Android owners are the least ready for mobile security threats, according to a new Gadgetology survey from Retrevo.

Some 39% say they haven’t taken any precautions to avoid someone from misusing information on their cell phone if it were lost or stolen. That compares to 30% of BlackBerry owners and 26% of iPhone owners who say the very same:

Much more than six in ten BlackBerry owners (62%) and iPhone owners (61%) say their mobile phones are protected via password, compared with 49% of Android owners who say the identical. A lot more than one-third of on the web adults (36%) say they have dropped their mobile telephone in a toilet or know a person who has accomplished so.

Geographic study from mobile ad network Jumptap shows California, Texas and Florida skew toward Android, although New England and Midwest states, including Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, swing toward iOS. Jumptap’s U.S. mobile map also shows that BlackBerry is dominant in a handful of states, including New York.

dailywireless.org

Here is something interesting: T-Mobile is providing a special offer through their Customer Loyalty reps in order to prevent the loss of subscribers ticked off by Motorola’s abandoning of Android 2.1 for the CLIQ XT. The leaked document obtained by TMoNews calls the offer confidential and doesn’t provide any details on what it might be.

Our best guess is an early or discounted upgrade to an Android 2.1 device, but it really could be just about anything. If you are a CLIQ XT owner and get in touch with one of these Customer Loyalty reps, let us know what the deal (both literally and figuratively) is.

[via TMoNews]

View full post on Android Phone Fans

Samsung and T-Mobile seem to be on a roll lately. After making false promises for months of an update to Froyo, then finally releasing it only to find out that you have to use Samsung Kies mini to install the update, it turns out even Mac users still can’t update their devices without finding a Windows based PC. Now there are oodles of bugs that are plaguing the poor Vibrant owners that have managed to get updated. It has been a rough few weeks for the two companies.

A few of the bugs that are now being reported by Vibrant owners are as follows:

- Email notification notification sound disappearing on stock mail app
– Random vibrating
– MMS issues
– Apps mysteriously disappearing
– Wifi calling dropping calls randomly

What is so increasingly stressful about all these issues arising is the fact that they advised the delay in the update was for stability issues. Sounds to me like they never fixed them. Some of the issues and other questions are being addressed on the T-Mobile forums. If you are having any of the aforementioned issues or others, the forum is a good place to start. Otherwise I would, like I have in the past, recommend you give up on OEM and carrier updates and just root your phone. You will be so much happier.

Source: Thedroidguy

View full post on AndroidSPIN

Galaxy S owners are all eagerly awaiting the Froyo update, and T-Mobile said they would be rolling the update out to their customers. However, a post in the T-Mobile forums indicates that this update won’t be going out over-the-air after all, but instead will be available by download via the Mini Kies tool. At this point, this is the only option for Vibrant owners wanting to update to Froyo, and they’re saying that the update won’t be OTA at any point down the road. That’s not to say that a later update might not be sent out that will include Froyo, but don’t expect to see KA6 being pushed out to your device.

T-Mobile and Samsung Offer Froyo Update KA6 to Vibrant Owners via Mini Kies

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

If you rock a Samsung Captivate and happen to reside in Mr. Rogers neighborhood up in Canada, then you might want to have a mid-week celebration, ey?  Following the trend of the other Galaxy phones from Samsung and Rogers, the Captivate is getting it’s 2.2 rollout and is ripe for the pickings now.  All you have to do is update via  the Kies application on your PC.  Not sure what that is?  No problem…Rogers has a nice and easy PDF that will walk you through the process!  So what are you waiting for?  Slap on a warm jacket and get a crackin’!

Rogers Canada rolls out Froyo to Samsung Captivate owners

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

HTC and T-Mobile had committed to Android 2.2 for the original MyTouch 3G before – and those users have indeed received the update – but the 3.5mm headphone jack and the limited edition Fender versions didn’t receive the same love. Whatever the cause was for exclusion, those users – if they hadn’t already rooted or upgrade to a different phone – can now enjoy Froyo just as much as everyone else is. We aren’t confident that all of Froyo’s features – such as the updated Gallery, the Flash plugin, and live wallpapers – will be enabled due to hardware limitations, but the rest of the core functionality is still highly desirable, I’d imagine. Here’s a more complete list of what to expect, courtesy of TmoNews. [T-Mobile Forums]

1. New Fully Integrated Exchange Client

• Exchange calendars: Exchange calendars are now supported in the Calendar application.
• Auto-discovery: With just a user name and password users can easily set up and/or sync an Exchange account (available for Exchange 2007 and higher).
• Global Address Lists look-up: This functionality is now available in the E-mail application, enabling users to auto-complete recipient names from an entire directory.
• Improved security: Numeric pin and alpha-numeric password options have been added to unlock the device. Exchange administrators can enforce password policy across devices.
• Remote wipe: In the event a device is lost or stolen, Exchange administrators can remotely reset the device to factory defaults to secure data.

2. Faves Gallery

• Faves Gallery gives customers quick access to the 20 people who matter most.
• Scroll through your Faves Gallery, and instantly see the most recent communication from your top 20 Faves – calls, texts, emails, instant messaging, and social networking updates. Respond in a flash!

3.  New Home Screen Features

• Home screen Tips widget provides tips on how to configure the home screen with shortcuts and widgets and how to make use of multiple home screens.
• Market widget lets you keep on top what’s hot on Android Market, showing featured apps right on the home screen.
• Phone, All Apps and Browser now have dedicated shortcuts on the home screen, making it easy to access them from any of the five home screen panels.

4. Gmail app enhancements:

• Include quoted text from the body of an e-mail message
• Navigate quickly using on-screen previous/next buttons
• Identify e-mails using colored labels
• See inline images in messages

Other: Improvements to the camera and camcorder, ability to add multiple languages to the keyboard, enhancements to Google Maps, YouTube app, Facebook app, and Twitter app.

Note: To recieve the OTA update, you will need to have an active Android data plan on your account.

View full post on Android Phone Fans

Samsung Galaxy S owners in the US are still waiting for their promised upgrade to Froyo regardless of what carrier they are with. Samsung however, states they are still testing out a quick upgrade for all Galaxy S owners, due to the complexity of Android 2.2 versus Android 2.1, this has taken some time and patience.

After the upgrade was released in Canada, then pulled back due to bad complaints from users, Samsung wants to ensure things go better in the US. Thanks Canada for being the live testing ground. Bad Samsung.

via @samsungtweets

Froyo update still coming for all Galaxy S owners in US

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

Enomthers G2 ROM Manup Themed

If there has ever been on ROM I’ve always gone back to no matter what ROM’s I’ve tried, it’s always been Enomthers TheOfficial series.  First it was the T-Mobile G1 and then the Google Nexus One, and now all you lucky owners of the T-Mobile G2 get to sample his awesome work.

For thos of you who don’t know the Enomther ROMs, they are one of the first ROMs that featured it’s own built in kitchen allowing numerous configuration possibilites using very simple options in Enomthers Spare Parts application.  From changing out the Kernal to installing HTC applications like the camera application and lots lots more.

His initial release for the T-Mobile G2 will not feature the HTC Camera applications as he is still working on that aspect of the ROM but all the other options, tweaks and wizardry are included.  The release is almost identical to the Google Nexus One release as listed below with a few exceptions listed underneath this list:

TheOfficial Nexus1 Features:

- TheOfficial 2.6.32.25-msm kernel
— Stable
— compiled w/gcc-4.4.0
— compcache/linuxswap
— NetFilter – iptables/tethering support (wired/usb & wireless)
— ext2/3/4, cifs, fuse
— squash, misc-other-fs support
— ipv6 support
— tun and ipsec support
— Optional 720p camera support w/HTCCamera

- De-ODEX’d apk/framework (for theme-ing and other alterations)

- Built-in CPU/Memory/SWAP controls (configure in SpareParts, can be disabled completely to use setCPU or another)

- automatic ext2/3/4 filesystem checking and mounting on startup
— Apps2SD supported, but not on by default … use SpareParts app to set it up.

- optional dalvik-cache to /cache – use SpareParts

- custom userinit.sh startup execution (if /data/local/userinit.sh exists)

- 360 degree rotation (optional)

– Full LED/Trackball controls (All optional in SpareParts) * No included in G2
— Trackball Wake
— Trackball Unlock
— LED Color control of built-in notification apps
— LED Color control of user-installed apps (automatically populated into SpareParts)
— LED Color Succession
— LED Color BlinkRate

- SurfaceFlinger Rendering Effects by jstarkley

- FLAC audio support (kroot/cyanogen)

- wmv/wma – video/audio support

- clean reboot/shutdown services

- updated apn-list

- dns/resolv.conf

- included binaries
— linked up busybox
— telnetd
— nano
— dropbear
— flash_image
— extXfs tools
— iptables
— htop
— powertop
— bash
— various others

- included apps
— (*most built-in apps can be safely removed via SpareParts*)
— GoogleApps
— Modded SpareParts (use this to setup most features on TheOfficial)
— CyTown’s Phone MOD (optional)
— Wysie’s Browser MOD (FullScreen/Hidezoom Button options)
— Wysie’s WyContacts (optional)
— International character AOSP Keyboard (optional)
— Development App from AOSP
— FM Radio (from MIUI/CMMod)  * No included in G2
— IM App (aim/msn/yahoo – only works on TMO)
— su/Superuser (ChainsDD’s)
— Optional HTC Apps
—— HTC IME (this is jonasl’s v27-froyo-unthemed)
—— HTC CIME
—— HTC Camera w/720p support * No included in G2
—— HTC Album
—— HTC Music
—— HTC Flashlight
—— HTC Teeter (game)

- included scripts
— rwsystem/rosystem (to mount readonly/readwrite /system)
— recboot (to reboot into recovery quickly)

Differences from TheOfficial Nexus1 release:

- No LED Color options
– No HTCCamera for now (I actually ported this, but it had lighting issues, will port the DesireZ cam in a future build *hopefully*)
– No FMRadio
– Kernel is 2.6.32.26 (*mostly* *sheesh*  )
– Additional Built-in app removal options in Spareparts pertaining specifically to this build
– Pershoot’s modded light sensor 
— All other options/components made it over from the Nexus1 build, unless I’m forgetting some (which is very possible!) – will update as they come to light

You can always find Enomthers latest and greatest releases on his developer homepage over on the communityrelease site and follow Enomther on twitter.

Don’t forget that you can always find the latest Rom releases for you device by following comunityrelease on twitter.

Once you’ve given this release a blast on your shiny new T-Mobile G2, be sure to give us your feedback on his progress in the comments below:

View full post on AndroidSPIN

The Samsung Galaxy S is an extremely popular device to say the least, and our friends north of the border who own one can rest easy knowing that they will soon be getting an update to Android 2.2. Samsung has posted on their Facebook page that customers with Bell, Rogers and TELUS can expect the update beginning in December:

“We’d like to acknowledge the tremendous interest in the Froyo (Android 2.2) upgrade for Galaxy S series smartphones in Canada. We are working diligently to provide a tested and secure upgrade experience in Canada. Android 2.2 will be released for Vibrant from Bell and Captivate from Rogers in mid-December, and for the Fascinate from TELUS in early 2011. We’ll post further details as they become available.”

Bell and Rogers customers will be getting their serving of Froyo first, with TELUS customers getting in on the action in early 2011. Fear not my Canadian brothers, help is on the way!

Canadian Galaxy S owners getting Android 2.2 beginning in December

View full post on Android News, Rumours, and Updates

When CherryPal unveiled their low-cost yet potentially not half bad CherryPad for the cost of $188 back in September, you can imagine quite a few people jumped in on the pre-order with the promise their new tablet would ship out right around October 15th. Fast forward to the last week of October and those who bought in are left with unfulfilled orders. One would-be owner is reporting he didn’t even receive a tracking number until October 20th, and that number was dubious at best. Apparently he wasn’t alone.

The group handling the online sales of the CherryPad, Zecozi, sent out an email to customers today in a bit of a move to save face. They wanted to make it clear that while they handled the money, they are not responsible for shipping out the new tablets. That duty falls squarely on Cherrypal, a company that doesn’t seem to be delivering.

One of two things could be going on here: Cherrypal just scammed a bunch of people out of a quick $188, or the company is incredibly poor at public relations, demand for the tablet was higher than expected, and production delays are responsible for the lack of shipments. Not sure which one is more likely. Anyone out there order and recieve (or not receive) the CherryPad?

[via CrunchGear]

View full post on Android Phone Fans

Last month, T-Mobile UK told everyone that the upgrade to Android 2.2 would be available sometime in September. There were no further details to be had, but it’s September and T-Mobile’s got some good news for their customers: the upgrade is in Google’s hands now waiting to be approved. We’re not sure how long it’ll take to get this process rolling, but it usually isn’t more than a couple of weeks from submission for approval to a full-scale rollout. Sit tight, guys.

[via EuroDroid]

If you have a rooted phone, or even a small interest in any kind of Android development and hacking, chances are that you have heard of CyanogenMod. It’s a custom ROM for rooted phones, and the latest (Froyo based) CM6 RC3 is now available for download on your Nexus One.

Feel free to download it at the source link below, and – as always – we take no resposibility if your device becomes a glorified paperweight, so backup first!

CyanogenMod 6 RC3 now available for Nexus One owners

View full post on Google Android News Android Forums

Fear not, LG Ally users: just because your device isn’t Verizon’s favorite doesn’t spell doom for your hopes on it receiving Android 2.2. To date, this is LG’s only major Android handset in the United States (if you’re speaking relatively) so it makes sense that they’d want to make a good first impression on us with plans to bring the latest iteration of Android to their users.

Unfortunately, that’s all there is to report because we haven’t been given a date or timeframe as to when we can expect them to push the update live. Depending on who you are, I guess it’s better than being promised a date only to see LG not deliver (and let’s not hope you’re being promised an upgrade only to learn that you won’t be seeing it at all like our Behold II faithful).

[via PhoneDog]

View full post on Android Phone Fans

We have some great news for EVO 4G owners tonight! That news is that Froyo will begin rolling out to you beginning August 3rd, 2010. Soon, all of you will be able to experience the Froyo goodness I have known for quite sometime.   I should also mention that this is official, not a stupid rumor.  See the press release below!

Sprint is the first wireless carrier to bring Android 2.2 to customers using the award-winning HTC EVO™ 4G beginning Tuesday, Aug. 3

Android 2.2 offers HTC EVO 4G feature enhancements including Bluetooth® voice dialing, built-in Flash, the ability to store apps to the memory card and much, much more

The award-winning HTC EVO 4G just got that much better. We are excited to announce that beginning the week of Aug. 1; Sprint will begin rolling out the Android 2.2 upgrade to its HTC EVO 4G customers.

Sprint will be the first wireless carrier to bring1 the latest version of Android to its customers. The Android 2.2 software release provides a significant number of feature enhancements, including:
• Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth.
• Application Storage on External Memory, giving users more storage room for all their apps.
• Camera 4-way rotation allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.
• Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support improving the user’s ability to view videos and available content associated with web pages.

“Sprint is thrilled with our customers’ response to HTC EVO 4G and the innovative and exciting experience it offers,” said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development for Sprint. “It is exciting for us to lead the industry in bringing the Android 2.2 update to these customers and improve on the amazing experience they receive with America’s first 4G capable phone.”

Easy Downloading

Sprint will begin sending update notifications to users in waves beginning Tuesday, Aug. 3 and the upgrade should be available for all HTC EVO 4G users by the middle of August.

The notification will let the users know that the update is available and it will provide the simple two-step over-the-air download process.

1. Users will receive a notification that Android 2.2 is available for download.
2. Once the user has downloaded the update, they will be prompted to install the update. The user will be notified that their device will be disabled during the installation process. The phone will be ready to use once the process completes.

For those who just can’t wait to get Android 2.2, there will be an easy user initiated option to download the upgrade. Customers can access the software update through their HTC EVO 4G under the Settings Menu System Updates HTC Software Update. This will initiate the three-step process also.

That’s right folks, all of you who hate waiting for an OTA update will be able to manually search for the system upgrade.  This is great news for all! Thank you Sprint! More on this as it develops.

Source: Gizmodo

NOTE: Sprint to Begin Rolling Out Android 2.2 to HTC EVO 4G Owners on August 3rd originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

You May Also Enjoy…

• June 25, 2010 — Sprint Expects to Launch Android 2.2 “In the Near Future” (10)
• July 29, 2010 — Galaxy S Does Froyo and Micro-USB to HDMI (1)
• July 27, 2010 — Site that Collects and Distributes “Official Samsung Firmware” Promises Froyo Firmware ROM for Galaxy S Tomorrow (5)

View full post on AndroidGuys

T-Mobile is searching for 1000 guinea pigs upon which to unleash an in-testing update for the Motorola Cliq XT. The new update is in no way, shape, or form Android 2.1, but it promises to fix a handful of bugs and add some improvements to the Cliq XT experience. Users can expect better overall phone performance and stability, better bluetooth connectivity, and an updated Swype keyboard. You can see the full details below.

To try your hand at getting signed up for the beta head over to the T-Mobile forums and subscribe to this thread. Here is the official word:

Good news for our loyal CLIQ XT™ Community!
We are recruiting 1,000 customers to test and provide feedback on the next software update for the Motorola CLIQ XT™, before it is officially released to all customers. If you are interested, please Subscribe to this thread, as we will be posting updates throughout the day. The first update we make will be how and when you can take part in this exclusive trial!
For information on enhancements included in the update, please visit: http://cot.ag/9SNT73.
Note: This is not the Android 2.1 upgrade

[via TMoNews]

View full post on Android Phone Fans

When Google said Nexus One users should expect an update for Android 2.2 within the coming weeks, we didn’t think they’d get started so soon. MG Siegler from TechCrunch is reporting that his phone was pinged late last night to download an update OTA.

After receiving his late night snack, Siegler wondered if anyone else was receiving the OTA: he was only able to track down a few reports of others able to grap the update. Wondering if this was a mistake, he contacted Google to check in on the status of others receiving Froyo. They confirmed to him that this was the beginning of the official rollout, but it’ll be a slow and staggered process which will eventually be finished over the next few weeks.

Great news for you Nexus One owners who probably weren’t expecting to see Froyo out for at least another couple of weeks. Now we just need HTC to give us a more definitive timeline for Froyo on their other Sense-enabled devices.

View full post on Android Phone Fans

Nokia owners can use own voice for navigation
Nokia has unveiled a free app that allows mobile phone owners to personalise turn-by-turn navigation with their own voice.

Read more on Network World

The tax man cometh, but for a good reason. Android Central has some reports of people getting emails from Google stating they were overcharged on the tax on their Nexus purchase. Here’s the email:

Hello,

We’re writing in regards to your recent Nexus One purchase. There was an issue with the way the sales tax was applied to your order. When your order was placed, you paid taxes on the full retail price of the phone. However, you should have only been charged taxes on the sales price of the phone. We apologize for this issue and wanted to let you know that Google will issue a partial refund for the difference in the amount of taxes you were charged.

The refund will be issued to the debit/credit card used to complete the original purchase. To verify which card will receive the refund, please sign in to your Google Checkout account at https://checkout.google.com and click ‘View order’. The payment information for the order will be listed at the bottom of the order receipt.

If the debit/credit card used to complete your purchase has been closed, your card-issuing bank should forward these funds to your new account or mail a check to you for the amount of the refund.

If you have any questions about the refund, or if you need further assistance, please reply to this email and we’ll be happy to help.

Sincerely,

The Nexus One Team

Want to find out if you’re due a refund? Check your state sales tax here, then break out the calculator and compare the amount you came up with to what you paid.

[Source AndroidCentral]

View full post on AndroidSPIN | Your No.1 source for Android news.

Hackers are targeting iPad users with bogus update messages that dupe them into downloading malicious code onto their Windows PCs, a security researcher says.

View full post on Macworld

If any Android handset is the most snubbed when it comes to receiving OS updates, it would have the be the HTC Hero. The Hero was released a year ago and still runs Android 1.5, even after promises of 1.6, 2.0, and now 2.1 have been delayed and then delayed again. HTC isn’t throwing bananas at their customers like AT&T, and is instead issuing an apology for the long wait.

Tech Radar has the following quote from HTC:

The integration of Eclair on the HTC Hero took longer to develop than anticipated and we apologise for this delay.

We are committed to meeting our customers’ demand for this update.

Do you think they’ll get it out before 2.2 hits? I’m sure the mere suggestion might get Hero owners a bit nervous, but HTC wants to be sincere in their effort, so let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and cross our fingers that the update will be coming to a Hero near you sometime soon.

View full post on Android Phone Fans

Nokia E71 and E66 owners get free Ovi Maps navigation
Nokia’s new Ovi Maps software just made its way to the venerable E71 and E66 business handsets. While Nokia was constrained from offering its premium nav services like Guide Michelin and Lonely Planet on these legacy S60 3.1 handsets, owners are nevertheless being treated to free walk and drive navigation with turn-by-turn guidance. So really, you can’t complain… unless of course you picked up …

Read more on Engadget

I’ve been a bit remiss in mentioning software and services other than what I have been discovering on my own Nokia N900 so I wanted to let you know about updates to two applications I have used quite a bit in the past. Both fring and Truphone have new versions for Nokia owners.

fring

Back in November fring announced support for Skype video calling on selected Nokia devices. The supported devices included the Nokia X6, N97 mini, N97, 5800, N95, N95 8G and N82 phones. I installed it and tested it out on the N97 mini with Mickey Papillon during the Smartphone Round Robin event and was very impressed with the quality of the video and ease of functionality.

Yesterday fringe announced support for the Nokia E72 and E75 (and other Symbian 9.3 devices). Now many Nokia users can make video calls via fringe or Skype right from their smartphones.

fringe also stated that all Nokia fring users should update to the newest version that includes quality improvements, bug fixes, and improved connectivity.

Truphone

Truphone 5.0 was also just released with support for the Nokia E52, E55, E72, E75, and N86. I started using Truphone a few years ago on Nokia devices and that is the platform they started with so it is good to see the application still being updated for Nokia devices.

Truphone lets you do the following with your device:

• Free Wi-Fi calls to other Truphone users
• Low-cost calls over Wi-Fi
• Low-cost international calls without Wi-Fi
• Fantastic call quality
• Low-cost international SMS (selected devices only)
• Free incoming phone number for UK & US customers

Truphone is available for free on 32 different Nokia handsets. You can also find Truphone for the iPhone/iPod touch and Android devices.

View full post on Nokia Experts