It's that time of year, again, folks. We're live from the spring CTIA event in Las Vegas, where the mobile industry comes together to show off the nuts and bolts that makes all this stuff work.
We'll also get a little consumer-friendly fare, so stick around for that as well.
So sit back, relax. Re-live the past, and stick around for the future, and we bring you all the Android news from CTIA.
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Phil, Anndrew and Andrew are on the ground in Sin City, getting prepped to bring you all the news you'll want to know from the CTIA show. This is the last spring CTIA show, and starting next year things will be consolidated into one bigger and better event every fall.
Besides rubbing shoulders with Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Lopez, expect to hear news from Verizon and Sprint, as well as something Kyocera is cooking up. Of course, the show floor will also be filled with those oh-so-interesting products and accessories that make owning a connected device fun.
The news should start rolling in tonight, so keep your eyes peeled to see it all. You never know what to expect at these events, and there's bound to be something to interest everyone.
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British mountaineer Daniel Hughes and HTC One just secured their own footnote in the history of mountain climbing with the first video call made from a smartphone on top of Mount Everest.
Hughes has used the HTC One together with Inmarsat’s Broadband Global Area Network service (a satellite Internet service), to talk live to BBC News from the peak of the highest mountain in the world.
The image and sound quality came out pretty good, considering the conditions, as you can see in the video below. Note that the low resolution and stuttering were likely caused by the limited bandwidth and big latency that is typical to satellite connections.
The most impressive moment of the call is, probably, when Daniel shows everyone the view at his current location, which is absolutely incredible.
The HTC One is an integral part of Daniel Hughes’ kit (HTC is also the lead sponsor for Hughes’ adventure), as he’s trying to achieve his dream of putting a red nose on top of Mount Everest. The ultimate goal is to raise £1 million for charity Comic Relief, which fights poverty and social injustice around the world. Currently, Daniel Hughes’ efforts have only raised a little over £40,000, but hopefully his luck will turn.
While the HTC One may have been keyed, knifed, and hammered in the past, this stunt most certainly takes things to a whole new level and helps Android climb even more (literally).
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Three days just isn't enough to absorb all the info from Google I/O. In fact, it's physically impossible to get to every session, be it due to overlaps, overcrowding (only so many seats) or overexhaustion. It's a good problem to have, though, and Google handles it quite well.
In case you've been living under a rock, in addition to streaming a number of the key sessions live, Google also records them, so you can watch at your leisure. And that's what I've been doing since returning home from San Francisco, the better to get a grasp on all the new features and services announced. And if you've never seen one of these developer sessions before, you might be surprised just how entertaining and engaging they can be. This was my fourth Google I/O, and it still catches me a little off guard.
You can watch the developer sessions on YouTube.
Another surprise this year was the keynote address. Consolidated into a single address this year (as opposed keynotes the first two days at previous events), it went a whopping 3.5 hours. (Longer if you could the time spent waiting in line.) And it was time well-spent. There was so much information crammed into our brains in far less time than it took many of us to even get to San Francisco. But between all the new Google Play services, and the new Google Maps, and the improved Google+, and the Google Play game services — and that's just the major Android stuff — I could have gone another hour, easy.
There's not a lot I can say about Larry Page's appearance — his first such speech at Google I/O in the years I've attended — that you can't get from watching the recording. (And I recommend you do.) But I will say this: I've always believed a good CEO should overreach a little. The more Apple-friendly pundits love to poke fun at some of the things Eric Schmidt has said over the years, and perhaps rightfully so. There's certainly a fine line between cheerleading, inspiring and downright crazy talk. And occasionally crossing that line opens you up to jokes and criticism, but I love the sort of head-first-into-the-wall mentality. It's what makes Google Google, it's what gets things done, and it's what moves us forward.
A few more thoughts on the week that was:
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Sprint has announced that it's closed a deal to purchase PCS spectrum and a large number of customers from U.S. Cellular in the Midwest. As part of the deal, Sprint gets its hands on 20MHz of PCS airwaves in " various Midwest markets including Chicago, South Bend, Ind., and Champaign, Ill.," and 10MHz in St. Louis. As part of the transaction, Sprint will also inherit around 420,000 U.S. Cellular customers.
The customers affected by the purchase have already been informed, Sprint says, and it aims to offer them a smooth transition to its own network or one of its pre-paid brands, on a "similar or better" device at "little or no cost." The additional spectrum will help Sprint boost its network in these areas, as it looks to expand its 4G LTE coverage.
Source: Sprint
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In case you all missed the crazy news from Google I/O today, Samsung and Google have teamed up and will be offering a GALAXY S 4 “Google Edition”. What is that? A completely stock Google device from the folks at Samsung, and it will be as developer friendly as they come. However, in light of the news many are wondering about HTC. Here’s what they had to say.
My first thought, after the excitement faded about a stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean GALAXY S 4, was if HTC would also do the same. We immediately reached out to our friends at HTC for comment, and sadly we didn’t get good news back. Don’t get your hopes up, because a GE or “Nexus edition” HTC One won’t be coming anytime soon.
“HTC is not currently planning a ‘Nexus Edition’ of the HTC One.” and that is all they had to say on the matter. HTC currently offers bootloader unlocked developer editions, but that is all. You’ll still be covered in HTC Sense UI. When we first heard the rumor of a GALAXY S 4 GE, we thought it was all bs, but it turned out true. Google announced the device right on stage. Unlocked, developer friendly, stock pure Android, fast updates and more.
The device certainly isn’t cheap though. Samsung’s Google Edition GALAXY S 4 will be available from the Google Play Store with 16GB for $ 649. So you’re certainly paying a premium for the device. If you were hoping to get that same experience across all that aluminum and Beats Audio front speakers from HTC. Sorry, it won’t be happening. Or they have no plan to release one.
So here’s the question. Do you get the $ 299 Nexus 4 from Google and LG, or get the $ 649 GALAXY S 4? That’s a tough pill to swallow, but I’m sure a few will like the idea. Carry on folks.
The HTC Droid DNA is now available for free from Verizon, for a limited period of time only.
According to the carrier’s website, you can get a free HTC Droid DNA with a new two-year contract, as long as you follow some simple instructions. However, you must do so until May 21, as that’s when the offer is set to end.
First, you have to enter your email address on the promotion page, after which Verizon will send a promotional code to that e-mail address. Once you have received the code in question, head to the Verizon website and use the code upon checkout when getting a new two-year activation to get your free HTC Droid DNA.
The promotion does sound pretty good, and it gets you a device with some interesting specs, including a 5-inch 1080p display (441 ppi pixel density), Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset with 1.5GHz quad-core Krait processor, 2GB of RAM memory and 16GB of internal storage. The device also has an 8-megapixel rear camera, as well as a 2.1-megapixel front one.
You can check out our review of the HTC Droid DNA to get a better idea about what it offers:
While this is all very good news (especially if you were planning on getting a two-year contract anyway), it’s pretty normal to ask ourselves why would Verizon want to sell a lot of these devices in such a quick manner? You may remember the rumors about the HTC One being the device to replace the Droid DNA in the carrier’s lineup, and now the same speculation is made on various websites.
What do you think? Will Verizon carry the HTC One after all?
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Android Authority is attending Google I/O 2013, the most important Google event of the year. Stay tuned for the livestream, full keynote coverage, and for more good stuff over the next few days.
Google I/O, the developer conference where new and exciting stuff is showcased every year, is about to kick off in San Francisco, and Android Authority is there to keep you on the pulse.
Our editor Nate Swanner and our video reviewer Joshua Vergara are at I/O to keep an eye on all things Android. The new Android and Chrome boss Sundar Pichai warned us not to expect too much in terms of new hardware and operating systems, but, somehow we feel that Google will find a way to surprise us this year.
We’ve heard talk of a bunch of exciting things that may come this year at Google I/O including a very intriguing Google smartwatch. Babel/Hangouts is almost confirmed, and Android 4.3 seems a distinct possibility. Then there’s the talk about a refreshed Nexus 7 and perhaps a new white Nexus 4. And that’s just the stuff that leaked, hopefully there are more goodies where that came from.
Today’s three-hour long keynote promises to be filled to the brim with exciting stuff. Nate and Josh will be there, and we’ll be hosting the livestream on our site.
The guys filled their schedule over the next days with lots of interviews with developers and Googlers, so make sure to tune it to Android Authority for your Google I/O 2013 coverage.
Now, who’s excited?
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After limbering up with taxi tests since December, the X-47B unmanned combat air system has finally taken off from an aircraft carrier, making it the first pilotless plane to have successfully done so, and with a catapult launch to boot. Despite the craft’s ability to fly on its own, it was controlled by a human aboard the George H.W. Bush after it was flung from the ship. Once in the air, the Northrop Grumman-built craft was guided back for a landing on a runway planted on terra firm. Now that the bird’s proved it can handle launches at sea, other excursions will put the automatic navigation and landing features through their paces. Hit the break for a video of the X-47B taking to the skies.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation
Source: IEEE Spectrum, US Navy (YouTube)
We're just a few short days away from Google's yearly developer conference, and while only a few thousand lucky individuals will be in attendance, everyone will have a chance to watch from afar. As you would expect, Google is dedicated to making video of every single session from the conference available online, and even live streams as much coverage as possible.
Of everything at Google I/O, what many are looking forward to most is the keynote. Although it's going to be hard to top skydiving with Google Glass onto the convention center, we'll all want to be watching it live to see what they can do this time. Luckily Google will be streaming the keynote live at 9am PT on May 15th. This is the only keynote of the conference and It's going to be a whopping 3 hours long, so be sure to plan your restroom breaks accordingly.
Google has posted a complete list of sessions that will be available, each falling into one of the broader "tracks" such as Android, Chrome, Google+ and Glass. Using the session browser, you can choose to follow specific tracks, or you can look more broadly at the entire show. If a session you're interested in isn't broadcasted live, Google plans to make recorded versions available on its official Google Developers Youtube channel as soon as possible.
The official Google I/O app has just been updated for this year's conference, and it has a whole lot of useful information. Not only can you follow all of the session times and keep tabs on what's coming next with scheduled alerts, but you can also watch any of the live streamed sessions. The I/O 2013 app will be your guide to everything Google for all three days next week.
Don't forget that Phil and Jerry will be covering everything they can get their hands and eyes on at this year's I/O, with all of the top-notch analysis you've come to expect from Android Central.
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