Google vs RIAA concerning Mobile Apps

Apparently Google is in the hot seat with the RIAA.  What about?  Seems to be about some apps in the Android Market that allow user's to download MP3's.  One in particular: MP3 Music Download Pro seems to be the topic of much discussion.  The RIAA is claiming that they have issues a take down notice to Google.  And Google did not respond.

Google's stance was that the app could be used for legitimate purposes (like downloading public domain music which is legal and free).  In short, if you have pulled down this app from the Android Market or were planning to I wouldn't be surprised if it disappears very shortly.  Plus, with the RIAA getting involved if you use this app (or apps similar to it) I'd be very careful.  The awkward part for me is the fact that this app promotes downloading music and is very vague as to what it's limitations are (meaning you can technically access copyrighted materials).  And yet, a lot of reputable sources are promoting the app and suggesting it as a great app.  Just because it's mobile doesn't necessarily make it right folks.

I know people in general like free things.  I understand that.  However, I don't see why Google doesn't go ahead and make the leap with a music store offering.  The web has been a buzz for several months now that this would be a viable option for Google.  And one that Google hasn't denied and has actually been working with recording labels on.  Maybe if Google opened their own music retail hub online, and started screening out these free MP3 apps everybody wins.  Customer's get the music their looking for at competitive prices (legally and without RIAA action), Google gets a cut of the profits, and the RIAA is happy that the bad apps are screened out and legit music is filling devices.

Just a thought.

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Acer Iconia Tab a500 Update Complete

So after downloading a hefty 356MB download, and sitting through the install, my a500 is rocking Honeycomb 3.1.  Some apps have been added: Movie Editor, Google Videos, Nook reader to name a few.

I'll get some more hands on with it tonight and tomorrow and then I'll post up a quick review of the update and a couple of the apps.

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Acer Iconia Tablet a500 Update Woes...UPDATE is Green Lighted!

Acer Iconia a500 users who have yet to get the Honeycomb 3.1 Update, go ahead and manually check for the update.  I just did and I'm downloading it right now.  Hopefully the install will go smooth and 3.1 isn't too far away.

More to come soon.

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Acer Iconia Tablet a500 Update Woes...Weekend Update

Still no news as far as the Honeycomb 3.1 Update goes.  But to be fair, I haven't had a lot of time this weekend to bug Acer Support about my update woes.  I'll be hot on the trail again on Monday afternoon, so more to come!

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Got my Android Tablet!

Well, this past Thursday I finally bought an Android Tablet.  I chose the Acer Iconia A500.  Best Buy currently carries the A500 for $449.99 U.S.  It rocks the Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' out of the box.  And let me say, it is pretty freakin' sweet.

This isn't a comprehensive review by any means, but I'll quickly hit the highlights.  This tablet is sporting a NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core mobile processor and 1GB DDR2 memory.  The A500 is a wifi only tablet, so no need to add it to your mobile carrier's data plan.  With public wifi being so readily available these days here in my area I don't have much of a need for a 3G connection at this time (this is subject to change).  This device also offers Bluetooth, A-GPS, 802.11 b/g/n WLAN, HDMI, Dual Speakers (with Dolby), MicroSD card slot, 16GB of internal storage, front facing and rear facing cameras.

The unit is slick to use and very impressive.  A lot of people have mentioned on other sites that this tablet is pretty heavy.  Personally, I don't have a bit of an issue with it's weight.  I had noticed that the battery life seemed to dwindle down fairly quickly.  After doing a little snooping around the devices settings menu I found the 'Battery Use' sub-menu which pointed to the 'Cell Standby' process as using a lot of my expended battery power.  After a few minutes of snooping around forums online, I found the simplest fix that has worked for me (without downloading an app from the Google Market).

I simply put the device in 'Airplane' mode and leave it in airplane mode while then activating the Wifi connection.  Wifi will stay turned on and the device will remain in airplane mode as well.  After doing this I have noticed a huge difference in battery life for the better.

The only other issue I have is voice chat is pretty limited at this time.  My wife has an HTC Evo 4G and occasionally  we'll use something like Yahoo IM to do a video chat from my PC to her Evo.  Which works great.  Right now due to limitations on the Evo (running Froyo) Google Talk's videochat is non-existant.  Supposedly the Evo is in line a the update for Gingerbread later in June which should alleviate this issue.  Honeycomb optimized apps are at a premium right now due to the fact that there just aren't that many apps optimized for Honeycomb.  However, most of the other apps I have tried have worked flawlessly.

Now that I am getting pretty familiar with Honeycomb, look for a few reviews to show up pretty soon.  Right now I am playing through Cordy, and have several other games in mind too.  So check back soon.

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