Diving into M: Google adds themes support
Samsung, HTC and LG have all added theme support in their latest flagship devices and it seems that themes could be catching on, with Google adding limited support for themes in its latest Android M OS. The theme engine uses the same Runtime Resource Overlay (RRO) that Sony uses to theme its ROMs in Sony Xperia handsets and has since been merged with AOSP.
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Like most of the new features in Android M, the theme engine is certainly limited and requires root to take advantage of but it could be a sign of things to come from Google. Limited themes support in Android M will mean that you no longer need to install a custom ROM in order to change the look and feel of your handset; instead, all you need is stock Android, root access and an application like Layers Manager to apply the themes to your handset.
The addition of theme support is great if you prefer to use stock Android with only small tweaks and while the themes won’t be as in-depth as they are on custom ROMs (or even other interfaces), it should offer some advanced customisation for those who prefer to use stock Android. According to the Reddit user who revealed this, he’s already tried adding a few themes using Layers and they were all working fine without issue.
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With RRO baked into the core Android M OS, it could be an indication of the future of Android. The presence of RRO could mean we’ll see stock Android come with its own themes engine and it could also mean that we’ll see smaller manufacturers use stock Android and add customisations using a theme. However, it could also mean that Google is simply making it easier for OEMs to add themes to their ROMs – using the built-in engine rather than developing their own theme engine – and won’t offer its own themes manager on stock Android.
Themes on the Galaxy S6
One of the biggest criticisms with some OEMs is the look and feel of their interfaces – many people don’t like the look of TouchWiz and Samsung’s icon set as an example – and themes aim to solve this by offering an alternative without voiding warranty or requiring root. Taking the example of TouchWiz, Samsung adds a lot of options and features not present on stock Android and themes allow you to keep access to all of these features while personalising the look and feel of your handset.
Diving into M:
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As we’ve already seen from the Galaxy S6, themes can also include partnerships with other companies – in the case of the Galaxy S6, Samsung teamed up with Marvel to offer Avengers themes – and the addition of a theme engine into the core Android M code could mean other manufacturers follow suit.
For an entire in-depth look at Google’s new OS, head over to our Diving Into M section.
Huawei P8 Lite announced, coming to the U.S. today
At a special event for the U.S. market, Huawei took the veil off the Huawei P8 Lite, a mid-range handset with a premium look and feel.
The P8 Lite features the same general aesthetic as its higher-end brother, the Huawei P8, though it makes a few concessions in order to keep the price tag lower. When it comes to looks, the biggest change is the use of plastic, over the all-metal design of the P8. Thankfully, it is still a very well put together unibody design that feels durable and has a nice enough grip that you’ll still feel like you have a premium device in your hands.
Huawei phones in the US
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Under the hood, the P8 Lite ditches Huawei’s in-house Kirin processor in favor of a Snapdragon 615 with 2GB RAM. Other specs include a slightly smaller 5-inch display with a resolution of 720p, a 5MP front cam, a 13MP rear cam, microSD, dual SIM support, and a 2200 mAh battery. While the Huawei P8 Lite doesn’t have quite as impressive specs as its bigger brother, it’s still a very capable mid-range device that should be able to handle just about anything you throw at it.
Of course, one big difference between Huawei and other popular Android OEMs is the software. The P8 Lite is powered by Emotion UI 3.0, a highly customized skin that is based on Android 4.4 KitKat with a promise to eventually update to Lollipop. What makes the UI here different when compared to skins from HTC, Samsung, and other competitors is that Huawei’s UI lacks an app drawer, in favor of an aesthetic that mimics iOS.
There’s also a boatload of added features that easily rival TouchWiz, Sense, and LG UI — though it can almost feel a bit overbloated. Still, the UI has quite a few fans, plenty of features, and can be further tweaked with custom launchers and 3rd party apps.
Pricing and availability
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The Huawei P8 Lite will be available from today through Hauwei’s website, Amazon.com, and several other retail partners. The Lite will come fully unlocked with a price tag of just $249.99, an exceptional price given the specs and features offered by this premium mid-ranger. In addition to the handset, that low price also includes a 2-year warranty, local repair with free shipping, and additional support including live online chat and a US call center for support.
We’ll be bringing you a hands-on shortly, with a full review to follow in the weeks to come. What do you think, anyone planning on picking this one up?
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 specs leaked on TENAA
In further light of rumours, Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 has been spotted at China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center (TENAA). The bold successor of last year’s Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 has been labeled with the model number SM-T715C.
Reportedly, it features an 8.0 inch AMOLED display spanning 2048 × 1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio with dimensions of 198.2 × 134.5 × 5.4 (mm). Weighing at just 260 grams and 5.4 mm thin, the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 could well be the thinnest tablet on the market.
Talking about hardware specs, it looks to run on a 1.9GHz octa-core CPU (probably an Exynos 7420), 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal memory (expandable up to a 128GB). It sports an 8MP main shooter and a 2MP front-facing camera. Connectivity wise, the tablet shows support for LTE networks.
According to the certification, the Galaxy Tab S 2.0 runs on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop but we can likely expect Android M (or whatever it will be called) at the time of launch. Of course nothing can be said until Samsung officially announces it. We can expect it to be available in two screen sizes of 8.0 and 9.7 inches later this year.
Check out the image gallery below. It might not look like much in the images, but then again we know devices look much better in reality than in TENAA’s pictures.
The post Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 specs leaked on TENAA appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Amazon’s Fire HD Kids Edition tablet is available to pre-order in the UK from £119
Amazon launched its Fire HD Kids Edition tablet in the U.S. last year September, and now the global retailer has decided to finally launch the kid-friendly 6-inch tablet in the UK. Amazon has bundled a protective case, two-year ‘Worry-Free’ guarantee and 1 year’s subscription to its Fire for Kids Unlimited service with the tablet.
The Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition tablet is available to pre-order from Amazon themselves or the UK retailer, Argos, for £119 for the 8GB model. The 16GB version will set you back £139. Amazon has said orders will begin shipping from June 18th. So, what will you be getting for your £119/£139?
Specifications:
- 6-Inch IPS display; 1280 x 720 resolution and 252ppi
- Quad-core processor. 2 cores @ 1.5GHz and 2 cores @ 1.2GHz
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB/16GB internal storage
- WiFi b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- 3.5mm Audio jack
- 2MP Rear-facing camera
- VGA Front-facing camera
- 8 Hour battery life
Being a tablet aimed at being used by kids, one would think that there’s going to be a few mishaps with the device, either being dropped or submerged in water, maybe even being sat or stood on. Luckily, the Fire HD Kids Edition tablet comes with a pre-installed protective case that looks like it can withstand a fair amount of abuse. And if that isn’t enough, the 2-year ‘Worry-Free‘ guarantee covers the tablet for any mishaps, all you have to do is return the tablet and Amazon will replace it for free.
Amazon has also included a 1-year subscription to its Fire for Kids Unlimited service, offering content for 3-10 year olds ranging from apps, books, videos and games. Yes, it even has educational games.
Source: Amazon
Full Press Release:
Fire HD Kids Edition—the kids tablet that has it all, including the first-ever 2-year worry-free guarantee—now available in the United Kingdom
Unprecedented 2-year worry-free guarantee—if anything happens, return it and we’ll replace it for free—no questions asked
A real tablet, not a toy—a quad core processor for powerful performance, a vivid HD display, front and rear-facing cameras, Dolby Digital Audio, and access to Amazon’s world-class content ecosystem
Don’t worry about the bill—comes with the content kids love at no additional charge—thousands of books, videos, educational apps, and games in Fire for Kids Unlimited
Luxembourg—3rd June, 2015—Amazon today announced Fire HD Kids Edition, its first tablet built from the ground up for kids (and their parents) is now available in the United Kingdom. Fire HD Kids Edition is built around three ideas:
Despite best intentions, kids break things—Fire HD Kids Edition has an unprecedented 2-year worry-free guarantee—if they break it, return it and we’ll replace it. No questions asked.
Parents don’t want to worry about the bill—Fire HD Kids Edition includes a year of Fire for Kids Unlimited so kids get unlimited access to thousands of books, videos, educational apps, and games—at no additional cost.
Kids want a real tablet, not a toy—the Kids Edition features a quad-core processor, a vivid HD display, front and rear-facing cameras, Dolby Digital audio, and access to Amazon’s world-class content ecosystem of over 33 million songs, apps, games, movies, TV shows, books and more.
Fire HD Kids Edition is £119 with 8GB of memory and £139 with 16GB of memory, and is available for pre-order today at http://www.amazon.co.uk/kids-edition-tablet.
“Fire HD Kids Edition offers the best of both worlds for parents and kids,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Amazon Devices EU. “With the 2-year, no-questions-asked, worry-free guarantee, and Fire for Kids parental controls, parents can rest assured that the device is well protected and that they’ll never be surprised by a bill, unwanted ads or social media posts. And, with a year of the Fire for Kids Unlimited subscription, kids can choose from thousands of books, videos, educational apps, and games – including many classics and favourites.”
Fire HD Kids Edition includes a year of Fire for Kids Unlimited, Amazon’s all-in-one subscription that brings together all the content that kids and parents love—books, videos, educational apps, and games. Fire for Kids Unlimited has the content kids want, including favourite characters like Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Avengers, Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer, The Penguins of Madagascar, Shaun the Sheep, and many more.
Fire HD Kids Edition also comes with Fire for Kids, which offers innovative parental controls that encourage learning before play and that help manage screen time. With Fire for Kids, parents select all of the content their kids can see, and parents can limit kids’ screen time by content type—for example, they may choose to limit videos and games, but make reading time unlimited. Fire for Kids blocks stores and in-app payments, so parents don’t have to worry about additional expenses, and blocks unwanted advertisements and access to social media.
Dave Miles, European Director of the Family Online Safety Institute, the leading not-for-profit for guiding parents on how to use technology in their families, said: “We are excited to see this product released in the UK and commend Amazon for its efforts in building something with parents’ needs and safety in mind. Amazon’s attention to parental controls and the screen time balance makes Fire for Kids an ideal service to help families while teaching their children to use technology responsibly.”
Fire HD Kids Edition is just £119 with 8GB of memory and £139 with 16GB of memory, and is available for pre-order today at http://www.amazon.co.uk/kids-edition-tablet. It will start shipping to customers on 18th June and will also be available for purchase from Argos and http://www.argos.co.uk.
Come comment on this article: Amazon’s Fire HD Kids Edition tablet is available to pre-order in the UK from £119
Synaptics’ touch-sensitive space bar speeds up your writing
Your smartphone’s keyboard has loads of shortcuts that help you write faster, but the keyboard on your big, brawny PC doesn’t. Seems illogical, doesn’t it? Synaptics doesn’t think it makes sense, either. The input firm is launching SmartBar, a technology that turns your keyboard’s space bar into a touch-sensitive surface for gesture controls. You can swipe your thumb to select text, pinch to zoom in and program five “logical buttons” that perform macros, such as formatting text or building units in a favorite real-time strategy game. This might only save you a couple of seconds reaching for your mouse, but Synaptics is betting that those little time savings will add up.
Just how soon you’ll get SmartBar depends on your hardware tastes. Thermaltake’s gaming-focused Tt eSports badge has already committed to using this touch-savvy key, but it’s not certain whether there will be a lot of additional support. It could take a while before you can get a SmartBar-equipped keyboard that’s suitable for the office, folks. Still, don’t be surprised if you soon find yourself finishing reports (and slaying monsters) just that little bit faster.
[Top image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals
Source: Synaptics
‘Skylanders SuperChargers’ takes to the skies, streets and sea
Imagine Mario Kart, Looney Tunes and Top Gear got together to plan a wild, rockin’ birthday party for a 9-year-old. The result would probably resemble Skylanders SuperChargers, the latest game from Activision and Vicarious Visions, due to launch in North America on September 20th for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and iPad. This is the first Skylanders game to feature vehicles in its toys-to-life lineup — and we’re not just talking cars.
SuperChargers takes to the land, air and sea with 20 vehicles and 20 characters, although of course most of these will be sold separately. The SuperChargers Starter Pack ($75) comes with two characters, one car and a portal, and that’s all you’ll need to complete the main game. The rest of the game, with action-packed water tracks and cloud-streaked midair passages, looks so intriguing that players and parents alike will most likely be tempted to splurge on additional planes and submarines. Standalone vehicles cost $15, while characters are $13. As a bonus, though, every existing Skylanders figure will work with SuperChargers.
Players can use any character with any vehicle they wish, but each car, plane and boat has a corresponding driver. When that character is behind the wheel, the vehicle gets special upgrades, such as more firepower or unique attacks. Plus, they look pretty cool together: The bird character Stormblade, for example, has silver-blue plumage and sharp-tipped feathers with wavy, aerodynamic details. SkySlicer, Stormblade’s paired jet, features a similar aesthetic, almost as if it were her custom helmet enlarged 50 times over.
SuperChargers pits players against series antagonist Kaos and his “Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction,” which eats the sky. Considering the game plays out in a place called Skylands, that’s a fairly big deal. A few former Skylanders characters show up in SuperChargers, with some modifications — Super Shot Stealth Elf, for example, is a new twist on the classic figure, adding a new weapon and the ability to lay down an auto-attacking turret as she goes invisible. She’s one of the Starter Pack characters, alongside newcomer Spitfire and his paired car, Hot Streak.
At first glance, the car portion of SuperChargers looks eerily similar to other cartoonish racing games, most notably Mario Kart. There are winding tracks with collectables and speed boosts along the way, and players are able to drift around tight corners or between obstacles. Speeding down streets in the sky isn’t the only option here, though — there are also mini battle arenas where players must maneuver their cars to shoot down enemies and figure out laser-based puzzles to move forward.
The game also features secret side-tracks lining the streets — and then there are the non-road areas. These are technically side quests, not necessary to finish the game, but impossible for any completionist to ignore. Plus, they look like the most innovative portions of the game. Flying features a lot of swerving, shooting and weaving, but the game’s true newness comes in with the water sections.
Each seafaring vessel is able to dive below the water’s surface, so there are technically two tracks for every boat level: one on the water and one underneath. One of the boat-based boss battles, using the Dive Bomber submarine figure, features a circular pool with a wave-making machine in the middle and dozens of enemies scattered around it. Players have to dive beneath the water to dodge attacks and get some air by ramping off of waves at the right times. Eventually, players dive directly beneath enemies so that the boss’ shots take out the baddies for them. It’s all hectic and complex, and it looks like a solid culmination of many different skills picked up throughout the game.
SuperChargers is a big game with new features (aside from the jets and subs), including one level that takes place on the back of a dragon, a top-down flying section, a 2D submerged area and a portion with a shrink-and-grow ray. Plus, players can customize their vehicles on the fly by picking up spare parts along the levels.
Oh, and since it’s a video game featuring cars, planes and boats, we asked Activision the obvious question: Will there be racing?
“Where would your mind go?” a developer responded, while literally stroking his beard as if in deep thought. Our minds go to, “Yes.”
[Images credit: Activision]
Intel wants you to stop hating meetings
The worst part about meetings isn’t showing off your new presentation, it’s how difficult it is to get your computer screen to show up on the TV. At Computex, Intel introduced its real-time collaboration solution Unite to remove some of the headaches associated with sharing presentations. The system uses a secure WiFi connection with a rotating PIN to connect to a Core vPro processor-powered mini PC connected to an office’s display. Attendees download and install a lightweight client on their Mac or Windows machine and can share their desktop, annotate shared presentations and view up four attendee’s screens at once. It’s a pretty straight forward solution. It makes meetings start quicker and gives attendees the ability to work together on a single presentation. But, it’s the upcoming extensibility that could convince your IT department to drop your current solution for Unite.
Intel will release reference plugins in the next 30 days that will add additional functions to the Unite platform including a Skype plugin that can be used to make the collaborative meeting system into a teleconferencing system. These reference plugins will coincide with the release of a Unite SDK for third-party developers. The upcoming reference plugins will also include a way to control a room’s lighting and a telepresence solution. But Intel is keen to see what the community builds for the platform.
A low-cost platform (roughly $700 with a computer according to Intel) that’s already available for large IT departments. Intel VP of Business Client Platform Division Tom Garrison noted that those departments will be able to deploy updates to all devices running Unite just like any other PC on a network. For small businesses looking for a meeting solution, a version for them will be available in 30 days.
Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Intel
Source: Intel
Fallout 4 is coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC
In the four-plus years since Fallout: New Vegas was released, gamers have been waiting for Bethesda to confirm the next title in the super-popular franchise. The company had us salivating when it dropped a new 24-hour counter on its website yesterday, but even before the timer has reached its conclusion, we finally have confirmation of the next instalment: it’ll be called Fallout 4 and it’s coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Details are scarce but it appears that that Amazon, Best Buy and GameStop will begin accepting pre-orders, most likely from today. We can expect more news at 10AM ET when the game’s teaser site goes live, showing us the first official trailer and what we can expect to see at Bethesda’s E3 showcase on June 14th.
Another screencap from Fallout 4, this one’s a bit more high res (thanks @DigDugg89) pic.twitter.com/pQXptWtyWC
– Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 3, 2015
Source: Fallout 4
Metromile’s Tag uses Apple iBeacon tech to track your driving
For almost three years now, Metromile has offered a pay-per-mile insurance service that tracked your trips via an OBD-II reader (a device that plugs into your car’s data port) called the Pulse which also provided other useful info like your mileage, parked location and fuel costs. Today, Metromile has unveiled the Tag, a wireless device that uses Apple’s iBeacon tech to do almost the same thing. Instead of plugging into that aforementioned OBD-II port — which is in every car built and sold in the US since 1996 — the Tag can be placed anywhere in your vehicle. It then communicates that same car and trip info to your phone over Bluetooth LE (which does mean that both the Tag and your phone needs to be in close proximity in order for it to work).
The accompanying Metromile app — available on both iOS and Android — will then let you do things that you could already do with the OBD-II reader. You can figure out the best commute times, find a parked location and track your mileage. In select markets like San Francisco and Chicago, you can also get street cleaning alerts. The only thing that the Tag can’t do is get a vehicle health report, as that still requires direct access to the car’s computer. And yes, the Tag is available for free, to both customers and non-customers alike. The catch? If you want to sign up for Metromile’s pay-per-mile insurance, you still have to use that regular ol’ OBD-II reader.
But if all you want is some insight into your car’s performance, then it couldn’t hurt to try the Tag out. After all, it’s one of the first consumer implementations of iBeacon we’ve seen outside of airports, retail stores and baseball parks. It should be available today for folks in California, Oregon, Illinois and Washington State, with further expansion slated for later this year.
Filed under: Transportation, Apple
Source: Metromile
The Big Picture: Google wants to build a futuristic see-through dome
The curious structure above blanketed with transparent, undulating glass isn’t someone’s concept of a futuristic high-tech habitat on another planet. It’s actually Google’s latest design for the dome it plans to build on the 18.6 acres of land it’s leasing from the government right across its headquarters. The four-story 595,000 sq. ft. edifice is called Charleston East, because the company wants to build it right next to Charleston Park. According to the application Google has recently submitted to Mountain View’s local government, it will house not only offices, but also a 72,000 sq. ft. of space for retail shops and amenities, as well as underground parking.
You’re not having a déjà vu, by the way: Google really did release concept art for other transparent structures earlier this year. The tech corp was aiming to create a complex of four see-through facilities on 2.2 million sq. ft. of commercial land available for lease at the time in Mountain View’s North Bayshore district. Unfortunately, the local government gave another tech company, LinkedIn, most of the space (1.4 million sq. ft.), leaving Google with a measly 515,000 sq. ft. Google hasn’t announced its new plans for that area yet, since it obviously won’t be able to fit a modern campus right out of a sci-fi movie. But it clearly knows what it wants to do Charleston East, which will become the company’s campus extension if it passes the city’s review process.
Source: City of Mountain View, Silicon Valley Business Journal
AIVAnet 