Android A to Z: End of life

 

End of life

End of life is a term none of us ever want to hear. We envision it means the death of our phone, and we should just throw it away and get a newer model. After all, it's at the end of its life, right? Not really. End of life means something different to carriers and manufacturers than it does to enthusiasts like us. The easy way to look at it is that when the folks in suits get together and decide that a phone isn't going to make enough money so it's worthwhile to keep producing it, it has reached the end of its life. That may mean a refreshed, newer model (like the Droid RAZR MAXX), or a shift to a newer model with new, and arguably better, features like the EVO 3D. We have to remember that the folks who make these phones do it so they can make money, and like any good business they want to maximize their profits.

But what does end of life mean in the real world? First off, it means that once the current stock sitting on the shelves is sold there won't be any more new ones to replace them with. There may be refurbished units floating around, but no more new phones of that model are being made. It doesn't mean that the phone is done getting updates, but don't expect too many new features to come along -- things are in maintenance mode and bug fixes and security patches are the only things that will be addressed. It also doesn't mean your warranty is affected in any way. Even if you were to buy a brand new phone that has already reached the end of life status, you'll still get the full manufacturers warranty.

Most importantly, it doesn't mean that the phone is going to stop doing anything it already does today. The HTC EVO 4G is a great example. It was a huge hit for HTC and Sprint, and actually stayed in production longer than any of us would have thought. Some places are still selling them new (although they're getting harder to find), and those EVO 4G's sold new today are every bit as good, and have the same warranty from HTC, as the ones sold in 2010. Sprint still offers customer service, and it's still one heck of a phone. 

Don't be put off by the words end of life. While we wouldn't recommend you search out a new phone that's already been discontinued, they still perform as they should and you'll find lots of folks who still love them. 

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/k_ms_Y2SnO8/story01.htm

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Kanzi: ZTE's 3D UX for ICS handsets

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To skin or not to skin? That's hardly ever a question for Android OEMs. And, in the case of some Chinese manufacturers, that mark of software differentiation comes in the form of three dimensions. We've already seen Huawei trot out its (optional) 3D UX for the Ascend P line, and now it appears ZTE's ready to follow suit with a custom interface powered by Rightware. The Kanzi UI, as it's called, will come pre-loaded on all of the company's smartphones currently shipping with Ice Cream Sandwich, treating users to a 3D homescreen experience and giving developers a unified platform to port their designs. It's good news if you're a fan of that overlaid visual gimmickry, but we much prefer our Google desserts vanilla and without any toppings. Hit up the break to check out the official presser.

Continue reading Kanzi: ZTE's 3D UX for ICS handsets

Kanzi: ZTE's 3D UX for ICS handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Exec, The YC-Backed Mobile App For Instantly Doing Your Errands, Raises $3.3M

exec-taskExec, a mobile app that instantly gets people to do your errands, has raised $3.3 million, according to an SEC filing. The company's co-founder Justin Kan, who is also behind Justin.tv, Twitch.tv and SocialCam, says he's not ready to disclose investors yet, except to say that there are around 25 different individuals in the round. The filing only shows Exec's team on it, so it's hard to tell who the firms or angels in the round are. What's Exec? It's kind of comparable to TaskRabbit, because you can call on people to run your errands from an app. But Exec doesn't require a bidding process and it calls up 'Execs,' or people to do your tasks, instantaneously. It also has a flat rate of $25 an hour. Exec covers all sorts of errands -- deliveries, chores, cleaning, even art. One 'Exec,' who cleaned my house once, has also coached YC founders on their pitches for Demo Day. Seriously. "This money is for building out the San Francisco Bay Area market," Kan said.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/btqAdVk934Y/

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Season Your Food With Salt From Real Human Tears [WTFriday]

Would you like to season your french fries with some anger? No, really. I'm not being aggressive. Would you? Because the folks at Hoxton Street Monster Supplies have gotten really weird with it and made a line of salts from different types of human tears. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/fkCkxS2-BKg/season-your-food-with-salt-from-real-human-tears

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Galaxy S III rumored dates, EVO 4G LTE snagged [From the Forums]

From the Forums

Although we're skipping out on the podcast tonight so that Phil may work on some epic content for you all, we have plenty of stuff to keep you all busy this evening if you happened to miss out on anything. Plus, there is always things happening in the Android Central Forums. If you're bummed about the podcast, hang out in some of the threads below!

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ZFyYE3kHcgE/story01.htm

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Comcast video on-demand comes to Boston area TiVo Premieres Monday

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Now that Comcast has started delivering its video on-demand to TiVo Premieres, the company has now revealed the second area where access will be turned on is Boston, starting Monday. The news was announced in a tweet from Head of Corporate Communications Steve Wymer, and as Gizmo Lovers notes, was likely held back as Comcast announced its own X1 platform would launch soon in Boston as well. We're now more than a year past the original announcement, hopefully this is just the start of the rollout as it picks up the pace, if the two companies work well together maybe Comcast could be on the list for that six-tuner Pace box at some point.

Update: And just like that.. it was not announced. Steve has indicated he was actually RTing someone else, and no date has been confirmed for the rollout of Comcast VOD on Beantown TiVos.

Comcast video on-demand comes to Boston area TiVo Premieres Monday originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 May 2012 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/25/comcast-video-on-demand-comes-to-boston-area-tivo-premieres-mond/

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13 Ways to Smuggle Your Booze [Video]

Three day weekends were made for booze, but there's a catch. Baseball games, parks, concerts, and bars: none of them allow you to bring in your own booze. We're not saying you should break the rules and bring clandestine beverages into such locations, but if you wanted to, here are some great ways to do it. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/IeSLyye2Ves/13-ways-to-smuggle-your-booze

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Heads-On: MindWave Lets You Control Mobile Games With Brain Waves

When you think of mobile gaming, you probably imagine a game of Cut the Rope or Angry Birds -- tapping, flicking, touching your device's capacitive screen. But now there's a new way to play: with your mind, using the Mindwave Mobile headset.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/mindwave-mobile-hands-on/

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Facebook Camera for iPhone review

Facebook is the most popular photo sharing service on the web so it comes as no surprise that they released an app dedicated to the photo aspect of Facebook -- it's called Facebook Camera. With Facebook Camera, you can easily share multiple photos to Facebook, add filters to them, tag your friends, and view a newsfeed restricted just to photos posted by you and your friends. And, of course, you can also leave comments and likes on photos.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/boGTv769V8g/story01.htm

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Opera 11.10 gets HTML5 File API support, IMAP improvements

opera 11.10
The crew in Oslo keeps plugging away at Opera 11.10, and the latest snapshot build includes a number of improvements to Opera's built-in email client -- as well as HTML5-related additions.

On the IMAP front, Opera now supports special folders like sent items, spam, and trash. It also better handles duplicate items in Gmail -- such as those which appear in all mail and under your custom labels.

Opera 11.10 now partially supports the HTML5 File API as well, which means your favorite Web apps (like Gmail) may soon begin adding Opera to the list of supported browsers.

You can download the latest Opera 11.10 snapshot for Windows, Mac, or Linux from the official release post.

Update: The Opera 11.10 RC is now available, as pointed out by SlashZaku in the comments. Thanks!

Opera 11.10 gets HTML5 File API support, IMAP improvements originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/opera-11-10-gets-html5-file-api-support-imap-improvements/

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