Engadget Daily: Facebook Rooms, real-life laser bullets and more!
Does the topic of laser guns intrigue you? Perhaps you’re more interested to learn about Facebook’s new anonymous chat app? Read on for all our news highlights from the last 24 hours, including Google’s Android Wear update, CERN’s mysterious photos, our very own gamer’s shopping list, and more.
Judge formally bans Aereo from streaming live TV to devices
Aereo can no longer relay TV shows to its customers using its teeny-tiny antennas (for now, that is), according to US District Judge Alison Nathan. It’s been a while since the Supreme Court decided that the service violates the law by “transmitting performances of copyrighted work to the public,” but it’s only now that a judge has issued a temporary ban order. For those who’ve forgotten what it is: Aereo used to stream live or nearly-live programming to its subscribers’ phones, laptops or tablets for $8 a month. Each customer is assigned a minuscule antenna of his own (pictured above), which captures shows from the airwaves, as well as a DVR that stores recordings for a later time. Now, though, it’s no longer allowed to beam on-air TV shows to people’s devices anymore. Even worse, Judge Nathan has refused to acknowledge it as a cable service, which means it can’t reinvent itself as one — even if it’s now willing to pay those licensing fees.
Wondering what’s next for Aereo? Well, the jury’s still out on whether it can record and store programs to be aired at a later time. The judge didn’t grant TV networks their request to stop the company from doing so, since they didn’t include it as part of their demands when they first filed a lawsuit. She’s currently investigating whether she should grant that request, though — and whether to order a final, permanent ban against Aereo. If you want to know more about the temporary injunction, prepare to pore over 17 pages of legalese before checking out the official court documents.
[Image credit: AP]
Source: Scotusblog, Bloomberg, Hollywood Reporter, Injunction (Scribd)
TalkAndroid Daily Dose for October 23, 2014
With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!
Android Wear
Android Wear now has GPS and offline music support
Android TV
Developer brings Android TV to Ouya gaming console
Apps
SwiftKey introduces two new Material Design keyboard skins
Carriers
Famigo coming pre-installed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 through AT&T
AT&T to offer Kindle Fire HDX 7″ for just $49.99 with every Fire Phone purchase
Sony SmartWatch 3 now available for pre-order from Verizon Wireless
Gaming
Phones
Amazon takes $170 million hit “primarily related” to the Fire Phone
LG Liger shows up in benchmarks with mid-range hardware
Why did Samsung “ditch the stitch” and other design questions answered
ZTE officially launches the budget-minded ZTE V5 Max
Set-top boxes
Amazon Fire TV now available in the UK
Smartwatches
LG G Watch R will be available in the UK starting tomorrow
LG finally announces global release plans for the G Watch R, but still murky
Next Pebble smartwatch aims to be “more everything,” might feature modular components
Sony SmartWatch 3 now available for pre-order from Verizon Wireless
Tablets
AT&T to offer Kindle Fire HDX 7″ for just $49.99 with every Fire Phone purchase
Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for October 23, 2014
Could the Nexus 6 release in other major markets be further away than we expected?
With the October 29th pre-order window of the Nexus 6 bearing down on us, for everybody not in the US, we’re left wondering when Google is going to allow us to purchase their most powerful smartphone to date. Google has previously said the Nexus 6 release in markets like Australia will begin sometime in November, but MoDaCo’s Paul O’Brien has suggested that the UK might not even see the 6-inch device till December.
Think you’re getting a Nexus 6 in the UK before December? Think again!
— Paul O’Brien (@PaulOBrien) October 22, 2014
This doesn’t immediately imply that the pre-order window in the UK, or indeed in other markets, will only open in December – it could easily open in November. But what it does do is give some insight as to how long buyers of the Nexus 6 may have to wait before getting a hold of their devices after pre-ordering. We’d suggest taking this news with a grain of salt, but this isn’t the first time O’Brien has weighed into the Nexus 6’s future, so perhaps he knows something that we don’t.
What do you think about the Nexus 6 release in other markets like the UK and Australia? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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The post Could the Nexus 6 release in other major markets be further away than we expected? appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
‘Duke Nukem’ and ‘Wolfenstein’ gaming house 3D Realms is back
The early ’90s were a simpler time: Mullets were acceptable, everyone was wearing Zubaz pants and rocking your dad’s flannel didn’t make you a hipster. In an effort to bring us back to the era when grunge ruled the earth, the folks at formerly-defunct 3D Realms has bundled 32 of its classic games into one package and is selling ‘em DRM-free over at its website. What’s in the collection of almost everything the company produced? A killaton of games (and a remastered soundtrack, apparently), that’s what; including, but not limited to: Duke Nukem 3D, Commander Keen: Goodbye Galaxy, Wolfenstein 3D and Wacky Wheels. The anthology will set you back $40, but if you act within the next two days you can get it for half of that. There’s a video after the break if you need a refresher course on who the company is, too. 3D Realms also promises that in the coming months it’ll have much more to talk about including its in-development games. Come get some, indeed.
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD
Source: 3D Realms
LG’s next phone will be the first with one of its own CPUs inside
LG has been trying to catch up to competition like Apple and Samsung with its phones for years, and its next step on that path is to build one with its own CPU inside. The G3 Screen phone that it’s releasing this week in Korea will have an eight-core “NUCLUN” (pronounced NOO-klun) processor, based off of an ARM big.LITTLE design similar to Samsung’s octacore Exynos chips. NUCLUN has for 1.5GHz cores for the tough tasks, and for 1.2GHz cores for easier stuff that save on battery life. The G3 Screen is a 5.9-inch phone with a 10808p screen and support for the new, faster LTE-A networks that download at up to 225Mbps.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
Source: LG Newsroom
Bitcasa drops its unlimited cloud storage due to underuse (and abuse)
If you were thinking of milking Bitcasa’s unlimited cloud storage for all it’s worth, you’d better have an alternative lined up. The company is dropping its signature Infinite storage option after November 15th, in tandem with an upgrade to new infrastructure. You’ll have to migrate to a limited tier (such as the new 10TB, $999 per year Pro plan) if you want to keep all your content. Why the sudden clampdown? According to Bitcasa, you probably weren’t using it — only 0.1 percent of its accounts chew through more than 10TB. Moreover, some of those that are consuming that much space are reportedly abusing it at a level which “seems impossible” for any one person. The company hasn’t elaborated on what these nogoodniks are doing beyond violating the terms of service, but it’s easy to see a company trying to use Bitcasa as a makeshift storage server.
While it makes sense for Bitcasa to cut little-used services that cost a lot of money to run, the transition risks rubbing a lot of Infinite subscribers the wrong way. In addition to forcing users to cut back on cloud storage, there aren’t any planned refunds for customers who want to stay — if you just paid for a year’s worth of unlimited capacity, you’re probably going to feel shortchanged. It won’t be surprising if the company eventually extends an olive branch, but this still means that you’ll have to drop dreams of storing all your digital belongings online.
[Thanks, Sean]
Filed under: Storage, Internet
Source: Bitcasa Blog
Google Earth for Android receive its biggest update
Google has decided to update the famous Google Earth for Android. The app has been around for a long time, and it is one of the most famous applications on the Google Play Store. The latest update is the biggest one so far, as it brings better and smoother 3D rendering technology.
“Starting today, you’ll see faster, smoother, and crisper transitions as you’re zooming into your dream destination in Google Earth. Thanks to a new 3D rendering technology—the first major 3D overhaul since Earth launched more than 10 years ago—sharper views of mountains and cities are just a virtual skydive away.”
Roads and labels are also improved, and it will gets same updates as Google Maps in future. Google Earth will now also allow you to open your KML files as well.
If you love exploring the planet without even moving from your bed, you should definitely check out the latest version of Google Earth. Check it out and let us know in the comment box below.
Source: Google Maps
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The post Google Earth for Android receive its biggest update appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Verizon begins pre-orders for Sony SmartWatch 3
Verizon on Thursday began taking pre-orders for the Sony SmartWatch 3, and Android Wear-powered smartwatch. Priced $250, the device is expected to begin shipping on October 30. The watch will also soon find its way into the Google Play Store where it will be offered alongside other Android Wear products, including those from Samsung, LG,… Read more »
The post Verizon begins pre-orders for Sony SmartWatch 3 appeared first on SmarterWatching.
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Read the rest at SmarterWatching.com!
The post Verizon begins pre-orders for Sony SmartWatch 3 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
SwiftKey introduces two new Material Design keyboard skins
SwiftKey is one of the best third-party keyboards available for Android. The app recently went completely free and is now selling themes to support itself instead of having customers pay several bucks for the keyboard up front. The good part about that model is that SwiftKey occasionally adds new keyboard skins to the SwiftKey store.
The latest two entries are focused on Google’s new Material Design standard. These themes take the Material Design aesthetic and blend it with SwiftKey’s own personal look, and the results are pretty great. The themes come in both a light and dark flavor and are available for $0.99 each.
Are you purchasing either of these themes for SwiftKey? I’m personally sticking with the Material light theme, but the dark looks pretty appealing, too.
source: SwiftKey
Come comment on this article: SwiftKey introduces two new Material Design keyboard skins
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