Android Apps

Gear Bits December 24, 2011

New Car? It’s All About the Tech

I needed a car a few weeks ago. That opened the door to my getting some of the neat technology we have seen and reviewed here on the site built into the car. Here was the Gear Diary editors backroom chatter. Judie: Question: What color? Answer: black Question: 2 or 4 door? Answer: 4 door Carly: Question: 2 or all-wheel drive? Answer: all-wheel-drive – between where I live and what I do it is a necessity. Question: hybrid or standard? Answer: Unfortunately standard because hybrid all-wheel drives are rare and the all-wheel-drive kills the gas benefit of the hybrid….

News & Features December 21, 2011

Evernote Essentials Extra: Remember the Rare

Many of the people I’ve turned onto Evernote find it invaluable. Others, however, underutilize the service and, as a result, don’t see what the big deal is. That’s where Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote by Brett Kelly comes in. As Brett explains: The amount of information we want and need to keep track of today is, frankly, ridiculous. Not long ago, my desk was covered with piles of financial statements, medical records, automotive service receipts — and that didn’t even include everything dealing with my job. We all struggle to keep our information organized and accessible,…

News & Features December 19, 2011

Evernote Essentials Extra: Howdy Neighbor

As much as I “harshed” on Evernote last week after they released two ridiculous iPhone apps the service remains a key part of every aspect of my life. I’ve also turned countless people onto Evernote, and many find it invaluable as well. Others however, underutilize the service and, as a result, don’t see what the big deal is. That’s where Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote by Brett Kelly comes in. As Brett explains: The amount of information we want and need to keep track of today is, frankly, ridiculous. Not long ago, my desk was covered with…

News & Features, Vehicles & Gear December 17, 2011

Ford Using App for 2013 Fusion Unveil

Want to see the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion sedan? Ford has an app for that. The automaker has released iOS and Android smartphone and device apps to tease the eventual unveil of the vehicle that will occur in the app simultaneously as it does on stage at two stellar events. The 2013 Ford Fusion (which has been named the official car of CES 2012) will be unveiled at both the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month as well as the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. These are two of the biggest shows held in the U.S….

News & Features December 13, 2011

MindJet Releases Mind Mapping Software for Android!

We have written about Mindjet before, once when they introduced their iOS products, and more recently when they gave them a major update and made them free! Now we have the next step in the mobilization of the platform – Mindjet for Android. From the Mindjet Blog: With Mindjet for Android you can access your work anywhere to review your plans, update your research and expand on your ideas. Like our iOS mobile apps, no data is ever lost as you move your map from platform to platform. At Mindjet, we’re creating a truly collaborative work management ecosystem across all…

Editorials, Gear Bits December 6, 2011

Latest Android OS Distribution Numbers Showing Gingerbread Taking Over

Have you ever heard me complain about Android fragmentation as a major issue? Yeah, you probably have. But there is actually some good news on the fragmentation front – more than half of all Android phones are running the latest operating system Android 2.3.x aka ‘Gingerbread’. Add to that the 35.3% running the previous version Froyo (2.2), and you have more than 85% on a ‘fairly unified’ platform.

News & Features November 15, 2011

Zinio’s on Fire with $25 Shopping Perks and Availability on Amazon Fire

Zinio isn’t about to let Apple and Amazon slow down their momentum. No way, no how. And to help make sure they remain the eMag service of choice they are introducing a shopping perk program that puts a $25 credit into the accounts of all new Zinio registrants from now until March 2012. Better still, this credit can be used to purchase magazines across the company’s entire global newsstand. In addition, the Zinio app is now available in the Amazon Appstore. The timing is key since many of us will be getting our net Kindle fire’s today. As Chris Wilkes, vice…

Reviews November 14, 2011

mSecure 3.0 Password Protection Review

I have been using the same password protection program for quite a few years. I’ve thought about switching on a number of occasions, but it’s always is too much of a hassle, or the software that interests me isn’t available on enough platforms. So when I was recently offered an opportunity to review mSeven Software’s mSecure 3.0 I was at least a little ambivalent about it. However, I figured it certainly wouldn’t hurt to review the software; I would just create some dummy data, load it on a test device, put it through its paces, do a brief write up,…

Editorials November 7, 2011

I’m Sticking with Zinio

One of the features that iOS 5.0 brought to the table was their new Newsstand application. Newsstand is to magazines and newspapers what iBooks is to books. It collects your magazine and newspaper subscriptions purchased through the iTunes App Store and puts them into one simple place where all are accessible. It has a nice feature in that most of the periodicals can be set to automatically download when a new addition becomes available. That means that, for example, each day my New York Times is ready and waiting for me as soon as I open my iPad’s cover…

Gear Bits November 2, 2011

Amazon’s Android Appstore — Same Legendary Amazon Service

I may have moved on to an iPhone, but I still have a hacked NOOKcolor running Android! Plus I have two years’ worth of Android apps between Google’s Marketplace and, more recently, Amazon’s Appstore. While it wasn’t an everyday ritual, I did try to grab Amazon’s free apps of the day if they looked halfway decent, figuring I might want to use them in the future. Now, I’m used to Amazon’s Kindle service, where they send me a nice email if a book is updated by the publisher with instructions on how to update it. But I’ve paid for those…

Reviews October 25, 2011

Android Powered Tablet Review: Vinci Tab, Early Learning System for Children

There is no denying that our kids are growing up in a constantly changing digital world. My two boys have developed the same connection with gadgets and digital devices as I have, only at a much younger age. I have been careful when turning them loose with my devices but often let them play with the iPad or iPhone, and they love it. Since they could barely walk, they have been able to use our IOS devices easily and without much instruction. While most of us remember the first time we used a TRS 80 or Apple IIe in school,…

News & Features October 24, 2011

Sound ID is Back with the Sound iD SIX, a Siri-Ready Bluetooth Headset

I have had the opportunity to review each generation of Sound iD’s Bluetooth headsets. The first was a small but excellent device and with each generation the devices have gotten better and better. Now the company is back with their Sound iD SIX Series headset and it looks great. Here’s what the company has to say about it: Sound ID redefines the Bluetooth experience with the new SIX. Destined to be your go-to headset, the SIX boasts a sleek look and more than one new audio trick, resulting in a true marriage of outstanding sound, true comfort and advanced technology….

Reviews October 20, 2011

Home Audio Review: Orb Music Streaming System

Elana is all but sick of hearing my content refrain of “Have I told you how much I love our Sonos System?” It is at that point that she reminds me that, while she enjoys the music when it is on, the Sonos system is definitely my baby. She’s right. It is one of the best purchases I have ever made. Here is the thing though: the Sonos system worked for me for two reasons. First, at the time I didn’t have a serious music system in the house and, second, I was willing to make the investment to set…

Virtual City Playground Gets a Major Update

Game Diary, Reviews October 20, 2011

Android Game Review: Virtual City Playground

A couple of months ago G5 released the iPad version of Virtual City Playground, and I noted it was like ‘Sandbox mode set free’ and really enjoyed playing. Now it has arrived on Android and iPhone. Read on to find out what I thought! The Hype: Your favorite Virtual City gameplay is now FREE in Virtual City Playground! Make even your most ambitious dreams a reality! Build the city of your dreams… and then run it. • Play sandbox mode for FREE! No predefined missions • Over 85 new optional quests • Over 90 new buildings, landmarks, and decorations, including…

News & Features October 14, 2011

Motorola Droid Pro (finally) Gets Gingerbread Update

Last fall Motorola and Verizon put out a trio of phones including the slider-keyboard based Droid 2, the large screen Droid X and the Blackberry-esque Droid Pro. I reviewed the Droid Pro here, and while I love the form factor and most other things, I did have some criticisms: The Droid Pro comes with Android OS 2.2 Froyo, and has seen a single ‘quick fix’ since release. It was released alongside the Droid X and Droid 2, both of which have been updated to Gingerbread (2.3), but it is doubtful the Droid Pro will get the update. That is just…

News & Features October 13, 2011

Watch out for Fake Netflix Apps

Here’s the dark side of Android fragmentation: if you have an Android device that’s not running 2.2 (or a device that doesn’t have the Android marketplace), you don’t have Netflix app access. So you conjure up some google-fu and find a copy of the Netflix app floating around, or maybe it’s an Android app store you’ve never used before. Be very, very careful before you download it. Apparently, there’s a fake version of Netflix floating around that steals your login data. As you can see from the image, it looks super similar. In fact, it looks EXACTLY like the login…

Game Diary, Reviews October 4, 2011

Android Game Review: Special Enquity Detail – The Hand That Feeds

Mix together a crime-drama mystery, puzzles, hidden objects, and tons of twists and turns and intrigue … and you have the makings of one of the most compelling casual games made this year. The name of that game is “Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand that Feeds” from G5 Entertainment, and I reviewed the iPad release earlier this year. Now it is available for Android! Let’s take a look and see how the port stands up to the original release! The Hype: Try your hand at investigating a crime, crack the case and catch the criminal in this perplexing hidden-object game!…

News & Features October 4, 2011

Microsoft Releases Hotmail App for Android!

One of my annoyances with mobile email has always been Hotmail. Not the service itself, but the seeming inability of any of the default email clients to properly handle Hotmail – I would get repeated streams of mails, deletion never seemed to work right, and so on. To the point where I don’t get my Hotmail on my Android phone and just check it on my iPad with full knowledge I’ll have to manage it elsewhere. We have already heard and seen how Microsoft and Apple have implemented a native sub-client for the iOS 5 Inbox that will work like…

News & Features October 3, 2011

Android Market Defaulting to Secondary Account? It’s Not Just You!

Do you have Android phone/tablet and have two different GMail accounts linked up to your Android Market accounts? Or just have both GMail addresses on your Android device? Well, if you do and have tried to access the Android Market recently, chances are that you have seen some sort of ‘please login’ message, or seen far fewer apps on your ‘My Apps’ list than usual. That is because according to many users (myself included), since the last update Android Market seems to frequently (but not always) default to your secondary account. Also, many folks seeing this are looking for solutions…

Editorials, Game Diary September 29, 2011

Android Fragmentation: Some Perspective from the Developers of ‘Magic Defenders’

The other day I wrote about my frustration about the state of fragmentation in the Android ecosystem, citing my inability to buy the game Magic Defenders for my Acer Iconia A100 7″ Honeycomb-based tablet. I have been fortunate in the two of the developers from Clueless Ideas, the company making the game, have reached out to me – and one even commented on my post! His reply was thoughtful and insightful – and I thought it warranted being highlighted. When I saw in my email that someone from the developing company was commenting, my initial concern was that they didn’t…

Editorials, Game Diary September 28, 2011

Android Fragmentation: Alive and Devastating Android Gaming Efforts

I love Tower Defense games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Fieldrunners, so when I saw a link on Google+ for a great new tablet / Honeycomb based TD game I got excited! When I heard it was a magic-based variant on the genre, I was intrigued and based on a couple of comments I was pretty well sold! Here is the description of Magic Defenders HD: Ready for magic circles, spells and an endless army of orcs? Be the hero and defend your village from the evil orcs in three different invasion episodes. You will fight in the forest,…

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