Fitbit Public Preview adds food & water logging, more as app redesign comes to free users
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Skype for Web (& Chromebooks) adds calling to mobile phones & landlines, guest mode & more
After launching Skype for Web worldwide back in June and also bringing it to Chromebook users, today the previously chat-only web app is adding support for making phone calls and other new features.
Hangouts web update brings faster experience and streamlined look
Google’s giving the web Hangouts a revamp today. The interface (as seen above) is more minimalist and takes advantage of the full screen. Under the hood, calls should start quicker and have higher resolution. Rounding up the list of changes is a simpler invite system.
Here’s what Googler Eduardo Fernández had to say about the update:
Today, we’re introducing a new calling experience for Hangouts on the web that loads more quickly, renders video more sharply, and streamlines the interface so you can focus less on where to click and more on what to say. We’ve been using this new calling experience at Google for a while now. It’s early days, but we hope you like it as much as we do. (Note: This is not available for Google Apps for Work customers.)
Key changes include:
• Calls that start faster and stay crisper, with higher quality video
• A more streamlined and immersive full-screen interface
• A simpler way to invite friends and family to your calls
Starting today, a small group of users should see the improvements and it will be fully released over the coming days. The update is not yet available for Google Apps for Work customers.
Chrome 47 beta brings splash screens for Android web apps, notification management for desktop, more
Google is releasing the beta of Chrome 47 today that introduces as number of new features across platforms including new splash screens for Android web apps, improved management for push notifications on the desktop, enhanced multitasking and more.
For the new splash screens, developers will be able to take advantage of splash screens when their web apps are launched from an icon saved on the homescreen. Google points out that “apps can take a few seconds to load” and presenting a nice looking splash screen will “allow apps to show something meaningful to users as the app loads, improving perceived performance” for users.
In addition, Chrome 47 beta brings an improved push notification experience for desktop users on Mac, Linux, Chrome OS and Windows by introducing auto dismissing notifications:
“Sites such as social media or email can generate a large number of push notifications that take up screen space and aren’t particularly relevant unless viewed soon after posting. The new version of Chrome now allows developers to configure automatic dismissal of desktop notifications, improving the experience for these kinds of notifications. Sites can set NotificationOptions.requireInteraction to indicate the notification should remain onscreen until the user dismisses it.”
And lastly, the 47 beta release brings what Google refers to as “Cooperative multitasking with requestIdleCallback()”, something developers can take advantage of to improve performance by allowing apps to run during “idle time” when resources aren’t being used by other tasks.
Google has more info on the release here.
Chrome 46 comes to stable channel, removes ‘OK Google’ hotword search on desktop
Google earlier this week pushed the Chrome Android app to version 46, and now the browser’s desktop clients and Chrome OS are seeing the update as well. While Google has yet to publish and official list of changes for the Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux version (although we have noticed the removal of one major user-facing feature), we do have a quick look at the changes that version 46 is bringing to Chrome OS…
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Pressure-sensitive screens coming to Android as Synaptics announces new display controller
Synaptics has today announced the ClearPad 3700 force-sensing touchscreen controller, which the company hopes will be packed inside many a 2016 flagship Android smartphone. This comes just about a month after Apple’s September 9th event, at which the Cupertino company announced the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, both packing “3D Touch” as a headline feature…
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Sony Xperia Z5, Premium and Compact get a healthy price cut before they’ve even launched
The Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Premium and Z5 Compact have all had price cuts before they’ve even hit the market. Prices were revealed just a few days ago, and Sony has already seen fit to adjust the price points. Perhaps in response to the sense of disbelief at how expensive they would be…
Viewing websites in Chrome should now use 10% less memory on average [Video]
Following the public release of Chrome 45 a couple of days ago, Google yesterday detailed an important new feature for mobile: Chrome Custom Tabs. Now, Google is showing off more of the performance improvements that the company has introduced in the latest version, allowing Chrome to use less memory and power on the desktop. In one example, it seems Google has managed to reduce the memory footprint of most sites you visit through the browser…
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New Xperia Z5 press pictures leak from official channels
XperiaBlog.net is reporting that official Sony Mobile accounts across social media channels today inadvertently published press pictures of the yet-unannounced flagship Xperia Z5 smartphone. Note that we ourselves weren’t able to verify this.
Sony itself teased earlier this week the unveiling of a smartphone “with greater focus,” and that all would become clear on the 2nd of September. That date, of course, falls during IFA Berlin, the annual technology trade show where Sony will be present and has been known to unveil new hardware. The images seem to show the phone packing another one of Sony’s Exmor RS pixel-stacked image sensors, although XperiaBlog.net states that the images confirm this one is a 23MP sensor — Sony doesn’t publicly list a 1/2″ 23MP sensor on its sales site, so it would have to be one they haven’t announced yet.
Aside from that, the images show the phone in gold, white and dark turquoise colors, as well as an “Xperia” logo engraved on one side, which we haven’t seen on previous models. We predicted earlier this week that this new phone could come with Sony’s hybrid autofocus technology, which Sony says combines two technologies — Phase detection AF for quick response and Contrast detection AF for added precision — to allow “fast, accurate focusing in all situations, even if your subject is moving.” Sony’s software is widely panned for softening up images and doing other things to negatively degrade them.
Acer Chromebase Touch review: An affordable all-in-one touchscreen desktop PC [Video]
The rise of Chrome OS has been nothing short of fantastic. With so many of our daily computing needs being met with online services, having a laptop which “only runs a web browser” and a bunch of useful web apps isn’t such a bad idea anymore. You can save on costs massively, and still be able to do almost anything you need to do. Unless you need lots of storage for gaming or media, it’s hard to argue against buying a Chrome-based notebook.
But is the same true of a desktop? I’ve been using the Acer Chromebase Touch for the past week or so and, as much as there are frustrations, there are also things I really enjoyed.
Sony launches Xperia C5 Ultra and Xperia M5 ‘super mid-range phones’
Just a few days after the press renders leaked, Sony has officially taken the wraps off its newest ‘super mid-range smartphones’. The Xperia C5 Ultra is a large phablet, while the M5 is a more traditional size and shape for a smartphone. Both are aiming to offer almost-flagship specs for a lower price, and will hit store shelves in select markets from the middle of August.
We’re live at the Moto event, ‘a better mobile relationship’
It’s early but we’re here at the Moto ‘Choose a Better Relationship” event in NYC. We’re obviously expecting a new Moto X and Moto G but we’re really excited to see what a better mobile relationship entails. We’re live! Head below for the latest.
Touchscreen + Chrome OS: Do they work together? [Video]
Acer did something a little unusual last month when it announced an all-in-one Chromebase desktop with a touchscreen. It’s the first of its kind, and the company hopes it can bring something unique to the market. I’ve been testing it for the past week and, although it’s clearly not an input replacement for the mouse and keyboard, it actually has its uses.
The entire 21.5-inch 1080p panel has a layer of touch sensors over the top of it. It’s ten-point multitouch, and can be used to do all manner of things. It’s mostly intuitive too. There’s little unusual or unfamiliar if you’ve been using touchscreen smartphones for any length of time.
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How to mirror or stream content from your Android device to Mac or Windows PC [Video]
Apple and Google products don’t always play together nicely, but when they do, it’s normally because a third party has created an application or two to get them talking to each other. That’s exactly what Reflector 2 for Mac does (among many other things). If you’ve been wondering how you can get content from your Android smartphone or tablet mirrored or streamed to your Mac (and Windows PC, if you’re into that kinda thing), this is one really easy way.
Acer Chromebase Touch: Unboxing the all-in-one Chrome OS touchscreen desktop [Video]
Acer recently unveiled a new range of all-in-one desktop computers running Chrome OS. The Acer Chromebase Touch is one of the company’s most recent models, and it has a 21.5-inch, full HD touchscreen. It’s powered by a Tegra K1 quad-core processor, 4 GB RAM, 16 GB of storage and a couple of 3W front-firing speakers.
Instagram rolling out support for high-res images on iOS and Android
Instagram has announced today that it is rolling out support for higher resolution 1080 x 1080 pixel images. This doubles the previous upload resolution of 640 x 640 pixels, and you’ll probably notice very soon that the photos in your stream are looking a bit crisper.
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Google brings new emoji, hundreds of new customizable themes to Gmail
Google announced today that it’s rolling out a ton of new themes for Gmail — the built-in feature that allows customization of your inbox with color palette options and background images — as well as new emoji.
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Incoming Google Photos app with ‘Assistant’ feature gets shown off in screenshots
Today we’re getting a look at an upcoming new version of the Google Photos app courtesy of some screenshots obtained by AndroidPolice. The app features a new Assistant mode that appears to replace the old Autoawesome feature with a more manual editing experience, as well as something new features and tweaks to the overall user experience.
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HTC RE camera w/ free accessory bundle $150 shipped (Reg. $260)
Mother’s Day is May 10th and HTC wants you to give your mother something cool and memorable this year, and what’s more quirky than HTC’s Re camera?
Through May 10th, HTC is offering the Re for $149 shipped, which is $50 off the regular price, and is even throwing in an accessory bundle which would normally run you $60 separately. The bundle includes a bar mount, a clip mount, and a protection pack, each of which make the Re a little more versatile when you’re out on the go getting those sweet action shots.
Yahoo unveils new suite of dev tools including search integration for other apps
After announcing its first dev con last December, Yahoo today kicked off its mobile developer conference in San Francisco where it unveiled five new products for mobile app makers. As suspected, Yahoo revealed the latest tools from Flurry, the mobile ad and analytics firm it acquired last July.
This includes Flurry Analytics Explorer, a new dashboard for the Flurry Analytics system which it says enables developers to discover more insights with than before, and Flurry Pulse, which lets app builders “share app signals with partners using their existing Flurry SDK implementations and the click of a button.”
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Dell introduces new affordable Chromebook 11 w/ 180-degree hinge, better durability
Today Dell is launching the next generation of its education-aimed Chromebook 11, and the laptop comes with many improvements—durability and affordability were the focus with this device according to the company—that make it a worthy upgrade. The device packs an 11-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution screen (which is definitely nothing special), but there are a few things about this laptop that set it apart from the rest (and from its predecessor).
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HP quietly launches new higher-end touchscreen variation of the Chromebook 14
HP has quietly launched a new version of the Chromebook 14 (via OMGChrome), a laptop the company launched earlier this year that was met with much criticism over its less-than-perfect screen. Now, with a more expensive revised version of that device (but the others aren’t going anywhere, obviously) being available, customers have the option of going with a touchscreen Chrome experience and slightly improved specs over its little brothers. HP said that it would be coming soon at the launch of the Chromebook 14, and it looks like company has now followed through with that promise.
Quartz OS custom Linux distribution aims to bring Material Design to the desktop
Google ushered in a new design language called Material Design as one of the biggest new elements of Android Lollipop, and an upcoming Linux distribution called Quartz OS aims to bring the clean and simplistic user interface to the desktop. Quartz OS is essentially the marriage of Material Design and Linux, aiming to harness the flexibility and power of the JavaScript-based markup language QML.
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Toshiba introduces 13.3-inch 1080P Chromebook 2 with 11.5 hour battery life, 4GB RAM and Skullcandy speakers
Toshiba upped its already solid Chromebook game today with the aptly-named Chromebook 2 laptop. With an optional 1920×1080 pixel display, Haswell processor, 4GB of RAM, HDMI AV out and AC/Bluetooth 4 wireless, it ticks most of the boxes on what you’d want on a high end laptop. It even claims 11.5 hour battery life and new forward facing speakers designed with help from Skullcandy.
It comes in starting at $249 for the 720P 16 Model and is set for release on Oct. 5
Spec sheet follows:
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Oppo’s Find 7a UHD capabilities shown off in cinematic camera demo
Oppo’s latest flagship smartphones are packing some serious specifications. Internally, the Find 7/Find 7a are not much different than Samsung’s Galaxy S5 or the HTC One (M8), but Oppo has made an effort to beat the pricing of both devices. YouTube creator Danny Winget has put together a camera test demonstrating the exceptional UHD video recording capabilities of the Find 7/Find 7a’s camera. The results look incredible and it’s actually hard to believe that this footage came straight from a smartphone.