27
Jun
IMG_1488

Initial Hands-On With The Google Nexus 7: The Bar Has Been Set For Cheap Tablets

Posted by in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.1, Nexus 7, Videos

Today at Google I/O, I got some hands-on time with the brand-spanking-new Nexus 7 tablet.  We've been pretty sure it's coming for a while now. Now that it's been officially unveiled, along with the newest version of Android, everybody and their gadget-loving grandma is chomping at the bit to see if the hype has been worthwhile.

In a word, yes, it has. Mostly. While my time with the Nexus 7 was limited, Android tablets are a sort of beast that are rather easy to evaluate quickly, mostly because they're all pretty similar. Now, the Nexus 7 is by no means a normal Android tablet, it's much better than that.

27
Jun
projectglasstiny_thumb

[Updated: Videos] Stuntmen Just Jumped Out Of An Airplane, Biked Across Rooftops And Rappelled Down Buildings To Introduce Google Glass

Posted by in Google, News, Videos

We've been hearing things about Google Glass, the Google-powered eyeball accessory, for a while now. While the device isn't quite ready for consumers (and won't be for a while), we got an extensive look at what these devices can do... right after Google-hired stuntmen jumped out of an airplane while on a Glass-based Hangout, then proceeded to bike across rooftops, rappel down the side of the Moscone Conference Center, and finally bike into the I/O keynote to deliver the device on stage to Sergey Brin. This is the first product announcement in recent memory where someone could have feasibly died during a demo.

27
Jun
jb-android-4.1

Jelly Bean Feature Closer Look: Project Butter Means Enhanced Animations, Transitions, And More Responsive Apps That "Anticipate" Your Touch

Posted by in Android OS, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Videos

Another major enhancement we've just learned about with the announcement of Jelly Bean is called Project Butter. Butter (so named likely due to the colloquialism "smooth as butter") represents a new, more efficient processing framework for Android's latest and greatest iteration, making the OS much faster (allowing animation up to 60fps). Android 4.1 also makes apps more responsive, reducing touch latency and "anticipating where your finger will be at the time of screen refresh."

"How is such an enhancement possible?" I can almost hear you wondering. Take it from the Android developer site:

To ensure a consistent framerate, Android 4.1 extends vsync timing across all drawing and animation done by the Android framework.

27
Jun
thumb_thumb18.png

[Updated: Video] Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Now Official: Project Butter, Better Notifications, Google Now, And More

Posted by in Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Videos

Over at Google I/O, the news about Android 4.1 - a.k.a. Jelly Bean, if you haven't heard - just broke.

Update: check out the Jelly Bean video:

Screen Shot 2012-06-27 at 12.44.33 PM

The first announcement was Project Butter, a new processing framework for Android that should make it run much, much faster - up to 60fps, in fact. The CPU and graphics will now work together in harmony, with the latter being triple-buffered, meaning things like scrolling and transitions should be noticeably faster.

Screen Shot 2012-06-27 at 12.51.18 PM

There's also going to be improved voice input, including support for offline voice-to-text, which should be exciting. Speaking of input, there's now going to be 18 more input languages, from Hebrew to improved Arabic support.

13
Jun
thumb

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity Unboxed, Benchmarked, And Compared To The New iPad

Posted by in News, Transformer Pad Infinity, Videos

ASUS officially announced the Transformer Pad Infinity (TF700T for those who prefer model numbers) back at Mobile World Congress in February. In terms of hardware, the Infinity is nearly identical to the Transformer Prime, but it features a higher resolution 1920x1200 Super IPS+ display, improved Wi-Fi and GPS reception, and a higher resolution front facing camera.

Since the official announcement, ASUS has been pretty quiet - it has yet to come out with an official release date or finalized pricing. However, it looks like the time is getting close, as Richie's Room has taken the TF700T for a spin, and even took the time to compare it to the new iPad (the results may surprise you).

09
Jun
thumb

Deeper Is A Smart Fish Finder That Wirelessly Connects To Android Devices And Shows Where The Fish Hang Out

Posted by in News, Videos

I'm not going to lie - I'm not much of a fisherman. I'll watch River Monsters every time it's on the tube (much respect for Jeremy Wade - what a cool guy), but when it comes to casting the line myself, I'm just bad at it. Maybe it's lack of experience, or maybe I just get bored too easily and give up. Whatever the reason, I bet I would be more interested in becoming a harvester of the sea if I had the right gear. And by "the right gear," I really mean "a gadget that wirelessly connects to my Android device to show me where all the fish are."

1

Wouldn't you know that someone - namely a company called Friday Labs - created such a thing?

09
Jun
Cid_thumb

Linaro Android Nearly Doubles ICS Performance, And Now Parts Of It Are Being Added to CM9

Posted by in Development, News, Videos

News started to trickle out this week about a new Android build called Linaro. Basically, it takes stock Android 4.0.4 and makes it super-fast, and super-awesome(er). In fact, it can boost performance by up to 100 percent over stock. Considering how fast and fluid stock Android 4.0.x already is (especially compared to older versions of the OS), that's quite impressive. Don't take my word for it, though, here's one of the main Linaro guys, Bernhard Rosenkranzer, showing it off on a TI Pandaboard. The Pandaboard features the OMAP 4430 processor (the same one that's in the Droid RAZR), so this is definitely a real-world example of what Linaro is capable of:

As you can see, the Linaro build finishes long before the stock Android build.

06
Jun
LOLWUT

Intel Demos New Wireless Smartphone Charging Via Laptop ... With A 2-Year-Old Samsung Fascinate

Posted by in News, Videos

Oh, Intel. First, you have a partner release a Gingerbread Intel-powered phone a solid 8 months after Android 4.0 has been out. Now, you demo a brand-new wireless charging system using an Intel Ultrabook and a Samsung Fascinate (for our foreign readers, this is a US-only Galaxy S variant). Check out the video from TheVerge, below:

Not only are they using a truly ancient Android phone to demo this new technology, they've actually made it uglier, too, with an odd "hump" of sorts maligning the left-hand-side of the device. Merits of the concept aside, you've got to admit, Intel isn't exactly winning a lot of points on first impressions here.

05
Jun
acericoniaa210lead01_thumb1[4]

[Hands-On Videos] Acer Quietly Debuts Iconia Tab A210 And A110 At Computex 2012

Posted by in Android OS, Iconia A110, Iconia A210, News, Tablets, Videos

Acer surprised viewers today with a pair of tablets that were not ushered in even by a humble press release. Engadget reports that the tablets received no formal announcement at Computex either, but that they were only discovered thanks to a wandering eye.

At any rate, the tablets in question are the Iconia Tab A210 and A110 – presumably upgraded versions of the A200 and A100. Each of the tablets has a new design, a Tegra 3 processor, and Ice Cream Sandwich goodness on board. Engadget took some hands-on time with each of the devices, grabbing the photos and videos you see below.

05
Jun
Asphalt7icon

Gameloft Announces 4 New Titles At E3, Including Next Iteration Of Asphalt Racing Series

Posted by in Games, News, Videos

With E3 well underway, mobile developer Gameloft has let loose a salvo of new titles it'll be unveiling at the conference today. These include: Asphalt 7: Heat, The Amazing Spider-Man, Kingdoms & Lords, and Cosmic Colony.

Asphalt 7: Heat

Asphalt 7 is the latest in the iteration in Gameloft's long-running racing franchise, though it appears the gameplay has remained largely unchanged (read: racing games on phones still aren't very good), while graphics and the choice of vehicles have been noticeably stepped up. No release date has been announced.

Asphalt7_iOS_Screen_2048x1536_Hawaii_Lomborghini_01_v01 Asphalt7_iOS_Screen_2048x1536_London_DeloreanLamborghini_v01 Asphalt7_iOS_Screen_2048x1536_Miami_AudiPagani_v08_V01

The Amazing Spider-Man

Commissioned by the studio producing the movie of the same name, it's exactly what it sounds like: a movie game.

Page 12 of 44«First...1011121314...203040...Last»