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Showing posts with label Android App. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Android App. Show all posts

Guardian App Now Landing on Android

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
The Guardian's app has landed on Android phones, delivering left-leaning news, opinion, photos and video right to your blower. We doubt he'll be downloading the app, but you can get it now from the Android Market. 

I am very excited to announce that the Guardianapp for Android is now available. The app - which is free to download and is available from the Android Market worldwide - includes the latest news, sport, comment, reviews, videos, podcasts and picture galleries from guardian.co.uk.

If you want in depth coverage of a particular story, you can add that topic to your homescreen - UK riots or phone hacking, for instance. The app was designed and developed by an in-house team - headed by lead Android developer Rupert Bates - using the Guardian's Content API. The iPhone app also goes from strength to strength with a total of 480,914 downloads since its launch in January 2011.

That means The Guardian believes it can charge high-end British iPhone users but not mass-market Android owners (or overseas iPhone users, who are also not subject to the fees). “We feel that having a free, ad-funded Android app is the right business model for this marketplace and platform at this point in time,” a Guardian News & Media spokesperson tells paidContent. The Guardian allows developers to re-publish its content for free through its API (though the process of monetising that content has barely begun), and several Android apps already offer Guardian articles for free.

The split mobile business model is more than just a bifurcated app strategy. In promotion, The Guardian also promotes its free mobile website harder than its subscription iPhone mobile app. This summer, the mobile website comprised a tenth of Guardian.co.uk’s total traffic.

The message is clear - if you want free Guardian, use the desktop or mobile website or Android; if you want to pay what is the equivalent of four daily print copies for an entire year’s mobile app access, use the iPhone app.
  • After revising its iPhone app on a subscription model in January, by June, 67,258 people had subscribed to the app (in the UK, 72 percent of them for one year at £3.99, 28 percent for six months at £2.99). That suggests it made £193,218 from annual subs and £56,308 from six-month subs in the first half of the year, for a total £249,526 before Apple’s commission.
  • The milestone coincided with the first of the six-month subscribers being required to renew. But The Guardian won’t disclose how many people have done so.
  • It also coincided with Apple’s new policy of requiring subscription payments go through iTunes Store with 30 percent commission. “Our iPhone subscriptions have always run through iTunes, so there is no change in terms of the 30 percent issue,” a spokesperson says.
  • The iPhone app has been downloaded 52,915 times in the States, where it is free because The Guardian wants to build an audience there.
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: ,

Madden NFL 12 Games For Android

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Those two games were already pretty spectacular, especially the Retina-optimizedMadden 11. Madden 11 is what I'd call a showcase app, especially on the iPad. he calls it "one of the iPad's star games."What's more important is how the game plays, and I think Madden NFL 12 is a blast. 

f you've been waiting for the chance to "feel the excitement of NFL Football, anytime, anywhere," then you're in luck - EA Sports has just released Madden NFL 12, the first Madden game to land in the Android Market. Bringing impressive animation, smooth controls and a host of real NFL teams and players, this game promises to bring everything you love about EA's Madden line to the palm of your hand.

Madden NFL 12 also brings playbooks, stat tracking, and the ability to play through a 16-game season or seasonal playoffs. For football fans who own an Android smartphone and coinciding with the launch of the console launch of Madden NFL 12, the Madden NFL 12 app for Android has now been released to the Android Market that delivers ultra-sharp gameplay along with optimised graphics for Android handsets.

Word of the Madden NFL 12 app for Android becoming available comes our way courtesy of the guys over at Phandroid, and with the Madden NFL 12 Android app the user can choose from the 32 NFL teams and play matches in true-to-life stadiums, track statistics, launch winning strategies from in-depth playbooks, and make trades.

User can also pause the action, and using Total Defensive Control place your players in a position to deliver game changing hits, while Action Control Time enables the user to dominate defences with sprints, spins, dives and jukes. Madden NFL 12 for Android also offers multiple modes where the user can relive the 2010/2011 playoffs, or use Season Mode to play through the entire 16 game NFL season, or simply jump right into Exhibition Mode.
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Tuesday, September 6, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

"Baidu forks Android" Mobile OS for China

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Baidu,Google's Chinese counterpart in search, has announced plans to take Android, strip it of Google's apps and services and replace them with its own under the brand Baidu Yi.  Baidu will target the new Yi OS in competition with Google's mainstream distribution of Android tied to its own apps, other Android variants already in use within China, and alternative mobile OS products like Alibaba, which is not based on Android but aims to run Android apps. 

The new Baidu Yi OS, based on the open foundation code in Android, may run some Android apps but will face more technical barriers than the simple user experience overlays that complicate developers' ability to launch Android apps. Of all Android devices to access Google's App Market over the past two weeks, half are still running last summer's Android 2.2 Froyo and only 30 percent are using Google's latest smartphone release, Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Lenovo's new IdeaPad and HTC's Flyer tablets use Android 2.3 Gingerbread, avoiding the requirements of Android 3.0 but also fragmenting the market for Android tablet apps across three API levels. Dell Inc said on Tuesday it will partner China's top search engine Baidu Inc to develop tablet computers and mobile handsets. Baidu offered a glimpse of its upcoming mobile operating system and launched a new mobile application platform last Friday aimed at bolstering its presence in the increasingly competitive mobile web market.

Dell's Streak 5 tablet is a five-inch Android-based tablet that was discontinued in the United States last month. The Dell-Baidu partnership is one of several announced recently. Global search leader Google announced last month it would pay $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings in a move that will put Google into a lower-margin manufacturing business and pit it against as many as 38 other handset companies that use Google's Android software.

Research in Motion, Nokia and the cable television business are emerging as potential winners after Google announced its deal. If other handset manufacturers shy away from Google's Android system, Nokia and RIM could stand to benefit. Microsoft Corp, which has been touting its Windows software as an alternative to the operating systems of Android and Apple, views are mixed as to the deal's effects.

The yet-to-be-publicly-revealed mobile OS will be called Baidu Yi, and will enable its users to browse, purchase and download applications in similar style to Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Marketplace. It clearly hopes a new mobile OS and supporting handsets will help it tap into a growing market for online services.

When Google left the Chinese market last year, Baidu managed to pick up the pieces and has emerged with an 80 percent share of the search market. With the largest portion of the Chinese mobile market owning feature phones, a plethora of Chinese internet providers are launching new devices. 
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Monday, September 5, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

The Plight "Android App Wallflowers"

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Android device users spend more time on their apps than on the mobile Web, and the top 10 apps account for 43 percent of that time, according to Nielsen. When the top 50 Android apps are considered, they account for 61 percent of the time Android device users spend on apps. 

"Time spent in an app usually equates to more ad dollars, and maybe the top 10 properties are generating more ad dollars than the long tail -- but the long tail generates a significant amount of money from in-app purchases," Simon Khalaf, CEO of Flurry Analytics, pointed out.

Mobile gaming revenues will exceed $16 billion in 2016 as in-app payments grow, ABI Research found. Android's billing system is clunky, and Android apps generate one-fifth to one-sixth of the revenue an iOS app does, Flurry Analytics found. Further, developers' customers often prefer iOS apps, and that takes away developer time from working on Android apps. "Every customer that approaches me asks for an iOS app first and an Android version later," Mercury Development's Greenman said. 

"Put good graphics work into your app icon and description," advised Robles. "The principal way people discover your app is through their eyes." Then, devs have to promote the app and boost its initial downloads. "We've discovered that promoting your app within other apps is the most effective way to convert downloads," Robles said. 

The interesting news is that the top 10 Androidapps account for 43 percent of the time spent on all mobile apps by Android users. And when you look at the top 50 apps, 61 percent of the time spent is on these apps. Mobilewalla found that the top 30 apps in Android Market had between 11,000 and 20,000 ratings compared to about 6,000 ratings for the top 30 apps in the Apple App Store. 
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Friday, August 19, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: ,

"Firefox for Android" Stable, Primed, And Better Tablet Support

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Along with Firefox 6 for PCs, today, Mozilla also released the mobile version, which I must say looks damn good. Firefox fans, this is the one you've been waiting for. I tested Firefox 6 for Android, quite unexpectedly, on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The browser looks much better on the Tab. That's right, Mozilla optimized this release for tablets.

Firefox 6 for Android offers a fresh start experience, where users can set up sync and customize the browser (including add-ons). Mozilla makes it drop-dead easy to get add-ons, whether Android phone or tablet. The best Mozilla is permitted: Firefox Home, for syncing bookmarks and other stuff. With the single touch events API, developers can build Web experiences that detect touch events and gestures. 

Imagine mobile Web apps that enable users to swipe their finger to pan around a map and mobile Web games that let you swipe a finger to swing a baseball bat or pull a slingshot to launch an angry bird. The IndexedDB API gives developers local database storage in Firefox to make Web apps, websites and restartless add-ons available offline. This increases performance, reduces data usage and allows users to enjoy a mobile Web experience without an Internet connection. 

An update to Firefox for Android. Additional tablet optimisation and support is planned for future releases. The new welcome page helps users discover browser tools and features (like Firefox Sync, add-ons, tabbed browsing and bookmarks) that are conveniently stowed away in the side panels. Many users will notice faster zooming, crisp text and reduced pixelation due to enhanced image rendering in Firefox for Android.

Firefox for Android adds support for tools that help developers create rich, compelling mobile Web apps and websites. With the single touch events API, developers can build Web experiences that detect touch events and gestures. 

Web browser maker Mozilla released Firefox 6 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android this week. Mozilla recently moved to a “rapid release” schedule for the Firefox web browser, which means that major version numbers don’t necessarily mean major changes. Firefox 6 for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market. 
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Minecraft Digs Into Xperia Play Android Phone

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
So, Minecraft android. A primer, for those who've yet to tear down their first block-tree with their bare block-fists: Minecraft plops you down into a randomly generated world o' blocks, in naught but your skin. Punch a tree a few times, and you'll get a block of wood. Minecraft Pocket Edition will feature little of this, to start. 

There'll also be an opportunity for group-crafting, by way of local wireless play. Developer Mojang released a portable version of its indie smash-hit Minecraft for Sony Ericsson’s Android-fueled Xperia Play gaming cellphone Tuesday.  Minecraft Pocket Edition, built specifically for mobile platforms, will only be available for the PlayStation-branded Xperia Play at first. In Minecraft, which Mojang says has 12 million registered users, players are thrown into a randomly generated world made of Lego-like blocks where they can collect materials, build structures and forge weapons. 

Minecraft Pocket Edition features the same robust crafting system that has allowed hard-core players to construct crazy creations like full-scale models of the starship Enterprise and re-creations of Bioshock’s underwater dystopia, Rapture. Unlike its desktop counterpart, Pocket Edition will not feature nightly monster raids. 

Like the desktop version of Minecraft, Pocket Edition will receive a steady stream of updates. Mojang says this version of the game will have exclusive features. Pocket Edition players can share their personal worlds with other players with a Wi-Fi connection. Minecraft Pocket Edition is available on the Android Market for $7.

Minecraft Pocket Edition aims to take all the fun of normal, man-sized Minecraft and shrinks it down to fit touchscreen devices. If you're one of the three people who owns an Xperia Play, you'll be glad to know that the game's been optimised for the Play's slide-out physical gaming controls. It's a little galling to see the Xperia Play claim exclusivity on one of the most anticipated mobile games in recent years. 

Sees gamers deposited in a randomly generated world made of big pixellated blocks. We've heard that Minecraft Pocket Edition is destined for the iPhone, and we suspect that it won't be available exclusively to Xperia Play owners for too long -- it would be a crime to deprive Android addicts using other phones of the tunnel-constructing, time-sucking jollies Minecraft has to offer. 
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Thursday, August 18, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: ,

"iTunes for Android" Gives Google a Syncing Feeling

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Android management app that’s a sort of ‘iTunes for Android.’ It’s a Windows app for managing everything about your Android phone over USB or wifi – downloading apps (see picture below), syncing music and other files, transcoding videos, taking Android screenshots, and backing-up your phone.

Elsewhere in the world, DoubleTwist has a similar app for Android-loving Mac users that syncs music, videos, incorporates its own app store, and supports the purchasing of music from the Amazon music store. A survey of 100 apps found that many are storing a high percentage of unencrypted personal data, making mobile devices a more attractive target for identity thieves and hackers. 

Seventy-six percent of account user names for all the apps tested were able to be recovered, along with 31 percent of application data, such as location check-ins, and 10 percent of passwords. The rating indicates that a variety of sensitive information, including passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) used through apps are regularly stored and recoverable from smartphones.

“We recognize it is not the most significant piece of information, but a user name is an [identifier] you need to access your account,” Hoog maintained, saying that app developers could easily create an app that doesn’t store unencrypted personal data. The study looked at apps for use on Android and iPhone devices in four categories: financial, productivity, social networking and retail.

ViaForensics would install an app from the iTunes App Store or Android Market, populate it by using it with data that they would specifically be looking for (user names, passwords and other app data) and then analyze the device, searching the entire file system to see if they could find the information.

A rating system of pass/warn/fail was used to judge the app. Of the 19 app in the four categories tested by ViaForesnics, none passed the company’s user name test. All 19 apps stored a user’s login name in plain text on the device. In addition, none of the 19 apps passed the “app data” test, with 14 apps receiving a fail grade, indicating that items such as instant message logs and passwords were stored in plain text.

Android apps for LinkedIn and Foursquare and Kik for iPhone and Android all stored a user’s password in plain text. In the productivity category of the study, e-mail apps such as Yahoo Mail, K-9 Mail and blogging app WordPress all received failing marks. Fifteen total apps in this category received failing marks (11 of them focused on e-mail), with content being stored on the user’s smartphone.

Hoog asked rhetorically. A Google spokesman told Wired.com that the company disputes the claim that data is “insecurely stored on Android devices” and “the data is not accessible by default unless the phone has been rooted to gain full privileges” which Google claims Android “actively protects against.”  “One of the more recent batches of Android malware actually gets root on the device. “The other one, if you look at the iOS platform — if you want to jailbreak your iPhone 4, you go to Jailbreakme.com, a remote exploit of an iOS device that escalates root privileges,” Hoog added. 
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Monday, August 15, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: ,

Video Calls by Skype 2.1 for Android

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Skype yesterday announced that users with Skype2.1 for Android would now be able to make video calls, a feature that previously only worked for the Google Nexus S. Over 17 Android devices will be receiving support for video calling on the Skype 2.1 for Android mobile app, Douglas added. Android 2.2 Froyo users can start using the service by enabling Skype video calling through Settings, Douglas said.

Although Skype said this update allows the majority of Android devices to video chat, not every phone will be able to use the updated feature. “Unfortunately, if you cannot see the video calling settings, it means your Android phone does not meet the minimum requirements needed to make Skype video calls,” Skype said in a blog post.

Skype 2.1 explicitly supports video calling on devices like the Acer A5, a swath of HTC devices (the Sensation, Flyer, Evo 3D and 4G, Desire HD, and original Desire), along with the Samsung Galaxy S series and Galaxy Tab, the LG Revolution, and Sony Xperia mini pro, Play, and ray devices.

This news comes days after Skype announced the launch of Skype for iPad. VoIP leader Skype—in the process of being acquired by tech giant Microsoft—has rolled out version 2.1 of its Skype application for Android phones, substantially expanding the number of handsets that can handle video calls. Initial versions of the video calling feature—just launched in June—supported video calling on just a handful of smartphones. “For those of you using Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above, you should still be able to enable video calling in your Skype settings. 
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Sunday, August 7, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Android Apps "Leaking Personal Data ??"

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Android malware may be transmitting personal user data to unauthorized computers, indicating increasing security vulnerabilities in the OS and drawing criticism and concern, especially as Android devices grow in business and government usage.

Researchers at Calif.-based security firm Dasient looked at 10,000 applications for Android smartphones in a random sampling, and discovered more than eight percent of the apps transmit personal user data to unauthorized computers.

Called “drive-By downloads,” this category of malware infects a smartphone when its user simply visits a malicious site. The implications of these weaknesses are potentially alarming, especially as smartphone usage grows into businesses. Several businesses, like Deutsche Bank, are moving away from the BlackBerry devices and towards employee’s personal smartphones and devices. But incidents of increasing malware on Google’s OS may have a negative impact, causing the Android OS to lose out in the corporate game.

Malware is becoming increasingly problematic for smartphone owners using the Android operating system. A security firm released unsettling information on growth of mobile malware. A security firm named Dasient studied 10,000 applications for Android smartphones and found that more than 8 percent of the applications are transmitting personal user data to unauthorized computers. This form of malware is designed to take control of a user’s smartphone. If a user pays for SMS messages rather than an unlimited plan, it can easily rack up charges without any interaction from the user besides downloading the application.

It’s also possible that users are unknowingly installing malware when visiting a site. Beyond personal user data, the malware often leaks the IMEI number (specific to the phone) and the IMSI number (specific to the subscriber). 

While we did not observe any outwardly malicious text messages in our sample of 10K apps from the Android Market, we did observe 11 applications that sent text messages that could be considered spam-like. More than 800 Android apps "leaked private information, such as IMEI and IMSIs," the firm said. 

There are now more than 235,000 programs in the Android Market, according to AppBrain, a website for discovering Android apps. The apps studied by Dasient "were chosen at random from 30 different categories of apps in the Android Market," the firm said in its report. 

The site's "low quality app detection filter detects automatically which apps are unlikely to be useful," AppBrain notes. "Google seems to remove apps from the market roughly once a quarter, in which case the total number of available Android apps goes down. The removed apps are almost always classified by our system as low quality apps."
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Friday, July 22, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Google Brings FOX Movies Download to Android

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Steadily adding to its mobile entertainment proposition, Google has inked a deal to let Android users download TwentiethCentury Fox movies—the first such deal Google has made with a movie studio. It’s a bit of a convoluted scheme, but one thaht benefits Fox's physical movie sales. Then, they can sync the film to their Android mobile. 

Video options are rare birds in the Android jungle. No syncing necessary: Users sign into Android Market with a Google account, and can select, pay for and watch via the Web, or over the air on an Android phone or tablet — like Netflix. Users can also download movies to their device so they’re available for viewing without an Internet connection — like iTunes. Google’s Android is adding a bit of fire power to its media arsenal. In the fall, Twentieth Century Fox will launch a service putting Fox movie downloads in the hands of Android users.

Nope, Android fanboys and girls will first have to purchase an actual Blu-ray disc of a Fox movie. Android users will be able to utilize the service in October. The first movie to get the Android treatment from Fox will be X-Men: First Class. The Google owned OS has suffered from a lack of cutting edge movie services. 

Google has recently added eBooks and the new YouTube Movies for Android 2.2+ phones. Android also has a Netflix app, but they only recently increased its compatible list to 24 devices. Android’s expansion of their overall film libraries might let it compete with Apple’s entertainment market share.
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New Android Market Has Launched on New Version

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Android Phone Tips
Google has officially launched a new version for AndroidMarket for devices running Android 2.2 FroYo or above operating system in an announcement by Google on Tuesday. The new Android Market is said to bring new design along with book sales and movie rentals. Google announced it via Mobile blog post on Tuesday, stating that “Today, we’re releasing a new version of Android Market which makes all of these available on phones Android 2.2 and higher.”

Moreover if you don’t know the Google Android Market now has more than 200,000 apps, with 4.5 billion applications download to date, according to numbers released in May 2011. Google has launched a new version of Android Market, the digital store that provides the Android phone users more than 100,000 applications and games. The improvement of the Android application store is due to some complains the users have made towards the previous versions. 

While you're waiting, you can still check out movie rentals and book purchases by visiting the Android Marketonline. Google says the new user interface makes it "faster, easier, and more fun to discover great apps, movies, and books." The new market app also includes more top charts, and collections such as staff picks and Editors' Choice apps.

If you can't wait for the new Android Market to roll out to your phone, you can download the new app right now through unofficial channels. Several Android-focused blogs including Android and Me and Phandroid are providing links to purported Android Market APK files. 
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Spotify Android App Lands in The United States

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Spotify is a really great digital music streaming service that is available in a number of subscriptions ranging from free (ad-supported) and paid. Spotify is available right from your browser or you can pick up the Android version of the service, as well. Spotify opens up your Android to a world of music.  The merits of Spotify as a music streaming subscription service for your desktop are substantially greater - it's well organized, searching and streaming are quick, powerful, and pretty. 

Unfortunately, if you plan on using Spotify on your Android device, there's a lot less to love, unless your musical needs are very specific. Spotify for Android is good for one thing: finding music. In fact, as an Android music streaming and playback app, Spotify is really pretty terrible, and I'm not being hyperbolic - the app has major issues that I just don't see users glossing over and forgiving. The app itself is sort of the bastard son of an iPhone layout with Android elements. Streaming songs is pretty snappy (snappier than Pandora), too. 

Spotify has two streaming quality settings - 96Kbps, and 160Kbps. 96Kbps is what Pandora considers "High" quality on its Android app - and songs at this bitrate will drink down your data at a substantial, thought not absurd, rate. You can also sync directly from your computer to speed up the process (Spotify's desktop app discovers your local music, which you can also then sync to your phone)

Unfortunately, Android syncing can only be accomplished via your local wireless network. Spotify for Android has a long way to go before I'd call it a real streaming solution. Spotify lacks features that even the official Google Music app has (hierarchies, easy sync) - and that's a sad state of affairs. Now, on the desktop, Spotify is brilliant. Spotify's a good concept (especially compared to Pandora), but its mobile execution leaves a lot to be desired. 

About 8 percent of Americans now do most of their web surfing on a smartphone and about 35 percent consider it as primary access point for Internet, according to a study by Pew Internet and American Life Project. Hence here is a look at phones that are compatible with Spotify.
As of now Spotify has listed certain phones that are compatible and the list of Spotify-friendly mobile devices are:

Apple: Apple iPhone, Apple iPod Touch
Google: Google Nexus One
HTC: HTC Desire, HTC Desire HD, HTC Desire Z, HTC Dream (G1), HTC Hero, HTC Legend, HTC Magic, HTC Tatto, HTC Wildfire, HTC Touch Pro 2, HTC HD 2
HUAWEI: HUAWEI U8220, HUAWEI U8230, HUAWEI U8300, HUAWEI Ideos U8150
INQ: INQ Cloud Touch
LG: LG GW620
Motorola: Motorola XT720, Motorola Cliq, Motorola Cliq XT

Nokia: Nokia 5230, Nokia 5320, Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 6110, Nokia 6120c, Nokia 6210, Nokia 6220c, Nokia 6290, Nokia 6700s, Nokia 6710, Nokia 6720, Nokia 6730c, Nokia 6760s, Nokia C5, Nokia C7, Nokia E5, Nokia E51, Nokia E52, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E71, Nokia E7, Nokia E72, Nokia E75, Nokia N78, Nokia N79, Nokia N8, Nokia N82, Nokia N85, Nokia N86 8MP, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N96, Nokia 97, Nokia N97 Mini and Nokia X6.
Palm: Palm Pre, Palm Pre Plus, Palm Pixie Plus
Samsung : Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Samsung Galaxy 3 (Apollo), Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy 5, Samsung Spica, Samsung GT-I8910 Omnia HD, Samsung Omina II

Sony Ericsson: Sony Ericsson Experia X8, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Sony Ericsson X10 mini pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini, Sony Ericsson U1i Satio, Sony Ericsson Vivaz, Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson Xperia X2
ZTE: ZTE Blade
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Sunday, July 17, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: ,

"Android NASA App" Available Just in Time to Watch Atlantis

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
NASA has launched the Android version of the NASAApp just in time to use it to watch the space shuttle Atlantis launch. As well as the ability to watch the space shuttle Atlantis launch from your Android device, the NASA app offers up thousands of images from NASA’s growing collection, a library of NASA videos, mission information both past and present, launch countdown clocks, visible pass information for the International Space Station, ISS and Earth Orbiting Satellite tracking, and access to social features such as NASA Twitter and Facebook posts. 

The NASA App enables users to find sighting opportunities for the International Space Station as well as track the current positions of spacecraft orbiting the Earth. Users may easily share NASA content with their friends and followers on Facebook (News - Alert), Twitter or through email.

“The NASA App for iPhone and iPad has been a phenomenal success with over five million downloads so far,” said Jerry Colen, NASA App project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. “Making a version of the NASA App for Android has been the number one request from users. The final space shuttle mission will take four veteran astronauts into space for 12 days where they are slated to deliver supplies to the international space station. 

The NASA App for Android showcases a huge collection of NASA content, including images, videos on-demand, live streaming video from NASA Television, mission information, feature stories and breaking news. App users also easily can share NASA content with their friends and followers on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail.
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Friday, July 8, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

'Transit Navigation' Google Maps for Android

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Google said that the "TransitNavigation" feature, presently in beta, has updated access to directions, better suggested search results and a photo viewer to Place pages. Van Der Westhuizen said Google Maps Navigation (Beta) currently provides over 12 billion miles of GPS-guided driving and walking directions per year. Now, he said GPS "stop-by-stop" navigation is available for public transit directions in more than 400 cities worldwide with Transit Navigation. Google pointed out navigation alerts appear even if the user switches to another app.

"Also, Google said selecting the driving or walking icon in a route supported by Google Maps Navigation will let a Navigation icon automatically appear so one can get access to step-by-step directions in one click.

Van Der Westhuizen said Google has also streamlined how to access directions from within a Place page. Before, clicking directions in a Place page would bring up options for “Driving Navigation," “Walking Navigation" and “Directions."

Google also improved the quality and speed of its search suggestions. Google also features a photo viewer for Place pages. Google said the update requires an Android OS 2.1+ device and works anywhere Google Maps is currently available.

Google has promised that public transportation support works in 400 cities, and we can confirm that it doesn’t include Vienna, the capital of Austria. Public transportation was a part of maps.google.at but Wienerlinien the company that takes care of transportation has forced Google to turn off the public transportation mapping support. 

More importantly, some smart chaps from Android Central have found out that you can download at least 10 miles radius on a selected Google maps. For now, you have public transportation in 400 cities but not in Vienna Austria, and 10 miles radius of map to download. 

Although it is still in beta mode, Google Maps 5.7for Android already has over 12 billion miles of GPS-guided driving and walking directions on board. The app utilises the smartphone's GPS function to determine the user's current location along a particular route. After the user inputs the destination, the app will publish alerts about possible transfers and when to disembark.
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Thursday, July 7, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Google Plus Threat to Facebook And Twitter

Android Phone Tips

Android Phone Tips
Google + is still in its snooty, exclusive, I-will-call-you-don't-call-me phase, but let us remember that was Mark Zuckerberg's strategy initially as well. As yet uncluttered in comparison to FB, and only four silos (Home, Photos, Profile, Circles) to click on. The ‘Stream' is the equivalent of FB's scroll newsfeed, and there are similar options — to share, edit, host photos and videos, and delete them. Phew! Your grandpa will approve, it adds, but who is looking for Grandpa's approval rating on social media? 

What is utterly out of the box for social media is the ‘Circle' concept. Literally, you can create your own social spheres, including friends, acquaintances, colleagues and contacts in different circles that are more than faintly reminiscent of school-level Set Theory. A thumb tack aids you to transfer multiple persons on to the circles; and every circle you delete merrily jigs away out of the screen. It certainly will jazz Plus up. 
Mobile Google Plus is adapted finely for Apple's iOS and is functional on the Android platform (tried on HTC phones), but does not deign to work on the Symbian platform (tried on two of Nokia's E-series). Snooty again? Google’s domination of your life is also upsetting if you think of it. Ergo, for now, Google Plus remains, at best, a tantalising and yet, brief dalliance outside of marriage. 

Google + has two important features +circles and +sparks. Sparks is some what contradictory to +Circles. The new service brings 'real-world interactions' and 'real-life sharing' to the online world. Google Plus also lets users post photos, messages, comments and other content from selected groups of friends.

"Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. "The problem is that today’s online services turn friendship into fast food-wrapping everyone in 'friend' paper-and sharing really suffers," Mr. Gundotra said. In contrast to Facebook, Google’s new service will also let users video chat with numerous friends simultaneously.

The Google Plus invitation is an e-mail with a header “invitation,” and inside, written are the words, “The Google+ project is currently working out all the kinks with a small group of testers. After clicking the red button, I’ve spent the next 6 hours of my life playing inside Google’s new social networking website. Like other testers, you’ll notice that the user interface of Google Plus looks a whole lot like Facebook, but better. 

I’m in love with Google Plus maybe because I can follow other tech bloggers and journalists and some Google employees. I invited a friend addicted to his Tumblr account. This friend is always online in Google+ after I invited him, and he even “hang outed” with me three times (Hangout is the video chatting feature of Google Plus). We also huddled after she installed Google Plus. (Huddle is the BBM-like Android app of Google Plus). Well, it’s really the main target according to my instinct after using Google Plus.
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: ,

Verizon Blocking Android Tethering Apps

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Earlier this month consumer advocacy firm Free Press filed an FCC complaint over Verizon's attempts to kill offtethering apps, something the group states violates the conditions attached to 700MHz spectrum acquired during the AWS auction. Verizon says it was Google, not Verizon, that removed the apps. "Verizon does not block applications," the company said in a statement. Verizon may not have removed them, but they wanted them removed. A source familiar with the application take-down says that Verizon pointed Google to those apps as a violation.

So while Verizon blames Google for pulling tethering apps because they "were in violation of terms of service," it was Verizon who made sure that tethering apps were a TOS violation in the first place. Google's also culpable in helping Verizon and AT&T cripple phones and filter applications to force more users to pay additional tethering fees, and it's clearly another sign that Google's supposed dedication to openness just isn't what it used to be.

The Free Press, a consumer advocacy group, claims Verizon asked Google to disable tethering applications that allow users to turn their phones into mobile hotspots because the operators hope to charge extra for that feature. By supposedly disabling tethering, Verizon could manage an increasingly heavy data load on its network. As networks expand and devices grow more data-hungry, the demand on spectrum continues to grow. 

For Verizon, if the FCC determines that the tethering apps are being disabled and rules to reverse this practice, affirming Free Press' case, it will mean the company will need to shrink its already tight spectrum margins and put pressure on a better, longer-lasting resolution to the problem. 
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Adobe To Patch Flash Player on Android

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A patch for Flash Player 10.3 has been announced by Adobe Systems. The patch corrects an actively exploited memory-corruption vulnerability and affects PCs and Android mobile devices. Adobe also warned of critical vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader X, and has just released optimized versions of its AIR runtime development tool for multiple systems.

Adobe Systems issued a security Relevant Products/Services bulletin Tuesday concerning the discovery of a critical vulnerability in Flash Player 10.3 and earlier versions. Adobe expects to release a Flash Player update later this week for computers running the Windows Relevant Products/Services, Mac, Linux and Solaris operating systems. 

Adobe's advisory was unusual in that it also covers smartphones, tablets and other mobile Relevant Products/Services devices running Google's Android OS. By contrast, mobile devices are more locked down and susceptible to different forms of malware, data Relevant Products/Services corruption, and theft, Hilwa noted. As Sprint's new deal with Lookout Mobile Security demonstrates, U.S. wireless Relevant Products/Services carriers are paying attention to the security issues that their mobile subscribers may face. 

However, Hilwa doesn't see Adobe's forthcoming critical patch for Android mobile devices having any effect on how the carriers and mobile-device makers perceive Flash. The Adobe folks are truly persistent in continuing to improve Flash and AIR for mobile platforms, Hilwa observed.  The new version brings security fixes to your smartphone so it is advised to manually update the application if it didn't self install on your smartphone. 

The security enhancements the update brings are detailed in the Adobe security bulletin if you want to go through them. If not, just update by following the source link of using your Market application. It seems like we are seeing updates for Adobe's FlashPlayer for Android on a near daily basis, as the company has pushed out yet another update today. Version 10.3.185.24 fixes some security issues that were not addressed in the previous version (10.3.185.23). It is nice to see that Adobe is quickly addressing possible security holes with these incremental updates. The update is available for all phones and tablets running Android 2.2, 2.3, 3.0, or 3.1.
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Friday, June 24, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

New Features Firefox 5 Beta on Android

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Though Mozilla's increasingly popular web browser just got a refresh in March with the release of Firefox 4, Mozilla developers have been hard at work and have already cranked out another beta release. Firefox 5, announced on Tuesday, is now available for desktop devices running Windows, Mac, Linux, as well as for Android handsets. 

"Firefox [is] the first browser to support Do Not Track on multiple platforms," Mozilla claimed in its blog post. Firefox 5 also lets the mobile user tweak her privacy settings directly from her mobile device. The new Firefox beta is also slightly faster than previous releases, according to Mozilla. 

Mozilla, running on an accelerated update schedule, released Firefox 5 on Tuesday. As might be expected, the updates to the new browser are limited, with no changes on the scale of what users saw between Firefox 3 and Firefox 4. Baking the privacy feature into Firefox for Android, the browser becomes the first to offer Do Not Track on multiple platforms. 

The update also has a slew of enhanced background features such as support for CSS animations. ZDNet’s Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols said that this update hasn’t earned the right to be called Firefox 5.0, and his speed and compatibility test results showed Mozilla’s latest falling behind Google’s Chrome browser in speed and performance. 

Users can opt out of online behavior tracking by directing the websites they visit. In Firefox 5, ‘Do Not Track’ is even easier to find in the Firefox Preferences section. Firefox 5 is faster than Chrome, Opera on the SunSpider JavaScript test. One of the best features in Firefox 5 is it supports CSS3 Animations. CSS3 animations allow web developer to animate HTML elements, allowing for rich web animated web content based on open standards. Firefox 5 definitely flaunts an improved software, though you might not notice huge changes in the user-interface. 
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Zynga Launches CityVille on iOS "Android Version Expected"

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Following close on the heels of Hanging WithFriends’ release last week, Zynga Mobile announces today that its CityVille Facebook franchise will make move onto mobile devices with CityVille Hometown. The game is a standalone iOS title with some light connectivity to the Facebook version. Players can also recruit real life friends as neighbors. Zynga says the bumber of neighbors a player can have is capped at 500.

CityVille Hometown uses Facebook Connect to find and organize a player’s friends list. If players already have a CityVille game going on Facebook, Zynga says there will be connections through messaging, certain items that can be earned across both games and special help requests mobile players can fulfill for Facebook players. 

Zynga is launching its second mobile game in two weeks, and today is debuting its mobile version of its hit game CityVille, ‘CityVille Hometown.’ While the strategy and mechanics of the game is similar to its Web cousin, CityVille Hometown focuses on building small towns and villages instead of building a booming metropolis. Justin Cinicolo, General Manager of Mobility for Zynga, explained to us that instead of creating cities, players will look to create a bustling town, invite friends and in-game characters to be neighbors, and build out their communities.

CityVille Hometown can also access their Facebook friends who play CityVille and can swap resources and energy and send and receive special limited edition virtual items as rewards. Whereas the web version of CityVille was Zynga’s most “social game yet,” the mobile version doesn’t appear to be quite as social.

As for what type of player the game will engage, Cinicolo says Zynga is aiming for CityVille hometown to appeal to a broad audience, both in terms of age and gender. Zynga continues to churn out hits when it comes to its Facebook games. FarmVille was a big hit, CityVille became even bigger and the gaming giant’s newest game Empires & Allies is projected to surpass the monthly usage of CityVille and FarmVille. 
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Saturday, June 18, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,

Swype 3.0 for Android 3.0 Honeycomb BETA

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Pretty cool, yes? What you’ve got here is a version of Swype which supports many resolution sizes, this stack including such gems as qHD, HVGA, WVGA, QVGA, WQVGA, WSVGA, and FWVGA. PLUS there’s a horizontal word suggestion bar, the ability to learn as many new words as you like, and lots of hype! You’ve got the ability to craft this keyboard to your liking, with a button that activates several different configurations, another button that switches the keyboard from a two thumb to a one thumb size, and of course, again, the Swype function itself.

While if this exact edition of the app were released right this moment we’d do a bit of a double-take, we’ve got a pretty good feeling that the bugs will be squashed WAY before it’s release time. From what we’ve seen here, a promising vision of ease in keyboarding rests ahead, one that’s better than any other mobile keyboard on the market on any platform, mark my words.

This demonstration is done on the brand new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 standard wifi edition, the kind with the lovely TFT LCD display, a fine flat white back, and thinness that’s yet unsurpassed.  It’s one spiffy keyboard and, since you’re participating in the testing run, it’s totally free. 

The popular Swype keyboard for Google Android smartphones is now available for tablets running Android 3.x Honeycomb. Or rather, a beta version of Swype 3.0 is available for tablets. Swype’s claim to fame is that the keyboard allows you to “type” without lifting your finger. I took Swype 3.0 beta for a spin on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the keyboard looks great in both portrait and landscape modes. 

Swype 3.0 is also resizable, allowing you to shrink the keyboard to a more finger-friendly size and locate it either in the bottom center, bottom left, or bottom right poortion of the display. There’s just one major problem with Swype 3.0 beta: It’s slow. Hopefully the beta testing and bug killing process will speed things up. 
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Friday, June 17, 2011 | 0 comments | Labels: , ,
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