WordPress for Android

Write new posts, edit content, and manage comments on your WordPress blog.

WordPress for Android is an Open Source app that empowers you to write new posts, edit content, view stats, and manage comments with built-in notifications.

Version 2 brings an all new Dashboard UI with Quick Action bar and a powerful new editor that makes it easier than ever to post on the go.

WordPress for Android supports both WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress (3.0 or higher) blogs.

Having used this app myself quite a few times now, I am very impressed with the ease and speed. Before you begin, make sure you set the Enable the WordPress, Movable Type, MetaWeblog and Blogger XML-RPC publishing protocols setting to on under the Remote Publishing heading on the Writing page under WordPress Settings.

Enable XML-RPC Remote Publishing on your WordPress blog.

Here is a quick list of new features included in version 2.1 of the new app:

Every 60 seconds posts are now autosaved.
Full support for editing comments.
Added support for setting the width of linked images.
All new WordPress.com reader.
Navigating posts is much faster and you can add comments to posts that you are reading.
Share the post to other Android apps.
UI improvements.
New app icon.
Reliability improvements.
Translation updates.

I have tested personally this app on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and my Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Both have quite large screens and the app performed very well on both devices. Both have Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich loaded which worked as promised. The app is available as a free 1.6 MB download from Google Play.

Check out this vid below that gives a quick overview of the new features available in version 2 of the app.

Here are a few screenshots of the app from Google Play.

The app is available as a free 1.6 MB download from Google Play.

The Weather Channel gets a major update on iTunes

The Weather Channel 5.0 for iPhone has received the first major redesign since the initial launch in 2008. The Weather Channel provides the most accurate and relevant weather information whenever weather matters to you. With 200+ meteorologists and, our ultra-local TruPoint(sm) forecasting technology, we provide you with the weather tools you need to plan your day, week, or even the next hour.

What’s new in Version 5.0?

Swipe between locations within the app, and swipe to the far left position to return your TruPoint(sm) current location.
Beautiful weather-triggered imagery changes the app background based on your local weather conditions.
New easy-to-use buttons:

“Find Me Now” button integrated with Search icon.
Standard Search icon replaced the open search box.
Settings / Information icon now on all screens.

Detailed weather data collapsed for better visual experience with expandable button for more information.
Improved location management to easily save, edit, and delete your favorite locations.
Prominent severe badges quickly alert you of severe weather conditions.
Add your own photo to the app – customize the background image to be a personal photo and add different weather overlays (within Settings).
A built-in camera button on the Home Screen – take pictures and share through iWitness, Twitter, Facebook and email. We may even share your weather photos on The Weather Channel or weather.com.

The Weather Channel app is available for free from Apple iTunes and is a 21.5 MB download.

Temple Run on Google Play receives an update (ICS fix)

Temple Run for Android received an update on Google Play today. The update addresses numerous compatibility issues with Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich devices. The update also addresses a bug that caused low resolution textures to be used on high resolution devices and other general bug fixes and improvements.

Temple Run is available as a free 24 MB download from Google Play and requires Android 2.1 or higher.

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Mini Motor Racing available from Google Play

Little cars, BIG fun! Start your engines! The most vibrant, super-charged racing game you’ve ever seen is here!

Mini Motor Racing plays like a favorite remote-controlled car showdown, combined with modern tech to nitro-boost your engines! Play multiplayer against up to four of your friends via WiFi! Race in campaign competitions for big rewards! Upgrade your skills and cars to win more! It’s all here in Mini Motor Racing.

Features:

Official Fruit Ninja Launch Bonuses: Includes special themed tracks and cars for fruit mayhem enthusiasts!
Your Choice of Cars: Race in fully upgradeable cars, each with their own unique handling and style! Whether it be Sports, Hatch, Big-rig, Pick-up, School Bus, Hot Rod…the list goes on!
Win races, win cars: Win races throughout the game and you’ll find yourself behind the wheel of the sweetest rides around including the official Fruit Ninja buggy!
Multiple Race Types: Race on over 20 tracks, day and night, in varying weather conditions
Supports multiplayer: Up to 4 players via WiFi
Enhanced for Fast Devices: More eye-popping visual candy taking advantage of all that extra power!

The app currently sells for R 16-36 on Google Play and requires Android 2.3.3 or higher. The app is a 161 MB download so connect to that Wifi before downloading.

Roamz available from Google Play today

Roamz is a free app that gives you social goggles for the real world. It shows you social content about places, events and activities that are relevant to you. It uses information from the networks you know and love – Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram and Twitter – and cuts through the noise to deliver you personalized and intelligent suggestions.

It’s like having your best friend in your pocket, showing you things that you are actually interested in. The best part is, the more you use Roamz the smarter it gets, so no matter where you are you’ll always be a local.

You can capture and share Roamz moments at places that you discover too, by connecting your Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare accounts.

At the time of this article being publishes only one person had rated the app so far. Adam, who uses a Samsung Galaxy S2, rated the app 5 out of 5. He left the following comment:

About time

I like things that just work. Roamz is terrific for finding interesting things to do when you have no idea how to entertain annoying people.

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Staggering Increase in Android Malware Variants, Trojan Apps

How well is your Android device protected from malware, Trojans and viruses? Do you download and side-load apps regularly from untrusted sources? I know with my first Android device I really didn’t care much about side-loading, but recently I have been more careful and certainly scrutinize apps a lot closer before installing. Gone are the days of installing every app in the market or store and uninstalling them again 2 hours later.

The extract below comes from an article over at Threat Post, and may convince you (if you are not already convinced) that attackers are catching up to new technologies so much faster these days.

“The number of malicious programs that target Google’s Android mobile platform is growing at an alarming rate, according to data from anti-malware company F-Secure.

In the first quarter of 2012, F-Secure identified 3063 new malicious Android application packages (APKs) and 37 new families of Android-based malware, according to the company’s latest Mobile Threat Report [PDF]. That is compared with 139 new malicious APKs and just 10 new malware families in the same quarter last year.

“This type of growth really shows how much more the Android OS is being targeted by criminals,” Kaspersky Lab Android security specialist, Tim Armstrong told Threapost via email. “As people move from traditional computing platforms to more mobile solutions, Android malware will continue to grow exponentially, as it is currently the easiest for malware authors to attack.””

Click here to read the full article over at Threat Post.

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Sonic 4 Episode 2 available on Google Play

The Sonic 4 Saga continues in Episode II with the return of a beloved side kick and fan-favorite villains!

Following the events of Episode I, Metal Sonic has returned to form a formidable alliance with Dr. Eggman! To face this new evil, Sonic will have to call upon an old friend to help him save the day! Now joined by Tails, race across four brand new Zones and take down fearsome new badniks with deadly combination moves in order to put an end to this dastardly duo’s plans!

The app is available from Google Play for R 57.22 and is a 566MB download (so get on the Wifi before downloading this one Requires Android 2.3 or higher. With only 4 votes at the time of this article being published be one of the first to review and vote for this app!

Machinarium now available for Android users

Discover the award-winning, steam punk world of Machinarium, navigating a clever little robot called Josef from the scrapheap into the city to save his robot girlfriend.

Solve puzzles, quests, brain-teasers and mini-games to rid the city of the wicked Black Cap Brotherhood robots. Gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and animations bring the robot’s story to life, using unique comic bubbles and symbols to convey the plot.

The Machinarium world is populated only by robots of various forms and functions. One of the most interesting places in this world is old, rusty and legendary city of Machinarium where the game takes place.

Backgrounds and characters are 2D hand-drawn represented through carefully crafted animations.

The app is available for Android device from Google Play for R 32-56 and is a 17 MB download. The app is compatible with Android 2.2 or higher and currently sports a average user rating of 4.3 (with 287 votes and over 10 000 download so far).

SlideShark: PowerPoint Presentations on the iPad

The number one app for Viewing and Sharing PowerPoint presentations on the iPad just got an update today. With SlideShark individuals or teams can view and share PowerPoint presentations on the iPad – the way they were meant to be seen. The SlideShark App is easy to use, powerful, professional, and – best of all – free! Built for business, SlideShark is the one and only app used to accurately and reliably show PowerPoint on the iPad.

Features:

Play PowerPoint files properly on your iPad.
Preserve animations, fonts, graphics and colors.
Simply tap or swipe to advance animations and slides.
No internet connection required when presenting and viewing; all presentations downloaded to the device within the SlideShark app.
Connect to a VGA/HDMI projector or TV (all iPad versions supported).
Use Presenter Mode to see slide notes, presentation timers and more (iPad 2 and new iPad).
Share presentations as links via email or social media for on-demand viewing and track the results.
Access multi-user capabilities with optional Team Edition.

With SlideShark, you can avoid unreliable workarounds that reduce the impact and effectiveness of your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations such as converting PowerPoint slides to PDF, converting PowerPoint to video, or converting PowerPoint to images.

With the version 1.6 update to the app the following features are now possible:

Presenter Mode (iPad 2, New iPad) with slide notes, timer, animation counter and more.
iPad 1 projector and TV support (Full Screen Mode).

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Evernote 4.0 for Android Released

Evernote is an easy-to-use, free app that helps you remember everything across all of the devices you use. Stay organized, save your ideas and improve productivity. Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists, record voice reminders–and makes these notes completely searchable, whether you are at home, at work, or on the go.

Version 4.0.1 of the Evernote App for Android has just been released on Google Play.

Here are some ways to use Evernote for your personal and professional life:

Research smarter: snap photos of whiteboards and books
Take meeting and class notes, draft agendas and research notes
Plan a trip: keep track of travel plans, plane tickets and passports
Organize and save recipes; search by ingredients later
Create a grocery list or task list and check things off as you go
View web pages saved in Evernote on your desktop
Capture ideas and inspiration on the go
Access files and notes you create on your phone from your desktop
Keep track of products and prices for comparison shopping purposes
Keep finances in order: save receipts, bills and contracts
Reduce paper clutter by taking snapshots of restaurant menus, business cards and labels
Use Evernote as part of your GTD system to help you stay organized
To get the most out of your Evernote experience, download it on all of the computers and phones that you use.

With this new release the app brings the following new features:

New home screen lets you create and find your notes easily
Redesigned note list for easier reading and browsing
Updated notebook list unifies user notebooks with shared notebooks
New contextual Action Bars for easy access to functionality
Swipeable navigation
Swipe right from your note and note list to show the home screen
Swipeable navigation to go from Notebook to Tag to Place views

Check out this video by EvernoteVideos explaining some of the cool features in Evernote for Android.

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