David Ruddock - 127/143 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

David Ruddock

David's phone is an HTC One X+. He is an avid writer, and enjoys imparting a legal perspective on Android news where it is relevant. He also doesn't usually write such boring sentences.

Follow @rdr0b11

Feb

Dell Streaks On Rogers And AT&T Finally Getting Froyo OTA

Posted by David Ruddock in Dell, Froyo 2.2, News, Streak

Last Updated: October 10th, 2011

The time for Froyo has finally come for Dell's first Android device - and I'm sure all 12 US and Canadian Streak owners jumping for joy. Dell announced today that it has begun a rollout of the long-awaited bump to Android 2.2 for its tablet-phone in North America, dragging only a few months behind its UK counterpart. The update, to be clear, is an OTA. The Dell release suggests rebooting your phone will detect the update if the rollout has reached you.

Dell originally promised the update before December 31st of 2010, so that makes this update nearly two months overdue.

Feb

MenuPages Enters The Android Food App Foray

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Ever heard of MenuPages? I hadn't until today, but I guess I live in a cardboard box. The popular website now offers an Android app for your convenience - but what's MenuPage's big feature when competing against the likes of UrbanSpoon and Yelp? You may have guessed it has something to do with menus.

MenuPages indexes the (wait for it, it's mind-blowing) menu contents of any restaurant their service lists, meaning you can search by the exact food you want, as opposed to browsing through broad genres of cuisine. Pretty nifty for foodies like myself, and I can say right now that this app has made a home on my phone for the foreseeable future.

Feb

[Review] HTC Inspire 4G: A Pretty Face Only Gets You So Far

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Inspire 4G (Ace, Stallion), Phone Reviews, Reviews, Videos

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

About this time last week, I first started playing with our Inspire 4G review unit. And at first blush, I admittedly found myself enamored with this phone. Unfortunately, it was a love that started to splinter as the days went on, and the more I used it, the more I noticed just how unfinished some parts of this phone can feel. Overall, the Inspire is a good phone with the potential to be great, and I'll talk about what's holding it back (software, connectivity) further on in the review.

Don't let that statement deter you from considering purchasing it, though, because at $99 (or $60 on Amazon), the Inspire 4G is a steal of a deal if you're looking for a reasonably priced 4G smartphone.

Feb

Twitter Suspends Twidroyd And All Other UberMedia Twitter Clients

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Last Updated: February 20th, 2011

Twitter's laying down the bird-law this morning, and the owners of Twidroyd, UberMedia, don't have much in the way of good news to tweet about right now (I am so sorry for that entire sentence).

Twitter has suspended access to its social network from Twidroyd, UberTwitter, and UberCurrent - three apps owned by UberMedia. Why? Gizmodo claims it's for the following reasons:

UberMedia "violated Twitter policies and trademarks in a variety of ways." Like "a privacy issue with private Direct Messages longer than 140 characters, trademark infringement, and changing the content of users' Tweets in order to make money."

I don't use Twidroyd, so I have no idea what any of this is all about aside from the trademark infringement issue.

Feb

[Updated] CyanogenMod 7 RC1 Now Available For 17 Android Devices

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Gingerbread 2.3, News

Warning: This article contains information about flashing custom ROMs to your phone. If you're at all new to this, give our complete guide to custom ROM flashing a read.

Well folks, the day has finally come: the Gingerbread-based CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidates have landed for 17 Android devices. These "RCs" are suitable, generally speaking, for everyday use and have been road-tested enough that TeamDouche feels they're almost ready for prime time. Hit the links for the individual threads, which contain instructions and download mirrors:

Happy flashing, and be sure to read the instructions if this is your first go.

Feb

Android Movie Studio For Honeycomb Unveiled At MWC By Eric Schmidt, Looks Awesome

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Right now at MWC, Eric Schmidt is showing off a brand-new, Google-developed Android app: Movie Studio. The app, as the name may suggest, is a video editor. It's designed specifically for Honeycomb tablets, and as a video editor, that sort of makes sense. It's pretty rough trying to edit video on a smaller screen, though not impossible (which is to say, I imagine an XDA port for phones will happen as soon as an APK gets leaked).

Movie Studio will contain most of the features you'd expect in a competitive (*cough* iMovie *cough*) video editing app: transitions, audio import, splicing, A/V timeline, and multi-format export and sharing options.

Feb

Android Intervention, Part 4 of 4: The Android Market - A Work In Progress?

Posted by David Ruddock in Editorials

Uhoh, he's at it again. No, I'm not going to make this a rant that is hugely controversial or upsetting. Seemingly contrary to what I write sometimes, I love Android. And anyone who loves Android can agree: the Android Market kinda-sorta sucks sometimes.

Whoa there, let me qualify that - some aspects of the Market are less than fantastic, and I think every Android user has come to realize this. In fact, I doubt it's a stretch to say that the Market's shortcomings are the single biggest reason Android hasn't eaten the iPhone for breakfast in terms of critical acclaim.

Feb

[Video] HTC Inspire 4G Hands-On: First Look At AT&T's First 4G Phone

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, HTC, Inspire 4G (Ace, Stallion), Videos

Yesterday afternoon I unboxed an HTC Inspire 4G, the first Sense UI-equipped smartphone I've used. And let me say right now: I'm impressed. The interface has very little lag, is quite nice to look at, and very informative on the Inspire's large 4.3" LCD display. Anyway, I'll just direct you to my video hands-on:

Our full review of the Inspire 4G will be making its way to you next week, so be on the lookout.

Feb

HTC Thunderbolt DELAYED By Verizon, New Launch Date To Be Decided

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Some internal document sent somewhere at some point today was captured by someone and then sent on to Droid-Life, and the news it contains isn't going to be making anyone particularly happy:

Here's the deal: the Thunderbolt won't be launching on the 14th (next week). Amazon and Best Buy apparently had it wrong, and Amazon has since updated its page to reflect that unknown launch date.

The Thunderbolt's Mobile Hotspot feature has also been pushed back, but I would assume this is merely to accommodate the device's new release date. The XOOM also got a mention - something about a delay with the "creative" for the device, I presume this is in reference to advertisements and kiosks and such (correct me if I'm wrong on this, commenters).

Feb

Official RealVNC Viewer For Android Hits The Market - And It Doesn't Come Cheap

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Ok, so it's not that expensive, but $10 (5.99GBP)? Seems a little pricey for a remote viewer client (though LogMeIn will run you $30, by comparison), especially considering RealVNC's "Personal Edition" desktop software costs 30 bucks. Fear not, because there is a free version of the RealVNC software for Windows, and while it lacks a lot of the nifty features the full Personal Edition has, the Android viewer client doesn't support most of them anyway.

If you want a completely free Android VNC experience, I suggest TightVNC for PC or Chicken of the VNC for OS X, combined with the equally free android-vnc-viewer (though you'll probably spend a little more time configuring them).