09
May
1

[Update: Now In The Play Store] Hands-On: Focus@Will Launches Android App, But It's Pretty Much Just The Website On A Smaller Screen

Posted by in Applications, News

I may have just heard about focus- and relaxation-inducing music site Focus@Will, but that hasn't stopped me from already falling in love with it. For much of my stare-at-a-screen-all-day career, I've actually wanted a service like this, and even have a few stations on Pandora and Spotify that almost mimic the service. Now that I've found F@W, though, those stations are essentially defunct.

What is Focus@Will?

That's probably the biggest question on your mind right now. Here's a good definition, directly from the company's FAQ:

Focus@will is a new neuroscience based web tool that uses phase sequenced instrumental music to increase your attention span up to 400% when working, studying, writing and reading.

25
Jul
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Tip: How To Enable Writing To Read-Only Partitions (Remount R/W) In Total Commander For Android

Posted by in Applications, Tips & Tutorials

If you've visited Android Police over the past weekend, you've probably already seen my enthusiastic review of Total Commander for Android, which for me is replacing both ASTRO and Root Explorer going forward as the top Android file manager. Ad-free, $0, root support, dual panes, plugin support, and other advanced functions, which you can read about in the review, make Total Commander an easy choice for both novice and advanced users.

However, one task that is not immediately achievable (or so I thought) with Total Commander is something that sits right at the core of Root Explorer - writing to read-only partitions, such as /system.

04
May
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Bookworms, Take Note - Goodreads Android App Now Available In The Android Market

Posted by in Applications, News

If you're into reading, you've probably heard of Goodreads, a site that allows users to keep track of their reading collections, get social book recommendations, read reviews, collect quotes, and even form a book club. Us, Android folks, love to manage things on the go, and the new Goodreads app, announced on May 2nd, is here to satisfy all of your recommendation cravings and organizational OCDs.

The app lets you sign into your Goodreads account and manage your past, current, and future reading lists, search the book catalog, read friend and community reviews, and find book recommendations. There is really not much else to it, so if you want to take the Goodreads experience with you while on the go, head over to the Market and download the free app to your device.

21
Apr
KindleAndroid-banner

New Version Of Kindle App For Android Plays Nicer With Your Tablet

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games

We just got word from Amazon that there is a new version of the Kindle app for Android available that brings numerous optimizations for tablets running Honeycomb, effectively making a Kindle out of your non-Kindle tablet. Here's the full press release:

SEATTLE, April 21, 2011 – (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Today Amazon announced an update to Kindle for Android that brings new features and adds support for tablet computers running Android’s Honeycomb, including the Motorola Xoom. The latest version of Kindle for Android includes an integrated immersive shopping experience tailored for tablets, a new layout for newspapers and magazines designed for the unique interface of Honeycomb, and dozens of other new enhancements that take advantage of the larger screens.  Like all Kindle apps, Kindle for Android includes Amazon's Whispersync technology, which saves and synchronizes a customer's books and bookmarks across their Kindle, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Android-based phones and tablets.  Customers can learn more about Kindle for Android at www.amazon.com/kindleforandroid and download the app from the Amazon Appstore for Android or Android Market.

11
Mar
taptu

[Review] My Taptu: Social Media + News + Eye Candy = Success

Posted by in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, News, Reviews
Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If you, like me, are constantly checking what's going on in the world of technology, science, world news, entertainment, gaming, music, and a million other things - on top of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, have I got an app for you. Picture, if you will, an Android app that will aggregate all of these news feeds and your social media streams into a cohesive and, quite frankly, sexy interface. You just imagined My Taptu, my new favorite news reader.

My Taptu's interface is really easy to grasp immediately and adding feeds, modifying the existing feeds, adding your Facebook and Twitter, and sharing all of this information just could not be any easier.

09
Feb
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Android 2.3.3 Update To Gingerbread Brings New NFC Capabilities (Including Writing/Transmitting) And Other Enhancements

Posted by in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, News

When Gingerbread was launched back in December of last year, we learned that one of its main selling points was Near Field Communication (NFC) support, which allowed for NFC-enabled devices to communicate when placed near each other.

Using your Android phone as a credit card or sharing information by bringing 2 devices close to each other seemed like a dream come true until we found that NFC support in Gingerbread was actually quite limited - writing/transmitting was not possible and only a limited subset of reading APIs was available.

Today, Google announced a new Gingerbread update bearing version number 2.3.3. The update is concentrated mostly around NFC, introducing writing/transmitting APIs and support for a wider range of NFC standards.

30
Aug
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Buzz Voice For Android Arrives, Ready To Read Your Min… Errr… Daily News Aloud. Oh, And We Have 10 Free Copies To Give Away ($5 Value Each)

Posted by in Applications, Contests / Giveaways, News
Last Updated: September 8th, 2010

Buzz Voice

The team behind Buzz Voice, a service that converts posts from your favorite blogs and news sites into speech, and previously available exclusively in the Apple ecosystem, has been working diligently for the past few months to release a version for the Android OS. The good news finally came this past weekend, when Buzz Voice for Android was officially announced.

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

Buzz Voice on the Android platform brings a couple of new features over its Apple counterparts, including an Android Radio which features Android Police, among other great Android sites.

18
May
Official Amazon Kindle Application Coming "Soon" To Android, Has Us Excited

Official Amazon Kindle Application Coming "Soon" To Android, Has Us Excited

Posted by in Applications, News

May 18th is starting with some great news for book lovers. Amazon has just announced that it would be releasing the official Kindle application for Android, available "soon".

The Kindle app is already available on the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, PC, Mac, and BlackBerry, so Android is quite late to the party. Better late than never though - there is no WinMo app anywhere in sight.

Official Amazon Kindle Application Coming "Soon" To Android, Has Us Excited

Main Features

The Android application is, surprisingly, not going to be shy on features. In fact, some of them will one-up its counterparts on other platforms:

  • access all of your Kindle books without your Kindle
  • buy books right from within the Kindle app from a special Android optimized store and get them auto-delivered wirelessly - a feature that is not available on all devices
  • synchronize last page read and annotations between all devices using Amazon's "Whispersync" technology
  • preview books by reading their beginnings for free before buying

In order to use the app, you will need to use Android 1.6+ and have an SD card (Droid Incredible users, take note - your phone doesn't come with an SD card by default).