Daily News Courier

An easy to understand explanation of why data caps suck

Data caps suck. They don't address the problems that exist in any meaningful way, and are simply a method to get money from your pocket into someone else's bigger, fancier, designer pants pockets. All of us know this on some level, but if you're curious why and how they aren't the safety net carriers and providers claim them to be, you'll want to watch this video. It does a fine job explaining TCP/IP network congestion, "power users" that hog bandwidth, streaming services, and why none of that is addressed by capping a users data.

This won't likely change anything, but at least now we can be a bit better informed the next time someone on the other side of a counter tries to talk you into a higher priced data plan.

Source: Blogphilo; via Gizmodo

Windows 8 and PC UIs that Suck

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen pans Windows 8′s redesign. But has a truly intuitive desktop UI ever existed?

Late-night poll: Do you use, or want to use, the FM radio feature?

Tonight's poll comes thanks to our lovable forums Admin Cory Streater, who brought up a great question on episode 93 of the Android Central podcast — I wonder how many people really use the FM radio? None of us were any help (we can't ever agree on anything) but you guys sure can be. 

I get why people use it. It's subscription free, doesn't use data, and has a bigger selection of music that you could ever hope to have in your personal cloud or on the phone itself. Maybe the best reason I've ever heard is that it's great for listening to the news while on the treadmill at the gym. The other side of the coin — wired headphones suck, radio stations suck, commercial music sucks, etc. People have just as many reasons why they don't use it as those who do use it.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't use it, but I do see the appeal. And not everything on the radio sucks. But asking you guys is a much better idea, so tell us all in the poll, and fire away in the comments to let us know why you voted the way you did.

Could this be the next-generation HTC EVO for Sprint?

For the past month there have been rumors flying around about what to expect from HTC when Sprint's LTE network goes live later this year, and we got a tip that's just too juicy to sit on. Most of it lines up with other hints we've heard from various folks who would know this sort of thing, but like all rumors, that grain of salt needs to be handy. According to an insider who wishes to remain nameless, the phone HTC and Sprint will be announcing on April 4 is:

• HTC EVO ONE
• Released June 6
• 4.7 inch, 720p AMOLED screen
• 1.5 dual-core Krait processor
• 2650mah non-removal battery
• 16GB internal memory
• microSD card slot
• Android 4.0 with 4.0 sense
• 8-megapixel camera with 2.0 front-facing camera
• LTE
• Beats by Dre audio

Supposedly the EVO One is black and red, thin, and has a kickstand as well.

We've been kicking this one around in the forums all day now. As mentioned, a lot of this matches up with other rumors we've been hearing — things like that this phone will not be built on the standard HTC One X chassis, have a monstrous battery to combat the power-suck that is LTE, and it'll be the biggest phone Sprint has ever sold.

On the other hand, some of it doesn't make as much sense. if the phone has a big honking battery, and a microSD card slot, it's not going to be very thin. The CPU makes sense — it's what HTC has in the AT&T version of the One X (and the One XL), which also rocks LTE.

Of course, rumors are just rumors until we see what's behind the curtain next week. We'll be at the event, of course, and we're certainly expecting a device announcement of some sort. 

More: HTC One X forums; Thanks, Anon!

7″ Android 2.1 Tablet that Doesn’t Suck Running Marketplace

www.netbooknews.com Computex 2010 is the show of tablets and we have gotten our hands on quite a few, and well, many of them aren’t good. So when a nice one comes around we get a bit excited. Fujian Sanxi has come out with an Android Tablet running 2.1 and a functioning version of marketplace. We think the word snappy is over used, but we think that it is the right word to describe how this tablet runs. Its running a Rockchip processor and has a finish that doesn’t make it feel cheap. The device is will be available to distributors for around $105 so we think it’ll be on the streets for about $150. For that price I’d give them my piggy bank!

Android Central on Google Currents

Download Android Central on Google Currents now!

Now that Google's announced its Currents project, it's time to let you in on a little secret.

It's pretty darn awesome.

We've been experimenting with Currents (neé Propeller) for some weeks now on its road to launch. At its heart, it's very much a Flipboard competitor, if you've ever seen or used the excellent iPad application. The consumer-facing side of Currents is a magazine-like look and feel, as powerful offline as it is when connected to the Internet. From the back end, it's basically just pulling in RSS feeds and displaying them in a custom UI, and you can have it up an running in just minutes through the web-based (natch) Google Studio.

This isn't just some cookie-cutter operation, though. There are plenty of apps like that in the Android Market, and, frankly, many of them suck. Currents's strength comes from its simplicity. It's easy to set up and maintain, and the app has a simple and attractive user interface. Toss in that it's pretty customizable, and you've got the makings of a strong platform, and one that's ready to go out of the box at launch.

So why call it a Flipboard competitor, when Flipboard's only available on iOS? Because when you create an edition in Currents, you're simultaneously creating for Android smartphones. And tablets. And the iPhone. And the iPad. And you can preview each platform on the fly, as you work. Bad news for most of the world, though — Currents is U.S.-only for now.

We've got our Android Central walkthrough of Google Currents after the break, and be sure to add our Google Currents Edition. Check it out.

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HTC Rezound: an Android phone commercial that actually doesn

The HTC Rezound may be the first Android phone with Beats Audio released in the United States, but it has another distinction – it’s also one of the few phones launched with a commercial that isn’t terrible.

Since 2009, we’ve complained repeatedly about the awful commercials associated with Android products. Despite those protests, manufacturers and carriers have insisted on either overly-technical spec recitals or just plain bizarre imagery. (I’m looking at you, HTC Rhyme.) With the Rezound, HTC and Verizon seem to have finally struck the chord that balances a phone’s virtues and the desire for its advertising agency to flex its creative muscle.

The Rezound commercial opens with a hip city dweller emerging from the subway and starting music playback on his new Beats Audio-equipped phone. He’s oblivious to his environment caving in on itself, much like that sidewalk cafe scene in Inception. Our friend is too busy enjoying the sound of his music to care. When a phone call interrupts the song, he answers, has a three-line conversation, and then the music cuts back in as he goes about his day.

On its own merits, this isn’t an amazing advertisement, but it’s comparatively fantastic for the simple fact that it’s a focused message about the product. Viewers see the 30-second video and learn that the HTC Rezound has audio so good that you won’t care about what’s going on around you. Sure, Verizon could have talked about the amazing screen, fast processor, or Android software, but it focused on the distinguishing music feature and slipped in a line about 4G LTE. There’s no need to mention how many cores are in the processor if the average consumer still doesn’t know why dual-core is a good thing.

The lesson that Android phone makers have failed to grasp is that the average consumer wants to know what the phone can do, not what it’s made of. Yes, there’s a sizable and vocal audience of spec hounds that bloggers and tech media admittedly feed into, but television advertisement shouldn’t always be geared to us. Commercials should target our friends and family who don’t invest as much time reading blogs but are still into gadgets or cool features of their phones.

The original Motorola Droid campaign was incredibly spec-heavy, but that was an exception to the rule that spoke to the mobile climate at that time. Android wasn’t as ubiquitous as it is now, and Verizon pitched the Droid as super-charged machine sent to wreak havoc at the puny iPhone that couldn’t stack up against it. Verizon was successful with those advertisements, but as we’ve seen with the poorly-communicating ads for the Droid Bionic and Motorola Xoom, bombarding consumers with technical details they don’t understand isn’t always a great solution. Sometimes, it’s best to just find one feature or defining element of a product and play to that strength.

In other words, shut up and let the music play.

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Facebook gets a noticeable update, starts to suck less

To say that Facebook’s Android app has been … less than exciting … would be the understatement of the past year or so. Hopefully tonight’s update is a sign of greater things to come, as Version 1.7 brings some UI tweaks and features that frankly should have been added by now. Here’s the rundown:

• Made it easier to share with who you want
• Improved the sharing tool to add privacy controls on posts and match your settings on the web site
• Added the ability to tag friends and places in photos posts
• Added new design for Profile and Group Walls
• Improved photo browsing with swiping
• Added the ability to tag your friends in photos
• Improved Messages and Notifications
• Fixed a number of crashes and performance issues

Not mentioned in the bullet points — these are the official changes mentioned in the Android Market — is that you can also now pull to refresh. It’s about time. And while the app’s now installable on Android 3.x devices, let’s see about maybe getting a proper tablet layout, shall we?

Snag the updated version in the Android Market now. We’ve got download links after the break.

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ROM Share offers free integrated hosting for ROM Manager

If you’re a ROM developer and you’re not posting your work in ROM Manager, you’re missing out.  It’s a great way to get your work out there to the users. And with ClockworkMod’s announcement of ROM Share, it just got better and easier.  Hosting for ROM-sized files has always been a spotty affair. Free hosting sites just plain suck, and dedicated hosting costs money.  Koush has just cleared both hurdles for developers with one fell swoop.

Using your existing Google account, simply sign into ROM Share and upload your files, then use the developer page to tweak your ROM Manager listing.  The ClockWorkMod team does all the hard work with the scripting and listing, you only need to supply the flashable zip files.  It’s easy, and it’s a great way to share all your custom work.  Nice one, Mr. Dutta!

Source: Rom Share website link; Via: @clockworkmod

Blog – New Chat Thing Convore Is Google Wave Minus the Suck

Everyone who’s ever had to collaborate remotely knows how important chat tools are—could startup Convore become an essential addition?