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Just like traditional radio, listening to internet radio without paying money requires putting up with ads. Well, usually. Radical.fm tosses this entire concept out the window by letting users stream music for free. If listeners would like to donate to the company to help out, it would be nice, but such generosity is not required. There's a catch, though. The Android app, despite just launching, already looks like it hasn't received an update in three years.
An LTE version of Samsung's mediocre 8-inch Galaxy Tab 4 came to Verizon last month, and now one has its eyes set on T-Mobile. Like Verizon, the uncarrier is pushing this tablet as a great piece of hardware for families to share. Considering the low 1280 by 800 display, I could see this as a great device to let junior smear peanut butter all over. But at 24 monthly payments of $16 ($384, over $100 more than the Wi-Fi only model), I may have to object.
Update: While both the US and Canada did not have access to VLC for Android on the Play Store at launch, some of our Canadian readers have pointed out that they have since been able to download it from there for quite some time now. As it turns out, the American release was indeed the last hold out.
At Google I/O last week, Google announced Project Volta, its effort to change and drastically improve how Android manages battery life. Since then the folks over at Ars Technica have downloaded the publicly available L developer preview build and put it through its paces. Is there a noticeable difference? Yes, apparently. They were able to get an an extra two hours of battery life out of their Nexus 5, an improvement of thirty-six percent. Regardless of how exact these numbers are, the difference suggests good things.
Update: Well that didn't take long. Here's what T-Mobile had to say in response.
Most of us have adjusted rather well to taking pictures on our phones, but there's a subset of the market out there that would much rather talk on their cameras. Samsung, as the one smartphone manufacturer willing to build just about anything, wants to help these people out. The Galaxy K Zoom is a point-and-shoot camera that's been smashed into the back of a lower-spec Galaxy S5, and it's currently going for $450 unlocked on eBay Daily Deals.
Developer CD Projekt Red has something impressive in the works for fans of The Witcher in need of a mobile fix. Its upcoming game, The Witcher Battle Arena, is a multiplayer experience akin to DotA and League of Legends, but set in the rich medieval universe made popular by the PC/console video game series that's been around since 2007 (themselves based on a series of books). The game was demoed at this year's E3, and it looks awesome.
Parents are supposed to love all of their children equally, but that isn't always the case. Google+ just turned three a few days ago, and my oh my how that toddler has grown. The site has picked up over half a billion users, and the Android app now looks drastically more appealing than just a few months ago (and let's not forget how it looked back when it took its first steps). Some of Google's other social networking offspring aren't so fortunate. Now the company is giving up on Orkut - its first attempt at social networking, and one that has been around for ten years now - on September 30th.
We've heard that Google intended to really make a push for greater corporate adoption with the L release, and the company touched on some of its plans in today's keynote. It confirmed that Android will empower companies to separate personal data from work data using containers without outside companies having to apply additional code to their devices. Interestingly, this comes thanks in part to Samsung, which has contributed some of its KNOX code to the next version of Android.
The new Google Fit Platform is a set of cross-platform APIs that developers can use to provide consumers with the means to better keep track of their fitness goals. The product intends to blend together data from multiple sources, so users can get a better overall picture of their performance and health. It empowers apps by providing them with access to a user's entire stream of fitness activity, letting software tap into data that it didn't capture itself and provide better recommendations.
Spectators have long wondered whether/vehemently argued that Android and Chrome OS will merge someday, and while Google hasn't shifted towards turning the two operating systems into one, it has taken advantage of this year's Google I/O to show Android apps running on a Chromebook. The company only demoed a few of them and made no promises of complete compatibility across all apps, but it did show the likes of Evernote and Flipboard running just fine.
Nest Labs only released its Developer Program just yesterday, which opened up its hardware to third-party developers, and IFTTT has already introduced new channels and recipes for use with the company's thermostat and smoke alarm. This integration will allow users to tie their devices to over 100 other products or services. Now you can have your thermostat turn on your fan shortly after sunrise, for example, or let your lights inform your Nest devices that you've turned them off and left the house.
Plants vs Zombies 2 launched last year with three worlds, and an update followed months later that added a fourth one with a sci-fi theme. Now Electronic Arts has rolled out another expansion of content that introduces more plants, zombies, and stages to occupy players' time. And this one is decidedly darker.
Despite the lack of all that many updates this year, the folks behind Path have big plans for their social networking app. Today the company has announced its acquisition of TalkTo, a company that allowed customers to get information about the businesses and places around them via text messages. It did this by hiring agents who would phone these locations and acquire the information in your place. Later this summer, Path plans to roll this functionality into its newly unveiled Path Talk instant messenger, where it will be known as Place Messaging.
Pushbullet is one of those apps that gets continuously updated over time, and while many releases don't look particularly mind-blowing on the outside, they subtly introduce rather impressive functionality. A week ago we reported on upcoming integration with EvolveSMS that would allow users to receive, view, and reply to text messages from the comfort of their desktop computers. Users could download a beta to play around with the feature before, but now it's rolling out to everyone.
A lot has happened since 1998, so here's a refresher: Mojo Jojo is still up to shenanigans, Townsville is still in trouble, and it's still up to the Powerpuff Girls to save the day. Rather than taking to the TV screen, this time they're kicking butt in their own 2D sidecrolling adventure.
T-Mobile announced a great many things yesterday, but not all of them were reason for customers everywhere to rejoice. No, some of the goods are reserved for a select segment of users. Starting today, the carrier is issuing an over-the-air update to the Galaxy S5 (G900TUVU1BNF6) that enables support for voice over LTE connections. To coincide with the news, T-Mobile's VoLTE is now available in a total of fifteen markets. With availability in areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., the carrier has pockets of coverage scattered all throughout the country.
A day after beginning its rollout of an over-the-air software update for the Galaxy S5 that brings Wi-Fi calling to the device, Sprint is pushing out updates to two other Galaxy devices. The S4 Mini and Mega are both due to receive Android 4.4.2 starting today. The Mini's version number is L520VPUBNE3, and the update comes on the same day as the Verizon variant's. Meanwhile, the Mega is getting treated to L600VPUANE4. The changelog is the same for both devices.
Some characters have to be shoehorned into an endless runner, but for Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, the genre is a natural fit. Now Sega is offering a Nintendo-style promotion that's only available for Android. Here's your chance to take our lovable green Bugdroid out for a spin, as the developers have dropped it into the game and are daring players to see if machines really are better at everything.
Back in the 90s, I was a Genesis kid, but I missed out on the 2D platforming classic Castle of Illusion. This game starred Mickey Mouse and was one of the more popular titles available to tide console owners over until the release of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Last fall a completely new HD version hit the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, PC, and iOS, giving newcomers a chance to experience the adventure for the first time and long-time fans a reimagined take on the world they may have forgotten.