YoWindow Weather reflects conditions through landscapes

Haven’t you ever wished that your weather app would show you what the actual weather conditions are outside instead of just giving you the temperature? Well it isn’t exactly the same thing, but a new Android app called YoWindow Weather gives you artwork and landscapes that reflect what it’s really like outside, depending on the time, day and place that you want to see, in lieu of actual live pictures.

The purpose of the app is simple enough. It gives you a glimpse of what the weather is like through carefully designed animated landscape art that will show you whether it is snowing, raining, sunny or windy. The artwork also changes depending on the season (Come on and sing with me, “Winter, spring, summer or fall…”) so all throughout the year, you’ll get to see new images. You have the option also of choosing the landscapes that best fits where you are actually staying.

You can even fast forward and see what the weather will be like a few hours or a few days from now. You just swipe through the screen until you get to the timeline that you want to check out. So if you’re planning a trip later this week, not only will you get the weather forecast, but a nice animated artwork showing what it might actually look like.

YoWindow Weather gets its forecast from leading meteorogical sources, yr.no and NWS. The paid version will remove the advertisements from the app, but if you’re content with having ads pop up every once in a while, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.

VIA: XDA Developers

Flappy Bird is back with more obstacles, multiplayer fun

We still maintain that it’s all your fault, all of you casual gamers out there who continually played (and cursed) while playing that massively popular game Flappy Bird, because now it’s back. As app developer Dong Nguyen has promised, the game is now officially back with new features, but this time – or initially, maybe? – exclusively via Amazon’s Appstore.

The app will now be a very fun offering for Amazon’s Fire TV where it will be a free download. And since the app is now embedded with a fun multiplayer, split screen, person-vs-person mode, it should be great fun for the family. Of course, that’s why it’s now called Flappy Birds Family. Pretty smart, huh?

The game still features the most cursed and anger-inducing bird in the history of mobile gaming and you will still need to tap your way through those 8-bit Mario-style pipes. There are now additional obstacles – as if the game was not difficult enough on its own – in the form of ghosts that float around randomly.

Nguyen has remarked that the game will now add a few elements of satisfaction – as opposed to the unforgiving nature of the original game – so as to limit the frustration (and broken device screens). That will also lessen the addictive nature of the game, he says, but we doubt that. There is still no word of when the game is jumping over to Android and iOS, but it should be that long a wait. Meanwhile, have you met the Timberman?

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Flappy Bird is returning, and it's all your fault


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


• Timberman is here to frustrate you, waste your time

Nokia rumored to be mulling over an Android future

Although Microsoft has practically divested Nokia of it's smartphone-making business, that doesn't mean that the former Finnish giant is completely out of the running. Pretty soon, it might actually be making a comeback to the device-making business, but this time with Android as its platform of choice, at least based on speculation about the company's recent job postings.

To some extent, the theory behind this rumored move makes so much sense that it almost feels like a done deal. It would only be natural for Nokia to still want a piece of the smartphone market pie, considering how well established its name is in that industry. But it will likely stay away from Microsoft's mobile platform. Nokia's romance with Microsoft wasn't exactly the most popular even from among Nokia's own ranks, some of which left the company and started their own: Jolla. So other than striking it out own their own again, which they already tried and failed, their only recourse is to really go with Android.

Speculation that Nokia might be considering getting back into the mobile device business comes from a few items spotted on the company's LinkedIn job list. It seems that Nokia is hiring people with the engineering and design skills for future mobile devices. The Android factor comes via a very specific skill requirement: the ability to write camera drivers for Android. Taken together, it seems that Nokia might have a few ideas for future smartphones. Either that or it plans to simply harness those skills to improve or create its own mobile apps and services.

That said, if you're one of the remaining Nokia fans dreaming of the return of a legend, don't start holding your breath until after 2 or so years. Due to the Microsoft acquisition, Nokia is practically prohibited from making mobile devices bearing its name at least until 2016, just to give time for the world to get used to seeing Microsoft's brand plastered everywhere. But even then, we can never be sure what old Redmond has planned to ensure that any threat from its former vassal will never come to pass.

VIA: phoneArena

Story Timeline

• Nokia's went with Windows Phone to survive, avoid Samsung


• Nokia pre-beta tests Z Launcher for Android


• Select Nokia X designs to become Windows phones

CyanogenMod 11 M9 welcomes new devices

Right on schedule, CyanogenMod is announcing the latest snapshot release of CM 11, now at version M9. While this new version definitely has improvements across the board, one of its bigger highlights is the first non-nightly builds for some devices recently added to the ROM's roster.

The three new supported devices that are getting their first snapshot builds include the HTC One M8 "m8" which was added in May, the Xperia Z2 "sirius" added in June, and the Xperia Z2 Tablet "castor" which joined the group just last month. While these devices have regularly been getting nightly builds since the day they were added, this is the first semi-stable releases marked for these devices. In case you might need a refresher on what these "M" snapshots are, we covered them at some length in March.

As to changes in CM 11 M9, CyanogenMod's changelog highlights a few things, like new themable UI elements, improvements to search in the Settings app, and some new translations. There are also a number of fixes to existing functionality, like bug fixes for the new Heads Up notifications, preventing the accidental wake up of the device when the system checks whether the proximity sensor is occluded by a solid object, and fixing the built-in email app's ability to store attachments to local storage for POP3 accounts.

CyanogenMod 11 M9 is fresh off the press so naturally the build system for devices are still churning at the moment. So don't panic if you don't see your device model in the list of snapshot downloads. And even if you don't see it after a few days or even weeks, don't despair that CyanogenMod has dropped support for the device. It only means that the maintainers for that device might have run into some errors that can't be fixed in time for M9 and have decided to skip this release and wait for the M10 next month instead.

SOURCE: CyanogenMod

Story Timeline

• CyanogenMod 11 M6 goes out, switches to two-week cycle


• CyanogenMod 11.0 M7 now available


• CyanogenMod adds Protected apps, teases CMHome


• CyanogenMod 11 M8 is out, Settings app may crash

More Samsung Galaxy Alpha photos, 6.7-inch model tipped

Depending on which rumor you believe, Samsung might be unveiling the Galaxy Alpha later today or on August 13. If it does get announced today, then we will be able to prove or disprove this latest batch of photos of the purported metallic device, as well as the latest rumor that it will come in 4.7 and 6.7 inch models.

The Galaxy Alpha has already been in the rumor mill for quite a few rounds, but after Samsung's Q2 earnings report, it seems that the stakes have just been raised higher. Aside from the Galaxy Note 4 scheduled to take the spotlight next month, Samsung revealed that it was working on another high-end smartphone made out of new materials. Depending on which mix of specs you want to subscribe to, the Galaxy Alpha could very well be that mystery device. An Exynos 5433 that blows the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 of out the water, 2 GB of RAM and a handy 4.7, or 4.8-inch, 720p display, and an aluminum frame.

The Galaxy Alpha's specs bore some resemblance to Apple's usual iPhone features. If that weren't enough to convince you that Samsung was eying for something like an iPhone, then this batch of leaked photos would. Previous images of the Galaxy Alpha that we've seen before sported a black color scheme. But in white coating, the resemblance between the two rival brands becomes even more apparent. If Samsung employed a circular home button, one might even call this device an iPhone clone. After all, it also has a fingerprint scanner there.

However, that part about the Galaxy Alpha we already know a bit. But this last minute tip is definitely new. While it says that the size of the smartphone is 4.7 inches, instead of 4.8 in the last rumor, now we're being led to believe that there will also be a 6.7-inch model. Apple was rumored to have two iPhone 6's prepared, a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch. This might be Samsung copying that as well. But a 6.7-inch smartphone goes well beyond its Galaxy Mega giant. Then again, the Korean manufacturer isn't one to shrink from launching a 7-inch phablet, so this 6.7-inch rumor isn't as shocking as it is perplexing.

VIA: Weibo (1), (2)

Story Timeline

• Samsung Galaxy Alpha leak: semi-metallic mini Galaxy S5


• Samsung Galaxy Alpha now leaked with 4.8-inch HD screen


• Samsung Galaxy Alpha leak: Exynos 5433, 12MP camera, August 13

Galaxy Mega 6.3 takes a bullet for man in altercation in China

You’ve probably heard someone say that someday, your smartphone just might change your life. You might be in a life or death situation, where you will have to resort to using an app or you have to Google something just to get out of a threatening scenario. However, for a man in China, he experienced this literally as his Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 took a bullet for him, ensuring that he lived to tell the tale after an altercation in a snack shop in Xinjiang.

According to a local news website, a man dropped his wallet while at the snackshop, where another man promptly picked it up and returned it to the owner. However, before doing so, he joked that maybe he should just keep the money so he could buy alcoholic drinks. This did not please the wallet’s owner and so he scuffled with the wallet-returner and the other people with them try to break up the fight.

But it seems like the two men really wanted to have it out, and they resumed their fight outside of the shop. The second man then pulls out a knife (although some reports say it was a sickle, although why he was carrying that around is another story probably) either just to intimidate him or to actually cause injury. What he didn’t know was that the other man had a gun which he promptly shoots. The wallet-returning guy puts up a hand to “block” the bullet but it hits him in the arm nonetheless but also goes through his body, where the unsuspecting Galaxy Mega 6.3 in his shirt pocket manages to block it.

The second man was then brought to the hospital to treat for his flesh wound, while the gun-toting man surrendered himself to the police. The lesson learned here? Either you always put your large smartphone in your shirt pocket or maybe you stop joking around with strangers because you never know when they might be carrying a deadly weapon.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Moto X burned and lives to tell the tale


• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active survives lawnmower crunching


• Samsung Galaxy S 4 under a pillow overheats and burns

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Welcome to the weekend! Whether you're working hard or just loafing around, you're probably using your smartphone. Give it a treat with these, the best new apps this week.

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