Nest strikes deal with npower to offer its smart thermostat for just £99
Now that the Nest learning thermostat on sale in the UK, the Google-owned company is pulling out all of the stops to make it your go-to smart heating controller. Today, it buddied up with its first European energy supplier to give Britons a more cost-effective solution (at least for now) to British Gas’ own Hive thermostat. npower, Nest’s partner in crime, is incentivising customers to switch over to its new dual-fuel tariffs (which fix energy prices until April 30th 2017) by offering a Nest for just £99 installed. That’s £100 less than the Hive and a third of the price of a standalone unit (with support) ordered from npower direct. You can, of course, still pick one up for £179 on Nest’s own website and Amazon, or online and in-store at Apple, John Lewis and B&Q, but it’ll be down to you to install it and make sure it works as it should.
Filed under: Household, Internet, Google
Source: nPower – Nest
Google Maps now offers ‘quick facts’ about the world’s biggest tourist destinations
Google Maps just got a new and pretty useful info card that takes data right out of the company’s Knowledge Graph. This expandable window called “Quick facts” lists, well, bite-sized factoids about some of most famous locations around the globe, including Angkor Wat, the Golden Gate Bridge and Taj Mahal, as you can see above. The feature’s only available on Google Maps for desktop (and it doesn’t work for every tourist spot out there), so it’ll be a while before you can use it to plan your yearly vacations.
Via: Search Engine Land
Source: Google Maps (Google+)
Google Play Services updated along with Google MyGlass
Google is always updating to bring the latest bug fixes and enhancements to our Android devices and today is exactly that.
Google Play Services has been updated from 4.4.49 to version 4.4.51. These are most likely minor bugfixes. However, no matter how small, Google thought we should have it so kudos to them!
MyGlass is also receiving an update, but this isn’t your standard bugfix. Googles is adding the ability to share places from Google Maps on Android to Google Glass! I haven’t had to pleasure of using Google Glass, but having this feature would be nice to share a particular restaurant or destination with your friends!
The updates are slowly making their way out to users and if you haven’t received it yet, XDA has mirrored them on their Dev-Host account below.
- Google MyGlass 3.0.0
- Google Play Services 4.4.51 (1168931-010)
- Google Play Services 4.4.51 (1168931-032) – 160 DPI
- Google Play Services 4.4.51 (1168931-034) – 240 DPI
- Google Play Services 4.4.51 (1168931-036) – 320 DPI
- Google Play Services 4.4.51 (1168931-038) – 480 DPI
- Google Play Services 4.4.51 (1168931-070)
Source: XDA
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Moto E Global GSM available on Amazon, US GSM for preorder
The all new and super affordable Android powered headset from Motorola is available on Amazon for $129. The all new Moto E is Motorola’s fight back against the feature phone and opening the doors to a new era of affordable smartphones. The Global GSM version is available right now from Amazon here, or you can pre-order the US GSM version here, which will be available on June 3rd.
Specs:
- Android 4.4, KitKat
- Qualcomm 8210 Snapdragon 200 with 1.2GHz dual-core A7 CPU
- 1GB RAM
- Adreno 302 400MHz
- 4GB Flash Storage
- MicroSD slot supports up to 32GB expandable memory
- Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- 5MP Rear Camera
- Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion, 1980mAh; Mixed usage up to 24 hours
- Network: UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 GSM 850 / 900 /1800 /1900
The device is a great deal for someone on a low budget. You can actually get a decent phone for the money, thought I’d never say that. This phone can always be good as a backup so in case your main phone goes down, just pop out your sim, put it into the Moto E and you’re good to go. Let us know if you’ll be picking up a Moto E soon!
Source: Amazon
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Apple Awarded Patent for Contact Aware User Interface in Messaging Applications [iOS Blog]
Apple has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) that details a user interface in messaging apps that dynamically changes its background based on conversation participants. The patent details how this interface would adapt to both single and group conversations, and how it would work with specific data to generate images.
Outlining the “Generation of a user interface based on contacts”, the patent describes how a conversation can be displayed over a background image associated with a contact. Users have the ability to assign a photo to a single contact to serve as a background, while the image itself can be adjusted to be dimmed or alpha-blended with a background color to ensure greater message readability. If an image is not assigned, the interface could also generate a default male or female image based on contact information.
The concept also carries over into group chats, as one user can be highlighted while others are greyed out to display who sent the last message. Alternative methods described in the patent also include showing contact thumbnails in a Cover Flow or carousel fashion, as well as layouts that center and increase the thumbnail of the most recent contacts with animations for emphasis. The patent also describes a potential API for third party developers to integrate the user interface into their own apps.
As with other software patents, it is unknown whether Apple plans to include this dynamic user interface in future versions of Messages or other apps. However, Apple could make changes to the Messages app in iOS 8, which is expected to be unveiled next month at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Recent rumors have suggested that iOS 8 will feature a focus on health-related applications along with enhancements to Maps and Siri.
Vudu’s ‘Share My Movies’ lets up to five friends peek into your library
While Ultraviolet digital copies have been pitched as a way to make watching videos online easier, so far they’ve lead to frustration for many users. A recent incident involving the early release of Veronica Mars for Kickstarter backers was a low point, Apple, Google and Microsoft all have yet to tie their services in, and now Disney is finally rolling out its own Movies Anywhere system. To get back on the positive foot, Walmart’s Vudu streaming service is shining a light on Ultraviolet’s ability to let users share their library with up to five friends (no, it’s not quite as easy as sharing a PS4 game). Now available within Vudu under the title of “Share My Movies” it lets users add friends to their library just by sending an e-mail invite. Ultraviolet supports up to three simultaneous streams, so you can even watch movies at the same time. According to the FAQ, once your Vudu account is linked to another person’s library, any TV shows or movies you purchase will be added to that library, so you may want to be careful which ones you add. Done right between a few friends, it can probably add up to a decent online library of movies to watch just from Blu-ray discs and DVDs you already own — check the blog post for more information.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Vudu Blog, Vudu Share My Movies
Google’s ambitious London HQ delayed until at least 2017
For Google, when it comes to building a new home, it doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as it’s been done right. After the search giant halted plans to break ground on its new 950,000 square foot Kings Cross HQ at the last minute, it now looks like Google employees won’t be able to enjoy perks like running tracks, connected cycling ramps and swimming pools until at least 2017. That’s according to the company which had been contracted to build the new HQ but which has now been left in the cold while everything goes back to square one. Part of the reason for Google’s change of heart may be a desire to match the look of its new 1.1 million square foot Googleplex in California. Despite the company’s massive global footprint, the new London and Mountain View developments are set to become the first built-by-Google buildings that it’ll be able to call home.
Filed under: Google
Source: City AM
Facebook is testing cards feature for mobile experience
Facebook has recently been testing a new feature similar to Google Now cards on its iOS mobile app. Essentially, when you interact with your Facebook account, relevant information will be displayed for you to view and swipe away. From the picture we’ve seen, the information doesn’t look as detailed as Google Now’s traffic updates, package tracking, and sports.
We could be in for a surprise and I think it would be interesting to see Facebook take on a similar approach in the social media world, just like Google has already done in our daily lives. Nothing has been updated for Android users to get their hands on it, but I’m sure it won’t be long before we see a beta apk come along. Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Gigaom
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Xiaomi’s 49-inch Android TV boasts 4K for just $640
The Mi Pad wasn’t Xiaomi’s only announcement today. Following the Chinese company’s first smart TV from last September, today it has unveiled a slightly larger model with a nice surprise: 4K for just CN¥3,999 or about $640! Like its affordable predecessor, this 49-inch TV comes with built-in Android (with MIUI TV skin), though you can easily side-load other TV apps. On the hardware side, you’ll find a 4K 3D panel made by either LG or CSOT within a 6.2mm aluminum bezel, and underneath that lies a MediaTek MStar 6A918 chip (1.45GHz quad-core CPU, Mali-450 MP4 GPU) plus 2GB of RAM to drive all those pixels. On top of the built-in 8GB space, you also get to add up to 64GB of storage via microSD.
The MI TV 2 comes with a few nice goodies. Most notably, it has a Bluetooth LE remote instead of the old infrared version, and should you lose it in your room, you can even tap the bottom of the TV to make the remote beep. Alternatively, you can also install the remote app on your phone, with which you can use gestures and voice to control the TV, as well as read up related info — some of which comes from IMDB — about the show you’re watching.
Another nice feature here is the audio part. CEO Lei Jun said that in order to keep the TV’s thickness at 15.5mm, his team decided to store the speakers in separate parts: a wired audio bar with the mid-range and treble drivers, and a Bluetooth subwoofer with the 8-inch driver. Better yet, you can also use this kit with your mobile devices via Bluetooth.
As for availability, Lei admitted that his company didn’t do so well with the production rate of the original MI TV, but this time he said this should no longer be a problem, partly because he’s teamed up with Wistron and Pegatron. Folks in China will be able to order one on May 27th, but for the rest of us, chances are we’ll never see one outside China any time soon.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
AI algorithm takes seat on investment company’s board
The coming robot apocalypse will need robot executives to rule over it, but it looks like they’re going to have to start with more mundane business first. A Hong Kong venture capital firm has just “appointed” an artificial intelligence tool called VITAL to its board of directors to help find promising investments. It’ll scan things like financing, IP and clinical trials from prospective companies, share that info with the board and even cast the sixth vote. So far, it’s helped find two promising outfits already, though it hasn’t voted yet. Still, the main goal is to “draw attention to it as an independent decision maker,” according to the company. And draw publicity to itself, no doubt.
Via: Business Insider
Source: Beta Beat
AIVAnet 