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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

T Top 10 most popular Android apps from last week: Dash, Energy Bar, Beats Music

Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 app updates on Friday. On Mondays we look back to see which ones were the most crowd-pleasing among our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps among your peers from last week.

1. Action Launcher Pro

App info: Action Launcher is a great launcher replacement offering numerous customization options.

2. OffCorner UCCW Skin

App info: Here is a new set of widgets for the popular UCCW Skin.

3. Energy Bar

App info: Energy Bar brings the user a new way to view the status of their battery level. You can change the colors and thickness of the bar along with many other options.

4. Dash

App info: The Dash app pairs with an ODB device to give you you information about your vehicle and driving behaviors.

5. The Cleaner

App info: The Cleaner helps you speed up your device by removing redundant files, freeing up RAM and opening up additional storage space.

6. Motorola Gallery

App info: Gallery lets you view and share your photos and videos in an immersive, full-screen experience. Easily personalize your photos with frames, filters and more in just a few taps.

7. Rogue: Beyond The Shadows

App info: Rogue: BTS is a good game for RPG fans. The game does include ads that can be removed as a paid feature.

8. Six-Guns

App info: Fans of the Wild West will enjoy this third person shooter from Gameloft. There are 40 missions to complete including racing horses and taking out robbers.

9. ADW.Launcher

App info: ADW.Launcher is another replacement launcher focusing on customization. Thousands of themes are available to make your device look unique.

9. Beats Music

App info: This new streaming service offers access to 20 million songs and brings a unique feature dubbed The Sentence. The sentence lets you select music based on location, activity and mood.

Note: To ensure apps receive a fair chance to make the list, we will retire any app that has made the list for 3 consecutive weeks and will place it in our Android and Me App Hall of Fame. We will post this Hall of Fame list in a dedicated series.

Any app with * next to the title indicates it will now be added to our Hall of Fame list and will no longer be listed in this article.

Pebble appstore beta released for Android

I was a little bummed when I learned this weekend that iOS would be getting the Pebble appstore first. I was mostly bumming because we were getting one of those “coming soon to Android” stories that we hear all the time which usually means it’s really not that close. However, Pebble did us Android users a solid and posted a beta for us to play with Monday evening. Pebble Beta version 2.0-BETA8 is available to download and play with now, and it will finally update your Pebble to v2.0.0.

Since this is a beta release, Pebble has even listed some known bugs. If you find any not listed, you can help out the Pebble-Android community by emailingdevsupport@getpebble.com. Here’s the list of known bugs:

The pairing process has some issues. We recommend first pairing in the bluetooth settings of your phone and then starting the pebble app.
You will not be able to configure an app if it is running on your Pebble. Exit the app (or watchface) before clicking the settings button.
When installing an application with the pebble tool, you will need to press the “Load” button on your phone to proceed with the install. Make sure the app is launched and in the foreground before you run pebble install.
getAccountToken() currently returns an hardcoded token.
If your are an Android developer, you might have the Android dev options of “Limit Background Processes” and “Don’t Keep Activities” checked. You need to uncheck/disable these to use the Pebble app.
The mobile app shows a “Settings” icon for all JavaScript apps, even if they are not configurable.

So, I’m pretty excited to play with the app. I’ve loaded a few screen shots of the new Pebble BETA. I’m really liking the new look and can’t wait to explore all of the new functionality. I like the dark theme it’s using and am looking forward to it’s full release.
To install the new Pebble BETA for yourself, follow the link below to the Pebble Developer Blog and download it there. You will need to sign up for an account.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro, Tab Pro pricing and availability announced

Samsung officially introduced a quartet of new Android tablets at CES that cover a range of sizes, starting out at 8.4 inches and going all the way up to 12.2 inches. At the time, the company was more than happy to share the spec details of its new slates, including their 2560×1600 screen resolution and the fact that they all come with Android 4.4 KitKat beneath a new Magazine UX overlay. However, Samsung omitted from its announcement perhaps the two most important details of its new tablets: Their pricing and launch dates.

Thankfully that situation has been remedied today, because Samsung has announced the U.S. availability information for its Pro tablets. The firm says that its Galaxy Note Pro, Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 and Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 are all now available for pre-order ahead of their Feb. 13 launch. The list of retailers that’ll be selling the devices includes Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, Tiger Direct, PC Richard and Sons, Fry’s, Newegg and Samsung itself. The Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 is slated to come a little bit after its siblings, with a launch slated for March 2014, and Samsung also says that a Verizon 4G LTE-capable version of the Galaxy Note Pro is planned for release in the first quarter of this year.

What about pricing, you ask? Here are the cold, hard numbers:

Galaxy Note Pro: $749.99 for the 32GB model, $849.99 for the 64GB variant
Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2: $649.99 for 32GB unit
Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1: $499.99 with 16GB of storage
Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4: $399.99 for 16GB of model

Samsung also notes that each of its new Galaxy tablets comes with Galaxy Perks, which offers more than $800 in bundle content to buyers of Samsung hardware. Some of the goodies included with the Galaxy Perks program are a $25 Google Play gift card, a three-month Hulu Plus trial and 50GB of Dropbox storage for 2 years.

The four new Galaxy tablets vary in size quite a bit, and so there should be a size available for just about any tablet shopper. The Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 would be a good fit for someone that’s searching for a smaller, more portable device, while the S Pen stylus-equipped Galaxy Note Pro could be nice for digital artists or folks that just want a big ol’ honkin’ screen to carry around with them. If Samsung’s announcement today has you thinking that you might like to have a new tablet in your life, you can check out our hands-on videos of theGalaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and Galaxy Note Pro to get a better idea of what makes them tick.

Source: Samsung

WP-powered Samsung W750V Huron leaks

An upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 device has been leaked via famous Twitter-based leaker @evleaks, showing off what appears to be the first new WP device from Samsung in over a year.

he SM-W750V Huron, which looks eerily like a Samsung Galaxy S, will be based on Windows Phone 8.1, and apparently run on Verizon in the US. Besides the impressively thin bezels, the Huron is rumored to feature a fullHD display and a 13MP shooter.

The SM-W750V codename has also shown up on the site of the famous GFXBench benchmarking tool, which lists the screen resolution at 720 x 1280. This last bit is claimed by several sources as being incorrect, as GFXBench will sometimes display inaccurate display resolution.

Also revealed by GFXBench is the presence of a quad-core CPU and Adreno 305 graphics.

No word on pricing and availability of the Huron just yet.

Samsung's SM-W750V is a WP device headed to Verizon

It's no secret that Nokia has been dominating the Windows Phone game as of late. There have been rumors of Samsung introducing a WP handset however, and it looks like those rumors have gained more weight.

Evleaks has reported on their twitter account that a Samsung handset, codenamed “Huron” with the model number SM-W750V, will be headed to Verizon.

Not much is known about the device, except that it will be packing a 4.3” display and it will be running Windows Phone 8.1. Evleaks also mentioned that the Huron will look similar to the newer crop of Galaxy devices that are currently on the market.

Samsung SM-W750V will be a Windows Phone on Verizon. Codenamed Huron, it looks very similar to a late model Galaxy S.
— @evleaks (@evleaks) February 3, 2014

The screen size of the Huron is interesting. 4.3” is considered pocket-friendly by today's smartphone standards. Will this be a mid-range, run-of-the mill Windows Phone device? Or will Samsung try to create a WP handset that has both portability and power? We'll know for sure once the device is officially announced.

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 goes on pre-order in the US

Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 appeared for pre-order in the United States. Office Depot has the 64GB version of the über-tablet ready to claim, with official availability set for next Thursday, February 13.

Unsurprisingly, the high-end Android slate doesn’t come cheap with a price tag of $849.99. Still, the tablet is considerably more affordable than in the United Kingdom, where Samsung charges £649 ($1076; €788) for a Wi-Fi version.

Office Depot hasn’t specified the chipset model of the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 it sells. The slate is listed to have a quad-core CPU, so we reckon it is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 version which is on offer (the Note Pro 12.2 with Exynos SoC has an octa-core CPU).

LG G2 Pro camera confirmed to have OIS and 4K video capture

LG released another bit of information on the upcoming G2 Pro phablet. After confirming the device’s name and release last Sunday, LG spilled the beans on the camera of the Optimus G Pro’s successor.

The LG G2 Pro will feature a 13MP camera with improved optical image stabilization (OIS+) and 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) video recording. The front-facing camera of the device will be a 2.1MP unit.

Furthermore, the phablet’s camera will feature slow-motion video capture, as well as the capability to capture multiple photos in burst mode. In short, when available, the handset promises to improve on the already stellar camera experience of the LG G2.

The LG G2 Pro is likely to break cover during MWC in Barcelona at the end of this month. Alleged photos of the phablet reveal that it will feature similar design to the G2 smartphone.