The Motorola MT716 Could Have Been the Droid of Your Dreams

The Motorola MT716 Could Have Been the Droid of Your Dreams: "

Nice, chunky, hard-lettered keyboard. Check. D-Pad on the left (prefect for gaming). Check. That’s the keyboard on the lower half of the Motorola MT716, a phone that could have easily been the Motorola Droid and then some. The phone landing on China Mobile carries the same keyboard as the one found on the Cliq in a package that boasts some decent specs to boot. 8MP camera with LED flash and 720p video recording, VGA front-facing camera, TV streaming, and an 480×854 resolution LCD. It only lacks in its 600MHz processor. Is this the Droid you dreamt of or a pale imitation?

[via Engadget]

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Skype for Android no longer just for Verizon devices, available in Android Market

Skype for Android no longer just for Verizon devices, available in Android Market: "

Remember awhile back, when you were pouting and pushing out your bottom lip because Skype for Android was only available for Verizon phones? Well pull that lip in, son, or a bird will make a nest on it. (What, your parents never told you that?) Skype is now available in the Android Market for any Android device running Android 2.1 or higher. While it currently works only over wifi here in the states, we won’t complain too much. We’re talking free Skype chat, free Skype to Skype calls, and cheap international calls as well.

Want to check it out for yourself? Of course you do! So be sure to click the application link below to be taken to the page to download and rate Skype’s newly carrier-free baby, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below!

Rate & Download Skype for Android

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Visit TalkAndroid for android news, android guides, and much more!

Skype for Android no longer just for Verizon devices, available in Android Market

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Fring lets Androids share thoughts for only a penny

Fring lets Androids share thoughts for only a penny: "

Fring thinks it’s time that Android users dump those overpriced calling cards – and that other “PC Calling Company” that charges more for its services.

The VoIP calling service from Fring called fringOut costs only 1 cent per minute. That penny will enable anyone to call a landline or mobile phone, over 3G or WiFi, without using up any of his or her monthly minutes. In comparison to Skype PC calling users are able only to use it on Wi-Fi in the United States, use monthly minutes, and pay a surcharge or connection fee.

Using the service requires users to download the latest version of Fring. The company promises that “you can continue to enjoy completely FREE video calls, calls, live chat and more to fellow fringsters and other internet friends. And, yeah, you can also choose to call with SIP.” The paid fringOut service will likely appeal to people looking for an easier way to make cheap international calls to non-Fringsters.

Skype has built a much larger brand and finally has released its Android app to non-Verizon users, so it has an obvious advantage over Fring. But penny-a-minute calls gives the little guy a fighting chance among users who vote with their wallets.

[Fring] Thanks, Gunnar

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Apps2sd Pro

Apps2sd Pro: "

Apps2sd is a tool for moving apps between phone storage and sdcard, to help you install more apps. Features contains: List movable apps; Sort apps; Move between internal and external storage; Show phone total/available size, sdcard total/available size.

Note: Only For FROYO Users!

Price: Free

AndroidTapp.com Android App Review:

Pros & Cons:

Pros

• Filter which installed Android apps are eligible to move to SD card
• Easily move eligible Android apps to SD Card individually or in bulk

Cons

• Shows some apps which cannot be moved to SD Card (for non-rooted user)

Features:

Apps2sd Pro is a convenient app that filters through all your installed Android apps are eligible to be moved to SD card, thus saving space on internal memory storage on space hungry Android phones. It’s basically a quick filter to point you directly to the “Move to SD Card” screen for a particular app under Applications in the phone Settings menu. The app shows you what eligible apps are installed on your phone, then another tab of what apps are installed to SD Card already, there’s sorting features, total and available internal storage and SD card space, plus features to install all apps to SD Card in bulk.

Please Note: we keep mentioning eligible apps as the developers of these Android apps must declare their app with the capability to install to SD card. Also, this is only a feature of Android 2.2+ (Froyo).

Usefulness:

True iPhones don’t have this internal storage space issue, but for now… Android does. Many of the newer Android phones like Samsung Galaxy S phones, DROID 2, and DROID X are coming with 8GB+ insternal memory storage plus external SD card, but previous Android phones were plagued by low space issues; thus the need for an app like this to free up some space.

Ease of Use:

Simply launch the app and it automatically filters what apps can be moved to SD card, which are already moved, plus calculates total space available and free on both internal memory and SD Card. It’s basically a matter of you selecting individually or all apps to move over. If needed apps can be moved back to the phone too.

Frequently Used:

I foresee this app being used now by consumers of Android phones sold in 2010 and earlier, however, newer phones with more robust internal memory storage won’t be plagued by low space issues.

AndroidTapp.com Rating

(4.3 out of 5)

Should you Download Apps2sd Pro? Have Android 2.2 (Froyo) and need some space for more Android Apps… Then grab Apps2sd Pro!

This content was originally posted at AndroidTapp.com

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OpenFeint Unleashing 12 New Android Games Into The Android Market

OpenFeint Unleashing 12 New Android Games Into The Android Market: "

We just got word that the cross-platform social gaming network OpenFeint will be releasing the second round of games and delivering the best gaming experience Android has to offer. With their first few games taking the market by storm when they were released, this bodes very well for OpenFeint and the Android gaming community in general. OpenFeint has added a whole new level to cell phone gaming by adding achievements and leaderboards so you can show the world just how well you can fly those planes and slice that fruit.

Just to be clear,...

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Steve Ballmer says that Android isn’t free

Steve Ballmer says that Android isn’t free: "

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is well known for making some crazy statements and acting more than a bit strange on stage during speeches. Ballmer is now claiming that Android really isn’t free. Google lets handset makers use Android without licensing fees rather than the large fees Microsoft charges to license Windows Phone 7 software to makers.

There is some truth to Ballmer’s words. Microsoft recently filed suit against HTC over patents going after the handset makers rather than going directly after Google. We can also expect Microsoft to go after more handset makers that use Android in the future.

In fact, Microsoft went after Motorola last week for the same reasons it sued HTC. Ballmer told the WSJ, “Android has a patent fee. It’s not like Android’s free. You do have to license patents. HTC’s signed a license with us and you’re going to see license fees clearly for Android as well as for Windows.”

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Google's Android Bootcamp at Droidcon

Google's Android Bootcamp at Droidcon: "

The Android platform has been lucky to have Google's active driving force in both software contributions and evangelism. As the key contributing member in our community their presence is important within Droidcon's celebrations and networking. Google staff will be holding a set of Android bootcamp developer sessions along side our other scheduled activities.

In keeping with the open source community spirit of the Thursday sessions, the bootcamp is intended as democratic participatory event. You’ll have an opportunity to vote on the proposed ideas. So depending on the audience, the talk outlines will change. All that is guaranteed is that there will be two ad-hoc sessions on Thursday 28th October delivered by Googlers. There could be an beginners session in the morning covering some SDK and framework fundamentals leading up to an afternoon session's more advanced talks. Or if there is a warranted level of experience there may just be two advanced sessions. The content will completely depend on the audience, so make sure and contribute your ideas on the day!

Friday Conference talks by Googlers at droidcon:

• Reto Meier: Turning good ideas into great apps

• Roman Nurik: Excellence in the Android User Experience

Join us at Droidcon

Tickets are available through droidcon.co.uk/register

Follow our future updates: @droidconuk

Use the #droidcon hash tag to let people you are attending!

Helps us make sure that the kind of people attending will be the same people who are keeping the eco system moving by displaying this badge on your site:

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HTC Desire HD unlocked sales delayed until late-October

HTC Desire HD unlocked sales delayed until late-October: "

The HTC Desire HD launch has apparently been delayed, with Google testing holding up the 4.3-inch Android 2.2 smartphone. According to retailer Clove, the delay will push the release of the Desire HD back to late October 2010, and will affect not only them but all online retailers and resellers.

It’s unclear whether the testing delay will also affect carrier supplies of the Desire HD; we’re waiting for an official comment from HTC. For more on the smartphone itself, check out our hands-on.

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T-Mobile Spreading HSPA+ Love

T-Mobile Spreading HSPA+ Love: "

T-Mobile plans on covering more area with its current HSPA network. This should come as great news for those who currently own Android devices supporting HSPA+.

T-Mobile hopes to cover over 100 metro areas containing 200 million people.

Some cities to be covered with HSPA+ include;

• Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss.


• Denver, Colo.


• Huntsville, Ala.


• Knoxville, Tenn.


• Myrtle Beach, S.C.


• Norfolk, Va.


• Omaha, Neb.


• Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.


• Salt Lake City, Utah


• San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Sacramento, Calif.


• West Palm Beach, Fla.

[thanks to everyone that sent this in!]

Visit TalkAndroid for android news, android guides, and much more!

T-Mobile Spreading HSPA+ Love

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StumbleUpon app stumbles its way to your Android phone

StumbleUpon app stumbles its way to your Android phone: "

Recently, StumbleUpon landed on Android and it’s been one of the best time-killer apps for finding new and interesting sites. If you arn’t familiar with StumbleUpon, it’s a web site discovery engine – much like Pandora, but for the internet at large instead of music. Basically, you create an account and set your interests (they have over 500 topics). StumbleUpon will use this criteria to show you random sites that are rated highly by other like-minded users who share your same passion and interests. Read More…

Visit TalkAndroid for android news, android guides, and much more!

StumbleUpon app stumbles its way to your Android phone

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