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
Your free Android apps talk to thousands of ad sites
If you’ve used ad-sponsored Android apps, you’ve probably wondered where those ads are coming from, and whether or not there’s anything to be worried about. According to French researchers, you have a reason to be cautious. They’ve found a way to automatically scan Android apps for connections to advertising and user tracking sites, and some of those programs are more than a little dodgy. A selection of 2,000 free Google Play apps connected to a whopping 250,000 sites spread over 2,000 domains. Most of them talk to only a handful of sites (Google’s ad services dominate the top 10), but 10 percent connect to 500 or more — one egregious offender links to over 2,000 sites. Only 30 percent of the apps talked to user tracking sites, but some of those were communicating with 800 or more addresses.
The actual danger to your phone isn’t likely to be high. Only a small slice of those apps appeared to connect to suspicious sites, and many of the rest come from developers that Google holds in high esteem. Also, the researchers were using a phone running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, so their experience might be different than what you’d get running the latest version of Lollipop. Still, the issue is that you rarely know which ad and tracker sites are involved, and there’s no easy way to block the connections you don’t want. While this study doesn’t mean that you should ditch ad-backed apps entirely, it does serve as a friendly reminder that you should be careful before grabbing them.
[Image credit: Family O’Abe, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Source: ArXiv.org
HTC’s plastic M9+ variant will be a compelling flagship
HTC’s all about its One M9 in the West, but we know many of our readers would rather have the slightly bigger and more powerful M9+. While chances of the latter device escaping Asia are slim, a mysterious plastic variant dubbed “M9e” brings us new hope, courtesy of China’s TENAA certification database. With the exception of the missing Duo Camera, this model shares the same face plus specs with the M9+: 5.2-inch Quad HD display, 2.2GHz octa-core processor (likely MediaTek’s), 3GB of RAM, 20-megapixel main camera (with dual-tone flash), UltraPixel front imager, microSD card expansion and fingerprint reader. What’s uncertain is whether the IR blaster is still present at the top, but regardless, it’s safe to assume that HTC will be offering this plastic device with a more affordable price — probably one that’s not far off from the even bigger E9+.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: TENAA
Solar-powered grill cooks your food no matter the weather
However much you may like grilling food on a warm day, you probably don’t like dealing with gas tanks or other typical grill hassles… and most solar cookers won’t help much if it’s overcast outside. The upcoming GoSun Grill might be a smarter way to handle those backyard shindigs, however. It can bake, boil and roast meals for eight people using a sunlight-powered thermal battery that will keep cooking no matter how gloomy it gets outside. Yes, you can have some grilled chicken at the beach even if it starts raining. The reflector-based system also doesn’t require you to flip your food, and it shouldn’t dry out your moister meats and veggies.
Like the idea? GoSun is crowdfunding the grill, and you’ll need to pledge between $349 to $599 to get a unit of your own depending on how quickly you act and whether you want extras like a stand. The project has already blown past its funding target as we write this, so you’ll likely get the grill in July — just in time for those summer get-togethers.
Filed under: Household
Source: Kickstarter
7 best Android apps for screen recording and other ways too!
One of our more frequent requests from readers is to tell them how to record your screen on Android. The functionality has been around for quite some time but usually requires some tinkering and adjustment to get it. In Android Lollipop, they have a screen recording method building into the OS and that’s how most people do it these days. Let’s take a look at a few Android apps and some other methods to get you screen recording.
Android apps that work on Lollipop and later
AZ Screen Recorder (no root required)
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
First up is AZ Screen Recorder and this is one of the many screen recording apps that were designed to work specifically on Lollipop. Some of the features include the Magic Button feature to control recordings without showing anything on the screen, the ability to capture your front camera as well as screen recording, and some cursory stuff like countdown timers and video trimming. It’s free to use with some in-app purchases if you’re interested.
ilos screen recorder (no root required)
[Price: Free]
ilos screen recorder is a totally free option when it comes to screen recording on Lollipop. It’s a very simple app that doesn’t have a lot of bells or whistles but it does record audio and it should work on all devices running Android 5.0 and higher. They also tout no advertising, no watermarks, and no time limits. The company also has an interesting web recorder on their official website that will record stuff from your computer if you need that functionality.
One Shot Screen Recorder (no root required)
[Price: Free / $0.99]
One Shot Screen Recorder tries to keep the process of screen recording simple. It puts the whole process into four easy steps for your convenience and that’s really all you need. The process aims to keep it easy to use over other options and it does fairly well at it. The free version is a trial that puts a watermark on your videos with the premium version removing the watermark, adds the ability to impose your own logo, hide the notification icon, remove ads, and more.
Telecine (no root required)
[Price: Free]
Telecine is the highest rated app on the list with a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Google Play. It puts an overlay on your device so you know you’re recording and boasts that it doesn’t clog up your notification with various things you’d typically see with screen recording apps. It’s also totally free and has no watermarks. It’s also open source so developers can submit fixes and patches all on their own or build their own app based on this one.
Unlimited Screen Recorder Free (no root required)
[Price: Free]
Unlimited Screen Recorder is our last Lollipop-centric screen recording app. It’s another totally free option that has no watermarks, unlimited video recording, and more features. It features a simple, one-touch interface and records both video and audio. There are also some advanced settings for experienced users.
Android apps that work before Lollipop
Mobizen (no root required)
[Price: Free]
Mobizen is an option that lets you do all kinds of stuff including sending SMS from your desktop, transfer files to PC, and stream video directly to your computer screen. You can also record the screen and this is one of the very few ways you can record using an Android app before Lollipop without root. Unfortunately, the screen recording isn’t great and there will likely be jumps, skips, and frame rate drops. It’s not perfect but it is there and it’s free.
SCR Screen Recorder (root required)
[Price: Free / $4.99]
SCR Screen Recorder is pretty much the best way to record footage of your Android device before Android Lollipop. Unfortunately, root is required for this one since this functionality isn’t available to non-root devices. It records audio, allows you to put your front facing camera footage on the screen recording, and much more. The app is still in active development so new features are being tested all the time and it’s about the best way to do this before Android 5.0.
Other methods
There are other ways to record your screen on Android and that is by using hardware. There are two main ways to do so using hardware:
- If you’re on a device with Android Lollipop (or higher), you can use ADB to record your screen. We have a great tutorial you can read to learn how and you can find it by clicking here.
- Professionals use a capture card to hook their Android device right into their computer and record it from there. Capture cards can get rather expensive but you’ll get probably the best frame rates and quality. Plus it records directly to your computer hard drive which allows for much larger recordings. Do note that you’ll have work around some potential HDCP problems so get the ole search engine up and running.
Wrap up
If we missed any great screen recording apps or methods, let us know in the comments!
To see our complete list of Android apps and games lists, click here!
Chevy’s 2016 Volt costs just $25,000 if you live in California
Chevy’s Volt hybrid was once considered pricey even after government tax credits, but the 2016 model may well be within your reach… if you live in the right state, at least. The automaker has revealed that its latest eco-friendly sedan will cost $33,995 at full price (down $1,200 from last year), but it’ll drop to to a more palpable $26,495 if you qualify for a full federal tax credit. And if you live in California, it’ll sit just under the magic $25,000 mark — not bad for a full-size car that can stay on electric power during a typical commute. You can certainly find cheaper hybrids if you look around, but this is a testament to how quickly Chevy’s once-exotic technology has become accessible.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Chevrolet
Xiaomi Mi5 and Mi5 Plus specs and release date leaked
Xiaomi is set to announce their Mi5 and Mi5 Plus devices soon, but the hardware of those devices has leaked ahead of schedule. Both devices look like they’ll be very capable flagship phones for 2015, asserting Xiaomi’s dominance as one of the biggest smartphone OEMs in China.
The Mi5 will be the successor to the Mi4, and it’ll sport a 5.2-inch screen, either 3 or 4 GB of RAM, and a Snapdragon 810 CPU, and rumors point towards the device incorporating some kind of fingerprint scanner. While the Snapdragon 810 is technically Qualcomm’s most powerful processor, let’s hope the device doesn’t suffer from any overheating issues.
The Mi5 Plus will be a supersized version of the Mi5, offering a 6-inch 2k screen, 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, and a 16 megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization. It’s also likely going to be using the same processor as the smaller Mi5.
Release information isn’t concrete yet, but Xiaomi is likely to release the phones in July, which they typically do with the Mi line.
Would you be interested in either of these powerhouse devices?
source: GizmoChina
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