Customizing the Moto 360 (2015) with Moto Maker
Although the round display and stainless steel construction does make it attractive, the Moto 360 separates itself from the competition with Moto Maker customization. Motorola provides prospective buyers with tools to design their own smartwatch just as they can with the Moto X Pure Edition and Moto G (2015). The value of buying a Motorola device is greatly improved due to Moto Maker. For the Moto 360, Moto Maker allows you to change the smartwatch’s size, bezel, case, band, and watch face. Changing these pieces on other smartwatches, Android Wear or not, to this degree is impossible.
We’re going to take a look at what you can do with the Moto 360 and Moto Maker.
Head over to Motorola’s site and find the pre-order button on the Moto 360’s page. Or you can go directly to the smartwatch’s Moto Maker studio.
Before getting started, know that the base price of the Moto 360 is $299. Certain changes and additions to your configuration will increase the price.
The smartwatch shown on the left is what your smartwatch will look like throughout the process of using Moto Maker. The panel on the right is what you are able to modify. You can always check the price of your current configuration at the bottom right corner.
The Moto 360 comes in two variants, designed separately for men and women. Men are offered 42mm or 46mm sizes while women are only able to choose the former. In terms of specifications, the two sizes differ in display size/resolution and battery life. The display jumps from 1.37 inches to 1.56 inches and the battery gains an extra 100mAh on top of the 42mm’s 300mAh.
The benefit of sticking with the smaller size is that you don’t have to pay an additional $50 from the start.
Think of the bezel on the Moto 360 as the trim surrounding the display. The base bezels, which simply look like brushed stainless steel, for men and women are chamfer and peak, respectively. And the premium micro knurl and micro cut looks will set you back $20. It comes down to the look and shaping of the cut you prefer.
Men:
- Chamfer: Silver, Gold, Black
- Micro Knurl: Silver, Gold, Black
Women:
- Peak: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold
- Micro Cut: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold
The Moto 360’s case comes in the same colors as the bezel. The price will only increase by $30 if you choose the Gold or Rose Gold color options.
The real differentiation between your Moto 360 and the next person’s is the band. Do you choose leather? Or do you go with the more expensive metal band? If the latter, are you going to match the case and/or bezel? Testing out how the various bands look with your Moto 360 is very fun, especially because just about every combination ‘looks good’.
Men:
- Leather: Cognac, Black
- Metal: Silver, Gold, Black
Women:
- Leather: Stone Gray, Blush
- Double Wrap Leather: Blush
- Metal: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold
Motorola gives you the chance to have your Moto 360 start with a particular watch face, but you will still be able to change it at any time.
Now you’re done! Motorola will show you what costs (if any) have been added to the base price of your Moto 360.
Notice two things before you complete the checkout process:
- Moto Care: Motorola offers two years of accidental damage and extended mechanical coverage for the Moto 360 for less than $50. The benefit of Moto Care is huge considering the company will immediately ship you a like-new smartwatch even before your damaged smartwatch is sent to them. Each claim has a deductible of $39.
- Pricing options: You can pay up front or spread the cost of the smartwatch over six, twelve, eighteen, or twenty-four months using a Motorola Credit Account. Depending upon your credit history and the length of the financing, Motorola will accept monthly payments until the smartwatch is paid off.
Motorola will get right to work on making your Moto 360 as soon as you enter your billing and shipping information. Motorola is working as quickly as possible to assemble phones and smartwatches, so you should expect a wait a few weeks. Different designs have different expected arrivals; however, the Moto 360’s availability seems better than the Moto X Pure Edition’s at this time. To me, getting a customized and personalized smartwatch seems very much worth the wait.
Come comment on this article: Customizing the Moto 360 (2015) with Moto Maker
Official TWRP support now available for the Galaxy Note 5
Rooting and installing custom ROMs is a staple when it comes to Android, so not surprisingly, the Team Win Recovery Project’s custom recovery is now available for the Galaxy Note 5.
Keep in mind that this version is only for the GSM models, so if you bought your Galaxy Note 5 on Sprint or Verizon, you’d be advised to not install it.
It’d also be wise to proceed with caution when trying to get root on the AT&T or Verizon model. In late August, it was reported that rooting the smartphone with either of those carrier models will shut down the phone completely.
There’s no doubt some methods to get past that on the XDA-Forums, but still something to think about when rooting.
source: TWRP
via: Android Police
Come comment on this article: Official TWRP support now available for the Galaxy Note 5
Leaked Nokia C1 photos gives us a sneak peak of what’s in store for the phone
The Nokia C1 has been photographed, just a week after renders of the device leaked. Unfortunately, those renders were fan made, and even more puzzling is that these new photographs have some similarities to those fan made renders.
These photographs show us what is allegedly the back and front sides of the rumored C1. As with any device, the first slide totes a rear camera with an LED flash right below it. The second slide shows a front-facing camera and a volume rocker om the side of the device.
Interestingly, there seem to be no physical home buttons. CNMO, the website that leaked these photos, says the device will feature a 5-inch 1080p display, Android 6.0, an Intel chipset, and 2GB of RAM.
As with anything, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt. However, we certainly won’t be seeing this phone anytime soon, as Nokia seemingly has big plans for Android in 2016.
Would you buy a Nokia Android smartphone?
source: CNMO
via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: Leaked Nokia C1 photos gives us a sneak peak of what’s in store for the phone
[Deal] Various ‘Best Of’ albums are available for free from Google Play
Maybe your Labor Day BBQ gets started in a few hours. You’re going to need some music, right? Good thing Google Play has various Best Of albums available for free. The seemingly growing collection includes Britney Spears, Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel, Three 6 Mafia, and many more. All you have to do is go to the album’s listing in the Play Store and add it to your library.
Hit the break for the full list.
- 311
- Bill Withers
- Britney Spears
- Destiny’s Child
- Elvis Presley
- Elvis Presley – Gospel
- Frank Sinatra
- Incubus
- Johnny Cash – Duets
- Johnny Cash – Gospel
- Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
- Nas
- Roy Orbison
- Sam Cooke
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Sly & The Family Stone
- Three 6 Mafia
- Tony Bennett
- Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
- Willie Nelson
Only people in the United States are able to download these albums for free.
Via: Android Police
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Various ‘Best Of’ albums are available for free from Google Play
Ground-penetrating radar reveals huge monument near Stonehenge
Stonehenge is an iconic and mysterious English landmark, but it’s not the only place to attract the interest of local archaeologists. Nearly 100 stone monoliths have been discovered at a site called the Durrington Walls, about two miles north-east of Stonehenge. For the average visitor, there’s little to see at ground level — just the grassy remains of a sloping bank. But with ground-penetrating radar, researchers have mapped the area and discovered evidence of up to 90 stones three feet underground. Around 30 remain intact, measuring up to 4.5 meters tall, while fragments of a further 60 lay beside them.
The team believe that the standing stones were eventually toppled over by neolithic builders, making way for the massive defensive bank that now sits on top of them. They’ve been hidden for millennia, which is why the team used “non-invasive geophysical prospection and remote sensing technologies” — boy, that’s a mouthful — to inspect the area and see what was below the already precious “super-henge” remains. None of the stones have been excavated yet, but their discovery sheds new light both on Stonehenge and the surrounding area. What we don’t know of course, is why prehistoric settlers erected them in the first place. Cremated bone fragments suggest Stonehenge was once a burial ground — but much of its history, like the Durrington Walls, still remains a mystery.
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
BBC
Source:
Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project
Tags: archaeology, depthsensingradar, durrington-walls, durringtonwalls, radar, stonehenge
New leaked photos of Huawei Nexus cases shows that camera bump again
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We’ve already had a good look at what the Huawei Nexus smartphone is likely going to look like, however, in case you aren’t convinced yet, here are some photos of some Huawei Nexus cases for you to look at. As we’ve already seen in the photos of the actual device, the Huawei Nexus is adorned with a circular fingerprint scanner in the middle of its back and its camera module is featured in somewhat of a bump at the top of the device. It doesn’t look quite like something Huawei would do, which suggests Google had something to do with it – either way, we’re curious to know what it can do.
These leaked photos are courtesy of leaker @onleaks, who also confirmed when answering questions after this tweet that the Huawei Nexus is likely going to have a 5.5-inch display. This was suggested earlier today after a Zauba listing was found describing the Huawei Nexus with a 5.5-inch display – we’re not entirely sure what we’re supposed to think about this just yet, but we’re sure all will be clear in due time.
What do you think about these Huawei Nexus cases? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter via Phone Arena
The post New leaked photos of Huawei Nexus cases shows that camera bump again appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
ESA craft will prove that you can measure gravity waves in space
Scientists have spent ages searching for gravity waves from the safety of Earth, but they haven’t had the chance to study those waves in space, where they could help make sense of black holes and other objects that distort spacetime. They’re one step closer to getting that shot, though. The European Space Agency is almost ready to launch a vehicle, LISA Pathfinder, that will demonstrate the viability of measuring gravity waves in space. When it begins testing in March, Pathfinder won’t actually measure gravitational effects at all. It’ll instead look for extremely minute (picometer-level) changes between two test masses within the spacecraft, proving that you can achieve the extreme level of precision needed for a gravity wave detector.
Provided the test goes according to the plan, it’ll represent the start of a long, long journey. A full-fledged gravity wave detector isn’t poised to launch until 2034 — an entire generation will reach adulthood between then and now. When that machine is operational, however, it could fill in many blanks for astrophysicists. Right now, interference from nearby galaxies prevents scientists from studying the energy from extremely violent cosmic events, such as the merger of supermassive black holes. With a spaceborne gravity detector, it’d be relatively easy to scoop up this data and make more sense of the universe.
[Image credit: ESA/P. Sebirot]
Filed under:
Science
Via:
Motherboard
Source:
European Space Agency
Tags: esa, europe, gravitationalwaves, gravity, lisapathfinder, science, space, spacetime
Sony developing 1,000 fps image sensor for intelligent computer sensing
Sony is the market leader in the image sensor business and the company is looking to maintain a significant lead over its competitors with new technologies. One of the latest is Sony’s research into an affordable 1,000 fps capable image sensor, which is being developed in conjunction with Nissan Motor Co. and Masatoshi Ishikawa, a Tokyo University professor.
The new 1000 fps sensor has been developed by stacking the circuit and sensor parts for faster speeds and a high resolution, rather than placing the components side-by-side. Sony has been able to reach speeds over 900 fps with some prototypes, while your typical modern smartphone camera sensor might be capable of slow motion video capture at 120 frames per second.
However, this isn’t really a fair comparison as these fast image sensors aren’t necessary for capturing the perfect picture or home video, but they do open up development of new technologies that make use of intelligent computer sensing. The work being conducted with Nissan could enable driverless vehicles that can quickly detect and avoid hazards, or be put to use to develop faster industrial manufacturing methods.
“The images for sensing require a different kind of chip, and the challenge is converting technologies that make beautiful photos to new uses.” – Shinichi Yoshimura, Sony
High speed image sensors can also play an important role in lowering the cost of advanced gesture recognition systems. Such technologies at an affordable price point could find use in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications, including wearable gadgets and other mobile products.
“High-speed image sensors are a niche industry, but Sony has the power to take it mainstream … And that may be just two years away.” – Masatoshi Ishikawa, University of Tokyo
1,000 fps image sensors already exist but are hugely expensive and relatively large, which prohibits their widespread use. These type of sensors cost anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000 from companies including Sony and Vision Research Inc. By adapting its existing mobile image sensor technology, Sony should be able to produce competitive chips at a fraction of previous sizes and costs.
Sony anticipates that image sensor sales could climb as much as 62 percent to 1.5 trillion yen in three years. However, the company also expects that its rivals will catch up with its mobile image sensor technology, so finding new markets will be key in order to stay ahead. Sony is apparently investing €1.5B ($1.7B) in its image sensor operating in FY16, five times the amount that it invested in FY15.
This new sensor technology may help Sony diversify its sensors into new markets and could result in some exciting new products for us consumers. Definitely something to key an eye on.
Huawei Mate S with Force Touch hands-on
Apple is widely expected to deliver Force Touch in its upcoming iPhone 6S smartphone, but Chinese company Huawei beat them to the punch by announcing the Force Touch enabled Huawei Mate S at IFA 2015 earlier this week.
As we covered in our Huawei Mate S hands on, Force Touch is only available on the 128GB model of the Mate S, which Huawei is calling the Luxury Edition, and in a room at the company’s IFA 2015 stand, we managed to get our hands on the next-generation smartphone.
What is force touch and what can you do with it? Join us as we take a closer look.
At the moment, Huawei’s implementation is very limited indeed and one of the gallery specific features that the company showed off during its press conference won’t be available until the Mate S Luxury Edition hits the shelves later this year. That feature let you preview images by applying additional pressure when scrolling through the gallery, but while this isn’t available at the moment, you can still zoom into images by applying pressure to the display when viewing an individual image.
This zoom feature works by magnifying the image when force-touched and the amount of magnification depends on how much pressure you apply to the screen. It works pretty well but it can be a little difficult to precisely get the exact amount of magnification you are looking for although this may be caused by pre-release hardware and will likely be improved by the time the handset is released.
Force Touch also converts the top corners and the bottom part of the display into additional features, which Huawei calls Magic Corners and Magic Bottom. Instead of having the Android navigation keys always showing at the bottom and taking up precious screen real estate, you can hide them away and anytime you need them, just force touch the corresponding areas.
So, if you want to go back, you would force-touch in the bottom left, the middle for going to the home screen and the right for showing the recent apps menu. This feature works mostly well and does help to improve the experience by freeing up the area where the navigation keys would normally reside.
The Magic Buttons feature works in pretty much the same way and force touching these areas will launch you into either the camera (the top left) or the web browser (the top right). Sadly, these features don’t seem to work quite as well as the navigation keys and getting the buttons to trigger was very cumbersome, with an almost unnatural hand placement required to trigger the shortcut. It took many more attempts that I would have liked to actually get them to work and it’s likely this isn’t a feature you’ll use too often.
Force Touch can also have a fun and somewhat intriguing aspect, with Huawei deciding to turn the handset into a portable scale. In the Fun Scale app, the Mate S can approximate the weight of an item placed on the display by the amount of pressure it exerts but since it requires a certain amount of pressure, the item needs to weigh a minimum of 100 grams and a maximum of 400 grams. It’s not the most useful feature in the world but it’s handy if you need an approximate weight of something at a moment’s notice or if you want to show off the cool feature to your friends by weighing an item.
Without doubt, Force Touch will play an important part of the future of the smartphone industry and in being first to announce a Force Touch handset, Huawei is aiming to set a benchmark for others to surpass. While the Magic Buttons, gallery and scale features are certainly interesting, there’s not an awful lot you can actually do with the device.
That being said, this is clearly a first generation product and Huawei has assured us that it is planning additional features for Force Touch, which will be announced in the coming months. It is also reaching out and asking users for suggestions on features it can create for the Force Touch display – you can submit your ideas here – and this is a great way to ensure that Force Touch becomes a feature that can be as useful to as many people as possible.
Force Touch is only available on the 128GB Mate S Luxury Edition model, which is launching later this year and although the price is yet to be confirmed, it’s likely to exceed €749 before taxes and subsidies. For more on the other features of the handset, check out our Mate S unboxing and first look for an in-depth view of everything Huawei’s latest smartphone has to offer.
What do you think of the world’s first Force Touch display and do you plan to use the force (pun intended)? Let us know your views in the comments below guys!
Photos of an actual Nokia C1 pop up, is this the device in Nokia’s future?
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Just yesterday we reported on a render that was allegedly of a Nokia device called the Nokia C1 – while Nokia is bound by their agreement to Microsoft not to get back into smartphones until 2016, there aren’t many months left in 2015, and it wouldn’t be surprising to know that development has been going on behind closed doors. According to some leaked photos that surfaced today, that’s exactly what has been happening as an actual Nokia C1 has been pictured running Android Lollipop.
It’s not a horrible looking device, but it’s clear that the simplistic design of the Lumia devices they used to make have influenced the design of the Nokia C1. The Nokia C1 isn’t expected to be a flagship device per se – expected to have a 5-inch display, Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM, 8MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, it would likely fit in somewhere in the mid-range market. Having said that, it’s definitely a step up from the last “Android” Nokia smartphone, the Nokia X. We’ll have to see if more information about the Nokia C1 drops over the next few months leading up to 2016.
What do you think about the Nokia C1? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: CNMO.com via Phone Arena
The post Photos of an actual Nokia C1 pop up, is this the device in Nokia’s future? appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
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