If you asked global phone makers if they could create a new quad core Android 4.2 phone for less than $170, they'd say you were dreaming. However, that's exactly what one company is offering.

China Android phone makers are leading the world again for sub $200 phones with the capabilities of devices twice their price with the release of a record breaking phone by China Android seller Chinavasion recently.

Wholesale smartphone retailer Chinavasion recently announced the global launch of the 4.5 inch ThL W100 Android phone with a quad-core processor and the low price of US$169, marking the first time a quad core phone has been offered internationally for less than $200. This offer has been made possible after forming a strategic alliance with the rising smartphone manufacturer ThL in China.

While Android tablet makers have reduced the price on some tablets to below $200, phone makers have puzzled commentators by keeping prices high according to China android maker Chinavasion PR manager, Rose Li.

In fact, Li says some of the best known Android phones will cost gadget lovers more than $200 even when they're locked into a contract.

"If you wanted an unlocked quad-core phone from one of the international brands you can expect to pay upwards of US$500," says Li. "That's absolutely ridiculous when you consider how little the componentry used to make the phone costs."

Li says the world's best Android phone, which costs $400 - $500 to buy uses the Android 4.1 operating system, has an 8MP camera and 1GB of RAM.

The new ThL Android phone in comparison comes with the latest version of Android and a MediaTEK chip that is proving to be faster than Qualcomm alternatives.

"The MTK6589 chipset is so good that it is rumored that tech giant Lenovo is in talks with Mediatek to supply processors for their media devices," says Li.

It is no surprise that the W100 ThL phone uses the same technology as that of one of the leading electronic manufacturers, says Li given the company's growing reputation.

"More and more people recognize ThL smartphones for what they are, cutting edge tech at the right price," says Li. "This ThL smart phone will only further enhance the company's reputation of one to watch."

Chinavasion is the only official international reseller of ThL smartphones through their online electronic store. Visit here to find more: http://www.chinavasion.com

MiKandi announced today a sizzling update to the MiKandi Adult App Store, Theater, and web portal. Redesigned from the ground up, the new and improved MiKandi boasts a complete interface overhaul, faster performance, broader device support, and showcases content from the world’s most popular adult brands - Hustler, Elegant Angel, Brazzers, Private and much more. 

“Today’s announcement represents our long term vision of becoming the premier adult mobile content delivery platform,” shares MiKandi CEO Jesse Adams. “That means providing unmatched customer convenience, selection, and service. With over 7,000 adult apps and millions of users, this latest release makes it even faster to find the adult content you desire.”

The new MiKandi app store and web portal offers significant improvement in browsing, downloading apps, and watching unlimited mobile adult videos. Content delivery has been dramatically improved by upgrading to SendFaster, the latest in network acceleration technology. Users are now seeing more quality content at up to 500% faster delivery rates with less jitter and less buffering.

In addition, MiKandi partnered with a groundbreaking Seattle startup to power their customer service engine, enabling users to reach MiKandi support directly within the application. “Our commitment to a higher standard of service resonates with our customers,” remarks co-founder Jen McEwen. “We answer every support inquiry personally and swiftly, and offer a no-hassle refund policy. As a result, our chargeback rate is one of the lowest in the industry, and our customers purchase sooner and more frequently than ever before.” 

Starting today, customers can enjoy MiKandi Version 4 on their Android devices by installing the latest version of the MiKandi app, available as a free download on http://mikandi.com. Non-Android customers can access the MiKandi HTML5 Theater at http://mikandi.com/theater. 

People everywhere are turning into coffee zombies because they cannot find coffee shops in their area.

There is still hope however, Find Me Coffee has released the ‘Coffee Zombie' edition of the Find Me Coffee app, just in time for Halloween.

The Find Me Coffee 'Coffee Zombie' version of the app provides all the tools needed to avoid becoming a coffee zombie.

The app provides maps and information on every local coffee shop. Find Me Coffee detects a user's location and serves up suggestions for nearby cafes, along with user-generated reviews, ratings, store hours and amenities (like WIFI, nearby parking, late hours, etc.). Users can also save their favorite locations, share maps with friends and even add new coffee shops.

A local survivor Danny, had this to say about the app "Without this app I would be a complete zombie. Thankfully, I was able download the app in time and with just a tap of the screen I had my survival path to the coffee cure mapped out."

Coffee shop owners, how can fellow citizens find coffee shops with the cure?

Easily: Make sure a listing exists with Find Me Coffee. The directory is comprehensive and free.


With the Find Me Coffee 'Coffee Zombie' edition app the closest coffee shop and a great cup of java are just a click away. Coffee of course, is the only known cure for ‘coffee zombieism’.

This app was created by a renegade group of coders and marketers who have so far survived the coffee zombie outbreak. The group known only as 'Triple Data' is a company that creates data and directory driven websites and accompanying user-friendly apps that build buzz for local and small businesses. They have worked tirelessly to get this app out to the public, giving the human race a fighting chance to find coffee.

Currently the Find Me Coffee 'Coffee Zombie' edition is available at:

Google Play for Android, iPhone 'Coffee Zombie' version coming soon.

The original version of the app for Android and iPhone is available here (just as effective against 'Coffee Zombieism'):

Android and Apple App Store

modulR, the leader in mobile iPad solutions, today introduced ionSwipes, a new weapon in the fight to stop the spread of germs. ionSwipes long-term antimicrobial wipes eliminate 99.9% of germs, viruses and bacteria on your devices for over two weeks.

“We live in a touch screen world, and those screens are highly effective at transmitting germs,” said Josh Beatty, founder of modulR. “In fact, cold and flu viruses can survive for up to 18 hours on our devices. Think about how many times you handle your phone throughout the day. ionSwipes offer the most advanced germ defense for all your devices – perfect for offices, schools, hospitals, and anywhere else screens are shared.”

With flu season on the way, the transmission of germs poses a potential public health hazard. Seventy-two percent of people admit to working sick and spreading germs, and it is the surfaces we touch that are the major causes for transmission.

Other screen cleaning products may disinfect, but only ionSwipes eliminates germs and prevents them from coming back. The core technology of ionSwipes is based on decades of university research, development and experience.  Harnessing silver, copper and zinc ions at the nano-scale, ionSwipes is able to provide broad-based infection control that is completely safe, natural and long lasting.

To help spread the word about spreading germs, ionSwipes has started a campaign for clean screens everywhere at RememberToWipe.com. The site includes "viral" videos and educational infographics through a partnership with Keeping It Kleen – a health education resource.

ionSwipes is also offering a free sample to visitors on their website.

For more information, visit ionSwipes.com.

The Transfluent API for Apps is the world’s first professional language translation service that can be embedded directly into the application build process. This means that every time the developer makes changes to the application, all of the different language versions also get updated at the same time.

Mobile applications are a truly global market, and localizing an application typically increases sales significantly. Despite the growing need for app localization, there has not been an efficient method of translating the apps into multiple languages until now.

The Transfluent API makes it possible to develop applications directly in multiple languages (as opposed to translating once the development has been completed). This shortens the time-to-market, increases the quality of the localized versions and lowers the cost of maintaining the multiple language versions.

Transfluent’s backend is powered by a network of more than 15,000 professional translators in over 60 languages. Each translation task is assigned to two independent translators – one does the translation and another proofreads the text. The API helps the developer specify context for the translation task, including screenshots taken from the application.

“For the best results, we recommend starting the translation process early on in the development of the app. Developing the app and testing it in multiple languages throughout the process guarantees that the localized versions work and feel as native as the original. Loyal users who are native speakers of various languages can be a great resource in making sure all the terminology is spot-on!” comments Jani Penttinen, founder and CEO of Transfluent.

Transfluent keeps track of the previous translations so that only changes and additions are translated. If required, the text can be sent to translation dozens of times a day, but translation will only performed where needed.

Transfluent has quickly become a trusted partner for prominent application developers, such as DocScanner developer Haave Inc., Recoil, NonStop Games and Kapu Toys.

Tommy Incrosnatu, CEO of Kapu Toys commented on Transfluent: "Kapu Toys is developing new kinds of mobile games for children. Transfluent has supplied us with comprehensive translation solutions which have helped us in production and marketing. Our co-operation with Transfluent has worked well; the service is quick and knowledgeable. Now, with the new API, updating new translation versions is even easier and more trouble-free."

Today Transfluent also published a white paper, detailing the typical problems and suggested solutions when localizing mobile applications. The white paper can be downloaded from Transfluent for Apps website in English, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese.

A leading Android news website is warning smartphone and tablet device users to take precautions when downloading apps from third party app stores following the discovery of new malware that has so far infected at least 100,000 mobile devices.

LimitlessDroid.com, the leading independent news and updates site for Android devices, warns that the MMarketPay.A Trojan is infecting devices in the guise of several fake applications that bear close resemblance to a number of popular weather and travel apps.

So far, LimitlessDroid.com said that the malware has been identified in nine different app stores – all of them based in China.

Dan Lim, editor of LimitlessDroid.com, explained how the new malware works, and how it can cost users financially if their device becomes infected:

“The MMarketPay.A Trojan is quite different from others that we have seen, as it takes control of the infected device and downloads paid content and applications from the M-Market, which is the unofficial app store of China Mobile.”

“The Trojan gets past the need to log in by sending its verification code via SMS to ensure that its purchases are validated. The result is that unwitting consumers who have been infected can expect to be hit by a substantially higher phone bill.”

Dan said that the new Trojan was so advanced that it could even circumvent Captchas, which require users to input the letters displayed in an image to verify their purchases. MMarketPay.A is able to upload its own images to a remote server, which are then reviewed and accepted as legitimate.

Users can protect themselves from this new threat in a variety of ways, says Dan.

He strongly recommends that users download well known mobile antivirus software and run this whenever they download applications.

In addition, he recommends that users only use those third party marketplaces that are hosted on legitimate, well known vendors. Finally, he warns that users should always read user reviews carefully before downloading.

Dan continued: “Furthermore, users should always pay careful attention to the creator’s name. 
especially when downloading what seems to be a popular app from a well known creator, check that it is indeed made by that creator and doesn’t have a different author’s name listed. If it does, then this is a definite red flag.”

Now anyone can develop Android apps with the release of Andromo App Maker 2.0. Andromo is an affordable online service for designing Android apps without programming. While other app maker services charge a per-app development fee, Andromo allows subscribers to make unlimited apps and to edit, update and improve their apps as often as they wish.

With the release of Andromo 2.0, subscribers can pick and choose from a list of powerful features to create their apps. Using Andromo’s straightforward, visual interface, developers can add activities like interactive maps, websites, photo galleries, Facebook pages, Twitter streams, music, video, email, and much more. New activities are regularly added to Andromo, and subscribers have access to all feature enhancements, improvements, and updates.

App developers can make money with Andromo in several ways. For instance, users can create apps to sell on Google Play, such as e-books, travel guides, how-to videos and much more. Apps can be made to promote any sort of business, from local cafes to chain stores. Developers can use Andromo to make apps for clients and earn money from consulting fees. Even apps distributed for free can generate ad revenue for the designer thanks to the integrated AdMob advertising support.

“We wanted to offer a no-coding option for Android app making so that anyone with a great idea can get into app development,” says Andromo founder Colin Adams. “Andromo is also affordable, so it’s truly accessible to anyone. You can subscribe to a Andromo for a whole year and make unlimited apps, while other services can charge you much more to make just one app.”

Additionally, unlike cross-platform HTML/hosted app makers, Andromo builds native apps that are 100% “Android” in style and function. With over 300 million Android devices around the world, giving your customers and clients an authentic Android app is now a necessity.

App developers can subscribe to Andromo at http://www.andromo.com for the introductory price of $25/month or $99/year. A white-label option is also available for $499/year.

Since its inception in 2009, bloggers all over the world have been increasing their monthly revenue with VideofyMe, an online blogging tool for uploading and sharing video. Today, the team behind VideofyMe announces the release of a newly updated mobile version for the iPhone and Android, featuring social video editing that allows users to shoot video directly on their phone, add custom color filters, share it, and earn money for the content that they share.

Initially developed with video bloggers in mind, the new version of VideofyMe is a simple way for anyone to earn money for their video content. VideofyMe works directly with leading brands and advertisers to automatically encode every uploaded video with ads. Direct in-app integration across top blogging platforms and social networking sites like WordPress, Tumblr, LiveJournal, Blogger, Facebook and Twitter make for easy sharing, and once the video has been shared its creator earns money for every view.

“VideofyMe is all about empowering social media talents with the tools they need to create and publish videos,” says co-founder Oskar Glauser. “We’ve developed an easy to use social video service, but unlike Social Cam or Viddy, VideofyMe is the only tool that gives publishers, no matter their size, the ability to earn money for the content they are making.”

With over 250,000+ users all over the world, ranging from top fashion bloggers and mobile enthusiasts to college students documenting a trip abroad, VideofyMe is quickly gaining ground as a must have tool for anyone looking to grow their online presence and add cash to their wallet at the same time.

VideofyMe is a free app which can be found in the Social Networking section of iTunes® and Media & Video section of Google Play®.

Hackers, makers and other technology do-it-yourselfers will soon be able to easily and affordably connect “things” to the Internet—ranging from people to pets, other objects and locations.

Startup firm Rowdy Robot is currently developing its new tōd (pronounced “toad”) device and open development software platform. The company is actively attracting investors on the tōd Kickstarter website.

Scheduled for release in October 2012, the company’s small rounded disks—known as a tōd Smart Beacon—and accompanying software will let tech savvy creators connect real-world objects and events to the Internet and even offline using their smartphones and other Bluetooth 4.0 enabled devices.

Using tōd Smart Beacons and their smartphones, people will be able to virtually bind together various people, places and things. Imagine being able to know the instant your child gets separated from you in a crowd...or your pet wanders too far from home...or a store’s customers come in and are instantly greeted with that day’s specials...or a nursing home is alerted if a patient with Alzheimer’s leaves the facility.

“The possibilities for creating actions tied to people, places and things using a tōd and a smartphone are endless,” said Rowdy Robot CEO and tōd Creator Jonathan Prevo. “We’re especially excited to put our product and an open development platform out there and see what innovative uses people come up with. We want developers to know that we are providing an affordable alternative for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) development. Our solution is entirely unique due to the Bluetooth 4.0 wireless protocol and offers much more than a single use, proprietary platform.”

     Early Developer Access

Rowdy Robot plans to ship the first devices in October. However, developers will have early beta access to the hardware in July. “This will be ahead of the software development, so interested developers can begin creating solutions for themselves, us and the whole Smart Beacon crowd,” Prevo said.

Early adopters and project backers are buzzing about the tōd, which has been written about on Mashable(and here), Endgadget, Geeky Gadgets and Mobile Magazine.

     Low-Cost, Low Energy Connectivity Solution

The tōd is a small device, about the diameter of a silver dollar. The current prototype is 38mm in diameter and 13mm in height, which may be reduced slightly in the final design. Depending on the final enclosure design, that will also add about +/- of 2mm all around.

Each tōd is small enough to fit in a child’s pocket or a car’s glove compartment and has a battery life of over a year. The effective range of each tōd is adjustable from three to 500 feet.

Pricing for the Smart Beacon will be about $35, making it one of the lowest priced, ready-to-use wireless devices on the market. Developer kits ranging from $95 to $155 are available and include access to an open development community, SDK, documentation, EULA and hardware needed to start developing your own “Internet of things” or to evaluate Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity for your own project.

     Connectivity Powered By The Growing Bluetooth 4 Standard

The tōd platform is based on proximity between the device itself and a smartphone enabled with Bluetooth 4.0. It uses “in range” and “out of range” events to trigger an interaction on the device within the app. Then using the cloud, those interactions can be made into richer experiences.

“Bluetooth 4.0 is quickly becoming the new, ubiquitous wireless connectivity standard for devices,” Prevo said. “Other comparable devices in development rely on WiFi connectivity, which is OK—but we wanted to enable people to use the low power, lightning fast connections with Bluetooth 4 regardless of whether they were connected to the Web.”

The tōd Smart Beacon is a single-mode Bluetooth 4.0 device, also known as Bluetooth Smart or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Rowdy Robot developers are using the BlueGiga BLE112-A module. The “A” represents that it ships with an on-board antenna and that the model has been RF Certified.

BLE112 Bluetooth low energy single mode module is a single mode device targeted for low power sensors and accessories. BLE112 offers all Bluetooth low energy features: radio, stack, profiles and application space for customer applications, so no external processor is needed. The module also provides flexible hardware interfaces to connect sensors, simple user interfaces and even displays directly to the module.

The BLE112 can be powered directly with a standard 3V source and includes on module voltage regulation. The Smart Beacon design offers enhanced voltage projection with the TI’s TPS62730, an ultra low power DC/DC converter with bypass mode that will reduce the current consumption during transmission nominally by about 20 percent when using a 3V coin cell battery. In the lowest power sleep mode, the BLE112A consumes only 400nA and will wake up in few hundred microseconds, according to the manufacturer, BlueGiga. The Smart Beacon is based on the BLE is module on a PCB that uses Rowdy Robot’s own design and includes the battery holder for a CR2032 coin-cell battery.

The BLE112A module includes the entire standardized Bluetooth low energy stack protocol which includes GAP, GATT, L2CAP, SMP and Bluetooth SIG low energy profiles. It can support an unlimited number of connections (master only) and offer both master and slave modes.

BLE112 has 32 pins, 21 of which are programmable. Rowdy Robot has exposed all 21 programmable pins with quick connectors, 2-2x5 headers for the GPIO and another 2x5 header for the debugger, which allows developers to add any number and configuration of add-on modules including sensors, Human Interface Devices, displays and even motors and servos to control.

Developers can also develop and implement their own firmware using the Texas Instruments Debugger Kit. The debugger is required to license and access the TI software and connect their computer to the Smart Beacon to add their own firmware. Custom firmware solutions are written in BGScript language using the BlueGiga's SDK.

Each tōd has a programmable 8051 CPU on board with 128K that can provide simple Arduino-like functionality using Bluetooth 4 and firmware.

     tōd Compatible Devices

Currently, tōd is compatible with the iPhone 4S, the new iPad, new Macbook Air, new Mac Mini, the Droid Razr family of phones, the HTC One S and X as well as the latest Samsung Galaxy S3. There are also USB Bluetooth Low Energy Dongles that plug into a PC or Mac for backwards compatibility.

“As far as being able to connect other accessories besides a tōd Smart Beacon to the platform and App, this is still under development, but we are committed to creating the most hardware agnostic platform we possibly can,” Prevo said.

     tōd Open Development Technology Platform

“We have an open development environment due to the fact that BlueGiga has graciously allowed us to utilize their SDK, documentation and tools provided that each Smart Beacon ships with the end-user license agreement,” Prevo said. “This allows developers full access to their BG Script and Profile Development Kit at no charge. BlueGiga has provided the FCC and Bluetooth certifications so that we don’t need to.”

Rowdy Robot will provide an API that will be open for development, allowing for unlimited connections into any existing platform such as ifttt, Ninja Cloud and any other system that allows open development.

The free tōd application comes pre-installed with 10 aptly named templates, including functionality for proximity-based events and automatic updates to social media sites like Foursquare and Twitter. Rowdy Robot developers have also created an easy way for non-technical users to build their own interactions.

“We are planning for an array of sensors and add-on modules to extend the functionality of the tōd Smart Beacons,” said VP Don Mallicoat. “We are actively experimenting with existing products and services that could be enhanced by the power of the tōd Cloud, the tōd App and Smart Beacons.”

“Our first priority is to the iOS and Android mobile platforms, and possibly WinMobile if they have their OS and compatible devices ready in time,” Mallicoat continued. “After that, we plan to release an application for PC and MAC desktops.”

To further spur development, Rowdy Robot is building a reusable framework based on HTML 5 that will simplify the process of porting to other platforms.

     Sign Up For Developer Access

Developers interested in the project are encouraged to participate in the company’s early funding on Kickstarter. Everyone who participates will be signed up to be notified as soon as the development materials are available.