Apple Watch diagnostic port: a goldmine for accessory makers
Long before it officially existed, there were rumors that the Apple Watch had disappointing battery life. It wasn’t long afterward that we started to hear companies were preparing to build external power packs to compensate. Thankfully, the folks over at Reserve Strap have discovered that you don’t have to sacrifice style in favor of usefulness, thanks to the six-pin “diagnostic” port found on the bottom of the watch case. It turns out that the feature doesn’t just transmit data, but can receive power at far faster rates than the magnetic inductive charging panel on the underside.
As Reserve Strap says, it means that accessory makers can now build more elegant straps that look a lot closer to the originals than a janky external case. It also makes us hopeful that, much like Pebble Time’s connected accessory port, companies could build straps with functions that run beyond just recharging the device. Of course, Apple won’t be happy with any of this, and will probably do everything it can in its power to hamper their progress — after all, Jonathan Ive doesn’t believe there’s even a need for you to own a battery case.
[Image Credit: Reserve Strap]
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: Reserve Strap
Comments by Samsung Gulf suggest Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop
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There have been rumours that have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, by now a two-and-a-half year old device, would be getting Android Lollipop. Maybe it was blind faith or just hope, but we were hoping that this time this rumour would be true. Unfortunately, some comments made by Samsung Gulf, one of Samsung‘s regional offices, have suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop, which means the dream might be over for an official update.
Somehow it’s not particularly surprising seeing as Samsung has previously said that 18 months from launch is the window that it would be working off for future updates to devices, and the Galaxy Note 2 is way past its prime. If you’re disappointed, all is not lost, as is always the way with Android – plenty of great developers have been working on custom ROMs for some time now that will give you that Lollipop experience if you are adamant you want to have it on your Galaxy Note 2. If that interests you, hop on over to the XDA Forums where you’ll find your Lollipop fix.
What do you think about the rumour that the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: SamMobile
The post Comments by Samsung Gulf suggest Samsung Galaxy Note 2 won’t be getting Android Lollipop appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google is experimenting with Dart to create faster, smoother Android apps
A group of Google developers is working on Sky, a Dart-based “experimental, high-performance UI framework for mobile apps.”
The majority of Android apps are written in Java, but Sky makes use of Dart, an open-source web programming language developed and promoted by Google. The goal of Sky is to allow the creation of faster apps that can run on any platform and can make use of better web integration for a better user experience.
Fast, smooth apps should be the norm in our day and age, but unfortunately not all Android apps attain the 60fps gold standard at which animations are perceived as smooth. According to its creators, Sky makes it possible to create apps that consistently run at 120fps. The team used Dart on Android to create this simple demo app that renders entire frames every 1.2 milliseconds, much lower than the 8 milliseconds required to hit 120fps. But even complicated apps should be able to fit within the 8 milliseconds limit.
In order to hit this impressive frame rate, the “jank-free” Sky prioritizes the UI over other processes, meaning the app should stay smooth when it works heavily in the background.
Sky works on top of the Dart virtual machine so Sky apps can work on Android, but also on other operating systems that have a Dart VM. And because Dart is primarily a web app language, Android apps made with Sky have most of their code stored on a web server, which makes it much easier to update them: instead of updating code on every device, developers only need to update the code on the server.
For now, Sky is billed as an experiment, but the project holds great promise. Ars Technica has a closer look at Sky and the possibilities it opens here.
Sony makes it easier to install a custom OS on its smartphones
Installing new ROMs can be an excellent way to breathe new life into an unsupported old handset, but leaping through all the rooting and recovery hoops can be a turn-off for many. Fortunately, Sony is helping to make installing custom operating systems a little easier, by releasing a set of special bootloaders that enable booting from the recovery partition. An essential requirement for installing and booting into another OS.
What this means is that users will be more free to install custom ROMs and even other operating systems, as developers don’t have to spend time modifying the Android build system to pack a recovery in with the boot image. By allowing for the the use of regular recovery images built on any AOSP based project, users will even be able to install other Android related operating systems, such as Firefox OS and Ubuntu Touch, to their phone.
The first Sony devices to receive the new bootloaders are the ARM Cortex-A7 CPU based Xperia T2 Ultra, Xperia T3, Xperia M2, and Xperia E3, with the potential for more devices to appear in the future. Sony hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but you can already download the bootloaders using Sony’s official flash-tool. Just plug in your device and select the “(open devices) bootloader” service. Additional instructions can be found in the source link below.
It’s not clear if or when Sony will be rolling out this feature to its higher end devices, but it’s a promising sign for those who like to modify their OS experience. We can only hope that Sony’s headstart will convince some other OEMs to include similar options in the future too.
Meerkat breaks up with Twitter, jumps into bed with Facebook instead
If your social media startup uses Twitter as a link to the people, then you run the risk of getting your lifeline cut off should you get too popular. After all, Twitter tried to crowd Instagram out with Twitter Video, Picture Sharing and Vine, and the social network is now trying to supplant Meerkat with Periscope. It’s one of the reasons that, in its most recent update, Meerkat has broken its close association with the site, making a Twitter account entirely optional.
Even better, is that users can now post their live video streams to Facebook, and you’ll also be able to find users who are in your phone book. It’s previously been quite an issue, since Twitter cut off Meerkat’s access to the social graph, making finding your friends that little bit harder. The updated Meerkat is available in the App Store (or, you know, on your phone), and we can presume these features will also hit the Android beta at some point in the future, too.
[Image Credit: Getty]
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Via: Venturebeat
Source: Meerkat (Medium)
May the Fourth be with you: Celebrate Star Wars Day with KOTOR for $2.99
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Today is May the 4th and as Star Wars fans everywhere know, it’s Star Wars Day. Now, people will celebrate this day many different ways – board games and video games immediately spring to mind, as do movie marathons. Video games ring particularly true with me, and if there’s one thing I’m going to do today, I’m going to play KOTOR (short for Knights of the Old Republic), what I think is still the best Star Wars video game to date. And I’m going to play it on Android, because right now you can get KOTOR for $2.99 USD on the Google Play Store, a massive price cut from its $9.99 launch price.
Set many years before the events of the original movie trilogy, KOTOR focuses on a similarly epic storyline of a galaxy oppressed by a Sith Lord and a hero who rises from obscurity. What made it so endearing to those who first played it in 2003 was how much influence you had on the world around you and how your actions would cause an effect many planets away. It really goes to show how far smartphone technology has come these last few years that a console game from years back and now be played on a personal device. If you’re interested in taking advantage of this deal while it’s still around, hit the link below (yes it says $9.99, but click through to the Google Play Store and it will show as $2.99).
What are your fondest memories of KOTOR? Let us know in the comments below.
The post May the Fourth be with you: Celebrate Star Wars Day with KOTOR for $2.99 appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
The Fourth is with Samsung too: Samsung is fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in China
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When a report comes out detailing the performance of the top 3 manufacturers in China and Samsung isn’t one of them, you really take notice. In Strategy Analytics’ latest report about China’s smartphone market in Q1 2015, Xiaomi topped the board with 14 million smartphones shipped, Apple came in second with 13.5 million and Huawei came in third with 11.2 million units moved. Samsung isn’t even mentioned in the report but we’re willing to bet Samsung is just slightly behind in fourth place.
While it doesn’t seem like much, this is a big change for the Korean manufacturer who once had a huge stake in the Chinese market. No doubt these numbers and rankings do not yet take into account the start of Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge sales last month, however Samsung has a lot of ground to make up if it intends to move up in the world’s biggest market for smartphones.
What do you think of Samsung’s plight in the Chinese smartphone market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Strategy Analytics via SamMobile
The post The Fourth is with Samsung too: Samsung is fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in China appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Facebook opens up Internet.org in wake of net neutrality concerns
Led by Facebook but with backing from a number of other prominent tech companies, Internet.org has made slow but steady progress in a bid to connect underserved countries around the globe. However, despite its altruistic approach, the project has come under fire in India for allegedly violating net neutrality rules by favoring certain carriers, sites and services. Zuckerberg and co. certainly don’t want those criticisms hanging over their head, so today the Facebook CEO confirmed that the company will open up the Internet.org platform to developers, allowing them to create their own mobile-centric tools for millions of (often) first-time internet users.
The majority of users will utilize the free service on a featurephone, so Facebook is requiring that developers adhere to a basic set of rules. Firstly, they must create tools that don’t place restrictions on what users can see. Sites are encouraged to be as efficient as possible, so they load quickly and aren’t bogged down by voice, video, downloads or large photos. That means providers aren’t overloaded by data and they can continue investing in their infrastructure. Zuckerberg hopes that by “more transparent and inclusive,” companies like Cleartrip, NewsHunt, NDTV and the Times Group in India will bring their sites back, allowing citizens to browse the best of the web.
Source: Facebook
Samsung and Samsonite are working on smart luggage
There have been more than a few efforts at smart luggage, but this is one you’re likely going to notice. Samsung and Samsonite (appropriately enough) are teaming up to develop smart bags that will likely be easier to buy and more accessible. They should include include loads of location and mobile notification features, such as GPS tracking, anti-tampering alerts and warnings when you wander away. However, that’s just the start. Samsonite is working with airlines on baggage that checks itself in — drop them off and they’d tell the airport about your airline, the weight and your destination. Also, Samsung is experimenting with self-propelled luggage that follows you around the airport. That last technology is still too cumbersome to be practical (the engine takes up a third of the size), but the days of having to lug (and worry about) your belongings across the airport may soon be over.
Filed under: Misc, GPS, Peripherals, Samsung
Source: Daily Mail
Taking walks with this leg brace can power an artificial heart
Someday, folks with artificial hearts might have to take long, daily walks to stay alive — not because exercise is good for their health, but because those walks literally power their synthetic organ. A team of students from Rice University called “Farmers” are developing a device that can generate energy and feed it back into the body to be used by an artificial heart. Their creation? A modified medical leg brace with a motor attached right on the joint, so it can produce energy every time the user bends his knee. An earlier prototype for the same project — it’s a multi-year endeavor, and the current model is the brainchild of the third batch of students — could also generate power by walking. However, that wasn’t a brace, but a shoe with a pedal attached to the sole.
According to the team, it was a real challenge making the brace lighter and more wearable. Their main tester said the current version’s “comfortable enough to wear for long periods,” though, so it sounds like they succeeded. They also managed to add a system that converts energy into electricity that goes straight into storage — a lithium-ion battery, to be specific — at the beginning of 2015.
As you might have guessed, it’s not exactly capable of powering implantable medical devices yet. But the Farmers are hoping that future iterations will be able to wirelessly transmit electricity to artificial hearts.
Filed under: Science
Via: Medgadget
Source: Rice University
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