Android News

Needed more proof that the Blackberry Venice Android phone was real? The early leaks were convincing enough , but the device — which might be AT&T exclusive when it launches — has been leaked in a new series of photos, giving us a clear look at real hardware in the flesh. It’s running Android, which would be a first for any Blackberry device. The shots do well to show off the Venice’s hardware keyboard, which slides from beneath the phone in portrait mode. It’s a little weird to get used to seeing, but if we know anything about Blackberry we know they’ll probably make sure it doesn’t feel weird in actual use. QWERTY keyboards have become a thing of the past, so it’s refreshing to see a quality hardware vendor attempt to bring them back in what should turn out to be a high-end device. Unfortunately, we still don’t know much more about the Venice, although the shots do confirm that the camera is 16 megapixels with fast autofocus. That camera has dual-flash sitting next to it.

T-Mobile head honcho John Legere is not one to mince his words or shy away from publicity. We’ve seen him go after competitors and we’ve heard him rant about the bad practices or packages that they have been offering customers. But this time, he is going after his own subscribers. At least, those 1/100 that he says has been "stealing” network data from them by getting around the limited LTE tethered data that they offer customers. T-Mobile customers get unlimited 4G LTE plans with an option to use a fixed amount of LTE data that can be used for tethering. This is called the “Smartphone Mobile Hotspot” feature and it has no additional cost. However, if you lead your high-speed tethering limit, you won’t be cut off, but it will noticeably slow down. You can add-on LTE tethering if you still need it, but of course at an additional cost. But Legere says, there are around 3,000 users who have been using all sorts of work-arounds to hide their tether usage and in fact, get more tethe

The launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 might have you pining for a productivity device of your own, but an expensive phablet like Samsung's just isn't in the budget. Or perhaps you're too attached to your current gadget selection to make the switch. Then perhaps the AluPen Digital Stylus might offer a better alternative. For a considerably lower price, you can gain the joys and freedom of scribbling on any Android, or even an iOS, device, without having to swear fealty to some exclusive app or bind yourself to Bluetooth. The AluPen works with a single AAA battery so you can use it anywhere and everywhere. No more worries about charging (as long as you keep spares) and no more hair-pulling frustration from pairing via Bluetooth. Just twist the cap to turn it on and you're good to go. Leave it idle for 3 minutes and it will go to sleep to save on battery. The stylus may not be as pressure sensitive, but the 1.8 mm thin tip is just as precise. Plus, you can use it on

Whether it’s an evolution of smartphone use, the lack of battery life on the latest smartphones, or a combination of both, we need to charge our devices more than ever. The problem is we need an outlet nearby to juice up our device(s). That brings us to portable power banks, such as the one we have to review. Moshi was kind enough to send us an IonBank 5K with microUSB connector to review. So let’s take a look and see how it stacks up. Design Moshi always seems to have high quality products and the IonBank 5K is no different. Most power banks you see around are made entirely of plastic, which is where Moshi’s differs. The top and bottom are made of anodized aluminum, so it protects the goods very well. It has a nice texture to it and isn’t as slippery as you’d think. Honestly, it would be nice if some metal smartphones had this same texture. One area where the design of the Moshi IonBank 5K really excels at is hiding cords. Without taking out the charging cable or microUSB cable, t

Only two weeks ago the Gionee GN9007 passed through the TENAA. A new report states the upcoming smartphone will be known as the Gionee S5.1 Pro. The Gionee S5.1 Pro will feature a totally new design very unlike that of the Gionee S5.1. The smartphone will include mid-range specifications and will likely be announced in the coming months if not weeks. It will feature an ultra thin body of only 6.45mm and support 4G LTE connectivity with dual SIM capabilities. Pricing should land in the $300 -$400 range. Source: Mobipicker     Come comment on this article: Gionee GN9007 will actually be called the Gionee S5.1 Pro Visit TalkAndroid for Android news , Android guides , and much more!

Spoiler alert! A video has surfaced on the web and revealed the upcoming Sony Xperia Z5 in its full glory. Sony plans to hold its press event this Wednesday at IFA 2015. We are expecting to see multiple variants of the Z5 announced including premium and compact versions. The Sony Xperia Z5 premium will be the successor to the Xperia Z4 or Z3+ depending on where you live. The flagship will include a 5.5-inch display with a rumored 4k resolution. We’re also expecting to see a bump in the camera department up to 23MP for the rear-facing, as well as a better selfie cam. It will likely offer the same water and dust proofing capabilities and will have some serious power under the hood. We’re talking about the Snapdragon 810 SoC, the Adreno 430 GPU and either 3 or 4GB of RAM. Hopefully Sony will take care of the heating issues with the Snapdragon 810. We’ll let you know all the details as they arrive on Wednesday, but for now, check out the embed video below for a close up look at the upco

According to a recent tweet from Evan Blass, HTC’s upcoming flagship smartphone will be known as the HTC One A9 . According to recent reports, the A in A9 stands for Aero. The new flagship will likely hit the market in late 2015 or early 2016 and will likely be the first ever smartphone to be powered by a deca-core processor. The HTC One M9 rumors are beginning to heat up. We’re expecting the flagship to include a Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixels) display, a first of its kind deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 processor backed with 4GB of RAM and an improved rear-facing camera with support for RAW photography. We’re expecting the HTC One A9 to launch on AT&T and be priced between $500 – $600 off contract. We should find out more in the coming months. Source: Evan Blass (Twitter) Come comment on this article: It looks like HTC’s deca-core Aero smartphone will be known as the HTC One A9 Visit TalkAndroid for Android news , Android guides , and much more!

If a few seconds of seeing the Sony Xperia Z5 in action is enough to give you goosebumps, check out the video that accompanies this story. The Xperia Z5 and two other variations of the phone are expected to be unveiled at a media event being held by Sony on Wednesday. One of the models, the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, will allegedly feature a 5.5-inch, 4K resolution screen with a pixel density in the range of 801ppi to 805ppi.  All three models will have a new 23MP rear camera and a fingerprint scanner. The latter will be located along the right side of the phones, which forced Sony to ...

Android Auto probably is one of my favorite advancements of the past year. The idea of having an car stereo that doesn't make me want to let the car gently make its way over the cliffs of Escambia Bay on the way home is, indeed, a very good thing. A user interface that doesn't suck. The best mapping in the business. Access to all of my music. Voice commands. Podcasts. We've been going through all of the apps that are available for Android Auto, and so far it's (mostly) good. But there's one issue — aside from weird connection issues some folks in our forums have been experiencing — that still has me scratching my head. It's a safety feature, actually — and one that may well do more harm than good.

Last week we asked about who went out and bought one of Samsung's new Galaxy Note 5 or Galaxy S6 edge+ phones, and which one they picked up. As expected, the Note 5 wins this one. The Galaxy Note 5 received more than double the amount of votes in our unscientific poll compared to the S6 edge+ . Everyone saw this coming. Even with availability in Europe a puzzling unknown (they gotta eventually sell it to the EU's millions and millions of Android consumers, right?) Samsung and seemingly everyone else has pushed the Note 5 as the premier Galaxy phone of 2015. Insert anecdotes about backwards pens, removable batteries and SD cards here. Of course, the requisite "No. Not buying" column gathered the most votes of any single choice with 42 percent. I have to include an option for the people not interested to have a voice, too. But still — this means 58 percent of the people voting grabbed one or the other. Naturally, this doesn't count the hundreds of millions

Specs of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Grand On and Galaxy Mega On were recently leaked. Those are still Galaxy devices so don't ask what's that 'On' at the end of the names. We're not even sure if that's an On, an O7, or simply an O but whatever it is, we know another pair of Galaxy devices are being prepped by Samsung. A recent AnTuTu benchmark result was leaked, showing us specs and features of a Galaxy O smartphone (model SM-G6000) including Android 5.1.1, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, Adreno 306, 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, 13MP rear camera, and a 5MP front-facing cam. These information seem to be almost the same with the specs we learned yesterday. Nothing on the display size but it's believed to be a 5.5-incher (Mega On) and the Grand On a bit smaller with 5-inches. We don't usually question Samsung's naming skills but a Galaxy + word + On combinations seems weird. But then again, it may not really be an "On"---it cou

Google’s OnHub smart router is hitting the store shelves tomorrow, August 31st, so the Search Giant is getting you equipped with the necessary tools to be ready for some advanced internet usage. Thankfully, you don’t need much. You can operate every aspect of the OnHub from the official Google On app, and it has just become available from the Google Play Store. If you missed out on the Google OnHub news , it’s a router made by the Mountain View giant. It’s not cheap at $199.99, but it promises features that you won’t get with your usual WiFi hubs. Aside from looking gorgeous, this router benefits from automatic updates (without disconnection). The device also scans for congested wireless channels and switches to the best performing one. In addition, the owner can prioritize certain devices, run network tests, easily change/share the WiFi password and more. Here’s what you can do with the Google On app: • Set up your OnHub in just a few minutes • Learn how to improve your Wi-Fi

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There’s been a flurry of  Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) leaks lately, including several photos that show the device out and about. Now another leaked image has surfaced that shows the new Moto 360 in official-looking press images. The two devices show look similar the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) models that we’ve leak lately, complete with exposed watch band lugs and a button that’s slid up a bit to the two o’clock position. We’re also seeing two different case colors and two different band materials. . @RDR0b11 Mine too http://pic.twitter.com/ODeN2ou72Y — Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 30, 2015 That’s about all of the information that can be gleaned from this leak. However, past reports have suggested that the new Moto 360 will be sold in two sizes — a small and a large — which could make the new 360 attractive to folks who found the original model too large. Spec details for the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) are still up in the air, but a recent report suggested that Motorola will unveil a new Android W

The Sony Xperia Z5 family might just win the “Most Leaked Device Of The Year” award for 2015. Following weeks of leaks, a new video from a French tech website shows the Xperia Z5 from every conceivable angle. Unfortunately, my French stopped at “Parlez-vous français” – do you speak French- so at present we have not been able to translate [Read More...] The post Sony Xperia Z5 shown off in 3-minute Video appeared first on Ausdroid .

If you’ve been reading Ausdroid for a while, you know that we try to cover the news from most brands, though we do pay a bit more attention to some more than others. That’s probably not all that surprising. However, its important to peg that coverage against what our readers actually want to see. In the past, we’ve tried to measure this [Read More...] The post Poll: Tell Ausdroid which brands, carriers and topics you want to read more about appeared first on Ausdroid .

For many developers, the allure of creating a hit application and raking in lots of money is enough to justify long hours and months, if not years, of thankless work spent hunched over a computer and tinkering with code. And while some developers may not be interested in being bought out by a larger corporation (read: Mark Zuckerberg), for others, the money, which can be life-changing, is simply too good to pass up. While one might easily assume that developers who cash out for untold millions are just as happy living the good life as they are coding away at a 9-5, that's not always the case. Continue reading...

Investments have always had an air of old-school money to them, they inspire images of old men in wood panelled rooms sipping scotch, smoking cigars and making backroom deals. While that’s nothing really like what goes on, it’s an image that stops a lot of people entering into investing their money, but a new Australian startup called First Step wants [Read More...] The post Australian startup FirstStep wants to bring micro-investments to the masses appeared first on Ausdroid .

The Moto 360 design made this smart watch one of the most popular first-generation Android Wear devices around, so it’s only natural that so many of us are looking forward to seeing its successor. Don’t you worry, the new Moto 360 should be announced next week, during IFA, but we are already getting a good look at the product thanks to beloved ex-leakster @evleaks. He was actually quite smooth this time around. Evan Blass leaked the image in the form of a response to tech blogger David Ruddock, who was talking about boarding Delta flights using his Android Wear device. . @RDR0b11 Mine too http://pic.twitter.com/ODeN2ou72Y — Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 30, 2015 Pretty sneaky! The device shows up in 2 colors and displays some aesthetics changes. For starters, the button has been positioned higher. Looking around the image we can also see the watch has a much more classic design, making it even better looking than the original Moto 360. There’s nothing exactly new here, as we h