Google Now Reminders Are Dangerous

I read somewhere that future Google launcher will look more like Google Now. Although I tried it earlier and I was not very impressed, I decided to give it a second chance. I really start to like voice commands; "wake me up in 20 minutes" and "remind me to..." become my favorites. Couple of days ago I got mail from the bank that I should come and sign some papers. I grabbed my phone, I said "OK,  Google" and created reminder in no time. Easy peasy.

Smartphones Cause Rapid Human Evolution

Size of the ideal smartphone screen size is limited by human hand. Couple of years ago, Apple did extensive tests and found out that 3,5" is the perfect size of smartphone screen. However, latest research revealed something amazing.

New iPhone has half inch bigger screen, yet it also perfectly fits human hand. How is that possible? There is only one logical explanation: human thumb grew by half inch since the introduction of the original iPhone. But why?

Hidden force behind that are Android phones. Bigger and bigger screens forced people to stretch their thumbs more and more. As this is repeated hundreds of time per day, human thumb become longer. The most amazing thing about this discovery is that such huge change happened in such short timespan, while typically it would take life forms with more rapid generation shift than humans to evolve so fast.

Photo credit: Apple/Youtube

Hand Me That Supercomputer

Yes, I know. Publishing day quietly slipped from Tuesday to Saturday. When I just wrote blog and watched "Big Bang Theory", I managed to do everything on time. First signs of troubles started to show up when I decided to do some cycling in the evening. Then I do some more to collect money for Hope Relay. Croatian TV started to air new episodes of "Lie to Me", and few weeks later they added "Mad Man", too. And then came the final blow: application for Coursera on-line course.

Android at the Speed of Lightning

What to do to make Android run faster? Faster processor, of course, and faster GPU - not. As more experienced desktop users already know, main bottleneck is usually one less obvious component: memory.

Writing with Thumb: Android Keyboards

Can you get your smartphone and write article as long as this one without losing your nerves? If your answer is no, you may want to read this. It comes from the guy who did it more than once. If you have smartphone with small screen, low specification or both, there is a hidden gem for you.

For serious writing on the smartphone, you want keyboard that is super-efficient while you use it, but moves out of your way when you don't. After many months of writing on the touchscreen, I compiled a list of most desirable keyboard features.

Updated: Jelly Bean on Nexus S: Butter or Margarine

After couple of days with Jelly Bean, I made small update to original article. If you didn't read it already, go to the original article; if you did, here is the update. In day-to-day use I found some parts that I am not happy with, but nevertheless I am happy with the upgrade.

Jelly Bean on Nexus S: Butter or Margarine

Butter(y). Google used this word in Jelly Bean About page no less than five times. Google for Jelly Bean, and you will find butter all over the place. Focus of Project Butter is to make Jelly Bean fastest and smoothest version of Android yet, and after trying it on Nexus 7 I must agree. It probably runs nicely on Galaxy Nexus, too. How smooth it is on oldest device that gets upgraded, Nexus S?

Android's Fastest Browser

This is last part of the "updated for Google I/O" series. In previous installments, I discussed Google+ and Currents; in this one, I will test key ingredient of every modern operating system: web browser. Rather than talking just about latest Chrome update, I will try to find which browser is the fastest. Today's contenders are: stock ICS browser, Chrome, Firefox, Opera Mini and Mobile, and Dolphin.

Currents, Google's Mobile App I'm Happy With

I never understood what is the big deal with RSS feeds until one day I experienced Epiphany, crammed everything in Google reader and never looked back. But RSS readers are so last decade now; new breed of tools can make nice electronic magazines out of feeds and even allow you to produce one by yourself. Not long after release of Ice Cream Sandwich, Google released its own magazine application, Currents. Last time I grumbled about mobile Google+; this time, I decided to review application that I am really happy with.

Fun with Mobile Google+

I was on vacation for the last two weeks, far away from my desktop, so I decided to check how much I can do with smartphone. It was great time to do that because Google released updates of many applications for I/O. I'll start with Google+; prepare for battle of epic proportions.

Android Pride

Apple managed to ban Galaxy Nexus sales in US. It is not the newest device (it is 7 months old), so why Galaxy Nexus and why now?

How Do You Feel After Google I/O?

After seeing Google I/O keynotes, how do you feel as Google user? There is a reason why I ask this question. A lot of negative rumors could be heard recently: Samsung is investing in their own mobile OS; Kindle stole Android's market, which was anyway small because of iPad; Android platform is fragmented; nobody uses Google+; and gremlins were found in most products. And then I/O happened.

Is Nexus Tablet Right Choice for Me?

Today Google announced Nexus 7 tablet. With decent screen resolution (1280 x 800, 7"), quad-core processor, latest version of Android - 4.1 Jelly Bean, and $199 price tag, it is very appealing device for every gadget lover, but how it will work for regular user? How it will work for me?

MightyText, Fake Android iMessage

Quick one: press got all excited about MightyText, the iMessage for Android. iMessage become famous because it transparently allows you to use free Apple protocol instead of SMS. If recipient supports iMessage, he will get iMessage. If not, he will get SMS. Carriers were quite angry about this, but they couldn't afford not to sell iPhones with everything that goes with it. It also allows you to do the messaging from Mac desktop.

Android Plays, bada on the Bench

Take couple of stepchild Linux-based operating systems, stir well, and you might get one of the biggest threats to the Android platform.  Samsung plans to merge bada and Tizen to replace the Android. Samsung is biggest Android vendor in the world and most profitable one, so why the switch? Taking a look at the big picture, what is the bada's purpose?

Can Android 4.0 Match New iOS 6 Features?

iOS 6 presentation reminds me of new iPad's: unexciting, but will make Apple users happy. It seems that Android and iOS are running the dead heat.

Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation were one of the main selling points for Android in US and couple of more countries. Even if you liked iOS more, free satnav could change your mind. Enter Apple Maps. It will not just take part of Google's revenue from maps, but also from Android sales, at least in US.

Flipboard and Instapaper Came to Android, But Do I Care?

Apps. With small screen, battery, processor and everything, you need the right apps to squeeze the most from your smartphone. iOS enjoyed some of the best mobile apps, being more mature platform with more money pouring into store. Developers couldn't be bothered to develop to newcomer Android and its cheap users. Although platform grew in both size and depth of the user's pockets, some of the best apps still remained objects of desire, with Flipboard and Instapaper being most notable examples. They are here now.

Megasomething Overkill

If you want to sell something to men, just give them continuously improving numbers in specifications. We want more power, less distortion, higher frequencies and longer runtime, even if we don't really need them. They are easy to compare and it's easy to prove that we have something better than the other male.

Every now and then, something becomes such overkill that nobody cares about it anymore. Take camera resolution. My first camera had two megapixels. With such resolution, you could only do standard size photos without too much cropping. With every next generation of cameras, resolution went up. Somewhere around eight megapixels people stop caring. It was good enough for all practical purposes.

Specs are Less Cool Part of Samsung Galaxy S III

Don't get me wrong - specs are top of the line. But what was more amazing during today's presentation were new features and services. It is mixture of what Samsung forgot to copy from iPhone last time and new and original stuff. These I liked the most:

Face recognition. On cameras, it meant that camera can recognize where faces are. On mobile, it recognizes whose face it is, like on social network. That gives some cool features. You can:

• open person from picture
• share picture with people who are on it
• group gallery by person

Right UI for All Hands

In my last post, I argued that problem with big smartphone screens is not in their size, but rather in unsuitable user interfaces. I also promised that I will reveal my special tool for UI calibration.

Tool will collect your biometric data and then present optimal UI layout.