TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 13, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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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!!

Reviews

Quiz of Seers [Brain & Puzzle]

WeVideo – Video Editor [Media]

Google

Android’s Sundar Pichai teases Google I/O 2013 plans

Google Play developers now able to reply to user reviews

15GB of free storage now offered between Drive, Gmail and Photos

Apps

TuneIn Radio gets updated to allow Google Play Music Store purchases

» Read the rest

Amazon Coins now available for Kindle Fire owners

by Jared Peters on
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A few months ago, Amazon announced their Coins currency for its Kindle Fire devices. These coins would essentially be in-app currency exclusively for Amazon’s App Store and can be used to purchase apps, games, and in-app content. The Coins have an exchange rate similar to normal currency, so 1 coin equals 1 cent. Kindle users will receive a free 500 Coins to test the service out, and more Coins can be purchased from Amazon.

The biggest advantage to using these Coins is buying in bulk. Amazon says you’ll be able to get up to 10% off if you buy large amounts of coins, so it can save you money in the long run. The Coins also help developers because it gives consumers a universal currency to use to buy apps and games, so that’s always a plus. Developers will still get their 70% of revenue from app purchases, so no change there. I think this is going to be a great service for Amazon and Kindle Fire users, and I think it’s safe to say we can expect Amazon to push this new system pretty hard in the next few months.

Android’s Sundar Pichai teases Google I/O 2013 plans

by Roy Alugbue on
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Google I/O is just a few days away and if you were expecting to see a brand-new OS or a revolutionary device— then you will probably be a little disappointed at this tidbit of news. Android head Sundar Pichai recently expressed some hints of what we can expect to see, especially for all of you developers out there:

“It’s going to be different. It’s not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system. Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this I/O on all of the kinds of things we’re doing for developers, so that they can write better things. We will show how Google services are doing amazing things on top of these two platforms”.

Yeah— it’s definitely a bummer, we know. Fortunately there is a silver lining to look forward to: the development and arrival of some pretty neat concepts and improvements to the Android and Chrome platforms. In his interview, Pichai highlights that because of the Android platform’s flexibility and design, consumers are able to see the arrival of Facebook Home, part of many ”welcome innovations“. Additionally, items like Amazon’s Kindle Fire series of tablets and its customized Android software represent the computer explosion of today, which is a benefit for consumers of all.

source: Wired

TalkAndroid Weekly Recap for May 6 – May 12, 2013

by Robert Nazarian on
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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

TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 9, 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!!

Apps

New Google Translate update allows users to take Phrasebook on the go and brings camera-to-translate function to 16 new languages

Flipboard updates app to enable user created magazines, interaction with desktop web version

Apex Launcher v2.0 available, new features for both free and pro versions, integrates Apex Notifier

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

Carmageddon shows up in the Play Store with a free promo version for 24 hours

Carriers

AT&T launches a new bring-your-own-phone pre-paid service called AIO Wireless

Google

Portland tech startup Instrument teams up with Google to create Map Diving, a realistic skydiving simulator

» Read the rest

Amazon’s Alphabet Projects, including 3D smartphone screen, could be sign of major hardware push

by Jeff Causey on
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Sources in a WSJ article indicate Amazon has several hardware projects in the works that are collectively referred to as the Alphabet Projects. Perhaps most intriguing among them is a smartphone that reportedly will have a screen that can produce 3D images without the use of special glasses. Combined with complex eye-tracking software, the phone’s screen will produce the 3D images at almost any angle, producing a holographic image effect with items seeming to float above the screen. Another benefit of the technology will be the ability for users to navigate content on their phone using just their eyes. The high-end phone is just one of several devices that may signal a new strategy for Amazon in getting content into the hands of consumers. » Read the rest

Ouya gets $15 million in new funding and delays launch by 3 weeks

by Robert Nazarian on
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We have good news and bad news regarding the Ouya gaming console. The good is that they secured an additional $15 million in new funding to help meet increased demand. Now with the bad: Remember that June 4th launch that we reported about? Unfortunately that has been delayed, but thankfully not too much. They are now looking at launching June 25, which ironically is just after the E3 Gaming show. I guess there is one other piece of good news in that they were able to fix an issue they had with the controller’s buttons getting stuck under the faceplate. All units will have the updated controller.

At this point there doesn’t seem to be a delay for those that were Kickstarter backers, which should be fulfilled by the end of May. Full press release after the break.

» Read the rest

B&N Nook HD devices getting big shot of Google starting today

by Jeff Causey on
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Barnes & Noble announced today they have entered into a new partnership with Google to bring several new apps to their Nook HD and Nook HD+ products. Foremost among the additions is the Google Play Store, which will increase the number of available apps for Nook HD owners from about 10,000 to well over 700,000. B&N CEO William Lynch indicated the new partnership is a result of research and sales data from the recently completed holiday shopping season that indicated users are shifting to more general purpose tablets instead of e-readers. To be successful in the tablet market, “the breadth of applications available is really critical.” » Read the rest

Android tablets pull ahead in Q1 2013, running on 56.5% of all tablets shipped

by Jared Peters on
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IDC has released their numbers for tablet market share in the first quarter of 2013, and it looks great for Android tablets. In the first three months of the year, 27.8 million Android tablets were shipped, up 247% from Q1 last year. The 27.8 million tablets also happen to make up 56.5% of all tablets shipped during the quarter, snagging the top spot from Apple. Apple’s share dipped to 39.6%, which is almost a 20% decline in market share from the previous year. While Apple didn’t ship less tablets, (they actually shipped almost 8 million more than they did in Q1 2012) there was a significant boon in the tablet market compared to last year, and a ton of those tablets ran Android.

Obviously, this just represents one quarter of this year, which a small slice of the pie. Android tablets have a ways to go, especially in popularity and app selection, before they can really penetrate the tablet market the way Android has done with phones. Still, though, grabbing up over half of an entire market in a quarter is a huge step in the right direction.

source: IDC

Huawei announces departure from U.S. market, then reverses course

by Jeff Causey on
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The past two days have been interesting ones for Huawei and their efforts to break into the U.S. market. During a summit with analysts on Tuesday, Huawei’s Executive Vice President Eric Xu made some statements indicating Huawei was going to abandon the U.S. market. At least, that is how many people interpreted his comments. A day later Huawei issued a clarification to explain that Mr. Xu was commenting on growth in other developed countries, especially European markets. Huawei anticipates those markets will be much more important for them than the U.S. market, but they have no intention of abandoning the U.S. market. » Read the rest