Portable Electronics Ltd // Technology you can carry.

This next post is strictly for those who are 21 years or older. No peeking kids! We're going to trust you here...

ABSOLUT VODKA has just announced the launch of their Drinkspiration app for Android. Defined as an "interactive encyclopedia of recipes", the application helps users find and share drink recommendations based on a variety of conditions including location.

“Have you ever found yourself in a bar without really knowing what to order? With Drinkspiration by Absolut, you’ll never have this problem again. Drinkspiration is your best friend in the bar, giving you guidance, personalized recommendations and an all-encompassing gateway to the drink universe, right in the palm of your hand,” said Fredrick Tallroth, The Absolut Company.

Featuring over 400 drink recipese, Drinkspiration lets users get search for drinks based on taste, weather, time of day, bar vibe, sound volume, real-time drink trends and more. Twitter and Facebook integration let you share your location and drink choices so friends and family know about that Bloody Mary you're knocking back. The next time you find yourself in the store trying to figure out something to new to drink, break out Drinkspiration and get creative!

Most Commented Posts

• Reuters: Nexus One Available Directly Through Google Website January 5
  Reuters is reporting that a source of theirs indicates a January 5th date for the Nexus One to go on sale.  They've been advised that it will be at a  "reduced price to consumers who agree to a serv...

ComboApp launched today, this tools allows anyone to make an app for Android in 5 minutes or less. It has a simple web-based UI that you can use to create an app with a few clicks of your mouse.

The description reads:

“Meet ComboApp© – the iPhone, iPad and Android App Builder for the rest of us! ComboApp gives anyone the tools to create cutting-edge iPhone, iPad and Android applications in three easy steps in as little as 5 minutes. ComboApp is an innovative and affordable way to promote any type of business. Whether you need an iPhone or Android app to promote your brand, stream radio broadcasts, sell products and services, provide the latest news or maintain a blog via the iPhone / iPad / Android phone – ComboApp© is the right tool to get the job done”

Pricing starting at $39 for certain pro-level packages. And it can publish your app to the Android Market and Apple’s AppStore.

[via comboapp]

As many new consumers are buying smart phones with Google’s Android operating system, many are greeted with an overwhelming amount of apps and want to know “what apps they should download“?

Thankfully we offer a premium service to help with that. Research shows that consumers are more influenced to purchase products from: friends/family or trusted recommendations, expert reviews, followed by advertising. This is why we have partnered with mPlayIt’s Android Arcade, a platform for social discovering what Android apps Facebook friends are using. Thus combining the top two impulses in consumer recommendation spending; recommendations and expert opinion.

Today mPlayIt social sharing apps on Facebook for iPhone, Blackberry and Android launches an update to introduce “Gurus” in their “Apptivity Feed”. Gurus are targeted experts; be it users, bloggers or resource websites like ours whom offer highly valued opinions on mobile applications for better discovery. Their Apptivity Feed is a real-time stream of latest activity of recently viewed, rated, commented and Guru Approved apps.

For obvious reasons we were hand selected to represent Android as a Guru. Our colleagues at AndroidGuys.com and AndroidandMe.com top out the list along with IntoMobile and Stuart Dredge. So join us on Facebook to discover some awesome Android apps! Check out our Profile and become a Fan on our new Facebook page!

The latest comScore report is out today and is details various trends in the mobile industry here in the United States. Guess what? Android is doing well. In the time from October '09 to January '10, the platform picked up 4.3% market share from its rivals in Windows Mobile, Palm, RIM, and Apple. RIM added 1.7% to their total and now sit with 43% market share, well ahead of everyone else. Ironically (or not), Android picked up almost the same percentage that Microsoft lost (-4%) with Window Mobile.

In terms of hardware manufacturers, Motorola ended up on top with 22.9% of mobile subscribers with LG following at 21.7% and Samsung with 21.1% of the market.

Might We Suggest...

• WMC 2010 Round Up: Day Two
  For this second day at Mobile World Congress here is an overview of some of the Android devices presented on the show by manufacturers (not in any special order). Rather than giving again details of t...

LG’s first Android in South Korea will be called either Andro-1 or LG-KH5200. The company has yet to make it’s way stateside but they have several Android phones in different markets around the world. It has a 3-inch touchscreen, slide out QWERTY keyboard, GPS, HSDPA, EDGE, GRPS, Social Networking, 2MP Camera, Radio Tuner and MicroSD input and Android 1.5.

KT will offer this phone for $530 outright or free on a contract paying $40/month or more. There has been rumors that LG will have 20 Android Phones available by the end of the year. This phone has some tough competition with the iPhone and Motola’s MOTOROI already being offered in Korea.

[via akihabaranews]

That certainly was a timely review, wasn't it? Dutch site Tweakers.net is reporting through a number of its forum members that previously ordered HTC Legends are being scheduled for delivery as early as today, beating the phone's announced early second quarter availability by a solid three weeks. That's great news for anyone comfortable sticking with a lower-res display and a middle-of-the-road processor in exchange for one of the slickest, most metallic shells on the market today -- but for those hoping for something a little more... ahem, Desire-able, the wait continues. And yes, we'd like to apologize profusely for that pun.

HTC Legend already trickling into customers' waiting hands? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Tweakers.net  | Email this | CommentsChris Ziegler1362900319343943771615594448142019753616170528007452859133391461789810647475913617292740890614995422068307392346715099850344751665732178913803121586575698291892067310840338284453910997737463656903514010219456665617116596027434945492328286201210498193426486559302540719198937840250

After four three flavors of the HTC Hero, the Taiwanese mobile giant has finally brought back the chin with an additional lick of aluminum and a similarly quirky name -- the Legend. If this alone isn't of much interest to you yet, just bear in mind that this is HTC's first Android 2.1 device with Sense UI. It didn't take much for us to fall in love with this Android phone at MWC -- HTC convinced us of its unibody toughness by banging it against the wall, and needless to say, the vibrant AMOLED screen caught our eyes, too. However, there are still some questions to be answered before we can decide whether the Legend lives up to its name, especially on battery life, wireless reception, camera quality and software performance. Unless there have been major tweaks, we'll try not to bore you with features already seen on the Hero -- so please, won't you join us?

Gallery: HTC Legend review

Continue reading HTC Legend review

HTC Legend review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | CommentsRichard Lai01593446099991915200083482037599083329440914166384528934565009842888990466865025061611004770162483561773754684574171850414257025439192842348136290031934394377161559444814201975361613419532215533355490170528007452859133391447508563247372761213642132641474639942034475166573217891380011465073003043507408251700012190764069107095184644421017681652352679890283188412705099081015215221022395466852432496900723769699671074301405538995421070467991057037800346323960261437390954622135040118009966333690937439017104080117271849161425895066341225450306731084033828445391099260423596503222370855732697655946803606682196928262715167123345661923650023950923802563002446111109977374636569035140102194566656171165960266018612113504164714219907492392040299034463483986711884130969962615024261230205921653529454389165015133574468215776820908676174498948031502385632988327579126027637217973406473841611221222386605114211500945255786010796121478990426575882701316439269428308679206725150186554169994181204687090654377300565043997147803085215400047075621766516

As a reformed BlackBerry user I have fond memories of TetherBerry. Their software offers free tethering without any special add on plans through your carrier and without hacking your phone. TetherBerry has since evolved into simply Tether and they have just released a beta version of their software for Android.

Their lead engineer is reporting speeds up to 6.8 Mbps using the Android beta which is far faster than anything they achieved on BlackBerry. As with most beta software I’m sure it has some kinks to work out, but they are a fan favorite on the BlackBerry sites for both their solid software and customer service so I would assume that will carry over to their Android offering.

The instructions I received for installing and using the beta are copied at the bottom of this post, you can sign up for the beta by going to www.tether.com/android-beta. The folks at Tether indicate that you might have to wait a bit after signing up as they are rolling out the beta to users “based on the various timelines.” I’m not entirely sure what kind of lag time we are talking about there, but probably it is best to just head on over and sign up if you are interested.

At the moment this is PC only so apologies to Linux and Mac users (I am among you so I feel your pain), but they are also beta testing Mac at present so some of you may not be left out for long.

One thing of note is that they normally charge $49.95 for their software which is obviously quite a bit more than Android users are accustomed to paying for anything so it will be interesting to see if they stick to that price point. Considering pdanet is a similar and well accepted tethering option for stock Android phones and it currently goes for just $23.95 it seems as though Tether is going to have to knock $20-25 off if they want to be relevant in the Android market.

Here are the instructions:

1. On phone go to Settings->Applications->Development and check USB debugging.
2. Connect phone to PC with USB cable.
3. If you have a Samsung Android you need to download and install Samsung USB drivers from:http://www.tether.com/a/MCCI_WHQL_USB_Modem_Driver_4.40.7.exe (You may need to reboot)
4. If you already have Tether/TetherBerry installed on your machine uninstall it.
5. Download and install Tether from: http://www.tether.com/a/setup.exe
(If asked to reboot, wait until the installer is fully finished)
6. Disable your wireless adapter through the control panel network connections panel (ncpa.cpl in Windows Vista or Windows 7)
7. Start Tether on the PC and select Android USB for the connection method.
8. Start Tether on the Android.*

*Quick heads up on that last step, as I said I don’t have a PC right now so I can’t test this but I was reading through their support forums and a few users were reporting confusion regarding how to get the piece of Tether that needs to be on your phone up and running and user “ptfd13? came up with this solution which appears to be working.

On your computer go to the program files section under C drive and find the Tether folder. Get the .apk file and copy it to your microSD card and use Astro to install.

Once connected your PC should be able to browse the internet.

If you’re having any troubles the support forums specific to the Android beta are here www.tether.com/forums/tether-android/support.

Related Posts

• Download Swype Beta for Android now
• Gowalla beta for Android now available
• Gowalla nearing beta release of Android app
• Zeta Type offers new Android input
• Skype Mobile coming soon to Verizon Android phones

Those of you looking to fly the coop this summer once school gets out might want to consider the new Rentals.com app for Android.  Designed to help consumers find single-family houses, apartments and condos for rent, the free app uses GPS to search for nearby availabilities. Other features include searching by zip, state and city as well as filtering results by property type, price, amenities, and more. Where available, the application gives users full-color photos, maps, and other property information.

“We provide consumers with immediate access to relevant, localized information as they search for a place to live, and utilizing mobile technology makes the renting process that much easier. Our mobile apps not only give users another medium for gathering information on single-family houses, apartments and condos for rent, but also provide them with the ability to search for listings and contact property owners or managers while on-the-go.”- Jamie Clymer, president of Rentals.com

Download Rentals.com for Android

If you are interested in checking out Rentals.com for Android, you can grab it for free out of the Android Market.  If you have Barcode Scanner on your handset, you can simply scan the code to the right!

Might We Suggest...

• Unleash Your Inner Stalker with Mobistealth
  Mobistealth doesn't play coy when describing their services.  Right out of the gate, they bill their software as "Spy Software for Android".  For as low as $49.99 (3 mo subscription), users can catch ...

The Doodle Jump Android App by Lima is the Android version of a very successful, addicting game from the iPhone App Store. The object of this game is to climb the platforms to get as high up as you can go. If you like Aduction! then you will really like this game. Unlike Aduction!, Doodle Jump does not have levels but does have multiplayer mode so you can play against a friend. You cannot play online so you and your friend will need to take turns playing on one phone. An online mode might be a good idea for this game to have.

The graphics are cool, they have a cartoon feel to them. The controls are simple, you use the accelerometer to guide the character from platform to platform. There are many power-ups to get and they will help you along your way. There are enemies that you will need to watch out for as you climb and if you press on the screen once you will shoot. Use this weapon to take out the enemies.

Overall, this is a very addicting accelerometer based game for the Android platform. At the time of this review the Doodle Jump Android App is $3.99. Thumbs Up.

Screenshots:

NewsRob Pro is a RSS/Atom reader that auto syncs with Google Reader. There is also a paid version that is ad-free and unlocks extra features in this version, like Share With Note. Also more features will be added in future releases here: http://bit.ly/nr_pro

Price: Free, €4.99

AndroidTapp.com Android App Review: Pros & Cons:

Pros

• Google Reader sync tool
• Read online or download feeds locally to SD Card for offline reading
• Ability to receive Android notifications of new feed content

Features:

NewsRob Android App syncs your Google Reader of RSS feeds with your Android phone. Use the app to conveniently read RSS feeds online or offline, mark read, favorite and categorize various subscribed RSS feeds. Receive Android notifications of new feed content, and cache contents to SD card versus internal memory storage. With the paid version of NewsRob you can add a note to a shared article, or add/view comments.

Video: NewsRob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBXC8qI_VCE

Usefulness:

Great alternative Android app for RSS feeds (even better then mobile version of Google Reader for Android phones).

Ease of Use:

You have to sign into your Google Account to use the app plus subscribe to feeds via Google Reader as NewsRob is a sync and display tool.

Frequently Used:

Really dependent on how often you read your feeds. Potentially used multiple times daily.

Interface:

NewsRob Android App is a mixture of native app and web-based content from your subscribed sources.

AndroidTapp.com Rating

(4.2 out of 5)

Should you Download NewsRob? Yes! Be sure to Subscribe to AndroidTapp.com RSS Feed!

Evernote, the popular, cross-platform app service that lets users create notes, snap photos, and record audio, will now be pre-installed on selected Android-based Samsung handsets. The first smartphone to see Evernote loaded is the T-mobile's Behold II, which recently saw a software update.

"We're incredibly excited to be working closely with Samsung on their line of Android phones. Android represents Evernote's fastest growing mobile platform. This partnership helps Evernote reach a huge new audience with our promise of perfect memory for everyone," said Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote.

With Evernote, individuals can create and find notes on their Android handset, PC, or web. Everything that is captured by the service is synchronized and instantly accessible so users can stay connected and organized in ways not possible just a few years ago.

Source: Press release

Might We Suggest...

• T-Mobile Begins Rolling Out Cliq and Behold II Updates [Updated]
  T-Mobile USA has started pushing out over-the-air (OTA) updates to both their Motorola Cliq and Samsung Behold II handsets.  While neither of them are updates to Android 2.1, they both are steps i...

The Duck Paper Live Wallpaper Android App by mippin.com is a live wallpaper with a game. The game is based off of the developer’s Android game Duck Hunt. The live wallpaper has a nice sky background with 2 scores in each corner. In the left hand corner you have the count of the number of ducks that have flown accross the screen without getting shot. In the right hand corner you have your score of how many ducks you have shot. To shoot the ducks simply press on them. This live wallpaper can be quite entertaining.

Overall, this is a unique and entertaining live wallpaper for the Android platform. At the time of this review the Duck Paper Live Wallpaper Android App is free. Thumbs Up.

DriveSafe.ly reads your text messages (SMS), emails and caller-id out loud. Eliminate the temptation to reach for your phone by letting DriveSafely read to you and automatically respond for you. Stay connected by listening to your messages without texting while driving in your car. TXT hands-free.

Price: Free

AndroidTapp.com Android App Review: Pros & Cons:

Pros

• Listen to text messages, emails and screen caller ID while the app reads them aloud to you
• Auto-respond to the person who text messaged or emailed you with a pre-generated response
• Audible feedback quality is clear and sounds conversational and not robotic
• Safer use of receiving text and email messages while driving
• Available for Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile

Cons

• The email integration has to be setup… not automatic
• In evaluating this app there were a few glitches when answering a call, it continued to speak the caller’s name after answering
• Would be cool if you could reply hands-free. I initially assumed it work similar to Voice Assist. Another cool feature would be to have it automatically activate when driving by tapping into GPS to determine that you’re driving.

Features:

DriveSafe.ly Android App is an innovative way to listen to your SMS text messages, emails and even screen your caller ID hands-free as the app reads then aloud to you. It automatically responds to the person who text messaged or emailed you with a message you generate prior. Similar to how PhonePlus Callback is to phone calls, which text messages or emails a caller if you’re busy on the other line. Provides a safer atmosphere while driving as you don’t have to mess with your phone and drive. Shake to the phone to stop the audio.

The audible voice-over quality is impeccable. The dialect truly sounds conversational with: expression pitches at exclamation or questions and recognizes acronyms like LOL and BRB. Does not sound robotic like Text-To-Speech Library or semi-robotic like Google Maps Navigation.

Video: DriveSafe.ly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWO7T0ap3mM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faQZjLQot4w

Usefulness:

Very useful while driving and helps keep eyes on the road.

Ease of Use:

If used for the text message or caller ID setup the app is straight-forward. However becomes a bit more involved for email integration. The email integration has to be setup, it’s not an automatic setup like text message and  caller ID integration. For each email account you must setup POP3 or IMAP (check our quick guide how to do it).

Frequently Used:

Intended for use every time you drive.

AndroidTapp.com Rating

(4.1 out of 5)

Should you Download DriveSafe.ly? Yes! A Must Have App While Driving!

As more drivers equip their vehicles with GPS devices or use navigation enabled smartphones; data suggests most common searches are often used during shopping. TeleNav reveals some interesting data about GPS navigation usage from their users nationwide. According to that study, the top 10 U.S. businesses searched with GPS navigation are as follows:

1. Wal-Mart
2. Starbucks
3. Target
4. Best Buy
5. Bank of America
6. Walgreens
7. Pizza Hut
8. Home Depot
9. McDonald’s
10. Chase bank

I recently wrote a developer spotlight on TeleNav noting their GPS navigation product tends to be most accurate regarding routing among GPS navigation apps for Android. The chart below illustrates or concurs my user experience as my city (Chicago) is fourth on the list for cities most likely to use GPS to reroute around traffic.

Cities Most Likely to Use GPS to Reroute Around Traffic

While the verdict is still out with regard to consumer appetites for a 3rd portable computing device, PC makers are betting the farm on consumer interest in tablets that fill the gap between small-screened smartphones and bulky (by comparison) netbooks/laptops. We've already seen an uptick in tablet devices on display at the big CES and CeBIT trade shows, now tablet and MID device vendors look ready to blow out Computex when it kicks off on June 1st in Taipei. According to Roy Chen, ARM's ODM manager for worldwide mobile computing, more than 50 ARM-based tablet PCs will launch in 2010 starting in Q2 with "a lot more" landing in the third quarter -- a date that just happens to line up with the most optimistic Chrome OS launch schedule. ARM's seeing so much interest that it had to rent additional floor space to show off the devices. Chen said that many of the tablets are slated for China although all of the world's top 10 carriers have signed up as well. ARM was showing off two Android based tablets at the press event, including the 7-inch Compal device (pictured above) we gave a whirl at CES. Let's just hope that tablet makers have plans for some compelling content and service hook-ups with a focus on the user experience -- 50 near-identical slabs of touchscreen computing won't generate much enthusiasm around here.

Over 50 ARM-based tablets launching this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Computerworld  | Email this | CommentsThomas Ricker046036075029333009230834820375990833294403914724169706964346031137779316961138161705280074528591333913801590886654333196095560990844213649640011465073003043507408542181797972242960127050990810152152211332287392701818202007984537998469503907147635535079490900080476945332821910646417146900869112445288023594081505577586431664572541091248570706731084033828445391054202868813058308110215433761272499435915761418005463542945102194566656171165960056333042099793934811604614930536075039182231300351009158041439825105523594782701932345111360109348121478990426575882700699688753108762801516668185580241895251

The Rain Alarm Pro Android App by Michael Diener is a weather app and widget that warns you about rain and snow by alarm. The app also features a an animated radar map. The app uses the Android’s GPS feature to determine your location and report the weather in your area. The map features animations and you can enable the map’s animations if you would like.

The map features zoom in and zoom out capabilities, shows the strength scale of the rain or snow, the proximity, strength and size as well. The alarm feature will alert you of poor weather conditions in your area when enabled. From your Home Screen you add the Rain Alarm Pro widget.

Overall, this is a great weather alert app for the Android platform. At the time of this review the Rain Alarm Pro Android App is €2.50 which is approximately $3.41. There is also a free version of the app that you can check out to see how good it really is before buying the Pro version. Thumbs Up.

Screenshots:

Dell’s Mini 5 tablet is without a doubt, real, but until now, there hasn’t been much in the way of full-blown advertisements or promotions from the company itself.  A leaked promotional flyer of the Dell Mini 5 , or what will evidently be called the “Streak”, has just surfaced, and the tablet’s certainly looking gorgeous as usual, with what seems to be an array of color options to choose from.

Once again, the tablet you’re looking at is the Dell Streak, with a 5-inch WVGA 800 x 480 touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, front-facing VGA camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G WWAN connectivity.  If this leaked flyer proves to be legitimate, we could eventually see the Mini 5/Streak available in a plethorea of premium finishes and colors.

As Engadget noted, “Better still, it looks as if it’ll launch with an Amazon content partnership, which will bring a Kindle e-book reader app, Amazon MP3, Amazon video streams and pretty much any other material that Amazon sells in digital form right to the slate.”  We’re just waiting for that shipping date announcement.

[via Engadget]

We know you've barely recovered from our Devour review, but Moto just threw another Blur-ified phone in our laps this afternoon - the CLIQ XT. We've been playing around with the Android 1.5-based, Flash Lite-supported, multitouch-capable handset for the last couple of hours -- but before we grace you with our first impressions, just a fair warning: we don't yet know the price of the new T-Mobile Android handset, though Motorola did promise us that it will hit shelves this month. With that said, hit the break for a quick rundown of our early thoughts.

Gallery: Motorola CLIQ XT with MotoBlur hands-on

Continue reading Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on

Motorola CLIQ XT hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Motorola CLIQ XT  | Email this | CommentsJoanna Stern084289854279618943620984288899046686502511487187091912387384170528007452859133390017176217549963742602359408150557758643068358739291070732121804503881474783308709977374636569035140102194566656171165960504869784228897315411859354042736942790

Polarbit announced earlier today that their applications in the Android Market have been downloaded over a million times. Congratulations to them on such a successful few months and as we are already seeing a second round of 3D games from them I’m sure two million won’t be far off.

I freely concede I suck at math, but as they first debuted on the market on December 18th of last year that means they are averaging 12,346 (I rounded up) downloads a day. Granted a huge percentage of those are likely the free “lite” versions of their games, but just for funsies let’s imagine that 8% of the downloads were paid versions, that would come out to about $360,000 in 81 days. (Please note this is total supposition and I have no idea how many were paid downloads.)

This coupled with the recent news that the maker of “Car Locator” is taking in approximately $13,000 a month could help to finally turn developer opinion regarding the potential profitability of the Android Market.

The Game Developer’s Conference is going on today and tomorrow and as we reported in January every early registrant is receiving a Nexus One or Droid. All developer’s meeting a minimum threshold of 5,000 downloads while maintaining a 3.5 star rating were also recently gifted with one of these two devices.

The Android NDK Revision 3.0 that just landed yesterday has Open GL ES 2.0 support providing developer’s with the t0ols to create better looking and functioning games.

Google appears to be doing what they can to get the necessary hardware and tools in place for developer’s to create a new wave of high quality apps and games for the Android Market.

To borrow from Steve Job’s lexicon for a moment, do you think that the Android Market “gold rush” is finally upon us?

Related Posts

• Raging Thunder 2: Polarbit readies second wave of Android 3D games
• Canada could finally gain access to paid Android apps next week
• Blapkmarket has left the building – Can we fix the problems it exposed?
• Android Market has the greatest percentage of free applications
• Android Market Opinion Poll, December 09