LG releases details of the LG G4 display a few weeks before its flagship announcement
After the excitement of MWC, the next most exciting event in the Android world figures to be the announcement of the LG G4, LG‘s successor in its long line of impressive flagship smartphones. LG has gotten the party started early, albeit indirectly, which with announcement of a new 5.5-inch Quad HD Display that it is […]
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Amazon Prime Instant Video extends to Android tablets
Amazon does not give Android us much attention as it should even though its own hardware is powered by the platform. The company takes an extremely long amount of time before bringing its services to Android and other platforms. Prime Instant Video, which is included in a package for $99 per year, took an eternity to reach phones with Android. There was also the requirement that the Amazon app had to be installed before being redirected to get the Prime Instant Video app from the Amazon Appstore. That’s a lot of unnecessary work and it will continue with the new support of Prime Instant Video for Android tablets.
Source: Amazon
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SuperBeam review: the best way to transfer files
Transferring files, pictures, and videos between phones, computers, and other devices can be a real pain. Sure, you can use Bluetooth if your device supports it, but the speed can be horrendous and if the file is large you will be waiting a long time. If you want, you can grab a USB flash drive and load the file on there to transfer it to your other devices. But they you have to carry around a flash drive as well as any extra cables you need to connect it to your phone. Thankfully, there is an app that makes file transfer quick and simple – SuperBeam. SuperBeam 4.0 is the newest update to the SuperBeam and it looks and works better than ever!
Visually, this app is fantastic. It has undergone a complete Material Design upgrade which is evident on every screen. Under the settings menu, you can even change how the app looks. There are options for a light theme, a dark theme, and an AMOLED theme that helps devices with AMOLED displays conserve battery by making the background completely black.
Of course, how an app looks does not really matter unless it is quick and easy to use. Thankfully, SuperBeam delivers on that front, as well. A slide out menu on the left gives you the options for sending and receiving files. All you need to do to send a file to another device is make sure that device has SuperBeam installed. 
Then all you need to do is select what type of file you want to transfer. You have the options for files, audio, photos, videos, apps, documents, and contacts. Once you select what type of file you want to transfer, the app opens a screen that shows all of that type of file. So if you select Photos, it will show all of the photos stored on your phone. That means no more hunting through your phone looking for that one specific thing. You can select as many items as you want, and when you are done just tap the blue arrow. You then have three different options for transferring files. You can scan the QR code, use NFC if both devices are capable, or enter a key into the receiving device. Once this is done, the file will transfer. If both devices are on the same WiFi, SuperBeam will transfer the file over WiFi. If they are not, then it will use WiFi Direct to transfer the files. You get an countdown time on both devices showing how much of the file has transferred and the estimated time remaining. Once the file is finished, you are done. One great thing about SuperBeam is that if you lose the connection between your devices, it will pick up right where you left off when you reconnect. No more starting over from the beginning!
The final test is speed, and SuperBeam continues to deliver with speeds that leave Bluetooth in the dust. This app states that it can transfer files up to 50 times faster than Bluetooth, and it is not lying. For testing, I used a 100MB video file. I transferred that file from my Nexus 6 to my HTC One m7 using Bluetooth, WiFi, and Wifi Direct. I also transferred the same file to my laptop using Bluetooth and WiFi (WiFi Direct is not supported on the computer version). Between my two phones, the file took around an hour to complete using Bluetooth, 50 minutes using WiFi, and a blazing 1 minute using WiFi Direct! Between my phone and laptop, Bluetooth took just over 9 minutes and WiFi took only 2 minutes! Needless to say, I am impressed.
SuperBeam is by far the simplest, quickest, and best looking way to transfer files between devices. It has completely replaced Bluetooth as my go to transfer method between phones, and I regret nothing. If you are itching to give SuperBeam a try, you can download a free version of it from the Play Store. The creators of SuperBeam are also giving users a free 14-day trial of SuperBeam Pro. If you like it, you can purchase the Pro version for 50% off all this month! I highly recommend giving Superbeam a try and seeing the speed you have been missing!
What I liked:
- Easy to use
- Super fast transfer speed
- Works with Android, PC, Mac, iOS, and Linux
- Beautiful interface
What I did not like:
- Nothing. SuperBeam does what it promises, and it does it well
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For Samsung, turns out Karma’s a ‘bendgate’
“Bendgate” was last year’s largely manufactured media crisis — you know, the negative attention grab that always seems to come up any time Apple launches a new iPhone.
Six months later and it’s recognized now as the theater some of us saw it for back then. Indeed, my own iPhone 6 Plus, bought at launch day and kept in my front pocket almost constantly ever since, remains as flat and solid as a board. That didn’t stop some of Apple’s competitors from jumping on the hype in hopes of scoring some cheap attention of their own.
Samsung, for example, was quick to point out everything they do to keep phones safe in pockets. From YouTube:
And apparently, our hips are strong – stronger than we give it credit for. Leaving things in your back pocket can lead to, well, bent things.
More recently, via the Huffington Post:
Samsung’s Younghee Lee, executive vice president of the company’s mobile division, seemed to relish the opportunity for a jab during Sunday’s press event.
“This stuff will not bend,” Lee said.
Samsung would, of course, have been better off ignoring Apple and concentrating on its own products, but the company seems institutionally incapable of doing that. The result — the just-released Samsung Galaxy S6 is now suffering from a “bendgate” controversy all its own. Also from YouTube:
SquareTrade Shows Samsung S6 Edge as Bendable as iPhone 6 Plus & More Likely to Crack Under Pressure
Turns out, physics. And when you have glass on both sides, shattering physics.
My guess is we won’t here word-one about this from any executive vice presidents at Apple, though, nor see any snide YouTube videos on Apple’s channel. My guess is Apple is, even if Apple weren’t classier than that, the company would be too busy working on its own products to waste the time.
Should the way a company conducts itself influence whether or not you buy its products? I don’t know what your answer is, but I increasingly know mine.
Apple Adds New ‘Guided Tours’ Page to Apple Watch Site
Apple today updated its dedicated Apple Watch website with a brand new “Guided Tours” section that includes several Apple Watch walkthrough videos. The introductory video on the site, entitled “Welcome to Apple Watch,” walks users through all of the things the Apple Watch can do.
The site also includes dedicated videos on various Apple Watch features, like Messages, Faces, and Digital Touch. Other video walkthroughs on features like Phone Calls, Siri, Maps, Music, Apple Pay, and more, are labeled as “Coming soon” and should be uploaded over the course of the next few hours.
These videos are also referenced within other areas of the Apple Watch site, with a Fitness video, for example, available in the fitness section, and the Messages video available in the “New Ways to Connect” section.
Today’s walkthrough videos from Apple come a week ahead of Apple Watch pre-orders, which are set to begin on Friday, April 10 at 12:01 AM PT.
Google Play Store V5.4 going out, brings immersive hero image to Lollipop devices [APK Download]
A new update to the Google Play Store is on the way to users everywhere. The update moves the PLay Store to version 5.4.10. The update is surely packed with bug fixes, tweaks and a whole lot more. The front end change that some might notice is a change to the Play Store’s listing page. As […]
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Samsung announces new tool to help developers with VR
Samsung has announced a new tool intended to help developers get on board the virtual headset train. The Gear VR framework, or GearVRf, is an open source framework that developers can utilize to prepare videos and apps for use on Android-powered virtual reality devices.
Samsung indicates one benefit to the GearVRf for developers is the use of familiar programming languages like C++ and Java. The framework handles all the heavy lifting related to OpenGL and the Oculus renderer. The new GearVRf also handles much of the 3D graphics issues one might encounter during development. This should make it easier for developers to drop in existing images, videos and 3D models. With the platform being open source, Samsung hopes developers will modify and add to the code to meet their own unique needs.
source: Samsung
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Google Play version 5.4 debuts immersive hero images for Lollipop devices
Starting today, owners of devices with Lollipop will begin to notice some changes in the Play Store. The latest version, 5.4, introduces immersive hero images throughout the application. Coloring, sizing, and placement have all been altered in certain areas, too. The changes are not considered part of an overhaul, but something like the transparent status bar is noticeable.
The evolution of the details page can be seen here:
Source: Kirill Grouchnikov (Google+)
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Latest Skype update aligns it with iOS, desktop versions
The Android version of Skype has trailed behind its iOS and desktop counterparts for some time. While the app was given attention and updated to remain capable, it never matched those other versions. Finally, today, an update is arriving for the app on Android devices that shifts it much closer to iOS and desktop versions. The chat layout follows the bubble style and emojis have been added in addition to the service’s own emoticons (which will now be animated). Also, the update brings support for voice input when utilizing Android Auto.
Hit the break for the full changelog.
What’s New
New features• New bubble-style chat for a consistent Skype experience• Animated and bigger emoticons- being rolled out in coming weeks• Emoji support to let you express yourselfFixes/improvements• Updated setting so username and password are required to sign back in• Chats no longer auto-scroll as new messages come in• View and change avatars for all group chats
Source: Skype
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Google Wallet gets updated, adds transaction search
Traditionally Google tends to roll out most of its app updates on so-called Update Wednesdays, but there’s certainly no rule saying it has to be that way. With this in mind, Google has brought us version 9.0 of the Google Wallet app. Jumping a whole letter number, you’d probably expect the changes here to be pretty massive, but that’s really not the case. Aside from likely bug fixes and performance tweaks, the new update brings just two new features, transaction search and a Maps widget that shows the location of purchases.
Transaction search is certainly the more useful of the two, placing a search bar on the Transactions screen that lets you type in a keyword and quickly find past transactions. As for the Maps widget, you can now find exact locations where physical purchases were made. In other words, it will track the retail stores you shop at and place them on a map. The idea behind this feature is to make it easy to notice suspicious purchases, like an item that is bought at some random store hundreds of miles away from your location.
Both these additions are nice, though not necessarily game-changing. Oddly enough, Google Wallet is also subtracting a feature, the order screen is no longer present. Orders previously made it easy to track past purchases that were made online and then physically delivered.
As is typical of Google, the rollout here will likely take a few days to reach everyone, though you can always trying checking for the update by visiting Google Play.
AIVAnet 