News about App:
Swiftkey X beta available for download – it’s Personal!
Swiftkey is already hugely popular on Android devices, with many users paying the $2 just to get the full version, because it’s just that good! Now, Swiftkey has been listening and watching user feedback for some time, and based on those comments and ideas, they have released Swiftkey X beta for Free in the Android Market.
Grace Digital rolls out remote control app for the Android Market
Folks who are rocking to the world of Android smartphones as well as its growing Android Market presence will be pleased to know that there is another innovative piece of software coming your way thanks to Grace Digital, where the company’s innovative remote control application will offer users control over key internet radio functions including power, volume, channel selection, presets, alarm management, not to mention a whole host of other features.
Jawbone THOUGHTS unveiled
Mention the word “Jawbone” and most people would definitely have the image of one of those sleek looking Bluetooth headsets spring to mind. After all, Aliph did a pretty good job in getting word of their Jawbone series around, backing it up with some really solid performance where hardware is concerned, although certain quarters do feel that the physical size is still somewhat larger than most of the other Bluetooth headsets in the market.
Free books for your Kindle – and you can read them on the PC, Android phones and iPod/iPhone/iPad too with the free Kindle app
Avid reader? Want some freebies to burn through on the train such as Dracula and Alice in Wonderland? If you own a Kindel, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android phone or even just a PC then read on… … [visit site to read more]
Cycling for fitness this summer? There’s an App for that!
Whether you’re an avid cyclist, or have just picked up the habit to lose a bit of belly for your bikini, the LiveRider Kit from New Potato Tech will be of interest to you. It turns your bike from a plain old Raleigh into a fitness machine!
Apple Introduce Try Before You Buy to App Store – Or Do They ?
Apple has introduced a clever new feature to their App Store, allowing users to try before you buy, which will be a welcomed addition to users and struggling developers. We’ve been poking around the store all morning and are yet to come across the new feature. … [visit site to read more]
Handy Light for iPhone’s dirty little secret: tethering (video)
You may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone pay 99 cents for an iPhone app whose sole purpose is to flash bright, solid colors? We certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but Handy Light has a great little Easter egg that undoubtedly doesn’t jive with the folks at Cupertino HQ. Like Nullriver’s Netshare app before it, this little piece of software allows for SOCKS proxy tethering, without having to sign up for AT&T’s tethering plan. Instructions available via the video below, and if you’re looking to pick up the app yourself, better hurry — we can’t imagine Apple will let this one stay in the store for very much longer. Read the rest of this entry »
Adobe FlashTime to bring peer-to-peer video calls to Android (video)
With tongue wedged firmly in cheek, Adobe has named its latest little bit of demo software FlashTime and given it a quick spin to whet our appetites. Built using the forthcoming Air 2.5, this peer-to-peer video chat client harnesses your smartphone’s camera to get some direct visual communication going with your fellow Android lovers. Okay, so Android users already have other options for doing just this very thing, but the point being made here is that you can do just about anything with Flash, and since it’s Flash it’ll be easy to port around to other platforms. Skip past the break to see the demo, which has a multipeer chat session with a desktop Mac thrown in for good measure.
Android Market now has 100,000 apps, passes 1 billion download mark
Well, it may not come as a huge surprise considering all the steam Android‘s picked up over the past few years, but it’s a landmark nonetheless: according to AndroLib’s data, the Market now has 100,000 apps available for download. It’s also interesting to note that it took just under three months to get from 50,000 to the 100,000 mark. An even more impressive number, however, is the fact that over one billion applications have been downloaded. While it’s not clear if this number includes app updates or not, the number is massive either way, and they’re growing pretty steeply each month. AndroLib’s data also notes that over 14,000 applications became available during the month of June, and over 10,000 have appeared already in July. Hit up the source links for more stats, and a chance to see the numbers update in real time.
Android App: Save Your Fingers with Swiftkey
If you’re tempted by Droid X or one of the other Android handsets which are (or soon will be) floating around the market then you’ll want any idea of the type of apps you … [visit site to read more]
VW Passat takes the red pill, jacks into Nokia’s Terminal Mode (video)
We’ve seen flashy concepts of what Nokia’s seamless cellular infotainment initiative might look like, but it took a pair of Germans from Volkswagen to give us our first glimpse of Terminal Mode in action. At MobileBeat 2010, engineers showed off the video after the break, which shows how a prototype VW Passat might be rigged — in this case duplicating the phone’s display in its entirety (plus additional controls) on the auto’s larger touchscreen. Sadly, VW said the tech’s still a couple years away from commercial integration into vehicles, though they expect to see third parties selling Terminal Mode add-on kits and the like a bit sooner.
Swiftkey beta brings new keyboard, world class predictive text to Android
The software and language engineers at Swiftkey have been toiling on this app for the past two years, and at long last, it’s being made available for precisely nothing to anxious Android users. Hot on the heels of Swype’s own beta, the Swiftkey beta is now available to download directly from the App Market, and once installed (along with language packs of your choice), it can be used in place of your stock Android soft keyboard. We’ve never been the biggest fan of Google’s factory keys, and while we still feel that Swiftkey’s letters are a tad on the skinny side, it’s definitely an improvement. But that’s not where the magic’s at — this software has an uncanny ability to guess what your next word will be, and it actually looks at your prior SMS list (if allowed) in order to “learn” how you converse. In our early tests, we’re pretty darn impressed, and yes, it’s definitely worth the $0.00 price tag. Get your download on right now, or hop past the break for a video demonstration if you still need convincing.
SlingPlayer Mobile for Android review
The World Cup may have just ended, but whether you’re into football or not, there must have been a point over the last five weeks where you or someone you know moaned about missing a live goal. This is where SlingBox comes in — in case you didn’t know already, it’s a little networked box that piggybacks on your set-top box’s AV and IR ports, thus stuffing your TV experience into your computer or cellphone via WiFi or even 3G. Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Symbian, BlackBerry and iOS have been mingling with the SlingPlayer Mobile app for some time now, and for the same $29.99 tag, Android users can now also join the party. But is the app worth the money? Does it get on with our green bot? Read on to find out. Read the rest of this entry »
Google Open Spot alerts Android users to freed parking spaces
Oh, sure — this has certainly been tried before, but given that things like this need a critical mass of followers to be effective, we’re particularly jazzed about Google‘s own initiative. Dubbed ‘Open Spot,’ this bloody brilliant Android (2.0 and up) application enables motorists to search for unclaimed spaces that have been reported by other Open Spot users, and once they head elsewhere, it allows them to mark their spot as open and available. Once a spot is marked, the color gradually fades from red to yellow the longer it remains unclaimed. We’ve given it a quick test here on our end, and while it seems snappy enough (and yes, we definitely received a Karma Point for every space we dropped), the obvious omission is the ability to add notes to each marked place. There really should be a way to denote whether a spot is metered, covered by some wacky city permit law or submerged in a foot of water — here’s hoping the next update will enable comments. Hit that source link (or just open up the App Market) to grab it for free, and jump on past the break to see how your fellow city dwellers feel about this marvelous invention. Read the rest of this entry »
iTunes fraud takes trip to travel section?
Here we go again, unfortunately. Both 9 to 5 Mac and Ars Technica are reporting a new spat of potentially-fraudulent apps climbed the iTunes charts today, now in the Travel section. This time, the culprit’s purported to be Chinese-based WiiSHii and a series of “GYOYO” Chinese- and English-language maps. The two publications have a screenshot each showing the apps climbing the charts, as well as an apparent receipt from one customer who unwittingly found charges for the software on his or her bill — and yeah, we see them, too, albeit not topping any charts as of this writing. So yet again, we advise caution and double-checking your payment history. Le sigh. Read the rest of this entry »
Facebook Break Privacy Laws in Germany
Not all is well for Facebook. The social networking site has upset Germany’s data protection office.
aCircuit Board live wallpaper is aMazing (video)
Like teardowns? Ever worn a loose resistor in your pierced 80s earhole just to show the world how geek-punk you really are? Man, have we got the Android Live Wallpaper for you. aCircuit Board is a ¥99 (a bit more than a US buck) animated wallpaper available on the Android Market. Moving fan; binary clock; GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth status lights; a pulsating Android bot; and active circuit paths depending upon where you touch the PCB. Of course, it’s all configurable too, via the options menu. Buy hey, don’t take our word for it, see it in action after the break. Read the rest of this entry »
Shocker! Apple approves apps for using LED on iPhone 4 as flashlight
Nah, your sarcasm detector isn’t busted — we genuinely are surprised that Apple has lifted the iron fist and allowed a piece of hardware on its handset to be used for something other than Jobs himself intended. It may seem trivial to those who haven’t witnessed Apple block the most sensible of programs in the past, but allowing applications that enable end-user control of the LED camera flash is a pretty big deal. It’s one of those “sad, but true” moments, you know? As of now, the affordable (£0.59) Flashlight – For iPhone 4 and even more affordable (zilch) LED Light for iPhone 4 can be downloaded directly from the App Store and used to activate the LED whenever you darn well please, and for reasons that we needn’t mention, we’d suggest you go ahead and grab one… pronto.
Borders’ Kobo-powered eBook Store now live with 1.5 million titles, Android and BlackBerry apps coming soon
Exactly how many eBook stores do we need? Depends. If you own a dedicated e-reader then one is all you get. Own a tablet or smartphone and the world of eBook stores is pretty much yours for the taking through competing apps. Borders looks to be taking a hybrid approach by offering up the $150 Kobo, $120 Aluratek Libre (available July 20th), $170 Sony Touch, and $150 Sony Pocket eReaders and today’s launch of a self-branded eBook store powered by Kobo’s catalog of more than 1.5 million titles — “thousands” of which are free and available in a variety of formats including ePub (primarily) and PDF. Borders also has desktop PC and Mac apps ready for download in addition to a few apps listed as “coming soon” for both Android and BlackBerry devices — these join the apps already released for Apple’s iOS. It just went live so why not hit the source and have a browse.
Apple’s MobileMe iDisk App updated for iPad, redesigned Calendar goes beta
Too lazy to cancel your $99 MobileMe automatic subscription renewal and make the jump to one of the many free alternatives? Don’t worry, your lethargy has paid off this morning as Apple introduces its new MobileMe iDisk 1.2 app and a beta version of its new MobileMe Calendar. iDisk is pretty much the same app you know and ignore only now it’s optimized for the bigger iPad screen, tweaked to support iOS 4 multitasking, and offers the option to open iDisk documents in compatible apps — like using iBooks for PDFs for example. The faster loading MobileMe Calendar beta (login to MobileMe to request an invite) features redesigned day, week, and month views; calendar sharing amongst friends, family, and predators (if you like); the ability to publish a calendar to a team or group; and event invitations to anyone holding an email address (me.com or not) with RSVP support and automatic change notifications. Best of all, the Calendar beta uses the CalDAV standard, you know, just like that free Calendar from the company that rhymes with frugal. Read the rest of this entry »
Twidroid acquired by TweetUp, soon to be bundled with new Android phones as Twidroyd
Remember our old friend Twidroid? You know, the app that came out as cream of the crop in our little Android Twitter client round-up? Things are about to get interesting again — following today’s acquisition of said app, SEO firm TweetUp has renamed its latest trophy to Twidroyd to avoid upsetting a certain Mr. Lucas. The bigger news, though, is that we’re told this action-packed app will be preloaded “on millions of upcoming Android phones from five of the leading handset manufacturers.” That’s a pretty bold statement to make, especially considering it wasn’t long ago when Twitter Inc. pushed out its own Android client, but we’ll happily accept this freebie anyway. Read the rest of this entry »
Twidroid acquired by TweetUp, soon to be bundled with new Android phones as Twidroyd
Remember our old friend Twidroid? You know, the app that came out as cream of the crop in our little Android Twitter client round-up? Things are about to get interesting again — following today’s acquisition of said app, SEO firm TweetUp has renamed its latest trophy to Twidroyd to avoid upsetting a certain Mr. Lucas. The bigger news, though, is that we’re told this action-packed app will be preloaded “on millions of upcoming Android phones from five of the leading handset manufacturers.” That’s a pretty bold statement to make, especially considering it wasn’t long ago when Twitter Inc. pushed out its own Android client, but we’ll happily accept this freebie anyway. Read the rest of this entry »
Android App: PhoneWeaver – A Smarter Way to Automatically Control Profiles
You know the situation- You’re at the cinema or in a meeting and your bank decides now is the time to send you an email or your long lost friend decides to phone for a chat, your hilarious new ring tone goes off at full volume and you are left … [visit site to read more]
