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I have a confession to make: I'm usually not a big fan of anything I see as a "novelty" product. Sure, there are cool ideas, but I'm all about usefulness. Things that make life easier, more convenient, or just generally better. I think the DoorBot is one of those things.
I'm not going to pretend to be a developer here, and I'll openly admit that the bulk of what IDEA 12 does is over my head. However, I do understand its importance and relevance. Still, for the sake of correctness, we'll keep this one short and sweet.
Archos GamePad Officially Available In Europe Now For 149.99€, Coming To North America In Early 2013
Archos GamePad Officially Available In Europe Now For 149.99 Euro
Back in August, Archos announced its then-upcoming GamePad, a tablet which looks to "revolutionize" gaming on Android. Featuring built-in physical game controls and custom button mapping software, the GamePad removes the need for touch controls, giving mobile gaming a more console-like feel, while its 7" display still keeps it portable enough to toss in your bag and take on-the-go. And now, it's finally available.
It's no secret that Sony has been a long-time supporter of the custom ROM community, but now the company has released a tool that lets owners of bootloader unlocked Xperia devices easily return back to stock firmware from a custom ROM. According to Sony's blog post, this tool has been oft-requested by the community, so it's good to see Sony deliver on that.
Back in late October, SwiftKey announced a new feature called Flow for its hyper-intelligent keyboard. SwiftKey Flow takes everything you (and I) love about SK, and combines it with gesture typing, like that of Swype, or the Android 4.2 stock keyboard. Then, just a few days ago, they debuted the newest feature that would be available in Flow - called Flow Through Space - which allows users to swipe through full sentences without having to lift their finger from the keyboard by sliding down to the spacebar after each word. Not only is that intuitive and brilliant, but I've been using Flow for the last few days, and it works pretty flawlessly.
Have you heard of QThru? If not, welcome to the club - before tonight, I didn't even know it existed. Basically, it's a cool take on self-checkouts at brick-and-mortar stores. The idea is simple: carry your phone around, scanning barcodes of the stuff you intend on buying. Once you're finished, head over to the QThru kiosk and use it to scan the QR on your phone, essentially closing the transaction. All of your credit card info is stored within the QThru app on your device, so once you've scanned the QR, you're done. A worker at participating retailers would likely be hanging around to compare the cart's contents to the receipt, just to make sure you're not up to no good. Not like you - our esteemed reader - would do such a thing, anyway.
If you're a fan of abstract puzzle games, then Cipher Studios' Splice should pique your interests. The entire game takes place under the microscope, where it's your job to re-arrange and splice together strands of DNA (hence the name of the game). Each cell will react differently to different splices, so it's up to you to figure out how to successfully restructure each strand and completely the sequence.
Of all the services that I use on a daily basis, Dropbox is probably the one that I absolutely can't live without. I store nearly everything in it, use it to quickly (and automatically, thanks to FolderSync) transfer screenshots to my PCs, and easily share files with other AP team members, friends, and family. However, the fact that files and folders couldn't previously be moved from within the Android app has always been pretty annoying.
While the majority of Galaxy S III owners on U.S. carriers are still waiting to get the Android 4.1.1 update, those with unlocked handsets in Poland are already receiving the Android 4.1.2 OTA. This update brings more than just a Jelly Bean point release, though; it also comes with a host of new features:
Ever since Chameleon Launcher was released, users have been wanting to see a version designed for phones. Looks like that time is finally coming, as the Chameleon dev team has posted a call for 25 alpha/beta testers for the new project, requesting that they have specific phone models to test on:
If you have a 101 XS from Archos, it's time to furiously start hitting the "check updates" button, as the company just began pushing Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) to the device. This bumps the tablet up to version 4.1.0, and brings a couple other enhancements along for the ride, as well:
It's no secret that Amazon is trying to turn the Kindle Fire/HD into the device that the entire family shares for content consumption, but now they've built a service that makes it even more relevant as such. Dubbed FreeTime Unlimited, the all-you-can-eat plan is serving up hot bowls of children's content, ready to be consumed day or night.
One of the biggest benefits of Android is, and always has been, the plethora of available software keyboards. Don't like stock? No problem - there's something out there that will make your typing experience suck less. But what works great on phones may not be so hot on a large-screen devices like a tablets, so there's basically a whole subset of keyboards - or at least keyboard layouts - in that arena.
Whenever the discussion of apps with bad UI comes up, Tasker - powerful as it may be - is always one of the first to be mentioned. Because, let's face it, it's pretty hideous. In the early days of Android, this wasn't much of an issue, as there was no standard UI. Or, you know, the Android Style Guide. In the past year or so, though, Google has really been pushing a the clean look of ICS+, Holo, and a consistent experience across applications.
This morning, Gen announced the newest addition to the Andru family: Chill. He's a relaxed little guy with a good demeanor. On the other side of the fence, though, is his cousin, Andru Dark. He's the wicked one of the bunch, with red glowing eyes and an appetite for destruction. Then there's the original Andru - the old, wise one. He's figured out the balance between good and evil, and is just happy to be included.
When it comes to distributing internal software, most companies have a few options: email, shared accounts on things like Box, or websites that specialize in private content sharing. Now, though, Google is making it easy for Google Apps users to easily, privately, and securely share their internal applications though the new Play Store Private Channel.
Toshiba Intros New Tegra 3-Powered Excite SE 10" Tablet With Jelly Bean 4.1, We Wonder Why They Even Bother
Toshiba Intros New Tegra 3-Powered Excite SE 10" Tablet With Jelly Bean 4.1
When it comes to Android tablets, Toshiba hasn't really been the "brand to buy," so to speak. It's not that they put out bad hardware, because that's simply not the case - the Excite 7.7 is one of the best Android tablets I've ever used. It's that they don't promote - or more importantly, support - devices after release.
Oh Beautiful Widgets, how I love thee. This was one of the very first Android apps that I purchased when I got my OG Droid, and I've been using it ever since. Not just because it's an amazingly-good app, but because LevelUp Studio constantly works to make it better and keep it relevant. And today the app reached v5.
Move Over, LeapPad: Fuhu Introduces The $99 Nabi Jr. Tablet For Small Children
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Nabi 2 tablet for kids. As a father, I was extremely impressed with its vast suite of educational software.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Nabi 2 tablet for kids. As a father, I was extremely impressed with its vast suite of educational software, ease of use, and overall solid build quality when I reviewed it. The one major drawback of the Nabi 2 is that it's not really meant for pre-school-age children. Sure, it could help give your little little one a headstart, but $200 is a bit much to shell out when they may not even start using the device until the ripe-old age of five. Enter the answer to your quandary: the Nabi Jr.