Eric Ravenscraft - 34/103 - 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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Dec

Google Maps Navigation Support Doc Updated To Include Bulgaria, Slovakia, 8 More Countries, Release Probably Not Far Off

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

In times past, we've seen Google add new countries to its list of supported territories for Google Maps Navigation shortly before we see the update itself rollout. Today, there's been a pretty huge change to that document that added 10 new nations including Bulgaria, Estonia, Ghana, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Senegal and Slovakia (for some reason Singapore appears to have been added to the list, even though that nation already has Navigation).

Right now, it doesn't look like Navigation has actually appeared for the countries in question, but if history repeats itself, the service should appear for residents of these nations before too long.

Dec

Now You Can Haz Lols Anywhere: Cheezburger Network Gets Its Own Mobile App

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Of course sharing this tidbit is going to make me that guy*, but if the word "meme" to you means "a picture with text written on it" then chances are you owe at least some thanks to the Cheezburger Network. This site (and later, series of sites)has been built around the business of collecting viral internet images for the lulz. Now, several realms from this digital domain—including but not limited to Memebase, FAILblog, and ROFLRazzi and a couple dozen others—are available via the new Cheezburger mobile app.

The app features just about every sub-section to the Cheezburger network (including one of my favorites, So Much Pun).

Dec

Rock Out With Your Stocking Out: Santa Rockstar Is Here To Save Christmas With An Electric Guitar

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

When you think of the legendary icons of rock, who comes to mind? KISS? Queen? Santa Claus? AC/DC? All good answers, but only one of them is the subject of today's amazing game: Santa Rockstar. This rhythm game, a la Guitar Hero, puts you behind the reins of the sleigh, and you have only one hope to bring cheer to all the head-banging girls and boys: pick that ax like Christmas depends on it. Because it does.

If you've ever played a rhythm game, you know how this goes. Hit the notes as they come down the line. I know what you're thinking.

Dec

BBC iPlayer Updated With Extra UI Polish, Jelly Bean 4.2 Support, And BBC Alba Channel

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Today, the UK's public broadcasting service, the BBC, upgraded its mobile app for Android. The update brings improvements to the UI to bring the interface a bit more in line with Android's Holo guidelines. The new version also adds support for Jelly Bean 4.2, improved video streaming over WiFi, and a new content channel.

Here's the full changelog:

What's in this version:

Many thanks for all of your feedback on our last update. Here’s what’s new in this release:
- We’ve polished up the design of the app
- Video performance over Wi-Fi has been improved(with more improvements still to come)
- Added Android 4.2 Jelly Bean support
- You’ll find a new channel - BBC Alba
As ever, let us know what you think @bbciplayer

Of course, the BBC iPlayer isn't available outside the UK, so international users need not excite themselves too much.

Dec

[Update: It's Live] Facebook's Big 2.0 Update Is Coming Today, Ditching The Slow HTML5 Rendering For Native Code

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Last Updated: December 29th, 2012

We've known it's coming for a while and, per today's announcement, it will finally be here soon: Facebook's revamp of its Android app that will bring a proper, native UI as opposed to the mostly HTML5-based web viewer that's been powering the application for so long. The result is photos, the news feed, and timelines will load at least twice as fast, according to the company.

The company touts speed as the big improvement here, and it's sorely needed. For example, garbage collection was optimized to make photos load much quicker. In terms of new features, the company also built a new banner that will allow you to jump to new stories that have appeared in the feed while you're reading, no matter how far down the list you are.

Dec

Redbox Instant By Verizon Details Announced: Unlimited Streaming & Four One-Night Disc Rentals Per Month

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Verizon Wireless

We've been hearing rumblings for a while now about Redbox partnering with Verizon for a streaming service. Today, the company announced the details of that arrangement: for $8/month you can get access to unlimited streaming of a selection of movies (including the EPIX library which, for those who don't know, is pretty impressive), as well as four monthly credits to rent a physical movie for one night from any Redbox kiosk.

The plan is clearly aimed to compete with Netflix directly. Customers may recall that the current leader in the streaming video world split off its DVD services from the Instant collection in an attempt to increase revenue.

Dec

Jelly Bean 4.1 Starts Rolling Out To Wi-Fi Galaxy Note 10.1 In Germany

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Note 10.1 (GT-N8000 / N8010 / N8013), News

If there's one thing you can say about Samsung, it's that the company is at least trying to push out updates, with a sizeable number of devices already running Jelly Bean. Sure, it's 4.1 and about six months behind the Nexus baseline, but the company is better than most manufacturers about rolling out updates lately. As if to demonstrate this, the Wi-Fi Galaxy Note 10.1 (N8010) has started to receive Jelly Bean 4.1.1 (JRO03C) in Germany.

XDA users in Germany are reporting that the update is rolling out to their devices right now. No word yet on when or if this will roll out to any other countries, but we imagine that slates unbound by carrier restrictions will see it sooner rather than later.

Dec

Angry Birds The Movie Is Happening, Producers Who Made Despicable Me, Iron Man Already Attached

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

If you haven't heard of David Maisel, allow me to fill you in: he's been an executive producer (read: important decision-making guy with broad yet vague duties in getting a movie together) for virtually every one of the Marvel Phase One movies including both Iron Man flicks, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America. I tell you this so you'll have at least a little bit of hope to cling to when I tell you that he's been signed on to produce the Angry Birds movie, alongside Despicable Me producer John Cohen.

The movie is scheduled to be released by 2016, which is about four years out.

Dec

Have You Heard? Play Books And Movies Are Out In St. Petersburg (And The Rest Of Russia)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

It seems like we can't go more than a week or two without hearing that one of Google's content services has rolled out to a new country. Today, Russia is getting in on the action with Play Books and Movies now available throughout the country. You can purchase books like normal, and movies are available both for rental and purchase.

Prices for movie rentals start at around 49 rubles (USD$1.60) and purchases start at 99 rubles (USD$3.22). There are a number of major studios on board, including many American companies such as 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal, Paramount, and Sony, as well as local production houses like Central Partnership (Централ Партнершип).