iOS 8 is nearly proof that Apple will build a smartwatch and it is a good estimation to think it will release this year. Many companies have a smartwatch currently on the market with many more amazing models on the way such as the Moto360 and the Kairos watch we previewed last week. The smartwatch everyone is waiting for is one the company that will make it has not even announced yet. Here’s why we should expect an announcement soon.
Currently there are three major players in the smartphone mobile operating system market, Android, iOS and Windows Phone. All of these can be found globally with different shares of different markets. Now Firefox is attempting to assert itself into a virtually untapped market starting in India, the low-budget market. While there are plenty of people who can afford the latest flagship phones from each respective mobile OS there’s an equal number of people who cannot afford to have an iPhone, HTC M8 or Nokia phone in their pockets.
SwiftKey, the Android replacement keyboard (that could soon come to iOS) is dropping it’s $3.99 price tag to FREE, permanently. You heard it! SwiftKey will now be a free app in the Google Play Store and on top of that there’s a ton of new features and customization in the latest update. Not only that but current SwiftKey users who previously paid for the app will be able to download a “Premier Pack” of 10 themes valued at $4.99 for free. This means you’re pretty much getting your money back from your original purchase.
Springpad, an iOS and Android app much like Evernote has shut down and is giving users until June 25th to export their data or migrate it over to Evernote. The company says it cannot continue to be a self-sustaining business because funding is just not there. It’s sad to see competition die off like this but it’s the reality of the business world. Not every company will remain standing, there will be a select few left hopefully enough to leave the consumer some good choice. Read Springpad’s full announcement below.
Andrea Corvi’s latest Android icon pack, KooGoo, is something altogether different. Typically, I favor minimalistic icon packs when using Nova Launcher on my Android devices. … Read more…
It should be no secret by now that I love icon packs. I love customizing my Android devices with custom themes and icons that suit my mood. Alex J. Miller of A Random Package has designed a beautiful, insanely minimalist icon pack called Banded.
There is an embarrassment of riches these days if you are a gamer. You can play high quality games at any time of the day … Read more…
Casio announced they’re rolling out new Point Of Sale terminals that are powered by Android. Which means the next time you go to the grocery store the cashier could be using an Android powered cash register and playing Angry Birds while they check you out. All joking aside, this is a pretty cool next step for an OS that continues to show it’s versatility. From Android phones and tablets to Chromebooks and business applications it seems Google and its Android system are truly making a run. I opine often about competition and the need for tech companies to continue to make in roads like this. I feel strongly about that because it should be keeping them on their toes, which is good for us the consumer. Check out Casio’s full press release about their new Android POS Terminals below. And let us know what you think about Android starting to make its way into other consumer and business products. You can hit us up in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter and Facebook. Our social links are to the left of your screen.
XDA Developers send along word that Researchers at Columbia University have created a way for iOS Apps to run on Android. While Android has certainly decreased iOS’s lead in app quality/quantity over the last few years, there are still iOS exclusives that will probably never come to Android. The University’s project, code named Cider, looks to change that.
Apple has long been known to march to the beat of their own drummer. It’s a very rare occurrence that they follow what other industry competitors are doing in terms of hardware and software. One of the things Samsung and Windows has been doing on their tablets (and phablets for that matter) is multitasking. TechnoBuffalo (via 9to5 Mac) is reporting sources have revealed that iOS8 will indeed allow users to multitask on the iPad by having two applications open at once with the ability to interact with each other. The new interface is said to only function in landscape mode, competitors allow for portrait mode too but the talk is landscape only for iPad.
Last week ComiXology, a digital comic books distribution platform, made some changes in the way they do business. They uploaded a new app to the Apple App Store to replace the app that they have had up for some time. The changes that were made were not minimal. They stripped out the in app purchase (IAP) system that they had been using and put in a cloud syncing option so that users could log in to the Comixology.com website to make purchases and then sync them to the app. Unsurprisingly, some people were upset.
An estimated 40 million users of one of the most popular mobile messaging apps, Snapchat, now have new ways to communicate within the app. Both the Android and iOS versions of the app have been updated to include private text messaging and face-to-face video calls in real time.
If you’ve ever gone looking for a new music player for your Android smartphone or tablet, you’ll know that the Google Play Store is cluttered with hundreds upon hundreds of apps in that category. Less than half of them are worth your taps, and less than half of those are worth the price they ask for. Orpheus Music Player, however, is worth every single cent of the 99 cents you’ll pay for it, and then some!
The folks over at OnePlus have finally unveiled the smartphone they have controversially marketed for the past few months (the One). There are two models available, a 16GB model for $299 and a 64GB model for $349. Did that get your attention? Even though some of this companies marketing choices have soured some users, this phone just may be worth a look, video after the break.
Venture Beat reports that Android has made the jump ahead of iOS for the first time in mobile ad traffic. In a report from Opera, it shows that Android has passed iOS and is making strides in ad traffic.
The following article reflects my personal opinion, it does not reflect that of my employer, or the Techaeris staff.
“Don’t be like Apple.”
“That was such an Apple move.”
“Android will NEVER be like Apple.”
“Samsung is the new Apple.”
Graphic designer and Android developer Samer Zayer has created a unique new look for those of you who love to skin your Android device.
It’s been one full week since I bought the htc One M8, and I would have to tell you it’s not nearly as good as … Read more…
The folks over at Re/Code are reporting an internal document from Apple shows that some of its sales force was worried about iPhone sales and … Read more…
Amazon announced their new stream box, on Wednesday, beautifully named Fire TV. For $99 this compact set-top box boasts a Qualcomm quad core CPU, 8GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM and dual band, dual antenna WiFi (because no one likes waiting for their movies to buffer). All you need is an HDMI cable and a high definition TV and you’re good to go! According to Amazon the specs alone makes it roughly 3x faster than both Apple TV and the Roku 3. Fire TV packs alot of…fire power (I know I know but I couldn’t resist).
I recently got my hands on the newest game from Itzy Interactive – Vex Puzzles. Vex Puzzles is a match 4/block elimination puzzle game with a few twists. Most notably, the way you actually have to twist your phone during some puzzles to move your blocks. Not all of Vex’s 480 puzzles require your phone’s accelerometer, but enough do that I would be sure to have two hands available during gameplay.
Re/code is reporting that Amazon will be releasing a set top streaming box next week allowing users to stream Amazon content to their TVs, this pits them squarely against Apple, Google and Roku in the streaming space. Apple has reportedly sold 13 million Apple TV units while Roku is in a hot second with 8 million. Google brings up the rear, without a solid metric but said to be in the millions, with it’s wildly popular Chromecast. The set top streaming space has no clear leader at the moment, I think people are still feeling this market out.
HTC just announced and unveiled their newest flagship phone, the HTC One M8. The M8 is the much anticipated follow up to last year’s HTC One M7. Initial impressions and reactions seem to be positive for the M8. Having owned the M7 before my current iPhone 5s, my initial impressions of the M8 are also positive. It seems HTC has managed to take an excellent design and make it that much better.
We’re almost ready to showcase our baby to the world. On April 23, the OnePlus One will be fully unveiled.
Forget gimmicks and bloat. It’s time to return to the product itself. Its design, its build quality. The feeling you get when using it. It’s time to return to user value, and make all the necessary choices to ensure that in the end, it’s the user that benefits.
Thanks for everyone’s patience and support over the last few months. We promise it will be worth it.
HTC has begun the countdown to their next big announcement, the HTC One (M8). The official countdown and live streaming site is now up and … Read more…
This week, Samsung Mobile began a limited distribution of some flagship accessories. Top tier retailers and selected employees are now actively carrying and utilizing the … Read more…
The world of headphones and earbuds is a vast sea of “what in the world should I buy!?” While at CES 2014 I spoke to no less than a dozen different headphone/earbud manufacturers. One of those companies was Bell’O Digital. They caught my eye with their beautiful, straight forward and minimal packaging of their sport earbuds. They were kind enough to send us a pair of their BDH751 sport earbuds to test out and review.
We’ve covered a couple of different small form factor charging solutions here on Techaeris and today we have yet another to choose from. This one looks to be promising as their Kickstarter campaign has already been fully funded. The Travel Card is a credit card sized external battery for your iPhone or Android device.
