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Mar

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[Deal Alert] Powerbag Instant Messenger And Sling Bags For $39.99 From Woot

Posted by Cody Toombs in Deals, News

Do you feel drained of energy after a long trip? Imagine how your devices feel. Woot might be able to help out with their pain and suffering. Today only, Wooters can get the Powerbag Instant Messenger and Powerbag Sling for just $39.99 each. David gave the Instant Messenger very high marks in his review, and we know that he and Aaron use this bag in their day-to-day activities.

Note: There are inconsistencies about pocket sizes between the manufacturer website and Woot. I'm taking these numbers from the manufacturer.

Powerbag Messenger (product page)

Available Colors: Black, Grey
Removable 3000 mAh Lithium Polymer battery
Connectors:
- Micro-USB, Mini-USB Output: 5VDC, 800mA combined
- Apple Connector Output: 5VDC, 1A
- USB Output: 5VDC, 1-2.1A
Tablet Pocket (9.5" x 9.75" x .5")
Laptop Pocket (11" x 15.5" x 1.5") - Should fit 16" laptops
"Checkpoint Friendly"

Powerbag Sling (product page)

Available Colors: Red
Removable 3000 mAh Lithium Polymer battery
Connectors:
- Micro-USB, Mini-USB Output: 5VDC, 800mA combined
- Apple Connector Output: 5VDC, 1A
- USB Output: 5VDC, 1-2.1A
Tablet Pocket (8.5" x 11" x .5")
Laptop Pocket (12.25" x 11" x 1.25") - Should fit 14" laptops

Before you buy, there are a few things to consider first.

Feb

[New Game] The Toys Come (Back) To Life In Toy Story: Smash It!, Now Available In The Play Store

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

Toy Story is probably one of the greatest digital films ever made. Kids enjoy the idea of toys coming to life when they aren't around, and adults get their share of subtle humor in the mix, too. Now the crew – Woody, Buzz, Rex, and more – are on your mobile device in a whimsical new game from Disney.

The game, dubbed Toy Story: Smash It! puts a familiar twist on a mobile mainstay: the 3D break-the-blocks puzzler. You play as Buzz, who has to destroy the alien forts by hurling a ball at them at just the right angle.

Feb

Google's CFO Says New Moto Products Not ''Wow' By Google Standards' After Being Injected With Truth Serum

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Google, Motorola, News

Sometimes, getting companies to admit what we all know is a huge game of cat and mouse. We all know, for example, that Motorola was still making phones before Google bought the company and still has to release some of those phones. We can also guess, based on the most recent Googorola announcements, that the hardware is good, but not really up to the standards we have come to expect from, say, the Nexus line. Well, in a stunning display of candor, Google's CFO agrees.

During a session at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference, the Chief Financial Officer for the software giant said that the products that Motorola is currently working on "aren't 'wow' by Google standards." That's not just speaking about past devices (which companies are typically more willing to be honest about).

Feb

Official Pebble App Adds Music Player Selection, Should Work With Most Music Apps

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Applications, News

There was one black spot on our mostly favorable review of the Pebble smartwatch: the music control app just didn't work on some phones. As stated in the review, that's probably got more to do with the phone in question than Pebble's software, since it worked just fine on two separate Nexus devices. Even so, the people at Pebble have been listening, and the latest update to the official app includes a music player selection feature. It will scan your device for music apps and let you choose which one your watch will default to.

After trying out the update on my DROID RAZR M (which, again, would only display track information on the Pebble and not control it) the Music app on the Pebble works great.

Feb

Google Releases Hindi Input App, Adds Transliteration Keyboard And It's Kind Of Awesome

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Speaking two (or more) languages is cool. Typing in two or more character sets is decidedly less cool. Bilingual speakers who know, say, English and Spanish can have an easy enough time typing since they share a (mostly) common Latin alphabet. However, English/Hindi speakers may have a harder time bouncing between scripts because they use entirely different character sets. Enter Google.

In addition to providing a regular Hindi keyboard (below, right) which takes up multiple pages of letters, this app also offers a transliteration keyboard. For the layman, transliteration involves converting text from one character set to another, though not actually translating the words themselves.

Feb

Fox Digital's AVP: Evolution Hits The Play Store Right On Schedule, Satisfies Your Craving To Be An Other-Worldly Killer

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

In our lifetime, there have been many great battles. Mario vs. Bowser. Vampires vs. Werewolves. Jason vs. Teenagers. Tyler Durden vs. Himself.

While those may be the tales that define this era, there is one that lays alone in the shadows, covered in blood, and with a dedication to violence: Alien vs. Predator. And now you can define the outcome with Fox Digital's new game, AVP: Evolution.

The Aliens, extra terrestrial beasts with a bloodlust only surpassed by their agility and speed, have been taken as slaves by the fearsome and technologically brutal Super Predators. The thing is, the Aliens are pretty pissed about it, because they don't like being enslaved.

Feb

Amazon Mobile For Tablets Breaks Into Europe

Posted by Cody Toombs in Amazon, News, Tablets

Good news for our friends across the pond - Amazon Mobile for Tablets is now available in Italy, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain. This change follows closely behind a pair of updates from Amazon, the first adding support for additional tablets while the second added Canadian availability to the phone version.

Now available in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and United Kingdom, as well as United States.

Bug fixes and performance enhancements

If you live in any of these European countries, own a tablet, and can’t wait to buy something online, hit the widget below.

Amazon Mobile (Tablet)

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

Feb

Google Updates Field Trip With New Content, Improved Notifications, And More; Play Books With Fixes For 'Over 90' Issues

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

"Updates for everyone!" she said, as the improvements seemingly fell from the sky. Suddenly, she realized the updates weren't actually for everyone, but rather Google's Field Trip app, as well as Play Books. While she was embarrassed at her initial mistake, no one actually appeared to notice as they all stared silently at their digital devices, exploring the new goodies bestowed upon them.

That's a small excerpt from a wonderful story about a girl and a pair of Google apps, which is ironically very appropriate for today, because both of those apps just happened to be updated. Call it fate. Call it a lucky guess.

Feb

Google Play Books Go Live In India, On Android Devices And The Web

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in News

Google gets a lot of abuse for not making various parts of its Play Store available in most countries. It's not necessarily their fault, especially when it comes to books, movies, and music - international content contracts are like trying to trade horses on a quantum level. But a major part of the globe gets more access tonight, as Play Store Books become available to India's population of 1.2 billion. Get your literature on, folks.

Google confirmed the addition from the official Play Store Twitter account, and a little work with a proxy server shows that the web portion of the store is live.

Feb

[Update: Confirmed] HTC May Upgrade One X, One X+, One S, And Butterfly To Sense 5 UI

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in HTC, News, One S (Ville), One X (Endeavor), One X+

Update: After reaching out to HTC, we've confirmed that the statement on Facebook does in fact mean that the mentioned devices - the HTC One X, X+, S, and Butterfly - will be receiving Sense 5 in a future software update. Some features of Sense 5, though, will not be included, as they depend on specific hardware found in the HTC One.

There's good news out of Facebook tonight, at least if you don't intend to upgrade to HTC's latest and greatest hardware. In answer to an Israeli user's question about upgrades to the shiny new Sense 5 Android interface (seen only on the HTC One so far), the official HTC Facebook account stated that it intended to upgrade most of the company's later high-end devices, specifically the One X and X+, One S, and the Butterfly.