Ian G. Clifton
An Air Force veteran, Ian has been intrigued by technology for as long as he can remember. He develops Android applications for both work and play such as CNET News and Survivor, but he also enjoys art of all kinds and spends some of his few free minutes on photography and sketching.

02
Oct
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Bring Your Wallpaper Alive With Bubbleator

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games

One of my favorite features of Android is being able to have widgets on my device. With just a few widgets, my important information can be a quick glance away. Unfortunately, widgets typically offer a limited set of information (e.g., the last five messages) and the lack of animation on the majority of widgets makes them feel more static than they really are. Even Honeycomb's widgets are fairly limited. Fortunately, Android's live wallpapers allow for a far more engaging experience and the Bubbleator live wallpaper takes advantage of that.

Full disclosure: Bubbleator is made by ARO, and I have recently been hired on as a developer at ARO.

12
Aug
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[Tip] Want The App Switcher Button On ASUS Transformer's Keyboard Dock? Just Alt+Tab Instead

Posted by in Eee Pad Transformer, Tips & Tutorials

If you are anything like me and you own the keyboard dock for the Asus Transformer, then you probably keep it attached the majority of the time. The dock gives you quick access to the home, search, and menu shortcut keys, but what about the recent apps button? Unfortunately, a hardware button was not included. Although it is not much work to just tap the on-screen button since it is just a few inches away, it can still be annoying.

Instead, the Android 3.2 update brought us something a lot of us are already very familiar with - Alt+Tab. Keep holding Alt down and press Tab to cycle through the eight recent apps.

15
Jul
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[Review] ASUS Eee Pad Transformer - A Month With A Tablet In Disguise

Posted by in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Reviews, Tablet Reviews
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Tablets are rapidly changing the way we approach technology. They give a sense of immediacy and tactile connection that desktops and notebooks can't touch; however, I will be the first to admit that the hype seemed stupid to me. Several coworkers purchased the original iPad on the day it launched and were eager to show them off. "But what can you do with it?" was my question, and there wasn't a good answer. The tablet was not fulfilling any needs that netbooks and laptops could not already cover.

A year later, Honeycomb became available on the Motorola XOOM. The OS was rough around the edges, but it showed a different take on tablets - one that blended the always-connected nature of smartphones with many of the advantages of notebooks.

19
Jun
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[New Game Review] Stardunk Brings Some Polish To Side-View Basketball Games

Posted by in Game Reviews, Games, News, Reviews
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Gaming on Android has been accelerating at the same mind-numbing speed as Android hardware, and we have quickly gone from having a limited number of decent titles to having more good games than we can track. In some cases, these games stand out for their amazing new gameplay; in others, they stand out for their high level of polish. Stardunk is one of the latter.

There have been several Android games that let you play a quick game of basketball, essentially just choosing an angle and power, and letting the ball fly. Stardunk is that plus multiplayer competitiveness and customization with a healthy dose of polish.

09
Dec
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LG Apex Review: Because LG "Pretty Good" Didn't Have The Same Ring

Posted by in Apex, LG, Phone Reviews, Reviews, US Cellular
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

One of Android's greatest strengths is the sheer number of devices it is available on. That gives customers the opportunity to choose a desired carrier and handset with the most important features for a them. It's easy to forget that not everyone is willing to spend $200 on a new phone, and people transitioning from a feature phone to their first smartphone are often less likely to be looking at those high-end handsets. Fortunately, there are a lot of relatively inexpensive Android devices available, although many of them are clunky and frustrating to use. With the LG Apex coming in at just $50 after rebate at US Cellular, it is clearly targeted at people who do not want to spend much, but is it any good?

08
Dec

Upset Android Developers Demand Better Service From Google After Recent Android Market Payment Issues

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

On December 4th, Google user judez reported on the Android Market support forum that for six hours straight, all of his Android Market sales were showing up as "payment declined." The issue continued through December 5th and 6th with over one hundred responses from other developers. Other threads were started reporting the same issue as well.  Take a look at the problem:

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The screenshot, posted by khriskooper on the second page of that thread, shows just how ridiculous the issue became. Developers were reporting anywhere from 50-90% of payments being declined, with the most significantly affected sellers being outside of the United States with the purchasers in the United States.

24
Sep
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Report: Android Police Visits Aurora Feint To Learn About OpenFeint And Its Vision About The Future Of Android Gaming

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

OpenFeint

About a week ago, Aurora Feint, the team behind OpenFeint, publicly unveiled their Android SDK, allowing Android developers to easily incorporate things like leaderboards and achievements into their games. With that announcement came the promise of twenty new games, and we have already seen significant successes like MiniSquadron and Fruit Ninja jumping to the top of the Android charts. But now what? I flew down to the OpenFeint offices in San Francisco to find out first-hand.

Jet Car Stunts

Jason Citron, CEO and founder of Aurora Feint, showed off Jet Car Stunts (see video below) on iPhone to explain what OpenFeint could currently do and open the conversation about its future.

15
Sep
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OpenFeint Is Now Available On Android; 20 Games Are On The Way

Posted by in Games, News
Last Updated: September 23rd, 2010

One of the weaknesses of Android has been a lack of high quality games. Sure, there are some very good games, but not nearly as many as there should be, and they are often hidden in the Android Market. Fortunately, Android gaming momentum has been increasing with hits like Angry Birds arriving on Android recently. Now, OpenFeint is further increasing that momentum with the announcement of twenty Android titles in the next month, including several top 10 iOS hits like Fruit Ninja, MiniSquadron, and Super Slyder.

OpenFeint is a cross-platform social gaming network that was introduced just over a year-and-a-half ago.