Archives: May 2010

Evernote has released an update to their Android app, and it should be available now. The update includes two new features and fixes a bug that has been plaguing Android users.

Evernote has improved the search bar to make it multifunctional. You can now use it to filter on tags, display notebooks, and run saved searches. As you type in the search bar matching saved searches, tags, and notebook names appear in a drop-down list that you can then tap, as shown in the image below.

Image courtesy of Evernote

Evernote now uses your phone’s native camera capabilities, so that you can take pictures from within Evernote using the full capability of your phone. A month ago Evernote released new versions of their Mac and Windows clients that exposed a bug in the Android client. When users tried accessing certain notes they got a java.lang.IllegalStateException error and where not able to open the note. In this release that but is fixed.

Evernote has not provided too many details about what will be coming in future versions, but they have committed to adding local storage to Android phones. Currently, to access any notes with the Android client the phone must be connected to the Internet, while the iPhone/iPad apps can retrieve notes that are stored on the phone. Local storage is a feature I am looking forward to on my Nexus One, and I also hope that Evernote will also quickly add support for Android 2.2′s in-app search.

Yesterday Todd wrote about Fring’s Android app that supports video chat on high end Android phones like the Sprint HTC EVO. One might wonder whether Skype, who is the dominant VoIP and video chat application for Windows and Macs, is going to get in on the video chat game. Turns out that Skype has big plans for mobile phones and plans to “set the bar on mobile video calling.”

Last month Verizon made a big announcement saying that they officially support Skype on their network for Android and Blackberry smart phones. Right now Skype is only available to Android users on Verizon wireless, but that exclusive arrangement will end some time later this year. In a post on the skattertech blog, Skype is quoted as saying that they will be releasing a direct to consumer app later this year, and presumably that app will support the EVO’s front facing camera.

Yesterday Barnes and Noble released their eReader app for the iPad, which is one app that I have been looking forward to on my iPad. As you may know, I am big fan of the Barnes and Noble nook, and I have been looking forward to being able to have my reading progress synchronize across all of the devices on which I have my books. When Barnes and Noble announced the nook they promised to provide this synchronization, which is similar to what Kindle owners currently enjoy between the Kindle and the various Kindle apps.

Unfortunately, synchronization is only available between the iPad app and the Windows version of the B&N eReader application. I am surprised that Barnes and Noble did not provide synchronization between its flagship eReader device and the iPad application, and even more surprising is that synchronization is not supported between the iPad app and the iPhone app. For their part, Barnes and Noble says that the functionality is coming, it is just going to take a little longer, and I for one think it cannot get here fast enough.

The Android Community web site has posted a nice sign that the Slingplayer Mobile Android app is getting closer to being released. They managed to get a hold of a copy of the beta to test on a Nexus One, and found that it played well on Wi-Fi though it had a few issues on 3G. Slingplayer works with the Slingbox appliance that captures your cable or satellite TV signal in your home and makes it available on the Internet. There are two versions, the Slingbox Pro-HD that can capture HD TV, and the Slingbox Solo, and the Slingplayer applications log in to the Slingbox to play TV. Windows and Mac versions of Slingplayer come with the Slingbox so that you can access it from notebook computers, and mobile versions of Slingplayer are for sale for Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian phones and the iPhone.

Hamsters have had a long and solid relationship with the Internet, beginning with the infamous 1997 Hamster Dance Flash video and continuing through the present day. There are millions of YouTube hamster views and that’s no surprise. After all, hamsters are so small and cute and furry. Who wouldn’t love ‘em? This week a couple of new ads came out, starring hamsters, so we were inspired to put together a collection of some of our favorite hamster clips. Enjoy!
Read more

This week we saw Yahoo! and Zynga partner up to distribute social games across the Yahoo! network, American Idol announce their own Facebook game, EA Sports and Playfish launch FIFA Superstars just in time for the World Cup, Nexon (makers of Maplestory) revenues rise to over $500 million and more. We also wrote an examination of in-game advertising and looked at some of the best social features in today’s social games. Read more after the jump!

Read more

Ateam Inc. of Nagoya, Japan recently announced their venture into Facebook with a title called Pubbles, a jewel-matching game that’s seemingly derived from PopCap’s Bejeweled look. The feedback and presentation are decent and there are even actual rewards to be won through raffle tickets. The publisher is focusing on funneling users towards a downloadable PC version (far superior in aesthetic value) that costs $10. The pervasiveness of Asian developers releasing titles on Facebook is increasing as the gaming companies venture to find new audiences and liberal revenue sharing policies on Facebook compared to the Asian social networks.

Read more

Monday May 31 “NBC Nightly News’” Daily Nightly blog will be five years old. Five years of behind the scenes information, and of course the musings of anchor Brian Williams.

Timed to the fifth anniversary, NBC has redesigned the blog, with “share” features to push posts to Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere getting prominent placement.

On May 31, 2005 Williams wrote:

We hope this will be a useful supplement to viewers of Nightly News, as both a narrative and as a window into our editorial process. We had hoped to file this inaugural issue earlier in the day, but we work in a busy place where decisions need to be made constantly… and then changed.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and today the blog still sticks to the tried and true format.

Five years is an eternity in the blog world, so a toast on this long holiday weekend is in order. Or at least a celebratory hot dog at the annual Memorial Day BBQ.

Today one woman’s outrageous reaction to Lee DeWyze winning American Idol is climbing the YouTube charts. The woman, who was clearly rooting for Crystal Bowersox, demonstrates some of the rawest emotion ever to hit the web video streams. “I hate you!” she screams at the television screen. “My whole life is ruined!” Who knew it was possible to care so much about American Idol?
Read more

Gadget blog Engadget has a doozy of a scoop today. The blog has uncovered what it says are details of the next iteration of Apple TV. Apple TV is the computer company’s (so far largely unsuccessful)effort to break into the living room.

Engadget says the new device’s software will be based off of iPhone OS 4, which would potentially allow for apps. In terms of size it was described as an “iPhone without a screen.” Incredibly, their sources peg the price at $99.

Because of the small size, the content would be streamed via the cloud, implying that Apple’s long-rumored cloud-based iTunes is almost ready for primetime.

The news comes just a week after Google unveiled its own impressive TV offering, Google TV. The difference is that Google’s product is software based, and will be built into Blu-Ray players, set-top boxes and television sets. Apple’s product will be sold straight to consumers at what seems like an amazing price.

So what can we consumers expect? Well, this would expand the Google-Apple battle to the living room, and that is good for us. The technology has the potential to redefine how we watch television, although Google and Apple have different visions as to how it should work.

Google’s product seems to keep television networks mostly at the forefront, with the potential to tie-in web series seamlessly. Apple, at least so far, as been more interested in selling TV shows through its iTunes store (where it makes money) rather than via streaming. Of course, when iTunes shows can be streamed, and apps become available on your 52 inch HDTV, the game is changed.