TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 13 – May 19, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on May 19th 2013, 1:55pm
tagged Weekly Recaps

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

HP Announces Slatebook 10 x2, a convertible tablet with Tegra 4

by Jared Peters on May 15th 2013, 11:24am
tagged convertible, HP, nvidia, slatebook 10 X2, tablet, tegra 4

HP probably didn’t time this product announcement very well, as it’s about to get completely overshadowed by Google I/O, but their new Slatebook 10 x2 is a solid tablet regardless. It sports a 10-inch 1080p screen with detachable keyboard dock, pretty similar to ASUS’s Transformer line, and is one of the first devices to use NVIDIA’s Tegra 4, aside from Project Shield. Aside from that, it’s running almost pure stock Android 4.2.2, so that’s always a plus.

The keyboard dock is the defining feature of the tab, and pretty similarly to the Transformer dock, it adds an extra battery in the dock, two USB ports, and a standard SD card reader in addition to the actual tablet’s microSD slot. Pricing is said to start at $479 in August, but no word on if that includes the dock or not. It shouldn’t be too much longer before we get more details from HP. Hit the break below for the press release. » Read the rest

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 14, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on May 15th 2013, 12:31am
tagged Daily Doses

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

Blackberry Messenger officially coming to Android devices this summer!

BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10.1 launches with full Android support

Pinterest app for Android receives update

Time Warner Cable’s TWC TV app updated to allow streaming away from home

Google

Google announces Gladstone, Missouri will be receiving Google Fiber

Google Glass

MedRef aims to help the medical field better, oh and it brings facial recognition to Google Glass in the process

Google I/O

[Rumor] Galaxy S 4 “Google Edition” to be debuted tomorrow at I/O 2013

» Read the rest

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 6 – May 12, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on May 12th 2013, 5:19pm
tagged Weekly Recaps

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. Google I/O is next week and we have the full scoop on the new and improved Nexus 7. Rumors say the Motorola X phone is scrapped for the time being, but a recent FCC filing seems to indicate it might actually be sooner rather than later. We weren’t expecting to see it announced next week, but could we get a surprise? Google Babel is expected to be unveiled under the “Hangouts” name, and recent developments support that Google will unveil an updated Nexus 4 with LTE. Lastly, Google will unveil cloud sync gaming with Play Games. There were a lot of new apps, including a couple of reviews as well. It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

How to remove apps from the Google Play Store ‘My Apps’ list

How to make a Drama Shot or Sequence Shot on the HTC One

Reviews

Boulder Dash XL [Brain & Puzzle]

» Read the rest

ITV Player updated, now exclusive for Samsung users through August 31st

by Aditya Thawardas on May 9th 2013, 1:59pm
tagged itv player, Samsung, streaming

ITV has refreshed their Android app, but for now, only Samsung device users in the UK can enjoy. The UK television network announced that until August 31, their updated ITV Player app will be available exclusively to Samsung users “for an initial period while we endeavor to optimize and improve the experience before releasing to other device manufacturers.”

The updated app features landscape navigation support, improved playback, 3G/4G streaming, and support for older devices. Right now the app is dominated with 1-star reviews in the Play Store, so hopefully for ITV users this update is a big improvement.

The download link and press release can be found after the break. » Read the rest

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for April 29 – May 5, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on May 5th 2013, 10:11am
tagged Weekly Recaps

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. We finally published our review of the Galaxy S 4, and although the bootloader is locked on many variants, a solution is eminent. Probably the biggest story that didn’t get that much attention was the fact that the Samsung Galaxy S 4 was approved by the U.S. Department of Defense based on Samsung’s security suite called KNOX. This is only going to strengthen Samsung’s mobile market share dominance. Google Glass news was a plenty, and we saw what appears to be a real leak of the Motorola XFON. Lastly, will Paranoid Android be the ROM of choice with their new Halo notifications? It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.

Guides

Best Android camera apps [April 2013]

How to use S Translator and the Optical Reader on the Samsung Galaxy S 4

Reviews

Samsung Galaxy S 4 Review: The smartest smartphone ever

Live Pixels [Live Wallpaper]

Dinamotxt [Communication]

» Read the rest

Controlling you smartphone or tablet with your brain could be a reality thanks to Samsung and the University of Texas

by Robert Nazarian on Apr 22nd 2013, 8:35am
tagged brainwaves, Samsung

Using your brain to control a smartphone or tablet is something that could be a reality thanks to Samsung and the University of Texas. Instead of tapping on the display, you could use your thoughts to open an application, select a song to play, or select a contact. They are already demonstrating this on the Galaxy Note 10.1, but users need to wear a wild looking cap filled with EEG Electrodes.

Now don’t expect to see this type of technology anytime soon, but this isn’t anything new. I saw something very similar at CES using similar technology from Puzzlebox. They utilize the same technology from NeuroSky to show how concentration can keep a remote control helicopter in the air. A tablet was also used, but only as a way of displaying the levels of concentration. You can watch that video after the break.

» Read the rest

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

by Jeff Causey on Apr 17th 2013, 12:12pm
tagged galaxy s 4, Galaxy S IV, Samsung, us cellular

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 8 – April 14, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on Apr 14th 2013, 10:15am
tagged Weekly Recaps

We had another busy week at TalkAndroid so here’s a recap of all the top stories. The big news of the week had to be the launch of Facebook Home. Initially it’s only available on select devices, but unofficially it’s available to everyone thanks to patched APKs. Samsung officially announced the mid-level Galaxy Mega that puts big displays into budget-conscious pockets. We reviewed some cool apps too, and is that the DROID Bionic getting Jelly Bean? It’s time to get caught up and get ready for another exciting week.