News - 789/939 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

Google Voice Now Supports Mobile Number Porting

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, News

Oh, Google, always so sneaky and humble. This go-round, they've quietly implemented support for mobile number porting into Google Voice, making the service even more convenient.

The process is fairly direct. After entering your mobile number, you agree to the various terms and conditions (it's nice that they list just 6 points that must be checked, rather than a 17-page agreement), and then enter in your account information. Once you've got everything all set, you simply check out, and they take over.

Anyone who's ever ported a number before knows that it's generally a pretty painless process; personally, when I ported my number from Verizon to Sprint, it literally took all of 5 minutes.

Jan

Updated: SwiftKey Releases New Beta With Skins, New Prediction Engine, Bug Fixes, And Other Improvements [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

After weeks of frantic coding, SwiftKey, my favorite smart aftermarket Android keyboard, just released a private beta to all registered VIP forum members. While the beta itself (v1.98.1.172) is private and we can't provide you with a download link, what we can do is list all of the improvements and tease you with some screenshots.

Update: While we can't promise anything, our friendly contact at SwiftKey who I just spoke to indicated that technically if you did apply for the VIP program (i.e. their forum membership) right now, there is a chance you could get approved. Just remember who hooked you up when your fingers are in heaven.

Jan

[Review] Thumb Keyboard Makes Two-Handed Typing A Breeze

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

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

If there's one thing an Android power user really appreciates, it's options. I personally enjoy having a myriad of different apps to choose from for a single task so that I can find the one that best suits my needs, one of which is typing.

By now, we all know that there is no shortage of keyboard alternatives for Android users to choose from, but truly great and innovative keyboards can be somewhat hard to come by. If you like typing with two thumbs, though, I think I've found the perfect keyboard for you.

Thumb Keyboard is an input method that, at first, looks a little bit intimidating.

Jan

T-Mobile CLIQ 2 Now Available For $99 On Contract

Posted by Josh Cooter in CLIQ 2, Motorola, News, T-Mobile

If you are in the market for an affordable Android phone, you'll be happy to hear that the new Motorola CLIQ 2 just became available on T-Mobile's site. The device costs just $99.99 on contract and has a $399.99 unsubsidized price tag. Unfortunately, the instant rebate is only going to cover $200, so the other $100 discount will be issued in the form of a prepaid rebate card.

The phone itself is nothing groundbreaking, but it should satisfy the needs of the typical user with its 1GHz processor and unique honeycomb-style keyboard. Hit up the source link for more information and pictures.

Jan

ShootMe Adds Video Screencast Support, Revamps Interface [Hands-On]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

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.

Jan

[Hands-On] Zoom Widget Designer, An App By The Developer Of Tasker, Goes Into The Public Testing Phase

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in App Reviews, Applications, News, Reviews

Last Updated: July 24th, 2011

Introduction

Love using widgets? How about creating them? Zoom Widget Designer allows you to do just that, and it has something else going for it: it was made by the developer behind the excellent Tasker application - Crafty Apps. Better yet, Zoom will be fully integrated with Tasker in the future, so you will be able to make your custom Zoom widgets do just about anything your phone is capable of.

The app just went into public alpha testing, and if there ever was an Android app worthy of recognition, this is it. Let's take it for a spin, shall we?

Jan

Updated: Kongregate Arcade Launches On Android With 300+ Flash-Based Games

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News

Last Updated: January 26th, 2011

Kongregate.com, snatched up by GameStop last year, is one of the most popular time-killing websites in the world, with hundreds of original Flash games to entertain visitors for hours. It was only a matter of time for the company to bring the most mobile friendly of those games directly to Android in a single easy-to-consume package, called Kongregate Arcade.

Update #1: As many of you noticed, the app has been pulled from the Market. Apparently, even Kongregate doesn't know why just yet, as they've issued the following statement:

"As reported earlier today, the Kongregate Arcade app was launched on the Android Market and was enthusiastically received by the gaming community, receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Jan

Froyo Coming Soon To The LG Ally

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Ally (Aloha), News, Verizon Wireless

Remember LG and Verizon's keyboard-wielding, mid-range Android phone, the Ally? Well, it's about to join the ranks of the over 50% of Android devices that are running Froyo, as Verizon is planning to push out the long-awaited Android 2.2 update soon. A date hasn't been set yet, but it's always good to know that your phone is still being supported, even if it isn't the hottest handset on the market.

Source: Android Central

Jan

Sprint's "Premium Data" Charge To Affect All Smartphones After January 30

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, Sprint

Although Sprint's data plans are significantly cheaper than their competition, there was still some outcry when Sprint decided to charge a $10 monthly add-on charge to phones with 4G connectivity, even if your area isn't actually covered by their WiMax network. Now, however, all smartphones activated after January 30 will be subject to the same charge.

Sprint's reasoning - that “building, maintaining and expanding wireless data networks isn’t free" - is sound, and you can't argue that they still beat every other carrier when it comes to the price of their data plans. Data plans for the EVO 4G, Epic 4G, and EVO Shift 4G will remained unaffected as they are already subject to the fee.

Jan

Intel Sandy Bridge Quad-Core Processor Coming Soon To Acer Android Tablets

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Acer, News, Tablets

There's no doubt about it: tablets are getting more and more powerful. How powerful? If you ask Acer, they will soon have enough horsepower to gradually "phase out" netbooks.

The computer manufacturer told Computerworld that in the first half of 2011, it will begin selling two or three new Android tablets in the 7- to 10-inch range. While Acer didn't specify the price or Android version, the company did say something that's sure to get your Android-loving heart racing: the tablets will be "faster than laptops with Windows operating systems," and will use a quad-core Intel Sandy Bridge processor.

XOOM who?