Bluetooth

Just over a year ago, Nike announced that it would not be developing a FuelBand application and compatibility for Android devices. Now, times have changed. Nike has just announced that it is bringing Fuel to Android and it can be found on Google Play.

Here are the features:

NikeFuel Daily Goal – Create a goal, edit and view progress toward that goal.

Sessions – Track deliberate periods of movement, such as workouts and games, by starting and ending a Session on the Nike+ FuelBand SE. Review session data afterward for a focused analysis of movement. Users can calibrate and share sessions via Nikeplus.com.

Move Reminders and Win The Hour – Users can set up Move Reminders on their Nike+ FuelBand SE so they will remember to get moving for five minutes out of every hour. The Nike+ FuelBand App allows users to track their success with Win The Hour stats.

NikeFuel Leaderboards – Compare data with friends and the community by using Nike+ Friends and the NikeFuel community.

Activity and Session History – Analyze past activity data to see progress and patterns.

NikeFuel Daily Goal Recognition – When a goal is achieved, an onscreen celebration will appear.

Automatic Syncing – Bluetooth LE seamlessly syncs Nike+ FuelBand data to a compatible Android handset.

Profile and Settings – View and edit Nike+ account information and Nike+ FuelBand SE device settings on the app.

The launch of the app comes as Nike winds down development of FuelBand hardware and as its engineers get poached by other hardware makers like Google and Apple.

At the beginning of this year, Google and Nvidia teamed up with car manufacturers to form the Open Automotive Alliance. The two companies partnered with GM, Honda, Audi, and Hyundai and agreed to work together to form an interface in-car entertainment systems. Ever since that announcement in January, we have heard absolutely nothing about the progression of the alliance, aside from a couple of vague rumors.

Android Police, however, has now obtained quite a bit of information about the system, including tentative interface designs and functionality. The report claims that Android in the Car’s basic interface will center around four “distinct spaces.” Those spaces are navigation, music, telephony, and search.

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Android is all about options, and that means the freedom to completely rip off an iOS feature (albeit an iOS feature that was inspired by various other sources, including Android itself). Quick Control Panel presents your most-used apps, along with toggles for data, WiFi, Bluetooth, Speaker, and Orientation Lock. You can adjust the brightness of your device’s screen, and the volume of both calls and media. It even displays your music when playing, allowing you to skip or pause.
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Samsung’s Gear Fit smartwatch/fitness band is finally available online and in stores, but unfortunately, its Android compatibility is still very limited. According to Samsung, the Gear Fit will only work with 17 different Galaxy devices including the new Galaxy S5. Once again, Samsung is keeping its Gear line within the family, but luckily we’ve found a way around this small problem.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnXYhQZ5H5Q]

Samsung’s Gear Fit smartwatch is a very unique take on wearable devices. It acts as a fitness band, but functions like a smartwatch in many ways. With the Gear Fit you’ll be able to monitor your exercise habits, steps, heart rate, sleep, and more. Along with that, the device will push notifications for calls, emails, texts and updates from various social networking apps. Check out the video above for an in-depth look at the Samsung Gear Fit. Real world:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DfrPAAaSLU]

Amazon’s new Fire TV set-top box may seem like every other solution on the market, but there’s one big difference. Fire TV has built-in gaming features that will allow you to play compatible Android games that are available within Amazon’s app store. The bad news is, if you’ve previously purchased any of the compatible titles from the Google Play Store, you’ll need to repurchase them from Amazon. Check out the video overview above for an overview and demo of Fire TV gaming.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhKZ0fQhbeg]

Amazon recently surprised us with its Fire TV set-top box, offering a native solution for customers to stream movies, music, and even play games. Fire TV will only set you back $99, and in my opinion, it’s just what Amazon needed. Instead of relying on third-party streaming solutions, Amazon now has the power to take its media services in a new direction. Take a look at our overview video above to see Fire TV in action.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpY8O5Zer78&feature=youtu.be]

Motorola has just wrapped up a 25 minute Google Hangout where it showed off its recently announced Moto 360 wearable device and answered some frequently asked questions. During the event, Motorola discussed some of the inspiration behind the watch’s design, as well as revealing some more details about the device as a whole.

One instance in which Motorola’s Moto 360 is unique is its rounded design. Many other smart watches, including the Pebble and Gear are rectangular or square. Motorola says the decision to round its device was due to the iconic shape people associate watches with. The company also notes that 80 percent of watches sold today are still round. Another detail regarding the design is that the straps will be interchangeable, although Motorola says there will only be “several different options” the the bands. Ultimately, we’d love to see it use the common 22mm strap like the Pebble, but that’s unclear at this point.

There wasn’t much else revealed during the Q&A. Motorola says the device will work equally as well with left handers as it does with right handers. The device is also “aimed at women” too, which seems rather obvious. Motorola also confirmed that there is no camera in the device. As far as technical details go, the company said the Moto 360 will require Android 4.3 and BlueTooth 4.0 to be functional. In terms of size, the device is about 46 mm in diameter, which is rather large for a watch. But Motorola notes that the rounded design makes it seem a lot smaller than it really is.

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Rumors that Amazon’s set-top TV box will double as a games console have been lent weight by photos of a Bluetooth controller claimed to have been discovered in an overseas regulatory filing by Zatznotfunny.

The wireless Bluetooth controller features a gaggle of controls, including both shoulder buttons and triggers, in addition to media playback transport controls. And we give Amazon credit for using Android-esque icons for home, menu, and back … 
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN0WrJGKNk4]

Google has announced an experimental feature in the developer version of Chrome OS that allows you to access more than one user profile at the same time, easily flicking between them, as well as passing both tabs and files back-and-forth between profiles.

Switching profiles is as easy as clicking on the profile picture in the system tray popup. […] One nice thing, but still highly experimental, is that you can move windows to different profiles with a simple right click in the window top bar. As you can see in the video, even the Files App even supports this feature.

To access the feature in the Chrome OS dev channel, enter the following line:

chrome://flags/#enable-multi-profiles

If you’re not currently using the dev channel, you can find instructions for switching here, but note that by definition you can expect to experience some glitches. The stable channel is always recommended when working on anything important.

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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A company that makes smartphone-controlled door locks for hotels has announced its first home door lock system, going by the rather cringeworthy name Okidokeys.

Once fitted, you’ll be able to unlock your front door from your Android handset via Bluetooth. The locks are also compatible with RFID chips, allowing you to open them with a keycard or wristband in case your phone battery goes flat. As you’d expect from a hi-tech lock, you can also manage access and accounts online … 
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Samsung’s riding the Android game train all the way to the bank with the introduction of the new Smartphone GamePad and Mobile Console app. The GamePad and app are made specifically to “enhance the gaming experience on Samsung’s popular line of Galaxy devices. Launched in response to the rapidly expanding global mobile gaming market, Smartphone GamePad provides consumers with a fun, convenient, and advanced gaming experience anytime, anywhere.”

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Microsoft’s renewed nervousness about Chromebooks was likely influenced by advance knowledge of Dell’s announcement that it would be joining Acer, HP and Samsung in manufacturing the ultraportable laptops in January.

The machine will have a Celeron 2955U processor, a choice of 2GB or 4GB RAM and 16GB of flash storage. The screen will be an 11-inch 1366×768 display with 720p front-facing webcam. You’ll get two USB 3 sockets plus HDMI in a case less than an inch thick and weighing under three pounds. Battery-life is said to be around 10 hours … 
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I recently heard word that Google was putting the finishing touches on a Watch product. Details are slim but the person seemed to think that Google Now functionality would be at the center of the product.

Thinking about this, Google could put a lot of the functionality of Google Glass in the watch product. Push a button, ask a question, get a response as the watch talks to the Now-enabled smartphone.  Also, the ‘serendipitous’ information that Google Now shows you on your phone could come up in the watch. Time to get home, Calendar alarms, emails, SMSes, etc. all could get pushed to the watch’s display

Google is focusing on longer battery life and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. There was no word on the type of sensors and health monitoring functionality that Apple is rumored to be working on.

We’d heard earlier some details from Artem Russakovskii, which I can’t confirm, but considering my info now bears repeating:

Google will announce a Nexus watch, codenamed Gem, likely together with the KitKat announcement. The date I have, which, once again, is about a month old, is also October 31st.

My source also seemed to think “sooner rather than later.”

Google acquired WIMM Labs, an Android based Smartwatch SDK developer last year for an undisclosed sum. The company’s Smartwatch App store is still live here and contains some notable apps including Facebook.

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As a blogger, taking great, print-quality photos when covering events or doing reviews is a necessity. So carrying around a big DSLR or comparable digital camera system has become a necessary evil. I say evil because the camera world and I just don’t understand each other. The camera market has become stale and full of devices that cater to professional photographers, while seemingly ignoring the incredible innovations that have happened with mobile devices in recent years. Just because pro photogs want their tried and trusted physical controls and pricey glass, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for beautiful touch screens with easy to use UIs, WiFi, LTE connectivity, USB charging, and everything we love about the app and developer ecosystem that we get with Android.

Samsung is the only company that gets it: It’s the first to integrate what is essentially a full Android smartphone on the back of a full fledged, professional mirrorless camera system. It’s the big brother, high-end version of the Galaxy Camera (review) point and shoot it introduced last year.  It’s an intriguing concept and certainly where I hoped camera manufacturers would look to when attempting to take their professional product lines out of the stone age, so I’ve been more than excited to have the opportunity to put the device to the test over the last few weeks.

DESIGN/ SPECS:
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The mystery over whether the Nexus 5 is made by LG or Motorola appears to have been solved by FCC approval documents. The documents refer to the handset as the LG ZNFD820, but all the signs point to this being the replacement for the Nexus 4, expected to be launched in the next month or so. Google recently slashed the price of the existing handset, with the 8GB model going out of stock for good.

It appears to match the video grab we caught earlier this week.

Engadget points out that the casing images appear to be an excellent match for the phone which Google apparently inadvertently included in the KitKat promo video that it swiftly withdrew. The specs also look likely for what we expect to be a significant upgrade to the Nexus 4 … 
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