Facebook and Google Dominate ‘Top Smartphone Apps of 2016’ List, While Apple Music Ranks 9th

A new trend study published by Nielsen this week looks into the top smartphone apps of 2016, as well as the operating systems that the apps were downloaded on. This year within the United States, Facebook won the top spot with more than 146 million average unique users each month.

The social network company also dominated the second spot with Facebook Messenger at 129 million unique users per month. Following Facebook’s winning of the top spots, Google holds most of the remaining spots with YouTube (113 million), Google Maps (105 million), Google Search (103 million), Google Play (99 million), and Gmail (88 million). Another Facebook-owned app in the 8th spot, Instagram (74 million), bookends the Google apps.

For Apple, the only app that appears on Nielsen’s chart is Apple Music, with just over 68 million unique users each month, a growth of 20 percent from 2015. Earlier in December, it was reported that Apple’s music streaming service had officially surpassed the 20 million subscriber mark. Amazon’s popular shopping app rounds out the list in the 10th spot with 65 million monthly users.

In the third quarter of 2016, the apps were opened on average 53 percent of the time on an Android operating system and 45 percent on iOS, according to Nielsen’s data of around 9,000 panelists. Windows Phone and BlackBerry accounted for a minimal portion of the statistics at 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Tags: App Store, Google, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Apple Music
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Galaxy S7 and S7 edge to receive stable Nougat update in January as beta program ends

Samsung concludes the Galaxy Beta Program, stable Nougat build coming next month.

Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Beta Program for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge is ending today. In a message sent to those enrolled in the program, Samsung said that the program is concluding on December 30, and that no further beta updates will be issued. The company also said that it will do its best “to distribute the official version in January as soon as possible.”

The timeline lines up with what Samsung mentioned back when it kicked off the Galaxy Beta Program in early November. The manufacturer rolled out five beta versions, giving us an early look at what to expect from the company in 2017.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

• Galaxy S7 review
• Galaxy S7 edge review
• U.S. unlocked Galaxy S7
• Should you upgrade to the Galaxy S7?
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• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

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How to disable activity reminders on the Gear S3 + S2

Reminders to “get moving” can be annoying. Here’s how to turn them off.

The Samsung Gear S3 — and, when updated to the latest software, the smaller Gear S2 — have a bunch of useful health-related features in Samsung’s S Health app. Among these is a feature which buzzes your watch if you’ve been stationary for an hour or more, as well as pinging you once you’ve hit a healthy walking pace for 10 minutes or more.

That’s fine if you’re after that kind of functionality. But if not, they can be annoying. (And let’s face it, the last thing many of us want to do in the lull between holidays is “get moving.”) Fortunately, it’s easy to disable these nudges and notifications.

Here’s what to do:

At your watch face, press the Home button (the lower physical button) to open the app drawer.
Find the S Health icon in the app deck, and tap it.
By scrolling the bezel or swiping the screen, go to the Settings card (all the way to the right) and tap on it.
In the menu that appears, disable the nudges or notifications you don’t want to see.
Once you’re done, hit the home button to return to your watch face.

It’s as simple as that. If you still want to receive watch-based activity reminders at some point in the future — for example, once the post-Christmas food coma has subsided — you can simply re-enable them from the same menu.

Best Cars of CES 2017: What to expect

Considering CES is a consumer electronics show, it’s literally what CES stands for, you may wonder what business cars have turning up at the show. But of course nowadays, cars can have more technology in them than your average home. Whether it be electric power, in car entertainment or self-driving modes, modern cars are packed to the brim with tech.

But what innovations have the car manufacturers come up with for 2017? We’ve taken a look at what to expect from the 2017 CES in January.

BMW

BMW

German car giant BMW will be in attendance at CES, but rather than bring along a new car, the company will be showing off a new in-car control concept. It’s called the HoloActive Touch system, which is a free-floating display that responds to gestures from the driver. It’s a development of gesture-controlled technology that debuted in 2014, this new version relies on much simpler gestures and doesn’t require you to touch the control interface.

Faraday Future

1. We founded a company. #FaradayFuture2. We created a concept. #FFZERO13. We joined a race. #FormulaE4. We unveil the future. #CES2017 pic.twitter.com/TVk3gZ2Dey

— Faraday Future (@FaradayFuture) 19 October 2016

New car company Faraday Future has previously tweeted it will “unveil the future” at CES 2017 with a new electric car. However in the last week two of the company’s top executives have left the company, with one of them saying the car isn’t ready for it’s Las Vegas reveal. We’ll have to wait and see if the new car will make an appearance.

Ford

Ford is another car manufacturer that sees a genuine future in self-driving tech, and so will be bringing the latest version of its Fusion Hybrid autonomous development vehicle to Las Vegas. The latest model has more processing power than before and improvements to the sensors mean it is far more aware of its surroundings, ideal for self-driving situations. 

Hyundai

Hyundai will focus on electric power at CES 2017, choosing to demonstrate “future technologies in connectivity, autonomous driving, health care, personal mobility and eco-friendly transportation”

Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen’s CES press conference will discuss how the company plans to let drivers become more integrated with their cars. VW already has an App Connect service that lets you connect virtually any smartphone, but CES 2017 will introduce Volkswagen User-ID, a service that will take interaction “a major step further”.

VW’s I.D. electric vehicle will also be shown off for the first time in America at the show. It’s in a concept stage at the moment, but plans to offer an autonomous driving option.

These amazing renders show the Moto X (2017) will be a mid-range handset

Earlier in December, some images purporting to be the 2017 Motorola Moto X appeared online. Now, some renders of the same device have surfaced, from usually reliable Twitter user @OnLeaks, and they look strikingly similar to the in-the-wild photos. While it’s not set in stone that it will be called the Moto X (2017), no other names have been suggested and it’s likely it will be a mid-range phone.

The first thing that’s obvious from the renders is the lack of pins on the rear, which all but confirms this won’t be a replacement for the flagship Moto Z. While we didn’t think the modules were a success for the Moto Z, we expect Motorola to carry them on with the next model whenever it arrives.

Another thing the images and video appear to show is a Micro USB port and 3.5mm headphone port. While it’s conceivable for the Moto X (2017) to retain the headphone port – we can’t expect all phones to migrate to USB Type-C for audio – but it is a little strange for the phone to stick with Micro USB at least. However, since these are just renders and not official images, we’ll take them with a pinch of salt for now.

The oval-shaped home button/fingerprint scanner is still on the front, but the Micro SD slot has moved from the side to the top and the screen is likely to be 5.2-inch, with the larger 5.5-inch reserved for the flagship Moto Z series.

There’s no official word on when we can expect to see the Moto X (2017) revealed. Some fingers are pointing to CES 2017 next week, but if not it should be seen at MWC in February.

Peugeot 308 GTi review: Five door with added ooh la la

Think GTi and Volkswagen springs to mind, right? But as you’ll know if you’ve read our review of the Peugeot 208 GTi, the French car-maker has something to say about its German cousin owning that moniker.

And the very Golf-sized Peugeot 308 is now available in GTi format, which we’re testing here in the uprated 270-horsepower Peugeot Sport version.

In basic form the 308 GTi is one of our more favoured family hatchbacks: it looks good, drives nicely and feels premium. But its souped-up engine, front-wheel drive layout and £30K price tag mean it splits the difference between your regular hot hatch (think VW Golf GTi) and the new breed of mad hatches (think Ford Focus RS).

Can the 308 GTi 270 by Peugeot Sport offer the best of all worlds?

Peugeot 308 GTi review: Favourable first impressions

If your idea of a French car is still rooted in the decade-old sense then you’re in for a treat. Jump aboard any 308 and you’re in for a host of surprises.

Pocket-lint

Firstly, this Peugeot is of Audi quality but without the predictable design theme. The 308 is simple, elegant in execution and everything you touch and feel has a palpable sense of quality about it.

What’s better, we recently drove a 50k-mile 308 hire car and it felt as good as this media vehicle (which has just 7k-miles on the clock). So signs are that Peugeot has built it to last.

The seats are super too – big, hugging one-piece units that don’t squeeze you tight like a Recaro bucket (see Focus RS), yet still hold you tight in a more cosseting way. We were able to get comfortable easily.

As ever with this new breed of Peugeot, though, there’s a real try-before-you-buy necessity because the company’s i-cockpit architecture – which pushes the dials up on top of the dash below the windscreen, and shrinks the steering wheel, thus bunging it in your lap – means that some people don’t find the driving position comfortable. While it might feels unnatural at first, you should be able to find a decent position, see the dials and get used to the steering wheel being lower relative to your shoulders than in many other cars.

Pocket-lint

We think the 308 look good too. It’s handsome and smart in a VW Golf-like way (it has almost identical proportions to the Volkswagen); it stands-out finished in ultimate red paint, although you should be careful to avoid the dual “coupe franche” split colour (part black/part red or blue), which is an ideas Peugeot has brought from its recent concept cars, but looks like an afterthought and, frankly, weird to our eyes.

Peugeot 308 GTi 270 Sport review: Fire it up

A GTi lives and dies by how it drives, otherwise you may as well save yourself both the bother and the cash and go buy a regular hatch instead.

The 308 is an interesting character. It doesn’t shout its performance identity from its exterior design, nor do you get a Focus RS-style grunt when you turn the key and fire it up. Instead there’s a pleasant little rasp from the 308’s exhaust as the engine catches, while the counter-rotating dials spin around their clock faces. But that’s all; it otherwise settles for a fairly hum-drum idle.

Pocket-lint

It is the engine which defines this car though. Delivering 270bhp from just a 1.6-litre unit is fairly incredible, which means Peugeot has had to play tricks with turbo-chargers and intercoolers.

So the 308 has the power, but you need to know how to use it. Being front-wheel drive, it’s easy to light up the front wheels, despite the standard limited-slip differential metering out power to the wheel with most grip. It feels very turbo-charged too, which means that below 2,000rpm it can sometimes feel flat, especially if you get caught in the wrong gear. There’s definite turbo lag, too, so when the turbo does kick-in the car can pull you down a bumpy road like a truffle-hunting hound.

Just in case all of that sounds a bit rubbish, it’s really not. It all makes the 308 GTi a very involving driving experience. You’ll occasionally need to hold on, but when it properly catches alight, it feels rabidly fast. Press hard into bends and that limited-slip differential works exceptionally well, keeping you on line and digging in. And if you’ve got the engine on the boil, blasting past lines of slower cars is a cinch.

Pocket-lint

Throw the tiny steering wheel and fast steering into the mix, and the 308 can feel truly go-kart in its ways. And Peugeot has backed up the firepower by fitting stonking 380mm front brakes, which haul everything back down to a stop very effectively.

Peugeot 308 GTi by Peugeot Sport: A different animal

What really stands the 308 apart is that it provides quite a different experience to other cars in its class. Indeed, it’s a different animal.

Sure, it’s not got quite the pace, nor the four-wheel drive security of the Focus RS, Golf R or Merc AMG. It’s not rounded and smooth like a Golf GTi either. And it’s not quite as hardcore or raw as a Renault Megane RS either.

Pocket-lint

But it provides a good blend of all those different poles of the hot hatch experience. In many ways, the Peugeot is perhaps closest to the Seat Leon Cupra – because it’s stealthy quick, quite a lot of fun, but refined and happy just to chug about and do the family thing too. The 308 is refined, comfortable and generally easy to live with.

Our gripes are that the gearshift still isn’t the best-in-class (a common Peugeot moan), that the back seat space is generally pretty tight (the boot size makes up for this if your children aren’t too large), and the fussy touchscreen interface (we desperately hope that an updated system – the one Peugeot showcased in the 3008 SUV launched at the Paris Motor Show – is coming soon).

As it stands the current touchscreen system is slow, dim-witted, can be very hard to work your way around and looks graphically geriatric. Eventually, the sat nav will get you to where you want to go, it’ll play your music and let you save 6 Music as a preset. But not before you’ve turned the air blue, cursing it before you set off. Luckily, the steering wheel shortcuts are intuitive.

Pocket-lint

Besides this point, the 308 is otherwise exceptionally well equipped. Options are limited to an SOS and connected services system (£240), a Denon Premium hi-fi system (£400) and a panoramic roof – all of which were fitted to our test car. Almost everything else you can think of (LED lamps, sat nav, DAB, massive wheels, keyless entry and start) is as standard. However, as the 308 was developed just before the most recent slew of advanced driver support systems, don’t expect auto braking radar cruise control or a head-up display (HUD).

Verdict

The Peugeot 308 GTi makes quite a clear proposition: for VW Golf GTi money you get significantly more firepower and equipment as standard.

You’ll forego the wide-boy image of some of the mega hatches, like the Ford Focus RS, but with a decent driver behind the wheel you’ll at least stand a chance of keeping up on a country road.

The 308 is subtly different from its GTi competition; a mix of family car meets ooh la la. It doesn’t grab you buy the scruff of the neck and shout “buy me”, but it’s still appealing, lively and lives up to the GTi name.

So while it’s not as well-rounded as its Golf GTi cousin, the Peugeot’s quality is comparable and, for us, the overall fun factor is just that little bit greater. For that, Peugeot should be applauded.

The Morning After: Friday, December 30 2016

2016 is almost over, but sliding in just under the wire is a wild new delivery idea from Amazon. There’s also donut-shaped Mars shelters, and our take on Apple’s 2016: it’s not a positive one.

I heard you like delivery drones
Amazon apparently wants to deploy delivery drones from flying warehouses

While Amazon only just recently started delivering to real customers via drone, it has even bigger ideas. A patent filing reveals a system where they take off from floating blimps stocked with commonly requested products.

Computer Love
Sex at CES: An uncomfortable coupling

The adult industry and CES have a longer relationship than you might know. From 1984 to 1998 porn was a part of CES, until AVN split off for its own concurrently running show. Now, the two expos take place weeks apart, and porn has almost no presence at the electronics show. Christopher Trout’s latest column explains how we got here, and how sex is creeping back in via VR and connected toy makers like OhMiBod.

Embrace the dongleverse2016 was a hard year to be an Apple fan

The company didn’t have a great year: iPhone sales declined for the first time, and Apple’s profits followed suit. Apple also launched confusing product lineups with weird and arguably unnecessary compromises. It seems like plenty of loyal Apple supporters might be contemplating life outside the company’s ecosystem.

Russia replied with a meme
US officially responds to Russian “malicious cyber activity”

After months of consideration, the feds have taken action in response to suspected Russian election hacking. The DHS and FBI released a joint report describing how Russia attacked the US, while the State Department is shutting down two Russian compounds and expelling 35 intelligence operatives. According to President Obama: “These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities. We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized.”

Soon.
“Super Mario Run” pre-registrations open for Android

We still don’t have a release date, but Nintendo’s auto-runner is coming to Android. To make sure you don’t miss out on the arrival of Super Mario Run, pre-register via Google Play for a notification.

Donuts, ice, Mars.
Inflatable ice shelters could protect astronauts on Mars.

Welcome to the Mars Ice Home. This conceptual design consists of a torus — a large, inflatable inner tube — lined with a shell of water ice. Not only is the structure lightweight, it incorporates materials from Mars itself. In addition, the water, which protects against cosmic rays, could be repurposed as rocket fuel for the Mars Ascent Lander. Useful when all resources and space is at a premium.

Always read the fine print
DirecTV Now’s $35 special offer will only be available for a few more days

AT&T launched its streaming TV service with a package offering 100 channels for $35 a month, but only for a limited time. We now know how limited that is, since its website says the offer will go away after January 9th. If you sign up in time then you can keep the promo price (for how long is unspecified), but once it’s gone, it’s gone.

But wait, there’s more…

• Breath test can detect cancer and 16 other diseases
• Joué’s MIDI controller adds a bit of tactile fun to music-making
• Samsung’s curved, quantum dot monitor is aimed at gamers

Hubble snaps a pic of a microwave-emitting galaxy

The Hubble telescope team is ending the year with a photo of an unusual galaxy, one that emits microwaves instead of visible light. See that image above? That’s a snapshot of IRAS 16399-0937, a “megamaser” 370 million light-years away from Earth. Megamaser galaxies are intense and are around 100 million times brighter than the microwave-emitting areas — or masers, found in star-forming regions — of the Milky Way.

To come up with the final image, the telescope had to capture the galaxy across various wavelengths using two instruments: the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The latter’s high resolution, in particular, allowed the team to see that the galaxy actually has two separate cores in the midst of merging hiding behind thick cosmic gas and dust. Thanks to the new images, they also discovered that the galaxy has a massive black hole, 100 times the size of the sun.

The Hubble telescope is far from retiring despite its successor’s scheduled launch in 2018. Over the past few years, it gave us a way to see the farthest star we’ve ever spotted, as well as particularly interesting galaxies, including one with a natural magnifying glass. It also helped solve cosmic mysteries, such as the heyday of galaxy formation and the origin of lyman-alpha blobs’ intense glow.

Source: NASA

Digital Day sale is now live on Amazon U.S. — here are the best deals!

Digital Day sale kicks off Amazon U.S.

Amazon has kicked off its inaugural Digital Day sale, offering discounts on thousands of games, apps, movies, TV shows, music albums, comics, and more. PC games are discounted by up to 75%, several albums are available for $5 and there are hundreds of movies on sale for just $4.99.

Games

• Titanfall 2 (PC) – $39.99 – 33% off
• FIFA 17 (PC) – $39.99 – 33% off
• Rocket League (PC) – $11.99 – 40% off
• Fallout 4 (PC) – $19.79 – 67% off
• Fallout 4 Season Pass – $29.99 – 40% off
• F1 2016 (PC) – $35.99 – 40% off
• Homefront: The Revolution – Freedom Fighter Bundle (PC) – $14.99 – 75% off
• Sid Meier’s Colonization (PC) – $0.97 – 86% off
• Steep (PC) – $34.01 – $43% off
• Watch Dogs 2 (PC) – $40.19 – 33% off
• Diablo III: Reaper of Souls (PC/Mac) – $19.99
• Dishonored 2 (PC) – $39.99 – 33% off
• Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum (PC) – $4.99 – 75% off
• Rollercoaster Tycoon 2: Triple Thrill Pack (PC) – $2.49 – 75% off
• SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition (PC) – $4.99 – 75% off
• Android apps and games for $0.99
• Up to 50% off on in-game items

Multimedia

• Plex Pass annual subscription – 50% off
• UFC annual pass – 50% off
• Qello – One-month subscription for $0.99
• Star Trek Beyond (HD) – $6.99
• Harry Potter movies for $4.99
• Movies for under $4.99
• Movie rentals for $0.99
• 50% off movies and TV shows
• Music albums for $5
• Kindle ebooks from David Baldacci, James Patterson, Michael Connelly, and others for $3.99

Software and apps

• Norton Security Deluxe (Windows/Mac) – Five devices, 15-month subscription – $19.99
• Amazon Rapids – Monthly subscription for 33% off
• AVG AntiVirus PRO (Android) – $3.99 – 50% off
• Microsoft Office Home and Business 2016 (Windows) – One user – $187 – 18% off
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 15 & Premiere Elements 15 (Windows) – $99.99 – 33% off
• Lose It! – 50% off on annual subscription
• OfficeSuite – 95% off yearly subscription
• H&R Block Tax Software – $24.99 – 40% off

Amazon is also providing a $10 credit if you’re interested in subscribing to its Music Unlimited service. The deal is valid for new subscribers. To see all the items on sale across categories, head to the link below.

What do you guys think of the titles on sale?

See at Amazon

HTC Ocean Note will ditch headphone jack, have curved screen and much improved camera

We recently reported that Taiwanese news outlet ePrice had received information to confirm there will be three versions of the HTC Ocean unveiled at HTC’s ‘For U’ event on 12 January, with particular focus on the HTC Ocean Note.

• HTC Ocean: What’s the story on the HTC 11?

Today, the same news outlet has received yet more information regarding the Note, first of which is said to be the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack. It’s a highly likely move, not least because other manufacturer such as Apple and maybe even Samsung are doing it, but also because HTC did it with the 10 Evo.

The Ocean Note will, like its Android cousins, use USB Type-C for audio, meaning you’ll need to get yourself a new pair of wired of Bluetooth wireless headphones. To compensate for the lack of headphone jack, HTC is said to be fitting an adaptive audio technology that will automatically adjust audio settings based on any ambient noise.

Another area that HTC is said to be focussing on is the screen. Considering the name, the Note is likely to come with a larger display, perhaps around 5.5 – 5.7-inches. The screen is said to be curved at the edges, much like the Galaxy S7 Edge and to help you protect it from shattering, HTC will sell you an official screen protector.

Finally, the camera will be given some serious attention too. Cameras haven’t always been HTC’s forte. The company has often tried to innovate, such as using UltraPixels that are larger to let in more light, but the results haven’t always been that great. The camera on the Ocean Note however is said to have the highest ranking DxOMark, a feat which is currently held by the Google Pixel with a score of 89, and the pictures that phone produces are amazing.

• HTC Ocean concept leaks online with no physical buttons in sight

Other specs and features are expected to include three colour options: black, white and blue, and a MediaTek processor instead of a Snapdragon 835.