Android Phone Fans

Samsung Galaxy S5 wireless charging battery covers now available for pre-order, loads of other accessories too
Rhapsody and Napster announce Chromecast support
Amazon Dash is the company’s latest gadget to get you using their grocery delivery service
Pick up the ASUS Cube for only $30 (after $20 rebate) [CRAZY DEALS]
FireTV vs PS4 vs Xbox One: Controller Comparison [VIDEO]
HTC One Max on Verizon to receive Android 4.4.2 KitKat this Monday, April 7th
ComScore US February 2014: Android highest performing platform, but Apple dominates hardware
Hover Browser is an awesome (cheaper) alternative to Link Bubble
Phandroid Recap: Amazon Fire TV, HTC One M8 review, and more [March 30-April 5]
Mobile Roar Podcast 39: Amazon Fire TV & Cortana [Poll]
From the Forums: Get fit with Android, Amazon Fire TV, and Galaxy S5 talk
Google sneaks new “People” section into Play Store, lets you see what apps your friends are sharing
CyanogenMod reveals new branding that represents openness, security and customization
OnePlus One to be under 350€ in Europe
Amazon Fire TV teardown features a tight device packing a big punch

Samsung Galaxy S5 wireless charging battery covers now available for pre-order, loads of other accessories too

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:48 PM PDT

The Samsung Galaxy S5 doesn’t officially launch until April 11th, but if you’ve already got it set in your mind that you’ll be picking one up on launch day, you may need a few accessories to go along with it. Samsung is here to accommodate, making a good amount of Galaxy S5 accessories available for pre-order direct from their site.

They’re a little tough to find, but now available are the Galaxy S5 wireless charging battery covers, available in both black and white (electric blue was strangely absent). If you needed a little more protection, you can also opt for the wireless charging S View Flip Covers, which are also available in black white. If you’re looking for something with a little more color, the standard flip covers (no wireless charging) are available in a plethora of colors. Links and pricing to all things Galaxy S5 provided below.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Wireless charging battery covers $30: Black | White

Wireless charging S-View Flip Cover $70: Black | White

S-View Flip Cover $50: Black | Rose | Green | White | Pink

Wallet Flip Cover (no wireless charging) $40: Black | White | Green

Protective Cover (price not available): Clear

Spare battery $30: 2,800mAh

Spare battery + charging system $50

Rhapsody and Napster announce Chromecast support

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 04:08 PM PDT

They might be a little late to the party, but we suppose it’s better late than never. And after rival music services like Pandora and Rdio recently added Chromecast support, today Rhapsody is announcing the same compatibility for both their Android app (iOS coming soon), as well as their sister app, Napster.

These updates are just the latest we’re seeing in a flood of Android apps adding Chromecast compatibility. That $35 dongle is gaining more value every day.

[Rhapsody Blog]

Amazon Dash is the company’s latest gadget to get you using their grocery delivery service

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 03:31 PM PDT

It looks like Amazon Fire TV wasn’t the only product Amazon had up their sleeves. The newly announced Amazon Dash is a tiny WiFi-connected accessory that was built for a very specific purpose: help get more people using AmazonFresh, Amazon’s same-day grocery delivery service.

Amazon Dash accomplishes this by helping users keep track of the groceries they need, as soon as they’re depleted. This can be done by either speaking the needed item into the Dash, or by using the built in laser scanner to scan the barcodes on empty products. Dash syncs up with AmazonFresh accounts which can then be accessed via the Android app, or on a computer via the preferred web browser.

Because not everyone has time to run to the grocery store every day for single items, it’s easy to see how this could be extremely helpful for stay at home moms/Steve Albrights with a small army of children. The best part? It’s Amazon Dash is completely free during its initial trial period, but only by invite (sign up here).

Currently AmazonFresh is only available in small parts of California and Washington, but expect the service to hit more markets in the future. Amazon’s instructions on setting up Dash can be found below.

[Amazon Fresh]

Pick up the ASUS Cube for only $30 (after $20 rebate) [CRAZY DEALS]

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:53 PM PDT

For those looking to add a little smarts to their television experience can now find the ASUS Cube (version 2) on Groupon for only $50. For those unaware, that’s about half-off. But the 50% discount is only half the story — as tipped by the folks at Fatwallet – you can receive an additional $20 off via manufacturer rebate direct from ASUS. When all is said and done, that brings the Google TV equipped device down to Chromecast-like pricing at $30. Yikes!

Groupon limits purchases to only 3 per person, and is only available for the next 11 days, or while supplies last. Also something to keep in mind, the ASUS’ rebate promotion ends on April 30th, so make sure you don’t waste any time sending it in. The coolest part? The ASUS Cube features HDMI passthrough, meaning you don’t have to switch inputs when switching from live television, to Netflix, Crunchyroll or web browsing. The Roku, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV can’t beat that. Full details can be found in the links below, and if you’re still on the fence, don’t forget to check out our ASUS Cube review here.

[ASUS Cube on Groupon | ASUS rebate form]

FireTV vs PS4 vs Xbox One: Controller Comparison [VIDEO]

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:23 PM PDT

With the release of the FireTV, Amazon is positioning itself to be one of the leading contenders for media streaming in the living room. While the focus of the box is on providing Amazon content straight to your living room, they’ve also included gaming as an option. Currently the titles are limited to a few hundred, but as the library for the device grows and Amazon Game Studios produces content, the FireTV could turn out to be a better set top box with gaming features than the OUYA.

OUYA’s biggest failure was the controller; it was sluggish, the touchpad worked only half as well as it was supposed to and the considerable lag between input and actions appearing on screen means playing games is a less than stellar experience.

Amazon has managed to to avoid input lag almost entirely when it comes to the controller, which is a very basic tenant of controller design that should never be failed. Despite the intentional OnLive-like design and lifting the layout straight from Microsoft’s Xbox platform, the Amazon FireTV controller does have a few quirks of its own.

Is the FireTV Controller good?

The dead zone for the analog sticks is perhaps the most noticeable of these. When playing a game like Sev Zero, which requires precise aiming in order to get headshots, the ability to flick the stick for the slight movement can mean the difference between a higher score and a win or a failure. It’s only slightly annoying because these aren’t meant to be competitive games, but if FireTV ever gets something like Towerfall, or even a first person shooter where people play against one another, the dead zone will be extremely noticeable.

Another design decision that will affect people with larger hands is the inclusion of the battery bump that Microsoft managed to get rid of with the Xbox One. Enough people complained about having the battery pack in the middle of the controller that Microsoft worked out a better solution, but Amazon hasn’t done the same with its newest effort. It’s not really a problem for me personally since I have small hands, but for those of you who preferred the original Xbox’s Duke controller, you’re going to notice that bump.

Overall, I would say this is a solid first effort for Amazon in terms of delivering a controller that could be used to experience more than mobile games.

Remember that Amazon Game Studios has hired some serious talent, including Portal’s Kim Swift and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory lead Clint Hocking. Aside from that, Amazon also acquired Double Helix, the studio responsible for the reboot of Killer Instinct on the Xbox One. While Amazon’s game offering might be slim for now, don’t expect their games to remain rooted in mobile tradition.

HTC One Max on Verizon to receive Android 4.4.2 KitKat this Monday, April 7th

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 12:38 PM PDT

Good news for HTC One Max owners on Verizon Wireless. It looks like HTC has finally received technical certification for Android 4.4.2 KitKat on the HTC One Max for Verizon. HTC’s executive director of product management revealed the news just a few moments ago via Twitter, and mentions that the over-the-air update is scheduled to hit devices this Monday, April 7th.

While the phone gets the usual KitKat goodies, it should be noted that the One Max will remain on Sense 5.5 (for now). Other devices still in waiting for their KitKat updates (but have already passed certification) include the HTC DROID DNA on Verizon, and the HTC Desire 601 on Virgin Mobile.

Thanks, Brian!

ComScore US February 2014: Android highest performing platform, but Apple dominates hardware

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:59 AM PDT

Yay, numbers! The latest ones from ComScore are here, giving us a look at mobile smartphone market share in the United States for the three months ending February 2014. Not a whole lot has changed in the trends here, folks: Android still beat out its competitors by commanding 52.1% of the smartphone market share.

Over half is good, even if only by a little bit, but clawing at their heels are Apple at 41.3%. The quarter-over-quarter increases for both platforms are pretty minuscule, but perhaps things will get a bit more heated this Spring and Summer with big hitters like the HTC One M8 out and the Samsung Galaxy S5 on the way soon.

Rounding out the list at the absolute bottom are Blackberry at 2.9%, Microsoft at 3.5%, and Symbian at a mere 0.2% (which we’re not even sure is enough to be considered life support at this point).

Apple’s trailing platform market share probably doesn’t sting much, though, considering the Cupertino company is sitting on top of the totem pole when it comes to their dual status as a hardware manufacturer. Their aforementioned 41.3% beat out their closest competitor Samsung, who commanded a respectable 27%. LG, Motorola, and HTC were responsible for 6.8%, 6.3%, and 5.4%, respectably.

And that’s the breakdown, folks. There wasn’t much movement aside from Blackberry suffering even more devastation and Microsoft improving their standings. We also tip our hats to Samsung, who was able to increase their percentage a tad despite not coming out with a flagship smartphone for a while.

Like we said before, though — Spring is here, Summer is quickly approaching, and things are about to get really interesting really fast. It’ll be interesting to see how these numbers are looking just another few short months from now. Head to the source for the full breakdown!

[via ComScore]

Hover Browser is an awesome (cheaper) alternative to Link Bubble

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:56 AM PDT

In case you missed it, we featured Link Bubble as one of our favorite applications for the month of March. We loved the popup browser functionality that allowed us to load up a webpage in the background — then view it — while staying inside the app we were already viewing. The only downside to Link Bubble would be it’s “premium” $5 price tag. A little steep for some, it kept us from impulse buying the app on a whim.

If you were looking for something close to what you’d find on the value menu, Hover Browser might be right your alley. It works in much the same was as Link Bubble (pop up web browser that loads in the background) but Hover Browser is only $1.

Keep in mind that while you get that basic popup functionality, Hover Browser doesn’t mimic “Chatheads” behavior like Link Bubble does. Instead, pressing on the upper right corner will close the app, there’s a pin button to minimize the browser to the side of your display, and other options. Performance-wise, Hover Browser’s scrolling is also pretty choppy and nowhere near as fluid as Link Bubble. The app is still very early, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed the developer can address performance issues in a future update.

Overall, we thought Hover Browser made a great, cheaper alternative to Link Bubble, and generally got the job done. For those needing a quick and easy way to view multiple web pages, without being taken out of your app, Hover Browser could be for you. You can find Hover Browser for $1 via the Play Store link below.

Download on Google Play: Hover Browser

Phandroid Recap: Amazon Fire TV, HTC One M8 review, and more [March 30-April 5]

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:45 AM PDT

What a crazy week it has been. We had a surprising new product launch, a flagship phone review, and tons of “Best” lists for phones, tablets, games, apps, and more. You may have noticed an influx of content going up on the site, and that is something we’re going to continue doing. In order to make sure you don’t miss any of it we have the Phandroid Recap. Below you will find all the big stories and featured articles from the last week. You don’t want to miss a single thing!

Amazon Fire TV

Amazon is finally make their play for the living room with Fire TV. This new set-top box is made to give people quick and easy access to Amazon’s huge library of movies, TV shows, and music. Along with Amazon’s media offerings there are popular apps like Netflix, Hulu, and Pandora. The biggest difference between Fire TV and other set-top boxes is Amazon’s focus on gaming. They put a quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM inside for great performance. For an additional $40 you can get a gaming controller to play Android-based games.

Buy It Now | Comparison chart | Unboxing | Everything You Need to Know | Forums

HTC One (M8) Review

HTC’s latest and greatest flagship was put to the test by our own Rob Jackson. Last year we gave high marks to the original HTC One, but did the M8 live up to the hype? Here is an excerpt from our full review with plenty of sample photos and videos:

In a smartphone world where everyone else is pumping out rectangles, HTC cuts through the clutter with the HTC One M8. They take the road less traveled at almost every turn – front-facing speakers, metal unibody frame, cameras that provide an experience instead of a pixel count – and it pays off.

Continue reading on the HTC One M8 forums, see the specs, or find news and reviews.

“Best” Lists

Who doesn’t like a good list? Since this week marked the end of March and the beginning of April we had several lists go up. First we recapped last month with out favorite apps and games. Then we looked forward to this month and let you know our picks for the best phones and tablet currently available. We also put together a list with some of the phones that get the best battery life. Be sure to check out all of these lists below.

April Fool’s Day 2014

Everyone on the internet thinks they are hilarious, and this is never more apparent than on April Fool’s Day. For most people this “holiday” revolves around pranking your friends, but in the tech community we get dozens of fake product launches and parody videos. This year all the usual players came out with their attempts at April Fool’s Day jokes. Some were successful, others were miserable failures. We created a handy April Fool’s Day round-up with many of the popular jokes from tech companies. Check it out!

Getting fit with Android

android-fitness

Did you hear about our 30-Day Android Fitness Challenge? The new Android Fitness & Health section of our forums is not only dedicated to helping you tackle your own 30-day objectives, but also to the discussion of all things related to fitness and the Android tech that helps power a healthy lifestyle. You can share your workout goals with others like our own Rob Jackson to keep you on task, discuss the latest fitness tech, and even give us all a look at some before and after photos. Pro tip: do some jumping jacks between posts to burn off those calories and keep the blood flowing.

Amazon Fire TV

amazonfiretvhomescreen

So Amazon just released a set-top box for televisions? Our new Amazon Fire TV section is just the place to go to join in on the already hot topic. Perhaps like user SanDiegoSteve you are wondering if the Fire TV supports web browsing, or maybe you have a question about accessing your Google account from Amazon’s $99 media box. Luckily, several Android Forums members have already taken the plunge, purchased the device, and are ready to answer your questions.

Will the Samsung Galaxy S5 be your first Android Phone?

samsung-galaxy-s5-2

The Samsung Galaxy S5 looks to be one impressive smartphone. How impressive? According to our forums, it's enticing enough to lure several longtime iPhone users over to their first Android device. A couple are still on the fence though, so why don't you all head over and do some convincing?

With the launch of the Samsung flagship only days away, discussion has turned to some of the finer points, including claims that the GS5 might just have the best display ever to feature on a smartphone as well as an early look at some camera comparisons and samples. Another age-old question is also tackled: to get the 16GB model or the 32GB?

And so much more…

Of course the above is just a small sampling of what you can expect to find over at Android Forums, so dust off those membership credentials if you got 'em or sign up for a new account. Our community of active Android fans and tech enthusiasts will surely be able to tackle any of your burning questions, offer some helpful feedback, or, at the very least, provide some entertaining dialogue along the way.

Google sneaks new “People” section into Play Store, lets you see what apps your friends are sharing

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 09:53 AM PDT

Don’t look now… well, OK maybe you can look now, but a new version of the Play Store might have been pushed over to your device. This isn’t some minor bug-fixing affair, either — Google’s added a big new feature that could make it easier to discover apps your friends recommend.

An all new “People” section has crept into the sidebar menu, and it serves to show you everything your Google+ peeps share within the Play Store. Whether they’ve talked about a favorite app, book, movie or album, you’ll see all their latest recommendations.

The new section will also show you what your friends rated those apps, so you can easily see if it’s worth a quick download or if they were condemning it to the dark pits of the netherworld. It’s up to you to discover why they’ve been buzzing about it, so be sure to check it out on your phone by heading to the Play Store (you may need to clear cache and / or data for it to begin showing up).

CyanogenMod reveals new branding that represents openness, security and customization

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 08:56 AM PDT

Well, folks, it looks like CyanogenMod, Inc. is starting to shape up to look like a real legit company. The company has already made big deals with phone manufacturers and successfully raised a good deal of money to help in their endeavors, and now they are making some changes to the way they present themselves.

Introducing the new CyanogenMOd branding. The logo sits above — clean, cool, calm, collected, and cyan. Oh, yes, lots of cyan. But the logo isn’t just a pretty collection of lines and pleasing colors. CyanogenMod designed it to be a symbol.

We’ll start with the centerpiece, which is said to be the heart of the logo. It represents the user, and their ability to customize the experience to fit their needs. That is to say, the user is the most important aspect of everything CyanogenMod does, and there will always be a commitment to give you the flexibility to do what you want and need.

Tying into that flexiblity is openness, because nothing says customizable like being able to get your paws wet deep within the source code. CyanogenMod is always open source, so you can take a build, do what you’d like with it and build it for yourself. Of course, the company expects proper credit should you publicly distribute it for others to use, but they aren’t asking for much more than that.

Finally, the user should be able to do all of this with a platform that they can be sure is secure. No NSA backdoors, no snooping, no nothing — simply use it, and have peace of mind doing so. That’s the CyanogeMod way.

What’s going to happen with Cid, the former mascot and logo? Well, he’s not going anywhere — he’ll be a staple of the vast community that surrounds CyanogenMod, and he’ll be along for the ride to see everyone through all the highs (and maybe some lows) in this exciting ride.

We like it. Nay, we love it, and everything that it stands for. Branding seems so simple from the outside looking in, but it’s these core values CyanogenMod were built on, and we’re glad to see that the company hasn’t lost sight of that even in their proudest moments. Be sure to read their take over at the CyanogenMod blog.

OnePlus One to be under 350€ in Europe

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:37 AM PDT

OnePlus was quick to tell those of us in the states that we’d be enjoying the OnePlus One — their first smartphone — for under $400, and now early pricing details have leaked for our friends over in Europe. OnePlus has announced that the device will be available for under 350€ over in those parts of the world, news which many expressed rejoice over.

There’s reason for Europeans to be celebrating this news, as most OEMs tend to mark device pricing up outside of the Americas, often citing the need to meet current economic conditions or wanting stick with more… consistent pricing. Thankfully, it seems OnePlus One isn’t at all interested in traditional conventions of the phone business.

The type of phone we’re told to expect for these prices is quite remarkable, with a 5-5inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 801 processor, a 13 megapixel camera and more. The phone will also own the distinction of being the first built for CyanogenMod from the ground up, with unique features such as touchless voice activation and a new lock-screen coming along for the ride (something which those on community versions of CyanogenMod won’t be getting).

We’re a mere 20 days away from seeing what this thing is all about — we haven’t even gotten a peek at the actual device itself — so you know we’re as anxious as we’ve ever been. Good news like this certainly doesn’t help that anxiety at all.

[via Twitter]

Amazon Fire TV teardown features a tight device packing a big punch

Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:03 AM PDT

We’ve already gotten a little down and dirty with the Amazon Fire TV, but we haven’t been able to get quite as deep as the guys at iFixIt have. You know what that means — teardown time! No way to spend a Friday like looking at the disgusting guts of a beautiful piece of tech.

We noted in our initial impressions that the Fire TV was small, yet quite heavy. It had to be, of course, considering Amazon packed it with some beefy internals compared to the competition. Revealed beneath the chassis of the set-top box, remote and gaming controller is a result of seemingly beautiful and expert engineering.

Everything is nice and neat, though that won’t mean much to you. What you should be worrying about is how easy this thing is to repair in the event that it breaks. iFixIt rated it a 6 out of 10, where 10 is a device that’s quite easy to repair. While that’s above average, there are a couple of things to note:

The heat-sink is secured with enough glue to make a criminal charge stick
The outer-case is a bit unforgiving when taking it apart, but nothing that a bit of tender love and care can’t handle
There’s little modularity in the way the components are put together, so if something breaks you’re most likely going to have to replace the entire motherboard.

All of that is to say that it’s probably worth picking up an insurance plan for Amazon if you’re going to grab one, because if anything ever happens to the unit it probably wouldn’t be worth replacing it yourself. Hopefully you’ll never have to cross that bridge.

[via iFixIt]

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Friday 4 April 2014