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Call Action Review – Streamline To Do’s After Phone Calls Posted: 08 Mar 2012 01:13 AM PST Many times when we receive calls we are on the go. It can be hard to write down an important piece of information we just received, or remember to call someone back after we are done with a call. Call action is for people who need that little reminder here or there, or for someone who takes many phone calls in a day and has a hard time keeping them all organized. Call Action is an after-call pop up that helps you get organized, and stay organized with your phone. Its a straightforward app;  after every call, Call Action has a customize-able pop up with options to: Call back the last call phone number Send an SMS View the contact or add a new number to your contacts list Send an email Search the phone number in Google. This can be useful if you don’t know a number that made a missed call. Add a new Calendar event associated to the contact/phone number. A fast way to write an appointment in your Google Calendar after a call. (Only available for Android 4.0 or later) Show additional options based on the applications installed in your Android phone like Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Dropbox, etc. Set a reminder with an alarm. Very handy if you need to call back someone or remember something related to a contact. Share the contact including a VCard And more! Video Review Setup Once downloaded and installed, the first thing you are presented with when opening the app is the setup screen. By default the Call Action is turned on and ready to use, so visiting the setup is not necessary. In the general setting you can change the colors of the tiles of the interface, and even set them to random colors to change between each call. Once you have your colors setup, you can test them out to see how you like it by hitting the “Test config” button. Here also you can play around with the app and learn how it works. To really get down to fine tuning the app, the  developer has a more settings areas. Here you can adjust the interface size down to a slimmer version; I actually preferred the smaller version to the default setup. Next you can adjust auto close (if not action is performed) from never to 2 minutes, this is very useful if many times you will not use the interface and do not need the hassle of closing it after every call. The option I found most useful in there section was the last call notification, if you are frequently returning calls this is the setting to have turned on. When enabled, it will have your last call always in the notification bar so a quick call back is painless. Lastly, in the more settings area are options for fine tuning of the app reminders and actions. Interface Call actions interface is based off of Windows Phone, which I think helps keep it simple and easy to navigate. The tiles are large and easy to select, each one performing the clearly assigned task. I like that you can customize the interface to match the theme of your phone, or set it to random so that tiles are different colors for each call.  I would have liked an option to save some of the themes I created, so I could switch between them quickly. Also it would have been nice if a few preset themes were available for quick customization, hopefully we will see it happen in future updates. But these are all minor observations, overall the interface was great. In Action At first when Call Action started popping up after phone calls, I didn’t expect it and backed out of it. Its tiled screen popping up after every call was more of an inconvenience then a tool. But after a few times I started warming up to it.  I used it to quick send a text to my brother of something I forgot to tell him in our last conversation; or to quickly save the contact info of my last call. While it did take a few calls to get call action in my routine, once it was there it was a real time saver. Verdict After spending some time with Call Action, I found it streamlined many of the tasks you do on a daily bases down to one click.  My favorite function of the app was the “Last call notification” feature, ff enabled, a link to the last call will always be available in the notification bar; I found this helpful on a daily basis. Overall, I found call action very helpful. On those days when I didn’t have the time or the attention (while driving for example) to scroll through all those menus to perform simple tasks, Call Action became a real asset. To find Call Action in the market click this link, I recommend giving it a try. No related posts. This article, Call Action Review – Streamline To Do’s After Phone Calls , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Mira Android App: Another Siri Contender Posted: 08 Mar 2012 12:15 AM PST Everyone’s been buzzing about how the iPhone 4S took one giant step up from the rest by tagging Siri into the ring. If you’ve been living under a rock, Siri is the iPhone 4S’s virtual assistant. Ask her a question, just like how you would ask a friend, and she’ll give you an answer. Imagine you’re driving and you need to keep your eyes on the road but need to send a message ASAP. Tell Siri to send a message to your spouse, without having to touch the screen. Siri isn’t just for asking questions and ordering around; she’s got a sense of humor, too. It’s no wonder why people are going nuts over the iPhone 4S. Naturally, Android developers got right on the job of making a Siri equivalent just for Android devices. A number of other Siri contenders have popped up in the past, such as Vlingo (which has been around for quite some time), Iris (in case you haven’t noticed, it’s Siri in reverse) and Speaktoit Assistant, so this time it’s Mira’s turn. An intelligent and semantic Siri for Android, Mira uses Google voice recognition and works using an offline database saved on your phone. It’s one of Mira’s distinct features that sets it apart from Siri.  The latter needs to relay your questions and commands first to a web server. Not bad for the user who stays online all the time, but Mira’s offline database gives Mira another advantage over Siri. It allows Mira to analyze sentences faster, as well. Mira is also equipped with an “intelligent algorithm”, which allows her to break up your sentences into parts. If you’re asking about the weather in Washington D.C., Mira will break down your question so that she can gather information on Washington D.C.’s weather, but not Washington D.C.’s location. Of course, Mira does a lot of the things Siri can. Teach Mira your name and she’ll use it during interactions. If you’d like to know the time, the weather, and maybe even your location information, simply ask Mira. She’ll even send an SMS for you if you ask her to. If you’re feeling particularly lazy, or you’d simply like to interact more with your phone past tapping and swiping on the screen, Mira’s more than happy to step up as your virtual assistant. At the time of this writing, Mira is definitely still in development and is still limited by what it can do. The offline database stored on the device is also still rather small and has a lot more to be added. Don’t expect Mira to sound like another human being right off the bat; Mira’s “voice” is still rather choppy, but we’ve got our fingers crossed that it will become more natural-flowing in the future. Mira is not yet available for download from the Android Market, but ff you like to try Mira out for yourself, you can download and install the APK file provided by the developer. No related posts. This article, Mira Android App: Another Siri Contender , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

comScore: Android and Samsung Top Choices Among Smartphone Subscribers in US Posted: 07 Mar 2012 11:09 AM PST The next time you are caught in a heated debate with your non-Android buddies over which platform is on top, you may want to quote the latest quarterly data on key trends in the US mobile phone industry, which was just released by comScore MobiLens for the period ending January 2012. The survey reveals that, in U.S., Android OS still holds a commanding lead over other mobile platforms, securing 48.6% of the smartphone market. This is a 2.3% increase from the previous quarter. Taking second place is Apple’s iOS, which grabbed a 29.5% market share, an improvement of 1.4 percentage points. The third and fourth positions are held by RIM and Microsoft, with 15.2 percent and 4.4 percent market share, respectively. Symbian made a surprise appearance after grabbing 1.5% market share, making it the fifth most popular OS among smartphone subscribers. comScore When it comes to OEM market share in the US, it’s good news all around for Samsung. The rising star of the Android ecosystem topped the list with 25.4% share of mobile subscribers. LG came second with 19.7% share, followed by Motorola with 13.2%. Although Apple has expanded the iPhone's availability to more carriers (AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon) and launched the iPhone 4S in October, it only managed to capture a market share of 12.8%. Rounding out the list is RIM, with 6.6% of the market. According to the report, in January, the number of smartphone users in the US has passed the magic number of 100 million for the first time. To be specific, there are now 101.3 million smartphone subscribers in the country. As for mobile content usage among the 30,000 smartphone subscribers that were surveyed, 74.6% said they use their smartphones to send text messages. Other usages include downloading applications (48.6%), browsing (48.5%), accessing social network sites (35.7%), playing games (31.8%) and listening to music (24.5%). Detractors of the Android OS often argue that the iOS has more apps. While that may be the case, we’re  rooting for quality over quantity. With the widening lead between Android OS and its closest competitor, Apple iOS, it wouldn’t be too much to expect from developers to turn their attention to creating more functional and aesthetically pleasing apps for the Android platform. No related posts. This article, comScore: Android and Samsung Top Choices Among Smartphone Subscribers in US , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Panorama Pro: Easily Capturing Panoramic Photos on Android Posted: 07 Mar 2012 10:07 AM PST There’s nothing more exciting than traveling to different places around the world with your friends and taking great pictures of amazing and breathtaking views. To do that you can use special cameras, but they are too uncomfortably bulky for carrying.  Why not use your Android phone instead? Your Android device, with the help of some app, can be a more portable substitute of a regular digital camera. There are quite a lot of photography apps in the Android Market, but not all of them let you capture panoramic pictures.  Thankfully, there are apps like Panorama Pro that would let you capture panoramas without using a special camera. Using Panorama Pro, not only can you capture panoramic pictures using your Android device but also apply photo effects on your pictures and share your photos to your favorite social networking sites instantly. What Is Panorama Pro? Panorama Pro is simply a photography app for Android devices whose chief feature is the ability to snap 180-degree, high-quality panoramas.   Aside from that, you can enrich your panoramic photo with special effects that can give them a more dramatic look.  Just set the effect beforehand, capture the photo in one sweeping motion, and voila! Panoramic photo with effects. The app also allows easy photo sharing so you can instantly share your photos to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  The app includes its own photo gallery feature, which you can use to view, organize, manage, or share the photos you captured using the app. Capturing Panoramic Pictures Whether you are a professional photographer or a newbie, it doesn’t really matter that much.  The app makes panoramic photography as easy as a walk in the park.  The interface itself is extremely intuitive and easy to work around in. When you first launch the app, you are immediately introduced to its features through some help screens. If you choose to take some pictures, the app switches to its image capturing mode. At the same time, the sides of the screen also displays various controls. Once in the image capturing mode you are ready to capture panoramic photos. You just need to constantly move the camera horizontally either from right to left or left to right. The slider at the bottom of the screen will guide you in your progress in capturing the panorama. All you need is some steady hands to capture great pictures but you can always practice until you get the perfect shot. Great Effects You can also add some effects to your pictures.  Using the on-screen controls, you can use various photo effects and switch the flashlight on or off.  For now, Panorama Pro offers only three photo effects: old photo, color sketch, and black and white. Though, one can be pretty sure that more improvements and more photo effects will be added in future versions. Once you have captured your panoramic photo, the app takes you to another screen where you can preview, discard, or share the photo that you have captured. Using the one-click sharing feature, just tap the share button to share your photo to your social networking site. You can also add captions to your photo before you share it. Shoot panoramic photos now using your Android phone.  Download and install Panorama Pro free from the Android Market. Are you fond of panorama shots?  What app do you use for taking panoramas? No related posts. This article, Panorama Pro: Easily Capturing Panoramic Photos on Android , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

LG Optimus Vu Starts Selling in Korea, at a Price that Matches Its Size Posted: 07 Mar 2012 07:46 AM PST Just about a month since we've first heard about the Optimus Vu, LG's 5-inch phone/tablet hybrid, the device has become available in its native South Korea. With all the vaporware floating around in the Android ecosystem, it's good to see that, occasionally, a company delivers on its promises in a timely manner. The Optimus Vu, LG's response to Samsung's 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, has a slightly smaller screen that the Note, but comes in a 4:3 aspect ratio that raised many eyebrows upon its debut. Nevertheless, if you can get over the weird form factor, you'll find that the Vu packs some decent specifications, which let it compete easily with the Note, and many other smartphones (or should I say tablets? ) available on the market. Among the highlights of the Optimus Vu, we can note the dual-core Qualcomm SoC running at 1.5 GHz, the 1024 x 768 screen with IPS, and the 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash and autofocusing. Nothing ground-breaking (especially after the specs we were treated with at last week's MWC), but again nothing to disappoint. Oh, maybe there is something – the Vu ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with LG's customary assurance that Ice Cream Sandwich will eventually grace its screen – in maximum three months, that is. LG Optimus Vu's Price May Be Less than Optimal Samsung managed to push a respectable 2 million units of its pen-enabled Galaxy Note since their own "weird" device start selling three months ago. Moreover, the Koreans expect to sell no less than 10 million 5.3-inch Notes this year. To size things up, Samsung sold about 20 million Galaxy S2, since they launched their flagship phone in late April, last year. So, does the Note's good market performance means that the public is hungry for a new class of phone-tablet crossbreed devices? Can LG capitalize on this trend to deliver a hit Optimus Vu? Needless to say, that's probably LG's game-plan. There's one little problem, though – at least in Korea, the Optimus Vu is priced significantly higher than the Galaxy Note. 250 bucks higher, to be precise. The Optimus Vu became available on Monday, from South Korea Telecom and from LG's online store, at 999,900 won, the equivalent of $900 US, without a contract. By comparison, the Note sells in Korea for 750,000 won or $650 US. Does this mean that you can expect the Optimus Vu to cost 900 bucks in the U.S. or Europe? There's a strong possibility that it will cost even more. In the U.S., the Note costs $650 at AT&T without a contract. In Europe it hovers between €650 and €800 ($850 to $1050), depending on the country. Unfortunately, the Vu will probably follow the same pattern, so prepare for some serious sticker shock. No matter how you look at it, $900 ($1200 if you live on the Old Continent) for a smartphone (or for a tablet as a matter of fact) is very expensive, considering the strong competition that the Vu will face on the Western markets. Even with subsidizing from carriers, the Optimus Vu might still be more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Note, and even pricier than the Galaxy Nexus and  other high-end devices. Considering its size, bizarre form factor, and hefty price, can the Optimus Vu make a dent when it comes stateside later this year?  What do you think? No related posts. This article, LG Optimus Vu Starts Selling in Korea, at a Price that Matches Its Size , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

“Where’s My Water?” Hits Number 1 in the Android Market Posted: 07 Mar 2012 07:24 AM PST You have to admit. there is a not a lot of diversity of the "top" category in mobile gaming. We see that usually the top five games in the Android Market consist of Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Fruit Ninja, UNO, and Doodle Jump. Thankfully Disney has stepped up their "game" and released "Where's My Water?". I wrote a review of the game a couple of months ago and it really got to me. It was something different. I mean getting water to an alligators bath was something… well… pretty amusing. But as I go to play it, my most common enemy was not Swampy, the antagonist alligator, buy my low battery notification because I was playing it all of the time. Even where the puzzles got more difficult and the achievements more slim, there was still a passion to play. Congratulations Disney! I think that "Where's My Water?" really deserves to be top dog for paid games, especially of how long ago it was released. You can pick up the game in the Android Market for $0.99  and also a free, demo version. NOTE: The paid version gives you 120 levels and free updates to obtain even more puzzles. UPDATE: Shortly after the post “Draw Something” is now the number one game… However, Where’s My Water?” is a snatch on the Android Market for $0.25, for a limited time which should boost up popularity. No related posts. This article, "Where's My Water?" Hits Number 1 in the Android Market , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Adobe Releases Security Updates for Flash Player on Android Posted: 07 Mar 2012 07:19 AM PST Adobe has released a new version of its Flash Player for Android that fixes some critical security bugs. The new version of Flash, which, incidentally, is also available for Windows, Linux and OS X, fixes security vulnerabilities in Flash Player 11.1.115.6 and earlier versions for Android 4.x, and Flash Player 11.1.111.6 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x. These vulnerabilities, if exploited, could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected phone or tablet. The update fixes two problems – the first is a memory corruption vulnerability in Matrix3D, a part of Flash which is used to determine the position and orientation of a three-dimensional object, that could lead to unauthorized code execution. The second vulnerability patched is an integer error that can lead to information disclosure. Don’t Panic Although these vulnerabilities are seen as critical, Adobe has rated them as “priority 2″ which means that there are currently no known exploits, and, based on previous experience, Adobe does not anticipate that exploits are imminent. As a result, Adobe is recommending users to install the update within the next 30 days. Where to Download If you have Android 4.0, you should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.7 by browsing to the Android Marketplace (now called Google Play Store) from your device. For those with Android 3.x and Android 2.x, you need Flash Player 11.1.111.7, which can be downloaded from the same location on the Play Store. No related posts. This article, Adobe Releases Security Updates for Flash Player on Android , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Apple: We Want $5-$15 for Every Android Device You Sell Posted: 07 Mar 2012 07:02 AM PST Amidst the ongoing courtroom drama between Apple and a number of Android manufacturers, from Samsung to Motorola, Dow Jones Newswire reported that Cupertino is set to extend an olive branch to its patent rivals, which may just bring an end to the ongoing legal war of attrition. An insider familiar with the case said that Apple is ready to make peace and cut some deals with Android OEMs, which will see Apple collecting a licensing fee of 1% to 2.4% from the net sales, for each Android device manufactured by Samsung and Motorola. Such a licensing agreement would put the royalties payment at approximately $5 -$15 per unit. Since we don't believe in unicorns, it is highly unlikely to see any white flags being raised by major Android handset makers anytime soon, especially Samsung and Motorola. With a huge bargaining position as one of Apple's main parts (including memory chips and micro-processors) suppliers, Samsung isn't likely to admit defeat, and will probably choose to prolong the legal battle instead. It'd be even more absurd to think that Motorola, which has been acquired by Google for $12.5 billion specifically to secure various mobile-related patents, would even batter an eyelid on the supposed proposal. The patent disputes between Apple and various Android handset makers have spread across several countries and dozens of cases. No winner has emerged from the patent war so far, as each company has had its share of victories and setbacks. Just as the news broke about Apple offering a licensing fee, Samsung has filed yet another patent lawsuit against Apple, in its homeland Korea. For now, it appears that the patent battles are about to get messier. Meanwhile, somewhere in Redmond, WA, a bunch of Microsoft accountants are busy counting the licensing fees that the software giant receives for 50% of all Android devices sold. At 850,000+ daily Android activations and a conservative $5/licence, that would be $2.125 million every single day. Not bad, Steve, not bad! No related posts. This article, Apple: We Want $5-$15 for Every Android Device You Sell , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

Temple Run Gets Android Release Date: March 27 Posted: 07 Mar 2012 04:37 AM PST Temple Run, one of the most popular free games in the Apple App Store, will soon make its debut on Android as well. According to developer Imangi Studios, the Temple Run Android release date will be March 27, although the game was previously supposed to reach Google's mobile OS in February. The endless gameplay of Temple Run is fairly simple by nature: collect as many gold coins as you can, using gestures to jump, slide, duck, and run, while evading the evil monkeys guarding the temple and all the obstacles in your path. Here is a YouTube video showcasing the Temple Run gameplay: Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi Studios, on Temple Run's port to Android: "We are excited to finally share the Android release date with our fans who have been so enthusiastic and supportive of Temple Run,[…] By expanding to more mobile devices, we hope to provide the same addictive and fast-paced gameplay to an entirely new group of players". Temple Run originally launched on iOS in August 2011, quickly becoming one of the most popular free games in the App Store, but also one of the most popular free apps available on the iPad and iPhone. Currently the seventh most-popular free game in Apple's App Store, Temple Run was downloaded more than 40 million times, and boasts roughly 7 million daily active users. The Indiana Jones-styled game was also the Top Free App and the Top Grossing App on iOS for the month of January 2012. These are impressive figures, to say the least. How do you guys feel about Temple Run? Will you be grabbing the free Android game, once it gets released on March 27, or will you stick to your Angry Birds instead? Let us know in the comment section below! No related posts. This article, Temple Run Gets Android Release Date: March 27 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.