09
May
Flipboard_Logotype_Square_flat_300dpi

Flipboard 2.0 Released, Brings Magazine Creation Tools, Web Interface, And Native Sharing Integration

Posted by in Applications, News

To be perfectly honest, I'm not much of an e-mag guy. I tried Google Currents for a while, but never quite saw the utility of it, and so quickly transitioned back to my beloved Feedly and Google Reader. That's not to say I haven't realized the limitations of RSS many times, though, especially as certain websites I follow look to integrate more multimedia into articles. (Having to use Chrome to listen to audio or video in a weird custom player is really frustrating.) And concededly, apps like Currents look a thousand times better than feeds, which are traditionally text-heavy.

A major update to Flipboard, released today to Google Play, may just get me to reconsider magazine-style news apps.

06
May
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TV Guide Mobile Version 3 Released With Interface, Experience Overhaul For ICS, Jelly Bean Users

Posted by in Applications, News

If you've been paying attention to TV Guide's official app, you know that it's needed some attention for a while. Its UI through version 2.x was an outdated pastiche of Gingerbread tabs and gradated iconography desperately in need of a redesign (and support for 4.0+). Today, TV Guide has fulfilled that need (for the most part), bringing to the Play Store TV Guide Mobile version 3.0. The update also brought "many cool new features" to the app, which we'll discuss momentarily. First though, check out the difference between the old and new interfaces.

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Before: ew.

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After: yay!

02
Oct
HOX Sense

HTC Announces Sense 4+ With Camera Enhancements, Easy Device Setup

Posted by in HTC, News, One X+
Last Updated: October 26th, 2012

In its One X+ announcement, HTC also announced some changes to Sense. While none were groundbreaking (so don't expect a visual overhaul) and not a lot of details were revealed, the company did mention a few things were being upgraded.

HOX Sense  HOX

Protip: the image on the left is gigantic when full-sized. Apparently HTC's target date was September 24.

The camera software seems to have received the bulk of the changes, starting with the front-facer, which now includes Self Portrait mode (previewed below, left). As you'd expect, it makes taking self-shots easier by "detecting the human face at various angles and applying subtle enhancements to skin and eyes" - in other words, it auto-'Shops you.

04
Sep
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Google Wins Multi-User Face Unlock Patent, Further Teases Our Multi-User Dreams

Posted by in Android OS, Google, News

Today it was learned, through a US Patent and Trademark Office filing, that Google has been granted a patent concerning the logging in of multiple users by facial recognition.

Typically, the granting of yet another tech patent wouldn't be extraordinarily interesting news. But given the fact that Google's latest patent relates to multiple user support, and the fact that code meant for multiple user support has been sitting right under our noses in AOSP for some time now, patent number 8,261,090 is definitely worth discussing.

Without quoting the entire 17,000 word filing, patent '090 essentially covers methods that allow a "computing device" to recognize one or more users' identities based on facial recognition, and then give them access to resources specifically assigned to them.

16
May
2012-05-16_22h30_44

Chameleon: The New Kickstarter Project That Could Revolutionize Tablet Homescreens

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News

It's not every day that I get excited when I look at a UI demo, largely because they tend to end up being vaporware. But it's hard to ignore a revolutionary UI when one comes along - and that's exactly what Chameleon is:

Still not sold? Check out this demo video from 2 months ago, when Chameleon was first announced:

It's certainly a stunning UI, and one that manages the rare feat of being equal parts beautiful and functional. But there's a catch: the company initially intended to sell Chameleon to OEMs, but it seems they couldn't find a buyer - so they're taking to Kickstarter.

31
Mar
unnamed

JRummy's ROM Toolbox On Sale For $2.99 (50% Off) In The Play Store – Half Of All Revenue To Be Donated To Cancer Research

Posted by in Applications, Deals, News

JRummy, the developer behind Root Browser, Ultimate Backup, BusyBox Installer, and a handful of other awesome apps, has put ROM Toolbox on sale in the Play Store for just $2.99 (a cool 50% off its usual price) and plans to donate half of all the sale's revenue to the Testicular Cancer Society.

For those not familiar, ROM Toolbox is a rooted user's dream app, combining the best parts of SetCPU, Root Browser, Font Installer, Terminal Emulator, ROM Manager, and a ton of other root tools into one 3.7MB package, providing a truly impressive array of features which allow users to control just about every aspect of their device from a single app.

08
Jan
ics

[Weekend Poll] Ice Cream Sandwich Takes Android To A Whole New Level Of Usability And Polish - But Is It Good Enough For Your Parents To Use? [Fixed]

Posted by in Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Polls

Update: I had the wrong poll displayed for about an hour after posting. Sorry everyone - correct poll is live!

Let's face it: when Android first officially dropped, it was ugly as hell and not exactly designed with non-techies in mind. But as we've seen in the past 3 years (and a few months) since then, things have come a long way (albeit gradually at first) - the look, feel, and usability of vanilla Android became a major focus in the last year or so, especially with Gingerbread (2.3), Honeycomb(3.0), and Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0).

cupcake ics

Left: Cupcake (1.5). Right: Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0)

Again, while it just plain looks a lot nicer now, things are much deeper than what can be shown in a screenshot.

10
Oct
image

Web Android Market Finally Allows Sorting Of User Reviews By Newest, Rating, Or Helpfulness

Posted by in Apps/Games, News

Bringing probably one of the most useful changes to the web Android Market since its reveal, Google just rolled out an update to how user reviews can be sorted. But first, a little bit of history. When the Market was released, all reviews were sorted in a natural reverse chronological order.

At some point later, Google changed the sort to float most helpful reviews to the top (whatever that algorithm may be), which infuriated many as now old and oftentimes irrelevant reviews showed up above newer, more useful ones.

Today, we, the users, can finally sort reviews any way we see fit:

  • newest
  • rating
  • helpfulness

Yay!

26
Jul
Android SS1

Android Developers UI Design Tips Presentation Aims To Homogenize Android App Interfaces In The Style Of Twitter, Facebook, And Yelp

Posted by in Applications

Ever notice how Twitter, Facebook, and Yelp all use (nearly) the same start screen implementation?

snap20100726_155133 snap20100726_155137 snap20100726_155143

Apparently this is no coincidence. A presentation given at an Android Developer conference is urging app developers to conform to this design when developing their own apps. Why? Consistency lends itself to usability.

Android has long been a victim of its own openness—many claim it is a “geek” or “technophile” operating system. This stigma can, in part, be traced to the fact that Android apps have not been held accountable to any but the most lax standards (Eg, doesn’t blow up your phone) to be featured in the Android Market.

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