15
Apr
GoogleMusic

Editorial: Google's Music Talks Aren't Going Well - Will Music Be Too Little, Too Late?

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, Editorials, News

To answer the question, briefly: nobody really knows at this point. But I do think Google is going to have to make some sacrifices in the short term if the Music service is going to get off the ground. And that's because the record labels won't play ball - at least not by Google's rules according to All Things D, quoting two apparently well-connected sources.

Of course, the words of a couple anonymous music industry insiders aren't definitively representative of the feelings of all the (presumably numerous) parties involved in Google's Music negotiations. For all we know, those persons could be part of some of the industry's historically more stubborn labels.

28
Jan
image367

Google To Give An In-Depth Look At Honeycomb, Android Ecosystem News At Event Feb 2nd

Posted by in Android OS, Development, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

Next Wednesday, Google will be holding a press event to showcase Honeycomb and discuss Android at large. Team Android is going to give attendees an "in-depth look" at Honeycomb, news regarding the Android ecosystem, and a number of hands-on opportunities while at Google headquarters in Mountain View.

androidevent

The presentation will be streamed live at www.youtube.com/android starting at 10AM next Wednesday, so everyone will get a chance to tune in for the latest and greatest in the world of Android and Honeycomb.

Considering this is being labeled a press event, it's probably just an opportunity for Google to give Honeycomb some hands-on exposure to the major media outlets and blogs alike.

23
Jan
snap20110123_085518

HTC EVO 4G: Fix Music Streaming And (Maybe) Boost Your 3G Speeds With A Simple Hack

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

This morning, I noticed an interesting thread in the EVO subsection of the XDA forums that claimed to be able to fix music streaming (which was broken in some apps after the latest OTA), while boosting 3G speeds by .2 to .6 Mbps. As the process is very simple and easily reversible, I gave it a go - but decided that I was going to use SpeedTest to benchmark the changes. Unfortunately, what I found wasn't what I expected.

Before doing anything, I ran the test three times. Before the fix my average download speed was 938.67 Kbps. After I ran the fix, my speed dropped to an average of  782 Kbps.

22
Dec
image

Tunerfish Releases Android App, Aims To Be FourSquare For TV, Movies, And Videos (Complete With A Back Story - Read It)

Posted by in Applications, News

Tunerfish, which dubs itself "a social discovery engine for TV, movies, and online video," released version 1.0 of its Android app to the Market today.

The idea behind Tunerfish is similar to the one behind 4square, only if you replaced locations with TV shows, movies, and online videos. In order to use Tunerfish, you can create an account or log in using Facebook or Twitter. Once logged in, you can:

  • see what your friends are watching in real-time
  • see what they were watching in the past
  • check out trending shows, movies, and videos, i.e. what's being watched now by everyone
  • earn badges and awards
  • participate in discussions, view profiles
  • check in and share what you are watching on Tunerfish, Facebook, and Twitter

You can read more about Tunerfish here.

08
Nov
sad_gtv

Google TV: Now With 95% Less TV, Thanks To Networks

Posted by in Android OS, Google TV, News

Looks like Google is hitting roadblocks at every turn with their eponymous TV hardware - which is really a shame, given just how much potential it seems to have. A few weeks ago, the major networks decided to start blocking Google TVs from accessing their content, whether it was via their proprietary feeds (i.e. ABC.com) or directly through Hulu. Just about the only method of streaming left was Fancast (which actually backdoors content from Hulu). But no more: the door has been shut, with few options left for users.

thumb_550_abcblocking

While Google TV's capabilities extend far beyond simply streaming content, that's doubtless its biggest selling point - especially in an age where most content is available on demand online, with fewer ads and minimal delay.

07
Oct
snap20101007_080838

[Quick Hands-On] Sony Releases Crackle For Android: Stream TV & Movies To Your Android Device

Posted by in Applications, News

Sony's Crackle app has landed in the Android Market, and brings streaming of original shorts, TV shows, and movies to Android. The app is free, but requires a premium subscription to view TV shows and movies. At $5/month, the premium content isn't necessarily expensive, but after quickly running through the app, I'd have to say it's probably not worth it unless you're pretty desperate.

A word on the app itself: it's small, installs quickly, and runs smoothly. I still think it's lame that there's no better solution to purchasing the premium content than paying as though it were a separate app, but that's not really Sony's fault I suppose.

11
Aug
SAMI500MNT (1)

Samsung Unleashes Galaxy S Phone Accessories: Desktop, Car Docks, and Spare Battery Charger; Teases WMG160 HD Media Streaming Device For The US

Posted by in Galaxy S, News

It’s hard to say if it called for a full-blown press release, but Samsung today issued a statement announcing the availability of official Samsung-branded accessories for Galaxy S devices in the US.

What kind of goodies can users expect? Well, as the title suggests, Samsung has produced some very shiny photos of a desktop dock, a car dock/charger, and a spare battery charging system (they’ve apparently caught on that many Android users go through multiple batteries in the course of a day). You can see them in all their glossy black plastic glory below:

SAMI500MNT (1) 6-35753-48556-4 copy SAMI500DOCK

Sunglasses not included.

Tomfoolery aside, these are necessary accessories for a phone as robust as the Galaxy S; the car and desktop docks/chargers in particular.

26
Jul
Acer-Stream-Android-Expansys-UK[3]

Acer Stream Coming To eXpansys In The UK On August 2nd; Packing Android 2.1, 1GHz Processor, 3.7” AMOLED, HDMI And More For £400

Posted by in Liquid Stream

The Acer Stream is coming to the UK, and it’s coming soon. Acer’s newest and most powerful Android device to date will initially be available exclusively through eXpansys.com in the UK starting on August 2nd. £400 will get you the device, unlocked. This is your only purchase option, as no carrier subsidies have yet been announced. I will say it’s pretty robust on the spec-sheet. The Stream features:

  • A 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor
  • 3.7” WVGA AMOLED Display
  • 512MB ROM / 512MB RAM
  • 2GB Internal (Flash) Memory
  • MicroSD Card Slot
  • WiFi (presumably B/G/N), Bluetooth, and GPS
  • Mini HDMI-out
  • 3.5mm Headphone Jack
  • 720P (24FPS) Video Recording
  • 5MP Camera
  • Android 2.1 with Acer Touch 3D UI 4.0

And here is the Stream, in all its glory:

Acer-Stream-Android-Expansys-UK

The first thing I notice about the Stream is its lack of a trackball, d-pad, or optical trackpad.

21
Jun
Sling Player Mobile For Android Goes Live Early - Available On The Android Market Immediately For $30

Sling Player Mobile For Android Goes Live Early - Available On The Android Market Immediately For $30

Posted by in Applications, News

The long awaited Sling Player Mobile application is now officially available on the Android Market, with download numbers <50 (i.e. moments ago).

Sling promised the app would go live tomorrow but pulled the trigger early and launched it today instead (though I guess it is tomorrow in some time zones).

Update: their Android page is now live.

Things are looking good - so far all 3 reviews are 5 stars, though this may change when we get more installations. Here are the snaps from the Android Market as of a few minutes ago:

Sling Player Mobile For Android Goes Live Early - Available On The Android Market Immediately For $30 Sling Player Mobile For Android Goes Live Early - Available On The Android Market Immediately For $30

You can download by scanning this QR code:

SlingPlayer Mobile QR code

Press release follows:

Sling Media Launches SlingPlayer Mobile for Android Smartphones

Application now delivers your home TV experience to Android phones anywhere you have mobile phone access

Foster City, Calif., – June 22, 2010 – Sling Media, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), announced today the availability of its SlingPlayer Mobile™ application for Android™ Smartphones.

27
May
Acer-Stream-Android-Specs-and-Video

Will Acer’s Stream Make A Splash?

Posted by in Acer, Devices By Manufacturer, Liquid Stream, News

While the name leaves a little to be desired, the Acer Stream was recently approved by the FCC and will soon be on its way into the hands of consumers.

acer-s110-fcc

With specs that closely resemble the likes of the Nexus One and the Droid Incredible, the Acer Stream (a.k.a Liquid Stream) boasts some pretty decent hardware and even better, comes with Android 2.1, although hopefully we’ll see Android 2.2 shortly after the release.

While pricing and a specific release date has yet to be announced, some specs are known and one person already has managed to release a video with a hands-on look at Acer’s new phone.

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