Android Archives - Page 12 of 12

Google Play Is The Wrong Step In The Right Direction [OPINION]

With Google finally having launched all three of its additional components to the Android Market, it’s understandable that they wanted a streamlined interface for users to understand what they were purchasing and that they were purchasing it from the same vendor. Google Books, Google Videos, and Google Music had all been slightly separate until now. They were still obviously tied together through Android, but it wasn’t fully understood to the average consumer that Google is offering all of the media needed to more than just their Android phone. PC’s, tablets, and of course, any phones running Android all have access to what is now called Google Play, and I am happy to see Google doing something about that.

What I am not happy about however, is the name and idea of Google “Play”. It’s not just that I don’t particularly like the name “Play”, no, it’s deeper than that from a consumer standpoint. If Google is trying to brand Android into people’s minds with “Android Market” just the way Apple has done with “Now Available in the App Store”, then they took the right step. I’m just not 100% sure they took a step in quite the right direction.

More after the break

Yes, Google needed to streamline all of its content. There’s no doubt about that. It’s how they do that though, and the branding that they use, that will ultimately affect user’s thoughts on Android. Google is trying to get people to understand that their content isn’t delivered just through Android. No one who hears “Android Market” will assume that the content provided by such a service is also available on things that don’t run Android, such as PC’s and Google TV. With “Play” though, Google has taken that thought out of user’s minds and instead replaces it with one massive, combined content provider for everything a user needs. The only problem with this idea, is they decided to call it “Play”. When a user sees “Now Available in the App Store” they know iOS, but “Google Play” doesn’t really send an Android message at all, in fact, other competing products have similar names such as the RIM’s Playbook and Sony’s Playstation products. This is obviously going to confuse some people, and Google is trying to get away from “confusing” in Android, especially with the recent release of Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sure, Google Play will be fine. There are too many Android users who will immediately grasp the concept and easily make the switch to “Play” branded product names. However, they have sort of shot themselves in the foot when it comes to trying not to confuse new users. The Android ecosystem is pretty well known, but nothing Google has ever done has been remotely tied to “Play”. This isn’t to say it will not be a great service, though. Google accomplished what they needed to accomplish, and I’m glad to see that. I’m just not completely sold that “Google Play” was the way to go.

Top Android Photography Applications suggested by Colby Brown

Post originally was posted on Colby Brown Photography and was given permission to repost here.

Quick recap for those who don’t know who Colby Brown is and why his opinion matters to us. We originally did a Spot Light article over on TheDroidGuy on not only who he is, but how Android and photography are coming together. Since than he has absolutely blown up on Google+ as he had just over 16,000 followers, and as of this post now has over 700,000 followers. Here is a snip of who he is…

I am a full time professional photographer and photo educator that specializes in landscape, travel and humanitarian photography. I have the privilege of working in some of the most beautiful locations around the globe as well as with organizations such as National Geographic and The Sierra Club from time to time.

Here is his Top 20 Android Application for Photographers, in no particular order.

We Go One On One With Apsalar To Find Out How They Are Changing Mobile Gaming Forever

We were able to sit down with Apsalar, a Mobile Engagement Management company, as well as walk through the company’s offices. Right off the back when walking in, the look is prototypical start-up, with no cubicles, only desks in the open, relaxed, yet get-work-down type of feel. However, unlike most start-up companies, Apsalar has within a year evolved in a way most take longer to do. Originally, the company gave Mobile Game developers the ability to see cohorting stats weekly; they are now providing the same type of information daily to enhance what developers are looking for. When asked, Michael Oiknine stated,

More after the break… Read More…

[Exclusive] Gameloft goes Social with Gameloft Live for Android

First details of Gameloft Live for Android. While in San Francisco for the Crunchies we stopped into meet with Gameloft. What we were able to see and preview is their newest application to be launched on the Android system. Gameloft Live will be their social experience rather than what they currently have in, in-games currently. Think the Sims and XBox Live having a baby.

You’ll be able to login with your Gameloft ID you currently have from playing past games or create a new one if you don’t. At the start you’ll have to set up your avatar in which throughout the Hub you’ll either look like or interact with. Thankfully they have the ability to have a Mohawk on your guy so I wasn’t feeling left out. Everything from how the hair looks, to what color it is can be changed. Your clothing style is also able to change however I didn’t spend enough time in that to let you know more. Your avatar while limited to just being in your Hub for now(We could only guess further Social aspects will be added later on) the main focus will be connecting with fellow friends as well as seeing achievements.

In each Hub you are also able to purchase new items to decorate the area, as well as different interactions that can and will take place. You’ll notice that there are “shiny stars” and for each one, clicking on them does something else. The fireplace does work as well (But doesn’t warm you up for those cold San Francisco days like today) and with clicking on wall reveals a Nova/Mr. And Mrs Smith type cache of weapons. Other stars are there so I won’t fully spoil the fun in finding them all. You can buy other Hubs as well with Gameloft cash you either buy with cash, or earn the ability to unlock things such as adding friends or achievements in games.

The main aspect, I believe, is to make Gameloft games more social and that’s what they do. The “dashboard” in which you see what your friends profile with either the games they’ve played, achievements unlocked, or others is a GIANT step up from what they had before. The interface is beautiful and extremely easy to use. Within a few minutes I no longer felt lost. Without dumbing it down making it intuitive as possible was a welcome sign.

The only other Social Hub for gaming I can think of, Open Feint causes me to want to violently vomit because of it’s visual design, Gameloft’s Social Hub is welcoming. Gameloft throws in the best of Sims and XBox Live in one and does it beautifully. While it never caused the Galaxy S II to stutter, I wondered how a lesser device might handle the game, I was assured the experience on any device. When pushed about if there was a specific tablet version coming out, while being told no at first, I was quickly told that unlike other applications viewing on a tablet is just as enjoyable if not more due to its increase in screen size since they don’t just down the size and call it a day.

Gameloft Live will also allow you to chat with friends who are in the application as well. High Scores are also a key area in which Gameloft has gone after, with the ability to break down world-wide or by country. Always nice to say you have more points than friends never hurts when you see them again or take a screen shot to email them. Tomorrow they will be doing a soft-launch and followed by a major push on Monday. Gameloft takes aim at bringing all your Gameloft Social needs and wants into one. While with any release on Android bugs are to be expected, updates will be happening as this is how the future of mobile gaming plus social could and will come together as one.

Capsule Is Your One Stop Event Shop App For Android And iPhone

The group event space is becoming a crowded one, you’ve got e-invite for inviting, or eventbrite for ticketing, you have several group texting apps and others for group email. You’ve got Facebook events and some people even use Myspace for events still (I know Myspace….).

When Capsule’s co-founders Cyrus Farudi and Omri Cohen got together they didn’t want another group event app to add to all the others, they were looking for something to replace all the others. Capsule is that app.

According to Capsule’s founders in an interview with the Los Angeles Times they set out to cover the entire life cycle of a group event from start to finish. “No one has that complete solution over the marketplace, and I think that’s one thing that sets us apart,” said Farudi in the interview to the LA Times, formerly of Flipswap. Capsule “solves the event life-cycle management problem.”

The less than a year old start up came after the two founders collectively attended 14 weddings and nine bachelor parties in one year. They are based in the Manhattan Beach area of Los Angeles which is being dubbed “Silicon Beach”.

For more information you can check out trycapsule.com

Unboxing And Review Of The ClarityOne EB110 Earbuds From CES

While at CES, we were privileged to be invited to the ClarityOne press conference where we heard first hand of the clarity and the sounds of the audio of what they put into their speakers. Using what they’ve learned after 12 years of testing and tinkering they presented the EB110 Earbuds. At a price of $129.99 USD they are not the cheap headphones you pick up at Wal-Mart or Target, and you can tell. The minute you put these on and turn up the volume you can tell right away something is different. At a frequency range of 15Hz to 20kHz and a transducer at 7.5mm the sounds coming from these little earbuds are something that can’t be truly appropriated even with words. Currently

More after the break… Read More…

CES 2012: Check Out Text Rings, This Is Interesting

Here at CES you’ll find things that are just, interesting. Text Rings is one of those. This North Carolina based start up was self funded however they now have some private investors.

Their product is part jewlery, part stylus and it’s called Text Rings. These small rings fit on the users thumbs and provide a capacitive touch stylus on the users thumb tips. The Text Rings allow you to text easier than using your actual finger tips, keeping your touch screen clean.

The founder insists that the text rings improve accuracy however Brent found that this just wasn’t the case. Brent who is a frequent texter, and uses his thumbs for texting, found that the text ring tips weren’t as accurate as he would have expected. In the video you will also notice that the text rings didn’t do much for the speed.

It is an innovative idea though, you don’t have to pull out stylus to use your touchscreen if it’s already on your thumb tips. Currently the text rings are available here in a set of two and in black. The shocker though is that they are $29.99. While we can see the use for the text rings we don’t think we would rush out to get them. Perhaps if the set of two was more in the price range of $10. After all you can get styli from the likes of Bracketron and Targus for under $15.00

App Of The Week: Voxer

One of the apps I’ve found myself using a lot lately, is Voxer. Voxer is a chatting app for Android and iOS that let’s you seamlessly communicate with all your buddies–you know the drill. One of the big reasons to get a smartphone is to communicate all the time with everyone you know using any service you want. There’s simple text chatting apps. There’s messaging apps provided by social giants like Facebook and Google+. Then there’s Voxer.

More after the break
Read More…

Best of 2011 – App Publisher: Google Inc.

It may seem cliche to name Google, the company that created Android, as the best app publisher in 2011, but if you look at it from a broad perspective, it’s hard not to. If there is one company that has control and influence on Android, it’s Google. Google has been making apps for Android since the beginning, obviously, but in the ways it has this year. Google put a huge g-shaped footprint in the Android Market with their latest apps and app updates, and really set an example to third-party developers on how to get it done straight from the Plex.

First off, Google has updated a TON of apps with complete redesigns this year. This list includes apps like Google Talk, Google Voice, Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, Google Books, Google Docs, Google Shopper, Google Reader, Google Music, and more. If you think about just how many things Google pushed this year, there’s really no other contender. A lot of these apps got their own special re-makes throughout the year, and then got the notion again with the release of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, in which Google gave all of their core apps a makeover. The list above doesn’t even mention the overhaul the calendar app received with ICS, sporting a nifty pinch-to-zoom feature that is sure to gain lots of love. A lot of these apps were originally phone-only apps, and examples such as Google Voice and Google Books getting a makeover to support tablets running Honeycomb. Google has really stepped up their game this year with app updates, and while some , such as the Google Reader update, fall short of expectations, overall Google has done a fantastic job in 2011.

Another big jump that Google has made in the apps department is launching two of their newest products: Google+ for Android, and Google Currents for Android. Both of these apps are Android partners to new services Google has launched in 2011, and both of them really show the capabilities that Android has. Google+ started a little rough by not supporting a lot of key features such as Hangout, but after a few months they pushed updates that brought this and more to phones through the Google+ app. Google+ also comes with Messenger, the mobile messaging app paired with Google+, competing with Facebook for meeting the needs of millions of chatty Android users. Google Currents also launched at the tail-end of the year, giving Android users a new way to read all of your favorite sites. Google Currents is like an RSS reader and a Flipboard competitor rolled into one, for both phones and tablets. This app is very pretty, and really shows the emphasis Google is placing on user experience lately. Sure, the app was a battery hog at first, but they’ve fixed that, proving Google hasn’t just blown it off in the aftermath of product launch after product launch like they have been known to do in the past.

Google has really done a tremendous job giving their faithful users some great apps in 2011. Whether it’s launching a new app or just updating an old favorite, Google has really made Android a better place for all of us. Be sure to check these apps out for yourself here in the Android Market.

Updated – Editorial: Nexus Brand Being Diluted by Verizon

Nexus devices have been billed as “Pure Google” devices ever since the HTC built Nexus One was released January of 2010. The Nexus S [December 16, 2010] and Nexus S 4G [May 8, 2010].
When the Nexus One was originally announced the list of carriers who were originally going to carry the Nexus One included T-Mobile, AT&T, Vodafone, and Verizon. After months of delays Google eventually announced that the Nexus One would not be available from Verizon Wireless.
The follow-up to the Nexus One, the Nexus S (and Nexus S 4G) were available on AT&T, T-Mobile, and finally Sprint.
The Nexus One ushered in the term (as well as actually backing up the claim) “Superphone”. 1 GHz CPU, 512 RAM and ROM, AMOLED (Original screen) and was launched with Android 2.1 Eclair. Being a “Pure Google” device meant that it would be among the first devices to receive future updates to the Android Operating System.
The Nexus S was the first Android device to launch with NFC (Near Field Communication), with a 4″ Super AMOLED screen, 512 MN RAM, and 16 GB of internal storage space (1 GB dedicated to internal storage [ROM] and 15 GB “USB storage”. This was the first device to launch with Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Again this was free from carrier “bloatware” and was sold without any additional carrier overlay (Touchwiz, Sense, Motoblur, etc). This ensuring a faster upgrade path. Shortly after the launch of the Nexus S the Nexus One was updated to Android 2.3.
Google released a tablet version of the Android Operating System 3.0 Honeycomb – which was never open-sourced, but was also free from OEM overlays (at launch). This apparently was done to help speed up updates to the work in progress which was (is) honeycomb.

Fast forward to October 18, 2011 – Google and Samsung announce their second collaboration towards the Nexus line of devices, the Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy Nexus brings a 4.65″ 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED HD screen, a Texas Instruments 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor, with 1 GB RAM, with either 16 or 32 GB of on board storage, along with a myriad of updates to camera software, video output options, and I’d the first Nexus device to offer 4G LTE connectivity. Seeing as there was only one carrier offering a significant LTE network at the time of the announcement it also signaled the first “Pure Google” Nexus device on the Verizon network. Fans were going nuts – THIS IS WHAT WE HAD ALL BEEN WAITING FOR……OR WAS IT?

Google needs to take over ALL advertising of Android before carriers ruin the brand

With more and more Verizon commercials for the Droid line, and other companies creating commercials Google needs to step in and stop this. Or at lest protect its image from confusionness about its brand. Is it the in your face ball busting system the Verizon portrays in its Droid line up? Or is it the feminine brand that HTC did with the Rhyme. The general public while viewing both these commercials would be confused as to what Android is. What is it?

Intel Backs Urban Airship

Two weeks ago Urban Airship, that specializes in shaping engagement for mobile app developers across multiple platforms announced that they have completed a 15 million dollar round of financing. That round, was led by big names like Salesforce and Verizon. Today it was revealed that Intel also participated in that round of financing.

In addition to the capital investment from Intel Capital, Urban Airship also announced that they’ve entered into a business collaboration agreement with Intel’s Software and Services Group. In this agreement Urban Airship will help developers who’ve already partnered with Intel to provide superior engagement services, push notifications and app infrastructure for those developers.

“The top app companies look to Urban Airship for help shaping the most engaging user experience onmobile,” said Lisa Lambert, vice president, Intel Capital. “We are well aligned with Urban and they help us bring even more value to developers creating apps for the users of millions of Intel® Atom™ processor-based devices.”

“Our mission is to shape mobile experiences that are constantly getting smarter, more fun and more useful,” said Urban Airship CEO Scott Kveton. “Working with Intel lets us extend our influence beyond smartphones and into the fast-growing markets for tablets and netbooks.”

Adobe finally releases its Adobe Suite into the Android market today

Adobe finally releases to the public today its Adobe Suite that we went over while at Adobe Max. Coming in at $9.99 they only work currently on Android tablets and require Air to be downloaded as well. Below are a refresher on all the application as we had video taken while at Max.

Take a bite out of Ice Cream Sandwich as AOSP hits for Google’s Android 4.0

That’s right, Google has finally opened up the ice cream shop and released Ice Cream Sandwich, aka Android 4.0.1. What this means is that both the Nexus should be coming very soon as well as custom Android developers like the CyanogenMod Team may be able to create custom ROMs for people to flash to their phones if they are rooted. While it will still take a while for manufacturer such as LG, Samsung and HTC to release updates to the phones already out if at all. The community which roots their phones should within next couple of weeks be able to upgrade their phones before the manufacturer do.

For those unaware of the new updates, here is a list as well as what you can expect.