Google Play Games enables recording and sharing of game action
I remember a time in the past when it was frowned upon to post videos of gaming action forcing users to find a variety of workarounds. Things have changed though and now over 144 billion minutes of live game streams and recording activity are viewed on YouTube each month. Google appears to have figured out that instead of fighting against the current of mainstream culture, they should take advantage of it and hop on board. Today they announced a new feature for the Google Play Games app that will enable users to record and share gaming moments along with commentary.
In the games app, users will find a new record button is available to them. Once launched, users can select from either 720p or 480p recording. They can also choose to just record what is being shown on the screen, or utilize their front-facing camera and device microphone to add commentary. When finished recording, you can trim up the video and then directly upload it to YouTube.
Google says the ability to record gameplay will be rolling out to U.S. and U.K. customers over the next few days and will be expanded to other countries and markets over time.
Let us know in the comments what game you want to record and share with this new feature.
source: Android
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Nintendo set to unveil its first mobile game tomorrow
Nintendo will be unveiling its first video game for smartphones tomorrow, October 29. This news comes a day after Nintendo reveals its Q3 2015 results, indicating that the company needs to find new ways to bring in new business. And mobile games might just be the sweet spot Nintendo is looking for.
“We will talk about details tomorrow,” said Nintendo’s new chief executive, Tatsumi Kimishima. Nintendo has, in the past, been reluctant to jump in the mobile game space, but they’re rushing into it with open arms now. The company earlier announced that it would be launching five mobile titles by 2017, with the first to hit mobile ecosystems this year.
There’s no telling what Nintendo could announce. At this point, Nintendo says they will be entirely new games built from the ground up after expressing its disappointment in ports from one platform to another.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean Nintendo is giving up on consoles. On the contrary, the company already has a next-generation system under development, and we might even see some more details on that during tomorrow’s mobile game announcement, Kimishima indicated.
This could be a great new journey for Nintendo if executed correctly. We’re excited to see what they have to unveil tomorrow!
source: Wall Street Journal
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Huawei hires a former Apple director to design its phone software
Huawei has been kicking up the quality of its hardware design as of late (see the Mate S and Nexus 6P as proof), but software? Not so much, unless you believe that knuckle gestures are the pinnacle of ease of use. However, it might be close to improving its reputation on that front. The Chinese mobile giant has hired former Apple creative director Abigail Brody as its chief user experience designer, which puts her in charge of interfaces for many Huawei devices. The firm is even creating a US design studio in the process, in case there was any doubt as to how serious it is about the new hire.
Via: CNBC
Source: LinkedIn
BeeLine brings easy GPS navigation to your bike
It’s easy to get navigation on your bike through dedicated GPS or a smartphone cradle, but that doesn’t mean that navigation is easy. How are you supposed to pay attention to turn-by-turn directions when you’re busy dodging potholes? BeeLine thinks it can help. It’s crowdfunding a navigation device that purposefully simplifies your directions down to an arrow and the distance left to go — it’s like a compass that points only to your destination. You don’t have to squint at the display to figure out where you’re going, and there’s no pressure to follow a specific path when you’re content to take a leisurely route. The puck-like design is small enough to clip on to your keys (and thus less likely to be stolen), and its e-paper screen helps the battery last for a month’s worth of riding.
Source: Kickstarter, Beeline
British scientists create a ‘tractor beam’ of ultrasonic sound
A team of researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Sussex have developed the world’s first functioning sonic tractor beam able to operate outside of a lab environment. The device uses 64 miniature speakers to generate high-amplitude, ultrasonic sound waves. These waves create an “acoustic hologram” (read: force field) capable of moving pea-sized objects without physically touching them. Adjusting the output of individual speakers allows the researchers to move, rotate and hold items at will.
Source: University of Bristol
Samsung Galaxy View announced, we go hands on
Tablet displays are getting ever increasing in size and with the new Samsung Galaxy View, Samsung is aiming to take the biggest leap yet. Featuring an 18.4-inch display, the GalaxyView is the largest ever Android device made but did Samsung really need to push the boundaries?
At an exclusive preview at Samsung’s London Gear S2 Galaxy Studio, we checked out this larger-than-life tablet, which Samsung says is the perfect device to bridge the supposed gap between tablet and television.
The Korean OEM believes that the Galaxy View’s 18.4-inch display can successfully do this and is billing its tablet as your ‘portable’ media device. The suggestion that the Galaxy View is portable is only partly true as it is designed to be easy-to-carry but given its large size, it certainly isn’t portable in the sense that you’d carry it on public transport. That being said, Samsung has designed a carry case for it, in case you feel inclined to do so.
The display offers 1920 x 1080 pixels’ resolution and on paper, this equates to a measly 119 pixels per inch density. Despite this low density, the Galaxy View display is quite immersive and definitely better in person than the specs suggest. One thing that is certain however, is that the display is large and when Samsung says it’s the largest Android tablet ever (which isn’t technically correct), they certainly mean it.
Running on Android Lollipop, the Galaxy View comes with the standard Android interface coupled with a few new features designed for the large display. By far, the most interesting of these is the new visual video-centric UI, which brings content from third party service providers directly to your fingertips. There are a few preloaded providers with several more available to download and there really does seem to be something for everyone. Whether it’s watching the latest videos uploaded to YouTube or catching originally programming from Netflix, there’s a lot of video available at your fingertips.
The design of the Galaxy View is such that the integrated stand features two modes; one lets you prop the display up while the other puts the display at a comfortable angle. While this is useful, a particular downside is that the stand is fixed at either of the positions and can’t be stowed away when not needed. In particular, the design definitely doesn’t lend itself to stowing away the tablet when you’re not using it.
Under the hood, the Galaxy View has an interesting set of specs: Samsung has thrown in a 1.86GHz octa-core Exynos 7580 CPU, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage and microSD card expansion and optional LTE connectivity. One of the biggest concerns about such a large device is the battery life and Samsung says the battery will offer up to 8.5 hours’ video playback but as always, it’ll need further testing to find out how much battery it actually offers.
Samsung clearly believes that there’s a need for a large screen device between tablets and TVs and while 18.4-inches may seem unnecessarily large, it’s the ideal size for someone who needs a media device that can be carried but isn’t a small tablet display. There’s no doubt that the Galaxy View is a niche product but dependent on pricing – which hasn’t been revealed yet – it could yet make its way onto several Christmas shopping lists.
If you don’t have a TV or other large-screen media device, the Galaxy View may be perfect for you but even if you don’t have a need for one, the specs would suggest that this won’t be too expensive at launch. If Samsung prices it at around $200-$250, the Galaxy View would a great device to have in your home, for when you need a large device that can be otherwise stowed away. However, the company is yet to confirm actual pricing but we’ll update this with further information when we know.
After many leaks, the Galaxy View is finally official but do you think there’s a need for such a large tablet? In a similar way to the Galaxy Note, will we see the Galaxy View spawn an entirely new category that companies compete fiercely in? Do you plan to buy the Galaxy View? Let us know your views in the comments below guys!
Buy it and (try to) break it: Motorola promotes Droid Turbo 2’s ShatterShield display
Now that smartphone specs have started to plateau, OEMs are finding themselves tinkering with the finer points of their products. Case in point, with this year’s Droid Turbo 2, Motorola has made it a proper priority to supplement the screen from smashes. Billed as a “ShatterShield” display, the company’s first advertisement for the new product shows viewers exactly why the new buzzword is sure to tickle your fancy.
The advertisement begins with a statistic that “1 in 3 phones suffer from screen crack” thus setting the tone for what you are about to watch. As we mentioned in our official announcement post, the 5.4-inch QHD display has screen technology with some fascinating features. In fact, it consists of five different layers:
- Rigid aluminum core
- AMOLED flexible display (can absorb shock and bend rather than break)
- Dual Touch layer (so if one breaks, it will still work)
- Interior lens
- Exterior lens
See also: How does Motorola’s new ShatterShield technology work?
Motorola wants potential customers to know it stands by this seemingly un-smashable screen by providing an impressive four year warranty on screen-related issues.
The Droid Turbo 2 is, in many ways, a mash-up between the Moto X Style (Pure Edition) and the Moto X Play. We’ve already gone hands-on with the device, and you can check out our first impressions by following this link. What are your thoughts on the awe-inspiring advertisement? Has the company came up with some truly terrific technology, or do you still think there will be some users who report cracked screens?
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Walgreens Gearing Up for Apple Pay-Linked Loyalty Rewards Cards
One of the Apple Pay features touted with iOS 9 was support for new types of cards including store-branded credit cards and loyalty rewards cards from retailers. Just yesterday, department store chain Kohl’s became the first retailer to launch Apple Pay support for its store-branded credit card, and it now appears Walgreens is preparing to launch support for its Balance Rewards loyalty rewards program.
Balance Rewards members have for some time been able to sign into their rewards accounts using the Walgreens iOS app and add their Balance Rewards numbers to the centralized Passbook/Wallet app. From there, it’s been easy for users to bring up the Walgreens pass to display barcodes that can be scanned at checkout to make sure they receive rewards credit for their purchases.
As noted by several MacRumors readers, however, the Balance Rewards card in the Wallet app is now showing up as supporting NFC via Apple Pay. Double-clicking the iPhone home button to bring up Apple Pay cards offers access to the Balance Rewards pass, where the user is then prompted to authenticate with Touch ID and hold the phone near the NFC terminal at the register. Users can also opt to show a barcode for scanning if needed.
While the interface on the iPhone shows all signs of being ready to use Walgreens Balance Rewards via NFC, we and several readers have been unable to successfully use it in-store, as it appears Walgreens’ payment terminals have yet to be upgraded to accept Balance Rewards using that method. In our testing yesterday, attempting to transmit a Balance Rewards card to the terminal via Apple Pay simply generated an error on the terminal noting the system was requesting a method of payment.
Walgreens Balance Rewards is also showing up as an Apple Pay option on the Apple Watch. Double clicking the side button of the Apple Watch to bring up available payment cards shows a Walgreens card that appears ready to use via NFC but similarly is not accepted by the terminal.
A barcode option as seen when the Walgreens pass is accessed directly from the Apple Watch’s Wallet app is also available through the Apple Pay mechanism, although the overall presentation of the Walgreens card feels unfinished as it requires scrolling to access the barcode button via Apple Pay.
Late yesterday, Walgreens announced it plans to acquire rival Rite Aid in a deal that is expected to close in about a year to combine the largest and third-largest pharmacy chains in the United States. Rite Aid will initially operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens with its own branding, although the two brands are likely to fully integrate over time.
Walgreens was a launch partner for Apple Pay payments back in 2014, but Rite Aid famously held out due to its contractual obligations with competing payments platform MCX/CurrentC, even going as far as to disable existing NFC payment support to prevent customers from using Apple Pay in its stores. Rite Aid reversed course in August as its exclusivity with CurrentC ended, adding support for Apple Pay in its stores.
[TA Deals] Last chance to get the Learn-by-Example Android Developer Course for just $19
If you’ve ever wanted to delve a little deeper into the world of Android development, this Learn-by-Example Android Developer Course may well be worth taking a look at. Available from Talk Android Deals, and priced at just $19, the package will guide you through the process of learning how to build an Android app using popular development tools.
The course contains 59 lectures with more than 11 hours worth of content, a certificate of completion, as well as the following:
- Build 10 working Android apps through 10 interactive real-world projects
- Learn the technologies & APIs essential to Android development
- Use the Junit testing framework to build a news reader app
- Utilize the Google Maps Android API to build a directions application
- Use the YouTube API to create a YouTube app
- Experience using Android Studio & Eclipse ADT
- Includes royalty-free source codes
Learning how to develop apps for the world’s most popular mobile operating system has never been easier. And, instead of the usual Recommended Retail Price of $199, the Learn-by-Example Android Developer Course can be snagged for just $19, a 90% discount. The offer is available until October 30th, so there isn’t too much time to dither.
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YouTube Red is now live and ready for you to try out
YouTube’s new YouTube Red premium subscription service is now live and ready for users to sign up for a free one-month trial. Once the trial is over, users can continue to access the premium service for $9.99 per month. YouTube Red provides three main benefits for subscribers including ad-free videos, the ability to save content for offline viewing and listening, and the ability to keep videos playing while using other apps or even with the screen turned off. YouTube Red is connected to a user account, so you can access the service and enjoy the benefits from any device.
If you want to give YouTube Red a try and you are not put off by the name, head over to http://www.youtube.com/red on the desktop. If you are on your mobile device, open up your account profile and scroll to the bottom where you should find a link to YouTube Red.
source: YouTube
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