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November, 2010 Articles

Phan Giveaway: Android Tablet, iSteamAndy T-Shirt, Smartphone Coaster & Phan Gear!

by Rob Jackson on November 16th, 2010

UPDATED: entries end 11:59pm EDT on November 16th, 2010 and winner selected November 17th! This is, by far, our biggest Phan Giveaway yet and we hope they only get bigger and better from here (hint: sponsors should contact us)! Today, one lucky random commenter will win a 7-inch Android Tablet called the Maylong Universe, an [...]

Google Goggles Will Enable a Richer Advertising Experience for Consumers and Businesses [Video]

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Google Goggles is currently the bee’s knees among Android users, and Google can obviously see that. We’re scanning QR codes, text, pictures of products, and more to search for stuff without having to know the product name and manually type it in. As it ties into search, one would think that the next logical step [...]

PapayaMobile Launches Game Engine for Developers

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

PapayaMobile’s announced that they’ve launched an easy to use game engine for developers who need a little pick-me-up for the Android platform. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because they make some of the fun and addictive games you see on the Android market today, such as Papaya Farm. (A Farmville clone, for lack of [...]

Android Development Skills in High Demand, But You Aren’t Surprised

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

When the core product grows, everything surrounding it must grow. This has always been true for any business over the centuries, and it’s no less true with Android. A new study shows that the demand for Android development skills is the highest it’s ever been. Conducted by oDesk, the study shows that demand for Android [...]

Qualcomm Accepting Submissions for Augmented Reality Developer Competition

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Qualcomm’s getting ready to make their strong push for the widescale adoption, development, and use of augmented reality as they’ve just let the floodgates open for submissions into their Augmented Reality Developer Competition. Contestants will simply develop apps using augmented reality in conjunction with, say, an Android smartphone for compelling real-world applications. We’ve already heard [...]

Barnes & Noble’s NOOKcolor Shipping Early to Pre-Orderers, Heading to Retail; e-Ink Nook Getting Big Update Next Week

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Barnes & Noble’s just put out a press release confirming that their NOOKcolor Android eReader would be shipping early to pre-orderers as early as today. We should also see it showing up in Barnes & Noble and some of the bigger third-party retailers starting sometime this week. For $249.99, you’ll get what’s essentially a 7-inch [...]

Bring Some Holiday (Christmas) Cheer to Your Home Screen with this Live Wallpaper

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

‘Tis the season to be jolly! Live wallpapers are a great way to help you get into holiday mode for whatever’s coming up. We’ve already seen a couple of cool Thanksgiving-themed wallpapers out there, and now there’s a nice option just in time for Christmas. There are a few cool effects that come with the [...]

Panasonic Gears Up to Enter the Smartphone Game, Will Employ Android for the Task

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Panasonic’s looking to join the smartphone race starting in Japan early next year, according to Reuters. It’s unfamiliar territory for the technology vendor who claims they’ve always wanted to jump into the market, but unfortunately misjudged the rate at which smartphones would take off. Their approach will be similar to Samsung’s in terms of product [...]

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Announce Mobile Payment Services with Near Field Communications via ISIS

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Following Eric Schmidt’s quick tip yesterday regarding the Nexus S – which will be coming with near field communications technology – ISIS, in conjunction with T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, has announced a secure platform for which to perform all of your daily transactions using nothing but the waving of your phone. We’ve heard murmurs of [...]

Chase Mobile App Available Early December, Check Deposits in Tow

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

I stopped by a Chase bank location earlier in the weekend to resolve some issues I’ve been having with my account and the teller I sat down with noticed my EVO 4G and started watering at the mouth to tell me all about the Android app they have coming out (which we’ve heard about before, [...]

Video of Eric Schmidt’s Nexus S Outing

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Yesterday, we went crazy as Eric Schmidt – completely disregarding the formal announcement process we’ve all become used to – waved an unannounced device about on stage at O’Reilly Media’s Web 2.0 Summit, Gingerbread in tow. We assumed it could only be what everyone now knows is the Nexus S, and Schmidt’s own tongue-in-cheek “debunking” [...]

LG Optimus One Sells 1 Million Units in Nearly a Month and a Half

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

LG’s proven that an affordable Android handset can still attract a lot of folks as they’ve announced that they’ve sold over 1 million phones from their Optimus One line of products. While it’s not the most impressive phone by any means, the Optimus One is a fantastic option for folks who don’t have the coin [...]

Samsung Committing to Google TV, Unveiling it at CES 2011

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Samsung may have beat Google to the market with the first round of mainstream “internet TV” with apps support, but it sounds like they’d rather ditch their home-brewed offering for what Google’s brought to the table. They’ve announced plans to embed Google TV technology into a new line of their products and it’s been confirmed [...]

LG “Star” with Tegra 2 and Stock Android Coming Early 2011

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Engadget’s just uncovered a beast of an LG phone – internally being called the LG Star – and its specs do not fail to impress. It’ll supposedly be equipped with NVIDIA’s dual-core Tegra 2 chipset, will have an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen, and stock Android (though no version [...]

Google Maps and Shopper Updated, Google Hotpot Introduced.

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 16th, 2010

Yes, folks, I said Hotpot. No, not a delicious concoction of epic proportions that’s too good to be classified a casserole. Instead, Google Hotpot is a standalone application that helps you find local spots based on what your friends like, and more importantly, based on what you like. When searching for a place, if you [...]

Galaxy Tab for Sprint Gets an OTA Update, Literally Fails

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 15th, 2010

The latest OTA news being shoved through our newswire comes from the Sprint camp with their newly-launched Samsung Galaxy Tab. Phil from Android Central noticed version MR0 DJ30 was being pushed to him this evening which was said to “address the Microsoft Exchange IT Admin policy compliance and SMS short code messaging.” I’m not sure [...]

Dell Opus One to be Dual-Core Follow-up to the Streak?

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 15th, 2010

We’re not sure how this one slipped through the cracks, but new rumors late last week are suggesting that Dell has a new Android tablet in the works that will be a direct successor to the Dell Streak. It’s said that this new tablet will be out in May 2011 and is currently codenamed the [...]

Orbitz, Priceline Head to the Android Market to Battle for Online Booking Supremacy

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 15th, 2010

A pair of app launches sees the traveler in everyone getting excited. First up, Prceline.com is bringing their Hotel Negotiator application out that allows you to bid on hotel rooms and allows you to book rooms on the same day right for your phone, a perfect feature for someone who would be using this on [...]

Schmidt: Nothing to Worry About With Google TV Partners, Talks are Going Well

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 15th, 2010

When asked about hesitation from networks and content providers on Google TV, Eric Schmidt answered it as bluntly as he could: everyone’s making it out to be worse than it really is. The asker of the question is referring to sites like Hulu.com blocking any and all Google TV devices from accessing their content, and [...]

[Update: Still Shot Procured] LIVE: Eric Schmidt Holding What Looks Like the Nexus S with Gingerbread

by Quentyn Kennemer on November 15th, 2010

Well well well, rumors came out regarding the Web 2.0 conference and a Gingerbread announcement, but those were just rumors. And while today’s occurrence wasn’t a formal announcement by any means, Eric Schmidt took to the hot seat with a device that looks JUST LIKE the Nexus S seen spied in various angles. (Look at [...]