You can now star Google Contacts, just like important messages in Gmail
Need a way to easily access that select group of contacts you converse with frequently without manually creating groups? Well, the same star action that’s used in Gmail to flag important correspondence now appears in Google Contacts. Those folks you affix the gold mark to will be added to the “Starred” group for easy access. Android users’ selections will also sync with Android Contacts to stay organized across desktop and mobile. Of course, you can also use Google+ circles as another organizational alternative.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Gmail (Google+)
James Frey and Google team up to fuse interactive teen novels with AR games
We knew Google’s Niantic Labs was planning to use its Ingress tech to power other augmented reality games, but we didn’t expect this. In an announcement today, Niantic announced it has teamed up with publisher HarperCollins to create a location-based game for ENDGAME, a new book trilogy for young adults by bestselling authors James Frey (of A Million Little Pieces fame) and Nils Johnson-Shelton that has already been optioned by Twentieth Century Fox. Niantic will play a significant part in the interactive project, which is lovingly referred to as an “innovative omni-platform endeavor,” by developing a virtual-meets-real-world game that allows mobile users to solve virtual puzzles to advance parts of the story.
Google’s involvement doesn’t end there, either. The company has secured the rights to exclusively distribute six of fifteen original e-books on the Play Store and will also use YouTube videos, search and image results and maps to build the story, mirroring elements of Niantic’s Ingress campaigns. So when can we expect the project to bear fruit? HarperCollins says the first first book in the trilogy, ENDGAME: THE CALLING (yes, it appears someone’s Caps Lock got stuck), will be published on October 7th, along with Niantic’s official iOS and Android games. To mark the occasion, gamers will be asked to solve a virtual puzzle to claim a quantity of gold secured inside bullet-proof glass case. If that’s got you excited, there is a catch — that case is on public display and Google plans to stream the event live on YouTube.
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: HarperCollins (PRNewsWire)
Samsung tipped to revisit Windows Phone 8 with the 5-inch, 1080p SM-W750V
Much like HTC, Samsung hasn’t expended a huge amount of effort on Windows Phone 8, having crafted just a few handsets running the platform before seemingly losing interest. Various clues are now pointing to a renewed curiosity in Microsoft’s mobile OS from the company, in the form of the high-end SM-W750V. Shipping documents from before the new year indicate a screen size of 5 inches and provide first mention of the model number, which matches a recent North American approval by the Bluetooth SIG. A user agent profile on Samsung’s site is even more fruitful: “Windows Mobile Lab” is named co-conspirator alongside Sammy, Internet Explorer is penned as the default browser, and a couple of specs point to an LTE-capable handset with a screen resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. As these things go, it’s probably just a matter of time before pictures of the handset start surfacing, and there is a large mobile conference a little more than a month away. With Nokia rumored to soon enter unfamiliar territory, perhaps Samsung is preparing a undercover agent of its own.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Microsoft
Via: Windows Phone Central, SammyToday, PhoneArena
Source: Bluetooth SIG, Samsung (UAProf)
Android 4.2.2 update coming to AT&T HTC One X+
While we know that HTC won’t be pushing the HTC One X or the HTC One X+ past Android 4.2.2, that doesn’t mean that the stateside carriers don’t still need to play catch up to curb the device from the update timeline. After all, how would that make them look if they left it just slightly behind?
AT&T One X+ users – We have received technical acceptance from AT&T today. Expect the OTA update to OS 4.2.2 + Sense 5 later this week.
— Mo (@moversi) January 14, 2014
Anyways, a tweet went out this afternoon that confirmed that AT&T had accepted the OTA as acceptable to be pushed to consumers. Any stock HTC One X+ devices still floating around the network will see a bump to Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5 on board later this week. Keep in mind it won’t be the Sense 5 you see on the HTC One, but still some nice perks like BlinkFeed, Video Highlights and a new camera interface. Along with much needed updates to People, Gallery, Music and Calendar apps. We wouldn’t be all that surprised if HTC Zoe didn’t make the cut.
Hopefully, at the very least, this will update some users out there and gives the dedicated devs something new for the AT&T variant to play about with and optimize.
On a side note, the tweet also made mention that the HTC One X with AT&T is also getting the update, but that HTC is waiting for AT&T to approve it first.
Via Androidandme
Google Drive’s new activity stream tracks changes to shared files
Tracking changes in those shared docs on Google Drive just got a lot easier. The folks in Mountain View have added an activity stream to the cloud-based file repository for keeping tabs on collaborative efforts. Once you’re inside Drive, clicking the ‘i’ button at the top right will make the new list appear. Inside, you’ll find the flurry of recent activity like moving/removing files, renaming, uploading, sharing/unsharing, editing and commenting. You can also select individual files or folders to view updates for only those items. Google says that the activity stream in Drive will be rolling out to users during the next week.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Source: Google
Chrome 32 brings a Chrome OS-style ‘desktop’ to Windows 8
After a fairly lengthy beta phase, Google has released the finished version of Chrome 32 — and it’s one of the biggest updates to the browser in recent memory. Windows 8 users now get a Chrome OS-style interface (shown above), complete with its own windowing system and a web app launcher. Whichever platform you’re running, you’ll also get malware blocking and notifications when tabs are playing audio or using your webcam. Protective parents may also like a beta supervised users feature that lets them review their kids’ browsing habits. Suffice it to say that there’s more than enough here to warrant grabbing the Chrome update; visit the source links if you’d like the full release notes.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Google Chrome Blog, Chrome Releases
Tumblr adds @ mentions, further establishes internet jargon
Silly Tumblr, what with its ability to type full, actual names instead of @-based messages. Quaint, even! Well it turns out that Yahoo’s favorite microblogging service is adding Twitter-esque @ messages as of today — the company’s even celebrating the news with a custom GIF just for you (seen above). Wondering how to do it? Just…uh, well, the GIF above should let you know.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: CNET
Horizon for iOS records landscape video no matter how you hold your phone
On Vine and Instagram, square-sharing is the name of the game. But when it comes to YouTube or TV, you’re going to insult viewers if you present them with a vertical video. Despite six years of smartphone innovation, Apple hasn’t really solved what’s come to be known as Vertical Video Syndrome, so one app developer is taking it upon itself to fix it. With Horizon, Evil Window Dog believes it can help shape a world with no more black sidebars. Where some developers ask users to hold their iPhone on its side before shooting, like Google tried with YouTube Capture for iOS, Horizon wants to make things a whole lot easier by letting you capture horizontal video from any angle.
Horizon works by using your iOS device’s gyroscope to auto-level videos, keeping a horizontal focus on the action unfolding in front of you. If you rotate your iPhone 45-degrees, the app simply adjusts the frame to maintain its aspect ratio (it currently supports square 1:1, wide 16:9 and standard 4:3). But that’s not all it has to offer. In the app’s settings, you can set whether you’d like to rotate as you film, rotate and scale recordings or disable rotation altogether. Video quality can be tweaked to output VGA, 720p or Full HD recordings and there’s also an option to mirror videos to your Apple TV using AirPlay. You can even apply one of eight pre-installed filters, if artistically destroying homemade videos is your thing. Horizon is available on the App Store for $0.99 for a limited time — we just wish Apple and Google had bundled this as standard.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Via: The Next Web
Source: Horizon (App Store), Horizon
Verizon Motorola DROID Users Seeing Android 4.4 Updates Today, Again
Motorola and Verizon have been performing their usual soak test for the pending Android 4.4 KitKat update for the Motorola DROID line of devices. After what seems like ages, and after it was pulled, they are finally ready to start rolling it out to all current users. Per the norm, the update will roll out gradually for the Motorola DROID Ultra, DROID MAXX and DROID Mini over the next few weeks.
For the most part the update will be all KitKatted out. There are a few minor differences to report though. Users will keep the blue icons and not go to the frosty white. The Jelly Bean dialer remains in place and the home screen stays the same.
Each device gets a slew of improvements to their camera apps, Emojis, DROID ZAP 2.0 update, Fitbit support and some more app updates and integrated ones too. Check out the support docs for the DROID MAXX and Ultra or the DROID Mini for more indepth details.
AIVAnet 