Google launches four Android Wear ads

It may only have two smartwatches (soon to three) running under its platform but Android Wear may soon be the most popular one for wearables. With Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch and the entry this summer of the Moto 360, the first round face smartwatch, it is poised to slowly gain in popularity, at least for the Android community. Google uploaded four new ads on their YouTube channel, showcasing the capabilities and beauty of smartwatches running on Android Wear.

The new videos are vastly different from the mostly technical ones that Google has been posting on their channel. This time around, they are like TV spots that show how you’ll be able to incorporate Android Wear into your everyday life. The longest one clocks at 30 seconds and is a lovely compilation of how different people and lifestyles will be able to use smartwatches. Each different scene is interconnected with visual and aural cues.

The other three videos are shorter, and talks about specific capabilities of Android Wear. “Safari at a glance" shows a woman in a safari using voice search on her smartwatch to find out information right then and there.

“Fashionably late at a glance” shows a woman using the voice feature of her smartwatch to send a text message.

“Surf’s up at a glance” meanwhile shows a guy checking on the traffic through Google Now on Android Wear before deciding to go back to surf again.

We’re not sure if these ads will make their way to TV screens but for now, you can enjoy them on YouTube, while dreaming of having your own Android Wear device, if you don’t have one yet. Anticipation is high for the release of the Moto 360, as it’s also the first one to have ambient light sensor. It’s expected to come out worldwide during the summer.

SOURCE: YouTube Google

Story Timeline

• Moto 360 with ambient light sensor, first in Android Wear


• Attopedia is an encyclopedia for your Android Wear


• Facebook Messenger v9 has voice reply for Android Wear

Surgeon Simulator now out on Android

The very “tasteful” PC game Surgeon Simulator – a favorite of budding medical practitioners and human body mutilators alike – is finally out on Android via the Google Play Store. Heaven help us, all the surgical maniacs are rejoicing. This very… err, interesting franchise gained cult status when it launched on PC, and now game developers Bossa Studios Ltd. are saying that the Android game should be just as fun.

Going past the blood, gore, and body parts, there is a certain hilarity to the game, and that is why it has become such a hit with fans. The game once again puts the lives of hopeful patients in your “knowledgeable” hands, and you can of course choose to save their lives, or mercilessly butcher them. Your call, really.

It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea (*insert gagging here*), but if this is your kind of game, then go for it. The London-based Bossa Studios said that they have relished porting the gameplay to handhelds, and that users will surely have to rely on their nimble fingers. We are pretty sure this is going to be heck difficult.

In addition to the heart and double kidney operations which are a staple in the original game, the Android game brings the more technical – if you want to call it that, but knowing you morbid animals out there, we’re pretty sure you’re gonna love mucking these up – and hideous eye and teeth transplants. Quick, check out the source link – should be a USD$6.99 download for you.

SOURCE: Google Play Store

Story Timeline

• John Woo’s first mobile game Bloodstroke now available


• Nuts! is a cute new endless 'climbing' game


• Must download game: Skulls of the Shogun for Android

Now Browser Extended brings power to lightest web browser

Just because you're lightweight doesn't have to mean that you're weak. This is the philosophy that Now Browser is adopting with its new Extended Program, a new version of what is billed as the lightest web browser for Android that adds a ton of new power features while still remaining small, agile, and simple.

Now Browser, briefly called Material Browser because of its adoption of Android L's new aesthetics, brought the promise of an extremely fast and extremely small mobile web browser, occupying only around 160 KB, more or less, of your storage space. The app existed in two tiers, a free version and paid pro one. In truth, however, much of the potential of Now Browser is really only unlocked with the pro version, which gave access to the Now Browser Rendering Engine, Javascrpt Super Fast Mode, Web File compressor, and unlimited tabs.

Now Browser Extended is a new tier that brings even more features to the fold, a veritable laundry list of much desired functionality found in most fully featured and heavyweight web browsers. Just to whet your appetite, there's AdBlock support, Tor proxy support, unlimited tabs for Web File compressor (not just regular tabs), and Immersive mode. There are some new features that you'd expect to be in any regular browser but are only making their way to Now Browser via the Extended Program, things like bookmarks management and even Find in Page. But wait, there's more! FlashPlayer support for KitKat devices is also noted to be in the works. Spport for Flash is actually already present in both free Basic and Pro versions of Now Browser, but limited to Android 4.1 devices and older due to Google's new policy. This feature would then enable the same capability devices running the latest Android version.

Now Browser Extended, however, doesn't come with a free or even trial version. You will have to pay $1.86 up front to get your hands on these very desirable features. It might be a worthwhile investment, however, as the developer is accepting requests for more features to be added in the future.

Download: Now Browser Extended on Google Play Store

VIA: XDA

Om One stands out with a levitating Bluetooth speaker

With so many Bluetooth speakers available in the market, those who are not content with having a simple one would always look out for the most unique devices out there. The Om One Bluetooth speaker is ready to stand out from among the rest, as it has a levitating orb that would fascinate observers, while also providing sound quality that would rival the best ones out there.

It is not magic that makes the orb speaker levitate, but rather the simple power of magnets. A Neo magnet is located at the bottom of the orb, which in turn reacts to the electromagnet of the speaker base, making it float in the air just above it. You can connect the speaker to your phone, computer or wherever else you store your music, as long as it has Bluetooth 4.0. The speaker has “world class true stereo sound” and if you happen to have another levitating orb speaker floating around, you can pair them to give you an even better true sound experience.

You can also use the Om One speaker to pick up your calls just like a speaker phone, since it has a microphone built in. So you can pretend to be talking to a floating orb, just like what you saw in an old science fiction film. In terms of power, it claims to have improved battery life since it only uses 3 watts as opposed to most speakers that use around 10 watts.

The Om One speaker is also very portable so you can bring it anywhere you want and show it off to your friends. However, your desk or study table is probably the perfect spot for it, as it could also be decorative aside from functional. The speakers will be available later this year and is expected to cost around $179 in retail stores.

SOURCE: Om One

VIA: SlashGear

HTC outs the One M8 PHUNK limited edition

What’s more premium than premium? Well, considering that the HTC One M8 is probably the best Android phone you can get out there (OnePlus One users might argue that, but nevertheless), a limited edition offer on HTC’s flagship might be the only improvement you can get barring a next-gen upgrade. So HTC gives you a limited editiom HTC One M8, with which it worked with Singapore-based art studio PHUNK to give it an… err, funky look.

PHUNK is HTC’s first partner for the “Here’s to Creativity” campaign they’re running this year. The plan will be to partner with studios such as PHUNK to give its handsets a sort of artsy creative theme. For the One M8, PHUNK is going with “Wonderment” as the theme. This now reflected in the laser-etched art design on the premium metal back of the One M8. Behold.

No doubt about it, the design is an enhancement to an already premium-feel phone like the One M8. To partner your new back design, PHUNK also rolled out a couple of wallpapers to match. No sense in having a great design on the back and put your favorite LOLcat wallpaper upfront, right?

So how do we get one? Not easily, wethinks. HTC reveals that there are only 64 of these babies created, hence the “limited edition" tag. From what it looks like, they might be given out as prizes for contests that HTC will be running. You may want to keep an eye out for those online ads that point to an HTC contest, because you might just be bringing home one of these funky HTC One M8’s.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• HTC One M8 shows off red and pink colors


• HTC One M8 gets 4.4.3 update with some 4.4.4 fixes


• HTC One M8's Duo Cam now allows others to refocus your photos

Android chokes out the competition with 85% market share

Android is growing, no doubt about that. But just how much and how fast can still sometimes be quite surprising. The latest numbers coming from IDC reveal that Android smartphone shipments comprise almost 85 percent of the world's output, not an insignificant 33 percent increase from almost 80 percent from the same period last year.

Here are the raw figures coming from IDC. Android smartphone shipments totaled 255.3 million units. iOS, in contrast, shipped only 35.2 million, up from last year's 31.2 million. That said, the second quarter is noted to be Apple's weakest year after year, with figures picking up as new iPhones are announced. Android and iOS combined take up 96.4 percent of the market in Q2 2014. That leaves very little for other players. Windows Phone manages to remain at third but has sunk from 3.4 percent last year to 2.5 percent this year. IDC thinks there might still be some hope for Microsoft's mobile platform, with new devices, especially those coming from other OEM's. Meanwhile, BlackBerry's position has become even more precarious, with only 0.5 percent of the market left to it, down from 2.8 percent from the same quarter last year.

IDC makes a few interesting notes about Android's market supremacy. It attributes part of that success to Samsung, which still managed to make up for 29.3 percent of all Android shipments, down from 40 percent last year. These numbers show Samsung's unique position in the Android world and somewhat explains the company's desire to strike a name for itself independent of Google's platform. That said, it should also be a challenge to other Android-loving OEMs to step up their game and be ready to take Samsung's place should the Korean manufacturer become wayward. The other note that IDC makes is that 58.6 percent of Android smartphones shipped worldwide cost less than $200, a very lucrative market for the mobile platform that iOS has trouble entering. The Android One initiative unveiled at I/O 2014 last June could very well boost these numbers even higher in the coming quarters.

While we rejoice at Android's dominance in the smartphone market, we should also pause to think about possible scenarios that the future might hold. With a practical stranglehold on the market, Google is in the position to be the Microsoft/Windows of smartphones. Although Android's open source nature has checks in place to stop that from happening, Google has also been working to exercise more direct control and lock down some parts that it can, whether through code or through policies. And with 85 percent, expected to grow even more, in its hands, that is a frightening future that no one will want to wake up to.

SOURCE: IDC

VIA: SlashGear

Amazon Appstore introduces live app testing for developers

If you’re an app developer, you would always want to ensure that your product is fully tested before unleashing it into the market. Live testing is probably the best way for you to see if there are any bugs needed to be fixed or if your app is actually working properly. Amazon Appstore is now introducing Live App Testing for their developers, proof that they are indeed serious in getting through to mobile developers and the app market.

Simply put, Live App Testing is for an app to be distributed to several selected people who will be able to fully use the product as if it were already live. They will be able to use it not just on their Amazon Kindle Fire tablets and Fire Phone, but also on other Android devices. The developers have a portal wherein they need to upload their new app, but instead of directly publishing it, they can choose the live testing option and manually add the email addresses of the selected testers.

The selected testers will then receive an email with instructions on how to download the app. From then on, they will have the capability of using the app and all its features They can then give feedback to the developers as to the feasibility of the app or to spot several things that need fixing. What is not clear at this point is how the feedback mechanism works. Do they just reply through email or is there a link where they just upload their comments and Amazon manages all of these feedback?

Google Play Store launched a similar program last year with its live beta testing and staged rollouts. But instead of adding the names and email addresses manually, developers could simply invite their selected testers to join the G+ group and from there, they will be given access to test the app. You could say the process is much simpler this way, but it’s still early stages for Amazon’s live testing capability so we can expect improvements later on.

SOURCE: Amazon