Wunderlist is the latest app to join the Android Wear party, baking in support for Google’s wearable tech in the latest app update. The update will let you check any notifications and reminders from your watch, as well as create a list by saying “Ok Google, make a note.” You can also use voice dictation to reply to comments on any notes.
It’s too early to tell if Android Wear will take over the wearable market, but it’s safe to say that it’s getting off to a great start by getting so many apps and developers on board.
Come comment on this article: Wunderlist gets updated with Android Wear support
Google released an update to the Google Camera on the Play Store just a few days ago that brought some Android Wear functionality. Today’s update isn’t quite as big, but it does fix a lot of issues that users had with Photo Sphere and related modes.
Photo Sphere has been improved so it has a larger target area, which is extremely helpful in bright sunlight. This change should make creating Photo Spheres much, much easier. Aside from that small tweak, Photo Spheres should use less memory during the stitching process, which will supposedly cut down on crashes in the camera app. That performance change should also affect related camera modes, including Fish Eye, Panorama, and Wide Angle.
source: Google+
Come comment on this article: Google Camera gets another update with Photo Sphere improvements
Nova Launcher is one of the best third-party launchers available, and today’s update makes it even better. The latest stable update brings some visual flair from the Android L developer preview, including different animations and theme tweaks.
There’s a new animation option for opening and leaving apps called slide up, which causes apps to appear from the bottom of the screen like they do in Android L. Many of the default theme elements have adopted the same aesthetic, including the Google search bar and the app drawer icon. The folder icon previews can now use Android L style grouping, too.
It’s not a major update, but if you like the visuals of Android L, you’re going to want to check out this update. Hit the break below for the link.
Come comment on this article: Nova Launcher gets Android L-style visual tweaks
With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!
Accessories
HTC Dot View app becomes manageable with themes and settings
Android Wear
[New Wear App] Find and open apps a lot quicker on Android Wear with Wear Mini Launcher
Apps
[New Wear App] Find and open apps a lot quicker on Android Wear with Wear Mini Launcher
Microsoft opening beta program for OneNote users on Android
Carriers
Sprint now taking orders for LG G3
T-Mobile partners with Major League Baseball to flex its muscles at All-Star Week
Chromecast
Developer finds solution to allow additional devices to use Cast Screen feature with Chromecast
Gaming
SEGA release Sonic Jump Fever to Google Play
Angry Birds Star Wars 2 updated with 30 levels for more addicting play time
Phones
LG G3 ‘Prime’ with Snapdragon 805 gets leaked in Korean mall ad
Sprint now taking orders for LG G3
Did the Galaxy F just pass Bluetooth certification?
Galaxy S 4 Active battles lawnmower, comes out scathed but working
Photos of Sony’s Xperia Z3 leak on Digi-Wo and Weibo
Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for July 11, 2014
The battle of the Home Launchers. We all knew it would eventually come to this. There were many to choose from but ultimately it comes down to a couple of the absolute most popular choice when a user goes on the search for a custom home replacement app for their device. Nova or Apex? Both these launchers offer intriguing and compelling features and functions, and both are insanely customizable. Both are also free but offer even more choices an ways to customize your device with their premium counterparts. Let’s get into it.
Nova Launcher is easily the crowd favorite when it comes to replacement launcher apps. Ironically, people who use Nova have probably at one point and even possibly for quite some time, used Apex Launcher as it was out before Nova. Nova Launcher has seemingly endless customization options, but let’s begin with a few of the most awesome features. Screen transitions make Nova Launcher pretty, and if you have a device with a decent amount of RAM, any screen transition animation you choose will look simply stunning. Nova also has one big thing going for it that is brand new, which should delight plenty of users who aren’t running a supported device for the developer preview of Android L. With the latest update Nova has a few key UI details of the Android L preview, so even users on an unsupported device can get bits and pieces of that Android L Style, with things like the L style folder preview, L style app animations, the L style app drawer icon and the L style search bar. Icon themes are another big hit with Nova, although they aren’t specific to just Nova and many icon packs made specifically for a particular launcher are often times compatible with other launcher apps. Nova also supports gestures on screen like pinching in and out to open certain apps or shortcuts or complete certain functions. You can also hide apps from the drawer and get even more gesture control by setting swipe up actions for icons or folders on the homescreen. There’s also the OK Google Hotword support from the homescreen, as well as infinite scroll, a customizable app drawer and many other options, all wrapped up in a performance driven launcher that is quite possibly unmatched.
Apex Launcher has been around for quite some time, since the beginning days of Ice Cream Sandwich, allowing users at the time to get the new look and feel of ICS on their devices even if they weren’t running the software build. There are lots of similar features to Nova, including customizable app drawers, the ability to modify homescreen grids, transition effects, backup/restore options, infinite scroll and even gestures controls. Similar to Nova’s icon swipes, Apex offers swipe actions from app shortcuts that sit on the homescreen dock, which you’ll need the dock enabled to use. Apex also supports icon packs, and like Nova it also has the ability for unread counts for any of your email or message apps through an app extension. One area where Apex seems to have the upper hand is custom themes, where in many cases Apex will support custom themes that are made for other launchers like Launcher Pro, Go Launcher and ADW. Although it seems to have the capability to theme the entire device throughout including the homescreen, icons and many other elements of the UI, there is so far no addition of Android L based styling features like with Nova. Apex is also a free home launcher but offers tons more customization options to those who are willing to drop a few bucks for the premium license.
Nova V.S. Apex. Both formidable home launcher replacement apps with features that any person would love. Apex supports custom themes from other launchers for a full themed experience, but Nova has Android L styles and the option to use widgets in your dock. Both are free and come with premium features for a small price, and both will give you the capability to customize until you drop. So, who deserves the crown of these two awesome home launcher applications?
The post Epic App Battles: Nova Launcher V.S. Apex Launcher appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
We’ve told you guys about the dating friending app Tinder a few times in recent months. After first launching on Android almost a year ago to this date, the app is now finally ready to venture into the brave new world of wearables. In a recent update, it appears Tinder added support for Android Wear devices like the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, allowing users to simply launch the app by speaking the “Start Tinder” command.
From there, swiping left will reject a user, while right will give them the green light for further communications. Tapping a photo will pull up a quick bio, while long pressing allows you to quickly exit the app. Overall the app behaved well, except that launch times are fairly slow, made worse by the fact that the app closes out every time the screen dims (LG G Watch).
You guys may remember Tinder’s recent attempt at rebranding their business as a friend discovery tool, something you can be sure to tell your SO should they catch you perusing rating women based solely on their looks. If you have an Android Wear device, Tinder on your wrist could be exactly what the doctor ordered. Check it out for free on Google Play.
Because using Tinder on your smartphone simply wasn’t addictive enough, the developer has gone ahead and made it compatible with Google’s new Android Wear platform. Users can now use tinder straight from their smartwatch, without the need to even pull out their phones from their pockets.
For those who are not in the loop about Tinder, it is a dating app that allows you to easily connect with men or women of your preference. The app presents you with what seems like an unending stream of images.
You can “like” or “not like” a person, or go into their profile if you wish to learn more. If two people happen to like each other, a connection is made and you can chat away! It’s that simple and can become quite addicting.
The Android Wear feature supports images and parts of the users’ profiles. You can also get notifications for your Tinder matches. Then it will be as easy as always to continue the conversation from your smartphone.
Those who want to try the new Android Wear-compatible Tinder app can go ahead and download it from the Google Play Store. After you download or update the app, you can simply give your Android Wear device the command “OK, Google: start Tinder”, and you can Tinder away.
Android Wear does a lot of things well right now, but launching apps by touch is not one of them. If you don't want to shout at your wrist, you have to scroll way to the bottom of the options list to see your installed mini-apps like Keep, Evernote, and IFTTT. Wear Mini Launcher makes it much, much easier by showing all your apps with a quick edge gesture.
This is a first of its kind app, so there are a few weird things to consider going in.
[New App] Wear Mini Launcher Is The First Custom App Launcher For Android Wear was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
It seems a little bit cliche, maybe, but why not celebrate the summer with a little theme/Android homescreen that knows just how awesome the month of July can be. This weeks theme is appropriately named after the month that we’re currently in and the color palette reflects it pretty well we’d say. This is a Themer theme so if you wish to use it you’ll need that home launcher installed. The files to set this up are all available from the theme’s creator as well on the page at mycolorscreen in the description section.
The creator goes by the name of alicarbovader, and in addition to having the themer files uploaded for anyone interested in getting this summertime style, they also mention the icons that they used in the screenshot for this homescreen. There is google+ link to the post about the icon pack in the description section as well just in case you wanted to pick those up to, but of course you’re more than welcome to use any icon pack that you wish. Make sure to hit the source link below to jump to the mycolorscreen page where the theme file and icon pack links are available, and be sure to show the creator some appreciation by “zooming” the picture and hitting the Love button before you download.
The post Top Android Homescreen July 11th Edition: July appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
This week has finally come to a close, with plenty of good stuff taking place over the last five days. For starters, we published our full G Watch review (we put up our Gear Live review last week), went hands-on with the AT&T LG G3, and threw up a ton of Android Wear quick tips for all of you new smartwatch owners out there.
As for other top Android news, Tinder is now on Android Wear (oh yeah, baby), Google removed a few GPE devices from Google Play, Verizon finally gave us pricing and availability for the G3, and there is now an LG G3 “Prime” model headed to Korea.
Here are the highlights from this week if you missed anything.
Have an awesome weekend, folks!
This Week in the Life of DROID: 7/11/2014 is a post from: Droid Life
Rumors of the Sony Xperia Z3 have been spreading, with the latest coming from Vodafone Germany. The device’s appearance has not been unveiled until today, though, making this leak a little special. Today we bring you a set of images said to have the Xperia Z3 as the subject.
While previous rumors made us expect the design to be different, we don’t see many changes in the design language here. Sony is known for its classic aesthetics, which is something their fans often praise. Aside from its looks, the prototype unit does seem to be quite a capable device so far.
This would be the Chinese version with model number L55t, which makes sense knowing the Xperia Z2 is labeled as the L50t. Check out the gallery below to see the device in more detail. The pictures are not half bad, but we could always use better quality.
Most specs continue to be a mystery, but from the photos we can tell it is running Android 4.4.4 on firmware build 23.0.G.0.98. It also seems like the device will have a 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 processor, Adreno 330 graphics and probably the same 20.7MP Exmor RS lens we have seen from both predecessors.
It’s also important to note this is still a prototype, so design, specs and other aspects could still be subject to change. Of course, it may a bit early to be losing sleep over the Xperia Z3. After all, the Sony Xperia Z2 is an amazing smartphone and has yet to reach many markets.
Not to mention, this are still rumors and we wouldn’t hold our breath on them just yet. We will definitely give you the details as soon as they become available, so stay tuned!
People may have been in an uproar over the evidence leaked by Edward Snowden over the US government agency NSA spying, but it almost feels like it pales in comparison to the information recently outed by another former NSA agent turned whistleblower William Binney. According to Binney, the NSA records nearly 80% of all audio calls and stores it within the U.S. Binney also mentions that at least 80% of the worlds fibre-optic cables go through the U.S., which acts a vessel for the NSA to gather metadata and record the audio calls that travel through those lines, with the ability to view any incoming communications.
Binney was a top level code breaker for the NSA and a former long time agent, working for the government during the time of the Cold war, but left the agency shortly after the September 11 attacks due to his high disapproval of the way the agency was conducting activities after the events and also due to the governments obsession with knowing anything and everything about everyone. Binney claims the NSA is completely untruthful about what it stores here on U.S. soil, although he had no documents or hard evidence to produce, also stating that he took nothing with him when he left the agency. It’s seems clear now that Binney feels taking evidence with him during his departure would have been the smarter move whether he thought that back then or not, stating that he believes the evidence would have been a priceless commodity to help substantiate his claims about the NSA’s actions of illegal spying.
While the whole idea might seem a little too “conspiracy theory” at first to some, after taking a minute to let everything sink in it’s almost scary to think about the level of surveillance that is being conducted according to these claims. “The ultimate goal of the NSA is total population control” says Binney, which given recent leaks from Snowden doesn’t seem too far fetched. With the ruling that law enforcement and government agencies will need a warrant to search smartphones perhaps there is a glimmer of hope in the entire matter, and while there is no hard evidence of collected audio calls or data right now this is only just coming to light, so rest assured more about the truth will come out as time passes.
The post 80% of All Calls Stored By NSA Says Whistleblower appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
