IKEA Emoticons brings kindness to the keyboard no matter the message

To IKEA, customers should live comfortably with its furniture and communicate effectively with others. Oh, you didn’t know about the second part? The Swedish company released a keyboard packed with kind emoticons for Android (and iOS) devices. The IKEA Emoticons app is all about sending a message in the most productive way. The emoticons will “bring a smile to your loved ones faces” because of just how impossible it is to be offended by them.

Here is how IKEA says its keyboard improves communication at home:

Men and women have always found difficulty in communication. In the home situation misunderstandings occur most around clutter. And that is why IKEA introduces Emoticons: a communication tool to ensure universal love and understanding in your home. All your hints, desires and questions will be understood right away. They will even bring a smile to the faces you love!

The IKEA Emoticons app docks in the notification shade. When pulled down, select it and see the choices appear. This is just another way IKEA is staying relevant with technology.

IKEA really wants you to kill him or her with kindness. After all, it is Valentine’s Day coming up.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Store Download Link

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Dead Trigger 2 gets Valentine’s Day Heart Attack content update

On Saturday, couples young and old will have dinner dates after catching the 5:30PM showing of 50 Shades of Grey. Those who are single, though, will carry about Valentine’s Day just as they would on any other Saturday. One item to put on the to-do list is checking out the latest content update for Dead Trigger 2. The popular first-person shooter, developed by Madfinger Games, has a content update released just in time for Valentine’s Day. The Heart Attack content update features Valentine’s Day themed pieces of scenery to keep the love alive. For a gamer that is single, this is the most romantic thing to hit Valentine’s Day in quite some time.

Madfinger Games included changes aside from the aforementioned content update. Gameplay has been improved and its difficulty tweaked. The developer also says that optimization “across the board for all devices” is here. And, to finish things off, Dead Trigger 2 now has Android TV support to take the game to a television.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: DroidGamers

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Deal Alert: Best Buy is throwing in a $50 gift card with purchase of a Moto 360 with metal band

Find someone to cuddle this Valentine’s Day using Cuddlr, now available for Android

Fifty Shades of Grey is coming out this weekend and sure you and your buddies could stake out the theaters, waiting for all the hot and bothered women to come pouring out, hormones raging. But with all the STDs floating around these days, wouldn’t you rather take things a little slower?

Cuddlr is a dating-esque app that initially launched on iOS last year. During that time, Cuddlr had time to marinate and build up a larger user base, with a harvest now ready to reap by Android users. Cuddlr is a little different from most other dating apps you’re used to in that things are a lot less… serious. The app is geared around finding someone near you that is simply in need of physical affection at that moment (not necessarily a relationship). Whether that’s a hug, hand holding, or full-on cuddle session is up to them.

Opening the app, you’ll be presented with a list of users within walking distance who are willing to cuddle (which can be slim pickins depending on your area). Selecting a user will allow you to send them a quick message, letting them know you’d like to meetup. As sort of creepy as the app may sound, the folks at Cuddlr see it as something playful and a great way to initiate a spontaneous encounter. It’s really almost innocent and sometimes people want something that’s a little less intense and stressful. No pressure.

The app and the service are free to use, but you’ll need to be 17 or older and have a Facebook account to login (yes, Facebook has slowly grown into the “internet’s DMV”). Protip: you’ll want to tweak your profile (clicking the gear icon) to include the gender you’re interested in, lest you want to swim through a sea of creepy dudes like yourself looking for that one cute girl nearby.

Download on Google Play: Cuddlr

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[Deal Alert] Audio-Technica ATH-M30x, ATH-M40x, And ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones Are Discounted Heavily On Amazon Right Now

There's nothing worse than listening to a great song on those crumby earbuds that came with your phone. You've bought a phone with a gorgeous high-res display so you could see flawless video and graphics, why wouldn't you have an audio experience to match? Amazon Deals is offering a great opportunity to pick up a pair of Audio-Technica Professional Studio Monitor Headphones at significantly discounted prices. You've got a choice of 3 different models: ATH-M30x, ATH-M40x, and ATH-M50x.

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[Deal Alert] Audio-Technica ATH-M30x, ATH-M40x, And ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones Are Discounted Heavily On Amazon Right Now was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Android’s latest ‘be together, not the same’ ad spot is all about handshakes [VIDEO]

Google’s latest ad spot centered around their new motto — “Be Together, Not the Same” — hit the net late last night. The video doesn’t feature a slew of Canadian Androids or thousands of Android devices singing in unison. None of that. It’s rather simple, showing a variety of videos from around the net in which people are engaged in their own, unique, sometimes complex handshakes. That’s about it.

Critics will point out that the video — and others like it — aren’t really showing off anything that Android can do, but that’s not the point. They’re aimed at forming a lasting impression and driving home the point that, sometimes being different is good. It means choice. And choice is something the other guys (read: Apple) simply can’t offer. Check out Google’s latest Android ad spot down below and let us know what you think.

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Xposed Framework for Android 5.0 Lollipop now available

Samsung’s Galaxy A And Galaxy E Series Phones To Have Better Voice Quality With Embedded VoiceExperience

Samsung’s Galaxy A and Galaxy E handsets may not be the most powerful in terms of specs, especially when you compare them to their other offerings like the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge. The A and E series phones are somewhat sleeker than one might expect for something that isn’t a main flagship device, which is something that is a little bit refreshing to see from a manufacturer like Samsung who pumps out tons of smartphones each year, many of them low-end to mid-range handsets.

Samsung is not just dedicating their efforts to creating smartphones that look good though, they also want their devices to have meaningful technology built in which is something they appear to be focusing on with the Galaxy A and Galaxy E series devices, as they’re announcing today that both the Galaxy A5 and A7 as well as the Galaxy E5 and E7 will have integrated LifeVibe VoiceExperience speech software from NXP software, which will power Samsung’s ‘Always Clear Voice Audio Control’ technology aimed at giving customers top tier voice quality during calls in any environment, whether that be circuit switch calls, VoLTE calls, or video calls. It’s great to see Samsung making decisions that seek to bring focus to specific parts of smartphone that we sometimes forget, the voice quality, as smartphones are still phones and a phone’s primary function is calling.

The Samsung Galaxy A5, E5, and E7 are being powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset clocking in at 1.2GHz, while the Galaxy A7 is running with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset which is an octa-core model with dual-sim and LTE support. Although Samsung does also offer a Galaxy A7 that runs on their own in-house Exynos 5 octa-core chip running on a single sim with LTE support. NXP Software seem to be especially fond of the Galaxy A7 model out of the four devices their software will be embedded into as Head of Korea NXP Software Charles G Park states “The Galaxy A7 is a beautiful phone, and at only 6.3mm thick. NXP Software’s innovations enable superior 2-microphone noise suppression and echo cancellation.”

The post Samsung’s Galaxy A And Galaxy E Series Phones To Have Better Voice Quality With Embedded VoiceExperience appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

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Lollipop heading to Sprint’s HTC One (M8) Harman Kardon Edition this weekend

Another device from HTC is being prepared to receive a software update that brings with it the latest version of Android. This weekend, the Harman Kardon Edition of the HTC One (M8) on Sprint will see Android 5.0 Lollipop arrive. Mo Versi, HTC’s Vice President of Product Management, shared the news on Twitter, saying that the over-the-air (OTA) update would start this weekend.

Let us know in the comments when you have received the update.

Source: @moversi

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Samsung begins teasing the Galaxy S6 camera’s low light shooting capabilities [VIDEO]

The Samsung’s hype train is officially rolling. In anticipation of their March 1st event in Barcelona, Samsung has begun teasing what will be a major focal point of their upcoming flagship’s camera: its low light shooting capabilities.

Using the hashtag #TheNextGalaxy, Samsung uploaded a video to Twitter which doesn’t show much, just a very dimly lit corridor and the taglines “Great vision,” “A unique view,” and finally, “I am #TheNextGalaxy.” If the dark hallway in the video is any indication, the upcoming Galaxy S6 will likely make low light shooting a priority (something the Galaxy S5 struggled with).

I am #TheNextGalaxy. Be inspired by my vision at #Unpacked. https://t.co/Qu3e4L2DEg

— TheNextGalaxy (@SamsungMobile) February 13, 2015

If you needed any further clues Samsung was talking about low light shooting, a few hours later they uploaded a photo to their Twitter account — which has changed its name to TheNextGalaxy — with the tag “Find clarity in darkness.” Remember, the Galaxy S6’s camera is rumored to feature OIS, something that should drastically improve low light shooting (the longer the camera’s shutter is open, the more small movements can blur the image).

Smartphone cameras have always struggled when it comes to shooting in anything less than adequate lighting, something HTC tried to address with the “UltraPixel” camera in their One line. Because smartphone camera sensors are so tiny, OEMs are faced to think up new ways at tackling this solution. OIS is just one of them. We’ll keep you updated with more as it unfolds.

[Twitter 1, 2]

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Beta channel for Android WebView open to Android 5.0 Lollipop devices

Many were concerned with Google’s decision to unbundle WebView from the core system starting with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Older devices would be left behind, too, without updates and that means compromised security. Fortunately, Google has realized so many Android apps take advantage of WebView that it only makes sense to further support. With the latest version of Android, Google will be able to update WebView independently. Right now, developers can join the new beta channel to gain access to new APIs and other items. Developers will be able to become familiar with the updates before users get to see them.

You can join the beta channel of Android System WebView by clicking here.

Source: Android Developers Blog

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Helpouts: A dissection – What went wrong?

HTC Celebrating President’s Day With $150 Off The One M8 And Deals On RE Camera And One M8 Cases

For the last week or so, Motorola have been offering a week long sale where you can save $100 off of any purchases of $500 or more. This means you could pick up a Moto X with a $100 savings. Or a couple of Moto 360 smartwatches. Well, today, Motorola announced that they were extended their promotion (which was due to end on the 14th) through to the 17th. So you have a couple of extra days to take advantage of the discount. That said, it seems as though Motorola are not the only manufacturer feeling the love in the build up to Valentine’s Day. HTC have stepped up and decided to offer a bit of a sweet deal this weekend as well. OK, in HTC’s case the deal is actually to mark President’s Day and not Valentine’s Day. Either way though, a deal is a deal and this one is worth a quick look.

From today and through until the 16th (Monday) you can pick up the HTC One M8, directly from HTC with a $150 knocked off of the standard price. That means the device drops down in price from $500 to $350. But that’s not all. If you also feel like being a bit adventurous, then HTC has also knocked $50 off of the price of their HTC RE Camera. Which means, you can now pick up the camera for $150. Not to mention, that if you already have the HTC One M8 and don’t particularly want the RE Camera, then HTC are also offering 50% off of select One M8 cases. These includes the likes of the One M8 Dot Case, Double Dip Case and Flip Case.

So overall, it looks like there is something for everyone. If either the M8, the RE or the M8 cases sound like something you’re after, then click here to head over to the Motorola promotion. The prices reflected are the current prices and the discount will be applied once the items are in your cart. Remember you only have until Monday to take advantage of the offer. So what will it be, Motorola or HTC? Let us know which you go for…if you go for either.

The post HTC Celebrating President’s Day With $150 Off The One M8 And Deals On RE Camera And One M8 Cases appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

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Facebook for Android is dabbling with Material design in some regions

It’s wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Facebook tends to drag their feet when it comes to updating their apps to Android’s latest design guidelines. Hell, 2 years ago they barely started using native Android code for their app. More recently — April of last year, to be correct — Facebook finally began pushing out an update to their Android app with a flatter, more Holo UI design (you know, the UI introduced back in Ice Cream Sandwich). But alas, ’twas better than nothing.

It seems Facebook may not be waiting quite as long before jumping on the Material design bandwagon — Android’s all new UI introduced in Android 5.0 Lollipop. Some folks are getting early glimpses at a more Material Facebook in some regions. The UI update is done on the server side of things and rolling out in stages, meaning everyone is running the same version number (28.0.0.0.16), but only some of you will actually see it. Just gotta sit tight for now.

Really, there’s not too much here in terms of Material design (just the floating action button) and we can’t say we’d be too surprised if this is where it ends. We are talking about Facebook here. Here’s to hoping the slightly tweaked design rolls out in more regions.

[Twitter, Google+]

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Yahoo’s Aviate Launcher updated with new Search functionality

[Deal] HTC discounts the One (M8), select accessories, and the RE Camera through the weekend

This weekend, various products designed and sold by HTC will be available at discounted prices. The company will reduce the cost for buyers of the One (M8), RE Camera, Dot View case, Double Dip case, and Flip case. The reason for discounting these items can probably be explained by the March 1 event hosted by HTC. The company is expected to introduce a new range of prodcuts, namely the HTC One (M9). A successor to the RE Camera will likely debut as well.

Here are the terms of the sale:

• $150 off when buying the HTC One (M8) for $499


• 50% off when buying the Dot View ($25), Double Dip ($12.50), and Flip cases ($15)


• 25% off when buying the RE Camera for $149

The discounts will be applied when items are added to the cart prior to checkout.

Source: HTC

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Xposed Framework For Android 5.0 Lollipop Now Available And Ready To Download

If you are part of the rooted world then you will know of a staple offering which goes by the name Xposed. For all those, that have yet to use Xposed or the Xposed Framework, then if you are rooted you are missing out. This is one of those tool boxes any rooted device owner should have installed. Xposed is literally a rooters playground source, full of Mods, Tweaks, features and services you won’t find anywhere else. However, over the past few months there has been one glaring issue with Xposed and that was it did not play so nice with Android 5.0 (Lollipop). Due to the changeover from Dalvik to ART, Xposed had serious issues in running. In short, Lollipop went and broke Xposed.

Since then many have anticipated and waited on Rovo89 (the brains behind Xposed) to make Xposed compatible with Lollipop. There were some initial concerns that it might not ever be compatible, although they were short lived as Rovo89 did announce that it probably will work. Well, if you are one of those who has been waiting on Xposed to become available for Android 5.0 then it looks like the wait is over. Xposed is now compatible with Lollipop and available to download.

Yes, if you are currently running Lollipop and have been missing the goodness which is the Xposed Framework, then it is now available to install on your Lollipop device. To mark the arrival, Rovo89 did do a quick Q&A with the folks over at XDA and you can read it by clicking here. If you just want to get to the download then click here to head over to XDA where you will find the instructions and downloads. Just like on KitKat, you will need to have a custom recovery installed and flashed the zip file via the recovery. From there (again like KitKat), you will be able to install the Xposed Framework. It is worth noting, that this is an Alpha build and as such you should expect bugs. Doesn’t mean there will be, but expectation is always your safest bet. The last prerequisite is that Rovo89 states this is currently only for ARM V7+ so will not work with any 64-bit processor running devices. Otherwise, you are a go with Xposed.

The post Xposed Framework For Android 5.0 Lollipop Now Available And Ready To Download appeared first on AndroidHeadlines.com |.

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Disa, A Messaging Client That Can Merge Conversations Across Services, Is Now Available As A Public Beta

One of the problems with instant messaging since time immemorial has been juggling contacts and conversations across multiple services. It's bothersome on desktops, and it's especially unwieldy on mobile devices, where multitasking isn't as easy and similar sounding chimes can send you searching through the wrong app for the latest reply.

Disa is a new Android messaging client that attempts to tackle this problem. It has been in development for a long time, spending a healthy period in private alpha being tested by over 33,000 people before making its way to the Play Store in the form of a private beta.

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Disa, A Messaging Client That Can Merge Conversations Across Services, Is Now Available As A Public Beta was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

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Androids and Handshakes.

Nothing like a little Pete Rock to help start your weekend.

Androids and Handshakes. is a post from: Droid Life

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