Moto 360 Announced by Motorola; It’s Time
This morning we got to see what Google has been up to in regards to wearables with the announcement of the Android Wear platform. Int heir piece we saw a few videos, one for general use and one for developers. They also mentioned that they have been working with a number of manufacturers already. Now we are starting to get the flood of information about who is making what and a chance to see the individual manufacturers take. Not surprising, Motorola has one coming this summer dubbed the Moto 360.
As the name suggests, this one will have a round face and runs the new Android Wear OS/Software. The video provided by Motorola is pretty much useless in terms of what the specs are all about. It is round and will have a leather strap or metal strap option. You can also see the changes to the time aspect where Moto has created a more standard style analog watch face with multiple time locales. We snapped a few screenshots of the renders Moto has up on their landing page.
Feel free to head over to moto360.motorola.com for an even closer look where you can see all angles of the renders with both strap options.
Source: Motorola
Via AndroidPolice
The G-Watch Announced by LG; Their First Android Wear-Powered Device
Hot on the heels, maybe even before, Motorola’s announcement of the Moto 360 is LG’s announcement for the G-Watch. Like the Moto 360, the G-Watch will be powered by Android Wear. LG goes to the more tradition smartwatch square/rectangular look vs the round approach Moto took.
Engadget has it pegged for a Q2 launch, which is right around the corner. LG doesn’t appear to have a landing page up of any sorts though. The LG G-Watch will present a “ low barrier to entry for developers and offer the best Google experience for users.” Sounds like the G-Watch should come with a pretty competitive price point that might be a little more attractive for the masses. I have a feeling the Moto 360 is going to be more inline with the Samsung Gear pricing.
“The opportunity to work with Google on LG G Watch was the perfect chance for LG to really pull out all stops in both design and engineering,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “With the LG G Watch, LG is continuing the milestones we’ve set in wearables following in the footsteps of the world’s first 3G Touch Watch Phone in 2009 and the Prada Link in 2008. We’re confident that a well-designed device has the potential to take the smart wearable market by storm.”
What do you guys think? We still need to see what HTC, Samsung, ASUS and Fossil have up their sleeves. I have a feeling that Android Wear is going to produce quite a variety of styles, designs and price points.
Source: Engadget
Beautiful Widgets Adds New Colored Widgets in Todays Update
LevelUp Studios has released an update to their Beautiful Widgets app today that brings it to v5.6. In the update you will find the usual bug fixes, but you will also find a new set of colored widgets to choose from along with a new color picker.
Beautiful Widgets has been around for a very long time and LevelUp has done a pretty good job at keeping updated with new features and ways to customize the look over the years. Many of you probably have the pro version of the since it has been on sale so many time. I know I still use it as my primary weather widget on all my devices.
Head to the Play Store and pick up the update, or go reinstall it if you forgot about it. The pro version will set you back $2.69 right now. You can always opt for the free version that also received the update today as well, you will just have a few in-app purchase option inside.
Beautiful Widgets Pro
Beautiful Widgets Free
Google unveils its vision for smartwatches, launches Android Wear developer preview
Many have hoped to shape the smartwatch revolution, taking their vision to Kickstarter and the like, but today Google finally joined the game announcing Android Wear, a version of the operating system for wearable devices.
Google launched two videos that introduce Android Wear, which extends Android into wearables to provide “useful information when you need it most” and more.
Watches are good at telling time, but imagine having useful, actionable information there precisely when you need it. Automatically.
As with everything Google launches, design is key, and Android Wear also does what everyone has dreamed of, integrating Google Now on your wrist. We even called this about a year ago.
Running Android and using Google Now, you’ll be able to keep time and get weather and news updates, ask questions, track your workouts in real-time, get automatic, passive reminders and notifications from your smartphone apps, just as current players in the market are doing.
As part of the announcement, Google launched a developer preview of the Android Wear SDK that’s coming later this year. Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president of Chrome, Apps, and Android, actually teased this about week ago at SXSW. The Android Wear Developer Preview lets developers create wearable experiences for their existing Android apps and lets them see how they will appear on square and round Android wearables. Once the official SDK launches later this year, developers will be able to enable “even more customized experiences” on wearable devices.
Google is already working with several partners, including Asus, Broadcom, Fossil, HTC, Intel, LG, Mediatek, MIPS, Motorola, Qualcomm Samsung, with Android Wear watches planned to launch later this year.
Surprisingly, there was no mention of other types of wearables, such as Google Glass, but it would make sense if Android Wear is in its future.
via Google+, Android Wear
The post Google unveils its vision for smartwatches, launches Android Wear developer preview appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Hardware makers swing into action with new Android Wear
In just one hour after the announcement of Google’s new Android Wear program, we already have quite a few big announcements regarding the new smartwatch OS. LG and Motorola announced their new smartwatches, while the new DevBytes video explains what Android Wear will look like to developers.
LG
LG was very quick to make noise in the space, revealing it’s alleged G Watch. There isn’t much information on the watch quite yet, but there have been some hints revealed in some of the new Android Wear videos. Users will most likely be able to wake their G Watch by saying “Okay, Google”, just like the Moto X. It will most likely be available in Q2, and will act as an entry-point for developers. Here’s a preview as to what the new watch from LG might bring.
Motorola
LG was not the only hardware manufacturer to pull the trigger already. Motorola’s announcement of the Moto 360 recently came to be, and it already looks like a nice competitor to LG’s wearable. Check out more on the Moto 360 here.
DevBytes
Along with all of the announcements today, the new Developer Preview was posted as well. It shows everybody, not only developers, the key features in how Google’s new smartwatch OS will work.
Justin Koh, a developer for Android Wear, explains that the watch’s main goal is, “Giving people the information they need, right when they need it.” Obviously this is an important factor in the new OS, and it’s nice to see Google doing it right (I’m looking at you, Galaxy Gear).
Koh explains the SDK adds functionality so if you dismiss a notification from your watch, it will also dismiss on the phone. If you’d like to take advantage of the Android Wear code, visit the webpage here.
Take a look at the new DevBytes video, previewing the features in Android Wear.
Google, LG, and Motorola went crazy with announcements today, brightening up the path for Android wearables in the future. Are you excited for what’s to come? We sure are! Let us know what you think in the comments!
Source: Google+, Android Wear
The post Hardware makers swing into action with new Android Wear appeared first on AndroidGuys.
This is Motorola’s new Android Wear smartwatch: Moto 360
LG went first, and now it’s Motorola’s turn to unveil its Android Wear smartwatch: the Moto 360. Putting an emphasis on the tried-and-true design of classic timepieces, Motorola’s crafted a smartwatch that hews closely to a more traditional, premium look. The Moto 360 boasts a circular, digital watchface powered by Android Wear that grants users access to notifications with, presumably, gestures, as the company’s official line mentions the need for a “twist of the wrist.” There’s also Google Now integration, much like on the G Watch, that’ll make checking in on the weather, sports scores or flights a hands-free affair just by saying, “Ok Google.”
From the looks of it, Moto’s made what’s arguably the sexiest smartwatch we’ve seen to date, but that image above isn’t the only form factor we’ll be seeing. When the Moto 360 launches this summer worldwide, it’ll come in a “variety of styles,” and sport leather or metallic bands. If you happen to live in the US, you’ll be getting first dibs on this Android Wear looker when it debuts.
Filed under: Wearables, Wireless, Mobile, Google
Source: Motorola
The NSA can reportedly collect 100 percent of an unnamed country’s phone calls
The NSA is capable of recording 100 percent of a country’s telephone calls, according to sources who spoke with The Washington Post. Adding to the intrigue, the Post says it’s “withholding details that could be used to identify the country where the system is being employed,” implying that this surveillance method is used outside the US. It’s also unclear whether the NSA’s so-called MYSTIC voice-interception program (yep, that’s the emblem above) is actually recording 100 percent of this country’s calls, or whether it simply has the ability.
According to the story, the NSA also uses a tool called RETRO to retrieve audio that wasn’t deemed suspicious at the time of its original recording. Apparently, RETRO is only used in one foreign country, but documents suggest it could soon be deployed in five more. With the tool, billions of conversations are stored with a 30-day buffer for clearing out the oldest calls as new ones come in.
It’s not necessarily surprising that the agency would be reaching into the past as part of its data-collecting efforts, but it’s certainly news that it can record and store every single telephone conversation. While we’ve heard about the NSA collecting call logs in bulk, recording the content of all voice calls is very different than stockpiling metadata.
Filed under: Cellphones
Source: The Washington Post
Oculus VR exits first virtual reality collective
Just five days ago we told you about the Immersive Technology Alliance, a group of companies that are working on virtual reality coming together to support the burgeoning medium. At the time, we told you that Oculus VR — the company behind the Oculus Rift — was part of the group. That said, the announcement was notoriously missing any official statement from the Oculus folks. As it turns out, that’s because Oculus VR isn’t actually part of the group. Oculus offered Engadget this statement:
“There was confusion on March 13 about whether Oculus was a member of the Immersive Technology Alliance. We’ve spoken with the ITA’s leadership and clarified that we are not, and have not been, a member of the group. We appreciate the ITA moving so quickly to correct their website and media to reflect this.”
We’ve checked with the other members of the group, many of which responded to confirm their participation in the ITA, including EA and Technical Illusions. During the group’s first meeting today at GDC 2014, ITA Executive Director Neil Schneider kicked things off with a lengthy response to Oculus dropping support, heavily tinged with passive-aggressive criticism.
Schneider emailed us a similar statement, which detailed his side of the history between Oculus VR and the ITA (formerly the Stereoscopic 3D Gaming Alliance):
“Before Oculus started their Kickstarter, Oculus and MTBS had an agreement. We would give them free self-promotion on mtbs3D.com which started as the hotbed for Oculus’ launch and birthplace. All we asked of them was a basic level membership in the non-profit Stereoscopic 3D Gaming Alliance (S3DGA) valued at $5,000 US. This was conditional on their Kickstarter being successful, which it was. Oculus honored this.
During this formative period, Palmer Luckey has been in the loop on The ITA’s development since the beginning of this new movement. We had advisory board discussions through email featuring other members including Oculus VR (Palmer Luckey) and others who don’t need to be named. He was even invited to speak at the upcoming meeting, and couldn’t make it because of a scheduling conflict, but he said time permitting he was going to try and drop by.
In all our interactions, we have not received a single request to discontinue alliance membership. The Oculus logo has been on the site since they made their first payment some time ago, and they have not communicated to do otherwise. As it stands, we have an alliance of 20+ members. We have every expectation that they will continue to be industry leaders and continue to be part of this alliance.”
All that said, that is most certainly one side of the story. Though Oculus’ statement on the record comes off as flatly pragmatic, it’s clear here that Oculus VR — the industry standard in VR, at least for now — isn’t interested in participating in the ITA.
Fortunately for the ITA, many other verified members are making really cool products. Technical Illusions’ CastAR was the first device shown off at the meeting (after the somewhat awkward Oculus-related intro), and it’s clear that many of the folks here aren’t simply trying to cash in on VR while it’s a hot commodity. The messaging cooled as well, with a YEI Technology rep pointing out that there’s room in VR for lots of different ideas, and this first meeting is representative of that. We can’t disagree with that.
The new Sonos app makes music discovery simpler with universal search
Here’s the deal: streaming music services are great, but thanks to various content licensing deals with labels, there’s no one-stop shop to cover all of your musical bases. That’s where Sonos comes in with a handy solution by way of its new app. The refreshed Controller app for Android and iOS now includes a universal search feature that indexes your multiple streaming accounts to make finding and listening to Tool, or that haunting Banks track, less of a painful experience. Of course, you’ll need a Sonos player to partake in this game of streaming musical chairs, and some patience — the app won’t be released until sometime this spring. Though, Android users can get in early and preview the pared-down, three-pane UI now by signing up for the beta.
Filed under: Wireless, Internet, Mobile
Via: GigaOm
Source: Sonos
Motorola wastes no time, debuts Moto 360 smartwatch for summer
Get ready, the Android smartwatch space is about to get crowded. As if it’s not already a busy market with bands, trackers, watches, and wearables, we now have Android Wear to look forward to this year.
Not wasting any time (get it?), Motorola has already announced its first Android Wear-powered device, the Moto 360. Due this summer, the device will be offered in a variety of styles around the globe.
Moto 360 keeps you on time and up to date without taking you out of the moment or distracting you, telling you what you need to know before you know you need it through subtle alerts and notifications. With just a twist of the wrist you can see who’s emailing or calling, what time your next meeting is or a friend’s latest social post.
We’re excited about the prospects of not only Android Wear, but specifically what Motorola has in store. We like the design shown on their website but anxiously await other styles and colors.
If you’re interested in learning more about Moto 360 (and you’d better be), head to Motorola’s website to sign up for information.
The post Motorola wastes no time, debuts Moto 360 smartwatch for summer appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 