Monday, February 4, 2013

Android Authority

Android Authority


Samsung releases an extended version of its Super Bowl ad

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 02:24 AM PST

samsung super bowl ad

If you liked Samsung’s Super Bowl ad – staring Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Bob Odenkirk and an appearance from basketball star LeBron James – then perhaps you'll be pleased to note that Samsung has uploaded an extended version to its Youtube account. Even though we had a look at the full Super Bowl ad yesterday, the extended version contains more than two minutes of hilarious additional footage.

I won't throw out any spoilers; you'll just have to watch it for yourself.

It's a shame that the full version wasn't shown during the Super Bowl, but considering Samsung already forked over a massive $15 million for the original two minute clip, it's not surprising that it had to be shortened a little.

Samsung just can't seem to get it wrong when it comes to recent humorous adverts and publicity stunts. Let's hope we see a few more ads of this quality in the future.

Micromax A89 Ninja now available online for Rs 6,249

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 02:22 AM PST

Micromax A89 Ninja

Micromax enjoyed a successful 2012 by following a strategy of flooding the Indian market with numerous devices that were uncomfortably similar to each other. With plans to release over 30 new Android smartphones in 2013, it looks like the tried-and-tested strategy will continue to be used.

After the release of the A116 Canvas HD to kick off the year, the company now has on offer a mid-range budget-friendly device with the Micromax A89 Ninja.

The latest addition to the company’s Ninja series of smartphones boasts a faster processor, upgraded camera, upgraded OS, and more storage, compared to its predecessor, the A87 Ninja. Key specifications of the Micromax A89 Ninja include:

  • 4″ TFT capacitive touch screen
  • 800×480 resolution
  • 1Ghz dual-core processor
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 2GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • 3MP rear camera
  • 1,450 mAh battery
  • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • Dual-SIM support

It’s great to see that Indian manufacturers have finally moved on from Android 2.3 Gingerbread to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich even for their budget devices, but with Android 4.1 and 4.2 Jelly Bean already available, and upward shift in software will be expected very soon.

The specifications of the Micromax A89 Ninja are standard fare for a mid-range device, and this is reflected in the price as well, with the device being available online from Infibeam for Rs 6,249 (~$120). You can also find out more about about the Micromax A89 Ninja here.

Would you consider buying the Micromax A89 Ninja, or just wait for the next iteration which will be available in a month or so? What do you think of Micromax’s market flooding strategy? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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HTC forecasting bumpy start to 2013

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 02:21 AM PST

HTC M7HTC Corp, the struggling Taiwanese smartphone maker, has revealed that it expects its revenue to be somewhere between flat to 17 percent lower when compared to the last quarter of 2012. Such talk isn’t good news for the company which used to hold the top spot as an Android smartphone manufacturer. Since the middle of 2011 HTC has seen declining sales while others like Samsung, Huawei and ZTE have been increasing their market shares.

HTC said that it forecasts  first-quarter revenue of $1.69-2.03 billion, lower than the actual revenue of $2.03 billion in Q4 of 2012 and significantly less that the $2.25 billion from a year ago. Market analysts had expected HTC to make as much as $2.12 billion during Q1 of 2013. If it only manages a revenue of $1.69 billion then it will have missed the market’s forecast by some $430 million.

The company has seen repeated quarters of falling sales and decreasing profits. The last quarter of 2012 was the fifth straight quarter where net profit fell and this forecast for Q1 isn’t good news.  HTC was the biggest Android handset maker in the USA just two years ago, but now its global market share is just 4%.

At the beginning of the year Peter Chou, HTC's CEO, went on the record saying "The worst for HTC has probably passed. 2013 will not be too bad.” However some industry analysts are predicting HTC’s possible demise as it branding isn’t as strong as companies like Samsung and Apple.

HTC fans everywhere are waiting with anticipation for the official unveiling of the M7 at a special media event on February 19. The new quad-core flagship device, which is rumored to hit stores on March 8, is expected to have a full HD (1980 x 1080 resolution) 4.7 inch display along with a 13MP camera. By releasing the device earlier in the year, HTC are hoping to gain an advantage over Apple and Samsung who probably won’t ship new flagship products until the summer.

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HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook official and available for $330

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 02:05 AM PST

hp-chromebook-3

Nobody seemed very fond of Google-powered Chromebooks in their first year of existence on the market, but something happened in the last few months turning the fortunes around for the struggling class of notebooks.

Without any notice or warning, Lenovo and HP joined the action, providing some unexpected competition for Samsung and Acer, Google's initial Chromebook partners. We were most surprised about HP's venture in the business, teased last week and confirmed earlier today.

The HP Pavilion 14-c010us Chromebook is now not only official, but already up for grabs for $329.99 via HP's web store. At that price point you might expect something really special, but in all honesty HP only has two aces up its sleeve: premium design and extra screen real estate.

hp-chromebook

As its name suggests, the Pavilion 14 sports a 14-inch display, which is considerably larger than the 11.6 and 12.1-inch panels featured by the other Chromebooks around. Unfortunately, HP's new guy actually comes with a lower pixel density, as it still boasts the run-of-the-mill 1,366 x 768 pix resolution.

In terms of design, HP's upper hand is obvious, especially against Acer's Chromebooks. The Pavilion 14 is extremely sleek and very elegant, although you can't really say it has an innovative look. Some might even call it boring, but honestly, there's something about polished all-black laptops that makes us go crazy every time we see such a retro-looking stylish fellow.

hp-chromebook-2

Another thing we like at HP's Chromebook design-wise is that it's not overly bulky, but it looks like it could take a hit or two. It's 0.83 inches thick and weighs 3.96 pounds, so it's not a lot heftier than, say, the 11.6-inch Samsung Series 3 (0.68-inches thick and 2.42 pounds heavy).

And now for the specs. The mostly uninspired and average (so as not to call them mediocre) specs. Where to begin? Maybe with the 1.1 GHz Intel Celeron 847 CPU. Or the 2 GB of RAM. Or the Intel HD graphics and 16 GB SSD.

hp-chromebook-4

Well, no matter how we grasp that spec sheet, we'll probably still end up a bit disappointed, so let's just get it over with. Besides the features listed above, there's Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth connectivity, three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, a digital media card reader, Ethernet LAN, a 4-cell battery supposedly capable of around 4 hours of autonomy, Altec Lansing speakers and a TrueVision HD webcam.

In comparison, the $200 Acer C7 comes with basically the same list of features, save for the SSD that's replaced with a 320 GB HDD, while Samsung's $250 Series 3 has an ARM-based 1.7 GHz Exynos 5250 ticking inside, but also a much more robust battery. Hmm, what to choose?

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Fujifilm unveils bendable and rollable Beat speakers in Japan

Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:44 AM PST

fujifilm-beat-flexible-spea

For all the talks about flexible displays that we've been hearing in the past year, we finally saw how they may take shape in real life, thanks to a commercial that Samsung released for its Youm flexible OLED display at CES 2013 last month. Do you know what'd go well with those future bendable tablets and smartphones? Enter Fujifilm's thin and flexible speaker.

Fujifim’s rollable speaker consists of a soft and bendable viscoelastic polymer material mixed with piezoelectric ceramics. The former acts as a diaphragm – dubbed as the Beat — that magically hardens when subjected to a 20Hz -20kHz audio range, while the latter emanates the actual sound.

rollable-speakers Tech-on

If you have a hard time imagining it, Fujifilm has come forth with some prototypes of its flexible speakers, as recently showcased at a trade show in Tokyo, Japan. Aside from the retractable speaker, which deceptively looks like your typical roll of film, other shown concept products include some paper-thin speakers, as well as one that takes form of a Japanese-style folding fan.

We're still in the early days of flexible speakers, but it'll be interesting to see how manufacturers will work together to create the ultimate bendable gadget.

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Google targeted in U.K. class action lawsuit due to alleged iPhone tracking

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:10 PM PST

Google logo

Are Google‘s days of following the motto “don’t be evil” really over? Some Apple users in the U.K. seem to think so, starting legal proceedings for a privacy claim against the world’s biggest search company because of the way it allegedly dealt with Apple’s standard security settings in Safari, allowing it to secretly monitor user behavior.

The group behind the suit, which is being handled by London lawyer Dan Tench, alleges that Google used methods to sidestep Safari’s security settings in order to follow users around on the Web with the use of cookies. Cookies are normally harmless and simply get stored on computers to keep a record of what sites have already been visited by a user. But as the claimants her point out, cookies can also be used to invade a user’s privacy.

Google has already dealt with–and subsequently suffered from–a group claim over privacy like this one in its homeland of the U.S last year. The company ended up paying a fine of $22.5 million because of privacy issues that occurred between 2011 and 2012. Now, it is facing its first privacy-related battle ever in the U.K. Google may be fined here once again, but it will be interesting to see how this all actually turns out.

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Brookstone HDMI Pocket Projector Review [video]

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 05:42 PM PST

brookstone-hdmi-pocket-projector-front

Since I am on a bit of a kick about enhancing the Android experience with accessories, I’m going to continue it by looking at ways to extend your display. Too often I see people who have phones or tablets with micro-HDMI ports and they never take advantage of them. Sure, it does seem a little weird to have your phone display on a large HDTV, but there are definitely times that such connectivity can come in handy.

Movies? TV shows? How about presentations? Sounds like I’m talking about something a projector can do. Luckily, there is a growing market of small projectors that are portable, plug-and-play capable, and are great performers to do exactly all of that. In this review, we are looking at what can arguably be called the best mini projector out on the market today – the Brookstone HDMI Pocket Projector. HDMI input, the ability to project images of up to 1080p resolution, portability, and a battery that lasts up to two hours make this ‘little projector that could’ go the distance.

See this projector in action in the video at the end and read on to see what the Pocket Projector can do.

What You See is What You Get

The first thing that you may notice about this projector that it is pretty small. It fits in the palm of your hand and weighs in at only half a pound. It is like a full sized projector was given the shrink ray treatment and this was the result – the projection comes out the front, obviously, with a small focus wheel right behind it on the side. On the opposite side of the focus wheel is the on/off switch, and that pretty much takes care of most of the body already.

brookstone-hdmi-pocket-projector-back

Coming around the back, the four different ports are found – the HDMI output display port, an audio port for connecting any external speaker, the AC plug for charging the two hour rechargeable battery within, and finally a USB port that can be used for connecting any portable device. It is this USB port that provides one of the extra features of this projector – you can connect any device into it to suck some power out of the internal battery. So, in essence, this Brookstone can be a emergency power brick in a pinch. Finally, the projector comes with the AC charger and a couple adapters for converting the HDMI connection to either mini-HDMI and micro-HDMI, which are crucial for getting your Android display onto the wall.

brookstone-hdmi-pocket-projector-hdmi

Aside from that, you don’t get any bells and whistles – the projector doesn’t have any software installed within like, say, the 3M Roku projector that benefits from the inclusion of the Roku Streaming Stick for native connectivity to services like Netflix and Hulu. It also doesn’t have much by way of menus – the touch sensitive buttons at the top of the device are simply there to adjust the volume of the built-in speakers (that you should only use as a last resort) and to change the display style of the projected image (‘Presentation’ and ‘Normal’, which both seem to display text slightly differently).

brookstone-hdmi-pocket-projector-top

Once you do power up this projector and get your image onto a wall or screen, however, you realize why there isn’t a whole lot more under the hood of this HDMI Pocket Projector – it is because all of the resources were put into the only part that mattered: the projection.

It Looks Better with the Lights Off

First thing out of the way – while Brookstone might have handled all of the bits around it, the projector tech itself was designed by Texas Instruments, arguably the top manufacturer of projection technology. Back at CES, we were able to look at a lot of projector products they had on display and this was one of them.

Okay, so you have your HDMI plugged in and the source is already outputting to the projector. If you are using your Android device, mirroring the phone/tablet display is standard. Powering up the Pocket Projector can yield you a 60-inch diagonal display that is capable of taking 1080p resolution. It’s really an easy way of getting a big screen TV experience without actually buying a big screen TV.

brookstone-hdmi-pocket-projector-thrones

That can be a bit of a misnomer, however, as the native resolution of the device is actually 858×480. 480p is about DVD quality, so that isn’t anything to shake a stick at. However, that does mean that the 1080p resolution display coming from your source is being down scaled for the projector. What is actually making the image capable is the literal distance of the projector away from the screen surface.

The result is a display that is a little soft, as blowing up the image will obviously result in some loss of true sharpness. That being said, however, the image that you ultimately get from this Pocket Projector is actually really quite good. Colors are rendered very nicely and despite the softness, you can still see the details and displayed text is more than legible.

brookstone-hdmi-pocket-projector-shine

And what makes the image so nice, despite what seem like lackluster specs, is the light rating. Texas Instruments has been improving their projector technology over time and it shows even in this mini device. This Brookstone gets a rating of 85 lumens – the lower the lumen rating, the less bright the display is and the easier it is for the projection to get overpowered by external light sources – and thus even in a room lighted by a lamp, the projection still comes up quite clear. So, when you have the lights off, the brightness and high lumen count make for a great looking image that is capable of still shining when someone flips the switch.

The Writing’s on the Wall

I can go through all of features and all of the specs for quite a while, but there is one thing about this device that made this first time projector user fall in love: it’s just that cool. Easily throwing a Game of Thrones episode onto a wall and enjoying the show is one thing, playing a couple hours of 60-inch large Anomaly is another. In either case, the display looked great and the experience was just awesome.



If you are a seasoned projector user, you probably already have your full sized, 4000 lumen projector that is capable of putting your mom and pop local movie theatre to shame. But this is for the people who need something smaller and, quite frankly, easier to use. The Brookstone HDMI Pocket Projector is a great way of enhancing not only your Android experience, but potentially your overall computing life in general.

Coming in at $299, this little beast is available at your local Brookstone dealer, so you can get a quick chair massage and play with a remote control helicopter along the way. It is, however, available across the internet for the same price. I would recommend you look at it in the store however, so that you get to see firsthand the image this little device is capable of. Whether you already have a big projector or are like me from a few days ago and have never used a projector before, let us know in the comments below!

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Facebook turns a corner, has more mobile visitors than desktop visitors and why that’s causing them to fail

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 05:40 PM PST

facebook It’s no surprise to anyone that there is more being done on mobile phones. With the exception of complicated processes like programming and large applications like AutoCAD, pretty much everything else can be done on a mobile device or a tablet. This includes things like surfing social networks like Facebook. As it turns out, people actually do surf Facebook more often on a mobile device than they do on computers.

The Verge reported a few days ago that Facebook has finally hit that point where users are more often on a mobile device than a computer or a laptop. It was reported that in the month of December 2012, 680 million users were active monthly. That’s more than half.

This is a big deal for Facebook for many reasons. Not all of them are good reasons either. With Facebook being available on most mobile devices, this includes feature phones, that means people can be on Facebook everywhere. When you have a billion customers, that’s a feature you really need to succeed. The bad news for Facebook is that they haven’t properly monetized the mobile part of their operation yet, and with this comes problems

How does mobile use over desktop use affect Facebook’s earnings?

It’s really quite simple. Facebook, like Google, makes the majority of its revenue in advertisement money. According to their quarterly earnings report, they made $1.3 billion in revenue from ads in Q4 2012. That’s about 83% of their entire revenue which totaled just over $1.5 billion.

Now for the problem. Those who still use Facebook on their Android devices, open the official app and look for an advertisement. There really aren’t very many, if any at all. If you don’t view advertisements, Facebook doesn’t get any advertising money. What ends up happening? Well, reports show that Facebook gets about $1.54 in revenue per user. This is far below Google’s $7 in revenue per user. This translates into losses. According to The Verge, that loss came out to $59 million in Q4, 2012.

This has pretty much everyone concerned. Especially the people at Wall Street and the Facebook stock holders. Despite having roughly one sixth of the entire world population as a customer, Facebook is still reporting losses. There are a lot of reasons for this. A lot of people are transferring over to other social networks or simply aren’t visiting the site as much. The biggest, though, is that Facebook’s mobile applications simply don’t draw the money that the site does.

So what is everyone’s take on this? Could Facebook make up for lost money by any advertising more on their mobile apps? More importantly, will that cause more people to leave Facebook because, you know, ads are annoying? Let us know your opinion.

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Wine for Android will allow you to run Windows apps, someday

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 04:10 PM PST

wine-for-android2

Sure, you can run Android apps on your Windows PC, in multiple ways. Some laptops are even going to ship with Android apps preinstalled. But what about the other way around? Not yet, but (hopefully) soon.

If you’re not familiar with Wine, it’s a piece of software that allows Windows applications to run on other operating systems like Linux and Mac OSX. The name is a recursive acronym which stands for “Wine Is Not an Emulator.” Helpful, huh?

Wine for Android hasn’t been given any official release date, and there hasn’t even been any word of when we might see a functioning beta, but it is nice to know that work has started on the project. Earlier today at the Free and Open source Software Developers European Meeting (FOSDEM), Alexandre Julliard, the original developer behind Wine, showed off a demonstration of Wine running on Android. According to Phoronix, “performance was horrendously slow,” though they state that this was mostly do to the demonstration taking place on an emulator, not an actual device.

wine-for-android-in-action

As you might expect from a demonstration of such an early version of the software, there were indeed hiccups, though the fact that it ran at all is enough to bring hope to some users. While this is made possible in part by the current work on porting Wine to ARM devices, CodeWeavers, which contributes to Wine development but also sells the CrossOver Office software, is looking forward to Android on Intel x86 processors taking off, as it might open up plenty of commercial opportunities.

We’re sure that it will be some time before any workable version of Wine for Android is available, but we’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, if you just want to run a few games, it might be worth taking a look at Winulator.

What do you think of this project? Can you think of any Windows applications that would like to run on an Android device?

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Carbon for Twitter finally makes its way to the Play Store

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 01:21 PM PST

carbon-for-twitter

It’s been so long of a wait now that people started to think it wasn’t going to happen, but Carbon for Twitter is finally available in the Google Play Store.

We first reported on Carbon for Twitter being delayed back in August of last year. In September, we heard that we would be seeing the app in the Google Play Store in a matter of mere days. Then, well, nothing happened. Now after waiting nearly six months since we heard it was on the way, Carbon for Twitter is here.

Not everything is sunshine and roses, however. Users are reporting that although it claims to be compatible, Carbon for Twitter won’t install on tablets. Any of them. Even users of Android phones are seeing crashes and force close errors.

carbon-for-twitter-screenshots

If there is one thing that Carbon for Twitter does very well, it’s the interface. From the very tiny amount of time I’ve spent trying it out, it is clear that this is the slickest-looking Twitter app for Android currently available. That said, it currently doesn’t have as many features as some other apps like Falcon Pro.

Carbon for Twitter is available for phones running Android 4.0 and up. We can’t say for certain, but it seems likely that we’ll see a fix for tablet users in the near future. If you want to check Carbon for Twitter out for yourself, hit up the link in the sources section directly below the article.

Have you tried Carbon for Twitter already? How do you think it stacks up against other Twitter apps?

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Android and Me

Android and Me


Rumor: Motorola X Phone to pack Maxx battery life and a Sony camera

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 10:35 AM PST

We’ve gotta slap a rumor tag on this one, but I’d say that everything Phone Arena’s tipster dropped on them belongs in the massively probable category. Motorola has been delivering solid hardware for at least a year now with the software (well and camera) being our main points of...

Visit our site to read the full article.

Samsung’s Super Bowl ad with Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen; who’s The Next Big Thing?

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 10:09 AM PST

Samsung ad Sunday has arrived at last and it’s going to be bookended by a football game no less, pretty sweet. Just in case you’ve got nachos and chicken wings to get rolling on you can catch it now though as Samsung Mobile posted it early to their YouTube channel. The ad is very much...

Visit our site to read the full article.

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums


New Floating Stickies app supercharges the note taking process

Posted: 02 Feb 2013 05:52 PM PST

With the increasing power available in modern smartphones, we have started to see manufacturers provide the ability to have multiple “windows” open at once on their devices, emulating the desktop environment. This can be useful for people who do not necessarily want to back out of one application to access another. One area where this can lead to some real benefits for the user is when a quick note needs to be jotted down. Owner’s of smartphones running older versions of Android can join in on the fun now thanks to XDA Developer forum member Mohammad_Adib who create the Floating Stickies note-taking app.

The Floating Stickies app gives the user the ability to open a floating window where they can type up a quick note. The note will stay on the screen, floating above whatever else may be open, unless “minimized” to the left hand edge of the screen. The fun does not stop at one floating sticky note though – multiple windows with different colors can be opened at the same time. Text in one note can be copied and pasted into another note. The only downside I see to the app is that it does not save the content of the notes once the app is shut down, but if one uses it like a sticky note to keep the info at hand just long enough to be useful, then tossed, the app should work great.

If you want to check out Floating Stickies in action, view the video below or hit the Google Play download links to install it on your Android device. You don’t have much to lose as the app is free.

floating_stickies_app_play_store_banner floating_stickies_app_screen_01 floating_stickies_app_screen_02

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: XDA Developers forum

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Google Play Download Link 


Access notifications with invisible notification bar on custom ROMs

Posted: 02 Feb 2013 05:23 PM PST

Android users who are running CyanogenMod 10 or CyanogenMod 10.1, and probably many other custom ROMs, looking to  clean up their device’s display by getting rid of the notification bar now have an option to achieve that goal. Best of all, the solution ensures the user can still swipe down from the top edge of the screen to get access to their notifications. This feat was accomplished by XDA Developers forum member enryea123 through some tweaks to the SystemUI.apk and framework-res.apk files. According to enryea123, this solution will eliminate the ability to pull down the notification bar from the lockscreen. All of the changes can be undone just by restoring the stock apk files.

The guide that walks you through the process can be accessed on the XDA forums using the source link below.

source: XDA Developers Forum


Android Central

Android Central


Three UK customers to get LTE as standard on existing price plans

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 05:06 PM PST

Android Central

Three customers will all get 4G service as standard, with no price hike

The UK LTE market just got a whole lot more interesting tonight, as Three UK has announced that it'll bring 4G LTE service to its existing customers at no extra charge. The network, which plans to roll out 4G on newly­acquired 1800MHz later this year, says its subscribers will get the LTE upgrade as standard, assuming they're using a compatible handset.

Currently EE is the only network offering 4G services in the UK, and due to its effective monopoly the carrier is able to charge much more than its competitors. Today's announcement heralds the arrival of unlimited LTE ­­ something not offered by EE ­­ for as little as £12 (~$19) per month on a rolling one­month contract.

The news may give prospective EE customers pause, as that carrier's contracts all run for at least 12 months, and there's no unlimited option available. If Three can pull off its promised 4G launch without any price hike, EE ­­ and rivals planning LTE networks of their own ­­ may be forced to reexamine their pricing.

Three didn't give any exact timeline as to when in 2013 it'll launch LTE, but the terms of its 1800MHz purchase from EE require the latter to hand over the spectrum by September at the latest. In the meantime, all the major UK mobile networks are competing for 800MHz and 2600MHz airwaves in the long­delayed 4G spectrum auction.

Source: Three UK



Wine on Android demoed at FOSDEM

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 05:05 PM PST

Wine

Wine, the software that's officially not an emulator but allows Microsoft Windows applications to run on Linux, Mac OS, and other platforms, was shown running on an Android environment today at FOSDEM in Brussels. Alexandre Julliard, of Codeweavers and Wine's original developer, demoed Wine on a Apple Macbook running Linux and the Android emulator. The initial tests show Wine running pretty slowly, but Julliard blames much of this on the fact that Android was emulated on the system.

While running Windows programs compiled for ARM processors on Android devices is an interesting idea, things will really take off if Intel can push the X86 processor to Android tablet manufacturers. An Atom CPU powered Android device will allow Codeweavers to push their CrossOver commercial products, like Office, for both consumers and business users. 

Source: Phoronix



Upset the Fruit Basket is a deceptively tricky casual game

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 03:31 PM PST

Upset the Fruit Basket

It isn't every day that you find a game that is a truly fresh take on a classic game style. There are dozens of games out there that are simply a couple tweaks away from infringing on Tetris and Bejeweled trademarks. Upset the Fruit Basket takes inspiration from these staple game types, but builds something fun and unique that you can enjoy for its own merits.

Read along with us after the break to see how Upset the Fruit Basket is able to stand out.

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Carbon for Android (the Twitter app) now available

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 11:35 AM PST

Carbon Twitter for Android

Carbon is for Android smartphones only, separate tablet app in the works

After more than a year in the works and a couple of false starts, Carbon for Android -- the Twitter app -- is finally available on Google Play. Everything we showed you a week ago in our exclusive preview still stands. The scrolling is the gold standard for any other application. The animations are as subtle as they are impressive. And the overall design and feel is among the best we've seen in a Twitter app. And the keyword and hashtag filters can help clean up your timeline in a way usually reserved for desktop Twitter clients. This initial release is just for phones, but rest assured a tablet version is on the way.

Best of all, Carbon is free.

One update from our preview regards the settings menu, which wasn't active in our early build. We've updated our post with a bit on it. 

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Alleged Asus Memo Pad 10 press shots appear, launching at MWC?

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 08:32 AM PST

Android Central

Android Central at Mobile World Congress

Asus is no stranger to Android tablets, and so while nothing official by any stretch, it's not at all surprising to hear that a new tablet is reportedly heading to Mobile World Congress later this month. Following on from the already announced MeMo Pad 7, what we see here is allegedly the new MeMo Pad 10. 

The MeMo Pad 10 is said to follow on from its 7 inch sibling in hitting a lower price point. Reported specs include a 1280x800 display, a 1.2GHz Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 5MP rear camera, 16GB of on board storage with microSD card expansion and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. 12 months ago specs such as these would have put the MeMo Pad 10 at the bleeding edge, but by current -- and forthcoming -- standards, it would sit in the mid-range, lower price bracket quite nicely. 

The source of the images, tabletsmagazine.nl, claims that several Dutch retailers have already begun to offer pre-orders for the MeMo Pad 10, starting as low as €299 (£259/$407), which sounds very competitive for a decent 10 inch tablet. Of course, until it's official, nothing's official. Treat it as you would all leaks, but we'll be in Barcelona in little over three weeks to see just what Asus does bring. 

Source: tabletsmagazine.nl (Translated)



From the Editor's Desk: Tales of incredulousness

Posted: 03 Feb 2013 05:33 AM PST

Phil Nickinson

As is so often the case in life, the little things can make a big difference. I was worried that our little Valentines Day contest -- we're giving away a pair of Nexus 7s and Nexus 4s -- would come off as too cheesy. Sappy, even for me, a guy who grew up believing John Cusack's "Better Off Dead" was actually a preferred way for high school to pan out. (Sadly, I played trombone instead of the sax -- not quite the same romantic effect there. And no bitchin' Camaro, but my sun-faded 1985 BMW 325e with no air conditioning, speedometer and, occasionally, brakes, at least sounded cool on paper.)

But it's working. At the time of this writing, there are some 28 pages of entries. Somewhere around 600 pictures posted of all kinds of happy couples as I sit here Sunday morning finishing this column. Pictures of boys and girls. Boys and boys. Girls and girls. Dogs. Cats. Even saw someone with someone in a cow suit or something. (I don't judge.) In a job like this, it's both a blessing and a curse to not actually have to interact with people all the time. But every single time -- from the occasional reader meet-up (and we really need to do more of those) to events like Google I/O and CES -- getting to meet even just one of our reader is energizing in a way that's tough to describe.

So thank you for that. Each and every one of you. I can't wait to pack up the hardware and get it off to a couple happy couples. But we've got another couple weeks -- and hopefully many more inspiring pictures -- to go.

And now, a few more thoughts to keep things going ...

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