Sunday, April 1, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Infographic: Do you use your smartphone for job searching?

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 02:40 PM PDT

This image has no alt text


Smartphones have become our go-to devices for a plethora of tasks. Undoubtedly, we have become much more productive when on-the-go. And according to an infographic provided by JIBE, this is also the case for those that are looking for employment.

It is usual to find companies that have gotten rid of paper applications. But the process has started to turn mobile, as well. According to a study conducted by Kelton Research, about 86% of job-seeking smartphone owners use their mobile device to find employment.

This comes as a rather surprising statistic – job searching may be convenient when done via a smartphone, but what is more surprising is the amount of people applying to jobs directly from their phones. According to this study, 47% of mobile job seekers will not wait until getting home to apply. They will simply apply straight from the device.

Also, 55% will sign up for available job alerts. And 23% share the information via e-mail, while 19% does the same via social networks. But while the convenience of mobile job searching can be enticing, it has its downsides.

Users complain that most career sites are not yet optimized for mobile, making the experience a bit more tedious. Furthermore, multiple tasks are hard to perform. Such discrepancies may cause the other 14% to find other ways of looking for a dream job.

As these issues start getting fixed, though, we can see a much larger transition to the newest way of finding employment. More and more sites are starting to optimize their sites for mobile, and multi-tasking is being improved by features like the Galaxy Note 10.1′s multi-screen functionality.

Thankfully, Android is very good at multi-tasking (while not perfect). I know I have found multiple jobs thanks to my phone (of course). But what about you? Have you used your smartphone to find a job? Do you prefer filling out a paper application and make direct contact with your employer?

[Via: Mashable]

Android 4.0 build leaks for the Motorola Droid RAZR

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 01:58 PM PDT

This image has no alt text


We know that the Android 4.0 update might be coming to the Droid RAZR (and other devices) as soon as next week. Such rumors are shaking up the inter webs, but if you want a bit more of proof, a new build for the super-thin device has just been leaked.

Before you get ready for flashing, though, you might want to follow the Droidrzr.com thread. It seems the usual flashing steps have been causing issues. A problem that forced the poster to remove the download link.

Those that want to test their luck with this new build might have to wait until a good fix is figured out. For now, ther ehave been a few successful flashes, and the build number is version 6.14.75. It comes with Android 4.0.3, a new ICS UI from Motorola, new radios and WebTop software.

[Source: DroidRzr Via: Droid-Life]

Super fast HTC One X camera tested against Galaxy Nexus and Sony Xperia S

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 01:32 PM PDT

This image has no alt text


The HTC One X has been showing some amazing performance. The device is arguably the best device unveiled at Mobile World Congress. And one of the factors HTC tried to emphasize the most in Barcelona was the device’s camera performance. We have already done a quick test, and the HTC One X won against a Galaxy Nexus. Further proving its capabilities, the guys from Soyasincau have decided to put it to the test against an Xperia S and a Galaxy Nexus, and the results are rather impressive.

The Xperia S happens to outperform the HTC One X at taking a picture straight from stand-by mode. But such result is mainly due to the fact that Sony’s smartphone has a dedicated camera button. One can simply press it and take a picture at any given time.

Having to unlock the device and access the camera app takes multiple more steps. But when the unlock factor is taken out of the equation, the HTC One X is clearly faster and better than the other high-end devices. Said smartphones are also very well known for camera performance, so this really makes the HTC One X ImageSense camera stand out from the crowd.

To see the multiple tests performed, simply go ahead and check out the video embedded below. But what do you guys think? Is camera performance that relevant to you? Are you getting you waiting to make this your next device?

[Source: Soyasincau]

Humor: Google Maps 8-Bit coming to NES gaming platform

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 12:45 PM PDT

This image has no alt text


Many of you may still have your OG Nintendo (NES) consoles laying around. That is, assuming you are old enough to have owned one of them. But if you are still a proud gamer with 8-Bit graphics, you may be glad to hear that Google is “soon to release” a cartridge that will bring all the benefits that Google Maps has to offer.

It seems the Search Giant has decided to get ahead of April Fool’s day to make a good joke out of this. But honestly, it looks rather cool. Of course, it is unknown if we will actually see a cartridge for the OG Nintendo console, but they might just go through it.

If that is the case, users will be able to play around with Google Maps 8-Bit. The video demonstrates how to fix bugs by blowing on the cartridge (if only Android bugs were so easy to fix). There is also a tutorial and demonstration of the service.

As for the millions of people that no longer have access to a NES console, we can go ahead and test it out straight from the Google Maps website. Simply click on the top-right corner, where it says “Quest,” and you are in for the adventure.

There are dirt roads, castles and monsters. And the navigation system shows your location with an awesome knight! Go take a look and let us know if you find anything interesting! What are you guys planning for tomorrow’s flurry of April Fool’s pranks?

Flurry claims Amazon App Store provides 3X revenue compared to Google Play

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 10:09 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

Mobile app analytics company Flurry has just released a report, studying per-user revenues generated by various apps that use their services across the Amazon App Store, Google Play and the Apple App Store. While it isn’t much of a surprise that Apple’s App Store leads the way, what really is worth noting is that the Amazon App Store is not only ahead of Google Play, but is smoking it.

The revenue model used for the study was solely in-app purchases, so the data provided here doesn’t apply to paid or ad-supported apps (the latter of which are an overwhelming majority in Google Play).

The simple reasoning for such a result is, in my eyes, the fact that Google Play has a ton of users who just don’t pay for apps. In-app purchases are primarily implemented by those developers using a freemium model, and hence a significant number of users download the app, but never make an in-app purchase. This ends up diluting the "per-user revenue" that is used in Flurry’s study. Additionally, on a gross revenue scale, I guess it’s safe to Google Play’s returns should be in the vicinity, if not more, of the Amazon App Store.

As such we can’t really come to a conclusion for every model, but I think it would be safe to say that the Amazon App Store should certainly be on the thoughts of all developers.  If there’s any developer reading this, who’s got his/her app on both Google Play and Amazon App Store, could you please share with us your experiences in the comments?

Droid Razr, Razr Maxx and HTC Rezound users to taste ICS next week?

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 08:13 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

Well, look at what we have here. Some naughty fella decided to leak the above document, belonging to Best Buy, which states that the Droid Razr and the Razr Maxx should get an OTA update to Android 4.0 on April 4. HTC Rezound users aren’t left too far behind, with OTAs scheduled to be pushed out 2 days later on April 6.

[Android Police]

CM9 Nightly Builds for Galaxy S i9000/i9000B now available

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

There was an understandable hue and cry when Samsung announced that the original Galaxy S would not receive an Ice Cream Sandwich update. Manufacturers’ love for their custom UIs had won again, and all that Samsung promised to calm down the mob was a ‘value pack’.

But, as we all knew, the developer community wouldn’t let such a popular phone die an early death. There are a few ROMs on XDA already, and users can also now get a taste of CM9 with their nightly builds.

Do remember this is for the international (and the Brazilian) version only. The builds for the various US versions shouldn’t be that far off, though.

[CyanogenMod via Android Police]

T-Mobile apologizes for inadvertently sending out notification bar ads

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 05:53 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

I’ve mentioned my hatred for ads pushed to notification bars before. They’re downright intrusive, and I’ll uninstall any app that does it, no matter how good it is.

Unfortunately, you don’t quite get that kind of option with your carrier, so I really hope all of them learn from T-Mobile’s little error. The carrier sent out notifications to users regarding their free VIP zone, mistakenly by the sound of their response. As expected, the user complaints flew in, and the issue was resolved.

In a mail to TmoNews, they said:

‘During a recent software update, a message to promote T-Mobile’s free VIP Zone was mistakenly sent to certain customers and appeared on the notification bar for some Android devices. After T-Mobile was made aware of this mistake, the company stopped the notifications. T-Mobile apologizes for the inconvenience this may have caused customers.’

[TmoNews via Electronista]

doubleTwist releases a gorgeous alarm clock app that will make you hate your favorite songs

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 05:30 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

There are quite a few alarm clock apps around on Google Play that let you set songs or playlists to wake you up to, but I’ve got to say: none of them are going to be nearly as gorgeous as doubleTwist’s. They have also thrown in a sleep cycle mode, so you wake up fresh (how they know when exactly you fall asleep is beyond me).

In my eyes, the killer feature are the clock-faces. I love analog clocks, and I really dig doubleTwist’s offerings. But, reading the user comments that have poured in, I’ve noticed that it can also potentially drain your battery, taking up nearly 20 MB RAM.

If that’s OK with you, head over to Google Play as soon as possible, because the first 10,000 downloads can get it for $1 (after that, the price doubles). Also, if you buy the app then tweet about it and/or like doubleTwist on Facebook, within roughly the next 80 hours, you can get this wall clock that costs $1100.

[Google Play via TechCrunch]

Google releases Translator Toolkit for developers looking to localize apps

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 05:05 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

Want to translate your app into as many languages as possible? You may want to check out the Google Translator Toolkit, which provides auto-translation of strings stored in your resource files.

Now, we know Google Translate often provides some hilarious responses, and the limitation to translate your stored list of resource strings means a more limited implementation, but I can imagine a lot of developers who may find it useful.

Case in point is an app I’ll be releasing very soon myself, which aims to assist users in boosting their vocabulary. Those who don’t have English as their first language may find it useful to have the meanings provided in their mother tongues.

Anyhoo, here’s the announcement made on the Android Developers’ official Google+ page.

Today the Google Translator Toolkit (GTT) team is making it easier for you to localize your apps. A new version of the toolkit supports automated translation of strings in Android resource files. You upload your strings.xml file and the translation engine will create localized versions of the file for you. It’s fast, accurate, and free, and even has advanced features for localization specialists.

Give the toolkit a try and let us know what you think.

Localize your apps and content more easily - new formats in Translator Toolkit – Google Developers Blog

ICS Public Beta for the MEIZU MX or M9 now live

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 04:41 AM PDT

This image has no alt text

Rock the Meizu MX or the M9? Then we got good news for you, people, the public beta for the ICS firmware is now a go, after a little over a month of private testing. You can get more info from the press release attached at the bottom of the post.

It’s really good to see news pouring through of Ice Cream Sandwich updates rolling out for another device at a more regular rate now. Needless it say most of us have been disappointed with the pace up until now. Heck, not even all the Nexus S users are on ICS yet.

MEIZU releases stock Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich firmware for MX and M9

HONG KONG - March 30, 2012 - MEIZU has today released a public beta testing version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for the MEIZU MX and M9. The newly released firmware will be based on stock Android 4.0 without any customizations.

The Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade brings an entirely new look and feel to Android on MEIZU MX and M9, with a redesigned user interface as well as new design and usage concepts.

Prior to the public beta testing, MEIZU launched a private beta testing program for Android 4.0, which began mid-February for the MEIZU M9. During the private beta, users were amazed at the speed and responsiveness of the testing firmware. The newly released public beta firmware brings many bug fixes and also the support for MEIZU’s flagship device, the MX.

With the release of the public beta testing stock Android firmware, the company continues supporting the MEIZU M9, a device that has been on the market for more than a year. By doing so, MEIZU once again displays its focused commitment to the user experience and satisfaction of its many customers and fans.

The ICS beta firmware is available as of today for the MEIZU MX and M9.

About MEIZU

Founded in 2003, MEIZU began producing music players which later came to be world renowned. Since 2008, all efforts have been focused on creating great smartphones, which has made the company one of China’s most loved smartphone brands. As a company, MEIZU seeks to transcend convention and imagination, with the ultimate goal of making products worthy of dreams. For more information, please visit http://en.meizu.com
Posted by at 8:16 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)