KitKat loaded on nearly 40% of Android devices
The latest platform numbers for Android versions have been released, and show KitKat continues to spread. It’s up to 39.1% share of all Android devices from 33.9% last month. By comparison, the various Jelly Bean versions add up to 46%, down from 48.7% last month. Other versions, like Ice Cream Sandwich, Gingerbread, and Froyo, amount to under 15% combined.
BlackBerry announces BBM support for Android Wear
BlackBerry has just announced that it will “soon” be bringing its BBM messaging service to Android Wear. This should please some of the 50 million Android users who have installed the BBM app, but maybe a specific release date would have pleased them more.
Hit the break to see a full list of what the app has in store when it launches later this year.
- See who a new message is from and read it – while loading grocery bags into the back of your car
- Review and accept invites from would-be BBM contacts while on the go
- Flip through several messages to find that one with the address you’re looking for – while carrying a coffee
- Pick from a list of pre-defined messages to quickly send a response – while in a meeting
- Use your voice and Google Now to respond to messages hands-free.
We will be sure to let you know the exact release date as and when it is revealed.
Source: BlackBerry
Come comment on this article: BlackBerry announces BBM support for Android Wear
The World’s first Tor certified phone is a Boss
CES 2015 rolls on with some great news in the Android security space. The duo of Briggs & Spriggs announced The Boss phone alongside an Indegogo campaign. Why is this device so important? The Boss is the first phone of its kind in the US market, and it is a beast. The fully unlocked 7” UHD machine sports a 1900×1200 resolution, a Meditek octa-core processor, dual sim support, and is built at the root level to include Tor support.
What is Tor? Tor is free software that allows for true anonymity on the internet. It does this by routing encrypted packets through many different geographically disparate hops while removing parts of the packet’s header that contain sender information. Building this kind of technology into a mobile device at the ground level is a game changing move. Having it at the root level will insure that your traffic is safe from certain attacks that could compromise or leak personlly identifiable information. The makers of The Boss phone intended to have it fully certified by the Guardian Project, a group of anonymity experts.
With an MSRP of $399 this phone seems marketed to consumers wanting a high speed device with security at the forefront. A working prototype has been constructed and the group behind The Boss is looking to its Indegogo campaign to fund full scale production.
The post The World’s first Tor certified phone is a Boss appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Netflix’s early-2015 premieres include ‘Daredevil’ on April 10th
Netflix watchers, check this post and update your calendars accordingly — the streaming service just announced premiere dates for a bunch of the new shows it will have this year. That list includes its first collaboration with Marvel, (Daredevil, April 10th), the Tina Fey-produced show it snagged from NBC, (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, March 6th), a drama from the producers of Damages, (Bloodline, March 20th), and a new show bringing Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin together again (Grace & Frankie, May 8th). For the kids, Netflix has The Adventures of Puss in Boots on January 16th, Ever After High: Spring Unsprung on February 6th and Mako Mermaids season two on February 13th. Of course, we can’t forget House of Cards season three arrives February 27th, and Edward Norton produced documentary My Own Man is slated for March 6th. Whew.
A City Without Hope. A Man Without Fear. @Marvel‘s #Daredevil only on @Netflix April 10. https://t.co/2YXBlcmwfV
– Daredevil (@Daredevil) January 7, 2015
That’s not all Netflix will have in 2015 — the Wachowski’s Sense8 has yet to get a premiere date, while Orange is the New Black should return later in the year, not to mention Jessica Jones and Luke Cage or the F is for Family series from comedian Bill Burr or the Crouching Tiger movie or Adam Sandler’s stuff. As you can see, its spring schedule is already larger than the service’s entire output just a couple of years ago. It also revealed today that the big-budget production Marco Polo will get a second 10-episode season. Netflix’s most recent earnings showed growth dropping off compared to expectations, and quickly expanding its library of exclusives may help turn that around — we’ll see if it reveals more during its next earnings call on January 20th.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
CES 2015: OWC’s Transwarp Software Combines Traditional Hard Drive With SSD Cache [Mac Blog]
Other World Computing (OWC) today announced a new software solution that allows users to combine the speed of a solid state drive with the increased storage space of a traditional hard drive. The new Transwarp technology was previewed for the first time this week at CES 2015.
While SSD caching is not new, OWC’s Transwarp solutions aims to make it easy for Mac owners to combine a removable SSD and HDD into a single data volume. Unlike Apple’s Fusion Drive which also pairs an HDD with an SSD, OWC’s Transwarp setup uses the HDD to hold all the data and the SSD as a cache, storing only the most frequently and recently accessed data on the faster access volume while the traditional hard drive retains a complete copy of all data.
With Transwarp, the SSD also can be removed as needed, allowing users to travel with only the HDD installed in their computer. When the SSD is reconnected to the OS X system, OWC’s Transwarp technology takes over and again combines both drives into one.
Transwarp persists even when the power is turned off. Once the SSD is reconnected, Transwarp seamlessly picks up where it left off, making it a great option for laptop users looking for the flexibility to be light on the road, but fast at home or in the office. Converting a drive from Transwarp happens as quickly as it is created, returning both drives to regular volumes within minutes.
OWC is only previewing Transwarp at CES 2015. The company has yet to announce a formal launch date beyond “later this year” or suggested retail pricing for the drive technology.
Future Samsung devices rumored to support theme customization
Those who bemoan the look of Samsung’s customized Touchwiz interface may have been pleased to hear that the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 were Samsung’s first Android phones to feature theme support, as well as new metallic bodies. There’s even better news for those into cosmetic customization, as sources are suggesting that Samsung is planning to make themes support a priority for all of its future devices.
The stock themes will apparently be similar to those included with the current Galaxy A series, but may also extend to include the changing of system fonts, sounds, and something else called Events. Events seem to allow for sys
tem customization based on specific dates, such as birthdays or national holidays.
To facilitate easy switching of themes, the source suggests that Samsung is also planning to launch a theme store (see logo on the right). What isn’t clear at the moment is whether Samsung will also support third party themes or if customization choices will be locked to a small selection modelled on Samsung’s own tastes.
The anticipated Galaxy S6 could be the first flagship to show off Samsung’s new theme features. Would you like to see Samsung adopt a deeper level of theme support in the future, or could the company better spend its software resources on something else?
Nokia’s first Android tablet is now available to pre-order in China
Nokia’s maiden Android-powered tablet, the N1, is now available to pre-order in China for 1,599 Yuan — which equates to approximately $256. Shipping will commence to the first batch of customers on Monday, January 29.
Packing a 7.9-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1536 x 2048 pixels, a 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5,300 mAh battery, the N1 looks to be somewhat impressive.
The slate will run the latest build of Android 5.0 Lollipop straight out of the box skinned with Nokia’s extremely functional Z Launcher, which according to the manufacturer “learns how you use your tablet and promotes your favorite apps so you can get to them faster”.
If you’re based in China, like the sound of the Nokia N1 and want to pick one up — hit the source link below.
Source: Zol
Come comment on this article: Nokia’s first Android tablet is now available to pre-order in China
Intel’s Compute Stick puts Windows 8.1 on your TV for $149
Your Chromecast key may be able to play Netflix, but can it play Crysis? Intel’s HDMI Compute Stick probably can’t either, but the tiny device does have enough power to run Windows 8.1 apps on your TV. Intel has rather impressively crammed in a quad-core Atom CPU, 32GB of storage and 2GB of RAM, along with a USB port, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 support and a mini-USB connector for power (HDMI power will come later). “But why?” you might ask. Intel sees it as a low-priced computer or (pricey) media stick, or even a thin-client device for companies. To up the crazy factor, it may eventually launch a much zippier Core M version. The Windows version will run $149, and if that seems a bit much, a 1GB RAM/8GB memory Linux version is priced at $89. Both will arrive in March.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Intel
Source: Intel
Unlocked Amazon Fire phone now $189 dollars
You all know the sad story of the Amazon Fire phone, we all had high hopes but were sadly let down especially when Amazon tried to charge full flagship prices for its phones. We’ve seen the price move up and down over the past couple of months, and today the price has dropped to its lowest ever at $189.00 dollars. 1-year of Amazon Prime is still included with the price of the phone which carries a $99 dollar value and means the price for this unlocked phone is really on $90 dollars if you already subscribe to Amazon Prime, and that is for 32GB of on-board storage as well.
Sure the Fire phone has turned out to be a blunder, but if you’re in need of a cheap phone this deal is hard to pass up. Check the deal out at Amazon.com.
The post Unlocked Amazon Fire phone now $189 dollars appeared first on AndroidGuys.
LG has its own dual curved-edge display in the works
When Samsung unveiled its Youm screen prototype at CES 2013, few could have imagined the product that would make use of it, much less having it so “soon” (assuming an almost two year wait is considered quick). Now that the Galaxy Note Edge has already came and went (save for Verizon customers), everyone has turned their attention to rumors suggesting the upcoming Galaxy S6 will have a “limited edition” variant with double dipped displays. While all this chatter is nothing more than a pipe dream at the moment, LG Display has actually gone and made a screen with symmetrically sliding slopes:
According to the source of the story, Korean site, inews24, this was just one of many products LG Display offered privileged industry leaders behind closed doors at a special CES 2015 meeting.
Aside from the obvious potential to steal Samsung’s (yet to materialize) thunder, the idea of a new type of foldable P-OLED panel shouldn’t come as a surprise given this report on LG Display from this past November. What is of perhaps greater interest, however, is the fact that LG has apparently decided to literally mirror the Galaxy Note Edge’s design point.
LG Display had previously offered this product road-map back in November 2014.
Something else to be aware (or perhaps alarmed, as it may be) is the size factor: the pictured prototype is clearly labeled as a 6 inch panel, just as the original G Flex was. Just days ago LG unveiled its G Flex 2 which shrunk the screen size to 5.5 inches, but cranked up the resolution to a full 1080p. As can be seen in the background of the above picture, the display panel used for this curiously curved creation is just a mediocre 720p, perhaps suggesting that LG Display has troubles manufacturing sloped-edge displays of a higher resolution.
While nothing has been officially outed by LG or LG Display yet, chances are good that sooner-or-later something more substantial will leak. The probability of that will increase exponentially should the rumors of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge variant pan out to be true.
So now that there is semi-official proof of a dual-bended display, does anyone think this might be a good concept model, or is it pushing the envelope a bit too far?
AIVAnet 