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- Google makes stock keyboard available in Play Store
- Sony Xperia Z support documents found on T-Mobile’s website, release coming soon?
- Featured Android App Review: TypeSmart Keyboard [Productivity]
- Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 and A3000 get priced, begin at $149
- Sony and Google rumored to secretly be working on Xperia Z Google Edition smartphone behind the scenes
- NVIDIA Shows off Tegra 4 gaming processor in Dead Trigger 2 video— game set to launch this summer
- Samsung releases new video showcasing the Galaxy Note 8.0
- Asus “We Transform” event at Computex 2013 available to watch in entirety
- Ticket To Ride loaded up in Google Play Store
- Radio Shack offers new trade in program, up to $300 credit toward purchase of any Samsung device
| Google makes stock keyboard available in Play Store Posted: 05 Jun 2013 04:59 PM PDT
My first impressions of using Google Keyboard are that it’s snappy, easy to use, and seems to predict what I’m trying to say almost as well as Swiftkey. However, I’m only going to be able to get a full grasp of it after trying it out for a few days. You can download the keyboard for your phone or tablet from the link after the break.
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| Sony Xperia Z support documents found on T-Mobile’s website, release coming soon? Posted: 05 Jun 2013 03:40 PM PDT
The Sony Xperia Z could be released on T-Mobile before we know it. We told you about the possibility a few months ago, and now thanks to a finding by G for Games, we have more reason to believe that the Xperia Z is coming to the United States very soon. A long list of support documents for the Xperia Z were found in a search on T-Mobile’s website. The pages are locked if you try heading to them, but the fact that they even exist suggest that T-Mobile could be very close to launching the phone. As a reminder, the Xperia Z is a dust-proof, water-resistant 5-inch, 1080p display smartphone powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chip, and includes a 13MP camera with Exmor RS for mobile and HDR video. It’s a top end phone that should we welcomed with open arms from T-Mobile customers. Could it compete with the likes of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S 4? It has the potential, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Source:G 4 Games
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| Featured Android App Review: TypeSmart Keyboard [Productivity] Posted: 05 Jun 2013 02:15 PM PDT
I have been a loyal user of SwiftKey for a while now, but another keyboard replacement app called TypeSmart from Comet Apps might change that. I have been playing with it over the last couple of days and I like what I see. From what I have found with most keyboard replacements is that they always seem to be too gimmicky with an interface that will only attract a few people. TypeSmart went in another direction by trying to improve upon what’s out there without trying to develop a brand new way to type. TypeSmart’s claim to fame is that it not only does what all the other keyboards do, but there are six cool things that no other keyboard offers. The first is a slide-out number row. I tend to do a lot of my typing in portrait mode and I hate switching to a different keyboard for numbers. I know a lot of keyboards offer long pressing, but that is only good when you only need to type one digit. With TypeSmart, you simply swipe up and the dedicated number row appears. Don’t worry, there is still a separate dedicated number pad if you find that your phone’s display is too small. I would like to see this option added to the settings giving you the ability to always display it without needing the gesture, but a quick swipe up isn’t all that bad.
The second is what they call near psychic prediction. Most keyboards try to figure out the word you are typing, but TypeSmart will predict the next two words you are going to type. I works well with common phrases like ”how are you?”. As soon as you type “how a” you will see “are you” in the suggestions area. However I found that the algorithm doesn’t appear to be looking at your typing history. For example, I typed, “The dog is brown” earlier, but when I later typed, “The dog”, it didn’t suggest “is brown”. I am sure this is something that will continue to evolve. Next up is a password checker. Say you need to type your password for an account on a particular website or even an app. As you type your password, the letters quickly change to asterisks, but often times you didn’t look fast enough to see if you were typing correctly. Before you hit the submit button, you can tap “Check Password” just above the keyboard to make sure you didn’t make any mistakes. I know that some apps have a ”show password” option, but most websites don’t offer it. The “Any Key” is the fourth thing. It’s a key that you can customize to be one of six different functions: smiley menu, voice input, cursor controls, translator, language, or settings. You can actually set it to any two functions since you can set one to be when you tap it and the other when you long press it. On top of all this, you can also set any of these functions to open when you long press the Return key. TypeSmart also allows you to customize the size of your keyboard. This is really nothing new, but TypeSmart has some nice adjustments. For starters, you can make changes to the portrait and landscape keyboards independently. You can adjust how high you want the keyboard to be and adjust the height of the bottom row. You can even change the font size for the suggestions as well as the padding for the bottom row. Lastly, there are a number of themes, which again isn’t really anything new. TypeSmart offers 30 different themes and you don’t have to download any of them. You can even personalize things even further by adding an image to your keyboard as a wallpaper. It works well, but I find that most photos end up making the keyboard look too busy even though they offer a transparency adjustment. Images such as logos will work better. On top of all this, TypeSmart offers even more like the fact that it’s compatible with both phones and tablets. You don’t need a separate download for each type of device. You will also find Google Translator built in. Earlier I mentioned the translator as one of the functions that you can set your “Any Key” to, but I didn’t explain it. It uses Google Translate to translate anything you type so you can easily email or text people that don’t speak the same language as you. It works very well, but unfortunately I don’t have a need for it. Another cool feature is the ability to add shortcuts. For example, if you find yourself constantly typing, “on my way home”, you can add this as a shortcut and set whatever short word or abbreviation you want for it. You can even make it as simple as one letter. When you type the shortcut, your phrase will appear in the suggestions. There is no limit to the number of these that you can set. The last thing I want to mention is the ability to quickly undo any unwanted corrections. I always get upset when I get autocorrected, and TypeSmart makes it easy to revert to what you really wanted to say. Whenever it does an autocorrect, it will put the original word in the suggestion bar in green so you can quickly tap it to undo the autocorrection. Not only that, it will automatically add it to the dictionary. For languages, TypeSmart offers English (US & UK), Spanish, French, and German. For layouts, you have your choice of QWERTY English, QWERTY Spanish, QWERTY International, AZERTY French, QWERTZ German, and T9. Just like any other decent keyboard replacement, TypeSmart isn’t free. The good news is that they offer a free version that has all the bells and whistles that I mentioned for a 30-day trial. That is more than enough time to find out if this keyboard is for you. If it is, it will cost you only $2.99, and you don’t have to buy separate versions for your phone and tablet. Check out my hands on video below as well as their trailer video and download links to get started. As always, let me know what you think.      Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 and A3000 get priced, begin at $149 Posted: 05 Jun 2013 12:25 PM PDT
The second device, the IdeaTab A3000, has the same specs as the A1000 except comes with a front and rear camera and a 1.2 GHz single-core processor. There’s not much of a difference between the two devices, the A3000 even loses one CPU core, and for some reason it costs $229. Confusingly, that’s $80 more than the A1000. The devices aren’t available yet, but they should be soon, if you’re interested. Source: Unwired Review
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| Posted: 05 Jun 2013 11:36 AM PDT
We know that Sony’s Xperia Z smartphone is one heck of a smartphone already, but it’s looking like Sony is joining the ranks of HTC and Samsung by having a Google Edition of its flagship in the works behind the scenes. According to an insider confirmed that Google and Sony are currently collaborating on an Xperia Z which would feature stock Android and be released sometime in July. This new model should be fairly identical to the existing version and arrive with a quad-core processor, 5-inch TFT display, 13MP camera and be fully dust and water-resistant– but the main difference is that it will come with the latest version of pure, unmolested Android (which could be Android 4.2.2 or possibly Android 4.3). The fact that this device is in the works shouldn’t be too surprising considering Sony is a staunch supporter of the AOSP and is often very friendly with the developer community. Of course we will need to wait and hear about a confirmation from Sony and/or Google directly— but all indications is that we’ll hear something sooner than later. source: Android GS
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| NVIDIA Shows off Tegra 4 gaming processor in Dead Trigger 2 video— game set to launch this summer Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:26 AM PDT
Making use of before/after effects, NVIDIA showed off the graphics and performance of Dead Trigger 2 with a Tegra 4 processor in comparison to Tegra 3. This is all in preparation for the 2013 E3 gaming conference scheduled for next week. The Tegra series emphasizes low power consumption and high performance for playing audio and video. There are definitely some nice improvements— check it out for yourself after the break. Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Samsung releases new video showcasing the Galaxy Note 8.0 Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:23 AM PDT
Samsung has released a new video on YouTube touting the capabilities of the Galaxy Note 8.0. Samsung’s S-Pen equipped note devices previously came in the phablet size hovering around 5.5-inches or the large tablet size at 10-inches. The new device which went on sale this year, tries to bring the Note’s strengths to the small tablet market with an 8-inch screen. Like its siblings, the device sports an S-Pen with “air” capabilities and the ability to run multi-window capable apps. The video follows a male character throughout his day, first traveling to work, then attending some meetings, and finally running some errands before meeting a girl. Along the way he describes via his voice-over some of the things he can get done with his Galaxy Note 8.0 like reading, scheduling meetings, taking notes, and navigating with the device. Throughout the video, Samsung stresses the Galaxy Note 8.0 is the “best fit” for the demands of daily life. Check out the video after the break. Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Asus “We Transform” event at Computex 2013 available to watch in entirety Posted: 05 Jun 2013 10:13 AM PDT
The event that Asus began promoting about a month ago with its series of video trailers is now available to watch in its entirety. Asus made use of the “We Transform” mantra as expected, and unveiled some pretty interesting products including the Transformer Pad Infinity, Fonepad Note, MeMoPad HD7, MeMoPad FHD 10 and Transformer Book Trio. Check out the full video after the break. Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Ticket To Ride loaded up in Google Play Store Posted: 05 Jun 2013 09:58 AM PDT
Developer Days of Wonder has released the Android version of their popular Ticket To Ride title to the Google Play Store. The game is available across a variety of platforms, including a non-digital board game. With an intuitive interface, users should be able to jump right in and play this strategy title, but to do well they may want to check out the video tutorial below to better understand the basic flow and options in the game. Gameplay involves a virtual board with train routes laid out from and to several destinations. Players receive “cards” for trains and destinations with the challenge then to claim routes on the board. The longer your routes, the more points you can earn. However, other players may block your route if they sense your plans. This can not only reduce the length of your routes diminishing your possible points, you could end up holding destinations in your hand which results in negative points. Ticket To Ride gives players the ability to join online games which are starting up every 13 seconds, 24 hours a day. Opponents are located throughout the world. Alternatively, if you want to hone your skills players can choose a solo game. Ticket To Ride goes for $6.99 and unfortunately there is no trial version available. In addition, there are some in app purchase options available for different maps. Ticket To Ride requires Android 4.0.3 or higher and clocks in at 136M in size. Check out the screenshots and video below. If you want to give it a try and you are willing to lay down the money, hit one of the download links to visit the Google Play Store. Click here to view the embedded video.     
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| Radio Shack offers new trade in program, up to $300 credit toward purchase of any Samsung device Posted: 05 Jun 2013 08:29 AM PDT
Radio Shack is unveiling a new deal that will allow customers to trade in their old devices for an in-store credit toward the purchase of any Samsung device. There are a few caveats, however. The Samsung device you are getting in return must be branded by Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint, and the amount of credit you receive for your trade-in varies by device and the accessories that you trade in along with the device. According to Radio Shack, the only two devices that will get you a $300 credit are the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the AT&T 64GB iPhone 5. You also have to sign a new 2-year contract with the purchase of your Samsung phone. The deal ends on July 7th, so if you’re looking to get a new phone, you may want to take advantage of this program. Source: Radio Shack
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