Remote Media Player

A bad name for a good app. "Remote Media Player" is an app in App World, by Jesus Iglesias and xApps.es. It plays audio and video files. It says it can play SRT subtitles. But what I like about this player is that it can remember last point played in a video. So I bought it for $1.99. I think I will be using this as my main video player.

Biggest failing is that you can't control the volume on the touch screen. You do have the option to control the volume using the physical volume control, but I would like to control it using a touch screen.

You can get a free remote for the player. In Google Play, there is PBRemoteDroid for Android devices. In App World, the is "Remote Control for Media Player " for PlayBooks and BB10 devices. I have only my one PlayBook, so I installed the remote and the player to it. It can use the remote to control the player, but I can see only the remote or the player, not both at the same time. But it works, as I can fast forward or reverse in 30 second intervals. XApps.es list an iOS app, but I couldn't find one at this point.

I say it has a bad name because it is confusing. It is a media player that you can get remotes for. I think people will get the remotes and not know what they are for and give them bad reviews. At least the remotes are free.

This is a screen shot from Google Play of the remote

Uncompressor works

Yes, Uncompressor was able to extract 2 rar files on the PlayBook.  It was 2 different files, one a mp4 video file and a folder of pictures. So, one thing down on my PlayBook bucket list. I don't know how much I will use it, but good to know I can. It will also do tar files, but haven't tried to see if it works.

WatchMore Does More

Have used WatchMore more. Not every mkv, mp4 or avi file with an ac3 audio file was able to convert into a playable video file with sound for the PlayBook. What I have found is that you can convert files that don't play into files that do. Even files that don't  use ac3 audio tracks. I have only been able to convert mkv, mp4 and avi files. I have tried mpg and wmv video files, but never have been able to convert any.

All in all, a dollar well spent.

Upon Further Investigation

xApps website listed other apps available for the BlackBerry PlayBook. There is an ebook reader, something for syncing with Firefox on your PC, a file explorer, something about bike stations in Valencia, Spain and something about a remote media player.

Remote Media Player is a bad name. It is media player for the PlayBook. I think it uses the native video player of the PlayBook, as it will play anything that the native player will play. The site states it is a native app that can be paired with a free app for Android phones that will allow you to use an Android phone as a remote for the media player. This is similar to using a BlackBerry phone as a remote using BlackBerry Bridge. So really not that interesting. It also says it will play subtitles. 

Searching in App World, using the terms media remote brings up Media Remote Player. It again states that you need to pair the app with a free Android phone app. But the player will act as a stand alone player. But then, something caught my eye - it remembers last position played. What I always dreamed about. Yes, I don't have grand dreams. It does cost $1.99, but if it works ....

Uncompressor

I have been looking for an app to unlock a rar file. The PlayBook can unzip a zip file, but not a rar. I go to App World and input rar in search and all I would get are magna readers that say it could do it, but the reviews don't really talk about rar files. But in reading the BlackBerry PlayBook forums in CrackBerry,  someone mentioned Uncompressor.

If you use rar as your search in App World, Uncompressor shows up. It cost me $0.99 + tax. The reviews were mixed, almost half said it was great, the other half said it didn't. It looks like a native app, as compared to an Android app ported over to the PlayBook. Jesus Iglesias is the author and he has a website for his app at xApps.es.

In reading his website, I have gleamed that Uncompressor cannot extract rar files that are password protected. It also will not extract multifile rar archives at this time. Hopefully this will be rectified, but not a big deal for me.

Kinda Cheap

Upon further investigation, I found a phone at Boost Mobile that was more then $100 but looks very promising for my friend. It does cost $150, so not sure if he will get it now. It is the Samsung Galaxy Rush.
3.5" screen
1GHz processor
2 GB memory
768 ram
Micro SD slot
3MP rear camera with LED flash
1.3 front facing camera

It comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, one of the cheapest phones with. And it can video Skype, I think. New on the market, so not many reviews to be had. Screen is smaller then the ZTE Warp, but the Rush seems more up-to-date. Things like Bluetooth 4.0 and Ice Cream Sandwich. It seems like a good choice for a tight budget.

Link to gsmarena.com for the specs for the Samsung Galaxy Rush

Specs for the Samsung Galaxy Rush

The Post I Forgot to Title

My other friend has a Samsung Galaxy Prevail with Boost Mobile. I guess that the phone freezes up on him a lot. It is an Android 2.2 (Froyo) phone out the box and upgradeable to Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread). Has a 3.2" screen and a 2MP rear camera. Now looking for a new phone for him. He doesn't have much money (I really need better friends), could use a bigger screen and could use Skype. He wants to spend about a $100.

Best thing about Boost Mobile is they don't throttle their 3G speeds. For as low as $45 a month, you get unlimited voice, text and 3G data. Phones are not subsidized, so that is an upfront cost for you. And Boost Mobile will activate for free.

The best phone for $99 was the ZTE Warp at Radioshack.com.
Android 2.3
4.3" WVGA screen
5MP camera with LED flash
1GHz processor
Bluetooth
Micro SD slot

It looks okay, but the reviews are terrible. This phone seems to freeze too. The color of the screen is also wanting, though the size is nice. The reviews also say the camera is not that good. Some 3MP cameras are better then what the Warp has. Also, not sure what version of Bluetooth it has, I have read v2.1 and v3.0. A lot of this phone seems dated. Gingerbread and not Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0). It seems to have 4GB of storage, which is better then most cheap Android phones. 512 MB of ram, which is why I think it seems to freeze up.

For the large display it seems like a good choice. But again, it seems dated. Not to worry, they are out of stock of them at Radioshack.com. So on I looked.

Link to gsmarena.com with specs for the ZTE Warp
Specs for ZTE Warp