After the spec'd-out One X and One X+ failed to make the desired impression on an Android user base concerned primarily with Samsung-branded handsets, HTC is back with a new flagship device, and is doing its level best to gather some momentum behind it. The HTC One, which has been the subject of quite a few carefully-engineered leaks, is going to be showcased very, very soon - on February 19th, in fact - and in anticipation for its special launch event in New York City on that very date, the 'quietly brilliant' Taiwanese manufacturer has been running special promo page (complete with a countdown timer) on its Web page.
The Samsung Galaxy S IV is the smartphone nearly every Android fan is waiting to see this year, and according to a report over at SamMobile, the device will launch alongside a “mini” version of the revered handset, as well as a supposed "Galaxy Watch". The latter is being touted as a contender to the as-yet unannounced 'iWatch' from Apple, and with a mini version of the Galaxy S III having been in circulation for a number of months now, it's certainly plausible that both could accompany the main event.
Electronic Arts has announced that the third release from its popular Real Racing series will be landing at the Google Play Store for Android, and the App Store for iOS, as of the 28th February. The iPhone 5 launch gave us a glimpse of things to come from Real Racing 3, but while the snippets appeared remnant of Gran Turismo, fans have had to wait quite a while for a solid release date. Now, the wait appears to be almost over, and by the end of the month - provided no unforeseen delays crop up - the mobile arena's favorite racer will be back for a third lap.
BlueStacks has built its solid reputation on providing software which enables Android apps to run on a variety of different platforms besides Google's. With the Windows beta version released last year to some 5 million+ downloads and the OS X beta arriving just six weeks ago, the BlueStacks team has now compiled a version adapted to the relatively-new Windows 8 platform, as well as optimization for the Microsoft Surface Pro. Details after the break.
Smartphones have made our lives a lot, well, smarter, to put it in one word. They serve multiple purposes in our daily lives, such as portable media players, capable replacements for point-and-shoot cameras, personal information managers, handheld gaming devices, internet browsers, social connectors, news and eBook readers, email managers, document suites, and of course, communicators. We have become too accustomed to all these luxuries, that it would be hard to imagine going back ever to a dumb phone, and we have become so reliant on these conveniences, that our lives definitely feel incomplete without taking full advantage of the capabilities that a smartphone has to offer.
Sometimes, you just need to transfer a presentation to a co-worker or friend, or a home movie to a family member. In the age of fast Wi-Fi and smartphones, why use physical medium when you can simply send files around over the air? If you are using Android, Fast File Transfer is an easy-to-use utility that lets you do just that.
Nike has enjoyed great success in its ongoing partnership with Apple, to bring its sporting and athlete-focused technologies to first the iPod, and more recently, iOS devices. The FuelBand, in particular, has been a huge hit among active folks, and although wireless syncing for iOS is nothing new, those of the supposition that such an Android app would follow suit have today had their dreams abruptly shot down.
Application launching on mobile devices has been an issue that many have been trying to address ever since the widespread use of smartphones became a reality a few years ago. Swapps is a new Android app that takes an interesting approach to app launching, bagging cues from Ubuntu’s Unity interface, more specifically the sidebar.
Back when smartphones first became a reality in most of our lives, we quickly began struggling with managing all of our installed apps, as app stores have become increasingly filled with games, productivity apps, weird camera apps and even completely useless utilities. AppSpace is a new app launcher for Android that takes a different approach, placing apps in a virtual space, associating your favorite apps with different physical objects which are placed in a virtual “room”.
Launchers are one thing that truly define Android. While iOS has been following a strictly conventional design for a long time now, Google’s smartphone and tablet operating system has consistently and elegantly been different thanks to a huge variety of third-party launchers that are available across various forums and Google Play Store. In fact, the popularity and utility of launchers is such that big Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like Samsung and HTC, have their own brand of custom Android skin that runs on top of the native OS underneath.
