Google to release major Android versions on a yearly basis, starting with Android M
Not only is Android M launching this year, but Google from now on plans on pushing out a major Android release on a yearly basis, according to Google’s Hiroshi Lockheimer, the VP of Engineering for Android.
In an interview with Fast Company, Lockheimer confirmed that Google has moved towards a “yearly cadence of big releases,” and that “this year we’ll launch M.” In other words, next year we can expect N, followed by O, P, and so on. Who knows what’ll happens in thirteen years when Google uses up the alphabet.
What does this news mean for you? Well, as long as you have a Nexus smartphone and stay within that line of devices, you should be getting a yearly major Android update that aims to be the best extension of you possible. Can you imagine what Android Z will look like in thirteen years? Holographs, I say.
Here’s to the death of minor and incremental releases. This is an exciting time for Android! Be sure to stay tuned to TalkAndroid, as Google I/O 2015 is only a day away. Our very own Robert Nazarian is at the event, and those of us back home will be working around the clock to deliver all the latest news for you.
source: Fast Company
via: Droid-Life
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What Nexus device will Google hand out at Google I/O?
Attendees at Google I/O enjoy a nice perk when Google hands out hardware to those who make the trek, long or short, to hear all about the company’s plans for the upcoming year. With the 2015 version of the event about to get underway this week, many people are wondering what Google may be planning to drop in the hands of attendees. There are some people suggesting the next generation Nexus Player could be the device, although a second gen Chromecast or even new Google Cardboard is in the running.
Google is poised to see some new Android TV sets hit the market soon as the company continues to try to meld TV and Internet services into one platform. At the same time, Google has started to discount the original Nexus Player with the price down to $79. It seems the end-of-life is approaching for the first gen Nexus Player, so handing out the second gen version to developers at Google I/O 2015 seems like a good way to maintain interest. However, working against this theory is the lack of any signs of shipments of Nexus Player devices through Zauba.
That situation can be contrasted with Google Chromecast which saw three shipments pass through Zauba during the past month for a total of 10,280 units. The data does not indicate whether these units are a new version, but we do know Google is working on an update for the popular dongle.
Finally, 1,200 units of Google Cardboard were shipped out of China in late April. Half of those units specify they are meant for a 5.7-inch mobile phone whil the other half are meant for a 4.7-inch mobile phone. We are already expecting Google VR to get quite a bit of attention at Google I/O this week, so it would make sense for some new Google Cardboard to show up for the benefit of developers.
Be sure to stick with TalkAndroid this week as our Google I/O 2015 coverage gets underway.
source: SlashGear
Come comment on this article: What Nexus device will Google hand out at Google I/O?
HTC’s WF5w smartphone looks to be their thinnest device yet
A new HTC device was certified in China with the model number WF5w. This phone obviously isn’t official, but the Chinese certification page lists the physical dimensions at just 152 grams and 7.49 mm thin. That bests HTC’s current thinnest smartphone, the E9+, by a small margin.
The phone reportedly runs Android 5.0.2 with a 5.5-inch, 720p display. There’s an octa-core processor on board, 2 GB of RAM, 13 megapixel front and rear cameras, and 16 GB of internal storage with an SD card slot. The phone isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s clear the thinness will be the most unique feature here.
The radios in the device indicate this particular model will only be seen in China, but HTC has been known to release international variants of their devices, so there’s still a chance we’ll see this more readily available. The phone will probably end up falling into the Desire line, but we’ll know more once HTC makes it official.
source: TENAA
via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: HTC’s WF5w smartphone looks to be their thinnest device yet
The Google Gadget Giveaway
It’s winning time! *rings bell*
That’s right, today we’re launching our latest giveaway and one that I am personally extremely excited about. One lucky AndroidGuys reader will take home a Google Nexus 9 Tablet, a Chromecast, and $100 giftcard to the Google Play store. Now, there’s no purchase necessary but we will be expecting an invite* to movie night.
Yup, the best in Google gadgets for absolutely NO COST. Enter into the contest, here, and share on social media to increase your odds. Good luck!
*we’ll bring the popcorn
See more at deals.androidguys.com
The post The Google Gadget Giveaway appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Rumor: ASUS Zenfone 3 gets TENAA certification
An ASUS smartphone touting model number Z00EDB just got certified in China by TENAA. It’s possible this device could be the ZenFone 3, the successor to Asus’ ZenFone 2, which recently launched in the US.
The new model seems to have two LED flashes, placed on both sides of the camera, whereas the ZenFone 2 has an LED flash placed atop of the camera. That said, it’s obviously different than the ZenFone 2, despite the stark similarities.
The ZenFone 2 launched back in March, so we probably have a little under a year before this new device comes to fruition. The ZenFone 2 has as much RAM as you can find in a standard laptop, so it’ll be exciting to see what Asus does with a ZenFone 3.
While it’d be interesting to see improved hardware, the ZenFone 3’s rumored specs are much lower than its predecessor:
- 5-inch, 1280 x 720 display
- 64-bit SoC, featuring a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU
- Mali GPU
- 2GB of RAM
- 16GB internal storage
- 8-megapixel camera
One thing to keep in mind is that Asus did bring two different ZenFone 2’s to the market–one that had the hardware of your standard flagship device and another with, well, less impressive hardware. We could just be seeing a lower spec’d ZenFone 3 here.
Either way, these are all rumors, and should be treated as such.
What do you think of a possible ZenFone 3? What improvements would you like to see in it? Let us know in the comments below.
source: TENAA
via: Phone Arena
Come comment on this article: Rumor: ASUS Zenfone 3 gets TENAA certification
Huawei smartwatch now available to pre-order through online retailer MobileFun
Huawei’s new smartwatch is now available to pre-order in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and some parts of Europe. You can pre-order the device through online retailer MobileFun in black, silver, and gold.
The black and silver smartwatch, featuring a metal band, will set you back $387. If you want the gold with the leather band, you’re looking at $451. In Europe, the new smartwatch costs €427 ($464) and €498 ($541), respectively. In the UK, it’s just a tad cheaper at £300 ($460) or £350 ($537).
The Canadian variant costs even less, at CAD 477 ($383) and CAD 556 ($447). Those in New Zealand can expect to dish out NZD 534 ($387) or NZD 618 ($447), while Australia will see a price point of AUD 495 ($382) and AUD 577 ($445).
While it’s not real gold, it still looks stylish, and your not shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for something that you’d be scared to put on your wrist, such as the higher class line of Apple Watches.
Huawei’s smartwatch features a 1.4-inch 400 x 400 AMOLED display, a Snapdragon 400 chipset, and 512MB of RAM. You also get all your standard sensors that come with smartwatches–heart sensor, barometer, gyroscope, and etc. There’s no word on when the device will launch or begin shipping just yet. However, we may hear more on that come Huawei’s planned New York City event on June 2.
Are you interested in this new smartwatch from Huawei? Let us know in the comments.
source: MobileFun
via: PhoneArena
Come comment on this article: Huawei smartwatch now available to pre-order through online retailer MobileFun
Bellabeat Officially Launches Stress-Measuring ‘Leaf’ Activity Tracker [iOS Blog]
Bellabeat, a company focused on creating technology products designed for women, is today ready to launch its first wearable, the Leaf activity tracker. First announced last year, the Leaf is an activity tracker that looks more like a stylish piece of jewelry than a standard activity tracker from a company like Jawbone, Nike, or Fitbit.
The Bellabeat Leaf is, as the name suggests, a leaf-shaped activity-tracking wearable that can be positioned as a clip, necklace, or bracelet. Depending on where it’s worn, it’s advertised as being able to track metrics like activity level, sleep quality, stress level, and ovulation.
Described as a wearable “you’ll actually want to wear,” the standard leaf is made from a light maple-colored wood and accentuated with a steel leaf plate that’s available in five designs. Bellabeat is also introducing a new limited edition gold version that’s made from a dark marshwood and accompanied by a gold-plated leaf, plus the company is selling a range of bracelet and necklace accessories to pair with the Leaf.
The Leaf is designed to be worn all day, tracking activity, sleep, and stress. It works in conjunction with an upcoming Leaf app, which is able to track information on menstrual cycles to provide a complete picture of health. Leaf will also deliver vibration-based notifications on activity level throughout the day.
Receive real-time feedback in the form of slight vibrations, notifying you to increase or decrease your activity and reminding you about other aspects of your health, such as getting more sleep. The LEAF app even helps to monitor your monthly menstrual cycle by tracking expected days and providing information based on your activity, sleep and stress levels.
As you continue to use the LEAF, it becomes smarter by learning your personal habits and tailors feedback accordingly. The LEAF is truly unique in that it allows you to cross reference your cycle with trends in your daily activity, all easily viewable in your app.
Tracking activity and sleep is a function included in most smart wearables, but stress detection is relatively unique. When worn as a pendant or a brooch near the chest, the Leaf monitors breathing and uses that along with user-provided information as a metric to determine stress levels.
The Leaf ships with a necklace chain, but it can also be added to existing jewelery and paired with the aforementioned accessories Bellabeat plans to offer. It includes a standard watch battery, so there is no need to charge it on a daily basis, but the battery will need to be replaced after approximately six months.
Bellabeat previously accepted pre-orders for the standard edition of the Leaf, but those quickly sold out. Today’s sales of the Leaf and the Limited Edition Leaf mark the official launch of the Leaf, which will begin shipping out to customers on June 15.
The Leaf and the Limited Edition Leaf can be purchased from the Bellabeat website beginning today. The standard Leaf is available for $119, while the limited Edition Leaf is available for $250.
Fox Debuts ‘Movie of the Day!’ App With Daily Discounts on iTunes Movies [iOS Blog]
Fox today debuted a new app called Movie of the Day! [Direct Link] which aims to provide customers a new daily discount on one movie from Fox’s large catalog (via Engadget).
Every day the app updates with a new movie deal, ranging from “from blockbusters to acclaimed indies, and everything in between,” at a discount which goes up to 70 percent off of the original price. To start off, the app is available only for iOS devices, but there are plans to expand to other app stores like Google Play. In addition to the basic daily discount, the app also lets users browse a movie’s cast, check out other user reviews, and read a quick synopsis of the film.
Going live today in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and France, the app’s first discount is a $6.99 version of X-Men: First Class, originally $14.99. Every movie showcased within the new Fox app links back to the iTunes store, so anyone taking advantage of the daily sales will be able to build up their iTunes movie catalog at a cheaper rate than normal.
Although the company hasn’t made any confirmation of the next few movies to be showcased, the app’s screenshot carousel hints that films like Rio 2, Fight Club, and The Fault in Our Stars could be discounted in the coming weeks. Those interested can download Movie of the Day! for free right now on the App Store.
US wants future first responders to be more high-tech
The folks that might one day save your ass still rely on ’50s-era radio technology (with some exceptions), and the US Commerce Department wants that to change. Its National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) division has just created a roadmap for how first responders can exploit technology over the next 20 years. The prime target is indoor location tech, which would help emergency crews find bad guys and victims alike in complex structures. There’s no standard for indoor GPS, however, so NIST would like to get some kind of industry consensus on it and incorporate 3D visualization, enhanced precision and other features.
While police are starting to pack body cameras, NIST would like to see open standards that allow such wearables to easily exchange data. Furthermore, it wants industry to develop ad hoc networks that can pull data from such devices, along with digital video broadcasts, voice over IP services and the internet of things. That way, emergency crews could quickly commandeer a disaster site and efficiently allocate resources as needed.
The Commerce Department is looking for wearable tech and indoor location services to be implemented widely in 5-10 years and converge with the internet of things within 20 years. Of course, the gears of bureaucracy crank slowly — it took the FAA a lot longer than it thought to implement the next-gen ADS-B air traffic control system, for instance. Hopefully, first responders will get access to the latest tech before it’s already obsolete.
[Image credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes]
Source: US Commerce Department
‘Ultra Street Fighter IV’ for PlayStation 4 has big issues
Turns out the PS4 port of Street Fighter IV isn’t all that Ultra. Sony secured a next-gen exclusive for the fighting game and its sequel, but its release has been marred by complaints. The internet is awash with reports of severe slowdown in menus, moves not working as they’re supposed to, sound glitches and bizarre visual bugs. Although we haven’t noticed some of the more egregious issues, the game does appear to have some input lag, which is a massive problem for a title that is all about timing. The entire thing feels like you’re playing online with a weak connection right now.
Ultra Street Fighter IV‘s botched launch is yet another example of companies offering up incomplete games for purchase. As we’ve highlighted before, several high-profile releases have been seriously compromised by bugs. Most recently, Xbox One users have complained about a glitch in Witcher 3 that prevents the game from saving. Like the developer of that game, Capcom is sure to patch the Street Fighter issues soon enough, but that’s really no excuse for releasing a game in an unfinished state.
Source: NeoGAF, nsb5024 (YouTube)
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