James DeRuvo

Author: James DeRuvo

Samsung Galaxy SII Gorilla Glass Confirmed

By James DeRuvo
on 3 May, 2011

It's been confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S II has been designed with Gorilla Glass, that super bendable, and hard to scratch, thin layer of glass which makes a screen extremely durable to every day abuse. The Galaxy S also had Gorilla Glass, so it isn't really all that big of news. But since the Galaxy S II is super thin, there was some question as to if Gorilla Glass was part of the design or not. Now we know.

Pocket Legends limited time content now free for good

By James DeRuvo
on 3 May, 2011

You may remember when we reported that last month that SpaceTime Studios was celebrating their anniversary with limited time goodies. Well, they've decided to top that with all premium, limited time content being free ... forever. WOW. That's not a small thing. The free content promotion for Pocket Legends also includes Sandstone Caves, the recent update that included new towns and collectible armor.

Google Nexus One gets new Gingerbread update

By James DeRuvo
on 3 May, 2011

Google is in the process of updating the Nexus One over the air with Gingerbread Android 2.3.4. The update doesn't have everything other 2.3.4 users will enjoy, however. Since the Nexus One has no forward facing video camera, Video Chat over Google Talk, which we reported here, is unavailable. But there's other noticeable tweaks including bug fixes for phone shut downs, WiFi connectivity, GPS accuracy, and battery life. Users can wait until the update reaches them, or they can do a manual update. Here's how ...

Twitter buys Tweetdeck for up to $50 mill

By James DeRuvo
on 3 May, 2011

One true way to clear out the competition, is to buy it all up. And sometimes, buying one company can prevent a cornering of the market. That looks to be what Twitter has done with Tweetdeck by snatching the alternative micro-blog out of the hands of UberMedia with a bid of $40-50 million dollars.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 deal at Best Buy

By James DeRuvo
on 2 May, 2011

Best Buy is featuring the Acer Iconia Tab A500 in their weekly sales circular and at a pretty good price, too. The Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet is on sale for just under $450, cheaper than Motorola's XOOM, which is selling for around $600, WiFi only. It's also available now at that price, while the slightly cheaper EeePad Transformer (at $400) won't be out for another few weeks. And with our earlier report that users can root the Iconia (with a step by step guide included), the time is ripe to ask the question ... why wait?

Angry Birds RIO gets an update next week

By James DeRuvo
on 2 May, 2011

Rovio has reported on their Facebook page that Angry Birds RIO is getting an update this week. The update, whatever comes after "Jungle Escape," will unlock some sweet new features including "marmoset mauling action" and it'll have many "juicy secrets" to discover. The update is being released a little later than expected, much to the chagrin of gamers who have been chomping at the bit and complaining about it's slipped release date. But they can rejoice that it will be followed by three more chapters of the Angry Birds Rio game to be released on or about July, October, and November of 2011.

Coupons coming to Android handsets via NFC

By James DeRuvo
on 2 May, 2011

French company Ingencio is working with Google to develop a sales coupon service which would deliver special offers to smartphone users via near field communications. The service, would send coupons to a user's phone as they shop and automatically deduct the coupon from a related purchase upon checkout. Initially, Payments would still be made the old fashioned way, by either cash, check or charge.

Android Market offers more freebies [study]

By James DeRuvo
on 2 May, 2011

According to a new study, the Android Market has passed Apple iTunes in offering more free applications for smartphones and tablets. Google's Android Market offers 134,342 free applications while Apple has about 13,000 fewer. The study also predicts that within five months, the Android Market will be the largest applications store, period, followed by iTunes and the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. What's interesting is that Blackberry, which once dominated the smartphone category is now a distance 4th, only beating out Nokia's Ovi Store.

Israeli company offers Kosher Smartphone

By James DeRuvo
on 1 May, 2011

I admit, I'm not Jewish, much less Orthodox. But I do have several friends who observe the sabbath whom this new "smartphone" could be beneficial for. It's called a "Kosher, Sin Free Smartphone," and it's being developed by a company in Israel. The phone provides no internet access, no Facebook, no text messaging or email.

XDA forum sets sights on HTC Sense to Samsung Galaxy Tab

By James DeRuvo
on 1 May, 2011

It's almost a digital Island of Doctor Moreau. You know, the book about the mad scientist who crosses humans with animals? Well, users of the Samsung Galaxy Tab are exploring porting the HTC Flyer ROM. The idea comes from the fact that both the Flyer and the Galaxy Tab have the same screen resolution (600 by 1024).