Ryan Whitwam - 12/41 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Ryan is a freelance tech writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would.

Follow @RyanWhitwam

May

[Deal Alert] AT&T's LG Optimus G Pro On Sale At Amazon – $169.99 For New Accounts And Upgrades ($30 Off)

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in AT&T, Carriers, LG, News, Optimus G Pro

If you have a penchant for big phones, but find the Galaxy Note II entirely too pedestrian, the LG Optimus G Pro on AT&T might be just the thing. AT&T is asking $199.99 for this brand new device, but Amazon is already offering a deal (albeit a small one). The Optimus G Pro can currently be snatched online for $169.99 on a 2-year contract.

This new LTE-packing handset has a 5.5-inch 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Inside is a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600, the same super-chip found in the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. Sadly, there are no fun color choices for this device – it's just black.

May

Google's Field Trip App Finally Does Something Useful By Offering Free Admission To 13 Museums Around The US

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Field Trip is a somewhat experimental project out of Google's Niantic Labs, an internal start-up that is also responsible for the game Ingress. Field Trip is a location-aware experience just like Ingress, but its purpose is to alert you to notable stuff in your general vicinity. Showing you mildly interesting landmarks is one thing, but Field Trip can now get you free admission to 13 museums in addition to telling you where they are.

Wander near any of the participating institutions and Field Trip will pop up a card (in the Nearby tab) that contains instructions on how to get your free culture injection.

May

Yahoo Updates Flickr App To v2.0 With Slick New UI And A Ton More Storage

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Applications, Apps/Games, News

It seems like Yahoo is really trying to make waves lately with new-ish CEO Marissa Mayer at the helm. Not a day after announcing its acquisition of Tumblr, the company's other vowel-deficient service is getting a makeover, and that includes a new Android app. Flickr, that photo-sharing site of yesteryear, has been updated in Google Play with a new interface. Don't let the old Google Play screenshots fool you – the app has been totally redesigned to match the new desktop site.

The photostreams are now made up of large tiles set against a dark background. There is a slide-out navigation menu and a new interface for applying filters to pictures.

May

AT&T Says Hangouts Video Calls (And Other Video Chat Apps) Will Work Over Cellular Data By The End Of 2013

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in AT&T, Carriers, News

AT&T has long had a chip on its shoulder when it comes to video chat apps running on its network. It took a few years to enable Apple's solution, but Android users were stymied just last week when the new Hangouts app refused to connect to video calls over AT&T's 3G and 4G. The rationale the carrier is using to justify its decision is incredibly convoluted, to say the least. However, things are going to change in the second half of 2013.

AT&T makes a bizarre distinction between apps that are downloaded, and those that are included on the phone. Hangouts replaces Talk, so even though it's new to Google Play, AT&T considers it a pre-installed app.

May

[Deal Alert] Amazon Offering AT&T HTC One And Sprint Galaxy S4 For $129.99

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Deals, Galaxy S4, HTC, News, One, Samsung

Now that the big spring phone releases are out of the way, you can make an informed decision on any pending purchases. The HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 both have their strong points, and you can get a solid deal on both of them, provided you're flexible on carriers. Amazon has both currently listed for $129.99 with a 2-year contract.

The HTC One in question is the 32GB AT&T variant, and it's usually $199.99 (last on sale for $150). A $70 savings on a fairly new device is great, and it's impressive what HTC has done with its new flagship phone.

May

Fire And Forget Review: Rough Around The Edges, But Not Forgettable

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games

When a stereotypical madman has access to some conveniently forgotten nuclear weapons, the only thing that can stop him is a flying tank. There is probably no other game in which that sentence makes a lick of sense, but it's the basic premise behind Fire and Forget: Final Assault.

This is an arcade-style action game based on the classic franchise. In this title you must blast your way through waves of bad guys in a post-apocalyptic wasteland to reach Captain Nucleo's nuclear-equipped hovercraft. It certainly sounds like it has all the makings of a killer experience, but is it?

Controls And Gameplay

Each of the 10 stages consist of your car, the Thunder Master III, rocketing down the highway in pursuit of Captain Nucleo.

May

Google Glass FAQ Updated To Permit Loaning Explorer Edition Unit, Still Forbids Selling As It Is Not "In The Explorer Spirit"

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Glass, Google, News

Just ask our own Ron Amadeo and he'll tell you there are a myriad of reasons Google Glass isn't like other computing devices. It changes the way you interact with data and contextual information, but it's also not a true consumer product just yet. The Google Glass Explorer Edition was released with a number of caveats, including the stipulation that owners were forbidden from selling or loaning the device to someone else. Well, Google has lightened up a little on that last count. The FAQ has been tweaked to allow sharing your Explorer Edition.

Google's original FAQ clearly stated that users were not permitted to "resell, loan, transfer or give [Google Glass] to any other person." That's a little totalitarian, even for what is essentially a developer device.

May

Elusive White Nexus 4 Spotted By AndroidAndMe, Said To Launch June 10th With Android 4.3

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in LG, News, Nexus 4

The white LG Nexus 4 has popped up a few times thus far, but now it has found its way into the hands of AndroidAndMe. The new image looks legit to us, so it appears this device is finally going to be a reality. What's potentially much more interesting is the assertion that Android 4.3 is going to be announced along with the new color option on June 10th.

The white N4 reportedly has the same vibe as past white Nexus devices with a white back and black screen surround on the front. Although only the back is visible in the pic on AndroidAndMe.

May

Google Bumps Google TV To Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, LG Confirms It Will Update GTV Devices, Finally Support NDK

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Google TV, LG, News

Last Updated: May 17th, 2013

Google TV is the project no one in Mountain View likes to talk about. It was announced with much fanfare, but the platform has languished on an ancient version of Android 3.2 Honeycomb for far too long. Well, Google didn't see fit to mention it at the keynote, but Google TV is getting a fresh coat of paint with an Android 4.2.2 update.

The update should appear on compatible Google TV devices in the next few months and bring new core functionality and support for newer builds of Google Chrome. Google says the update to Jelly Bean will allow OEMs to build updates for Google TV devices in weeks rather than months.

May

Google Play Books Updated To Allow Uploading Your Own Documents And Books, Plus Additional Tweaks

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News

Google's Play Books service launched last year as a competent reading app, and a necessary pillar for Google Play. But one feature readers have since been asking for is the ability to incorporate their own files into the library, and now Google is adding that option to the service.

Play Books supports PDF and EPUB files, which can be uploaded through the online library on your desktop. The feature appears to still be rolling out, so don't worry if you get a 404 right now. For comparison, Amazon's Kindle service has long supported uploaded content, but it relies on awkward email attachments.