Instapaper is now free to use, with new premium features and social community

When it comes to apps that help you take a website and save it for reading later, possibly offline, there is a good chance you know about Pocket. A lesser known option is called Instapaper, which is now free to use, and has replaced the former app cost with a $3/month premium service that is packed with extra goodies.

Instapaper version 4.0 is available for download now in the Google Play Store.

Instapaper offers a nifty way of presenting websites, it essentially strips a website to just its plain text. Main image optional. Not only can you save the pages online, but Instapaper will let you take as many as 500 pages offline, saved directly to your device.

Formerly, Instapaper cost about $3 to install. Wanting to get onto more users’ devices, the new freemium approach brings a solid set of straightforward options to free users. For $3/month, or just $30/year, Instapaper premium unlocks a slew of powerful tools, check out our previous coverage of Instapaper for a lot of those tools.

What else is new?

• Premium users can now utilize text-to-speech on a created playlist of saved articles.


• User profiles and Browse environment.

The new Browse section, in conjunction with user profiles, allows users to save articles and create a sharable list that friends can browse. This has been a common social approach we’ve seen in many RSS readers of old, it should be a great way for Instapaper users to discover and share their favorite content with friends.

Now that it is free, head on over to the Google Play Store to grab your copy of Instapaper. If you’ve already dropped your $3 on the app, don’t worry, Instapaper is going to offer you some free Premium time to look after you.

What do you say, can Instapaper pull you away from Pocket?

Via: Android Police;

Source: Google Play Store;



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TalkAndroid Daily Dose for September 19, 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!!

Chrome

Chrome for Windows, Mac, and Linux can now Run Android Apps

Gaming

Real time strategy game Star Wars: Commander now available for Android

Google

The Play Store could start listing in-app purchase price ranges later this month

Phones

See how the new Motorola commercials were made in a behind-the-scenes video

The Oppo N3 will have a new cooling system

Samsung Galaxy A5 (SM-A500F) leaked in photos

Smart Glasses

Sony announces SmartEyeglass and software development kit preview

Smartwatches

See how the new Motorola commercials were made in a behind-the-scenes video

Samsung to implement a fingerprint scanner on their next smartwatch, but do they need to?

Could a gold Moto 360 be on its way?

Updates

Android L may hit Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 by early December

Miscellaneous

LG billboard earns Guinness World Record entry

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for September 19, 2014

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Chrome for Windows, Mac, and Linux can now Run Android Apps

You probably already know that you can run Android apps on your Chromebook, but did you know that you can now run Android applications on your desktop PC through Chrome? If you download a custom version of the Android Runtime extension named ARChon, you can package an unlimited number of AndroidAPKs using the chromeos-apk tool.

Unfortunately, if you’re technologically challenged, this will be no easy feat. You’ll need some familiarity with the command line prompt of your system, along with general knowledge about manually installing APKs. Lastly, since this is a relatively new feature, expect it to be unstable and buggy. However, it’s progress towards being able to run all of your favorite mobile apps on your desktop. If you’re wondering if your favorite application will work, and don’t feel like being a pioneer, check out the Chromeapk subreddit to see how well popular apps work with the tool.

Source: OMG Chrome

Come comment on this article: Chrome for Windows, Mac, and Linux can now Run Android Apps

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What Happened To Google’s Early Employees?

Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page or Sergey Brin and whilst it seems incredible now, at the time Google only another technology company with just another revolutionary product. The world is different now – many times over – and Business Insider recently published an article taking a look at the company’s first twenty one employees. If we include Larry and Sergey, nine of these twenty one still work for the company and this in itself is quite the achievement. As we know, Google have gone from strength to strength and in this relatively short period of time, now when we wish to search the Internet, many of us will simply state that we wish to “Google something.” When we think back to the business landscape in 1998 and 1999, so many things have changed. Many of the things we take for granted today didn’t exist in their current state, or indeed far from it. For example, houses and businesses didn’t have broadband and Apple hadn’t invented legal downloadable music, instead we relied on peer to peer services such as Kazaa and Napster yarrr (hey it’s “talk like a pirate day”). Hard drive space was still very expensive. Many of us listened to music on CDs or maybe cassette tapes (if you’re too young to remember cassette tapes, Google it). The Apple iMac wasn’t released until August 1998 and if you wanted a Microsoft powered portable device, it was usually a clamshell device running Windows CE 2.0. We feared the return of flared trousers, the Y2K bug and a worldwide shortage of coffee beans.

Getting back to Google, a number of these early employees have become entrepreneurs. Some have retired and others are angel investors, that is an investor providing financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs. Some appear to be all three rolled into one. And some, like Marissa Mayer, are famous in their own right. Marissa joined Google as a software engineer where she worked from June 1999 until July 2012, moving on to become the Chief Executive Officer of Yahoo after resigning from her position of Vice President of Local, Maps & Location Services. Steve Schimmel started with Google in 1999 and worked on their business development side of things, leaving in 2004. Steve is somewhere between retirement and angel investment. Another former employee now dabbling with angel investment is Heather Cairns, the human resources manager responsible for hiring Google’s first two hundred employees.

Of those that remain, many occupy senior positions in the business including Susan Wojcicki, now the Senior Vice President of YouTube. Susan joined Google in April 1999 but before then, she and her husband rented out their garage and several rooms to the fledgling Google company. Omid Kordestani is now a senior adviser to both Larry Page and Sergey Brin and also the interim chief business officer after Nikesh Arora left the company in July 2014. Salar Kamangar joined Google in 1999 and is now the Senior Vice President of products, where he took over from Susan Wojcicki.

How many of our readers have been with the same business since 1998? Okay, sure; some of you won’t have been working in 1998 (that doesn’t make me feel very good, but anyway. And it looks like taking the risk and joining what was a small and relatively insignificant technology start up business was definitely worth the risk. Google survived the 2000 collapse in the technology markets and since then, has broadened its horizons in ways we never envisaged. Long may it continue.

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Piper Review: The All-In-One Home Monitoring, Automation, And Security System That Won't Break Your Wallet

When I was in the process of opening my small pharmacy more than 3 years ago, I contacted a security firm and installed several thousands of dollars worth of surveillance and alarm equipment. It works reliably, but it's a huge pain to change any setting in the system (there's no user interface, just a bunch of wires and keys) or get any footage out of it. It feels antiquated compared to today's more modern Internet-connected smart solutions with simplified experiences, but that was the most appropriate choice at the time.

Piper Review: The All-In-One Home Monitoring, Automation, And Security System That Won't Break Your Wallet was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Deal: Sandisk 128GB Micro SD Card – $109.99

Today, Amazon has the 128GB micro SD card on sale for just $109.99. It’s regular price is $130. So it’s not a huge deal, but it is definitely pretty nice. I have this same 128GB microSD card in my LG G3 and love it. It’s great for recording 4K video on devices like the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, and even the LG G3. Up To 48MB/s Read Speed. 10-Year Warranty. Easily Back Up Files With “SanDisk Memory Zone” App. Includes SD Adapter.

SanDisk 128GB Ultra Class 10 Micro SDXC up to 48MB/s with Adapter (SDSDQUAN-128G-G4A) [Newest Version]

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Meizu MX4 Quick Review: Step Into The Weird World Of Popular Chinese Smartphones

If you've never heard of a smartphone maker by the name of Meizu, that's understandable. Even though we actually reviewed their first Android smartphone about 2 years ago. That's because Meizu, even though they do sell their phones outside of their home market of China, basically do no advertising and very little press outreach in the western world.

Meizu's latest phone, the MX4, sells in mainland China for under $300 (1,799 Chinese Yuan) in 16GB trim.

Meizu MX4 Quick Review: Step Into The Weird World Of Popular Chinese Smartphones was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Android Epic App Battles: Chrome Browser V.S. Dolphin Browser

With so many lovely apps out there for Android, it can be easy to forget an app that we probably all use on an almost daily basis, and consistently throughout the day. The browser. Once upon a time there was only a small selection of alternate browsers included in the Android OS, along with the default Android browser. Now the default android browser is essentially no more, and has been replaced by Google with Chrome for Android. Today there are also a pretty large selection of browser apps to choose from, all having pretty nifty features. In this latest app battle we’ll be putting Google’s Chrome Browser for Android up against a longstanding favorite in the community of Android users, Dolphin Browser. Don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll down below to determine who should be crowned king.

Chrome Browser for Android

Chrome for Android was a long time coming. It is easily the favorite browser among the majority of people on desktops for its lightweight size and speedy functionality, and for the most part the Chrome Browser for Android is the same in the way that it functions. Most of the features you can find in Chrome for desktop can be found in the Android version of the browser, which has drawn many users to it over other available options. We talked earlier about how Chrome for Android might be getting a home button, sadly this is something that is not currently available except for a small number of limited testers. It does however support tabs just like on desktop, and you can sync it between all your devices whether it be Chrome OS, Windows or Mac, and even Android so all your settings, bookmarks and tabs are available anywhere.

Chrome also claims to save you on mobile data by reducing mobile data usage while browsing by up to 50%. I have personally never tested that myself, but as someone with a mobile data cap any saving on data that can be had is of extreme benefit. Since this is Google’s browser and search as well as voice search are huge things for Google, you can use voice search within Chrome just like in other parts of the Android OS. Chrome also includes Google Translate, allowing you to browse websites that are in other languages without having to download any extensions or extras. It also supports some really cool gestures now, allowing you to flip between all and any open tabs by simply swiping from side to side across the toolbar. It also has the well-known “incognito mode” so you can browse without worrying that someone could snoop through your browser history. The new version of Android is on the way, and Chrome evokes the new Material Design sense of style with a few different elements, and it lets you sign in to pretty much any Google related webpage if you sign into the browser itself. Best of all, it’s free.

Dolphin Browser

Dolphin Browser is one of those browsers that has been on Android for a long time, even quite a while before Google’s own Chrome. It has come a long way and offers tons of great features, and is fast and light to boot. Just like Google, it has cross platform sync, so all your settings, tabs and bookmarks are accessible whether you’re browsing on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. It also carries voice control(called sonar)so you can search and complete functions just by speaking, and if you don’t want to speak you can simply draw on screen using the gestures(which you can create by drawing symbols)to complete your tasks and most used actions, taking the intuitive gestures that Chrome offers a few steps further by adding even more functionality.

Users of Dolphin Browser also have the ability to personalize and customize their browsing experience visually by applying themes, and if you’re often up late while you browse you might enjoy Dolphin Browser’s “night mode” ability. It also features a great one-tap share action making photos shares and tweets to Facebook or Twitter that much simpler and a lot faster. Just like Chrome now, Dolphin also has a smart search feature that auto completes your searches for you, and unlike Chrome(for now at least)it offers a home button function that allows the user to set a specific homepage. Similar to Chrome for desktop’s extensions Dolphin will let you install add-ons to enhance your browser experience, and it features web apps so that you don’t have to exit the browser to use things like Facebook, or Evernote(or any of the other 200+ apps). Another really cool feature is the WiFi broadcast, which lets you share links with friends or family that are either nearby or linked up to your local WiFi connection. Dolphin Browser is also free just like Chrome for Android, making it a really great browser option for everything included.

Two really great browsers, lots of great features in each, both free, fast, and pretty lightweight for everything they offer. But, who deserves the crown? Which browser is king? The one from the search giant that runs the operating system? Or the browser that has been around since Android’s early days well before Google even launched Chrome for Android? You decide, cast your vote in the poll, and feel free to also comment on our G+ post.

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Facer Is Fast Becoming The De Facto Custom Watch Face Maker For Android Wear

There still isn't an official API for custom Android Wear watch faces, but there are plenty of them in the Play Store anyway. If none of those strike your fancy, perhaps because they don't account for the taller peek cards, Facer could be just what you want. This app lets you build and edit watch faces and sync them over to the watch in a snap. There's also a fast-growing community of users posting some really awesome designs.

Facer Is Fast Becoming The De Facto Custom Watch Face Maker For Android Wear was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Oppo N3’s New Cooling System Shown In An Image

Oppo is a Chinese manufacturer which is rather popular in its home country. The company got under the spotlight internationally with the Oppo N1 smartphone they launched a year ago. That thing was very well built and had a weird looking rotating camera on top of the device which was the device’s front and rear-facing camera. The packaging of the device was also quite nice as far as I remember and the company left a good impression all around. The device was solid performing and it caught the eye of many people all around. Now the company is preparing to launch a sequel it seems, not the Oppo N1 but the Oppo N3 for some reason. We’ve already seen it leak in 2 version, the first version is rather odd and quite frankly I don’t think that will happen, it looks… not good in my humble opinion, the best way I can put it. The camera on top of the device just looks out of place and it’s not something that I’d buy, I bet there are those of you who feel differently though, as always. The second render on the other hand looks more natural and I believe this is a more probable design for this device. It looks sleek and in place while the camera fits nicely with the body of the device.

We’re not here to talk about the device’s design alone this time around. Chinese social network Weibo is always a good source of leaked material when it comes to Chinese phones, this time as well. If you take a look at the picture below you’ll see what is allegedly a new cooling system Oppo has developed for the upcoming Oppo N3 smartphone. This piece of technology will allegedly manage to keep device from getting hot by lowering the temperature of its components as they increase. The cooling material allegedly increases heat conduction which should help with the process significantly. We still don’t know how exactly this works, so this may be a bit off, we didn’t exactly get much information but should know more soon. If Oppo wants to keep up with N1’s launch and not miss its schedule we should see this device unveiled soon and the latest info claims the device will launch at Oppo’s October 15th event in Singapore. Still no word on its specifications either, only vague

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