In Bengaluru, India, OnePlus is promising that you’ll be able to get a OnePlus One in one hour or less
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There are a number of things you can get in an hour – pizza naturally comes to mind first. But OnePlus now is promising that if you live in the city of Bengaluru in India, you too can expect to get a OnePlus One in one hour from placing your order, or the phone is free. For most of us, this seems like an entirely unnecessary marketing stunt, but the intensity of OnePlus’ marketing is what has gotten it to where it is now – and it’s clear that it works. Considering that the OnePlus One has technically be superseded by the OnePlus 2, the One actually still holds up quite well with its Snapdragon 801 and 3GB RAM – and the lowered price shouldn’t be looked past either, going for Rs 18,998 right now (~$290 USD).
However, like many of OnePlus’ other campaigns, this one is only on from October 8th to the 10th (and you need to order it through the Blowhorn app), so you’ve only got just over a day to see whether OnePlus can follow through on its pizza-like delivery. Of course, if you don’t live in Bengaluru, OnePlus says that if this campaign is a success, it will attempt it in other Indian cities as well.
What do you think about OnePlus’ latest marketing stunt? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Mashable
The post In Bengaluru, India, OnePlus is promising that you’ll be able to get a OnePlus One in one hour or less appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
In Bengaluru, India, OnePlus is promising that you’ll be able to get a OnePlus One in one hour or less
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
There are a number of things you can get in an hour – pizza naturally comes to mind first. But OnePlus now is promising that if you live in the city of Bengaluru in India, you too can expect to get a OnePlus One in one hour from placing your order, or the phone is free. For most of us, this seems like an entirely unnecessary marketing stunt, but the intensity of OnePlus’ marketing is what has gotten it to where it is now – and it’s clear that it works. Considering that the OnePlus One has technically be superseded by the OnePlus 2, the One actually still holds up quite well with its Snapdragon 801 and 3GB RAM – and the lowered price shouldn’t be looked past either, going for Rs 18,998 right now (~$290 USD).
However, like many of OnePlus’ other campaigns, this one is only on from October 8th to the 10th (and you need to order it through the Blowhorn app), so you’ve only got just over a day to see whether OnePlus can follow through on its pizza-like delivery. Of course, if you don’t live in Bengaluru, OnePlus says that if this campaign is a success, it will attempt it in other Indian cities as well.
What do you think about OnePlus’ latest marketing stunt? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Mashable
The post In Bengaluru, India, OnePlus is promising that you’ll be able to get a OnePlus One in one hour or less appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
CyanogenMod 13 is in the works, will bring Marshmallow
CyanogenMod 13 is currently being worked on and will bring Android 6.0 Marshmallow. We know this because the CyanogenMod team has already started to update code on their public Gerrit repository.
Right now, it’s not even close to a full working version, but it does show a start. At this time we do not know exactly how long it will take them to release a working copy of CyanogenMod 13, but it’s nice to know they have started. I’m sure there are tons of people out there getting excited for CyanogenMod 13, but you’ll just have to wait a little longer to try it on your device.
Source: CyanogenMod
Come comment on this article: CyanogenMod 13 is in the works, will bring Marshmallow
You can now buy the InFocus M812 for $300
If you live in India, you can now pick up the InFocus M812 for Rs 19,999 ($300 US) through Snapdeal. For the specs that it carries, this price is quite good.
It has a 5.5″ 1080p IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3, an aluminum unibody design, Snapdragon 801 chipset, and 3GB of RAM. The storage is 16GB, but it also has a microSD card slot if you want more storage.
It also packs a 13MP rear camera with a f/1.8 aperture and dual-tone flash. The front camera is 8MP. The phone also comes with Android 5.0 Lollipop with a InLife skin overtop.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Source: Snapdeal
Via: GSMArena
Come comment on this article: You can now buy the InFocus M812 for $300
Delta’s ‘Fly Delta’ App Updated With Apple Pay Support
Delta today updated its Fly Delta app with Apple Pay support. This makes Delta the first U.S.-based airline to allow users to purchase tickets via Apple Pay.
“Our Fly Delta app has come a long way since it was first introduced in 2010. More than 18 million customers have now downloaded the Fly Delta app and we are excited to be the first U.S.-based airline to allow our customers to book and pay for their tickets with Apple Pay. By providing a way to pay for flights with just the touch of a fingertip, Delta continues to optimize our robust mobile channels and provide an easy-to-use and seamless digital experience for our customers,” said Rhonda Crawford, Vice President – eCommerce.
While the app supports Apple Pay, Delta notes that it’s not yet available for SkyMiles award bookings, trip extras, trip insurance or seat upgrades. The app also has an updated “Today” view that’ll allow passengers to easily view their eBoarding pass on the day of travel.
Apple Pay has slowly been rolling out to more vendors over the past months. Earlier today, Apple announced that the service would be available at Starbucks, KFC and Chili’s in 2016.
Fly Delta for iPhone is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple Continues to Outpace Slumping PC Market in 3Q 2015
The PC market continues to slide, according to the latest estimates, and while Apple is seeing only a small gain or loss in shipments year-over-year depending on who is doing the counting, the Mac maker continues to outpace the overall market.
Gartner’s Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q15 (Thousands of Units)
Gartner’s numbers show Apple shipping 5.6 million Macs worldwide during the third quarter, an increase of 1.5 percent over the third quarter of 2014 and good enough for fourth place with 7.6 percent of the market, placing behind Lenovo, HP, and Dell. The global market as a whole saw a 7.7 percent decline in shipments, with only Dell at 0.5 percent joining Apple among top vendors with shipment growth.
Gartner’s Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q15 (Thousands of Units)
In the U.S., Gartner estimates Apple’s shipments grew 7.3 percent to 2.5 million, ahead of the market’s 1.3 percent growth. Apple ranked third with 14.8 percent of the market, although Lenovo is rapidly closing with strong U.S. sales growth.
Apple’s U.S. Market Share Trend: 1Q06-3Q15 (Gartner)
Compared to Gartner, IDC predicts steeper losses for the PC market, pegging the global shipment decline at 10.8 percent year-over-year with Apple falling 3.4 percent. That was, however, still good enough for fourth place worldwide with 7.5 percent of the market. IDC’s U.S. numbers put Apple at 1.6 percent growth, reaching 13.7 percent share to edge out Lenovo as the third largest seller of PCs while the overall U.S. market fell 0.7 percent.
A better picture of Apple’s Mac shipments will come on October 27 when the company reports earnings for the typically strong back-to-school quarter.
Netflix raises prices by $1 for its most popular plan
Netflix, the reigning champion of subscription-based streaming entertainment, has announced that their most-subscribed-to plan will soon rise from its current price of $8.99 to $9.99. Before you panic, let’s remember that it is only $1 more per month, and existing users will get a nice, cushy grace period before they have to fork over more for their TV and movie binging. This plan is the one that allows two users to use the service at the same time, so if you’re on the one-at-a-time or four-at-a-time plan, you can let out that breath you’ve been holding, as your pricing isn’t changing — at least not yet.
This announcement echoes cacophonously with one that Netflix released in 2011, the fateful year in which they segregated their snail-mail DVD service from their streaming service, while simultaneously raising their prices by 60%. Nearly one million subscribers decided that this was not such a great move and canceled their subscription to Netflix. To be fair, Netflix price hikes haven’t all been as jolting as the one of 2011 legend. They bumped it by a dollar back in 2014 as well, and nobody really freaked out. They also have a policy of delaying price increases for current customers, a method that seems to decrease outcry from the public.
See also: Best media players and streamers (September 2015)
Netflix has also added a ton of original content over the years, with shows like the breakout hit House of Cards and totally binge-worthy Orange Is The New Black
So why the continued rise in prices? In short, times have changed for the entertainment titan over the course of the years, and so have the costs associated with running the service. For one thing, Netflix has become even more commonplace. After completing their expansion to Australia, Japan, and New Zealand in 2015, the streaming service is available in over fifty countries, and they’re expected to enter Portugal, Italy, and Spain by the end of the current quarter. Netflix has also added a ton of original content over the years, with shows like the breakout hit House of Cards and totally binge-worthy Orange Is The New Black, not to mention tons of special content partnerships that make Netflix even more desirable. They will also be adding a collection Disney movies in 2016, and you know that stuff isn’t cheap.
So the bottom line here is that Netflix is asking for one extra George Washington every thirty days, and if we’re all honest with ourselves, we’re going to fork it over. After all, those seasons of Louie aren’t going to watch themselves. What do you of Netflix’s latest price increase? Still worth it at this price, especially as the level of original content continues to increase?
GLAAD updates Spirit Day app for 2015’s anti-bullying event
A lot of people have been tinting their social media profile pics in purple every mid-October for the past five years as a way to support the LGBT youth and to take a stand against bullying. One easy way to do that is to use the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s (GLAAD) “Go Purple for #SpiritDay” app, which it has just refreshed ahead of this year’s event on the 15th. In addition to generating purple profile pics, the app has a direct donation link to GLAAD, as well as new anti-bullying resources and sharing options. It’s now available for download from both iTunes and Google Play devices — just note that you’d have to watch a video ad from its sponsor (Toyota Financial Services) when you first fire it up.
Source: GLAAD
Elon Musk: Apple hired the Tesla engineers we’ve fired
During an interview with German business newspaper Handelsblatt on Thursday, Elon Musk unleashed some very CE-Oh No He Didn’t!-worthy words about Apple’s car efforts. “They have hired people we’ve fired,” he responded when asked if he was worried about a new competitor that’s been snapping up former Tesla engineers. He even revealed that they (he and his friends from the auto company, presumably) jokingly call Apple the Tesla Graveyard. “If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple,” he added and made it a point to clarify that he wasn’t kidding with that one.
When asked if he takes Apple’s plans seriously, he took a jab at one of Cupertino’s newest devices, as well as the fruit company’s typical manufacturing process, which involves Taiwanese contractor Foxconn:
Did you ever take a look at the Apple Watch? (laughs) No, seriously: It’s good that Apple is moving and investing in this direction. But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches. You can’t just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: Build me a car. But for Apple, the car is the next logical thing to finally offer a significant innovation. A new pencil or a bigger iPad alone were not relevant enough.
Musk didn’t go to Germany just to diss Apple, though: he went there to talk with government representatives about the future of mobility and electric vehicles in the country. He admitted that financial and other incentives for EVs — such as allowing them to use the bus lanes like Oslo, Norway does — would be extremely helpful in Tesla’s expansion plans.
He also didn’t hold back when asked what the German automakers are doing wrong, explaining that they’re trying to cling to the past. Musk boldly proclaimed that we’ve reached the limit of what gasoline can do, and it’s time to build the next generation of automobiles. “You see what’s happened with the current diesel scandal at Volkswagen,” he said, using the automaker’s emission-cheating car scandal as an example. “In order to make progress, they apparently had to cheat. I think if you intentionally mislead governments around the world with software that is designed to only be effective at the test stand, this is a very conscious action.”
[Image credit: pestoverde/Flickr]
Source: Global Edition Handelsblatt
Is Android fragmentation really a problem?
Ever since the early days of Android, one of the biggest arguments against it has been fragmentation. I don’t think anyone can argue that fragmentation doesn’t exist, but the question that I’m posing is, Is Android fragmentation really that big of a problem? Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer.
First let’s talk about why fragmentation exists. Fragmentation exists for a few different reasons. The first is manufacturer customizations. The first manufacturer to do this was HTC with their Sense. Later you would see many manufacturers following suit. Everyone from Samsung to Motorola was jumping on the custom skin bandwagon. These customizations brought unique looks and features to the devices and made it possible for the various manufacturers to differentiate their phones in the market.
The second reason that fragmentation exists is software updates. Unfortunately, many phone manufacturers will stop supporting their devices after a year or two. What this means, is that the new features that debut every year with the new versions of Android, simply do not get updated on older devices. Updates come from the phone’s manufacturer but get rolled out by the carriers. Most of the time, the manufacturer and the carrier share responsibility in getting the update pushed out.
In the case of my Galaxy Note II, I waited and waited for my KitKat update and it never came. Sprint released KitKat for their Note II, but T-Mobile never did. I learned first hand how frustrating it can be to wait on the carrier. I had my Note II over two years. By the time I got rid of it, the Note 4 had already hit the market and been updated to Lollipop.
Now let’s discuss what Google can do to solve fragmentation. I think the first step is to make Android more like Windows. I’m not painting with a broad stroke here. When I say “make Android more like Windows”, what I’m specifically referring to is their updates. If you have a Windows PC, then you get updates when Microsoft releases them, regardless of who makes your PC. Not only that, but you can very easily build your own PC and install Windows without having to be a developer, manufacturer, or likewise. Windows comes in a one size fits all package. Android, however, has to be tailor made for your device. Sure a developer can port features from one ROM to the next, but he/she still has to go through a process to do so. If you’re not a developer, then it’s outside of your reach.
Now let’s discuss what the manufacturers can do to solve fragmentation. First of all, they can take the carriers out of the equation. I’m not sure why it has to go through the carriers in the first place, but Motorola recently did do just that, although not completely. When they announced their new Moto X, G, and E models, they stated that they would not be available from the carrier, or at least not under those names. In doing so, Motorola circumvented the carriers. Now Motorola would choose how and when to roll out updates, not the carrier. At least that’s how it works in theory. We’ll have to see how it actually works in the long run.
Another thing they can do is support their phones for a longer period of time. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is for a techy guy, like myself, to see new Android versions pop up only to find out that you’ll never see them. I reference back to my statement about my Galaxy Note II.
Ok, so after all this I pose the original question. Is fragmentation really a problem? I don’t think the answer is quite so cut and dry. On one hand, I think manufacturer customizations are great. They are one of the reasons that Android is so amazing. They give you choice. They give you options. If you don’t like stock Android, then you can choose a Samsung phone with Touchwiz, or an HTC phone with sense, or any other phone you like. On top of that many features end up getting added to later versions of Android, but some customizations are overkill and add useless bloat to an already great device. For example, Samsung’s eye tracking features caused more headaches than anything. Most people kept the feature turned off.
On the other hand, when a vulnerability like Stagefright is exposed, Google is completely reliant on the manufacturers to patch the OS and push out the patch via the carriers.
Fragmentation also becomes a problem when your hardware becomes outdated. However, this is not just unique to Android. Apple also runs into this, when their older iPhones can’t run the latest and greatest version of iOS. Windows machines also run into this when the machines no longer meet the minimum requirements to run the OS. Of course, one major difference in at least this regard is that the PC can be upgraded with a newer CPU, GPU, more RAM, additional storage, newer motherboard, etc…
In the end, I personally think that fragmentation is a minor problem. If you don’t like that your manufacturer doesn’t update your phone, then stop patroning them. There are several options for you and that is why I believe that fragmentation is not that big of a deal. You can switch your phone and you can switch your carrier if you’re not happy. Is it ideal? No, but it isn’t a big problem either.
What do you think? Do you believe that fragmentation is a problem? Sound off in the comments below.
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