Minecraft fans have been jealous of Xperia Play owners for over a month now. Sony Ericsson’s gaming device has maintained exclusivity over this game since August. After some delays, Minecraft: Pocket Edition has finally made it out to the rest of the world.

This building game is now available in the Android market [...]]]>

Minecraft fans have been jealous of Xperia Play owners for over a month now. Sony Ericsson’s gaming device has maintained exclusivity over this game since August. After some delays, Minecraft: Pocket Edition has finally made it out to the rest of the world.

This building game is now available in the Android market for all devices that meet the minimum specifications. There seems to be a bit of a problem, though, which we hope will be fixed soon.

According to the Android Market, the only requirement is having Android 2.1 or above. This statement seems to be rather faulty, since people have been reporting incompatibility issues with many devices. Some of these are definitely low-end, but still run Android 2.1 or higher (like the LG Optimus smartphones and the HTC Droid Eris).

There have even been reports of issues with devices running Gingerbread and some Honeycomb tablets. While the written requirements seem to be quite simple, compatibility must be more complex than what it seems. There are instances in which people with the same devices have different results.

Regardless, most mid-to-high-end devices seem to be working just fine. If you want to get your build on, go ahead and try to download the demo version for free! If everything works fine, you can get the full version for $6.99.

If interested, hit up the links and QR codes below. Let us know in the comments if the game is working on your device (and which device you are using). Any Minecraft fans getting the game? Happy building!

Minecraft - Pocket Ed. Demo Mojang PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Minecraft - Pocket Edition Mojang PLAY QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Amazon is all set to unveil their 7-inch Android tablet to the market, with a press conference scheduled for 10 a.m. EST.  It seems Bloomberg has let the cat out of the bag a bit early this morning, and has revealed the official pricing for the upcoming tablet.

The 7-inch Amazon Fire will be unleashed [...]]]>

Amazon is all set to unveil their 7-inch Android tablet to the market, with a press conference scheduled for 10 a.m. EST.  It seems Bloomberg has let the cat out of the bag a bit early this morning, and has revealed the official pricing for the upcoming tablet.

The 7-inch Amazon Fire will be unleashed for an incredibly affordable $199.

The Kindle Fire will feature:

• Dual Core Processor
• Multi-Touch 7″ IPS display
• Kindle-ized OS based on Android 2.3 (UPDATE: It runs Gingerbread! 2.3)
• Amazon Silk Browser
• Unlimited cloud storage for apps, books, movies, and music
• 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime
• Whispersync for books, movies, and TV shows

The Kindle Fire will not have a camera of any kind, and will also not feature a microphone. Though this will certainly be a disappointment for some, as many of us use our voice to control our Android devices, the price tag certainly affords Amazon a couple trade-offs.

The Kindle Fire will be officially released on November 15th, but you can pre-order the Kindle Fire over on Amazon for $199 starting today.

Anyone out there plan to pick up a Kindle Fire, or are you putting your money into a more fully-featured Android tablet?

Update: Hands-on video via This is my Next.

The Motorola Titanium joins the Motorola XPRT as one of Sprint’s business-ready and tough-built Android phones. Amazingly, the [...]]]> How does a QWERTY keyboard-packing phone running an ancient Android version sound to you? Pretty bad, doesn’t it? Well, meet the Motorola Titanium. Also known as the most outdated Android phone that isn’t even available yet.

The Motorola Titanium joins the Motorola XPRT as one of Sprint’s business-ready and tough-built Android phones. Amazingly, the Motorola Titanium is running Android 2.1. Why would Motorola release an Android phone with software that’s almost 2 years old is beyond us. Like it or not, the Titanium will be available this Sunday from the Now Network for $149 (after a $100 mail-in rebate) with the following specs:

• Android 2.1 Eclair
• 504 MHz Freescale Zeus 2.0 ARM1136
• 256 MB of RAM
• 3.1-inch TFT screen with a 320 x 480 resolution
• 5 MP rear-facing camera
• LED flash
• 1800 mAh battery
• Support for Nextel Direct Connect Services

The last time I saw a phone with such a depressing spec sheet… Wait. I’ve never seen an Android phone this awful. This looks like a device that would compete with the T-Mobile G1, which was released almost three years ago. In other words, the Titanium is three years late.

Now, I understand this phone is not meant for the Android enthusiast or even the average smartphone buyer. This phone will probably be used by people who couldn’t care less about specs or software version. Nonetheless, Motorola should do a better job at keeping up with the times. Even with phones that are meant to be just glorified walkie talkies. With a price of $149, the Motorola Titanium should at least have Froyo, 512 MB of RAM, a 1 GHz processor and a bigger screen.

In slightly better news, the Titanium has a Military Specification 810G for dust, shock, vibration, low pressure, solar radiation, high temperature and low temperature. Take that as you will, but I’m guessing people who are constantly exposed to those kind of things won’t put up with a phone that takes half an hour to load a web page.

What do you guys think? Am I being too tough on the Motorola Titanium? Or should Motorola wake up from this dream world where they think they can release phones with archaic specs and we won’t call them out? Let us know in the comments.

What is the reason [...]]]> If you are one of the 3 million Samsung Galaxy S owners waiting on Android 2.2, just be glad you didn’t go with a Sony Ericsson X10 phone on AT&T. That device shipped with the outdated Android 1.6 in August and it might not even get Android 2.1 till next year.

What is the reason for the hold up? In a wall post on Facebook, Sony Ericsson points the finger at AT&T and their “especially rigorous” testing process which can take several months to complete.

Sprint and HTC delivered the Android 2.2 update for the EVO just six weeks after it was released, so we know not all carriers are the cause for slow software support. Verizon and Motorola then updated the Droid to Android 2.2 right after Sprint did the EVO, so they also have Android updates figured out.

Out of all the national U.S. carriers, AT&T has done the worst job at supporting their Android devices after launch.

We have heard some rumors that AT&T would not be providing any Android 2.2 updates over the air and would go with a wired software update, but the company doesn’t have any phones with Android 2.2 yet so we are unable to confirm that. It looks like they will eventually update the Samsung Captivate, but we have no release date at this time.

At the end of the day I don’t know if we should place the full blame on the carriers, but they play a large role in the software support equation. Unless you have a hacked device and load custom ROMS, then the carrier if the main source of software updates in the U.S. market.

It doesn’t look like that situation is going to change anytime soon, so keep that in mind next time your AT&T contract comes up for renewal. Would you rather wait six weeks for your next software update or six months?

Sony Ericsson’s message to X10 customers on Facebook:

Hi,

Many of you are aware that we are currently in the midst of rolling out a software update for the Xperia line of handsets. We’d like to take a moment to address your questions about how and why an update is made available.

One factor in determining a software update is when a country first received the handset. The Xperia X10 has been available in some countries since March 2010 and they are also the first to receive the update. The U.S. received the X10 in August 2010 and will receive the update after the initial countries.

The second and more impactful factor of the timeline addresses the technical requirements that must be met in order for an update to take place — no matter which country you live in. Unfortunately, we have no control of that timeline factor. Those requirements are provided to us and we work hard to meet and test them as quickly as we can. In the U.S., the testing process is especially rigorous, and can take months to complete, which is why we cannot announce the timing for availability of the X10 update in the U.S. It’s not that we don’t want to; it’s that the timing is undefined until such testing is completed.

We hear and understand your frustration. We too want you to enjoy the most out of your Sony Ericsson products. We promise to keep you updated on where we are in the process moving forward as more information is ready to be made public. Please stay tuned to this Facebook tab!

Thank you,

Sony Ericsson USA

Barnes & Noble just unveiled the successor to the original NOOK, which is a 7 inch Android-powered tablet that claims to be “The ultimate reading experience”. The NOOKcolor is already available for pre-order on bn.com at $249 and is expected to ship around November [...]]]> It’s an e-reader. It’s a tablet. Meet the NOOKcolor by Barnes & Noble.

Barnes & Noble just unveiled the successor to the original NOOK, which is a 7 inch Android-powered tablet that claims to be “The ultimate reading experience”. The NOOKcolor is already available for pre-order on bn.com at $249 and is expected to ship around November 19th.

Considering that the NOOKcolor is targeted at moms, kids, and families I expect it will be one of the hottest gifts this Christmas season. The original NOOK pre-order exceeded all expectation and orders were heavily delayed, so if you are considering getting one then order early. Hopefully B&N will be ready this year to keep up with demand.

Details on the actual tech specs are limited at this point, but we know NOOKcolor is based off Android 2.1. We know the “VividView” display is made by LG and features 16 million colors at a 1024×600 resolution. Internal storage is set at 8 GB which can hold six thousand books out of the box. If that’s not enough, a microSD slot allows for expanded storage. The NOOKcolor also features built-in WiFi, but there is no 3G support this time around.

Probably the most exciting thing announced for the Android community is NOOK Developer. Developers will be able to create their own apps for the NOOKcolor and then sell them to millions of users through Barnes & Noble’s own app store. The NOOKcolor SDK will be available in the coming weeks and will allow you to quickly and easily optimize your application for our e-reading platform.

In addition to being sold at Barnes & Noble, look for the NOOKcolor (along with NOOK 3G and NOOK Wi-Fi) at your local Best Buy, Walmart, and Books-A-Million in late November.

For a full run down of all the reasons the NOOKcolor could be the ultimate reading experience, check out the official Barnes & Noble blog.

Highlights of the NOOKcolor include:

• Stunning 7-inch VividView Color Touchscreen and a thin, beautiful and highly portable design
• The first full-color touch device dedicated to reading everything and built on Android
• Access to the largest bookstore with an unprecedented selection of over two million digital titles a single search away
• Read bestsellers to favorite magazines in full color, and interactive children’s picture books and enhanced cookbooks
• Easy and fast book downloads in seconds over Wi-Fi
• The most social reading device ever built; you’re only touches away from sharing with friends via Facebook, Twitter and email.
• The new LendMe App, which enables NOOKcolor users to view LendMe books in their friends’ Barnes & Noble digital libraries and request to borrow a title they’ve been meaning to read
• 8GB of space plus expandable memory to store it all your digital books, magazines, newspapers and children’s books