Compare the best Android smartphones on the market today
Deciding which Android smartphone to buy can often be a difficult decision, with many different manufacturers offering varying specs, hardware combinations, and screen sizes.
If you’re undecided about just which Android smartphone you would like to purchase, then check out our handy comparison chart below. We’ve ranked the latest and greatest Android smartphones from ratings calculated by you to reveal just which devices are topping the charts.
Do you agree with the rankings? Drop us a comment in the section below to tell us what your favourite device of all time is, and why.
The post Compare the best Android smartphones on the market today appeared first on AndroidGuys.
US to begin selling off its Silk Road Bitcoin hoard
When the FBI seized Silk Road and the assets of its founder, it inadvertently became the owner of one of the world’s largest Bitcoin hoards. Just six months later, the US has decided that it wants to sell the smaller, Silk Road-owned portion of the stash, made up of 30,000 BTC worth around $18 million. The public auction will take place between 6am and 6pm on June 27th, with the funds being broken down into blocks of 3,000 BTC to make it a little more manageable. If, however, you fancied getting in on the action, be advised that you’ll have to front a deposit of $200,000 just to be allowed in. Still, if it’ll take you a bit longer to scrounge up that level of cash, the US will also look to sell off Ross “Dread Pirate Roberts” Ulbricht’s personal Bitcoin fortune — currently valued at around $87 million — before his trial begins in November.
Filed under: Internet
Via: WSJ
Source: US Marshal Service
Apple Launches Exchange Program for 5W European USB Power Adapter
Apple today launched a exchange program in 36 countries for certain models of its 5W European USB power adapter, which the company says may overheat and pose a safety risk in some cases, reports German site iFun (Google Translate).
The affected adapters, which are identified as Model A1300, originally came with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S models that shipped from October 2009 to September 2012. Apple is allowing users to bring in the affected adapters to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider, and will give a new adapter after a corresponding iPhone serial number is verified.
The program differs from Apple’s third-party USB charger takeback program, which launched last year in over thirty countries. That program allows users to trade-in a third-party USB charger for a discount on an official Apple charger, and was created following the electrocution of a Chinese woman that may have been caused counterfeit iPhone charger.
Oppo R3 gets announced in China
Earlier this month Oppo announced its N1 Mini smartphone, a not so “mini” smartphone. Not even 2 weeks later we get yet another device announcement from Oppo, the Oppo R3.
Oppo R3 shares the 720p 5″ screen with the N1, but doesn’t have that fancy rotating camera on the top. It is running Android 4.3 JellyBean with Oppo’s ColorOS on top of it. On the specification side, the R3 is running a Snapdragon 400 SoC along with 1GB of RAM and only 8GB of internal storage which is expandable via microSD. The phone of course has 2 cameras, on the back it sports an 8MP shooter, while there’s a 5MP shooter on the front. The device is powered by a 2420mAh battery, which we hope will be enough to power this thing throughout the day.
The most notable thing on this phone is its thickness, or should we say thinness. It is only 6.3mm thick, which is quite impressive, despite the fact it is not the thinnest phone around. That title is taken by Umeox X5 which is only 5.6mm thick.
The device launch was in China and it will cost around $370 there, there was no mention of an international availability though.
SOURCE: Oppo
VIA: PhoneArena
The post Oppo R3 gets announced in China appeared first on AndroidGuys.
You can watch the Spanish-language version of Breaking Bad on Hulu Plus right now
Sure, via Netflix (in 4K, soon) or on Blu-ray is a good way to watch the entire Breaking Bad series, but what if we told you there was a way to experience the show all over again for the first time? There’s a Latin American version of the show called Metástasis, and while the meth adventures of Walter Blanco are airing nightly in the US on Univision networks, it’s also available on streaming via Hulu — but there’s a catch. On broadcast TV and internet, there’s no option for English subtitles, so while native speakers and telenovela fans may breeze right through, if your last “Que?” was during a high-school elective you’re out of luck. To find out what you’re missing (Colombia instead of Albuquerque, schoolbus instead of RV), check out an English-subtitled trailer for Metástasis after the break.
Die-hards may want to keep an eye out for fansubs or give Rosetta Stone a shot, as this show is blowing through the entire series over the next three months — just in time for the premiere of spinoff Better Call Saul. The new eps are up on Hulu Plus already, and start flowing to the free Hulu streaming on the 17th. If primarily-English shows are more your speed, Hulu Plus did just add the full first season of The Bridge, the premiere episode of The High Road with Mario Batali, and the full run of The Real Housewives arrives today.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Metastasis (Hulu)
Facebook Messenger now lets you instantly send video clips
Facebook Messenger used to lag behind other messaging apps like Line or Viber when it came to sending media files. The key phrase here is “used to,” because its developers just gave it an instant video-sending feature on top of the voice- and photo-sharing functions they added in April. Now, when you tap the camera icon and hold the Send button, you can automatically record and send short video clips to friends. If you change your mind while recording (because you realized you haven’t even combed yet… among other things), simply swipe your finger off the Send button or quickly press X in the middle of the video clip while it loads on the chat window. Facebook’s slowly rolling out this Messenger update to both iOS and Android devices, so don’t worry if it’s not showing up on your updates list yet. But when it does, it’ll also come with the capability to send bigger thumbs up icons, because, hey, why not?
Filed under: Misc, Mobile, Facebook
Source: iTunes, Google Play
Google set to launch a health-tracking platform called Google Fit
Not to be left behind by Apple, Google could soon launch its own health-tracking service for mobile devices. Forbes reports that the search giant is working on a new service, tentatively called Google Fit, which will pull in data from third-party fitness wearables and health apps and combine them into one central service. It’s not known if Fit will be delivered as a standalone app or come directly embedded inside future versions of Android, but it would likely operate as Google-made version of Apple’s HealthKit, a service that lets companies like Nike feed in fitness data, and Samsung’s own fitness framework, SAMI. An open platform would also lend itself to running on top of Google’s upcoming Android Wear platform, allowing smartwatches and fitness bands to feed data into Fit’s open APIs. Like Apple, Google is set to unveil its new health-centric service at its own developer conference, Google I/O, which kicks off on June 25th. It has a lot of wearable talks planned for the event, so we won’t have long to wait to learn more about what Google has planned.
Filed under: Wearables, Internet, Google
Source: Forbes
Surge of iOS Game Controllers at E3 as Speculation Looks Towards Apple TV Gaming
TouchArcade has posted a roundup featuring a look at the surprising number of the new iOS gaming controllers shown off at this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event in Los Angeles, California.
New products from gaming companies such as Mad Catz, Razer, SteelSeries, Hori, Signal, Phonejoy, and BigBen Interactive were all shown off at the event, with each company pushing various hardware styles and features to better cater to iOS users.
Mad Catz’s C.T.R.L.i controller was described as TouchArcade’s favorite of the various controllers shown. It features a full-sized design with console-style controls including face buttons, analog sticks, shoulder bumpers and triggers.
The controller can connect to any iOS 7 device through Bluetooth functionality, and also includes an optional clip for attaching an iPhone. Other controllers like BigBen Interactive’s GamePhone Controller Pro, Hori’s MFi controller, Signal’s RP-One, and Steelseries’ Stratus XL also showed off similar full-sized designs.
Meanwhile, controllers like BigBen Interactive’s GameGrip and PhoneJoy’s MFi controller showed off a design that wraps around an iOS device similar to the MOGA Ace Power and the Logitech Powershell.
Phonejoy’s controller in particular contains the ability to fully collapse while not in use, while BigBen’s GameGrip can wrap around an iPad mini and even a full-sized iPad. Razer also demoed its Junglecat controller, which contains a sliding mechanism with face buttons and a directional pad.
The introduction of all these new iOS controllers comes as rumors surrounding the next-generation Apple TV have ramped up, with some of that speculation focusing on the device’s gaming capabilities. To this point, some have speculated that Apple could utilize iOS gaming controllers, a set-top box, and an App Store ecosystem to become a major force in the console gaming industry. Original Xbox engineer Nat Brown and Steam founder Gabe Newell shared sentiments that Apple could take the lead in the games console market with such a system.
Iconfactory software engineer Sean Heber (via Daring Fireball) recently wrote a blog post on how Apple could use its new Metal and AirPlay peer-to-peer technologies introduced in iOS 8 to provide a new console gaming experience with the Apple TV and iOS gaming controllers. He explains that Apple could ultimately allow users to use their iOS devices as controllers with minimal input lag, as games would be playable on both the Apple TV and iOS devices:
The key difference is where the AirPlay extension app actually executes – the AirPlay extension app will be automatically uploaded to whatever AppleTV you are currently AirPlaying with and will run directly on the AppleTV natively instead. This means no video streaming lag and minimal controller lag. Your iPhone would then turn into a generic game controller with onscreen controls or, if you have a physical shell controller attached to your iPhone, it activates that instead.
…You can play without needing to purchase the game on that particular AppleTV, without needing to sign in with your iCloud account to access your purchases, without needing to get their wifi password, or indeed without there even needing to be a wifi network to join in the first place. All without any hassle. When you go home, you take the game and any earned progress along with you in your pocket.
In addition to gaming, Apple’s next-generation Apple may also feature cable-box capabilities and perhaps a streaming TV service through a partnership with Comcast. However, Apple’s iTunes Chief Eddy Cue said recently that Apple is continuing to work on a way to improve the television experience, but a fix is “complicated.”
This is the next Slingbox, with WiFi in a smaller (and probably cheaper) box
Nearly two years ago when Sling last brought out some new TV placeshifting hardware we got the interestingly-designed 350 and 500. Zatz Not Funny points out this Slingbox M1 that has appeared on the company’s warranty page and in FCC filing, and despite a very plain look, it could be even more appealing to fans of watching all of their TV channels from anywhere with an internet connection. Based on the information in the FCC docs it has WiFi included. Right now getting a Slingbox with WiFi means buying the $300 500 model, and Dave Zatz wonders if this Roku-like box could have a Roku-like pricetag of below $150, which would make it the cheapest one in the lineup. Whatever the M1 turns out to be, its trip through the FCC process means we should find out for sure soon.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Zatz Not Funny, FCC
Twitter App Gets World Cup ‘Timelines’ in New Update [iOS Blog]
Twitter has updated its iOS app with a feature called “World Cup Timelines”, which allows users to see relevant tweets about all the games during the month-long 2014 FIFA World Cup.
New for World Cup:
The World Cup Timeline is where all the action happens. In addition to Tweets from your network, you will see relevant Tweets from teams, players, coaches, press, venues, and celebs.
Are you watching the match? Follow it on Twitter and take a peek behind the scenes. See Tweets about the match from teams, players, coaches, press, venues, and celebs from inside and outside the stadium.
The new features mirror changes Twitter has made to its web interface, which allow users to follow Twitter timelines for specific games featuring tweets by relevant fans, journalists, analysts and more. A couple days ago, Twitter also re-introduced “Hashflags”, which automatically insert flags from the countries participating in the World Cup when certain hashtags, like “#BRA” for Brazil, are used.
Twitter is also planning to roll out Timelines for individual teams, including lists of each countries’ players and match scorecards that update scores live.
Twitter is a free universal app that’s available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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