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For the last 2 weeks, I've been testing a pre-release version of Theft Aware 2.0 - an app that occupies a spot in the familiar Android Security category, alongside WaveSecure, Lookout, and others. And yet, Theft Aware stands so much taller compared to them that they become small, almost invisible, dots. I could hardly contain my excitement and fascination with Theft Aware, but first, I needed to get answers to all of my questions and pass the info to all of you.
Along with hundreds of thousands of people inhabiting the San Francisco Bay Area, I've been waiting for the Sprint 4G launch ever since Google graciously gifted us the EVO 4G powerhouses back at the I/O conference. In fact, it was June 16th, which happens to be my birthday, when I first noticed a strong 4G signal in Mountain View, not too far from Google's own headquarters. Little did I know back then that the wait was not over, and we wouldn't be getting 4G until the very end of the year.
The Black Friday is long gone, but another, potentially even bigger event, called Cyber Monday, is now upon us. Cyber Monday is what happens when the Black Friday goes online, and Virgin Mobile USA does not disappoint. The carrier, which uses Sprint's network, is offering its only Android handset, the Samsung Intercept, for a whopping $75 off. The deal is valid for the duration of Cyber Monday, so hurry up if you want this 800MHz Android QWERTY slider for $175, with free shipping. The beauty of Virgin Mobile USA, of course, is its plans starting at $25 a month, with NO contract to sign.
Having found the jump to top function in TweetDeck for Android yesterday, which I didn't know existed for who knows how long, I got excited and shared the tip via Twitter. You see, what we take for granted in other clients, such as Twidroyd, where this feature is accessed via a button in the Menu, is not so obvious in TweetDeck. To my surprise, so many of you responded, thanking for uncovering this obscure feature in your favorite Twitter client, that I decided (since not everyone is on Twitter nowadays [:gasp:]) to put the tip up for everyone to see. No longer will you have to scroll up for miles after a day's worth of messages.
As the Thanksgiving weekend is coming to an end, residents of Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus can say thank you to Sprint today as well. The nation's 3rd largest mobile carrier announced that 4G, otherwise known as WiMax, is officially live in the aforementioned cities. This puts the Los Angeles area full 2 days ahead of schedule, as the 4G launch there was expected on December 1st. SF Bay Area next, please (the launch there is expected sometime in December)!
If you still haven't picked up one of the awesome Android shirts that we added to our apparel store this month, here is your chance at ordering them with the largest discount to date: 25% off orders over $40. Just use coupon codes CYBER2010 (US) or CADCYBER2010 (Canada), and the discount will be applied to the total value of your cart. Customers outside the US and Canada, unfortunately, are not eligible.
Ever since I started developing Android apps, I've been baffled by the absence of the actual Android Market in the Android SDK. None of the virtual devices created for the emulator have the Market anywhere in the vicinity. Maybe Google is trying to reserve it for actual devices, so that you don't go rating or trying out apps on something that isn't even a real phone, but it makes it quite inconvenient for us developers because we can't easily install our favorite apps, such as the Astro file manager or DiskUsage. With necessary limitations in place (like disabling the rating functionality), Google should have included the Market app as part of the SDK to make the emulator experience closer to real life. Alas, for months I've lived without.
The folks over at XDA-developers have prepared an exclusive treat for all of us who are patiently (and impatiently) awaiting both Gingerbread and the Nexus S. One of their sources managed to get ahold of the upcoming flagship device from Samsung, which, as we all know, runs Gingerbread. He even spilled some beans on the specs:
The Android Market has been getting quite a bit of attention lately, with a 6-hour maintenance, a whole host of new fields available to developers, and the rumored web version that is supposed to arrive with Gingerbread. Today, Googler Eric Chu shined some light on the next upcoming feature - mandatory content ratings for Android apps. In a post over at Google's Android developers blog, Eric announced that in the next few weeks, all apps will gain a content rating level, specifically:
If you thought Amazon's recent deals on all AT&T Android phones and all Verizon Droids were good, just wait 'til you see what they've got in store for the holidays. Amazon Wireless' Black Friday deals are now up, though without a definitive end date - instead, the deals will be available while supplies last. Of course, it goes without saying that Amazon Wireless does not charge tax in most states (except for KY, KS, NY, ND, and WA) and has free shipping, beating out carriers' own retail stores any day.
Yelp's mobile app on Android just got an update to version 2.5, introducing just one feature - check-in offers. Check-in offers are new to Yelp but not new in the industry - 4square pioneered the concept, followed by Facebook and SCVNGR. Yelp introduced mobile check-ins in July of this year.
A new vulnerability that affects every Android device currently on the market was discovered and published today by Thomas Cannon, an information and security researcher. The hole in the way the Android browser treats Javascript allows a remote attacker to lure an unsuspecting victim to a malicious web page, which then downloads and executes rogue Javascript with access to the local SD card's file system. While the locations of files on the SD card needs to be known by the attacker in advance, it still represents a clear problem due to many popular applications storing data in the same location. Additionally, photo files tend to use similar naming schemes, and the attacker would be easily able to harvest some of your private pictures.
Whenever a game as polished as Slice It! comes out, you pretty much have no choice but to download and try it out - Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja are great examples of such games, and Slice It! from Com2Us does not disappoint. Not to be confused with Fruit Ninja-like games where you have to slice fruit in the air, in Slice It!, you have to divide various shapes into equal sizes in order to advance. Similar to Angry Birds, star ratings are given at the end of each level. My first impressions after seeing the graphics and the UI were most excellent, and I'm sure Slice It! will occupy many hours of my down time.
We all knew it was coming - Full Tilt Poker Rush Mobile, the first real money poker game on Android, has finally hit the Android Market, and is available for devices running Froyo, due to the Flash 10.1 requirement. The app still bears a beta sticker, so be careful with those hard earned greens of yours. Obviously, it goes without saying that you should also find a stable connection, preferably WiFi, unless you want to fold every hand you get disconnected from.
Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications and games that went live in the Market in the previous week or so.
Angry Birds is probably the most iconic Android game on the Market now - I mean, how often do you see people dressing up as Android game characters for Halloween, making game themed cakes and plush toys, and creating fan videos that millions can relate to? Probably not very often. Before Angry Birds actually turns into a full-fledged motion picture, let's enjoy ourselves watching hilarious gems like this one, shot for an Israeli comedy show. There is a tidbit of NSFW language in there, which, in my opinion, makes the whole thing that much more funny.
While everyone in the U.S. is awaiting the Black Friday, the largest retail event of the year, RadioShack decided to start the party early and is kicking off its own event called Shack Friday.
To end our relatively calm and Gingerbread-less Friday, I present to you The Evolution Of Android - a stop motion animation created by YouTube user droidsans. It's kind of like our Meet Andy: Android's History In A Nutshell, except it's not. And it's got a twist at the end. Can you guess what it is?
Chase, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, today released its official and long-awaited mobile banking app for Android. Since I am a Chase customer with 3 credit cards and a checking account (migrated from WaMu), I decided to take it out for a quick spin.
Wow... that's the only word I have to describe what Amazon Wireless pulled this morning. Amazon and Wirefly oftentimes offer killer deals compared to the carriers (like yesterday's $50 Droid Pro Wirefly deal), but this one is just ridiculous. All of the Droid phones, including the newly released Droid Pro, are exactly 1 penny over at Amazon Wireless for new Verizon customers: