On Friday, a company called Carrier Coverage reached out to us with a new app that they referred to as being like Carrier-IQ, only it aims to help consumers rather than carriers. Using the term “Carrier-IQ” was an odd way of framing their position, but they had a snazzy video and what seemed like a decent enough idea that we gave it a look.

So what exactly is it? Carrier Coverage wants to have enough data to be able to tell you which carrier and phone is the best in the areas that you visit most frequently. Actually, it goes beyond that. Let’s say you plan to take a vacation or move into a new house – this app will eventually tell you if your particular carrier and phone will be able to perform at the level you need it to. By gathering data through their app (location, carrier, signal strength, and more), they should be able produce some useful info, assuming they get enough users. 

Arguably the coolest video of 2011 was Corning’s “A Day Made of Glass.” It racked up over 17 million views and gave us a look into a future that includes nothing but touchable surfaces, almost Minority Report style. It could be years and years before we see anything close to a world like this, but after watching this new version, you will again wish that it was happening now. Fully touch-capable walls that can share in real time with tablets and are interactive? Yes, please. Changing the theme of your car through a tablet and a swipe? Mmmhmm. How about live augmented reality video using a tablet in something like a state park? Corning believes in it.  

Samsung’s 90 second spot for the Galaxy Note dropped some time around the beginning of the 4th quarter during yesterday’s Super Bowl, and boy was it somethin’. I’ve watched it a number of times now, yet still can’t decide if it was 100% win and hilarious, so over-the-top that it may have scared Android enthusiasts, or simply forgettable. It was so different from their subtle jabs at iPhone lines in previous spots that had a certain witty brilliance. I get that it’s the Super Bowl and things are supposed to be big and boisterous, I’m just wondering if it was a little much? Your thoughts?

Our instructions for installing Google Wallet to your Verizon Galaxy Nexus were giving people enough trouble earlier that one of our readers made a quick video to help everyone out. He went with the lengthy version that the majority of folks have had luck with. Hopefully this helps and gets you all on the official market version of Wallet.

Step-by-step written instructions here.

*Note – This method will apparently work on almost any app that Verizon has decided to have blocked from the market.

Huge cheers to Joey!

Saving Yello, another successful iOS game has made its way to Android this week. At first glance, I was convinced that this was just another Angry Birds knock-off, but once I watched the video and looked into it a bit, you can tell that it’s much more. And having been downloaded over 1 million times on iOS, we wouldn’t certainly hope it’s more than a slingshot destruction game.

The goal of the game is to launch a fish back into the safety of his bowl, but you will need to accomplish tasks on the way. Destroying toys, grabbing power-ups, and using physics to your advantage are all a part of the game. It’s free if you want to get a 10-level taste with an in-app purchase of $.99 to unlock the rest.

Market Link

Just recently, Team6 have announced that they have plans to bring a version of the PC classic FlatOut to Android devices . This version shall be called FlatOut-Stuntman and will feature all of the aggressive racing and carnage that players know and love. For those not familiar, your goal is to crash the car in a manner that will force the driver to be ejected from the vehicle in a humorous, yet morbid manner. Sounds pretty sick, right?

I know this is only a teaser, but they better come bigger than this on Sunday. The full 90 second spot will air during the 4th quarter.