Android Phone Fans |
- Official: Google and Nest buy Dropcam for $555 million
- Samsung Galaxy F (not the S5 LTE-A) makes another appearance online, but where’s it headed?
- Google’s Web Starter Kit shows off Quantum Paper redesign, expect more at Google I/O
- This is what happens when you give old people Google Glass [VIDEO]
- Did Google show off a redesigned status bar coming to a future version of Android?
- From the Forums: Amazon Fire Phone, Samsung breakup letter, jerk coworker, and more
- Mobile Roar 50: Phone On Fire
- 40 Best Android Apps for Blogging
- 5 great Sonic games are on sale for $.99 in the Google Play Store
- “Yo” is a stupid app that lets you send “yo” to your friends (and it’s been hacked, yo)
- Google Play Movies comes to 21 countries today (Books to 12 more)
- Is Nokia teasing a new Android phone?
- T-Mobile CEO John Legere goes too far with “rape” comment at Uncarrier event
| Official: Google and Nest buy Dropcam for $555 million Posted: 20 Jun 2014 05:29 PM PDT And just like that, Google’s recently acquired Nest is now announcing that they’ve agreed to buy Dropcam for a whopping $555 million. The news comes after rumors of the acquisition a short time ago, bringing yet another hardware company into Google’s ever growing family. In a blog post, Dropcam CEO Greg Duffy sounded enthusiastic about the move (which still needs to be approved by regulators), saying Nest and Dropcam share a similar vision, and to expect great things from them in the future. How long before we see Dropcams on the Play Store? We imagine it wont be long. It was barely 3 months after Google announced their Nest acquisition that the smart thermostat wound up on Google Play. More recently, we saw Nest Protect elbow its way back into the Play Store as well (after a small hiccup). You can learn more about Dropcam and the products they offer here. |
| Samsung Galaxy F (not the S5 LTE-A) makes another appearance online, but where’s it headed? Posted: 20 Jun 2014 05:21 PM PDT It appears we haven’t seen the last of the Samsung Galaxy F. After Samsung officially took the wraps off the Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A — their super premium higher-end Galaxy S5 for Korea – we thought that might have been the last we heard of the Galaxy F. After being the subject of so many leaks from tipster @evleaks, the phone is making yet another appearance online, this time in what Samsung is allegedly calling their “Glowing Gold” color variant. The phone looks no different than the Galaxy S5 LTE-A and despite Samsung’s claims that the phone wont be making its way out of South Korea, we wouldn’t at all be surprised to find the phone being rebranded as the Galaxy F. Renaming the phone entirely as a completely separate line could be Samsung’s way of avoiding stepping on the toes of those who recently purchased Samsung’s current flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S5. Buyer’s remorse isn’t the feeling you want associated with your flagship line. Exactly where the Samsung Galaxy F is headed is anyone’s guess. But with the phone still making appearances online, you can bet this isn’t the last we hear of Samsung’s even more premium Galaxy phone. [Evleaks] |
| Google’s Web Starter Kit shows off Quantum Paper redesign, expect more at Google I/O Posted: 20 Jun 2014 04:27 PM PDT Earlier this month, there were rumors of Google finally giving all their apps a redesign in an effort to, not only freshen things up a bit, but unify the way all their apps and services look across a variety of platforms (Android, iOS, and the web). Dubbed “Quantum Paper,” we got our first hints of this in leaked images of both the Gmail app, and it’s matching Gmail interface on the web. We’d later see this new design peek its head in the latest Google+ update which scrapped its earlier design in favor of an all new Quantum Paper user interface. If there was any doubt that we are likely to hear more about this during Google I/O 2014 kicking off next week, the internet search giant is already showing off their shiny new interface in their Web Starter Kit, a new template for developers to help build mobile websites. It seems Google wants every mobile site to feel like more like a native Android app, well the Google apps anyway. If nothing else, this is further confirmation of the new Quantum Paper we’ve been hearing so much about. As we’ve been saying for weeks now, we don’t expect Google will unveil a major firmware update until later on in the year, but when it comes to its own apps and services, expect Quantum Paper to be a major talking point. You guys excited? Thanks, Tito_01! |
| This is what happens when you give old people Google Glass [VIDEO] Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:40 PM PDT While the rest of the world is having a field day critiquing (or just plain making fun of) Google Glass, there’s still a sect of people are who are generally unfamiliar with the latest in tech: the elderly. While it’s true, my abuelita enjoys playing a good hand of rummy on her iPad, wearables like Google Glass are as foreign to her as top 40 music. So what happens when you give Google Glass to a group of elderly people? Well, TheFineBros looked to find out in their latest “Reacts” video. In the video, these older folks are given a quick intro on what Glass does, even how to wear it (one man initially pointing it upwards). Glass functioned as intended, accurately performing actions given by its users. One lady couldn’t figure out how she could hear feedback when nothing was in her ear (bone conduction speaker). After trying it out first-hand, the general sentiment was that Glass was pretty nifty and in their words, they felt like they “were in the future.” In our modern age, it’s easy to forget how far technology has come in such a short amount of time. Because of this, we’ve seen technology slowly drifting over the bounds of individuals’ comfort levels. One lady said that while neat, she felt like there should be rules on where you could wear Glass. Not so much over privacy, mind you, she equated it to her resentment over people having their noses buries in their phones all the time (a “problem” Glass actually looks to solve). Others said Glass could be distracting while driving (something courts seem to agree with), while another lady said she could see the front facing camera making people feel “uncomfortable.” Finally, when it came to actually buying (something tells me they weren’t told it’s current beta price), 4 out of 9 of the elderly said they could actually see themselves buying the “Google Eyes.” To see for yourself, check out Elders React to Google Glass below. [GIFs via: Mashable] |
| Did Google show off a redesigned status bar coming to a future version of Android? Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:01 PM PDT Before we start, we just wanna say proceed with caution. While we’re extremely skeptical of this latest leak, sometimes it’s fun to look for signs or hidden clues to future Android releases — even when they aren’t really there. Like Jay-Z and all that “Illuminati” business. That being said, an image that popped up on Google’s I/O homepage that is leading some to believe that they may have inadvertently revealed some design changes coming in a future version of Android. It’s not much. In fact if you weren’t looking, you probably would have glazed right over it. But an image of a Nexus 5 is showing some small revisions to the status bar icons introduced in Android 4.4 KitKat. You can see a tweaked WiFi status and smaller battery icon, and it appears that everything if finally leveled in relation to other status icons. It’s entirely possible this was merely someone at Google’s marketing team exercising a little too much creative freedom when it came to designing the image, or it’s subtle clue of changes coming in a new Android release. Yes, we’ve noticed the time says 4:40 (usually indicative of the Android version) which either means the designer didn’t want to make things too obvious, or that additional KitKat updates are coming around the bend. Speculation is fun, right? For Google I/O 2014 kicking off next week, we just want to say we aren’t expecting much outside of updates to Google apps and lots of talk centered around Android Wear — nothing about major firmware updates until much later in the year. Yes, we understand how sad it must look for anyone outside Android circles to see us getting so excited about even the tiniest changes, but hey, this is Phandroid. You can find the image on Google’s I/O 2014 events page here. [Reddit] |
| From the Forums: Amazon Fire Phone, Samsung breakup letter, jerk coworker, and more Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:58 AM PDT The Android world is never short on excitement, debate, and all the questions that come along with it. This week presented its own lightning rod in the form of Amazon's Fire Phone. What better place to discuss the new device than over at our very own Android Forums? We take a look at what everyone's talking about on this week's From the Forums! Amazon Fire PhoneThe Amazon Fire Phone has been stirring up plenty of buzz since its announcement earlier this week. Over at the newly-created Fire Phone section of Android Forums, things aren't much different. As we await the launch of the new pseudo-Android handset, users are discussing everything from the number of units Amazon will sell to pricing and the Fire Phone's unique Dynamic Perspective. If you are at all considering Amazon's first smartphone as your next purchase, you'll want to take a look. LG G3Did you catch our LG G3 review? If you are still dying to delve deeper into the discussion of LG's next flagship, Android Forums should be your next stop. As we await the phone's arrival on US carriers users have been compiling an extensive list of reviews, debating the usefulness of a Quad HD display, analyzing battery performance, and so much more. OnePlus OneWill anxious buyers ever get a chance to get their hands on the OnePlus One? While The company originally promised June delivery for the general public, the phone so far has only been available via an invite lottery — and even that hasn't always worked out. If you count yourself among the many wondering just what the heck is going on, you are invited to commiserate at our OnePlus One forums. Best Music apps?T-Mobile just announced free music streaming for its subscribers, so it's appropriate that an ongoing discussion at Android Forums pertains to the best music apps for Android devices. The typical streaming suggestions like Pandora and Spotify are tossed out, but users dive a bit deeper with apps for downloading new music as well as manage existing media libraries. Might we also recommend checking out our Phan Favs list. Google Play Edition: One Year LaterSenior member Medion has a great writeup about Google Play Edition phones one year after the initiative was first announced by Google and its partners. We get excellent analysis of Google's intentions and the future of the program. Android Silver, anyone? Samsung breakup letterThere isn't much we can add about gloriousnumber1's excellent (and sort of creepy) breakup letter for Samsung. After an up-and-down year with the Samsung Galaxy S4, he thinks its time to see other phones (people?). Jerk at workWe don't only talk Android over at the Android Forums. For instance, user Zegami is looking for your best advice for dealing with an annoying coworker. What exactly is getting under Zegami's skin? The fact that this particular coworker is insisting that the office migrate their workflow to Macs. And more…Android Forums is growing every day, and we want you to be a part of it. Don't forget to register if you haven't already done so, then jump on in. The water is warm. |
| Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:07 AM PDT As Alicia Keys once said: “this phone is on fire!” Okay, maybe those weren’t her exact words, but it fits for this week. Amazon has officially announced the Fire Phone, and we’re not sure if it’s cool or lame. T-Mobile and John “Legend” Legere are shaking up the industry with some new anti-net neutrality features. Samsung totally didn’t just unveil the Galaxy S5 Prime. All that, plus much more. Enjoy! Top Stories Quick Hits
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| 40 Best Android Apps for Blogging Posted: 20 Jun 2014 10:00 AM PDT It seems that everyone nowadays has their own blog. It may be a professional site, like this one you’re on right now, a fun blog dedicated to a “fandom,” or just a place to write down your thoughts. Whether you’re blogging as a job or a hobby, you want to be able to keep your site updated even when you’re away from a computer. Smartphones make this super easy to do. Android has many great blogging apps for pros and amateurs alike. We have compiled 15 apps that can help you create content, interact with fans, track site traffic, and much more. Enjoy! BloggerOne of the easiest and most customizable sites for blogging is the aptly named “Blogger.” This Google-owned service is a popular choice for many casual bloggers. The Android app allows you to create new posts, edit existing posts, control multiple blogs, embed images from your phone, and even add location information. It’s a great way to maintain your blog on the go. BufferBuffer is the best way to share content across your social media accounts. You can easily share to Twitter, Facebook, Google+ pages, LinkedIn, and App.net from one place. That’s not even the best feature of Buffer. It also allows you to share content on a custom schedule. Simply create a schedule for things to post, add content to your Buffer, and let the magic happen. Your followers will think you never take a break. Clockwork TomatoIf you do a lot of blogging at your computer you may be spending too much time sitting. It’s important to stand up and walk around every so often if you sit a lot during the day. The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that helps remind you to take breaks. ClockWork Tomato is a great pomodoro app that will remind you to get off your butt and move around. It can dramatically improve productivity and make you feel better. Alternative: ClearFocus: Pomodoro Timer Facebook Pages ManagerIf your blog has a Facebook page you know how hard it can be to manage from a phone. Thankfully Facebook has an official Pages Manager app for Android. This app allows page admins to post updates, reply to messages, view page insights, edit your profile, boost content, and share from other apps. If your blog has a vibrant following on Facebook this app is a must. FeedlyEver since Google Reader shut its doors Feedly has become the dominant RSS reader. If you rely on other websites for inspiration you should use Feedly to keep track of them all. You can add all the sites you read, plus discover new sites to add to your rotation. It also allows you to save article for later if you want to reference them again. Alternative: Press GmailKeeping up with emails from readers or business can be a tough task, especially if your blog gets really popular. Gmail is the best email client on the web right now, and the Android app is amazing. All of your labels and folders will help you keep blog and personal email separate, plus you can manage multiple accounts. The emails never stop, so make sure you are on top of them 24/7. Alternatives: Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, Mailbox Google AdsenseMaking money with a blog can be a difficult task. The easiest way to do it is with Google Adsense. Anyone can sign up and get ads to put on their blog. The Adsense app allows users to track your earnings, as well as things like pageviews, clicks, and other traffic stats. If you’re serious about making money from blogging you will want to check out Google Adsense. Google AnalyticsIf you’re trying to make your blog successful you will want to track traffic. Google Analytics is the best free tool for tracking things like pageviews, search terms, and tons of other stuff. You can see where people that read your blog are from, what device they use, and other things that can help you create content that people want to see. Google DocsWriting posts is one of the main things that people do on blogs. You can write your post directly in the app from the platform you use, such as Blogger, or write elsewhere. Google Docs is a great place to write drafts and collaborate with other people. The other nice thing about Docs is it offers a distraction-free interface. It’s just you, a keyboard, and a blank white screen. Go forth and write. Alternatives: Microsoft OneNote Google DriveWhen you’re running a blog that has frequent posts you will soon build up a massive folder of images and assets. Cloud storage is the best place to keep all of your media files. We like Google Drive because it has a lot of free storage and affordable upgrades. It’s also really easy to share folders with other team members. Use the cloud and never lose important files. Alternatives: Dropbox, Copy, OneDrive Google KeepIf you’re like me you get ideas for blog posts in the most random places. You might think “oh that’s a good idea, I’ll work on it later,” but then you can never remember what it was. Note taking is very important if you want to remember those great ideas. Google Keep is super fast and simple. In just a few taps you can jot down ideas to remember for later. Keep is also handy for making lists of things to do. Alternative: Evernote HootsuiteA long-time favorite for managing social media accounts is Hootesuite. This trusty favorite is used by the social departments at many big businesses. It will do just fine for your blog. What can it do? Basically everything. You can see your social feeds from several different networks all in once place. It also allows you to send out updates in bulk, and even schedule them to post at specific times. Hootsuite is a social media tool box. Pixlr ExpressSome blogs are predominately made up of photos. There are tons of excellent photo editing apps available in the Play Store, but we like Pixlr Express because it can do a lot of different things. You can do simple tasks like crop and add filters, but also adjust focus and add text on top of images. It’s great to be able to do these things without having access to Photoshop on your computer. Alternative: Photoshop Express, PicLab Have you ever saw something that you really wanted to read later? Maybe it gave you a good idea for something to put on your own blog. Or maybe it’s a photo/video you want to share with your followers later. Pocket allows you to save webpages, articles, photos, videos, or anything from the web for later. Simply add it to your Pocket and read/view/watch it when you have time. Site CheckerRunning a blog on your own server can be stressful if you’re constantly worried about it going down. Site Checker is a simple app that allows you to easily see if you site is online. It even has widgets so you can see if the site is fine from a quick glance on the homescreen. When your site is down for extended periods of time it can be disastrous for your reputation. Don’t let that happen. Alternatives: Server & Website Monitor, Monyt, IFTTT SunriseStaying organized is a common theme among many of the apps in this list. A trusty calendar app is very important to keeping yourself on track. We like Sunrise, which is a beautiful app that can work with Google Calendar. It has a great design, a 3-day view, maps and people for events, a widget, and there is even a web version for your PC. Stay on task from sunrise to sunset. Alternatives: Google Calendar, Cal TrelloAnother great tool for organizing ideas is Trello, especially if you work with other people on the same blog. This app is like a virtual whiteboard for you and your team. You can put story ideas on boards, assign team members to projects, create to-do lists, set deadlines, and keep everything on track. Never let a good story idea go unwritten. TumblrTumblr is a great service for people that want a simple blog, but it’s also so much more. Anyone can create a blog, give it a name, and start adding content, but there is also a social aspect to Tumblr. You can follow other blogs and “re-blog” content to your own blog. It’s a great community if you want to find other people who created blogs about their favorite TV shows. VidTrimIf you’re a vlogger you may want to edit videos right from your Android device. There aren’t a lot of great video editors for Android, but VidTrim does a good job. You can trim videos, convert to .mp3 files, rotate videos, grab frames, share clips to YouTube, and more. If you use your phone to vlog this is a handy little app to have. Voice RecorderSometimes you don’t want to write out a long detailed description of a great story idea. It can be much easier to simply record yourself talking about the idea. Voice Recorder is a simple app that allows you to make recordings to play back later. Just press record and start talking. All of your recordings are stored on your phone and accessible through the app. “Note to self: download Voice Recorder.” Alternative: “OK Google, Note to self: [say note]“ WordPressIf you’re really serious about blogging you probably have a self-hosted blog with WordPress. This is where the serious bloggers create their own websites and try to make money. The WordPress app for Android isn’t the greatest, but it gets the job done just fine. You can create, edit, and remove posts, reply to comments, add images, tags, schedule posts, and more. YouTubeYes, vlogging is another form of blogging. Instead of writing words down in a post you speak them to a camera. A growing amount of people do this on YouTube for a living. If you’re using your phone to record vlogs the YouTube app will allow you to upload them. This app will also allow you to interact with your commentors, and of course, watch videos. Now it’s your turn! Do you have a blog of your own? What platform do you use? What apps do you use to keep it updated? Let us know in the comments below! |
| 5 great Sonic games are on sale for $.99 in the Google Play Store Posted: 20 Jun 2014 09:56 AM PDT We thought SEGA and Google’s relationship yesterday would just bring us the goods in the form of limited time content inside Sonic Dash, but it seems a more lucrative result of said relationship has arrived. A huge sale puts five great Sonic games on sale for just $.99 in the Google Play Store. Here’s what you have to choose from:
Two great classics, two great modern reimaginations of great classics, and a pretty decent racing game as a cherry on top. That’s a recipe for draining $5 straight from my wallet. Head to Google Play using the links above if you feel like taking advantage. |
| “Yo” is a stupid app that lets you send “yo” to your friends (and it’s been hacked, yo) Posted: 20 Jun 2014 09:17 AM PDT When I first read about Yo, all I could do was execute one of the biggest facepalms in my life. Here was this app that, with no rhyme or reason, allowed you to send your friends a simple message: yo. Yo. It’s like the Hodor keyboard all over again. “Why are these stupid apps becoming a fad,” I asked myself, wondering if the development gods were playing a trick on all of us. No offense to the developers of said apps if this is their way to practice coding, but if that were the case then these things should even be anywhere near Google Play. I personally didn’t bother downloading it, and boy am I glad I didn’t. It’s been found that the app has already been exploited by a group of college students. The exploit allows them to view any phone number associated with any username, and can allow the hacker to spoof messages through the app. It’s not a terribly large concern considering “yo” is the only message you can send, but having your phone number outed for anyone to see isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world. The developer claims to have knowledge of the exploit and hopes to push out a fix within the next few hours to address it, but who knows how many other holes there are in this incredibly simple app where security seems to have been an absolute afterthought. Yo reportedly began as an April Fool’s joke, and we wouldn’t have thought it to be anything else if it’d actually come out as intended. But some investors felt the experience was so revolutionary that it warranted over $1 million in funding. All I can say to that is: where do I sign up for some beginner’s courses in Android development? [via TechCrunch] |
| Google Play Movies comes to 21 countries today (Books to 12 more) Posted: 20 Jun 2014 07:58 AM PDT There are still quite a few countries without access to some of Google’s multimedia services, and a few more have been added to the roster starting today. The first service — Google Play Movies — is now available to folks in the following countries:
And if you are wondering if your country is on the list of places already enjoying digital movies from Google Play you can check that out right here. Google has apps for Android and iOS, and has recently brought the ability to download movies for offline viewing in Chrome OS thanks to their Chrome extension upgrade. In related news, Google Play Books is also bringing love to people in a dozen countries, many of whom are enjoying residence in South America. That particular list includes Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Luxembourg, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Dig in! |
| Is Nokia teasing a new Android phone? Posted: 20 Jun 2014 06:48 AM PDT It would be natural for anyone to believe the Nokia X family is Nokia’s first and last line of Android products, what with them being fully and officially owned by Microsoft, and all. But there’s a possibility that they could be continuing their modest trek into Android territory with a follow-up device. The company has started teasing an announcement that they’ll be making in about three and a half days. They published a post on their “Nokia Conversations” blog titled “Green with Envy,” and reminded us that “summer brings out our inner glow.” The graphic they used for all this certainly does have a lot of green in it, as well. One would think all that green would mean they’re hyping up an announcement of some sort of follow-up to the Nokia X, as it was that same hue they used leading up to the announcement of the original line. And with rumors of a Nokia X2 swirling about, there’s reason to believe their Android days are not yet over. The latest Nokia X2 rumors say to expect the following:
Sounds like another unimpressive outing, though we suppose this smartphone isn’t meant for techies like us. The original Nokia X family was designed to help people graduate from feature phones to smartphones by offering the device at a very inexpensive price point. The Nokia X2 could turn out to be a very good value depending on its price, but we’ll have to see it in the flesh before we make any crass assumptions. Be sure to circle back Tuesday to see what they have on tap. |
| T-Mobile CEO John Legere goes too far with “rape” comment at Uncarrier event Posted: 20 Jun 2014 05:41 AM PDT Anyone who has been witness to T-Mobile’s transformation over the past couple of years knows that the company’s bold moves and stance also come with bold attitudes and words. The boldest of those words often come from CEO John Legere, who is historically unapologetic in cursing up a storm at his company’s press events or on Twitter. But even he can realize when he’s being just a bit too brash and goes too far. At the company’s Uncarrier event this past week, John Legere made a comment about the other wireless carriers “raping you for every penny you have.” This would be the first time he’s ever apologized for something he’s said at one of these events.
The phrase wasn’t meant to be used as an offensive tool here. The “cool kids” of the internet (often gamers) use the word “rape” in similar fashion — not the action of having intercourse with a person without their consent, but any action where someone is beat or “owned” so bad that they’d regret waking up that morning. Some folks have unfortunately gotten desensitized and have forgotten the true meaning of the word and how it can affect some people. Your natural inclination might be to tell those folks who are offended that they need to stop being so soft and fragile, but rape is a powerful, hurtful and despicable action that simply shouldn’t be joked about. And while all the protesters in the world won’t get little Jimmy or your other Xbox Live friends to stop using it in such a way, you have to be a bit more careful as the CEO of a major cellular corporation. Good on John Legere for manning up to his responsibility. |
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