New Google Sunroof project to help you tap the power of the sun
One of Google’s corporate principals is to allow their employees time to pursue projects they are interested in, even if it is not part of their regular job duties. These 20% projects can generate some unique opportunities for Google users, like the new Project Sunroof. This project, from engineering lead Carl Elkin, aims to help people tap into the power of solar energy as a way to save some money and go green.
Elkin noted that in conversations that he had with many people, there was a lot of misunderstanding about what kind of potential existed for the use of solar power at the residential level. People often thought there was not enough available sunlight or that deploying a solar panel system would be too expensive. Thus, Project Sunroof was born.
The tool uses the same high-resolution aerial mapping utilized by Google Earth to calculate solar energy potential for a selected rooftop. All users will have to do is enter a street address and Project Sunroof handles all the rest. This includes calculations of how much sunlight is typically received per year based on roof orientation, shade from trees or other buildings, and weather patterns. Users will also have a tool available to enter their typical electrical costs so potential savings can be calculated.
Of course, a Google product, even one in a pilot phase, would not be complete with the potential to tap into some ad revenue. In the case of Project Sunroof, once all the number crunching is done, the tool will also point users to local solar providers who can offer services and additional help.
Project Sunroof is currently limited to Boston, San Francisco and Fresno. However, if testing continues to work and Google can scale things up, they hope to expand to cover the entire U.S. and perhaps the rest of the world.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: Project Sunroof
via: Google Green Blog
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LG G Stylo and HTC Desire 626s now available through Cricket
One of the better U.S. prepaid carriers is the AT&T-owned Cricket Wireless, which offers aggressive pricing and discounts while utilizing AT&T’s network coverage. While you can you bring any compatible GSM phone to Cricket, the carrier also has a number of devices available for sale directly. Now the prepaid carrier is adding two new options, the LG G Stylo and the HTC Desire 626s.
First up is the G Stylo, a large screen smartphone with a 5.7-inch 720p display and a Snapdragon 410 processor with 1GB RAM. Other specs include an 8MP main cam, 5MP front cam, 16GB storage with microSD, a removable 3000 mAh battery, and an Android 5.1 Lollipop. The specs here aren’t particularly high-end but should still provide a fairly solid Android experience. It’s also worth mentioning that the Stylo includes a stylus, though its just an ordinary pen and lacks the advanced capabilities of something like the S Pen.
Next on the list we have the Desire 626s. a Snapdragon 210 powered handset with 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, microSD, a 2000mAh battery, an 8MP rear cam, 2MP front cam, and Android 5.1 Lollipop.
The LG G Stylo and Desire 626s are available starting today, priced outright at $199.99 and $149.99 respectively. While both aren’t bad devices, it is important to note that there are tons of arguably better alternatives out there, including the new Moto G, that will work just fine on Cricket’s network at a similar price tag.
Samsung shows off how Android M will impact their devices
Samsung seems pretty excited for the release of Android M. As they should be. Android M is adding a slew of new features that will improve just about every flagship device in some way. Samsung has created an info-graphic, which describes exactly what Android M will do for their various devices.
Unsurprisingly, although Android M will bring native microSD support, Samsung has left this little tidbit off of their info-graphic. Although reports and pictures have come through showing off a microSD card slot for the International version of the Galaxy Note 5, it seems that will be the only device with that support. This leaves the rest of Samsung’s arsenal of new devices without any expandable storage, instead, opting for the Apple route of making users pay if they need/want more internal storage.
Regardless of that, it’s pretty nice to see Samsung make something like this to show off how Android M will affect their devices going forward. Would you like to see more manufacturers doing this kind of thing. Sound off in the comments below.
Source: Sam-Mobile
The post Samsung shows off how Android M will impact their devices appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Dual-SIM Galaxy Note 5 up for pre-order, no microSD slot after all
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 5 has -perhaps unsurprisingly- become something of a polarizing product. On the one hand, it has all the hallmarks of the Galaxy S6, though on the other hand it has all the hallmarks of the Galaxy S6. More specifically, the device makes use of the same premium glass-aluminum frame-glass sandwich build, yet forgoes any option to swap the battery or expand the memory with microSD. Perhaps taking things a step further, the Note 5 also has deleted the IR blaster, somewhat of a curious omission given that Samsung has been so eager to include it in past products.
Rumors had been swirling around that the Duos (Dual SIM) version of the Galaxy Note 5 would include support for microSD, and reached somewhat of a fever-pitch this past weekend when a site mistakenly confused the Galaxy A8 with the Note 5 Duos. Unfortunately there is now proof undeniable that no version of the Note 5 will include expandable storage. Take a look:
This picture comes from Taiwanese website ePrice who has obtained (and reviewed) the Duos version. As the above picture clearly shows, the single SIM tray is home to two card slots, neither of which do double duty for microSD. The final nail, so to speak, has now been put in the coffin and hopefully this should put an end to the rumors stating otherwise.
As things stand now, the only “hope” for the missing support would come about if Samsung released a Galaxy Note 5 Neo, though such likely wouldn’t happen until next year. The Neo devices are typically modified versions of the core installments whose name they retain. The Galaxy Note 3 Neo for example, was essentially a Galaxy Note 2 in a Note 3-type design and with minor hardware edits.
The storage issue aside, one source is already reporting that the Galaxy Note 5 Duos is now up for pre-order in the Philippines, where it comes with “free gifts”, likely a wireless charging cradle or free download software, but perhaps something else entirely.
Are any of our readers intending to buy the Dual SIM version of the Galaxy Note 5? Were any of you holding out your hopes for the inclusion of microSD? Let us know your thoughts and reactions in the comment section below!
Sprint’s ‘iPhone Forever’ Program Ensures Customers Always Have the Newest iPhone
Sprint today introduced a new plan called “iPhone Forever,” which grants upgrade eligibility for the newest iPhone to any customer who doesn’t have the most current version of Apple’s flagship smartphone on their contract. The plan goes into effect today, and the company is opening the data plan to both new and old Sprint users, although the latter must have an upgrade eligible device to start using iPhone Forever.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What could we do that would move our customers forward with the latest and greatest technology every day?’ said Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO. “We decided: How awesome would it be if anytime customers don’t have the latest iPhone, they are eligible to upgrade, and have it be as simple as handing us your existing iPhone and picking up a new one – all included in your monthly rate.”
iPhone Forever lets customers get an iPhone for $22 a month, with the simple rule that anytime they don’t have the latest iPhone on their plan, they are automatically eligible for an upgrade. Sprint is also discounting the service to $15 per month for any customer who trades in an existing smartphone, the catch being that the new phone purchased has to be a 16GB iPhone 6, and the monthly rate will increase back to the normal amount after their next upgrade.
The $15 promotion will last until December 31, 2015, and the company notes that iPhone Forever is available on “any eligible Sprint rate plan.” Sprint’s announcement today follows a few week’s worth of other carriers‘ detailing the introduction of their own brand new service plans for customers, no doubt all preparing for the next-generation iPhone launch sometime next month.
Deal: Create 10 unique apps with the Adobe KnowHow Mobile App Developer Course for 83% off
Building the best mobile applications requires much more than coding knowledge, you’ll also need to know how to deploy, monetize, test, and much more. So if you’re interested in starting a career in mobile application development and would like to start as soon as possible, we’ve got the course for you. Right now, you can pick up the Adobe KnowHow Mobile App Developer Course from the AA Deals Store for a massive 83% off!
This course consists of 9 hours of instruction that will help you build 10 unique apps in 10 weeks. Not only will you be able to test your apps on virtual and actual mobile devices, you’ll also get the rundown on integrating in-app purchasing into your app and placing your finished app in the Google Play Store. The course will also walk you through how to write optimized HTML5 for mobile, how to use CSS3 to create stunning user interfaces, and how to incorporate geolocation services and Google Maps.
This course really has it all! If you’re interested, you can purchase the Adobe KnowHow Mobile App Developer Course for the low price of just $24.99, which is a huge 83% discount. Head to the Android Authority Deals Store link below for more details.
Indian probe captures 3D image of vast Mars canyon
India’s space agency revealed new photos of a prominent canyon on Mars and showed that it’s getting a lot out of a cheap, experimental mission. Images from the nation’s Mars Orbital Mission, aka “Mangalyaan,” show part of the 62 mile wide and 317 mile long Ophir Chasma canyon. On top of the photo (below) taken from an altitude of 1,857 km (1,154 miles), the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRA) created a 3D render of the landmark (above, and bottom). The probe has already taken numerous thermal and full-color images and monitored the atmosphere and radiation levels on the red planet.
That’s not bad for the cheapest Mars mission ever at $73 million. On top of that, it was launched in 2013 mainly to test orbit maneuvers, navigation and other parameters for future interplanetary missions. Any extra science it gets is a bonus, as are photos of glamorous Mars landsmarks — and Ophir Chasma, which is part of the 3,100 mile long Valles Marineris canyon system featured on SpaceX’s travel posters, definitely qualifies.
[Image credits: Indian Space Research Organization]
Filed under:
Science
Via:
CNET
Source:
ISRA
Tags: IndianSpaceResearchAgency, ISRA, Mars, OphirChasma, Photo, VallesMarineris
Amazon Echo gets StubHub event info, further automates your home
Since its introduction, Amazon has continued to add new features to its voice-controlled speaker. Most recently, the online retailer tacked on StubHub integration for keeping tabs on local events. Once you set your city, you can ask the gadget’s virtual assistant Alexa to tell you what’s going on this weekend, for example. Adding to its home automation toolbox, Echo also plays nice with Cree connected light bulbs and gear from both Levitron and Lightify through the Wink hub. If those don’t excite you too much you can rest assured that more of the so-called Skills are certainly on the way for the speaker and its built-in helper.
Filed under:
Household, Portable Audio/Video
Source:
ZDNet
Tags: alex, amazon, amazonecho, cree, echo, homeautomation, leviton, lightify, speaker, stubhub, voicecontrol
Sprint plan gives you perpetual iPhone upgrades
Sprint isn’t going to let T-Mobile’s iPhone upgrade promo go unanswered. It’s launching iPhone Forever, a payment plan that lets you upgrade iPhones at any time without facing an up-front payment or a rate hike. So long as you’re willing to shell out $22 per month on top of your service plan ($15 if you take advantage of a pre-2016 promo rate), you can upgrade to the newest iPhone on a whim. This theoretically saves you a ton of cash if you always have to own Apple’s latest and greatest.
Whether or not it’s a deal depends on what you’re looking for both in the iPhone itself and your service. It’s fine if you don’t need more than the base iPhone, but that advantage disappears if you want a higher capacity or a larger screen. Also, the big savings over rival carriers hinge on heavy data usage. If you don’t need unlimited (or effectively unlimited) data, the price gap is going to shrink considerably. Still, this is a good deal if you both have good coverage and don’t plan to switch platforms — and it’s clear that Sprint’s beef with T-Mobile is paying dividends for customers of both providers.
Photo by Will Lipman.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
Source:
Sprint
Tags: carrier, iphone, iphoneforever, mobilepostcross, plans, smartphone, sprint, wireless
Elephone P8000 review
Elephone may not be the most well known Android smartphone manufacturer out there, but like its other Chinese OEM counterparts, the company churns out solid offerings that feature price points that are competitive and affordable. The flagship Elephone P7000 may have been released just a few months ago, but its successor is already available, bringing with a few improvements along the way. What does this device bring to the table? We find out, in this Elephone P8000 review!
Design
The Elephone P8000 retains a lot of the design elements of its predecessor, but that isn’t a bad thing in this case. The rear back panel comes with a carbon fiber texture that will remind you of the carbon fiber dbrand skin, and along with the metal band, the P8000 offers a surprisingly premium build that you wouldn’t expect from a device in this price range.
With its weight and thickness of 205 grams and 10.1 mm, the device feels very substantial and solid in the hand, but this extra heft is worth it, considering that it makes room for a large 4,000 mAh battery. The back cover is removable, giving you access to the dual SIM card slots and the microSD card slot. The back cover is quite thin though, and with relatively strong clips holding it in place, it can be very difficult to remove.
While at first glance it may appear as though the device has very thin bezels along the sides of the display, turning on the display shows that there is actually a black border around the screen, a design element that some users may not be a fan of. Below the display are three capacitive keys, with the dots being the back and recent apps keys, and the circle being the home button. The home button is illuminated, and depending on when you picked up the device, may also double as a notification LED.
We say depending on when you picked up the device, because the first batch of 5000 devices come without the notification LED feature. Elephone mentions that this was a compromise that had to be made initially to keep up with the demand. Users who face this problem are entitled to a discount with the next Elephone flagship, but other than that, there is nothing else that Elephone is offering by way of compensation.
Display
The Elephone comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display, with a Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 401 ppi. The display looks fantastic, and features excellent color reproduction, neutral color temperatures, good viewing angles, and enough brightness to allow for comfortable outdoor visibility.
There are some issues with quality control though, which is quite worrying. For starters, there is no Gorilla Glass panel protecting the display, which is surprising given that it was found with its predecessor, the P7000. Further, there was a line of LCD bright spots on the right side of the display, a dead pixel near the bottom left corner, as well as a bit of dust trapped between the LCD and digitizer. While not every device will see these issues, the oversight in quality control before shipping is certainly alarming.
Performance
Under the hood, the Elephone P8000 packs an octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6753 processor, clocked at 1.3 GHz, and backed by the Mali-T720 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. This is the processing package seen with quite a few similar low-cost smartphones out of China, and the performance is quite good, given the price of the device. There were no issues with general day to day tasks, and multi-tasking is a breeze with 3 GB of RAM. Graphically-intensive gaming will result in dropped frames and slow loading times, however, but it can handle more casual games easily.
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Hardware
The P8000 comes with 16 GB of on-board storage, further expandable via microSD card by up to 64 GB. The device also packs a standard suite of connectivity options, and also comes with 4G LTE support in select markets. Network connectivity was a big issue however, with the device unable to connect to the T-Mobile network, and allowing only for 2G speeds on the AT&T network, and that too only when outdoors. Basically, the Elephone P8000 isn’t going to be a good option at all if you are in the US.
The single rear speaker unit of the P8000 is unfortunately disappointing, as it is not very clear and doesn’t get too loud either. It is good enough for basic use, but certainly isn’t going to meet the need when it comes to media consumption. Using headphones certainly allows for a far better audio experience, but even then, the maximum volume isn’t as loud as one would hope. This may just be a software issue however, and something that Elephone can fix in a future update.
The Elephone P8000 comes with a fingerprint reader on the back of the device, which can take some getting used to, as you can’t see the scanner to place your finger properly. It is a 360 degree sensor though, which means that it shouldn’t matter which angle you place the finger in, but in my experience, it didn’t work as well as it should. Accuracy was at around 70% even placing the finger perfectly, which is certainly disappointing. The same setup on the P7000 worked much better, so it is actually quite surprising to see this kind of performance this time around.
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One of the best features of the Elephone P8000 is the battery, with the device packing a large 4,000 mAh unit. The device lasted for as long as 25 hours with just over 5 hours of screen-on time, which is impressive by any standard. Granted, this was with mobile connectivity turned off because of the issues mentioned above, so your usage results may vary. In either case, users should be able to comfortably get a full day of use out of the device. An expected trade off here is the charge time though, with the device taking a little under 4 hours to charge fully.
Camera
The Elephone P8000 comes with a 13 MP rear camera with a LED flash and a 5 MP front-facing camera. As good as it sounds on paper, the camera unfortunately produces only average looking shots. Good images are possible, but the camera suffers from focus and exposure issues, which means that it can take a while to get a correct shot. Low-light performance is also poor, which is understandable. Overall, we’ve seen some better cameras with other devices in this price range.
Software
The Elephone P8000 runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box, with the custom Elephone UI on top. As is seen with other custom user interfaces from Chinese OEMs, there isn’t an app drawer available, leaving users dependent on folders to keep things organized. A nice addition here though is the ability to swipe easily swipe between different folders to quickly find what you are looking for.
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There is a theme store, but changing to a different theme only affects the wallpaper and the system icons, and not much else. Everything else, like the Settings menu and other software aspects remain stock-like, which many enthusiasts will appreciate. However, gesture settings that were seen with its predecessor, like double tap to wake, are no longer available. Miravision does make its way over though, which lets you adjust the display colors to your liking.
Specifications
| Display | 5.5” Full HD IPS 1920 x 1080. |
| Processor | 1.3 GHz, octa-core MediaTek MTK6753 |
| GPU | ARM MALI-T720 |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Storage | 16GB, microSD card slot, up to 64GB |
| Camera | 13 Megapixel Rear Camera 5MP Front Camera |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh |
| Connectivity | GPS, microUSB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth |
| Networks | GSM, 3G, 4G LTE |
| Software | Android 5.1 Lollipop |
| Dimensions | 155 x 76 x 10.1 mm 205 grams |
| SIM slots | Dual-SIM: SIM + Micro SIM |
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Pricing and final thoughts
The Elephone P8000 is available for just $170, with color options including white, silver, and gold. Of course, keep in mind that network connectivity is a big issue in the US, so it’s a good idea to buy this device only in other markets, after checking for compatibility first.
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Elephone P8000! As impressive as this device looks on paper, there are a lot of issues that show up when it comes to real world performance. While the battery life is amazing, and the display, other than some quality control issues, is excellent, there are some glaring flaws that are hard to overlook. It’s a definite no go if you are in the US unless they can fix its network connectivity issues, but may still be a good option in other markets however, especially if you’re looking for an affordable device with excellent battery life.
AIVAnet 