TYLT FLYP-DUO a reversible USB cable for your Android or iOS device
I’ve had the opportunity to review TYLT products before and one thing I can say is that they make high-quality products. The FLYP-DUO is no exception.
FLYP-DUO overview
The FLYP-DUO features a flat cable that makes it nearly impossible to get tangled up in your bag or pocket. The cable itself is made from a soft touch rubber that feels great in your hand.
The cable also comes with a lightning adapter that will allow you to use it with any device that has either a micro-USB port or lightning port. This is a great feature for those who use both iOS and Android devices.
One of the best features is that the PC end of the USB cable is reversible. This allows you to plug the cable into a USB port without having to pay attention to what direction you plug it in. Unfortunately, the micro USB side is not reversible. Making the micro USB end reversible would be the only way to improve the FLYP-DUO.
Speaking of the micro USB connector, I really loved the how it fit into the female micro USB port. It fit snuggly, but not too snuggly.
FLYP-DUO setup
There’s really nothing to set up. Take it out of the box and plug it in.
FLYP-DUO usage
This is by far my favorite USB cable. I unplug the USB cable and take it with me in my backpack when I commute from home to work. The quality is A+.
One of the things that I like about the cable is that because of it’s flat design and high-quality rubber, you don’t have to worry too much about rolling over it with your chair. Which does happen quite frequently while I’m at work. This only occurs when I unplug a device and forget to move the cable.
What we liked:
- Reversible USB connector
- Soft touch rubber
- Flat cable design
- Lightning adapter
What could be better:
- Cheaper price
- Reversible micro-USB connector
FLYP-DUO summary
Overall this is a great cable. It’s a tad bit expensive for my taste, but it’s worth every penny when you take into account the quality that you are getting.
You can purchase the cable on TYLT’s website starting at $24.95.
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Facebook is working on a Messenger-based personal assistant called ‘Facebook M’
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With Google Now, Siri and Cortana leading the way for virtual personal assistants, it looks like Facebook wants to join in on the fun as well. Announced earlier today, Facebook M is a “personal digital assistant” which is wholly contained within the Facebook Messenger app. From the looks of it, you talk to M like you would a normal person in Messenger and it responds depending on what your request is. The neat feature in Facebook M is that it not only answers questions, but completes tasks on your behalf as well. In the words of Facebook VP of messaging products, David Marcus:
“Unlike other AI-based services in the market, M can actually complete tasks on your behalf. It can purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and way more.”
Facebook M is apparently being tested by a handful of people in San Francisco at the moment, though the intention is for it to be rolled out to everyone – whether everyone is just the US or globally remains to be seen. Facebook M is definitely an interesting concept, and we hope we get to see more of it over the next few months.
What do you think about Facebook M? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Facebook via Droid-life
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YouTube Gaming is now available, hopes to deal Twitch a significant blow
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When it comes to games live streaming, Twitch is pretty much the only name that comes to mind. YouTube intends to change that thinking with a live streaming service of its own: YouTube Gaming. This definitely isn’t the first time that we’ve heard of YouTube Gaming, but it will be the first time that the web interface is available for all to use. On top of that, the Android app is now available to US and UK Android users – though you can just circumvent that if someone were to provide you an APK to sideload on your device.
If that’s not your style, you can just check out the (English only) web interface at gaming.youtube.com which serves as a hub for you to access all the games and feeds that you want to watch. Who knew a whole new way to watch Minecraft videos would be so exciting?
What do you think about YouTube Gaming? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: YouTube Blog via Android Police
The post YouTube Gaming is now available, hopes to deal Twitch a significant blow appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Amazon discounts the Fire Phone (32GB) to $130, 1 year of Prime still included
When Amazon announced its Fire Phone a little over a year ago, it garnered a great deal of attention, for any number of reasons: It confirmed rumors that had been circulating since 2010, it had a unique “3D” type viewing experience, it allowed users to take a picture of any product and immediately find it at Amazon, it was exclusive to AT&T, and it was expensive. Very expensive. So expensive was it that many predicted it would flop upon release. And it did.
Amazon has now lowered the price of the 32GB Fire Phone even further, to a very impressive $130, unlocked. Not only does this make it cheaper than alternatives such as the Moto G, but it also comes with a free year of Amazon Prime. This in-and-of-itself is practically a steal, as Prime costs $99. In a sense, the proposition here is getting a phone for $31 depending how you look at things.
For those in need of a refresher, Amazon details the following specs for the device:
- 2.2GHz quad-core processor and 2GB RAM for ultra-fast app launch times and smooth multi-tasking
- Bright 4.7″ HD display
- 13 MP camera with optical image stabilization, HDR, and LED flash with unlimited free cloud storage for photos
- Amazon-exclusive features: Firefly, Mayday, Dynamic Perspective
- Over 33 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, apps, and more
- Mayday – free, live on-device video support, 24×7, 365 days a year
- Limited-time offer: includes a full year of Amazon Prime
- U.S. compatibility: All GSM networks including AT&T, T-Mobile, and more. Not compatible with CDMA networks such as Verizon and Sprint
Note that the 64GB variant is no longer listed as in-stock and thus only the 32GB option can be purchased.
Despite the fact that the tech press has panned the device almost universally, Customer Review scores on Amazon, of which there are almost 10,000, are mostly quite positive. In fact, 50% have given the device 5 out of 5 stars. While clearly not for everyone, there is no denying that those who did purchase the Fire Phone and reviewed it are basically quite happy.
While it remains to be seen if Amazon will ever release a follow-up – Jeff Bezos himself had suggested it at one point- now is as good a time as any to purchase the device given the price tag. Potentially it could make for a good back-up phone, or as a main unit for a younger member of the family, or older.
Does this new price point make the Fire Phone more enticing to any of you out there? If you would buy it, for whom would you give it to? Does Amazon need to cut the price to $99? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Swype update adds emoji keyboard, number prediction, and Star Trek themes
It’s been a while since Swype was a household name but it remains one of the more stable and popular gesture-typing keyboards available today. Nuance Communications, developers of Swype, have released a fairly substantial update to Swype that begins rolling out today. Included will be themes, a new emoji keyboard, and some new features.
Here is a full list of the major changes with the new update:
- Swype has been working on their prediction technology and that shines through a bit in this update. The keyboard now has enhanced phrase prediction and will offer up multiple words at once to try to help you complete sentences.
- Swype makes up for the lack of a number row by predicting numbers as you type. For instance, if you type out a number in letters, the keyboard will let you convert them to numbers very quickly using the prediction bar. This also works with symbols so typing “ejqp” will bring up a suggestion for 3:10 while “swpp” will just suggest $200.
- Chinese language support is getting a boost. Nuance has announced that the Chinese language will use cloud-based predictions to offer up more “sophisticated and robust” language models. If you use this in Chinese, that means your predictions will get much better.
- They have also included 19 Star Trek themes for more personalization and customization. The themes range from $0.99 to $1.99 as in-app purchases and there theme bundles that will go for $2.99.
It may appear as though Swype is playing catch-up in a lot of instances, a few of these features are rather interesting. The ability to mitigate the lack of a number row by moving the functionality to the prediction bar is something we don’t see all that often and makes it much easier to type numbers without switching from letter to number input or waiting to hold each tap. The new capability to predict phrases is also somewhat unusual and if it works correctly, it should help boost typing speeds by a bit.
The Star Wars themes appear to be tastefully done in most cases and fans of the series should get a kick out of the available themes. It’s a good update and one that gives the aging keyboard a bit more flair.
Swype is currently going for $0.99 in the Google Play Store. If you want to try it out with the new update and themes, click the button below to get started!
Download Swype from Google Play
Samsung announces three new wireless speakers set to launch in Q4 2015
Samsung has announced three wireless audio speakers to fill out its lineup of audio equipment. The speakers, labelled the R1, R3, and R5, will be shown off at IFA 2015 next month.
The speakers build on Samsung’s existing R6 and R7 features with a better touch interface and an improved multi-room experience through the companion app.
The new speakers connect to a wireless network to allow connected devices to beam music to any speaker, and they even work with Samsung’s Gear S smartwatch. The actual interface on each of the speakers relies on taps, swipes, and gestures, making for an uncluttered experience.
The new lineup of speakers will run between $199 and $399, depending on the model you’re going for, and should be available in the 4th quarter of 2015 in the US and Europe. Keep an eye out for more info at IFA this year.
source: Samsung Tomorrow
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Amazon Underground is giving away $10,000 worth of free apps
Amazon is now offering $10,000 worth of apps, games, and in-app add-ons all for free with Amazon Underground. Amazon says they will do this by letting users download an app for free, and based on how long you use it, will then compensate developers.
The way it works is per-minute payments are given to the developers from Amazon as long as they wave any upfront fees. That makes the software totally free for consumers. The apps that can be downloaded must be from the Amazon store and not Google’s Play Store, however. When you do go to download apps be sure to look for “Actually Free” to be sure the app is included in Underground and is free. Also, Amazon’s famous “Free App of the Day” promotion will disappear, and will be replaced by Underground.
Source: Amazon
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Facebook launches its own virtual assistant named ‘M’
Today, Facebook launched its own virtual personal assistant called “M” accessible through the Facebook Messenger app. The virtual assistant is powered by both artificial-inteligence and real humans which allows it to answer questions and complete complex tasks that current personal assistants cannot. Just like Siri, Cortana and Google Now, you can ask M for advice on places to go and answer general questions. One of the differences however is that M only works in the Facebook Messenger app. In addition, M will be less likely to make mistakes as it will be checked upon by humans responsible for training and supervising the artificial intelligence. According to David Marcus, vice president of messaging products at Facebook, this will make a great difference compared to other personal assistants in the competition
“We start capturing all of your intent for the things you want to do”
“Facebook employees have been using M for several weeks to do everything from organizing dinner parties to tracking down an unusual beverage in New Orleans”
The combination of artificial-intelligence and real human support is what will allow users to do more with the M personal assistant. M is able to purchase items, get gifts delivered to people, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and other complex tasks that current personal assistants cannot handle. The human element in the assistant will let the software to gradually learn from human behaviors and eventually will allow it to not needing human input, according to David Marcus. The transactions made by using M’s services is what will provide revenue to Facebook so it can employ more “M trainers”.
M is only available to a few hundred people in the San Francisco Bay Area today. It is still a work in progress and so, it is not expected to be released to all messenger users any time soon.
Source: David Marcus (Facebook)
Via: Engadget
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Former Apple CEO John Sculley launches a line of stylish smartphones
Like most consumer items, the lower the price point of a phone, the less exciting the design. Obi Worldphone co-founder (and former Apple CEO) John Sculley and Ammunition design founder Robert Brunner decided to challenge that by creating mid-level, inexpensive international smartphones that look — if not cool — at least unique. The new Obi Worldphone SF1 and SJ1.5 both start off at under $200 ($199 and $129 respectively), will be available in October and target buyers 25 years old and younger in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Middle East. The phones are filled with components from the usual suspects (Qulacomm and MediaTek processors, Sony camera, Corning Gorilla Glass and Dolby sound), but it’s the look of the phones and their skinned version of Android that matters to Obi. “We are committed to being a design-led company,” Sculley told Engadget. Slideshow-315484
It’s more than just design and price, Obi Worldphones is relying on being nimble to compete against the Apple, Samsung and HTCs of the world. The company sees the size of those larger companies and their legacy as a weakness. Larger companies tend to move slower while Obi Worldphones is fresh new startup with the ability to quickly iterate designs and swap out components that it believes would serve it’s audience the best.
But it’s now going too cheap with Qualcomm, Sony and Dolby parts inside its phones. Sculley pointed out that the company would not compromise on the quality of it’s phones just to hit a low price point.
The SF1 with 4G/LTE sports a reinforced fiberglass body with a five-inch display and flashes for the front and back cameras. It runs a Snapdragon 615 processor and is $199 for 2GB or RAM and 16GM of storage and $249 for 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
The cheaper SJ1.5 (with 3G) has a quad-Core processor in a cases available in multiple colors (red, black and white) with accents. The $129 phone comes with 16GB of internal storage. Both phones have dual SIM slots– a must for a phone launching in an emerging market, and it’s going to quite a few. Initial countries where it’ll launch online and in-store include be Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Pakistan, Turkey and India. The company could be a serious contender to Samsung, HTC and Apple if it maintains these low prices and striking designs. That is, if the kids like it.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Misc, Handhelds, Wireless, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source:
Obi Worldphone
Tags: Ammunition, mobilepostcross, obi, ObiWorldphone, sf1, SJ1.5
Pocket now recommends articles you want to read based off of saved articles
Pocket, the article saving app, announced a new “recommendations” feature. The new feature will now recommend you articles based on what you have already saved.
As Pocket says:
“Training for a half-marathon? The more you save about running, the more likely it is you’ll start seeing high-quality running content to help you get ready for your race.”
Pocket is basically trying to get users to the content they want to read rather than scroll through a bunch of useless articles. Pocket has many users, who all save lots of stories, which Pocket has used to create “recommendations”. Pocket says the new feature can be found on iOS and the Android app as well as on the web.
Source: Pocket
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