Search results for: “Viber”

OnePlus Pushes Android 4.4.4 OTA Update to Global Variants
Just a few hours after our unboxing went live, OnePlus has started pushing Android 4.4.4 to its Global variant One phones. While most issues are okay, the mic fix is the most awaited update and resolves the low audio from the microphone problem.

Full list of updates:
- Upgraded to Android 4.4.4
- Updated to new versions of Google apps
- Added Clear Image
- Added new (colder) calibration for the screen
- Proximity sensor prevents activation of off-screen gestures while in your pocket
- Capacitive touch keys supported in the recovery mode
- Increased capacitive button illumination
- Improved overall stability
- Fixed issues with vibration being disabled during Quiet Hours
- Fixed lockscreen not updating the track information during music playback
- Fixed microphone volume for all formats in the Voice Recorder app
- Fixed “OK, Google” not triggering voice search in Google Now
- Fixed Viber calls not working
- Fixed battery percent not updating in custom lock screens
- Fixed PicasaSync
- Fixed Camera “O” gesture activating lockscreen instead of triggering camera
- Fixed wallpapers not applying in full screen, taking the wrong size when cropping, etc.
This update also adds the clear image feature, which is taken from the OPPO line of devices. The process basically stitches multiple images up to make one single large image.

If you have the OnePlus One, you might want to stick your WiFi on and get on updating. If you don’t, you can watch our unboxing and play in our OnePlus One invite giveaway, at the end of the week.
August 20, 2014
Skype’s Incredible New App Translates in Real-time

Skype clearly understanding the need of the hour has created an app which might be easiest way to stay in touch with your friends around the globe. With this app, Skype stays true to its motto and hopes to make its international connections easier. The new feature automatically translates conversations in real time. Before the end of 2014, Microsoft plans to release a beta Skype app that will enable real-time translation of people verbally speaking in different languages.

Skype Translator, as Microsoft is calling it, appears to be an extension of the real-time translation Microsoft has been developing for over ten years. The company had previously shown the technology in action, with the real-time translation of speech delivered by Microsoft’s Rick Rashid in China. Even more recently, Microsoft released Bing Translator, which performs the same function as Skype Translator, just on Windows 8.

The feature, dubbed Skype Translator, was demonstrated on Tuesday by Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella during an onstage interview at the Recode Code Conference in Palos Verdes, Calif. During the demonstration, Nadella conducted a conversation with Skype chief Gurdeep Singh Pall, who was speaking German, while Skype provided real-time translation of the German into English and vice versa.

On the Microsoft Research site, the company said it’s been working on machine translation for more than a decade, and that earlier translating voice over Skype was “considered a nearly impossible task.” However, four years ago the program got a jumpstart with a project that was able to translate phone calls in real-time. Meanwhile, a separate project improved speech recognition accuracy, Microsoft said. That eventually bolstered other services that listen to human voices, like Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant for Windows Phone.

Microsoft had bought Skype in May 2011 for $8.5bn (£5.2bn) – making it the firm’s biggest acquisition at the time. However, it has been facing increasing competition from a multitude of rivals, including Google Hangouts, Apple’s Facetime, Blackberry’s BBM, Tango and Viber.

Manoj Menon, managing director at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan said that once launched, the new feature could have wide ranging applications in sectors such as education and tourism. He added that the translation feature may also help Microsoft to integrate Skype with its office social network site Yammer. Microsoft also bought Yammer – which operates like Facebook for communication within companies – for $1.2bn in 2012.

“Microsoft has acquired some great assets such as Yammer and Skype over the past few years,” Mr Menon said. “The ability to integrate these together will help unlock their value and the translate feature is a wonderful step in that direction.” Skype has also been taking other steps to try and attract more users. Last year, it confirmed that it had developed technology for 3D video calls. But it has said it could be many years before the technology is launched.

While it’s unclear how the beta app of Skype Translator will relate to Skype itself (will the two remain separate apps?), it’s certainly clear that Microsoft is moving ahead fast in terms of real-time translation.

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May 29, 2014
BlackBerry CEO : BlackBerry Messenger Coming to iOS and Android ‘Before the End of Summer’

For those millions of eager iOS and Android users who are dreaming of a day that you’ll be using BBM on your device you’ll have to a bit longer. During the quarterly call, CEO Thorsten Heins stated that BBM for iOS and Android will be released “before the end of the summer.”

It was originally rumored that BlackBerry Messenger would make its way to iOS and Android on June 27, but obviously that didn’t happen.

T-Mobile UK confused the entire Internet as they released a teaser image of BlackBerry Messenger running on a Samsung Galaxy S3 announcing BlackBerry’s popular messenger would be making its way to both iOS and Android on June 27.

Competing with top messaging services like WhatsApp, Viber, Google’s Hangouts and Apple’s iMessage, BlackBerry is betting on its messaging platform to stay relevant, and hopefully, to keep consumers engaged on its product and services. Blackberry Messenger allows users to communicate by text through data connection instead of traditional SMS text charges. It is also faster than traditional texting.

The app will be free and will work with devices running iOS 6 or later and Android OS 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher. At first, Blackberry Messenger for iOS and Android will be limited to messaging and groups, but, later, an update will bring other popular BlackBerry features, including BBM Voice, screen share, and BBM Channels.

Also, Blackberry had promised a BlackBerry 10 update for its aging PlayBook tablet, which was released over two years ago, but has reneged on the offer. According to CEO Thorsten Heins, the device just never felt right with the test versions of BlackBerry 10. The experience was not up to the company’s high standards. This is likely due to the older dual-core Cortex-A9 architecture of the 1Ghz Snapdragon chipset, along with the monumental task of having to re-engineer core aspects of the BlackBerry 10 experience.

June 29, 2013
BlackBerry 10 Now Has 100,000 Apps

Today, BlackBerry announced that the owners of devices running under the BlackBerry 10 operating system have access to over 100,000 applications through the official BlackBerry World app store, as over 30,000 new apps have been added to it in the past seven months.

Formally unveiled back on January 30, the BlackBerry 10 platform launched with 70,000 fully optimised applications in tow.

BlackBerry Z10 owners can now enjoy a wide selection of applications and games on their handsets, including Facebook, Foursquare, NHL GameCenter, N.O.V.A. 3, Slacker, Songza, Twitter, Waze, WhatsApp, and more.

Furthermore, they will soon be able to take advantage of the capabilities of other mobile applications specifically designed for them, such as CNN, The Daily Show Headlines, eBay, eMusic, Maxim, MLB at Bat, MTV News, Pageonce, PGA, Rdio, Skype, Soundhound and Viber, BlackBerry announced.

Early reports suggest that the Z10 handset has been performing well since it launched in Canada and the UK, historically two of the company’s strongest markets. There have even been stories that 50 percent of customers are moving over from Android or Apple in favor of the phone.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]BlackBerry 10 Now Offers More Than 100,000 Applications to Customers

Application catalog grows by more than 30,000 apps in seven weeks

More top brands building for BlackBerry 10 as platform launches in the U.S.

Waterloo, ON – Developers continue to support BlackBerry® 10, bringing more than 30,000 new applications to the platform over the past seven weeks. BlackBerry® (NASDAQ: BBRY; TSX: BB) today announced that BlackBerry 10 customers now have access to more than 100,000 applications for the BlackBerry® Z10 smartphone on the BlackBerry® World™ storefront.

Today, Amazon Kindle, OpenTable and The Wall Street Journal are available to BlackBerry 10 customers and in the coming weeks CNN, The Daily Show Headlines, eBay, eMusic, Maxim, MLB at Bat, MTV News, Pageonce, PGA, Rdio, Skype, Soundhound and Viber will be available for download or purchase.

BlackBerry 10 customers already have access to leading apps and games, including 8tracks, Angry Birds Star Wars, ATP World Tour Live, BBC Top Gear News, Bloomberg Anywhere, CBS Sports, Delta Air Lines, F1 2013 Timing App CP, Facebook, Foursquare, Jetpack Joyride, Keek, LinkedIn, Navita Translator, Need for Speed, NHL GameCenter, N.O.V.A. 3, The New York Times, PressReader, Slacker, Songza, Twitter, UFC, USA TODAY, Waze, WhatsApp, and Zara.
“The response to the BlackBerry 10 platform and applications has been outstanding. Customers are thrilled with the applications already available, and the catalog just keeps growing, now with more than 100,000 apps,” said Martyn Mallick, Vice President, Global Alliances at BlackBerry. “Top brands and application providers are joining us every day and are seeing the benefits of being early supporters of the new platform. We constantly hear from developers that the BlackBerry 10 tools are easy to build with and that we provide opportunities for app differentiation that they do not see on other platforms.”

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“It now appears that the already impressive levels of developer support for the BlackBerry 10 platform are accelerating into the launch window for the BlackBerry Z10. The prospect of a very robust app catalog can only bolster momentum for the product and the platform itself,” said John Jackson, Research Vice President, Mobile & Connected Platforms at IDC. “The ability to attract and sustain developer support is like lifeblood for any mobile platform, and it’s not something that simply happens. This progress is a testament to BlackBerry’s early and innovative engagement with developers worldwide and the innovative architecture of the platform itself.”

BlackBerry 10 applications take connecting to the next level with the ability to leverage social, gamification, and integration frameworks that other platforms are not able to offer. Customers can easily share applications with those in their social networks including BBM™ (BlackBerry® Messenger), Facebook, and Twitter. Applications can incorporate gaming features such as leader boards, badges, rewards and more using the Scoreloop tools, and BlackBerry 10 applications can tie to core OS integration points to allow developers to create compelling experiences to keep people moving and flow with BlackBerry 10 experience features.

In addition to apps and games, BlackBerry World for BlackBerry 10 offers access to one of the most robust catalogs of music and video content for mobile users*, with partnerships across all major movie studios, all major music labels and television networks.

The BlackBerry Z10 (all touch) is the first smartphone powered by BlackBerry 10, the re-designed, re-engineered, and re-invented BlackBerry platform. The BlackBerry Z10 will be available in the U.S. from March 22.[/toggle]

[Engadget]

March 21, 2013

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