February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

New app: DashClock (Android 4.2+ only)

Easy customisation of the lock screen widget

Since its release last week, DashClock has quickly grown in popularity. It enables you to easily add notifications to the Android lock screen (4.2+ only). Its developer, Google employee Roman Nurik, has made the API available to developers so several extensions for DashClock have emerged already, providing the means to further enhance its functionality.

Dash Clock app

The standard DashClock app provides the ability to add notifications for next calendar appointment, missed calls, next alarm, text message count, falcon pro, gmail and weather. However, a range of extensions mean that you can now add a notification for pretty much any app that you use, especially if you install the AnyDash extension.

For those of you that don’t have an Android 4.2+ device, there is an app called NoLED which is worth a mention. The app was originally developed for the Samsung Galaxy S, which was one of the first headline handsets not to feature an LED notification light. NoLED essentially powers on the screen and then create a coloured icon for different message alerts. Due to this it performs best on AMOLED displays in terms of battery life.

Personally, I am not a big fan of having notifications on my lock screen – they are too much of a distraction and create non-urgent interruptions (good post on that here by Shaun McGill). However, having the next calendar appointment displayed is a useful feature, although this can be achieved with Jelly Bean anyway by adding a Google Calendar widget.

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February 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Dropbox looks to free data from mobile apps

New Sync API to assist developers

Dropbox Sync API

One of the most frustrating problems when switching phones is losing app data, or having to manually sync it if the app provides an export. Dropbox is aiming to streamline this process by storing your app data in the cloud.

This isn’t a completely new feature – developers have been able to build this functionality into apps themselves for a while – but until now this has involved the developer doing the legwork rather than Dropbox. However, with the new feature released by Dropbox last week, called the Sync API, it will make it a much simpler process to build the functionality into apps.

Thanks to the Dropbox sync API, data should no longer be scattered across several devices, for example if you use more than once handset and a tablet. Furthermore, there will be the ability to sync data across different ecosystems. This would come in useful should you need to make use of more than one, or if you switch from iOS to Android, for instance.

All of this does depend on developer uptake of course, but it is another bow in the arrow of Dropbox as it looks to step up its pursuit of rival services. iCloud for instance, already offers the ability to store app data in the cloud, but it is not cross platform and is not easily accessible to users. This essentially means it can only be used for syncing to Apple devices, not other platforms.

With several of its competitors now offering media playback from the cloud, Dropbox has its work cut out for it in terms of differentiating itself from others and maintaing a competitive edge. The sync API feature is certainly a way of doing that and it will likely offer its own media playback service in the near future.

Via MIT Technology Review

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February 12, 2013 By 5 Comments

Doorbot: See who’s at your front door using your smartphone

Never miss a courier delivery again

Doorbot, a crowd-funded product that enables you to see who’s at your front door using your smartphone, (Android, iPhone and Windows Phone 8 compatible) has reached its funding goal and is expected for delivery in July 2013.

We’ve all been in the situation where we’re trying to relax and receive an unwanted visitor, or miss that infamous courier delivery whilst otherwise engaged, but Doorbot aims to reduce such problems to a minimum. Thanks to Doorbot, when a visitor rings your doorbell a video preview will pop up on your smartphone so that you can decide whether or not you wish to answer. Alternatively, you can stream a video message back instructing them what to do next (or leave them standing outside as the video below suggests!).

Doorbot is available to order from Christie Street, a crowd-funding website that enforces a stricter criteria for the products that it accepts in order to eliminate as much risk as possible for buyers. It costs $189 (approx. £120) on its own or can be purchased with the Lockitron locking mechanism for $339 USD (approx. £220). If you do combine the Doorbot with Lockitron, you can remotely open the door for visitors should you be unable to answer in person.

This type of gadget is certainly a luxury item, but does seem reasonably priced for the technology that it offers. The tech involved could no doubt be recreated with Android devices thanks to the versatility of the operating system and the large developer community, but for the small cost-saving and time-involved, it may be easier to buy the Doorbot itself.

At the moment the makers are still looking into theft prevention measures, but say that they will replace any Doorbots that are stolen before a solution is in place. The 4 x AA batteries that power it will last up to a year, plus it works at night time. If you have any other questions, there’s an FAQ and comment thread over on the Christie Street page.

If you do purchase a Doorbot (or manage to create your own version), be sure to send us over some photos.

Via Gadget Helpline 

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February 12, 2013 By 1 Comment

£7000 Android smartphone

imageYou might have thought that the Tag Heuer Racer smartphone was expensive at anything up to £5900 but at £6994 (€7900), the new Vertu Ti takes the pricing to a whole new level.

So what can you expect for this price?

You get an Android 4.0 smartphone with a 3.7” WVGA display, 8 megapixel camera, 64GB of internal memory, 3G, GPS etc.

So initial impressions are that you not getting the most cutting edge of features, but you do get a good box contents:

  • The Vertu Ti
  • Leather slip case
  • Wall charger
  • Car charger
  • Data cable
  • Wired stereo headset
  • Micro & Nano SIM adapters
  • Vertu concierge classic
  • Quick start guide
  • Leather case leaflet
  • Authenticity card

The fact is that Vertu are not aiming for the cutting edge.  They put style and craftsmanship ahead of anything and the type of individual spending this money on a phone would likely be the same.  I am not in that position, but it you can spend £7000 on a phone then its likely you will spend several million on a home and thus expect the best.

The Vertu Ti gives the best in materials and craftsmanship, with each device made by hand in the firms headquarters in Hampshire, England, high end components like sapphire are used for the screen.

When you own the Ti you can be assured of excellent service which includes a global concierge for any of your pressing needs or requirements.

Having the best specifications is one thing, making a phone desirable is another.

image

Source: Vertu via: BBC

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January 24, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Android 4.1 vs Android 4.2 – Demo Video

This is a nice video from the guys over at Android Authority that pits the two different iterations of Android Jelly Bean against each other. At the moment it’s only Nexus devices that run 4.2, although it shouldn’t be too long before it starts to reach OEM devices. The Sony Xperia Z is pegged to get the 4.2 handset soon after the handset’s release in March, but devices from other manufacturer’s may receive updates in the meantime. 

This video does a good job of demonstrating the features of each version of Jelly Bean and then comparing them to one another. I’ve been running Android 4.2 for a while now and there are a few minor differences that I prefer from the old version, such as the clock, but these are minor adjustments and don’t affect the overall user experience. One of the nicest features is multi-user on tablets, but other than that there isn’t a great deal that you’re missing out on if you’re not on 4.2 yet. 

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January 21, 2013 By 1 Comment

Ubuntu for Phones image available “late February”

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, arguably the most popular Linux based OS for desktops, have stated that a download for the mobile version and the source code behind it will be available by late February.

Ubuntu for Phones was shown in depth at CES a couple of weeks ago and has created mutterings in the industry since. It’s no secret that modern smartphones are massively overpowered for the kind of use many consumers enjoy and Canonical want to make people aware of this and promote Ubuntu as a way of utilising that power. The idea being that this mobile Ubuntu could work as a replacement for your personal computer or laptop; mobile Ubuntu will in fact have all the functionality of standard desktop Ubuntu with support for touch displays, mobile hardware and telephone features.

image_thumb3The released image and code is reported to be optimised for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and once it’s in the open source community, expect some modifications to be happening quickly. If Canonical get their way, the possibility of OEM devices running Ubuntu out of the box is definitely on the cards for the future, although in these early stages it appears that development is going to focus on optimising the code for existing devices running Android.

It should also be noted that this first release is almost certainly not going to be complete, although the core features should be solid.

Ubuntu is now a relatively mature OS and the interface has come on a long way in the last few years and the idea of having a full desktop OS on my phone is certainly appealing. I would however want this mobile update to have matured somewhat before taking the plunge myself. I might be a confident tech user and I’ve spent some time with a variety of Linux distros but I wouldn’t want to be spending too long faffing with Linux settings on my phone or figuring out which patches and packages to be installing for a stable experience.

Personally I run an LG Nexus 4 so I’m going to stick my neck out and say if Canonical don’t focus on that next, then a developer out there somewhere will probably get modifying the source code soon after release.

The (quite long) video below is presented by Mark Shuttleworth of Ubuntu and outlines pretty much everything you might want to know about Ubuntu for Phones:

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Interestingly there is also a section on the Ubuntu website for “Ubuntu for Android”. Details are scarce but this looks like it will be an Android app that will launch a Ubuntu desktop when your device is docked whilst still having standard Android as the core OS when mobile. This pretty cheesy video on the Ubuntu website lays out the very basics of Ubuntu for Android:

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January 21, 2013 By 2 Comments

New Android app: PushBullet

push bullet app

PushBullet is an app that solves a minor frustration that you will likely have suffered often as an Android user, but not found a good all-in-one solution to remedy: having data on your desktop that you want to push quickly to your mobile device. PushBullet enables you to easily push notes, addresses, lists and files straight from your computer to your handset and displays an alert in your notification bar for easy access.

This is by no means new in terms of functionality – Chrome to Phone, Pocket or the syncing of the Chrome app can push URLS/save web pages for easy access, Evernote can push notes, Google Drive could push lists and AirDroid/AirDroid 2 (public beta now available here) can be used to wirelessly transfer files – but PushBullet simplifies the process and provides one app for all four functions.

To use PushBullet, you need to download the app from the Play Store and register your device (you can sign up with your Google account), then register on the PushBullet website. It’s a seamless process and it’s only access to your email address that the app needs, not your entire Google account. Once you’ve completed the sign up process, visiting the PushBullet website will take you straight to the web interface, so a bookmarklet in your browser can help to make the process of sending data to your phone even quicker.

Screen Shot 2013 01 21 at 21 24 03Having tested the PushBullet service, it works nicely and lives up to the simplified process that it describes on the website. As with any cloud-based service, we would recommend against pushing any particularly sensitive files that you don’t want others to see.

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January 7, 2013 By 2 Comments

HTC One SV 4G Smartphone Unboxing

We unbox the HTC One SV, the first SIM Free handset from HTC to run Android and have 4G on board.

See what the device looks like in the hand and what you get in the box, in the following video.

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January 2, 2013 By 4 Comments

Is it right for Google to snub Windows Phones?

Microsoft v Google – It is an ongoing battle

The current situation between Google and Windows devices is often referred to as “anti-competitive”, with the search giants making a very public decision not to produce applications that are supported on Windows phone’s. In fact, as far as we can see Google refuses to acknowledge that Windows even has a smartphone platform! Very few apps provided by Google will work on a Windows device, a basic Google search app is available, which is clearly an afterthought. In fact, you’re better off navigating to Google.com within Internet Explorer. The email client on a Windows device will support Gmail, Google contacts and Calendars but that’s your lot!

Windows must be feeling slightly left out when you consider that Google even manages to cooperate with iOS to a greater extent. Google gives preference to Android devices, for example Google+ was made available on Android a week prior iOS but no sign of it whatsoever appearing on a Windows phone. If this integration is possible then why does Google persistently choose to blank Microsoft’s smartphone platform? Many argue that Microsoft does not have a good app store and that the Windows devices are inferior. The fact that Microsoft’s share of the U.S smartphone market is only 4% may deter Google from allocating resources to incorporate the Windows platform.

The discussion as to whether Google should begin to incorporate Windows Phone’s is an ongoing one. A petition has been set up to persuade Google to make such changes which can be seen here, they claim that “It is discrimination against consumers if they are being forced to choose platforms based on eco-system support and not their choice.” and that “The rivalry between the vendors is their own and consumers shouldn’t be dragged into it.”.

However as a consumer whilst we want choice, we often buy into a particular OS for one reason or another, so is it fair that those who buy into one get a better experience than those who want the best of everything.

Imagine yourself in Google’s position.  If you were in charge would you roll out some of the best features on your Android devices to other platforms?!

What are your thoughts on this situation? Should Google acknowledge Microsoft as a player in the smartphone market? Or are they entitled to selectively share their services with who they like?

Via WMPoweruser & InformationWeek

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January 2, 2013 By 1 Comment

Android receives much anticipated USB audio recording capability

USB Microphone options on Android

Audio professionals seeking an android USB audio recording solution have had their prayers answered. Audio recording and playback is now possible with minimal effort thanks to exTream, the creators of the app. “USB Audio Recorder PRO” utilises USB host functionality to transmit high quality audio, similar to using a Windows or Mac machine.  iOS users have enjoyed this feature for a while now, leaving the android market behind.

The app allows you to directly connect peripherals such as Yeti’s easy Blue series to create recordings that are saved as .wav files. Here is a full list of known compatibilities. You can then export the recordings to your desktop and even other apps on your phone or tablet! The creators have also provided a multi-track sequencing app allowing on-the-go mixing of tracks. So far the service has been well received on the Google Play Store with a 5 star rating.

We believe this app has potential for the future, licensing the technology to other developers would see a boom in professional audio recording apps. However for now the app is only available on Android devices at $4 or £2.44 (approx.) a pop in the Google Play Store.

Via Phandroid

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