Sunday, September 9, 2012

Android Central

Android Central

Swiftkey looking for users in San Fran, NYC, and London to talk on camera

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 01:40 PM PDT

SwiftKey

The folks at SwiftKey are looking for a few people that want to get in front of the camera and tell the world about why they use SwiftKey. They're looking to do a series of short videos featuring users in San Francisco, New York City, and London, and have put out the call.

There's plenty of reasons to use SwiftKey, the biggest of which is the awesome prediction engine. I've been a believer since it first came out, and I never have to type more than a few words while the magic underneath it all finishes my thoughts for me. Without it, I'd still be wanting a QWERTY keyboard on my phone. It learns as you use it, and really is that good. If you haven't tried it yet, now is your chance as it's on sale in the Google Play store until Monday for just $0.99.

If you would like to share your thoughts about SwiftKey, and live in or around the San Francisco, New York, or London metro areas, hit the break and see what you need to do to get in touch. If you're not close to any of those places, use the comments below to share your thoughts!

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Apps of the Week - Playboard, TVCatchup, Gear of the Day Outdoor Deals and more!

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 12:21 PM PDT

Android Central

Another week, another great list of app picks from the Android Central writers. Interestingly, this week there aren't any games! We've gone straight for apps that might actually be useful and save you some time (or in Sean's case, money) rather than waste it away playing Granny Smith. Don't worry though, we're sure there are more game picks to come in the future.

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Android Central international round-up - September 8, 2012

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 03:54 AM PDT

Android Central

As we venture forth into the fall smartphone silly season, there’s plenty of international news to go around. Coming out of IFA, we learned a little more about Samsung’s Galaxy Note II, including tentative release dates and price points for the UK and Europe. Elsewhere, Sony’s Xperia T failed to show up on the retailer-promised release date of Sept 5, and Sony’s now telling us to expect a launch around Sept. 28. And in other Sony news, the new Xperia Tablet S, which was announced just a week ago in Berlin, is now available to buy.

Following Motorola’s big event in New York City, some details slipped out surrounding Moto’s international plans for the RAZR M, its new mid-ranger. Apparently the phone will arrive on British shores later this month with an Intel Atom chip inside, instead of the Snapdragon S4 found in the U.S. version. That’d make the RAZR M the first Intel-powered Android smartphone from a top-tier manufacturer, which is a big deal around these parts.

In carrier news, Vodafone announced a new price plan for heavy network users, dubbed ‘Vodafone Red.’ Red offers unlimited calls and texts -- just as customers are using less and less of both -- and keeps data capped at between 1 and 2GB. There are promising noises coming from Everything Everywhere on the data front, though, as the offspring of Orange and T-Mobile UK looks set to announce its new brand and 4G network at a London event next Tuesday (we’ll be there!)

And finally, Kindle Fire came to the UK. the second-generation Fire will launch in Blighty next month, along with the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. Amazon hasn’t revealed any plans to launch the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD outside the U.S. yet, but it is offering both 7-inchers at highly competitive price points -- £129 for the basic Fire, and a Nexus 7-matching £159 for the HD.

Check out all the latest international developments from around the Android world below. If you’ve got news, be sure to tip us at the usual address.

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Spigen Ultra Thin Air Series case for Samsung Galaxy S3 review

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 03:23 AM PDT

Android Central

 

Not every smartphone case has to be a heavy-duty, rubberized monster. Sometimes, you just want something slim and light to protect vulnerable areas of the phone, without adding too much extra bulk and weight. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S3, Spigen's Ultra Thin Air series of cases fits that bill.

Lightweight and constructed of polycarbonate, the Air Series case protects the edges and back of the Galaxy S3 without introducing too much additional heft. If you've used a Galaxy S3 for a few weeks, you'll know how susceptible the back can be to scratches and knocks, and a case like this will protect those plastic areas from damage. There are also cut-out areas for all the major ports and keys, so the case shouldn't get in the way of regular use. And a screen protector is included in the box too, if you're concerned about keeping the front of your phone pristine.

A larger, bulkier case may offer more protection against falls onto hard surfaces, so if you're accident-prone, that's worth bearing in mind. However, as a basic safety precaution, it's hard to beat a lightweight case like this. 

The Spigen Ultra Thin Air series is available from ShopAndroid.com for $19.99. We reviewed the satin silver version, but it's available in a wide range of colors, including black, white, pink and orange. We've got more photos after the break.

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Red Samsung Galaxy S 3 available at Carphone Warehouse in the UK

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 03:06 AM PDT

Android Central

Just last week Samsung dropped a whole range of new colors for the Galaxy S 3, but as you would expect not everyone seems to be able to get all of them, everywhere. In the UK at least, the Garnet Red variety is available should you desire one. The phone is exclusive to the Carphone Warehouse in the UK, but seems to be available at the same price as the other colors, and across the major networks provided by the retailer.

Previously we've seen the Garnet Red Galaxy S 3 offered up by AT&T in the United States. And, whilst differing European carriers were displaying the black, and grey versions at IFA 2012 in Berlin, the red S 3 was nowhere to be seen. We've still not seen the brown version yet either. 

Source: Carphone Warehouse

Ringtones reset, Adding contact info to lock screen [From the Forums]

Posted: 07 Sep 2012 07:22 PM PDT

From the Forums

Just in case you missed out on some of the Android news today, now is the time to go ahead and get yourself fully caught up. Here on the blogs and in the Android Central Forums there is plenty to talk about. Have some questions? Need some help or just looking to chat Android? You know where to go, check out some of the threads below to get started.

We've got nearly 1 million members helping members and nearly 2 million posts in our Android Forums. Are you one of them? Join today!

Audible for Android updated to support Whispersync for Voice

Posted: 07 Sep 2012 06:01 PM PDT

Audible

Amongst the slew of hardware announcements at Amazon's event yesterday was the confirmation that Whispersync was expanding to more of Amazon's services, such as Audible. The new feature, dubbed Whispersync for Voice, will let you sync reading/listening positions of a book if you own both editions. In addition, it will sync bookmarks and notes across devices. However, it doesn't appear to sync listening positions across devices, which is what I was really excited about. I listen to my audiobooks on a variety of mobile devices and would like not to worry about what position I'm at on any of them. This is a step forward, but I hope to see a full sync option soon. To download the free app, hit up our Google Play Store link. 

 
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