At the second Project Ara Developer Conference, Google has announced that Puerto Rico will be one of the regions to get a ‘market pilot’ of the device. This essentially means that Puerto Rico will be the first region to get Project Ara based handsets.
Google mentions that this decision was taken considering the country’s reliance on mobile networks. Since it is part of a mobile-first ecosystem, it’s feasible to try out something like Project Ara over at Puerto Rico.
Google mentions that test devices should be available sometime in Q2 2015, so there’s still some waiting to do. By then, Project Ara will reach functional status, so the timing of the launch has been scheduled based on that.
Paul Eremenko of Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group stated the reasons for choosing Puerto Rico as one of the first launch markets – “First, Puerto Rico has an incredibly diverse mobile user base, that ranges all the way from a large number of feature phone users all the way up to premium smartphone users. We need to be able to reach both with the Ara platform, and so we should have both included in the market pilot. As it happens, the ratio in Puerto Rico is about 50/50 between feature phone users and smartphone users.”
Google further mentions that since Puerto Rico is a free trade zone, it would make it easier for manufacturers to send components from around the globe. Also, since Puerto Rico is technically under FCC’s jurisdiction, it will act as a decent test market for the subsequent American launch of Project Ara based devices.
Come comment on this article: Google to bring Project Ara devices to Puerto Rico first
Outlook.com email users now have the option to easily and quickly save attachments right into OneDrive cloud storage. The update to the web email service adds a “Save to OneDrive” that, well, lets you save attachments to OneDrive.
Samsung may have an announcement at the 2015 Mobile World Conference (MWC) regarding TouchWiz, the proprietary user interface prominently featured in the Galaxy line of Android devices. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is rumored to feature a slimmed down version of TouchWiz that showcases a look and feel closer to stock Android. This comes from a statemt made by a source close to BusinessKorea.co: “We are aiming to get rid of unnecessary functions and simply our UI at the level of the Nexus 6.” The release of the Nexus 6 and Android 5.0 lollipop shows Google’s attempt to unify and beautify its mobile device OS on devices with flagship specs. Along with expanding vendor relationships, the crew in Mountain View is getting closer to giving companies like Samsung little reason to install a bloated software stack on top of Android.
In the past vendor supplied UIs like TouchWiz were meant to differentiate brands in the emerging mobile device space. Custom software takes up valuable storage real estate and could cause a device to become slow and unresponsive. In other words, bloat is bad. A recent sampling of users at phonearnea.com showed that close to 45% of those polled felt that TouchWiz made their devices slower. Samsung seems to be moving in the right direction by addressing some issues in one of the most popular lines of Android based devices.
The post Samsung’s TouchWiz is going on a diet appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Facebook has just taken the wraps off of their new project, Facebook at Work. The new business-centric social network aims to let companies communicate as well as share items and announcements internally. The app is set up to look exactly like the Facebook we’re all familiar with, but will likely require separate business log in credentials to sign on. The app is going live in the Google Play Store and iOS App Store today, though it will only be available for a handful of select businesses.
Facebook at Work has been in development for roughly ten years, and is actually what the folks at Facebook HQ use to communicate within the business. Lars Rasmussen, engineering director at Facebook, tells TechCrunch that “when Mark (Zuckerberg) makes an announcement he just posts it on Facebook at Work.” The company is unsure whether or not this will be a paid service. For now, Facebook Platform is disabled on the beta app, meaning there are no ads quite yet. Even so, the idea of ads coming to the platform isn’t too farfetched, seeing as how most other rival business communication apps require a paid subscription.
It’s obvious why Facebook wants to create this separate social networking platform: to compete with other rivals in the field. Slack, Yammer, Convo and Socialcast are some of the more popular apps in the space. However, many people are unaware that those apps even exist. But everyone knows about Facebook. If your business uses Facebook at Work you can expect to have two Facebook apps on your mobile device. Information between the two apps will never crossover between Work and personal Facebook accounts, so there’s no need to worry about accidentally sharing the wrong item to the wrong app.
Once the app comes out of beta status, be on the lookout for more Facebook at Work developments in the near future.
Facebook today plans to launch a new app for iOS and Android, simply titled “Work”, that will allow businesses to build their own Facebook-like social networks to facilitate interaction amongst employees.
The service, which will also available on the main Facebook website, has been beta tested in “a very small set” of businesses around the world, Lars Rasmussen, the engineering director at Facebook who is heading up the project, told TechCrunch. Today’s launch is the next step in testing the project, a continuation of a process the company has essentially been working on for a decade due to its basis in Facebook’s own employees using the service to plan meetings, share files, and collaborate on projects.
“Facebook at Work’s strength is that we’ve spent ten years and incorporated feedback from 1 billion active users,” he says. “All of that is embedded now in the same product but adapted for different use cases.”
And it’s actually used by staff. “When Mark makes an announcement he just posts it on Facebook at Work,” Rasmussen says.
No details on pricing of the app, or overall service, were given, though TechCrunch points out that Rasmussen never rules out advertisements as a future possibility for the service. Facebook at Work will also be a bit bare bones when it launches today, as the service will allow users to share and receive documents, but due to the company’s time crunch to meet today’s launch, there won’t be any in-app editing yet.
Rasmussen also gave TechCrunch a run-down of how the service functions when starting out, describing linking accounts amongst a user’s personal Facebook and an overall similarity to the company’s previously established Groups service.
“When an employer adopts Facebook at Work, they can construct it with a set of new accounts. Users can then link their work and personal accounts together so that they are logged into both at the same time.” This would work much like Groups and public profiles do today. On mobile, you would have two mobile apps running at the same time, he adds. “Even if the employee chooses to link there is no crossover. The content stays entirely within your personal or work Facebook.”
Though Facebook’s new app is decidedly business-focused, it follows the company’s recent trend of separating individual aspects of the service into multiple independent apps acting autonomously from the main Facebook app.
The nascent service has a bit of an uphill battle, with competing services already filling the market and ensuring users their personal data won’t leak over into the work side of things, but Rasmussen points out he’s already seen how a service like this can fail by working on Google Wave, a similar work-focused service. “I can say that the challenges of making work more efficient is something that has been on my mind for a long time,” he told TechCrunch, “And I come to it with a lot of passion and the knowledge of a failure of doing this at a different company.”
Facebook’s Work for iOS app is scheduled to launch later today.
Want to get your first taste of Project Ara, Google’s modular phone project? You might have to move to Puerto Rico. That’s because Google has designated the US territory as the market pilot site for Project Ara. Why Puerto Rico? Well, according to Paul Eremenko, Project Ara’s lead, the island is very “well-connected” and has a designated free trade zone that would make it easy to get developer modules from around the world. Puerto Rico also has apparently has a very diverse “mobile-first” market, and entry-level phones make up a great majority of sales. But perhaps more importantly, Puerto Rico is still under FCC jurisdiction and would therefore make a great test market for the US. The first two carriers to offer Project Ara will be Open Mobile and Claro, both of which offer 4G LTE coverage in addition to 3G. As for when exactly this will happen, well, Google didn’t say, but we’ll tell you as soon as they do.
Filed under: Google
Hong Kong-based XinGear has ramped up a Kickstarter campaign for the follow-up to its I Am Cardboard VR headset, the aptly-named XG Virtual Reality Headset. In case the name doesn’t give it away, the VR Headset is similar to many of the smartphone-based VR sets that are coming to market in the near future.
While there is little differentiate the VR Headset from others, XG has developed a separate Bluetooth clicker that they say solves the common pairing problems other VR headsets have. XG says:
“We find the google cardboard magnet clicker limiting. It only supports limited phone models. Our bluetooth clicker would work like the magnet clicker. It support google [sic] cardboard apps that support the screen touch events.”
While XR states the headset is designed to fit any phone from an iPhone 5S to a Nexus 6, it mentions that the Bluetooth clicker is Android-only.
Kickstarter backers are privy to certain perks. For example, if you pledge $250 or more, you can have the VR Headset painted in “your choice of pantone color,” as well as having a logo or name printed on the headset. (Standard models come in either black or white.)
The highest pledge level – $10,000 – will have the honor of flying to Hong Kong, receiving two nights of first class accommodation, meeting the development team, and receiving a VIP tour of the city. Oddly, this level makes no mention of receiving an actual VR Headset. This is definitely for true believers, as one can easily find airfare to Hong Kong for under $1000, and two nights in a swanky hotel isn’t going to set you back the leftover $9000. But hey, it’s about backing a company without actually owning part of it, right?
Smaller pledges will receive a free I Am Cardboard headset or the Bluetooth clicker.
Considering the similar Samsung Gear will cost a cool $199, perhaps your money is better spent pledging $49 to XR and receiving what is more or less the same product. Hit the link below to learn more.
Source: Kickstarter
Come comment on this article: XG Virtual Reality Headset Has a Kickstarter, Samsung Gear Quakes in Fear
If big things come in small packages, the SKEYE Nano Drone is a titan. At first glance most will fawn over the cuteness of the tiny quadcopter but make no mistake, this baby can move! Ready to fly out of the box, the adjustable gyro makes flight completely controllable. Its slight form factor means you’ll have access to areas where aerial maneuvers wouldn’t have been possible before. Nimble and agile, Skeye Nano Drone handles flips and stunts with ease while offering multiple flight modes for pilots of all skil-level. You’ll receive a 2.4Ghz transmitter controller that makes operating the lightweight yet stable body a breeze. Bring one of these to the office on Monday and you’ll be the talk of everyone around the watercooler (unless your office has a cat, that could get messy). Typically priced at $60, AndroidGuys readers can now take this quadcopter for a spin for only $34.99!
See more at deals.androidguys.com
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If you’re looking for some high quality Bluetooth headphones, you may want to take a look at Staples today. The Jabra REVO Bluetooth Headphones are on sale for $99 on the official Staples website. The normal price for these headphones (on Amazon and other retailers) is usually $130, so this is a pretty good deal considering how much you’ll save. One thing to note: if you can’t get Staples in your country, unfortunately you won’t be able to take advantage of this deal. The discount runs until January 20th, so be sure to head to Staples and pick some up before your time runs out. Oh, and Staples is also throwing in free shipping to sweeten the deal.
The headphones connect to your mobile device via Bluetooth and can be easily paired using NFC. If you’re concerned about losing battery, though, you can always use the removable 3.5mm headphone cable to connect to your device. One of the nicest aspects about buying from Jabra is the ability to pair the headphones with the Jabra Sound app, which gives you HD Dolby Digital Plus enhanced sound and advanced EQ controls. If you’d like to grab a pair of these headphones, head to the link below.
Microsoft has quietly launched a Twitter account dedicated to helping people with questions or issues with their Surface tablets, including the Surface Pro 3. The page is a more direct way for customers to communicate with Microsoft on Surface hardware and software matters.
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