TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 13 – May 19, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Weekly_Recap

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. Google I/O was this week, so it’s no surprise that it dominated the headlines. Google officially unveiled their new unified messaging service called Hangouts and their new gaming service called Play Games Services. They also unveiled their new streaming music serviced called Play Music All Access. The only hardware announcement was the Galaxy S 4 Google Edition. All in all, it was an exciting event that featured a lot of new stuff for development, which is what Google I/O is all about. Even though I/O was the focal point for the week, there was still a lot of other news, so it’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

Best Android music playing applications [May 2013]

Reviews

Quiz of Seers [Brain & Puzzle]

WeVideo – Video Editor [Media]

Google I/O

Re-experience all three exciting hours of the Google I/O 2013 keynote right here

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Android activations account for nearly 1/7th of the world’s population with 900 million total activations

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Play Store will bring more personalized recommendation, apps that will be “Designed for Tablets” and new All Access music subscription service

Google announces unlocked Samsung Galaxy S 4 with stock Android coming June 26 for $649

Google Play Developer Console gets a major injection of new features

Google announces Google Play for Education at Google I/O 2013

New Google Maps makes the Map the UI just a little better and easier for all

Google Search gets expanded functionality for users, brings new cards and improved Voice Search abilities

Google Hangouts officially announced at Google I/O, now live in the Google Play Store

Google Hangouts requires permissions to receive, read, and send SMS messages, could support be added soon?

Google Hangouts “easter eggs” revealed, include ponies and dinosaurs

Gmail and Google Wallet can now help you get money to people in your life

Google TV gets bumped to Android 4.2.2 and the latest version of Chrome

Hands on with the Map Diving simulator

Hands on with NVIDIA Shield

Quick look at the Google Street View Trekker

Hands on with WeVideo’s video editing solution for Chromebooks

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 16, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Daily_Dose

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Apps

SMS integration within Google Hangouts on its way

PBA Bowling Challenge adds multiplayer support thanks to Google Play’s game service

Google

Next version of Android to feature Bluetooth Smart support, expected in the coming months

Game over June 30th for Google+ Games

» Read the rest

Google Wallet arrives for additional Sprint and U.S. Cellular smartphones

by Roy Alugbue on
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Google officially announced via Twitter that its Wallet service is now available for the Sprint variations of the Galaxy S 4 and HTC One smartphones, as well as the Sprint and U.S. Cellular variations of the Galaxy Note II smartphone as well. This means that all owners of those phones will need to do is simply visit the Play Store and grab the latest update in order to get in on the awesome payment action. Naturally, it would be nice for more devices to take advantage of the great service, but at least Sprint as usual, is ensuring its customers can take advantage of the awesome service.

Hit the link below to grab the latest update.

 

 

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Play Store download link

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for April 22 – April 28, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Weekly_Recap

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. We finally published our review of the HTC One and the Galaxy S 4 review is coming very soon. Meanwhile we published a slew of GS4 guides to help you with all those new features that Samsung introduced with their latest and greatest phone. We had tons of Google Glass news, and it appears Google might not introduce Key Lime Pie at Google I/O afterwall. Finally, we posted a couple of app reviews. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Contests

Contest: Win 1 of 10 tickets to Lookout’s Annual Kickoff party at Google I/O

Guides

How to set up and use HTC TV and the IR blaster on the HTC One

Samsung Galaxy S 4 initial setup and changes to TouchWiz

How to set up and use Air View and Air Gestures on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

How to set up and use Smart Pause and Smart Scroll on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

For the beginner: How to set the Galaxy S 4 to Easy Mode

Samsung Galaxy 4 camera overview and how to use the Dual Camera function

How to take a Drama Shot and Erase unwanted objects with the Samsung Galaxy S 4 camera

How to make Animated GIFs and add sound to pictures on the Galaxy S 4

How to set up and use WatchON along with the IR blaster on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

How to create and share a Story Album on the Galaxy S 4

Reviews

HTC One review: The best phone on the planet, but is it good enough?

Blood Runner [Arcade & Action]

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for April 15 – April 21, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Weekly_Recap

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. The Galaxy S 4 release dates for U.S. carriers were finally revealed and the Motorola X continues to keep us intrigued. Speaking of intriguing, Google Glass Explorer Editions are starting to roll. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

How to securely lock your phone while using Facebook Home as your launcher

How to get your status bar back full time with Facebook Home

How to turn off Facebook Home and go back to your stock launcher

How to set up and use BlinkFeed on Sense 5 with the HTC One

Sense 5: All the changes you need to know

Hands on Tutorial: Sense 5 camera, HTC Zoe, and Video Highlights

Reviews

Mr. Eyes [Sports & Puzzles]

MyPermissions [Tools]

Nexus 10 Book Cover Review

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for April 17, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
tagged

TalkAndroid_Daily_Dose

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Accessories

Samsung announces official accessories for Samsung Galaxy S 4

Apps

Falcon Pro gets major update and brings plenty of new goodies along for the ride

Google

Google Fiber officially coming to Provo, UT

Google Glass

eBay listing currently shows a developer edition of Google Glass up for sale, for the person who has lots of money to spend that is

Google Glass Explorer Edition unboxing videos hit YouTube

Phones

Verizon getting the LG Optimus L3 as part of its prepaid lineup

Motorola X Phone might come in 20 colors

Samsung Galaxy S 4 officially confirmed by Sprint and T-Mobile

U.S. Cellular opens Samsung Galaxy S 4 pre-orders, offers S View flip cover deal

Tablets

HP Slate 7 tablet confirmed for arrival in the UK on May 1st

Miscellaneous

Various reports indicating that Samsung’s flexible display will be delayed

Amazon Appstore expanding to 200 new countries

New “power felt” fabric could power your phone and more

 

 

 

 

Samsung announces official accessories for Samsung Galaxy S 4

by Jeff Causey on
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Following up this morning’s official announcement regarding availability of the Samsung Galaxy S 4, Samsung has also released details regarding several official accessories that will be available. These accessories should prove popular with new owners interested in protecting their new device, extending its usefulness, or just using the “Life Companion” to make life more interesting. U.S. Cellular is already using the accessories to entice buyers by throwing in a free S View flip cover with online pre-orders. The flip cover goes beyond the traditional smartphone cover by providing a small window to your screen that displays information like time, missed calls and text messages, and battery status. » Read the rest

U.S. Cellular opens Samsung Galaxy S 4 pre-orders, offers S View flip cover deal

by Jeff Causey on
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With some carriers already taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S 4, and Samsung officially announcing product availability later this month, U.S. Cellular has joined the fray competing for buyers today by opening their own pre-order page. U.S. Cellular is offering the 16GB version of the smartphone for $199 with a new 2-year contract. To help draw customers in, U.S. Cellular is throwing in a free S View flip cover for anyone who pre-orders online. The cover is normally a $59.99 item. You can read their full press release after the break. » Read the rest

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for April 1 – April 7, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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TalkAndroid_Weekly_Recap

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. The week started off with some of the best April Fools jokes Google has ever done. Then later in the week, Facebook and HTC made a splash with the HTC First and the Facebook Home launcher app that will be available for select Android phones. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

What you need to know about the T-Mobile Simple Choice Plan

Five top live wallpapers for Android [April 2013]

Reviews

DivX Stash [Media & Video]

Strategy & Tactics: World War II [Arcade & Action]

Fynch for Twitter [Social]

Todoist: To Do List, Task List [Productivity]

» Read the rest

U.S. Cellular launches unique program to let customers test network

by Jeff Causey on
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One of the big challenges for any consumer buying cellular service is trying to figure out whether the service really is better than what they currently have. Invariably it seems that no matter what network one is on, there is always that friend or family member that seems to have better coverage with their carrier, but researching the matter usually yields conflicting information. Wireless carrier U.S. Cellular hopes to address this problem with a new program that lets potential customers test their coverage for a week with no strings attached. » Read the rest