Way back in March of 2010, nifty Internet radio service Slacker began demoing features for on-demand listening, putting it more squarely in competition with Rhapsody, Napster, and other all-you-can-eat subscription services. Today, it’s finally launching the service. It’s available in its browser-based version and iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, and BlackBerry versions–and also in a new iPad version.
Tag Archives | Smartphones
An iPhone Battery Case That’s Also a Universal Power Pack for Portable Gadgets
My first impulse is to compare Third Rail Mobility’s new Smart Battery and Slim Case to Mophie‘s Juice Pack, the best-known name in iPhone battery cases.Third Rail’s system does, indeed, provide an alternative way to extend an iPhone 4’s battery life. But this clever system goes way beyond that. I tried a review unit provided by the company.
The case itself looks pretty much like any nice two-piece snap-on black iPhone 4 case, except:
- The section below the dock connector is a bit taller than usual and sports a Micro USB connector;
- There’s an area on the back with electrical contacts.
The contacts on the case’s back are there because you can connect the battery there like a backpack. It’s a 1250 MaH unit, so it should come close to doubling the standard life of the iPhone’s own 1420 MaH battery. You can simply use the phone with the battery in place–it looks a little strange, but I found it comfortable enough in the hand–or attach the battery only when you need it, such as when the iPhone’s own battery is about to croak.
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A Bluetooth Keyboard for Your iPhone 4
Speaking of inventive input devices, here’s an iPhone 4 case with a built-in, slide-out Bluetooth keyboard, effectively turning your iPhone into something along the lines of the original Droid. I’m not sure how well it works, but I’m glad someone tried to build it.
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Hands-On With Google Music Beta
While many of us Google I/O attendees were unsurprised by yesterday’s announcement that Google was launching its own cloud-based music service, we were excited to learn that every one of us would be getting a priority invite to the service. As a big music nerd, I was excited to give it a test spin. Can Google do music? Read on to find out.
What It’s All About
Music Beta lets you upload your personal music collection to the cloud for streaming to your computer and other Android devices. Sound kind of familiar? You might recall that Amazon also rolled out a music player this year, Cloud Player. But unlike Amazon’s service, Google’s Music Beta does not sell music. So what’s the appeal? It’s simple and if you do everything through your Google account anyway, you might as well add music management to the mix. Furthermore, Android has always had a miserable music organization system so Music Beta is definitely a welcome addition to the platform.
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Google Music and Movies: Your Questions Answered
That little green robot must be struggling to catch his breath.
In addition to unveiling two significant updates to its Android operating system on Tuesday — Android 3.1 and the next-generation Android Ice Cream Sandwich — Google took the wraps off its long-discussed Google Music service and launched a new movie service for Android, too. It was all part of Google’s annual I/O conference for developers, taking place this week in San Francisco.
So what are Google’s new music and movie services all about, and how will they work for you? Here are answers to all your burning questions.
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Meet the new Android: Ice Cream Sandwich
Google unveiled a new version of Android (deliciously nicknamed “Ice Cream Sandwich”) at this morning’s keynote at Google I/O in San Francisco. Ice Cream Sandwich brings the best features of Honeycomb to mobile phones. Still, other than a few intriguing demos, Google did not disclose many details about the update such as when it will be available to consumers.
Interestingly, Google addressed one of the biggest gripes both developers and consumers have about the Android platform: Fragmentation. There are hundreds of Android devices out there in many shapes and sizes. And while choice is great, it is incredibly difficult for app developers to meet the needs of so many different types of phones and tablets.
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Smartphones May Finally Show Up At E3
Contests aren’t something I’d normally report on, but T-Mobile’s “Battle for E3” contest strikes me as newsworthy.
Entrants must upload a 15-second video to T-Mobile’s Facebook page, explaining why they are ultimate gamers and should therefore be chosen as an E3 “correspondent” for the company (i.e., play lots of video games before they’re released). The top prize, aside from the trip to Los Angeles, includes LG’s G2x Android phone.
Without reading into this too much, I think it’s interesting that a wireless carrier is taking such a keen interest in E3. This, combined with other signs, make me think smartphones could finally have a strong showing at the trade show.
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Veer: Almost Here
I’m not in the market for a new phone. But if I were, I’d at least toy with the idea of getting HP’s Veer, the tiny new WebOS phone. And AT&T has announced it’ll be on sale starting May 15th, for $99 on a two-year contract.
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Question #1 for RIM: Will the New BlackBerries Make Lance Happy?
One memory sticks in my mind from the Dive Into Mobile conference that All Things Digital held in San Francisco last December. It was when my friend Lance Ulanoff of PCMag.com waved his BlackBerry Torch at RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and asked, basically, why RIM couldn’t give him a BlackBerry phone based on hardware as potent as a current iPhone or Android handset.
Lazaridis didn’t really have a good answer for Lance. Actually, it was hard to tell exactly what his response was, but it sounded like it involved RIM opting out of the current phone hardware wars and waiting until it can build BlackBerries that incorporate dual-core processors and run a version of the QNX-based operating system that’s on the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Well, RIM made a gaggle of announcements today at its BlackBerry World conference in Orlando, and among them are two new BlackBerries due this summer–the Bold 9900 and 9930–that come closer to being the phone that Lance was asking about than any BlackBerry to date. (They don’t run QNX, but do have BlackBerry OS 7–a new version of RIM’s old platform that isn’t backwards-compatible with earlier handsets.)
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Consumer Reports: The White iPhone Isn’t Thicker
Finally, Consumer Reports and Apple agree on something: the white iPhone is no thicker than its black counterpart.