Lenovo has been hard at work on its Android offers, as we most recently saw with the IdeaPad K1 and ThinkPad but a new 7-inch tablet has just been spotted. Confirmed details for the 7-inch IdeaPad are rather slim still but rumors are suggesting this one will be powered by a TI OMAP3621 processor, a 7-inch 1024 x 600 touchscreen and various other goodies like 3G connectivity, SDCard slot, front and rear-facing cameras all rounded out with a 3700mAh battery. Not great but not bad either, you can find one more pic after the break.
Google has (finally) released the Music Manager PC client for Linux, meaning work-arounds like WINE are no longer necessary. You can download pre-packaged binaries in either .rpm or .deb format, ready to install on many popular Linux systems. This is a closed source project, so if you're not using a Linux distro that can parse a deb or rpm package, you'll have to convert it to your preferred package type with a program like Alien, or extract the archive and manually inspect the install script (I'll drop those ubergeek instructions after the break for those interested).
Along with official Linux support, Linux versions of Google Music Manager also support .ogg files, by transcoding them to 320kbps .mp3 files. This is the same way it handles FLAC files, and while not perfect, we're not going to complain because any support is better than none. Getting it installed is easy -- just fire up your web browser (on your Linux computer, of course) and head to music.google.com. Once there, click the "add music" link, and download the client. It seems pretty solid, and certainly better than using the (not an)emulated Windows version.
Microsoft has released a set of tools and samples that now makes it a good bit easier to get users Windows Live data from Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger for smartphone applications, including Android apps. Developers will only need to enter the application name and language used, and then they will receive a client ID and secret token. These are then used in your application to allow the user to sign in via the web, with no back-end needed for this from the developers. Microsoft provides a working sample to view a user's SkyDrive photos, with more examples to follow.
Microsoft, as much as anyone, understands the open platform model. It's been good to them over the years, and it's nice to see simple and effective methods to access user account data across mobile platforms. I hope some developers out there with the "next great idea" for a Windows Live app takes advantage of them. Drop us a line if that sounds like you!
The all-new Nook (aka the Nook Touch) is Barnes & Noble’s follow-up to their successful e-reader of the same name, which for months served as the Kindle’s primary competitor. BN, of course, also has the Nook Color, an intriguing e-reader/tablet hybrid running Android that is pretty much universally accepted as the most affordable way to get yourself and Android tablet. As such, the newly released Nook Touch should be seen as a competitor to the original Nook, not the Nook Color as it’s designed to perform one function really well: to serve as an e-reader.
It runs Android, sure. But will you get a diminutive Android tablet experience on it? Read on.
Back in June, we reported that both Best Buy and Future Shop were taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1; those orders were originally supposed to ship July 22. According to their websites now, however, the device isn't listed to arrive until Aug. 19. This news is probably disappointing to our Canadian friends, who have been excited to finally be able to get the Tab 10.1 starting tomorrow. Either due to Samsung, Best Buy or Future Shop, you'll have to wait another month.
Our pals at CrackBerry are in the midst of testing a recently leaked version of the Android Player app for the PlayBook tablet. And guess what: It's running a newer version of Android than some 80 percent of you guys out there. When last we looked, some 18.6 percent of Android devices were running Android 2.3.x. (Honeycomb devices made up less than 1 percent on top of that.)
And RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook? Why, it's running Android 2.3.3, while some 59 percent of you out there are still officially stuck on Froyo, and another 18 percent are on Eclair.
As the patent world turns ... The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, this morning reports that Google is in talks with InterDigital Inc. about acquiring the "technology developer and licenser" in the wake of its failed bidding for that Nortel patent suite.
The WSJ story says IngerDigital owns around 8,800 patents regarding transmitting wireless data, noise-cancellation and other technology for cellular phones and networks.
If you've been holding off picking up an Android tablet simply due to cost then Staples wants your business. To entice you, they're now offering $100 off select tablet purchases with the coupon above. You'll need to print it off in order to use it but that's the easy part -- the hard part? Selecting what tablet you'll be buying. The coupon is valid through 7/30/11 at Staples locations across the U.S. with the Nook being the only Android tablet excluded.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in
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1 year ago
New Netflix app runs just fine on Honeycomb tablets
When Lenovo announced the IdeaPad Tablet K1 as the first (and only) Honeycomb tablet to run Netflix, well, you know that just wouldn't stand. Turns out the update that gave as slew of new phones access to streaming movies also indirectly opens it up for other Honeycomb tablets as well. We've got it running just fine on the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
This is the stock Netflix app, pulled from one phone and installed on the tablet. No hackery was involved -- we've never been crazy about people cracking open someone else's app in the first place. But this is pretty much fair game, and we're going to spend the rest of the afternoon watching Phineas and Ferb, or whatever else our preschool-age daughter has polluted our Netflix recommendations with.
For whatever reason, Facebook still has not released a Honeycomb-optimized version of its Android app. And we're kind of to the point where we don't care anymore, as third-party apps are doing the job nicely. Here we have Friendcaster, which currently is in beta for Honeycomb tablets.
Friendcaster has your basic Honeycomb design, which splits things up into columns or panes. On the far left you've got all the basic Facebook features -- News Feed, Profile, Friends, Photos, Check-ins, Messages, Groups, Events and Pages. Tap one, and they expand in the next column over. So you'll see your news feed. Or pictures, or messages, etc. Top on an individual update or photo, and they open in the next column over. Nice, simple design.
You've also got all the usual functions -- you can update your status, filter your stream, take a picture, upload a picture, refresh, see your notifications, or get app settings.
Our only real complaint in this beta is that there's a fat banner app that keeps popping up. We'll be more than happy to pay to get rid of it.
We've got download links after the break if you want to give it a go.
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