Skype: Our mobile experience could be better
Skype is a very inconsistent experience, especially when compared to it’s iOS counterpart. It seems, however, that Skype are fully aware of this. They just took to their blog to reassure loyal Android users that they are working hard to improve the service.
We know that as users have started using Skype on multiple devices, they’ve had difficulty keeping conversations in sync, or they’ve missed messages and seen “read” messages on one device that are still marked as “unread” on another. We’ve been working hard to solve these issues while adding other experiences to make an improved Skype chat.
Of most importance is the sync feature of the Skype application, which keeps the chat messages and notifications in sync with the server, and it’s this which is somewhat unreliable on Android. With Skype promising to fix this issue, it will make the experience on Android substantially better.
Skype also mentions that they are working on an update to improve battery usage, and startup/resume times also. It seems the Skype team have been a busy bunch lately. Stick around on AndroidGuys for when this update gets pushed out, plus any additional features that may find their way into it.
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BBM 2.0 is on its way to Android
Due to a few trip ups in launching BBM for Android, many users ditched it early on. And lately it seems as though Blackberry is working to do something about that. Blackberry Messenger 2.0 for Android is (almost) here!
BBM has been updating like crazy in the past few weeks, making some decent improvements. Today rolls out a big update, bringing some much needed features to the app. Here’s a list of the new features that the update brings.
- BBM Voice: Android and iOS users can now make free voice calls to BBM contacts over a WiFi or data connection
- One-Click Sharing: One-click sharing of photos, documents, voice notes and more
- BBM Channels: Talk with other BBM users about basically anything, in the allotted categories
- DropBox Integration: Send larger files through direct Dropbox integration
- New Emoticons: There are 100 new emoticons!
- Location Sharing: Powered by Glympse, users can share their location with other users for a specified amount of time
The update should begin to roll out sometime today. There’s no telling when, but it will be here!
Source: Blackberry
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BBM Channels and Voice come to Android and iPhone
BBM is about to become considerably more useful to Android and iPhone users — even if they don’t have many people on their contact lists. BlackBerry now says that its promised Channels and Voice support should reach the BBM apps for both platforms later today. As on BlackBerry 10, Channels lets you chat about hot topics with fellow users, whether or not they’re already friends. Voice, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the tin: you can make internet-based calls to your BBM buddies. Whether or not you find much use from these two biggest features, you may still appreciate other significant additions like Dropbox file sharing integration, Glympse location sharing and expanded BBM Groups. We’ll let you know when we see the Android and iOS upgrades reach their respective app stores.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: BlackBerry, App Store, Google Play
Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside reportedly leaving to join Dropbox
Executive departures (voluntary and otherwise) aren’t uncommon after major acquisitions, and that may well be happening in the wake of Lenovo’s deal to acquire Motorola’s cellphone business from Google. The Wall Street Journal claims that Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside is leaving the company to become Dropbox’s first Chief Operations Officer. It’s not clear just what would be driving Woodside to take a less glamorous role; we’ve reached out to both companies for comment. If true, the move would bring an abrupt end to Woodside’s brief tenure as Moto’s leader. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him go, however — while he reinvigorated the phone pioneer and helped launch some of its best devices in recent memory, the company’s earnings didn’t follow suit.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, Lenovo
Source: Wall Street Journal, Amir Efrati (Twitter)
LG’s extra-large G Pro 2 packs a 4K video camera and knock code unlock feature
Looks like LG wants to get out ahead of all the smartphone news soon to come from Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, as the South Korean company has officially announced the G Pro 2. As prior leaks indicated, it’s a larger version of the original G Pro — it packs a 5.9-inch screen, as opposed to its predecessor’s 5.5-inch panel. That means the G Pro 2 matches Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 in terms of size and it packs the same 1,920 x 1,080 resolution display. Additionally, it has an evolution of the G Pro’s knock-to-unlock feature that allows you to unlock and power up the phone by tapping on the screen in a specific cadence.
LG’s latest also has an optically stabilized, 13-megapixel camera and 32GB to store your photos and any 4K videos you shoot at up to 120 frames per second. Plus, it’ll ship with Android’s latest version 4.4 (KitKat) and can be had in three colors: white, silver and black. Naturally, LG has declined to give us a price or a ship date for its new flagship here in the States, but hopefully they’ll give up all those details and more at MWC.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
Source: LG (Korean)
Google Play Music for Android now lets you take radio stations offline
If you thrive on Google Play Music’s radio stations but would love if they kept playing while you’re away from an internet connection, congratulations — Google has just granted your wish. An Android app update rolling out today lets you pin whole stations to your device, guaranteeing a fresh set of tunes when you’re on that WiFi-less flight. The upgrade also allows you to remotely manage the devices that can access your collection, and a “play next” command will queue up a song that you just have to hear. The new Play Music software doesn’t appear to be widely available just yet, but those who refuse to wait can download the installer from Android Police.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Google
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Play
25 gorgeous wallpapers for your Android (February 2014)
Looking to change up your Android home screen? It doesn’t get much easier than swapping out the wallpaper; it’s one of the quickest ways to breath new life into the mobile experience.
We’ve gone through Google+ and other wallpaper resources to put this gallery together for you. What you’ll find below is a mixed bag with no real theme. In a nutshell we simply liked what we saw, saved a copy, and present them to you here.
As widgets and icon packs continue to get better all the time, some of these wallpapers will make for a gorgeous backdrop.
Please note that we do not claim ownership of any of these images. If you see something here that should not belong or is your own work, please let us know. We don’t want to get anyone in trouble and will be happy to swap the image out for something else.
Click here to see our other wallpaper articles.
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LG is also shrinking its flagship phone: G2 Mini to launch later this month
Blazing a trail set by the likes of Samsung, HTC and Sony, LG is set to become the latest phone maker to release a smaller version of its flagship smartphone. In a image shared on its Facebook page, LG has given us a first look the new G2 Mini, which is set to make its big debut on February 24th at this year’s Mobile World Congress. While LG isn’t disclosing any specs right now, the teaser image does show that the Mini will retain the same unique backside as the G2, placing the volume rocker and power button just below the rear camera. Beyond that though, it’s hard to tell what other features the G2 Mini will retain. But with Mobile World Congress less than two weeks away, we’ll get the full lowdown soon enough — that is unless LG decides it wants to share more details before then.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG
Source: LG Mobile (Facebook)
Oppo’s next smartphone due in March with 2K and 1080p display options
You may cringe at this “Find 7 [are] coming” line, but it’s actually an intentional typo, as Oppo’s releasing its Find 5 follow-up with two screen resolutions. You see, back in December, the Chinese company teased that its next flagship phone will be using JDI’s (not LG’s) 5.5-inch 2,560 x 1,440 (538 ppi) panel, which is even sharper than the 6-inch counterpart on the Vivo Xplay 3S. Then to confuse us, earlier this week a Find 7 benchmark showed up on GFXBench with a 1080p display instead, along with a Snapdragon 800 SoC and Android 4.3.
We’ve since checked with our own sources, and we can now confirm that said device will indeed be offered with more than one display option to please everyone: 2K for the spec chasers, and 1080p for the humble users. We also understand that other specs may differ between the two versions, so if all goes well, we’ll take a closer look at the Find 7 variants in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone on March 19th.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: Engadget Chinese
Source: Sina Weibo (Oppo), GFXBench
With an Android search update, you can tell your phone to ‘call Mom’
One of Siri’s cleverer tricks is its support for terms of endearment — you can tell an iPhone to “call Mom” rather than saying your mother’s name every time. Today, that handy shortcut is reaching Android through a Google search update. You can now rely on shorthand when using the search app to call or text family members. If you haven’t already established the appropriate relationship in your contacts, Android will ask you to clear things up. The feature is already live, so you can test it out right away — we’re sure your folks would be glad to hear from you.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Source: Google (Google+)
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