Let's Talk Tech
NVIDIA delivered a lean, mean, gaming machine. Now with the LTE version available, is the Shield still a good value for the price? Let’s go hands on with this Android gaming slate!
Shop the Shield on Amazon.
Shop the Shield Controller.
Shop the Smart Cover.
This thing is HUGE! Wrapping up a couple weeks with the Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro, I was really curious to see how such a large slate would affect productivity. On paper, it’s a terrific collection of specs and features, with a truly novel option in including a projector, so let’s see how it performed real world!
Shop the Yoga Tab 2 Pro on Amazon.
More info on Lenovo Products.
We keep seeing the promise of this never completely fulfilled. Docking a phone into a tablet or a laptop shell. Running custom versions of Linux to reorganize the UI for a more PC like experience when plugged into a larger screen.
Kickstarter project Andromium thinks they have the solution for using your phone as the brain of a home computing environment. A simple cradle connects to PC peripherals, and custom software borrows the more successful elements of OSX and Windows for a familiar PC look.
With our phones becoming more and more powerful, the idea of a ubiquitous data experience doesn’t seem too far fetched, and the lead designer of this project was formerly a Senior Engineer at Google. The project already looks like it’ll be compatible with several Samsung phones, with more handsets to follow. Best of all the dock doesn’t look like it’ll be prohibitively expensive if the project is funded with an expected retail price of $39.95.
We wrote about this partnership last month, but it looks like Microsoft and Dropbox are finally moving forward as cloud storage BFF’s.
In an update pushing out to the Office app for Android, one of the new features allows users to connect their Dropbox account to edit any Office compatible files stored there. Microsoft has also improved support for high resolution displays, hopefully making this app a bit more accessible to a variety of phone owners.
Now we’re just waiting on Dropbox’s side of this bargain, which was to release a native app for Windows Phone…
Microsoft Office Mobile for Android (Google Play)
It’s been a frustrating omission in the Google Play Store app for some time now.
You’ve always been able to see every app you’ve ever had on any phone you’ve used, but for some reason Google removed the ability to track your purchases. An update coming soon to the Play Store will bring back the ability to track purchase history.
Once you get the update head over to “My Apps” then into “My Account”. From there you can see your payment methods, if you have any store credit, and below that HUZZAH! Order History!
Kind of a fun game to scroll back through everything to see my first app purchases. Apparently I started using Android during some kind of freak holiday app sale…
The updated store should be rolling out to phones over the next couple weeks!
Score a new Android over Black Friday? Looking to pick up a tablet this holiday season? Wondering what apps you should install first?
Google published their top Android app list for 2014, and it’s jammed pack with some winners. I’m happy to say that I’ve already snagged about half of these. Probably because I have excellent taste.
Did your favorite apps make the cut? Check out the list by hitting the link below!
After teasing fans for a couple days, the mystery has been unveiled. The Nokia name will return to hardware much sooner than many of us might have expected, however maybe not in the way we might have wanted.
The N1 is a 7.9″ tablet running Android, and featuring Nokia’s Z Launcher skin. The 4:3 aspect ratio display will have a resolution of 2048 x 1536 for the IPS LCD, which will be protected by Gorilla Glass. The slate is powered by a 64-bit Intel Atom Quad-Core, 2GB of RAM, and will have 32GB of storage. The rear camera is an 8MP shooter, and the FFC will have 5 million pixels to play with for selfies. The one piece Aluminum frame will feature bottom firing stereo speakers, and maybe one of the more interesting specs is the reversible USB 2 Type C connector.
If the design of this tablet, and some of those specs like the 4:3 screen and the reversible cable port sound familiar, they should. Continue reading “Nokia Licenses Brand Name to FoxConn for N1 Android Tablet”
I WIN!!!
Ok. So I was never really concerned with privacy issues or permissions on the standalone messenger app Facebook forced users to install. The app’s notification settings and geo-location controls bothered me. Also the design, including the messenger icon in the Facebook app, which showed notifications, but then forcing a second app, was another nitpicky reason for me to fight it.
Since the switch, I’ve been replying to instant messages through my browser. Clumsy, but I could stick to my “first world problem” principles.
Well it seems that Facebook might be reversing course on the two app solution. On the newest update (version 21.0.0.23.12) if you clear out your data or reinstall the app, the messenger “Nag Screen” has changed back. You can now bypass that screen, and IM through the main FB app again. It’s unclear why Facebook might have made this 180, or if this is a permanent change.
VICTORY! How sweet it is…