Twitter is testing new ways to better discover relevant products and places
Twitter today announced its initiative to dish out “timely and relevant” pages, products, and places on your new feed. These new pages will feature video and images about the product, along with other helpful information, such as a description, price, and an avenue of purchase.
Products and places work differently, actually showing you a top curator’s collection over a full blown ad like pages seem to do. Twitter says you will be able to “browse rich collections from influencers you care about and get more information about the products or places you find interesting.”
Twitter invited a few top curators on the social networking service to demonstrate how it works, such as HBO’s Game of Thrones and Nike’s LeBron Elite collection. From the looks of it, these collections wont pop up in your Twitter feed, but are something you can find on your favorite curator’s profile.
Twitter said in its blog that users will be able to view collections like these on Android, iOS, and the web. There’s only a handful of top curators that have been invited for testing this new avenue for advertising, but more will be added over time.
These new features seem to be apart of Twitter’s new initiative to enhance the users experience over catering to advertisers, which it has done very blatantly in the past. However, between the Project Lightning announcement and what they’ve revealed today, it seems like they’re truly going back to focusing on the user.
The beautiful thing about these new features is that Twitter is integrating in a way that isn’t intrusive to the user experience. If you’re interested, make sure you’re running the latest version of Twitter for Android.
What do you think of this new way to curate content? Sound off in the comments!
source Twitter
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‘Hotel Tonight’ update encourages spontaneous adventures with low rates
Popular hotel booking app Hotel Tonight has introduced two new features into its app, Escape and GeoRate. Escape aims to find you best driving-distance getaways ahead or even for that night–there’s no need to plan ahead!
Hotel Tonight already makes booking a quick and easy process, while offering staggering discounts on hotel rates. Escape makes it even better by showing you the most popular weekend getaways, its top picks for hotels, and some of the best deals around. Not only that, but you’ll also see Hotel Tonight’s top 20 most popular destinations for planning future trips.
While Escape is definitely a helpful feature for a weekend of decompressing, GeoRate makes it even better by offering additional discounts on Hotel Tonight’s already sweet deals on booking rates. You’ll see GeoRate anytime you’re looking for same-day bookings after noon-day when you’re near a hotel. Discounts are said to be even better if you’re searching for a same-day booking after 6pm. In other words, it makes it easy to be spontaneous with little to no risk.
The Geo in “Rate” comes into play by offering you location-based discounts. While you’ll see a lot of these when you’re near a hotel, you’ll also see GeoRates when you’re at an airport, train station, and etc.
All in all, this new Hotel Tonight update with Escape and GeoRate makes booking a room hassle-free while offering you steep savings. If you haven’t gotten the update yet, be sure to scan the QR code or hit the download link below.
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Nexus 7 mated with mouse, used in-vehicle
We have seen a few examples of users incorporating tablet devices into their vehicles to serve in place of auto manufacturer or third-party solutions for in-car infotainment systems. Users typically resort to this due to the dearth of autos that come with Android systems installed and third-party units are typically very expensive. In the latest example of this move to use a tablet device, Kevin Foreman connected a mouse to a Nexus 7 to provide a new input option as he was tired of using the touchscreen.
In a video demonstrating how his Nexus 7 works in his Toyota Prius, Foreman shows the Logitech G700S mouse that he connected to the tablet to serve as an input device. After working to map a variety of buttons and mouse clicks, Foreman is able to do things like launch Spotify or Google Maps with a touch of the mouse instead of trying to do it via the tablet’s touchscreen.
Foreman indicates he pursued this because he was tired of trying to “aim” his finger on the touchscreen while driving. Google has noted this challenge as well, which is why the Android Auto system uses a custom interface designed for use in a vehicle where precise touches may not be preferable.
You can check out his video below.
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Spotify 3.1 Beta introduces new Now start page and running features [APK Download]
In the latest Beta update for Spotify, Android users can now enjoy some of the features that have been on iOS for a while. Told at the time that the features would make their way to Android ‘in the future’, it seems that now is the time for Premium members to see these enhancements.
There’s a new Now start page that will show music based on the time of the day as well as adapting the selection to your mood and taste of music.
In addition, the new features include a running mode that will provide upbeat tracks to listen to.
To get in on the Beta, head on over here to enroll and get access to the programme, and then head here to download the APK.
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Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7 now official
After witnessing a lot of leaks in the past few weeks, the Samsung Galaxy J5 and Samsung Galaxy J7 have been officially announced for China. Samsung aims to market these handsets to younger users.
The main factor about Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7 is that it’s the first phone from Samsung to include a front-facing camera with an LED flash. Dubbed as the selfie phones, both of them possess a 5MP front-facing wide angle cameras. The common features include 1.5GB RAM, 16GB on-board storage with microSD support, 13 MP rear camera with f/1.9 aperture and dual SIM capabilities with LTE.
The Galaxy J5 is powered by a Snapdragon 410 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, offering a 5-inch 720p HD display and fueled by a 2600 mAh battery. The Galaxy J7 being more powerful, sports a Snapdragon 615 octa-core processor and a bigger 5.5-inch 720p HD display. It also features a larger 3000 mAh battery.
The Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7 both run on Android 5.1 Lollipop and will be available in three colors (white, gold and black) when it goes on sale in China this week. The Galaxy J5 will retail for 1,398 CNY (around $225) while the J7 will be sold for 1,798 CNY (around $289).
Currently, there is no news about the release of these handsets in other markets. Let us know if the Galaxy J5 and the Galaxy J7 appeal to you, down in the comments section.
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Timed exclusive games: Does anybody win?
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We recently found out that Fallout Shelter, recently crowned #1 game on the Apple App Store, would eventually be arriving on Android in a few months. I postulated that it was ridiculous that big developers were still delaying Android games after their iOS counterparts, but I completely forgot the possibility that Fallout Shelter might have timed exclusivity attached to it. Certainly, this isn’t the first time that this has happened, if true, though it often happens the same way: iOS game gets released, Android release comes months later. Which got me thinking about the question – timed exclusive games: Does anybody win?
Whether it’s a monetary bonus that’s offered to the developers, or some other assurance, we’re honestly baffled why this is still a thing. Sure, if you are Microsoft and Sony and you’re still trying to sell your relatively new game console hardware, that makes sense – however, if you are the two most established mobile platforms in the world and hardware is not really a question anymore (besides eking out percentage points of market share every year) and games aren’t a major selling point, it kind of stops making sense.
If you only release your game on one mobile platform, you’re potentially short-changing yourself of immediate profit – it’s not like users are going to flock to the other platform if they don’t release their game on that platform immediately. If you release your product on both platforms at the same time, you’re going to make more money right now. Is the amount of money Apple is offering Bethesda going to offset the loss of sales due to the delayed launch – possibly. However, one thing’s for sure: smartphones and tablets aren’t like game consoles – while they still polarize people, they are considerably more expensive than a game console, which really makes the notion of video game exclusivity on a mobile platform even more moot.
There’s perhaps only one scenario where this practice would make sense – if Apple were pushing the iPhone and iPad as a gaming platform. Is Apple selling Fallout Shelter as an iOS exclusive? No. And even if they were, what difference does it make? – after all, they’re only denying the other platform’s profit by a few months. Keep in mind that I’m not having a go at small development studios that can only afford to develop one game at a time. But when you’re backed by a huge publisher like Bethesda in the case of Fallout Shelter, that’s not really an excuse anymore.
The only reason I can see that either Apple or Google would bother to do something like this is to engage in their (at times) medieval pursuit of dominance over the other, which I think is as disappointing in the 21st century as it is backwards. Nobody wins with time exclusivity, and we’d all be better off without it.
That’s my rant over. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts about timed exclusive games in the comments below.
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Sonos adds Spotify Radio support to its Android beta
Sonos owners are able to stream from an impressive collection of services using the company’s Controller app. If you’ve been listening to Spotify on any of Sonos’ speakers, you’ve likely noticed the streaming service’s Radio feature isn’t available. Well, that’s about to change. Starting today, the Sonos Android beta will include Spotify’s internet radio stream. Thanks to new tools for streaming services in the pending software update, companies like Spotify are able to add more features to enhance the in-home listening experience. In addition to adding radio, the beta also includes tweaks that make Spotify integration with Sonos more stable, so that when lots of users are streaming songs, quality won’t suffer like it did during the holidays. If you’re not willing to give the beta version a try, the update is scheduled to arrive for everyone later this summer.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video
Source: Sonos
Google’s ‘My Ramadan Companion’ offers tips during the holy month
The holy month of Ramadan began for Muslims this week, which includes fasting from all food and drink during the day. In order to keep you informed of the exact times for sunrise and sunset, Google launched My Ramadan Companion. In addition to the time info, the site also collects recipes, local restaurant listings, YouTube content and other useful items in a card-based format for easy browsing. What’s more, the site pushes its findings to Google Now so the info you need is just a few swipes away on your phone. The digital assistant will suggest apps that can help you make the most of Ramadan — like reminding you to wake up for Sahur. The site is live so you can peruse as needed through the 30-day period that ends the evening of July 17th.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Google
Via: Android Police
Source: My Ramadan Companion, Google
Huawei Honor 7 makes appearance in new video
Huawei is going over the top to promote its new upcoming flagship the Huawei Honor 7. We have seen a number of leaks in the past few weeks speaking of the all metal Honor 7.
Huawei has already confirmed the Honor 7’s release date last week through a post on their official Weibo account. Also, it confirmed the presence of a fingerprint sensor for the same.
Now, in a new promo stunt, Huawei has uploaded a new teaser video for the Huawei Honor 7 which gives a glimpse of the actual device. The 15 second teaser briefly shows the device being used and hints at the all metal body.
http://player.youku.com/embed/XMTI2MzE5MzA3Mg==
Design wise the Honor 7 looks to be similar to the Huawei P8 which was released back in April. The device looks to be slim and beautiful with a very thin bezel, and also it looks very sturdy. The Honor 7 in the video matches the images on TENAA and supports that design.
Going over the specs quickly, the Honor 7 is reported to feature a 5-inch Full HD display, with 3 or 4GB RAM, and 16 or 64GB storage powered by a Kirin 935 chip octa-core 64-bit chipset fueled by a 3,280 mAh battery. It will also feature a 13MP camera with OIS.
This surely looks to be first of the many teasers to come until June 30 arrives. Check out the video below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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AlphaBetty Saga brings epic word-play to Android (review)
The Saga continues as the mobile game company that gave you such titles as Candy Crush, Farm Heroes, Pet Rescue and more is now offering a great new word game. AlphaBetty Saga ais a new engaging word-based title to their addictive gaming franchise and is now available for download in the Google Play Store.
“AlphaBetty Saga sets players off on a bold new quest as Betty, a young mouse living in the 1930s, along with some pals her grandfather, Professor Alpha, and his loyal assistant, Barney, to discover lost words to complete the “Encyclopedia of Everything”.
AlphaBetty is colorful and vibrant with a non-linear game-play. If I had to put it into words I’d describe it as a word find game concocted with a hint of Candy Crush. A word of caution (hehe I made a pun) to word-finder enthusiasts, AlphaBetty is NOT your “A” typical crossword puzzle. You have to be strategic, words can be connected adjacently including up, down and some of the words are utter nonsense. I am curious to know the definition of many of the 3 letter words that you get credit for connecting.
| Game Modes | |
|---|---|
| Scoring: | Simply create words and achieve the target score |
| Cheese Falls: | Bring cheese chunks down to the bottom of the game board to collect them |
| Bubble Pop: | Include a letter inside a bubble in a word to make it pop |
| Word Frenzy: | Create and collect the target number of words containing the target number of letters |
| Cheddar Spreader: | Spread the cheese under multiple tiles on the board |
To play Professor Alpha you will call on players to help him complete the legendary book. You are tasked with connecting adjacent letters to create words, score points and ultimately advance through a world very much like our own except for one small detail it’s inhabited by mice and much of it is made of cheese!
The game starts off simple, having you easily soaring through levels linking together 3-4 letter words. You’ll gain positive visual and audible feedback through green highlights, stars, and school-like grade school sticker text.
The game doesn’t stay simple though. You will begin staring at the beautiful word puzzle, debating should whether to search or tap the shuffle button at the bottom that will mix up the words giving them a fresh location on the board. In each level, you’re only allocated so many moves; once you surpass that be ready to reset or splash some cash.
The game is free but is equipped with in app-purchase ranging from $0.99- $59 that allow you to gain extra lives or moves.
In AlphaBetty Saga you will travel from London, Egypt, New York and more than 140 levels creating words.
AlphaBetty Saga is not game changing but does an excellent job at blending two different classic game styles cohesively together. This might be expected from the developers at King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga. I found the game to be ultra addictive, visually stimulating, and occasionally frustrating.
The only complaint that I have is at times I feel as if I am being timed when a green illuminated 3 letter hint pops up. If this game is meant to be a strategic puzzle game let me scan my board and make moves at my comfort level. I looked over the limited settings options and realized there is no way to eliminate the distracting hints.
To spell it out, if you enjoy strategy games that you can pick up and grab as needed and once you pick it up you can get immersed in game-play for hours. If spelling is your Kryptonite and you get easily frustrated looking at a word-search, you’re better off trying some of King’s other Saga titles.
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AIVAnet 