EVO 4G gets Gingerbread update, breaks Netflix support

Sprint recently announced that they will be updating their first 4G handset, the HTC EVO 4G, to the latest version of Android this Friday and just as they promised the update is now available to download to anyone who's willing to manually check.

According to the official changelog, the 2.3 update brings with it some bug fixes to the Gmail and messaging application along with the usual Gingerbread goodness.

However, we are also hearing reports of compatibility issues with the Netflix application after updating. Netflix has acknowledged this issues and is currently investigating it. So if Netflix playback is important to you, you might want to hold on to the update till the official fix comes out.

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Videos Of Motorola Droid 3 Leak Out On The Web

There have been rumors of a Motorola Droid 3 for sometime now, and it looks like that release date might be coming soon with new tutorial videos leaked on YouTube via German site PhonePads.com.

The videos are limited on what they show, but viewers do get a glance of a five-row keyboard, Swype and an 8-megapixel camera. We don't get to see anything else too groundbreaking other than a basic tutorial on how to use the phone.

There are some spotted cosmetic changes to the current Droid model including a pair of volume keys on the right side and a larger display. There's no sight of a camera button though or left edge micro-USB and mini-HDMI configuration.

There's speculation that the Droid 3 won't be a 4G LTE device and might run on Android 2.2 rather than 2.3, but that's yet to be confirmed. Also, with the original Droid and Droid 2's seemingly short battery life, it's yet to be determined how the Droid 3 will fare.

According to Verizon, the devices shown on the tutorial videos are not final.

You can watch the video here
source: Unwired View

Motorola Droid 3 for Verizon leaks out in tutorial videos

Verizon Wireless and Motorola did a great job in keeping the highly anticipated Motorola Droid 3 a well guarded secret. Until today at least. The upcoming Android handset showed itself completely in a series of tutorial videos and left nothing to our imagination, at least as far as looks are concerned.

The videos confirm the 8MP camera on the handset. It will be capable of recording 1080p videos as well. On the left side of the device, you get a microUSB and HDMI connectors much like another Droid by Motorola - the X2. The right side of the device will host two volume keys. There is no camera shutter button on the smartphone.

There is a five-row QWERTY keyboard with a dedicated row for numbers only. In case you get bored with it, there will be a virtual keyboard at your disposal too.

There is no info on the CPU in the Droid 3, or the screen resolution. We suspect, they will be Tegra 2 and qHD respectively. The Android version is unknown too since all the videos note that the software shown is not final.

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Disney To Offer It's Own Cloud Service?

As anticipation builds around the launch of Apple's iCloud service, there will be one content provider that will be keeping a close eye on the service, but won't be a part of it: Disney.

Apple has inked deals with Universal, Sony Music, EMI and Warner Music for a $100M licensing agreement, with the notable exception in the deal being Disney.

Disney was one of the first media companies to sell its videos to Apple's iPods, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs being one of the company's largest shareholders. Disney quietly keeping out of the iCloud service only builds on the speculation that the company has potential plans for its own digital locker service in the future.

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Disney CEO Bob Igler says cloud computing is something that his company sees as important for the future of digital family entertainment, but wouldn't give any specifics on Disney's lack of participation in the Apple deal.

Similarly, Disney decided to opt out of Warner Brother's cloud-like "Digital Everywhere" service that will allow users to purchase films and television shows on devices connected through a digital format already endorsed by numerous studios.

Disney's website is rumored to be receiving a facelift to allow consumers more flexibility in acquiring Disney media, which includes movies, television shows and music. Igler says a new and improved Disney.com could be launched in the coming year.

Whether the facelift includes a digital streaming service, remains to be seen.

HTC Sensation suffers from death grip, iPhone 4 caught snickering

Looks like there might be trouble in paradise for HTC fans. Nordic Hardware’s tests have proven that the new HTC Sensation also suffers from the same dreaded death grip as the iPhone 4 but this time it also affects the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity of the phone.

The problematic area is the back cover. As we discovered a few days back, the Sensation does not have a true unibody design as HTC claims it does but instead uses a large removable battery cover which is mostly made out of metal and has plastic areas that work as antennas. Unfortunately, when these pieces are covered by your hand, there is a substantial drop in the performance of the radio units within the device, particularly of the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios.

As you can see in the first video below, keeping the device flat on your palm makes the Bluetooth audio stream stutter. In case of Wi-Fi, it makes the weaker hotspots disappear from the list of available hotspots as their signal strength is no longer strong enough to penetrate through your hands.

Admittedly, the problem may not be as severe when holding the device normally in portrait mode, however, in landscape mode you will have a hard time avoiding the antennas on the back.

Now a certain amount of attenuation is expected when you cover the antennas and manufacturers always put a warning in their user guides on the (im)proper way to hold the phone. But in this case the attenuation is way too high and is greatly impacting the performance, and thus the credibility, of the device.

We would like to know if any users of this phone are having similar problems with this phone. If so, do let us know. Otherwise it could just be a case of a faulty review sample received by Nordic Hardware. We do hope this is not a new trend that is starting among new generation handsets. After losing most of our battery life, we don't want to lose our signal strength as well.

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BlackBerry Torch 2 previewed before announcement, liked

The BlackBerry Torch 2 has leaked again, this time in a big way - a pre-release unit was put through a whole preview. The preview confirms the positive impressions of people who have played with the Torch 2 even despite its unfinished status.

The BlackBerry Torch 2 is very similar on the outside to the original model with some superficial tweaks. The build is very solid (as expected of BlackBerry) and the Torch 2 has a keyboard just as good as the one on the original, same solid slider too.

Aside from the external looks, RIM went and bumped up all the specs they could think of by 50%-100%. The Torch 2 runs BlackBerry OS 7 with silky smooth graphics and touch responsiveness (helped by the more powerful hardware), new HTML5 capable browser and magnetometer support.

The CPU runs at 1.2GHz (up from 624MHz) and the RAM amount went up to 768MB. This increased processing power allowed RIM to put a 3.2” VGA screen with excellent viewing angles on the BlackBerry Torch 2 (double the pixels of the 3.2” HVGA of the original).

The video camera records 720p video, though the still camera is still a 5MP unit. The rolling shutter effect is a problem it seems, at least for the pre-release unit tested. Other changes under the hood include 8GB internal memory (expandable by microSD cards) and NFC support (though that couldn’t be confirmed).

The one major complaint in the preview about the BlackBerry Torch 2 is that it hadn’t slimmed down from the original dimensions.

Check out this quick video overview of the BlackBerry Torch 2 and after that you can read the whole preview over at Engadget.

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Nokia X7 goes on pre-order in the UK, first taste of Symbian Anna

The Nokia X7 has now appeared alongside its QWERTY launch partner the E6, available for pre-order in the UK. Slated for release at the end of June, both devices are running the latest version of Nokia's Symbian OS - Symbian Anna. This will come as great news to any UK based die hard Nokia fans who still hold a special place in their hearts for the Finnish Symbian kings.

We've already seen the E6 and X7 available for pre-order in Germany but the UK have been given a genuine estimate of when they can actually get their hands on these devices, late June, which more accurately probably translates to June 30 going by Nokia's typical rigamarole .

The X7's design gives it a more aggressive look that could have evolved from the N8. It runs a 680MHz ARM 11 processor with a Broadcom BCM2727 GPU in tow. Media features include an 8MP camera with a dual-LED flash that can shoot 720p video at 25fps, an FM radio and access to the Nokia Store naturally. Connectivity promises Bluetooth 3.0, HSDPA at 10.2 Mbps and HSUPA at 2 Mbps, WiFi b/g/n and a physical connection via microUSB (2.0). Memory onboard translates to 256 MB RAM with 1 GB ROM and an 8GB microSD card comes included but this is upgradeable to 32GB if you need it. Of course all of this plugs into Symbian Anna which you view on a 4" AMOLED 360x640 display.

It's a pretty standard affair hardware wise so the X7 is clearly for those who want to get their hands on Symbian Anna more than anything else. The pre-order page on Nokia's own UK store prices the X7 at £399 sim-free with monthly contracts from £25.00 a month (and a free handset) or if you prefer £359 on pay-as-you-go.

Want to be one of the first in the world to have a Symbian Anna device? Pre-order the phone here or check out Nokia's press gallery for more shots here. Are you interested in the X7 or is Symbian not worth your time anymore?

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The HTC Thunderbolt Now $100 At Amazon

Amazon is now offering budget conscious shoppers the HTC Thunderbolt for under $100 at its wireless store.

Verizon's first 4G LTE smartphone (followed by the Samsung Droid Charge and LG Revolution) is powered by Android 2.2 and has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with a 4.3-inch LCD multi-touch display. It also comes with an 8-megapixel camera.

In addition, the Thunderbolt's mobile hotspot function will allow users to share their 4G network with up to 8 WiFi capable devices.

The Thunderbolt made its debut just last March and has since enjoyed positive praise for it's impressive speed and specs.

New customer account holders who purchase the Android phone will be able to enjoy free shipping after committing to a two-year contract.
source: Unwired View

HTC announces HTCDev and the OpenSense SDK

HTC seem to be embracing the wide developer community, utilising their devices. With the recent news that HTC will be delivering their Android devices with the bootloader unlocked, removing a huge obstacle, for Android developers with HTC Handsets, we start to see a change in attitude, that recognises the open source nature of Google's mobile phone OS. HTC may also be recognising that, what they do can be improved upon, and that crowd sourcing software development like this may be advantageous to the company in the long run. When Peter Chou, CEO of HTC tweeted "There has been overwhelmingly customer feedback that people want access to open boot loaders on HTC phones. I want you to know that we've listened. Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the boot loaders on our devices. Thanks for your passion, support and patience", most people thought that would be the end of the opening up process. It seems though that HTC are really upping the ante, and escalating their commitment to open source software, releasing a Software Developer Kit for their trademark Sense UI.

“HTC is a company of engineers excited about the possibilities of the mobile space with the goal of fostering choice through innovation,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC. “We believe in openness and the power of imagination to create that innovation and are excited that HTCdev will extend new tools to mobile developers, helping them create the next wave of mobile experiences.”

HTC is making a commitment to developers everywhere, and also issuing a challenge, can you make our software better. They have released a toolkit that they have pledged to maintain and update, for the latest Sense 3.0 UI software, providing all relevant API's and code samples. These sorts of concessions, and software releases, may seem to some to be a backdown on security policy by HTC, but if you think about it a bit, it's free outsourcing at it's best. By opening up it's software in this way HTC is actually making it easier for non HTC developers to improve core UI and software elements in their devices. Which in the long run they will be able to dissect and include in later builds of the UI. Truly embracing the open source philosophy, is a win/win scenario for HTC and users of their Android devices. While Android id the favour of the month, it will be interesting to see if HTC will do something similar for Windows Mobile, Windows Phone and devices running their own OS, Brew MP.
source: HTC Source

NEW GAME: Spinballs Special Edition

Spinballs Special Edition is a pleasing reminder of how simple Android games used to be back in the old days (2009). You have some coloured things. You rotate them. You adhere to the rules and eventually move on to the next level.

It's on the Android Market here, plus a more thorough and factual explanation of the game methodology may also be found over on the maker's site.

The “special” thing about this Special Edition? A new endless “Zen mode” plus it's the entire game in the package – but time-locked to only let you play for five minutes. If you like it enough, there's an in-app option to unlock the full experience.
source: Eurodroid