Eric Ravenscraft - 22/103 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Eric Ravenscraft

Eric is a snarky technophile with a taste for the unusual. When he's not obsessing about Android, you can usually find him obsessing about movies, psychology, or the perfect energy drink. Eric weaves his own special blend of snark, satire, and comedy into all his articles.

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Feb

Google Adds 38 Run And Lift Maps From Major Ski Resorts To Google Maps, But Please Don't Use Them On the Mountain

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

A non-zero number of Android Police team members enjoy skiiing. Who wouldn't, right? Well, people who get lost for starters. Mountains can be mazes! However, Google did what Google does best and made some sense of the madness. Now you can find guides for 38 different resorts all on your mobile phone.

The runs are color coded by difficulty, as they normally are on the mountain. You can view them with GPS on your mobile phone, or even check them out on the desktop before you hit the snow. A few slopes even have a Street View preview (though they're not quite as thorough as regular Street View).

Feb

Lets Talk Has The 16GB Nexus 4 For $76 After Coupon Codes With New T-Mobile Contract

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Deals, News

This might just be one of the better deals we've seen in a while. Lets Talk is offering the Nexus 4 for $85 on a new 2-year T-Mobile contract. Enter the coupon code "TALK4TEN" (no quotes) during checkout and you can knock another $8.50 off that (money's money, right?) for a grand total of $76.50. Not bad!

Existing customers can get the handset for $155 before the coupon code which will take $15.50 off for a total of $140, which isn't too bad of a deal, either. It's still worth noting that both options require a two-year commitment, while the contract-free version you can get from the Play store is only $350 (less if you don't mind 8GB).

Feb

[Editorial] We Do Not Need 'Amazon Coins' (Or Any Virtual Currency)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Editorials, News

The scene: a board room. Ominous and shrouded in mystery, all that can be seen is a long, black glass desk and on either side, twelve featureless chairs. In each sits a grumpy old person. The rest of the chamber is a dark, empty void. Out of the abyss a lone man appears, approaching the head of the table. He's adorned in blue jeans, a white dress shirt and a dark blazer. The brightest light in the room is the reflection on his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he says. "As you are no doubt aware, our earnings for last quarter were less than optimal.

Feb

Platform Numbers Are In For January 2013: Gingerbread Down To 45.4%, ICS Down (Wha-?) To 29.0%, Jelly Bean Up to 13.6%

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Android OS, Google, News

It's that time again! We get another glimpse at what the platform distribution numbers are like for Android. If you've been following along, you'll notice there aren't many changes: Gingerbread is still the biggest slice of the pie, Ice Cream Sandwich is second, and the two major versions of Jelly Bean together make up the third largest. 2.3 is down to 45.4% from 47.4% a month ago. That 2% difference seems to have gone overwhelmingly to Jelly Bean which went up to 13.6% from 10% a month ago.

The most curious shift, however, was Ice Cream Sandwich. While the change was minimal, the version dropped from 29.1% to a flat 29%.

Feb

[Update: Rolling Out Now] Verizon Pulls A Miracle Out Of Its Hat, Will Release ICS For The HTC Thunderbolt Soon

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Update: The OTA is rolling out now. Go get it! Thanks for the heads-up, James!

We didn't think it was possible. We thought it was abandoned, left on the side of the road where no one would ever find it. Yet here, through the fog, a light comes shining through: Verizon is actually releasing Ice Cream Sandwich for the HTC Thunderbolt. Assuming that users haven't already thrown theirs into a lake by now.

The support page says the update is "coming soon", so we can't confirm exactly when the OTA will roll out, but the important thing to take away here is that it's real, it's definitely coming, and it won't be long now.

Feb

Ouya Will Be Sold At GameStop, Best Buy, Target, And Amazon, Controllers Will Cost $50

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

We've only got about a month left before Ouya units start landing in the hands of backers and a few months before the full-blown retail launch. A retail launch that we now learn will include GameStop, Best Buy, Target, Amazon, and an undisclosed number of other sellers. Yes, including brick-and-mortar stores. Things are starting to look pretty good for the little console that could.

Speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ouya's CEO released a few extra details, including the price: $100 for the console, which we knew. However, controllers will also be available for $50. Note the distinct lack of the word "extra" before "controllers." You see, the touchpad-enabled handheld can be adapted for use on other devices.

Feb

MoviePass Releases Its Android App, Allows Theater Addicts To Track Movies, Perks And More

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

MoviePass sounds like a pretty fantastic service for movie buffs. Pay a set fee every month, and you can go to the theater as much as you would like (with a fairly lengthy list of caveats). It's Netflix, but for all the movies that are out now. While it wouldn't be of much interest to the casual viewer who might only see one or two flicks a year, the avid viewer could save tons of money. What's a sweet subscription without an Android app to go along with it, though?

Most of the functions of this app can probably already be performed by your theater app of choice, however being able to look up listings that only include participating locations is a handy filter to have.

Feb

FreedomPop Wants To Give You 500MB Of Free LTE (Great!) Via A Rumored, Ugly, Tablet-Clip Hotspot (What?)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, News

Wi-Fi-only tablets are pretty popular and for good reason. No one wants to pay for a second data plan just for their slate, and the hardware is cheaper if you get it without 3G/4G radios anyway. Seems like a win. Until you get out of your house and curse your disconnected device and its inability to Google Jeff Goldblum's height at the drop of a hat. Enter FreedomPop.

The service may not be new, but it is novel: 500MB of free data per month. That's it. The end. No strings. Oh, sure, there are overage fees. And you can pay to get more if you really want to.

Feb

Google Shifts Developer Payments To The 15th Of Every Month, Provides A Transition Schedule To Help Devs Pay Rent

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

If you make money on the Play Store, you should probably check your email. Google is sending out a notification to developers to let them know that in the future, payments will be sent out on a 15 day delay instead of the one or two days the company has been using for a while. What does this mean for you? Well, if selling apps is a primary source of income for you, then you'll want to do some planning. Before you panic, though, Google is implementing an intermediary schedule to make the transition a little easier.

Here's how it works.

Feb

[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 47: Tiny Mermaids Poked Holes in My Boat

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 47.

Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The unedited video version of the podcast can be found here - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, tangents, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter as we prepare. Watch at your own risk!