Reviews & Store for all things Droid
Everything Android
Android Overload: HTC One X Only $130 For New Customers and Upgrades, HTC EVO LTE RUU Now Available, and More
May 18th
Congrats. You’ve mad it to the Android Overload. These are all the stories form throughout our day that didn’t make it onto our front page — but because we like to keep our readers well informed, we posted them here for y’all to take a final look at. There’s always something here for everyone, so, pull up a chair and dig right in!
- HTC One X is only 0 at Amazon Wireless for new customers and upgrades. [Amazon Wireless]
- Motorola Xoom WiFi now receiving Ice Cream Sandwich update in Canada. [Motorola]
- Verizon clarifies: customers can keep grandfathered unlimited plans as long as they pay full price for upgrades. [NYT]
- Samsung devices account for 40% of all Android smartphone sales. [eWeek]
- LG Optimus 4X HD gains FCC certification. Sports global bands and AT&T compatibility. [FCC]
- Sony teams up with leading accessory makers to make cases for Xperia devices. [SonyMobile]
- HTC EVO 4G LTE RUU now available. Sense ROMs soon cometh. [XDA]
Expect Assistant, aka Majel, to be shown off at Google IO
May 18th
Last year we reported that Google was working on a secret project codenamed Majel that was meant to be a direct response to Apple’s Siri. A trusted source told us a working Android app was already in testing and we thought it could debut in December, but then Alexia Tsotsis of TechCrunch reported that the service would be called Assistant and it was slated for a Q4 2012 release.
This week Google introduced the Knowledge Graph which attempts to make search smarter by using context to understand exactly what you mean and give you back exactly what you want. Google revealed that their system now contains more than 500 million objects (landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art and more), as well as more than 3.5 billion facts about and relationships between these different objects.
“We hope this added intelligence will give you a more complete picture of your interest, provide smarter search results, and pique your curiosity on new topics,” said Amit Singhal, SVP, Engineering. “We’re proud of our first baby step which will enable us to make search more intelligent, moving us closer to the ‘Star Trek computer‘ that I’ve always dreamt of building.”
Lots of engineers at Google are obsessed with the Star Trek computer, and the next logical step is a natural voice input and output system to interact with their Knowledge Graph. If they were already testing it late last year, then I fully expect to see a working demo of Android Assistant at Google IO next month.
Check out the latest Google video below and let us know what you think of their Knowledge Graph. Are you ready for Assistant to become a part of your daily Android experience?
Best Buy email claims HTC EVO 4G LTE launch now set for May 23rd
May 17th
The delayed launch of the HTC EVO 4G LTE has pissed more than a few people off. Earlier this week, we learned that the ITC has blocked imports of Sprint’s new flagship HTC device at U.S. Customs to inspect the software loaded on the devices to make sure HTC is no longer infringing upon Apple’s patent #5,946,647. Sprint’s official notice of the delayed launch went out on its community forums while HTC issued an official comment to the media.
We can confirm that the product will not be in stores this Friday. Products for pre-order are on hold. We’ll provide a ship date as soon as we’re able. HTC will work with Sprint to maintain the promise for pre-order customers so they will be among the first to receive their HTC EVO 4G LTE units when available.HTC
While all of this is bad new for consumers, the delay of the HTC EVO 4G LTE may be short lived. A glimmer of hope appeared this afternoon when Best Buy customers who had pre-ordered the HTC EVO 4G LTE restarted receiving emails which state that the new release date for the phone has been pushed back from May 18th to May 23rd.
Best Buy could have some information which has not yet been made available to the public, but HTC has not released any new information on the issue. We are waiting to hear back from them regarding this new development. For all we know, the ITC has already lifted the U.S. Customs hold on the HTC EVO 4G LTE and HTC One X and HTC is waiting to release an official statement until the devices start moving through their supply chain again.
Best Buy: HTC EVO 4G LTE to ship May 23
May 17th
Worried that your pre-ordered HTC EVO 4G LTE might be stuck sitting on the docks for weeks while U.S. Customs investigates the handset? Fear not, that guy will be here in but a few days time. According to an email being sent out from Best Buy, the new Sprint flagship handset should ship on May 23, only five days after its initial release date. According to AndroidCentral, they received multiple reports of the Best Buy email in their inbox and forums. Sounds like things are back on track for the carrier, no? Look for HTC and/or Sprint to clarify matters a bit, whether through Twitter, Facebook, or a support forum.
Best Buy: HTC EVO 4G LTE to ship May 23 originally appeared on AndroidGuys.
Get more AndroidGuys on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
Listen to our newest podcast and download the official app.
Shop for Android accessories, apps, and more!
Verizon to axe grandfathered unlimited data plans, as users move to 4G LTE devices
May 17th
Starting this summer Verizon plans to eliminate the unlimited data plan that it still offers to subscribers who were grandfathered into it, when tiered data plans were rolled out last year. The news comes from Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo who said that as these 3G unlimited data plan customers migrate to 4G LTE devices, they will be forced to adopt the company’s new data-share plan that is expected by mid-summer.
“LTE is our anchor point for data share, so as you come through an upgrade cycle and you upgrade in the future, you will have to go onto the data share plan, moving away from the unlimited world,” Shammo said. “A lot of our 3G base is on unlimited. When they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share. That is beneficial to us.”
AT&T recently began encouraging their subscribers to migrate to tiered plans (which pissed some customers off), so it’s not much of a surprise to see Verizon doing the same thing.
Verizon goes on to say the new data-share plan will allow subscribers to connect more devices. Shammo said, “If I can add as many devices as I want, that is more efficient from a family perspective and a small business perspective.”
Some say that you should be scared of Verizon’s shared data plans, but I’m not so sure that I share that opinion yet. I might be alone in this thinking, but I don’t mind tiers and paying for the data that I consume. Of course I wish that there were cheaper tiers and data overages cost less, but I don’t have a problem with the basic concept of shared data buckets for multiple devices.
If you are a Verizon customers, I’m curious to know what you think. Will the end of unlimited data plans encourage you to switch to a carrier like Sprint that offers truly unlimited data?
Verizon says “No” to HTC One Series
May 17th
In past few years, Verizon brought a lot of devices to horizon and all of them were no doubt impressive devices. Like if we talk about Droid Incredible series, which is a very successful series, and they recently launched the successor which is known as Droid Incredible 4G LTE. But Verizon customers are holding their horses, because they are expecting that Verizon will be launching the HTC One X and One S as well, but it seems that this is not going to happen any time soon, or may be never.
Verizon’s representative told PCMag that Verizon currently has no “HTC One series” phones in the pipeline, which means Incredible 4G LTE is the latest HTC device you can get from Verizon right now, but I would love to see either One X or One S over at Verizon, which is the largest mobile network in USA.
However, that doesn’t mean Verizon is saying “farewell” to future HTC Android phones. What I think is that Verizon want to give some time to the recently launched 4G LTE smartphone, because the One series will effect the sales and probably will hurt Verizon market. I also believe that instead of carrying HTC One X or S. Verizon might be considering picking Samsung Galaxy S III, because they sold a lot of Galaxy S II devices last year. You never know, they might give it a chance again.
Folks, all we can do is to wait and see, but for meantime don’t forget to have a look on the Droid Incredible 4G LTE. It is almost like the One S, so folks don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comment box below.
Source: PCMAG
Verizon says “No” to HTC One Series originally appeared on AndroidGuys.
Get more AndroidGuys on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube!
Listen to our newest podcast and download the official app.
Shop for Android accessories, apps, and more!
