Google Play Music updated with iPad support, Material Design tweaks
Google Play Music for iOS has been updated, and is available for the iPad for the first time. On both the iPhone and the iPad, the app has received some updates to its Material Design interface.
While Material Design has been a part of Google Play Music for a little while, with this update certain elements of that look have been tweaked. Artist and album pages have been revamped, adding new descriptions for their subjects. The now playing screen has been updated to be more immersive, and other small visual changes have been made throughout the app.
There have also been improvements to streaming and automatic caching. Music playback should be faster and more reliable from now on.
You can download Google Play Music for iPhone and iPad from the App Store right now.
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Dwelp for Windows Phone offers up a puzzling myAppFree Deal of the Week
Windows Phone puzzle game lovers will be pleased with this week’s myAppFree deal. It is Dwelp, a connect the dot styled puzzler that is not only available for our Windows Phone but the game is also available for Windows 8 devices.
The game has you linking similar colored dots that are scattered about on a gaming board. You aren’t racing the clock but the fewer moves it takes to connect everything, the better. Normally Dwelp is priced at $1.99 in the Windows Phone Store but through the myAppFree deal you can pick it up for free. As an added bonus, being a universal app, you can also pick up the Windows 8 version free as well.
Google Play Store and parents: how to control what apps are listed
Content filtering puts you in control of what you (or your kids) can see in Google Play.
Smartphones and tablets can be a great match for your kids. Open up Google Play, and you’ll find there are plenty of educational apps and entertainment apps, and even clever applications that have managed to combine both at once. You’ll find a lot of things you want to expose your young ones to, and they will be better for it.
You’ll also notice that there are plenty of things in Google Play that you might not want your child to see. While Google doesn’t allow things like hate speech or outright pornography in Google Play apps (see the content guidelines here), things like “fictional” violence or suggestive imagery, or apps that can share your location, are permitted. You need to be aware of these apps if you choose to keep your kids away from them.
DiskWarrior 5 Review: The Essential Mac Disk Maintenance Tool
Maybe you didn’t believe me when I said it. Kirk McElhearn chimes in on Macworld with these plaudits:
DiskWarrior remains the essential tool for maintaining and repairing disk problems. For both preventive maintenance and repair it’s a must-have tool.
It’s not a question of if you will lose data, only a question of when.
Source: Macworld
Xiaomi used a trio of crustaceans for an unusual ‘durability’ test
Most cellphone makers do their durability testing in labs, but let’s be honest: those trials can be kind of boring to watch. In an attempt to show just how tough its Mi 4 handset is, Xiaomi used a trio of sea creatures. The phone spent a few moments in the clutches of a freshwater crab, a Japanese blue crab and a lobster, with each getting a chance to clamp down on the 5-inch steel-framed device. The gadget endures the grip of the first two just fine, but company decided to leave us in suspense as to how the Mi 4 fared against the crustacean with the biggest claws. The fate of the testers isn’t disclosed in the video either, but we’ll assume someone had a nice seafood dinner. At any rate, take a look at the stunt on the other side of the break.
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[Image credit: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: PhoneArena
Source: Mi (Facebook)
Xiaomi trounced Samsung in China last year
We’ve been charting Xiaomi’s steady rise in China over the past few years, but the latest stats from IDC make it clear just how far the tiny phone company has come (as well as how far Samsung has fallen). Xiaomi ended up leading China’s smartphone market last year with a 12.5 percent share of shipments, while Samsung came in second place with a 12.1 percent share. Sure, those numbers may make it seem like Xiaomi and Samsung are basically on the same level, but what’s really important is how they’ve changed from 2013. Xiaomi’s market share actually rose 186 percent last year, while Samsung’s fell around 22 percent (and it was the only smartphone company among China’s top five to fall). The Korean electronics giant was already facing slumping sales early last year, when we argued that China would likely be its next big opportunity for a comeback. But, from the looks of it, Xiaomi basically ended up eating Samsung’s lunch.
IDC notes that Xiaomi’s reliance on flash sales (which creates tons of marketing hype without much effort), low prices, and powerful hardware all helped it land the top smartphone vendor spot. But Xiaomi wasn’t the only big winner last year: Apple also ended up coming in second place during the last quarter in 2014 thanks to the double-whammy of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. While Apple didn’t make enough shipments to land a spot among the top five smartphone companies in China last year, there’s a good chance it’ll get there this year if it keeps shipments up. The big takeaway? 2015 is probably going to be a rough year for Samsung.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: IDC
Hulu introduces new ‘Watchlist’ feature which will let you track all your favorite shows from one place
The makers of Hulu have introduced a new feature called Watchlist which will let you watch all your favorite shows from one place. This is basically a mix of the Favorites and Queue feature which is already available on the video streaming service.
To get started, you will have to add your shows to the Watchlist by tapping the “Add to Watchlist” button on your Android devices. Episodes and content will be automatically added to Watchlist, so you won’t have to manually navigate for shows periodically.
The best part about Watchlist is that it learns from your viewing pattern and prioritizes the order of the shows displayed based on your preferences. So if you recently binged on a TV show, it’s likely to end up on the top of the pile.
Hulu mentions that the feature is available on Hulu.com, iOS and Android phones and tablets, Apple TV, Roku players and Roku TV models, PS3, Amazon Fire TV & the latest Samsung TVs and Blu-ray players. The company promises to add more devices in the coming days.
Source: Hulu
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Deal: Last chance to enter the Choose Your Own Android Smartwatch Giveaway
Android Wear is still a relatively new platform, and unfortunately that means most of the current Wear watches on the market have a high price tag. But what if you could win one? The Choose Your Own Smartwatch Giveaway, sponsored by our friends at StackSocial, will let you decide on which smartwatch you take home… for free! The contest has been going on for about a month now, and it’s almost over.
To enter, simply head to the giveaway page and enter your email address to win your choice of one of these Android Wear devices:
- LG G Watch R
- Motorola Moto 360
- Samsung Gear 2
If you’d like more than one entry to the giveaway, here’s what you do: after entering your email address, share the page on Twitter for additional entries. The more your friends and followers enter, the more entries you receive.
This is a great way to win one of the best first generation Android-compatible smartwatches on the market. The contest will only be open for another few hours, so be sure to sign up before it’s too late! Follow the link below to sign up.
Editor’s Note: This deal is through StackCommerce, in partnership with AA Deals Store and other StackSocial partners — and not an exclusive Android Authority contest.
Sony announces pre-orders for the SmartEyeglass Dev Edition in the UK and Germany
We’ve seen prototypes of Sony‘s answer to Google Glass pop up almost a year ago, and now it’s finally official. Sony will now let you pre-order the Sony SmartEyeglass Developer Edition for $840. Units are available for pre-order from today in Germany and the UK, and will ship in March. US and Japan availability is coming soon, though we don’t have a timeframe for these countries yet. Additionally, the headset will be available for enterprise customers in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden when it officially launches. Also upon launch, Sony will release an updated SDK for developers to begin creating SmartEyeglass-compatible applications.
Similar to Google Glass, the SmartEyeglass (SED-E1) dev unit will let you interact with your surroundings, allowing you to take photos, send text messages, and much more. It connects to any Android device running 4.4 KitKat or later, and can easily pair to the device through the SmartEyeglass app which can be found in the Play Store. The headset is controlled by a wired remote used for navigating through the device. The controller houses the battery, microphone, speaker and more. The controller is constantly connected to the headset, and is recommended to clip on either a shirt or jacket. But here’s the thing, having all of that extra space in the remote should warrant better battery life, but Sony is only quoting the battery at 150 minutes of continuous use. Since this is a first generation product, we’ll need to withhold judgement until we see a consumer-ready product.
Here are a few other notable specifications:
- Display: Binocular, see-through (more than 85% transmittance)
- Resolution: 419 × 138
- Max brightness: 1,000 cd/m2
- Camera: 3MP
- Sensors: Accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, brightness sensor, microphone, noise suppression sub microphone
For a more detailed look at the headset’s specs, head to the official product page here. Sony plans to have this ready for the general public sometime in 2016, though the exact timeframe hasn’t been mentioned quite yet. So, if you’re a developer in the UK or Germany, head here to pre-order your new headset.
Pushbullet update lets you reply to Hangouts, FB Messenger and more from your PC
A new update to Pushbullet is rolling out today, expanding on the service’s ability to respond to messages. Beyond just allowing folks to reply to SMS messages, the latest update lets you respond to messages on your PC from WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Telegram, Line and Facebook Messenger.
Just like with replying to an SMS, when a pop-up appears you can either dismiss it or reply to it — as simple as that. Keep in ind that replying to Hangouts messages requires you to have the Android Wear app installed, regardless of whether or not you own a watch. Apparently there’s something installed with the Android Wear app that Pushbullet needs in order to make its service play nicely with Hangouts. It is also worth noting that responding to any of the above messaging clients requires you to have Android 4.4 KitKat and, of course, you’ll need to download the latest version of Pushbullet from Google Play.
As for what else is new? Not a whole lot, but here’s the change-log detailing it all:
- Reply to WhatsApp, Facebook, Hangouts, and more from your computer
- Home screen widget for toggling Notification Forwarding
- Heads-up notifications for some pushes
- Bug fix: Inbox & Gmail notifications not getting forwarded
- Bug fix: Tasker to contact not sending
- Other bug fixes
Have you tried the latest update to Pushbullet, if so what do you think? What other messaging services are you hoping to see added support for in the future?
AIVAnet 