Samsung can be considered one of the biggest pioneers in the industry. The company will dip its toes into any new products or technologies they can find, hoping to find those few experiments that will take off. Samsung has gotten a little more adventurous with their latest endeavor, though – a smart bike.
Enter the Samsung Smart Bike, a product that is meant to offer green and healthy transportation while keeping you safe with its smart technology. Samsung mentions the bicycle has a “technological soul”, as its internals make it a moving accessory designed to work in tandem with your smartphone.
The bike was made with Giovanni Pelizzoli taking charge of the design. Pelizzoli is a world renown frame builder. This specific design offers curved shapes that are meant to lower vibrations and keep the bicycle running smooth. But what makes it more unique is all the technology Samsung put inside.
The Samsung Smart Bike comes equipped with laser beams, a rear-view camera, integrated GPS and an Arduino motherboard that controls it all. This set-up wouldn’t be complete without smartphone pairing, and Samsung, of course, didn’t leave that feature behind. Your smartphone can be docked into the handlebar, and it controls every smart aspect built into the vehicle.
All these components are put in place for a single purpose – to keep you safe. The laser beams create a bike lane that surrounds you, alerting others of your presence and keeping them at safe distance.
The rear-view camera is designed to give you a view of what is going on behind you. You can simply take a quick look at your smartphone and see if there is anything dangerous going on.
Behind the scenes, the GPS tracker and smartphone app work together to track bikers’ general routes. If a certain road is taken by many bikers, local authorities could take the data and decide which to add real bike lanes to.
I feel there is much more you could do with the Samsung Smart Bike, but the project is young and will keep evolving with time. Pricing and availability are still anyone’s guess. In fact, we are not yet sure if this bike is to go into mass production at all.
I just hope that, if released, this bike doesn’t become a Samsung exclusive. Sadly, that will probably be the case.
New rumors suggest the Samsung Galaxy S5 is set to receive a very welcomed update to Android 4.4.3 this month, with the previous-generation Samsung Galaxy S4 to follow in July. This makes for one of the fastest proliferations we have seen in a new Android version.
We are not sure if updates are getting much easier to handle or manufacturers are finally improving their game. Android 4.4.3 emerged at the beginning of June, and so far Nexus, Google Play Edition and even Motorola devices have gotten the anticipated update.
This rumor originates from a leaked document, which states the SM-G900F and SM-G900H will both be updated this month. The first would be the international, unlocked version, while the latter is a model compatible with US, Canadian and Latin American carriers (also unlocked).
Carrier versions will need to go through their test periods and be approved by their respective network providers, which means it may still take a while before you see the update showing up. The Samsung Galaxy S4 version slated to get Android 4.4.3 next month is also an unlocked iteration of the device, labeled under model number GT-I9506.
Software updates are looking bright in this Android universe us geeks live in. We certainly hope more manufacturers follow suit and get faster with their updates. Granted, this was not an upgrade that brought huge changes, but such speedy delivery has been unheard of until now. Unless you had a Nexus device, that is. And sometimes even those took longer to get updated!
Those who want to learn more about Android 4.4.3 can go ahead and check out some of our previous coverage, in which we go through the new features and Google’s handling of bug fixes. Otherwise, stick around for upcoming details on these updates!
Also, don’t forget these leaks don’t always prove to be true. We wouldn’t hold our breath on these updates, at least until more details emerge.
While companies like Google and Apple are just starting to get their feet wet when it comes to advanced home automation efforts, there’s little denying that connected, smart homes are part of our future.
Right now, smart homes are far from commonplace though we’re seeing an increasing number of DIY smarthome efforts and even mainstream companies like Samsung and LG are pushing smart appliance and lighting. Looking for a truly next-gen smart home experience, though? A recent Kickstarter project promises such a device, which the startup playfully had dubbed as the Homey.
With 13 more days left to go, the Homey campaign has already blown past their original goal of €100,000
With 13 more days left to go, the Homey campaign has already blown past their original €100,000 goal, with €178,016 earned at the time of this writing. Okay, but what exactly is Homey, and what makes it so special? Homey is essentially a powerful voice-activated home automation hub made by a small Netherlands-based company called Athom.
The device is designed to work with many of your existing electronic devices, including televisions, your home’s lighting (with some modifications), smart thermostats and even smart appliances. The Homey also works with devices that support standards like AirPlay and NFC, and there’s even support for apps like Spotify and more.
At it’s most advanced, you can use Homey as a voice-controlled system for doing smart functions like adjusting thermostats, fading your lights on/off at specific times, controlling the televisions in your home, turning on the stereo, and really just about anything you can imagine. For situations where you need to control your home remotely, there’s also an Android app.
What if you don’t have smart appliances and other smart devices around your house? Out of the box, Homey can still connect to your phone and can do things like read your emails and messages out loud to you. It can also still control your television and other devices that use remote waves, and it even has support for older TV models. Homey will also provide you with important information throughout the day, such as telling you its going to rain soon when you’re getting ready to exit the house, so you know to grab an umbrella or rain jacket.
Bottom-line, Homey opens the door to some pretty cool things, as you can see in the videos. But how much does it actually cost? Right now you can secure a Homey for €229 ($309.91), with an estimated ship date of June 2015. That’s quite a wait, but it’s probably worth considering if you’re really into the idea of voice-controlled home automation.
Athom plans to not only use the funding it gathers for manufacturing the Homey, but they’ve even introduced some stretch goals for the project. If they reach €200,000 they will create an interactive flow-editor for your actions, giving you this-then-that style of controls. This means things like filling the tube right when you wake up, and then starting morning music after 15 minutes (their example). At €300,000 they promise to introduce new colors including Fire Red, Apple Green, Aqua Blue and Ninja Black.
For more details on the Homey, you’ll want to head on over to Kickstarter. What do you think, interested in the idea or not?
This was an exciting week in the world of applications! In this week’s episode we talk about the Final Fantasy VII G-Bike game that’s coming. SwiftKey is now free with in-app purchases. Amazon has a brand new music streaming service for their Amazon Prime customers. Google may be unifying their Google apps across all platforms both desktop and mobile. Finally, here are five Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week!
[Price: Free]
First up in our trending applications this week is Aereo. You may already know this app for its ability to stream live TV straight to your device without prior cable service being required. The app got a huge update this last week that has added Chromecast support. There were also some bug fixes and performance improvements.
[Price: Free]
If you’re interested in what’s going on at Google I/O, you can find everything you’re looking for in the official Google I/O application. Using this app you can watch the keynote and sessions on live stream, get reminders about events, look at prior years, and it even comes with widget support. What I like about this app is how it’s useful even if you aren’t going to Google I/O so if you want to be there but you can’t actually be there, this is the app to have.
[Price: Free / $3.99]
The last big update to Action Launcher was actually a couple of months ago, but there are some big things brewing in the beta version that includes awesome features like the Okay Google hotword and a new feature that lets you double tap your screen to put it to sleep. It’s estimated that these features will reach the stable release sometime in the relatively near future, so why not try it out now?
[Price: Free]
Amazon Kindle is already a popular application and it’s had a huge update this last week. Some of the new features include switching between reading and listening modes on the fly, some copy and paste features, improved cross device syncing and notifications, and more. If you have it, the update should have been available in the Play Store for a few days.
[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Last up this week is Rovio’s attempt to turn Angry Birds into an RPG. Dubbed Angry Birds Epic the app was released just yesterday and so far the reviews are surprisingly good and the rating is surprisingly high. The game play seems pretty good and so far there really aren’t any egregious complaints. It’s free with in app purchases so there’s no real reason not to try it out if you like Angry Birds, RPGs, or both.
When it comes to meeting and exceeding customer expectations, it’s about a whole lot more than simply creating an exceptional product. Of equal importance is the customer service you provide before and after the purchase.
For HTC this includes “HTC Advantage”, a program that essentially offers free replacements for broken phone displays. This is certainly one of the advantages to choosing an HTC device like the One M8, but it’s important to note that HTC isn’t the only manufacturer that has such a replacement policy.
In a discussion about broken screens over at Reddit’s Moto X subreddit , several users revealed an interesting tip: it’s seems that you can often get your phone’s screen replaced after an accidental break, at no charge to the consumer. Looking for further clarification, we spoke to a customer service rep and confirmed that the free screen replacement service applies to any phone bought directly through Motorola or customized with the Moto Maker. This not only includes the Moto X, Moto G and Moto E but the policy will also be in place for upcoming devices such as the Motorola X+1.
It goes without saying that this is an excellent customer perk, especially considering Motorola charges $175 to those who bought the phone outside of their store or without customization.
Bottom-line, if the idea of a 1-time free screen replacement seems like something you’d want from a phone, you have two manufacturer choices at this point: HTC or Motorola. Here’s to hoping that other Android OEMs follow their example down the road.
Have a broken display on your Motorola device? You can sign up for a free replacement through Motorola’s website.
Unless you sport something like the Xperia Z Ultra or the Ascend Mate2 (which just launched in the US for $299), there’s a good chance your current phone will look entirely inadequate when put aside Lenovo’s newest beast, the K920.
Also known as the Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro, the K920 is a 6-inch hunk of metal with a gorgeous Quad HD screen and a 4,000-mAh battery. If that’s not impressive enough for your elevated tastes, you also get a Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and dual-tone flash, and a 5MP front camera.
Everything is wrapped in what looks like brushed aluminum, giving the device a stark industrial appearance that contrasts with the exuberance of that 2560 x 1440 screen and Lenovo’s colorful Android 4.4 KitKat implementation.
Here’s a Chinese language hands-on video of the device, courtesy of Engadget China .
The K920 will likely hit the market as the Vibe Z2 Pro, but for now, we don’t have any details on its price or availability outside of China. The phone was spotted yesterday at the Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai, but Lenovo is yet to officially announce it. Nonetheless, this is a device that we’d love to take for a spin, for that gorgeous screen and imposing build, if nothing else.
Supersized devices such as the K920 are definitely a niche category, but one that is expanding continuously, especially in Asia, where smartphones are the primary computing devices of many users. While Lenovo is mostly active in Asia, the company is harboring global ambitions, meaning that we may see exotic devices like the K920 make their way to Western shores in the following years.
Peek, one of the coolest features developed by the Paranoid Android team, has been released on the Play Store as a standalone app for all to enjoy, back in May. But in true PA fashion, the developers behind the app have never stopped polishing and improving the app, and now Peek v 2.0 is out with new features. Peek 2.0 is a “huge release,” according to developer Jesús David Gulfo Agudelo, bringing many features that the community has asked for since the launch of the initial version. Here’s a brief rundown, with more details about each new feature available in this Google Plus post:
Besides these larger changes, the team also applied many smaller bug fixes and optimization tweaks. Our Joe Hindy reviewed Peek in his Indie App of the Day series and came out impressed, calling it “the closest you’re going to come to getting the Moto X Active Display without actually buying a Moto X.” The app is available in the Play Store under Francisco Franco’s developer account, and goes for $3.99. Currently, it’s only available to devices running Android 4.4 and higher.
Google is continuing its quest to turn Now into a truly helpful virtual assistant, with the latest update bringing the ability to offer event suggestions based on the content of your emails.
Google Now has long been able to sort through emails for things like flight reservations or shipping updates, and display them as cards for just-in-time availability. Now the virtual assistant is going one step forward by trying to infer events that you might want to add to your calendar based on the content of your emails.
Say, for instance, that you receive an invitation to a party by email. Google can parse the text in the email and tell that it’s about an event that you have to attend in the future. The information is passed to Google Now, where a card shows up asking you if you want to add the event to your calendar. You’re given the option to add the event or to ignore it.
It seems that the functionality is currently rolling out to some users; when it shows up, you will be able activate this type of card from the Everything else section of the Now customization menu, accessible through the magic wand button at the bottom of the interface.
For now, Now is only tapping into Gmail, but in the future the functionality may include information from Hangouts and other Google services.
