Apps posts - Android Atlas- Page 106

Android in the kitchen

I get really excited when I see devices like the Android-powered Vega Tablet that debuted last week. The moment I read the announcement, I started thinking of all the ways it could enhance my life.

And where would I use it first? In the kitchen, of course! After a minute or so I realized that there are five Google Android applications that I use on a semi-regular basis with my T-Mobile G1 that would be greatly improved by a device like the Vega.

Cooking Capsules allows me to watch cooking shows on my handset so I can whip up a romantic dinner for my wife. I can also search through the Taster Collection videos and watch step-by-step instructions on how to create such delicious dishes as a tofu stir fry or chocolate pots de creme.

While this and the other apps would look nice on my handset, I would simply love to see them on my kitchen counter on a screen large enough to view across the room. The idea behind Cooking Capsules is fantastic, but I've found myself getting close to dripping marinades on my phone twice already.

I downloaded a free application called Grocery List which is exactly as it sounds. Beyond creating a list of items to pick up the next time I am at the store, Grocery List also allows me to swipe my finger across items and check them off as I go.

Is Android ready for enterprise use?

With new features like turn-by-turn navigation and a self-correcting soft keyboard, Android 2.0 is enticing new customers who've never owned a smartphone.

But is Android ready for business customers? With support for corporate e-mail and calendar accounts, Google Android isn't just for consumers, but some IT managers have raised concerns over the operating system's ActiveSync client, its encryption, and its security.

A quick look around the Verizon forum indicates that users are confused on several fronts. We've already put to rest the confusion over its consumer data plans, but the Motorola Droid's Microsoft Exchange … Read more

Smartphone users, keep complaining

Want great software for your mobile phone? Keep up the complaints. That was the message at a Tuesday session of the BlackBerry Developer Conference here in San Francisco aimed at developers. But it's a dictum that applies to all smartphone owners.

In the symbiotic relationship between the application developer and the user, a well-placed critique is key to a good programmer improving their mobile application. The motto of the squeakiest wheel getting the most grease may seem obvious, but the importance of user feedback becomes even clearer when articulated in dollar signs and numbers.

A single-star rating for an application on a review site or storefront can severely limit its chances of getting downloaded, and therefore of making money.

"This is the curse of the one-star," said session speaker Stephen King (not that Stephen King), CEO of app testing company Mob4Hire.

His company's research suggests that the bulk of users feel comfortable downloading new mobile software that gets four stars or above. With 69 percent of people discovering apps based on rankings, reviews, and friend recommendations, and the mobile app industry growing 26 percent year over year, according to Juniper Research, there's real money to be made or lost. Addressing peoples' complaints isn't just a best business practice; it may directly affect the bottom line.… Read more

Will Samsung's Bada affect Android?

With the announcement of its new Bada operating system, Samsung promises to shake up the mobile OS market in the next few years.

According to a Seoul-based brokerage firm, the cell phone giant plans to gradually abandon its use of Microsoft Windows Mobile OS and increase the number of devices running Android and Bada.

While Windows Mobile accounted for nearly 90 percent of Samsung' smart phone line in 2008, it's estimated to drop to 50 percent in 2010 and 20 percent in 2011. This move echoes a recent HTC decision to devote over half of their 2010 product line … Read more

ADC 2 narrows the field

As the second round of the Android Developers Challenge 2 gets underway, Google is again calling on Android users to participate in the voting.

The field has been narrowed down to 20 semifinalists in 10 categories like Education/Reference, Entertainment, and Travel. As with the first round of the challenge, Google is encouraging developers to download the official application from the Android Market and vote on various criteria including originality of concept and indispensability.

This developer community vote will constitute 40 percent of the overall score with a panel of Google-selected judges accounting for the remaining 60 percent. During the … Read more

Adobe's Photoshop app comes to Android

Adobe Systems on Friday introduced a new Photoshop app for Android users that lets them edit photos from their phone, as well as access their online photo collection on Photoshop.com.

The app comes just shy of a month after the release of the company's application for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users, which quickly became the top free application in the App Store and grabbed a million downloads within a week of its release.

The version for Android shares the same, simple editing UI as the iPhone/iPod version, both of which let users make edits by sliding … Read more

Slacker Radio now playing on Android phones

It's been about a month since we got a peek at the first generation of the Slacker Radio streaming music app for the Android platform. We liked what we saw. On Thursday, other Android users can also cast their own vote about Slacker Radio 1.0 for Android by downloading it for free from the Market application on their Android smartphone.

Like Slacker Radio on other mobile platforms--and also similar to other streaming radio and music discovery apps like Pandora and Last.fm--the app lets you stream music from pre-programmed genres and stations, or from stations you set … Read more

Your best 'worst' Google Voice transcription errors

Last week, we shared three of our wackiest mistranscribed voice messages from Google Voice and asked you to pass along the funniest flubs from your own in-box. Your hilarious samples poured in through comments and e-mails. We've rounded up some fine specimens of voice mail meanings that were definitely lost in translation in our gallery.

In defense of Google Voice, computer-aided transcription technology is still maturing. While Google Voice's engine doesn't get it right all the time--or even most of the time in our case--it's better than nothing. At the very least, it produces amusing gems … Read more

What's your funniest Google Voice transcription flub?

Earlier this week, I bashed Google's visual voice mail service for its inability to transcribe my voice messages into understandable English. (OK, most of the article really focuses on a new flexibility in Google Voice, which I do like.) To be fair, poor transcription isn't all Google's fault. They're offering a free service based on a computer-aided technology that improves each year. The real problem is that machine transcription just isn't good enough.

Up until yesterday, I hadn't received more than a handful of visual voice mail message translations imbued with any meaning in … Read more

DVD Jon's DoubleTwist adds sync support for Android phones

Wednesday saw the launch of a new version of DoubleTwist, the iTunes-like desktop music client that also syncs with Amazon's music store and was founded by Monique Farantzos and Jon Lech Johansen (aka notorious hacker DVD Jon). While we don't cover every piece of software that hits the Web, this one is unique: it not only syncs with iTunes, it syncs with Android phones, like the forthcoming Droid from Verizon.

This is big news for non-iPhone users. All the major smartphones these days boast of being music players, but for the most part users don't use them … Read more