Author: Rachel Issac

Google Reinvents Google+ With Focus On Collections and Communities

Google’s attempt at creating a social networking website sort of died down after the launch of Google+. It did not seem to get the attention it was looking for and seemed dormant for the longest time. However, Bradley Horowitz, the VP of Photos and Streams at Google and Luke Wroblewski, Product Director at Google; seemed to have re-worked and re-designed the app.

Some features like the Photos and backing up on YouTube have been highlighted. the main purpose was not to remove or eliminate features but to highlight the features that worked for Google+ and streamline the ones that didn’t.

“Photos wasn’t the only product with opportunity. We asked ourselves “how can we make this better and serve more people?” said Bradley Horowitz

A lot of work seems to have been done in researching user needs, designing and archiving data to revamp Google+. The result of this is the new G+ with a focus on Communities and Collection. While, Communities was launched in 2012 in order to reduce the need for discussion groups; Collections is rather recent Pinterest-type feature, that was introduced only earlier this year.

However, after going on a road trip in order to survey the needs and difficulties of hard core Google+ users, the designers have come to the conclusion that these were the two main features that required to be highlighted. Their main aim was to make their pros stand out, and try their best to hide the cons while working on them.

The new version also caters to a mobile first experience which was previously not one of the top most priorities for Google+. Therefore, the web design has been made much more responsive, and along with that, the iOS app has been fully rebuilt and redesigned. The Android version on the other hand will now cater to what people are using while pushing aside the unused features. Moreover, the new G+ runs on Material Design, which is a language developed by Android itself.

The new design is being compared to Facebook or other social networking site’s layouts. However, that is not entirely a bad thing, although it does look like they are still relying on their user base to fill their home pages with more interesting things. Google will now fill up your homepage with things that it thinks you are interested in, based on the content you surf and share.

One of the main realizations that they had was the fact that Google+ had too many features that were all over the place. So as Horowitz says they had to reinvent within the current framework. So, to conclude we can safely say that Google has focused on what worked for them by enhancing the presence of ad-friendly groups, adding a streaming focused feature, and reaching out to their users via the web, iOS and Android.

November 18, 2015
Samsung is Allegedly Working On a Flip Phone

According to reports, Samsung is planning to launch a flip phone called SM-W2016. Yes, you read correct, a flip phone. While we don’t know what inspired Samsung to do this, we do know that the smart-flip-phone could come with a 3.9 inch display and 1280×768 pixel resolution on each side of the phone cover. The numeric keypad will be at the bottom of the phone, which will run on the Android 5.1.1 with an octa-core Exynos 7420 processor. A few days back some pictures of this phone were leaked showcasing the design. Take a look:

The phone will have a 3GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage, 16MP primary camera and 5MP secondary camera. Samsung has not officially confirmed these rumours, however, speculation suggests that this phone won’t be available in the U.S and Europe.

November 18, 2015
Apple’s Next Macbook To Launch On 27th November

New reports suggest that you can expect Apple to launch the Macbook Air 2016 on the 27th of November 2015. This date has been chosen strategically in order to coincide with the annual Black Friday extravaganza.

The only fear is that the Macbook 2016 might not get the attention it deserves if launched on Black Friday as most people would be looking for budget deals instead of buying a new laptop at its launch price. Reports also suggest that the launch of the Macbook Air and Pro were delayed so as not to take away the limelight from the iPad Pro. Let’s just hope their decision won’t cost them a fortune.

The Macbook Air 2016 will come with an Intel Skylake U-chipset under the hood and will run El Capitan, the latest version of Apple’s desktop OS. Would you buy a Macbook Air 2016 on Black Friday?

November 18, 2015
Xiaomi Mi 5 Might Be launched On 24th November 2015

Xiaomi has scheduled a product launch event for the 24th of November 2015 in China. However, this seems to be the only information that has been confirmed; no other information on which product will be launched was revealed. Speculations suggest that the Chinese company might announce the Redmi Note 2 and their flagship smartphone Mi 5.

Invitation letter posted by Lin Bin, co-founder and president of Xiaomi
Image Source: Miui.com

According to rumours, the Mi 5 will come with 5.3 inches display, 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution, 16/64 GB internal memory with 4 GB RAM. It might also be powered by the SD820 SoC and will run on the Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop) with a Non-removable Li-Po 3030 mAh battery. On the camera front you may expect a 16MP primary camera and a 6MP secondary camera.

However, these are just speculations and nothing has been confirmed about the product launches. But, the invitations are official and can be purchased at $30 starting today.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=184540&page=1&mobile=2″]Miui.com[/tw-button]

November 18, 2015
LG G3 To Receive Android 6.0 Marshmallow Next Month

An executive from LG’s Poland offices tweeted that the LG G3 will start receiving the Android 6.0 Marshmallow sometime between the 16th and 18th of December 2016.

If reports are to be believed, then the update is already in the last stages of testing and will be rolled out first in Poland. Other regions worldwide will also receive the update right after Poland does. But, we do not have a concrete list of the regions.Let us just hope that we are on the list too.

November 18, 2015
Microsoft Puts Android Support Project On Hold Due To Security Concerns

Microsoft had announced back in April that they were planning on supporting a quick reuse of their software on iOS and Android devices. This was so that they could create universal apps across devices. However, from the beginning this intention seemed shaky, and we finally now know that Microsoft has put Android support on hold.

Even though there hasn’t been any official statement about the discontinuity of Project Astoria (name of the Android support project), reports do firmly suggest that this collaboration is definitely on hold. The reason for this could be security and optimization problems.

“We’re committed to offering developers many options to bring their apps to the Windows platform, including bridges available now for Web and iOS, and soon Win32. The Astoria Bridge is not ready yet, but other tools offer great options to developers.” says Microsoft.

Therefore, what we can insinuate is that there still might be some hope help for Android in this sphere. Meanwhile, the company is focusing on iOS migration tools, which have in the past, proven to be more compatible with the Windows 10.

November 18, 2015
Strontium Announces USB Type-C OTG Kit For New Age Devices

Strontium Technology Pte. Limited has announced a Strontium Type-C Mobile Kit which comes along with a NITRO UHS-I microSDXC card and a Type-C card reader. This feature will help the tranfering of files between new-generation smartphones, tablets and laptops equipped with USB Type-C ports and the Mac/PC with standard USB ports.

The NITRO UHS-I microSDXC card maximizes the transfer speed of up to 85MB/s. Apart from enhacing the efficiency and speed of transfers it also plays back and transfers media data with extended durations of 1080 full HD and 3D videos. This USC Type-C connector is reversible and can plug in any way.

The Strontium Type-C Mobile Kit also fits in as a mobile data solution for MacBook, smartphones, tablets, GPS and digital camcorders. It comes in two memory variants – 64GB and 128GB and is priced at Rs. 3699 /- and Rs. 9349/- respectively.

November 17, 2015

Microsoft Begins Pre-Orders For the Lumia 950 XL

We have some good news for all the Lumia users, Microsoft has finally started taking pre-orders for the Lumia 950 XL that will come with the new Windows 10 software installed. This version will not be available at all carriers, so if you are in the US you can purchase an unlocked variant of the smartphone. Just to give you a recap, here are the specifications of the phone:

Feature	Lumia 950 XL
Display	5.7 inches
Resolution	1440 x 2560 pixels
Processor	Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810
RAM	3 GB RAM
Internal Storage	32 GB, microSD, up to 200 GB
Rear Camera	20MP
Front Camera	5MP
Battery	Li-Ion 3340 mAh battery
Connections	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, GPS, NFC
USB	v3.1, Type-C reversible connector
Price	$649 (approx. Rs.42,844)

Reports also suggest that you will be eligible to receive a free Microsoft Display Dock through the Lumia Offers app, on purchase of the Lumia 950 XL. The phone is expected to ship by the 25th of November 2015.

Microsoft has priced this smartphone at $650 which rounds up to about Rs.42,844 and is available in two colour variants – black and white. Keep watching this space for more updates.

November 17, 2015

BLOCKS: World’s First Customizable Smartwatch is Here

Here’s a successful Kickstarter project, and it’s called Block Wearables. This start-up company has announced a gadget called BLOCKS, which is the world’s first fully customizable smartwatch. Here’s a quick look at what you can expect from it.

Modules:

The watch comes in three modes, namely, the athlete’s module, the business man’s module and the adventurer’s module. The athlete mode can be activated by adding a Heart Rate and GPS module to measure your pulse and track your location respectively.

The businessman mode can be activated by turning the NFC contactless module on; this will help you to make payments directly from your wristwatch. Apart from that the watch will also have a SIM module in order to keep you connected even without your cell-phone in hand.

Finally, the adventurer’s mode which can be activated by adding extra batteries and switching the adventure module setting on, which will alter altitude, temperature and humidity settings according to your surroundings.

Hardware:

BLOCKS has a open platform for hardware development; this means that any tech company can develop modules for its modular smartwatch. And because of its success it has announced some major collaborations with a couple of big names in the tech world.

Examples of important tie-ups include a cellular connectivity agreement with AT&T in the U.S, a heart rate monitoring module with Pixart Imaging along with inbuilt tri-LED pulse sensor, and a collaboration with Biometric Authentication for a fingerprint module to be made available via BioConnect Entertech Systems.

Design:

On the design front, BLOCKS has gone high-end by collaborating with Tateossian, which is a luxury British jeweller. Therefore, all the shells will come with a rhodium plated base along with enamel colours over alutex. So, you will be able to customize your watch just by replacing the shells accordingly.

To add to this, there will also be a limited edition version of shells made with small black and white diamonds. Here’s a couple of images for a better understanding of this smartwatch’s design –

This does sound and look like quite the smartwatch, now we just have to wait and watch how well it does in the market. What do you think of this innovation?

November 16, 2015
Firefox OS 2.5 Comes To Android Phones

After having announced an iOS App, Mozilla Firefox now announces the launch of a Firefox OS 2.5 developer preview for all Android devices.

There are a couple of highlighted features that arrive with the app such as add-ons, private browsing with tracking protection and ‘pin the web’.

The add-ons are a feature that will allow users to use an extension of one or more apps along with the system app itself; the private browsing feature is exclusive to Mozilla’s Firefox version which allows you to browse through the web with a tracking protection; last but not the least is the ‘pin the web’ feature that removes artificial distinction between web pages and websites so that you can pin any website to your home screen.

Obviously, the app is still being tested out, and you can click here to check out the ‘developer’s preview’. Oh, just one more thing, the app runs without needing to flash the operating system over your current Android OS.

November 16, 2015
The Mozilla Firefox iOS App Is Finally Available On the App Store

Mozilla had been testing an iOS version of its browser for a while now, and it has finally launched a Firefox version for iOS. This app will now be available on the Apple Store on all iOS run devices ranging from the iPhone to the iPod Touch.

Firefox had previously held a stance against developing software for Apple’s app store, but has clearly moved on since then. The first iOS Mozilla tester had rolled out in May this year, following another one in September, before going live with the final version.

This app is being introduced amongst much competition in the sphere of web browsing, especially with iOS owned Safari already in the picture. This new app will allow Firefox loyalists to continue using the web browser even on their Apple products. Let’s all hope that Firefox is able to gain some new customers whilst keeping its old ones too.

Here is a link for you to download Mozilla Firefox on to your Apple devices. Just make sure your device runs the iOS 8.2 or above.

November 16, 2015
Here’s How You Can Identify a Celebrity Profile on SnapChat

SnapChat is rolling out a new feature specially for its celebrity users as an added verification setting. So, if you want to verify whether the celebrity you think you are following is actually the real deal, you just have to look for a small emoji signifying their status. This emoji functions just like the blue tick mark on Facebook that identifies an authentic account from a fake one.

These emojis will be appearing under the header “Official Stories” and will also appear on the stories of users you are already following. This feature is expected to help “Snapchatters” discover interesting stories easily.

“If a Snapchatter has an Official Story, their name will appear under an Official Stories header when you search for them. Also, an emoji will appear next to their name so you know they’re the real deal!” – says SnapChat

As of now, the “Official Stories” feature is still being rolled out, so everyone may not have received it yet. However, it can be expected to become universally active soon.

November 14, 2015
Apple To Discontinue Beats Music By the End Of November

Recent reports suggest that Apple will shut down Beats Music on the 30th of November 2015. Even though all the Beats subscriptions will end on that day, Apple is still encouraging subscribers to migrate their user profiles to Apple Music by saying that:

“…on Apple Music, you’ll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more.”

This decision to shut Beats Music down has come less than six months after the company unveiled Apple Music. The appearance of Apple Music is said to have marked a departure from Apple’s stance on resisting the adoption of any music subscription model for its users. This service offers users recommendations based on purchases made over Apple’s iTunes Store or chosen on-demand from an online catalog. Apple Music also includes Beats 1, which is a 24X7 radio station. Apart from this the service also offers something called ‘Connect’ where artists can interact with their well-wisher or fans to share songs directly to their iPhones.

Since its launch, Apple Music has gathered 6.5 million subscribers, however this number still does not beat Spotify’s 25 million paid members and 50 million unpaid members. Furthermore, Apple has even released the service for Android users. Therefore, with the reach of Apple Music extending to more than just its customers, the discontinuation of Beats Music should not make much of a difference to the tech mogul.

November 14, 2015
Samsung Galaxy S7 To Sport a 4K Display and 14 Cores

Samsung is creating a buzz about its next rumoured smartphone, the Galaxy S7 Premium Edition. According to rumours, this phone will only be offered in South Korea and could feature a 4K display with a dual-lens camera module made by Sony.

This phone is expected to run on the new Exynos 8890 chipset, which is expected to come with a 14 nm FinFET process chip, an integrated CP and modem chip and is the first custom core design chip that the company has created. This chip is expected to arrive with Samsung’s next flagship phone, the Galaxy S7 in all markets except for USA and China. In those two countries, the phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC.

The original Exynos 8890 Soc is expected to come with the Mali-T880 and 12 cores, however new reports suggest that the Exynos 8890 for the Galaxy S7 Special Edition will come with the Mali-T880 and 14 cores.

As lovely as all this sounds, Samsung has not confirmed any of the above rumours. So, let’s just wait and see what Samsung has to offer us, until the next Samsung Unpacked event.

November 14, 2015
Facebook’s New Message System Takes On SnapChat’s Self-Destruct Messages

Facebook is currently testing a new feature on their messaging app in France to introduce a self-destruct option within the Messenger app. This is not too difficult to operate, since one just has to click on a hourglass button at the top of the screen to activate it. The activation of this button will allow messages to be destroyed after one hour. In order to deactivate the feature, you’ll just have to click on the button again. In a public statement, Facebook said:

“We’re excited to announce the latest in an engaging line of optional product features geared towards making Messenger the best way to communicate with the people that matter most.

This is not the first time that Facebook has tried to introduce the idea of ephemeral messaging. It had previously introduced “Poke” in 2012 that was almost a copy of SnapChat, which had to be discontinued because it did not perform well. Eventually, they came out with another app called “Slingshot”, which was once again a take on SnapChat along with a couple of personalized features such as the fact that it required a photo in return before a message could be viewed.

Anyway, what’s done is done, let’s just hope this feature doesn’t tank too. And for all those wishing to erase a message already sent, or wishing you never sent them out and hoping it would get lost in the universe and never come up again – this could be your dream come true.

November 13, 2015