Apple is the reason for no Fingerprint sensor on Nexus 6
It’s no big deal to expect a fingerprint sensor on a flagship device of this generation given that there are some previous generation devices already rocking one. But to my and many other’s surprise, the Nexus 6 didn’t come with one. On investigation, it was found that Motorola originally had an intent but stepped back at the last instant. The purported location of the fingerprint was inside the Motorola’s trademark dimple.
The plan was disturbed by Apple and was a result of the buyout of AuthenTec in 2012, a pioneer company in fingerprinting technology for use in Apple’s Touch ID sensor. Motorola was working closely with AuthenTec from way back in 2011 to integrate the technology in its smartphone like the one on Motorola Atrix 4G.
Former CEO of Motorola Mobility revealed in an interview with The Telegraph:
The secret behind that is that it was supposed to be fingerprint recognition, and Apple bought the best supplier. So the second best supplier was the only one available to everyone else in the industry and they weren’t there yet.
An in-depth look at the Nexus 6 firmware files suggests that fingerprint support was originally implemented but later removed because of the unintuitive “swipe” scanning type hardware. It was a right thing to do in my opinion. It’s better to leave something than fail badly at it.
Source: Android Central
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Netflix’s ‘A.K.A. Jessica Jones’ gets David Tennant for a villain
Once you’ve won the hearts of a planet as the dashing lead in a science fantasy show, you’re faced with the lingering specter of typecasting. One actor who has managed to avoid such perils is David Tennant, who has thrown himself into any – and every – role imaginable to avoid being known as just The 10th Doctor. Now, however, the Scotsman is returning to the genre that made his name, after taking a role as the villain in Marvel and Netflix’s forthcoming A.K.A. Jessica Jones. There’s some more detail after the break, but be warned: there might be some spoilers.
Tennant has taken on the role of Kilgrave, the TV version of notorious bad guy The Purple Man. In the source material, Dr. Killgrave (two l’s) kidnaps and tortures the superhero Jewel for several months. Only after a bungled assassination attempt on Daredevil do The Avengers and X-Men rescue her. Unfortunately, Jewel is so traumatized by the event that she renounces the superhero life and goes back to being Jessica Jones. Given Marvel’s penchant for cross-overs and cameos – we’ve already seen Samuel L. Jackson pop up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, for instance – it’s probably worth keeping your eyes peeled to the background scenes in Netflix’s Daredevil.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet
Source: Marvel
Twitter Adds Group Direct Messages and Mobile Video
The express-something-as-succinctly-as-possible market continues to evolve, with Twitter feeling plenty of pressure from Instagram, which recently passed Twitter in total users, and Snapchat, which, for some reason, a slew of adults actually use, as though channeling their inner fourteen-year-old, lamenting that they were forced to pass dirty notes in high school as opposed to sending dirty pictures.
Alas, in an effort to continue diversifying its portfolio, Twitter has added two new functionalities: group Direct Messages and mobile video camera.
Group Direct Messages are as straightforward as they sound. Direct Messages have previously been restricted to both parties following one another. It’s a bit more top-down with group messaging. An account holder can initiate a group chat with followers, but those followers don’t need to follow one another in order to participate in the chat. Groups can be created in advanced and organized for whatever form of productivity suits the user.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Perhaps the bigger news is the inclusion of videos actually shot and edited in the Twitter app. Videos themselves have been available for some time now, but Twitter has not had its own video camera. The app will allow the sharing of videos up to 30 seconds in length, and will even offer in-line editing. iOS users will be able to upload videos from their camera roll. And, per usual, Android users will get that functionality “soon.” Always the bridesmaid.
We’re also curious to see how this plays out with Twitter-owned Vine. While different services, there’s still some overlap between Vine and its video-sharing parent with this update.
The new features will be rolled out “in the coming days,” but Twitter says we can already participate in group conversations others might start with us or watch videos those users put out. Translation: celebrities and other “names” already have the new features and we, the cowering masses, must wait a wee bit while Neil Patrick Harris works out the kinks for us.
Check out my Twitter video #Oscar exclusive! I gots me a scoop! pic.twitter.com/SGQ3oJHDqZ
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) January 27, 2015
Source: Twitter
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Hotel Tonight introduces Bonus Rate and Rate Drop to get you the best possible last-minute deals
Hotel Tonight, the app and service that offer up last-minute hotel deals near you at steep discounts, is announcing two new features today called Bonus Rate and Rate Drop. The two new offerings give Hotel Tonight hotel partners the opportunity to target users in specific locations to offer even steeper discounts — up to 40 percent off the normal rate — for booking close to the date you’ll be staying.
Ampere is a smart wireless charger and power bank in one
Despite ongoing battles over the best standard to pick, wireless charging is still seen as an important technology in the future vision for mobile products, especially when it comes to sidestepping mediocre battery life issues. Ampere aims to combine the benefits of wireless charging with a traditional power pack, for a little extra battery life without the cable clutter. The project is currently raising funds through Kickstarter.
Simply put, Ampere is a rather elegant looking, compact wireless charging sleeve designed for smartphones. The sleeve combines a 2,700mAh battery pack with a Qi wireless charging transmitter into a small package. The sleeve could offer some handsets around 10 hours of additional battery life. Just juice up the battery at the start of your day and pop your Qi-enabled smartphone in to charge it up, without the need to connect up any wires.
Ampere offers some useful additional features over your basic battery pack as well. The sleeve can charge two devices at once, one using Qi wireless and the other through a USB cable. The developers also have an optional companion app that can monitor your battery life, be used to control when to begin charging your smartphone, and can located your phone or Ampere module with Bluetooth tracking.
The Kickstarter campaign has already exceeded its initial $60,000 target, but there are still a number of stretch-goals and early adopter packages up for grabs, if you like the sound of the idea.
The company’s roadmap places Ampere on track for shipping to backers sometime around August 2015, with free shipping available to those in Singapore or the USA. Ampere will retail for $99 when it is released for general sale.
Apple TV Updated with Sports Illustrated’s New 120 SPORTS Channel [iOS Blog]
Apple has updated the Apple TV today with a new channel for Sports Illustrated’s 120 SPORTS network. 120 SPORTS was launched last year as a streaming platform for major sports networks, including the MLB, NHL, NBA, Nascar and leading college leagues. As of today, the channel provides sports fans with a collection of recent in-game highlights and replays from its partner leagues.
MacRumors can confirm that 120 SPORTS was added to the third-generation Apple TV, although it has yet to appear on the second-generation set-top box.
The new channel arrives just a few weeks after the Apple TV was refreshed with Tennis Channel Everywhere, providing access to live court streaming and other on-demand coverage.
Accessory of the Day: SanDisk 32GB MicroSDHC Card $15.99
Looking to grab a memory card for all of those high-resolution photos and videos? This SanDisk 32GB MicroSDHC card is Class-10 with 30MB/s speeds, comes with an SD adapter, and is eligible for Amazon Prime for just $15.99. Perfect for all of our tablets and phones whose constantly advancing camera technology means increased storage requirements.
Join Prime and get this deal with FREE two-day shipping!
Also worth checking out:
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Asus Announces Zenfone C for Malaysia
Asus has been on a Zenfone tear lately, with the Zenfone 2 and Zenfone Zoom recently announced at CES, as well as a Zenfone 2 mini recently leaking and the Zenfone 5 being introduced to the Indian market. Now, the Taiwanese manufacturer is set to release a new C series of Zenfone in Malaysia.
The Zenfone C appears to be a slightly tweaked Zenfone 4, featuring a 4.5-inch FWGA IPS display, a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2520 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 5MP rear camera, a 0.3 MP front-facing camera, 2100 mAh battery, 8GB of internal memory (micro SD expandable), and will run Android 4.4.
Asus is gunning hard for a larger piece of Android market share. Ever-ebullient chairman Jonney Shih is bullish about this year’s prospects, and continuing to invest in emerging markets is a big part of that. The Zenfone C will cater to the low-spec crowd while getting Asus phones into the hands of everyday consumers.
The Zenfone C is slated to be released in the coming days and will cost about USD $96 (349 Malaysian Ringgit).
Source: AndroidOS.in
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Catch up on all the virtual reality news from Sundance
Right now is an exciting time for VR, and this year’s Sundance Film Festival is full proof of that. Over the past few days, we’ve experienced new virtual reality horizons and got to know some of the visionaries who have jump-started the technology. VR, arguably in its second life, has opened up a novel medium for storytelling and a way to create deeply immersive experiences for most any audience — be it with films, video games or, why not, a full-body flight simulator. Here’s the best part: This is only the beginning.
Filed under: Misc, Gaming, Home Entertainment, Wearables, HD
Deal: IDrive 1TB hard drive and 10TB of cloud backup for $89 (79% off)
If you need the most storage you can get without breaking the bank, the AA Deals Store has a pretty sweet deal going on right now. This massive storage bundle comes with a 1TB wireless external hard drive and 10TB of IDrive Pro cloud backup storage. That’s a total of 11TB of storage for $97 — 79% off the suggested retail value. Let’s take a look to see exactly what you’ll get with this offer.
IDrive Wi-Fi Wireless 1TB Hard Drive allows you to backup important files, pictures, videos and more without dealing with internet lag. The benefits to using an external hard drive is that they can produce your data faster than a cloud backup can. The data on this drive is encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption to protect your information if it gets stolen. The best part? It’s completely wireless, so you can transfer files with ease, without having to plug it in or deal with any wires.
This storage bundle also comes with a one-year subscription to 10TB of IDrive Pro Personal Cloud Backup. If you’ve never used cloud storage in the past, the main benefit is having instant access to all of your information from anywhere at anytime. The service is compatible with just about every mobile device out there, including Android, Windows, Mac and iOS. Head to the link below to sign up.
AIVAnet 