August 2011 Archives

Aug

[App Review] PC Monitor Allows You To Keep An Eye On Everything (And I Mean Everything) That's Happening On Your Windows Or Linux Computer

Posted by John Thompson in App Reviews, Applications

If you've ever wanted to keep an eye on your computer from your smartphone whilst you're out and about, then you'll know how limited your options are. You could use a remote monitoring tool such as LogMeIn Ignition to physically control the machine, but it doesn't offer a quick overview of resources on your phone and the application costs a cent shy of $30, which isn't exactly a price that encourages impulse buying.

If LogMeIn doesn't fit the bill, and you're looking for an application that can show you all the information that you need to know on the screen of your smartphone, without having to take control of the actual machine and navigate Windows on a 3.5-inch screen, then you may want to take a closer look at PC Monitor.

Aug

Google I/O Limited Edition Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Receives OTA Update (KG4) Adding Support For Google Videos/Movies, Locks Bootloader

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Galaxy Tab 10.1, News, Samsung

My favorite Android tablet, the I/O limited edition Galaxy Tab 10.1, received a small update today with version number KG4 (full version: HMJ37.UEKG4 P7510UEKG4). The only new feature the update seems to bring is the Videos/Movies app from Google, which is otherwise not available from the Android Market. Disappointingly, I don't see a new Movies tab in the Market, so literally only the Videos app was added and nothing else. What a silly way to roll out new apps, considering I had to reboot to perform it.

Since the Pulse app prevented the previous update KF3 from going through until I did a restore from the original system dump, I'm not surprised that Samsung is asking to remove any shortcuts or widgets linking to the Pulse app from any home screen prior to the update.

Aug

CyanogenMod Coming Soon To The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Xperia Neo, and Xperia Arc

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Mods, News, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone)

Good news, Xperia Play, neo, and arc owners: the worlds greatest custom ROM, CyanogenMod, is coming soon to a device near you! Thanks to some newly submitted code, support for these devices can be expected to hit the CyanogenMod repositories soon, and nightlies will be available shortly after that.

Let the celebrations begin!

[CyanogenMod [Play] [Arc] [Neo] via PocketNow]

Aug

36 Best New Android Games From The Last 2 Weeks (7/18/11 - 8/1/11)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

This edition focuses only on new games. The app roundup is coming up soon, and you can find the tablet app roundup here.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here:

Games

Baseball Superstars II by GAMEVIL

This is the 2nd part of one of the best baseball games on Android, even if you don't like baseball.

Aug

Motorola Photon 4G Review Roundup: Unique Design And Blazing Fast

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Phone Reviews, Photon 4G

The Motorola Photon 4G has been anticipated for a few months now, as it's Motorola's first 4G smartphone to hit Sprint's WiMax network. Moreover, it's sleek, stylish, fast, and an all-around good device, according to the first round of reviews that we've seen. Below is a summary of those reviews, but first, a quick look over the specs:

4.3 Inch qHD PenTile display
1Ghz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor
1GB RAM
16GB on-board storage
8MP rear camera, VGA front cam
Webtop-enabled
WiMax
Android 2.3.4

Without further ado, here are the reviews.

Boy Genius Report

After reading the review, there's no doubt that BGR's Jonathan Geller really enjoyed using the Photon 4G.

Aug

[Deal Alert] Unlocked Samsung Nexus S i9020T For $350 From Daily Steals

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

In a world of dual-core superphones, there is still one single-core device that manages to stand its ground: the Samsung Nexus S. Thanks to its stock Android nature, the Nexus S is still one of the best Android phones on the market, and if you're looking to pick one up off-contract, then here's the deal for you. You can grab an unlocked version of the NS for a mere $350 -- that's fifty-percent off the retail price.

Here's what $350 worth of pure Google device gets you:

4 Inch 480*800 Super AMOLED display
1GHz Hummingbird processor
512 RAM
16GB on-board storage
5MP rear camera, VGA 'round front
Stock Android 2.3.5

To avoid any confusion, it's worth mentioning that this is an unlocked GSM version of the phone that runs on T-Mobile's network, not Sprint's 4G version.

Aug

[Deal Alert] Toshiba Thrive 8GB For $380 With Free Shipping From eBay Daily Deals

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, News, Thrive / Regza / Antares / AT100

If you've been craving an Android tablet with ports-o-plenty, then the Toshiba Thrive is definitely the way to go. Rocking full USB and HDMI ports, as well as a miniUSB port and SD card slot, this dual-core Android 3.1 tablet can handle all of the peripherals that you can possibly throw at it, and for today only, you can grab the 8GB version for $380 from eBay Daily Deals.

On top of the full array of ports, you'll also get the hardware specs of other high-end Honeycomb tablets:

10.1-inch IPS LCD display
NVIDIA Tegra 2 (AP20H) dual-core processor
1GB RAM
8 GB internal storage
Weight: 1.7lbs
Thickness: 15mm
5MP rear camera, 2MP front
Full-size USB and HDMI-out ports, plus miniUSB port
SD card slot (with SDXC support)
Android 3.1 Honeycomb (via OTA update)

Of course, all those ports come at a price, as this by far the thickest and heaviest Android tablet on the market.

Aug

Official Gingerbread Update For The HTC Desire Available... But Not For Many Users

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Desire (Bravo/BravoC), News

Ah, the moment that Desire owners have been waiting for... or is it? HTC released its official Gingerbread build for the Desire this morning, but it's not in the form of an OTA (over-the-air); instead, it's a full RUU (ROM upgrade utility). This means that not only is the installation process a bit more complex than an OTA, it will also wipe the device during the upgrade process, forcing you to start from scratch upon first boot.

Now, that may not sound too bad to some of you, but there's more: the update is limited regionally, as well. It's not available to users in Germany, North America, South America, South Korea, or Japan.

Aug

Kyocera Echo Gingerbread Update Officially Confirmed, Brings WiFi Calling And NFC Support

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Echo, Gingerbread 2.3, Kyocera, News, Sprint

Last week we got our hands on the Sprint Playbook which indicated that the Kyocera Echo would be receiving a firmware update to Android 2.3. Accordingly, a page has now gone live on the official Kyocera Echo webpage confirming that an update to Android 2.3.4 is imminent. By the looks of the Echo webpage this update will bring some major features and enhancements to this unique device.

As indicated in the Playbook the update will include Swype 3.0 with "Tap Correction and Horizontal Word Choice List" (i.e. predictive text), an improved "Downloads application", and the eponymous "Echo Mode" which is essentially an app to manage the device's battery.