Android Authority |
- Wave Control offers touchless control over your Android media player
- Facebook for Android updated, brings performance boost and new features
- 500px app for Android now available on the Google Play Store
- Destination: tgeltaayehxnx – Samsung launches The Next Galaxy teaser site [Updated]
- Morning Routine: Scan QR codes to turn off alarm clock
- Studious: Perfect companion for school work and studies
| Wave Control offers touchless control over your Android media player Posted: 23 Apr 2012 02:04 AM PDT
Without doubt, touchscreen technology has revolutionized the way we interact with our devices, making them friendlier, more accessible, and more useful. However, although touch is the ideal form of interacting with your phone in most cases, there are some moments when you need an even easier method of controlling your device. French company Noalia was one of the first to tease us with touch-free touchscreens last month, and the Sony Xperia Sola is set to be the world's first ever smartphone with touch-free controls when it will hit the market, sometime this summer. But buying a device with integrated touch-free technology isn’t an accessible option just yet. Luckily, there are apps that run on any Android device (with a front facing camera) that let you control your phone with just a flick of your hand. One such app is Wave Control. Dubbed by its makers a "touchless media controller", Wave Control doesn't allow you to answer or make calls without touching your device, but it should still make your life much easier. Just think about all the times you want to listen to music on your phone, skip a song, or turn the volume up and down, and you simply can't use your hands! With the Wave Control Android app, you’ll be able to wave your hand over your device's screen and "magically" control music and video playback. As you can see in the video demo at the end of the post, there is a set of commands corresponding to separate gestures and the app works with pretty much any video or music player that has "media button" controls.
Wave Control requires Android 2.2 or higher, which shouldn't be much of a problem, but it also only works with handhelds featuring front-facing cameras. In fact, the camera does all the work, identifying your gestures and then "instructing" the music player accordingly. Wave Control will even run in the background while you do other "chores" on your phone and can even work with your device's screen locked. If that's not cool, I don't know what is! The app is not perfect at this time, and you might have some trouble getting to a previous song, but, as far as I am concerned, this is a very good start for controlling Android apps with out touch. Wave Control can be downloaded from Google Play in two different versions, either for free, with ads, or for $0.99 (the Pro edition, without commercials). Install it, try it on for size, and make sure to get back to us with your opinion! This article, Wave Control offers touchless control over your Android media player , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Facebook for Android updated, brings performance boost and new features Posted: 23 Apr 2012 01:24 AM PDT
The app's latest update has been released a couple of days ago and brings several important improvements, making Facebook for Android finally "feel like an Android app", as one user points out on Google Play. Facebook for Android version 1.9 comes with "improved performance and bug fixes" and, while the app is still far from perfect, it has clearly moved forward, especially when talking about speed and responsiveness. Aside from improved performance, the new app also comes with some new features. You can now use shortcuts to share photos and messages directly from your phone's home screen. However, the added shortcuts can’t be removed once installed, which might be quite an annoyance for some users.
Creating group messages is finally supported by Facebook for Android and you can now easily add friends to existing group conversations as well. GPU rendering is also turned on, enabling smoother scrolling on the timeline for devices supporting such a feature. If you simply can't go on for more than half an hour without checking your Facebook account, sharing links and photos, poking your friends, and so on, you shouldn't miss this latest update of the Android app, as it will significantly improve your experience with the social networking website. Hit this Google Play link to download Facebook for Android version 1.9 and don't forget to let us know what you think about the app's improvements and updates! Also, in your vision, how can the Facebook app be improved in the future? This article, Facebook for Android updated, brings performance boost and new features , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| 500px app for Android now available on the Google Play Store Posted: 23 Apr 2012 12:31 AM PDT
500px is a photo sharing site where photographers can showcase their work and build portfolios. It gives avid photographers the chance to receive feedback, by way of image rankings, and get some exposure. What makes 500px stand out against Flickr and other photo sharing sites is that it was created by photographers. As such, the primary emphasis is on the pictures, with large images featured everywhere on its website.
Being in development for the last few months, 500px has now launched an official app for Android phones and tablets. The app brings a minimalistic but beautiful interface that, as expected, emphasizes the photographs. Similar to the iPad app, the Android version features:
500px has certainly caught the attention of amateur and professional photographers alike, featuring over 3 million users as of October 2011. This number is only set to grow with its launch in the Android arena. There have been some complaints of the app force closing occasionally, and some gripes about poor image quality. But it is only the v1.0 release, and following updates will likely fix these issues soon.
The app is compatible with with Android 2.2 and higher and is available for download from the Google Play Store for free, here. What are your thoughts? Have you tried the 500px Android app? If yes, let us know your experience in the comments section below. This article, 500px app for Android now available on the Google Play Store , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Destination: tgeltaayehxnx – Samsung launches The Next Galaxy teaser site [Updated] Posted: 22 Apr 2012 10:55 PM PDT
It is still two weeks before Samsung will reveal the “next Galaxy” in London. However, Samsung Mobile put out a tweet today saying: “Destination: tgeltaayehxnx”. Although that may only be gibberish to you, it soon became clear that “tgeltaayehxnx” is an anagram for “The Next Galaxy”. In addition, after doing a quick search, the anagram is also being used at http://www.tgeltaayehxnx.com/. The website is a countdown to 7am EDT in the USA and 12 noon in the UK. With so much time left before the actual event in London, no one really has any clue what the countdown will reveal. However, we do already know that the next device in the Galaxy series is on the way, with a possible “S-Cloud” storage service to match. Rumors have already revealed a possible 12MP camera and a quad-core processor for the Galaxy S3. If you’re still puzzled on what an “anagram” is, try typing the word into Google and see what you find. Wikipedia is also a good place to get an answer on “anagrammatists”.
What do you think Samsung has up their sleeve for this morning? Let us know in the comments below. Meanwhile, we’ll keep you posted with any new developments! [Update] Android Community found some additional clues in the internal structure of tgeltaayehxnx.com. Apparently, when the countdown will reach zero, visitors will be presented with a puzzle, that they’ll have to solve by rearranging the letters in “tgeltaayehxnx” to form “the next galaxy”. Once the puzzle is solved, visitors will receive a link to http://thenextgalaxy.com/, which is currently password protected. In other words, more teasing. No related posts. This article, Destination: tgeltaayehxnx – Samsung launches The Next Galaxy teaser site [Updated] , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Morning Routine: Scan QR codes to turn off alarm clock Posted: 22 Apr 2012 09:00 PM PDT
[ NOTE: Please check if the video embedded properly. ] Some people are just difficult to drag out of bed. Whether they’re heavy sleepers or just not morning people, conventional alarm clocks can’t seem to penetrate their sleep. Their alarm might go off on their phone, and they may wake up for a few moments just to turn it off before falling back asleep. You may try putting your alarm clock or phone on a table across the room so that when the alarm goes off, you’ll be compelled to get up. But, these techniques, once you get used to them, don’t really work.
For people who’d like to try a new way of waking up, there’s Morning Routine. A unique Android app developed by Agens AS, Morning Routine’s alarm can only be silenced by scanning a barcode or a QR code using your device’s camera. To silence the alarm, you’ll need to scan a specified barcode. If you’ve got a morning ritual, Morning Routine can also open a URL of your choice once you’ve silenced your alarm. It can be your social media site of choice, a news website, the link to your favorite radio website, or anything that helps get you going first thing in the day.
To make sure you’ll be compelled to get out of bed, specify Morning Routine to recognize a barcode on a shampoo bottle in your bathroom, or the barcode on your toothpaste. You’ll be out of bed and getting your day started before you know it. Some users have reported actually specifying their barcodes to be on objects that literally get them out of the house and into their car. There’s no limit to the items you can use to help you get your day started. Morning Routine also keeps a detailed statistical record of your sleep cycles and displays all the recorded data on a graph. The app allows you to set as many different alarms as you’d like, each customizable with its own alarm tone, time, repeat interval, wake up mode, and preferred volume level. Some people might be able to get up to scan a barcode and go back to bed, but that’s why Morning Routine also comes with an option that once an alarm is silenced, it can be set to repeat after a certain duration. That way, you won’t have an excuse to roll over to catch five more minutes.
For days when you don’t need to literally be dragged out of bed, you can choose the default wake up mode that gives you the conventional snooze button on the alarm screen. Unfortunately Morning Routine does not have a built in barcode scanner, so you’ll have to use one from the Google Play Store. Agens AS recommends using the Barcode Scanner by the Zxing Team. Another possible snag is the relatively low volume at which the alarm starts, but the developers are already on it and may be adding a few more features in the future. If you’d like to start your day in a new and interesting way, get Morning Routine from the Google Play Store today. It’s offered for free for a limited time only so make sure to show your thanks by giving Agens AS feedback on Morning Routine. This article, Morning Routine: Scan QR codes to turn off alarm clock , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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| Studious: Perfect companion for school work and studies Posted: 22 Apr 2012 04:00 AM PDT
Do you often forget about your homework? You are not alone. Most students nowadays are prone to this kind of problem, mainly because there are a lot of things that get them distracted rather than be more focused on doing their schoolwork. Your Android device is one of the culprit to this problem. Hours of playing games, watching videos, or listening to music is what you often do with your phone, but you can turn things around with the help of Studious. This is an app that will remind you about your homework and what’s even more impressive is that it can tell your phone what to do during class hours. Read on to learn more about Studious. Studious is developed by Braden Young and it is dedicated to keep your student life on track and on time all the time. With this app, you’re not going to need a planner anymore. Less hassle and bulk and, in some sense, you also become environment-friendly for not using paper to write down your long list of activities and due dates. FeaturesGenerally, this app helps you to manage your class schedule and activities by notifying you of all the things that you need to do. The app has two highlighted features. First is that it serves as your ultimate planner where you can schedule your activities such as project deadlines and examinations. The great thing about Studious is that the things that you need to do can be categorized according to which subject or task it belongs. Once you have already jotted things down, you can just tap on a subject and see what tasks you need to do, complete with the specific details.
The second important feature of Studious is that it can dictate your phone on how it should behave during your class hours. It works like an alarm clock but only the other way around. You just need to specify what time your classes are and whether you’d like your phone to vibrate or be completely silent. You won’t have to worry that your phone might suddenly ring in the middle of the teacher’s discussion and you can rest assured that your phone will behave appropriately.
Aside from those two features, Studious has another feature that allows you to save notes that include text and pictures. So, in case your pen runs out of ink, you can just grab your phone and let Studious help you out. IssuesThough Studious’ features work perfectly, there is one issue. One thing that you need to be cautious about is killing Studious using a task manager or an app killer. If you do that, the Studious app will not be able to notify you of your tasks. This also means that the settings you’ve specified for your phone during class hours will not work. So, even if you’ve set Studious to just vibrate during a specific time, your phone will still ring. But, apart from that, Studious works perfectly. It will surely make your student life more manageable, allowing you to be more focused on your schoolwork. Download Studious from the Google Play Store and manage your school time more efficiently. This article, Studious: Perfect companion for school work and studies , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.
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