Sunday, November 25, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Android Overload: DROID DNA bootloader unlocking, Samsung selling 60 million devices Q4, Apple drama and more

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 06:07 PM PST

Ready to head out the door for your weekend adventures? Make sure you take a minute and learn everything that’s going on with the Android universe. Android Overload is where we bring you all the awesome news that didn’t make it to our homepage but are still worth a good read. Check them out and have a safe Saturday night!

  • How to unlock HTC DROID DNA’s bootloader [Android Police]
  • Apple to launch a $200 phone in 2 years? [Business Insider]
  • Samsung shipments to reach 60 million during Q4 [Yonhap News]
  • T-Mobile now carrying SIM card adapters for phone swappers [TMoNews]
  • Samsung to no longer supply Apple with batteries [Electronista]
  • LG Intuition now only $99.99 from Amazon [Amazon Wireless]

Use Ingress AR game to work out after holiday pig-out

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:09 PM PST

The holidays are all about giving, and there is something every Holiday season will give you: a few extra pounds. Smartphones have become a great tool for everything, and that includes working out. We have already recommended a slew of good apps for burning off all those Thanksgiving calories, but what if you want to make it a little more interactive? A good augmented reality game would do the trick, and Ingress is the most popular one right now.

In this game, one tries to take over energy sources before the other team does. These are usually located in historic landmarks or important locations, which are usually far away, unless you live in downtown. After being part of the closed beta for some days, I realized it’s very hard to make any progress unless you really go out of your way. The closest energy source to my house is about 3 miles away, and it is not very convenient to keep parking to hack these and fight the Enlightened while I am running errands.

You have to make time and go out of your way for it. The best way to succeed in this game would be to make it a working out tool. It would be especially good for bikers, who could simply ride around town looking for energy sources. But if you are a trooper, you could even pull it off by running.

Simply make it a goal to hack a 2-3 energy sources a day and you are set (or less if you are jogging it). You could just take different routes every day; we all know a good change of scenery is necessary to keep things fresh and exciting. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to drive downtown (where there are usually more energy sources) and run over there once every couple weeks. Just to look at new things and further advance in the game.

Great idea, right?! Sadly, not many have access to Ingress just yet. But the closed beta should end soon enough, and this battle will be about to become very fierce. Whether you are fighting for the Enlightened or the Resistance, a good work out that also serves your Ingress purpose would be ideal.

Don’t forget to go to Ingress.com to sign up for a confirmation code. After you get one, you can simply go to the Google Play Store and download the game. Enjoy the holidays and let us know how you are using your phone to keep all that delicious food from staying in your body! Will you be using this Ingress exercise tip?

Is the Nexus 4, 7 or 10 available yet? You can check with this nifty tool

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 12:47 PM PST


If you did not smash and burn that F5 key enough last November 13, odds are you are still waiting for some of those new Nexus devices to show up in the Play Store. There is a very high demand for them, especially for that shiny Nexus 4. If you are like us, you probably check the Play Store at least a couple times a day to make sure you are not missing out again, but it seems there is an easier way to keep dibs on these gadgets’ availability now.

This website is simple and to the point. In a nutshell, it keeps track of Play Store devices and their status. The neat thing is it not only keeps track of the US Google Play Store, but also other countries’. One can easily filter by country or device, so whatever your priority might be, this helpful site has you covered.

It’s a great way to check without having to navigate and click through the whole Play Store, so make sure to bookmark this one if you are still waiting to get your hands on one of the new Nexus gadgets before the holidays!

[Soupwhale]

Thanks for the tip, Nick!

Microsoft Patents… Google Project Glass?

Posted: 24 Nov 2012 02:51 AM PST

The patent wars never cease to push forward into realms previously thought too ignorant to explore. While tech companies blindly register for thousands of patents ranging from painfully general to weird and obscure, the US Patent and Trademark Office seems to approve said patents at an equally alarming rate. The most recent? A patent filed 2 days ago by Microsoft, in an apparent attempt to secure exclusive rights to a product Google already has in development: Project Glass.

Quoted directly from the patent filing:

A system and method to present a user wearing a head mounted display with supplemental information when viewing a live event. A user wearing an at least partially see-through, head mounted display views the live event while simultaneously receiving information on objects, including people, within the user’s field of view, while wearing the head mounted display. The information is presented in a position in the head mounted display which does not interfere with the user’s enjoyment of the live event.

I’m not quite sure how such a claim would even be patentable. Someone could accomplish the above by taping their phone to their head. It would be a pretty terrible product, but the point is the general concept is nothing original. Especially considering Google has already locked up a bunch of patents directly related to Project Glass.

WAIT. Microsoft received their patent on November 22nd, 2012 whereas Google’s patent was issued on May 22nd, 2012 but Microsoft actually FILED their patent request earlier. Microsoft’s submission for their “EVENT AUGMENTATION WITH REAL-TIME INFORMATION” came in May 2011, a full 5 months before Google’s “Wearable display device section”.

This could get sticky, and if eventually litigated (which we’ve come to expect), chances are these patents will come down to the utility and design more than the concept alone.

A couple interesting notes, though, are Microsoft’s examples of how the product may be used, mostly in conjunction with live sporting events and concerts. Take for example this picture of how Microsoft’s Google Glasses (note: sarcasm) would work at a baseball game:

Several problems here. First of all, the Yankees don’t lose to the A’s. Second of all, Willie Randolph is at bat, a ball player  who hasn’t played in the Major Leagues in 2 decades. Perhaps that’s part of the strategy… you know, maybe they’ll think we drew this picture twenty years ago and grant us the patent.

Here’s another example from Microsoft used at a football game:

[0001] Fans of live sporting and artistic events have enjoyed various types of information which is provided on different displays to supplement the live event. This supplemental information is provided both when the user is in attendance at the event and when the user views the event on broadcast media. One example of this is the augmentation of football games to display a first down marker superimposed on a playing field in a broadcast television event, and the broadcast of replays both on broadcast television and large displays at the venue of the event.

Interesting indeed, but telling us how a developer might leverage the product to create an app for Project Glass doesn’t make it patentable. Especially considering that whole yellow first down line thing is already patented.

[Via WinSource, LaPresse (thanks Alexandre!)]
Posted by at 8:36 AM

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