Activist Deray Mckesson is running for mayor of Baltimore
In yet another sign of social media’s growing impact on the world, one of the most well-known figures of the #BlackLivesMatter movement is running for political office. Deray Mckesson (@Deray) filed just ahead of tonight’s deadline to join Baltimore’s mayoral race. According to the Baltimore Sun, there are 28 people currently registered to run including 13 Democrats, with a deadline of Friday to withdraw from consideration. Former mayor Sheila Dixon is reportedly leading the crowded field, and it remains to be seen how far the combination of activism and significant Twitter/Instagram following can take a political outsider in the race.
The fog is intense in some parts of Baltimore tonight.
— deray mckesson (@deray) February 3, 2016
In the last couple of years, Mckesson has been active in protests against police brutality in both Ferguson, Mo and Baltimore. Since then he’s been a part of Campaign Zero, an organization focusing on ending violence by police, and has met with presidential candidates on the campaign trail. According to the Washington Post, he says he’s running for office to “usher Baltimore into a new era where our government is accountable to its people and aggressively innovative in how it identifies and solves problems.”
Source: Baltimore Sun, New York Times, Washington Post
We have another leak from Alcatel ahead of MWC, this time its the OneTouch Pop 4 lineup
It’s leaks galore over at Alcatel! Just yesterday we reported that two Alcatel devices, believed to be the Idol 4 and Idol 4S, had leaked on the companies own support pages. Now it looks like the rest of Alcatel’s Mobile World Congress lineup has been revealed just one day later- let us introduce you to the LTE enabled Pop 4S, Pop 4 Plus, and Pop 4.
The Alcatel OneTouch Pop 4S looks to be the most premium device out of the three. With this device you are going to get a 5.5″ along with a Helio X10 chipset. This chipset from Alcatel is going to come equipped with an octa-core Cortex-A53 processer, Mali-T860 GPU, and 2GB of Ram onboard. You then get either 16 or 32 gigs of internal memory, with signs pointing to expandable memory via a micro SD card. The main back camera is of the 13MP variety with phase-detection and a dual-LED flash built right in. Snap around to the front of the device and you will find yourself either a 5MP front camera on the 16GB model or an 8MP one on the 32GB model. Powering this device is a pretty decent sized 2,960 mAh battery. Lastly, as I am sure you will all be happy to hear, this device comes loaded with Marshmallow already baked in.
The OneTouch Pop 4 Plus is the middle tier phone in the lineup. On this phone you are also going to get a 5.5″ display, but the resolution is going to get bumped down to 720p. Inside you will find a Snapdragon 210 chip, a quad-core 1.1GHz Cortex-A7, Adreno 304 GPU, all paired with 1.5GB RAM. For your storage needs you will have to settle with just 16GB of onboard storage, but again signs are pointing to expansion via micro SD. The region you purchase your phone in will determine the cameras that you are going to get. In certain regions you will get an 8MP LED flash enabled back camera paired with a 5MP front camera, and in others it will be a 13MP LED flash enabled back with an 8MP front. The spec downgrade continues with the battery coming in at only 2,500 mAh, but with the rest of the downgraded specs that should be more than enough to get you through a full day. Thankfully, Alcatel didn’t skimp out on the software front. This baby is also going to come out of the box with Marshmallow already baked in.
The OneTouch Pop 4 is the base model member in this lineup, but, aside from the display, it is pretty similar to the Pop 4 Plus. The display clocks in at a respectable 720p resolution spread out across a 5″ panel. You are going to get the same Snapdragon 210 chipset that you will find on the Pop 4 Plus. Based on region, however, you will find either 1 GB or 1.5GB of RAM paired with 8GB or 16GB of internal memory with no word on if that will be expandable. Continuing the regional differences, the camera will also vary. In certain areas you will get an 8MP back paired with a 5MP front, or a 13MP paired with an 8MP front. Just like its older brother you are going to find the same 2,500 mAh battery with Marshmallow baked in fresh out the box.
As of right now we don’t have any pricing details or a release date for any of these phones. These devices are going to be revealed officially at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona later this month so pricing(which we expect to be very nice on the wallet), a release date, availability, and some hands on photos are soon to follow.
Via: GSMArena
Source: WinFuture
Come comment on this article: We have another leak from Alcatel ahead of MWC, this time its the OneTouch Pop 4 lineup
Google vows to destroy deceptive download buttons
Google has announced plans to expand its Safe Browsing protection tool to prevent users from clicking annoying fake download buttons online.
Anybody that’s done their fair share of web browsing will know how frustrating it can be clicking on misleading download buttons, which is why Google is taking further steps to solve the problem.
Speaking via the Google blog, the group has said it will be clamping down on ads that are made to look like a ‘trusted entity’, such as popup messages that ask users to update software they don’t technically own or need.
Often, dangerous buttons are made to mimic the appearance of the site they appear on, thus tricking more people into clicking.
Lucas Ballard of the Safe Browsing Team posted:
“Our fight against unwanted software and social engineering is still just beginning. We’ll continue to improve Google’s Safe Browsing protection to help more people stay safe online.”
Ballard added that website owners should troubleshoot with Google’s Search Console if their pages are flagged for containing social engineering content.
Come comment on this article: Google vows to destroy deceptive download buttons
Pebble offers Health app improvements, expanded messaging
Pebble has released a series of updates for every smartwatch in the Pebble family, including additions to the Health app that make it better than ever.
Late last year, Pebble unveiled Pebble Health to the world, an app for its range of wearables that aims to help users keep fit and stay active. Pebble Health works hand-in-hand with Pebble Timeline and is able to offer personalized advice on improving sleeping patterns and general health based entirely on movement.
Pebble Health can also be integrated with Google Fit and Apple Health, two more big players in the wearable health app sector.
The application’s latest update to Firmware 3.9 means that Pebble smartwatches now support Health-enabled watch faces, set to arrive on the Pebble app store. On top of that, Health’s makers say the app is now ‘more accurate overall’ and supports the option to show step distance in kilometers.
Away from the Pebble Health side of things, the group has also announced updates to other features. Incoming MMS messages now show descriptive icons and any text included, and the Pebble Time and Time Steel have been treated to some speed improvements.
An improved Watch-Only mode keeps Pebble’s smartwatches chugging along for longer when the battery is running low and ‘under-the-hood fixes and stability improvements’ are bundled in too.
The Pebble Time app for Android now stars a new Reply to call with SMS feature, which means smartwatch owners can reply quickly to texts with a voice note, emoji or custom message.
Come comment on this article: Pebble offers Health app improvements, expanded messaging
Google pulls Samsung-backed ad blocker from the Play Store
Samsung may have stirred up more trouble than it was expecting when it started blocking ads in its Android web browser. Google has pulled Adblock Fast, the app partner for Samsung’s feature, from the Play Store. Allegedly, the title (made by Rocketship Apps) violates Google Play’s policies by interfering with other apps and services. That’s a bit baffling, since Adblock Fast uses Samsung’s own code and had the Korean firm’s explicit blessing — Adblock Plus is using the same code and hasn’t run into trouble. The concern, as you can imagine, is that Google might be retaliating against Samsung for daring to hurt its bread-and-butter ad business.
Don’t cry “conspiracy!” just yet, though. While Google isn’t directly commenting on the removal, The Next Web hears that the concern may be how Samsung does ad blocking, rather than the fact that it’s blocking ads at all. If so, Samsung could theoretically solve its problems by merging Adblock Fast’s technology into the browser. For now, at least, you’ll have to look at alternatives if you just can’t stand web marketing on your Galaxy S.
Source: The Next Web
Apple ordered to pay $625 million in FaceTime patent lawsuit
VirnetX has been a thorn in Apple’s side (and a good chunk of the tech industry) for the better part of this decade. It first sued Apple in 2010 over the alleged use of virtual private network (VPN) patents in FaceTime video chats, and has been successful enough in court to wring hundreds of millions of dollars out of the folks in Cupertino. And today, it’s striking again: a court has ordered Apple to pay $625 million dollars for purportedly using VirnetX’s security tech in both FaceTime and iMessage. That’s actually more than the $532 million VirnetX had wanted, and a huge windfall for a company that has little business outside of lawsuits (aka a patent troll).
Apple tells Engadget that it’s going to appeal. It’s “surprised and disappointed” by the decision, especially since it notes that the four patents at stake have been declared invalid. It also maintains that it “independently designed the technology over many years.”
Not that the company is going to be sweating bullets if the verdict sticks, mind you. As of the fourth quarter, Apple has a whopping $216 billion in the bank — it could pay VirnetX without so much as sneezing. Instead, it’s more likely interested in both setting things right and discouraging other would-be profiteers that might be tempted to file lawsuits of their own.
Source: Reuters
Apple Music for Android Now Supports Saving Songs to SD Card
Apple today updated its Apple Music app for Android users, adding a new feature that allows them to save downloaded songs to an SD card on compatible smartphones. “You can now keep more music offline,” reads the update note.
Several Android-based phones allow users to upgrade their storage using SD and microSD cards. As The Verge points out, with the ability to save downloaded content, Android users can potentially have access to more music than iOS users who are limited to a maximum of 128GB of storage on iPhones and iPads.
Today’s Android update also adds a full schedule for Beats 1 shows and it includes My Music options for browsing by Composers and Compilations, features previously available to iOS users.
Apple Music for Android first launched in November, marking Apple’s first major app for Android users. The Android-based app, available in all the countries where Apple Music for iOS is available, allows Android users to subscribe to the Apple Music service.
The Android Apple Music app, which remains in beta, can be downloaded from the Google Play Store for free. It comes with a free three-month Apple Music trial.
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This is what the Reddit app looks like
Ever since Reddit announced the start of the closed beta, we’ve been curious to see how their official app would function. Today we got the chance to peek behind the curtain and see what it is the beta testers are playing with.
Right off the bat, we like the visuals. The home-screen icon as an elegant Material Design feel to it. The Reddit Is Fun icon looks downright shabby by comparison. The sleek aesthetics continue to wow once you get inside the app. Everything slides around smoothly and the Night mode option is something we’ll definitely be using.
However, the home screen is a little bit clumsy. By default, all the images are shown at full width, which makes quickly skimming your Reddit front page something of a hassle. You can turn these preview images off, but getting it to actually work is extremely hit-and-miss. In fact, all the settings feel a little buggy, and you often have to restart the app to put them into effect. But hey, that’s what betas are for.
See also: Reddit’s official Android app just began its closed beta test
All in all, it’s a pretty well put together app for something that’s still in development. We’re reluctant to judge it too harshly by its flaws at this early date, because if they can get the functionality to be as polished as the visual design, then we’re going to be looking at a pretty serious competitor here. For now, however, you’re still better off sticking with a third party rather than hunting down an unauthorized .apk of the beta.
What are your thoughts regarding Reddit’s official app? Are you a part of the beta test? Let us know your opinions so far in the comments below!
Next: The 10 Commandments of Notifications, as revealed to Reddit
2017 to be the year of dual-lens cameras, says Sony
Sony has started a separate platform to support dual-lens cameras. The company has long been a provider for smartphone camera components, but this move indicates that they believe dual-lens cameras are going to be increasingly mainstream going forward.
This seems to line up with some recent rumors trickling through the grapevine that the iPhone 7 Plus will be using a dual-lens camera module. However, Sony was quick to point out that they don’t believe this new form of camera will be anything close to mainstream for at least a year. The high-end smartphone market is slowing down globally. As a result, the demand for smartphone components is slackening, so Sony is banking on this new technology getting a start a little later than we may prefer. Chief Financial Officer Kenichiro Yoshida put it this way:
Well, for next year, our so-called dual lens – dual camera platform will be launched by, we believe, from major smartphone players. However, as I said previously, recently, our smartphone market is growing and particularly, our high-end smartphone market is now slowing down. So, that may impact the demand or production schedule of dual camera smartphones by the major smartphone manufacturers. So, we believe the real start, the takeoff of smartphone with dual lens camera will be in the year of 2017.
See also: Rumor: Sony may be ending the Xperia Tablet series
The extra lens may seem a little unnecessary, but dual-lens modules actually bring a lot of functionality to mobile devices. Some handsets have used this technology to create wide-angle lens effects, but it can also be used to amplify low-light performance. Furthermore, making the lenses have different zoom levels can let your phone’s camera actually zoom. Currently, the zoom feature on your camera, digital zooming, is no better than cropping the image down.
What are your thoughts regarding dual-camera technology? Is this the way of the future, or just a gimmick that appeals to a niche demographic of photography enthusiasts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
LG confirms G5 launch date set for February 21
Unsurprisingly, LG has confirmed via Twitter that it will announce its upcoming G5 flagship on Sunday, February 21st (the same day as the Samsung Galaxy S7). LG previously sent out invitations to its press event that will take place at MWC 2016, and later confirmed to CNET that the G5 would be launching at that event. What exactly we’ll see at the event we’re not entirely sure, but we do have a few leaked specs and rumored features that we think will be present on the new device.
#LGG5, February 21st. #MWC16 pic.twitter.com/yvQU3FZ2kq
— LG USA Mobile (@LGUSAMobile) February 3, 2016
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Thanks to our exclusive leak a few weeks ago, we know the LG G5 will come in a thinner, taller and wider package, along with a redesigned chassis. It’s expected to come with some notable goodies such as a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, a 5.6-inch Quad HD display, an iris scanner, a secondary “ticker” display like what’s found on the LG V10, as well as a “Magic Slot” that can be used with different hardware accessories. Other reports have speculated the device could sport a 16MP rear camera, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of on-board storage.
We won’t be entirely sure what the G5 will bring us until the 21st, so stay tuned as we bring you the best Android coverage at MWC 2016.
See also: LG G5 rumor roundup: release date, specs, and features
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