Friday, June 28, 2013

Android and Me

WSJ: Google is working on a game console, watch and successor to the Nexus Q
Facebook’s Android app getting public beta testing today
Nexus Q dead, Google Play Movies found at the scene
Verizon reaches 500 LTE markets, VoLTE and LTE-only phones coming next year
NVIDIA’s Shield is going to flop and they know it
Practical Meter displays USB charging speed, optimizes it
HTC reveals the One in glamor red, launching in the UK
Top 10 Android games released this week: Gangstar Vegas, Monsters University

WSJ: Google is working on a game console, watch and successor to the Nexus Q

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 03:53 PM PDT

The Wall Street Journal has dropped a bombshell tonight, detailing several products slated to come out of Google as early as this fall. According to the WSJ, Google is working on a game console, a smartwatch and successor to the Nexus Q.

With the success of Ouya, it’s not surprising Google is looking at game consoles as the next big thing. At just $99, Ouya just went on sale this week, and has already started selling out at major retailers and online. Google would presumably take the same approach as Ouya, offering up a cheap box optimized for games, but capable of running other Android apps as well. However, Google’s console wouldn’t be built around media.

Also tipped by the Journal, Google is said to be working on a successor to the Nexus Q that would be sold in Google Play for much cheaper than the first iteration. As stylish as it was, the first Nexus Q was far over priced. The new Nexus Q will be centered around Google Play media, like music and movies.

Rumors of Google working on a new Nexus Q come hot on the heels of news that Google has yanked Play Movie support for the original device, effectively killing it. If Google were to be making a second Nexus Q, killing support for the first generation model would make sense. It will be interesting to see how Google differentiates the Q from its game console, when either of which could fill both roles. We have a sneaking suspicion there may actually only be one device in the works, and that the original information was misinterpreted.

Finally, Google is said to be working on a smartwatch. Fueled by the success of Pebble, news that Samsung is working on a smartwatch and rumors that Apple will enter the market sooner than later, Google wants to provide a first-party Android watch that would connect to your smartphone and provide real-time information. We imagine Google’s smartwatch would be similar to Google Glass, offering a Google Now like experience.

With one of these devices likely to launch this fall, stay tuned for more details soon.

Facebook’s Android app getting public beta testing today

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 12:44 PM PDT

The Android community has gotten very large, but if there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the Facebook app for Android isn’t very good. Some may even say it sucks (and I may have to agree with them). Sure, it’s a lot better after the native update, but better than nearly unusable isn’t saying much. But starting today, Facebook is launching a new program to better the Android app.

Now, you’ll be able to beta test the Facebook app for Android. Facebook will use Google’s method of releasing beta versions: Google Groups. After joining this group, you will be allowed to become a beta tester. From then on, the beta version of the app will be pushed to you through the Play Store. It’s that simple.

Understand that the app will not work perfectly. It will have experimental features, unfinished code, and may act up or not even work sometimes. That’s the nature of beta software, and if you are planning to join, keep that in mind. But you’ll be helping in making a better Facebook app for everyone. To do so, you’ll have to share your experience in the feedback group on Facebook. With your feedback, they can get to fixing the bugs.

It’s awesome to see Facebook dedicate themselves to making a better Facebook app, as I think we all deserve one. This also might be our chance to express our desire for a Holo-themed app through an official source. If Twitter could design their app with Android aesthetics in mind, so can Facebook! Let them know, and tell us what you want to see from the Facebook Android app!

Show Press Release

Introducing the Facebook for Android Beta Testing Program

by Facebook Engineering (Notes) on Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 12:14pm

Android’s openness, reach, and diversity create enormous opportunities for developers. At Facebook, we’ve been able to utilize Android’s flexibility to innovate in ways that aren’t possible on other platforms, like building the first version of Home. At the same time, Android’s reach allows us to get Facebook out to more people throughout the world, and the diversity of devices and networks means more affordable smart phones for more people.

Performance and reliability are top priorities across Android, but when we marry the platform’s diversity of devices and OS versions with Facebook scale, the ability to test quality across experiences can become a challenge. Beginning today, we are announcing a beta program for Facebook for Android. This new tool will help us get performance data and feedback from more people ahead of release across a wider range of devices and versions of Android. The ultimate goal of the program is to release updates to Facebook for Android that are more reliable and better performing.

Opportunity on Android

While Android allows us to push the limits of what’s possible on one end, we must balance that work by investing in providing optimal Facebook experiences on the incredibly wide diversity of devices that already exist. Facebook is the most-downloaded app in the Play Store, so we need to make sure it works for everyone, no matter their amount of RAM, network conditions, or version of Android they might be using. Factors like data costs and network speeds are especially important to users, and we want to make sure we’re always optimizing their experiences. With so many use cases to solve, testing becomes crucial to ensuring positive, consistent experiences across Android.

To help solve for this, in the last year we’ve moved to four-week release cycles so that we’re constantly fixing issues, adding new features, and shipping updated versions of the app. In between updates, we have a team that tests a wide variety of Android devices internally, and we ask our greater team of Facebook employees to use beta builds of our apps and provide feedback when they encounter bugs or other issues. But even with over a thousand people giving feedback on a regular basis, we needed a way to get a wider, more representative swath of testers.

Over the past six months, we began a partner beta program, where we have been providing pre-release versions of Facebook for Android to leading mobile industry partners including Qualcomm, HTC, Ericsson, Sony, Huawei and MediaTek, helping us better optimize for current and upcoming devices and networks. With expertise spanning topics such as graphics rendering, multimedia codecs, and network infrastructure, these partners have been incredibly helpful as we work to improve the quality of the app.

True to our Facebook DNA, we also experimented with direct downloads which delivered new versions of the app directly to select Android users. Rapidly collecting feedback and shipping fixes helped us do more comprehensive testing and iterate even more quickly.

And when Google launched their new beta-testing and staged rollout program for apps at I/O, we were excited to participate in it and started to work on building a open community of Facebook beta testers who would work towards making the app better for everyone.

Beta program

Beginning today, the Android beta program will give users who opt-in access to the latest versions of Facebook for Android before the general release. Our goals with this program are to expand our pool of testers and gain feedback across a more diverse set of devices. Just by using the app and reporting issues, beta testers will be able to help us improve performance on a wide variety of Android devices we may have otherwise been unable to test at scale.

This will give us the opportunity to eliminate our blindspots and identify a snapshot of the diversity of use cases to test our apps so when we push to our whole user base, everyone has a better experience. Whether someone is using Gingerbread or Jelly Bean, more complete testing coverage gives us the opportunity to make sure more people can access a stable, high-performance Facebook.

Anyone can join the beta program. When you join, you will get a small batch of fixes and new features every month. We ask that you use your app as you normally would, but submit a report when you encounter a bug or other issue. Because the beta build will have features that are still in progress, the app may be less stable than you’re accustomed to. Feedback on stability, as well as any other performance issues you experience, is crucial and deeply appreciated.

We are also creating a Facebook group to host active discussions, provide a forum for your feedback, and share updates. We will ask beta testers to report all bugs through the standard reporting flows.

To join the Beta program, follow these steps:

1) Join the Facebook for Android Beta Testers Google group

2) Allow beta downloads by clicking Become a Tester in the Play Store

3) Download Facebook from the Play Store to update your app

4) Join the Facebook for Android Beta Testers group on Facebook to tell us what you think

Anyone can join the beta program, but some might also see prompts to download the beta build in a mobile megaphone.

The openness of Android has allowed us to innovate and build awesome products like Home and features like Chat Heads. We are in the early days of Google’s beta program, but we’re excited to work on extending our testing coverage at scale and providing the best app experience to everyone using Facebook.

Nexus Q dead, Google Play Movies found at the scene

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 10:40 AM PDT

The Nexus Q was a wonderful concept: a high end device that would stream content to your TV and media center using your Android device. It would be great for parties, allowing all of your Android wielding friends to add their own music to the playlist. And it would give you easy access to all of Google Play’s content. If this thing was actually released for a good price, it would be a wonderful product and a perfect gateway to Google’s media content. Unfortunately, things simply didn’t work out.

The device came with a massive pre-order price tag and limited functionality. Google decided to delay it and give out the pre-orders for free. This left the Nexus Q with an unsure future. We didn’t hear of it for a long time, and eventually, it seemed like it was dead.

Fast forward to a recent Play Music app update, which removed support for the Nexus Q. Suddenly, the device was a lot less useful than it already was. And now, the most recent update to Play Movies did the same, basically putting the final nail in the coffin and sealing the Nexus Q’s fate for all but the most dedicated of hackers.

So what’s next for Google’s Nexus Q? Nothing, it seems. The device is dead, and we can’t do anything about it. But will Google have another attempt at a media device like it? A Google TV box in this design would be awesome, if Google TV actually got some attention from Google. It seems that Google doesn’t care about GTV whatsoever, but keeps it alive for whatever reason. Giving it a good scrubbing and some new features, plus some good advertising, would do it wonders. Google TV is a great concept, but someone needs to make a great implementation.

Would you be interested in a true Google-designed TV box?

Verizon reaches 500 LTE markets, VoLTE and LTE-only phones coming next year

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 09:42 AM PDT

While the commercials like to say that “America runs on Dunkin”, a more appropriate phrase might be that America runs on 4G. It’s one of the biggest features in our smartphones and as a carrier, Verizon takes LTE very seriously. Verizon was the first of the US carriers to begin building a 4G LTE network and they’ve now become the first to complete a 4G LTE network. The latest LTE market to be switched on, Parkersburg, West Virginia, became Verizon’s 500th LTE market and the last in their initial LTE rollout.

Verizon says that their LTE network now matches up to over 99% of their 3G network, allowing it to reach more than 298 million people. To put that number in perspective, that’s 95% of our entire population. Verizon still holds an unprecedented dominance in the LTE coverage game. But with this 500th LTE market also came some other big news for Verizon. They announced that their VoLTE technology will be ready next year and that they’re working “very aggressively” to get it ready. VoLTE means that rather than having to have separate radios for the different networks that Verizon uses for voice and data, everything can be done over LTE. It also doesn’t require a rollout but instead is turned on at the same time across the entire LTE network.

VoLTE will allow LTE-only phones to be created to work on Verizon, and Verizon says that these phones should be available sometime next year. Our guess is that they will launch alongside the VoLTE network. LTE-only devices will most likely be cheaper, thinner and have better battery life because they need only one cellular radio inside them. Verizon Chief Network Officer, Nicki Palmer, mentioned that in the future when the 3G network is unused, Verizon could repurpose the spectrum for 4G uses. She also mentioned that Verizon has a plan to help network congestion but didn’t go into much detail.

Finally, Verizon talked about LTE-Advanced technology and Palmer said that they would be a leader in the LTE-Advanced market. But she then said that LTE-Advanced is actually more of a collection of enhancements, features, and standards. Nonetheless, Palmer said that Verizon will employ these features and enhancements when they are needed.

This is a massive amount of news coming from Big Red today that’s going to have a big impact on the market in the year to come. We’re excited to see what all they do with VoLTE because there’s a lot of potential with the technology. What do you guys make of the news? Are you excited for VoLTE?

Via: Droid Life (1), (2)
Source: Verizon, CNET

NVIDIA’s Shield is going to flop and they know it

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 07:02 AM PDT

The life of concept devices is often rough. We’ve seen it time and time again with companies trying to take a fresh spin on an idea but finding themselves with a product that simply doesn’t sell. We recognize that manufacturers are always taking a risk when they create a unique device but sometimes we just shake our heads and think, “Why didn’t they see that coming?” And with the NVIDIA Shield, we’re beginning to find ourselves in one of those situations.

Let’s rewind a few months. NVIDIA arrives at CES and announces their Project Shield gaming device. Project Shield made waves when it was first announced by including a beastly Tegra 4 processor and the ability to play both Android and PC games. It also brought in a full set of console controls so that customers wouldn’t have to deal with finicky touchscreen controls. The price was soon announced and at $349, it was a bit steep. But still fair for the power that you were getting. Pre-orders were opened and we presumed that some hardcore gamers and NVIDIA fans were pre-ordering.

But as time carried on, the popularity of the Shield began to tumble. People just weren’t really that interested in buying the device and we realized that there weren’t nearly as many people ordering the Shield as we had previously thought. As the wait for a launch date grew longer and longer, the pieces began to fall into place for us to realize that this wasn’t going to bode well for the Shield. And sure enough, NVIDIA announced last week that they were dropping the price of the Shield down to $299. They’d finally seen the inevitable and had made an effort to turn fate around. But at that point, it was too late. The writing was already on the wall for the Shield and more and more people began to see the trouble with it.

The Shield is a niche device, we’ve always known that. But the niche that it was aiming for has been constantly shrinking for a while now. Even if every gamer who wanted an ultra-portable gaming machine had bought a Shield, NVIDIA still wouldn’t have sold many. And with a price tag of $349, it was simply an expense that most couldn’t justify. The price slash down to $299 made it easier to swallow but it still wasn’t worth it for many people. They realized that if they bought the Shield, it would likely collect dust after the first few weeks of using it.

But the Shield has now encountered another problem; a mechanical defect was found in the hardware. After finally announcing the launch date of the device last week, NVIDIA revealed yesterday that the release of the Shield will be delayed until July due to an unspecified mechanical defect. This is bad enough in its own right. The release date was just announced just six days ago, and then 24 hours before the release, it gets pulled and put off until the next month.

So what was this mysterious mechanical defect? It could have been anything. Most likely it was just a malfunctioning hinge or something that was sourced from a third-party manufacturer that hadn’t been properly tested. But it might have been something much more sinister such as a problem with the new Tegra 4 processor. We noted that none of the sites who have posted reviews of the Shield have included benchmarks of the new Tegra 4 chip. There’s even the possibility that it was delayed not because of a mechanical defect, but rather because something in the software wasn’t up to par yet. Perhaps a launch title wasn’t ready in time? NVIDIA said that it was a third-party component that was the problem but there are a whole lot of things that could fit into that category. Unfortunately, NVIDIA has left us mostly in the dark as to what exactly was wrong which leads to all sorts of speculation. Exactly what we’re doing at the moment.

But the very worst facet of the delay was to see how little attention the news received. Going around all of the tech blogs that reported on the delay, only a handful had comments and the ones that did barely had any. This highlighted that very few people had pre-ordered the Shield. How does it show this? If a lot of people had ordered the Shield, they would have been at least slightly disgruntled by this news. Instead, we found comments sections regarding the issue that resembled ghost towns. Either people who ordered the Shield don’t care at all that the device is delayed or people simply didn’t order it. That’s the logical conclusion.

Now that we’re nearing the launch date, it’s become to obvious that the Shield will be a flop. And with the hype that it had going, a pretty big flop at that. So why didn’t NVIDIA see this coming? Perhaps it was because they’ve had such a dedicated PC following that they thought the same would work with a crossover Android device. Unfortunately, it appears that is not the case and that even their large fan base is going to pass on this one. The NVIDIA Shield is a valiant attempt at creating a new category of mobile gaming devices, but unfortunately it doesn’t appear it will achieve that goal.

But now it’s time for you, the reader, to input your own thoughts. Do you agree that the Shield will flop? Or do you think that it stands a chance of doing well? We await your answers with great anticipation.

Practical Meter displays USB charging speed, optimizes it

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 06:41 AM PDT

Charging from various sources has always been hit and miss. With our current high performance smartphones and large batteries, charging takes far too long from some USB ports. And with our phones dying after less than a day, it’s imperative that we get that charge as fast as possible. But how can you tell how fast your device is charging?

With the Practical Meter, you can. This new Kickstarter project is for a very simple device. It goes between your USB port and the USB cable that goes to your device, and using five simple LEDs, it’ll tell you how many watts your device is pulling. Most devices max out at 5 watts, so all five LEDs being lit is a good sign. But if you’re pulling less, then you know your device will take a long time to charge.

Some ports will only output 2.5 watts to some devices, yet 5 watts to others. You never know how a specific USB port will react to a specific device. Using this Practical Meter, you can find out. But there is no point in finding out if you can’t do anything about it.

Part of the Kickstarter is also their special cable that contains optimized charging circuits in the tips. One side is a full size USB plug, and the other has three plugs coming out of it; mini USB, micro USB, and an Apple 30 pin plug. This allows for using one cable with all of your devices. Using this cable, you can draw double the current if you were charging slowly before. It does not support data transfer, but it greatly speeds up charging times when they’re bad in the first place.

Giving $7 to the Kickstarter gets you the three-tip cable with optimized charging circuits. A pledge of $20 will get you the cable and the Practical Meter, showing you where you need to use it and how much faster your charging is. And in some applications, like solar panels, it’ll even tell you how much power the panel is pushing out.

If you’re interested in keeping an eye on how fast your devices are charging, and optimizing it, hit the source link and go back the Kickstarter. It’s already over its goal by about 70%, so the risk is far smaller. Oh, and head to the updates part of the page. You’ll like what you see.

HTC reveals the One in glamor red, launching in the UK

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 06:30 AM PDT

We’re no strangers to a red HTC One, having seen it leak on several occasions. But HTC has finally taken the wraps off their latest design masterpiece, the HTC One in glamor red. Complete with a fresh coat of paint, the glamor red HTC One will launch in the UK next month through Phones 4U. Pricing for this new color option will be £33 per month on contract which is about $50 US dollars.

I’m not sure if you had the same reaction but the first thing to run through my head when I saw this new color was, “So when’s it coming to Verizon?” The color option is certainly perfect and I’m willing to bet that there would be a lot of people who would take a red HTC One. Just speaking personally, it’s the nicest looking phone that I’ve ever seen with this new color scheme.

Tell us, which color do you prefer for the HTC One?

Show Press Release

THE HTC ONE® LAUNCHES IN GLAMOUR RED

LONDON, June 27, 2013 – HTC, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, today announces that the award-winning HTC One will be available in a distinctive, new colour. Available exclusively to customers of Phones 4u from mid-July, the new HTC One in Glamour Red packs the blistering performance and premium features that have garnered global acclaim since its launch earlier this year, into a body that makes a striking yet sophisticated statement.

Philip Blair, President of EMEA, HTC, commented, “We have always been committed to offering consumers the flexibility to share their personalities through their choice of mobile phone, whether through colour, customisation or features. The new HTC One in Glamour Red showcases the power of our flagship model in a colour that demands attention, whilst maintaining the high standards set for sophisticated design and build quality.”

Sitting at the top of HTC’s portfolio, the HTC One combines the latest in mobile innovation and design to offer the company’s most powerful experience to date. BlinkFeed aggregates multiple feeds from selected news sources, social networks and other in-phone features like the calendar or HTC Sense TV to create a customisable, real-time stream of relevant information direct to the home screen. HTC revolutionised photography with the introduction of the UltraPixel camera, for superior images in low light, and HTC Zoe, allowing you to capture the moment, not just a split-second snapshot. BoomSound brings your music to life with front-facing speakers and Beats Audio™ optimisation, placing you at the heart of the action, whether listening to music, playing a game or watching a movie on the stunning, 4.7″, Full HD screen.

Since its launch, the HTC One has attracted a host of editorial and industry awards which recognise its superior performance and benchmark design. Highlights include the GSMA’s Global Mobile Award for Best New Mobile Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2013 and Computex Taipei’s Gold Medal in Design and Innovation.

Top 10 Android games released this week: Gangstar Vegas, Monsters University

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 06:25 AM PDT

Welcome back to Android Gaming Weekly, our weekly recap on new game releases. We still plan to cover upcoming releases and games we're playing, but this column is dedicated to new games you can install and start playing right now. Check out our top picks and let us know if you have any suggestions for next week in the comments below.

Gangstar Vegas

Description: Roll up on a dangerous new trip through the City of Sin in the latest episode of the acclaimed open-world action game! Get ready for fun, immersive and wild gun wars! Because of the high-quality graphics used in this game, this title will use 2.5 GB of space.

Gangstar Vegas $6.99Gameloft PLAY QR

Eden to Green

Description: The machines have invaded the beautiful planet of Eden! Alien machines have come to steal the natural resources of Eden. They’ve all but completely destroyed Eden and there are only a small handful of plants and trees left alive. Euphoria, the natural energy of Eden needed for life to survive, is dwindling fast.

Eden to Green FreeZynga PLAY QR

DROID COMBAT – MISSION ALPHA

Description: Take control of a giant, augmented-reality warrior and defend your Turf against all challengers! Challenge friends to thrilling, fast-paced battles. Swipe with your finger to launch guided missiles at your opponent. Tap incoming missiles to shoot them down with your lasers.

DROID COMBAT - MISSION ALPHA FreeMunkyFun Inc PLAY QR

Where’s My Mickey?

Description: Join Mickey on a brand new adventure in Disney's most popular mobile game franchise! Where’s My Mickey? introduces a whole new world of life-like physics-based gameplay with stimulating weather mechanics and humorous animations. Immerse yourself in the ultimate mobile gaming experience as you watch funny episodes while solving challenging puzzles! Tap, swipe and swirl to help Mickey collect water and complete each story. Every drop counts!

Where's My Mickey? $0.99Disney PLAY QR

Monsters University

Description: WELCOME TO MONSTERS UNIVERSITY! SCHOOL IS NOW IN SESSION WITH THIS OFFICIAL MONSTERS UNIVERSITY MOBILE GAME! Let the scary out in two exciting games based on the Disney-Pixar film “Monsters University,” and prove you're the ultimate scarer! Prep for more Scare Games to come in future updates!

Monsters University $0.99Disney PLAY QR

Treasures of the Deep

Description: Arabella Steem's inventor father has gone missing, and it's up to her to fix his device. Travel the world's 80 levels and hunt down his device's missing crystals in this wonderful and relaxing match-3 puzzle masterpiece. There's just one problem; the crystals are only found inside rare seashells near geomagnetic anomalies on the ocean's bottom. Players must solve the match-3 puzzles to unlock the crystals and help Arabella move on.

Treasures of the Deep FreeHeroCraft Ltd PLAY QR

Tour de France 2013

Description: THE OFFICIAL TOUR DE FRANCE 2013 MOBILE GAME ! Enjoy the thrill of the world's most popular cycling race and face the stars of the peloton! Including all official stages and teams of the Tour! Your mission: leading your team to Victory and winning the YELLOW JERSEY at the end of the Tour on the mythic stage of the Champs-Elysées in Paris!

Tour de France 2013 - The Game $4.72PLAYSOFT PLAY QR

Redline Rush

Description: Jump into a super sports car and test your driving skills in this high speed driving game where you have to weave through traffic to escape the police. Avoid crashes, take down traffic cars, pick up power-ups and walk to the top of the leaderboard! This game will challenge even the most skilled arcade racing fans.

Redline Rush FreeCrescent Moon Games PLAY QR

Might & Magic Clash of Heroes

Description: The award-winning Puzzle-RPG is now remastered and optimized for Android devices! Live the epic adventure of five young Heroes leading their armies to save the world of Might & Magic.

Might & Magic Clash of Heroes $5.21Ubisoft Entertainment PLAY QR

Going Going Gone: HR Classic

Description: Friends become rivals in ESPN Going Going Gone: Homerun Classic! Featuring an explosive homerun derby experience in which you compete to crush your rivals and top the rankings. Customize your batter with hundreds of options, unlock dozens of bat types and power-ups to out hit your friends and earn an unbeatable high score. Sporting four different ways to play: Classic Arcade, Facebook Rivals, Unique Events and Versus mode.