When it comes to promoting your web browser to the internet, it can get pretty meta pretty quick, and but when your Google and you’ve got your hands in every single technologically related outlet on the planet and you want to even promote one component of a product you’ve got, you should have no trouble — that’s what Google is doing here with “Native Client” integration on their Chrome web browser. Having announced the game store for Google Chrome earlier this year along with Native Client, aka NaCl for short, it became rather apparent to many that this was no joke – real high-quality games could definitely sit in this space – now Google is seeing other groups like SpaceTime Studios adopt NaCl for themselves and they’ve decided to sound the horn once more.
What Google is doing this week with a group of game developers such as Square Enix, Unity Technologies, and Bungie, is host an appearance on campus showing off how the open source project Native Source runs inside their proprietary browser Chrome. Such fabulous features as mouse lock, full-screen API, and OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics have been introduced to the platform since its launch in Chrome 14 Beta, and both 2D and 3D graphics either work right this moment or are well on their way to becoming a reality soon. One of the other features the group emphasized is Google Chrome’s ability to store code for games inside itself.
Have a peek at this explanation and demonstration of Native Client courtesy of Google Developers and the product manager for Native Client, Christian Stefansen:
Again in a nutshell, what this Native Client platform provides is a simple way for developers to port over (or create) their work while maintaining one code base in Chrome. One example of this, says Google, is Star Legends [Chrome store link], a game whose developers ported the entire multiplayer online game over to the web in just two weeks. More than a half million lines of code in less than a month, is what that is.
Product Manager for Chrome Christian Stefansen (from the video above) provided the following links for directions on where to go from here for all of you would-be web-based game developers hoping to get in on the Chrome web store:
“The community is actively involved in Native Client, porting some of the most popular application middleware. Ports include Unity and Moai game engines, programming language environments Mono and Lua, audio middleware such as fmod and Wwise, as well as the Bullet physics engine. These Native Client ports make the web more accessible to hundreds of thousands of application developers.” – Stefansen
After all that good stuff, you can head out to Google Chrome’s brand new Native Client help and development site and get your show on the road today!
This week the folks at liine have released an app version of their legendary multitouch MIDI/OSC controller Lemur for the iOS platform on the iPad and iPad 2. The physical version of the platform is used by such massive musical artists as Daft Punk, Nine Inch Nails, Deadmau5, and more, and with the iPad having been release just a BIT after the original Lemur’s 2004 introduction to the public, it’s time the whole world had the chance to use this fantastical interface for the creation of block rocking beats. Ten years of development on this project converted now to a single app for iPad – seem like a winning combination to you?
This new Lemur app allows you to control DJ software, studio production software (DAWs), live electronic music software, stage lighting, and more – this is no everyday keyboard situation. Any software OR hardware that can otherwise be controlled by OSC/MINI is able to be controlled by this Lemur app. For those of you new to the platform, you’ll be able to access a user library of pre-made templates from top artists and unknowns from the Lemur community – artists from around the world are now sharing their own templates, strengthening the platform by the minute!
You’ve only to connect your iPad OR iPhone to your laptop over Wi-fi to work with a cross-platform (Mac OS X or Windows) interface builder to bring your experience to a whole new level, dragging and dropping with ease as you do so. You’re able to control up to 8 computers from one iPad if you wish, Lemur also supporting CoreMIDI allowing you to use such hardware interfaces as the iConnectMIDI or USB MINI interfaces to your heart’s content. Physics in objects are able to be controlled with physics models, allowing you to bounce, oscillate, and rebound across your tracks — objects including, but not limited to: Fader, Multislider, Range, Multiball, Knob, RingArea, Switches, Pads, Custom Button, and text.
Feel free to grab this app on the iTunes Appstore right this minute for a cool $49.99. You’ll need at least iOS 4.0 and will be able to use your iPad, iPad 2, any manner of iPhone and iPod touch. A must have for hardcore iPad-bound DJs and mixers.
When Huawei sent over their new and soon to be released smartphone set to debut in Asia in Q4 called the Huawei Honor (U8860) also known as the Glory, I was expecting another run of the mill Android smartphone for the budget crowd like their previous devices. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Honor offers a 1.4 GHz processor, Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread, an HDR capable 8 megapixel camera and a huge battery. I quickly realized this was a much better phone than I’d thought. Now that I’ve had some time with it here’s my thoughts.
The complete specs rundown and official release can be found here but I’ve also got all the details for you. The Honor takes things up a notch from previously released Huawei (pronounced Wha-whey) products and shows that they do in fact have some awesome hardware and great performance to offer the mid and high-end smartphone buyer in this crowded Android market.
Hardware
The hardware and general feel of this device is a definite step up from what we’ve seen thus far from Huawei. They’ve provided a bright and crisp 4.0″ 480 x 854 resolution display on a thin and not so wide chassis that comes in around 10.8mm thick. Covered in Corning Gorilla Glass it will also hold up to daily abuse. The good stuff comes with the innards and the camera though.
Hauwei’s equipped this smartphone with a Qualcomm 1.4 GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM (only downfall) and 4GB of internal storage. With micro-SD and micro-USB ports we should be fine with adding additional storage. The good news doesn’t end here either. The Honor has an awesome 8.0 megapixel camera on the rear and a much better than most 2 megapixel front camera for video chat. All of this is powered by Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread and a huge 1930 mAh battery under the hood.
For a device rocking a 4″ display the entire phone is small and pleasant to hold. Being average in size compared to most 4″ offerings Huawei decided on a thinner and longer screen. The device being so thin actually gives it a very small footprint and makes it seem much smaller than other phones I’ve recently held. I like this approach and makes it unique but at the same time the thin design made the on-screen keyboard slightly cramped.
The hardware is some of the best I’ve seen from Huawei and if I had to gauge it I’d say it fits neatly between the superior hardware of HTC and the lightweight plastic of Samsung. The back and battery cover is a thick glossy plastic that feels both lightweight and durable giving it an overall favorable build quality. The call and speaker volume was exceptionally clear and loud too.
Software
Powered by Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread any past experience with Android users will feel at home. Other than a few visual changes with the home screen, launcher, and a few menu’s the entire UI is the same. Similar to Samsung’s approach they’ve made a few things better while not tackling the entire OS like HTC does with their Sense UI. We do have a custom home launcher that makes the icons and general scrolling through screens and applications different than we’re used to but nothing overly crazy. Performance here was great.
We have a Ice Cream Sandwich style unlock screen and while our unit was running pre-production software the entire build seemed very stable and extremely smooth and fluid. The writing on the lockscreen should be ignored in the video. As far as bloatware apps we have TouchPal Keyboard (that helped on the thin screen), Security Guard, App Installer for third party apps, and Documents to go. Much less than we’ve seen from others. The video demonstration below will go over the few small changes to the OS including the launcher and their custom multitask/task manager they’ve included.
Performance
From the video above you can clearly see there is no slowdown or lag present with the Honor. In a world of dual-core smartphones this 1.4 GHz single-core device is the highest end of what we now call a mid-range device — and the performance backs it up. In terms of benchmarks, because we love benchmarks, the Huawei Honor came in quite average although for a stock single-core system the results were higher than expected.
Scoring well over 2600 in 3 different Quadrant Advanced tests that was more than enough for me. I’ve seen multiple older dual-core smartphones score lower (think Motorola Photon, Droid X2). We also ran Vellamo for good measure and its result has me questioning its validity. Beating every single and dual-core smartphone or tablet available but one. This was quite a concern but I’ll just share the results and conclude in saying performance was excellent from gaming to web browsing so take these results as you will.
Camera & Battery Life
The battery life has been amazing thus far, putting the Honor up near the top of my list. Having a single-core processor and no overly huge screen the 1930 mAh battery kept this phone running well throughout a single days use. If you want a phone that wont require being attached to a power outlet or car charger this would be a decent place to start.
The Huawei Honor packs an 8 megapixel HDR capable camera on the rear with LED flash and for this phone being a cheaper and contract-free smartphone I was extremely pleased with its performance. Most budget devices supply users with a crap camera but that isn’t the case here. Its shutter speed puts even the DROID Bionic to shame. Check out this sample photo here with even more in the full gallery below.
Wrap-Up
Huawei might not be as popular or widely celebrated as the HTC’s and Samsung’s in the mobile world, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be. If Huawei continues to put out great hardware like this here phone and the award winning Huawei Vision I see no reason to think otherwise. The Huawei Honor is launching in parts of Asia this month and is said to be coming to Cricket Wireless stateside as the Glory fully unlocked and contract free for $299. This is bringing high-end to the contract free budget smartphone market.
If you’re looking for that perfect gift for your “Android nerd” this holiday season, look no further than Dead Zebra’s new — limited edition — Toy Soldier holiday themed Android collectible. Designed by artist Gary Ham (his work is amazing), he adds a new twist to an old classic by giving our beloved Android mascot a toy soldier makeover, complete with windup key.
You’ll have 2 chances to pick up your very own Toy Soldier Android collectible this Wednesday, December 14th at 11AM (ET) when the first batch goes on sale, followed by the second batch at 11PM (ET). There’s a 2 collectible limit, so don’t expect to buy in bulk. According to Dead Zebra, these little guys should make it in time for Christmas but if you don’t feel like stressing, order Priority Mail to be safe.
What do you guys think? I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t be ordering anymore (already have around 30 of these guys) but sometimes, they’re just so hard to resist!
The whole “fiasco” surrounding the release of the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon has left many of our readers upset, bitter and for some — they want answers. Even though Verizon has been rather quiet on the subject, taking more of a “we’ll release it when it’s ready” stance, we still don’t have a solid reason for the “hold up.” But I guess Verizon can’t give a reason for the supposed delay when technically, a release date was never given. But with all the leaks flooding into our mailbox and various blogs around the net, it seems pretty apparent that something is definitely up and the Galaxy Nexus has most certainly missed its original target launch date (possibly more than once).
So what has been going on? What exactly is the reason for the delay? Hardware defects? Software defects? Well, yes and no. According to a few close — and completely separate sources — the delay has nothing to do with quality control and most certainly has everything to do with Google Wallet.
Money and corporate politics? Surprise, surprise.
According to higher uppers in Verizon’s chain of command, Google Wallet does not sit very well with Verizon. Especially when Big Red has already partnered up with ISIS to offer their own NFC mobile payment services. The conflict comes with Google wanting to keep their device largely “untouched” — it is their flagship device after all — and by Verizon demanding Google Wallet be removed, this is not only a disservice to their loyal customers but it could be borderline illegal if defined by a little something called “Net Neutrality” that we’ve reported on in the past. According to our sources, Verizon is treading on some thin ice here.
Our source also mentioned December 15th is, in fact, the new target date — but anything can happen from now until then. I’ve said it time and time again. The carriers are in total control and have all the power. It’s their world, we just live in it. As always, take all the above with a grain of salt. I just felt like our readers had a right to know what is apparently going on “behind the scenes.”
Team Google's at it again and this time they aimed at making their popular web e-mail service, Gmail usable within Google+, their fairly new social networking platform. An official blog post by Google reveals that now using Gmail will no more be only about composing, receiving emails. Existing Gmail users, who're also on Google+ will now be able to "grow your circles, filter emails and contacts by circles, keep all your contact information up-to-date automatically and share photos to Google+, all right from Gmail and Contacts", as part of a 'soon-to-be-released' update.
Better with Google+
Elaborating on this further, Google reveals that now with Google+ integration within Gmail, Google+ users who receive mails from their Gmail contacts, will be able to see the most recent posts they've shared among each other on the right hand side of the conversation. If that contact is not in the user's Google+ circle, then he can add them directly from their Gmail account.
Using Google+ Circles, users can filter their emails, which will then save them from the headache of scrolling through their mail box looking for a particular e-mail. Users can view messages, either at once from all their circles or could pick a particular circle and view messages from them. If they choose to, they can have the names of their circles on their mail account, itself.
Contacts on Google+ can be automatically updated from the users Gmail accounts. This is especially helpful when a particular user's Google+ profile doesn't have much detail, but his Gmail account does; and this also spares the user from the trouble of manually adding each contact detail. If any of these details get update, then the user will get a notification of that, too.
The next update, and perhaps the most interesting one is the ability to share photos on one's e-mail onto their Google+ profiles without having to upload it, separately. The integration allows users to share images with a click. Also, users can choose with which Circle t hey want to share it with.
