Your mouse will soon work with your Xbox One
Beneath that shiny exterior, the Xbox One is, basically, a glorified gaming PC in a slightly smaller frame. As such, wouldn’t it be great if you could play RTS games on the machine with your keyboard and mouse? The hardware can already support the former, and if Microsoft’s Phil Spencer is to be believed, the latter is coming in the near future. The executive was asked on Twitter if it’d be possible to stream games from a Windows machine to the Xbox — in the opposite direction to how the company has set up its game streaming system. In response, he said that it’d require keyboard and mouse support for it to work, crucially adding “those aren’t far away.”
@Tak225Th Still finishing Xbox to Win10 streaming right now. I like the idea of Win10->Xbox One streaming but don’t have a plan yet.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Yep, keyboard and mouse support for Xbox would need to be there for this to work, those aren’t far away.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Mouse is what we’d need to add.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has often spoke about bringing the disparate elements of the Windows businesses into a more cohesive single entity. When Windows 10 was announced, it was with the subtitle “one product family, one platform, one store,” and the move should help the gaming division tie in with its siblings. After all, with keyboard and mouse support, the console could support the majority of Windows 10 apps that are being crafted, and could even drive hardware sales. Hell, we’re perversely hoping that there’s a way that we can access a text editor so that we can write the news and play Halo at the same time. Yes, we know — we do need to get more.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Microsoft
Via: UberGizmo
Deal: Take 65% off MEElectronics Runaway Bluetooth headphones from Amazon (today only)
If you’re looking for a quality, inexpensive pair of Bluetooth headphones, Amazon has some great deals that may be worth your while. For today only, you can save 65% on select pairs of MEElectronics Bluetooth headphones in multiple different color options.
You can pick up the MEElectronics Air Fi Runaway Bluetooth headphones for just $34.99, which is a steep 65% discount. They have 40mm drivers and though a battery life isn’t specified, the company promises 12 hours of constant playback with a charging time of around 4 hours. You also have the option to connect a 3.5mm audio cable in case your headphones run out of battery. They also fold at the hinges and come with a traveling bag if you need to store them away for safe keeping. Additionally, they have playback and audio controls on the right ear cup so you won’t have to constantly take out your phone.
The Runaway headphones are available in Blue, Pink, Red, White, Black/Grey and Red/Black color options.
Since this discount is part of Amazon’s Deal of the Day, it only lasts until midnight tonight. If you’re interested in saving some cash on a pair of great headphones, head to the link below before it’s too late.
Huawei sales soar and revenues rise 89 percent in H1
Huawei has today posted detailed information about the performance of its Consumer Business Group during the first half of the year. In the six months to June 30, sales of Huawei smartphones rose 39 percent – compared with the same period last year – to 48.2 million, resulting in an 87 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to $7.23 billion.
Huawei in video:
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During the call, the company confirmed that smartphone shipments more than doubled in China which is quite surprising, given the the apparent slow-down in the world’s largest smartphone market that is affecting chief rivals Xiaomi and Samsung. Alongside large growth in its home market, Huawei has also posted robust growth in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
In the European market, growth can be attributed to two key strategies; first, the company has focused on selling high-priced flagship smartphones and secondly, the company’s Honor brand bought a key online strategy to the European market. Huawei said its higher priced flagships were well received in Europe with particularly strong sales in Italy and Spain while the Honor brand continues to offer impressive flagship-level devices at an affordable price tag.
Huawei has been steadily growing as one of the world’s largest smartphone vendors but its other businesses – which focus on network infrastructure and enterprise business – have also grown. As a result, the company revealed earlier this week that overall group revenues in the first half of the year had risen 69 percent to $9.09 billion.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer BG, said:
“This incredible growth is a testament to our core business strategy to offer premium quality products, bringing our expected earnings for 2015 from USD 16 billion to USD 20 billion.
Such a remarkable and rapid growth in performance is a result of Huawei’s Consumer BG’s commitment to consumers’ needs and our core strategy of providing innovative hardware technology and software experience. With our consistent and huge investment in R&D, Huawei is set to become one of the key players in the long-run.”
With more devices – including the rumoured Huawei Nexus and Huawei Mate 8 – planned for later in the year, Huawei may continue this financial trend and report a stellar end to the year.
YouTube app for Android now shows vertical video in full screen
Believe it or not, there are still a few people out there who record vertical videos with their mobile devices. Sure, there might be a few exceptions to the rules (Snapchat, Periscope), but outside of a few applications that are built around vertically-recorded video content, there are very few reasons to record video not in landscape mode.
Thankfully, Google understands that there will always be some folks who record videos this way, which is why the most recent YouTube for Android update aims to help out with this problem. In version 10.28 of the application, which is rolling out now in the Google Play Store, you can finally view vertically-recorded videos in full screen. Previously, pressing the full screen button in the corner of a vertical video would result in the app switching to landscape mode, though it would still display the video in a vertical fashion, which really didn’t look good at all. Now that problem is fixed, making these videos a little more enjoyable to watch.
The update is now rolling out in the Play Store, so head to the link below if you’re interested in downloading the latest version.
WhatsApp updates bring notifications, data usage and interface changes
A series of five updates in 24 hours to the WhatsApp for Android application has bought a range of new features designed to improve experience and reduce data usage in voice calls. As noted by Android Police, one key feature bought by the new updates it the ability to add custom notification sounds to individual contacts and/or group conversations.
When you open a contact’s or group’s detail page, you’ll now see a new Notifications box, which will let you change the notification style and also mute notifications for a defined period of time – 8 hours, 1 week or 1 year – and also turn off notifications. The ability to customise notifications to this degree of detail was previously seen on the WhatsApp+ application – before users of WhatsApp+ found themselves temporarily banned from using WhatsApp that is – and also lets you set specific notification tones, vibration length, notification light, popup notification and customise WhatsApp call notifications.
The updates also bring the ability to mark a conversation as unread, at least within the app. WhatsApp gives you the ability to display a message as read but the mark as unread option will not change this, nor will it change the chronological position of the chat in the conversations window. That being said, it could be useful as a reminder to reply to a message at a later date.
The updates also bring a couple of interesting new options in the Settings menu. First, the app will now let you enable a low data usage option for WhatsApp voice calls, which is great for users who have a low data allowance or live in a developing country where data is not readily available. For an in-depth look at how much data WhatsApp Voice Calls actually use, check our in-depth top 10 voice chat data usage comparison.
Secondly, there’s also an option under network usage that indicates how much data has been used in backing up WhatsApp to Google Drive. What’s interesting is that the option doesn’t actually exist in WhatsApp anymore as it was previously added months ago but then removed. Could this be a sign that WhatsApp will soon support remote backups? One of the biggest problems for me personally is transferring WhatsApp to another phone and if you’ve ever lost a phone, you’ll know how frustrating it can be to lose your entire chat history (especially if you’ve not backed it up). With remote backups to Google Drive, these concerns could be a thing of the past.
The latest of the five updates has version number v2.12.194 and can be downloaded from APKMirror. The update should roll out to the Play Store in the coming days so keep an eye out for it and come back to let us know what you think of it (once you’ve got it) in the comments below!
The Vivo X5Pro makes its way to India for Rs 27,980
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo is bringing its high-end X5Pro smartphone to India. Featuring some impressive specifications, a premium design and relatively low price point, we imagine this phone will do quite well in India.
The Vivo X5Pro comes with a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 405 GPU. It has 16GB of internal memory (expandable up to 128GB via microSD), dual-SIM card support, a non-removable 2450mAh battery, as well as 4G LTE connectivity. It also runs Vivo’s customized software overlay Funtouch OS atop Android 5.0 Lollipop.
This device is very slim, measuring only 6.44mm thin, and even promises a “Hi-Fi audio experience” with its custom Cirrus Logic DAC AK4375 audio chip. Moreover, the rear-facing 13MP camera with f/2.0 aperture comes with phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF) that should make for a quick focusing experience. The device also comes with an 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture.
The X5Pro will be available across India beginning Saturday, August 15th for Rs. 27,980. Interested folks can pre-book the device now through vivoglobal.in from midnight tonight.
Last chance to enter the Choose Your Own Android Phablet Giveaway: LG G4, OnePlus 2 and more!
The AA Deals Store offers great deals on the daily, but today there’s something a bit more special for you. Are you feeling lucky? You could win one of the hottest devices in the market, and participating won’t cost you a penny.
The “Choose Your Own Android Phablet Giveaway” is simple to enter, so why not try your luck and see if you can be the proud owner of one of these oversized phones? The winner of this giveaway gets to choose one of the following handsets:
Here’s how to enter: Simply head to the giveaway page and enter your email address in the space provided. That will score you one entry into the contest. If you’d like to enter more than once, you can do that, too. After entering your email address, share on Twitter for additional entries. The more your friends and followers enter, the more entries you receive. Make sure you enter with a valid email address so StackSocial can contact you if you win. Keep in mind only one registration per person is allowed. And you should give a valid email, as that is how the winner will be contacted. Any efforts to skew the selection process will result in disqualification, so let’s play nice!
Now that all the details are out of the way, we’d like to urge you to sign up as soon as possible. This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (PDT) on July 22nd… so tonight! Go get your phone!
Editor’s Note: This deal is through StackCommerce, in partnership with AA Deals Store and other StackSocial partners — and not an exclusive Android Authority contest.
Kinivo M2 Bluetooth 2.1 Speaker System [Review]
I
love listening to music. I listen to it while I am walking around campus, driving in my car, sitting around my house, and even while writing this article. However, I have never gotten into headphone, speakers, or any other type of audio equipment. As long as I could hear the music and it sounded good, I was happy. When I got the chance to review the Kinivo M2, I was eager to see if a new set of speakers would drastically change how my music sounded.
First Impressions
In the box, you find two 2.5″ wired satellite speakers and one 6.5″ subwoofer. The power cable is built into the subwoofer and a 3.5mm-to-RCA cable is also included. When I first took the M2 out of the box, I thought it looked pretty nice. The wooden subwoofer felt solid and the gold accents along the black speakers popped.
The satellite speakers are plastic and have a glossy finish on the front that picked up fingerprints extremely easily. From just taking them out of the box and setting them up on my desk, the fronts were covered with prints and I had to spend some time cleaning them off. My favorite aesthetic feature of the M2 has to be the glowing ring around the volume know. The blue-white light is almost futuristic and I love anything that lights up. This system is not going to blow anyone away in the looks department, but it feels solid and well-built while still managing to look nice.
Setup and Operation
S
etting up the Kinivo M2 was a piece of cake. I decided to replace my old desktop computer speakers with the M2, which was simple with the included 3.5mm-to-RCA cable. With the subwoofer hooked up, all that was left was plugging in the satellite speakers into the correct places and setting them on my desk.
The Kinivo M2 can accept audio from both a wired and Bluetooth source so the next step was connecting my phone to the speaker system. One great feature of the M2 is that it uses NFC so all I had to do was set my phone on top of the subwoofer and select that I wanted to pair with the speaker. If you want to pair a device that does not have NFC, you can do that by pressing the “Pair” button on the back of the subwoofer and searching for the M2 in your device’s Bluetooth settings. To switch between wired and Bluetooth, you must press the “Source” button on the back of the subwoofer. While this is not difficult when the M2 is out in the open, having it below my desk required me to get on my hands and knees to reach the button.
Placing all the controls on the back of the subwoofer did make for a cleaner product, but I do with the buttons had been placed in an easier to reach spot such as next to the volume knob. Speaking of the volume knob, it is located on the side of the Kinivo M2’s subwoofer. It is easy to turn and sometimes almost too sensitive. With the subwoofer placed beneath my desk, I found that it was easy to adjust the volume with my foot and that has been working quite well so far.
Sound Quality
Here is the most important part of any speaker review, because at the end of the day, a speaker’s main purpose is to create the best sound possible. I have owned a few Bluetooth speakers in my life, but none of them were 2.1 speaker systems; so I expected the Kinivo M2 to deliver some decent sound quality.
However, I was completely wrong. The M2 is one of the best sounding speaker systems I have heard. Lows sounds great with the added subwoofer and I can feel the air moving by my feet when listening to a song with hard hitting base. The mids are just right and provide good separation between different voices and instruments. The highs are bright and clear, fully rounding out an enjoyable listening experience.
To put this speaker system to the ultimate test, I decided to try NPR’s recent “How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality” quiz. For those who are not familiar with this test, you are given three versions of an audio segment and are asked to select the one you think is the high quality, uncompressed auido. Each versions increases in quality with a 128kbps mp3, a 320kbps mp3, and an Uncompressed WAV.
Streaming over Bluetooth from my Nexus 6, I was able to easily identify the uncompressed audio all six times and get a perfect score. I am no where close to an audiophile and do not know a thing about high bitrate audio; however, I could easily tell that the uncompressed audio sounded better on the Kinivo M2. For comparison, through my Sennheiser HD 205’s plugged into my Nexus 6, I only got four out of five. I think that this is the best testament to the Kinivo M2’s sound quality. You can tell the difference in high quality audio when listening through these speakers.
Overall Thoughts
After using the Kinivo M2 for a few weeks, it has continually impressed me with its great sound quality for a reasonable price. The M2 retails for $120, but you can grab it on Amazon right now for only $80. For a speaker that sounds this good, both prices are a fantastic deal.
What I liked:
- Amazing sound quality
- Good price
- Solid build
- NFC for added Bluetooth pairing convenience
- Easy set up
- Cool, glowing volume ring
What I did not like:
- Rear button placement can make reaching them difficult
- Average design
- Extremely sensitive volume knob
- Glossy plastic on satellite speakers is a fingerprint magnet
Kinivo M2 Bluetooth 2.1 Speaker System photos
A full view of the Kinivo M2 speaker system…
The post Kinivo M2 Bluetooth 2.1 Speaker System [Review] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Skype updated to version 5.6, bringing with it a refreshed design
Skype has received a new update–version 5.6 up from version 5.5–from Microsoft, making the communications application more user-friendly through a refreshed design and a minor improvement to the recent conversations tab.
The Recent tab was updated to let you see more conversations at a glance while making sure that you can still quickly jump into a session and begin chatting. Version 5.6 added some additional improvements so you can see whether a friend is online, away, or offline on any screen with unified avatars.
Skype 5.6 also brings with it some standard bug fixes and performance tweaks to make overall app more stable.
While the updated interface adds some much needed ease-of-use and eye candy to Skype, it unfortunately has yet to employ any sort of Material Design guidelines, which would improve the user experience by tenfold.
However, it’s highly possible Microsoft won’t employ Google’s Material Design guidelines in its Android application if its looking to give Skype a unified design across its own products over adhering to design guidelines to specific operating systems.
If you haven’t gotten Skype 5.6 yet, be sure to get the latest update from the QR code or download link below.
source: Microsoft
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Samsung may unveil the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ on Thursday, August 13
If a new report fresh from South Korea is anything to go by, it would appear that Samsung is preparing to launch both the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ at an event it’s believed to be holding in Times Square, New York, on Thursday, August 13.
To add credibility to this report, the date provided within isn’t too far away from the one mentioned by an anonymous official for the company a couple of weeks ago. Also, judging by the frequency of intentional or inadvertent disclosures of information seeping through, it’s looking more and more likely that the devices are set to debut next month.
Are you excited for the unveiling of either, neither or both the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+? Which are you more interested in seeing? Be sure to let us know your thoughts below.
Source: Business Korea
Come comment on this article: Samsung may unveil the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ on Thursday, August 13
AIVAnet 