All sessions from Google I/O 2014 now available online

If you missed the Google I/O Developers Conference this year, or if you were keeping track online and missed some of the sessions – do not fret, the next best thing is here. Google has made all 73 sessions of Google I/O 2014 available – including the tech-laden keynote led by Google head honcho for Android Sundar Pichai and a few more top names at Google.

The keynote, as you may have heard, was where Google made waves in the tech industry by announcing Android L – the latest version of the open source OS that should hit the streets later this year. Android L has now been released with a developer preview for the Nexus 5 and 7 devices, and it has been nitpicked, observed and tweaked ad nauseam. A bunch of apps, themes, and APKs – including a version backported to work on the Nexus 4 – have come out available for those who want an advanced experience of the new OS.

Google I/O 2014 was also where they came out with Android Wear, a new line of wearable devices that Google is banking on to expand Android’s reach. A number of manufacturers have latched on to the new idea and have created their own devices to go under the “Android Wear” line.

If you really don’t have the time to watch all 73 sessions – and while we suggest that you do make time for at least some of them – then there is this minute-and-a-half video to compensate for your lack of time. Although, I would imagine that upon watching the short reel, you’d probably want to go ahead and watch some of the sessions yourself. You have been warned. Watch the short video below, and then jump to all the videos at the source link.

SOURCE: Google

Story Timeline

• We're here at Google I/O 2014!


• What you need to know about Android "L"


• Pichai sounds off on current Android issues after I/O keynote


• Android Wear can light lamps and make you popcorn

Samsung patents ultrasound stylus tech in Korea

It seems that Samsung might be eying a rather big shift in how it implements its S Pen technology. The Korean Intellectual Property Rights Information Service or KIPRIS has just published the manufacturer's patent application for a technology that utilizes ultrasound waves in order to pinpoint the location and state of a stylus when used with a mobile device such as a smartphone.

Samsung's current S Pen feature utilizes a digitizer that it licensed from Wacom, the industry leader when it comes to such technology. While it does afford Samsung's phablets and tablets some degree of accuracy better than other brands, it is also likely more expensive. It is perhaps that same price consideration that drove Microsoft to ditch Wacom and go for rival N-Trig in the latest Surface 3 tablet. If Samsung were indeed able to bake its own solution, it would be able to cut out the middle man and reduce its reliance on external technology. That and the absence of a dedicated digitizer could reduce the thickness of future devices.

That said, Samsung isn't exactly the only tech company looking into employing ultrasound waves to replace your usual digitizer. Qualcomm has actually also been toying around with the technology, which it has demonstrated early this year in tablet size and in May in phablet size. In terms of theory, the two implementations will largely be the same, employing sensors on the device to detect the ultrasound emitted by the stylus. In Samsung's case, the sensors are located in each corner of the device. Hopefully it will also have the same pressure sensitivity that Qualcomm's system has. It may even have that amusing, but probably impractical, "drawing on a paper beside the tablet" feature.

The patent seems like a perfect fit for a Galaxy Note 4, but the timing of the patent publication could be bit off, considering that the next S Pen phablet is expected to be unveiled in about two months. Qualcomm might also have a word or two to say about it, maybe even in patent court. Samsung's patent was just published this week in Korea, but Qualcomm's equivalent was published last year in the US. At the very least, Samsung might not be able to sell such a device in the US, if it does push through with the technology. And should it do so, it might be flying solo, at least for a while, since this type of technology, though interesting and intriguing, is still unproven in the market.

VIA: Galaxy Club

SOURCE: KIPRIS (PDF)

Story Timeline

• Qualcomm's Ultra Sound NotePad is a fresh look at the Tablet/Stylus duo


• Qualcomm Ultrasound Pen goes on a phablet diet

Ritot projects time and notifications onto your hand

Wearable technology is still very much a baby in terms of what can be dreamed of and what can actually be done. A new product that is trying to get into the market is trying to get people excited about the fact that you can now project the time and your notifications onto your skin. Yes, if things go well, Ritot will become the first projection watch in the market.

Using the pico projector technology, the watch will project a dial that has high quality graphics onto your arm or your hand, wherever the wrist band can reach. It will not just project time, but when you connect it to your smartwatch, it will also show your notifications and allows you to read them on your skin. Things like SMS, emails, Facebook and Twitter posts and messages, reminders and calendar alerts, weather alerts and others can be projected. You only have to set which notifications you want through a Ritot App for your smartphone.

There are no other complicated buttons on the Ritot. It only has one that you touch to bring out the projection. Or if you’re too lazy to even touch a button, you can just do it with a shake of your wrist. And if you like a little color in your life, you have 20 different ones to choose from. The light also adjusts to whether it’s day or night, and the projection can be configured wherever direction you want it to point to, whether you’re using your left or right hand. The projection disappears after 10 seconds when you activated it, so it’s not such a battery drain. Its energy saving technology allows the watch to last for 1 month in stand-by mode and 150 hours in projection mode. The makers also assure us that the projection technology they use is safe for users’ skin and health.

Ritot is still in the crowd founding stage through IndieGoGo, although they have already met their target of $50,000 and as of today, they have raised $156,239. They are targeting shipping to contributors by January-February 2015. The package includes a Ritot watch (depending how much you pledged), the Ritot base where you can wirelessly charge the watch and configure the time.

SOURCE: IndieGoGo

Samsung Galaxy Alpha (Galaxy F) rumored to launch in August

Some South Korean tech media outfits have now been pushing stories of Samsung launching what they call the Samsung Galaxy Alpha some time in August, one month ahead of the anticipated launch of Apple’s iPhone 6 in September, with which the Alpha is rumored to lock horns with. The Galaxy Alpha, with its rumored metal finish, sounds a lot like the Galaxy F which had been making the rounds in tech blogs a few weeks back.

We’ve been writing about the Galaxy F, most notably about the metal finishing that sees Samsung – seemingly inseparable from its plastic fetish – depart from what is known to compete with Apple by giving the Galaxy F a premium look and feel. Samsung fans the world over have continually agonized over the company’s love of plastic – even in their flagship devices like this year’s Galaxy S5 – but it seems like they are finally willing to try something new.

Another notable detail worthy of mention are the slim and sexy bezels we saw when we finally got some pictures of the Galaxy F with the screen turned on. Looks like Samsung is learning from its competitors Sony, LG, and HTC who have been purveyors of the slim bezels. Whatever that change cost Samsung, it will be a “win win” for consumers, since super slim bezels are really beautiful to look at.

If the Galaxy Alpha (Galaxy F) hopes to compete with Apple on the iPhone 6 – which is believed to be a new beast in itself, outside of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 ilk – we hope that Samsung does the right thing by putting in a Snapdragon 805 chipset on it, so that it can really give the performance to compete. Rumors say that the specs will at least be better than the Galaxy S5, or so they say. One last question for us – will the Galaxy Alpha be part of a new flagship line from Samsung which will relegate the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series to second tier?

SOURCE: ET News, pictures from Phone Arena

Story Timeline

• Samsung Galaxy F rumored to have a metal body


• Samsung Galaxy F "S5 Prime" photos leak out


• New pic of Samsung Galaxy F (S5 Prime) shows sexy bezels


• Leaked Samsung Galaxy F photo shows metal frame

Verizon DROID MAXX, Ultra, and Mini skip over to Android 4.4.4

After a few months of speculation about Android updates for this trio of DROID smartphones, Motorola and Verizon have started rolling out the update with a bit of a twist. The firmware update bumps the Android version directly to 4.4.4, making these smartphones one of the earliest OEM handsets to get the surprise maintenance release. Not bad for 2013 models.

It should be noted that last January, Verizon released the Android 4.4 KitKat update for these three. Shortly afterwards, there was talk of further updates to 4.4.2 and then 4.4.3, but now it seems that Verizon skipped over those and jumped directly to the latest. Although Android 4.4.4 itself is a bit lacking in new features, Verizon took the opportunity to add some of its own flavor into the update. This practically means changes to or the addition of bloatware on the device. In particular, Verizon's VZ Cloud and Visual Voicemail have been updated and ISIS Mobile Payment has been added, though the latter will probably be renamed as reported earlier.

Motorola is also giving it's own side to the update. Since this 4.4.4 update also covers 4.4.3, we're seeing some of the new features that made their way to Motorola's other smartphones recently. This includes improvements to the Camera app, which not only has improved quality and consistent exposure but can now also pause and resume video recording right through the camera app's viewfinder. The update also ropes in Motorola Alert, the manufacturer's new emergency notification service that it launched last May.

This firmware update rolls out via OTA like any other, though Verizon claims that it will take only 3-5 minutes to download it, depending on the network connection. Of course, it also means that not everyone will receive the update at the same time, but you always have the option of either waiting for the OTA notification to arrive or manually checking for the update yourself.

SOURCE: Verizon (Droid MAXX and Utlra), (DROID Mini), Motorola

Story Timeline

• Verizon DROID Ultra and Maxx Android 4.4 Kit Kat update fully detailed


• Motorola Alert sends out messages in an emergency


• Isis rebranding due to militant Middle Eastern group

Android Wear now gets a Calendar app

As the Android Wear platform is slowly gaining traction in the wearable technology market, with the arrival of the LG G Watch, the Samsung Live Gear and the upcoming Moto 360, apps that are specifically for the smartwatches are coming in. One of the most basic needs of wearables is a calendar app that is small enough to fit into the watch but also big enough to actually read.

Calendar for Android Wear, as the name implies, is just simply that: a calendar that can be used in your Android Wear smartwatch of choice. Instead of getting out your phone to check on the dates, all you need is to just glance at your watch and look at the calendar from there. It has five different colours that you can choose from: blue, violet, green, red, and yellow. You can also choose which first day of the week you want to start your calendar.

The app is available for free at the Google Play Store, but it also has a premium version that has a one-time fee of $2. The free version only has a monthly view available, while the premium lets you see your calendar in a daily and detailed format. The premium also lets you see your calendar with your events already included in the daily and detailed view. So even though the best things in life are free, in this case, the $2 you need to shell out may very well be worth it.

Calendar for Android Wear is available for download at the Google Play Store. You can upgrade to premium in-app once you’ve installed it already.

Story Timeline

• Google gives a workaround for Android Wear Paid App bug


• Flappy bird wanna-be Flopsy Droid now on Android Wear


• Android Wear can light lamps and make you popcorn

Commndr for Google Now removes ‘Note to Self’ voice prompt

Commndr for Google Now was a very welcome addition for users who wanted even more functionality for Google’s personal assistant program for mobile devices. But the “note to self’ prompt before every command was something some people found three syllables too many. The latest update to the app has now removed that prompt and you can go directly to what you want your phone to do without you actually touching it.

The 2.0 update to Commndr has found a work around once again to make Google Now work for you even more. So now instead of saying “Note to self turn on flashlight,” you can go directly to commanding your phone to turn on its flashlight, provided it has one. The developers used an accessibility service to be able to do this but they have also kept the “note to self” option in case some users still wanted to maintain this because of too many permissions needed. However, using the non-“note to self” option may sometimes conflict with Google Now’s default accessibility settings, like voice feedback, screen reader, voice control and others.

Some other new things in the 2.0 update of Commndr includes the fact that you don’t have to wait anymore for the note to save. The commands happen almost immediately after you say it. Another major thing is that finally, all the commands in the app can now be used offline, including the note function that was only previously functional when the user is online.

You can download the latest version of Commndr for Google Now at the Google Play Store for free. There is no need to root it to your smartphone, just add commands to Google Now once you’ve installed it.