Google Voice update integrates voicemail with phone app

If you’re like most heavy Google Voice users, you keep your GV voicemail and standard carrier voicemail separate. This is great for managing different numbers, but it’s a bit of a pain to wrangle all on the same phone. Android and Google Voice get a little closer today, as GV’s voicemail service is available from the native Android phone/dialer app. The update treats voicemails like calls, so you’ll see them in the same place that you usually see Google Voice incoming and outgoing calls in the dialer. Download the updated Google Voice app to apply the changes.

Unfortunately, this feature is limited to Android 4.0 at the moment. Google may back-port the voicemail integration into an earlier version, but that seems unlikely – if I had to guess, I’d say that this is something Google’s been planning for a while and had to code for specifically in Ice Cream Sandwich. On top of that, early reports indicate that phones without a mostly stock Android system can’t use the feature; skins like Samsung’s TouchWiz and HTC’s Sense UI usually completely replace the dialer and contact system. HTC Vivid users with their brand new Android 4.0 update are reporting that the feature doesn’t work for them. Another new feature that’s exclusive to ICS (but probably works for all Android 4.0 builds) is access to Google Voice folders from the app itself.

The addition is a handy one for the admittedly small intersection of Google Voice users and stock Ice Cream Sandwich (or a suitably close ROM) users. While this isn’t the VOIP addition to Google Voice that many have been hoping for, it’s one more way that your Google Voice number and identity can easily move between Android devices. There’s just no way to match this kind of integration on another platform – something that Google’s surely proud of.

Gameloft plans bigger 2012, going for in-app purchases and social features for all 2012 games

Gameloft is one of few companies that qualifies as a top-tier game publisher in the Android realm, and it looks like they’ve got big plans for all of their upcoming games. Plans of a very specific nature: PocketGamer reports that Gameloft will be placing in-app purchases in every game it releases for the remainder of the year, on every platform, for both smartphones and tablets. The company made the announcement during its financial report, adding that all its upcoming games will also have social elements.

In-app purchases are basically the downloadable content (DLC) of the mobile world, and they’re a polarizing subject to be sure. Essentially operating on a “freemium” model, most games with in-app purchases are free, but require small payments to add new levels or get otherwise unobtainable items. Many games allow you to advance at an accelerated pace with purchases, such as exchanging small amounts of real money for in-game currency. Some of the most popular games on Android, iOS and Facebook operate in this manner and are extremely profitable. A good example from Gameloft’s stable is The Oregon Trail: Settler, now #36 in the list of the most popular free games on the Google Play Store.

Social additions are a mixed bag as well. Many games will connect to users’ Twitter or Facebook account to send out automatic updates on the players; progress and achievements are delivered to friends and followers (often with maddening frequency). Search Twitter for “achievement” and you’ll find millions of nearly identical auto-tweets from whatever games are trending at the moment.

For better or worse, Gameloft seems to be adopting the driving strategy of one of its biggest rivals, Zynga. Plenty of players and pundits don’t appreciate this move towards microtransactions, but there’s no arguing with the money it’s bringing in. Just a few of Gameloft’s upcoming titles are The Dark Knight Rises, Ice Age, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop and Men in Black III. 

Virtuous S4X brings ICS and Sense 4.0 to HTC EVO 3D and Sensation

Whatever else they might be, custom ROM developers are speedy. Barely three weeks after the first official ROM for the Endeavor (now officially revealed as the HTC One X) leaked, an industrious group of devs have released a series of ROMs based on the leaked code. The Virtuous S4X series of ROMs isn’t the first family of custom ROMs to bring Ice Cream Sandwich to HTC’s devices, but it is the first to bring the ubiquitous Sense along for the ride in its fourth incarnation.

At present only the GSM version of the HTC EVO 3D and the HTC Sensation are supported, and the ROMs themselves are in beta form and their first release at that – don’t expect daily driver performance. Work from the developers includes resizing and recalibrating ROMs to work on qHD (960×540) screens, smaller both physically virtually tan the HTC One X’s 720p panel. In the best tradition of custom ROMs, they’ve also made a few speedy tweaks and removed bloatware that isn’t strictly necessary.

HTC has committed to bringing Ice Cream Sandwich (and probably Sense 4.0) to both the EVO 3D and the Sensation, but it might be months before the updates materialize. If you can’t wait, download the files, reboot into a custom recovery and get crackin’. Both will require a full wipe (even from a stock ROM) so make sure and back up your data with Nandroid. It’ll still be a few weeks at the very least before the HTC One X is released, so it’ll be a while before the developers can upgrade their source files.

Device Specifications and Information

Device Name : Sensation 4G

Manufacturer : HTC

Carrier : T-Mobile

Announced Date : April 12, 2011

Release Date : May 19, 2011

Display

• Screen Size : 4.30 Inch
• Resolution : 540×960
• Screen Type : qHD

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.96 Inch
• Width : 2.57 Inch
• Depth : 0.44 Inch
• Weight : 148 Grams

Battery Type : Lithium Ion

Battery Capacity : 1520 mAh

Talk Time : NA

Stand By Time : 350 hours

Android OS : 2.3.x

Audio Playback : AAC, AMR, MID, MP3, WAV, WMA

Video Playback : 3GP, MPEG-4 (MP4), WMV

Messaging : SMS, MMS

CPU : SnapdragonCPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 768 MB

Internal Storage : 4 GB

Camera Resolution : 8 MP

External Storage : MicroSD, MicroSDHC

Camera Features : Auto focus, Flash, 1080p Video Recording

Sensors : Accelerometer, Proximity

QWERTY : No

Network Technology : GSMGSM Band : 850, 900, 1800, 1900

Wi-Fi : 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11nBluetooth : Bluetooth 3.0

Location Features :

• Compass
• GPS
• Cellular location
• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio : Yes

NFC : No