Sprint pushing out Android 5.0 Lollipop to Galaxy Note 4 today
Those of you that own a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with Sprint are in for a treat. The carrier has started rolling out Android 5.0 Lollipop to the device this morning. The update brings the software version number up to N910PVPU1BOB7. It brings all the Lollipop software goodies we have all been drooling over for some […]
The post Sprint pushing out Android 5.0 Lollipop to Galaxy Note 4 today appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google Play Services updated to version 7.0.87 [APK Download]
Following the Google Play Store being updated, Google has now issued an update to Google Play Services, bringing it to version 7.0.87.
The update to version 7.0.87 brings some minor bug fixes and performance enhancements.
Of course, there could always be additional hidden features just disabled, so drop us a comment below if you notice anything different.
Google Play Services should update itself automatically over the next coming days, but you can also sideload the APK using the download link here.
The post Google Play Services updated to version 7.0.87 [APK Download] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple will reportedly debut its music streaming service at WWDC
If you’re hoping that Apple will launch its retooled music streaming service alongside a smartwatch next week, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. 9to5Mac reports that Monday’s “Spring Forward” event won’t include details on the next phase of iTunes/Beats Music. Instead, the audio subscription option will launch at WWDC in June as part of an iOS update that annually rolls out soon after. Reportedly priced around $8 per month, the music service is said include features like curated playlists and content tailored to users’ personal tastes — both of which are key pieces of Beats Music. As you might expect, an app for the new service will make its way to Apple TV, and the same report claims a redesigned (read: slimmer) case and more capable remote control are on the way for Cupertino’s set-top box. However, with the rumored 13-inch iPad and Retina MacBook Air that we may see this year, it’ll be interesting to see how Apple plans to reveal a highly-anticipated update to its living room tech.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: 9to5Mac
Cyanogen CEO says Samsung will be “slaughtered” by competition in the next five years
Samsung may have just announced their much-improved Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge handsets, but according to Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster, the Korean tech giant will have to do much more to stay relevant in the next five or so years. In an interview with Business Insider, McMaster explains his views on Samsung, and that he thinks the company will eventually be “slaughtered” by new competition in the coming years.
In the interview, McMaster comments about how low-budget device manufacturers like Xiaomi and Micromax will diminish tier-one companies’ marketshare, such as Samsung’s, over the next 3-5 years. He even goes as far as saying:
The tier one OEMs like Samsung are going to be the next generation Nokias in the next five years. They’re going to be slaughtered. We think long term Apple itself will have problems because they’re just not good at competing at the low end.
Business Insider follows up by asking the CEO if he really thinks Samsung will be toast in five years. McMaster explains:
It could get pretty bad pretty damn quick. This is often the case. Look what happened to Research In Motion (RIM). Look what happened to Nokia. Last summer Micromax surpassed Samsung as the dominant feature phone player in India. We’re talking literally in eight months this occurred… This is just one market. We see this happen all over the world.
Cyanogen has worked hard over the past few years to break into the mainstream smartphone business by offering smooth software that is able to be run on budget-friendly hardware. And because of Cyanogen’s success with the OnePlus One, McMaster’s opinions on global marketshare are certainly worth something. Though the message may come off a bit strong, it makes sense. Smaller OEMs around the world can offer extremely budget-friendly hardware in areas where most people can’t afford Samsung or Apple-made devices.
The entire interview is a lengthy read, but it’s definitely worth the time. McMaster goes on to talk about Cyanogen’s recent partnership with Qualcomm and even comments on the company receiving a large investment from Microsoft. If you’d like to take a look at the full interview, head to the source link below.
What are your thoughts on McMaster’s interview? Do you agree or disagree?
The BlackBerry Slider envisioned through new renders
While the BlackBerry ‘Slide’ as CEO John Chen likes to call it has thus far managed to escape being captured in any great way by thousands of dollars worth of fancy cameras, one thing it can’t escape is Photoshop. Dylan Habkirk has created some pretty great renders of BlackBerry smartphones in the past and he’s given the Slider a go with a new set of renders where the device gets dubbed the Glide on BlackBerryCentral. Even though they are just renders based on some incredibly blurry cam like images and not the real deal, they look pretty damn accurate and really help one envision the device. What do you all think? Pretty spot on, right?
What We’re Rockin’: Homescreen setups
The power of Android allows the user to do just about anything with their homescreens, and that’s not an exaggeration. From the way your homescreen works, to the look of the app icons, and the placement of widgets, there are countless ways to make your homescreen unique and just right for you. Here’s what some of the writers here at AndroidGuys are rockin’:
Dan Bartram
- Nova Launcher
- Moko Icon Pack
- Muzei Wallpaper
Benton Trerise
- Action Launcher 3
- Slider Widget
- Power Control Widget
Scott Webster
- Axis Icon Pack
- Minima Pro Live Wallpaper
- Timely clock widget
Jack McNenny
- Moonshine Icons
- Action Launcher 3
- Phoenix for Zooper widget
Anthony McAfee
- Google Now Launcher
- stock icons
Adam Pollich
- Google Now launcher
- Weather Bug widget
- Timely widget
Juan Vega
- FlatCons White Icons
- Nova Launcher
Derrik Miyao
- Google Now Launcher
- Stock everything
Cooper Le
- Glare Icons
- Action Launcher 3
- ZBB2 widget
Robert Nelson
- Google Now Launcher
- Timely widget
The post What We’re Rockin’: Homescreen setups appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple subscription music service will reportedly debut around WWDC
Apple’s rumored subscription service based on Beats Music is reportedly set to debut around WWDC 2015.
As previously reported, the new service is said to be integrated into the iOS Music app, retaining most of the functionality of the current Beats app. Apple is apparently prepping the music service to launch with a supposed iOS 8.4 update, though those plans could change, according to Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac:
Apple currently plans to launch the new music service as part of an iOS 8.4 upgrade for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch following WWDC, but a final decision has not yet been made. It’s possible that the service will be bundled into iOS 9 this fall, which is expected to have a significant focus on bug fixes and stability improvements.
Also evidently on track for this year is a new model of the Apple TV. Set to debut later in 2015, the new Apple TV is said to be slimmer, with a new remote and a new operating system.
Sources say that Apple is also finishing up work on a slimmer Apple TV set-top-box with a more capable and tactile remote control and a redesigned operating system bundled with an App Store.
Apple is reportedly hoping to debut the new box with new content deals in place, possibly including a web-based TV service.
Source: 9to5Mac
JxE Streams: Revisiting Rare with Xbox ‘Conker: Live & Reloaded’
Rare Ltd., the storied game developer Microsoft bought off Nintendo for a hefty sum at the beginning of the century, has started to stir again. After years of developing poorly received motion-control games like Kinect Sports, all while members of the original staff left for other studios, rumors were swirling that the team will return to its classic series from the ’90s. Conker, the foul-mouthed star of Conker’s Bad Fur Day on Nintendo 64, actually popped up as a guest star in Xbox One game creator Project Spark. Just today a Reddit poster, verified as a former Microsoft employee, said that the company has been trying to get a new Conker game off the ground for some time. No time like the present to dig into Conker: Live & Reloaded for the original Xbox on JxE Streams.
Starting at 3PM ET on Engadget.com/gaming and Twitch.tv/Joystiq, we’ll be playing two solid hours of the most juvenile, scatological game to ever make it out of Rare. Tim Seppala will play the game while Anthony John Agnello hangs out in the chat, answering your questions about how it feels to make a rodent smoke a cigar with a controller.
Want more streams? Make sure to check out the show schedule on Engadget.com/gaming and to follow us on Twitch.tv/Joystiq. Can’t catch the live broadcast? Check back right here after the show for a full archive of the stream.
[We’re playing a retail copy of Conker: Live & Reloaded on Xbox streamed through an Elgato Capture HD via OBS at 720p.]
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft
Source: Reddit
iOS 8.2 to Launch Next Week as Final Beta Seeded to Employees and Carrier Partners
After initially reporting that iOS 8.2 would be released to the public this week, BGR now claims that the upcoming software update will arrive next week as Apple decided to seed one last beta to employees and carrier partners for testing. The final GM carries a build number of 12D508 and includes Health app improvements, stability enhancements and bug fixes.
While the initial report was incorrect, this new timeframe appears more plausible given Apple’s upcoming “Spring Forward” media event for the Apple Watch on March 9. Apple also promised that a fix would be prepared by next week for the recently discovered “FREAK” security vulnerability affecting devices such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The security flaw was disclosed to Apple well in advance of the public.
The release notes for iOS 8.2 outline several improvements to Apple’s stock Health app, including the ability to select units of measurement for body temperature, weight, height, distance and blood glucose. The software update also delivers stability enhancements for Mail, Flyover in Maps, Music, VoiceOver and Made for iPhone hearing aids.
Health App improvements
Adds the ability to select the unit of measurement for body temperature, weight, height, distance, and blood glucose Improves stability when dealing with large amounts of data Includes the ability to add and visualise workout sessions from 3rd-party apps Addresses an issue that may have prevented users from adding a photo in Medical ID Fixes units for vitamins and minerals Fixes an issue where Health data wouldn’t refresh after changes data source order Fixes an issue where some graphics showed no data values Adds a privacy setting that enables turning off tracking of steps, distance, and flights climbed
A number of bug fixes have been made in iOS 8.2, including a long-awaited fix for the so-called “GMT bug” causing calendar syncing issues for several iPhone and iPad users. Google quietly fixed the GMT bug on their backend early last month, but Microsoft Exchange calendar users have still been experiencing syncing issues. Other bug fixes are outlined in the full release notes shared in the MacRumors discussion forums.
iOS 8.2 will also include support for the Apple Watch ahead of its launch in April.
Microsoft Launches Office 2016 for Mac Preview, Available for Free to Mac Users
Microsoft is today introducing a preview of the next iteration of its office software designed for Mac users, Office 2016. Office 2016 for Mac is the company’s first major Mac release since Office 2011, and it brings new versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with redesigned Retina-optimized interfaces, new features, and a heavy focus on collaboration and cloud integration.
Office 2016 for Mac, which is free to all Mac users running OS X Yosemite during the preview period, is the next step in Microsoft’s plan to make its Office products available anywhere, anytime, on any device, and as such, it’s been designed to work with Office 365 and OneDrive. Users will get the best experience when signed into Office 365 because that allows them to access all of their documents on all of their devices, but an Office 365 account is not required to use the software.
Office 2016 for Mac has adopted many elements previously found in both the Windows version of Office and in the mobile Office apps, released last year. There’s a new Ribbon that reorganizes tools and formatting options, a task pane interface for greater graphics customization within all three apps (which can be manipulated and repositioned within each app), new themes and styles, and there’s a Yosemite-style look that takes advantage of features like full-screen support.
Office 2016 for Mac is powered by the cloud so you can access your documents anytime, anywhere, and on any device. It’s unmistakably Office – but thoughtfully designed to take advantage of the unique features of the Mac. The new apps offer full retina display support with thousands of retina-optimized graphics, full screen view for native immersive experiences, and even little Mac affordances like scroll bounce.
Microsoft believes that cloud connectivity is a key feature that people have come to expect from their software, so that’s become a focal point for the company. With cloud support, Office 2016 for Mac lets users access a list of files created on any device, keep files up to date on all of their devices, and collaborate with other users. Each of Microsoft’s new Office apps have received several new cloud-based features and other updates, as outlined below.
Word 2016 focuses heavily on collaboration. It’s designed to improve the multi-author experience, with a consistent sharing interface at the top right of the app. Through this menu, users can invite coworkers to work on a document, send out links, and see who a document has been shared with.
Threaded comments have been added to the Mac for the first time and in Word’s new Styles pane, users can make detailed edits on styles within the app as they can on Office for Windows.
Excel 2016 has deeper data analysis functionality with advanced statistical functions. There are also Slicers in PivotTables, a popular Windows feature that should make it easier for users to analyze large chunks of data to find patterns. With Office 2011, many users were frustrated that the Mac shortcut keys were not the same as the Office for Windows shortcut keys, so Microsoft has made all Windows shortcuts available on the Mac. Users already used to existing Mac shortcuts can continue to use them.
PowerPoint 2016 has a revamped presenter view, which is similar to the presenter view in the PowerPoint for iOS app. In the top left, the presenter sees exactly what the audience sees, including animations in real time. There’s also a visual preview of the next slide, access to notes, a timer, and thumbnails for the entire slide deck.
As with the other two apps, there are deeper editing tools available through the right-side pane, which allows for functions like customized animations or shapes, with results that can be seen in real-time.
Along with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Microsoft’s Office 2016 for Mac preview also includes Outlook for Mac, which was released in October, and Microsoft OneNote for Mac, released last March. Outlook for Mac has been limited to Office 365 users since its release, but as of today, it’s available for anyone to use.
The Office 2016 for Mac preview has a built-in feedback mechanism, which Microsoft is hoping its customers will use to report bugs and share what they like and don’t like about the software. Customer feedback will be an important tool that helps Microsoft decide on the next features to add to its software. According to Microsoft, the company is “data obsessed” and reads all of the feedback it receives.
Though it’s been years since Microsoft last delivered a software update, the company plans to introduce bug fixes and feature updates quickly in the future, as such updates are possible now that the Microsoft Office experience is unified as a service across a range of devices.
Microsoft’s Office 2016 for Mac preview is available today at no cost for all Mac users. It is officially supported on machines running OS X Yosemite. Microsoft has plans to launch the software in the summer following this beta testing period.
AIVAnet 