Daily Roundup: SXSW wrap-up, touring the Sony Archives in Tokyo and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Touring the Sony Archives in Tokyo
From robot dogs, to Walkman Cassette players, to, yes, a golden guinea pig, Sony’s Archive building outlines 60 years of the company’s history. Read on as Engadget’s Matt Smith travels to Tokyo and visits some of Sony’s most fundamental products during a tour of the facility.
Life in 140 characters or less: My first eight years on Twitter
Back in 2006, Engadget’s Nicole Lee wasn’t sure “tweeting” would ever catch on. The social network’s early days were simple, full of seemingly boring conversations and awkward third-person updates. Much to her surprise, the charm of Twitter prevailed in the test of time.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 review
Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 stands just a little taller that its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab 3, packing a full HD display. And while the Tab Pro 8.4 does have a sleek, premium feel, its seven hour battery life leaves us wanting. But if you’re not worried about power, this $400 tablet is a worthy alternative to the iPad mini.
SXSW 2014 wrap-up: Snoop Dogg, stun copter, Snowden, Mario Kart and more!
SXSW 2014 was full of awesome gear like IBM’s Watson-powered food truck and Chaotic Moon’s stun copter, but today we’re saying farewell. It’s not too late to catch up on the action, though. Check out some of our favorite highlight photos from the event right here.
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Filed under: Misc
Threes! addictive number game available on Google Play
The popular addictive number puzzle game Threes! has been released for Android on the Google Play Store. Threes! involves matching numbers in a puzzle which will be sure to test your mathematic skills.
The App has been ported from iOS by Hidden Variable Studios and remains the same price at $1.99. The developers of Three! published the following infographic showing the various statistics of the game that give an interesting insight into the popular puzzle game.
The current high score for Threes! is 808,989 from user chu121su12 so if you think you can beat that, click on the link below and grab your copy of Threes! now.
The post Threes! addictive number game available on Google Play appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Fiverr arrives in gorgeous new Android app experience
The team over at Fiverr have just released a great looking new App for Android which will allow users to browse gigs anytime, anywhere.
If you’re not familiar with Fiverr, it’s a place where talented users offer their services with anything from designing graphic logos to promoting your social account, starting at five bucks!
Fiverr for Android is part of our ongoing commitment to bring you the best Fiverr experience possible. Mobile will continue to be a major priority and this is only the beginning of the great things to come.
Up until now, the mobile experience of Fiverr on Android was pretty bleak and non-enjoyable, but with the dedicated App this is all about to change. You’ll be able to search the marketplace for gigs, and also receive real-time notifications for any messages that are received from your buyers/sellers.
Check out a video of it in action below.
The post Fiverr arrives in gorgeous new Android app experience appeared first on AndroidGuys.
[Op-Ed] Android’s Next Update Should Focus On Gaming
Google’s next Android update should focus more on gaming. Android is an open source operating system (OS) that is based on Linux. The great thing about open source is that it is free and any one can enhance the OS. Android is an OS meant for mobile devices but lately it has been used to create consoles.
One of the most famous of these consoles is the Ouya. It was funded by the public through kickstarter and is android based. It is not 100% Android and for good reason. The people behind Ouya knew this and enhanced Android so that it can be souly focused on gaming. One of the short comings of this is that there is no Play Store. That means the games you already own might have to be bought again for the Ouya. Madcatz M.O.J.O is another Android based console that runs 100% Android. However this brings short comings because Android is meant for a touch screen interface.
Netflix once said that they want to become HBO before HBO becomes them. Netflix has been #1 at what they do but they know full well to stay on top you have to keep moving forward. That is how they beat Blockbuster and that is how they are beating television and cable networks. So who has the ability to beat Android? Definitely not Apple. Yes I had to say that. The OS they have to look out for is Steam OS (Steambox). Even though it is still in beta the Steam OS is on its way to change the gaming industry. Steam OS is a Linux based OS that is made with its sights solely on gaming. Steam OS was made to take out the middle man so that games can run in theory smoother. The only reason I bring up the Steam OS is because the mobile hardware is slowly evolving to becoming like PC. For example Nvidia’s next generation chip is based off their PC chip system. So much so that they ran a full PC game on one of their demo tablets. So even if the Steam OS is not ready now it will only be a matter of time.
Even though Android has made small improvements in the development toward gaming, none have been a big leap. Sure we can play games with a USB controller attached to any Android device running 4.0 and above. However that is a small step toward the right direction. Android has a chance to be a lot more than just for the mobile market, but Google has to make that choice before someone else makes it for them. With Google picking up Green Throttle, it is looking like they are already moving in that direction. I certainly hope something happens soon.
Tinder wants to verify celebrities so you know they’re really into you
Tinder, the iOS and Android app that matches people by how close they are from one another, has a celebrity problem. While signing up to a dating app is probably the last thing you’d expect any privacy-conscious alphabet-lister to consider, Tinder already counts a few famous faces amongst its millions of users (Ashton Kutcher and Lindsay Lohan reportedly are fans), but they aren’t racking up matches because people believe their profiles are fake. According to Hollywood Reporter, the mobile startup wants to remove all doubt from that equation by introducing a verification system for celebrity users that could use Twitter-style checkmarks to signify that an actor, actress or musician (etc) is who they say they are. Tinder CEO Sean Rad also says that the company could drop the requirement for stars to sign up using Facebook, where they’d have to use their real name instead of an alias, allowing them “to enter Tinder in a different way.” We don’t yet know when the new system will be implemented, but if it does lure famous users to the service, you never know, you could only be five right-swipes away from Kevin Bacon.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Google buys an Android gaming platform, possibly with a set-top box in mind
Green Throttle Games was late to the Android gaming platform party, and paid the price for it — the company effectively wound down at the end of 2013. However, its efforts may not have been in vain. Google has confirmed to PandoDaily that it has acquired key parts of Green Throttle’s business, including its parts, labor and two co-founders. The crew in Mountain View hasn’t said what it will do with its new resources, but PandoDaily sources claim that Google wants to refine the Bluetooth controller for its long-fabled (and possibly gaming-focused) TV set-top box. Whether or not that’s true, the move suggests that Google’s interest in games is extending beyond software.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD, Google
Source: PandoDaily
Tip: Add a multitasking button to the LG G Pro 2
The LG G Pro 2 unfortunately has a legacy menu button included on the on-screen navigation keys that you cannot seem to get rid of, but whilst you cannot hide it completely, you can add a dedicated multitasking button alongside it.
LG have enabled the ability to add up to two more buttons and that includes multitasking, QMemo, QSlide, or one that will open up the notification pane.
To add buttons to your G Pro 2, go to Settings>Display>Front touch buttons>Button Combination. From there, you simply drag the buttons into the order you want. You can’t have more than five buttons though, and you’re stuck with the standard back, home, and menu buttons.
There is also an option to change the background colour of the keys which enables you to change it to a black gradient, white, or white gradient, or even transparent if you so wish.
Whilst it would have been great for LG to enable the ability to remove the menu button completely, at least this way you can add a multitasking button to your LG G Pro 2.
The post Tip: Add a multitasking button to the LG G Pro 2 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Skrillex debuts noisy new album as a mobile game easter egg
When is a game not really a game? When it’s a Trojan horse for new music from Skrillex. Play the seemingly humdrum shooter Alien Ride on Android or iOS and you’ll find that it’s actually a preview for the dubstep(-ish) artist’s first full album, Recess — you can listen to the whole LP ahead of its March 18th debut. You’ll still have to rely on other music services to get your wubwubwubs a more traditional way, but the app easily beats other run-of-the-mill attempts at building up hype. Just be prepared to endure an audio assault alongside the alien kind — we doubt that the game will sway your opinion of Skrillex if you weren’t already a fan.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Mobile
Source: App Store, Google Play, Skrillex
Use Bitcoins for in-app purchases with InAppCoins for Android
BitCoin has grown exponetially in its popularity and use as a virtual currency, and now a new app is launching called InAppCoins that easily integrates Bitcoin payments into mobile apps and games on Android.
In-app purchases form the freemium model for many apps, so InAppCoins has launched an SDK and web dashboard for developers who want to accept BitCoins as payments for their in-app purchases.
If you’re a developer and are interested in signing up for accepting BitCoins for your in-app purchases then you can try it out here.
The post Use Bitcoins for in-app purchases with InAppCoins for Android appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Jawbone UP24 lifestyle tracker now works for Android devices
Jawbone have today announced that their lifestyle tracker UP24 and the accompanying App are now available for Android. Tracking data to help you understand how you sleep, move, and eat, the UP24 wristband can now connect to the Android-compataible App to receieve data in real-time.
In addition, the accompanying App from Jawbone on Android provides personalised feedback and live notifications to help achieve your set goals with the help of Bluetooth 4.0. The UP24 can be wirelessly synced with your Android device through the UP App via Bluetooth Smart in order to store the data collected from the lifestyle tracker.
As for the Jawbone UP24 wristband itself, it features a smooth hypoallergenic, medical-grade rubber exterior that features a new, textural design which Jawbone say is comfortable enough to wear around the clock. The battery lasts 7 days, and the band can be charged with a USB power adapter via the included 2.5mm USB cable.
The UP by Jawbone 3.0 App for Android is available today in 12 languages as a free download on the Google Play Store.
[Jawbone]
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