Author Archives: Joe Rossignol

May
15
2013
43
comments
 

Galaxy S4 Running Stock Android Jelly Bean Announced

Posted by at 10:56 am

Galaxy Android Stock

At the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, a new version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 running stock Android — no TouchWiz — with an unlocked bootloader was announced. The smartphone will begin shipping on June 26th on the Google Play Store for $649 (16 GB). While the Google I/O crowd was very receptive about the handset, prompting much applause, the audience went silent when the price tag was announced. It’s expensive.

Nevertheless, the Samsung Galaxy S4 will now gain the same treatment as the Nexus lineup of devices that Google offers. The Galaxy S4, to be available on AT&T and T-Mobile, will now receive more streamlined Android updates, without carrier delays or limitations. Other versions of the Galaxy S4, including the Galaxy S4 Mini and Galaxy S4 Active, are rumored to follow next.

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May
15
2013
31
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Android Dominates iOS With 900 Million Device Activations

Posted by at 10:04 am

900 Million Android

At the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, Android head Sundar Pichai announced that total Android device activations top 900 million in the history of the mobile platform. That number encompasses the previously announced milestones of 400 million Android activations in 2012 and 100 million in 2011. Comparatively, about 350 million iPhones have been sold in the nearly six years since the Apple handset was initially released. About 1.5 million Android devices are activated per day.

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May
15
2013
5
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Samsung Galaxy S4 Shipments Top 6 Million in Just 2 Weeks

Posted by at 8:39 am

Samsung Galaxy S4 Front FacingSamsung continues to show its strength as an Android partner, as Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo claims the South Korean handset maker shipped 6 million Galaxy S4 units in two weeks. The Galaxy S4 was launched on April 26th, with 4 million units sold in the first five days of availability alone.

“As of the end of April, we supplied four million Galaxy S4 handsets to telecommunication operators around the world,” an executive at the company said on Friday. ”As of Friday, we have sold more than 6 million units, and we predict that we could break the 10-million mark by as early as the end of this month.”

Comparatively, it took Samsung a total of 85 days to move 3 million units of the original Galaxy S, 55 days for the Galaxy S II and 21 days for the Galaxy S III. Samsung is on pace to sell 10 million Galaxy S4s by the end of May, on track with analyst expectations.

Further iterations of the Galaxy S4 are expected to be released in the coming days and weeks, including a smaller Galaxy S4 Mini, rugged Galaxy S4 Active and a TouchWiz-free Galaxy S4 (update: the latter was announced) that runs stock Android.

[The Chosun Ilbo via BGR]

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May
15
2013
98
comments
 

Watch Google I/O Live Here

Posted by at 4:00 am

Google I/O is an annual conference that touches upon the latest in Android and Chrome developments, alongside some potential hardware surprises and other interesting announcements. The Google I/O keynote commences on Wednesday, May 15th at 9:00 AM Pacific and can be watched below, streaming live from the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Also keep tabs on the iFans blog and Twitter for extensive coverage.

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May
15
2013
24
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Operation Android at iFans

Posted by at 3:00 am

android logo white outlineWhile the foundation of iFans is rooted in the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, with a particularly strong emphasis on jailbreaking discussions, our forum community has certainly changed over the years. A number of our longtime members, in addition to new users, are showing increasing interest in the Android platform.

With the emergence of impactful Android devices, such as the Galaxy S4, Nexus 4 and HTC One, the competition surrounding the iPhone is stronger than ever. And the goal of Operation Android at iFans is to embrace that competition, by increasing our overall dedication towards Android within the blog and discussion forums.

Operation Android will be kickstarted in just hours from now, as we provide a live stream of the Google I/O keynote beginning at 9:00 AM Pacific. Moreover, we will be dedicating our resources towards the emergence of Cydia Substrate for Android and the exciting opportunities that exist within that scene. See our expanded Android forum category.

On a related note, the HTC One, HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S4 are all now available as device options under personal details for your profile. When enabled, the device you select shows up underneath your username and post count. If you have a specific Android device that you would like included in the list, please be sure to recommend it in the comments section.

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May
14
2013
35
comments
 

SMS GV Extension for iOS 6 Released on Cydia

Posted by at 10:09 pm

SMS GV ExtensionSMS GV Extension, a popular jailbreak tweak that merges Google Voice SMS messaging capability with the Messages app, has at last received unofficial iOS 6 support. The tweak enables iPhone users to send SMS through Google Voice alongside the built-in MobileSMS module, the latter delivered by cellular carrier.

The jailbreak package is available on Cydia for iOS 6 by adding the repository http://cydia.angelxwind.net/ under Manage > Sources > Edit > Add, at least until it appears on the mainstream ModMyi or BigBoss repositories. The tweak has no icon, but rather is configured through Settings. A reboot is required after installation.

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May
14
2013
19
comments
 

Rumor: iPhone 5S to Feature All-New Home Button With Fingerprint Sensor

Posted by at 8:02 pm

iPhone 5 Home Button

The home button found on all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models released in the past six years might be in store for a significant redesign, as a new rumor originating from unproven Taiwanese blog TechNews claims that the so-called “iPhone 5S” will feature an all-new home button with sapphire crystal glass.

Sapphire crystal is an extremely tough material, second only to diamond in hardness, and will allegedly help protect the fingerprint scanner that will be embedded into the capacitive home button. You read that correctly: a capacitive home button, not a physical one that is prone to damage.  (more…)

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May
14
2013
15
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How to Turn an iPad Into a Cash Register

Posted by at 12:37 pm

hero-square-stand

You’re looking at the new Square Stand, a customizable peripheral that converts an iPad into a cash register. The stand has a credit card reader at the bottom, plus a secure mounting configuration for use with cash drawers, receipt printers, barcode scanners and other point of sale hardware.

The Square Stand was announced earlier this morning, with a retail price of $299.99, and pre-orders are now being accepted in the United States. International customers will have to exercise their patience for a little longer.

Square was co-founded by Twitter brainchild Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, allowing business owners to accept credit cards with an iPhone, iPad or Android device. Square reinvents the traditional POS system with a modernized iOS- or Android-based setup.

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May
14
2013
15
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BlackBerry Launching BBM on iPhone and Android This Summer

Posted by at 10:07 am

blackberry-iconFacing increasing competition from cross-platform messaging services iMessage, WhatsApp and Kik Messenger, BlackBerry chief executive Thorsten Heins announced on Tuesday that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be launching on iOS and Android this summer.

“The BB10 platform is so strong, and the response has been so good, that the time is right for BBM to become an independent mobile messaging platform,” claimed Heins.

The launch of BBM on iOS and Android has been in the rumor mill for over two years, so the move certainly isn’t surprising. The announcement was made at the BlackBerry Live 2013 conference in Orlando, although further details are limited at this point. Heins did confirm that both messaging services and the new BlackBerry Channels social feature will be supported by BBM on iOS and Android.

Alongside the physical keyboard, BBM has long been a major selling point of BlackBerry smartphones, so it will be interesting to see how the launch of the messaging service on rival platforms pans out for the Waterloo-based corporation. BBM, much like iMessage, is in essence a hybrid between text messaging and instant messaging. The service does not require a cellular data connection for communication.

Sources: TalkAndroid, BGR

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May
14
2013
3
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Bluelounge Releases MiniDock for iPhone 5

Posted by at 8:22 am

MiniDock iPhone5

Bluelounge, an award-winning curator of lifestyle accessories for consumer electronics, has updated its popular MiniDock with iPhone 5 support by swapping the traditional 30-pin dock with a Lightning connector. MiniDock is an accessory that plugs into the traditional Apple wall charger, allowing iPhone users to dock their handset upright directly at the power outlet without the need for sync cables. Retails for $39.95.

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