The team over at Paranoid Android has announced they are open sourcing their HALO project. HALO brings Facebook Chat Heads-like notification functionality to Android apps, one of the few features of Facebook’s Home interface that actually received a positive response from users. Along with floating the notification on the screen on top of open applications, the HALO project gives users the ability to interact with app in a limited matter, like sending a response to a message. » Read the rest
The Evernote team rolled out an update last week adding custom reminder support for iOS, Mac, and their web platform— their Android application was unfortunately left out of all the fun.
But today, Evernote 5.1 was finally released to Android and custom reminders are now available. The update makes it very simple for users to create reminders, and an intuitive alarm icon appears above each note. You can also choose the specific date and time that you receive the reminder and whether or not you want to receive it via email or Android notification as the deadline draws near.
There is also an option to subscribe to reminders, which is perfect for those with business or shared notebooks. Evernote becomes a tool for collaborating on projects and keeping track of deadlines. However, there is no option to set recurring reminders for things such as repeating appointments or paying bills. Hopefully support will be added soon.
Other features included in the update are corrected photo order in multi-shot camera, improved shortcuts, and improved copy/paste in note view. Have any of you gotten the new update yet? What do you think? Check out the link to the app in the Play Store after the break. » Read the rest
XDA Senior Member frapeti has developed an application called ‘Android Bot Maker’ which is an automation tool for your Android device which essentially turns it into a bot, making repetitive tasks easy. The program features a numerically ordered “Actions” list of all the automated actions that the user has programmed the device to carry out. Sequences can be rearranged, saved, imported, cleared, and shared onto various cloud social networks connected to the service. There is also a toggle feature to prevent the device from sleeping while the application is in use.
The program is still in its beta phase so there may be some bugs, but developer frapeti has encouraged users to offer suggestions and reports in the application thread via the source. Of course your device will have to be rooted and running at least Android 4.1 to run the application— check out the source for the application thread on the XDA Developers site. Hit the break for the app’s Play Store link. » Read the rest
Facebook updated their Home app today which provided some bug fixes along with a new feature, Favorites Tray. The feature essentially allows you to add your favorite apps into the new tray. I know, it’s no revelation as any launcher out there has been able to do this with folders and such, but it’s something right?
Links provided below!
The best Twitter client on Android (in my opinion) has just gotten better with its recent update to version 2.0. The popular Falcon Pro app now has the multi-user feature, a slightly re-designed UI and another “black” theme if you choose to apply it.
I know plenty have been wanting the multi-user support so I’m sure this update will make plenty of people happy. Links for download will be below!
The guys at GetGlue have redone their social networking app for Android from scratch, giving it a completely new interface and a set of different features. The user interface has been refreshed and cleaned up, giving a Google Now card-style look to the app. Aside from the nice new aesthetics, there are added tabs to monitor TV shows, movies, and sports, as well as a search tab. Curiously, and disappointingly, books, movies, topics and games have been removed in this update.
In addition, a personalized “smart guide” feature that syncs with your cable provider’s guide which suggests the best movies, TV shows, and sports to watch has been added to the app. Also, you can now check in and chat with friends while you watch, as well as watch clips of your favorite programs through the app. However, Foursquare integration has been removed.
The new UI is nice, but the axed features make it a bittersweet update. You can check out the full change log and download the free update after the break.
Source: GetGlue Blog » Read the rest
According to T-Mobile UK, Blackberry Messenger is slated to arrive on Android and iOS on June 27. When Blackberry first announced that they would be making their popular messaging client available on other devices, the only time frame they gave for a release was “this summer.” Once released, the app will be free, and contain features like group messaging, voice chat, and screen share. The only problem for Blackberry is that there are dozens of other very popular, feature-filled messaging apps out there right now that they will have to compete with.
Through the tweet we also got our first look at the UI of the app, and I’m quite disappointed. Compare the screenshot above to Google Hangouts, which is supposed to be a competitor to BBM. This doesn’t even look like Android. The font is archaic, the text is sized oddly, and all in all it is extremely bland, though we’ll have to see what the official release looks like before completely making a decision. Let us know, do you have plans to use BBM once it’s launched for Android?
Update:
The Tweet has been pulled. Apparently the rep was tweeting about a rumored date, not an official date.
Source: @TMobileUK
As easily one of the most popular franchises in the Android gaming world, Gameloft’s Modern Combat series is one that we hold dear to our hearts. So it’s only fitting that developer comes out and teases us with its first trailer of the latest installment of the series: Modern Combat 5. Much like the previous games, this Modern Combat 5 teaser showcases fast gameplay, an awesome assortment of weapons, some pretty crafty AI and maybe even a mission or two from the not-so-friendly skies. The key difference here: an improved graphics engine.
Of course the teaser is exactly just yet— a tease. So unfortunately, we can only have a small taste of the latest action for now. Fortunately, the latest installment seems to be destined for a release date sometime this month— so we won’t have to wait too long. Hit the flip to check out the teaser vid for yourself.
While Google is allowing more devices to come equipped with stock Android, they are also making their stock apps available on more devices. Google Keyboard, which packs in all of the features that were introduced on the stock Jelly Bean keyboard, is now available in the Play Store for all 4.0+ devices. Features that third party clients like Swype and Swiftkey already had, like gesture typing, voice dictation, word prediction and autocompletion are included in this keyboard, which could make it a popular replacement.
My first impressions of using Google Keyboard are that it’s snappy, easy to use, and seems to predict what I’m trying to say almost as well as Swiftkey. However, I’m only going to be able to get a full grasp of it after trying it out for a few days. You can download the keyboard for your phone or tablet from the link after the break. » Read the rest
Developer Days of Wonder has released the Android version of their popular Ticket To Ride title to the Google Play Store. The game is available across a variety of platforms, including a non-digital board game. With an intuitive interface, users should be able to jump right in and play this strategy title, but to do well they may want to check out the video tutorial below to better understand the basic flow and options in the game. Gameplay involves a virtual board with train routes laid out from and to several destinations. Players receive “cards” for trains and destinations with the challenge then to claim routes on the board. The longer your routes, the more points you can earn. However, other players may block your route if they sense your plans. This can not only reduce the length of your routes diminishing your possible points, you could end up holding destinations in your hand which results in negative points. » Read the rest