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- Featured Android App Review: XnRetro [Photography]
- Adblock Plus Not Discouraged By Play Store Ban, Creates Easy Workaround
- Nexus 7 8GB Refurbished For $139 Plus Free Shipping, Expires Today
- Chrome World Wide Maze Turns Any Website Into 3D Game Synced To Your Phone
- More information on which countries get which processor in Samsung Galaxy S 4
- T-Mobile And MetroPCS Merger Receives Complete Regulatory Approval
- Samsung’s market share lead expected to double says analyst
- Chameleon Launcher for smartphones officially hits the Play Store
- Apple beats Samsung in smartphone satisfaction according to J.D. Power
- Samsung’s new Game Pad accessory up for preorder for only $113
| Featured Android App Review: XnRetro [Photography] Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:42 PM PDT
People are taking more pictures than ever thanks to the growing popularity of smartphones, but it has also gotten quite popular to add effects to your shots. There are a number of apps that will give you this ability, but XnRetro is one that keeps things simple. All effects are based on making your images appear vintage-like. I don’t know about you, but vintage effects are my favorite. It has a certain class about it. With XnRetro, you simply open the app and either take a new picture to work with or select a picture that’s stored on your phone or tablet. From there, you can either work with the entire picture or crop it. They give you predefined shapes such as a square and rectangle that you can resize. The next step will be to add the effect, and you will see various options at the bottom. I will start from the left. The first option allows you to fine tune the brightness, contrast, and saturation. The next option lets you select from up to 20 different Retro styles to apply to your picture. You can tap on each one to see how it will affect your picture. The third option lets you choose how much vignetting you want. As you increase it, the border of your picture will become more faded.The fourth option gives you another 15 effects to apply to your photo such as bokeh, glass, leak, and light. Last but not least, is the fifth option, which lets you add a frame. There are 26 frames to choose from including a couple that resemble older instant cameras.
After you are satisfied with how your picture looks, it’s time to save it. You can tap the disc icon at the top right and you will get 3 options for sizes: small (512px max), medium (1024px max), and large (2048px max). The large size comes out to about 2-megapixels. A little smaller than I would like, but for sharing on social sites, it should get the job done. You can also share you image directly to any of your apps that are within your “share via” menu such as Dropbox, Facebook, GMail, Google+, Picasa, Twitter, and so on. If you want to add a little pizzazz to your photos and you like the vintage look, than definitely try XnRetro. It’s absolutely free in the Play Store so you have nothing to lose. Check out my hands on video below, and hit one of the download links to get started. Let me know what you think. Features
      Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Adblock Plus Not Discouraged By Play Store Ban, Creates Easy Workaround Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:08 PM PDT
Google has made it very clear they won’t allow ad-blocking apps in the Play Store and one such app recently removed was Adblock Plus. The desktop version continues to move right along with almost 25 million users on Chrome and Firefox combined. Although Adblock Plus can no longer be installed through Google Play, they’ve made it available for any Android user to manually install. By going to “Settings, “Security” and selecting “Unknown Sources”, you can install the app on your phone or tablet. Automatic updates have been added to the latest version of Adblock Plus so users won’t have to deal with manually installing a new version every time one is released. How do you feel about ad-blockers? Should they be allowed in Google Play? Source: Adblock Plus
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| Nexus 7 8GB Refurbished For $139 Plus Free Shipping, Expires Today Posted: 21 Mar 2013 10:22 AM PDT
If you’re in the market for a tablet, 1SaleADay is running a special deal. Today, March 21 only through 11:59 PM EST, you can get a refurbished 8GB Nexus 7 for just $139.99 with free shipping. While internal storage isn’t a strong suite, it comes with familiar specs: 1.2GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, 7-inch 1280 x 800 display, 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera, and 4,325 mAh battery with up to nine hours of battery life. There’s always a chance stock could run out before the end of today so if you’re interested, probably wouldn’t hurt to get over there as soon as possible. Source: 1SaleADay
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| Chrome World Wide Maze Turns Any Website Into 3D Game Synced To Your Phone Posted: 21 Mar 2013 10:00 AM PDT
Google has released a new experiment called Chrome World Wide Maze which turns any website into a 3D marble maze game. To get started, you’ll need Chrome on your phone (Android 4.0+ required) and sync it to Chrome on your desktop. Once synced, you can choose any website to “play” on. After you’ve picked a website, simply use your phone to control the ball and reach the goal. Chrome World Wide Maze utilizes your phone’s gyroscope to guide the ball and if you don’t want to use your phone, you can always just play on your desktop. Check out the video below to see the game in action. Click here to view the embedded video. Source: Chrome World Wide Maze
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| More information on which countries get which processor in Samsung Galaxy S 4 Posted: 21 Mar 2013 09:41 AM PDT
Since Samsung announced their new Galaxy S 4 last week, with a release date scheduled for April 26th around the globe, many people have been trying to figure out which model will be available for purchase in their location. SamMobile has started to compile a list to aid those trying to figure out their options. The Galaxy S 4 will come with one of two processors. The GT-I9505 model is slated to be equipped with a Snapdragon 600 quad-core cpu clocked at 1.9 Ghz while the GT-I9500 will come with an Exynos 5 Octa processor running eight cores at 1.6 Ghz. It appears one of the main determinants for which model will be available has to do with the availability of LTE service, which the Exynos chip does not support. You can check out the list after the break.
source: SamMobile
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| T-Mobile And MetroPCS Merger Receives Complete Regulatory Approval Posted: 21 Mar 2013 09:25 AM PDT
Back in October, Deutsche Telekom struck a deal to merge T-Mobile USA with MetroPCS for $1.5 billion in cash and a 26% stake in the combined company. Now, the merger has been approved by regulators which gets it one step closer to final approval. On April 12, MetroPCS shareholders will vote to approve the merger. Moving forward, T-Mobile has an event scheduled on March 26 which is when they’re expected to talk about the new “UNcarrier plans” and possibly more details about the MetroPCS merger now that it received regulatory approval. Source: MetroPCS – Investor Relations
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| Samsung’s market share lead expected to double says analyst Posted: 21 Mar 2013 09:21 AM PDT
With some analysts projecting Samsung’s new Galaxy S 4 will push the company back ahead of Apple in the worldwide smartphone market, the impact could be even more far-reaching according to IHS Research. In the broader cell phone market, Samsung is already number 1 in global shipments, leading second place Nokia by 5 percentage points. IHS Research is projecting Samsung’s lead should expand to 11 percentage points by the end of 2013. IHS Research did not project actual market share for 2013. However, two factors are expected to increase Samsung’s lead and likely increase their share from the 29% they currently lay claim to. The first, most obvious item will be the Galaxy S 4 which is already generating massive interest. Samsung uses a strategy of making devices ready for “a massive worldwide rollout through almost every operator” to help get their devices into the hand of as many people as possible notes IHS Research analyst Ian Fogg. The second issue will be Nokia’s continued fade and inability to break into the smartphone market. Even if third place Apple were to experience significant growth, they are still far behind at only 10% of the worldwide market. source: CNET
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| Chameleon Launcher for smartphones officially hits the Play Store Posted: 21 Mar 2013 09:11 AM PDT
We already knew that one of the better launchers for tablets was certainly on its way for smartphones, but the big day has finally arrived folks: the Chameleon launcher for smartphones is officially live and available for all in the Play Store. As with the controversial tablet version, Chameleon launcher for smartphones allows for a unique launcher interface that is completely based on the use of some clever widgets that take up the entire of real estate of a smartphone’s screen. The launcher is available in the Play Store for Android smartphones operating on Honeycomb or higher devices but there’s a big catch. Potential users can either splurge on a $2.91 version that is for use with smartphones only or go for the $3.99 version which will run on both smartphones and tablets.
Chameleon $2.91 Play Store Download Link
Chameleon $3.99 Play Store Download Link
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| Apple beats Samsung in smartphone satisfaction according to J.D. Power Posted: 21 Mar 2013 09:01 AM PDT
Samsung and Apple have been duking it out with smartphone market share and in the courtroom, but what about customer satisfaction? Unfortunately things haven’t gone too well for Samsung as Apple came out on top for the ninth consecutive year. According to J.D. Power, Apple scored 855 and performed well in design and ease of operation. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t even make second place as that went to Nokia with a score of 795. Samsung was a close third with 793, followed by Motorola and HTC. What makes a user satisfied with their phone? Consumers rank performance the highest (29%) followed by ease of operation (26%), physical design (24%), and features (21%). It should also be noted that the customers surveyed owned their current phone for less than a year. Hit the break for the full press release.
2013 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study–Volume 1 and 2013 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study–Volume 1Apple Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Smartphone Manufacturers, While LG Ranks Highest Among Traditional Mobile Phone Manufacturers WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 21 March 2013 – Overall satisfaction among smartphone customers increases significantly as manufacturers continue to improve styling, feature sets, usability and software, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction StudySM–Volume 1 and the J.D. Power and Associates 2013 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction StudySM–Volume 1, both released today. The studies measure satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones among customers who have used their current mobile device for less than one year. Satisfaction is measured in several key factors. In order of importance, the key factors of overall satisfaction with traditional mobile phones are performance (29%); ease of operation (26%); physical design (24%); and features (21%). For smartphones, the key factors are performance (33%); physical design (23%); features (22%); and ease of operation (22%). The Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study finds that satisfaction among smartphone customers is 796 (on a 1,000-point scale), an increase of 22 points from 2012. This improvement is likely due to a growing array of new features and services being offered that are providing a seamless product experience between the operating system functions and third-party apps. While satisfaction in all factors of the smartphone customer experience increases from 2012, satisfaction has increased the most in performance (26 points), as a few key attributes, such as operating system reliability, processing speed and video/camera picture quality, have improved significantly. “As the capabilities of wireless phones and their applications continue to expand, and as customers grow more reliant on their device, handset manufacturers have an opportunity to further shape the customer experience and impact satisfaction with better integration of services and more communication options, such as video chat,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecommunications services at J.D. Power and Associates. “It is important, however, that manufacturers meet the expectations of those customers who take advantage of such offers by ensuring the features are intuitive and, ultimately, rewarding to them. Providing an easy-to-use, yet powerful operating system with the ability to customize applications to suit individual needs is essential to providing a high-quality and rewarding wireless experience.” Among traditional mobile phone customers, overall satisfaction has remained virtually unchanged during the past two years. However, among the 42 percent of traditional handset customers who indicate they are likely to purchase a new mobile phone in the next 12 months, 76 percent say they “definitely will” or “probably will” upgrade to a smartphone. “Satisfaction remains relatively unchanged among traditional mobile phone customers, likely as a result of heightened awareness of advanced services available on smartphones and the lack on new device offerings with upgraded feature sets,” said Parsons. For the ninth consecutive study, Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones in customer satisfaction. Apple achieves a score of 855 and performs particularly well in physical design and ease of operation. For the third consecutive study, LG ranks highest among traditional mobile phones with a score of 719. LG performs particularly well in the physical design and features factors. Nokia (714) follows LG in traditional mobile phone rankings. The 2013 U.S. Wireless Smartphone Satisfaction Study–Volume 1 and the 2013 U.S. Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study–Volume 1 are based on experiences evaluated by 9,767 smartphone customers and 6,759 traditional mobile phone customers. Both studies were fielded between July and December 2012.
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| Samsung’s new Game Pad accessory up for preorder for only $113 Posted: 21 Mar 2013 08:50 AM PDT
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S 4, they also mentioned a handful of accessories that would go on sale with it. The gamepad was officially shown and sparked quite a bit of interest, especially since it supported devices with up to 6.3 inch screens. If you’ve been keeping up at home, the Note III is rumored to sport a 6.3 inch screen. Anyway, Samsung didn’t give much details about the pricing of their gamepad, but today we’ve got some official news on preorders. Unfortunately, the gamepad will set you back $112.99, which is fairly expensive for a game controller, even one that cradles a 5 inch smartphone. Personally, I’m sticking with my Power A MOGA controller. I’m generally pretty supportive of Samsung, but it’s hard to pay double for something just because it has a Samsung logo on the top. Anybody going to be preordering one of these? source: MobileFun via: Phone Arena
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