Xperia Z2′s New Movie Creator creates 30-second videos

Don’t you just wish sometimes that the photos and videos stored in your mobile device would just go and make a short film about themselves, without you having to lift many fingers? Well, if you own a Sony Xperia Z2 (or planning to buy one), then that option is now available with the New Movie Creator app, which will automatically create 30-second videos based on the media in your smartphone.

It works simply enough, just like Google+’s Auto Awesome Movie mode. The app will take a look at your photo and video timeline (only those stored in your Z2 of course) and then based on the dates on which they were taken, it will assemble a short film, complete with music and transitions. The time period varies; it can create photos from one day, three days or a week. Once it has finished making your 30-second masterpiece, it will notify you that it’s ready for viewing.

The New Movie Creator also gives you the chance to minimally edit the finished product. You can delete those unwanted photos that make you look fat, edit the music that seems out of place for the photos included and change the text included in the video. There’s no indication however that it will allow you to add photos that you want included. Once you’re satisfied that the short film is perfect as it is, you can then export the film to your device or share it with your friends on different social networks.

New Movie Creator can be downloaded OTA in a 9.9MB file through the Update Center. Just make sure that before you start using the app, you don’t have photos or videos that are NSFW or might be considered “damaging” and of course, carefully review the 30-second film before sending it out to the Internet, which never forgets.

SOURCE: Xperia

Moon Violet and Burgundy Red LG G3 variants out in August

While the US carriers that are offering the LG G3 have only been offering at least two colors to their customers, the flagship smartphone actually has five different color options: Metallic Black, Silk White, Shine Gold, Moon Violet, and Burgundy Red. The last two have not been released yet, but LG has finally made the announcement that it will finally be available starting August.

However, they have not finalised the exact dates yet and which markets the the purple and red variants will be available. In the US, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are currently offering the black and white colors, while some others had the black and gold ones. There are no hints or announcements yet from any of the carriers if they would be interested to have the two more splashy options available for those who are bored by the conventional colors.

But regardless of what color you’d want, one thing is clear: the LG G3 has garnered a lot of positive reviews. Its 5.5-inch Quad HD screen with a resolution of 2560x1440 is something that is unrivalled as of this moment and surprisingly, the battery life is not problematic even with this kind of specs. As we said in our review previously, this is kind of an “abnormal” phenomenon with smartphones. Mobile photography enthusiasts will not be disappointed with the LG G3 as well, its 13MP camera is enhanced by several built-in features, like the laser auto focus and the optical image stabilization.

It really shouldn’t matter though which color of the LG G3 you have, as long as you get to enjoy and take advantage of the smartphone’s features (and you can always get colorful casings). But if you want the real colourful deal, then let’s hope the Moon Violet and Burgundy Red options would be available in your market.

VIA: Phone Arena

Story Timeline

• LG G3 review: the phone every Android OEM should make


• LG G3 design story: simplicity that fits in your hand


• LG G3 now has special game for its QuickCircle case

Paranoid Android 4.5 Alpha 3: choose your Recents style

Another week, another Paranoid Android Alpha teaser. And like the previous two before it, 4.5 Alpha 3 focuses on changes to the redesigned Recent Apps view. Aside from visual polish and performance improvements, the dev team is now allowing PA users to decide whether they want to use the new Material-inspired visuals or stick to the conventional KitKat style.

The new Recent Apps design in Android L is quite pretty but, as with anything related to beauty, it can be subjective. Paranoid Android, however, isn't simply copying what Google has provided and is adding a spin of its own, particularly in animations, shadows, and a "clear all" option. That said, not everyone will like the new fancy look. Luckily, PA isn't going to force it down your throat. When you install or upgrade to Alpha 3 and tap on that Recents button, you will be greeted by an On-The-Spot window asking whether you'd like to switch to the new cards stack view. If you answer no, you will be dumped back to the Android KitKat columnar style.

It is definitely good news that PA is flexible in this area, and hopefully they will retain that option even after Android L, which itself doesn't have a way to revert to the old ways, comes around. But in case you made the wrong choice or want to switch back and forth between the two styles, fret not. Paranoid Android lets you reset the choices you have made with any On-The-Spot option, though finding it might not exactly be straight forward. To get there, launch the Settings app and go into Backup and Reset. There you will find the Reset preferences option that will show you all the past choices you've made, at least as far as PA customizations are concerned.

Those on the more stable 4.4 version also have something to be happy about, though not as much as alpha testers. In this latest 4.45 version, the Theme Engine has once again been synced but there are also some PA-specific fixes. In particular, the Hover icon on the notification panel has been resized to fit the rest of Quick Settings and PA's hidden battery feature has also received some fixes. Of course, these changes have also been added to 4.5 Alpha 3, so early adopters won't be missing out on those fixes at all.

SOURECE: +Paranoid Android

Story Timeline

• Paranoid Android teases Recents redesign in 4.5 Alpha 1


• Paranoid Android 4.5 Alpha 2 polishes new Recents style


• 5 Things to Love and Hate in the Android L Dev Preview

SwiftKey app improves and fixes features,brings new themes

The competition for virtual keyboards is heating up as apps like Fleksy and Minuum try to corner their share of the digital market. Just a little over a month since it became free for the Android platform, SwiftKey has released an update that brings even more improvement to its existing features, as well as bringing a few minor additions and offering a sale on its own SwiftKey Store.

But lest you think and expect that the update will bring about major changes to the app, you shouldn’t get your hopes up too much. Mostly, it’s just a long laundry list of improvements and fixes that they’ve made to several aspects of the app, like “improved typing performance” (which should be a given for any virtual keyboard right?), “improved keyboard loading time” (which is basically the point of using a keyboard app instead of your smartphone’s default one). It has also fixed several problems from its last version, like the bottom row not being accessible as it keeps hiding in some devices.

But the update has also brought some goodies for its loyal customers and hoping to convert some who are still on the fence when it comes to choosing a virtual keyboard. SwiftKey has added several new themes that you can choose from: Spotlight Purple, Edge Green, Pulse Yellow, Pulse Pink and Hazy Pink. The update has also added 3 more languages: Kyrgyz, Tajik and Turkmen. The app’s emoji prediction now includes several languages as well, like Arabic, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Polish and Russian.

SwiftKey still has some ways to go before it can catch up with tis competitors, as it has nothing that will make it standout, unlike let’s say Minuum’s unconventional interface. But if you are attracted to the app now, they are also having a a sale over at the SwiftKey Store, with as high as a 33% discount. While the app itself is free from the Google Play Store, there are some things you can add, like changing the theme or theme packs, through in-app purchases.

SOURCE: SwiftKey

Story Timeline

• SwiftKey 4.5 beta update improves emoji experience


• SwiftKey Japanese version goes into open beta


• SwiftKey keyboard goes free, adds Store for premium theme purchases

Instagram launches new Bolt app in 3 markets outside US

Ah, so the “leaked” banner ads in Instagram about a new photo-sharing app are apparently, true indeed. The Facebook-owned Instagram has just announced they are introducing their first stand-alone app called Bolt, but for now, it will only be available in three markets: New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa. It will reportedly make messaging photos to your friends easier by eliminating a few steps in the process.

While Bolt seems to have simplified the process, it also has complicated it as well. Instead of using your Instagram or Facebook account, you sign up through your mobile phone number. The app then looks through your address book and you will be able to put the people you message a lot on a favorites list. The Bolt camera doesn’t have the usual shutter button, but instead, your friends’ faces will serve as the sort of shutter. Their faces are on a scrollable row on your screen and if you want to send one of them a message, simply tap on their face to take a picture while a long press will allow you to take a video.

And just like a lot of photo and video sharing apps now, everything will self-destruct in a pre-set time. Your friend that you sent a Bolt to will receive a notification then have the option to swipe it away after viewing (and it will be gone “forever”, they claim), reply with a Bolt of their own or reply through text that will be put on a blurred version of the photo they got. If you think you made a mistake though, there is a “shake to unsend” option that will retrieve your message and will also give you the option to save the photo on your camera roll.

The app has several limitations though. You cannot upload photos from your phone, you can only send to one recipient at a time and there’s no report function, so your friends can send you NSFW photos even if you prefer not receiving those. And in a market that is slowly getting crowded with similar one-click sharing apps like Taptalk and Mirage and other ephemeral ones like Snapchat and Facebook’s own Slingshot, Bolt needs to have something really special to be able to make an impact in the market, not to mention the fact that there are several apps out there named Bolt. Their advantage for now? The marketing machinery behind Instagram and Facebook might just make you pay attention to the newest kid in the photo-sharing world.

VIA: Tech Crunch

Story Timeline

• Facebook Messenger update improves image and video sending experience


• Did Facebook leak on Instagram a new photo sharing app?

Samsung Z postponed again, spells trouble for Tizen

Samsung has finally confirmed what everyone already practically knows, or at least believes in their gut. Samsung Z, the Tizen-powered smartphone that was supposed to launch in Russia this quarter, is indefinitely delayed. More than just a disappointment to the already dwindling number of Tizen faithful, it is almost the writing on the wall for Samsung's latest efforts to strike on its own without Google.

Samsung's wild success in the mobile device industry can partly be credited to Android. After all, the company's low-end Bada feature phones and sparse Windows Phone offering did not fare as well as even its lowest cost Android offering. But perhaps it is because of this deep reliance on Google that Samsung has tried to find ways to distance and differentiate itself, which has only served to further irk the tech giant. The latest sore point is Tizen, which Samsung is trying to put not just on smartphones but also on smartwatches, even while it tries to play nice with Android Wear.

Perhaps the fact that Tizen was a platform born out of controversy foreshadowed its current troubles. When Nokia abandoned its own MeeGo platform in favor of Windows Phone, Intel, who was supposedly Nokia's partner in that endeavor, took refuge with Samsung and started Tizen, along with other industry players. However, it seems that Samsung is the only one deadly serious about profiting from the platform and has been bearing the brunt of the work, but with still no visible results. Tizen was envisioned primarily as a mobile OS, but, except for two smartwatches and one or two cameras, no other product bears that name. A few months ago, Samsung would have launched the first Tizen smartphone in Japan, but later pulled out, citing unfavorable market conditions. This month was supposed to be the launch of the Samsung Z in Russia, but Samsung pulled out at the last minute. Its reason? It wants to further enhance the software ecosystem, hinting at Tizen's greatest problem: the lack of apps.

In a way, it's a chicken and egg problem, one that cannot be resolved by delaying and waiting for the egg to hatch or the chicken to lay the egg. As many other mobile platforms will tell you, a platform is only as good as the apps that are available for it (though it is also only as good as how easy it is to develop those apps). But without a commercial device that will convince developers that there is even a chance of monetizing their work, they will not flock over to Tizen. It will never have that perfect moment when the software ecosystem is ready. Google was able to get around that problem by releasing Android early and letting it be open as much as it can. Unfortunately, Samsung cannot afford either of those at this point in time, which could mean that Tizen is almost doomed to fail.

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Tizen partners lose interest ahead of MWC, could spell the end for upstart OS


• Samsung bringing Tizen phones, Android Wear smartwatch in 2014


• Samsung Galaxy Gear gets a one way ticket to Tizen

NPR gets own Android app for easy access to shows,podcasts

Do you remember the last time you actually listened to an actual terrestrial radio? Chances are most of you would say it’s been months, years (younger ones would ask, what’s a radio again?). But public radio pioneer NPR has been able to adjust to the changes that the digital age has brought by bringing their programs online, producing hundreds of podcasts and continually creating digital content in the field of news and culture. Now, they have a new audio app, NPR One, that will make it easier for users to listen to their available digital content.

The audio app brings you a stream of NPR content from both its main programs and member stations, curated based on your preferences and interests. You’ll be able to listen to local, national and international news that will continuously play once you start the app. It starts off with the latest and most important headlines then moves on to content that is relevant to your tastes. You also have the option to pause it, skip to the next one, rewind if you missed something and if you find something worth telling others, you can share it with your friends.

But the app brings more than just what you want to hear. If you want to expand your knowledge of current events and the world around you, NPR One will bring you stories that you normally wouldn’t have listened to on your own. It’s always nice to learn something new everyday, and this “thoughtfully curated” app is a great teacher. You can also manually search through your favourite shows and podcasts if you feel like listening to something specific.

The app is simple and intuitive enough, although some might say a bit too ordinary. But if all you want to do is listen to NPR programs, then this should be enough for you. You can download NPR One for free from the Google Play Store.

SOURCE: NPR