Archives

http://androidforum.us/data/MetaMirrorCache/c10493d3567cbf45d93d47e6d538d885.png Google's Chrome mobile browser is the best mobile web browser we've used and it looks like Google is about to make it even better. DroidLife flags a thread found in Reddit's Android community that details how Google has added Chromecast support in its latest beta for the mobile version of its Chrome browser. The best thing about the added support, Redditor WhyYouPaul reports, is that it doesn't just work with YouTube videos but also with other HTML5-based video sites such as Vimeo as well. Chromecasting over the mobile Chrome browser on an Android phone is apparently very buggy and inconsist…

Goodyear at the Geneva auto show unveiled a new SUV tire concept that’s specifically crafted to deal with multiple types of terrain while improving fuel efficiency, CNET reports. The tire has two rings, each serving a different purpose — a main outer ring that takes up two-thirds of the tire’s width and is used for regular day-to-day driving on regular roads, and an inner one that takes up the rest and is used for off-road action. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

With all the conveniences that they offer, we sometimes forget that smartphones lack several key features that we all used to enjoy back when answering machines and wired phones sat on our counters. Now that callers are redirected to our voicemail services, we have to wait until the message has been completed to see what our parents want to know about our day or who the heck is calling you from that area code you don't recognize. It's a minor quibble, but an inconvenience nonetheless. A patent awarded to Apple this week might change that. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

http://androidforum.us/data/MetaMirrorCache/374c8ff4f9d1fe9ecbf5d0673891a2fa.jpg To say that the U.K.'s Internet porn filter policy has been a predictably hilarious disaster would be understating things. The filters have blocked U.K. web users' access to legitimate health websites and have even censored websites of anti-pornography politicians simply because those websites frequently mentioned the evils of porn. And now The Guardian reports that the U.K.'s porn filters have been hit with yet another ironic public relations setback: One of the men who helped draw up the porn filter plan is being investigated for allegedly possessing child pornography. Continue reading.…

Remember back in July when Samsung was caught boosting its benchmark scores? After this happened, the company responded with the usual defense. Now, thanks to the Android 4.4 KitKat update, Samsung took some time to remove the code that was causing the boosting. Through some testing, Ars Technica and Geekbench were able to find that the scores for both the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note 3 came up short when compared to the scores from when they ran Android 4.3 Jell Bean. And the difference was quite substantial. The single-core score went from 682 to 674 and the multi-core score dropped from 2114 to 1913. Shortly after this news came out, developer Wanam was able to confir…

We knew Motorola was going to release their Windy Day sequel, Buggy Night, we just didn’t know when. Today, the Motorola Spotlight Player received an update, and of course, it included the latest interactive video from Motorola’s specialty team. If you’ve got a Moto X and you’ve been anticipating this latest video, you can update your app to see the new little short. If you’ve managed to avoid Windy Day so far, now’s a good time to hit the download link below and get caught up. Play Store Download Link Come comment on this article: Motorola Spotlight Player updated with Buggy Night, the follow-up to Windy Day Visit TalkAndroid for Android news,…

QuizUp, an extremely popular quiz game on iOS, is finally, almost ready to make its Android debut. The game is fairly simple; you select a topic from over 300 choices, and QuizUp matches you with someone that’s judged to be about as smart as you are about that topic. It then quizzes both players with multiple choice questions, and the faster you select the correct answer, the more points you win. It’s a game of balancing intelligence, speed, and good guesswork, and it’s a ton of fun. You can also challenge specific friends to quizzes, and even if they aren’t available to play immediately, QuizUp will record your answers and timing and your friend can catch up later.…

We’re beating a dead horse at this point, but HTC has had another pretty awful month in terms of revenue. In February 2014, HTC’s revenues totaled roughly NT$7.22 billion, or $238 million in US currency, down 26% from February last year and down roughly 25% from what HTC reported just last month. In the first two months of 2014, HTC has made NT$16.89 billion in revenue, significantly down from the NT$26.9 billion it had generated at this point last year. Things just keep looking worse and worse for HTC, and despite the HTC One being arguably the best device of 2013, they just can’t hold their own against the bigger dogs in the fight like Samsung and Apple. I don’t …

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 Adobe Revel, a new photo and video management app, is now available in the Play Store Carriers Android 4.4.2 update for Sprint Moto X ready to roll out Verizon will release the LG G Pad 8.3 on March 6 for $99 with a two-year contract, $299 without Chromebooks Improved Multi-Account support could be coming to Chrome OS Chromecast Casting HTML5 video added to Chrome Beta for Android VUDU …

http://androidforum.us/data/MetaMirrorCache/fa66b1b16a2937589e7cf2034f0c9876.jpg No, you're not going to see advertisements pop up in the middle of your BBM chats... but BlackBerry just delivered on new CEO John Chen's promise to adjust its BBM strategy to include actually monetizing the product. Now that BBM has dozens of messaging rivals and is no longer a draw that can attract new business and keep current customers locked in, BlackBerry is tasked with finding ways to turn BBM into a moneymaker. The first step, as we reported recently, is to toss in some advertisements. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

One of the things that's been the most interesting about new BlackBerry CEO John Chen is that he's been refreshingly blunt about some of the challenges facing his company, which he's likened in the past to a sick patient in desperate need of emergency surgery. In an interview with The Financial Times, Chen says that his BlackBerry turnaround plan's odds of success are 50% and that everything will come down to how well he and his team execute. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Intel has acquired wearable device maker Basis in a deal possibly valued at around $100 million, with a source telling TechCrunch that the number may be closer to $150 million. In the past, Google was among the rumored suitors for the company, and Basis was reportedly willing to sell for a price that was less than $100 million. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Ouya, the popular Kickstarter project that turned into a gaming console business has further expansion plans in mind, Slashdot has learned, with the company getting ready to announce an Ouya Everywhere gaming initiative that will not necessarily require a big-screen TV to be connected to an Ouya console for players to enjoy Ouya games. However, it’s not clear how gameplay would work, or whether other hardware purchases may be required. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

2013 was a truly horrible year for PC sales and 2014 is shaping up to be terrible as well. The latest report from IDC projects that overall PC sales will decline by 6.1% year-over-year in 2014, which is actually an improvement from the 9.8% year-over-year decline that PC sales experienced between 2012 and 2013. IDC doesn't see things improving for the PC market over the next four years either as it's projecting an overall 0.2% decline in PC sales between 2014 and 2018. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Meizu has begun sending out invitations to an event scheduled for March 6th in Paris. While the invitation doesn’t give specifics on the event, the speculation is that the MX4 will be released. We don’t know exactly what the device will feature, but it will likely either use the Snapdragon 801 processor or one of Samsung’s chips. Many people are also hoping to find out about Meizu’s global plans, and considering the event is being help in Paris, they may announce plans to start selling devices in Europe. Source: Into Mobile Come comment on this article: Meizu MX4 to launch in Paris on March 6th Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much…

As more and more apps add casting capability so users can enjoy their apps with Chromecast devices, this latest development may be useful for users needing a more general capability. Google has added the ability to cast YouTube videos from within the Chrome Beta for Android browser without opening the dedicated YouTube app. Testing shows that it kind of works with other HTML5 videos. To turn on the capability in the latest version of the Chrome Beta browser, you will need to open chrome://flags/#enable-cast in the browser to turn it on. Relaunch the browser and head to YouTube to check out a video. Just make sure you don’t launch the standalone YouTube app and you’ll s…

Many people would already have seen the celebrity-packed photo that Ellen Degeneres took during the oscars. Well she used a Samsung Galaxy Note to do it! There was a lot of speculation about whether Ellen was paid to use it or not, however Samsung has since released a statement that even though the event was sponsored by Samsung, Ellen decided on her own to “organically incorporate the device into the moment.” Despite the fact that Ellen decided herself to use the device, Samsung has been happy enough with the results to donate $1.5 million each to two charities of Ellen’s choosing, which will be the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and the Humane Society. …

VUDU has announced they will be adding support for Chromecast to their service enabling casting from Android, iOS, PCs and Macs. According to their blog post, support for VUDU on Chromecast will be enabled via the Chrome browser on computers while the mobile device apps will be updated to add the capability. VUDU says they are currently accepting registrations for people who want to be part of the beta testing program for the new feature. It does require a new sign-up separate from a user’s regular VUDU account. You can hit the source link for instructions on how to sign up if you are interested. source: VUDU Come comment on this article: VUDU announces Chromec…

Android build numbers generally start with the same letter as the name of the current version of Android. For example, the latest build of KitKat is KOT49H (technically KVT49L for only the Nexus 7 LTE). However a couple of builds are appearing that start with the letter “A” as in ACU50C and ACU56E. This information comes from the idea133-weekly-release, which is for developers. At this point, you would expect the next version of Android to start with the letter “L” since they have been going in order since Cupcake. Is Google planning something different? We’re not really sure, but here is how the build numbers break out. As already stated, the first letter is for …

Following the first Galaxy S5 and new Gear wearable ads that were released during the Oscars, Samsung on Tuesday published a couple of longer videos on YouTube that show the main specs and features of the Galaxy S5, Gear 2 smartwatches and Gear Fit fitness band. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

iPhone and iPad owners looking forward to the next major update for iOS 7 might not have to wait much longer. John Gruber over at Daring Fireball believes that Apple's streaming app for the upcoming iTunes Festival will require iOS 7.1, which means that in order for iOS device owners to watch the festival live next Tuesday, Apple will have to release the update within the next few days. We heard last month that iOS 7.1 would ship in March, so the evidence definitely lines up. The only question is whether or not the new app will support the current version of iOS 7. If not, then expect Apple to begin pushing the update a few days before the iTunes Festival begins. V…

For the past couple of years, Samsung has been aggressively making moves to erode Apple's market share in both smartphones and tablets by pumping out huge volumes of gadgets every year that have sold well in both established and emerging markets. Apple, meanwhile, has maintained strong sales in core markets such as the United States and Japan but hasn't made a lot of waves in emerging markets where consumers don't want to shell out top dollar for their gadgets. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

Batman's revival has been a multimedia affair. It started on the silver screen, but the grim world of the Dark Knight quickly bled over into gaming with Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009. The series gained traction as positive word spread, and subsequently exploded into the mainstream with Arkham City in 2011, an improvement over the original in every way and a contender for game of the year. After passing off development to Warner Bros. Games for last year's Arkham Origins, Rocksteady Studios is back in driver's seat for Arkham Knight, the final game in the series and the first for next-gen consoles. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

We were one of the first big tech news brands with an iOS app, but we've been one of the last to update it with support for iOS 7. However, thanks to our good friend Sean Kovacs, the new app is available in the App Store right now. It has a redesigned interface, support for gestures, comments are now working again, it uses the dynamic system font sizes, sharing has been updated to take advantage of the iOS 7 share sheet, push notifications work for breaking news, and of course, bugs have been fixed. Continue reading... Via BRG - Boy Genius Report

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!! Guides 9 top Twitter apps for Android [March 2014] Carriers Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile to carry Samsung Galaxy S5 in Q2 Verizon introduces new ALLSET prepaid plans Chromebooks Samsung’s next generation Chromebook 2 devices officially announced Google Google adds restaurant menus to Google Now search results Phones “All New HTC One” teased in 2nd promotional video HTC M8 dual camera…