News

Meet Alfred, Android's Answer to Siri

Google and Clever Sense have teamed up to release a new Android app named Alfred. Alfred makes recommendations to users based on their likes and dislikes, and allows owners to discover new places by refining searches for cuisine type, price range, dietary restrictions and distance.

The free app is currently available in the Android Market. The description makes it sound like Alfred is only good for finding restaurants, but if you ever used Siri you know she can't do much more. Personal robot assistants are basically just a fancy, and sometimes annoying, way to search the internet.

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Is the Galaxy Nexus Ever Coming to the U.S.?

Samsung has been having some fun at Apple's expense with their latest advertising campaign. The only problem is instead of pushing the Galaxy Nexus in the U.S., the ads are for the Galaxy S II because there is no Nexus to sell! It looks like Apple is having the last laugh while Verizon and Samsung make Android fans wait for some unknown reason.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus was released in parts of Europe last month, and it arrived in Canada today via Virgin Mobile and Bell. The handset is selling for $160 with a three year contract. U.S. customers who don't mind traveling can nab one for $650 to use on AT&T or T-Mobile

The latest rumors have the device launching in the U.S. tomorrow, but since there has been no word from Verizon it doesn't seem likely. On Thursday, Droid Life reported that multiple sources confirmed the Nexus' release date has been delayed due to possible 4G LTE issues.

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus Retail Packaging Confirms December 9 Release Date?

Pictures of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in its final retail packaging has Android fans hoping the rumored December 9th release date is true. Someone posted four photos of the highly anticipated device and its box on the XDA forums. Even better, a "reliable" Phandroid tipster said the Galaxy Nexus is headed to Verizon stores this week.

Previous Verizon leaks and false tips promising a November launch have already let us down, and the XDA pictures haven't been confirmed as real... Meaning, I wouldn't get my hopes up until we hear something official, but a release before this weekend does seem possible.

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Carrier IQ Detector Reveals if Somebody is Really Watching You!

I guess Rockwell wasn't paronoid after all. Somebody could be watching you, and their name is Carrier IQ. Everbody wants to know if their phone is infected with the text message stealing / keystroke logging sofware, and Lookout Mobile Security has the answer.

The Carrier IQ Detector app doesn't remove Carrier IQ from your device, but it will let you know if it's running the software. The diagonstic tool is free and can be downloaded here.

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Carrier IQ

Amazon Cancels Transformer Prime Pre-orders

One day after we listed Amazon as one of the online retailers accepting pre-orders for the Eee Pad Transformer Prime, customers started receiving e-mails saying orders were being canceled due to a lack of availability from suppliers.

Due to a lack of availability from our suppliers, we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order:

ASUS TF201-B1-GR Eee Pad Transformer Prime 10.1-Inch 32GB Tablet (Amethyst Gray)

We’ve canceled the item(s) and apologize for the inconvenience. If you see a charge for the canceled item, we will refund you within 1-2 business days.

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ASUS Transformer Prime

ASUS Transformer Prime Release Date Confirmed For December

ASUS has confirmed the Transformer Prime will be available online and at retail stores on December 19th. Check out the awesome promo video below, and be sure to visit the new product site for more info.

The Transformer Prime ships with Android 3.2 Honeycomb and will be upgradable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in 2012. It features a 10.1-inch LCD display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 40 pin connector port, NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, Bluetooth 2.1, and Adobe Flash support.

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ASUS Transformer Prime

LG Optimus LTE Headed To America?

LG is expected to announce the LG Nitro HD on December 1st. The Nitro HD is the American version of the Canadian LG Optimus LTE.

According to Phandroid, an invite they received from LG did not mention any particular phone, but the file name read "LG Nitro." This lead them to believe the new phone will be announced next month, but nothing has been confirmed.

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Latest Motorola DROID Update Not Ice Cream Sandwich

That "special project" Motorola announced for the DROID is not an upgrade to Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich. It's just two security patches that are essentially “invisible” in terms of device operation. Motorola caused a stir when they asked some DROID owners to test out a new upgrade for the device.

Motorola revealed on Friday the real reason for the update:

"Thanks very much for signing up to give feedback about your Motorola Droid. You will be testing final software for Droid. This is a very limited update providing two security patches for the device. It should be essentially “invisible” in terms of device operation."

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Sprint Announces $20 Android Phone: Express

Sprint has announced the entry level BlackBerry look-alike, the Express, is now available in stores for $19.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate). The phone requires a new-line activation (or eligible upgrade) on an Everything Data Plan and a required $10 per month Premium Data add-on charge. There is also a mobile 3G hotspot option for $30.

The Express features a QWERTY keyboard, 2.6-inch capacitive touch display, 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 2.1. Sprint did not release any information regarding what is under the hood, but the Express is rumored to be running a 600MHz processor.

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Amazon Kindle Fire Adds Hulu Plus and ESPN to its Impressive Lineup of Apps

Amazon has added Hulu Plus and ESPN to its already impressive list of applications which already includes Netflix, Rhapsody, Pandora, Facebook and Twitter. The Amazon Kindle Fire also ships with a 30-day trial of Amazon's movie and TV streaming service, and access to popular games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio. If that's not enough, there are also Comics by comiXology, and 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books to choose from.

A recent survey conducted by Retrevo revealed that 44% of new tablet buyers are considering buying the Kindle Fire this holiday season. Retrevo believes people are choosing the Fire over the aging iPad 2 because of its low cost and size. Amazon is expected to move around 3 to 5 million tablets in Q4 of this year.

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