Category: GReader

For all the Royal Bank customers who have an Android device your day has finally arrived. The official RBC Mobile for Android is now available to download, it’s free and only compatible with devices that run OS 2.1 or higher. The basic banking features are available, such as checking account balances, transferring funds, finding ATMs and paying bills. The app is available in both English and French and you can grab it here via the Android Market.

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Apple has iMessage, Samsung has ChatOn and there are a boatload of other 3rd party Instant Messaging apps out there, namely Kik, Whatsapp, Beluga, Beejive and Fuse. One of the more popular Instant Messaging services is RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger, which is used by over 55 million on a daily basis.

A few months ago a report in the Wall Street Journal noted that Google didn’t want to be the only without a native messaging app and was rumoured to be deep in development, “Google Inc., whose Android software is the most popular operating system on smartphones, has also recently worked on a messaging application, a person familiar with the matter said”. Since the report no other news has surfaced. However, Techradar has posted a few screenshots of what looks to be RIM’s BBM ported to an Android device. As you can see by the images there’s the famous BBM icon, the users display name, PIN, message and status. Apparently the images came from a RIM employee who says the BBM for Android app is currently in beta testing, estimated to be launching by 2012.

Techradar did state that “As far as the screengrabs go, there’s no real way for us to verify them until BBM for Android launches so it’s possible that someone is giving our leg a good yank – but with the app almost certainly in development, we’re cautiously optimistic about the whole thing being legit.”

What do you think? Real or Fake? Good move for RIM to have BBM on other platforms?

Update: Looks like this is fake, the same image was featured on the BlackBerry site, specifically for BBM SDK Demo. Sucks.

Source: Techradar
Updated via AC Tweet

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As of this past September, the Galaxy S II sold more units on contract than any other Android device ever. It’s no wonder, seesing as how the Galaxy phone has taken the weekly sales lead for the past thirty successive weeks (February 21st – September 16th). Samsung is now planning to further the gap, launching a £12m ”Galaxy Family” marketing campaign this week in preparation for this holiday season. Samsung UK and Ireland Mobile MD Simon Stanford said in a statement:

We’ve seen phenomenal sales of the Galaxy S II globally [10 million units] and in the UK specifically we’ve achieved record sales of Galaxy S II in recent weeks – ahead of all other Android devices. We have ambitious plans for the Galaxy family over the coming months evidenced by a £12m marketing campaign which will launch next week.

Samsung’s ramping up of advertising just adds to my  excitement for what we may see at their unpacked event October 11th. We’ll be serving up plenty of news about that you can be sure.

Samsung Galaxy S II is the reigning Android king

The first thing I asked myself when I started with Android was where is Chrome? I’m sure plenty of you asked yourselves the same question, or like me, just shrugged it off assuming the underlying core of the stock browser really was Chrome. The truth of the matter was Android and Chrome were separate teams entirely with really no interaction between the two. It seems Google now has a build target revision up meaning an actual Chrome browser for Android should be right around the corner. There’s mention on the Chromium revision log that Chrome for Android will include a lot of the features that you’re accustomed to on the desktop version. It will also have support for the open source Skia 2D graphics library. It’s unknown exactly how Google plans to position Chrome for Android and I wonder to what extent, if any, they will allow the desktop version to communicate with the mobile and if Chrome extensions will exist on mobile. Maybe the Nexus Prime will give us a taste of Chrome with ICS at the Unpacked event in Oct. Wishful thinking I know, but in either case we should be seeing some Chrome on Android love very soon. Hit us up with your thoughts right down there in the comments. How do you think Google will implement Chrome to Android and will it crush the current stock browser?

Google Chrome Gearing Up To Launch On Android

Android 2.3.5 is currently being pushed via the Samsung Kies software for the Galaxy S II. The update seems to be the same KI3 leak from a few days ago and brings some performance improvements on an already blazing fast phone. One notable visual change is the bouncing effect is gone when scrolling to the end of a list and is now highlighted in color like many other Gingerbread versions. This change may be due to respecting Apple’s copyrights for scrolling effects. Keep your eyes peeled for the OTA soon and you can catch a shot of the over scroll glow after the break.

Read More…

Android 2.3.5 Rolling Out To Samsung Galaxy S II Via KIES

Google has already given us Satellite View, Street View, and Earth View, but today they said, “Wanna see what your route would look like if you were flying in a chopper?” Uh, yes. Yes, we do. More »

Rejoice, virtual keyboard aficionados! SwiftKey X 2.1 for Android tablets and smartphones just became available today, and brings a bunch of new features and bug fixes to your favorite touchscreen device. Since our hands-on with v2.0, TouchType has updated its on-screen keyboard using the feedback it gathered from its 25,000+ VIP members. The new version of SwiftKey X adds blog personalization, insights about your typing (shareable with friends), heat-map visualization (see screenshot above), localization / language enhancements, and an auto caps toggle. We’ve been using the final build of SwiftKey X 2.1 on our Nexus S for the past couple of days and noticed some improvements in terms of typing speed and accuracy. Pricing remains $4.99 for SwiftKey Tablet X and $3.99 for SwiftKey X. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading SwiftKey X for Android hits v2.1, fingers party everywhere

SwiftKey X for Android hits v2.1, fingers party everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Samsung unveils Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, packing 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and coated in Honeycomb

Samsung unveils Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, packing 1.2GHz dual-core CPU and coated in Honeycomb originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Internet Explorer, the old, fat, mad king of the online kingdom still reigns uncontested. But beneath him, a power struggle between Chrome and Firefox, the latter of which has clung to the number two spot. But that’s about to change. More »

If you haven’t already manually enabled Facebook’s Timeline format, it should be popping up for you soon. The new layout will gradually spread across profiles that have signed up for it already. If you haven’t, head here, just to make sure you’re earlier on the rollout list. Not sure if it matters, but it might. More »

Microsoft announced new integration with live TV as a part of the Xbox 360’s fall update during E3 earlier this year, but didn’t name any US pay-TV partners at the time. Now, anonymous rumors recently posted on Digiday suggested the folks at Redmond were looking to work with Verizon and Comcast, followed by Bloomberg hearing similar talk from its own “people with knowledge of the situation.” Today’s rumors finger Verizon (which showed off live TV on a variety of devices at CES), Comcast, HBO, Crackle, Bravo, Syfy and UK service Lovefilm as likely partners. Missing from the list is AT&T's U-verse, which already offers an Xbox 360 tie-in and distributes its IPTV on the Mediaroom platform, just like some of the international partners previously announced. If these services launch it will be interesting to see how the integration works and if it’s VOD like the existing Xfinity TV and Flex View mobile apps, or if providers cross the IPTV bridge with in-home devices like the Televation / AnyPlay box.

Microsoft reportedly adding video from Comcast, Verizon, HBO Go and others to Xbox Live originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MTS just launched their new “4G”, really HSPA+ network, on March 31st but expansion plans are already in the works. The regional carrier says LTE (Long Term Evolution) will be coming to Manitoba in 2012. They give no definite date but do say that “planning and infrastructure development is well underway”. MTS says customers will be able to get peak speeds up to 75Mbps “with future data rates of 150 Mbps and beyond”. In addition, there was no indication of the devices, but reading the press release says they might have a few at launch, probably what Rogers has with the LTE Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Jetstream and internet sticks.

There are a couple interesting points in the release. First, it states they will have a roaming partner, probably Rogers. “LTE devices have access to MTS’s extensive 4G network and roaming capabilities in locations where LTE is not yet available”. Then, MTS notes that “MTS customers will be among the first in the province to experience this world leading technology”… which could possibly mean that LTE might be in place in Manitoba before MTS launches, perhaps Rogers, Bell or TELUS has plans.

The good news is that LTE is coming to Manitoba.
Source: CNW

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There has already been speculation that Samsung will unveil the next Nexus device at the upcoming CTIA show in San Diego. Now we have another clue that it will most likely happen.

The invitation above clearly states “Google Episode” underneath Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2011. They also tell us that it’s going to be streamed live via YouTube so everyone can see it. The timing is perfect as we expect the launch of the next Nexus phone along with Ice Cream Sandwich in early November.

Can you take anymore anticipation?

Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich could be unveiled on October 11

Verizon was the first carrier to come to Samsung’s defense in the company’s patent dispute with Apple, but it’s not the last. As Reuters reports today, T-Mobile has now also sided with Samsung in the lawsuit, stating in a court filing that a sales ban on certain Samsung products would “unnecessarily harm” the carrier and its customers, and that, “at this late date, T-Mobile could not find comparable replacement products for the 2011 holiday season.” The carrier also noted that its ads also “prominently feature” some of the Samsung products in question, and that those investments “cannot be recouped easily.” As for the case itself, the next big date is an October 13th hearing on the injunction request.

T-Mobile joins Verizon to support Samsung in Apple patent lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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