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Friday, May 6, 2011

Recent Posts From Android Guys

  • Sonos, Where Have You Been All My Life? (Sonos App and Hardware Review)

    Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 22:51:29 +0000

    Image Credit: Geeky-gadgets.com
    Before I begin my gushing discourse of the love I have for Sonos and it's newly minted Android controller app, I have to diclose the fact that Sonos sent me a review unit to use, of which that I do not have to return to them.  So simply put, I have to disclose that they gave me free stuff.  That being said, they did not need to buy my love whatsoever, because using Sonos for me is like sitting a fat man down to a 15 course meal, with some magic thrown on top that makes it feel like he never gets full.
    I could go on and on with the adjectives I could use about Sonos, however you probably want to hear specifics about the devices they sell and the app to control them, so let's get down to business.
    The review kit from Sonos was a generous one.  Inside of the very large box were three devices, a SonosZone Bridge and two S5 wireless speaker systems, all of which work in conjunction to bring audio content to any room in my home that has reach to my wireless network. As I said before, a generous kit to be sure that allows me to experience all the functionalities that Sonos has to offer with their units.
    Setup
    When taking the units out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the heft and weight of the S5 devices.  They are well built, stylish and feel like they are of a quality build.  The Zone Bridge itself is low profile, and hides away nicely.
    Setup was simple, and took about 10 minutes total.  (It would have taken longer if I had not already had my music library shared across my home for use with Boxee and other devices).  It consisted of installing the Sonos desktop software that comes with the units, which of course has server functionality to send content to the different devices that are connected.  From there, I hooked up the Sonos Zone Bridge.  If you are confused, the Zone Bridge is simply an interface unit for your network in case your wireless router is someplace where you do not want to wire a zone player up.  In my case, my router is in my basement, in my network closet, so the Zone Bridge was appropriate.  (basically, if your router is in a place that is accessible, and you have a small home or apartment, you can simply use one zone player instead of the bridge, which is an actual speaker unit.)
    I plugged in and powered up the Zone Bridge, hit a button and it was instantly talking to my HTPC, where I had installed the server software.
    From there I plugged in and powered up the two S5 units, and installed the Android Sonos controller app, and was operational very quickly.
    The Experience
    If you have ever owned a Swiss Army knife, you will understand the Sonos audio experience fully.  Simply put, these things literally do everything you would want them to audio wise.  First and foremost, you use them to play your networked mp3 files, which it does well.  Using a simple browser that allows you to crawl through your networked music folders, you can isolate single tracks, albums, artists and playlists.  You can also simply add all the tracks you have available, and set the to shuffle play, giving you an endless soundtrack to your life.
    You may be saying to yourself, "big deal, I can do that with my Android device alone, why do I need Sonos for that".  In the words of a famous TV personality, "But wait, there's more!"
    In addition to playing your networked audio files, Sonos allows you to play a plethora of different audio sources.  You can tie your user accounts from Pandora, Napster, Rhapsody, Sirius XM and Last.FM in as well, allowing you to access all of the content through those services with a touch of a button.  Still not enough for you?  How about the addition of the fact that Sonos will also play your local terrestrial radio stations, automagically sensing your location in the country by your ISP address?  It's got it.  Sonos even found my small town in the middle of nowhere Missouri, and had all the local radio stations available.  (Sonos taps into each stations live stream broadcast)
    Don't want to listen to your local stations, but want to get one in say, New York?  No problem, Sonos allows you to change the city you are listening to and browse radio stations across the world.
    Let's move on to the functionalities built in to the S5 devices.  These speakers can work by themselves in a room, or in conjunction with each other.  By themselves, they are a full stereo system in the same vein as the Bose Wave device that started the small speaker revolution.  On the back side, they have a couple of inputs.  First there is an ethernet pass through, so you can hook up your speaker directly to your wired network.  There is a line in jack that works with a provided patch cable to run from the headphone jack of any device that has one, so you can play media directly to the S5.  Last nut not least is a headphone jack in case you want to listen privately to your media.  On top of the S5 is a volume rocker, as well as a mute button and a notification light to let you know when you are connected to your network.  I love the simplicity of the Sonos devices, everything is very intuitive and easy to use.
    As far as sound goes, these units sounds amazing for their size.  The speakers sound crisp and clear, with very little distortion in the highs and lows.  Indeed, on some tracks with a heavy bass line, it shook the counter or shelf the unit was on pretty nicely.  Very satisfying indeed.  On their own, each S5 is capable of playing a full, rich stereo sound field, capable of filling a good size room with sound.  Indeed we could not crank the unit all the way up because it become too loud for comfortable listening.  We took the unit outside in our yard during a bonfire, and one unit alone filled our three acres of land nicely.
    Where the S5 units really shine is in the advanced functionality that is built into them.  When you have more than one speaker hooked into your network, you can listen to different music sources on each one.  Meaning that if you have one in your kitchen where the kids are doing homework, and one in your office where you write from Android Guys, the kids can listen to Radio Disney will the Tron: Legacy soundtrack is playing in the office. Each unit has complete and total independence from each other in the network environment.  You can control the volume of each one from the Android controller app, what they are playing, how they are playing it, the whole nine.  Each S5 is an entertainment system to itself.
    Now if you really wanted to have some power say outside, or in a large group of people, you can actually link the two S5 units together as a left-right system to buddy up their power.  Again, during our bonfire, we did this and were blown away by the sheer power in the little units.  At a relatively low volume they filled our land during our party.
    The Android Controller App
    As a technophile, I love to see tech and software that has been thought out, refined and made simple and easy to use, thereby unleashing the power that is hidden within them.  Sonos has done exactly that with the Android Controller App, creating a piece of software that is simple, powerful and free.
    Simply put, instead of having to buy one of Sonos' hardware based controller units, you can use your Android device over the same WiFi network to interface with however many Sonos devices you have on your network.  In my case, I could isolate each speaker in different rooms, change what they were playing, change the volume of the speakers right on my Android device.  The app is well laid out, making it easy to use and navigate.  Another nice touch was the fact that if I had the album artwork of the network track I was playing, the app would display it, along with info on the album downloaded from the internet.
    The app is clean, and well done.  It is not a slapped together addon for the Sonos system to sell units, but a real effort to help people who already own the units to extend their functionality, and to allow new adopters to get in for the lowest price possible.
    Overall Feelings
    I think it is pretty obvious that crazy in love with the Sonos units and the app.  The only downside I can see with the units themselves is the price.  The S5 unit runs $399 on the Sonos site, where the Zone Bridge runs about $99.  Do I think the S5 is worth four bills?  Yes.  I really do.  The sound and quality you get, with the ability to add on to your setup in the future makes it a good buy.  The market for these units are people who appreciate functionality and quality.  Sonos offers this, hands down.
    If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, or a fat tax return, I think you can feel safe buying these units.  Two of my buddies who do not live near me bought the same setup that I have after seeing it over video chat.  They were blown away by what they could do.  After receiving the units, they were exceptionally impressed, and recommend them highly.
    Tonight on AGTN, we will be talking with Jodi from Sonos, make sure to join us to hear all about the company and the units, you can also use our download block below to download the Sonos Controller from the Android Market.
    Run, do not walk, to get these units if you have the coin.  You will not be sorry.

    Sonos Controller for Android
    Sonos, Inc
    FREE
    50,000-250,000
    Link Android Market | Link AppBrain
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  • Samsung, AT&T Announce $199.99 Infuse 4G For May 15

    Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 21:22:59 +0000
    Exactly four months from the day they first announced the handset, Samsung and AT&T have officially given customers a firm price and launch date for the Infuse 4G.  Look for Ma Bell to offer the "Nation's Thinnest 4G Smartphone" at $199.99 come May 15th.  How thin?  It's 8.9 mm in the thinnest spot, 9.24mm at its thickest.
    As a refresher, the Infuse 4G features a 1.2 GHz processor and a massive 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen as well as an 8-megapixel camera on the back with a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front.  Software-wise, the phone runs Android 2.2 with various AT&T and Samsung apps, including Samsung Media Hub, U-verse Mobile, U-verse Live TV, and Angry Birds.  And not just any old Angry Birds, mind you.  This version features a special edition where players can unlock a special "Golden Egg" level of the game, exclusive to Infuse 4G users.
    AT&T is also taking the opportunity to bow a new Android app today, pre-installing their JustUs widget/live wallpaper.  The free application pulls social media and text from five of your favorite contacts and turns it into an animated wallpaper.  Side note: JustUs is compatible with any Android 2.2+ handset out there, not just AT&T's!
    To help get things moving, AT&T and Samsung are offering a special deal for the first 500,000 Infuse 4Gs sold.  These devices will include a $25 voucher for content from Media Hub.


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  • Taptu 1.4 Arrives with Tablets In Mind

    Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 19:00:05 +0000
    News and RSS reader Taptu just dropped version 1.4 in the Android Market bringing a completely new experience with it. Designed with 3.0 tablets in mind, Taptu takes advantage of the Fragment API, splitting things up nicely across large screens. The new release offers users a handful of Android-exclusive features including two color themes, full screen reading, and Instapaper integration. Also, the 1.4 version lets users import up to 100 RSS feeds from their Google Reader account, whereas previously it only allowed 30 feeds. Hit the break for the press release and download links!

    Taptu
    Taptu
    FREE
    10,000-50,000
    Link Android Market | Link AppBrain
    Taptu Launches on Android Tablets with Three New Android-Specific Features
    The free app adds full screen reading, themes and Instapaper support to Android tablets and phones
    CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND & DENVER— May 5, 2011 — Today Taptu, a social media and mobile technology company, is announcing the release of Taptu for Android tablets, version 1.4 of its free Android application that aims to change the way tablet users connect with the world. Taptu is the pre-eminent next generation news service – built by journalists and scientists, and from the feedback of hundreds of thousands of consumers.
    Taptu is dedicated to a cross-platform approach, building this new version from scratch rather than just porting an iOS version to Android. Taptu 1.4 for Android tablets adds performance enhancements to all Android devices and has made full use of Honeycomb’s APIs to provide an unparalleled tablet experience.
    “We're not trying to mimic the same features across platforms, but rather we are building the best Android tablet experience from the ground up," said Mitch Lazar, CEO of Taptu. “After the millions of downloads of our first generation apps on iPhone and Android, we listened to our customers and further analyzed how they want to consume their news, manage their social networks and mix their favorite content sources.”
    Using the Action Bar API, the Taptu app logo, for instance, is clickable and sends you back to the main screen. Transitions within the app are smoother, while scrolling is fast and effortless as a result of hardware acceleration. Lastly, the Fragment API makes it easy to use the same code for both phones and tablets, meaning the features of the app are also available on Android phones.
    Taptu is already known for letting you ‘DJ the News’ by mixing stories on topics that interest you into your own streams. Now Taptu is also integrating new features into the Android app not available on the iOS app. Using the Instapaper API, Taptu gives users the ability to archive articles to read later via their Instapaper accounts. With the new Taptu themes, users can also switch between dark font on a white background, or white font on a dark background— allowing customers a better option for reading during the day or at night. Taptu 1.4 also takes advantage of the larger tablet screens with the ability to full screen article cards.
    Taptu now lets any android device import up to 100 RSS feeds from Google Reader, which is more content sources than many competitors support, period. Combine this with the ability to integrate Facebook and multiple twitter accounts and Taptu becomes the most powerful service on Android tablets for both discovering and sharing news.
    From the biggest stories of the week to your individual passions, Taptu allows you to keep everything organized in a clean and intuitive design. The company’s search engine heritage, allows Taptu to go beyond simple RSS feeds, by actually recommending sources, and enabling consumers to discover new content. Taptu’s search expertise and algorithms also solves showing customers the same story over and over, eliminating duplication seen on other readers.

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  • Sprint Unveils Relay ID Pack for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users

    Posted: Thu, 05 May 2011 16:14:29 +0000
    Following quickly on the heels of the Green ID pack, Sprint announces another bundle of like-minded applications for niche users. Called the Relay ID pack,this collection of apps, widgets, and wallpapers is targeted at anyone who is deaf or has a hard time hearing on their handsets. Included in this particular bundle are 'voice mail transcripts, visual and vibrating alerts and readable captions', and more. This marks the first time any major carrier has developed a focused collection of apps meant for the deaf and hard of hearing community.
    The Relay ID pack consists of the following apps:
    • Sprint Mobile Video Relay Services – video relay services for sign language users
    • Calendar Notifier – provides visual alerts and repeating reminders of calendar events
    • Handcent SMS – visual alerts and notifications of texts
    • VideoPlayer – captions on videos downloaded to a secure digital (SD) card
    • Gmail Notifier – visual and vibrating alerts and reminders for your gmail email
    • TuneWiki – to read and learn the lyrics to songs
    • Captionfish.com – captioned movies playing in a customer’s area
    • AIM Instant Messenger – access telephone relay services through AIM Buddy "SprintIP"
    • Google Voice – transcribe audio messages left on voice mail into text
    "The Sprint Relay ID pack addresses current and future needs of an important – and growing – segment of the U.S. population. It also demonstrates that Sprint takes corporate responsibility for disabilities. Sprint has provided relay capabilities for more than 20 years, and we’re pleased to now make it even easier for people who have trouble hearing on the phone to use their mobile phones." - Mike Ellis, director-Sprint Relay Service
    The Relay ID and other Sprint ID pack are available on the a select group of Sprint devices: LG Optimus S, Sanyo Zio, Samsung Transform, Samsung Epic 4G and Samsung Galaxy Tab.
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  • Rumor: HTC Testing a Female-Centric Android Handset

    Posted: Wed, 04 May 2011 17:40:22 +0000
    Word on the street is that HTC is conducting a focus group with female users, trying to put together a knockout Android phone targeted at the ladies.  According to ThisIsMyNext, the Verizon smart phone currently carries a code name of 'Bliss' and features both physical tweaks as well as tailored software.  The color of the device is said to be somewhere between forest green and sea green and the back has a rubberized back so "women can have a better grip of the phone".  Because their hands are made with different skin or something.  
    In terms of software, the test devices have calorie-counting and shopping apps  pre-installed and a "calming" wallpaper.  We're not sure if HTC is trying to stereotype their target audience here and scare off dudes altogether, but whatever.  Nothing a little rooting couldn't fix anyways.
    Possibly the weirdest feature here is that the Bliss has an accessory called the "charm indicator" which lights up to notify users of new messages, missed calls, etc.  Rather than pairing over Bluetooth, it attaches physically via a cord.  Were this to be wireless we could see plenty of people interested in such an accessory, but tethered and tangle-ready, probably not so much.
    The charging dock is said to include built-in speakers and will automatically enable alarm mode when a user sets it down to charge.  And finally, there are matching Bluetooth headsets and a square-shaped speaker for car visors expected as well.
    No word on when to expect the Bliss, assuming it ultimately does see the light of day.


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