Droid-life seems to have stumbled across some information at the Verizon Blog site (though they don’t link the actual site) indicating some of the features of the Droid 2, with a likely release date of August 12.

Those of you eagerly awaiting the successor of one of the most game-changing Android phones out there may be in luck here in just under 2 weeks. Who’s excited?

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

Droid 2 Release Date Leaked?

(Sorry for the trouble late in the podcast.)

Top o' the news

• It's official -- Evo to get Froyo starting Tuesday, August 3
• Froyo for the Sprint Evo 4G as early as tomorrow?
• Another rogue app stealing data, security firm reports [updated]
• Security firm details privacy concerns; developer tells us its side of the story

Hardware news

• Samsung Vibrant review
• Samsung Captivate review
• G1 - tonight we bid you a sad farewell
• HTC Vision pops up with T-Mobile branding, may be called the G1 Blaze
• Droid 2 leaks continue, entire user guide finds its way online
• Sprint Motorola i1 PTT Android phone now available
• Is this the myTouch 3G HD? And is it T-Mobile's first HSPA+ smartphone?
• New shot of the myTouch 3G HD's backside appears
• Dell Streak won't be certified for T-Mobile, will get Android 2.2 later this year
• Dell Streak $299 after contract; $549 outright; Aero is $99 on contract
• Augen 7-inch Android 2.1 tablet to sell at Kmart for $149.99
• Cincinnati Bell offering Samsung Behold II
• HTC adds SLCD displays to its Desire, Nexus One lines
• Screen wars! AMOLED vs. S-LCD vs. LCD vs. Super AMOLED
• LG Optimus Z now available in Korea
• Galaxy Q specs leaked
• Nexus One strapped to a rocket takes Android to 28,000 feet

Android OS updates

• Android 2.2 Froyo with Sense leaks for the Droid Incredible
• Is this Froyo on the Droid X? Maybe
• Froyo leaked for the Samsung Galaxy S
• Galaxy S Froyo ROM alive, kicking and handled
• Official Froyo update for the UK Galaxy S in September
• Is HTC commencing its Froyo rollout?

App news

• Root your Droid X the easy way
• Motorola Devour rooted
• You can now root your phone without fear of hassle from the man
• Google Maps makes finding 'places' even easier
• What's up with Facebook and Sense?
• BlindType for Android will solve all typing problems for humanity (maybe)
• Original Flight Control coming to Android
• Viper SmartStart launches on Android, brings remote vehicle start and more
• Android Quick App: FlightView
• Clicker brings check-ins for couch potatoes to Android
• AOL releases pair of Android apps
• Twitter for Android updated, is 'faster,' gets basic functionality

Google news

• Google to provide copy protection to Android Market applications [updated]

Posted originally at Android Central

Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

And thus, it begins. Engadget has official word from HTC that unlocked European Desires will be getting an over-the-air (OTA) update to Android 2.2 ("Froyo") this weekend. This comes hot off the heels of Sprint announcing that the Evo will see Froyo early next week, so it surely looks like HTC has gotten Sense working just fine on their current line of high-end phones. Users should be automatically notified that there is an update available. 

HTC is going all out, promising several features not in stock 2.2:

• 720p video recording
• iTunes syncing via HTC's Sync software (what?!?)
• The "AppShare" widget that came on the Wildfire
• Smart CallerID

In addition, HTC is saying that users with carrier-locked Desires will see the update in "several weeks' time." Just as a friendly reminder, they also told users that the update will not delete any existing user data, which is always a great thing. 

It looks like there is going to be a ton of 2.2 update news coming in the next few weeks for HTC phones, so if you aren't a Desire or Evo owner, keep your eyes peeled. [Engadget]

Posted originally at Android Central

Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

Security companies often issue headline-grabbing reports about the threat of malicious activity. Those headlines sometimes don’t have much of a story to go with them, and people get caught in the crossfire.

That’s what one developer says happened to him when Lookout insinuated that several Android apps were potentially malicious. After a VentureBeat story on those findings said his app was collecting personal data and sending it to a “mysterious server in China.” the blogosphere was set ablaze with stories of malicious apps compromising data from “millions” of people.

The only problem with this narrative is that it’s not exactly true. While some apps make suspicious requests for data, there are occasions when it’s completely legitimate – as we noted in yesterday’s PSA on security permissions. Jackeey Wu, the accused developer, has defended himself in a statement to AndroidTapp.com citing that very issue. According to Wu, Lookout and VentureBeat wrongly suggested that his apps steal information that would be impossible to obtain since his app did not have permission to access that type of data. The suspicious permissions requested were done so because of user request and had legit reasons.

AndroidTapp has posted Wu’s comments in full to illustrate a line-by-line defense on the supposed security concerns. Meanwhile, Lookout has attempted to distance itself from the accusations by posting a clarification on its blog, but the damage may have already be done. Google has removed Wu’s apps from the Market to investigate the claims, and it’s quite possible that it will find nothing malicious in these apps. If that proves to be the case, a developer’s reputation may have been irreparably damaged.

Our intergalactical Android Avatar Creator project has been finished and the Lite version is released on the Android Marketplace. This article will explain how the program works.

At the first start you will see an alert dialog, a small tutorial how to use the app. The first activity is the main menu.

Click the New droid menu item.

This is the droid editor activity. Editing your droid is pretty easy. Click on a body part, then choose the new part at the bottom of the activity. This image help you what are the clickable body items:

read more

We’re launching yet another semi-regular column on Android and Me. Every week (or so) we will ask one of our staffers about an application they love/can’t live without and share that app with you, our readers.

I will be starting out this piece by sharing an app you’ve probably heard of that launched this week to some market issues, psx4droid.

psx4droid is a playstation emulator that will allow you to play your cherished original playstation games right from your Android phone. I have been spending the last few days getting re-lost in Final Fantasy 7, and thoroughly enjoy the experience I’ve had with psx4droid thus far. The button layout is solid, and the application overall just feels like it’s well put together and it really gets the job done.

So if you’re a nerd like me, and/or loved the original Playstation and want to enjoy Playstation games on your Android device, I highly encourage you to head over to the market and buy psx4droid. It’s definitely worth the $6 price tag, if not more.

Look for our full review of psx4droid to come over the next week as we’ve had more time to play around with it.

We’ll be back next week with another staff recommended app (hopefully from another staffer) so stay tuned!

Disclaimer: Do not download ROMs for psx4droid unless you have purchased the original game as well. It’s a big legal no-no.

RSS feed brought to you by the Android and Me Store

Related Posts

• Top 10 app downloads of the week: Monday, July 26th, 2010
• Win an Android and Me limited edition Exploded Andy tee
• Android and Me v3 is here!
• Android and Me News Widget Version 2.0 Released
• Dell fumbles U.S. launch of first Android device

Beautiful Widgets, the application that is known for bringing a Sense like style to any device, received a nice update today. The update changed the weather service to AccuWeather, which we hope can be just a little more accurate. The menus of the application also have been updated making the application way easier to navigate. In the past, the menus were not the easiest thing to look through, they now allow users to easily set and change the many features of the application. In addition, one of the other great new features is the unlock animations, which brings some brief animations of the current condition to your homescreen after unlocking the device. If you have not checked the update out, be sure to do so. Market links after the jump.

Posted originally at Android Central

Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

PGM Soft announced this week they are releasing both their demo and full version of PGM-Invoice to the Android Market.  PGM-Invoice is a simple program that allows users to fill in custom invoice information on the go.  The description on the company's website is somewhat vague, but pictures are worth a thousand words.  The company uses screenshots to illustrate most of the application's features, which seem detailed.  PGM-Invoice is available in the Android Market in a free demo version as well as a full, paid version for € 11.99.

Hit up the barcode to be taken to the market.

NOTE: Invoice from Your Android Phone with PGM-Invoice originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

You May Also Enjoy...

• July 29, 2010 -- Droid 2 Manual Leaks (0)
• July 29, 2010 -- AdSense for Mobile Success Story: APNDroid (5)
• July 29, 2010 -- Android to make Google obscenely rich(er)? (1)

Samsung was already fielding quite a few questions from users wondering when they could expect their phone to be treated to Froyo. In light of HTC’s recent promise to deliver Froyo (Android 2.2) as early as next week, the intensity has increased.

The Samsung UK Twitter account has finally put a target time for its Froyo update: September 2010. Yesterday, the official Twitter feed posted the following message: “We’ve seen a lot of Q’s about the Froyo update; it’s currently in development & will be released for all networks at the end of September…”

Samsung has to be sure to reach that target date. The mishandling of updates and maintenance for the Behold II and previous Galaxy phones have angered users, which could make it tough to win them over should they have another incident.

[Twitter via Engadget]

McAfee, Inc., known for desktop security software for home and enterprise users, has acquired tenCube, the company behind the development of popular Android app WaveSecure.

WaveSecure has previously been featured on Androinica for its usefulness in managing misplaced or stolen Android phones. The application can track a phone, discover its location, lock down to secure information, or wipe data to prevent theft. McAfee has purchased tenCube as a means to integrate that technology into its own software. Once the acquisition is complete next month, McAfee plans to expand language support beyond WaveSecure’s current limitations of English, Chinese, and Indonesian.

The acquisition announcement is mute on what will happen to current WaveSecure license holders. More information may be released once the acquisition is complete, but the app should continue working for now. Here’s what McAfee plans to do once the acquisition is complete:

Further establish itself as the leader in mobile security with the most complete set of mobile technologies—McAfee now has the technology needed for users and their families to locate, lock, encrypt, protect against malware, wipe, filter, manage, back-up, restore and access their data online

Leverage its expertise at the endpoint and in the cloud to broaden its existing mobile security portfolio beyond anti-malware, data protection, Web security and family protection

Expand the addressable device market with best-in-market mobile device platform support, including a wide range of mobile operating systems including Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, iPhone and Java powered feature phones

Combine the skills and resources of both companies to develop and deliver scalable solutions through global partnerships with mobile service providers and mobile device manufacturers

Expand the breadth of its device management solutions available for enterprise IT administrators to implement policies, assist users and enforce compliance for mobile applications across the enterprise

Feast your eyes on the photo above, in what purportedly is a prototype of an Android tablet device from Samsung. Posted on Twitpic, the only info given is that it's seven inches, and that looks about right. There's no way of knowing how recent the picture is, and you really can't see much more than the black slab. But the translated tweets from @metabaron appear to say it's not the final design, will have a phone radio and camera, no physical buttons and will be released this year. [Twitter via notebookitalia.it and GadgetMix]

Posted originally at Android Central

Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

Well here’s some interesting news. Best Buy has inked a deal that will allow them to use Clearwire’s wireless network. Starting in 2011, Best Buy will offer a new 4G option for their newly launched Best Buy Connect broadband service, which connects computers wirelessly to the internet using Sprint’s 3G network. This will allow Best Buy to sell wireless services directly to consumers.

Clearwire Chief Executive Bill Morrow has said that Clearwire is in talks with a wide range of companies, including other operators, with a view toward created more deals like what they have with Best Buy.

What are your thoughts on this? Best Buy as an ISP? I’m not sure how well that will go over. Spend a few minutes Googling “geek squad” and you’d be appalled with some of the horror stories that pop up. I’m not sure I’d want these guys controlling my internet access. But anyway, voice your thoughts in the comments.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

Best Buy to offer wireless 4G data plans

Enligt gizmodo så är det officiellt, HTC har nu äntligen börjat rulla ut uppdatering för Android 2.2 / Froyo till Desire-ägare i Europa. Uppdateringen kommer att ske OTA (over-the-air) vilket innebär att den hämtas hem genom telefonen över 3G eller Wi-Fi. För den som inte kan vänta så går det att köra en manuell kontroll genom: Meny -> Inställningar -> Om telefonen -> Systemuppdateringar.  Dyker ingen uppdatering upp kan man testa med att flytta fram datumet på telefonen och prova igen, i annat fall återstår bara att vänta.

Vi hoppas innerligt att uppdateringen inte fastnar ute hos de svenska operatörerna i väntan på att bli godkänd, detta skulle kunna dra ut väntan med ett par veckors tid och hade

“The Android 2.2 (FroYo) update for HTC Desire will start rolling out across Europe this weekend. As well as including the complete set of Android 2.2 features, the update will contain a few special additions of our own through the latest iteration of HTC Sense. The update will provide 720p video capture, HTC’s App Share widget, as well as our enhanced HTC Caller ID, and improved multi-language keyboard. Also, though the update, HTC Sync will allow HTC Desire users to sync their music with iTunes.

HTC Desire users will be notified that the over-the-air update is available to download when their phone automatically checks for software updates. The update won’t delete any of the phone’s content. However, due to the size of the update, we would advise using a WiFi connection to download it wherever possible to avoid additional data charges.

This update will initially roll-out to unlocked HTC Desire handsets. Operator specific versions of the update are undergoing testing and we expect to make them available in several weeks’ time.”

Genom gizmodo

Länk | Inga kommentararer | Forum | Tipsa oss

From the same developer that brought you the http://www.talkandroid.com/5981-acircuit-board-live-wallpaper/, comes aSmartBomb. This wallpaper is kind of difficult to describe, so just check out this video instead:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pretty cool huh? If you’d like to download aSpiritBomb (¥99 or ~$1.15) just hit up the download link or QR code below.

Download Link

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

aSpiritBomb live wallpaper for Android

It’s always amusing to see how much a phone costs to make, what it costs to buy with no contract, and what it costs with a contract. In the Droid Incredible’s case, those numbers are $165.35 / $599 / $149. So if you had the assembly and manufacturing skills of one of Santa’s elves, you could buy all the necessary parts for the Droid Incredible and put it together yourself for quite the bargain. Sadly, I’m going to assume that you’re like me and lack said elf-skills and thus must just buy the entire phone. Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the parts and their associated costs. (click this image for full-size)

Yes these parts are relatively cheap. But you can’t forget all the man-hours that went into designing these parts and making the machines that actually produce them.

And here’s the Press Release issued by iSuppli:

“The Droid Incredible could have been dubbed the ‘Nexus Two’ given its similarity to HTC’s Nexus One introduced early this year,” observed Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst and teardown services manager for iSuppli. “Indeed, the phones are very similar in terms of costs and features, with the main difference being the Incredible’s support for the CDMA air standard used by carrier Verizon in the United States.”

The Nexus One’s BOM amounted to $174.15, based on iSuppli’s January pricing estimate, very close to the current materials cost for the Incredible. The centerpiece of both phones is an advanced Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display. Both phones also share a common electronic design based on Qualcomm Inc.’s 1GHz Snapdragon baseband processor. Finally, the Incredible and Nexus One both integrate a class-leading density, at 4Gbit, of Mobile Double Data Rate (DDR) DRAM to support the processor.

Beyond the use of CDMA in the Incredible, only a few other differences distinguish the phone from the Nexus One. The Incredible, for one, uses an optical track pad, as opposed to the trackball on the Nexus One. Furthermore, the Incredible employs HTC’s Sense User Interface (UI) overlay, whereas the Nexus uses the generic Android UI.

When the $8.90 manufacturing cost is added in, the combined BOM and production expense for the Incredible amounts to $172.25.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

Droid Incredible costs $165.35 to make

According to a source, there was a telephone conversation with T-mobile, wherein the carrier claimed that they are no longer selling the HTC Wildfire due to issues with the handset. There have been multiple complaints from customers that the device is crashing intermittently, seemingly for no reason in particular.

Hopefully, the problem exists only with T-Mobile’s version of the device, which would point to a firmware issue, but either way the wireless carrier has stopped selling the Wildfire. T-Mobile’s website also shows at “out of stock” concerning the device.

[via EuroDroid]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

T-Mobile confirms recall of HTC Wildfire, unofficially

Froyo. Who wants it? Well, it looks like the HTC Wildfire is raising it’s hand, and it’s been called on to come to the front of the class.

According to a listing for a Chinese launch of HTC devices, the Wildfire will be shipping in that market with Android 2.2 installed. There was, before, little hope for Wildfire owners to receive the update to Froyo.

Undoubtedly, as time moves on, users and owners of the device will start bothering everyone possible to get the update on their devices. As the update is installed, more development will come out. Keep your eyes here, and we’ll let you know how things progress. Make sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

[via EuroDroid]

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC Wildfire slated to receive Android 2.2

The Samsung Galaxy S series of phones has some pretty good battery life for the power it packs. Driving that Hummingbird CPU and 4in Super AMOLED would put a strain on any battery, that’s for sure. Which is exactly why I’m writing this guide. Feel free to implement any or all of these tips, just be sure you won’t need the services that some provide if you disable them. That being said, let’s see how you can squeeze every last bit of batter power out of these phones shall we?

1. Wireless and Network

Your phone is constantly sending and receiving data. I’m not talking about the kind of data you need a “Data plan” for, but the kind that allows you to receive calls, texts, etc. If you’re in the middle of nowhere and you don’t get any reception anyway, give your battery a break and turn on airplane mode, which disables all wireless connections on your phone. By far the easiest way to do this on both devices is to press and hold the power button on the side of the device.

Doing so will bring up the following little menu:

Now just tap Flight mode and BAM! All of your wireless signals will be shut off on your phone. Naturally repeating the process and tapping it again will turn them back on.

If turning off all your wireless signals is a little extreme and don’t need Bluetooth or Wifi, then just tap the notification bar on top, drag it down, and make sure that Wifi and Bluetooth are off. On the Captivate, the icons will be grey when off and green when on. On the Vibrant, they will be grey when off and blue when on.

This tip is only for the Vibrant: You can switch your phone to only use 2G networks (This will have a negative impact on web browsing speed and download speeds as well). So, from the home screen: Press Menu button > Settings > Wireless and network > Mobile networks. Now at this point you can check the “Use only 2G networks” box.

2. GPS

There’s no doubt about it, having GPS on is definitely a drain on your battery. Turning it off on the Vibrant is pretty easy, just tap and drag the notification bar on the top and drag it down. At this point you just tap GPS to turn it off (you know it’s off if it’s grey, if it’s blue it’s on)

On the Captivate it’s a little more difficult, but it’s still easy. Just follow these steps (from the home screen): Press Menu button > Settings > Location and Security > Uncheck “Use GPS satellites.” That’s it! You’ve now turned off the GPS on your Captivate.

Note that the Captivate’s method will work on both phones. Keep in mind, if you have both “Use wireless networks” and “Use GPS satellites” unchecked any service that uses your location (like navigation, maps, etc) will NOT function correctly.

3. Display

4. Sound & Vibration

5. CPU cycles & Sync

So apparently even though you’re disabling background data transmissions, some apps can still use the background data connection. Regardless, disabling this will prevent most apps from sending, receiving and syncing. But what you have to watch out for are any apps and widgets that are running that depend on data updates. Things like news widgets, weather, stocks, social networking, all need to be disabled to minimize background data usage.

Keep in mind that you still have the ability to sync your accounts, you just have to do so manually by tapping on the account you want to sync, and selecting what you want to sync for that account.

Now if you’d rather have certain accounts auto-sync, and others not, you can go back to the main Accounts and sync page, tap the account you want to edit, and then you can change that specific account’s sync settings. Now if you’re using some social networking apps, like twitter or facebook for instance, most of those apps have settings within the app themselves that you can control how often they check for updates. So be sure to look for those if you don’t to outright disable them.

Info and Conclusion

So that’s pretty much it. One final trick for you though. If you open up your dialer and dial *#*#4636#*#* (4636 spells Info on your dialpad) it will bring up a semi-secret Testing menu that not everyone knows about.

You can find out some pretty interesting things about your battery via Battery information and you can go much more indepth into your battery usage via the Battery history tab. Feel free to poke around and see what’s really using your battery the most.

Now, some of these settings will actually transfer over to all Android devices and some won’t. That’s why I’ve dedicated this guide specifically to Galaxy S devices. If you have any tips of your own that I don’t have here, be sure to add them in the comments and I’ll add them into the article and give you credit.

android battery life, boost battery life,

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

How to extend Galaxy S battery life

HTC, one of the biggest advocates for the Android platform, has made some modifications to their management blueprints. The new setup is meant to put the handset manufacturer in a better position for market advancement. Changes include:

• Former VP of Sales and Marketing for HTC America, has been moved up to President of both HTC America and Latin America.
• Jougi Kodera has been hired on as HTC’s Chief Product Officer.
• Ron Louks Has been moved up to HTC’s Chief Strategy Officer.
• David Chen has been moved up to HTC’s President for European, African and Middle Eastern divisions.

It is HTC’s hope that the new management layout will keep them ahead of the curve when it comes to the mobile market. Full press release is below.

HTC Strengthens Management Team in Preparation For Future Growth

TAOYUAN, Taiwan, July 29 /PRNewswire/ — HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today announced a series of executive promotions and newly created management positions focused on building a stronger foundation for future growth.

“As the smartphone industry expands at this lightning pace, it is essential for HTC to grow its management capabilities from within while also adding outside expertise,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “Today’s announcement is not just a signal of our current growth and progress, but of our vision for bringing unique smartphones to people all over the world.”

Ron Louks, Chief Strategy Officer

As HTC’s newly created chief strategy officer, Ron Louks will be responsible for driving new strategic initiatives, technology incubation and will work closely with HTC’s engineering and operation departments. Prior to joining HTC, Louks was the chief technology officer at Sony Ericsson.

Kouji Kodera, Chief Product Officer

As HTC’s newly created chief product officer, Kouji Kodera will be responsible for HTC’s global product portfolio planning and management. As a seasoned veteran of the mobile industry, Kodera has a strong track record of building device portfolio strategies. Prior to joining HTC, he worked for Sony Ericsson as its head of products.

David Chen, Chief Engineering Officer

Previously vice president of product development, David Chen has been promoted to chief engineering officer, David Chen will continue to drive HTC’s product development and engineering. As one of HTC’s first employees in 1997, Chen has played a key role in HTC’s success. Under his leadership HTC has successfully created many of the world’s first and most innovative smartphones.

With this announcement, Horace Luke, HTC’s chief innovation officer and John Wang, HTC’s chief marketing officer will work closely with Kodera and Chen to strengthen HTC’s overall product offerings around the world.

Jason Mackenzie, President, HTC North America and Latin America

Previously vice president of HTC North America, Jason Mackenzie has been promoted to president of HTC North America and Latin America. As president, Mackenzie will continue to drive HTC’s strategy and market growth in North America and Latin America where he has contributed to HTC’s strong performance. As one of HTC’s founding North American members in 2005, Mackenzie has led HTC’s strong growth in North America.

Florian Seiche, President, HTC Europe, Middle East and Africa

Previously vice president of HTC Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Florian Seiche has been promoted to president of HTC EMEA. As the founder of HTC’s EMEA operations in 2005, Seiche has grown HTC’s business and brand to be one of the top smartphone makers in EMEA.

HTC also announced that Jason Juang, a senior executive vice president at HTC, has left the company to pursue other opportunities.

About HTC

HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative smartphones that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

All trademarks mentioned in this document are trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information on Android and the current Android mobile phones, check out our Android Guides

HTC changes management scheme