Android and Me |
- HTC Flyer available at Best Buy on May 22nd
- How much better is the Super AMOLED Plus display?
- Verizon to kill unlimited data plans this summer, but will make it up with family data plans
- How I lost 100 lbs with Android
- Google gets ready for war, acquires Modu’s patent portfolio
- Gartner: Android keeps growing while Windows Phone fails to gain traction
- Clap Phone Finder turns your phone into The Clapper [with Awesome Video]
- Android’s big summer showdown: HTC Sensation vs. the Samsung Galaxy S II
- LG P930 device pops up featuring a 720×1280 display, is it the Nexus 3?
| HTC Flyer available at Best Buy on May 22nd Posted: 19 May 2011 05:08 PM PDT The WiFi-only HTC Flyer has been available for pre-order at Best Buy for almost a month. Though we could assume that its launch was coming soon, no official release date was given. The tablet may be very unique (offering its cool HTC Scribe feature), and many of us are dying to get our hands on it, but pre-ordering a something at this price without knowing an exact release date can be quite frustrating. Take a deep breath, Best Buy has just announced that the Flyer will be available as of May 22nd, which is this Sunday. As we already reported, in order to take advantage of the HTC Scribe functionality one must purchase the stylus separately. It will go for $79.99 at Best Buy, which is quite disappointing, since European versions will come with the pen included, but if we are strong and put pressure on HTC/Best Buy, things might change in the near future. Many of our readers and writers have expressed disappointment towards the fact that the Flyer and the stylus will be sold separately. What do you guys think? Do you think it is worth the price(s)? Are you going for it? Who out there has pre-ordered this tablet already?
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| How much better is the Super AMOLED Plus display? Posted: 19 May 2011 02:36 PM PDT One of the most anticipated devices this year is the Samsung Galaxy S II, which is bringing a new display technology – Super AMOLED Plus (also found in the Droid Charge). Of course, this is simply the next generation of the same screen technology that Samsung has been using for pretty much all of its Android devices (Super AMOLED). Since the announcement of this new technology, we have all been wondering how much Super AMOLED displays can really be improved. Super AMOLED displays provide about the richest display experiences, and it is one of the main reasons why some people prefer Samsung devices. Such technology is already known for being among the best in the market, and it seems unlikely that this “Plus” can make that huge of a difference (at least to the naked eye). For all of those wondering, Engadget has put together a video that proves how Super AMOLED Plus will provide better definition, by providing more sub-pixels per pixel. Super AMOLED display (8 sub-pixels per pixel) vs. Super AMOLED Plus display (12 sub-pixels per pixel)
As you can see in the images, the older generation had more elongated green sub-pixels, while the blue and red ones are shorter and thicker. Super AMOLED Plus technology has equal size and quantity of the different colored sub-pixels, as well as having them pressed together tighter (hence the higher sub-pixelation). I personally haven’t had a chance to see one of these Super AMOLED Plus displays in person, but I assume that the change should be almost unnoticeable. To Check out the video, head over to Engadget and take a closer look. Do you guys think this new technology is that much better? Has anyone seen one of these yet?
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| Verizon to kill unlimited data plans this summer, but will make it up with family data plans Posted: 19 May 2011 01:39 PM PDT That was fun while it lasted. Verizon is planning to kill unlimited data plans this summer, says Reuters. Instead, the carrier will begin offering tiered data plans, penalizing those of us who consume a lot of data. This leaves Sprint as the only option — aside from regional carriers — for people that want a truly unlimited data plan. To make us feel better, Verizon will soon introduce shared family data plans. Families will be able to buy a certain amount of data and share it among all family members and different devices — like a tablet. While at first sight this might look like a good thing, it could also turn into your worst nightmare. It won’t be long before we start hearing stories of how little Tommy downloaded a bunch of 4GB movies and now daddy has to pay $200 in fees. I hope you enjoyed surfing the web on your phone freely and without worries. The ride is now over, and the carriers want us to pay up. On a brighter note, I know who my next carrier will be, and it starts with an “S”.
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| How I lost 100 lbs with Android Posted: 19 May 2011 12:27 PM PDT If you weren’t aware, Angie and I got married a couple of weeks ago[1]. We had a long engagement (two years), which afforded me plenty of time to work on my pre-wedding goal: weight loss. And it was a tall order- I wanted to hit 200 lbs for the big day, a weight I hadn’t seen the underside of since middle school. A couple of years ago, at my heaviest, I weighed 305 lbs (if I’m being honest, it could have gone higher- that was just when I quit weighing myself). I was living with my brother, Taylor, and a friend from school and we didn’t have the best eating habits (to say the least). We ate out a lot and when we cooked for ourselves the menu consisted mostly of meat. I’d battled weight since childhood, but living wild with a couple of dudes pushed me over the edge. In 2008 I moved to Austin to be with Angie and to take a job on the NCsoft web team. Before the year was out, Taylor and I were hatching plans to go full-time on this crazy Android project and he was demanding I order a G1. The rest, they say, is history. Luckily, with an Android phone, history easily repeats itself. While I can’t exactly write a detailed guide for fool-proof weight loss, I wanted to use this post as an opportunity to thank the developers that created the handful of tools I used to whip myself into wedding shape. On top of plenty of exercise and better health habits from my ever-fit Angie, the following apps played a huge role in my getting more active over the past few years: CardioTrainer
For a few weeks I literally thought there might be something wrong with my bike (brakes rubbing, an untrue tire) based on how quickly my legs were gassing. I had built the bike myself[2], of course, it was a total possibilty I’d mucked that up. Eventually though, I was packing on 4, 8, even 10 miles during a session and CardioTrainer plotted all of it on a nice map with a sea of interesting data (total distance, top speed, pace, calories burned, etc). Once I had the hang of things, I upgraded to CardioTrainer Pro, one of the few apps to this day I’ve ever paid ten bucks for. The feature I was really after was the interval training, a function that verbally instructs you to speed up and slow down over a pre-set amount of time. I’d ride over to the school at night and circle the track, alternating between full-blast pedaling and a cool-down pace. That’s when I realized that those sneaky bastards at WorkSmart Labs had finally tricked me into straight exercise. I wasn’t even analyzing the tracks when I got home- I was doing it simply because I wanted to, because the app had made it enjoyable. Up that enjoyable vein, WorkSmart Labs has released a plethora of solid fitness-based apps. For a while I was using one of their diet-tracking apps. Recently they’ve announced a weight-loss app. Around the holidays they had Burn the Turkey. This is a team that cares about making health and fitness enjoyable. Their passion shows in the apps they build and the improvements they’ve pushed in the past year or so have been astounding. Endomondo
Initially though, the thing that Endomondo did that caught my eye was integrate with a bluetooth heartrate monitor [3]. I’ve got a friend that is a certified personal trainer and he keeps telling me that along with my cardio, I really need to target specific heart rates. While doing some research one day I stumbled upon Endomondo, which not only offered hardware heart rate monitoring but featured a stark, boxy aesthetic that I sort of dug. I was hooked. Endomondo has a pro version available, but I haven’t tried it. I don’t feel I’ve even fully explored the features of the free version. Actually, to this day I still have not participated in a group challenge, nor have I taken the plunge and purchased my bluetooth heart rate monitor, so for now we’ll call Endomondo my potential tracker of choice. My Tracks
If you’re weren’t already aware, we live in Austin. Which means we’re surround by dozens of amazing parks absolutely ripe for exploring. Using Google My Tracks I can trot out into the middle of unfamiliar territory, roam around like an animal, and when it’s time to leave? My Tracks shows me the way out. And as if reversing my recorded track to retrace my steps out of the park wasn’t enough nerd-wannabe-explorer fun, My Tracks offers full My Maps integration for saving points and leaving notes directly onto maps for later use. Stumble upon that hidden creek you always have trouble finding? Mark it with a pin. As far as I know, My Tracks is run by volunteers and Googlers in their 20% time, which means you’ve got a team of folks really dedicated to providing a solid service even if it isn’t their main bag. As a side note, if you’re going to use My Tracks as your primary location device, make sure you’ve got a full battery (seriously, those few moments I spent trying to get out of a park before dark with a dying device almost made me rethink this whole fitness thing). Lose It or Lose it
Lose It or Lose It is a service that lets you bet money against your weight loss plan. For instance, I wagered $100 that I could lose 20 lbs in 10 weeks- a modest bet. To keep you honest, each week you’ve got to weigh in, including a picture of your feet on the scale. Your weigh-ins are immediately emailed to your pre-selected friends for screening and support. If you hit all your weigh-ins and complete your weight loss goals, you get 100% of your wager back. Each week you fall through, you’re assessed a small monetary penalty [4]. To make things even more interesting, the independent developers running the site are active too, sometimes losing their own money back to the community. They even run a blog filled with posts and silly videos about the active members and have been known to randomly send out free stickers and tees. After my flawless victory, they even sent me a free Nerd Merit Badge. I liked the vibe of Lose It or Lose It so much I even wagered on a second stint. Oh, and the Android implementation? I am such a nerd that I went ahead and built my own mobile interface in absence of an official one from Lose It or Lose It. I used Yahoo Pipes to scrape the desktop page and create my own custom mobile webapp. For fun I had the titles swap out on each load (notable entries include Ladies Love It, Lookin Chubby, and Eat Less Sugar) and set the homescreen icon to be a bag of fat. Through my twenty weeks with Lose It or Lose It, I was only penalized a total of three times (one of which was during CES in Vegas- that was out of my control!). And what happened to my money? It went right in the pockets of Randy and John, the guys that built the service. A few friends have asked What, they don’t give the money to charity? While that’s a noble thought, I’ve really got no problems supporting clever developers that devised a plan to get me losing weight. Gowalla
Even recently the founder proclaimed that they have been looking past the check-in to discover the stories in location, which sounds great to me. I’m not a bar-hopper, I’m after meaningful engagement with new places and people. For a lot of users there’s long since been an argument over Gowalla or Foursquare- Foursquare or Gowalla? It was an easy choice for me for two reasons. I live in Austin and I appreciate quality. The team that makes Gowalla is here in Austin and I’ve met a number of them many times. They are good peoples. And the product? Forget about it! Over the past year they’ve consistently pushed updates and tweaked features that make both the designer and UI/UX nerd inside of me squeal with delight. I’ve been using Gowalla back since they only had a web client. Since the release of the native client, I’ve been treated to the release of Trips (like this one I made at McKinney Falls State Park), user photos streams (for capturing gold like this), and even actual prizes for check-ins. Seriously, I’ve won multiple real-world prizes from using Gowalla [5]. I used to tell people I used Gowalla to help locate other friends that potentially might be in or around the same areas. That’s totally still true, but I’ve also come to realize that lots of times I find myself pulling out my phone specifically to grab the shiny icon or pin available only through checking in. Or riding my bike to an extra stop in hopes of finding an extra item. And when I’m done, my entire history is stored in an awesome passport online for easy viewing and reminiscing. Yes, those are my feet, or: Success!
With just a few days to spare before the wedding, I was finally able to dip under 200 lbs! Along with the weight, over the months I’ve also dropped enough sizes to warrant virtually an entire new wardrobe. None of my clothes really fit anymore. But this time it was a good thing! At my wedding I even wore pants with a cut defined as slim fit, a far cry from anything I ever would’ve tried on back in my husky days. So what’s next? My eventual permanent goal weight is 180 lbs, so I’ve still got a fair bit of work to do. I think the next thing I’ll be trying is moving beyond fitness apps into fitness-specific hardware. Earlier I mentioned a bluetooth heart rate monitor, but over the past few weeks I’ve really had my eye on a BodyMedia armband or the FitBit. These tools provide a hardware and software solution for tracking all sorts of things from steps taken to calories burned to sleep quality. I’ve also taken a look at grabbing a smart scale from Withings, which can automatically track my weight over time just by stepping on the scale. Anything that removes a step of logging sounds like a total win to me! On top of even further enhanced tracking, I’m in the early stages of shopping for a new bike, something I’m totally stoked on. When I bought my current bike, I went for a budget model (for me, at least), promising myself that if I was actually able to wear it out that I’d treat myself to something a bit more kickass. Well, hundreds of miles and a rickety budget bike later, I’m finally taking the plunge and ordering myself something that can really go. So what’s your plan?Another one of the huge wins of weight loss in the digital age is being able to find support and instruction online. I’m writing this article hopefully to encourage people to get active, but also in attempts at gathering some new tips. What have you guys been doing with Android to stay active? Are there some crazy fun apps I don’t know about yet? A certain exercise that blends perfectly with technology? I want to hear about it! For years I had told myself that eventually I’d get in shape. And for years, that’s all I did: told myself. I’ve finally had my breakthrough and I just wanted to share. With help from the right people, hard work, and a pocket full of apps you can do pretty much anything. References
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| Google gets ready for war, acquires Modu’s patent portfolio Posted: 19 May 2011 10:47 AM PDT There’s a war underway in the mobile world, and Google is stockpiling ammo as fast as it can. As we saw recently, Google is getting ready to buy Nortel’s patent portfolio. But the web giant is not stopping there, the company just acquired Modu’s phone patents for $4.9 million. If you’ve never heard of Modu don’t worry, we haven’t either. That’s because is a startup out of Israel that used to build some very small — and very cute — mobile phones. Modu’s 1 phone currently holds the Guinness record for the world’s lightest phone. The company also build “jackets” that you can put on your Modu phones, each different jacket has a certain interface and range of functions. While Modu’s devices are quite innovative and original, the startup is running out of cash. That’s where Google comes in. Google will surely use these patents to defend itself from the growing number of lawsuits against Android. As the platform keeps growing, it’s starting to draw the wrong kind of attention from companies that make a living off patent lawsuits. Companies like Oracle and Microsoft are trying very hard to get a piece of the Android action. Instead of innovating and building great products, these companies would rather use their army of lawyers to gain any amount of relevancy in the mobile world. Hopefully, by building its own patent war chest, Google — and therefore Android — will become immune to these ridiculous patent lawsuits.
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| Gartner: Android keeps growing while Windows Phone fails to gain traction Posted: 19 May 2011 09:28 AM PDT Gartner has just released its quarterly mobile report, and yes just like we hear every week, Android is still growing at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about its competitors. Symbian will soon ship less units than Apple and Windows Phone is less than a percent away from getting thrown into the “Others” category. According to Gartner, Android shipped around 36.2 million units last quarter, owning 36.0% of the market. Compare that to a year ago when Android shipped 5.2 million units and had a market share of only 9.6%. If Android keeps growing like it’s doing now, our favorite OS could very well power 50% of all smartphones sold at the beginning of next year. On the other side of the coin, Symbian isn’t showing any signs of stopping its year-long free fall towards irrelevancy. The mobile OS shipped close to 27.6 million units in Q1, holding 27.4% of the market. In contrast, Symbian was inside 44.2% of all smartphones sold this time last year. RIM’s Blackberry is not doing that much better either. The platform shipped 13 million units last quarter, which was just 12.9% of all smartphone sales — down from 19.7% a year ago. In third place, iOS kept holding its market share steady for the fourth quarter in a row. The platform — as we’ve seen also in the U.S. market — seems to have hit an imaginary roof. Apple shipped around 16.8 million iPhones last quarter, or approximately 16.8% of all smartphones sold. Lastly, Microsoft’s Windows Phone/Mobile is still on life support. Microsoft only shipped 3.6 million units in the last quarter, or about 3.6% of all devices sold. That’s around 38,000 less units than what the company sold a year ago. Meaning, even though the whole market doubled in size, Microsoft failed to grow with it. In fact, Windows Phone/Mobile was the only platform that shipped less units than the year before. Symbian — the biggest loser in terms of market share — still managed to ship 3 million units more than 12 months ago. But the bad news don’t end there for Microsoft. Last quarter, the company only shipped 1.6 million devices running Windows Phone 7. Which means that the outdated Windows Mobile is still outselling Windows Phone by more than 2 million units. Let me repeat that, more than six months after launch, Windows Phone is still shipping on less phones than the OS it is supposed to replace — that’s not good. What do you guys think? Does Microsoft stand a chance against Android? How big do you think Android will get? Let us know in the comments.
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| Clap Phone Finder turns your phone into The Clapper [with Awesome Video] Posted: 19 May 2011 09:26 AM PDT Every once in a while we receive a tip that is way too awesome to pass up. Today’s tip comes from Illusion Ground, who has released an application which turns your Android phone into your very own “The Clapper”. The Clap Phone Finder application can detect the noise made while clapping and alerts your phone to start making noise so you can easily locate it. The Android and Me staff has been hotly discussing this application this morning, though not for the merits of the application itself. Sean Riley noted a link in the market to a YouTube video showing the Clap Phone Finder application in action. We all find the video to be hilarious, and wanted to share it with you, our readers: If after watching this awesome video, you absolutely have to have the Clap Phone Finder application, you can head on over to the market and give it a whirl. It seems to work pretty well from the video. The Clap Phone Finder app is available for Android 2.1+ devices for $0.99. If you do purchase the application, stop by the comments and let us know how you like it.
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| Android’s big summer showdown: HTC Sensation vs. the Samsung Galaxy S II Posted: 19 May 2011 07:17 AM PDT If you haven't noticed, Android phones are everywhere now. Every few weeks, manufacturers and service providers are launching new handsets which are tailored at distinct market segments. It used to be that Android phones were a one-size-fits-all solution and the only thing you needed to worry about was if you wanted a phone with a QWERTY keyboard or a simple touch-only solution. While it's certainly nice to have options, the level of added choice has made it extremely difficult to choose the right phone. We know that the majority of Android users are not worried about having the best phone possible. Most people simply want a phone that can make phone calls, send text messages, and allow them to sling a few Angry Birds at green pigs every now and then. But that's simply not the case for those of you who visit our site every day. You want a phone that will outperform the competition in every way possible. It's no secret that the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S II will be the top selling phones of the summer. Both handsets feature some pretty amazing specs with 4.3-inch displays, dual-core processors, 8 megapixel cameras capable of capturing 1080p HD video, and newly redesigned user interfaces. But don't be fooled by their similarities. The Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Sensation have just as many differences as they do likenesses. The HTC Sensation will be the first phone to be powered by Qualcomm's MSM 8260 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and features a unique unibody shell. The Sensation also comes equipped with a high-resolution (960 x 540 pixels) Super LCD display covered with Gorilla Glass and new camera app which takes pictures the instant you press the shutter button. Samsung's Galaxy S II is amazingly thin, measuring in at only 8.49mm. The phone weighs 116 grams and the 4.3-inch 480 x 800 pixel resolution Super AMOLED Plus display also features a Gorilla Glass covering. The European version of the Galaxy S II is powered by an Exynos XMM6260 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, though we're not exactly sure what the handset's specs will look like once U.S. carriers are done tinkering with it. Each phone has its unique advantages, but sometimes it's not really about the specs. A manufacturer's reputation plays a huge roll in a consumer's purchasing decisions. In the past, HTC's phones have been on the top of the list for developers and tweakers, but the HTC Sensation's locked bootloader could keep many advanced users at bay. Samsung's taken a beating over the past year due to the Galaxy S GPS fiasco and their slow response time in pushing out system updates, but their new open stance on development could create quite a few new Samsung fans. While writing this story, I asked all the writers here at Android and Me which features, manufacturer or phone they would prefer. As expected, the results are all over the board, making it clear that picking the right Android phone is a daunting task. We want to know which features or specs have the most influence on your purchasing decisions and if you're planning on picking up the HTC Sensation of Samsung Galaxy S II this summer. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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| LG P930 device pops up featuring a 720×1280 display, is it the Nexus 3? Posted: 18 May 2011 07:51 PM PDT As you might already know, we’re completely obsessed about the Nexus 3. We’ve lost many hours of sleep trying to figure out what this phone will be all about. So far, the clues point to a Tegra 3-powered device coming this Christmas with Ice Cream Sandwich. We also have it on good word that LG will build the next “Google phone”. So forgive us when we try to connect anything LG-related to the Nexus 3. That’s exactly what happened today. The guys at Unwired View uncovered an XML file that mentions an Android device codenamed “LG P930″. Our hearts stopped for a second, only to have our hopes squashed two seconds later when we found out that the device had a 720×1280 resolution display. The kind of resolution that is only seen on tablet-sized devices these days. Just as we were going back to crawling the web for anything with the word “nexus” on it, the impossible happened. Miraculously, Toshiba came out with a 4-inch display that has a 720×1280 resolution. At a whopping 367ppi, the screen blows right past Apple’s Retina Display. This morning at SID, the company confirmed that we will see devices with this screen ship later this year. Further proving that the LG P930 is a phone and not a tablet, we later found out that the “P” in front of the codename means that this is indeed a phone. With that said, we have no idea if the LG P930 is really the Nexus 3. What we do know is that LG is working on a phone with a 720×1280 screen, most likely made by Toshiba. It’s quite possible that this exact model is not the Nexus 3, but knowing that LG is already working on a phone with this resolution, I’ll be surprised if the Nexus 3 doesn’t ship with one. To recap, the Nexus 3 could ship with a 4-inch LCD 720×1280 display, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Tegra 3. Man, Christmas can’t get here fast enough. Gallery
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