HERE Maps for Android gets long-press menu in latest update
HERE Maps for Android has quickly risen in popularity as a mapping and navigation solution for smartphone users. In their latest update issued earlier this week, developer Nokia has included a couple features that are the first to go through their new beta program. Headlining the changes is a new long-press contextual menu that brings up a choice of four different commands that can be selected without typing anything.
Using the long-press menu, users can just long-press anywhere on the map to pop up four choices – information, share, directions, or launch driving navigation right away. You can check out the HERE for Android video below showing how it works.
In addition to the new contextual menu, HERE for Android now gets a display of intermediate stops on transit routes. Nokia’s development team says this will help users better understand how long a journey may take and give them a better idea of when they may be getting off their current ride for a transfer or to end their journey. The app also gets the usual batch of bug fixes and performance improvements.
If you want to give HERE for Android a try, head over to the Google Play Store using the download link below.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: HERE
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Madfinger Games releases latest ‘Unkilled’ title, brings more zombie killing to your Android device
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Madfinger Games is a gaming developer studio that many Android gamers know fairly well. They produced Shadowgun, Shadowgun: Deadzone, Dead Trigger, Dead Trigger 2 and a few others. Their latest title, Unkilled, looks to rank right up there with their past success’.
Unkilled is another 1st person zombie shooter that takes place on the streets of New York. It brings with it over one hundred missions, multiple side-missions, unique bosses and a story line that plays on the conspiracy theory nut in all of us. Madfinger lists out a dew of the interesting bits of the game like homing rockets that don’t miss their mark, adrenaline that slows down the zombies for head shot take downs more easily and regularly spawning treasure chests containing loot, gadgets and other things.
It doesn’t sound like this one offers up a multiplayer aspect to it, but with over 100 missions and, whats sounds like, a long story line, the free title should be something worth giving a go at.
If you are ready to get your zombie killing on then hit the link below to grab the title. It is free and does offer some in-app purchases and does have some of those annoying energy to play aspects, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking it up.
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js
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Native video calling coming to T-Mobile Note 5 and S6 Edge+ next week, more devices coming soon
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Video calling is a fantastic way to communicate. Be it for a business meeting, catching up with family or even being able to see the what you might be missing out on. Skype is probably one of the most well-known services for video calls, along with Apple’s Facetime and Google’s Hangouts. However, all of those require both parties to have the right app installed and sign-up for an account. Not everyone wants to do that. T-Mobile has announced today that the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ will be able to make and receive video calls on the network after a software update that is rolling out for both devices.
You can make T-Mobile Video Calls to and from capable devices on any available LTE connection − using data straight from your high-speed data bucket − as well as over Wi-Fi. Like HD Voice calls, T-Mobile Video Calling moves seamlessly between LTE and Wi-Fi. And, if you move off LTE or Wi-Fi to a slower connection, your video call seamlessly switches over to a voice call. If you move back to LTE or Wi-Fi, switch it back to video with a single tap.
The update to both devices is listed as starting next week, so don’t go thinking you are missing something on today. T-Mobile also states that they will be pushing the same software enhancement update to enable video calling function to 3 more devices by the end of the year. They don’t specify which 3, but my best guess would be the Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 and LG G4. I will be sure to keep an eye out for other devices as they make the list.
Source: T-Mobile
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IndieGoGo: Make your TV a giant Android touchscreen tablet with the Touchjet WAVE
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Dad: “Don’t touch the TV screen!” Son: “But dad, I am supposed to touch it now.”
As a parent I loath fingerprints on the TV. It is annoying when trying to watch a show or movie and often times they come with food and gunk attached. However, being an Android enthusiast and tech lover, I have always wanted to make my TV an interactive touch panel for games, drawing and other activities. The Touchjet WAVE is going to do just that without the need of buying a new TV to do it. Check it out:
The Touchjet WAVE It is powered by a 2.0GHz Quad-Core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage and sports Android 4.4. The unit sits on top of your TV and plugs straight into an open HDMI port on your TV which can range in size from 20-inch to 80-inch. It also offers an audio line out jack and 2 USB host ports. The physical unit creates a grid with its Light Processing Unit (LPU) it recognizes where you are touching with your finger, or the soft touch (infrared) stylus, and translates that into touch on the Android based operating system. There is a companion app for your phone and tablet as well to let you send things to the TV screen or open and use other applications.
The unit looks to be small and very portable giving you a killer travel companion for work and play and it will cost you far less than a specialized touch screen TV or some of the other units I have seen in the past. The IndieGoGo campaign has 5 days left, but it has shattered its goal 5 folds. The group was looking for $100,000 and have cleared over $500,000. That shouldn’t stop you from getting in on the action though. One Touchjet WAVE funding purchase is %35 off what they will go for at retail launch and will set you back $129 with free shipping stateside. Retail launch timeline is set for April 2016, which is always a drag and a downfall to funding campaigns for cool tech. If you do back the project they are estimating a March 2016 deliver date.
Go check it out on their IndieGoGo page.
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Apple to Promote iOS Games With New Dedicated Twitter Account
Apple today expanded its presence on social networking site Twitter, creating a new Twitter account dedicated to sharing App Store games. According to the account bio, which features the tagline, “Embrace the future of gaming,” it’s run by Apple’s team of Games Editors.
Apple has long had an App Store Twitter account that frequently shares new and popular games, but it also shares standard apps, creating a feed that’s somewhat unfocused. Apple appears to have made the decision to distinguish and promote games separately from non-gaming apps going forward, in an effort to streamline each account and give both games and regular apps more attention.
Games have been a cornerstone of the App Store since it first launched, and Apple makes an effort to highlight different game compilations and editor’s picks on a weekly basis, in addition to offering frequent sales and detailed gaming categories.
Tap. Tap. Hello, world. pic.twitter.com/zp9yT0PLpF
— App Store Games (@AppStoreGames) September 3, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
It is not clear why Apple has chosen today to create a new Twitter account for gaming as gaming on iOS has been highly popular for several years, but it could be related to the fact that the App Store is set to expand to a new device in the very near future, the Apple TV. Launching next week, the new Apple TV will include a full App Store and a motion-enabled remote control able to be used for gaming purposes.
Thus far, the App Store Games account has only tweeted once, but following a retweet from the main App Store account, it’s already at more than a thousand followers in just a half hour.
Apple Focused on Improving Apple Music Ahead of Android Launch
Just over two months after the launch of Apple Music, the streaming music service has received a mix of praise and criticism from early adopters. Beats 1 and curated playlists are among the most acclaimed features of Apple Music, while a confusing user interface and iTunes library issues have caused frustration among some users.
Addressing those issues, iTunes executive Oliver Schusser told The Guardian on Thursday that the company is actively working to improve Apple Music, ahead of its launch on Android and Sonos-connected hi-fi systems in the fall.
“There’s a lot of work going into making the product better. Our focus is on editorial and playlists, and obviously we have teams all around the world working on that, but we’re also adding features and cleaning up certain things,” Oliver Schusser, vice president, iTunes International, told the Guardian.
Schusser also said Apple still has “a bit of homework to be done” to improve Apple Music Connect, a social platform for artists to connect with fans. Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine admitted last month that Apple Music Connect is a work in progress.
“Apple Music Connect is growing big-time with more and more artists connecting to their fans, but we still have a bit of homework to be done for the rest of the year.”
Apple Music launched for iOS, Mac and PC on June 30, with some 11 million users signing up to take advantage of the service’s free three-month trial period. That trial will expire for some users soon, meaning they will have to choose between paying $9.99 per month or using iTunes or other methods of listening to music.
“If you follow the industry and look at the numbers, the download business has been really, really healthy. iTunes is a big part of our business, still, and will continue to be, so we focus just as much time and energy on maintaining that, editorially and working on features,” said Schusser.
Schusser assures that Apple is only interested in the long-term picture for Apple Music, rather than constantly measuring how many users are signing up. Starting later this month, it should become clearer just how many users are interested in using the service as paid subscribers.
‘Steve Jobs’ to Premiere at Telluride Film Festival This Weekend Ahead of October Release
Although it was believed that Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs film would see its world debut as the Centerpiece for the New York Film Festival on October 3, today it was announced that the new movie is actually set to debut this weekend at the 42nd Annual Telluride Film Festival in Colorado (via Entertainment Weekly).
Scheduled around the Labor Day weekend, there is no date set for the premiere of Steve Jobs as of yet, but the festival runs from September 4 through September 7, so it will air for festival attendees sometime this weekend. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is also headed to the festival.
“We are thrilled to present such an exhilarating, diverse program for the 42nd Telluride Film Festival,” said executive director Julie Huntsinger. “This year was an abundance of riches, particularly within the documentary category, and we feel privileged to celebrate these films and their artists with our audience in one of the most beautiful locations in the world.”
It was also announced that director Danny Boyle would receive one of the 2015 Silver Medallion Awards, which are “given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema.” Although the caliber of talent behind the scenes is impressive, there have of course been little to no rumblings as to how the Aaron Sorkin-penned version of the former Apple CEO will compare with 2011’s jOBS. With the premiere set to happen sometime this weekend at Telluride, that could begin to change as word of the movie begins to come out of the festival screenings.
‘6S Marketing’ Ad Agency Asks Apple to Rename ‘iPhone 6s’
6S Marketing, an ad agency located in New York, is hoping to persuade Apple to change the name of its upcoming iOS device, the iPhone 6s, to the iPhone 7. The company has written an open letter addressed to Apple and rented several billboards, one in Times Square, reading “Dear Universe, Please call it the iPhone 7. Sincerely, 6S Marketing.”
6S Marketing has also tagged its billboards with a campaign hashtag, #WeAre6S, which it says it uses to “highlight our unique and fun company culture.”
In the letter posted on its website, 6S Marketing goes on to say the company has heard rumors the next-generation iPhone will be called the iPhone 6s, and urges Apple to “reconsider” before detailing the company’s long history.
See, our company name is 6S Marketing, but our clients, friends, and colleagues simply refer to us as good ol’ “6S.” It’s a small name but a big part of our identity — one we’ve been using since 2000, when we started this company in my tiny apartment. At that time, we didn’t think that one of the biggest, and most well-respected, companies would use it to name a mobile device. (We were still using Motorola flip phones at the time, after all.)
The reason we chose the name “6S” is that it sound like “success” (get it?).
As we’re now less than a week away from the unveiling of the next-generation iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, there would be no time for Apple to change its own marketing materials and packaging even should it choose to consider 6S Marketing’s plea, a fact the company likely knows, making this more of a publicity stunt than a genuine request.
Apple’s iPhone naming scheme has been the same for multiple years in a row, having kicked off with the iPhone 3GS. 6S Marketing’s publication of its letter at this late date in Apple’s development cycle suggests the company is simply hoping to garner some attention ahead of the September 9 introduction of the next-generation iPhone.
6S Marketing ends its open letter with the following: “Hopefully, this message will reach you in time and you’ll reconsider leaving “6S” to the originals — we’ve been rocking it since the millennium, after all.”
T-Mobile adds video calling functionality
T-Mobile has been shaking the industry like crazy the past couple of years. I mean, they’re the reason that Verizon has gotten rid of contracts. Well, as John Legere has said many times, the Un-carrier isn’t showing any signs of slowing down as today they’ve announced video calling functionality from within the phone’s dialer.
Dubbed T-Mobile Video Calling, T-Mobile is seeking to allow video calling functionality right out of the box. All it takes is placing a phone call, and then selecting either video call, or voice call. That’s it. Nothing more
Contacts that can receive video calls will have a small camera icon on them. Those that cannot receive them will have the same icon, but greyed out. T-Mobile says they’re working to make this functionality available to all, among all carriers. This will be accessible on both Wi-Fi and LTE, and T-Mobile says if you move from one of those connections to a slower connection, the call will transfer “seamlessly” to a voice call.
Currently this is only available on the Samsung Galaxy S6+ and Note 5 through a software update, and the S6 and S6 Edge will be available next week. T-Mobile plans to have three more devices available by the end of the year.
Video calling has been a functionality available for awhile, but being able to do this through a carrier will more than likely make the experience much easier, especially for those not as tech-savvy.
What do you think? Are you excited for this ability? Anyone received the update already and used it? Let us know in the comments below.
SOURCE: T-Mobile Newsroom
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Ball Climb
Ball Climb is a great game for someone who simply doesn’t have time to play strenuous racing or zombie-killing games. You can play whenever, wherever thanks to the fact that it doesn’t require internet. Ready? Bounce!
Setup
As you may have guessed, Ball Climb is a simple game that doesn’t require many resources. As such, there is very little settings and setup that you have to through. You’re prompted to connected to a Google account for Play Games, and then you’re through. The only tutorial you get is “Tap!”, which is quite frankly all you need.
Gameplay
It’s probably not the only one of its kind, but it does seem to offer original gameplay. You’re basically a ball that bounces between two walls. Each time you tap, it moves higher up. The trick is to avoid the spikes on the wall as you move up. While it is kind of addictive, challenges and achievements are absent, leaving you with repetitive gameplay. There are however milestones in Google Play Games, but it’s not quite the same as if they were built in the app. To e fair, there are diamonds that you collect in order to get new balls, so there is at least some motivation to play.
Everything was smooth and responsive. Adverts do make minor appearances, but they’re not intrusive or annoying. Overall I quite liked the idea of it and playing the game.
Is it for me ?
If you’re a fan of Indie type games, or simply looking for something simple, Ball Climb is likely the thing you’ve been looking for.
What we liked:
- Fun gameplay
- The sounds
- Clean UI and graphics
And not so much…
- Lack of levels
- Lack of challenges
Ball Climb offers entertaining gameplay with being simple at the same time. While the challenges and levels/stages may only be something to look forward to, it still offers fine, smooth gameplay and certainly provides some entertainment. It’s one of the better games out there.
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AIVAnet 