Ryan Whitwam - 6/41 - 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.

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Jun

Mad Catz Makes M.O.J.O. Android-Powered Game Console Official

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

Just in case you needed another dedicated Android gaming device to choose from, Mad Catz has made the M.O.J.O. console official. You may know Mad Catz as the maker of the cheap third-party game controllers you were always forced to use at friends' houses. Well, now it's making a game console. What could go wrong?

There aren't a lot of details on the M.O.J.O., but we do know it will have 16GB of internal storage, two USB ports, HDMI, and WiFi. Internals were not detailed, but earlier reports indicate a Tegra 4 chip could be used. The press release didn't clarify that point, but Nvidia's latest and greatest would at least make for an interesting angle when the OUYA runs on Tegra 3.

Jun

WiFi Tether For Root Users Gets First Google Play Update In Nearly A Year To v3.3 Beta 2, Adds Galaxy S4 Support

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

If you are among the 1-5 million users that have installed WiFi Tether for Root Users, you can expect a surprise today. For the first time in almost a year, the official build in Google Play has been updated with new features and fixes. Galaxy S4 users will be especially happy.

Jun

ParanoidAndroid Open Sources HALO For Other Developers To Use

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News

Shortly after Facebook announced the Chat Heads feature of Facebook Home, the folks behind ParanoidAndroid started expanding that idea into a new take on multitasking. HALO was the result, but it was exclusive to ParanoidAndroid. I say was, because HALO has just been open sourced.

The code has been added to a Github for other ROM developers and curious users to play around with. HALO is still in beta, but the feature set has come along quite well in recent weeks. The code in Git still needs some cleaning up, though. Support for the tablet UI and PIE could use some work too.

Jun

Sprint Announces The Previously-Leaked ZTE Vital, Mid-Range Specs And Stock Android On The Cheap

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News, Sprint, ZTE

There's a place in every carrier's line up for a mid-range phone, and that's what the Sprint Vital is. We got the early details on this device back in March when it was known as the ZTE Quantum, and the official announcement jives with the leak pretty well. This phone has a few notable features, but the hardware is a bit lackluster.

Jun

Monday App And Game Sales: World Of Goo, Abalone Premium, SparkPeople, Blacklist+ PRO, And More [Updated]

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

Monday can be a drag, right? A whole new work week laid out before you with very little in the way of fun. Well, at least you can get a good deal on some apps. Here are some bargains to get your week started right.

Jun

Open Source Tool Moves Spotify Playlists To Google Music Using Unofficial APIs

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News

Google Music has probably lured a few Spotify users away with its tight Android integration and low introductory price. But what about all those meticulously constructed Spotify playlists? There is no official way to bring them along for the ride, but a developer has worked out a quick and dirty way to make it happen.

Portify is a neat little tool that logs into both Spotify and Google Music, and manages to move your playlists over. The program asks for your Google and Spotify passwords, which will probably make some people a bit nervous. However, the dev has made the source code available for examination to alleviate those fears.

Jun

Amazon Expands AmazonFresh Outside Seattle To Los Angeles, Updates Android App

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in News

Amazon has already made it obsolete to leave the house to shop for most non-food items, but now it's taking care of your grocery needs – if you live in LA or Seattle. AmazonFresh launched in Seattle a few months ago as a way for users to order a variety of fresh food items for home delivery. The expansion of the service to LA is the first new market that has been added.

AmazonFresh sells both packaged and locally-produced foods. In addition to grub, AmazonFresh has an assortment of general products like cameras, books, tools, and more – about 500,000 items.

Jun

AT&T Changes Upgrade Advantage Program – Subsidized Pricing Available After 24 Months Instead Of Only 20

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

Two-year contracts are a drag for all sorts of reasons, but AT&T just found a way to make them even more annoying. The carrier has quietly altered its upgrade terms to stipulate that customers have to wait for the full 24 month term to be up before getting subsidized pricing on an upgrade. You can see the before and after versions of Ma Bell's upgrade page below.

It would be one thing if the change only affected new contracts from the effective date of June 9th, but it also pushes back the upgrade date for anyone whose contract ends after March 1, 2014.

Jun

[New App] Plane Finder 3D Lets You See Planes In The Air In Real Time

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

If you crane your neck skyward, you may see the contrail of a jet or two. Should you want a more up close and personal look, Plane Finder 3D has just taxied up to the Google Play gate. This app tracks flights in real time over a number of cities.

The feature set is a bit light right now, but there is some real potential here. There are over two-dozen cities tracked in Plane Finder 3D, each with satellite imagery ground maps. You can pan around and zoom in on any plane, then tap to get the flight number, airline, and go into first-person mode.

Jun

[New App] Go Team Finally Reveals Monetization Plan For Go Launcher With $5.99 Prime Version, Fails At Math

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

Go Launcher EX is one of the most popular alternative launchers in Google Play, and it's completely free. Everyone has been wondering how the Go Team was planning to make some cash on their rousing success, and now we know. The new GO Launcher Prime app adds additional features to the existing Go Launcher for $5.99.