Abhiroop Basu - 3/19 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Abhiroop Basu is an opinionated tech and digital media blogger. As a doe-eyed twenty-something he started his first blog TechComet to comment on anything tech-related that caught his omniscient eye. Since then he has blogged for Android Police, Make Tech Easier, and This Green Machine. In the real world, Abhiroop Basu is a resident of Singapore and the Editor of The Digit, a subsidiary of The Potato Productions Group.

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Jan

Celebrate The Year Of The Dragon With Dead Zebra's New Android Figurines

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News

Xin Nian Kuai Le, or Happy Chinese New Year! Our favourite figurine maker Dead Zebra has decided to welcome in the Year of the Dragon by bringing to you a family of three Android mini-collectibles, representing Fortune (祿), Blessing (福), and Longevity (壽)!

These colourful figurines are the brainchild of British-born artist Andrew Bell, whose work includes illustrations, paintings, toys, and sculptures.

The Android mini-collectibles will be sold in sets of 3 for $29. You can pick them up from the Dead Zebra shop on Wednesday, January 25th from 11AM EST. A second batch will go on sale from 11PM EST, on the same day.

Jan

PR-ASUS-Eee-Pad-Transformer-Prime-front-Amethyst-Gray_thumb1

ASUS Transformer Prime OTA Update Rolling Out, Supposedly Fixes GPS Woes

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Since launch, the ASUS Transformer Prime's GPS issues have hampered an otherwise stellar tablet. To make matters worse, ASUS confirmed that the problem was due to the Prime's all-aluminium construction, indicating that a software fix was unlikely. Indeed ASUS was forced to release a new version of the Prime (TF700T), with an updated back panel to improve the GPS functionality. However, ASUS has not given up all hope on the original Prime as a new OTA update (V9.4.2.7) is rolling out, which could fix the GPS drivers.

The OTA update has not gone live for everyone and in some cases it fails during installation.

Jan

Motorola Motoluxe & Defy Mini Available Now For Pre-Order From Clove; Defy+ JCB Edition Also In Stock

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Motorola, News

Motorola recently announced two entry-level Android smartphones for the Chinese, European, and Latin American markets, the Defy Mini and the Motoluxe. Both devices are now available for pre-order on Clove, and they are expected to ship in late February/early March.

The Motoluxe is priced at £215 (£258 inc. VAT).

The Defy Mini is priced at £145.83 (£174.99 inc. VAT).

Additionally, Motorola have teamed up with UK-based construction manufacturer JCB to give the "rugged" Defy+ a makeover. The new "Defy+ JCB Edition" is similar, spec-wise, to the earlier Defy+ model, however it now comes cocooned in a "visco-elastic protective sleeve" to make it just a bit more rugged.

Jan

CyanogenMod Releases CM9 Alpha 0 For The HP Touchpad

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Tablets, TouchPad

The CyanogenMod team recently teased us with a video of CM9 running on the Touchpad and now it looks like their efforts have culminated in the first Alpha ("Alpha 0") release of CM9 for the WebOS tablet.

The earlier CM7 Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 builds were quite buggy and not really ready for primetime use, but the latest CM9 release is a whole "*two* CyanogenMods better", bringing Ice Cream Sandwich goodness to the Touchpad. However, CM9 is still Alpha 0, which means "'zero hardware-accelerated video', 'zero camera', and 'zero support!'". In addition, the audio "is a mess", the microphone does not work, market filters prevent some apps from being installed, Titanium Backup crashes the kernel, some older hardware problems from CM7 still exist, and traditional storage mounting is not supported.

Jan

Microsoft Inks Patent-Licensing Agreement With LG - Continues Making Money From Android

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Legal, LG, News

Reports from CES 2012 indicate that Windows Phone 7 may be a competitive mobile platform, however Microsoft has decided to hedge its bets and continue making money from Android by signing a patent-licensing agreement with LG. The terms of the agreement will likely require LG to pay Microsoft royalties for all LG tablets, phones, and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome OS platform. This deal likely mirrors Microsoft's ten previous patent-licensing agreements with Android and Chrome OS manufacturers, including Samsung, HTC, Acer, and ViewSonic.

By signing the recent agreement Microsoft is "pleased to have built upon [its] longstanding relationship with LG", a relationship which began in 2007, when LG sold its soul to Microsoft by signing a "broad patent-licensing agreement" covering "Linux-based embedded devices".

Jan

[Update: Manual Download Added] Nuance Launches Dragon Go! - A Stellar Voice Recognition App For Android

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, Applications, News

Update: For anyone who can't install this because of geographical limitations, here is the apk for manual installation -- make sure to drop your results in the comments. Enjoy! Thanks, Nick!

Earlier today, popular voice recognition software corporation Nuance launched Dragon Go! by Nuance on the Android Market, bringing voice recognition that "just works" to the Android platform. Dragon Go! answers the users' queries by pulling data from a variety of sources, including Spotify, Wolfram|Alpha, Yelp, YouTube, AccuWeather, Ask.com, Dictionary.com, ESPN, Facebook, Fandango, Last.fm, LiveNation, Milo.com, OpenTable, Pandora, Rotten Tomatoes, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, Bing, and hundreds of others. Additionally, Dragon Go's "Dragon Carousel" software provides users with complementary results to compare information across the most relevant sites for their query.

Jan

Vimeo Releases Android App, Users Complain Of Timestamp Errors

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, News

Popular video sharing service Vimeo has finally launched its official Android app today. The new app has included all the important features found in the web version, including the ability to browse, watch, download, and upload videos onto Vimeo.

Upon starting the app, the user is shown a 3x3 grid of options for creating, uploading, watching, and sharing videos. While not a requirement, creating a Vimeo account and logging into the service also allows the user to comment on, "like", and subscribe to videos, as well as save them to the "Watch Later" list.

Some of the other features of the app include:

Upload raw footage or previously edited creations in HD or SD
Pause/resume uploads and get reminded when a video is paused
Replace existing videos
Edit titles, descriptions, tags, privacy settings, and credits
Share videos via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress, Email, and SMS
Watch and manage all Vimeo videos and download them to camera roll
Watch videos from your Vimeo Inbox, Watch Later queue, and videos you like"
Easily like videos, comment on videos, and add videos to your Watch Later queue
Discover new and interesting videos curated by Vimeo Staff
Add videos to Groups, Channels, and Albums
Access stats on daily plays, likes, and comments

Although the app has received some favourable reviews, the overwhelming majority are 1-star.

Jan

[Updated] CES 2012: ASUS Announces Transformer Prime TF700T With 1920x1200 Display, 2MP Camera, And GPS Fix; Also Introduces 7" MeMO ME171

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in ASUS, Eee Pad MeMO ME171, Eee Pad Transformer Prime, News, Tablets

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF700T

Today, ASUS is introducing the Transformer Prime TF700T, its new flagship tablet and upgrade to the Transformer Prime TF201. The TF700T, which according to ASUS does not replace the TF201, remains practically the same as the original Prime, save for a higher resolution (1920x1200) display, a better front facing camera (2MP), and featuring a new back panel design.

When ASUS released the original Prime (TF201), early last month, we described it as one hell of a device, packing more power and newer features in an even smaller package than the original Transformer (TF101). Unfortunately, the all-aluminum construction of the Prime caused some serious GPS issues, which ASUS acknowledged as a hardware problem.

Jan

Netflix Android App Appears In The UK And Ireland

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, News

Despite recent stumbles, Netflix has successfully managed to become the de facto video streaming service in the US, Canada, and Latin America and now it has set its sights on Europe by launching in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This also means that the highly rated Netflix Android app is now available to Android device owners in those same countries.

Netflix has recently also negotiated a number of deals with various broadcasters and film studios, including Miramax, BBC, Lionsgate, MGM, Sony, Disney, Paramount, Channel 4, and ITV. These contracts will include the rights to stream shows like Doctor Who, Top Gear, Little Britain, Torchwood, Miss Marple, and Fawlty Towers.

Jan

HTC's Growth Stalls While Samsung Has Record Quarter

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, HTC, News, Samsung, Tablets, Toshiba

The latest unaudited results from HTC for Q4 2011 indicate that total revenues reached NT$ 101 billion (US$ 3.34 billion), a 2.49% drop as compared to the same period in 2010. In stark contrast, Samsung just had a record breaking quarter with profits reaching 5.2 trillion won (US$4.5 billion), almost double the figures of Q4 2010. Samsung's results for Q4 2011 breaks its previous record profit period of 5.0 trillion won (US$ 4.3 billion) from Q2 2010 and is an increase of 22% from Q3 2011. According to an analyst Samsung shipped an estimated 35 million smartphones in the previous quarter alone, but this is likely to include Samsung's low-end bada operated devices.