Wednesday, February 6, 2013

AndroidGuys

AndroidGuys

Get this look for your Android smartphone: Google Now UI

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 12:22 PM PST

One of our absolute favorite things about Android is the fact that you can bend and tweak the platform to your needs.  Sure, there’s rooting and modding for deep level personalization, but that stuff does not always concern the everyday user. Some of just want to change the home screen around a bit and create a new user experience. To that end, we present our weekly series of Get This Look posts.

In a nutshell we will show you a new look for your Android handset and tell you which apps you’ll need if you want to mimic the feel. Note that the following details are but the ingredients to which you can create your own delicious Android dish – results will vary.  But that’s awesome. In fact, many of the designs we highlight tend to use the same apps.

Google Now UI by hugocamara

google_now_ui_feb5_full

WHY WE LOVE THIS LOOK:

This is a very clean and crisp layout with great usage of space without feeling too cramped. Don’t get us wrong, there’s a lot of information and  accessibility happening on these screen. We just like that it doesn’t feel overwhelming.  For those that don’t like the heavy use of white, there is an alternate dark version that can be achieved using many of the same apps and settings.

google now ui layout dark_original

The color choices, font, and icons are some of the best blends we’ve seen in a while and look very Google-y. If you were to tell us this is a default Android 5.0 design we would be just fine with that. It’s access to everything we want and need and it looks very much like the Google Now experience.

NOTE: This look will take a bit more work than some of the others we profile here but we think you’ll be pleased with the results. You’ll also need to grab nearly one dozen apps as well as some other odds-n-ends in order to achieve the design.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Anything Else?

 

MyColorScreen is dedicated to the great ways you can modify your home screens.

The post Get this look for your Android smartphone: Google Now UI appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Full Instagram experience comes to the web

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 11:48 AM PST

instagram_android_alternative_androidguysKevin Systrom, Co-Founder of Instagram, today announced the launch of Instagram on the Web. Once limited to your smartphone app and browser app for viewing photos on your feed, you can now access your feed from any web enabled device. This means your home PC, notebook, or tablet get the same experience. My question, however, is whether the time spent creating this is truly worth it.

At first glance, the web version is clean, and the ability to view your photo feed in a larger scale is nice. Details are more noticeable, and just like on the phone, you can heart (like) and comment on your friend’s photos. But, as much as I love the idea, of Instagram on my laptop or tablet, the website is so simple it is almost annoying.

“Since our launch in October of 2010, we've focused on building a simple app that has inspired creativity while capturing everyday moments through the lens of your mobile phone. In fact, our focus on building out a mobile-only experience is a unique path that we've chosen for many reasons, the most important of which is that Instagram, at its core, is about seeing and taking photos on-the-go.” Kevin Systrom

Wonderful, so why not keep it that way?  When you log onto instagram.com, you are only offered to see your feed. Sure, you have the ability to edit your profile, but beyond that there is nothing new or exciting. Instagram was created with the idea that one could manipulate and edit pictures from a mobile device on-the-go, and it works beautifully. My advice Mr.Systrom, is to spend more time adding features to your current mobile application.

Instagram

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T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy SIII 4G LTE release date leaked?

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 11:28 AM PST

Back in December, we heard that Samsung is working on 4G LTE version of the Samsung Galaxy S III, codenamed as the SGH-T999L. After that, things got pretty quiet for the Samsung and T-Mobile collabroration. Today, though, TmoNews released a screenshot telling us that the SGH-T999L is alive and well in T-Mobile’s system.

Screen-Shot-2013-02-04-at-10.18.11-AMwtmkAccording to the photo, T-Mobile will release it on March 27th or April 3rd, though nothing is written in stone. Take it with a grain of salt, though we do figure to learn more soon.

What are your thoughts on a Galaxy S III LTE arriving in the spring when there’s a Galaxy S4 right around the corner? Worth the time and effort or too late?  Tell us about it in the comment box below.

Source: TmoNews

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Google Play adding new payment methods, changing developer payouts

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 10:59 AM PST

Google is looking at making some changes to the way they handle finances in the Play Store. According to emails sent to developers, payouts are shifting from two days after the end of each month to 15 days. According to the email,

We are committed to providing you with a consistent and reliable payout experience while we introduce new forms of payment to better serve your users and create more revenue opportunities for you. These changes will allow us to ensure users can buy your apps and we can transmit payments to you in a reliable fashion.

We can’t really be sure what new forms of payment will be available, but there’s talk of more Google Wallet and other contractless payment options in the works.

via firecemobile

The post Google Play adding new payment methods, changing developer payouts appeared first on AndroidGuys.

New rumors drop about HTC Myst, the fabled Facebook phone

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 10:46 AM PST

If you’ve been around the Android circuit practically at all, chances are you’ve heard about a Facebook phone at least once. Probably more than that – but, I digress. There are now new rumors rolling around the rumor mill concerning the HTC Myst, the white unicorn of Android phones.

The latest round of specs comes from Twitter, with rumors saying that the HTC Myst will come with:

  • Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8930 S4 Plus dual-core processor at 1GHz per core
  • Qualcomm Adreno 305 GPU
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 16GB of internal memory
  • 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels
  • 5-megapixel main camera
  • 1.6-megapixel front camera
  • WLAN 802.11 a / b / g / n and Bluetooth 4.0

Of course, there’s the ever-present nugget of the phone possibly having a dedicated Facebook button, but that – like everything else – I’ll have to see for myself.

via htcinside (dutch)

The post New rumors drop about HTC Myst, the fabled Facebook phone appeared first on AndroidGuys.

OUYA will be sold at Amazon, Target, Gamestop, and Best Buy

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 08:44 AM PST

The OUYA Android-based gaming console that took Kickstarter and the tech world by storm last year will be available in June. The $99 unit will be offered through a variety of retail partners, including Amazon, Gamestop, Target, and Best Buy. In other words, all the places you readers like to frequent.

A Wall Street Journal interview with OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman tells us that there’s quite a bit going on as the device preps for its commercial debut. We definitely recommend checking the article out as it spells out some of the finer details and expectations.

Speaking of expectations, those of you who pre-ordered from OUYA’s website will see your console shipping in April. Did you support the Kickstarter project? Even better – yours go out in March.

ouya_console_full

Retail pricing will be $99.99 for the console with one controller, the same as elsewhere. If you need a second controller then expect to spend $49.99, a slight premium over the web purchase option.

WSJ

The post OUYA will be sold at Amazon, Target, Gamestop, and Best Buy appeared first on AndroidGuys.

Samsung unveils new Galaxy Young and Galaxy Fame phones

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 06:48 AM PST

Samsung has announced two new devices that are heading to the South Korea market, looking alarmingly like the Galaxy S3 – the Galaxy Young and the Galaxy Fame. Both devices come equipped with a 1GHz CPU and 512MB RAM, as well as a 1300mAh battery and 4GB internal storage. Aside from these low end specs, one could think they’re looking directly at a shrunk-down version of the Galaxy S3, complete with a TouchWiz Android 4.1 backend.

The chief difference in these two devices is the screen size – The Fame sporting a 3.5 inch display, while the Young comes in at 3.27 inches. There’s also a difference in camera size, with the Young having a 3MP rear camera (ouch), and the Fame showing off a 5MP rear shooter (still ouch). The Fame also comes with NFC, while the Young does not.

We don’t have any word on pricing or availability at this time.

via Samsung

The post Samsung unveils new Galaxy Young and Galaxy Fame phones appeared first on AndroidGuys.

NVIDIA demos Project SHIELD streaming from PC

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 06:43 AM PST

shield_demoNVIDIA looks to be kicking off a new weekly series of posts and videos dedicated to the Project SHIELD so we felt obligated to pass the news to you.  You’ll see in the video below how easy it is to stream games from a PC to the handheld gaming console/controller. Not only that, but you’ll see how awesome it is to take a console-like experience with you in a full-fledged Android device.

Booting up your Tegra 4-powered Project SHIELD is as simple as turning on a smartphone or tablet. Streaming a PC game is just as easy: fire up the SHIELD Android app and tap a few buttons. Within a matter of seconds you'll be back in the action with all the graphical bells and whistles you're used to on your PC.

Be sure to subscribe to the NVIDIA blog to keep up with the news as it pertains to Project SHIELD and other great gaming news.

NVIDIA

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Amazon announces ‘Amazon Coins’ virtual currency

Posted: 05 Feb 2013 06:31 AM PST

Amazon today announced a new virtual currency, Amazon Coins, to be used for purchasing apps, games or other in-app items on Kindle Fire.  Set to arrive in May, Amazon Coins are touted as an easy way for Kindle Fire customers to spend revenue on apps in the Amazon Appstore.  Once enabled, the new currency is expected to lead to increased monetization, and additional downloads.

“We’ve already found that the average revenue per user on Amazon is higher than other Android platforms,” said Keith Shepherd, CEO of Imangi Studios. ”We’re very excited about the monetization opportunity with Amazon’s new virtual currency.”

Come launch time, Amazon will be offering up tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Amazon Coins to be used on apps and games. That ought to jump start the economy, no?

Developers interested in getting in on the Amazon Coins love are encouraged to submit their apps before April 25 to ensure they make the cutoff date. Learn more about Amazon Coins today at http://www.amazon.com/amazon-coins.

Introducing Amazon Coins

Coming in May, Amazon Coins is a new virtual currency for purchasing apps, games, and in-app items on Kindle Fire

Amazon Coins is an easy way for Kindle Fire customers to spend money on developers' apps in the Amazon Appstore, offering app and game developers another substantial opportunity to drive traffic, downloads and increase monetization even further

Amazon will give customers tens of millions of dollars' worth of Amazon Coins to use on developers' apps in the Amazon Appstore—apps and games must be submitted and approved by April 25 to be ready when Amazon Coins arrive in customers' accounts

SEATTLE—February 5, 2013—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced another new way for app and game developers to make money on Kindle Fire—introducing Amazon Coins—the new virtual currency for purchasing apps, games and in-app items on Kindle Fire.  Amazon Coins is an easy way for Kindle Fire customers to spend money in the Amazon Appstore, offering app and game developers another substantial opportunity to drive traffic, downloads and increase monetization. When Amazon Coins launches in the U.S. this May, Amazon will give customers tens of millions of dollars' worth of free Amazon Coins to spend on developers' apps on Kindle Fire in the Amazon Appstore.  Amazon will also make it quick and easy for customers to buy additional Amazon Coins using their Amazon accounts.

Amazon Appstore developers will earn their standard 70 percent revenue share when customers make purchases using Amazon Coins. Developers with apps and games currently in the Amazon Appstore for the U.S. don't need to do anything with their apps to capitalize on this new opportunity.  Developers not yet in the Amazon Appstore should submit their apps soon—only apps submitted and approved by April 25 will be ready when Kindle Fire customers have Amazon Coins to spend across the Amazon Appstore. Developers can learn more about Amazon Coins today at http://www.amazon.com/amazon-coins.

"Developers continue to report higher conversion rates on Amazon compared to other platforms," said Paul Ryder, Vice President of Apps and Games for Amazon.  "Now we have another new way to help developers reach even more of our millions of customers.  Amazon Coins gives customers an easy way to spend money on developers' apps on Kindle Fire in the Amazon Appstore—and we're giving customers tens of millions of dollars in Amazon Coins to get started.  Developers who aren't yet in the Amazon Appstore will want to make sure their apps have been submitted and approved by April 25 so they're ready for customers to start spending their Amazon Coins."

“We’ve already found that the average revenue per user on Amazon is higher than other Android platforms,” said Keith Shepherd, CEO of Imangi Studios. ”We’re very excited about the monetization opportunity with Amazon’s new virtual currency.”

“Everyone recognizes Amazon’s success in the e-commerce world – now the Amazon Appstore has become a major player in the mobile app marketplace,” said Misha Lyalin, ZeptoLab’s CEO. “Amazon’s new virtual currency is designed to open new opportunities for developers and make things easier for customers. This is a great example of appstore innovation and we want to support it.”

“We’ve been extremely pleased with how well our games monetize on Amazon,” said Michael Grobe, Chief Financial Officer of GameCircus. ”We’re very excited about the launch of Amazon’s new virtual currency.”

Amazon Coins is the latest in a series of new features and services for developers that make Amazon the most complete end-to-end ecosystem for building, monetizing and marketing their apps and games.  Recent announcements include:

  • In-App Purchasing for Mac, PC and web-based games, enabling developers to let customers use their Amazon accounts to purchase virtual goods and currencies from games on those platforms
  • Game Circle, which includes capabilities like Achievements, Leaderboards, Friends, and Whispersync for syncing games across devices, and leads to better engagement with games
  • Game Connect, which lets developers marry the ease and security of shopping on Amazon with the convenience of having virtual goods delivered directly to customers’ game accounts
  • A/B Testing, a service that helps developers improve app functionality, retain customers and increase monetization
  • Adobe AIR Native Extensions, which makes it simple for Adobe Flash developers to add In-App Purchasing and Game Circle features to their apps and games
  • Amazon Mobile App SDK Eclipse Plugin (beta) allows developers to rapidly and reliably integrate Amazon APIs into their Android projects, speeding up development and cutting down on project setup time

Developers can get started at the Amazon Mobile App Distribution Portal (https://developer.amazon.com/welcome.html).

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design.  The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns.  Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7" and 8.9". The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package.  The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es andwww.amazon.com.br. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

The post Amazon announces ‘Amazon Coins’ virtual currency appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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