Comic: The real value of a gold Apple Watch
Ed: Welcome to this week’s edition of The Pixel Project: a weekly comic from Diesel Sweeties‘ Rich Stevens on Apple, technology, and everything in-between. Today: The Real Value of a Gold Apple Watch
Read more comics from the Pixel Project on iMore.com.
Radio.com Windows Phone app launches with access to over 300 CBS Radio stations
CBS Radio has just launched a new Radio.com app for Windows Phone owners. The app offers users access to live streaming audio content from over 300 CBS Radio stations from across the US.
Ford’s new car will force you to obey the speed limit
Much as we’d like to emulate our NASCAR heroes, breaking the speed limit often comes at a price. Ford is hoping to prevent accidents and speeding tickets by introducing cars that can see what the speed limit is and preventing heavy-footed motorists from driving any faster. Ford’s Intelligent Speed Limiter tech will first appear on the new Ford S-Max that’s launching in Europe that could just change the way that we drive.
A camera mounted on the windshield scans the road signs on the sides of the highway and, when the vehicle enters a 20mph zone, the system reduces the top speed to match. Rather than controlling the speed with automatic braking, the car limits its own velocity by adjusting the amount of fuel being pushed to the engine.
If a burst of speed is required, however, users can either deactivate the system by pressing a button on the console or temporarily get past it with a hard press on the gas pedal. If the vehicle is coasting downhill and starts to build up speed, the car will sense its motion and sound an alarm to get you braking. It’s not the only bit of new safety tech available on the new whip, either, since deep-pocketed motorists can also get pedestrian detection and collision warnings. That frees drivers up to wonder why any car firm would call a car SMAX and think we wouldn’t notice.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Ford
‘The X-Files’ is coming back to TV as a six-episode series
Yep, it’s happening — if not quite in the way you might expect. After a flurry of rumors, Fox has confirmed that it’s bringing The X-Files back to TV as a six-episode “event series” arriving this summer. It won’t be the full-on relaunch some fans were hoping for, then. However, show creator Chris Carter will once again take the reins, and both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will reprise their signature roles as paranormal investigators Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. It’s not clear what prompted the return to TV after a 13-year hiatus, although it wouldn’t be shocking if actor Kumail Nanjiani’s X-Files Files podcast helped rekindle interest in the show. For us, the real question is whether or not it’ll be as good as the original run. Carter thrived while X-Files and Millennium were on the air, but his 21st-century projects haven’t had as much success.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Via: Deadline
Source: Fox Flash
LG G Flex 2 coming to US Cellular on March 26th, $149.99 with contract
Following Sprint’s release of the LG G Flex 2, US Cellular – the 5th largest US carrier – has announced that LG’s latest high-end handset will be available on its network starting March 26th.
The G Flex 2 will be priced at $149.99 with two-year contract, or you can go the monthly payment route and get it for $0 down with 20 monthly payments of $31.50. For those that prefer to buy the phone outright, US Cellular will offer the G Flex 2 for $630.
While the killer features here are the flexible display and the self-healing back, the G Flex 2 also offers up pretty solid specs, even if initial performance reviews haven’t been that flattering. For those who need a refresher, the LG G Flex 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit Octa-Core processor coupled with an Adreno 430 GPU, backed by either 2 or 3GB RAM and 16 or 32GB storage. There’s also a 5.5-inch curved 1080p P-OLED display, a 13MP rear cam with OIS+, a 2.1MP front cam and a non-removable 3000 mAh battery.
Any US Cellular subscribers thinking of picking this one up?
CHICAGO and ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. (March 24, 2015) – U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM) and LG Electronics have announced that the LG G Flex 2 will be available, in the Platinum Silver color, in stores and online on March 26. The G Flex 2’s innovative curved design made it the standout smartphone at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show, and qualified customers will be able to get it for $0 down using U.S. Cellular’s installment pricing.
“At U.S. Cellular, we strive to provide the best wireless experience by providing the latest devices, a high quality network and national coverage that keeps customers connected in cities and rural communities,” said Joe Settimi, vice president of marketing for U.S. Cellular. “LG has created a unique device that is packed with cutting-edge features, and we are thrilled to bring our first curved smartphone to our customers.”
The G Flex 2 builds on the innovation introduced on the original G Flex with a more advanced, curved design for better ergonomics, a slimmed down 5.5 Full HD display, and Advanced Self-Healing back . It boasts faster performance and greater convenience with new features like GlanceView, which displays key information such as time, recent messages or missed calls with a downward swipe on the curved screen even while the display is off.
Some of the stunning state-of-the-art features include:
- 5.5″ Curved Full HD P-OLED Display
- 13 MP OIS+ Laser Auto Focus Rear Camera and 4K Ultra HD Camcorder
- 2.1MP Front Camera with Gesture Shutter and Gesture View
- 3,000 mAh Battery with Fast Charge, allowing for a 50 percent charge in less than 40 minutes
- Operating System: Android 5.0
- Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 810 Processor
- Storage: 32 GB ROM (21GB of usable memory) with a microSD slot
- Dimensions: 5.87 x 2.96 x 0.35 inch
“With the G Flex 2, we’re continuing to raise the bar in smartphone innovation,” said Morris Lee, senior vice president and head of North American sales and marketing, LG Electronics MobileComm USA Inc. “This is the perfect phone for those looking to enhance their mobile experience with powerful functionality that harnesses exceptionally designed hardware.”
With U.S. Cellular’s $0 down installment pricing, qualified customers pay tax on the LG G Flex 2 at the point of sale, and then make 20 monthly payments that are conveniently added to their wireless bill. Customers can upgrade this device in as little as 12 months if they trade it in for any new device with installment pricing. They can also choose to pay off the full balance of their device anytime they want.
New Equipment Installment Contract, Shared Connect Plan and credit approval required. Financing terms are zero down, zero APR; 20 monthly payments. Additional terms, conditions and/or charges may apply. See uscellular.com for details.
Android 5.0 Lollipop OTA rolling out for AT&T Galaxy Note 4
The push to update devices across carriers to Android 5.0 Lollipop continues weekly for many devices. The AT&T branded Galaxy Note 4 owners can now join the ranks of Lollipop badge holders as the OTA update is officially rolling out to devices today. The update carries build number LRX22C.N910AUCU1COC2 and moves the device from Android […]
The post Android 5.0 Lollipop OTA rolling out for AT&T Galaxy Note 4 appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Lenovo announces the K3 Note phablet with mid-range specs
Lenovo has announced a new phablet to tackle the mid-range market called the Lenovo K3 Note. This phone is pretty similar to the smaller Lenovo K3 that was announced awhile back, but features some improved hardware and an obviously larger screen.
The K3 Note has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a 64-bit octa-core MediaTek processor, and 2 GB of RAM. You’ll find 16 GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot, plus a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front facing camera. A big bonus is that the phone supports dual-SIM cards, so it’ll be a pretty flexible device.
The phone, like the Lenovo K3, has a very bright, very yellow finish. For some people, that might be a little too loud, but if you want something unique that stands out, or you just like color, it can be a pretty cool design.
Lenovo is starting the pricing for the K3 Note at about $145. It’s definitely a very capable, very cheap device, but don’t expect an international release anytime soon.
source: GSM Arena
Come comment on this article: Lenovo announces the K3 Note phablet with mid-range specs
Samsung’s new TouchWiz UI for Galaxy S6 may have a touch of Tizen present
Over the years, one complaint that surfaced about Samsung smartphones was the TouchWiz UI that Samsung deployed. While Samsung was always adding in lots of interesting and unique features, critics also felt the interface was becoming too bloated and busy. Samsung took that input and started to trim things back some for the Galaxy Note 4. However, for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, it was clear that Samsung was being more aggressive in trimming things down. Many believed a lot of this was due to the influence of Google’s Material Design framework. However, it appears that Samsung also leaned heavily on their work with the Tizen OS, recently employed on the Samsung Galaxy Z1 released in India.
Comparing Tizen OS with the new TouchWiz, some similarities jump out. For instance, the Contacts app is quite different from previous TouchWiz iterations, but it looks very much like the Tizen Contacts app. Colors are more prominent, icons and avatars are round instead of square, and the menus are trimmed down quite a bit. Coincidentally, these changes are similar to what Google calls for with Material Design.
One area that definitely seems to be a crossover from Tizen is the ability to personalize themes, most notably applying a universal color scheme to the interface and even within apps.
Samsung’s UX design team had previously said that their goal with Tizen on the Galaxy Z1 was to create an interface that focused on simplicity, ease and speed. These same buzzwords are popping up from Samsung with regard to TouchWiz now as well.
To get an idea of how similar Samsung’s take on Tizen is, check out the video below that was recently released by Samsung’s developers.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: Tizen ID
via: G for Games
Come comment on this article: Samsung’s new TouchWiz UI for Galaxy S6 may have a touch of Tizen present
U.S. Cellular nabs G Flex 2 for March 26
U.S. Cellular on Tuesday announced the LG G Flex 2 will join its smartphone lineup later this week (March 26). Priced $150 with a two-year service agreement, the handset will be offered in Platinum Silver.
The G Flex 2 was introduced at CES back in January and runs Android 5.0 Lollipop. Powered by a Snapdragon 810 processor, other standout specs include a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, 32GB storage, and a 3000mAh battery.
The key standout details in the phone, of course, is its unique curved display and edges as well as its self-healing back. Normal scuffs and scratches from life are removed within a few seconds time.
Qualified U.S. Cellular customers who opt to spread the cost of the phone out over time can do so; 20 monthly payments of $31.50 bring the total price to $630 when it’s all said and done.
The post U.S. Cellular nabs G Flex 2 for March 26 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Third-Party Mac Developers Begin Embracing Force Touch, Led by ‘Inklet’
Following its March 9 media event where it introduced “Force Touch” trackpad technology for the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and upcoming 12-inch MacBook, Apple opened up the feature to third-party developers by delivering developer APIs starting with the third beta of OS X 10.10.3. The APIs will allow developers to support the ability of Force Touch trackpads to sense multiple levels of pressure and perform different actions depending on how hard the trackpad is being pressed.
Apple has already taken steps to build Force Touch support into its own apps, as outlined in a support document. At the simplest level, the new Force Touch trackpads support a new “Force click” functionality, which allows a user to click on an item and then press a bit harder to activate a secondary function such as pulling up Dictionary or Wikipedia entires on selected text in Mail or Safari, a map preview when selecting an address, or Quick Look previews of files when selecting icons.
Beyond the single-level Force click, the new Force Touch trackpad also supports more advanced features through sensing multiple levels of pressure, allowing users to accelerate zooming in and out of maps or vary the speed of fast forward and rewind in QuickTime and iMovie. iMovie also supports “bumpy pixels” in which the trackpad gives subtle vibrational feedback during the editing process to let the user know when the end of a dragged clip has been reached or when cropped clips are in proper alignment.
While Force Touch is currently limited to the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, the feature looks set to expand throughout Apple’s product lineups, with the company’s other notebooks gaining the technology as update cycles allow and the Apple Watch supporting it as a key interface mechanism at launch. Apple is also rumored to be bringing Force Touch to the iPhone later this year.
On the Mac side, Ten One Design today announced an update to Inklet, its popular third-party drawing software, that will bring “enhanced pressure control” to MacBooks with the new Force Touch trackpad. The company believes it is the first Mac developer to launch support for Force Touch.
Through Inklet’s software, users have been able to draw and edit images within applications like Pixelmator and Photoshop for a while, by determining “stylus pressure” to differentiate between when to use thin and thick lines. Ten One Design notes that the introduction of the Force Touch trackpad makes its app not only more precise in designating pressure sensitivities, but more reliable as well.
We think Inklet is the first 3rd party application to support the Apple’s new Force Touch trackpads. This means you’ll have amazing pressure control on newer machines, and in a pinch you can even use your finger.
Having a trackpad capable of measuring force is a big deal. Even though Inklet has always been capable of determining stylus pressure, this update makes measuring pressure simpler and more reliable. Kudos to the team at Apple who designed this precise and useful instrument.
Beyond Force Touch support, Inklet’s update also bring “improved pressure response” to MacBooks with the traditional multi-touch trackpad, along with the usual minor bug fixes. The company says Inklet will prompt users to update the app “sometime within the next three days”, although users wanting to check out the new features sooner can hasten the process with the “Check for Updates” prompt in the Inklet menu.
Those yet to download the software can do so for $24.95 for the base app, or $34.90 for the app bundled with the company’s Pogo stylus, from Inklet’s official website.
AIVAnet 