the rest of us?

You might have heard of Google’s latest foray into the Internet and entertainment industries. Google wants its presence to become even more pervasive in your home. You already use Google Search, an Android device, Gmail and all kinds of services. But current broadband connections are not enough for Google. With Google Fiber, the company wants you to run these services on their own pipes.

Read More

Mobile payments booming this Thanksgiving; eBay, PayPal report massive growth over last year

Thanksgiving and Black Friday mark the beginning of the year-end shopping season, and this year retailers pulled out all stops to ensure that they capture the buyers’ attention. For some retailers, preparing for the shopping madness meant ensuring that customers that prefer to shop on their mobile devices could check out orders hassle free. But just how many users took to mobile to pay for their stuff?

Read More

Another brick in the wall: Samsung no longer supplies batteries to Apple

Samsung, South Korea’s largest industrial conglomerate, is supplying many crucial components that go into Apple’s insanely popular devices, including displays, processors, and memory modules. If you’ve been following us over the past few weeks, you might know that the once rosy relationship between the two industry titans is slowly turning sour.

Read More

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean gets ported to the Nexus S

For an Android phone that was released in 2010, it’s nothing short of amazing to see how the Nexus S has made the jump from Gingerbread to Ice Cream Sandwich, before finally resting on Jelly Bean. Then again, we’re talking about a Nexus here.

Read More

Nexus 4 comes with some issues: earpiece buzzing and distorted calls reported

No mobile device is perfect – in case we’d have such a thing, then we’d probably stop buying anything else – so we’re always expecting new releases to come with some bugs and/or issues that can be discovered by users in regular day-to-day situations.

Read More

Google Play’s Cyber Weekend promotion: Movies, TV series, music and more on sale

With Black Friday come and gone, holiday shoppers are now eagerly waiting for Cyber Monday to arrive. But you don’t have to wait until Monday to start enjoying the Cyber Weekend offers on Google Play. Following the discount treatment that many apps and games are getting, you’ll find that there are more deals to be had on Google’s online store.

Read More

ZTE releases Android 4.2 to ZTE N880E, first Chinese OEM to do so

Jelly Bean 4.2 hasn’t been out for very long. As is the norm for new Android releases, only a very few phones even run it. Most of them are Nexus devices that were either released that way or got a quick upgrade. Now, a non-Nexus device is running 4.2 in China thanks to ZTE.

Read More

uTorrent for Android gets WiFi-only option

Unlimited data plans are going the way of the dodo. You see carriers clamping down on unlimited bandwidth, and even with so-called “unlimited” plans, these usually come with fair-use clauses in which heavy users’ accounts are throttled.

Read More

Google Nexus 10 International Giveaway!

Love, love, love. It’s the spirit of the season over here at Android Authority, and we feel like giving back to our most favorite people in the world – you, our readers. With this in mind, we decided to give away the most rock ‘em sock ‘em tablet on the market – the Google Nexus 10!

Read More

Google Maps gets 10,000 indoor locations on desktop, venue owners urged to upload floor plans

While Apple’s latest iOS Maps offering is languishing with precision errors, messed up aerial images and a general disdain among the mobile community, Google is continuing to innovate and improve on its own Maps application. The latest update: 10,000 new indoor locations for your desktop viewing pleasure.

Read More

Can a Galaxy Note 2 be used as a PC? [video]

Depending on who you ask we’re now in the post PC era, where mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are becoming more and more popular with the crowds that regular PCs. But essentially these are smaller and smaller personal computers that are slowly picking up some of the workload from their older brothers, the regular keyboard-and-mouse PCs.

Read More

Samsung SCH-W2013 Jackie Chan Android flip phone launched in China

After looking at the dual-SIM Galaxy Note 2 flavor that was made official in China, it’s now time to check out another Android device launched in the region. The SCH-W2013 is an Android flip phone that’s made for/with Jackie Chan, but don’t expect it to be a Samsung flagship device that will soon go on sale in other markets.

Read More

iPhone 5, iPad mini iOS 6 source code apparently withheld by Apple in patent case against Google

It’s not just Samsung that’s targeting Apple’s latest iOS products in patent-based lawsuits, but Google also, which is engaged in a patent battle of its own against Apple inherited from Motorola.

FOSS Patents reports that Google has recently filed a motion in the Southern District of Florida to complain that Apple has failed to provide the iOS 6 source code, or Apple’s latest OS version that’s running on the iPhone 5, iPad mini, and other Apple mobile devices.

Read More

Dual-SIM Galaxy Note 2 now official in China, supports regular and micro SIMs

Just yesterday we talked about a dual-SIM Galaxy S3 model that was spotted in China, and now we’re going to move to the other dual-SIM Samsung flagship device that was rumored to be available soon in the region, the Galaxy Note 2.

Read More

HTC One X+ now available on TELUS

The wait is finally over, as the next powerhouse from HTC has made its way to TELUS – the HTC One X+, upgrade to the popular and well received One X, brings with it the Sense 4 UI in a delicious Jelly Bean flavor, a higher capacity battery at 2100 mAh, and is the next phone in line to sport a quad-core processor.

Read More

Nexus 4 coming to Three UK and TalkTalk on December 13

As one of the most sought after smartphones in the galaxy, the Nexus 4 has left many Android enthusiasts feeling frustrated due to the seemingly little stock that Google has of the phone – at least when it comes to the unlocked version of the pure Google device on Play Store. If you don’t mind the long wait, Three UK and TalkTalk will soon be offering the Nexus 4.

Starting from December 13, the Nexus 4 will be available for purchase from Three stores and online. The mighty phone will cost £29 up front, but don’t forget about the £35 monthly payment that you’ll be stuck with for the next two years.

You can also get the phone outright for £399, which is a touch more expensive than what Carphone Warehouse is selling the unlocked Nexus 4 for.

Meanwhile, TalkTalk is hoping to lure new customers to its network by throwing in a free Nexus 7 for folks who pre-order the Nexus 4 there. The phone costs next to nothing, while the monthly plan starts at £30. Just like Three, TalkTalk said that the Nexus 4 will be in stock on December 13.

SOURCESEURODROID

Read More

Microsoft to challenge Google Project Glass with own augmented reality device

Microsoft has surely challenged existing platforms in the tablet market with its launch of Surface. But while Surface has yet to put a dent on the iPad’s market share, along with that of the various Android devices, it seems Redmond also has other devices in the pipeline. Or at least, they have plans to get into the augmented reality business, as well.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published a patent application filed by Microsoft as far as May in 2011 for augmented reality glasses, which gives users real-time information on real-world events he or she is viewing. There are notable differences with similar projects by other companies, though.

Read More

Sony Xperia TX review

There’s no denying it: Sony really knows how to design its phones. It has avoided a lot of the design trends that are really popular and continued doing its own thing. Even an entry-level phone such as its Sony Xperia J ST26i looks gorgeous.

The Sony Xperia TX LT29i is equally gorgeous, with its curved back, thin strip of silver, and mirror-like front. A sense of class, sophistication, and elegance emanates from this phone. Its insides, however, aren’t quite as impressive.

Read More

Google Play holds huge Black Friday promotion, has tens of discounted apps up for grabs

The day after Thanksgiving is always the worst. If you’ve not eaten too much turkey, you’ve most definitely got a hangover and vice versa. Not to mention what happens if you have both. Yikes!
Thankfully, the rise of consumerism has its upsides, and one of that is called Black Friday. It’s a day of total happiness and relaxation, when you can just lie in bed and buy stuff. Ideally stuff you need. Like super-cheap Android apps.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1’s Jelly Bean update to come with Premium Suite [video]

Back in September, Samsung announced a handful of devices that will be getting Jelly Bean. Especially for the Galaxy Note 10.1, the Android 4.1 upgrade will be accompanied by a special Premium Suite.
Since nobody seems to read manuals these days, Samsung is choosing the medium of video to showcase the tablet’s premium features, one that should make for an interesting viewing for owners and potential buyers.

Read More

ZOOKEEPER BATTLE 1.0.4

Can be moved SD card
Fixed issue on reading achievement record
Minor bug fixes
Fixed error in appearing too much item panels
Thank you for all your feedback! If you have any issues with this App, please send an email to support_azb@kiteretsu.jp

Read More

Google Nexus device checker website lets you know if the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 are in-, or out-of-stock

The Nexus 4 is still pretty much impossible to find. Well, that is unless you are willing to pay a premium and pick one up from someplace like eBay or Craigslist. That scary thought of overpaying aside, lets shift back to getting one from the Google Play Store. Or more to the point, getting any of the Nexus devices from the Play Store.

Read More

Nun Attack for Android now available for free from the Google Play Store

Personally I am not one to shy away from paying for quality apps, but at the same time I am always happy to get a quality app for free. That being said, a game has recently dropped from an already low price of $1.00 down to an even lower price of free. Said game is called Nun Attack and it can be found in the Google Play Store.

Read More

Zombie Gunner 1.0.0

No recent changes.

Overview:
Blood-Splattering Action Fun!
A zombie infection has spread throughout the town. Hundreds of citizens now roam the streets, hungry for flesh. Amidst the chaos, Andrew has lost his daughter, Lisa! Help him rescue civilians and find his daughter while solving the mystery behind the strange zombie appearances!
Filled with explosive zombie-killing gameplay and a storyline with twists and turns, players won’t be able to put the game down!

Read More

Songza 4.1.2

✔ Improved audio playback experience
✔ Expanded and enhanced notifications for Android 4.1
✔ Easier than ever to share with friends
✔ Performance fixes and optimizations
Overview:
Good music makes good times.
Working? Relaxing? At the gym? Songza plays you the right music at the right time.

Read More

Devil Kernel Manager 2.0

v.2.0
* Reworked the UI (hope everyone likes it a bit more)
* Only show Dynamic Fsync is its available on the kernel
* Taping on the Vibration Intensity value will vibrate to check the current setting.
* Option to show/hide the log.
* Option to see the app changelog.

Read More

Ice Age Village 1.0.4

Meet a bunch of new animal friends, and discover new items to place all over town so your village never stops growing and changing!
- Say hello to the Gorilla, Diplodocus, Seagull, Sea Elephant, Blue Crab, plus a special Lottery-only animal.
- Celebrate Thanksgiving with the turkey joining the party, as well as new decoration items.
- Have fun in the sun by setting up your own Beach Resort building and your Jet-Ski resort.
- 50+ new quests for lots of fun new challenges.

Read More

DRAGON SLAYER 1.0.0

No recent changes.

Overview:
Dragon Slayer is a visually spectacular, magic-based combat game.
The Dragon Slayers are hunting once again and you have answered the call. Dragon Slayer is a visually spectacular, magic-based combat game that is brought to you by the studio that brought you Blood & Glory and Blood & Glory: Legend.
BATTLE MOUNTAINOUS DRAGONS

Read More

SwiftKey 3 and SwiftKey 3 Tablet Black Friday sale means a 50 percent discount

We suspect that many of the SwiftKey fans have already made the purchase, however if you have yet to get either of the versions or you have simply been curious up until this point –today looks like a good time to make a purchase. The folks behind the SwiftKey apps have lowered the prices for Black Friday.

Read More

First large-scale test of EE’s 4G LTE service finds “patchy”, but ultra-fast network

We know very well that 4G LTE is just a fancy combination of letters and numbers and that, just because a carrier says it’s faster and better than 3G, it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way in reality.
There are a number of variables that can influence LTE speeds, especially soon after a network’s inception, so when EE flipped the switch on “true 4G” for the first time in UK, there were those who preferred caution to overexcitement.

Read More

T-Mobile: iPhone’s price is too damn high

Even with a financial climate that’s proven extremely tough on a lot of businesses, it seems to still be profitable to provide telecommunications services in the United States. Verizon and AT&T’s customer portfolios have topped 100 million people recently, while struggling Sprint is set to be financially resuscitated via Japan’s SoftBank.

Read More

Amazon Wireless discounts the AT&T Sony Xperia TL, has it for one penny on a two-year agreement

We have said it before and we will likely say it again — if you shop for smartphones with third party retailers you are going to get a much better deal. Well, in most cases anyway. And on that note, it looks like Amazon Wireless has a pretty sweet deal on the Sony Xperia TL for AT&T. In short, they have the handset available for just one penny.

Read More

Vodafone Australia to start Jelly Bean rollout for Samsung Galaxy S3 on November 26

Though Samsung has gone out of its way lately to ensure all Galaxy S3 users worldwide can get a taste of Jelly Bean, there are still a couple of loose ends to be tied up here and there.
Thankfully, the tying up of loose ends is in full swing, which is easily noticeable after Rogers Canada and Vodafone Australia’s latest announcements. The latter has just posted a happy, happy message on its blog, letting people know that Android 4.1.1 will come to the carrier’s S3 next Monday, on the 26^th.

Read More

How to enable LTE on the Nexus 4

Some enterprising folks in Canada discovered that, in spite of several reports that said the contrary, you can, in fact, use LTE on the Google Nexus 4.
We’ve shown you a video as a proof, and the thread on XDA-forums where the news first broke is full of people that managed to activate LTE on their Nexus 4. However, there are some caveats – it appears that only a specific LTE band is supported – Band 4 (also known as AWS). AWS includes spectrum in the 1710-1755 MHz band for uplink and 2110 to 2155 MHz for downlink.
AWS spectrum is currently used by several North American carriers:

Read More

Video: Someone in Canada has figured out how to enable LTE on the LG Nexus 4

The Nexus 4 is the perfect smartphone, right? For a lot of people, the answer is yes. But folks who have had the pleasure of using an LTE network say they’ll never, ever, go back to 3G. If the video embedded below is accurate, then someone in Canada has figured out how to make the LTE in the Nexus 4 actually work.

Read More

Shocker: Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx HD crushes iPhone 5, Galaxy S3 in battery life performance

The Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx HD has a humongous battery, so you’d obviously expect it to crush the competition when it comes to battery life tests, including two of its most important rivals, the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S3. So there’s really no surprise there, is it?
In fact, Motorola has recently put up a Droid RAZR Maxx HD ad taking an interestingly illustrated hit (see image below) at the battery performance offered by the iPhone 4S. But, curiously though, the ad didn’t attack the iPhone 5′s battery.

Read More

HTC Deluxe DLX press images out in the open, release date not so much

The HTC Droid DNA is already available from Verizon in the USA, and from KDDI in Japan, where it’s known as the J Butterfly. But what about other international markets? When will the rest of the world receive HTC’s 5-inch Android flagship smartphone?
We can’t answer these questions yet, but we can show you press renders of the international version which is apparently now known as the Deluxe DLX, monikers that aren’t new to anyone who has been keeping close tabs on Android rumors.

Read More

Rogers Galaxy S3 Jelly Bean now set for ‘early December’

Last time we spoke about the Jelly Bean update for Rogers’ Galaxy S3 version we told you that the handset was going to be soon updated to Android 4.1, without providing you actual details other than an ambiguous “late November” timeframe.

Read More

Google Nexus 10 vs Apple iPad 4

Ever since Apple introduced the original iPad back in 2010, the Android ecosystem has been constantly attempting to imitate its success. However, despite the enthusiasm with which Android manufacturers have announced tablet devices of their own in 2010 (at the time, the entire industry seemed to be affected by a tablet frenzy virus of some sort), only a few of them have managed to escape the “failure” stigma. 2011 was not a great year for Android tablets either, despite the fact that Google had launched its first tablet version of Android 3.0 Honeycomb. (The Motorola Xoom has Nexus status when it comes to new OS updates from Google.)

Read More

Canada to get the Samsung Galaxy Camera by December 7

Samsung’s Galaxy Camera is going north

Longing for a taste of  smart cameras, eh? If you live up north of the 49th parallel (actually a few degrees south for the majority), then the Samsung Galaxy Camera is coming your way. Samsung has announced the launch of their smart camera in Canada in time for the holiday season.

Read More

5-inch Galaxy Grand spotted at the FCC, are we looking at a Galaxy S4 preview?

We’ve had various Galaxy S4 rumors these days, and while we’re a long way from the actual launch of Samsung’s 2013 flagship Android smartphone, we’re apparently soon going to get a little preview of what the device could look like.

Read More

Dual SIM (GSM/CDMA) Galaxy S3 spotted in China, hitting stores soon?

The Galaxy S3 is obviously Samsung’s most successful handset of the year, and its best-selling Android device to date. But can it can get any better before the Galaxy S4 arrives?
In case you’d love for it to come with dual SIM capabilities, then the answer is yes, but don’t get too excited yet as the Samsung Galaxy S3 SCH-I939D that was spotted in China sporting such features doesn’t offer dual GSM SIM support.

Read More

Sony Odin sample photos leak, could have been snapped with the front-facing cam

Sony Odin and Yuga rumors galore for a while, which might come as a surprise for some, considering that the two phones are basically confirmed as launching next year. Still, when you think of the duo’s speculated spec sheets, you probably start to understand why we simply can’t stop talking about them.

Read More

Hulk roars and grunts in new Marvel’s Avengers Initiative game

We all have our favorite member of the elite Marvel superhero team the Avengers. If you like your superhero green and mean, you will not want to miss the latest Marvel-based Android game that’s now available to download from Google Play, the Avengers Initiative.

Read More

Google finally fixes odd networking bug after two and a half years

Do you remember 2010? Android 2.1 was all the rage and the HTC Desire was the phone to own. Joonas Lehtolahti remembers it too. He had a problem with the Wi-Fi network at his university.  Because it was an open, un-encrypted network students could connect without needing a password, but to get out onto the Internet you needed to login via a special server.

Read More

Google Fiber TV demoed on video, glimpses of the future and all

Google’s groundbreaking Fiber service went live last week and it already began to change the lives of residents of Kansas City. For instance, a couple bought a family home in one of the Fiberhoods (area where Google deploys the Fiber service) and turned it into a startup incubator of sorts, where budding entrepreneurs can establish their “offices” to take advantage of the crazy fast 1Gbps internet access.
But Google Fiber provides more than internet access at blazing speeds.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere 2 goes on sale, is $130 at Verizon, but free at Radio Shack

We’ve always said the Android world is in need of better slider phones (aka phones with QWERTY keyboards), and, even though we’re yet to see a quad-core device in this niche, we’re slowly, but steadily getting there.

Read More

BBK unveils Vivo X1 phone – 6.55 mm thin, Jelly Bean flavored and available for $400

There’ve been plenty of ultra-snappy, super-thin and/or uber-stylish high-end smartphones to come out in China lately, but you can never have too many options, can you? That said, let’s welcome the Vivo X1, another contender for the title of “world’s thinnest smartphone”.

Read More