Rebranded Shoebox announced with new lock screen feature
There are already tons of photo to cloud backup solutions for you to choose from, but one of the most popular is getting rebranded. Shoebox (formerly MyShoebox) has a new name and some new features in the Android app.
Other than the simplified name, Shoebox is adding a nice rotating lock screen feature. Photos will stay set as your lock screen and will rotate every 24 hours. What’s more, you can now share galleries to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and much more.
For all of your pretty pictures you just shared to your family on Facebook, you can now share on the big screen with Chromecast! Shoebox is joining the already huge list of applications with support for the Chromecast. That’s really nice to see.
Grab the update from Google Play in the link below.
Source: Shoebox
The post Rebranded Shoebox announced with new lock screen feature appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Amazon’s smartphone finally revealed in leaked render
Been wondering what Amazon’s smartphone might look like when it finally debuts later this year? Wonder no more. The gang over at BGR have received a press render of the device which reveals both the front and backside of the handset.
What do we know? It looks like a standard touch-only smartphone. Reportedly, the phone features a 4.7-inch 720p display, a quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB RAM, and an OS that closely resembles that of the Kindle Fire tablets. The device is alleged to be large but “reasonably comfortable” for single-hand usage. Amazon is said to have added gesture controls; six camera modules also provide for a 3D-like interface that tracks head.
Amazon will launch the smartphone in the third quarter, according to a number of reports. Last week gave way to rumors that Amazon could bring the phone to AT&T as part of an exclusive deal that centers around “Prime Data“.
What do you think of the look of the Amazon handset? Are you buying into the idea any more today?
The post Amazon’s smartphone finally revealed in leaked render appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Experimental UI equips you with a virtual tape measure and other skeuomorphs
While companies like Apple are moving away wholesale from faux real-world objects, one designer wants to take the concept to its extreme. Chris Harrison from CMU’s Future Interfaces Group thinks modern, “flat” software doesn’t profit from our dexterity with real-world tools like cameras, markers or erasers. To prove it, he created TouchTools, which lets you manipulate tools on the screen just as you would in real life. By touching the display with a grabbing motion, for example, a realistic-looking tape measure appears, and if you grab the “tape,” you can unsheathe it like the real McCoy. He claims that provides “fast and fluid mode switching” and doesn’t force designers to shoehorn awkward toolbars. So far, it’s only experimental, but the idea is to eventually make software more natural to use — 2D interfaces be damned.
Filed under: Science, Software
Source: Chris Harrison
Adidas teams with Spotify to soundtrack your run, hook you up with a new route
Spotify knows a thing of two about playlists we guess. As for Adidas? It’s responsible for more gallons of sweat than most. So, in something of an inspired combination, the two forces have linked-up to create a web-tool for runners. Hit up this link, and you’ll be prompted for your location, a hint of your musical taste, and just how physical you want to get. Feed that info into the machine, and you’ll be rewarded with a route to run in your locale (that matches your chosen distance) and a playlist based on your reference track AND desired level of physical pump. The heavy lifting for the route selection is actually powered by Runkeeper. Given there’s a music-and-mapping device with Adidas’ name on it, we can see potential for greater integration (offline music on the watch? A feature for loading the map? Too much to ask?). That’d definitely give not just us, but the competition, a run for its money.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Boost your run
Oral-B’s app-connected toothbrush now rescuing British teeth for £230
Oral-B’s electric toothbrushes spin, vibrate and get into places your standard scrubber can only imagine, but none are more extravagant than the new “Smart Series” launched today. The Bluetooth-endowed brushes — yes, they’re a thing now — pair with iOS devices (an Android app’s due in August) and tell you how terrible your oral hygiene is, with the hope of improving it. Basically, the app allows you to choose different brushing routines, with your iPhone showing a timer (as well as news and weather reports to distract you from the dull task at hand), telling you when to move on to different areas of your chops, and notifying you when you’re putting too much pressure on your teeth. Oral-B’s actually had toothbrushes with similar functionality for many years, but they’ve all required additional hardware that’s replaced by your phone in this new Smart Series. Kind of like a fitness tracker for brushing, the app will also store session data so you can build up a record of successful scrubs.
The idea is that you’ll take better care of your teeth when you’re more aware of your habits, and that dentists can recommend the right routine for you after reviewing the data stored on your phone, and looking at your teeth, of course. “Limited quantities” of the new range are available on Boots’ website from today, with Amazon receiving stock in June and other retailers in July. At £230 for the “Pro 6000″ model or £250 for the “Limited Edition Pro 6500,” you’ve gotta be pretty obsessed with your gnashers, or silly gadgetry, to actually consider buying one. You should probably also factor in the cost of phone insurance, too, if you’re going to start taking it on regular visits to the sink area.
Filed under: Cellphones, Household, Peripherals, Software
Source: Oral-B
Snapchat Updated with Text Messaging and Live Video Calls [iOS Blog]
Ephemeral photo sharing service Snapchat has released a significant update to its iOS app today, which brings integration of a new “Chat” text messaging feature and “Here” live video chat feature.
The app’s new Chat feature allows a user to swipe right on a friend’s name in the inbox to start text messaging, as messages in the chat screen disappear upon leaving the window. While in a conversation, users can also press and hold the blue photo button to pop in and out of live video chat, which uses a swipe up gesture to share video on the iPhone’s front facing camera and a swipe gesture down to share video on the rear facing camera.
Snapchat saw its last major update in October 2013, which brought a new “Snapchat Stories” news feed feature. The app has also been the subject of some controversy in the past few months, as a security breach last December compromised the user names and phone numbers of more than 4.6 million customers, while a vulnerability in February opened up the iPhone to denial-of-service attacks.
Snapchat is a free app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]
Snapchat now does video chat and IM, with self-destruct still included
Snapchat, the photo messaging app beloved of cheeky monkeys everywhere, has just undergone a major transformation. Self-destructing messages are still at the core of what it does, but the iOS and Android app is today being updated to also handle instant messaging and live video chats — just swipe to the right from the main camera screen and you’ll see a list of your friends, allowing you to chat with them using these more traditional methods.
Texts are wiped by default when you back out of the chat screen, except for any that you deliberately tap to make the app remember them. Video chats, meanwhile, are ephemeral by their very nature: A throbbing blue icon pops up to tell you when a friend is paying attention to your chat (as opposed to the general “online” status used by other messaging apps), and you press and hold this to open up a one-way video stream of your beautiful nakedness self. If your friend wants to, they can do the same in order to make it a two-way thing, and both sides can use gestures to quickly flip between their back- and front-facing cameras. Overall, these changes constitute a big expansion to what Snapchat can do, but they cleverly avoid changing what Snapchat is. The upgrade could well take the app to new heights, in which case Zuckerberg might just have to up his alleged offer to buy it out.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Snapchat
T-Mobile’s no-contract attitude brings in another 2.4 million customers
So, now we know where all those disgruntled Sprint folk have been going. In total, 2.4 million new customers hooked up to T-Mobile USA’s network in the first quarter of this year, with around half of those opting for the carrier’s “Un-carrier” style plans, which do away with service contracts and instead provide straight-up financing to those looking for a new handset. Despite being reprimanded by an industry watchdog for its aggressive and not-wholly-accurate marketing, T-Mo actually managed to beat its last bumper quarter in terms of new subscribers, at a time when the other, bigger networks saw much smaller increases — AT&T and Verizon each only added around half a million new postpaid customers last quarter, for example. Curiously, on the financial side of things, T-Mobile actually reported a drop in earnings — which it blamed on the fact that it’s having to grow so fast. Another curiosity: If some of this growth really has been happening at Sprint’s expense, then pretty soon it may not matter.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, T-Mobile
Source: T-Mobile USA
iPhone 6 Physical Mockup Allegedly Based on Real Machine Schematics Surfaces
A new physical mockup claiming to be based off of real iPhone 6 machine schematics from supply chain sources has surfaced on Chinese technology blog 86Digi (via Nowhereelse.fr, Google Translate).
The physical mockup shows the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 as a 6 mm thin device featuring rounded corners and various physical changes. In line with other reports, the model shows the power button now located on the top right hand side of the device, rectangular volume controls on the left, and the camera and circular LED flash on the rear.
Notably, the mockup also shows two rear antenna breaks cut out on the device’s rear, with the post noting that Apple will incorporate a three-stage aluminum design on the back of the iPhone 6. This is partially in line with a report from Mac Otakara last week that claimed Apple would be doing away with the glass breaks currently found on the iPhone 5s in favor of an aluminum design, although it is unsure how Apple will incorporate changes to its overall antenna layout to accommodate the new look.
The photos and video of this new mockup follow images of other physical mockups in recent days, including another model from a case manufacturer showing the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and one showing the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 based on design drawings shared by Japanese magazine MacFan last month.
The iPhone 6 is expected to be unveiled this fall in two different sizes of 4.7-inches and 5.5-inches. The 4.7-inch version of the device will likely ship first in the third quarter of 2014, while the 5.5-inch version is estimated to ship later this year or early next year as Apple solves issues with the phone’s display and battery.
In addition to a larger display, both versions of the iPhone 6 are expected to include a thinner profile, a faster A8 processor, Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and an improved camera that may feature optical image stabilization or electronic image stabilization. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek also claimed in a research note earlier this month that Apple is negotiating for a $100 price increase on the iPhone 6. 
Sony bets on speed with the second edition of its Alpha A77 DSLR
The Alpha portfolio from Sony is pretty well stacked, what with cameras like the newly minted, 4K-ready A7s. To add to that, the Japanese electronics giant today’s announcing the A77 II, a successor to the 24.3-megapixel shooter it revealed back in 2011. Similar to its predecessor, Sony’s A77 II features the same amount of megapixels and Exmor APS-C sensor, but this is now coupled with the Bionz X image chip that’s found on the Alpha A7 and A7R cameras. There’s also an OLED electronic viewfinder, which lets you see the total frame; a 3-inch LCD that can be tilted in three different positions; and NFC, so you can share pictures wirelessly to a smartphone, tablet or VAIO PC.
But the aforementioned specs don’t tell the entire story. Sony wanted the most important improvements over the original Alpha A77 to be all about speed, both in terms of shooting and processing. The A77 II has a brand new focusing system, lead by 79 AF points (compared to 19 on the previous version) with 15 crossing sensors, which allow it to handle a continuous burst of up to 60 full-res photos at a maximum of 12fps — Sony hopes this is more than enough to lure in those of you who like to take a lot of action shots. What’s more, the A77 II brings improvements in the ISO department, going from 16,000 to 25,600 at its highest level, or 52,000 when expanded — if you’re a night owl (or just have a thing for the dark), you’ll no doubt appreciate this.
For Sony, it’s not only about stills, though: the company wants videographers to really consider the A77 II a solid alternative to, say, something like Canon’s Mark III. While there’s nothing surprising about the fact it can shoot 1080p movies at 60 and 24p (AVCHD 2.0), Sony believes the improved AF system inside its A77 II, which offers things like continuous face-detection, is an attribute that makes it standout from the rest of the pack. And, because we know you’re going to ask, there’s no 4K output to be found here.
While Sony may not have taken the biggest leap with the A77 II, there’s no doubt it is still a nice upgrade. But is that plenty for you? It’ll be available in June for $1,200, body-only; a kit with a 16-50mm f/2.8 lens will be sold for $1,800.
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