BlueStacks App Player Beta Brings Android Apps To Windows PCs

Developers of the new BlueStacks application have today announced the roll out of a beta version of the software. BlueStacks App Player has been designed to enable you to run ARM Android applications on your Widows PC.

BlueStacks Beta which is now available to download uses new technology called LayerCake, which provides the correct environment on Windows to run ARM Android Apps.

Once you have loaded BlueStacks on to your Windows PC the software allows you to download Android apps directly from within the software. Without the need to use an Android phone,

BlueStacks as comes supplied with a neat dock launcher that fits naturally with the Windows interface. Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, Content, Applications and Solutions at AMD, said in BlueStacks’ statement announcing the new beta.

“LayerCake is a disruptive technology that enables PC manufacturers to bring the best of the Android ecosystem to their customers. We are excited to work with BlueStacks to make the emerging Android mobile apps market part of the broader computing arena,”

Using the new BlueStacks application you can also run ARM Android apps in either windowed or full-screen mode, and the software now available for 12 non-English speaking countries, including Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, France, Italy, China, Germany, Korea and Russia.

Jump over to the BlueStacks website for more information and to download a copy of the software to load onto your Windows PC or tablets.

Source: CNET

MOG Dedicated iPad App Now Available

This week MOG has launched a dedicated iPad application to accompany its paid subscription online music service and blog network. Allowing you to listen to your favourite tracks and catch up on worldwide music news.

MOG’s subscription based music service enables you to play tracks from its catalog on a variety of digital devices, including computers, handheld devices, Sonos system and television through MOG’s Roku channel. For more information on the service jump over to the MG website.

The new dedicated iPad application now provides high-definition full-screen album artwork with support for Apple’s new iPad 3 Retina display. Together with intuitive interface, with fluid adjustment between portrait and landscape mode, as well as allowing you to stream in 320kbps.

“We’re proud to be the music service that brings our listeners the largest high-quality music catalog on the planet. Now we’re thrilled to announce our greatest achievement yet: the MOG app for iPad. This unparalleled music experience — built from the ground up — features all of MOG’s critically-acclaimed quick-search and music discovery tools and more.”

The new MOG iPad application is now available to download from the iTunes App Store for free.

Logitech UE Air, Airplay Speaker Unveiled (video)

After announcing their new BCC950 ConferenceCam yesterday Logitech have also now taken the wraps of their new Logitech UE Air speaker. Which is equipped with Ultimate Ear branding and comes complete with Apple AirPlay support.

The UE Air speaker is Logitech’s first Airplay equipped speaker system and comes fitted with dual tweeters and woofers. The AirPlay support allows you to stream music from your Apple iOS devices directly to the speaker system wirelessly.

The Logitech UE Air Speaker system also incorporates a handy docking station for iOS devices, enabling you to charge and play your tunes or media at the same time.

Skype per iPad si aggiorna con grafica Retina (Screenshot a confronto)

Non solo diversi giochi sono stati già ottimizzati per lo schermo Retina da 2048×1536 pixel, tra le applicazioni aggiornate per adattarsi alla risoluzione del nuovo iPad ne troviamo tante di utilizzo comune. A questa categoria si aggiunge Skype, oggi aggiornata con icone e pulsanti in alta definizione. Cogliamo l’occasione per confrontare la grafica rinnovata con la versione precedente e lo storage occupato dall’app.

Nokia Beta Labs: rilasciata la versione 3.24.053 dello Store QML di Symbian

Direttamente dai laboratori Beta di Nokia è arrivata da pochi minuti una nuova release dello Store QML di Symbian. La versione rilasciata è numerata come 3.24.053 ed introduce le seguenti novità:

• Risolto il bug che portava la perdita della connessione durante il download dei pacchetti
• Risolti altri bug

Maggiori informazioni e download su Nokia Beta Labs.

Apple’s Siri Becoming More Popular According To Report

It looks like Apple’s voice activated virtual assistant is becoming more popular according to a recent report by consulting firm Park Associates, who surveyed iPhone 4S owners of their usage of Apple’s Siri.

According to the report, 87 percent of the iPhone 4S owners use Apple’s Siri at least once a month, and people seem to be using Siri for making phone calls and sending text messages.

Other features are used less often, with 32 percent of people surveyed using it to play music and 35 percent using it to schedule meetings, and around 55 percent of the people surveyed were happy with the service.

I use an iPhone 4S as my main smartphone, and to be honest I hardly ever use Siri, although I do live in the UK where the service is not as good in the US, if more of the features worked here then I would probably use it more often.

Source WSJ

Google Adds Play Store To Homepage Navigation

Google recently re-branded its Android Market as Google Play, and now it looks like Google are trying to attract more users to its apps, music and movies service.

If you go to Google’s homepage today you will notice that the navigation bar has changed, and you will now see a listing for Google Play, with the word ‘new’ next to it in red.

Google is obviously hoping that the massive exposure of Google Play on their homepage is going to make the service more popular, it was the first thing I noticed this morning when I went to Google’s homepage.

Google Play now offers Android apps, as well as music and movies, plus books, and Google are obviously hoping that by advertising their new service to millions of users will help it become as popular as Apple’s iTunes.

Take A Ride In This Killer Whale Submarine

Way back in 1914s, during the World War 1, a conventional bunch of submarines are typically used by Militaries as a defense measure in attacking the enemies’ ships on sea surfaces. But now, it seems that the traditional watercraft operational machine is now becoming an awesome trending tag to one’s digital play.

Watch The Future, Smartphone Wrist Control Concept

A new watch concept has been created by F.Bertrand called the “Watch The Future”, which has been designed to enable you to link to application on your smartphone. Enabling you to control and receive updates directly on your wrist.

The “Watch The Future” concept wrist watch can display the weather, your contacts, stock exchange information, SMS messages, Facebook updates, your GPS location and more. As well as keeping you update-to-date with the current time.

The innovative watch concept would keep the application you use most at easy access, and would even change the icons location on the strap according to the position of your wrist.

Black SMS iPhone App Keeps Your SMS Content Safe With Encryption

 

iPhone users that would prefer to keep their SMS message content concealed from prying eyes. Might be interested in a new iPhone application that has been created called Black SMS.

Black SMS has been designed to encrypt your SMS messages with a password and hides the encrypted data inside a black chat bubble, shown in the picture below.

Allowing you to chat with friends or anyone else you need to without the risk of anyone else being able to read or access your messages. Black SMS can also be used to privately text multiple recipients at once if needed.

Black SMS is now available to download front the Apple iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Source: Tech Crunch

Orange UK Samsung Galaxy S II Android 4.0 Update Coming In April

Last week Samsung released the Android 4.0 update for the Samsung Galaxy S II, and one UK carrier Three announced that the update was being rolled out on their network and now we have some information from another UK carrier.

Orange UK has announced that the Android 4,0 Ice Cream Sandwich update will be available for the Samsung Galaxy S II on their network, although we don’t as yet have a specific date.

With regards to the other carriers, O2 have said that it will be available at the end of March, which probably means April, but Vodafone and T-Mobile have yet to release any details on when ICS will land on the Samsung Galaxy S II on their networks.
Source Cnet, SoMobile, EuroDroid

Firefox 14 Now Fitted With Built In HTML 5 Based PDF Reader

Mozilla has now started to integrate a native PDF reader into Firefox 14 versions. A new nightly build of Firefox 14 has been released over the weekend, which brings with it a new integrated PDF viewer within Firefox.

When a PDF is now opened in the Firefox 14 a browse tab is created and a toolbar appears at the top enabling you to go to a specific page, change the zoom level, print, download the PDF, or bookmark its current location.

AT&T confirms HTC Titan II to join Lumia 900 on April 8th for $200 (video)

Looking to pick up a Windows Phone handset on Big Blue? You might want to sit tight for a few days. AT&T has just confirmed to us that the HTC Titan II will be hitting the carrier’s U.S. stores on April 8th, the same day that the Lumia 900 is set to ship. HTC’s flavor will retail for double the price of Nokia’s new flagship, priced at $199.99, and takes the award for highest megapixel count, thanks to its 16MP backside-illuminated sensor with an f/2.6 AF lens in tow. It also includes a 1730mAh removable battery and a familiar design that’s nearly identical to its predecessor. We were quite impressed with that camera during our test at CES, however, so if you’re looking to replace your first-gen Titan with a very capable cameraphone, this may be your best bet. Jump past the break for our hands-on.

World demands justice for Galaxy Nexus owner who ‘beat’ Windows Phone

Now here’s a little righteous indignation to liven up your Monday. It’s the sorry and admittedly one-sided tale of Galaxy Nexus-owner Sahas Katta, who claims he beat a “Get Smoked” Windows Phone challenge at a Microsoft store yesterday, but was denied his prize. To win a $1,000 laptop, he simply had to complete a task on his personal phone quicker than a store employee who was using a Windows Phone. It so happened that the task chosen for Sahas’s contest suited him perfectly: he was told to cold boot and then bring up the weather in two different cities, and by a stroke of luck he already had two separate weather widgets for San Jose, CA and Berkeley, CA running on his Nexus’ home screen. He also had his lock screen disabled, which goes against Google’s own security advice but which he says gave him the “split second” edge he needed. The principle of justice, meanwhile, was smothered with lock screens, because Sahas was promptly informed that he’d just been “smoked” by a Windows Phone, even though he’d been quicker. At first he was told that the Windows Phone won because it “displays the weather right there,” then he was told it was because both his cities were “in the same state,” and finally he just gave up. A Microsoft insider has since tweeted that he’ll “make it right” for Sahas, but will it be the kind of right that includes a $1,000 laptop?

Skattertech, Ben Rudolph (Twitter)

Nokia Lumia 900 to hit AT&T on April 8th with $100 price tag in tow (video)

Those of you stateside Windows Phone hopefuls just dying to get on the Lumia bandwagon will have a new handset to jump on beginning early next month. AT&T has confirmed to CNET that the Lumia 900 will be hitting U.S. retailers on April 8th, for $99.99 on a two-year contract — an aggressive price for the flagship smartphone. The LTE-equipped device includes a 4.3-inch ClearBlack display, 1.4GHz single-core CPU, 512MB of RAM and an 8-megapixel rear-facing cam with an f/2.2 Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash. There’s also a non-removable 1830mAh battery, which should keep the 4G slab powered for a fair amount of time. Want to take a closer look at this new Microsoft-friendly flagship? Jump past the break for our hands-on video, direct from CES 2012.

CNET