‘Pushbullet’ Brings Notification Syncing and Easy File Transfers to iOS, Mac, and Safari [iOS Blog]
Pushbullet has long been one of the more popular third-party solutions for keeping notifications, links, photos and other files in sync between a smartphone or tablet and computer, although one important feature it has lacked until now is support for Apple devices. The wait is over, however, as Pushbullet announced today the availability of full iPhone, iPad and Mac support alongside a new Safari extension.
Pushbullet is the marriage of AirDrop, Notifyr and other features in one single package. First and foremost, the software enables iOS notifications to be pushed to Mac and dismissed remotely from Notification Center on iPhone. The app also has drag-and-drop functionality for sharing photos between devices and the ability to copy and paste links from Mac to iPhone using the newly available Safari extension.
The app utilizes Bluetooth LE to allow iOS notifications to be seen, acted on and dismissed from a Mac, with customizable per-app settings to fine-tune the experience to your liking. Pushbullet is now officially a cross-platform too as well, meaning that you can view your Android notifications right on your Mac desktop without taking your smartphone out of your pocket. Likewise, you can copy and paste links to your Android device using the Safari extension.
Pushbullet developer Ryan Olzenburg claims that iOS notifications cannot be pushed to Windows yet, but says to stay tuned for further updates. Pushbullet for iOS [Direct Link], Pushbullet for Mac [Direct Link] and the Safari extension are all free to download. If you use a different browser, extensions are available for Chrome, Firefox and Opera as well. We’ll be going hands-on with Pushbullet soon.
[Deal] Take $48 off a T-Mobile Nexus 6 with promo code
If you’ve been waiting for a deal on the Nexus 6, T-Mobile is offering a $48 discount on all variants of the phone with a promo code. With the Nexus 6 being so new (and relatively expensive for a Nexus device) you might want to take advantage of this before it goes away.
The promo code NEXUS6DEAL will save you $48 when buying either a 32 GB or 64 GB Nexus 6, but it looks like they’re only offering the blue colored device. Still, for almost a full $50 off, that might be enough to convince you to not worry too much about the color of the phone.
Hit the link below to get started.
source: T-Mobile
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Take $48 off a T-Mobile Nexus 6 with promo code
Keep calm, Photos for Mac still on
Apple’s Photos for Mac was for shown off last summer at WWDC 2014 but isn’t scheduled to ship until “early 2015″. Apple hasn’t said anything more specific about the schedule than that, but today some concern arose when people realized that, at some point, information about Photos for Mac had disappeared from Apple.com. So, what’s going on?
Apple included Photos for Mac in the original preview pages for OS X Yosemite that went live right after the WWDC keynote in June. Now Apple.com is showing the OS X Yosemite release pages. Since Photos for Mac hasn’t been released yet, it isn’t part of those pages.
To the best of my understanding, it really is just that simple. Apple isn’t dropping any hints or implying anything beyond what they’ve already said.
Photos are a subject near and dear to many people’s hearts, and so the interest level in Photos for Mac is understandably high. There’s no point in getting stressed or worried about anything now, however. Unless and until Apple gets more specific, Photos for Mac remains announced for “early 2015″. That’s a pretty big window, which is great. Because Photos is important, I’m happy for Apple to use as much of it as they can.
To find out more about, check out our Photos for Mac explainer.
YouTube now defaults all videos to HTML5 on the web
Back in 2010, YouTube introduced HTML5 support for videos, but it was highly experimental at the time. When they introduced HTML5 for the first time, they detailed reasons why they couldn’t yet move all videos over to the standard due to video formatting issues, quality of streaming and much more. But today, YouTube announced in a blog post that all videos will be now played on HTML5 by default on the web. Browsers with YouTube’s HTML5 support are Chrome, Internet Explorer 11, Safari 8 and Firefox Beta.
MediaSource Extensions have greatly helped YouTube alter streaming resolutions on the fly based on internet connection speeds. The video-streaming website also says the extensions have “reduced buffering by more than 50 percent globally and as much as 80 percent on heavily-congested networks.”
HTML5 also takes advantage of the VP9 codec, which reduces bandwidth consumption by an average of 35%. This allows more users to stream high resolution (4K and HD) videos without the need for a stronger internet connection. Using the VP9 codec also helps videos start 15-80 percent faster than before.
YouTube explains that key companies and services like Netflix, Vimeo, Apple and Microsoft have paved the way when it comes to HTML5 support, making it much more successful than ever before. YouTube also mentions that you can begin supporting HTML5 using the <iframe> API for embedding YouTube videos from here on out.
Motorola showing the #Motolove for Valentines Day with up to $140 off your purchase price
Deals are about when the hearts are all a flutter. Valentines Day is right around the corner boys and girls and that means you should probably start looking at the perfect gift to keep you off the couch this year. Motorola is gearing up to show you some love with a new promotion that is […]
The post Motorola showing the #Motolove for Valentines Day with up to $140 off your purchase price appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Sony is reportedly cutting 1,000 jobs in its smartphone group
There’s no doubt that Sony’s smartphone division is struggling, and it sounds like that’s about to exact a big toll on the company’s workforce. Nikkei reports that Sony expects to cut 1,000 jobs in its mobile group, adding to the 1,000 layoffs it announced alongside its less-than-stellar summer earnings. All told, Sony will have slashed 30 percent of its phone team’s staff by the end of its next fiscal year, in March 2016. The Japanese tech firm hasn’t confirmed anything, but further cuts would make sense. Smartphones represent a big drag on Sony’s finances, and its accountants are likely doing everything they can to right that sinking ship.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony
Source: Reuters
Apple Reports Record Earnings and iPhone Sales: $18B Profit on $74.6B in Revenue for Q1 2015
Apple today announced financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2015, which corresponds to the fourth calendar quarter of 2014. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $74.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $57.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $13.1 billion, or $1.98 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Gross margin for the quarter was 39.9 percent compared to 37.9 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 65 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.47 per share, payable on February 9 to shareholders of record as of February 12. The company currently holds $178 billion in cash and marketable securities.
Apple sold a record 74.5 million iPhones during the quarter, up from 51 million a year earlier, while Mac sales were also strong with 5.5 million units sold, up from 4.8 million units in the year-ago quarter. iPad sales were down, however, falling to 21.4 million from 26 million.
“We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our revenue grew 30 percent over last year to $74.6 billion, and the execution by our teams to achieve these results was simply phenomenal.”
Apple’s guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 includes expected revenue of $52-55 billion and gross margin between 38.5 and 39.5 percent.
Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q1 2015 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.
Conference Call and Q&A Highlights are available in reverse chronological order after the jump. Read more 
News leaks that Google Fiber is speeding to four new cities
The Wall Street Journal has intercepted some news that Google is planning on announcing four new cities to receive its gigabit internet service, Fiber, this week. The lucky four? Well, if you’re a resident of Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, or Raleigh, NC, the spotlight is on you!
When asked for a comment about Google Fiber spreading to these cities, Google declined to comment ahead of the official announcements. It has been confirmed through a variety of sources that the first of these announcements is expected to happen today.
It’s a sad fact that for all of the talk of the supremacy of capitalism in the United States, many areas are stuck in government supported monopolies. In fact, the United States is one of the slowest developed countries in internet speeds.
Google wants to end that with Fiber by providing one gigabyte per second of internet speed to consumers for a refreshing $80 per month. To put that in perspective, in my area, Comcast will let you suffer with 150 megabytes per second for $115/month and Cox offers 150 megabytes per second for $80/month.
It’s not entirely altruistic of Google, though. The Mountain View search giant needs you to have internet and it increasingly needs you to have it at breakneck speeds. Google’s products like the Chromebook lose a significant portion of their functionality without the internet. And no one would want a Chromecast if streaming high quality YouTube videos to their high-definition TVs landed users in perma-buffering.
Google hopes to inspire force these sluggish ISPs to up their game by offering consumers a far better alternative to the services these companies provide — services that would make Marie Antoinette proud — hitting the ISPs right in the pocketbook.
Google launched Fiber in Kansas City first. The service is now being provided to Austin and Provo as well. Other cities on the short-list include San Antonio, San Jose, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Portland.
Personally, I’d love to see Fiber come to Oklahoma City, but I don’t blame them for not wanting to visit the Quakenado state.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Come comment on this article: News leaks that Google Fiber is speeding to four new cities
Samsung files trademarks for four new Galaxy devices
Samsung has recently filed for four new trademarks on Galaxy devices with the USPTO, mentioning the Galaxy E3, as well as three new additions to the unannounced Galaxy J lineup. Not only will Samsung release the budget Galaxy J1 that we’ve seen hints of, but there will also be a J3, J5, and J7, which may be similar to the Galaxy A3, A5, and A7. Confused with Samsung’s new naming conventions yet?
Despite recent struggles for the company, it looks like Samsung is going to stick to pumping out as many phones with different screen sizes and price points as possible, per usual. Of course, it’s always possible that these devices were already in the pipeline before Samsung had a rough year and they were too far into development to be scrapped, but either way, expect to see a ton of new Samsung phones this year.
source: USPTO
via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Samsung files trademarks for four new Galaxy devices
YouTube now defaulting to HTML5 video
YouTube is now defaulting to HTML5 video, which if you’ve been following the evolution of the technology for a while is pretty much the angel opening the seventh seal on Flash. Richard Leider, Engineering Manager, writing for the YouTube blog:
Given the progress we’ve made with HTML5 <video>, we’re now defaulting to the HTML5 player on the web. We’re also deprecating the “old style” of Flash <object> embeds and our Flash API. We encourage all embedders to use the <iframe> API, which can intelligently use whichever technology the client supports.
These advancements have benefitted not just YouTube’s community, but the entire industry. Other content providers like Netflix and Vimeo, as well as companies like Microsoft and Apple have embraced HTML5 and been key contributors to its success. By providing an open standard platform, HTML5 has also enabled new classes of devices like Chromebooks and Chromecast. You can support HTML5 by using the <iframe> API everywhere you embed YouTube videos on the web.
The late Steve Jobs, writing for Apple.com in 2010:
The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple’s App Store proves that Flash isn’t necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.
New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.
Thanks Dev!
AIVAnet 