Android Update

HTC Thunderbolt 4G and Nokia N8 Compare

admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:20:41 +0000

Comparing the HTC Thunderbolt with the Nokia N8

The HTC Thunderbolt runs on CDMA which is primarily used on Verizon networks.

See the phones on Amazon

Here are the full specs, side by side.

		HTC Thunderbolt	Nokia N8

General	2G Network	CDMA 800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	CDMA2000 1xEV-DO	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE 700
	Announced	2011, January	2010, April
	Status	Available. Released 2011, March	Available. Released 2010, October
Body	Dimensions	122 x 66 x 13 mm	113.5 x 59.1 x 12.9 mm, 86 cc
Body	Weight	164 g	135 g
Display	Type	TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches (~217 ppi pixel density)	360 x 640 pixels, 3.5 inches (~210 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass	Corning Gorilla Glass
		- HTC Sense 2.0 UI
Sound	Alert types	Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes	Yes
		- DNSe (Dolby mobile sound enhancement)
Memory	Card slot	microSD, up to 32GB, 32GB included, buy memory	microSD, up to 32GB, buy memory
Memory	Internal	4 GB storage, 768 MB RAM	16 GB storage, 256MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Data	GPRS	No	Class 33
	EDGE	No	Class 33
	Speed	Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps, LTE	HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2.0 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, UPnP technology
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
	Infrared port	No	No
	USB	Yes, microUSB v2.0	Yes, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support

Camera	Primary	8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED flash	12 MP, 4000×3000 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, Xenon flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, face detection	1/1.83” sensor size, ND filter, geo-tagging, face detection
	Video	Yes, 720p	Yes, 720p@25fps (720p@30fps via an update)
	Secondary	Yes, 1.3 MP	VGA videocall camera
Features	OS	Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo)	Symbian^3 OS, upgradable to Symbian Anna OS
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon
	CPU	1GHz Scorpion	680 MHz ARM 11
	GPU	Adreno 205	Broadcom BCM2727
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity, compass	Accelerometer, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML, Adobe Flash	WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Adobe Flash Lite
	Radio	Stereo FM radio with RDS	Stereo FM radio with RDS; FM transmitter
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support	Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps 3.0
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator	Yes, MIDP 2.1
	Colors	Black	Dark Grey, Silver White, Green, Blue, Orange, Pink, Bronze
		- Video Skype & SNS integration	- TV-out (720p video) via HDMI with Dolby Digital Plus sound
		- built-in kickstand	- Anodized aluminum casing
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic	- Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
		- Google Search, Maps, Gmail	- MP3/WMA/WAV/eAAC+ player
		- YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration	- DivX/XviD/MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
		- MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 player	- Voice command/dial
		- DivX/Xvid/MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9/player	- Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
		- Organizer	- Video/photo editor
		- Document viewer	- Predictive text input
		- Voice memo/dial/commands
		- Predictive text input
Battery		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1400 mAh	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D)
	Stand-by	Up to 330 h	Up to 390 h (2G) / Up to 400 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 6 h 30 min	Up to 12 h (2G) / Up to 5 h 50 min (3G)
	Music play		Up to 50 h

Nokia N8 updates can be found here

HTC Thunderbolt updates can be found here

Samsung to Upgrade Galaxy to 4.0 in 1st Qtr 2012

admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:00:21 +0000

Here is the latest from Samsung regarding upgrading your Galaxy to Android 4.0

We know you have been waiting and we’re thrilled today to announce that we’ll start serving Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to GALAXY Note and GALAXY S II in the first quarter of 2012.

In addition, other ICS-upgradable GALAXY devices include GALAXY S II LTE, GALAXY R, GALAXY Tab 10.1, GALAXY Tab 8.9, GALAXY Tab 7.7 and GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus.

Does this mean we have to wait until January or March?

Either way, I think it is safe to say we all have the same feeling…. I CAN’T WAIT!

My phone fell in the toilet, Help!

admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:00:17 +0000

It can happen to anyone. You place your Android phone on the shelf and next thing you know, your toothbrush is upset and decides to hit your Android phone and make it land in the toilet or bathtub.

So how can you fix a waterlogged Android phone?

Step 1. Take off the cover of your Android phone

Step 2. Take out the battery

Step 3. Dry off everything with a towel.

Step 4. Get a rubbermaid container, just large enough to fit your phone inside of it.

Step 5. Find some rice. Any type of rice. Brown rice, white rice, Uncle Ben’s Rice, Generic rice and put some in the rubbermaid container.

(How much rice? Cover the bottom of the container)

Step 6. Place the android phone inside the container and close the lid.

Step 7. Wait for 24 – 48 hours and your Android phone should be dried out, inside out.

Why does this work? Because Rice absorbs water. Any water or vapors that seeped into the phone will seep out into the rice.

Using Android Phone Overseas (Europe & Asia)

admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:00:08 +0000

It happens all the time. I took my Android phone overseas, got a new sim card from the local carrier and my internet does not work.

After putting in your new sim card you need to change the network settings on your adroid phone.

Although the phone detects the network in order to get internet you need to enter the local carriers APN information.

Follow these steps to get internet working in a foreign country.

- Press Main

- Select Settings

- Select Wireless and Networks

- Select Mobile Networks

- Select Access point Names

- Press Menu

- Press New APN

- Enter the settings for your Carrier and Country.

For example if you are in Israel using Orange Israel these are the settings.

Name: IL – Orange

Web APN: internet

Proxy:

Port:

Username:

Password:

Server:

MMSC:

MMS Proxy:

MMS Port:

MMS Protocol:WAP 2.0

MCC:

MNC:

Authentication Type: PAP A

PN Type: default, supl

There is a great list here, with all countries and carriers.

Compare Full Specs of Iphone 4 and Samsung Galaxy

admin — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:00:30 +0000

Here is a full spec comparison of the Iphone 4 and the Samsung Galaxy

	I Phone 4		Samsung Galaxy
General	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
		4G Network	LTE 700 (region specific)
	2010, June	Announced	2011, October
Size	Available. Released 2010, June	Status	Available. Released 2011, November
	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm	Dimensions	135.5 x 67.9 x 8.9 mm
Display	137 g	Weight	135 g
	LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors	Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches (~330 ppi pixel density)	Size	720 x 1280 pixels, 4.65 inches (~316 ppi pixel density)
	Yes	Multitouch	Yes
Sound	Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating	Protection	Oleophobic coating – Touch-sensitive controls
	Vibration, MP3 ringtones	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Yes	Loudspeaker	Yes
Memory	Yes, check quality	3.5mm jack	Yes
	No	Card slot	No
Data	8/16/32 GB storage, 512 MB RAM	Internal	16/32GB storage, 1 GB RAM
	Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps	GPRS	Yes
	Class 10, 236.8 kbps	EDGE	Yes
	HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps	Speed	HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE
	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Yes, v2.1 with A2DP	Bluetooth	Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
		NFC	Yes
	Yes, v2.0	USB	Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Camera
	5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality	Primary	5 MP, 2592×1936 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
	Touch focus, geo-tagging, HDR	Features	Touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection
Features	Yes, 720p@30fps, LED video light, geo-tagging, check quality	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Yes, videocalling over Wi-Fi only	Secondary	Yes, 1.3 MP
	iOS 4, upgradable to iOS 5	OS	Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
	Apple A4	Chipset	TI OMAP 4460
	1 GHz Cortex-A8	CPU	Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9
	PowerVR SGX535	GPU	PowerVR SGX540
	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
	iMessage, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	HTML (Safari)	Browser	HTML, Adobe Flash
	No	Radio	No
	Yes, with A-GPS support	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support
	No	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Black, White	Colors	Black
	MicroSIM card support only		Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
	Scratchresistant glass back panel		MP4/H.264/H.263 player
	Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic		MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3 player
	iCloud cloud service		Organizer
	Twitter integration		Image/video editor
	Google Maps		Document viewer
	Audio/video player and editor		Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
	Image editor		YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration
	Voice command/dial		Voice memo/dial/commands
	TVout		Predictive text input
Battery

	Standard battery, Li-Po 1420mAh		Standard battery, Li-Ion 1750 mAh
	Up to 300 h (2G) / Up to 300 h (3G)	Stand-by	Up to 290 h (2G) / Up to 270 h (3G)
	Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)	Talk time	Up to 17 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 8 h 20 min (3G)