Category Archives: Android

Latest Swype Beta update features Nuance’s Dragon Dictation software

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

There are a lot of great keyboards for Android. I have been an especially fickle consumer regularly jumping between a number of excellent choices. If you haven’t had a chance to use Swype with Dragon Dictate you’re in for a treat, it’s a great keyboard with an easy-to-use and very accurate voice recognition app that allows you to speak your text and have it transcribed automatically.

The latest Swype keyboard beta integrates directly with Nuance’s latest Android app Dragon Go which utilizes advanced language modeling for an up to 40% increase in prediction accuracy. The application learns over time as you use it, building up a personal language profile for you.

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CyanogenMod 9 boot animation posted

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

I have been a CyanogenMod fan for some time now, I’m currently running a custom CM7 Gingerbread rom on a couple of my smartphones. I have briefly run an early Alpha version of a CyanogenMod 9 ICS Rom that is surprisingly stable and responsive for such an early version of the ROM.

I really enjoyed using the ICS ROM, but went back to the Gingerbread ROM because the camera is not yet supported on the Alpha ROM. As soon as this feature is added I will be re-flashing my phone to CM9. (Boot animation video after the break)

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iPhone 5 design rumors, your chance to win a Lumia 800 from Nokia, HTC X looking to steal the show at MWC

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) rapidly approaching phone leaks abound, MWC is the perfect stage for companies to unveil their products. According to the latest unsubstantiated rumors the iPhone 5 is slightly taller and wider than the 4 and 4S. The front facing camera is also higher resolution on the iPhone 5.

Is Apple looking to shape-up the front facing camera game on smartphones? If these rumors are true, we are on the edge of our seats awaiting further details about the iPhone 5.

If you head on over to Nokia’s Facebook page you will see a contest to win a white Nokia Lumia 800. The game is simple, upon opening the page, you will have 60 seconds to catch a white tile by clicking on it. After catching the tile a score will be displayed and you will be asked to enter your info for a chance to win.

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“New and Improved” Blackberry London, LG announces Galaxy Note Competitor

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

Reports have resurfaced on Crackberry.com with new pictures of the long rumored Blackberry London. From the looks of this device we can acknowledge that RIM, the makers of BlackBerry, are finally looking to join the ever-changing smartphone race.

The sleek design of the BlackBerry London has us brimming with excitement in the middle of winter. When is the BlackBerry London coming to the market? According to a leaked roadmap of RIM’s upcoming devices, the London washing ashore to American soil come Q3. (Photos after the break)

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Motorola Triumph Hacks including ICS and Gingerbread ROMs

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

We recently reviewed the Motorola Triumph a CDMA pre-paid phone which is being offered by Virgin Mobile. We generally liked the Triumph but were disappointed that the phone is currently being delivered with Android 2.2 Froyo installed with no official upgrade path announced as of this date.

Well we’ve come across a great resource “Motorola Triumph Hacks” that addresses many of the Triumphs shortcomings. The site features downloads for several of the more popular third party ROMS that add additional features and bug fixes as well as instructional videos that include step-by-step instructions to help even novice users enhance their Motorola Triumph experience.

Following one of the featured guides I’ve now upgraded my Triumph to Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread which made the phone noticeably more responsive. The only feature not enabled on the third party build that I installed that is HDMI, which was not a critical feature for me. (Video after the break)

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Verizon for Valentines day? “Samsung’d” again!

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

Starting February 13th through the 14th, Verizon is allowing users to tweet their most creative confessions with the hashtag #TweetHeart in order to win a free colored Droid RAZR. If you don’t like purple, simply give it to that special someone of yours. Until then, be on the lookout for the contest on Verizon Wireless’s official Twitter page.

PS. your partner may still like a romantic date even if you win the free phone.

For those who happened to miss the Samsung Galaxy Note Superbowl ad, the ad is simple no longer shall customers have to wait in long lines in order to buy a subpar phone such as iPhone, instead the Samsung Galaxy Note shall be your savior. It was a quirky and funny commercial, some may say it was a tad over the top, but the stage it was premiered on, sometimes over the top is better.

See the Samsung Mobile USA- Thing Called Love ad after the break

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Chrome for Phone

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

Google introduced Chrome for Android Beta today that brings many Chrome desktop features to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phones and tablets.

Some of the Chrome for Android features include:

  •  Browse fast with accelerated page loading, scrolling, and zooming
  • Search and navigate directly from the omnibox
  • Open and switch between unlimited tabs in an easy-to-view stack
  • Send pages from desktop Chrome to your smartphone or tablet with one click and read them on the go, even if you’re offline
  • Browse privately in Incognito mode
  • View open tabs: Access the tabs you left open on your computer (also signed into Chrome)picking up exactly where you left off.
  • Get smarter suggestions: If you visit a site often on your computer, you’ll also get an autocomplete suggestion for it on your mobile device, so you can spend less time typing.
  • Sync bookmarks: Conveniently access your favorite sites no matter where you are or which device you’re using.

Samsung Galaxy III, Skype & InstaCam for Windows Phone, Blackberry Resurrection?

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

Reports have surfaced that the latest edition to the Samsung Galaxy family, the Samsung Galaxy III will measure in at a relatively slim size of  7 mm. The Droid RAZR, which is currently one of the thinnest phones on the market measures in at 7.1 mm, so you can imagine how thin we are talking.

The Samsung Galaxy III is rumored to be released this upcoming May and will feature a 8megapixel rear camera and 2megapixel front-facing camera. Look for the device to run on Google’s latest operating system, Android 4.0(Ice Cream Sandwich). Multiple reports have cited that the Galaxy III will sport 2GB of RAM, have a quad core processor, and will also be 4G LTE compatible.

If this news is all true, the Samsung Galaxy III will be a hard phone to beat this year.

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BlackBerry Bold 9790 versus Sony Xperia S

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by Simon Drew

best-mobile-contracts.co.uk

As the growth of the smartphone market in the UK continues, and devices get faster, more powerful and better looking, it is inevitable that manufacturers will see 2012 as an opportunity to improve their position in the market. Smartphones increased their grip over the UK consumer in 2011 with headline-grabbing devices like the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple’s iPhone 4S generating excitement and enthusiasm. Though while there is growth for some manufacturers, others might lose out.

Research in Motion, the makers of Blackberry and Sony, while both still incredibly influential and successful in the market, have lost out to more popular competitors. Both manufacturers have started 2012 with new devices aimed at launching new ranges which can be seen as an injection for both brands. At RIM it is the Blackberry Bold 9790 which leads the way as the latest handset in its Bold series. It is due to be released at the end of this month At Sony it is the newly launched Xperia S which is the first in a new NXT Xperia range. That handset is due to be launched at the end of January and then released in early March. So which one is best?

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Quick Look: RingDimmer listens to ambient sound to automatically calculate and set ring volume for you.

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

RingDimmer is an Android ringer utility developed by Michael Pardo that listens to the ambient sound around you to calculate and automatically set the ring volume for you. This 99 cent utility immediately caught my attention as it would theoretically solve an issue with an inadvertently loud ringer in a quiet room that many of us have experienced.

I say theoretically because for me the program currently works better in theory than in practice. Although the program at times lowered the volume from the max volume setting to a more quiet volume. It’s still rings too loudly in most cases for my use. I would prefer to be able to set ring volume triggers for a given level of ambient noise rather than letting the program choosing the appropriate level.

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