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.

15
May
play music logo

[Hands-On] Play Music Is Now The Template For All Future Music Services (Even If It Takes A Little While To Love)

Posted by in Google, News

At the start of this review, I was simultaneously excited and frustrated. Now I'm just plain excited. For a bit of context, I have been bouncing between cloud music services since Lala was still a thing. I had one simple desire: I wanted to pay a monthly fee for unfettered access to a large library of content, but still wanted to be able to bring my own. I know that $10/month is not going to get me every song in existence, but if I can pay for most music, and then supply the rest, I'll be happy. Today, Google finally gave me what I wanted and, make no mistake, this is the model that other apps are going to follow for a long time to come.

15
May
2013-05-15_13h47_50

[Update: Hangouts Is Live! | I/O 2013] Google+ Gets A New Stream, And Hangouts (Read: Babel) Becomes Real, Unifies Messaging Across Android, iOS And The Web

Posted by in Google, News

Today, Google announced a new look for the Google+ stream. Gone is the weird, bubbly look that we've had for forever. The cards-centric UI that we've seen on phones and tablets is now coming to the desktop as well. You can select a one, two, or three-column layout and each individual card can flip over with a slick animation and provide more information and options.

2013-05-15_13h54_55

Google's also improving its search and tagging functionality. Now, the service will analyze tags that you've provided and G+ will provide related hashtags to improve discovery. Even when you don't provide tags, Google can infer them.

15
May
play music logo

[I/O 2013] Google Launches Play Music All Access, Finally Updates The Music App, Combines Your Library With A Subscription

Posted by in Google, News

Today, Google brought it's A-game with a subscription service for Play Music. Now, you can pay a $9.99 monthly fee to get unlimited access to a library of music. It also comes with a new, updated Play Music app that doesn't look like complete garbage. There's also a host of features including the ability to turn any track into a radio station.

2013-05-15_09h51_38 2013-05-15_09h51_47

2013-05-15_12h47_13 2013-05-15_12h48_21 2013-05-15_12h48_43

The one key way that this service distinguishes itself from other subscription services is that this includes all of your own personal music. In other words, the MP3s you've purchased and own are in the same app as all the music you've added to your library via your subscription.

15
May
2013-05-15_12h22_45

[I/O 2013] Google Officially Launches Play Games, Brings Achievements, Game Sync, Leaderboards And More

Posted by in Games, Google, News

Today, Google announced Google Play game services that brings a suite of new features that game developers can integrate into their titles. The biggest of them is cloud data sync. Game developers can sync their players' progress across devices and platforms. Yes, this feature works on Android and iOS. This is hot.

2013-05-15_12h31_59

In addition to cloud data sync, the suite of services also brings achievements and leaderboards. Any game can now tap into a unified system for showing off your accomplishments. If you want a more personal grandstanding experience, Google also introduced both live and turn-based multiplayer features for game developers to utilize.

15
May
2013-05-15_12h14_53

[I/O 2013] New Numbers: 900 Million Android Activations Worldwide, 4.5 Billion People Are Now Google's Target

Posted by in Google, News

Speaking at Google I/O, Android and Chrome chief Sundar Punchai just let on that there has now been over 900 million device activations. However, Google can't rest on its laurels. In the same breath as the announcement that Google has reached nearly a billion users in just a few years, the company showed off a map of countries where Android has less than 10% penetration. Those countries are green in the map below:

2013-05-15_09h11_36 2013-05-15_09h10_45

The message to the rest of the world is clear: Google's on its way to your town, too.

14
May
2013-05-14_10h38_32

Rovio Gives Up, Creates 'Rovio Stars' Publishing Initiative To See If You Guys Have Any Good Games It Can Milk

Posted by in Games, News

For years, Rovio lived on Angry Birds and nothing else. Then it tried to get you to love Alex. Then it gave the piggies a shot. Finally, Rovio went back to doing what it does best: throwing birds and cashing out. The demand for new games hasn't stopped, though. So what's a mega-giant corporation that's stuck in a creative rut to do? Crowd source, of course. Introducing Rovio Stars.

2013-05-14_11h42_27

Rovio Stars is more than a little like the Fox Searchlight for games (but not quite like Steam Greenlight). The company is promising would-be gaming legends "world-class marketing and PR" for developers with great properties, and "expert game teams" to "[turn] your game into a blockbuster."

To get on Rovio's radar, you can apply by sending in screenshots or a gameplay video of your title and a description of what makes it so great.

09
May
2013-05-08_18h11_10

Bluestacks Announces GamePop, A Free Gaming Console With A Monthly Subscription That Plays Mobile Games On Your TV

Posted by in Games, News

Guys, stop talking about the Ouya for a second. Bluestacks has a different console it would like you to pay attention to: GamePop. The company that has previously worked on interoperability between Android software and other platforms, is now launching a console of its own. The hardware—including a console and physical controller—will be entirely free for people who pre-order. The catch? You have to pay for a subscription to play games.

The entire package will come with one console and one physical controller, though you'll also be able to use your smartphone as a controller as well. If you pre-order by in May (which you can do starting now) the service will cost $6.99 per month and the hardware will be free.

08
May
ashmadtiny

Ashley Madison Helps Cheaters Be Even More Sneaky (But Not Really) With A Branded Disposable Number VoIP App

Posted by in Applications, News

For the unfamiliar, Ashley Madison is a dating site that enables couples in monogamous relationships to find partners for illicit affairs. That's the baseline we're starting from. The company's new app, however, takes this concept one step further by providing users with disposable phone numbers that can be used for calling and texting without your spouse finding out.

ashmad1 ashmad2 ashmad3

The BlackBook app doesn't include access to the social network itself, so it's purely used for correspondence. The irony, of course, being that the very act of having an Ashley Madison-branded app on your phone is more suspicious to a scorned lover than any of the dozens of other disposable phone number services would be.

03
May
01A_AndroidPolice-logo-with-bg-242x242_thumb_thumb1_thumb4

[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 60: Tablet Zed If You're Nasty

Posted by in News, Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 60.

Don't forget - the Android Police Podcast's live broadcast is every Thursday at 5PM PST (www.androidpolice.com/podcast). The unedited video version of the podcast can be found here - and will likely include various verbal expletives, technical snafus, tangents, and probably a good 5-10 minutes of pre-podcast banter as we prepare. Watch at your own risk!

03
May
2013-05-03_12h19_08

Reddit Gets Its Own Google Glass App, Sets Record For Most Brilliant Stupid Idea

Posted by in Applications, News

When we talk about Google Glass, we have a lot to be hopeful for and a lot to be worried about. Some of those worries might be a little less than rational. Like the fear that you'll potentially be monitored all the time, which is totally different from how it is now. So, for all the Glass skeptics out there, allow me to do you a favor and replace some less rational fears with some that are more reasonable: if Google Glass becomes popular, everyone is going to start looking at cat pictures on their glasses, no one will watch where they're going, and society will collectively walk into poles, open sewer holes, and each other.

Page 1 of 10312345...102030...Last»