U.S. versions of the HTC One M9 getting software update to match global models
There are a few headlines going around this evening about a software update hitting the HTC One M9 that, among other things, brings about some camera updates. That’s obviously a good thing in the case of the M9, which hasn’t exactly left us overly impressed in the camera department.
But context is important here. This update is to bring U.S. models of the M9 in line with the software on the global version, HTC has told us (and others). And while folks should see an improvement in image processing after this update — just as we did three weeks ago on the global model we used in our review, and as we noted in the “About this review section” — we’d caution against believing that this is some magical update that will cure all that ailed us.
Huawei SnapTo becomes official and will be released April 17th
Huawei’s answer to Motorola’s budget friendly device, the Moto G, becomes official and is dubbed as the SnapTo. The SnapTo will come in two colors, black and white. The black version will be released April 17th, while the white version isn’t due till May 15th. The device will be priced at $179.99 in the US and will be available on various outlets such as Best Buy, Newegg, Fry’s, and Huawei’s official US website. If you’re not familiar with the SnapTo’s specs, here’s a quick rundown:
- 5-inch 720p touchscreen
- 5 MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2 MP FFC
- 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage (which is expandable via microSD cards)
- 2,200 mAh battery
- Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 chipset alongside a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU
- 4G LTE support is included and the OS runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Huawei’s Emotion UI 2.3
Seems like a good phone at that price point. My only concern is the name itself. I’m sure Huawei could have came up with a better name that sounds more appealing and marketable. Either way, does the SnapTo sound more appealing to you than its main competitor in the Moto G?
source: Amazon
Come comment on this article: Huawei SnapTo becomes official and will be released April 17th
Samsung’s Galaxy S6 sales off to a blistering start; T-Mobile claims their Galaxy S6 sales have nearly doubled their total sales of the Galaxy S5
If T-Mobile’s sales are indicative of how the other carriers are faring, the little traction and sales Samsung may have lost last year with their Galaxy S5 are now nothing to worry about considering the numbers their new Galaxy S6 is putting up. According to T-Mobile, sales of the Galaxy S6 have already nearly doubled the total sales of the previous S5. Consumers have wanted Samsung to change things up a bit as they viewed the S4 and S5 as minor iterations rather than a new device. With the new S6, Samsung decided to finally change things up a bit with a revamped look and finally parted with their plastic materials and opted for a more “premium” look/feel. The reviews of the S6 have bode very well for Samsung and it seems nothing will slow this train down.
What do you guys think of the S6? I know not everyone is on board with Samsung’s decision to go with glass and removing expandable storage alongside the removable battery (including myself), but it is refreshing to see Samsung listening to it’s critics and changing things up a bit.
source: T-Mobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung’s Galaxy S6 sales off to a blistering start; T-Mobile claims their Galaxy S6 sales have nearly doubled their total sales of the Galaxy S5
Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 preorder date set for April 21
About seven weeks after Alcatel OneTouch announced the Idol 3, we’re finally seeing a pre-order date for the device. The device that packs either a 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch display that sports a full HD screen with an octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor clocked at 1.7GHz. It will also have a 13MP rear shooter with an 8MP front facing shooter and Android 5.0.2 onboard. It will also feature a pretty decent price tag.
If you order the device online you’ll be able to snag the device for just $249.99. You can do so by going to Alcatel’s web site and when you order the device, you can expect it to ship in May. Alcatel says the device will work on either T-Mobile or AT&T networks. We have the presser for you below.
Presser:
IRVINE, Calif. – April 9, 2015 – ALCATEL ONETOUCH – the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer in the U.S.* – is disrupting the flagship smartphone market, today announcing that the award-winning IDOL 3 will be available to pre-order unlocked for an online exclusive price of $249.99 (MSRP of $279.00) beginning on April 21, with pre-orders shipping in May.
One of the big surprises at this year’s Mobile World Congress was the awardwinning IDOL 3, which challenges the convention of a feature-rich flagship offered at an entry-level smartphone price point. This global flagship will be available unlocked in the U.S., initially available through http://www.alcatelonetouch.us and is compatible on every GSM LTE network in the U.S.; including T-Mobile and AT&T.
Come comment on this article: Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 preorder date set for April 21
Android customization – how to make a screen recording, using ADB – root not required
Last week on our Android customization series, we dove into a deep and involved developer tool called ADB, or Android Debug Bridge. Our purpose last week was pretty simple, we were trying to hunt down apps that were eating up the battery on our Android devices, and we used logcat to do so.
This week, now that you’ve got ADB up and rolling, let’s keep using it. I have a short list of tasks I want to perform with ADB, but we will start off with the most fun of them all, capturing a screen recording on your Android device.
Before we get started
You do not require any special apps or to have root on your device to follow along today, or for any of our upcoming ADB tasks in the coming weeks. You will, however, need to have a connected computer with ADB setup and ready to roll.
You will need to at least follow along our previous project to see how ADB is setup and enabled on your connected computer, and be ready to connect with an appropriate USB cable for your Android device.
Warning: The screen record functionality in ADB is for video only, it does not capture the audio of your device, please be prepared to capture audio separately, if required. The recording is limited to about 3 minutes in length, to help prevent copyright violations, I presume. Screen rotation is not supported, pick an orientation and stick with it for the recording.
Capture a screen recording with ADB
First things first, connect your Android device to your PC. Follow any steps required to enable ADB, fire up your command/Terminal window and get ready to rock.
In your command or Terminal window, enter adb devices and hit enter.
As mentioned last week, you do not really need to do this, but it is always nice to see that your device is connected and reporting to your computer properly.
Now, enter adb shell and hit enter.
Shell enables a subset of new tools within ADB, and, in a manner of speaking, provides access to the command line controls of your actual device. If that does not make sense, don’t worry about it, we’ll have the chance to explain in more detail at a later date.
Enter screenrecord /sdcard/video.mp4 and hit enter.
You are now recording your Android device display.
To stop the recording, wait for three minutes to expire, or simply press Ctrl+C into the command/Terminal window.
The video file is saved to your Android device, and will be located where you specified above, which would be on your /sdcard/ if you entered the exact text above. Feel free to specify a new storage location on your device, and a new file name as well, be careful not to run the command again right away, as it may overwrite your previous video.mp4 file.
What’s next
Our implementation above utilizes the bare bones defaults of the screen record tool. There are additional options available that may be of use to you.
First, the default will record the video at your device’s screen resolution, if supported. If you have issues, try specifying a specific screen resolution. The general format is to add –size WIDTHxHEIGHT to your command. For example, screenrecord –size 1280×720 /sdcard/recordings/my720pvideo.mp4. Consult your manufacturer for supported resolutions on your Android device’s AVC encoder.
You can also control the bit-rate and recording time (up to 3 minutes.) Head on over to the ADB help pages for more details – fair warning, our next few Android customization posts will cover our favorite tools on that ADB page, feel free to jump ahead if you wish. For now, the following image has the few supported screen record options for you.
Next week
Now that you have a screen recording or two saved to your Android device, you may want to get it off the device and onto your computer. We have talked about file transfers before on our Android customization series, but we’ve got ADB at our disposal now, so let’s use it. Next week, we will use ADB to transfer files to and from your computer and Android device.
What do you use a screen recording for? Work, entertainment, send to a friend to show them a problem you are having?
Google’s Chrome Live event on April 22nd will be focused on the enterprise
Google has just announced its plans to hold Chrome Live, a Chrome for Work event that will focus on integrating Chrome products into the enterprise. The event will be held Wednesday, April 22nd from 1PM CST (12PM CDT) to 3:10PM CST (2:10 CDT). The event will consist of a few different speakers talking about the evolution of Chrome, bringing Chrome into the workplace, Chromebooks, Chromeboxes and more. Most notably, Rajen Sheth, Director of Product Management at Android and Chrome for Work, will be giving his insight on how the Chrome for Work platform is shaping the way we use technology in the workplace.
You can now register for the event through the Chrome Live website, and you can even chime in with your opinions towards the bottom of the site. You’ll be able to participate in the live Q&A as the event unfolds, and none other than the Chrome for Work team will be answering as many questions as they can get to.
We’re not sure if Google is announcing new products or just holding a presentation, but we’ll have to wait until the 22nd to find out. Be sure to check back to the Chrome Live website when that date rolls around!
Report: Android Wear may soon work with iPhone
Google has previously hinted of plans to make Android Wear work with the Apple iPhone and now, as Apple prepares to launch its first wearable, The Verge suggests that Google is close to the finishing line. Android Wear currently uses a companion app on Android smartphones and it’s believed that it would use the same approach on the iPhone, if the app is approved by Apple.
At this stage of development, Android Wear on iPhone supports notifications and Google Now – including cards and voice actions – but by its release, it is also expected to bring advanced integration with Google’s own applications, including the ability to reply to a message. At present it does seem like Android Wear on the iPhone will be limited to basic functionality, but there remains questions about whether Google will be able to get advanced features like music control working, as we’ve seen with devices like the Pebble smart watch.
Google introducing support for iPhone does not mean that it will be approved and with the Apple Watch the Cupertino giant’s biggest launch in years, Apple may feel that it doesn’t want the competition offered by Google’s wearable platform. Another potential issue is Apple’s policy of rejecting apps that mention competing platforms and with Android in the name, Apple may use this as a reason for rejecting Google’s approach.
A rejection by Apple isn’t likely to deter third party developers who have already successfully (kind of) got Android Wear working with the iPhone (seen in video above), and official support from Google would only make this process easier. Would you use Android Wear with an iPhone? Or would you like to see Android support for the Apple Watch? Let us know your views in the comments.
Some of Apple Watch’s competitors
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Apple Watch Try-On Appointments Begin in Australia, Prospective Buyers Lining Up
It’s just after 9:00 a.m. on Friday, April 10, which means Apple Stores in Australia have opened up for the day. Prospective Apple Watch buyers in the country are already lining up outside of stores in the hopes of getting a chance to try on the Apple Watch in person.
Several Australians on Twitter and Instagram have posted images of people lining up outside of Apple Stores, and the first people waiting in line have already been allowed into the store to check out the Apple Watch display units. Several people are also live streaming their experiences with the Apple Watch on Periscope.
Apple retail stores in Australia are already outfitted with Apple Watch tables that have the Apple Watch on display alongside an iPad, and there are also tables that have the Apple Watch on display under glass, where the devices can be tried on.
People are also beginning to line up in other locations around the world where Apple retail stores have not opened, and as can be seen in this image from Japan, stores that will be opening soon are already equipped with try on tables and Apple Watch display units.
Apple Watch try-on appointments in the United States will not begin until stores open in the morning on Friday, April 10, but based on the lines and the crowds in other countries, it’s likely most Apple Stores will be very busy tomorrow. Apple Watch pre-orders will be available beginning April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific Time.
Google’s photo editing app, Snapseed, gets updated to v2.0
Google has this really great on the go mobile photo editing tool that offers a ton of photo editing options and is free to boot. Snapseed was released originally back in December 2012 by Nik Software. The next big update to the app was released 10 months later in October of 2013 when it got integrated […]
The post Google’s photo editing app, Snapseed, gets updated to v2.0 appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Deal: Grab Telltale’s Game of Thrones for free on Amazon, get a 25% off season pass
If you’re a fan of Telltale’s Game of Thrones series but aren’t a fan of the $4.99 price tag, this is a deal for you. For a limited time, you can pick up the first episode of Game of Thrones on the Amazon Appstore for free. Upon downloading the game, you’ll also receive 25% off the in-game season pass during this awesome promotion. Season passes run $20, so you’ll only have to pay $15 if you take advantage of the deal.
Game of Thrones Episode 3, the most recent episode in the series, just made its way to the Play Store in March. If you’re interested in seeing what the game has to offer, check out the YouTube video below.
For those unfamiliar with the games, all of your favorite GoT original characters are present including Tyrion and Cersei Lannister, Jon Snow, Margaery Tyrell and many more. The game follows the same ‘choose your own adventure’ storyline that most other Telltale titles have. Coming from a die-hard GoT fan, if you like the books or show, you’ll be very happy with these games.
This promotion is only available for a limited time, so follow the Amazon link below before it’s too late!
AIVAnet 