Android: Phone News and Discussion Thread
08-09-2010, 12:48 PM
#561
Team Owner
Netflix coming to Android?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367546,00.asp
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2367546,00.asp
Netflix released an app for Apple's iPad tablet earlier this year, and the DVD rental company is apparently now setting its sites on Android-based devices.
Netflix recently published a job posting looking for an engineer that will help it "build Instant Streaming client implementations on Android devices."
The job posting did not elaborate on whether the engineer would be developing for tablets or smaller devices, like smartphones. Android-based smartphones have been growing in popularity lately, and a number of Android-based tablets are in the works.
"That job is posted but we're not commenting beyond that," a Netflix spokesman said in an e-mail.
The applicant must have at least 10 years of software development experience, and "a strong background in embedded and mobile development, specifically on media-enabled devices," according to the ad.
In a recent earnings call, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said that the percentage of subscribers who used its "Watch Instantly" streaming service for 15 minutes or more during the second quarter jumped to 61 percent, up from 37 percent last year. He also reiterated that Netflix is evolving from a DVD-by-mail supplier to a streaming service.
Netflix released an app for Apple's iPad in April. Subscribers can watch the company's entire streaming library as often as they like.
The company recently inked a deal with Relativity Media to stream the studio's movies via Watch Instantly months after they are released in theaters, and announced plans to expand into Canada.
Netflix recently published a job posting looking for an engineer that will help it "build Instant Streaming client implementations on Android devices."
The job posting did not elaborate on whether the engineer would be developing for tablets or smaller devices, like smartphones. Android-based smartphones have been growing in popularity lately, and a number of Android-based tablets are in the works.
"That job is posted but we're not commenting beyond that," a Netflix spokesman said in an e-mail.
The applicant must have at least 10 years of software development experience, and "a strong background in embedded and mobile development, specifically on media-enabled devices," according to the ad.
In a recent earnings call, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said that the percentage of subscribers who used its "Watch Instantly" streaming service for 15 minutes or more during the second quarter jumped to 61 percent, up from 37 percent last year. He also reiterated that Netflix is evolving from a DVD-by-mail supplier to a streaming service.
Netflix released an app for Apple's iPad in April. Subscribers can watch the company's entire streaming library as often as they like.
The company recently inked a deal with Relativity Media to stream the studio's movies via Watch Instantly months after they are released in theaters, and announced plans to expand into Canada.
08-09-2010, 01:08 PM
#562
netflix will be all streaming after a while, as the technology becomes more dollar friendly... and I thought the world ended the 1st time I saw a PSP playing a movie in a guys hands on an airplane...
....as a side note: the Blockbuster vid store down the street is mighty empty... we havent gone there to rent in maybe 6 months...store fronts are a dying breed...
08-09-2010, 01:56 PM
#563
Safety Car
Blockbuster released their app on the Market the other day then pulled it. They said it was a mistake and that they didn't mean to release it yet as its supposed to be optimized per phone. Besides that point though, their rates were crazy high. To buy a movie it was around $15 and to rent it was around $4.
Source: http://www.androidcentral.com/blockb...its-way-market
Netflix is coming but the date is not known yet. An employee made a comment about it on Reddit:
Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comment...ee_ama/c0w49gl
With that said, because Android comes with Adobe Flash in Froyo or using the hacked up version from XDA for Eclair, you can actually stream movies straight from websites if you know where to look...Some of those websites even work with Skyfire.
Source: http://www.androidcentral.com/blockb...its-way-market
Netflix is coming but the date is not known yet. An employee made a comment about it on Reddit:
I just know we're actively hiring Android devs. I wish I knew more about a timeframe for you. Good things come to those who wait. Netflix is essentially a tech company and with the way Android is blowing up it would be stupid of us to ignore that.
With that said, because Android comes with Adobe Flash in Froyo or using the hacked up version from XDA for Eclair, you can actually stream movies straight from websites if you know where to look...Some of those websites even work with Skyfire.
08-09-2010, 02:17 PM
#565
Safety Car
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-...pps-fix-3.html
Upon installing froyo, I had the problem of my browser crashing when trying to us a website with flash content. I initially tried the solution mentioned first in this thread but was unable to uninstall flash and every time I tried to install flash over top of my current version, the install failed. I then realized that I was trying to install the flash version built for 2.1. I then download the 2.2 version here, and it worked. I just installed the .apk using installer and flash is back up and running. Hope this works for everybody.
Basically, they're saying that they downloaded and installed the XDA's hacked version of flash before upgrading to Froyo. When they upgraded to Froyo, thats when they had issues. What some did was uninstall the hacked XDA version and installed the new Flash linked above using a file explorer. Maybe it'll work? Trying to see where that file came from though.
08-09-2010, 02:22 PM
#566
Team Owner
Yeah Netflix is smart. They're getting into everything. More TV's, media streamers (I'm looking at the Roku), all the gaming systems, and phones. Smart since it's a reason to subscribe and Hulu Plus doesn't do movies....yet.
08-09-2010, 02:24 PM
#567
Suzuka Master
You're downloading the Adobe Flash from the market right? Check out this thread post #25:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-...pps-fix-3.html
Link to Flash for Froyo: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HO8UZSDW
Basically, they're saying that they downloaded and installed the XDA's hacked version of flash before upgrading to Froyo. When they upgraded to Froyo, thats when they had issues. What some did was uninstall the hacked XDA version and installed the new Flash linked above using a file explorer. Maybe it'll work? Trying to see where that file came from though.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-...pps-fix-3.html
Link to Flash for Froyo: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HO8UZSDW
Basically, they're saying that they downloaded and installed the XDA's hacked version of flash before upgrading to Froyo. When they upgraded to Froyo, thats when they had issues. What some did was uninstall the hacked XDA version and installed the new Flash linked above using a file explorer. Maybe it'll work? Trying to see where that file came from though.
08-09-2010, 02:34 PM
#568
Safety Car
If you can find it in the market then yes...I think the Evo might have it pre-installed already. However, Adobe does updates and I think they're on beta 3 now.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.adobe.flashplayer
EDIT: Actually it is pre-installed on the Evo. No need to download it from the market. As far as fixing the crash? If you can uninstall and reinstall flash somehow it might help?
Link to Flash 10.1 beta 3: http://www.mediafire.com/?thgjj5ma2jn
Yeah, it looks like Flash either works or doesn't. Adobe probably needs to fix it a few more times then it'll be more stable. The best thing to do is probably just have it enabled on demand in the settings. So you can click on where you want it to load.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.adobe.flashplayer
EDIT: Actually it is pre-installed on the Evo. No need to download it from the market. As far as fixing the crash? If you can uninstall and reinstall flash somehow it might help?
Link to Flash 10.1 beta 3: http://www.mediafire.com/?thgjj5ma2jn
Yeah, it looks like Flash either works or doesn't. Adobe probably needs to fix it a few more times then it'll be more stable. The best thing to do is probably just have it enabled on demand in the settings. So you can click on where you want it to load.
Last edited by CGFebTSX04; 08-09-2010 at 02:49 PM.
08-09-2010, 05:41 PM
#570
Safety Car
08-09-2010, 05:46 PM
#571
wut.
Join Date: Nov 2007
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08-09-2010, 07:19 PM
#573
Safety Car
08-10-2010, 10:03 AM
#574
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Hmmm droid 2...
08-10-2010, 10:14 AM
#575
Safety Car
In honor of the iconic Astromech Droid from the Star Wars™ Saga, Verizon Wireless will offer a limited-edition R2-D2 version of the DROID 2, available only online in September. The special version of the phone will feature exclusive Star Wars content and external hardware designed to look like the trusty Droid from the film saga. Visitors to the upcoming Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, Fla., can see a preview of the limited edition phone and sign up to receive alerts when the phone is ready for sale.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=566668
Last edited by CGFebTSX04; 08-10-2010 at 10:23 AM.
08-10-2010, 10:34 AM
#576
wut.
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08-10-2010, 10:35 AM
#577
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I'm curious to see what the R2-D2 version is gonna look like. If it looks as creative as some of the custom made HTC G1/Dreams I've seen on XDA then its gonna sell like hotcakes. I guess it would sell out either way. lol.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=566668
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=566668
08-10-2010, 02:55 PM
#579
Race Director
iTrader: (7)
my impressions of the Samsung Captivate:
overall, im very happy with this phone, its does everything i need it to do. i came from a Blackjack II so it took a few days to get used to it.
Pros:
-amazing quality from the screen
-sound quality is good
-responsiveness from the touch screen
-lots of free apps
-wifi
Cons:
-the battery drains fairly quickly if you mess with it for a good portion of the day
-not too used to texting on a touch screen, so i find myself hitting the wrong keys ( not really a con, just personal)
-notification volume (text and email) is a little low ( could be the ringtone i have)
-having to hit the power button, then swipe the screen to unlock the phone
buy this if you need a new phone lol
-
overall, im very happy with this phone, its does everything i need it to do. i came from a Blackjack II so it took a few days to get used to it.
Pros:
-amazing quality from the screen
-sound quality is good
-responsiveness from the touch screen
-lots of free apps
-wifi
Cons:
-the battery drains fairly quickly if you mess with it for a good portion of the day
-not too used to texting on a touch screen, so i find myself hitting the wrong keys ( not really a con, just personal)
-notification volume (text and email) is a little low ( could be the ringtone i have)
-having to hit the power button, then swipe the screen to unlock the phone
buy this if you need a new phone lol
-
08-10-2010, 03:56 PM
#580
Suzuka Master
my impressions of the Samsung Captivate:
overall, im very happy with this phone, its does everything i need it to do. i came from a Blackjack II so it took a few days to get used to it.
Pros:
-amazing quality from the screen
-sound quality is good
-responsiveness from the touch screen
-lots of free apps
-wifi
Cons:
-the battery drains fairly quickly if you mess with it for a good portion of the day
-not too used to texting on a touch screen, so i find myself hitting the wrong keys ( not really a con, just personal)
-notification volume (text and email) is a little low ( could be the ringtone i have)
-having to hit the power button, then swipe the screen to unlock the phone
buy this if you need a new phone lol
-
overall, im very happy with this phone, its does everything i need it to do. i came from a Blackjack II so it took a few days to get used to it.
Pros:
-amazing quality from the screen
-sound quality is good
-responsiveness from the touch screen
-lots of free apps
-wifi
Cons:
-the battery drains fairly quickly if you mess with it for a good portion of the day
-not too used to texting on a touch screen, so i find myself hitting the wrong keys ( not really a con, just personal)
-notification volume (text and email) is a little low ( could be the ringtone i have)
-having to hit the power button, then swipe the screen to unlock the phone
buy this if you need a new phone lol
-
It's all good with the 4.3 inches of screen goodness though.
08-10-2010, 04:26 PM
#581
so far i have been running into more problems with rooted froyo custom roms than eclair. I think this is due to the rom being new and all the bugs have not be worked out yet. One problem i am having is the choice between wifi tethering or 8mp camera. Over-clocking for speed or low voltage to keep battery life longer.
08-10-2010, 04:46 PM
#583
Safety Car
Thanks for that review update on the Captivate. As far as the battery, check out this site:
http://www.goodandevo.net/2010/05/20...tery-life.html
You won't see all of the same exact menus, cause that site is for Evos. But to get straight to the point, turn off things you aren't using such as Wifi, GPS, bluetooth. If you can, turn off Auto Sync as it uses up the most power syncing your contacts, and emails. Turn it on manually. Downside of doing this is, you won't get your emails right away, only when you manually sync it or you open up your Gmail app manually.
There is a program that can actually prolong the interval time of the Auto Sync called Juice Defender in the market. Juice Defender has a lot of power saving features and you can schedule it to turn on, off, settings at certain times. In the video below, he has the Data turn off whenever the screen turns off and turns on data back on every 15 mins automatically to check for emails then shuts it off again after 3 mins. Of course if you do it this way, you won't be able to stay logged in on a messaging app or stream pandora in the background, etc so use it when you're not using the phone. Turning off 2G/3G/4G when not in use will save the phone a ton of battery as it doesn't have to constantly search for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslPxCAI4GE
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.latedroid.juicedefender (Free version)
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.latedroid.ultimatejuice (Paid version)
Also, if you can connect to a Wifi source instead of using 3G/4G. Even 2G/EDGE is more favorable than 3G and there's a setting you can enable in the phone settings to only use 2G/EDGE. Finally, change the interval time for your updates on your apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Weather Widgets if you have them. If you set it to update every 15 mins it'll drain battery once again.
http://www.goodandevo.net/2010/05/20...tery-life.html
You won't see all of the same exact menus, cause that site is for Evos. But to get straight to the point, turn off things you aren't using such as Wifi, GPS, bluetooth. If you can, turn off Auto Sync as it uses up the most power syncing your contacts, and emails. Turn it on manually. Downside of doing this is, you won't get your emails right away, only when you manually sync it or you open up your Gmail app manually.
There is a program that can actually prolong the interval time of the Auto Sync called Juice Defender in the market. Juice Defender has a lot of power saving features and you can schedule it to turn on, off, settings at certain times. In the video below, he has the Data turn off whenever the screen turns off and turns on data back on every 15 mins automatically to check for emails then shuts it off again after 3 mins. Of course if you do it this way, you won't be able to stay logged in on a messaging app or stream pandora in the background, etc so use it when you're not using the phone. Turning off 2G/3G/4G when not in use will save the phone a ton of battery as it doesn't have to constantly search for it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CslPxCAI4GE
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.latedroid.juicedefender (Free version)
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.latedroid.ultimatejuice (Paid version)
Also, if you can connect to a Wifi source instead of using 3G/4G. Even 2G/EDGE is more favorable than 3G and there's a setting you can enable in the phone settings to only use 2G/EDGE. Finally, change the interval time for your updates on your apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Weather Widgets if you have them. If you set it to update every 15 mins it'll drain battery once again.
08-10-2010, 04:50 PM
#584
Safety Car
so far i have been running into more problems with rooted froyo custom roms than eclair. I think this is due to the rom being new and all the bugs have not be worked out yet. One problem i am having is the choice between wifi tethering or 8mp camera. Over-clocking for speed or low voltage to keep battery life longer.
August 12 is the day they're saying with Adobe Flash coming on the 18th. Did you see my post on how to root and install custom ROMs a couple posts above. Its very simple now. They have an app you can install that automates the rooting process and custom ROM installation.
08-10-2010, 04:53 PM
#586
Yeah the Froyo builds aren't stable yet because they're building it from the source. I believe Cyanogen is only at RC2 builds so far and this is what all the devs base their work on. If HTC ever releases a stable Froyo build, then you can expect the devs to have a more stable and optimized build. As for now, you have to either live with whats missing or run stock.
08-10-2010, 04:58 PM
#587
Safety Car
Yeah his release dates are random. I think they got held back due to the MT3G Slide. They were having issues with a lot of stuff like Wifi, and getting a custom bootrom to load. But I think they have it sorted now so he can focus on the other phones again.
08-10-2010, 05:23 PM
#591
Safety Car
Yeah mine's pretty stable as well on the Google Ion. There's just a WiFi bug that happens to conflict with my swap file causing the phone to reboot if I don't turn it off before I shut down my phone. Other than that, its my only cell phone and hasn't failed me yet.
5" screen though
08-11-2010, 07:12 AM
#593
Settings > Sound > Volume
I had to uncheck a box "use incoming call volume for notifications". Then there's a notification volume just below it and that sets volume for text and email.
Last edited by rza49311; 08-11-2010 at 07:14 AM.
08-11-2010, 08:19 AM
#594
Safety Car
The Froyo updates are starting to come in for Motorola Droid users. Still no Adobe Flash though. That should be coming in the next couple of days in the market. You could probably just download the Flash installer from the link I put up a few posts up though.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/11/m...pdates-are-go/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/11/m...pdates-are-go/
08-11-2010, 08:57 AM
#595
...Its a big phone or a very small tablet that has a phone... LOL... looks cool... jumbo screen... will need that upgrade to 2.2 pronto!
...they will also have to drop that price to get peeps on board.... IMVHO
08-11-2010, 09:01 AM
#596
I'm not sure about this phone but I know on my Droid, the volume for calls/txt/multimedia are separated so you can set the volume for each individually.
Settings > Sound > Volume
I had to uncheck a box "use incoming call volume for notifications". Then there's a notification volume just below it and that sets volume for text and email.
Settings > Sound > Volume
I had to uncheck a box "use incoming call volume for notifications". Then there's a notification volume just below it and that sets volume for text and email.
08-11-2010, 10:52 AM
#597
The Droid 2 R2D2 site went live a couple of hours ago. It looks pretty nice especially with the R2D2 silhouette.
http://www.droiddoes.com/r2d2/
http://www.droiddoes.com/r2d2/