Ubuntu for Android at MWC - world's first full-featured desktop on a docked smartphone
Carry less, do a lot more. All the productivity and apps of the full Ubuntu desktop, built into your Android phone.
London, 22nd February, 2012: Canonical today unveiled Ubuntu for Android, bringing the world's favourite free desktop experience to multi-core Android smartphones docked with a keyboard and monitor. Use Android on the phone and Ubuntu as your desktop, both running simultaneously on the same device, with seamless sharing of contacts, messages and other common services.
A.I.type Announces A.I. Float-N-Split Tablet Keyboard
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)A.I.type announced the general availability of A.I. FloatNSplit Tablet Keyboard, the new standard for Android Tablet keyboards. In addition to very accurate text-prediction capabilities: next word prediction, smart word completion and context-based auto-correction, the new keyboard splits to allow thumb typing, and floats above the current application to save screens space.
We have a cracker for our third "app of the week". Let me introduce you to Phonedeck, which is a fantastic way to manage your smartphone remotely from your desktop.
Features
Make calls with just one click
Browse your phonebook, select a contact and start a call without even picking up the phone.
[Review]Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)Firstly, a big apology for not getting this out sooner. I’ve been busy tweaking the site and making sure you guys get a great experience for you Droid fans in New Zealand. Anyway, enough of that, let’s get on with this overdue review.
The Galaxy Nexus, where to start. This is the first phone to feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, without a custom user interface. The experience is vanilla Android. I have been through quite a few devices on my journey to the Galaxy Nexus, including the Samsung Galaxy S2. I’ll do my best to compare it to the S2 so you’re aware of the differences.
[POLL] Can Android save the Blackberry Playbook?
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)The Blackberry Playbook launched and it had promise. The biggest issue was that the tablet didn't have a native email application. The second issue was the lack of apps available for the Playbook. This looks like it's now been rectified with Playbook OS 2.0. That's right, you can now use Android applications on the Playbook. A very good move by RIM, that and the fact that you no longer need a Blackberry handheld to get email on the device. A snippet from the press release: "Thousands of new apps are being added to BlackBerry App World™ today (including a range of Android® apps that will run on the BlackBerry PlayBook)."
Samsung testing Ice Cream Sandwich update for Vodafone Galaxy S II owners
Written by Blair McClelland (ArchSerpo)One of the most popular threads over in Vodafone's official forums is one where many users are left wondering where the Android 2.3.6 update is for their Vodafone Galaxy S II. Well John Reader (johnr) is essentially the spokesman of Vodafone New Zealand on the mobile front and has passed on this quote from Samsung in the aforementioned thread.
ZTE and Nvidia introduce the Mimosa X
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Feb. 20, 2012--NVIDIA and ZTE today announced the ZTE Mimosa X, the first smartphone to be powered both by the NVIDIA ®Tegra ® application processor and its Icera® modem, which came to NVIDIA through its Icera acquisition in mid-2011.
"The ZTE Mimosa X is exciting for a few reasons," said Michael Rayfield, General Manager of the Mobile business at NVIDIA. "The Mimosa X marks the first time NVIDIA technology powers all the major processors in a single smartphone, and also the first time a premium mobile computing experience is coming to the mainstream smartphone market."
No NFC in your phone, no worries
Written by Pete Thompson (AndroidMNZ)So you've got an Android phone without a Near Field Communication chip, as does the majority of the world. There aren't alot of phones that come standard with an NFC chip. For those of you scratching your heads, here's the definition for NFC from wikipedia: Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimetres. Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi.