Galaxy Note 2 Connectivity Demo

So, here it is, the Note 2 connectivity video to end all connectivity videos. Want to know what devices you can connect to your Note 2? Watch on...

As promised in the video description here is a list of everything used in the video, wherever possible with links to places to purchase them:

• USB OTG cable
• Externally powered USB hub
• Logitech K400 wireless USB keyboard/mouse combo
• Xbox 360 for Windows controller
• MHL adapter for Note 2
• AllShare Cast Dongle
• Datel Retro Wireless Controller - not available any longer as far as I can tell - keep an eye on Amazon and Ebay as it still appears there sometimes
• Logitech "For Android" bluetooth keyboard
• Logitech "For Android" bluetooth mouse (note that any HID profile bluetooth mouse should work)
• Seagate GoFlex Satellite drive
• Apps: N64oid, FPse, MX Player, Bubble UPnP, Wind Up Knight, USB/BT Joystick Centre
• Beastwars bandcamp page - stream the whole album and purchase there with all proceeds going to the band!

Hope you enjoyed, any questions feel free to drop them here or at YouTube. We'll be back really soon with a lot more Note 2 content for you, including the (belated) first part of the review.

Review: Nexus 7 Cruzerlite Androidified Clone Army Case

The Nexus 7 has been out for nearly 3 months now, and if you're at all like I am, you absolutely love this nifty little piece of hardware but have been searching for compatible accessories to further improve the user experience with it. Normally, manufacturers tend to focus the majority of their attention on smartphone cases (with the exception of the ever-so popular iPad), so other tablets are left in the dark.

Luckily, the hype of the Nexus 7 got the attention of a few companies that decided to release quality cases for it, Cruzerlite being one. The Androidified Clone Army case is a variation of their popular smartphone design, which is a TPU case outfitted with a unique Android imprint.

Due to the TPU construction, the case is easy to install on the Nexus 7 and will offer a good amount of protection from scratches, however due to its svelte form factor - drop protection levels are minimal. The ports and cutouts are easily accessible and buttons are easy to press as well. The case is pleasing to use and should get the job done for the majority of users.

At $20, it is on the affordable side of cases, however there is not much extended value for money in this product - mainly because it doesn't include a screen protector, built-in stand or something similar - as other Folio cases do.

Check out the full video review below for more information:

[At Your Own Risk] How to disable Fast Dormancy on the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II

UPDATE October 2012 - Confirmed working with the Galaxy Note II N7100 as well!

Now easier than ever before!

Welcome to the guide to disabling Fast Dormancy on the Samsung Galaxy SIII (And Galaxy Note II).

Naturally as this one comes with the [At Your Own Risk] moniker, Root privileges are required. If you haven't Rooted your Galaxy SIII yet, it's super-easy, and we even have a wonderfully easy to follow guide right here (Or for the Note II, you're going to want to hit up our friend Chainfire's Auto-Root in this XDA thread). Before you do that however, be sure to familiarise yourself with our standard weasel-words disclaimer at the beginning of this piece. If you can't be bothered reading the disclaimer, and want to foolishly plow into things without understanding what you're up to, be aware that our disclaimer is fairly dire, and we mean every word of it (even the bit about pointing and laughing at you, Nelson styles). That said we don't publish any guides requiring Root privileges here at AndroidNZ that we haven't personally road tested, so there is that.

If you happen to be making your first steps in the world of Rooting, modding, hacking and generally making your Android device truly yours, you should probably also check out our guide to backing up your shiny toy before getting any further.

Anyways, make the jump and join us after the break where we explore what Fast Dormancy is, why you might want to disable it and a full-on guide on how to do just that on your Samsung Galaxy S3! Or Note II!

[DOWNLOAD] Droid RAZR HD wallpapers

Here's a little something out of the ordinary for Android NZ - a dump of stock wallpapers from the freshly-released Droid RAZR HD from Motorola and Verizon.
Extracted by yours truly from from the system dump posted yesterday at Android Taskforce - As I've mentioned in the past, I'm a big fan of the Droid series' stock wallpaper, and eagerly await the release of each device simply to steal its goodies. The RAZR HD's been out for a few days, but since I couldn't find the wallpapers posted online, I yanked them out of the HomeConfig.apk myself.

There's a selection some may recognise from the original Droid RAZR - now in a more 2012-standard 720p instead of qHD - and some Moto have been trucking around for a few release cycles, along with a couple of brand spanking new ones. Enjoy.

Download the lot from SendSpace - Zip - or grab them individually below.

Google's stock Calender hits Play Store as stand-alone official release

Except which day of the month it is, because it's forever the 31st.

The Google Calender app from stock Jelly Bean, which will be familiar to anyone who owns a recent Nexus device or has ever tried Cyanogenmod 10, has today been released as a stand-alone application on the Play Store for Android devices running 4.0.3 and up. That in and of itself is not particularly noteworthy, as the Jelly Bean calendar has been on the Play Store for a while - what sets today's release apart is it being an official Google app, with all the support and updates that entails. A curious move, and one we certainly hope continues with other vanilla Android apps, as many won't have tried them. We're sure plenty of users will appreciate an alternative to, say, Samsung's S Planner.

Unfortunately for this editor, at least, Google's shiny new calendar commits the cardinal sin of having a static date (The 31st) perpetually on the icon, a puzzling choice considering the version included on devices to date has shied away from that particular piece of tacky design. Did this one slip past Matias Duarte?

Regardless, if you're keen for more megabytes of Google-endorsed goodness (And have a device with the requisite Android version), hit up the Play Store now.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: review incoming!

The successor to our first ever review device is in our hands...

Hi everyone!

Quick post to let everyone know that the Note 2 is of course in our hands and undergoing the usual gruelling 'real-user' treatment here at AndroidNZ. If you read our review of last years phablet flagship, then you probably know that while there may be many other reviews of the Note 2, there is really only one that is going to do this epic device justice (ours, if I haven't been obvious enough there!).

If ther Note 2s arrival at AndroidNZ is news to you, then you clearly aren't following us on Twitter - why aren't you following us on Twitter?! Hit up @Android_NZ to put things straight. We're not prolific, so there's no need to worry about us spamming up your timeline, you just get to enjoy the cosy feeling of security that comes with always being up to the minute with happenings here.

Oh, and things are going to unfold slightly differently this time around too, since two editors will be contributing to the review - myself (@NZtechfreak) and Nik (@onslaught86). We're also worth a follow in Twitter, if I do say so myself, particularly if you want to see how we're getting on with the Note 2 as it happens.

Naturally, if you have questions you'd like addressed in the review please feel free to fire away in the comments below, or via social media.

Anyways, catch you again soon with all of our Note 2 content, kicking off soon with the first part of the review, Root guide, top ten apps, connectivity demo video and more...

[UPDATE: Confirmed working in the Galaxy Note 2] Sandisk 64GB Micro SDXC cards confirmed WORKING in Galaxy S II, HTC Sensation, Galaxy S, ASUS Transformer & Transformer Prime, Motorola Razr, Huawei G300, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2, and Galaxy S3!

Well, the headline really says it all doesn't it. Read on anyway if you want all the nitty gritty, replete with a geeks best friend, benchmarks.

Today Fedex delivered my 64GB micro SDXC card direct from Sandisk (you have to love mail forwarding services when it comes to buying from US-only online stores). Naturally this was accompanied with the usual new-toy excitement, heightened on this occasion by knowing it would work despite Sandisk's protestations to the contrary, thanks to confirmation from two XDA users who had already received theirs (big thank you to 3waygeek and Ghost77!).

[Scroll down to the bottom for the latest update in relation to the Galaxy Note 2]