David Ruddock
Contributing since June, 2010
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3358articles
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About David Ruddock
David is the former Editor-in-Chief of Android Police and now the EIC of Esper.io. He's been an Android user since the early days - his first smartphone was a Google Nexus One! David graduated from the University of California, Davis where he received his bachelor's degree, and also attended the Pepperdine University School of Law.
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At some point in our near future, I think free-to-play gaming will jump the proverbial shark. I'm not sure if that moment is right now, but it could well be close. Or rather, I hope it's close, because Deer Hunter Slots is now a real, actual thing that real, actual people will play on their Smartphones And Tablets - Available On The App Store And Google Play Today!
Official: LG Watch Urbane Will Be Available On The Google Store In 13 Countries By End Of The Month
The LG Watch Urbane will be available on the Google Store.
LG has officially announced that availability of the Watch Urbane will begin this week in South Korea, with twelve other countries getting it on the Google Store some time before the month is out (as in, before the end of next week). The thirteen countries in total are: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Let's get it out of the way: American wireless carriers suck. None of them are actually good. When you think about the internet and your connection to it in the context of your home or apartment, none of the crap carriers get away with would fly. And that's why we're constantly trying to figure out who has the best deal, who grandfathers, and how to get a phone that doesn't force you to sign a contract, or a plan that'll bleed your wallet dry.
While Cyanogen Inc's Cyanogen OS may have other plans, the non-corporate arm of the larger Cyanogen identity, CyanogenMod, has clarified today that the community version of the ROM will not ship with Cyanogen OS's "exclusive partner apps." That means that no, your next CM nightly build will not have any Microsoft junk on it - that privilege is reserved for the exclusive pleasure of OnePlus One and Yu Yureka owners.
The second of the two currently-available CyanogenMod phones is receiving its 12S update today in a staged rollout. The Yu Yureka, a Micromax phone, comes just days after the OnePlus One also received Cyanogen's first release to be based on Google's Android 5.0 Lollipop platform.
False advertising is a pretty slimy thing, and with rendered product images being commonplace on the web now, the temptation to virtually nip and tuck your new gadget to beauty is stronger than ever. Case in point? Huawei's new P8 and P8max micro-sites, which pretty brazenly portray the new flagship devices with nothing but a metallic glint of a display bezel. Pretty impressive and, more importantly, good-looking. Too bad it's not real. The real Ascend P8max, for the record, looks like this. Now, compare that to the image at the top of this article. See a problem?
While there has yet to be a major smartphone announced with a USB Type C connector, we know they're coming. As are tablets, laptops, and pretty much every other kind of USB gadget you can imagine. This is our quick guide to USB Type C (and USB 3.1, which are actually not the same thing), which will go over the benefits of the new standard, as well as discuss the kind of cables you'll probably want to buy in the next couple of years as it is adopted.
The market for cheap, unlocked smartphones in the US is starting to grow considerably, and with that growth comes more and more competition in the sub-$200 space. While Huawei is well-known abroad for its affordable handsets, the Chinese OEM hasn't really made a big push with them here in America previously. A new listing on Amazon suggests that's about to change.
Google's "Project Nova" MVNO ambitions have already begrudgingly been acknowedlged by Android/Chrome "czar" Sundar Pichai, but now the Telegraph is reporting the company is in talks for no-cost international roaming as a feature of the service.
[gfycat data_id="EquatorialCornyHomalocephale" data_autoplay=true data_expand=true]I've used the two large quadricopters Parrot has released to date - the AR.Drone and AR.Drone 2.0 - but ever since I saw the Bebop at CES earlier this year, I knew I had to give it a try. The Bebop attacks two of the biggest issues of its predecessors head on; namely, size and video quality.Parrot has stepped up to a full 1080p-ready video sensor (it also takes 14MP stills) with an f2.2 wide-angle fisheye lens on the Bebop, and also reduced the size of the drone itself dramatically. The Bebop in outdoor trim (no hull guards) has about one fourth of the footprint of the old AR.Drones in their full bumpers. It's about a third of the size if we're talking no bumpers, but still, this thing is comparatively tiny. This means it has a lower profile in the air, making it less prone to buffeting and swaying with the breeze. And because it's actually no lighter than the AR.Drone (it is in fact 10g heavier), the Bebop takes full advantage of this reduced wind resistance.It's immediately clear the Bebop is more stable, smooth, and predictable in the air. These were major issues with the AR.Drones in anything stronger than a moderate breeze. While they weren't likely to crash, necessarily, capturing relatively shake-free and in-place video could be very difficult depending on the conditions. The Bebop makes this a lot easier. Oh, and you can control it completely via your Android smartphone or tablet (unless it runs Android 5.1, which currently appears to break the app).[EMBED_APP]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.parrot.freeflight3[/EMBED_APP]Video quality is also leaps and bounds better (especially with that excellent optical image stabilization), and the wide angle lens lets you get some really gorgeous views up at the Bebop's 150 meter (492') altitude ceiling. I wouldn't say the quality of the video is great by any means, but it's much more passable than the old AR.Drone's, and much, much smoother. The problem is that the image buffer seems to be underpowered, and you get all kinds of weird digital interlacing artifacts when there's a lot of motion going on. Still, for something that's an all-in-one kind of package, the quality is passable. The Bebop has 8GB of non-expandable flash storage, and videos must be transferred off via USB. That 8GB is enough for, roughly, 45 minutes to an hour of 1080p footage.[EMBED_YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA1Jc5XCRRA[/EMBED_YT]Oddly, the 500' altitude ceiling actually runs afoul of current FAA guidelines here in the US, which limit hobbyist RC aircraft to 400' above ground level. 500' is more commonly cited in the drone community, though, because of the FAA's guidance than manned aircraft should stay above that altitude at all times other than during takeoff and landing. There aren't generally state penalties for violating these rules, though, so as much as the FAA would like you to think otherwise, for personal use this is kind of a gray area.Operating a drone in a populated city makes the FAA and DHS nervous, though, and with the de facto federal "ban" of commercial drone aviation without a permit here in the US, Parrot's product is smack in the middle of a hot debate around remote controlled aircraft. Personal use of a drone within the FAA's guidelines is permitted (under 400', not a heavily populated area, 3 miles from nearest airport), but drones are more often being used in areas and in ways the FAA doesn't support.For example, I live in West Los Angeles. There is no such thing as a "not heavily populated" area of West Los Angeles. I also live well under three miles from a large regional airfield - Santa Monica Municipal Airport. And my drone can go above 400'. This is what the FAA calls "a problem."This doesn't even get into what qualifies as commercial. Is putting an ad revenue-generating video on YouTube from my drone commercial? What about photos taken by my drone on my ad-supported personal blog? What if I take a photo of my business using a drone in a personal capacity, but then use that photo to promote my business online? It is easy to see how lines blur very quickly here, and it makes hobbyist drone flying a bit unsettling as an activity in America.
This weekend's poll is a flagship battle bonanza: with both the Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 set to launch in many countries in a mere matter of days, we want to know which one you'll be buying. I know, most of you will be purchasing neither, but we want to hear from those that are, too, to see how the chips land here at Android Police.