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App review: Wall Street Journal Tablet Edition for Android
We'd always thought this was going to be the year of Android tablets, but until the day Google gives its full blessing for the tablet form factor, the market will still be lacking in apps that make good use of the extra screen estate. Funnily enough, today the Wall Street Journal took a leap of faith and pushed out an Android version of its tablet app, just in time to ride on the Samsung Galaxy Tab's first wave. In many ways, WSJ's Android app appears to be a slimmed down version of its iPad equivalent. Once logged in with a subscription account, users are greeted by the same start screen for choosing your papers, which are automatically downloaded at launch. Naturally, once the papers are on your device, you can read them regardless of internet connectivity, and you can save your favorites to a dedicated area there for quick access as well. More after the break. %Gallery-107209%
Wall Street Journal releases Android Tablet Edition app, phones need not apply
Given that the first truly respectable Android tablet just came out, the Wall Street Journal is timing its Tablet Edition app release pretty much perfectly. It aims to offer a faithful reproduction of the printed version of the paper while augmenting it with full-screen video, market data, customization options, and the ability to save articles for offline reading. $3.99 will net you a week's worth of access on both Android and iPad Tablet Editions along with subscriber privileges on WSJ.com. The app itself is free, so if you have a Galaxy Tab just hanging around (it doesn't work on phones, we've already tried on a Desire Z) you can give it a test-drive -- it's certainly what we intend to do, check back later for our impressions!
Twitter for Android updated, adds speed, polish, more options
It's not just Facebook for Android that's getting an update today -- Twitter just pushed out a new version of its Android app, and while it doesn't add a ton of new features, it's gotten a big speed boost and some polish. The biggest addition is pull-to-refresh, which the iPhone client has had for a while, as an option bar that's revealed by swiping on a tweet. There's also new quoting options for retweets and avatar photos are now high-res, which is nice. We just tried it out and it is indeed faster, which is nice, but we noticed that avatars don't load in right away while you scroll -- they're generic until you stop. Just a minor niggle, and you've no reason not to upgrade -- it's free, after all. Hit market or scan the QR code after the break. P.S.- Hmm, a big Twitter app update on the same day as a Facebook event? That timing feels like a little more than a coincidence to us, especially since Facebook is gunning hard for location-based check-ins, which is traditionally Twitter's domain. Dare we say that this relationship is complicated?
Remote control app for Logitech Revue hits the Android Market
Logitech may have it's own set of accessories for its Revue Google TV box, but the best peripheral may just be that Android phone you already have, which can be turned into a full-fledged remote control with the Logitech Revue app that's just hit the Android Market. Like other similar smartphone remote apps, it will give you both a trackpad and a keyboard in addition to the usual remote control buttons, and it's thankfully free to download. Hit up Android Market to find it right now, or head on past the break if you'd prefer to download it QR code-style.
Fring matches Skype, intros FringOut for low-rate Android calls
We didn't think competition in the cheapo calls market was quite so intense, but here we are, with Fring and Skype gunning for each other with near-simultaneous launches. After Skype finally released its long-awaited Android app, Fring is countering with an Android rollout of its own FringOut service -- an additional option to the chat and video calling client which lets you call phone numbers for as little as one American cent per minute. You'll recall this addition started its life on Symbian initially, has now landed on Android, and will soon be making the transition to the iPhone. To experience it for yourself, update your Fring app to the latest version and enjoy the benefits of a competitive marketplace.
Skype app arrives in Android Market, WiFi-only in the US
Finally, at long last, after so much waiting, Skype has made its debut as a full-fledged Android app. There are no Verizon-related limitations anymore, but Android Police reports that calling through the app is only available via WiFi, you can't use your mobile's data connection -- not yet, anyway. Another note they make is that Skype is using quite a few processing cycles to do its job, so much so that it introduced crackling on a call carried out with the EVO. You'll need to have Android 2.1 installed to run this thing, but if you do, why aren't you downloading it already? Let us know how your own 'droid fares in the comments below. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] P.S. -- Skype's press release and video after the break have confirmed that 3G Skype calls will be available to all outside the US. Wow. Also, Skype's acknowledged there are some incompatibilities with Samsung Galaxy S phones and is working to iron those out.%Gallery-104268%
Android Notifier sends notifications to your desktop
If you've ever used Android for any period of time, you know that the notification system can be both a blessing and a curse -- it's one of the most powerful, useful, and flexible approaches out there, but if you don't keep up, your menu bar can stack up into a mess of cryptic numbered icons. So we were really hoping Android Notifier could help us with that -- it pipes notifications to your OS X desktop over WiFi or Bluetooth. (Linux support is coming soon, and the project is looking for a Windows volunteer.) While it works as described -- we had it up and running with Growl on our iMac in just a few moments -- it's also unfortunately a little limited: only phone, SMS, MMS, and voicemail notifications are sent, and clearing them on the computer doesn't clear them on the phone, which sort of misses the point. We can't knock it too hard, since it's free, it works, and we're sure the developers will extend it soon enough, but until then our quest for the perfect continuous client... continues.
App review: SlingPlayer Mobile for Android
The World Cup may have just ended, but whether you're into football or not, there must have been a point over the last five weeks where you or someone you know moaned about missing a live goal. This is where SlingBox comes in -- in case you didn't know already, it's a little networked box that piggybacks on your set-top box's AV and IR ports, thus stuffing your TV experience into your computer or cellphone via WiFi or even 3G. Windows Mobile, Palm OS, Symbian, BlackBerry and iOS have been mingling with the SlingPlayer Mobile app for some time now, and for the same $29.99 tag, Android users can now also join the party. But is the app worth the money? Does it get on with our green bot? Read on to find out.%Gallery-97329%
Twidroid acquired by TweetUp, soon to be bundled with new Android phones as Twidroyd
Remember our old friend Twidroid? You know, the app that came out as cream of the crop in our little Android Twitter client round-up? Things are about to get interesting again -- following today's acquisition of said app, SEO firm TweetUp has renamed its latest trophy to Twidroyd to avoid upsetting a certain Mr. Lucas. The bigger news, though, is that we're told this action-packed app will be preloaded "on millions of upcoming Android phones from five of the leading handset manufacturers." That's a pretty bold statement to make, especially considering it wasn't long ago when Twitter Inc. pushed out its own Android client, but we'll happily accept this freebie anyway.
MIT's Android optometry app could help you stop squinting all the time (video)
Remember Bokodes, MIT's tiny replacement for barcodes and the like? Their holographic nature enabled them to represent different information from different angles, and it's this property that allows the tech behind them to be used in a very different and even more useful way: figuring out just how busted your vision is. The Camera Culture team at MIT's Media Lab evolved that tech into a $2 box that refracts the image displayed on a smartphone screen. When combined with an app that displays a set of dots and lines, the user can manipulate the image until things look to be perfectly aligned. Once complete, the app spits out a prescription and you're just a quick trip to your local mall-based eyeglasses joint away from perfect vision. The goal is to make it easier for optometrists in developing countries to quickly and easily find glasses for people, but an app that could save a trip to the doctor's office is a wonderful thing regardless of where you are.
Dell Streak shows what the Engadget app can do with a 5-inch screen (video)
You asked and we listened. Having given you a quick glimpse of both the Dell Streak and our own Android app way back in the sixth episode of The Engadget Show, we've now put the two together for a more in-depth look. Comparing the 5-inch Streak with the 3.2-inch Hero and 3.7-inch Desire might not seem like a fair fight, but it really illustrates the difference in real estate. Whereas HTC's phones let you see the top story bar and the first couple of latest posts, the Streak gives you a good quintet of headlines to look at before having to perform any actions. And scrolling while reading a post? You can (almost) forget about that anachronism as well. It really is an impressive piece of kit, this supposed non-smartphone from Dell. See it in moving pictures after the break.
Sirius XM app for Android 'coming soon'
iPhone and iPod touch users may have had a Sirius XM app for close to a year now, but it looks like Android users will soon finally be able to get in on some mobile streaming as well. While there's still no specific launch date, the app is apparently "coming soon," and looks to be mostly identical to its iPhone OS counterpart, complete with support for streaming over both WiFi and 3G. Somewhat curiously, however, Sirius XM seems to be saying that the app will only be available for the Droid and Nexus One, although that's a bit puzzling considering they're not the only Android 2.1-ready phones with fast processors (if those are indeed the only requirements). Full press release is after the break, and you can sign up to be notified of the app at the link below.
HTC Legend gets firmware update in Europe, reunites with missing apps in Android Market
Attention, possessors of the European HTC Legend! Have you noticed a handful of missing apps in the Android Market, namely Twidroid, Layar, MySpace Mobile, Barcode Scanner, Google Goggles, FxCamera, and so forth? Today, the brilliantly quiet HTC has finally come to light with the bizarre offending bug -- camera incompatibility. Oopsie! Any moment now your metallic slab should receive the OTA update to patch things up, and hopefully the Droid Incredible will get the same fix even sooner. Crisis averted.
Google buys Plink, puts it to work on Google Goggles
Well, it looks like Google Goggles could soon be getting a few enhancements, as visual search company Plink has just announced that it's been acquired by Google, and that it will now focus all its future development efforts on Google's own visual search app. For those not familiar with it, Plink is the UK-based company behind the PlinkArt Android app, which lets you simply take a photo of a painting and then receive all the pertinent information about it. Of course, that's something that Google Goggles also does, but it seems that Plink will be working to make that functionality even better, and help out on other types visual search as well. Of course, that also means that the PlinkArt app itself will cease to be, but it will apparently remain functional in its current incarnation for the time being.
FCC comes through with a Consumer Broadband Test app for iPhone, Android and the home
We talk about the FCC a lot here, but usually the ways ye olde Commission affects our lives are indirect. A little extra spectrum here, a nice leaked image there, that kind of thing. Not this time, though, as the FCC is getting involved directly with its own Consumer Broadband Test app, designed to probe network latencies and download speeds on your home connection or mobile device. Part of the hallowed National Broadband Plan, this will furnish the FCC will useful data to show the discrepancy between advertised and real world broadband speeds, and will also -- more importantly perhaps -- serve as a neat way for users to directly compare network performance in particular areas. It's available on the App Market and App Store right now, with versions for other operating systems coming up, so why not get with the program and give it a test drive?
Weather Channel distributes Android app via on-screen QR code
Google's been doing some pretty slick stuff with QR codes lately, and now it looks like The Weather Channel's getting in on the fun -- it's running a little on-screen graphic prompting Android owners to download their app by scanning their TV screens. Sure, it's not the craziest thing in the world -- it just takes you to the Android market listing -- but it's certainly fun, and one of the more mainstream uses of QR codes we've seen in a while. Check the video after the break. Update: We originally said it takes you to the webpage; in actuality, it takes you to the Android market. (Thanks, Caleb!)
DirecTV mobile app now live on Android Market
If you're familiar with DirecTV's iPhone app, then this fresh Android release should be no stranger as both free apps offer the same handy search and record functionalities. No official requirements published yet, but an educated guess would suggest they'd be the same as the iPhone counterpart. The lucky folks over at DBSTalk have once again had a chance to preview this DirecTV app before it went live on Android Market last night, so either get to downloading or head over now for their dandy walkthrough.
Tiki'Labs virtual keyboard for iPhone takes shot at Swype, one-handed typing wars commence
One-handed touchscreen typing is the hip new thing, apparently, since mere weeks after getting our first whiff of Swype, Tiki'Labs has debuted its own free TikiNotes app for the iPhone with a proprietary "large target" sort of keyboard. We've seen the idea before, specifically with some accessibility devices, which lets the user drill down into one of six alphabet sectors, and then pick one of six characters. TikiNotes improves upon that by not only predicting the word you're currently typing, but also often correctly guessing the next word you were planning on typing. To be honest, we find that second feature just a little depressing -- all that money the government spent on our two years of high school education and we still form sentences like everybody else -- but certainly useful (Tiki'Labs claims a 40% success rate). We tried out the free app for a couple of minutes and found it more akin to a Brain Age-type exercise than a typing utility, but we're sure we could get used to it. What we can't get used to, however, is how hilariously great it is that Tiki'Labs spliced a Swype demo video (originally pitted against the iPhone keyboard) to serve as a typing race example... and still only barely squeaked through with the victory. It can be found after the break, naturally. The app will be available on Windows Mobile and Android soon.
Motorola's Shop4apps online Android app store discovered
Leave it to the gung ho gang at Android and Me to do some clever Googling and discovering Motorola's web based Android app store, Shop4apps. The store has since been removed / made hidden, but not before we got a good glimpse at the whole shebang. There's a MyLocker section to check your download history, the ability to re-download and transfer aspps to a new phone, and a special MotoAppstore client for downloading and installing the apps (which unfortunately wasn't working yet). Frankly, the images aren't too flattering, so we're hoping for some further tweaking before it's official launch. In the meantime, hit up the source link for more pictures. [Thanks, Taylor]
Facebook for Android hits the Market, still playing a bit of catch up
Well, it's taken a little while, but it looks like Android users now have a Facebook app to call their own. As you might expect from an initial release, however, the app is a bit less full featured than some of its counterparts and, judging from the few initial comments, a bit buggy. The good news is that you'll be able to do all the basics like share status updates, check your news feed, look at your friends' walls, and even check up to 125 of your friends' phone numbers straight from the home screen. You won't, however, get things like messaging or chat and, at least at the moment, it appears to have some particular problems with the HTC Hero and HTC Magic (although those reports are obviously still preliminary). On the upside, the app is completely free, and available to download from Android Market right now.[Thanks, SliestDragon]
