Motorola starts pushing out Lollipop update for first-generation Moto X in the US
Motorola has finally started rolling out the much-anticipated Lollipop update to all unlocked variants of the original Moto X (2013) located in the United States. As for as added functionality goes, this upgrade transports the latest build of the Android operating system to the handset, in addition to a truckload of bug fixes and stability improvements.
All the changes you’d expect to find in the Lollipop software are bundled into this upgrade, including support for multiple accounts, improved notifications, stronger 256-bit encryption, a smoother multitasking experience and the recently-announced Material Design guidelines.
As usual, the upgrade is being rolled out in stages, but if you don’t feel like waiting for a notification confirming that it’s ready for your device to hit your unit, you could always search for the update manually.
To do so simply open the Settings app, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”. Once done, the upgrade will start downloading from Motorola’s servers.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S2 certified in South Korea, pricing details also leaked
The Galaxy Tab S2 has proven to be a rather elusive product with information (leaks) coming from every-which-way, save for Samsung itself. Detailed rumors have been abound for months now, dating as far back as February. The size and shape is all but cemented. The device posed for some glamour shots in China and at the FCC. The latest in the long-running pre-launch leak line-up reports the South Korean Radio Research Agency (RRA) – which reports to the Korean Communications Commission (think FCC) – has certified both size variants of the hardware.
Model SM-T715, assumed to be the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, and model SM-T815, believed to be the Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 recently passed through the RRA and received the government’s stamp of approval. It is assumed these are LTE variants largely based upon the model numbers which corresponded to last year’s Tab S 8.4 (SM-T705) and Tab S 10.5 (SM-T805). SamMobile has weighed in on the news and declared that these two models will be sold unlocked due to the lack of a carrier letter following their product code.
A purported leak believed to depict the Galaxy Tab S2.
The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 LTE was never released in South Korea, and the Tab S 10.5 LTE was released exclusively in the Titanium Bronze color variant. It would make sense for Samsung to offer the tablets directly to consumers instead of making them sign carrier contracts, however the Tab S 10.5 LTE was quite expensive and thus without carrier subsidies the potential market would seem questionable. Still, Samsung Korea has at least one other carrier unlocked product currently being sold. the Galaxy Grand Max.
Amid this news, yesterday a leak sprung that claimed to have the prices of this new pair of tablets. It alleges that the Wi-Fi Tab S2 8.0 will cost €399 ($441) and the Wi-Fi Tab S2 9.7 will retail for €499 ($550). No price was given for the LTE 8.0 model, however the Tab S2 9.4 LTE product was quoted at €589 ($650). These prices are more-or-less in line with those charged last year for the original Tab S pair and would make sense provided they pan out.
Based on everything we know so far, it is expected that the Tab S2 will feature a 4:3 aspect ratio not unlike the recent Galaxy Tab A products. They will feature a QHD Super AMOLED display, an Exynos 5433 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of on-board storage, microSD support, and Android Lollipop (the exact version of which is seemingly less clear). They are expected to come in at a svelte 5.4mm.
Peak-a-boo: The Tab S2 poses for the camera over in China.
Granted the specs aren’t wildly different from last year’s offerings. It is expected that Samsung is will make a case that they have significant differences worthy of an upgrade in the form of the new aspect ratio (better for browsing the internet), a new fingerprint sensor (the S6 variant), and presumably the S6-build of TouchWiz (more immersive). And of course, the two tablets are expected to be constructed of a unibody metal design which would indeed set them apart from anything Samsung has offered, the Tab 7.7 included (as it used a combination of metal and plastic).
Just how well the Tab S2 line will perform remains to be seen, though with Samsung now having filed for trademark protection of a Galaxy Tab S Pro, it clearly has high hopes.
Microsoft’s pushes the Halo Channel app to the Play Store, brings loads of content for Halo fans
There’s still a few months to go until Halo 5: Guardians launches on October 27th for the Xbox One. Until then, you can immerse yourself in the Master Chief’s universe by downloading and installing Microsoft’s Halo Channel app on your phone and tablet.
The Halo Channel app includes community created content, the back-stories about Halo characters in the Halo Universe as well as original programming that includes Halo fiction and behind-the-scenes documentaries. You can also pick up playing tips, multi-player strategies and even walk-through guides that will help you if you get stuck at any point.
“The Halo Channel is your home to experience award-winning original Halo programming, the best in community-created content, tips to improve your game, and the ability to access to deep background information about the Halo universe and story – all through a custom-designed and personalized digital network.”
Looking at the Play Store reviews, you can see that the video player apparently needs some tweaks with videos either stuttering or freezing on user’s devices. Microsoft will hopefully fix these teething pains relatively soon. Apart from that, the Halo Channel appears good to go. The app is free to download from the Google Play Store via the QR code and link below.
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Google Glass Enterprise Edition has a new display, CPU and battery pack
Google has been keeping rather quiet about Glass since the Explorer program was put to bed, but industry sources have come forward with information about the next iteration of Google Glass – the ‘Enterprise Edition’.
Several sources familiar with advanced prototypes of the product suggest that the Enterprise Edition will feature a larger prism display, a higher performance Intel Atom processor and moderately improved battery life.
The larger prism display is designed to reduce the eye strain issues that affected Explorer users after a prolonged time spent with the headset. By extending the prism width, the user simply has to look up to view the display, rather than looking up and to the right, which should reduce the effort required to view the display. No details about any changes to the display’s resolution were given, but it is apparently “better” than before.
In addition to the new prism design, Google is also said to have opted for a new low-energy Intel Atom processor to power the Enterprise Edition; gone is the Texas Instruments SoC as previously rumored. The exact SoC model has not been specified, but the clock speeds are apparently slightly above the current processors found in high-end smartwatches. As a result, heat and performance are improved in the second generation Glass.
Sadly, battery life, one of the biggest complaints about the original Google Glass edition, is only moderately improved in the new model. Again we don’t have any figures, but Enterprise Edition devices with a Google-made external battery pack have been spotted, which suggests that a separate battery is required to keep heavy users juiced up throughout the day.
We are still waiting on a timeframe for the launch of the next Google Glass model. Although previous rumors have suggested that we may hear something official soon.
Survey shows boys think women are underrepresented in video games
A recent exploratory study conducted by Time has found that 47 percent of middle-school and 61 percent of high-school-aged boys believe that female characters in video games are too often treated as sex objects. The survey was conducted to examine issues of sexism in video games and asked over 1,400 students about their feelings surrounding how women are depicted in the medium. What’s more, 70 percent of girls surveyed said that the gender of a protagonist doesn’t factor into them playing a game while a surprising 78 percent of boys said the same. And 58 percent of boys who identified as gamers think there should be more female heroes in game, like Bayonetta up above, for example. Oh, and reassuringly “very few” of the respondents knew what Gamergate was. Phew.
Like Time writes, as interactive entertainment grows and becomes more and more mainstream, it’s important to note the changing attitudes of the future audience. The findings also help dispel the notion that gamers are just horny boys looking for fleeting titillation when a joystick’s in-hand. Looking back at this E3’s bevy of announcements regarding female representation in big-budget games, it seems like the industry is paying attention too.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Time
Serif’s Image Editing App ‘Affinity Photo’ Launches for Mac [Mac Blog]
Professional image editing app Affinity Photo, created by the same team that’s behind the award-winning Affinity Designer app, is today launching in the Mac App Store. Affinity Photo is designed to allow photographers to enhance, edit, and retouch images and is the culmination of five years of work.
The app includes a huge range of photo editing tools for everything from minor manipulations to drastic edits that alter shapes and remove objects from images. It’s been in beta testing since February and has been updated with features and improvements that beta testers have requested.
As an app oriented at professionals, Affinity Photo includes features like lens and exposure corrections, live filter layers, controls for channels and masks, advanced layer handling, RAW support, 16-bit channel editing, ICC color management, detailed EXIF info, Photoshop PSD import and export, and frequency separation editing that separates color from texture for retouching skin. According to Affinity Photo‘s developers, the speed at which it completes tasks and the app’s ability to show edits in real time are the most notable features to be aware of.
“The performance of the product is what we are most proud of,” said Tony Brightman, head of Affinity development. “We take full advantage of all the latest Apple technologies like OpenGL, Grand Central Dispatch and Core Graphics. What this means to the user is whether it’s a 100 megapixel image or a complex composition with 1000s of layers, you can still pan and zoom at 60fps and see live views of all adjustments, brushes, blend modes and filters with no compromise. It’s this speed and depth of features which really makes Affinity Photo a joy to use, and sets it apart from anything else out there.”
Affinity Photo also includes specific task-focused workspaces for developing, post-processing, liquify, and export, plus it has customizable toolbars with drag and drop panels. It offers vector drawing and text editing tools, an advanced brush engine with custom brush options, unlimited layers, a snapping system with pixel alignment, and an undo history for undoing changes.
For retouching and making corrections to photos, there’s an Inpainting brush for removing unwanted objects, a selection brush for selecting detailed elements in an image, a tool for removing blemishes and red eye, single-plane and dual-pane perspective correction, and a Liquify tool for manipulating images with warps, pinches, twirls, and more. There are also quite a few effects for adding features like tilt-shift, shadows, glow, blurs, and distortions.
In addition to taking advantage of features like OpenGL and Core Graphics, Affinity Photo is compatible with Macs that have a Force Touch trackpad, enabling pressure sensitivity. It supports Retina displays, is fully optimized for 64-bit and multi-core processors, and includes iCloud Drive support.
To celebrate its launch, Affinity Photo is available from the Mac App Store for $39.99 until July 23. After that time, the price will increase to $49.99.
LG unveils the G4 Beat with a Snapdragon 615 SoC
Earlier today, LG took the wraps off its latest mid-range smartphone, the G4 Beat. The handset fits neatly into its ‘G4′ lineup, sporting the same design as the company’s flagship handset.
In terms of specifications, the G4 Beat packs a 5.2-inch Full HD display, a Snapdragon 615 chipset, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable internal storage, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera and 5-megapixel front-facing shooter.
The device will run the latest build of Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with LG’s UX 4.0 custom user interface plastered over the top straight out of the box. It will also support 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC and GPS.
The G4 Beat is set to hit the shelves across Europe and Latin America first where it will be available in Metallic Silver, Ceramic White and Shiny Gold colorways. Following a successful launch in these regions, it will reach Canada, India, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey.
Unfortunately, right now, there’s no official word on pricing, but we expect the handset to retail somewhere in the region of $300 (€270).
Source: LG
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Amazon discounts the 16GB Wi-Fi model of the Nexus 9 in the UK
If you live in the UK and have been searching for a great deal on the Nexus 9, look no further as Amazon has today kicked off a great deal on the slate. For a limited time only, residents in the region can bag themselves the 16GB Wi-Fi model of the tablet for £200. That’s a whopping £119 off its retail price!
Just in case you need a refresher on its specifications, the Nexus 9 is a very capable device, packing an 8.9-inch display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, a 2.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, 2GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.6-megapixel front-facing shooter and 6,700mAh non-removable battery.
If you like the sound of the Nexus 9 and would like to pick one up from Amazon for the reduced price, hit the source link below.
Source: Amazon
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Amazon Echo updated with support for Wink-controlled smart home products
Amazon has just updated its Echo voice assistant with support for a handful of Wink-controlled smart home products, including the Belkin WeMo and Phillips Hue — so now users can, for example, say “shut off the lights” and they will instantly turn off.
Configuring the Wink hub with your Amazon Echo is extremely easy. All you have to do is make sure all of your smart home devices are powered on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, then open up the official Echo app on your smartphone and hit the ‘Pair’ button.
We’re pretty impressed by the inclusion of this functionality as it means we are one step closer to a home that can be controlled by our voice.
Source: Amazon
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The LG G4 Beat is a mid-ranger with a few flagship tricks
The growing LG G4 range has just received another new member, following the launch of the G4 Stylus and G4 C earlier in the year. Today the company announced the G4 Beat, which LG says will offer value but won’t compromise on performance.
The G4 Beat is a little smaller than the high flying G4 flagship, shrinking from 5.5-inches down to 5.2 with a Full HD (1920×1080) resolution, rather than QHD (2560×1440). This is a very minor trade-off and the phone also seems to have retained the G4’s subtle curved display.
There’s also a downgraded 8 megapixel camera on the back and a 5 megapixel camera on the front, but the flagship laser auto-focus module and manual shooting mode remains. Interestingly, a 13MP camera will be available in the Latin American market.
“Too often, mid-tier phones sacrifice overall usability in order to include that one killer feature … Our goal with the LG G4 Beat was to create a phone that was not only well- balanced in terms of display, camera, performance and design but delivered terrific value and satisfaction.” – Juno Cho, CEO of LG Mobile
An octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 powers the handset, which is a commonplace chip in today’s mid-tier market, along with 1.5GB of RAM, half of that available with the G4. The battery is also chopped down from 3,000mAh to 2,300mAh, but with less power hungry components the phone’s battery life should still be adequate.
Overall, the LG G4 Beat looks like it does a pretty good job at bridging the gap between the mid-range market and LG’s latest flagship.
LG’s mid-range product portfolio has been instrumental in helping the company secure share in emerging markets such as Latin America. Its range of handsets has also kept LG more competitive with China’s low cost manufacturers. As a result, the company made a £475 million profit last year.
The LG G4 Beat is scheduled for an initial launch in Europe and Latin America, although exact dates are yet to be announced, followed by a global rollout shortly afterwards. Pricing is expected to fall somewhere around the €400 mark (~$440), but will vary slightly depending on the market.
What do you think about the LG G4 Beat?
AIVAnet 