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LG G3 Smart Keyboard update enhances typing experience

The much praised LG flagship G3 smartphone has a lot going for it, in terms of intuitive design, state-of-the-art hardware and user-friendly features. One of its most praised attributes is its Smart Keyboard, with its enhancements that make the typing experience easier and even fun at times. The latest update to this virtual keyboard adds even more features that are seldom found in OEMs built-in or native keyboards.



While a lot of keyboards have a predictive text input, the LG G3’s Smart Keyboard is unique in that it can even suggest and predict what emoji you would need. If you seem to be typing curse words, then the keyboard might suggest an angry emoji to emphasise your point. It also has a Text Tone Suggestion that studies your typing habits and then suggests words that you use often, depending on the application. If you usually start your SMS with a “Hi,” then the next time you try to send a message, it will give you that suggestion.


If you sometimes use a language other than English when you type emails or messages, the Smart Keyboard will detect this and then change to the language you’re using. You don’t even have to go to the settings options, it will just turn your keyboard to French or Italian or Spanish. But maybe try to not confuse it too much by using all three languages at the same time. The Real-time Path Input lets you spell out words not by typing out the letter but by tracing the finger fluidly across the keyboard. It will also recommend words as you trace your fingers across the Smart Keyboard.


The Smart Keyboard has been heralded before for the fact that it can adjust to fit your hands’ height and thumb position, something that people with too large or too small hands genuinely need. LG President and CEO Dr. Jong-seok Park said they are also going beyond that and improving even more a “fundamental feature” that smartphone owners need. They have done extensive research to see what users really need and want from a virtual keyboard and applied it in the latest update.


SOURCE: LG



ZTE Nubia Z7 family gets into the flagship naming game

ZTE probably won't float to the top of your list if you try to think of serious contenders in the Chinese smartphone industry, at least from the vantage point of the US where ZTE's products fall more on the budget side. In China, however, ZTE is trying to reclaim lost time and presence by unveiling all the same time the three members of its latest flagship series, the Nubia Z7, the misnamed Nubia Z7 Max, and an even more dubious the Nubia Z7 mini.



The Nubia Z7 is the nominal head of the family and it definitely means business. It sports a 5.5-inch QHD screen, that's a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, a powerful 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, and a 13 megapixel rear camera. If that sounds a bit too familiar, then we won't fault you for thinking immediately of the LG G3, which seems to be the closest target of this ZTE smartphone. However, that's just about the hardware and it remains to be seen whether ZTE will be able to match LG's flagship in design and features. The Nubia Z7 isn't exactly thin or small, measuring at 139 mm x 71 mm x 9 mm, figures you might want to keep in mind for the next members of this Nubia family.


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The Nubia Z7 Max might not exactly be a max, at least compared to how others like HTC have differentiated their "Max" variants from the main flagship. This supposed giant stands at 152.7 mm x 76 mm x 8.7 mm, not that far from the numbers above. The display isn't a max either, as it is the same 5.5-inch size but, and here's the clincher, it only has a 1080p resolution. In all other aspects, like the Snapdragon 801, 2 GB of memory, 32 GB of storage, and 13 megapixel camera, the Nubia Z7 Max is practically the same as its namesake.


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Things really take a strange turn with the Nubia Z7 mini, which you can hardly call "mini". Why? Because it has a 5-inch 1080p display, that's why. The official ZTE product page also lists its dimensions as 140 mm x 69.3 mm x 8.2 mm, hinting that there is definitely something wrong with ZTE's figures. Once you are able to look past those rather unbelievable figures, you might this smartphone to be rather decent, as it has, once again, those exact same specs. The only difference is that internal storage is capped at 16 GB and the fact that ZTE strangely marks the CPU as a 2.0 GHz Snapdragon 801.


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The ZTE Nubia Z7 is clearly marketed as a high-end flagship and carries a price tag to match at 3,456 RMB, roughly $560. The other two are meant for the mid-range market, despite having almost the same set of specs, costing 1,999 RMB or $322 for the Nubia Z7 Max and 1,499 RMB or around $242 for the Nubia Z7 mini. No news yet on whether ZTE plans to bring this line to the US, but it has brought some of its Nubia devices to the country in the past so there is a possibility, no matter how remote.


Leo’s Fortune tries to find gold in Android

It can be quite frustrating when Android is sometimes treated as just an afterthought by mobile game developers, but things could actually be worse. They could opt not to bring their games to Android at all. Fortunately, developers 1337 (which is read as "leet" for "elite", by the way) has brought its award-winning puzzle platform to Android, giving mobile gamers something new to sink their teeth into.



The plot of the game sounds simple enough. You take control of a moustached furry fuzzball (a very accurate description of our protagonist) as he plays detective in finding out who stole his gold. But the devil is, as they say, in the details and in order to solve the mystery, you will have to go through 24 levels of puzzles. You won't find any button smashing here, but the game's physics-based puzzles are sure to give your brain enough exercise.


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That said, this deceptively simple game description doesn't do justice to Leo's Fortune when it comes to quality and polish. The graphics are quite lush and vivid, exceptional for a mobile game, and the controls are perfect for touchscreens. But those aren't the only reasons why Google showcased the game in last month's Google I/O, despite being available only on iOS back then. Leo's Fortune is one of the new generation of Android games that take advantage of Google's new Play Games services 5.0 features. This means cloud saving, quest notifications, and probably best of all, support for game controllers via Google's new gamepad standard.




Leo's Fortune isn't free, however, and carries a $4.99 price tag. But for quality of visuals and content, that might very well be a worthwhile price to pay. And for maximum replayability, the game includes a Hardcore mode were you try to complete the game as fast as possible without dying a single time and competing with your friends' own hardcore scores.


Download: Leo's Fortune on Google Play Store


Google's making it even easier to attach Drive document in Gmail: on the right-hand pull-down menu i

Google's making it even easier to attach Drive document in Gmail: on the right-hand pull-down menu in the Android app, there's now an "Insert from Drive" option. Neat.


Read more...
















Google Maps now lets you mark and measure between locations

If you’re the kind of person who likes to know the exact distance between two points, and to see this distance visually, then you’ll be extremely happy with the new update to the Google Maps, desktop version. It now allows you to plot your trips between two places, draw a line between them by clicking and dragging, so you can see how short or long it can take you to go between them.



This feature was actually previously available if you install it through the Google Labs, but somehow when they re-launched their app, it wasn’t functioning anymore. This time around, it is officially on the Google Maps update. You can now plot and doodle and make crazy shapes on the map to your heart’s content. We’re expecting to see a lot of screencapped insane and maybe NSFW shapes when the rollout is complete.


But for those who are serious about using the new feature, this will be very useful when plotting your trips or your rides around the city or your daily runs. It will help you more accurately measure those distances. It also lets you add as many points as you want and then connect them together (into any shape you want) so that you will be able to plan a trip with multiple points.


You can now practice plotting on the New Google Maps. But if you still prefer the old school way of looking at the maps, you can still use the classic version by enabling it in the Maps Labs.


SOURCE: Google


ASUS PadFone S, ZenFone 5 LTE go live in Taiwan

ASUS is expanding its product lineup in its Asian base of Taiwan with two new devices that sound and look like two existing models but, at the same time, not quite. The new PadFone S and the ZenFone 5 LTE do resemble the AT&T PadFone X and the plain ZenFone 5, but ASUS has put some twist to perhaps make them more attractive to that local market.



As mentioned before, the ASUS PadFone S is the same PadFone X that AT&T launched, except meant for international markets. Apparently, however, that's not the only difference between the two. ASUS has upgraded the PadFone S CPU to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, compared to the Snapdragon 800 on the US version, but with the same 2.3 GHz clock speeds. In all other matters, the two are exactly the same, so you get the same 5-inch 1080p screen, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, and a 13 megapixel rear camera. Of course there is also the 9-inch tablet dock that makes this device line unique.


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ASUS has also changed the processor of the ZenFone 5 LTE, but this time with a bigger effect. Swapping out the 2 GHz Intel Atom Z2580 for a slightly lower 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 gave this smartphone one important new feature, as implied by its name. This ZenFone supports LTE networks, Taiwan's bands to be exact, something none of the other ZenFone smartphones can do. That said, without the Intel chip, this pretty much becomes a rather plain ASUS smartphone, with the same 5-inch 720p screen, 2 GB of RAM, and 8 megapixel rear camera.


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Both ASUS smartphones will be launch in Taiwan today. The ZenFone 5 LTE will be sold for around 6,990 TWD, around $235 in the US. The PadFone S, on the other hand, will have a price tag of 9,999 TWD, roughly $335. The tablet dock for the PadFone S is sold separately for 5,000 TWD or $170.


SOURCE: ASUS (1), (2)

VIA: ePrice



Gmail update attaches files directly from Google Drive

While your phone’s native email app may still be your go-to friend when it comes to ease of use, there are still some things it can’t do, especially if you’re a heavy Google user. The tech giant continues to improve its whole ecosystem of apps and functionalities with its latest update to their Gmail Android app. Now you can attach files directly from your Google Drive, which saves you from a few steps more than what you usually do.



The new Gmail app now has an “Insert From Drive” option when you’re trying to attach your files, which will make it easier for you, especially if you’re very dependent on the cloud to house your files. And if in case the file hasn’t been previously made public or shared with the person you’re trying to email, then you can also change the sharing setting of the file before you send it. You don’t have to go to the Drive app to change it, you can do it directly while in the Gmail app.


The previous update on the Gmail app just two months ago gave users the ability to kind of do the reverse, which is to save files directly to your Google Drive when downloading it from the email so that you will not have to occupy space and bandwidth on your phone or tablet. This new update has also improved the autocomplete functions in the app itself, a very important factor when you have a lot of business and personal contacts that you can’t remember all their email addresses.


Be patient if you don’t see yet these updates on your Android device. They have only started rolling it out and so you should be able to receive it in the next few days. If you haven’t yet, download the Gmail app from the Google Play Store.


SOURCE: Google