Simulcast 151: The Reacharound

This week on Simulcast 151, the three amigos ride again. We recap a rather slow news week and provide our highly entertaining opinions in the process!

Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook to open D10 conference

AT&T to begin unlocking off-contract iPhones this Sunday, April 8th (update)

Apple publishes support page for Flashback malware, is working on a fix

US sues Apple and publishers over ebook pricing

Google
Major Google+ redesign puts focus on discovery, lets users customize layout
Toshiba unveils new tablets including a 13 inch monster
Amazon App Store now has in-app purchases, we still won’t use it
Google simplifies multiple account interface
Samsung prices the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1″ at $400, Galaxy Tab 2 7″ $250

Miscellaneous
Verizon Wireless introduces $30 upgrade fee            (Follow up:)-Not a Fan of Verizon’s New Upgrade Fee? There are Already a Handful of Petitions for That
Twitter files suit against spam bot distributors
Facebook to Buy Instagram for $1 Billion
Netflix for Xbox 360 updates with better contrast and episode navigation
Samsung rolls out Ultra High Speed microSD cards destined for LTE phones and tablets
Asus readying cloud computing solution to be unveiled in June
500px launches $19.95 image hosting plan to compete with Flickr Pro
Maryland passes law prohibiting employers from asking for social network passwords
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint team with FCC to track stolen cellphones in the US
Bill’s Gadget Gurus appearance
New Simulcast Jr

We have our own Google+ page! and an Android app! You can also email us podcast@thesimulcast.com – Call us 203-903-CAST

Listener Questions (from the chatroom)

Best remote desktop software for noobs?
-Daniel Koos

Logmein or TeamViewer

Listener Email

Hey Simulcast.
Once again greetings from southern Europe.

Just following up on my last mail regarding the Gnote.
Sorry if I’m a bit long winded here but I am that way :-)

I’m now pretty much settled on the Gnote, and writing to see if you’ll shoot me down on my arguments for it.

It’s good to see the general public is warning up to it, noting that even Micky and Joey over at The Cellphone Junkie think positive of it.

Most positive comments say that it’s actually not as big as it sounds.
Me, I’m opposite and get absolutely amazed at just how big it is in actual life.
In some ways it’s not that it is a great sized phone but rather an (almost) perfect sized portable tablet.
I’ve long thought that 6 inches is the ideal size for a portable one, and 13 is the perfect size for the the lab or table at home.

Next is the battery, which seems closely linked to size.
It’s original is 2500mAh which ain’t all that bad, but all over ebay you find double sized ones with capacities all the way up to 5200mAh.
At 5200mAh you can basically keep this thing on from dusk till dawn (great movie by the way).
And since it’ll power an external 1.8 inch pocket drive I can pretty much have all the media with me as I can consume :-p
Secondarily it can charge my bluetooth headset on the go, and about once a month that ability will come in real handy.

Last there is the storage.
It’s internal 16gig can be augmented with sdcards, external flash drives and even the aforementioned pocket drive.
My though is to keep the internal storage free for torrent downloading and the sdcard I’ll fill with music, music videos and audio and Ebooks.

The extended battery backs can be found with kickstand which is more than a little cool, though at roughly 7 ounces I don’t see many complain about holding this in their hand for extended periods of time.

I’ve been going on for quite long but at least your podcast doesn’t have time limits, though your patience might…

As for coming on the podcast I’d have to get over my stage fright and it’d probably be difficult to do without waking my 10 month old daughter.
Your recording time translates into 5am. locally.

Also I hope you don’t think that I was putting down the verge as a site.
They are pretty smart guys, yes.
And they have exceptional sources.
But on the vergecast they seem nearly obsessed with being heard, rather than actually talking with their listeners.
This week they did tone it down greatly, and I may be proven wrong altogether.
I have been a fan of Dieter and Chris over at the verge mobile since before their verge days.

Have I been doing something wrong, or do you know why beyondpod won’t accept the boomexplode podcast rss?

Thanks for your patience (unless it ran out 5 hours ago) and keep up the good work. Arne, Cyprus

PS: don’t believe the pictures of Cyprus you commented on. They are promotional worthy of Apple.

Arne

What are we playing with /watching/reading this week?
Bill – Survivor
DaveImmortals
Patrick - Transformers Prime (Netflix)

Picks of the week
BillMaster Lock Speed Dial combination lock
DaveFrisbee Play Store
Patrick – Screen Flow

Simulcast 150: Instagrammed

This week on this milestone Simulcast 150, Sprint has a new EVO, Android gets Instagrammed, the PS3 gets Amazon Video, and we’re consuming alcohol in celebration of this 150th show…

Apple
Flurry’s analytics: Apple’s App Store revenue still leading, but Amazon Appstore close behind
Seas0npass tethered jailbreak now available for Apple TV 2s running iOS 5.1
Nano-SIM standard vote postponed while RIM accuses Apple of cheating
Is Apple preparing a gamepad for iPad?

Google
Google Drive leaks suggest 5GB free storage, in-app document editing
Instagram now available for Android, iOS fans lose their minds about it, 1m downloads in a day
Google Unveils “Project Glass” – Here are Your Google Powered Glasses with Navigation, a Camera, Music and More
Sprint announces the HTC EVO 4G LTE (that’s a mouthful)(TWSS)
GMail App update brings ICS experience to Honeycomb Users, Performance updates to others
Galaxy Tab 2 release delayed due to Android Ice Cream Sandwich, now should come with ICS
Rogers (Canada) offers HTC One X for pre-order for $170 on contract through April 30th
ICS leaks for Galaxy Note
“Hulu for magazines” Next Issue coming soon

Microsoft
Qualcomm details Snapdragon S4-loaded Win8 notebooks further, will be lighter than Ultrabooks

Lumia 900 Reviews

Gaming
PS3 gets Amazon Instant Video and Prime
PS Vita gets 1.66 Firmware update (minor UI tweaks & a couple functional updates)

Miscellaneous
Netflix snags DVD.com domain, invests in the future of optical media
Plex Media Server beta adds DLNA support, streams to PS3, Xbox 360, WP7 and more ( YES!!!)
Roku celebrates 100 channels on UK & Irish boxes
AT&T announces 3 April LTE Markets & others for May/June
Brianna’s first review

We have our own Google+ page! and an Android app! You can also email us podcast@thesimulcast.com – Call us 203-903-CAST

Listener Email

Hi guys :
Going way back I’ve had several Motorola phones including the V262 or the original Razor V9m and quite liked the Triads ringtone.

Do you have any idea where I can get for my iPhone (s)  tried Google even Motorola no joy.
Any suggestions
Enjoy the podcast up here in Vancouver
Bob

What are we playing with /watching/reading this week?
Bill – Uncharted 3 + Bill’s sad tale of woe about his PS3 controller
Dave – BF3 , Spartacus Season 2 Finale, Game Of thrones
Patrick – MW3/ American Reunion /Hunger Games
Geoff – Swordigo, Dead Island, Uncharted 1, Dexter Season 4

Picks of the week
BillGrowlVoice for OSX
DavePlex DLNA update
Patrick – Dragon Go App (iOS / Android)
Geoff – Amazon Instant Video PS3

Simulcast 142: Boo-frickin-who

This week on Simulcast 142, the big game may be over, but only one of us is crying. BOOM! We have lots of Google updates, Apple TV news, and even some Microsoft news!

Google
Chrome Beta released for Android – ICS only
Google Voice update brings Honeycomb and ICS UI updates and Asynchronous SMS
Samsung Galaxy SIII will be 7mm thin, May release?
Report: Google hires Apple exec to work on ‘secret project’
HP releases Android Kernel for Touchpad

Apple
Apple 42 inch TV in Best Buy survey for $1499
Motorola wins permanent injunction against Apple’s iCloud in German court (update: ban lifted)
Tweetbot for iPad released and update for iPhone app

Miscellaneous
Verizon and Redbox team up to launch streaming and physical media service later this year
Netflix teams with eyeIO to lower bandwidth use on movie night
Verizon double data returns Friday
Vonage Mobile App allows free calls and texts worldwide to fellow Android and iOS app users
Amazon and Viacom make deal to bring more TV shows to Amazon Prime Instant Video Service
Sony announces that “UMD Passport” service will not be offered in the US for Vita

Microsoft
Stepto leaving Microsoft for parts unknown
Microsoft to lauch Windows 8 Consumer Preview at Mobile World Congress on Feb 29th
Preinstalled Windows 8 consumer preview apps revealed

We have our own Google+ page! and an updated Android app! You can also email us podcast@thesimulcast.com

What are we playing with /watching/reading this week?
BillChrome beta for Android
GeoffBack To The Future The Game Episode 1 and 2 (there are 5 total), Dungeon Siege 3, The Tester Season 3
Patrick – Transformers Seasons 1-4 (Gen 1), Technician Class Amateur Radio Study Guide

Picks of the week
BillMonoprice.com
GeoffPlaystation Plus
PatrickOneNote Mobile for Android

Simulcast 137: Overslept

This week on Simulcast 137, nobody bothered to put anything in the show notes. Sweet.

Apple

Apple prepping TVs?
CloudON

Google
Asus Transformer Prime bootloader locked, Asus says to relax, Bootloader unlock coming
ICS coming to Transformer January 12th
Google buys up 217 IBM patents
Galaxy S owners win…… Nothing (No ICS, No 4.0 lite value pack)
Logitech Revue (Google TV)
Bill’s MotoACTV

Miscellaneous
Netflix original series Lilyhammer available February 6th
Roku on a stick!

Gaming
DVR feature in new Xbox?
Vita sales figures drop after first weekend

Listener Email

Hello gentlemen

Several months ago I contacted the Simulcast guru’s to see if there was a solution to using my Airport express in conjunction with windows media player.
At that time you had no answer so this old fart persisted and found a program called “AirFoil”  haven’t been using long but seems to work fine takes a bit to get accustomed to but solved an issue for me.

- Bob

Listener Pluses

Why does the stock Android alarm stop ringing after 30 seconds and not even snooze, even if you don’t respond to it? Slept through the first alarm this morning, woke up 45 mins late. Not too happy… Anyone got any recommendations for another Android alarm clock application that can handle multiple alarms and rings until you switch it off? +The Simulcast and +Bill Stebbins I’m looking at you! :-)

-Ian

Our favorites of 2011

CES 2012 Predictions

We have our own Google+ page! and an Android app!

What are we playing with /watching/reading this week?
Bill – Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows
Dave – Modern Combat 3
Patrick – Harry Potter 1-8 / Logitech Revue
Steve -Big Bang Theory
Geoff – Alan Wake (beat it), Deus Ex Human Revolution, Cthulu Saves the World

Picks of the week
BillBrowser Plus adds more quick controls to ICS browser
Dave – Browser Plus.. (Yes I’m copying off of Bill)
Steve -Jailbreak for iPhone 4 / Walther P22
Geoff – Panasonic TC-P55GT30 55” Plasma,Playback for Mac/PC
PatrickCaptain’s Blog (iPad) / DBZ.tv (Dragonball, DragonballZ, Dragonball GT)

Simulcast 131: Fire Extinguisher

This week on The Simulcast 131 we talk about Google’s new music store, the Amazon Kindle Fire, Halo Anniversary, and more listener emailsGoogle
Google Music launches 11/16, free song of the day?
Netflix updates app for Android tablets
Dave’s new Tab 10.1 LTE
Lenovo launching quad-core, 2GB RAM ICS-wielding tablet monster?
Droid RAZR launches
Adobe releases Photoshop Touch for Honeycomb
Xoom Family Edition
Amazon Kindle Fire released, Bill goes hands-on
Kindle Fire already rooted
Samsung says “Game On” for modified Tab 10.1N sales in Germany
New Nook tablet has only 1gb of 16gb internal storage available for non B&N content

Apple
iOS 5.01 released, still doesn’t fix battery issues
iOS 5.02 coming soon? 5.1 to bring more Siri integration to 4S?
Siri hacked to work on any device
Gmail iOS app back in the App Store
Steve Jobs wanted to create his own MVNO
Levinson named Apple chairman and Bob Iger (Disney CEO) joins Apple Board

Microsoft
Xbox 720 at CES 2012?

Gaming
Halo: Anniversary released!
Infinity Blade II for iOS release date confirmed for Dec 1

Miscellaneous
Researchers increase Lithium Ion battery life and charging speed to 10x current technology

We have our own Google+ page! and an Android app!

Email
Hey guys,
It seems like the Pogoplug has fallen out of favor with you, as far as online storage is concerned, and since mine just up and died the other day , I’m curious as to what y’all use for cloud storage, and/or what you would recommend.  I could probably get away with 50GB or so and free would be great, but most importantly ease of access of the information, with streaming being a possibility.  An Android app (like Pogoplugs) would be nice
As a side note, I don’t hear much about the Acer Iconia A500 tablet and I just wanted to tout it’s exceptional performance.  I have Transformer and Galaxy tablets in the house (and of course the obligatory “Dumb-pad”) and it easily outperforms them all.  Plus it was only $299 on sale!  Just my 2 cents,  Thanks for the info-tainment!
Bruce

What are we playing with/watching/reading this week?
Bill – Halo: Anniversary, Kindle Fire, Adobe Photoshop Touch
Dave –  MW3
Patrick – MW3, No Ordinary Family (Netflix)
Geoff – Halo Anniversary Edition, Battlefield 3, Home front, Walking Dead, Hell On Wheels, Breaking Bad

Picks of the week
Bill – Polk Audio Monitor 70 Series II home theater tower speakers
Dave – Galaxy Tab 10.1 LTE
Patrick – Nothing!
GeoffMotorola Xoom Family Edition and Halo AE

Simulcast 126: Six Cats

This week on The Simulcast we talk about iPhone 4S preorders, iOS 5, more Netflix questionable decisions, the Nexus Prime, and Geoff is playing with his 6 cats.Apple
iPhone 4S preorders break records
iLatitude Find my Friends now available
CDMA carriers offer GSM unlocked iPhone 4S (Update Sprint’s will be locked/ unremovable)
Unlocked iPhone 4S will only work on GSM carriers in the US (no Sprint or Verizon service)
Alien Dalvik runs Android apps on iPad
Early speed tests show iPhone 4S slower than iPad 2 but way faster than iPhone 4.
You can now buy ringtones and text alerts RIGHT ON YOUR IPHONE!!!

Google
Nexus Prime revealed and ICS screenshots
ICS event rescheduled for October 19th?
SlingPlayer for Android tablets released, costs $30

Microsoft
Yep, Geoff wasn’t here tonight. Sorry WP7 fans!

Gaming
Sony hacked again (surprise surprise) and locks over 90,000 PSN/SOE accounts

Miscellaneous
Netflix changes mind again, Qwikster now defunct, might not rent video games either #FAIL
Blackberry’s outages spread to US and Canada
Sony initiates recall of some Bravia TV sets due to melting components
US Drone Fleet Hacked

What are we playing/watching/reading this week?
Steve – iWoz
Bill – Gears 3 Beast Mode
Patrick – Gears of War 3 (Beast and Horde Mode)
Dave – Fast Five (ah-mazing) iSoccer MOM

Picks of the week – sponsored by BrianandDeniseHarris.com
Steve – iOS 5
Bill – AirDrop
Patrick – iOS 5 (only took 11 upgrade attempts)/ Air Video
DaveLegacy Blade  (www.gryphonsroar.com) (www.facebook.com/legacyblade)