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Dec

[Review And Giveaway] Android Squishables Are Pretty Much Awesome

Posted by Brad Ganley in News, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Review

Squishable.com was cool enough to send me one of their Squishable Androids, and I must say: this thing is pretty awesome. It's a big old pillow/friend that the whole family can enjoy. At first, I wasn't sure if my Squishable Android and I had much in common, but after spending the day with him, we are now best friends. Here are some of the things we did together:

This is my Squishable Android trying to drive my car, but he had no idea what he was doing, so I decided to teach him:

He decided he wasn't too comfortable behind the wheel, so I just let him ride shotgun:

Here he is making a withdrawal from the ATM (turns out he's loaded):

After the bank, I had to make a stop.

Dec

Notion Ink's Rohan Shravan Answers A Few Of Our Questions About The Adam Tablet, More To Come

Posted by David Ruddock in Adam, News, Notion Ink

As some of you may have noticed in the comments section of our previous piece, Rohan Shravan, in a kind gesture, has reached out to Android Police with the goal of clearing the air of confusion over the Adam's launch, pre-order, and current status. We asked Rohan some questions about issues regarding the Adam that many (myself included) have expressed concern over, and Rohan has done his best to answer those questions. The unedited questions and responses lie below:

AP: Regarding the December 18th video that has been promised, many do not understand why there is such a delay in producing a video to satisfy what are relatively simple demands (a few minutes of hands-on time with the Adam and Eden UI).

Dec

Rooted Nook Colors Now Market-Capable, Terms And Conditions Apply

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Apps/Games, Development, News, NOOKcolor (Encore)

The rooting of Barnes & Noble's delicious IPS-wielding e-reader took place a couple of weeks ago, rendering the device more of a tablet than a single-use reading terminal in one gloriously justifying move. As with most other tablets, however, it lacked one thing: proper Google app support with access to the Android market. Of course, with the main rooting hurdle already surmounted, it was only a matter of time before these problems were dealt with, too. Some folks in the know over at NookDevs.com have put together a meticulous tutorial to turn that 7" slab into all you've ever wanted it to be.

Dec

App Of The Week: Grooveshark For Android (Insert Tooth-Related Or Aquatic Pun Here)

Posted by Brad Ganley in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Well, here we are again. Another week, another slew of apps to choose from. For a while there, we were doing an "App of the Week" series and then, for an even longer while, we weren't. I'd like for us to get back on the right path here, so I'm going to fix this.

App of the Week, Season 2: Eclectic Boogaloo

I've been a long time fan of Grooveshark. It is a service that, in my mind, cannot be beaten. There are tons of music streaming apps in the vein of Pandora, like Last.fm, and Slacker Radio, but they don't let you chose your songs or make a playlist.

Dec

Samsung Continuum Review: Are Two Screens Really Better Than One?

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Continuum, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

When Samsung threw their big U.S. Galaxy S kick off party earlier in the summer, it was announced that each of the four major carriers would be selling their very own version of the hardware. But, in a twist of M. Night Shyamalan-ian proportions, they announced a second Galaxy S device for Verizon.

The Samsung Continuum shaves .6 inches off the original Galaxy S' 4" screen, in exchange for the very unique (and surprisingly useful) secondary Ticker display, but is that enough to justify the phone's existence? How does it stack up against the rest of the Big Red's high-end Android line-up, including the Samsung Fascinate, the Continuum's Galaxy S brother?

Dec

Rugged Motorola DEFY Appears To Have An Achilles' Heel - Growing Complaints Of Earpiece Failure

Posted by David Ruddock in DEFY (Jordan), Motorola, News

Motorola's ruggedized DEFY (which our own Brad Ganley reviewed) is a pretty cool phone. In my book, any time you can stick a gadget in a glass of water (or beer, as the case may be) with absolutely zero negative repercussions, I'm interested. The DEFY is no poser - Motorola's made the first industrial-strength Android.

Unfortunately, a substantial number of users across the globe are reporting a fatal flaw with the device, and surprisingly it's not MOTOBLUR-related. The earpiece speaker, which is necessary to actually hear the person you're talking to, is failing on DEFY devices that are only weeks old.

Dec

More Pictures Of Motorola's Honeycomb Tablet Surface, Confirm Verizon Compatibility

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Motorola's Honeycomb tablet has certainly been receiving a lot of attention as of late - more attention, perhaps, than has ever been paid to a device whose name has yet to be publicized. Nonetheless, the pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together - Engadget has scored seven pictures of the 10-inch slate:

Unfortunately, some of the shots appear to have been taken by Mr. Blurrycam himself - in fact, the graininess is so bad in some images that it's nearly impossible to discern what is being conveyed. Still, regardless of what the ports shown in the last image are for (HDMI, microUSB, and headphone jack ports are probably in there somewhere), there's one thing that has been ascertained by this leak: the tablet is destined for Big Red's network, as proven by the Verizon logo seen in the first three images.

Dec

Google Instant For Android 2.2+, iOS 4 Now Available In 28 Languages, 40 Countries

Posted by David Ruddock in News

Google's mobile blog released some impressive numbers today in regard to the availability of Google Instant for mobile: the service is now ready for Android 2.2+ and iOS 4 devices in 28 different languages and 40 countries.

If you're a non-US Android (or iOS) user and want to check availability for your locale, simply go to the Google homepage on your device. If "Instant (beta) is off" appears hit "Turn on", and you'll be set to go.

Commenters, if you'd like to confirm the languages/countries that Google Instant for mobile is now available to, please do so below!

Source: GoogleMobile via Engadget

Dec

CyanogenMod 6.1 Comes To The Dell Streak, Gives Us An Idea Of What 5-Inch Tabletphones Should Be

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Dell, Development, Froyo 2.2, News, Streak

Froyo for AT&T's version of the Dell Streak has certainly been long in the making - and it looks like it AT&T still isn't ready to release it - but users who simply can't wait any longer now have an option, albeit an unofficial one.

CyanogenMod 6.1 Alpha has just been ported over to the 5-inch tabletphone, and while the experience is said to be imperfect as it stands, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, and hardware acceleration are reportedly all in working order. Despite some minor issues, perhaps what you'll find at the download link below is also what the device should have with way back when in August...

Dec

Data2Ext Hack Blows Benchmarks Out of the Water

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in Development, News

Pretty big news out of the XDA-Forums today - forum member and resident genius Ownhere has come up with a 'data2ext' hack that allows users to enhance the way Android handles OS-specific data and memory. Put simply, this hack allows users to change some partition settings in order to greatly increase performance.

Originally created for the HTC Desire, the hack delivers some outstanding performance improvements and is a must have if you own the device. For more technical information, you can click here. A word of warning, though: this hack is not for the feint of heart as it is fairly difficult.