HTC Officially Announces The Butterfly 2 (AKA J Butterfly HTL23) For Asian Markets With A Snapdragon 801, 13MP Duo Camera, And More

We've heard about the newest HTC Butterfly before from Japanese carrier KDDI, but now HTC is officially welcoming it into the Butterfly family. That's not a name you hear much in the US, but it's one of HTC's premier brands overseas. This device will be known as the J Butterfly HTL23 in Japan and the Butterfly 2 in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and throughout Southeast Asia. It's a reasonably high end device, but it's not all metal like the M8.

HTC Officially Announces The Butterfly 2 (AKA J Butterfly HTL23) For Asian Markets With A Snapdragon 801, 13MP Duo Camera, And More was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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TalkAndroid Daily Dose for August 18, 2014

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!!

Reviews

Amazon Fire Phone review: The smartphone that shouldn’t exist

Apps

Ignore No More lets parents lock a child’s device if they refuse to respond to calls and texts

YouTube Music Key is on the way, will bundle Google Play Music Key with it

Newest Mozilla Firefox nightly adds experimental Chromecast support

Carriers

Sprint offering 20GB of shared data for $100 per month with up to ten lines

Bezel-less Sharp Aquos Crystal coming to Sprint tomorrow

You can now add up to 10 lines to T-Mobile’s family plans

Android 4.4.3 update rolling out to T-Mobile’s HTC One (M8)

Verizon offering extra gigabyte on new plans or phone upgrades

Gaming

LEGO Fusion arrives for Android devices, merges physical and virtual bricks

Take a look at Swing Copters, Dong Nguyen’s first project since Flappy Bird

Google

YouTube Music Key is on the way, will bundle Google Play Music Key with it

Google exploring paths to tap into the kids market

Image analysis app Jetpac purchased by Google

Phones

Amazon Fire Phone gets update to Fire OS 3.5.1

Android 4.4.3 update rolling out to T-Mobile’s HTC One (M8)

Huawei schedules event for September 4

Huawei’s Ascend G7 makes an appearance in pictures online

The Moto G2 display assembly shows up online

Samsung’s Galaxy Mega 2 close to announcement as phone’s firmware appears online

Bezel-less Sharp Aquos Crystal coming to Sprint tomorrow

Tablets

Sony may be working on Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact version

Updates

Amazon Fire Phone gets update to Fire OS 3.5.1

Android 4.4.3 update rolling out to T-Mobile’s HTC One (M8)

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Android 4.4.3 update rolling out to T-Mobile’s HTC One (M8)

A software update is rolling out to HTC One (M8) owners on T-Mobile. The build is 2.22.531.5 and it contains Google’s Android 4.4.3 update. HTC has even bundled in the security fixes found in Android 4.4.4 in addition to everything that the labeled version of Android has (which is really just bug fixes). For HTC’s proprietary software, a slew of applications and futures have been improved.

The update is sized at nearly 600MB and requires the device’s battery life to be at no less than 50%.

Another carrier version of the One (M8) will be receiving the same update sometime next month. Jason Mackenzie, HTC America’s president, confirmed to me today on Twitter that the One (M8)’s update on Verizon hit a speed bump. It was expected to be rolling out by now, but there was a GPS issue that required a fix. The timetable Mackenzie supplied was mid-September. The software update for the Big Red version will also include Extreme Power Saving Mode, which has remained absent since launch.

Source: T-Mobile

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YouTube to launch Music Key, Google’s next evolution of music

YouTube is gearing up to launch a music video streaming subscription service called YouTube Music Key. At the same time, Google will re-brand Google Play Music All Access, call it Google Play Music Key and sell you both together for $10 per month.

While we do not have all of the details just yet, Android Police is reporting on the matter with some certainty, but we’ll all have to wait just a little longer for Google and YouTube to officially announce anything, including a launch date.

YouTube Music Key is the resulting service from months of negotiations with record labels, including some still standing road blocks with Indie labels. The service looks to provide users with ad-free music videos, concert recordings, exclusive band content and YouTube’s already powerful playlist creation algorithms. In addition to ‘unlocking premium content’ through YouTube, there may be an audio only playback mode and offline playback.

Combining YouTube Music Key with Google Play Music All Access – or Google Play Music Key, as I’ll call it for the rest of this article – brings a natural evolution to the user experience. No longer would we need to decide if we want music or videos before searching for our favorite artists, instead, we could head over to an all inclusive music environment in which we can find audio and video of our favorite bands in one place.

Also reported is that Google has added over twenty million high quality tracks into Music Key, complete albums that are organized into artist discographies.

In true Google tradition, expect to find 30 day free trials of the YouTube Music Key service, then pick up the $9.99 per month subscription fee. Again, we presume that this fee will provide you both YouTube Music Key and Google Play Music Key, and we are hoping that early adopters of Google Play Music All Access that got in at $7.99 per month will get to keep their reduced rate and still get all the new goodies.

For users coming from just YouTube, do you watch enough music videos that $10/month is worth it for removing ads, getting better playlists and recommendations and some exclusive content?

Via: Android Police;





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Take a look at Swing Copters, Dong Nguyen’s first project since Flappy Bird

While Flappy Bird still hasn’t made its way back to the Play Store, but creator Dong Nguyen has been hard at work on his next game. The new project is called Swing Copters, and it while it shares many of the same elements of Flappy Bird, it actually looks like it’s going to be more challenging, believe it or not.

The game puts you in control of a little man with a helicopter helmet. When the game starts, he begins flying either up and to the right, or up and to the left, and tapping the screen changes direction from left to right and vice versa. The objective is to float up through horizontal gates (similar to the vertical pipes in Flappy Bird) all while avoiding the swinging hammers attached to the bottoms of the gates. So instead of having only one obstacle to avoid, there are actually two pieces that will cause a game over.

Swing Copters definitely looks challenging while retaining the charm of Flappy Bird. If you liked the original, you’ll definitely enjoy Swing Copters, which is set for release on the 21st on the App Store and Play Store. If you didn’t care for Flappy Bird, this game probably isn’t going to change your mind. But hey, like Flappy Bird, it’ll be free and ad-supported, so you can at least test it out later this week.

Hit the link below to check out a video of the game in action.

source: Touch Arcade

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Flappy Bird Creator Soon To Bring New Game “Swing Copters” To The Masses

Are you ready for something new and fresh from the creator of Flappy Bird? Sure you are, you were probably sad to see the original Flappy bird leave the Play Store. Perhaps you were delighted to hear the news of the Amazon Fire TV version of the game which could technically be considered Flappy Bird in a reborn state, called Flappy Birds Family, but this other game is something completely new. In a sense. Perhaps it’s better described as an entirely different game, but not so much new. At least not in the sense that it offers a brand new gameplay type. The game is called Swing Copters, and you can think of it like Flappy Bird but instead of playing the bird while trying to work yourself forward as far as you can, you control a little copter/live being type thing(complete with eyes, perhaps it’s just some mythical creature that is wearing a fully functioning propeller hat)that is trying to avoid dangerous looking hammers that are swinging at you with malicious intent.

OK, so I tried to make the game sound more exciting than it might be, but all the same whether you find it exciting or not, it will still be just as addictive as the last game, we all know that to be true. The question is, will it become so popular and “addictive” that creator Dong Nguyen pulls it from the store only after a month or two of great success? We’ll just have to wait and see. You can view the video below of how you’ll be wasting away a good chunk of your time once the game hits the public, thanks to the upload footage from Touch Arcade playing the game.

There you have it, you can see what Swing Copters is like in action. It looks just like Flappy Bird, graphics and all, just with different obstacles(this time they MOVE!)and a new playable character. Since this is Touch Arcade, we can readily presume that it will certainly hit iOS as they do coverage on iOS gaming, although there was no mention of actual platform support and that is completely a guess. Will it come to the Play Store too? More than likely yes, but for some of us, we hope not. There’s already enough of these types of games. Once the game does hit, it’ll be free and ad supported with the option of removing ads through a one time IAP of $0.99, and we’ll go ahead and assume this is the same for all supported platforms if it is more than just iOS.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Sprint offering 20GB of shared data for $100 per month with up to ten lines

Since Sprint is seemingly staying put and not merging with T-Mobile, it has to move forward with business. Marcelo Claure, the new chief executive officer of Sprint, previously stated that ambitious changes were coming and today he delivered. It’s a “new day for data,” the carrier says.

Sprint is now offering 20GB of shared data for $100 per month. This is double the amount of data that AT&T and Verizon are offering at the same price. Those carriers, including T-Mobile, have a maximum on the amount of lines allowed on certain shared data plans. The same amount of data with T-Mobile maxes out at four lines.

It will allow up to ten lines to share this massive amount of data, so small families with data-hungry users and large families can both be satisfied. Customers are locked into this price through 2015 and must take advantage of signing up by the end of September.

In addition to this, Sprint will thrown in $350 to cover the early termination fees that another carrier would apply. If that sounds familiar, it is because T-Mobile caused a disruption in the industry by paying ETFs. It is fitting that two carrier’s that were facing a merger now offer very similar deals.

Claure says that changes for individual plans are coming later this week.

Source: Sprint

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LEGO Fusion arrives for Android devices, merges physical and virtual bricks

LEGO Fusion is the company’s way of bringing its beloved bricks to mobile devices. A LEGO Fusion set is paired with the corresponding application to take the physical creation into a virtual world to complete tasks and mini games. At launch, there are three apps available for Android devices through the Play Store — Create & Race, Town Master, Battle Towers. Each set is available for $34.99 and contains over 200 bricks, so there should be no shortage of possibilities.

Hit the break for download links.

Play Store Download Link (LEGO Fusion Create & Race)

Play Store Download Link (LEGO Fusion Town Master)

Play Store Download Link (LEGO Fusion Battle Towers)

Source: DroidGamers

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OnePlus One goes against Canon 5D Mark III, does surprisingly well

Photo and video enthusiasts will promptly tell you there is no way a smartphone camera can ever match a DSLR camera (especially one like the Canon 5D Mark III, known to be one of the best DSLRs for video). This is mostly true, but what can we say when we witness this seemingly impossible task being realized?

Italian film director, screenwriter and producer Giacomo Mantovani put the OnePlus One up against the legendary Canon 5D Mark III. The results were stunning – intricate 4K video testing proved the Chinese smartphone can, in fact, beat the Canon 5D Mark III.

Is a OnePlus One really better than a DSLR?

Does this make the phone a better option for videographers? Definitely not, and for many reasons. This video test was done under perfect lighting conditions, a set-up that puts no strain on the smartphones minuscule sensor.

While the OnePlus One’s camera details and video clarity did beat the 5D Mark III in plain daylight, there is no way any smartphone camera sensor can beat Canon’s acclaimed full-frame sensor. Larger sensors make for better low-light quality (less grain, noise, etc.). Get both devices in darker environments and the differences will quickly become apparent.

Now that we have that technical difference out of the way, we can start talking about the very nature of both contenders. A DSLR offers video versatility and flexibility that can’t be beat by a mobile device. Availability of lenses, accessories, modes and upgrades is what made DSLRs the go-to tool for many professionals.

Smartphone modes and manual controls has been improving, but in many ways you are kind of stuck with what you get. You can’t purchase a new lens and increase the aperture, for example.

In short, the OnePlus One may be a great option for video enthusiasts who may not feel like carrying a full DSLR and everything it comes with. Sometimes having convenient quality is better than having the best quality. Giacomo Mantovani does say the OnePlus One is better in ideal lighting, so it might be perfect for certain shots. He also says there are reasons why DSLRs are where they are in the industry.

What this test does prove is that OnePlus did an amazing job putting this smartphone together. 4K video is no insignificant feature; being able to handle it like a champ is even more impressive. After all, beating a full frame DSLR in ANYTHING is an astounding success, in and of itself. Sadly, the OnePlus’ invite system continues to make the $300 gem a hard device to purchase.

Source: Giacomo Mantovani;



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Sprint Offers Up To A Potential 40GB Of Shared Data On Their New Framily Plan For $100

Earlier this morning Sprint’s new CEO Marcelo Claure sent out his first tweets pertaining to what Sprint would be doing to shake things up with their plans. Last week, we had learned that Sprint would be attacking the wireless industry with new lower price plans to compete with industry big timers AT&T and Verizon, which would be their first step in reforming the carrier, following up with changes to their network as well as their operations. Claure had mentioned that they would be speaking about these new lower plans starting this week, and as promised they have introduced new data focused packages for subscribers.

Claure’s tweet this morning came along with the message that it was a new day for data, and what he apparently meant by that was in reference to this new Framily plan. The plan package supports up to 10 lines on one plan, and comes along with 20GB of shared data for the whole entire Framily, all for just $100 a month. Sprint is calling this new plan the “Sprint Framily Share Pack,” which seems like a fitting title considering all the people on the plan it allows to share all of that data that comes along with it. Now, power users like myself can push through 20GB of data in a heavy use month single handed, but for plenty of families out there(or is that Framilies?)20GB is going to be plenty and $100 is a hard price to beat for all that internet consumption.

To make things even better, Sprint is waiving the initial per-line access cost per month that subscribers would normally have to pay, which you can see from the image below showing the cost break up. Essentially, it’ll cost you just $100 a month for up to 10 lines on a Framily shared plan, all of those lines coming with unlimited talk and text, and a shared bucket of 20GB between all lines. Once the promotion is over however, monthly cost will certainly rise and you want to be prepared for that. When that time comes, just like Sprint details, each line will cost an initial access fee of $15 a month on a non-contracted plan with a non-discounted phone, or $40 per line if you’re on a contracted plan with a discounted device. The promotion runs through 2015 it seems, and if you’re on the fence about switching Sprint seems keen on doing whatever they can to entice customers, even if that means giving each line an extra 2GB of data per month, which is how one plan could end up with 40GB of shared data. That of course, requires that your plan carries all 10 lines. The plans will be available starting August 22nd, which is just a few days away. Does this catch your interest or are you sticking to the carrier you have currently?

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Google’s Upcoming YouTube Based Streaming Music Service Is Called YouTube Music Key

There is an ever expanding push to bring us users the best possible streaming music experience, and there are already many contenders in this space, with Pandora, Spotify, Beats, Google Play Music All Access and others. YouTube has long been rumored to be coming out with their own streaming music service for users, and today it seems that we might be getting our first looks and details about what’s to come. For starters, to us it seems that the biggest piece of information revolves around the way that Google will be handling both their already existing Google Play Music All Access service, and the upcoming subscription service they will offer through YouTube and how they will coexist.

What Google apparently has planned involves a re-branding of Google Play Music All Access, not too unlike the way they re-branded the Android Market to Google Play so they could make their content delivery space, along with the content more cohesive and streamlined. To that end, Google will basically be changing the name of Google Play Music All Access to Google Play Music Key in due time, and the YouTube based subscription music service will be called YouTube Music Key, keeping everything streamlined and cohesive between both music services. On top of this Google will apparently be packing both subscription services into one monthly fee, which will remain the $9.99 a month that All Access is currently costing. There were no details on it, but those who had grandfathered in from the original $7.99 monthly cost of All Access from when it started would seem likely to have access to YouTube Music Key once it launches, although we are only speculating on that.

What YouTube Music Key will offer to subscribers includes features like offline playback, something we have come to expect from many of Google’s apps and services, an Audio-only playback mode for listening to music with the screen off(allowing you to save battery life)and of course ad-free listening, which is an experience that isn’t available when listening to music on YouTube now. Although YouTube Music Key will end up costing a monthly fee of $9.99, users will get a 30-Day free trial much like they would have had with Play Music All Access. Google hasn’t mentioned when this service will go live or when they will begin the transition for All Access, but things seem to moving along nicely, and perhaps we’ll know more on the timing details soon.

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Ignore No More lets parents lock a child’s device if they refuse to respond to calls and texts

For many parents, it is a challenge to get in touch with a child by contacting their smartphone. In most cases, they ignore their parents’ calls and texts. This is not good for any parent as it leads to worrying. One parent had enough of this and decided to develop Ignore No More. It is an application that gives control to parents. Ignore No More gives parents the lock a child’s device until they get return the call or text. Parents with multiple children can use Ignore No More, but each device installation costs $1.99. If getting in touch is very important, then that price will not be a problem.

Hit the break for the gallery and download links.

Play Store Download Link

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Android 4.4.3 Update For Verizon HTC One M8 Pushed To Mid-September

Owners of HTC's latest flagship on Verizon have been patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) waiting on the promised update to Android 4.4.3 for some time now, but it looks like they'll be waiting a little longer. Even though the T-Mobile One M8 got its update today, HTC's US president Jason Mackenzie has confirmed on Twitter the OTA is currently targeted for mid-September on Verizon.

@ByteForByte @moversi @Gray_Fox88 @HTCUSA by mid-Sept.

Android 4.4.3 Update For Verizon HTC One M8 Pushed To Mid-September was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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