Eric Ravenscraft - 83/103 - 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.

Follow @ocentertainment

May

Google Music Now Only Allows You To Deauthorize Four Devices Per Year

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

The problem with any account-based music streaming service, from a corporate standpoint, is that end users are a shared password away from getting access to free media. Really, who hasn't shared their Netflix account once or twice? In an effort to prevent this kind of abuse, Google Music (likely at the request of the music labels) has instituted a cap on the number of devices you are allowed to deauthorize: Four. Per year. It gets worse, though.

For the uninitiated, here's how it works: you are allowed a maximum of ten devices that can be associated with a single Google Music account.

May

New DDR4 Memory Coming To Tablets Could Mean Reduced Power Consumption And Increased Performance

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

In the endless components arms race of the Information Age, cheaper, faster, and smaller are the mantras that perk up the customers' ears and line the tech giants pockets with cash. The latest innovation in one of the key areas of electronic components is DDR4 memory. The spec is said to reduce power consumption by 20-40% based on a maximum 1.2 volts of power use.

While running at the same bandwidth as its predecessor, DDR3 memory, the new spec will run with up to 40% less power draw. Running at full capacity, which is roughly double the amount of throughput of DDR3 memory, the new RAM will draw the same amount of power.

May

Firefox Beta 14 Goes Live On The Play Store, Brings Along A New UI, Flash Support

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

The browser wars wage on in the mobile space just as it does on the desktop. Today, Mozilla fires another shot across Chrome's bow with Firefox 14 beta. The update, available in the Play Store, comes complete with a new UI, Flash support, and a bunch of other little improvements.

The new version comes with an updated minimum requirement of Android 2.2 or higher. The new UI shows its Froyo-y heritage, too. While the whole app has seen a redesign that's pretty slick, ~~it still uses the old-style menu button interface that's been outmoded since the release of Ice Cream Sandwich~~ it uses no deprecated menu styles whatsoever and conforms to the UI standards of whatever OS version it is running on.

May

Meizu.com Goes Down For Mysterious Reasons, Company Says Business Unaffected

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Meizu, News

Meizu, the Chinese electronics manufacturer best known for making a splash this year by announcing its own quad-core device built in-house, took down its site for unknown reasons earlier today. We reached out to the company to find out what's going on with its site. The company responded to let us know that the site will be back soon, once it's been cleaned up to "comply with local regulations."

We are currently cleaning up our forums and wish to stress that all our other business areas are fully functional. We are working to bring our websites back online as fast as we can, but do not know exactly when we will succeed in doing so.

May

GameStop Has A Mobile App Now, Allows You To Track Rewards, Buy Games, Find Stores And More

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Love it or loathe it, GameStop is a mainstay of the modern gaming retail experience. If you're a frequent customer of the retailer, the company's new mobile app should be part of your arsenal. GameStop Mobile allows customers to track their PowerUp Rewards points and earn more points by checking in when they're at a store. For frequent customers, that alone should be worth a download.

The app can also be used to locate stores, buy items, and get information on games. So, if you really wanted to, you could use this app to find a GameStop location, drive there, sit in the parking lot, check in, then order items with your rewards points, all without ever entering the store.

May

Facebook Starts Tweaking Mobile A Little Early, Makes Photos, Posts Bigger On Mobile Apps/Site

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Remember when Facebook said that it was going to finish its IPO, and then work on improving its mobile experience? Well, reverse that. Ahead of the company's IPO, the social networking giant has already announced at least one minor improvement to its mobile apps and website: bigger pictures and posts!

^{Old version on the left, new version in the center and right.}

In an effort to make use of all those wonderful high-resolution displays you kids are carrying around these days, Facebook is making photos look bigger, and posts wider, to the point of reaching the edges of your display.

May

[Review] Turntable.fm On Android: It's Fantastic If You Have A Good Network And A Bit Of Luck

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Reviews

We've been waiting on turntable.fm to land on Android for a while now. Well, it's finally here! The music sharing service has been available for a little over a year on desktop machines. The concept is simple: DJs join a room and share songs with an audience that can then vote on whether a song is Awesome or Lame. It's a great concept for sharing music.

The only thing that could make it better is if you could listen to (or DJ!) a room while away from your computer. iOS users have been able to do this for a couple months, and now Android users can join the fray.

May

[New App] Turntable.fm For Android: It's Finally Here!

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

It's here! It's here! It's here! Ok. Calm down. Woo. For those of you who have been living under a digital rock for the last year, turntable.fm is a music sharing service. You and four of your best buddies log in to a virtual dance floor, create playlists, and take turns playing songs for a room full of listeners who can then vote your songs up or down. DJs can accrue points, get swag, and become virtual DJ legends. Or, if you prefer, just sit back and enjoy rooms full of hand-selected music. Take that, Pandora!

Turntable.fm has been available for a little over a year online, and the company has also created an iOS app.

May

Rovio's Upcoming Game 'Amazing Alex' Has Nothing To Do With Anger Or Birds But It Is...Groan...Educational

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games, News

It's been nearly two years since Angy Birds landed on Android and a mere nine months earlier the most popular game in mobile launched on iOS. Rovio has certainly done well for itself, what with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from game and merchandise sales. Angry Birds can't last forever, though. So, what's next from the agents of avian assault? Amazing Alex, a game that promises to be more educational than its predecessor.

Hey, where are you going?! Get back here!

The game will feature a kid named Alex who enjoys building things. So expect a lot of the puzzle aspect, with much less destructive catharsis.

May

[New Game] Burn It All Is A Great Game For Puzzle Solvers, Aspiring Pyromaniacs Alike

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Games

Do you like playing games? Do you like solving puzzles? Do you like to set things on fire while you play games that make you solve puzzles? If you answered yes to the last question, men in white coats will by shortly to escort you to a facility where you will be weaned off this destructive behavior. Firstly, by substituting actual arson with Burn It All. This game gives you mazes of rope puzzles to solve by leading the flame from that Animaniacs skit around obstacles to burn sweet, flammable rope.