22
May
tumbleweed-on-the-bonneville-salt-john-burcham

Rant: CTIA 2013 - Why You Didn't See Any Android Police Stories Out Of "America's Largest Mobile Event"

Posted by in Editorials

CTIA is, supposedly, the largest tech convention focused on mobile in the United States. In fact, it has generally been one of Verizon and Sprint's favored handset launch venues in recent years. The EVO 4G was announced at CTIA. So was the EVO 3D. The Galaxy Tab 8.9. The DROID Incredible 4G. Even last year's relatively low-key show brought a few noteworthy nuggets.

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This year, though, is a wasteland. The only new handsets launched were a couple of ruggedized Kyoceras with absolutely dismal specifications. And the show floor itself is insufferably dull - here's who doesn't have a booth at CTIA 2013.

05
May
reality-check

[Rant] Reality Check - HTC Has Plans For Bluetooth LE And OpenGL ES 3.0 But It Doesn't Make Them "Android 4.3 Features"

Posted by in Editorials, HTC, Leaks, News, One, Rumors

It's 4 a.m., I just read the 6th mention of the same misleading story in the last 24 hours, and it's time for a rant.

Yesterday, several "independent" reports all claiming to arrive at the same conclusion at the same time (does anyone properly credit their sources anymore?) appeared on the web suggesting HTC had just (*gasp*) leaked two new Android 4.3 features: Bluetooth Low-Energy and OpenGL ES 3.0. And it's done so via a public meetup organized by the San Francisco Android User Group. HTC is so careless that they've just published not one but two unreleased features coming in the next version of Android and therefore protected by strict NDAs.

23
Dec
image

[Updated] Rant: How To Piss Everyone Off By Gaming The Android Market - Yes, I Am Talking About You, Forester/Woodman/etc

Posted by in Apps/Games, Editorials
Last Updated: December 27th, 2010

<begin rant>

This has been brewing for a while, but I've had enough. As you may know, throughout the week, I keep an eye out for any new worthy Android apps to be rounded up and published for everyone to enjoy. An important part of this search is looking through the new apps list, for which I had chosen AppBrain - specifically, this RSS feed, which lists every app entering the Android Market.

As I've looked at these new apps day by day, I started noticing something peculiar. No, it wasn't the amount of fart apps and soundboards - those, while annoying, are still legitimate applications, which, thanks to Google's openness, deserve a place in the Market just like any other app.

12
May
sprintmoney

WTF - Sprint To Charge $10/Month “You Get To Use An EVO 4G” Fee

Posted by in Carriers, EVO 4G (Supersonic), HTC, Sprint

After wiping the drool off our screens long enough to actually read Sprint’s press release for the EVO 4G, we found ourselves a bit put off by the 10$/month ‘Premium Data Charge’. Here’s the relevant excerpt from the release:

A $10 per month Premium Data add-on will apply allowing customers to take advantage of a richer data experience than ever before.

The way that the $10/month fee is presented in the press release seems to imply that it would only be applicable to those who can take advantage of Sprint’s 4G network, which is still in the process of rolling out in many parts of the country.