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.
Kickstarter: Travel Card Smartphone Charger
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.
Review: Front Facing Flash (XDA App)
The XDA Developers forum is a massive online community dedicated to trying new things on Android. They’re well-known for their comprehensive Android rooting and ROM flashing guides for virtually every phone released in recent history.
Android Wear Coming to Wearables in Q2 2014
Sundar Pichai, Google’s Senior Vice President of Android, Chrome, & Apps, announced in a post on the Official Google Blog today that Android Wear and smartwatches running the new operating system would be available to consumers as soon as Quarter 2 of this year.
Microsoft Surface 2 With LTE Now On AT&T
Microsoft continues its push to make their Surface tablets more relevant, this time in the form of an LTE connected version on AT&T. Microsoft took to their Surface blog to announce the new Surface 2 with LTE (which is available today). The full press release is below.
Sacramento Kings Give Fans A Google Glass Perspective
Tech wearables are starting to gain traction in the mainstream, and no where is this more noticeable than with Google Glass. Virgin Atlantic is experimenting with Glass on select flights and the military is even taking a page from Glass to build their own version. Now Glass is making its way into the world of sports. The Sacramento Kings have plans on wearing Glass to give the fans a perspective of the game ranging from the sidelines to the cheerleaders view (and maybe soon the players perspective itself). Sacramento Kings Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum joined General Manager Pete D’Alessandro and Kings Assistant Coach Micah to demo the idea in a YouTube Video. I really enjoyed the first person perspective from the ball players point of view, check it out after the break.
Pocket Casts Gets Chromecast Support On Android
Shifty Jelly, creators of the beloved podcasting app Pocket Casts, have issued an update to the Android version of the app. Pocket Casts v4.5 now brings the promised and greatly anticipated Chromecast support to the service.
Cloud Storage, Which Do You Prefer?
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.
Plex Introduces Camera Upload
There are lots of people who think Plex is an awesome service and some people who have yet to discover it. Well for those who … Read more…
Review And Giveaway: TYLT Tunz Bluetooth Speaker NOW CLOSED!
We’ve reviewed a fair amount of TYLT products here at Techaeris, and we rated all of them very high. This time around TYLT sent me their TUNZ Bluetooth speaker to check out and review. Of course, being no stranger to TYLT, I expected top of the line packaging and they didn’t disappoint. TYLT is one of those companies who puts thought into the entire experience of buying a product. From packaging to final product.
Google Drive Now Gives More For Less
Scott Johnston, Director of Product Management at Google Drive, put out a press release today announcing revamped storage payment options for Google Drive.
Free users will retain their current limit of 15GB of storage, but now you can acquire up to ten terabytes (TB) for insane prices.
Google Facing Potential Class Action Suit Over In-App Purchases
A mother has filed a class action complaint in California against Google over in-app purchases made by her son. The story begins with the mother buying a 99¢ game, Marvel Run Jump Smash, for her son. By buying the game, her Google account was left authenticated for 30-minutes (by design) so that in-app purchases would not require a password. In that 30-minute window, her son bought $65.95 in virtual in-game currency known as crystals.
Google+ Email Login Exploit Found And Fixed
We’re just learning of a new exploit found that could have potentially lead hackers into your Google account and from there other accounts you might have linked to your Google+ email (the exploit has since been fixed). Tom Anthony writes about the exploit in his blog dated today. Read the tl;dr below.
Analysts Agree, Windows Phone Has Passed Blackberry
Most of us have already assumed that Blackberry’s position at the top (in the U.S.) was coming to an end. We also assumed that Windows Phone would likely pass Blackberry at some point. International Data Group made the call earlier that Blackberry had lost its third position to Windows Phone but not everyone agreed. But now comScore has also verified that their data points to Blackberry slipping to 4th and Windows Phone pulling into the 3rd slot behind Android and iOS, albeit a distant 3rd.
Kickstarter Prescient AudioCase for iPhone 5/5s & Galaxy S4
I’ve used many cases in my time as a blogger and smartphone user. Everything from a simple bumper to a heavy duty waterproof/dustproof case. I’ve even used a decent amount of power cases. But Prescient Audio is making something just a bit different from what I’ve ever used before. The AudioCase is not only a protective case and extra battery. It also houses a premium speaker inside which Prescient Audio is saying will deliver high quality sound. It’s really a neat concept and one we hope can deliver. Check out the video below.
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.
Review: Limefuel L28N5 Nexus 5 Battery Case
There is no shortage of battery cases for the iPhone, and there are a decent amount for the Samsung Galaxy S4. They’re all over the place on Amazon and various other online retailers. But it is a rare thing indeed to ever find such a thing for Google’s flagship Nexus phone, the Nexus 5. However, we ran across a crazy awesome company called Limefuel and they’ve taken it upon themselves to create one just for you and me…the Limefuel L28N5, a 2860mAh battery case for your Nexus 5.
Google Is Readying Glass For A Kit-Kat Upgrade
As an almost Glass Explorer I try and follow Glass news as closely as I can. I had the opportunity to get Glass on a … Read more…
Google Maps Flaw Leads To Intercepted FBI And Secret Service Calls
Anyone can add new listings to Google maps and, usually, this is a good thing™. Unfortunately spammers have discovered this, and some categories (such as locksmiths) are overrun with fake listings. There’s a new twist now that may have very serious consequences: anyone can add government agencies to Google Maps with almost no spam filtering on Google’s part. One hacker added fake entries for the FBI and Secret Service with phone numbers under his control. If you called one of those fake numbers you were automatically rerouted to the right number, but the hacker in the middle was recording your call.
imo Discontinues Support For All Third-Party Messaging Networks
In an email sent out to imo users, the company has decided to discontinue support for third-party messaging services. The company says it wants to concentrate on strengthing its own services and effective March 3rd support for all others will terminate. With all of the available messaging services on the market it makes some sense that imo would want to focus on its own development. Although some users do enjoy having a place to concentrate all of their services in one place. We will see what user reaction is to this announcement, could go either way. Read the full email after the break.
Google Now Launcher Available For All Nexus Devices
Google released a standalone version of the Google Now Launcher on February 26, 2014 that supports all Nexus Android devices. The Google Now Launcher is available for Google Play Edition devices as well, but users should note that it is only supported on Nexus and Play Edition devices running Android 4.4 KitKat or later.
Google’s Sundar Pichai Says Android Not Designed To Be Safe, But What Does That Mean?
The blog’s are exploding with one short quote that Sundar Pichai has made about Android. Before I get any further, read the quote below.
We cannot guarantee that Android is designed to be safe, the format was designed to give more freedom. When people talk about 90% of malware for Android, they must of course take into account the fact that it is the most popular operating system in the world. If I had a company dedicated to malware, I would also be addressing my attacks on Android …
Lenovo Announces Yoga Tablet 10 HD+ At Mobile World Congress
Lenovo announced their next generation Yoga tablet today at Mobile World Congress, the Yoga 10 HD+. The original Yoga tablet was a hit and miss with some consumers. Some users were expecting a little more heat under the hood than Lenovo delivered the first time around. The Yoga 10 HD+ should hopefully remedy those issues with some bumped up specs and very nice hardware. With the purchase of Motorola you can certainly expect to see more of a push into the tablet and smartphone space from Lenovo. Having spoken to their marketing VP personally I know they’re very excited to move ahead in mobile and are doing R&D into what mobile users (especially Android users) want and need in their mobile products. Let’s hope they stay true to that motivation and start churning out some solid competitive products. Check out the specs below for the Yoga HD+ and read the press release from Lenovo below.
Kickstarter: Limefuel IP66 Rugged External Battery
There are a ton of external battery options out on the market, just browse Amazon and you’ll find them practically jumping out of your screen! We’ve reviewed a few here on Techaeris and sometimes we investigate new stuff coming out. We ran across a company called Limefuel yesterday and found their latest Kickstarter project for their IP66 Rugged. The battery itself looks amazing, you can read more about it after the break. What really impressed me was the fact that these guys launched their Kickstarter campaign and in just one day hit their $30,000 goal!
More Power! TYLT Energi Sliding Power Case For Galaxy S4
There are those that use their smart phones as really nothing more than a vehicle for talking and texting. They might fire up a navigation app every now and then, or post to social media, but by and large they cruise through the day with nary a worry of battery longevity or charging solutions. I am not one of those people.
HTC Email Commits To Android Upgrades And Replacing Screens
HTC sent out an email to users today committing to keeping their software up to date and replacing cracked screens on new owners HTC One’s, they’ve dubbed it HTC Advantage. The entire email is below for you to read.
Welcome To The New And Improved Techaeris
Hey there folks! You might have noticed a few things have changed here at Techaeris HQ! Well we up and moved the entire site off of WordPress.com in order to have a little more control over what we can and cannot do. We enjoyed our time over at WordPress.com and thank them for hosting us and being very kind to us.