I have had Google Drive since it’s inception, but until recently it was lacking in features compared to several other cloud storage options. The first cloud Storage I used on a regular basis was DropBox because it was easy to upload, download and share to anyone via email or link. It has been the most popular backup solution for a great many people world wide.
Giveaway! The Limefuel L28N5 Battery Case (CLOSED WINNER CHOSEN)
This contest is closed, please congratulate the winner SIRREED!
Giveaway!
Yesterday we brought you a review of the Limefuel L28N5 battery case, and it left us very impressed. Read the whole review HERE. We liked it so much we decided to team up with the awesome folks over at Limefuel to give away an L28N5 to ONE lucky Techaeris reader! Yes indeed, you could win your very own Nexus 5 battery case from Limefuel and Techaeris!
Why You Should Use Telegram Instead of WhatsApp
When Facebook acquired popular messaging platform WhatsApp on February 19, 2014, for US$19 billion in shares, stock, and cash, two things happened: The Internet went crazy trying to figure out Facebook’s angle on the purchase, and millions of users began flocking to Telegram.
Founded in 2013 by brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, Telegram is a free, open source messaging app that focuses on maintaining maximum security for its users. It is available on both Android and iOS officially and Windows Phone, Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX unofficially for free; indeed, the company makes it plain on their website that “Telegram is free forever.
Apple’s Tim Cook On Renewable Energy: I Don’t Consider The Bloody ROI
According to the Mac Observer, at Apple’s yearly shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook resoundingly rejected a suggestion by the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research that Apple not invest in renewable energy if it wasn’t profitable. In what is described as an emotional response Cook said of the suggestion:
Horizon For iOS – Eliminate Vertical Videos Forever
Vertical Video Syndrome (VVS) has been a plague on mankind for far too long. As the source link below illustrates – and as I’ve shared more times than I can remember – Glove and Boots very successfully documents the perils of VVS.
Canon PowerShot N100 Announced – Warning – Memes Incoming
Canon announced the PowerShot N100 at CES 2014. The N100 is a compact point and shoot camera with pretty decent specs. What differentiates it from other cameras is that the N100 comes with a rear-facing camera, and a “Dual Capture” mode that allows you to include yourself in your pictures.
Why Chromecast Matters
It’s no secret that 2013 was a big year for streaming media. Movies and TV shows became more widely available than ever before, the same … Read more…
Guest Editorial: Speculating on Virtual Reality (VR)
The year was 1992 and the most amazing tech I had ever seen burst onto the screen in the form of The Lawnmower man, which introduced Virtual Reality (VR) to the world. The idea was no longer about playing games on a screen but instead, going into the machine and being a part of a whole new digital world. A digital world connected to everything. A digital world that was coming.
Speculating on Overlay Tech (OT)
More and more we are bringing the machine out of the virtual world and overlaying it onto the real world. One of the more obvious examples of this is Google Glass and mapping. You can see the map before you as you drive which is much less invasive toward driving safety than looking down or over at your phone. Glass though, is only a very small step in bringing true OT (Overlay Tech) to the world at large.
Facebook To Start Selling Auto-Play Video Ads On Your Wall
Reuters is reporting that Facebook will now begin selling video ads that will appear on users Facebook walls giving Facebook more ad revenue. This isn’t … Read more…
Techaeris Visits Google’s Winter Wonderlab in Chicago
It’s not often that Google makes its presence felt in a retail setting, particularly in a mall at the start of the holiday shopping frenzy. … Read more…
Honda Integrating iOS Into 2014 Civics
Honda is integrating iOS into their 2014 Honda Civics on a whole new level, initially they integrated Siri functions into the vehicle now it seems … Read more…
Giveaway: myCharge Freedom 2000 For iPhone 5/5s
WINNER CHOSEN! CONGRATS TO CHRISTOPHER LANDRY!! Alrighty folks! We are doing yet another giveaway! This time we’re going to give away something for the iPhone … Read more…
VOTE: We Want Your Feedback, Should We Run Rumor Posts?
So we have been struggling on weather or not we should run Rumor posts here on Techaeris. The last post we made was a leaked … Read more…
Just a Little Walkabout: My 60 days on Windows Phone.
A little over two months back I hit the breaking point. Android, or more to the point, a certain set of Android users, drove me off the edge of the cliff. I had spent almost 3 years in the Google ecosystem, done just about everything possible from a Root / ROM standpoint, and just felt like it was time for something new. So, I dove off head first, no looking back, and threw myself into a new Samsung ATIV S NEO, running Windows Phone 8. This was a pretty logical move on my part, for two reasons. One, most of the interactions I deal with for work are done via Microsoft products and services, and two, no way in hell was I going to use an iPhone. I have standards. After 60 days in, here are a few of my thoughts and conclusions about Windows Phone.
Windows Phone 8 is an OS that has a HUGE potential. It could be so much more than it is, but it feels held down by a lack of simple features that anyone would expect to see in a matured OS. For example, there is a complete lack of ability to adjust the volume for different types of sound output. Everything runs through one volume control, from music to message alerts and ringtones, there is no variation, and it is damn annoying. What it led to was having to micromanage my phone big time. Since I had no way to discern what app that last “Ping” was coming from, it was impossible to triage. Every notification had to be checked, and when you work in a business that uses IM communications 20-30 times a day on top of 10-15 emails a day, it was just too much.
On the high side, the volume thing is really my biggest complaint about the OS as a whole. There are plenty of small features that need to be added or tweaked before Windows Phone can really be considered ready for the big kids, but most of those holes can be worked around, or adjusted to. Microsoft appears to be heading in the right direction with this, as the GDR 3 update addressed some of these specific issues, so patience may be the best course here. On the subject of the GDR3 update, if you are not aware of the stroke of brilliance the “Developer Preview” update is, check out the details here . If anything, it shows that Microsoft has contingency plans in place to deal with carriers or OEM’s that drag their feet pushing updates, without resorting to the draconian control Apple imposes.
The app ecosystem is…well, there is no nice way to put it, a wasteland. At just over 100k apps, it feels incredibly empty, and full of repetition. I lost track of the number of weather apps available. The Store app is challenging to navigate, as there are no pictures of apps in action, and the descriptions tend to be very short, but a quick move to the desktop version gets you a much fuller array of content, as well as pictures. If you are browsing apps, use the desktop interface, period. Everything on the app Store is “try before you buy,” allowing users to sample an app fully before making a purchase decision. It is a nice touch, but it is offset by the fact that there are no refunds on purchases, and there is no cross platform unification. Microsoft sees Windows Phone 8 as one OS, and Windows 8 as another, leading to a good amount of apps that need to be purchased twice. Halo: Spartan Assault was the only app I found compelling enough to do that with.
There are some bright spots in the desert though. Games like The Machine, and Minicraft, and a bevy of solid productivity apps like Super Calendar, IM+ and MyTube, are bolstered by an incredibly useful suite of Bing powered apps from Microsoft. Bing News, Sports, and Finance were the mainstays of my start screen. Having native MS Office and Skydrive at my fingertips was the highlight of my time on WP8. The ease and speed of document management and control is excellent, and perfect for those that work on their mobile device. These few points of light, however, do not erase the very real problems that Microsoft is continuing to have with attracting developers, and increasing the user base for Bing. Both are going to be vital to the survivability of Windows Phone as an OS, and to Microsoft as a whole. The problem is, it does not appear that the current leadership within the company has a clear plan for addressing either issue, short of cash incentives and negative ad campaigns, neither of which have shown success in sustaining long term growth.
Bing is just as integrated into WP8 as Google Search is in Android. It has a ton of functionality, including image and barcode searches baked into it, which is something Google is still app-dependent for. While the mere mention of the word sends lightning bolts through the brains of some people, I used Bing as my primary search engine for over a month, and Ragnarok did descend upon us. The most remarkable thing about the engine is actually how unremarkable it is. That’s not to say that Bing is not a rock solid search engine, fully capable of competing with Google on any given day, because it is. It is simply to say that the results, presentation and quality of searches were exactly the same as one would expect from any top flight search engine. I did enjoy the ability to grab any image straight from search, and set it as my lock screen wall. The Modern / Metro UI really shines with the ability to swipe between search categories. It speeds things up quite a bit. On that note…
Let’s talk about Modern UI for a minute. Honestly, I really did not expect much out of it, but found myself pleasantly surprised. Yes, there is little in the way of customization other than color and arrangement of tiles. No, there is really very little that you can do to work around that, other than the occasional app that lets you set an image for its live tile. Despite that, I found a really cohesive, very intuitive and user friendly experience. This is a UI that offers a level of design unification that Android would love to have. Apps, menus, and overflow interfaces all use the same input style and navigation, making for a very small learning curve. I very much felt like this was an OS designed with work and productivity in mind first, entertainment second, and the UI functionality reflects that perfectly.
Coming from long term Android use, Windows Phone 8, while possessing some unique qualities, never really broke out of the “Serviceable” category for me. I did enjoy the ease of having native Office in a portable format, and found the Bing experience excellent enough to make it my full time search engine, but the dearth of little things that were missing became its downfall for me. While I can’t place my finger on any one single aspect of Windows Phone 8 that drove me back to Android, if I had to pin it down, it would be the lack of integrated features, combined with a lack of apps to fill the gaps. The OS feels not unlike Android in the 2.2 days, finding its footing, and starting to define its direction, but with a long road to maturity in front of it. If Microsoft can continue down that path, then Windows Phone has a chance at survival in this increasingly competitive global marketplace.
We would love to hear about your experiences on Windows Phone, as well as your general thoughts. Sound off in the comments below, or on our Google+ page and Twitter.
Android HTC One & iOS7 iPhone 5 A Friendly Evaluation
It has been a few weeks now since I made the move from Android to iOS. Last week I wrote a piece about why I … Read more…
Android HTC One & iOS7 iPhone 5 A Friendly Evaluation
It has been a few weeks now since I made the move from Android to iOS. Last week I wrote a piece about why I … Read more…
A Fluff Editorial: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Way back, in the late 1990’s, I was still learning about what the internet had to offer. I had just recently had my first high speed internet (DSL) hooked up and was blazing through the pages at a whopping 1Mbps.
I decided, much like many other people, that I wanted a personal web page. There were quite a few free hosting sites available with rudimentary templates. I wanted to get my page into a search engine, which at the time was like pulling teeth for a non-technical person like I was.
My Smartphone Journey And Why I Am Back With Apple
I have been involved in the smartphone scene since the HTC Dash and Windows Mobile way back in 2006. I spent a good amount of … Read more…
Phone Choices, Can’t We All Just Get Along?
As an avid Android user I often wonder how anyone can choose another platform for their personal device on a daily basis. I fully realize that people have different tastes, and want something I might not, or need something I might not care so much about. I often poke fun at people with iPhones, Windows Phones and BlackBerrys. However, this has always been in jest and never meant to belittle anyone or their choices. Despite my lack of understanding, I have always believed that multiple platforms are a good idea as they drive change thereby bettering the experience for all users.
WINNER!!! The Draco One Aluminium Bumper For The HTC One Giveaway!
CONGRATULATIONS! Shahin Fadakar! You are the winner! Hey folks, we are giving away a Draco One Aluminum Bumper in Silver for the HTC One MSRP … Read more…
HTC Smartwatch In The Works, Says Bloomberg. Why?
Is it just me, or does it seem that HTC has been in the midst of throwing mud against the wall and hoping something will … Read more…
Move Over Snuggie Hello Yon Wearable Blanket!
So you think your Snuggie is the best wearable blanket out there? Well throw that thing out and take a look at the Yon Wearable … Read more…
Why Android First is a Myth By Steve Cheney
Written by Steve Cheney In mobile, particularly in consumer markets, there has been an ongoing debate about when or if Android will become the first … Read more…
Why Facebook Infuriates Me (And How Social Fixer Made It Better)
Written by Justin Jelinek
It really just seems to be a part of life these days – most of us use Facebook. Whether you’re a FB power user, a grandmother looking at photos of your grandchildren, or something somewhere in between the two it can be difficult to escape Facebook’s clutches.
Fanboyism and Brand Loyalty
Holy WoW. This is a perfect and great post summing up where I am today, trying to break away from the fanboy mentality. Great read!
The Real Cost Of Pirated Apps
I remember getting my first smartphone that used real and true mobile applications, the iPhone 3G. It didn’t take me long to find the jailbreak community and start modifying my phone to whatever extent I could. It was a fun time. True smartphone apps were in their infancy, but growing and maturing fast. It was also a time that my naivete was ripe. I really had no clue what it takes to develop mobile apps (or any application for that matter).
Thank You For Reading Our Site
We just wanted to send a thank you out to everyone who’s been reading the site and enjoying the content. We’re doing all we can to make this site something you’ll want to come back to on a daily basis and check out. Just a heads up to everyone, as you come and go the site may change aesthetically here and there as we tweak and change things to better fit into our topics and theme.