Samsung, Microsoft expand partnership to bring more services to Android devices
Samsung and Microsoft have announced they are expanding their partnership, a move that will lead to more Microsoft services and apps being pre-installed on Samsung Android devices. The cornerstone of the new plan will be a Microsoft Office 365 and Samsung KNOX Business Pack which will be available as soon as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are released.
Consumers will discover that new Samsung smartphones will come with Microsoft’s OneNote, OneDrive and Skype pre-installed. The first devices to get this new stack will be the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. Samsung is planning to provide a similar stack of pre-installed Microsoft apps, with the addition of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, on Android powered tablets hitting the market in the next few months. Samsung and Microsoft will also provide 100GB of cloud storage space through OneDrive for up to two years after a device is purchased.
The companies are also targeting business users by making three versions of Office 365 available that have been configured to work with Samsung’s KNOX security platform. Business buyers will even be able to get setup service provided to help get things up and running smoothly.
Samsung executive vice president of the Strategic Marketing Office, IT & Mobile Division, SangChul Lee, says “We believer our suite of premium mobile products coupled with Microsoft’s productivity services will offer users the mobility they need in both their personal and business life.”
Anyone out there looking forward to seeing Microsoft expanding their offerings via their partnership with Samsung?
source: Samsung
Come comment on this article: Samsung, Microsoft expand partnership to bring more services to Android devices
Best screen protectors for HTC One M9
So, you’ve got your hands on the HTC One M9 or maybe you’re just waiting for it to arrive. The first thing you’ll want to do is ensure that you’re protected against all of the everyday dings and scratches that find their way to our phones’ screens. We’ve put together this handful of our favorite screen protectors to keep your One M9 in tip-top shape:
Fosmon One M9 shatter-safe protector
Fosmon comes through with the oleophobic coating to stop fingerprints, smudges and oil slick streaks in their tracks (/infomercial voice). The 0.26mm tempered glass ensures your M9 stays shatter-safe while retaining an ultra clear resolution. Fosmon promises frustration-free installation with this screen protector.
VENA vShield for One M9
If you’re in the market for something that minimizes reflection, this anti-glare offering from VENA comes in a 3-pack to maximize value. Boasting many of the same features as our other showcased protectors, such as anti-smudge and hard coating, this pack may be the favorite for folks craving a matte surface.
Spigen One M9 Crystal protector
We’ve featured accessories from them in the past and Spigen delivers, again, with this hard coated solution. Both front and back protectors are included and promise a precise application free of bubbles.
Klear Cut One M9 protector
If bang for your buck is your game, this pack of 6 ultra clear screen protectors from Klear Cut is directly in your lane. Featuring the prerequisite scratch resistant surface and anti-bubble installation, you can also rest assured that you’re protected by a lifetime warranty.
iLLumiShield One M9 Blue Light protector
This offering from Illumishield is a 2-pack of multi-layered screen protectors that features their Blue Light technology — designed to filter out the UV light that causes eye-strain. Promising a smooth and oil-resistant surface, this kit comes with a microfiber cloth, lifetime warranty, and installation squeegee.
Join Prime and get the best One M9 screen protectors with FREE two-day shipping!
The post Best screen protectors for HTC One M9 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Download the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge wallpapers
So you can’t wait for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to come out? Well how about enjoying their wallpapers early?
Below are the default bundled wallpapers for Samsung’s next flagship device and can be yours today. They come courtesy of XDA and a direct download link to grab the whole bunch of Galaxy S6 wallpapers is here.
Source: XDA
The post Download the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge wallpapers appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung explains how it freed the Galaxy S6 from “cumbersome bloatware”
Bloatware is a loosely defined term that’s thrown around quite liberally on Android forums, but it’s not often you hear a company using it, and much less in relation with its own products.
That’s why it’s surprising to see Samsung effectively bragging about how it removed “cumbersome bloatware” from the Galaxy S6 in this post from its official blog.
Samsung explains how it refined the software on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with a focus on simplicity. Steps like replacing icons with text, reducing the number of features by 40%, and cutting down the aforementioned “bloatware” create, according to Samsung, a “simple and powerful structure” designed with the user in mind.
Another thorny issue that Samsung touches on is lag. The company tacitly admits that its previous phones suffered from sluggishness, but the simplified UI and the “powerful processors” inside the S6 should “eliminate lag in responsiveness.”
Our Josh Vergara highlighted the Galaxy S6’ newfound smoothness in his review. One aspect that Josh particularly appreciated is the removal of the many popups and tutorial screens that Samsung previously used, which is enough to make the Galaxy S6 feel much nimbler.
As for bloatware, it looks that indeed, Samsung is serious about leaving its bad reputation behind. Many of the apps pre-installed on the Galaxy S6 are removable, allowing users to further streamline what is already the lightest implementation of TouchWiz in years.
Other software features that Samsung highlights are the powerful theming system and the edge features of the Galaxy S6 Edge.
For more on the Galaxy S6 software, make sure to check out our in-depth review. From what you’ve seen so far, are you happy with what Samsung did with TouchWiz?
Deal: Last chance to save 77% on a 3-year subscription to Anonymizer Universal VPN
Using a VPN (virtual private network) is one of the easiest and safest ways to secure sensitive data on a mobile device. If you’re looking to stay anonymous online with top-notch protection, we suggest trying out a subscription to Anonymizer Universal VPN. This VPN service is compatible with just about every mobile device out there, and the interface is super intuitive and easy to use.
Anonymizer Universal VPN will protect you against government oversight, hackers, unsecured public Wi-Fi, online activity logging and tracking. It will also mask your IP address and conceal your physical location while connecting to only Anonymizer-owned servers to ensure ultimate anonymity. It won’t keep any record of any of your online activity, and US-based support is offered 24/7.
Up to five different devices can be connected at one time. This VPN service is compatible with Android, Chrome OS, Mac (Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks and Yosemite), Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8), Linux and iOS 5.0 or greater.
This is your last chance to save big on a three-year subscription to this VPN service. Thanks to the Android Authority Deals Store, $55 will get you covered for three full years. 77% off the normal retail price doesn’t come around too often, so you’ll want to act fast if you’re interested! Follow the link below for more information.
Toshiba begins production of 240fps, fullHD video image sensor
Today, Toshiba announced that it has begun commercial production of its new T4K82 CMOS image sensor for smartphones and tablets. The sensor packs in high-end features which could give a boost to next-generation products.
The T4K82 is a 13 megapixel BSI (back-illuminated) CMOS image sensor, which is a match for most modern high-end smartphones. However, the big talking point is that Toshiba’s new chip is capable of 240fps interlaced slow-motion video capture with a full 1080p resolution, which, on paper, is the highest frame rate available in the industry. It can also scale down its resolution to QVGA (320×240) for 900fps equivalent video capture.
To accomplish this, Toshiba makes use of its own “Bright Mode” technology to boost frame brightness by up to four times. This is achieved through “charge binning”, which adds the charges of two pixels and outputs the sum as one pixel with double brightness. Typically, high speed frame capture suffers from underexposure due to the shortness of time available to capture light. Toshiba provides an interlaced video output when using Bright Mode, effectively doubling the perceived frame rate of the video.
However, you won’t be able to view interlaced playback on a typical smartphone display. Instead, Toshiba provides its own interlacing-progressive conversion program to output high-speed capture to a progressive format. Depending on the quality of the conversion and how well charge binning works, the motion may or may not be quite as polished as a normal progressive capture could be at this frame rate and resolution. Even so, this technology should still offer additional smoothness and clarity over existing slow-motion implementations in the mobile space.
Slow motion video capture has become an increasingly popular feature in high-end smartphones. The new Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, Xperia Z3, and OnePlus One, among others, all support 120fps slow-motion video capture at resolutions of 720p. Toshiba’s sensor will double the equivalent frame rate and increase image clarity over current smartphones capable of slow-motion recordings.
While no products fitted with the T4K82 sensor have been announced yet, entering mass production means that we could well see 240fps, full HD video capable smartphones available later in the year.
Cyanogen receives $80 million in funding from Qualcomm, Twitter, and others
Cyanogen is scaling up in a big way. The company led by Steve Kondik and Kirt McMaster announced it secured funding totaling $80 million from a group of investors including Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm, and Rupert Murdoch.
This series C round of funding brings the total investment that Cyanogen received so far to $110 million. The startup has not revealed its current valuation.
Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm Incorporated, Telefónica Ventures, Smartfren Telecom, Index Ventures, Access Industries, Rupert Murdoch, Vivi Nevo are among the investors, along “several” other partners that Cyanogen hasn’t disclosed.
Cyanogen said it would use the money to “hire talent and accelerate the development of its open OS platform.”
Conspicuously absent from the list is Microsoft, which reportedly showed interest in becoming a minority investor in Cyanogen, but ultimately backed out of the deal. Also, the funding round announced today is smaller than the $110 million figure reported by Bloomberg last week. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft may still strike a “commercial deal” with Cyanogen to pre-load its mobile apps on Cyanogen OS devices.
“Ecosystem Rallies behind Cyanogen’s Open OS Vision,” proclaims the press release announcing the new round, and while that may sound hyperbolic, it’s interesting to note that Cyanogen managed to draw the interest of a varied group of companies, including an Internet heavyweight (Twitter), a major mobile hardware player (Qualcomm), and a major international carrier (Telefonica), in addition to a slew of venture capitalists. That bodes well for a company whose stated goal is to replace Google services with apps and service developed by partners. It remains to be seen whether or not the interest shown by investors will ever materialize into such partnerships.
Twitter Ventures is perhaps the most surprising name on the list. While earlier reports claimed large players like Samsung, Yahoo, Amazon, and Microsoft expressed interest in Cyanogen, it’s the first time we hear about Twitter joining in the fun.
Cyanogen Raises $80 Million in Series C Funding
Cyanogen Raises $80 Million in Series C Funding
Ecosystem Rallies behind Cyanogen’s Open OS Vision
Palo Alto, CA. — March 23, 2014 — Cyanogen Inc., a leading mobile operating system pure-play, announced the completion of an $80 million round of Series C financing. With offices in Palo Alto and Seattle, the company will leverage the infusion of new funding to hire talent and accelerate the development of its open OS platform.
The financing was led by Premji Invest and includes participation from new strategic investors Twitter Ventures, Qualcomm Incorporated, Telefónica Ventures, Smartfren Telecom, Index Ventures, Access Industries (the US-based industrial group headed by Len Blavatnik), Rupert Murdoch, Vivi Nevo, and several yet to be announced partners. Existing investors Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. also participated.
“We’re committed to creating an open computing platform that fundamentally empowers the entire mobile ecosystem from developers to hardware makers, and most importantly, consumers around the world,” said Kirt McMaster, CEO of Cyanogen Inc. “We’re excited to have the backing of an amazingly diverse group of strategic investors who are supporting us in building a truly open Android.”
“We invested in Cyanogen because we’re big proponents of what they’re doing in opening up Android and supporting global and local ecosystem players,” said Sandesh Patnam, Technology Sector Lead of Premji Invest. “Cyanogen is well positioned to become the 3rd leading mobile OS, and we’re excited to back them in growing their business on a global scale.”
To date, Cyanogen has received a total of $110 million in funding. Cyanogen is known for both its commercial distribution, Cyanogen OS, and open-source project CyanogenMod.
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About Cyanogen Inc.
Cyanogen is reimagining mobile computing, giving power to the people to customize their mobile device and content experiences. The CYANOGEN® operating system is built on Android and known for its revolutionary personalization features, intuitive interface, speed, improved battery life, and enhanced security. With a rapidly growing global user base and a vibrant community of developers, we’re intelligently connecting smartphone and tablet consumers to people, apps, and things they love. For more information, visit Cyanogen’s website, Google+, Twitter, and Facebook.
SolidEnergy’s battery claims twice the energy density of traditional li-ion, coming 2016
Smartphone specifications are better than ever, but battery technology has remained stagnant for years. Fortunately, engineers share our complaints and SolidEnergy, another start-up to come out of MIT, is boasting a new battery design that will hopefully lengthen our smartphone usage times. The technology promises twice the energy density of today’s traditional lithium-ion batteries.
SolidEnergy’s new technology works by replacing the battery’s conventional graphite anode material with an ultra-thin sheet of lithium copper metal foil. The benefit here is that this greatly reduces the size of the battery for the same capacity, allowing the saved space to be used for extra capacity.
The use of lithium-metal electrodes in batteries has been the subject of research for many years, but there have previously been some technical barriers to their viability. Typically, lithium metal can react with battery electrolytes, which over time prevents current from flowing and leads to battery capacity degradation. The reaction also creates dendrites, which can short circuit the battery and ignite the flammable electrolyte.
To overcome these rather major problems, SolidEnergy uses both regular liquid and less reactive solid electrolytes, allowing for suitable conduction without the problematic reactions. A very thin layer of solid electrolyte is applied to the lithium metal foil in the anode, which is thin enough to avoid the lack of conduction usually associate with a thick solid layer while avoiding the short circuit issues of using lithium metals. The video below explains this different approach.
This new technology isn’t only about saving space, SolidEnergy has also successfully demonstrated superior capacity retention over successive charge cycles than competing advanced Li-ion technology. Over 100 recharge cycles, SolidEnergy’s battery retained 80 percent of its original energy storage capacity, meaning that non-replaceable batteries won’t be such a problem in the future.
The first commercial battery using this technology is scheduled to arrive for smartphones and tablets in 2016, with larger batteries for the electric automotive industry to follow.
11 best Android apps for stylus users and S Pen users
The stylus has been a tool of the handheld computer users for decades now and are arguably more useful on a smartphone and tablet than ever before. There are a lot of apps that take advantage of the stylus and some even come with built in functionality for Samsung’s S Pen. In this roundup, we’ll look at the best Android apps for stylus users and S Pen users.
AutoDesk SketchBook Express, Sketchbook, AutoCAD 360, and AutoCAD 360
[Price: Free / Free with in-app purchases]
AutoDesk is a very well known name in the world of graphics and many of their apps are world renown. The Sketchbook and AutoCAD series of apps are both very useful and powerful applications for designers and artists. They include advanced tools, professional level appeal, and even some fun quirky features. For instance, AutoCAD 360 lets you orient yourself around your drawing using your GPS. These are must have apps for many stylus users.
Character Maker
[Price: $3.68]
Character Maker is a drawing app that helps you learn how to draw people and also helps you draw people. This isn’t so handy for the professional animator but those learning how this stuff works or those wanting to learn can find a wealth of information and experience here. You can create your own characters fairly easily and they look pretty good at the end.
ezPDF Reader Multimedia PDF
[Price: $3.99]
ezPDF is a great application for those who frequently deal with PDF files. One of the more difficult tasks is finding a way to digitally sign a PDF and this app helps with things like that. As you can imagine, your signature will look much better when a stylus is used and they also make navigation much easier. It’s a solid app and a must have for those who use or deal with PDFs a lot.
How to Draw – Easy Lessons
[Price: Free]
This totally free drawing tutorial app helps you learn how to draw. This is great for budding young artists looking to learn or even for those who are bored and want to add a new skill to their list. The tutorials are admittedly not ridiculously deep so you won’t be transformed into a famous painter but it has excellent stylus support, plenty of tutorials, and also plenty of stencils.
LectureNotes
[Price: Free / $3.78]
LectureNotes was once, is currently, and likely always will be the hallmark of a great stylus app. It offers a bunch of features including image importing, stylus support, notebook export (for sharing) to your device, Evernote, and OneNote, advanced organization features, and more. If you install LectureVideos and LectureRecordings, you can also insert video and audio recordings into your notebooks right alongside your notes. It’s extremely powerful and popular. Most stylus owners should have this, especially if you’re a student.
The MyScript Collection
[Price: Free]
The MyScript Collection consists of MyScript Calculator, MyScript Stylus, and MyScript Smart Notes. All three of these apps are amazing for stylus users because they’re built specifically for stylus use. MyScript Calculator is especially unique as it allows you to write out mathematical equations which it will then solve for you. They’re all free and great options for stylus users.
Papyrus
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Papyrus is a unique application that attempts to emulate real paper for your to draw on or take notes with. It includes a unique “write with your pen, erase with your finger” functionality that is admittedly enjoyable to use. You can export notes and drawings to various file types, and it even supports Samsung Multi-Window. If you go pro, you get PDF support, cloud services, and additional tools.
RoughAnimator
[Price: $2.99]
RoughAnimator is a favorite here at Android Authority. It’s an animation app that allows you to draw multiple pictures then put them together as short animations. It includes most of the basic tools you’ll need to draw your own little cartoons. Other features include unlimited layers (so you can make animations as long as you want), onion skinning, import audio (for music or lip syncing), and framerate control. It’s a great app with a high rating and perfect for any fan of animating.
SignEasy
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
SignEasy is another PDF viewer that focuses on features that let you sign documents. The app can also important documents from almost anywhere (including most cloud storage platforms) and it can support various file formats such as Word, Excel, HTML, JPEG, and others. It’s a simple app but it can solve a lot of problems. If you go pro, you’ll get additional features and you’ll be able to remove the email footer message that advertises the app.
Skitch
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Skitch takes an old school premise and brings it into the 21st century. With it, you can take a picture of just about anything and then doodle on it. This includes fun little cartoons, annotating photos, diagrams, and other stuff, and even marking up maps to show people how to get places. It’s a simple app but you can use it for a wide variety of use cases and it even comes with PDF support. If it helps at all, it was also developed by the same great minds that brought us Evernote.
Write
[Price: Free]
Last on our list (for now) is Write. This app is much like Papyrus in that it lets you write as though you were writing on actual paper. This is a pre-loaded app on the NVIDIA Shield Tablet specifically for its tablet and it’s compatible with most devices. You can draw, write, and erase pretty much whatever you want, customize your pens, page size, color, and ruling, and a lot more. It’s totally free to use which is also a plus.
Wrap up
If we missed any great Android apps for stylus users and S Pen users, let us know in the comments!
To see our complete list of Android apps and games lists, click here!
The Nexus 9 is $100 off at Best Buy — but hurry!
You can snag a Nexus 9 from Best Buy for as low as $299 through 4 p.m. EDT today. The 32GB model is just $379. That’s not a bad price at all. Hurry! This one’s over at 4 p.m. EDT.
AIVAnet 