Sunday, April 22, 2012

Android Central

Android Central

Android Central Editors' App Picks for April 21, 2012

Posted: 21 Apr 2012 12:44 PM PDT

TWC

Each week we like to bring you some of the favorite applications we use regularly, and here we are again. Let's hit the break and check out what your favorite Android writers are using regularly, and be sure to let us know in the comments some of your favorites!

Sean Brunett - Goodreads (Free)

Goodreads

If you’re not familiar with Goodreads, it’s a social network for people who love to read and share Goodreadsbooks. The Android app is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who is active on the site. With the app, you can search and review any of the books that are in the catalog (which is a lot!), view your stream and updates from friends or people you follow, view and edit your shelves, use the barcode scanner to scan your own books into the Goodreads shelves, and find more friends via your social networks. It’s a well designed app and it’s very functional. If you’re already on Goodreads, it’s a must and for anybody else not familiar, I’d suggest checking it out (if you like to read). [Google Play Link]

Alex Dobie - MX Player Pro ($5.62)

Real Player

Video files come in all kinds of formats, and it can be frustrating when your phone or tablet simply refuses to recognize your content. Unless you're down with codecs and headers and all that stuff, MX PLayerit's not always easy to know what'll play and what won't.

Fortunately, MX Player is a media player app for Android that'll play just about anything you can throw at it. It includes optimizations for the most common Android hardware setups, including Tegra 2 and ARM NEON, as well as a variety of subtitle formats and full ICS support. This allows it to decode files through software that your phone's hardware decoder may not support.

If you're happy to view a small banner advertisement while you're navigating menus, you can grab the free ad-supported version. Alternatively, there's the ad-free MX Player Pro, which sells for £3.44 on Google Play. [Google Play Link]

Richard Devine - Photo Editor (Free)

Photo Editor

We're not short on photo editing software on Android that's for sure. But this week I stumbled Photo Editorupon another simply titled Photo Editor. It comes free and ad supported, but you can purchase an ad free version.

So why do I like it? Because what it does it does very well. One touch I'm quite fond off is the ability to alter your photos using curves. There's also a wide range of tools for resizing, sharpening, drawing and text, frames and various filters and special effects.

Coupled with the camera on my new One X I've really been having a lot of fun with this. I'm no photographer, but for free this is a must try for anyone who likes to edit their phone taken photos on the go. [Google Play Link]

Jerry Hildenbrand - Real Silent (Free)

Real Silent

RealSilent is a nifty little tool that will tie the media volume mute function to the ringer and Real Silentnotification mute settings on your ICS phone. With stock Ice Cream Sandwich, when you drop the volume down via the volume rocker switch, it only affects the ringer and notification volume. I can see why it's done this way, and I can see why people would prefer it that way, but I like everything but the alarm to mute when I crank it down to zero. There's several solutions that do this that work great, but I'm happy to have found one that sits quietly out of the way, doesn't affect anything else, and works just the way I want it to work. You can set the app to work with both silent and vibrate mode, and it runs in the background as a very small service. It's free, and has no special permissions. Give it a look. [Google Play Link]

Chris Parsons - Marvel Comics (Free)

Marvel

Marvel ComicsIf you're into comics then the Marvel Comics app for Android is pretty much a no-brainer. You need it in your life. Whether it be to grab old back copies of comics you once had and have long since lost or if you're a new comic book fan and just want to start out digitally. The app is free, you're required to create a login and from there -- you're off to the races. With plenty of free content available as well as paid downloads, it's easy to get caught up in the Marvel universe when using this app. [Google Play Link]

Kevin O'Quinn - 500px (Free)

500PX

Photography at its finest.  That's what you get with 500px.  It's a simple app, but it works really well.  On the left you have the navigation buttons, which are clearly labeled and easy to understand.  500pxEvery picture that you see is extremely well done.  Just about anything you want is available.  I find myself spending more time looking at random pictures than I'd care to admit, but these are all just so well done.  Swiping left and right will navigate through seemingly endless pages of pictures, none of which fail to amaze me.

You can log in to your Facebook and Twitter accounts and share directly from the app to those services.  Notable absent is Google+, which is a shame.  Another  improvement that I would like to see is support for pinch to zoom. Other than those two things the app is awesome.  Also, it's forgivable given that the app just came out the other day.  I'm sure we'll see some updates, and with those functionality is sure to improve. [Google Play Link]

Anndrew Vacca - TWC TV (Free)

TWC

This week, I finally splurged on something I’ve held out on for the past three years: cable TV. A necessity for most, cable was always my final holdout, until Time Warner introduced its live TV app for Ice Cream Sandwich. With the app, you can watch live television on any Android 4.0 TWC TVsmartphone or tablet, which means that though my TV is in the living room, I can watch most programs from anywhere in my house. As unnecessary as it may sound, I’m completely hooked. I watch the morning news while brushing my teeth, the evening news while taking a shower, and late night talk shows while falling asleep in bed. 

You’ll need at least the standard cable package from Time Warner (which runs around $50/month here in New York City) to use the app, and while the channel lineup is respectable, it isn’t quite as full as what you’ll get on your TV. Oh, and one small caveat: you need to be on your home Wifi network for the app to work, so don’t expect to watch TV while driving to work in the morning. Regardless of the few limitations, TWC TV works flawlessly, with nary a freeze up and quite impressive image quality. If you’re already a Time Warner customer, stop reading this immediately and grab the app from the Google Play store. Now. [Google Play Link]

Hands on with the Spotify for Android update preview

Posted: 21 Apr 2012 10:53 AM PDT

Spotify for Android

For me, Spotify is how I listen to probably 75% of any music at the moment. While the service -- and for that matter price -- is superb, the Android application has definitely been lacking. There have been rumblings for a while about an update, and then just like that it dropped. The preview of the newest version is only available as a direct download from Spotify at present, and isn't the finished article. What is there though is pretty special, and a significant upgrade from the previous offering. We've had a couple of days to play around with it now, so if you haven't tried it out yet, stick around. A full hands on plus some tasty screenshots await you after the break. 

read more

HTC One X drop tested, inevitable things happen

Posted: 21 Apr 2012 09:00 AM PDT

If you're anything like me, dropping your prized phone is something that could really put a serious downer on your day, week and month. Add into the mix that phone being the HTC One X, and that's just one big nightmare. But what would happen if you did happen to drop it? Thanks to the guys at HTCPedia, we need wonder no longer. It's pretty painful viewing to see such a device get trashed on purpose. Right now mine's sat on a feather pillow having seen this. Enjoy!

Source: HTCPedia

Galaxy S III teased on Samsung Denmark Facebook page

Posted: 21 Apr 2012 07:17 AM PDT

Samsung teaser

By now we've heard plenty of rumored details, though nothing confirmed, about what Samsung's going to be showing off on May 3 in London. And today the plot thickens somewhat with the unveiling of a new teaser image on an official Facebook page. The manufacturer's uploaded the image you see above to its Danish Facebook gallery, showing the date and time (in Denmark) of the Galaxy S III new Galaxy launch event. Over on the right is the unmistakable outline of a curved smartphone, similar to the Galaxy Nexus. The profile of the device is different to what we've seen in recent leaked images, suggesting those units may indeed have been Galaxy S III hardware in generic dummy cases, as has been reported.

No clues as to what, if anything, that plus sigh is all about. But if you have any wild theories, be sure to shout out in the comments.

It's coming, folks. And we've no doubt the next couple of weeks will be packed with more rumors and speculation (and maybe a fresh leak or two), as we await Samsung's next big thing. Keep watching AC for all the latest.

Source: Samsung Denmark Facebook

GSM Galaxy Nexus gets a minor update to build IMM76I, still on Android 4.0.4

Posted: 21 Apr 2012 06:23 AM PDT

Nexus update

Some owners of the GSM Samsung Galaxy Nexus are finding out that they have a new update waiting for them this morning, albeit a minor one. The latest update for Google's flagship phone leaves the device on Android 4.0.4, but ups the build number to IMM76I, from the older IMM76D. As for what's actually new, some GNex owners are reporting that this fixes the intermittent signal loss issue that'd been affecting some on IMM76D, as well as remedying smaller issues like occasional lock screen lag when using automatic brightness. (Be sure to let us know in the comments if you notice any other changes on your Nexus after applying the update.)

And for any neckbeards out there keeping track of technical stuff, it seems the new software leaves the phone's baseband as it was, while including a fresh kernel built last Friday.

The update should be pushed out to GSM Galaxy Nexus owners over the next few weeks, if earlier release patterns are anything to go by. If you want to manually update (and have the "yakju" variant of the Galaxy Nexus), you can follow our usual instructions to do so, swapping out the old OTA URL for this link right here.

Thanks, Scott!

​More: Galaxy Nexus forums

Android Central international round-up - April 21, 2012

Posted: 21 Apr 2012 05:37 AM PDT

Android Central

This week marked the start of the official countdown to the Samsung Galaxy S III launch. Press events to the launch event in London on May 3 started rolling out on Monday (we'll be there, of course), and by Friday we had plenty of juicy morsels of leaked information to report.

The Cupertinoesque secrecy surrounding Samsung's next flagship phone (the name of which we're still not entirely sure) finally wavered on Friday, with the leaking of a two and a half-minute video from a Vietnamese tech site, along with a dozen or so photos. But here's where things get interesting -- the phone's final design is being hidden behind a plastic dummy case, so although the software and specs have been laid bare, we still don't know exactly what this thing will look like when it comes to market. We'll have to wait and see what Samsung shows us on May 3, so keep watching in the weeks ahead!

Android Central

It wasn't all Samsung at the international desk this week, though. We also published our review of the HTC One V, the new entry-level device in HTC's 2012 line-up. We found that although some functionality had been scaled back compared to the One X and S, it still made for a solid budget offering, although it'll face tough competition from discounted 2011 flagships in the coming months.

Here's a quick run-down of some of the highlights in international Android news over the past seven days --

Special features:

News:

AT&T One X pre-orders start April 22 at Radio Shack, pick it up for $149

Posted: 20 Apr 2012 08:46 PM PDT

One X

We just got a few goodies in the mail about the HTC One X for AT&T from Radio Shack, and things look pretty good. The phone will be up for pre-order on April 22, cost $149 if pre-ordered, and be available on May 6. Additionally, customers will be able to use a code on their receipt to get free downloads of seven Coldplay songs, including a Radio Shack exclusive live recording of "Charlie Brown".

The documents tell us that Radio Shack employees will receive intensive training about the One X, and be able to answer just about any question the customer can throw at them. There's also an accessory list, and Zagg shields will be available at launch with cases coming in the month of May.

We've been over the international version with a fine tooth comb, and we're as excited as you folks are to get our hands on the AT&T version. It's looking like third-party retailers will have access to the phone the same day corporate AT&T stores do, making it easier to get. Options -- we love em. Hit the break to see the rest of the documents.

Thanks, Anon!

read more

Samsung Galaxy S III appears on Amazon Germany, sort of

Posted: 20 Apr 2012 06:05 PM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S III auf Amazon.de

Guten tag, mein freund! A listing for the Samsung Galaxy S3 has appeared on the German Amazon site, complete with an "Add to Cart" and "Add to Wishlist" button. Go add it to your wishlist if you want, we'll wait. It's not unusual to see placeholder pages for highly anticipated new electronics weeks before they are available, or even announced, but there's an interesting twist here.

That twist is the listed specs. Nobody who's talking knows what they are, and everything you've read so far is an educated guess. I'll say it again, in terms that can't be misconstrued -- only the folks at Samsung involved with the product know the specs. They aren't telling anyone, and we're all just guessing and amalgamating all the rumors. But as the folks at BestBoyz.de point out, Amazon may have to list real specifications to allow for a pre-order of sorts by dropping it in your wishlist. Here's what Amazon has to say about the SGS3:

  • 11.9 (4.7 inches) Super AMOLED touchscreen with 16 million colors
  • 12-megapixel camera with autofocus, LED flash and face detection
  • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system
  • 16 GB of internal memory, expandable up to 32GB
  • Delivery: Phone, battery, charger, data cable, headset, manual (Note: exact scope of delivery are not known)

I'll go out on a limb and say that at least two items from that list are true -- it will ship with ICS, and the "exact scope of delivery are not known". As for the rest? We're not lawyers. We're definitely not German commerce law specialists, no matter how much beer we drink or how many Knödel we eat. It is neat fuel for the SGS3 fire, so have at it boys and girls. We're just going to wait until May 3 and find out in London.

Source: Amazon (German); via Androidnext

 

Data Migration, One X radio band confusion [From the Forums]

Posted: 20 Apr 2012 05:59 PM PDT

Android Central

We're rolling into the weekend here at Android Central and looking back, it's been pretty busy. If you missed out on anything, then by means go ahead and get yourself caught up and have some fun in the Android Central forums:

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Some Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus preorders already being delivered

Posted: 20 Apr 2012 05:32 PM PDT

Sprint Galaxy Nexus

Did you manage to get a Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus on preorder when they were still available? Seems some folks are already having their devices dropped off at their door. Anyone else get theirs today?

Thanks, gene26!
Posted by at 5:45 AM

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