Showing posts with label Androidpowered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Androidpowered. Show all posts

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Watch Coachella's livestream this weekend on your Android-powered Google TV, tablet or smartphone!

Coachella


We can't all be at Coachella this weekend, which sucks. Hard. But that doesn't mean we're going to miss out on all the incredible music. Youtube again will be streaming more than 60 acts, and that's where Android comes in. Probably the best way to watch is going to be from Google TV on a big screen. But because we're talking Youtube, we'll also be able to watch on our smartphones. Or on our Android tablets. Or, we suppose, on a laptop. 


It all starts this afternoon at 3:50 p.m. PDT (that's 6:50 p.m. on the east cost). Steer yourself over to the Coachella Youtube Channel for all the music. You're not going to want to miss this. Check out the trailer video after the break.


More: Youtube blog

Friday, March 30, 2012

Epson America now shipping Android-powered Moverio BT-100 wearable display

Epson Moverio BT-100


Epson America this morning announced that it's now shipping the Android-powered Moverio BT-100 wearable display. Yes. Android-powered grandma glasses. On your melon.


Epson Moverio BT-100I got to take these guys for a spin last fall in January. They pretty much feel how you'd think they feel -- a bit bulky. Get over that, and having the equivalent of an 80-inch display projected in front of your peepers is a pretty cool, if not entirely practical, idea. 


With the glasses and earbuds over and in their respective orifices, you hold in your hand a controller (about the size of an old-school, original iPod) that connects to the glasses via a wire. The top half of the controller is a trackpad, for moving a cursor around the heads-up display. There are the usual Android buttons as well, and a directional-pad if that's how you prefer to navigate the menus. There's also a button to toggle between 2D and 3D modes.


So how'd it work? Look, it's a novelty, to be sure. But it's also one that was a bit surprising. It takes a minute to get used to the idea of video that close to your eyes. But even the 3D video we watched caused less strain than when we've tried it on smartphones. Another cool effect of the glasses is that you can remove the opaque lenses and actually see through the UI. Not that you're going to want to be walking and playing anytime soon, but the idea is that you lose some of the claustrophobia. The world is still the world.


The user interface we saw back in January October was very much in prototype mode, so it was a bit janky, a mix of stock Android and something custom. But it also was very familiar and easy to find our way around.


Do you want one of these? It's certainly a fun idea, but you're going to need to have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, as it's going for a suggested retail price of $699. But think of the possibilities. Temple Run. At 80 inches. Angry Birds IN YOUR FACE. Or, you know, (warning: Shameless plug ahead) the all new Android Central Forums app.


We've got more pics and video after the break.


Edit: Oh, how time blends together. Saw this guy in January, not October. Carry on.


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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Virgin Australia to use Android-powered Galaxy Tab for in-flight streaming

Galaxy Tab 10.1


Virgin Australia has decided to go with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to provide in-flight entertainment for passengers instead of the iPad. The system, which starts to roll out in April, will have the Tabs pre-loaded with movies, television and audio programs, and full in-flight streaming via Lufthansa BoardConnect wireless is slated to be up and running by the end of 2012. Once the Lufthansa system is in place, passengers will be able to choose from a wide range of entertainment to stream to the Galaxy Tab 10.1, as well as their own tablets or Windows and Mac computers. The tablets themselves will be included in the price of a business class ticket for travelers on the companies 737 and E-190 planes, and will be offered as a rental option for coach passengers on flights that take over three hours.


When the folks at Australian Business Traveller asked Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti why the company decided to use the Galaxy Tab instead of the more popular Apple product, he had the following to say:



The Samsung tablet is being recognised as a better product than Apple. That's not unusual, second-generation stuff usually is. In fact, it's getting better reviews than the iPad 2. The screen itself is better, and the [Android-based] system is a plus. It's (also) much thinner, as you know, and overall it's a better product.


We're not going to argue. Neither is Boeing, who has decided that all of their 787 Dreamliners will use a Panasonic manufactured Android tablet for in-flight entertainment. Certainly the fact that vendors can fully customize an Android product has played a role here, and this is something we should start getting used to seeing. All we can really say is that we know you have a choice when you fly, and we appreciate you choosing Android.


Source: Australian Business Traveller