Would you use an Android Personal Assistant? [POLL]
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)We're getting closer to a real life demo of Majel (or Assistant) which is said to rival Apple's Siri. But the big question is, do we need a personal assistant on my mobile. I truly like the idea of telling my phone what to do and I can think of times when I would. But there are also times when I wouldn't. I certainly wouldn't use it when I'm out and about in public view. I'd feel a bit of a numpty talking to my phone when it's not a phone call, say in a cafe or walking on the street. "Put a meeting in my calendar for 10am on Thursday. And call me a **** while you're doing that." Maybe it's just me.
We introduced you to Google Majel back in March. It's a personal assistant for Android devices that is set to rival Siri. TechCrunch has reported that a source has informed them that the service will be known as Assistant (how original), and the release is expected for Q4 of this year. They've been supposedly testing this service since late last year so we can probably expect a showcase of Assistant at Google I/O (developers conference) next month. This will no doubt plug in to Google's Knowledge Graph. So what's Knowledge Graph?
Motorola Atrix 2 getting ICS in Q3
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)If you're the proud owner of the Motorola Atrix 2, you're going to have to wait until Q3 of this year before you get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Moto have updated their ICS rollout schedule which shows that the firmware is currently in development. This phone was announced in October 2011, and I have to say that I'm a little bit disappointed to see that the update is not due until Q3. If you want to compete with the likes of HTC and Samsung then you have to deliver ICS in a timely fashion to your flagship devices. And I consider the Atrix 2, to be a flagship device. Blair and Murphy reviewed it and they were impressed.
Weekend Poll: How much of stock Android remains visible on your phone?
Written by Blair McClelland (ArchSerpo)We all know we can do just about whatever we please with Android these days, with its massive multitude of custom launchers and widgets. We can turn Android into iOS, Windows Phone 7 and then into something completely original within minutes. This is why we love Android - plus your replies will help us going forward as to how much time we should spend writing up information on the stock user interface of a phone.
I don't know about you but I'm quite proud to be a Kiwi. I made this quite well known whilst living in Europe for 6 years. You can imagine my excitement when I hear a rumour about a Kiwi-phone in the making. This "Kiwi" designed smartphone will ofcourse be Android powered which again makes me extremely happy. But the big question is, what will this phone look like and how will it emphasise "kiwi-ness"? At this stage we have no idea. I've created a thread over on the forums to help generate ideas for such a phone. Who knows, the manufacturer may be listening and your ideas might make it on to the design.
Remember Project Glass from Google. If not click on the link to check it out. It's the augmented reality glasses that could bring mobile to a new level. The promo video certainly showcased some pretty cool features. Well it looks like Google have patented the concept and it might not be that far away. Unfortunately the features from the promo video won't be available immediately if ever. Rather than using the entire right eye to show a HUD (heads up display) you'll only get a data feed at the top of the eye. This however does make sense as we don't want people having an accident due to their vision being impaired.
Lack the motivation to run? What if Zombies chased you
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)Have you ever lacked the motivation to put that gaming controller down, get your running shoes on, and go for a nice run? I certainly have. It's one of the hardest things to do. Well there's a very cool solution coming to Android on June 14. One of the coolest fitness apps, let me intoduce you to Zombie-Run. "You tie your shoes, put on your headphones, take your first steps outside. You’ve barely covered 100 yards when you hear them. They must be close. You can hear every guttural breath, every rattling groan - they’re everywhere. Zombies. There’s only one thing you can do: Run!"
Original ASUS eee pad Transformer gets another update
Written by Paul (pjshark)So I got home last night and picked up my TF to start a game of poker but low and behold I had an update (.24) from ASUS. So yay I thought maybe its another improvement to the stability issues that most users were experiencing when we received ICS. Though after the last update I do confess my experience was much better and I think I have only had one boot loop issue since the update.
So I decided to update regardless and find out afterwards what the improvements are. After the update I jumped on the forums over at Transformer Forums to see what all the fuss was about. Yes it was to add stability but also to add some new features.