Eric Ravenscraft - 24/103 - 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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Jan

HTC Is Bundling A Tiny Phone With Its Giant Phones (In China) Because That Will Make Things Easier

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in HTC, News

Innovation is great. You know what it does? It solves problems. Not problems like 'What is beauty?' because that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy. Innovation solves practical problems. For instance, "How am I going to stop this big mean 5" 1080p display from tearing my battery and hand a structurally superfluous new behind?" The answer, according to HTC? Use a mini phone.

Let's give HTC at least one paragraph of fairness: the secondary mini-phone doesn't sound like the worst idea once you hear what it can do. It can take Bluetooth calls, pair via NFC, display notifications, act as a remote when your phone is plugged into your TV, and even help find your phone if, for some reason, you lose the big one but still have the little one in your pocket.

Jan

Carrier-Unlocking Smartphones Will Be Illegal In The U.S. Tomorrow: Here's How (And If) It Affects You

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Features, News

At this point, you've probably heard that starting tomorrow, it will become illegal to unlock your smartphone to use it on another carrier. You certainly should have heard so since the decision was made three months ago. That being said, there are still quite a few questions that folks want to have answered. Chief among them, 'How does this affect me?' Well, I'm glad you asked, dear reader.

For a bit of context, first, let's take a look at exactly what has changed. This is not new, sweeping legislation. What happens is that every three years, the Librarian of Congress issues a set of exemptions to the DMCA.

Jan

Puddle THD Goes On Sale For $0.99 (Formerly $4.99) To Celebrate Its One Year Anniversary

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

Do you like physics games? I sure do. Puddle THD happens to be a great game in this category if you happen to have a Tegra 3 device. The puzzle-centric fluid simulator is typically available on the Play Store for $5, but today the app has gone on sale for a measly $0.99 to celebrate its first whole year on the market. Not bad!

To get an idea of what this game is like you can either watch the video above or rely on my words. Here they are: have you ever wondered what Sonic the Hedgehog would be like if Sonic were a glob of semi-viscous goo?

Jan

Pebble Smartwatch App Finds Its Way To The Play Store Just In Time For Initial Shipments To Arrive

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Hope you like the idea of a smartwatch, because startups are not giving up on them. To wit, one of the most popular manifestations of the concept is the Pebble which began as a Kickstarter project that aimed to raise $100k. Instead, the company raised $10 million. Yes, a hundred times a hundred thousand. That investment seems to be paying off a bit, though, as today an Android app landed in the Play Store just prior to the first round of units arriving on customers' arms.

The app allows Pebble owners to set customized watch faces, choose what types of notifications get sent to your wrist, and test the connection between the two devices (extremely handy).

Jan

OUYA Controllers Get Some Tweaks For The Better, Thanks To Developer Input

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

Remember when developers got their pre-release Ouya kits and started showing them off? In those videos, the controllers looked kinda crummy. Thankfully, the company said those were absolutely not indicative of the final design that will go out to consumers. Turns out, they really weren't! The company has detailed some changes and they sound pretty good.

For starters, the D-pad design has changed from a disconnected disc to the typical cross style that we've all gotten used to since the NES. The control sticks are more grippy as well. Also, the universally panned trigger buttons have been improved to have better mechanics and be more flush with the controller.

Jan

Skype Updated With Portrait Calling On Tablets, Portuguese, Norwegian, And UK English Languages

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Well, it's a start. While the Skype app for Android still has a bizarre and uncomfortable habit of forcing landscape mode, today's update at least allows users to use the portrait orientation if they're making a call. That's nice. Especially since the positioning of front-facing cameras on devices like the Nexus 7 make landscape video chats extremely awkward. Now if only we could get this for the rest of the interface, that would be great.

^{This isn't just for phones anymore!}

Additionally, today's update brings a few bug fixes and support for Portuguese, Norwegian and English of the UK variety. Not a bad update.

Jan

Amiigo Fitness Bracelet For Android Tracks Your Workout Automatically, Lets You Tell Your Friends How Much You Lift

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, Applications, News

One of the neatest things that the mobile revolution has brought about is an increase in intelligent fitness apps and accessories. Everything from belt clips that can tell how far you've run to zombie-augmented 5K training. The Amiigo bracelet and shoe clip combo may be one of the coolest projects, though. The company behind it promises that, between the two pieces, the system can track any workout you do. If it performs as advertised, this could be amazing.

The software is where the magic really happens (as always). The accompanying app can track up to a hundred different workouts and cross that data with heart rate, blood oxygen levels, calories burned and a bunch of other fun information your body spits out.

Jan

Developer Economics 2013 Report: Devs Want A Third Platform, Tablets Nearly As Important As Phones

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

The Developer Economics 2013 report—a sort of State of the Union on app development—is out and it's packed with helpful tidbits, both for armchair analysts and programmers trying to make some sense out of this crazy software world. One of the most interesting observations the survey showed is there is still demand for a third platform. And right now they're getting it in a surprising place: on Blackberries.

Above is the graph of OSes that developers list as their "main" platform. That is not to say that any of them code exclusively for them, just that it is the primary target for attention.

Jan

There's A New Tasker Beta In Town And It's Got A Redesigned Holo UI

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Remember back when Google showed off what Tasker could look like if it updated to support the new ICS guidelines and we all drooled? Then the dev behind it said that there's already a UI overhaul in the works and we started squirming in our seats? Well, today's the day we all freak out, because today the developer released a beta of Tasker 4.0b4 that shows off a completely redesigned interface.

If you want to get in on this action, you can download the APK here. There are two separate download links, one for those who have purchased Tasker from the developer directly in the past, and one for those who bought it from the Play Store.

Jan

NASCAR Mobile '13 Screeches Into The Play Store, Covered In Engine Grease And Logos

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Round and round and round she goes. Where she stops nob-holy mother of crap! That car just exploded! Okay, alright. Maybe I can understand a little bit of why folks like NASCAR. And in solidarity with my fellow southerners who adore the sport, allow me to share this with you: NASCAR Mobile '13.

The app gives you access to news, schedules, driver information and a ton more. It even looks nice, utilizing the sidebar navigation we're all getting used to, and a Holo-ish feel. There are a few quirks, though, as some features (like the Sprint Unlimited Vote) require the user to open a browser, and sliding between videos—as in the center image above under the "Latest" subheading—was very difficult when I tried it.