Mozilla announced a major overhaul of its desktop browser today and Firefox’s Android build isn’t being left behind. Now available to download from the Play Store, Mozilla’s refreshed mobile browser ships with several technical tweaks, but the standout here is Firefox Accounts for Firefox Sync.
If you think the idea of holding a 5-inch phone to your head sounds absurd, then you’re going to love Acer’s newest doodad. Today, the company announced its new Iconia Tab 7, a 7-inch tablet that just so happens to place phone calls. This tablet/phone mashup features a a 1,280 x 800 display ( 1,024 x 600 in Mexico), a quad-core MediaTek processor, Android KitKat and a modest 3G radio — yep no LTE here. As indicated by its low-end specs, this device is targeting emerging markets, so don’t expect to see it stateside. Acer says the Iconia Tab 7 will be available in Latin America, Asia and parts of Europe. So if you hang your hat in any of these locations, you can take this hybrid device home for €149 (around $206) or 1,990 Mexican pesos (around $152).
Sprint customers rocking the LG Flex will start receiving an over-the-air notification advising of an update for their device. Not just a generic carrier update, this new software push will advance the curved smartphone to Android 4.4 KitKat. Sprint says the update will be rolling out in stages and may take several days to hit all of its customers.
If you’ve yet to receive any notifications and would like to try to help the update along, you can manually check for the software by tapping: Settings> Systems updates> Update LG software> Check now. If the update is available for your device, you’ll receive a download prompt. If not, you’ve waited this long, a few more days probably won’t kill you.
Update: Not to let Sprint customers have all the fun, T-Mobile is now rolling out KitKat to its LG G Flex users.
(via Sprint)
Last week, international Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition owners started sinking their teeth into KitKat and today it’s Verizon’s turn. An over-the-air update for Big Red’s 2014 version of the Galaxy Note 10.1 is slowly starting to trickle out to customers sporting Samsung’s slab. In addition to KitKat, the new software push ships with a few bug fixes. Highlights include: a more stable S Note widget and Chrome’s tab bar no longer flickers when in portrait mode.
If you’re new to Android 4.4, you can expect to gain Google Cloud Print support, faster multitasking and Immersive Mode, which automatically provides full screen viewing. If you’ve already managed to pull down this new software, be sure to let us know how it’s treating you and your tablet by sharing your experience with us in our comment section below.
(via Verizon)
In 2012, Google unveiled a teaser video for what would eventually become Google Glass. About two and a half minutes long, the short walkthrough highlighted a day in the life of a “Project Glass” owner. Aside from working the internet into a nerd-fueled frenzy video, the confirmed popular rumors that Google’s super secret X lab was laboring away on a new piece of wearable technology.
Samsung Mobile posted a video on its official Instagram account today, advising followers that it will unveil its next Galaxy device tomorrow at 11AM SGT. The company’s cryptic clip shows a highly detailed camera zoom in on the Red Dot Design Museum in Singapore where the media event is going to be held. It’s widely believed that Samsung will announce the heavily rumored Galaxy K, also said to be called the Galaxy S5 Zoom.
Google’s claim to fame is its ability to crawl the web and find information, however its mobile search results weren’t always the most favorable when looking for a hotel or restaurant. Sure, it pulls things up fairly quickly, but are they places that you suit your taste or better yet in your price range? Today, however, the company has released an update for its mobile search app that introduces a set of filters similar to what Yelp offers — guess that Zagat purchase is being put to use. Users can now tap the onscreen mic icon on their device and ask a specific question like “where’s the best Mexican food in downtown Los Angeles?” If you need a place to crash for the evening, you can also narrow things down by price, ratings or business hours. Currently the update is only available in the US, but Google hints that it’s working on bringing this feature to other territories.
(via Google)
The Samsung Galaxy S5’s camera is a major selling point for the company’s new flagship smartphone, however a newly discovered bug may soon turn would-be buyers away from the device. There have been several reports across the web documenting an issue with the handset’s shooter — most notably its Verizon version — that completely breaks the phone’s camera.
Google recently started selling its Nest Thermostat at its Play Store, but after acquiring the climate controlling device’s parent company for $3.2 billion, Mountain View appears to be ready to expand its brand and it’ll need some new talent to make this happen. Right now the careers section of the Nest website has plethora of job openings for engineers that could be filled by folks from Beaverton, Oregon… Beaverton, Oregon?
With the release of a new flagship smartphone, you can pretty much guarantee that Samsung will release a new marketing campaign taking jabs at the iPhone. But in the case of the Galaxy S5, the company has turned things up notch. In the past we’ve seen Sammy make subliminal references to Apple’s devices, but the company has never mentioned the iPhone by name.
Samsung has partnered with Spanish airline, Iberia to bring boarding passes to the Gear 2. This new feature will come in the form of an update to the Iberia Android app, which will allow travelers to pair Samsung’s new smartwatch with a compatible Galaxy S handset to board their flights. While this is currently limited to only one airline, it should give hope to globetrotters who’ve invested in the Gear 2 that they may soon be able hop on a plane with the flick of their wrist.
(via Iberia)
Google’s recent partnership to make the internet a safer place to play hasn’t stopped the company from working on its own products. The software giant recently opened up about a set of security enhancements to Chrome that make its famed browser safer and faster. Google anti-abuse research lead, Elie Bursztein published a post on the company’s blog detailing the measures taken to improve Chrome for desktop and Android.
The folks at Hulu have expanded their recent Chromecast efforts and thanks to a new update the company’s Android app now moonlights as a remote control for the Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 game consoles. Users can pause, stop fast-forward and rewind content directly from their mobile device. This will definitely come in handy, because it takes the strain off your controller’s battery, which should be reserved strictly for gaming.
The NBA’s Indiana Pacers have a secret weapon on and off the court and while it won’t likely improve the team’s chance of making it through the playoffs, it’s changing the way people watch professional basketball. Last month, the Pacers became the second NBA team to use Google Glass (these guys did it first) to enhance its in-game experience for fans. According to Rob Laycock, VP of marketing for the Indiana Pacers, the idea to use Glass originally came from the team’s center, Roy Hibbert.
If you’re in the market for a new phone and a new projector, why not kill two birds with one stone phone? At least that’s what Samsung is hoping for with its projector-toting Galaxy Beam 2. Aside from its major draw, the Beam 2 sports a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a low-res 800 x 480 4.66-inch display — we’re guessing Samsung wants you to focus on creating your own display with the projector.
After a successful rum across PC, consoles and iOS, 2K Games’ popular turn-based tactical RPG XCOM: Enemy Unknown is now available on Android. Priced at $10, the strategic base building game puts players in the role of the commander who leads squads of soldiers through intense combat missions against a terrifying alien invasion.
Aside from working the world into a frenzy, the recent Heartbleed phenomenon reminded us that the internet isn’t as sterile as we’d like to think. As a lesson learned, a big group of tech industry heavyweights have joined forces to stop the next big internet security threat before it happens. Companies like Amazon, Facebook, Intel and of course Google have started a new project with the Linux Foundation called the Core Infrastructure Initiative.
In honor of Take Your Child To Work Day, Google will be hosting 18 virtual field trips today via Hangouts. The search giant is partnering with Forbes to set up visits to various businesses, which include trips to: the Georgia Aquarium, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Stanford National Lab and the Chicago Bulls locker room.
Android 4.4.2 is now available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition, according to multiple media outlets and users. As of now, the software update is only available to the WiFi model of the device, but the 3G and LTE models are expected to follow suit. As a refresher, KitKat introduces features like cloud printing, immersive mode, updated status bar and an overall performance boost.
Last week Google released its XE16 software update for Glass that was recently followed by a stability patch known as XE16.1. Since the latest firmware push, some Glass users have been experiencing performance issues, with some even encountering boot loops making the $1,500 wearable unusable. While this may be discouraging for some, all hope is not lost. Google is aware of this situation and posted a message in private Glass community forum advising users that it’s working to resolve the issue.
It’s no secret that Samsung Galaxy device owners aren’t too fond of Sammy’s native software, however some folks will go to great lengths to see the company’s bloatware completely removed from their handset — even as far as paying out cold hard cash. Recently, a group of Verizon customers turned to the community at XDA Developers in hopes of finding a solution that will bring root access to Big Red’s version of the Galaxy S5.
HTC’s Advantage program offers screen replacement, a software update guarantee and 50GB of Google Drive storage. Actually, there’s a problem with that last one. At least for AT&T customers who own the HTC One M8. Recently, the Taiwanese manufacturer posted a status update on its Advantage website stating that there’s a technical issue blocking Ma Bell’s customers from redeeming their Drive storage.
Dear HTC Customers and Enthusiasts, A minor technical error has temporarily deactivated the Google Drive cloud storage offer for the AT&T HTC One (M8). Please be aware that we are working to fix this error, and the 50GB of Google Drive storage space will be available by Mid-May for this device. Thank you for your patience, and we hope you are enjoying your new HTC One (M8). Sincerely, Ed Kuhner Vice President Customer Experience
HTC didn’t provide any further details on this matter, but by saying it’s working to resolve the problem suggests that it could be an in-house issue. The company claims that things should be resolved in the next few weeks.
(via HTC Advantage)
Google is currently testing a new Chrome feature called “Stars” that will let users take just about any piece of content from the web and save it to a personalized library. This unannounced tool was uncovered by by Florian Kiersch, a German software developer who was exploring some of Google’s code. Several messages within Stars source code suggests that this new feature is still being reviewed internally by Google.
Samsung’s smartphones might be selling like gangbusters, but consumers don’t seem to care much for the company’s homegrown app suite, according to a new report. Research firm Strategy Analytics recently polled over 250 Galaxy S3 and S4 users and concluded that Samsung device users spent around seven minutes a month using their phone’s pre-installed bloatware.
In comparison, GS3 and GS4 owners used Facebook for around 11 hours per month alone. Samsung’s S Voice software averaged less than five minutes of monthly use across both devices, however the least used of Samsung’s native applications was the company’s ChatOn messaging service. It only averaged six seconds of use per month, which means that a large portions of its users could have accidentally launched the app.
Despite their lack of popularity, most of Samsung’s pre-installed apps cannot be uninstalled without a serious workaround or the purchase of a Google Play Edition device. There’s no denying that Samsung has sold a lot of smartphones, but the company may want to revise some of its software or at least give consumers the option to remove unwanted applications from their devices.