Tuesday, April 5, 2011

MobileCrunch

MobileCrunch

Link to MobileCrunch

Order now! Nu-Screen Is A Screen Protector In Chapstick Form

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 07:15 PM PDT

I have to say I’m skeptical of a product that is not only inadequately described on its own page, but clearly can’t be removed, but hey. Maybe it works! This Nu-Screen stuff appears to be a coating you put on your mobile’s screen (or anything else, I suppose) that protects against scratches and helps dirt and oil wash off. But wait! There’s more!

It also creates “a richer, more intense screen display.” If there’s anything that raises a red flag, it’s that. The coating on the display isn’t going to make anything more intense. It’s like saying “turn the lights down, it makes things brighter!” I’m also afraid it won’t be easy to apply correctly, since it is essentially a Glu-stick.

Well, if you’re curious, you can order it here. Comes with a free “Laser Etched” microfiber cloth.

App-Related Privacy Concerns Being Looked Into By The Feds

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 04:17 PM PDT

When Pandora was filing its IPO papers, it noted that it had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury for documentation of its information sharing practices. The purpose of the grand jury wasn’t officially stated, but Pandora (who knows what type information was requested) suspects it to be related to “sharing processes of certain popular applications that run on the Apple and Android mobile platforms.” This is actually quite reassuring.

Considering how out of touch legislation generally is with the fast-moving tech world, it’s nice to know that a new, popular, and representative company like Pandora is being tapped for this kind of information. It is, after all, a very complicated and relevant issue, and people like the judge on the Sony-Geohot case shouldn’t be allowed within spitting distance of such questions. That Pandora is being queried suggests at least some level of competence.

Beyond the fact that there is such a grand jury (presumably looking into whether a crime has been committed) and evidence is being procured (Pandora speculates they are far from the only ones), there isn’t much to say. We’ll follow up when more is known.

[via Apple Insider]

Don’t Think Android Fragmentation Is A Problem? Most Developers Disagree.

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 01:44 PM PDT

Having done a good bit of development with Android (some folks make scrapbooks on the weekend; I fight semicolons.), I’ve seen my fair share of Android’s fragmentation issues. Though they’re generally more annoying (a resolution quirk here, a touchscreen behavior oddity there) than they are insurmountable or deal-breaking, they’re definitely not non-existent.

But don’t take my word for it — I’m just a hobbyist. Baird Research polled 250 working developers (the dudes who do this for a living) on the matter, asking them straight up: “Do You View Android Fragmentation As A Problem?”

Turns out, the vast majority most of’em do.

The breakdown:

  • Overall, 87% (217) of the 250 developers view Android’s fragmentation as some sort of problem, ranging from “Somewhat of a problem” to a “Huge Problem”.
  • Nearly 1/4 (24%, or 60) of the developers went as far as classifying it as a “Huge Problem”.
  • Only 14% (35) of the 250 developers don’t consider it a problem at all.

Take it as you will. Commenters on the Internet are quick to unleash massive diatribes anytime dares mention Android’s fragmentation issues — but when the people who do this stuff to put food on the table say there are issues, there are probably issues.

[Via Fortune]

Tired Of Waiting For The Big Windows Phone 7 Update? Get Your Hack On!

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 11:39 AM PDT

Not too long ago, Microsoft put up a page outlining when various Windows Phone 7 handsets would start getting the long-awaited Copy/Paste update. The overall gist: for most of’em, it was going to be a while. It wasn’t unexpected, really; after things went wrong with the itty-bitty update meant solely to prep handsets for the real update, everyone’s being a bit more cautious this time around.

But this is the Internet, where making people wait for what they want is just a roundabout way of saying “Please, feel free to hack things together yourself.”

And now that’s exactly what’s been done. Building upon a tool released by Microsoft themselves, handset hacker Chris Walsh has thrown together a tool that will auto-update just about any Windows Phone 7 handset to the latest build in no time flat.

To make a short story shorter: a few days ago, Microsoft released a Windows Phone 7 repair tool. At face value, the tool simply fixed a few of the errors that folks were having with the earlier update process. Behind that facade, though, was a tool capable of manually updating Windows Phone 7 handsets — and it was ripe for the hackin’. Within a few hours, Chris Walsh had it flashing damn near every Windows Phone 7 handset up to the latest release, regardless of carrier/model. (We say “damn near” because it’s reportedly having issues with one handset, the LG Panther. I’m pretty sure that phone was only released to developers, though.)

Ready to get your handset up and running on NoDo? You can find all the details right over here. Make sure you read carefully, though, or you’re just taking the quick road to a busted handset.

AT&T Increases Early Upgrade and No Contract Prices

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 10:49 AM PDT

Bad news for AT&T fans who like to buy their phones outright: prices are goin’ up.

Over the weekend, our buds over at AndroidCentral got ahold of an AT&T document that leaked the plans: for anyone who wanted to buy their smartphones sans any sort of contract, prices are going up by $50 bucks.

If they had previously agreed to a contract but wanted to upgrade at the one-year mark, prices are going up by $150 bucks. Ouch. The only smartphones that get any sort of exception to that rule are iPhones, in that their early-upgrade, on-contract cost will only be spiked by $50 bucks (for example, the 32GB iPhone 4 previously cost $499 in an early upgrade; it will now cost $549.)

BGR was able to confirm the leak with AT&T, who blamed the price hikes on the increasing cost of smartphones. That doesn’t really explain why they’re hiking up the price of off-contract phones (which are generally sold at manufacturer’s retail price, sans any discount), so it seems like they’re just trying to make contracts thaaaat much more enticing.

iOS 4.3.1 Gets A More Convenient Jailbreak Method

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 10:29 AM PDT

Would-be Jailbreakers on iOS 4.3.1: time to party!

A jailbreak has been available for iOS 4.3.1 for a few weeks now — but up until this point, it’s been “tethered”. (Geek-speak translator: it was a somewhat inferior jailbreak, in that it was undone any time the handset was reset). At an absurdly early hour this morning, the iPhone Dev-Team released a new build of their redsn0w jailbreaking tool. The big bullet point? Untethered jailbreaking for iOS 4.3.1.

As usual, tread with caution around these new hacks (for example, note that if you need to unlock your handset for use on another carrier, this jailbreak isn’t quite ready for you). Ready to dive in? Find all the details over here.

A Human Interface Guideline for Android Developers

Posted: 04 Apr 2011 08:45 AM PDT


There’s no denying that iOS apps are, on the whole, polished. This is due in large part to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, a document that “describes the guidelines and principles that help you design a superlative user interface and user experience for your iOS app.” There’s no ambiguity about what’s a good idea and what’s not: Apple tells you straight up what’s a good idea. The polish and sophistication of iOS apps is a benefit of the control that Apple wields, as the single purveyor, over iOS. Android apps, by comparison, often suffer from a lack of polish and sophistication in large part because there’s no single authority saying “here’s how you do it.” Add in the variety of hardware platforms running Android, and Android’s programmer-centric development mentality, and it’s little wonder that the state of Android today is often compared to the state of Linux from ten years ago: by geeks for geeks.

The folks at Mutual Mobile have made a terrific effort to help bring parity to Android apps with the release of their Android Design Guidelines.

Android is crushingly programmer heavy. In my opinion, they have not given enough consideration to asset creation or creative direction. With apple, the moment you start designing an app, you know how they want you to build it. Their design plans are so complete that you can immediately access it. I often dream that my house is an iPhone app; it has become comfortable. With Android, there is a false sense of freedom to do whatever you want. Unfortunately, when you start taking all the various screen sizes and resolutions into account, it doesn't realistically pan out that way.
…
As a disclaimer, I am a designer, and while my knowledge of programming has increased a fraction while creating a document, it should be known that Android makes it difficult for anyone who is not a programming to decipher their rules. So with that in mind, understand that while my research has been abundant, this document should be considered a designer's translation of Android and therefore subject to error.

While it certainly is not my place to set a standard for Google, in this document I intend to at least create a guideline for us to follow.

This looks like good stuff. If you’ve got suggestions, send ‘em to Mutual Mobile, and maybe a grassroots design standard can really take off, helping the Android developers and users all over the world.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)