Launches New Android homescreen

There are many applications out there that can offer the option of how something looks and feels on your Android device. The most common of these is a homescreen replacement. It is very popular in the early days of Android, because they offer functionality not available in the stock configuration. Version by version, the stock Android experience grew to the point where power users no longer feel the need to use anything but the stock Android. There is something to be said, however, to have experience on your tablet is intentionally different from the one on your phone. With that in mind the team at Teknision consumption has begun to provide experience-based tablet which they have dubbed the Chameleon Launcher. Chameleon is a unique approach to the Android home screen and launcher. Rather than base their work on what has been provided by Android, Chameleon is based almost entirely on HTML5. Hope with this design is that a broader base of developers will be interested in building widgets for the platform, and thus provides a quick and stable experience on each device. As a result of HTML5 environment, there is no native Android widgets are available in the Store Play Google will work with this launcher. Instead, the system is divided into a grid page that allows you to place the widget wherever you like chameleons. Currently there are less than 10 widgets for the platform, with some examples that Twitter, Instagram, RSS feeders, and other similar tools. The common thread is that the widgets are all designed to present information that you can see at a glance. The interesting thing about the launcher Chameleon is how our own work. You can have a homepage as much as you like, and you can collect them based on what information you find relevant. When I first wake up in the morning, I want to see the email, weather, and RSS. To achieve this, all I did was create the page, set the widget that I want, and setup the page to be the first thing I saw in 07:00. No matter what I do or what my page before I went to bed, when I wake up I will see this page Chameleon. You can set the context for any page, including the location or event, and the page will change to provide the information that you tell it you want to see. Surprisingly, the team Teknision not only build the application and release it to the store Play Google. Like several others, I first discovered through Kickstarter Chameleon. The project is getting enough support to move forward, and now they are paying $ 10 for beta access to gain access to the new Launcher. When I spoke with Gabor Vida of Teknision, we talked a little about why the company has gone with Kickstarter. Teknision is a development company that specializes in work for other brands, they never released any of their own. There are those who are interested in Teknision on Chameleon, but no way to confirm that there are users who are interested in the service there is no way for companies to determine how much energy to dedicate to the app. So, instead of sticking their necks out and take the risk of it being successful, the project created Kickstarter that earn more than $ 66,000. As a beta application $ 10, I found the Chameleon somewhat less. Apart from some obvious performance problems, which I have been assured will be increased from polished before the beta app, the lack of native widgets either their own or a collection of widgets make it difficult for reliable launcher. At this point, many people have been paying far more than you do for some other homescreen replacement for the promise that developers will come up and the launcher will be improved.

New keyboard NFC for Android smartphones from Elecom Japanese manufacturer Elecom is well-known for offering a range of mobile keyboards. In 2012 they have already launched a keyboard/Bluetooth handset combo, a mini Bluetooth keyboard compatible with a wide range of gadgets, and even a laser projection keyboard for Android and iOS. This week Elecom has embraced a new standard in wireless communication: NFC. Where as most companies are using it for secure mobile payment data transfers, Elecom is utilizing the standard for, you guessed it, interfacing with a new wireless mobile keyboard for use with Android smartphones. The new keyboard is called the TK-FNS040BK and complies with the NFC IP-1 ISO communication standard. Elecom argues it’s more convenient to use NFC than Bluetooth as there’s no pairing involved, but that is replaced by the requirement to use an Elecom app available on Google Play otherwise the keyboard won’t work. As you can see from the images, the keyboard has a section in the middle where your phone sits. This is necessary as the range of the signal is only 10mm. The keyboard also includes its own battery, which Elecom says will last 6-12 months based on typical usage. The keyboard may be long, but it does fold up, is supplied with a case for easy transport, and weighs just 143 grams. Even so, like many Elecom peripherals the TK-FNS040BK isn’t cheap. You can expect to pay around $240 to get your hands on one of them, but apparently there’s little point at the moment due to very limited compatibility with Android handsets.

Android 4.1, Jelly Bean: The world's most popular platform gets even better

Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, is the fastest and smoothest version of Android yet. Jelly Bean improves on the simplicity and beauty of Android 4.0, and introduces a new Google search experience on Android. 1. Fast & smooth We put Android under a microscope, making everything feel fast, fluid, and smooth. With buttery graphics and silky transitions, moving between home screens and switching between apps is effortless, like turning pages in a book. More reactive and uniform touch responses mean you can almost feel the pixels beneath as your finger moves across the screen. Jelly Bean makes your Android device even more responsive by boosting your device's CPU instantly when you touch the screen, and turns it down when you don't need it to improve battery life. 2. Simple, beautiful and beyond smart Expandable, actionable notifications. Android has always put you in control when it comes to staying notified and connected. Now you can take action directly from the notifications shade. Late for a meeting? Email everyone to let them know. Missed a call? Call them back in an instant. And because they’re expandable, you can get an even deeper look into the things that matter most, like multiple emails or photos on Google+. 3. Widgets work like magic. With Jelly Bean it's now even easier to personalize your home screen. As you place widgets on the screen, everything else automatically moves to make room. When they're too big, widgets resize on their own. Interacting with your favorite apps and customizing your home screen has never been easier. 4. Seamlessly take and share photos. Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, made snapping photos super fast; Jelly Bean brings that same speed to the next step: viewing. Just swipe over from camera to filmstrip view to instantly view the photos you just took, and quickly swipe away the ones you don’t like. Now sharing — and bragging — are a breeze. 5. A smarter keyboard. Android's dictionaries are now more accurate, more relevant. The language model in Jelly Bean adapts over time, and the keyboard even guesses what the next word will be before you've started typing it. With improved text-to-speech capabilities, voice typing on Android is even better; it works even when you don't have a data connection, so you can type with your voice everywhere you go. 6. Accessibility. With Jelly Bean, blind users can use 'Gesture Mode' to reliably navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures in combination with speech output. Jelly Bean also adds support for accessibility plugins to enable external Braille input and output devices via USB and Bluetooth. 7. Android Beam. With Android Beam on Jelly Bean you can now easily share your photos and videos with just a simple tap, in addition to sharing contacts, web pages, YouTube videos, directions, and apps. Just touch two NFC-enabled Android devices back-to-back, then tap to beam whatever's on the screen to your friend. Instantly pair your Android phone or tablet to Bluetooth® devices like headsets or speakers that support the Simple Secure Pairing standard by just tapping them together – no more syncing or searching required. The new Google experience on Android The best of Google just got better on Android. The search experience in Jelly Bean has a new look-and-feel, and has faster and more natural Voice Search. And Google Now brings you just the right information, before you even ask 8. A new look for Search. Android has search at its core. With Jelly Bean, a redesigned experience uses the power of the Knowledge Graph to show you search results in a richer way. It's easier to quickly get answers and explore and browse search results. 9. Voice Search. Sometimes you'd rather just speak your search query. Or just ask a question. Android lets you search the web with your voice, and it's convenient for getting quick answers on the fly. It speaks back to you and is powered by the Knowledge Graph, bringing you a precise answer if it knows it, and precisely ranked search results, so you can always find out more. 10. Google Now brings you just the right information at just the right time. Google Now tells you today's weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform, or your favorite team's score while they’re playing. And the best part? All of this happens automatically. Cards appear throughout the day at the moment you need them. Learn more