TalkAndroid Daily Dose for October 14, 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!!
Apps
Skype launches new video messaging app called Skype Qik
Dropbox usernames and passwords leak online, Denies responsibility and says passwords expired
Carriers
Verizon to launch Motorola Droid Turbo at an event on October 28th
New image and details for Verizon’s DROID TURBO surface
Verizon soak test for Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini brings VoLTE
Google teases Android L in latest YouTube video
Google Shopping Express shortens name and launches in three more cities with more retailers
Teenagers use voice commands most often and really want to order pizza
Phones
Verizon to launch Motorola Droid Turbo at an event on October 28th
New image and details for Verizon’s DROID TURBO surface
Verizon soak test for Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini brings VoLTE
Google releases animated ads showing off the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9
First official Nexus 6 press render leaked courtesy of @evleaks
New details emerge about OPPO N3 camera
Tablets
Lenovo to launch tablets under Motorola’s name once acquisition completes
Google releases animated ads showing off the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9
Second source claims Google to launch Nexus 9 running Android L on October 15th
Updates
Google developer posts Android L screenshot, hints at “Lollipop”
Google teases Android L in latest YouTube video
Samsung set to roll out Android 4.4.4 update to 9 models of the Galaxy range
Verizon soak test for Droid Ultra, Maxx and Mini brings VoLTE
Miscellaneous
Samsung and Facebook strengthening relationship, but what’s in store?
Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for October 14, 2014
Smart bracelet doubles as a handset for your phone
More than a few smartwatches will let you make calls, but that doesn’t mean they’re elegant substitutes for your smartphone — you’re going to look at least a little dorky bringing your wrist up to your face. The team behind the .klatz smart bracelet thinks it has a more elegant approach. Their wearable flips open, turning into a makeshift handset for your phone; you can take a call with your wristwear while hopefully maintaining some shred of dignity. The device’s crude 384-LED display won’t come close to what you’ll get on a Moto 360 or Pebble, but the developers are promising a giant battery (at least 600mAh) that lasts for 10 days.
Whether or not you’re enamored with the two-in-one design, the price may be right. Early birds can pledge $99 to get a .klatz bracelet when it (potentially) ships next spring, and the $139 price for regular backers is still decent for what you’re getting. No, it isn’t going to make Apple Watch enthusiasts have second thoughts, but it could be just the ticket if you refuse to look like Dick Tracy while holding a conversation.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Mobile
Samsung’s experimental 5G network delivers 150MB per second at freeway speeds
5G isn’t quite a thing yet. Industrial standards and the finer details are yet to be completely cemented, but that’s not stopping companies with a thumb in the carrier network pie trying to show us some crazy (but awesome) ideal of future wireless… ness. Samsung’s next in line, and it’s been able to crank its 5G network download speeds to 940MB while stationary, which is bananas. However, the company then decided to take the testing outdoors, to the racetrack, and apparently notched download speeds of around 150MB per second, while racing around at 100KPH (roughly 62MPH). Samsung says these impressive figures are due to the high-frequency 28GHz signal used. Previously, this meant a short range, but the company says it’s got around that weakness with “Hybrid Adaptive Array Technology” that boosts the range of the signal. And if that collaboration between Korea and Europe still stands, these ridiculous on-the-go speeds could well make their way outside Asia. Please. Please.
Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Samsung
Android L Screenshot from Chromium Suggests ‘Lollipop’ is the Next Name in Android
What is Android L going to be folks? We certainly have been tossing around the L dessert names for the past few months, and it is still quite up in the air on what Google is going to name it. We might finally have our answer though, as a new screenshot surfaced from the Chromium tracker suggesting the Lollipop is the winner in the Android L name game.
Google loves to place whatever icon of Android you are currently running your device in your status bar to indicate that you’re on debugging mode. The zoomed in illustration shows our beloved Andy in lollipop form, so I guess we can bump the lollipop name to the top of the list. Let us know your thoughts about this screenshot, and if you still think it will be another name.
Source: Droid-Life
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The post Android L Screenshot from Chromium Suggests ‘Lollipop’ is the Next Name in Android appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Russian hackers used Windows flaw to steal NATO data
According to security firm iSight Partners, hackers from Russia recently gained access to sensitive NATO documents using a major flaw in Windows. The attack, which targeted data from a NATO summit last month, was reportedly part of an espionage campaign against members of the organization (such as the US, UK, France and Germany) to learn more about how it planned to react to Russia’s “military intervention” in Ukraine. Furthermore, the same zero-day flaw is believed to be affecting “tens of millions of computers” that are running Microsoft’s operating system — a definite cause for concern. The great news, however, is that the Redmond-based technology titan is now aware of this security flaw and will be patching it today, the company told Bloomberg in a statement.
For its part, iSight Partners states the Russian hackers were trying to get so much data, so quick, that they made enough mistakes to shed light on spying efforts that have been ongoing for the past two years. “There are only a few people in the world who would be really interested in this stuff and would have the tools to get it,” iSight Partners’ Senior Manager for Cyber-espionage Threat Intelligence, John Hultquist, said to Bloomberg. “It’s just the nature of the game.”
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Source: Bloomberg
Mail carriers are mapping Brazil’s favelas before tech companies can
Google and Microsoft may be trying hard to produce online maps for Brazil’s favelas, but they’ve already been beaten by an old-fashioned (if very clever) paper solution. A private mail-delivery service operating in the Rocinha favela, Friendly Mailman, has been methodically charting the slum by using handwritten algorithms that detail every street and building. This system is indecipherable if you aren’t one of the mail carriers, but it’s reportedly very effective — staff can both deliver packages to unofficial addresses and adapt to the favela’s ever-changing landscape. Apparently, the approach is good enough that Google unsuccessfully requested a photo of Friendly Mailman’s map. While that refusal isn’t good news for internet users wanting to understand the favelas, the analog code is already helping locals send letters, receive online orders and otherwise communicate with the world at large.
[Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images]
Via: The Verge
Source: Motherboard
You can now watch Vine videos on Xbox One, because why not
Vine’s come a long way since its early days, and now it has yet another platform it can shine on: Xbox One. With this new application for Microsoft’s gaming console, released today, users can start watching these six-second (or less) videos on a bigger screen right away. The Vine app on Xbox One comes with an interface that will be familiar to regular fans of the service, featuring Trending Tags, Playlists, Featured Users and other, more-specific categories like Comedy, DIY, Science & Tech and Sports. As Microsoft points out, this marks the fist time Vine has designed a viewing experience with TV in mind — although some people may be disappointed they can’t use Kinect to record Vines and share them directly from Xbox One. Still, let’s not forget it is only the app’s version 1.0. In the meantime, at the very least you have the option host a Vine-looping party, if that’s your sort of thing.
https://vine.co/v/MZZVZvUrAW0/embed/simple
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Controlling your Android phone with one button isn’t as great as it sounds
The Pressy one-button Android controller found an eager audience when it debuted on Kickstarter in August 2013, overshooting its original funding goal of $40,000 to the tune of almost $700,000. Inserting the Pressy into an Android phone adds an extra button that can be set for one specific action of the user’s choosing — you can take a photo, start an audio recording, enable WiFi or even turn on the flashlight. Backers were initially given a delivery date of March 2014, but shipments didn’t actually go out until June. Though that’s a fairly modest delay for a Kickstarter project, was it worth the wait? Critics weren’t exactly thrilled with the final product, with AndroidBeat saying it “isn’t a dependable button” and “doesn’t fulfill its job of quick access to shortcuts.” But with over 28,800 backers pledging to the original project, a handful of critics is far from the final word on Pressy. Over the summer, we’ve watched the reviews trickle in, and the verdict is… well, a bit mixed, to say the least.
A few users were actually quite pleased with the product, with LukeBunkers finding it “great to have a button I can configure,” while assafei says, “I love my Pressy button!” Widestorm was a little less effusive, noting that the button “extrudes out a little more than expected” and that “it sometimes takes a while for the action to complete.” Regardless, for Widestorm and a few other users it worked fine and they gave it positive reviews.
But for some users, Pressy wasn’t just slow — it didn’t work at all. Zenpez says that “several actions didn’t work or performed an action that wasn’t programmed,” and the mobile device’s battery life took a hit as well. Bayridge managed to turn the flashlight on, but then “couldn’t get it off.” On the other hand, some users couldn’t get it to work at all, with drdanmac reporting that it “stopped working after an hour,” while michelleyvonneg never even got that far, installing the app and inserting the device only to find “it doesn’t work.”
At $27, the Pressy isn’t going to break the bank, but it’s still a gamble. When it works, it has the potential to be wonderful, and PocketNow goes so far as to call it “a sound investment.” But other critics and consumers alike have found it to be a disappointment and even a scam. Drdanmac calls it a “waste,” while Bayridge advises you to “save your hard-earned money” because the Pressy is a “piece of garbage.” While it’s probably not that bad, it might be best to sit this one out for now and wait for some software updates or a new version entirely.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Google taunts Android fans with mascot audition teaser
There’s been a bit of speculation as to what moniker version 5.0 of Google’s mobile OS would take on when it arrives this fall. In a new promo video, the Android faithful are taunted with possibilities like Lemon Meringue Pie, Lemon Drop, Lady Finger and Lava Cake. Oreo is mentioned as a dark horse candidate, and it could be an option if Google decided to stick with the branded snack theme (and skips a few letters). A couple of rumored names are noticeably absent, too: Lollipop and Licorice. Of course, we’ll know soon enough when a new statue is installed in Mountain View.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google
Source: YouTube
Last chance to vote for our Insert Coin semi-finalists!
Time is almost up to help us choose who the lucky 10 semi-finalists will be in our Insert Coin competition at this year’s Expand. As a reminder, each one of the semi-finalists will receive a $1,000 travel stipend and a spot on our showfloor at the Javits Center. Then they’ll have a chance to compete for up to $25,000 to help bring their vision to market. You can read about all of our contenders in the gallery below, then head right here to cast your vote for who should make it to the next round. But make it quick — all votes must be in by 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 15th, 2014.
Filed under: Meta
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