Android Phone Fans |
- PSA: This is how easy it is for your kids to make additional in-app purchases, even if Google Play is password protected [VIDEO]
- Softbank CEO plans to start a massive price war if Sprint is allowed to buy T-Mobile [VIDEO]
- Woman sues Google after her kids rack up $66 of in-app charges without her consent
- The HeadWatch is a smartwatch that you can put on your ear (WTF)
- Shaquille O’Neal claims to spend around $1,000 a week on mobile apps [VIDEO]
- Run an Empire is like Ingress and Civilization put together [KICKSTARTER]
- Invite for Oppo Find 7 event is equal parts showy as it is friggin’ cool [VIDEO]
- OnePlus One smartphone will have a 5.5-inch 1080p display; will still feel like a 5-inch phone
- Jawbone Up and Up24 fitness bands now available for Android users with new Up app
- Talon 2.0 update brings redesigned widget, new animations and UI tweaks, and a lot more
- Leaked ad shows why the all new HTC One really has two rear cameras
| Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:53 PM PDT
Earlier today, we told you guys about a New York woman suing Google over their lax 30-minute window that made it possible for her children to purchase $65 worth of in-game content after she only authorized a single purchase. It’s a pretty strange loophole, one many Android fans, let alone less tech savvy parents, probably weren’t even aware of until today. To further illustrate how easy it can be for a child to make in-app purchases after their parent has just purchased an app or game — even if the Google Play Store is set to password restrict purchases — we decided to make our own video. If you’ve checked out some of the countless freemium games in the Play Store, you’d know that more than often, they make it exceptionally easy to purchase additional game content that runs anywhere from $1 – $100 (depending on the game). Now, we’re not saying this lady is in the right for going after Google. We’ll let the courts decide that. What we hope to do is simply get the word out before anyone hands off their phone or tablet to their kids after they’ve just made a quick Google Play purchase. The more you know… |
| Softbank CEO plans to start a massive price war if Sprint is allowed to buy T-Mobile [VIDEO] Posted: 11 Mar 2014 04:52 PM PDT It’s no secret that Sprint, as well as new parent company Softbank, are licking their lips at a chance to buyout T-Mobile. Sprint has long been vocal about their interest in T-Mobile, and in an interview with Charlie Rose, Softbank CEO (and Sprint chairman) Masayoshi Son further echoed this sentiment. A bit apprehensive at first, Son attempted to change the subject about a possible T-Mobile merger, but Rose persisted. Eventually Son came clean, calling the current state of the US cellular industry a “pseudo competition,” going on to to say that the only real challenge Verizon and AT&T face is if US regulators allow Sprint to merge with T-Mobile. It’s the combining of these forces that would finally pose a real challenge to Verizon and AT&T’s stronghold in the US, with Sprint leading the charge in a massive price war.
Considered a “maverick” in his homeland of Japan, the Softbank CEO is set to discuss these issues and more during his trip to Washington tomorrow. It was there, both CEO Dan Hesse and Masayoshi Son are said to have met with the FCC and DOJ last month to talk T-Mobile, before things went sour. There’s no question Softbank and Sprint have an uphill battle ahead of them. It’s not often someone promises less competition will lead to lower prices for consumers, but it’s something Softbank is hoping to prove during tomorrow’s presentation. [WSJ] |
| Woman sues Google after her kids rack up $66 of in-app charges without her consent Posted: 11 Mar 2014 02:52 PM PDT
It was only in January earlier this year that Apple found themselves in hot water after the FTC held the tech giant responsible for kids making in-app purchases without their parents’ consent. According to the complaint, this was made possible thanks to Apple’s now revoked 15-minute window policy, a security feature that made it possible for a user to enter their password once every 15-minutes when making purchases. It was a case we knew would eventually land itself on Google’s lap and sure enough, here comes another lawsuit. A New York woman is suing Google after alleging that her kids made $65.95 of unauthorized in-app purchases on her account while playing Marve’s Run Jump Smash. Once again, a password window is to blame, only Google’s is a bit more lax than what was once offered by Apple. In Google’s window, users are only required to enter their passwords once every 30 minutes when making purchases. In the case of Marvel Run Jump Smash, the game costs reasonable $.99 cents, but all offers a variety of in-game content (ranging from $1 – $40). After paying the initial $1 to download the game (and entering her password), the woman’s kids than had a full 30 minutes to jump into the games menus and make additional purchases — no password necessary. It’s a loophole Google doesn’t notify users of at the time of purchase, although they do detail the time window on their Google Play support page.
According to the paper work, she feels Google is “unfairly profiting" from the hundreds of freemium titles in the Play store that make it possible for children to make “unauthorized charges for in-app game currency without parents' knowledge.” The case goes onto list games that allow for huge in-app purchases, upwards of $100 — for a single purchase. It’s easy to see how a kid can rack up substantial charges in less than 30 minutes time. Seems like a pretty big problem for something so easily fixed. Simply prompting the user to enter a password for every purchase would be a bit a nuisance, but it’s a first world problem that seems necessary when in-app purchases are reaching triple digits. Can’t say we see this going too good for Google. Expect a similar turn out as Apple’s case. [GigaOM] |
| The HeadWatch is a smartwatch that you can put on your ear (WTF) Posted: 11 Mar 2014 02:01 PM PDT We’re always for interesting ideas here at Phandroid, so that’s why the HeadWatch caught our eye. It’s a smart watch. That can go on your ear. I know… weird, right? This thing runs Android with a touch-screen color display, giving you a nice, open platform for apps (should the demand for those exist). The HeadWatch features an implanted speaker and a hooking mechanism for your ear, giving you an easy way to transition between watch and headset mode. The device also features RGB strip lights for delivering futuristic-looking notifications whenever something new comes in, as well as various sensors for temperature, luminosity, and proximity. The watch / headset will feature the ability to respond and respond to texts, answer and place phone calls, and see various other notifications from apps you use everyday.
Unfortunately, this ambitious idea means we’re a bit far off from seeing it turn into reality. We’re a full year away from the first expected shipments, as the project creators have set a shipping estimate of March 2015. You can get one for as little as $169 if you’re quick enough, as it’s only available at that price for the first 500 people. The next early bird special is for $189 for the next 1,000 people. Beyond that, the normal retail price will sit at a cool $200. There is one way to get the device faster if you’re ultra anxious, though — you can become a beta tester for $500. The current shipment schedule says January 2014, though we’re assuming the project creators made a mistake and meant to say January 2015 instead. We’ll definitely be reaching out to clarify. In the meantime you can put in a pledge for one yourself over at the IndieGoGo page.
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| Shaquille O’Neal claims to spend around $1,000 a week on mobile apps [VIDEO] Posted: 11 Mar 2014 01:17 PM PDT
Former NBA athlete Shaquille O’Neal made a stop by this year’s SXSW in Austin, Texas. After speaking during Qualcomm panel, the basketball star took some time to talk gadgets with Engadget’s Sarah Silbert. During the interview, Shaq professes his love for all things tech, even going as far as calling himself a “geek.” His favorite new device? The Fitbit. When asked about his smartphone affiliation O’Neal mentions that — just like in real life — he’s no longer a married man, so when it came to the Android vs iOS debate, Shaq’s philosophy was simply, “why not both?” In the later part of the interview, Shaq talks about his connections in Silicon Valley, briefly mentioning how he spends around $1,000 a week on mobile apps, no small feet given the average paid application only runs about $3. Just so you know how crazy this sounds, that’s about $143 a day, on apps, or about 2 paid apps for every hour of the day. His favorite games? Deer-hunting. Now that he’s no longer playing ball, it sounds like Shaq definitely has a lot of time on his hands. We couldn’t get the Engadget video to embed, so instead, here’s a similar interview he did with The Wall Street Journal in which he makes the same $1,000 a week claim. |
| Run an Empire is like Ingress and Civilization put together [KICKSTARTER] Posted: 11 Mar 2014 12:14 PM PDT We’ve been wondering how long it would take for more Ingress-esque games to start popping up after its addictive nature hit the best of everyone, and it looks like another interesting augmented reality location-based game. It’s called Run and Empire, and its name is as straight forward as one could be. The goal of the game is to “capture” real-world territory around you by running. You capture a plot of land by simply running a route around it, whether that’s a quick jog around the block, the neighborhood, and — if you’re some sort of superhuman — the entire city. The fun in it is seeing if you can take over other people’s territory, and getting revenge when they take over yours. The developers, Pan Studio, said their goal was to make a game that was accessible to anyone. You won’t need to be a marathon runner to compete, as simply walking or jogging at your own pace can take over just as much territory as someone who can zip around the corner. To drive the health benefits of playing this game home, the app will have an API that could allow you to keep you updated on your fitness and health by calculating how many steps you’ve walked, the distance you’ve run, and more. Third-party apps such as RunKeeper would be able to hook into this data and seamlessly include it in your workout history. So how, and when, and for how much, can you get your hands on it? Thankfully, the cost of entry is quite affordable. You can get early beta access in August 2014 for as little as 4 pounds. Otherwise, it looks like the app will be free and all other rewards are simply extras for those who really want to support the project. There is one caveat for us Android users, though — only iOS support is planned for now. The developers say they will be looking to bring it over to Android if they can raise 25,000 pounds, though, so you’ll definitely want to contribute to the cause if you want to see this on our platform. You can do so by heading to the project’s Kickstarter page here. |
| Invite for Oppo Find 7 event is equal parts showy as it is friggin’ cool [VIDEO] Posted: 11 Mar 2014 11:53 AM PDT
For being one of the smaller Android OEMs, we’ve gotta hand it to Oppo — they’ve somehow managed to do a pretty good job at getting the hype train rolling for their upcoming Oppo Find 7. A smartphone touting a 2K display and Oppo’s trademark premium build quality, the Chinese smartphone maker is said to unveil the device in 2 different versions — one with 1080p, the other with 2K — during their March 19th event in Beijing, China. If there was any clue the Oppo Find 7 aims to impress, look no further than the invites Oppo has been sending out to press. Video instructions on exactly how to operate the invite (yeah, it’s that crazy) were posted online today. In the video, a box containing a prism like item is extracted, along with some documentation providing QR codes to download a companion app (for Android and iOS). Once downloaded to an Android device, the phone is then placed face down on the prism where a video will play through the prism. This is nothing more than an invite, folks. Over the top? Well, yes. Quite literally. Damn cool? Definitely. Check out the (blurry) video for yourself, and let us know if you were impressed, or if you found the invite too showy. [via GizChina] |
| OnePlus One smartphone will have a 5.5-inch 1080p display; will still feel like a 5-inch phone Posted: 11 Mar 2014 08:57 AM PDT
Ready for another specification drip for the OnePlus One smartphone? Previous releases have told us about the device’s processor and battery — Snapdragon 800 and 3,100mAh, respectively — and now we’re getting our first details about the display on this thing. Pete Lau has announced that the OnePlus One will have a 5.5-inch 1080p HD display, and there’s some very interesting technology at work here. For starters, Touch-on-Lens technology nearly makes the touch and display modules one cohesive unit, with the manufacturing process being responsible for eliminating the distance between the two components. This makes the display 300% more shatterproof than competing technologies, though we can’t speak to those claims for ourselves just yet. The display also implements CABC (content-adaptive backlight control) and DRAM technology, which can detect when an image on the display is static or dynamic, and can adjust power draw accordingly. The display will, in turn, be able to use less power when there’s nothing going on than some 5-inch displays at similar levels of brightness. And if all of that isn’t enough, OnePlus says they’ve been able to fit the 5.5-inch monster display into a chassis that’s smaller than some phones with 5-inch displays. They used the 5-inch Sony Xperia Z1 as an example, though there’s something to be said about that.
For starters, Sony is notorious for using insanely large bezels, so we can’t be too sure about the impressive nature of their claim. Secondly, we have to wonder why Pete Lau and company decided to cut the phone off in the frame of the photo — perhaps it’s longer than said Sony phone, but not wider. It wouldn’t be the first time a company uses illusion and trickery to make staunch marketing claims, that’s for sure. Of course, OnePlus isn’t giving us any reason not to doubt them, as they have yet to show the phone itself. We’ll have to wait until the phone is fully outed before seeing if this feat is as amazing as they’d have us believe. In any case, you can bet we’ll be waiting on the edge of our seats for the next big of info that sprouts about the first phone designed for CyanogenMod. [via OnePlus] |
| Jawbone Up and Up24 fitness bands now available for Android users with new Up app Posted: 11 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PDT
Android users haven’t had an alarming shortness of fitness bands to choose from, and 2014 will be even more plentiful. Another option has just opened up for those of us with Android devices, as Jawbone’s Up and Up24 fitness band has finally been made compatible through the advent of the new Up app for Android. Jawbone up isn’t terribly different from existing fitness bands, with the device helping you track your fitness activity by tracking how far and how much you walk, how many calories you’ve lost from various workouts you log, and will also help track your sleep cycles. All of this data syncs to your phone’s app through Bluetooth 4.0, and gives you quick and easy access to all the stats that’ll help you determine whether you’re doing enough to lead a healthy lifestyle. The app itself is free, but Jawbone Up24 costs $150. That’s a pretty penny for a fitness band, but it’s one of the premier options on the market. There’s also the Jawbone Up for $130, though you won’t get the convenience of wirelessly and effortlessly syncing your data to your smartphone. Both bands offer exception battery life, though the wireless version will “only” net you 7 days compared to 10 days on the regular version. The download is in the Google Play Store right now, and you can find places to purchase the Up and Up24 at Jawbone’s site right here. |
| Talon 2.0 update brings redesigned widget, new animations and UI tweaks, and a lot more Posted: 11 Mar 2014 06:47 AM PDT With many of the great Twitter clients from the past year or so already suffering from Twitter’s token limits, Talon has quickly become one of the best options for those 140 character affairs we’re all addicted to. A new upgrade for the app has hit the Google Play Store featuring a smorgasbord of new features that makes us wonder what sort of ungodly energy drink the developer has been indulging in.
So what’s new? Some of the highlights (because the list is pretty long) include a newly redesigned widget, new animations, a floating compose button, new filter options, custom Light Flow support (after a forthcoming Light Flow update), and more. And when I say more, I mean a lot more. So much so, in fact, that I don’t even feel comfortable listing it all here (and the developer couldn’t even fit it all in the Google Play Store’s “What’s New” section). Here’s everything that’s new, though, just in case you’re only interested in those shiny bits:
The rest of the improvements and bug fixes can be found in this handy Google+ post here, and if you’re satisfied with everything you’re seeing then be sure to head to the Google Play Store for the upgrade (it should run you about 3.4MB). |
| Leaked ad shows why the all new HTC One really has two rear cameras Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:39 AM PDT
Ever since we found out the secondary hole on the rear of the all new HTC One was for a secondary camera and not a fingerprint scanner, we’ve been wondering what made HTC go with this odd configuration. Early rumors suggested the dynamic duo was to facilitate post-snap focusing, but was that really the case? Thankfully, we have an answer ahead of the device’s official March 25th reveal. According to a leaked Telstra ad (click to enlarge on the right) obtained by GSMArena, the all new HTC One’s “Duo Camera” will allow you to do the following:
It sounds like this configuration will be working overtime during each snap to provide you all these options, though it’s tough to say how it’s able to do all this without any technical explanations. We’ll likely have to wait until HTC spills the beans themselves before gaining deeper knowledge about the technology, but it’s nice to know what its purpose is ahead of time. Beyond that, though, the ad does give us a couple more details about the device, including new HTC Sense 6 features and changes to BoomSound. For the former, users will have an LG KnockOn-esque feature that allows you to turn your display on by double tapping it. LG G2 users regularly gush and rave about this feature’s usefulness, so it’s nice to see it coming to more phones. We also learn that the two front-facing BoomSound speakers have dedicated amplifiers. All this is very interesting, and while we don’t have reason to doubt Telstra’s knowledge of the device this early on, we’re still opting to wait on HTC’s official word before putting stock into anything. Let us know how you feel about all of this in the comments below! |
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