Asus to release a xenon flash dongle for the Zenfone 2
Alongside the launch of its latest Zenfone 2 smartphone in Taiwan, Asus also announced a new xenon flash dongle. The accessory is designed to dramatically increase the brightness of the camera flash compared with the standard dual-LED flash setup.
The xenon flash dongle connects up to the handset via a USB cable and then sticks to the back of your phone. It then syncs up with the camera app for a “400 times” stronger flash when taking a picture in low light conditions. Unfortunately, we don’t know if the dongle works exclusively with Asus smartphones or if it can be used with all Android devices.
Asus also announced a similar, smaller circular “LolliFlash” accessory, which is a dual-tone LED torch designed to add a little color to your pictures. It has its own battery and doesn’t communicate with the host device like the xenon flash dongle does, but can be secured into the headphone jack of any smartphone for stability when taking pictures. The LolliFlash comes with a set of color filters, either red, yellow or blue, which double up as protective covers.
Asus has not announced the prices or release details for either of the two camera accessories yet.
Apple buys itself some time with £59 Apple TV price cut
How long can the current Apple TV survive? The sleek streaming box has stayed the same, more or less, for just over three years now. Sure, there’s been a steady stream of new apps and software features, but the components and basic experience have barely changed. Meanwhile, we’ve seen Roku, Amazon, Google and others bombard the market with rival hardware that offer new, modern takes on navigation and discovery. We’re still waiting on a major Apple TV refresh, but in the meantime the company has dropped the price of its set-top box yet again; now, you can pick one up for £59 rather than £79 in the UK.
It’s hard not to see this latest discount as a stop-gap measure. Price drops are always welcome, of course, but after three years even the most devout Apple fans will be hoping for an upgrade. Even so, the Apple TV is still a competitive bit of kit. If you compare it side-by-side with other sub-£100 set-top boxes, the list of features that it’s missing out on is still relatively small. Most of the major streaming services are there (Amazon’s Prime Instant Video is a notable exception) and AirPlay streaming is still invaluable for Mac, iOS and even Android users, if you’re willing to download a third-party app like AllCast.
At £59, it’s also a tad cheaper now than most of its biggest rivals. It’s an unusual tactic for Apple, which normally prides itself on offering a best-in-class experience with a luxurious price-tag to match. Settling for second-best and undercutting the competition just isn’t its style. Nevertheless, it’s a move that could shift a few more Apple TVs off store shelves. At least until the company launches its long-rumoured Apple TV successor, which some suspect is now cancelled or stuck in development limbo due to uncooperative TV providers. Alas, the wait for truly à la carte TV channels and programming continues…
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Apple
The Apple Watch Battery Will Be Replaceable [iOS Blog]
New details are still emerging about the Apple Watch following yesterday’s big “Spring Forward” event in San Francisco, with a new report pointing to a completely replaceable battery for Apple’s new wearable.
Following the event yesterday, an Apple spokesperson disclosed to TechCrunch that the Apple Watch “battery is replaceable.” The big missing piece of information of course relating to how much the process will cost, if it will be done in both Apple’s retail stores and online, and how long it will take.
There’s still well over a month to the Watch’s launch, so no doubt this will be another piece of information Apple fills out as the April 24 release date gets closer.
Well, when it comes to the battery at least, owners of Apple Watch will be able to extend its lifespan. An Apple spokesman confirmed to TechCrunch the “battery is replaceable”. Albeit, it’s not clear how much it will cost to send in your wearable to Apple to get it returned with a new cell in place.
The other potential obsolescence issue relates to the processor. It’s not clear whether Apple will offer any kind of CPU and/or RAM upgrade to existing owners. At the time of writing Apple had not responded to our request for clarification.
There had been much talk over the Watch’s battery life leading up to the event, with Apple yesterday confirming all-day battery life with mixed usage for the device. This boils down, according to the company, to 90 time checks, 90 notifications, 45 minutes of app use, and a 30-minute workout with music playback via Bluetooth over the course of 18 hours.
As TechCrunch points out, given the Apple Watch Sport’s target audience, the battery itself may face the most intense usage compared to the other models, which means its lower entry point makes more sense for yearly, or bi-yearly, upgrades.
A large amount of information came out of the Apple event yesterday, including detailed prices of the numerous versions of the Apple Watch, specific information on its battery life, and the pricing tiers of the various bands. The Watch will be available for pre-order April 10 and launch officially in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom on April 24.
Non-final press render of the LG G4 appears on Twitter
Now that Samsung and HTC have announced their latest flagships at MWC 2015, it’s getting closer to LG’s upcoming launch of the LG G4, and that means yet another monster handset to contend with when considering which smartphone to buy. Here we have our first glimpse of the new LG G4 handset. As you can see from this image tweeted by @onleaks, the LG G4 appears to be building on the G3’s design although it should be noted that this is an early ‘non-final‘ press render. This means the design could change drastically between now and the official announcement.
Looking at the image, the G4 seems slightly curvier than the G3, and possibly a little sleeker. This could be due to the angle of the device in the picture though. This non-final version of the G4 has dimensions of 148.9 x 76.5 x 9.9mm which makes it a tad larger than the G3(146.3 x 74.9 x 8.9mm) in every respect. Whether this will result in thicker bezels or a bigger display, it’s anyone’s guess. You can also see that the speaker is staying on the rear panel, although as said before, that could change because this is not the final product. You can almost certainly count on the power and volume buttons staying on the rear of the device though. What do you think of this non-final press render of the LG G4?
Source: @onleaks
Via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: Non-final press render of the LG G4 appears on Twitter
“Early” press render hints at curvy LG G4
The LG G4 is around a month away from launch and @Onleaks has just uploaded a press render of the handset to tantalise us with. However, somewhat unusually, this render comes with the proviso that it is “early (non-final)”.
Normally that wouldn’t be interesting, but the render seems to show a curved display design for the LG G4. Although apparently more subtle than the G Flex 2, a curved body would certainly blur the lines between LG’s two smartphone ranges, especially given that the G4 is also rumored to ship with a Snapdragon 810 processing package. Perhaps the LG G4 will retain the G3’s QHD display resolution, to help set it apart?
LG has already done something similar with the Magna and Spirit mid-rangers, which both feature screens that curve very slightly. These are LCD screens, not plastic-based OLED like on the more dramatically curved G Flex 2, and they have no special functionality or purpose, besides looking different. It’s possible that LG is doing something similar with its next flagship.
@Onleaks also states that the LG G4 has dimensions 148.9 x 76.5 x 9.9mm. This would make the LG G4 slightly larger than the G3 (146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm) in every axis, suggesting either a slightly larger display or slightly thicker bezels to accommodate the curve.
Other than that, the design aesthetic looks remarkably similar to the G3, with the same laser focus, dual-LED flash, single speaker placement, and volume rocket design on the back. Of course, as this is apparently an early render, the design could change significantly before the phone’s release.
For those wondering about this new Twitter account dedicated to leaks, @Onleaks is ran by French blogger Steve Hemmerstoffer, editor of NowhereElse.fr, a website that has had some solid leaks in the past.
What do you think about a curved look for the G4?
How to update Twitter with Siri for iPhone and iPad
How to let Siri tweet for you, no hands required!
If you use Twitter on a regular basis, you’ve probably got your favorite Twitter apps but what about when you don’t have the time or the hands? Next time you think of something particularly interesting or witty you’d like to share quickly, let Siri help you!
Before you can tweet using Siri, you’ll need to make sure that you are signed into Twitter via the Settings app. If you aren’t already, make sure you sign into your Twitter account before proceeding.
How to send a tweet with Siri for iPhone and iPad
- Press and hold the Home button on your Phone or iPad.
- Say something like “Post a tweet.”
- Tell Siri what you’d like your tweet to say.
- Tap Send to confirm or say Yes when Siri asks if you’d like to post it.
Microsoft to make it easier for businesses to manage their stuff on OneDrive
Microsoft is making a handful of changes to the way business users can interact with their files on the web over the coming weeks. The company will be implementing a number of small improvements to OneDrive making it even easier to create, share and locate files stored online. Prepare thy mouse for some right-clicking.
Google’s Interactive Events App appears in Play Store, [APK Download]
Here we have a new application from Google called Interactive Events that has appeared in the Play Store and appears to be for conference goers. All it says in the app description is “The Google Interactive Events App provides agenda details and speaker bios for managed events.” Images and download links are after the break.
When installing the app, you get the feeling that this isn’t quite ready for primetime thanks to the “Shh! This is a confidential dogfood version of the Interactive Events app” that appears on the startup page. After that, there’s the terms and conditions page, and then you get asked to scan or type in an event code. Basically. it would seem that the Interactive Events app will act as a conference guide/diary, giving detailed information about the Agenda, Speakers, as well as Notes, related videos, as well as the events location.
One could imagine the Interactive Events app being extremely useful at Google I/O in May perhaps? Who knows? You can download the app directly from here, or you can just click the Google Play Store link or scan the QR code below.
Source: AndroidPolice
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Samsung files trademarks for Galaxy A6, A8 and A9 with USPTO
Samsung may have just announced its new Galaxy S6/S6 Edge smartphones, but that isn’t stopping the Korean Tech giant from thinking about expanding its other ranges of Android handsets. Indeed, according to trademark filings at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), it would seem that Samsung is thinking of fleshing out the Galaxy A series of mid-range smartphones.
Samsung has filed trademarks for the Galaxy A6, Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A9 monikers with the USPTO. It’s anyone’s guess as to when or even if Samsung will announce these new additions to the Galaxy A line-up, but given Samsung’s recent Mobile strategy, it would seem its a question of when and not if. Going by convention, the A8 and A9 handsets, if released, should be slightly higher specced than the current A-7, possibly even a little larger? This is all conjecture although I’m sure we will be hearing more about the Galaxy A6, A8 and A9 in the coming months.
Source: USPTO(A6)/A8/A9
Via: PhoneArena
Come comment on this article: Samsung files trademarks for Galaxy A6, A8 and A9 with USPTO
First gen Moto G now getting Android 5.0.2 in the UK
Motorola UK has now started rolling out the Android 5.0.2 update for the first gen Moto G which was launched in 2013.
It is said that the update is currently seeding to XT1032 models of the handset, which is the first variant of the Moto G and only supports 3G networks. The company subsequently launched an LTE capable model along with a microSD card slot.
The update will bring a significant change for the customers coming from Android 4.4 KitKat. The first thing you will notice post the update is the presence of Material Design elements right throughout the UI.
There will be a handful of Motorola apps on board too, so it won’t be fully stock. Prominent among these apps is Motorola Gallery which provides a decent alternative for users who do not prefer the Photos app that is supplied by default on Android 5.0.
Via: GSM Arena
Come comment on this article: First gen Moto G now getting Android 5.0.2 in the UK
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