Samsung’s ChatON now lets you recall those embarrassing messages
In an effort to get owners of its smartphones to actually use ChatON, Samsung has thrown numerous features at the messaging app to see what sticks. For instance, it’s just gifted inveterate file sharers with 1GB media transfers and given FourSquare types the ability to divulge their position and route via Glympse. But it also came up with a feature that may resonate more: the ability to cancel a missive. Provided you’re in a one-to-one chat, you can now tap the message bubble and hit “recall” to delete a text on the recipient’s device, even if they’ve already read it. Samsung says that’ll be handy if you text the wrong person, but we know what that feature’s really for.
Filed under: Software, Samsung
Source: Samsung
Verizon slashes More Everything prices to keep pace with AT&T
Not to be caught cold by recent price cuts from AT&T, and to keep up with T-Mobile’s relentless UnCarrier marketing blitz, Verizon has slightly tweaked its More Everything plan to reward its more data-thirsty customers. As of now, subscribers to the company’s Edge early-upgrade program who sign up for 10GB or more of data can add additional smartphones to their plan for $15. That’s $5 less than the $20 it originally charged. On top of that, Big Red has also slashed the cost of its monthly access fee from $40 to $25, meaning a family of four will pay $160 a month for 10GB of data and unlimited calls and texts. That puts Verizon on a completely level playing field with AT&T, while keeping T-Mobile directly in its crosshairs. You will, of course, need be part of Edge to benefit from these discounts, but it means you’ll also be able to upgrade your phone as quickly (or as slowly) as you’d like.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon
Source: Verizon
This is what it’s like to operate an arcade claw machine using just gestures (video)
We knew gesture cameras will be making their way to computers and mobile devices this year, but seeing one on the classic claw crane was a pleasant surprise for us. This IDF tech demo was courtesy of a Guangzhou company called The Best Sync, and according to Intel VP Doug Fisher, it only took three days to develop this project using Intel’s RealSense technology — as represented here by the Creative Interactive Gesture Camera (co-developed by SoftKinetic). The gestures were simple: move your hand in one of the four directions to position the claw, and clench your fist to drop it on the dolls. The joystick replacement didn’t make the game any easier, but it seemed like everyone still had fun with it. Well, at least this author did, as you can see in our video after the break.
Evernote’s Penultimate for iPad now behaves more like a real notebook
Penultimate is supposed to mimic a notebook on your iPad, so it only makes sense that the app’s interface should mirror the pen-and-paper experience as much as possible. Right? Evernote thinks so, as it has released a Penultimate update that gets closer to the real thing. You can swipe from off-screen to turn pages, and you can set a color for every pen width; effectively, you now have a collection of favorite pens. Not all of the updates are meant to simulate analog drawing. Penultimate notes look much nicer when seen from Evernote, and there are improvements to ink rendering, palm recognition and connections with Jot Script pens. The upgraded app still won’t replicate the feel of actual notebooks, but you might not miss them quite so much.
Filed under: Tablets
Via: The Next Web
Source: App Store, Evernote Blog
Ridley Scott is working on a Halo project for Microsoft
Remember that Halo film that wasn’t happening? Microsoft representatives have confirmed that the old rumors are true: a Halo feature is in the works, and it’s being produced by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Alien, Prometheus, Call of Duty Elite: Friday Night Fights). Unfortunately, the confirmation is intentionally vague, offering no other information save for the project’s director (Battlestar Galactica’s Sergio Mimica-Gezzan) and a promise that it won’t overlap with Spielberg’s TV series. It’s described as a “digital feature project,” which implies that the production will end up skip the box office entirely. Well, either that, or Microsoft is just really excited about the kind of cameras it’s using. According to Variety, it could be something similar to the Halo: Forward Unto Dawn short-form episodes. We’ll find out pretty soon, regardless — the project is set for release sometime later this year.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Joystiq
Internet Explorer 11 now looks nicer no matter what device you’re using
With Windows 8.1 updates rolling out on April 8th across all platforms, you didn’t think Microsoft was going to forget its browser, did you? Redmond has unified features on its mobile and desktop Internet Explorer 11 versions, while making it easier to use on different-sized devices. IE 11 for Windows Phone 8.1, in particular, underwent a major overhaul. You can now pin sites to Live Tiles like you can with the full version and sync tabs between devices using OneDrive. Another highly-requested new feature is InPrivate browsing, which leaves no trace of your surfing à la Chrome’s Incognito mode. There’s also a nod to low-bandwidth users with the so-called High Savings data compression mode which loads only the elements you want, reducing data use by 60-80 percent. Finally, Microsoft has introduced voice commands to WP8.1, plus a new reading view that brings a Kindle-like look to articles on your smartphone. Meanwhile, Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 8.1 received more subtle tweaks — check after the break for more.
For the full IE 11 version, Microsoft is trying to make sure users are happy whether they’re using a 7-inch tablet or a 28-inch all-in-one. Depending on the device and whether it has a mouse or touchscreen, the browser will adjust the number tabs of displayed, adapt the type size and permit full-screen or regular browsing. Other changes are mainly for developers, with enhanced debugging and simplified testing for older versions of Internet Explorer — the latter often being a serious pain. Finally, Microsoft revealed FishGL, a new version of its classic aquarium screen that also serves as a 3D WebGL graphics benchmark on Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8.1. If you’re raring to grab all of that now, the updates are available for download on Windows 8.1 — otherwise, they’ll be pushed automatically for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 starting April 8th.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Facebook Messenger for Android lets you pin chats right to your home screen
Facebook’s big-spending CEO presumably has a grand plan for Messenger, now that he’s gone to such great lengths to own WhatsApp. For the time being though, his company is continuing to focus on subtle but useful changes to its homemade apps, with the Android version of Messenger just receiving an update to version 4.0. In line with the last week’s iOS update, one of biggest new features is the ability to bunch your friends into groups and then pin these gatherings to a dedicated Groups tab, so you can quickly bombard the right people all at once. Unlike iOS, however, you can now also add a shortcut to any group or conversation directly from your Android home screen, letting you open up a floating chat head with a single tap, with no need to navigate through the app. That’s the sort of convenience that reminds us why a dedicated Facebook phone was always so unnecessary.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: Google Play Store
‘FTL: Faster Than Light’ Now Available for iPad with New Content [iOS Blog]
Developer Subset Games today released its popular real-time strategy game FTL: Faster Than Light on the iPad, coming roughly a year after the title was released on Mac, PC, and Linux to much acclaim.
The game puts the player in the commanding role of a ship aligned with the Galactic Federation, tasked with getting vital data back to its headquarters. However, rebel ships are persistent in attacking the spacecraft, allowing players to engage in top down combat while maintaining and upgrading their ship with new weapons, crew members, and more.
The award winning PC spaceship simulation game from Subset Games comes to iPad!
Key Features:
– Give orders to your crew, manage ship power distribution and choose weapon targets in the heat of battle.
– Pause the game mid-combat to evaluate your strategy and give orders.
– Upgrade your ship and unlock new ones with the help of seven diverse alien races.
– Hundreds of text based encounters will force you to make tough decisions.
– Each play-through will feature different enemies, events, and results to your decisions. No two play-throughs will be quite the same.
– Permadeath means when you die, there’s no coming back. The constant threat of defeat adds importance and tension to every action.
The iPad version of the game also includes the FTL: Advanced Edition expansion, which offers new ship systems, events, weapons, drones, equipment, enemy types, levels and more in addition to user interface improvements.
Our sister site TouchArcade reviewed the game, regarding the iPad version of FTL as the “definitive version”, crediting the title’s touch controls and regarding them as more intuitive compared to a traditional mouse and keyboard control scheme. Overall, the title was noted as the perfect “play while you do something else game” and given a five star rating. The full review is well worth checking out, as is a video walkthrough of FTL which can be seen below.
FTL: Faster Than Light for the iPad is available for $9.99 on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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Canonical shutters Dropbox competitor Ubuntu One
Canonical announced plans today to shut down its Dropbox competitor Ubuntu One, a move that will also signal the end of its streaming music service. “If we offer a service, we want it to compete on a global scale,” CEO Jane Silber noted in a blog post. “For Ubuntu One to continue to do that would require more investment than we are willing to make.” Rather than compete with other cloud services that routinely offer substantial amounts of free storage, the company has instead decided to focus efforts on its operating system. Storage and music are no longer available for purchase from the Ubuntu One Store starting today. Existing customers can use the service until June 1st, while stored content will be available to download through July 30th. Annual subscribers, meanwhile, can expect a prorated refund soon.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Source: Canonical Blog
TomTom’s new GPS watches track your heart rate without a chest strap
Now that smartwatches have built-in heart rate monitors, it’s not enough for GPS watch makers to require a chest strap for the same feature — they’ve got to step up. TomTom, at least, is ready. It just revealed the Runner Cardio and Multi-Sport Cardio, both of which improve on the original Runner watch by combining position-based exercise tracking with an integrated optical heart rate sensor. The new wristwear lets you train based on intensity, ranging from low-tempo warmups to full-on sprints. If that’s the kind of fitness monitoring you’ve been craving, you can pre-order the Runner Cardio and Multi-Sport Cardio for £250 ($416) and £280 ($466) respectively.
Via: CNET
Source: TomTom (1), (2), (3)
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