File Manager HD- App In Focus

File Manager is one of the first Honeycomb-optimized file manager for Android.  It's one of those utilities you have to have on your Android 3.0 tablet, no questions asked.  With Android, you're not forced to use a separate program on your computer to add or move files around, so a file browser of some sort is awful handy.  You can use it to keep track of and sort all your pictures, videos, documents, and anything else you can think of that you're keeping around in your tablet's storage space. 

With File Manager HD, you really don't need to ever hook up the cable to your computer.  It has a built-in LAN browser, so any shared files or folders from your computer (Windows, Mac and Linux) are available right from the comfort of your easy chair.  It's full of other great features, too:

• High definition(1280x800) support
• 3 sets of commercial icons for 60+ different file types, toolbar and menu items
• Cut, copy, paste and cancel progress dialogs
• List and grid view for file browsing
• Compress and decompress support
• Search and share files
• Multiple selection and sorting support
• Thumbnail for photo, pictures and apk files
• Built-in text editor and swf player

The developers have fully tested File Manager HD on the Motorola Xoom. The best part?  It's absolutely free.

You can find File Manager HD in the Android Market, for devices running Android 3.0 and higher.

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Storage Analysis

News360 launches Honeycomb application, hopes to become your daily news feed

Good news for you Honeycomb-tablet-toting readers out there. News360 has released an Android application that hopes to become Android users’ one-stop-shop for all their news needs.

Similar to many other news feed applications out there, News360 takes a real-time look at the top stories in a score of different categories, from politics and world news to sports and tech goodness.

Where News360 really shines is the Google-esque related stories incorporation.  Say you’re reading a story about the recent tornado outbreak in the Midwest. Along the top of the reading pane, you’ll find a honeycomb-esque menu with the names of different publications where you can read either a different take on the same story, or a very similar story with a slight twist.

News360 can also utilize your tablet’s built in GPS to deliver location-specific stories to your news feed. Simply click on the location icon at the top of the screen and the stories in each of the categories will be tailored to your location. Tapping the location button again will bring you back to regional/national news stories.

Admittedly, I was only able to spend about 15 minutes with the application last night, but my first impressions were very good. If you’re looking for a news application for your Honeycomb device, you may want to head over to the market and give News360 a try for yourself.

News360 is now available for free for all 3.0+ devices on the Android Market.

Honeycomb 101: Getting to Know Your Android Tablet

So you're the proud possessor of a shiny new Android tablet. Now what?

Google's tablet operating system is a little different from the versions of Android you may have seen before. Unlike the iPad, which is basically a blown-up version of the iPhone, Android Honeycomb tablets are designed to take full advantage of the extra screen space--and it's up to you to decide how to use it.

Of course, flexibility and simplicity don't always go hand in hand, and Honeycomb can be a bit overwhelming at first. But once you get the hang of it, you'll find that its power and its potential for personalization can be pretty darn sweet.

Here's a quick guide to help you get started.

Hello, Honeycomb: Navigating Your Home Screen

The Android Honeycomb home screen keeps all of the OS's main controls visible on your tablet's display.Let's begin with the home screen. On Honeycomb--unlike on past smartphone-focused editions of Android--the main controls are always visible right on your display.

• At the top left corner of the screen sits a Google search box. Tapping it lets you simultaneously search the Internet and everything on your device.
• Next to the search box is a microphone icon that activates Google's robust Voice Actions system. You can use it to speak commands such as "listen to" followed by the name of an artist, album, or song; "send e-mail to" followed by the name of a contact and a message; or even "note to self" followed by a memo. You can also speak any phrase to launch an instant Web search for the term.
• At the top right of the screen is a six-square icon with the label 'Apps'. Touch it for access to the full menu of applications installed on your tablet.
• Next to the 'Apps' icon is a large white plus sign. It opens the tool for customizing your tablet's home screens; we'll look at it in more detail in a moment.
• The system clock, network connection icon, and battery level icon are in the lower-right portion of the home screen. Double-tapping this area brings up other options.At the bottom right of the display is a system clock, along with icons indicating your current network connection status and tablet battery level. Tapping this area once will bring up more-detailed information. Tapping it a second time will bring up additional options, including toggles for airplane mode, Wi-Fi, and other system settings.

From time to time, notifications will appear in the bottom-right area of your display--when you get a new e-mail message, for example, or when a calendar reminder comes due. You can tap any notification to view more information about it or you can dismiss it altogether.

Getting Around in Honeycomb

The main navigation options in Honeycomb are back, home, and multitasking.The area at the bottom left of the screen focuses on navigation. No matter where you are in the system, you'll always see three icons:

• The left arrow jumps you back one step--not terribly useful on the home screen, but handy when you're in applications.
• The home icon, predictably, takes you back to the home screen. If your tablet is running Android 3.1, your system will remember which panel you last had open and will automatically return you there.
• Honeycomb's multitasking menu shows a list of recently apps; clicking an entry lets you jump directly to it.The third icon opens the Honeycomb multitasking menu. This menu shows you a list of your most recently used apps and allows you to jump directly to any of them from anywhere in the system.

Occasionally, you may see a fourth icon in the bottom-left portion of your screen. This icon, which looks like a small grid, appears when you're using a smartphone app that isn't optimized for the Honeycomb interface. Tapping the icon brings up a list of options for the app; it's the equivalent of pressing the Menu key on an Android phone.

When you work with apps that are optimized for Honeycomb, the grid icon is supplanted by what Google likes to call the 'action bar'. The action bar permits apps to use the top-right area of your screen to provide additional options that change, depending on what you're doing. If you're looking at your inbox in Gmail, for example, you'll see an icon for composing a new message. If you're viewing an individual e-mail message, icons for archiving or deleting the message will appear in the same space.

Customizing Your Tablet

All right--ready to start making your Android tablet feel like your own? Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of your home screen to head into Honeycomb's customization control center.

Honeycomb's customization control center shows thumbnails of all five home-screen panels plus a list of widgets and app shortcuts.In the control center, you'll see thumbnails of all five home-screen panels and a list of items that you can place anywhere you like. Some of the items are widgets--which are live, functioning versions of programs that run right on your home screen. Others are app shortcuts--normal static icons that launch applications. You can touch any item to drag it to the panel of your choice; you can also adjust things from the home screen later on, by touching and holding any item to move, delete, or (in certain cases) resize it.

So there you have it: the ins and outs of Honeycomb. Now just grab your tablet, dive in, and don't worry: You won't get stung

Android Honeycomb has hidden Gingerbread interface, enabled by higher LCD density

Google's already indicated that tablets and smartphones won't be sharing the same Android build until Ice Cream Sandwich in Q4, though interestingly enough, it turns out that the tablet-friendly Honeycomb actually has Gingerbread's interface quietly tucked underneath. According to modder Graffix0214, all you need for making the jump is one simple tweak in a system file: assuming you already have root access, use your preferred method -- Pocketables recommends the LCDDensity for Root app -- to change the LCD density value to 170 or higher to emulate a smaller, denser display. After a reboot, you should then see some Gingerbread love as demoed by Graffix0214's video after the break; and likewise, set the value to 160 or lower to roll back. It sure is nice to have an option, eh?

Dell Streak Pro Honeycomb tablet pictured, likely to be with us in June

Android Honeycomb OS, 10-inch screen size with 1280 x 800 resolution, and NVIDIA's Tegra 2 (T20) chip on the inside. If those specs sound familiar, it's because most manufacturers already have a tablet just like Dell's upcoming Streak Pro. This slate from Round Rock got us a little hot under the collar recently, when it appeared it would ship with the T25 Tegra 2 silicon -- which runs at 1.2GHz and offers 3D support -- but nope, it's same old, same old from Michael and company. Still, the Streak Pro will apparently come will a brushed aluminum back, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB storage options, dual mics, dual cameras (2 megapixel on the front, 5 megapixel 'round back), and a choice of four colors: blue, pink, black, and red. If that's not enough customization for you, Dell's also adding its Stage UI atop Android, while support for AT&T's LTE network is also said to be under consideration.