Topicfire Android News

Dell’s Project Ophelia will start shipping in July for $100

2013-05-19T21:18:41+00:00

Introduced this year at CES, Dell’s ambitious project of delivering Android 4.0 (or above) experience to any device that has a compatible HDMI port and a display has finally received a price and a release window. Officially known as Wyse Project Ophelia, the small dongle will be sold for no...

Weekly News Roundup #5 – India

2013-05-19T19:30:07+00:00

In a weekly segment, I’ll be doing a roundup of the mobile technology news in India, including new device announcements and releases from Indian manufacturers, network carrier news, and anything else that captures the pulse of the Android scene in India. In today’s “Weekly News Roundup – India,” Micromax launches...

Waterproof S 4 variant shows up in benchmark with downgraded processor, dubbed the Galaxy S 4 J Active

2013-05-19T19:28:55+00:00

As we’ve reported multiple times before, Samsung has big plans to release multiple variants of their newest flagship, the Galaxy S 4, to serve various purposes. The water and dust proof variant just ran through the GFX Benchmark site and we now have more information on the device including its official name, the...

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 rumored to ship with Intel processor

2013-05-19T19:26:15+00:00

According to a GL Benchmark test, a device with the model number GT-P5200 is going to include a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 Clover Trail+ processor working with a PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU. The GT-P5200 name seems to code for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, as the GT-P5100 was...

The Galaxy S4 family: familiarity vs brand dilution

2013-05-19T19:24:21+00:00

In 2012, Samsung began its familiarity strategy. It’s hard to miss a newer Samsung phone on the streets because they all have that definitive look. Plastic rounded body, usually in white, the devices were basically mini or maxi Galaxy S3 versions. This design philosophy was then transferred to Samsung’s tablets,...

Android's Design Principles And The Calculus Of The Human Pleasure Response

2013-05-19T19:18:37+00:00

Android UX and interaction design leads Helena Roeber and Rachel Garb gave a talk at Google I/O this year about the Android Design Principles (ADP) they helped create and introduced back in 2012 with the launch of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The ADP foll three simple principles, essentially “enchat,...

Hisense Sero 7 Pro with Tegra 3, Android 4.2 takes on Google’s Nexus 7

2013-05-19T19:15:04+00:00

Today we have something pretty interesting for all you tablet lovers. A new slate that’s aiming to take on Google’s Nexus 7 has leaked, and you’re going to like the price. It’s called the Hisense Sero 7 Pro, from the popular Chinese manufacturer, and has everything and more the Nexus...

Five Best Android Phones: 2013 Edition

2013-05-19T15:31:20+00:00

There are so many Android phones on the market that choosing the best one can mean a ton of research, price-checking, and waiting to see what's coming out in the next few weeks or months. Some are exclusive to specific carriers, some run stock Android, some are littered with bloatware...

Shipping: Verizon Galaxy S4 pre-orders to customers, T-Mobile Galaxy S3 LTE to stores

2013-05-19T08:18:21+00:00

The last of the Big Four to start selling the Galaxy S4 in the U.S., Verizon, appears to have started shipping Galaxy S4 pre-orders already. Meanwhile, last year’s Galaxy S model (the LTE version) has been reportedly spotted heading to T-Mobile stores. Verizon Galaxy S4 Droid-Life reports that Verizon Galaxy...

Is the Nexus dead? What the Galaxy S4 with pure Android means for Samsung and Google

2013-05-19T05:17:23+00:00

A few days ago, Google formally unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition with pure Android. It’s a modified version of the flagship Samsung handset that we first saw announced back in March, and it stands to offer the standard Nexus user experience. What does this mean for Google’s actual...

Google Hangouts “easter eggs” revealed, include ponies and dinosaurs

2013-05-19T01:16:35+00:00

Google Hangouts has a lot of cool features, including over 800 emoji characters to use. Apparently there are also six hidden “easter eggs,” including ponies, dinosaurs, and the ability to change the background of the chat window. Google employee Moritz Toxdorff posted the above image on his Google+ account, which...

HTC employee hints at an HTC One with stock Android

2013-05-19T01:16:30+00:00

At the I/O, Google announced that a version of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 running stock Android will be for sale later this summer. Could a “Google experience” HTC One with stock Android follow? Leigh Momii, a Developer Evangelist at HTC posted a tweet possibly suggesting exactly that, stating “So you can pay...

Sony Xperia Tablet Z receives AOSP support

2013-05-18T23:26:51+00:00

Sony opened AOSP software code for the Sony Xperia Z last month, and now the Xperia Tablet Z has been added to the program as well. This will be the first tablet to receive the AOSP port from Sony. The source code will be available through GitHub, usable after the bootloader...

Google H840 media streamer hits the FCC to replace the Nexus Q

2013-05-18T19:45:21+00:00

Google’s Nexus Q media streamer was short-lived, and canceled shortly after being revealed at last years Google I/O event. With no word on a replacement at this years show, we’re now seeing its successor hit the FCC. A new Google device branded as H840 DEVICE has cleared the FCC this...

Hangouts quietly gets a new update to fix tablet woes

2013-05-18T19:19:26+00:00

Google this week at Google I/O unveiled its unified messaging service called Hangouts (our app review here). The Google Talk replacement has had a rocky launch, causing update woes for many, especially those with a tablet. Rest assured that Google has quietly pushed out a new update for Hangouts, which will make...

App Weekender: 30 brand new apps you should try this weekend

2013-05-18T17:45:43+00:00

If you guys missed Google’s amazing developer conference this week, catch up here… they released some awesome apps (a few listed below). But this is the App Weekender and that means brand new apps we received this week! We haven’t rinsed these apps in our thorough review cycle but they’re worth giving a...

The Nexus Experience Galaxy S4 is most likely a software modified T-Mobile S4

2013-05-18T16:47:16+00:00

When Google announced the Nexus Experience Galaxy S4 (which shall henceforth be referred to as the NES4), information on exactly which hardware variant Google was using for the device left something to be desired. We know that it includes 16GB of storage, has a removable battery, a microSD slot, appears...

Rumor: Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 coming with Intel Atom Z2560 chip inside

2013-05-18T15:24:01+00:00

Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 A new GLBenchmark test result reveals that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 model would come with an Intel Atom Z2560 chip inside, which may be a surprising choice for the Android device maker. Model number GT-P5200 has been spotted in GLBenchmark results both in Wi-Fi-only...

Riptide GP2 demo shows new Play games services multiplayer in action

2013-05-18T14:00:41+00:00

The developers of Riptide GP2 released a video demoing the multiplayer support coming to the game thanks to the implementation of the new Play games services. If you watched the Google I/O keynote on Wednesday, you probably remember the awkward moment when Hugo Barra tried to demo cross-platform multiplayer gaming...

Google Glass for prescription eyewear seen at I/O

2013-05-18T13:20:27+00:00

Credit: Engadget When Google Glass was first unveiled to the public at Google I/O, the lack of support for prescription eyewear was a notable limitation. 75 percent of American adults use some sort of vision correction, with the majority of them being glasses, and Google obviously had a major market...

Famed leaker: Android 4.2.2 coming to HTC One soon, “Senseless” edition later this summer?

2013-05-18T11:45:23+00:00

A source known for providing insider information on HTC devices tweeted that the HTC One could get an update in “2-3 weeks”, while a “Senseless” edition might come in late summer. One of the most popular devices of the moment, the HTC One, is behind the times (and the competition)...

Google makes Android easier to use for visually-impaired users with TalkBack and BrailleBack.

2013-05-18T07:17:10+00:00

Google has made some great enhancements to the Android platform with the goal of making their devices more user friendly to people with blindness or low-visibility. Google engineers have simplified the process for developers to augment their code to let Android use its accessibility features for these users. These accessibility features...

Samsung TecTiles 2 Now available to purchase

2013-05-18T05:19:07+00:00

Do you remember last month when we told you of the sad news that Samsung’s old TecTiles didn’t work with the new Galaxy S 4. Well cheer up my friends because Samsung TecTiles 2 are now available for you to purchase. For those of you that don’t know what a...

HTC One $100 trade up program ends this Sunday, no extensions planned

2013-05-18T05:18:44+00:00

If you’re thinking that HTC will extend their $100 trade-in promotion for the HTC One, then think again. Earlier in the month they extended it to purchases made by May 19th, which is this Sunday. HTC is reminding everyone that this is your final chance to get in on it,...

NVIDIA Shield pre-orders are now live

2013-05-18T03:16:22+00:00

So excited about selling the NVIDIA Shield are retailers that they have begun offering pre-orders early. Effective immediately, you can place an order for the gaming console/controller/Android device through places like Newegg, GameStop, and NVIDIA. Gamers look to Gamestop as their defacto gaming destination,” said Joe Gorman, vice president of mobile at...