Android software

HTC Ville C tipped as lower-powered, cheaper One S

Less than one day after HTC announced its Desire C for U.K. consumers, yet another "quietly brilliant" smartphone has landed on our radar.

BriefMobile obtained details of a handset with the code name of Ville C, which appears to be a cheaper, albeit lower-powered HTC One S.

Hardware details are nearly identical to the One S and include a 4.3 qHD AMOLED display, 16GB internal storage, 1GB RAM, and a 8-megapixel camera. The processor, however, is expected to be a Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon S3 instead of the 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 chipset. Though the image suggests a 1.7GHz CPU, the source advises it will be clocked at 1.2GHz. … Read more

When in Roamz, do as the locals do (exclusive)

Roamz, the "intelligent" local discovery app for iOS, has just made its way to Android, bringing its social-powered local content to a swath of new users. The Android app has the capabilities of Roamz 2.0 for iOS (released in March 2012), but of course, it's wrapped in the stylings of an Android app, with its main navigation up top.

If you're not familiar with Roamz, it pulls data from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram in order to show you what's happening in your area. This means you get to see pictures of events, check-ins … Read more

Baidu launches Android phone with eye on Windows Phone, iOS

The Google of China, Baidu, today announced a new smartphone powered by its own cloud-based platform.

Dubbed the Changhong H5018, the smartphone runs on a forked version of Android that's powered by the Baidu Cloud Smart Terminal platform. The device was manufactured by Foxconn and will be released on China Unicom's network, according to the search company.

Baidu's Cloud Smart Terminal is the company's push for mobile market share. It allows users to access its many services, including search, applications, and cloud-based services from the device without needing to head onto the Web. According to Baidu, … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S II LTE getting bite of Ice Cream Sandwich

Owners of Samsung's Galaxy S II LTE model can now expect to unwrap their Ice Cream Sandwich.

The company's Korean Samsung Tomorrow Web site (English translation) today published an upgrade guide confirming and explaining the path from Android 2.3 to Android 4.0.

Users will receive the typical update notice on their phones, according to Samsung, which also described what becomes of your data and applications after the latest version of Android is installed. The package will include the latest tweaks to Samsung's TouchWiz interface with some extra flavoring on top of Ice Cream Sandwich.

The … Read more

HBO Go coming soon to Android tablets

HBO Go, the service that provides unlimited on-demand access to everything in HBO's catalog, past and present, rocks.

Unfortunately, it's had something of a rocky start. The service is available only from select cable/satellite providers, and only on certain devices.

For example, HBO recently updated the HBO Go Android app to support devices running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). But tablet users? Outta luck.

Not for long. As PC Magazine reported last week, HBO Go for Android tablets is in the works and "coming early this summer," according to an HBO spokesperson. The updated … Read more

The quickest way to check in on Foursquare using Android or iOS

Checking in on Foursquare to unlock points, badges, or create a virtual map of a trip can sometimes feel like a chore. With Checkie (iOS download) or Simple Check-in (Android download) the check-in process takes just a few seconds and two taps on your screen. The first tap launches the app; the second completes the check-in.

After installing Checkie on your iPhone and granting the app permission to access your Foursquare account, you will see a list of nearby venues. To check in, tap on the venue name. You won't be able to add a shout, a photo, or … Read more