Ron Amadeo

Ron loves everything related to technology, design, and Google. He always wants to talk about "the big picture" and what's next for Android, and he's not afraid to get knee-deep in an APK for some details. Expect a good eye for detail, lots of research, and some lamenting about how something isn't designed well enough.

Oct

Google TV SDK Goes Final, Start Coding!

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Dev, Google TV, News

Hey GTV fans: Fantastic news! The final version of the Google TV SDK went live today - Google TV is still alive! This is a follow up to the preview build released in August.

Apparently, the differences between this and the preview version are pretty minor: by popular demand, the Action Bar now renders horizontally (like tablets), and there are additional on-screen quick access keys, like picture-in-picture, fast forward, and channel buttons.

The finalization of the SDK means it's time for developers to really get cracking. So fire up your Linux box, grab the add-on from the SDK Manager, and get to work!

Oct

[Review] The T-Mobile Galaxy S II: Beauty Is Only Skin Deep, But The Bloatware Goes On Forever

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy S II, Reviews, T-Mobile

Finally it's T-Mobile's turn to take a swing at the Samsung Galaxy S II, almost six months after the rest of the world. No adjective soup for this variant; its official name is, plainly, the "T-Mobile Galaxy S II." Formerly known as the "Hercules," this is the misfit in the GSII family. In its heart pumps a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, instead of the normal Samsung Exynos. So it's not just a carbon copy of all those other GSIIs. My initial impressions were posted a few days ago, and since then I've had some time to see if this thing was really worth the wait.

Oct

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II Initial Impressions

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy S II, Hercules, Samsung, T-Mobile

The FedEx man brought me a lovely little gift yesterday: The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II. This is the last stateside arrival of the Galaxy S II family. The review will take a bit to get out the door, so until then I figured I'd whet your appetite with some initial impressions.

First of all, this thing is big. Really big. I have to say though, I love the design of it. It feels sturdy and very well made. Like Samsung really knows what they're doing. The plastic back has a wonderful texture to it that almost makes it feel like leather.

Oct

Sprint Announces 4G Switch From WiMax To LTE By 2013

Posted by Ron Amadeo in 4G, News, Sprint

Sprint announced today it will be switching 4G technologies from WiMax to LTE. The LTE network should go live in mid 2012 and and have a "full rollout" by 2013. Sprint eventually hopes to double current amount of 4G customers with its LTE rollout.

Joining the LTE ranks puts Sprint in the same technology corner as AT&T and Verizon, with only T-Mobile still clinging to HSPA+. Sprint's slice of the LTE airways will be the 800 and 1900Mhz spectrum and, pending the FCC's blessing, 1600MHz.

The LTE device wave will start in 2012 with 15+ devices. Phones will be dual-mode CDMA/LTE and even some tri-mode CDMA/LTE/WiMax mobile hotspots.

Oct

[Keyboard App Shootout Part 2] Swiftkey X Wants To Read Your Mind... And Everything Else You've Ever Written

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Features, Keyboard Shootout, Reviews

The Keyboard App Shootout is back! In today's crosshairs: Swiftkey X.

Swiftkey's driving theory is that, with enough information about you, it can predict what you want to type. Seriously. They even use the phrase "mind-reading" on their website. How do they expect to get to "mind-reading" levels? Well, they basically want to scan everything you've ever written. Swiftkey can mine your text messages, Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and even your blog's RRS feed for sweet, sweet data about your typing habits. They feed all this data though a "ground-breaking artificial intelligence engine that uses word context and personalized language models to think about words like you do".

Oct

[Update: It's Confirmed] Nuance Reportedly Purchasing Swype For More Than $100 Million

Posted by Ron Amadeo in News

Update: Thisismynext.com has confirmed the purchase with Nuance for "approximately $100 million". It's really real.

Nuance Communications. You probably know them as the company that makes Dragon Naturally Speaking, a speech recognition program. Well, they have another little known side project: Nuance loves keyboards. Like, really loves keyboards.

They own the T9 typing style and the company that invented it. They have their own Android keyboard called Flex T9. A little over a year ago, they bought Shapewriter, Swype's main competitor.

Apparently all that isn't enough to quench Nuance's insatiable lust for keyboards. According to Michael Arrington of Uncrunched, they've decided to drop a cool hundred million on Swype.

Oct

Myriad Looks To Brings Android Apps To The iPad With Alien Dalvik 2.0

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Android OS, News

Myriad is continuing their quest to make Android apps run on just about everything with the release of Alien Dalvik 2.0. The latest operation system in their crosshairs is none other than iOS -- specifically the iPad branch of iOS. That's right, Android apps on an iPad.

I can sense your skepticism over the internet (it's a new WordPress plugin) so perhaps some background info will make this a little more believable: Myriad is a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, a Google-assembled group of companies that support Android. They aren't some no-name company. This isn't their first time porting Android to where it doesn't belong; the previous version of Alien Dalvik got Android apps up and running on MeeGo.

Sep

Be Careful Where You Stick Your Camera - Some QR Codes Are Dirty

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Android OS, News

According to Kaspersky, seller of the $10 Kaspersky antivirus app for Android, Android viruses are getting worse. Well, not really worse, just different. The latest attack vector comes in the form of malicious QR Codes. When you scan a QR code, your phone turns those funky squares into a URL. Just like any other form of URL obfuscation (eg, shorteners), that URL can go to a naughty place. Said naughty place could give you a virus.

Oh, I'm sorry, are you used to a little more hyperbole in your Android virus stories? ZDNet can help with that: "Hackers using QR codes to push Android malware ...

Sep

Icebreaker Hockey Skates Into The Android Market - From The Creators Of Backbreaker Football

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, News

Do you like Backbreaker Football? Would you like to do that, but with skates and a big stick? Well today the makers of Backbreaker Football have released Icebreaker Hockey. "Crushing checks, slick moves, and super-addictive gameplay" awaits -- should you choose to download. It also has Xperia PLAY support, achievements, online leader boards, and unlockable items. If you've got a device running 2.1 and up, give it a shot.

It's available now for $2.99. To help with your purchasing decision, we've helpfully embedded a video -- of the iOS version. Blame them; not us.

Icrebreacker Hockey

QR code for https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.naturalmotion.icebreaker

Sep

Madden NFL 12 Free For Verizon Customers Oct 1st - 3rd, Insert Football Pun Here

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Applications, Deals, News

If you're the type of person who likes Madden, yet somehow managed to not purchase it four weeks into the season, I've got good news! From October 1st-3rd, Verizon customers can download Madden NFL 12 for the low, low price of "free." How you download it is a little bizarre, so listen up: You call -- that's right, call -- **MADDEN. That's "[Star] [Star] 623336", and somehow that will start the download. The instructions aren't very specific. Whoever wrote the press release decided obvious football puns were more important than clarity. The press release mentions something about "VCast Apps," so don't be surprised if you are asked to download yet another app store.