Redmond Pie » Android

Samsung Galaxy S II Officially Getting Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich On March 1st [REPORT]

Awais Imran — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:34:00 +0000

While popular Android smartphones and tablets received unofficial ports to the latest version of Android i.e. 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich a long time ago, manufacturers are only now gearing up for the official release. HTC has officially stated that most of their top-of-the-line devices will be updated “later this year” and Samsung did say that the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note will receive ICS in Q1 2012 with updates for other devices to “soon follow”.

Now, according to a well-known industry insider, Samsung will be releasing Ice Cream Sandwich for the Galaxy S II on March 1st. Details after the jump!

The news comes from SlashGear – a popular blog which covers consumer electronics and the technology that powers them – in the form of a post in which they discuss industry insider Eldar Murtazin’s claim of Galaxy S II receiving Android 4.0 on March 1st with Galaxy Note’s update following shortly after.

From SlashGear:

Samsung’s Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade for the Galaxy S II will reportedly drop from March 1st, according to inside intel from the firm, with the Galaxy Note Android 4.0 update due shortly after.

The date Eldar Murtazin has mentioned is a pretty specific one. Instead of claiming a time period like, for example AllThingsD’s announcement report for iPad 3, he has mentioned a particular day. We were a little skeptical because of this, but then again, Murtazin has a nice track record of claiming things like these, so we trust him.

According to Murtazin, the update will be available over the air (OTA) or with Samsung’s KIES desktop software. This update will most probably be for the international version of the Galaxy S II since its variants in the US on wireless carriers generally take their sweet time for rolling out of new updates.

We will keep you informed about the Galaxy S II ICS update, so stay tuned to Redmond Pie!

If you’re the type who doesn’t like waiting for manufacturers to release updates, you can always try any of the ICS ROMs developed and released by Android’s vibrant developer/hacker community:

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Foursquare For Android Updated, Now Features NFC Support, Android Beam & More – Download Now

Paul Morris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:20:34 +0000

As owners of smartphones and tablet devices; we have become so accustomed to tracking our own location and telling the world where we are at any given time, which goes some way to show just why applications such as Foursquare are so popular. For those who are yet to discover the wonder, that is letting others continuously know about your whereabouts, Foursquare is a mobile application which relies on a user sharing his or her location with their network of friends.

The Foursquare applications is a location-based, social networking service which lets registered users check-in to a specific place or point of interest. The physical location of the user is determined by the GPS hardware within whatever device they are using and presents the user with a list of known venues in the vicinity to allow them to choose what to display. I know what you’re thinking, the perfect alibi application which proves to others just exactly where you were at any given time.

The Foursquare app has proved to be extremely popular across multiple platforms, but happens to be one of the most popular applications on Android devices with over 88,000 reviews on the Android Market and approaching ten million downloads in total, since its initial release.

The news of a big update should come as a welcome surprise for Android users, considering the new update not only brings support for Android Beam contained within Ice Cream Sandwich, but also adds NFC support, allowing users to check into locations with friends or family by tapping their phones together.

Talking about the new functionality in an interview with Untether.tv just before the update launch, Foursquare’s Vice President of Mobile & International, Mr. Holger Luedorf said "We’re trying to leverage this because we feel pinpointing someone down to a location through an NFC chip definitely has some value".

The update to the Android application also means that compatible devices will not only be able to share information like venues, lists and user profile by a simple tap of the phones together, but also use NFC tag capabilities to check into locations which can be shared with their networked followers.

The new features are quite exciting, but at present, the only two devices which are fully compatible with the features are the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S, but that should be rectified in the coming weeks with the Mobile World Congress event happening in Barcelona at the end of this month.

If you are an Android Foursquare user, make sure you head on over and update the app now, or alternatively you can download Foursquare for Android free of charge [Android Market Link].

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ToiletBuddy Keeps You Entertained In The Loo With Interesting Articles And Facts

Awais Imran — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:07:00 +0000

While technology, by definition, is meant to solve society’s problems, its proliferation into our daily lives has, arguably, made things more complex than simple. We now spend less time having actual “face time” with our friends and family than we do with technologies like Apple’s FaceTime, Facebook and Twitter (to name a few). We are glued to our smartphones 24/7: constantly looking for information and entertainment, whether it is from checking up on social networks, reading email, texting, playing casual games etc. etc.

I don’t know about you, but this writer considers it pretty difficult to separate himself from his smartphone. It’s with me with all the time: it’s the first thing I use when I wake up, the last thing I use before I sleep and it is there when I go to drop the kids off at the pool (so to speak). It’s a really bad habit that I am trying really hard to shake off these days.

Those of you who aren’t ready to stop using their smartphone for when they make a log entry can check out a new app called ToiletBuddy that is meant to keep you entertained with interesting information while in the loo. Check it out after the jump.

From Android Market:

Ever find yourself looking for something to read while on the can? With ToiletBuddy, you will have endless trivia and Wikipedia articles at your fingertips! We’ve also created a random Wikipedia feature that only shows you the most popular Wikipedia articles so you know you will only get articles that will be interesting!

We’ve tested ToiletBuddy on-location with a Samsung Galaxy S II on Android 2.3 Gingerbread (which was later sterilized) and can confirm that it works as advertised. When you launch the app, you are presented with a menu from where you can read the most popular articles on Wikipedia, go through random general facts and even facts about the art of pooping.

ToiletBuddy can be safely added to your repertoire of apps to use when there is a full moon over troubled waters. It comes in two versions: the free version only comes with 250 articles and facts while the deluxe version lifts this limitation by updating its database of articles/facts on a daily basis.

Download Toilet Buddy FREE for Android [Market Link]
Download Toilet Buddy DELUXE for Android [Market Link]

Be sure to let us know what you think of ToiletBuddy in the comments section over on Facebook and Google+ page.

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Be sure to check out our Android Apps gallery to explore more apps for your Android device.

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“RootSmart” Malware Infecting 10,000+ Android Smartphones On Daily Basis, Turns Your Device Into A Zombie

Awais Imran — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Malware on mobile platforms is slowly but surely becoming a real issue. Its existence was basically ignored in the days of weaker smartphones, but with today’s multi-core, multiple GBs of RAM-toting smartphones with “open” operating systems such as Android, it simply can’t be ignored.

Because of its flexible nature and lack of strict app-policing by Google, malware is a bigger issue on Android than it is on iOS and Windows Phone 7.

A new malware has been discovered for Android, Redmond Pie has learned. This one more dangerous than usual, because it affects between 10,000-30,000 Android smartphones everyday. Details after the jump.

News of the malware comes from The Verge – a blog that covers consumer electronics and the technology that powers them – in the form of a short post in which they discuss the malware discovered by NC State University professor Xuxian Jiang and later studied by digital security company Symantec.

The malware has been named RootSmart because it smartly roots the user’s device without their consent and then becomes part of a larger botnet that helps the original developer makes thousands of dollars in cash on a daily basis.

From The Verge:

A recently discovered piece of Android malware may be generating thousands of dollars a day for its creator. RootSmart, first documented last week by North Carolina State University professor Xuxian Jiang, is estimated to affect between 10,000 and 30,000 phones on any given day.

RootSmart works by downloading itself along with a legit-app from an Android Market alternative. Once downloaded, it downloads GingerBreak to root on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, collects information from the device and then can operate as a zombie (an infected computer) that does whatever the botnet’s owner commands it to do which includes doing things like sending spam messages and calling premium phone numbers which, in turn, makes money for the original developer.

Folks residing outside China (which makes up for most of our audience) need not worry about this malware because:

It is targeting Android smartphones on Chinese wireless networks only, and
It doesn’t exist in the Android Market, yet

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App Timer For Android Lets You Place A Small Timer On Selected Apps, Helps You Keep Track Of Time And Stay Productive

Awais Imran — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:35:00 +0000

In today’s busy world, it is very, very important to keep track of time and where you are wasting it. With so many distractions, especially with internet-connected computers (handheld or otherwise), it is becoming more difficult to stay focus and productive. On the desktop, we have software like StayFocus’d and on mobile platforms, well, the list is basically empty.

That is until today. An app called App Timer has been released that lets you keep track of how much time you’re spending on selected apps. Check it out after the jump.

From Android Market:

App Timer Mini is a simple tool to track your time on selected apps. You can estimate your time much easier. For example, you might want to spend at most 30 minutes for reading ebooks. The app timer will count the time and show the timer on your screen while you are reading.

We’ve tested the app on a Samsung Galaxy S II on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can confirm that it works as advertised. On launching, the user is presented with a menu from where they can select the apps which they want to time usage with, select the timer, customize how the timer looks like and, of course, start the timer.

Notice the green timer at bottom right.

This app is perfect for those of you who believe they spend way too much time in front of their small-screen computers. App Timer doesn’t bug you in anyway, it just sits there reminding you of how much time you’ve wasted, which should be more than enough to get time-conscious users to press and the Home button and leave the toilet.

App Timer is available in two versions: an ad-supported, free trial and an ad-free, $0.99 version. We suggest you get the trial first to get a feel for the app, and then purchase the paid version if its idea clicks with you. Links embedded below!

Download App Timer Mini for Android [Market Link]
Download App Timer PRO for Android [Market Link]

Be sure to let us know what you think of App Timer in the comments section over on our Facebook and Google+ page. Will this help in increasing productivity or should people exercise more self-control and stop relying on timers, to-do lists etc.?

You may also like to check out:

Be sure to check out our Android Apps gallery to explore more apps for your Android device.

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The Battle Of The Mobile Browsers: Chrome For Android And Mobile Safari Go Head To Head [VIDEO]

Paul Morris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:13:31 +0000

The Android-using world had reason to rejoice in the last few days thanks to the release of the Google Chrome browser for Android devices which many users feel has taken far too long to reach the public. Now that the dust had settled, and users have had time to get Chrome for Android installed and browse their favorite sites using it, the inevitable comparisons and tests between this Chrome browser for Android and Apple’s Mobile Safari for iOS are starting to filter through.

The guys over at Android Central decided to put the two browsers against each other in a head to head battle to see which would reign victorious. The battle of the browsers is juicy enough, but to make things a little more interesting; the browsers were running on an Apple iPhone 4S and a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Considering the current bad blood between the Apple and Samsung, the test is about more than just which browser performs the best, its about the underlying hardware which drives that performance.

Both the Mobile Safari browser and the mobile version of Google Chrome are based on WebKit, which is an open source browser engine, allowing web browsers to render webpages. Both of the tested browsers score a perfect 100 out of 100 on the ‘Acid3′ test, which is basically an interpretation of how well a specific browser complies with various web standards and pays particular attention to the document object model as well as JavaScript. An additional test which was run, was the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark test which tests the core JavaScript capabilities in a real world and balanced environment. With Safari featuring Apple’s Nitro JavaScript Engine and Chrome making use of Google’s V8, the results finished in slight favor of the Chrome browser.

As we head into the final round of the bout, it may look as if Google Chrome for Android is the better browser, considering they are equally matched when it comes to handling web standards but with Chrome reigning victorious in the way that it handles JavaScript tasks. As the old saying goes, "all is not as it seems", and this is certainly the case with these two browsers. Mobile Safari offers a notably better and smoother scrolling, panning and multi-touch zooming experience than Chrome does which certainly gives the browser the edge. It is also worth noting that Google Chrome for Android is currently in a beta stage, so whilst it is ready for public consumption, it is by no means the finished product and will only be approved based upon the user’s feedback.

What is interesting however, is that the new Google Chrome mobile browser for Android offers no support whatsoever for the Adobe Flash player, or any other internet plugin for that matter. It is obvious from the test that both browsers have their pros and cons and will ultimately come down to user preference, but it will be intriguing to see what improvements are made to Chrome, as well as any upgrades to Mobile Safari in future iOS releases.

You may also like to check out:

Nokia Lumia 800 vs iPhone 4S vs Galaxy S II – Web Browser Speed Test [VIDEO]

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How To Install MIUI Based On Android 4.0.3 ICS On Kindle Fire [Tutorial]

Awais Imran — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:28:00 +0000

Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire is one of the best tablets money can buy for under $300. Besides offering tight integration with Amazon’s services and doubling as a great eBook reader, it is hacker-friendly: the device is rooted, has lots of great ROMs available and is heavily supported by a vibrant community of skilled developers.

Earlier today, we received news of the official release of MIUI for Kindle Fire. The good news is that it is based on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and is pretty stable (for a ROM in Alpha state). Things like USB tethering, static wallpapers, hardware acceleration and themes don’t work, but they will be in the future. Check out our step-by-step guide after the jump!

Before you start following the guide, you need to meet two conditions: #1 your must root Kindle Fire and #2 flash a custom recovery to it. Besides this, you must keep in mind that flashing a new ROM like MIUI involves the deletion of all personal data on your Kindle Fire, so be sure to back it up!

DISCLAIMER: Redmond Pie will not be held responsible if you lose data or your device gets damaged in the following of this guide. Proceed at your own risk.

Step 1: Download the latest version of MIUI for Kindle Fire based on Android 4.0.3 ICS [Official Thread].

Step 2: You must transfer this .zip file directly under /sdcard on your Kindle Fire. You can either do this on the Kindle Fire itself after downloading the ICS to it, or through a file explorer on the desktop. Works either way.

Step 3: Once transfer is complete, shut down your Kindle Fire.

Step 4: Boot into a custom recovery. ClockworkMod Recovery and TWRP are popular choices and you can choose to install whichever you like.

Step 5: Take a NANDROID backup. This may come handy later on if you have problems with MIUI and wish to revert back to current setup.

Step 6: Do a complete wipe & factory reset from the custom recovery.

Warning: This will delete all your personal data.

Step 7: Flash the ROM you transferred to your Kindle in Step 1. In CWM, you can do this from install zip from sdcard > choose zip from sdcard > [.zip file from Step 1]

Step 8: Wipe both cache and Dalvik cache.

Step 9: Reboot!

If you followed the steps correctly, your Kindle Fire will now boot into MIUI based on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Have queries? Check out the official thread over on MIUI forums.

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Google “Close To” Launching Dropbox Competitor Called Google Drive

Awais Imran — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Dropbox is pretty much the most popular cloud storage and syncing service in the market today. It is Redmond Pie’s favorite such service because of the fact that a. it syncs seamlessly with popular mobile, desktop platforms such as Android, Linux, iOS, OS X, Windows etc. b. besides the free 2GB starting storage space, the company regularly gives away free space for promoting their service and beta-testing preview releases.

Dropbox has its fair share of competitors – Amazon Cloud Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive and SugarSync to name a few – but none of them have achieved the same level of popularity.

Now, according to a recently published report, Google is looking to get into the cloud storage and syncing game. Details after the jump!

The company already hosts photos/videos with Picasa Web, music with Google Music and documents with Google Docs, so it is only a matter of time before they started offering a unified online storage space.

The claim comes from The Wall Street Journal in the form of a report in which they cite “people familiar with the matter” who claim that Google will soon be launching a Dropbox-like service called Google Drive.

From Wall Street Journal:

Google Inc. is close to launching a cloud-storage service that would rival one of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups, cloud-storage provider Dropbox Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the service will launch in the “coming weeks or months”. It will follow Dropbox’s “freemium” model where a small amount of free space is offered for home and small business use, but with large space available for anyone willing to pay.

To set itself apart from other cloud storage services, Google can offer more free space at the start. Microsoft’s SkyDrive offers a whopping 25GB of free space, while others in the cloud storage space start with 2GB, 5GB which, while sufficient for most users, isn’t enticing enough to convince users to shift platforms. Besides this, tight integration with Android and other Google services could become its killer feature.

What do you think Google can do to make folks shift to Google Drive from other services? Let us know in the comments section over on our Facebook and Google+ page.

You may also like to check out:

How To Instantly Get 5GB Of Free Space On Dropbox Using Its Latest Beta Release For Windows [Tutorial]

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Fully Customize Every Aspect Of Your Custom/Stock ROM With Omega Files Kitchen For Galaxy S II [Root Only]

Awais Imran — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:30:00 +0000

One of the most reasons why Android enthusiasts keep sticking to Android is its relative flexibility and vibrant developer/hacker community. While wireless carriers try to ensure a controlled user experience, talented folks from forums like XDA-Developers, Rootzwiki etc. keep coming up with ways to set Android devices free from the shackles of these wireless carriers.

This setting free is called “rooting” and what comes after rooting is what makes Android… Android. You can change every single aspect of the software on your device to make it look and work just the way you want it. Of course, to do this yourself you need some pretty l33t hacking skills, but thanks to a newly released app called Omega Files Kitchen, you can customize and “cook” your own ROM. Check it out after the break.

The app has been developed by ::indie:: – a recognized Android developer/hacker over on XDA-Developers. They made this app for their Omega series of custom ROMs but are releasing it to the general public so they can customize their own ROMs. Note that is for the Samsung Galaxy S II only at the moment; support for more devices may be included in the future.

Omega Files Kitchen lets you customize every aspect of your Galaxy S II, from the animations to battery mods, kernels, modem, dialer and launcher to name a few.

From the official thread:

Kitchen application – Customize your rom!

In Omega Files Kitchen you will find everything you need to build and customize your rom the way you like it.

We’ve tested the app on a rooted Samsung Galaxy S II on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can confirm that it works as advertised.

Since it is a very powerful root-only app, we highly suggest you take a nandroid backup before messing with anything. This backup will come super-handy if something goes wrong.

Omega Files Kitchen is a free app for rooted Samsung Galaxy S II devices. You can download it from the link embedded below.

Download Omege Files Kitchen [Official Website]

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Evolution Of The Smartphone, Design Changes Before And After The iPhone [IMAGE]

Paul Morris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:15:36 +0000

Regardless of whether you are a fan of the Apple iPhone or not, it is very difficult to argue with the freight train momentum and success that the mobile smartphone has achieved in the last five years. Judging by the statistics that surround the sales of the phone, and the record breaking financial results posted by Apple for the end of 2011, it seems that the popularity of the iPhone is set to rise and rise with every release.

We all know that Apple didn’t invent the smartphone, after all, they have only been producing a mobile phone product since 2007. So, in that respect, the company is still in its infancy when it comes to mobile devices. But we also all know that when Apple gets involved in a particular sector, they like to reinvent the game and produce products which are far superior and advanced than their competitors. Judging by the image which was Tweeted out by aspiring American movie director Josh Helfferich (@Digerati), it seems that the Cupertino company not only reinvented the phone but also had a profound effect on new devices produced by various manufacturers.

The image really speaks for itself in a number of ways and shows a large number of pre-2007 mobile phone which come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes but all pretty much offer the same limited functionality. On the right hand side of the image are the post-2007 devices which have all come on the back of the original iPhone launch. There is something quite eerie about seeing all these devices from different manufacturers side by side, and although some of them are distinctly different, the Apple legal term of "slavishly" copying the company design springs to mind.

They often say that imitation is the biggest form of flattery, which in some cases may be true but in the smartphone industry imitation seems to get you slapped with an infringement lawsuit as Samsung have found over the last six months. But with the iPhone currently setting the standard in the mobile phone industry, just where will Apple go with it next? The iPhone 5 is widely expected to feature a complete redesign when details are announced, so it would be extremely intriguing to sit down for three to four years and looking at a similar image showcasing the smartphone design.

(via CultOfMac)

You may also like to check out:

Tablets And Smartphones Before And After The iPhone And iPad [IMAGES]

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Redmond Pie » Android

Samsung Galaxy S II Officially Getting Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich On March 1st [REPORT]

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Foursquare For Android Updated, Now Features NFC Support, Android Beam & More – Download Now

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