Friday, September 7, 2012

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

Sony’s Xperia Tablet S now shipping in the UK

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:22 PM PDT

Sony unveiled its revamped Tablet S last week at IFA 2012, and announced that the device would be available beginning September 7th. The manufacturer has kept its promise, as the newspaper inspired tablet is now officially available to purchase in the UK.

Currently, Sony’s official website has two different models that are listed as ready to ship. Customers can select either the 16GB version for £329 ($524), or the 32GB model for £379 ($603). Keep in mind both of these models are Wi-Fi only, with the 3G-enabled 16GB version still up for pre-order for £429 ($683). Additionally, the Tablet S is expected to begin making its way to other regions over the course of the next few weeks.

Source: Xperia Blog, Sony

Contest: Win one of two Nexus 7 tablets or an ASUS Transformer Prime w/keyboard dock from NVIDIA and TalkAndroid

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:57 PM PDT

To celebrate the launch of Beach Buggy Blitz, NVIDIA gave us two Nexus 7 tablets along with an ASUS Transformer Prime and matching keyboard dock to give to three lucky readers.

To enter the giveaway just complete these four quick and easy steps:

  1. Follow @NVIDIA on Twitter
  2. Follow @TalkAndroid on Twitter
  3. Add TalkAndroid to your Google+ Circles
  4. Comment below and tell us what your favorite game is right now.

It couldn’t be any simpler. We will accept entries through this Sunday September 9th at 11:59pm EST. We will pick two random winners for each of the Nexus 7′s and then one random winner for the Transformer Prime w/keyboard dock. We will announce all three winners in this post and contact them through the email that is associated with their account.

Good Luck!!!

 

Adobe Photoshop Touch Update Brings Support for Larger Images

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:44 PM PDT

For Android users that like to use Photoshop on the go, life just got a little bit easier. Adobe updated it’s Photoshop Touch app, one of the better photo editing apps in the Play Store. The latest update brings a few new languages, new effects and general bug fixes.

The biggest addition has to be the ability to edit higher resolution pictures, which was a major criticism in our review of the app back in March. Now you can edit images up to 12 megapixels on your Android tablet while keeping the integrity of the image. This was a limiting feature in the past and the update allows for a more full Photoshop experience. Finally, they added Russian and Brazilian Portuguese as new languages.

When you consider the updates, plus the new scrolling fixes and ability to toggle between different views of the image, the $10 Photoshop Touch app is an even better investment than before. Hit the break for download links.

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Play Store Download Link

 

 

Featured Play Store Review: Hands on with Beach Buggy Blitz [Racing]

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:30 PM PDT

For those of you that own a Nexus 7 or any other Android device with a Tegra CPU, we have another great game for you. This one just came out today and it’s called Beach Buggy Blitz by Vector Unit. If you’re not familiar with Vector Unit, they are the ones who brought us Riptide GP and Shine Runner. From the name, it’s obvious that it’s about racing and the beach. This racer is what we call an “infinite racer.” This means you won’t find a bunch of different tracks. You simply race and explore until your time is up. The longer you race the more you see and the cooler it gets. There are a number of caves, volcanoes, jumps, and temples. As to obstacles, you won’t find a shortage here. You will have to deal with Tiki statues, grass shacks, giant crabs, lava monsters, and even rolling boulders as a result of erupting volcanoes.

To help you out, you can race through coins (as in collect them) to use for upgrades such as better vehicles, drivers, and power-ups. For those of you that don’t like to spend money, you can eventually unlock everything the game has to offer without spending a dime, but if you want to speed things up (no pun intended) you can spend a few bucks.

If you like racing games, you will love Beach Buggy Blitz. The graphics and gameplay are great and it’s very addicting. They added enough features and made it simple enough to satisfy everyone. For controls, you can use motion, touch, or even a game controller for the full console effect. As to the game, since there aren’t a bunch of tracks to learn, the casual gamer can have a blast. Hardcores will still find it fun because there is still so much to explore, but it won’t be as daunting to casual gamers.

Beach Buggy Blitz is only available for Tegra devices and those of you that have a Tegra 3 device will enjoy extra special effects like motion blur, lens splash, dynamic headlights in caves, and real-time rendered car shadows. Here are are some pictures showing you the differences (click on images to enlarge):

 

If you don’t own a Tegra device, don’t fret because Vector Unit will be releasing a version to satisfy all in the coming weeks.

Check out our hands on video and hit one of the download links below to get started.

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

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Play Store Download Link

Kobo to release Arc 7″ tablet featuring Ice Cream Sandwich and Tapestries

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 02:33 PM PDT

Even though Kobo’s last attempt in the 7″ tablet market didn’t go so well, it isn’t stopping them from going after that two-headed monster – the Nexus 7 and the new Kindle Fire. Last November Kobo released the Vox tablet to very little fanfare and while it wasn’t a terrible tablet, it just didn’t offer anything special to separate it from the Kindle Fire or Nook. Well this year is a new year, so maybe they’ll have better luck this year beginning with a name change from Vox to Arc.

The Arc, which is due to arrive in November in 8GB ($199.99) and 16GB ($249.99) versions will be somewhat comparable to the Nexus 7 in some aspects. The Arc 7″ tablet will run on Android 4.0 and sport a 1280 x 800 display. It’ll also come with a front-facing camera and 1GB of RAM, however it will not have 3G capability or GPS. Additionally, the tablet will not have its own app store, but it will provide access to the Google Play Store. While none of these features are particularly cutting edge, Kobo is hanging its hat on one exclusive selling point in what they’re calling “Tapestries.” This feature builds a library of recommended apps, books, and games based on your habits. We’ve obviously seen features like this before on other products as well as third-party apps so we’ll have to wait for a hands-on before any further judgment is passed. Although, the first impression is that it’s not providing anything too revolutionary here.

We aren’t quite sure where this tablet will fit into the hot 7″ tablet market. With the Nexus 7 coming out of the gates strong and the announcement of a cheaper new Kindle Fire today, it’ll be tough sledding for Kobo and their Arc to get a foothold in this market. However, we will find out for sure come November. What are your thoughts on this piece of hardware and it will fit into this crowded market?

source:  gigaom

 

 

 

 

Amazon announces 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDs, along with an updated Kindle Fire

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 01:19 PM PDT

Amazon hyped their press event for today and had Internet sites abuzz with expectation leading up to it, with everyone guessing what they may reveal. It appears Amazon did not disappoint with the introduction of new devices sure to have a major impact on the world of tablet devices. The highlight will almost certainly be Amazon's introduction of an 8.9-inch version of their tablet, dubbed the Kindle Fire HD.

Running at 1920×1200 resolution with 254 ppi, the 8.9-inch screen is made with a new laminated touch sensor that Amazon promises will reduce glare by 25%. Backing the display is a TI OMAP 4470 processor, 16GB of internal storage, Dolby stereo with dual speakers, dual wifi antennas, a front-facing HD camera, and HDMI out. This top of the line version of the Kindle Fire HD will run $299 and Amazon says it will be available starting November 20th, just in time for Black Friday's shopping rush. Amazon will also have a 4G LTE model available for $499 and a $49.99 per year data plan. There will be a data cap of 250MB per month and 20GB of cloud storage available.

Joining the Kindle Fire HD are a pair of 7-inch models, an Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 and an updated Amazon Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire HD 7 is very similar to the 8.9-inch version, with the only difference being the screen. The Kindle Fire HD 7 will run an IPS screen at 1280 x 800 resolution. With a price of $199, it is available for pre-order starting today with shipment scheduled  for September 14th.

The final tablet to join the Amazon stable is an upgraded version of the existing Kindle Fire. Still a 7-inch tablet, Amazon indicates the processor is 40% faster than the current model, it will have double the available RAM of the current Kindle Fire, and enjoy longer battery life. Amazon is actually cutting the price on this unit to only $159. It too will start shipping on September 14th.

Along with the new hardware, Amazon announced some interesting changes to the operating system and available apps on their Kindle Fire devices. Whispersync Voice will let users transition between audiobooks and regular text without losing your place, a feature Amazon is calling "Immersion Reading." Whispersync is also spreading to games which means users' progress, achievements, awards and other checkpoints in a game will be uploaded to the cloud and available on all devices. A new feature called X-Ray will let users pull up actor information from IMDB while watching movies or information about books while they are being read.

Amazon has also implemented a new e-mail app with support for Exchange, Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo accounts, including calendar and contact sync capabilities. Skype will be preinstalled on the Kindle Fire devices as well. Finally, Amazon has created a new parental controls app called FreeTime that will enable parents to control time and content limits for their kids on a per profile basis. FreeTime is possible as Amazon has implemented multiple accounts capability.

Has Amazon made a major statement with these devices? Can they divert potential iPad buyers? Would you be interested in any of these devices? Let us know and keep an eye open for further updates with more details about these new devices.

The new Kindle Fire is 40 percent faster and $40 cheaper

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:24 PM PDT

Amazon unveiled new tablets today and the first one was an updated version of the Kindle Fire. You can’t complain when the specs go north and at the same time the price goes south. The additional hardware includes a faster processor that makes it 40 percent faster, an extra 512MB of RAM (total 1GB), a bigger battery, and a front-facing camera. Other than that, it’s still a 7-inch display. The best part of all of it is that it’s priced at $159, $40 cheaper than last year’s model. Pre-orders will start soon and it will be available on September 14th.

It continues to be a forked version of Android, but the market they are going after doesn’t care. I still prefer the Nexus 7, but what do you guys think?

 

Verizon Hints at Future “Google Experience Devices and Tablets”

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 11:02 AM PDT

A recently leaked Verizon memo may be giving us an indication of potentially future plans by the nation’s #1 wireless network. The memo talks about future devices such as the newly announced DROID RAZR M being preloaded with a suite of Amazon apps such as the Amazon Appstore marketplace and Audible. However, the memo does have a major notation: while most future devices will have the Amazon suite preloaded, the memo does specifically exclude all “Google Experience devices and tablets.”

Since Google Experience devices are generally Nexus devices, is this a sign that Verizon is expecting at least one Nexus model this fall? Of course Verizon may not have any future Nexus devices planned and just want to cover themselves in case an opportunity comes up later. Though if you remember back a few months to rumors of 5 different nexus devices being released this fall, maybe one of them will be a 4G LTE Nexus.

This is all speculation right now, but Verizon would not have specified this if they did not believe it was at the very least a reasonable possibility. Would you be interested in another Nexus device exclusively on Verizon’s Network?

Source: Droid Life

Eggbones releases Blind Ninja:Sing to Google Play

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 09:31 AM PDT

Fans of side-scrolling action games may want to check out a new title from Eggbones software – Blind Ninja: Sing. In the game, users guide their Ninja, Sing, across roofs, avoid falling houses, and slash their way through scarecrow enemies. The game features accelerated gameplay  for both the player and the enemies the longer and farther you guide Sing. Along with the faster speeds, as enemies are killed, Sing gains new combo moves. Do note that the permissions are rather extensive, though it is not clear why. Eggbones may possibly be planning some social media integration for the future.

If you are interested in trying out Blind Ninja: Sing for 99 cents, hit one of the download links below.

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Google Play Download Link

Motorola Confirms Most 2011 Phones Will Get Jelly Bean Update, Those That Don’t Will Be Eligible For $100 Credit Towards Upgrades

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:03 AM PDT

 

In the midst of Motorola announcing the newest additions to the DROID RAZR family yesterday, it also announced a few important pieces of information for owners of its devices released in 2011. First thing’s first— most owners of the devices launched in 2011 will get the coveted Jelly Bean update, which follows MOTO’s previous pledge to keep its existing devices as up to date as possible. This means that many of you owners will have a slight glimmer of hope and a reason to possibly keep those Atrix 4G, Atrix 2, DROID Bionic and DROID RAZR smartphones. Again, we’re seeing a very heavy influence from Google, as MOTO’s announcement is nearly identical to what Google does for its Nexus line of smartphones.

Of course not every 2011 phone will cooperate with Jelly Bean, so MOTO has you covered as well. If it decides that your 2011 device will perform at an unacceptable level with newer software and decides not to upgrade to Jelly Bean, MOTO will offer a $100 trade-in credit for you to use towards a new device. Before you ask— the credit is only good towards new Motorola devices, so you can’t pull a fast one and try to score that HTC or Samsung phone you’ve been itching for. Such is life we suppose.

Finally MOTO is taking a page out of Samsung’s book and will begin to release developer editions of its devices, in case you have a carrier that isn’t too keen on customers fiddling with its devices. Additional details of this program will be shared as Motorola begins launching the special-edition devices.

 

 
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