Sunday, April 15, 2012

Update - 222



Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:40 PM PDT
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The T-Mobile Sidekick will always hold a special place in my heart. I’d even go as far as to call its early days on this earth as a precursor to what we now know as the Android OS. Well, like all good things, the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G has reached its end-of-life today, and it’s time for the device to be officially retired.
But it’s not all bad new for T-Mobile’s QWERTY lovers. In a statement to The Verge, T-Mobile mentioned that just because this device has reached the end of the road, the Sidekick brand will live on.
While the T-Mobile Sidekick 4G is being retired, it doesn’t mean we are discontinuing the T-Mobile Sidekick line. T-Mobile continues to update and expand its 4G product portfolio and we’ll keep you posted when we have news to share on T-Mobile’s latest 4G devices.
I’ll be crossing my fingers for a newer, more higher-end Sidekick in T-Mobile’s future. If you think about it, you can almost count all the Android QWERTY devices on one hand. As they say, all slates and no keyboards makes Andy a dull boy.

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:10 PM PDT
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Okay, so the YouTube app has been updated in the Google Play store today and this one was a little more sneaky than most. Seeing how the official YouTube app is already installed on your device, jumping into your apps list wont show you that an update is available. No, sir. You’re going to have to update this one manually by searching for the app yourself, and clicking update. Wasn’t so hard now, was it?
The update will bring the YouTube app up-to-date with version 2.4.4 (previously, 2.3.4) and although it doesn’t seem like all that much has changed, apparently, there is a new “HD option” for applicable pre-Honeycomb devices. I’m guessing this is for those of you with Samsung Galaxy Notes, given you’re the only ones with that big and beautiful HD display but still running Gingerbread. Let us know if you see the new HD option. Cheers!
[Google Play Link | HD YouTube video (for testing)]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 04:53 PM PDT
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EA has released 2 great new titles today onto Google Play — FIFA 12 and NBA Jam. Arguably, one of the best soccer games to grace a handheld, FIFA 12 is finally available for the rest of us, after having remained an Xperia Play exclusive for the last few months. Here’s what you can look forward to:
Over 22 officially licensed leagues, 500+ licensed teams and more than 15,000 players. Take to the pitch with superstars like Kaka, Wayne Rooney, Gerard Piqué, Karim Benzema and more. From the English Premiership and La Liga, to the German Bundesliga and beyond - dominate your league and march toward glory in 32 authentic stadiums.
So if you like your football, you know, down on the ground, you can pick up FIFA 12 in the Google Play store for $5.

NBA Jam however, is all new to Android and gives you the opportunity to play that classic 2-on-2 b-ball against a friend via local multiplayer.
3 modes of play let you ball the way you want:
  • Play Now - Select a team and jump right into the ballgame.
  • Classic Campaign - Defeat all other teams to win the championship, and unlock legends, hidden players, and outrageous cheats.
  • Local Multiplayer - Go big head 2 big head against a friend via local WiFi or Bluetooth
Don’t forget that both titles require a lengthy download, upwards of 300MB so you might want to have some WiFi handy if you’re hoping to jump in and play right away. Enjoy.
[FIFA 2012 | NBA Jam]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 03:49 PM PDT
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All you CW viewers will want to download an app that just hit the Google Play Store. The CW have released their Android application and it’s a doozy. You’ll get free episodes of all their shows, including the latest episodes to air in a particular season. It’s pretty much like having the channel in your pocket. That’s a biggie, but there are a lot more features. You can view photo galleries, clips, schedules and follow shows and stars on Twitter and Facebook. All of it is free so CW fans should make no delay in downloading.

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 02:47 PM PDT
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If you’re looking for an official extended battery for your Galaxy Nexus, Amazon’s got the goods. Not only do they have the goods (I emphasize that because Verizon is fresh out), they’ve got them for $25 a piece. Not a bad deal for a product which is usually $50. I have a feeling these’ll go quick so get your order in right away at Amazon’s website. [via Droid-Life]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 02:18 PM PDT
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Carrier O2 UK confirmed to a customer on Twitter that the HTC One X will be headed to them April 5th. After originally promising an April launch date, I’m sure people will be pleased to hear that it’ll arrive so early in the month. It’s unclear whether or not they’ll be actually selling the phone at that date or if they’re just confirming that they’ll have it in inventory, but it’s good news regardless. [via Gizmodo]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 01:37 PM PDT
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Google Flight Search is a great tool that makes finding the best deals on flights just a little bit easier. You can now fly from the US to many countries around the world. Google has added support for 500 different international airports and are working to add more everyday. Unfortunately you still can’t search for flights departing from countries other than the United States, but we’re hopeful that Google is working on that so everyone can utilize the tool. If you have an international trip coming up consider using Flight Search. [via Google]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 01:15 PM PDT
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The Now Network has inched one step closer to being able to provide the Galaxy Nexus for their consumers. The device has just hit the FCC and, as promised, those sweet LTE radios are sitting inside. (Good riddance, WiMax!) Alongside LTE, we’ve got radios for Sprint’s 3G, 2G, and voice, as well as NFC and Bluetooth. It appears their device will stack up similarly to Verizon’s, though nothing can be confirmed at the time. Unfortunately there’s still no expected release window to be confirmed, but Sprint’s launching their LTE network in mid-2012 so it would appear that we’ll be seeing it creep into the Summer months. I’m sure Sprint won’t launch the phone without the network up and running somewhere so don’t bank on it any time before then. [FCC--, via]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 12:52 PM PDT
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Amazon Prime Instant Video users can look forward to another huge addition to Amazon’s content library. They have reached an agreement with Discovery Communications to add 25 years’ worth of content to the service. Prior seasons and espisodes from shows airing on the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science and Military channels will all be added.

Of course, new content will have to come a bit later after airing (in the case of a seasonal show, most likely after the season has been made available on physical media). It really is a great treasure trove of content if you’re someone like me who enjoys watching documentaries and research shows.
All of the content should already be available for instant streaming so head to Amazon.com or your Amazon Video-capable device (Amazon Kindle Fire) to get started. Read on for full press details.
Amazon Announces Increased Prime Instant Video Selection via Digital Video License Agreement with Discovery Communications
Popular series from Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet and more now available; all Prime Instant Videos can be viewed by Prime members on Kindle Fire and hundreds of connected devices
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mar. 14, 2012– Amazon.com, Inc. and Discovery Communications today announced a licensing agreement that will allow Amazon Prime members to stream prior seasons of hit series and specials from Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science and Military Channel, as well as content from the company’s rich, 25-year programming library. Among the programs included in the agreement are Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress and Animal Planet’s Whale Wars, in addition to other titles. Since the 2011 launch of Prime Instant Video, a subscription service of Amazon Instant Video, Amazon has added more than 12,000 titles to bring the total title count to more than 17,000.
"Discovery Communications has always been a leader in creating entertaining and enlightening programming for the entire family," said Brad Beale, director of video content acquisition for Amazon. "With the addition of this great content from Discovery Communications, Prime customers now have more than 17,000 titles to choose from when watching Prime Instant Video--that’s in addition to the more than 120,000 titles that are offered to all customers for purchase or rent on Amazon Instant Video."
"Discovery Communications is committed to delighting audiences on all platforms supported by the right business model, and we are pleased to work with Amazon to help satisfy our existing viewers’ curiosity and introduce new audiences to our engaging content," said Rebecca Glashow, Senior Vice President, Digital Distribution and Partnerships, Discovery Communications. "This library offering will be a wonderful complement to our current array of multi-channel video services and most importantly, a win for viewers."
About Amazon Instant Video
Amazon Instant Video is a digital video streaming and download service that offers Amazon customers the ability to rent, purchase or subscribe to a huge catalog of videos. Customers can choose from more than 120,000 titles to purchase or rent and content ranges from new release movies to classic favorites, major television shows, entire seasons, or even day after air TV. Prime Instant Video is Amazon’s video subscription offer--it includes a subset of more than 17,000 videos selected from the full assortment available at Amazon Instant Video. This subscription offer allows US Prime customers to stream as many Prime Instant Videos as they like, at no additional cost.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. The new latest generation Kindle is the lightest, most compact Kindle ever and features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper even in bright sunlight. Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes - still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display. Kindle Touch 3G is the top of the line e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch, with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G. Kindle Fire is the Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games and web browsing with all the content, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, Amazon Silk (Amazon’s new revolutionary cloud-accelerated web browser), vibrant color touch screen, and powerful dual-core processor.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 210 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity through 142 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science and Investigation Discovery, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, The Hub and 3net, the first 24-hour 3D network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools and owns and operates a diversified portfolio of digital media services, including HowStuffWorks.com. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:45 AM PDT
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Food truck owners rejoice! PayPal has introduced their own mobile card reader and payment service. Dubbed PayPal Here, the service is as straight forward as it can be. Merchants attach a credit card reader dongle (PayPal’s is shaped like a triangle and is blue) to their phones  and buyers swipe their card through to pay for goods or services. Beyond that, merchants can take checks and cash, and the app will allow them to log sales as they are made in order to keep the book
s up-to-date. PayPal challenges Square by offering a 2.7% transaction compared to 2.75%. It may not seem like much but every cent counts. Unfortunately, the app is only available on iOS but PayPal urges Android users to order the card reader anyway as an Android app will soon follow. Head to PayPal.com/here to get started.

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:06 AM PDT
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It looks like a few South Korean carriers and OEMs have gotten themselves into a bit of trouble with the South Korean government. Samsung, LG, Pantech, SK Telecom, KT and LG Upius have all been fined for price fixing, an illegal scheme which helps drive up the price of products for profit. The carriers and OEMs then advertise the device at a lower price through subsidization. It’s pretty much what most of the world is used to with cellular contracts, but it appears the South Korean government isn’t having any of that. Each of them were fined separate amounts which all added up to about $40 million dollars, with Samsung and SK Telecom getting hit with much of the bill. It sucks, but they have to deal with it. And at the end of the day, this is chump change for these cash cows. [Korea Times via Engadget]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 09:22 AM PDT
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TED has released an official app for Android, bringing 1100+ TEDTalks to smartphones and tablets. Those familiar with TED will appreciate access to the large library of lectures and discussions that aim to push the boundaries of human thought and scientific advancement. Along with new talks added daily, the app features online and offline search capabilities, social sharing, bookmarks, and offline viewing.
The app has been designed to adapt to a wide range of Android devices, including the Kindle Fire. The dual screens of the Sony Tablet P have also been taken into consideration. The new app can be found in the Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore now.
Google Play Store Link: TED
[via TED]

Posted: 15 Mar 2012 08:20 AM PDT
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Though there has been no official statement from AT&T, some HTC Vivid owners have been able to pull what appears to be release-ready Ice Cream Sandwich update to their devices by performing a simple dialer trick. Calling *#*#682#*#* will ping the servers hosting the file and initiate a push to the handset. Some users have had to wait a bit for the update to show after dialing the number above. Others have had no success in updating the Vivid.
The build is slightly fresher than the most recent ICS leak and brings along Sense 3.6 along with Android 4.0.3, but without an official release statement we can’t be 100 percent certain this is indeed the final build AT&T and HTC intended to deliver to users. You can test your luck and see about giving the new software a spin by performing the dialer trick and waiting for that sweet treat to arrive.
[via AndroidCentral]


Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:54 AM PDT
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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been spending the last week trying to find a way to balance normal life responsibilities with your duties to protect the earth and universe as a whole from the reaper invasion. Yes, Mass Effect 3 is one heck of an immersive gaming experience and now you can take the obsession everywhere you go. New in the Google Play Store is a special live wallpaper honoring the first human Spectre, Commander Shepard (you can select between the male and female version).
It’s not the greatest live wallpaper to ever grace an Android device, and it does amount to little more than a giant ad on your tablet, but it’s a cool little offering that fans of the franchise should appreciate. Head over to the link below to grab it for yourself.
Google Play Link: Mass Effect 3 Live Wallpaper
[via AndroidPolice]


Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:29 AM PDT
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A year ago Amazon boldly launched a direct competitor to what was then known as the Android Market with a modest selection of around 4,000 apps. Twelve months later the service is celebrating its first birthday and solid growth to what now amounts to over 31,000 applications and games. To commemorate the occasion a sale is now taking place that will feature the store’s top-selling apps, including Fruit Ninja, Splashtop Remote Desktop, and Wolfram Aplha among others.
Starting today, Plants vs. Zombies is on sale for 67 percent off. The number apps on sale increases each day for the next week (day two will feature two apps, day three will feature three apps, and so on). Additionally, Amazon is running a contest with eight Kindle Fire’s up for grabs for those that enter before March 31st.
So of the millions of apps downloaded, which ranked highest in the Appstore? Here’s the full list.
Top Paid Apps (over the last 12 months)
  1. Cut the Rope
  2. Angry Birds (Ad-Free)
  3. Where’s My Water?
  4. Angry Birds Rio (Ad-Free)
  5. Angry Birds Seasons (Ad-Free)
  6. Plants vs. Zombies (Kindle Fire Edition)
  7. Fruit Ninja
  8. SCRABBLE (Kindle Fire Edition)
  9. UNO (Kindle Fire Edition)
  10. TETRIS
Top Free Apps (over the last 12 months)
  1. Angry Birds Free
  2. Netflix
  3. Solitaire
  4. Fruit Ninja Free
  5. Angry Birds Seasons Free
  6. Bubble Buster
  7. Little Piano Free
  8. Roller Lite
  9. Jewels
  10. Hangman Free
Another fun fact revealed by Amazon highlights the savings of their Free App of the Day promotion. If a user were to have downloaded each app offered free of charge the savings would have amounted to nearly $1,000. That’s a lot of extra dough in the pocket.
[via TechCrunch]

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