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.

16
Apr
2013-04-16_11h39_24

Schmidt: Android Reaches 1.5m Daily Activations, Facebook Home Is Exactly What Android Was Designed For

Posted by in Google, News

Back in September of last year, Google chairman Eric Schmidt told us that Android had reached 1.3 million daily activations every day. Today, he tells us that number is up to 1.5 million, which is actually not that staggering of an increase. Andy Rubin said the number was 900,000 per day in June of 2012, so the increase from there to September was much, much faster than the increase from September to now. Still, it's an impressive number on its own. Oh and the total number of devices activated will cross one billion in "six to nine months." Not bad.

And what's the secret to all that success?

15
Apr
2013-04-15_19-12-06

Smartphone Breathalyzer 'Breathometer' Reaches Over 5x Indiegogo Goal, Brings Sobriety Tests To Your 'Everyday Life'

Posted by in Accessories, Applications, News

Don't drink and drive. Ever. Now that we've got that out of the way, Breathometer, the smartphone-powered breathalyzer, has reached its Indiegogo goal about six times over. What does that mean for you? Cheap BAC tests for everyone! The $20 device aims to make it inexpensive and easy to know when you're too intoxicated to drive. This will, naturally, replace the more commonplace test of "Have I had any alcohol? Yes? Okay, then I shouldn't drive."

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The keychain-sized device plugs in to your smartphone's 3.5mm headphone jack, so it's almost universally compatible with every smartphone on the market. It will also support Android devices 2.3 and up.

15
Apr
sendhubtiny

SendHub Arrives On Android, Provides Cheap Calling And Texting For Businesses In U.S. And Canada

Posted by in Applications, News

Google Voice is a great service for replacing your carrier's voicemail and texting options. If you need something that's a bit more robust, however, SendHub has launched on Android and allows business-class users to set up a phone number (or set of numbers) and get texting and calling for free or cheap, depending on what class of service you need.

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Free users can get 60 voice minutes, 500 messages, and 3 groups of 50 contacts for their first line. That probably won't be enough to convince the average user to ditch their current phone number, but for a new business line (or a throwaway), it can be great.

15
Apr
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In Case This Carrier Buyout Nonsense Wasn't Ridiculous Enough, Verizon Also Wants To Buy Clearwire's Spectrum For $1.5B

Posted by in Carriers, News

We just got done breaking down the proposed Dish-led acquisition of Sprint which is in no small part about gaining control of Clearwire's sweet, sweet spectrum. Now we're hearing that Verizon is reportedly also throwing its bid in, but not to buy any of the companies involved. Just to gut their ability to function as wireless carriers by gobbling up spectrum.

In a recent filing, Clearwire disclosed that an unidentified "Party J" offered up to $1.5b for the airwaves that it owns. According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon is that secret party. This could throw a kink in Sprint's plans.

15
Apr
dishtiny

DISH Proposes Alternative Sprint Buyout Plan, Is Not So Secretly Gunning For Clearwire Holdings

Posted by in Carriers, News
Last Updated: April 16th, 2013

Sprint is currently in the midst of a buyout with Japanese company SoftBank that would give the foreign telecom control of not only the Now Network, but Clearwire as well, and infuse the company with some much-needed cash. Dish Network, however, hopes to derail these plans with a bid of its own, offering more cash than Softbank has on the table, as well as synergy with its existing television and and broadband packages.

Dish is offering Sprint roughly $25.5 billion for the carrier. This is about $5 billion more than SoftBank is offering, and would keep ownership of the company within the U.S.

12
Apr
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[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 57: Georgian Monks And An Army Of Ron Clones

Posted by in News, Podcast

Welcome to the Android Police Podcast, Episode 57.

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!

12
Apr
ninjasmstiny

Chat Heads Not Your Thing? Well, Maybe Ninja SMS, The Floating Text Message App, Is More Your Speed

Posted by in Applications, News

Today has become Facebook day, whether we like it or not, it seems. If you're sick of the social network, but still like the idea of having a floating app to message your friends, Ninja SMS may be what you need. This app commandeers your text messages when you receive them, hovers over whatever you're doing, and lets you roll up the conversation when you're not in the midst of a message.

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Curiously, there doesn't seem to be a way to initiate a text conversation with the app. You can only wait for someone to message you first.

12
Apr
2013-04-12_14-49-25

HTC First Lands On AT&T In The U.S. In Black, White, Red, And Pale Blue For $99 On Contract

Posted by in First, News

Just in case getting chat heads in your Messenger app, and downloading Facebook Home wasn't enough for you, the social network die hards can pick up the HTC First from AT&T starting today for $99 with a two-year contract. The device comes in black, red, white and "pale blue."

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As mentioned previously, the HTC First comes with Facebook Home pre-installed. This version is slightly more integrated than just downloading the app, though. For example, on the regular launcher, only Facebook notifications will appear as bubbles on the home screen, whereas all system notifications come in the same way on integrated devices like this one.

12
Apr
2013-04-12_12-45-12

Facebook Home Is Now On The Play Store, Available For Select Devices [Updated]

Posted by in Applications, News

We just saw updates to Facebook and Messenger that were preparing for Facebook Home to arrive on Android. Now, the app is rolling out to the Play Store, albeit slowly. As of right now, links to the app here are pulling up the entry on some devices. We've been trying it out here at AP and some of us can get the app to come up, some can't, but it's clearly on its way.

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The app is due to come out today, per Facebook's anonouncement back on the 4th, so keep an eye on the Play Store and let us know if you're able to download it.

12
Apr
2013-04-12_11-39-54

Animoca: Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 Line And The Kindle Fire Family Are Still The Most Popular Android Tablets Worldwide

Posted by in Android OS, News, Tablets

A little less than a year ago, we saw a report that showed the Galaxy Tab was the most popular Android tablet, followed closely by the Kindle Fire. A lot has happened since then. The Nexus 7 has rolled out and set the new bar for what a small, cheap Android tablet should be. So, what's changed worldwide? Well, according to Animoca, not much.

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According to the firm—which distributes games and entertainment apps—the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is the top Android tablet with 11.8% of its network, followed closely by the 10.1 model of the same line. Following that is the Kindle Fire and the Kindle Fire HD which collectively make up another 12.4% of Animoca's users.

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