Peter Molyneux’s new game is about pioneering
Web and smartphone game publisher Kongregate and Peter Molyneux’s 22 Cans are teaming up to launch a new mobile game. The Trail is an Oregon Trail-style adventure title where players strap on a backpack and pioneer their way across an undiscovered wilderness. As they progress, they can collect items that can be used to craft weapons and tools that’ll help them hunt down sources of food. That can then be traded with other explorers to build a fortune that’ll enable you to settle down in a Deadwood-style community. It’s available for Android and iOS devices, although it’s yet to hit the latter’s app store just yet for free, with in-app purchases.
Source: Google Play
iOS Adoption Remains at Lowest Levels Since 2014 as Android Captures Record 87.5% Market Share
The latest data from market research firm Strategy Analytics claims Android captured a record 87.5% share of the worldwide smartphone market in the third quarter, reflecting the period between late June and late September.
Strategy Analytics director Woody Oh on Android’s continued dominance:
Android’s leadership of the global smartphone market looks unassailable at the moment. Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide. However, several challenges remain for Google. The Android platform is getting overcrowded with hundreds of manufacturers, few Android device vendors make profits, and Google’s new Pixel range is attacking its own hardware partners that made Android popular in the first place.
While most of Android’s gains can be attributed to the continued demise of BlackBerry and Windows smartphones, which are now practically non-existent on the market, iOS adoption remains at its lowest levels since mid 2014.
iOS recorded 12.1% market share in the quarter, down slightly from 13.6% in the year-ago quarter, allegedly due to a lackluster performance in China and Africa. That nearly mirrors the platform’s 12.2% market share in Q3 2014.
iOS and Android together account for 99.6% market share in what has become a two-horse race over the past several years. Windows Phone is virtually dead, and BlackBerry recently said it is done designing its own smartphones.
Tags: Strategy Analytics, Android
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China’s WeChat messenger tests its own version of instant apps
WeChat might not mean much here in the US, but in Asia, the messaging app boasts some 800 million users. Its next step toward dominance is “small programs” that act like apps within the chat service, according The Information. These perform singular tasks, but won’t require a download. “People would be able to scan a QR code via the WeChat app on their phone to use loyalty points at a favorite coffeeshop or transfer money without leaving WeChat or downloading a separate piece of software,” the report says.
Much like Google’s still-unreleased Instant Apps, it sounds like WeChat’s “small programs” are all about efficiency and speed. The idea is to keep users within WeChat instead of having them download other apps they might only use a few times. For a domestic example, it’s a bit like how Apple positioned its recent additions to iMessage. Where this cleaves from Cupertino’s add-ons is that it may not have an app store, although The Information posits that the small programs could be searchable within the application — much like how you can order a ride with Didi Chuxing currently.
The update is only available to a beta group of 200 developers, with parent company Tencent saying it will go wide soon.
Source: The Information
Google’s Daydream View VR reaches stores November 10th
You won’t have to wait much longer to see whether or not Google’s Daydream View headset is a viable contender to the likes of Gear VR. Google has announced that its virtual reality wearable will reach both the Google Store and retail in five countries (the US, Canada, UK, Germany and Australia) on November 10th. In the US, it’ll be available for $79 through Best Buy and Verizon. British buyers can track it down for £69 at Carphone Warehouse or EE, and Canadians can pick it up for $99 at Best Buy, Bell, Rogers or Telus.
You’ll need a compatible phone (such as Google’s own Pixel or Pixel XL) to use the Daydream View, but it promises to open up the world of mobile VR. Right now, your choices in that realm are largely limited to either basic viewers like Google Cardboard or Samsung’s proprietary Gear VR — you could soon see interactive VR on a wide range of Android devices. It’s also important to note that Google doesn’t have a monopoly on Daydream headsets, either. The aim is to create a whole ecosystem, not to corner the market.
Source: Google
Amazon Alexa is now a small home robot thanks to Omate
As Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant becomes smarter each day, it’s also showing up in more form factors, with the latest being a small home robot courtesy of, well, a smartwatch brand. Omate’s Yumi is, in many ways, a mini version of the ASUS Zenbo: Its head features a 5-inch 720p touchscreen, it runs on wheels, it’s powered by Android and it even shares a similar appearance in white. Much like Omate’s Rise 3G smartwatch, the Yumi supports Alexa out of the box, so it’s effectively an Echo Dot with wheels plus a cute face — look closer and you’ll see the same smile in Amazon’s logo. When you do get bored of that look, just pick another face.
With a starting price of $349, the 11.7-inch tall Yumi is bound to miss out on some of the bells and whistles found on the $599 Zenbo. For one, Yumi lacks object avoidance and drop avoidance sensors, so you’ll have to be careful when it’s placed on the table or countertop. In fact, it’s not designed to be as mobile as Zenbo; the wheels are primarily for letting Yumi turn to you when you talk to it. Secondly, while it does have a 5-megapixel “ultra pixel” (2um) front-facing camera for video calls and surveillance usage, the fixed neck means you won’t be able to tilt the camera, but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem if your Yumi spends most of its time on an elevated surface.
With the exception of the supposedly “crystal clear” stereo speakers, the 5-mic array and the 37.2Wh battery (battery life yet to be determined), the rest of the robot is essentially the equivalent of a budget smartphone. It has a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 8GB of onboard storage, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, an HDMI port and a micro-USB port (with OTG support). With most of Alexa’s work done in the cloud, you’ll just have to worry about making sure you have good Internet connection at home.
Yumi will be offered in black and white versions on Indiegogo on November 15th, and it’s estimated to ship in March 2017. For now, you can head over to Omate’s website to sign up for the early bird discount. But if you want a more serious home robot that won’t fall down the stairs, you may want to hang on until ASUS is ready with its Zenbo — hopefully before the holidays.
Source: Omate
Tag Heuer made a more expensive, $9,900 smartwatch
What do you do when you’ve got an empty wrist and almost $10,000 burning a hole in your pocket? Buy a rose gold smartwatch from Tag Heuer. To match your phone, private jet, toothbrush and crippling sense of loneliness brought upon by spending too much money on not-pink gadgets, of course. This Tag Heuer Connected isn’t available online, so that means you’ll have to trudge down to a jewelry store to get your mitts on one. And it might be your only shot at a luxury smartwatch now that Apple’s stepped out of the game.
The funniest thing? It doesn’t look like anything is changing here versus the model we reviewed back in January. More than that? The gold doesn’t go beyond the case. Fools, money, etc.. But hey, at least those hole in your pocket and bare wrist problems are solved.
Via: Hodinkee
Source: Tag Heuer
Google gets better at spotting bogus Play Store app installs
It’d bad enough when you download a crummy Android app, but it’s worse when you’re tricked into installing that app thanks to fake installs and other tricks that make it seem more popular than it is. Google wants to fix that: it’s deploying upgraded detection and filtering tech that should do a better job of catching installs meant solely to pump up an app’s placement in the Play Store. Developers won’t immediately get the boot if they’re caught (rookie developer may not fully understand the rules), but those who make a habit of rigging the system could lose their app presence.
Is this going to eliminate app fraud? Probably not — shady developers may find a way to circumvent detection, and it’s harder to spot non-automated deception like incentivized ratings. If Google succeeds, though, that should increase the chances that apps actually deserve their positions on the Play Store charts.
Source: Android Developers Blog
iPad regains share in a shrinking mobile tablet market
Apple’s share of the tablet market has been sliding for a while, but it’s making a comeback… if not for the reasons the company might prefer. Strategy Analytics estimates that the iPad climbed from 19.1 percent of the market in the third quarter of 2015 to 19.9 percent a year later. However, that’s mainly because the market as a whole shrank 10 percent. The analysts believe that many tablet manufacturers’ shipments dropped year-to-year, and that Apple simply experienced a smaller decline than most. The one major exception is Amazon, whose $49 Fire tablet helped its shipments more than double.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple is on the wrong track. Strategy Analytics argues that the iPad Pro line puts Apple “on the path to recovery” by giving the company a laptop-like tablet that wasn’t an option before. However, it does show that Apple is consciously veering away from the strategies of its peers. Many of its Android rivals are shifting attention to 2-in-1 Windows tablets, like Lenovo’s Yoga series or Samsung’s TabPro S. Researchers say that Windows hybrid and tablet shipments jumped 25 percent year-over-year in the third quarter — some of those are bound to be from companies no longer convinced they can sell Android tablets as full-on computer substitutes.
The data suggests that the tablet market isn’t so much dying as maturing. Basic mobile tablets will still have an audience among those who just want to read books or watch video, but higher-end slates are taking hold. People want “everyday computing devices” that really can fill in for a conventional PC, according to analysts, and they’re willing to pay more for these devices.
Source: Strategy Analytics
Yahoo brings all its bots together in one app
Yahoo has quietly introduced a new app called Yahoo Bots, as recently spotted by VentureBeat. The application, available for iOS and Android, acts as a hub to connect you with all of the company’s virtual assistants. You’ll find bots that provide information from Yahoo News, Yahoo Weather and Yahoo Finance, and more could be added in the future. Meanwhile, Blitz helps Fantasy Football players research their team and manage it, as well as get real-time stats, player news and personalized roster recommendations. If you want to check it out, Yahoo Bots is a free download from the App Store or Google Play.
Via: VentureBeat
Source: App Store, Google Play
T-Mobile leaks new Windows 10 phone ahead of announcement
T-Mobile accidentally leaked the newest Windows 10 phone, the Alcatel Idol 4S, ahead of the handset’s official announcement during Microsoft’s Surface event in New York City today. The handset was originally released in July as a low-cost competitor to the Galaxy VR, though, back then, the Idol was still running Android. T-Mobile is now offering the Idol 4S bundled with a VR headset as well as a 45-day trial subscription of Hulu, a 60-day trial subscription to Groove Music and a free copy of Halo Spartan. There’s no word yet on pricing or availability.
Microsoft announced a major push into VR at the event today. The company is partnering with Dell, Acer, HP, ASUS and Lenovo to bring a line of $300 headsets to market. It is also revamping the venerable MS Paint program to generate 3D doodles which can be viewed in both AR and VR.
Via: The Verge
Source: T-Mobile
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