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21
Feb

Google offering HD movies as low as $4.99


 

google_play_movies_specialGoogle is running a special promo offering a selection of HD movies on Google Play for only $4.99 per movie for the “Buy” option. There are a total of 32 movies to choose from and for some, the $4.99 price represents a significant discount, like Noah, which normally lists for $19.99.

The movies include a selection of newer titles like The Expendables 3 and A Million Ways to Die in the West as well as older classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Blade Runner. The collection is fairly diverse and you will find some of the standard “new” classics like Anchorman or The Hangover.

Buying them outright through Google Play gives you the ability to play them as often as you like. Hit the source link to check out all of the titles and start making your purchases.

source: Google Play

Come comment on this article: Google offering HD movies as low as $4.99

21
Feb

4Effects for Windows Phone lets you add four filters to one image


Why settle for one filter, when you can have four in one image? 4Effects divides your image in four different parts and then you can apply different effects to each one. You can come up with many different looks out of a single image. 4Effects is free at the Windows Phone Store and has thousands of positive reviews already. Want to see it in action? Check out our hands-on video.

21
Feb

Lenovo plans on unveiling a sixth smartphone at MWC


lenovo-logo-1432

We already know of the five confirmed smartphones Lenovo plans on showcasing at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015 event. Now, coming by way of a tip provided to GSMArena, a sixth phone will be added to that total.

This device will be the Vibe Max in the phablet category of smartphones.

The tipster, MXPhone, is claiming that the Vibe Max will be a 6-inch display with a QHD resolution. No word on the chipset, but it was mentioned that the Vibe Max will have a battery somewhere above 4,000 mAh.

Probably most interesting is that the Vibe Max will sport an integrated stylus. At this point, the only details known about this stylus is just its name. GSMArena is reporting that the stylus will be named AnyPen, but that designation has been used before by Lenovo for its technology that allowed anything pointy (including a fork!) to act as a stylus on Lenovo AnyPen-equipped products. So there might be a small mix-up on this tip.

Source: MXPhone via GSMArena

Come comment on this article: Lenovo plans on unveiling a sixth smartphone at MWC

21
Feb

On Apple Watch pricing and strap swapping


There’s a lot we don’t know about Apple Watch. We don’t know how much it will cost, beyond the $349 price tag Apple’s hung on the entry-level Sport model. We don’t know if any other straps will be made available, including gold links to match the gold Edition. We don’t know if we’ll be able to buy additional straps separately so we can take advantage of the stellar strap-swapping mechanism Apple has included in all the collections. We know the broad strokes, but we know few if any of the fine details.

Our own Kevin Michaluk, a watch enthusiast most of his life, has been guessing/hoping the Apple Watch Edition will start at $10K and could go higher. In point of fact, he wants it too:

Personally, I’m hoping Gruber’s initial prediction is on par with Apple’s official Watch Edition pricing. A $10,000 (or even more expensive) Apple Edition Watch is an Apple watch I’ll actually want to wear. And, strapped to my wrist at that price point, I hope it will give me the same emotional pleasure as the other traditional luxury watches I already own.

Gruber — John Gruber of Daring Fireball — restated his own predictions today:

I can see which way the wind is blowing. For months I’ve been asking friends who might know — or know someone else who might know, or even know someone who knows someone who might know — whether my guess of $5,000 is too high for the Edition starting price. The answer has always been “No”. But the way I’ve been told “No” has given me the uneasy feeling that I’ve been asking the wrong question. I should have been asking if $5,000 is too low.

I now think Edition models will start around $10,000 — and, if my hunch is right about bands and bracelets, the upper range could go to $20,000.

Gruber’s not certain if the bands will be sold separately, or if they’ll be used as pricing tiers. It’s possible they’ll be both.

Jordan Kahn of 9to5Mac believes they’ll be available separately as well:

Apple does in fact plan to sell an array of bands as separate accessories for the Apple Watch at launch, according to sources. Claims have recently circulated that Apple might solely sell the Watch in pre-assembled collections, reducing their potential for customization, but our sources say that Apple’s retail outlets will be stocked on day one with individual straps so customers can easily mix and match the looks of their Watches.

A range of price points and the ability to “upgrade” straps makes the kind of sense that does. We won’t know for sure, however, until Apple makes with the final announcements.

21
Feb

Yahoo Introduces Mobile Developer Suite


Yahoo

Yahoo announced its own mobile developer suite that unites Flurry and Yahoo features to give developers the best of both worlds.The new suite includes five products: Flurry Analytics, Flurry Pulse, Yahoo App Search, Yahoo App Publishing, and Yahoo App Marketing.

Flurry Analytics allows you to analyze and use mobile app data in order to better customize an application during development. Flurry Pulse lets developers share app data with partners simply with the push of a button. Yahoo App Search allows you to integrate yahoo search results and ads into your application. Yahoo App Publishing helps you monetize your applications with high-quality ads that fit seamlessly into your application. Lastly, Yahoo App Marketing is the way for you to get your app out to the world more efficiently and reach your target audience.

Are you a developer? Could you see yourself using these tools? LEave a comment below and let us know your take on them.

Source: The Next Web

Come comment on this article: Yahoo Introduces Mobile Developer Suite

21
Feb

Disqus for Windows Phone hits 2.5 with new posting experience and improvements


Disqus has moved up from just being a system for comments to a community unto itself. They also have a very swanky and well supported Disqus app for Windows Phone, which just happens to be updated.

Version 2.5 of Disqus is now live in the Store, and we have the director’s cut of the full changelog. Let’s find out what is new.

21
Feb

Google rearranges Glass engineers under Fadell’s new leadership


Google_Glass_with_frame

The Google Glass team is getting a bit of a shake up under Fadell’s new leadership. Long-time Glass engineers, particularly three notable ones, are being reassigned to different Google products and fresh blood is being pumped into the project.

There has been a lot of erroneous talk in the media about Glass’ demise, which I’ve discussed here, but it appears that Google is strongly committed to the project, especially toward the business sector. 9to5Google reported yesterday that Google has already been seeding Glass at Work partners with a new prototype device.

Google CFO Patrick Pichette, during Google’s latest Q4 earnings call, described the Glass project as “promising” and being given a “reset” with a new chance to accomplish necessary hurdles in order for the device to avoid being canceled. Pichette gave no word on what those hurdles might be.

Further reading: Google Glass promoted from Google[x], Explorer Program shutting down

Three very popular Glass engineers that have been with the device since its early days that are getting reassigned are Stephen Lau, Salil Pandit, and P.Y. Lalligand. Lau and Pandit are moving over to YouTube, while Lalligand is heading off to Android.

In a Google+ post, Lau, who was Glass’ Technical Lead of its software team and engineer, had the following comment about his new assignment:

It’s been a wild and crazy ride, but after 3 years and 8 months, I’m leaving Glass to start a new episode of my career over at YouTube.  (get it? episode? see what I did there?)

I’m having mixed feelings… I’m definitely feeling sad to leave Glass, but excited (and nervous and scared!) to join YouTube and tackle my next project.

Ivy Ross, who runs Glass and reports directly to Fadell, will be staying behind. Google has not announced who will be stepping into their new roles on the Glass team.

So when might we see the second iteration of Glass? Not until its perfect, according to Fadell.

Source: 9to5Google

Come comment on this article: Google rearranges Glass engineers under Fadell’s new leadership

21
Feb

Sony has lost faith in mobile. What went wrong?


sony xperia z3 review (14 of 26)

Earlier this week, Sony announced that its corporate strategy for 2015 to 2017 involves taking less risk when it comes to TV and mobile, with the company instead electing to focus most of its attention on areas that it thinks there is room for real growth like the Playstation platform, image sensors for mobile and camera, as well as its entertainment business.

Bottom-line, it seems Sony has lost faith in mobile. For this Friday Debate we discuss what went wrong. Furthermore, what can they do to turn things around, or are they better off cutting their loses and selling their mobile division just like they did with their VAIO PC division early last year.

This week there wasn’t a lot of community responses, though you can check out the official forum thread to read all the responses we received.

What Team AA has to say

Robert Triggs

I see Sony’s mobile problem primarily as a crisis of identity. As Android enthusiasts, we know that Sony builds high quality handsets, but its flagships haven’t pushed the boat out enough to really make the brand noticeable to a broader crowd. Where is Sony’s BoomSound, QHD display, laser autofocus, fingerprint scanner, “phablet” or critically acclaimed software feature? These may sound like gimmicks, but the little features help your product stand out, it gives us all something to talk about.

Similarly for the company’s convoluted mid-range and budget products. Price and features just don’t compete with the likes of the Moto E, G, or more nimble brands like Huawei and Lenovo. The company is a victim of how competitive the market is these days.

This problem extends to marketing too. With so many similar looking and sounding products, it’s tough for consumers to know where they stand with Sony. I can’t remember the differences between the Xperia M, L, E3, M2, or T2 Ultra, and there’s not a huge reason for general consumers to feel excited for the minor differences between the flagship Z1, Z2, or Z3 either. Perhaps it would be in Sony’s interest to slim down its mobile operation and release a smaller selection of focused, more unique products. I’d be disappointed to see the brand sold off or disappear altogether, but I can understand why Sony is frustrated with its mobile division.

Matthew Benson

What are difference a few years makes… As someone who was absolutely smitten with Sony during the late 90s and into the early 2000s, it’s horribly ironic that I now lust after such “once junk” brands as Samsung or LG. And indeed that’s true: how many people would actually have said they wanted a Samsung PC or LG phone back in 2000?

Sony has become an absolute mess to say the least. It’s been in an eternal period of restructuring for over a decade now, a problem in no small part stemming from its gross inability to have accepted marketplace changes and severely clamped down on product pricing structure: those VAIO Z laptops were awesome a few years back, but who could actually afford one? Likewise Sony had an EL-panel television ages ago, but it was minuscule and cost thousands of dollars.

It’s actually quite tragic to look at Sony’s website these days and see the horribly slim offerings. The once proud VAIO line is basically gone, as is any semblance of genuine genius (AIBO!). Meanwhile, new reports show the mobile division severely tanking, something that will no doubt come as a shock to those living here in Japan where the brand is seemingly thriving simply because “its Japanese” and at the expense of “foreign” OEMs like Samsung and LG, companies that are doing comparatively well elsewhere in the world.

With all this chaos going on, does anyone else find it bizarre that any time Sony’s name comes up in the news it’s either for something absurdly unrealistic (see the pricing on its Walkman ZX2 or the just-announced Hi-Fi Micro SD card) or else just a flagrant mess of absolute incompetence (The Interview and PSN Outage incidents). As I’ve said before, it’s actually bizarre to think that a child of 10 years of age would never know Sony was a company to be respected and unrivaled shortly before their birth.

The biggest problem with Sony is, quite frankly, Sony. The company will try everything under the sun in its attempt to remain relevant and yet something is missing. Perhaps it’s the ability to market its products in overseas markets. Perhaps its the fact that every time you turn around there’s another “flagship” Xperia Z phone being released. Heck, maybe it’s just the possibility that the company lost all of its talented staff and thus is running on empty.

Some weeks ago I covered a story about VAIO Corporation releasing a VAIO smartphone in the near future. I still hold true to the belief that, if said product line were to actually outsell the Xperia series, it would serve as the ultimate smack in the face for Sony. If you ask me, the company needs a real leader that can finally fix the disease plaguing the company’s products and sales.

Bogdan Petrovan

It’s sad to see Sony struggling to make a difference in the mobile business, given the major advantages it has over smaller competitors. Sony has largely failed to capitalize on its brand cachet, first through the ill-thought marriage with Ericsson and even after that. No other Android OEM could match Sony in terms of worldwide presence and brand power, yet Sony hasn’t even tried to compete in many markets. Even as PlayStation rules the console landscape, there’s almost no crossover to Xperia, and even the little crossover that exists isn’t really promoted. The same with Sony’s entertainment division. It’s hard to tell why Sony failed to capitalize on these advantages – maybe the company’s getting too old and ossified in its ways, or maybe it’s the fault of nearsighted leadership.

As Rob mentioned, Sony phones lack unique features and it’s often hard to differentiate them, even though everyone agrees that Xperias are solid devices. Perhaps it’s not Sony’s fault that people fall for gimmickry and flashy marketing; but it’s totally Sony’s fault that companies that have a tenth of its resources have a clearer vision of what works and what people want.

Should Sony give up on the smartphone business? Long term, that may be a good choice – as the market continues to commoditize, there will be less and less money to be made, so maybe cutting losses early is better. But even in commoditized markets (see PCs), premium players can thrive. Sony could become the Apple of Android, by focusing all its efforts on a few excellent models and marketing them with flair and vision. I am pretty sure that won’t happen though.

Now it’s your turn

How do you feel about Sony and their mobile division, what could they do to turn this ship around? Should they give up on mobile altogether? We welcome you to leave your responses in the comments below.

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21
Feb

Judge dismisses antitrust case against Google over bundled apps and services


An antitrust case against Google over bundling its own apps and services into Android phones has been dismissed by a federal judge today. The suit in question claimed that Google’s contracts with smartphone makers that required its own apps and services to come bundled on their devices put rival apps at a disadvantage and lead to higher prices.

21
Feb

Unannounced Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM with Digtal TV is headed to Brazil


Earlier today, evidence came forward for an unreleased RM-1109 Lumia phone destined for Brazil. Unfortunately, no other information about the device was found except something related to battery size. Speculation suggested it could be the rumored ‘Lumia 1330′.

Now, the same site that trekked through Anatel’s documents have churned up another record connecting RM-1109 to the unannounced Lumia 640. Janela Tech is reporting that this device is dual SIM and sports integrated digital television (DTV), something that is increasingly popular in that region.

It is currently unknown if the Lumia 640 is an exclusive to Brazil, which seems likely, or another mass-market lower-midrange Lumia. More information about the phone is under embargo at Brazil’s regulatory agency, Anatel, until after Mobile World Congress in March. The timing suggests we will hear more about this device during Microsoft’s conference. Alternatively, it may only receive a local announcement, due to the smaller market involved.