I have a nasty online shopping habit. It’s so easy to hop online and have everything you’ve ever wanted right at your fingertips. Of course, shopping online usually means you have to wait a few days as your item goes through the shipping process. As of this writing, I currently have 3 packages at some point in the shipping process, all through the worldwide leader in all things shipping: UPS.

Sure, Android has some fairly decent shipment tracking applications. But now, UPS just changed the way we will look at the entire shipping process on our Android devices with the release of their UPS mobile app. Currently in version 1.0.1, the UPS mobile app offers not only the ability to track any UPS shipment on your mobile device, but also allows shippers the opportunity to get shipping cost quotes. In addition, the UPS app offers the ability to purchase shipping directly through the app itself, provided you are a registered member of UPS and have a registered credit card on file. I do not have a card on file, nor do I think I have shipped a package since about 2005, but the ability to conveniently order shipping from my mobile device is certainly a nice feature to have.

Though the UPS app still feels like a beta app, it certainly offers a wealth of features for the low-low price of $0.00.

Pros

• Convenient all-in-one solution
• Ability to actually purchase shipping from your mobile device
• Free!
• Quick and easy access to shipments.

Cons

• Only able to track UPS shipments
• Still has a very beta feel. The UI isn’t refined enough.

Final Verdict:
Anyone who either uses UPS for their shipments or is an online-shopaholic like me (most sites use UPS) should download this app. It’s free and offers several convenient features without having to go through the browser.

Note: This review was submitted by Anthony Domanico as part of our app review contest.

Related Posts

• Quick Settings: Manage system settings from anywhere
• Ethereal Dialpad: A music app where you make the music
• Soccer Multiplayer: The paperless paper soccer
• SlideIt: Typing thanks to the power of magic.
• Gmote: Turn your phone into a remote for your computer.

Just released a couple days ago, urMusic is a media player and mobile box office. The only issue is that it’s not that great. I applaud Rogers Wireless taking a particular interest in Android but it definitely could have been done a lot better. It is quite clear they took an application from their regular java-enabled feature phones and stuck it on Android.  It doesn’t take advantage of the Android OS in any way. The first thing that enticed me into downloading it was the market description as follows:

Rogers urMusic turns your phone into the ultimate music player allowing you to import and sideload your existing music to your phone for FREE. Discover, browse and preview new music. Download songs and albums. Create your own playlists. Plus, get access to hot concert tickets with zero service charges!

My favourite part? ” import and sideload your existing music to your phone for FREE”, NO WAY! I love sideloading music I own for free! Getting serious though, the application does the basic functionality of letting you search your library, play music, and shuffle. In addition to the simple media player the application forwards you to a mobile optimized site that lets you buy and download music as well as purchase concert tickets. As you saw in the description there is no service charges on all concert tickets but I can’t say that will drive me to use a basic media player that forwards me to my phone’s browser. I really think the app is more of an advertisement for people to start using the urMusic service to purchase concert tickets and to also increase sales for overpriced music from Rogers. So as I said in the title, don’t waste your time, and rather go straight to the urMusic website to save on service charges.

Music Player

urMusic Box Office

http://androinica.com/2010/04/21/telus-motorola-milestone-users-here%E2%80%99s-how-to-grab-android-2-1-right-now/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+androinica+%28Androinica+-++A+Google+Android+Blog%29&utm_content=Brizzly

Might We Suggest…

• Motorola Release: Bell Gets DEXT, Rogers Gets Quench
  
  Enter the Motorola DEXT and Motorola DEXT (Round of applause). Despite MotoBlur not being among the most popular of the Android flavours, I am quite excited to see it enter the Canadian market. We w…

Rocksteady is definitely not resting on their Batman: Arkham Asylum laurels. Despite the fact that it’s earned so much recognition already, and that a sequel is well on its way, they’re still up for delivering some more

A new study to be published in the International Journal of Climatology concludes that predicting the effects of global warming in the future could be significantly affected by mountains.

The study, written by researchers from Oregon State University using the unique historical data provided by Oregon’s H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, believes that the effects of global warming could be dramatically changed over very small distances thanks to the air movements in complex or mountainous terrain.

The authors believe that such a change could see doubling or even tripling to the temperature increases in some situations. (more…)

And it all comes together: Hulu will start testing a $10-a-month Hulu Plus subscription service as early as May 24, according to the LA Times. Huge. More »

Robert Langer wrote:

[Editor’s note: To help launch Xconomy Detroit, we’ve queried our network of Xconomists and other innovation leaders around the country for their list of the most important things that entrepreneurs and innovators in Michigan can do to reinvigorate their regional economy.]

1) Create great technologies

2) Bring more venture capital into the region

3) Get the state to give more grant money to universities + existing faculty

4) Attract great new junior and senior faculty (more funding needed)

5) Strengthen tech transfer offices.

Comments | Reprints | Share:  

 
 
 

UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Bluetooth 4.0 just got finalized and will start rolling out to devices by the end of the year. Along with extending range from 30 feet to 200 feet, 4.0 introduces a new low power mode that will be seen in either single or dual-mode iterations. More »

Ubisoft has unveiled a bunch of brand new gameplay footage Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. Check out how the Prince uses his acrobatic skills and magical abilities as he tries to infiltrate the besieged castle after

The majority of music creation apps for Android are digital reproductions of real instruments. However, they can’t seem to capture the real feel of the object they mimic. Ethereal Dialpad, on the other hand, takes a radically different approach by emulating a synthesizer.

When you first start the app, you get a choice of 4 “dialpads” and their description. You can enter any of these and start playing, the only difference being the onscreen graphics. While the first 3 are just pretty colours and cool animations, the last dialpad actually has the notes overlaid and color coded so you know what you’re playing. Once you choose a dialpad, the fun really starts and you get to control the pitch of two synthesized voices/instruments by moving a finger on the screen from left to right or up and down. The sound quality is above average and really soothing.

The fact that the graphics change and react to your touch takes the app to the next level. You can exit a dialpad at any point by pressing the Back key. By pressing the Menu key from the main screen you get the option to go into the Synth preferences or get more dialpads. While dialpads change the graphics, in Synth preferences you will get the chance to modify the sound by changing the pitch quantizer (basically what kind of scale to use if any), how many octaves are on the screen at one point, echoes, sustain and timbre options. This is also where you select whether you want to control one voice and it’s volume, or two.

The good:

• Beautiful graphics and sound
• Makes it very easy to get something that sounds decent
• Uses a simple interface to control two instruments at the same time
• Promises to be extensible by adding new dialpads
• Extremely lightweight (a 35kb download)
• Free in the Android Marketplace

Improvements I would like to see:

• At the time of writing there is only one other dialpad available for download and it isn’t free
• Too many octaves on the screen at the same time are difficult to control
• When controlling a single voice you can’t choose to do it left to right, only up and down

The bottom line:
Ethereal Dialpad is a nifty little app that knows better than to try to rip off a real instrument. It’s it’s own unique thing, and you have to download it for that alone.

Note: This review was submitted by Alexandru-Ioan Dobrinescu as part of our app review contest.

Related Posts

• Gmote: Turn your phone into a remote for your computer.
• FolderOrganizer: Spring cleaning for that cluttered home screen
• Slacker Radio: Streaming Music to your Android Powered Device
• Soccer Multiplayer: The paperless paper soccer
• Ringdroid: Hassle free custom ringtones

Tired of the same old opaque single tone band on your headphones, an OLED panel might just be the thing to spruce up boring monitors More »

The pledges to curb carbon emissions made during 2009’s Copenhagen Accord are more likely to see Earth suffer a three degree warming rather than the deal’s target of two degrees.

Such a warming could have dire affects for Earth’s climate system, possibly increasing the frequency of droughts, floods, storms and rising seas, all of which will affect millions of people.

An analysis published in the journal Nature by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research say the promises made during the Accord last year fell remarkably short of the headline-mark.

“It’s amazing how unambitious these pledges are,” they said. (more…)

And Avatar comes out on DVD. (BTW — don’t shy away from the DVD or Blu -ray just because it’s not in IMAX 3D. I caught a pre-street of the DVD over the weekend and it was great.)

Here’s a link more appropriate for Earth Day.

The release:

Expert commentary on Earth Day’s 40th anniversary

Presented in Sustainability: The Journal of Record; Environmental Justice; and Ecopsychology

New Rochelle, NY, April 21, 2010— In recognition of Earth Day’s 40th anniversary, publisher Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com) will provide complimentary online access to its journals in the field of sustainability, including Sustainability: The Journal of Record; Environmental Justice; and Ecopsychology through May 15. Each journal provides cutting-edge information about sustainability initiatives, the relationship between mankind and nature, and the protection of our citizens and our planet.

In this month’s issue of Sustainability: The Journal of Record (www.liebertpub.com/sus), Ray Anderson, the Founder and Chairman of Interface, reflects on “Earth Day, Then and Now.” “In the Green” reports on what a number of organizations and institutions are doing to commemorate this auspicious anniversary, including Major League Baseball, Walt Disney Studios, Dow Chemical Co., and Northwestern University. The Journal documents the implementation of sustainability programs in higher education and business, and provides the central forum for academic institutions, the business community, foundations, government agencies, and leaders of green-collar endeavors to learn about one another’s progress and programs and foster collaborations for attaining mutually supportive objectives.

Environmental Justice offers a provocative view of “Earth Day at the Crossroads of Sustainability and Justice,” with contributions by Editor-in-Chief Sylvia Hood Washington, PhD, MSE, MPH, University of Illinois at Chicago, David Naguib Pellow, PhD, University of Minnesota, and Kristen Schrader-Frechette, PhD, University of Notre Dame, among others.

Now in its third year, Environmental Justice (www.liebertpub.com/env)explores the adverse and disparate environmental burden impacting marginalized populations and communities all over the world.

Articles in Ecopsychology (www.liebertpub.com/eco), edited by Thomas Joseph Doherty, PsyD, explore the relationship between environmental issues and mental health and well-being, and examine the psychological, spiritual, and therapeutic aspects of human-nature relationships, concern about environmental issues, and responsibility for protecting natural places and other species.

###

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science, medicine, biomedical research, and law, including Industrial Biotechnology, Environmental Engineering Science, andBiosecurity and Bioterrorism. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Chipmaker Marvell today debuted a new processor in its Armada family, designed for plug computing, for home, small business and industrial automation, and applications demanding ultra low power consumption.

The Armada 310 system-on-a-chip is built with an ARMv5 processor between 500MHz and 1GHz that consumes less than 1 watt of power. Fixed on a 15 x 15mm FCBGA (Flip Chip Ball Grid Array), the Armada 310 offers tons of i/o options, such as two Gigabit Ethernet MACs, two SATA 2.0 ports, two PCIe ports, USB 2.0, and DDR2/3.

Early last year, Marvell debuted its Plug Computing initiative with the release of its SheevaPlug development platform. The idea behind the initiative is that low-cost, low-power CPUs can be embedded all over the place to help manage and connect devices with each other. Marvell’s SheevaPlug wiki describes the plug computer as “a cross between an embedded platform, typically found in smaller devices like mobile phones, and larger notebook computer.”

A popular consumer solution that works with Marvell’s design is the Pogoplug, a tiny server that connects to any USB storage device and makes their contents available on the Web. The little pink box can do this with just 5 Watts of power.

But now, the Armada 310 can do this sort of computing with just a single Watt of power, and though it’s ideally suited for plug computers, it can be employed in any number of smaller form factors, such as routers, microservers, dongles, PC cards, industrial, and medical systems.

“By integrating extensive connectivity capabilities into a highly scalable ARM-based SoC, the ARMADA 310 offers designers the opportunity to create small-form factor, high-performance, devices that easily link to other systems and outside networks,” Tony Massimini, Chief of Technology at Semico Research Corp. said in a statement.

The Armada 310 system on a chip is selling to manufacturers right now for less than $15 when purchased in bulk quantities. Marvell told us that we will begin to see solutions running on the chip in the second half of this year.

Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Thursday, April 29th
7:00-9:00pm
FREE
Gowen Hall Room 201 at the University of Washington, just north of Suzzallo Library

Josphat Ngonyo Executive Director of African Network for Animal Welfare, a lead organization in the Kenya Biodiversity Coalition, is coming to Seattle!  Kenya is currently at a crossroads between burgeoning organic movements, and its participation in the “New Green Revolution” for Africa, financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and their partners. As a representative of farmer organizations in Kenya, Mr. Ngonyo will discuss the social, economic, and environmental consequences of the new green revolution agricultural model. He will also share stories with us of resistance to this approach and information about actual alternative agricultural practices.

Josphat Ngonyo is Founder and Executive Director of African Network for Animal Welfare, a lead organization in the Kenya Biodiversity Coalition (KBioC). CAGJ’s Director, Heather Day, recently met with Josphat and many of his colleagues in KBioC, who are taking the lead in resisting the introduction of GMOs into Kenya, and promoting agroecological alternatives.

Other ways to catch Mr. Ngonyo:

April 29^th Tune in to hear Mr. Ngonyo on KUOW’s The Conversation 12 – 1pm

Join Brown-Bag luncheon with African Studies Program, UW Thomson Hall Rm 317, 1:30 – 2:30

Questions?  Contact 206-405-4600 or email AGRA Watch

Sponsored by Community Environment and Planning, Anthropology, African Studies Program, UW Bothell, and Community Alliance for Global Justice

David Jaffe’s been known to speak out his mind about… well, anything but his super secret project. After calling the game sharing feature of the PSN “horse sh*t”, the famed game director is now giving his two

Noah’s full review of what may be the coolest phone-as-object out there right now: The Android-powered HTC Legend.