Google Android News Android Forums |
- “Touch Block” feature by Sony introduced with the purpose of preventing unintentional touches
- Best icon packs for Android [July 2013]
- AT&T launches 35 new LTE markets and expands 17 more
- New Polamatic app brings tons of old school Polaroid filters and customization to your pictures
- Google requiring “browser conformity tests” for Smart TVs pre-loaded with YouTube application, manufacturers react
- Samsung Mobile releases Andrew Park inspired YouTube video for Galaxy Note 8.0
- Canary hopes to bring home automation tech to smoke, CO detectors
- Sony Honami camera app unofficially ported to the Xperia Z and other Sony devices
- Amazon unleashes GameCircle to all Android devices
- Google to bring multitasking and background audio to YouTube app soon
| “Touch Block” feature by Sony introduced with the purpose of preventing unintentional touches Posted: 02 Jul 2013 02:03 PM PDT
Manufacturers continue to put out some pretty awesome features to their devices an effort to rise above their competition. Continuing this trend is Sony, with their new “Touch Block” feature which they’re rolling out to the Xperia ZR, and most likely other phones in the future. The feature disables unintended touches, for example, when you’re under wet conditions. However it doesn’t interfere when you try to use your phone under normal circumstances. The app is currently in beta, as the release is only version 0.1.A.1.0. It’s rumored that the feature will only be available to their water-resistant devices in the future, but we’ll have to wait and see from them. Source: Xperia Blog
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| Best icon packs for Android [July 2013] Posted: 02 Jul 2013 11:52 AM PDT
In a world where OTA updates come few and far between, Android users are constantly trying to find ways to refresh and customize the look and feel of Android on their devices. An icon change-up would certainly give any user a quick-fix without having to revamp the entire OS. Because of this, I’ve decided to compile a list of the most far-out, diverse, and sweet looking icon packs out there today. First, what is an icon pack? Icon packs are packages of customized icons for an operating system which can be downloaded and installed, meant to replace the default icons on your OS. They can serve as a pretty neat way to show off your device to others, especially if you’ve got some crazy and wildly designed icons. How does one go about getting an icon pack, you ask? Is there rooting or hacking involved? Sure, for some icon packs, you’ll need to root your device. But for most, a simple download and install is all that’s necessary. For some icon packs, you’ll need a third-party home-screen launcher. This can be done by simply installing a launcher such as Apex or Nova. If you need help installing your icon pack, there are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube with great information and tips. Lets get to this list shall we? Hit the break for my selections (in no particular order)
1. ‘Crysta Icons’ icons pack features a very nice suite of polished-looking icons for your device and is compatible with a variety of launchers, including Nova, Apex, ADW, Holo and more. For just $1.30, users get 65+ icons to choose from in the icon picker, two wallpapers, Jelly Bean compatibility, and icon mask support. Judging by the Google Play page for the application, the developer offers plenty of support if you’re struggling with setting up this icon pack on your device.
2. ‘Pushy Icon Pack’ icons pack is created by the same developer that designed ‘Crysta Icons.’ It’s available on the Play Store for the same price as ‘Crysta Icons,’ but it offers a ton more icons to pick from, standing tall at around 1,100. The icons have a circular theme to them, and seem to be quite a bit smaller than the default Android icons. It’s compatible with Apex, Nova, ADW, Holo, and more launchers. It supports icon masker, works on Jelly Bean devices, and comes with 2 themes. Definitely grab this icon pack if you’re into the theme— the low price is definitely worth all of the icons you’re getting in return.
3. ‘MIUI X5′ has a ridiculously large offering of over 1,400 icons with full HD quality for XHDPI devices. It’s compatible with Apex, Nova, ADW, Holo, Go Launcher, Atom Launcher, and more. They also note that they have some unique design elements specifically for Apex and Go Launcher, a new app drawer design, 4 wallpapers, and simple installation instructions. The design is pretty unique as all app icons feature rounded edges and have specific themes for different types of apps— for example, all shopping apps have a ‘bag handle’ image over the app icon. You’ll definitely get the bang for your buck from this one as it’s only $0.99!
4. ‘Colorful Theme’ offers a really nice looking minimalist theme with maximum effect, with over 840 unique icons to choose from and over 2500 icons themed. The developer definitely put a lot of thought into this icon pack, as each icon is brilliantly illustrated with gorgeous colors that stand out. It’s also compatible with all the major launchers. If you like this icon pack, definitely check it out as it’s only $0.99 in the Play Store.
5. ‘Snack Pack’ by developer Pure Designs did a really nice job with this icon pack. ‘Snack Pack’ offers some really nice minimalist, simple designs, but at the same time makes them pop out and easily catch your eye. Click on the link to the Play Store below to see what I mean. Personally, this is my favorite, especially because of how easy it was to set it all up and get the icons on my phone. The developer allows for icon requests and promises to get as many of them done as he can, adding icons through regular updates as well. The icon pack is compatible with all the top launchers too, including Apex, Nova, Go Launcher, ADW, etc. It’s $1.49 on the Play Store and it’s definitely worth the extra $0.50 for the top quality design you’re getting for all your icons. Obviously we can't list every great icon pack out there as there are hundreds, but here's a list of honorable mentions that you may want to check out before deciding on the right icon pack for you. Honorable Mention: Boom, Blawb, Aelous HD, Joker, Graphene Theme, Lustre Theme, Vivid Icon Pack Got a favorite not mentioned above? Hit us up in the comments!
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| AT&T launches 35 new LTE markets and expands 17 more Posted: 02 Jul 2013 10:56 AM PDT
AT&T just expanded their massive LTE network by a sizable amount, adding 35 new markets and expanding 17 others. If you are an AT&T subscriber in any of the listed cities, you should be able to start enjoying LTE today. Check out the full list after the break. New markets:
Expanded markets:
Source: Android Police
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| New Polamatic app brings tons of old school Polaroid filters and customization to your pictures Posted: 02 Jul 2013 09:57 AM PDT
Everyone knows camera apps are a huge deal. A smartphone camera is one of the biggest selling points on a device, which is why photo apps do so well on the Play Store. The newest photo filter app to jump in the fray is Polamatic, and it’s aiming to reproduce older style filters and frames similar to Polaroid cameras. It comes with 36 Polaroid frames, 20 photo filters, and a host of captioning and sharing options to make sure all your friends see your creative side. Polamatic also offers a complete camera interface to take pictures within the app, instead of just importing photos from your stock camera app. Fortunately, the interface allows you to control the flash and change between front and back cameras, so it hasn’t hit the version 1.0 problems that some other new camera apps have. If you want to give the app a spin, it’s $1.99. Hit the break below to check it out.
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| Posted: 02 Jul 2013 09:51 AM PDT
Smart TV manufacturers that have opted to feature a YouTube streaming application on their televisions have run into a bit of a wall lately with Google— the company will now be requiring all manufacturers to undergo and pass a Smart TV “browser conformity test,” which can take up to three months for Google to complete. That’s going to be a major issue for manufacturers that want their TV’s to hit the market as fast as possible. Not only that, but Google is requiring the YouTube application to be placed on the main apps page on each of these TV’s, which may seem a bit controlling and, what one industry insider said, were “coercive sales tactics.” While it’s certainly admirable that Google is taking an active role with manufacturers that are using their products, it does seem like a bit too much at this point. We’ll see what the manufacturers decide to do in the coming months.
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| Samsung Mobile releases Andrew Park inspired YouTube video for Galaxy Note 8.0 Posted: 02 Jul 2013 09:04 AM PDT
To start off the second half of 2013, Samsung Mobile released a new video on their YouTube channel showcasing the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 device. Trying to hit the sweet spot for 8-inch tablet devices, Samsung released the Galaxy Note 8.0 earlier this year to fill in the gap between their Galaxy Note II “phablet” devices and the 10-inch class Galaxy Note 10.1. The latest video is an interview with Andrew Park. You may recognize his work from videos on the Internet for the RSA Animate series which tries to create visual narratives of complex concepts and ideas. In the video Park talks about how using the S-Pen is similar to drawing on a whiteboard. He also praises the ability to use the Galaxy Note 8.0 as a place to gather information and ideas in a central place instead of all the different tools he used to carry. Click here to view the embedded video.
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| Canary hopes to bring home automation tech to smoke, CO detectors Posted: 02 Jul 2013 08:47 AM PDT
A New York based startup company, Canary, is hoping to update smoke and carbon monoxide detectors using home automation technologies we have seen deployed for kitchen appliances, HVAC systems, lighting systems, and even door locks. The plan is to produce detectors that can connect to local WiFi home networks or possibly via Bluetooth connections, giving users better interaction with the devices and providing valuable information that might otherwise go unnoticed. Plans are for the devices to be capable of sending messages to a user’s smartphone device and in turn, a user could fire up a Canary app to control the device. This might include retrieving information like carbon monoxide levels or taking action like silencing an alarm. The original idea for the Canary detector came from Mark Belinsky, an original member of the six person Canary team, as a result of his efforts to contact his grandmother during Hurricane Sandy and in the aftermath. Unable to contact her, he rode his bike to her apartment building where he discover residents heating their homes with their gas stoves, creating a huge danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Canary team has produced a prototype of the detectors and has created a web interface they are using to access the device. Looking forward, they are working on Android and iOS apps for the devices and possibly expanding the detectors to cover other air quality issues besides smoke and carbon monoxide. The Canary team anticipates submitting the project to Kickstarter or Indiegogo or some similar service to help raise funds to move forward with production. This certainly seems like a home automation device worthy of a technology update. Is this something you would deploy in your own home? What other systems would you like to see “connected?” source: AllThingsD
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| Sony Honami camera app unofficially ported to the Xperia Z and other Sony devices Posted: 02 Jul 2013 08:29 AM PDT
Sure Sony’s mysterious Honami may be a dream for us at this point, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t take advantage of some of its sweet camera features in the meantime. Crafty XDA user krabappel2548 took some time and was able to successfully port the Honami’s camera app for other premium Sony devices like the Sony Xperia Z, Sony Xperia ZL, and the Sony Xperia Tablet Z. Among the cool goodies users of the camera app will be treated to some nifty goodies like augmented reality capabilities, built-in filters, an awesome time shift function and superior image processing. If you’re on any of the above aforementioned Sony devices and happen to be on Android 4.2.2, give the camera app a try today by checking out the source link below. source: XDA Forums
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| Amazon unleashes GameCircle to all Android devices Posted: 02 Jul 2013 08:02 AM PDT
Amazon announced yesterday that they are making their GameCircle gaming service available for all Android devices. Game developers will need to incorporate the API into their games to make use of the service. GameCircle is an online gaming service that keeps track of achievements, levels, accomplishments and other data for game players so they can switch between devices and pick up right where they left off. The cloud offering also provides support for multiplayer games. Up until this announcement, the GameCircle platform was only available for games on Kindle devices. By expanding the offering to other Android devices, Amazon should be in a better position to compete with Google’s new game service that was announced during this year’s Google I/O event. Amazon’s GameCircle has been around for about a year already, so the system should be more mature with many issues already resolved. Along with the ability to sync data between devices using Amazon’s Whispersync technologies, the GameCircle platform will resolve conflicts between devices, queue updates to support offline operation, and offers a simple interface for implementation. According to Amazon, developers will not have to incorporate a specific splashscreen to use the service and they can customize notifications. Amazon also makes a point to note that game data remains the property of the developers. The question remains to be seen whether game developers will include the code for both this and Google’s cloud gaming service in their titles. source: Amazon
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| Google to bring multitasking and background audio to YouTube app soon Posted: 02 Jul 2013 07:00 AM PDT
Samsung has adopted it and there are already a few apps in the Play Store that do it (one example pictured above), so why not Google? If you have been dying to be able to watch YouTube videos in a secondary popup while you write emails, send a text, or play a game, you might get that wish. According to Google tipster, Ryan Matthews, Google is readying an update to the YouTube app that will allow you to do just that. According to Ryan, you will open a video the normal way, but if you want to do other things and still watch the video, it will be a quick swipe to bring it to a smaller window. This update could take place in about 6 weeks, but nothing concrete. Another feature that may or may not be coming at the same time is the ability to listen to only the audio portion of YouTube videos. This is perfect for music and will allow you to do other things on your device. source: AndroidPolice
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