Samsung to release Verizon developer edition Galaxy Note II

Samsung gave devs an unlockable version of its Verizon flavored flagship, the GSIII, mere months ago, and now the Korean firm has seen fit to do the same for its phablet. That's right, folks, you'll soon be able to get a dev edition 16GB Galaxy Note II with all that amazing VZW branding you know and hate love. Of course, while the product page is live on Sammy's site, it hasn't announced availability or pricing for this freed Note II, but we do know it'll have that beautiful 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen and come with Android 4.1. So, it appears we won't be getting everything we wanted for Christmas this year, but it's nice to have something to look forward to.

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Via: Phandroid

Source: Samsung

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/19/samsung-verizon-developer-edition-galaxy-note-ii/

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Amazon Appstore for Android Test Drive hands on: surprisingly cool, but still US-only

Amazon Appstore for Android Test Drive
When Amazon Appstore for Android launched last week, one of its primary features -- Test Drive -- was disabled just a few minutes after it opened. With no try-before-you-buy, no refund process, and 1-Click purchasing ready to strike at any moment, this caused some problems. Anyway, don't despair: Test Drive is now enabled.

Before you get your hopes up, Test Drive doesn't work with every app. The IMDb app works fine -- you can even watch movie trailers on it! -- but the Angry Birds games are sadly not enabled. Some games work surprisingly well, though, like Bubble Buster. There's very little latency, and the framerate is really rather good. The Test Drive experience is so true to life that you even get ads; how cool is that?

Continue reading Amazon Appstore for Android Test Drive hands on: surprisingly cool, but still US-only

Amazon Appstore for Android Test Drive hands on: surprisingly cool, but still US-only originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/amazon-appstore-for-android-test-drive-hands-on-surprisingly-co/

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New iPad Battery Life

The new iPad has the same battery life as the iPad 2. This may strike some as peculiar because the iPad 3 has a new more highly-powered battery. However, although the battery does carry more juice, this is offset by the new features of the iPad 3 which require more power, for example the high-definition Retina display and the 4G connectivity. That said, the new iPad battery life is still perfectly reasonable and is suitable both for casual at-home use and for intensive use on the move.

New improved battery = a thicker iPad?

While the actual battery life on the iPad 2 and new iPad is around the same, the ipad 3′s battery is a much better one. The iPad 2 battery was approximately 6930mAh, whereas the new iPad’s battery is 10,000mAh – an increase of around 44%.

As the battery produces more power, it is also larger than its predecessor. This meant some slightly cosmetic changes to the new iPad. At 9.4mm thickness, it’s 0.6mm thicker than the iPad 2 – nothing to write home about, in other words! The iconic sleek design and tapered shape of the iPad is still there.

Battery Life

In benchmark tests the new iPad 3 battery life lasts for around 10 hours. However, if you’re using 4G connection, you can expect to see that go down to around 8 hours. This is average for most iPads and realistically mean that you can get a full day’s work out of the new iPad 3 without having to recharge it.

Drain on Battery

Although the battery is larger and more higher powered than the iPad 2 battery, the new iPad 3 lasts the same amount of time as the iPad 2. The new features available in the iPad 3 can really drain the battery quickly – and when you think about the innovations in the camera, sounds quality and Retina display, it’s easy to see why. If Apple hadn’t included this new battery then we’d have been seeing battery life reduced probably to around 4-5 hours.

Tips to Increase Battery Life on the New iPad

There are a number of ways to improve the battery life of the new iPad 3. The first port of call is to turn off the notifications and location services for most (if not all) of the apps that you use. This will immediately save the iPad having to dedicate battery power to these unnecessary functions.

You can also reduce the screen brightness to 50-70% – this will decrease the amount of power that goes into the screen display. As long as you’re working indoors this setting should be fine, although you will need to increase brightness in strong sunlight.

Set the iPad to auto-lock after a short time period, say 30 seconds. This will automatically turn off the display when you’re not using your device.

Bottom Line – Is It Worth It?

The battery life in the new iPad 3 may be the same as the iPad 2, but the battery itself is much stronger and more powerful, and is absolutely necessary to handle the more power-draining new features that make the new iPad 3 such a desirable piece of kit.

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/new-ipad-battery-life/

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Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites -- m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com -- have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those -- a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won't be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook's developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they're using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn't, you won't be seeing much of Facebook Places -- which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/facebook-launches-unified-mobile-site-announces-250-million-mob/

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You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon

Rejoice! No longer will you have to fork over $700 for a Photoshop CS5 license! Adobe has unveiled a new subscription scheme where you can rent the entire Creative Suite, or individual packages, by the month, or for an entire year.

Adobe Photoshop can be yours for $35 per month if you agree to rent it for 12 months, or $49 per month if you require its services for a shorter period. Dreamweaver can be had for even cheaper, at just $19 per month. The entire Master Collection is still rather expensive, though, at $125 per month.

Today, Adobe also ushered in the release of Creative Suite 5.5, and simultaneously upped its release cycle from 18 months to 24 months. This means, if you rent Photoshop for two years, it's actually the same cost as buying it outright. There's no rent-to-own option, though -- so you wouldn't have access to the cheaper upgrade price once Creative Suite 6 rolls around next year. Still, if you need access to Photoshop, After Effects or Premiere for a one-time project, the new rental scheme could be exactly what you're looking for.

In other news, Adobe has announced that it will be launching three rather exciting iPad apps that work in conjunction with Photoshop: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava. Eazel lets you five-finger paint on your iPad, and export the result into Photoshop; Nav acts as some kind of workspace, brush and menu extension, and the hopefully named Color Lava is a paint mixing palette. The apps are expected to appear in the App Store in the next 30 days.

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/you-can-now-rent-adobe-photoshop-for-29-per-month/

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Do People Really Not Know What Texting Is?

People never cease to surprise me with how brainless they can be. This American Apparel ad, which explicitly says to Text apparel to the number 23000, has actually gotten countless Facebook comments with 'APPAREL 23000' on the post. Um, that's not texting people. Do people really not know what texting is? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Q4PYwKWnf3g/do-people-really-not-know-what-texting-is

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Here's Everything That Was Wrong with The Avengers

Confession: I haven't watched The Avengers yet. But after watching this three minute video that points out and explains all the things wrong with the movie, I might never watch it. I can't unsee these things! It's one thing to laugh out loud while reading crappy Chinese subtitles on The Avengers, it's another thing entirely to hilariously ruin a movie before I can even see it! [YouTube via BuzzFeed] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uNPGprcMWgs/heres-everything-that-was-wrong-with-the-avengers

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Elephant Quest is an addictive, deep platformer

elephantquest
When someone tells me about a "platformer", my first thought is that it's probably a simple game that mainly revolves around running and jumping around, with a minimal plot. [Play a Zelda game! -Ed]

Elephant Quest is one platformer that managed to prove me completely wrong. Yes, you do run and jump around, and you also shoot at stuff. But the game has much, much more going for it.

Basically, as you run, jump and shoot, you gain experience points and level up. Hitting Space brings you into an interface where you can convert your experience points into Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Dexterity points. Once you've "specialized" your points, you then get to pick what exact skills you'd like to enhance in each field. For example, you could use your dexterity to enhance your weapons or increase your swiftness.

The game is played in a huge maze; you go through rooms using doors, and there's a large map. As the name implies, there are quests you can take, too. For example, one quest had me searching all over the place for ten balloons.

The bottom line is that this is a surprisingly deep game that just might ensnare you for a good bit longer than you intended to play. Beware!

Elephant Quest is an addictive, deep platformer originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/elephant-quest-is-an-addictive-deep-platformer/

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All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Entertainment Apps

Windows 8, Microsoft's latest operating system, has its own app library. In many cases, these apps can replace now-aging bookmarks or favorites, and the software that we used to install from floppies, CDs or downloads. Windows 8 apps are often usable on both desktop or laptop PCs, as well as tablets. Navigation tricks include swiping up from the bottom, or right-clicking with a mouse to reveal app command tools. Apps can be downloaded from the Windows 8 Store, which is reachable only on machines running Windows 8.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/269a1c35/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C768560Bhtml/story01.htm

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Raspberry Pi Launches App Store to Sweeten Its Ecosystem

The Raspberry Pi project launched an app store Monday to support its eponymous $35 Linux PC, which hit the market in February. The store will carry both free and paid apps. Its launch has stirred mixed reactions among Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, with some criticizing plans to offer paid apps and others defending the move. "The Pi App Store is a natural fit," said Bill Weinberg, principal analyst and consultant at Linux Pundit. "It can address any or all of the post-load ecosystem, providing a channel for OS distributors, middleware and applications."

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/26b7f724/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C768720Bhtml/story01.htm

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