AppBrain Archive

Do you know someone who would be a good guest for the Android Buffet podcast? Write us.

Show Notes

• Make your own Paper Android
• Mailbag
  • Ben Edwards – “My name is Ben and I am a fan of Android Buffet. I originally came across it searching for Android news and development tips via planetandroid.org. I have recently launched a site that you might be interested in, and was hoping you could take a look and maybe even provide feedback. If you’re interested, the site is called Swappa. Swappa is a recently launched site for buying and selling gently used Android devices. Only fully functional, ready to activate Android devices are allowed (no phones with bad ESNs, water damage or cracked screens). Creating a listing to sell a device is free and easy. Buying a device is easy too. There are no auctions and no confusion to what’s being bought and sold. A listing’s price includes shipping costs and other fees. Overall, Swappa provides a streamlined experience for buying and selling gently used, fully functional Android devices. If it sounds interesting, I would appreciate you taking a look and letting me (and maybe your readers and listeners) know what you think. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you.”
  • Erica Shrag: “I work for Moxie Interactive and our client Coke Zero recently launched the Android version of the LiveCycle app. I saw that Android Buffet has an app section and wanted to let you know about the Android release. The LiveCycle app is the first location-based mobile game to promote Coke Zero and TRON: Legacy (trailer for the game). The app is now live and available for download in the Android marketplace. For more information you can visit: www.cocacolazero.com Or if you have further questions about the development of the app and I’d be happy to answer your questions.”
• Platform News
  • Is HTC Building its Own Version of Android for Tablets? – HTC Sensation
  • Copied Source Code not in AOSP – Only used for testing purposes, an approved purpose
  • Sprint to add $10 premium data charge to all smartphones
  • Techcrunch tries to make issue of iOS 4.x has a 90% market share compared to Android 2.x at 87.4%.
  • Disney to offer Disney-themed Android phone in Japan
  • Apple COO Tim Cook calls Android Tablets ‘bizarre products’, refers to them as scaled-up smartphones. What exactly is an iPad?
• Carrier Upgrades
  • The Android Phone Makers that Deliver on Upgrades – HTC, Motorola, then Samsung
  • Samsung Mobile denies charging carriers for Android OS updates
• App News
  • AAA Roadside Assistance App Released, complaints about GPS running continuously - (Install via AppBrain)
  • Sony Reader app released (Install via AppBrain)
  • Swiftkey releases new beta with skinning support and improved predictive functions
  • ShootMe screen capture program now supports screencasts. Requires Root. (Install via AppBrain)
  • Nationwide Insurance offers app (Install via AppBrain)
  • ATM Hunter by Mastercard now available (Install via AppBrain)
  • Line2 VoIP app now available (Install via AppBrain), after trial, $9.95 a month for unlimited calling and texting in the U.S.
  • Mplayer, popular Linux media player, ported to Android. Temporarily banned from XDA-Developers as Mplayer is GPL and developer has yet to release source of ported version.
  • SeamlessWeb now available, online food ordering service (Install via AppBrain)
  • Version 2.0 of Aldiko now available to all, not just premium customers. (Install via AppBrain)
  • Turbotax launched Snaptax – E-File your Federal and State taxes from your phone, snap pictures of your W2, etc. (Install via AppBrain)
• Root Report
  • Motorola tells customer, “if you want to do custom roms, then buy elsewhere, we’ll continue with our strategy that is working thanks.‘
  • Motorola apologizes for comment, “We apologize for the feedback we provided regarding our bootloader policy. The response does not reflect the views of Motorola. We are working closely with our partners to offer a bootloader solution that will enable developers to use our devices as a development platform while still protecting our users’ interests. More detailed information will follow as we get closer to availability. So we attempt to answer nearly all comments raised on this channel across over 130 videos and in a timely fashion. Sometimes we make a mistake, and the remark we agree could have been better phrased and more polite. So we do apologise, and that we will continue to monitor feedback on the wider discussion and pass that along. Thank you.“
  • Open Letter to Motorola
  • CrystalClear Roms, developer of the GEM line of ROMS, will be halting work on his line to join Cyanogenmod. The GEM line worked on 5 devices, the Droid, DroidX, Droid2, Incredible, and Evo. Will be the maintainer of the Droid line of CM7, and importing his scrollable notification power widget. Will be looking into porting CM7 to the Droid 2 and Droid X.
  • CyanogenMod 7 offering a new Google Apps download method. Instead of a single file that installs all the standard Google apps, the new download installs the minimum needed to run the market, and a new screen after you enter your credentials will let you select which Google Apps to install from the market. The new apps are installed in the data partition, instead of the system partition.
• Market Watch
  • UI on Amazon’s App Store better than Google’s?
  • “You may not use the Market to distribute or make available any Product whose primary purpose is to facilitate the distribution of Products outside of the Market.”
  • Google pulls Kongregate Arcade from Market – Kongregate is a game app store for flash-based games. It can still be downloaded.
  • Google Market rules could ‘squeeze‘ Amazon App Store
• Developer’s Corner

Episode 28 – Paper Androids is a post from Android Buffet Podcast – Hungry for Android? Get all you can eat at the Android Buffet Podcast. All Rights Reserved.