Giphy Cam finally arrives on Android
After 14 months of breathless waiting, Android users can finally experience the Instagram of GIFs. Giphy released its Giphy Cam app to the Play store on Thursday. The app allows you to record GIFs, apply various filters and fades, as well as overlay text and emoji. Unfortunately, the Android version doesn’t currently appear to be able to import video and generate GIFs from that source, as the iOS version can. However a Giphy rep did explain that the Android version should be getting camera roll import as well as the AR capabilities announced for iOS this morning, in coming the months.
A quick tour of Engadget HQ West
Speaking of iOS updates, Giphy rolled out a new Giphy Cam for iOS on Thursday morning as well. Dubbed Giphy Cam 2.5, its marquee new feature is Augmented Reality. Rather than capture video directly from the camera or pull it from the camera roll, the new Giphy Cam will overlay graphics and sprites atop live video — Pokemon Go-style. You can then generate gifs from the augmented feed.
Shazam Lite for Android requires less storage and data
Shazam has introduced a “Lite” version of its app today, designed specifically for Android users in emerging markets. Just like Facebook and Messenger Lite, it uses less storage and data than its full-featured sibling. Despite being a pared-down variant, it can still do what you mostly use Shazam for anyway: identify sick tunes, so you can look them up and listen to them again later. It can even ID music while offline and save your most recent results.
Shazam Lite takes up less than 1MB of space, whereas the full-sized version takes up almost 26MB on our Samsung phone. Add that to its ability to use as little data as possible and to identify tracks offline, and you’ve got the ideal app for a lot of users in emerging markets. You can install it on older phones and Android devices with very little storage and RAM, after all, and even fire it up in places with limited connectivity.
An English version of the app will be available on Google Play in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Nigeria sometime today, if it isn’t yet. The company is also releasing a Spanish version in Venezuela. If you live elsewhere and want a simpler Shazam, cross your fingers: we asked the company if it plans to release the app in other locations, and spokesperson James A. Pearson told us that it’s very much possible:
“GSMA estimated earlier this month ‘More than one billion people worldwide will be connected to mobile networks by 2020.’ I believe it was a logical strategy for Shazam to build on our global community of evangelists with new audiences in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We will surely see similar efforts in other regions, as we see potential growth and wider audiences in all emerging markets. We have seen half the population of North America fanatically engaged with Shazam on their devices — and we’ve just announced the app has been downloaded a billion times. Shazam Lite represents our ongoing commitment to deliver the magic of Shazam to the entire world.”
Your chances of getting it look pretty slim if you’re in the US and other developed countries, though. Iordanis Giannakakis, the company’s Head of Android Engineering, said in a statement:
“We’re focused on providing Shazam in areas where connectivity is poor and available devices may be limited. Shazam Lite was built from the ground up with listeners from these regions in mind and it aims to bring the core, ‘magic’ Shazam experience to them.”
Source: Shazam
‘Pokémon Go’ will add catch bonuses to make the grind worthwhile
As Niantic Labs keeps tweaking things to hold onto its Pokémon Go player base, it has revealed another new feature coming to the augmented reality game. Currently, player activities like catching Pokémon can level them up towards earning medals that toss off points, but not much else. Soon, there will be a catch bonus for earned medals that level up based on the type of Pokémon caught.
It seems like a way to make low-level grinding (perhaps with that $35 Pokémon Go Plus dongle) pay off visibly and as the post title puts it, increase the odds of catching rare Pokémon. The only problem? At least judging by the responses, players are really looking for ways to improve other parts of the game, like tracking monsters, or battling and training in gyms. Niantic previously said it would “rebalance” training battles, but that is apparently also still in the works.
Source: Pokémon Go
Kohl’s is the latest retailer to roll out its own mobile payments
If you like to shop at Kohl’s and need an alternative to Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, you’re in luck. The retailer announced today that its own mobile payments platform, Kohl’s Pay, is now available to all customers nationwide. The company revealed last month that its take on payments would complement its existing mobile wallet app that gave customers a way to store payment info, organize rewards and collect promotions in the same spot.
Unlike retail mobile payment platforms from Walmart and CVS, Kohl’s Pay doesn’t allow customers to add their credit and debit cards to the app for use in stores. Instead, you’ll have to sign up for one of the company’s own Kohl’s Charge cards. While that might seem like an odd choice, TechCrunch reports that the retailer has 25 million customers actively using its credit cards with 60 percent of in-store purchases being paid for with Kohl’s Charge. That’s a substantial number of people you could bring to the mobile platform even if they can’t add any payment method they want.
The payments system is available inside the store’s existing mobile apps for Android and iOS. The Kohl’s app also doesn’t support NFC or tap-to-pay like Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Instead, it displays a QR code that’s scanned by the cashier at checkout. That code is used to not only handle payment, but to apply any savings a customer has stored in the app, too. When you combine the ability to pay to for items, organize discounts/promotions and track returns, exchanges and regular purchases, Kohl’s is giving its customers a handy shopping companion. And that’s on top of using the app to browse items, save gift cards to the mobile wallet and scan barcodes will looking around in stores.
Kohl’s still supports Apple Pay, including the ability to earn loyalty points when using that payment method on an iPhone or Apple Watch. It was the first retailer to do so and it was also the first store to allow customers to use its own credit cards with Apple’s payment platform.
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Kohl’s
We’re live from the #MadeByGoogle launch event!
Not-so-cryptic teasers, seemingly ironclad leaks and a truly surprising advertising push have all led to this. Buckle up, folks: today might be a turning point for Google as an honest-to-goodness hardware company, and we’re bringing you all the news live from the company launch event in San Francisco.
By now, you probably know what Google’s going to unveil as well as we do: expect a pair of new Pixel smartphones that could spell the end of the Nexus legacy and more detail on Google Home, the Echo-like assistant that looks an awful lot like an air freshener. Throw in a new Chromecast that’ll stream 4K/Ultra HD content, a potentially tiny new wireless router and the first Daydream VR headset and we’ve got a hell of a day ahead of us. It might seem a little odd for Google to announce all this stuff on one day, but hey — what better way to celebrate the work pulled off by Rick Osterloh and the company’s new hardware division.
While Google has spent months marshalling its supply chains, the biggest announcement of the day might actually deal with software. Android and Chrome OS chief Hiroshi Lockheimer has said that we might soon look at October 4, 2016 with the same sort of historical respect as the day Android 1.0 launched — it’s big talk for sure, but I doubt we’re going to be let down. Maybe this is the day we finally get to see Andromeda, the hybrid Android-Chrome OS that has been the stuff of legend for years. Stay tuned: you’ll know everything just as soon as we do.
Google’s Pixel phones make their debut
For years, the Nexus mobile range has been synonymous with a “pure” Android experience. No more. Google just announced the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones developed in-house that the company hopes will redefine the Android platform. Pitched as “the first phone with Google Assistant baked in,” the devices are focusing on that, plus photos, storage, communications and VR (they’re also the first phones built for use with Google’s $79 Daydream VR headset.)
The phones will be available for pre-order starting today, however, at least at first, the only US carrier selling them directly will be Verizon. Otherwise, you can buy the device unlocked (via the Google Store or other retailers) or for use with Google’s Project Fi service. The price starts at $649, and you can have one in “Quite Black,” “Really Blue” or “Very Silver.”
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
Built with a 12.3MP camera, Google claims these phones scored an 89, the highest rating for a phone ever, on the DxOMark test for cameras (if you’re keeping score, the iPhone 7 rated an 86, while the iPhone 7 Plus has not been reviewed yet). Software lead Brian Rakowski didn’t stop there, claiming they also have the fastest capture speed of any phone tested, while Google even pointed out that unlike the iPhone (and the Nexus 6P) there’s no camera hump here. Finally, since it comes with Google Photos built-in, it’s promising unlimited photo storage for your pictures and video, in their original quality.
The Pixel has a 5-inch display, while the Pixel XL’s measures 5.5-inches, and they’re powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 CPUs. The cameras are 12.3MP, and they have 4GB of RAM plus either 32GB or 128GB of storage onboard. Despite rumors of different displays, Google said both will feature a “high resolution” AMOLED screen (and yes, there is a headphone jack), although the Pixel XL gets a larger 3,450mAh battery. The best news, however, is that with Pixel’s fast charging over USB-C, you should expect 7 hours of battery life from a 15-minute charge.
The first demos onstage focused on the software, specifically how it can respond to a user based on what it knows about their app preferences, and provide relevant information in response to a question. They’ll also come with a tool to transfer your old data to the new phone, including stuff from iMessage. Built-in customer support software will bring help 24/7, with a screensharing feature so you can show reps exactly what your phone is doing.
Developing…
Source: Google Store
Android Nougat 7.1 leans on the cloud for everything
Android 7.1 is coming. What’s so different with this version? According to a report by Bloomberg, pro camera effects, instant chat support and a feature that automatically offloads items from your phone to the cloud. You know, like the Nextbit Robin. Like the Nexus before it, the Pixel will get software updates directly from Google. But, the wrinkle here is that thanks to the Nougat OS, the downloads will happen automatically and in the background, as soon as they’re available, according to Google’s Sabrina Ellis.
As for the built-in customer support, you can screenshare with an agent to show them exactly what’s going on with your device. What’s more, akin to how Apple released an app to transfer your contacts and data from a competing device, Google is doing that as well. Yep, you can even transfer over all your iMessages.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
Source: Bloomberg
Google Pixel tools help you switch from an iPhone
We’ve seen many attempts at helping you switch from one smartphone platform to another, but Google is kicking things up a notch with its Pixel smartphones. The lineup will include software to bring over contacts, media and messages from other phones, including iPhones. It’ll even bring over your iMessages, in case you’re worried that all those blue chat bubbles will disappear while moving to Android. To that end, Google bundles an adapter to help iPhone owners make the leap. These tools aren’t that necessary if you store a lot of your data in the cloud, but it’s evident that Google wants to remove as many pain points as possible — it wants Pixel to appeal to everyone.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Google’s fall event.
Yahoo’s reworked mobile app is all about sharing news
When you’re browsing your Facebook feed (or Flipboard, or Reddit), you probably spend at least some time reading, sharing and commenting on the latest news. What if there was an app dedicated just to that? Yahoo is giving it a shot. It’s relaunching its core mobile app as Yahoo Newsroom, which focuses on following news “Vibes” like politics or sports, sharing stories in those threads (from anywhere on the web) and commenting on them. The more Vibes you follow and the more you interact, the more personalized your feed becomes.
Newsroom should be available today for Android and iOS alike. And in case you’re wondering: yes, Yahoo believes its app has an advantage over Facebook and other social networks. You can say what you like “free from social pressure,” Yahoo says. That is an advantage if you’re worried about judgmental (or simply uninterested) friends, although there is a concern that you may end up in an echo chamber where you only discuss a narrow range of subjects with like-minded contributors. Still, this beats rival custom news apps where you’re rarely more than a passive reader.
Source: Yahoo (Tumblr)
Find your next ‘Destiny’ raid group with latest Xbox One patch
Next time you need to find a group to help you through Destiny’s latest raid, you won’t have to venture outside your Xbox One. That’s because the Looking For Group feature teased at E3 is starting to roll out to Dashboard Preview Program members at the moment. Those posts can be made up to a week in advance of when you’re ready to play. The update also includes Arena, Xbox Live’s take on daily tournaments, starting with fighting game Killer Instinct according to a post on Xbox Wire.
That’s not all. Xbox is catching up to what PlayStation has offered for awhile and adding rarity ratings to achievements. Meaning, if you completed a championship starting at every race route in Forza Horizon 3 and unlocked the “Horizon Hardcore” achievement, you’d see how unique it is among the general Xbox Live community. The blog post goes on to say that rare accomplishments have a special notification and a diamond icon as a way of differentiating them from commonly unlocked tasks.
Need more? There’s also group messaging shoehorned in as well, and soon it’ll work across the Xbox One, the Xbox app on PC and mobile. As these things tend to go, the wider Xbox Live audience should see these features in a month or so after the preview program has them.
Source: Xbox Wire
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