JBL’s Flip 2 speaker, Synchros S400BT cans and J46BT in-ears suit all listening habits
Portable audio wares are never in short supply here at CES, and JBL is looking to do its part to maintain those levels. Adding to the fray, the company has announced a Bluetooth-enabled trio with the Flip 2 speaker, Synchros S400BT headphones and J46BT in-ears to suit a variety of mobile listening sensibilities. The Flip 2 is the follow up to last year’s Flip and offers tech for making clearer speakerphone calls on top of its rechargeable wireless chops. There’s also a pair of drivers and on-board bass port to handle the audio duties for the $129 unit. If you’re ready to upgrade from the previous model, the Flip 2 is up for pre-order now in red, blue, yellow, white and black color schemes and is set to ship next month.
Next, the Synchros S400BT cans offer both wired and wireless listening thanks to Bluetooth 3.0. Packing in advanced aptX functionality and JBL’s PureBass for improved audio quality, the set sports soft ear cushions, steel headband and collapsible form factor. On the left ear cup, controls for volume, track control and receiving calls are sorth with a touch-sensitive panel. In fact, an LED light tracks your finger in order to cater to your cues on the $299 device. The S400BT will be available in black and white when it arrives in February, but you can nab a pre-order now — if you’d rather lock a pair down.
Last but not least, for the in-ear listening crowd, the J46BT wireless buds sport Bluetooth 4.0 compatibility and an in-line remote for switching back and forth between Katy Perry and incoming calls. The J46BT are shipping now for $99 in your choice of black, white or blue.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video
(UPDATE) @evleaks leaks more Android on Nokia, release imminent?
This morning @evleaks posted a photo with that caption “Android on Nokia ( -virtual buttons)” that could perhaps be further suggesting a Nokia device running Android is in the works.
The device pictured also appears to be a dual-sim smartphone.
Rumors began in November when @evleaks leaked a photo of a device codenamed ”Normandy” that was said to be a low-end Android device.
This Lumia-style device, according to a report by The Verge, has “no apparent capacitive buttons for navigation” and ”supports Android applications like Skype, and other popular top apps.”
Comparing the above image to smartphones running Windows Phone, the navigation bar is nearly identical as far as the layout of the status bar icons.
This may be a heavily skinned version of Android, much like Amazon does with its Kindle tablets. If you ask me, while it was reported to have no capacitive buttons, the caption might mean “minus virtual buttons” and it appears to have one capacitive button, which is a back button. That dialer also looks like the KitKat dialer.
While @evleaks has proved accurate nearly every single time out, this one has our radar up.
UPDATE: GSMArena noted another leak of an AnTuTu test that the device, “Nokia RM-980 A110,” features a 4-inch FWVGA display (480×854 pixels), Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 5 MP rear camera and runs Android 4.4.1 KitKat.
The post (UPDATE) @evleaks leaks more Android on Nokia, release imminent? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung is throwing in some goodies with a purchase of the new NotePRO or TabPRO tablets
Two days ago, Samsung announced their new line of Galaxy TabPRO and NotePRO tablets at CES. It seems as though they’re trying to make the launch a big one by offering some free services from 11 popular companies.
There are quite a few exciting ones like a one year free subscription to Evernote premium and a free 50 GB of Dropbox storage for 2 years. It’s pretty normal to see multiple services providing incentive to purchase a new product, but usually never to this standard. The promotion will be limited to the original launch of the products, though we don’t know how long the deal will go on.
Is this enough incentive for you to go out and buy one? This offer is definitely something to consider when making your next tablets purchase.
Via: Android Central
The post Samsung is throwing in some goodies with a purchase of the new NotePRO or TabPRO tablets appeared first on AndroidGuys.
MTV first network to introduce optimized mobile viewing experience
MTV on Wednesday becomes the first TV network to introduce a “fully optimized TV Everywhere/ authenticated viewing experience” on mobile devices. Starting immediately, fans can view full episodes and seasons of series such as “Teen Wolf,” “The Real World Ex-plosion,” and “Girl Code,” from most Android devices. Looking ahead, sister stations VH1, CMT and Logo TV will get the same treatment.
MTV BECOMES THE FIRST NETWORK TO LAUNCH OPTIMIZED TV EVERYWHERE VIEWING ON MOBILE WEB
In Addition to the MTV App Fans Can Now Watch MTV Hit Series Like “Teen Wolf,” “Real World: Ex-Plosion” and “Girl Code” Directly on the Mobile Web
New York, January 8, 2014 – After launching a successful video viewing app in June, MTV today became the first television network to launch a fully optimized TV Everywhere/ authenticated viewing experience on mobile web. Beginning today, fans can watch full episodes and seasons of hit MTV series like “Teen Wolf,” “The Real World Ex-Plosion” and “Girl Code,” from all iOS and most Android devices. In the coming months, similar experiences will be launched for MTV’s sister brands VH1, CMT and Logo TV.
“We’re actively listening to our audience and optimizing our product and design approach to complement how they lead their lives,” said Kristin Frank, EVP of Connected Content for Viacom Music and Logo Group. “With today’s launch, we’re providing our fans with yet another entry point to enjoy their favorite MTV shows and characters.”
In addition to TV Everywhere viewing on mobile web, MTV’s re-launched show pages will feature increased interactivity to allow fans to interact with a show’s cast and characters. In the coming months, MTV will be rolling out additional features.
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of another TV first. In October, MTV became the first network to pre-release an entire season of a series exclusively on an app via authentication. During its pre-release window, “Wait Til Next Year” helped drive the apps biggest streaming week to date per person and increased downloads 47% week-over-week. The series television premiere drew an 8% time period uptick in P12-17. MTV’s three-in-one video viewing app has been downloaded more than 2 million times since its launch in June.
The post MTV first network to introduce optimized mobile viewing experience appeared first on AndroidGuys.
28-Inch ‘4K’ Display from Dell Priced at $699, Launches January 23
Last month, Dell announced several new “4K” displays for its lineup, including a teaser for an upcoming 28-inch model to be priced at “under $1000″. While the pricing range was considered a breakthrough at the time, several other display manufacturers announced their own offerings at CES this week with pricing in the $800 range.
But as highlighted by Forbes, Dell has now revealed that its display will be launching on January 23 with an even lower price of $699.
The P2815Q will have a full 3840 x 2160 4K resolution and launch globally on January 23. Dell hasn’t yet discussed things like refresh rate or range of inputs (I’m sure DisplayPort is a given), but they do promise the same “screen performance” as the new UltraSharp 32 and UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD monitors. That’s certainly encouraging since their UltraSharp line is normally a cut above when it comes to professional displays.
The monitor will even include the ability to pivot to portrait mode as well as a range of adjustable viewing heights and angles. They’ll be selling accessories too, like a stereo sound bar and monitor arm.
Plunging prices for 4K/Ultra HD displays come just as Apple has launched its new Mac Pro, with its dual graphics cards capable of supporting up to three such displays simultaneously. The latest version of Apple’s Retina MacBook Pro is also capable of driving a 4K display, taking advantage of the new Thunderbolt 2 standard to handle the throughput.
Many had hoped that Apple would release its own 4K/Ultra HD display alongside the Mac Pro, but the company did not do so, instead offering Mac Pro and MacBook Pro customers the option of adding on a $3600 32-inch Sharp Ultra HD display.
     |
Mophie’s Space Pack boosts both battery life and storage, requires a special iOS app (hands-on)
As a smartphone power-user, one of the devices that intrigued this editor the most at CES was not a huge TV or a sleek sportscar, but actually the Mophie Space Pack. It’s an iPhone case that marries both a backup battery and additional storage — a first of its kind, according to Mophie. The concept strikes us as an attractive one, especially to iPhone owners who are stuck with both a sealed-in battery and without the benefit of external memory. As it comes in both 16GB and 32GB versions, the Space Pack could also potentially double or triple your existing capacity. During a brief hands-on with the case, we can say that it looks very similar to the current Juice Pack Air — indeed, it’s almost indiscernible as far as look and feel goes. The only difference seems to be a silver brushed button on the back instead of a simple plastic one.
If you’re expecting the Space Pack to merge seamlessly with your existing iPhone storage to become one giant hard drive, you’re sadly mistaken. The Space Pack really acts more like an external USB stick that you offload your iPhone’s storage. This is why Mophie requires you to use a special iOS app called Space, not only to manage that additional storage but to access it at all. Unfortunately, this means that iPhone apps like the Camera Roll and iTunes are not integrated with that extra capacity — after you transfer over those files, they’re only accessible through the Space app. As such, Mophie has recommended that most first-time users simply dump their entire Camera Roll or iTunes library into their Space Pack so that they can empty out their iPhone’s capacity and start “fresh.”
The Space app does have its own built-in camera function that captures photos directly to the Space Pack, and there’s a built-in media player as well for playing videos and audio stored on it. In our demonstration, the video played seamlessly without any hiccups, and taking pictures seemed as easy as with the default camera. However, you won’t be able to edit those photos as it lacks an editing function, at least for now. Also, these sub-apps require some effort to use and we’d rather we could just add this storage on to our existing apps, or at least have an easier way to synchronize them.
Despite these issues, however, we still think this is the best bet most iPhone users have if they’re short on storage space and battery life and need an easy way to deal with both. The lightweight design of the Space Pack is a nice, and the base model only costs about $50 more than the Juice Pack Air. Either that, or you could just practice some judicious file collecting and rely more on the cloud for your storage woes. As a reminder, you can pre-order the Space Pack starting today from Mophie’s website. It comes in black and white. The 16GB is $149.99 while the 32GB is $199.99, and both are expected to ship by March 14th.
Source: Mophie
Spotify for iOS gets its promised free, shuffle-based music streaming
Spotify delivered free mobile music streaming to Android users a while back, and it’s following up today with a corresponding update to its iOS app. iPhone listeners can now listen to artists or playlists in shuffle mode without spending cash on a Premium subscription; iPad listeners can play any song they like at any time. As long as you live in one of Spotify’s supported countries, you’ll want to swing by the App Store to grab the big update.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Source: App Store
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: Polaroid CEO Scott Hardy
The one-time king of instant photography has been looking to branch out in recent years, and this CES is no doubt a prime example. Last week, the company announced two new budget TV sets and a low-cost tablet. We’ll be joined by Polaroid’s CEO Scott Hardy to discuss the way forward for the one-time imaging giant.
Follow all the latest CES 2014 news at our event hub, and check out our full stage schedule here.
Filed under: Cameras
Leak reportedly shows Nokia Normandy’s Android interface
We’ve heard a number of rumors recently about Nokia’s Normandy phone, which will supposedly ship with an Android-based operating system. Shots of the handset, with its lack of a hardware shutter trigger, capacitive buttons and LED flash, appeared back in December, and now mobile tipster @Evleaks has posted what could be the first shots of Nokia’s alternative take on Google’s open-source platform. Three leaked renders of the device shows support for dual SIMs, homescreen notifications, a dialer screen and what appears to be a custom version of Skype’s mobile app.
Nokia’s Normandy project is said to be a low-end Asha equivalent that runs a forked version of Android, meaning it won’t be associated with Google’s apps and services, similar to Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets. As we know, Nokia’s mobile business is currently awaiting the all-clear for an acquisition by Microsoft, meaning the project might never see the light of day. The leaked shots suggest Nokia has made significant progress with Normandy, but we’ll have to wait and see if the project forms part of its new owner’s future plans.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Nokia
Source: Evleaks (Twitter)
T-Mobile to launch Sony Xperia Z1S, LG F3Q on January 22 – leak
Sony’s latest smartphone bound for the United States, the T-Mobile Xperia Z1S will touch down on January 22. At least that’s what TmoNews is saying today. The smaller, yet equally powerful Sony handset will be exclusive to T-Mobile. Key specifications for the waterproof phone include a 5-inch 1080p HD display, a 20.7-megapixel camera, Snapdragon 800 processor, and 32GB storage.
The QWERTY-packin’ LG F3Q smartphone from T-Mobile is also expected to arrive on January 22, according to the same report. Likely a low-end hardware experience, the device should offer users a screen of around 4-inches. Other specifications being tossed around include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, so nothing too powerful. With that, obviously, should come a rock bottom price. Here’s hoping to something around $250 outright, or less.
The post T-Mobile to launch Sony Xperia Z1S, LG F3Q on January 22 – leak appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 