01
Dec
doubleTwist-Device-Support-Expanding-2-300x300
Last Updated: January 11th, 2011

If you're like me, you've been longing for cable-free syncing ever since you got your Android phone. Well, the wait has now ended, thanks to doubleTwist, otherwise known as the iTunes of Android devices.

Their latest update includes a handy new feature called AirSync, which does exactly what its name implies: it syncs your music, videos, and photos over the air. The desktop client and the regular Android app (both of which you'll need for AirSync to work) are still 100% free, but the AirSync feature itself will cost you $4.99 (on sale for $0.99 until 10,000 people download it).

30
Nov
lg-star-back
Last Updated: December 23rd, 2010

Say what you may about the custom UI that was on the LG Star we saw earlier today, but you can't deny that there's something to be said for its dual-core processor. GSM Israel has proven just that via a hands-on video in which the LGP990 (aka the Star) is compared side-by-side with an iPhone 4, which comes off a bit undersized next to the Star.

Another factoid mentioned in the video: the handset packs a Tegra 2 processor driving a 4-inch display. Additionally, the video confirmed that the device will indeed ship with an 8 MP camera as well as a front-facing counterpart and an HDMI port.

30
Nov
Olympus-Facebook

While we originally heard that AT&T would start selling the dual-core Motorola Olympus by the end of January, it now appears that the phone may be available earlier - according to a Facebook message which has since been deleted (see below), the handset may go on sale as early as December. Unfortunately, AT&T, who posted the message, later stated that "we don't have any information to share about upcoming devices" and that the message was posted "erroneously," so not much else came out of the leak. Still, here's what we do know: we're looking at a Tegra 2 handset that will most likely feature a front facing camera, a relatively slim profile, and a display in the 4-inch range.

30
Nov
Samsung-Captivate-Android-Phone

The Galaxy S phones are, without a doubt, among the best Android phones out there, but for some time now, the handsets have been plagued by one potential showstopper - malfunctioning GPS capabilities. Worry not, though - in addition to an update that rolled out a few months ago, Samsung has developed an app called GPSSamsungRestore which is now available from the Android Market for all users of AT&T's Captivate and T-Mobile's Vibrant. So what does it do? It undoes any modifications to the GPS and basically reverts it to its original state. While it remains to be seen how reverting the GPS to its original, broken state fixes it, I suppose it can't hurt to give it a shot if you're a Captivate or Vibrant owner.

30
Nov
new_android_apps_thumb1_thumb_thumb
Last Updated: April 13th, 2011

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications and games that went live in the Market in the previous week or so. This roundup is a day late, apologies for that - the Theft Aware review stole a lot of my time.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets.

Best New Android Apps

Team Viewer

Team Viewer is a remote access app done really well. For some reason it's not available on the Market and can be downloaded here: http://teamviewer.com/download/mobile.aspx. See our review of Team Viewer here: [Review] TeamViewer Lets You Remotely Control Your Friends’ Computers, And It Does It Well

image image

Solipskier

Solipskier is a fast paced skiing game where you draw the slopes to pick up speed and do jumps.

30
Nov
lg-star-homescreen-550x412
Last Updated: December 23rd, 2010

While most of us would be content with one Tegra 2-loaded device, one Android Forums member has managed to get his hands on two of LG's new Star dual-core beasts. What he found was quite enticing: a Quadrant score of 1759 (which outranks even the Droid Pro's 1528), an HDMI port on the top of the device, and... yes, despite the rumors we heard originally, LG apparently decided to include their own custom skin, which looks surprisingly similar to Samsung's Touchwiz UI.

lg-star-homescreen-550x412 lg-star-hdmi-550x412

The model in question was said to be running the aforementioned skin on top of Froyo, though as Phandroid pointed out, the OS could be upgraded to Gingerbread before launch time rolls around.

30
Nov
snap20101130_080757_wm

Winamp feels incomplete without Shoutcast radio streaming support, and 2 weeks ago, some folks at DownloadSquad got their hands on a private beta version that had just that. Fast forward to today, and you can finally download the new Shoutcast-enabled v0.9.2 from the Market.

Top stations, search, favorites, recent, and genre browsing are all there and work exactly as expected. Now if only we could play custom .pls playlists, such as the one di.fm premium generates, I would be on cloud 9.

Grab the latest version of Winamp from the Market by clicking the QR code below on your mobile or scanning it with Barcode Scanner:

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

snap20101130_080608_wm snap20101130_080655_wm snap20101130_080717_wm snap20101130_080757_wm

29
Nov
angry birds nc

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is the only Android-based tablet worth considering. But is it? That question is now up in the air since Barnes and Noble's $250 NOOKcolor, an Android-based e-reader, has been rooted. While before the deed was done it was just that - an e-reader - it's now taken on a life of its own, a life complete with Angry Birds:

angry birds nc

The procedure is still a bit complicated (as you'll see for yourself below), but it's definitely a start - until z4Root, SuperOneClick, or some other one-click solution becomes available, I've got a feeling this is your best bet.

29
Nov
image

Gameloft, one of Android's top quality game publishers, announced today its partnership with Sprint, which will bring Epic 4G and EVO 4G owners an exclusive buy-one-get-one-free HD game opportunity.

Here are the instructions for the aforementioned devices:

  1. Connect through 3G. Please note WiFi and 4G will not work.
  2. Using your HTC EVO or Samsung EPIC phone, check into the Sprint Zone
  3. Within the Sprint Zone, click through to our Gameloft app (this can be found under “Suggested Apps”): http://wapshop.gameloft.com/us/sprintchannel/hdplus
  4. You’ll see our “Buy One, Get One Free” promotional banner. Click to get the deal.

According to Gameloft, this promo will run through the holidays, presumably including Christmas and the New Year.

29
Nov
wakevoice

Remember that scene in Iron Man where Tony Stark sleeps with the journalist (Christine Everhart), and then in the morning, Jarvis wakes her up by reading the current weather, surf conditions, and so on? Yeah, now your Android device can do that.

iron_man

I was looking for a picture that showed the UI on the glass, but this will do nicely.

The app is called WakeVoice, and it's a pretty excellent idea - to quote the developer:

... via speech synthesis (tts), your alarm clock will speak to you. It will announce customize message, weather forecast and latest news. Furthermore, due to the enability of voice recognition, you will be able to stop the alarm clock directly from your bed without touching your phone and only by your voice.