Tag 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

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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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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.

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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Screenshot It for Android allows you to capture, crop, draw and annotate your screenshots.

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by George Heymann|@techeadlines

technology-headlines.com

Screenshot It is a Android application developed by Edward Kim that enables users to take a screenshot of their phone’s screen. Once the screenshot is captured you can crop, draw and annotate screenshots then save as a .jpg or .png to the phone or share on your favorite social media site.

The application works on all rooted Android phones and many phones and devices including my Honeycomb HTC Flyer tablet without root access.

Other features include:

  • Screen shot status bar button
  • Screenshot widget button
  • Shake to screen shot
  • Delayed screenshot timer
  • “Share” menu integration
  • Custom save directory

Google hooks up Sprint with the Galaxy Nexus, Amazon offering Verizon Galaxy Nexus for $100

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

Google has pushed out a signup page for the upcoming Sprint Galaxy Nexus which leads us to believe that Sprint’s Galaxy Nexus is one step closer to being released. What we can tell you for sure is that unlike the Verizon version, the Sprint model will feature Google Wallet; which is a huge bonus for Sprint users. If you are a Sprint user with an available upgrade, or one coming up soon, we suggest you hold off, because the Galaxy Nexus is arguably one of the best phones out on the market.

Amazon is now offering the Galaxy Nexus for $100 to new customers. So if you have been thinking about making the switch to Verizon, now is the time. Amazon is offering current Verizon customers the Galaxy Nexus for $260. Take advantage of this deal as soon as possible, who knows how long it will last.

Titan II and Lumia 900 set launch date, Xbox games coming to other platforms? Google Music Updated

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Smartphone Briefs

By Chris Coleman|@PhoneKnack

AT&T is hitting the ground running in 2012, opening the year with two Windows Phones. Both the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900 are hitting shelves on March 18th. The HTC Titan II can be yours for $199.99 on a new two-year contract. It features a whooping 4.7 inch screen, a 16megapixel camera, 1.5 GHz processor, and will run on AT&T’s LTE(4G) network. The Nokia Lumia 900 on the other hand will be only $99.99 but still gives the Titan II a run for it’s money. The Lumia has a slightly smaller 4.3 inch screen, with a 8megapixel camera on the back, and a 1.4 GHz processor, however, it has a larger battery compared to the Titan II. Like the Titan II, the Lumia is also compatible with AT&T’s LTE(4G) network.

This year is starting off very well for Microsoft and their Windows Phone line, look for them to continue to make a push in the smartphone market throughout the rest of this year

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