Apps, Apps, Apps, is the current trend in the mobile phone industry. This app-driven economy has even pushed the Android Market beyond the 80,000 app threshold according to recent comments from Android godfather Andy Rubin. That’s up from the 70,000 reported in July. In an uncoordinated but related piece of news, Nielsen announced today that games rank high on the totem of what users seek in app stores and markets. Nielsen surveyed more than 4,000 people and found that games are the category of apps most likely to be downloaded in the past 30 days. About 6 out of 10 smartphone users have acquired a game recently, beating out the 5 out of 10 to have downloaded a Weather application (Android specific numbers were not released but will most likely be available when Nielsen publishes the full report). Nielsen also reports some obvious figures, such as the most popular Android apps being Google Maps and Facebook, but it also shows something interesting about the average number of apps downloaded by each user. In December 2009, the average Android user downloaded 22 apps; that number has since increased to 25. That trend held true among all platforms as the average smartphone user has 27 apps, up from 22 last December. A quick scan at AppBrain shows that I have 67 apps installed, but 10 of those are strictly for review purposes. This sort of reminds me of the point I and several other people have made previously; it’s good to see Android get however many thousand apps but that’s probably 79,943 more than you’re going to need.
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Dinner’s over and you just spent $80 entertaining potential clients. You could wait until getting home before submitting the bill to an expense report, or you could just take out your Android phone and take care of things right away. ProOnGo Expense is an Android app designed for professionals on the go. (See what they did there?) ProOnGo is an easy solution for people who need to track expenses on their phone. Users can enter in the details of each meal, product, or expansible purchase and have it stored in the application. ProOnGo will track details for amount, purchase time, descriptions, categories, and the client associated with the expense. It can then snap a photo of a receipt and have it track the expenses online (pro account required). Data stored on ProOnGo is accessible in multiple ways. Expenses can be exported Excel, QuickBooks, an online account, or emailed to a supervisor or client. Using this feature requires a paid ProOnGo account that costs $0.99 per month. For $2.99, users can scan up to 30 receipts or business cards; $4.99 will get up to 50 receipts/cards. There’s no point in using ProOnGo Expense unless you’re willing to sign-up for one of these accounts. Exporting is available only to pro customers and that’s that the entire point of using ProOnGo. However, if you work at a job where you can submit expense reports, $0.99-$4.99 should be manageable. ProOnGo is ideal for people who want to immediately track expenses to ensure prompt submission and storage. KEY FEATURES Track expenses by entering information or photographing receipts Export to email, Excel, or QuickBooks CONS Pretty useless unless purchasing a pro account App: ProOnGo Price: Free Website: http://www.proongo.com
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Well, with a ton of Android tablets being announced this week at IFA you didn’t think that Toshiba would let Samsung steal all of the Android tablet limelight, did you? It appears that the electronics manufacturer is going in head-first with Android as well with the new Toshiba Folio 100 that should be making it to the European market in Q4. The tablet has all of the specs that you would expect in a "high performance" Android tablet. It boasts a 1024
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Motorola has been the most diverse member of the Open Handset Alliance, delivering Android phones in a variety of form factors. The latest design features a bite-sized phone with a 2.8 inch screen and a keyboard that doesn’t need to slide out. There’s something you don’t see everyday. The Motorola Charm, available for T-Mobile USA, just arrived at my door step, and I’ll be putting it through its paces over the next week. Along the way, I’ll be testing out the device’s keyboard, how apps perform on the QVGA resolution, and attempting to see how successful Motorola is at bringing another phone design to Android. Below is an unboxing video of the Motorola Charm. Take a quick look at the video for size impressions of the phone and box contents. After seeing these early thoughts, then let me know what you want to know about the device. Drop a line in the comments section and I’ll try to answer it in the full review set to come later this month.
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Android fans are always on the go, and that often means having a safe but accessible set-up when driving from Point A to Point B. Arkon sells a line of universal car mounts that provide such an experience. Arkon’s smartphone mounts fit a variety of devices, ranging from the HTC Desire, EVO, and Incredible, to the Motorola Droid, Droid 2, and Droid X (full list of phones supported available here). I tested three Arkon products for phones that are set-up in a variety of ways: Friction Dash Mount, Windshield Mount, and a Removable Air Vent Mount. Each is made of light but secure material. They all feature cushioned edges that prevent the phone from moving or being scratched. The Arkon Friction Dash Mount retails for $19.95 and a little on the hefty side depending on your vehicle. This may not be the best solution depending on your car; I found it difficult to install and remain in place because of my oddly shaped dash. The mount cannot be installed over where the airbag deploys, so setting this up was troublesome. However, I can attest to the quality of the Windshield and Air Vent mounts. The Windshield mount is much easier installing and feels more likely to work long-term. The hinge is easy to turn and comes with an optional adhesive to stay on the dashboard. Not bad for $19.95. The Air Vent mount, which costs $14.95, has practically the same holder. In fact, the main holding portion of each product tested is practically the same; the differences come into play in the mechanism used to mount each to the car. The Arkon line of products is stable, and easy to secure or remove your phone from the mount. Each mount is adjustable to rotate between portrait/landscape or into a better viewing position for navigation, music playing, or storage when driving. Each is reasonably priced and there are a variety of options. Visit Arkon.com to browse the full line. Here are a few photos and a quick video sample.
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Google Voice has been very much embraced by U.S. Android fans. Widgets have been embraced even more so by said fans. Now, there’s a cross-section between the two. After playing around the leaked G2 ROM on a Nexus One, a writer for DroidDog managed to spot a new widget for Google Voice. The widget looks to contain shortcuts for placing calls, sending text messages, and monitoring your account balance for international calls. Another screenshot from the device shows that there’s both an Inbox widget and one specifically for changing Voice settings. According to the writer, Voice will be among several Google apps that will be pre-loaded onto the device. I look forward to seeing this also get pushed out to current Voice users because I love shortcuts more than you know. [ DroidDog ]
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False starts be damned, the Droid Incredible upgrade to Froyo is on its way today. An update was rumored to begin last week but things never panned out; however, the Verizon Support staff has confirmed that the Incredible update is beginning August 27, 2010. Looking at my calendar, that just happens to be today. I’m sure you’ve stopped reading by now and ran to your phone to check if the update has been sent, but you may not be among the first batch of users to get the update. Keep in mind that not everyone will get the update today, so don’t fret if you see an update notice over the next two weeks. The update will bring 720p video recording, which should make for better quality videos that you’ll be able to play at a larger resolution. Today’s over-the-air update also adds required support for cool Froyo features like Chrome/Firefox to Phone and Adobe Flash 10.1. When you grow tired of those features, as if, also look out for better Exchange support and numerous changes to the Sense UI. [ Verizon Twitter ] Thanks, Cody!
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So you watched the HTC Desire with envy wishing that you could hold it in your hands? Now you can since the HTC Desire is on sale today for U.S. Cellular. The Desire is available beginning today for $199.95 after 70 mail-in rebate with two-year contract. If you live in an area served by U.S. Cellular, you can purchase the phone today at your local retailer or UsCellular.com . You’re probably going to like the phone, too. Just yesterday we posted a review of the Desire and found it to be a quality device. Read the full review here and decide if it’s what your heart desires. (Sorry, I’ve resisted saying that for months).
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Task and time management service Remember the Milk just made its iPhone application free. While the Remember the Milk mobile app previously required a $25 annual fee for a Pro account, RTM is now free with some limited functionality (users can sync manually only once a day and don’t get push notifications). Why can’t Android users get in on that deal? Well, they just might . In response to a user’s question about Android being able to use the app for free, RTM support team member Andrew Conkling replied that it was under consideration. But before the company extends the same deal to Android, it first needs to see how the change affects sales among iPhone users. Remember the Milk believes opening up the iPhone app will expose the service to more people, who may decide to upgrade. A Pro account will still be required to have unlimited auto-syncing, Smart auto-sync, and push notification. If this proves to be a good business strategy for RTM, we could see the Android version adopt a similar model. [ Remember the Milk , Twitter ]
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Gameloft makes incredible games, but not a lot of people know that because the company has decided against distributing its newer high-quality games in the Android Market. Further complicating matters is the bad will that the company earned when customers discovered that games purchased through the company were only available to install one time on one device, with no exceptions (Gameloft has since reversed this policy and allows multiple installs on one device). In what looks like an effort to earn back some good will and remind gamers that it has some of the best titles they’re going to see, Gameloft has instituted a “Try before you buy” program. Anyone with a capable device, the benchmark is typically a 1 GHz processor, can navigate to Gameloft.com and their phone will be redirected to a page listing titles available for trial. You can also visit www.gameloft.com/android-hd-games on your computer. There are 11 games to test, ranging from high-intensity first-person shooters to expansive adventure games like Hero of Sparta and Gangstar. View the full list of games at the Gameloft site. The following phones are supported: HTC Incredible, HTC Desire, HTC EVO 4G, Google Nexus One, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, Samsung Vibrant, Samsung Galaxy S, Motorola Droid, Motorola Droid X, Motorola Motoroi, Motorola Milestone and coming soon to the Samsung Epic 4G and the Motorola Droid 2. It would probably much easier for Gameloft to just distribute these apps in the Android Market but the company has made a conscious decision to sell its wares directly to consumers. This will at least make it easier for people interested in the games but hesitant to fork over cash without the protections afforded to them in the Market.
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It seems that Dell has taken their “good ol’ time” getting any phones into the US market, but as of today they have two available now on AT&T. The Dell Aero is available now for a mere $99.99 on two-year contract or $299.99 without it (AT&T only). The Aero hosts a 624Mghz Marvell Processor, a 5MP camera w/ LED flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3.5″ capacitive touchscreen, and Android 1.5 (considered to be upgradeable). The Aero has a decent form factor and has a custom user interface on top of the stock Android OS. The Aero also includes stereo headphones, a Micro USB adapter, and a 2GB MicroSD card. If you aren’t blown away it’s for good reason. Most people have been pretty down on the Aero, mostly because of it’s lackluster features. There really is no reason for the Aero to be $99 on contract; a phone that is this “entry-level” should be free on contract especially when you can pruchase an iPhone 3G for the same price. With only Android 1.6, a slower processor, and a UI that has been reported to be clunky, it makes me wonder what Dell is up to. Dell hasn’t really made the right impression in the US with the expensive Streak and they are definitely not hitting the right note with the Aero. Watch the price drop on the Aero in a matter of months. Via [ Dell.com ]
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ShootMe is a great app if you’re trying to take screenshots on your rooted Android phone. Shake the phone, take a picture, and mount your SD card to transfer it onto the computer. That’s simple enough, but there’s another way to take screenshots without ever leaving the browser. PicMe is a screen grabber developed by Johan Cloetens, the same person who developed ShootMe. The difference is that when PicMe launches, users see a URL that they can visit to see the latest snapshot of their phone. The website displays a screenshot of the user’s phone directly on the web, allowing them to Right-click > “Save As” the image and not have to mount their SD card or send to the cloud. A bonus to PicMe is that it can actually control the phone from the web. In the “Live” view on your PicMe website, users can click on icons to launch apps, open the settings menu, or even get a delayed look of the camera sent directly to the web. The functionality and practicality of this feature is rather limited, but it’s fun to play around with for now and could develop into something special. Your phone must be rooted in order for PicMe to work. Install this app.
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