New, thicker, longer lasting Vivo X5Max S surfaces in TENAA
Vivo is one of those smartphone manufacturers that enjoys producing extremely thin devices and frequently retains the title of “world’s thinnest smartphone” with one of its devices. However, Vivo is still subject to the realities of current technology and when it comes to batteries, that means a thicker battery for longer life. Vivo is poised to launch a new variant of their Vivo X5Max on May 13th which comes with a 4150 mAh battery and will be called the Vivo X5Max S.
The normal Vivo X5Max comes with a 2000 mAh battery, so this new version more than doubles the capacity of the battery. The tradeoff for all that extra juice is another 2.54 mm of additional thickness which gets added to the 4.75 mm thickness of the base version. This is not the first time Vivo has taken their base smartphone and put a larger battery in it. At MWC 2015 the company launched the Vivo X5Max+, a 5.1 mm thick smartphone with a slightly larger 2300 mAh battery.
Inside the Vivo X5Max S is a MediaTek MT6752 processor running at 1.7GHz instead of the Snapdragon 615 running at 1.5GHz found in the base version. Otherwise, the devices are basically the same with a 5.5-inch full HD screen, 2GB of RAM, and a 13MP rear camera.
Vivo is expected to announce the X5Max S and the X5Pro, the latter of which is expected to feature a retina scanner and Type-C USB port, later this week when we should find out pricing and availability details.
Come comment on this article: New, thicker, longer lasting Vivo X5Max S surfaces in TENAA
Deal: Last chance to save 84% on a ibVPN Total Plan subscription
Having access to a VPN service is extremely important in today’s age. If you’ve ever used public Wifi, gotten your bandwidth throttled or needed to work remotely, a VPN service might be for you. The ibVPN Total Plan, which is currently 84% off in the AA Deals Store, will give you online privacy, unrestricted web browsing, faster streaming and more. But you better hurry… this deal is only available until Monday night!
Compatible with your smartphone and tablet, ibVPN will safeguard your internet privacy, bypass geo-restrictions, and keep your connection speed fast no matter what you’re streaming. Not only that, you’ll be able to choose between more than 75 VPN servers in 39 countries, take advantage of the 256-bit encrypted P2P file sharing and torrent download, and access blocked social media websites from anywhere. It’s also compatible with your Mac, Windows, Android or iOS devices.
Right now the ibVPN Total Plan, which gets you a 4-year subscription to the service, is just $59 in the Android Authority Deals Store. It can sometimes be tough to find a good deal on a quality VPN subscription, so you might want to check this one out. If you’re interested, head to the link below before this deal is over.
11 best business apps for Android
It’s true that smartphones and tablets are generally looked at as gaming and media devices. You’ll find most focus on games, music, video content, and social media but it’s also a fairly solid platform for businesses and business oriented use. It is quite difficult to run a business on mobile but you can augment systems already in place and create a more universal workflow using apps available on mobile today. Let’s take a look at the best business apps for Android.
Basecamp
[Price: Free]
Basecamp is a service that allows you to organize tasks and assign tasks to people. This is a great way to manage workflow, make sure everyone’s working on what they’re supposed to be working on, and keeping everyone communicating with one another. There are other options such as Asana but we’re talking about apps here and the Basecamp app is about as solid of a task management app as you can find right now. It is free to install and use on mobile so that’s also a plus.
Chrome Remote Desktop
[Price: Free]
Chrome Remote Desktop is a nifty application that allows you to access your computers from your mobile device. You’ll have to have Google Chrome web browser installed along with the Chrome Remote Desktop extension for the browser that you can find here. You can access your home computer from work and your work computer from home. The only downside is that you can’t really intensive tasks but grabbing files or doing light tasks is doable.
Evernote
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Evernote is about the most powerful note taking application that you can find. You can create notebooks and work spaces to keep your notes and ideas organized. You can also share notes with other people for light collaboration, create to-do lists and task lists, and all kinds of other stuff. You can also download Evernote for your Mac, Windows, or Linux computer for cross platform support. It’s one of the best note taking apps available and has plenty of functionality for business use.
Google Drive
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Google Drive is Google’s cloud-based office and cloud storage ecosystem. Google Drive requires the use of three additional apps called Google Docs (word processing), Google Sheets (spreadsheet), and Google Slides (presentations). The service comes with 15GB of cloud storage but you can get much more for relatively cheap. The online nature of the system allows for real-time collaboration from multiple locations, easy sharing, and simple management of business files. You can even delegate which people have access to which files. It’s a great and solid option.
Google Hangouts or Skype
[Price: Free]
One of the most important things in any business is communication. Granted, it’s simple enough to stay in touch with email, phone calls, and text messages but it is easier than ever to have video and audio conference calls for free using apps like Hangouts or Skype. Both allow for multiple-party video calls (up to 10 participants) as well as voice conference calls. The apps both work very well and offer group chat (text) functionality to further help communication. They’re both free to use.
Microsoft Office and OneDrive
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
In order to keep pace with Google Drive, Microsoft has also released an office suite and cloud storage solution for Android. The cloud storage site is called One Drive and much like Google Drive, you get a little bit of free storage to start and you can buy more relatively easily. Everyone knows about Microsoft Office and the apps are free to use. Office Mobile is for phones and there are separate and far more powerful versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Android tablets. Businesses married into the Microsoft ecosystem can definitely be augmented further with their office suite.
MyStocks
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
MyStocks is a simple application that is great for keeping an eye on stocks. You can follow practically any stocks you want and get alerts, analysis, charts, and password protection. It’s more geared for personal use but these days investing is something practically everyone should be doing anyway. On top of its core functions, it also comes with DashClock support, Android Wear support, and news.
Slack
[Price: Free]
Slack is a team chat service to help people talk to one other. Moderators can create channels for various topics so others can stay on topic and the service supports the upload of practically any file type which means sending documents, presentations, and other business materials is fairly simple. You can integrate it with many other services including Hangouts, Asana, Dropbox, Twitter, ZenDesk, and others to create a more immersive experience and the application is available on the web, mobile, and PC/Mac/Linux.
Square Register
[Price: Free]
Square Register is a sales tracking app that allows you to track and view inventory numbers, sales figures, and much more. You can also send receipts if needed. Business owners in the U.S., Canada, and Japan can also pick up the Square Reader and use their smartphones as credit card readers. This comes in handy for small businesses that rely on a lot of frequent movement. It also connects to receipt printers if you need one of those.
Tax Code and Regs – TouchTax
[Price: $4.99]
It’s definitely not the most interesting app, but taxes are important for businesses. Especially small businesses that are just starting out. Knowing the tax code can help in a lot of ways and during tax season, it’s good to have an updated reference guide handy to help with those sticky tax questions. It’s not particularly useful for non-tax things, but for $5, you get all 7,700+ sections of the latest edition of the tax code. That’s not a bad investment.
Todoist
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Todoist is a task management and to-do app that helps you stay on top of your personal tasks. The app is available on computer, web, and mobile so you can manage your to-do lists cross-platform and you can set up various tags and categories so you know what you need to do, for whom, and why. You can add notes to tasks, reminders, due dates, and a lot more if you end up going the premium route ($29/year). It’s effective, quick, and efficient.
Wrap up
If we missed any great business apps for Android, let us know about them in the comments! All recommendations are welcome.
To see our complete list of Android apps and games lists, click here!
Tim Cook Joins Weibo as iPhone Sales Remain Strong in China [iOS Blog]
Apple CEO Tim Cook has expanded his social media presence by creating an account on Chinese microblogging service Weibo, where he has already accumulated over 325,000 followers as of writing. Cook’s first post on Weibo reflects on his current visit to Beijing to announce new environmental initiatives in China, including a new multi-year forestland program in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund.
“Hello China! Happy to be back in Beijing, announcing innovative new environmental programs,” wrote Cook, followed by a Chinese translation of the same message. Last month, Apple announced a partnership with SunPower Corporation to build two 20-megawatt solar power plants that will provide more than enough energy to power all of Apple’s corporate offices and retail stores in China.
Coinciding with Cook’s visit to China this week, market research firm IDC has released new data for the smartphone market that reveals Apple was the largest smartphone vendor in China during the first quarter of 2015. Apple shipped 14.5 million smartphones in China during the quarter for 14.7% market share, while Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi trailed in second with 13.5 million shipments and 13.7% market share.
Huawei, Samsung and Lenovo rounded off the top five smartphone vendors in China during the first quarter, although IDC notes that each vendor’s rankings often change quickly due to the volatility of consumer brand preference in China. Samsung and Lenovo, for example, both led the market at least once last year, but ranked fourth and fifth in the first quarter respectively.
“Apple was the top smartphone vendor in China in the first quarter of 2015, with consumers still having a strong appetite for the larger screens on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Xiaomi slipped to the second position as it faced strong competition from other vendors in the low to mid-range segment of the market, while Huawei maintained third position as it saw a good uptake in the mid-range segment. Samsung and Lenovo both led the market at least once last year, but rankings have since changed quickly, highlighting the volatility of consumers’ brand preference in China.”
With an estimated 1.4 billion people and growing, China is the world’s most populous country and over three times larger than the United States, which has an estimated population of 320 million people. China is an increasingly important market for Apple, given that the country had higher iPhone sales than the United States for the first time ever during the most recent quarter.
Apple Watch Stands Up to 1,200m Swim Workout and 10m High Dive Test [iOS Blog]
The Apple Watch has been put through a variety of waterproofing tests since its public launch in April, but over the weekend endurance sports and tech blogger Ray Waker posted a few Apple Watch-related waterproof videos, including the first lap swimming test with Apple’s new wearable.
As Waker notes in his blog post, many people have uploaded videos detailing simple waterproof tests in smaller backyard pools, but there has until now been little information on the Watch’s ability to withstand higher-intensity swimming activities. As he notes, “It’s the wrist hitting the water that’s so difficult for watch waterproofing due to the impact forces,” so that’s what he decides to focus on in the test. After about 25 minutes in the water and a 1200 meter swim, Maker found results similar to most other waterproofing tests over the past few weeks – the Apple Watch remains seemingly unharmed by even the most daunting submerged water tests.
Afterwards, he aims to increase the water impact experimentation on the wearable by diving off of his local public pool’s high diving platform. As Maker mentions, it’s another item on the list of warnings given by Apple to avoid subjecting the Watch — “Dropping Apple Watch or subjecting it to other impacts” — but even after two jumps off the 5 meter platform and one off the 10 meter, the Apple Watch continued to perform normally for the tech blogger.
Maker’s final test lies outside of a swimming pool in a makeshift waterproof test chamber, designed to simulate varying meters of pressure below the surface of the water. The Apple Watch, which is rated for only 1 meter of depth for waterproofing, was simulated with two separate dives of 40 meters during Maker’s test. The results, unsurprisingly, fell in line with his previous findings for the Watch, with all of its various features appearing to function as expected following the stress test.
I’m impressed, it’s still chugging along after that – with not a single sign of any issues at all. Clearly this is all more than adequate for any sort of casual sweat or showering. Though I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out over the next few weeks just in case.
Of course, the slightly awkward thing is that despite this battery of tests, the unit still isn’t warrantied for any of this, including even a simple shower with soap. Now whether or not an Apple Store employee would question a watch that arrives back dead probably remains to be seen. On the flip side, it’s also clear that it’s probably quite a bit harder to kill the thing than Apple would have you believe.
As with any new product category, the Apple Watch has faced a deluge of various testing in videos and on blogs around the web ever since it launched to customers on April 24. Ray Waker’s experiments provide the first real glimpse at the usability of the Watch in a high-intensity swimming environment, and definitely provides more ease-of-mind to those worrying about getting their watch even slightly wet. Still, Waker reiterates that given that the Watch “doesn’t take advantage of its internal accelerometers for any swimming metrics,” he advises to leave it behind when swimming in a pool.
We’re one step closer to navigable 3D pictures of real places
If you’ve experienced a VR representation of a real place, chances are that you’ve just been looking around a static, 360-degree panorama of a room. OTOY believes that the days of the fixed-camera 3D picture are now done thanks to light-field technology, the same image refocusing tech you’ll find in a Lytro. In short, a pair of DSLRs on a prototype rig spin around to capture pictures of a space with light field lenses. When that data is pulled into a computer, it creates a virtual version of that picture with unprecedented fidelity. The best thing, however, is that the company believes that users can then move about the image as they see fit.
“The light field data of the room was rendered instantaneously in VR, mirroring the reality and grit of the natural world, while allowing a user in that world to look in any direction and move around in the space as if they were actually there.”
Or, at least, that’s the idea. If you check out the video that the company has produced, you’ll see the user tilting their head but no free roaming around the space. Still, being able to retain a true image while tilting the head is a big achievement, and the image clearly has plenty more depth and clarity than a standard panorama. It’s also the first of several companies who are experimenting with light-field VR, including NextVR, which uses six Red Dragon cameras to create a similar effect.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: OTOY
AeroMobil’s flying car prototype crashes mid-test
AeroMobil may have its work cut out for it if it’s going to deliver a practical flying car within two years. Unfortunately, inventor Stefan Klein crashed a prototype in Slovakia this weekend after it entered an unrecoverable tailspin during a test flight. While the pilot thankfully managed to activate his vehicle’s parachute in time and avoid any serious injuries, the machine wasn’t so lucky — as you can see above, it wasn’t about to drive away. The company is optimistic about the accident in a statement, arguing that it’s a “natural part” of testing that will help refine the design. It’ll no doubt be a learning experience, but something tells us that the official roadmap doesn’t include wrecking an aircraft. This is going to be a setback, even if it’s relatively minor.
[Image credit: MH, SME.sk]
Filed under: Transportation
Via: CNET, Prague Post
Source: AeroMobil, SME.sk (translated)
Three new Verizon Motorola smartphones appear with Quad HD displays
Now that summer is almost here, it’s time to start thinking about what Motorola has in store. They usually announce their products in the late summer to early fall. Of course, we know there will be a new Moto X and a new Moto 360, but let’s not forget about the Verizon exclusive DROIDs. Last year, Verizon chose to go with one DROID, the DROID Turbo. In previous years, they did offer multiple models, and it looks like they might adopt that strategy again this year.
The models in question are the XT192A, XT1585 and XT1578, which are being tested in Chicago right now and they are all Verizon compatible, sport Quad HD (2560 x 1440) displays, and are running Android 5.1.1. Now we know that Verizon will carry the Moto X as well, so one of these devices could be a Moto X. The XT1578 appears to have a 5-inch display, while the XT192A and XT1585 appear to have 4.3-inch displays. I would say that Quad HD is a serious overkill for a 4.3-inch display, so I will surprised if that sticks. The XT1578 also appeared in a HTML5 test.
At one time the DROID was the coolest phone, but do they excite you anymore? I thought last year’s DROID Turbo should have been the Nexus 6, but the one area where Motorola continues to lag is the camera. Until they get that straightened out, they will have a tough time playing with the big boys.
sources: Reddit / HTML5 Test
Come comment on this article: Three new Verizon Motorola smartphones appear with Quad HD displays
Qualcomm rumored to launch a deca-core Snapdragon 818 SoC
Information has leaked concerning Qualcomm‘s upcoming Snapdragon 818 SoC. Sources are telling tech publication STJSGadgets that it will feature a deca-core processor.
Keep in mind that there is no official statement on the alleged Snapdragon 818 SoC–just a tip from an insider at the company. It sounds like it’s in the very early stages of development, as it’s only on paper. Specs are most likely to change, and they probably will before the public hears an official announcement from the chipset manufacturer.
Here’s what they have in the planning stages so far:
This new SoC will be offering 4 Low Power Cores (Cortex A53 @ 1.2GHz), 2 Mid Power Cores (Cortex A53 @1.6GHz), and 4 High Power Cores (Cortex A72 @ 2.0GHz). As pictured above, it’s also said to support and handle the Adreno 532 GPU, LPDDR4 RAM, LTE-A Cat10 speeds, and is produced using the 20nm process.
While nothing is official yet, this sounds phenomenal on paper. It’ll be interesting to see how it’ll run in an actual device, and boy, are we looking forward to that.
source: STSJGadgets
Come comment on this article: Qualcomm rumored to launch a deca-core Snapdragon 818 SoC
Google now allows pre-registration of Android apps
Customers can sign up for launch notifications
Head to the Google Play store today and you’ll find that you can now pre-register for apps before they are released. Specifically, you can pre-register for the Glu Mobile game for Terminator Genisys: Revolution.
With no expected launch date listed we would assume the game debuts within a short window of time centered around the film’s premier date (July 1). Simply tap or click the button that says “pre-register” and you’ll be added to a list of people who want to be notified of the app’s release.
It’s worth noting that the expected price is not listed with the game. Should you decide that you ultimately don’t care to be notified, you can cancel the request at any time.
We like the idea of pre-registering for games and are anxious to learn more about the new feature. As consider the possibilities we have a new number questions, too.
We suspect that we’ll learn plenty more about pre-registration of apps and games in the coming days and weeks. If not a blog post or mention on Google+ perhaps something at Google I/O later this month.
The post Google now allows pre-registration of Android apps appeared first on AndroidGuys.
AIVAnet 