Are Samsung’s edgy smartphones worth it?
Does fashion outweigh function?
Like many, I was captivated by Samsung’s Spring flagship launch this year. But this was not due to the beautified Galaxy S6. Rather, it was the evolution of Samsung’s screen-bending experiment, resulting in a smartphone that looked like no other.
We’re becoming accustomed to seeing minor updates to each established smartphone design. This circumstance is most true in 2015 than any other year. But I think I speak for many when I say that the S6 Edge was a breath of fresh air, regardless if you actually bought it or if there there was practical sense behind the feature.
With that thought, what does the S6 Edge mean for the future? Samsung in fact underestimated demand for the S6 Edge (which was one reason S6 sales took a hit). Meaning, this was a dart that Samsung threw that stuck. Or was it?
The Note 5/S6 Edge+ releases are looming. After having some time with the S6 Edge, I’m ready to move on with the annual shift to phablets. Therefore, I’m at a crossroads. Looking solely at the screen differences, I’m questioning whether I should get an Edge device again. Did my lust for those sexy edges leave me satisfied from day to day? Or maybe my desire for something unique led me astray and stuck with a costly prototype?
This is a very important question to ask. Not just for myself but for those who are about to upgrade. I’m sure there are plenty of folks that turned down the S6 Edge solely because it was too small for them. The unthoughtful battery life could have also been a factor. The S6 Edge+ will alleviate those concerns. So should you do it?
The answer is: I don’t know. That may sound like a crappy answer, but hear me out. All the practicality in my mind tells me that it’s not worth it: the $100 price hike, the reduction of grip on the sides, and the compromised handling ergonomics to avoid touching the screen at the edges. Also, the functionality that Samsung created to utilize the edges is humorous.
Why would you use a sliver of your phone’s screen for information? Isn’t it just as easy to turn the phone on, and more efficient? There’s no reason why the People edge feature should be exclusive to the S6 Edge, it’s just a swipe to access a Contacts panel. I guess the Edge lighting feature is cool, but I can’t see most people putting this phone face down.
So where’s the dilemma then? You see, there is a part of me that still wants the edged screen a part of my life.
Does that make me shallow in my smartphone decision-making? Maybe. I love the fact that the Edge looks different, and I can’t get over it. This is even considering that I sometimes tune the feature out. When I handle the phone, the edges always catch my eye. It looks futuristic. When people see it in my hand, they notice it. The look on their face says “What the heck is that!?” When I scroll to the left and right on the phone, content doesn’t just slide, it falls. The screen reacts in a new dimension, and you bet it’s as neat as it sounds.
So while I have yet to resolve my own internal conflict, I’m hoping that I at least provided insight for those who are curious about Samsung’s edge feature. Who knows, maybe with the S6 Edge+ release, Samsung has figured out how to give the edges more worth. On the other side of the coin, the Note 5 will have a stylus and a larger battery. While curved edges are intriguing, they can’t outweigh a slew of compromises. We’ll soon see what Samsung has conjured up at the Unpacked event on Thursday.
The post Are Samsung’s edgy smartphones worth it? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Researchers find that people with epilepsy process music differently
A team at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center may have just uncovered the most unexpected side-effect associated with epilepsy — musical brainwave synchronization. The idea for the research came to Christine Charyton, PHD, while considering that 80-percent of epilepsy seizures originate in the same region of the brain that houses the auditory cortex, which processes music.
The experiment used an electroencephalogram to track brain activity as patients listened to two pieces of music broken up by 10 minutes of silence: a recording of My Favorite Things by John Coltrane and Mozart’s Sonata in D Major. “We were surprised by the findings,” explains Charyton. Both patients with and without epilepsy showed higher levels of brainwave activity while listening to music, rather than silence, but subjects with epilepsy were more likely to have their brainwaves synchronize with the music. “We hypothesized that music would be processed in the brain differently than silence. We did not know if this would be the same or different for people with epilepsy.”
So, what’s all this mean? Not a lot for now, but Charyton has high hopes that music could eventually be used to supplement epilepsy therapy as an intervention method to help prevent seizures. It’s just an idea for now, but you have to admit: prescription listening sounds pretty appealing
[Image credit: Cultura Creative (RF) / Alamy]
Source:
PsyPost
Tags: epilepsy, music, OhioState, WexnerMedicalCenter
What’s on your HDTV: ‘Humans’ season finale, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
AMC is wrapping up its first season of Humans this week, so let us know if you’ll be hanging around for season two of its android shenanigans (eight new episodes are confirmed for next year. If that’s not exciting enough, you can order up Mad Max: Fury Road via your video on-demand service of choice this week, as it hits downloads ahead of the eventual Blu-ray release. Tonight Spike TV premieres I Am Chris Farley, while gamers are anticipating Goat Simulator and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Blu-ray & Games & Streaming
- Hot Pursuit
- Person of Interest (S4)
- Hell on Wheels (S4)
- The Knick (S1)
- Unfriended
- Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
- I Am Chris Farley
- The People Under the Stairs
- Dig (S1)
- Mad Max: Fury Road (VOD)
- Goat Simulator (PS3, PS4)
- Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture (PS4)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition – The Descent (PC, PS4 & Xbox One)
- Gauntlet: Slayer Edition (PS4)
- TorqueL (PS4)
- Toy Soldiers: War Chest (PC & Xbox One, PS4 on 8/12)
- Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PS4 & Xbox One – 8/12)
- Bedlam (PC, 8/13)
Monday
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- The Fosters, ABC Family, 8PM
- American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8PM
- So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?, CW, 9PM
- Chasing Life, ABC Family, 9PM
- Major Crimes (summer finale), TNT, 9PM
- I Am Chris Farley, Spike TV, 9PM
- Running Wild with Bear Grylls, NBC, 10PM
- Cuban Chrome, Discovery, 10PM
- Teen Wolf, MTV, 10PM
- Unreal, Lifetime, 10PM
- Murder in the First, TNT, 10PM
- Becoming Us (season finale), ABC Family, 10PM
- The Whispers, ABC, 10PM
Tuesday
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Tough Enough, USA 8PM
- Pretty Little Liars (summer finale), ABC Family, 8PM
- Knock Knock Live, Fox, 9PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- Zoo, CBS, 9PM
- Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
- Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Houston Texans (season premiere), HBO, 10PM
- The Agent (series premiere), Esquire, 10PM
- Startup U (series premiere), ABC Family, 10PM
- Playing House, USA, 10PM
- Hollywood Game Night, NBC, 10PM
- Scream, MTV, 10PM
- Clipped, TBS, 10PM
- Proof, TNT, 10PM
- Tyrant, FX, 10PM
- Another Period, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, Comedy Central, 12:30AM
Wednesday
- America’s Got Talent: World’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
- Unsung Hollywood: Billy Dee Williams, TV One, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Kevin from Work (series premiere), ABC Family, 9PM
- Mr. Robinson, NBC, 9PM
- The Wicked Offer, CW, 9PM
- Dating Naked: Playing for Keeps, VH1, 9PM
- Extant, CBS, 9 & 10PM
- Suits, USA, 9PM
- 60 Minutes Sports, Showtime, 9PM
- Rogue, DirecTV 101, 9PM
- Last Comic Standing, NBC, 10PM
- The Jim Gaffigan Show, TV Land, 10PM
- I Am Jazz, TLC, 10PM
- Key & Peele, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Catfish, MTV, 10PM
- Mr. Robot, USA, 10PM
- Twinning, VH1, 10PM
- Impastor, TV Land, 10:30PM
- Why? With Hannibal Burress, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- America’s Best Dance Crew, MTV, 11PM
- The Exes, TV Land, 11PM
Thursday
- Food Fighters, NBC, 8PM
- Beauty and the Beast, CW, 8PM
- The Astronaut Wives Club, ABC, 8PM
- WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
- Complications (season finale), USA, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Aquarius, NBC, 9PM
- Dates, CW, 9 & 9:30PM
- Mistresses, ABC, 9PM
- Review with Forest Macneil, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, FX, 10PM
- Dominion, Syfy, 10PM
- Lip Sync Battle, Spike TV, 10PM
- Rectify (season finale), Sundance, 10PM
- Under the Dome, CBS, 10PM
- Graceland, USA, 10PM
- Rookie Blue, ABC, 10PM
- Hannibal, NBC, 10PM
- Maron (season finale), IFC, 10PM
- Married, FX, 10:30PM
- Geeks Who Drink, Syfy, 11PM
- One Bad Choice, MTV, 11PM
- Reactor, Syfy, 11:30PM
Friday
- Dinotrux (S1), Netflix, 3AM
- Wishenpoof (Episodes 2 – 13), Amazon Prime, 3AM
- Demetri Martin: Live (At the Time), Netflix, 3AM
- Ever After High: Way Too Wonderland, Netflix, 3AM
- Cold Justice, TNT, 8PM
- Cold Justice: Sex Crimes, TNT, 9PM
- Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
- Defiance, Syfy, 8PM
- Killjoys, Syfy, 9PM
- Strike Back, Cinemax, 10PM
- American Greed, CNBC, 10PM
- Dark Matter, Syfy, 10PM
Saturday
- Sugar Babies, Lifetime, 8PM
- Cedar Cove, Hallmark, 8PM
- Boston EMS, ABC, 9PM
- Hell on Wheels, AMC, 9PM
- Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
- Power (season finale), Starz, 9PM
- Hannibal, NBC, 10PM
- Fox Previews: Scream Queens, Minority Report, Rosewood, Grandfathered, The Grinder, Fox, 11:30PM
Sunday
- Teen Choice Awards 2015, Fox, 8PM
- Ed Sheeran – Live at Wembley Stadium, NBC, 8PM
- Show Me A Hero: Parts 1 & 2, HBO, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- I Am Cait, E!, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime 9PM
- Humans (season finale), AMC, 9PM
- The Last Ship, TNT, 9PM
- Ballers, HBO, 10PM
- Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
- The Strain, FX, 10PM
- Brink, HBO, 10:30PM
- Falling Skies, TNT, 10PM
- Naked & Afraid, Discovery, 10PM
Filed under:
Home Entertainment, HD
Tags: goatsimulator, hdpostcross, Humans, listings, MadMax, MadMaxFuryRoad, MustSeeHdtv, video
AT&T offers DirecTV customers $500 to change phone service
Now that AT&T has finalized its acquisition of DirecTV, the carrier isn’t wasting any time trying to bring in new wireless customers. Today, AT&T announced a promotion for people who are already subscribed to the satellite television provider, which includes up to $500 in bill credit. It’s simple: DirecTV customers can get $300 applied to their account for every phone line switched over to AT&T, though each requires a device purchased through Next, the company’s monthly installment plan. To make the deal more enticing, AT&T’s also offering $200 for “eligible” smartphone trade-ins — altogether, this could end up saving users a few hundred dollars if they decide to jump ship. “But what about me? I have U-Verse,” you may be asking… There’s nothing to be upset about, since these credits are available to you as well.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
Filed under:
Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Mobile, AT&T
Via:
Forbes
Source:
AT&T
Tags: ATT, DirecTV, mobilepostcross, promo, smartphone, smartphones
Samsung Galaxy Note Edge to get Stagefright patch on Verizon
For my fellow Samsung Galaxy Note Edge users, I am happy to tell you that your device is the first to receive the Stagefright patch from Verizon. The update should be pushed to your device, but if it has not yet, you can goto your “Settings”, click on “General” in the tabs, then scroll down to “About device” and then click on “Software updates”. My device is tied to AT&T and I got my update last week which means Samsung is definitely making security a top concern. Other manufacturers like Motorola and LG have announced their plans to fix the patch, but as of right now Samsung fans can delight in knowing they got the fix first, with exception to Nexus devices.
AndroidCentral has reported that Verizon has pushed out the security update to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and S5 as well. There has not been news of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge getting the update.
Zimperium INC. was the company who announced this security issue in Android, and they have a free app to determine if the patch worked or not. There is a shortcut below if you are interested in testing your device.
The post Samsung Galaxy Note Edge to get Stagefright patch on Verizon appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Customers Who Bought MacKeeper Can Get a Refund Under New Settlement
If you were tricked into buying MacKeeper, you may be able to get your money refunded. MacKeeper, for those unfamiliar, is Mac software that purports to optimize a Mac and keep it secure from viruses and malware, advertising claims that it has not been able to live up to.
As shared by Macworld, following a class action lawsuit that accused MacKeeper developer ZeoBIT of deceptive advertising and false claims, a proposed settlement of $2 million has been established to provide to customers who bought MacKeeper and would like a refund.
Customers who purchased MacKeeper before July 8, 2015 can file a claim to request a full refund of the purchase price. Customers must submit a claim form before November 30, 2015 to become a part of the class action settlement. More than 500,000 people have purchased MacKeeper, paying prices up to $39.95, and buyers will be contacted via email about the settlement.
Because of its aggressive marketing tactics, often appearing in intrusive pop-up and pop-under ads, MacKeeper has earned a negative reputation with most Mac users, who believe it’s little more than bloatware.
As part of the $2 million settlement earmarked for refunds, ZeoBIT will not need to admit any fault in regards to claims of deceptive advertising and making false claims about the software’s capabilities. MacKeeper is no longer ZeoBIT property, having been sold to Kromtech in April of 2013.
Snapchat’s new update goes easy on your data, heavy on emoji
Snapchat rolled out a pair of new features for the photo and video sharing app (for both iOS and Android) designed to reduce the amount of data it uses while increasing the number of ways users can employ emoji. Travel Mode will disable the app from automatically preloading data-intensive Stories while the device is on a cellular connection. Once enabled, you’ll need to tap on each Story for it to load (though you won’t have to keep pressing). Access this feature through the Manage screen (just click the gear icon in the top right of the screen).
Additionally, incorporating emoji into your snaps is even easier thanks to the new Sticker Picker menu. And rather than only being able to place emoji along a single line of text, you can slap as many as you want, anywhere on the screen. What’s more, users can also now export their Snapcodes as video files, allowing them to be shared on other social media sites.
[Image Credit: shutterstock]
Filed under:
Internet, Mobile, Apple, Google
Via:
TechInsider
Source:
Snapchat (iTunes)
Tags: Android, apple, apps, google, iOS, messaging, mobilepostcross, snapchat, StickerPicker, TravelMode, updates
Sundar Pichai named new Google CEO operating under Alphabet
In what is some pretty darn surprising news, Google Co-Founder Larry Page has announced a few new changes to the company’s organization. The first of which, is made obvious by the title: Sundar Pichai, the man behind Android and Chrome, has been named the new CEO of Google. There are, however, some other new, and major, changes that have been made within Google.
This new structure will allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside of Google. A key part of this is Sundar Pichai. Sundar has been saying the things I would have said (and sometimes better!) for quite some time now, and I’ve been tremendously enjoying our work together… it is clear to us and our board that it is time for Sundar to be CEO of Google.
Google, and all of its other ventures, will now operate under a newly founded company, Alphabet. This newly founded company, will take all the various bits and pieces from Google and they will seemingly run more separate from the group. This hopes to allow these various sub-projects to run smoother and allows the company to have “more management scale”.
Alphabet is mostly a collection of companies. The largest of which, of course, is Google. This newer Google is a bit slimmed down, with the companies that are pretty far afield of our main internet products contained in Alphabet instead. What do we mean by far afield? Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences, and Calico . Fundamentally, we believe this allows us more management scale, as we can run things independently that aren’t very related.
From the post made by Larry Page via abc.xyz, Alphabet is allowing for more time to be devoted to projects that the company has been trying to grow. All of this, while, at the same time, allowing the bigger projects like Android or YouTube, to continue working on whatever is up their sleeves.
As for some type of game plan, Mr. Page was kind enough to give us an idea of what Alphabet aims to do as a whole, now that things are changed up:
- Getting more ambitious things done.
- Taking the long-term view.
- Empowering great entrepreneurs and companies to flourish.
- Investing at the scale of the opportunities and resources we see.
- Improving the transparency and oversight of what we’re doing.
- Making Google even better through greater focus.
- And hopefully… as a result of all this, improving the lives of as many people as we can.
All of the news surrounding this is still developing, so we will be sure to have more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, check out this crazy URL, abc.xyz/ and let us know what you think about these new changes to the regime.
Source: abc.xyz
The post Sundar Pichai named new Google CEO operating under Alphabet appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Podcast 026: Stagefright
In a week that falls between a few relly big launches, the AA Podcast team decides to table the Galaxy Note 5 talk in lieu of more pressing, security matters. Joshua Vergara is joined by Nirave Gondhia and Jonathan Feist to talk about the latest scare in the Android world: Stagefright. As a piece of malware that can effect nearly all Android devices, the guys talk about its dangers and whether or not we are all just paranoid. They then speak about any instances in tech that they have been attacked by malware.
The Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every week.
Links to Podcast
RSS Feed
iTunes
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Relevant Links
Motorola reveals plans for Stagefright patch rollout
Worried about Stagefright? Here’s what you can do for now
How is Google fixing the Stagefright vulnerability that affects 95% of all Android phones?
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Joshua Vergara
Twitter | Google+
Joseph Hindy
Twitter | Google+
Andrew Grush
Google+
Jonathan Feist
Twitter | Google+
Nirave Gondhia
Twitter | Google+
Recorded on August 7th, 2015 – Hosted and Produced by Joshua Vergara
Google reportedly planning a Play Store affiliate program
When it comes to making money on the web, a number of sites, individuals, and sometimes even mass spammers, rely on affiliate marketing as just one of the pathways to profit. With this system, you basically post a link with a special code in it to some kind of product. A consumer buys, and you get a small piece of the pie. One of the most famous examples of affiliating marketing can be seen with Amazon, but according to a new report from 9to5Google, Google may be joining in with its own Play Store affiliate program.
The new program would essentially mean that partners could link to Google music, movies, and even apps. Once these approved items are bought, then the partner would get a small share. Not a lot is known about the program just yet, and Google has yet to confirm or deny such an effort. All we know for sure is, that if the rumor is legit, things are still very much in the early stages. It is also possible that such a program could eventually be extended to Google Store hardware as well.
For what it is worth, this isn’t the first time Google has had such a program. During the days of the Android Market, the Google Affiliate Network was an in-house effort that essentially provided the same type of experience. When the store was rebranded to the Google Play store the program was shut down in the process. Interestingly enough, 9to5 claims that, this time, the program will be powered by Performance Horizon Group, the same company that powers the iTunes affiliate program.
What do you think of the idea of Google creating a new affiliate program for Google Play and even the Google Store? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
AIVAnet 