What does Twitter want with Cover’s Android lock screen? A smarter smartphone, duh
Imagine your Twitter app immediately surfacing tweets about a nearby earthquake or disaster without you having to enter a single keyword search. Or one-step switching between Instagram and Twitter so you can see if that filtered photo of your cat received any favorites. Or a notification that brings up a favorite restaurant’s Twitter account around dinnertime so you can see its daily specials. And imagine if it was all only possible because you had an Android phone.
When the news broke yesterday that Twitter bought Cover, a company that makes an Android lock screen app, the first question that hit me, was, well, why? Much like Facebook’s Oculus buy, the deal doesn’t make much sense at first blush. The seemingly obvious answer would be that the company plans to build a Twitter-based lock screen — essentially a Twitter version of Facebook Home. Which, let’s face it, doesn’t sound like a great idea. Not only does it seem rather shortsighted for Twitter just to mimic another company’s mobile efforts, but also Facebook Home wasn’t exactly a resounding success. Instead, I think it’s another example of Twitter’s penchant for experimentation. If you combine Cover’s context-aware tricks along with Twitter’s desire to build a better Android experience, you could get one very intelligent Twitter app.
Much like Facebook’s Oculus buy, the deal doesn’t make much sense at first blush.
Twitter, as we already know, is not afraid of experiments. In a blog post published by the company last year, it states the developer and design teams constantly perform test trials in order to suss out what Twitter needs to evolve. Some efforts are more experimental than others of course, but the end goal is always to come up with a better product, be it improvements to login verification or simply a new profile page. Perhaps due to some criticism of its Android app, Twitter has been particularly keen on improving the experience on Google’s mobile OS. Indeed, it launched a beta tester program for Android users back in August and then an even earlier Alpha program in November, both of which were rich ground for these so-called experiments. Results have been mixed. A major redesign seeded out to testers late last year for example, was completely scrapped partially due to poor feedback. This is where Cover comes in.
In our interview with Cover co-founder Todd Jackson last October, he was extremely bullish on Android as a platform. “We’re making a huge bet on Android, that this will be the operating system that billions of users will adopt over the next several years,” he said. Not only can you not customize the iPhone’s lock screen to your heart’s desire, he told us, but also developers simply do not have the keys to the iPhone’s sensors like they would with Android.
“We’re making a huge bet on Android, that this will be the operating system that billions of users will adopt over the next several years,” Cover co-founder Todd Jackson said.
Tapping into those sensors is exactly how Cover differentiates itself from just an ordinary lock screen replacement. Rather than just a static list of app shortcuts, Cover utilizes the phone’s internals to surface the most oft-used apps depending on your location, time of day and even whether you’re in the car or on foot. If you’re at home, for example, your lock screen might float Netflix and Pandora to the top, while work-related apps like email and stocks would be more prominent when you’re in the office. More than just a lock screen replacement, Cover also works throughout the phone as a smarter app switcher. When you’re in the email app, for example, you can easily swap out to an app like the browser or maps, because those two are the ones you’d most likely reference while typing out a letter. “We want this to be like Alt-Tab for mobile, so you can jump directly between apps lightning fast,” said Jackson. You can test it out while Cover is still available from the Play Store.
I don’t doubt that it’s these unique quirks that won the hearts and minds at Twitter. In Cover’s announcement yesterday, the newly acquired firm stated: “Twitter, like Cover, believes in the incredible potential for Android. They share our vision that smartphones can be a lot smarter — more useful and more contextual — and together we’re going to make that happen.” And who wouldn’t want a smarter smartphone?
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
MediaFire Takes Aim at Google Drive with 1TB of Storage for $2.50 a Month (Promo)
The headlines lately have been pretty intense regarding cloud storage and the amount of space for a the price. Google recently dropped their monthly Drive prices to offer insane amounts of cloud storage. Seriously, $10 a month for a terabyte (1000GBs) of storage is pretty amazing. Dropbox on the other hand only hands over 100GBs for the same $9.99 and Box does 100 GB’s per month for $5. Google clearly has the underhand right now. However, MediaFire is taking aim at the giant with some pretty stellar promotions and new features.
MediaFire is now offering 1TB of cloud storage for $5 a month. That cuts Drives price in half. To add to the promotion, new customers can pick up 1TB of space for $2.49 a month or pay out $24.99 for a whole year. In addition to the promo, a number of improvements and updates have also just been released.
New MediaFire Features
- Follow Files: share, collaborate, and track new files shared by users, automatically
- No File Upload Restrictions: Both free and paid accounts can upload any size file, up to 20 gigs in size
- Up to 50 gigs of cloud storage for free: Start with 10 GB and earn up to 50 GB in bonus space by installing MediaFire apps or inviting friends.
- 1 TB Pro Storage Plans: For a limited time, new users can sign up for just 2.50 a month, or 24.99 a year
“With the launch of our new storage plans, we are looking to provide everyday users with a secure and affordable way to share and store all of their music, photos, videos, and files with the people that matter most,“ said Derek Labian, CEO and Founder of MediaFire, “Over the next few months, we will be launching several new and exciting products, including new and updated applications for iPad and Android. Stay Tuned!”
You will get the most out of your MediaFire account if you install the the desktop client and the Android app. The deal is pretty hard to pass up on. If you don’t have a mediaFire account yet, feel free to head over to MediaFire.com and sign-up. you get 10GB for free regardless, but I think you might find that you like their layout, app and service enough to spend a little cash for the promotion, just because.
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iPhone Remains Popular With Teens as iPad Interest Plateaus
Apple’s iPhone continues to grow in popularity with U.S. teenagers, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster’s latest semiannual teen survey [PDF], which asked 7,500 teens about their device preferences. 61 percent of teens now own an iPhone, compared to 55 percent from a survey conducted in October 2013 and 40 percent in the fall of 2012.
67 percent of teens expect their next phone to be an iPhone, up slightly from October’s survey. When it comes to tablets, 60 percent of teens own one, up from 56 percent in the fall. 66 percent of those own an iPad (55% full-sized, 11% mini), which is down slightly from 68 percent, with ownership shifting further towards the mini. 18 percent of teens who don’t own a tablet expect to buy one in the next sixth months and of those prospective buyers, 66 percent plan to choose an iPad.
The Spring 2014 survey also covered prospective teen interest in an Apple smart watch, which the company is said to be developing. Of the 7,500 teenagers surveyed, six percent currently own a smart watch and 17 percent of teens would buy an iWatch if Apple were to sell it for $350 or less.
The bigger takeaway from our survey is that 17% of teens suggested they would be interested in an iWatch, which we believe is an indication of consumer thirst for not only the iWatch specifically, but the new product categories that have been promised by Apple.
In the past, Samsung has attempted to position its Galaxy phones as the choice for teenagers by portraying the iPhone as “uncool,” but this marketing tactic appears to be largely unsuccessful given the segment’s growing interest in Apple products.
Despite the iPhone’s popularity, the iPad has become slightly less popular with teenagers as competitors like Google and Kindle have released more affordable options. Android tablets in particular have seen consistent growth among teens, even after the launch of the Retina iPad mini and the thinner and lighter iPad Air.
Must See HDTV for the week of April 8th: Desolation of Smaug, Mad Men and Justified
Now that the men’s NCAA basketball tournament is over, it’s back to the post-March Madness grind. The second Hobbit movie is out on Blu-ray this week, but TV viewers will be waiting until Sunday for the premiere of the final season of Mad Men. Tonight though, we’re tuning in to the season finale of Justified as our favorite Elmore Leonard character stomps around the hills and valleys of Kentucky doing his U.S. Marshal thing. Today is also the day the world is introduced to Titanfall on Xbox 360. Check after the break for trailers plus our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
Blu-ray, Streaming movies & Games
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (3D)
- August: Osage County
- Grudge Match
- Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
- Funny Face
- Titanfall (Xbox 360)
- Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut (Xbox One, PS4)
- Kinect Sports Rivals
- Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (Xbox 360)
- Lego: The Hobbit (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, Wii U, PS3)
Tuesday
- NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: UCONN/Notre Dame, ESPN, 8PM
- Glee, Fox, 8PM
- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC, 8PM
- The Voice, NBC, 8PM
- Nets/Heat, TNT, 8PM
- NCIS, CBS, 8PM
- The Dave Clark Five, PBC, 8PM
- Capitals/Blues, NBC Sports Network, 8PM
- The Mindy Project, Fox, 9PM
- From Dusk Till Dawn, El Rey Network, 9PM
- About a Boy, NBC, 9PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- The Goldbergs, ABC, 9PM
- NCIS: LA, CBS, 9PM
- Growing Up Fisher, NBC, 9:30PM
- Trophy Wife, ABC, 9:30PM
- Chicago Fire, NBC, 10PM
- The Listener, ION, 10 & 11PM
- Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Challenge, Syfy, 10PM
- Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, BBC America, 10PM
- Game of Arms, AMC, 10PM
- Mind Games, ABC, 10PM
- The Profit, CNBC, 10PM
- Justified (season finale), FX, 10PM
- Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Inside Amy Schumer, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Rockets/Lakers, TNT, 10:30PM
Wednesday
- Survivor, CBS, 8PM
- Melissa & Joey, ABC Family, 8PM
- American Idol, Fox, 8PM
- Red Wings/Penguins, NBC Sports Network, 8PM
- Heat/Grizzlies, ESPN, 8PM
- Suburgatory, ABC, 8:30PM
- Baby Daddy, ABC Family, 8:30PM
- The 100, CW, 9PM
- Criminal Minds, CBS, 9PM
- Jim Rome on Showtime, Showtime, 9PM
- Mixology, ABC, 9:30PM
- The Americans, FX, 10PM
- Legit, FXX, 10PM
- Workaholics, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Chicago PD, NBC, 10PM
- CSI, CBS, 10PM
- Triptank, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Deal With It, TBS, 10:30PM
- Ali G: Rezurection, FXX, 10:30PM
- Thunder/Clippers, ESPN, 10:30PM
Thursday
- Community, NBC, 8PM
- The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 8PM
- Spurs/Mavericks, TNT, 8PM
- Blues/Wild, NBC Sports Network, 8PM
- Parks & Recreation, NBC, 8:30PM
- The Millers, CBS, 8:30PM
- American Idol, Fox, 9PM
- Saint George, FX, 9PM
- Suits (season finale), USA, 9PM
- Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 9PM
- Reign, CW, 9PM
- Two and a Half Men, CBS, 9PM
- Surviving Jack, Fox, 9:30PM
- Anger Management, FX, 9:30PM
- The Crazy Ones, CBS, 9:30PM
- Real World/Road Rules Challenge, MTV, 10PM
- Review with Forrest Macneil, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Portlandia, IFC, 10PM
- Scandal, ABC, 10PM
- Vikings, History, 10PM
- Parenthood, NBC, 10PM
- Sirens, USA, 10PM
- Nuggets/Warriors, TNT, 10:30PM
Friday
- Unforgettable, CBS, 8PM
- WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
- Last Man Standing, ABC, 8PM
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?, CW, 8PM
- The Neighbors (season finale), ABC, 8:30PM
- Hart of Dixie, CW, 9PM
- Bellator MMA Live, Spike TV, 9PM
- Shark Tank, ABC, 9PM
- Mad Dog: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi, 9:30PM
- Continuum, Syfy, 10PM
- Hannibal, NBC, 10PM
- Vice, HBO, 11PM
Saturday
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Darlington, Fox, 6PM
- Death Clique, Lifetime, 8PM
- Bermuda Tentacles, Syfy, 9PM
- Orphan Black: The Cloneversation (special), BBC America, 8PM
- Ripper Street (season finale), BBC America, 9PM
- Da Vinci’s Demons, Starz, 9PM
- Saturday Night Live: Seth Rogen/Ed Sheeran, NBC, 11:30PM
- Dave Attell: Road Work, Comedy Central, 11:59PM
- Comedy Underground with Dave Attell (series premiere), Comedy Central, 1AM
Sunday
- Bob’s Burgers, Fox, 7PM
- American Dad, Fox, 7:30PM
- Red Sox/Yankees, ESPN, 8PM
- The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
- Once Upon a Time, ABC, 8PM
- The Amazing Race, CBS, 8PM
- Family Guy, Fox, 8:30PM
- Nurse Jackie (season premiere), Showtime, 9PM
- 2014 MTV Movie Awards, MTV, 9PM
- Game of Thrones, HBO, 9PM
- Mr. Selfridge, PBS, 9PM
- Overhaulin, Velocity, 9PM
- Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, Fox, 9PM
- Believe, NBC, 9PM
- Resurrection, ABC, 9PM
- Turn, AMC, 9PM
- Californication (season premiere), Showtime, 9:30PM
- Mad Men (season premiere), AMC, 10PM
- Bletchley Circle (series premiere), PBS, 10PM
- Years of Living Dangerously (series premiere), Showtime, 10PM
- Silicon Valley, HBO, 10PM
- Crisis, NBC, 10PM
- Revenge, ABC, 10PM
- The Mentalist, CBS, 10PM
- Veep, HBO, 10:30PM
- Robot Chicken (season premiere), Cartoon Network, 11:30PM
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Weather forecasts and user photos could be headed to Chromecast’s home screen
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: Gigaom
Source: Reddit
Slimmer, lighter, juicier: Sony’s revamped PS Vita hits the US on May 6th
Sony’s slimmer, brighter PlayStation Vita has been making the rounds in Japanese and European game stores for months now while we in the States had to make do with the original. Well, the wait is nearly over: Sony today confirmed that antsy Americans can lay claim to the rejiggered portable on May 6th in a bundle that includes a digital copy of Borderlands 2 and an 8GB memory card. If the lure of a lighter handheld with a more robust battery (our review unit hung in there for about 8 hours, compared to the original’s 5) wasn’t enough, you can rub that copy of Borderlands in your friends’ faces — it won’t be available to the masses until May 13. Just be warned: This redesigned model uses an LCD screen instead of the original’s OLED panel, which makes for some less vivid colors on-screen. The other potential bummer? It looks like the black model is the one getting bundled, so those of you hoping to sear some eyeballs with a jauntily colored Vita (like the one above) will just have to keep the faith for now.
Via: GamesIndustry.biz
Source: PlayStation Blog
Amazon claims it streams more instant video than Hulu or Apple
All gaming aspirations aside, Amazon says it has a good reason for building its new Fire TV set-top box: People really like its streaming video content. The company is claiming that its instant video usage has tripled year over year, surpassing both Apple’s and Hulu’s instant video numbers. So, what sparked all the growth? Amazon doesn’t say specifically, but the press release dedicates a considerable portion of text to lauding its exclusive Prime Instant Video content, its original series and its large catalog of titles available for digital purchase and rental. All well and good, but the announcement is clearly a thinly veiled advertisement for its new hardware — which is fine, but it does leave us wondering by what margin Amazon is leading its competition. After all, Netflix’s standing is conspicuously absent from the reported line-up.
Filed under: Internet, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon
Investigator worries that UK authorities may be misusing surveillance powers
If you’ve ever argued that the British government is a little too nosy, you’ll be glad to hear that there’s some fresh evidence to back up your claims. The Interception of Communications Commissioner has published a report noting that UK police and other government agencies made 514,608 requests for communication data in 2013 — a rather hefty number that may be “too many.” The official isn’t reaching conclusions just yet (there were more requests in 2012), but he’s conducting an inquiry to make sure there isn’t a “significant institutional overuse” of surveillance demands.
Don’t expect the Commissioner to raise similar alarm bells regarding GCHQ’s snooping activities, though. He’s aware of Edward Snowden’s leaks, but he reports that the agency is operating within the law. Its spies aren’t indiscriminately looking through British information or using US intelligence to get around domestic oversight laws, he says. Prime Minister Cameron is happy to tout the report as proof that the UK doesn’t conduct “random mass intrusion,” although the findings aren’t all that comforting in light of reports that GCHQ is monitoring social media and compromising foreign networks.
[Image credit: Alberto Otero Garcia, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet
Via: Reuters
Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland Finally get Google Play Gift Cards
The long slow process of global take over is one that Android users don’t like to watch. We all want Google to launch something and then let the world have it. Sadly there are rules, laws and regulations that have to be negotiated before something can make its way over the oceans to our friends in foreign lands. Today is one of those days where a few locales get to jump up and down for joy as Google Play Gift Cards are finally off the “Coming Soon” self to the “Available Now” status.
Welcome Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland to the Play Store Gift Card party! Time to revamp that birthday, anniversary and holiday wish list a little. The cards are popping up in various brick and mortar retailers in the perspective countries. The denominations come in at 15 €, 25 €, and 50 €. Where as the Swiss see them for 30 CHF, 50 CHF, and 100 CH. Gotta love varying currency.
Source: Android Police
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Report: Samsung SM-T800 10.5″ AMOLED tablet specs
It is reported that Samsung will be adding a new tablet to their huge tablet line, codenamed as Samsung SM-T800. Folks over at SAMMobile are reporting that it is a 10.5-Inch tablet with Android 4.4.2 KitKat right out of the box, and a Super AMOLED display of 2560×1600 resolution. Check out what else is there:
- Quad-core Snapdragon processor (S801)
- 2GB of RAM
- 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front-facing cameras
- 16/32/64GB of storage
- microSD slot
- USB 2.0 connectivity
- 7,900 mAh battery
The tablet is just Wi-Fi-only, but LTE supported model is also in the pipeline as well. Right now, no words on the release date and the price, but we will let you know as soon as they reveal it. Are you looking forward to it?
Source: SAMMobile
The post Report: Samsung SM-T800 10.5″ AMOLED tablet specs appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 