Android World: Android and Me

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Android and Me

Google’s Nexus Tablet headed to San Francisco for I/O unveiling
New rumors on Galaxy Note II point to UBP display, October release
MightyText lets you view and respond to texts from any computer
LG to focus more on smartphones, less on tablets
Atmo available now, bringing real-time multiplayer space combat to Android

Google’s Nexus Tablet headed to San Francisco for I/O unveiling

Posted: 19 Jun 2012 02:40 PM PDT

With Google I/O right around a week away now, you’d have to figure that if the Google Nexus 7 were to make an appearance at the conference, it must have already gone into production, right? Maybe even already shipped out to San Francisco? If Digitimes is right, which is a big if indeed, then that just might be the case.

Digitimes is reporting today that Google’s 7-inch Nexus tablet, rumored to be called the Nexus 7, is already being shipped to San Francisco in preparation for Google I/O. Although Digitimes’ track record with rumors isn’t the greatest, since we’ve already seen sample pictures from the Nexus 7 surface online, we’re inclined to believe this one.

So what else does Digitimes have to say about the Nexus 7? They say it will be priced around $199 (we’ve definitely heard that before), will be missing a rear facing camera in order to keep the price down, come pre-loaded with Google Chrome as the default browser and rocking WiFi only.

Are you excited for the Google Nexus 7? We certainly are. Hopefully Google will break out some sort of special announcement to go along with their Nexus tablet that really makes it desirable. Something Majel related, perhaps?

New rumors on Galaxy Note II point to UBP display, October release

Posted: 19 Jun 2012 01:22 PM PDT

With the success of the original Galaxy Note still following them well into the second quarter of 2012, Samsung is already preparing a successor to the popular phablet. Thanks to a rumor report out of MK Business News, we may now have an idea what could go into the device.

According to MK Business News, the Samsung Galaxy Note II will be improved in just about every way possible. Not only is the Note II rumored to include a quad-core processor, sturdier build, better battery life and Jelly Bean, it will also deploy a new screen technology known as unbreakable plane, or UBP.

Instead of using glass like with traditional OLED displays, UBP displays use a polymer film allowing for thinner and lighter components. UBP technology has also been called a, “precursor to the flexible display.” So while the Galaxy Note II may not feature a flexible OLED display, it will bring us one step closer.

If the latest rumors are right, you can look for the Galaxy Note II to launch sometime this October, going head-to-head with the Apple iPhone 5. In the meantime, we’ll still be keeping our eyes out for that elusive T-Mobile branded Note spotted in late April.

MightyText lets you view and respond to texts from any computer

Posted: 19 Jun 2012 11:21 AM PDT

Two ex-Googlers have announced today the release of an application that will allow Android users to view and send SMS or MMS messages without needing to be near their Android smartphone. Previously in beta testing as a Chrome extension, MightyText has now added a web application that allows you to connect virtually any browser up to the MightyText application on your Android smartphone to sync your text messages for easy web management.

The setup process is dead simple; download the application linked at the end of this post to your Android phone, grant the necessary permissions, then head over to MightyText’s website to log in and sync your messages. Then, sync to your Google Contacts to have name information added to the MightyText web app. Once you’ve completed those simple steps, you should be good to text the night away from your browser.

I can think of a multitude of uses for such an application, most notably for those times where I’m in a meeting at work and it’d be rude to pull out my smartphone. Since I always have my work-issued laptop on me at meetings, I can simply pull up the website if I want to send or view an important message.

After spending a little time with the application, I can verify that everything works as advertised. Assuming you can get over the idea of having your messages synced to the cloud, I highly encourage you to give MightyText a try. If you decide to do so, let us know what you think of the service by dropping a comment below.

SMS Text Messaging ↔ Computer MightyText PLAY QR

LG to focus more on smartphones, less on tablets

Posted: 19 Jun 2012 07:26 AM PDT

LG Optimus Pad LTE_top side[20120118084441799]

Recognizing their lack of success in the tablet market, LG has announced that they’re putting tablet development on the backburner, and will instead focus their efforts on smartphones, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg. LG had introduced the Optimus Pad LTE earlier this year, which failed to gain traction in an ever-crowded tablet market dominated by Apple’s iPad. The move is indicative of struggles Android tablet makers are having gaining traction in the tablet market.

LG will focus its efforts over coming months on developing high-quality smartphones running the Android platform, which in my opinion is a good move for the company. While LG makes stellar TVs and home appliances, their previous Android smartphones have left much to be desired. It’s a shame really, as LG is fully-capable of making high-quality products that would rival the likes of the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III, but their implementations thus far have been subpar. Perhaps with a refocusing on smartphones, LG will emerge as a strong competitor in the Android smartphone market.

Time will tell whether LG’s move away from tablets will be beneficial for them. The tablet market is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years.

Atmo available now, bringing real-time multiplayer space combat to Android

Posted: 19 Jun 2012 07:10 AM PDT

We just wrapped up the weekend beta contest for Atmo which saw Neil Lund do some serious damage to the competition ending with more than double the total of his nearest opponent. So congratulations to Neil on his new tablet and thanks to everyone that participated and contributed your feedback.

The good news for everyone is that the game has now officially been released into Google Play and has even already incorporated some of the changes you requested.

For those that didn’t participate in the beta, Atmo is a real-time multiplayer space combat game which centers around a capture the flag style objective. You and your teammate must destroy your opponents capsules to find their flag and then return it to your goal while also defending your own flag and vaporizing your enemies should the vile scum try to make off with your flag.

The 3D graphics are well done and the game runs smoothly on my Galaxy Nexus. The heads up display keeps you aware of where everything is at any given moment which keeps you from getting lost in what is a fairly open world.

I highly recommend starting with the tutorial, it takes all of 45 seconds, but it gives you a quick primer on all the controls and the objects in the game. Quick warning that it puts you directly into a live game once you complete the tutorial, so be ready. And another pro tip, you can just hold down the fire button to maintain a steady stream of lasers heading toward ships, capsules and whatever else may be foolish enough to get in your way.

If you just want to jump in and play that can be done, but if you want your score to track over time then you need to login using your Facebook credentials. In a future update this will be leveraged to help pair you with your Facebook friends that have the game.

Speaking of updates, the Door 6 team has quite a few plans for Atmo beyond what is available today. They will soon be bringing in a ranking system which will also introduce a leveling mechanic and achievement rewards. For those of you with friends carrying an iOS device the game will also launch on their App Store soon and will allow you to play with them as well.

Further down the line they will be adding numerous ship customization options which will vary from improving aspects of your ship’s performance to introducing additional weaponry like autonomous drones. Long term they also want to expand from the capture the flag concept and open the world up for exploration.

They are looking at the ship upgrades as one potential monetization source for the game with in-app purchases if players don’t want to wait to earn the upgrades in game. They may also introduce a paid version of the game which would bring with it some special ships or power ups.

Atmo is available for free in Google Play right now so go ahead and download it below to get in on the action and let us know what you think.