All Things Android

Taking your Android device off the (power) grid

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:00 GMT

To celebrate Earth Day this year, I thought I’d try to do something for good ol’ Gaia, and start charging my Android devices without tapping into the usual power outlet. Instead, I took a look at a couple of options that can harness the power of the sun for a charge.

While there are a number of solar-panel options out there, phones and tablets draw more power while charging than most solar panels can provide in real time. That means that you’ll need to find a kit that stores the panel’s captured solar energy in a battery, so that you can redeploy it to your Android device later, at a more fitting output level.

I took a look at a couple of kits from GoalZero.com, a solar company inspired by the need for reliable power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – in fact, with every purchase of a Goal Zero product, a donation is made to an organization dedicated to ending illiteracy, poverty and hunger in the DRC (tifie.org). So by opting for a Goal Zero solar product you can do right environmentally speaking, and help out on the ground in Africa at the same time…sounds like win/win to me.

Switch 8 Solar Recharging Kit

The Switch 8 kit comes with three main component: the Nomad 3.5 solar panel, the Switch 8 battery pack/charger, and a USB cord to connect the two. Each of the Nomad panels folds up like a book, but comes with loops around the outside to allow you to hang it from a hook or attach it to a backpack, when you’ve opened it up. On the other side of the fold-open solar panel is a transformer block that can output the collected solar panel, located behind a zipper mesh screen that can hold the battery pack in place while the panel is collecting electrons.

The Switch 8 kit is, by nature, a smaller kit – the panels are relatively compact, and their smaller size means the panels are capable of only 3.5 watts (thus the name Nomad 3.5). It takes about 6-12 hours to charge up the Switch 8 battery pack (depending on how much light is hitting the panel), and then you can do a complete recharge of your smartphone in between 1 and 3 hours, by plugging it into the USB port at the end of the unit.

Unfortunately, the smaller kit won’t have enough juice to completely top up your tablet from empty, but it can get it partway there – if you’re out on the road and the tablet is nearly dead, think of the Switch 8 as more a lifesaver than a complete recharge solution.

It’s worth noting that you can also charge the Switch 8 by plugging it directly into a USB charger, or your computer – that way you can charge up the battery even if the sunlight is at a premium.

The Switch 8 Solar Recharging Kit will run about $99.

Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit

If you want a bit of extra juice, the Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit is probably the better choice, especially because it’s only about $130. For that extra investment you get a bit more of everything.

In the Guide 10 kit, you get the Nomad 7 panel, which is (not surprisingly) about twice the size of the Nomad 3.5, and delivers 7 watts of power. That’s sometimes enough to charge directly from the panel. If not, there’s still a zippered mesh pouch on the opposite side of the fold-over solar panel with the transformer, but this one connects to a recharger unit that holds four AA batteries (included) or four AAA batteries.

The larger panel means you can charge up the battery pack in as little as two hours, and charge your smartphone up to two times on the same charge. Unfortunately, it’s still a bit stingy when it comes to a full-on tablet, but it does charge it up substantially more than the smaller kit. There’s also a 12V connector on the transformer for sending power directly out to a device with a car-style charger.

Like the Switch 8, the battery charger here can also be charged up from a USB wall charger in addition to the solar panel, and it comes with cables for both. There’s a power switch on the bottom of the battery/charger unit that allows you to turn it on when you want to start sending power out through the USB port on the bottom (to your Android smartphone, for example). You can also click the switch over one notch further to activate a small LED flashlight on the bottom of the charger unit.

Letting Facebook take over your Android phone

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:30:00 GMT

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Facebook phone over the past few months, and this past week, Mark Zuckerberg finally got up on stage to give us the details. So, no: it’s not actually a phone operating system that’s based on Facebook. Yes: it’s based on Android.

For a lot of people, the really surprising thing is that if you want to get this new Facebook phone, you don’t necessarily have to go out and buy a new piece of hardware (though phones will be available in the US soon). Instead, by adding the new Facebook Home app suite, you can convert your current Android phone into this fabled Facebook phone, thanks to the app’s integration with your home screen (provided your phone is one of the supported devices, of course).

With the Facebook Home app suite installed, you will start to see Facebook from the second your screen turns on. Status updates from your friends will fill the entirety of your screen in a feature called “Cover Feed”, and you can swipe sideways to get other full-panel status updates. Alerts from your friends will appear as notifications, and you can swipe them sideways to dismiss them, just like with Android notifications. Notifications can also appear on your screen even if you’re inside another app, so that your friends will “always be with you”.

Whether this is a good thing really depends on your perspective.

From the perspective of the new social generation, this deep Facebook integration is just what a lot of people have been looking for. If your biggest concern is social interaction on Facebook, it pulls the nifty trick of getting the interface of the phone itself out of the way – you no longer have to navigate through your phone’s menu to get to Facebook, open it and then start interacting. Instead, you’ll always be interacting with Facebook, and when you feel the need to use another app, you can open it by swiping up on the Facebook Home icon, and selecting the appropriate app from the Facebook app launcher.

For those who prefer to use their phone as a business device, or who are only moderately interested in the world of social media, if it wasn’t already clear from the name of the app suite, this is not the phone experience you’re looking for. If you’re still not sure, imagine the idea of trying to compose an email while the chathead icons of your Facebook friends pop in over top of what you’re trying to do. If that strikes you as a royal pain in the zuck, then it’s probably best to avoid installing Facebook Home.

Even worse, there are already rumblings about privacy concerns with Facebook Home. By giving Facebook full control over your Android phone, you’re essentially giving the company carte blanche to know where you are at any time thanks to the apps’ ability to access your phone’s GPS. The company is already building up a pretty good profile about its user just from the interactions people have with it, but by giving the Facebook Home apps GPS access, it’s theoretically possible for Facebook to track you no matter where you are, and make assumption about where you live, where you work, and the places you like to go on a regular basis.

Also, because you will be launching your other apps from the Facebook app launcher, Facebook will also be able to gather a lot of data about what type of apps you’re using on a regular basis. One would assume that the actual business case for knowing such things would be just to better serve you ads, but those who prefer to err on the side of caution may find the whole thing a bit chilling when considering Facebook’s previous privacy adventures. (Note: Facebook has attempted to assuage concerns with a post explaining some of the privacy issues around the Home apps, but some things still seem a bit nebulous.)

The new social-centric generation (which doesn’t seem to be as concerned about giving away personal information) may well find this a non-issue, and Facebook Home may start to take over Android phones in droves. For the rest of us, though, a bit of caution may well be warranted.

Your personal Android trainer

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:30:00 GMT

I’ll admit it – through the winter, I can get pretty lazy…I don’t want to go outside to exercise, and when I’m at home it’s too easy to just sit in front of the TV with a bag of chips. So, of course, I always wind up putting on a few pounds through the winter.

Now that spring’s around, it’s time to start thinking of getting back into shape. Instead of paying money on a gym membership (which I know I’ll never end up using), it’s much easier to take advantage of something that I already have in my pocket: my smartphone. Teamed with my willpower – plus a handy hardware accessory or two – and I’m ready to start getting into shape again.

MapMyRide GPS Cycling
EveryTrail
Now that every smartphone has a GPS built right in, it’s fairly easy to have your phone keep track of your exercising patterns. For me, the easiest way to get regular exercise is by riding my bike to work. Thankfully, there are a number of free apps you can use to track your rides; the best of them offer not only basic tracking capabilities, but also the ability to network with friends and other riders. Both MapMyRide and EveryTrail can show you your progress on a map, and then upload your ride to their site after you’re done your ride. Both will also track your progress over time, so you can see if you’re improving your speed and time. Add some of your friends who also use the app, and you’ll have incentive to ride home the long way every so often.

Biologic BikeMount for Android
During my rides with my smartphone, I found it extremely helpful to have a proper mount for the phone. With a handlebar mount for an Android device, not only does it allow me to monitor my progress in realtime thanks to have the screen right in front of my eyes at all times, but it also allows me to stop worrying that my phone is going to fly out of my pocket onto the pavement. Dahon’s Biologic BikeMount system has an Android-specific mount ($45) that comes with interchangeable inserts ($10 each) that fit a limited number of Android phones.

Fitbit Zip / One
Tracking your bike trips is all fine and dandy, but a lot of people get a lot more exercise from walking than they realize. Fitbit is a clip-on hardware device that measures just how much you walk around each and every day; all you have to do is clip it to the edge of your pocket, and it’ll measure each and every step you take. The Fitbit Zip ($60) and the Fitbit One ($100) both come with a USB dongle you can plug into your computer to syncing stats to the Fitbit website, but you can also connect the Fibit directly to your Android phone using Bluetooth, and sync using the FitBit app. The Fitbit app can manually track your food intake, your weight, and how much water you’ve had during the day. And, of course, there’s also a social component – you can link up with your friends on the Fitbit website, and use their stats as incentive to do better. (My boss Mark probably walks about ten kilometers every day just while he’s talking on the phone, so I’ve got a long way to go to catch up.)

Withings Wireless Scale WS-30
Feeling good is important, but for a lot of folks the whole business of getting fitter boils down to hitting a target weight. But let’s be honest: your average scale is pretty boring, and logging your weight every day can be tedious. The Withings Wireless Scale ($100) automatically connects to your WiFi network every time you stand on it, and uploads your current weight to your myWithings account. (If you have more than one person keeping track of their weight in the house, the scale is designed to recognize multiple users in the same house.) You can access your current weight and weight goal at any time using the Withings Health Mate app (which you can also use to do the initial configuration of the scale, via Bluetooth). The app is also designed to interface with the RunKeeper or BodyMedia FIT apps, if you want to add in your physical activity, or the Zeo app, if you want to track your sleep (note: requires Zeo headband hardware); you can also manually track your blood pressure.

Streaming with the Seagate Wireless Plus

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:30:00 GMT

When it was announced at CES earlier this year, the Seagate Wireless Plus seemed like one heck of an idea: a one terabyte hard drive with a built-in battery, plus a WiFi hotspot that allowed you to stream media to mobile devices (including, of course, your Android smartphone or tablet).

So, in theory, if you’re on a roadtrip, you can run the Wireless Plus in the car and your two kids can both watch or listen to their own content on their tablets. Or, you can set it up at a business meeting, and three different employees in three different nearby rooms can stream a presentation video to a meeting, simultaneously. Or, you can just use it in a hotel room to watch whatever you want without having to make sure it’s pre-loaded onto your phone before heading out the door.

I had the chance to do a hands-on test with the Wireless Plus. The drive is slightly larger than a typical portable hard drive. On one end is a removable cover that protects the built-in SATA port/power connector. If you attach the included USB3-to-SATA dongle, you can load the drive up with all of your content (including video or other documents, of course). Once you’re done transferring files, you can remove the dongle, recap the end and then recharge the Wireless Plus using the power port on the side the drive.

To use the drive for video streaming in the field, you’ll need to download the free Seagate Media app. Then, you’ll have set your mobile device’s WiFi to connect directly to the Wireless Plus. Once you’re connected you’ll see all of your video content when you fire up the Seagate Media app, and to play it you just tap on it.

Inside the app you’ll have a pull-down menu that allows you to switch between videos, music, photos, and documents, and you can switch between the Seagate Wireless Plus and your device’s internal memory. While it the menu system in the app seems to ignore subfolders – it just listed all of the videos on the drive in on big chunk - there’s a search icon at the top of the app, to help you find specific items quickly.

The drive is designed to handle up to three simultaneous HD video connections, streaming different content to each. I was easily able to stream to my Nexus 4 smartphone, my Nexus 7 tablet and to an iPad simultaneously (yes, it’s cross-platform). Once the files are rolling, they generally stream well…provided you’re not too far away from the Wireless Plus, of course.

Despite the small form factor, Seagate has rated the battery inside for up to ten hours, though you’ll almost certainly achieve less than that. That’s especially true if it’s running more than one streaming connection, or if you’re playing shorter pieces of content that force the Wireless Plus to spin up the drive more regularly. If you’re in range of an outlet, you can also just run it while it’s plugged in.

You can set the Wireless Plus to connect to another WiFi hotspot, to allow the mobile devices to share Internet (since by connecting to the Seagate hotspot you’d otherwise be losing your WiFi connection). It’s probably a good idea to turn on the Wireless Plus’ password if you’re going to do that, to make sure strangers aren’t jumping onto your network and using up your bandwidth (or rifling through your documents).

The bottom line for the Seagate Wireless Plus: not only is it a great concept, but it seems to work just as advertised. If you’re a frequent business traveler, it could make a great road companion.

A Galaxy (S4) of new features

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:30:00 GMT

When Samsung took to the stage in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall last week, people may not have been expecting stilted, awkward and cheesy onstage interactions during the introduction of the phone, but they got them in full force...seriously, just watch the archived livestream. Thankfully, they did get something else that they were expecting: a brand new smartphone.

The new kid on the smartphone block is called the Galaxy S4, which comes with the tag “Life Companion” (based on the assumption that people take their smartphones nearly everywhere). It comes with a 5-inch 441-ppi HD AMOLED screen, a thinner design (7.9mm and only 130 grams), and a bunch of new features added by Samsung on top of the standard Android OS. Some of those features a nice additions but some...well, some are a bit odd.

Dual Camera aims to solve the problem of the photo shooter never being in the image (making a slightly tacky joke about single parenthood during the presentation, no less), by taking a shot with the rear-facing 13 megapixel, and inserting an inset from the 2 megapixel front-facing camera. This works with both photos and video, and can be turned on and off.

In one way Dual Camera is a nice touch, allowing you to add yourself to images you take, a real boon for anyone who always finds themselves left out of family photos because they’re the one usually holding the camera. But at the same time it’s a strange effect, ala the front cover of the Pogues album Red Roses for Me. To be fair, the dual-cam feature does make a lot more sense when you’re streaming video during a chat, so let’s give this one a thumbs up.

The Sound & Shot feature is another slightly strange one: it lets people record sound to go along with a photo. Maybe I’m just old school, but that seems more to me like a video without motion. When you consider that it’ll require a video format in order to work (or worse, a completely new file format), I’m not sure why you’d actually want to do this...video is much more immediate.

One of the features that’s been getting a lot of talk is the Smart Scroll / Smart Pause feature, which use eye-tracking via the front-facing camera. If you’re watching a video and you look away from the screen, Smart Pause will automatically pause the video for you, and automatically restart the video when you look back at the screen.

As for Smart Scroll, when you’re reading, you just have to tip the phone slightly up or down to scroll the text on your screen. Initial reports from those who have tried these features is mixed, but both of these sound like they’d be potentially useful. But to be honest, I’m a bit creeped out about the idea of a phone that’s always watching me use it.

More useful, potentially, is the S Translator feature, which is designed to do translation in the field. The app supports English, French, Italian, Latin-American Spanish, Brazilian-Portuguese, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, and works in both text-to-speech and speech-to-text.

During the artificial scenario acted out on the stage, an English-speaking backpacker was able to communicate with someone who could only speak Chinese. The big problem with this, however, is that people generally don’t speak clearly enough for something like this to work flawlessly - even when speaking reasonably clearly, speech-to-text transcription almost invariably contains errors, which could make a real-time translation session somewhat frustrating. (The app’s ability to also translate written text captured with the camera is a plus, though: while it says it can translate a book or magazine, it would be much more useful translating signs or menus when you’re in a strange place.)

One new feature that sounds good at a glance is Air View / Air Gesture, which allows you to control the phone’s interface without even touching the screen. While it means, for example, that you can control a slideshow with a wave over the phone, it also makes the phone “glove friendly” (a key benefit for those of us who live in a country that has winter for half the year).

The question will be just HOW sensitive the feature is, and whether it will cause complications when you DON’T intend to actually make something happen on the screen (like inadvertently dialing with your hipbone when you put the phone into your pocket, for example). One can only assume that there are some serious algorithms going on under the hood of the phone that can distinguish between intentional and unintentional interactions...we’ll have to wait for a proper hands-on to know for sure.

On the multimedia side, Group Play links phones together to play the same song on up to eight Galaxy S4 phones without need for WiFi or other Internet connectivity, or to turn a group of phones into a multi-channel surround sound system - think Sonos but without the sound quality, I guess. This could be useful for a small group of people all wearing headphones, but over the phone’s speaker system? It seems a bit pointless to me, to be honest, apart from the novelty value.

The Galaxy S4 is the first phone to ship with the security feature Samsung Knox. Like the Balance feature recently launched in BlackBerry 10, Knox splits the phone into two sections dedicated to business and personal usage, and is designed to keep the two sides from interacting (keeping business data safe and personal usage private). This could be a big plus for IT departments allowing Android devices into the workplace as part of the BYOD program.

The phone can also use NFC to pair with the recently announced Samsung HomeSync hardware, allowing content created on the phone to be stored on the home network, and shared with other devices around the house...even when you’re not at home with the device.

There are a number of other new features on the phone. S Health allows you to connect to accessories that can keep track of your heart rate, blood pressure, and can monitor how much exercise you’re getting through the day. An integrated IR LED allows you to use the phone as a universal remote, like the recent Sony Xperia models. There’s even a temperature and humidity sensor.

So there’s a lot going on with the new Galaxy S4. After watching the entirety of the presentation last week, one thing is clear: whoever wrote the script for the launch event should be stopped. Ow.

As for the Galaxy S4, it looks like there’s a lot of interesting new features, even if some of them will only be used sparingly after the novelty wears off. The phone will start to launch around the world at the end of April, and will be available in 16, 32 and 64 GB models, in either black or white.

Googling up your shoes

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:30:00 GMT

When does technology cross the line from something that complements the things that you enjoy doing and start to become invasive? Well, it seems like Google may be researching things on both sides of that line, with technology for your head and your feet.

Over the last year, we’ve heard a lot about Google Glass. Glass is a heads-up display that you wear like a pair of sunglasses, but instead of a pair of tinted lenses, there’s only one “lens”, and it’s just a smallish near-transparent display located in front of your right eye. The right-hand temple of the “glasses” comes with a mounted enclosure that includes a front-facing camera, as well as the electronics necessary to link Glass to your Android phone.

Glass is controlled (to a large extent) through voice. For example, you would issue a command to start recording what your camera is seeing, or ask it a question that Google can find the answer for. Your Android phone will do the hard work and then push the results (whether that be a little video recording window or an answer to your search query) to the little eyepiece sitting in front of your right eye.

It’s pretty easy to see the potential benefits of something like this - walking directions to unfamiliar destination piped right into your eyepiece, for one possibility, or immediately starting a recording when your child takes his or her first steps. But there’s also the potential for serious creepiness - for instance, people would always be wondering if you’re recording them with your third camera eye, or be concerned that you’re looking up information on them while you’re talking to them.

It’s certainly possible that people who wear their Google Glass appliance everywhere will be treated in much the same way as people who keep their Bluetooth headset firmly in their ear while they’re away: with a certainly level of wariness or even disdain. In that case, it becomes an academic problem until the devices become so discrete you can’t tell people are wearing them...you just head the other direction when you see someone wearing a Glass headset, or you only patronize businesses that (like this Seattle cafe) have banned them.

A bit stranger is something that seems to have emerged during this year’s South by Southwest: Google Shoes.

While this isn’t an actual product so much as a proof of concept, created in collaboration with a third party, it does have some future implications.

Ostensibly a shoe that connects to your Android phone, it’s not quite the same thing as Nike+, another shoe-to-smartphone connection technology.

While this new concept does, indeed, have the ability to monitor your movement using accelerometers, it also seems to be able to post your activity levels to your social networks (providing a bit of shaming effect), or to trash talk you or your court opponents through a speaker mounted on the tongue of the right shoe.

Let’s leave aside for a second the inherent strangeness of your shoe yelling at you about how boring it is to be sitting in one place. But having your shoe shaming you on the Internet for sitting down for a few minutes...? While I suppose it could be looked at as a way to keep you motivated, in much the same way as an alarm clock that alerts all of your Facebook friends every time you hit the snooze button first thing in the morning. If you know you’re going to be publicly shamed, you may be less likely to indulge in being lazy.

On the other hand, it does seem to cross some line about what type of information needs to be be broadcast to the general public. Does the whole world need to know that you’re a useless wad of inaction first thing in the morning? And really, won’t you be likely to have friends that know that already, and probably don’t care how many times you hit the snooze button? Anyhow, it’s probably safe to say that....er, hold on.

Whoops, gotta go, guys. My shirt just tweeted at me that it’s getting too stinky in the hamper. Time to do the laundry before my pants chime in.

Hands on with the Sonos Playbar

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:30:00 GMT

Sonos has already built up a fairly good portfolio of high quality, app-controllable networked audio components. Relatively recently, the company launched its Play:3 speaker, and accompanied it a short while later with the Sub subwoofer (to really kick up the bass). Now Sonos is launching the Playbar, which is designed to sit under the bezel of your TV screen (either laying in front of it on the TV stand, or mounted under it on the wall).

Yes, the Playbar connects to your Sonos network in the same way as before (you press two buttons on the side of the unit to add it to the rest of your network). Yes, you can stream your audio to it, whether it’s located on a local drive or comes to you via one of the major streaming services like Rdio or Spotify. Yes, you can even link it to one of the other players in your house (including the Sub) and stream the music simultaneously to multiple Sonos units around the house.

But what differentiates this new model is that it also has an optical input on the back (right next to the two Ethernet ports), allowing you to hook directly into the optical output found on the back of most modern TVs. Hook your Blu-ray player or PVR directly to your TV with HDMI, and the audio can be redirected to the Playbar instead of the internal speakers on your TV. The Playbar also has an IR port in two different spots on the bezel, allowing you to control the volume using your regular TV remote (after a bit of config during initial setup).

While the Playbar’s nine-speaker setup does a pretty good job in its standard 3.0 mode (one center, plus left and right), you can turn it into a 3.1 system by using Sonos’ mesh networking capabilities to link up the Sub (sold separately). If you want the full 5.1 experience you can add a pair of Play:3 speakers as your rear channel.

Okay, true, that’s starting to get a bit pricy - the Playbar is $749, as is the Sub, and each Play:3 is $329. But with that configuration you may be able to obviate the need for a receiver altogether. Plus, of course, you can stream music directly to the setup using your Android smartphone as a controller, thanks to the Sonos Controller app.

I had the chance to experience the Sonos Playbar in 5.1 configuration at a recent demo event, and the sound was truly outstanding - it filled up a relatively large space with clear, full sound. But I also had the chance to test the Playbar by itself with my own TV, and despite the more modest 3.0 configuration it still sounded fantastic. You can adjust the bass level a fair amount using the Android app, achieving a relatively deep sound even with the Sub.

One minor-to-midsized quibble, however. By, defaults, the Playbar is designed to automatically switch into TV mode when it detects sound flowing into the optical port, which is typically a good thing. However, I was trying to listen to streaming music while looking for a movie to rent on my AppleTV, and every time I scrolled down a menu on the AppleTV, the sound effect that popped up while scrolling would disengage my music and force me to start it again from the app. After automatically switching over a few times, I gave up and waited until the movie was downloading until switching back to music.

While there’s a setting for TV Autoplay deep in the menu system which turns off this auto-switching, it’s then not particularly clear how to switch the Playbar to TV mode without going back into the settings and changing the setting again. Urk. A dedicated icon in the app would be much more helpful here.

The Playbar will be available at retail starting on March 5.

A phistful of phones, tablets and phablets at MWC 2013

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:30:00 GMT

A Phistful of Phones, Tablets and Phablets at MWC

With Mobile World Congress starting today in Barcelona, Spain, you can bet that there’s going to be a lot of mobility news over the next few days.

As always, some companies have already started making announcements...even before the show starts. Here’s just a smattering of what’s already hit the wire.

HTC One

HTC got a drop of nearly a week on much of the rest of the competition by launching the new aluminum unibody HTC One as a launch event held in both London and New York. The phone features a 4.7-inch 1080p screen (that works out to 468 pixels per inch), comes in either silver or black, and looks just a little bit like the new Blackberry Z10. Inside the casing is a quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon processor, 32 or 64 gigs of storage, and LTE networking. It will be available later this year at Rogers, Bell, Telus and Virgin.http://www.htc.com/ca/about/newsroom/2013/2013-02-19-introducing-the-new-htc-one-a-new-perspective-on-smartphones

Samsung Galaxy Note 8
When Samsung introduced the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, some were puzzled as to why anyone would want a phone with a screen that big. Now we have the Galaxy Note 8, which comes with an 1280x800 8-inch screen. You can bet at that size that it’ll be far more comfortable to use it as a tablet replacement than as a phone, but it will have the functionality of both in some parts of the world. (In North America it’s expected to be Wi-Fi only) As with other versions of the Note, it will come with a Stylus for more accurate interaction with the screen. It will be available in Q2 of 2013, with pricing still to be determined.

HP Slate7
A couple of years ago, HP made a re-entry into the world of mobility and tablet computing with the acquisition of Palm and the introduction of a line-up of WebOS-based gear. That whole endeavour was scrapped mere months after the launch, leaving many curious as to what they’d do next. The answer is the 7-inch tablet known as the Slate7; that 7 is actually superscript, just like the 3 in the Pre3...at least some of the Palm legacy is still there, I guess. This new tablet is aimed squarely at the value-conscious buyer, with a price point of US$169.That means that the tech inside the tablet, while good, isn’t going to be bleeding edge - it comes with a 1.6 GHz dual core processor, and a 3-megapixel camera, for example. Time will tell as to whether the consumers will take to this budget Android-powered device more than they did the more expensive WebOS-powered lineup.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z
Sony has recently released a number of waterproof phones, and now it’s bringing that capability to the world of tablets with the introduction of the Xperia Tablet Z. Unlike the company’s previous tablet (which looked like a book with the cover folded back) the Tablet Z is a sleek and lightweight device that is barely larger than a typical magazine. The tablet will come with a 1920x1200-pixel screen with the Mobile Bravia engine for upscaling of lower-res content, a quad-core processor, and an 8MP / 1080p rear-facing camera. It also continues the work Sony’s been doing with NFC (branded One Tap), allowing the tablet to easily pair to the company’s other NFC-equipped gear, like speakers, headphones and televisions. And like the previous tablet, the Tablet Z also features an IR port that will allow it to be used as a universal remote. As for the waterproof angle - so long as you make sure all of the port covers are secured, you can dunk the Tablet Z into water up to 1 meter deep for up to 30 minute - not that you’ll be able to use the touch screen when it’s underwater, but at least you don’t have to worry if you get some water on it when you’re at the beach. It’ll be available in Q2; pricing is still to be determined.

Huawei Ascend P2
Though less well known in Canada for consumer electronics than for some recent flaps about its telecom backbone equipment, Chinese telecom giant Huawei nonetheless is making a big play with its mobility devices. The Ascend P2 is the newest handset in its lineup, with a quad-care processor and 4.7-inch 720p screen, as well as LTE networking and a 13-megapixel camera. It will be available globally in late Q2; no news for Canadian availability as of yet..

Does BlackBerry 10 have a chance against Android?

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:30:00 GMT

It’s been a while since people have been talking about BlackBerry without a slightly disappointed tone in their voice. However, over the past week the Waterloo-based smartphone manufacturer garnered a lot of attention when it officially changed its name from Research In Motion to BlackBerry, launched the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, and showcased new BB10-powered handsets. In fact, it got the kind of attention normally reserved for a launch from the other company with a fruit-centric name. But does that mean that BlackBerry is back?

Even though BlackBerry used to be the handset of choice a few years back (thanks to the company’s incredibly strong ties with business), the launch of the iPhone started to seriously eat into the BlackBerry market share. Then, with an avalanche of Android-powered smartphones pushing the iPhone out of the way, it left BlackBerry nursing its wounds with a single-digit market share...a low single digit market share at that.

Despite a number of attempts to launch new product that could get back some of the company’s previous buzz (such as the Storm handsets and the PlayBook tablet), there was always the perception that these were “me too” products instead of cutting-edge products. Worse, some were plagued with usability problems (Storm) and some just seemed to be missing key functionality out of the box (like the PlayBook, which wouldn’t do email unless you linked it with a Blackberry handset).

In short, many thought that BlackBerry had lost the plot completely. So for this new launch, the pressure was on...especially because the launch date had already been pushed back and many feared that a lackluster launch would have sealed the company’s doom.

Well, the reaction so far has been largely positive...if you ignore the punishment that BlackBerry’s stock took immediately after the launch event, anyhow.

Though it’s based on QNX, the same base operating system that powered the ill-received Playbook tablet, BlackBerry 10 has been given an overhaul and some powerful new features that are bound to be appealing.

The biggest thing you’ll notice with BB10 is that there’s no start button, like there is with most other modern mobile devices. Instead, you get started simply by swiping upwards on the screen.

The home screen will show something called “active frames”, which represent items that are running on the BlackBerry. And like previous BlackBerry phones, these new ones feature true multitasking, so you can leave an item running in the background while you check something else. (From a battery perspective this isn’t exactly a plus if you’re a forgetful sort, but it’s indispensable for power users.)

From the home screen, you can swipe to the right to get to the BlackBerry Hub (more on that in a second), or left to see the other home screens. When an app is running, you can swipe up on it to minimize it back to the home screen, and you can then close it entirely by tapping on the “x” found on the active frame. You swipe down from the top of the screen to access your settings...just like on Android, these days.

BlackBerry Hub is the phone’s new messaging center, consolidating incoming email from your various accounts, your BBM messages, and social media networks. Swipe down and you also get access to your calendar. Like previous models of the BlackBerry, you’ll know that you have incoming messages by looking at the flashing LED light on the outside of the BlackBerry hardware...including the ability to program different colours and flashes for different types of events, so you can tell at a glance if the notifications deserve your immediate attention. This seemingly simple feature is actually a huge plus, and it’s surprising that it’s not a part of most other mobile platforms.

Other parts of the operating system have added nice little tweaks, such as the camera’s Time Shift feature; if you’ve missed the perfect snapshot by a fraction of a second, you can use an onscreen dial to scroll backwards or forwards in time to a moment where, say, your subject wasn’t blinking.

There’s also the BlackBerry Balance feature, which allows you to use personal apps on your work phone, but in a separate profile that doesn’t have access to your sensitive work data (one of the biggest concerns IT departments have with Android and iPhone).

All in all, it’s a ready-to-go operating system that, unlike the Playbook, isn’t missing too much out of the gate. And then there’s the Z10 smartphone, with its ultra-sleek design made even more attractive by a user-swappable battery and additional memory slot. But are these things enough to push BlackBerry back into the big time?

One could argue that it’s way too little, way too late for the BlackBerry 10 family. After all, there have been other challengers over the last few years that haven’t made much headway against Android.

For example, HP launched an updated version of WebOS and several new pieces of Palm hardware that were extremely impressive...but shut the whole thing down when WebOS fell on its face.

Similarly, Windows Phone has been struggling in the marketplace despite an impressive user interface, great hardware from industry heavyweight Nokia, and the full marketing clout of Microsoft.

Even with the long odds, BlackBerry has a chance for a couple of reasons.

The first of these is that it already has an ecosystem partially built up thanks to BlackBerry World (formerly App World), and the 70,000 BB10-ready apps that are said to be ready for BB10-powered devices. There’s also a store with a lot of music and video ready for purchase and rental. (This wasn’t something that troubled WebOS when it launched; pickings for the device were incredibly slim at launch. Windows Phone wasn’t much better at the start.)

Second...and more important, is the BlackBerry infrastructure at the business end: BlackBerry has long been a known quantity at the enterprise level. Large companies still trust BlackBerry hardware and software...even as the company’s overall market share has waned.

Integrating new BlackBerry product into the workplace may seem like a safer bet for larger companies with a more conservative streak, especially with the BlackBerry Balance feature keeping the work and personal sides of an employee’s usage separate. (Despite the growing numbers of Android devices in enterprise thanks to BYOD programs, many IT pros remain wary of them interacting with workplace systems.)

It’s probably a tall order to expect that BlackBerry will suddenly become the new “it” thing again, which means Android will likely continue its dominance for the near future. But it does mean a possible turnaround in BlackBerry’s fortunes - it’s the first time in a long while that the company has had product that’s pretty close to what everyone else is offering, instead of lagging embarassingly behind.

Playing the waiting game

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:30:00 GMT

They say good things come to those who wait...well, there are a lot of good things coming down the pike, I guess.

Get ready for a newer, larger Galaxy Note
There have been a few rumblings of a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Note, this one with a startling 8-inch screen. That’s starting to get ridiculous for a device that you’d regularly use to make a phone call on, but more attractive as a tablet option for those who think the new 7-inch tablets are just too small. (It also means that Samsung now has an Android device for pretty much any size you want. Choice is key, as they say.)

Alas, we’ll have to wait until the end of February for more definitive data on the device, when it’s scheduled to be released at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

A challenge from BlackBerry 10
In other news, people are getting prepped for Yet Another Challenger™ to Android’s mobile throne: on January 30th, Canada’s own Research in Motion is set to formally launch the BlackBerry 10 operating system, along with new Blackberry hardware.

This brand new version of the BlackBerry OS is (by now) considered long overdue, but nearly all early reports from people who have seen it have been very positive, including the ability to split the device between business and personal use, timeshifting in the camera app, and more. It sounds impressive, but then again, so did the new version of the Palm a few years ago. Time will tell if it’s enough to make a dent in Android’s market share, or if this will be WebOS all over again.

A challenge from...Firefox OS?
Curiously enough, there’s also news of another challenger, this one a bit further down the road, and that’s....Firefox? That’s right, a new web-based operating system from the folks who brought you the popular web browser is now making its way to developers, with two different hardware configuration for testing.

It’s hard to imagine why we need yet another mobile operating system out there when so many other platforms are already having a hard time gaining traction in the space, even with plenty of resources behind them. The webpage for Firefox OS claims that it’s all about being open, and about adoption of the most current web standards. Sounds a bit like another OS we know. Stay tuned. In the meantime, why not check out the new Firefox browser for Android?

Android for Raspberry Pi still on ice
Speaking of waiting, we’re still waiting to see a working version Ice Cream Sandwich for the Raspberry Pi. Though it had seemed somewhat imminent when I talked about it back in August, versions of Ice Cream Sandwich for the Pi seem to still be largely unusable.

That’s not really a surprise, from what I can see. I took a look at the most recent version considered “stable” (installation instructions available here), and even though an Android 2.3 interface fired up full-screen on my HDMI-connected monitor, keyboard and mouse input was so laggy as to be nearly unusable.

In short: those who like the idea of these new TV-connected Android boxes but want of trying to save money by putting Android onto their Raspberry Pi may want to think again.

(Clockwork and pocketwatch images from shutterstock.com)

In the Android darkroom

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:30:00 GMT

If you have an Android phone (or a tablet with a high-quality camera in it), you’ve probably snapped a few pics already. But you can do a whole lot more than just take standard pictures with your Android device, provided you have the right apps on-hand.

PhotoSphere (free in Jelly Bean 4.2+)
One of the hot new features in Jelly Bean 4.2 devices (like the Nexus 4) is PhotoSphere, which is part of the regular camera app. Now, in addition to the ability to take standard photos, you can also capture a near-360-degree image “sphere”. To start the process, you open up the camera app, tap the camera icon and select the icon with the sphere in the background. The app will ask you to align a blue dot in the center of a circle to take the first picture. Then, you can move the phone in any direction and new blue dots will appear for alignment of other portions of the image. You’ll keep doing this until the whole area around you is captured, then the app will stitch all of these images together into a panoramic image that can also be played back as a “photo sphere” on the phone. A couple of quirks: it’ll be missing a circle at the top and the bottom; and of course, not everything will line up perfectly, especially if you’re shooting in an environment that has a lot of straight lines. Still, it’s a great way to get a reasonable quality near-360-degree image quickly.

Of course, not everyone will have access to PhotoSphere - it’s only available in Jelly Bean 4.2 and onward. For everyone else, there are a ton of other photo apps available for download. Here are a few.

Instagram (free)
Of course, there’s always Instagram, which quickly became one of the most popular Android photo apps when it was released to the platform last year. For those who still haven’t checked it out, it’s both a photo capturing app and a social network: take your photos using your phone, apply a vintage filter to the photo, and then upload them for your Instagram friends to see and comment on. (In fact, when you fire up the app, it presents you with the stream of photos from your contacts, so you can poke around in what your friends have been doing before you take your own pics, if you’re so inclined.) It’s worth noting that Instagram’s recent acquisition by Facebook is a double-edged sword: while you can find a ton of photo-love friends when you sign in using your Facebook account, you may be entering into murky waters in terms of your rights to your images in the future thanks to ever-changing terms of service provided by Facebook. So beware.

Flickr (free)
Long one of the web’s most popular photo-sharing sites, Flickr was starting to look a bit staid until a recent update to its smartphone apps. Before, you could tag photos and upload them to your Flickr account. Now, you can take pictures right from the app, put on a filter just like in Instagram, and then tag them for uploading. Or, from the main screen, you can use the app as a photo-based social network, just like with Instagram...but without worrying that your photos might some day be sold to a third party without your knowledge. It’s a nice update, and if you have had a Flickr account for a while, it’s a no-brainer.

PocketBooth ($1.99)
Although photo booths are quickly disappearing from places like malls and tourist areas, the PocketBooth app will still give you the experience of the photo booth wherever you happen to be. Fire up the app, press the button, and PocketBooth will take four photos in quick succession (using either the front or rear camera), and then present them in a four-panel strip, whether they were all good takes or not...just like a photo booth. You can share your photo strips to all of the usual places included in the Android “share” option, including Facebook, Dropbox, Twitter, Google+, email, Picasa and more. You can even bring the strips into other photo apps on your Android device, if you like.

Vignette ($2.57)
While Vignette is Yet Another App™ that allows you take photos and then apply various vintage filters and frames onto the image, it’s not just a typical me-too app like many of the others in this category. Yes, you can make your picture look like an old Polaroid, but you can then go in and adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, and even the colour temperature using big sliders, for better control over the final effect. But even before you take the picture, you can control how the image is going to be taken, from standard resolution to default filter, to which camera the app will default to when you fire it up. After you’ve captured the images, you can share to your other social networks and other photo apps on your Android device. All in all, a powerful little app.

Adobe Photoshop Express (free)
When you think of photo editing in the digital age, chance are that Adobe’s Photoshop is the first thing that comes to mind. Curiously, while Photoshop is also partly renowned for its sometimes-prohibitive cost, Adobe has made an Android version available to the masses for free. True, this complimentary copy is much more stripped down than the Photoshop Express you’ll find on a computer, but it still has a lot of great tools for those on the go, including editing (crop, rotate, flip, or straighten), image control (exposure, saturation, tint, contrast/brightness), focus control, borders and the now-obligatory image effects. It’ll pull images from your Android device’s image library, but it can also grab things from your Photoshop.com account, if you have one. Once you’re done editing, Photoshop Express will save the image back into your device’s image library, but you can also upload directly to Facebook or Twitpic right from within the app.

Android news from CES 2013 (Wrap-up edition)

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 13:30:00 GMT

Another year has come and gone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and this year mobility played a huge part yet again. Now that the exhibitors are packing up and heading home, it’s time to look at a few of the big Android announcements from this year’s show.

NVIDIA Project Shield
Graphics giant NVIDIA always brings its A-game to CES, not only showing off the high-end graphics capabilities of its discrete graphics cards and embedded products, but often introducing new development platforms for other manufacturers to run with. This year’s news was Project Shield, an open portable gaming platform that uses NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 chipset for fast processing and high-quality graphics. It comes with a 5-inch 1280x720 multi-touch display and a game-controller form factor (for two different modes of gaming interaction), as well as an HDMI port if you want to push the video to a larger display. The whole thing runs on Android Jelly Bean, giving you access to a wealth of games available for mobile Android devices, as well as the ability to stream games from Steam-connected PC. Pricing and availability are still to be determined.

Seagate Wireless Plus
Okay, so you can watch movies on your Android tablet or smartphone, but the big problem is that your device generally won’t have enough storage to carry every movie or TV show you want to watch. The Seagate Wireless Plus is designed to be a perfect travel companion for the multimedia lover: throw as much multimedia as you can on this one terabyte portable drive, and then stream it to your mobile device over a Wi-Fi connection the Wireless Plus creates. You’ll need to download an app to your tablet or smartphone to get the content streaming; you’ll lose your Wi-Fi connection to the rest of the world while you’re streaming multimedia, however. The upside: once the Wireless Plus is up and running, three different devices can stream different content simultaneously. The Wireless Plus is due to hit retail at the end of January, for $199 US.

Sony Xperia Z
Sony continues to impress with its new line of Android smartphones with the Xperia Z, bringing many of Sony’s core competencies together in a handheld device. The handset comes with a 5-inch 1080p screen, a 13 megapixel camera, and is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. Like the Xperia Go, the Xperia Z will also be water-resistant, which means you don’t have to worry about getting the phone wet when you’re at the beach. The Xperia Z is scheduled to launch by the end of the first quarter of 2013, along with a more compact model known as the Xperia ZL.The Xperia Z will launch with Jelly Bean 4.1, but it should be upgradable to Jelly Bean 4.2 shortly afterwards.

Lenovo IdeaPhone K900
While you likely know Lenovo better for their full lineup of desktop and mobile computers, the company also has a number of tablets and phones available in various markets around the world. The IdeaPhone K900 is the company’s new premium smartphone, with a 5.5-inch 1080p screen (for a pixel density of 400 ppi), and a 2GHz Intel Atom processor. Though the K900’s larger form factor makes it a competitor of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, its thinner and lighter form factor may make it somewhat more appealing to those who find devices of this size unwieldy...but even so, it’s still a large device compared to typical smartphones. The IdeaPhone K900 is scheduled to launch in China in April; availability in the rest of the world is to be determined. (Currently there appear to be no plans to bring the phone into Canada, unfortunately. Rats.)

YotaPhone
While the YotaPhone was announced in early December, CES was the first time that a lot of people got to see what the fuss was all about. The bottom line: in addition to the 4.3-inch 1280x720 LCD screen, the YotaPhone features a 4.3-inch e-ink screen on the flipside. While this seems a bit goofy at first, it quickly starts to make sense when you see it in action. Instead of firing up the backlit LCD screen for meeting notifications, the YotaPhone can update the e-ink display with much less impact on the battery. When you’re using the full-color LCD for everyday use, you can use a special swiping motion to move the image to the e-ink screen on the other side (like, for example, a map or a boarding pass), which you can then use even when the phone is in standby mode (without additional power). The YotaPhone is powered by a dual-core 1.5Ghz Snapdragon processor, a 12 megapixel camera, and will come with Jelly Bean 4.2. The phone is scheduled to launch in Q3 of 2013.

Android at CES 2013; plus, a post-Xmas drone

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:30:00 GMT

With the Consumer Electronics Show just getting underway in Las Vegas, there are sure to be a number of products launched over the next week...many of them Android-related. I’ll try to make note of a few of them after the show, but here are a few that have already been announced.

Archos TV Connect
We’ve heard of a new generation of Android-powered televisions, but the Archos TV Connect is designed to bring Android to any HD television set via a small connected device. It comes with Jelly Bean 4.1 built in, and gives you big-screen access to the Android apps and games you’re familiar with. The TV Connect ships with a special “TV Touch” remote that features a built-in keyboard and gesture controls. It also comes with a built-in webcam, allowing you to make video calls right from your TV. The TV Connect is $129.99 US and will be available in February.

OWC Newer Technology Power 2U
If you’re always struggling to find a charger for your Android phone or tablet, maybe it’s time to upgrade your wall sockets so that you have USB right on the wall. This updated power plug has two standard outlets and two USB connectors, allowing you to charge four devices simultaneously at a single wall plate. The USB ports have spring-loaded covers to keep them covered when not in use (and to prevent “vampire power draw”). A 15-Amp model will be available for $29.95 US, and a 20 Amp model will be $39.95 US), both at the end of the first quarter of 2013. Just remember: turn off the breaker before installing this, if you do it yourself!

Griffin SpongeBob SquarePants Woogie
If you’re not satisfied with a regular protective case for your Android smartphone, the Woogie is for you. After you put your phone in the “touch-through” pocket compartment, you can reposition SpongeBob’s arms and legs to make him (and your phone) sit up for a proper viewing angle. Perfect for that important business meeting, and only $29.99 US.

Netatmo Urban Weather Station
At CES this year, Netatmo is announcing Android compatibility for its line of personal weather stations. These devices can sit either indoors or outdoors, and connect to your network via Wi-Fi, giving you information on temperature, CO2 levels, air quality and more. The Urban Weather Station is $179 US, and the app is free.

Late Gift For Yourself Dept: Parrot AR Drone

Got some money during the holidays, but you’re not sure what to spend it on? Well, if you’re an Android fan and want a toy, you might want to check out the AR Drone. Introduced a while back by Parrot, the AR Drone is a more advanced version of those mini helicopters people have been playing with. Nearly two feet across and armed with four rotors that allow it to hover in place, as of this year the AR Drone now sports compatibility with your Android device.

Once you’ve charged up the AR Drone’s battery, you connect to it using Wi-Fi, and can control it using the accelerometers (or touchscreen) of your Android phone or tablet. Better, it has two cameras (one forward-facing and one pointing down) that stream video back to your mobile device, allowing you to pretend you’re a secret agent. (It’s worth noting, however, that the rotors are loud enough that you’ll never be able to spy on someone without them noticing it fairly quickly....a stealth drone this is not.)

Helpful tip: you’ll want to use this in a fairly wide open space, as navigating indoors is a bit tricky. And it might be a good idea to get a spare battery or two, as the charge doesn’t last very long thanks to the Wi-Fi video streaming built into the device.

Sean Carruthers is a Contributor at ITWorld Canada. Follow him on Google +

Last minute Android-centric gift guide

Sean Carruthers — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:38:00 GMT

Holy smackers, there’s less than a week left before the holidays! If you’re still puzzled about what to get the Android lover in your life, here are a few suggestions.

Sony Xperia go
$299.99

While there are a number of Android-based smartphones kicking around, how many of them are waterproof? With a 3.5-inch screen, this particular handset is a bit smaller than other recent members of the Xperia lineup (and yes, than many of the new Android phones getting attention). Consequently it may not be the best choice for those with huge hands, but for those who like their gear small and stowable, it’s worth a look. It’s an even better choice for those who like to take their phone to the beach...or who have an unfortunate tendency to drop their phone into places like the snowbank, sink or toilet (I know you’re out there). When all of the seals are securely in place, it’s rated to stay underwater for about 30 minutes at depths up to 1 meter. Oh, and did I mention that it’s unlocked?

Mophie Powerstation
$79.99 - $99.99

For heavy users of smartphones and tablets, battery life can be a constant struggle. That’s an even bigger struggle for those who don’t have the option to plug into an AC outlet to recharge midway through the day. That’s where the Mophie Powerstation comes in. This little bricklike battery comes in 4000 and 6000 mAh models, and sports either one or two standard USB ports on the side. When you’re starting to run low on battery, just connect your phone or table to the Powerstation using the device’s USB cable, press the button on the side, and your Android’s battery will be heading in the right direction. A great gift for a power (ho ho) user.

Diamond Multimedia TAB 360
$59.99

Okay, I’ll admit it: one of the first things I like to do when I get a new Android tablet into my hands is to fire up a racing game to try out the device’s graphics, processor and accelerometer...oh who am I kidding? I try out racing games because they’re fun. Now, Diamond Multimedia’s TAB 360 allows racing fans to enjoy the game with a bit more stability. This steering-wheel-shaped mount has an adjustable clamp that accommodates tablets between 7” and 10.1” - it held both my Nexus 7 and my Galaxy Tab 10.1 comfortably. Just under the mount there’s a ball joint that allows you to smoothly tilt and turn the tablet in the direction of your choice, all while keeping your hands safely away from the touchscreen itself (at least until you choose to use it). One thing worth noting: it’s not particularly heavy, so you’ll be able to lift the whole thing up off the table if you like. If you want to secure it down....well, there’s always duct tape!

Bonus option for those who want something to look forward to:

Our friends over at The Verge have brought us this news of a Bluetooth-enabled toilet called the Satis...it’s from Japan, of course. It won’t be available until February of 2013, and the starting price will be well over $2,000, but if you have someone on your shopping list who really wishes they could flush the toilet from their Android phone, well, maybe it’s time to place an order. (Warning: it may be a crappy gift.)

Sean Carruthers is a Contributor at ITWorld Canada. Follow him on Google+

Gift suggestion from the Android Toystore: Sphero

Sean Carruthers — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:30:00 GMT

While there are a ton of games available for the Android platform, not too many of them have an actual physical component to them. And while there are a ton of physical accessories available for your Android device, the vast majority of them are more....let’s say practical in nature.

That’s why it’s always fun when you find an actual toy that you can partner up with your Android and actually have fun. (Or, if you’re not an overgrown kid yourself, allow your actual children to play with, instead.) The Sphero is one such gadget.

It’s a small white ball (thus the name) that has a Bluetooth-connected motor inside. Just download the Sphero app, and then pair the Sphero up with your mobile device, and then when you use the controls on the app, the ball looks like it’s rolling around all by itself. Yep, it’s the perfect combination for annoying your housepets. Between uses, the Sphero sits on a small induction charger pad specially designed for it.

When you first pair it up, a small blue light will shine through the white shell of the Sphero, and the app will ask you to point that light towards yourself. That way the app knows your orientation in relation to the ball, so it will always roll Sphero in the same direction.

Because of that, you can’t chase the ball around without remembering to re-orient your smartphone or tablet as you change your own orientation; even though you change direction, Sphero will still stick to the original relative directions. Consequently, it’s ideal to use Sphero in a space where you don’t have to move around much.

So the basic concept is simple: pair up Sphero and then drive it around using an Android app. Bored with basic white? You can change the colour of the LED light inside Sphero. You can even do pre-programmed tricks like making Sphero trace out a lightning bolt or the Apple command key pattern (yeah, it’s designed to work with iOS too).

Sound like something that would get boring quickly? Well, it actually has some more advanced features too.

In addition to the basic Sphero control app, you can download a number of free apps that can also connect to this little ball. For example, there’s an app called Sphero Golf that will help you create a golf course our of your local environment - you define what constitutes a hole, and then you can use the accelerometers inside your Android device to control your swing. (Like real golf, it takes practice to get the hang of it.)

There’s also an app called Etch-o-matic that allows you to pick up the Sphero and use it as a controller for an on-screen Etch-a-Sketch style app. Again, it takes a bit of time to get the hang of it.

These show that the Sphero is not just a one-trick pony: there are already a number of apps available for download, and there will almost certainly be more coming.

And if you’re buying this device for one of your kids, perhaps they’ll be inspired to start programming using the API and Mobile SDK packages that are available at the Sphero site.

Sphero will run you around $129.99 in Canada, and it’s available at Amazon.ca and FutureShop. While that might seem a little steep for something that looks like little more than a small white ball, it’s worth remembering that there’s actually a little robot inside...and a programmable one that might just fire up the imagination of your children, at that.