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Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans


You can now pre-order movies on Google Play (US only), here’s the list of available titles

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 05:34 PM PDT

Google Play Movies Preorder

New for Google Play users in the US, Google has officially announced the ability to pre-order your favorite movies fresh out theater and pay for them so you’ll have access the day they’re available on digital. Currently, there are only 15 movies available for pre-order, but we expect that list to change and/or grow as time goes on.

Google Play Movies Preorder list

Currently you have options of titles like Gone Girl, The Maze Runner, Lucy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and more. Pre-ordering is a relatively easy affair, with the steps as follows:

1. Check out the list of available pre-orders below.
2. Choose the title you want and click the pre-order button.
3. If you are new to Google Play you will need to enter credit card details, but your card will not be charged until the movie is delivered.
4. You will receive an email receipt, and the pre-order will be added to “My Movies.” Clicking on your pre-ordered movie will take you to the latest info about it, including release date.
5. On the day the movie becomes available, you will receive an email confirming your purchase and the delivery of the movie to your library.
6. Then it's yours to own and enjoy!

So, if you’re looking to add a few blockbuster titles to your digital library, hit up the link below and get to pre-ordering.

[Pre-order Google Play Movies here]

Facebook is reportedly working on an anonymous social networking app

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 04:47 PM PDT

facebook-home-event1

Facebook probably is probably the last place many would expect to find any sort of anonymity, but we suppose it’s never too late to try something new. Where Facebook was once seen as merely another “social network,” they’ve quickly grown into a sort of pseudo online DMV, authenticating normally anonymous online denizens by giving everyone on the planet a unique online identity. But with your mom, grandma, and church members all part of the same social circles, it’s a return to anonymity that’s seeing users flock to services like Secret, Whisper, or Yik Yak where you can be — or say — whatever the like, without fear of judgement.

Today a new report out of The New York Times suggests Facebook could be looking to take a stab at anonymous social networking with a new app launching sometime in the future. Led by Facebook product manager Josh Miller, it appears they’re still working out the kinks, but the general idea is to have Facebook users discuss topics they may not want people associating with their real identities by allowing them to select whatever user name they’d like.

Of course, there’s still a lot of questions left wide open, like how — if at all — Facebook plans on integrating this with, well, Facebook and other fine details like will anonymous picture sharing be included? Will the app be similar to a messaging app, or another social message board? Of course, where there are anonymous users, spammers come in droves, so it will be interesting to see how this will be handled as well.

Again, the idea is certainly enticing. As someone who frequents Twitter, I’ve oft wondered why there wasn’t simply an anonymous Tweet option to hide your identity from others, while still being able to say whatever the hell you’d like. If anyone from Twitter is listening, there’s you next multimillion dollar idea.

Verizon makes the HTC Desire 612 official, free with a 2-year agreement on Oct 9th

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 04:03 PM PDT

HTC-Desire_612_Verizon

Having after already gotten a glimpse at the HTC Desire 612 last week, it seems Verizon is finally to make the device official. Packing a 4.7-inch “HD” display and HTC’s trademarked BoomSound stereo front facing speakers, the HTC Desire 612 will officially be arriving on Big Red this October 9th for free (with a 2-year agreement). What’s more is the phone will be fully compatible with Verizon’s XLTE network for a boost in data speeds.

Like a souped up version of the HTC Desire 610 (which recently launched on AT&T), the Desire 612 comes equipped with an 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8MP rear camera, 1.3MP front facing camera, 2,040mAh battery, and running on Android 4.4 KitKat. Yeah, everything is a little bit vague at the moment, but we expect to learn some of the finer hardware details once the phone launches this Thursday.

[Verizon]

Nexus 5’s battery draining camera bug will finally be fixed in Android L once and for all

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 02:57 PM PDT

Nexus 5 camera

Thought to have been addressed in Android 4.4.3, the Nexus 5’s nasty “mm-qcamera-daemon” bug back in Android 4.4.2 appears to be alive and well in current Android builds.

Originally highlighted in Google’s issue tracker back in March, the bug made short work of batteries after causing CPU usage to skyrocket. Like many, we had hoped the patches in Android 4.4.3 would have completely squashed the bug, but as it turns out, it’s still very much present in a few Nexus 5s.

Once again, Google has chimed in on the issue (60058), officially marking the issue as fixed (internally anyway). They’re promising all will be made well in the next major Android release for the Nexus 5 (Android L), but only as it relates to the Nexus 5. Devices like the Moto G or Samsung Galaxy S5 will still require an update from their respective OEMs to fix the problem, wherever it may arise.

The good news is we’re expecting Android L to officially roll out later this month, so it shouldn’t be much longer. Special shout out to the guy on Google Issue Tracker who tried to get pry a solid release date “for the next major Android release” from Google. Can’t blame you for trying.

[Google Issue Tracker]

How to make custom Moto 360 watch faces with Facer

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 12:42 PM PDT

Phandroid Facer

The Moto 360 comes with some attractive watch faces, and most of them can even be customized to your liking. Still, you might want something a little more personal. The official watch face API is not available yet, but that hasn’t stopped resourceful Android developers from creating custom watch faces. You can create your own custom watch face with an app called Facer.

With Facer you can create virtually any watch face you can imagine, if you’re willing to put in a little work. Your watch face can be as simple or complex as you want. Facer allows you to make digital or analog watch faces with elements such as weather, battery, date, etc. The first step is to download Facer from the Play Store. It costs $0.99, but if you love customizing things it will be the best dollar you ever spent.

How does Facer work?

Before we dive into making a watch face let’s talk about some basic functions. Facer uses layers to build a watch face. For example, one layer is the background, another layer could be text to display the time. Depending how complex your watch face is you could have anywhere from 2-20 different layers. Once you understand how to make a simple watch face, like we’ll show in this guide, you can easily go more complex.

To display the time, weather, date, or battery info, Facer uses tags. If you want your watch to read “02:30 PM Oct 07″ it’s just a matter of choosing tags from a list. Tags can also determine how a hand rotates around the watch, if you’re interesting in making an analog design. Layers and tags are the two basic principles for using Facer. Be sure to watch the video above for a quick tutorial, and check out the slide shows (from r/facer) below to go more in-depth.

Digital Watch Face

The easiest watch face you can make with Facer is digital. You really only need a background image and some text. Follow the slide show below for a step-by-step guide.

Analog Watch Face

Creating an analog watch face is a little more tricky, but still easily doable. You’ll need to create images for the background and hour, minute, and second hands. Follow the slide show for the steps.

The Easy Way

facerepo

The cool thing about Facer is you can install watch faces made by other people. Facerepo.com has tons of designs for the Moto 360 and other Android Wear devices. Browse the site on whichever device is connected to you watch, download the watch face you want, and then simply tap the “Import” icon. From here you can even edit the imported watch faces, which is a nice trick if you don’t want to design a watch from scratch.

Send Design to Watch

send to watch

The last thing you need to do is send your design to your Moto 360 or other Android Wear device. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.

  1. Long-press your current watch face and select Facer from the list
  2. On your phone, tap the watch face you want to use
  3. Tap the “Send to Wear device” button

You can store many different designs in the Facer app, but only one at a time can be display on the watch. Once you get the hand of creating simple watch faces like the ones in this guide you can start exploring more options. The only limit is your imagination. If you have made a Facer watch face we’d love to see it! Share your creations and favorites in the comments below!

P.S. You can download the Phandroid watch face right here. Enjoy!

Android Deals: Pebble price cuts, sound music savings, and more

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 12:10 PM PDT

deals

This week we've got a ton of deals on great music plus savings on some great audio accessories with which to enjoy it. Also on tap are offers for the HTC One M7, Motorola DROID Maxx, and price cuts on Pebble smartwatches. Remember: act quick, because while these deals were active at the time of posting, they won't last forever.

Hardware & Accessories

pebble update

Pebble price drop saves you as much as $50 on your next smartwatch. Snag a Pebble or Pebble Steel for as low as $99 thanks to price cuts across the smartwatch line. The acclaimed wearable just got all the better. [Amazon, 2]

Take over half off the HTC One M7 and find out what the hype is all about. Not to be confused with the more recent HTC One M8, the 2013 flagship remains a tempting option for buyers, especially at a rock bottom price of $215 unlocked. [eBay]

Get a Motorola Droid Maxx for free. All signs point to a new Motorola device for Verizon, which means significant savings on last year's model. The top-tier Droid Maxx is now free when signing up for a new two-year contract with Big Red. [Verizon]

Save 25% on a Soundfreaq Double Spot wireless speaker and bring big sound to any room in your house. With all the accoutrements expected of a Bluetooth speaker for mobile devices, the Double Spot features fine-tuned sound and snazzy design all for only $112 thanks to this special AndroidArea.com deal. [AndroidArea]

Knock nearly $100 off a pair of AIAIAI headphones if you prefer a more personal listening experience. These pro-quality wired headphones were designed for DJs, but they can be yours for only $159. [AndroidArea]

Apps & Games

threes

Apps

Games

Music & Media

this-is-halloween

Singles

Albums

Movies

TV Shows

[Find any great deals not included here? Be sure to send them our way or share in the comments below!]

Once again, AT&T customer data breached by rogue insider

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 11:46 AM PDT

att-store-logo

Looks like AT&T had a spoiled apple on their hands. The company has recently discovered that a rogue employee took it upon themselves to gain unauthorized access to sensitive customer data. The insider may have had deep access to information such as social security numbers and driver’s licenses, though it’s unclear how many folks were affected as the information comes from a letter sent from AT&T’s director of finance and billing operations Michael Chiarmonte to Vermont’s attorney general.

AT&T says law enforcement officials are involved and that the individual responsible for the breach has already been terminated from employment. They’re also forking over the cash for a year’s worth of credit monitoring for all those affected. It sounds like AT&T will send notices directly to any individuals who were affected so there’s no way to know if your information was part of the breach unless you simply don’t get a notice.

AT&T has not yet determined the reason for the breach, whether that be conspiracy to commit fraud or sell information off to third-party no-gooders. Or it could be just as likely that this person was just a nosy punk snooping into personal information because he thought he could get away with it. Whatever the case, though, it appears AT&T is treating it as seriously as they need to.

This isn’t the first time in recent months that AT&T’s been affected by an inside job. The company was a victim to such foulness back in April of this year. We can’t single AT&T out for the unfortunate incidents, though, as there’s no way they can protect themselves from rogue employees. Any company of AT&T’s size is bound to have a few bad apples so the most they can do is react swiftly and appropriately as soon as they realize what’s happened. Good on them that they’ve continued do that with this latest episode.

[via ThreatPost]

LG confirms G Watch R launch for next week

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 10:58 AM PDT

lg-g-watch-r-6

In case the reports form Korean press didn’t convince you, perhaps official word from LG will. The company has recently confirmed that the LG G Watch R will, in fact, be launching in their home country of South Korea starting next week, October 14th. Unfortunately the company still hasn’t indicated when they’ll get around to bringing the thing to Europe, North America or other regions, though history tells us they want wait too long to deliver to to the rest of us.

With that, we also don’t get final word on pricing details, though we’re sure to gain a pretty good idea once it hits retailers’ store shelves next week. The LG G Watch R is the second circular Android Wear smart watch to hit the scene, and it’s gained a lot of attention due to its sporty looks and seemingly solid build quality. Whether that’s enough to pull people away from the mesmerizing Moto 360 remains to be seen, but we sure can’t wait to see how these two stack up to each other.

[via LG]

[Update] Did the Nexus 6 just sneak into the FCC?

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 08:57 AM PDT

Motorola Shamu leak Nexus 6 X

A new Motorola-made device has popped up in the FCC, and if the accompanying documents are anything to go by it could be the Motorola-made Nexus 6 we’re expecting to see Google and company debut in the weeks or months to come.

The listing doesn’t tell us much that we didn’t already know, but we do get confirmation for which networks this specific version will support. The listing tells tales of LTE Cat 5, 4, 2, 7 and 17 radios, as well as GSM/WCDMA 850MHz and 1900MHz. That pretty much confirms full compatibility for both AT&T and T-Mobile, something we’ve always expected from unlocked Nexus devices. CDMA versions for Sprint and / or Verizon are still up in the air as this listing doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of seeing other variants arrive through the FCC’s gates.

nexus 6 fcc dimensions

We also learn that the device will support NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi AC, though that stuff is usually par for the course in the land of Nexus. The dimensions listed in the device do seem to support rumors that we’ll be seeing a 5.9-inch handset, as 154.49mm diagonally translates to about 6.082 inches (add a bit of room for bezel and whatnot).

Another document within the listing shows where the FCC label might appear on the device. We’re not sure if this outline is to be taken as 100% true to form, but it does look an awful lot like the Nexus renders and leaks we’ve seen to date.

nexus 6 fcc label

Its arrival at the FCC may not foreshadow an immediate announcement or launch, but this is good indication that Google and Motorola are close to finalizing the product and will have something to share that they’re legally able to sell. Let’s just hope Halloween doesn’t come and go without word on its arrival.

[Update]: Looks like this could be a different Motorola device altogether. It appears this device shares the exact same dimensions with Verizon’s Motorola DROID Turbo that was spotted at the FCC a few weeks ago. The only thing that doesn’t make sense is the 6-inch diagonal form factor — the DROID Turbo is rumored to be coming with a 5.2-inch display (unless, of course, those previous benchmarks were just flat out fakes).

It’s possible this could be a GSM or worldwide variant of that same phone, or that the previous FCC leak was actually for a Verizon variant of the Nexus 6. Basically it all boils down to this — Motorola has a lot going on right now and they’re getting ready to shower us with the goods in a fair amount of time. We just hope it won’t take long to lay these guessing games to rest. [Thanks Defenestratus!]

ZTE Grand MAX is a $199 6-inch phablet headed to Cricket October 10th

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 07:55 AM PDT

zte grand max

ZTE and Cricket have just announced a huge new phablet for folks looking for big smartphones. It’s the 6-inch ZTE Grand MAX, and for just $200 without a contract you’ll be treated 720p resolution, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and a 1 megapixel front-facing camera, 8GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot, a 3,200mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0, Android 4.4 KitKat and more.

The device will be headed to store shelves starting October 10th, so you have a few days to decide if it’s something you want to plop money down on. It obviously isn’t the most exciting smartphone we’ve ever seen, but if you’ve been craving some phablet goodness and don’t have the funds to get top-line stuff like Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 4, this is yet another route to take to big screen glory.

Unlocked Moto G (2014) heads to Best Buy for $179

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:52 AM PDT

moto-g-back-hero

It didn’t take long for you to get your hands on one of the most powerful affordable phones to drop this year. Best Buy is now selling the Moto G 2014 for $180 unlocked, meaning you won’t have to sign a contract or jump through hoops to get it.

The device was reviewed favorably by Kevin Krause, though its lack of 4G may be off-putting for many. We’re sure Motorola has plans to launch an LTE-equipped model like they did for last year’s variant, but it may be some time before we see that (and we expect it to cost a bit more, as well). But if HSPA+ 3G is fine for you and you need a new inexpensive smartphone to have a go with, the Moto G can’t be a bad choice. It’s available in either black or white using the links straight ahead.

[Best Buy Black | White]

OnePlus One update fixes annoying touchscreen responsiveness issues, adds cool new features

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 05:54 AM PDT

OnePlus One DSC06070

The OnePlus One has just received a nice firmware upgrade to version CM 11s 38R. The very first change we want to mention is a fix for touchscreen responsiveness that many users have complained about since the phone’s launch. The upgrade seems to do away with all those annoyances so you should look at it as a critical fix and something you’ll want to download.

But if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, perhaps this list of notable additions and changes will be. You’ll now be able to take photos in the RAW format used in professional cameras, support for 24 bit, 96/192khz music in FLAC, WAV and ALAC formats without resampling, ANT+ support for health accessories and apps, and more. The list of bug fixes is even longer:

  • Added method for users to report bugs directly to Cyanogen.
  • Added pause button during video recording.
  • Improved battery life.
  • Fixed issues with camera exposure compensation stuck in 'auto'.
  • Fixed issues with '4G Preferred' option not connecting to 3G data.
  • Fixed issues with delay in torch activation.
  • Fixed issues with unresponsive screen requiring reboot.
  • Fixed issues with static in speaker when changing volume while headset plugged in.
  • Fixed issues with rotation not triggering when rotated slowly.
  • Fixed issues with Quiet Hours / system UI causing battery drain on last day of month.
  • Fixed issues with camera not starting when LED torch is already on.
  • Fixed issues with Bluetooth volume low on connection.

Convinced you need this firmware yet? Head to your phone’s settings menu to look for the new goods, but make sure you’re on WiFi with a decently charged battery just to make sure nothing goes wrong.

[via OnePlus]