LG offers first official glimpse of the upcoming G3
LG’s G3 launch event is almost upon us, and the hype train is continuing to build momentum courtesy of a new, official teaser site. The highlight of this single page is three short clips that focus on what’ll undoubtedly be some of the G3′s biggest selling points. Yesterday, LG showed of its QuickCircle case for the handset, and now it’s given us the first formal glance at the G3′s design. The layout is no surprise, given we’ve seen leaked photos of the handset, but we’re still left wondering whether brushed metal or a plastic imitation of will be the main chassis material. The Quad HD display that’s kinda old news is mentioned in another clip, while the camera is the focus of attention in the final video. Unfortunately, we don’t speak Korean, but allegedly it confirms previous whispers of a laser-assisted focusing system, or heavily alludes to such a feature at any rate. Only the weekend (alright, and Monday) stands between us, the truth, and perhaps yet more proof that everything is better with lasers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
Via: Android Authority, GSM Arena
Source: LG
[VIDEO] More HTC One M8 Serious Technical Considerations, this time on the Duo Camera
The unsung heroes of HTC‘s marketing machine have been the dynamic duo that were first featured in HTC’s “Technical Translations” videos. Clearly these video advertisements are working as HTC has continued to use the two characters in a new line of videos called the “HTC One M8 Serious Technical Considerations”. The last Serious Considerations video spoke of the aluminium appearance of the M8, which has been followed up today with another video which talks about the M8′s Duo Camera. Check it out below:
This is probably my favourite video in the series so far. My favourite line: “Wrong. It’s not like an app. It’s not like any gimmicky software that you find on other smartphones”. Seeing as that’s pretty well the truth (though the quality of said photos is arguable), the video does paint the Duo Camera as the world leading technology that it is, though whether that translates into sales is another question altogether. The M8 has been making a splash in the smartphone world, but rumours of a more updated M8 Prime device has early adopters of the M8 feeling a little disappointed.
Which of the “Technical Translations” or “Serious Technical Considerations” is your favourite video? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Source: YouTube
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Transcend Introduces JetDrive Lite Expansion Cards Up to 128GB for MacBook Air, Retina Macbook Pro
Transcend has introduced new JetDrive Lite expansion cards designed to increase the storage capacity of the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with Retina display. The cards provide up to 128 GB of additional storage for less than $100.
The new JetDrive Lite expansion cards are tailor-made with a flush design that matches the case form factor of both the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro models. This on-the-go storage solution offers read and write speeds of 95MB/s and 60MB/s, respectively.
With their substantial amount of storage space, Transcend’s JetDrive Lite expansion cards provide plenty of space to backup, store, and carry personal documents, photos, movies, and music.
[…]
When inserted into the card slot of a compatible MacBook Pro with Retina display or MacBook Air, the low-profile JetDrive Lite will not stick out like an SD card and can be left in place for on-the-go storage.
The company offers separate products for the different MacBook models due to design differences between the machines. While the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro can be upgraded to 64 GB and 128 GB capacities, the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is limited to 64 GB.
The JetDrive Lite Series of expansion cards are available now with prices starting at $49 for the 64 GB version and $99 for the 128 GB capacity card.
ROM of the Week: AOKP
ROM of the Week is dedicated to highlighting our favorite custom ROMs and builds for Android users. If you’re the type who likes to tinker and push their device to new limits then this column is for you.
Note that this isn’t the sort of thing that every AndroidGuys reader will enjoy; however, it can be an eye opener. Our hope here is that we help you discover something new and exciting that you can do with your favorite smartphone. Enjoy!
This week’s ROM of the Week goes to AOKP. Now you’re probably asking, “What the hell is AOKP?” Well, AOKP stands for Android Open Kang Project, which the developers played on the word kang and AOSP (Android Open Source Project). The developers are a unique bunch having fascinations with unicorns as well, but if you don’t already know, they make one of the most popular ROMs for Android, 5,000,000 installs and counting.
Well lets get down to it and see why AOSP made the ROM of the Week. Like a majority of ROMs out there for Android, they all start with Google’s vanilla version of Android and begin to modify it with features they think are necessary or cool! AOKP is lightweight and contains no bloatware or “baked in” apps that you can’t remove.
You can change almost every aspect of the OS, from the way it looks to the way it functions, allowing for total freedom! Now AOKP offers two types of “builds/releases” – Nightlies and Milestones.
Nightlies are updated every 3 days and may contain bugs, but if you want to have the latest features first, this is the one for you. Now, I wouldn’t recommend using Nightlies on your daily driver, because you could have a bug that would make the camera not work or something just starts going crazy. However, I have been known to play on the wild side, but I have payed for it as well.
Milestones are the builds that 95% of people “klang” to. They are the most stable and are normally released once a month. AOKP has an awesome app called AOKPush, which will notify you when a new release is available for download.
Now first, we need to make sure your device is compatible with AOKP. This list changes quite often with new builds of Android being introduced. Normally, Nexus devices are the first to get the latest builds, but non-nexus devices get support quickly. Check out this link to ensure your device is compatible with AOKP.
The features really speak for themselves and thanks to user @noodles90 for all the hard work in putting these together! Check out the features below or if you’re having JavaScript issues, you can check them out on the next page.
The post ROM of the Week: AOKP appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 is already profitable and on course to beat the PS2’s success
If Sony is to reverse its heavy losses, big-selling products like the PlayStation 4 need to turn a profit. The good news is that the company’s newest console is already fulfilling that requirement, having already recouped Sony’s investment in the hardware, and it now looks set to beat profits achieved by the internationally legendary PS2. Speaking at a corporate strategy meeting, Sony president Kaz Hirai said the PS4 was “already contributing profit on a hardware unit basis, establishing a very different business framework from that of previous platform businesses.” There’s no doubt over which console Hirai is referring to here: the PS3 took three years to shed its loss-leading status, after cancelling out gains made from Sony’s “biggest gaming success,” the PlayStation 2.
The Sony president’s comments don’t come as much of a surprise. In fact, they back up the company’s recent full-year earnings report that showed gaming-related sales had shot up 53 percent on the back of the PS4. The bottom line was also helped by Sony’s gaming services, with “approximately half” of the 7 million PlayStation 4 owners worldwide having subscribed to PlayStation Plus. While none of this is likely to fix the company’s deeper financial issues any time soon — it still forecasts an overall loss in 2014 — Hirai believes the upcoming launches of PlayStation Now (now in beta) and Sony’s new cloud-based TV-streaming service (coming later this year) “have the potential to combine and develop into a platform capable of generating even greater profit.” A few more solid exclusive PS4 titles probably also wouldn’t hurt.
Via: Gamespot
Source: Sony (PDF)
Top publisher embraces Oyster’s and Scribd’s Netflix-like services for e-books
Out of the five biggest publishers, HarperCollins was the first one that understood the potential of Nextflix-esque services for e-books like Scribd and Oyster. Simon & Schuster seems to have caught on, though, because it’s just agreed to make roughly 10,000 of its digital tomes published at least more than a year ago available on the two aforementioned services. Since three of the Big 5 have yet to sign up, titles from indie and other traditional publications still dominate Scribd’s and Oyster’s rosters. (Not that we’re complaining — that’s a great way to discover books you wouldn’t pick up in a store otherwise.) But, this deal adds a ton of popular titles to the mix, including ones written by authors you’ll most likely recognize, such as Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson and Jodi Picoult. As to how these huge publishers are getting paid, GigaOm says they’ll get the same amount as they’d earn from traditional stores once a reader reaches a certain percentage of a book. Thus far, neither service has announced an increase in subscription fee, so it sounds like a great deal for insatiable bookworms.
[Image credit: Anthia Cumming/Getty]
Filed under: Misc
Via: Forbes
A forgotten Belgian genius dreamed up the internet over 100 years ago
Though we’re pretty sure that time travelers don’t exist, people were working on hypertext — used by web browsers to retrieve connected information — long before computers. It even predates the ideas of a certain Vannevar Bush, the man generally acknowledged as having laid the groundwork for hypertext by microfiche in a seminal 1945 article. Nope, according to the Atlantic, some people were pondering ways of storing and retrieving information prior even to the 20th century. A Belgian genius called Paul Otlet posited an idea in 1895 about “universal libraries” to give anyone access to a vast number of books. By 1934 he had refined it to “electronic telescopes” that would connect people instantly to books, films, audio recordings and photos.
We take that for granted nowadays, of course, but few were considering such ideas back then. Otlet joined forces with radical thinkers like Nobel prize winner Henry LaFontaine and architectural genius Le Courbusier to design a global newspaper archive, networked associations and a 150-room museum. Though those ideas remained a pipe dream, at one point they actually provided a service where you could submit a question and get an answer by telegraph (for a fee). Otlet’s ultimate goal was a system where “from a distance, everyone will be able to read text, enlarged and limited to the desired subject, projected on an individual screen.” That foreshadowed the modern internet, something even Vannevar Bush never saw coming. Unfortunately, Otlet’s vision was shattered by the Nazi invasion of Belgium in 1940, and he died soon after. Luckily, he’s now getting some credit for those ideas, and his fascinating story is worth a longer read.
Source: The Atlantic
Sign me up: Samsung is working on a VR headset for its smartphones and Tablets
Probably the first name that comes to mind when “Virtual Reality” is brought up these days is Oculus Rift, the Kickstarter product which has basically made the VR movement mainstream in the gaming industry. Well, they might not be the biggest name there for long as it’s rumoured that Samsung is working on a VR headset that will be compatible with its devices which will include the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3 and all Samsung devices that succeed them.
The rumour goes on to say that the headset will be gaming focused and is aimed at being a cheaper VR option than Oculus or Sony’s offerings. It’s unclear what exactly the VR headset will be running, but it is said not to be running Tizen, which Samsung has been pushing incessantly on its other peripherals this year. It’s also unclear how the device is going to be connected to mobile devices, especially considering that wired connections have been shown to be an absolute requirement of the VR experience; any lag in the visuals (which are to be delivered by OLED displays) can cause disorientation and discomfort. Still, it’s an extremely exciting idea to consider that mobile will have a dedicated VR system for games, no less.
What do you think about the possibility of Samsung making their own VR headset? Would you consider one if it were cheaper than the alternatives? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Source: engadget via SamMobile
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Moto 360 Design Face-Off rules suggests Moto 360 will cost $249 USD
A few days ago, it was suggested that the price of Motorola’s highly anticipated Android Wear smart watch, the Moto 360, is going to cost €249 in Europe, though that hasn’t really given us a good indication of what it will cost in other regions given the disparity in electronics pricing. Thankfully though, it seems Motorola may have let the cat out of the bag after launching its Moto 360 Design Face-Off competition, which states that the prize, a brand new Moto 360, will have a retail price of $249 USD. The competition centres around the new Moto 360 and offers artists the opportunity to decorate their own Moto 360 template as they see fit for the opportunity to win the elusive smart watch.
Motorola has gone on record since going live with the Face-Off competition, saying that the $249 price has been quoted for ‘tax purposes only and should not be interpreted as the suggested retail price’, though that seems a lot like official mumbo-jumbo designed to throw us off the scent. Whatever the truth is, we’re expecting to see more of the wearable device at Google I/O next month so we won’t have long to wait to find out. And if you’re interested in partaking in the Moto 360 Design Face-Off competition, be sure to check out the Google+ link below.
What do you think about the $249 price-tag? Would you consider one at this price? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.
Source: Google+ (1), (2) via TalkAndroid (1), (2)
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HP’s 7 Plus is a $100 Jelly Bean tablet
Cheap Android tablets are a dime a dozen these days, but HP’s targeting the budget market with its own $100 slate. The 7 Plus, a low-end 7-inch tablet, isn’t going to blow you away with performance, but it should be perfectly sufficient for email, web browsing and basic apps. There’s a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8 gigs of internal storage and expandability via a microSD slot. You also get a 1024 x 600 IPS display, low-res front and rear-facing cameras, WiFi and 25 gigs of lifetime cloud storage, courtesy of Box. It’s available in the US now for $99.99, with free shipping to boot.
Source: HP
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