Truemessenger: an SMS app that will kill spam and identify unknown callers
Every advanced form of communication has a way to filter spam and unwanted contacts, but the new era has failed to reach traditional calls and SMS messages. To many of us these feel like archaic services. I mean, imagine if your email didn’t filter out spam – what a mess! Thankfully the new era of smart devices and services provides ways to combat these issues, something developer Truecaller has been doing for the past 5 years.
Truecaller and Truedialer serve over 150 million members world-wide. A strong community has been built around these Contacts and Dialer app replacements. Users can report SPAM, telemarketers and other unwanted callers – the service will then recognize these numbers and put them out of the way for you, sending them straight into the spam folder.
This really changes everything, making your calling experience a much more pleasant and uncluttered one. Truecaller is bringing the same convenience to SMS messages via their new app Truemessenger, which they have just announced.
The concept behind Truemessenger is simple… and pretty much identical to its sister apps. It keeps a record of unwanted numbers, spammers, fraudulent messages and recognizes odd behavior, creating an effective filtering system for your SMS inbox. Finally, our messages can be safe and you don’t have to worry (as much) about those pesky messages that just waste our time.
Truemessenger Features:
- The ability to put a name to a number, even for contacts outside your phonebook
- The resources to detect, block, and report spam alongside other Truecaller members to build a smarter community
- The option to avoid messages from unwanted numbers and contacts
- A clean Inbox where spam messages are magically sent to a separate folder
- The ability to add advanced filtering options by creating customized filters with known spam keywords or number series (area codes or country codes
- Truemessenger Bonus: Exclusive message alert tone brought to you by Avicii
SMS messaging may be antiquated, but it is not going anywhere soon. A lot of the world still depends on it, and we must keep in mind internet availability is not as widespread everywhere in the planet. At least with an app like Truemessenger we can make SMS a bit smarter.
It might be important to note these services continue to be completely free and Truecaller is making no money out of its users. The company states right now the main focus is on growing their user base; making money out of the app will come later. It may be hard to monetize Caller and SMS replacement apps without turning the interface into an advertising nightmare, but some competitors have managed to do it by offering in-app purchases (selling themes, emoticons, extra features, etc.). Maybe that is a path they may choose to take in the future.
Also, this happens to be an Android-only app for now. As many of you may know, Apple doesn’t play well with calling and messaging replacements. We suppose it’s their loss! Truemessenger will continue to expand to other markets in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes open. For now, you can go ahead and check out their Truecaller and Truedialer apps to see what their services are all about. Are you joining the Truemessenger revolution? I will be downloading the app as soon as it shows up!
White House wants to expand people’s access to solar energy
The solar industry’s apparently doing really well in the US right now, but the White House wants to broaden its reach even further. That’s why the administration has launched a new initiative designed to give more people access to solar energy and to create more jobs in the industry. To start with, the government wants to install 300 megawatts of solar and other types of renewable energy in places with federally subsidized housing. Some organizations in over 20 states also promise to conjure up 260 solar projects in an effort to help low-income families.
To make the process easier and to reach both goals, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will offer technical assistance (and a primer of sorts) to communities, while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will make it easier to borrow money. The government has partnered with companies and organizations to create more job opportunities, as well. AmeriCorps, for instance, plans to train around 40 members who’ll eventually be deployed help retrofit houses with solar panels, whereas HUD, DOE and the Department of Education will boost educational opportunities that will help the renewable energy sector. The White House has laid out all the details on its website, so get ready for a long read if you want to know what the administration’s planning exactly.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Science
Source: White House
Star Trek Communicator released as Bluetooth handset and speaker (OMG!)
Any Star Trek fan will remember the famous Communicator. This fictional device gave us a glimpse of what the future of mobile technology would be like, but the creators of Star Trek: The Original Series probably never imagined that we would surpass their technology so quickly. Regardless, it’s every geek’s dream to be able to hold one of these Communicators and actually be able to contact others, even if they may not be in a starship orbiting the planet.
Get ready to spend some serious cash on a Bluetooth handset and speaker, guys. Many of you will pull out these $150 dollars without even thinking about it. It no longer matters if its a justifiable price or not, even I have to have this thing!
The Wand Company has built an official replica of the iconic Star Trek Communicator and launched it during the world-famous San Diego Comic-Con. They used structured-light 3D scanning to ensure this replica is molded to perfection. It is literally the same one you saw Captain Kirk and his crew flip open hundreds of times. It makes matters even more exciting to learn this is no typical replica; it is a pretty awesome gadget, to be honest. Sure, it’s a bit over-priced, but it is awesome that you can actually do something with it, unlike with most other replicas.
The Communicator replica works as a Bluetooth handset you can connect to your smartphone and answer calls through. It also serves as an external speaker for listening to your audio. And yes, it is wireless and has its own rechargeable battery, which you can juice up with the included wireless charging stand.
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The Star Trek Communicator is worth $149.95 and you can pre-order it now! Comic-Con attendees will be able to test it first-hand if they head over to ThinkGeek’s booth (#3351). Just in case you happen to be around my hometown.
Seriously, I wasn’t going to go to Comic-Con this year, but I will find a way to get in there and check this out! Who is signing up?
Action Launcher 3.5 puts your beloved Android apps in the search bar
The ubiquitous search box widget at the top of your Android mobile device is getting some new tricks. Chris Lacy, creator of the Action Launcher app, announced the release of Action Launcher 3.5 on Tuesday. The new version builds on AL 3.0, which allowed users to match the widget’s color to their background theme (as well as the app drawer) or scroll through an alphabetical app list accessible from the home screen. The app also features slick shortcuts for both folders and widgets called covers and shutters, respectively. And with the release of AL 3.5, users can fully customize the search box by incorporating apps, shortcuts and even menu groups directly into the bar itself.
“I’m very happy with how the Quickbar has turned out,” Lacy wrote on a Google+ post. “It may not look like it, but this feature was an absolutely mammoth design and engineering undertaking.” And from the looks of this update, why stick with Google’s stock launcher?
Source: Google Plus
The next ‘Star Wars Anthology’ flick is a Han Solo prequel
Get ready to add another big Star Wars date to your calendar. On May 25th, 2018, Disney is planning another standalone flick in the universe, this time focusing on Han Solo’s early days — before he ran into Luke, Leia and the rest. It’s going to be directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the pair responsible for the excellent The Lego Movie, with writing handled by Lawrence and Jon Kasdan. Lawrence wrote and directed Raiders of the Lost Ark, and was a co-writer for Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and the next main Stars Wars flick, The Force Awakens, while his son Jon has written for movies and TV shows including Freaks and Geeks and Dawson’s Creek. The first standalone Star Wars movie, Rogue One, is due in December 2016, with Episode VIII and BB-8 following in May 2017.
[Image credit: Steve Parsons/PA Archive]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Star Wars
NASA prepares its Jupiter probe for arrival
It’s been a long time in coming, but NASA’s Juno probe is finally close to reaching Jupiter. NASA reports that the spacecraft is “on track” to arrive on July 4th, 2016 (how American!), and that the ground crew is tweaking the flight plan to at once give Juno more time and complete tasks ahead of schedule. The ship’s initial orbit is splitting into two in order to test instruments before the science gathering starts. Also, it’ll take 14 days to complete an orbit rather than the originally planned 11. That will extend the mission from 15 months to 20, but it should both get basic mapping data sooner (8 orbits instead of 15) and offer more leeway in case the Jovian world’s magnetism and radiation create havoc. Hopefully, all this extra work will ensure that scientists understand not just the beginnings of Jupiter and the Solar System, but also the behavior of gas giants around alien stars.
[Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]
Filed under: Science
Source: NASA JPL
Getting high: LG straps a LG G4 to a drone and takes some awesome footage
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LG sure knows how to make a promo video – after sending their last flagship, the LG G3 into an active volcano to help advertise the camera and its laser focus, LG has tried to one-up themselves this year by strapping their new LG G4 to a drone and taking video while airborne. The effect is… well, check out the results for yourself:
Drones are all the rage right now, so it’s a smart move on LG’s behalf to make use of that burgeoning market space as a marketing canvas. As for the LG G4’s camera, there’s definitely beauty to what was captured, but we can’t exactly say that it’s all down to the camera. LG intended for this video to advertise its new optical image stabilization, and for the most part, it actually does a pretty amazing job, but it’s clear that the juddering of the drone was sufficient to overcome this feature at times. Still, it’s a cool ad, and we wish some of the other manufacturers were a bit creative like this sometimes with advertising relatively real-life scenarios – because we all own drones, right?
What do you think about LG’s latest LG G4 promo video? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: YouTube (LG) via Phone Arena
The post Getting high: LG straps a LG G4 to a drone and takes some awesome footage appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Galaxy Note 5 probably won’t be equipped with a microSD card slot
Hopefully you weren’t holding out for Samsung to change course on their lack of a microSD card in flagship devices. The Galaxy S6 doesn’t have one, and it doesn’t look like the Note 5 will, either. According to a recent report from SamMobile, Samsung probably won’t be using expandable storage on the Note 5, in part due to the newer technology that they’re using for internal storage.
The Galaxy S6 uses UFS 2.0, which you might have heard about when the device was announced. UFS 2.0 is quite a bit faster than eMMC 5.0 storage that’s found in pretty much all other smartphones, even beating out some of the fastest SD cards on the market. One of the drawbacks to this faster tech, though, is that the memory controller that Samsung has to use can’t handle both internal storage and an SD card. It’s pretty clear that Samsung thinks that the faster speed of UFS 2.0 and better performance is a worthwhile trade-off.
As a side note, the 3D render of the Note 5 that we saw the other day lacked any type of slot for a microSD card, so this report just confirms those small details.
Anyone with a Galaxy S6 missing their expandable storage? I’m personally using a 64 GB GS6, and so far I’ve made the transition pretty painlessly. Some power users might have to adjust their usage habits to accommodate the change, but it’s not like Samsung is the only OEM doing this. Nexus devices no longer use SD cards, although HTC and LG have brought them back to their flagship devices.
source: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Galaxy Note 5 probably won’t be equipped with a microSD card slot
Sprint to begin selling the budget-friendly Galaxy Grand Prime on July 10th
Sprint will soon add Samsung’s affordable Galaxy Grand Prime to their smartphone lineup on July 10th. The device will be available for $240, which you can purchase without a contract, with 24 $10 monthly payments with Sprint EasyPay, or for $29.99 on a two-year contract after a $50 rebate. Not bad pricing.
The Galaxy Grand Prime sports a 5-inch screen with a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. It ships with Android 5.1 and several of Samsung’s more popular software additions, including Ultra Power Saving Mode and still has a microSD card.
It’s not flagship smartphone, but if you’re on a budget, the Grand Prime might be a good choice for you.
source: Sprint
Come comment on this article: Sprint to begin selling the budget-friendly Galaxy Grand Prime on July 10th
Special ‘Destiny’ PS4 is another expensive bundle option
If you’re a hardcore Destiny fan, it’s been a rough couple weeks. First, Bungie announced the game’s next big expansion, then it revealed some of its content would be exclusive to a pricey $80 collector’s edition — even if you already owned the base game. There was anger, rebellion, Red Bull product tie-ins (no, really) and, eventually, a mea culpa that made the exclusive content available to everyone as separate DLC. Huzzah! Now Destiny players can get everything without buying content twice. Well, unless they want the limited edition Destiny PlayStation 4 — then they’re screwed again.
Okay, technically the Destiny: The Taken King PS4 bundle is already the complete package — buyers get a copy of Destiny, both of its initial expansions (The Dark Below and House of Wolves) and The Taken King, plus a digital upgrade to the collector’s edition and its formerly-exclusive content. As far as the game is concerned, that’s everything — but completionist collectors are still missing out on the physical aspects of The Taken King Collector’s Edition, including the set’s steel-book case, replica Strange Coin, modified Treasure Island Book and physical relics and artifacts.
A nitpick? Absolutely. An outrage? Not at all. A problem for Destiny super-fans who want all the collectibles and a 500GB custom white and silver PS4 emblazoned with a golden guardian’s crest? Oh yeah. Still, if you have to have everything (or just want a special PS4) this bundle will be available on September 15th.
Source: PlayStation Blog
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