WhatsApp to add voice communication by summer
When the announcement hit that Facebook was snapping up WhatsApp (beating out Google in the process), the gargantuan $19 billion price tag was hard to justify. But, with 465 million active users per month, there’s a lot of potential for other, perhaps more profitable services. Today at MWC, TechCrunch has heard from WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum that a new service is indeed coming to the platform relatively soon: voice communication. Of WhatsApp’s now 330 million daily user base, those on Android and iOS will get the feature first when it rolls out in second quarter 2014, followed by those on “some Nokia and BlackBerry phones.” We’re not clear on exactly how it’ll work — whether you’ll send voice messages like Voxer, or make calls like Skype — or if we’ll be expected to pay for the privilege. (You can record and send audio clips within WhatsApp conversations already, but it’s not exactly elegant.) Given there are a number of free voice-based services available to us already, however, we imagine it being part of the standard subscription. Assuming WhatsApp actually want us to use it, anyway.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Facebook
Source: TechCrunch
Qualcomm updates its top-end chip, reveals future 64-bit Snapdragons
No, this isn’t quite the flagship chip we’ve been waiting on, but it’s a worthy stopgap. Qualcomm has upgraded its successful Snapdragon 800 processor and notched up its title to the 801. For now, it probably represents the peak of the 32-bit era of Android, with clock speed increases across the board, including a nearly 10 percent increase on the CPU side of things (2.5Ghz instead of the 800′s 2.3GHz), a 30 percent increase for the Adreno GPU as well as faster memory. Speed increases like that are par for the course as silicon fabs get into the swing of each product generation, but it means it’ll be worth looking out for top-end phones that makes use of the extra power — not least Sony’s Xperia Z2, which is due out next month.
As for 64-bit chips, we’ve already seen the low-end Snapdragon 410, but now Qualcomm has also revealed plans for its mid-tier Snapdragon 600-series. The Snapdragon 610 and 615 will arrive in Android smartphones in Q4 of this year, regardless of whether Android is able to benefit from 64-bit processing by that time. Like the 410 and other devices that will be based on ARM’s Cortex-A53, there’s full backwards compatibility with existing 32-bit apps, so it’s more about future-proofing than anything else. In the case of the Snadpragon 615, you might hear word that it’s an octa-core device, but don’t take that too literally: According to Anandtech, it looks like the eight cores are divided into two “clusters” that are similar to ARM’s big.LITTLE design — in other words, each quad-core cluster may be designed to handle different sorts of tasks rather than run concurrently. For the time being, MediaTek still probably has the truest claim to the “octa-core” title, but at least now Qualcomm will be able to use the term in its marketing, and perhaps that’s the whole point.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: AnandTech
Fujitsu’s working on another senior-friendly smartphone for Europe
Fujitsu’s evidently so impressed with how its luddite-friendly Stylistic S01 smartphone has performed in France, thanks to a deal with local carrier Orange, that it’s ready to start plugging a follow-up handset. Only, the company doesn’t have a clue on specifics just yet, but we’ll award a few points for enthusiasm, we guess. All we know of the Stylistic S02, assuming that’ll be the device’s name, is that it’s “expected” to wield NFC and LTE chips, an “energy-saving display” and a processor of the quad-core variety. Plans are to launch the smartphone aimed at “mature users” in a number of European locations this autumn. Not a lot to talk about, we know, but Fujitsu had to announce something phone-related at MWC. Otherwise, people’ll just think it makes tablet concepts with scaly touchscreens.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Fujitsu
[MWC 2014] The Sony Xperia Z2 is official, isn’t all that Sirius after All
We’ve had several leaks leading up to MWC 2014 that Sony was intending to release a slightly upgraded Xperia Z1, and as luck would have it, Sony officially announced the Sony Xperia Z2 at Barcelona today. As expected, the Z2 is more of an iteration than a whole new flagship smartphone, most likely due to the bad press that the Z1 received due to the poor viewing angles on its highly touted Triluminos display.
To make amends, Sony has upped the screen size to a 5.2-inch 1080p Triluminos display and is powered by the newly announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor clocked at 2.3GHz with 3GB RAM. Sony has also upped the battery size from 3,000mAh to 3,200mAh, as well as adding stereo speakers to the device and noise-cancelling abilities with used with Sony’s Noise Cancelling Headset. The Z2 will of course still be utilizing the Z1′s crown jewel, the 20.7MP rear camera that is capable of 4K video recording.
While it might look like there have only been a few improvements, the Sony Xperia Z2 looks like a much more attractive package than its predecessor, particularly if Sony has ironed out the viewing angles issues. Sony says that the Z2 will become available in March and looks to be available in the same colours as the Z1, presumably at a similar price point to the Z1 when it launched.
Who’s interested in getting the new and improved Sony Xperia Z2? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: Phone Arena
[LEAK] Ok, maybe one more leak: the Samsung Galaxy S5 gets shown in astounding Clarity
Ok, I know I said that my last article would be the last leak, but this leak of the Samsung Galaxy S5 had such clear pictures that I couldn’t resist. The Galaxy S5 has again been leaked, but this time in astoundingly clear photos, showing both its front and back faces. We know there is rumoured to be a fingerprint scanner somewhere on the front face of the device, though it’s not obvious from this shot where it could be. It’s also noteworthy to mention the camera icon on the lockscreen of the S5, showing Samsung‘s new-found predisposition to make TouchWiz functions and appearances closer to stock Android.
As for the leaked photo of the back of the Samsung Galaxy S5, we see it placed next to the Galaxy S4 and the size difference between it and the incoming model is obvious. The back of the Galaxy S5 appears to have a grooved plastic cover, not unlike that of the 2012 Nexus 7, which should address some people’s concerns with the device being too slippery. Interestingly, the back of this device looks decidedly different to the one seen in a leak earlier today, which despite being slightly blurry, appears to show a Galaxy S5 with more of a matte finish cover (see that photo here). We might actually be seeing the two rumoured variants of the Galaxy S5 in action, though which is which is up for argument; we won’t have long to wait though as the Unpacked 5 event at MWC 2014 is due to start in a few hours.
What do you think of the grooved back cover on this Samsung Galaxy S5? Would you like this kind of back, or more of a matte finish? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: Androidjs.org
[MWC 2014] The Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 is officially announced, shows iterative Improvements
It’s not quite the Snapdragon 805, but we’ll take it. Qualcomm has announced at MWC 2014 the next iteration of its Snapdragon processor series with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801. While not a quantum leap from the original Snapdragon 800, the 801 was designed to be interchangeable with the 800, which makes it perfect for manufacturers to replace their planned 800s with this new processor.
The Snapdragon 801 boasts 14% faster Krait cores, 28% faster processing from its Adreno 330 graphics processor and most notably a 45% increase in image processing speed. Qualcomm says all of this will be available as soon as the end of March, and the new processor has already been announced in the new Sony Xperia Z2, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it in a few more devices at MWC 2014, including the Samsung Galaxy S5.
The image processing appears to be the prime reason Qualcomm has iterated the Snapdragon processor particularly for devices with huge camera sensors like the Sony Xperia Z1 (20.7MP) and Nokia Lumia 1020 (41MP). And as always with Qualcomm’s newest processors, the 801 is able to be even more thrifty with battery power than its predecessor.
What do you think of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801? Excited to see it in the devices being announced at MWC 2014? Let us know what you think.
Source: Phone Arena
Garmin’s new app turns Sony’s Smartwatch 2 into a tiny sat-nav
We like the idea of hooking our watches into our phones, so when we wander around foreign lands, we don’t look like as much of a tourist. Garmin agrees, and has launched a navigation app specifically for Sony’s Xperia devices that’ll push real-time directions straight to the SmartWatch 2. Acting like a premium sat-nav, the app offers offline maps, walking directions, real-time traffic and active lane guidance. It’ll launch in March, and when you’re done with the 30-day trial, it’ll cost you $3 a month to get access to the full set of features. Oh, except for the SmartWatch spanning, which’ll set you back a further, undisclosed amount, because commerce.
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Wearables, Mobile, Sony
Source: Garmin
The first available Tegra 4i smartphone will cost around €200 (hands-on)
Sorry LG: you may have trotted out the G2 mini yesterday, but yours won’t be the first Tegra 4i device to hit store shelves. NVIDIA says that distinction belongs to the Wax, a newly-revealed handset from French phone maker Wiko that should launch in Europe “within weeks” for around €200. We just spent a few frenzied moments with the Wax at MWC, read on for our first impressions.
Like the G2 mini, the Wax packs a 1.7GHz Tegra 4i chipset with 1GB of RAM and integrated LTE support. That’s about where the similarities end. The Wax’s plastic frame feels incredibly light without dipping into chintziness, a balance that even huge OEMs have trouble nailing. Meanwhile, an 8-megapixel shooter sits high on its back… though picture quality wasn’t anything to write home about. Thankfully, the Wax pulls ahead of LG with its 4.7-inch 720p display. Colors were a bit anemic compared to other screens we’ve seen on mid-range devices, but squeezing those extra pixels in there makes a world of difference.
While LG was deadset on replicating the G2′s features on a modestly-specced phone, Wiko ran with a stock version of Android 4.3 that seems happy to let the hardware shine through. It’s always a little tricky to get a feel for how well a device works in situations like these, but the Wax tackled most of the tasks we threw at it (think opening up apps, swiping through photos, and loading websites). NVIDIA claims it’s capable of delivering “2X the performance” of the more mainstream Snapdragon 400, but don’t let the label fool you. The company ran with less powerful Cortex A9 CPU cores in the 4i, so it won’t be quite as snappy as the full-blown Tegra 4 devices you may have come across in your travels.
Filed under: Mobile
Make a suitable play area for children
The golden period of one’s life is childhood and this is where the question comes up of making a suitable play ground for children. Which one of us does not enjoy games and sports? They rejuvenate us from the daily schedule and make our mind fresh and active. It is just as important to play as it is to work hard. As goes the common saying, All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In this content, we will read about how to make a proper play space for children to enjoy themselves. Parks have been common places for kids to play and enjoy with their parents. It is also a known area to make friends of the same age. Some parks have duck ponds and sandpits which the children enjoy a lot.
The outer recreational space allows the children to have some time out in the fresh air which is good for the mind and body both. If you wish convert your backyard into a play space, here are some proper guidelines for the same. You must be aware of the fact that a proper ambiance has to be made in order to make the children like their new play area. A lot of recreation equipment is also required to make the play park a homely haven for the smaller people. Swings, slides and see-saws are some of the common features which are found in a children’s park. Some parks have a climbing bar also which the boys tend to really enjoy.
More updates
In order to make the recreational space, you have to buy the play ground materials too. They can be found in plastic, wood and metal, depending upon whichever you would like to buy. The play space has to be structured properly to make room for the children to run about and enjoy themselves. You need to have a well planned area to set up the recreational equipment as well. So a proper area planning is very essential. Most of these park play materials come in a do it yourself kit and can be reassembled and put back as and when required. You can even have a playset for a tree house which would prove to be really fun for the kids.
Relevant information
These are some of the things which would make the play area a really cool spot for the children. If you wish to opt for a reliable distributor which deals with these recreational apparatus, General Recreation Inc is a good option. You can find out more about them by logging onto their company website. They have been in service for more than four decades and specialize in all kinds of modern equipment for indoor as well as outdoor play areas. Safety and integrity are really essential features when you are ordering children’s playthings and this is where the particular company wins hands down. Kiddy play structures come in a wide array of distribution including water park equipment and musical park materials. There are lots more play structures available which you can come to know by accessing their website.
The trusted and experienced workers help you to formulate and execute the rough plan of your play area. You can take their help in every step of the way.
Conclusion
So you can build a recreational area in your own residential premises. Contact the company and get started today itself. Don’t you wish to give your children a fun time by providing a great outer space for them to enjoy? Have a creative time building the play space for your kids and enjoy watching them play there.
3 SEO Online Tools For Improving Your Rankings
There is no doubt that SEO is very important for the online business. How can you expect to sell your services if your products and customers are not able to find your website? There are different layers of the search engine optimization practices and you do not have any need to drive yourself crazy to understand about the SEO. Fortunately, there are several online services that you can use and implement. This can help you in minimizing your efforts and you can easily improve your rankings on the search engines. Here are a few tools that you can use.
SEO profile
This tool provides you with a single platform for the organization of the keyword research activities, competitive intelligence, promotions and much more. This can considerably improve your SEO campaigns. In addition, it offers aesthetically satisfying reporting features that are quite useful for the data displaying and generated by the software suite. You can also try the program by the 30 day trial to explore the features.
Optify.net
There are a number of web data tools that this software offers but the 2 useful for the webmasters are the social media optimization and search engine optimization programs. The search engine optimization provides the similar functions alike SEO profile, but the its model of link building suffers from a weakness and in that it will only track the links that are created instead of offering opportunities to the new potentials that are uncovered and back linking partners. This tool provides more features as compared to the SEO profiler and other SEO programs as well.
You can also monitor traffic of your social media on the real time and can also gather the data which is required to increase the conversation from the traffic sources and will also determine the ROI of social media. You are going to get more a feature, but for that you will have to pay more, but all of them re worth paying.
Local VOX
While the majority of the search engine optimization tools focuses on the improvement of the website that is showing in the search results. But it is important for the small business owners that they should consider the local search engine optimization as well so that the targeted customers can also be covered in the area. In addition, back link building and keyword research, practitioners of the local search engine optimization also spend time to connect with the followers on the social media sites and optimize the place listing that includes yelp and Google places and also monitor the customer review for the feedback.
But for the owners of the small business owners then the demands of both the local and traditional SEO can be overwhelming. This is the reason that most of the people choose local VOx which automate the local website optimization process.
These are the few tools that are available on the internet and which you can use for enhancing your online rankings. You will find several other tools on the internet.
Author Bio
Sonika is an online marketer and a blogger. She has shared information about various assignments through her articles on affordable small business SEO services.
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