15
Feb
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Android Intervention, Part 4 of 4: The Android Market - A Work In Progress?

Posted by in Editorials

Uhoh, he's at it again. No, I'm not going to make this a rant that is hugely controversial or upsetting. Seemingly contrary to what I write sometimes, I love Android. And anyone who loves Android can agree: the Android Market kinda-sorta sucks sometimes.

Whoa there, let me qualify that - some aspects of the Market are less than fantastic, and I think every Android user has come to realize this. In fact, I doubt it's a stretch to say that the Market's shortcomings are the single biggest reason Android hasn't eaten the iPhone for breakfast in terms of critical acclaim.

22
Dec
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Carrier Billing Comes To Android Market On AT&T - Creates Audible Drop In The Paid App Bucket

Posted by in Apps/Games, AT&T, News

That's right, carrier billing is now available for some Android users on the least Android-friendly wireless carrier in the US. Huzzah. I guess I shouldn't be so cynical - I am an AT&T customer, after all. Unfortunately, I also run CyanogenMod 6 on my AT&T Nexus One, and have not yet received any Market update to allow me to use carrier billing, and doubt I will until an official Gingerbread build coaxes me off my custom ROM goodness.

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The Android Developers blog has stated the carrier billing option will roll out to phones as part of the larger Market update that has been floating around in ZIP form for a couple of weeks - but it remains entirely unclear what phones or versions of Android will be eligible.

09
Dec
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Gmail App Gets Big Update: Quick Folder Switching, Priority Inbox, And A Lot More

Posted by in Applications, News

Update: This Gmail client update is only for devices with Android 2.2 or higher.

Gmail for Android received a substantial update from Google this afternoon - and the AndroidPolice team has agreed: some of the improvements are long overdue, while some of them are just plain cool.

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The change blurb that you'll find on the Market page lists some of the biggies, but a major one (for us, at least) has been excluded: quick folder switching. In the top left corner of whichever folder you were in, there was a simple label indicating the name of the folder. This is now a button, similar to the account button at the top right.

02
Dec
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[Updated] "Similar"/"Related" Tabs Appearing In The Market For Android Users

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News
Last Updated: December 4th, 2010

Update: Looks like it's not We're not sure if it's the Flash update that does it - that was just a coincidence for Brian and utcarbs (update: And Bateluer in the comments). We're also not sure which phones this is affecting... I've tried updating Flash on my EVO, as well as uninstalling and reinstalling, to no avail. --Aaron

Update #2: As I expected, this is definitely not related to Flash. I updated Flash yesterday and didn't get the new tab. Today, I updated some random programs and the tab showed up. I'm pretty sure the Market UI is server-side, so checking the Market app's version does not help (my /system/app/Vending.apk is 1.82).

03
Nov
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Google Adds Change Log Field To Android Marketplace App Pages

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Good news, developers: Google is finally giving you the opportunity to formally submit a description of changes to your app in its latest version. Many devs were doing this in the description field already, but were constrained by the character limit in place. This new option frees up some space in the description for ... well, further description, and is sure to please some application developers out there. No sign of the ability to respond to user comments, though, sorry.

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Source: Android Market Help via DroidReign

24
Sep
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[App Of The Week] Audio Manager Pro: Make Volume Adjustment In Android Simple, Tolerable, And Powerful

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, Reviews
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

An Issue of Volume

From the day I eagerly removed the cellophane wrapping around the artful, Google-themed box which contained my Nexus One, I have had only one real gripe with Android: volume management. For a while I just dealt with it - the only way to adjust in-call volume was during a call, and other volume settings had to be controlled via the sound settings menu, or in their proper context.

It was a hassle. Reaching the settings aside, remembering if I had quieted my phone (unless it was silenced) or turned down the alarm volume was up to me, the user.

20
Aug
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AppBrain Rolls Out New Ways To Search, Filter, And Discover Your Next Favorite Apps In The Android Market

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

Let's face it: browsing the Android Market on your desktop currently sucks. For one thing, there aren't any categories - just "Top Free" and "Top Paid." For another, there's no search!

On your phone, the situation isn't much better - you can search, which is good if you know what you're looking for in advance but you still can't filter those results. And discovering new apps is just downright horrible.

This is where sites like AppBrain come in. They spider the Android Market, slice and dice it, and provide better ways of finding your next favorite app.

New Features

Today, AppBrain released a new version of the site, making finding new apps even more powerful.

30
Jul
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Milestone Reached: Android App Markets Reach 100,000 Submitted And 83,000 Active Applications

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

Today marks the first time we see the number "100,000" associated with the Android Market. Or, wait, no we don't - remember this, this, this, and about 5 million other posts? Let me try again.

Today marks the first time Android actually crossed the 100,000 apps mark, a whole month early from my earlier September projection, if we go by the unofficial app count from AndroLib.com:

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Don't be confused by the discrepancies in the official count and AndroLib - as we explained before, they count many markets (not just the official Android Market) and don't account for unpublished apps.

29
Jul
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[App Of The Week] ExtendedControls, A Power Control Widget On Steroids + Giveaway For 50 Licenses!

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, Contests / Giveaways, Reviews, Videos
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

This contest is now over. We have selected the winners - see if you are one of them towards the bottom of the page.

ExtendedControls - Power Control On Steroids

Do you like Android’s native Power Control widget? Are you unable to go through the day without using it more times than you can count? Do you wish it had a few more buttons (for things like Airplane Mode, or a flashlight) and that they could all fit in one row? Then you’ll probably be very interested in ExtendedControls—an app which takes the wonderful idea that is the Power Control widget, and turns it into a supercharged multi-tool.

26
Jul
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Android Developers UI Design Tips Presentation Aims To Homogenize Android App Interfaces In The Style Of Twitter, Facebook, And Yelp

Posted by in Applications

Ever notice how Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp all use (nearly) the same start screen implementation?

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Apparently this is no coincidence. A presentation given at an Android Developer conference is urging app developers to conform to this design when developing their own apps. Why? Consistency lends itself to usability.

Android has long been a victim of its own openness—many claim it is a “geek” or “technophile” operating system. This stigma can, in part, be traced to the fact that Android apps have not been held accountable to any but the most lax standards (Eg, doesn’t blow up your phone) to be featured in the Android Market.

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