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.

27
Sep
turntabletiny

Latest Turntable.fm Update Finally Gets Rid Of Those iOS Buttons, Should Fix A Bunch Of Bugs Too

Posted by in Applications, News

When turntable.fm first came out on Android, we were excited. In my review, I said that it was a fantastic start, but could use a bit of polish. In no small part, because of those dang iOS-style buttons. While I still believe that iOS- buttons do not single-handedly make a lazy port, it's nice to see that the developer has taken the time to bring the UI in line with the newest guidelines. Additionally, the update says it fixes some force close problems and generally improves stability.

turntable2 turntable1 2012-09-28 00.07.47

Of course, don't tell that to Artem. He fired up the app and gave it a go on his Evo LTE and still experienced a few crashes.

27
Sep
fieldtriptiny

Google Wants To Take You On A Field Trip With Its Newest Location-Aware Exploration App

Posted by in Applications, News

Hi. Welcome to the future. Mountain View, California, 2012. I'm telling you it's great here. You've got a location-aware, always-connected supercomputer in your pocket. What good is it, though, if you're only ever using it to check what's going on in Facebook land? Enter Field Trip, the latest app to be released by Google (via the obscure Niantic Labs), which offers you information about all the things around you, including trivia, facts about local monuments, restaurant reviews, and more.

The coolest thing about this app is that you don't need to pull it up to use it. Very similar to Google Now's notifications, Field Trip won't wait to tell you about something it thinks you might want to read up on in the area.

27
Sep
schmidtgangnam

Hey Shareholders! Here's Google's Eric Schmidt Doing It Gangnam Style In South Korea

Posted by in News

If seeing a company's executive chairman performing a vaguely-sexual, somewhat-equestrian dance for a room full of South Korean employees doesn't make stock prices soar, I honestly can't fathom what would. Eric Schmidt, seen below getting his white-boy groove on Gangnam style, was in Korea to discuss Google's new product Google Pelvic Thrusts. Unbeknownst to the former-CEO, while inside Korean borders, if a person discusses any form of lower abdominal movements, the entire room is legally required to break out in the trendy song and dance.

http://youtu.be/s-EWailoPoQ

Once the chairman was finished riding invisible bareback, he informed the team that they would be hiring Korean Demitri Martin to bring the fledgling Google Pelvic Thrusts product to fruition.

26
Sep
tinybangummmtiny

Tiny Bang Story Is On Sale For A Diminutive $0.99 (66% Off) Until September 28th

Posted by in Games, News

When Matt reviewed Tiny Bang Story yesterday, he found it big on imagination, but gameplay came up short. If the $3 price tag was too large of a risk for you, though, maybe this sale will be more your size. HeroCraft has shrunk the price by two thirds, bringing it down to an outright miniscule $1. Any smaller and you'd need a magnifying glass to find it.

Okay, I'm done with the little jokes now. However, this sale doesn't end until September 28th, so you've got a couple days to find some change in the couch cushions or panhandle on a street corner for a bit.

25
Sep
voxeltiny

Voxel Invaders Is A Galaga-Like Space Shooter That Thinks Two Dimensions Just Isn't Enough

Posted by in Games, News

You seen one top-scrolling space shooter, you've seen 'em all, am I right? No, as a matter of fact, I am not. Voxel Invaders is here to prove that. Take a look at the trailer below and you see that the game starts off simple enough. Some nice, 3D-ish graphics adorn an otherwise banal battleground. Or so it seems. Until around ten seconds into the video, when the world shifts and we see things from a whole new perspective.

It's not just a plane change here, either. Voxel Invaders incorporates elements from a variety of different retro and modern game styles for an elaborate experience.

24
Sep
2012-09-24_13h15_04

Sprint Rolls Out LTE To More Cities, Begins Network Vision Rollout In Chicago, New York, And Los Angeles

Posted by in News, Sprint

Sprint has some presents for you, especially if you live in the midwest. For starters, several cities are getting their shiny new LTE networks lit up today including Wichita, KS, Waukegan-Lake County, IL and more (listed below). As an added bonus, the #3 carrier also announced that the Network Vision rollout is beginning in Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. For those who are unaware, the Network Vision plan provides for significant improvements to the existing 3G infrastructure, in addition to eventual LTE upgrades.

Here's the list of markets that will see LTE activated in their area:

Lawrence, KS
Topeka, KS
Wichita, KS
Waukegan-Lake County, IL
Barnstable-Hyannis/Mid-Cape, MA

It's not a huge rollout, but the improvements to the 3G network in Chicago, NYC, and LA should be welcome as Sprint makes ready LTE coverage in those cities.

24
Sep
novatiny

Nova Launcher Iterates To Version 1.3, Brings Several Jelly Bean Style Launcher Features To ICS Users

Posted by in Applications, News

One of the biggest drawbacks to new versions of Android is that it can take forever for the new features to roll out to current users. For launcher-specific items, though, we can always count on developers to bring us up to speed. Nova Launcher has done just that with several Jelly Bean-esque add-ons to its ICS-compatible app, including automatic rearranging of desktop elements, and the ability to fling apps and widgets away to remove them from your homescreen.

nova1 nova2 nova3

Here's the full list of what's new:

Since 1.3.0
Fix preview screen
Misc minor fixes
Since 1.2.2
Jellybean launcher features (Works with ICS)
-Desktop automatically rearranges to fit
-Long-press then fling to delete items
-Project butter related enhancements
Import from other launchers
Custom drawer grid size
Uninstall on quick menu
Performance improvements
- Smoother scrolling
- Faster load
- Reduction of memory usage
- Reduction of APK size
Fixes

The update is available via the Play Store and should be a welcome addition to anyone running a skinned launcher on an ICS device.

20
Sep
facebooklogo

Facebook Brings Messaging Improvements To Messenger And Main Facebook Apps, No It's Not The New Native App

Posted by in Applications, News

I know, you were really hoping for that extra special upgrade that Zuckerberg has been teasing ever since he admitted that HTML5 was a mistake. This should be a nice little improvement, though. Now, no matter which app you do your Facebook messaging from, whether it's messaging in Facebook, or via Facebook Messenger (confused yet?), you'll be able to see which of your friends is online, whether they're mobile, and even pin select friends that you talk to most to the top of the list.

fmessage1 fmessage2 fmessage3

There is also a new, somewhat familiar look to the threads themselves. Additionally, you can "try texting with Messenger" which is a feature that is only available on some phones it seems.

20
Sep
ICON_1024

Ubisoft's Rayman Jungle Run Is Delayed By A Week, Will Arrive On The Play Store September 27th

Posted by in Games, News

Not so fast there, limbless flyboy. While Rayman Jungle Run was scheduled to arrive on the Play Store today, it looks like a delay has set back those plans and now the side-scroller based on the popular Ubisoft character will be launching on Thursday, September 27th. Not a huge delay, but one that's being made to "provide the best gaming experience."

Here's the full comment from the Ubisoft rep we spoke to about the delay:

Rayman Jungle Run will now be available on Google Play on Thursday September 27th @ 10am CET. We are very sorry that the Android version release on week later than expected but we wanted to provide the best gaming experience for the players with a software fully optimized for all Android devices.

20
Sep
2012-09-20_13h00_57

AskPatents Is A Crowd Sourcing Forum That Puts Armchair Patent Analysts To Work In The Fight Against Trolls

Posted by in News

Let's face it. The patent system is a mess. Applying for a patent can be a process that takes years. Then there's the issue of prior art. Is this patent valid? Was it obvious? Should it have been granted in the first place? And that's without getting into whether or not other devices infringe. It can be a huge cluster of ugly. Enter AskPatents. This new Stack Exchange site has been set up to crowd source the finding of prior art and researching whether or not patents are valid.

2012-09-20_13h19_30

The site functions very similarly to other hivemind information hubs like Metafilter or, you know, Stack Exchange.

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