Thursday, August 9, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Philips Fidelio Android Speaker Dock Now 60% Off At Target Stores [Deals]

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 06:40 PM PDT

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A few months back, we gave you guys our review of Philips’ line of Fidelio speaker docks for your Android phone. To sum up our review, we loved ‘em and thought they were a great mix of sound quality and value. Imagine my surprise when I found out the larger AS851 and smaller AS111 bedside clock can now be had at your local Target store (not online) for $50 and $40, respectively. That’s a whopping 60% off retail for the big one, a small discount for the bedside clock that is normally around $60.

For those that have already purchased these amazing speakers back when they were full price — my apologies. For the rest of you — move ‘dem cheeks. This is a great deal and one you won’t regret. If you’re still wary, check out my full review video for the bedside clock and medium sized (not on sale) Fidelio speakers.

[SlickDeals | Via DroidMatters | AndroidPolice]

Did Google Make a Bad Move By Releasing Google Now-Like Voice Search For iOS? [Discussion]

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 06:05 PM PDT

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In what could be considered a controversial decision by some (read: Android fanboys), Google announced on their blog this afternoon that they’ve brought one of Jelly Bean’s key features over to, where else, but the Apple iPhone. Starting very soon, iPhone users will now be able to enjoy some of that Google Now-like functionality on their idevices, simply by jumping into their Google Search app. There, they’ll be greeted with the option to search by voice and using a more natural language, can pull up a new wealth of knowledge, having search queries read aloud ala Siri er — Google Now.

This goes to show you, Google is no respecter of persons and at the end of the day, the whole “who is copying who” thing amounts up to little. In fact, Google doesn’t seem to worried about it at all, releasing apps and features for rival mobile OS’s, while laughing themselves all the way to the bank. Once again we’re reminded that Android is nothing more than a tool — a “trojan horse” if you will — for getting as many Google services into users’ hands as possible. That’s why Android is open source. That’s why Google doesn’t regulate what OEM’s do with the OS. Google is first and foremost a search company, and today’s announcement was a good reminder of that.

Still you have to wonder, with enough access to Google apps and services, is Google making a bad move by including iOS users on some of Android’s biggest perks? I mean, what motivation would iPhone users have to make a switch over to Android? I find it interesting how much of a stark contrast their move was to a company like Apple, who has been known to play dirty and rules their App Store with an iron fist. It would be a cold day in hell before you saw Siri or Safari Mobile in the Google Play Store.

What do you guys think, should Google horde all their services to themselves, closing themselves off to the rest of the world? Or is this nothing more than a benevolent move from an awesome company who believes the world (and internet) should be just as open as their OS?

PSA: No, This Is NOT The Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 04:40 PM PDT

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There’s an image floating ’round the nets that’s sending phoneblet/phablet lovers into a frenzy. Popping up sometime over the wee night hours on Samsung’s official Pakistan Facebook page, was a render of a phone nobody had seen before. The dimensions of the device naturally led some to believe that it was a mix up, and Samsung Pakistan had mistakenly posted an official image of the Galaxy Note 2. That was not the case.

Being the fact-checking, cross the t’s and dot the i’s kind fellow that I am (there’s a lot of sarcasm in there), I wanted to make sure our readers knew that the purported rendering is nothing more than a concept image for the Galaxy S3 no less, one we’ve actually used a few times, many, many moons ago. Don’t feel bad, as a rookie, my hearts been known to jump on purported images too.

[Everywhere | Image Originally Found Here]

Splashtop 2 now available, provides remote access with an annual subscription

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 02:58 PM PDT

Splashtop has released a new version of its Android application. They’re calling it Splashtop 2, natch, and its purpose is to make it easier to mirror your desktop/laptop computer on your tablet.

With an easier login system (using a simple username and password setup instead of cumbersome account codes, IP addresses, and the like), optimized support for the latest hardware, pinch to zoom support, better remote performance, and a new user interface they’ve created a really interesting experience.

There is a downside that’s earned the company just 2 stars in the Google Play Store. The app is free, but there is a catch: the Anywhere Pack, which includes optimized 3G/4G performance and remote access, will now require an annual fee that will be charged to the user via an in-app purchase.

We can see why those who paid for the original Splashtop apps would be angry. We can also see why they’d be angry that iOS users aren’t subject to such charges.

While we can’t be certain of Splashtop’s motive for going this route users have every right to express distaste for the change. For those who don’t have a problem with Splashtop’s new model you can find the app in the Google Play Store.

Current Caller ID by White Pages makes caller ID social

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 01:50 PM PDT

The folks at White Pages have released their new app for Android. They’re calling it Current Caller ID and it aims to bring everything you’d want in a caller ID service as well as everything you didn’t think you’d want.

White Pages pulls information from its database of 300 million phone numbers to give you information on who’s calling you as the phone rings. For the occasional instance where it doesn’t have any information it’ll at least offer up the area the number originates from.

The app also gives you interesting information such as how many times you’ve called or accepted calls from a particular number. That’s the standard stuff — what about that extra stuff?

It’ll show recent status updates from whoever’s calling from Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and it will also show the same info as you’re calling them.

Other information can be fed to you like the weather and news in the caller’s area in case you want to get that “how’s the weather” small talk out of the way, and more.

The best part is that all of this — even the caller ID stuff — is free. You might as well give it a try and see if you like it in the Google Play Store. Read on for full press details.

Seattle, WA, August 8, 2012 - The era of caller ID simply being a name and number has officially ended with today’s introduction of Current Caller ID by WhitePages (www.whitepages.com). Available in the Android App Store, Current Caller ID not only displays recent status updates by friends and social contacts from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but it also identifies nearly any incoming or outgoing call or text instantly for free. Taking innovation even further, Current Caller ID includes live local info from the caller or texter’s location, such as weather and news, as well as fun infographics that provide instant insight into the communication relationship between users and the people they contact the most.

"Between Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, consumers are overwhelmed with too many connections and status updates, said Lori Roth, director of mobile products at WhitePages. "By marrying call and text ID with social status, we created a single useful service that makes it easy for people to stay up-to-date with the people they communicate with the most.”

According to an online Harris Interactive Study commissioned by WhitePages in May 2012, 88 percent of smartphone owners use an app like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter to stay in touch on their smartphone with their contacts. About 76 percent of the smartphone owners who were surveyed claimed to use two or more mobile applications. In fact, of those smartphone owners who use mobile apps/functions to stay in touch with contacts on a mobile phone, nearly 60 percent use these apps at least five times a day, which suggests that an increasing number of smartphone owners are trying to avoid a communications breakdown of missing important updates from real friends in an era where online friends outnumber real friends 7 to 1.

Current Caller ID: Staying in the Know with People You Call and Text the Most (Real Friends) In one easy-to-use app, Current Caller ID effortlessly streams social status updates just as people are about to communicate. Users can then ignite highly engaging phone and text conversations about relevant topics such as social events, travel, accomplishments like promotions and graduations, or a recent concert attended. The app seamlessly integrates Android’s call log and text history with the user’s social graph to provide timely, relevant statuses for most callers and texters - all without having to lift a finger. Through a clean interface, the app provides users with a detailed snapshot of callers and texters connected to their social networks, including recent status posts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as profile photos, job description, workplace, weather and news. For example, on an inbound call, Current Caller ID users could see a recent Facebook post about a friend discovering a baby boy is on the way, falling for a new love, or notice that a friend is attending a party, and decide to answer the call immediately.
For business contacts, a user might discover a former colleague is attending the same conference, recently changed jobs, or will be in the area via a LinkedIn status, and build a stronger relationship by knowing this information before returning a call or text.

Current Caller ID also features game-like infographics in real-time that displays communication patterns between users and their contacts, including how often and when they most frequently engage with their contacts, and number of calls and texts accepted, missed and made. For example, users can easily see a fun consolidated view of call and text interactions with their contacts to learn the best time of day to call or text them to get a response.

WhitePages’ new social caller ID capabilities build on the company’s long-standing leadership in helping mobile users identify nearly any unknown call or text, including hard-to-find mobile and some VoIP numbers. WhitePages was the first to bring caller ID to mobile in 2008 for Android phones and has been the market leader in caller ID ever since, having identified over 700 million calls to date. With the survey results showing that more than 70 percent of those who screen their calls on their mobile phone don’t answer the phone because they don’t recognize a number, Current Caller ID helps users overcome the unknown and decide on the spot whether or not to answer a call or text. In addition, Current Caller ID makes it easy to update missing contact information using the WhitePages contact database of over 200 million U.S. adults.

Customers of existing WhitePages Caller ID apps can easily upgrade to the new Current Caller ID app for free. To learn more, watch the video or follow the new app on Twitter @currentID. For more information about all WhitePages mobile products visit: http://www.whitepages.com/mobile.

Survey Methodology This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of WhitePages from May 22-May 24, 2012 among 2,208 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables please contact Liz Powell at lpowell@whitepages.com.
About WhitePages WhitePages is the leading provider of contact information for people and businesses in the U.S. With over 40 million unique monthly users and powering over 2 billion searches per year on over 1,500 sites including MSN and the United States Postal Service, only WhitePages offers consumers one-click access to more than 200 million adults, also providing them with the ability to edit and control their own listings. The company’s suite of mobile products includes a top-50 mobile website and popular Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, webOS and Windows 7 applications with over 7 million active monthly users. For more information, please visit www.whitepages.com or check out the WhitePages blog at blog.whitepages.com.

WhitePages and their respective logos are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of White Pages. Other products and company names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners.

ReviewMyApp.net should be avoided by all developers [MANUFACTURED REVIEWS]

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 12:34 PM PDT

We’ve gone over this problem before and we won’t be hesitant to bring it up again: using services to boost your app’s ratings and reviews in the Google Play Store is wrong and all developers should stay away from it.

I’m not even talking about the moral and integrity-inspired reasons here — Google expressly prohibits developers from manufacturing reviews and ratings in the Google Play Store in their merchant agreement.

While the last thing we want to do is put this site on blast we feel it’s our duty. The site in question is ReviewMyApp.net, and this isn’t a pay service (well, that’s if you don’t consider an optional $10 donation for immediate inclusion in the app review carousel being a paid service).

The site justifies itself by being completely free to use and by claiming that it’s nothing but “a bunch of friends, rating each other’s apps.” Here are their selling points in their words:

  • Quickly get your app ratings up to the minimum requirements stipulated by AppBrain etc..
  • Repair damage to ratings caused by malicious or careless reviewers.
  • Why wait six months before someone bothers to comment on your app? That happens all the time.
  • More chance of your app being downloaded if it has a few favourable reviews – gets the ball rolling!
  • Please note we are not affiliated with Google or Google Play in any way.

And here’s the process:

The review need not be lengthy, a simple “Great app!” or similar will suffice. Once you have completed reviewing apps (you will be given a week to do this), your own app will be eligible for review. After another week you should have at least five favourable and accurate reviews!

If you need your app reviewing quickly, you can avoid reviewing other developer’s apps and make your app immediately eligible for review by simply donating 9.99 USD! This will have the added benefit of speeding up the process by at least a week.

This is simply wrong. It messes up the integrity of the top apps listings in the Google Play Store. If you feel the need to boost your app’s ratings in such a manner then it probably isn’t a very good app to begin with.

Developers, I urge you to go about promoting your apps the right way. Not only will you eventually get caught, but you face the possibility of having your apps removed from the Play Store.

You also face the possibility of getting your merchant account banned. It’s not worth the trouble for you, and it’s not fair to the users of the Google Play Store to see illegitimate reviews festering the Play Store. Please pick up a new profession if it’s not working out because this is as heinous a practice as there can be in the software world.

As for you users, if you notice any developers using this service or any like it don’t be shy to report the app to Google via the Google Play Store. Let’s hope whoever made this site has the common courtesy to shut it down before too long. [Thanks anon!]

Could Sprint’s Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE be here August 19th?

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 12:02 PM PDT

We know Sprint employees are currently undergoing training for the newly-announced Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE, but we’ve gone a bit of time without any word on which day this phone might release.

PhoneDog claims to have received word that the phone will be here August 19th, though we can’t be sure on the source. It’s probably not a good idea to start planning your day as things can always change and rumors can always be wrong, but we’re sure this phone is lined up for an August release so hopefully it won’t be far off from that.

The device offers a high-end QWERTY option for those who haven’t been able to ditch their physical keyboards for a software-based one. It’ll arrive with Android 4.0 and a new user interface, as well as radios for Sprint’s 4G LTE network.

If you were looking for the perfect phone that appeases to keyboard warriors then this one should have been on your radar from the moment it was rumored. Let’s hope the wait really is just shy of a couple of weeks. [PhoneDog]

Google launches experimental trial to include Gmail results in Google searches

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 10:49 AM PDT

Google has announced an ambitious new project that could greatly enhance the Google Search experience for all. They’re aiming to launch a feature that will allow you to pull in relevant Gmail conversations whenever doing a Google search.

For instance, a search about Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 at Google’s search engine emails related to that game will show up in a right sidebar. It’s a natural extension to the search experience that attempts to be more personal to the user.

“But if I wanted to search for emails about Black Ops 2 why wouldn’t I just do it in Gmail,” you ask? Well, that’s a good point. Gmail already boasts a nice built-in search option, and its search box also gives you the option of repeating that query in Google Search.

We’re not quite sure where Google’s going with this feature, and all indications suggest they aren’t 100% sure either, but that’s why it’s little more than an experimental field trial for the time being.

You can sign up for the trial, but Google isn’t promising that everyone will be able to get in. In fact, you’ll need to be using Google.com in English, and you won’t be able to sign up for it using a Google Apps account (meaning your email address has to end in @gmail.com in order for you to be eligible).

Once those prerequisites are taken care of you can sign up to participate here. From there, just wait on an email to see if Google thinks you’re good enough to get in on this early. Does this sound like something of worth to you or does it seem like a feature that won’t add much to the Google Search experience?

Nikon to release Coolpix S800 as first camera powered by Android

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 08:37 AM PDT

Several Android-powered camera concepts have launched to varying degrees of success, and the trend doesn’t look likely to end any time soon. Now Nikon, one of the most popular manufacturers of digital cameras, will release their first foray into the world of “smart” cameras. The Coolpix S800 is rumored for announcement later this month and features a 25-250mm lens, 3.5-inch OLED display, and built-in GPS and WiFi. Signs point to Android 2.3 being the operating system of choice, and it is said that the camera will have access to Google Play. The Coolpix S800 would be part of Nikon’s point-and-shoot range.

[via NikonRumors]

No Motorola Droid RAZR HD this Friday, according to Facebook clue

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 07:41 AM PDT

So Motorola has been playing a little game this week, giving us a clue on their Facebook page each day leading up to a “big” handset reveal on Friday. Except today’s clue pretty much takes all the fun out of things. While we were expecting (and hoping) that Motorola might finally unveil the long in gestation Motorola DROID RAZR HD, it sounds more likely we will be hearing about a Motorola Atrix HD launch for other parts of the world.

Today’s clue reads, “I browse the Web, multitask and power through emails with my 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. And just a note, I’m in market in the U.S. from Motorola already.” Sure sounds like the ATRIX HD to us, which is already available from AT&T and features the same processor spec. Cue the sad trombone.

[via UnwiredView]

OUYA announces NAMCO BANDAI partnership, four controller support as Kickstarter campaign nears end

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 07:06 AM PDT

OUYA’s Kickstarter campaign is ending tonight, but the company has sent out an update to insure investors in the highly hyped Android gaming box that the real work is only beginning. The biggest announcement today is a partnership with NAMCO BANDAI that will see classic games such as PAC-MAN, Ridge Racer, and TEKKEN make their way to the console. And when those games do make their way to OUYA, there will be support for up to four controllers. The feature was added due to user demand with OUYA providing an option for those who have already pledged to pay an additional $90 to receive four controllers instead of one when the device ships in March.

Additionally, OUYA is rounding out media player support with Plex. Yesterday the company announced support for XBMC but is looking to please customers with their choice of media streaming software.

As the end of OUYA’s first round of funding draws near, the company has already sold out of personalized OUYA consoles as well developer preview editions. I still hold the opinion that OUYA won’t be quite as successful as most think it will be, but I have to admit they have done a remarkable job turning concept into cash cow.

 

New devices available from T-Mobile today: Samsung Galaxy Note and myTouch handsets

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 06:37 AM PDT

If you’re in the market for a new phone on T-Mobile’s network, today would be a good day to start shopping. Three new devices are now available and combined offer a little something for everybody. The Samsung Galaxy Note is finally available for $249.99 on contract after months of rumors pointed to the handset launching on the network. It also comes just weeks before the expected unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

On the lower end, new versions of the T-Mobile myTouch and T-Mobile MyTouch Q are also available today. Both are priced at $49.99, with the main difference being the keyboard found on the Q. T-Mobile’s site has all the details.

[T-Mobile]

Verizon will gladly take your money if you know about these secret Share Everything data tiers

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 06:11 AM PDT

If Verizon’s 10GB  of data for $100 per month seemed a bit pricey for the top tier of their new Share Everything plans, wait till you see the options they aren’t advertising. For power users that feel the need for a larger cushion of data to get them through the month, Verizon has confirmed a few “secret”  data plans that offer up to 20GB for $150 per month. Other unadvertised options include 12GB for $110/month, 14GB for $120/month, 16GB for $130/month, and 18GB for $140/month. Other Share Everything charges remain the same.

[via BGR]

IDC: 68.1 percent of smartphones sold in Q2 were Android, Samsung led the surge

Posted: 08 Aug 2012 05:58 AM PDT

IDC’s latest figures show a dramatic jump in Android smartphone market share from previous quarters with Google’s OS coming up as the operating system of choice for 68.1 percent of smartphones purchased in Q2. The figure represents a 15 percent jump from the previous quarter and was largely driven by strong sales from Samsung. Yes, the Samsung that just released the Galaxy S3, which despite the constant legal battles was still able to help push Apple down from a 23 percent share last quarter to a 16.9 percent share in the latest report. No wonder the iPhone maker is willing to fight tooth and nail to destroy the mobile empire Samsung has built. Check out the full data set at IDC’s site.

[via IDC]

Conan O’Brien Pokes Fun At Apple vs Samsung Patent Trial [Video]

Posted: 07 Aug 2012 11:40 PM PDT

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That, Conan O’brien. What a jokester. Who knew Team Coco kept up to date with the latest tech news. While the above video might have flown over most viewer’s heads, you know who would have really found this hilarious? The jurors from the patent trial. Let’s hope none of were trying to enjoy a worry-free evening at the Motel 6 before Conan ruined their impartial verdict.

[9to5Mac | TeamCoco]
Posted by at 8:11 AM

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