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Apr

Deal Alert: Woot Offering MOTOACTV 8GB Watch With Heart Rate Monitor Chest Strap For $179.99

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Deals, MOTOACTV

If you're intrigued by the idea of wearable technology, but don't see the Pebble's appeal, or don't have the patience to wait for Google Glass or any of the other rumored wearable goodies coming from Apple, Samsung, or Google (depending on who you ask), Motorola's MOTOACTV, the fitness-tracking smartwatch, may be a good starting point.

The MOTOACTV, which debuted in 2011, is a smartwatch that positions itself as mainly a fitness tool, tracking your runs and slapping some maps and music on top of it for a nice experience. The device also syncs to your smartphone to notify you of calls, SMS messages, and calendar events.

Mar

Review: Jawbone UP + Android – A Baby Step Toward Truly Powerful Wearable Tech

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, Other Reviews

When Jawbone's UP wristband was released in late 2011, I was excited. Then I was disappointed. The motion-tracking band seemed like a perfect step into wearable tech at the time, but its companion app wasn't available for Android. Whether and why Jawbone didn't see fit to invest resources in developing for Android was a mystery, but now – thankfully – it's immaterial. Just over a week ago, Jawbone released an official UP app to the Google Play Store, and I wanted to be first in line to try it out with Jawbone's updated 2012 wristband. Having used the band (which, by the way, is available from Jawbone for around $130) and app for about a week now, I've learned several things that will hopefully help those on the fence in making a decision about the device.

Mar

[Rumor] Galaxy S IV Will Allegedly Track Your Eyes To Scroll Pages

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News, Rumors, Samsung

Now that Android has matured to the point of being solid in its own right, manufacturer skins don't rely so much on fixing the problems with the OS as they do creating their own platform. In order to differentiate from the competition, the new Galaxy S needs to do things the One series doesn't. While HTC focuses on improving its audio and visual performance, Samsung is attempting to boost its wow factor by improving on its eye-tracking technology. At least, if the rumors are true.

Speaking to a New York Times blog, an anonymous source (allegedly a Samsung employee) told the publication that the new Galaxy S IV would include a feature that will track a user's eyes to determine when they've reached the bottom of a page and automatically scroll to reveal more text.

Mar

Conversations With An Amiigo Founder: This Fitness Bracelet Is For Everyone, Whether You Lift Or Not

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Features, News

Last month, we covered the Amiigo which, frankly, looks kind of awesome if it works as advertised. For those who missed it, here's the gist: you put on a bracelet and a shoe clip and the two track your workout. The system then logs that data and feeds it into some fancy software that analyzes your sessions and tells you how much weight you're losing, how many calories you're burning, and what other exercises might be right for you.

The big question that a system like this faces, of course, is one of accuracy. If the device can't really measure what you're doing reliably, then it's not going to be any good.

Feb

[New App] Valarm Pro Monitors Sensor Data Remotely, Uploads For Detailed Tracking And Study

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Apps/Games, News

Smartphones have a staggering amount of data they can monitor, and not just in terms of the Internet. Position, orientation, speed, sound, light, g-force, the list goes on - that's why academics are using them as self-contained sensor stations for cool stuff like blasting into space. If you need to monitor data remotely for decidedly less cool reasons (like seeing if your CDL contractor got four tons of gravel to the worksite without stopping at Arby's first) Valarm might be the right service for you.

Valarm monitors a handful of variables on a remote Android device: Accelerometer, GPS, light sensor, and other variables like battery life.

Oct

2Checkout Mobile Arrives In The Play Store, Allows Users To Track Sales, Issue Refunds From Their Phone

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

For the uninitiated, 2Checkout is a web-based storefront service that allows users to both create an online checkout system for their products as well as handle merchant services like credit card payments. If you've ever tried to set up your own shop, you know how difficult it can be to get all the moving parts together. Now, 2Checkout is making it even easier with the release of its mobile app that will allow sellers to track sales, issue refunds, and even contact customers.

If you're already a 2Checkout user, the company notes that your existing logins via the Back Office API won't work.

Sep

[Hands-On] TV Show Favs Is The First And Last App You Need To Keep Track Of All Your Shows

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, Reviews

In the modern world, watching TV shows isn't what it used to be. Back in the old days (or the present for some), shows simply existed at a certain time and you tuned in when they aired, and then they were cancelled and then you never heard from them again. Today, though, it's not uncommon for most viewers to discover a show a few seasons in and then find their way through the backlog of episodes. It can get overwhelming when you need to sort through which shows are still on, which shows you've seen, and how many more episodes you have to go.

Jul

Security Researcher Demonstrates GPS Vulnerability That Could Let Hackers Track Users' Location, Take Over Phone

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in News

Over at Black Hat USA 2012, security researcher Ralf-Phillip Weinmann demonstrated a vulnerability in several Android devices that utilized A-GPS to send illicit messages to the device which could, he explained, be used to send a report of the device's location any time an A-GPS message was sent or even be used to gain complete control of the device.

In describing the attack, Weinmann pointed out that, for example, a malicious WiFi network could instruct a phone to relay all future A-GPS requests, even once the device has left the WiFi network's range. This even further drives home the point that you should not join any networks you don't trust.

Jul

Slice, The Amazing Package Tracking App, Gets Updated To 2.0, Supports Outgoing Package Tracking, New Email Services, And More

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

When we first discovered Slice, the app that scans your email for packages that you're waiting to be delivered, has updated to version 2.0 and brought a host of new features with it. For starters, if you use Hotmail, AOL, or iCloud as your primary email, you can now join in the fun. You can track outgoing packages by scanning tracking barcodes as well or entering the number manually, and filtering options have been improved.

The app also adds a new feature called "Thingerprint" which, aside from having a truly bizarre name, allows you to see how much money you've spent on what types of goods.

Jun

Google Announces Mobile App Analytics, Lets You See The Who, Why, And Where Of Your Mobile App Users

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Applications, News

In the second half of a double Google Analytics whammy, Google has introduced new features for mobile developers and marketers in the Analytics dashboard. While Google's other announcement, an Analytics mobile app, made our site's founder combustible with joy, this announcement is sure to bring cheer to those with products already in the Play store. These new features give insight into how Android users discover apps, along with their usage patterns, in order to enable developers and marketers to increase their products' reach and improve their performance.

Said features include tracking of new user numbers, of traffic sources for Google Play hits, of installed app versions, and of the different devices accessing your apps.