Infographic: The Evolution of Samsung’s Mobile Phone Cameras
There’s still a couple of weeks to go until Samsung officially reveals the Galaxy S6 on March 1st at the MWC. In the meantime though, the South Korean manufacturer has released a great infographic that illustrates the evolution of the smartphone camera. From the SCH-V200 handset with a 0.3MP camera, all the way to the Galaxy A5 smartphone with its 13MP primary camera and the software features that enhance the pictures we take.
Do you remember your first mobile phone that had a built-in camera? I remember mine, it was a Nokia 3600 that had a whopping 0.3MP VGA sensor without a flash or even autofocus! Naturally, the pictures I took with it were never going to win any awards, but it is a great example of how smartphone cameras have evolved over the years. These days we have smartphone cameras with 16MP or even 20MP sensors, and take features such as Panorama or wide-angle selfies for granted. I wonder how the smartphone camera will evolve over the next 15 years?
Source: Samsung Tomorrow
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Android Developer Days gearing up for 2015 event
Android Developer Days is back for 2015 and has announced their first few featured speakers for the event to be held in May in Turkey. ADD 2015 is an open conference covering developments in mobile, web, server and software technologies. The organizers are hopeful their efforts will inspire participants to contribute to a better world.
The first five features speakers include:
- Matt Sullivan – a developer advocate at Google who focuses on health and fitness apps and hardware powered by Android code;
- Royi Benyossef – a long-time Android developer who started before the the first Android phone was produced and went on to work on tablets and TVs;
- Müge Yılmaz – Strategic Partner Manager with Google focusing on In App advertising to help developers monetize their work;
- Stephan Linzner – Senior Developer Platform Engineer Android with Google who helps developers improve the quality of their apps as creator of the Android Support Test library and contributing to Espresso;
- Xavier Hallade – a Developer Evangelist with Intel, he focuses on the Android NDK, Android TV and dual-displays as developers work to support these form factors.
If you can make it to Turkey in May and want to join the activities, be sure to hit the link to registration below.
sources: ADD 2015, ADD 2015 (registration)
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Factor Monsters review: a fast-paced factoring game
There are numerous educational apps available that can teach you just about anything. However, most of them are either focused on young children or adults. This leaves middle school and high school students almost empty handed. The people over at Knowledge Platform noticed this gap and decided to create an educational game for kids 12 and older to help them with the challenging and boring practice of factoring. Factor Monsters is focused on helping kids learn and enjoy factoring by getting them engaged in fast paced competition.
Factor Monsters has ten levels of different monsters that you must defeat by factoring a given equation before time runs out. As the levels progress, the equations become harder and more complex. The instructions are easy to understand and are displayed at the beginning of every game. The visuals of this game are very appealing, and I love the drawn art of the monsters. The gameplay in Factor Monsters is also fun. The problems start out relatively easy, but become quite difficult in the later levels. To solve the problems, you have to choose the factors of a certain binomial or trinomial There are eight questions in each level and three lives, so you can only miss three questions per level.
You are only given 12 seconds per question, which gives a sense of urgency to the game. It makes the game more enjoyable, but also much more difficult. The 12 seconds were long enough for the first few levels, but eventually I found myself guessing because I could not do the math in my head fast enough. I wish that the time limit would increase slightly when the problems get harder. If you are not fast at mental math, like me, you may find yourself clicking on answers and hoping they are right. This may cause kids not to learn as much since they do not have much time to think about the answer. Also when you get a question wrong, you are not shown the right answer afterwards. I would like to see this implemented as well so kids could see where they went wrong.
Factor Monsters is also lacking Immersive Mode, which means the navigation bar stays on screen during gameplay. Thankfully it is not too distracting, I wish it was not there. However, these are the only complaints that I have with this game. While the time limit is short, it also makes the game enjoyable because it adds an extra factor. Also, there is a leader board which adds a competitive aspect to the game. If kids get their friends playing, they can compete against each other for the highest score and learn along the way.
What I liked:
- Fun game to play
- Easy to understand
- Sense of urgency and competition
- Fills an age gap of educational apps
- Nice visuals
What I did not like:
- Time limit may be too short for the harder levels
- The correct answer is not displayed if the question is answered wrong
- No Immersive Mode
Overall, Factor Monsters is a fun game that actually makes factoring enjoyable. It is a brand new app that was just released February 9 and I imagine the developer is eager to address any problems that arise. If you are looking for an educational game that is fun and fast paced, you can install Factor Monsters for free in the Play Store.
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1000 free copies of Privacy Suite Pro up for grabs!
Being able to protect one’s personal data is a hot button issue at the moment. I know we all want to keep certain files, photos, and other items away from intruders and prying eyes. Privacy Suite Pro first popped up on our radar a while back in the BlackBerry App Roundup, whose main purpose is to be an all-in-one backup suite to ensure our files, folders, SMS, MMS, contacts, notes, photos, videos, passwords, and Internet browser data remain hidden from others.
Weekly poll results: Do you use Google+?
Who is using Google’s social platform?
Google’s own social platform Google+ is something of a dark horse in the social media world, and many have called it a failure for not attracting enough of their real-life contacts to replace Facebook or Twitter. However, the tech world, and Android users in particular have extra incentive — or blackmail, if you wanna look at it that way — to have you using it.
Your Google Play account wants a Google+ account to tie into for your reviews and ratings, and many beta testing communities are hosted in Google+, only showing their opt-in links once you join the group. The automatic photo and video backup on Android is done through Google+ Photos. So even if you don’t use Google+ proper, you may very well be using Google+ in the Play Store, or Photos, or when you’re commenting on a YouTube video.
But how many of you have given in to the big red plus?
0h n0 puzzle game goes live on the web, iOS, Android, Windows, and Windows Phone
Q42, the developers who released puzzle game, 0h h1, for free without any ads, in-app purchases, or other catches, have just released another puzzle game. This one is also free without any strings attached. It’s called 0h n0, and they’ve released it simultaneously for the web (0hn0.com), iOS, Android, Windows, and Windows Phone. If you’re into puzzle games, 0h n0 is just as addictive as their previous game. Check out a sample gameplay in our hands-on video.
The NBA is filming the All-Star Game in 360-degrees for Samsung’s Gear VR
If you’ve ever wanted a court-side seat at an NBA (basketball) game but couldn’t afford the $9.000 price tag, Samsung and the NBA may well be on the verge of providing a solution. All you need is a Galaxy Note 4 smartphone, its accompanying Gear VR headset, access to Samsung’s Milk VR Store and you could be watching NBA highlights in virtual-reality
So what exactly are Samsung and the NBA doing then? Well, they are going to film today’s All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, the 3-point contest, the dunk competition, as well as a private practice session using virtual reality cameras. Gear VR owners will be able to view the footage in all of its 360-degree glory via the Milk VR virtual-reality app in a few weeks time. While the actual footage will be available free of charge, you do have to possess a Galaxy Note 4 handset and the Gear VR headset. It’s likely that the upcoming Galaxy S6 will also support the Gear VR, but even so, it’s a niche technology at the present time.
As you can expect from such an infant technology, there are a lot of variables. The camera crews are still experimenting with camera locations in order to provide a realistic but immersive experience. The NBA isn’t sure what format the highlight package will take in its final form other than the best moments being compiled into 360-degree highlight reels. The footage is shot with VR cameras that can record video in every direction that is then ‘stitched’ together afterwards to provide that immersive experience.
Jeff Marsilio, the NBA’s Vice President of Global Media Distribution says that
“VR is amazing for big spectator events, but it’s also great for those kind of intimate access moments (private practice sessions). You see somebody in a location where you couldn’t even buy a ticket for. You feel like you’re there. We showed it to everybody around (the league offices), and the first reaction was always an ‘expletive, wow, this is amazing.’”
The NBA VP went on to say that the video packages will have a lot of replay value, with viewers being able to watch the game footage as a whole or to witness the reactions of courtside celebrities or even the other competitors.
Samsung is trying to find new uses and partners for its Gear VR headset. This collaboration with the NBA may inspire other types of entertainment to bring their fans closer to the action than would otherwise be possible. I could imagine the WWE making good use of this technology. Where do you think we will see it next? Would you be tempted to buy the Gear VR (and accompany Galaxy Note 4), just to watch NBA highlights in 360-degrees?
Source: Wired
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Another Purported ‘iPad Pro’ Case Shown in New Photos
French website Nowhereelse.fr has shared new photos for another possible third-party case for the so-called “iPad Pro” tablet. The black protective cover has cutouts for a Lightning connector, rear-facing camera and microphone, volume rocker, mute switch and power button, consistent with previous iPad Air and iPad mini designs. The case does not have a cutout on the left side like the purported iPad Pro case that surfaced last month, nor does it have speaker cutouts due to having a different design that leaves the top and bottom edges exposed.
This second third-party case appears to originate from a Chinese accessory maker that also makes cases for the iPad Air 2, providing yet another side-by-side comparison of how much larger the iPad Pro could be alongside current iPad models. The veracity of the source is questionable, but this case is consistent with past leaks. The photos lack an object for size reference, but the case does appear to be large enough to house the iPad Pro, which has been rumored to feature a 12.2-inch to 12.9-inch screen.
A lack of physical hardware and component leaks for the oft-rumored iPad Pro has resulted in these third-party cases providing the clearest hints about the sizing, features, and design of the 12-inch tablet. The iPad Pro is rumored to feature a triple-core A8X or A9 processor, 2GB of RAM and Touch ID, and may ship with an optional stylus. Multiple reports claim that Apple will begin to mass produce the iPad Pro, also referred to as the “iPad Air Plus,” in the first half of 2015. Another report claims that the tablet could launch between April and June.
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