version - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Apr

BBC iPlayer Updated, Brings Support For 1080p Phones

Posted by Bertel King, Jr. in Applications, News

For those unfamiliar, the BBC iPlayer allows our friends in the United Kingdom to watch live BBC programming on the go. Featured shows and up to seven days of previous content are also available for streaming. The application is incompatible with international devices, so don't bother paying the Play Store a visit if London is more than a couple hundred miles away from where you live. And the latest update to the app ushers in support for 1080p displays, allowing it to take advantage of the latest-gen handsets.

The experience is also said to be "improved" for devices like the Galaxy S III, Nexus 4, and Note II.

Apr

Amazon's Kindle App Hits Version 4.0 With Reworked Interface

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Amazon, Apps/Games, News

Amazon's Kindle app has just received a significant update, bringing the reader up to version 4 and introducing a refreshed UI, among other things.

Just when I'd decided to try switching to Play Books (despite giving up things like quick two-finger brightness adjustment), Amazon has introduced a redesigned library that's much more lively than a simple grid of book covers. The new library interface has your books plus a nice "carousel" up top for recent items. The navigation panel has also been expanded for quick access to documents and Newsstand items, along with items that used to hide under the overflow button.

Mar

Editorial Prediction: Android's Next Iteration May Emphasize Hybrid Card Layouts, Other Subtle Design Shifts

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Editorials

Yesterday, we finally decided to get to the bottom of Google Keep's new font, Roboto Slab. Shortly before that, however, we had an internal discussion about Keep's strange UI/UX. The app is beautiful – there's no denying that – but weird when considered alongside Google's other in-house apps. What's more, I'm of the opinion that the app isn't just a one-off in terms of design – I think that Keep, along with a few other hints, could give us some insight into what we'll see in the next version of Android (which we might see in May at Google I/O).

Feb

PushBullet Updated To Version 9 With DashClock Support And More

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Roman Nurik's DashClock Widget has seen remarkable adoption since its release earlier this month, with a handful of apps quickly adding their own DashClock extensions in a bid to populate your lock screen with useful information. Joining the list today is PushBullet which, in an update to version 9, added a DashClock extension that will let you know how many pushes await you before you unlock your device.

Besides the DashClock extension, PushBullet will now play your device's default notification tone when you receive a push, and has new localization for Italian and Dutch users, along with a couple of other tweaks.

Feb

PushBullet Updated To Version 8 With Device Sharing: 'Friends Let Friends Push'

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

PushBullet, the dynamic, practical push notification app we included in our top five roundup yesterday got a nice update today. The update brings the app to version 8 and introduces a feature that makes it even more awesome – the ability to push to others' devices or have them push to your own.

You might be wondering why this is such an awesome feature. Well, today's post to the PushBullet blog explains that with a few examples: users can push each other the address to a new restaurant, a quick grocery list update, a cheerful image, or use sharing to "Rickroll your friends in a new and exciting way."

Sharing devices with other PushBullet users is easy – just head to your online dashboard at PushBullet.com and hit the "Share" button next to a device.

Feb

Facebook Pages Manager Updated To Version 1.1 With Post Promotion, Scheduling, Event Creation

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Facebook Pages Manager debuted quietly last month, with more widespread availability hitting after several days. Just over a month later, in its first major update (to version 1.1), the fan page management tool has gotten three new features: post promotion, post scheduling, and event creation.

The new features are essentially just what they sound like, and – for all intents and purposes – match their counterparts in Facebook's web interface. Post promotion allows page managers to increase their post's reach to users that may not ordinarily see them, post scheduling lets you compose posts ahead of time or on the go, and event creation…well…allows you to create events.

Jan

Falcon Pro Updated To Version 1.5 With Light Theme, Multi-Window Support For Galaxy Devices, Various Enhancements

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Falcon Pro, the beautiful Twitter client born of Joaquim Verges' Falcon Widget, got an update today, bringing the app to version 1.5. Besides the usual bug fixes, this update brings several big enhancements, not the least of which being a completely new, completely appealing "light theme," which will switch your Twitter experience to a pleasing holo light look.

Dec

Llama Updated With Jelly Bean Support, Holo Inspired UI, Event Sharing, And More [Updated]

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Update 2: Llama has been returned to the Play Store this morning as promised, listed as version 1.2012.12.29.1412. As for the pesky silent mode/vibrate bug? This version's changelog indicates that it is "hopefully fixed."

Update: It looks like KebabApps has pulled Llama from the Play Store while the developer sorts out "a pain-in-the-butt problem involving silent mode," in which the app can – for some users – switch what should be silent mode to vibrate mode. KebabApps, in a blog post, provides more information on the issue, along with a (hopefully) fixed download, which users are encouraged to test, and which will be uploaded to the Play Store "tomorrow morning."

Llama, an extremely popular location-based profiling app, was issued an "über üpdate" today, bringing a handful of big changes from a new UI to bug fixes.

Dec

Yahoo! Mail Updated To v2, Brings New UI, Increased Stability, Improved Security, And Some Other Stuff

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

Still using Yahoo! Mail, eh? Good news! The app just hit v2, which, like most full-version releases, brings all sorts of new goodies. First, and probably the most noticeable, is that the app is now called Y! Mail and it has a brand spankin' new UI. Don't tell GMail I said this, but I actually think Y! Mail's new look is pretty decent.

Aside from the pretty new interface, version 2 also brings increased stability, more reliable push notifications, better battery performance, and better security, as it now has SSL activated by default.

Good stuff for those who are still attached to Yahoo!

Dec

Google Releases November's Platform Distribution Numbers – Gingerbread At 50.8%, Jelly Bean Up To 6.7%

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Gingerbread 2.3, Google, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Jelly Bean 4.2, News

With the end of another month comes a fresh batch of Android platform distribution numbers. Like clockwork, Google has once again updated their numbers, showing Gingerbread's cold, withered hand still holding almost 51% of the pie (though it's down from 54.2% in October), with Jelly Bean making gains to 6.7%, up 4% from last month.

Predictably, Ice Cream Sandwich is still making some gains, rising about 2% to 27.5% from October, Honeycomb is holding tight at 1.6% with a mere 0.2% change for API level 13, and pre-2.3 releases are still dropping off (though Cupcake and Donut are still holding on for dear life).