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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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Jun

Google+ Update Rolling Out Now, Ditches Its Old New Interface For A New New Interface, Now With Tablet Support

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Last Updated: July 4th, 2012

The Google+ app has received another fancy new update today. Avid Google+ followers will remember that just a month ago, the mobile Google+ got a facelift. Well, forget everything you knew about that app. Google's social network is getting another new facelift. And a sweet tablet interface to boot.

The new interface has a much lighter, brighter look, while still maintaining the large focus on pictures and videos of the previous update. The update also brings a much-needed tablet interface to the app, and finally enables the latent Events support that we knew was hiding there. Also, Google subtly snuck in the ability to see your entire feed, or just the feed from certain circles in a drop down box.

Jun

[Told You So] Google Finally Launches Events For Google+ And They're Amazing

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

We knew it was coming, and now it's finally here. Google+ Events. And it's even bigger than we ever thought it could be. Google has gone beyond mere RSVP. Google wants your Events page to be central to your real-life get-togethers, before, during, and after the event. In addition to tying into Google Calendar, Events serve as a central place for all your event photos, organized chronologically that can be uploaded by all guests. It's like a mega feed for your party.

Before

The Events tab on Google+ can be used to create your event and fill out all the necessary details: who's invited, where it is, when it's happening and whatnot.

Jun

[Updated: Videos] Stuntmen Just Jumped Out Of An Airplane, Biked Across Rooftops And Rappelled Down Buildings To Introduce Google Glass

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News, Videos

We've been hearing things about Google Glass, the Google-powered eyeball accessory, for a while now. While the device isn't quite ready for consumers (and won't be for a while), we got an extensive look at what these devices can do... right after Google-hired stuntmen jumped out of an airplane while on a Glass-based Hangout, then proceeded to bike across rooftops, rappel down the side of the Moscone Conference Center, and finally bike into the I/O keynote to deliver the device on stage to Sergey Brin. This is the first product announcement in recent memory where someone could have feasibly died during a demo.

Jun

This Is The Nexus Q: Google's Front-Line Soldier In The Invasion Of Your Living Room

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News, Nexus Q (Steelhead)

We heard about it earlier, and now it's official. The Nexus Q is a streaming media player that is designed to centralize your media streaming in the living room. The device connects to Google Music and allows both you and your friends to add media and rearrange playlists as they feed directly to your home theater. The device will launch for $300 on the Play Store.

The device includes support for optical audio out, as well as micro HDMI video and audio. The device can connect to the internet via WiFi or ethernet. The device connects and can be set up via NFC.

Jun

The Galaxy Nexus GSM On The Play Store Is Now $349, Straight From Google

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Galaxy Nexus, Google, News

You thought that the liveblog was the only place news was happening? You thought wrong! Google has quietly updated the Play Store listing for the Galaxy Nexus GSM with a new, slightly lower price: $349. Remember, this is unlocked, off-contract pricing. The new listing page also shows the device running Jelly Bean which Google has promised will come to the Galaxy Nexus by mid July.

The Galaxy Nexus is still one of the best Android devices on the market right now. With official support for Google's newest OS on the fast track, it's only going to get better.

Source: Play Store

Jun

Google Is Going To Sell Triad Bookshelf Speakers To Go Along With The Nexus Q - For $400

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Hope you've got a large available line of credit for this year's Google I/O, because the big G is not holding back. After we've found leaks of the mysterious ~~orb of power~~ Nexus Q, now Google's device page has shared some more secrets: expensive bookshelf speakers to go along with its new "social streaming media player."

The speakers will only be available in the US initially, and seem to be of a pretty high quality. We should certainly hope so, for the price. In any case, this certainly lends yet another intriguing element to the "Google Play @ Home" mentioned in the Nexus Q video.

Jun

Sprint Is Finally Ready To Launch Its LTE Network On July 15th In Select Cities

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Sprint

I bet those of you who bought an LTE phone from Sprint had already forgotten about the high speed powers the nation's third-largest carrier promised you. No? You've actually been foaming at the mouth, eagerly waiting to sink your teeth into the new network? Ah, well, if you live in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, or San Antonio, then I've got some good news for you! Once July 15th hits, you can stop drooling! Or seek medical attention.

Sprint has just announced that on July 15th, the company will light up its LTE network in the aforementioned five cities, with more LTE markets to be launched by the end of 2012.

Jun

Google Play Store Website Adds Support For At Least 20 New Languages, Indicates A Large International Rollout

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

Open the flood gates and let the Play Store news come in this morning! It looks like Google has updated support of its web store at play.google.com for at least 20 new languages. One of our esteemed tipsters pointed out today that the languages list has gotten bigger. Much bigger. We checked it out for ourselves and it's true.

^{Left: Old list of languages. Center, Right: So many more languages!}

As you can see the list of languages is much, much longer. Including such hits as Filipino, Kiswahili and the very odd and remote dialect of English (United Kingdom).

Jun

Google Play Store Source Code Reveals The Company May Start Selling TV Shows And Magazines Soon

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

An enterprising young reddit user has discovered some interesting new bits in the Play Store source code today. New lines of code, as well as some new strings that indicate users will now be able to watch television shows and read magazines on their devices. So far, the Play Store's video offerings have been limited to movies, and Google Currents has specialized in blogs only.

Here are the full strings found in the source code:

"This magazine issue is now available on your device."

"You have subscribed to this magazine. It is now available on your device."

"Your TV episode is now ready to watch."

"Your TV season is now ready to watch."

It's unclear whether this means users will be able to purchase or merely rent television episodes, however given the availability of "Your TV season", I'm inclined to believe it's the former.

Jun

[Review] Zombies, Run! Is A Fantastic App, As Long As You Like Working Out More Than You Like Zombies

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Reviews

When we first took a look at Zombies, Run! a few days ago, I said that, while the concept is great, I hoped it would be $8 worth of amazing. Not to spoil the ending to this story right away, but the short version is: probably. This app could easily be worth $8 to many users. But not for the reasons you might think. And, before you start reaching for your wallet, you need to answer one very important question: are you willing to commit to a workout routine?