UK mobile phone users to get free 0800 calls by mid-2015
Ofcom, the UK’s communication regulator, has toyed with the idea of making freephone numbers free to call from mobiles for over two years, but now it’s finally looking to put that plan into action. In an effort to clear up confusion over call charges, the regulator announced it intends to bring mobile freephone calls in line with landlines, letting everyone in the UK call 0800, 0808 and 116 numbers for no charge. It’s been a long time coming: Ofcom actually began conducting research into call charges in November 2011, but the new guidance comes with a few extra cost-cutting measures when it goes into effect. By June 2015, Ofcom will introduce caps on premium rate calls and clarify the cost of calls to 0845 numbers, encouraging transparency and giving people a clear of idea of how much they’ll be debited when they pick up the phone.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Ofcom
Google Santa Tracker On Android Helps You Track The Big Man Himself Again
It’s that time of year again and Google has launched its new and improved Santa Tracker app. The Google Santa Tracker is available for download now from the Google Play Store and follows a similar vein to Google’s web version of the Santa Tracker (which you can check out here). When you fire up the app, you’ll find it’s a little less comprehensive than the web page, but still contains some nice, Christmas gems.
On the front page, you’ll be greeted by a countdown to the 24th of December when ol’ Santa saddles up and the real tracking begins, however, while we’re all waiting for that magical night, the Santa Tracker app has a set of mini-games to keep you busy including Gumball, Memory and Elf Jetpack. At present, only Gumball is available to play with Memory and Elf Jetpack unlocking on the 17th and 19th respectively. The games appear to be fun enough to burn some time, and there’s Google+ integration as well if you feel the need to share your high score.
The app also apparently includes Chromecast support which will allow you put the countdown on your other screen while you continue to play the game on your device. It’s definitely a cool little app, which will get better as the 24th approaches. You can download the Google Santa Tracker now for free on the Google Play Store so hit the links below to pick it up.
Source: Phandroid
Application: Google Santa Tracker
Price: Free
‘The Room Two’ Now Available for iPad [iOS Blog]
Developer Fireproof Games has released The Room Two for iOS devices, which acts as a follow up title to Apple’s 2012 selection for iPad Game of the Year, The Room. Much like its predecessor, The Room Two centers around puzzle-based gameplay as the player attempts to solved a general mystery left behind by a scientist, traveling through various locations in search of various clues. The game also includes iCloud syncing and Game Center Support for saves and leaderboards respectively, as well as dynamic sound effects that adapt to the game environment.
Welcome to The Room Two, a physical puzzler, wrapped in a mystery game, inside a beautifully tactile 3D world.
The much anticipated sequel to ‘The Room’, Apple’s Game of the Year 2012 and recipient of a BAFTA award, is here at last.
Follow a trail of cryptic letters from an enigmatic scientist known only as “AS” into a compelling world of mystery and exploration.
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The Room Two is a $4.99 download for the iPad and is available now. [Direct Link]
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Android 4.3 For Xperia Z and Xperia ZL Now Available
A flurry of devices have been updated to Android 4.3 these past few weeks, including the Note 2 variants and now a build of Android 4.3 has been leaked out allegedly for the Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Labelled as a “Commercial&Journalists” build, it’s difficult to tell whether this is the final version of Android 4.3 for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL as the formal build isn’t likely to roll out for a little while longer.
Even so, if you own either of these devices, you can download the build below, which carries the firmware build number of 10.4.B.0.569 on both devices. Links go to the relevant XDA Forum pages so make sure you click through and check it out:
If you do download it and give it a try, we’d love to know how you find it and what differences there are.
Source: XDA (1), (2) via Xperia Blog
GTA San Andreas Released On iOS Today, Android Version Coming Next Week
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is still, to this day, my favourite game in the GTA franchise. I know a lot of people might not agree with me, but when I heard that Rockstar Games was bringing the game to mobile platforms in December, I was overjoyed. As is apparently the natural order in mobile games, however, iOS more often than not gets first dibs on important releases and the release of GTA San Andreas is no different. The game is out on iOS today (available here) with Rockstar promising the Android release will follow in a week’s time.
The iOS version comes in at $6.99, which is a little higher than previous GTA releases, however San Andreas is a far more expansive game than its predecessors. It really is a testament to how far mobile technology has come in the last few years where we were initially amazed that a mobile device could handle the graphics and processing required to run the now ancient GTA 3 and now here we are about to get our hands on the epitome of that generation’s open-world games.
We’ll be sure to let you know when GTA San Andreas finally launches on Android, so stay tuned. What is your favourite game of the GTA franchise? Let us know in the comments.
Source: engadget
Severe Winter Weather Is Causing Delays To Moto G And Moto X Orders
Those of you who live in the States might have noticed a bit of the white stuff (snow, that is) already falling around your area. You might also have heard that up to 62.1% of your country is currently covered in the stuff, which is almost double the snow coverage you experienced around the same time last year. An unfortunate result of this extra wintery weather is that even Motorola‘s factory way down in Fort Worth, Texas, which produces the Motorola smartphones like the Moto X and most recently the Moto G, has been affected, causing Motorola Mobility to issue this statement on Twitter earlier today:
The winter weather conditions near our Texas factory caused product delivery delays. We’re working hard to get people’s orders shipped ASAP.
— Motorola Mobility (@Motorola) December 11, 2013
Unfortunately, this does mean delays to Moto G and Moto X orders, though Motorola is trying to mitigate the situation any way they can. Although shipping dates have been thrown out of whack, they have sent an email to people who have ordered the Moto G offering a free upgrade to overnight shipping and promised to ship the device by December 17th. Looks like Motorola is trying to get everyone their devices before Christmas, but we’ll have to see how this pans out, weather permitting.
Anybody who ordered a Moto G or Moto X being affected by this shipping delay? Let us know in the comments.
Waze speeds up its sat nav app with quicker search and simpler interface
Even though Waze is now under Google’s umbrella, it’s continued to operate as if nothing has changed, other than the fact that it now has a billion dollars. To that end, it’s just rolled out a new release for Android and iOS with some welcome new features, most significantly an auto-complete function for addresses and categories that plays well with its new Google search powers. Other goodies include a redesigned main menu, easier waypoint editing and new icons on the map view to see traffic reports or nearby pals. Hopefully, other than borrowing its tech, Google will continue to leave the new acquisition alone — after all, how many apps let you be guided around by a celebrity?
Source: Waze
Engadget UK Giveaway: Win a Samsung NX2000 courtesy of Ebuyer.com
Holidays are coming… and with all those chocolate liqueurs being passed around, your memory of those special days can sometimes get, well, a little hazy (liqueur responsibly, please). What you really need is a fancy-pants camera to keep your family moments safe, preserved in photo form. If you’re living in the UK, then our friends at Ebuyer.com have sent us a Samsung NX2000 to give to one of you lucky readers. All you gotta do is head past the break, and enter via our ever-so-simple widget. So, put that mini-chocolate kahlúa down and get right on it. And please, read the rules.
The Rules:
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the UK, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at ourlawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will win one (1) Samsung NX2000 camera.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Ebuyer, and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honour warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until December 16th at 23:59 GMT. Good luck!
Kit Kat India Goes Into Damage Control, Will Honour The Winners Of The 2013 Nexus 7
A few days ago, we covered the story of some people in India possibly getting the short end of the stick in the Android KitKat competition where one of the prizes was a 2013 Nexus 7. The story goes that some winners of the Nexus 7 ended up receiving the older, 2012 Nexus 7 instead of the 2013 version. Kit Kat India appeared to be indifferent at first, however their Twitter and Facebook pages started getting bombarded with expressions of disappointment. A truly messy situation, one which threatened to escalate and damage the Android KitKat brand in the region and wider community.
Fortunately seeing the potential to damage both Android and Nestle’s KitKat brand, Kit Kat India caved and posted the above photo on their official webpage earlier today. A message went up on their Facebook page soon after to confirm that they would be calling up winners of the competition who had received the 2012 Nexus 7 to organise a replacement with a 2013 version. This wasn’t the quickest of resolutions, nor was it done completely voluntarily, however it likely did wonders for the Nexus 7′s reputation in particular ahead of any last minute Christmas shopping this festive season.
What do you think about this whole ordeal? Do you think Kit Kat India could have handled this better? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Thanks Manu for calling this in!
Source: Tech2Yantra
Mirror app for Android can record your screen or stream it to Apple TV (video)
CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta has followed up his CM 11 Screencast display recording app with one for a wider range of Android users with an extra feature. Mirror for Android can not only record whatever’s happening on your tablet or phone’s screen, but it can also display it wirelessly, AirPlay- or Miracast-style, on an Apple TV. Currently it requires Android 4.4.2 and root access, but Dutta says there is a non-root solution on the way. If you’d like to try it out and have the appropriate hardware, just click here to join the Google+ community, click here to join the beta and then download the app from Google Play. That may not be possible for individuals without a Nexus device and / or CyanogenMod 11 nightly build, so if you just want to see what it’s like, check out a quick video demo embedded after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, Apple, Google
Source: Koushik Dutta (Google+), Google Play
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