LG and Google tweak Nexus 5 production to fix speaker and loose buttons
Owners of brand new Nexus 5 handsets are starting to notice a few subtle differences compared to the version that sold at launch. The mono speaker grille holes are slightly larger, for a start, which could potentially offer a decibel or so of extra volume and prevent buyers from having to go all crazy with a hot needle. The volume and power buttons seem to have been made stiffer too, suggesting that complaints about excessive rattling noises reached receptive ears at LG and Google. None of this will help those of us who bought launch day models, of course, unless there’s the option of seeking a replacement, but we reckon the Nexus 5 remains the best $350 option on the market even with all its original foibles.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, LG
Via: TalkAndroid, PocketDroid
Source: XDA
Get a glimpse into the snaking, hovering and pedaling of robots past (video)
The director of that awesome James Bond quadrotor video from last year has unearthered some fascinating footage from University of Pennsylvania professors, detailing robotic breakthroughs that lead to the creation of the acrobatic RHex, self-assembling modular CKbot and the aforementioned flying marvel. According to the director, the short video was compiled using largely unseen footage that dates back to the early 80s. Well worth four and half minutes of your time.
Filed under: Robots
Foxconn still not in compliance with all local labor laws, but it’s getting better
Remember when Apple and Foxconn pledged to improve working conditions, increase wages and limit work weeks to 60 hours? Turns out they’re still working on that. According to a recent investigation by China’s Fair Labor Association, Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn’s official name) is “not in compliance” with laws limiting overtime to 36 hours a month. Even so, the company has made significant progress: according to the FLA, Foxconn has completed 356 of the 360 items it agreed to when it promised to improve working conditions. In fact, the company seems to be taking the audit as a compliment.
“The results of the report demonstrate substantial overall progress by our company in carrying out the 15-month remedial program in many areas,” Foxconn officials said. “However, we recognize that there is more to be done and we must continue to sustain this progress and further enhance our operations.” Apple followed up the company’s optimistic response with its own statement, noting that the average work week at all of its suppliers was 53 hours, well under the 60 hour limit. The company also made progress by improving facilities, building more exits and adding more toilets. There’s still work to do, but both companies have promised to do everything they can to resolve the remaining issues.
Source: Financial Times, Wall Street Journal
Cover’s context-aware Android lock screen launches on Google Play (video)
Context-sensitive interfaces like Aviate and Google Now are on the rise in the Android world, and Cover is taking advantage of that spotlight by releasing its dynamic lock screen on Google Play as a public beta. The updated front end works much as it did in the invitation-only test, automatically changing app shortcuts and settings as you move from place to place. It’s also easy to peek into apps or switch between them. Most of the improvements lie below the surface, Cover says — the new version maintains an app’s exact state while peeking, improves KitKat compatibility, includes tutorials and offers more customization. Whether or not you’re a Cover veteran, you’re now just a click or two away from trying the updated software for yourself.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Google Play
[Giveaway] Win One of Three Android Holiday Cards Courtesy of Andy’s Vinyl
Kristian Bell has been involved with the Android community for many years; he’s a renaissance man of many talents and he’s done a little bit of everything. I had the pleasure of working with him in a team setting and he always produced top-notch work. His latest endeavor is Andy’s Vinyl, which is a decal, clothing print, and paper goods print shop.
The holidays are upon us and Andy’s Vinyl is selling boxes of Android-themed holiday greeting cards. Kristian has hooked us up with three of these cards to give away (he’s doing the same with Android Dissected simultaneously as well BTW, so enter there too if you want to double your chances). This is the easiest contest ever, to enter simply say what you’d like to see in the Andy’s Vinyl Store in the comments section below or on the AndroidSPIN G+ sharing of this giveaway post. We’ll randomly pick three winners by the end of day Saturday, December 14 (EST) and Kristian will send them out shortly thereafter. Easy. Simple. Happy. Holidays!
Beyonce Releases Exclusive iTunes Album, Dominating Store Carousel [Mac Blog]
American singer Beyoncè released her self-titled fifth studio album today, which is exclusively available on iTunes and is notably dominating the digital music store’s rotating carousel.
The album, dubbed a “visual album” because each song comes with an accompanying music video, has seen an unprecedented marketing push from Apple within the iTunes Store, receiving all the attention of the promotion carousel at the top of the store and even spawning a “Beyoncè albums” section where users can see her four other albums and anthology album.
Apple has previously offered exclusive streaming for certain albums, like David Bowie’s The Next Day, leveraging iTunes dominant position in the digital music landscape.
Beyoncè is available now for $15.99, with individual song and video sales starting on December 20.
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‘Start’ Gives You Quick Access to Information without Unlocking Your Device [APP OF THE WEEK]
There are many lockscreens to choose from out there, and it can be hard to find which one suits you and your device. “Cover” was just released in the Play Store today, and it does offer a unique lockscreen experience. Even though it does do that, the lockscreen app “Start” wants to make it even better.
Start is a new lockscreen app by Celltick, and they want to give you information and quick access to apps without even unlocking your device. They achieve this by these tab plugins, that act as scrollable widgets. You have, weather, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, RSS, Search, and Flickr, all at your disposal before you even fully open your device. When you hit these tabs, the scrollable widget pops out, and gives you access to your different feeds. If you click within the plugin, it will redirect you right into the very app.
Another fun feature to Start, is the shortcuts icons that give you access to, recent contacts, messaging apps, camera apps, and recent apps, in a fun animation kind of way. You can also customize what is being shown in these shortcut icons, and speaking of customization, you can theme this lockscreen app like crazy. Start has a couple themes already within it, but you can also download numerous themes from the Play Store, and they are all free to download.
My only gripe I have about Start, and I would actually use it daily if they fix it, is it is SO LAGGY. Okay, it isn’t super crazy laggy, but the response and fluidness acts as if I’m still on Android 2.0. If the developers bring it to Jelly Bean smoothness standards, I would rock this over Cover, and I wouldn’t think twice about it.
If you feel like giving Start a try, go ahead and hit the Ply Store link. Is free to try, and you can also check out my video review below to see it in action. Let us know if you give it a try.
Moto X gets Android 4.4 KitKat and camera enhancements on Sprint and US Cellular
Sprint and US Cellular customers with Motorola’s $199 smartphone have finally joined the KitKat party. Starting today, Moto X users can enjoy Android 4.4′s streamlined interface and Google-licious features, courtesy of an OTA update.
In other Moto X news, the company updated its camera app with manual control of the focus and exposure. Users can select “Control focus & exposure” to adjust the aforementioned settings by dragging a green bracket to the desired location. In order to cash in on the update, you’ll need to hit up the Play store via our source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Google
Via: PhoneArena, Droid Life
Source: Motorola, Google Play
Pebble smartwatch update brings do not disturb mode and snooze alarm
The Pebble smartwatch is all about getting mobile notifications more efficiently, but what about when you don’t want to see those notifications at all? The new PebbleOS v1.14 update rolling out can help there with enhanced notification management that adds a “Do Not Disturb” mode that blocks updates for a set period of time. The Alarms app has received considerable attention as well, with the ability to create multiple alarms, toggle specific ones on/off, or edit alarms, and a new “Snooze Alarm” feature. Users can manage all notifications more quickly and in a few new ways too, with the ability to swap between Notifications On / Phone Only / Notifications Off, which are located under a dedicated menu in settings. Finally, among other miscellaneous tweaks, users with iOS devices will see notifications faster, and developers can check out beta 3 of the Pebble SDK 2.0.
Filed under: Wearables, Mobile
Source: Pebble Blog
Google optimizes web versions of Play Movies and Music for Chromecast
The Chromecast is the tiny dongle that just keeps on giving. A mere couple of days after announcing support for a number of new applications, Google has let it be known that its $35 streamer is now compatible with Play Movies and Music on the desktop in a more native way. What this means is you will no longer have to rely on casting a Chrome tab to watch videos or listen to tunes ; instead, a Cast icon shows up within the Google Play web player and allows content to seamlessly be pushed to the device. Of course, there’s still a requirement to have the Google Cast extension installed on your Chrome browser — but this is a small price to pay in exchange for such useful functionality.
Filed under: Google
Source: Google
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