Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Facebook Makes it a Priority to Improve the Mobile Experience in 2011

12:20 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments

The “Inside Social Apps” Conference was held today, and Bret Taylor — Chief Technology Officer of Facebook — made a few statements about what Facebook is looking to accomplish in 2011. Primarily, they’re looking to improve the mobile Facebook experience.
If you’ve had a few different phones over the last few years, it’s possible you’re familiar with several different versions of the Facebook mobile site. You may remember m.facebook.com, and on your Android phone you’ve probably been to touch.facebook.com. And if you’ve paid any attention at all, you are probably aware that Facebook also has apps for the iPhone operating system, Android OS, and Blackberry. Also, outside the US in markets where carrier data is still very expensive, they have a 0.facebook.com mobile site that is free to use. While all these sites have been created to better serve Facebook users, the reality is that not only can it be confusing to the users, but it’s difficult and not cost-effective to try and keep all version suitably up-to-date.
So in the upcoming year, says Taylor, Facebook will be looking to streamline and standardize their mobile experience. HTML5 will play a critical role in creating a consistent user experience. Also on the horizon will be a further rollout and improvement in the “Places” side of the Facebook mobile experience, which the company views as progressing very well so far. This adaptation seems natural to the CTO, as he views mobile devices as being inherently social. According to Taylor, they “already filled with your contacts and your friends, and they also have access to your location.” This does make location-based social networking a natural evolution of the mobile experience

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Xperia Arc Up for Pre-Sale in UK

12:17 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments

We’ve been looking forward to the release of the Xperia Arc since CES. It’s got a very sleek look to it, plus some pretty impressive hardware, to boot. And it looks like our wait may not last much longer.
The Xperia Arc has just gone up for pre-sale in the UK, at £459.99 — and keep in mind, that’s not a carrier-subsidized price, but full retail. It appears that the phone will become available on April 1st, and it’s likely that when it actually hits shelves it will be a bit cheaper, as that is usually the case with pre-sale deals on phones. That’s certainly not a low price on any handset, but for one with specs like this, and carrier-unlocked, it may be worth your money. If you like in the UK and can’t wait to get your hands on one, hit the website where it’s up for pre-order, and be sure and let us know how that purchase goes!

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Release Dates Confirmed For LG G-Slate, Dell Streak 7, Vibrant 4G?

12:14 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments

Looks like those sneaky ninjas over at TmoNews have done it again.  Tony Toni Tone would be proud.  It appears that our previous predicted release dates are a hammer on the nail.  And thanks to the spy shot above, we are looking at seemingly credible release dates for the Dell Streak 7, the Vibrant 4G and LG’s G-Slate tablet.  The leaked doc also confirms our announcement of the Jan 19th release date of the Motorola Cliq 2, which is now available on T-Mobile’s website for purchase.  So, here’s to hoping this all pans out soon and these devices will be in the hands of consumers no later than late March some time.
The above pic by TmoNews reveals the following release dates for these devices:
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Samsung Fascinate Froyo Build Teased By Developers

12:10 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments





A couple of developers have tweeted on their Twitter accounts that they’re currently working on an official Froyo build for Samsung’s Fascinate.  However, it’s not ready for you just yet, so please do forgive me for the teaser.  But be patient folks, you’ve been waiting this long!  Either one should be around the corner soon.  The reason we’re even running with this post is because we find it interesting to note, which will come first?  The official update from Samsung themselves?  Or, the @punkkaos and friends’ build?  The race is on.  It should be “Fascinating”, get it?  Alright, alright, geez.  Tough crowd.  Will you take the build if it comes before the official Samsung/Verizon update?  Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Google IO 2011 site goes live – registration starts Feb 7

12:07 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments

Google has put up their Google IO 2011 site for registration which starts Feb 7th. You can go to the site and get a good look at the sessions planned along with the schedule buy clicking on the Sessions tab, and the Agenda tab. The conference will cost attendees $450 until April 16th, then $550 afterwards until the event which lands on May10th – 11th 2011. Students and faculty will only need to pay $150, as well as an optional Bootcamp session for another $100. Awesome!
So what does Google have in store at the IO this year? If you happen to make your way to the Sessions page, you’ll see schedules for Android and web app building for Google TV, a highlights session on Honeycomb for Android tablets, as well as sessions for programming and development tools. Just what every budding developer needs to survive.

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T-Mobile Pushing out Froyo to MyTouch 3G now – for real this time

12:05 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments

It looks like after T-Mobile let out they were setting the myTouch updates to Froyo out of the cage, only to keep it on a leash and never let it out, They’re promising to push out the update again. This time, myTouch users hope they aren’t disappointed again.
T-Mobile started rolling out OTA updates to bring myTouch 3G 3.5mm Jack and the MyTouch Fender LE oday, so users should see this coming in waves over the next few days, be sure to watch for it if you have one.
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Android increases share in business deployments

11:59 AM Simranpal SIngh No comments

According to Forrester Research, Android is making some strong gains in the business sector, in a report showing the mobile operating system breakdown within businesses for the latter part of 2010. Android gained from 2% penetration up to 13% by the end of 2010 from the end of 2009.
Most of this is attributed to Android’s popularity boost in mid 2010, but also for the loyal Android nerds working in IT departments pitching Android over Blackberry to their businesses, just like us.
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Samsung Galaxy Tab Dropping to $250 on T-Mobile

6:59 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments

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With a lineup of tablets that’s about to get pretty deep, T-Mobile is doing what it can to keep sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab lively right up to the minute the Dell Streak 7 (and eventually the LG G-Slate) launches. After already getting the Galaxy Tab’s price down to $ 299.99 on a 2-year contract, the carrier has decided it could do $ 50 better. Come this Wednesday, January 26th, Samsung’s first Android slate will be priced almost as low as a typical Android handset when the cost is slashed to $ 249.99.
It’s some kind of shame that the Galaxy Tab is finally falling to a price where most would eagerly snatch it up only to be faced with the release of several high-powered, highly desirable Android tablets. Still, none of those will cost nearly as little as the Galaxy Tab will on T-Mobile, so get it while you can.

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Best Android apps of the week

6:55 PM Simranpal SIngh No comments





Are you craving our regular best Android apps of the week feature? We’re as dependable as clockwork, and far more reliable than an Android 2.3 update schedule. Yes, we’re back once again with a run-down of the apps all you Android fans should be checking out.We have one for the gamers, one for the gamblers, an app for you readers and even one for those of you that like a spot of booty shaking of an evening. Get your fingers primed, your SD card de-cluttered and your battery charged, because here they come…

As ever, it’s a good idea to have the Barcode Scanner app installed on your Android blower before you attempt to snatch these, some of the best Android apps known to mankind. You can just point your phone’s camera at the QR codes below and BLAM! – instant linkage.
Sony Reader
Now that the Amazon Kindle has finally broken into the mainstream gadget-loving audience’s most-wanted list, Sony’s eReader range is starting to look a little unloved. And expensive.
Now you can get the eReader experience right there on your Android phone for free, with the just-released Sony Reader app. Like the Kindle app, you can buy books from the Sony store, but you can also read your own ePub and PDF format eBooks. It’s not a bad little reading package either, letting you add your own bookmarks, change the font size and highlight parts of the text. In fact it’s one of the best Android apps for ebook reading you’ll find.
It’s not often that Sony gets to play the underdog card, but with Amazon looming over it like a ruler-wielding school bully, it’s where the tech giant has found itself this time.

William Hill
Like a cheeky bet every now and then? Does the idea of putting a Monkey down on a Double Carpet when watching the nags get your heart racing? You should hunt down the new William Hill app from the William Hill site or Getjar.
One of the best gambling apps out there, it’ll let you place bets, and manage your current bets, on over 40,000 events and matches. The one thing that ruins the odds of you being able to satisfy your betting desires with the William Hill Online app is that it requires an Android 2.2 device.

If you’re not yet up-to-date with current-gen gaming, you can also use the Official PlayStation app to read up on PS2 and PSP games. One of the best Android apps yet for console gamers jealous of all the Xbox Live love on Windows Phone 7.

Spectral Souls
Here’s a surprise-and-a-half. Spectral Souls is a massive Final Fantasy-style adventure that’s available for Android, but not iPhone. This is no cheap indie game cobbled together by two students living with their parents either – it was released for Sony PSP way back in 2006.

Official PlayStation
Chasing achievement points or trophies is the hobby of many a gaming geek, and now Sony’s finally come up with a way to let you Android-owning PS3 fans keep up appearances with your mates all day long.

Perhaps it’s for the best though – imagine what the other half would say if you accidentally bet a grand on The Tourist winning movie of the year while your phone’s nestled away in your pocket.
The Official PlayStation app won’t let you play LittleBigPlanet 2 on the bus, but it does let you keep an eye on your friends’ PSN profiles, and check out what trophies you still have to hunt down.
At around nine quid, you’d better don your JRPG fanboy hat before buying, but with hundreds of hours of gameplay claimed by the publisher, it’s not exactly bad value. In fact not only is this one of the best Android apps yet for gamers, this is probably the biggest Android game ever, in more ways than one. You’ll need at least 1.5GB of SD card storage to download this bad boy, so forget about trying to nab it over a 3G connection.
We doubt whether thousands will flock to buy Spectral Souls given the price, but it offers proof that high-end games can work on Android. One of the best Android games yet? Probably…
T-Pain’s Booty Symphony
Leave your taste at the door, discard that sense of decency, because it’ll do you no good with this T-Pain’s Booty Symphony app. It’s a good-taste vacuum.
It comes with three songs, from artists signed to T-Pain’s own label. Select a song and the screen will fill with ladies’ derrieres – all covered up with national flags, T-Pain Porn isn’t on Android, yet. Tap a gluteus maximus and it’ll add another element of the tune to the mix, as well as treating you to an ass-shaking video clip.
Something tells us this isn’t how Mark Ronson composes his remixes, but then this is T-Pain, not Pro Tools. Get that finger a tappin’ and those booties a shakin’.


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