Cult of Android - page 64

Looking for a new tablet that’s lightweight, portable, and perfect for life on the go? The Skytex Imagine 7 HD is exactly that. Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, this device provides you with all the power you need to run the latest Android apps and games on a gorgeous HD display, but it’s still small enough to slip into your bag. What’s more, it comes with a free case, free shipping, and it costs just $159.

The Google+ apps for Android and iOS have today been updated with a number of new features and improvements. Both apps get user interface tweaks and the ability to re-share posts to communities, while iOS users will also see a number of Snapseed filters that will allow them to enhance their photos before they post them.

Google is getting closer to releasing Google Glass into the market. And we learned this week that Google’s Android team is working on a smartwatch. 

Both these products are examples of Android-based wearable computing devices.

A fresh new religious war has broken out on the social networks about whether the watch is better than the glasses, or whether smartphones are better than both the glasses and the watch. “Why would I wear an Android smartwatch when I have an Android phone in my pocket that’s much better?”

These arguments demonstrate that most people don’t get this technology at all.

If you’re a fan of George R. R. Martin’s hit book series and accompanying TV show Game of Thrones, then you’ll want to download the official companion app. After coming to the iOS App Store last year, an Android version has been released just in time for the premiere of season 3 on HBO March 31st.

The “A World of Ice and Fire” app has a catalog of over 540 characters and 380 places. There’s also interactive maps of the different kingdoms to explore.

LG will compete with Apple, Google, and Samsung with a smartwatch of its own that is expected to run Google’s Android operating system. The company is also said to be working on another wearable computing device that will reportedly rival Google Glass.

The Google Glass project has been in the news a fair bit in recent months, but it seems Google may have another wearable gadget in development that’s been flying under the radar. The Financial Times reports that just like Apple and Samsung, the search giant is working on its own smartwatch that will act as an extension to the smartphone.

Martin Hajek — a designer who specializes these days in mocking up rumored Apple products with a greater or lesser degree of accuracy — has turned his talents to a new arena: mocking up how the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S4 measures up, size-wize, to the iPhone 5.

Demiurge Studios (Borderlands, Mass Effect) teamed up with Owlchemy Labs (Snuggle Truck, Jack Lumber) to announce that the Android version of Shoot Many Robots is now available for free on Google Play. Originally released in March 2012 for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and the PlayStation Network (PSN), Shoot Many Robots came out a month later on PC, via Steam, and should be released on iOS soon.

Ex-Apple evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, hasn’t been working at Motorola for even a month yet, but he’s already dropping hints on what Motorola’s next flagship smartphone might be like.

Earlier this week, Guy Kawasaki hinted on his Google+ page that Motorola’s next phone will have customizable hardware options.

Its plastic chassis may feel cheaper than the iPhone 5’s glass-and-aluminum materials, but Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 smartphone actually costs significantly more to make. In fact, almost 20% more.

It’s taken well over a year, but the Jawbone UP finally has an official companion app in Google Play. The device has only been compatible with iOS devices since it launched in November 2011, but now you can track your sleep and physical activity on Android-powered smartphones, too.

Furthermore, starting today, UP will be available in Apple stores across Europe.

One of the biggest complaints about Android, is that Google will announce a new version of Android, but then it takes over six months for that software to actually get on your phone. What gives?

The guys over at Gizmodo decided to talk to both manufacturers and wireless carriers to find out what’s the hold up. It seems like a software update would be a pretty straightforward process, but what they found was a myriad of problems that can take months to answer before your Android phone gets an update.

Warren East, who has spent the last 12 years as CEO of ARM, has announced that he will retire on July 1. During his time in charge, East has overseen ARM’s processor design powerhouse through some of its most explosive growth, thanks to lucrative deals with companies like Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm.

OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter has confirmed that a sequel to the smash hit drawing game Draw Something is “coming soon.” The first screenshot of the new title was posted to Twitter by none other than TV host Ryan Seacrest shortly before Porter made the news official.

“I somehow convinced them to give me #DrawSomething2 first,” Seacrest wrote.

Apple is expected to unveil its first smartwatch sometime this year, and there’s one company who will be right on its tail, competing for sales. As you may have already guessed, that company is Samsung.

Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of  the Korean company’s mobile business, confirmed the move during an interview with Bloomberg.

T-Mobile has been relegated to being America’s #4 U.S. carrier, thanks to it’s failed acquisition deal with AT&T. Apparently, the company has some big plans to put it back in the spotlight though.

T-Mobile just sent out invites to an exclusive event on March 26th in New York, where it is expected to detail plans to change its wireless business.

Samsung has already explained its love for plastic, and why it chose to stick with it for the flagship Galaxy S4. But after receiving a lot of criticism for that decision, the company’s head of design, Dennis Miloseski, was forced to defend the Galaxy S4’s plastic build once again at Engadget’s Expand conference in San Francisco this weekend.

If you’re struggling to stay within your smartphone data plan each month, then maybe one of AT&T’s new shared data plans might be better for you. The company is now offering 30GB, 40GB, and 50GB tiers starting at just $300 per month. That’s right, per month. That’s with unlimited calls and texts included. Bargain, right?

A lot of people think this means Android and the Chrome OS will be merged into a single operating system.

I think that’s crazy talk.

The weekends are for movies, right? Personally, I’m going to flock to Oz The Great and Powerful at an IMAX theater this weekend, along with a billion other people, no doubt. Fandango wants to be a part of that weekend rush, and possibly get your $2 per ticket convenience fee, with it’s new mobile and online movie preview show, Weekend Ticket, available now on iOS and Android mobile devices, and the Fandango.com website.

As you may already know, Google Reader will shutdown as of July 1, so now’s the time to look for a new RSS reader. If you’re a longtime user, you may not be familiar with the other options available to you, but don’t worry — there are plenty out there, so you don’t need to go without your news.

We’ve compiled a list of the best cloud-based and local news readers around to help you find the best solution for you. Check them out below.

Gameloft’s Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour is, without doubt, the best first-person shooter available on mobile. It’s the latest edition to the company’s Modern Combat series, and it promises to “push the boundaries of mobile gaming even further” with stunning visuals, an awesome campaign, and a completely redesigned multiplayer mode.

If you haven’t already got it and you’re a fan of FPS titles, then you’re crazy. But now’s the best time to pick it up, because its price tag has just been slashed from $6.99 to $0.99 for a limited time.

At one point during Samsung’s tacky Galaxy SIV launch event at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, the emcee — upon asking what the point of a screen that could react to gestures in mid-air without actually touching it, and being treated to a Greek chorus of answers from a constabulary of shrill, histrionic shrews — said of Samsungs new Air Gestures: “Okay, I see how that might be useful.”

Those words really sum up everything Samsung put up on stage tonight. I see how that might be useful.

The Galaxy SIV is a phone largely unchanged from the SIII. It’s a little thinner, a little lighter, a little more powerful. It has a bunch of new features. And all of them require a small one-act play on one of the most important stages in Manhattan to explain why, in a certain circumstance, they might be useful.

Just one year after the launch of the analog land-grab board game, Small World, Days of Wonder released Small World for iPad, bringing the fantastically fun board game to the digital world. Soon after, the gaming company brought Ticket To Ride to the iOS platform, cementing its claim to best digital version of an actual board game, ever (ok, maybe that’s just me).

Secretly, however, Days of Wonder tasked a small group of developers with coming up with a bigger, better sequel to Small World. They’re now on Kickstarter, almost funded, and ready to bring the game to Android, iOS, and even Steam with the funds from the crowd-sourcing website.

The Galaxy SIV is official, and it is a beautiful powerhouse of a phone with features unseen in any other device, but how does Samsung’s latest flagship phone stack up against the competition, spec-by-spec? Check out the chart below to find out.