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!!
Apps
Facetune, a selfie editor, is now available for Android devices
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides now work with any file across mutliple platforms
Shazam update brings full in-app song playback with Rdio integration
Carriers
HTC Desire 610 available today through AT&T
Verizon will start throttling its unlimited data users on October 1st
Verizon allowing LG G3 owners to uninstall bloatware
Gaming
Rovio releases Angry Birds Transformers teaser trailer
Google Play Store now has a seperate section for Offline Games
Google looks inward with new Baseline Study of human body
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides now work with any file across mutliple platforms
GPU benchmarking company drawElements purchased by Google
Google Glass
Minnesota Vikings utilizing Google Glass in training camp
Phones
Amazon Fire Phone proves difficult to repair in iFixit teardown
HTC Desire 610 available today through AT&T
Specs revealed for Lenovo’s upcoming flagship, the Vibe Z2 Pro
Verizon allowing LG G3 owners to uninstall bloatware
Leaked photos of Motorola’s X+1 show wooden back, no MicroSD slot
Sweet News for Verizon Moto G Users
Device certified by FCC seems to be Samsung’s Galaxy Mega 2
Smart Glasses
Lenovo shows off their Google Glass knockoff
Updates
Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for July 25, 2014
Android Wear has been out for some time now, and it’s not just Android sites like us that have now reviewed the G Watch and the Gear Live. Other tech sites have weighed in with their view on Android Wear and the two current options and well, it’s a little mixed. I’ve been reading reviews on the G Watch (the watch I reviewed and wear on a daily basis) from the likes of The Next Web, CNet and other reputable outlets and it seems the general consensus is that Android Wear isn’t all that great, and that things are a little ‘meh’. In general, I can certainly see why Android Wear is receiving such reviews, right now it’s in a strange sort of limbo period where it’s just getting off its feet, but there’s still not much happening in general. However, I feel that Google’s attempt at the smartwatch, or at least how we should interact with such a device on our wrist gets a lot of things right, and that Android Wear isn’t going to be yet another failed experiment of Google’s.
A lot of people’s mixed reaction – in my personal opinion – comes down to a lack of understanding just what Google were going for with Wear. It’s not designed to be a gadget on your wrist, we all have enough gadgets these days, and instead an Android Wear watch is designed to show info when you need it, and sort of fade away when you don’t need it. This approach to notifications is something that really ‘clicks’ with me. I don’t want to set up individual smartwatch apps or extensions for each app I want to get notifications for – as I had to with Sony’s SmartWatch 2 – instead I just want to rest assured that all my notifications get through. My G Watch does that, be it GMail, Hangouts, Muzei when my wallpaper changes, a phone call, a Facebook alert, Google+ or whatever else Android Wear picks up everything I want it to. Admittedly, only GMail and Hangouts prove much use to me on my wrist, I use SMS for most things and I can send a message from the main menu or reply quite quickly. Bizarrely, I can’t send a Hangouts IM in the same manner, and other apps like Facebook are fairly useless right now, but this is of course up to their respective developers, not Google.
After using Android Wear for about a month or so now, it’s just sort of fit in, I never have to deal with duplicate notifications on my wrist and my watch, I can send quick SMS messages back and forth when in the kitchen, music control is simple and easy to use and if I just want a watch I can shut off the noise. I feel that Android Wear has more to offer than a lot of people think it does, and the only real way to find out is to try it out for yourself. This past week I got to see a “real person” as I often refer to people that don’t ogle over tech like we do, learn to use Android Wear; my Dad.
My father isn’t the most technologically-aware person out there, and considering he’s getting into his 60′s now, he’s much like any other average user off the street. He has a smartphone and loves it, uses a laptop proficiently and you know, just uses technology like anyone else would. He recently upgraded to the excellent G3 after two years with a Galaxy S3 and got the G Watch on special offer. Watching my Dad wear the G Watch and tell it to remind him to deal with the trash in the morning, or ask it Football (sorry, soccer) scores was fairly fascinating. He had a little trouble getting used to the voice control and the idea that swiping a card away would mean it’s gone until later, but overall he is enjoying it. In fact, grasping the idea of swiping these cards away with no real way of getting them back again was his biggest issue, but after an in-depth explanation from myself he understood that it’s a watch first (despite the fact the G Watch and Gear Live are both pretty abysmal in bright sunlight) and then an extension of your phone second.
This is one of the biggest reasons I think Android Wear is going to stand the test of time and ward off competitors, it’s only just getting off the ground, but if everyday users can learn to use it and work it into their daily life, then Google have gotten it right. Sure, Android Wear needs work, but it’s not been the boring, disappointing start that others might have you believe.
The post Android Headliner: Android Wear Needs Work, but Google’s Smartwatch Attempt has Staying Power appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
Carriers in the United States are notorious for loading new devices with bloatware. Bloatware, for those unaware, includes the pesky applications that carriers have installed to greet users right out of the box. Unless you root the device, it is almost impossible to ditch any type of bloatware. Verizon, surprisingly, wants to change and is offering a way to remove bloatware.
They are starting with the brand new LG G3. Using Android’s built-in app manager will allow users to easily and quickly clean up the device. Ironically, Verizon’s very own apps can not be uninstalled even with this process. For now, it is unknown if the carrier will extend this capability to present or future devices; however, it is certainly a good sign to see Verizon of all carriers make this kind of decision.
Via: FierceWireless
Come comment on this article: Verizon allowing LG G3 owners to uninstall bloatware
Whenever a hardware manufacturer has a device receiving certification with the FCC, everyone raises a brow. The latest FCC filing that has surfaced belongs to Samsung. The Galaxy Mega 2 is believed to be the device in question with this filing. The model number for this filing is SM-G750A, which indicates it is likely the AT&T version, and the size of the display is 5.9 inches.
Confirmed internal components include LTE, NFC, and WiFi connections. Like the original Galaxy Mega, the Galaxy Mega 2 is rumored to have mid-range specifications. The 5.9-inch display is said to have 720P resolution while inside will be the Snapdragon 410 (64-bit) with 2GB of RAM. Out of the box is almost guaranteed to be Android 4.4 KitKat. And in true Samsung fashion, the 8GB of internal storage should be paired with a microSD card slot.
Are you interested in a truly massive device? Let us know in the comments.
Come comment on this article: Device certified by FCC seems to be Samsung’s Galaxy Mega 2
Google Glass can do some really cool things, and while the every day practical use cases for what it can do may be few and far between for some users, there are some really interesting ways that developers as well as people on the Google Glass team(i.e. Glass engineers)are making use of the Google wearable tech specs. Google has been all about putting out updates to Glass as much as they could, and that includes making updates to the GDK(glass development kit)as well as the software build updates that get pushed out to users headsets.
This latest update to the GDK adds in some really cool capabilities which Google actually demoed off at the Google I/O conference just last month in the “Innovate with Glass Platform” session. The GDK update will now allow for support of external USB webcams, and we realize that might sound a little weird to some but if you’re a developer and a Glass Explorer, you may be familiar with this and probably already know what to do with this information. You can check out the demo in the video below which shows off Hyunyoung Song giving us a sneak peek at exactly how the USB webcam support that she built works. The video is of the entire session from start to finish, so if you want to skip right to the part where you can see the demo in action jump to about 29 minutes and 52 seconds. The way she demos this, the webcam was connected up to her Glass but facing behind her and attached to her bike helmet, so she could see a rearview shot of what was behind her while she was riding a bike.
It’s actually pretty cool if you think about it and obviously while this is a great use case for this type of capability, using a rearview connected USB webcam for Glass while riding a bike to see behind you(for safety reasons like merging with traffic and switching lanes etc.) is not the only thing it could be used for. Hyunyoung explains that this sort of thing is experimental but she wanted to show it off and let developers know that they could set something like this up as well. They also state that there is no current native webcam viewer for Google Glass, so options for setting something like this up would require the use of a third party application.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The post Google Updates Glass GDK To Support USB External Webcams appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
The weekend is upon us and with it comes all the fun and games we love. For the kiddos, playing video games is paramount and the latest deals from Disney will definitely keep them entertained. Disney is having a 99-cent sale on most of its paid apps, but this offer is only available through the Amazon App Store.
We know many of you have stopped using (or never used) the Amazon App Store, but these sweet deals may be enough of an incentive to go back. These games usually range from $1.99 to $2.99, meaning you are saving at least 50%. The list includes 10 discounted games, so you can be sure there will be enough gaming happening this weekend!
We know a major (and expensive) title is missing, but you seriously don’t expect Disney to give you a 90% discount on Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, right? It sure would be nice, but we will have to do with today’s discounts for now!
This weeks homescreen has a wonderful design. As always we take our homescreen picks from mycolorscreen.com, and this weeks pick is called Staked(I’m assuming it’s pronounced “stacked”). As you can see this homescreen takes on a sort of cards look where you can see different widgets and functions on each card, with all kinds of other useful details like the calendar widget for the date in the top left portion of the screen, and the battery meter in the top right. It also appears that the information in those widgets switches depending on what homescreen card you’re on. If you’re on the card that has the music player for example, you’ll notice that the yellow card has the pause/play controls on it along with the progress bar of the song, and the song/album information has replaced the battery percentage information in the top right, and where the calendar information used to be, it looks like the album art is displayed there. It is unclear whether theses are all separate homescreens with each one having a focus on a specific yellow card out of the stack, or if it is all one homescreen and things change when you swipe through the cards. Either way, the homescreen looks awesome.
If you like the homescreen be sure to login to your mycolorscreen account and then hit the love button, and make sure to also “zoom” the images and comment on the homescreen comments thread. Staked was created by mycolorscreen member aast_designs, and you can grab the necessary files to complete this homescreen setup by hitting the link either above or by clicking the source link below. As of now the files have not yet been uploaded, but the creator does state that they used apps such as Zooper Pro, popup widgets and media utilities to get everything setup, so if you want to get a jump start for when the creator does have the files uploaded you can have these apps installed that way you’re ready to go. They also mention that it will be a theme applicable within themer once everything is done. It shouldn’t be too long before the files get uploaded which should also come with instructions on how to set everything up.
The post Top Android Homescreen July 25th Edition: Staked appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
The wait for this game was long but ultimately worth every second of it. The Modern Combat series from Gameloft is perhaps the absolute most definitive FPS for Android and other mobile devices, and Modern Combat 5: Blackout, released just a couple of days ago, is the newest in the franchise and definitely one of the best games of the year. First things first, this game from Gameloft is $6.99 out of pocket, with not one in-app-purchase in sight. Rejoice! It’s a true premium game title and it shows. If you have a high end device, it is highly recommended that you take advantage of the new SSAO features that have been built in to the game as they make for a drastically improved visual experience. It really makes the game look stunning, of course not all devices support the SSAO(screen space ambient occlusion) but you can still turn the graphics to a higher setting.
Everything about Modern Combat 5: Blackout is an improvement over the past games in the series, from game dialogue and storyline, to controls and features. You can choose between touchscreen controls,(of which there are a few different control schemes you can choose from, with incorporation of the accelerometers and gyros for movement and aiming on one of them)or you can connect up an HID gamepad including the MOGA PRO. You’ll find single player campaign and multiplayer for gameplay modes. The game starts you out with a single player mission right off the bat to get you familiar, than you’re taken to the homescreen after you complete it, where you can choose between the two modes of play, and access your character selection screen, weapon upgrades, and access your stats, squad details and events information. You can also modify your loadout from this screen as well as swap between chat from either Global or your squad.
There are six total chapters, each of which will have four regular campaign missions, a spec ops mission and a multiplayer mission to complete. During the campaign missions you’ll gain XP which will help you level up your character class, with the unified progression being shared with multiplayer. This means that whatever character class you have chosen at the time, the XP gained from both the campaign and multiplayer matches is shared and counts towards the leveling up of that character. As you gain XP you will also unlock weapon attachments, which can be swapped out from the loadout screen which you access from the homescreen. Google Play Games services is also present within the game, which gives access to the leaderboards, achievements, and a multiplayer match system with the people in your G+ circles, as well as cloud saves so you can switch between devices. The only downside to this game is the requirement to be always connected to the internet to play, but it does help for the storing of all your game data. All in all, Modern Combat 5: Blackout is amazing, and is easily one of the best games to pick up this year.
The post Android Game Of The Week: Modern Combat 5: Blackout appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.
It’s happening… Soon it will once again be legal to unlock your smartphone (or have someone else do it for you) in the US. After the Senate passed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act nearly 2 weeks ago, The House of Representatives is now following suit. The cellphone unlocking bill was passed unanimously by the HoR this afternoon, leaving only President Obama as the only thing keeping this bill from becoming law. But don’t worry — Obama has already come out in support of the bill, saying in a statement:
“The bill Congress passed today is another step toward giving ordinary Americans more flexibility and choice, so that they can find a cell phone carrier that meets their needs and their budget. I commend Chairmen Leahy and Goodlatte, and Ranking Members Grassley and Conyers for their leadership on this important consumer issue and look forward to signing this bill into law.”
While this is a huge step in the right direction, keep in mind the new bill isn’t permanent, merely a 3-year exemption that will need to be examined by the Library of Congress again in 2015. You can thank 1998′s Digital Millennium Copyright Act for that (as well as a boatload of other headaches surrounding copyright claims around the net).
Once signed into law, expect to find mom n’ pop shops popping up around your city offering cellphone unlocking services, or even a few who can do everything online. With telecoms gradually making the transition to LTE services — both data and voice — the days of universal cross network compatible devices could soon be upon us.
[Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy]
Just last week the Senate passed a new bill that would allow users to unlock their phones without explicit consent from the carrier it is locked to, provided they own the device or the contract connected to it has expired. At the time we reported that the House of Representatives had already passed a similar bill, but slight differences between the two bills meant that House and Senate would need to reach some sort of compromise before the bill could be passed into law.
As it turns out, the House of Representatives has now unanimously passed the Senate’s version of the bill, throwing out the House’s original ban on bulk unlocking. What this means is that after two years, cellphone locking is finally becoming legal again. For those unaware, the legality of cellphone locking came into question in the United States when a DMCA exemption allowing phone unlocking (without carrier approval) expired in 2012. Since then we’ve heard all sorts of talk about passing laws or making changes that would reverse the decision but, until now, no actual changes had been made.
So what’s next? With both the Senate and House approving the “Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act”, it’s now just a matter of getting the bill signed into law by the President. For those fearing that the bill will be turned down at the last moment by Obama, we wouldn’t worry about it too much, considering the President has long since expressed interest in making cellphone unlocking legal for US consumers.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated when the bill is officially signed into law. What do you think of the new bill? Does it go far enough, or do you think locking a cellphone to a carrrier shouldn’t be legal in the first place?
Update: The Android version of Shazam has now received this update as well. Here's the new changelog posted to the Play Store.
What's new:
This release brings full track playback in Shazam, powered by Rdio. Once you’re connected, you can play any track and carry on listening to the music as you discover more in the app. Shazam a song to get started.
Shazam, the company whose app uses a phone or tablet's microphone to identify a song or TV show, has partnered with Rdio to offer users full in-app song playback.
[Update: It's Here] Shazam Will Now Stream Full Songs In-App Via Rdio, Android App Update Coming Soon was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
The camera in the Galaxy S5 is pretty awesome. In our review, we noted that Samsung is once again leading the charge for mobile optics with the release of this year’s flagship phone. The GS5′s camera can take pictures with incredible detail, thanks to its 16MP sensor, but also does a fantastic job of capturing brilliant colors when it needs to without overdoing it.
To continue to show how impressive their cameras can be, Samsung released the video above, which takes us on a tour of Trieste, Italy during a day from sunrise to sunset. The video was shot entirely with a Galaxy S5. While it’s obvious that some sort of professional crew was behind it all, you can’t help but be impressed by the results.
This is How Good the Samsung Galaxy S5 Camera can Be is a post from: Droid Life
As Google has grown throughout the years, one result has been their investment in the massive computing power needed to drive all of their services. In a new effort to make use of that computing power, a new Wall Street Journal report indicates Google has turned to their Google X team to start a new project called the Baseline Study to collect anonymous genetic and molecular information in an effort to paint a picture of what a healthy human should be like. That can then be used to help researchers identify potential markers that signal problems and help people become more proactive in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As Dr. Andrew Conrad, who is heading up the project, notes, “We are just asking the question: If we really wanted to be proactive, what would we need to know? You need to know what the fixed, well-running thing should look like.”
According to Google, the initial stage of the project that started this summer consists of clinical testing to collect a variety of bodily fluids from 175 people. Once this pilot stage is complete, Conrad’s team which consists of 70 to 100 experts in a range of fields related to the human body will work medical schools at Duke and Stanford to expand the program and start collecting data from thousands of people.
Google says all of the information they collect will be anonymous. For instance, once the project starts collecting samples at Duke and Stanford, investigators at those facilities – who will not be Google employees – will remove personally identifiable information before forwarding the data to Google. In addition, institutional review boards will be established to monitor the project and the use of the data that is collected.
Along with the clinical testing, the Google X Life Sciences team is exploring development of wearable devices to collect other data on a continuous basis, like heart rates, heart rhythms, and oxygen levels. Smart contact lenses may also be utilized as part of the study to monitor glucose levels.
Besides the availability of massive computing power, Google indicates part of the reason it is able to embark on the project is the continuing decline in costs to process the information. For example, a little over a decade ago the cost to sequence a human genome was more than $100 million. Now, the cost is down to around $1,000.
Dr. Conrad believes the collection and analysis of this information is consistent with Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it useful to people.
source: Wall Street Journal
Come comment on this article: Google looks inward with new Baseline Study of human body
