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Dec

Dolphin Browser Mini Goes Into Public Beta, Offers Much Faster Performance All Around

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, News

Do you feel the need for speed? Apparently you aren't alone, as Dolphin Browser Mini has just gone into public beta on the Market. The app offers numerous improvements over the regular version of Dolphin Browser as well as the HD version, including:

High speed responsibility [sic]

Speed Dial Homepage

Innovative Menu design

Infinite tabs browsing

Intelligent back & forward button

Like its ancestors, it also features a variety of innovative gestures, bookmark syncing, private browsing, and a host of other features not found in the stock Android browser. Here's a really nice cross-reference chart for those not immediately seeing the differences:

Notably missing? Themes support, one of the features that made the original two Dolphin Browsers so great.

Dec

[Review] We Land A Google Chrome CR-48 Notebook, Do Stuff With It

Posted by David Ruddock in CR-48, Google, Other Reviews, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Friday morning I received a surprise visit from UPS - and fortunately it wasn't the sort of surprise visit that requires me to then take a 20 lb. package over to my neighbor's place because the guy was too lazy to read the street number.

A somewhat hefty box, with a seemingly random sender name on it from Louisville, KY had been shipped overnight to my humble abode. I immediately knew it was a CR-48 laptop. Or a bomb. I signed up for the CR-48 Pilot Program moments after it was unveiled, but I certainly didn't expect to actually get a device - and definitely not so quickly.

Dec

Millennial Media November Report: Android Continuing To Grow, Dominating Ad Revenue & Developers

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Another month, another report from advertiser Millennial Media. As usual, it's best to start this off by pointing out that these results are based on ad impressions across Millennial's network, and thus should be considered a sample. With that out of the way, let's take a peek.

The two most significant things that stand out to me are that Android is now tied with iOS for the largest smartphone OS, and Android accounts for a whopping 54% of ad revenue on the network, versus 39% for iOS. Pretty damn impressive.

Among application publishers who are adding support to new platforms, Android is the fastest growing, though that is something that is probably common sense if you really think about it (given that iOS already has a very large developer following).

Dec

Facebook For Android Updated To Version 1.5, Brings Chat, Push Notifications, And Bug Fixes

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News

A new update to Facebook for Android just landed on the Market, and it brings a duo of long-awaited features: push notifications and Chat. Naturally, it also packs some bug fixes for good measure.

Personally, I find the new Chat feature to be perfectly adequate, but David is thoroughly unimpressed. His complaints are that it has a boring interface, it's slow, and it just feels tacked on. I don't exactly disagree with any of those points, I just don't think they're major issues. Hell, at this point I'm happy just having chat that works well in the first place.

[Source: AppBrain]

Dec

Your Battery Gauge Is Lying To You: Everything You Need To Know About Bump Charging And Inconsistent Battery Drain

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Editorials, Tips & Tutorials

This article was written by a guest poster Byron G and originally posted to his blog. It is reprinted here with Byron's full permission.

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Your Smartphone Is Lying To You (And It’s Not Such A Bad Thing)

Climbing out of bed, about to start your day, you unplug your new smartphone from its wall charger and quickly check your email. You’ve left it plugged in overnight, and the battery gauge shows 100%. After a quick shower, you remember that you forgot to send your client a file last night. You pick up your phone again, but the battery gauge now reads 90%.

Dec

Evernote For Android Updates With More Advanced Features [Hands-On]

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, News

Evernote, everybody's favorite note-taking ~~app~~ platform that allows you to record data using a variety of mediums, including notes, snapshots and recordings, released an update to the Android version of its app yesterday, with a number of advanced features many users have been clamouring for.

Advanced Search

Firstly, Evernote stores a wide variety of different types of notes and information, so it can often become difficult to locate the specific note in question. The latest update alleviates this problem by allowing users to construct advanced search parameters using filters like note tags, notebooks, attributes, location and dates. These advanced searches can then be saved to be accessed later.

Dec

Last 2 Weeks' Best New Android Apps And Games (11/30/10 - 12/13/10)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News

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 covers the last 2 weeks instead of the usual 1 due to all the Gingerbread coverage that took up our time last week.

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

Best New Android Apps

Mana Chronicles

Mana Chronicles is a classic Action-RPG!
The Inferno troops are invading the mortal plane. Only the human freedom fighter, Leon, can stop them now!

Mana Chronicles

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

Rocket Bunnies

Rocket Bunnies is an action-puzzle game of slingshotting from planet to planet.

Dec

How To Evade Your Carrier's Data Throttling On Your Android Device

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Carriers, Development, News

It almost seems like more worthwhile news comes from XDA-Developers forum members than from carriers and manufacturers, doesn't it? This time around, it's user sino8r with a handy guide on how to modify the ROM on your rooted phone so that your carrier doesn't throttle your data. In other words, this one isn't for the inexperienced or faint of heart.

What exactly do we mean when we say this isn't for the rookies? Well, you'll need to have the Android SDK installed with ADB support, the related drivers, and smali. Assuming you've got all those prerequisites lined up, you need to crack open your ROM and commence grabbing, editing, and replacing numerous files - and that's just part of it.

Dec

Best Buy Drops More Details Regarding Launch Of Samsung Nexus S

Posted by Stephen Tenerowicz in News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Want to know more about this Thursday's Samsung Nexus S launch? Well, Best Buy isn't going to leave you hanging. Earlier today, the company dropped a few more tidbits of information regarding the exclusive launch of the Samsung Nexus S. The details are as follows:

Stores will open at 8 a.m. local time
Online sales nationwide start at 8 a.m. Eastern time.
There's a limit of two phones per customer.
Demo phones will be on hand.
The Nexus S is unlocked and runs Android 2.3.
Off-contract price is $529, plus tax.
On-contract price is $199 with a two-year T-Mobile contract.

For those wondering, no word yet on whether or not the T-Mobile Even More Plus plan applies here, but I am betting it does not.

Dec

Modus Operandi: Like Tasker, But With Less Options And 100% More Free

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News

As far as apps go, few are more useful and versatile than Tasker. Despite the comparatively high price (for an app, anyway) of $6.30, there's probably a reason why its average rating is an impressive 4.7/5 stars. Still, that price is high enough to turn some users away, despite the serious lack of alternatives. Fortunately, that gap was filled a few days ago, when an app called Modus Operandi hit the Market.

Its nature is very similar to Tasker, but as the app is still fairly new (on version 0.3, as of writing), it offers less features. Then again, it's also significantly simpler as a result.