Daily News Courier

Jelly Bean voice actions, Unlocked bootloader warranty concerns [From the Forums]

Just in case you missed out on some of the Android news today, now is the time to go ahead and get yourself fully caught up. Here on the blogs and in the Android Central Forums there is plenty to talk about. Have some questions? Need some help or just looking to chat Android? You know where to go, check out some of the threads below to get started.

• Jelly Bean Forums - Am I the only one who hates Jelly Bean voice actions?
• Samsung Galaxy S3 Forums - Disabling screen-on when notification received
• HTC One X Forums - Unlocking Bootloader means Warranty Completely GONE
• Sprint Galaxy Forums – Galaxy Nexus Reboot Issue: Stuck on the Google Screen
• Google Nexus 7 Tablet Forums - Nexus 7 ignores screen timout/sleep mode settings

We've got nearly 1 million members helping members and nearly 2 million posts in our Android Forums. Are you one of them? Join today!

N. Korea threatens ‘special actions’

North Korea said Monday that it would soon initiate “special actions” aimed at destroying the South Korean president and his government.

Smart Actions, Moving from a 3G device to a 4G device [From the Forums]

A new week and fresh content to roll through. Get yourself caught up on the blogs and then once you're done, head on into the Android Central forums and check out what's new. PS: You might want to check this out before you do, it can make browsing the forums all that much better:

• HTC Vivid Forums - Ice Cream Headache
• HTC Rezound Forums - Be careful if you move to a 3G phone then move back to 4G
• Samsung Galaxy Note Forums - UK Note Battery in US Note Phone?
• Droid RAZR MAXX Forums - Smart Actions VIP Caller won't work…
• Droid Incredible Forums - Suspicious 'TimothyMilla' mystery app?

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Call Actions & Reminders provides post-call shortcuts & reminders on future calls [App Reviews]

After ending a phone call on most Android devices, your choices are to redial that number or add the person to a contact. However, it’s far more likely that you’ll need to make a note or document something important that you discussed. That’s why Android users should try Call Actions & Reminders, an interesting app that provides additional post-call options.

Call Actions & Reminders makes it easy to note or act on information from a phone conversation. After a call ends, the app gives users the typical options of redialing, sending a text, or adding a phone number to a contact. However, it also can create an alarm and/or calendar event that will serve as a reminder. A user could make a note of a meeting or task that needs to be completed, and customize the way it’s treated.

Imagine that Bob tells Samir he needs to get travel expense reports from everyone in his department. Call Actions gives Samir the option to enter a note about the task and have it appear in the notification drawer until acted upon. Samir could also have that note appear whenever Bob calls, or set an alarm to remind him. Call Actions can even create a Google Calendar event that contains details of the call and Samir’s added notes (Android 4.0 only for that particular feature).

It’s not just forgetful people who could benefit from Call Actions. The app can provide the same action options for missed calls, and it can also send a person’s VCard or share the call details (time, duration, number) to another app. I experienced trouble saving the plain text details in some apps like Google Docs and Gmail, but it worked fine in Dropbox. I found value only in the ability to create reminders, but you can also copy those details into the clipboard.

Call Actions has a Windows 7-like interface that users can make slight changes to. The app would be better if users could select which actions appear, but its core function is solid and useful. Anyone with an Android 2.2 or higher device should be able to use the app, which is available for free in Google Play.

 

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Secret Weapon: Smart Actions, Customizing buttons [From the Forums]

We've managed to steam roll through another week of news here at Android Central and no one lost any limbs — that's quite a feat. If you're looking for something to do this weekend you might as well get caught up on any Android news and discussion you may have missed out on.

• Galaxy Nexus Forums - Got it activated at Best Buy, but didn't get to leave with it
• HTC Rezound Forums - Not picking up email while "resting"
• Droid Charge Forums - Customize four buttons (Not hard ones)
• Droid RAZR Forums - Secret Weapon: Smart Actions
• Motorola Xoom Forums - Xoom WiFi and Netflix not playing nicely

If you're not already a member of the Android Central forums, you can register your account today.

Motorola Smart Actions automates tasks, features, and battery life to improve Droid Razr

One of the best Android apps that I’ve ever had the pleasure of using is Tasker, which automates functions and settings on Android based on triggers. I love it because it can launch Foursquare as soon as I check into my favorite bar or turn off auto-sync when my battery drops below 20 percent.

However, Tasker has become so complex that it’s not easy to grasp. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to discover Smart Actions, a new app included in the Droid Razr that provides task automation in a simpler interface.

Introducing Voice Actions for Android

Voice Actions for Android let you control your phone using your voice. Call contacts and businesses, send messages, browse the web, and complete common tasks. Starring Mike LeBeau.

Does Android’s Voice Actions Compare to Siri? (Highlights Only)

This video is an attempt to debunk some of the rumors, unfair comparison’s and myths about Android’s voice command capabilities: I don’t own the iPhone 4S, so unfortunately I can’t do a side-by-side comparison. But I have read a lot about it and seen many of its features in videos as well. So I feel quite familiar with its capabilities. Overall I am impressed with Siri, so much so that I believe it is the best in the market in regards to speech to text communication. But the question is how much better is it? There have been numerous videos made comparing Siri’s capabilities vs. Android’s, but none of them that I have seen have been fair comparisons. Most of them seem to confuse “Voice Actions” applications with the common Voice Search built into most Android devices. The Voice Search app in Android is for just that: Voice Search and will do nothing else but search Google with your voice. To compare Siri with this would be ludicrous. Here’s a very popular video that has been floating around that does just that: www.youtube.com Notice that this video not only uses the Voice Search app in Android designed only for Google voice searches, but it also focuses on a lot of the silly Easter egg nuances built into Siri, as if Android would have those same Easter eggs built into its platform. Also note that thousands of people have already seen this video as well as other similar versions making the same unfair comparisons. I am sure that many seeing these videos will accept it as …

Eyes-on “Smart Actions” for the Motorola Droid RAZR

As a lover of my couch, I didn't get too worked up with the MOTOACTV announcement. What did pique my interest, however, is the Smart Actions function that comes preloaded on the Droid RAZR. Motorola says that this nifty little feature is going to improve your battery life by 30%, which is great, since we won't be able to buy an extended battery for the device. Smart Actions will decrease processor speed, slow down data, and dim your display when the battery is approaching crisis levels.

But Smart Actions' purpose isn't solely battery related. For example, as you'll see in the video, it allows you to program a website to open when your alarm goes off. Now that's pretty cool.

A representative for Motorola said that the company hopes to include this on all future devices, but no word on whether or not it can be ported to existing Motorola smartphones. 

Gmail update brings custom notifications, better sync for battery life, picture options, new actions

Better syncing, better notification options lead the way

Gmail’s just gotten itself a beautiful little update, and the changes are some we’ve been wanting for some time. In handy bullet form, the changes are:

• You can choose which mail to sync to help save on battery life. Have a bunch of labels? You can choose which ones to keep synced, and which ones you want to update automatically.
• For the labels you’re keeping synced, you can set custom notifications. That includes whether to receive notifications, which ringtone you want to use for which label, whether to vibrate when a label gets an e-mail, and if you want it to only notify you on the first new e-mail.
• Know how if there’s an image embedded in an e-mail, you must tell it to display the image — on each and every single e-mail? That "feature" has blessedly been changed so that you can tell it to always display images from a particular sender — just like in desktop gmail.
• There’s "new options for message options." When you go to the settings area of gmail — and notice it’s been split into "general preferences" along with individual account preferences — you’ll see "Message actions." You can choose to always show them, or show only in portrait, or only in landscape. Nice.
• Plus, "performance enhancements."

There you have it. Pretty big improvements, if you ask us. Update your app now and give it a whirl, or check out a few more screen shots after the break.

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