Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners

Moine-Garde recently came to our attention, and we were quite frankly amused by its offer of “fine virtual timepieces” — if only because, in this context, “fine” and “virtual” would seem to cancel each other out. But like the best websites and catalogs catering to the wealthy, social climbers, or the just plain gullible, this company is not just selling Android apps, it’s selling a lifestyle. Some of our favorite item descriptions:
  • EX-01 Homme ($15) Entering the boardroom at 8:30 AM – everyone awaits a decision. Mentally going over the broader picture. Calmly sitting down at the end of the table. Placing the phone quietly on its black glass surface. Time: 8:31. Let the meeting begin.
  • F-01 M’elle ($7) Strolling down Rue Saint-Florentin. New dress: Check. Artichokes: Check. Hometown Crémant: Check. All is ready. Thinking about his smile on the last date. Loving the scent of vanilla from the bakery across the road. 7:10 PM. Incoming text message: “Chéri – Can’t wait to see you tonight.”
  • M-01 Jaune ($3) Finally got around to reading Fritz Neumeyer’s essay on Mies Van Der Rohe. 3:05 PM, Sunday afternoon – Coldplay in the background. Sitting comfortably with a tall glass of Chablis. The patterns of rain on the terrace windows are simply amazing. Page 122.
  • M-02 Verte (Coming soon!) 12:30 PM, Singapore. Lunch break at the School of Art & Design. On the rooftop enjoying a Katong Laksa. Green as far as the eye can see. Remembering a Murakami sentence. Watching a plane go by. How time flies. Have to return to the lecture. Guess that’s ok.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself if this is all a joke, or if these guys are serious — and to be honest, we can’t tell either. But we do know this: $15 is quite a lot to spend on a watch app, even if it does display hours, minutes, and seconds. PR after the break.

Continue reading Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners

Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 13:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceMoine-Garde  | Email this | Comments

Windows Phone 7’s Marketplace grows faster than Android did at launch, doesn’t mean much

An analyst note released by research firm IDC yesterday points out that in the nearly two months since Windows Phone 7’s retail release, the Windows Marketplace has swelled to 4,000 applications — a number that the Android Market took five months to reach. That’s impressive, no doubt, and the analyst behind the numbers notes that he “would not be surprised if Microsoft had the third largest app portfolio in the industry by the middle of next year.” Now granted, hitting number three would take very little effort on Microsoft’s part — they’d just have to beat webOS, BlackBerry OS, and Symbian, none of which have sparked iOS- or Android-like levels of developer interest. So beyond that, what does the growth mean? Read on!

[Thanks, Stephen]

Continue reading Windows Phone 7’s Marketplace grows faster than Android did at launch, doesn’t mean much

Windows Phone 7’s Marketplace grows faster than Android did at launch, doesn’t mean much originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPoweruser.com  |  sourceeWeek  | Email this | Comments

NYT: Next batch of Google TV devices delayed, pending software updates

We were expecting to see a slew of new Google TV-powered displays and boxes at CES in a couple of weeks, but now The New York Times is reporting the list of new product partners at the show may be much shorter than expected. The cause is reported to be Google’s last minute decision to ask for more time to work on its software first, resulting in no new hardware from LG, Sharp and Toshiba at the show, leaving only Samsung and VIZIO to show off their products. The always popular unnamed sources now peg timing for the next full fledged assault of Google TV hardware as after the company completes updates including the addition of the Android Market some time next year. Of course, Chrome OS and Honeycomb already provide plenty of examples of a disconnect between the good folks at Mountain View and their hardware partners, but with some already casting doubt on the platform’s potential, and the company’s ability to work out licensing deals with Hollywood, it’d be good to see more than last week’s partial facelift as a sign of what is to come.

NYT: Next batch of Google TV devices delayed, pending software updates originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNew York Times  | Email this | Comments

Google Voice Search update helps you personalize your results, helps Google build another database to take over the world

Google Voice Actions was the first step towards our Star Trek dreams of lassoing the world with naught but vocal cords, and today Google’s taken a second hop towards that inevitable future by letting Android devices record our every utterance. Yes, if you’ve got a handset running Froyo or better, you can download an update for Google Voice Search right now, which will let your phone dynamically personalize its speech-to-text engine to better recognize your voice most every time you use it. Of course, by so doing you’re giving Google permission to record your sentences — anonymously, of course — to use in future products, but whether that’s a problem or just a happy coincidence depends on whether you take Google at its word. We hit the “yes” button, in case you’re curious. Find it on Android Market, or just use the handy-dandy QR code below.

Continue reading Google Voice Search update helps you personalize your results, helps Google build another database to take over the world

Google Voice Search update helps you personalize your results, helps Google build another database to take over the world originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink GigaOM  |  sourceGoogle Mobile Blog  | Email this | Comments

Nook Color getting Android 2.2 and Market in January, current hacks could make it blow up? (update)

Nook Color getting Android 2.2 in January, current FroYo and Market hacks could make it blow up

You had to know the hacking community was going to have a field day with the Nook Color — a $249 Android Tablet hiding behind with a thin e-reader coating. Indeed it didn’t take long to get rooted nor for Android 2.2 to get installed on there, but that particular hack comes with an interesting potential side-effect: small-scale thermonuclear explosions. Enabling FroYo requires disabling the device’s battery monitoring process, the very one that would be responsible for shutting down the device before the cells start overheating and, ultimately, going critical. Yeah it’s unlikely, but it could happen. Meanwhile, another hack has enabled the Android Market, but those instructions begin with a very daunting warning: “Very smart people have failed at this. If the following instructions confuse you, you might want to wait until an easier method has been developed.”

And, thankfully, there might be a much easier way coming, with Barnes & Noble reportedly telling Smartphone Mag that Android 2.2 will be officially coming to the Nook Color in January. Yes, Android 2.3 is what’s happening, but this is still an exciting upgrade as it will finally also allow access to a traditional Android home screen and even enable the Android Market.

Update: Okay, cancel that order for an asbestos carrying case. One of the developers of the Nook Color root wrote in to let us know that there is a secondary temperature monitor which should keep things below the ignition point. Hack away — or just wait a month.

Update 2: Barnes & Noble PR just got back to us to reiterate that Nook Color’s own shop will begin adding apps in early 2011 and that there are currently no plans to enable Android Market. Move along, nothing to see here, folks.

[Thanks, Ryan]

Nook Color getting Android 2.2 and Market in January, current hacks could make it blow up? (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSmartphone Magazine, nookDevs, PC World  | Email this | Comments

Android Market update streamlines content, nukes tabs, dismantles 24-hour return policy to appease devs

Updates have been coming fast and furious to Google’s Android Market for a couple weeks now, but this is the biggest shift yet — that rusty tab-based interface is out, replaced with a rotating carousel of downloadable content, and a single scrolling pane of info for each and every app. What’s more, it seems that Mountain View has heard the cries of game companies in particular, as it’s got a couple of very special changes largely targeted at them — the size cap on individual apps has been upped to 50MB, and Android Market’s famous 24-hour return policy is no more. You’ll still have 15 minutes to decide whether you want a piece of software or prefer a refund, perhaps long enough to give it a basic test, but there’s no longer enough time to finish a game in one sitting before slyly giving it a pass. There’s also a number of behind-the-scenes changes that should help make sure you only see apps your device can actually run, based on screen size, pixel density and OpenGL support. Google’s pushing the update to every Android 1.6-and-above device over the next couple of weeks, so you can expect your app purchasing world to turn upside-down in time for Christmas cheer.

Update: There are also two new categories being added: widgets and live wallpapers.

Update 2: Of course, no self-respecting hacker waits for an OTA to get what they can sideload right now, and so XDA-developers is now distributing the new Android Market APK — we’d suggest you give it a try too, but we’re hearing that some folks are having difficulty downloading apps at all after the update. Still, the folks at Android Police seem to have it working, and have taken a host of screenshots of the interface. Go give them a peek at our more coverage link.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android Market update streamlines content, nukes tabs, dismantles 24-hour return policy to appease devs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Developers Blog, XDA-developers  | Email this | Comments

Gmail for Android update improves Priority Inbox, adds additional compose and send options

Hey, Google just rolled out Gmail for Android 2.3.2, which improves support for Priority Inbox and adds in a couple much-needed compose and send options. Priority Inbox gets some buffed-up views and controls to change importance settings, and Gmail can now send a notification upon receipt of an important email, which is incredibly cool. Even better, the compose screen now lets you specify any sending address you’ve setup in desktop Gmail, which is a slice of pure email heaven for those of us who juggle multiple accounts from one inbox. You can also respond to messages inline now and swap between reply, reply-all, and forward much more easily. Best of all, if you’re running Froyo you can hit that QR code and go grab the update right now since Google broke Gmail out into a Market app — no need to wait for your pokey manufacturer / carrier to roll out Gingerbread. (Then again, if you’re still waiting for Froyo you might not be quite as pleased.) Ain’t modularity grand?

Gmail for Android update improves Priority Inbox, adds additional compose and send options originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle  | Email this | Comments

Ripxx ski app out now for Android, still has no idea what the street value of this mountain is

The closest we have ever come to a ski race is the worn out VHS copy of Better Off Dead we still have in the back of our closets somewhere, but if you’re an Android-lovin’ ski bunny jealous of all the attention Ripxx has been giving the iPhone, you’re in luck. That’s right, your fave open source smartphone OS has its very own version of the Ripxx Ski and Snowboard app. Version 1.1 features over 200 mapped out resorts, GPS tracking, stats recording (including speed, distance, and vertical drop) and more. Not bad for $5, eh?

Ripxx ski app out now for Android, still has no idea what the street value of this mountain is originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAppBrain  | Email this | Comments

Android Market update brings long-awaited ‘Related’ tab, similar app suggestions

Remember that “Related” / “Similar” tab we spotted in Google’s own Gingerbread video? Looks as if you won’t have to wait for Android 2.3 to enjoy the spoils of having El Goog sort out what similar apps you may like after you download one. This morning, waves of Android loyalists are finding a new tab in their Market, with a Droid 2 and Nexus One both seeing the update here at Engadget HQ. Naturally, it works just like the App Store’s equivalent, but it remains to be seen just how accurate the advice is. When looking at ‘Related’ for the (also recently updated) Engadget app, we’re finding items we’d prefer to be listed first about a page or so down, but we’re sure the mix-and-match engineers in Mountain View are already fine tuning things as we speak. You know, during the brief moments they aren’t preparing for Tuesday’s big Chrome reveal.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android Market update brings long-awaited ‘Related’ tab, similar app suggestions originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Dec 2010 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Android 2.x now accounts for 83 percent of all active Googlephones

We’re not totally sure that Android 2.1 users will be happy to be bundled in with 2.2 consumers — after all, there’s plenty in Froyo that’s not available on Eclair — but the fact remains that a cool 83 percent of actively used Android phones right now run one of the two latest iterations. A reminder is merited to say that by “active” we mean those that accessed the Android Market over the foregoing two weeks — which might have a slight bias toward over-representing the newer phones with folks either abandoning their Cupcake and Donut handsets or simply not searching for new apps for them. Either way, we reckon it’s good to see such nice big slices taken up by Android’s most advanced versions, it seems almost a shame that Gingerbread’s arrival will soon disrupt things all over again. For now, we’re off to our delicatessen, all this food talk’s given us the munchies.

[Thanks, Dan]

Android 2.x now accounts for 83 percent of all active Googlephones originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Developers  | Email this | Comments