Amazon Prime Music is real, unlimited, and ad-free

Amazon rumors come in droves, but this is one of those rare times that they do come true, not that we're complaining. After months in the rumor mill, Amazon's Prime Music streaming service is finally unveiled, it is as good as it sounds. At least, if you're an Amazon Prime Member.

Amazon Prime Music has almost anything and everything you'd ever want in a streaming music service, at no extra cost if you're already a Prime subscriber. For one, you get access to what Amazon claims is over a million songs, from artists like Daft Punk, Foo Fighters, Madonna, Bruno Mars, and more. And Amazon promises to grow that list even longer as it gets its own hands on more licenses. With that many songs to choose from, it might be a pain in the extremities to get the right mix for the right occasion. Enter Prime Playlists, a collection of, well, playlists curated and sorted by Amazon. There are literally hundreds of these, covering every combination of genre, artist and mood.

Having an almost inexhaustible collection of music is one thing, but one area where streaming music services differ is in playback. Especially those that offer their services at no cost, those will be usually be riddled by ads placed smack in the middle of the song, or limits to how many times you can play a tune, or even something as simple as requiring an active Internet connection. You will find none of that in Prime Music. You can play any song as many times as you want until it wears out your eardrums or your neighbor's patience. And no ads shall pass into your jamming time, producing embarrassing and mood killing voice overs. And lastly, you don't even need an Internet connection, at least not all the time. You can download your favorite tunes and listen to them as much as you want without interruption, even in those remote or enclosed area where signal or cables cannot reach you. Perfect for that zombiepocalypse situation.

If it all sounds too good to be true, it may be, but just a wee bit. All of these features do come for free, but only if you're an Amazon Prime member already. Right now, you can get a free taste of what that exactly means for 30-days. Be warned, however.After that period is over, you will be automatically billed $99/year for the service. If you want to jump ship, be sure to cancel your subscription before that day arrives.

SOURCE: Amazon

Story Timeline

• Amazon reportedly bringing streaming music service to Prime members


• Details emerge on Amazon streaming music service, set-top box

OPPO R3 claims to be world’s thinnest LTE smartphone

One cannot accuse OPPO of not trying to be spectacular, from the OPPO N1 that dual boots with CyanogenMod and has a swiveling camera, to the Find 7 that has a QHD display and a camera capable of taking 50 megapixel photos. But while the new OPPO R3 only sports mid-tier hardware, OPPO wants everyone to look at it as the world's thinnest LTE smartphone.

And now we're back to that almost ridiculous race for the thinnest title that seems to occupy most Chinese manufacturer's minds. That title, however, might have been recently snatched up by US company BLU, with the VIVO IV boasting a profile of 5.5 mm. The OPPO R3, on the other hand, comes in at only 6.3 mm, but there's a catch. OPPO isn't vying for just the world's thinnest smartphone. It actually qualifies the title as the world's thinnest 4G LTE smartphone. Considering that the BLU VIVO IV doesn't have that capability, OPPO might have won this round.

In terms of other specs, the R3 sounds every bit a mid-level budget device. You have, for example, a 1.6 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage, though that's expandable up to 128 GB with a microSD card. The display reaches 5 inches in the diagonal but only 720p in terms of resolution. The rear camera is marked at 8 megapixels but, strangely, the front one boasts of 5 megapixels, which should tickle pink every selfie advocate in China. In terms of software, the device runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, not exactly the lateest, and OPPO's own Color OS UI.

In terms of external design, the OPPO R3 looks plain and simple, but not exactly cheap. That said, it might be hard to pick it out from a line up of an ever-growing number of smartphones from the region. The device does boast of some special features to keep it interesting to prospective buyers, including support for 4G LTE, though seemingly only on China's bands. One special feature that it is throwing in to take your mind off the 8 megapixel camera is O-Video. This basically lets users embed videos inside photos after the fact and upload it to the cloud. Though that might sound rather trivial, the trick is that someone else, the recipient or even owner, will have to focus the camera on the original object of the still photo in order to play the video inside, sort of like a twisted augmented reality scheme. It can make for some interesting scenarios, but hardly practical if the recipient is, say, half a world away.

The OPPO R3 will carry a price tag of 2,299 RMB, around $369 when converted. Availability is still unannounced, though given how the device is finely-tuned to China's LTE networks, it might not be intended to leave those shores at all.

SOURCE: OPPO

VIA: VR-Zone, CNMO

Story Timeline

• OPPO N1 official with rotating 13 megapixel camera


• OPPO Find 7 features QHD display, 13 MP camera that can shoot 50 MP photos


• BLU VIVO IV offers a luxurious facade at budget price

Verizon releases Galaxy Note II Android KitKat update

Verizon Galaxy Note II users can now rejoice as your Android gadget finally gets its 4.4.2 update, turning your phone into a lean KitKat machine. The update brings with it new features including Google Hangout upgrades, integrated cloud storage, as well as resolving issues from its previous version. It also adds Samsung’s Knox security framework which is designed for companies who allow employees to bring and use their personal gadgets to the workplace.

Just last month, Samsung’s timetable for the KitKat updates was leaked and the Galaxy Note II and its LTE version were scheduled for an upgrade in April and May. But of course, these things rarely play out to the actual schedule and so a couple of months later, Verizon announced to its Galaxy Note II customers that they are finally getting that much-awaited upgrade. (Other Samsung products would have to wait a little more.)

One of the major features in this update is that Google Hangout can become your primary messaging app, since it now supports both SMS and MMS, as well as HD video calls. Another new feature can help those who are annoyed with the status bar and navigation keys interrupting your watching, reading or gaming. The new immersive mode can give you the option to hide all other apps except the one that you’re using, then with just a swipe, you can bring them all back once you’re done. The Google Cloud Print can also let you print documents from your phone through WiFi or Bluetooth, but only if printers that are compatible to this feature.

The Android 4.4.2 update will arrive on your device via OTA, so back-up your information and make sure you have stable WiFi and enough battery life. However, it might take some time to roll out to all users.

SOURCE: Verizon

Google I/O 2014 app goes live

Google's big conference is just over the horizon and fans of Google's products are definitely filled with anticipation. And to help both on-site and virtual attendees prepare, Google has released the Google I/O 2014 app to give them a preview of the talks, times, and locations for this year's big I/O.

Like last year's version, this Google I/O app will allow users to view livestreams when the conference takes place. Those videos can be watched both by attendees and remote viewers, but for those who will not be able to be physically present, there is an option to limit the list of sessions to only those that will have livestream coverage. Of course, you will also be able to watch videos from the previous Google I/O from 2012 and 2013.

The app's My Schedule section allows you to create your own personal itinerary for the conference, picking and choosing the sessions that interest and inspire you. Of course, it will give you reminders when those events are about to happen and even have handy directions on how to get there. As a bonus, you can opt to have that schedule synced with your Google Calendar so that you will get reminders on whatever device you're on as long as Google can reach you.

Other notable features include the usual social stuff, like sharing via popular networking sites. The app also has a setting that will remind you to leave some feedback after a session is over, much like those surveys that restaurants and hotels ask you to fill out. Google I/O 2014 is now up on Google Play Store and is ready for the taking.

Story Timeline

• Google I/O will be June 25-26 this year, changes to registration incoming


• Google I/O 2014 website goes live with registration details


• Google I/O registration starts today, sans headaches

Google Play Books to add 13 more countries to its roster

Mobile book readers in 13 countries will soon be able to access and buy ebooks through Google Play Books as Google continues to expand their market, this time in Central, North and South America, plus two more European countries. The new app update will bring a total of 58 countries where the ebooks are available, although its support page doesn't show it yet and will take some time to roll it out.

Last year saw Google Play Books add Southeast Asian and Asia Pacific countries to its roster and now, its catalog of digital books will be available in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Luxembourg, Nicaragua, Norway (they're now actually live on Play Books), Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay. They will not only be able to access and buy books, but also choose from the catalog of major textbook publishers like Cengage Learning, McGraw Hill, Macmillan, Pearson, and Wiley as part of Play Books push on education.

Users can also upload their very own PDF and EPUB files on Play Books directly from an Android device. You can use it as a kind of cloud storage so you can access these documents on whatever gadget you use and it also syncs across all devices that uses Google services. They made available that feature late last year, only to pull out the PDF support a week later because the file type was still experimental at that time. Fortunately for users who prefer reading books or documents through PDF, the function was returned a month later.

For those who aren’t too keen on reading a lot of words, or rather, prefer a more visual approach to reading, Google Play Books is also relevant to you as comic books and graphic novels are available in its catalog. DC Comics was the latest to join the Play Books family last April, staring out in the US only but eventually rolling out into other territories as well.

VIA: Android Authority

SOURCE: Google

Story Timeline

• Google Play Books lands in 9 new countries


• Google Play Books allows PDF uploads from Android devices once more


• Google Play Books now offer single issue DC comics

LG goes Prime-evil, trademarks F, G, L, W Prime names

If Samsung doesn't take the Galaxy S5 "Prime" name, someone else definitely will. LG was just caught passing by the USPTO, applying for trademarks for not one, not two, but four "Prime" names, clearly showing it intends to capitalize on the word while it's still trending.

It's not like LG hasn't used the word in one of its products before, but of late it has taken up a different connotation. The new trend can perhaps be traced back to the rumors of the Galaxy S5 Prime, which is still expected to arrive, though perhaps with an unrelated Galaxy F name, and the rumored HTC One M8 Prime, which is now rumored to have been scrapped. In other words, "Prime" has, in the past few months, been taken to refer to a more premium version of the current flagship.

However, LG already has such a premium device in the recently unveiled LG G3 so it's not the one that has to catch up. Nonetheless, it is trying to trademark the names G Prime, L Prime, F Prime, and W Prime. "G" and "L" monikers we're quite familiar with, the former bearing the higher-end specs while the latter comprise the entry-level line. "F" isn't used as much and "W" we definitely have not yet seen before. All these four are being reserved for smartphones, so there is little doubt to LG's target devices.

That said, it remains to be seen if LG will take "Prime" to mean the same way. In fact, it remains to be seen whether LG will use these names at all. Like patents, trademark filings are more often than not used to call dibs on certain things that you don't want your competitors to use. However, not all of them, or not even most, ever see the light of day.

VIA: phoenArena

Outlook Web App arrives on Android for business users

Continuing its surprising, but not unwelcome, expansion in to Android, Microsoft's Office team has announced the immediate availability of Outlook Web App for Android. But while this rather useful app will let you easily manage your work email and contacts, it has some rather steep requirements that will leave a lot of Android users out in the cold.

The most important requirement is that email accounts that will be used with OWA should be hosted on Office 365 for Business, not Personal, not Home Premium. That is somewhat not surprising considering OWA's roots come from the enterprise-oriented Microsoft Exchange Server. However, it also won't work on Outlook.com, formerly known as Hotmail to some, email addresses, though those may come at a later date. Second, it will only work on devices running Android 4.4 and higher and only those that fall under Android's definition of "small" and "normal" sizes. In other words, OWA only works on smartphones and not on tablets, which matches the compatibility constraints of Microsoft Office Mobile.

Once you manage to meet those requirements, you will be able to take full advantage of everything that the app has to offer, including easy access to Outlook email, Calendar, and People. All using the distinct "Modern" look of Windows apps, of course, and eschewing the usual Android app conventions. In exchange, Microsoft is throwing in a feature that isn't available on the app's iOS counterpart. OWA for Android can sync with Android's native Addressbook framework so that any change you do for that contact on the Android app will be reflected on Outlook and Office 365 for Business as well.

If you use Office 365 for work or pleasure, you can take OWA for Android for a spin. It's free, as long as you meet the requirements. Do note that it is marked as pre-release, so expect some bugs and major changes along the way.

SOURCE: Microsoft

Story Timeline

• Microsoft Office Mobile for Android drops the Office 365 requirement


• Office for Tablets rumored to land on Android before Windows 8