The standard Android calendar homescreen widget is a disappointment to say the least, being only able to display one single event in a 2
Read More...Posts made in June, 2010
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Rebtel, one of the largest independent VOIP companies, announced the newest version of their Android application, which is set to be released in the market today. Most notable among the list of features in this upcoming version of the application is the promise of completely free international calls between two Android phones. Rebtel works by running in the background of the default Android dialer. Whenever an international number is entered in the dialer, the call is automatically intercepted and routed via Rebtel instead of the user’s carrier. Instead of actually calling an international number, you call a local number which forwards the call to the international number via VOIP. If the call is made to another Android phone with the application installed, it is free. Rebtel claims that calls to any other phone will cost a fraction of the normal rate for international calls. Mobile VOIP calling is nothing new to most people these days, and a growing number of consumers are transitioning to this form of communication in one way or another. Currently, Skype is the market-leader in VOIP calls, offering some competitive rates of their own on most calls and free Skype-to-Skype calling anywhere in the world. However, unlike Skype, Rebtel users aren’t forced to only use the service on Wi-Fi or deal with the full version of Skype being available only to Verizon customers. Currently, Rebtel services customers in more than 50 countries. They have no monthly fees, no connection or membership fees, and reportedly no hidden fees involved in using Rebtel. For more information on the company, or to start using Rebtel, you can go to http://www.rebtel.com . The latest version of Rebtel for Android (1.1) should appear in the Android Market shortly.
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Voice command and voice input for Android are great features, but they aren’t always available everywhere. Vlingo is an Android 2.0+ app that adds deeper voice control options for the phone, and frees you from becoming the idiot driving down the highway while looking down at your phone in an attempt to text someone. Vlingo includes a widget that quickly launches the app and then awaits command. To send a text, simply say “Text Katie that I have to move dinner up to 6 PM since movie starts at 9. Is that okay?” Vlingo will then send the message to Katie. The same can be done when you need to send someone an e-mail, search the web, dial contacts, update Twitter, open an application, or find locations in Google Maps. Keeping the hands-free theme going, Vlingo also includes SafeReader, a feature that lets users hear incoming text & email messages while you drive (or sit at your desk). Vlingo costs $9.99 in the Android Market but we have 20 copies to giveaway for free. Here’s the simple way to snag one: Go to the Androinica Facebook page and become a fan. Write something on our wall – words of encouragement, suggestions for the site, etc. – and end the message with #vlingo . We will then select 20 people at random and contact winners on Thursday, July 1, 2010 . Current fans are also eligible. All entries must come from someone with Android 2.0 or higher (Droid, Desire, EVO, Nexus One, etc.) because Vlingo is not compatible with previous Android versions. Anyone who joins the group but does not leave a comment with the words #vlingo will not be entered. Good luck, everyone. Scan barcode to download Vlingo from the Android Market
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In what seems to be our endless quest in finding excellent media player replacements for Android, today we are going to look at the brand new music app, FLiP . FLiP appears to be a “very comfort control MP3 Player” (or so the awkwardly translated market page says) with simple features that gets the job done with little quirks. When opening the app for the first time you are presented with the menu screen with Album, Artist, Playlist, Single, and Setting choices. When choosing any of the music choices (album, artist, single) you are taken to you music which is organized in the fashion you chose. There is also a nice search box at the top in case you have a ton of music on your device so you can navigate to it quickly. When you have picked a song you are given a decently formatted music control screen complete with scrubber, repeat, shuffle, a “123″ button (still can’t figure this one out), skip forward and backward, play/pause, fast-forward/rewind, and menu button that gives you the menu choices you are given at first. There are also gesture settings, ability to use a bluetooth remote control, auto play settings, as well as many other small preferences settings that can help while using the app. To be honest, there really isn’t too much to the FLiP music player and that may be what makes it somewhat compelling. A few qualms with this app is that it doesn’t go for the “standard” Android interface meaning that when pressing the menu and back buttons you are not presented with what you are normally use to; a menu view and back the the last thing you were looking at respectively. I suppose that these are things that can be added in the future and they do not necessarily take away from the experience. KEY FEATURES fully functioning Android music player replacement album, artist, playlist, singles, and settings view complete audio playback controls including play/pause, fast-forward/rewind, previous/next, repeat, shuffle, etc. transparent widget setting including gesture control, sleep, auto play, play pause toggle, widget type, etc FREE! CONS not the “standard” Android interface (back button and menu button do not perform “usual” actions) somewhat confusing way of getting back to your lists of music APP: FLiP PRICE: FREE WEBSITE: http://homepage1.nifty.com/tom016/FLiPf/jp/
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Android users tend to pay close attention to devices, but once you already have a phone, it becomes about the apps. Sony Ericsson has launched a new website in recognition of that reality, offering Android users a chance to discover and share recommendations for the best Android apps. Sony created Mash-App.com to help X series users, but it opened the door to others as well. When someone visits the site, they see recent “Essentials” and the most popular apps. Then it breaks things down by popular tags and user-recommended packs called a “Mash.” Users can then scan a barcode to download from the Market. An on-device companion app is coming soon according to the Sony product blog . This is all nice, but there’s one major problem with the site: people mash apps that are not accessible to X10 users. Twitter is only available to Android 2.1+ devices, meaning XPERIA users won’t be able to use it until this fall when the device is upgraded from Android 1.6. I’ve also spotted packs that include apps that lack QVGA compatibility, which is required for the X10 Mini/Mini Pro to access them in the Android Market. I’m sure XPERIA users will probably be used to not being able to access certain apps by now, but it’s still strange to me that Sony made a site for highlighting apps, yet people who use their products are the ones least likely to benefit from it. Maybe things will improve once they can apply some filtering or the XPERIA line of Android phones is updated.
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QuickDesk beta was released into the Android Market just four days ago and it has already gained some serious momentum, surpassing 10,000 downloads as of yesterday afternoon. The developer is prompt to point out that QuickDesk is not meant to replace your home screen, but actually work alongside of it to enhance the overall user experience. The concept is both simple and brilliant. A double-tap on your home button will bring up your QuickDesk homescreen, where you now have immediate access to up to 20 of your favorite applications. You don’t have to leave whatever you’re doing (unless you actually select another application) because it opens on top of what is on screen at that moment. And if you open QuickDesk and decide you don’t need to open another app, you can press the back button and resume what you were doing before with no delays. One of the greatest benefits to this would be in a scenario where you open a browser or a twitter/facebook application or anything that requires a data connection only to remember that you have Wi-Fi turned off. Instead of having to get back to the homescreen, enabling Wi-Fi through Settings or a widget and then re-opening the application, you can instead just open QuickDesk and click on the Wi-Fi widget to turn it on and press the back button to be right back where you were without having to re-open anything. QuickDesk is a single 5 x 4 screen, so you can put up to 20 applications on it for easy access to them from within any other application. You can also opt to use some of that space for widgets. I use a Touiteur widget on mine, because I like to share links for articles that I read in my browser all the time. Before QuickDesk, I had to copy the URL, leave the browser, open my twitter application, share the link, and then get back to the browser to continue what I was doing. Now, from the browser, I can open QuickDesk, share the link through the widget, then press the back button and be exactly where I was in the browser just moments before. It’s hard to imagine that any Android user couldn’t benefit from the convenience of QuickDesk. Despite the fact that it is in beta, it is already a very impressive application and seems professionally done. Features Easy access to up to 20 of your favorite and most-used applications or widgets. Works without having to close any applications Does not replace your default home screen. Cons Only one screen. While this is probably sufficient for average users, power users like myself use 20-30 applications daily as well as several widgets, so multiple screens to put my favorite things would be nice. App: QuickDesk Beta Price: Free Website: http://www.ruqqq.sg/blog/quickdesk/
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Google has announced that the company has used its little-known remote kill function that allows it to uninstall apps from Android devices. On the Google developer blog, Rich Cannings explained that Google has removed two applications by a research team that “intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads.” The app was not malicious and did not have access to private user data. Researchers voluntarily removed the app, but Google still elected to remove it from users who had yet to uninstall the “practically useless” application. Google was able to remotely uninstall the application and send a notification to affected users. There’s been quite a bit of talk about security threats on Android, notably a report yesterday claiming that 20% of Android apps pose a threat . However, as staff writer Jorge Parrales noted, the security firm’s report was somewhat misleading (and they just happened to sell the fix for the security threat; how convenient). Google’s use of the application removal shows that in the event that a malicious application is actually discovered in Android, it can quickly stop potential threats from spreading. If users are smart enough to install apps only from trusted sources and actually read the permission requests when installing, they should be fine. This remote removal functionality — along with Android’s unique Application Sandbox and Permissions model, Over-The-Air update system, centralized Market, developer registrations, user-submitted ratings, and application flagging — provides a powerful security advantage to help protect Android users in our open environment. – Rich Cannings
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It looks like the Motorola Droid X has already received its first software update, and no, its not Froyo. Of course, some previous information already told us to expect that update to arrive sometime in late August. In the meantime, the Droid X has been updated from version 1.13.514 to version 1.13.516.en.US. Unfortunately what the update does remains a mystery. The change log reportedly points users over to the Motorola page, but details seem to be non-existant. That said, its been speculated that it was just some minor corrections that were needed going from demo mode to release mode. With that, if any of the readers have a Droid X on hand, we would love to hear your thoughts on the update. [via AndroidCentral ]
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Coming quickly after the official unveiling of the Droid X, we are now seeing some of the first accessories which include a car dock and a home dock. Both products are currently listed on the Motorola website, and the official names are the Car Mount for Droid X and the fancier sounding Multimedia Station for Droid X. In terms of pricing, expect to pay $39.99 for the car mount and $49.99 for the multimedia station. Plus, in regards to the multimedia station, that will work best with an HDMI cable and that will set you back an additional $19.99. As for the Car Mount, this is fairly self-explanatory in description in that it will allow you to use your Droid X in your car. Basically its a car cradle that will automatically launch a dashboard app when your phone is docked. That app will then offer quick and easy access to features that will often use in a car such as Maps Navigation, music, voice search and calling. The car mount will also keep your phone charged while in use and has a 3.5mm jack that will allow for a connection to your car stereo for better sound. Moving on to the Multimedia Station and you will find a home dock that will allow you to dock and charge your phone. Of course, there is also the option to connect an HDMI cable and display video and images on your HDTV. All in all it looks like two decent accessories for Droid X owners. [via Motorola ]
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What’s your favorite song? Is it Arcade Fire’s “In the Backseat” or Muse’s “Resistance”? Maybe you’re the type who like’s some obscure Bolivian rock band that I’ve never heard of but would love if I just gave them a chance. Whatever it is that gets your speaker box pumping, Thumbplay is offering readers in the United States a chance to play those songs on their phone whenever the mood strikes. Thumbplay is an on-demand music streaming service that plays songs on-demand. Users can access a streaming library of more than 8 million songs, use offline playback, purchase songs from the app, and mark bookmarks. We already gave away several Thumbplay accounts (winners of that contest will be contacted shortly) and can now offer one-month extended trials to eligible users. The first 18 people to leave a comment naming your favorite song from a valid e-mail that you check and you will receive a free one-month membership on Thumbplay rather than the standard 3-day trial. Winners must meet the following criteria: Winners must submit a valid e-mail address (or comment through Facebook/Twitter/OpenID) Winners will receive a 30 Day Free Trial Winners must have a U.S. phone number, live in the U.S. Winners must not be an existing Thumbplay Music customer or previous giveaway winner Winner must have an Android phone w/ an Operating System of 1.6 or higher
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When I got my HTC Incredible and started playing with it I was surprised and maybe even alarmed that there was a radio on the device. Yeah, a radio. Like scan for channels and listen to things that you have no control over, radio. I couldn’t remember the last time that I actually “scanned” the radio for some tunes or talk. Well, today I can bring back that radio nostalgia to my Android device with Wunder Radio (except this time with way more control). Wunder Radio is a new Android app that allows its users the ability to stream live radio from all over the world. Wunder Radio is developed by Weather Underground and gives users a ton of radio stations and genres to listen to. Listeners can choose local weather reports, talk radio, sports, music, browse by location, and even browse world stations. When you choose one of the categories you are presented with genres that help you widdle down your choices. For instance under talk you are presented with business, conservative, entertainment, news, progressive, public/NPR, religious, specialty talk, sports talk, and technology. And under those genres you are presented with even more choices. It is crazy and awesome. When choosing a station the streaming is fluid and didn’t give me any problems at all. I listened to some metal, rap, country, and classical on some headphones and even in my car and the audio was decently clear and stable. Mind you any audiophiles out there will surely be dissapointed; I will imagine that most stations are well under even 128kbps. But for radio streaming it is totally acceptable. I only had one hiccup when trying to access a Japanese station but I imagine that it was more on the station’s feed than the app itself. With a good 3G connection or Wi-Fi, audio starts streaming in a matter of seconds with no stutter. Other features of Wunder Radio is the ability to add your own online radio URL. This is a great addition, especially if you listen to online radio and your favorite shows or stations are not included. There is also an “Add to Favorites” button allowing you to add stations that are playing to your favorites list. One problem that I encountered was when I was on a list browsing genres I opened the menu and hit the “Add to Favorites” button. Wunder Radio forced closed but then “gracefully” recovered once I hit OK. It may just be overlooked and I am sure that this isn’t too difficult to fix, but with a $6.99 price tag, I want to see something that is very well polished. I still think that the app is worth the money as its pros far outweigh the one con. KEY FEATURES ability to stream online radio from all over the world ability to locate local stations by GPS listen to the current weather in your area add favorite stations to your favorites list for easy retrieval add your own favorite online radio stations by URL a VAST selection of music and talk CONS force closes when pressing “Add to Favorites” on anything other than the “station view” App: WunderRadio Price: $6.99 Website: http://www.wunderradio.com/
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Good news for those looking to read ebooks on an Android smartphone as Kobo has released a new ebook app. The app is called eBooks by Kobo, and its currently available in the Android Market. The app is available as a free download, however its likely to end up costing you a few bucks in the long run because in addition to the ability to read ebooks, there is also a book store attached. According to the details on the Kobo website, the book store is currently offering over two-million eBooks as well as “hundreds of thousands” of free titles some of which include what they describe as “today’s hottest sellers.” Personally I have used the Kobo Book Store in the past and have been able to easily find just about everything I wanted, including the currents such as those on the NY Times Bestsellers list. As for the eBooks by Kobo app, that offers support for the ePUB format and works similar to how some of the other major ebook apps work in that you can buy a book on your device or by way of the website store and have it ’sent’ to your device. Additionally, because Kobo is a cross platform app you can sync your reading library as well as bookmarks across devices. And for those wondering, Kobo has apps for just about everything including Mac and Windows computers, other smartphones and even a dedicated ebook reader. With that, the eBooks by Kobo app can be found in the Market by searching for kobo . [via EON ]
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The “social gaming” trend isn’t going anywhere any time soon, evidenced by the popularity of games like Farmville, Mobster, and now Sorority Life, which was just released for Android. Sorority Life is a game in which players aim to become the most popular girl on campus. Players earn points by recruiting other sorority sisters to join their house (sorority), work at a job, and take on rivals in catty fights that increase their bank. Much like Mobsters, players can use their “brownie points” to purchase upgrades in the form of accessories, outfits, and level upgrades. Obviously I’m not the target audience for Sorority Life, but there is a sizeable audience for these types of games. A quick scan of my Facebook account – required in order to play the game – reveals that my sister-in-law, two cousins, and several friends have caught the bug. Sign-up for Sorority Life on Facebook and then download the app from the Android Market to start your own pledge process.
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No more workout notebook No more stopwatch No more mp3 All you need is DroidFit DroidFit was designed by serious body builders. We know what a body builder wants and needs when going to the gym. Key features of DroidFit includes Most accurate formula to calculate your 1 Rep Maximum. Record weight training logs automatically. Graphic charts for tracking your weight lifting and body stats progress. Programmable workout plans and with a database containing hundreds of weight training exercise (most with easytofollow pictures more pictures coming soon) Adjustable resting timer between sets.
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Samsung’s busy week of announcements got busier as AT&T have confirmed that it will carry the Samsung Captivate , a “Galaxy S smartphone.” The Captivate is AT&T’s fourth promised Android device, but it looks to be the first with some specs to keep pace with other phones being released on rival carriers. For one, the Captivate includes a six-axis sensor designed to improve game functionality when applicable. The phone also has a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, Android 2.1, and a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, which Samsung claims will be the premiere device for graphics processing. As we’ve come to expect with Android phones, it also includes the manufacturer’s own take on social networking aggregation called the Social Hub. That is where users will find a one-stop destination for e-mail, instant messages, Facebook/Twitter updates, text messages, and more. Carrying-out the integration theme will be a consolidated inbox and a Google Calendar/social networking calendar mash-up. AT&T still hasn’t warmed up to Android as much as other carriers, but the Captivate is a start. You can bet based on recent history that it will probably be prevented from installing apps outside of the Android Market, meaning you won’t be able to gain access to some of the great apps that are released in beta. Other than that, not bad, AT&T. Pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. More specs via AT&T Super AMOLED 4” touchscreen display – improved off-axis viewing and better outdoor visibility Six-axis motion sensor, 3D graphics engine, and surround-sound audio 5 MP camera with HD video recording (720p) 16 GB on-board memory for photos, videos, and music – expandable memory up to 32 GB Samsung’s All Share application, which enables inter-device connectivity through DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS, and Bluetooth® 3.0 technology Tri-band 3G connectivity and quad-band GSM technology, which allows AT&T customers to make calls in more than 220 countries
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The Pogoplug is one of my favorite devices in my home setup, and for those unfamiliar, the Pogoplug attaches to your home network and then you connect a USB hard drive which in turn gives you an place to store or back-up files. Plus with great mobile apps you can then access those files from just about anywhere. Of course, the your Pogoplug account is also available by way of a desktop browser, but its nice to have access with a mobile phone — better yet, and Android phone. Pogoplug originally released their Android app a while back, however they have returned today with version 2.3.1. The app remains available as a free download, but you will need a Pogoplug setup in order to use it. That said, as long as you have a device, another nice perk comes in the form of no monthly fees. Anyway, back to the task at hand, the new features in version 2.3.1. Those include improvements to search in the form of being able to quickly and easily find and stream music files as well as saving and sharing files that are on your Android phone back to your Pogoplug. Additionally, you will also be able to search for a file across multiple Pogoplug drives (assuming you have more than one USB drive attached) as well as create a new folder on your Pogoplug — from your Android phone. In short, if you are a Pogoplug user this will be an app you want to update. And if you are not a Pogoplug user and find yourself needing access to your home files on the go, this may be a good solution to check out. With that, look for Pogoplug version 2.3.1 to hit the Android Market this afternoon.
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UPDATE: I’ve tested this on four EVO’s and haven’t seen this problem occur, but some users are reporting that they are also seeing it happen on their device. If it does happen on your phone, browse through the folders mentioned and see if any sensitive information is exposed. ————- If you read anything today about HTC Sense phones having a “bug” that takes screenshots of your browser history, resist the urge to panic and run screaming through the city streets. What’s actually happening is that HTC Sense phones take snapshots of your bookmarks in order to create thumbnails. That’s it. There’s no random snapshot exposing your banking password and no malicious activity afoot. It’s the very same image that you see when accessing bookmarks through the browser or home screen widget. Update: Some users are reporting they see non-bookmark screenshots as well. BGR first reported that the Incredible had a “privacy issue” that even a factory reset couldn’t erase, and suggested that all Sense phones may have this problem. However, a factory reset does nothing to erase these images because HTC phones other than the Incredible store these screenshots on the SD card; factory resets erase the ROM, not the SD card. Likewise, a factory reset doesn’t erase the Incredible’s internal storage, which is why the files remain. Furthermore, these screenshots do not reveal anything that could compromise your data. Since passwords are not displayed onscreen, the phone won’t reveal that information. Navigate to the “.bookmark_thumb1” folder to see for yourself if any of your privacy has been violated. The same thumbnails you use to access bookmarks are the same images stored on the phone. (Incredible owners should use internal storage “emmc” folder). Want to get rid of these images? It’s simple. Delete/format your SD card like you already would if you were selling the phone. If you have an Incredible, delete the internal storage just as you would if you were getting rid of the phone.
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It looks like some new numbers on Android usage have shown up, and things are looking up for some of the more recent versions of the operating system. In fact, Android 2.1 usage has increased from 45.1% up to a nice even 50%. Which in turn also means that some of the older versions are beginning to see less and less usage. Android 1.5 has dropped from 27.6% down to 24.6% while 1.6 also saw a little drop going from 26.8% down to 25.0%. Interestingly enough is that Android 1.1, 2.0 and 2.0.1 have remained at the very minor 0.1%, 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. And while these may not be huge changes overall, we do have to remind you that the last update came just two weeks prior. In short, its nice to see more and more devices finally moving up to the later builds. [via Android Developer Blog ]
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Well written genealogy viewer for the Android. Allows you to carry all your genealogical data including notes and sources and always have them available. Easy to use and well supported. Lets you store an unlimited number of trees search quickly and provides views of families individuals pedigree trees and descendants. All facts events notes and sources are at your fingertips. Use your own software to record data on your home computer save it as a GedCom file then easily import it into Family Bee.
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Billminder tracks your bills on your Android phone and keeps all your bills up to date. You can manage account information see totals for your monthly bills notify the upcoming due bill and lots more.
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