Friday, September 21, 2012

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

Facebook Messenger update brings texting support to select devices

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 04:45 PM PDT

Today Facebook is introducing texting support for its Messenger application for Android. A thorough redesign has transformed the old, tired inbox into a full-fledged SMS app. As you swipe to the left, a list of available users is given, which will allow you to directly send a message over your carrier’s cellular network. Additionally, you can create groups to message multiple friends at once.

There is a downside however, as Facebook has only made the application compatible with a handful of devices. Currently, the HTC EVO 3D, HTC One X, LG Optimus Black, LG Optimus Hub, Samsung Galaxy Ace, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Samsung Galaxy S3, and Samsung Galaxy Y are supported. If you’re rocking one of the aforementioned devices, be sure to hit the Play Store download link or scan the QR code below.

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Play Store download link

The Cube U9GTV sports Android 4.1 and 2048 x 1536 ‘Retina’ display

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 04:21 PM PDT

Usually when we bring up cheap, knock-off Chinese tablets, readers begin cringing with fear. However, a new slate from the land of the sleeping giant could potentially change our unyielding distrust. The Cube U9GTV is an Android 4.1-powered slate, fueled by a dual-core 1.6GHz Cortex A9 processor and 1GB of RAM. Because that wasn’t enough to separate it from the pack, the manufacturer has included a 9.7-inch display with an eye-soothing 2048 x 1536 pixels, equating to about 264 ppi — the same as Apple’s newest iPad.

Availability is slated for next month, and rumor has it that the tablet will launch for under €200, or about $260 in the US. Without having seen the device for ourselves, there’s no way to vouch for the screen quality, though it does have our undivided attention. To get a better feel for the tablet, we’ve included a set of comparison images and videos after the break.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Chinitech
Via: Android Central

The ASUS Padfone 2 will be unveiled on October 16th

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:48 PM PDT

In February of 2012, ASUS showed off the original Phone/Tablet hybrid, the Padfone, which was released in April of the same year. Now, only six months later, they will unveil the next iteration of their 2011 hype-machine on October 16th.  As someone who was very excited when the original Padfone was unveiled, I’ll be anxiously awaiting for the 16th to arrive.

The original Padfone was somewhat overhyped. The original was preceded by a swath of “leaked” benchmarks and specification sheets, only to be released with mainstream specs and a severely underwhelming display. Now, complete with its own set of leaks and promises, the successor is in the same position. Fans and followers of the original are now anxiously awaiting for October 16th to see if ASUS can release the groundbreaking device that was promised with the original.

Source: NotebookItalia

Archos 101 XS now available in Europe

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:28 PM PDT

Last month, Archos announced their new Gen10 XS line of tablets which offer a sweet, built-in magnetic “Coverboard” that acts as a stand and also a protective case. Today, it looks like one of the Gen10 tablets, the 101 XS, is available for purchase online in Europe. As a little refresher, the 101 XS is the Gen10 XS lineup’s flagship model and comes with a 10.1″ (1280×800) display, a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP 4470 processor, 16GB of storage and a near-stock Ice Cream Sandwich experience. Nothing about those specs will blow you away, but Archos is hoping that the “Coverboard” feature will set it apart from other tablets out there. The 10″ 101 XS will run you £300. If you pick one up, give us your opinion of this one-of-a-kind tablet.

 

source: ARCHOS

Roku updates Android app, brings new music and photo streaming capabilities

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:17 PM PDT

Today Roku is rolling out an update to its popular Android companion app, which brings along several fresh enhancements and features. One of the most notable changes, however, is the new "Play on Roku" feature. With it, you can stream photos and music from your smartphone directly to any Roku player over your home’s Wi-Fi network.

“Photos streamed on TV using Play on Roku can be viewed individually using a swiping gesture on the mobile device, or in automatic slide show mode. When music is streamed using Play on Roku, a screen saver with the song title, artist, album name and cover art will appear on the TV while the song plays. Photo slide shows can also be viewed with music streaming at the same time. Play on Roku is compatible with MP3 and M4A audio files and JPG and PNG image files.”

The app will be available to download in the same countries that Rokus are sold, meaning nearly all users should be able to take advantage of the feature. There’s no word on whether or not the service will be expanded to support videos or third party applications in the future, but in the meantime be sure to check out the official application in the Google Play Store. Catch the full presser after the break.

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Play Store Download Link

Roku Announces Mobile App Updates; Introduces Play on Roku

'Play on Roku' Lets Customers Stream Photos and Music from iOS or Android Mobile Devices to Roku Streaming Players

SARATOGA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Many Roku® customers take photos and download music on smartphones or tablets for easy access anytime, and anywhere. For these customers, Roku today announced updates to the Roku mobile app that include Play on Roku, a feature that allows customers to stream photos and music from a mobile device wirelessly to a Roku streaming player. The Roku mobile app – which essentially turns a smartphone or tablet into a Roku remote control – is now also available in all countries where Roku players are sold, including the U.K., Canada and Ireland.

"For most people, mobile devices are an extension of their lifestyle – they use their smartphones and tablets for almost everything, including capturing photos and curating music"

Photos streamed on TV using Play on Roku can be viewed individually using a swiping gesture on the mobile device, or in automatic slide show mode. When music is streamed using Play on Roku, a screen saver with the song title, artist, album name and cover art will appear on the TV while the song plays. Photo slide shows can also be viewed with music streaming at the same time. Play on Roku is compatible with MP3 and M4A audio files and JPG and PNG image files.

"For most people, mobile devices are an extension of their lifestyle – they use their smartphones and tablets for almost everything, including capturing photos and curating music," said Jim Funk, senior vice president of product management at Roku. "With this in mind, we wanted to provide a mobile experience that gave customers different ways to enjoy their photos and music, while getting even more value out of their Roku players."

With the Roku mobile app, customers can control their Roku player without using the included IR remote. Additionally, customers can:

  • Assign names to Roku players
  • Instantly replay favorite movie moments
  • Quickly add and remove channels
  • Control and switch between multiple Roku players
  • Enter text easily with the included keyboard feature

Available for iOS and Android mobile devices, the Roku mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store or Google Play. Play on Roku works with all Roku 2, Roku LT and Roku HD (model 2500R) players today and will work with the Roku Streaming Stick, expected to ship in October.

About Roku Inc.

Roku is the leading dedicated streaming platform for delivering video, music and casual games to the TV. Roku launched the first player to stream Netflix to the TV in 2008, and today the Roku platform streams more than 600 channels to millions of devices in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. Roku was founded by Anthony Wood, inventor of the DVR. The company is headquartered in Saratoga, Calif. For more information, visit www.roku.com.

Roku and Roku Ready are registered trademarks and the Roku Streaming Stick is a trademark of Roku, Inc. in the United States and other countries, and all other trade names and logos used herein are registered trademarks or are trademarks of their respective owners.

Apple blatantly copies the Swiss Federal Railway clock for iPad clock app

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 01:07 PM PDT

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or on a different planet you already know that Apple has accused many for blatantly copying their UI and hardware. Of course Samsung is at the top of that list and already owes Apple $1 billion. Yesterday, Apple released iOS 6 and it appears the clock on the iPad is an exact copy of the station clock at the Swiss Federal Railway.

The iconic clock was originally designed by Hans Hilfiker in 1944 and the railway owns both the trademark and copyright for the design. It looks like the railway is already aware of the situation and is demanding compensation from Apple for its usage. I highly doubt Apple has any artwork dating back to the 1940′s showing this design, and even if they did, it wouldn’t matter based on how the courts look at things. Just how much the Swiss Railway could be awarded for this is anyone’s guess, but with the amount of iPad’s in existence, it can’t be cheap.

source: gizmodo

LG Venice (aka Optimus L7) gets outed for Boost Mobile

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 12:29 PM PDT

@evleaks is at it again. This time it isn’t so high profile, but nevertheless Boost Mobile fans might be happy to know about the LG Venice. It’s essentially the Optimus L7, which is a mid-level phone boasting a 4.3-inch (800 x 480) display, 1 GHz CPU, 5MP rear camera, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. We recently saw a leak of another version of the Optimus L7 for U.S. Cellular called the LG Splendor.

source: @evleaks

Official Dick’s Sporting Goods app hits the Play Store

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 11:46 AM PDT

Dick’s Sporting Goods, the largest sporting goods retailer in the U.S., now has an official app available on the Play Store. Apps from retail stores can sometimes be hit or miss, but Dick’s seems to have their act together here. Personally, Dick’s is one of my favorite retail stores, much less sporting goods stores, and it’s good to finally have an app to go along with their excellent brick and mortar stores.

The app, as one would expect, offers the ability to shop the virtual store by category as well as search for specific products. You can also see user reviews of the products, much like their website. However, one feature that’s a nice addition is the ability to manage your rewards that you rack up using the Dick’s ScoreCard when making purchases. This is actually a helpful feature seeing as I’ve never once received anything in the mail regarding my reward points, totals, or discounts using said points in the three years I’ve owned a ScoreCard. It’s taken a while, but it’s good to finally have an app to go along with this great store. Are you a frequent shopper at Dick’s Sporting Goods? Download the app via the link below and let us know what you think.

Play Store Download Link

 

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Lightest Android tablet ever launched by NTT DoCoMo

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:50 AM PDT

If having a super-light tablet is important to you, and if you happen to live in Japan, then you’re in luck. Today, NTT DoCoMo launched its NEC Medias Tab UL N08-D tablet in Japan. This featherweight tablet weighs in at a paltry 249 g. Compare that to the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 coming in at 400 g and 345 g respectively and you can see just how light this 7″ tablet really is. That’s not just a couple of grams of difference, my friends. The tablet achieves this feat by utilizing the same carbon fiber material that’s used in modern aircraft.

The 7″ tablet  features a 1280 x 800 LCD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and will sport an 8MP rear camera coupled with a 2MP front-shooter. It’ll also feature some nice software features as well. The tablet will allow for web browsing that will let you view two tabs at the same time. It’ll also feature what they call “HD haptics” vibration feedback element that’s applied to every on-screen element.

 

source:  NTT DoCoMo

Featured Play Store Review: Hands on with Fort Courage [Action & Arcade]

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 10:31 AM PDT

Two TegraZone games launched today. We already wrote about the first one,  The Bard’s Tale, and the second one is Fort Courage. Fort Courage is a free-to-play 3D adventure. The premise is that you’re bored at school and you fall asleep in class (that never happened to me). Naturally you’re going to dream about something right? No it’s not girls. You happen to dream up hiding in a fort deep within a dinosaur jungle, sneaking into a forbidden monster lab, and hacking into a robot factory on the surface of mars.

It’s up to you and a friend to keep the enemies out of your fort. In order to do that you will have an arsenal of toy weapons and power ups to choose from. At the bottom of the screen are the two main characters within their fort, and a series of enemies will come at you. The controls are very simple. For the left character, you simply tap on the screen where you want his shots to go. For the right character, you drag and release. You start with one weapon each and you need to earn coins so that you can purchase new weapons or upgrade existing ones. Of course, just like any free-to-play game, you can also purchase more coins for cold hard cash. The game ends when the enemies get into your fort.

Features Include:

  • 3 fantastic locations
  • 9 character skins
  • 10 upgradable power-ups
  • 13 upgradable toy weapons
  • 15 unique enemies + 3 cool bosses
  • Over 120 stages
  • Over 80 hours of challenging gameplay!
  • Online Leaderboards and virtual currency with GREE!
With 80 hours of gameplay and 120 stages, I think it’s a safe bet to assume that Fort Courage will keep you busy for a while. It’s Free so you have nothing to lose. It just might be your next addiction. Check out my hands on video below and hit one of the download links to get started.
Fort_Courage_01 Fort_Courage_02 Fort_Courage_03 Fort_Courage_04 Fort_Courage_Splash_Banner

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

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Play Store Download Link
Posted by at 5:46 AM

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