HTC Inspire 4G: a Great iPhone Alternative - Thinking Clearly

HTC Inspire 4G

Everyone you know might be jumping on the Apple bandwagon but the HTC Inspire 4G Android phone could really change your mind and make you leave your iPhone behind.

Being an iPhone user, it’s really hard to tear your eyes away from its very sharp screen and the bunch of fun and useful apps you’ve downloaded. But I’m sure that like me, you’re also frustrated by that one missing feature – flash support.

YouTube is a major source of entertainment and how-to’s on the web for me, and not being able to access that on my phone is such an annoying thing. I could wait until I have access on my laptop or desktop to do this but that’ll defeat the purpose of getting a smartphone and paying such a high price. So I tried looking for an alternative.

Finding a worthy iPhone substitute is actually quite hard. You may get flash support but other features are lacking and it may look primitive compared to the iPhone’s sleek lines and polished body. Good thing I kept on researching for more phones, as I came across the HTC Inspire 4G during one of my internet searches.

HTC Inspire 4G is an Android phone and it runs on the Froyo OS. I really like its build and how solid it feels. Of course, it supports flash so I can watch YouTube on the go. But aside from that crucial feature, I felt that this is actually a better deal than my iPhone. HTC Desire 4G has an 8MP camera, HD video, and Dolby surround sound – all that for a much lower price than the iPhone 4G. And yes, for the image-conscious, I caught people glancing while using this phone, as it looks really hi-tech and stylish at the same time.

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Myxer's BoomBox mCommerce Report Reveals Key Findings in Consumer Purchasing ... - Marketwire (press release)

SOURCE: Myxer

Survey of 2,400 Mobile Visitors to m.myxer.com Shows That 53 Percent Made Purchases From Their Mobile Phone With 19 Percent Saying They Made Between 2 and 5 Purchases a Month

MIAMI, FL--(Marketwire - Jul 11, 2011) - Myxer, a mobile technology company that operates the largest ad-supported mobile entertainment site in the U.S., today released the Myxer Q2 BoomBox Report on mCommerce revealing key findings in consumer's purchasing behavior among mobile shoppers. The report reinforces consumer's increasing reliance on smartphones for communications, entertainment, information and increasingly, shopping.

Based on a survey of 2,400 mobile visitors to m.myxer.com, 53 percent responded that they had made a purchase from their mobile phone. The largest group, 19 percent, said they made between 2 and 5 purchases a month. Surprisingly, 16 percent said that they make more than 10 purchases a month. Other key findings include the following:

Mobile Payments

Taking a closer look at the 53 percent who said they did indeed make purchases from their phone, 31 percent said they preferred to have their mobile purchases charged to their mobile phone bill while 18 percent said they preferred to pay by credit card. Broken down by age, younger mobile consumers clearly preferred paying on their phone bill. In the 18-24 year old age range, 38 percent preferred charging their phone bill, while only 14 percent preferred paying by credit card. In the 35-54 age range, the credit card was the preferred method of payment at 28 percent versus 23 percent for paying by phone bill. It is also interesting to note that within Android users who purchased, 27 percent preferred to use their credit card.

Music leads the charge for purchased mobile content

The report also revealed that music stood out as the clear leader of products being bought, representing 68 percent of mobile purchases. 5 percent of respondents who bought from their phones said they purchased physical items to be delivered, and another 5 percent said they purchased other digital content. With music the dominant item purchased, it was not surprising to see that the largest group, 37 percent, spent less than $5 on their individual mobile purchases. The second largest group, 26 percent, opened their mobile wallets to spend more than $20 per mobile purchase.

Shopper Confidence

Respondents also said they were happy to shop from a variety of merchants with 40 percent purchasing from 2-4 vendors in the past month. 24 percent purchased from 5 or more vendors and 12 percent purchased from 10 or more vendors.

mCommerce Drivers

Convenience was the top response with 37 percent of the purchasers. Price was second with 24 percent of the mobile shoppers. A close third at 22 percent was those who shopped from their mobile because of the "cool factor." When looking at just Android users, "convenience" was the top reason for mobile shopping, with 45 percent of Android users citing it.

"With a large and active mobile audience, Myxer has the opportunity to conduct mobile surveys to help us capture the pulse of mobile consumer behavior," said Andrew Coury, data analyst, Myxer. "The BoomBox mCommerce report shows that direct mobile purchases should continue to be an exciting area of industry wide growth."

To download a copy of the full report, or subscribe to the newsletter, please visit: http://boombox.myxer.com

About Myxer
Myxer is a leading mobile technology company and operator of Myxer.com, the definitive source for free, ad-supported mobile media content across the web and mobile devices. Founded in 2005, the company has been a pioneer in mobile, establishing an early presence in the space as a free content download resource and growing into one of the 10 largest mobile destinations in the U.S. To date, more than 47 million users have downloaded 2.5 billion items including MP3s -- full-track songs and albums -- ringtones, music videos, wallpaper images, apps, games and more, across all major phone operators and carriers. In addition, Myxer offers access to its content through dedicated mobile apps available in Apple's iTunes App Store, the Android Market and BlackBerry App World.

Myxer is a registered trademark. Myxer operates websites including www.myxer.com and m.myxer.com

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MIPS Technologies Receives Awards for Innovative Solutions Demonstrated at ... - MarketWatch (press release)

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jul 11, 2011 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- MIPS Technologies, Inc. /quotes/zigman/71030/quotes/nls/mips MIPS -5.09% , a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital home, networking and mobile applications, announced today that it received two awards for the innovative solutions it demonstrated at the recent China IC Expo 2011, held June 28-29 at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre in Shenzhen, China. During an awards ceremony on June 28th, the awards were presented by the show organizers--the Shenzhen Semiconductor Industry Association and Shenzhen IC Design Industrial Center. MIPS Technologies was recognized with an Innovation Award in the Smartphone/Tablet Category, as well as the Best Booth Showcase Award.

"The IC Expo provides semiconductor companies with information on new growth opportunities and ways to differentiate their designs in an environment of increasing competition. MIPS Technologies' products offer unique advantages, especially for home multimedia applications, delivering a path to innovation for Chinese companies. We are pleased to see an increasingly high level of collaboration between MIPS and local partners," said Mr. Cai Jinjiang, general secretary of the Shenzhen Semiconductor Industry Association.

"As China plays an increasing role in global consumer markets, the China IC Expo is an important show for MIPS and our customers. We are pleased to accept this recognition from the Shenzhen Semiconductor Industry Association and Shenzhen IC Design Industrial Center. Through the China IC Expo, these organizations are providing a link between China's fabless companies and consumer markets," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing and business development, MIPS Technologies.

Award-Winning Demonstrations

In its booth at the China IC Expo, MIPS demonstrated products, platforms and technologies for the connected consumer experience. Mobile device demonstrations included MIPS-Based(TM) smartphones and tablets that are currently shipping. MIPS featured a new TD-SCDMA smartphone from TCL Corporation, a feature phone from Lenovo, other white box smartphones, Cruz tablets from Velocity Micro, and several other portable multimedia devices.

Home entertainment demonstrations included:

-- The newest 1.3GHz MIPS-Based SoC from Broadcom, featuring Adobe(R) Flash(R) Player, Adobe Air for TV, Android(TM) for TV, 3D graphics and more -- A connected home set-top box demonstration from Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd. (ASTRI), including PVR and HD player functionality, as well as seamless sharing of content with devices including handsets, tablets, laptops and storage devices via broadband or WiFi connectivity -- An Android TV from Shenzhen Togic Software Technology Co., Ltd.--featuring integration of TV stacks such as MHEG-5, DVB-T and ATSC, as well as real-time online video, games and an apps store for TV -- The latest version of the MIPS Smart Connected Entertainment (SmartCE(TM)) platform, with a new user interface, video conferencing, enhanced electronic program guide, integration with MIPS-Based mobile devices and more -- 3D video players from Beijing IntelliX Technologies Co., Ltd.-- high definition media players with 3D video decoding based on a MIPS-Based SoC from Sigma Designs

Other demonstrations included the new chipKIT(TM) open-source development platform based on the PIC32 microcontroller family from Microchip Technology; new 3D user interface technology from Fluffy Spider Technologies; and an innovative Android Fast Boot solution from Lineo that quickly brings up Android on MIPS-Based SoCs.

In addition to exhibiting at the conference, MIPS Technologies' Vice President of Vertical Markets Amit Dhir delivered a keynote presentation, "Helping Customers Build Android Advantages."

About MIPS Technologies, Inc.

MIPS Technologies, Inc. /quotes/zigman/71030/quotes/nls/mips MIPS -5.09% is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital home, networking and mobile applications. The MIPS architecture powers some of the world's most popular products, including broadband devices from Linksys, DTVs and digital consumer devices from Sony, DVD recordable devices from Pioneer, digital set-top boxes from Motorola, network routers from Cisco, 32-bit microcontrollers from Microchip Technology and laser printers from Hewlett-Packard. Founded in 1998, MIPS Technologies is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices worldwide. For more information, contact (408) 530-5000 or visit www.mips.com .

MIPS, MIPS32 and MIPS-Based are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United States and other countries of MIPS Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is subject to Google Permissions.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: MIPS Technologies, Inc.

CONTACT: Media Contact: Jen Bernier-Santarini MIPS Technologies, Inc. +1 408-530-5178 jenb@mips.com

(C) Copyright 2010 GlobeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.

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G5 Entertainment releases 5 games onto the Android Market all at once. - DroidGamers

Last week we reported on G5 Entertainment and that they would start bringing their games over to the Android platform with an initial 5 game release starting... well... today. Instead of just releasing one today and letting the rest slowly flow onto the market, they decided to release all five at once.

Three titles are time management type of games while the other two are puzzle games. All five are currently available on the Android Market. Ironically, in the description of each game they are saying that it is an introductory price right now at 30% off even though the game is free. We are going to guess though that they mean 30% off of in-game purchases. Here is a quick rundown of all five games and their links to the Android Market:

Supermarket Mania is a highly addictive casual time management game with millions of players on iOS, PC and other platforms. Running a grocery store can be a lot of fun! Help Nikki keep five stores stocked to the rafters with the provisions customers want, and show your adversary what a little hometown pluck can do!

Stand O'Food is an original, fast-paced restaurant challenge. Feed a host of hungry patrons before they leave in a huff! Slap together burgers and cook up some bacon as quickly as you can!

Mahjong Artifacts: Chapter 2 takes tile-matching games in an exciting new direction! Pair up tiles to dismantle hundreds of layouts. Gather pearls for purchasing special powers, utilize a selection of ground-breaking powerups, earn trophies, and enjoy the game's beautiful graphics and rich audio.

Mahjong Artifacts - Escape from the rush of modern life into immersive ancient atmosphere of Mahjong Artifacts! Three game play modes will take you through five exotic cultures as you enjoy music tracks inspired by ancient melodies.

Success Story - Slap together burgers for hungry customers, serve French fries and desserts, and keep the line moving in this arcade time management game!

All games are available right now for download off the Android Market for free. If you like these types of games, then they are worth checking out. Supermarket Mania seems like a good time killer as do the other two time management games. They have a lot of games so don't be surprised when more arrive! You can check out a trailer for all five games and gameplay footage as well over on our YouTube Channel or in our previous article.

Developer Website: G5 Entertainment

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Andrew Huff, otherwise known as ExtremeT on this site, is the Founder and Chief Editor here at DroidGamers. When not writing and editing articles on DG, testing games and new Android devices, geeking out on general mobile gadget news, and writing for AndroidPolice.com as well you can find him spending time with his wife and 1yr old son.

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Mobile Gaming Will Never Defeat Console Gaming - Gaming Union

PS3X360WiiOther Mon, Jul 11th, 2011, 5:14pm EDT by Adam Ma

There's nothing better than opening up a newspaper these days to find some tech-analyst or financial adviser spouting out information regarding industry trends, as if playing Angry Birds once or twice provides them with enough insight to tell where all of these developers are going. It's astonishing in a way, because they always jump from one massive trend to another without any regard to how our beloved pastime seems to work. A few short years ago it was all about how Halo and Call of Duty were the only profitable games ever, and that investing in any kind of startup company outside of a AAA studio was a waste of time. Today it's all about mobile gaming, and how its selling power will leave anything that isn't on an iPhone, Android, or tablet smoldering in its wake.

It's funny because this sort of 'analysis' doesn't really happen in any other industry where years of trending, economics, and global resource trade are called upon to make an informed decision. But the gaming industry is new, fresh, and very similar to the movie industry so why not judge it based off some bare bones statistics? Just citing sales should be enough to showcase where gaming will go in the future, right? If only it were so easy, then perhaps Japanese game developers wouldn't be having such a hard time with consumers today.

The fact of the matter is, gaming trends are not easy to predict. When a developer chooses to absolutely saturate the market with a particular type of title, it's fair enough to call them out on it (in addition to watching the franchise die off), but to assert that one type of gaming will die simply due to projected sales is ridiculous. A nice case in point is how many analysts like to point out that more people own cell phones than consoles themselves, and how the ownership of cellular devices will come close to doubling itself over the next year (according to sales-analysis predictions).

It's impossible to predict who amongst these millions of people will find a game like Angry Birds or Plants vs Zombies attractive, in the same regard that it's impossible to assume that any one type of phone design will reign supreme over the next year. New plans may be drawn up, new models released on the market, but no one will assume that because something is released brand new from a familiar phone designer that it will be an instant smash hit. The same can be said regarding gaming, there's no way to know if these one-hit wonder developers will be able to replicate their success with anything aside from Angry Birds 2, especially amidst an environment heavily saturated with so many other games attempting to achieve the same kind of success, but ultimately fall short of glory. Even console gaming doesn't hold that kind of a guarantee, as is apparent from when Medal of Honor lost it's core player-base to the Call of Duty franchise several years back.

It's fair enough to say that most cellular owners will be investing in apps, and that many of those apps will become powerful revenue generators for a few lucky development groups out there. It's currently estimated that 552 millon smartphones have been sold worldwide with a prediction that 815 will be sold by the end of 2011, as opposed to consoles which boasts 183 million units sold since Dec 31st 2010 and a predicted 227 million by the end 2011. It's  important to consider that while Parks Assoicates (the provider of these figures) reports a slow decline in home console sales, these three systems currently investigated are the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, all three of which are systems that have been around close to seven years now. There are quite frankly more compelling reasons to obtain a new cell phone once a year than there are to go out and buy another Xbox. Most service providers will even offer incentive to switch, which is a definite plus.

Understandable as it is to thin that with cell phones becoming so prevalent in todays society that app-based gaming will become more popular, but to speculate if mobile gaming will edge out consoles just shows a lack of understanding when it comes to the history of the industry. Cell phone games will never be able to replicate the kind of experience you can find in a console, the same way that movie theatres will always be relevant because they still have something to provide socially. It's nice to know that apps have a place in the world of gaming, especially for those who consider themselves to be 'casual gamers', but one new popular medium simply does not cancel out another.

Maybe it's because many of the best selling titles in gaming happen to be sequels that these analysts are coming across the industry incorrectly. When you watch a game like Black Ops become one of the greatest selling pieces of entertainment ever, it's hard not to look at something like Demon's Souls and consider it a failure. But keeping in mind that the target audience for these titles are radically different, you can begin to see how the definition of success and profit can be two very different things. Both casual gamers and journalists alike make the error of pitting any MMO's value against a title like World of Warcraft, a mistake that can often times be a marketing nightmare for some unfortunate developer. As cell phone games are really just another branch of the industry, isn't it safe to assume that they have a completely different target audience? Contrary to the advertisements I've seen, there's never been a point in my life where I've gone home and disregarded the Playstation or Xbox to sit on my couch and rock out on my cell phone. Hard to say I know anyone else who does that either, but maybe I'm just friends with the wrong people.

The only thing that will ever surpass the current generation of consoles is the next, and that's just the way it's always been. Technology has improved to the point where we can finally start experimenting with deeper levels of gameplay, various styles and sorts of gaming immersions, and naturally new mediums to experience it all on. It would be nice if some of the hype concerning apps would die down a bit though; it's an exciting new sector to watch grow but I think people are savvy enough to know that a portable game and a console one are two completely different sort of beasts. There's just no need for any sort of technological scare-mongering.

TAGS: Mobile, Industry, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, iPhone, Android

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Japan's DLE to Launch New US Animation Channels with SyncTV - Virtual-Strategy Magazine

DLE mounts US-based content distribution service through multiple digital channels including Roku and Android devices

SyncTV, the leader in delivering television services to the largest set of Internet connected TVs, mobile devices, and other service-enabled devices, today announced an agreement with leading Japanese animation studio, Dream Link Entertainment (DLE) to distribute DLE’s original animation content to US audiences. By using SyncTV’s digital video distribution platform, DLE will instantly become an extensive service that can reach millions of US viewers through multiple digital channels including Roku set-top-boxes, Android-powered mobile devices, connected TVs, and more. SyncTV will create custom DLE-branded channels via device “apps” that are centrally managed by DLE via a single web-based interface.

SyncTV’s agreement with DLE enables DLE’s US-based content distribution service to its portfolio of original content, which includes the award-winning Eagle Talon Secret Society and popular TV titles like Coffy the Tomb Tyke. DLE is widely recognized in Japan as the leading FLASH animation studio and an early leader in web video distribution.

“Experience has taught us that the US youth market respects the originality and style of Japanese animation, so we believe our content will find a welcome home in the United States,” said Ryuta Shiiki, President/Executive Producer of DLE. “Given that the viewing of video content has become so fragmented recently, we greatly appreciate the ability to quickly reach millions of viewers across different types of media and devices through a single virtual Internet broadcast platform from SyncTV.”

“Our agreement with DLE shows just how easily content owners can enter new markets by using SyncTV,” said Yutaka Nagao, General Manager, SyncTV Japan. “Anywhere in the world where there are connected devices, there can be a new digital channel or premium application delivering unique content to people who want it. DLE has a great collection of very popular video content, and we are proud of our part in opening up a new market for the studio.”

About SyncTV

SyncTV and its content distribution platform offers video content and service providers a turnkey solution for extending their offerings to millions of viewers across the Internet. SyncTV partners with television networks, broadcasters, content distributors, and content producers worldwide to distribute media across all forms of entertainment media including Internet-enabled connected TVs, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, smartphones, tablets, and more. In addition to Dream Link Entertainment, SyncTV works with many of the world’s top entertainment studios including NBC Universal, Jaroo, Kidlet, Wieder.TV, Aim Flicks, Oasis TV, The Concert Channel, and Bollywood Nirvana.

For more information, visit www.synctv.com or email info@synctv.com.

Copyright (2011) Business Wire.
All Rights Reserved.

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ASUS Android tablet available at Office Depot - LetsGoDigital

ASUS Android tablet
"The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer truly stands out from other tablets currently on the market with its great price point and unique features, including the expandable keyboard dock," said Randy Wick, Vice President of Technology Merchandising for Office Depot. "Customers who purchase this tablet will have access to thousands of Android apps, hours of entertainment, and the ability to remain productive when away from the office - all in a single device."
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer tablet
The new ASUS Android tablet PC is powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor. A 10.1” IPS (In-Plane Switching) LED backlit Panel made from durable Corning Gorilla glass is viewable at angles up to 178 degrees, and produces a crisper and more accurate color range. The ASUS Android tablet browses the internet at ultra-fast speeds, providing fast response time and better multi-tasking performance.
ASUS Android tablet PC features
The new Android tablet computer from ASUS has a built-in SRS surround sound system that provides a dynamic 3D stereo audio experience, with maximum bass response and a wide sound field from the discrete speakers housed in the 12.98mm thick frame that weighs only 680 gram. The ASUS Android tablet features a 5 megapixel rear- and 1.2 Megapixel front digital camera. The ASUS Android tablet can shoot and record video, which can be played back on a HD-TV via a mini HDMI output port.
ASUS Android tablet docking station
The ASUS Eee Pad transformer tablet PC also has an optional docking station available for $149.99 USD that will enhance your ASUS tablet by providing a full-size keyboard, two additional USB ports, a built-in Secure Digital card reader, and a multi-touch trackpad. The Asus Tablet docking station also extends the Transformer’s 9.5 hours of battery life up to 16 hours.

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