Sony brings voice search to their Android TV remote app
Using a plugin for their Quick remote: TV SideView Sony app, Sony is enabling users to access voice search on their Sony Android TV devices. The TV SideView Voice Plug-in is designed to only work with Sony’s Quick remote app and a compatible Sony Android TV. The app is capable of working with speakers using English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Hit the break for a download link and a couple screenshots.
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HTC stock price hits record low
Increasingly fierce competition in the smartphone market continues to buffet HTC which saw its stock price close at a record low since its listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in March 2002. The stock price has been in a slide, losing 30% since the beginning of the year. However, new selling activity cranked up recently after media reports indicated HTC suppliers were cutting back on shipment forecasts based on lackluster sales projections for the HTC One M9. Those reports say HTC only expects to ship 3.2 million units in 2015, a 30% reduction from previous estimates.
HTC shares closed at a price of NT$92.80 ($3.01 USD) per share on Wednesday after a 5.79 percent drop. At one time, in April 2011, the stock closed in the NT$1,300 ($42 USD) range, a far cry from current levels. In response to these mounting losses, HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang apologized to shareholders for the poor performance. She indicated the company is preparing to launch some new high-end smartphones in October. Wang also promised to continue to pursue efforts to cut operating costs, improve efficiency, and secure new sales resources in hopes of righting the ship.
source: Focus Taiwan
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HTC promises hero product in October, significant improvements for M series next year
HTC hasn’t had it easy for a few years now, though the HTC One (M7) and One M8 have been positive steps in the right direction that have somewhat helped the company make a much-needed turn around. Unfortunately, HTC still has a long ways to go and 2015 hasn’t exactly been a great for the company so far. Whether you are an HTC fan or not, it’s hard to deny that the company is losing ground (and attention) quickly this year. Part of this can be chalked up to a fairly modest upgrade cycle with the One M9, but it likely goes way beyond this.
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First, HTC is seeing increasing competition from Samsung, LG, and its other rivals. All of these are companies that are pushing into the premium territory that has been a strong point for HTC since the release of the HTC One (M7). It’s also hard to ignore that HTC has been releasing tons of spin-off devices this year that in many ways look more impressive than their actual flagship: the One M9+, One E9+, and now the One ME. Many of these devices offer special features not found in the One M9, like a fingerprint scanner and QHD display, even if they tend to have less impressive processing packages.
From an arguably unimpressive primary flagship (the M9) to too many flagship variants, HTC seems to be ticking all the wrong boxes.
From an arguably unimpressive primary flagship (the M9) to too many flagship variants, HTC seems to be ticking all the wrong boxes. The slide downward is further evidence by HTC’s stock price, which has recently dropped to NT$98, a 12-year low for the company. The good news is that HTC seems to recognize that they aren’t off to a great start this year and is reportedly committed to turning things around.
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During a shareholder’s meeting yesterday, HTC’s chairwoman and CEO Cher Wang apologized to shareholders for the company’s disappointing performance over the last few months. Wang claimed that the performance was due to “poor operational efficiency” and an “overly conservative marketing strategy amid fierce competition”. So what is HTC’s next move forward? For starters, HTC promises to make significant changes to the next flagship One in 2016 and improve its product mix strategy for smartphones. HTC also says that, despite having a lower marketing budget than competitors like Samsung and Apple, they must also find ways to improve their marketing strategy.
Vive, Re, and other non-smartphone products will play an increasing role in HTC’s revenues going forward.
Beyond this, Cher Wang also commented on how the company’s non-smartphone segment will continue to play an increasing role going forward, contributing at least 10 percent of the firm’s revenue in 2016. That includes connected devices, VR, and more. More immediately, HTC plans to launch a new hero product in October. Keep in mind that Wang doesn’t specifically say what this product will be, or if it will even have anything to do with its handset/tablet efforts.
Let’s be honest, Cher Wang’s comments are mostly meant act as PR control and to calm down investors. That said, it is becoming obvious that HTC’s path forward will revolve around thinking further outside the box and relying more on VR and non-smartphone devices. What do you think of HTC’s efforts so far in 2015? And of their plans for 2016? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Kickstarter’s Kung Fury kicks and punches with Kung Fury: Street Rage (review)
Say what you will about Kickstarter the crowdfunding website that allows creators to offer up cool stuff in exchange for supporting their projects. Kickstarter has done a great job at promoting their “hit-worthy” projects.
Prime example
A 1980’s based nostalgic action/comedy entitled Kung Fury raised over $630,000 via the crowdfunding platform. Kung Fury was recently let loose to the web and in only five days the 30-minute martial arts, Nazi slashing, dinosaur riding, and time traveling film has already received over 11 million views on Youtube.
If the film did not quench your thirst for going back to the 80’s there’s now a game! Kung Fury: Street Rage.
Get blown into another dimension as you experience the gut busting fun of the KUNG FURY: STREET RAGE game. Beat the nazis to stop Kung Führer and uphold the law! BECOME THE ACTION! BECOME KUNG FURY!!!! Street Rage is now available on Android,IOS, and $1.99 on Stream.
Street Rage is not incredibly profound or new, although the character and visuals make it enjoyable to play. Street Rage pays homage to great beat-em-up games like Double Dragon and Golden Axe. Honestly, I cannot believe how much I have missed the game play of beat-em-ups. Oh, the thrill of overcoming challenges! It was simple, fun, and I loved those glorious combo moves.
The game has been compared to One Finger Death Punch due to the fast paced arcade action style. Playing as the high-top wearing martial arts comedic cop Kung Fury. Kung Fury allows you to travel back in time smashing Nazis and his antagonist Adolf Hitler, a.k.a. “Kung Führer”. Moving left to right kicking and punching with style any and everything in his way.
Street Rage doesn an awesome job achieving its beat-em-up style of game play and provides a sense of nostalgia. It, surprisingly, makes you feel as if your actually in an arcade playing.
Initially I was turned off by the game controls – or lack thereof. I thought tapping the screen rapidly would execute fatal kicks and punches. After more time I realized that I could do more than just tap the screen. In fact there are actual movements and combos that players can bust out.
All things taken into consideration if you love Kung Fury or games like Double Dragon and Bad Dudes you will probably want to give Kung Fury: Street Rage a go. The game will distract you for hours on end and allow you to be the action hero you always dreamed of being. What do you think of the game? Let us know by leaving comments below!
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Name your own price Game Design Bundle, ending soon
Do you have what it takes to make the next Flappy Bird? If you’re on the brink of greatness with your game idea but need a nudge to get over the creative hump, this deal is tailored to fit your needs. The Name Your Own Price Game Design Bundle will help you learn the ropes, design stimulating games, and put you on a path to achieving your goals.
The Name Your Own Price concept is simple: You decide what you want to pay for an individual course and if you pay more than the average price, you’ll unlock the bundle and receive all 4 courses! These programs are put together by world class instructors and have been curated to help you accomplish your development dreams. We’re talking hundreds of lectures and countless hours of quality content. You’ll learn everything you need to craft your masterpiece from scripting and sound design to 3D drawing and gamification. The best part is that you’ll also be helping a good cause. 10% of your purchase price will be contributed as a donation to Creative Commons. There’s no reason not to grab this bundle, develop your game, and make a difference!
Check this deal out, and many others at deals.androidguys.com!
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Apple Again Places #5 in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings
Fortune has released its annual Fortune 500 list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue, which together accounted for $12.5 trillion in revenues, $945 billion in profits and $17 trillion in market value. Apple maintained the 5th spot in the rankings for the second consecutive year after steadily rising from 6th place in 2013, 17th place in 2012, 35th place in 2011 and 56th place in 2010.
“After a bumpy start to 2014, Apple’s stock finished the year up 40%, adding nearly $200 billion to the company’s market value. A product pipeline that’s gotten Apple fanboys lining up all over again has certainly helped reenergize revenue growth: In addition to unveiling new categories like Apple Pay and Apple Watch, the company launched the iPhone 6, selling a record-breaking 10 million units in the first three days. As CEO Tim Cook recently told investors: “It’s tough to find something in the numbers not to like.” The normally low-profile Cook is breaking new ground in other ways too—in October, 2014 he came out as the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company.”
Fortune identified fast-growing iPhone and Mac sales and brand power as two of the company’s key strengths, while citing declining iPad sales and high expectations from investors and consumers as weaknesses. The publication believes Apple’s much-rumored streaming TV service presents an opportunity for the company, while Android and Chinese smartphone manufacturers remain threats.
Apple recorded operating revenue of $182.79 billion during the 2014 fiscal year, a 7% year-over-year increase. Walmart, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Berkshire Hathaway topped the list with between $194.6 and $485.6 billion revenue, although it’s worth noting that Apple finished ahead of all four of those companies with $39.5 billion in profit and recently posted two record-breaking quarters.
Google Tap to Search makes its way to Chrome on Android
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At Google I/O the company showed of what they dubbed Google Now on Tap. In a nutshell it let users tap then hold the home button to ask Google Now a question. It was able to be used on any app and anywhere in the device and was contextually aware of the content that was on-screen. You could search with minimal efforts by stating things like “What is his real name?”, “When are they open”, and the listed returns would deliver details about what you were actually looking at. A similar feature is now active on the Google Chrome for Android web browser.
The new addition isn’t quite as robust as Now on Tap, but it is certainly useful. Simply tap on a word, or long press and highlight multiple words, and a small Google pop-up will grace the bottom of your screen. Simply drag the globe up and you will be given all the details you could possibly need regarding the word, phrase, person, movie and so on. This includes apps that are relevant, YouTube videos and Twitter accounts if need be.
A simple swipe back down, even from a full screen search return, will take you right back to the site and page you were on. Making it really easy to get back to where you were before you inquired about something else.
The feature is active by default but users can disable it at will through Chrome Settings > Privacy > Touch to Search. Give it a whirl the next chance you get, you mind find it to be a rather useful function to everyday living. It was present on Chrome build 43.0.2357.78 for me, which was updated just a few days ago. However, I am only now seeing the ability to use this function.
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Apple Dominates Authenticated ‘TV Everywhere’ Streaming With 62% Market Share [iOS Blog]
A new report out today by Adobe Digital Index (ADI) put Apple atop a list of streaming media providers (via CMO), the Apple TV and iOS devices representing 62 percent of all authenticated pay-for-TV video views, or any online app that requires a cable subscription to access. Measuring all video content from free ad-based YouTube clips to “shows accessed through an authenticated app-based or TV subscription service,” ADI reports that the streaming industry as a whole has grown a drastic 282 percent year over year.
Focusing solely on Apple, the Apple TV doubled its share of the overall online media streaming market, growing from 5 percent to 10 percent quarter over quarter. As ADI points out, a few of Apple’s streaming rivals – Roku and gaming consoles like Xbox and PlayStation – saw increases in the past year, as well.
“Apple is sitting in the catbird seat because of its dominant position with access to consumers and a wealth of video data,” said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst at ADI. “The challenge will be to see if it can monetize the strategy fast enough to get ahead of the movement away from linear TV toward digital viewing. Apple is clearly looking to play in the video-streaming market, and the growth of that market is a big indicator as to why.”
On the opposite end, these mobile- and living room-centric media solutions have cannibalized the streaming shares of desktop PCs and Macs. “It looks like desktops are losing the battle in the home,” Gaffney noted. “Bringing the TV Everywhere viewing platform full circle and returning viewers to the living room.”
iOS saw a less dramatic increase year over year than the Apple TV, with a growth from 43 percent to 47 percent, while the company’s Android competitors saw no growth at all on mobile, staying at a consistent 15 percent share of the streaming market. Although desktops are dipping in streaming popularity, notebooks are undoubtedly still a highly used source of streaming content for many people. As such, Google Chrome and Safari both saw upticks in pieces of the overall streaming market over the past year by 18 and 15 percent, respectively.
The key takeaway from our analysis is that the streaming video space is growing fast, and Apple is growing by building out an ecosystem of devices as it relates to that space,” Gaffney said. “Apple is leaning toward having a bigger play there than in the past. For marketers that means having a blanket approach to advertising is not going to work. They need to think about who is viewing and when. The strategy needs to be evolving and more complex to match the evolving and more complex nature of the landscape.”
ADI predicts that smartphone browsing will overtake that of desktops in 2017, noting that currently the preferred method for casually streaming content is tablets, “used specifically for leisurely activities such as video viewing and listening to music.” With Apple’s revamped Apple TV a no-show at WWDC next week, it’ll be interesting to see how the company continues to grow the now three-year-old device. With Apple’s plans to launch its own subscription television service sometime in the future, there’s no doubt that the streaming media industry as a whole will only continue to grow.
Hitman: Sniper is the latest Square Enix title to go live, don’t be afraid to get creative with your kill shots
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Square Enix has been putting a lot of effort into bringing great titles to Android users for a number of years. Fans of the Final Fantasy series have had the chance to pick up a number of classics to play on the go over the years. The gaming studio has also brought other great titles like Mini Ninjas, Dues EX: The Fall and the THIEF companion apps. Another great set of titles that they are behind is Hitman. The first Hitman title they brought forward was Hitman Go. It was more of a strategic board game puzzler, but it was fun none the less. Now they are stepping up their game in the Hitman line up with the release of Hitman: Sniper.
As you would think, the title is all about long-range sniper action with a purpose. You continue on as the infamous Agent 47 who is sitting in a fixed position from afar looking to complete his assignment. The title features over 150 missions set in Montenegro. Each mission will offer up a variety of ways to complete them, the best path might not be the easiest, but will grant you more rewards when completed. For instance, mastering undetected kills using environmental objects to eliminate your target rather than just shooting them in the head.
As you progress you will find weapon parts and blueprints to help you construct 13 epic sniper rifles to help you carry out your objectives. Square Enix also states that there is a solid replay value as you will be able to uncover more secrets as contracts evolve. I imagine you might need to play a mission over a few times to find the best kill solution for maximum score. After all, there is a leaderboard in place to help you take aim at your friends abilities as an assassin.
Hitman: Sniper will set you back $4.99 right out the door and it does off in-app purchases ranging from $0.99 – $9.99. I haven’t installed it just yet , so I can’t speak to how well you will be able to progress without spending more real money though.
Head to the Play Store and pick it up when you have a chance.
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Stand-Alone SHOWTIME app on the horizon, Apple getting first dibs though
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Cord cutters are a very dominate market share these days and the like of Hulu, Netflix and other streaming services are gobbling up the benefits of those who have killed off traditional cable and satellite services. The big network subscription channels, like HBO and SHOWTIME are finally starting to get the idea and getting in-line with offering up streaming abilities. Sure, many of them have offered the function for years, but you always needed a subscription to their channels via a supported cable or satellite provider in order to access them on your phone or tablet. Now we are starting to see the dawn of a new era where these major players are going to offer stand-alone apps with subscription offers that are separate from the cable and satellite guys. SHOWTIME has just announced that they will be following suite shortly with a stand-alone service called SHOWTIME. Blatantly obvious, but smart to not confuse the branding with more words.
In a news release on the site regarding the service SHOWTIME announced that they will be bringing the cord cutting service to consumers in early July with a monthly service charge of $10.99. Further in the release they sort of give out the date and time of launch stating, ” The launch of SHOWTIME will coincide with the new season premieres of the critically-acclaimed, hit series RAY DONOVAN and MASTERS OF SEX on Sunday, July 12th starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT ”
The downside for Android users is that the first release will carry an Apple device exclusive with it. I know many Android users out there sport more than just Android phones, tablets and Android TV though. So those of you that rock dual ecosystems will be excited about the news. For those that only sport Android running products, we are out of luck. That doesn’t mean it will be that way forever though. We know HBO Now started off as an Apple exclusive as well and Google announced that the service was coming to Android TV soon. I don’t mind letting Apple users test out the service and drop the cash to show these guys that it is worth doing. It will, hopefully, give them time to solve any issues and adjust pricing structures if needed.
Source: SHOWTIME Via Android Police
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