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Jan

Amazon Gold Box Deal Alert: 32GB Lexar Class 10 MicroSD Card + Reader For $39.99 ($78 Off)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Deals

One of the best cards (go ahead, sort them by rating) you can get for your mobile device is on sale today on Amazon as part of their daily Gold Box discount program. I'm talking about the 32GB Lexar Class 10 microSD card that comes with a handy reader that plugs right into a full-size USB port and reads your microSD cards like a champ.

The main reason I wanted to point out this sale was that I own this very card, which I bought from Amazon back in June of '11. Except, I bought it for $90.35, and even at that price didn't regret getting it one bit (though I am feeling just a little bitter today).

Aug

Google Reader For Android Gets Updated, Adds Honeycomb Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Google's dedicated RSS aggregator, simply called Reader, received an update today that brings full Honeycomb support, as well as a few minor improvements to the app. Added features include a new layout and an improved method of marking items as read, which consists of long pressing on the item.

The Honeycomb layout is a familiar one -- it shares the same look-and-feel as its desktop brother now. While the inclusion of a new Honeycomb interface is a much-needed one, I can honestly say the experience doesn't compare to that of the other RSS readers in the Market, namely Newsr.

May

[Deal Alert] enTourage Pocket eDGe Dualbook Android Tablet/e-Ink Reader $150 At Woot.com Today (May 4th, 2011)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Deals, eDGe, enTourage, News

The enTourage eDGe Dualbook is one of the more interesting devices released last year due to its 2 screens - a 7" touchscreen LCD and a 6" e-Ink. Similar to the Spring Design Alex eReader, the Dualbook lets you read ebooks on one screen while simultaneously Googling, browsing Wikipedia, checking email, and doing anything Android lets you do on the other screen. However, if you find yourself reading late at night, just throw the book over to the LCD screen, and suddenly you can read in the dark. Pretty cool, eh?

The tablet/eReader features a 1.2GHz Marvell ARMADA PXA168 CPU, 3GB internal memory, a microSD slot, Android 1.6 (although a 2.2 ROM is supposedly floating around), a 2MP front-facing camera, a speaker, a microphone, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Apr

HoneyReader Is An Android Feed Reader Made Specifically For Honeycomb

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Last Updated: April 24th, 2011

While browsing the XOOM xda forum today, I saw this announcement of HoneyReader, a new application built specifically with Honeycomb tablets in mind. Because it doesn't have to support pre-Honeycomb versions of the OS or small-sized phone screens altogether, the authors concentrated on making it a great tablet experience, and I must say, their first take is pretty good.

HoneyReader uses the native to Honeycomb Fragments API that on the surface translates to fluid and flexible UI elements that can divide the screen into separately scrollable independent areas with their own lifecycles. If you're familiar with the CNN app, for example, you know what I'm talking about (I personally think the Fragments API is the greatest thing in Android since...

Apr

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

Posted by Brad Ganley 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.

Apr

Critical Vulnerability Found In Adobe Flash For Android, Probably No Cause For Concern

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

With a great plugin comes great responsibility - to avoid malicious Flash files, that is. A zero-day exploit has been discovered in Adobe Flash that affects all Android versions of the software, Adobe announced today.

The most common vessel for the exploit is (fortunately) a Microsoft document (.doc) email attachment with an embedded Flash file (.swf) - and I'm not aware of any Word document viewers/editors in Android that support embedded Flash. Once the Flash file is executed, the exploiter can run malicious code on the target device. How, or whether, this could affect Android is unknown.

Still, it's important to remember that Adobe's products, ever the target of hackers and shady enterprise, share common elements across operating systems - including, at times, potentially dangerous flaws and exploits.

Dec

NFC In Gingerbread Is Crippled - It's One-Way-Only, And Not The Way We Want

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

Last Updated: February 9th, 2011

Update 2/9/11: Writing/transmitting via NFC is now possible thanks to the 2.3.3 update.

One thing that was very much anticipated in the Nexus S and Gingerbread in general was NFC (Near Field Communication) support, which is a feature we've never seen before on an Android device. In fact, the vast majority of us took it to mean that it will allow you to use your phone as a credit card, which would indeed be very exciting and insanely cool. Unfortunately, that's not the case here; rather, the technology will allow the Nexus S (and other NFC-capable Android phones) to act as a glorified barcode scanner of sorts.

Dec

[Review] Google Books for Android: Reading Just Got Better

Posted by David Ruddock in App Reviews, Applications, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

What is Google eBooks?

Google unveiled its long-awaited eBook store this morning. What makes it different from, say, the Amazon eBook store? Well, sheer selection of titles for one: Google's eBooks has debuted with over 3 million pieces of literature to choose from - including a vast library of free and public domain materials, many of which you won't find anywhere else (trust me). It would appear Google's massive digitalization efforts have paid off.

Perhaps more exciting is that Google has simultaneously made available its Books application on a range of devices - Android included, of course. But, if you're stuck with a piece of iOS hardware, there's no need to fret, the Books app can be found in the Apple App Store.