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.

17
Aug
getbentsmall

[Review] The Tablet Claw Is A Horrible Attempt At An Accessory That Doesn't Need To Exist

Posted by in Reviews, Tablets

It's very difficult to review something like the Tablet Claw. For starters, my first instinct is to make the entire thing one big Inspector Gadget joke. Then there's the fact that I have no idea why anyone would need this. The Tablet Claw is a device that you slide your tablet into, and a little plastic piece that kind of looks like the tab you open soda cans with (called a "ringlet", apparently) folds out and gives you a way to grip your tablet.

Why.

Okay, hang on, though. I'm an open-minded person. Perhaps there is a use case for this.

16
Aug
avoidertiny

[New Game] Avoider Is A Puzzle Game That Challenges You To Move Colored Squares In Tandem, Is Harder Than It Sounds

Posted by in Games, News

Well, this one sure is going to bend your brain a bit. Avoider is a puzzle game with a very basic premise. You have to move two colored squares to opposite corners of the screen without hitting any obstacles. The catch? They're movement is locked together, and you only control the blue one. When you move your box, the red one moves in perfectly-synced symmetrical motion. Yeah, it gets convoluted. Though, reading this site, I'm sure you're used to that.

While the concept is great, this game does have one fatal flaw: touchscreens. As you may or may not be aware, fingertips are often attached to hands, which are themselves attached to arms.

16
Aug
2012-08-15_15h18_23

[Update: It's Live!] Google Maps Is About To Get An Update To v6.10, Adds A Ton Of New Public Transit Info And Features

Posted by in Applications, Google, News

It's not quite live yet, but Google would like you to know that Google Maps 6.10 is on its way to handsets by the end of the day. "What's new for me, the public transit user?" I hear you ask. Quite a bit, in fact! First off, Google has announced that it now has data on more than one million transit stops worldwide, spread throughout almost 500 cities. In an effort to make that information more usable, the Transit Lines map layer can now me narrowed down to a single method of transportation. Um. Yes please.

googlemapstransit

In addition, station pages will now show departure times, which lines serve the station, and how far to other platforms nearby.

16
Aug
2012-08-16_12h45_40

Now You Can Add Your Discover Card To Google Wallet Straight From Discover's Site

Posted by in Google, News

When Google announced that it would support all major credit and debit cards, it was big news. What may have slipped under the radar, however, is that Mountain View also sent an open invitation to card issuers to sign up for tighter integration into the service. Today, Google is announcing that you can add your Discover card to Google Wallet directly from your account on Discover's website. You even get fancy card graphics now, too!

The process is stupid simple to set up:

To save your Discover Card to Google Wallet, just follow these short steps:

  1. Visit discover.com/googlewallet and sign into your Discover account
  2. Click “Add Your Card”
  3. Sign into your Google Account

And that’s it!

15
Aug
g logo

Google+ App Updated To 3.1.1: Now You Can Join Hangouts On Air From Mobile, Other Less Cool Features Added Too

Posted by in Applications, Google, News

Google has released an update to its social network app on Android today that should please Hangout enthusiasts both young and old. For starters, now you can join Hangouts on Air via your mobile device (like the one we use to broadcast our weekly podcast every Thursday at 8pm EST hint hint). This is fantastic news as Hangouts on Air are among the most useful application of the already-awesome Hangouts feature. Unfortunately, until recently, you could only join via a desktop, but no more!

g update1 g eventabuse g hangouts

Additionally, Google is now allowing teens to create and join Hangouts via mobile. Which, apparently, they could not do before.

15
Aug
ubilogo1

Meet Ubi: The Totally Voice-Controlled Android Computer You Plug Into A Wall Outlet

Posted by in News

Another day, another Kickstarter project. This one actually looks like it could have potential, though. Ubi is an Android-powered speaker system that connects to your local WiFi network. The small black box plugs into a power outlet and is controlled primarily via voice. It comes equipped with colored LEDs for notifications, and an array of sensors including temperature, humidity, air pressure, and ambient light. To round out the specs, the box packs a full-size USB port and a 3.5mm audio jack. Couple all that with an open development platform and the potential is nigh on limitless.

The device appears to be built largely around Google's voice actions and search.

15
Aug
kyorise_thumb

Sprint Will Sell The Kyocera Rise For $20 After Rebate With Contract On August 19th, Tries Selling A Budget Smartphone Without The Rope

Posted by in Kyocera, News

Sprint has finally announced what we'd heard almost a month ago. The Kyocera Rise, the budget smartphone best known for making my movie references easy, is heading to the Now Network on August 19th. The device will cost $19.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. So if you want the internal specs of the original Evo in a QWERTY slider from the company that you probably didn't know also makes cutlery, it will run you $70 out the door.

kyocerarise

Alternatively, if you'd like to get it without a contract, it will be available from Virgin Mobile beginning August 31st for $99.99.

14
Aug
2012-08-14_13h32_45

Google Adds 'Prior Art Finder' And European Patents To Its Patent Search Tool, Pretends There's No Subtext

Posted by in Google, News

Earlier today, Google rolled out a brand new feature for its online patent research tool: prior art search. Now, while looking at a patent, you can click a single button to pull up a host of results from Google Patents, Google Scholar, Google Books, with a bit of Google's typical search results sprinkled on top. The goal, of course, is to aid in researching whether a patent that's been filed is "new and not obvious." Which is far more complex than it sounds.

seafood-collateral_4

Reading between the lines, one could possibly infer that Google wants to make it easier on its partners (or itself) to prove their inventions are unique, or to avoid infringing patents that have already been granted (which is different from a patent that has been filed, mind you).

13
Aug
2012-08-13_12h42_53

Verizon Is Almost Ready To Roll Out ICS For The Motorola Droid 4, Global Roaming Tags Along

Posted by in Droid 4, News

While Ice Cream Sandwich continues to struggle to gain significant proliferation, more and more devices are receiving the bump to Android 4.0. The latest entrant into the post-crappy-design world of Android is the Motorola Droid 4. According to Verizon's software update page, a new upgrade is on the way. In addition to bringing Android 4.0.4 and everything that entails, the software will also enable Global Roaming capabilities. This should make international travellers very happy.

2012-08-13_12h56_45

As of right now, it looks like Verizon is only rolling the update out to participants in the soak test. As long as everything goes well there, the new build (6.16.217.XT894.Verizon.en.US) should roll out to everyone else before too long.

10
Aug
googlelogo

[Whoa!] Google Will Start Down-Ranking Search Results That Receive Too Many Takedown Requests

Posted by in Google, News

This may not be strictly Android-related news, but it's safe to say that what Google does to search results is relevant to our readers' interests, no? Today, Google announced via its Inside Search blog that the company will start including the volume of valid copyright removal notices as a factor in determining how high or low a site ranks in its search results. Translation: pirate sites won't be removed entirely, but they'll start ranking lower than legitimate sites.

2012-08-10_13h52_10

Pretty soon, sites like the Pirate Bay won't be the #1 search result anymore.

The net effect of this change will likely be very minimal to the more hardcore pirates.

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