Android

Twitter for Android has received a pretty sizable update this evening that includes improvements to photo sharing, as well as realtime news stories at the top of your timeline. New to photo sharing is the ability to easily @ mention people when tweeting a photo. While editing a photo, the app will now remind you to @ mention the people or places that are in your photo.

Also new are realtime stories at the top of your timeline after you pull-to-refresh. This stories aren’t specific to each user, but rather based on the most popular links and headlines shared on Twitter. The app will only show these stories if no new tweets are loaded.

Twitter also touts better login verification and improvements to photo editing. The full change log is below:

New documents leaked by Edward Snowden and reported by The New York Times, The Guardian and ProPublica detail how the NSA and its British counterpart can collect users’ personal data through smartphone apps. The reports specifically mention popular apps like Angry Birds, Twitter, Google Maps and Facebook and claim the NSA is capable of intercepting information ranging from location, age, and sex of users to address books, buddy lists, phone logs, geographic data and more:
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As announced previously, Motorola will be offering a special $100 off the off-contract Moto X today only for orders placed between 3PM ET to 4PM ET or while supplies last. That brings the cost of the 16GB Moto X down to $299 and the 32GB down to $349. If the deal works anything like Motorola’s Cyber Monday deal you’ll receive a promo code via email shortly after signing up for the discount. Keep an eye on Motorola’s discount page as we get closer to the sale. 
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Following preorders of the device going live at AT&T last week, T-Mobile just announced that the new 6-inch curved LG G Flex smartphone will arrive on its network starting February 5. While AT&T is offering the Flex for $299 on its usual two-year contract, T-Mobile will offer it for $0 down with monthly installment plans of $28 for 24 months. The carrier is listing the full retail price of the device at $672 and T-Mobile notes that LG is offering customers 6 months of free Netflix access with the deal. Preorders kick off today through T-Mobile’s website. 
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Guests at two boutique hotels in Manhattan and Cupertino will soon be able to skip the check-in desk and go directly to their room, using an Android app to unlock the door. The WSJ reports that the Aloft Hotel will launch the new service this quarter.

Guests at these properties will receive a message on a Starwood app containing a virtual key, which will unlock the door with a tap or twist of their phone through the use of Bluetooth technology. The company says the iPhone 4s or newer models and the Android phones running 4.3 or newer will be compatible … 
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Increasing competition in the Android market is placing Samsung under increased pressure, says Kantar, reporting sales figures for the final quarter of 2013.

After years of accelerated growth, Samsung is now coming under real pressure in most regions, with European share down by 2.2 percentage points to 40.3% and in China its share ended the year flat at 23.7% … 
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Samsung announced in a press release today that the South Korean company has signed an agreement with Google to mutually license one another’s existing patents as well as all patents filed over the next decade.

The agreement follows countless patent lawsuits between Samsung and Apple regarding hardware implementations of various cellular technologies as well as mobile software design and features.

“This agreement with Google is highly significant for the technology industry,” said Dr. Seungho Ahn, the Head of Samsung’s Intellectual Property Center. “Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes.”

Since Google and Samsung don’t typically engage in patent battles with each other, the contract doesn’t seem poised to actually prevent many lawsuits. The move will likely prove to be more symbolic of the companies’ commitment to collaboration than an attempt to quell disputes.

KGI Research has issued its predictions for Samsung’s next flagship Galaxy device. The document suggests that the phone will be available in two different configurations. The standard version will come equipped with 2 GB of RAM, a quad-core Qualcomm MS M 8974AC or 8-core Samsung Exynos 5422 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 2 MP front-facing camera, a 16 MP rear camera, and a massive 5.2-inch full HD AMOLED display.

A second, “prime” configuration will feature an upgraded 8-core Samsung Exynos 5430 processor, a quad-HD AMOLED panel, and 3 GB of memory. The other components will be the same between devices.

The big story here, however, is the inclusion of a fingerprint scanner no doubt designed to rival the Touch ID sensor found in Apple’s iPhone 5s.  The document also indicates that the phone will have “3D gesture support,” which we suspect may point to an expansion of the existing air-gesture system.

Motorola has just announced via its Twitter account that it will be offering the Moto X without contract for $100 on January 27th. The deal will apply to any Moto X, meaning that the 16GB will run just $299 and the 32GB will cost $349. That’s just $100 more than Moto G. The catch, however, is that the deal will only run for one hour and “while supplies last.” The offer will be available from 3PM ET to 4PM ET on the 27th of January.

Xtra sweet deal alert: Jan 27 3-4PM ET $100 off any #MotoX w/o contract while supplies last… (1/2)

— motorolaus (@MotorolaUS) January 24, 2014

Motorola also notes that, until Valentine’s Day (February 14th), the Moto X will be available for $70 off, should you miss out on the $100 off offer. That means that the 16GB model will be available for $330 and the 32GB for $380 It looks like that offer will kick in after the $100 off offer sells out on the 27th.

If you miss out, you can still get $70 off any #MotoX w/o contract until Valentine’s Day. (2/2)

— motorolaus (@MotorolaUS) January 24, 2014

These are certainly amazing deals. Let’s just hope that these sales go better than the Cyber Monday deal the company attempted to hold…

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Adobe has just announced a significant update to its Photoshop Express app on Android. In a blog post, the software company announced a brand new version of the app, rebuilt completely from the ground up with KitKat in mind. Most notably, Adobe has focused on design with this update and making the app easier to use by bring the most popular features front and center. This includes things like, Looks (filters), cropping, red eye reduction, and auto-correct.

Also updated is the Corrections menu. This menu offers slider controls for fine-tunning exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, temperature, tint, and more. The app has received many improvements under the hood as well. It’s powered by Adobe’s latest image rendering engine, which is a first for the Android app. This engine will greatly improve performance with large file sizes.

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It’s no secret that 2013 was the best year that Motorola has had for quite a while, even contending for the crown of the best OEM of the year. Much of the company’s success is thanks to its CEO, Dennis Woodside. Woodside has made headlines for his comments before, and just recently, he conducted an interview with Trusted Reviews, during which he made some very interesting comments regarding the pricing of phones, as well as customization. Motorola has revolutionized both of these categories already, with Moto Maker and the Moto X and the $179 Moto G (via Droid Life).

First, Woodside commented on how even the $179 price tag for the Moto G is considered a lot of money in many parts of the world. He adds that the company is looking for ways to further trim down the prices of devices.

“In much of the world $179 is a lot of money so there’s a big market at a price point of less than $179. We’re going to look at that and just delivering on that value promise is super important. I mean why can’t these devices be $50? There’s no reason that can’t happen so we’re going to push that.”

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Last week, Motorola finally announced the highly-anticpated wood-finsihed backs for its Moto X. The company announced Walnut, Ebony, And Teak finishes for the device, in addition to the Bamboo option that has been available since December. Today, the three new finishes are finally available on Motorola’s Moto Maker website for an additional $25. The options are applied like any other Moto Maker customizations, with the only difference being the $25 fee (via Droid Life).

Customizing your Moto X with wood finishing does not appear to affect the shipping times, with people who placed their order today receiving an arrival estimate of this Friday, January 24th.

The Moto X with Ebony, Teak, and Walnut finish is available now on Moto Maker, coming in at $425 for 16GB and $450 for 32GB.

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From 9to5toys.com

For a limited time only, Google is offering 25% off of select Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 accessories on the Play Store. Unfortunately not every accessory qualifies for the deal, but many of the most popular ones do. The Nexus 7 sleeve, case, and folio are all available for 25% percent off, while the Nexus 5 bumper and QuickCover qualify for the offer.

• Nexus 7 Sleeve – $22.49
• Nexus 7 Case – $37.49
• Nexus 7 Folio – $37.49
• LG QuickCover for Nexus 5 – $37.49
• Nexus 5 Bumper Case – $26.24

Of course, even with the 25% discount, all of these accessories are still considerably more expensive than they should be. You can find much better cases and folios, for both the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7, a lot cheaper on Amazon. If you want official, Google/LG made products, however, than this deal is certainly nothing to complain about.

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Like he has done before, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller has taken to his Twitter account to share a new report highlighting a much higher amount of security threats on Android compared to iOS. Schiller linked to Cisco’s 2014 annual security report covering mobile malware trends over the last year, which happens to highlight a rise in malware on Android as one of its key takeaways:

Ninety-nine percent of all mobile malware in 2013 targeted Android devices. Android users also have the highest encounter rate (71 percent) with all forms of web-delivered malware.

That 71% encounter rate for web-delivered malware on Android compares to just 14 percent for iPhone users, according to the report. The report’s finding that 99 percent of all mobile malware last year targeted Android marks an increase for Android when comparing to the last report Schiller shared. In March of last year, Schiller shared a report from security firm F-Secure that estimated Android had around 79% of all mobile malware for 2012 compared to just 0.7 percent for iOS.
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It wasn’t so long ago that buying a camera capable of 4K video recording would set you back well into five figures; today, you can do it on a smartphone. Acer got there first with the Liquid S2, followed by Samsung with the Galaxy Note III. If leaked software obtained by ExperiaBlog is indeed intended for the Xperia D6503 Sirius – codename for Sony’s successor to the Xperia Z1 – Sony will soon be joining the list.

A screengrab of the camera app shows a 4K video button whose description reads ‘Record video in 4K ultra high definition.’ Other camera features shown are slow-motion video (rather strangely labelled ‘Timeshift video’), background defocus (emulating the shallow depth of field of a large-sensor DSLR) and various add-on effects … 
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We’ve previously reported AT&T picking up the LG Flex, a massive phone with a curved display and tough reviews, and today the carrier officially announced plans for pre-order sales.

Starting Friday, January 24th, AT&T customers will be able to pre-order the LG Flex with its 6″ curved display for $299 with a two-year contract.

“We’re proud to offer the LG G Flex, our first smartphone with a curved screen, in the U.S. and add the device to the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president – Devices, AT&T. “We offer smartphones and devices to fit every lifestyle. There’s nothing quite like the LG G Flex to enhance viewing video and images. The unique design is great when using your thumbs to type a message and at the same time, delivers a great experience for video enthusiasts. Combined with AT&T’s premium network, the nation’s most reliable wireless service, you have an unbeatable combination of features and value.”

AT&T also says customers can purchase the device using its EDGE program: “Customers also have the option of paying $26.74 per month with AT&T Next 18 or  $34.75 per month with AT&T Next 12.” The hardware is quite different from other handset offerings with a power/volume toggle on the backside just under the camera in addition to the ability to “tap” the display on and off.

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We’re not fans of manufacturer overlays, preferring our Android experience undiluted, but a leaked screenshot suggests that a revamped version of Samsung’s TouchWiz user-interface may actually be both attractive and useful.

Leaked by usually reliable source @evleaks, the screenshot shows live updates covering everything from flight delays to delivery notifications. It’s not known whether Samsung is grabbing the data from Google Now, and merely overlaying its own user-interface, or creating its own data feeds … 
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