Google rolling out new Reminders feature for Calendar
Google has a lot of tools that are popular for people trying to be more productive with their time and efforts, but managing tasks has not been one that gets much attention from Google. The company does offer a rudimentary to-do list solution via Tasks in Google Calendar and others have figured out how to use tools like Google Keep for this purpose. Google is showing some love for task list keepers starting this week with a new feature for their Calendar app called Reminders.
Reminders are basically to-dos created on the calendar, like making a call to someone or stopping by a store to pick up something. They are entered on a users calendar, heading up the daily list ahead of scheduled meetings or events. Google hopes they will be useful for end users through the addition of a few unique features.
Headlining the list is the ability for a Reminder to slide from one day to the next. Users who would setup calendar entries to use as part of their task list would have to constantly revise them if they did not complete them on time. Tasks suffered a similar problem. With a Reminder, if a user does not complete it, Google will just move it to the next day so that it will still be there looking for attention. Once completed, users can just swipe them away.
Google also points out that Reminders will function in a similar manner as regular calendar events in that they will pull in things like contact information or addresses. Google does this by tapping into your contacts as well as Google’s own knowledge graph. Google is also trying to make creation of Reminders easy by enabling them from a variety of sources. Users can create new Reminders from within Inbox, Keep, and Google Now in addition to the Calendar app.
Google says the new Reminders feature will start rolling out to the Calendar app for Android and iOS devices this week. Unfortunately, Reminders are not yet ready for the web interface for users working at their desktop, but Google says they are working on bringing support to that platform as well.
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source: Google
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Photos are automatically expanded in your timeline on Twitter
Twitter has grown and evolved over the years to incorporate images and videos rather than text alone. Today, your timeline will become even more busy and consumed with images as Twitter is now showing entire photos. Users were previously seeing previews of images that were merely cropped versions, being able to see the entire photo if they selected the tweet.
Stretch your fingers; there’s a lot of scrolling to do
There are also changes being made to the way that Twitter shows mutli-photo albums. Instead of separating photos into sections of equal size, Twitter is allowing one to be featured larger than the others.
Source: Twitter
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AT&T GoPhone’s holiday deals cover entry-level phones
GoPhone, a brand owned and operated by AT&T, unveiled its selections for customers seeking out holiday deals. The prepaid brand is taking $40 off entry-level phones from ASUS, Motorola, and ZTE while also giving a free ZTE Maven to customers activating service with a purchase of at least $45 of airtime.
- ASUS Zenfone 2E for $59.99
- Microsoft 640 for $19.99
- Motorola Moto E for $14.99
- ZTE ZMAX 2 for $89.99
- ZTE Maven for free
An end date for these holiday deals hasn’t been specified, but you can head into AT&T stores today to take advantage of them.
[AT&T]
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Google Safe Browsing comes to Android and Google Chrome in latest Play Services update
Google Safe Browsing currently protects over a billion users on the web by blocking tons of malware, social engineering, and bloated software. It’s been available on desktop platforms for years, but now Google is bringing that extra layer of security to mobile devices, too.
Google Play Services 8.1 brings support for Safe Browsing, and the first app to support it is, of course, Google Chrome. It’s on by default, and just like on the desktop version of Chrome, if you try to visit a malware-infected site with Safe Browsing on, Chrome will block the website and prompt for your permission before going any further.
While Chrome is the first official browser to support this, I’d imagine we’ll see other third-party apps and OEMs start to bake it into their own web browsers, too.
source: Google Security Blog
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Apple Gifts Retail Employees With UrBeats Earphones for the Holidays
Each December, Apple provides its employees with a special holiday gift to thank them for their contributions to the company and to celebrate the holiday season.
Employees have begun receiving their 2015 holiday gift from Apple, which consists of a set of black and red urBeats earphones from the Beats by Dr. Dre product lineup. Employees were not able to pick a color for their gifted earphones, but the packaging does have special wording: “Thank You 2015.”
Apple’s black and red urBeats headphones have a retail value of $99.95 and are being distributed to all of its employees around the world.
Last year, Apple employees received a custom Apple-branded Incase backpack, and in the years before that, employees have been gifted things like blankets, water bottles, hoodies, free apps, discounted iTunes gift cards, and more.
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Adobe Lightroom mobile goes free on Android
Back at the beginning of October, Adobe axed the requirement to have a Creative Cloud account to use its mobile Lightroom application on Android. That was certainly a welcome change for anyone who didn’t want to pay the $9.99 monthly fee, but the company isn’t stopping there. Adobe has just announced that, with the big version 1.4 update, Lightroom on Android is going free.
This means all users with an Android device will be able to access the wonderful organizational, editing and sharing abilities Lightroom offers. Of course, using the service for free comes with a number of caveats. You won’t be able to sync files or edits with Lightroom on a desktop or laptop. If you want that ability, you’ll need to sign up for a free Creative Cloud trial or start paying a monthly fee.
See also: 15 best Android apps of 2015
Recently, Adobe added support for DNG raw files in Lightroom for Android, meaning users can shoot photos in raw, save them as DNG files and import them directly from their Android devices. The company also added microSD card support, tablet support, and the ability to copy image adjustments and paste them onto other photos.
Adobe Lightroom version 1.4 is out now in the Play Store, so head to the link below for the download.
Reminders are finally coming to Google Calendar
Most people I know use Google Calendar on a daily basis. But one feature many of my acquaintances (including me) have been wanting is full support for reminders in Calendar. If you think about it, this is a no-brainer. You can create reminders from Google’s Inbox application, Keep and Google Now, but for some reason, reminders have been absent from Calendar. Well, that’s about to change. That’s right – Google has just announced full reminder support for Calendar.
Some of us might already create calendar entries as reminders to perform a specific task. The problem is, you can’t snooze these calendar events, making it pretty difficult to use Calendar as a reliable to-do manager. Now, by creating a reminder, the task will stick with you over time until you dismiss it. If your reminder isn’t completed, it will appear at the top of your calendar every day. When you want to dismiss it, simply swipe it away.
The best part is that all of your reminders will be synced to Calendar. So you’ll be able to create reminders from Inbox, Keep and Google Now, and have them all appear in your Calendar application. Google will be adding reminder support to Google Calendar on Android over the next week, so be on the lookout for an update in the Play Store. Reminder support is coming to the web sometime soon, as well.
What is the best phone? Announcing Best of Android 2015!
What is the best phone? The one that beats all others? The best of the best that money can buy? Which should you ask Father Christmas for this year?
If you’re a tech aficionado, this is probably a question that you’re asked quite often. We know we are. Because we’re often asked for advice on what the best phone to buy is, we thought we’d help answer this question for you with the ultimate smartphone comparison.
Welcome to Best of Android 2015.
This year has seen OEMs launch an abundance of smartphones into the market place, ranging from the entry level to the ultra high-end, that remain on many people’s wishlists. If there’s one thing that’s clear from this year, it’s that you don’t always have to pay the ultimate price for the ultimate smartphone. But if you do have a larger budget, which handset should you splash your hard earned cash on?
Related: Battle of the flagship killers 2015
To answer this, we’re looking at several key areas where the best flagship smartphones need to perform, and ranking six of the finest smartphones in the ultimate shootout. From the quality and clarity of the display and the audio, to the performance, battery, camera, and the overall user experience, we’re conducting the ultimate smartphone comparison and crowning our Flagship of the Year 2015.
With so many devices released this year and the lines between flagship and midrange becoming ever blurred, we’ve picked the flagship handset from six OEMs to find out which is truly the must have smartphone this year. Which devices have made the cut, we hear you ask? Let’s find out:
- Google Nexus 6P
- Moto X Force (aka Motorola Droid Turbo 2)
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- BlackBerry Priv
- LG V10
- Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Why these 6? Each is the flagship for that particular OEM and the handset that tops many people’s Christmas shopping lists. Google’s Nexus 6P is the ultimate Pure Android experience, Motorola’s Moto X Force boasts the ultimate in smartphone protection and the Galaxy Note 5 remains Samsung’s finest, even if it’s elusive for users in Europe. BlackBerry’s Priv brings back the cool factor of old, the LG V10’s second screen is unique, and the Xperia Z5 Premium is the world’s first 4K smartphone.
Each handset has a feature that makes it stand out from the rest, but now it’s time to find out which is the handset that rules them all.
Over the next week, we’ll be bringing the ultimate smartphone comparison in a bid to crown the ultimate smartphone. We know that some phones look great on paper when tested in laboratories, only to fail in real world conditions. So we’ve conducted a test of both. To win this crown, the best smartphone has to be great in both subjective and objective tests.
Now watch the reviews:
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Here’s what we’ve got in-store:
- Display: which handset is the brightest and has the most accurate colours? Should you buy an LCD or an AMOLED device? When your phone says 50% brightness, is it REALLY 50%?
- Audio: which handset has the loudest speaker, the best audio and offers great headphone performance? Is 24-bit DAC really better than 16-bit DAC?
- Battery: which phone has the best standby time, can play back video the longest and can browse the Web for hours on end? How do the handsets stand up to some battery benchmarking? Just how fast do smartphone batteries charge?
- Performance: how good is the CPU, RAM, ROM and GPU? Which device is for you if you need the ultimate all-rounder, the best for high-end gaming or the ultimate multitasking powerhouse? How long can each handset record 4K and 1080p video for, before overheating, and just how hot do they get with 4K video recording?
- Camera: arguably one the most important smartphone features, which is the camera that handles multiple scenes with ease? Which is the ultimate camera in your pocket that you can rely on in your time of need? From low light to daylight, 4K and panorama, which smartphone camera is truly the king of imaging?
- User Experience: which smartphone has the killer feature that tops the rest? Is the Priv’s hardware keyboard and dual curved display? What about the Z5’s 4K display and waterproofing or the Galaxy Note 5’s monster specs and S Pen? Maybe it’s the V10’s second screen and high res audio, or the Nexus 6P’s affordable price for a premium smartphone and Pure Android experience? Or if you have butter fingers, maybe the shatter proof durable Moto X Force is the smartphone that’ll stay by your side?
This week we’ll dive into smartphones like never before and deliver our definitive verdict on which truly is the smartphone of the year 2015. We hope you’ll join us here on the website and over on our YouTube channel. It promises to be a fantastic journey and we’d love to have you along for the ride.
Go in-depth:
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium Review (coming soon)
Google Nexus 6P review
BlackBerry Priv review
LG V10 review
Nexus 6P review
Droid Turbo 2 review
We’re going to be running Best of Android 2015 over the next seven days with a new installment every day at 10am EST. We’re kicking things off with the ultimate display comparison, so join us at this time tomorrow to find out if you should be looking at Quad HD or 4K for your next smartphone.
Check out all the comparisons on the Best of Android page
In the meantime let us know which smartphone you think is going to win in the comments below, and cast your vote in the poll, which closes at 11:59 am PST tomorrow. You can influence the winner of our readers choice award. We’ll compare the results of the poll and our own testing in the roundup, where we’ll crown the crème de la crème of mobile technology.
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Credits
Series Contributors: Rob Triggs, Gary Sims, Lanh Nguyen, Joe Hindy, Krystal Lora
Series Editors: Nirave Gondhia, Bogdan Petrovan, Andrew Grush
Reader’s Choice Smartphone of the Year – Vote & Win!
What a year 2015 has been; from a multitude of smartphones at just about every price point imaginable to advancements in wearables, tablets (including TVs masquerading as tablets) and even cars. Mobile is everywhere, and you all have your favourite handset of the year, but which handset stands tall above them all?
As part of our Best of Android 2015 series, we’re taking an in-depth look at which flagship handset is the best of the best, but we also want YOU, our readers, to also have a say. Introducing the Reader’s Choice Smartphone of the Year award.
For the next week, we’re asking you to cast your vote on the illustrious flagships below, which stood out from the crowd in 2015. Here’s the devices that made the cut:
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge
- HTC One A9
- LG G4
- LG V10
- OnePlus 2
- Sony Xperia Z5 / Z5 Premium
- Moto X Force / Droid Turbo 2
- Nexus 6P
- BlackBerry Priv
So how do you vote? It’s simple: cast your vote in the poll below, which will close next Monday (13th December) at 9am EST. We’ll then announce the handset you’ve chosen to win the Reader’s Choice Smartphone of the Year 2015 award, as part of the inaugural Android Authority Awards next week.
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Why not own the Reader’s Choice?
That’s right – it wouldn’t be fair to get you to cast your vote without giving you the chance to win the top smartphones of the year, right? The smartphone of the year could be winging it’s way to you before you even know it!
To make this interesting, we want you to get talking on social media; using the widget below, you can share this post on social media and also get additional entries by sharing a post using the hashtag (you have to do this via the widget). The competition runs until next Tuesday (15th December 2015) at 23:59 EST and we’ll reveal the winner of this giveaway (and the phone you all voted as Smartphone of the Year) in our inaugural Android Authority awards!
Reader’s Choice Smartphone of the Year 2015 Giveaway!
https://js.gleam.io/e.js
Don’t forget to check out Best of Android 2015 to see which smartphone is crowned the best of the best, and stands tall at the end of 2015, and let us know which smartphone you think will win in the comments below!
Can a screenplay algorithm save Hollywood?
Hollywood may be full of focus groups and statistical analysts, but deciding which movie to back still comes down to the gut feeling of a cigar-chewing studio mogul. Now, a Belgian startup is hoping that its algorithmic script-reading software can know, with a far greater certainty, if a screenplay is going to be a success or not. ScriptBook is the brainchild of Nadira Azermai, who plans to unleash the software to the public for the first time at next February’s Berlin Film Festival.
AIVAnet 