Google Chrome beta adds push notifications
Chrome’s push notification feature has graduated from the Canary channel and is now part of the latest Beta release. And you know what that means, right? It’s just one step away from being incorporated into the stable browser. Chrome Beta 42 (for all platforms) comes with two new APIs that allows websites to send you notifications even if the browser isn’t open. Each message comes with “Site Setting” beneath it, though (as you can see below the fold), providing a way to quickly switch off notifications from that particular service or website.
In addition, the latest Chrome beta for Android now shows banners that make it easier to add shortcuts to the home screen. Only well-made mobile websites that meet the company’s eligibility criteria can take advantage of the new feature, so you don’t end up with a bunch of shortcuts. Finally, the browser has a new setting that lets you pause plug-in content — handy, if you want to prevent old computers from slowing down or to save battery when you’re nowhere near an outlet.
Moto E LTE (2015) Review: The perfect budget phone
Last year Motorola released the Moto E, a phone that was built to last and priced for all. We found it to me a fantastic phone for the money, but with all technology, things continue to evolve, and Motorola has upgraded just about every spec on the device for 2015. Based on the suggested retail, the LTE version should cost a little more ($20) than last year’s $129 price point, but you can find it for much lower.
Is the new Moto E a worthy upgrade? Well I have spent a little over a week with it so let’s find out.
Design
At first glance, you might not be able to tell the difference between last year’s model and this year’s model. They did upgrade the display from 4.3-inches to 4.5-inches so it’s slightly bigger, but it has the same overall design. At the front, you will notice that the lower microphone is no longer covered with silver trim, which gave us the false impression that the Moto E sported stereo sound. Also at the front, you will notice a front-facing camera at the top right, which was something that the original did not have.
The back looks identical to it’s predecessor, but there is one big difference. The back plate is no longer removable. This means that you can no longer change the color of it via Moto Shells, but there is still the ability to customize. You are able to snap out the accent side band and swap it with what’s called a Moto Band, adding a little color.
The first question I had was why not offer both customizable Moto Bands and the Moto Shells? My guess is that since the Moto E is geared towards emerging areas or those on a very strict budget, it’s unlikely the consumer would be able to afford all sorts of accessories like that. The Moto Bands might be a little too subtle based on what Motorola has done in the past, but it’s now more affordable. They offer six colors, but they are in sets of three (Turquoise, Purple, Raspberry or Red, Blue, Golden Yellow), So for $19.99 you get three colors, and you can swap out the color as often as you like depending on your mood. Changing the entire back plate might be a little more fun, but the Moto Shells cost $14.99 for each color. It might not seem like it, but Motorola is offering more customization at a lower cost.
The Moto Bands are easy to remove. You will find a tiny slot at the bottom left back of the phone. Just pull up on it, and it will snap right off. It’s kind of weird because you think the whole back is going to come off, but only the Moto Band does. The Bands have the silver buttons for power and volume that fit over the the main buttons of the device. Removing the band also reveals the microSD slot and nano SIM slot, which reside on the left side. If you get the dual-SIM version, you will find the second slot on the right side.
The Bands fit perfectly and most people would never know that it was removable. It just looks like it’s part of the phone. That’s a result of Motorola’s fantastic engineering, which they have demonstrated very similarly with Moto Shells on the Moto G and last year’s Moto E.
As far as overall design goes, this phone isn’t going to knock your socks off. It’s not a premium flagship phone so it’s not supposed to. However, this phone is far from chintzy, and just like it’s predecessor (and every other Motorola phone) it’s solid and feels like every attention to detail was made.
Hardware
The Moto E features a 4.5-inch qHD (960 x 540) IPS LCD display (245 ppi), a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 (3G model) or a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 (LTE model), Adreno 302 GPU (3G model) or Adreno 306 GPU (LTE model), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, microSD slot for up to an additional 32GB of storage, 5 MP rear camera (4:3) with 720p video capture, VGA front-facing camera, 2,390 mAh battery, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.0 LE.
Bands by Model:
Moto E with 4G LTE – US GSM (XT1527) AT&T / T-Mobile
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 1700 (AWS), 1900 MHz)
4G LTE (2, 4, 5, 7, 12, 17)
Moto E with 4G LTE – US (CDMA) – Sprint / Verizon
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz)
WCDMA (850 / 1700 / 1900 MHz)
CDMA (800 / 850 / 1900 MHz)
4G LTE (750/850/1700/1900 MHz)
Moto E – US GSM (XT1511):
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 1700 (AWS), 1900 MHz)
Moto E – Global GSM (XT1505):
GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS/HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz)
Performance
The processor has been upgraded from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 to a Snapdragon 410 (LTE-only). What this means is that it’s now quad-core, but it’s also more efficient. I didn’t have too many issues with last year’s model. Yes it would occasionally hang, but I didn’t think anything of it with the price point. This year’s model comes with Lollipop out of the box and the quad-core might add a little more punch, but it wasn’t that noticeable.
The display resolution is the same at qHD (960 x 540), which seems so 2011, but at 4.5-inches it gets the job done. I personally think displays are becoming overrated with each passing day. Manufacturers keep pushing the envelope, and in most cases, the average consumer doesn’t see the difference. The colors on this phone might not pop as much as say the Galaxy S5 or Galaxy S6, but I don’t think the demographic is looking for that either.
I should also note that the internal storage has been bumped to 8 GB from 4 GB. Still not a lot, but there is a big difference between 8 and 4, trust me. You also have the option of inserting a microSD card of up to 32GB for plenty of pictures, music, and video.
Battery
The battery gets a significant upgrade, from 1,980 mAh to 2,390 mAh. If there was one issue I had with last year’s Moto E, it was the battery, but it looks like Motorola has fixed this. The bigger battery obviously helps, but the Snapdragon 410 being more efficient is also a factor. I ran my usual video rundown test in which I loop video constantly while connected to LTE (3G last year) to see how fast the battery depletes. Last year’s model was only good for about 6 hours, which is pretty dismal. This year’s model was a lot better lasting 10 hours and 23 minutes. Now we know that the average Joe isn’t running video all day, but this test gives us a clearer indication on how good the battery is. In everyday life with moderate use, you will have no problem going from wake up to bedtime. Motorola promises 24 hours, but I see it more like 16 to 20 with moderate use.
Software
The Moto E sports Android 5.0.2 Lollipop out of the box and the best part of it is that it’s fairly stock as in Motorola has barely skinned it like other manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC. They do make some subtle changes here and there though. For example, when you first power on the phone, the stock Lollipop restore apps feature has been replaced with Moto Migrate, which is Motorola’s own app for restoring apps, contacts, music, etc. from a previous phone to a new phone. Most of everything else is just like a Nexus device right down to the Google Now Launcher.
Probably the best part of the overall software is that Motorola was able to include more of their proprietary features on this year’s Moto E. For example Moto Display is now available, which lets you see your notifications without turning on the entire display of the phone. You also get QuickCapture, which lets you open the camera app with a quick double twist of your wrist. The popular Moto Assist and Moto Alert return as well. Assist allows you to set certain functions for when you’re sleeping or in a meeting (from your calendar). Moto Alert allows you to share your location to others. I have include videos below of Moto Display (from the Moto X 2014), Moto Actions (from the Moto X 2014), and Moto Alert (from the Moto E 2014).
Click here to view the embedded video.
Moto Actions (Note: the Home and Driving functions as well as the Wave To Silence and Approach for Moto Display are not available on the Moto E)
Click here to view the embedded video.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Motorola has done a great job with offering apps that are actually useful rather than serve as bloatware. That’s something that you can’t say about other manufacturers. Throw in Lollipop, which is the most recent version of Android, and you have a winner.
Camera
What can you expect from a camera that’s on a phone that costs only $149? Certainly not award winning, but it more than gets the job done when there is a decent amount of light. It actually does a decent job in low light, but expect a lot of noise. I should also note that there is no flash for those really dark shots. The rear camera will give you 5 MP if you set it to 4:3. However, you will only get 3.7 MP in widescreen mode, which happens to be the default. The front-facing camera was non-existent on the original Moto E so it’s nice to have it here, however it’s only VGA (640 x 480).
The software is pretty much identical to what you will find on other Motorola phones. It’s a very simple interface in that when you swipe to the left, you will get to the Gallery and swiping to the right will bring up the Camera Settings. You won’t find all that many settings to tweak as this software is meant to just point and shoot. Speaking of that, you can tap anywhere on the display to capture a photo, which makes it so much easier. As I mention earlier, you can use QuickCapture to open the Camera App quickly by double shaking your wrist (even when the display is off). For a $149 off contract phone with LTE, I was happy with the overall performance.
Here are some example shots in a variety of situations.
Outdoors
Low Light
Closing
The suggested pricing for the Moto E (2015) is $149 for the LTE version and $119 for the 3G version. However, you can find the LTE version for as low as $99 on Verizon and Boost Mobile/Sprint Prepaid. Yes, there are other inexpensive phones out there, but those are generally from lesser known companies or the specs aren’t as good. The Moto E is made from Motorola, one of the pioneers of radios and cell phones. I was buying Motorola phones back in the early 1990’s so there is a lot of history there. If you’re going to buy a budget phone, doesn’t it make sense to buy one from a trusted and known company like Motorola? Now don’t get me wrong. The Moto E isn’t just about the brand because buying on brand name alone isn’t worth anything unless it’s backed up with a great product. The Moto E isn’t the perfect phone, but it’s probably the perfect budget phone. It not only makes sense for developing countries, but it’s also perfect for seniors and children.
Motorola took what was already great and made it into something even greater. You can’t go wrong with that in my book.
Come comment on this article: Moto E LTE (2015) Review: The perfect budget phone
Upcoming Amazon lightning deal cuts Lumia 635 price to $29.99
Amazon has an upcoming lightning deal that will see the price of the Lumia 635 cut to just $29.99, which represents a pretty healthy drop from its normal $48.99 price tag.
Best Android apps for saving content to read later [March 2015]
There’s no shortage of news on the internet no matter what topics or hobbies you’re into, and sometimes it can be tough to stay on top of keeping up with it, especially if you’re busy with families, jobs, or anything else. When you’re browsing your Twitter timeline on a break at work, you might see an interesting article about a new Android phone, but you might not have enough time to actually read it right then and there. You could always bookmark the page in your favorite web browser, but then you’ll end up with a ton of clutter, and managing those would be a headache.
Fortunately, there are several apps and services that try to tackle this problem. These apps give you a separate area to save and bookmark content to read later so they’re not muddled in with your regular bookmarks in Chrome. Plus, they offer a few different things that your typical browser won’t offer, like easy tagging and archiving of articles. We’ll go over a few of the best options to get you started.
Pocket, which actually used to be called Read It Later, is one of the best apps for saving content to check out later. The app itself takes a very simple approach to keeping up with your stuff. Just ind the website, video, or link that you want to save, and share it like you would if you wanted to email it to a friend. Instead of emailing it, though, just use the Add to Pocket button in Android’s contextual sharing menu. Poof, Pocket will hang on to that article indefinitely.
Once content is in Pocket, you can do a few things with it. If you’re an organizational person like I am, you can tag articles and content with any number of user-defined tags to make everything easier to find later. You could tag your saved Android articles with “Android” and “technology,” for example, and then browse through all of your tags later to read up on that particular topic. Once you’re done with an article, you can mark it as done so it’ll disappear to an archive of things you’ve read, or you can favorite it to further separate it from other articles. That’s useful in place of actually bookmarking something you think you’ll come back to more than once.
Pocket also offers a few other nifty features, including being able to save articles for offline viewing, and once you’ve saved enough articles, you’ll have access to the Highlights feature that displays and organizes all of your content in a way that makes it easy to read the important stuff first. It’s almost like your own personal curated news source.
One of the best things about Pocket is how widely available it is. There’s an Android app, iOS app, plus tons of extensions and web pages for any browser you’re using. There’s also a Pocket Premium subscription that brings a few extra features to the app, including quicker tools to organize your library of random articles and videos.
Readability is another fantastic “save for later” app that focuses on building a clean, de-cluttered reading list based on what you want to keep up with. Like Pocket and other apps, all you have to do is add an article to Readability, and let the service handle the rest.
Readability keeps up with saved articles in your reading list, and whenever you want to catch up on your reading, the app will display everything in a very clean style without all of the clutter that’s normally coupled with websites. It removes lots of the extra visual fluff on sites and puts all of the content into a single column view for reading. It can sometimes be distracting to read an article with tons of links and ads all over the sidebar, especially if it’s an article that requires some critical thinking. Readability solves that problem in the most elegant way possible.
Of course, the app wouldn’t be complete without a few customization and sharing options. You can adjust how large or small text is, plus change the fonts completely and use either a day or night mode. And once an article is in your reading list, you can save it as a favorite, archive it for later, or send a link to your friends. Like Pocket, there are apps for most ecosystems and browsers, so you’ll never be without access to your reading list.
If you’re looking for something a little more clean than Pocket, Readability offers an excellent, completely free alternative.
Instapaper started as a paid iOS app before transitioning to a free model, then finally making its way to Android. Since then, it has grown into a clean, effective way to manage articles and information on multiple devices. It sits somewhere between Pocket and Readability, as it offers more features than Readability but a cleaner, simpler interface than Pocket.
Like the other apps, you can quickly save an article to your Instapaper account, which can then be accessed later on the web or any other device with the Instapaper app installed. Instapaper typically only saves the text portions of web sites, so you won’t see the excess clutter or anything else when you’re viewing it later. This cleaned up, text-only look perfectly matches the white interface that Instapaper sports within its app.
Instapaper has a very well optimized tablet interface, plus a slew of customization options for viewing your articles. You can adjust font sizes and types, margins and line spacing, and switch between a light and dark mode, depending on your preference. You also get a handful of sorting options for looking through your clips, such as article length, popularity, or date. There’s also a completely random shuffle mode for articles, too.
A very cool feature that Instapaper offers is its highlighting tool. Since the app only displays site’s text, you can use the tool to highlight specific sentences, paragraphs, or quotes, and save them for later or share them. It’s just like using a highlighter in real life, but significantly more versatile.
Instapaper will hold 500 articles on your device at one time, but on the web, there’s no limit on your account. Pretty cool for a free service.
Any guide isn’t really complete until Evernote manages to work its way in, and yep, the note-taking, jack-of-all-trades application does make a pretty decent bookmarking/read later service. It’s not specifically designed to handle your web content like that, but it does it well enough that it might be just what you need to integrate with everything else you already have on Evernote.
Evernote has complete web clipping functionality built right in, although it’s not quite as obvious to access as the other apps. If you’re looking at an article, you can share the content to Evernote with Android’s built-in sharing menu. If you don’t do anything, Evernote will save that URL in a note with the web page as its title. If you tap the Evernote icon right after sharing it, you’ll have the option to add some tags to your note and clip the entire article instead of just the URL. This works pretty similarly to how the web clipper extension does with a desktop browser. The only problem is that you cannot save a simplified version of the article from your mobile device, but you can on the desktop.
Aside from that, Evernote goes toe-to-toe with all of the other apps with its feature list. You’ll still get a very robust tagging system, simple ways to organize different links into different notebooks, and complete integration with the rest of your Evernote items if you already use the service for other things. This can be extremely useful to have everything in one place, especially if you use it for things like cooking recipes or any kind of research.
Like all of the other apps, Evernote has a presence on every major platform, and there are tons of extensions and add-ons for it, too, so you’ll have complete access to any articles, videos, pictures, or anything else that you need to save. Plus, with some of Evernote’s more advanced tools like Skitch and their Web Clipper, you get more fine-tuned control over exactly what you’re saving. That might be overkill for some people, but power users may appreciate the extra features.
These apps all do an excellent job of saving the important stuff that you want to read. Each one offers something a little different from their competitors, but they’ll all help to keep you organized and on top of your favorite stories.
Do you have another favorite app that I missed? Let me know in the comments.
Come comment on this article: Best Android apps for saving content to read later [March 2015]
Gameloft brings Dungeon Hunter 5 to Android finally
At the beginning of the year Gameloft started teasing the upcoming hack n’ slash follow-up title, Dungeon Hunter 5. The fifth installment to the series is said to be a direct sequel to Dungeon Hunter 4 where you will get to see the consequences of the demon war. The graphics on the new release have been […]
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Xiaomi officially launches the Redmi 2 and MiPad in India
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has officially announced two devices in India – the Redmi 2 and the Mi Pad – in India, following the huge success of the Redmi 1S. The USP of Redmi 2 is that it is a dual-SIM smartphone, and both the SIM slots have an ability to latch on the 4G LTE networks. For […]
The post Xiaomi officially launches the Redmi 2 and MiPad in India appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Specifications of Huawei’s new Kirin 940 and 950 leaked; Could feature on the rumored Nexus smartphone
Huawei is known for its custom range of SoCs that are currently running on its smartphones. Reports from a few days ago mentioned that the company’s rumored Nexus handset could feature the Kirin 930 SoC. However, new reports seem to suggest that the company might use a more powerful Kirin 940 or 950 SoC, both of which are yet to be unveiled by the manufacturer.
The two new SoCs are expected to use a more advanced CPU architecture compared to the Kirin 930 octa core chip and with ARM Mali T860 GPU (Kirin 940) and ARM Mali T880 GPU (Kirin 950). Of course, it’s still too early to tell if this is legitimate info, but Chinese sources are usually spot on when it comes to information such as this.
It is said that Huawei will unveil the Kirin 940 and the 950 sometime this year, possibly a few months in advance. If true, it seems like Huawei will leave no stone unturned in making the upcoming Nexus phone a powerhouse.
Source: Giz China, Gizmo China
Come comment on this article: Specifications of Huawei’s new Kirin 940 and 950 leaked; Could feature on the rumored Nexus smartphone
Google releases reference sample to show how apps can work on multiple devices
Since last summer, we have seen Android makes its way to new form factors. The operating system now works with phones, tablets, wearables, and vehicles. With so many form factors now supported, it makes sense that Google wants apps to have seamless experiences. The company has introduced a sample multi-device application called Universal Music Player that offers a continuous experience across Android, Android Wear, Android Auto, and Google Cast devices.
Hit the break for looks at the mult-device approach in action.
The sample uses features such as MediaStyle notifications, MediaSession, and MediaBrowserService. These features are what allows content to be spread from device to device.
Source: Android Developers Blog
Come comment on this article: Google releases reference sample to show how apps can work on multiple devices
Tim Cook Calls Jim Cramer on ‘Mad Money’, Talks About Health, ResearchKit and More
Apple CEO Tim Cook called into “Mad Money” on CBNC today to speak to host Jim Cramer in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary, where he shared some thoughts on ResearchKit, Apple’s competitors, Apple Pay, the next frontiers of product development, and more.
When asked what he believes the “next frontiers” will be when it comes to product development, Tim Cook highlighted health as “the biggest one of all,” along with cars and the home. According to Cook, devices like the Apple Watch and services like ResearchKit and the Health app that allow people to track their own health and fitness are part of a market that’s “probably significantly underestimated.”
Cook called ResearchKit, which the company debuted on Monday, “an absolute game changer.” ResearchKit is an open source software framework aimed at researchers, and several apps have already been created with it. On Wednesday, Stanford University researchers said they had received 11,000 signups for just one apps.
In regard to the Apple Watch and HealthKit, Cramer asked whether it was “within the realm of our lifetime” that the device paired with HealthKit might be able to monitor diabetes, blood pressure, and detect cancer, and Tim Cook said “Oh, I absolutely do.”
http://player.theplatform.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&byGuid=3000361340&size=530_298
On competition, when Cramer asked whether or not Apple felt like the competition had been left behind, Cook said the company is “always paranoid” and always working towards the best possible product.
We’re always paranoid. We live paranoid. We always want the very best product. And so if we’re not beating someone else we’re trying to beat the thing that we have currently shipping.
Everybody here lives on edge.
As he often does, Cook spoke about Steve Jobs, reiterating that Jobs’ DNA is “deep in the company” even though many of the products that Apple is shipping now were created entirely on Tim’s watch, conceptualized after Jobs had passed away. Cook wrapped up the call by wishing an excited Cramer a happy anniversary.
Cook’s segment aired on “Mad Money” on CBNC at 6PM Eastern Time.
Square Enix is giving you the chance to be featured in the next Final Fantasy game
Just a few weeks ago, Square Enix announced its next big game, Final Fantasy: Record Keeper, which is set to make its way to Android sometime this Spring. Record Keeper is a big mash-up of past games, combining all of your favorite heroes and villains including Tidus, Lightning, Cloud and many others. The aim of the game is to battle your way through “the most epic Final Fantasy moments”, by means of spells, summons and hundreds of different weapons. The game also uses the familiar Active Time Battle (ATB) gameplay we’ve come to expect from the series.
Square Enix is allowing players to receive early updates about the game if they choose to pre-register. And as an added bonus, if the pre-registration page gets a certain number of shares on social media, special rewards will become unlocked periodically. Sense the page has been shared so many times, Square Enix has unveiled its next big reward: the 8-Bit Creator.
A few lucky players will get the chance to be made into an 8-bit character, and actually make an appearance in the game. Now, it’s not a starring role or anything, but it’s still a great opportunity to be part of Final Fantasy history. All you need to do is head to the sign up page, login with your Facebook account, and wait for a response from the Square Enix staff. If you’re chosen, you’ll need to provide a photo for the game’s creators who will then make you into an 8-bit character.
To get started, make your way over to the pre-registration page to sign up for early updates. Once you’re signed up, follow these instructions to submit your 8-Bit Creator entry.
Any Final Fantasy fans out there interested in signing up?
AIVAnet 