20
Jan
snap20110120_145808_wm

Launcher Pro, my favorite launcher replacement, got updated today with a much requested feature - homescreen transition animations, available to all LP users, not just Plus. In addition to the usual and very smooth slide effect, we now have 4 more: Scale, Rotate, Flip, and Cube. All are smooth, except for the Cube transition, so I would advise against using it until Fede makes it a bit more snappy. Out of 5 transitions (including the regular slide), my favorite is definitely Flip. What's yours?

Excuse the poor frame rate in the screencast - unfortunately, that's ShootMe's max for the time being

snap20110120_145808_wm snap20110120_145823_wm snap20110120_145835_wm

snap20110120_145854_wm snap20110120_145912_wm

Source: Launcher Pro

19
Jan
image

I have a soft spot for well done demoes, even if they exist only in concept form, and today's design by Kristian Ulrich Larsen fits right into this category (did you really expect anything else from a designer with such an awesome name?).

If you liked Mozilla's Seabird concept, you're going to love the Flip Phone, which features 3 flexible, curved AMOLED screens connected by "soft steel mesh hinges," which allow this device to morph into multiple configurations, each offering something different to its user. It has a keyboard (and a pretty sexy one at that) and a camera. Who needs a dedicated kickstand when it can stand on its own?

19
Jan
snap20110119_101004_wm

Out of all the apps that require root privileges, I probably use ShootMe the most. Before today's update, it was the best and easiest way to take a screenshot anywhere in Android without hooking it up to a computer - just turn the program on, go to the screen you want to take a snapshot of, shake the device, and ShootMe snaps the picture. After today's update, however, ShootMe is no longer just a screenshot app - it's also a screencasting app. That's right, you can now use ShootMe to record videos of whatever you're doing on your Android device, up to 10 frames per second.

11
Jan
Screen shot 2011-01-10 at 8.37.05 PM

Introduction

If there's one thing CES told us about the upcoming twelve months in technology, it's that 2011 will be the year of Android tablets. And with noteworthy entries such as the Motorola XOOM, ASUS' lineup, and the T-Mobile G-Slate, it looks like the tablets' quality might be just as high as their quantity - at least hardware-wise.

But what about the software? After all, isn't a device's OS what makes or breaks it? And even if the tablets are good, will consumers care? Let's take a look at the top five areas Android tablets will need to succeed in.

08
Jan
IMG_8393

It's officially the 3rd day of CES, and I finally made it over to the giant Sharp booth pavilion, where I was able to get a hands-on demo of the first and only 3D Android handset, which is currently only sold in Japan. Don't worry though - it's coming to the U.S. and possibly other locations this year. Perhaps you've heard of it - meet Sharp Galapagos 003SH, which is capable of not only showing 3D menus, pictures, and videos, but allows you to snap some as well. In addition, it supports 3D-enabled games, one of which I was able to demo.

07
Jan
videosurf

With all the mind-blowing news coming in from CES 2011, it's easy to forget that interesting and innovative things are coming from other sources at the same time. Here is one of those sources.

A new service somewhat reminiscent of Shazam and Sound Hound has surfaced on our radar, but with one major distinction: this app does videos. Using proprietary algorithms and software (read: magic), newcomer Videosurf will not only help you identify what T.V. show or movie you're watching, but what episode you're looking at, summaries, actors, actor information, and all kinds of information you didn't know you were missing out on right there on your cell phone.

07
Jan
IMG_8169_wm

At T-Mobile's press schmoozing session this evening, a few HSPA+ devices were available for the blogging masses to clench in their clammy hands. One in particular that we were keen to try was the Dell Streak 7, the new big brother of the original Dell Streak (Mini 5), announced earlier today. With the 7" tablet boasting a Tegra II dual-core processing unit, our interest was piqued, so we took a look in the video below:

As you can see, the performance fell short of the hype and anticipation that many of us felt with this CES's dual-core bonanza. It might be slightly hard to detect with the frame rate of the video recording, but scrolling still felt choppy despite the power contained within.

05
Jan
niadam-engadget

Engadget has scored some hands-on time with the much anticipated Notion Ink Adam and have captured it on video for all to see.

The video shows off the Adam's Eden UI switching between panels with ease, even in the cover-flow view. The smooth performance shows off how powerful the Tegra 2 CPU is. 

The browser also looks promising - scrolling through the browser seems smooth though there appears to be a slight lag in reacting to the swipe gesture. Pinch-to-zoom is in full effect but the text flow adjustment doesn't make it appear as smooth as we might like.

The standout feature is definitely the PixelQi display, which delivers amazing readability in direct sunlight.

05
Jan
2011-01-05 17h14_26
Last Updated: November 2nd, 2011

We've seen quite a few tablets running Honeycomb as of late (and I'm sure there are still a lot more to come - after all, CES is only just beginning), but up until now, we haven't had a chance to get a good look at the OS itself. The wait is now over, however - a teaser video for the OS was recently uploaded to YouTube via androiddevelopers, Google's official Android developer account. Google has since made the video private (thus not allowing the general public to view it), but luckily, we managed to grab a backup of it before they did so:

As you can see, Google has completely rethought the Android interface in an effort to make it more tablet-friendly - clearly, Google didn't purchase BumpTop for nothing.

05
Jan
image

Qualcomm's Mirasol technology has been in prototype form for a while, but at this year's CES, it seems like we'll finally see a working product - an Android e-reader by PocketBook that is called simply Mirasol.

For those who haven't been following Mirasol, it is a functional equivalent of a traditional black-and-white eInk display that has become so popular in e-readers over the last few years, except it is capable of displaying color and playing videos (refresh rates are rumored to be anywhere from 12 to 30 fps). At its core, Mirasol screens use a reflective display technology which "can create various colors through the interference of reflected light." Mirasol displays consume very little power and have superb visibility in direct sunlight.

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