spark

Two 'spark' stories August 2014 - March 2015

Google adds female figures from history to Field Trip app, promises more Doodles honoring women

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXxfhBbt3eY]

Google has worked with a gender equality campaign group to raise the profile of achievements by women in both its Field Trip app and future Google Doodles, reports TNW.

The campaign group SPARK (Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance and Knowledge) pointed out to Google that its doodles featured women only 17% of the time, prompting the company to promise to do better in future and to add notable women from history to its Field Trip app.

Field Trip was first launched by Google back in 2012, as a background app that alerts you to interesting things around you as you travel. The original vintage UI was replaced by a Material Design refresh earlier this year. The app is also available on Google Glass.

If you want to take advantage of the new alerts, you need to check the Spark: Women on the Map option in the app. Field Trip so far features only 100 women, but anyone can nominate someone they feel should be included, suggesting that it may quickly grow.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 arriving as Sprint’s first Spark-enabled tablet Aug. 15

After 8-inch and 10.1-inch variants arriving on T-Mobile, AT&T and elsewhere in recent months, today Sprint announced that it will be launching Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 this Friday on August 15.

The tablet, which packs in a 1.2 GHz Quad-core processor, Android 4.4 KitKat, 1.5GB RAM, and a 1280×800 WXGA display, will be available through Sprint for $299.99 or $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $12.50 on its installment plan.

Sprint also notes that for a limited time it will offer customers “a $10 monthly service plan credit for 24 months, or a $240 value, with qualifying tablet and data plan of $10 or higher.”

Galaxy Tab 4 can be activated on one of the Sprint tablet data plans, including a special limited-time offer featuring 100MB of data for $10; other tablet data plans include 1GB for $14.99; 3GB for $34.99; 6GB for $49.99; 12GB for $79.99; and 30GB for $109.99 (all pricing excludes taxes and surcharges).

Sprint points out that the tablet is its first to take advantage of the Sprint Spark network:

Sprint Spark is an enhanced LTE service that’s built for data and designed to deliver average wireless speeds of 6-15Mbps and peak wireless speeds of 50-60Mbps today on capable devices, with increasing speed potential over time.5 Sprint plans to reach 100 million Americans by year-end with the service. The capability is available in the following 27 cities: Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Chicago; Dallas; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Fort Worth, Texas; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Kan./Mo.; Los Angeles; Miami; New York; Newark, N.J.; Oakland, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Provo, Utah; Salt Lake City; San Antonio; St. Louis; Tacoma, Wash.; Tampa, Fla.; Trenton, N.J; Waukegan, Ill.; Winston-Salem and Greensboro, N.C.; and West Palm Beach, Fla.

The Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 will be available through all Sprint channels starting this Friday.