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It's time for Google to fix Android's share menu
Useless direct share targets and custom in-app share sheets are the bane of my existence
The share sheet is both the best and the worst thing to happen to Android. Theoretically, it's a powerful built-in feature that allows you to share content from one app to another and that should make it easy to send photos, files, videos, and links to your most precious contacts with just two or three taps. The reality is far from this ideal, though. Suggested contacts in the top "direct share" row rarely consist of people you regularly talk to, and far too many apps (including Google apps!) have started implementing their own custom share sheets that prevent any muscle memory from building up.
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Every company needs to make money somehow, that's not up for debate. But going about it in a sneaky and disingenuous way is not the best practice to keep your customers and reputation. That's the case of Canary, the smart cam monitoring company that has now officially earned my wrath.
Android Wear, and smartwatches at large, were pitched to us with the promise of their becoming the indispensable "second screen" to our smartphones. Notifications, voice communication, smart home integration, highly contextual information and alerts - smartwatches were, in theory, the companion that could give us all the simple things that necessitated taking out our smartphone, but didn't actually require a large screen or access to a keyboard to accomplish.
An Android version of Dungeon Keeper became available worldwide two days ago, and some of you took to the comments to express how you would never, ever, consider downloading another free-to-play game from EA. Imagine if all of your complaints were combined into a single YouTube video and bottled up into eight hilarious, rage-filled minutes. That's what Nerd3 has done for us. Be warned, the audio is pretty NSFW, even though the video is fine.
Yesterday, the CTIA (America's wireless carrier consortium / trade group) and the FCC announced that they'd come to an agreement on network unlocking of cell phones. Hooray! So, we're all getting unlocked phones from here on out, right? Obviously not - the CTIA has no interest in giving you that much freedom, so instead it's released a plodding, incremental evolution of most carriers' existing device unlock policies to satisfy people in Washington who apparently don't really understand the absurdity of network locking in the first place.
Rant: CTIA 2013 - Why You Didn't See Any Android Police Stories Out Of "America's Largest Mobile Event"
CTIA is, supposedly, the largest tech convention focused on mobile in the United States. In fact, it has generally been one of Verizon and Sprint's favored
CTIA is, supposedly, the largest tech convention focused on mobile in the United States. In fact, it has generally been one of Verizon and Sprint's favored handset launch venues in recent years. The EVO 4G was announced at CTIA. So was the EVO 3D. The Galaxy Tab 8.9. The DROID Incredible 4G. Even last year's relatively low-key show brought a few noteworthy nuggets.
[Rant] Reality Check - HTC Has Plans For Bluetooth LE And OpenGL ES 3.0 But It Doesn't Make Them "Android 4.3 Features"
It's 4 a.m., I just read the 6th mention of the same misleading story in the last 24 hours, and it's time for a rant. Yesterday, several "independent"
It's 4 a.m., I just read the 6th mention of the same misleading story in the last 24 hours, and it's time for a rant.