Tesco trials app for donating unsold food to charity
It’s strange to think that in an affluent nation like the UK, there are people going hungry while shops and eateries throw out masses of perfectly good food every day. Charity organisation FareShare has tasked itself with saving this unwanted food from the bin out back and distributing it to other charities that can use it, and under a new partnership with Tesco, it’s turned to technology to grease the wheels. With the FoodCloud mobile app, Tesco store managers can log items earmarked for disposal, informing FareShare of the potential donation which the charity can then arrange to collect. Born from ongoing partnerships with FareShare and FoodCloud, Tesco’s kicked off the UK pilot in its Surrey Quays store, and will expand it to a further nine locations in four cities under a wider trial. FoodCloud is already in use across all of Tesco’s supermarkets in Ireland, so there’s definite scope for the pilot to become a widespread initiative. And hopefully, Tesco will inspire other businesses to take part, too.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
HTC can’t stop launching high-end models, introduces One ME in China
It was already hard to keep track of HTC’s high-end devices, and now the Taiwanese company is adding yet another model to the mix, the One ME.
A little recap: HTC’s flagship remains the One M9, at least in the West. In Asia, however, HTC has expanded its high-end range with the One M9+ (a 5.2-inch Quad HD model with a fingerprint scanner and metal build) and the One E9+ (a 5.5-inch Quad HD model clad in plastic). Confusingly, it looks like there won’t be a One E9, though there were some rumors about it. Both the M9+ and the E9+ are available in China, India, and some other Asian markets, with no prospect to make it in the US or Europe.
Today HTC has launched the One ME, a 5.2-inch device that looks a lot like the One M9+ but lacks the metal body and swaps the Duo Camera with a conventional 20MP rear shooter. This device was rumored to come to market as the One ME9, but HTC mercifully chose the simpler variant.
The One ME features a Quad HD screen for a pixel density of 565 ppi and is powered by MediaTek’s Helio X10 octa-core processor, with 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. Weighing in at 155g, the device is slightly lighter than the One M9+, while dimensions are almost identical. This looks a lot like a plastic version of the M9+, complete with the fingerprint sensor wedged between the bottom front speaker.
The rear camera features a 20MP sensor with f 2.2 lens, while the front one is 4MP. Battery life should be pretty good, thanks to the 2,840 mAh capacity (same as M9+). Dual SIM LTE, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi and Android 5.0 Lollipop round up the spec sheet.
The One ME appears to be a China-only model, though there’s a chance it will go out in India as well, just like the M9+ and E9+. No info on pricing and availability yet.
There’s a whole discussion to be had about the sanity of HTC’s approach to product design. It’s almost as if the company is mixing and matching features and build materials to get more models out on the market. While this gives more options to customers, it also dilutes and muddies HTC’s message. And the naming scheme doesn’t help. Let us know your thoughts.
Quick Charge 2.0 is coming to USB hubs
Isn’t it annoying when some smartphones boast Quick Charge 2.0 but only come with a regular USB charger? Given the option, we’d rather spend the money on something more practical, like a USB hub that supports Quick Charge. And why yes, we managed to stumble upon one at Computex, courtesy of Hong Kong’s Magic-Pro. The Power Station Super 4 comes with — you guessed it — four USB ports, two of which can automatically switch to either 9V or 12V for faster charging on compatible devices, while the third port offers the common 5V/2.4A output, and the last one does 5V/3A as the company anticipates a new wave of tablets that can take the higher current. Better yet, the hub comes with a car charger and a Quick Charge 2.0-friendly micro-USB data cable, so not bad at all for a $65 package. Expect this to hit the markets at around the end of this month.
For those who want a smaller USB hub but with ample power output, Magic-Pro’s Charging Station Cube comes in at just 50 x 50 x 41 mm large, but still offers four ports: two with dedicated 2.4A each, and two with 1A each. This is due to launch in pink, white and blue later this month for about $35.
Last but not least, we spotted this beast alongside the other minions on the table. Like its predecessor, the Power Station 10+ comes with 10 USB ports, but instead of delivering just 1A to each, you get a generous 2.4A even when all ports are occupied! Alas, there’s no price nor date just yet.
Filed under: Peripherals
Software can detect your pain level just by looking
Remember Baymax’s pain scale in Big Hero 6? In the real world, machines might not even need to ask whether or not you’re hurting — they’ll already know. UC San Diego researchers have developed a computer vision algorithm that can gauge your pain levels by looking at your facial expressions. If you’re wincing, for example, you’re probably in more agony than you are if you’re just furrowing your brow. The code isn’t as good as detecting your pain as your parents (who’ve had years of experience), but it’s up to the level of an astute nurse.
As you might imagine, the technology could be very helpful in the hospital and beyond. Nurses could use it to tell whether or not you’re getting enough painkillers after surgery. Alternately, medical robots could offer treatment if they see you grimacing. Doctors could eventually refine procedures based on feedback, and you might never have to wait for a health care worker to see that you’re suffering.
Filed under: Science, Software
Via: Walyou
Source: Pediatrics
HTC’s new pixel-density champ is the One ME
Oh, HTC, we’re starting to lose track of all your tempting Asia-only models. The Taiwanese company has just revealed the One ME, which is basically an M9+ with less metal and no Duo camera (as rumored). We understand if you’re having trouble keeping up, so here are the boilerplate specs. The ME has a polycarbonate body with a metal frame like the 5.5-inch E9+, but with a smaller 5.2-inch Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) screen for a stunning 565 ppi — making it HTC’s sharpest phone to date. The CPU is a MediaTek Helio X10 eight-core job running at 2.2GHz with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage expandable to 2TB via microSDXC.
Other specs include dual-SIMs, a fingerprint sensor, a 2,840mAh battery, HTC’s Sense flavor of Android and 20-megapixel (non-Duo) rear/Ultrapixel front cameras. That rather great-sounding model now joins the 5-inch HTC One M9, the 5.2-inch M9+, and the 5.5-inch E9 and E9+ models in HTC’s stable of thoroughbred devices, making it hard to pick a single “flagship.” There’s no word on pricing or availability yet, but chances are this One won’t come to North America either.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Source: HTC China
Hitman: Sniper now available on the Google Playstore
Acclaimed video game developer, Square Enix announced on their official hitman blog yesterday that they will be releasing the game Hitman: Sniper on both the App Store and the Google Playstore on Thursday, June 4th. It has been one of the most awaited titles since the teaser trailer for Hitman: Sniper was released almost an year back. Its finally available on the Google Playstore for $4.99!
Check out the new launch trailer below:
Hitman: Sniper features Agent 47 in a highly competitive gameplay environment. It will be your job to complete the various assassinations and assignments set in beautiful scenic Montenegro. A giant map that will let you take down enemies from multiple vantage points. Epic slow motion shots and highly detailed graphics will keep you coming back for more. Just as it was in Hitman GO, you’ll be able to replay all the missions multiple times to get you perfect “Stealth” score and reach the top of the leaderboards.
Hitman: Sniper is released as a premium title in the Playstore. If you liked Hitman: GO or just are a fan a Hitman movies, I’m sure it’ll be worth spending a few bucks to get this one as well. Check out the download link below and knock yourself out!
Have you played Hitman: Sniper? Let us know in the comments.
The post Hitman: Sniper now available on the Google Playstore appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google Keyboard updates, offers cross-device personal dictionary syncing
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Google has been on a pretty good roll lately with keeping updates rolling for their apps on Wednesdays. Today’s round of updates covers a variety apps and brings in a number of changes that are notable. In today’s update for the Google Keyboard, which is now at v4.1, we see a new ability that many have been eager to have included, cross-device dictionary syncing.
Accessing the new feature is pretty simple, just head in to the Google Keyboard settings after updating the app and you will see a new tab, “Accounts & Privacy” option. Simply turn it on and away you go. That is assuming you don’t have a Google Apps for Business account synced to your device. As you can see in the screenshots above, the options are not changeable due to a few email accounts I have synced up on Google apps only device.
Don’t fret though, there are still a few other little goodies, and not so goodies, with the update. Users who link up with a physical keyboard will be able to access emoji’s by simply hitting the ‘Alt’ key which will bring up an emoji icon row on-screen for you to navigate with the arrow keys. The sometimes helpful, and other times irritating, text correction function loses its various level settings and is either on of off now. One function that was removed, but probably won’t be missed by many, is phrase input gesture typing. That is where you could keep your finger on the screen the whole time and swing over the space bar to indicate the word was done and move to the next. It wasn’t a feature I ever used, but apparently it didn’t work all that well any ways.
As usual, you can head to the Play Store and see if the update is waiting for you to install. If it isn’t, then you can swing past Gappsearly and manually install the APK.
The post Google Keyboard updates, offers cross-device personal dictionary syncing appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
These smart headphones come with a Google Glass lookalike on the side
The unholy union between a pair of over-ear headphones and wearable display that bares a more than passing resemblance to Google Glass. That’s how we’re going to summarize the SiMe smart headphones. It’s a self-contained media player and by virtue of being attached to large, cushioned headphones, it’s one of the more comfortable headmounted displays this editor has awkwardly modeled in recent years. ChipSiP’s “SiME Smart Headphones” are the evolution of its existing (and more familiar-looking) smart glasses. Those are already on sale to developers for around $550) — and there’s a lot of overlap of the tech inside. A spokeswoman told us that ChipSiP hopes to launch in the next three months, although what we wore at Computex in Taipei this week remained prototype hardware.
The headphones run Android 4.4, steered by a touchpad integrated into the projection display arm. It’s pitched as an entertainment peripheral, combining headphones with a tiny screen to (just about) watch videos and navigate around online content. You can also use the headset to stream music and video directly from Android phones. (There’s a phone remote control function baked into the software — you just could use it as overly complicated music player if you wanted.)
The headphones looks a lot like a gaming headset, but wireless and without the neon-like-an-energy-drink color scheme. It also has an 180-degree hinge that articulates without hitting your face, meaning the screen can be raised out of the way if you’re only focused on audio. It also means the device can be flipped around to work on both eyes. Is it a little bit ridiculous? Yep. Is it comfortable? Well, yes. Are you going to be able to buy one in the States this year? We’ll see about that.
Filed under: Wearables
WSJ: Dish Network and T-Mobile are talking merger
Add one more (potential) communications company deal to the pile: T-Mobile and Dish Network. According to the Wall Street Journal, the two are in “close agreement” about the structure of a combined company, with Dish CEO Charlie Ergen taking over as Chairman and T-Mobile leader John Legere serving as CEO for the two companies. Dish tried and failed to acquire Sprint a couple of years ago, while T-Mobile has made its own passes at joining with AT&T and Sprint. There’s nothing final about the talks so maybe nothing will happen, but Verizon/AOL and AT&T/DirecTV could have company very soon.
[Image credit: Steve Sands via Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile, T-Mobile
Source: Wall Street Journal
California senate wants warrants to be required for phone searches
The California State Senate has passed the “Leno bill,” which aims to protect residents’ digital privacy. Officially called Senate Bill 178, it would require authorities to secure a warrant whenever they want to search phones, laptops or other devices in California. That would effectively keep residents’ text messages, emails, cloud storage, social media accounts and GPS data private unless a court issues a wiretap order, barring a few exceptions. The bill, authored by Sen. Mark Leno and Sen. Joel Anderson, has a solid list of supporters, including the EFF and major tech companies, such as Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter.
Chris Conley, policy attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (one of the bill’s co-sponsors) explained in a statement:
Californians should be able to use smartphones, email, social networks and any other modern technology without worrying about whether their personal lives will remain private. Especially after revelations of warrantless mass surveillance by the NSA, California needs to catch up with other states across the nation, including Texas and Maine, which have already updated their privacy laws for the modern digital world.
While the bill is getting loads of support, it’s also facing a lot of opposition, courtesy of California’s law enforcement agencies. The state’s prosecutors told lawmakers in a letter that it “undermines critical efforts to stop child exploitation, mandates the destruction of evidence by law enforcement, and violates the California Constitution.” Leno clarified, however, that exceptions could be granted if asking for a warrant hampers ongoing investigation, if the device’s owner grants authorities access and if searching someone’s device is necessary in case of emergency involving imminent danger of death.
SB 178 still has a ways to go before it becomes a law, though. It will first have to be approved by the State Assembly this summer, before it lands in the hands of the governor. Note that Gov. Jerry Brown already vetoed a similar bill Leno authored two years ago, so the senator and his team will have to be more convincing this time around.
[Image credit: LifeSupercharger/Flickr]
Filed under: Misc
Source: Mark Leno, LA Times, California Legislative Information
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