beta - 12/15 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

[Hands-On] Make Your Clock Widget: Because Everyone Should Have A Totally Customized Clock

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

The open-endedness - particularly, the customizability - of Android is exactly what makes me love it so much. And Make Your Clock Widget is a perfect example of that, offering seemingly infinite possibilities for what you can create. Don't believe me? Take a look at the sample screenshots:

Intrigued, I took a few minutes to play with it, and came away hugely impressed (note: I didn't include a picture of my final clock because... well, I made a goofy clock just playing around with the app.)

You can add the date and time in nearly any fashion or format you can think of - there are tons of options available.

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

Updated: SwiftKey Releases New Beta With Skins, New Prediction Engine, Bug Fixes, And Other Improvements [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

After weeks of frantic coding, SwiftKey, my favorite smart aftermarket Android keyboard, just released a private beta to all registered VIP forum members. While the beta itself (v1.98.1.172) is private and we can't provide you with a download link, what we can do is list all of the improvements and tease you with some screenshots.

Update: While we can't promise anything, our friendly contact at SwiftKey who I just spoke to indicated that technically if you did apply for the VIP program (i.e. their forum membership) right now, there is a chance you could get approved. Just remember who hooked you up when your fingers are in heaven.

Jan

Dolphin Browser Mini Leaves Beta, Hits 1.0

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

My current browser of choice, Dolphin HD, gained a little brother a few months ago, when Dolphin Mini (beta) was born. It was lighter, faster, and more elegant, yet still functional and robust. After over 50,000 downloads and weeks of testing, the Dolphin team just released v1.0 of the Mini, meaning it's officially out of beta and stable for everyday use.

Improvements in the latest version include:

UI upgrade ( menu & toolbox )
Add Bookmarks Label
Add on demand/ enable flash plugin
Data backup & restore
Quick access to clean data

If you haven't given Dolphin Mini a fair chance yet, I suggest you try it out by scanning the barcode below or clicking it if you're on your mobile:

Dec

Android, Evolved - MIUI Beta #5 Coming December 31st. If You've Never Witnessed MIUI, This Is The One To See [VIDEO]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Development, News, Videos

The MIUI custom ROM has pushed the limits of creativity and customizability ever since it was unleashed a few months ago by Chinese developers, seemingly out of nowhere. At times, you can't even recognize that this is actually Android, which, I suppose, is actually a compliment to Android itself. If it didn't resemble the iPhone UI so much at times, I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more, but nevertheless, it's incredible to see what a smart group of talented people can come up with when they put their minds together.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics.

Dec

Firefox 4 Beta For Android Gets Updated, Finally Enters The Market

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Mozilla's been pretty good about keeping the mobile version of its ever-popular Firefox browser up to date (both with the current beta and with the old Fennec Alpha), and it looks like they have every intention to continue that trend. Just today, the third beta of Firefox 4 went live in the Android Market, bringing a number of minor additions along with it:

Several UI modifications
Easier discovery of add-ons
The ability to save websites as PDFs so you can read them later
Support for complex scripts (i.e. Arabic and Persian) on devices with the appropriate fonts
The ability to copy and paste to and from the URL bar
A simplified setup process for Firefox Sync - less typing is necessary
Bug fixes

Additionally, this is the first release of Firefox for Android that's available in the Android Market, indicating that we are now one step closer to the final, non-beta release of the app.

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

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

Nov

[Review] TeamViewer Lets You Remotely Control Your Friends' Computers, And It Does It Well

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

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Yesterday, TeamViewer unleashed its beta app for Android on the world via their website and, boy, let me tell you, it is awesome with a capital "a." Of all the VNC viewers I've used on Android, this is the by far the best. Let's dive in a little bit and I'll show you why.

After you install and run the TeamViewer Android application, you'll be confronted by this screen:

So, at this point, it's fairly obvious you'll need a computer running the desktop software to go any further. In order for your Android device to play nicely with your computer, you'll need the version 6 beta of the desktop client, which you can grab here.

Nov

Winamp With Shoutcast Support Demoed, Coming Soon

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Winamp, one of my favorite desktop music players, recently landed in the Android Market, and has since become one of my favorite mobile players as well, at least until PowerAMP came along. One glaring omission, however, has been the absence of Shoutcast streaming, meaning thousands of online radio stations (such as DI.fm) that are easily accessible via the desktop version, weren't available on mobile. I don't like having to use a whole different app just for radio, but, alas, I had to resort to using TuneWiki or XiiaLive, neither of which I was a fan of.

To patch up this hole, Nullsoft, the company behind Winamp, is concentrating on adding Shoutcast support in the next version.