Unveiled late last month at Google I/O 2012, the Nexus 7 is one of the most well received tablets since the iPad 2. Critics are absolutely loving the Nexus 7 because it offers the features of a $500 tablet – quad core processor, a gig of RAM, HD display, long lasting battery life, powerful graphics etc. etc. – at just $199. Combine all that with the latest version of Android, 4.1 Jelly Bean, and you get the best in Android tablet experiences today.
Announced at Google I/O last month alongside Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the Nexus 7 tablet, the Nexus Q is the sort of gadgetry that has, so far, left most of us wondering, “Why, Google?” It has the innards of an Android smartphone, and strictly requires an Android device to work. All it does is stream TV shows, movies and music from the Google Play Store and videos from YouTube. It doesn’t even work on its own as you need an Android smartphone / tablet to control it. To top it off, it costs $299 which is simply unreasonable for a device with such a limited feature set.
Have I told you about the sheer variety of launchers available on Android? If you’ve read previous posts by yours truly, I’m sure you’ve already hear me this. There are all sorts of launchers that cater to different user needs. You’ve got ones that promise the best performance, ones that offer the best set of features and ones that claim to offer the best of both. Other launchers are usually ports of customized launchers from OEMs like Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola.
If you're a developer, an Android device is like steak to a lion, offering an unrivalled amount of scope for fun to be had. The latest iteration of Android - Jelly Bean - is still in relative infancy, but already, modders and developers have been sinking their teeth into the new OS.
XBMC, the free, open source cross-platform media player extraordinaire, will soon be arriving at the Google Play Store, the company has confirmed in a blog post on its site. Although mobile iterations of software tend to be considerably watered-down, XBMC is said to be a fully-fledged, feature-rich port, and will be available for Android tablets, smartphones, or set-top boxes.
Last month, we notified you of the soon-to-drop Dark Night Rises game, a supplementary offering to the final edition of Christian Bale's Batman trilogy. The title will release for both Android and iOS, both of which are expected to arrive next Friday, 20th July - a day after the movie hits the cinemas worldwide.
The Ouya games console, which paints itself as something of a dream machine to modders and developers, has become the fastest-grossing Kickstarter campaign in just a few short days, and at the time of writing, has just passed the $4.5 million mark with over 35,000 backers. Not bad going really, considering the initial target was a comparatively-meager $950,000, and with the device, which is pronounced "ooh-yah", taking up a great deal of column inches right now, the future looks bright for the $99 console.
Smartive Hotels is a new free Android app which hopes to make the finding and booking of hotel rooms as easy as possible, right from the comfort of your own smartphone. Travelling is one of life's little luxuries that comes with an annoying down side. While the fun of travelling the world, or even your own country is undoubtable, actually setting the trip up can actually leave you ready for a holiday even more! There's the travel, which is often no picnic, and then there's the ever stressful job of finding the right hotel for you.
The British Broadcasting Service, or BBC, is renowned worldwide for its eloquent, objective news publications, and with this year's Olympic Games being held in London, it was only right the BBC, often referred to as the Beeb, would deliver its own app designed especially for the games.
With the 2012 Summer Olympic Games are just a couple of weeks away, NBC has teamed up with Adobe to release mobile apps for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and “select” Android smartphones and tablets. Check them out after the jump!
