The LG G5 gets 360-degree wallpapers — and they’re gorgeous

This is the year when 360-degree photos and video hit the big time. And to that end, LG has now made 360-degree wallpapers available for the LG G5.

There’s a lot of stuff going on when it comes to our home screens. Apps. Folders. Widgets. And for years we’ve had the option for live wallpapers — animations that can interact with our touch, or just show cool things. (Fun fact: We did this Super Mario live wallpaper video nearly six years ago.)

Now we’ve got 360-degree live wallpapers on the LG G5.

This all comes as part of an update through the LG SmartWorld app store, which should already be loaded on your phone. (In fact, the “360 wallpaper” app had already loaded itself onto my phone through the LG Update Center.) Open SmartWorld and look for the “Enjoy 360 wallpaper” banner. Tap it and you’ll go straight to that section. From there you’ll see more on these wallpapers, and instructions on how to install them. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll find the wallpapers themselves. (Alternatively, you can just search SmartWorld for “360 wallpaper” and you’ll be taken straight to the goods.)

Tap a wallpaper, download it to your phone, and you’re good to go. (SmartWorld is still really slow for me for downloads, though.) You can apply one of LG’s wallpapers directly from SmartWorld, which right now is the easiest way to do things. LG’s own instructions for installing through the Gallery app don’t work just yet.) Alternatively, you can to the following:

Long press on the home screen.
Choose “Home screen settings.
Choose “Wallpaper.”
Choose “Live wallpapers.”
Choose “360 wallpaper.”
Choose “Edit”
Now choose “Image”
And now you can either choose something out of your gallery — which is where you can find the 360 wallpapers you downloaded — or anything LG had pre-installed.

And as you’ve guessed by now, you can use any sort of 360-degree picture for this sort of thing, including ones that you’ve taken yourself through Photosphere on the Google Camera app or LG’s own 360-degree photo mode.

When you hit Step 4 above, you’ll also notice three options. By default, the wallpapers are set to move as you move the phone. It’ll also have some inertia, and keep moving after your stopped moving the phone. The third option lets you turn on gesture scrolling. (Which is what I used to make it easier to show the example above, which I took with the LG 360 CAM In New York City. And that’s why you see the folders distort.)

One final little trick answers a question I’ve had for weeks. When you make the “zoom in” motion with your fingers on LG’s home screen, you end up with a look at your wallpaper, with all of the apps and folders hidden. That didn’t make much sense before. Now, it does. Giving a quick peek at a 360-degree wallpaper is much cooler than a static image. We still don’t know what this is going to do to the battery on your phone, but it’s a fun way to enjoy 360-degree photos and maybe show off to your friends a little.

The ultra-rugged Kyocera DuraForce XD makes its way to T-Mobile on May 11 for $449

The ultra-rugged Kyocera DuraForce XD will be available to T-Mobile customers starting May 11 for $449. If you are harsh on your phones, or work in an environment that puts your phone at risk daily, this may be the one for you. Featuring a large 5.7-inch display, the phone is IP68 water and dustproof. You can leave the phone in up to six feet of water for 30 minutes, and it will still function properly afterwards.

On the inside, you’ve got an unnamed Snapdragon 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, a 3700mAh battery to get you through the day and more. If you are in need of a rugged smartphone that has some powerful specs and will withstand your beating, this is the one you should be checking out.

Put Cortana on your lock screen – CNET

Google Slides’ new Q&A feature helps presenters engage with their audience

In a bid to help presenters more easily connect with their audiences, Google Slides has received a new Q&A feature that encourages audience participation. With Q&A, audience members can easily submit questions during a presentation, and then vote on which questions they’d like answered most. Curious? You can get a look at the feature in action in the video below.

Getting started is pretty simple: presenters can give audience members a short URL that will lead them to a page where they can easily submit questions and vote on others. Once the presentation is over, the presenter can pull up the list of questions on their device and start answering. And if you’re overwhelmed, you can easily sort the questions based on audience votes.

In addition, Google says it has rolled out a couple of other, more minor updates for Slides as well. From Google:

• You can now present your slides to a Hangout from your iPhone or iPad. So with just your phone or tablet and the Slides app, you can present to any screen using Chromecast, AirPlay or Hangouts.

• And for those of you who like presenting from a computer, we’re introducing a new laser pointer on the web. Just in time for May the 4th (be with you).

Google says that the updates are currently in the process of rolling out globally on both Android and iOS.

A quick tip for sharing your pattern lock with someone

Keeping your password private is important, but sometimes you need to permit temporary access.

There’s a pair of sick kids at home. One wants to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the other wants to watch My Little Pony. Neither is willing to let the other go first, but you’ve got your spouse’s tablet nearby and some headphones. Just as this minor conflict seems to reach its end, you notice there’s a pattern lock on the tablet and you have no idea what the pattern is.

This happened in my house recently, and I was nearly 70 miles away with no clue how to discretely explain how to unlock my tablet from the meeting I was sitting in. And then it hit me — the trick to sharing patterns for unlocking your phone or tablet without confusing the person on the other end of the conversation.

At first I wanted to try describing the motions involved in tracing the pattern. Go diagonally, and then left, etc. until it unlocks. It turns out it is way easier to treat the pattern like a grid of numbers, and just read of the numbers in the sequence the finger needs to travel. If you look at the pattern dots like this:

You can then say the pattern to unlock is 1>5>4>8>6>2 and have the person on the other end be able to quickly figure out how to unlock the phone or tablet.

This isn’t something that is likely to happen to most people particularly often, and depending on who you are giving the pattern to you may need to remember to change your pattern once you’re reunited with your hardware. If you have a better way to deal with sharing a pattern lock, drop some knowledge in the comments!

Unlocked HTC 10 pre-orders are now shipping in the U.S.

According to the official HTC USA Twitter account, unlocked HTC 10 pre-orders are now starting to ship out to customers. If you happened to pre-order an unlocked model directly from HTC after they went on sale, you should expect to receive a shipping notification soon. Do note, however, HTC says that orders are shipping out in the order in which they were received.

We’ve got good news: if you pre-ordered an #HTC10, they’ve now started shipping. We’re fulfilling orders as they were received.

— HTC USA (@HTCUSA) May 4, 2016

It’s been a bit of a wait, but if you ordered an unlocked HTC 10, it should hopefully be in your hands soon. This follows earlier news that Verizon has begun shipping HTC 10 orders as well.

Is your HTC 10 on its way yet? Let us know in the comments below, and also be sure to join the conversation on our forums.

Where to buy the HTC 10 in the U.S.

Best cheap cases for Galaxy S7 edge

Protecting your phone doesn’t have to mean you break the bank

Purchasing a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge may have you already looking at your bank account with tears in your eyes. If that’s the case the most important protection for your phone may be the cheapest.

We live in a world where cases can get expensive pretty quick — especially when they’ve got the word “Galaxy” involved. But you might be surprised what you can find for just $10, and we’ve rounded up some of the best for you here.

• EasyACC
• ArtMine window view wallet case
• Spigen Exact-Fit
• Abacus wallet case
• CoverON Atomic series

EasyACC

EasyAcc’s clear case is nothing special to look at. It’s made out of TPU, which has plenty of give but retains its shape. If you are partial to that super grippy feel of rubber this would the case for you.

This case is transparent, allowing you to enjoy the beauty of your phone in its natural state. The edges around the front of the phone are slightly raised to help prevent damage to the screen when it’s laying down on a flat surface.

TPU will absorb light super easily which can cause color discoloration, this is know as “yellowing.” The color of this case will likely morph more and more yellow over time, especially if it’s in the sun a lot.

See at Amazon

ArtMine window view wallet case

This case is pretty much the cheapest option out there, coming in at typically under $2.

It’s a wallet case which means it has one card slot so you can always have your bank card or some cash at the ready, and the front cover flips over the screen of the phone to offer some additional protection. However, It has a big square hole in the front so it’s definitely not the most protective case, but it is a good way to always be able to see the time.

See at Amazon

Spigen Exact-Fit

This simple, hard polycarbonate shell easily fits around the Galaxy S7 edge and will protect the phone from minor scratches to to back and sides. A little bit of a lip above the screen will protect the phone when it’s laying down flat.

The edges of the Galaxy S7 edge are a little more exposed than you may like, especially at the bottom of the phone around the headphone jack and charging port. So it probably wouldn’t be wise to use this case if you bump your phone against a lot of things.

All-in-all Spigen’s Exact-Fit case is a basic case that will offer you a small amount of protection.

See at Amazon

Abacus wallet case

Yet another wallet case in our roundup of cheap cases, but this one packs a little more of a punch in terms of features.

Card slots on the front, inside of the flip cover offer you the ability to carry your important bank cards or cash around with ease and it even have a clear card slot that is perfect for your photo ID. It’s made out of synthetic leather but, it does give the phone a nice unified look, so if you like that simple style this case has that in spades.

You can also use the case as a kickstand, so you can watch all those funny YouTube videos of people jumping into pools of jello, or you know, whatever the kids watch these days.

See at Amazon

CoverON Atomic series

CoverON’s Atomic series is a rugged, heavy duty case that is typically around $10. So if you are looking for something that can take a little bit of a beating and won’t put you in the red, this could be the case for you.

The textured back on this silicone and polycarbonate case feels great in your hand and gives the phone a lot of grip. All the buttons and ports are easily accessible and all the edge features you get with the Galaxy S7 edge work as normal.

This rugged case also has a kickstand built-in to the case which is great for hands free operation; however, it is a little flimsy so if you aren’t careful with it, it may fall off.

See at Amazon

Money not an issue?

If you haven’t found that perfect case in this line up and money isn’t really an issue for you checkout the best rugged cases we found for the Galaxy S7 edge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

• Galaxy S7 review
• Galaxy S7 edge review
• Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
• Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S7?
• Learn about the Galaxy S7’s SD card slot
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

AT&T
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon

Apple Music might receive a major update with all-new look next month

Apple is about to overhaul Apple Music.

According to Bloomberg News, Apple wants to make its music-streaming service more “intuitive to use,” so it is planning to better seamlessly integrate streaming and download options as well as expand the Beats 1 radio service. Apple Music, which has 13 million subscribers, hasn’t received a major update since it debuted last year, but Apple is expected to unveil a new version at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

9to5Mac has followed up Bloomberg News’ report, agreeing that Apple Music will be totally revamped this summer. It claimed Apple will drop the colourful user interface now used in Apple Music and will instead feature a design that’s mostly black and white. The app will give a huge focus to cover art, and in the end, Apple Music will look “bolder, yet simpler.” The New tab will even be replaced by a more straightforward Browse tab.

Apple Music’s first major update will also bring song lyrics so that words will be synced up with tunes as they play. The For You section will also be retooled, making it better at curating and personalising content for users. It appears as though the Connect social feature in Apple Music won’t undergo too many changes, though we’ll likely learn more at WWDC in June, when Apple debuts the new Apple Music alongside iOS 10.

Bloomberg News said Apple will likely push forward with a “marketing blitz” to promote the Apple Music update – and you will likely be able to test any new features straightaway thanks to Apple’s public beta program.

Google Slides has a new audience participation Q&A feature

Presentation apps may not be the most exciting software out there, but there’s no doubt that tools like Powerpoint and Google Slides are important to large swaths of professional and educational users. Today, Google is adding what seems to be a pretty unique and clever feature to Slides to encourage more audience participation. It’s simply called Q&A, and it lets audience members submit questions to a speaker throughout a presentation; you can also vote on which questions you want to have answered.

If you’re using Google Slides and want to hold a Q&A, you can display a short URL on your presentation that attendees can go to and submit a question without interrupting the proceedings. At that same URL, anyone in the audience can see all the questions that have been submitted thus far and give them a “thumbs up” to indicate interest in hearing an answer.

From the presenter’s perspective, the device that’s running their presentation will have access to all the questions that come in, and you can sort them based on those that receive the most votes. Google has also added a few new features to make it easier to share a Slides deck if you’re not using a standard PC — you can now send your presentation to a screen via the Hangouts app when using an iOS or Android device. All told, you can now use either Hangouts, Airplay or Google Cast functionality to get your presentation off your phone or tablet to a screen.

Lastly, there’s a new “laser pointer” feature for when you’re presenting on a computer over the web that lets you quickly point out content onscreen for your audience — it basically turns your mouse pointer into a laser pointer. All of these updates should be available today, whether you’re using Slides in Chrome or the apps for iOS and Android.

Source: Google

The makers of ‘Titanfall’ are working on a ‘Star Wars’ game

Respawn is ready to break out of the Titanfall mold… and in a way you probably didn’t expect. The game studio has announced that it’s working with EA and Lucasfilm on a third-person Star Wars action/adventure. It’s saying precious little about the title, which doesn’t even have a release date, but it will run on the Unreal Engine (according to job listings) and “pay respect” to the series’ universe at every step. Suffice it to say that this won’t just be Titanfall with lightsabers and AT-STs. It’s not a guaranteed success, but Respawn’s early track record suggests that it’ll take Star Wars seriously.

Via: Respawn (Twitter)

Source: Respawn Entertainment