Instagram is finally here for Android users. For those that do not know what this app does: It give you the ability to make your photos look edited with the click of a button. It is a nice app and I do recommend it for both Apple and Android users.
Here is the link for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram.android
For Apple IOS users: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instagram/id389801252?mt=8
There are many iPhone emulators out there. For those that do not know, an emulator is a program that mimics or acts like a device. For instance, there are NES (Nintendo) emulators that allows you to play old NES Roms. The following emulators act as iPhone emulators so you can get an idea of what your website looks like on pretty much any mobile device. Just to note, the emulators are not perfect, so there may be some slight alignment differences. I noticed this when I tested them although it was only a slight difference.
Well it looks like MIT has officially made App Inventor available for Android based phones!
Here is the link: http://appinventor.mit.edu/
I have yet to try it out to see how it compares to the older version.
Finally back from my conference and now playing catch up. Will start up my regular posting as well….anyway several BIG rumors that I have heard in the last week.
1. I personally heard from a good source (someone who would know/that I trust) that the iPad 3 will be coming out in March. Just confirms all other rumors but hearing from this source is a pretty good indicator that it is definitely coming soon.
2. Google might be releasing Jellybean (android 5.0) which will boot with dual cores in the Q2 of this year! Wow and ICS isnt even on any phones except the Gnex. However, I would suspect this would only be on tablets at first. link to article
Found this very cool. Google has released some design tips/guidelines for android developers. While somewhat simple, this is a great start to designing mobile apps. This was created due to differences in their new OS ICS from Gingerbread and Froyo. Now if Google would just release their own developer software so that I wouldnt need to use eclipse:)
Google app inventor is now in the hands of MIT. For those who use this product, especially my gaming and simulation students who took 595 last spring, please fill out the following survey to help MIT make app inventor better:
Help MIT Study and Extend App Inventor
While Android has had voice recognition since it first came out, it does not have AI like Apple’s SIRI so it comes as no surprise that they would be working on something similar. Just today there are two articles talking about two different ways Google might be doing this.
The first article by droid life says google is working on a siri alternative called Majel. You can read about it here
The second article by mashable says that google recently acquired virtual assistant software called alfred. You can read about it here
For those of you with Android operated phones. Amazon.com offers a free Android app each day at their website. So check it each day. I have gotten some great free $15+ apps.
Apple’s new iPhone 4s introduced voice to phone communication. At first I was not too impressed with this feature as I have a droid 1 that has had voice to phone communication since 2009. However, after reading about SIRI I realized this was a significant step up from Google’s voice commands but in the end would not be a significant deal breaker for me to switch to iPhone.
What can they both do:
text message
Find location on map
Make phone calls
Play music
Web searches
Email
Open the browser
Now where is the difference? The major difference is that Google voice relies on commands like ‘call john smith on cell’. Whereas SIRI relies on natural language such as ‘call my mother on her cell phone’ You can also ask SIRI questions like ‘what are my meetings for the day’ and SIRI will know to look at your calendar. This would be important for people who cannot remember or do not want to remember the commands. This introduction in AI is a significant step in voice communication with the phone and Apple has a slight advantage. However, I should point out that Android does have 3rd party apps that are supposed to do the same thing as SIRI.
A difference in favor of Android is that SIRI does not give text to speech voice directions like Google voice does. You need a 3rd party app for apple to do that. In light of that, there are rumors that Apple will soon have a good GPS system just like android does.
So overall is SIRI a deal breaker? I think it depends what you want. It seems like either way you can make each phone function the same using 3rd party apps (GPS apps for apple, AI apps for android).
I guess the main question is, are you going to talk to your phone?
Here is a good source with more explanation: http://gigaom.com/mobile/speech-smack-down-siri-vs-android-voice-actions/
