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New app lets Android Wear control your Tesla Model S

Smartwatches seem to be the latest cool tech trend as you can just speak into your device and you can make things happen, just like in the movies a few years ago. Now a new app will make them even cooler as it can make a car do basic commands, that is if you have a smartwatch that runs on Android Wear and if you’re one of the privileged owners of a Tesla Model S.



The five-door electric luxury liftback can now be commanded to do simple things through the app Tesla Command for Android Wear. Although for now it can let you just run five commands for the car through your smartwatch, it’s still pretty cool if you have the capability to do so. This technology was actually introduced by the developers using Google Glass through a GlassTesla app, but now they’ve adapted it to the Android Wear platform.


But don’t worry if you’re not tech-savvy. How it works is just as simple as the commands it can do. After installing it on your smartwatch, sign in to the app using your Tesla credentials. Then you just need to activate it via voice command by Ok Googling it and saying “Start Tesla Command” so you can access the commands to enable you to control your Tesla Model S remotely. Once it’s on, you can now make your car do five things: unlock, lock, honk (pretty neat trick to scare some unsuspecting individuals), and finally, open and close the sunroof.




While it’s still very basic, the developers said they will be introducing more features in the future. So cross your fingers that someday, your Android Wear may actually drive the car for you. You can download Tesla Command for Android Wear through the Google Play Store.


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Second Screen app allows more control casting your device’s display

Second Screen is a powerhouse app created by XDA senior member farmerbb initially to “correct” Google’s selectivity in allowing which kind of devices are able to cast their displays to a bigger screen using Chromecast, but has ended up as a powerful little tool that allows you to control the way your device’s screen is cast onto a bigger screen via any casting tool.



Beyond the Google Chromecast selectivity (which has been more less solved by the Second Screen app), Second Screen allows you more control over how your screen is cast to a bigger screen, say an HD LED TV with Bluetooth casting support. The issue really is that Android OS is pretty much haphazard in its selection of what resolution to natively use whenever it streams your device’s screen, resulting more often than not in a very raw version of your device’s display being mirrored onto the TV.


Second Screen fixes this issue, and a lot of others. What the app does – and maybe what Android should do moving forward – is that it gives the user options on what resolution and DPI it will cast your screen to, to take full advantage and match the resolution of your TV. Nifty, huh? It also transcends being locked to Chromecast by providing pretty universal connectivity options – either using WiFi or Bluetooth-based casting devices to fulfill your device’s home entertainment system potential.


There are a number of considerations, though. Firstly, the app requires root access to work. Secondly, the app has been made to work on custom ROMs based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The developer, while not saying it will not work on other stock ROMs, does not guarantee all features working under other ROMs. If you want to go ahead and try the app, click on through here for the XDA thread, or download the app at the Google Play Store.


SOURCE: XDA





Possible pre-production Moto X+1 photos leaked

We’ve been waiting a while now for the device that Motorola has called the Moto X+1, possibly the new flagship phone of the Lenovo-owned company after the Moto X. We still don’t know what the “+1” means, but there have been a number of leaks and information showing us what the phone might look like, and this specific leak is probably the closest we’ve gotten to the real thing so far.



The source of the leak claims that this is a “near-final” prototype, and just from the looks of it, we can say that it is closer to legitimate than fake. The design language is pretty much Motorola in most respects – there is no sign that Lenovo people made any radical changes to the aesthetic and physical aspect of the phone. What we have here is a device that looks very much like the Moto X, down to the signature wooden back plate/cover.


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There are a few improvements to the design though – the Moto X+1 is touted to have a 5.1-inch screen as compared to its predecessor’s 4.7-inch screen. From the pictures, the phone looks to have done away with capacitive touch buttons. If you noticed, there are also two white dots on the sides of the camera module – the source says that these are dual LED flashes. Other specs have been thrown around and discussed here in this blog repeatedly, but all signs point to a premier flagship-type phone.


The feeling from this leak is that Motorola is pretty near in finalizing the product, which industry hacks are expecting to be launched side-by-side the Moto 360 wearable device. As with other leaks, we haven’t really seen any screen turned on and phone details being confirmed, so anything is still possible with this device. But what we’re seeing here is most probably the closest we have come so far to seeing the Moto X+1 in existence.


VIA: Android Police





Verizon set to throttle LTE speeds on unlimited data users

Even just the sound of it has an “unfair” aura about it, but this is the news coming from Verizon HQ regarding the future of the users of their 4G data network. To ease congestion on cells that have heavy usage, Verizon is set to throttle (adjust or lower) LTE speeds of the top five percent of heaviest data users on unlimited data plans starting October.



Why is Verizon doing this? Well, in 2011, Verizon also did this when they wanted to wean people off its tired 3G network onto the new LTE protocols. At that time, LTE devices were a minority – but this is now 2014, which means that LTE devices account for more than half of the data traffic on Verizon’s data networks. Verizon says that they will start doing this to relieve traffic in cells and areas that are bogged down.


Looking at it from a macro point of view, this will likely mean that the network’s overall data service will most likely improve. Verizon is actually in the midst of a 4G network upgrade which will make new and faster speeds available soon (on XLTE, VoLTE, and eventually 5G networks) – which will decongest the old 4G network anyway.


The question really is that why do the unlimited data subscribers have to suffer for the network’s infrastructure problems? The people who have unlimited data subscriptions pay premium to get just that – at LTE speeds. Once the network begins to get throttled, presumably, they will get less than the bandwith and speed they expect. That really doesn’t sound as something done in good faith for the unlimited data subscribers – however minor their numbers may be.


VIA: SlashGear





Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie tie-in game now on Android

Whatever you may feel about Hollywood “director” (quotes intended) Michael Bay, and he sure does have a lot of haters, you have to give him props for bringing 80s and 90s entertainment franchises to the consciousness of this generation. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is still up in the air. After messing around with the Transformers movies, he is now set to bring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to life once again on the big screen, and there is now an Android game to ratchet up the excitement.



Unlike most of the movie tie-in games of recent months (and years), fortunately, this is not just an endless runner game. This is more of a combat type of game, as you really don’t want to see such hyperactive ninja turtles just running around endlessly. This time, you get to choose if you want to be Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello or Raphael as you try and “take back the streets” of New York from the mutants and the Foot Clan.


You can play it in Story Mode, where you follow a storyline written by author Tom Waltz from IDW Publishing, the publisher of the TMNT comic book series. Or you can choose to do the survival mode where you continue to slash and hack your way through wave after wave of enemies. The turtles can also be upgraded with ninja moves, weapons, and other boosts, as you gather points along the way. You can also compete with your friends as it also has a social sharing aspect as well.


But just like Hollywood and Michael Bay’s incessant need to part you with your cash, this game is not free. Compared to other games like it, it’s a bit steep at $3.99, plus it has some in-app purchases as well. But if you feel like reliving your childhood through this game at least, then go on ahead and download it from the Google Play Store.


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Did Facebook leak on Instagram a new photo sharing app?

Some Instagram users were surprised and baffled when a link to a “one tap photo messaging app” called Bolt suddenly appeared on their feed last night? Did we miss a big announcement from the powers that be about another new photo sharing app? Or was it another one of their “accidental leaks” to test out new features or apps, which Facebook is notorious for doing so?



Several of the users who saw the banner app ad were able to screencap it before it eventually went away. Those who clicked on the “Free” button were then led to a dead link inside the Google Play Store. This raised questions whether it was an honest mistake on the part of Instagram and Facebook or whether they were testing something else or whether there is actually an app called Bolt that will be launched soon.


If Bolt is a real app that will be introduced to the market soon, it might be their answer to another new photo messaging app that is making the buzz in the social media world. Taptalk claims it is the "fastest photo chat app in the world” as you do not need to go outside the your photo anymore to be able to share it. There is a camera viewfinder above the photo and if you tap it, you can send the photo directly to any one of your friends on your list, and you can even add a caption. Bolt’s one line description seems to indicate it will have that similar feature. However, they might find a legal battle on hand for the name if Bolt is a real app, since there is already an existing free calling app for Android with the same name.


But another way of looking at this “accidental leak” is that Bolt is not real but is being used to test the “app install ads” feature inside the photo sharing app. Facebook just recently rolled out similar ads on their newsfeed, so it’s not that far-fetched a theory (which came from TechCrunch journalist Sarah Perez). But given how people reacted to promoted posts inside Instagram, this might not be something that will be coming soon.


VIA: The Verge


Acer announces Liquid Jade Plus smartphone to launch in August

You might not have remembered – due to the nondescript nature of these products – that Acer announced the Liquid Jade smartphone and the Liquid Leap wearable at this year’s Computex trade show. You can be forgiven for that, but it has not slipped our attentions that Acer has already made improvements to the smartphone, announcing an Acer Liquid Jade Plus device.



The Acer Liquid Jade Plus sports a number of upgrades from the earlier device, notably that the Liquid Jade Plus will have 2GB of RAM from the earlier 1GB RAM configuration of the Liquid Jade. The improved version also has more internal storage, with 16GB rather than the 8GB of the earlier version.


Other than that, both smartphones offer identical specs. There is a 5-inch 1280x720 HD resolution display, and this is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek processor. The phones retain dual SIM capabilities, 13MP/2MP rear/front camera combo, and a 2100mAh battery. All of this will run on Android 4.4 KitKat.


This new device is now expected to partner with the Liquid Leap wearable, whereas it was the earlier version that was touted to launch in August in tandem with the wearable device. Nothing is clear as to whether the earlier version will even continue to be marketed, but the target release of the devices will be in August, with particular attention to the European market. The retail price is expected to be at €279 euros (around USD$375).


VIA: Blog of Mobile





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