Monday, August 13, 2012

Android Central

Android Central

A Nexus 7 dash-mount that is beautifully simple

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 02:18 PM PDT

Nexus 7 dash mount

We've already seen how you can tear things apart and use some fancy wiring to install a Nexus 7 into the dash of a Dodge Ram, but some of us aren't interested in something that permanent. Also, some of us can't get permission from the wife, but that's another story. For us, the folks SoundMan Car Audio in Santa Clarita, CA. have a method that looks just as sleek, is removable, and involves no wiring or other permanent modification to your expensive vehicle. 

Android Central member Nightline happens to work with the fellows at SoundMan, loves his Nexus 7, and has a 2011 Ford Focus he didn't want to modify too heavily. There's no wiring, everything is connected via Bluetooth, and the magnetic mount looks beautiful and completely OEM. Granted, it's a little more involved than using duct tape and bailing twine, but it's something a dedicated DIY-er or modder would have a lot of fun doing, and the end result is certainly worth it. Check out the video after the break.

Source: Android Central forums. Thanks, Nightline!

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Q&A with WhitePages - making caller ID social

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 11:51 AM PDT

Android Central

WhitePages recently launched a new app that tied in a bunch of social networks to a contacts and caller ID app. With it all incoming calls from contacts show the latest status updates across Facebook and Twitter, most recent title from LinkedIn, and local weather and news. We shot a few questions to the development team about working on Android and take the oportunity to dig a bit deeper into Current Caller ID.

We all know about WhitePages, but can you tell us a bit about how you've been active in mobile historically?

WhitePages has been developing for the mobile world since 2008 and it has since become the fastest
growing part of our business with a top-50 mobile website and popular Android, iPhone, BlackBerry,
webOS and Windows 7 applications recently surpassing 8 million active monthly users. We have a top-
notch development and design team who are mobile experts across platforms and are regularly involved
in industry events such as Google I/O. Recently, we traveled to Barcelona to Mobile World Congress to
be featured in the Google booth with an early version of Current Caller ID. We’ve invested heavily in
mobile, and continue to see this as a growth opportunity for WhitePages.

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How to: Sync OS X 10.8 Notes with your Android device

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 11:07 AM PDT

Android Central

While we're all about the little green robot in this part of the Mobile Nations, when it comes to computers there are a good few of you out there rocking an Apple desktop or laptop. The latest incarnation of OS X, 10.8 Mountain Lion -- check out our sister site iMore if you haven't already -- brings a number of iOS flavored additions to the desktop environment. Using iCloud, new apps such as reminders and notes can sync with an iOS device so you have all of your stuff, all of the time. But, what if you use an Android phone or tablet, and a Mac? Can you get some everything everywhere syncing too? Of a fashion, yes.

The stock calendar, contacts and mail apps built into Mountain Lion will still continue to sync your Google stored information to your desktop. No issues there. But what about Notes? Despite having possibly the worst font ever put onto a computer screen, the stock Notes app is pretty handy. It's always there, or not far away at worst, and is as good a way as any of just jotting down some quick points. Everyone has a different preference, but personally I haven't found a total all-encompassing note taking solution that I like. So I make notes everywhere, including on my Mac. We're never in front of a computer for that long though, so it'd be pretty swell if we could take our notes with us and luckily Apple has made it really straight forward. It only works one way though, so while you can edit notes on your Mac and sync them with your Android device, it won't work the other way. Still, it can be done, so we'll show you how. 

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From the Editor's Desk: Notes, notes and more notes

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 08:53 AM PDT

Phil Nickinson

Some quick hits for this fine Sunday morning:

  • Worlds collide: Warning - shameless familiar promotion ahead. My wife's Sunday column in this week's Pensacola News Journal is on Capagami, the developer of Android app Out of Milk. The crux is that the company moved to California because it's tough to sell local investors on unfamiliar app development. 
  • Patent trial perpetuity: I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen in the Samsung-Apple patent trial. And, frankly, I don't believe anybody else does either. I'd also caution against reading too much into anything you've read. It's a condensed part of the story, but not the whole story. (Who wants to read a boring recount of days and days of testimony?) That's not to say you shouldn't keep up with the trial recaps, just don't expect to see the full picture.
  • NSFW: I was pleasantly surprised by most of the reaction last week after we launched our NSFW section. Most folks got it -- it's a page where we can park stories we might not want on the front page, but that we still want to explore. It's not a change in direction or anything. We've always done these stories, tucked in (and with far lesser frequency) with the device reviews and app roundups and news and rumors and podcasts and everything else that make us the No. 1 Android community around. If you don't like it, don't click on it. We're OK with that.
  • Pro tip: When you go back to an old single-band (2.4 GHz) router because your fancy ASUS one got zapped by lightning and suddenly your phone won't connect, make sure the phone's not set to only connect on 5 GHz. And check it before you decide to wipe the phone in hopes that a reset will fix things. (Also: Let Jerry finish his sentence before you hit that hard-reset button.)
  • Romney app late to the party: The Atlantic notes what I also saw early Saturday morning regarding Mitt Romney's official application, which promised to be the first place you'd learn about his voice for running mate. An Associated Press bulletin, citing an unnamed Republican party official, hit my inbox at 1:01 a.m. EDT, naming Paul Ryan as the pick. Romney's app caught up some time around breakfast. Score one for old media. And The Atlantic rightly points out that the real purpose of the app is to learn about you more than it is inform you. (Same goes for any politician's app, actually.)
  • The next Angry Birds?: Download Ski Safari. Watch as you lose your job, your dog, your family. It's that addictive. How is it, though, that we haven't seen another Angry Birds? Ski Safari is as casual, addictive and repetitive. It lacks the personality of those damn birds and pigs, and probably the personality and marketing prowess of the developer matters a lot, too. Regardless, give it a go. It plays pretty well on a phone (though it was surprisingly laggy on the AT&T HTC One X), and the Nexus 7 feels like it was built for the game.
  • The Olympics are over: I'm tired of complaining about NBC. It was ridiculous. I'm all about having content on phones and tablets, but it needs not be the only way to watch the Olympics live -- especially for sports that we only see every four years. I'm also hoping maybe we'll see fewer Galaxy S3 commercials now, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it. How many millions of dollars do you think Samsung spent on that one?
  • Coming up this week: We'll be live from New York City on Wednesday morning when we expect the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 to get some more love. (So much for those exclusive anonymous sources saying it'd be the next Galaxy Note.) It is a little odd to see another semi-secretive "launch" given that the Note 10.1 was announced back in February at Mobile World Congress (and that after being outed early on the side of a damn building), but we'll take it. 

That's it for this week. Let's get to work.

PolitiCards review - the unlikely mix of Android, politics, solitaire, and movie quotes

Posted: 12 Aug 2012 07:31 AM PDT

Android Central

PolitiCards recently launched on mobile, bringing the unlikely combination of political cartoons, movies, and solitaire to Android. Both sides of the American spectrum are amply represented, including Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Nancy Pelosi, Glenn Beck, and pundits like Arianna Huffington and Donald Trump also show up. The twist is that they’re all paired up with movies that roughly fit into their personality. It’s not every day you see Bill Clinton done up as The Big Lebowski.

Illustrations aside, PolitiCards offers nicely polished gameplay with smooth graphics and animations. 

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