Gameloft still doesn’t give Android the same lovin that goes to iOS, but they are still my favorite mobile game developer by far (seriously, I’ve authored about 50 blog posts on them). They produce some of the best looking games that Android has seen (Modern Combat 3) and they also have one of [...]]]>

Gameloft still doesn’t give Android the same lovin that goes to iOS, but they are still my favorite mobile game developer by far (seriously, I’ve authored about 50 blog posts on them). They produce some of the best looking games that Android has seen (Modern Combat 3) and they also have one of the largest library of titles spanning all genres.

In episode 20 of the Gameloft Podcast, longtime host Josh Goldberg bids farewell to his gig. To celebrate his final episode Gameloft told Josh he could do whatever he wants, which results in one of the more entertaining episodes. I won’t spoil any details, so just check out the show below.

We haven’t seen many new games from Gameloft this year, but they did just launch their free community app Gameloft Live to the Android Market. The app lets you create a 3D avatar of yourself (think Wii’s Miis) and provides access to exclusive news, spotlight promotions, and special discounts on games.

I played around with the app and didn’t see much added value yet, but this is just the first version and I’m sure Gameloft will improve it. Hey, at least it’s a sign that Gameloft is making an effort to grow their Android fan base. Be on the lookout for Dungeon Hunter 3 to hit the Android Market next month.

Gameloft LIVE! Gameloft MARKET QR POWERED BY APPAWARE

Is Android 4.0 mature enough to replace a desktop PC? I’m writing this post with Chrome Beta for Android on my Asus Transformer Prime and I think it’s almost there. Previously I was disappointed with the Browser performance on the Prime, but the recent software updates to Android 4.0.3 combined with the Chrome browser are [...]]]>

Is Android 4.0 mature enough to replace a desktop PC? I’m writing this post with Chrome Beta for Android on my Asus Transformer Prime and I think it’s almost there. Previously I was disappointed with the Browser performance on the Prime, but the recent software updates to Android 4.0.3 combined with the Chrome browser are starting to live up to my expectations.

Before there was almost no way I could get any real content creation done on the Prime, but it is now passable. The performance still does not match my Samsung ultrabook, but I have noticed great improvements since I first gave this a try last year. The keyboard lag with heavy web apps like WordPress is gone, scrolling is smooth, and my Logitech USB mouse works great.

I’m not the only one that thinks Android 4.0 is passable as a desktop operating system. Android enthusiast Christian Cantrell hooked up his Galaxy Nexus to a computer monitor, wireless keyboard with touchpad, and speakers to demonstrate the user experience. He notes that Android 4.0 has most of the functionality he could need, but the performance of the dual-core OMAP4460 in the Galaxy Nexus leaves a little to be desired.

Most Android manufactures have not really tried to push the envelope for this type of user experience, with the exception of Motorola. Their Atrix 4G was ahead of its time, but it clearly hinted where Android was going. We predicted over a year ago that Android, Chrome, and Google TV would merge onto a single device, and we are almost there.

Motorola’s webtop experience and lapdock accessory were both cool ideas, but the final experience just sucked. Now that Google is taking over Motorola and hardware continues to advance at a rapid pace, we will finally see Sanjay Jha’s original vision come true. Your smartphone will become your most personal computer and eventually replace your desktop or laptop PC.

ASUS is likely to be one of the first companies to produce one of these so called ultraphones. Their upcoming Padfone will dock into a tablet, that can dock into a keyboard, that can connect to any display. This modular design will be copied over and over by every other OEM.

We might still be another generation away from mobile processors that can deliver the PC-like performance we crave, but there are software solutions to fill the gap. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang demonstrated this at CES. Apps like Splashtop provide a virtualized OS that delivers the same exact experience you would expect from a desktop PC.

As I wrote yesterday, I still think Chrome will one day overtake Android as Google’s platform for connected devices, but that could be a decade away. Over the next five years, I see Android becoming the number one operating system on all web clients.

I realize this might sound crazy and Windows still has 70-80% market share depending on the source, but who would have predicted that Android would become the top smartphone OS as fast as it did. Smartphone sales already overtook client PCs in 2011, and that trend will continue to accelerate.

What do you think the Android ecosystem needs to deliver before you would give up your PC?

What Android devices will LG unveil at Mobile World Congress later this month? We are likely to see the Optimus 3D 2, quad-core X3, and now possibly the 5-inch Vu. LG’s Korean blog just posted a teaser video for this super-sized phone, which features the rarely-used 4:3 aspect ratio.

Highlights of the LG [...]]]>

What Android devices will LG unveil at Mobile World Congress later this month? We are likely to see the Optimus 3D 2, quad-core X3, and now possibly the 5-inch Vu. LG’s Korean blog just posted a teaser video for this super-sized phone, which features the rarely-used 4:3 aspect ratio.

Highlights of the LG Vu include a 5-inch 1024×768 IPS display, Android 2.3, dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S3 processor, 1 GB RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, NFC, and an 8 megapixel camera. The only recent Android device to use the 4:3 aspect ration was the Pantech Pocket, which failed pretty miserably on AT&T.

We don’t know if the LG Vu will be available outside of Korea yet, but it’s still worth mentioning to get an idea of future devices that could come to the US. What do you think of this interesting design choice?

We saw it coming, but Chrome for Android is the biggest news for Google’s mobile platform this year. It signals that Android will be around for a long time, but we might also look back on today as the day that native operating systems began to die and web operating systems started to take over.

Thinking of getting something for that special someone, this Valentine’s day? How about a 4G smartphone from T-Mobile? According to these screen shots (and past rumors), T-Mobile will be holding a one-day sale on February 11th, dedicated to all the love birds out there. But this is not just any sale – customers will be [...]]]>

Thinking of getting something for that special someone, this Valentine’s day? How about a 4G smartphone from T-Mobile? According to these screen shots (and past rumors), T-Mobile will be holding a one-day sale on February 11th, dedicated to all the love birds out there. But this is not just any sale – customers will be able to purchase any 4G device for free after mail-in rebate.

This is after signing a 2-year contract, of course. This deal is applicable to both Classic and Value plan subscribers, which happens to be a first for these “All Hands Day” sales. Such sales were only applicable to Value plan subscribers before, making this a much more enticing offer.

According to TmoNews‘ sources, those that pick the Classic rate plans will have to pay for the device’s usual subsidized price and receive the full amount via a mail-in rebate card. Value plan subscribers will get the same treatment after paying the down payment. (Upgrade rules and migration fees apply).

If you have been looking to get a new 4G smartphone from T-Mobile, we suggest you circle February 11th in your calendar. The offer applies to all 4G devices, including tablets like the LG G-Slate and the Huawei Springboard. There is a small catch for some devices, though. It seems like top-tier smartphones, such as the HTC Amaze and Samsung Galaxy S II might require a subscription to a 5 GB data plan.

All T-Mobile retail stores, customer service and authorized dealers will be participating on this offer. If interested, you might want to wait for the official announcement for more details, which is rumored to be as soon as this afternoon (according to the sources).

Let’s sit tight and wait to hear official details. Is anyone taking advantage of this sale? And just out of curiosity – will anyone actually purchase a phone for a Valentine’s day gift?

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Update: T-Mobile announcement

As expected, T-Mobile has just gone ahead and released information about their Valentine’s one-day sale. The information goes along with most of what we already knew. Among the most important details, though, the press release includes information about the minimum requirements for data plans:

• Voice Phones: 200 MB data plan
• Most smartphones: 2 GB data plan
• 42 Mbps devices: 5 GB data plan

For more information, check out the press release or go to T-Mobile’s official site.

There you go, guys! It is official, so start making your plans!

At long last, Google has released an Android version of the popular Chrome browser onto the Android Market as a beta for all Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Similar to it’s PC and Mac brethren, Google Chrome for Android focuses on bringing speed and simplicity to your browsing experience, as well as offering the ability to [...]]]>

At long last, Google has released an Android version of the popular Chrome browser onto the Android Market as a beta for all Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Similar to it’s PC and Mac brethren, Google Chrome for Android focuses on bringing speed and simplicity to your browsing experience, as well as offering the ability to sync your bookmarks and history across devices.

As with most things Google brings to Android, Chrome has been re-built from the ground up to take full advantage of the smaller screens on our phones and tablets. Chrome for Android features gesture support to move from tab to tab, with support for an unlimited number of tabs so you can browse to your heart’s content. And yes, Incognito Mode will be supported from day one so you can browse those seedy sections of the internet without leaving (much of) a trace.

Highlights of Chrome Beta for Android include:

• Browse fast with accelerated page loading, scrolling, and zooming
• Search and navigate directly from the omnibox
• Open and switch between unlimited tabs in an easy-to-view stack
• Sign in to Chrome to sync your bookmarks and view tabs you have open on your computer
• Send pages from desktop Chrome to your smartphone or tablet with one click and read them on the go, even if you’re offline
• Browse privately in Incognito mode

Once you sign into Chrome on your Android device, you’ll be able to view the tabs you left open on another device, get autocomplete suggestions based on your full browsing history, and have your entire suite of bookmarks available at your disposal.

We’ve been able to spend a limited amount of time with Chrome for Android, but I think it’s safe to say that Chrome will completely take over any other browser program we currently have installed. If you have a device that runs Android 4.0, we highly encourage you to head over to the Android Market and give Chrome a download.

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Is EA Mobile finally ready to take Android serious now? They have ported a handful of their most popular iOS games to Android, but most have been met with a lukewarm reception (averaging review scores of 3/5). A quick browse of EA Mobile’s site shows that they haven’t updated their Android section in years, [...]]]>

Is EA Mobile finally ready to take Android serious now? They have ported a handful of their most popular iOS games to Android, but most have been met with a lukewarm reception (averaging review scores of 3/5). A quick browse of EA Mobile’s site shows that they haven’t updated their Android section in years, with only the original T-Mobile G1 being listed as a supported device.

We don’t know much about EA Mobile’s future plans for Android, but their PR team has started to made an effort to reach out to Android bloggers and open a channel of communication. For example, to promote their upcoming Android game The Sims FreePlay, EA mailed me a Sims coffee mug, scarf, and paper speakers. I’m still not sure what the point was of these random items, but I’m sitting here writing this article so I guess they got the job done.

No release date has been announced, but we have heard that The Sims FreePlay should be available in the Android Market by the end of this month. The game previously launched on iOS devices back in December where it won several awards for best freemium game of the year.

EA’s current game The Sims 3 is priced at $6.99 and did relatively well selling between 100,000-500,000 copies (most came when the game was on sale for $0.99). Unfortunately the game has not been updated since September, which has led to many complaints about support and earned the game a 3.5 rating in the Android Market.

Even though most of EA’s titles have been disappointing compared to their iOS versions, we know they are capable of producing some awesome Android games – see Dead Space. Hopefully The Sims FreePlay will receive their best effort and more resources will be allocated to support the game after its initial release.

Do we have any Sims fans in the house?

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Samsung, have you learned nothing from the past couple years worth of advertising failures? You could have done so much with your Super Bowl ad, but you didn’t. You did nothing but brag about a stylus, and make fun of one of your main competitor’s customers. Samsung blew a monstrous opportunity yesterday to show off [...]]]>

Samsung, have you learned nothing from the past couple years worth of advertising failures? You could have done so much with your Super Bowl ad, but you didn’t. You did nothing but brag about a stylus, and make fun of one of your main competitor’s customers. Samsung blew a monstrous opportunity yesterday to show off why people all over the world love the Galaxy Note.

What they did

The first thirty seconds of Samsung’s Super Bowl ad are dedicated to showing people standing in line complaining. With one of the few product related dialogue lines during that thirty seconds being, “It’s the new Samsung Galaxy Note, It’s got a pen?!”

The next minute is dedicated to an old song from The Darkness, and who knows how many thousands of dollars worth of dancing and stunts. Oh, and some people are using the Note’s camera.

The end of the 90 second commercial shows the Note, with a coming soon sign right next to Best Buy’s logo.

If you had never heard of the Galaxy Note, what would you assume it is? A tablet with a stylus? That has a camera? Are either of those features compelling enough to drive the average consumer to investigate? Or will they be busy talking about how they used to have a Palm Pilot with a stylus?

It looks likes Samsung may have left consumers with more questions than answers. And nothing compelling enough to push them to find out more.

What they should have done

The Galaxy Note doesn’t just feature a stylus. The Note’s S Pen is paired with a Wacom brand digitizer. A brand recognized by millions upon millions of professionals in all sorts of media and art related industries. Samsung really should have shown that off.

They should have talked about how fluid using the S Pen is. And how it’s nothing like the styluses of yesteryear. They should have shown off how it’s pressure sensitive, all the different brush strokes you can use, and the different applications the S Pen works with.

Then, they should have mentioned how the large ultra crisp display is excellent for viewing and editing photos and video. A perfect compliment to the level of detail the S Pen is capable of.

Oh, and about that display. They need to make sure everyone knows about the rigorous testing done to make sure it was just the right size. Perfect for the Samsung exclusive technology built into the Note. Great for reading books and watching movies. Just big enough to give you a roomy tablet-like experience. Yet still small enough to use as a phone. Because you know, the Note is a phone after all.

Samsung could have done a lot with their Super Bowl ad. But they did practically nothing. Maybe next year?

Google’s lust to make the world a better place doesn’t simply stop with open operating systems and socially enhanced web search. That’s only the beginning. They have a ton of money, loads of data and enough industry cred to pull in some of the brightest minds on the planet for just about any project the [...]]]>

Google’s lust to make the world a better place doesn’t simply stop with open operating systems and socially enhanced web search. That’s only the beginning. They have a ton of money, loads of data and enough industry cred to pull in some of the brightest minds on the planet for just about any project the company undertakes. But it goes further still.

Google wants to put their resources to good use beyond branded products. So they’ve launched a website and will be hosting regular conferences under the name Solve for X.

If you’re familiar with TED, then you already have a good idea what Solve for X is all about. The conference is going to be an invite only event where people from all over the world present “moon shot” ideas on how to fix problems associated with things like education, energy, health problems, the economy and more. After the conference, the information presented will find its way to the Solve for X website.

The information posted (in the form of presentations) will be 12 minutes long and include answers to the following questions:

• What is the huge problem you’re focused on fixing?
• What is the product or service that sounds like science fiction but that, if made, would radically improve the problem you just described?
• What specifically is the science or technology breakthrough that can give us all hope that such a product or service can be made and released to the world within a decade?

The official Solve for X website isn’t open to the public yet, but it should be ready any time now.

What do you think of Google’s Solve for X project, is it a step forward for radical idea organization? Or should Google be focusing on things like Android and Chrome?

New images of the HTC Ville have been spotted, giving us a closer look at the exterior of the device. Anyone who has owned an HTC device in the past year and a half will immediately recognize the unibody aluminum casing and HTC’s unique styling. As we’ve mentioned in the past, the HTC Ville features [...]]]>

New images of the HTC Ville have been spotted, giving us a closer look at the exterior of the device. Anyone who has owned an HTC device in the past year and a half will immediately recognize the unibody aluminum casing and HTC’s unique styling. As we’ve mentioned in the past, the HTC Ville features many of the design characteristics of the HTC Desire S which seems appropriate given that the Ville will most likely be the natural replacement for last year’s mid-range handset. The Ville’s spec sheet includes a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm S4 chip, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, 1650 mAh battery and an 8 megapixel shooter capable of recording video in 1080p and a 3 megapixel front-facing camera.

We’ve played around with the colors a little on some of the images so that you can get a better look at the front of the HTC Ville. Just like what we saw in the leaked HTC Ville video last week, the handset features three capacitive buttons (back, home, menu) underneath the 4.3-inch qHD display. This is a departure from HTC’s typical button layout which currently includes a dedicated search button. The front side of the Ville is fairly plain, featuring a wide speaker grill above the display with a prominent 3 megapixel front-facing camera directly to the right of it.

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The right side of the phone sports the volume rocker and the left side features the device’s power port which is a perfect location if HTC plans on making a desktop dock of the Ville. The back side of the Ville is plain as well with a single LED flash accompanying the 8 megapixel camera at the top and two rubber sections which most likely house the handset’s antenna. The most noticeable difference between the HTC Ville and most of HTC’s current devices is the device’s 8mm thick body. We know that many Android manufacturers are in a race to produce the thinnest smartphone on the planet, but we doubt any of them will feel as solid as the Ville with its aluminum shell.

Below is a leaked video of the HTC Ville which shows of HTC Sense 4.0 running on Android 4.0.

We’re only three weeks away from the official unveiling of the HTC Ville at Mobile World Congress. All we really need now is an official launch date, price and we should be all set. Would any of you buy the HTC Ville if your favorite service provider decided to sell the phone for $200?