Samsung reveals its next watch will be circular, opens up SDK to developers
Samsung has been involved in the smartwatch game for a while now, starting with the Galaxy Gear and moving on to Tizen-powered devices like the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear S, and the list goes on. When Samsung first jumped into the market, competition was pretty mild. Fast-forwarding to today, Android Wear and the Apple Watch have certainly raised the stakes considerably. We’ve been hearing rumors for a while about how Samsung’s next move will be to introduce a more premium-designed circular watch, with a recent rumor suggesting it could be called the Gear A. Now Samsung has given us a small glimpse at its plans for the future.
Does a circular Gear have a shot at one-upping its current competition in the wearable space?
Samsung has yet to reveal its upcoming watch, but the Korean giant has now announced that it is giving interested developers the opportunity to get their hands on the SDK for the company’s “next generation of the Gear device”. This marks the first time Samsung has released its wearable SDK ahead of a product announcement, and makes it clear that Samsung is aiming big with this new device. Even more exciting than the SDK is the image that Samsung revealed with the announcement. As you can see above, Samsung is pretty obviously showcasing a circular design, and looking at the list of developers, it seems several big names are getting involved already such as Yelp, CNN, and others.
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So does a circular Gear have a shot at one-upping its current competition in the wearable space? It is hard to say for sure. Personally, I feel that as long as Samsung keeps its platform locked down to just its own branded phones, it will always have a hard time competing. Then again, with the apparent runaway success of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge — maybe having support for just its own devices gives it more than large enough of a fanbase.
What do you think, excited by the idea of a circular Gear watch? For developers interested in getting involved, you’ll want to head on over to Samsung’s developer portal to sign up for access to the developer preview SDK.
Yahoo working on a new personal search/mobile assistant called ‘Index’
Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer has reportedly green lighted the launch of a new service to take on Google, Apple and others in the personal assistant/search segment. It is said that this service will be called ‘Index‘ and will take on Google Now, Apple’s Siri and even Cortana from Microsoft.
It is to be seen if Yahoo is touting this to be a mobile only offering or will try to take on Google’s web search as well. Yahoo supposedly wants to have a pilot of this ready by the end of second quarter, so we could be looking at a launch over the next couple of months.
It is said that Yahoo is banking on its “older” relationship with the customers to pip Google, Apple and other offerings in the market. Would you be interested in a new third party personal assistant app for your smartphone? Sound off below.
Source: Business Insider
Come comment on this article: Yahoo working on a new personal search/mobile assistant called ‘Index’
LG announces pricing details for the G4
Yesterday, three major operators in South Korea, SK Telecom, KT and LG U+, launched a pre-order campaign, in which a select number of early-adopters could reserve themselves an LG G4 for $825. However, the price of the device sparked a plethora of questions from potential customers all over the world as to why it was so expensive, seeing as the 32GB Samsung Galaxy S6 retails for $795.
Earlier today, an LG Electronics representative shed some light on the matter in an exclusive interview with ETNews. According to the spokesperson, the price of the G4 hasn’t yet been set in stone, but it’s expected to be somewhere in the region $800-900. This is because the handset is considered to be more of a Galaxy S6 Edge competitor as opposed to the S6, due to its improved camera, higher build quality and a real leather backplate.
In terms of specifications, the G4 packs a state of the art 5.5-inch Quantum display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, a 1.8GHz Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, Adreno 418 graphics, 32GB of internal memory (expandable up to 128GB via microSD), a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera equipped with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), a dual-tone flash, an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter and a 3,000 mAh battery.
What do you think of the LG G4’s price? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Source: ETNews
Come comment on this article: LG announces pricing details for the G4
Acer takes the wraps off new CB3-531 Chromebook
Earlier today, Acer took the wraps off the fourth variant of its 15.6-inch Chromebook, the CB3-531. This model packs similar internals to all the previous generation of the device, but now features a 11.5 hour battery, which the company claims is the longest any Chromebook currently on the market has to offer.
Aside from the upgraded battery, little else appears to differ. The CB3-531 continues to sport 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 16GB of SSD storage, two front-facing speakers, an Intel processor and an LED-backlit TFT LCD display which has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
The laptop has built-in Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 4G connectivity, one USB 2.0 port, One USB 3.0 port, an SDcard slot and an HDMI out slot — so you’ll always have the facility to share files, connect to the internet, mirror your screen and transfer documents.
The full gallery of Acer CB3-531 Chromebook press images can be seen below:
The CB3-51 will be available in June for around $270.
Come comment on this article: Acer takes the wraps off new CB3-531 Chromebook
Acer unveils two new tablets aimed at students
Hot on the heals of its CB3-531 Chromebook unveiling earlier today, Acer has now announced two new tablets, which are geared towards students in full time education. The Iconia Tab 10 and Iconia One 8 pack everything a student could possibly need to stay productive both in and out of the classroom.
Hit the break for a list of their specifications.
- 10-inch/8-inch Full HD display with Gorilla Glass 4 protection
- 2GB of DDR3 RAM
- 16, 32 or 64GB of internal storage
- SD Card Reader
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi
- Qualcomm quad-core processor
- Adreno graphics
If you’d like to take a gander at the full press release, hit the source link below.
Source: Acer
Come comment on this article: Acer unveils two new tablets aimed at students
Mortal Kombat X makes its way to the Google Play Store
Warner Bros International has just released Mortal Kombat X on the Google Play Store, after launching the game on iOS recently. It was soft launched on Android a week ago with only a handful of countries getting access to the game, but that seems to have changed now, at least to some extent.
The game is a typical one-on-one fighting game and works quite similar to Injustice: Gods Among Us. Your characters can be developed over time with more energy and moves, so it’s a game which will keep you hooked for long.
The app is a free download, but you have the ability to progress further in the game using in-app purchases. Head over to the link below for more details.
Come comment on this article: Mortal Kombat X makes its way to the Google Play Store
Apple Watch Weather Apps Provide At-a-Glance Forecasts Throughout the Day [iOS Blog]
One of the main conveniences of the Apple Watch is that it provides at-a-glance information without needing to take your iPhone out of your pocket, whether you are stuck in a meeting, walking down the sidewalk or watching Netflix on your couch. For a task as simple as checking the weather, the ability to simply look at your wrist will make Apple Watch weather apps very appealing for a lot of users.
Many developers have been quick to jump on the opportunity to release weather-related Apple Watch apps, including CARROT Weather, The Weather Channel, Weather Underground, Yahoo Weather, AccuWeather, Weather Nerd, Thermo Diem, NOAA Radar Pro and more. While the apps all share a common thread of providing weather information, each have unique designs and features that are worth trying out.
CARROT Weather for Apple Watch
Earlier this week, CARROT Weather received its first-ever update with Apple Watch support, bringing its humorously twisted 24-hour and 7-day forecasts to the wrist. Tapping on a section brings up a color-coded interface with more detailed weather information, including the current temperature, type and chance of precipitation, wind speed, humidity, barometric pressure and more. CARROT Weather is $2.99 on the App Store.
The Weather Channel will also be releasing an updated version of their app to support Apple Watch, enabling users to view current weather conditions, hourly forecasts with temperature and precipitation visuals, and weekend forecasts. The app also offers customizable real-time notifications for rain, snow, lightning and severe weather on your wrist, and features a live radar based on your GPS location. The Weather Channel app is free on the App Store.
Weather Underground for Apple Watch
Weather Underground for Apple Watch provides current conditions, 10-day forecasts, severe weather alerts, radar imagery and more on the wrist, with Force Touch navigation for quick access to hourly, ten-day forecasts and saved locations. The app can also notify you about the latest National Weather Service severe weather alerts in the United States. Weather Underground is free on the App Store.
Yahoo Weather for Apple Watch features a sleek design that provides the current temperature at a glance, alongside the current weather conditions, type and chance of precipitation, wind speed, barometric pressure, sunrise and sunset times, and more. Yahoo Weather is free on the App Store.
Yahoo Weather for Apple Watch
AccuWeather for Apple Watch features MinuteCast, which provides minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts for the forthcoming two hours hyper-localized to your exact street address or GPS location. The app keeps you up to date with other current weather conditions based on your location, including temperature, the forecasted high and low for the day, wind speed, and times for sunrise or sunset. Breaking weather notifications in the U.S. can also be enabled. AccuWeather is free on the App Store.
More Weather Apps for Apple Watch:
- Weather Nerd ($4.99)
- Thermo Diem (Free)
- Weather Live ($1.99)
- NOAA Radar Pro – Severe Weather Alerts ($1.99)
- Dark Sky ($3.99)
This roundup will be updated with more popular Apple Watch weather apps as they become available.
Apple Rejects iOS App for Citing Pebble Support in App Store Description [iOS Blog]
Boating and navigation app SeaNav US [Direct Link] reported this morning that Apple is no longer welcoming the app on the App Store due to the mention of Pebble support, or “any other mobile platform”, within the app’s description.
SeaNav notes that its iOS app has been previously approved by Apple with no fuss, and have only faced roadblocks after receiving the rejection email this morning. The app supported Pebble for “nearly 2 years” before today, and the company says the app’s most recent update has “no changes to our support for the Pebble”, hinting that the impending launch of the Apple Watch could be the main culprit of the crackdown on SeaNav.
We have just had the latest version of our SeaNav US iOS app rejected by Apple because we support the Pebble Smartwatch and say so in the app description and meta-data (we also state in the review notes that “This application was approved for use with the Pebble MFI Accessory in the Product Plan xxxxxx-yyyy (Pebble Smartwatch)”. See copy of rejection reason below.
SeaNav US has previously been approved by Apple with no problem, we have had Pebble support in SeaNav for nearly 2 years and there are no changes to our support for the Pebble in this version. What are Apple doing? Have they gone Apple Watch crazy? What can we do?
App Store review guideline 3.1 has covered the prohibition on mentioning competing platforms for some time, but until now developers have generally not had issues with Apple rejecting apps for mentioning Pebble support. With the Apple Watch ready to launch, however, Pebble may now be considered a competing platform.
Apple has been known to deal swiftly with apps it deems questionable on the App Store in the past, but today’s news is definitely interesting given the reason for rejection and the launch of the Apple Watch tomorrow. SeaNav US should be able to resubmit the app after removing all mentions of the Pebble smartwatch from its marketing materials and App Store page, but it certainly leaves an interesting question for the future of Pebble-supported iOS apps, especially Pebble’s dedicated iOS app, presuming SeaNav’s rejection was not the result of a reviewer misunderstanding Apple’s intended application of the guidelines.
Apple Rumored to Release Updated iPod Touch Later This Year
Apple is expected to announce a new iPod touch later this year, according to AppleInsider. The report, citing a source familiar with the plans, claims that the refreshed portable media player will likely have a similar design as the current model released over two-and-a-half years ago, and speculates that the next-generation device could have camera and processor improvements.
iPod sales have been declining for several years, becoming a largely insignificant part of Apple’s product lineup, anchored by the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The company no longer reports iPod sales in its quarterly results after reporting 2.9 million units sold in Q4 2014. Apple has not refreshed the iPod touch since October 2012, when the portable media player was updated with an ultra-thin, colorful design, A5 processor and Lightning connector.
The report is entirely speculative about possible new features the next-generation iPod touch could have, including a 64-bit A7 processor, increased storage space, and improved iSight and FaceTime cameras. It would also make sense for the new iPod touch to support Apple Pay, which would require locked down NFC capabilities and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
If the report proves accurate, Apple could announce its next-generation iPod touch during its iPhone event in September or iPad event in October that it typically holds each year. It is possible that Apple may also quietly update the iPod touch through a press release or website update, given that iPods are no longer as important to Apple as in previous years.
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