All things new and intense in Technology, Media & Sports | "If it happened we covered it"
Posts tagged Android
App Review: PressReader
2 months ago
PressReader is one of the few apps out there that go above and beyond what is advertised. The app has most major publications from around the world.
Press reader is on on almost every mobile format from Android to iPhone and more. PressReader means you can have all your publications with no compromises in quality. The large screen of a tablet like the iPad works best if you want to read the paper. If you are on the go in the morning like me, I suggest that you use the iPhone. I use the app like a podcast. Every morning on the drive or metro to work. It reads me USA Today. Before I was only able to fit sections into my day. Now I can hear the who thing read. PressReader has auto-delivery of newspaper and magazine subscriptions. With over 2,300 newspapers and magazines from 97 countries in 55 languages, you will find something to read.
Pro: 2,300 newspapers and magazines from 97 countries in 55 languages. PressReader is the best app of its kind.
Con: You need internet connection for PressReader to read you the publications. It would be helpful for those that ride to metro or subway to not have to steam content.
Cost: Free to play up to $29.95 to commit.
Aye/Nay: This is a Aye. This is a slick easy to use program that has mountains of content. $0 to start, it’s worth it.
iTunes Link: PressReader
Send to KindleDid Valentine’s Day only remind you of your ex? The app KillSwitch will help you wipe them out
Was Valentine’s Day a reminder of a past relationship that you would love to forget? There’s an app for that. You can now remove all pictures and status updates featuring your ex. This app only works for Facebook so if you are following them on Instagram, you might want to just unfollow them. The KillSwitch app will identify a your ex from your Facebook friends. Then it will find every photo and status update from that person. It will remove every picture and post from them. Don’t worry they will never know you did this if you want to keep it on the low.
Your ex is not permanently delete should you want to revisit. A new folder will be created that you can access at anytime if you really want to go see her again. KillSwitch does not want to permanently delete photos because the co-founders “do not see KillSwitch as a vindictive tool but part of a greater healing process. They go on to say that “KillSwitch is for anyone fresh out of a break-up looking to move on.”
I gave KillSwitch a try and I must say it was fast and every effective in removing all traces of the person you want gone. I wonder however if you want to bring that person back to life so to speak how easy or hard would that be? Turns out its not possible. While all pictures are stored on a folder you can not restore them to your timeline. Keep mind this tool is not just for breakups you can use it for an end to a friendship or to remove coworkers from your Facebook. Pretty much anyone you want gone would be.
The app is available right now for Android but you will have to wait for a little bit on iPhone version. The app is $0.99. The company also has a great promotion going as well. A portion of the proceeds will go to the American Heart Association so “broken hearts can help mend broken hearts.”
Send to KindleWant Android on Windows 8? You can with BlueStacks
3 months ago
Have you ever wanted to play an Android game or use an Android app on your Windows computer? No? Well, keep reading anyway. BlueStacks makes a program called “App Player” for the Mac, Windows 7, Surface Pro tablet and Windows 8 devices. The very popular program gives users access to more than 750,000 Android apps. It’s a free download that adds new software to your system. BlueStacks App Player has been downloaded over 5 million times across OS X and Windows. BlueStacks has also formed partnerships that will have it’s App Player preloaded on more than 100 million PCs this year.
Rosen Sharma, CEO of BlueStacks said “We’ve had our users asking for a Win8 version for a long time. Now that it’s finally available on our website we’re looking forward to getting feedback and building on the experience. The number of mobile apps being written overall is expanding exponentially and Microsoft has not added apps to the handful it has. Our goal is to get people more value out of their Surface Pro and Win8 devices.”
“The response in the OEM community has been as strong or stronger than the surprising numbers we’ve been seeing from organic downloads,” said BlueStacks head of Global Sales and Strategic Alliances, Apu Kumar. “We seem to have reached a tipping point where we’ve brought mobile apps to so many computers worldwide, the remaining OEM’s customers are asking for these apps also. We’re the perfect conduit to get popular programs back on the PC.”
BlueStacks’ press release follows below.
BlueStacks Releases Surface Pro-Optimized Version of “App Player”
Announces GetYourAppsBack.com to fill widening Win8 App Gap
Campbell, CA February 12, 2013 – Mobile company BlueStacks today released a Surface Pro-optimized, officially supported Windows 8 version of its popular App Player software. The program is free to download and can run any Android app on the new Surface Pro. BlueStacks also announced a new site: GetYourAppsBack.com where new Windows 8 and Surface Pro users can download BlueStacks’ software and bring any mobile apps to their device. Recently, Google launched a Get Your Google Back video campaign that BlueStacks is paying homage to.
“We’ve had our users asking for a Win8 version for a long time,” said BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma. “Now that it’s finally available on our website we’re looking forward to getting feedback and building on the experience. The number of mobile apps being written overall is expanding exponentially and Microsoft has not added apps to the handful it has. Our goal is to get people more value out of their Surface Pro and Win8 devices.”
Having announced several OEM partnerships in recent months, BlueStacks also recently passed 5 million downloads of its mobile software across Mac and PC. The downloads all came from the company’s homepage, BlueStacks.com. Additional download numbers via OEM partnerships have not been released, though the company says they are healthy.
“The response in the OEM community has been as strong or stronger than the surprising numbers we’ve been seeing from organic downloads,” said BlueStacks head of Global Sales and Strategic Alliances, Apu Kumar. “We seem to have reached a tipping point where we’ve brought mobile apps to so many computers worldwide, the remaining OEM’s customers are asking for these apps also. We’re the perfect conduit to get popular programs back on the PC.”
The company’s site at GetYourAppsBack.com allows new Surface Pro and Win8 PC owners to get apps from their phone and any additional apps they want into their Win8 PC, running them fullscreen and touch-enabled. The site went live today
Send to Kindle3 Things You didn’t know about the Apple iPhone 5
8 months ago
Microsoft unveiled Xbox SmartGlas at 3E this past summer. It was hyped as a new vision for enjoying entertainment at home. Xbox SmartGlass is an app for Windows 8, Windows Phone, Android, iOS, PCs and tablets that connects to your Xbox 360. What it does is make your more interactive. One of the games that was showed off was Madden. The EA Sports rep posed a question “What if you could use your tablet to draw up a play in Madden NFL and then perform it to perfection on your TV?” With SmartGlass you will be able to do just that. To be fair. WiiU is betting that you will do this over and over again. However I bet you didn’t know you can already do this with some iOS games such as MetalStorm pictured below.
I am constant defender off almost all things Apple. (Sorry, MacBook Air cost just too much compared to a Ultra Book) Is the Galaxy S III a better phone than the iPhone 5? If you just go by specs, than yes. However if you use both you will be pro Apple iPhone. It is not about what is on paper it is about the whole experience. I had a friend text me and ask how to make folders. I explain how to do it. They texted me back asking; How does it know the name I wanted to give the folder? That is the staple of Apple. Thing just work naturally. That said, I, like many of you can remember a time before iPhones. One of the things I remember and miss was the ability to have an extra battery for travel. Sure I own a Mophie Juice Pack (Product) Red™ edition that fully charges by battery when critically low but it’s not the same as a quick switch. Also the extra wait is bothersome and you lose the beauty of the phone under cumbersome a case. As Android users like to remind me at every opportunity iPhones do not have a removable battery. Well turns out that Apple offers a battery replacement for $79, plus $6.95 shipping. I know it’s not the same as a quick switch but at lease Apple even disposes of your battery in an environmentally friendly manner. Sorry, FanBoys, Android phones win this round. So you may have already knew that. Here is what you didn’t know. Even in iOS 6, Siri is still beta form.
Apple completed testing of LTE in August 2012 using preproduction iPhone 5 units. They were all using iOS 6 beta software. They used LTE on GSM and CDMA networks. The internet part of the LTE test were done on a over dedicated web server. iPhone 5 did not get to go on the wild wild west of the internet instead the iPhone 5 browsed snapshot versions of 20 popular web pages. The iPhone 5 also set to receive mail once an hour. The Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks and Auto-Brightness were turned off but all other settings were default. One wonders if this is the best setting to use to extend battery life.
Send to KindleMotorola Mobility intros bezel less phone?
8 months ago
BGR is reporting that Motorola Mobility’s next mobile phone an edge-to-edge screen free of a bezel. What’s more it will work with LTE networks. Google owners of Motorola have a September 5 press conference in New York together with Verizon. Like the Nexus 7 tab, this may be Google’s 1st attempt to show everyone how an Android should be. Samsung has done a good job but however they took some shortcuts to get there.
Google brought Motorola for one reason and on reason only; to lock up its intellectual property. Namely its patents so that it can better protect its Android OS. Google paid a reported $12.5 billion for Motorola and this might be the payoff. They need to do what ever they can do to fight Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market. It’s been a slow summer but the Fall is when things heat up in the tech world. September is going to be very busy. Motorola have their press conference on September 5. Nokia is set to unveil its first Windows 8 phone on the same day. One week later the iPhone 5, Apple’s flagship program is set to be unveiled on September 12.
Send to KindleJeans + iPhone = a genius idea or foolery
11 months ago
Jeans with a pocket for your iPhone may seem a bit much but then again why not. I’m thinking that it is the most nerdy thing I have seen since the BookBook by TwelveSouth for the iPad and iPhone. Although I can see the appeal because you don’t have room in your pockets. The convenient thing about the pocket is that you can use the phone while it is in the pocket. The DELTA415 Wearcom jeans from Alphyn Industries let you hold your phone and look stylish. The transparent iPhone pouch has a protective denim cover flap that can be zipped shut. The iPhone pocket also has button hole for your earphones. The jeans the same price as a pair of nice diesel jeans at $160. You can get a pair here and while you’re there pick up the sweatshirt below.
Send to KindleFacebook adds feature called Find Friends Nearby. Here are the steps to test it out.
11 months ago
Facebook has just added a new feature that lets users find friends and potential friends that are close to them. You can go to http://fb.com/ffn or use the app to test the new feature out. The way it works is you log into Facebook and http://fb.com/ffn or just the Find Friends Nearby section. You can see both your own friends, as well as those you may not know if they are in that that section too at the same time. I think letting users meet new people rather than just the friends you already have makes Facebook more accessible adds favor to a seemingly stale product. It also feels like OK Cupid’s meet now feature. Find Friends Nearby option is available on Facebook’s iOS and Android apps. It’s here: menu > apps > find friends > other tools > Find Friends Nearby, which takes you to a page that looks exactly like the mobile web page. I think Facebook did this to reach as much people as possible. Note however you have to have Location service turned on for your browser for it to work.
The service comes on the heels of Facebook buying a mobile app that helps users discover people near them with similar interests called Glancee. We are not sure if the app is the reason why Facebook has this new feature but so far it works pretty well. Friendshake was to be the name of the new feature but it was changed to Find Friends Nearby. TechCrunch was the first to break this still developing story. A source named Pincombe points out, “Before, you would need to tell them your name, probably spell it for them, and then depending on how common your name is, you’d have to tell them which of the results is actually you. This makes it 2 taps if you save a bookmark.”
A Facebook engineer named Ryan Patterson said “I built Find Friends Nearby with another engineer for a hackathon project. While it was originally called ‘Friendshake’, we settled on ‘Find Friends Nearby’ for launch (the URL was a little bit of a homage to the previous iteration). For me, the ideal use case for this product is the one where when you’re out with a group of people whom you’ve recently met and want to stay in contact with. Facebook search might be effective, or sharing your vanity addresses or business cards, but this tool provides a really easy way to exchange contact information with multiple people with minimal friction. And there is, of course, the potential of how this basic service could be further developed: finding people who are friends of friends, or who have flagged similar interests in their social graphs; and it potentially could be something to incorporate as a push service, rather than one you have to be activate to use every time.”
NOTE: Find my Friend is a progress aka a beta test and could disrepair at anytime. The two ways to get to it are as follows
- Find Friends Nearby option is available on Facebook’s iOS and Android apps. It’s here: menu > apps > find friends > other tools > Find Friends Nearby
- http://fb.com/ffn
Send to KindleFlipboard says hello to Android
11 months ago
The iOS app Flipboard has been my default RSS reader since I discovered it last year. Now it has made it’s way to the Android world. I say world because it has previously been exclusively available on Samsung’s Galaxy S III. The app is a basic carbon copy of the iOS version.
The app not only supports RSS feeds but also all your social networks. I particularly love the Instagram integration on the app. You can Like and comment on a picture directly from within the app. The same goes for Facebook and Twitter. Flipboard is free and should be download right now. While it will work on tablets it is currently only optimized for 7-inch Android tablets. You do need to have a phone with at least Android 2.2 or higher. The app is again as stated free. Go get it at the local Android shopping locations; Google Play Store, Amazon Appstore, Nook Store and Samsung Apps store.
Send to KindleGoogle wins but not really
1 year ago
by Rubens Saintel
in Technology
The DOJ approved Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility awhile ago. Now, China’s Ministry of Commerce has done the same. The only thing they want though is that Android must remain open-source and freely available. So, Google will continue have a very fragmented OS on its hands. Google paid $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility. I do not understand why you would pay of an OEM if it does not give you an advantage.
Send to KindleDropbox gets more user friendly and gives away extra space
1 year ago
Photos page is going to make Dropbox an even more helpful tool than it already is. The Android app automatically uploads pictures. Now Dropbox will let you automatically upload your memories from any source. Well, any source that can get online to internet. It does not matter if it is a phone, camera or a tablet. Once it is online you can view your uploaded pictures on the web from the new Photos page.
Getting pictures off your camera has always been a huge pain. So we put our heads down and worked worked worked to ensure that automatic upload would play nicely with anything that might have a photo or video on it. With the newest version for Mac or Windows, you can just plug your camera, phone, or SD card into your computer and with a few clicks of the mouse all your photos and videos are in your Dropbox!
Automatic uploading from the desktop is similar to Apple’s Photo Stream. So one should think first before having every picture you take go to your desktop. Your photos are uploaded in their original size and quality. Thumbnails of your pictures are grouped by month. IF you move your mouse over a picture you will get information about the picture. If you click the picture you will get a full screen picture and the option to download and a link to share them.
Dropbox will give you 500 MB of Dropbox space for your first automatic upload. You can also get up to 3 GB extra for free. I loved Dropbox before; this just makes the relationship better.
Send to Kindle