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Kayak abandons BlackBerry, will support ‘Googlerola phone’ — or other Android devices

Phil Nickinson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:52:27 +0000

It's bad enough that when Kayak.com announced it was dropping support for its BlackBerry app that it said it was a "practical decision." That's gotta sting, right? (Even if it's true. Or especially if it's true.) But what really gave us a chuckle was Kayak's line about devices it will continue to support.

"If you're thinking of switching to an iPhone, Googlerola phone, other Android device, Windows Phone 7 device, or a Nokia device, we will continue to innovate and maintain our free apps for you," Kayak's billo wrote on the company's news section. "Googlerola phone." Heh. Looks like we're not the only ones chomping at the bit to see what what comes out of the proposed merger (acquisition, really -- Motorola's getting about $12.5 billion out of it) between Google and Motorola. And Kayak, like many of you, is of the mind that soon enough in the future you'll have two classes of Android -- Googlerola, and everything else.

Google's Andy Rubin, of course, has said otherwise -- that Motorola continue to operate as a separate company, and that it doesn't have a lock on future Nexus phones. (Of the major smartphone manufacturers, HTC and Samsung have been tapped for the three Nexus devices.)

"We don't expect that to change at all," Rubin said back in August 2011. "The acquisition is going to be run as a separate business. They will be part of that bidding process, and part of that lead development process. And obviously Android remains open to other partners to use as they are today."

The two companies expect the merger to be finalized "in early 2012," meaning any time now, once regulatory approval is received.

Vimeo app lands for Windows Phone, lets you upload your next student film over 3G

Terrence O'Brien — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:45:00 +0000

Hello there Mango fans, is YouTube just a little too lowbrow for you? Well, fret not, Vimeo is here to stream all the HD student shorts your little Microsoft-loving heart desires. The official app doesn't just let you browse, search and view clips on the site, though -- it completely integrates with your account, allowing you to upload HD video, tweak the details of your uploads and even check stats. Basically, with this app in your pocket there's almost no reason to visit the desktop site ever again. Of course, the prerequisite sharing features are also included, because, what good is capturing and uploading all this lovely video if you can't tweet it out to all your friends. Check out the gallery below and hit up the source to download it for free from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Gallery: Vimeo for Windows Phone

Vimeo app lands for Windows Phone, lets you upload your next student film over 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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45 Best (And 1 WTF) New Android Apps And Live Wallpapers From The Last 2 Weeks (1/23/12 – 2/4/12)

Artem Russakovskii — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:07:00 +0000

Welcome to the weekly roundup of the best new Android applications, games, and live wallpapers that went live in the Market or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.

This is the app roundup. The game roundup from this week can be found here and the tablet app roundup here.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the AppBrain widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Featured App

Tasks N Todos - ToDo List Manager

Tasks N Todos is ...

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45 Best (And 1 WTF) New Android Apps And Live Wallpapers From The Last 2 Weeks (1/23/12 - 2/4/12) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Nullsoft Adds WinAmp Pro License Directly To The Market, Brings A Host Of Features To Users With A Spare $5

Eric Ravenscraft — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:13:59 +0000

Nullsoft, creator of WinAmp, a favorite media player for over 10 million Android users, is adding its premium track directly to the Android Market. Users have previously been able to download the Pro version via an in-app purchase, but now the Pro license is also available directly from the Android Market. So, what do you get for your $5? Here's a look at the feature list:

10-band graphic equalizer
Customizable home screen
Browse by Folder
Crossfade
Gapless playback
Support for FLAC playback in Folders View (lossless audio playback)
Replay Gain
Personalized station recommendations
Play any streaming audio URL (supported formats

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Nullsoft Adds WinAmp Pro License Directly To The Market, Brings A Host Of Features To Users With A Spare $5 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Dashwire closes up shop, all your data to get flushed on February 15th (update: Windows Mobile devices only)

Terrence O'Brien — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:33:00 +0000

Ok, so chances are you probably haven't thought about Dashwire much in the last couple of years. Last time we covered the service was back in the halycon days of Windows Mobile 6.0, early on in the modern smartphone revolution. In case you need a bit of a refresher, Dashwire was a cloud service that delivered many of the ammenities we now take for granted in mobile device -- visual voicemail, threaded SMS, automatic sycing of photos, and status updates. Earlier this year, HTC snatched up the company which last made news with the free, and appropriately-named, Awesome Drop for Android (which seems to be dying a quiet death in the market). Well, the actual Dashwire service has been languishing for sometime now, but the company has decided to finally discontinue it completely for Windows Mobile devices and, on February 15th, will be shutting down its servers and deleting all user content. So, if you've got anything still sitting up in its aging cloud, now is the time to reclaim it.

Update: Despite the Dashwire service itself (apparently) no longer being listed on its site, HTC has contacted us to clarify that "that Dashwire is only closing down the original/old Dashwire.com service for Windows Mobile devices" and that it has "new services with Tier 1 operators that are live in market."

Dashwire closes up shop, all your data to get flushed on February 15th (update: Windows Mobile devices only) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile Miscellany: week of January 30th, 2012

Zachary Lutz — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:02:00 +0000

Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This week, we've spotted a leaked Android 4.0.4 ROM for the Nexus S 4G, and we've also come across a price and release date for the Droid 4. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride. Let's explore the "best of the rest" for this week of January 30th, 2012.

Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of January 30th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany: week of January 30th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Window Phone developer guru Brandon Watson joins Amazon Kindle team

Phil Nickinson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:44:40 +0000

Brandon Watson, a major player in the resurrection of Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, specifically in his work with developers, has taken a job with Amazon. Watson confirmed his departure Friday on Twitter, and ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley tracked down that he'll be director of the Kindle Cross-Platform Team. Foley says that makes him responsible for for all of the first- and third-party Kindle apps, which would include Android's own Amazon Kindle application.

Said Watson:

The rumors are true. The team is in great hands. I'll miss working on #wpdev. I will [miss] the community, but won't be a stranger.

With a high-profile name like Watson, who was one of Microsoft's biggest cheerleaders for the revived Windows Phone platform (and a hell of a nice dude -- I've met him a couple times), you can't help but wonder what else Amazon has up its sleeve. Amazon's running what is believe to be the most successful forked version of Android with its Kindle Fire e-reader/tablet, along with its wildly successful Amazon Appstore. And now Amazon's picked up some serious Microsoft talent.

No doubt that if anyone has the traditional manufacturers looking over their shoulders a little bit, especially in the tablet space, it's Amazon. On the other hand, while the Kindle family (and Kindle Fire in particular) may be moving a bunch of units -- up 177 percent over last year -- maybe they looked at Amazon's profit and shrugged. Either way, things are getting interesting.

Source: @brandonwatson, ZDNet; via WPCentral

Window Phone developer guru Brandon Watson joins Amazon Kindle team

Phil Nickinson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:44:40 +0000

Said Watson:

The rumors are true. The team is in great hands. I'll miss working on #wpdev. I will [miss] the community, but won't be a stranger.

Source: @brandonwatson, ZDNet; via WPCentral

Xbox co-creator brings together Atari ‘dream team’ for mobile gaming startup

Donald Melanson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:38:00 +0000

A new mobile gaming startup that's yet to release a single game isn't the sort of thing we'd normally cover 'round here, but the story behind Los Angeles-based Innovative Leisure is anything but ordinary. The man behind the company is the co-creator of the Xbox, Seamus Blackley, and he's brought with him eleven industry veterans that he calls "the dream team from Atari," including the likes of Van Burnham, Ed Logg, Rich Adam, Tim Skelly, Owen Rubin, and Ed Rotberg. While those names may not be familiar to everyone, you'll surely recognize some of the games they were responsible for: Asteroids, Centipede, Gauntlet, Missile Command, Battlezone, S.T.U.N. Runner, Major Havoc and Space Duel, to name a few.

Speaking with VentureBeat, Blackley describes mobile devices as "the new arcade" and 99 cent games as the "new quarter," adding that he's aiming to carry on where Atari left off, "focusing on innovation in gameplay." To help with that, the company has secured backing from THQ, which has reportedly agreed to an initial slate of ten games, seven of which are now in development (with only the iPhone and iPad mentioned as supported platforms so far). Unfortunately, details remain light beyond that, with Blackley only offering late summer or fall as an estimated release date for the first titles. In the meantime, you can find more of the backstory at the links below (THQ's press release can also be found after the break).

Continue reading Xbox co-creator brings together Atari 'dream team' for mobile gaming startup

Xbox co-creator brings together Atari 'dream team' for mobile gaming startup originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[App Roundup] Check Out These Five Super-Cool Apps From January, You’ll Be Glad You Did

Brandon Lancaster — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:27:00 +0000

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the go-to site when you need to find accurate information quickly. Well, mostly accurate information, right? Right.

Well, searching through Wikipedia's 20 million articles to find that bit of information to prove your friends and colleagues wrong is now easier than ever with the official Android app. You'll also be able to save articles for reading later and even share what you find.

Ironically, we came across Wikipedia's Android app during the SOPA blackout even though it had been out for 4 days prior.

Wikipedia

SwitchMe

This app is for rooted users only. Make sure

...

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[App Roundup] Check Out These Five Super-Cool Apps From January, You'll Be Glad You Did was written by the awesome team at Android Police.