Liam Spradlin - 84/99 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Besides being an avid Android fan and blogger, Liam is a photographer with a degree in both Anthropology and Sociology. He can usually be found reading through blogs, taking photos, or studying ancient pottery. Liam has been known to leave on international trips at a moment's notice, and can't resist a new challenge.

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Oct

[Hunt For The Best Dialer, Part 7] Contapps Contacts & Dialer Is An Undoubtedly Impressive, Beautiful Dialer Replacement

Posted by Liam Spradlin in App Reviews, Applications, Hunt For The Best Dialer

Continuing on the quest for the perfect dialer to replace Android's stock phone application, I've come across Contapps Contacts & Dialer, an app I had never heard of until I began scouring the market. For a free dialer app, it has a lot to offer, and I'm surprised that it isn't more popular.

At A Glance

Contapps is a dialer replacement that is simple, practical, and well-designed, with enough extra features to make it feel new. While it may have a couple of redundancies or inconsistencies, it's definitely a great dialer, and definitely has a shot at being my everyday dialer solution (at least until I get my hands on Ice Cream Sandwich).

Oct

Oracle And Google's Epic Battle Will Have To Wait - This Month's Trial Postponed Indefinitely

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Legal, News

It looks like there's finally been a new development in the Oracle vs. Google fight. For those who may be out of the loop, Oracle (who owns Sun and the Java programming language) have had patent infringement and copyright lawsuits boiling against Google for quite some time now. The patent claims are essentially related to Google's use of Java in the Android platform. Oracle claims that Android includes code which violates patents gained through the acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

The billion-dollar trial was set to begin on October 31st, but District Court Judge William Alsup has decided to postpone the proceedings.

Oct

Wizz Bar Cleans Up Your Tablet's Home Screen, Leaves No Clutter Of Its Own

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Almost immediately after getting my hands on a Galaxy Tab 10.1, it was updated by Samsung to include the infamous TouchWiz UX. This brought about some significant aesthetic and UI changes, including a quick-access tray, which brings up a list of handy apps at the touch of a button. The only problem is that this bar isn't customizable. For those who want more options, or those not fortunate enough to have the TouchWiz experience, developer SnowBEE has released Wizz Bar.

Wizz Bar allows you to create a sort of mini app tray, fully customizable with the apps you use most.

Oct

[Deal Alert] Woot! And Amazon Offering Refurbished 32GB Motorola Xoom For $339.99 Shipped

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, Tablets, XOOM

It looks like Amazon's Gold Box and Woot! have paired up to offer a discount on the Motorola Xoom today. If you hurry, you can grab a factory refurbished, 32GB Xoom for just $339.99 (with free shipping), which is about $15 less than the last deal we saw from Woot! on the original Honeycomb tablet.

The deal will only be available until 12AM PDT tomorrow, so if you've been waiting for your chance to get a Xoom on the cheap, head over to Amazon and take advantage of the discount before time runs out. (Just click on "n refurbished from $339.99" to get the deal)

Oct

Dan Morrill Reveals The Real Reason Behind The Galaxy Nexus' Barometer

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Since last night's announcement, there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the Galaxy Nexus. One of the most mysterious features of Samsung's latest Nexus device is its onboard barometer. Many have been questioning why Samsung would include a barometer in the Nexus' sleek chassis, citing possibilities from more accurate weather prediction to simple altitude detection (which is partially true).

In a Google+ post today, Android Engineer Dan Morrill gave us the scoop on what the barometer is actually for, and it's more interesting than you might think.

Morrill explains that the barometer is actually intended to speed up GPS location, because "locking onto a GPS involves numerically solving a 4-dimensional set of linear equations - 3 dimensions in space, and time."

That sounds a bit complicated, doesn't it?

Oct

ASUS Releases Teaser For The Next Transformer - Let The Anticipation Begin

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Eee Pad Transformer Prime, News, Tablets

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is, if nothing else, a unique breed of tablet, conveniently offering the functionality of a netbook at your whim, with the addition of a handy keyboard dock. It is, no doubt, a capable piece of hardware, but (in my opinion) it seems a bit awkward and bulky. Of course, upon its release, speculation about its successor began almost immediately. Several months later, ASUS has released a teaser video that gives us a few hints about the next Transformer.

As you can see from the video, the next Transformer looks like an improvement over its predecessor, at least in terms of form-factor.

Oct

There's A Bounty Out For The Kindle Fire: $200 For Reversible Root, $800 For "Basic" Honeycomb Or Ice Cream Sandwich Port

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Development, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Kindle Fire, News, Tablets

It looks like the HP Touchpad isn't the only tablet to have a bounty placed on its head - Kindle Fire Forum is now offering a substantial reward to the first person who's able to provide a reliable, reversible root method, or either a Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich port for Amazon's Android tablet.

The forum is offering a prize of $200 for a root method, and a whopping $800 for a "Basic" Honeycomb or ICS port. The original post outlines the goals like so:

Reliable Reversable Root Method - This one is self explanatory.

Basic Android Port – The stock Android home screen and apps boot.

Oct

Samsung's Mobile President: The Galaxy Nexus Was Designed With Patents In Mind

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Galaxy Nexus, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Samsung

It seems that these days, Samsung must constantly be on alert for new entries in the ever-growing list of patent disputes with Apple. Sensing this, Samsung's Mobile President, Shin Jong-kyun (who we heard from at last night's presentation) took a moment to stress the fact that the Galaxy Nexus was designed with patents in mind - specifically, it was designed to avoid trouble with Apple. While it is a rectangular device with a touch screen, not much else seems to put it in danger.

What's interesting is that Shin decided to speak to the subject at all. Gizmodo reports that Samsung's Mobile President "claims that no 'known' Apple patent was used in the Galaxy Nexus."

I find it somewhat curious that Shin would specify this regarding the Galaxy Nexus - does this suggest that patents were knowingly violated in the past?

Oct

Ice Cream Sandwich Feature Closer Look - Android Beam Proves That NFC Isn't Just For Credit Card Payments

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Everyone has been making a big deal about NFC lately - which phones have it, where it can be used, etc. Until last night's announcement, many (including myself) didn't see much on the horizon except a fun way to pay for things using your phone. That perception has changed, however, thanks to Android Beam.

Beam utilizes NFC technology to quickly, seamlessly transfer data from one device to another. As demonstrated last night, one has only to touch the two devices together to send just about anything from web pages, to photos, to apps.

Just touch the devices back-to-back, tap the confirmation, and that's it.

Oct

Ice Cream Sandwich Feature Closer Look - Android's New Camera Packs A Serious Punch, Offering Sophisticated Still And Video Options

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

One of the features I'm most excited about in Ice Cream Sandwich is the camera. The new camera app really raises the bar, bringing a heap of improvements, as well as plenty of features we haven't seen before.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of ICS' camera is that it has zero shutter lag. That's right - zero. Photos are taken as soon as you hit the shutter button. In last night's demo we got a glimpse of how powerful this is, as the presenter snapped off several images back to back with no wait time in between.

Before you hit the shutter, though, the new camera app is already helping you compose a better shot.