Kia brings Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to older cars
For many, the biggest problem with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay is getting it in the first place. Unless you buy a very recent car, you’re likely stuck buying an aftermarket head unit to drag your vehicle into the smartphone era. Kia thinks it can do better, though. It’s promising free updates to both Android Auto and CarPlay for a slew of vehicles that have either the UVO3 infotainment system or a compatible navigation system.
These aren’t limited to the youngest vehicles, either. Most of the updates (for the Optima, Optima Hybrid, Sedona and Soul EV) support 2015 model year cars, and you can upgrade standard Souls dating as far back as the 2014 model year. While some patches are limited to 2016 (Sorento) or 2017 (Forte, Sportage) models, Kia is still covering a pretty wide swath.
You’ll have to register at Kia’s MyUVO site to get a notification about the update, but you should hear about it before the end of July. And importantly, you can download it yourself when available — you won’t have to go to the dealership or otherwise wait to install it. Should Kia pull this off without a hitch, you won’t have to worry quite so much about buying an older ride.
Via: AppleInsider
Source: Kia
Army Special Operations Command Reportedly Switching From Android to iPhone
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command is looking to switch from Android smartphones for its Tactical Assault Kits to iPhones, according to Military.com’s DoDBuzz. The switch away from Android, and specifically Samsung devices, is largely because the devices aren’t reliable enough.
The iPhone is “faster; smoother. Android freezes up” and has to be restarted too often, the source said. The problem with the Android is particularly noticeable when viewing live feed from an unmanned aerial system such as Instant Eye, the source said.
Specifically, Android will freeze up and apps will fail to refresh properly when viewing split screens with information on them. This forces the user to restart the phone, wasting valuable minutes. The source tells DoDBuzz that the same process is “seamless” on the iPhone and that the graphics are “clear” and “unbelievable.”
The Tactical Assault Kits are made up of a system that links a smartphone to a connected network radio, allowing unit leaders to keep track of their own locations and the locations of their troops on a digital map. It’s unclear which version of Android or which Samsung device the Army was using in the Tactical Assault Kit. In 2013, the Department of Defense approved the use of iOS devices for military networks.
Related Roundup: iPhone 6s
Tag: Military.com
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Caution)
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T-Mobile to Offer Free Data for Pokémon Go Starting Next Tuesday
As part of its T-Mobile Tuesday offerings, T-Mobile plans to offer its customers free data for hit augmented reality game Pokémon Go. Starting on July 19, T-Mobile subscribers will be able to play Pokémon Go, which is something of a data hog, without using up their monthly data.
T-Mobile plans to provide free unlimited high-speed data for Pokémon Go for all subscribers through August 17, 2017. Customers will need to redeem the gift in the T-Mobile Tuesdays app between July 19 and August 9, 2016.
Ready to catch them all!? #TMobileTuesdays is giving you unlimited data use for #PokémonGo! https://t.co/NrFAxW3KYq pic.twitter.com/pPXxezGV0r
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 14, 2016
Next Tuesday’s T-Mobile Tuesday offering, which is Pokémon themed, will also include free Lyft rides up to $15, a free Wendy’s frosty, and up to 50 percent off all accessories at T-Mobile stores. 250 T-Mobile subscribers will win $100 in PokéCoins to spend in the app and five people will win a Pokémon Go hunting trip anywhere in the United States.
“This is what T-Mobile Tuesday is all about – thanking customers with hot, new, totally free gifts every week, and right now, nothing is hotter than Pokémon Go!” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “With the carriers’ shared data schemes, players could easily burn up the family’s data bucket – and then, hello, overages! At T-Mobile, we’re unleashing Pokémon Go so our customers can play free for a year. It’s gonna be a fantastic T-Mobile Tuesday!”
T-Mobile first unveiled T-Mobile Tuesdays last month, marking the debut of its eleventh Uncarrier promotion. T-Mobile Tuesdays brings customers a variety of weekly freebies, from food and movie tickets to ride-sharing credits.
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Facebook Messenger offer 3D Touch previews on your iPhone 6s
Add one more to the list of Facebook apps belatedly making use of recent iPhone features. Facebook has introduced 3D Touch support to Messenger on iOS, making your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus that much more useful when you’re chatting up a storm. The update adds pressure-sensitive previews to seemingly everything — you can peek at chats, contacts, locations, media, web links and even stickers. If you want to find out whether or not that conversation or photo is worth viewing, you’ll want to get the new version right away.
Source: App Store
New Motion Camera App ‘Polaroid Swing’ Seeks to Redefine Photo Sharing
Ailing consumer electronics brand Polaroid has leant its name to a new motion photo sharing platform called Polaroid Swing which saw its release on the App Store yesterday.
Similar to Live Photos in iOS, the app lets users capture a one-second moment with their device’s camera, which can then be shared over social media or in the new platform’s Instagram-like social feed.
While its premise is nothing new, the quality of the motion captures is a step above that offered by typical GIF-creation apps, and records moments in 60 frames per second for smooth, crisp playback.
What’s also unique to Polaroid Swing is the way users interact with the shots. Tilting the device left rewinds the moment, while angling it right advances the capture relative to the speed of the user’s motion.
Floating the mouse cursor over a capture when viewed on a desktop, or sliding a finger over the shot on an iOS device, produces the same effect. Users can also embed Polaroid Swing moments as another way of sharing their experiences.
The app is the result of a partnership between the Polaroid brand and a Silicon Valley tech startup chaired by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone.
The developer team is comprised of former Apple engineers as well as the creator of Instagram’s original filters and logo, Cole Rise.
“Polaroid Swing has the potential to change the way we think about images, just like Twitter’s 140 characters changed how we think about words,” said Biz Stone in a press release. “People will start seeing the world in one second moments. It’s a genre-defining medium.”
Polaroid Swing is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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‘Prisma’ App’s Art-Inspired Photo Filters Take Social Media by Storm
Amid all the hype for Pokémon Go this week, one non-game release that’s enjoying relatively quiet success in the App Store is a new photo editor called Prisma.
The brainchild of a team of Russian developers, Prisma describes itself simply as an “editor for Instagram”, but has attracted far wider attention thanks to an impressive series of stylistic and art-inspired filters.
The app uses a server-side combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence to apply the 33 different filters, which can be changed in intensity using a sliding scale. The results can be immediately shared over Instagram or Facebook, or using the options found in the iOS Share Sheet.
The app is currently available in 25 different countries and has achieved 300,000 downloads each day in 10 of those markets, leading developers scrambling to double their server capacity to process all the information.
Once Prisma’s developers have got to grips with the surge in popularity, the team says the app will soon add support for videos and immersive VR.
Prisma is a free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]
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‘Pokémon Go’ update fixes the iOS app’s nosy Google access
Pokémon Go for iOS doesn’t have quite as much access to your Google account as some gamers have feared, but it’s clear that Niantic isn’t wasting time trying to assuage your concerns. It already has an update for the rabidly popular game that narrows the iOS version’s access to your Google data if you sign in using a Google account. In short, you can likely relax about your privacy while you’re Pikachu-catching — the biggest issue now is simply getting to play in the first place.
Source: App Store
Apple Faces Patent Lawsuit Over iPhone’s Battery Technologies
Somaltus, LLC has filed a complaint against Apple today in an Eastern Texas district court, accusing the iPhone maker of infringing upon its 2010 patent related to complex battery technologies. The small Frisco, Texas-based firm also filed lawsuits against Asus, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba over the same patent.
The lawsuit claims that the iPhone 6s and any similar devices sold by Apple infringe upon U.S. Patent No. 7,657,386, titled “Integrated Battery Service System,” and seeks unspecified monetary damages or, alternatively, a running royalty on sales of infringing devices from the time of judgment going forward.
Defendant sells, offers to sell, and/or uses telephones including, without limitation, the iPhone 6s (the “Product”), for example, and any similar devices, which infringe at least Claim 1 of the ‘386 Patent.
On information and belief, the Product includes a battery service system including a processor (e.g., the A9 chip), which is configured to receive signals from connectors coupled to a battery (e.g., the Product’s rechargeable lithium-ion battery).
Specifically, it appears that the infringement claim at least partially relates to the iPhone’s process of charging in fast-charge mode until the battery reaches 80% capacity, and then adjusting to trickle-charge mode above 80% capacity.
On information and belief, the processor executes the control codes to continually adjust a charge level to the battery. The Product has a charging system according to which the system operates in fast-charge mode until the battery reaches 80% capacity and then adjusts to trickle-charge mode when the capacity exceeds 80%. When the capacity drops below 80%, the system gain adjusts to fast-charge operation. The purpose of the system is to reduce the charging level applied to the battery at high capacity in order to extend the battery lifespan. Thus, the system adjusts the charging level applied to the battery and does so continuously as the battery charge capacity repeatedly exceeds and drops below 80%.
Somaltus, LLC generally fits the description of a “patent troll,” as it does not appear to provide any obvious products or services and lacks an easily identifiable online presence. Nevertheless, it has successfully reached out-of-court settlements with automakers like Ford and Nissan in the past in relation to the same particular patent.
The legal complaint’s case number is 2:16-cv-00758 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Related Roundup: iPhone 6s
Tags: lawsuit, patent
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Caution)
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Polaroid’s mobile photo app is all about moving snapshots
To say that Polaroid missed the boat on mobile photography apps would be an understatement. The original Instagram logo was based on a Polaroid camera, and the company’s main answer was to build a camera that looked like that logo. However, it’s ready to give smartphone apps a proper shot with Polaroid Swing, a social photo service that promises a fresher take on the endless image feed. You’re capturing 1-second videos that become moving photos (think Apple’s Live Photos or HTC’s Zoe shots) — the “Swing” comes from using either phone motion or your finger to control them. The app is only available on iPhones right now, but an Android version is “coming soon.”
I’ve given the app a try, and it can be fun to flick through shots (although you may want a steady hand to avoid moving pictures involuntarily). The interface is simple, and it’s easy to sign up, find your friends and share your creations. The challenge, I’d say, is convincing people that Swing will do something they can’t already do somewhere else — Instagram’s Boomerang already fills a similar role, and a 1-second clip in Vine or Instagram itself might be enough for most people. Polaroid’s app has the backing of Twitter co-creator Biz Stone, who’s serving as chairman behind the project, but it’ll only grow if people believe that leaving their existing photo services is worth the effort.
Source: App Store, Polaroid Swing
iPhone 7 spy shot offers a clearer look at its camera
If you’re wondering what the iPhone 7 should look like when it’s more than just a bare shell covered in watermarks, look no further. NowhereElse.fr has obtained a leaked photo that appears to offer an exceptionally clear, more complete view of Apple’s upcoming handset. The snapshot of the device sample shows that, yes, the standard-sized future iPhone should have a much larger, protruding camera lens (and presumably a larger sensor) along with cleaner antenna lines. While there’s no guarantees that this is exactly what Apple will launch later this year, we believe this photo was taken outside of the offices of Lite-On, a company with expertise optical and power supply technologies. It’s possible that someone brought the iPhone chassis to Lite-On or a nearby firm for testing.
The shot doesn’t verify other rumored details, such as the absence of a 3.5mm headphone jack, dual-SIM support or increased storage. And is the camera higher resolution, or will Apple offer a similar resolution and improve image quality (such as low light performance) instead? We’d add that this doesn’t show the larger iPhone 7 Plus, which is widely rumored to have dual rear cameras that would improve focusing and overall fidelity. This may not be the last leak you see, but we have a hunch that you won’t get all the answers until Apple holds its iPhone launch event sometime in the weeks ahead.
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: NowhereElse.fr
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