Monday, June 4, 2012

Android and Me

Android and Me

ASUS and BlueStacks announce partnership delivering Android apps to ASUS PCs

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 07:31 PM PDT

Bluestacks-android-app-player

While I hate to complain about Android apps being made more widely available to consumers I have to say I’m a little bummed to see that the admittedly ambiguous teaser that ASUS put out last week was apparently only pointing to BlueStacks integration and not a true dual-booting tablet.

Fortunately I recover quickly from disappointment so let’s go ahead and take a peek at what ASUS and BlueStacks are bringing to the table.

You might remember BlueStacks as we have covered them a couple times here. First in October of last year when they demoed their alpha software and then again in January of this year when they announced support for Windows 8.

Their main product is known as “App Player for PC” and as you have no doubt already surmised it allows you to use Android apps on your Windows PC. BlueStacks in this case is just going to be more deeply integrated with ASUS by tying into the asus@vibe service which you can check out here. It’s basically a digital content hub for ASUS owners which currently offers music, games, books, magazines, radio and videos.

Now I’m sure we will hear more details tomorrow, but there are two big questions for me at the moment.

The first is understanding the costs associated with this as the press release merely indicates that “users of asus@vibe will enjoy Android apps for free for 6 months, with the option to upgrade to unlimited apps and sync apps from phone to PC.”

The second is what hardware is ASUS going to be putting out that will maximize the utility of this partnership. It may be less exciting (to me anyway) than a dual-booting tablet, but if ASUS can deliver an awesome Windows 8 tablet which can leverage this BlueStacks integration that could still get my attention.

The ASUS press conference kicks off at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow which due to the miracles of time travel zones means that it will be happening at 12:30 a.m. Central time so we don’t have to wait long for the answers.

Show Press Release

ASUS Partners with BlueStacks to Bring Android Apps to Millions of PCs Worldwide

Taipei, Taiwan (PRWEB) June 03, 2012

ASUS, one of the world’s top three consumer notebook vendors and a leading innovator in personal computing products, has partnered with BlueStacks to bring popular Android apps to 30 million Asus PCs worldwide.

BlueStacks, makers of ‘App Player for PC’ software, will enable a rich selection of Android apps on asus@vibe, a one-stop entertainment platform that is preinstalled on all ASUS products. Powered by BlueStacks technology, users of asus@vibe can access exciting and engaging Android apps across all categories including games, social, news, shopping, music, business and education.

BlueStacks recently partnered with top app developers to bring popular Android apps like Fruit Ninja, Evernote, Pulse, Drag Racing, Defender, Tap Fish, Moviefone, Nook, Guns N Glory, Talking Tom and Kids ABC to the one billion strong PC market. BlueStacks’ patent pending LayerCake technology enables Android apps on touch and non-touch Windows PCs. As part of this special arrangement with BlueStacks, users of asus@vibe will enjoy Android apps for free for 6 months, with the option to upgrade to unlimited apps and sync apps from phone to PC. The apps are integrated into and presented seamlessly within the @vibe platform across the entire range of ASUS products, including the ZenBooks, notebooks, Eee PCs, desktop PCs and All-in-one PCs.

‘ASUS is delighted to bring a vibrant selection of apps that were previously inaccessible on Windows PCs. Our partnership with BlueStacks is a valuable addition to the @vibe family,’ noted Vira Chang, the Head of eBusiness Services at ASUS. ‘The integration of BlueStacks and @Vibe is central to ASUS’s consumer cloud strategy. Additionally, we are encouraged by the increased revenue potential that BlueStacks represents.’

‘ASUS has created a phenomenal software experience on PCs. Launching with ASUS at Computex 2012 solidifies BlueStacks’ leadership position as the sole provider of apps for consumer electronics and PC manufacturers worldwide,’ said Rosen Sharma, President and CEO of BlueStacks. ‘Our strong portfolio of apps from top developers, combined with our unique monetization engine makes this a revenue-generating opportunity for PC OEMs. This is a winning proposition for the entire PC ecosystem. App developers who have already built for Android can now just run their apps on Windows PCs through BlueStacks. We’ve done the heavy lifting for the benefit of all.’


Posted by at 8:13 AM 0 comments

Android Central

Android Central

Instagram bug fixing update live in Google Play, app crashing issues fixed

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 02:26 PM PDT

Android Central

Photo sharing social network Instagram, has pushed out an update to its Android application which is live in the Google Play store now. It doesn't bring anything new to the table, but does promise to fix an issue with user images that was causing the app to crash. 

While small, judging by a couple of threads started down in the Android Central forums only this morning, it could be a valuable update. There seemed to be instances of sporadic crashing on the Galaxy S III, HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE in particular.  Hopefully any issues have now been fixed, but head on down to the forums or shout on the comments below and let us know how it's working for you guys. [Google Play Link]

From the Editor's Desk: Checking in from a couple days off

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 11:57 AM PDT

Bryant Park

Checking in from a couple days of R&R in New York City. It isn't often that I get time to do any tourist-type stuff here, let alone with my lovely bride. But I managed to sneak in a few thoughts on the flight up. Enjoy.

So what's next? The major U.S. variants of the HTC One line are all on sale in the U.S. That's the HTC One S on T-Mobile, the HTC One X on AT&T, and, finally, the EVO 4G LTE on Sprint, which is a retooled One X. The Samsung Galaxy S III has been released in a couple dozen countries.

So what's next in the smartphone world?

At some point we're going to get some U.S. announcements for the Galaxy S III. And it's worth taking a look back at the past couple of years. In 2010, with the original Galaxy S, Samsung managed to do the unthinkable -- get all four U.S. carriers into the same room and unveil four versions of the Galaxy S. (I was there. It was magical. Or something.) The phones, as you'll recall, were the Verizon Fascinate, T-Mobile Vibrant, AT&T Captivate -- and a wild card, the Sprint Epic 4G, which added a slider keyboard for good measure.

In 2011, Samsung again gathered the major players in New York to show off Galaxy S II. Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T all were represented, with Verizon on the sidelines. (It instead got the Galaxy Nexus later that year.)

So what's going to happen this year? To be completely honest, we don't yet know. Samsung's made no public announcements yet, nor have any of the carriers. You can bet something's coming though. But where things really get interesting are with last week's leak of what The Verge says is the T-Mobile version of the GSIII. And damned if it doesn't look exactly like the European version. Now, Samsung's clout as a manufacturer is unquestioned. (See the above examples of getting competing carriers to take part in a single event.) Will we really see an unchanged version for the U.S.? (And bloat-free is probably too much to ask, right?)

We'll find out when we find out, I suppose.

read more

From the Editor's Desk: Checking in from a couple days off

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 11:57 AM PDT

Bryant Park

Checking in from a couple days of R&R in New York City. It isn't often that I get time to do any tourist-type stuff here, let alone with my lovely bride. But I managed to sneak in a few thoughts on the flight up. Enjoy.

So what's next? The major U.S. variants of the HTC One line are all on sale in the U.S. That's the HTC One S on T-Mobile, the HTC One X on AT&T, and, finally, the EVO 4G LTE on Sprint, which is a retooled One X. The Samsung Galaxy S III has been released in a couple dozen countries.

So what's next in the smartphone world?

At some point we're going to get some U.S. announcements for the Galaxy S III. And it's worth taking a look back at the past couple of years. In 2010, with the original Galaxy S, Samsung managed to do the unthinkable -- get all four U.S. carriers into the same room and unveil four versions of the Galaxy S. (I was there. It was magical. Or something.) The phones, as you'll recall, were the Verizon Fascinate, T-Mobile Vibrant, AT&T Captivate -- and a wild card, the Sprint Epic 4G, which added a slider keyboard for good measure.

In 2011, Samsung again gathered the major players in New York to show off Galaxy S II. Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T all were represented, with Verizon on the sidelines. (It instead got the Galaxy Nexus later that year.)

So what's going to happen this year? To be completely honest, we don't yet know. Samsung's made no public announcements yet, nor have any of the carriers. You can bet something's coming though. But where things really get interesting are with last week's leak of what The Verge says is the T-Mobile version of the GSIII. And damned if it doesn't look exactly like the European version. Now, Samsung's clout as a manufacturer is unquestioned. (See the above examples of getting competing carriers to take part in a single event.) Will we really see an unchanged version for the U.S.? (And bloat-free is probably too much to ask, right?)

We'll find out when we find out, I suppose.

read more

Samsung Galaxy S III tip: disable S Voice for better home button response

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 08:49 AM PDT

s voice

The Samsung Galaxy S III may not be available in its biggest market just yet, but the rest of the world is enjoying, and finding helpful tidbits like this one that makes the home button respond better. You can set the home button to start up S Voice when double-pressed, but that means the system has to wait and make sure what you want it to do if you only press it once -- resulting in a pause. We've seen the same behavior any time an OEM decides to add functionality to a button with a double-tap, but this time its easy to fix. Just disable it in the S Voice settings and you're home free.

This, and more in the Galaxy S III forums

Bloodland: Kill. Zombies. Now.

Posted: 03 Jun 2012 08:07 AM PDT

Turn your speakers up for this one, boys and girls. Zombies approach. Twenty levels, including "rush" and "survive" modes. We'll see you after the apocalypse.

Download: Bloodland (free)
Posted by at 5:45 AM 0 comments

Google Android News Android Forums

Google Android News Android Forums

Clues point to a possible HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE release in the immediate future

Posted: 02 Jun 2012 09:33 PM PDT

With the news of the HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE coming to Verizon a few weeks ago, many anxious HTC One series admirers on Big Red have been patiently waiting for any more details to surface as to price, release date, etc. There’s still no official word from Verizon on the subject but some internal sources have found a couple of clues that point to a possible launch as soon as later this week.

The first sign of a close release date comes from the DROID Inc 4G LTE showing up in Verizon’s TestMan site, which often occurs when a phone is near release. The price displayed for the phone shows $299 with contract but it’s speculated that this is merely a placeholder and not the actual price. Other information uncovered confirmed that the phone will indeed come with a $50 MIR (mail-in-rebate) as was reported earlier and that this rebate would go into effect sometime later this coming week.

Again, there’s no official statement from HTC or Verizon on the matter so we’ll just have to be patient a little longer.

source: phonearena

Sprint and Verizon Galaxy S III pay a visit to the FCC

Posted: 02 Jun 2012 09:04 PM PDT

With last week’s news about T-Mobile‘s GSIII scheduled for a June 20 release, the FCC now has also received filings for Sprint and Verizon‘s GSIII variants. Not much is disclosed about either model at this time but many of us hope to see 2 GB of RAM a la the Canadian GSIII, which in my opinion is a “sorry you aren’t getting quad-core” move from Sammy. We also know that a spotting at the FCC means that availability is just around the corner!

source: pocketnow

Galaxy S III dissected and put under the microscope

Posted: 02 Jun 2012 08:25 PM PDT

Most of us Android users care a lot about what’s under the hood of the latest smartphones. Everything from the processor make and clock speed, amount of ROM and RAM available along with the other hardware bits such as GPU, memory card slot and notification LED. However, it’s not too often that we actually get to take a peek at the actual innards of our smartphones.

The folks over at iFixit have done just that with the Samsung Galaxy S III and have provided pics of the mother board, front and back housing and even the camera. It’s a fairly light read with plenty of pics and is quite interesting if you’re into how things work and all. Keep in mind that this is the international version of the GSIII so definitely expect the setup to change when the U.S. variants hit the shelves in the near future. Hit the link below to check it out.

source: iFixit
Posted by at 5:42 AM 0 comments
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