PGA Tour’s second-screen iPad app bombards you with stats, video
Even the most ardent golf fan would admit that sometimes tournament telecasts aren’t exactly action-packed. The PGA Tour is trying to do something about that with its new iPad app, available just in time for this week’s World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. The second-screen app compliments the live action, giving you shot-by-shot coverage of players or groups, all overlaid onto a graphic of each hole. On top of all the stats you’d ever want (drive length, distance to hole, etc.) the app even gives predictive stats, showing how likely Rory McIlroy is to make that 25-foot putt he’s facing, for instance.
There’s also a birds-eye overview of the course to see where the leaders are and the relative difficulty of the hole they’re playing. You can then track each swing complete with shot trails, along with more predictive stats about scoring from a given ball location. You’ll also get live streaming video, player scorecards, a live leaderboard, news and highlights. That’ll give you something to do when Bubba is gaging the wind or Tiger is stalking a putt (Tiger’s not playing this week, by the way). For now, the new app is only available on the iPad.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Source: PGA tour
Sony’s Xperia Z3 is seen running Lollipop at MWC (Video)
Lately, it seems that everyone is getting an Android 5.0 Lollipop update on their smartphones, there are even rumours that Android 5.1 might be rolling out to Nexus devices in the next few days. Even Samsung has been pretty speedy with updates to its older phones, with the Indian Note 3 being the latest to receive Lollipop. This isn’t any comfort to Sony Xperia Z3 owners though, as they are still on the waiting list of devices to receive the update. There may be cause for hope however according to this video (after the break) taken at Sony’s MWC booth shows a Z3 handset running Android 5.0.2, while the narrator says that the Z3 Compact was also seen running Lollipop.
As you can see in the video below, the Xperia Z3 appears pretty slick as the narrator navigates through the menus, showing off the various Lollipop features. The UI appears to adhere to the Material Design guidelines almost entirely. If, like me, you don’t understand Italian, remember to turn the subtitles/captions feature on in YouTube and have the captions translated into your language of choice. So, there’s some hope on the horizon, surely Sony won’t make Z3 and Z3 Compact owners wait too much longer for the Lollipop update.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: Spaziotech
Via: PhoneArena
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This multi-layer screen protector for iPhone 6 Plus is on sale for $16.95
This iPhone 6 Plus screen protector is custom designed to fit perfectly on your device and is easy to apply, even for a novice. The ultra-slim PET film features multi-layer shock absorption, is naturally resistant to fingerprints and provides a smooth touchscreen experience.
12.9-Inch ‘iPad Pro’ Again Rumored to Have Oxide LCD Display
Apple’s much-rumored 12.9-inch “iPad Pro” could have Oxide LCD display technology and will enter mass production in the third quarter of 2015, according to DigiTimes. The report, citing sources within the supply chain, claims that Apple has elected to use oxide panels for the tablet after weighing the cost versus performance of display technologies a-Si, TFT LCD and Oxide LCD.
“Market rumors over the last six months have stated that Apple would aim to release the device in the first half of the year, with mass production occurring in the first quarter. The company, however, has been assessing different panel technologies ranging from a-Si, TFT LCD and Oxide LCD in terms of cost versus performance, and has only recently decided to move forward with Oxide technology.”
The report adds that Sharp, LG Display and Samsung Display have been sending Apple display samples as they compete to secure component orders for the iPad Pro. Sharp is expected to be the main supplier due to its advantages in Oxide LCD display production, with LG also in the running to be a secondary vendor. The panel suppliers will reportedly produce limited supply in May and begin mass production in July and August.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a respectable track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming product plans, also forecasted in November that the iPad Pro would be equipped with an oxide panel for “high resolution, quick response, and high color saturation,” with manufacturing difficulties pushing mass production of the tablet into the second quarter of 2015.
Bloomberg Business reported late Wednesday that Apple missed the mark on second quarter production of the iPad Pro and that manufacturing of the tablet is now slated to begin around September. The larger-screened tablet, rumored to potentially have USB 3.0 ports for faster data transfer, could help Apple reverse four quarters of declining iPad sales as overall tablet market growth has slowed.
BMW Denies Report of Electric Car Discussions With Apple
German carmaker BMW on Thursday denied that its discussions with Apple involved developing an electric car, according to Reuters. German automotive magazine Auto Motor und Sport reported hours earlier that Apple and BMW were in close negotiations about developing the automaker’s all-electric i3 vehicle into a so-called “Apple Car.”
“The BMW spokesman said: ‘We are in regular talks with companies from the IT and telecommunications sector, including Apple, concerning topics like connected vehicles. Developing or building a car is not a topic of these discussions.’”
The German report claimed that the electric car could be manufactured by BMW and sold at Apple Stores, with Apple developing a full-fledged operating system for the vehicle that integrates with the car’s fuel consumption and driving data. It is plausible that Apple is working to expand its CarPlay efforts on the dashboard, but it remains to be seen how closely integrated the platform will be with future vehicles.
Multiple reports claim that Apple is working on an electric car that is possibly self-driving and could enter production in 2020. Some other reports, however, downplay the rumors by suggesting that Apple is working on expanding its presence in vehicles through CarPlay. Any electric car project at Apple is likely in the early stages of research and development at this time.
$415 million settlement approved in Silicon Valley employee poaching case
Silicon Valley workers have had their major class action lawsuit against Apple, Google and several other major technology companies tentatively approved by the federal judge dealing with the case. The lawsuit seeks a $415 million settlement for illegal no-poaching agreements designed to prevent rival companies from hiring each other’s employees.
The issue for employees here is that these no-poaching agreements allegedly prevented staff from negotiating better jobs or pay conditions at rival firms, effectively unfairly limiting industry wages. The case was fuelled by numerous emails and other communications exchanged between high-level managers and CEOs at top Silicon Valley companies, which point to widespread agreements not to poach staff from competing firms.
Judge Lucy Koh had previously rejected the first proposal for a settlement valued at $324 million, as it was deemed too low to cover the wages lost by employees affected by the agreement. Companies involved in the case have agreed to increase the amount they would pay out in compensation, which, if agreed to, will avoid an embarrassing trial for some of the US’ leading technology firms.
The parties involved have three months to submit final comments before the judge approves the settlement on June 9th.
House of Lords calls for drone owners to be put on a register
Ever since a drunk intelligence officer crashed a drone on the White House lawn, questions have been raised about their safety and how such “accidents” can be avoided in the future. Drone makers have already introduced measures to restrict drone flights in certain areas, but over in Europe, the House of Lords EU Committee has laid out a new set of guidelines that, if implemented, could make drone use safer for all involved.
One suggestion is for drone pilots to be added to an online database or app. Initially, it would cover business or professional use, but would extend to all owners in time. “Public understanding of how to use drones safely may not keep pace with people’s appetite to fly them,” says Committee chairman Baroness O’Cathain says. “It would just take one disastrous accident to destroy public confidence and set the whole industry back.” The creation of a database would also help authorities manage the number of drones in European airspace, while ensuring those who pilot them are easily identifiable.
The Committee calls for a new manufacturing standard or “kite mark” that would provide a way for consumers to know if a drone has been deemed safe to fly. Like in the US, it also called for more geo-fencing controls, so that aircraft can’t be flown in private or dangerous areas, and the creation of new guidelines for the police, so they are able to better enforce public and private drone flights.
In the UK, drones are currently regulated by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It already has a set of rules in place for drone use, including weight restrictions on vehicles, restrictions on where they can be flown and what should be done if they’re used for filming. Right now, the number of drone owners is still pretty small, but as prices come down and more features are added, there will be a need for tighter controls to save us from anarchy in the skies.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: The Telegraph
Source: House of Lords EU Committee
Sonos Controller for Android updated to version 5.3
Sonos has officially pushed out version 5.3 from Beta its controller app for Android and brings some important changes when navigating screens within the app.
- Three taps to party mode. Put the finishing touches on your party prep with a playlist to set the mood throughout the house. Use the new drop-down at the top center of our app to easily group or ungroup rooms in just a few taps.
- Retrace your steps. Change your mind on what you want to play? Swipe down to instantly go from Now Playing to browsing. To go back one step further to the menu, swipe right from the far left to view all of your music sources.
- Distractions welcome. If you want to go back to listen to a part you missed, the track progression bar is now more prominently displayed in your Now Playing screen, just below the album art. Drag it to whatever point in the song you want to play.
The big one here is the way in which you can swipe between screens; the amount of time I’ve hit the back button only to be returned to the music source screen.
If you’re a Sonos user on Android you’ll want to grab the update, and you can do so below.
The post Sonos Controller for Android updated to version 5.3 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung Electronics talks about their new image sensor and NFC IC
Samsung seems to always look for ways to further improve their customers user experience with their devices. Yesterday the company announced an 8-megapixel (MP) RWB (Red-White-Blue) image sensor based on ISOCELL technology and an NFC (Near Field Communication) integrated circuit (IC) with improved RF (Radio Frequency) performance. According to Samsung’s VP of Systems LSI marketing:
“With our new RWB ISOCELL image sensor for richer images and NFC IC with outstanding RF performance, we are excited to offer mobile users more convenient imaging and connectivity applications.”
The 8MP image sensor will provide much better front facing camera quality with its excellent low light image quality. BussinessWire goes on to explain how this kind of technology will benefit the user:
“Samsung’s proprietary ISOCELL technology substantially increases light sensitivity and effectively controls the collection of photons, resulting in higher color fidelity even in poor lighting conditions. Physical barriers between each ISOCELL pixel allow 30 percent decrease in crosstalk and 30 percent increase in full-well capacity when compared to conventional BSI (Back Side Illumination) pixels.”
Samsung has also improved their NFC technology by drastically upgrading its RF performance, which shows an increase of about 100 percent over its predecessor in card mode and 20 percent in reader mode. While these improvements aren’t the “sexy” upgrades that most readers like to read about (e.g. processor, screen, etc.), it’s still nice to see Samsung continuing to improve their devices as a whole.
source: BusinessWire
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Hyundai releases their Blue Link Android Wear app into the Google Play Store
The car company Hyundai released their Android Wear app Blue Link onto the Google Play Store. With the app, you can connect to your Blue Link enabled car which gives you access to Blue Link features anywhere you’re at such as your home or office. Here’s what you can do with the app:
- 1. Remotely start your vehicle (R)
- 2. Remotely unlock or lock the door (R)
- 3. Remotely activate the horn and lights (R)
- 4. Search and send Points of Interest to your vehicle (G)
- 5. Access saved POI History (G)
- 6. Make a Car Care service appointment
- 7. Access Blue Link Customer Care
- 8. Car Finder (R)
- 9. Access maintenance information and other convenient features.
Hyundai Blue Link app now supports Android Wear Smartwatch features. Use voice command or Smartwatch menu to access select features. With the Hyundai Blue Link Android Wear App you can:
- 1. Remotely start your vehicle (R)
- 2. Remotely unlock or lock the door (R)
- 3. Remotely activate the horn and lights (R)
- 4. Car Finder (R)
- 5. Call Blue link (Smartphone)
- 6. Call Roadside (Smartphone)
Check out the link below for a QR code and Play Store download link!
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