An Unofficial Android Store Will Provide All The Apps Banned By Google

Unlike getting hold of iOS apps, it’s always been possible to trawl the web for software that doesn’t appear in the Android Market. But that process is about to get even easier, because soon there will be an unofficial store for banned Android apps.

Koushik Dutta, a member of the team behind CyanogenMod and the creator of ClockworkMod, announced that he is in the process of creating an app store that will be home to apps that have been banned from Google’s official Android Market. That will include customs ROMs, retro gaming emulators pulled due to copyright complaints, unofficial tethering apps, Visual Voicemail apps, one-click rooting apps, and, well, whatever else Google says can’t feature in their store.

This will, I’m sure, be of most interest to those who have already rooted their Android handset, as it will provide a one-stop shop for the customs ROMs and apps those devices can make use of. There’s no denying that having all that stuff in one place will be more useful than having to trawl the web. Those who haven’t rooted their handset will still be able to make use of the store though, as there are plenty of normal apps that have to be banned from Google’s store, especially if they violate copyright or a mobile operator’s need to generate revenue from value-added services, like tethering.

I just wonder if it can completely avoid being shut down. One of the reasons that such a wide range of unofficial ROMs and apps continue to survive is that they’re so broadly distributed that it’s difficult to hunt them all down. Put them all in one place and that’s no longer the case.

Article: RSS via Gizmodo

Tags: Android, Android Market, Apps, Google, Hacks, ROMs

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Official Wikipedia app released for Android

It took awhile, but it’s finally here: the official Wikipedia app for Android is now available for download on the Android Market. Just in case you’re wondering why anybody would use the app instead of surfing the website on your phone’s browser, the app has the ability to save articles for offline reading, search for articles based on your location, the ability to switch languages on the fly, and an option to easily share what you’re reading.

The app is only in its first version, so for now you can expect a barebones Wikipedia experience, though more features should be available in the future. Head over to the Android Market to download it for free.

Article: RSS via Ubergizmo

Tags: Android, Android Market, Apps, Wikipedia

Posted in Android, Apps, Other News | No Comments »

Update to Google Maps improves battery life, public transit options and more

A new version of Google Maps has hit the Android Market today, which simultaneously brings fresher location tracking within Latitude and better battery life — two welcome improvements that seem contrary to one another. There’s also a couple goodies included for the transit-minded folks, as Navigation has been updated to better estimate location when GPS signal is lost, and the number of route options for public transit users has been increased from three to four. Sure, the changes are rather incremental, but who’s honestly going to argue with greater battery life? Not us, that’s for sure.

Article: RSS via Engadget Mobile

Tags: Android, Apps, Google, Google Maps, GPS, Navigation

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OnLive Desktop: Windows virtualization made easy and cool

OnLive, the company that made the Cloud Gaming idea work, has announced OnLive Desktop, a remote desktop application that brings Windows 7 into the iPad, but this app does not control your PC. Instead, it gives you access to a Windows instance running inside OnLive. The company claims that this new variant of remote desktop does bring all the power of Windows 7 and more. OnLive Desktop brings multi-touch gestures, handwriting recognition and a virtual keyboard, all of which are key features if one is to make Windows work on the iPad 9.7″ display.We have not had a chance to test the application (because we’re running all over the place at CES…) but OnLive can pull it off better than others. Why? Because a company that can stream a 30FPS game with low-latency should be capable of streaming a Windows desktop very fast too. When Cloud Gaming was in its infancy, 3 years ago, I have argued that one possible application of ultra-low latency video streaming would be such a remote desktop app, just like this. While others were chasing dreams of “as-good-as-movies” gaming, OnLive went on to build a real business, and now delivers what seems to be a convenient service that uses their fundamental technology building block.

The OnLive Desktop app comes with 2GB of cloud storage, and a Windows instance that is pre-loaded with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. A premium version called OnLive Desktop Pro comes with 50GB of storage will be available for $9.99/mo. And that’s not it: while available only for the iPad for now, this virtualized Windows is soon going to be available from all the computers that can run Onlive, which means the OnLive box, PCs and Macs.

Article: RSS via Ubergizmo

Tags: Apps, CES 2012, Cloud Computing, Cloud Storage, iOS, iPad, OnLive, OnLive Desktop, Virtual Desktop, Windows 7

Posted in Apps, Cloud Services, Computing, Gadget News, iOS, iPad, Windows 7 | No Comments »

Samsung Wi-Fi IP SmartCam

Few people know it, but Samsung Techwin has quite an array for pro/semi-pro surveillance cameras, but the Samsung WiFi Surveillance Camera is a product for home users who want something that is easy to setup. This product basically provide a wireless solution to remotely see what’s going on in your home or office.

To simplify the setup, Samsung has chosen to use WPS, a wireless security technique that is supported by many wireless routers. WPS allows users to pair the Samsung WiFi Surveillance Camera with the network by simply pressing a “wps” button on the router and camera. There is no computer involved and the passwords are randomly generated, so you won’t even have to type it. The idea behind WPS is that one needs to have physical access to your router to use your network.

With the Samsung WiFi Surveillance Camera, users don’t have to setup Network Address Translation (NAT) to view the video from outside the home. Instead, Samsung is providing a web service located at SamsungSmartCam.com which takes care of knowing what your IP address is etc… There is no software to install, and the service can support an unlimited number of cameras. Additionally, Android and iOS apps provide a remote access to the live videos.

The camera can capture video in 640×480 at 30fps (in H.264) and even has an infra-red illuminator for surveillance in complete-darkness (15 feet max). Finally, the camera has two-way audio capabilities, which can be very convenient.

Finally, the camera can even record clips, auto-upload them to Youtube and send a notification to the owner. The YouTube choice is interesting because it effectively creates an unlimited video storage *for free*. On the other hand, make sure to setup that account properly so that your surveillance videos don’t end up in a public area of the site.

Article: RSS via Ubergizmo

Tags: Android, Apps, iOS, Samsung, WiFi, WiFi Surveillance Camera, WPS

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Firefox 9 for Android receives a new tablet-friendly UI

So Mozilla’s Firefox 9 was unofficially released a day earlier, and for fans of Firefox and just can’t get enough of it on their computers, the good news is that Firefox 9 has also been released for Android for both smartphones and tablets.

For those who have been using Firefox on their Android smartphones all this while, you may or may not notice any changes aesthetically, although based on what Mozilla has advertised, you should noticed speedier start-up speeds. Tablet users on the other hand, if you have been avoiding Firefox all this while or have yet to give it a go, perhaps now’s as good a time as any to load it up on your tablets.

Firefox 9 for Android tables has seen a UI update and now sports a tablet-friendly interface that some may find better than their default Android browser. This includes full-screen portrait browsing, tab optimization and it sports a new action bar with quick access buttons. For more information on the latest Firefox build for Android, the release notes can be found at Mozilla’s website while the update can be downloaded from the Android Market.

Article: RSS via UberGizmo

Tags: Android, Apps, Firefox, Mozilla, Tablet, Web Browser

Posted in Android, Apps, Internet | 1 Comment »

facedroid makes Facebook look cool on Android tablets

While we’re waiting for Facebook’s official application for Android tablets, Platinum Apps launched facedroid, allowing tablet owners to cyber-schmooze on their beloved devices. As you can imagine, the app takes advantage of the extra screen estate to show more information on a single screen.

Using the facedroid app, you’ll be able to access the most common Facebook features, including:

• Share status updates
• Comment, like and tag statuses and photos
• See what your friends are doing
• Write on friend’s walls
• Chat in real-time
• Send and receive messages
• Search your list of friends and check out their wall posts, photos and videos
• See and respond to notifications like friend requests, event invitations and birthdays

In addition, support for Places and Pages is in development as we speak. Once released, you will be able to Check-in to locations and see where your friends are, and to manage all of your Facebook Pages from the comfort of you couch/sofa.

At the moment, facedroid is optimized for Android Honeycomb tablets with the Ice Cream Sandwich update set to be released soon…

facedroid (Tablet Facebook) ($0.99) [Android Market link]

Article: RSS via IntoMobile

Tags: Android, Android Market, Apps, Facebook, facedroid, Tablet PC's

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Google Majel voice recognition for Android to start war of words with Siri

Could be with us by end of year

Reports have come in from AndroidandMe that Google is planning a new natural language system called Majel, and that this Android voice recognition software could be with us by the end of 2011 and bring Siri-like features to Android mobiles.

Named from the Federation computer in Star Trek, Majel would likely replace Android’s current voice recognition software Voice Actions, but rather than specific commands having to be vocalised, users would be able to make use of Majel’s natural language algorithms in order to bring about a far more complex and, hopefully accurate, system. Much like iPhone 4S users can with Siri.

The apparent 2011 release date comes from speculation involving a rumour that engineers at Google’s special ideas lab, Google X, are aiming to finish their first release by the end of the year.

Presumably this early iteration will be based around web search, before moving onto the more taxing task of delivering in-phone functions. However, regardless of the timing of the launch Google is in an excellent place to deliver a great product as its massive data reserves should act as a useful tool for language analysis.

Article: RSS via Pocket-lint

Tags: Android, Apps, Google, Majel, Siri, Voice Control, Voice Recognition

Posted in Android, Apps, Google, Smartphones | 1 Comment »

TeleNav announces HTML5 maps, complete with voice guidance and turn-by-turn navigation

Now here’s an interesting move. TeleNav, a big name in the GPS space, has just announced that their turn-by-turn GPS service is going to be delivered through HTML5, making it wholly usable in just about any modern mobile browser. In the same fel swoop, TeleNav will be opening up this code to developers, so they can embed maps and directions into their pages for free. Consumers will also enjoy the service for free, which will include voice guidance, rerouting, points of interest information, and live tracking.

This is a pretty impressive shift, and really showcases what HTML5 is capable of doing. Web apps have generally played second fiddle to “real” apps, but developers who don’t want to deal with getting their creations into dozens of different devices and app stores may see HTML5 as a way out. For now, this is only really an option for free apps, but it’s not hard to imagine a future full of premium HTML5 apps; seriously, how big of a hassle would it be to sign in every time you launch? Being free is pretty huge too, but Google has essentially forced that upon every navigation service providers by making their own quality GPS app free for all two years ago.

Developers interested in trying this out can go to www.telenav.com/developer/HTML5.

Article: RSS via IntoMobile

Tags: Apps, GPS, HTML5, Navigation, TeleNav, Web Apps

Posted in Apps, Internet, Navigation | No Comments »

Skype Android Update Includes File Transfers, Performance Boost

It’s been since September that we looked at the release of a new version of Skype for Android. That time we got support for a bunch of additional smartphones and some UI tweaks. Today Skype’s announced the arrival of version 2.6 for Android, bringing with it some enhancements for certain dual-core systems and a new file transfer feature.

If you’ve got a phone based on NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chip, Skype 2.6 should deliver better battery life thanks to more efficient power handling, as well as improved video quality, taking advantage of the Tegra 2′s processing power.

The addition of built-in file transfer support will let you quickly share pictures, video, or documents with the Skype user with whom you’re text chatting, voice calling, or video calling.

Skype’s added several new Androids to the video-chat support whitelist; you can always give it a shot on any Froyo or better Android, but Skype keeps track of phones where the feature is known to perform well. Today’s additions include the HTC Amaze 4G, Motorola Droid RAZR, and oddly enough, the Droid 4, even though it’s yet to be officially announced.

Skype 2.6 is in the Android Market now.

Article: RSS via Pocketnow

Tags: Android, Android Market, Apps, Skype, VoIP

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