Abhiroop Basu
Contributing since December, 2010
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184articles
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About Abhiroop Basu
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.
Latest Articles
The IdeaPad K1 from Lenovo, released earlier this year, is bursting with features and ports, but reviews suggest that it is perhaps not the best Android tablet available on the market today. Nevertheless, it is a powerful little beast running Honeycomb and for the next two days (9 to 10 October) Best Buy is offering this device for only $329.99, that's $120 discount of the regular price ($449.99).
As promised late last month, Adobe has released updated versions of their Flash Player and AIR products to the Android Market. In our earlier article we outlined some of the new features that the updates would bring including, Stage 3D, an architecture that enables hardware-accelerated rendering at 1000x the speed of Flash Player 10, theatre-quality HD video, native 64-bit optimizations, and HD video conferencing. Unfortunately, the latest blog post from Adobe indicates that 2D and 3D graphics rendering through Stage 3D will only be available on Windows, Mac OS X and connected TVs. Apparently, a "production release" of Flash Player 11 with support for Stage 3D will be available for Android, Apple iOS and BlackBerry in an "upcoming release". Nevertheless, the updated releases bring a number of major improvements that will "allow developers to deliver a new class of gaming and premium video experiences, as well as sophisticated, data-driven apps with back-end systems integration across devices and platforms".
, by indie developer 2D Boy, is a highly addictive physics-based puzzle/construction game that has won several design and gaming awards since its release. The basic objective of the game is to get a requisite number of goo balls to a pipe, which represents the exit. The goo balls can be used to make bridges, towers, and other structures to overcome gravity and terrain. Currently, the game is available on a number of platforms, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, and Wii; and earlier today 2D Boy announced that the game would finally be coming to Android tablets and smartphones "soon."
Following the lead of the New York Times, the Economist, Guardian, and other mainstream publications, the venerable Washington Post has finally decided to launch its own Android app. The app is fairly polished and its content covers a variety of subjects including, politics, opinions, sports, lifestyle, business, technology, travel, and entertainment.
Want to know which online service makes my life a lot easier? Hipmunk. For the uninitiate, Hipmunk is a flight search service with a difference. In addition to sorting available flights by the standard duration and price metrics, Hipmunk can also arrange flights according to "agony", i.e. incorporating factors such as number of stops and total duration. Although its mobile site is adequate, I am pleased to report that Hipmunk has finally launched its Android app, which is available for free from the Market.
In a press release earlier today Samsung announced an update to its Exynos line of mobile processors with the release of the Exynos 4212 a 1.5 GHz dual core ARM Cortex-A9 chip. The chip is designed on Samsung's advanced 32nm low-power processes and is intended for the burgeoning smartphone and tablet market. According to Samsung's release the Exynos 4212 will deliver a full 25% increase in processing power over the previous chip and will feature an enhanced GPU capable of delivering 50% higher 3D graphics performance. All this sounds great, but if the battery dies before you can even start the game then an increase in power is useless. Not to worry, the latest processor will also consume 30% less power from the previous generation of chips.
Popular Android game developer HandyGames has released a sequel to its well received Guns'n'Glory tower defence game called Guns'n'Glory WW2. The original Guns'n'Glory was a Wild West themed game that put you in charge of mobile units which you had to place in strategic position in order to ambush settlers, stagecoaches and "the gold train". The original game took the concept of a tower defence game and put an intriguing spin on it by allowing the enemy units to fight back. So, what makes a great game that much better? Why a World War 2 themed sequel, of course!
I am not a big fan of live wallpapers. They provide me with eye candy for a few minutes before I completely lose interest and start playing Cut The Rope. However, sometimes live wallpapers can be informative or so compelling that they deserve a second look. The Neon Microcosm Free LWP is one such live wallpaper that is not particularly useful but is aesthetically pleasing.
Finally! After being limited to US users for the past 2 years, it looks like Google Voice may finally be opening up to the rest of the world. The Next Web has been informed by Jens Redmer, Google's European Director of Business Development, that "Google is currently 'dogfooding' its telephony service Google Voice in Europe ahead of a planned launch outside the US".
It has only been a couple of days since Samsung released the source code for the Epic 4G Touch and it looks like the device has already been rooted. Developers Shabbypenguin and Tanimn of Android Creative Syndicate (ACS) have released a pre-rooted tar file and instructions (XDA link) on how to root the shiny new phone. Similarly, XDA member zedomax has also released his method of rooting the device. Both methods are broadly the same, but zedomax's build appears to be more complete (see below).
Hexage has decided to update their popular retro-style Pacman-esque game EVAC (and EVAC HD) with some new levels and more importantly release it for free! Our esteemed editor reviewed the game some time back and he was particularly impressed by its "magical" soundtrack.
RadioShack seems awfully pleased with its new partnership with Verizon, and to express its sentiment it is giving a $100 instant rebate for every Verizon smartphone activated with a 2-year contract. Those averse to arduous rebate policies (i.e. mailing in the form) will be pleased to know that the entire process of activation and rebate approval will be taken care of by an "awesome" RadioShack associate on the spot. The selected handsets include the HTC Thunderbolt, the Samsung Droid Charge, the Motorola Droid X2 and Droid Bionic.
If you have not already made the switch to Verizon's 4G LTE network, the deal announced today from AmazonWireless may finally tip the balance. Starting today and running till September 26th, AmazonWireless will give a $50 gift card to Amazon.com with every purchase of a Verizon phone or mobile broadband device (i.e. a MiFi) together with a contract.
The Motorola Xoom has its flaws and it may not be all that new, but it is still one of the best Android tablets available. Normally, this fine 10.1" Honeycomb device retails for about $499.99, but from today Amazon.com has it on sale for the low price of $353.50 with free shipping. This is a reduction of almost 30% of the original price and $50 less then the next lowest deal that we have come across.
A little over a year ago Google introduced Voice Actions, which allowed Android users to perform a variety of tasks by simply issuing voice commands. Unfortunately, to the chagrin of non-English speakers, the app was only available in US English. Today Google is updating Voice Actions for users in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain with support for British English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
Following its recent announcement of the "Live With Walkman" Android smartphone, Sony has today officially introduced the Walkman Z Series (Japanese press release) of personal media players.
A press release from Sprint late last month confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy SII (labelled as the Epic 4G Touch) would be coming to US markets by September 16th. More recently, online mobile retailer Wirefly launched their pre-orders page for the Epic 4G Touch, offering $50 off of Sprint's standard contract-subsidised price. In addition to their awesome discount, Wirefly also managed to get their hands on the Epic 4G Touch and just a few hours ago, part 1 of a video review of the device appeared on their YouTube account. Be warned, the review is 10 minutes long and mainly features a description of the device's specs followed by a number of benchmarking tests. According to the reviewer, part 2 will be uploaded soon and it will demonstrate some of the apps on the phone as well as its other features. For now sit back and enjoy the gorgeous 4.5-inch Super AMOLED+ display.
The Guardian is one of the most popular daily newspapers printed in Britain and its web portal, Guardian.co.uk, is also a leading online newspaper, containing nearly all the articles of its parent as well as significant original content. Unlike other web portals of printed publications such as the New York Times and the Economist, all the articles on Guardian.co.uk are freely accessible. To continue ensuring it remains the leading publication in all formats, Guardian has launched an Android app delivering all the latest content from Guardian.co.uk to Android phones and tablets.
Our daily trawl through the interwebs has revealed an intriguing landing page at Verizon's DroidDoes website for the hotly anticipated Motorola Droid Bionic.