0 Content rating coming soon to Android Market

If you are one out there fiddling to find the right app for your needs , the content rating will be the something you may need to look at in the Android Market before you grab any app from there . The content rating will be providing users additional information to help them sort out the best apps for their Android device .
The content policy on Android market remains the same having four content levels namely All , Pre-teen , teen and mature . Check out the content policy at the end of the post.
Android app developers need to get prepared for this launch . All apps and updates submitted there after will require rating while app developers will also have few more weeks of time to add a rating to their existing apps and games . Once the content rating goes live on Android market , apps which have not been rated will be treated as mature content and will be only available to users looking into that category . This has been implemented to make sure all android app developers update the content rating of their app .
Android has been blamed in the past for allowing users to download porn after Apple and Microsoft put in place measures to stop developers from creating these apps.
In September, Microsoft moved to banish any naughty apps from its upcoming Windows Phone 7 by publishing guidelines for developers looking to create programs for its forthcoming Windows Phone 7 platform. One underlying theme was a stringent focus on banning apps with violent and sexual themes and now its time for Android to do this .
This is nice move Google has made towards the Android Market giving it a much cleaner look , making sure the mature content doesn't get delivered to teen age and below teen age group .


Android market content policy :

There are four levels to content ratings:

• All
• Pre-Teen
• Teen
• Mature

Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs
Apps that include references to drugs, alcohol or tobacco products or their use should be rated “Teen” or above. Apps that focus on the consumption or sale of drugs, alcohol or tobacco should be rated “Mature”. Illegal activity or content that is targeted at minors is not allowed in Android Market.
Gambling
Apps with gambling themes or that include simulated gambling should be rated “Teen” or above. Real gambling is not allowed in Android Market.
Hate
Hate speech is not allowed in Android Market. If your app includes inflammatory content that may be offensive to many users, please rate it “Teen” or above.
Location
Applications rated “All” should not ask users for their location at any point. Apps that ask to access course or fine location data should be rated “Pre-Teen” or above. Apps that enable users to publish or share their location with others should be rated “Teen” or above.
Profanity and Crude Humor
Apps that include profanity or crude humor should be rated “Teen” or above.
Sexual and Suggestive Content
Apps that include suggestive or sexual references should be rated “Teen” or above. Apps that focus on such content should be rated “Mature”. Pornography is not allowed in Android Market.
User Generated Content and User to User Communication
Apps rated “All” should not host any user generated content or enable communication between users. Apps that focus on allowing users to find and communicate with each other should be rated “Teen” or above.
Violence
Apps that include mild cartoon or fantasy violence should be rated “Pre-Teen” or above. Realistic or intense fantasy violence should be rated “Teen” or above. Graphic violence should be rated ‘“Mature”. Gratuitous real violence is not allowed in Android Market.

0 Use your Android Phone as a wireless(via bluetooth and WiFi) remote(mouse & keyboard) for your computer

Do you have a lot of presentation work or need a wireless input solution to type to surf around your PC ?
Did you try your Android phone as a wireless mouse and keyboard
If you have bluetooth or Wi-Fi in your laptop and your Android smartphone . Just check out the below guide , on how to set up your laptop/computer(P.C or MAC) operate on inputs from Android phone .
While there are couple of application available on the web which allow this functionality , but PRemoteDroid is one of the easiest to set up .
The other options are
RemoteDroid (works with WiFi only )
PaDroid (works without WiFi and Bluetooth , over the internet )

Check out the features of PRemoteDroid :

• Use touchscreen of Android phone as mouse
• Use keyboard of your Android phone to input text to PC
• Screen Capture functionality gives you the direct look of the computer screen on your mobile device to see the pointer position , for high precision , in case you are quite far and cannot see the mouse of monitor(can be toggled on/off)
• File Explorer which lets you surf files on your computer directly from your device and also open them on computer screen directly from your device .( you don't even need to look at the monitor to open files , just browse via phone and tap to open )
• Dedicated mouse buttons , left click , right click and scroll button .
• Ability to scroll page by scrolling the right most column of the phone's screen .
• Also supports the *click* audio and haptic feedback via vibration.

The service need two software's a server on your computer and a client app on your Android mobile phone :

1. Download PC/MAC software HERE  (You also need Java SE Runtime Environment 1.5 or higher version installed on your Computer. Get it here.) and install them .
2. Download Android app from Market via QR code below

Starting the PremoteDroid setup :

•  Unzip the  "PRemoteDroid-Server.zip" file and place it somewhere you can access it anytime you need , there is a PremoteDroid-Server.jar file and a PremoteDroid-Server.exe file and few more system files . Just open any of the PremoteDroid-Server files ,it can be seen in taskbar .
• Turn On your Bluetooth and Wifi ( whatever you plan to use ) on both ends and keep phones WiFi as discoverable to be on a safer end . Pair them and connect them via the Bluetooth wizard .
• Now install the Android app from Market . Open it > Go to Connections Add new > prefer Bluetooth (select bluetooth) > leave the password intact in mobile app as well as PC , and if you do change , do it for both PC and phone with same password, Name the connection as your wish , and add your computers bluetooth address by clicking Edit , this will bring in a list of bluetooth devices in range . Enable your phones Bluetooth before following this step .

If you cannot find the address follow the guide here on how to find bluetooth address on PC and Mac Now Enter this address in the Connections menu in Android phone and remember to save it .
Check if your Bluetooth Server is running on computer , by right clicking on the icon in taskbar and selecting in the menu . If it shows 'ON'its fine, if says "OFF " you need to check your bluetooth connection on computer .
You can share your view and doubts about the app in comments . We would be glad to add more knowledge to database .

0 How to find Bluetooth address on PC and MAC :

You find the address of your Computers bluetooth device easily just follow the steps below for Windows and Mac .

Windows:

• Select "Start> Control Panel" on your task bar.

• Click on Bluetooth configuration.
• Select "Hardware" tab.
• Look for "Device Address" under the "Device Properties" header.

MAC Electronics

• 
  
• Select "Settings> General" on your home screen.
• Select "About". This is located on the right side of the menu.
• Scroll down until you find Bluetooth address information.

0 Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 the V 3.0 would be running at 1,2 GHz

As our smartphones get smarter, we are continuing to need faster and faster processors to power our devices. However, the main problem with a faster processor is the power draw that comes along with it. Being a somewhat common problem, Qualcomm has developed it’s popular Snapdragon processor bringing in super fast speeds with minimal battery drain and now they’re adding to its success bringing in a new Snapdragon.
The Snapdragon is currently found in devices such as the Motorola Droid, HTC Evo 4G, HTC Desire HD and Google’s Nexus One. It’s been the “high-standard” to which we compare new Android devices entering the market to. This new Snapdragon chipset, named MSM8960, will perform up to five times better than its predecessor. It will be a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and will use a 28-nanometer process that has not yet been seen in mobile devices.
It is not only faster, Qualcomm states that it will use around 75% less power than current generation Snapdragon chipsets. These new chips will be ready for the entrance of mobile phones into the 4G market being fully ready to support LTE.
No word yet on when we will see these processors make their way into phones, but we can most certainly expect appearances in 2011.

0 RIM's Playbook vs Apple's iPad : The browser speed test

Today RIM posted a video of their PlayBook vs. Apple’s iPad to demonstrate the browsing ability and speeds the PlayBook has to offer. The results are interesting but seemingly skewed as well.
There were three different tests RIM used to compare the browers on the two devices. They went head-to-head in raw web-site rendering, Acid3, and Java.
To start out they are both directed towards UEFA.com and then CBS.com. The PlayBook clearly finishing loading and rendering both web-sites faster than the iPad. The CBS site however has flash content on it and obviously will not fully load on the iPad.
On the Acid3 test both devices managed to score 100/100 but RIM boasts that the iPad has an HTML error during this test.
The funny thing about these tests are that the iPad is over 6 months old compared to the PlayBook not even being out yet for sale. Also an interesting note is the fact the PlayBook is running on QNX which is Adobe Flash and AIR programs so naturally it will run flash sites as compared to the iPad not having flash capabilities.
It will be far more interesting to see the 2nd generation iPad pitted versus the PlayBook as the two devices will be on a much more level playing field. Do you think this test has any validity given the fact the iPad is real and the PlayBook is still technically vaporware or do you think this is Apple’s chance to step up their game and blow the PlayBook out of the water?
Check out the video after the break!

0 Twitter For iPhone And iPad Get Updated , Now With Push Notifications

Twitter for iPhone and iPad just got an update and the big news is — push notifications. This has been a highly desired feature for a very long time. At the moment, push notifications for the official Twitter app are only available for @mentions and direct messages.
Interestingly, Twitter does not include push notifications in the release notes. So it was a pleasant surprise to see Twitter asking for permission to send push notifications when launching for the first time after the install. Was this intentional?
I know there are some users who have refused to use the official Twitter app because it did not offer push notifications. If you’re one of those users, is this enough to make the switch?
Who’s excited for this feature? Do you plan to enable push notifications from Twitter or will you stick with a third party solution such as Boxcar?
UPDATE: Twitter has updated the change log to include push notifications for @mentions and messages.
UPDATE 2: Twitter has been updated again. Go get it again.

0 Google Voice For iPhone Hits App Store , Ready For Download

Google’s official Google Voice app for iPhone has just hit the iTunes App Store.

• Access your Google Voice account right from your iPhone.
• Receive push notifications for new text or voicemail messages.
• Send free text messages to U.S. numbers and make international calls at cheap rates.
• Listen to your voicemail, read transcripts and manage your Google Voice inbox.
• Display your Google Voice number as caller ID when making calls.
• Call contacts from your iPhone Address Book or enter new numbers on the dialpad.
• A Google Voice account is required to use this app. To sign up go to www.google.com/voice.
• Google Voice is only available in the United States.

Wow, who thought we’d ever get to type those words? While the last bullet point is a bit of a bummer, there’s no denying this ends one of the darker chapters of iOS and App Store history — which included an FCC investigation and revealed the first cracks in what had previously been an Apple/Google love-fest.
If you’re trying it out let us know how you like it and how it compares to GV Mobile and other 3rd party offerings.
Now where’s the official Gmail app?
[Free - iTunes link]

0 Viewpad 7 from Viewsonic available on Amazon for $ 600

One of ViewSonic's tablets, the seven-inch ViewPad 7, has appeared for pre-order on Amazon. While the specs are no surprise, the price is $120 more expensive than ViewSonic promised just two weeks ago. The $600 price matches that of the Samsung Galaxy Tab that also uses Android 2.2 and has a seven-inch screen.

Both also have front- and rear-facing cameras, but the ViewSonic model has a 600MHz ARM CPU rather than the 1GHz Hummingbird in Samsung's tablet. The ViewPad 7 can, however, make voice calls, while this functionality is locked out of the Galaxy Tab in the US.

Otherwise, the ViewPad 7 has a relatively low 800x480 resolution, 512MB of onboard storage with a microSDHC memory card slot, a GPS sensor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

0 AMD pledges its support to Meego OS

Chipmaker AMD on Monday pledged its support to the MeeGo open-source operating system for mobile devices. The announcement was made at the MeeGo Conference 2010 and sees AMD joining Intel and Nokia as partners in the Linux Foundation project. According to AMD's corporate VP of software development, Ben Bar-Haim, the company will provide engineering resources to the project.

AMD hopes to use the resulting product in its future Accelerated Processing Units like the Bobcat and Bulldozer architectures. The chipmaker is already a Linux Foundation member.
MeeGo is meant for netbooks, tablets, embedded in-vehicle systems and smartphones.

0 iPhone 4 : The shatter effect

In a report by SquareTrade, a company that sells extended warranties for many mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone 4 was found to be the device least likely to have electronic malfunctions. However, it also had the highest likelihood of breaking when dropped. From TechCrunch:

The year long study looked at 50,000 warranty replacements. The iPhone 4 had the fewest malfunctions not due to accidental damage while Motorola and HTC Android phones tied for second. As for breakage, the iPhone 4 is king of the heap with 9.4%

Not related to the possible Glassgate situation, this news is still rather off-putting in a world where the iPhone 4 is one of the greatest designed phones around — but that design includes glass on both sides.

0 Elecom's Bluetooth 3.0 mouse shown off

The advent of Bluetooth 3.0 will introduce a fair number of improvements, including 24Mbps data transfers sans wires, making us scratch our heads in wonder and amazement on how that is going to benefit a Bluetooth 3.0 mouse. To make matters more puzzling, this isn't even a high tech gaming mouse which needs ultra fast response times and precision movement - we're talking about a regular office mouse for you to handle your spreadsheet and word processing needs. Get this for approximately $52 if you're in Japan, and this one is for the Joneses who buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like.

0 3 Million Galaxy S sold in US

msung could probably say that they have a hit on their hand when it comes to their Galaxy S devices, but that looks like it would be an understatement. Samsung has come forward with their results for the quarter, and they managed to sell a bunch of devices. However, the main takeaway, besides the fact that they sold 71 million handsets around the globe, is the fact that they sold 3 million Galaxy S devices in the United States alone.

All the variations, making an appearance on all of the major wireless carriers in this neck of the woods, played their part. From AT&T’s Captivate, to Verizon’s Fascinate, the Galaxy S devices played a huge role for Samsung, and it’s obvious that they’re not slowing down any time soon. It will remain to be seen if the Continuum, which is set to launch on Verizon here in just a couple of days, will see the same overwhelming appeal as the other Galaxy S devices.

0 Sprint's ZTE PEEL : An innovation for iPod touch announced

 

Well, everything about the ZTE PEEL from Sprint has been correct so far, including the November 14th launch date, so why not just make things more official with an announcement from the good people at Sprint? This 3G-capable cradle for the iPod touch will turn your portable media player into a VoIP-capable mobile device, retailing for $79.99 with a month-to-month rolling data contract. In simpler terms, this is a 3G mobile hotspot that allows you to share its EVDO Rev.A connection with up to a couple of Wi-Fi clients simultaneously.

Bear in mind that it is unable to work with the first generation iPod touch, so that leaves the second and third generations only. Sprint has touted a 3 hours battery life with its integrated 900mAh battery, alongside WEP 64-bit encryption. As for its aforementioned monthly plan, that is going for $29.99, netting you 1GB in the process with no yearly agreement to make it a decent enough device to pair up with your notebook to go online wherever you are. The 1GB data cap seems rather unreasonable in this day and age though, so hopefully more monthly plans can be offered in due time.

0 Sony Ericsson's Anzu X12 leaked pictures

Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 is an impressive phone with its large display and now a leaked picture of the phone's successor has apparently surfaced, dubbed the Anzu, or X12. Specific details on the phone haven't been mentioned, but it's been said that it's a very slim device, offering a 4.3-inch display and HDMI output. One of the more interesting tidbits is that it might be shipped with Android 2.3 Gingerbread (despite being pictured with Android 2.1). The X12 will apparently be in the same category as the PlayStation Phone and they're being tested alongside each other. Both devices seem to offer a similar display size and it's been said that both phones will be officially announced some time before or shortly after Christmas.

0 The 11.6" sized new Sony Viao in Japan

Sony has decided to shrink the display size of its VAIO Y series notebooks over in Japan, as the company's new VPCYA19FJ/B model features a 11.6-inch display instead of the original 13.3-inch display, though it still offers a juicy 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. The notebook will be arriving in Japan on November 27th for an undisclosed price, and specifications of it will include:

• 1.33GHz Intel Core i3-380UM processor
• 320GB hard drive
• 2GB to 8GB of memory
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi b/g/n
• Gigabit Ethernet
• HDMI port

0 Blu-Ray media players for vehicles from Audiovox

 

CES 2011 is not here just yet, as it is a couple of months away, but that doesn't mean companies cannot tease you with upcoming offerings, right? Audiovox has introduced their latest Blu-ray player for cars, shipping the $349 device sometime in July next year. This device also picked up a CES Innovations award, where it will target families who own large libraries of Blu-ray discs and want to watch them even when they're on the road. Features include a front panel USB input and IR remote, hooking up to a car monitor via HDMI, composite or component outputs. Of course, expect it to be able to handle regular DVDs as well just in case you were wondering. You know what's coming next from manufacturers - 3D Blu-ray players for vehicles.

0 Playbook cheaper than iPad : Really ?

Bloomberg has posted some more details from Research In Motion Ltd. about the upcoming Playbook we’re all excited about. First, it will sell in North America in the first quarter, and secondly, it will be sold for less than $500 as it goes to bat against the iPad.

Co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie has announced in an interview in Seoul that the Playbook will be competitively priced, though he declined to give more details. In the second quarter the Playbook will be sold globally. The iPad’s price begins at $499.

RIM isn’t the only company with devices to fill the void between smartphones and laptops besides Apple, as there are the Hewlett –  Packard Co, Samsung Electronics, and Motorola Inc are as well. In the first 80 days Apple sold 3 million iPads. However, the Playbook has the ability to handle Adobe Systems Inc’s Flash, something the iPad doesn’t. The iPad doesn’t run flash video nor does it run flash animation.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs had made the comment about the smaller pads being “DOA” or “Dead On Arrival” because they are too small to compete with iPad (in his opinion) and alluded to the idea that they wouldn’t be able to  have pricing that would effectively match their size. Balsillie responded that customers are getting tired of Apple’s controlling strategy. I love that there are other manufacturers out there that aren’t so proprietary with the apps or the files.

The Playbook has a 7-inch screen in comparison to the iPad’s 9.7-inch display. While the iPad does have the huge display, but its not the type of device you can slip in your purse and go.

Balsillie also said that RIM may sell the Playbook through Target Corp. And Best Buy in the U.S. As well as through carriers.

0 Android phones rank second in terms of sales according to Gartner Q3 reports

During Steve Jobs’ recent anti-Android tirade on an Apple earnings call, Jobs said his company “anxiously” awaited a report that would show which mobile operating system had the best performance. Here it is, Mr. Jobs.

Gartner released its Q3 2010 estimates and Symbian retained the top spot as best-selling mobile OS. But to Jobs’ likely dismay, Android has surpassed iOS to become the second most popular operating system among handsets sold in the last three months.

Android has already established itself as the best in the U.S., but not in the rest of the world. Gartner reports that Android accounted for 25.5 percent of global smartphone sales; iOS accounted for 16.7 percent. That’s a complete role reversal from Android’s 3.5 percent during Q3 2009 and iOS’s 17 percent.

Read the full report from Gartner. Here are a couple of cool nuggets from the report.

• Android is the No. 2 global operating system, but it’s No. 1 on Verizon. Gartner estimates that 75 to 80 percent of phones sold on Verizon were Android.
• The Galaxy S line helped Samsung become the second best-performing manufacturer, though that includes non-Android products.
• Other Android-producing companies include Sony Ericsson at No. 6, Motorola at #7, and HTC at #8.

0 Samsung's Galaxy Tab now on sale from T-mobile

Tempted by a Galaxy Tab this morning? T-Mobile USA has thrown open sales for the 7-inch Android tablet, with the price of entry being $399.99 with a new, two-year agreement or $599.99 contract-free.

As for the data plan, T-Mobile has two options. $24.99 per month gets you 200MB, while $39.99 gets you 5GB; both come with unlimited use at T-Mobile WiFi hotspots. No voice plans, of course, since the North American versions of the Samsung slate won’t make phone calls, but you do get unlimited SMS and MMS with both data plans .

0 Now do a lot more with Yahoo Messenger on your Android : Video Chat , Mail and multiple account login

 

Yahoo updated a couple of its more popular apps, Messenger and Mail, to include some much needed new features.  Messenger now has official support for video chatting on the MyTouch 4G plus “experimental support” on the EVO and zero support for the Galaxy Tab.  Actually, Yahoo apps in general appear not to support ANY Galaxy S devices which is a little odd.  There are only 3 million+ in existence around the world.  The mail app now allows for multiple accounts, lets you preview photos and has a more polished notification system.  Like I said, all “much need” stuff.

*For video chatting to work, you will need both the Yahoo Messenger app and the video add-0n.

Yahoo Messenger | Video Add-on | Yahoo Mail