Android Apps

CES: Handsets and Tablets, Oh MY! All from Motorola!

Today at CES Verizon had their day in the sun! During that announcement they officially announced what looks like a great handset in the new Droid Bionic, plus the new Xoom Tablet. Both are due to hit Verizon early this year. The Droid Bionic boasts from the press release: Packing a dual core processor with each core running at 1GHz, delivering up to two GHz of processing power, and 512 MB RAM, the sleekly designed DROID BIONIC smartphone with 4G LTE delivers a mobile Internet experience that’s up to 10 times faster than 3G. This means consumers can stream their favorite…

News & Features

Android Market Gets New Look and New Features!

I noticed changes to the look & feel of the Android Market over the holiday break when grabbing some apps for my Droid, but just had the chance to search the Android blog and found more details. Here is some info from the blog: This new Market client introduces important features that improve merchandising of applications, streamline the browse-to-purchase experience, and make it easier for developers to distribute their applications. With a focus on improving discoverability and merchandising, we’ve introduced a new carousel on the home and category screens. Users can quickly flip through the carousel to view promoted applications…

Editorials

Why I’m Keeping the HTC EVO 4G

I’ve never been shy about admitting my Apple fan-boy status. When it comes to mobile phones the iPhone has become my be all end all. The truth is, although I’ve sampled a few other mobile handsets since the release of the first generation iPhone, I’ve not owned anything else for any extended period of time. As long as I’m being totally truthful here I also have to admit I’ve become a little bored. Not bored with the iPhone hardware as much as the software it’s running. Yes, I’m a little bored with iOS. As stupid as it sounds it’s just…

News & Features

Google Lowers Android App Store Refund Period!

One of the biggest items that Android fans used to lord over iOS users was the marketplace policy regarding refunds. On iOS, if you purchased an app and wanted to “return” it for a refund, good luck, and start groveling to Apple or the developer. On Android, if you purchase but uninstall within 24 hours, you get a full refund automatically! No need for as many “lite” versions of programs and it gave you a chance to really kick the tires before you committed your cold hard cash. Well, as of last night, that window has dropped from 24 hours…

Editorials

Android and Netflix: a Gear Chat

Was reading through the articles on Netflix late arrival to Android and came across this post over on ZDnet. The author’s headline sates that Netflix is not out for Android because of the dreaded platform fragmentation. We had a gear chat about it, but first let’s include a quote from the official Netflix blog post: We regard Android as an exciting technology that drives a range of great devices that our members could use to instantly watch TV shows and movies from Netflix. We are eager to launch on these devices and are disappointed that we haven’t been able to…

Editorials

Digging Deeper Into the Notion Ink Adam; Android Done Right or All Just a Dream?

Image courtesy of Notion Ink Time after time our hearts have been broken by empty promises for a newer better tablet. We all know NOTHING has even come close to comparing to the mighty iPad in terms of tablets and slates. The Samsung Galaxy Tab recently was released, and it is probably the only tablet in existence that someone could even compare to Apple’s offering. But as an Android enthusiast I can agree its refinement (so far) has proven less than worthy. We still have a few weeks yet to go this year and a whole bunch of promises to…

Reviews

Review: StarXscape Lite

Gaming is starting to come to the Android platform in earnest as representative of the amount of downloads of the recently released Angry Birds. Games are really starting to hit Android en-mass. Just before Angry Birds came out, MHill System let us know about an interesting game for Android called StarXscape. Your mission in StarXscape , if you choose to accept it, is to free the stars that are held captive by the evil Octramon. You along with your faithful sidekick Krudo will travel galaxy by galaxy freeing the stars held in octacages. What does that mean as far as game…

News & Features

Is THIS The Droid App You Are Looking For? Verizon Brings Empire Strikes Back to Android!

Of course, not the whole movie … nor the classic arcade game … but some ‘other stuff’ for a questionable value of $2.99. But for the Star Wars fan with an Android device from Verizon, this might just fit your needs for more cool TESB stuff during the 30th anniversary year. Here are some details from TheForce.net: Looks like the rumor was correct, but with a slight delay. Originally slated to launch on October 4th, the Verizon Empire Strikes Back Android app ended up launching a day late on the 5th. While the app itself is free, the full range…

News & Features

Android on a Palm Tungsten C!

(image courtesy Dmitry Grinberg) Yes, Android has been ported to iPhones, but what about older devices? If you’ve got a Tungsten C, you can (theoretically) run Android 2.1 on it! Yes, a Tungsten C can run a higher version of Android than some official Android phones! This upgrade (if you can call it that) was done by Dmitri Grinberg, possibly the last major hacker/developer of the Palm OS platform. He’s claimed for some time to be working on “DGOS”, a pseudo-upgrade to Palm OS. Either to not endanger his DGOS project or because the Android port is so unstable, it…

Reviews

Android App Review: Instant Heart Rate

You can use your smartphone in many ways to track your health; to keep an eye on what you eat, how far you run, how often you work out, etc. And now, you can also use your phone camera to track your heart rate! I don’t know much about medicine, but according to the app, it works “similar way [sic] as a medical pulse oximeter but without a dedicated light source.” Now, to paraphrase Dr. McCoy, Dammit I’m a geek, not a doctor…so I consulted my good buddy Wikipedia: A blood-oxygen monitor displays the percentage of arterial hemoglobin in the…

Reviews

Handy Runner GPS Fitness Tracker Android App Review

I’ve searched long and hard for a decent GPS tracking app when I run. Every app I liked had inconsistencies; Cardio Trainer offered great feedback but seemed to stop tracking roughly a mile into every run, RunKeeper overshot all my runs so 1.5 miles became 7.5, and BuddyRunner undercut all my runs by almost a 1/2 mile. However, I kept hunting, and I recently stumbled upon an app that interfaces with the RunningAHEAD training log. Not only does HandyRunner automatically update my log, but it’s also far more accurate than any program I’ve tried so far! HandyRunner is fairly simple…

Reviews

Android Mobile Phone Review: Motorola Droid 2

Just a short time ago Motorola appeared to be on the ropes. That all changed when Motorola found Android. Less than a year ago Motorola released and sold millions of their first Android device, the Droid on the Verizon network. Since then, they have brought out the Cliq, Cliq XT, The Flip and the Droid X. Today I am reviewing the sequel to the Droid, the Droid 2. Hardware The Droid 2 has similar looks to the original Droid. It is a little less blocky, but it’s almost identical to the original Droid in size, weight and thickness. The front…

Editorials

An Open Letter to Dell Regarding Their Undercooked Streak

Dear Dell, Can I ask you a question? Seriously, I promise it’ll just be between you and me. Here’s what I want to know and, please be honest with me… What were you thinking? Seriously Dell, what were you thinking releasing your reentry into the smartphone/tablet market with Android 1.6? How can you take high-end hardware, put old firmware on it and expect people to actually like this device? I mean, you put Android FRIGGIN’ 1.6 on the thing when phones are being released with Android 2.2. 1.6???? That’s just crazy! I love my iPhone, but I really want to…

Editorials

I Love Froyo Except for a Few Bugs!

I’ve had the Froyo update for my Motorola Droid for a few days now, and overall I’m impressed. There have been some minor UI tweaks, and the speed seems slightly improved, though I think some of this might be in my head. Still, I think it brings the Android experience up to a slightly more refined level, and that’s definitely a good thing. However, there are a few bugs and oddities I’m noticing as I use it. I’m not sure if this is Droid-specific, general Froyo bugs, or some combination of weirdness from my phone and the various apps. None…

News & Features

Google Voice Actions Adds Yet Another Competitor to the Rapidly Emerging Field of Voice as Interface

Last week Microsoft made a huge deal about the voice control that will be part of WindowsPhone 7. I watched the demo video and wasn’t impressed at all. As I posted last weekend, I am still perplexed as to why Microsoft wouldn’t just turn to Nuance and license their time-proven and excellent technology in order to ensure a level of voice control, and voice-to-text transcription that will work perfectly from the start. Now Google has jumped into the ring as well. Their new Voice Action feature is part of a new version of the Voice Search application for Android phones….

News & Features

eWallet for Mac OS X Now Available

I am a huge fan of Ilium software’s eWallet for the iPhone and iPad. It is a great way to keep information on my handheld devices in a manner that is safe and secure but also quickly accessible. The only problem I have had with it is that the desktop version of eWallet was only in Beta and the sync functionality was highly limited. Since I use multiple devices that was a bit of an issue for me. Thankfully that is no longer the case. Ilium has just gone live with the news that eWallet for Mac OS X is…

News & Features

Graffiti for Android Gets Updated but Has a Bug

I sang the praises of Graffiti for Android when it first came out. It was solid and easy for quick text entry. Now Access has released an updated with the following improvements: Autocorrect Auto-capitalization Word prediction Input word learning Japanese input Effectively it goes from being a simple text entry system to a very full-featured one. It works great…except for one bug. Most text entry programs recognize if your device has a hard keyboard, and they don’t “pop up” if the keyboard is engaged. Graffiti, unfortunately, does appear even if the keyboard is extended. It makes for a difficult typing…

How to Do It Yourself!

Are You A Droid User Feeling Stung By No WiFi Tether Coming With Froyo (2.2)? Easy Root Has You Covered!

I have had the original Motorola Droid since last November just after it launched, and I have been extremely happy with the device and the Android operating system. Aside from the mediocre keyboard (which I’ve gotten used to over time) I have had an absolutely fantastic experience with the Droid – it is my constant companion, and I greatly appreciate how it has improved in many ways during the time since purchase thanks to app updates and operating system upgrades. Back in May I grabbed a Palm Pre Plus on eBay. I was going on a business trip and bringing…

News & Features

Just In Case You Missed It: Sprint & HTC Bring Froyo to the EVO 4G

If you’ve got a Sprint HTC EVO 4G, then today you have yet another reason to feel vastly superior to all other Android Device users … Today HTC marked yet another “first” in its long history of bringing innovation to the mobile arena. Ahead of the pack, Sprint has started to make available the latest version of the Android platform, version 2.2, otherwise known as Froyo, for HTC EVO 4G. Not only is HTC EVO 4G the first Froyo device with HTC’s Sense user experience, it’s also the first mass-market Froyo handset period. In addition to bringing a number of…

Reviews

Android App Review: B&N’s nook

Amazon, Kobo, and Borders have all weighed in with their ebook apps for Android, and now it’s B&N’s turn. They’ve rebranded all their reader apps to “nook”, and finally they’ve released the nook app for Android. Right from the start, the nook app and I didn’t get off on the right foot. It almost froze the marketplace trying to download! As it turns out, it’s because the file is a whopping 17.69 megabytes! For reference, I have two games on my Droid (Replica Island and HSN Shootout) that are fairly graphic-intense. They clock in at 5.40mb and 13.47mb, respectively. The…

Editorials

Droid X Gets the Lockdown: Does it Matter?

There’s been a bunch of stuff going around the web about the Droid X and the fact that it likely will not be able to run custom ROMS and may even be hard to root. I’ll try to describe, in layman’s terms, what this may mean to a prospective Droid X buyer. What is this root and custom rom thing? First, having root is like having the Administrator user password on a Windows machine or the root password on a Mac OS X machine or Linux machine. It essentially gives you the right to modify anything on the phone. You…

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