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.

12
Apr
fbmessenger

Chat Heads Come To Facebook Messenger Without Facebook Home, Regular App Updated To Prepare For Home Arrival

Posted by in Applications, News

Today, both of Facebook's current apps have been updated to prepare for the arrival of Facebook Home. The main app merely added an extra permission that Home will eventually use. However, the real fun came to Messenger, which now has the ability to pop out Chat Heads, regardless of if you're using the replacement launcher.

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As you may recall from the Facebook Home launch event, chat heads are little bubbles that float over whatever you're doing and allow you to jump straight into a conversation no matter where you are in the OS. Just tap your friend's face and an IM window appears.

11
Apr
statusagendatiny

StatusAgenda Keeps Your Google Calendar Events In Your Notification Shade For Easy Access

Posted by in Applications, News

Since the introduction of expandable notifications in Jelly Bean, the shade has increasingly become the home for widgets and easy-access controls. StatusAgenda brings this concept to your calendar, creating a persistent list of upcoming events accessible from anywhere in the operating system.

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At the moment, the app is pretty barebones, but it doesn't need too much fluff. You can choose from either a larger or more compact layout, and the list of events can be collapsed with the regular gestures you use to open and close expandable notifications. StatusAgenda is free on the Play Store, and still listed as a beta for the moment.

11
Apr
smartglasstiny

Xbox SmartGlass App Updated With Support For Tablets Larger Than 7", Always-On State

Posted by in Applications, News

A few months ago, Microsoft announced the SmartGlass app for Xbox, a companion application that allows you to navigate and control your console from your phone or, up until recently, 7" tablets. Now, version 1.5 has rolled out that adds support for larger slates. Including 10" devices like the Nexus 10, which is kind of great.

2013-04-11 10.55.10

On a larger tablet, the UI actually doesn't look much different from the interface on the TV itself, so it's extremely intuitive. Also, this update brings an always-on state, so your device won't shut off while you're using the companion app. SmartGlass is free on the Play Store and the update is available immediately.

10
Apr
2013-04-10_20-01-54

Nexus 10 Covers Finally Show Up In The Play Store For $30, Snap Directly Into Back Plate

Posted by in Accessories, Google, News, Nexus 10

It's been about five months since the Nexus 10 came out. In what is frustratingly becoming true Play Store fashion, accessories did not come out alongside the device. Now, however, the covers have finally landed in two colors: grey and "scarlet" (here being defined as "safety vest orange," at least as it appears in pictures).

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For those unfamiliar with how this case works, on the back of the Nexus 10 there is an ovoid plastic plate that snaps in place. This normally serves no purpose, but you can remove that plate and replace it with this cover that attaches directly to the tablet and folds over to protect the screen.

10
Apr
edengreen

Eden To Green Launches On Android After Dropping Extraneous E's, Exclusive To Canada At First

Posted by in Games, News

Over a year ago, NVIDIA gave us a tease of some sweet-looking games coming to the Tegra 3 platform. Now that all eyes are on the Tegra 4, one of those games, Eden to GREEEEN Green has arrived on Android with a much more sensible name. This title is set in a world where a plant-based civilization has to defend Eden from an army of robots who want to steal all the Euphoria. As machines do.

The developer joined up with Zynga for publishing (which may give us some insight into how its in-app purchase scheme will work). This is only a soft launch to start off with, releasing exclusively in Canada for an undisclosed period of time.

10
Apr
cinemagramtiny

Cinemagram Launches On Android One Year After First Tease, Brings Vine-Like Video/GIF Sharing

Posted by in Applications, News

Exactly one year ago, Cinemagram developers teased an Android version of its crazy GIF and/or video-sharing service. 365 days later (today!) that app has finally arrived and it's pretty great! As with the iOS version, you can record a video, loop it, and select certain portions of the video to animate while other portions stay still (which can lead to some surreal effects).

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Since that initial tease a year ago, there have been some changes, however. Twitter released Vine in the interim and Cinemagram has added the similar ability to create short, "edited" videos by letting users hold to record, releasing to change camera positions and continuing.

09
Apr
deflecticontiny

Deflecticon Sets The Example For Good Guy Devs Everywhere, Makes Game Free After It Can't Support It Anymore

Posted by in Games, News

We've enjoyed Deflecticon, the 3D variant on the classic Pong game with some fantastic graphics and totally warped perspective. In a sad turn of events, though, the developers have stated that they will no longer be able to support the game. Given this situation, they're making it available entirely for free in an as-is state. Pretty cool, devs!

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While obviously we wouldn't expect this of everyone, it is nice to see one publisher be up front about the fact that no more updates will be coming, so if something doesn't work it will not work forever. Also, since you can't make a game free on the Play Store and then charge for it later, there's no way to reverse this decision without pulling the app entirely.

09
Apr
2013-04-09_11h04_45

Google Confirms The New Play Store UI, Rollout To Phones And Tablet On 2.2+ Starts Today

Posted by in Google, News

We've been seeing leaks about a new Google Play Store UI, that we all thought was going to be released at I/O this year. Nope! The rollout starts today, chaps! According to a post over on the official Android blog, the fancy card-based UI is coming to Android phones and tablets running Froyo (v2.2) and up. Worldwide, the new version will be available "over the next few weeks.

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play40phone play40n7

Oh, and you should be happy to know that the ugly pattern across the Action Bar is, in fact, not part of the final release. Additionally, the blog post touts a continuous scrolling interface that will show you more recommendations as you move down the page.

09
Apr
whatsapptiny

WhatsApp: No, Google Isn't Buying Us, Don't Believe Everything You Read

Posted by in Google, News

We've been seeing leak after leak about Google's rumored unified messaging service. Now, as more details get seemingly confirmed and and we even get a look at the possibly near-finished app, clearly this is the time for Google to acquire a competing IM service, right? Well, not so much, according to AllThingsD. As it turns out, Mountain View is not about to buy WhatsApp, a company that makes a product that Google is currently nearly done building itself. Just in case you were wondering.

This contradicts rumors that WhatsApp would be selling to Google for close to $1 billion.

09
Apr
2013-04-09_09h28_56

Microsoft (Along With Nokia, Oracle, Others) Tells EU To Stop Letting Google Bundle Its Apps With Android, Misses Irony

Posted by in Google, News

FairSearch Europe—a coalition of Google competitors or legal adversaries including, among others, Microsoft, Nokia, and Oracle—has filed a complaint with the European Union alleging that Google is abusing its dominant OS position in the mobile market to push its own set of apps.

The group claims that Android is used "as a deceptive way to build advantages for key Google apps in 70 percent of the smartphones shipped today," pointing out that manufacturers have to agree to a certain set of rules requiring inclusion or placement of certain apps. If they want to use Google apps, of course. Manufacturers are free to use Android for whatever purpose they choose without them, if they think that will be a greater benefit.

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