Droid Life

Year: 2010

  • Download: New Android Market Version 2.2.6 for All 2.2 Phones (Updated)

    One of our readers has submitted the new Android Market to us for the world to download.  I see that others have posted a version and are reporting issues, but I can say that this one installed on my Droid X running Apex, Incredible running Virtuous, original Droid on stock FRG83D and Galaxy Tab running stock Froyo.  Worked flawlessly on all of them and if you want to uninstall should you run into issues, you can do that too.

    Download here. (alt link)  (alt link 2)

    Instructions:

    *Only tested on my 2.2 phones.  Feel free to test on other Android versions though.

    *If running any CyanogenMod version, you may want to proceed with caution.  Make a backup!

    *Bugless Beast users are also reporting issues.

    *Appears to be working on almost any 1.6 and above phone.

    1.  Download the file from above.
    2.  When it finishes, tap on it, then “Install”, then “Open.”
    3.  Enjoy!

    If you run into issues, go to Settings>Applications>Manage Applications and find “Market.”  Tap on it and then “uninstall updates.”

    Cheers Rami!

  • Saturday Poll: Thoughts on New 15 Minute Android Market Refund Window?

    Moments after we posted up the first shots of what appeared to be a new market, the Android Developers team confirmed that an update was on the way and that policies would be changing.  The most important and clearly most controversial move has been the refund limit for app purchases which now stands at 15 minutes.  Going from a full 24-hour period down to 15 minutes seems pretty drastic and I’ve already noticed that there are some strong opinions on the subject.  So in classic DL fashion, let’s get your thoughts and data into a poll.  Thoughts on the refund change?

    Update:  Download the new market here.

    [poll id=”36″]

  • Breaking: Android Market Receiving Major UI Overhaul (Updated)

    Anyone else have a market that looks like this?  We just received these shots from one of our readers and it looks like another silent Android Market update might be going out only this time it doesn’t just add a new tab.  This is a full on facelift that makes the market look as hot as any app market you’ll see on any OS.

    The interesting thing here is that the new “Related” tab that we were introduced to just a few days ago is already gone and we aren’t caring as long as ours looks like this soon.

    Update 2:  Download the new market here.

    Update:  The Android Developers team just announced it.  Here are some of the details:

    • Refund window changing to 15 minutes.
    • New carousel with featured apps on main page.
    • Widgets and Live Wallpapers categories added.
    • Related content added to app page.
    • Single page app viewing.  All info in one place.
    • Headed to device running 1.6 and above over the next few weeks.
    • The new version is 2.2.6.

    To try to force the update on to your phone, try this:

    Settings>Applications>Manage Applications>All>Market and clear data on it.

    Check out a bunch of other pics after the break.   (more…)

  • DROID X ROM: Apex 1.3.0 with Gingerbread by Fabolous

    We already gave you a Gingerbread theme for the original Droid, so now it’s time to take care of the Droid X users out there looking for some Android 2.3 loveliness to take them into the weekend.  Fabolous, who’s Apex ROM has always been a top choice, has released version 1.3.0 which is based off of the new 2.3.340 DX update and has pieces of Gingerbread sprinkled all over it.  It’s a mostly-Blurless ROM, but has just enough of the good parts that we love.  Tough to beat this one. (more…)

  • Friday Poll: Biggest News of the Week?

    We haven’t had a week with this number of major stories since July and August when the Droid X and Froyo were on the way, have we?  We had the simultaneous Gingerbread and Nexus S coming out parties first thing Monday, Andy Rubin showing off a Motorola tablet with Honeycomb later that night, Google Maps 5 with 3D views, a Droid X update that included Madden 2011, and a minor original Droid update to top it all off.  It’s been crazy, right?  So what was the biggest thing to come out?

    [poll id=”35″]

  • Greatest Android Ornaments Ever.

    The coolest X-mas ornaments on the planet just hit our inbox and they come courtesy of reader Carlos and his amazing girlfriend (Kristi) who whipped up all of this cute little  guys.  Hand made from an art clay, baked in an oven to become hard as a rock, and then glossed up to look almost plastic, these have “win” written all over them.  And yeah, she even threw in an Angry Birds ornament with an OG Droid in the background.  So impressive.

    Entire collection after the break.   (more…)

  • Motorola Everest Honeycomb Homescreen Pictured, Specs Mentioned

    You are looking at a homescreen picture for the Motorola Everest (allegedly), which is the 10″ tablet expected to be headed to Verizon as the “DROID” tablet some time in early 2011.  The pic popped up on Mobile01 with a handful of specs from a user claiming to have fondled the device for over an hour.  So what does this beauty have packed into it?  An NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 2MP front camera, 5MP back camera, gyroscope, 32GB built-in storage plus an SD card slot.  The Moto Tablet will also launch as an LTE device, which we’ve heard in the past.

    Check out these high-res Motorola Everest pictures from earlier in the week to see what the device actually looks like.  Pretty, right?

    Via:  Engadget, Mobile01

  • Angry Birds Introducing Ad-free Version, In-app Purchases, Mighty Eagle on Android

    New features are coming to Angry Birds and you’ll probably like all of them.  Who wants an ad-free version of the game?  That’s coming, after a fee of course.  Who wants to buy add-ons to the game?  That’s coming as the “Bad Piggy Bank”, meaning you’ll be able to do it in the app and the charges will be applied to your carrier bill.  And who wants the Mighty Eagle!  You know, that level-skipping beast of a bird?  It will be one of those available in-app purchases.

    No date has been set for the launch of these new features, but Rovio hasn’t been one to dilly dally.

    Oh, they also topped 10 million downloads on Android now.  Craziness.

    Via:  TechCrunch, Elisa (video)