Bertel King, Jr.
Contributing since April, 2013
-
3518articles
Page 162
About Bertel King, Jr.
Bertel is a Linux user who likes budget smartphones more than flagships, uses a custom ROM, and gets his apps from F-Droid. When he isn't writing short stories for Android Police, you might find him penning the fictional kind. Otherwise, look for him reading pixels that were converted to ink and paper.
Latest Articles
Commercial breaks have never been enjoyable, but after growing accustomed to Netflix's commercial-free experience and the brief pauses between Hulu videos, sitting through five minutes worth of ads while watching cable is more jarring than ever. It's possible to channel surf long enough to find something else to watch during that time, but you know the drill - either every show that's interesting happens to go to a commercial break at the same time, or you get too engrossed in something new to remember to turn back. Thankfully, there's now an app for Android that can address the latter problem. The aptly-named Commercial Break for Android sends you a notification every time a commercial you wish to skip comes to an end.
HTC paid a pretty penny to sign Robert Downey Jr. for their new ad campaign aimed at completely redefining their brand, but we're still left scratching our heads as to whether it's going to pay off. Their first lengthy commercial was certainly quirky, but it didn't tell us anything about what HTC phones can do, and I'm not quite sure if they remembered to bring the funny. On the other hand, Motorola's new "Lazy Phone" campaign for the Moto X is absolutely comical, and it does everything a series of phone commercials should. The one downside here is that I only have three to share.
The LG D821 Is A G2 Variant And Not A New Nexus Phone, According To @evleaks - D820 Is Still Fair Game
The LG D821 Is A G2 Variant And Not A New Nexus Phone
We've all had a great deal of fun over the past few days speculating if an LG phone that appeared alongside a Nexus 4 in Google's video for the new Android 4.4 statue was a leak of this year's upcoming Nexus handset. Some folks at S4GRU stirred up even more excitement when they paired the device with an FCC filing for the LG D820. Now, according to @evleaks, the alluring LG D820/821 isn't actually a new Nexus phone - it's just a CDMA-compatible variation of the G2.
Lets face it, email just isn't sexy. The Gmail app has done a lot to pretty things up, adding in fancy swiping gestures and associating pictures with each contact, but the experience is still somewhat clunky. There are alternatives, such as the stock Android app (pretty basic), K-9 Mail (the kitchen-sink approach) and Dextr (innovative, but very limited) - but all have their drawbacks. Evomail is the latest kid on the block, and it hopes to make managing email a task you actually want to do.
When it comes time to pull the trigger on a new app, the reviews are typically what make or break the decision. If the app's instable, laden with malware, full of bugs, or is generally all-around janky, the reviews give us a heads up. The only problem is that it's difficult to sift through all the reviews to find the ones most relevant to our needs. This used to not be a problem, but the ability to filter reviews went the way of the dodo following the Play Store's relatively recent redesign. Now they're back.
As Android users, we've all grown accustomed to getting apps ported to our devices that originated on iOS. It's for this reason that Music Maker Jam by MAGIX's Android debut comes as a bit of a surprise. This app comes to us not from the Apple App Store, but from the Windows Store instead. Music Maker Jam makes mixing your own songs an easy experience and offers a large selection of professionally produced material to work with.
The MyColorScreen team has been hard at work creating a one-click theming app for Android known creatively as "Themer." That brief introduction pretty much sums up everything you need to know about this app. It changes the look and feel of your home screen with just one click. And no, I don't mean it just changes around a few icons. Each theme looks fundamentally different from the one that came before it.
The BBC iPlayer has made the jump to version 2.0, and while it may not have that long of a change log, the features it introduces are big ones. For starters, the app now supports full downloads. Users can download TV shows for free and keep them on their devices for up to 30 days. Just keep in mind that they will expire a week after first being viewed. Users can only download via a WiFi connection, but they have the choice between standard and high quality video.
To all the people who wished, begged, or pleaded for Nokia to make Android phones, listen up, because it looks like your dreams may actually come true. On the day that Microsoft bought out Nokia's phone business, the Finnish company's former Asia-Pacific CEO Thomas Zilliacus founded Newkia in hopes of producing the Android phones that Nokia wouldn't commit to, and he plans to hire Nokia employees who were interested in developing for Android.
In case you haven't already read our coverage of Samsung's big reveal of the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear or taken a gander at our hands-on video of both the phablet and the smartwatch, here's the gist. The former is an updated version of the Galaxy Note II with a new leather-textured plastic back, increased storage space, and a 1080p display. It's not wider than the previous model, but it's taller and packing more power inside along with a larger battery. The Gear is a smartwatch that can pair with high-end Samsung devices, but it's launching alongside the Note 3 and has thus far been shown off alongside that handset. Now Samsung has posted its first 18-minute hands-on video of the two devices working together. Brace yourself before watching, because the speaker's voice is, well, just hear it for yourself.
Google Launches A New Breed Of Chrome Apps For The Browser's 5th Anniversary, Promises Android Compatibility In The Future
Google Launches A New Breed Of Chrome Apps For The Browser's 5th Anniversary
As a Chromebook owner, I've waited a long time for Google to roll out a section in the Chrome Web Store dedicated to packaged apps. It didn't fundamentally bother me that many of the previous "apps" were just glorified bookmarks, I simply chose not to install them and desperately wanted a way to find the apps that were intended to run outside of a browser window. Today, Google has finally answered my prayers (yes, I pray to Google, don't you?), but the addition of the "For Your Desktop" section is just the beginning. The Chrome developers also have plans to port Chrome apps to Android someday.
Android powers most of the worlds smartphones and a sizable number of tablets, but that's just scratching the surface of what our favorite mobile operating system can do. Consider Capture, a game show on CW where contestants utilize Android to capture one another in the real world. They compete in an environment that's filled with power-ups, dangers, and even an electronic fence that serves in place of the invisible walls that plague all but a few 3D games. None of the technology used in the show is fake, and contestants are equipped with an Android device strapped to their wrists that looks not too unlike the Android phone wrist watch we mocked in AP Files #1.
If you need to mass spam - I mean, notify - a bunch of people at once, Everypost might be the app you need. With Everypost, users can upload photos, videos, or text and blast it out to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and other networks, including the anti-social Dropbox. As social networking continues to grow in importance, tools like this are real time-savers. But here's the thing, there are plenty of options out there, so is Everypost worth your time? That depends on if you can get it working.
Samsung KNOX separates data and apps into containers, making it difficult for malware or intruders to gain access or cause damage where they aren't wanted, and it is integrated to a device's hardware and each individual level of the Android framework, making it a full-coverage solution. The software has been available to enterprises for some time now, alleviating concerns that Android isn't secure enough to protect corporate data and communications. KNOX is trusted enough to have been approved for use on the US Department of Defense's networks, and now Samsung is giving access to such security directly to consumers.
It took many long months for the HTC One to make its way over to Verizon, but for people who are loyal or otherwise bound to the company, it was worth the wait. The handset is still one of the most powerful out there, and while beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, no Android device has yet to attract the near-universal praise for its look and feel that the HTC One has. Now the original silver version of the phone is on sale on Amazon for 9 with a new two-year agreement. The deal is also available for current Verizon customers, though it's a tad less generous - upgrades cost $129 instead.
The LTE version of the new Nexus 7 still isn't that easy to get your hands on, but a new update has rolled out for those of you who happen to own this slightly more expensive version of what is already a solid tablet. Like any new device, the Nexus 7 comes with a handful of bugs. Build number JLS36C doesn't do much, but it changes a bunch of system files, patching both the radio and the recovery.
Every time Google pushes out a new version of Android, they lift up a new statue in front of the Googleplex commemorating whichever sweet desert serves as the current codename. When the company revealed Android 4.4 yesterday and its codename "KitKat," they released a photo of the new statue standing in front of similar ones for Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich, Honeycomb, Gingerbread, etc. Those statues are all made by the same company, Themendous, and those fine folks have released photos documenting the creation of the latest statue.
ASUS re-announced at IFA today a slew of new devices, some of which aren't actually new. We first heard about the Transformer Book Trio back in June when ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih introduced just under a dozen products in under an hour. The Transformer Book Trio is billed as a"three-in-one" ultraportable, though there are only two pieces - a tablet and a keyboard dock. If you're familiar with the ASUS Transformer line of products, there is nothing new about this form-factor.
If you live in the US and want to get your hands on the Moto X for less than $199, be patient. The price isn't dropping just yet, and carriers are rolling out promos as they pick up the handset. The Moto X is now available on US Cellular, and they're offering one of the more sizable discounts yet. The phone will still cost $199 with a two-year contract, but if you're creating a new commitment, US Cellular will mail you a $75 MasterCard Debit Card as a "Switcher Bonus." This deal won't work for current customers who are upgrading, but it is still offered to those who are interested in adding a new line.
Alcatel unveiled a new line of smartphones at IFA today, none of which are coming to the US in their current forms. However, similar devices are destined to arrive stateside, and with what they've shown off thus far, this is something to get excited about. Lets start with the Alcatel One Touch Hero, a powerful offering that's more notable for what goes on the phone than what goes in it.