Broadcast your point of view with Livestream’s new Google Glass app
NAB 2014 wouldn’t be the same without Livestream, one of the internet’s most popular broadcasting services, introducing new hardware or software. As such, Livestream has just announced another way for users to share video on its site: an application for Google Glass. Obviously, Livestream isn’t the first to bring this feature to the wearable set, since you can already use the search giant’s own Hangouts app to broadcast what you’re seeing.
Starting an event is as easy as pie: the “Livestream” voice command launches the app and one simple tap on the side of your Glass headset gets you live in no time (roughly five seconds or so, in our experience). As it stands, the only way to pair an account is by having Glass scan a QR code, which can be found within the event pages on Livestream’s website; soon you’ll be able to do this straight from the streaming platform’s iOS and Android apps. Livestream Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Phil Worthington, told us that it’s all about integrating the Glass app with the rest of the company’s ecosystem, like its Broadcaster and all-in-one Studio video switchers. “Our mission is to democratize live video broadcasting, so this is the best step in our revolution. We want to be on every device possible,” Worthington stated.
(Psst… Livestream video demo taken with Google Glass. How meta.)
Filed under: Misc, Wearables, Internet, Google
Source: Livestream
Apple, April 2013: ‘Consumers want what we don’t have’
The ongoing Apple-Samsung trial is unearthing some interesting behind-closed-door secrets on both sides. Something we hadn’t seen in the preceding legal tussles however, and presented by Recode, was a handful of slides from an Apple internal meeting in April 2013 regarding its plans for 2014. Alongside the slowing growth of iPhone sales, the research noted that overall smartphone growth was from cheap and large (well, larger than the current iPhone) devices — both of which Apple had nothing to compete with. As the slide put it: “Consumers want what we don’t have.”
The slide also includes some other reasons for concern, including the carriers’ “strong interest in capping iPhone” sales because of its already-high market share, a tough subsidy premium and some (not mentioned) “unfriendly” policies — consider that lack of carrier-sanctioned bloatware on your iPhone. Apple also admitted that the mobile competition had also “drastically improved their hardware and in some cases their ecosystems,” while at the same time, some Android phone-makers were spending “obscene” sums on advertising or carriers to gain traction. Now, which company could Apple possibly mean?
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Via: Recode
Source: Internal slides (Scribd)
EasyAcc leather flip case for Nexus 5 review
Flip cases serve a decent purpose in the smartphone world, offering more functionality than protection. They certainly aren’t for users that have a habit of dropping their devices often. But if you’re looking for a durable, well-built flip case for your Nexus 5, look no further.
We’ve used this case for two weeks, and we have a pretty good grip as to whether to buy this case or not.
Build Quality
The case is made from a synthetic premium PU leather which feels good in the hand. It doesn’t necessarily feel cheap, especially in the world of fake leather. The interior of the case is made from a microfiber material that looks surprisingly similar to leather. Inside and out, the case is soft to the touch, and makes it feel like you’ve spent a good amount of money on it.
It locks the phone in by securing the four corners of the device. The phone seems pretty sturdy when inside the case, though the corners holding the device in feel a bit cheap. The front cover has a magnet that wakes and puts the device to sleep. This is definitely a feature we want to see in all flip cases.
The front cover locks in by a tab that wraps around the device. The tab has the same feeling as the corners securing the device – cheap feeling, but works really well. It also doubles as a kickstand and offers two different viewing angles. If you watch movies or YouTube videos, this case is great for you.
Look & Feel
This case feels really great when in use. It’s not slippery or easy to drop, making it an easy case for everyday use. If we could change one thing about the case, it would be the look and feel of the corners holding the phone in place. They look a bit cheap, and the leather doesn’t blend well with the look of the phone.
Other than our one major gripe, for a leather folio case, it looks really good.
Durability
With any flip case out there, you’re really not going to get the best protection out of it. We have dropped the phone a few times while using the case, and we didn’t see any signs of damage. Since the screen is so fragile, it’s nice to know that the front cover is thick enough that it will absorb a large amount of shock.
Other than dropping it, the top, bottom, and right side of the phone are bare, so it may not completely save the device from everything you throw at it. As far as folio cases go, this one offers enough durability to help you sleep at night.
Should I buy?
This folio case has just the right amount of functionality and good looks for us to recommend it to you. We love that there are two different viewing angles when using it as a kickstand. But we wish they could have figured out another way to secure the device without sacrificing looks.
If you’d like to pick one up, you can do so on Amazon for $9.99.
EasyAcc isn’t usually a brand that comes to mind when you think of phone cases, but perhaps it should. They’ve put together a decent phone case with an inexpensive price tag.
The post EasyAcc leather flip case for Nexus 5 review appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Weekends with Engadget: Amazon’s Fire TV, Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8.1 and more!
Welcome to Weekends with Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines from the past seven days — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. For even more action, subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Amazon’s Fire TV promises a premium set-top experience
What you’re looking at is Amazon’s new Fire TV set-top box. Above all, this tiny, $99 media streamer is lightning fast thanks to its “ASAP” technology, which preloads content based upon your location in the UI. But this little black box isn’t just for TV, it plays games too.
Interview with Microsoft’s new Xbox Head Phil Spencer
This week, Microsoft announced that longtime employee Phil Spencer is replacing Marc Whitten as head of the Xbox division. What does this mean for the future of Xbox’s current brand reorganization? Well, we managed to speak with Phil about just that.
Windows Phone 8.1 and Cortana officially revealed at Build 2014
Windows Phone 8.1 has finally arrived! Earlier this week at Build 2014, Microsoft unveiled the latest version of its mobile OS, featuring a brand new notification center (“Action Center”) and the anticipated Cortana digital assistant.
This is not a prank: ThinkGeek and the business of April Fools’
April Fools’ Day beckons celebration from techies and corporations alike, but no one does it better than ThinkGeek. Our own Joseph Volpe was lucky enough to spend the day with ThinkGeek’s team of expert nerds as they prepared this year’s round of product spoofs. And don’t worry, we took lots of pictures.
2014 April Fools’ roundup
Every year, all sorts of companies try to take their April Fools’ gags to the next level — and 2014 is no exception. By now you’ve probably familiar with Google’s emoji translator and the selfie-taking drone, but click on through for our entire roundup!
Felix Baumgartner is the man who fell to Earth and lived to tell the tale
Felix Baumartner will forever be known as the first man to free fall from the edge of space. Not only did he survive the 24 mile dive from the stratosphere, but he broke several world records in the process. Our own Joseph Volpe caught up with Baumgartner as he recollected the experience and its implications for the future of space tourism.
Apple confirms WWDC 2014 will begin on June 2nd
Apple recently announced that its annual WWDC developers conference will begin on June 2nd and commence until June 6th. Ticket sales are available on Apple’s website now, but this year, it’s switching from a first-come-first-served system to random selection of attendees.
Watch a 5-year-old spam the spacebar to access his dad’s Xbox Live account
How difficult is it to break into a password-protected Xbox One profile? Well, 5-year-old Kristoffer Von Hassel managed to crack into his dad’s account account by simply pressing the spacebar. A lot.
Apple buys tech that could take Siri offline
TechCrunch is reporting that experts from the speech recognition firm Novauris are working with Apple to improve Siri’s vocal chops. Since most of Novauris’ work deals with locally processed recognition, it’s possible Apple’s voice tech may be in line for offline functionality sooner than later.
Will.i.am claims he developed a smartwatch that will launch in July
It looks like Will.i.am’s jumping on the smartwatch bandwagon. The producer and occasional tech entrepreneur gave a brief demo of the device during a recent TV interview, saying that the self-funded wearable doesn’t need to be connected to your phone at all.
Subscribe to Weekends with Engadget on Flipboard today!
Android TV interface and details leaked
It seems Google is not stopping at the Chromecast when it comes to taking over your living room since a whole load of screenshots have surfaced on the internet showing software called Android TV running on new hardware.
Unlike Chromecast, Android TV seems to go directly after the newly announced Amazon FireTV and Apple TV by providing an entertainment platform used to house media as a standalone device, rather than just a streaming dongle.
According to the sources, Google is already approaching developers to bring their Apps to the platform, and it seems the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Vevo are already involved, as well as Google’s own services including Hangouts, Play Movies, and Youtube.
Whilst it may seem confusing that Google would be releasing such a product, it makes perfect sense in order to bring the company’s services off the mobile device and onto the big screen, removing the dependancy for a mobile device to access the content.
No doubt Google will be detailing more about Android TV at Google I/O in a few months time, but in the mean time drop us a comment below and let us know if you’d be interested in such a device.
The post Android TV interface and details leaked appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apparent Android TV UI Screenshots Surface
Remember Google TV? Yeah I barely remember myself, but I do remember how excited I was when Honeycomb made it to my Logitech set top box. Well it looks like Google doesn’t want to give up on bringing Android to you and your loved ones in the living, because Android TV is on its way it seems. Supposed screenshots have surfaced on the net, showing us what Android will look like on our TVs.
The TV platform will of course supply streams to all the major video stream providers, and it will also be game friendly. The UI groups everything in cards, not really the card look in the Google Now interface, but it still looks pretty lovely. Google also is wanting developers to get on developing apps for the new TV world, and I am sure they will come up with some awesome apps. Let us know what you think about Android TV.
Source: Android Police
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Google reportedly looking to simplify home entertainment with Android TV
Google has been edging away from the original Google TV concept for a while, but it now looks like the company is ready to make a sharper break from its past. The Verge claims to have documents revealing a new Android TV release with a more conventional (if very slick) living room interface. Rather than stress apps or the web, the new OS would rely on a familiar, simplified card layout centered around accessing content quickly. It would put more emphasis on home screen suggestions, and it would be easy to resume media you were playing on your phone or tablet. There are also mentions of gamepad support, suggesting that games may play a more important role this time around. We don’t know just when the new Android TV software would reach screens and set-top boxes — the folks in Mountain View aren’t commenting. If the leak is accurate, though, we’ll at least know that the search giant isn’t fazed by Google TV’s past challenges.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google
Source: The Verge
Google is trying to trademark the word “Glass” but the trademark office doesn’t like It
The trademarking story of the year so far has been the well documented (and quite possibly ludicrous) story of King.com trademarking the word “Candy”. Google looks like it could be moving in the same direction as Google is trying to trademark the word “Glass” (in relation to its Google Glass product) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office however the bid isn’t going so well.
The USPTO is holding up Google’s application because of two main objections. The first of which is that the world “Glass” is already included in existing and future tech-related applications and fears consumers will be confused. The second objection was raised because “merely descriptive” words such as “Glass” do not have protection under federal law. These objections were raised with Google late last year and Google replied about two weeks ago. Naturally, they believe both objections are unnecessary; Google thinks consumers will not be confused with trademarks as Google Glass has already had such a large media presence. Regarding the second objection, Google says that a name does not necessarily “inform potential consumers as to the nature, function or use” of a product, nor is the name “Glass” simply descriptive seeing as it is constructed from titanium and plastic.
Patent and trademark news normally does my head in, but this is definitely a very important story in the tech world that could have far-reaching implications. Interestingly, Google already has the trademark for “Google Glass” which means Google is seeking this additional trademark in the hopes of perhaps simplifying their marketing and becoming synonymous simply with the world “Glass”.
What do we think about this trademark case? Do you think companies should be allowed to trademark single words like “Candy” and “Glass”? Let us know what your opinion is in the comments below.
Source: Wall Street Journal via TalkAndroid
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Daily Roundup: 5-year-old hacks Xbox Live account, Amazon Fire TV teardown 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.
Watch a 5-year-old spam the spacebar to access his dad’s Xbox Live account
How difficult is it to break into a password-protected Xbox One profile? Well, 5-year-old Kristoffer Von Hassel managed to crack into his dad’s account account by simply pressing the spacebar. A lot.
Apple buys tech that could take Siri offline
TechCrunch is reporting that experts from the speech recognition firm Novauris are working with Apple to improve Siri’s vocal chops. Since most of Novauris’ work deals with locally processed recognition, it’s possible Apple’s voice tech may be in line for offline functionality sooner than later.
Amazon Fire TV teardown reveals an easily accessible media hub
That was quick. The folks at iFixit have already taken the Fire TV through the wringer, and it turns out the set-top box is relatively easy to fix. So, aside from a tricky outer casing, maintaining the internals should be a breeze for the average DIYer.
Samsung promises truly flexible electronics sooner with graphene breakthrough
Graphene’s back — well, according to Samsung, anyway. In the past, producing useable sheets of the allotrope has been a tricky business. But thanks to input from the South Korean manufacturer, the process could be refined for commercial applications.
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Filed under: Misc
Google Play’s ‘People’ section highlights apps your friends like
You trust your friends for restaurant recommendations, so why not apps as well? That’s the idea behind Google Play’s new “People” section, which attempts to leverage Google+ as a way to show which apps your friends like enough to award a +1 (you’ll be able to see their ratings on those apps too). And it’s not just restricted to your buddies either; the section will suggest other folks on G+ that you should follow to get even more app recommendations. The update should have rolled out to your Android handheld by now, but you can view the same reviews and ratings under the “From Familiar Faces” heading on the web store as well.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Play
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