Android 5.0 Lollipop Update For Nvidia Shield Tablet Owners
Well if you just got an Nvidia Shield tablet like I did then good news, the Android 5.0 Lollipop update isn’t far behind. One lucky LTE Shield owner has posted a screenshot of the 2.0 Shield OTA update which shows some very exciting updates coming to all Shield owners. Before I get into it, this was a private OTA that the owner received on Nov 15th but that doesn’t mean it’s any less exciting. According to the screenshot posted by Vincent S, this update brings quite a few goodies for Shield tablet owners. Here are some of the more notable ones; Android 5.0 Lollipop, an updated Nvidia Grid (Nvidia’s on demand gaming service), update for Nvidia Dabbler, support for 4K output and various other tweaks/fixes to keep your Shield tablet running smooth.
I think after this update my Shield tablet will keep me from even thinking about getting the HTC Nexus 9 anytime soon. In both build quality and just sheer awesomeness I feel the Shield tablet just outperforms the Nexus 9 in more ways then one (queue benchmarks and trolls). But anyway, the official update is slated to arrive today, Nov. 18th, so get your “System Update” finger ready and pray that Nvidia has graced your Shield tablet with Lollipop goodness.
Source: Gadgetz Arena
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BitTorrent now lets any artist offer paid bundles
BitTorrent’s experiments with paid music and video bundles have clearly seen some early success — and accordingly, it’s opening up the floodgates. The peer-to-peer service now lets any artist apply to distribute content through paywall-based downloads, whether they’re releasing music, apps or movies. As before, the allure is the sheer flexibility that artists get in deciding not just what you pay for, but when you pay for it. A musician might let the first 500 downloaders listen to an album for free, for instance, but can ask latecomers to pay for some or all of the songs. They also get 90 percent of the revenue instead of the 70 percent they get from most online music services, so there’s a chance they’ll take home more money if they produce a hit.
The company’s Straith Schreder notes that these new bundles won’t all be released right away; instead, they’re being sent in “batches” to ensure a smooth rollout. Still, this wider launch could make a big impact on media distribution. Performers like Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke regularly criticize services like Spotify and iTunes for not just giving artists less money, but frequently dictating an all-or-nothing approach to selling content. Now that BitTorrent’s paid platform is available to everyone, you could see more artists shy away from conventional publishing when it’s either unprofitable or too restrictive.
[Image credit: Duncan Geere, Flickr]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD
Via: TechCrunch
Source: BitTorrent
Google Keep adds list and note sharing for increased productivity
Google Keep has become a modest alternative to Evernote for those looking to keep their entire workflow within the confines of Mountain View’s app arsenal. With today’s update, the productivity software will allow you to share those idea boards and to-do lists amongst your cohorts so that everyone who’s privy to the info knows exactly what needs to be done. The new version also offers improved search that filters notes by color, sharing, images and more. Now that you can find and distribute items easily, there’s really no excuse for someone forgetting the milk. In addition to outfitting Android devices, the sharing feature is available for use on the web and via the Chrome Web Store.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Official Android Blog
HTC Google Play Edition phones getting Android Lollipop ‘next week’
Now that the Nexus devices have started receiving their update to Android Lollipop, the focus has no shifted to their stock Android brethren, the Google Play Edition (GPE) devices. Although these devices have to be updated by their respective manufacturers, the GPE devices still get their updates quite soon after the Nexus devices. And sure enough, we already have a pretty good idea of when the HTC GPE devices are getting Android Lollipop, after the HTC VP of Product Management, Mo Versi, pretty explicitly confirmed in a series of tweets that HTC is aiming to update its two GPE, the HTC One M8 and M7, by next week.
@funky_1975 Hi, early next week. Thanks.
— Mo (@moversi) November 14, 2014
@amir_thedude Target is early next week. Thanks.
— Mo (@moversi) November 14, 2014
That’s a pretty quick turnaround for HTC, who is no doubt also rushing to get Android Lollipop onto the One M8 running Sense 6.0. And despite the fact we haven’t heard word about the other GPE devices, we think it’s a pretty safe bet to expect the other devices to update in about the same timeframe. All the same, we’ll just have to see what happens next week, though we have a feeling some HTC GPE device owners will be pretty happy by the end of it.
What do you think about the HTC Google Play Edition phones getting Android Lollipop? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter (1), (2) via Phone Arena
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Starz Play, Showtime Anytime, UFC.TV and Family-Friendly Games Gain Chromecast Support
Google has announced a slew of new apps and games that officially support the Google Chromecast Dongle. Among the new additions you can now cast movies and shows from Starz Play and Showtime Anytime. Neither of which will do you much good if you don’t have either of the premium channels added to your currently supported cable or satellite provider. However, it is good to see them jumping on the bandwagon like HBO Go did many moons ago. Now to just wait for individual streaming only packages, which are slated for some time next year.
UFC.TV also was added to the mix for those of you who are cage fighting die hard’s out there. Near as I can tell you can actually pull up Pay-Per-View content or subscribe to UFC FIGHT PASS for access through the app for everything. There are some blackout and contrary restrictions though, so be sure to check into it before you start looking to spend money.
For us cord cutters that no longer have cable or satellite, the above news does little for us. There is more news though that might interest you a little bit more. A set of family-friendly games have all gained support for the Chromecast that will bring a little more family entertainment to the living room on the big screen. Wheel of Fortune, Monopoly Dash, Scrabble Blitz and Connect 4 Quads. I didn’t find SIMON Swipe listed in the Play Store though, could just be a posting delay though as the others are all new additions today. Even the chromecast.com/apps page only gives links to iOS versions of the titles. Those aren’t the only new additions though. Just Dance Now will get you busting a rug on Pizza night. If you want to flex your brain rather than your muscles Big Web Quiz and Emoji Party now bring trivia to your TV.
To make finding these apps, and many others that are officially Chromecast supported and endorsed by Google, the company reconfigured the chromecast.com/apps page with categories. Now you can browse by TV & Movies, Music & Audio, Games, Sports, Photo & Video, New and a few others. Makes finding something useful to your life a little easier. Looks like the holidays could be pretty entertaining, don’t forget the eggnog though.
Source: Google
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The 2014 Moto G is the first smartphone to get Android Lollipop
Of course Motorola is actually the first to update its devices. After LG surprised us by saying that it would update its LG G3 starting this week, we almost thought there might be a new sheriff in town. However, if what Ars Technica is telling us is true, then Motorola has stolen the crown once again after it was reported the international unlocked 2014 Moto G is the first smartphone to get Android Lollipop. This comes just days after its bigger brother, the Moto X, was spotted running a soak test build in anticipation of the Android Lollipop roll-out, but it appears the Moto G has curried favour this time around.
Assuming unlocked devices are starting to be updated as we speak, Moto G devices locked to carriers will hopefully see the update in the very near future. Likewise, the Moto G’s 2013 version should also see the update soon seeing as the major difference between this year’s version and last year’s version is this year’s version has a bigger screen (and unfortunately worse battery life). We’d expect the Moto X’s update to start rolling out soon too, but we’ll call that one when we see it.
What do you think about the fact the 2014 Moto G is the first smartphone to get Android Lollipop? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Ars Technica via Phone Arena
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Google Keyboard Updates with Light and Dark Material Design Themes [APK Download]
It is Wednesday and that usually means there will be some updates to our Google apps that we all know and love. While Google has been pushing many updates out more sporadically, today still has brought one to the Play Store that plenty will be happy to finally have. Today Google is updating the Google Keyboard and bringing with it the material design themes, in both a dark and light color option.
Google also added in the ability to configure the long-press duration in the settings menu as well. As always, the update is rolling out today in waves. You might already have it. If you don’t you can always pop over to Gappsearly and grab the APK at your leisure.
Google Keyboard v4.0 APK download
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NVIDIA Shield Tablet Aims at November 18th for Lollipop Update plus On-Demand Cloud Gaming and More
Thinking back to the past few years with Android OS updates, I don’t recall there being nearly this much acceptance and adoption by manufacturers in such a short amount of time. I mean, sure, many of the big manufacturers came out with announcements that certain devices would get updates eventually. Beyond the Nexus line of devices though, I can’t personally recall actual updates heading out to devices with-in weeks of the source code being officially available. Yesterday we caught word from Motorola that the 2nd Gen versions of the Moto X and Moto G are already starting to get Android 5.0 Lollipop update roll outs. In a few short days we can add the NVIDIA Shield Tablet to the growing list of quick to release manufacturer updates as they have announced this morning that Android 5.0 Lollipop will be making its way out on November 18th.
The Android 5.0 Lollipop update might be the big news in terms of speed from release to update time-line, but NVIDIA has quite a bit more news to announce along with the update. The GRID gaming service is another pretty sweet treat mixed in with the update, think Netflix for gaming on the Shield. The GRID service will be free to Shield Tablet and Shield Portable owners from the time of update through July 30th of 2015. The GRID Hub and service has been in development for over a decade and will finally be making a its public beta release on November 18th as well. The GRID hub already has access to 20 AAA titles like Batman: Arkham City, Borderlands 2 and Psychonauts with new games being added every week.
If the GRID doesn’t give you enough oomph to love the Shield Tablet, NVIDIA also has the Green Box bundle on the way that 32GB/LTE Shield Tablet owners will get for free. That package brings in Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2 and Portal.
Finally, there are four new Shield optimized games that will also be released: OddWorld: Stranger’s Wrath, Pure Pool, Strike Suite Zero and Turbo Dismount.
Source: NVIDIA Blog
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British retailers are using Shazam to hijack rivals’ Christmas ads (update)
With just over a month until Christmas, brands are firing up their festive marketing campaigns to extract as much money as they can out of consumers. It looked as if John Lewis had the 2014 ad title all sewn up when Monty the penguin first waddled onto our TV screens, but responses, from Sainsbury’s in particular, have made it far from a forgone conclusion. In times gone by, John Lewis would just take out newspaper ads or takeover a billboard to keep its campaign at the forefront of the public’s mind, but this year it’s utilising a clever, mobile first, strategy.
Recognising that many smartphone owners will take out their device to identify a particular song used in an advert, John Lewis has begun displaying ads in music discovery app Shazam to effectively hijack rival campaigns. As Brand Republic points out, the ad, which features a link to the retailer’s Monty-themed app, is highlighted when users Shazam Julie London’s Fly Me to the Moon, as used by Marks & Spencer, and Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus’s We all Stand Together, which features in Debenhams’ festive campaign. John Lewis’ banners also appear against the track it uses for its own ad, Real Love by Tom Odell.
As Shazam VP Miles Lewis (who incidentally has no connection to John Lewis) points out, rival retailers may have missed a trick by not securing the ad placements against their TV spots. “The debate we’re having with agencies and clients is – you’ve spent all this time on SEO perfecting and protecting your brand but now there’s this new frontier,” he told Marketing. “Audio IP is a new development, and some agencies and clients see this as an opportunity. Why would you let a rival brand buy that?” Shazam shows ads in the free versions of its apps, but those who have paid for the company’s ad-free Encore app won’t have noticed the Christmas ad war unfolding in front of them.
According to Lewis, the Marks & Spencer ad has been “Shazamed” over 2,500 since its release, while Monty has gathered more than 20,000 tags. It’s actually allowed John Lewis to exact revenge on Marks & Spencer, after it was on the receiving end of a similar manoeuvre for a Christmas ad in 2012: those searching for Gabrielle Aplin’s Power of Love got a face full of M&S ads.
Update: Brand Republic has since published a follow-up report stating that John Lewis is now actively stopping its ads from appearing against Marks & Spencer and Debenhams Christmas tracks. The article notes that John Lewis’ positioning was simply a coincidence and may have appeared against the tracks as they rose in popularity. In our tests, John Lewis banners were shown first on three different devices — make of that what you will.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software
Source: Brand Republic
Playdate: We’re livestreaming ‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’ on Xbox One! (update: game over!)
You’d think that ten years after Halo 2 launched, Master Chief saying, “I need a weapon” would have less of an impact. I thought that, anyway, and I was wrong. Like, super, super wrong. In Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft’s Halo studio (343 Industries) has made a decade-old game shockingly relevant once again. Halo 2 “Anniversary” (as it’s known) is gorgeous, it sounds dramatically better, and the cutscenes are completely re-made by the CGI masters at Blur Studio. But let’s not kid ourselves — unless you’re a hardcore Halo dork (like me), you’re here for the wealth of online multiplayer, right? Follow us below for a stream of both Master Chief Collection‘s campaigns and all that multiplayer.
[For the record, I’m playing Halo: The Master Chief Collection on an Xbox One, using a retail copy (disc) provided by Microsoft. I’m streaming the game over wired internet using Open Broadcaster Software and an Elgato Game Capture HD. All that to say, “This game will likely look prettier and run more smoothly on your home equipment. Streaming conditions vary!”]
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