January 14, 2011 – 1:15 pm
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA as we usually call it, has released an official Android app called NASA Spinoff.
The application is a client for Spinoff: NASA’s yearly publication about successfully commercialized NASA technology. NASA has been transferring some of its innovations to the private sector for over 40 years, and Spinoff highlights those endeavors.
While the app may not be as impressive as some of NASA’s releases for iOS, and the choice of color scheme perhaps is somewhat questionable, Spinoff seems like a pretty cool app. Among else, it features an interesting time-line of NASA inventions. Use the button below to install NASA Spinoff if you want to give it a try.
From the developers:
“For over 50 years, NASA has created new technologies with direct benefit to the private sector, supporting global competition and the economy. The resulting commercialization has contributed to products and services in the fields of health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, environmental resources, computer technology, and industry. Since 1976, NASA has featured these technologies in its Spinoff publication.
The NASA Spinoff application contains a feed of NASA’s latest technology news, a searchable database of NASA-derived innovations, a map of spinoff locations, a historical timeline, and a database of NASA’s available licensing opportunities to inspire the spinoffs of the future.”
Via [EuroDroid]
January 13, 2011 – 9:46 am
Never again will your phone ring at the cinema or at meetings. Disable ringtone and vibrationwifi and bluetooth. No more spam calls during office hours or at night. Block calls remind yourself to buy something when youre near the store or send SMS to friends near location.
The features at a glance Add Spots either by double taping on the map searching for an address or using your current position and add reminders change profiles or block calls for this position Send SMS to someone when you are at the current spot or when you leave it. Enable start end time days of week and if you want to fire the events when you enter or leave a current location. Choose the radius for each Spot its category and color flag. Notifications include normal Android notifications and a custom alert dialog. Block all calls at your office for instance or choose to allow from your address book block restricted numbers white and blacklists and delete the traces from the call history log.
New features in development. A Smart Mode for user predefined locations like Theaters Restaurants Public schools etc Ability to enable or disable the GPS chip for the location ideal if youre at the office and want to enable GPS during the day and enable it automatically when you leave the office.
January 13, 2011 – 9:45 am
Android’s Native Development Kit was introduced back in July of 2009 and has allowed developers to write shared libraries in C and C++ that Android apps can take advantage of. Chris Pruett, a Googler and Androider, points out over at the Android Developers blog that as the ”awesomeness” of the Android NDK increases, the “awesomeness” of Android apps increase directly. But, I challenge you Mr. Pruett, does the increase in “awesomeness” of Android apps increase the “awesomeness” of the NDK? Check out the “awesomeness” graph below.
Stepping away from logic tricks, lets take a look at what the new stuff in the NDK really means for developers and non-developers. The biggest thing for developers to see as a benefit will obviously be all of the more advanced things that they can do with the device and UI because of the low level library changes. These new libraries will also inevitably support Android applications by allowing for brand new functionality and interaction with hardware and UI. Something else of note is that the new NDK allows C++ developers to fully develop native Android apps without writing a single line of Java code. That’s right, all you C++ guys and gals out there don’t have to dabble with Java to create your new Android application.
And for consumers there are infinite possibilities mostly evident in better, more visually stunning and useful applications. Not to mention the increase in game performance and support for better graphics down the road. The Android NDK is definitely a geeky thing, but with it comes a better, more robust platform to develop awesome applications on.
If you want to know the technical stuff I highly suggest heading over to the Android Developers blog and reading Chris’s article.
Via [Android Developers Blog]
January 13, 2011 – 9:45 am
We’ve all been walking along with Google on their journey to give us type-Android diabetes with Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, and soon Honeycomb. The prevailing idea had been that the next version of Android past that would be code-named Ice Cream, but Andy Rubin himself has come out to say that it will actually be called Ice Cream Sandwich. With any luck, that’ll be shortened to ICS before too long.
Andy apparently let the name slip while having a conversation with Mike Arrington, and TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid about the recently released Nexus S. The general theory, which seems pretty spot on to me, is that a bowl of ice cream may be a bit difficult to distinguish from a bowl of frozen yogurt, so Google had to be more specific with this name.
So, all this begs the question: What kind of ice cream sandwich should it be? My favorite is an ICS with chocolate chip cookie ends. But, there is the classic bar shaped ICS that we all know and love. What do you guys think?
[TechCrunch]
January 13, 2011 – 5:56 am
The Acer Liquid Mini has just passed FCC certification, and it’s using AT&T’s 3G bands. Of course, this doesn’t confirm that the Mini will be on AT&T, but I wouldn’t bet on it going anywhere else. If you’re not familiar with the Mini, it’s similar to the Liquid Metal we heard about last fall. The Mini is packing Froyo, a 600MHz processor, 5MP camera, 3.2-inch HVGA display, and 512MB of RAM. The screen isn’t exactly the biggest or the best, but for a low-end Froyo-equipped device, we don’t expect one. If you’re on AT&T and you’re looking for a cost-effective Android device, you might want to take a second look at this one. No word on pricing or a release date, but at least it passed the FCC, right? Check out another picture of the Mini below. Anyone thinking about picking up one of these when it drops?
Source PocketNow
Acer Liquid Mini Passes FCC, AT&T-Bound? originally appeared on AndroidGuys.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
You May Also Enjoy…
January 13, 2011 – 5:21 am
Sammy appears to be readying another LTE-ready device for MetroPCS, this time in the form of a QWERTY slider called the Forte. The device will feature a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5MP camera, TouchWiz, and will ship with Android 2.2 with the possibility of a 2.3 upgrade down the line.
Not much else is known, including pricing and availability, so stay tuned.
MetroPCS getting the Samsung Forte, an LTE-ready QWERTY Android phone
January 13, 2011 – 4:22 am
Samsung has filled a new device with the FCC with the model number “GT-i9023?, and speculation is stirring that this is a new version of the Nexus S which will ship with Android 2.4. Let’s take a look at the evidence, shall we?
First of all, the outline of the device (seen above) looks exactly like the Nexus S. Also, a video has leaked showing a Nexus S in the wild (supposedly) running 2.4, with the baseband version in the About text reading i9023. Secondly, some European retailers are listing the i9023 as a “Black Silver” Nexus S, and why would Samsung make a new filling simply for a change in the color scheme?
This is all speculation at this point, but some of the evidence is fairly compelling. I suppose we will have to wait and see what happens with this one, but for now you can hit up after the break to check out the previously mentioned video.
Read More…
Is the Samsung GT-i9023 a new version of the Nexus S with Android 2.4?
January 13, 2011 – 3:47 am
In a move of surprising honesty, Sony Ericsson’s Global Head of Marketing, Steve Walker, has publicly admitted to mistakes he feels his company made in 2010 regarding their Android line. It’s no big secret that many people were rather unimpressed with the decision to ship an Android device with version 1.6 of the OS this late in the game, and rightfully so. Walker had the following to say on the subject.
“It’s important to remember that 2010 was the first year for mass market Android handsets. Yes there had been one or two things out from HTC previously, but when we started to design our 2010 handsets in 2008, nobody really knew the dynamics of the Android smartphone market or even what the smartphone market was going to be.”
I understand that things change in any market, which is why you need to continually adapt as you design and innovate. The bottom line is that shipping the Xperia line with 1.6 was a gigantic mistake, and it cost them dearly. However, Sony is already looking to undo some of these errors in 2011, beginning with their new Arc smartphone. The device does look promising, so we will have to wait and see how it fairs with the general public after last years debacle. Stay tuned .
Sony Ericsson admits past mistakes, says 2011 will be better
January 13, 2011 – 2:54 am
We’ve got some fantastic news for all of you music lovers who have been waiting for a unique music experience on the Android platform. Vevo, one of the worlds leading premium music entertainment providers has released their Android application for devices with firmware 2.1 and higher. The app has a few custom features tailored just for Android, like voice searches to find a song or an artist quickly. Obviously, Vevo allows you to stream music videos, but also adds functionality for searching charts about top artists and songs, as well as creating custom playlists. So, if you’re bored searching through YouTube to find your favorite video, then head on over to our apps database via the source link or check it out on the Android Market. Don’t forget to let us know what you think about the app in the comments below.
Vevo Now Available In The Android Market
January 11, 2011 – 12:57 pm
Maizu M9, recently hit the market and had been a hot cake at a price around 18-20k INR. As the model looks quiet similar to iPhone4 and Nuvifone M10 from garmin-asus. When we looked at what this cute little device offers you are something that attracted me. The M9 packs a 1GHz Samsung S5PC110 processor, runs the Android 2.2 Froyo OS and supports connectivity including 3G, Bluetooth, WiFi. The handset also has 512MB RAM, 512MB ROM, a 5 megapixel camera that supports HD video recording and a 3.6-inch touchscreen display with an amazing 940×600 px resolution makes it one of it’s kind.
Let’s wait and see how much magic M9 can create in the mobile phone market.
