The Android Site

Something I noticed myself today, and it’s now being confirmed by other blogs. The shiny new Facebook application that brought improvement also brought one massive downside, it’s hell on your battery. In a nutshell, it’s simply bad coding. Facebook keeps your CPU running cycles in the background even when your screen is off and not using the phone. Flipz, the developer of Fresh ROM’s, has dug into the issue and quoted directly from the Android Developer’s site:

Device battery life will be significantly affected by the use of this API. Do not acquire WakeLocks unless you really need them, use the minimum levels possible, and be sure to release it as soon as you can.

If you hold a partial wakelock, the CPU will continue to run, irrespective of any timers and even after the user presses the power button.

Hopefully this issue will be fixed soon, but for now, I’m uninstalling. You can also sign out and close the app to save battery, but this is just ridiculous.

If you want to downgrade, you can grab the old version here. And also recommend uninstalling the new version and marking it as Defective. If Google even pays attention to that…

[via Android Police]

Usually reserved for entry level phones and older models, the Garminfone has just become the “Free phone”. At least on Amazon. T-Mobile is still selling it for $129. Apparently the word is true that they’re just not selling very well at all. And that doesn’t surprise me with the current choices of better Android phones from T-Mobile and other carriers.

Amazon also dropped the price of the MyTouch 3G Slide to $49, probably the cheapest you’ll find it anywhere, with or without a rebate.

According to a recent report by NPD Group, Android is outselling both Apple and RIM in terms of handsets sold. Clocking in at 33%, Android has toppled RIM’s top spot, which they’ve held for the past 3 years. And the top five phones, all from Verizon and Sprint: Motorola DROID, HTC DROID Incredible, HTC EVO 4G, HTC Hero, and HTC DROID Eris. I’m surprised there’s no T-Mobile phones in there considering their long history with Android. But still the point is clear, Android is here to stay, and it won’t stop growing any time soon.

[via BGR]

If you haven’t been under a rock for the past 24 hours, you may have noticed there’s a new version of Facebook for Android available. And it’s gotten a little better. Adding a few features that were sorely missing, such as Events and Friend Requests, as well as a few tweaks, such as moving notifications to a draw on the bottom. And the addition of a rather odd “photo reel” feature. While it’s still not the same experience as the full website, it should be enough to keep you in touch and get your social media fix, right?

If you haven’t already, open the Market and upgrade from your phone, or scan the QR code below. Let us know how you like the update in the comments, and heck even shout out what you really want to see in the Facebook for Android application.

[via like every other mobile phone blog]

You may have noticed a text message from T-Mobile in the past couple of days about an OTA update coming to you soon. A few of us got excited that it might be Android 2.2 love, but alas, it’s just a minor update with a couple of improvements. All MyTouch Slide users should receive a notification on their phone to download and install the update soon. If you don’t get the update by August 19th, you may want to call customer service.

Improvements include:

1.  Battery Life:

• Updates to the T-Mobile online contact backup connection, which will improve battery life.

2.  Wi-Fi:

• Ability to send MMS messages when connected to Wi-Fi.

3.  Genius Button improvements:

• Ability to turn GPS on and off using your voice, such as “Turn GPS on.”
• Will announce Caller ID for incoming voice calls and allow you to “Answer” or “Ignore” using your voice.
• Will announce incoming text messages and allow you to “reply” with dictation.

4.  Faves Gallery improvements:

• The Faves icon will be displayed beside notifications that appear while the device is locked to indicate that the communication is coming from one of your Faves.
• Fave photo display speed will be enhanced.

General stability will be improved, including more seamless scrolling and consistent display of photos.

[via T-Mobile Forums]

If you took the Motorola CLIQ formfactor, and slapped a CLIQ XT on the face of it, then added Android 2.1, you would have roughly was we have here. This is the Motorola SAGE, finally posing for some clear shots and said to be coming to AT&T, but of course with no time frame. We have a feeling the QWERTY sliding keyboard will sell a bit better than the BACKFLIP weird flip style, but that’s just us. Definitely not a high end device, but in AT&T’s current lineup, it kinda fits right in.

Look for more pictures and specs to come out of the woodwork soon, but for now, head over to Engadget for the rest of the shots.

[via Phandroid]

When the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 came out, about 6 months ago, it was one of the highest spec’d Android phones available. With it’s 8.1MP camera, and 1Ghz SnapDragon processor as well as a 4 inch touchscreen, it still can hold its own with the flagship phones of today (Droid X and HTC EVO 4G). But there’s one little thing holding it back, and that’s the fact that it STILL runs Android 1.6 and that’s not suppose to change till later this year. But the good news for AT&T users, is that you should soon have yet another option in Android. Just passing AT&T’s technical review, it’s said to be available “in the coming weeks”, which could be sometime next month. We don’t want to know what AT&T is going to do to the phone meanwhile, but let’s hope they don’t chain it up too much. No other immediate info is available, but look for it around $200 on a new two year contract.

Is anyone still excited about this phone like they were at the beginning of 2010?

The Archos 32 is a 3.2 inch screen Generation 8 device from Archos. Running Android 2.1 on an 800Mhz ARM Cortex A8 processor. The only bad part is that we still don’t know exactly what it looks like. But it should look like one of the above devices from the specs leak a while back. According to Amazon, 4.1 x 2.2 x 0.4 inches, which are the exact dimensions of the HTC HD Mini for size comparison. And it has 802.11n Wi-Fi, a built in camera and microphone, bluetooth and composite video output, as well as 720p video playback. 8GB of storage on this particular model, but look for a few different storage options as is common with Archos players.

Really, you’re getting mid to high end range Android phone specs, for quite a price deal at only $147. But of course, it’s missing the phone part. So, anyone gonna take the leap and preorder? Or wait for a bit more information, like pictures and reviews? I have to say, I’m almost tempted to preorder myself, maybe I’ll hold out for a 32GB version.

[Amazon via Engadget]

Don’t feel like waiting around for Verizon to push you the Android 2.2 update? Great, let’s show you how to upgrade manually. The process is fairly straight forward, and not very risky like rooting your phone. Also, this is the official update, so it will not harm your phone or void your warranty. Thanks to Android Forums for this great guide! Let’s get started:

What You’ll Need:
- A MicroSD Card inserted into your Droid
- An Internet Connection

1. Install Astro File Manager:
Install Astro File Manager for free from the Android Market if you don’t already have it.

(Scanning this QR code will take you to the Android Market listing for Astro File Manager.)

2. Download the update.zip file to your phone:
Download the update.zip file from one of the following locations directly from the internet to your phone:

Location 1 | My Droid Does [Tested and Verified!]

Location 2 | Dev-Mob [Tested and Verified!]

(Scanning the QR codes from above will automatically begin the download from its respective location.)

3. Move the update.zip file to the root of your SD card:
To move the update.zip to the root of your SD card, do the following:
- Open Astro File Manager
- Enter the Downloads folder
- Press and hold on the update.zip file
- Select “Edit” and then “Copy”
- Now press the “Astro Up” button once which will take the root directory
- Press the “Astro Edit” button followed by “Paste”
The update.zip file should now be in the root directory.

4. Prepare for the Update:
Once you have unmounted the phone, it is now time to prepare the Droid to perform the update. You will be accessing Recovery Mode to do this. Start by powering down the phone completely.

While holding “X” on the physical keyboard, hold the power button to turn on the phone. You may let go of the power button, but do not let go of X.

After a few seconds, an Exclamation Mark icon will appear. You may now let go of X. To access Recovery Mode from the exclamation mark icon, hold the volume up button and then press the camera button.

5. Perform the Update:
You will then open a text menu with four options. Using the directional pad, navigate to “apply sdcard:update.zip” and push the gold, center button to select it.

The update process will begin immediately and should take no longer than a minute or two. It will let you know when the process is complete.

You might get this error:
Code:
E:Can’t open /cache/recovery/command
DON’T worry about it… it just blows right past it and installs fine.

From here, navigate to “reboot system now” and select it. Your phone will shut off and reboot.

Some users are reporting a longer than usual boot time after installing this, be patient and do not be alarmed, this is normal.

6. Congratulations!
Your Droid has now been updated to the official Android 2.2 Froyo release! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns what so ever, please post them to this thread. I will be closely monitoring this thread to provide assistance to those who need it.

ENJOY!

[via Phandroid]

Good news for both Android developers and downstream users as well. Motorola has released the source code for the Verizon Droid X, and Samsung goes open source with the Captivate (AT&T’s Galaxy S).

And once programmers get a bite into the source code, look for hacks, fixes, customization and ROMs to come flooding out. Bravo to Motorola and Samsung for sticking with the Android spirit. (Despite Moto’s earlier comments about hacking your phone)

Developers, head over to here for the Captivate, and here for the Droid X.

[via BGR]