Cameron Summerson
Contributing since March, 2011
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3396articles
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About Cameron Summerson
Cameron is a self-made geek, Android enthusiast, horror movie fanatic, musician, and cyclist. When he's not pounding keys here at AP, you can find him spending time with his wife and kids, plucking away on the 6-string, spinning on the streets, or watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on repeat.
Latest Articles
Before last week, the term "XLTE" basically didn't exist. Then rumors started pouring out that Verizon would be offering a new kind of LTE with twice the bandwidth of its current offering using this unheard of moniker as its namesake. Turns out all the rumors were true, as Big Red just took the wraps off of this new high(er)-speed LTE offering.
Even though Google Reader has long been dead, many of the tools that remained in its wake are still going strong, and the way that most users utilized the tool has gone largely unchanged. The conversion to Feedly was a rather smooth one in my opinion, and integration with some of my favorite apps, like gReader, has been flawless.
In the past, Blu has offered budget-friendly phones with mid to mid-high end specs. The biggest issue that most power users have had with the company's handsets is a simple one: MediaTek processors. While these particular chips offer good bang for the buck, they are still mostly underpowered for heavy multi-taskers or anyone looking for lightning quickness from their handset.It looks like we may be getting into a new era for Blu if the new Life Pure XL is any indicator of what to expect moving forward. This device is a fairly drastic departure from the company's previous devices, as it's packing some of the most high-end specs we've seen from them yet. Right out of the gate, you know this is going to be a completely different experience than anything Blu has ever offered.Let's dig in.
DoubleTwist fans, we have some good news and some bad news. Since it's Friday and you're probably in a pretty good mood, let's start with the bad: as of today's update, DoubleTwist can no longer import pinned Play Music tracks. Why? Because Google put the hammer down. You knew it was only a matter of time, right? Yeah, you did.
Dropcam App Hits Version 3.0, Brings Activity Feed, Mobile Setup, And Customizable Alerts To Android
Last month, Dropcam updated its app with a slew of new features and a more unified interface. Building on that update, the company has now released version 3.0, which brings a handful of unique features to the Android app.
Back at CES 2014, NVIDIA took the wraps off its Tegra 4 successor, the Tegra K1. Since then, we've been waiting for the first device running this next-gen chip to hit the scene. Looks like Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi is the first to take advantage of K1 with its first tablet, the MiPad.
I have a confession to make: I'm a terrible speller. I know what you're thinking, "how can someone who writes for a living be bad at spelling?" Honestly, if it wasn't for spellcheck, I probably wouldn't have this job right now. So, thanks for spellcheck, um, spellcheck inventor!
Let's speak some truth here right out of the gate: weather apps are a dime a dozen in the Play Store. With the volume of apps designed to tell users the weather, it's really difficult to put out something that stands out in the crowd. Fortunately for LevelUp Studio, it has quite a bit of experience in that field thanks to its incredibly popular app Beautiful Widgets. If you're into informative, yet minimal apps, then the company's newest offering, Bright Weather, should be right up your alley.
For those who may not know, Google Maps has an offline feature. It's not all that useful (it doesn't allow saved locations to be searched nor does it provide directions/navigation - it's essentially a paper map on a small screen), but it's still a thing that may be useful to someone at some point. Assuming you think ahead and actually save a map of the location in which you may need for it to be offline, of course.
Finding a decent ten inch tablet that won't break the bank can be an interesting process. There are so many options on the market, it's easy to get overwhelmed. If, however, you're in the market for something from the ASUS Transformer line, there's a pretty solid deal on eBay happening right now: the Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T is just $200. Keep in mind that we're talking about the Tegra 3 model here, by the way - not last year's TF701, which features the Tegra 4 chip.While this deal is specifically for the tablet (no dock is included), it's worth noting that the units being sold are new, as opposed to refurbished models that we often see with prices this low (it's $70 cheaper than what's going on Amazon right now). Plus, you can always add a dock later if laptop-like functionality is what you're ultimately after.It's hard to say how long this deal will last, but ones of this nature generally sell out relatively quickly. So if you don't mind a last-generation product, you should probably jump on it now.[ebay id="261408984699" text="ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity TF700t"]
As much as we like to give Kickstarter campaigns a hard time (or just outright laugh at them), we've seen some cool ideas come to fruition thanks to crowd-funding. Among those, Thermodo is an interesting little gadget: it's essentially a small thermometer that plugs into a phone's or tablet's headphone jack and interacts with the device through an app to give the temperature of the current location. I'm not entirely convinced of its practical usage, but the idea is definitely neat. And let's be honest here - nearly everyone has some sort of weird fascination with the temperature (or the weather in general). I definitely do.
We review a lot of Bluetooth speakers, most of which have the same basic features. Every once in a while, however, one comes along that brings more to the table in terms of flair, or additional usage that's outside of the normal scope. The majority of portable speakers pair with your wireless device, let you change tracks and volume from a distance, might charge external devices...and that's essentially it.
At some point or another, everyone goes to a new mall. Maybe it's an old mall in a new town, or a new mall in an old town. The point is the same: it's a mall you've never been to before. Half of the fun is finding out what outlets are eager and waiting to empty your wallet...but that also requires a lot of walking around most of the time. Tragic, I know.
The single biggest issue I've found with most Bluetooth earbuds (or earbuds in general, really) is that they never stay in place during physical activity. Running, cycling, or just working out in general always knock my 'buds loose. Throw some good ol' Texas heat into the mix (where "good" should be interpreted as "I hate it more than almost anything in this world) to get the sweat flowing like a waterfall, and keeping them in in basically futile. As a result, I've been cycling without any music/podcasts for...well, forever. Not that it's a bad thing â sometimes nature itself is the best thing to listen to while out for a ride. Oh, and cars. You know, to help avoid death.
Hey you. Yeah, you. Reading this text. Do you like movies? Sure ya do. Everyone likes movies. Do you watch movies on your phone? Or tablet? How much better would those movies be on your TV? A lot better. If Redbox Instant is your preferred way of consuming flicks, Chromecast streaming is now a reality. That means you can watch movies on your TV. You know, exactly what that ultra-thin superdeluxe HD box in your living room was made for.
Andrew Bell's kickass mini Android collectibles are, well, kickass. But sometimes the job calls for a bigger Android collectible. I'm honestly not sure what job that may be, but there has to be at least one. And for that one, Andrew has answered the call – welcome the Mega Android Collectible to the family. At ten inches, it's pretty big. Comparatively, anyway. (Mind out of the gutter, guys.)
Remember the time Samsung thought people wanted to walk around talking on a camera? Well, I'm not sure it got the memo that people actually didn't want that. Like, at all. Because tonight it announced another Galaxy Zoom. This one's called the Galaxy K zoom, and it's just like the last one...with better specs. You know, the natural progression of things. In all seriousness, though, it actually does look quite a bit sleeker and slimmer than last year's model.
In a normal giveaway, we have a one, two, ten...some number of devices to give away, and that's basically the end of it. This giveaway, however, is different. This go, we're working with Poweramp and Negri Electronics to give away one of five handsets:
Ever since Google Now became a thing, I've used the hell out of Google search on my phone. Need to find a gas station? "Ok Google, where's the closest gas station?" Trying to find someplace I've never been before? "OK Google, navigate to <address>." You know, common stuff that just makes sense.
In 1994, Amazon started as an online bookstore. Since then, the company has grown into one of the most important sites on the internet, and the largest online retailer in the world. In 2007, it released the Kindle, its first ebook reader. From there the Kindle line grew to include the Fire and Fire HDX, full blown tablets running Amazon's Android-based Fire OS.Over the past 20 years, Amazon has broadened its horizons more than most other companies can even dream of. From small bookstore to retail giant, hardware manufacturer, and streaming content provider, this company continues to grow and expand in meaningful, useful ways. The launch of Fire TV is yet another extension of Amazon's already long-reaching arm.Essentially, Fire TV is Amazon's answer to the problem of online media consumption. Sure, there are competitors – like Roku and Apple TV – but none of them do what Fire TV can do. It's a streaming media box with a twist, and a online giant backing it up.Amazon wants to change the way we all think of set-top boxes, which, up to this point have been pretty niche. It wants Fire TV to be the box that fits in every home and into any lifestyle.And I think it succeeded.[reviewupdate]