Hasta La Gadget!

Everyone’s other favorite spinoff from the XBMC family tree has some major news this week, as Plex has released a Media Center app for Android that mirrors most of the functions already available for iOS devices. Available now on the Android Market for $4.99, it brings local and streaming media to the phone over WiFi, or 3G from a Mac (and now, Windows PC) running the server software, but users will have to wait a few weeks for an upgrade adding remote functions (or use any of the 3rd party apps already on the Market.) With plugins for apps like Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer it’s a formidable competitor in the mediastreamer market out of the gate; throw in support for PCs plus integration into LG’s 2011 HDTVs and Blu-ray players and we’re ready to pick Plex as the platform to keep an eye on this year. Check out the details in the press release after the break, we’ll toss in a link to the Windows server once we find it / it’s posted. (Update: The link is down there but it’s still delivering a dmg instead of an exe, we’ve been told it should be up later this afternoon. Thanks, Chris!)

Continue reading Plex Media Center App comes to Android, Windows server available

Plex Media Center App comes to Android, Windows server available originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Great news, channel surfers — Samsung’s Smart Touch Android remote application is now finally available in the Android Marketplace as a free download nearly nine months after originally launching on iOS. If you dropped a hefty quantity of cheddar on a new model C Samsung Internet TV in 2010 (those with older models are out of luck) and can’t wait for your Android handset to assimilate yet another life-task, today could be momentous. We say ‘could’ simply because our CES hands-on with the software wasn’t exactly swell — but then again, a massive trade show floor isn’t exactly the best WiFi testing environment. Currently, the application has an average of four stars from 25 people, but it’s not completely free from a smattering of crash and error reports. Feel free to give it a whirl if you’ve got the necessary gear, and if that match made in couch-potato heaven feeling doesn’t come… well, don’t give up hope, because that dual-sided QWERTY remote could save the day soon.

Continue reading Samsung Smart Touch Android remote app is now available for download

Samsung Smart Touch Android remote app is now available for download originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There was plenty about yesterday’s Android event that didn’t make headlines but was worth noting. Hardware acceleration of both 2D and 3D UI elements — shown off to great effect by Google’s Hugo Barra, who managed to scroll through three lists simultaneously without inducing any lag on the Motorola Xoom — should make Honeycomb as delicious to look at as it sounds, while our personal favorite, the new tablet-specific email interface, should be part of Gmail yesterday. The email UI is built out of elements Google calls fragments, which will supposedly be easy to transition down to smartphones, so thumbs up all around. The video above also runs you through the big news of the day, namely that Android Market can now be accessed via a dedicated website and apps downloaded to your device remotely, along with the equally important (for devs) addition of in-app purchases. Finally, Cee-Lo Green pops in for a video chat session from wherever he is on the internets, and we’re all treated to an exhibition of lag-afflicted, awkward conversation. What’s not to love?

Watch Google’s Android event in full: Honeycomb on the Xoom, Android Market website, in-app purchases, and Cee-Lo Green originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Android Market now has a web client. Finally! And guess what else, it’s already live. Hit the source link below to get exploring. It’s very simple, really, you can browse the entire Market catalog on your desktop or however else you’re accessing the web, you can purchase anything that takes your fancy, and then — via the magic of over-the-air transfers — it downloads and installs onto your Android handset. A neat My Market Account section will let you nickname your registered devices to make them more recognizable as well.

Google has also just announced that Android will soon support in-app purchases. Widespread developer interest has been cited as the major reason for doing it, so you’ve got those lovable coders to thank for the oncoming wave of micropayments you’ll have to deal with in your Android apps. The in-app purchasing SDK is releasing to devs today and will be “live to users prior to the end of this quarter.”

Update: Invalid request. Yep, that’s the message we keep getting when we try and download an app. Google promises that it should be working soon…

Update 2: And now it appears to be working!

Android Market gets a web store with OTA installations, in-app purchases coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve gotten a bunch of tips in the past hour or so that the Android Market is doing weird things, and we can corroborate this on our Nexus S here — we’re just not able to download stuff. Apps look like they’re starting to download, then they suddenly vanish into thin air without a trace and without an error message. Our Droid 2 is still fully functional, though, so this definitely isn’t consistent; really, we’re just wondering if this outage might have something to do with tomorrow’s Android-themed festivities at the Google campus, which — naturally — we’ll be attending. So how is everyone faring out there tonight?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Android Market acting weird — is it a precursor to tomorrow’s event? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 23:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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