Thursday, 2 April 2015
Yahoo App On Android Receives U.S. Refresh
It was not too long ago that the Yahoo app on the iPhone received a brand new look, and having picked up a fair bit of great feedback from the community, it does look as though a similar refined as well as vibrant experience is set to arrive for Android users over in the U.S. In fact, the folks over at Yahoo have thrown in the likes of interactive features – and among these will include photo slideshows, community polls, and an image slider which would enable one to check out how photos transform right before one’s very own eyes, in order to turn the dozen digital magazines or so into an even more engaging experience.
Microsoft previews new Music and Video apps for Windows 10
Microsoft previews new Music and Video apps for Windows 10
Microsoft will be the first to admit its upcoming Music and Video apps for PC -- which both drop the Xbox branding -- aren't polished enough to replace current ones just yet. But, if you're already testing Windows 10 through Technical Preview, you can now take the platform's next-gen media apps for a spin. The Music Preview app can play and browse songs saved on your device and on OneDrive. Despite not having Xbox in its official name anymore, the app can still play any file you added via Xbox Music Pass. Unfortunately, the gallery's still wonky, and Music Pass files are prone to errors. In the near future, though, the tech corporation wants to add right-click menus and the capability to buy from Windows Store Beta, among other features.
The Video Preview app, on the other hand, is capable of playing most video files, including MKVs. Like the Music app, it can still play files from Xbox Video. It takes a while to play purchased content at this time, though, and streaming movies and TV shows bought through older versions of the app require you to be online. Movie playback also results in error at times, and trying to add or remove folders from within the app crashes it. Microsoft has knowingly released these buggy applications as a way to get your feedback. So, try not to quickly run out of patience after downloading both Music and Video Preview apps for Windows 10 PCs from Store Beta.
Apple & Google Dominate Worldwide Smartphone Market At 96%
Apple & Google Dominate Worldwide Smartphone Market At 96%
If you’ve ever wondered why app developers tend to release for either iOS or Android, or maybe both, it is because these two platforms are the largest at the moment, and a recent report from the IDC seems to confirm that. According to the IDC, they found that in 2014, Apple and Google’s combined market share was sitting at the 96% mark.
This is the combination of Google’s market share which is at a staggering 81.5% and Apple’s 14.8%. The remaining platforms from Microsoft and BlackBerry accounted for 2.7% and 0.4% respectively. Now it is clear that Google’s Android platform is in the lead, but the IDC claims that despite Google’s lead, Apple is said to be raking in 90% of the industry’s profits all the same.According to IDC research manager Ramon Llamas, “Many of the same drivers were in play for Android and iOS to tighten their grip on the market. A combination of strong end-user demand, refreshed product portfolios, and the availability of low-cost devices – particularly for Android – drove volumes higher.”
This isn’t to say that other platforms are performing badly, in fact Microsoft’s Windows Phone lineup has a couple of hits too, like the Lumia 520 which topped carrier charts and was found to be the most popular Windows Phone handset around the world.
WhatsApp voice calling now available to all Android users, no invite necessary
WhatsApp voice calling now available to all Android users, no invite necessary
The latest version of the WhatsApp Messenger app now available for downoad on Google Play includes the much discussed WhatsApp Calling feature activated by default. Users no longer will need to receive a WhatsApp call from a friend to have the feature activated.
Describing what's new in the app, WhatsApp's Google Play page
says, "WhatsApp Calling: Call your friends and family using WhatsApp
for free, even if they're in another country. WhatsApp calls use your
phone's Internet connection rather than your cellular plan's voice
minutes. Data charges may apply"
Until now, the feature was invite-only and saw a limited rollout.
Although there have been reports that the feature is working with the
previous version of the app, it is suggested that you update the app to
get the call tab.
It is worth mentioning that once you are on a call through the app,
network calls will not work. You will be required to move to your
phone's regular calling feature to place calls over the cellular
network.
The feature is currently only limited to Android users. However,
co-founder Brian Acton recently announced at the Facebook f8 conference
that the voice-calling feature will be rolled out to iOS devices in a
couple of weeks.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
Microsoft enables Windows 10 on Android-powered Xiaomi Mi4
Microsoft enables Windows 10 on Android-powered Xiaomi Mi4
The Xiaomi Mi4 is an Android phone, in case you didn’t know. And, judging by our own tests and conclusions, it’s a pretty good Android phone. That, until Microsoft decided to work on a ROM that will allow Mi4 users to boot into Windows 10. Before anyone reads more into it, Xiaomi emphasized that this is not a partnership, but more like the OEM offering assistance to Microsoft with the trial.
While there are no details about the software being trialled, TechCrunch believes, based on its sources, that the Microsoft ROM allows users to bypass Android and boot into a fully working version of Windows 10, complete with Microsoft services, basically turning the Mi4 into a Windows Phone.
We’ve already seen the same hardware being capable of running both Android and Windows Phone, with the HTC One M8, but this is something different. Whether we’ll see this certain Microsoft ROM available for other devices as well is yet unknown. However, here’s the statement detailing some of the aspects:
“As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience. This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We’re excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.
Xiaomi is a leading phone manufacturer in China undergoing significant global expansion. We are excited to partner with them in China and jointly gather feedback from Chinese users on their experience with Windows 10 to jointly collaborate on product and services development for the platform.
Availability will be announced in the months to come.”
10 Things You Can Do in Android 5.1 That You Couldn't Before
10 Things You Can Do in Android 5.1 That You Couldn't Before
Android 5.1 isn't one of those massive life-changing releases that'll have you tapping the 'look for updates' button frenetically for days on end; but nor is it one of those minor upgrades with only bug fixes and technical improvements. Here are the cool new features you're going to get with the new Android—once it eventually arrives on your phone.
1. Access the quick settings drawer from the lock screen
In Android 5.1, a swift drag down from the top of the screen brings up the quick settings drawer, even if your phone is locked and protected with a PIN. That means you can quickly turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or launch the flashlight, without unlocking your phone, but it also means your friends can play around with your phone's brightness behind your back. Watch out.
2. Customize quick settings
You may not have noticed it, but activating certain toggles (like Wi-Fi hotspot or invert colors) will add the relevant shortcuts to the quick settings drawer the first time they're activated. In Android 5.0, you couldn't then get rid of them; in Android 5.1 you can, with a long press on whichever button you want to hide, giving you more control over the appearance of the panel.
3. Add Device Protection
Perhaps the biggest change, Device Protection, is only available to the Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and new Android 5.1 devices. It's automatically activated if you set a secure lock screen method (like a PIN) and adds various security measures to make it harder for someone else to access your device (for example, your device will stay locked even after a factory reset unless your Google password is entered).
4. Make calls with HD audio
Google is promising high-definition audio that's "crystal clear" in the Android 5.1 update, though you are going to need a compatible device on a compatible network for this to work: The Nexus 6, T-Mobile and Verizon are all mentioned in Google's blog post. If you do have the necessary hardware and a strong enough signal then you should be able to hear your calls better than ever.
5. Turn on Priority Mode until your alarm goes off
Are you a passionate Priority Mode user? If you've never used it before, it lets you automatically or manually shut off audible notifications for a particular time period (when you're asleep, for example). In Android 5.1, Google has added the option to activate Priority Mode until your next alarm goes off (when you need to get out of bed and face the world again, for example).
6. Run two SIMs at once
We don't have a dual SIM phone in hand, but Android 5.1 Lollipop ushers in support for running two SIMs in one phone. No doubt as a nod to those in developing nations picking up their first smartphones, or international travelers. The dialer app lets you choose between your SIMs and will color-code its interface to make sure you know which one you're using.
7. Get connected more easily
In Android 5.0, tapping Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in the quick settings drawer would turn these features on and off. Thankfully, Android 5.1 ushers in a much more important capability, which is to scan for nearby networks or devices—tap the small downward arrow by each icon to see what's on offer. Thank you Google, for fixing this small annoyance.
8. Temporarily dismiss notifications
Android notifications now drop in from the top of the screen as they happen. In Lollipop 5.0, you had to dismiss them with a swipe, act on them with a tap, or wait for them to disappear. In Lollipop 5.1, you can swipe up to quickly dismiss them—but this time they'll stay in your notifications bar ready to be dealt with further down the line.
9. Change the system volume level while music is playing
Not exactly worth shouting from the rooftops, but a useful little feature nonetheless. In the dark old Android 5.0 days, tapping the volume buttons while audio was playing only changed the audio volume level—now you can tap the bell icon to the right to modify the system volume level too, and access the various priority and interruption modes, without pausing your tunes. You can change the alarm volume from inside the Clock app too.
10. Ignore broken Wi-Fi networks
You eagerly latch on to your local diner's Wi-Fi only to discover that they let their broadband subscription lapse last month (or there's some other problem with the network). If Android 5.1 Lollipop hooks up to a Wi-Fi network with poor connectivity then it will remember and not try to automatically connect to it again. In the meantime, you can try and troubleshoot the problem on the restaurant owner's behalf...
Intel, Google Team Up With TAG Heuer for Luxury Smartwatch
Intel and Google are joining Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer to launch a luxury smartwatch by the end of the year
Intel and Google are joining Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer to design and launch a luxury smartwatch by the end of the year, the three companies announced on Thursday at the Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show in Basel, Switzerland.
"Silicon Valley is Switzerland, Switzerland is Silicon Valley," TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said at the start of a rollicking press conference that outlined how the new partners would create a watch that is "both luxurious, and seamlessly connected to its wearer's daily life" and finished with the ceremonial cutting of a 37-kilogram wheel of cheese from Biver's own farm.
"Swiss watchmaking and Silicon Valley is a marriage of technological innovation with watchmaking credibility. Our collaboration provides a rich host of synergies, forming a win-win partnership, and the potential for our three companies is enormous," Biver said in a statement.
The future, unnamed smartwatch will be powered by an Intel-designed chipset and run Android Wear, Google's modified version of its Android mobile operating system which is optimized for wearables. Pricing and availability were not announced, but Biver said the device could arrive any time between October and December.
TAG Heuer will design the watch itself, bringing the prestige and skill of Swiss watchmaking to the venture, but Biver noted that factors like where the future smartwatch is assembled and manufactured will likely mean it won't be certified as a "Swiss-made" timepiece.
For Intel and Google, the partnership will ideally give a needed boost to the two tech firms' early efforts to break into the wearables market.
Google has thrown its considerable promotional weight behind Android Wear in recent months—even debuting an Android Wear ad on the day of Apple's big Apple Watch unveiling earlier this month.
But Canalys recently reported that only 720,000 wearable devices running the Web giant's software made it to market in 2014, a year that saw a total of 4.6 million smart wearable bands shipped, according to the research firm.
Perhaps a Swiss-crafted Android Wear device matched up against Apple's opulent $10,000 smartwatch will boost Google's standing in the wearables world.
Sunday, 15 March 2015
The latest version of Android could keep your data safe
The latest version of Android could keep your data safe on public WiFi
Android 5.1 has been available to Nexus devices for a little while now, and it looks like one of its neatest features - sorry HD Voice and Device Protection - isn't quite ready for public consumption yet. Thanks to a little bit of sleuthing by Pocketables editor-in-chief John Freml, it looks like you'll eventually be able to log into a Google VPN when you connect to one of those potentially sketchy open WiFI networks out there.
The inclusion of a system-level VPN is a great idea on its own, but it takes on even more significance in light of Google's recently confirmed MVNO plans. Google SVP Sundar Pichai noted in an interview at this year's Mobile World Congress that it'll eventually roll out the "Nexus" of wireless services; that is, it won't necessarily compete with the industry's lumbering giants for customers. Still, it's clear that WiFi is going to play a crucial role in Google's newest mobile push - the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that it'll essentially combine T-Mobile and Sprint service with available WiFi networks for phone and data connectivity, and you can bet the search juggernaut has a vested interest in keeping its users' information safe from ne'er-do-wells.
WhatsApp rolls out voice-calling feature
WhatsApp rolls out voice-calling feature for all Android users
WhatsApp has rolled out its calling feature that is available on running version 2.11.528 from the Play Store, version 2.11.531 from WhatsApp's website or it can be activated after users get "invited" by receiving a call.
According to Androidpolice.com, the feature gets activated after users receive a call on whatsapp from someone who already has it. After the call, Whatsapp is activated immediately after the app is closed and reopened again.
Once activated, there will be a 3-tab layout on the whatsapp homescreen showing calls, chats and contacts. The calls tab shows incoming, outgoing and missed calls with precise timings.
With over a billion downloads on Android, WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app. It has over 700 million monthly active users worldwide.
Bye bye Nexus 5
Top Android news of the week: Bye bye Nexus 5, USB C, Google Store
Nexus 5 is no more
Google has stopped selling the Nexus 5 online. This is not surprising since the newer Nexus 6 has been selling for a while. It was reported late last year that production had stopped on the older Nexus.There is still inventory in the channel so it may be possible to pick up a highly discounted Nexus 5.
USB C coming to smartphones
First Apple introduced the new USB C port with the new MacBook, and then Google showed off two of them on the Chromebook Pixel. USB C is coming in a big way, on everything from laptops to phones.Google won't stop with putting the new ports on laptops, it is committed to bringing them to Android phones in the near future.
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