Google may launch the second-generation Chromecast this month
According a report published by 9to5Google, Google is all set to launch a second-generation Chromecast later this month. The device is expected to boast both superior hardware and software when compared to the original, and should sport Wi-Fi ac connectivity for super-speedy streaming.
It appears Google has taken an Apple TV approach with regards to the design of the Chromecast 2’s operating system as it’s believed to feature a “feeds option”, which will give users the ability to select content directly from the home screen.
There may also be a shiny new Fast Play mode on board too, which will enable the Chromecast to establish a connection and play content from paired devices up to two-times faster than before.
Another software inclusion maybe Chromecast Audio. This attribute will permit users to connect the device to a standalone speaker via an auxiliary cable, allowing them to stream audio content — just like Sonos. There’s even expected to be support for multi-room playback.
Judging from the images above, it looks like Google has veered away from the dongle form factor in favour of a more circular design that come in black, red and yellow.
Unfortunately, that’s all we have for now on the second-generation Chromecast, but it shouldn’t be too much longer before we find out more as Google is believed to be unveiling the device at the Nexus event it’s holding on Tuesday, September 29.
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Google updates Play Music with improved Chromecast integration
Google is currently in the process of rolling out an update for its official Play Music application via the Play Store. This upgrade carries a bunch of stability improvements for Chromecast playback, including the removal of the 3-second buffer period between songs, gapless playlist compatibility and the facility to keep streaming music even if your phone turns off.
Hit the break for the full changelog.
- No more stoppage of playback in between songs
- Gapless playback support now enabled over Cast
- Music will continue playing even if your phone turns off or if you need to leave your amazing house party (brought to you by Unexpected Best Night Ever Radio†) to pick up additional supplies
Chances are that you already have the Play Music application downloaded on your smartphone or slate, so if you’d like to install the update, simply open up the Play Store, toggle the hamburger menu by swiping in from the left-hand side of the screen, select ‘My Apps’ and click on ‘Play Music’, then hit the update button.
Come comment on this article: Google updates Play Music with improved Chromecast integration
GameStop won’t sell consoles bundled with digital games
Perhaps more than any other retailer, Gamestop has serious clout when it comes to selling video games. The retail chain makes money hand over fist on game trade-ins and the resulting used game sales, and in an effort to protect that, it’s made an edict that it’ll only sell bundles that include a physical disc rather than a download code. In a shareholders call (PDF), chief operating officer Tony Bartel specifically cited the current Madden ’16 Xbox One bundle. Rather than carrying the official deal, the company worked to offer a free physical copy of the annual football title with the purchase of a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, refusing to stock the digital bundle at all.
“We expect that if a game is provided as a promotional item in a hardware bundle, GameStop will see more of these physical offers than digital pack-ins on upcoming third-party releases,” Bartel said.
He continued that if Microsoft and Sony keep with the digital pack-in game trend that his stores will see more physical bundles. And considering that the most recent NPD report stated that game-and-console packages were extremely popular, with 93 percent of console sales coming in the from the deals, those bundles aren’t likely to stop anytime soon.
On one hand, Gamestop’s push is great because not everyone has super speedy internet and new games are averaging about 30GB each. The fact that you need to spend so much time updating a new console before you can use it (again, depending on your internet speeds) is frustrating enough as it is — potentially waiting hours for a game to download before you can actually use the console only adds to that. But the fact is, Gamestop isn’t doing this for you, it’s doing this to pad the company’s ample bottom line.
Via: Giant Bomb
Source: The Street (PDF)
Moto Droid phones are no longer available in China
Motorola was recently purchased by Lenovo and one of the first things they did was bring back Motorola to China. Unfortunately, all Moto Droid series phones will not be coming with them.
Lenovo’s business group president, Chen Xudong was asked about the news on Webio, to which he said:
“Droid series has no further plans to introduce or maintain new smartphones”.
This does not mean the Droid name will die everywhere. In the US it will still remain exclusive to Verizon. With some recent leaks, it looks like there will be three new phones coming, DROID ULTRA, DROID MAXX, and DROID Mini.
Source: Weibo
Via: Xaomi Today
Come comment on this article: Moto Droid phones are no longer available in China
AutoVoice Chrome extension lets you control your phone from your computer with just your voice
AutoVoice is not a new application, but it did get a cool new update. If you use Google Chrome browser on the desktop, you can now control your Android device with your voice from a Mac, Linux, or Windows PC with a Chrome extension.
Once the Chrome extension is installed, you can say any voice command like you normally would on your phone, only now from a computer, and it will be done. Things like take screenshots, send text messages, play music, hang up phone calls and much more. Also, the extension is always on and listening, and can be activated by a custom wake up phrase.
You will need to download the Play Store app and Chrome extension in order for it to work. I definitely suggest checking out the video to give you a better understanding of what is possible with AutoVoice.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: João Dias (Google+)
Via: Android Authority
Come comment on this article: AutoVoice Chrome extension lets you control your phone from your computer with just your voice
‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ beta will be open to everyone, work offline
It seems like every time we see Star Wars Battlefront, it gets a little more exciting. Small, but epic missions. Huge multiplayer battles. Aerial combat with up to 20 players. Can this game possibly live up to its own hype? You’re going to find out. Yes, you personally — EA has announced that the Star Wars Battlefront beta is going to be open to everyone.
It’s more than just a simple multiplayer beta, though:this preview has a little bit of everything. Competitive players will be able to try out the Walker Assault and Drop Zone game modes (staged on the Hoth and Sullust maps, respectively). Players looking for a more solitary experience will have access to a Survival Mission mode, compatible with offline solo play and local and online co-op. Not bad! Unfortunately, EA still isn’t sure when you’ll be able to download the beta — just that it’ll be available to all Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4 owners later this year.
Apple’s ‘Move to iOS’ Android App Likely Rebranded Version of Existing App
Alongside the launch of iOS 9 yesterday, Apple debuted a new Android app called “Move to iOS.” The app is designed to help Android users transfer their content from an Android device to an iOS device. According to Phandroid, the app may not be developed by Apple and instead be a rebranded version of an existing app.
The app in question is Media Mushroom’s Copy My Data, one of two Media Mushroom apps that specialize in transferring data between devices. The other app is Device Switch, and both are available in the App Store and Google Play. Phandroid took a look at the code of Move to iOS and noticed that it included references to Media Mushroom’s Copy My Data app, like the tag android:name=”com.mediamushroom.copymydata”.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The two applications share a vast majority of code and functionality. In fact, all of the com.mediamushroom.copymydata strings were left inside Apple’s rebranded version. Essentially, the only differences between the two apps are Apple’s artwork being added, the inclusion of Apple’s licensing agreements, and Media Mushroom’s UI elements being removed. That’s really it.
As noted by Phandroid, it’s likely Apple licensed the rights to use and rebrand Media Mushroom’s app. Move to iOS is Apple’s first Android app, and the app has gained numerous negative reviews in the Google Play Store. Of its 15,230 reviews, 12,184 are one-star reviews. Criticisms in the negative reviews include complaints about iOS, Apple, and that the app uses Apple’s design philosophy rather than Google’s Material Design. Apple’s second Android app will be Apple Music.
Nextbit adds a Verizon version of its cloud-focused smartphone
Nextbit is adding a Verizon option to its wildly successful Kickstarter campaign for the Robin smartphone today. The “cloud-first” Android device, which comes with 100GB of cloud storage for free, already raised over a million on the crowdfunding website despite only being compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile. However, the company apparently received “tons of fan mail” asking about a Verizon version, so the team went back to work to put one together for its potential buyers. Since there are only 13 days to go in the campaign, Nextbit is holding a flash sale on September 18th, starting at 10AM Pacific/1PM Eastern.
The first 300 buyers from the US will be able to get the Verizon-compatible Robin for $299, after which the price will go up to $349. Folks who already backed the project, however, don’t have to shell out more cash if they don’t want to. So long as they pledged enough money to get a unit, they can just note in the backer survey, which will be sent out after the campaign ends, that they want the variant that works with Big Red. Same goes for those who miss the flash sale: they simply have to choose an appropriate reward tier and tell Nextbit they prefer the Verizon model.
Via: Recode
Source: Kickstarter
iPad Mini 4 Teardown Confirms Smaller Battery and 2 GB RAM
At its “Hey Siri” event, Apple announced an updated iPad mini 4 but largely glossed over any details, focusing its time on the iPhones 6s and 6s Plus, the new Apple TV and the iPad Pro. Today, iFixit completed its teardown for the device, confirming that it comes with a smaller battery than the previous iPad mini as well as 2 GB of RAM.
While iFixit’s teardown physically confirms that the iPad mini 4 has 2 GB of RAM, Ars Technica ran a GeekBench 3 test a couple days ago on the device, confirming that it runs a 1.5 GHz Apple A8 with 2 GB of RAM. This makes the iPad mini 4 faster than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which run a 1.4 GHz A8, and both the iPad mini 2 and 3, which run 1.3 GHz A7’s.
iFixit’s teardown also confirmed that the device comes with a smaller, thinner single-cell battery. The iPad mini 4’s battery is 5,124 mAh while the iPad mini 3’s battery is 6,471 mAh. While the new battery is smaller, Apple claims the new iPad mini 4 retains the same battery life as the iPad mini 3.
Finally, Apple has also refined, slimmed down and moved around many of the new iPad mini 4’s parts due to shrinking the device’s thickness from 7.5 mm (iPad mini 3) to 6.1 mm (iPad mini 4). For instance, the FaceTime camera has slimmed down, the battery has shrunk, the LCD and front panel glass are fused together and antennas have been moved both to the top and bottom of the device. iFixit’s full teardown provides additional details on all the nips and tucks in the device.
Apple Watch Sales Expand to Additional Resellers
Apple Watch sales are expanding to additional authorized resellers in a trio of countries this month, including The Good Guys in Australia, Stormfront in the United Kingdom and Media Markt and Saturn in Germany (via iFun.de).
The Good Guys, Media Markt and Saturn have begun selling the Apple Watch as of this week, while Stormfront is expected to start selling the wrist-worn device next week. Each retailer will sell the Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch.
Apple Watch was initially sold exclusively through the Apple Store, Apple Online Store and select fashion boutiques such as Galeries Lafayette in France and Selfridges in the U.K., but Apple has been rolling out the wrist-worn device to Best Buy and other authorized resellers over the past few months.
List of Apple Watch Authorized Resellers:
- Best Buy (U.S and Canada)
- Currys and PCWorld (U.K.)
- John Lewis (U.K.)
- Stormfront (U.K.)
- Harvey Norman (Australia)
- JB Hi-Fi (Australia)
- The Good Guys (Australia)
- Myer (Australia)
- Fnac (France)
- Compustore (Germany)
- Gravis (Germany)
- Media Markt (Germany)
- Saturn (Germany)
The above list will be updated as more Apple Watch authorized resellers are announced.
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