LG Minibeam Nano: a tiny, affordable projector for your smartphone
A new wave of projectors has been hitting the market, targeting mobile users who want to take their large-scale media entertainment wherever they go. The most popular around here is probably the ZTE Spro 2 (read our review for all the details), but competing manufacturers like Lenovo and ASUS are not staying behind. And today we have LG joining the fight for your wall with a very enticing offer.
Enter the LG Minibeam Nano, which the manufacturer claims is the “smallest, lightest and most affordable projector to date”. We won’t know about the latter claim until we test this little guy, but we can attest to the fact that it is pretty small and light. The Minibeam Nano weighs only 270 grams, and it measures 108 x 103 x 44 mm. It looks rather cute, but we shouldn’t underestimate it based on its looks.
LG Minibeam Nano details
It seems like a pretty good projector, packing an LED lamp that can project 100 ANSI lumens of brightness and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio in an image that can be expanded as much as 100 inches. You may want to upgrade on the 1W mono sound by plugging some speakers through the headset jack, but that is a given for any projector. These machines never come with great sound.
The LG Minibeam Nano sports an HDMI input and a USB port (which can be used for displaying HD DivX and Office documents from a thumb drive. The real kicker here is that it features wireless streaming and mirroring from smartphones, tablets and other devices. It does support WiFi Direct and Miracast, which we know a plethora of devices offer.
Yes, you can also take this little guy on-the-go. What good would its size be without real portability? The device has an integrated 3800 mAh battery that is said to last about 2 hours on a full charge. Enough for a good movie or a long presentation.
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Pricing and availability
LG is staying pretty quiet about pricing for now, which is a bummer, because they claim it’s super cheap and we are interested to see how accessible this handy projector will be. What we do know is the LG Minibeam Nano will be available starting this month in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Exact price and availability will depend on the market.
Who is buying? Also, how much cash would you be willing to fork out for one of these?
CloudPlayer streams your music from Dropbox and Google Drive
DoubleTwist has released a media player separate from its main product, and this one can stream music straight from various cloud services. Aptly named CloudPlayer, the app links to your Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive accounts all at once to access any music files you’ve uploaded. The company says it “created CloudPlayer to provide an alternative to crippled, proprietary cloud music lockers that impose painful restrictions on what you can do with the music you own.” Unlike other services (company co-founder Jon Lech Johansen specifically targets Google Play Music in his blog post), DoubleTwist claims CloudPlayer doesn’t have a download or a device restriction, and it supports lossless audio.
You can also choose songs and playlists to save for offline playback on the app. Finally, the media player can stream music through Chromecast and AirPlay devices (such as Apple TV), though you’ll have to shell out $5 for the feature as an in-app purchase. Otherwise, the app is free and up right now on Google Play — DoubleTwist says it’s “launching on Android first,” so the player might head to other platforms in the future. A quick glance at the early reviews, however, shows that it’s having issues detecting music from OneDrive. The company says it’s a “bug with Microsoft’s OneDrive API,” and it’s already taking steps to fix the problem.
Source: doubleTwist
Topeka for Android will help developers build a better Material Design experience
Material designed came around to change everything. It is a very good looking, sleek and playful design language, but it may be a bit intimidating to adopt it. Especially for developers who have been sticking to their own design aspects for a long time. Google knows you may need a little help getting the right elements, so they have decided to offer better help by releasing Topeka for Android.
For those who may not know about this tool: Topeka was previously released as a web app in order to help developers understand how elements of Material Design worked, which include transitions, animations and layers. And if the idea is to create a consistent experience across all apps, Google did right by offering a clear example that works on a mobile device, as well as on the web. The tool is only being improved now by actually being released on the platform it is meant to serve.
Things get much more complicated as you start scrolling down the official blog post from Android Developers, as it is mostly developer talk (a bunch of code), but they go over some quick tips on transitions, animations, FAB placement, Round Outline Provider, Property Animations and Vector Drawables. You can go ahead and check out the official blog post if you know what those things mean and/or want to learn more!
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Oh, and if you are a developer looking to get your hands on Topeka for Android, you can get it all straight from GitHub. Have fun and make some awesome apps for us! Thanks for all the hard work.
‘Lara Croft GO’ coming later this year from Square Enix, the Tomb Raider variant of Hitman GO
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Every gamer out there has, at some point in their life, played some iteration of Tomb Raider. Myself, it was the original game from 1996, Tomb Raider. A lot has changed with the series, including Lara Croft being in many of the titles, which always makes me think of Angelina Jolie now, thanks a lot Hollywood. The most recent Android releases with Lara Croft from Square Enix was Lara Croft: Relic Run and the original Tomb Raider I. Now the company is expanding the brand with another Tomb Raider / Lara Croft title called Lara Croft GO.
Just like Square did with Hitman Go, you will take control of the infamous Lara Croft in a turn based exploration puzzle experience. The trailer gives you some indication of how it will look and play out. I expect a similar mechanic that Hitman GO brought to the table along with a similar price tag mixed with in-app purchases. Fans of the turn-based strategy gameplay and fans of the Tomb Raider games are sure to jump on it in a hurry. We will keep our eyes peeled for the launch of the game and let you all know more then.
Source: Gamespot
The post ‘Lara Croft GO’ coming later this year from Square Enix, the Tomb Raider variant of Hitman GO appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
‘Gears of War: Ultimate Edition’ and ‘Killer Instinct’ will come to PC
Microsoft hasn’t offered a whole lot of affection to PC gamers in recent years, but it’s making some reparations for that today: the company’s Phil Spencer has revealed at the PC Gaming Show that both Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and the 2013 version of Killer Instinct will come to Windows 10. He didn’t have much to say about when these ports will show up, or whether or not they’ll have any new tricks up their sleeves. However, Iron Galaxy Studios’ Dave Lang has confirmed Spencer’s hint that KI will have Fable Legends-style cross-platform play that lets you brawl with your Xbox One-toting friends.
This isn’t the same as bringing a truly new Gears of War or other cutting-edge Xbox titles to the PC. Still, this and Windows 10’s gaming features are welcome signs that Microsoft’s perception of computer gaming is improving. And hey, Hello Games also mentioned at the show that No Man’s Sky will launch on the PC at the same time as the PlayStation 4 version — if you don’t like Microsoft’s offerings, you’ll have at least one other hotly anticipated title waiting in the wings.
[Thanks, Kristy]
Check here for everything happening at E3 2015!
Just announced at the @PCGamer E3 Briefing… Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will be coming to Windows 10! #GearsPC pic.twitter.com/tv64N1VmAH
– Gears of War (@GearsofWar) June 17, 2015
We’re so excited to share that KI is coming to Win 10 at E3 – but we don’t have any more to share at this time. pic.twitter.com/parhAY0uSd
– Killer Instinct (@KillerInstinct) June 17, 2015
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Microsoft
Via: PC Gamer
LG extends LG G4 accessory freebies through June 30th
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The LG G4
For those who don’t already know, I’ll tell you all about it. If you picked up an LG G4 you could head over to the LG offers page and type in a little bit of information like proof of purchase and such, and LG would ship you out a spare 3,000 mAh battery
If you already picked one up and didn’t know about the promo you might want to dig out your receipt and get your goodies ASAP. Simply direct your browser to LG G4 promotion page.
The post LG extends LG G4 accessory freebies through June 30th appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Here’s a temporary fix for the missing quick toggles on your Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge
Have you had any of your Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge quick toggles disappear? Though the phone came with these toggles available for the notification menu, many users are reporting the mobile data, hotspot and private mode toggles have been disappearing.
Sadly, there is no official fix just yet, but some Samsung customer service representatives and social networking accounts have been acknowledging the problem, so we can say it’s a widespread problem and hope Sammy is working hard to make things right. The Korean manufacturer has been telling users they can get the quick toggles back by performing a factory data reset, but that is hardly a solution – after all, chances are the toggles will just disappear again later on.
Thankfully, the Android operating system allows users to tinker their way around many issues and the guys at XDA Developers have managed to find a much less drastic solution. Some users figured downloading MultiWindow Toggle for Samsung from the Google Play Store. This app allows you to add and remove the MultiWindow function to the quick toggles. This is not a solution to the underlying problem, though, as it doesn’t help those who want the data, hotspot and private mode toggles.
Here is the fix!
Developers are resourceful, and proof of this is offered by senior member NimeniAltu, who managed to alter the application and add this functionality to said app. All you need to do is download the APK from the XDA Developers thread, install it and tell it to work its sweet magic.
Now all we have to do is wait for Samsung to come up with a permanent solution to this issue. I mean, those happen to be pretty important functions that went missing. There’s no excuse, nor is there reason for Samsung to purposely remove them, so hopefully the fix comes sooner than later.
How many of you guys suffered from this discrepancy? I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 review unit right now and I did notice the toggles are no longer there. Sound off in the comments! We would love to see how many of our readers were affected by this.
Cortana for Android will be arriving as a beta in July
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We were extremely surprised (pleasantly so) when Microsoft announced that Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant, would be coming to Android and iOS devices to link them to the Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft has given more details about this, saying that a beta of Cortana for Android will be available come July to act as a companion to Windows 10 – for the record, Windows 10 launches on July 29th.
For those not aware, Cortana takes its name from the artificial intelligence featured in Microsoft’s Halo video game series, and in many ways, its personal assistant software aims to be a similar companion in as many ways as currently possible. The fact that Cortana syncs across multiple Windows 10 devices means that you can input tasks on your phone and be reminded to do it while you’re on your Xbox One or Windows PC. It’s a very interesting concept, one that even Google‘s competitor product, Google Now, has struggled to breach and output in a meaningful manner. Now if we just take a moment to imagine what a smartwatch running Cortana would be like…
What do you think about Cortana for Android coming out as a beta in July? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Microsoft via Phone Arena
The post Cortana for Android will be arriving as a beta in July appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
LG G4 promotion extended – get a free microSD card, spare battery and charger by June 30th
The LG G4 is an amazing phone for many reasons, but two of its key features are definitely the microSD card slot and removable battery. These are characteristics most smartphone manufacturers have been doing away with, despite users begging to keep them on board. This is why the Korean manufacturer decided to highlight these now-rare features with its G4 promotion, which has just received a time extension.
Let’s refresh your memory about this awesome offer, just in case you have forgotten about it. Any LG G4 buyer has the chance to get a free 32 GB microSD card, spare battery and a charging cradle for said battery ($105 value). They just have to offer proof of purchase and fill out a form before June 21st. It made buying an LG G4 pretty much a no-brainer for many of our readers, and now more of you can join the festivities.
Life is Good with LG, as they have just decided to extend the offer period until June 30th. So if you were thinking about purchasing the phone a little later and were worried you would no longer be able to take advantage of this, you can rest assured knowing you have at least a little more time to get your new handset.
Do keep in mind this promotion is still limited to the US, but it does cover both carrier and retailer purchases (including Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, Walmart and other authorized dealers). You should be in the clear. Just go ahead and take care of the form, which is at LG’s official offer page. It needs to be turned in by July 14th. If you are submitting it by snail mail (seriously?!), the letter has to be postmarked by the same date, and it has to get to LG’s facilities by July 21st.
Those of you who are on the fence about buying the device should definitely go ahead and check out our full LG G4 review. It’s one hell of a phone, and we have a lot to say about it.
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LG G4 promotion extended – get a free microSD card, spare battery and charger by June 30th
The LG G4 is an amazing phone for many reasons, but two of its key features are definitely the microSD card slot and removable battery. These are characteristics most smartphone manufacturers have been doing away with, despite users begging to keep them on board. This is why the Korean manufacturer decided to highlight these now-rare features with its G4 promotion, which has just received a time extension.
Let’s refresh your memory about this awesome offer, just in case you have forgotten about it. Any LG G4 buyer has the chance to get a free 32 GB microSD card, spare battery and a charging cradle for said battery ($105 value). They just have to offer proof of purchase and fill out a form before June 21st. It made buying an LG G4 pretty much a no-brainer for many of our readers, and now more of you can join the festivities.
Life is Good with LG, as they have just decided to extend the offer period until June 30th. So if you were thinking about purchasing the phone a little later and were worried you would no longer be able to take advantage of this, you can rest assured knowing you have at least a little more time to get your new handset.
Do keep in mind this promotion is still limited to the US, but it does cover both carrier and retailer purchases (including Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, Walmart and other authorized dealers). You should be in the clear. Just go ahead and take care of the form, which is at LG’s official offer page. It needs to be turned in by July 14th. If you are submitting it by snail mail (seriously?!), the letter has to be postmarked by the same date, and it has to get to LG’s facilities by July 21st.
Those of you who are on the fence about buying the device should definitely go ahead and check out our full LG G4 review. It’s one hell of a phone, and we have a lot to say about it.
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