Eric Ravenscraft - 22/104 - 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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Feb

Yet Another Study Shows The Galaxy Brand Is Becoming Synonymous With Android

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

One of the biggest problems Google faces with Android is avoiding a situation where one manufacturer controls so much of the market that everything else falls by the wayside. As study after study shows, though, this is becoming an increasing risk as Samsung gobbles up more customers. To wit, this survey from Localytics—a company that provides analytics for mobile apps— showed that of the top ten Android devices its customers used, eight were made by Samsung, and seven had the Galaxy brand attached.

The trend is staggering, but not surprising. After all, between Samsung and Apple, the two companies account for somewhere between most and more than all the smartphone profits.

Feb

Wikipad Announces 7" Gaming Tablet For $249, Company Discusses Cancelled 10" Version

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, News

One of these days, we're finally going to figure this whole buttons problem for Android devices. While touchscreens are great, the tactile feeling of physical controls will always have its appeal. Some solutions are better than others, but maybe the Wikipad can find the sweet spot. The tablet comes with an attached set of game controls that can be removed, leaving the player with a regular 7" Tegra 3 tablet. The entire unit costs $250.

Here are the specs for the tablet itself:

7" 1280x800 IPS display (up to 5-point multitouch)
Tegra 3
1GB RAM
16GB storage (expandable w/ 32GB micro SD)
2MP front-camera
4,100 mAh battery
Android 4.1

The attached buttons actually make this look a lot like a Wii U tablet, but this one is running Android 4.1.

Feb

[Rumor Stomp] This Is Not The Galaxy S IV [Updated]

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Rumors, Samsung

Update: As we suspected, this really isn't official. In fact, it's a fan render that was published on The Verge's forums two and a half months ago. Mystery solved! (Thanks, c3vzn!)

-- end of update

The closer spring gets, the more rumors we can expect to see about Samsung's next-Next Big Thing (TM). Today's alleged leak comes to us via Twitter, and let's not beat around the bush - this is almost certainly not the Galaxy S IV. We'll begin where any photo analysis starts: the pixels. Take a look at the USB port in particular.

Feb

Carbon For Twitter Update Brings A Laundry List Of Bug Fixes, Adds Quick Mentions And Verified Badges

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

The long-awaited Carbon for Twitter app landed on the Play Store a few days ago, but some were of the opinion that it wasn't quite finished yet. This happens in software development. Nothing to be worried about. What should cause worry is if problems persist for months or years at a time (*coughGoogleVoicecough*). On that note, it should be very encouraging that the developers have already rolled out an update that includes a variety of bug fixes.

Here is the complete list of changes:

Bug Fixes:
- Notification bug that crashed after tapping
- Repeat Notifications
- Notification bug that crashed app when Avatar couldn't be loaded
- Direct Messages Delete bug wasn't saving changes
- Long press bug on Messages
- Composition Screen Account Selector bug
- User Profile Bio: tapping on Mentions & Hashtags bug.

Feb

'The Predicktor' Will Allegedly Predict Penis Size Based On Your Butt Size (And Other Very Personal Info)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

A doctor did this. Before I get any deeper into this story, I want to point out that a person with the prefix "Dr." in front of his name—Dr. Christopher Culligan, a Canadian ER physician and instructor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, to be precise—is responsible for this mobile app that promises to infer a man's size based on a variety of factors. This criteria includes but is not limited to height, shoe size, butt size and whether the man is gay or straight. Seriously.

I can't believe I actually get to write these words, but of all the apps I've seen that promise to measure a man's member, this has to be the best.

Feb

Google Adds 38 Run And Lift Maps From Major Ski Resorts To Google Maps, But Please Don't Use Them On the Mountain

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, News

A non-zero number of Android Police team members enjoy skiiing. Who wouldn't, right? Well, people who get lost for starters. Mountains can be mazes! However, Google did what Google does best and made some sense of the madness. Now you can find guides for 38 different resorts all on your mobile phone.

The runs are color coded by difficulty, as they normally are on the mountain. You can view them with GPS on your mobile phone, or even check them out on the desktop before you hit the snow. A few slopes even have a Street View preview (though they're not quite as thorough as regular Street View).

Feb

Lets Talk Has The 16GB Nexus 4 For $76 After Coupon Codes With New T-Mobile Contract

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Deals, News

This might just be one of the better deals we've seen in a while. Lets Talk is offering the Nexus 4 for $85 on a new 2-year T-Mobile contract. Enter the coupon code "TALK4TEN" (no quotes) during checkout and you can knock another $8.50 off that (money's money, right?) for a grand total of $76.50. Not bad!

Existing customers can get the handset for $155 before the coupon code which will take $15.50 off for a total of $140, which isn't too bad of a deal, either. It's still worth noting that both options require a two-year commitment, while the contract-free version you can get from the Play store is only $350 (less if you don't mind 8GB).

Feb

[Editorial] We Do Not Need 'Amazon Coins' (Or Any Virtual Currency)

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Editorials, News

The scene: a board room. Ominous and shrouded in mystery, all that can be seen is a long, black glass desk and on either side, twelve featureless chairs. In each sits a grumpy old person. The rest of the chamber is a dark, empty void. Out of the abyss a lone man appears, approaching the head of the table. He's adorned in blue jeans, a white dress shirt and a dark blazer. The brightest light in the room is the reflection on his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he says. "As you are no doubt aware, our earnings for last quarter were less than optimal.

Feb

Platform Numbers Are In For January 2013: Gingerbread Down To 45.4%, ICS Down (Wha-?) To 29.0%, Jelly Bean Up to 13.6%

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Android OS, Google, News

It's that time again! We get another glimpse at what the platform distribution numbers are like for Android. If you've been following along, you'll notice there aren't many changes: Gingerbread is still the biggest slice of the pie, Ice Cream Sandwich is second, and the two major versions of Jelly Bean together make up the third largest. 2.3 is down to 45.4% from 47.4% a month ago. That 2% difference seems to have gone overwhelmingly to Jelly Bean which went up to 13.6% from 10% a month ago.

The most curious shift, however, was Ice Cream Sandwich. While the change was minimal, the version dropped from 29.1% to a flat 29%.

Feb

[Update: Rolling Out Now] Verizon Pulls A Miracle Out Of Its Hat, Will Release ICS For The HTC Thunderbolt Soon

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Update: The OTA is rolling out now. Go get it! Thanks for the heads-up, James!

We didn't think it was possible. We thought it was abandoned, left on the side of the road where no one would ever find it. Yet here, through the fog, a light comes shining through: Verizon is actually releasing Ice Cream Sandwich for the HTC Thunderbolt. Assuming that users haven't already thrown theirs into a lake by now.

The support page says the update is "coming soon", so we can't confirm exactly when the OTA will roll out, but the important thing to take away here is that it's real, it's definitely coming, and it won't be long now.