Eric Ravenscraft - 67/103 - 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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Jul

Vizio Co-Star Now Available For Pre-Order For $99, Ships By August 14th

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Vizio

Google I/O has come and gone with nary a mention of Google TV. Disheartening to say the least, but that doesn't mean that the platform is dead. Not while manufacturers keep making products for it. Products like the Vizio Co-Star. For $99, the Co-Star sits in the right sweet spot for Google TV device pricing. Combine the price with a remote that's smaller than a plank of wood, and OnLive gaming built right in, the little box actually looks like a pretty sweet deal. If Google TV is your thing, that is.

Estimated shipping for this device starts on August 14th.

Jul

Motorola RAZR HD Passes Through The FCC, Confirms NFC Support And Verizon Bands

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Motorola, News

When last we heard from the RAZR HD, it was posing for blurry cam shots. The new Motorola device, which is rumored to be packing a 13MP camera, LTE, and a mega 3,300 mAh battery, has gone through the FCC's fine-tooth comb and come out the other side. According to the filings, the device, which we know uses the code name XT926, is packing CDMA bands (800/1900), so we can likely expect this device to land on Verizon before too long. The FCC documents also confirm the device will join the NFC-carrying ranks currently inhabited by many of the headlining Android heavyweights.

Jul

Pushover Goes On Sale For $0.99 To Celebrate Teaming Up With Ifttt To Bend The Internet To Your Will

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Alright, follow me on this one. Pushover is an app for Android that allows web apps, scripts, and a ton of other fancy developer things to plug in to your notification shade on your phone or tablet. Ifttt (short for 'If This, Then That') is a web app that lets you script actions that will be performed when predetermined conditions like new emails, new dropbox files, new RSS feed posts, etc., are met. Ifttt now supports Pushover notifications. The internet is officially subject to your whims. Now you can be notified of virtually anything that Ifttt is aware of, directly in the most convenient notification system you have.

Jul

EVO 4G LTE Owners Can Receive A $25 Credit Towards HTC Watch, HTC's Video Streaming Service

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in EVO 4G LTE (Jewel), News

If you have or will in the near future purchase an Evo LTE from Sprint, HTC has a special treat for you: $25 in movie money. HTC Watch, which is the Taiwanese company's offering in the streaming movie market, lets users buy or rent movies and TV shows, very similarly to how the Play Store operates. If you already have an Evo LTE, just sign up for an HTC Watch account and you should receive your credit immediately.

While we're still a little unsure how well HTC's video streaming service will do in the long run when even Google's own Play Movies is still trying to gain traction, free money is free money.

Jul

[Deal Alert Roundup] Kindle Fires For $140, Unlocked LTE Skyrocket For $385 And More eBay Daily Deals

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Deals, News

We've got a bunch of deals for you folks today! To start things off right, refurbished Kindle Fires are currently available from eBay Daily Deals for a mere $140. The Amazon-branded slate, as you will no doubt recall, was one of the hottest selling Android-branded tablets prior to the advent of the Nexus 7. While both tablets are priced to ship, the Kindle Fire is the closest to impulse-buy we've ever seen it. While the Nexus 7 absolutely blows the Kindle Fire out of the water in terms of raw functionality, if you're looking for an Amazon-centric device for a steal, it's hard to beat this one.

Jul

Samsung Releases Commercial For The Galaxy Note 10.1, Reminds Us The Galaxy Note 10.1 Exists

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

When the Galaxy Note came out, the cynics and skeptics (myself included) scoffed. "Too big for a phone, too small for a tablet" we said. Well, as it turns out, quite a few people bought it. However, as much as some people may have liked the Note, it's hard to disagree that the stylus would feel more at home on a full-size tablet. Which is exactly what the Galaxy Note 10.1, shown in this shiny new ad, aimed to accomplish.

http://youtu.be/9k1r0Sx-wpQ

Of course, we haven't heard much about this device since it was announced at MWC back in February. At the time, the device lacked a few notable features, particularly the slot for the S-Pen which was actually added to a retooled version of the device more recently.

Jul

WSJ: Sprint's Spectrum Holdings May Be Too Sparse To Keep Up In The LTE Arms Race

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Sprint

Just last week, Sprint finally lit up its LTE network. Not before selling a number of LTE-equipped phones, however. If you were worried about Sprint's ability to keep up with the big dogs in the race to expand LTE coverage, the WSJ has some comforting words for you. Wait, did I say "comforting"? I'm sorry, I meant worrying. Very, very worrying.

The long and short of it is, Sprint simply doesn't seem to have enough spectrum to keep up. The initial LTE rollout covered 15 markets, compared to Verizon's 330 and AT&T's 47. Despite the rather distant third-place position, Sprint hopes to have coverage in all areas by the end of 2013.

Jul

16GB Nexus 7 Is Now Listed As "Coming Soon" On The Play Store, Likely Backordered Into The Next Century

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Nexus 7

The Nexus 7, everyone's newest favorite tablet, has already had more than its share of problems shipping from the Play Store. Today, the new shenanigans are that the 16GB model is currently unavailable from the Play Store at all. The best Google has to offer is a "coming soon" button that offers to let customers sign up to be informed when the device comes back in stock.

The 16GB model, so far, has been particularly hard to find from Google, and particularly easy in retail locations. The best we can assume is that Google allotted more 16GB models to be shipped out for retail shipment, since the margins are higher on the 16GB model.

Jul

Kyocera Rise Is Rumored To Be Heading To Sprint And Virgin Mobile, Has Nothing To Do With Batman

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Kyocera, News, Sprint

If you're not in the market for an über cheap, probably contract free phone, feel free to move along. Assuming you didn't already when you saw the name 'Kyocera'. Still here? Good. Because I've got great news for you! The Kyocera Rise (no relation to the Dark Knight of the same name) is rumored to be coming to Sprint and Virgin Mobile very soon.

Twitter tipsters @evleaks, who has thus far tweeted nothing but leaked photos of devices with brief information on the devices depicted, has shared that Kyocera's contribution to the ~~Justice League~~ budget smartphone world will be headed to Virgin Mobile, one of the nation's leading prepaid carriers, as well as Sprint.

Jul

ASUS Announces Its Jelly Bean Plans For Transformer Pad, Prime, And Infinity - Others Are Uncertain

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in ASUS, News

You might remember ASUS as the company that manufactured the overwhelmingly popular Nexus 7 tablet. Did you know that ASUS makes other tablets as well? It's true! Among them are the Transformer Pad, Transformer Pad Prime, and Transformer Pad Infinity. If you happen to own one of these tablets, then ASUS would like you to know that your slate is "scheduled to receive Android 4.1 updates in the coming months." Nice, huh?

Here's the full statement from ASUS:

Dear valued ASUS customer,

At ASUS, one of the key commitments we make to our customers is a relentless drive to deliver the best user experience.