Foodspotting, the food and restaurant centered social network, announced today that it has reached 1 million app downloads in just 18 months. Although iTunes doesn’t release download numbers, it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of those downloads have come on iOS. The Android Market lists the app in its 50k-100k download range, and just given the overall user size of Windows Phone 7, it’s safe to assume WP7 brings up the rear in the download list. And, to celebrate the 1 millionth download, the Foodspotting apps for iOS and Android have received updates.

The new Foodspotting versions for iOS (v2.5) and Android (v0.0.4) have each received the same new feature: following. That’s right, it’s time for Foodspotting to become a real social network rather than a discovery source. With the new versions, you’ll be able to find your friends from Facebook or Twitter and follow their recommendations. You’ll also be able to follow experts like the Travel Channel or Mario Batali or even follow your favorite restaurants. And, to top it off, the new versions support higher resolutions images throughout.

Foodspotting is free in the iOS App Store, Android Market and Windows Phone Marketplace, and should be coming soon to BlackBerry App World.

source: Foodspotting blog via ReadWriteWeb

There’s no kidding that accessories produced by first party manufacturers can sometimes be on the pricey side, but lucky for all of us, third parties are usual there to save us some cash. Logitech just released two new Bluetooth enabled keyboards that are meant to work with Android tablets, but one of them is specifically catered to work with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

First up is the $69.99 Bluetooth keyboard that’s meant to work with any Android 3.0 and above Honeycomb tablets. Powered by 4 triple-A batteries, this keyboard features a low profile design, compact keys, dedicated media buttons, and a complementary case that actually doubles as a stand for a tablet.

With the second Bluetooth keyboard, which is priced higher at $99.99, it’s specifically made to work with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. That’s because it’s able to keep the tablet firmly at an angled position to make typing very easy for yourself – and much like the other keyboard, this one also doubles as a protective aluminum case for the tablet.

Therefore, if you simply don’t want to buy those first party accessories from the manufacturers directly, then you might want to consider snatching any of Logitech’s offerings.

source: Logitech (1 & 2) via Android and Me

Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for Android 3.0+

Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Good news football fans! The ESPN Goals app is going free and coming to more phone platforms. The app is already available for Android and iPhone users in Europe, but ESPN has announced that the app will be hitting Windows Phone and BlackBerry in the next couple days.

The app is specifically for the Barclays Premier League, but includes live scores and stats, as well as fixtures and results. But, the best part about the app are the videos. ESPN Goals offers videos for all 380 games of the season including match previews and weekend roundups, but the key are the near-live videos of match highlights and goals. Video of goals are made available minutes after being scored except for matches on Saturdays at 3pm, which have video delayed until 5:15pm due to UEFA restrictions. You can even get notifications of new video as it comes in.

Overall, this is a solid app. And, though it used to cost £3.99 per month, now it’s all free and definitely worth testing out, especially with the season set to open this Saturday.

source: ESPN
Install ESPN Goals for iPhone (iTunes link)
Install ESPN Goals for Android (Market link)

In an age where we’re constantly combating things like computer viruses and hackers, mobile smartphone users can’t be sitting too comfortably seeing that they’re targets as well. Thankfully enough, McAfee and Sprint are joining forces in an effort to provide customers a sense of protection.

Sprint customers will now have the opportunity of trialing, and then purchasing McAfee’s Mobile Security and Family Protection software for their Android powered smartphones.

The Mobile Security app is initially available as a 7-day free trial for anyone who wishes to check it out, but then after that, its annual subscription fee stands at $29.99. Some of its features include the ability to track and locate a smartphone, lock or wipe the device remotely, and get backup protection for things like your contacts, photos, and videos. Absolutely, it’ll protect your handset from viruses, malware, trojans, and just about any other nasty baddies out there.

As for the Family Protection software suite, it’s free to use for the first 30 days, but it’ll incur an annual subscription of $19.99. This one is geared around monitoring and filtering items on your smartphone – like blocking specific sites that are not intended for kids. Also, it offers built-in protections so that your kids, even if they’re phone smart, won’t be able to remove it from the phone.

You can download either of the two apps starting today directly from the Sprint tab in the Android Market or from the Sprint Zone app.

source: Sprint via Mobileburn

With mobile payments expected to grow in the coming years, handset makers are naturally going to ride the trend of offering NFC support with upcoming handsets – like what’s offered by the Google Nexus S. Being a major contender in the smartphone space, HTC just announced its plans to produce its very fist NFC capable smartphone – the HTC Stunning.

Expected to launch in the Chinese market with the support of China UnionPay’s mobile payment system, it’s currently speculated to come to market some time in September – albeit, no official release date has been mentioned just yet.  Still, it would be hard to not see this one flaunt some high-end hardware under the hood. Actually, what’s known so far is that it’ll feature a 4” display of some sort and will be powered by none other than the Android platform.

Needless to say, it’s great timing on HTC’s part to announce and commit to manufacturing an NFC capable device – especially when the new form of payment is undoubtedly going to progress healthily thanks to smartphones.

via Mobileburn

Are you tired of playing the waiting game with original PlayStation titles becoming available with the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY? Well, if you still have actual original PlayStation disc titles of games laying around being unused at the moment, you might take some fancy in the idea that you can rip and play them on the Xperia PLAY.

Thankfully, one XDA member going by the name of yifanlu has been hard at work for over a week reverse engineering the handset’s PlayStation emulator – the one that actually allows games like Crash Bandicoot to work on it. Interestingly enough, yifanlu has somehow managed to work it out so that the Xperia PLAY is able to play converted custom ISOs.

Well, all the hard work seems well-deserved because yifanlu was able to get an ISO of Crash Bandicoot 3 running in its entirety on the beloved gaming conscious smartphone. In fact, it’s almost a near perfect port, which is exhibited by the video below. However, there are still some minor issues to iron out in the meantime – like its inability to play multi-disc titles.

Nevertheless, it’s a decent starting point for a portable console that’s trying desperately to bring old school PlayStation titles that we’ve fallen in love with in the past.

source: XDA & yifanlu via Phandroid

If you’ve been seeing some wacky and out of place things happening with the Adobe Flash Player for your Android powered smartphone, then you might be glad to know that a recent update has been made available for it.

Jumping up to version 10.3.186.3, it’s mentioned to fix a host of security issues found with it, and at the same time, it brings forth quite a few different enhancements for specific website and phones. For the most part though, Android users will hopefully experience less issues in regards to Flash content. Here is the list of some items included with the release:

• Enabled NEON optimizations for OMAP4 (Cortex A-9) based devices.
• Corrected an issue on the Samsung Galaxy S where H.264 video at resolutions of 720p and below was not displayed.
• Fixed an issue where app packaging would fail for Android Apps using Flash Player in WebView that set android:hardwareAcceleration to True in their AndroidManifest.xml.
• Fixed a crash on the HTC EVO that some users encountered with specific video.
• Fixed an issue that caused video frames to stop rendering on long streaming videos on some Motorola devices.
• Fixed an issue where touch events were getting delayed with Kongregate.com games.
• Fixed an issue where games on Kongregate.com freeze when users exit from Full-Screen mode.

Of course, it would be an ideal thing to grab that download if you haven’t been notified already by your handset.

source: Android Market via IntoMobile

Already, we’ve managed to get a small preview of the Samsung Galaxy R, but now we’re finally getting an official word from both NVIDIA and Samsung in regards to its availability.

Actually, NVIDIA and Samsung announced today that the Gingerbread powered smartphone can now be purchased in Sweden – though, it’s going to be spreading out to other European markets as well. Additionally, the Asian markets will no doubt be graced with this latest member in the beloved Samsung Galaxy family.

Naturally, the handset itself appears to be out of the ordinary with Samsung’s usual Galaxy products seeing that it features a 4.19” WVGA Super LCD display and an NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset. Still, those two specific items shouldn’t alarm loyal customers since it’s still classified as a high-end smartphone that should fit well with the family. Other features include 720p video capture, 1090p full HD playback, 8GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot.

Unless you really want to be the first to sport this one, then you’d better make sure to get yourself into Sweden so that you can pick one up today. But if not, then you’ll simply have to make due until it arrives in other markets – in the meantime, you can watch the lovely video about the handset below.

via Android Central

When it comes to rugged phones, most of them would not offer you much in terms of software and functionality, but the newly-announced Samsung Galaxy Xcover does not follow that unwritten rule. Powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Galaxy Xcover is one full-fledged smartphone, yet it is tough enough to withstand the elements. The device is IP67 certified, which makes it resistant to dust, dirt and submersion in water at up to 1 meter for 30 minutes, so it would probably not mind hanging out in your pocket the next time you decide to go jet-skiing. Besides that, the smartphone’s display is made using scratch-resistant tempered glass meaning that it will take more abuse that you would imagine.

The complete hardware specs of the Samsung Galaxy Xcover are not official yet, but it we can tell you that it will pack a 3.65-inch display, GPS, Wi-Fi and a HSDPA radio that can reach downlink speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, at least in theory. Another handy feature of the Xcover is that its 3.2-megapixel camera is backed up by a LED flash, that can double as a flashlight.

At this time, we cannot really tell you whether the Galaxy Xcover will ever reach the US. It will be the folks in Germany who will get to try the smartphone out first after it gets launched there on October 3.

source: Samsung Germany (translated) via Unwired View

Seriously! Who doesn’t love the fact when we see third party sellers offering pre-orders for an upcoming phone, but rather than sticking with the carrier’s original pricing, they simply blow them out of the water?

Well, if you happen to be eying the upcoming Samsung Conquer 4G for Sprint, you might want to check out what Walmart is offering right now. Specifically, they already have the 4G WiMAX enabled smartphone up for pre-order, but more importantly, early adopters choosing to side with the retailer are going to be knocked out by its sticker price.

Although Sprint is pricing the handset at the affordable price of $99.99 with a 2-year contract, early adopters will find it difficult to not side with Walmart on this one because they’re selling it for free! Considering that it packs some mid-range specs, the free on-contract pricing is undoubtedly astonishing on so many levels.

Indeed, it’s neither the biggest, nor the baddest Android smartphone on Sprint’s lineup, but the combination of a fantastic price and decent hardware will really catch the attention of anyone.
source: Walmart via Engadget