Listen to That Android Show Episode 15: Homa Screen
Welcome everyone to an episode chock full of news, overviews and fabulous updates to items we’ve covered in earlier shows. We even fit in a fantastic interview and your letters in the mailbag. So prepare for the onslaught of Android information!
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In The News:
Rubin out, Pichai in as Google’s new senior vice president of Android
Andy Rubin bids farewell to Android partners, describing himself as ‘an entrepreneur at heart’
Google separates its mapping and commerce unit, VP Jeff Huber headed to the X team
Google Closes the Book On Google Reader On July 1, Seven Other Products Also Get The Chop
Why Google Killed Google Reader? It was self defense
Google Reader May Return In Google Plus
Babble: Google may be priming unified chat service for Google I/O
Google slips, accidentally unveils Evernote-like Google Keep service
Group Play Surround Sound on the Galaxy S 4
Comparing the Galaxy s 3 to the s 4
Galaxy S 4 Moves Away From Android
Google Play removes ad blocker apps
Google Hangouts Got A Lot More Accessible
Don’t forget that JJ and Joe went to CSUN 2013 and here is a link to a panel discussion they did in regards to APH’s Nearby Explorer and more
Google shows off a prescription version of Google Glass
Google Glass shows off its apps at SXSW
App Overview: Google Keep
Joe takes us on a quick tour of the new note taking app for Chrome, Google Drive and Android. And yes, he discusses the Evernote factor.
Interview With Dr. Robert Carter “The Tech Doctor”
Joe asked Dr. Robert Carter to drop by, as part of our continuing long look at the nexus 7, to discuss his thoughts and experiences on Android. Dr. Carter has been using the nexus 7 for a few months and he also is very familiar with the mac and iOS devices. His excellent podcasts on the nexus 7 covered some areas, such as connecting the unit to a mac, are definitely worth listening to if you are considering a nexus 7 in your future. Also, be sure to follow his show as he will be looking at APH’s Nearby Explorer soon.
Software Update: Another Look At Acapela TTS With Steve
A recent update to the Acapela TTS engine has Steve elated. Find out more about the update by visiting the Google Play market page for this voice engine.
Hardware Update: The Droid 4 And Jellybean
JJ and Joe have talked about their Droid 4 phones before, however, neither one of them ever thought they would be able to talk about running Android v4.1 on their units without having to learn the world of modding. Well it turns out that Motorola has been kind to the pair by releasing Jellybean to the Droid 4 recently. Is the best hardware keyboard phone out there enhanced or diminished by the OS update? Tune in to hear their verdict.
Mailbag:
The mailbag was kind of light this time around, however, some of your emails did spark conversations and suggestions about various apps on the Play Market from the team.
Audio Evolution is an app that allows for the editing of audio on your android device.
Jango Radio is an app that Steve adores but wishes it wouldn’t force stop on him under jellybean. He is looking to contact the developer about the issue, and you can follow the app’s updates by visiting the Play Market page here.
Here’s an email from Carolyn about Google TV
“Hello!
Keep up the great work on That Android Show! We never miss an episode!
Dennis and I are thinking about getting either Google TV or the Apple TV. First, can you access Apple TV from a Google Smart phone or tablet as your remote?
Is the latest version of the Google TV totally accessible? And, do you have to use ITunes for the Apple TV?
Dennis said he’d rather use his 10 inch Google tablet as a cool remote if possible.
Thanks so very much.
Carolyn Ranker”
The team was a bit skittish to say much about Google TV this close to Google i/o. Joe did say that there were alternatives to using a Google TV out on the Play market.
Joe’s not played with MX Player, however, he’s heard good things about it for playback of various media formats.
And VLC is in Beta on the Play market as well.
These next two emails we answer during the course of this episode.
“Hello!
First I must say, that you’re doing an excellent job—keep at it!
Now, I have an Galaxy Nexus (android 4.1.1) with Ivona TTS, which is horrible for typing. How can I use Google tts for typing and Ivona for everything else without going to accessability settings?
Can you recommend any other TTS engines that have a nice voice and are not so laggy?
Thanks for your help!”
Check out Steve’s update on Acapela. He finds that a much better option in regards to lag.
We also talk about this one from James during our talk about Google keep.
“Hi guys,
I have been a listener of the show to keep up with the advancements in android accessibility. For a while they were extremely slow, but it seems with Jelly bean we have really gained a lot. I have always wanted and still really hope for great access on the Android side and this might truely represent the majority of the ground that needed to be gained from earlier versions. I purchased a nexus 4 to put on my second line. As I write this I still need to go get a sim card for it as it just arrived today from amazon. After listening to yours and other podcasts, I am quite confident the basic functionality is quite nice to use now with talkback such as phone, messages, settings, etc.
My concern is how well will apps work. I also have been wondering about selecting text and copy and paste. Do you know if we can do that at all in edit fields or other places yet?”
Additionally, we had a great iReport on how well this works in Episode 14’s mailbag segment in case anyone else wants to know more about editing options in Android.
Contacting the Team
We’ve had our say, now its your turn. Drop us a line at resources@serotalk.com or send us a tweet at our official Twitter page.
You can also follow our hosts by visiting
Ana’s Accessible Android blog or
JJ at Android Access.net.
Finally, Check out Steve’s Twitter feed.
Thanks for listening!
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