Microsoft’s Cortana iPhone app rolls out to beta testers
Less than a month after kicking off the Cortana for iPhone beta signups, Microsoft has started rolling out the app to people who showed interest in testing it. As TechCrunch points out, the early build is being distributed through TestFlight, a developer-focused service that lets iOS users try applications before their public release. Based on the app’s current description, Microsoft is asking testers to set a Cortana reminder on a Windows 10 PC and see how it works with an iPhone, as well as communicate with the virtual assistant and observe how she responds to queries. Back in August, Cortana also arrived on Android via public beta, so it’s only a matter of time before Microsoft officially releases it on Google and Apple’s mobile platforms.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Microsoft News
Amazon offering $30 off 32GB Moto X Pure
Thanksgiving might be the day we celebrate all we have and are thankful for, but Black Friday is the day we celebrate all the stuff we’re about to have and be thankful for. Once upon a time, this massive display of consumerism required you to risk being shoved and/or trampled by hundreds of competing shoppers. Thankfully, in the modern age there are tons of deals to be had right from the comfort of your couch, desk, or even bed — if you’re having a particularly lazy morning.
We’ve already covered a lot of Black Friday deals from Amazon and many other major retailers, but here’s one more: From now through Monday, Amazon is offering $30 off on the white, black, or white/bamboo 32GB Motorola Moto X Pure. Pricing doesn’t show up immediately, though the discount is applied during the checkout process.
See also: Best Moto X Pure (Style) cases
For those doing the math, that brings the pricing down on the Moto X Pure Edition to $419.99 for the white and black models, and $444.99 for the white and bamboo. While that’s not a massive discount, every saved dollar counts.
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So is the Moto X Pure worth picking up? It depends on what you’re looking for, though we recommend checking out our full review to see if the handset is right for you. As a quick refresher, the Pure is powered by a Snapdragon 808 CPU with an Adreno 418 GPU and 3GB RAM. Other specs include a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, 21MP camera, water resistance, and Android 5.0 Lollipop with an upgrade to Marshmallow likely not too far out.
What do you think, anyone planning on picking this one up at its newly discounted price?
Instagram tests multiple account support on Android
The Instagram team appears to be readying an Android update that will introduce one of its most highly requested features: multiple account support. For the average user this probably isn’t a big deal, but for professional photographers, social media managers and small business owners, this addition would make life much simpler. As Android Police reports, Instagram is testing the feature on Google’s mobile OS right now — you can gain access by joining the Instagram beta program, or by grabbing the latest APK from APK Mirror. Once you’ve got the right version installed, just dive into your settings and scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll see the new option “Add Account.” From there, you can switch between the two by tapping the drop-down menu on your profile page.
Source: Android Police, APK Mirror
Deal: Aukey has several accessories on sale, including 20,000 mAh portable battery for $18
Who says you have to go out into the cold and fight your way through Black Friday lines to get a good deal? These days, there are plenty of sales to be had, without going any further than your web browser. Case and point: Aukey has a few different chargers on sale including the Aukey 20,000 mAh Portable Charger External Battery for just $17.99 with check out code QBI8OGMD. That’s a savings of $12 over the standard price.
This top-of-the-line charger is designed with both tablets and phones in mind, with auto-detection so it gives the current current/charging speed for the device that you plug in. There’s even a handy flashlight built in for emergencies.
If you’re looking for something a bit less bulky or simply don’t need such massive capacity, Aukey is also a 10,000 mAh power bank for $19 (Promo code: 6YXULUXP). Aukey even has a Quick Charge 2.0 with 3 USB ports on sale for just $11.49 (Promo code: WWEIXOCG), for those interested.
So how about it, any takers?
Get the Aukey 20,000mAh charger on Amazon!
Get the Aukey 10,000mAh charger on Amazon!
Get the Aukey Quick Charge 2.0 with 3 USB ports on Amazon!
Bill Gates is launching a multibillion-dollar clean energy fund
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is set to reveal a massive clean energy project on Monday, during the first day of the United Nations climate change summit in Paris. According to Reuters, which originally reported the news, the French government has confirmed that the ex-CEO-turned-philanthropist will launch the Clean Tech Initiative, a push to commit countries to double their budgets on clean energy tech research and developments by 2020. But Gates won’t be working on this multibillion dollar fund alone: The US, Australia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Norway, Saudi Arabia and South Korea will all be backing the plan, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Mozilla doesn’t need Google’s financial support to keep going anymore
Mozilla has previously relied on deals with Google to keep the company floating, but it looks like that’s changing. Google paid Mozilla to set Google Search as the default search engine in Firefox, but thanks to some other deals with companies like Yahoo, Baidu, and Yandex, Firefox is moving towards a less Google-influenced future.
Yahoo will be responsible for the default search queries in the US, while Baidu will handle things in China and Yandex handles Russian traffic. It’s probably better for the global internet to keep everything from going through Google by default, but with Chrome still eating up a ton of the desktop browser market and many users opting to use Google anyway, it’s hard to see this move affecting Google too much.
The Google/Mozilla deal accounted for about $330 million last year, which made up almost all of the organization’s revenue. They didn’t disclose how much the new set of deals would give the company, but Mozilla is positive about revenue for next year.
source: Cnet
via: Engadget
Come comment on this article: Mozilla doesn’t need Google’s financial support to keep going anymore
[Deal] Save up to 50% off SwiftKey keyboard themes for Black Friday
If you picked up a cheap new phone for Black Friday, you’re probably going to want to get some new apps and things to customize your phone with, too. To help you out, SwiftKey is running a special by marking down themes for their fantastic keyboard by up to 50%, and they’ve introduced a few new bundles to get several themes for cheap prices.
These new theme packs include some old school SwiftKey themes, some Material Design themes, and a massive pack of all 75 themes that are on SwiftKey’s theme store. Most things are close to 50% off, with the Everything pack running just $15, but the smaller packs are a little cheaper and cost just a few dollars.
If you haven’t already tried out SwiftKey, hit the link below to get started.
source: SwiftKey
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Save up to 50% off SwiftKey keyboard themes for Black Friday
Get one year of unlimited cloud storage from Amazon for just $5
Amazon has a lucrative offering on unlimited cloud storage, which is a part of their Black Friday deals. For just $5, you get one year of unlimited cloud storage, which includes photos, videos, and documents. That’s not all, if you wish to store media content only, the price drops to $1 for one year.
Many users of Microsoft OneDrive might find this deal very attractive. This is because Microsoft was providing unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 users, which it recently downgraded to 1 TB. Meanwhile, the free tier gives you only 5 GB of storage before you’re asked to upgrade. Google Drive allows users to store 15 GB of files before slapping a price tag.
See also: 10 best cloud storage apps for Android
The explanation given by Microsoft for removing its unlimited storage perk was that a few users were taking advantage of the unlimited storage perk to upload entire movie collections, among other things, thereby using nearly 14,000 times the amount of space consumed by an average user.
- Grab 1 year of unlimited Amazon cloud storage for $5 (from $55)
Coming back to Amazon’s amazing $5 deal, the regular price of their unlimited storage tier is $54.99. A solid $50 in savings, thanks to this Black Friday deal. Talking about the $1 deal, apart from unlimited photos and videos, users can also store up to 15 GB of documents under the plan.
Amazon’s exciting offers on cloud storage are bound to expire soon, so we suggest that you grab them while they are hot.
Analyst expects Xiaomi Mi 5 in January, Lei Jun already using the phone
Xiaomi’s long awaited Mi 5 flagship is now expected to be launched in January next year.
Fans of Xiaomi’s flagship Mi series smartphones have been eagerly waiting for the successor to the Mi 4 for months. While rumors have been ripe throughout early 2015 that the Mi 5 would arrive towards the end of the year, and we nearly thought them to be true, Xiaomi ended up announcing the Redmi Note 3 and Mi Pad 2 during their event held on November 24.
A few details about the release of the device were revealed in a recent interview with Lei Jun, the CEO of Xiaomi. Jun said that Xiaomi’s development time for their flagship Mi series phones is between 12 to 18 months, which is slightly longer than the yearly refresh cycle followed by most of its competitors. Jun added that the phone would be “close to perfect” when released, using the best components selected after lots of research and tests. The CEO of the ~$50 billion company also revealed that he’s currently in possession of an Mi 5 prototype, that he, unsurprisingly, considered to be amazing.
Pan Jiutang, a reputed Chinese analyst who predicted the specifications of the Huawei Nexus phablet, says that the Mi 5 would be unveiled to the world in January 2016 and go on sale in February, specifically after the Spring festival in China. Jiutang made a post on Weibo talking about the aforementioned. He also mentioned in his post that Xiaomi is stocking up on the Mi 5, which is an indication that the company expects huge demand for the device and wishes to sell as many units as possible.
According to previous rumors, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is said to come with a 5.3-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display, 4 GB of RAM, a 16 MP rear camera, 16 or 64 GB of internal storage, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 quad-core chipset. A 3000 mAh battery might be a part of the spec sheet well. There’s no word on pricing, but consider a ballpark figure of $400.
Are you excitedly waiting for the Xiaomi Mi 5? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Lenovo teams with Razer on gaming PCs
When you think of gaming PCs, Lenovo probably isn’t your first choice. It has gaming PCs, but it’s often far more tempting to either go with a game-centric brand or build a system yourself. Lenovo may have a way to improve its reputation, though. It’s partnering with Razer on special editions of its Y series devices that pack both the performance you’d expect from a gaming rig as well as Razer’s signature design cues, such as multi-hued Chroma lighting. The first confirmed project from the two is the Lenovo Razer Edition desktop you see here (due for a full debut at CES in January), but there are promises of “multiple” products and joint development of new technology.
Source: Razer
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