Knock twice for friendship with this app
Say you’ve just met someone at a party. It turns out you guys go to the same school, hang out at the same coffee shops and are both really into John Steinbeck. Now it’s time for you to part ways and you want to keep in touch, but it seems a little forward to just ask for the person’s phone number since you barely know each other. But if both of you have a new app called Knock Knock, you could extend him or her your contact info by just knocking twice on your phone. Not only that, but you can select what kind of contact info you want to share — maybe you’re only comfortable sharing your Twitter and Instagram info and not your phone number (at least at the beginning of your budding relationship, anyway).
Here’s how it works, assuming you both already have the app. To initiate contact, you knock twice on your phone. This will bring up the Knock Knock app, even when the screen is off and the phone is locked. That’s because the knocking not only utilizes your phone’s touchscreen, it also uses your phone’s accelerometer and gyroscope. On the app, you’ll see only the people who have Knock Knock installed who are within Bluetooth range (it uses beacon technology to create a Bluetooth mesh network). Tap that person and they will get a knock notification on their phone. From there, they can either choose to connect with you or not, and you can also select just what information about yourself you want to share.
Once that other person knocks back, they’ll be automatically connected to you on all the relevant social channels — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so forth — as long as they agree to it. If you’d rather not share anything but you still want to chat, you can just chat through the app itself. The app will instantly note when and where you met, so that it’s easier to remember who that person is on your contacts list.
Knock Knock was created in part by Ankur Jain, who’s also the founder of Humin, a contact management platform that hooks into your phone’s address book. He says the app was created because there’s still a lot of awkwardness around meeting people for the first time. “There’s the awkwardness of asking someone for their number when they don’t really want to give it to you, or forgetting someone’s name a mere 10 minutes after you’ve met,” he says. Knock Knock, however, aims to remove that friction.
“The easiest way to think about it is this. In a real life situation, say you’re at a conference. If you wave at someone, and they wave back, it’s an invitation to talk and chat,” he says. “At the end of that, you can leave and there’s no commitment. Or you can choose how you want to stay in touch if you want to take it further.”
Aside from connecting one-on-one, you can also create Knock Knock groups for a group chat — you can just knock the phone to instantly join the group — and from there, group members can connect individually if they want. This, Jain says, is great for finding friends at crowded events or meeting up with mutual buddies. Perhaps even a bit of matchmaking, if that’s something you’re into. Even in a group chat situation though, you’re free to choose just what information about yourself you want to share with the group.
You also don’t need to be in the same room to respond to a Knock. Say you weren’t paying attention to your phone at the party, and went home, where you suddenly see that guy you talked to at the party had sent a Knock to you to stay in touch. You can then respond (or not) to that notification if you like. “It’s super low commitment,” says Jain, likening it to the casualness of Snapchat but applied to messaging like WhatsApp.
It’s worth noting here that by default, only your first name can be seen on that Bluetooth mesh network. If you prefer, you can also opt for other privacy settings like to not be noticed by strangers, only sharing your initials or not displaying a photo. Unlike apps like Highlight that simply display who you are if you’re in a nearby location, Jain says, Knock Knock lets you control how much you’re willing to share.
So what happens if the other person doesn’t have Knock Knock but you still want to tell that person what your username is on the various social networks? Well, you can still use the app to send that info to them, but you’ll need their phone number — it simply sends it to them in a text message.
“We’re launching this mostly for college students,” Jain says. “They’re frequently in scenarios where they’re meeting new people.” Also, now that there’s a litany of ways to keep in touch with one another — Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter just to name a few — it’s a little weird to just list them all to your newfound buddy and hope they follow you back. It’s far easier to just give them a list and have them decide to follow you or not, says Jain.
Thanks to Jain’s connections, the team was able to put together a promo video for the app starring Richard Branson, will.i.am and Sophia Bush (seen above). If that’s enough to persuade you, you can go ahead and download the app — it’s available for both Android and iOS — starting today.
Filed under:
Software
Source:
Knock Knock
Tags: app, knockknock
Virgin Media’s new WiFi network uses customer routers
Virgin Media customers already have access to several free WiFi networks, but come September, they’ll have even more options. On top of the company’s own WiFi hotspots on the London Underground, and its agreement with The Cloud that mobile subscribers benefit from, Virgin Media’s turning its own broadband customers into WiFi providers. In the same way that BT uses its customers’ routers to bulk out its public WiFi network, Virgin will open up its Super Hub routers to share connectivity. Using an as-yet unreleased app, Virgin broadband and mobile customers will be seamlessly connected to this new WiFi network whenever a hotspot is in range.
As Virgin explains, Super Hub users needn’t be worried about poor personal service, since strangers’ WiFi traffic will be piped through a completely separate connection. However, even with this assurance your bandwidth won’t suffer, you can still opt out of being a part of the network if you choose. But, by doing that, you give up the right to use the new WiFi network yourself, so it’s a case of share and share alike.
[Image credit: afagen / Flickr]
Filed under:
Wireless, Internet
Via:
Pocket-lint
Source:
Virgin Media
Tags: virgin, virginmedia, virginmediawifi
Microsoft studio wants you to choose and shape its next game
Press Play, the Danish developer behind Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Kalimba is opening up its doors to seek advice on its next game. The Microsoft-owned studio is entering what it calls “open development.” For now that means the public can choose which of its game concepts gets greenlit, but it’ll soon mean a lot more.
There are three ideas being batted around the Press Play office: Dwarka, Karoo, and Knoxville. Dwarka is an “action-packed first-person co-op game,” Karoo is a “physics-based multiplayer construction game.” and Knoxville a “third-person multiplayer action-survival game.” Here are the teaser trailers for all three:
You wouldn’t know it from the teasers, but each of the concepts is already at the prototype phase of development. Press Play’s site has gameplay demos for all three, with Karoo probably being the furthest along. Once a title is chosen, Press Play says it’ll continue to work with the community during development. Some of its plans include “sharing early builds of the game and having community members join meetings and project reviews via Skype.” If you’ve ever wanted more than the regular video diaries and blog posts created by game creators, Press Play’s initiative seems like a unique chance to get involved in game development.
Filed under:
Gaming, Microsoft
Source:
Microsoft
Tags: microsoft, PressPlay
OnePlus 2 review: a worthy sequel, flaws and all
I don’t envy the team at OnePlus. After shipping a smartphone that made us rethink what we could get — nay, what we deserved — for $299, it was tasked with building an even better follow-up. If this were some schlocky ’80s, teen coming-of-age film, it’d be time for a montage, but here we are a year later with a more confident, experienced startup and a new device that still promises to “never settle.” At $329 for the basic 16GB model (or $389 for the 64GB version), the new OnePlus 2 isn’t quite as wallet-friendly as the phone we got last year, and more than a few rivals have since come out with low-cost, high-power phones of their own. So, did OnePlus do the impossible again? Did it actually create a worthy sequel to a fan-favorite device, amid crazy competition in the world of cheap, fantastic unlocked phones? Well, yes, but it’s not without its flaws.Slideshow-312946
Hardware
Last year’s OnePlus One set a high bar for how much performance you could squeeze out of a $299 smartphone, and its sequel doesn’t disappoint. Tucked away inside the 9.85mm-thick frame is one of Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 810 chipsets partnered with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM, depending on which version you choose. You’ve also got a sealed 3,300mAh battery (and I do mean sealed; there’s nothing but curved plastic under the battery cover), a tray that holds two nano-SIM cards (only one of which is usable) and either 16GB or 64GB of internal storage. As our comments section continues to make clear, the lack of expandable memory options is a downright dealbreaker for some of you. I’m more of a “streaming everything” kind of guy so the 53GB of free space in the higher-end model I tested was more than enough, but keep that limit in mind before you punch someone in the face for an invite. Oh, and there’s no NFC this time around, a puzzling omission that’ll keep your OnePlus 2 from doubling as a wallet whenever Android Pay finally launches.
There’s so much going on inside the OnePlus 2, in fact, that the designers clearly didn’t feel the need to give it a brand-new look. What we got instead is a thoughtful refinement of the original’s design that makes the whole thing feel more premium than its price tag suggests. To wit: The chassis itself is made of polycarbonate, but a magnesium and aluminum band runs around its sides, with drilled vents for the speaker and a USB Type-C charging port along the bottom. A quick look at the phone’s left edge reveals something new: a three-stage notification slider that lets you select how obnoxious you want the phone to be when tweets, status updates and emails roll in. This is, in short, a revelation. It’s a staggeringly useful addition, and other smartphone makers would do well to add something similar.
The most eye-catching addition is the fingerprint sensor that doubles as a home button. Pity that it’s not as sensitive as it should be. It sometimes took multiple tries to unlock the phone with my finger (a reality, sadly, for just about any smartphone with biometric security) and you have to hit it with more force than you might expect. It’s nice, in a way — an ill-placed glancing blow won’t disrupt your gaming sessions — but I’d prefer more touch-pressure consistency between the home button and the two soft keys on either side of it.
If you’ve played with the original model, the OnePlus 2’s back will seem like a blast from the past. The changes here are pretty modest, and they mostly boil down to the fact that the 13-megapixel camera and dual-LED flash have been shifted south a few millimeters. This time, though, the camera itself is sandwiched between the flash and an LED autofocus module that promises to lock onto targets in as little as 0.2 second. My review unit came with the company’s trademark sandstone black rear panel, which has been a point of contention among the people I’ve shown it too. Some (myself included) love the gritty, tactile feel of the sandstone finish because it’s so drastically different from the glass-and-metal monoliths we usually play with, but it just left others scratching their heads. You can swap it out for bamboo, Kevlar, black apricot or rosewood covers for a little extra cash, and don’t worry: It’s much, much easier to remove this time around.
All told, OnePlus did a wonderful job putting its second-generation flagship killer together. It’s light, but not too light, and there’s not an iota of give when you start twisting the device (not that you should really do that in the first place). Between the OnePlus 2’s handsome design, sturdy construction and Gorilla Glass 4 screen you’ve got a real looker that can stand up to even the silliest drunken drops. Just… trust me on that last bit.
Display and sound
We’re looking at yet another 5.5-inch, 1080p IPS LCD display this year, which means the same number of pixels squeezed into each linear inch as the original OnePlus One (that’s 401 ppi, to be exact). The rest of the madding crowd might be embracing those gorgeous Quad HD panels, but really — we’re hardly worse off with a full HD screen here, especially considering the cost. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few people reading this could somehow pick out individual pixels on the OP2’s high-def screen. Well, I can’t anyway, and the staggering majority of people can’t, either. You’re not missing out on anything.
As you might expect from an IPS screen, viewing angles are great even from odd positions (good news for over-the-shoulder screen peekers). Just don’t expect the punchy colors you’d get from a Samsung phone’s AMOLED display. I happen to like when my retinas are scorched by saturated screens, but the OnePlus 2’s is considerably less in-your-face. Things are even cooler and subtler here than on the LG G4’s “Quantum display,” which strove for eye-catching color accuracy above all else. All told, it feels a little dull, a little lifeless, but I might be in the minority on this one. Still, those subdued colors also mean viewing the screen in direct sunlight can be tricky (though cranking up the brightness helps).
Meanwhile, the single speaker on the phone’s bottom side does a fine job belting out tunes, although things can get muddled when you crank up the volume. OnePlus included the MaxxAudio equalizer app for good measure, and you can toggle it from the volume shade if you need some extra oomph. Honestly, the equalizer’s effects are more noticeable — and more valuable — when you’re using them in tandem with a pair of headphones. Just be careful when MaxxAudio is enabled; I couldn’t get the volume up to 50 percent without feeling like I was thrashing my eardrums.
Software
Before we go any further, a brief software note: Our OnePlus 2 is running a pre-release build (A2005_14_150807, if you’re curious), and the company tells us an OTA update that’s “close” to what I have is going live shortly.
Bon voyage, CyanogenMod. After a prolonged, public breakup (and at least one Taylor Swift joke), the OnePlus 2 comes loaded with a mostly clean version of Android 5.1.1 with just a handful of OnePlus’ custom OxygenOS interface tweaks for added flavor. I really do mean “clean,” too. As I mentioned earlier, my 64GB model had 53GB of storage ready for me to use out of the box, and just about all of that reserved space is taken up by Android proper. There are only two preloaded apps to be found here — that MaxxAudio equalizer and SwiftKey’s not-for-me keyboard — and both can be disabled without much headache. Too bad you can’t uninstall them. The rest is basically unfettered Lollipop and it looks and runs just as nicely as you’d expect it to.
Now we’re left with those Oxygen tweaks, most of which are surprisingly useful. There’s a dark theme if you’re tired of Material Design’s decided whiteness, and you can fire up some onscreen navigation keys if the insensitive physical home button really gets on your nerves. OnePlus also cribbed a few notes from Oppo with its onscreen gestures, so drawing a circle or a V on the display while the phone is off launches the camera and flashlight, respectively. Oh, and a double-tap on the screen will rouse the phone from slumber, a la LG’s most recent G series devices. Perhaps the biggest question mark is the Shelf, which you can access by swiping right on your home screen. It puts your most frequently used apps and contacts in one place, and throws in your local weather report and some space for widgets down at the bottom. It’s nice to have, I guess, but I’ve used the feature precisely zero times over the last week (unless you count the times I just showed people it was there).Slideshow-313575
Alas, not all is well with the OnePlus 2’s software. Some third-party apps — Todoist, Fenix, Falcon Pro, AquaMail, and Relay for Reddit, among others — don’t display properly because of a bug related to the way OxygenOS invokes Material Design’s Light theme. Relay’s probably the best, most publicized foul-up, as none of the comments on any Reddit post are visible, since they’re rendered in white on a white background. Fenix and Falcon Pro, on the other hand, refuse to switch into their light themes. We’re told that the team’s working on a fix to be delivered in an update, but there’s no public word on when that will arrive. Beyond those aesthetic issues, the OnePlus 2 is prone to random restarts; in fact, it happened while I was writing this very sentence. These random restarts happened about three times over the course of the week: twice while trying to launch the camera and once while it was just sitting on my desk charging. I’m really not sure what that’s about; hopefully there’s an update for that coming too. For what it’s worth, OnePlus told us at least two OTA updates — the one dropping now and another that seems focused on camera tweaks — are coming, but wouldn’t confirm whether the random reboots were fixed.
Camera
Last year’s OnePlus One had a camera that didn’t make for many thrills, so it’s no surprise the team paid a little more attention to imaging and optics this time ’round. That 13-megapixel rear camera sensor sits behind an f/2.0 lens and it’s better at sucking up photons because of its (relatively) large 1.3-micron pixel size. All that boils down to a mostly great shooting experience, especially when the sun’s out or your lights are on. Just about all of my test photos had poppy, vibrant colors, along with plenty of detail.
Still, the camera shoots at a 4:3 aspect ratio so photos look a little odd on widescreen displays. It’s surprisingly easy to get some good-looking shots while using the Auto mode, and OnePlus’ controls are dead-simple. A quick tap of the shutter button snaps a photo, and you can fiddle with the exposure by tapping to focus on something and dragging a Sun icon around the focus ring. Swiping right lets you jump into video, panorama, slow-motion and time-lapse modes (all of which work exactly the way you’d expect), while a Clear Image mode stitches together multiple shots into one super-crisp photo. I wound up hardly ever using Clear Image, though, just because my normal photos usually came out looking great.Slideshow-313585
Smartphone cameras have a tendency to suck hard in low-light conditions, but the OnePlus 2 does a little better than you might expect. The autofocus (which normally works like a champ thanks to the laser module on the back) has a hard time doing its thing when your environs grow too dim, and after a while your photos come out murky and grainy. If your hand is steady enough, you can fire up the HDR mode to help mitigate some of these issues, but be prepared to see a bit of lag between shots while the phone processes your images. Really though, the steady hand trumps all; I managed to snap a sweet shot of the Ben Franklin Bridge without the help of HDR and didn’t hate the results:
Performance and battery life
We can keep this bit relatively short: The OnePlus 2 moves with almost all the speed and fluidity you’d expect from a 2015 flagship phone. Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 810 has gotten a bad rap since before day one because of its supposed overheating issues, but there’s hardly any of that here — just about everything runs incredibly smoothly, and games like Dead Trigger 2, The Talos Principle and Asphalt 8 didn’t never produced any hiccups, even at max graphics settings. Yes, you’ll notice some warmth in the top half of the OnePlus 2’s body during prolonged gaming sessions, but the sandstone cover seems to diffuse it nicely. All told, the heat was never unpleasant, per se. The reason I’ve been couching things with words like “almost” and “just about” is because I occasionally saw some apps take longer to launch than normal, if only by a second or two. It doesn’t seem like cause for concern; I’d wager it’s just a little Android flakiness and really, the issue sticks out more than it should because of how fast the phone is otherwise. Seriously, the OnePlus 2 brings the speed.
| OnePlus 2 | Samsung Galaxy S6 | ZTE Axon | LG G4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AndEBench Pro | 9,945 | 10,552 | 7,961 | 8,352 |
| Vellamo 3.0 | 3,025 | 3,677 | 3,086 | 4,065 |
| 3DMark IS Unlimited | 23,598 | 21,632 | 24,802 | 18,572 |
| SunSpider 1.0.2 (ms) | 1,516 | 674 | 1,489 | 725 |
| GFXBench 3.0 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (fps) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 15 |
| CF-Bench | 79,168 | 62,257 | 62,117 | 71,260 |
| SunSpider 1.0.2: Android devices tested in Chrome; lower scores are better. | ||||
Now, about that battery. We’re working with a sealed 3,300mAh cell here, and it stuck around for just over nine hours in the ol’ Engadget rundown test (looping a video with WiFi on and the screen brightness set to 50 percent, in case you forgot). That puts the OnePlus 2 just ahead of both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but LG’s G4 still wins with its 11-hour runtime. And mind you, that’s with a smaller, removable battery and a Quad HD screen. I’d be concerned for your well-being if you just watched videos on a phone for nine hours without moving, and thankfully the OnePlus 2 fares even better when you’re going about your day. On average, I’ve been able to get through a full 12-hour workday (with lots of Hangouts chatting and YouTube videos, plus the occasional game and work email) with 15 or 20 percent left in the tank. Most people will only have to charge their OnePlus 2’s once a day, which is definitely a good thing — there’s no QuickCharge here so the USB Type-C connector takes longer to charge the phone than most other flagships.
The competition
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: There’s never been a better time to buy an unlocked smartphone. This year’s crop of no-contract hardware has been first-rate, so keep these alternatives in mind before you make your decision. ZTE’s $450 Axon threw me for a loop with its top-tier spec sheet and more-or-less clean version of Android. Audiophiles will dig its music-friendly software enhancements and performance tweaks, and the Quad HD display is pretty too, but be prepared to give yourself over to the cloud. There’s only 32GB of internal storage and nary a memory card slot, an omission it shares with the OnePlus 2. I don’t mind the lack of expandable memory as much as others do, but man: limiting users to only 32GB is pretty ridiculous. I’d recommend you stay away from the 16GB version of the OnePlus 2 as that’s even more limited, but its $329 price is =hard to argue with.
I’m also looking forward to seeing how the OP2 stacks up against Motorola’s new $400 Moto X Pure, which pairs a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 with 3GB of RAM and a bigger 5.7-inch Quad HD screen. You’ll be able to customize the dickens out of it once it launches, but that’s not even the most important thing here. You see, software updates usually take ages to pass through carriers’ rigorous testing and distribution processes. Motorola software chief Seang Chau told me this won’t be the case, though: Since the company isn’t going to sell the Pure edition through carriers, it has full control over how quickly it will receive new updates, as well as new versions of Android. Oh, and you won’t have to scramble for an invite to buy one, either.
Wrap-up
OnePlus has plenty to be proud of. After all, the company managed to make a phone that improved on the already-excellent original in every way that mattered. The OnePlus 2 is a powerful, well-built device, offering the best blend of price and performance you’ll find in an unlocked phone. The thing is, the version I tried is still haunted by a few pesky software issues that should be fixed soon. Maybe it’s a good thing you haven’t gotten your invite yet.
Even if we put aside these fixable software flaws, it’s clear this phone won’t be for everyone. No NFC means you won’t be using it to make Android Pay payments when the service launches later this year. The lack of a memory card slot means you’ll have to be careful about what you download or shoot. It’s easy to forgive these shortcomings because of the price — the trade-off is a worthy one in my book — but competitors like the Moto X Pure Edition didn’t have to compromise nearly as much. In the end, the OnePlus 2 is worth your cash if you’re looking for a capable, powerful Android phone on the cheap, but you’d do well to wait a few weeks to see how the competition stacks up.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile
Tags: android, mobile, mobilepostcross, oneplus, oneplus2, oxygen, oxygenos, smartphone, uk-reviews, video
Deal: snag a LG Watch Urbane for just $240
The LG Watch Urbane is one of the best looking smartwatches around right now, but not everyone is prepared to plump down over $300 on an accessory for their smartphone. However, you can currently grab an Urbane for just $240, after applying several discounts over at Newegg, which makes the smartwatch quite a bit more tempting.
The biggest chunk of the discount comes from a $60 coupon code. Simply enter EMCAWKW92 into the promo code box at checkout to grab the saving, although you will also have to sign up to the Newegg newsletter to use it. There’s also a $30 instant discount already applied to the usual retail price and a $20 mail-in rebate which you can claim back with your purchase. Although waiting for a rebate is a little bit of a pain, it’s fortunately the smallest part of the discount.
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In total, the various discounts will save you $110 off the LG Watch Urbane. The smartwatch usually retails for around $350 and is available in either silver or rose gold colors. It’s not clear how long the discount code will last for, so don’t delay.
Any takers out there?
Why is Marshmallow dubbed Android 6.0? Is it worthy of such a big version jump?
We finally have the gooey answer to the Android M conundrum and it’s Marshmallow. Not a major shock, it was always a front-runner, but some people have been surprised by the fact that Marshmallow will be version 6.0 of Android and not 5.2 or 5.5. Should a whole number leap imply some major overhaul? Why is Google jumping straight to 6.0? There are various possible reasons.
It never made sense
Did Google’s version system ever really make sense? Anyone who has worked with programmers will understand the often arbitrary nature of version numbers. Traditionally, the first number is supposed to mark a major version and the second number a minor version, but that’s just a general convention, it’s not an unbreakable rule. In practice, version numbers often just mark the point that something was pushed out the door. They’re useful because they make it possible to track down problems later, but they don’t really tell the end user anything, and they’re not really meant to.
Let’s take a brief look at the historical line-up of Android versions:
- Android 1.0
- Android 1.1
- Android 1.5 Cupcake
- Android 1.6 Donut
- Android 2.0 Éclair
- Android 2.2 Froyo
- Android 2.3 Gingerbread
- Android 3.0 Honeycomb
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
- Android 4.1 (4.2, 4.3) Jelly Bean
- Android 4.4 Kitkat
- Android 5.0 Lollipop
Take a look through the versions and try to find a pattern that establishes consistently why some versions are whole number leaps and others aren’t. The closest you could argue is probably that whole numbers indicate an aesthetic leap, but Éclair didn’t really and Marshmallow won’t either. What does it matter when the system never really made sense anyway?
The dessert names are for users, marking larger leaps of style and function, but even the incremental updates within names have sometimes delivered more than just bug fixes. There’s no real consistency there.
Maybe it is a major version
Perhaps you could argue that Marshmallow is a major update, even if there isn’t an aesthetic overhaul. We’re getting a much improved, granular app permission system, a revamped payment system in Android Pay, contextual data with Now on Tap, support for fingerprint sensors, seamless custom Chrome tabs for apps, deep linking directly into apps, better cut and paste, support for USB Type C, a battery life boost with Doze, and the list goes on. Check out the Diving into M series for more.
That sounds like a lot. But then Froyo, Gingerbread, and Jelly Bean all delivered long lists of improvements without getting a number bump. Push notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, NFC, Google Now, IR blaster support, Bluetooth LE, and many other things came without whole number updates. What makes Marshmallow different?
Leaving Lollipop behind
It could be just as much to do with distancing Android from version 5.0 Lollipop as it is with reaching version 6.0. It’s no secret that Lollipop has negative associations for some people. There have been serious battery life issues for a lot of devices, Wi-Fi problems, lagging, stuttering, and frequent crashes, not to mention a host of smaller bugs. Version 5.1 doesn’t seem to have solved everyone’s issues, either.
It has also been far from a smooth roll out. Google’s latest figures suggest 5.0 adoption is at 15.5% with 5.1 accounting for another 2.6%. Bugs galore will ensure that Lollipop isn’t as fondly remembered as it might have been, but it’s not just the problems, it’s also the design changes. The Priority Mode has not been popular with people who want a simple silent option, widget support disappeared from the lock screen, and not everyone likes the new Material Design aesthetic.
Microsoft was so keen to distance itself from the unpopular Windows 8 that it skipped a whole number to land on Windows 10. Maybe Google is trying to make a similar break and show clearly that Marshmallow has moved on from Lollipop. If you didn’t like 5.0 then try 6.0.
Switching to the annual release cycle
We were discussing how a yearly release cycle could improve the Android experience a while back. Predictability and stability makes it easier for everyone to plan. It will help tackle the fragmentation issue and introduce a bit more clarity. OEMs, carriers, and developers can work with an established schedule far more easily than a series of random updates. It also means one big exciting release with the attendant fanfare each year, instead of a steady dribble of smaller improvements. That’s something that the media and consumers are more likely to get excited about.
It makes a lot of sense to assign a new name and number to the annual update and to save those .x releases for minor changes and bug fixes. It’s nice and neat. It’s a system that makes logical sense. Everyone can grasp what’s going on and that can only be a good thing.
Android next
Whatever dessert it’s named after matters a great deal less than what it’s like to use, and the version number matters even less than that. There’s really no reason for most people to care. Suffice to say that Android keeps on getting better and Android 6.0 Marshmallow looks like a real improvement that delivers a nice mix of new features and smart refinements to what we have already.
One drawback of this shift in mindset for the annual release schedule is that we now have 12 months of speculation about what Android N will be called. Neapolitan ice cream? Nut brittle? My money is on nougat. You heard it here first.
BlackBerry Venice images leak, could land in November
Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard a lot about BlackBerry’s upcoming Venice slider smartphone and further renders of the device have leaked along with more information about when we can expect BlackBerry’s new flagship hit the shelves.
According to perennial tipster Evan Blass (aka @evleaks), BlackBerry’s slider will hit the shelves in November and will be stocked by all four major US carriers. If true (which is likely, given Evan’s pedigree for leaks), it’s interesting that all the carriers are willing to back the handset and it could be a key step in making sure BlackBerry’s new device sells in volume.
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The Venice is expected to have a large display that slides up to reveal BlackBerry’s iconic hardware keyboard and based on previous leaks, along with today’s images, we’re expecting the Venice to have curved edges on the display like Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge.
After revealing the release date and carrier plans, Blass went on to leak some more renders (including a couple that have previously leaked), which reveal that Google Play will be a key part of the handset, which is expected to run on a mostly-stock Android OS. With Android M (aka Android Marshmallow) set for release in the coming weeks, the Venice may even run Google’s new OS at launch and we’d certainly hope so given it will launch a couple of months after Android M.
Alongside the Android OS, the BlackBerry Venice is expected to sport a flagship feature set that includes a 5.4-inch Quad HD (2560×1440) pixel display – likely an AMOLED panel if the curved display is being provided by Samsung – and a Snapdragon 808 processor – like the LG G4 – coupled with 3GB RAM.
The BlackBerry Venice is without doubt a throwback to the past in a modern device and as we’ve seen from Samsung, the keyboard might be dead but it isn’t stopping manufacturers from trying to bring it back. Samsung has already launched a “BlackBerry-inspired” keyboard cover for the S6 Edge but based on the final image that Blass shared, the Venice keyboard looks simply fantastic.
Many people claim that BlackBerry should have adopted Android years ago and the Venice aims to right this; the handset looks to offer a sleek unique design and will be one of the few flagship handsets to feature a keyboard. With Android on-board, a premium specs list and the choice of touch or physical keyboards, this could be a handset that makes BlackBerry popular again.
Personally, I can’t wait for this device to be officially announced but what do you think? Do the Venice leaks entice you enough to potentially be on your buy list? Would you use the keyboard? Let us know your views in the comments below!
Deal: get a lifetime subscription to a Hushed private phone number for only $49
It’s not always good to give your main phone number away, especially to those you don’t trust. That is why I personally keep a secondary number I give to companies and strangers. Only my inner circle has my personal digits. Are you looking to do the same? You don’t need to open a new plan or get a second phone. There are services out there that allow you to keep a secondary phone number through an app, and today we are offering you a great deal on one of them.
The AA Deals Store has a discount for a $49 lifetime subscription to Hushed, a service that offers phone numbers, calls and messaging through a smartphone app. This package would get you access to their North America 365 plan, which comes with a combination of 1100 messages or 500 voice minutes per year. But remember, this is a lifetime subscription, so you should get your service renewed every 365 days.
By the way, the bundle is said to be worth $300, but it could be worth much more, depending on your usage. The official site charges $30 per year for the same service, so you get your investment’s worth in less than 2 years. Not bad, right?
In for the ride? Let’s show you how this all works. So there is a Hushed app named “Free Number, Texting and Calls”. Simply download it from the Google Play Store to get started. You can do everything from this app. Just sign up and you will be making calls and sending messages in no time.
Subscribers can choose a number from either the USA or Canada, and they can also opt for any area code of their liking. Since it uses data/WiFi, there is no need to use up your main plan’s minutes and text messages. It’s because of this very reason that Hushed also works as a great way to call home when you are outside the USA or Canada, as you can avoid roaming and international charges by using WiFi!
OnePlus 2 vs OnePlus One
The OnePlus 2 is turning out to be one heck of a smartphone so far, with its super fast fingerprint scanner, updated Oxygen OS software overlay and new hardware features. While the “2016 flagship killer” may be lacking a few notable features such as NFC and wireless charging, we’d still wager to say this device can go toe-to-toe with some of the best smartphones out there. But how does it compare to its predecessor? Now that the OnePlus One has been dropping in price, is it worth the extra cost for the updated model? We aim to answer those questions, and more, in this in-depth look at the OnePlus 2 vs OnePlus One!
OnePlus 2 in video
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Design
As we are moving toward our full review of the OnePlus 2, a look at the original seemed appropriate – both phones stick to the signature OnePlus style very well, and that starts with the design. Even though both smartphones feature 5.5-inch displays, the OnePlus 2 is noticeably easier to handle than its predecessor due to the 2’s slightly smaller footprint.
Not only is the smaller footprint responsible for the OnePlus 2’s easier handling, the phone now features a premium metallic frame that surrounds the chassis. This adds a bit of heft to the device and makes it feel much more substantial in the hand. That’s not to say the OnePlus 2 feels heavy or the OnePlus One feels cheap, but you can really sense the upgrade in materials.
Elements around the device in the OnePlus 2 show what new features the company is bringing to the table, as well. Capacitive keys still line the front but now the home button is a carved out area, this is to house the fingerprint reader, which is flanked by simple lines for back and recent apps keys. The button layout has been brought all to the right side with the power button below the volume rocker. The left side of the 2 houses a new Alert Slider, which allows users to toggle through different notification modes found in Lollipop. And of course, there is the new USB Type-C connector port at the bottom, which we will get into a little more later – what I can tell you now is that having a reversible plug is already proving to be a small, yet noticeable positive.
Don’t miss: OnePlus 2 – New Features Focus
The back of the 2 is of the Sandstone Black variety, which retains the exact same feel as the original OnePlus One. Unlike the One, though, the OnePlus 2 will be available with various StyleSwap back plate options (for an additional cost), allowing you to easily change the device’s appearance if you’d like. What is important to note here, however, is how the back plates are implemented – instead of a full shell replacement in the OnePlus One, the back cover of the 2 is simply a slab of textured plastic, which easily pops on and off. But this also means that the new material will only change the back plate and not anything else – the metal frame is, of course, a very welcome change but it does hinder the customization just that little bit.
Overall these two devices feel similar in handling but the OnePlus 2 gets the points for an overall more premium aesthetic – the OnePlus 2, in this regard, really feels like the true upgrade it is supposed to be.
Display
On the display front, not much has changed from the OnePlus One to the 2. Both devices feature the same 5.5-inch LCD Full HD panels, which might come as a bit of a bummer to those that wanted a Quad HD screen on the OnePlus 2. Given the price, though, it isn’t that much of a surprise, but a higher resolution could have easily been a new trump card for the new phone.
With that said, 1080p is still the complete standard in all media – thankfully, the fidelity of the display has been upgraded in the OnePlus 2. Viewing angles are pretty great, viewing in daylight is quite easy, and text remains as sharp as it did in last year’s edition. Though there may not be much to talk about in ways of enhancements between these two screens, we can definitely say that what was once a good Full HD experience in the OnePlus One becomes a pretty great Full HD experience in the OnePlus 2.
Performance
It is definitely in performance where we feel the update, as the Snapdragon 801 is bumped up to the 810 with the 2. OnePlus really goes for the gold with one of the most powerful processors in existence right now. The new flagship is simply a beast in the performance department and I have yet to experience any slowdowns or crashes as a result. Navigating around Oxygen OS is as smooth as ever, only made even more fluid with Oxygen’s own transitions, and running various applications is a breeze when the bugs in this operating system are kept at a minimum. And gaming is as great as ever, with 3D games like UFC and sprite-based games like Angry Birds 2 proving nice and enjoyable for long periods of time. For those worried about the heat of this processing package under load, I can say that after long periods of gaming the phone did get warm but it never got uncomfortable (just like most other smartphones on the market).
The OnePlus One is not far behind on the performance front
Now, this is not to say that the OnePlus One is far behind in performance. On the contrary, it is still one of the most reliable devices available today. And when considering the current competitive price point, having the tried and true Snapdragon 801 can be considered a steal in today’s general market. You might not really notice the difference in speed opening these applications, and that is also true in actual daily usage. Keep in mind that this OnePlus One is a unit that has been used for over a year, and you can see that it hasn’t really lost its step.
The spec hungry will likely go for the updated OnePlus 2, and for good reason. The Snapdragon 810 is definitely the beast it sets out to be and establishes the OnePlus 2 as the flagship it needs to be. But we would be remiss if we didn’t give the OnePlus One the props it deserves for rocking its own processor very well even over a year after its release.
Hardware
If not the screen or the overall design language, it feels like the hardware is where OnePlus hopes to differentiate itself from the 2. The simplest of these additions is the Alert Slider, which changes between different notification modes in Lollipop. The slides feel really solid and the textured button makes it easy to find even when the phone is in a pocket. Need to quickly silence the phone? No problem. And even then, it’s time we saw some new input methods in Android and we do credit OnePlus for making the move forward.
The OnePlus 2 also introduces a new fingerprint scanner that’s housed in the physical home button, which has been working quite well so far. Even when the phone screen is off, just resting a registered finger on the area wakes and unlocks the phone in short order. It’s up there with some of the better fingerprint readers we’ve seen in the market.
All of the connections remain largely the same, but the OnePlus 2 actually supports dual SIM out of the box, which can be a big deal to people in the west who have never experienced it. That’s not to say that it will be completely useful for anyone in the United States, unless the user travels a lot, but in those cases it can be really handy.
The OnePlus 2 lacks NFC, and that’s a problem
And of course there is the glaring omission of NFC in the OnePlus 2, which is included in the One. This is a problem not only because it keeps the 2 from its convenient usage on various peripherals like headphones and speakers, but it will also keep the new phone from supporting various pay services in the future such as Android Pay.
On the battery front, the 3100mAh battery gets a small bump up to 3300mAh in the OnePlus 2, and it seems optimizations and the upgraded processor do their job in keeping the phone trucking along. While the OnePlus One never really made us worry about shutdowns far before bedtime, we can already feel a bit more life in the new iteration. Both phones will definitely get through a day’s worth of moderate to heavy usage, but the OnePlus 2 will likely have a little more in the tank before it takes its nightly charge.
Read more: OnePlus 2 vs the competition: by the numbers
For anyone wondering, the USB Type-C connector does make plugging the phone in easier, but it is basically a USB 2.0 construction that omits quick charging capabilities. The new connection standard will take some getting used to due to it not being backwards compatible, but thankfully OnePlus is making these cords available for a pretty low cost. In turn, charging times will be mostly standard but certainly no worse that any other typical performer.
Camera
Updates to the camera don’t directly deal with the optic packages, but rather with a few new features instead. 13 megapixels remain the size of the pictures, with f/2.0 aperture which should prove pretty decent low light situations. But what the OnePlus 2 brings to the table are optical image stabilization and laser autofocus, both of which should help in plenty of key picture taking situations.
With that said, the app has been given a bit of a facelift from the OnePlus One if you were using Cyanogen on the original. Oxygen OS strips the camera app down to its main essentials, including HDR, Clear Image, Panorama, and even a Timelapse mode with not many additional options. Overall the OnePlus 2 offers a responsive experience but certainly not the fastest out there, especially when considering the spot metering that has to be done for exposure. This is a pet peeve of mine, as spot metering does make it a little tougher to keep everything exposed properly – as was the case in the OnePlus One, it is easy to get brighter elements blown out, but in the 2 this has been toned down to some degree.
There’s still quite a bit of ground for OnePlus to cover
Picture quality between these two phones is largely comparable, with improvements made in the processing of the OnePlus 2. Colors are not quite as washed out with the newer flagship, but they are not too saturated either. What hinders the OnePlus 2, despite its OIS, is what held the One back. With an f/2.0 aperture, low light shots require a balance of high ISO and slower shutter speed; but in the OnePlus 2, it seems slower shutter speed is prioritized, making OIS job that much tougher. Unfortunately this means that both phones require really steady hands for low light shots, despite both performing really well in brighter situations.
OnePlus One camera samples
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OnePlus 2 camera samples
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Both cameras manage to be good companions on the daily, though Oxygen OS does stifle them to a fair degree. But as flagship killers, there is still quite a bit of ground for OnePlus to cover, just as it did with last year’s offering.
Software
Software for OnePlus has been a pretty eventful affair, with the One originally coming with Cyanogen. But when that relationship went south, OnePlus had to make it themselves and it is called Oxygen OS. For anyone with the OnePlus One, updates to the included Cyanogen software were still updated to 12S, which is the version that I still have on my unit. But installing Oxygen OS does require some work on the recovery end. Otherwise, Oxygen is the default operating system for the OnePlus 2, updated to version 2 and based on 5.1.1 Lollipop.
We will talk about Cyanogen for a little bit and mention how much it did bring to the table, aside from the usual gestures, somewhat different take on the core elements of Material Design, and some security features, CyanogenMod did allow for a lot of customization in the Android build of the OnePlus One.
All of that has been basically stripped in Oxygen, which mostly makes sense, as the name implies simplicity. What we have, here, though are some of OnePlus’ core features baked in with what can only be described as a very stock-like Android experience. Material Design is prevalent and the launcher basically looks like the Google Now Launcher. Though there are some places where customization can be had, like in the notification dropdown, other features like the screen off gestures and one addition of the Dark Mode don’t do too much to make this feel any different from, let’s say, a Nexus device.
What we like most is the optimization Oxygen has been given for both of these devices. As a very spartan OS, it should be no surprise that Oxygen is really smooth and snappy. Though a couple bugs here and there might appear, OnePlus looks to be vigilant in fixing them.
Though it is still easy to root and ROM the OnePlus One and, I imagine, the same will go for the 2, the built-in Oxygen OS manages to be functional and simple, which we always like to see. However, if OnePlus is looking to really differentiate itself, it has to do more in its operating system inside as it has been doing outside.
Specifications
| OnePlus One | OnePlus 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.5-inch LCD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 401ppi | 5.5-inch LCD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 401ppi |
| Processor | 2.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor | 1.8GHz Snapdragon 810 processor |
| RAM | 3GB RAM | 3 or 4 GB (depending on storage option) |
| Storage | 16 or 64GB storage | 16 or 64GB storage |
| Software | CyanogenMod OS or OxygenOS | OxygenOS based on Android 5.1 |
| MicroSD | No | No |
| Dual-SIM | No | Yes |
| Wireless Charging | No | No |
| Fingerprint Scanner | No | Yes |
| Camera | 13 MP Sony Exymor f/2.0 rear-facing camera 5 MP front-facing camera |
13MP rear-facing camera 5MP front-facing camera |
| Battery | 3,100mAh | 3,300mAh |
| Dimensions | 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm 162 grams |
151.8 x 74.9 x 9.85 mm 175 grams |
Gallery
Conclusion
Looking to purchase either one of these devices? That might be a big factor in your decision. The 64GB OnePlus One can be purchased from OnePlus for around $300, no invite required. The OnePlus 2, however, is much more difficult to buy. You need an invite, and to get one of those, you’ll need to reserve your spot on OnePlus’ site. There are almost 4 million users waiting to get their hands on one, which means it will take quite awhile to actually receive your device if you’re interested. With that said, if you’re enamored with the fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port and Alert Slider and don’t mind waiting a few months, go with the OnePlus 2. But if you need a phone sometime soon, the OnePlus One is for you.
So, there you have it – a look at the OnePlus 2 vs OnePlus One! Our full review is on its way, but it felt right to see where the updates were made from One to 2. In some places more than others, there is real progress that makes the follow up to the OnePlus One a worthy contender. While we will further see if the OnePlus 2 actually “kills” current flagships, we will make the case that the OnePlus One is still a very viable offering especially with its lower price point. That said, the OnePlus 2 still comes in at a pretty good price on its own, so it really only matters if you want to spend the extra money for features like the fingerprint sensor, the Alert Slider, a new USB standard, and of course the very powerful processor underneath.
Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac Released With Windows 10 and Cortana Support
Parallels today announced the release of Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac with dual support for OS X El Capitan, Windows 10 and always-on access to Microsoft’s intelligent personal assistant Cortana. Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac Business Edition and Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition were also released for business customers, developers, designers and power users.
Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac is virtualization software that enables users to use OS X El Capitan and Windows 10 side by side without rebooting, including full support for Windows and Mac apps. The software includes a setup assistant for switching from PC to Mac, one-click optimization settings, Linux and Google Chrome support, advanced security features and more.
The latest version of Parallels Desktop also features Quick Look for Windows documents, Travel Mode for temporarily shutting down resource-intensive services to extend battery life, location services in Windows apps and easy upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. Performance improvements include up to 50% faster boot and shut down times, up to 15% longer battery life and up to 20% faster tasks.
Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac is $79.99 with a free 14-day trial available, while customers with Parallels Desktop 9 or newer can upgrade for $49.99. Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac Business Edition and Pro Edition both retail for $99.99 per year with faster 64GB virtual RAM / 16 vCPUs for each virtual machine and extended premium 24/7 phone and email support.
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