Saturday, June 30, 2012

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

Adobe Flash for Android to be Discontinued and No Longer Available with Jelly Bean

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 02:46 PM PDT

Adobe is getting serious about no longer supporting Flash for Android and mobile browsers in general, while continuing to develop for Adobe Air mobile apps. The Flash Team took to their blog today to announce that with the new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, there will not be a certified Flash Player. In fact Adobe is taking it a step further and having the existing version removed from the Play Store on August 15. The current player supports Android 4.0 ICS in the default browser, however as Chrome is the new default browser in Jelly Bean, and does not support Flash, it is clearly on its way out.

If many of the sites you frequent use Flash and do not have an HTML 5 implementation, your best bet would be to download and keep a copy of the latest APK for future use. If you already have Flash installed on your device it will continue to function and receive critical bug fixes. If you plan to update your device to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Adobe goes as far as to say they recommend uninstalling the Flash Player, though it should work with any browser except Chrome.

How do you feel about Flash no longer being supported on mobile moving forward, has HTML 5 implementation gone far enough?

Source: Adobe’s Blog

Hands on with Frontline Commando on the Nexus 7 [Video]

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 12:24 PM PDT

There was no shortage of positive Nexus 7 news over the past couple of days and I imagine many of you are looking forward to picking one up. For those of you who have pre-ordered already you may be pleased to know that some pretty awesome games have already been optimized for the Nexus 7 and are available now in the Play Store.

We stopped by and talked to the folks from Glu Mobile and we weren’t surprised to hear that they have been in collaboration with Google to get a few games ready for the Nexus 7 launch.  While there are nearly a dozen games from Glu Mobile that will work beautifully on the Nexus tablet, we were given a look at Frontline Commando and it looks absolutely amazing.  It's clear that the Tegra 3 processor has no issues powering graphic-intensive apps, and although Frontline Commando looks just like a high-end PC shooter, there was virtually zero lag. Check out the demo video after the break and be sure to grab Frontline Commando once the Nexus 7 arrives on your doorstep. Who's getting one?

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

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The results are in: Google Search destroys Apple’s Siri

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 11:43 AM PDT

Every since Apple unveiled Siri, they tried to make us believe it was this amazing product that could never be wrong. Steve Jobs led us to believe it was as good if not better than Google search, and many people have attempted to prove or disprove this on a smaller scale. We really needed a more comprehensive test. That test has been conducted and things don’t look good for Siri.

Before you go thinking that an Android fanboy did the test, it was Piper Jaffrey’s Gene Munster. Gene is an Apple fanboy. In fact I blasted him in a recent post about his survey that showed developers favor Apple. He put together 1600 questions and asked both Siri and Google. He also went a step further and asked 800 of the questions in a quiet environment and the other 800 on the busy streets of Minneapolis. Hit the break for the results.

Since he didn’t use Google’s Voice Search, all questions were typed in for Google. It’s not surprising that Google understood 100% of the questions. On the other hand Siri was all voice and she understood the questions 83% of the time in noisy conditions and 89% of the time in a quiet environment. As to the results, Google was able to answer the questions accurately 86% of the time while Siri was able to get it right 62% of the time on the street and 68% of the time in a quiet room. Munster graded Google with a B+ and Siri with a D.

“In order to become a viable mobile search alternative,” Munster writes, “Siri must match or surpass Google’s accuracy of B+ and move from a grade D to a B or higher.”

According to Wiki, Siri gets 60% of its answers from Google, 20% from Yelp, 14% from WolframAlpha, 4% from Yahoo and 2% from Wikipedia. Here’s what Munster found:

“Breaking down Siri’s reliance further,” Munster writes, “Google provides 100% of navigation results, 61% of information results, 48% of commerce results and 42% of local results. Among other result aggregators, Yelp provided the most local results (51%) and commerce results (51%), while WolframAlpha provided 34% of information results.”

Siri is promised to be better in iOS 6, but that remains to be seen. Not only that, Apple is continuing to get away from Google. For example, with iOS 6, they will use their own Maps data and they will start to rely on Yahoo Sports for sports scores, Open Table for restaurant reservations, Rotten Tomatoes for movie show times, and Fandango for movie ticket purchases. Will this pay off for Apple or will the lack of accuracy remain?

Here are some of the questions Munster asked and how Siri handled them

  • What team does Peyton Manning play for? Responded with the answer to the previous query. This was the most common error.
  • Where is Elvis buried? Responded I can’t answer that for you. It thought the persons name was Elvis Buried.
  • Where am I? Pin dropped in the wrong place.
  • When did the movie Cinderella come out? Responded with a movie theater search on Yelp.
  • How do I get from Boston to New York? Responded I can only give directions from your current location. I cant give you directions to a place you are not in.
  • What spices are in Lasagna? Responded with a Yelp search with lasagna on the menu.
  • When is the next Haley’s comment? Responded “You have no meetings matching Haley’s”
  • I want to go to Lake Superior? Responded with directions to the company Lake Superior X-Ray.

I do find it interesting that Munster didn’t use Google’s Voice Search in this test, but I guess he really wanted to find out if Apple’s search queries were up to par with Google’s rather than see who can handle “voice” better.

source: fortune

GameStop taking pre-orders for the Nexus 7

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 11:37 AM PDT

Not ordered yourself a new Nexus 7 yet? Well it’s about to become a bit easier to get your hands on one. As convenient as it may be to order direct from the Google Play Store, some people out there still enjoy the experience of walking into a store, handing over some cash and walking out with their new toy. (Hard to believe I know)

For the more traditional shoppers amongst you, GameStop have got you covered. They will be stocking the Nexus 7 from launch and have even set up a pre-order page which is live right now. As an added incentive GameStop are accepting trade-ins of other tablets; any trade-in specifically towards the purchase of a Nexus 7 will gain you an extra 30% in store value.

Bargain hunters rejoice as the ultra-affordable tablet just got even more affordable. Check out the full press release after the break.

GameStop Taking Pre-Orders on New Google Nexus 7 Tablet

Trades of popular Android tablets now accepted in all U.S. stores

GRAPEVINE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GameStop (NYSE: GME), the world's largest multichannel retailer of video games, has again expanded its mobile electronics business with new trade-in and pre-order programs. The company is now accepting trades on a wide range of Android tablets and is taking pre-orders on the brand new Google Nexus 7 tablet (16GB). The Nexus 7, which was just announced at Google's I/O developer conference, is the first tablet to feature the latest Android OS – Jelly Bean – and will be available for $249 in mid-July.

"With the increasing popularity of Android tablets and the emerging multiscreen gaming trend, this is the ideal time to expand the program to meet the needs of our hybrid customers."
Beginning tomorrow, consumers can pre-order the Nexus 7 at all U.S. GameStop stores. GameStop customers can also take advantage of a 30% trade bonus on all items traded towards the pre-order of the Nexus 7. This includes trades of video game hardware, software and accessories as well as iDevices and eligible Android tablets.

"We've seen great consumer enthusiasm for our recommerce initiatives, particularly our iDevice trade program that launched last fall," stated GameStop president Tony Bartel. "With the increasing popularity of Android tablets and the emerging multiscreen gaming trend, this is the ideal time to expand the program to meet the needs of our hybrid customers."

For consumers looking to trade in an Android tablet, all U.S. GameStop stores are now offering instant cash or in-store credit for Android tablets from a variety of top brands. Trade values, ranging up to $250 in-store credit or $200 cash, are based on model, memory size and physical condition. GameStop also offers a recycling option to help consumers properly dispose of non-working or damaged tablets.

To learn more about GameStop's latest tablet offerings, visit www.GameStop.com/Tablets.

[Video] Google I/O day two keynote now available on YouTube

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 11:05 AM PDT

Are you still trying to digest all of the awesome news Google gave us from day one of the I/O conference? It’s almost hard to believe that Google could have another day full of exciting announcements to follow however that was certainly the case. Day one was all about Android however on day two it was the time for Google Chrome to shine.

Check out the video below to see exactly what the Chrome team have been adding to the world’s fastest growing web browser.

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Samsung Galaxy S III (I9300) gets a Jelly Bean port as well

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT

The development community has been off and running ever since the SDK for Jelly Bean was released a couple of days ago. It was originally only available to Google I/O attendees who received the takju version of the Galaxy Nexus. Shortly after, ROMs were created for all GSM Galaxy Nexus’ as well as the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. Then yesterday we saw the HTC One X receive a port from the Verizon ROM, but not much was working.

Now all we have left is the Samsung Galaxy S III, at least for flagship phones. Well XDA member faryabb, along with some help from randomblame, just delivered. Unfortunately this one is much like the One X in that there really isn’t a lot working, but it will give you a chance to see just how smooth and fast Jelly Bean runs thanks to Project Butter. Please note this is for the international version only which is model i9300.

What’s working:

  • ADB
  • Touchscreen
  • Hardware Acceleration
  • Notification LED
  • Cellular Rado (But No Audio so no Calls)
  • Physical Buttons
  • SMS
  • Accelerometer
  • Charging
  • Maybe More
What’s not working:
  • Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/NFC
  • Audio
  • Camera
  • MTP
  • Storage
  • Maybe more

If you dare you can grab the download here and/or hit the source link to get in on the action.

source: xda

On the heels of the Nexus 7 announcement Google could be prepping the Nexus 10

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 07:22 AM PDT

After months of speculation and rumors of the Nexus 7, it’s now time to turn our attention to what Google is planning next. Google went with price and a smaller form factor with the Nexus 7, but it certainly wouldn’t be a shock if they were planning on a follow up 10-inch device. DigiTimes is now reporting that Google is working on such a device, as they casually mentioned it in a post about how Wintek will ship 1,000,000 OGS (one glass solution) touch panels for the Nexus 7 between May and July.

No time frame or manufacturer was mentioned, but the only thing they did offer was that Google will continue to use Wintek for the 10-inch model along with another company, Au Optronics. Lets face it, DigiTimes isn’t the best of sources, but they are right many times. Either way, it certainly won’t be a surprise if we see a Nexus 10 for the holiday season made by ASUS. What do you guys think?

source: digitimes

Guidebook for the Nexus 7 Tablet is available now in the Google Play Books Store

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 06:47 AM PDT

It’s clear that Google is really pushing hard to make their Nexus 7 tablet a success with consumers. To help with that, the guys over at Google have created a manual for your shiny new Nexus 7, and it’s available in the Google Play Books Store. It covers several areas such as Google Now and how to use the all new notification system in Jelly Bean. It’s free and worth a good quick read if you want to be a little more familiar with your new tablet. Hit up one of download links below and let us know if you found it informational!

 

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Foursquare Launches Preview Of Connected Apps

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 06:27 AM PDT

Popular social app FourSquare is about to get a wee bit better folks by launching the developer preview of Connected Apps. Connected Apps brings some of those experiences using external apps (think Twitter, text messages, weather widgets, etc.) right to the post-check-in screen of the foursquare app, effectively eliminating the need for SMS or Twitter notifications for simple things. Connected Apps will allow Foursquare users to have their apps connected to Foursquare via Foursquare’s app gallery. Apps like The Weather Channel can now show you the local forecast when you check in in a new city, while Untappd can show you the most popular beer in a bar when you check in and Sonar can notify you when like-minded individuals are checked in with you. Here are some of Foursquare’s confirmed launch partners of Connected Apps:

  • Eat This, Not That
  • Untappd
  • Sonar
  • Soundtracking
  • Snoball
  • Foodspotting
  • GroupMe
  • The Weather Channel

Basically the end goal is to provide more content for all Foursquare users. And naturally, Foursquare users will stand to benefit in the end because after all, “the data users will be able to get — right inside the foursquare app — is only limited by the imaginations of developers”. Here’s hoping developers of all come through and make a great app even more special for all.

source: About Foursquare

Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet Already a Hit with ‘Big’ Pre-Order Sales

Posted: 29 Jun 2012 06:22 AM PDT

To no surprise, the Google Nexus 7 tablet has already made a huge splash just two days after its announcement. Hugo Barra, the director of product management for Android, has told the media that pre-order sales are “big.” While he wouldn’t give out specific numbers, he did have a confident smirk as he is obviously quite thrilled with the quick success of the tablet.

At this price set, I had no doubts that the Nexus 7 would do well. Have any of you guys pre-ordered one yet? If you have any doubts about purchasing this tablet, hit up our un-boxing of the Nexus 7!

source: Business Insider
Posted by at 5:43 AM

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