Android Phone Fans |
- Cover is an Android-only contextually aware “smart” lockscreen, available only by invite [VIDEO]
- Themer moves to open beta, here’s how to instantly receive an invite code
- PSA: It’s not your phone or ROM, Google servers are down
- Facebook Home update brings Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr integration
- Here’s what Instagram’s upcoming ads will look like
- Vine gives you the ability to save sessions and come back to finish them later on
- Have an HTC One or HTC One Max? You may be entitled to 25-50GB of Google Drive storage
- AT&T 4G LTE comes to 4 new cities
- Samsung patent shows potential designs for Google Glass competitor
- LG stays on the right path with $12.5 billion in revenue for Q3 2013
- Woot.com has a 32GB Nexus 10 for $330 (refurbished)
- Report: YouTube preparing to launch paid music video service later this year
| Cover is an Android-only contextually aware “smart” lockscreen, available only by invite [VIDEO] Posted: 24 Oct 2013 06:29 PM PDT
Being able to customize your lockscreen is just one of the many pleasures Android users enjoy in life. Hop on over to the Google Play Store and you’re sure to find a bevvy of lockscreen replacements for your Android device. While a good deal of these only look to change the aesthetic of your standard lockscreen, there are a few that try and make your lockscreen more useful. Cover is the latest Android lockscreen on the block, and it looks to supercharge your productivity with its unique UI and design. The tagline for Cover is “the right apps, at the right time” and the app aims to accomplish this in a few clever ways.
Right apps, at the right time First off, Cover learns which apps you use the most, displaying shortcuts on the lockscreen according to 4 locations: home, work, car, and out (everywhere else). If you’re at home, you might find all your social apps hanging out on your lockscreen. While on the road, apps like Maps, Waze, and Rdio might appear. When you arrive at the office, all your productivity apps will already be waiting on your lockscreen. Turn the phone in landscape mode, and the camera icon will appear. Plug in headphones, and all your media apps will appear. Pretty sweet, right? Peek and jumping quickly between apps Peek is Cover’s way of giving you even quicker access to apps, directly from their lockscreen shortcuts. Grab an icon and slide it over. You’ll immediately see the app underneath the lockscreen, already open and waiting for you. It’s pretty amazing to see it in action. Jumping between apps is just as quick, with a swiping gesture motion from the top right of the screen, that lets you slide your finger between apps, lifting it to select and open. Smart settings Cover also features what they call smart settings. These are contextually aware and trigger again, based on your 4 locations. Auto settings for wallpapers, ringer profiles and times, and automatically connecting to WiFi. Now, there are other apps that allow you do this, but it’s nice haven’t it all bundled into a single app. And that’s just a quick run down of everything Cover offers. As you can see, the app blurs the lines between launcher and lockscreen applications, combining them into a single, easy to use smart lockscreen. We found it interesting that the Cover team touts themselves as not only an “Android-first company”, but an Android-only company (and they’re hiring Android devs). Currently, Cover is in beta and only available by invite. I know many of you are probably itching to try it out, and you can sign up for your shot at CoverScreen.com. Cheers. |
| Themer moves to open beta, here’s how to instantly receive an invite code Posted: 24 Oct 2013 05:07 PM PDT
When Themer debuted a few weeks ago, everyone in the Android community was up in a tizzy and with good reason — it’s one of the quickest and easiest ways to give your boring Android homescreen a complete overhaul. There was only one problem. Themer was only available by invite, and many Android users were left waiting in a long line to get a crack at it.
Today, Themer has finally gone open beta. What that means is if you hop on over to Themerapp.com and enter in your email address, you’ll immediately be presented with an invite code to plug into the app. Easy peasy. Don’t forget to download Themer from the Google Play Store via the link below. Have fun. |
| PSA: It’s not your phone or ROM, Google servers are down Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:46 PM PDT
Don’t freak out, it’s not your phone (or ROM). It appears Google servers are down and as many of you have already discovered, you’ll be noticing the odd sign in errors. But like we said, don’t fret. We’re sure Google’s elves will have everything back up and running in no time. In the meantime, grab a sandwich. We don’t think it’s related to tonight’s Google Play event, or tomorrow’s rumored Nexus 5 release (sorry, we had to). Speaking of, where the heck is the Nexus 5 already? |
| Facebook Home update brings Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr integration Posted: 24 Oct 2013 02:17 PM PDT
A few weeks ago, we told you guys about a new update that first hit Facebook Beta users, arriving soon to Facebook Home. The update gave users the ability to add additional social services to Facebook Home, making it much more fun and useful as either a homescreen, or lockscreen replacement. Today, the update has finally gone live for Facebook Home in the Google Play Store.
Now, when setting up Facebook Home as your lockscreen (or even your homescreen), you can jump into the settings and add social services like Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, and/or Pinterest, in addition to Facebook, where you’ll begin seeing your friends’ status updates. Interacting is simple, and in most cases can be executed with a simple double tap of the screen to like/favorite/thumbs up/whatever. If Facebook hopes to get more people using Home, this is exactly the kind of integration they need. Now, where’s Google+? |
| Here’s what Instagram’s upcoming ads will look like Posted: 24 Oct 2013 01:08 PM PDT
We’ve known about Instagram’s plans to incorporate ads into their (free) social network for quite sometime now. It wasn’t too long ago that the company received backlash from users after changes to Instagram’s terms of service left many with a bad taste in their mouths. Today, Instagram took to their official blog to give us a preview of what ads will look like once they go live in the coming weeks.
The first ad, meant as a preview, will come from Instagram, showing a “Sponsored” link in the top right corner to easily identify it as such. Instagram promises to curate exactly which companies you, as the end user, will see ads from. Companies like Levi’s or others who are currently active on Instagram will likely show up in your feed, and these can be tailored to your tastes be pressing the “…” button (should you never want to see an ad from ___ company ever again). Nothing too alarming, and pretty much standard for online services looking to make some actual revenue. We approve. [Instagram About Ads | via Instagram] |
| Vine gives you the ability to save sessions and come back to finish them later on Posted: 24 Oct 2013 11:58 AM PDT
Vine has just gotten a huge upgrade in the Google Play Store. The “Twitter for videos” service has given folks tools to make multi-clip video editing even easier. For starters, you can now save “sessions,” which means you can record a little bit of video and come back later on without having to worry about losing footage you’ve already recorded. We know this’ll be a godsend for folks who like to make Vines using multiple scenes. Sessions are accessed by pressing a new button that will show up on the bottom right of the recording screen. If that’s not enough, “Time Travel” will let you reorganize or remove any piece of the clip, giving you a nice do-over option for those times when you just aren’t happy with the shot. That particular option can be accessed using a green bar while shooting, or the edit button while previewing. I’m one of those non-creative people who will never get nearly as much out of these features as some of Vine’s other superstars, but it’s nice to know these tools are there if I ever feel like breaking out some day. If you feel like you can get some use out of this then you’ll want to swing over to the Google Play Store and grab the download for yourself. |
| Have an HTC One or HTC One Max? You may be entitled to 25-50GB of Google Drive storage Posted: 24 Oct 2013 09:58 AM PDT We’re usually lining up to get free Dropbox storage on the latest smartphones, but HTC seems to be going a different route for those who decide to throw their money at the Taiwanese company’s latest smartphones. Google is giving 25GB or 50GB of Google Drive storage to those who have these smartphones, though which one you get depends on which phone you have. The HTC One Max will get you 50GB of storage for two years, while “certain” 2013 smartphones — the HTC One being an obvious candidate — netting you 25GB after the upgrade to Sense 5.5 and Android 4.3 arrives.
Unfortunately, this offer excludes the developer edition of the device, with Google saying it’s due to the fact that the device has an unlockable bootloader. We’re not sure why that would affect eligibility for free Google Drive storage, but that’s the caveat. So how can you check to see if you are eligible for the offer? Three easy steps will get you on your way:
You’ll want to make sure your Google account is already setup and that you have an internet connection before going ahead with it, of course, but if you’ve taken care of both of those things you should be seeing the prompt with no issues. Some of you may be wondering what will happen after those two years. Well, your stuff won’t just suddenly disappear, if that’s what you were thinking. Your files will still be available and accessible from the web, but you won’t be able to add any additional files unless you opt to add more storage space (for a nominal fee, of course). Be sure to take advantage of this offer as soon as possible, as we’re not sure how long it’s going to last. [via Google, thanks Joel!] |
| AT&T 4G LTE comes to 4 new cities Posted: 24 Oct 2013 08:35 AM PDT
AT&T has announced that four more markets would be receiving 4G LTE coverage. They’ve recently surpassed 400 markets and have most of the United States population covered, but now is the time to start filling out those gaps in coverage that some folk in more rural and low-key areas may be suffering from. Here’s the short list of the new cities added today:
It’d be hard for people not in those areas to find those places on a map, but they’re just as important as the Chicagos, San Franciscos, and New Yorks of the country. If you happen to be an AT&T faithful with a 4G device, be sure to fire it up and take the network for a whirl. |
| Samsung patent shows potential designs for Google Glass competitor Posted: 24 Oct 2013 07:59 AM PDT
Samsung hasn’t been shy about wanting to be in every space they can, and the South Korean company seems to be ready to tackle yet another market segment. As we’ve heard before, Samsung wants to challenge the smart glasses market that is just now getting off its feet. Google has been the most ambitious player in this arena so far, with Google Glass still in its infancy and awaiting a retail release in 2014. That said, suspicion that Samsung is working on a solution of their own seems to have been confirmed with the latest patent filing by the company. The patent shows a pair of glasses with a front-mounted camera, buttons on the side, and wired cables that are designed to reach behind your neck, potentially to be plugged into a smartphone. It also sports built-in earbuds for audio.
This design seems quite rudimentary, though it’s possible this is just a prototype. Whatever Samsung is cooking up has the potential to look much different when or if they ever reveal it to the public. It’s also worth nothing Samsung is referring to it as a pair of “sports glasses,” with one of its primary functions being to show relevant information to athletes on a heads-up display. With that, we’re not sure if Samsung is looking to target a specific market or bring a device for a broad range of consumers, but we hope whatever they do pushes the entirety of this new product category forward (unlike the Galaxy Gear managed to do in its first iteration). [via Wall Street Journal] |
| LG stays on the right path with $12.5 billion in revenue for Q3 2013 Posted: 24 Oct 2013 06:33 AM PDT
Once upon a time, LG wasn’t doing too well. They were losing a lot of money on their mobile business, with only their dumbphone segment picking up the slack in light of poor smartphone performance. We’re long removed from those days, though, and LG has been doing a lot better. The South Korean company has announced really decent numbers for Q3 2013. LG is enjoying revenue of $12.5 billion on the quarter with 196.34 million being profit, though that’s the sum of all their businesses. You can credit the mobile side of things for $2.75 billion of that, which is a 24% increase compared to the same quarter in 2012. LG’s success in the mobile arena is a testament to the company’s new strategy that was first employed in 2012. It started with devices like the LG Optimus G and Optimus G Pro, and continued into 2013 with the launch of the stunning LG G2. Our review of the device revealed that, well, it’s one hot mama, and that’s enough to help any company put together a successful quarter (and a successful year). LG will look to continue this success with developments like the LG G Flex, the first smartphone that will come with a flexible display that’s virtually indestructible. That phone isn’t yet official, but we’ve seen more than enough evidence to suggest it’s real. Be sure to check out the latest leaked photos and video of the device here. Let’s hope the good fortunes continue for the company that’s always celebrating the goodness of life. |
| Woot.com has a 32GB Nexus 10 for $330 (refurbished) Posted: 24 Oct 2013 05:57 AM PDT
If you’ve been looking for a decent price for a Nexus 10, you might want to consider Woot.com’s deal going on today only. Today’s featured deal is for a 32GB version of the Samsung-made tablet. It normally goes for $499.99 in the Google Play Store, but you can get it for just $330 (which, if you haven’t figured it out, is savings of about $170). There is a catch, of course. This tablet is refurbished, meaning it’s not necessarily guaranteed to be in the freshest condition. That said, allow me to settle your mind about refurbished products — they’re often perfectly fine. Most refurbished products are returns from people who decide they don’t want them for one reason or another. You might get one that was actually broken at one point in time, but most manufacturers’ refurbishing processes are so good that it might look / work even better than when it was new. Of course, the Nexus 10 isn’t the newest, youngest kid on the block these days. We’ll be coming up on a year since it was first available next month. That timing suggests Google could be looking to bring us a refreshed Nexus 10 soon, though it’s been tough to pinpoint an exact date. Some are suggesting we could see the Nexus 10 unveiled alongside the Nexus 5, Google’s 5th Nexus phone, which many believe will be coming by the end of this month. We won’t be putting too much stock into those hopes, but we’ll definitely be keeping our fingers crossed for that to happen. If you don’t mind grabbing the Nexus 10 at a steep discount, though, be sure to head to Woot.com. |
| Report: YouTube preparing to launch paid music video service later this year Posted: 23 Oct 2013 08:09 PM PDT
Guess offline viewing – which we know is coming – isn’t the only thing Google has planned for YouTube later this year. According to Billboard, Google will soon be launching a premium music video subscription service for YouTube similar to Spotify (except, only with music videos). Sources say YouTube will offer free viewing of videos along with a premium option for around $10 a month. Premium users will be able to cache music videos for offline viewing/listening, with the added benefit of removing pesky ads. As far as music selection is concerned, labels on board should remain relatively the same as what is currently offered in Google Play Music All Access.
Currently, the only way to watch (official) music videos on YouTube requires sifting through countless covers from wanna-be popstars. But with a dedicated music video section — similar to the Google’s joint venture with Universal Music Group’s Vevo — YouTube could rake in all the advertising profits, instead of having to split them 50/50. Some of you may remember that music videos were the final puzzle piece missing when it was discovered that offline viewing would soon be coming to YouTube. Couple this with background audio also making its way to YouTube, and you have the makings of a hit music video service. Will people pay the premium monthly YouTube fee in order to pin videos to their device? Probably not many. But the millions of eyes watching these videos is what Google will actually be selling. |
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