Android and Me |
- Scalado shares their vision of the mobile imaging industry beyond 2012
- Shot Control wins week 4 of #thenextinstall, 10 new apps try to knock it down
- LG reveals first Android smartphone with 2GB RAM
- The One X vs the Galaxy S III – Android’s summer showdown
- NBA Jam now available on most popular Android devices
- Top 10 Android app updates: TuneWiki, AirDroid, Equalizer
| Scalado shares their vision of the mobile imaging industry beyond 2012 Posted: 04 May 2012 02:31 PM PDT |
| Shot Control wins week 4 of #thenextinstall, 10 new apps try to knock it down Posted: 04 May 2012 12:25 PM PDT  Can our community help discover the next great Android app? Welcome to a new experiment called #thenextinstall where we try to see if we can find an Android app in the rough, and boost its installs and exposure to new highs.  Carrier Coverage daily installs. Last week our community selected Carrier Coverage, an app that attempts to answer the question ‘Which carrier is best for you?’, which is a pretty ambitious project. We thought it was a cool concept, but the developer might have a hard time finding success. The app hasn’t been updated since February and we discovered there are competing apps like Sensorly that have better reviews and a larger following. Not all our picks will turn into winners, but at least we helped boost Carrier Coverage’s daily installs to new highs. Week 4 Winner: Shot ControlThis week was a very close call, but Shot Control by StarvingMind came out on top as our weekly winner. Our audience has a thing for camera apps, and Shot Control is one of the most details camera apps to come around in awhile. It was designed to help serious photographers take better photographs. If you prefer to just point and shoot pics and know nothing about photography, then this app might not be for you. However, if you love to play with all your camera settings to get that perfect shot, then Shot Control is easily worth the $1.99 asking price. Most customers who have reviewed the app have all praised the developer. Comments include, “Dev seems to very proactive in wanting to make this app stand head and shoulders above else”, “The developer responded to my email within minutes”, “The developer is excellent about responding to issues and questions”, and “He is clearly committed to making this the most flat-out functional camera app on the market. Get it!” I went ahead and purchased the app just to support the developer, but I haven’t had much time this week to play around with it. Now that it’s on all my devices, I’m sure I’ll be spending some more time with it soon. Key features include:
Week 4 ChallengersBrowse over the new app suggestions and let us know if any make it on to your device. Time2Go
Pitch: Never be late again. Notifications when it is time to leave to make it to your events on time. PicShop Lite Photo Editor
Pitch: Beautiful design combined with tons of editing options and dozen’s of filters make this the premier mobile editing suite on the market. LogiType Tablet Keyboard
Pitch: LogiType uses a new groundbreaking technology to give you the easiest and fastest touch-typing keyboard available for Android tablets. Smart Statusbar
Pitch: Smart Statusbar is the first and only Status bar enabler in full screen app. You can now reveal status bar in any Full screen app with gesture. App Folder Advance
Pitch: Organize your home screen quick and easy. Group icons and place them in a folder. Solid Explorer
Pitch: Solid Explorer brings to you a new file browsing experience. This is the most attractive, eye catching and intuitive file manager for the Android. Suggested by: amgala SMS Flash
Pitch: Instant SMS notification without stealing focus! Unlike SMS popup, you can touch through the displayed SMS and continue interaction with the screen. Specially built for gamers. Zillow Rentals
Pitch: Find apartments and houses for rent with this app designed for renters in a hurry and on the go. Zillow Rentals is the easiest way to find your next apartment or rental home. Make Me a Pirate
Pitch: Arrrr you a real pirate? Just take a photo and look like a pirate within seconds! Schemer
Pitch: Schemer. The beginning of everything worth doing. Are you curious? Ambitious? Daring? Start doing more awesome stuff by using Schemer. What's next? How can I participate?If you want to play along, then join the league of app addicts.
Over the coming week, we will continue to monitor all the apps and see which generate the most buzz. We will be watching the installs, download clicks, review scores, coverage on other sites, and more to see which app comes out on top. Next week we will name the winning app, and then put it up against 10 new apps to repeat the process.
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| LG reveals first Android smartphone with 2GB RAM Posted: 04 May 2012 11:16 AM PDT  Today LG revealed the Optimus LTE2 which is the first smartphone to feature 2GB of RAM, double that of most high-end phones. LG obsesses with Samsung, the same way that Samsung obsesses with Apple, so it’s no surprise the Korean handset maker quietly announced a new smartphone in responses to Samsung’s Unpacked event. Highlights of the Optimus LTE2 include a 4.7 inch True HD IPS display, dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 2 GB RAM, 2150 mAh battery, and support for LTE networks in Korea. The device is expected to go on sale in mid-May. We don’t expect this exact model will ever come to the US, but it provides a good idea of where the high-end smartphones are headed. By the end of 2012, most flagship products will have quad-core processors, 2 GB RAM, and 2,000+ mAh batteries. Thank you LG for making all our phones feel a little more inadequate. Gallery
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| The One X vs the Galaxy S III – Android’s summer showdown Posted: 04 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT  Another year, another epic showdown between HTC and Samsung. Last year Samsung and HTC went head-to-head with the Galaxy S II and the Sensation. Both phones featured amazing specs sheets, but Samsung ultimately came out on top. This year, the story’s pretty much the same. The only things that have really changed are the names of the phones and a few key specifications. HTC has stepped up its game with the introduction of the One X, which went on sale across Europe in early April. HTC’s phone features a 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD2 display which wraps around the edges of the phone’s unibody polycarbonate shell. Powering the One X is a quad-core 1.5GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor paired with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. While the phone features incredible specs, the One X’s 8 megapixel camera with dedicated ImageChip and ImageSense technology is what HTC is using to really differentiate the phone from the competition. But things aren’t that simple. The HTC One X may have the advantage of an early start, but Samsung’s plan to hold back the unveiling of the Galaxy S III gave them the opportunity to see HTC’s offering and make sure their flagship device was on par, or better. The Samsung Galaxy S III features a 4.8-inch pentile Super HD AMOLED display, Exynos 4 Quad processor and an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with zero shutter lag technology. The SGSIII is wrapped in a sleek 8.6mm polycarbonate shell with curved edges. The spec comparison may be similar, but Samsung chose to equip its phone with a larger 2100 mAh battery and an expandable storage slot. Most consumers will gloss over these two features, but power users will certainly be drawn to them. Each phone has its unique advantages, but we all know that it’s not always about having the best specifications. A manufacturer's reputation plays a huge role in a consumer's purchasing decisions. Picking the right Android phone is a daunting task and we don’t envy the uninformed masses who will need to choose between the Samsung Galaxy S III and the HTC One X. I have not used the Samsung Galaxy S III yet, but that doesn’t really matter. Samsung has proven time and time again that they can deliver phones with incredible specifications, but the experience of owning a Samsung phone doesn’t even come close to what HTC has to offer. The HTC One X may not have a removable battery, but it doesn’t seem imperative to have more than a full day of battery life on a smartphone. When it comes to design, the HTC One X is light years ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S III which seems to take design cues from the Palm Pre which was released in 2009. On the software side, HTC Sense is far better than any implementation of TouchWiz and then there’s always the question of getting software updates when new versions of Android are released. Samsung does a decent job of rolling out updates, but our research has shown that HTC has the best track record of updating its phones to the next version of Android. Who do you think will be the winner in Android’s big summer showdown? Is the HTC One X good enough to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S III? Let us know which features or specs have the most influence on your purchasing decisions and which phone you will be purchasing this summer.
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| NBA Jam now available on most popular Android devices Posted: 04 May 2012 09:30 AM PDT  Boomshakalaka! I was really excited when EA Mobile released NBA Jam back in March, but I was quickly saddened to see they only supported a handful of devices, not including any of the newer ones I had in possession. I’ve been checking the app regularly to see if they would add more devices and last week EA finally pushed out a new release. To my surprise, NBA Jam now supports almost every popular Android device. This includes the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, ASUS Transformer Prime, HTC One X, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Nexus S, and more. The game still sells for $4.99, but it’s totally worth the asking price if this game was one of your childhood favorites. Highlights of NBA Jam include:
This couldn’t come at a better time as the NBA playoffs are in full swing. I’m a huge San Antonio Spurs fan, so it’s time for me to go load up a game and smack down the Lakers. Hopefully EA will continue to update the game and more features, like online multiplayer (please?!).
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| Top 10 Android app updates: TuneWiki, AirDroid, Equalizer Posted: 04 May 2012 07:56 AM PDT  Welcome back to our weekly Top 10 Android App Updates column, where we take a look at the most upgraded apps for the week. I've found that one of the best ways to discover useful apps is to look at what people are actually updating, and not focus on which apps have the most installs. To find the most updated apps, I turn to AppAware. It's a great tool that shows me which apps have active support from their developers and sometimes reminds me of an old app that I might have removed long ago. Make sure to install it so your activity can help determine our weekly top 10 list. This week I'm going to do things a little different. I normally filter out apps that have over 10 million installs, but I'm going to make an exception for popular apps that had significant updates. I hope you enjoy this weekly feature and discover some apps that you might find useful. TuneWiki – Version 4.0.0
What’s new in this version:
TuneWiki is the music player that lets you get lyrics instantly translated into 40+ languages. This week they rolled out a major update that includes a new Android 4.0 inspired design. I tried out the new version and it appears the performance has been greatly improved. I was able to ID songs pretty quick and it pulled up the lyrics right away. If you have never tried TuneWiki, they also have a social network that lets you comment on and discuss the meaning of lyrics. It’s definitely a unique experience for music fans and it’s free, so check it out. AirDroid – Version 1.0.5
What’s new in this version:
Just yesterday we previewed AirDroid and then the developer pushed out the latest update hours later. This is the first upgrade since last year and it’s a pretty big one. If you want to manager you phone from your desktop browser, this is the ultimate app. Waze – Version 3.0.2.8
What’s new in this version:
Waze has been around since the early days of Android, but we haven’t really talked about it as much since Google Navigation was released. It still has a pretty strong following with it’s social features that connect you to other drivers. The latest update is rather minor, but we wanted to give Waze a shout out for pushing community-based traffic and navigation. iris. – Version 4.5.1
What’s new in this version:
Iris is one of the original Siri clones, and it’s also one of the best looking. The latest update killed some annoying ads, improved integration with social networks, and enhanced the overall user experience. AfterFocus – Version 1.1.0
What’s new in this version:
As long as AfterFocus remains one of the most popular apps in our community, we will keep reporting on the latest news. This week the developer released a new update that improves the brush control in manual mode. This makes it easier to zoom in on images and make selections for background and foreground. We still expect a Pro version to be released this month. GO Weather Widget – Version 1.24
What’s new in this version:
Weather widgets are always all the rage and the GO dev team has one of the nicer looking sets. The latest update lets you control when the weather forecast is refreshed and includes enhanced support for multiple cities. There are a ton of themes available, so hopefully you won’t get bored with this one. Groupon – Version 1.14.2140
What’s new in this version:
Like many of you, I have caught the Groupon bug. It used to annoy me with notifications, but the latest update provides users with more control over that. I still think half the daily deals are crap, but there are some real gems in there sometimes. Apex Launcher – Version 1.1.1
What’s new in this version:
Last week we featured Nova Launcher, so it’s only fair we share Apex Launcher this week. This home screen replacement tool is also targeted at Android 4.0 devices and focuses on performance and an insane amount of customizations. I’ve grown tired of most of these home screen launchers, but they are great if you love to tweak out your home screen. TripIt – Version 2.4.1
What’s new in this version:
I travel a lot for work, and I never leave home without making sure my TripIt account is synced. It automatically imports all your travel itinerary and helps you keep up with your flight and hotel information. I rely on it so much, that I can’t travel without it now. The latest update lets you view previous trips and fixes various bugs. Equalizer – Version 3.1.9
What’s new since version 3.1.7:
We know music apps are always popular, so we thought we should share the latest update to Equalizer. This app provides a ton of presets, multiple skins, support for Google TV, and some nice looking widgets. If you are an audiophile, this is a must download.
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