Android Phone Fans |
- Jerry Seinfeld’s standup about smartphone users is spot on [VIDEO]
- Google working on a WiFi app to automatically connect you to wireless hotspots [RUMOR]
- Canonical reveals its first hardware partners for Ubuntu Touch OS
- HTC M8 (The New One) shows up at the FCC, confirms new curvier/tall design
- Google announces Project Tango smartphone with Kinect-like 3D imaging sensors [VIDEO]
- The “all new HTC One” leaks again; this time in silver and gray
- VH1 app hits Google Play, still pretends music doesn’t exist
- US Cellular’s Note 3 KitKat upgrade begins rolling out
- Use the “Meet me Halfway” app to find the perfect place to meet and save on gas
- Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update begins rolling out
- Will Samsung introduce a new music streaming service called “Milk Music” at MWC?
| Jerry Seinfeld’s standup about smartphone users is spot on [VIDEO] Posted: 20 Feb 2014 06:19 PM PST Say what you will about Jerry Seinfeld and his standup comedy act, but the show Seinfeld will forever go down as one of the best comedies of all time — it’s not up for debate. Maybe that’s why I got warm and fuzzy feelings watching him perform some quick standup on The Tonight Show. In the clip, Jerry tells it like it is, equating smartphone users with French kings and general selfishness. When making calls on your smartphone is quickly becoming a secondary function, it makes you wonder where society is headed. Anyone find it weirdly offensive when someone actually has the audacity to pick up the phone and — GASP! — call you? |
| Google working on a WiFi app to automatically connect you to wireless hotspots [RUMOR] Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:33 PM PST According to sources, Google is experimenting with a new app that can automatically connect users to free public WiFi hotspots in places like Target or Starbucks. The app — for both Android and iOS — automatically authenticate users, bypassing that annoying “agree to terms” prompt you often fiddle around with when trying to check to Twitter or visit a webpage. And what good would this app be without more free wireless access points to log into? Guess that’s why, like their work in San Francisco, Google is also set to roll out free Google WiFi to even more locations across the US (Canada too). To help facilitate this, Google will also be working with Boingo to expand the number of free WiFi locations where the search giant is already picking up the tab. The app could be a real life saver in a world where truly carrier unlimited data plans are going the way of the dodo. Before you get your hopes up, keep in mind that although the app is already being tested internally by Google, there is no guarantee that it will ever leave the Mountain View HQ. For those interested, there are already applications in the Google Play Store that mimic the functionality of this secret Google WiFi app, although we haven’t had any experience with them. Anyone know of any others? [Engadget] |
| Canonical reveals its first hardware partners for Ubuntu Touch OS Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:21 PM PST Those that were following our Mobile World Congress coverage from last year may remember Canonical releasing a special developer preview of their Ubuntu Touch OS for the Nexus 4. In that same press release, Canonical also made mention of their plans to introduce hardware partners for Ubuntu Touch OS sometime in October, and while version 1.0 of their mobile OS went live — hardware partners were still nowhere to be found. If you were curious to see what Mobile World Congress 2014 will bring outside of the usual plethora of Android devices, Canonical is now finally ready to announce hardware partners for Ubtuntu Touch with Chinese manufacturer Meizu and Spanish OEM “bq” officially jumping on board. Canonical wasn’t able to provide many details about these devices, only that they would offer the “lastest” mobile hardware with a release scheduled for later this year. It was in August of last year that Canonical’s ambitious Ubuntu Edge smartphone failed to meet its lofty Indiegogo goal, but apparently some good may have come out of it. Canonical was able to launch the “Ubuntu Carrier Advisory Group” of which 16 major telecoms including T-Mobile USA, Verizon, and more were offering to give their support. Bringing it back to Ubuntu Touch, Canonical describes apps as having their own dedicated pages on the homescreen, with more than 50 of the “top apps” available at launch. Of the ones Canonical was able to reveal, Evernote, Grooveshark, and the Weather Channel were already said to be on board. Just like last year, we expect to pay Canonical a visit during this year’s Mobile World Congress. Be on the lookout for our coverage starting next week.
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| HTC M8 (The New One) shows up at the FCC, confirms new curvier/tall design Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:03 PM PST We know exactly when HTC is planning on unveiling their next flagship device, having received an invites for their March 25th event in New York City and London. One of the things we don’t yet know about the device: exactly when the heck it’s supposed to come out (and for which carriers). Today, we may have a few extra clues hinting of the device’s impending release, thanks to the M8 finding itself uncovered in some FCC docs. Aside from an outline of the device — showing a similar design to last year’s model only with more curves — the FCC filing also revealed AT&T compatible LTE bands (2, 4, 5, 7, 17) which given the extra bands, is more than likely the GSM unlocked model. We expect to find the One 2014 launching on many of the same networks as the previous version, so don’t let this scare you. Even with the actual look of the device leaking out these past few days, HTC has been doing alright keeping a lid on some other details about the device, namely it’s official name (we’re hearing “The All New HTC One”) and exactly what they have planned for those strange dual-cameras on the back. We’ll learn more in a few short weeks. |
| Google announces Project Tango smartphone with Kinect-like 3D imaging sensors [VIDEO] Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:20 PM PST Don’t bother checking you calendars, it isn’t April 1st. With that out of the way, Google was able to throw everyone a curve ball today with the announcement of Project Tango, their new in-house smartphone prototype outfitted with Kinect-like sensors. The 5-inch smartphone as is being developed by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP) the same people behind Project Ara. Project Tango is lead by Johnny Lee — a man who helped make the Microsoft Kinect possible (makes sense, right?). The goal of Project Tango is to ultimately give mobile devices a “human-scale understanding” of space and motion, allowing users to map the world around them in ways they never thought possible. The prototype uses many of the sensors already found in our smartphones today (gyroscope, cameras, etc.) but with a few key differences: Project Tango is outfitted with a 4MP camera, motion tracking camera, and depth sensing sensor. These all work in conjunction with Tango’s unique motion and depth tracking “vision processor” manufactured from Movidus. Other specs — including the version of Android its running — weren’t provided. When it comes to practical, real-world applications, Google mentions indoor navigation and of course, incredibly immersive virtual reality video games (think Oculus Rift). Project Tango could even assist the visually impaired if applied correctly. Really, the possibilities are endless. Starting today, Google is allowing developers to sign up for early access to the prototype dev kits. The first 200 handsets will only go out to carefully selected devs looking to make applications and/or algorithms atop this brand new platform, so if you’re interested, you better have a good pitch ready. As far as availability, we don’t expect these to be hitting Best Buy anytime soon, but Google does have plans to ship all prototype units by March 14th, 2014, barely a few short weeks away. With Project Ara still fresh in everyone’s mind, we can’t believe Google is already undertaking another hardware project like Tango. We expect to learn much more during this year’s Google I/O kicking off in June but in the meantime, all we can say is… WOW. |
| The “all new HTC One” leaks again; this time in silver and gray Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:55 AM PST There’s something to be said about the fact that we’re seeing more leaks about a phone scheduled to be announced more than a month from now than devices that we should be seeing in less than a week. That’s what’s going on with the “all new HTC One,” though. Yesterday, we got a look at the first clean press render of the device, with familiar sources giving us a taste pf what it looks like in gold. Today, two new colors have been leaked — grey and silver. It’s quite the odd pairing considering they’re kind of close on the color scale, but we won’t complain about too many options when there often aren’t enough. Of course, there could be even more cool colors planned for this big release. For starters, we’re still expecting to see a tone closer to what was introduced on the original HTC One (which wasn’t exactly white, but not quite as dark as the options you see above and below). Unfortunately that’s about all that we expect to change at this point. And yes, that means the dreaded HTC logo at the bottom of the device unnecessarily taking up space won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. You’ll just have to deal with it if you really want this phone. Circle back March 25th when this device is expected to be officially unveiled. |
| VH1 app hits Google Play, still pretends music doesn’t exist Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:39 AM PST You get the joke by now, right? Channels like MTV and VH1 were named for their music and music is no longer a part of their focus, blah blah blah. That said, there’s a new app for those of you who still enjoy the latter’s programming: a new VH1 app is sitting in the Google Play Store. Basketball Wives? Check. Couples Therapy? You betcha. Other shows that know how to make miserable lives look more glamorous than they really are? Well, they just hit the hat-trick. It’s all there and waiting for your viewing eyes and ears. The app features video clips from all your favorite shows, and even full episodes for some shows if you log in with your cable provider. VH1 also has show companions for all their series just in case you want to be completely engulfed in information and multimedia about whatever you’re watching. And you know what? I think we’re most impressed by the fact that the app’s design doesn’t totally suck. It’s all free, too, so go ahead and find it in the Google Play Store. |
| US Cellular’s Note 3 KitKat upgrade begins rolling out Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:39 AM PST Heads up, party people: KitKat has arrived to Samsung Galaxy Note 3 users on US Cellular. It was only this morning that Sprint users got treated to the same goods, and we imagine that folks on both carriers can expect similar updates. US Cellular’s list is a bit different, though:
You’ll be looking for version N900R4TYUCNAB, which should step you up to Android 4.4.2 when it’s all said and done. You have the option of grabbing the upgrade over-the-air as long as you’re connected to WiFi. Simply hit Settings > About Device > Software Update to initiate it. Otherwise, you can get it going over Samsung Kies using a USB cable. Be sure to give it a spin and let us know how it’s treating you. [via US Cellular] |
| Use the “Meet me Halfway” app to find the perfect place to meet and save on gas Posted: 20 Feb 2014 06:56 AM PST Have you ever arranged to meet with someone? Often times than not, it’s less convenient for one person to get to the meeting spot than the other, which is typically the result of having to drive to some predetermined location that the two sides agree on. But what if both sides can take equal routes to the same spot and divvy up the burden of travel? That’s what Meet Me Halfway is for. It’s not a terribly complicated app on the surface. Simply put in two different addresses — the starting point for each of the meeting’s participants — and boom: it spits out a point on the map where you two can drive equal distances to meet up. You even have options for route preferences, so you can avoid highways or tolls if you don’t want to deal with traffic. Of course, your final destination doesn’t have to be that exact spot. The app could help you find a cafe or a bar somewhere close, but the point is to help cut travel down for both sides instead of leaving one side with a hefty gas bill. The developer also has some updates planned for future versions, including a list view, the ability to pull addresses from contact listings, and more. It’s free, so give it a shot in the Google Play Store the next time you find yourself dreading an hour long drive to meet someone. |
| Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update begins rolling out Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:48 AM PST It was only yesterday we’d seen Samsung’s source code for the Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update trickle into the atmosphere, and we imagined it wouldn’t take long before the actual over-the-air rollout process begin. Thankfully Samsung didn’t disappoint, as many Sprint users over at AndroidForums.com are reporting that they are beginning to see the upgrade. The upgrade looks to clock in at around 503 megabytes, which definitely isn’t light work for your 3G or 4G connection. You’ll want to get going on a WiFi network before attempting to pull this one down, and as general rule of caution you should only attempt it if you have at least 50% on your battery life. As we’ve seen with KitKat upgrades for other top Samsung devices, this version doesn’t change a whole lot (Android 4.3 Jelly Bean took care of the most big changes), though Sprint does note a few things in their notes:
We’re still looking to track down more information from Sprint, including the version number you should be looking out for. In the meantime, you’re free to ping their servers and see if they’ll let you download this upgrade. Just head to Settings > About Phone to take care of all that. Let us know if you’re seeing it in the comments below! |
| Will Samsung introduce a new music streaming service called “Milk Music” at MWC? Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:23 AM PST With each passing year it becomes increasingly apparent that Samsung wants to transform into a mega multimedia giant, and strive to become, well, another Apple. The company uses Android for all their top smartphones and tablets, but they often build out their own solutions for things the market place already has (such as S Voice, Samsung Apps, Media Hub and more). It looks like they could be revamping the mSpot-based music service — dubbed Samsung Music Hub — they tried to launch a couple of years ago, though. A recent filing at the USPTO suggests Samsung will be introducing a music streaming service called “Samsung Milk Music,” and it sounds like they’re being even more ambitious than they were with Music Hub. The trademark mentions video quite frequently. Among other music and mobile-related classifications, the application details the following system:
It wouldn’t be the first time we get a music video streaming service, nor would it be the first time we’ve seen a music streaming service, but it isn’t often that those two collide into one big app. Of course, it’s all speculation until Samsung says something official about it, but we’re hoping they’ll have more to share in less than a week at Mobile World Congress once they unveil the Samsung Galaxy S5. |
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