ASUS announces which ASUS devices will get the Android Marshmallow update
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As the end of the year approaches, there are still quite a few manufacturers that have yet to announce their intentions to update their mobile devices to the new Android Marshmallow software – lucky for ASUS owners, you can now tick your company off the list. Earlier today, ASUS announced exactly which ASUS devices will get the Android Marshmallow update, a list which includes:
- PadFoneS (PF500KL)
- ZenFone2 (ZE550ML/ZE551ML)
- ZenFone2 Deluxe / Special Edition (ZE551ML)
- ZenFone2 Laser (ZE500KG/ZE500KL/ZE550KL/ZE600KL/ZE601KL)
- ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL)
No timeline was released for the update, but presumably we’re looking at a few months before we see it – longer if your device was procured through a carrier. Astute readers may also notice that ASUS has only announced updates for its smartphone range – whether this is intentional or a separate announcement will be made for tablets remains to be seen, but keep your fingers crossed for now.
What do you think about the list of which ASUS devices will get the Android Marshmallow update? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: ASUS via TalkAndroid
The post ASUS announces which ASUS devices will get the Android Marshmallow update appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Japanese Cellular Provider KDDI Now Supports Apple SIM
Apple today added Japanese mobile operator KDDI to its list of carriers that support the Apple SIM for the iPad, expanding Apple SIM availability to Japan for the first time. The Apple SIM can now be purchased in Japanese Apple stores in addition to retail stores in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK and the United States.
The Apple SIM, introduced in 2014 alongside the iPad Air 2, is designed to allow users to easily switch between different short-term data plans from a number of different carriers. The Apple SIM is particularly useful for traveling abroad, allowing users to switch carriers as needed.
During the early days of availability, the Apple SIM was limited to the United States and the United Kingdom through a partnership with carriers AT&T, EE, Sprint, and T-Mobile, but in June, a partnership with GigSky expanded availability of data plans to more than 90 countries.
The Apple SIM is available for cellular models of the iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 4, and iPad mini 3.
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DraftKings, FanDuel and the feds: The daily fantasy story so far
This season, if you’re a sports fan or are even sports fan-adjacent, two words have become nearly inescapable: daily fantasy. The suddenly booming industry has steamrolled TV, radio and the internet with ads promising that playing this “game of skill” can turn your intimate knowledge of sports into big bucks. Its annoyingly bombastic ads alone are enough to make anyone skeptical, since even in this fantasy not everyone can wind up an instant million dollar winner. All of the publicity has worked in FanDuel and DraftKings’ favor, making daily fantasy games more popular than ever. That is, until a leak that showed the possibility of insider trading sparked a backlash. Now daily fantasy has the full focus of powerful government figures who may decide if the games will continue.
As Rdio files for bankruptcy, Pandora picks it up for $75 million
Pandora, already one of the biggest players in the music streaming space, has just announced it is acquiring “key assets” from fellow streaming service Rdio for $75 million. However, this isn’t just a standard case of one company buying another — Pandora’s press release says the deal is contingent upon Rdio “seeking protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California.” It sounds as if Rdio has finally run out of cash while trying to compete with giants like Spotify and Apple Music, and Pandora will be stepping in to use its technology to enhance its platform. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.
Via: Variety
Source: Pandora
Twitter tests emoji reactions for the times a heart won’t do
Still bummed that tapping a heart is the only way to show your appreciation, sadness or any other reaction for a tweet? Well, that may change. Twitter user @_Ninji stumbled across emoji reactions in a jailbroken version of the social media app. Despite being included in the developer build, the feature still needs a lot of work, but it does allow users to employ the frown, party noisemaker and 100 emjois (just to name a few) to get their point across. The discovery comes right on the heels of Twitter swapping stars out for hearts when a tweet is favorited, much to the chagrin of most of the internet. Facebook recently added animated options for more appropriate reactions than a simple Like as well. Since the Twitter emojis appear to be a long way from finished, we’d surmise we’ll hear more about the tiny pictures in tweets soon enough. Here’s to hoping the taco and poop emoji make the cut. We’ve reached out to Twitter for more information, and we were sent the monkey with its hands over its mouth emoji.
Via: The Verge, @codeblue87 (Twitter)
Source: @_Ninji (Twitter)
Facebook truce with Google helps you find info on your phone
Facebook and Google are calling a partial truce in their longstanding feud, and that’s good news if you’ve ever tried to track down a contact or status update. As of Friday, Facebook is letting Google index some of the public information within its mobile app, helping you search for that content on your phone. If you find someone’s profile on Google, you’ll now get a direct link to their page in the app instead of on the web. This won’t help if you’re looking for anything you’d only see while signed in (such as a privately shared post), but it’ll make life a lot easier if you hate jumping back and forth between a browser and Facebook’s native software.
Source: Wall Street Journal
One Google Glass follow-up reportedly ditches the screen
Google Glass (aka Project Aura) might not include so much actual glass the next time around. Sources for The Information understand that there are three next-generation headsets in development, and that one of them doesn’t have a screen at all — it’s an audio-focused model meant for the “sport” crowd. That sounds like an amped-up Bluetooth headset to us, but we’ll reserve judgment until there’s something to see… or rather, hear. Don’t worry if you still want that signature eyepiece, though — there’s talk of at least an enterprise-focused model with a display, Things are reportedly still up in the air (Google may cut its three models to two), but this could give you an idea of what to expect when Project Aura arrives sometime next year.
[Image credit: AP Photo]
Source: The Information
Google Search can now answer much more complex questions
For some, Google Search has become something of a personal assistant. As Google’s voice recognition algorithms have improved, the feature’s ability to fetch information and obey commands on the fly has become more and more useful. Today, Google made some changes to the way Search processes information, and this has made it quite a bit smarter.
Google is now able to sort information categorically and then synthesize this information to come up with a coherent answer. Previously, using voice search for something like “Who was president when Carl Sagan was born” would only lead to a list of search results from the keywords. Now, however, Google claims they’ve been able to make Search better able to understand intent, which makes it able to deliver answers like “Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
In the Official Google Search Blog, Product Manager Satyajeet Salgar compares the app’s development to a child learning how to speak. Initially, Google Search was only able to perform basic tasks based on its limited understanding of human communication. As algorithms got more advanced, Search began to get better at delivering users the information they were actually looking for, not just a pile of similar-sounding information. As Salgar puts it, Search began being able to realize that if you were looking for the ingredients to a screwdriver, it understood you meant the drink, not the tool.
See also: Google Now on Tap quick look
These new changes include the ability to organize databases into ranking lists. Google now recognizes superlatives like ‘largest’ or ‘oldest.’ This lets it sort through information in an efficient way so that it provides you with immediate, vocalized answers even when asking complex questions that involve combining time, people, and places. Some examples include:
- “What are some of Seth Gabel’s father-in-law’s movies?”
- “What was the U.S. population when Bernie Sanders was born?”
- “Who was the U.S. President when the Angels won the World Series?”
The changes are currently being implemented on Google’s servers and should be available to anyone using Search without an app update. However, my personal experimentation with the feature has been a little hit and miss. “What was the weather like in Toledo on the day Barack Obama was sworn into office” goes right over Google’s head, for instance. (Although granted, that was a pretty hard curveball to throw at it).
Give it a shot and tell us what your experience is like with it. What’s the most complex question you can get Google to field?
GoGroove RCV HD Bluetooth Receiver review
In the past, we reviewed a neat little accessory by GoGroove – the RCV Bluetooth Receiver. It is essentially a solution to Bluetooth-enable an audio setup (i.e. wirelessly stream music to your car or home speakers).
Well, GoGroove didn’t quite feel like it should stop there. To address the questionability over audio fidelity using HiFi speakers, it produced an HD version of the RCV receiver.
The device didn’t just get chunkier for the HD playback, it also brings NFC and some important connectivity options on the back. Let’s check out if the RCV HD is a good solution for your home sound system.
Design
For obvious reasons, the RCV HD is a pretty basic device. It’s just meant to sit on your media console. Therefore, it is merely rectangular block.
The build is plastic with a glossy finish all over. I would’ve recommended GoGroove to use a sturdier material. The plastic is really light and feels flimsy. Although, keep in mind that you won’t be handling it on a frequent basis. It will just sit in the same place. So from that respect, it’s fine.
There a small LED light front and center. When the device is on and playing, you’ll see it solidly lit. When it wants to pair, it will strobe.
The bottom of the device has two inserts that serve as feet. However, I would’ve thought GoGroove would use that opportunity for rubbery pads (for friction to keep the device in place). But the inserts are just as smooth as the rest of the device, so it’s vulnerable to sliding around if that’s a concern for you.
On the back, you’ll find the different means by which to output audio. From left to right, we have optical, coaxial, and auxiliary ports. Power goes into the most-right port. The RCV HD isn’t meant to be mobile, so it doesn’t have a battery.
GoGroove was nice enough to include all the relevant cables for the RCV HD.
Functionality
The RCV HD was created with a more streamlined purpose – a dedicated medium for wirelessly getting music to your beloved audio system. Therefore, unlike the vanilla RCV, it is designed to be a stationary unit. The audio output options on the back of the device portray this, as the unit will compliment your home media equipment.
You may remember a similar, more-known device that was recently launched – The Chromecast Audio. The core purpose of both devices are the same, but the RCV HD ups it in a couple ways. The Chromecast Audio only has an auxiliary port. Google says it can do RCA and optical, but with special cables (not included in the box).
Also, there is a NFC tagger on the top of the RCV HD to pair with your source effortlessly. GoGroove tends to keep its accessories up with mobile trends, so we are glad that these details are thought of. As soon as you tap, your Bluetooth setting automatically turns on and the system pairs. Easy.
The RCV HD uses the Bluetooth v4.0 standard, which isn’t the latest but close. Also on board is the higher quality Bluetooth audio codec, aptX (16-bit detail and 44kHz sample rate).
A nice thing to know is that if you are streaming music from your phone and a call comes in, it won’t automatically transmit the audio through the device. The transmission is suspended while you’re on the call, and it reconnects when the call ends.
The advertised Bluetooth range is 33 feet and I found that to be accurate. Just keep in mind that if your phone is in your pocket and you turn away from the RCV HD, the range can be impacted. But that’s not an uncommon concern with Bluetooth connections.
But everything I’ve said so far doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t sound good.
Fortunately, that’s not an issue. The RCV HD does what it promises, and does it well. I connected the device to my media center receiver (which outputs to a 5.1-channel speaker setup) via optical. It sounds great, no complaints at all. Music is full and rich as I’ve ever heard out of the speakers. Sending the signal over Bluetooth doesn’t adversely affect the sound from what I can tell.
Final Thoughts
I was unsure at first, but the RCV HD ended up being a really nice addition to my media center. The NFC tap feature is so nice. Just tap on it when you want to play music. And the audio quality backs the claims about high fidelity output.
GoGroove’s devices can be found on Amazon. As of the time of this writing, the RCV HD goes for $39.99
The post GoGroove RCV HD Bluetooth Receiver review appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung will be using the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 processor to power the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge it was slightly shocking to learn that the phones would use Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 processor instead of the Snapdragon 810. Now, everyone is wondering what processor will be powering the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge?
We have some new rumours that are saying Samsung will be using both the Snapdragon and Exynos processor depending on the region or wireless carrier. The Snapdragon 820 powered models are listed for China (SM-G9300, SM-G9350), Verizon (SM-G930V, SM-G935V), Sprint (SM-G930P, SM-G935P) and US Cellular (SM-G930R4, SM-G935R4). Basically, all CDMA carriers.
However, the Exynos 8 Octa 8890 will be powering the international unlocked models (SM-G930F, SM-G935F), T-Mobile (SM-G930T, SM-G935T), AT&T (SM-G930A, SM-G935A), Canada (SM-G930W8, SM-G935W8) and Korean variants (SM-G930 S/K/L, SM-G935 S/K/L).
We can’t confirm just how accurate this rumour is, but we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out.
Source: Sammobile
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