Applications - 212/251 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

Gmail App Updated For Gingerbread To Include Long Press To Copy Text

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, Gingerbread 2.3, News

In a minor update to the official Gmail app, Google has addressed one of "the little things" that have been plaguing Android since the beginning. In this case, a lack of uniformity for copying text.

In all previous versions of the Gmail app, a user would have to press Menu, More, and then Select Text. Fortunately, this update fixes that issue by making copying text the same as in the Browser or a textbox: by long pressing it. It's not a huge addition, and is only available for those with devices running Gingerbread, but it is definitely a step in the positive direction.

Feb

Google Takes A Swing At Facebook: Removes Contact Syncing With Nexus S Update

Posted by Zak Stinson in Applications, Gingerbread 2.3, News, Nexus One (Passion), Nexus S (Crespo/Soju)

Today, Google got the ball rolling on Gingerbread updates for the two official "Google phones", the Nexus One and Nexus S. While this is exciting, long awaited news for owners of the Nexus One, the Nexus S crowd may have some reason for disdain.

One of the things that got me really excited when I bought my first Android phone was the ability to import the numbers and email addresses of all my Facebook friends to my contact list automagically. No longer did I have to look it up on the Facebook webpage or, God forbid, call them and ask.

With the Gingerbread update for the Nexus S, Google has disabled this feature.

Feb

MenuPages Enters The Android Food App Foray

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

Ever heard of MenuPages? I hadn't until today, but I guess I live in a cardboard box. The popular website now offers an Android app for your convenience - but what's MenuPage's big feature when competing against the likes of UrbanSpoon and Yelp? You may have guessed it has something to do with menus.

MenuPages indexes the (wait for it, it's mind-blowing) menu contents of any restaurant their service lists, meaning you can search by the exact food you want, as opposed to browsing through broad genres of cuisine. Pretty nifty for foodies like myself, and I can say right now that this app has made a home on my phone for the foreseeable future.

Feb

Kaspersky Mobile Security Comes To Android

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Anti-virus and anti-malware products by Kaspersky Lab are known as some of the best computer protection solutions for your desktop and notebook, and today the company announced availability of Kaspersky Mobile Security for Android.

The features of Mobile Security include:

anti-theft protection (including SMS Find, Remote Block and Delete, and SIM Watch)
anti-spam protection
privacy protection
anti-virus protection and firewall

The app can be downloaded from Kaspersky's servers and isn't available directly from the Android Market. The cost is rather high - $29.95 per year, although it is still comparable to products like Lookout Premium.

Official press release follows:

Feb 22, 2011 10:36 ET Kaspersky Mobile Security Expands to Support Android and BlackBerry

WOBURN, MA--(Marketwire - February 22, 2011) - Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of Internet security solutions that defend against computer viruses, spyware and all forms of malicious software, now offers protection and peace-of-mind for BlackBerry and Android smartphone owners, in addition to Windows Mobile and Symbian devices.

Feb

30 Best (And 2 WTF) New Android Apps, Games, And Live Wallpapers From Last Week (2/16/11 - 2/21/11)

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Best Apps/Games/LWPs Of The Week, Games, News

Last Updated: April 13th, 2011

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous week's roundup? Find it here: 32 Best (And 2 WTF) New Android Apps And Games From Last Week (2/9/11 – 2/15/11)

Apps

MapQuest

MapQuest's answer to Google Maps. But is it enough? (Probably not)

Absolutely FREE – There’s no trial period, subscription, or upgrade necessary. You get all these capabilities absolutely free!

Feb

[Download] Tegra 2-Compatible Flash Player Build Leaks Out

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, Development, News

Good news, Tegra 2 users: you can now obtain a version of Adobe's famous (or perhaps infamous) Flash Player compatible with your devices. The leaked beta APK comes courtesy of XDA user rothnic, who received it "from the Malata Zpad owners."

As always, proceed with caution - and be sure to let us know how it works for you!

Download Link

Source: XDA Developers via Droid Life

Feb

Samsung Video Editor Available For 2.2+, Irony Effect Included

Posted by Brian O'Toole in Applications, Apps/Games, News, Samsung

Whilst browsing the Apps and Games section of XDA-Developers we came across an interesting thread about a relatively new application from Samsung, for the Galaxy S. This simply-named Video Editor looks to fill the void until the delicious-looking one from Honeycomb trickles down to our phones' OS versions.

Strangely enough, the app appears to only work on 2.2+ devices, limiting it to the i9000 and Vibrant when it comes to Samsung's own devices. The XDA devs have unsurprisingly gotten it working on a bunch of non-Samsung devices too, so check out the source thread beneath for that. Along with this thread also came a highly informative walkthrough from Aatif Sumar at ZOMGitsCj.com, so we'd suggest you give it a read before having a go yourself.

Feb

Twidroyd Returns To Android After Twitter Ban

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Twitter's banhammer of UberMedia's properties - Twidroyd, UberTwitter, and UberCurrent - caused a bit of an uproar and panic on Friday, but both companies quickly issued their statements on the matter. Twitter clarified that UberMedia's apps were violating policies and trademarks, while UberMedia promised to release an update fixing the problems as soon as possible.

Here is what Twidroyd clients were seeing on Friday:

Over the weekend, the team behind Twidroyd came up with all the necessary fixes to the app to make Twitter happy again and released an update v5.0.2:

To our delight, things indeed seem to be back to normal, but we'll see if Twitter is satisfied for good when its engineers return to work on Monday (or Tuesday, since the U.S.

Feb

[Weekend Poll] Can The Amazon Appstore Succeed Against The Android Market?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, News, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the newest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Is The Nokia/Microsoft Alliance A Threat To Android?

A few days ago, we posted a rundown of the details found on the Amazon Appstore Developer Blog, and noted that the store will be very controlled compared to the nearly anarchistic Android Market:

On a subjective note, after reading through the details, I can’t help but wonder if Amazon is just going about it better than Google. I largely agree with David’s issues with the Market: it’s spammy, there’s no solid system for exploring new apps, and going further, there are tons of issues with fragmentation and poor quality.

Feb

[Hands-On] Neato: Asurion Steps Up Its Game, Sprint TEP Subscribers Reap The Benefits

Posted by Brad Ganley in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, Carriers, News, Reviews, Sprint

Last Updated: September 11th, 2012

Good news for all you prepared individuals out there who are subscribed to Sprints TEP (Total Equipment Protection) plan: You now have access to a new app that adds a whole new level of useful to protecting your device through Asurion, the third party company that handles the insurance rigmarole for Sprint (and pretty much every other U.S. carrier, but they don't get an app).

The Sprint Total Equipment Protection App essentially mirrors the functionality of services like Lookout Mobile Security (but without the antivirus part): It can be used for locating your phone via GPS, helping to find it by sounding an alarm (even when on silent mode), backing up your contacts, remotely locking your device with a pin code, and remotely wiping the contacts.