Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

Will the 7-Inch Galaxy Tab 2 be Priced at $310? QVC Seems to Think So

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 12:31 PM PDT

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), I imagine you are interested to know its retail price, too. Lucky for us, an eagle-eyed Phone Arena reader spotted a QVC ad for the device before it was quickly removed from their website. According to the attached QVC screenshot, the new 7-inch Galaxy Tab will run $309.96, at least through QVC as long as details don’t change before it officially goes on sale. This price was listed for the most basic 8GB version of the device with no cellular capabilities so expect that as the base price for the 7-inch tab.

Since this info was outed by mistake one could easily think the new Samsung slates are just around the corner, but lets not forget about the most recent news of a delayed launch due to software issues. In reality, we are probably not going to see the new Sammy tabs until late April if not early March and the UK is the first country said to receive the devices. Lets hope the issues get ironed out sooner rather than later and the $310 price tag actually becomes a reality.

source: Phone Arena

Facebook set to purchase Instagram for $1 Billion

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 11:54 AM PDT

 There goes the neighbourhood! Not even a week after making its long awaited debut on Android, popular image sharing application Instagram looks set to join the Facebook family. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that an agreement has been made worth a whopping $1 billion in cash and shares that will see Facebook acquire the service pending the standard regulatory approvals.

Both parties are currently claiming that Instagram will continue to run as a separate service with no immediate plans to swallow the features up into Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement on his blog “We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.” Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom also released a statement via his blog “The service is not going away. The Instagram app will be the same one you know and love”

It will be interesting to see how Facebook utilises Instagram in the long term. Here’s hoping the in-house application developers do a better job than they’ve managed on the always buggy Facebook for Android!

Check out the full press release after the break.

Facebook to Acquire Instagram

MENLO PARK, CALIF.-April 9, 2012-Facebook announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Instagram, a fun, popular photo-sharing app for mobile devices.

The total consideration for San Francisco-based Instagram is approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, posted about the transaction on his Timeline:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.

Toray Introduces Self-Repairing Screen Protector, Heals Scratches In Under 10 Seconds

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 10:38 AM PDT

Ready to meet the last screen protector you will ever need? Meet Toray’s self-repairing film that has the capability of healing minor scratches and blemishes in under ten seconds flat. The film’s self-cure coating can repair itself up to 20,000 times as long as the damage doesn’t go beyond the special elastic cushioning layer. Toray uses a wet coating method to enhance the rejuvenating properties of this PET film and according to Toray, works better in lower temperatures. This doesn’t mean you need to stick your device in the freezer to repair unwanted scratches, room temperature is what produced the ten second repair you are seeing in the above image. Speaking of the above image (although a video demo would have been nice), I guess this was the result after scratching the film with a metal brush.

This new Toray film is set to be released as a decorative layer for a few unannounced noteboooks but I imagine it wont be long before we start seeing it available for select tablets and smartphones.

source: Tech-on
via: Engadget

 

 

Samsung trademarks ‘Youm’ for their flexible AMOLED displays [Video]

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 09:20 AM PDT

Samsung has been teasing us with flexible displays for a few years now. We know they’re seeking a patent they and we should see the first devices by next year. Now this incredible technology has a name – Youm. Youm is going to be a game changer. It’s going to be thinner, lighter, and unbreakable. It will feature a TFT film, Organix Layer Encap, and a Polariser. If you’re not convinced at how awesome this is going to be, you need to hit the break to see some cool videos and hit the source link to see some of the amazing concepts that Youm will bring.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: oled-display
via: phandroid

Samsung shows off the ‘Berry Pink” Galaxy Note

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 08:38 AM PDT

I know that you’ve been secretly desiring the pink Galaxy Note ever since we told you about it last month. Well Samsung just officially unveiled it and it will be available in South Korea by next week. It will be called berry pink, and it will essentially be the same Galaxy Note that is available now. No pricing was mentioned, but it will most likely be priced the same as the other more mundane colors. Make sure you grab a berry pink case to go with that.

source: samsung
via: pocketnow

Lenovo Unleashes IdeaTab S2109 Tablet Featuring 9.7-Inch Screen And Android 4.0

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 08:16 AM PDT

You remember how we told you about that Lenovo tablet trying to sneak past everyone at the FCC last month? Well the Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 has officially been spotted in the wild and is on its way soon, very soon. Here in a promotional video, you can see the tablet’s 9.7-inch screen with the 4:3 IPS display and its impressive 8.9mm thin form factor in action. The device will also feature a TI-OMAP processor, front-facing 1.3MP camera, 4 SRS speakers for quality audio, 10 hours of battery life and Ice Cream Sandwich.

Now that the device is seen through all its glory, we shouldn’t expect it to be too long before interested buyers will be able to get their hands on one. In the meantime, why don’t you see the video in action once you hit the break?

 

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

 

source: Notebook Italia
via: Phandroid

Pantech Vega Racer 2 To Feature Snapdragon S4 Chip And 4.8-Inch Screen With 720P

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 07:51 AM PDT

Again folks, if you haven’t been paying attention to Pantech before, you may want to start paying attention now. They’re currently developing the Vega Racer 2 smartphone which is slated to have some juicy features including the distinction of  "world's first smartphone with a ceramic body". In addition, the phone will feature a snazzy 4.8-inch screen with 720P, Snapdragon S4 dual-core chip and a 4G LTE chip. In case you were wondering folks, yes— this device is awfully similar to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone, except the Galaxy S III will feature an AMOLED screen along with the expected quad-core Exynos processor.

The phone is expected to be released in South Korea only, so that means we won’t likely see the device out here in the States sadly. Here’s hoping Pantech brings a variation of that device out to the U.S. eventually.

source: IntoMobile

LG Tries To Distract Us From The Optimus 4X By Working On Another Flagship Smartphone Called The D1L

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 07:03 AM PDT

Most of the major manufacturers have their flagship devices out in stores now or on their way (see exhibit A and exhibit B), but what about LG’s flagship device? Sure we’d heard about about the LG Optimus 4X back at MWC this year, but LG seems to have yet another flagship device in the works. The device called the D1L, shares similar features with the Optimus 4X such as a 4.7-inch screen with a 1280×720 resolution. However, unlike the Optimus 4X which features a quad-core processor, the D1L will feature the snappy dual-core Snapdragon S4 chip. No word on additional information on the device or when it will be released.

So what do you think gang? You guys excited for the D1L?

source: IntoMobile

Love Thy Enemy: Google makes more money from iOS than Android?

Posted: 09 Apr 2012 06:48 AM PDT

Well all know how much Android has grown. The latest reports show 850,000 devices activated daily and over 50% of the market share, but is it possible that Google makes more money from iOS than Android? The Guardian released what they believe Google made from Android from 2008 to 2011. They made this calculation based on figures that came up during negotiations from the legal battles of Google and Oracle. The Guardian believes Google made $543 million during this period, but again it needs to be pointed out that this is an estimate since Google never releases earnings from Android. I won’t get into all the details of the calculation, but they looked at what Google offered Oracle in turns of a possible settlement to arrive at their conclusion.

The Guardian thinks Google makes four times more from iOS. Where is the revenue generated from? Don’t forget Google is a search company and products such as that and Maps are used on Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Back in October, Google CEO Larry Page said that they were “seeing a huge positive revenue impact from mobile, which has grown 2.5 times in the last 12 months to a run rate of over $2.5bn.” Notice how he used the word, “mobile?” He didn’t say Android, but people automatically interpret it that way.

Asymco took this information and went a little further by charting it all out. Assuming $1 billion in mobile revenue in 2010 (from Larry’s comment of 2.5x for 2011), they put together the following chart:

They went a little further by breaking it out per device here:

So there you have it. I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to “shoot holes” in these figures, but I think it’s safe to assume that Apple is pretty important to Google. In fact Larry Page downplayed whatever hatred Steve Jobs had for Android. Whether he really did hate Android or not, I’m thinking Google definitely doesn’t hate Apple.

sources: theguardian and asymco

 

Instagram vs. Streamzoo: It’s Not What You Think

Posted: 08 Apr 2012 09:01 PM PDT

 

The sensation that is Instagram has iOS as well as Android users snapping pictures and sharing them like never before. There’s no question that with the millions of users on the platform as well as the simple workflow, Instagram is a winner. But does that mean Instagram is the best game in town? Maybe not. We recently brought you a list of seven Instagram alternatives, and today I want to do an in-depth comparison with the one I feel is the closest competitor… Streamzoo, available for both iOS and Android.

Round 1: Adjusting Your Photos

There’s no question that one of the cornerstones of Instagram’s success is the retro-style image filters. Making your brand new pictures look like they were taken in the 1970′s is apparently very popular for whatever reason. Though I feel these filters have been overused and abused, I have to admit that using them can typically make your images feel a bit more artistic, or at least help hide any imperfections in your original.

Instagram
The first thing to note is that Instagram forces you to take square pictures only. So even though you can change Instagram’s default camera to use your phone’s own camera, the app will force you to crop the photo to a square. Buh-bye landscapes and panoramas. It’s an interesting, though puzzling, requirement.

Instagram does better with its 17 built-in image filters.

These include the following:

  • Amaro
  • Rise
  • Hudson
  • Sierra
  • X-Pro
  • Lo-Fi
  • Earlybird
  • Sutro
  • Toaster
  • Brannan
  • Inkwell
  • Walden
  • Hefe
  • Valencia
  • Nashville
  • 1977
  • Kelvin

No idea what the names of these filters mean, but it’s easy enough to just click through each one to see how it affects the image. Borders are integrated in some filters, and you have the option to keep or remove the border. There is also a lighting effect which you can toggle on or off, though I’m still not 100% sure what it does. Again, best just to try it see if you like the effect.

Lastly, you can rotate the image in 90 degree increments. That’s about it as far as editing your photo in Instagram. Simple, yes, but ultimately a bit limiting.

Streamzoo
One major thing I like better in Streamzoo is that it does not force a square aspect ratio of your image. When you first take or import your picture, you get the option to crop the image into various different aspect ratios, or keep it in its original shape. This is also when you can rotate the image, or even mirror it if you’d like.

As far as filters are concerned, Streamzoo comes with a total of 14… just a few shy of Instagram’s. However, Streamzoo also comes with 15 borders that can be used with any of the filters, giving it a big edge in flexibility, and many, many more artistic permutations. Below are screenshots showing how I applpied the Vibrance filter and the Vintage border.

The filters and borders included in Streamzoo include the following:

Filters
  • Lomo
  • Vibrance
  • C-41
  • Xprocess
  • Toy Hipster
  • Old School
  • B & W
  • Masterpiece
  • Sunshine
  • Sepia
  • Classical
  • Industrial
  • Vienna
  • Golden
Borders
  • White
  • Black
  • Canvas
  • Film
  • Old Film
  • Gritty
  • Fancy
  • Vignette
  • Old Vignette
  • Viewfinder
  • Vintage
  • Dusty
  • Retro
  • Paint
  • Throwback

Again, the names here don’t necessarily tell you much, and you will be left trying each of these to see which works best for your photo, but at least Streamzoo’s names are a hair more descriptive than Instagram’s. It’s also a nice touch having the borders be their own thing separate from filters.

There is no mysterious lighting toggle, but the customization of your photo does not end here. Streamzoo has a “tilt shift” option that allows you to blur certain areas of your photo to simulate a wider depth of field or bring focus to a specific area of your picture. Below, I chose the circle to keep the model’s face and t-shirt logo in focus while blurring the rest.

To be fair, Instagram also provides a tilt shift option, but only to its iOS users. The Android version of Instagram does not currently support it, though I’m sure an update in the future will remedy that.

Next, Streamzoo provides color options so you can tweak the hue, saturation, brightness, and contrast of your image. Let’s bring up the brightness a bit.

Winner: Streamzoo
It’s obvious that Streamzoo is infinitely more flexible with its filter/border combinations, tilt shift options, color tweaks, and aspect ratio allowances. Instagram got crushed in this round.

 

Round 2: The Network

Make no mistake, both these apps are social networks in their own right. They each create a community of people who follow each other and comment on the content.

Instagram
What makes Instagram so successful is not necessarily the features of the service itself, but more the sheer numbers of people using it. If you build the best technology in the world but no one uses it, it’s not that compelling, especially when the technology shines best with a large network of users behind it. Instagram reportedly has over 27 million iOS users at last count, and that’s huge. If we assume there are 200 million iOS devices out there, as reported last year, that’s huge penetration.

I immediately got 15 followers right after installing Instagram since many of my Facebook friends already use it.

Considering Instagram has been an iOS exclusive for so long, there’s no question the numbers will be heavily skewed toward iOS in the beginning.

Streamzoo
I haven’t been able to find any numbers mentioning how many Streamzoo users there are, either on Android or iOS, but it surely doesn’t have the penetration that Instagram has. It does seem to be an active and growing community, especially now that Instagram is out for Android and every blogger out there is doing comparison articles :-)

I have yet to get any followers on Streamzoo.

Winner: Instagram
There’s no arguing with the numbers. Instagram has a huge head start here.

 

Round 3: Sharing

Being able to share your photos to your favorite social networks is very important for a photo sharing app. So how do these two stack up?

Instagram
Built-in sharing in Instagram comes down to four sites: Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Tumblr.

Streamzoo
There are also four built-in social networks in Streamzoo, but they differ slightly. It includes Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr.

Winner: Tie
This round is a wash. It comes down to which networks are important to you, and specifically, do you care if you have Foursquare, or do you prefer Flickr? One other thing to note is that with both apps, the final photo is saved to your SD card, allowing you to share it pretty much anywhere using the standard Android share menu from the image gallery on your device.

 

Round 4: Web Site

Both  services offer an online web site to access your photos. But there is a major difference.

Instagram
Every picture you share on Instagram gets hosted on their servers, meaning every picture has an Instagram address. However, that’s ALL you can use the site for. There is no way to actually log in to their site to see or manage your photos or friends. This is what you get when you go to Instagram.com.

Yeah, just a little blurb about getting the apps. Also notice how heavily iOS their page is. Not only do they use an iPhone as their sample device, but the default action when clicking the “FREE download” is to go to the iTunes store. Interestingly, when clicking the button on that page to “Get it on Google Play”, you are taken to a very similar page with an Android look to it.

Streamzoo
Streamzoo takes a completely different approach to their site. They make it another way to interact with their service. You can upload images (as long as you have uplaoded at least one from the app, and have at least 5 followers), follow users, browse photo streams, comment, and more. You basically have a fully-functioning photo sharing site that stands on its own.

Winner: Streamzoo
Yeah, Instagram got crushed in this round, though I believe they built their service intentionally with an app only model in mind. I understand their approach, wanting to make sure everyone on the service is on a level playing field (might explain their forced 1×1 photos as well) but ultimately, I think people appreciate the flexibility of full access from more than one device.

 

Round 5: The Rest

We’ve already covered the features that both apps have in common, but what about the unique options specific to each?

Instagram
Umm… well… I think everything Instagram can do we’ve already covered above. Nothing more, nothing less.

Streamzoo
This is really where Streamzoo pulls way ahead. Here’s a list of some of the other features available:

  • Share videos as well as photos
  • Earn points for your activities and compete in the leaderboards
  • Unlock over 30 badges for such things as Cat Lover or Foodie
  • Full hashtag support with trending and popular streams

Winner: Streamzoo
The gamification aspects of Streamzoo (leaderboards and badges) provide a great incentive to use the service. A discreet description field to add your hashtags also helps self-categorize your images into huge collections on the service for maximum exposure.

Video uploads are also a great differentiator for Streamzoo, however you cannot add any filters to videos.

 

And The Winner Is…

After looking at all five rounds, it becomes pretty evident that Streamzoo is our winner, taking a total of three rounds, tying one, and losing one to Instagram. So why all the fuss about Instagram? Well, the one round that Instagram won is arguably the most important round there is, and that’s the network. With so many people using the service, it has pretty much become the de-facto  standard in the social photo sharing space.

As more Android users come on board and start comparing competing apps, it’s likely that services like Streamzoo may get a boost in users, though it’s a long hill to climb to reach what Instagram has already achieved.

Personally, I prefer Streamzoo by leaps and bounds, but I will keep both installed just because most of my friends only use Instagram (yes, I have a lot of iOS friends). Maybe the more I post on Facebook and Twitter with Streamzoo, the more my friends will begin to check it out.

In the end, though, does it really matter since we are mostly posting to sites like Facebook and Twitter? It’s not like you have to be a member of either service to view a picture.

Which do you prefer? Sound off in the comments below!

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Streamzoo Play Store Download Link

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Instagram Play Store Download Link
Posted by at 5:48 AM

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