Your phone is a lightsaber in Google’s desktop browser game
Since real lightsabers don’t exist (yet), Google and the studios behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens are offering the next-best thing: A program that turns your smartphone into a lightsaber, which then takes out bad guys on your computer screen. Lightsaber Escape is live now — open it in your desktop browser and then punch in the unique URL on your phone (or vice versa), and you’re good to go. Your phone becomes a lightsaber handle and, as you move it around, the actual glowing sword moves on the desktop.
Lightsaber Escape is a Chrome Experiment that Google made in conjunction with Lucasfilm and Star Wars visual-effects studio Industrial Light & Magic. It uses WebGL for the 3D graphics, plus WebRTC and WebSocket for the real-time communication between your phone and desktop. It may be a Chrome Experiment, but this one works in other browsers, too.
If Chrome and Safari can get along, maybe there’s hope for the First Order and the Resistance, after all.
Use Android Pay to handle your in-app purchases
Android Pay has been handling mobile payments for the Google faithful since September, and now it’s ready to lend a hand inside apps. Starting today, you can use Mountain View’s payments system to complete in-app purchases. Instead of having to pull out your wallet and manually enter card info, you can now easily tap the Android Pay button and confirm your details for quick transactions. The new addition gives Google’s payments system a feature iOS users already had with Apple Pay.
Google says we can expect to see the new feature in a growing list of apps in the coming months. In fact, the likes of DoorDash, OpenTable, Lyft and others are offering some discounts to usher in Android Pay’s arrival inside of those apps. What’s more, Google says its payments platform is heading to Australia in early 2016 with more countries to follow throughout the year.
Source: Google
Order the unlocked all metal Lollipop Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for $170
Gearbest.com is a leader in providing fantastic unlocked Android phones at great prices. I most recently reviewed the Asus Zenfone 2 which is the first of many smartphones in the sub $300 category that I will be reviewing in the coming months. Gearbest.com provides a wide selection of gadgets, from tablets, to smartphones, to quad-copters and more.
You really need to start paying attention to the unlocked Android devices coming out of China. Xiaomi, Huawei, Meizu, Doogee and Letv are leading the next generation of devices that we will be using in the U.S.
These companies make more than budget devices if you’re interested, like the Letv One Max 6.33″ Android smartphone which is powered by a Snapdragon 810, 4GB of RAM, and Android 5.0. It has a massive 6.33″ 2k display and can hold its own against any flagship offered by Samsung, Sony, or LG.
My focus is geared towards saving you money with devices like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 which I will be reviewing in January. The Redmi Note 3 comes with the ultra powerful Helio X10 64-bit processor, 2GB or 3G of RAM, a 5.5″ 1080p display, 16GB or 32GB of memory, and Android 5.0 Lollipop. It comes fully unlocked for use on GSM networks such as T-Mobile or AT&T, and best of all it comes in a gorgeous all metal build.
Everyone demands a great build and Xiaomi delivers with the Redmi Note 3. It’s time you give one of these unlocked budget phones a try. It’s worth the money savings alone.
Check out the 2GB RAM, 16GB memory version at Gearbest.com for $170 – LINK
The 3GB RAM, 32GB can be found by clicking this LINK.
Gearbest.com backs all of its products with a 45-day 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied for any reason, simply let gearbest.com know and they will refund your money, no questions asked. All purchases are protected by PayPal and/or your credit card company. I personally have purchased many products from gearbest.com and would not recommend them without trying them out first. And you can also earn credits through their reward program for discounts on future purchases.
Redmi Note 3 specs:
| Dimensions | 150 x 76 x 8.7 mm (5.91 x 2.99 x 0.34 in) |
| Weight | 164 g (5.78 oz) |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Display Type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Size | 5.5 inches (~72.4% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1080 x 1920 pixels (~403 ppi pixel density) |
| OS | Android OS, v5.1 (Lollipop) |
| Chipset | Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10 |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| GPU | PowerVR G6200 |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Memory | 16 GB |
| Card slot | No |
| Primary camera | 13 MP, 4128 x 3096 pixels, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash |
| Features | Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR, panorama |
| Video | 1080p@30fps |
| Secondary camera | 5 MP, 1080p |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | v4.1, A2DP, LE |
| USB | microUSB v2.0, USB On-The-Go |
| Sensors | Fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery |
| Color | Gray |
The post Order the unlocked all metal Lollipop Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 for $170 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Gmail’s Inbox app makes it easier to share travel info
If you fancy Google’s Inbox app to wrangle your Gmail, sharing travel details is about to get even easier. Mountain View is rolling out an update to the service that lets you attach those handy card-like Trip Bundles to emails with a tap. This should make giving colleagues, friends and family all of your travel info even quicker.
What’s more, you can attach related emails to a trip with the “Move to” menu option and set a trip to be available offline. You know, just in case you run into an unreliable WiFi connection or need it while you’re in the air. Inbox is also making it easier for you to share snapshots from the journey with easy access to recent photos and the ability to attach more than just one at a time. The new features are said to be rolling out this week, so you should be seeing the update soon.
Source: Google
Google to sell gold Nexus 6P exclusively at Best Buy?
As the Nexus 6P began to leak pre-announcement, several photos of a gold version were circulated. Sadly, we learned that at launch, the gold variant, called the Nexus 6P Special Edition, would only be sold in Japan in limited quantities. This was done in partnership with Softbank, the carrier that sold the Special Edition in Japan. After several months, it seems that Google is finally bringing the Special Edition to the U.S., with a catch.
According to reports, the gold Nexus 6P is set to go on sale via Best Buy sometime in 2016. Huawei has two events scheduled for CES 2016 in January, so it is possible that they could use one of them to make an announcement. The Nexus 5X is already available at Best Buy, but Google reportedly wants to bring the 6P — gold variant included — to the tech retailer as well.
No word on a firm release date or pricing differences for the Nexus 6P Special Edition, but we will be eagerly watching Huawei’s CES events to learn more.
Source 9to5 Google
The post Google to sell gold Nexus 6P exclusively at Best Buy? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google adds new sharing and travel features into Inbox
Not too long ago, Google spiffied up Inbox with the capability to bundle relevant trip information and quick access to up-to-date details. Especially for frequent travelers, this gave us the organization and efficiency we’ve longed for when the time came to start our trip.
Now, Google is complimenting that feature with the ability to share your trip summarizes with relevant parties. With one tap from your trip bundle in Inbox, you can let your friends and family know your travel plans and itinerary.
But that’s not all. Just in case Inbox didn’t log a relevant trip email (or you just want to add one in particular to that grouping), Google is throwing in a “Move to” email option for user control. Also, if you want to still be able to access the travel information offline, we’re getting a “view trips offline” option.
Another sharing feature Google is debutting in Inbox is the ability to quickly share memories. Clicking the “attachments” button will pop up your recent photos library, and it will let you attach multiple photos at once.
Pretty neat, huh? Inbox’s usefulness is evolving quite nicely. Google says that these new features will be rolling out over the next week.
Source: Google Blogspot
The post Google adds new sharing and travel features into Inbox appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Buy a $30 Chromecast and Google will give you $20
Google announced a new promotion for its Chromecast line on Monday: Buy one of the $30 devices, get $20 in Google Play store credits. What’s more, you don’t have to buy it directly from Google to qualify for the deal. Pick up one from either Best Buy or Walmart if that’s more convenient, you’ll still get the twenty dollar rebate after you activate the device.
Source: Google
Inbox by Gmail update makes sharing travel plans and memories a breeze
Just in time for the holidays, Google is rolling out an update to Inbox that lets you summarize and share trip information in a few taps. This update comes on the heels of Gmail’s Trip Bundles update this summer, which made organizing trip-related emails far easier. Now Google wants to take that personal convenience and extrovert it, bringing simple sharing to Inbox’s long list of convenient features.
Trip Bundles itself is an idea that was kind of lying on the ground. It’s amazing nobody scooped it up earlier, because it’s such clean solution to an obvious problem. Whenever you’re going on a trip, the flood of notifications regarding travel (airline tickets, car rentals, hotel accommodations, etc.) inundates your inbox, making it difficult to sort through to the exact bit of information that you currently need. What gate was my flight departing from? Hold on while I scroll past 19 irrelevant travel notifications mixed in with my work emails and thirty forwarded cat pictures from Grandma.
See also: Google details Trip Bundles in Inbox by Gmail
Trip Bundles takes everything related to a specific trip and, as the name suggests, bundles it into one easily collapsible and expandable module. Inbox also tries to predict what information is most immediately relevant to you, and display that near the top of the dropdown dialogue. Praise for Trip Bundles has been pretty ubiquitous among frequent fliers, so Google has decided to build on this popular system by making it social.
The idea is to give users the ability to share travel information in a single tap. You can quickly keep friends and family in the loop by sharing your Trip Bundle summaries as easily as you would a photo. Users can now also manually add emails to a travel bundle, since Inbox might miss one or two messages that don’t, on the surface, seem to have to do with your upcoming trip.
Inbox is also beefing up their picture sharing. No more hopping out of composition to go to the gallery. Once this update hits, you will be able to access recent pictures through a carousel gallery at the bottom of the screen.
All of these additions serve to decrease the amount of time you spend poking away at your emails, freeing up more time for you to, you know, actually enjoy your trip. Google says these new features should be rolling out over the course of this week, so you should expect them to hit your device soon.
What are your thoughts about Inbox’s newest set of improvements? Let us know in the comments!
Next: 10 best new Android apps
YouTube axes direct video uploads from webcams
If you’re one of the few recording to YouTube straight from your webcam, the video-hosting site will soon get rid of that feature. On January 16th, you’ll no longer be able to capture video straight from the camera connected to your computer and upload it to the web. Google says the feature is “rarely used” and runs on “tech” (read: Flash) that’s no longer supported.
The tool has been around for years, debuting the same year Mountain View nabbed YouTube. Despite the direct upload abilities, it seems the feature wasn’t very popular with folks posting videos on the site. When the time comes, users will need to first save footage on their computer or mobile device before uploading via the web or YouTube apps for Android and iOS.
[Image credit: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images]
Via: The Next Web
Source: YouTube
Google Maps for iOS displays gas prices along your route
As if Google Maps wasn’t useful enough already, the application is getting yet another handy feature. Today, Google updated its iOS version of the app to show gas prices when people search for stations, making it easy to see how much each location charges for Regular, Midgrade, Premium and even Diesel.
The new functionality, which is currently limited to the US and Canada, will display you that information based on up-to-date pricing, all with a simple tap. It’s worth noting Maps for Android has had this since last month, but now iOS users can start taking advantage of it as well.
Via: MobileSyrup
Source: App Store
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