update - 98/130 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

[Hands-On] Facebook For Android Updated To v1.6.1, Say Hello To Comment Likes, Liked And Admined Pages, Commenting As Page Admin, And More

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

The Facebook application for Android received a nice little update today, making the earlier 1.6 update feel a bit more complete. In addition to streamlining the new, prettier newsfeed UI (screenshot #1), v1.6.1 brings these to the table:

Comment likes, as promised by the 1.6 beta but never delivered until now (screenshot #2).
Proper page support, with 2 listings - pages you've created and pages you like (screenshot #3).
I'll give you a minute to find how to get there. Alright, 5 minutes. Still can't find it? In the most confusing move imaginable, the new Pages section can be found under Friends > Pages tab.

Jul

Samsung Epic 4G Android 2.3 Update Imminent? Looks Like It.

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Epic 4G, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Sprint

Nearly a month ago a Gingerbread build for the Samsung Epic 4G leaked, and if Sprint's website is any indication (and it is), the finalized update may be nearly ready to go. The official product listing for the Epic now says the device ships with Android 2.3 - a pretty strong suggestion indeed, and not likely to be a typo.

We don't have any indication of when, but given Sprint and Samsung's history on updates, anything we did hear - even if official - would probably get pushed back anyway. With that in mind, let's just hope it's soon, but don't get your hopes too high, eh?

Jul

ASUS: Transformer Android 3.2 Update In Testing, Will Be Released Soon

Posted by David Ruddock in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News

ASUS has just announced via Twitter that they are currently testing Android 3.2 on the Eee Pad Transformer, and that the keyboard super-dock tablet will be receiving the update soon. What does Android 3.2 bring? A slew of bug fixes, mostly - along with compatibility for apps that don't scale properly (called "Zoom Mode") on Honeycomb tablets. Check out our article on Android 3.2 to learn more.

Twitter

Jul

Google Videos (read: Movies) Android App Now Compatible With 2.2+ Devices, But You Still Can't Use It If You're Rooted

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, News

Coupled with the Market update that was announced and subsequently leaked earlier today, Google released a new version of the Videos app, previously available only on certain tablets. Because the new Android Market adds support for movies, among other things, the much needed update to Videos opens up access to devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread).

Now to some bad news: as suspected, if you are using a rooted device, you will be able to run the Videos app but won't be able to play any content through it. Paranoid Google is paranoid, some meme lovers would say.

It's interesting to point out that if you don't install the Videos app, the new Market will simply redirect you to YouTube in your browser when you press My Movies.

Jul

[Updated: 3.0.27] Download: The New Android Market v3.0.27 With Support For Movies, Books, And Multiple Accounts

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Last Updated: July 28th, 2011

The new Android Market, announced mere hours ago, has started rolling out to a small set of users who, of course, immediately shared it with the rest of the world for everyone to enjoy (or hate, depending on your reaction to the design).

The process is very simple (no root needed):

Download com.android.vending.3.0.27.apk from our mirror (no intermediate pages - direct link here) to your phone. If that doesn't work for some reason, here's a second mirror.
Browse to it in your favorite file manager, such as ASTRO
Click the file, then select Open App Manager
Select Update
You now have new new Market v 3.0.27

I personally kind of like the new UI, though the hover bar is really annoying and severely limits the real estate.

Jul

[Updated: Download Link] New Android Market Is Coming To Phones, Brings Books And Movies Along With It

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Android OS, News

Today Google announced a new version of the Android Market via its Android Developers Blog, and it aims to ease the pain of navigating the current market. The layout is entirely different, as it's designed to highlight top apps and games and improve the user experience. The update will also bring the addition of Books and Movies to US handsets, and other "select countries" soon after.

Update: Why wait if you can download the new Market right now.

The entire experience looks to be streamlined, with a much more intuitive layout and quicker access to to what you're looking for.

Jul

Evernote For Android Gets Update, Adds Rich Text Formatting For Phones, As Well As Full Honeycomb Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

I've been using Evernote for quite a while now, and while I really like it, there are things that I've found myself wishing it had. It's almost as if the Evernote team read my mind, because they have incorporated all of the features that I frequently use on the desktop version to the mobile version, including rich text formatting, bullet points, lists, and checkboxes, making the overall experience much more akin to that of the desktop. The update also brings a new, large sized widget for your homescreen, which displays snippets of recently accessed notes alongside the features of the existing widget.

Jul

Android 3.2 Update Build HTJ85B Now Rolling Out In Small Batches For The Motorola XOOM, Finally Brings SD Card Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, XOOM

Last week we heard a rumor that Android 3.2 could be rolling out to the Motorola XOOM "within days," and it looks like that claim may have been realized starting today. According to Droid-Life, the update is rolling out in small batches at the moment and, along with the nifty new zoom feature, brings the long-awaited support for SD Cards. Other than that, it appears that this is more of a maintenance update, as the other features of 3.2 don't really apply to the XOOM.

In similar news, Google released the GPL portions of the Android 3.2 source code today.

Jul

IMDb App Gets Update, Now Optimized For Honeycomb

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

The Internet Movie Database, or IMDb as it's commonly known, pushed an update to its official Android app earlier today that includes some new features, including full Honeycomb support - and it looks quite good, too. The interface is very intuitive and clean, and it takes full advantage of the large display.

The update also brings movie rating, a watchlist where you can track movies and TV shows, enhanced showtimes, the ability to purchase tickets directly within the app, improved performance, and tons of bug fixes.

The update is live in the Android Market, you can grab it by hitting the widget below.

Jul

Google Shopper For Android Updated, Google Offers Now Live In New York City

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Google Shopper - an app that uses your phone's camera to locate products and prices on the web - received an update today that brings about some new features, as well as an interface overhaul. In an effort to streamline the experience, tabs have been added to the bottom of the app that highlight some of the newest features of Shopper, and the 'starred' and 'history' buttons are now located at the top.

Among the new tabs along the bottom is "Today's Offer" - part of Google Offers - which shows a single offer for specific products or services in certain areas: Portland, OR; the San Francisco Bay Area, the recently added New York City.