WhatsApp for Android updated with starred messages, rich preview links and Direct Share
WhatsApp has started rolling out a rather nifty update for its official Android client via the Play Store. The upgrade brings users rich previews for links compatibility, support for Direct Share (Marshmallow only) and the heavily-requested facility to star important messages, which can be retrieved at a later date via a dedicated menu.
The full changelog can be seen below:
- Starred messages: Now you can tap and hold on any message in a chat to star it so you can easily find it later (works like a bookmark). You can browse starred messages from the Chats tab > Menu > Starred Messages.
- Links that you share or receive will now include a rich preview. When sending a link, you have the option to not include a rich preview.
- Support for Android direct share, which lets you quickly choose a specific chat when sharing content from other apps (Android 6.0+).
To install the update on your Android-powered smartphone 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 WhatsApp, then tap the update button. Alternatively, you can hit the link below to initiate the download on your handset from the Web.
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[TA Deals] Learn how to code with this bundle at your own price
If you want to code, you’ve got to start simple. Coding isn’t exactly the easiest thing to learn, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Today on Talk Android Deals, we’ve got a bundle that takes you from zero to hero in various areas. You’ll be learning AngularJS, Python, Linux, PHP, MySQL, Ruby, and more. The best part is that you won’t be paying an astronomical price. Instead, you can pay what you want.
Here are the items included in this bundle:
- AngularJS: From Zero to Hero
- Become a Professional Python Programmer
- Build Responsive Real World Sites with HTML5 & CSS3
- Become a Certified Web Developer
- Learn Linux in 5 Days & Level Up Your Career
- PHP & MySQL Web Development From Scratch – Build 5 Projects
- Advanced Ruby Programming: 10 Steps To Mastery
- Git Complete: The Definitive, Step-By-Step Guide
- Learn Cloud Computing with AWS
Paying what you want will only return the final two items from the list above; however, you can get everything included by beating the average price paid. As of this post being published, the average price paid is $12.20. Need to mark your territory? Then beat the leader’s price, currently $64, to become the Giving Leader for this deal. You’ll specifically be called the Giving Leader because 10% of the proceeds go to Project HOPE, an organization that sends medical professionals and supplies around the world.
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Verizon starts rolling out much-needed maintenance update for the LG G4
It appears that Verizon has at last been listening to its customers as it’s now rolling out a much-needed maintenance update to all its carrier-branded variants of the LG G4 located in the United States. The upgrade addresses some severe touchscreen issues that have been present on the handset ever since its launch back in April which resulted in user’s frequently having to restart their device just restore usability. It also introduces a new slow motion option in the camera application and unlinks the ringer, notification and system volumes.
As is the norm, the update is being distributed in stages. To see if it’s ready for your device head into Settings, scroll to the bottom and tap on “About Device”, hit “System Updates”, then select “Check for updates”. Alternatively, you can wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to install the update.
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Google Play credit can now be sent as a gift via email
In the United States only, with hopefully more countries to come, Android users can send Play credit gifts to others via email.
This is a new feature to Google Play and starts today. This gives all Android users the ability to send Google Play credit to someone via email in the form a gift. One can find the option on the sidebar of the Play Store Store where it reads “send gift.” Right now, Android users have the option to send either $10, $15, $20, $25, $50, or $100. Users are not limited to the amount of credits they can send.
Once you select the amount, you’ll have to supply an email address and include a message to send to the receiver. Unfortunately, users can’t pay with their Play Store balance and must select a valid credit/debit card on their Google account. You’ll also have the option to pay with Google Wallet. Google Play gifts is a great enhancement to Google Play and arrived in the neck of time, hopefully we’ll see more countries added in the weeks ahead.
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Become a master of sketching with Sketch Master (app review)
Ever since touch screens were invented, people have wanted to create art on those devices, and many people have. It seems like companies continue to make that easier with new technologies. Samsung with their S pen, and Apple with their Pencil. Developer Barilab has tried to make it easier on the software front with their Sketch Master app. Read on to see if they have succeeded.
Sketch Master overview
To put it simply, Sketch Master is a drawing app. That’s where the simplicity ends. Barilab brings features to the table that enable the average guy like me to sketch together a decent looking picture. Here are some of the features the app brings to the table.
- Two finger pan & zoom navigation with 3000% zoom
- Maximum size is determined by screen resolution
- Available unlimited layers (consumed disk space)
- Duplicate, Merge and Reorder Layers
- Toggle visibility and adjust Layer Opacity
- 7 brushes, including flood fill
- Text on the path
- Smooth brush stroking using hands corrections.
- Import images from Photo Library
- Import from Camera
- Save or share images
- Color select with HSB color space
- Color Swatches
- Color Picker
Sketch Master usage
The app is fairly simple. There is no tutorial, but just by clicking around on buttons, 
one will figure things out pretty quickly. One thing that I figured out pretty quickly is that if you do not have a Galaxy Note device with a fine tipped stylus, it can by a little hard to draw with just you finger. You can zoom in quite a bit to gain better control, but then it becomes difficult to see the whole picture. If you’re drawing with your finger then I recommend using a tablet with a larger screen.
Speaking of tablets, one thing that I would like to see in the app is a landscape mode when using a tablet. As of right now, the app only supports drawing in portrait mode. This isn’t a deal killer for me, but I’d like it better none the less.
One of my favorite features are the layers. By using the layers, you can add elements after the fact or easily remove elements that don’t look good. In my sketch, I placed an image as the background layer and traced the outlines of the image and used the color picker to match the colors in the image.
The other items are all customizable. You can change the brush type, color of the digital paint, and brush size. This will allow you to more accurately draw what you have in mind to draw and you can even add text and virtual stickers to your images.
What we liked
- Layers
- Image imports
- Color picker
What could be better
- Tablet support
- Better sticker selection
- Updated UI
4 out of 5 stars
This is a great app for killing some time, creating sketches, or even just taking down handwritten notes. The developer offers the app for free on Google Play and monetizes the app with adds. The ads are not very intrusive. If you’re looking for an app like this, I suggest that you give Sketch Master a whirl. You won’t regret it.
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Leo’s Fortune Now Available on Mac App Store for $6.99
Leo’s Fortune, an Apple Design Award Winner at WWDC 2014, is now available on the Mac App Store for $6.99. Leo’s Fortune HD, also available on Steam, delivers the same popular iPhone and iPad platform adventure gameplay on Mac.
Leo’s Fortune is a platform adventure game where you hunt down the cunning and mysterious thief that stole your gold. Beautifully hand-crafted levels bring the story of Leo to life in this epic adventure.
“I just returned home to find all my gold has been stolen! For some devious purpose, the thief has dropped pieces of my gold like breadcrumbs through the woods. Despite this pickle of a trap, I am left with no choice but to follow the trail. Whatever lies ahead, I must recover my fortune.” -Leopold
Leo’s Fortune HD was developed by Swedish indie studio 1337 & Senri in partnership with Tilting Point. The game is available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, PlayStation 4, Windows, OS X and Xbox One.
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Target’s Black Friday Early Access Sale Now Live With Discounts on Apple Watch, iPad
Target is hosting a one-day Early Access sale ahead of the Black Friday shopping holiday, making some of its most appealing Black Friday deals available early. Deals are available in Target retail stores and online on Wednesday, November 25.
Like Best Buy, Target is one of the retailers offering deals on the Apple Watch. As of today, when purchasing one of the 20 Apple Watch or Apple Watch Sport models Target offers, customers can get a free $100 Target gift card. Pricing on the Apple Watch at Target starts at $349 for the 38mm Apple Watch Sport.
With the purchase of an original iPad Air, Target is offering customers a $100 Target gift card. Target carries several original iPad Air models, with prices that start at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only version.
The iPad mini 2, priced starting at $269 for a 16GB Wi-Fi only version, is also available with a free $80 Target gift card with purchase. On Thursday and Friday, Target will have similar deals on the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 4, Apple’s more recent tablets.
Beats Solo2 headphones (wired version) are available for $96.99, which is a discount of $103 and one of the best deals that will be available this holiday season.
Starting later this afternoon and tomorrow, dozens of other retailers will be offering Black Friday deals with discounts on a wide range of Apple products. Make sure to check out our dedicated Black Friday roundup to find the best deals that will be available this week.
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Review: Mophie’s Juice Pack Reserve & Power Reserve Offer Power in Small Packages
Back in September, Mophie launched two brand-new battery products, the Juice Pack Reserve, a $59.95 battery case for the iPhone 6 and 6s, and the Power Reserve 1X, a small $34.95 external battery for smartphones and wearables. I have been testing both for the past two weeks in regular daily use and at a wedding, an environment that tends to be more smartphone-intensive than a typical day.
Mophie says the Juice Pack Reserve is the most compact battery case it’s ever created, adding just 0.3 inches of thickness and 75 grams of weight to the iPhone 6 or 6s. In my testing, I found that Mophie’s claim that the case is in a form factor that “you’ll barely notice” is mostly true, although with a caveat. Its soft-touch back provided a comfortable and easy-to-grasp grip despite feeling noticeably more dense. However, the case’s lower lip, where the speaker grille resides and the case plugs into the iPhone, is far more noticeable and users not accustomed to the extra length will have to spend some time acclimating to it when scrolling or typing.
The case’s extra mass was not a hindrance when attemtping to quickly capture moments at the wedding though, as it slipped in and out of tuxedo pockets fairly easily. In fact, the in-pocket feel of the case was barely noticeable in tuxedo pants, even during more intensive activites like dancing. The extra mass of the case is, however, more obvious visually. In more regular daily use, the case was even less of a hindrance.
Mophie claims the Juice Pack Reserve will provide an additional 60 percent charge to an iPhone 6 or 6s, with the latter carrying a 1,840 mAh battery. This claim was actually conservative in my testing, with an iPhone 6, as I was able to consistently get a full charge from the case. For example, I was able to go from 10 percent to 100 perfect battery in just about two hours and six minutes and then 4 percent to 93 percent in about the same time.
The Chemical Brothers bring Hollywood special effects to dance music
I look around at the sea of glowing faces surrounding me in the dark of Randall’s Island in New York. There’s no fist pumping. Their feet aren’t shuffling. Instead, they’re looking straight ahead at a large hand-drawn figure on a black screen. The frame, shaped like a human body, is filled with an entangled web of white lines. It appears to stand behind a barricade of light beams that shoot up from the stage. When the rapper Q-Tip’s voice booms — “World, the time has come to galvanize”– the figure shakes furiously as if trying to break free from its enclosure. With every beat of the iconic Chemical Brothers track, the abstract form pushes back with swift choreographed moves. It struggles for a while before it breaks down the light-built cage and spins freely with the elegance of a trained contemporary dancer.
Google updates ramp up of AMP
Back in October, Google announced the launch of a new initiative called the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project. AMP is an effort to speed up the delivery of web content through an open framework. In an update posted this week, Google indicated they are on track to start sharing AMP pages via Google Search in early 2016. The AMP team also shared some information on the partners they are bringing on board and some of the challenges they are addressing.
In terms of publishers who are interested in developing content using AMP, Google says companies like the BBC, News Corp, and the Washington Post are all following development of AMP. In addition, companies like CBS Interactive, AOL and The Next Web have all committed to supporting the project. Google has also attracted the attention of the Local Media Consortium which represents 1,600 local newspapers and television stations.
Outside of content creators, Google attracted the attention of advertisers who are looking at how ads can be delivered within the AMP framework. In their announcement, Google indicates they have support from Outbrain, AOL, OpenX, DoubleClick and AdSense. Google is also working with companies like comScore, Nielsen, and even their own Google Analytics to ensure AMP articles are counted just like a regular web article. This will help publishers ensure their AMP content is meeting goals like their normal pages.
Google says they have over 4,500 developers following the project on the GitHub page. This includes over 250 pull requests and an active set of discussions regarding AMP and available features.
source: AMP Project
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