Android Phone Fans |
- Reddit job listing confirms official Android app launching in the future
- Dual-wielding Google Glass patent shows a version of Glass covering each eye
- AT&T extending 4G LTE to flights in 2015, Gogo stocks plummet 24%
- OnePlus One equals marketing tricks and deception [Opinion]
- HTC M8 Ace could be a plastic, more affordable version of the One M8 [RUMOR]
- A closer look at the Moto 360 as it appears in the wild [VIDEO]
- Sprint LG G Flex now receiving Android 4.4 KitKat
- The real reason Nokia went with Windows Phone instead of Android
- Google Self Driving Cars update shows huge strides in road autonomy [VIDEO]
- [Update] Samsung Galaxy S5 “Prime” reportedly due this June, evidence found on Samsung site
- HP getting ready to announce attractive 14-inch Android-powered notebook
- Samsung Level line of premium headphones and speakers announced
- Blackphone processor revealed to be quad-core 2GHz Tegra 4i
- Samsung’s latest Instagram post teases Galaxy K’s camera zoom sensor
- Samsung Galaxy S5 camera failed issue could be hardware related
| Reddit job listing confirms official Android app launching in the future Posted: 28 Apr 2014 05:54 PM PDT
Currently, Reddit has plenty of successful third-party applications on the Google Play Store. Some of our favorites, in no particular order include BaconReader, Reddit Sync, and Reddit is Fun. The job listing did mention that the Reddit team would work closely with existing third-party developers, to help them build upon their already successful applications. While having an officially supported application is great news, one can’t help but think of Twitter and what happens to successful applications over there. Due to API limits, once a third-party Twitter app makes it big, no additional users can sign up without going to drastic measures such as resetting everyone’s account and asking them to sign in again. Hopefully Reddit’s official response to third-party applications is of a different, more friendly tune. If you think you have what it takes to tackle Reddit’s mobile scene, then hit the source link below. Source: Reddit |
| Dual-wielding Google Glass patent shows a version of Glass covering each eye Posted: 28 Apr 2014 05:28 PM PDT
It seems this was the only likely progression of Google Glass. As a unique wearable that (almost) covers one eye to super impose information onto the real world, the only way to 1-up the current version of Glass is to introduce 2 screens covering each eye. Proof that Google is at least toying around with the idea of a fully immersive Google Glass future, is a patent discovered by our friends at GGlassDay. What they uncovered was a newly granted USTPO patent filed back in September of 2011 and listing off Google Glass lead Max Braun as one of its inventors. The patent filing describes HUD and/or augmented reality Glasses similar to the version of Glass we see today. Only in this patent, there’s 2Xs more Glass, because more Glass means more fun, right?
With 2 screens being displayed on each eye, Glass could effectively offer a 3D experience. This would add a entirely new level of immersion to the wearable, and is something we’ve seen other OEMs target (the Epson Moverio, for instance). It’s tough to tell from the supplied schematics, but it appears as if this version might cover the user’s direct line of site, unlike the current version of Glass which actually sits above the eye, requiring the user to look up to see what’s displayed.
This dual-wielding version of Glass also mentions how the display will change according to the image in the background (real-world), adjusting the virtual image’s saturation, hue, contrast, etc., to offer a more unobstructed view of the world through Glass. Pretty advanced stuff. Of course, some will liken this to the “Terminator” HUD view made popular in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, only we’re sure these will serve less dubious purposes. |
| AT&T extending 4G LTE to flights in 2015, Gogo stocks plummet 24% Posted: 28 Apr 2014 03:21 PM PDT
Frequent fliers know there aren’t a vast amount of options offered to those flying 35,000 feet above the earth and looking to do a little web browsing. Currently, Gogo has become the defacto name of in-flight WiFi, but that might soon change. AT&T is now looking for a piece of that pie, announcing today that they plan to begin offering in-flight WiFi towards the tail-end of 2015. Aside from allowing passengers of commercial, business, and general aviation flights to browse the web, AT&T says they’ll also be the source of onboard entertainment as well. But its not only for passengers, AT&T will use their network to improve connections between the plane and maintenance/crews services on the ground. AT&T Chief Strategy Officer John Stankey said in a statement:
In a statment to Mashable, Gogo seemed confident they’d be able to hold their ground, saying:
In order to get everything up and running, AT&T will have to rebuild their air-to-ground network in the US, taking advantage of the vast spectrum AT&T’s already owns. With Gogo now finally seeing some competition (their stocks also plummeted 24% after AT&T’s announcement, by the way), consumers could finally reap the benefits of a pricing war between the 2 companies. Affordable in-flight WiFi? It’s possible. |
| OnePlus One equals marketing tricks and deception [Opinion] Posted: 28 Apr 2014 02:25 PM PDT
Warning: Conspiracy theories ahead. A little over four months ago OnePlus was founded. In that time they have taken the Android world by storm with their arrogant social marketing and lofty promises. Last week they finally announced their first device, the “One.” They call it the “flagship killer,” and by all accounts it could be everything they have said. However, promising something awesome and delivering it in such a short time only raises more questions. How did a brand new start-up company pump out a high-end phone in less than six months? That’s the question that has been on everyone’s mind. Over the weekend some information was discovered that links OnePlus to fellow Chinese phone maker, Oppo. The CEO of OnePlus was previously the vice president of Oppo, and many of his employees are from there as well. The new information links OnePlus’ domain to Oppo contact details. Now it all makes sense.
November 18th, 2013 was Pete Lau’s last day at Oppo, at least that’s what he said in his farewell post on Google+. The timing of his departure seemed very odd. Oppo had just launched the N1 with CyanogenMod. It was an incredibly sleek and powerful device, and received good buzz for being the “Cyanogen Phone.” One of the things that Lau mentioned when leaving Oppo was making the latest technology available to everyone. Something Oppo has not been able to do. The StrategyLau’s comment about making the latest technology available to everyone can be read a few different ways. Was he talking about making affordable devices, or bringing devices to new markets? Oppo has almost zero brand presence in the United States. It would take a marketing campaign the size of Samsung’s wallet to make people notice them. The best way to break into the U.S. market would be to rebrand the company, but then they would be sacrificing places where Oppo is a well-known name. Oppo’s solution was to simply start a new company. OnePlus was created from the ground up to be Oppo’s hype machine. Even the name of the company sounds like it was built to entice the legions of Android fans on Google+. Calling themselves a “start-up” didn’t hurt either. Everybody roots for the little guy. From day one the team at OnePlus has been all about hyping their product and taking shots at the competition. Everyone from Samsung to Nokia was in OnePlus’ line of fire.
OnePlus’ over-confidence was another sign of something strange. You don’t just launch a brand new hardware company and start poking the big dogs. Not only did OnePlus not have a device to back up their trash talk, but they didn’t have history of making anything. So many questions needed to be answered. Where did they get funding? Who is making all of the parts? Why is the name of the phone a math equation? The one thing that wasn’t questioned was the excitement they were creating. An excitement that Oppo has never enjoyed. With this cheap marketing trick Oppo is essentially launching the same phone twice. The device you know as the OnePlus One is called the “Find 7a” by Oppo. The Find 7a has almost identical specs to the OnePlus One. The big difference is the name on the back of the device. Which one will sell better? The device from that one company you hear about every so often, or the one from that exciting new start-up company that made fun of Samsung? The choice is obvious.
Will it work?So far the plan seems to be working well for Oppo. The hardest thing they have to overcome is their own hype machine. Last week they finally announced the One, and it seems that they delivered on all of their promises. The only place thing they may have over-sold was the size of the phone. People are starting to realize the device is almost identical to the Find 7a, but they don’t seem to care. This crazy situation brings up a good question. Are people more interested in a phone or a brand name? Samsung has proven in the last few years that brand name means more than product quality. HTC consistently makes better devices that don’t sell nearly as well. Oppo will be putting this to the ultimate test. Will people opt for the Find 7a that has some slightly better features, or the trendy OnePlus One? Do you care?The other factor that Oppo probably didn’t consider is if people found out about their plan. The OnePlus One is a great device, no matter what name is on the back. Still, it doesn’t look very good to lie to your customers. Some consumers will feel “played” and tricked into falling for the hype. People don’t like being pawns in some scheme they know nothing about. What do you think about all of this? Assuming it’s true, will you still buy a OnePlus One? Do you care who makes the phone? Update from OnePlus:
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| HTC M8 Ace could be a plastic, more affordable version of the One M8 [RUMOR] Posted: 28 Apr 2014 02:10 PM PDT
When we got our hands on the HTC Desire 816 during this year’s Mobile World Congress, we loved HTC’s direction for the phone. Touted as a slightly bigger, It wasn’t too long ago rumors of an “HTC One M8 Ace” surfaced online, although details on the phone were scarce (we did get a nice blurry press shot though). But it appears the folks at Engadget may have uncovered a few new deets on the phone, said to feature a unibody plastic construction (similar to the recently released HTC Desire 816) but with a form factor more in tune with the HTC One M8. According to sources, HTC aims to compete directly with the Samsung Galaxy S5 by offering the same specs — 5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 801 processor, etc. — but undercutting them on pricing. Rumors suggest the phone could launch at around $480 off-contract, although nothing is confirmed quite yet. Bring that price closer to $400, and we think HTC could be onto something here. There’s no question plastic is a more cost effective material for OEM’s looking to improve their bottom line. If HTC can cut costs by offering a non-aluminum version of the HTC One M8 (maybe with a 13MP as found on the Desire 816), we have to admit — we’d bite. What do you guys think? |
| A closer look at the Moto 360 as it appears in the wild [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Apr 2014 12:46 PM PDT
As part of a quick behind the scenes tour of Motorola’s new HQ in Chicago, the folks at The Verge conducted a quick interview sesh with Jim Wicks, Motorola’s senior vice president of design and the man behind products like the Motorola Moto X and the upcoming Motorola Moto 360. During the interview, we get a brief glimpse at the Moto 360 as it appears on Wicks’ wrist in its sleeping state. The Verge notes that Wicks was “dogfooding” the smartwatch, a prototype highlighted by the Motorola “M” on the watch’s bezel (don’t expect the logo to appear in the retail version). It’s entirely possible he was keeping the display off to keep the press from seeing early Android Wear software builds, but there was a few times during the interview where Wicks manually turns on the display to fiddle around in its UI. 2 things:
Really, it’s tough to say by the few seconds the 360 appears on camera and we’ll have to wait until Motorola reveals more details about their smartwatch in the coming weeks before drawing conclusions. But I think it’s safe to say a smart watch you have to physically interact with in order to show the time could be a tough sell for some. You may remember last week when LG took the wraps off the white/gold version of the LG G Watch last week, the Korean manufacturer was touting an “always-on” display. The Motorola Moto 360 is set to go on sale this summer, right around the time we’re expecting to see a followup to the Motorola Moto X, currently rumored as the Motorola Moto X+1. Video tour of Motorola’s new digs — as well as a quick look at the Moto 360 — can be found below. |
| Sprint LG G Flex now receiving Android 4.4 KitKat Posted: 28 Apr 2014 11:13 AM PDT
After watching as the last of the LG G2′s received their updates to Android 4.4.2 KitKat last week, it’s now time to finish up work on its cousin, the LG G Flex. After the Korean model saw its KitKat upgrade back towards the end of March, followed closely by AT&T’s version on April 17th, Sprint has announced that they’ve begun rolling out the latest version of Android for their model as well. Sprint’s changelog, doesn’t divulge much, but we have to admit, it gave us a good chuckle. Brace yourselves, it’s a long one:
Alright, since Sprint wasn’t revealing too much about the update, we’ll refer you to AT&T’s changelog which should remain the same for the most part.
The rollout starts today, and is expected to end May 7th. If you don’t feel like waiting around for your LG G Flex to ping you about the update, you can always manually check for one. If you need help, Sprint’s walkthrough page (complete with GIFs) is a great resource. You can find that here. [Sprint] |
| The real reason Nokia went with Windows Phone instead of Android Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:26 AM PDT For a long time coming, Nokia’s resistance to join Android was portrayed by the Finnish company with a stern stance. Then-executive Anssi Vanjoki even joked about it, saying an OEM using Android is like a Finnish boy peeing their pants for warmth in the winter. That’s a statement that never fails to pop to the front of our minds every time we think about their Android-powered Nokia X line.
It appears that comment was more truthful than it was funny, though, with Nokia’s latest explanation injecting a lot more sense into it. In a recent ask me anything session, CEO Stephen Elop recently revealed the reasoning behind going with Windows Phone instead of Android:
It seems Elop was right, because not even the once-dominant HTC is able to overcome Samsung’s stranglehold on the Android smartphone market. The HTC One from yesteryear and this year’s follow-up are great smartphones, but HTC is still finding it difficult to sell enough units to stay in the black. The Taiwanese company has seen declining profits and revenue for months now (they were in the red last quarter), and have even suffered their first consecutive quarters with net operating losses. It’s not enough of a drop to count HTC out just yet, but it’s enough to make us worried about their future.
And HTC isn’t the only competing smartphone manufacturer in tough waters. Sony, LG, Motorola and more are finding it difficult to find solid footing in these races despite coming forth with their strongest products yet in recent months.
It’s not as if Nokia is doing much better than any of them, though. Windows Phone itself still plays second fiddle to Android and iOS, and by a very large margin. Microsoft only owns about 3.4% of the US smartphone market share last we heard, and Nokia likely commands a vast majority of that. The global numbers figure to show a similar trend. Of noteworthy mention is Nokia going back on their own word and releasing the Nokia X line, though Elop contends they did that to attack a specific need in specific markets, and not to try and cash-in quick on Android’s insane success. So what’s the difference between Nokia and other Android-focused OEMs? The difference is that their focus on Windows Phone has allowed them to stand out in a new ecosystem, which is a major reason why Microsoft was interested enough to close the books on a deal that would see them acquiring the manufacturer. Should Microsoft do the unthinkable and find a breakthrough moment with Windows Phone to steal a considerable amount of market share from iOS and Android, Nokia (or Microsoft?) will be first in line to reap the benefits of that. That’s a lot more than any other Android OEM not named “Samsung” can say. [via Neowin] |
| Google Self Driving Cars update shows huge strides in road autonomy [VIDEO] Posted: 28 Apr 2014 08:32 AM PDT
Until Now, Google’s self-driving cars project has been quite impressive already, but the company has announced new strides that takes things to the next level. They’ve gotten it to a point where the cars can detect road obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, bikers, hazards, construction detours and more without the guidance of a human. Those strides have allowed them to take the car off predictable, non-complex freeways and onto the streets of Mountain View. By their own admission a city street scenario is a lot more complicated to navigate and is quite chaotic to the human brain. Their big news? They’ve gotten the self-driving car’s autonomy to a level of fidelity that makes those chaotic roads a lot more predictable — so much so that the car apparently adapts to ever-changing road conditions more appropriately than a human being can. They’ve done so with 700,000 miles of driving data, using everyday road situations to craft tons of new simulation models. The car’s various sensors can detect a boatload of stuff, from whether a car is stopping or plowing through a stop light or stop sign, to determining what direction a biker is turning based on the biker’s hand signals. Granted, this is only one street in one Californian city, but Google’s confident that the progress they’re making will eventually lead to a car that can navigate the entirety of Mountain View without any human interaction whatsoever. How long that will take is still up in the air, but with as much time and money Google is throwing behind this project we imagine it could happen within our current lifetime.
Of course, being able to navigate an entire state or even a country is a different story, and we might not ever see that happen. Regardless, it’s all very interesting and has us excited for the future of smart cars. Their video is sitting above so take a quick two minute break to check it out. [via Google] |
| [Update] Samsung Galaxy S5 “Prime” reportedly due this June, evidence found on Samsung site Posted: 28 Apr 2014 07:30 AM PDT
We could be closer to the launch of Samsung’s rumored “premium” Galaxy S5 sooner than we thought. According to sources of AsiaToday’s, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime should be headed our way this June, which is only about a month and some change away by our calendar’s count. It’s said Samsung will be focusing on North America and Europe for this device, though we’re not sure how wide a net they’ll cast in terms of carrier availability. So what’s different compared to the Galaxy S5 already available? How’s a 5.2-inch 2560 x 1440 display and 2.1GHz Samsung Exynos 5430 Octa-Core chipset sound? That’s about all we know of so far, but there could be other notable differences compared to the original Galaxy S5 once details are finally made official. Anyone looking to hold out in hopes of getting this over the “ordinary” version? Let us know in the comments below! [Update]: evidence of the device’s existence has surfaced on Samsung’s website. The model umber SM-G906S has appeared in the company’s Find My Mobile page as an alternative model of the Galaxy S5, which is the same model number of an unknown device with 2560 x 1440 resolution that once appeared in a GFX Bench benchmark. That’s not solid confirmation on its own, but something clearly exists that Samsung is planning to bring into the light soon. [via SamMobile] |
| HP getting ready to announce attractive 14-inch Android-powered notebook Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:49 AM PDT HP is continuing their line of Android-powered notebooks apparently, with Notebook Italia discovering a hidden video on the manufacturer’s site for the HP SlateBook 14. The promo video gives us a very clean and clear look at the device, which HP made sure was stunning and eye-popping in its design. The leaked model shows a bumblebee-esque yellow and black color scheme. We’re not sure if other colors will be available, but we imagine they are aware that not everyone will be a fan of this particular combination.         What we are sure of is the fact that it’ll be running an NVIDIA Tegra processor, though whether that’s Tegra 4 or Tegra K1 remains to be seen. That should be flanked by 2GB of RAM, 1080p HD 14-inch display, HDMI-out, a built-in webcam, 3x USB ports, and Beats Audio speakers. Any other details will have to come from new leaks or HP themselves, but with such a smooth promo video ready to go it sounds like it won’t be long before they out all the details we’re craving. Be sure to watch the embed up above. |
| Samsung Level line of premium headphones and speakers announced Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:21 AM PDT
Audiophiles should hold onto their jaws, as Samsung has announced their new line of premium audio products. Dubbed the Level series, Samsung has a full range of headphones and speakers to fit your needs. Here’s what’s on tap:
   
   
   
    The speakers and headphones will be compatible with Samsung’s Level smartphone app that will provide dynamic EQ settings through SoundAlive. They’ll also be looking out for your ear’s health with built-in volume monitor support (because, you know, blasting the audio past 11 isn’t a good idea for the delicate human eardrum). The app should be available for all Android users either through Google Play or Samsung Apps.
Samsung sure makes these audio products sound nice — and they certainly have the looks to match — but actual audio quality is one judgment that’ll have to wait until we can get these onto our ears for ourselves. The products launch Mid-May, and can be had in either white or black no matter which one you go with. [via Samsung Tomorrow] |
| Blackphone processor revealed to be quad-core 2GHz Tegra 4i Posted: 28 Apr 2014 05:32 AM PDT The Blackphone has high ambitions. It wants to be the most secure smartphone you’ve ever used, utilizing Silent circle for encrypted voice calls, video calls and messages with SilentCircle, VPN protection via Disconnect, encrypted cloud storage from SpiderOak and more. They call it PrivateOS, which is an operating system directly based on Android 4.4 KitKat. It’s secure no doubt, but what sort of power can you expect under the hood? That’s all been cleared up this morning, with Blackphone officially revealing the chipset inside to be a 2GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4i. Tegra 4i is based on ARM’s Cortex-A9 r4 with a fifth battery saving core for performing low-powered tasks in the background. It also has 60 GPU cores, and NVIDIA’s integrated i500 LTE modem.
Here’s how the entirety of the phone stacks up:
We were able to get a pretty good look at this thing back when it was announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, so be sure to check that out to see what we’re in store for when the Blackphone finally makes its way to store shelves (which Blackphone says should be going down as early as June). [via PR Newswire] |
| Samsung’s latest Instagram post teases Galaxy K’s camera zoom sensor Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:53 AM PDT
Need more proof that Samsung is looking to launch their next-generation point-and-shoot camera phone tomorrow? The Samsung Galaxy K — which could also be seen as a Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom — seems to have been teased by the South Korean company on Instagram. They posted a simple video of a building of the Red Dot Design Museum building (where the event is being hosted) being zoomed in on, with each level of zoom showing more crisp details. It looks like they’ve stuffed a pretty capable camera sensor into this thing, which rumors suggest is a 20 megapixel 10x optical zoom element accompanied by a Xenon flash.
We’ve already seen shots of the thing leaked in the wild, which you can see in the photos above and below. Samsung went with a more phone-like form factor for this one, as opposed to the curved and contoured shape of the original.
Exact specs still have yet to be confirmed, but the latest rumors say the hardware comes out to be a pretty decent device:
The Instagram post didn’t reveal much else about the device itself, though you never really expect to get more than just a sip or a taste from these things. All should be told by tomorrow, though, as Samsung’s Singapore event will kickoff at approximately 11am local time. We’ll be sure to deliver all the details once they arrive. [Thanks, Joe!] |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 camera failed issue could be hardware related Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:38 AM PDT
Last week, Samsung confirmed that the Galaxy S5 is experiencing an unfortunate bug that causes the device’s camera to fail. The issue seems to predominately affect Verizon versions of the Galaxy S5, though users on other carriers and other regions have reported cases of this happening, as well. Thankfully Samsung has identified the issue, but it doesn’t sound like it can be remedied from a simple software upgrade at this point in time. The Galaxy S5 reportedly runs into this issue whenever parts of the device’s ROM (that is, the portion of the internal memory that all the OS information is installed to) is corrupted. There are a wide number of uncontrollable reasons why internal flash storage can become corrupted, though the fact that the rest of the device operates normally for people with these problems leads us to believe there’s some sort of software glitch that specifically affects the portions of the ROM that control the camera. To our knowledge, whatever trigger is causing it has yet to be found which would make it hard for them to get going on a solid fix. So what to do if you run into this issue? Get your carrier to replace it. You have a warranty for hardware and software defects, so use it. Either head into your local store or give them a call in order to get that process underway. Those whose carriers can’t help them (either because you have an unlocked device or they simply won’t help you for whatever reason) can call Samsung’s warranty center at 1-888-987-4357, and someone should help get you on the right track. (Extra optional step: pray that your new handset isn’t suffering from the same defect.) We wish it were as simple as an OTA fix or a hardware reset, but that’s what we have to live with for now. Samsung says they’re not yet sure how many devices have been affected by the issue, so it’s tough to tell if it’s widespread or just a small subset of their customer base. We’ll be reaching out to learn more about that particular statistic or if Samsung is any closer to a fix, but for now this is the long road you’ll have to take if you want a fully functioning handset. [via ETNews] |
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