Android Phone Fans |
- New leak suggests the Samsung Galaxy S5 might have a fingerprint scanner after all
- Rome government allows citizens to tweet parking infractions to the police
- Google TV not dead after all, Search and Voice Search updated
- It’s sad that we even need a 3rd party app like My Paid Apps in order to view past purchases
- New Google patent suggests automatically sending your videos and photos to law enforcement
- Motorola’s Project Ara is moving to Google HQ as part of their Android team
- Official: Lenovo buys Motorola from Google for $2.91 billion
- HTC President writes really long letter to tell us HTC One KitKat update is delayed
- Report: Google isn’t happy with Samsung’s latest Android customizations, in talks about finding a middle ground
- Tablet photographers rejoice! Sony has a QX camera lens attachment for your big-boy device
- AT&T awarding $100 credit for each new line activation until March 31st [DEAL]
- Rose Gold Samsung Galaxy Note 3 now available from Verizon
- Motorola patent automatically detects, records, and shares obstacles with other drivers on the road
- First LG G Pro 2 photos leaked
- Notion Ink Adam Android tablet quietly gets a sequel
| New leak suggests the Samsung Galaxy S5 might have a fingerprint scanner after all Posted: 29 Jan 2014 06:27 PM PST
Our friend @evleaks just posted a little teaser for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5. Really, it’s not much in terms of hard evidence, just a Android app from the upcoming device titled “FingerprintService.apk.” If true, this implies that recent rumors of Samsung ditching their “eye-scanning” security software in favor of a more traditional fingerprint scanning were true. Not much to go on, but something to consider. What do y’all think? |
| Rome government allows citizens to tweet parking infractions to the police Posted: 29 Jan 2014 05:49 PM PST
If your city allowed you to quickly and easily notify the cops of parking infractions via a simple tweet, would you? In a new Twitter initiative from Rome’s municipal government, citizens of Rome are now allowed to tweet pictures of illegally parked cars to their local police’s official Twitter account. After review, the 5-O will promptly arrive at the tweeted destination and begin issuing out fines if necessary. Since the new initiative kicked off, Reuters reports that more than 1,100 tweets have been sent flagging vehicles in a city packed to the walls with over 2.7 million people, and a ratio of 70 cars per 100 citizens. With those numbers alone, you start to paint a clearer picture of Rome’s parking epidemic. But it’s not all cherry, according to those that have been using the new Twitter service, many a times the cops arrive on the scene hours later, when violators have already long gone. Perhaps response time will pick up as manpower increases, and it’s possible this new service will help facilitate that. Nobody enjoys receiving parking tickets, and we can’t help but wonder how a program like this would fare in the states. In more crowded cities like Los Angeles or New York it could be well served, but the bigger question is just how easily accessible do we really need or want our law enforcement? Should something like this stop at only parking infractions, or would a country-wide 911 Twitter account for those really important emergencies be better suited? [via Mashable] |
| Google TV not dead after all, Search and Voice Search updated Posted: 29 Jan 2014 05:37 PM PST
Google TV might not be the most popular Android child inside the Google family, but that doesn’t mean that it’s been completely forgotten about. Two essential apps to the Google TV brand have been updated. For those of you that use your remote control or Android device to access Voice Search will be happy to know that Voice Search for Google TV received a few minor updates today. And, if you’re in the habit of searching Google’s knowledge base from the comfort of your couch, your go to app, Search, has been updated a well. Voice Search for Google TV: What’s New - Match app names more aggressively Search for Google TV: What’s New - Better handling of diacritic characters. Now, if we could only get Google to hold onto their Google IO 2013 promise to update current Google TV devices to Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, we’d be set.
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| It’s sad that we even need a 3rd party app like My Paid Apps in order to view past purchases Posted: 29 Jan 2014 04:39 PM PST
Alright, I’d say for a good majority of us, we’ve been at this Android thing for awhile now. Swapping out new devices, installing new apps and games. Over the years, that means we’ve accumulated our fair share of purchases from the Google Play Store. So why the Google Play Store app simply doesn’t let you view only our previous app purchases is beyond us. Maybe that’s why I’m a little frustrated that someone was forced to develop an app like “My Paid Apps” which recently hit the Google Play Store. Not because the app isn’t good mind you (the app seemingly works as advertised on our Nexus 5) but because it’s even necessary in the first place. If you guys want to give it a try, MPA doesn’t require any crazy permissions, but you will have to login to your Google account via an in-app browser in order for it to gain access to all the paid apps on your account. Sounds a little sketchy, we konw. No harm in not downloading, but at this point it’s all we got. After logging in, you’ll have all your paid apps laid out neatly in front of you, where they can be organized by name or date purchased. Clicking an app will take you to that app’s listing in the Google Play app. But no more listening to me grumble, if you wanna check out, download link provided below.
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| New Google patent suggests automatically sending your videos and photos to law enforcement Posted: 29 Jan 2014 03:58 PM PST We come across tons of interesting patents each and every day, but recently none have caused as much concern and curiosity as this one. Google recently filed a patent for a system that identifies when and where a “mob” event takes place and sends multimedia alerts to relevant parties. The patents are actually titled “Mob Source Phone Video Collaboration” and “Inferring Events Based On Mob Sourced Video“. No… not that mob. In this case a “mob” is essentially an activity or event attracting an abnormal amount of attention in the form of video recording and picture taking. Here’s a quick blurb from the patent description:
The fact that “law enforcement agencies” and “news organization(s)” are the first two examples provided by Google themselves is our greatest cause for concern. Especially at a time when privacy issues seem to take center stage all too often in the worst way possible. Much has been made about NSA snooping, privacy, FISA, civil liberties and much more over the past year, so to think Google filed this patent application with the idea of potentially and proactively feeding information to law enforcement is a bit unsettling. We’ve already seen rudimentary examples of law enforcement using the public’s photos and videos to track down culprits. Look no further than the Boston Marathon bombing last year. The FBI used photos and video from attendees’ cell phones to help identify the parties responsible for that unfortunate event. With a system like this, they might not have had to procure the actual phones to get what they needed.
Would only photos/videos you uploaded as publicly viewable be included into this system? Could you opt out? Could Google access the private content stored on your local device for these purposes? The exact details of this system – if put into practice – would likely be buried deep in a Terms of Service document. We’re guessing the most effective solution (for Google) would be collect aggregate and anonymous data to which you opted-in (time and location data of multimedia), extrapolating that data to identify “mob source” events, and then sharing related, publicly available multimedia to 3rd parties. This could be used in any of the typical “nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd” scenario, from bar fights and car accidents to flash mobs and unpredictably Arandom occurrences. With that said, it’s important to remember that this isn’t inherently negative or invasive . Imagine heading out to see your favorite band, taking a few pictures, and Google Now alerts you that there are 100 related photos and videos from other concert goers. The recently-held 56th annual Grammy Awards Show comes to mind as a big event at which many folks would want to snap tons of photos and videos. Google could recognize the photos are from the Grammys based on time and location information in the files, and send that information off to whatever 3rd parties they deem relevant: news agencies, nearby users, people searching Google for “Grammy Awards”, etc… you name it. We’d even venture a guess that Michael Bay’s meltdown at CES earlier this month would have landed the appearance in the “Mob Source” category with photos and videos being taken and shared left and right: Then there’s the stuff Google already does where this technology already be in use, such as the Party Mode feature on Google+ Events. Said feature allows party-goers to upload images and video to the event page for everyone who attended that event to check out. We imagine Google could make that whole process automatic for bigger events so you won’t have to fiddle around with uploading multimedia while you should be having a good time. Don’t get too alarmed just yet — whether for alerting the authorities or enhancing their own services — they’ll almost certainly have easy and obvious ways to opt-in or opt-out (though we’d definitely prefer the former over the latter) to such features. In fact, several illustrations and descriptions within the patent (see image below) refer to a system where the person who took the photo or video is asked if they’d like to include their content in whatever repository he or she may be uploading to. Still not convinced? Well, it’s easy enough to disable geo-location features in the camera or take images in airplane mode, so there’s that.
One the one hand it seems like Google is approaching this with the idea that users will know exactly what they’re getting into before they get into it. On the other hand, it’s hard to shake their own emphasis on law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Google has been scrutinized, chastised, and criticized about privacy issues lately, so if this is an area they tread they’ll do so lightly, and we’ll continue sleeping with one eye open. Let’s hope the company that beats the “don’t be evil” drum louder than anyone else stays true to their word. Where do you think Google is headed with these new patents and are you further concerned about your privacy after reading this article? And one more wrench to throw into the discussion… what if the data collected by law enforcement agencies was used for the purpose of holding law enforcement agencies accountable? After all, most of those “police brutality” videos are taken by innocent bystanders. Rob Jackson contributed to this article. |
| Motorola’s Project Ara is moving to Google HQ as part of their Android team Posted: 29 Jan 2014 03:39 PM PST
The Lenovorola deal went live a few moments ago, and while waiting for the dust to clear, we know there’s still a lot of questions left unanswered. If we could get you to stop staring out your window wondering for a quick moment, we want to help you check at least one of those questions off your list by letting you know that Motorola’s most interesting project — aka Project Ara — will remain in-house at Google under their Android branch. Motorola will be handing over the reigns of their Advanced Technology and Projects group to Google, where the 100-man team will continue to be lead by Regina Dugan. Only difference is now they’ll be moving their offices to Mountain View, were Dugan will be reporting to Sundar Pichai, although she’s said to maintain a more independent role working alongside the Android team. Once again, Google will be holding onto the Advanced Technology Group’s patents, and with Google’s resources, Project Ara development should kick into overdrive. We remain cautiously optimistic. |
| Official: Lenovo buys Motorola from Google for $2.91 billion Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:21 PM PST
According to sources from Reuters and China Daily, Google is preparing to sell off Motorola’s phone business to none other than Lenovo. A deal that is reported to be worth $3 billion, this would give Lenovo a much better chance at breaking into the lucrative mobile market in the US, an area Lenovo simply can’t compete. If it sounds like Lenovo could be getting themselves a deal, it’s because they are. Feels like it was only yesterday Google bought Motorola for $12.5 billion and even though it appears they’ve done a good job at turning things around for the struggling manufacturer, business is business.
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| HTC President writes really long letter to tell us HTC One KitKat update is delayed Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:05 PM PST
HTC originally set out to get KitKat up and running on their flagship HTC One handset within 90 days of Google officially releasing the software. We’re quite close to that 90 days (January 31st), so will they make it? Unfortunately not, according to this needlessly long letter by HTC America president Jason Mackenzie. Here’s the single important bit from the entire thing:
One to two weeks isn’t horrible. We’ve waited this long, so we can probably wait a few days longer. While we may poke fun at Mr. Mackenzie (who we now know is a Seahawks fan, for what it’s worth) for his long-winded announcement, we’re actually quite refreshed that he and his company are taking updates seriously. Nothing says commitment like a huge apologetic letter smack dab in the middle of the corporate website. [via HTC] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2014 01:02 PM PST
After striking a 10-year deal to share each other’s patents, who knew Google and Samsung were getting so chummy? Their relationship has improved so much that Google doesn’t even feel weird about reaching out to Samsung about their extensive (and gratuitous) use of Android customizations in their smartphones and tablets. You know, because friends are more open about what bothers them. These closed-door meetings come in the wake of CES, after Samsung unveiled the Samsung Galaxy TabPro with the OEM’s all new Magazine UX, the latest version of TouchWiz for tablets. We got some hands-on time with the tablets, and while we found the UI somewhat useful, we did feel like it drastically changed the Android experience. So much, you had to learn how to use Android all over again. So, exactly what are the details Google and Samsung are discussing? Well, that part is still unclear. Some are suggesting that Google could be asking Samsung to tone down their UI, dumping the new “Magazine UX” entirely in order to get Samsung devices more inline with the normal version of Android. Others think Google might be unhappy with their own services and apps taking a backseat to Samsung’s in their devices, and want Samsung to settle down with all their “me too” apps. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. Of course, neither Samsung nor Google would comment on their close-door discussions. Samsung did, however, release a more generic statement saying that the manufacturer would “continue to identify and provide differentiated and innovative service and content offerings on our mobile devices." Does this mean we could see the Samsung Galaxy S5 adopt a more Motorola stance of offering a near stock Android with manufacture specific apps? I wouldn’t bet on it, Samsung really likes their Wiz. But hey, at least Google and Samsung are talking. Thanks, Kev! [Re/code] |
| Tablet photographers rejoice! Sony has a QX camera lens attachment for your big-boy device Posted: 29 Jan 2014 11:18 AM PST
We’ve all seen “that guy” at a concert, holding up his 10-inch tablet to take a quick photo. As horrible of a social injustice as this is (one that should be punishable by flogging), Sony’s upcoming QX10/QX100 lens attachment for tablets is giving this “special sect” of photographers another reason to bring their tablet out on special events.
The original attachment peaked at 75mm, leaving no way to secure Sony’s lens cameras to larger devices like a Sony Xperia Z Ultra or Nexus 7. With Sony’s new lens attachments — 6-in-all — their QX cameras can be strapped onto devices as big as 190mm wide (insert phallic joke here). The new arms will be available for Japan in April, with a price tag of around $36. No word on a release in other markets, although we expect them to arrive shortly after the Japanese launch. [Sony Store (Japan) | via Xperia Blog] |
| AT&T awarding $100 credit for each new line activation until March 31st [DEAL] Posted: 29 Jan 2014 09:42 AM PST
T-Mobile’s been putting the pressure on their competitors lately, and the results are starting to pay off for consumers. AT&T is the latest to come through with another decent offer that should help keep people tied to their network. Simply put, they’re offering you a $100 bill credit for every qualifying line you activate. Here’s the skinny:
And that’s that. They’re offering the goods until March 31st 2014, so you’ll have plenty of time to decide if you want to give AT&T more of your business in the months and / or years to come. Note that this offer does not apply to GoPhone, so keep that in mind before you go crazy and activate 5 lines tomorrow. There was little fine print to be had with the offer, so it sounds straight forward and hassle-free. Head here to take a glance yourself. |
| Rose Gold Samsung Galaxy Note 3 now available from Verizon Posted: 29 Jan 2014 08:52 AM PST We’d heard Verizon would be the exclusive carrier of the rose gold Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and now the carrier has made it official. The device is now available for $250 on a two-year contract over at Verizon Wireless. You also have the option of getting it on Verizon Edge for 24 monthly installments of $27.15, or $649.99 altogether.
Folks should know that it isn’t actually rose gold atop the rest of the chassis, but a painted strip around each side of the device that makes it look more premium. Some might like it, some might not. Either way, it’s the same exact device we’ve been enjoying since late 2013. Those interested will be greeted to a ridiculous suite of silicon to power Android and TouchWiz sitting on board:
That good enough for you? If that alone doesn’t impress you, perhaps our review of this beast will do the trick. It’s going to be a powerhouse for months to come, so don’t fret that it isn’t the newest kid on the block anymore. Grab it from Verizon’s site here if you’re interested.
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| Motorola patent automatically detects, records, and shares obstacles with other drivers on the road Posted: 29 Jan 2014 07:31 AM PST Motorola Mobility might have a lot of patents, but not many of them trek far outside areas directly related to mobile. The Google-owned company’s latest patent — US 13/556,081 – takes us inside the vehicle for a system that could help out a whole lot of people driving on the often-dangerous roads of today.
Filed just two months after Google’s acquisition of Motorola officially closed, the patent describes a system of identifying unknown obstacles on the road, automatically recording and photographing them, and relaying this multimedia information to trailing vehicles to warn of the encounter. Here’s the technical description from the patent itself:
The patent continues:
So why would Motorola Mobility — a company typically focused on smartphones and tablets — want to employ such a system? A number of different plausible possibilities exist. For starters, it could make way for a new feature in upcoming phones or updates to existing phones that would send automatic, enhanced traffic reports to the vast community of Google-owned Waze (which is now integrated in Google Maps).
If you don’t know, Waze is a crowd-sourced mapping application and community where users help each other find the best routes by reporting traffic incidents, hazards, and more. A system like the one this patent describes would be quite helpful to that crowd considering it’d allow them to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road while still contributing real-time updates to the community. The second component to this system — the part about transmitting that information to an antenna array toward its rear — leaves many other possibilities open. I’m immediately reminded of military convoys who are constantly communicating with other units in their pack about road conditions.
This system could also be helpful in testing Google’s self-driving cars, which use a top-mounted range finder to create 3D mappings of the vehicle’s surroundings in order to identify where it can and should drive. In fact, we’d place a bet on Google already using this technology in some form or fashion for that very reason, and their control over Motorola means they’re free to do whatever they want with it. Any number of possibilities exist, so only time will tell what, exactly, Motorola could be looking to do with it going forward (that’s if they decide to do anything at all). Let us know what your guesses would be by dropping a comment below! |
| First LG G Pro 2 photos leaked Posted: 29 Jan 2014 04:35 AM PST It was quite strange of LG to announce the new LG G Pro 2 earlier this week without saying anything about it. Aside from the fact that they’ll most likely bring it to Mobile World Congress next month, there’s little indication as to what we could expect to what will undoubtedly be treated as LG’s first half flagship.
Korean site DC Inside has given us our first clean look at the device, though. What we get is a white chassis that doesn’t seem to take a huge departure from the norm, that’s unless you consider the fact that it has LG’s latest back-facing button configuration such as on the LG G2 and the LG G Flex. This particular model appears to have a white chassis with chrome outlining, and LG seems to have continued their new tradition of ditching capacitive buttons in favor or the on-screen buttons Android now provides. For what it’s worth, the LG G Pro 2 is said to be coming with a 6-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 800 processor, and will support faster LTE-A networks for data. On the software front, we can probably expect at least Android Jelly Bean with LG’s QSlide interface, though we wouldn’t be surprised if they took this opportunity to bring us their first phone with KitKat out of the box. We still have a few weeks to see what, exactly, is in store, so for now just marvel at the couple of shots we have above and below.
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| Notion Ink Adam Android tablet quietly gets a sequel Posted: 28 Jan 2014 07:31 PM PST Remember the Notion Ink Adam? Me neither. OK, OK, it wasn’t quite that bad for its time, although we could have done without the horrible shipping issues, shoddy build quality and DOA software.
The Notion Ink Adam was actually a pretty good Android tablet in its heyday all things considered, but it never quite took off like Notion Ink had hoped. It didn’t help that Google eventually crafted a tablet OS and made it easy for the biggest players in the Android tablet game to come out with offerings that ultimately overshadowed it. But never fear — the Notion Ink name isn’t dead. The company has made quite the silent comeback with what is known as the Adam II. Seen above, the tablet isn’t as mindblowingly good as the original was back in the early years. That aside, it doesn’t read out like a terrible tablet on paper. Notion Ink Adam II Specs and Features So what’s making its gears twist and turn? Here’s the quick tale of the tape:
I warned you. There are many smartphones and tablets you can buy that are much more powerful than what Notion Ink has put together here, though we’re willing to bet they have hit on a price point that a lot of wallets will agree with (more on that later). Adam II features Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with what seems to be a relatively clean slate. They likely have their own crop of applications and custom bits scattered throughout, but it doesn’t seem too bad at first glance.
Adam II also features a unique feature that will serve up notifications and information on the spine of the device using low-powered text displays (not unlike that which you’d find on a calculator). Notion Ink Adam II Price Ready for the price? You’ll be throwing down 219 Euros including VAT (about $300) for the WiFi version, and 249 (about $340 including VAT for the one with 3G radios. Considering you can get a Nexus 7 starting at $230 and an LG G Pad starting at $350 from the Google Play Store, we’d say this device will have its work cut out for it if it wants to attract major attention. Head right here to order one if you’re interested. |
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