Wednesday, January 16, 2013

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Google Android News Android Forums

Featured Android App Review: Active Lock Screen [Personalization]

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:47 PM PST

Customizing lockscreens are getting quite popular lately. There are already a number of apps, but a new one recently hit the Google Play Store called Active Lockscreen by Celltick Ltd. Just like any lockscreen replacement the focal point is shortcuts to apps, but Active Lockscreen gives you more choices as in the number of apps you can choose to open to. Most custom lockscreens give you around four apps, but Active Lockscreen has four customizable sections, and each section can have multiple apps. Of course you can simply unlock your phone to whatever you were doing last.

It’s quite simple. At the bottom center you have the lock icon. If you drag it to the left, you will unlock your phone to whatever you were doing last. Dragging it to the right will give you the opportunity to switch to mute or vibrate. The fun begins when you slide up to either the Phone/Contacts, My Apps, Camera, or Recent Apps section. By thumbing over each area, you will be presented with more apps based on your settings. They can be the most recently used apps for each section or they can be pre-defined apps. For the Phone/Contacts you will get the shortcut to the phone dialer, but you can also set up to four recent numbers from your history or pre-defined contacts. The My Apps section will allow you to have as little as two or as much as eight apps that can be classified as recently used or any fixed apps you choose. The same goes for the Camera and Recent Apps section. The Recent Apps section doesn’t have to be recent apps, it can be whatever you define. When you first install Active Lockscreen, it will set all the sections to recently used and it will categorize them. For example the Camera section will deal with apps that involve the camera or media.

Of course with any custom lockscreen, you might want to change your look. You can do that too. With the plugins section you can add photos from your gallery or even your Facebook feed. More plugins can be downloaded from the Play Store for Free. What about the overall theme? You can change that as well. It comes with a stock theme, but again you can download more themes from the Play Store for Free. Some examples are Deep Sea, Black, Equalizer, etc.

Now if you like to use a pin or pattern security lock, you might find that it works well or is inconsistent depending on your phone. At times the security lockscreen would appear right after I unlocked the Active Lockscreen and other times it didn’t. If you ever want to stop using Active Lockscreen, you can go into the settings and uncheck “Enable Lock Screen”.

Now there is one more thing that is very cool about Active Lockscreen and that is that it’s absolutely Free. If you like customizing or just want to add a little fun to the look of your phone than give it a shot. Check out my hands on video (as well as their demo video) below and hit one of the download links to get started. Don’t forget to let me know what you think.

 

Active_Lock_Screen_01 Active_Lock_Screen_02 Active_Lock_Screen_03 Active_Lock_Screen_04 Active_Lock_Screen_05 Active_Lock_Screen_Splash_Banner

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

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US Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Finally Gets Android 4.1.2 Update

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 01:15 PM PST

 

If you’re an owner of the US variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, then you will probably be all smiles after hearing this news. Reports are coming in that Sammy has begun pushing out the long-awaited and coveted Jelly Bean update to owners of the tablet. The update brings the Android software to version 4.1.2 and brings with it some nice little goodies such as the multi-window multitasking feature. The update is just now being pushed out to the masses— so if you don’t see anything now don’t fret— it’s probably a good bet that you’ll see it sooner than later.

source: Android Central

 

Google confirms bluetooth audio streaming fix for next version of Android 4.2

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 12:42 PM PST

Those of who enjoy streaming music over bluetooth may have had a few issues with Google’s latest version of Android, 4.2. Fortunately, though, Google claims they’ve fixed the issue and they’ll be pushing it out with the next release of the software. Since we’ve been hearing so many rumors about 4.2.2, this fix shouldn’t take too much longer to get pushed out to the mainstream. Have any of your had bluetooth issues since updating your device to 4.2.1?

source: Android Police

Featured Android App Review: eWeather HD, Radar HD, Alerts [Weather]

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 11:28 AM PST

Are you a weather buff or maybe you’re someone who wants the most comprehensive weather app available on Android? Well you have come to the right place because I am going to tell you about eWeather HD, Radar HD, Alerts from Elecont Software. You might be thinking that I am talking about three different apps, but I kid you not that I am talking about one app that has all those features, plus some of the best weather widgets you will find in Google Play.

A few months ago I reviewed eRadar HD: Real-Time and Alerts, which is basically the “Radar HD” portion of the title as a standalone app. That app in itself is probably the most comprehensive radar app for Android, but if you are really into the weather, then you’re going to want to step up to this full fledged product, which adds in the forecast aspect, more alerts, and cool widgets.

When you first open the app, you get a beautiful analog clock that shows you the degrees and visual weather icon for each hour. So if it’s 10:30am, you will easily see how things will look at 5:00pm when you’re driving home. Tapping the center of the clock changes what’s displayed. You can changed it to show chance of precipitation, humidity, pressure, UV, wind, and K-index all by the hour.

In all the screens you will see an exclamation point icon if there are any alerts, such as high winds, black ice, snow, etc. Just tap on them to get the information. You can even share these alerts with friends and family.

A quick swipe of you finger and you will see the 10 day forecast with the high and low temperatures shown in chart format. You can also see the visual icon, moon phases, wind, etc. One more swipe and you will get a detail of the current conditions as well as any alerts.

Now the really nice thing is that if you have a tablet, Elecont has optimized eWeather so that it uses the entire display in that you will see more information without having to swipe through different screens.

What I have shown you is already enough to make this one of the top weather apps available today, but that’s not all. By tapping the bottom right, you can take a look at the radar. The functions in this section are similar to the eRadar HD app that I reviewed. For starters, this is the only app that I know of that gives you the most current radar conditions. Most apps have a 20 to 30 minute delay, but eWeather shows you the radar from a few minutes before the current time. Just like eRadar HD, you will see what areas have alerts, and you get the same pointer that shows you how far away you are from your current location. This is convenient when you see some rain or snow heading towards you. There are also so many settings, that you can spend hours fooling around with them.

They also offer another map that gives you even more customization. You can show additional information for major cities and towns such as temperatures, visual weather icons, wind, dew points, humidity, and local times.  You can even throw on the radar and the alerts, so in a sense, you can make your own custom map.

Are we done yet? Hell no because I haven’t even started on the widgets yet. Elecont has thrown in a bunch of widgets that represent the clock and charts from the app. For example you can have the analog clock with the hourly conditions so you will always know how things look later on. Want to see a 10 day forecast instead? You can do that too. They offer sizes from 1 x 1 all the way up to 5 x 5. Just tap the widgets to go into the app and get more information. These are not only informational, but they will look pretty good on your screen and blow away iPhone users.

Finally, there’s still more as you can customize notification alerts for whatever information you want to see in your notification area.

I opened this post by saying that eWeather, Radar HD, Alerts is the most comprehensive weather app available for Android. If you have gotten this far, you probably agree. Now it’s time to head over to the Play Store and grab this bad boy and see for yourself. Now based on the complexity of this app, you can’t expect it to be for Free. It’s priced reasonably at $3.99. For the amount of features that eWeather gives you, I think it’s more than a fair price, not to mention it’s cheaper than a Starbucks foo foo drink. You can check out my hands on video below and hit one of the download links to get started. As always, let me know what you think.

Features:

  • Hi-Def, Real-Time animated NOAA (NEXRAD) Radar on Google maps (USA only),
  • Two world-renowned weather providers: Foreca and US weather provider,
  • 130,000 locations all over the world,
  • Twenty original widgets of the weather, radar, time, moon phase, barometer, geomagnetic index, and UV index (1×1, 2×1, 2×2, 1×4, 4×1, 4×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×2, 5×5 etc),
  • 126 weather alert categories.
  • Radar widget on OpenStreetMap (for USA only),
  • Ten day forecast,
  • Ten notification indicators in the status bar: temperature, moon phase, earthquakes, alerts, barometer etc,
  • Earthquakes widget on OpenStreetMap,
  • Weather Alerts (Advisory, Watch, or Warning) from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for USA,
  • Black ice and freeze warnings,
  • One-hundred latest earthquakes in the world on Google map,
  • Barometer with headache indicator,
  • Pressure forecast graph (Foreca only),
  • Moon phase, moon rise and moon set times,
  • Sunrise and sunset times,
  • Duration of the day,
  • World map with weather alerts, weather, earthquakes and local time.
  • Geomagnetic storm forecast,
  • Wind speed and directionality indicators in both 10-day and hour-by-hour forecasts (except Foreca),
  • 24 hour by hour forecast,
  • Current weather conditions,
  • Only uses 8 KBytes of internet traffic per city for each weather update,
  • World clock,
  • METAR from weather station (except Foreca),
  • UV index,
  • Precipitation probability,
  • Precipitation amount: rainfall and new snowfall amount,
  • Follow by location (uses GPS or Cell Network location determination),
  • Full tablet support,
  • Send weather forecast, weather alerts, Earthquakes by e-mail

eWeather HD:

  • Is an easy to use, handy assistant for staying informed about changing weather conditions,
  • Has a built-in barometer. A diagram is displayed which shows the atmospheric pressure changes for the past 24 hours. A red warning display is produced when the barometer detects changes more than 0.2 inhg.
  • Provides information on the last 100 earthquakes from all over the world. View the latest earthquakes in a list or on a map. Provides information regarding magnitude, time and distance. You can filter earthquakes by their magnitude and distance from your location

 

eWeather_HD_Radar_HD_Alerts_Splash_Banner eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_10_Day_Forecast eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Alerts eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Current_Conditions eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Main_Weather_Clock eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Map_With_Icons_Temperatures eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Notifications eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Radar_Map eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Tablet_Screen_02 eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_TA_Tablet_Screen_01 eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Weather_Clock_With_Wind eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Widgets_01 eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Widgets_02 eWeather_Radar_HD_Alerts_Widgets_03

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Google Nexus 7 dock now available and in stock

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 11:17 AM PST

Late last week it appeared all the people waiting for the Nexus 7 dock to be available had a couple weeks wait ahead of them. In a bit of under-promise, over-deliver, retailer EXcaliberPC.com now has the ASUS produced dock in stock and is accepting order for $39.99. The dock provides a stand for the Nexus 7 that puts it at a nice viewing angle for movies, photos, or reading while charging the device and providing a 3.5mm port for speakers. If you are ready to order the dock for your Nexus 7 device, use the source link below.

source: EXcaliberPC.com

Study Shows 35 Percent Of Us Still Using Smartphones While Driving

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 09:15 AM PST

 

35 percent of the nearly 4,000 people polled by McKinsey & Company said they used their smartphone while driving. Most of those who admitted to the violation, 89 percent, said they used their phone to make calls. The next highest cause was navigation, 68 percent. 39 percent of the self-admitted guilty drivers said they used some form of instant messaging and 31 percent admitted to checking email or just plain browsing the web. The report, called Mobility of the Future, also showed younger drivers were far more likely to use their handsets on the road. When asked about the importance of in-car access to data, 55 percent of 18 to 39 year-olds see it as important. Only 27 percent of geezers 40 to 69 year-olds gave it the same level of importance.

We know it’s hard to keep the phone down while on the road, like REALLY hard, but it’s the law in most states not to mention not the safest thing you could be doing. We’d like you guys to stick around to make fun of our little Android blog. Until Google’s self-driving cars are here, we’ll all need to be a bit safer behind the wheel.

Source: CNET

UK retailer Expansys opens up Xperia Z preorders

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 09:12 AM PST

Before a phone comes out, we always have a bit of fun with accidental preorders and some leaked product pages. UK retailer Expansys kicked off this morning with an attractive price point of £399.99 ($643.70) for the newly unveiled Sony Xperia Z. This was quite a bit lower than the other preorders we’ve seen, but hey, you certainly wouldn’t complain about saving money, right? Unfortunately, that price was too good to be true, and Expansys has pulled the price back up in line with other retailers to £529.99, or $852.91. Unfortunately, they’re only listing the black color of the Experia Z, and there’s no official release date. Still, though, it’s good to see some preorders, because that means official availability can’t be too far off, and I’m sure I’m not the only one excited to get their hands on one of these monsters.

source: Expansys

AT&T Offers $100 Credit When Purchasing A HSPA+ Nexus 7 Tablet And Signing Up For 2-Year Agreement

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 08:00 AM PST

 

Well what do we have here folks? A special offer has just appeared on the Play Store highlighting a $100 bill credit from Ma Bell when purchasing an HSPA+ version of the Nexus 7 tablet. As with most special deals— this one initially aims to save AT&T customers an extra dollar or two when signing up for a 2-year contract. Of course customers will quickly realize that they will likely pay far more money in the long run because they are not only paying full price for the 32GB version of the tablet (currently priced at $299), but they will also be stuck paying for a monthly data plan starting at $15 bucks— which really adds up in the long run.

Of course users can always splurge for a WiFi-only option or get the HSPA+ model and look for alternative monthly data options by going the prepaid route, but hey— it’s always nice to have the option of going down the carrier route, right?

source: AT&T

Itching To Grab A Nexus 4, But Tired Of Playing The Waiting Game? Try Using A Special Hack To Convert The Optimus G To A Nexus 4 Instead

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 06:54 AM PST

 

Ah yes, the Nexus 4 smartphone. It’s no secret that waiting for that elusive device has been nothing short of frustrating and with LG’s rumored decision to take a break from the Nexus 4 production— it appears that Android fans will either need to wait for Google to have more inventory available or try to find some other sort of ummm… “alternatives” to suffice. With that in mind— the wizkid team of G33k3r, Rohan32, et. al came up with one hell of a Nexus 4 alternative for those who just can’t wait— and all you need is an LG Optimus G smartphone to start off with. As you know, the the Nexus 4 loosely based off the Optimus G smartphone (save for some minor differences like a pesky custom UI and all). With that in mind, the savvy folks basically figured out a way to overwrite the AT&T-based Optimus G firmware to that of a stock Nexus 4. What this does is literally changes everything from the bootloader to the actual AOSP software— effectively giving you an unofficial Nexus 4. Of course this special mod means that Optimus G users are willing to attempt this special modification will lose a lot which includes the coveted LTE capabilities and 8GB of the available 16GB storage space as the mod will cap the partition at a mere 8GB only.

Still, those are only minor things to nitpick really. This special modification will certainly be appealing to more than a few of you out there. If you’re up for trying this out or want more deets, hit the source link for more information.

source: XDA Forums

Are you addicted to your smartphone? My experiences using a dumbphone and tablet combination to break the habit

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 06:29 AM PST

Smartphones are incredible tools and toys that make our lives easier, more productive, more social and more fun. All great things, right? But like anything in life, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. This is especially true with smartphones (Android, or otherwise): we can actually use them to our detriment. I discovered this the hard way…but thankfully found a solution: replacing my smartphone with a "dumb phone" and a tablet to set some healthy boundaries on my "tech time". Read on past the break to hear my experience of disconnecting.

If you're anything like me, you love your smartphone. We use them for everything: checking the weather, tracking calories, reading articles, writing emails, social networking, taking pictures, texting, and more. We get so used to pulling them out of our pocket that we soon feel naked if we don't have the thing in our hands. When we're bored, we pull them out and mindlessly flick through our home screens, even if there is nothing to look at. We reach for them the second our lunch-buddy gets up to go to the bathroom to see if we've gotten a new message or check our Facebook feed. Instead of playing with our kids at the park we're busy trying to capture the perfect picture of them, find the right Instagram filter, and come up with some witty caption to post to our social networks. Instead of enjoying dinner with our significant other, gazing into their beautiful eyes, we're gazing into our lifeless screens, engaging with friends who are not even at the table with us.

The list goes on and on, but the gist of it is this: some of us have become  so connected to the "alternate world" found within our phones, that we have become disconnected from the real world in which we live. I was one of those people.

My smartphone was ruining my life by enhancing it. I had become over-connected. I missed the simplicity and slowness of life, the time to think, the deep conversations, the uninterrupted blocks of time where I wasn't being bombarded by emails.  I needed a change, so I decided to take drastic measures: I would sell my smartphone, buy a cheap dumb phone, and carry my Nexus 7 tablet with me to work for basic productivity tasks (taking notes, adding events to my calendar, and keeping my contacts in sync). The benefit of the tablet was that I could retain some sort of connection, but I wouldn't be able to take it with me EVERYWHERE. This would allow me to be truly disconnected from the bombardment of notifications and distractions while out and about, thus allowing me to be fully engaged in whatever situation I found myself. I liked my plan and was so committed to it that I even sold my coveted and hard-to-acquire Nexus 4 the day that it arrived (I didn't even open it! Crazy, I know)!

I'll admit it, the first few days without a smartphone were rough. I missed my constant companion and kept reaching into my pocket only to be let down. Soon, though, the letdown turned into a sense of freedom. Life became more enjoyable. It was the little things, like being aware of the beauty in nature while walking down the street (I was actually looking up for once, not down at my feet!). I didn't feel the pressure and anxiousness of wondering when my next alert would come in. It was nice to know that my emails were locked in their "cage" (on my PC) and they couldn't come growling at me whenever they pleased…indeed, I had the power to access them when I was ready. My wife and I began having more interesting conversations because my attention was no longer divided.  Besides the health and freedom that this new hardware combination brought, I found all sorts of time to do productive things around the house, play with my daughter more, and even earn some extra money.

As strange as it sounds for a guy who writes for Talk Android, I have really been enjoying life without my smartphone. There are some downsides, to be sure (like no contact sync or Google Voice). Some might even call them major inconveniences, but the health and joy that I feel now more than balances out the inconveniences that I only occasionally face. For me, for now, moving to a dumb phone / tablet combination was the right move for my health and sanity.

I hope by writing about my experiences, it has helped some of you who may be feeling the way I felt, see  that there may be a solution that allows you to have a healthy amount of disconnect, while still retaining the level of productivity (and fun) that Android has to offer us. If you've got some of your own thoughts and experiences to share, write them down in the comments.
Posted by at 6:50 AM

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