Slatedroid info

Twitter rolled-out the big v4.0 update back in early-April. That update brought what was described as being a brand new look and feel. Perhaps key here though, that update brought an app that was more polished looking and in general, an app that was a bit nicer to use. Despite releasing a bug fixing update shortly after, there has been one item that remained missing.

Well, that item had been missing until today. The latest Twitter for Android app update has landed in the Google Play Store and it has added a menu button. Basically, the Twitter app now has a menu button which will allow for quick access to your Accounts and Settings pages. While that seems to have been the most welcomed addition this time around, there were some other items mentioned in the changelog.

The folks at Twitter have said users will now be able to “enjoy a smoother experience” courtesy of some bug fixes and other improvements. Those bug fixes and improvements weren’t detailed, however as a general rule, the fewer the bugs the better the experience. Not to mention, we think many will agree that the smoother experience came along with the earlier v4.0 update.

Additionally, the changelog also mentioned the ability to see what’s happening near you or around the world by viewing Trends in hundreds of locations. Bottom line here, this may not have been the biggest Twitter app update we have seen recently, however it should be welcomed by those using the app with multiple accounts. As always, the Twitter for Android app can be found in the Google Play Store.

A few days back we mentioned that Microsoft was planning to release a “Switch to Windows Phone” app. While we certainly aren’t planning to leave Android, we do have to admit we were a bit curious to see just what the app would do. Well, at risk of giving the big spoiler in the beginning — you cannot do all that much without actually having a Windows Phone in front of you. That said, the app launches with a splash screen and you are immediately taken to a rather long EULA.

Assuming you are playing along and agree to the EULA, of which we did (and no we didn’t actually read it), you then get the pitch. Microsoft mentions how they are “here to make your switch to Windows Phone as quick and easy as possible.” This is done by matching up apps that you already have installed on your Android device. To confirm the earlier report, the Switch to Windows Phone app is powered by Quixey.

After the app scans your handset it provides you with a matching percentage. In our case, that happens to have been 80 percent. From this point you save the list and then login to your Microsoft account so they can “save your app list to the cloud.” After the sign in process is complete, you have to click to authorize access to your email (in my case that meant an often unused Outlook account) so they can email you the results.

Somehow this doesn’t seem all that convenient. But wait, it gets a bit worse, remember we are getting to the point of the app not actually giving you the results. From here you click finish and the app simply closes. The email (that you sent yourself) then tells you to download the Switch to Windows Phone app on your Windows Phone. Basically, it seems this app isn’t about providing any useful information before you switch, but it simply assists you during the process of actually switching.

Needless to say, the Switch to Windows Phone app was a bit disappointing and has already been removed from our handset. Our thoughts aside, a quick look at the Google Play user reviews and it seems we are not alone. The app currently has an average rating of just 1.4 and of that, 339 are 1 star results.

[via Google Play Store]

It looks like Android users now have another podcast listening app to choose from. This latest is called Player FM and it has recently come available in the Google Play Store and is currently sitting at version 1.0. For those not familiar with Player FM, this is a podcast listening app. The key here, Player FM brings a big focus on discovery and is featuring 300 topics that will help get you started.

Launching the app has you signing in (of which you can do so with your Google account) and then picking three categories that you are interested in. The nice part here, you can always update those categories at a later time. In fact, you can also add additional categories later on. At least initially though, Player FM will have you set up with three. The nice part is these topics are live channels which are always updating. By starring one, you then have easy access from the menu.

The app itself is free, though there are some limitations in place. You are limited to 50 starred topics and 20 subscriptions. While that should be enough for even the most dedicated podcast listener, you can earn more subscriptions by inviting friends to use the service. A pro account is said to be in the works, but not yet available. Putting the pro account aside, lets focus on the inviting of friends as this brings another main focus, the social side.

New users will have a public profile by default. This means others will be able to see what you are subscribed to. Of course, for those feeling self conscious, there is the option to go private. Other features of the app include being able to view show notes and descriptions, browse the full history of a series and the ability to stream or download episodes. The app also has a homescreen widget and a web counterpart. You see, your subscriptions live in the cloud, which means you can head directly to the Player FM website and have access even without your Android device in hand.

We took the app for a little spin, you can check out some of the screenshots here to get an idea of what the app will look like should you choose to install it. As for us, we liked it, however we are not entirely convinced we should ditch our current setup and make the move to Player FM. But we say that as someone who already has a set list of podcasts and is not really in discovery mode at the moment. If you are the type who is always looking for new podcasts, Player FM should be worth checking out though. Those looking for the Player FM app can find it in the Google Play Store using this link.

[via GigaOm]

Yesterday our good friends at Google released another update for the Play Store. While you’ll want the latest version for some bug fixes and such, the update covered up that awesome Blacked Out Google Play we posted a few weeks back. We went from the new and redesigned 4.0.25 to 2.6 and then 2.7 last night and for those who want Black back, we have something even better today.

What could that be? This is the latest Google Play that was rolled out yesterday, version 4.0.27, and it has already been completely inverted to a black color theme. Then the awesome developer @B_Boytm took it a step further and changed all the text colors to Holo Blue. This gives you a Jelly Bean and ICS inspired Black and Holo Blue Google Play Store – and it’s pretty awesome looking.

Team BlackOut over on XDA have more than just the Play Store, they have 12 other Google apps all inverted, and you can get the Play Store in more colors than just holo blue. They have tons of options. So just like before, if you like what you see above, read on to get it yourself. You don’t install this like an APK or an app, you need to flash it in a custom recovery.

Instructions:

– Download the Holo Blue zip (click here) or (Dark Blue) (Cyan) (Pink)
– Boot into recovery and flash the zip (named BlackMarket4.0.27.(color)zip)
– Reboot and enjoy!

If it doesn’t work, use a file explorer that can view system files and make sure your Store is named Phonesky.apk instead of Vending.apk in /system/apps. Rename it if needed and reboot, then follow instructions above.

That’s it! Now you have the latest Google Play Store and it has nicely been changed to the black color theme we all use to love, and now you’ll enjoy holo blue text to keep it looking classy. As always you should back up the original, and proceed to flash things of this nature at your own risk. This doesn’t come direct from Google, so proceed with caution. That aside, it looks nice right?

The folks up in Mountain View at Google HQ have been on a roll lately when it comes to Play Store updates, as we’ve received three in the past few weeks. For those keeping track we received an all-new and completely redesigned Play Store earlier this month and now we’re getting a few minor updates, but so far it doesn’t appear that they’ve changed anything significant.

Back on April 9th Google rolled out a brand new and completely different Play Store, then last week multiple users were updated from 4.0.25 to a minor .26, and this afternoon it appears that Google’s pushing another bug fixing update out for their storefront. I jumped straight to 4.0.27 myself, and so far there appears to be absolutely zero changes up top.

Most likely these are bug fixes and things behind the scenes, because we aren’t seeing any changes on our end. We have heard a few users claim 4.0.27 added some elements that could enable a light/dark theme option in the future, but we haven’t heard anything further on that yet. So we’ll check it out and report back. However, back a few weeks ago we posted plenty of details for those wanting a Black Google Play Store.

According to Android Police Google made a few very small changes to translations and such with this release, but they didn’t find anything else either. So this is nothing special. Should you want the latest and greatest Play Store get it from the download link below and just install over the current store, or hang tight as yours should update automatically soon enough.

Play Store v4.0.27 download

Credit: Shutterstock

It’s time for another App Update Roundup, this time it’s the turn of ESPN’s Fantasy Football, FedEx Delivery Manager, SMS syncing software Mighty Text, and the very handy Remember the Milk.

ESPN Fantasy Football

Good news for fantasy football fans, ESPN’s Fantasy Football Android app has already been updated for the upcoming 2013 NFL season, so you can start preparing your dream team well in advance.

The update keeps the old functionality intact; team management, notifications; news, videos, live scores, etc are all unchanged. The user interface remains the same as well, although they have spruced up the logo a little bit.

You will be able to select and manage multiple teams, players, and free agents with the updated ESPN Fantasy Football 2013 app, but really it’s just a season roll-over update more than anything else. I suspect some users were hoping for some drastically new features, but even so there’s no reason not to update early in preparation for the coming season.

FedEx

Anyone who’s an avid online shopper in the US probably uses the FexEx mobile app to track their precious shipments. Although previously some users had complained about the lack of functionality with FedEx’s package tracking app, the new 2.0 update which went live on April 23^rd should go some way to addressing these complaints and aims make the whole process much easier.

The update includes an all new “Delivery Manager” which, as the title suggests, allows you to manage various aspects of your delivery, providing that you have a working FedEx account. From here you can re-schedule the delivery, have your item delivered to another address, add delivery instructions, schedule a vacation hold, or have your package held at a FedEx location for a later delivery. You can also sign for a package from the mobile app, although I have to admit that I’m not exactly sure how that works.

On top of that there are a few bug fixes, and the app retains all of its original functionality as well.

Unfortunately the user interface is still pretty basic and feature lacking. Navigating your way around can be a pain at times, and overall it’s still not that nice to look at. But it does its job, and the new features certainly give you greater control over your FedEx deliveries whilst you’re out and about.

Mighty Text

The Mighty Text developers are certainly on the ball when it comes to updates, as the app has constantly received plenty of new content since its original launch. As a Mighty Text user myself I’m pleased to find that the app has received another big update with some helpful additions for syncing across multiple devices.

The new update adds photo and video syncing from your phone directly to your Mighty Text account, which you can then instantly access from any other synced device. All you have to do to get started is enable the feature on your Android phone; you can then manage your uploaded images and share them from the Mighty Text web interface. The feature is currently in beta, but everything is working as well as you could hope for.

There are the usual settings for syncing either over WiFi only or over data if you have a big enough allowance. There also doesn’t appear to be a storage limit at the moment, so you can upload as much as you want.

The only real downside seems to be that the images are compressed, so it’s not ideal if you want somewhere to store your snaps in full quality. Hopefully this will be addressed once the feature moves out of the beta test. The app also isn’t working with the tablet version just yet, but this feature is in the works.

Remember the Milk

Remember the Milk is one of Android’s most popular “to-do list” apps on the Play Store, and is packed full of features to help you keep track of all your important tasks.

Yesterday Remember the Milk was updated to version 3.0, which brings with a complete redesign which has been built specifically with tablets in mind. Most obviously you’ll notice a whole new swanky interface, making the app much more pleasing to look at. The UI will also automatically adapt to larger screen sizes, so it can finally take advantage of all that space available on tablet screens.

The widgets and notifications have also received a touch-up, and the card stacking interface is really easy to navigate around.

As well as a makeover there are also a few helpful new features too. You can now increase your productivity by editing multiple tasks at the same time, and you can simply swipe items away when you’re done with them.

If you’d like a closer look at the changes in the 3.0 update, then check out this video preview.

The update is now live on the Google Play Store, if the app hasn’t automatically updated already.

It has been a long time coming, but Nuance has finally released Swype on Google Play, doing so with a special low price and a free trial option. This is in addition to the app being updated with a couple new keyboards and a few new features and improvements. For a limited time, users can grab Swype for $0.99, with the price later on increasing to a yet-unspecified rate.

Nuance doesn’t say how long the price will sit at $0.99, nor what the price will be when the special rate comes to its end. For those who have never used the keyboard before, a free 30-day trial is also available, giving users a solid month to try it out before it stops working and must be purchased or removed. As we mentioned, in addition to the launch on the Play Store, Swype has also been updated.

Those who nab the latest version will find two new keyboard designs: Holo and Artic. This brings the total number of designs available to 13. Living Language Dialect support has also been updated, receiving an expansion with support for 20 dialects. Nuance uses Australia as an example, saying that Australian users will find local words automatically added for certain things, such as brekky in the place of breakfast.

Specific to those who use Dragon Mobile Assistant, a new shortcut has been implemented that makes it easy to pull up the personal assistant – dragging one’s finger from the Swype key to the Dragon flame. Says Swype’s Executive VP: “Based on the incredible success of our beta program and our vocal customers, we decided to extend the power of Swype to more Android users through Google Play. Android users deserve the best keyboard – settling for an alternative is no longer necessary.”

[via SlashGear]

A week after launch, Facebook Home has hit 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. The app has hardly hit any new heights, with the Facebook app garnering over 100 million downloads. Facebook’s other application on Android, Instagram, also has over 100 million installations and gained a million downloads in 24 hours, when it was brought to Android last year.

For those who don’t know, Facebook Home is a replacement launcher for your home screen which puts your News Feed front and centre, allowing you to absorb “a constant stream of friends’ posts and photos”, as Facebook puts it. To read the full Android Authority review, click here.

Facebook Home has been received skeptically by both reporters and users, and at the time of publishing, it has received 5,728 one star reviews. That is a little over half of the 11,123 reviews and it has a current average rating of just 2.2.

Facebook Home may not have reached the heights Zuckerberg and Co. may have hoped for, but it’s worth noting that there are a limited number of compatible phones. There’s also the little problem of active users, with all the one star ratings we begin to question how many people are still actually using the application.

Is Facebook Home a failure? Have you downloaded the app yet? Would you try it out, if it were compatible with your phone? Let us know in the comments.

Movie and TV streaming apps for Android can be a difficult thing to judge. There are just so many variables to consider. Some apps aren’t compatible with some devices. The quality of the streaming is hugely affected by the speed of your internet connection. Does a lack of new content lower the value of a streaming service? These are all questions we’ll be answering below as we check out some of the best movie and tv streaming apps for Android. As always, if you’d rather watch than read, we’ve posted a video at the bottom.

Download Flixster from the Google Play Store here

Movies by Flixster

First on our list is Movies by Flixster. This movie and tv streaming app first appeared on Android as an information app. You could find nearby theaters, movie show times, and information on newer movies. It was kind of like IMDb in that way. However, it has transformed into an information service and an app that is capable of streaming movies. It actually does a fairly decent job of it once you get movies on there.

The only caveat is that you have to purchase movies through Ultraviolet. This isn’t a bad thing on the face of it, but going through the process of signing up can take a long time. So it isn’t like other Movie and TV streaming apps where you enter a quick username and password, pay for the service, then go. It’s annoying to be sure, but once the annoying part is done, the experience gets a lot better. As per the norm for all the apps on this list, there are some devices that Flixster won’t work on, but Flixster also gives you a free movie when you sign up so it’s really easy to test it without spending any money.

Download HBO GO from the Google Play Store here

HBO GO

Next up is HBO GO. Unlike most of the movie and TV streaming apps for Android, HBO GO is focused around just one channel. That is, of course, HBO. Using HBO GO requires that you have a cable or satellite service that already has HBO available. This means that you can’t just download the app, pay for it, then get HBO GO wherever. This is strictly for people who already have HBO and want to view it on other devices besides their televisions. Aside from that little problem, the app is actually really nice.

Once you get signed into HBO GO, the interface is simple and modern. You have a choice to watch literally anything being aired on HBO. So there are shows like the Sopranos and Game of Thones, the latest comedy stylings of comedians like Louis CK, movies, and even some sporting events. If you’re a fan of HBO programming, this is a movie and TV streaming app you cannot miss out on. Hat tip goes out to Android Authority feature writer Nate Swanner for allowing me to borrow his HBO GO account (and his Netflix account) so I could review this properly.

Download Google Play TV & Movies from the Google Play Store here

Google Play TV and Movies

When it comes to movie and TV streaming, it’d be downright negligent to not talk about a resource that everyone already has access to. That resource is the Google Play Store. You can buy or rent both movies and TV shows via the Google Play Store and play them using the Google Play TV and Movies app. Also, if you’re on a computer, the YouTube desktop website also gives you access to content you buy or rent so you can watch it there if you want to.

During our testing, this was one of the smoothest working movie and TV streaming apps. It played Ice Age and Transformers without a problem. The only issue is that this app took 4 hours to review because I got side tracked watching Ice Age and Transformers. Just like purchasing an app, the Play Store keeps track of purchases so you can easily move to a new device and still have access to the same content. It doesn’t have that finality of a pay-once-per-month and watch whatever feeling that apps like Netflix have, but it’s still a great way to stream movies and TV.

Download Netflix from the Google Play Store here

Netflix

It should be no surprise that Netflix appears on this list. It’s not only among the most trusted movie and TV streaming services out there, but it’s also one of the highest rated and most popular as well. People have been using Netflix long before it was available on Android via their computers or other devices. It’s a very simple system as well. You pay less than $10 a month and you can stream an infinite amount of Netflix content. It also helps that their content is plentiful.

The only issue with Netflix is that new content takes awhile to get released. Thankfully, there thousands of other movies and TV shows that you can watch in the meantime. The app itself is prone to the same issues as are these other services. Some Android devices aren’t compatible and it obviously won’t work well if your internet is terrible. So, issues aside, this is definitely among the best movie and TV streaming apps for Android.

Download US TV and Radio from the Google Play Store here

US TV and Radio

Perhaps our most surprising member of the movie and TV streaming apps list is US TV and Radio. This very simple app streams United States TV and radio stations free of charge. That means the app is free and the service is free. It doesn’t have the professional layout of many of these movie and TV streaming apps and it certainly doesn’t have all the options, but most of the content actually works.

One of the biggest problems is we experience a number of errors stating that a TV station feed is offline. This will most often happen when a station has multiple feeds and you just need to find the one that’s online. Another potential problem is that TV stations can request that their content be taken off of the app’s list. So one day you may find your favorite station gone. For the time being, there are a lot of TV stations available to stream from and most of them work most of the time. Since this is a totally free service, these issues are more than understandable and most won’t care about issues here and there.

Movie and TV Streaming apps for Android Wrap Up and Leaderboard

If you take a look at our leaderboard, you can see how these top apps stack up against one another. It seems like a thin list and it certainly is. Do keep in mind that while movie and TV streaming has become more mainstream, there are still only a few places that do it really well. It also helps to keep in mind that most of the good ones on computers, like Hulu, don’t have adequate Android offerings yet.

Our honorable mentions list is a little bit longer than usual because there are a lot of movie and TV streaming apps that didn’t quite make the cut. These include Hulu Plus, Mivo.TV, NHL Gamecenter, Jetflicks, YouTube, and VUDU. In most of these cases, they didn’t make it on the list because they had one or more unacceptable issues. For instance, Hulu Plus has a very short list of compatible Android devices. In other cases, the app is just too niche. NHL Gamecenter falls into this category. YouTube is a special instance. If the mobile app allowed you to watch your purchases from the Google Play Store like it does on the desktop website, then it would’ve been included above. However, it doesn’t, so at best it’s just a way to watch YouTube specific productions and web specials.

There are a lot of movie and TV streaming apps out there, so it’s definitely possible that we may have missed one or two. If we did, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

The folks behind the Pocket app are celebrating one year. To clarify, they are celebrating the one-year anniversary of when they changed the name from Read It Later to Pocket. Regardless of the specific anniversary though, it looks like those who are using Pocket on an Android device now have an update waiting for them. In addition to the app update, this celebration also comes with some interesting comments on sharing.

It seems Pocket users (across all platforms) are now sharing more than 35 million items per month. While that certainly sounds like a large number, the interesting part here is that sharing over email is used more often than sharing over social networks. According to the data from Pocket, users are sharing over email more than twice as often than they are on social networks. You can get an idea of that from the image sitting below, however email sharing is double that of Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr combined.

Of course, these details about sharing seem to connect with the new features. First up, this release of Pocket makes it easier to share content with friends using the Send to Friend option. Those on the receiving end of the share will see the shared items directly in Pocket. There is also a new share menu that will highlight your recent apps and friends.

Shifting away from the sharing aspect and there is still a few remaining goodies. Here we have a feature called Instant Sync which will sync across multiple devices as well as an auto full-screen mode that works in both the Article and Web View. Finally, last up was the unspecified, but always welcomed “bug fixes and improvements.” With that, those with Pocket already installed can grab the update using the Play Store on their device. All others, Pocket can be found using this Google Play Store link.

[via Pocket Blog]