Archives

Today Xiaomi started teasing a new device to be released on April 23rd. The device hints at the company’s first tablet, which looks set to have a similar design as the Lenovo Yoga Tablet. Xiaomi is a relatively new company, but has been climbing the ladder pretty quickly. In fact, just last year they appointed former Google Android project VP Hugo Barra. There’s no info regarding the specs of the device just yet, but that should be released in the next few days. Source: Weibo Via: Pocket Droid Come comment on this article: Xiaomi teases their first tablet Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! News via TalkAndroid

Just like last year’s HTC One (M7), this year’s One (M8) sports an IR blaster. It’s part of the power button, so you might not even notice it’s there. This makes your One (M8) a very convenient remote control for your home theater system. It can control your TV, cable/satellite box, and an AVR receiver. You can even configure different rooms so when you’re laying in bed, just use your phone to change the channels. In order to do all of this, HTC has provided their own Sense TV app. Not only does Sense TV assist you in configuring all your equipment, but it also serves as your TV guide. It will tell you what’s on TV now with nice cover art and even recommend shows to yo…

Project Ara is still in its development stage, but a prototype is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The team has recently provided an inside look at where its progress stands. And now it has given The Verge a look at what Project Ara may end up looking like when complete. The images show a modular phone along with some shots of components connected, such as a display and a front facing camera. Hit the break for the gallery. Source: The Verge Come comment on this article: Project Ara showcases its current look Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! News via TalkAndroid

All good things must come to an end. Samsung’s Milk Music service is no different. In fact, it was sort of given that this day was coming. Samsung will be splitting Milk Music into Basic Service and Premium Service packages. Basic Service keeps everything free, but has advertisements prior to a song playing. The Premium Service package keeps everything ad-free with some unannounced exclusive features. This, however, costs $3.99 per month. No one can really blame Samsung as the music streaming field is insanely competitive and crowded. So finding a way to monetize the whole entire system was expected. It just depends at what price, if any, will users pay for an ad-free …

Amazon is getting in on the holiday weekend by holding an Easter egg hunt with the Appstore. Don’t worry, you will not have to search far and wide as it is rather simple to be rewarded. When you hit the source link below, there will be a ton of applications involved in the hunt. While many of them are free, there are some paid apps that will net you some Amazon Coins with a purchase. The $0.99 price returns 50 coins while $4.99 apps reward 250 of them. Source: Amazon Come comment on this article: Amazon Appstore holding an Easter egg hunt full of deals and rewards Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more! News via TalkAndroid

Although Samsung often gets tagged as a copycat in the realm of smartphones, the company really does produce some remarkable innovations, particularly in the realm of displays. Patent Shot has spotted a recently filed Samsung patent for a new kind of transparent display technology that can be used to convincingly add digital images to the real world and thus blur the line between virtual reality and physical reality. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Tactus Technology is a startup that has developed an accessory that can create transparent keyboard buttons on top of a touchscreen display. The company is working with Taiwan-based Wistron, Business Insider reports, to manufacture such a keyboard case accessory for the iPad, which should start shipping later this year. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

It's pretty safe to say that computer science Professor Willy Susilo won't be relying on a fingerprint scanner to keep his mobile phone secure. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Susilo says that the fingerprint scanners used by Apple and Samsung are mere "gimmicks" that hackers can easily fool and that don't give users and real biometric security. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Sure, Apple Maps might send you into a death trap in the Australian outback or onto an airport runway, but it does do things that other mapping services don't, such as being able to find imaginary monsters. AppleInsider points out that hunters of the Loch Ness Monster claim that they found an image of the mythical beast on a satellite image provided by Apple's iOS Maps, which was something that they didn't find when they tried looking for it on Google Maps. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

No matter how positive the reviews are for its products, HTC can't seem to break out from behind the shadow of Samsung. Without a veritable army of devices flooding store shelves, it's difficult for any phone maker to make an impact in the Android smartphone market. But HTC believes that by closing the gap on dedicated cameras, it can attract an even wider audience while trumping the competition. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Sony is keeping up the trend of OEMs adding their stock apps to the Play Store to be updated individually. The latest to hit Google’s servers is the keyboard application for Xperia devices. So far, it doesn’t look like they’ve done too much beyond just throwing the app up for download, but in the future, they’ll be able to quickly and efficiently push out updates for devices. The keyboard is what you’ll find on Sony’s Xperia devices, completely with emoji key and swipe typing. It’s not the most featured keyboard in the world, but some people like the stock options. If you own an Xperia device, keep an eye out for updates to your keyboard. If you’re tired of wa…

Flagship phones always get the center of attention, but lower-tier phones are growing in popularity, especially in developing countries. Over the last year there has been a trend in better quality low-tier phones, such as the Moto G. Now it looks like Google might have something in the works as well. A report out of China has Google partnering with MediaTek for a very low-priced smartphone. Those of you that generally buy flagship phones are probably not familiar with MediaTek. Like Qualcomm, they are makers of mobile processors, but they are generally found on budget phones. This rumored phone is expected to sell for only $100. We certainly don’t expect this pho…

The Moto G (pictured above) is Motorola’s best selling smartphone, but they have something else up their sleeve. A new phone has been approved by Brazilian authorities and is only 6.2mm thick. It will will also feature a 4.3-inch (unknown resolution) display, an unknown 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, 5MP rear camera, 1900mAh battery, and Android 4.4 KitKat. There will be three variants of the device – XT1021 (Single SIM), XT1022 (dual-SIM), and XT1025 (dual-SIM + digital TV). Incidentally, the XT1021 was approved with the FCC sporting AT&T 3G compatibility, but it doesn’t mean they will carry it. It’s expected that Motorola wi…

Although just recently surfacing publicly, Google has been working on their Project Tango smartphones for a while now. Not all of that research and development on the 3D world sensing phone was confined to the Google campus though. Turns out Google has been working with the NASA Ames Research Center to integrate the Project Tango technology onto a robotic platform called SPHERES. The SPHERES platform is intended to be a zero-gravity autonomous unit. NASA is developing SPHERES to serve the role of assistant for astronauts or to even be programmed to perform their own maintenance activities on board the International Space Station. Project Tango’s ability to create a 3D …

Poaching is something very common in the mobile industry. A company comes along and plucks an executive out of another company to work for them. It happened to Android’s VP of product development, Hugo Barra, when Xiaomi swooped in and stole him from Google. Now, it looks like HTC is doing the poaching to Android’s biggest force. HTC has hired Paul Golden, Samsung’s former head of marketing. His role will be as an adviser to Cher Wang, the chairman. Golden will not be a full-time employee just yet. For now, he is being contracted for three months of work. What marketing can be done in three months is beyond me, but that is why it is likely Golden’s stay gets extended f…

The launch of the iPhone 6 is still months away but that doesn't mean you can't get some incredible deals on the iPhone 5s. Case in point: MacRumors points out that RadioShack is now selling the iPhone 5s for just $99 with a two-year contract from Verizon, AT&T or Sprint, which happens to be one of the lowest prices we've ever seen for Apple's latest flagship phone. The new price for the 5s at RadioShack is the same on-contract price that Apple originally charged for the iPhone 5c, so now it looks like interested buyers now have even less reason to pick up a 5c than they did before. What makes this deal even better is that MacRumors says that you can get $100 off the …

Google may be working on a new kind of Nexus device that could be even more affordable than its predecessors, a new report from Asia says. However, the device won’t be a high-end model like the others, but rather an entry- to mid-range device that would sell for under $100, thus being significantly more affordable than any previous Nexus handsets. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

It's safe to say that former Apple CEO John Sculley has some regrets in his career. In an interview with The Times of India, Sculley admits that ousting Apple cofounder Steve Jobs as CEO way back in 1985 was "a mistake" that cost the company dearly and set it on the path toward near-oblivion. However, Sculley says that the decision was much more justifiable at the time it was made because Jobs' always-difficult personality was even tougher to rein in during his younger years. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Designer Martin Hajek, who earlier this year created iPhone 6 renders based on leaked purported sketches for Apple's bigger smartphone, is back with a new set of images that also takes into account the most recent iPhone 6 leaks, including manufacturing molds and iPhone 6 case prototypes. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

The flood gates have apparently opened in April as Apple device leaks have begun to hit the Internet at an alarming pace. From blueprints to cases to components, we've seen enough purported information about the iPhone 6 to build our own, but other than an analyst report on the next iPad's release date, Apple's next tablet has remained relatively well hidden. OneMoreThing.nl looks to fix that with the most promising next-gen iPad leaks yet — two photos showing off what might be the front of the iPad Air 2, complete with an integrated display. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Wearable tech has a lot of promise, but the endless parade of smartwatches from every company with the means to create one has diluted the field. One of the more fascinating projects that exists far outside of this box is Imogen Heap's Mi.Mu Glove, a musical tool that allows musicians to create music without confining themselves to a computer. By simply moving a gloved hand, the user can change countless aspects of the sound created with the Mi.Mu Glove, from the pitch and the volume to the instrument being emulated. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

http://androidforum.us/data/MetaMirrorCache/f25715c6d5c03f111ebfd529a259bacd.jpg FingerReader is the name of a wearable gadget that could help visually impaired people read printed text in books and even on electronic devices, thus opening up additional possibilities to them. Developed by MIT researchers, FingerReader wants to help the blind access more resources than what’s already available in braille format. TechCrunch reports that, according to a recent study from the Royal National Institute of the Blind in Britain cited by one of the researchers, in 2011 only 7% of books are available in large print, unabridged audio and braille. Continue reading... Via B…

Sony on Thursday announced that it sold over 7 million PlayStation 4 units, significantly more than what it envisioned for its fiscal year 2013. Microsoft made its own announcement yesterday as well, highlighting the strong sales of Titanfall, a shooter game that’s not available on the PS4, and which was named the number one selling game in March according to NPD numbers. However, while Titanfall has helped Microsoft sell more Xbox One units, it wasn’t enough to keep Xbox One sales on par with PS4 sales. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

After LaCie announced earlier this week it was the victim of a massive credit card breach that lasted for a year, crafts store Michaels revealed in a press release that hackers may have stolen credit card data for 3 million of its customers, including buyers that shopped at its Aaron Brothers subsidiary. The company has hired two independent security firms to conduct an extensive investigation, which revealed that payment systems in Michaels and Aaron Brothers stores were attacked by “highly sophisticated malware” that had not been seen before by either firm. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Is HTC finally, at long, long last, going to get a decent marketing campaign? The Wall Street Journal reports that HTC has officially brought on Paul Golden, Samsung's former U.S. marketing chief, to be a consultant to HTC chairwoman Cher Wang. During his time at Samsung from 2008 through 2012, Golden was instrumental in establishing the company's Galaxy brand as the main alternative to Apple's iPhone through a series of first-rate ads that often took humorous shots at Apple fans' expense. What this means for HTC's future marketing efforts is unclear but we can bet that there won't be any more horrendous Robert Downey Jr. spots or ads about Hipster Troll Car Washes going …