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Motorola XOOM 4G LTE Upgrade Available

According to an email forwarded to Phandroid, the promised 4G LTE upgrade for the Motorola XOOM is already available to tablet owners. The timing seems to be about right since the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available for pre-sale at a New York City Best Buy store tomorrow (June 8). Previous reports suggested that the upgrade wouldn't take place until the Tab was released.

Thank you for submitting your Motorola Xoom for the 4G LTE upgrade. You should have recently received a package in the mail with instructions and materials for returning your device for the upgrade.

Our records indicate that we have not yet received your Motorola Xoom. If you are still interested in upgrading your Motorola Xoom, this is a friendly reminder to please follow the instructions provided in your upgrade package and ship your device back for the upgrade.

If you have already shipped your device back to us, please contact us at 1-800-734-5870 and one of our support specialists will assist you with tracking and completing your order.

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HTC EVO 4G Gingerbread (2.3) Update Coming June 3

Earlier today, several different websites received anonymous tips which included scans of Sprint memos that revealed the soon-to-arrive Android Gingerbread update for the HTC EVO 4G. Starting on Friday, June 3rd, Evo 4G owners will be able to force a manual update to Gingerbread. If you're not into the manual update thing, then you can wait patiently till June 6th when Sprint will begin to roll out OTA updates to Android 2.3.

If you're of the 'why wait?' mindset (and why wouldn't you be), then forcing the manual update is mind numbingly simple. Come 6/3, simply navigate to Menu -> Settings -> System Updates -> HTC -> Software Updates -> Check Now, to force the check. Say "OK" when it asks you to install. Done.

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No Deductible Android Smartphone Insurance for $3 Per Month [Deals]

This isn't the first time we've told you about alternatives to paying an arm and a leg to insure your Android phone through your wireless provider. Verizon and AT&T both work with the same third party insurance provider, and both expect you to pay high monthly premiums and even higher deductibles in the event you do need to file a claim. The alternative insurance and/or warranty plans we've told you about in the past offer equivalent or better protection, at a lower cost, both in terms of per month price and claim deductibles. One of those alternatives, Worth Ave Group, is currently offering a seemingly too good to be true deal on their smartphone insurance. For the time being at least, through Worth Ave Group's website, you can insure a typical Android smartphone for around $3 a month and with a $0 deductible (the normal deductible is $50).

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Asus Padfone Unveiled, Tablet/Phone Combo [Photos, Video]

After a series of leaks and teases, today Asus officially unveiled the not-too-secret Asus Padfone at Computex 2011. The device is, as expected, a combination of an Android smartphone and an Android tablet. In reality, the tablet portion of the Padfone is little more than a large screen the smartphone portion docks into, although it does offer extra I/O ports and an extended battery. That said, the "brains" of the Padfone are in the smartphone, better-half of the operation.

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Google Maps Gets Updated Features on Android

The 200 million users of Google Maps on Android devices worldwide can now look forward to an update to version 5.5. The latest Google Maps brings new check in and check out functionality as well as a redesign of the transit station pages, among other tweaks. The update comes less than a month after the previous update 5.4 was released on May 4.

Users can check in directly from Place pages when using Google Latitude, and the home and work locations in the Latitude location history can now be changed. For those who like to track their own movements, statistics on time spent at home and work can be viewed. The Places page also gets a rating button that allows users to submit a review and rating for a business or location.

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HTC to Offer Unlocked Bootloaders on Android Devices

Sounds like Android smartphone maker HTC will join Motorola in offering unlocked bootloaders on its future Android devices. The change is a welcome one in the Android developer community, as it allows hardware owners to modify their devices. Many users complained to HTC about their practice of locking and encrypting bootloaders.

Amid the chorus of comments HTC offered to review its new policy, and made an official announcement regarding the policy review only a day later. HTC plans to stop the practice of locking bootloaders to allow users to install custom ROMs and perform other customizations.

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BlueStacks Will Run Android Apps on Windows Devices

Ever wish you could pop over to your Windows desktop computer and run the same apps you have on your Android smartphone? BlueStacks is working on making this a reality, and plans to release free beta software in June or July. So far the focus has been on tablets, notebooks and netbooks, however BlueStacks intends to bring Android apps to any x86-based Windows computer.

BlueStacks has been around since 2008 and recently received $7.6 million in financing from a group of investors. Once the software is installed, running Android apps is just like running any other program for the Windows user.

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Android Applications

BlueStacks

Motorola: Droid Phones to Get Android 2.3 Gingerbread Update

Motorola has confirmed those who own a recent Motorola Droid running Android 2.2 Froyo will receive an update to 2.3 Gingerbread in the coming months. Droid X, Droid 2 and Droid Pro owners are the lucky ones, assuming that Verizon Wireless approves the over-the-air updates for rollout this summer. The Droid X is first in line to receive the update and should receive the software by the end of June. The others are slated to get Gingerbread before the end of September.

Motorola Droid X Android 2.3 Gingerbread update

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Google Blocks Android Movie Rentals on Rooted Devices

Google has moved to block rooted Android devices from renting movies via Android Market. Citing copyright protection in support documents, Google explains that those with rooted phones and tablets will receive a licensing error message when trying to play a movie. The move has generated some controversy and developers are already discussing ways to circumvent Google's controls.

Only Motorola Xoom owners with Android 3.1 can currently take advantage of Google's new movie rental service. Pretty soon other tablets will get the update, then Android 2.2 and later devices will be added. Many people with rooted smartphones are in for a surprise when they attempt to download their first movie rental.

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Report: Android Beats Apple iOS in Mobile Ad Impressions

Android OS powered over half of mobile ad impressions this April according to mobile advertising firm Millenial Media. Their report shows Android taking a 10 percent gain over the month of March, totaling 53 percent of smartphone impressions. CNET explains that April marks the fifth consecutive month that Android topped the rankings.

Millenial Media MobileMix report mobile advertising

As seen in the pie graphs above from Millenial Media, 68 percent of devices receiving ad impressions were smartphones in April, with Google's Android dominating the pack. Second place in the operating system race was Apple iOS with 28 percent, while BlackBerry maker RIM followed with 16 percent.

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