Android

The 404 783: Where we don't kill the text messenger (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 783

Apple pulls a Christian iPhone app promising a cure for homosexuality. "But I'm a Cheerleader" is a satirical film about a fictitious homosexual-rehabilitation camp. Time Warner Cable is forced to remove 17 channels from its iPad app.

Netflix strikes an exclusive deal for David Fincher's new show, "House of Cards." Netflix streaming may lose some Showtime programs. Pranks go digital with TxtSpoof. A visitor from Toronto controls Times Square video screens...for real this time. A conceptual solution to Jeff's multiuser iPad profile issue.

Episode 783 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Prizefight: Motorola Xoom vs. Apple iPad 2

We know this will only end in nasty, partisan comments, but we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't put the Motorola Xoom and Apple iPad 2 in the ring for an official CNET Prizefight.

Out of the gate, you guys can probably guess my feelings on these two tablets. I wrote CNET's rated reviews for both devices, and although I was optimistic enough about the Xoom to nominate it for CNET's Best of CES, the iPad 2 ultimately received my Editors' Choice.

The wild cards in this Prizefight are the other two judges. Eric … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Indulge hops over to Cricket

There we were at a CTIA press event, when we saw a familiar phone winking up at us. That's right, folks. Samsung's Galaxy Indulge is coming to Cricket Wireless.

Although the Indulge is the same handset we first saw when it debuted with MetroPCS earlier this year, there will be some differences in pricing, performance, and some of the bundled apps that come with the phone. Cricket Wireless and MetroPCS both add account management apps and digital storefronts, in addition to preloading a handful of other applications.

While we don't have specific pricing or release information, Cricket did tell us to expect the phone's release in May or June, in the $300-$350 range. That price seems steep, but quality handsets usually are on a prepaid carrier, since the carrier isn't heavily subsidizing the cost of your phone. That's the trade-off you make to go off-contract.

The Samsung Galaxy Indulge features a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen, a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. It all runs on top of Android 2.2 Froyo and on Samsung's TouchWiz interface.

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Sleeker Huawei Ascend 2 coming to Cricket

Huawei quietly introduced a sequel to its Android-powered Huawei Ascend, the Huawei Ascend 2 for Cricket.

The Ascend 2 updates its progenitor in almost every way. It's sleeker, slimmer, and lighter in the hand. Gone is the trackball, and the hardware navigation buttons give way to four touch-sensitive buttons below the 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen.

The camera also sees an upgrade, from 3.2 megapixels to 5 megapixels in the Ascend 2. Everything is powered by an 800Mhz processor.

We're a little disappointed that the Ascend 2 runs Android 2.2 Froyo instead of Android 2.3 … Read more

Day 1 for devices at CTIA

ORLANDO, Fla.--Day one at CTIA 2011 is done and despite a certain merger hanging over everyone's head, carriers and manufacturers didn't disappoint the crowd with new devices. A few announcements trickled out yesterday, but today was the day when companies rolled out the big guns. Here's a review of what we've seen so far.

For more day one coverage, check out Maggie Reardon's post on spectrum and this morning's keynote with the CEOs of AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless.

Sprint Like it has done the past few years, Sprint did its best to throw one of CTIA's biggest bashes. It started Monday making news even as much of the wireless nation was flying to Florida. The news that it would offer the first 4G (and first CDMA) Samsung Nexus S will please Android purists while Google Voice fans should welcome Sprint's plans to integrate the service into all of its phones.

Today, Sprint unveiled two additional Android devices, the Evo View and the Evo 3D. The former is a slightly revamped version of the HTC Flyer tablet that debuted last month as Mobile World Congress. Sprint kept almost everything, including HTC's Scribe technology, while adding WiMax support and a black finish. The Evo 3D meanwhile is a Gingerbread-equipped smartphone with the ability to record 3D video and shoots 3D still photos. … Read more

Best Buy to sell Wi-Fi HTC Flyer

ORLANDO, Fla.--The HTC Flyer was one of the more interesting gadgets we saw last month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Even in a show full of tablets, the Flyer stood apart due to its sleek aluminum body, and nifty 7-inch display, and innovative Scribe technology.

We left Spain wondering when it would arrive in the United States, and this week we're glad to see that CTIA 2011 provided an answer. Not only did Sprint rebrand the Flyer as the WiMax-equipped Evo View, but also Best Buy announced that it would start selling a Wi-Fi-only version … Read more

Digital City 120: AT&T-Mobile; Nintendo 3DS postmortem; plus, telephone trivia

This week we debate the merits of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, and Dan and Scott give the Nintendo 3DS a prelaunch postmortem. Also, listeners can play along as we quiz each other and the chat room with some brain-twisting telephone trivia.

If you'd like to play our tech trivia game and win some cool prizes (video games, rare promo items), drop us a line at digitalcity@cnet.com or tune into the show live each week, then hop into the chat room and volunteer to play.

Bonus: You can download the show's theme song as a free MP3 here for a limited time!

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FLOW Android app primes pump for clean water

Here's what I can tell you about the drinking water situation in the tiny Rwandan village of Mwite. The few closest spring catchments--basically cement basins with a pipe of flowing water--are working, but not producing as much water as they should. The catchment further to the west, a handmade system nearly a century old, is no longer functioning, so the best bet will probably require a walk to the northernmost safe water source in the area, the newest cement-encased spring catchment, built in 2007.

I didn't speak to anyone in Rwanda for this story, or to anyone who had recently been to Mwite, north of the capital city of Kigali, but I can confidently relay details about the water situation in that far-flung rural village thanks to...what else? An Android-based app.

The agencies and nonprofit organizations that work to ensure that places like Mwite have clean drinking water will tell you that infrastructure is just one challenge, among others being highlighted today on World Water Day. After the pipes and pumps are installed, there's the never-ending task of monitoring and maintaining thousands of sites spread across the challenging terrain of places like Rwanda, Liberia, or Bolivia.

For years, teams would go into the field with pounds of paper questionnaires, cameras, and maybe an expensive GPS, and gather data on individual sites--all of which would then be stuffed in a file cabinet somewhere back in the capital city, spending most of its time collecting dust.

Today's high-end smartphones combine all those monitoring tools into a single, inexpensive, convenient device that not only collects data on water projects but can also analyze, map, and share it--tasks that would have in many cases taken an unthinkable amount of time just a year ago.

That's when Water for People, a Denver-based nonprofit working on water and sanitation projects in 11 countries, started thinking about an easier way to monitor its projects. The group brought in developer Dru Borden of Gallatin Systems to design an application that could handle survey results, photos, and geolocation data in a single package. The result is Field Level Operations Watch, better known as FLOW. Water for People deployed a team equipped with smartphones loaded with FLOW for the first time in Rwanda last August. … Read more

Sprint launches HTC Evo 3D

ORLANDO, Fla.--Sprint kicked off its stay here at CTIA 2011 by announcing the HTC Evo 3D. The handset continues the Android experience you've seen in previous members of the Evo family, but adds Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a 3D camera.

The slim candy bar design will be familiar to HTC fans. Its shape and size is very similar to the original Evo and a gorgeous 4.3-inch QHD display dominates the front real estate. The touch screen is wonderfully bright and responsive and the handset has a sturdy feel. In addition to Gingerbread, the Evo 3D runs HTC's Sense UI, Leap (see all seven home screens by pinching your fingers), and Friend Stream (social media updates). And it's all powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor.

Turn the handset around, however, and you'll notice the biggest change from the first Evo. The Evo 3D has two 5-megapixel cameras for capturing the 3D video, with a flash sitting in between. The design is very similar to the LG Optimus 3D, which we saw at Mobile World Congress last month. When taking 2D still shots and videos you'll use only one lens, but both kick in to record 3D content. … Read more