Amazon's recently-introduced Cloud Drive is a great place to store your files online. It offers 5 gigs of totally free space, and U.S. users also get access to the handy Cloud Player app (for Web and Android!) which streams music you upload to your Cloud Drive. The service could be a little easier to use, however. Until Amazon releases a desktop client, Windows users might want to take another look at Gladinet. The multi-service cloud connector has now added Amazon Cloud Drive support and will let you map a network drive letter to your account with minimal fuss. Once you've added your credentials to Gladinet, just pick the letter you want to assign to the drive and you're good to go. You can then copy files to and from your Cloud Drive, rename items, and manage folders like you would any local hard drive in your system. The only downside is that the free version of Gladinet gives you a limited number of cloud interactions. Once you use those up, you'll need to upgrade to the paid version, which costs $49.99. If you work with a number of cloud-based storage providers, however, it could be well worth the price tag.
Sure, Amazon's Cloud Player works -- as long as you're in the U.S. or willing to do some tinkering -- but it's fairly simplistic at the moment. There are plenty of features missing which we'd like to see added -- but since Cloud Player is a Web app we don't have to wait for Amazon! Google Chrome users, for example, can add playback hotkeys with an extension called keyMazony. Once installed, you'll have keyboard control of your Amazon Cloud Player queue. keyMazony commands will work as long as you're in the same Chrome window as Cloud Player, even if its tab doesn't have focus. The key combinations are customizable as well -- just make sure you don't set up a combo that conflicts with another extension or Chrome's built-in keyboard shortcuts.
We're still not sure how iTether temporarily snuck into the App Store the first time around, but the developers behind that software have returned with a new version that skirts Apple's guidelines entirely. While Tether.com has standard apps available for BlackBerry and Android users, the new approach on iOS relies on creating an ad-hoc network from a PC, and then visiting the appropriate webpage on the iPhone. Log in to the website, and the company's "patent-pending" software does the job of tying the two connections together wirelessly through the magic of HTML5, no jailbreaking or other hackery needed. The cost for the service is $30 a year, although it's currently available for the first year at $15 -- no free trials, and of course what happens to your data plan is between you and your carrier. Check out the video above for a demonstration or hit the company's website for more details.
Julie reviewed the leather Muzetto bag some time ago; now WaterField Designs have updated the line with the Muzetto Outback in five sizes. The Outback version is made of waxed canvas that’s going to develop more character as the bag is used. Waxed canvas was originally developed for water-proofing sailing garments, and it brings a [...]
It's not often I come across an app that both humbles me and causes me to have an existential crisis, so when I find one, I know it's a keeper. Solar System Explorer caused me to go through both of these things simultaneously, and apart from making you question your tiny, insignificant self in this grand universe, you're also treated to a gorgeous layout loaded with more information about our solar system than you probably knew existed.
First thing you'll notice when you open up Solar System Explorer is how great it looks. This is a seriously polished app, with beautiful 3D models of every planet in our solar system, the moons of each planet, and each satellite the United States has launched. There's full pinch-to-zoom on all of the models as well as swiping support so you can change your perspective, too.
You move from planet to planet (or moon to moon) using pictures along the bottom of the screen. All of our planets are there, ordered from closest to farthest from the sun, and on the very end, you can get to the satellites. When you pick a planet, the pictures at the bottom of the screen change, and if the planet has any moons, images of those moons appear so you can see models and read up on them, should you choose to.
Aside from all of that, there's also an incredible treasure trove of information at your fingertips, all of it a button push away. When you've got a heavenly body selected, you're shown its general information by default, but should you leave this screen, tapping the eyeball will take you back to it. The little bar graph looking button shows you stats for your planet, all in relation to Earth.
Finally, the upside down peace sign tells you information about the structure of your planet and the 3D model changes to reflect said information. It's really quite cool seeing Earth broken up into differently colored layers and an explanation about what's going on in this beautiful blue-green ball we call home. (Plus, it reminds me of elementary school science class.)
Solar System Explorer also gives you the opportunity to just admire the solar system by hiding the information panel and zooming in and out. The full-screen experience is quite incredible, and at times like these, I wonder why I didn't do more to become something like an astronaut or work for NASA. This might "just" be an Android app, but it certainly instills a sense of awe in me.
If you're someone who has even a slight interest in our big, mysterious solar system, check this app out. It's great to just poke around in, but it's also chock full of such solid information, I don't see any reason why it couldn't be used as an educational tool, too.
Solar System Explorer is $1.99 in the Google Play Store. We've got download links after the break.
I hate hydrating, and I'm getting fat from all the Sierra Mist I'm drinking. Bottled just water isn't refreshing enough. That's why I want this cheap, practical gadget that makes adding all-natural juice flavors to my Evian a cinch. More »
Think the iPhone is popular in the States? Well, the device is taking off in Asia as well. Based on a report from research firm IDC Japan, Apple snagged the largest share of mobile phone shipments in the country for the quarter at 26.6%, ending the market dominance of local manufacturers. Popularity of the iPhone 4S rose during the period from October to December and propelled the device maker past Fujitsu / Toshiba's mark of 18.3% and third place Sharp, coming in at 15.7%. Sharp still owned the top spot for 2011, though, with 20.1% of total shipments while Apple finished the year third with 14.2%. For more stats on the Japanese smartphone market, hit the source link below to read on.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! One of our favorite things from last spring's CTIA show was when the CEOs of Sprint, Verizon and AT&T took the stage together in the Day 1 keynote for a pretty candid discussion, made even more interesting because it was just days after AT&T had announced it intended to purchase T-Mobile. That caused T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm (above) to have to drop out of the panel, for obvious reasons. (And as you well know, the acquisition never happened.)
But the CTIA has announced that all four CEOs -- Sprint's Dan Hesse, Verizon's Dan Mead, AT&T's Ralph de la Vega (seen at right) and T-Mobile's Humm -- will again head up this spring's keynote on May 8, from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. And just like last year, CNBC business personality Jim Cramer will moderate the panel.
If it's anything like last year's panel, this is going to be good, folks. And, of course, we'll be there in the Crescent City to bring it all to you live.
The social networking app Path recieved a significant update, today, that allows users to journal their Nike+ runs, identify music that's playing around them, and when taking a photo, they can adjust the focus and exposure separately.
Just a quick heads up for you folks flying to Austin, Texas, for SXSW -- GoGo Inflight Internet is free if you're flying on Alaska Airlines, American Airlines or Delta Air Lines to Austin from March 10-16. That means you can use the GoGo Android app to keep reading Android Central while you're at 35,000 feet. And that's a good thing.