Fairphone 2 to be world’s first modular smartphone
You may remember the Fairphone 2, which we showed you back in June. Today the company behind the device is announcing that it is ready for pre-order. The Fairphone 2 will officially be the world’s first modular smartphone to be sold on the market. Based on what we can see from their official website, the company is using materials that come from “ethical” sources, and the workers who produce the phones are paid a fair wage. Beyond the ethics of building a device, the Fairphone 2 will hold the crown as the first modular smartphone, despite the progress we’ve seen from Google’s Project Ara over the last few years.
The Fairphone 2, which is now up for pre-order, will have a Snapdragon 801 processor, a 5-inch full HD display made with Gorilla Glass 3, dual-SIM support, 2GB of RAM, 32Gb of internal storage, and a microSD card slot. There will be an 8MP camera on the rear of the device, and the whole package will run Android 5.1.1 on a 2,420 mAh battery. The photos on the website indicate a front-facing camera as well, although no specs are available for that just yet.
As far as the modular aspect is concerned, Fairphone made this new device easy to disassemble, which means users will be able to swap out parts as needed. You can see what that looks like in the promotional video above. This feature gives the phone a usage life of around five years, according to Fairphone. While it isn’t the configuration that Project Ara has been teasing, this is still a very big step in creating phones that last longer for users.
Unfortunately for American users, the Fairphone 2 will be initially launched in select European countries, with plans to expand next year. At launch it will cost €525, or around $583. Pre-orders can be placed here, and Fairphone has registered over 20,000 reserved devices already.
Source Android Authority
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BlackBerry’s Priv will cost you $699
BlackBerry has opened-up pre-orders for its first ever Android smartphone, the curved-screen slider that’s better known as the Priv. The move comes just a day after the spec list was leaked on the company’s site, although the price that was included in the listing turned out to be a red herring. In fact, American BlackBerry fans will be able to pre-order the device for $699 starting from today, with delivery expected on November 6th. Canadians, meanwhile, can plonk down $899 CDN to get the device in their home country, while UK users are expected to stump-up £559 ($857) for the same deal.
Via: Re/code
Source: BlackBerry
Google is starting to bill credit cards for Nexus 6P orders
If you were lucky enough to bag a shiny new Nexus 6P when it launched on September 29, you may want to take a quick peek at your bank account as earlier today Google withdrew payments from a select number of customers for their orders, signifying that the handset is set to start shipping soon.
This message is only going out to consumers who placed an order through the Play Store on launch day, so those who sent a 6P to their basket after that date will presumably be looking at another week or two before getting their hands on the device.
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Google financial results looking good according to Alphabet release
Alphabet has released 2015 third quarter financial results for Google and things are looking good for the search giant. Google experienced a substantial 13 percent growth rate year-over-year in revenues, driven in large part by strength in mobile search revenues. Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat noted that “with six products now having more than 1 billion users globally, we’re excited about the opportunities ahead of Google, and across Alphabet.”
For the third quarter, Google generated $18.7 billion in revenue and achieved net income of almost $4 billion. Google owned sites, like YouTube, generated $13 billion in revenue, which was up 6% compared to the previous quarter. Paid advertisement clicks saw a 23 percent year-over-year increase which included a 35 percent increase in these clicks being generated by Google’s own sites. Other areas of Google’s operations, like Google Play or the Nexus line of devices, which are listed as part of “Other revenues” experienced an 11 percent growth rate.
On the expenses side of the income statement, Google’s operating costs tallied up to $6.93 billion, which was an increase from last year’s $6.1 billion. A big contributor to that growth included 8,400 new employees that have been added to the company’s ranks of Googlers.
source: Google
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Android Marshmallow requires devices to show all battery stats
On top of the big changes coming with Android Marshmallow, Google is also forcing Android device makers to be more transparent about battery usage on all of their devices. Specifically, Google notes that devices “MUST be able to track hardware component power usage,” as well as attribute usage to individual apps, according to the Marshmallow Compatibility Definition Document. Up until now, some Android manufacturers have been able to obfuscate certain battery details, allowing them to potentially hide components or apps that could be draining battery life. The change will hopefully lead to more power efficient Android phones and tablets down the line. If anything, it’s surprising it’s taken this long for Google to clamp down on Android battery stats.
Via: Android Police
Source: Google
Google’s cheapest Nexus phone is easy to fix, too
It turns out that the cheaper of Google’s two new Nexus Marshmallow devices, LG’s Nexus 5X, is a cinch to repair, according to iFixit. The 5.2-inch, $379 device can be taken apart with a Philips screwdriver, and many of the parts are then user replaceable, including the “Imprint” fingerprint sensor, camera and battery. One bit that isn’t DIY-friendly is the high-speed, fast-charging USB-C port, since it’s soldered to the motherboard. The display is also fused, meaning that you’ll need to replace the whole unit if you break either the LCD or cover glass. Overall, however, it scored a decent seven on the repairability scale. Not that Android purists needed more incentive than “$379.”
Via: Android Community
Source: iFixit
Android executive promises a new batch of emojis via Twitter
If you’ve been casting an envious eye over your friends iOS device because they have some fancy new emojis to compose messages with instead of constructing an entire word, it seems that your reason for turning green may soon cease to exist. This is because a new batch of Android emojis is currently being developed.
Android executive, Hiroshi Lockheimer, has acknowledged the needs of the Android faithful, promises that he and his team are working on new emojis, and also apologises for the wait.
So I have a feeling y'all want new emojis? a) Thanks for the feedback, b) We're on it, and c) Sorry!
— Hiroshi Lockheimer (@lockheimer) October 23, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
It doesn’t sound like we’ll be waiting too long for this new batch of emojis, and I’m hoping we’ll see more around the topic of coffee. Because one can never have too much coffee in one’s life.
Source: Hiroshi Lockheimer (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Android executive promises a new batch of emojis via Twitter
Google teams up with General Assembly to accelerate your Android developer career
Want to become an Android developer? This might be your opportunity.
General Assembly has partnered up with Google to build an “Android Development Immersive program” that seeks to train participants in coding, design, and iteration skills. The creators of the program are calling it a “career accelerator,” and they’re looking to give new developers the tools they need to succeed in the growing field of app development.
The course is 12 weeks of full-time work, and with a financeable $13,500 price tag, it’s definitely a big investment.
However, General Assembly claims that they will be boasting an alumni force over 25,000 members strong by the end of 2015 and that they expect to only grow larger in coming years. As with any career, making it in the software development world is as much about who you know as what you know, so becoming a part of this growing network of professionals is a pretty significant benefit for General Assembly to tout.
There’s far more than just networking to this opportunity, however. The program features professional Android developers as mentors, and participants will build real apps to develop user interface fundamentals, material design, and Java skills. Students will receive assistance finding a job after the course with the help of career coaches as well.
General Assembly is a startup company focusing on education. They just succeeded in raising $70 million in funds for their projects, and they’ve recently partnered with Google to improve this Android development course.
The future is in apps. Nobody is really debating this. We’ve only become more attached to our mobile devices over the last decade, and solid app design can make or break a company. If you’re looking to establish this field a part of your personal future, head over to Android Development Immersive site and request a copy of a the syllabus.
Who knows? This could be what kicks off your career. Or it could be a total waste of $13K. What a participant gets out of something like this usually correlates to how much effort they put into it. Nobody’s going to just hand you a career for a few thousand dollars, after all. Ask any college grad with a Liberal Arts degree.
What do you think? Solid investment or waste of time? Let us know in the comments.
Google ‘Frightgeist’ might help you avoid Halloween costume clashes
Google Trends has tapped into its daily search data to unearth the top 500 costume searches across the US. National and more local trends are listed (a whole lot of Star Wars characters and pirates out there), and if you’re thinking about going as the Suicide Squad‘s Harley Quinn, expect a few awkward confrontations.
Via: Teen Vogue
Source: Frightgeist
Nexus 5X gets a decent 7 out of 10 repairability score thanks to modular components
Another new phone means another iFixit teardown, and this time it’s the Nexus 5X up at bat. Fortunately, it looks like the new, smaller Nexus has gotten a pretty decent repairability score. It’s not perfect, but it means you should be able to do some repairs yourself without having to send it off to Google or replace it.
The Nexus 5X uses very standard screws, so opening it up is very simple. Most of the components are modular, too, so getting things swapped out shouldn’t be a headache. The battery is one of the biggest problems as it’s not immediately accessible, but it’s not impossible to pry out with a little bit of work.
Unfortunately, it looks like LG opted for a fused glass display, which means the glass and LCD will have to be replaced together if either breaks. That drives the price up a bit for replacement parts, but it’s a necessary evil for keeping the device thin.
Overall, iFixit gave the Nexus 5X a 7 out of 10 on its repairability scale. That’s not great, but it’s good.
source: iFixit
Come comment on this article: Nexus 5X gets a decent 7 out of 10 repairability score thanks to modular components
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