Will Shanklin - 12/12 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Will Shanklin

Will's typical, run-of-the-mill story is that of 'classically-trained actor turned Android smartphone and tablet writer.' If you catch him quoting Shakespeare, it's not because he misses it, but because he desperately wants his Masters in drama to count towards something.

Sir William dwelleth in the fair haven
Chicago; with his fair maid'n Jess and his
trusty cur, Ziggy.

Feb

[Deal Alert] Hot! Nook Color On Sale For $200 ($50 Off) From Barnes & Noble's eBay Account

Posted by Will Shanklin in Deals, NOOKcolor (Encore), Tips & Tutorials

As more high-end Android tablets hit the market, the prices can be pretty overwhelming (I'm talking to you, Motorola XOOM). While it doesn't sport cutting-edge specs, the 7" Barnes & Noble Nook Color has been taken on as a pet project by many in the development community (even running a mostly stable port of the Honeycomb SDK preview), and can be turned into a solid $250 tablet. Now, if you act quickly, you can change that to a $200 tablet when you snatch it up from the manufacturer's eBay account.

Here's how to get in on the action:

Navigate to the correct listing by barnesandnobleinc
Checkout with promo code CBARNESDD
Enjoy your $200 (with free shipping) Android tablet!

Feb

BlueputDroid Turns Your Android Phone Into A Mouse/Keyboard For Your PS3

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

If you have a Playstation 3 and have ever surfed the web or chatted with a gaming buddy, you may already be familiar with one of the most annoying text entry systems known to mankind. Pushing a directional pad (or joystick) to select letters may have been fun when entering the Super Macho Man code in Mike Tyson's Punchout, but this isn't 1987, and you expect an easier method of typing. Of course, Sony (and third party vendors) will be happy to sell you a pricey keyboard peripheral, but do you really want to buy yet another accessory for your gaming console?

Feb

The Media Worships The iPad - But For How Much Longer?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Editorials, NOOKcolor (Encore), XOOM

You've seen it: a new Android tablet is featured on some mainstream media's program or website, and you know it's coming, but you still can't help but clench your sphincter muscles just a little when you hear it...

Will it be an iPad killer?

Samsung's attempt to compete with the iPad...

The latest inferior and insignificant non-Apple offering that we're forced to cover...

Can't they see that this is like describing Colin Firth as a wanna-be Tom Cruise? After a while, you begin to wonder if these journalists have actually used an Android tablet. Do they even know what it is they're missing?

Feb

That Was Quick: The Motorola Atrix 4G Now Has Its First Custom ROM

Posted by Will Shanklin in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Development, News

If you're among the early adopters of Motorola's Atrix 4G, you can now install a custom ROM that may give you more flexibility with your snazzy new phone. Developer Design Gears' Adeo ROM is now available for download. While this may not be a ROM that will show any immediately mind-blowing changes to the typical end user, it gives you a reboot option, and more importantly, it's deodexed, which is an important first step that will allow developers and advanced users greater power to modify and replace apps APK files.

While one can install the ROM whether rooted or not, this brings some tricky caveats along with it:

you cannot do a factory reset, or you could end up bricking your prized Atrix
you cannot ever pull the battery, or risk suffering the wrath of the Atrix gods (or something like that)

A tutorial/review of the ROM has hit YouTube, courtesy of MobileTechVideos:

As you can probably tell, the direct usefulness of this one is really going to depend on your level of experience and whether you're a developer or not.

Feb

Thumb Keyboard Is An Epic Win For Tablet Typing [Hands-On]

Posted by Will Shanklin in App Reviews, Applications, Galaxy Tab, NOOKcolor (Encore), Reviews, Tips & Tutorials, XOOM

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you caught our review of Thumb Keyboard last month, you'll know the gist of this clever keyboard app that aims to make two-thumbed typing a breeze. It's a novel (and potentially very useful) tool for a phone, but with recent updates that have accentuated the tablet layouts, this has now become my keyboard of choice on large tablet screens, and is a potential game-changer in the new slate arena.

On phones, trace keyboards like Swype and SlideIt are extremely hard to beat in the speed department (world texting records seem to be broken on a regular basis with Swype), but on the wider tablet screen, tracing suddenly becomes much less convenient.

Feb

Now That The Verizon XOOM Is Here, When Will We See That Wi-Fi-Only Model?

Posted by Will Shanklin in Editorials, Motorola, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

If you began drooling from the very first murmurs of a "Pure Google" tablet running Android 3.0 'Honeycomb', to the buzz at CES, through the anticipation building up to launch: your day has arrived and you likely now have a Motorola XOOM in your hands. Congratulations. Of course that would be the $800 Verizon Motorola XOOM that's in your hands. But what about that $600 Wi-Fi-only XOOM? Not only is it not in anyone's hands, but there has yet to be a confirmed release date either.

With nearly every Android phone capable of generating a wireless hotspot to share its data plan with a tablet, taking on the burden of yet another monthly data bill can seem like an unwelcomed guest to many users.

Feb

GameSpy To Release Free Cross-Platform SDK To Developers, Complete With Cloud Storage For Game Data

Posted by Will Shanklin in Apps/Games, Games, News

Social gaming engine GameSpy has announced that they are about to release their software development kit (SDK) for developers large and small to integrate at their will.

While their lone Android title (to date) is the uber-popular Dungeon Defenders, GameSpy is actually a grizzled veteran to the console world, having helped power the social engines of companies like Rockstar Games and Nintendo for years. Similar to gaming networks like OpenFeint, the network brings all the expected features (social integration, leaderboards, in-game purchases), plus a few not-so-standard perks, like cloud storage for saved games, screenshots, and videos.