feature - 3/3 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

Ice Cream Sandwich Feature Closer Look - New Browser (No, It Isn't Chrome) Includes Tabs, Desktop Mode, And More

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News

Leading up to last night's Ice Cream Sandwich announcement, there were rumblings that perhaps Chrome would make its Android debut with the latest iteration of Google's mobile OS. Unfortunately, those rumors turned out to be false, but the new browser that Google has cooked up looks pretty awesome, and packs in a lot of notable features.

First off, the browser has been redesigned. Personally, I think it looks (and functions) much better than its Gingerbread counterpart. Instead of simply having a bookmark button and address bar up top, the new browser has the address bar, a tabs button, and a menu button.

Oct

Ice Cream Sandwich Feature Closer Look - Roboto Type Face Is "A Pleasure" To Read

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Off-Topic

One of Android's new features that was stressed pretty heavily on stage tonight was Roboto, a system font created specifically for Ice Cream Sandwich, which, in all honesty, looks a lot better than the system fonts we've seen before.

At first I questioned why it was necessary to spend so much time discussing a simple type face (one without even a hint of a serif), but when I thought about it, it made sense - most of the things we do on Android devices involve letters and numbers in some way, and why not make those characters aesthetically pleasing? It's a relatively small touch that goes a long way in terms of user experience.

Sep

Captain Unobvious Tip: New Facebook For Android Has Swipe-To-Delete For Wall Posts And Comments, Swipe-To-Archive For Messages

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News, Tips & Tutorials

If you belong to the dying breed of people still using Facebook (at least that's what everyone on Google+ seems to think), I think you will find today's tip quite handy, to say the least.

As it turns out, you can actually delete wall posts and comments (on your own wall or ones you created) as well as archive messages all by swiping away the item in question. Both left-to-right and right-to-left gestures seem to work, though left-to-right is a bit more reliable and natural.

Note: The gesture doesn't work everywhere - for example, it didn't work when I tried to swipe away a post by page (Android Police), probably because it still uses the old layout.

Aug

[Mobile Security App Shootout, Part 4] TekTrak Offers Basic Security Controls And Unique, Sophisticated Location Tracking

Posted by Liam Spradlin in App Reviews, Mobile Security App Shootout

Fourth in our lineup of Security apps is TekTrak, from the developer of the same name. TekTrak exists as one of the lesser-known security apps, but nonetheless delivers on its promises of finding and controlling a lost or stolen device.

At A Glance

Function-wise TekTrak operates as a no-frills security app. It has all of the basics, but not too many of the really interesting features (snapping photos remotely, recording audio, root support) that we've come to love from other apps. The installation process is similar to other security apps, asking for an email address (as your username) and a password before granting access to the online controls.

Aug

[Mobile Security App Shootout, Part 3] Cerberus Faithfully Guards All Your Devices With Ease

Posted by Liam Spradlin in App Reviews, Mobile Security App Shootout

Developer LSDroid has raised the bar in our Security App Shootout series with the popular security app Cerberus. Another app looking to help those who dread the thought of their lost or stolen device out there all alone, Cerberus brings a lot to the table while maintaining a relatively low price point.

At a Glance

Playing off the name of the guard dog of Greek and Roman myth, Cerberus’ name alone gives a good first impression among security apps. Installing is your standard procedure -- choose a username and password and, well, that's it. As with the other apps we’ve covered so far, the real functionality of the app comes into play at the online dashboard.

Apr

[Weekend Poll] Thinness Vs. Battery Life: FIGHT!

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Devices By Manufacturer, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the newest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see How Significantly Will The Number Of Cores Factor Into Your Next Phone Purchase?

In keeping with the more technical nature of the last Weekend Poll: what's more important to you - battery life or thinness? Obviously there is something of a balance there, but not all phones strike it well. So which is more important to you? Would you rather have a sleek, thin device with middling battery life? Or something of a porker that allows you to power-use all day without worrying about your phone running dry?

Apr

Baconreader Alpha: A Stylish New Reddit App For The r/Android Army

Posted by Zak Stinson in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

I love Reddit. Like, alot. I also love Android. So naturally, I get pretty excited about new Reddit apps for Android. There are quite a few of them out there to choose from, ranging from full-on Reddit readers like Reddit is Fun, to purpose specific apps, like RedditTV or Reddit Pics. The holy grail of Reddit apps is a browsing app that has all of the functionalities of the web Reddit experience, while being easy to use and good looking.

Reddit is Fun has been enjoying the position of top reader app for quite some time, but earlier this year there were rumblings of competition.

Mar

Developers, Take Note: Google Unleashes Fascinating New Android Market Statistics And Charts For Your Apps

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, Development, News

Late last night, the Android team pushed out a set of changes to the Android app publishing interface that developers use to upload and maintain their apps. The new features, while completely invisible to the end-users, are absolutely fascinating to app developers.

Each app now has a Statistics link, which consists of the following:

a Google Finance-style Flash chart of all installs, the time period for which you can adjust as you see fit
Android versions (conveniently placed side-by-side with the same stats for all apps in the Market)
specific device models
countries where your app is downloaded from (also side-by-side with countries for all apps in the Market)
languages used on the phones with your app on them (also compared to the global stats)

Have a look at some screenshots, then, if you are a developer, hurry to your own publishing console and check out those sexy stats for yourself.

Oct

Fring Introduces fringOut, Flips Skype The Bird

Posted by Brad Ganley in Applications, News

Today Fring announced their latest feature: fringOut. If that sounds suspiciously like Skype's offering, Skypeout, don't be shocked. They are essentially the same service. They posted this on their blog earlier today with a definite sense of smugness:

fringOut is easy to use & super-convenient. Because the rates are so darn good, you’ll be calling everyone from your mobile phone.
Here is a short list why folks are dumping PC calling and moving to fringOut’s mobile calling.

The rate are competitive ($0.01/minute vs. Skype's $0.023/minute) at a whopping 1.3 cents cheaper but, being a smartphone-only app, will this really hold water?

Aug

Dell Streak Feature Roundup, Hands-On, And Impressions

Posted by John Thompson in Dell, Phone Reviews, Reviews, Streak

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

The Dell Streak may have been available in the UK for over two months now, but it’s taken until now to hit the States. Just in case you forgot, here is a roundup of my thoughts on all the features the phone has to offer if you’re thinking of getting yourself a Streak when it’s released tomorrow.

Hardware

When you first see the Dell Streak on the shelves, you may be confused as to what it’s trying to be. It’s a bloody big smartphone, with a 5” capactive touch screen display, but it’s not quite large enough, in my opinion, to be called a tablet.