OffTopic - 7/13 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jun

[Weekend Poll] How Much Has Owning A Tablet Impacted Your Computer Use?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Devices By Manufacturer, Off-Topic, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Manufacturer UIs: Love 'Em Or Hate 'Em?

I have to admit: as a newly-former starving college student, it's hard for me to see the same sort of value in a $400 tablet that I see in a $200 smartphone or a $600 laptop (or even a $300 netbook). During my month or so with the O.G. Galaxy Tab, I found the tablet to be more of a complement than a replacement - though certainly the new crop of tablets with docks and keyboards has pushed them closer to laptops than ever before.

Jun

Tesco Now Testing In-Store Navigation System Accessible From Your Android Phone

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, News, Off-Topic

Let's face it: large physical retail stores can be difficult to navigate at times, especially for first-time shoppers. To help alleviate this problem, UK retailer Tesco (informally known as the European Walmart) has developed and is now testing an in-store GPS system that can be accessed from an Android phone.

Upon opening the app, you'll be greeted with an empty shopping list which you can fill with any and all products available at Tesco. This isn't just any shopping list, however; step into the Tesco Extra store in northeast London and a comprehensive store map will appear on your handset, complete with the locations of all the items on your list.

Jun

[Update: Over] PSA: Psst - You Can Get One Last Sprint Premier Yearly Upgrade, Here's How

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News, Off-Topic, Sprint, Tips & Tutorials

Last Updated: October 14th, 2011

Please note that this offer ended on July 31, 2011. Please do not contact Sprint about getting an override on your upgrade anymore!

Last week we posted a poll asking Sprint customers which phone they were hoping to get next. A few commenters complained that they were victims of the Sprint Premier split, wherein people who were at the lower end of Premier previously were moved to Premier Silver, thereby losing their annual upgrades. We've heard quite a few people ~~bitch~~ complain about this since the split happened, but we're happy to report that Art from the Sprint Premier team stopped by to let us know that Premier Silver customers can actually get one more upgrade restored.

Jun

Mugen 4500mAh HTC Thunderbolt Extended Battery - Put A Real Bulge In Your Jeans

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Off-Topic, Videos

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I would love it if my phone had better battery life - in fact, I wouldn't mind it being roughly three times thicker and infinitely more cumbersome to handle, either." Have I got a product for you.

Yes everyone, a 4500mAh extended battery for the Thunderbolt, just what we've all been waiting for - you'll have so much equipment jammed in your pants that Representative Weiner will be jealous.

Hey baby, is that a 4500mAh Mugen Power(R) Extended Battery in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

The folks over at Mugen have introduced yet another one of their signature ridiculously large extended batteries, and they've taken it to the extreme for the famously juice-thirsty Thunderbolt.

May

[Awesome] Shirts By Droidarmy - This Is The Army You'll Want To Join

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Off-Topic

We love Android shirts. Really. To the point of considering wearing something like this.

So when Malc Foy emailed us a tip about a group of like-minded artists working on a series of mashup Android characters, we had to check it out.

It's called Droidarmy and so far contains over 20 designs, about a third of which I suddenly want to wear. Here they all are:

My Favorites

Here are some of my favorites:

Droidbird

Droidberg - though I already own this one.

Darth

DroidBorg

Bonus

I actually like this shirt the most, but for some reason it's not tagged as Androidarmy.

Apr

Android Takes Over Rogers.com - This You Need To See

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, Off-Topic, Rogers

Rogers, one of the top Canadian ISPs and carriers, wants you to know that it has some Android phones you can buy. It really-really wants you to know, in the most awesome way I've seen in a while (possibly ever). Have a look at the Android takeover of Rogers.com, which includes a brilliant intro and a landing page packed with Android news, videos, device info, and even a contest.

Alright, enough with this reading business - get to the watching part.

Source: Rogers via Mobile Syrup

Apr

Take Me Back, Baby: 3 Reasons I'm Staying With Android And Coming Back To Android Police

Posted by Chris Dehghanpoor in Android OS, Editorials, Off-Topic

If you’ve been an Android Police fan for a while, you may recognize my name from some of my past posts. Beyond that, I was mostly active behind the scenes until I dropped this little bomb when I departed earlier this year.

The reaction to that article was pretty much what I expected - it was divisive and the conversation surrounding it was often heated. Ultimately, though, my goal was accomplished: people were talking about the problems surrounding Android and software updates.

You may be wondering, “If that was your departure letter, why the hell am I reading this? Go away iFanboy”.

Apr

Business Insider Wants To Know Why Anyone Would Ever Buy An Android Phone; Let's Show Them.

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, Off-Topic

Silicon Alley Insider - the Tech section of Business Insider - posted a survey this weekend under the headline "WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER BUY AN ANDROID PHONE? Take Our Smartphone Survey And Tell Us!" Eye-catching, to say the least. The survey is 12 questions, and asks what phone (OS) you use, what your next one will use, and so on... it's all fairly standard.

The results of the survey aren't immediately available, but the site promises to publish them in a few days. SAI is generally pretty (*ahem*) Apple-friendly, but then again, they do give Android the credit it's due, so who knows what the results will show.

Apr

[Weekend Poll] Did You Do Your Taxes Using Your Android Phone This Year?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Off-Topic, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

The dreaded day of April 18th, this year's tax filing deadline, is almost here, and for our weekly poll, we wanted to see how many of you ended up filing your taxes using your Android phone. 2010 was the first year you could actually estimate, file, track, and even snap pictures of your tax forms entirely on your Android device, without touching a computer or paying a tax professional.

So, which way did you decide to go this year?

Apr

Fun With Google's Mobile Easter Eggs - Try Searching For "Tilt," "Askew," Or "Crooked" In Your Mobile Browser

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Google, Off-Topic

April Fools' passed a long time ago but users are discovering a few jokes that decided to stick around, such as what happens when you search Google on your phone for any of these words:

tilt
askew
crooked

To preserve the lulz and save you some time, here is what you currently observe:

If you want to try this out for yourself without pulling out your mobile, you can just head over to this forced mobile version instead: http://www.google.com/xhtml?q=crooked

Keep it up, Google! Not many large companies out there will ever put Easter eggs like this one into their flagship products, even on April Fool's day.