Android software

Samsung working on Android 4.1 update for Galaxy S III

Samsung is on the verge of releasing an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for its Galaxy S III smartphone, according to a recent SamMobile report. The mobile blog claims that internal testing of the new firmware is complete and that a public-ready version is ready. All that stands in the way, or so it seems, is a final approval from the Google team. … Read more

Train your Android phone to act automatically with Tasker

Every day, we repeat the same routine tasks: turning on Wi-Fi at work, decreasing the brightness in the evening, enabling silent mode at night, and so on.

By now, you probably perform these actions subconsciously, but what if you could "train" your phone to automatically complete these tasks, so you don't have to?

Tasker, a $6.49 app for Android, lets you do just that. It works like this: If the phone is in X situation, then Y happens. Within the app, this formula is defined by using "contexts" and "tasks."

The context … Read more

Nuance unveils Nina, a Siri sister that lives in third-party apps

Nuance, a company that plays a part in some of the most well-known speech-recognition services on the market, has unveiled its own intra-app service, called Nina.

With Nina's help, iOS and Android developers can bring speech recognition, text-to-speech, and voice biometrics to their individual applications. Nina works much in the same way as Siri, allowing users to provide voice commands that the technology then follows. And with the open software development kit, Nuance says that it can be integrated quickly into existing apps.

Nuance has played an integral role in Siri's development. Nuance provided technology to Siri before … Read more

iTunes Match vs. Amazon Cloud Player: What's the better option?

With Amazon's recently updated Cloud Player service, music fans now have one more way to store and stream their tunes from the cloud. It bears many similarities to Apple's iTunes Match, but after playing around with both services I can attest to some clear differences, as well. If you're looking for some guidance on which service is a better fit for your music collection, you've come to the right place.

iTunes Match Cloud Player Free option n/a 250 songs, scan & match, purchases do not count against total Paid option $24.99/yr, scan & … Read more

Rumor Has It: iPhone 5 isn't the only trick up Apple's sleeve

On this week's show, we discuss the latest iPhone 5 release date rumors, Samsung's possible Retina Display, and an alleged new tablet from Sony, and we wonder if Apple is really interested in buying a stake in Twitter.

The New York Times came out with a report over the weekend describing talks between Apple and the 140-character proselytizer. The report alleged that Apple has considered buying a minority stake in Twitter, a company that hasn't yet filed an IPO. The Wall Street Journal chimed in to say the talks were more than a year ago, and its … Read more

Prizefight: Google Nexus 7 vs. Amazon Kindle Fire

It's a Prizefight punchout! Google brings its own 7-inch tablet, Nexus 7, to compete against Amazon's Kindle Fire in the competitive $199 tablet market. Will the Kindle Fire stand a chance against the new upstart from Google?

The Nexus 7 brings a fierce Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, more RAM, and the latest version of Android with Jelly Bean. Amazon has built a powerhouse ecosystem for content consumption, and that's before you factor in Amazon Prime membership.

Who do you think deserves to be the Prizefight King of the Ring? Is it Google's Nexus 7 or … Read more

Google Play developer policy updated to fight spam

Google today issued a wide-ranging update to its Developer Program Policy, with the aim of making "Google Play a great community for developers and consumers."

The search giant zeroed in on two issues it's seeing across the Google Play landscape: "deceptive app names and spammy notifications." From now on, developers will not be allowed to use app names or icons that are deemed "confusingly similar to existing system apps," the company wrote in an e-mail viewed by CNET. Google didn't say what would make a respective application confusing.

On the spam front, … Read more

Perfectly Clear for Android makes your pictures look right

There are several Android photo-editing apps with autocorrection, but none of them are as good as Athentech's Perfectly Clear for iOS. Perfectly Clear for Android, however, seems to top it.

Perfectly Clear basically does one thing -- autocorrect photos. If you're looking for filters or editing tools, you'll have to look elsewhere. But for quickly fixing underexposures, poor white balance, soft details, or dull colors, this is your app.

The interface has been redesigned from the iOS version for better workflow and the processing has been reengineered to take full advantage of newer Android devices, giving it … Read more

Samsung's mSpot Music Hub looks clean, falls flat

Samsung's Music Hub app launched on the Samsung Galaxy S3 in Europe back in May, but it's taken until now for the subscription music service to hit our shores. CNET got an eyeful (and an earful) of the Music Hub app on several GS3 devices ahead of launch. Since the software was preproduction, there may be some slight differences between what we saw and the final product.

What it is The most important thing to know is that even if it comes preloaded on your phone, the Music Hub isn't free. Fueled by Samsung-owned mSpot, the mobile … Read more