Eric Ravenscraft
Contributing since January, 2012
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1039articles
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About Eric Ravenscraft
Eric is a freelance writer and an OG 'round these parts. Since leaving Android Police, his work has been in Lifehacker, The New York Times, OneZero, PCMag, and a bunch of other places. Catch him on Twitter and YouTube as LordRavenscraft.
Latest Articles
Start with a base of Google+'s Instant Upload, mix with about three cups of Instagram (sans filters, of course), add a dash of personal Pinterest and what you'll get is a photo sharing app from Nero that serves 3-5 platforms. The company that you best know for including a free trial of something DVD-related on any computer you bought in the last decade has released a free Android app that automatically uploads any picture you take on your phone to its central servers and makes it available on any device you have the app installed on. It actually sounds pretty nifty.
One of the coolest features about Google+ is its ability to automatically upload all the photos you take and then allow you to selectively share them at your convenience. While Facebook has been testing this same type of feature with a few users since August, the service is now rolling out publicly to everyone. As long as you have the most recent version of the Android app, you should be able to enable it soon.
I know. You thought Flash was long gone. You mourned the relationship and moved on. Having made peace with the past and exploring a bright future, you were ready to start a new life with HTML5. Now, thanks to Mozilla, your ex has come calling, bringing back all those old memories. But enough with the metaphors. The organization behind Firefox announced Shumway, an open SWF runtime project, today. With this, the company hopes to bring compatibility for Flash content back to the web, particularly on mobile. A lofty goal, given that Adobe, creator of the Flash format, isn't keen on that last part.
Remember that odd plastic piece on the back of the Nexus 10? You could remove the part and replace it with a smart cover that remains physically attached to your device. Well, if you've wanted that same action on your Galaxy S III or Note II, now's your chance. Samsung's protective flip covers are going on sale.
Google Maps Navigation Goes Live In Mexico
Google Maps navigation has now gone live in Mexico.
Update: Many of you in the comments along with @GoogleMexico have confirmed that navigation went live earlier today. Congratulations!
Finally! Google Drive is receiving an update today that allows mobile users to view and edit spreadsheets in a native editor. That only took forever! There are a few other features, too, but give us a moment to bask in the glory of native spreadsheet editing. Ahhh. Ready? Let's continue.
So far, the red Galaxy S III has been limited strictly to AT&T. If you wanted to get your hands on that device in the color that denotes danger and sexiness (you know, in keeping with the whole calming 'nature' theme), then two-thirds of U.S. mobile users would have to switch carriers. Now, however, you can get a red Galaxy S III 920 from Wal-Mart as long as you don't mind it being a Lumia 920, running Windows Phone, and not being a Galaxy S III at all.
Photoshop Touch may not be completely comparable to Adobe's desktop counterpart, but when you compare it to other photo editors on the Android platform, it's still the most powerful piece of software out there. At $10, it better be, too. Today, the best just got a bit better, especially if you own a Nexus 7. The app has improved support for 7" tablets. Though, there's a catch: the resolution on said tabs have to be 1024x768 or higher. Sorry, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.
To call Rdio's latest beta a complete overhaul might be a bit of a misnomer. The feature set is largely the same, even if the design has gotten a facelift. However, seeing as the music streaming wars are heating up, it seems like a perfect time to take a second look at the service that always seems to play second fiddle to the behemoth that is Spotify.
When Ron tore down the most recent Play Store APK, he discovered references to pre-orders hiding within. It wasn't clear at the time just what this option would apply to, but now we know! It's books! According to a new help page, if an item on Play Books is not yet available, you may find a pre-order option that you can use to place a reservation. Neat!
The Nexus 4 has been in-and-out of stock like a California burger joint, but today it's back—as long as you don't mind getting it from T-Mobile. The subsidized hardware with a two-year contract is available again from everyone's fourth-favorite carrier. If you want one without a contract, though, that's still an option. It will just run you $500.
It seems to be a growing trend among manufacturers to show off the process behind creating their products. Today, Samsung joined the ranks, bringing us an inside look of the stress test process that the company's moneymaker undergoes. To ensure that every Galaxy S III can stand up to all the punishment you can throw at it, there are a number of machines that attempt to scratch, crack, or soak the handset to see how well it can hold up. Oh, yeah, and there's an automated ass that sits on the phone over and over again.
Those of you who are on Sprint and thus have no need for opinions on the Nexus 4's lack of a 4G radio will probably agree: more LTE coverage is more gooder. Well, the Now Network concurs and the carrier is opening up the airwaves in a few more cities and areas, including Anderson, Indiana; Harrisonburg, Virginia; and Peabody, Massachusetts.
It was bound to happen. Really, it was inevitable at this point, however today we've gotten official word that Samsung is requesting to add the newest iPad, the iPad Mini, and the latest iPod Touch to its lawsuit against the Cupertino company. This isn't shocking so much as it is entirely expected. Still, while HTC and Apple are busy settling their differences and the patent wars seemingly cooling off—if only a bit—this is a solid reminder that the two manufacturers with the most to gain (and lose!) from this fight aren't backing away from each other.
This likely won't affect too many average users, but if you happen to work in a business or university with an open wireless network that relies on an internal hostname within a domain for any redirection, you're in a bit of luck. Up until this point, there's been a bug in Android that makes it impossible for the system to resolve a hostname on a local domain to its proper IP address.
Were you hoping to score some sweet new games this holiday season? Gameloft's got you covered. For its Black Friday sale, the developer will be offering several of its wares for just $0.99. Among the titles in the promotion are The Amazing Spider-Man, Gangstar Rio: City Of Saints, Backstab, and The Adventures Of TinTin.
The First Avengers Initiative Game Finally Goes Live On The Play Store, Launching With $5 Promo Price Tag
The First Avengers Initiative Game Finally Goes Live
It's been a couple months in coming, but the first in an episodic series of Avengers games is live on the Play Store now. In case you've forgotten, this edition features the Hulk, leading the effort to round up a number of supervillains that escaped during a breakout of The Vault. To celebrate the launch, Marvel and NVIDIA are offering the game for a special promo price of $4.99 (normally $6.99).
Forget ye old days of knights and nobility when you had to stick a dragon with a sword to slay the beast and win yonder fair lady. These days, medieval mythological warfare can be done via the comfort of your own phone. Dragon Slayer fulfills your fantasy by allowing you to engage in magical combat with a host of dragons, and dragon-like creatures.
[Review] Ingress Is, By Far, The Best Augmented Reality Game A Curious Explorer In The City Can Play
If you've been paying attention to the news cycle lately, you've probably heard that Google—by way of the obscure "Niantic Labs"—released a game of some kind. You saw a trailer that depicted people discovering hidden energy fields within statues, landmarks, and artistic sculptures. You had no idea what was going on. You signed up for an invite anyway, because like any other weird Google product, you want in regardless of what it is. Well, I got my invite a couple days ago, and I'm happy to tell you, it's absolutely worth it.
It seems like the Android world is getting a ton of extra tablet love in the past few months. Today, Skype joined the party by finally introducing an optimized UI for those of you with a little more screen to love. While the new look is nice, it bizarrely forces your slate into landscape mode. Even on the Nexus 7, you have no choice but to use the wider layout. This probably isn't a bad thing, since it looks great in this mode, and might seem cramped otherwise. Still, this is the only app outside of games we've seen do this, so it's a little jarring. Unless you're on a 10" device that already defaults to landscape mode, in which case you probably won't notice much.