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Feb

SwiftKey Announces A Tablet-Optimized, Tron-Inspired Honeycomb Keyboard

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News, Videos

We can't say we didn't see it coming, considering we saw this preview of the tablet-optimized SwiftKey keyboard during CES, but what SwiftKey is announcing today looks quite a bit different, to say the least.

Allow me to introduce Swiftkey Tablet - a tablet-only Honeycomb keyboard set to launch around the same time as the Motorola XOOM tablet. Sticking with the 3-way-split design, the new holographic look reminds me quite a bit of Tron. If you watch the video below, you'll see that the UI is quite... magical, with suggestions floating up when clicked. The dual space bar design and the presence of arrow keys are very welcomed as well.

Jan

NFL Enterprises Releases Official Super Bowl XLV Android App

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

The 45th Super Bowl is only a week away, and NFL Enterprises decided to help out all attendees by introducing the official Android app. The app features 3D pinch-to-zoop-and-rotate maps of North Texas, parking, events and local info, and a detailed map of the Cowboys Stadium with Steelers and Packers already clearly marked on the field. You can also utilize GPS to find yourself on the map in case you get lost in the crowd.

Not everything is as awesome as it looks like from the screenshots, however. UpNext, the company contracted to create this app, apparently thought it was a good idea to pack 23.5 MB of data into the app, all without giving us an ability to move it to SD.

Jan

Task Identifier Tells You Your Apps' Secrets

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

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

XDA user x2kjosh got curious about what exactly his phone was doing at any given time, as I'm sure we all have at some point. Your GPS icon randomly showing up in the task bar is a perfect example: What the hell is it doing there? What app is getting my location? Obviously tired of all the questions, Josh wrote a handy little app called Task Identifier.

The idea of it is simple: Notify the user whenever an app is loaded into memory. It's a pretty straightforward concept, but it is actually really interesting to use. It's hard to explain, so I'll just put the description for the thread and some pictures here:

This is not another Auto Task Killer, no.

Jan

Amazon UK Releases Android App

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

The UK branch of one of the largest retailers in the world - Amazon.com - came out with an Android app today, dedicated to the UK market. The app is very similar to the U.S. version and offers convenience and speed of a locally installed application over browsing amazon.co.uk and having to keep track of your logins. Barcode scanning, 1-click ordering, prime membership, wish lists, recommendations, customer reviews, order tracking and modification are all supported.

If you're in the UK, you can download the Amazon UK app by scanning or clicking the following QR code:

Note: The app is geo-coded and therefore not available in Markets outside the UK.

Jan

Stylish And Flexible "Typography Wall" Clock/Date/Battery Live Wallpaper Enters Android Market

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Truly stylish clock/date widgets of high quality are hard to come by, so whenever we see one released, we jump on it right away. Today's highlight is Typography Wall that was just released into the Android Market.

Typography Wall is actually a live wallpaper that comes with a variety of configurable elements, by default set up exactly the way you see below. You can use it without any modifications or jump right into changing things, from using your own background to changing transparency, rotation, blinking, positioning, and other aspects of each element. Such powerful customizations are made possible thanks to an absolutely brilliant OwnSkin framework that this LWP uses - in fact, it looks like anyone can create a live wallpaper using this free framework.

Jan

ShootMe Adds Video Screencast Support, Revamps Interface [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Out of all the apps that require root privileges, I probably use ShootMe the most. Before today's update, it was the best and easiest way to take a screenshot anywhere in Android without hooking it up to a computer - just turn the program on, go to the screen you want to take a snapshot of, shake the device, and ShootMe snaps the picture. After today's update, however, ShootMe is no longer just a screenshot app - it's also a screencasting app. That's right, you can now use ShootMe to record videos of whatever you're doing on your Android device, up to 10 frames per second.

Jan

[Hands-On] Zoom Widget Designer, An App By The Developer Of Tasker, Goes Into The Public Testing Phase

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in App Reviews, Applications, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

Love using widgets? How about creating them? Zoom Widget Designer allows you to do just that, and it has something else going for it: it was made by the developer behind the excellent Tasker application - Crafty Apps. Better yet, Zoom will be fully integrated with Tasker in the future, so you will be able to make your custom Zoom widgets do just about anything your phone is capable of.

The app just went into public alpha testing, and if there ever was an Android app worthy of recognition, this is it. Let's take it for a spin, shall we?

Jan

Updated: Kongregate Arcade Launches On Android With 300+ Flash-Based Games

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News

Last Updated: January 26th, 2011

Kongregate.com, snatched up by GameStop last year, is one of the most popular time-killing websites in the world, with hundreds of original Flash games to entertain visitors for hours. It was only a matter of time for the company to bring the most mobile friendly of those games directly to Android in a single easy-to-consume package, called Kongregate Arcade.

Update #1: As many of you noticed, the app has been pulled from the Market. Apparently, even Kongregate doesn't know why just yet, as they've issued the following statement:

"As reported earlier today, the Kongregate Arcade app was launched on the Android Market and was enthusiastically received by the gaming community, receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Jan

TurboTax Launches SnapTax - A W2-Scanning Tax Filing Android App

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Nobody likes to do their taxes but, unfortunately, the tax season is almost upon us, and I'm dreading and counting down the days until April 18th (this year's tax day is not the 15th). However, those of you who have relatively simple taxes have a new option to file this year, one that wouldn't even make you touch a computer - TurboTax SnapTax for Android.

If you've made less than $80K, the income was all a result of W2s, interest, or unemployment, and if you don't claim any dependents or real estate, SnapTax is for you. Not only can you e-file your Federal and State taxes straight from your phone but snap pictures of your W2s too - just like those mobile banking apps help you deposit checks, SnapTax helps you scan your income form.

Jan

Now THIS Is How Android Theming Is Done: Tron Legacy Pro Theme For ADW Launcher

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Development, News

Android is known for its customizability and freedom, therefore it's not a surprise that it supports a variety of theming methods. Unfortunately, the vast majority of themes are either low quality or incomplete, which is a natural side effect of what happens when everyone is given a chance to contribute. When a truly great theme comes along, one worthy of changing the default launcher, it needs to be given credit. And the Tron Legacy Pro theme by Mariux is definitely one of those themes.

The theme doesn't just change the wallpaper or a few icons - it is what the author describes as "ultra-detailed." What this means is Tron's infamous neon effect was actually studied by Mariux to match the movie, a ton of icons have been changed, including popular applications outside of what ships stock (Angry Birds, Aldiko, Foursquare, Facebook, Goggles, etc), and even widget styles match the overall theme.