Amazon enters the mobile payment space with Local Register

As more aspects of our lives become even more digital, mobile payments might just become the next step for retail shops. Square has established itself as the leader in the market, but now online retail giant Amazon is trying to make its way to this segment by launching Amazon Local Register. The program provides a card reader and an app that will help merchants and retailers accept credit and debit card payments without having to shell out for a credit card terminal.

When you create an account on Amazon Local Register, you will purchase the card reader that will fit into the headphones jack of your smartphone. You then need to download the mobile app from Amazon Appstore or Google Play Store. Once you’ve installed both the reader and the app, you can already use it to accept payments from customers with their credit or debit cards.

If merchants sign up before the end of October 2014, each transaction will only give Amazon a special rate of 1.75% until the end of December 2015. Afterwards, the percentage will rise to 2.5%. Each card reader will cost $10 but Amazon says that they will easily recoup this since the first $10 in transactions will be credited back to the account. There are also no monthly fees, refunds or chargeback fees, and international charges. You will also not be locked in to any kind of contract.

While it seems a good deal, feedback from early customers has not been so good. If you’re already an Amazon merchant, you cannot just add the Local Register to your existing account. You need to create a different one. The app is still slow at this time, causing some delays during the transactions. The compatible smartphones are still limited, with only iPhone 4 and up, iPad and iPad mini, Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 and S5, and Kindle Fire HD and HDX working with the system. It’s still early days for the Local Register, so there will surely be more improvements moving forward.

SOURCE: Amazon

VIA: SlashGear

Popular photo editing app Afterlight now comes to Android

Afterlight is a very popular photo editing app for iPhone users, and now non-iOS users need not be envious anymore. Afterlight is finally available for Android smartphones and tablets so we can finally know what the fuss is all about. There are a gazillion photo apps out there, but it seems that this is one of the apps to beat as per those lists of “best apps for so-and-so” are concerned.

Looking at its specs and description on the app page, the number of available tools and filters is definitely something that catches attention. It boasts of 59 different filters, with 27 of them fully adjustable, 14 of them from Instagram users that were asked to specifically create special filters for the app, and 18 different ones included in the new Season filters package. It also has 66 kinds of textures, which includes some that were created using 35mm film and instant film together with light leaks, both real and natural.

The app also includes 128 frames that are compatible with Instagram and have varied custom shapes and sizes. Some of the wallpapers are in fact, hand-drawn, giving it the look of actual works of art. You also have the option of using 15 kinds of adjustment tools in case you’re not satisfied with the picture you took. Of course, the social sharing part of the app is simple, and users can even be featured on Afterlight’s official Instagram account by hashtagging their photos with #afterlight.

Of course an app this nice would have to come with a price tag right? But don’t worry, you just have to shell out $0.99 to have all these features on your Android device. You can buy Afterlight from the Google Play Store and filter and edit your photos away.

SOURCE: Afterlight

Freakbox is a set-top box that runs on Android 4.4

As long as the proliferation of media on the intarwebs continues, many companies will think that a standalone set-top digital media player is a viable market. The Freakbox continues in the tradition of Popcorn Hour and Roku, a set-top media player that can do just about anything an Android device can do.

For now, let’s look at the innards – the Freakbox features a Rockchip RK3188, or in practical a quad-core processor that runs at 1.6GHz. There is ample RAM at 2GB, and a Mali 400 graphics chip. There is enough internal storage, either 8GB or 16GB, which can be expanded by 32GB via microSD. All of these run on an Android 4.4 KitKat OS.

As you can see, it’s one small box that has a lot of potential. Users have an HDMI out port to work with, plus the standard 3.5mm audio port or an S/PDIF out. There is a raft of connectivity choices – you can go WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, or the standard Ethernet port.

Lastly, there are three USB ports – we hope at least one of those is a USB 3.0 port, but we’re not holding our breath on that one. If this interests you, you are able to pre-order the device at this point in time. Ship date is reportedly sometime in September.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Roku app update enables streaming from smartphones to TVs


• Chromecast or Roku? Let the dongle wars begin!


• AllCast adds subtitles for Chromecast and Roku playback fixes

Turbo Editor gives file editing a much needed boost

When it comes to writing text, most users would run to a word processor of some sort. Power users, system administrators, programmers, and web developers¸ on the other hand, will be flocking towards more powerful plain text editors. Surprisingly, there is no lack of such apps on the more touch-oriented Android platform, and Turbo Editor from XDA Senior Member Vlad Mihalachi is one of the latest contenders in that arena.

Turbo Editor boasts of many of the features power users would expect to find in such a type of text editor. There is syntax highlighting for many programming languages, specially those oriented towards web development like HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and more. And to further support that web-friendly workflow, Turbo Editor has a dedicated "View on the web" menu that takes you immediately to a web page preview of the file you are editing. There are, of course, optional line numbers to keep you from getting lost in your source code and a built-in mini file browser so that you can conveniently create and search for files right from within the app.

Turbo Editor does have some features that do make the app noteworthy. First is the fact that the app is open source, which makes development transparent and easier to facilitate. It also makes this very useful app a good foundation for others to build on and extend. Furthermore, being a power geek tool doesn't mean it has to look like a relic of the past (though some might actually find that more appealing). Turbo Editor tries to apply a few principles of Google's own Material Design language, particularly in the use of icons and colors, to keep the app easy on the eyes even while offering users all the power they need.

Of course, Turbo Editor is built on the assumption that you would want to edit text files on your Android device. Tablet users might have it easier, with a larger screen and an equally larger virtual keyboard, or the myriad accessories available that add a keyboard into the mix. The idea might be a harder sell on smartphones, which, by nature, don't lend themselves easily to any kind of extended typing. But if you find yourself needing a more powerful text editor in a pinch, do give the free Turbo Editor a spin to see if it can meet your needs.

Download: Turbo Editor on Google Play Store

VIA: XDA

Digital Tattoos to have more non-Moto X functions soon

While the recently launched Digital Tattoos were really cool (and we’d like to have one, really), if you don’t have a Motorola Moto X, then it’s practically useless. But the makers of the semi-permanent tattoo, VivaLnk, have said that they are now looking into other ways that it can be used, other than just to unlock smartphones. They are set to release a new set of digital tattoos that can be reprogrammed for other functions.

The Moto X digital tattoos work by using NFC sticker technology to be able to unlock your smartphone without using a password. Using the eSkinTM technology, all you need to do is stick the tattoo wherever you want (even your cheek or forehead if you want to be weird) and then tap your Moto X on to the tattoo to unlock it. For the future non-Moto X tattoos, they will be using the same NFC tag technology and it will surely be helpful, as long as you have the necessary equipment and technology for the devices that will work with the tattoos.

For example, you could embed your contact details onto the tattoo, turning it into a digital business card that anyone who taps into it can access. It can also be used for retail shops, where you just tap the tattoo on to certain surfaces in the shop, and it will play music or videos automatically. It may also someday replace the useful but aesthetically unpleasant QR code. Tattoos are much cooler than squiggly black lines and swirls, don’t you think?

But for now, of course you can only use the digital tattoos if you have a Moto X. They are sold at $9.99 per packs of 10. Each tattoo can last up to 5 days and is water-proof, so no need to hold off on taking a bath just to be able to unlock your phone in such a cool manner.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• You can now unlock your Moto X with a $1 temporary tattoo


• Sticker art tattoo unlocks your Moto X


• Digital Tattoo can now officially unlock your Moto X

Acer to give Iconia tablet new lease at life

Acer is putting out another player to mix it up with the budget tablet market as it gives its Iconia brand tablets another chance. The Iconia A3-A20 mixes entry level specs with a sleek new look to give the 10.1-inch tablet a fresh aesthetic. The question is really, will this strategy work?

The problem really is that mediocre specs make for mediocre performance. The new Iconia will be powered by a MediaTek 1.3 GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM. Those will push pixels to a 1280x800 HD screen, thankfully a decent resolution to view your HD movies. Users will have a choice of either 16GB or 32GB internal storage.

There is a 5MP rear camera, coupled with your usual connectivity features – USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, and an HDMI out for viewing on a bigger screen. One of the few new features is a 2MP front-facing camera for semi-blurry selfies. Acer has also deemed the new tablet worthy to run Android 4.4 KitKat.

Aesthetically, there is a lot to like about the Iconia A3-A20 – the sleek looks make up for the hiccups and performance bottlenecks that will be sure to happen if you push the entry-level specs of this device to the limit. But at the USD$270 price tag, you probably will understand that you get what you pay for, if not a little less so.

VIA: SlashGear

Story Timeline

• Acer launching first Core i3-powered Chromebook C720


• Acer announces Liquid Jade Plus smartphone to launch in August


• NVIDIA Tegra K1 gives Acer Chromebook 13 hours of uptime

Meizu MX4 leak reveal narrow bezels, familiar design

Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and OnePlus have all had their piece, so now its Chinese OEM Meizu's time to take center stage. A batch of leaked photos of its upcoming Meizu MX4 flagship has recently surfaced, showing company's design vision for its next smartphone, which honestly is starting to look like an amalgamation of some very popular and identifiable smartphone designs.

To be fair, the MX4 looks quite similar to the MX3, but the same can be said of both smartphones anyway. The very rounded corners and top speaker grill and cameras hint at a Samsung smartphone, while the paint of white (or black in some cases) paired with a circular home button calls to mind Apple's design. There have been some comments that the Meizu MX4 looks similar to the recently unveiled Xiaomi Mi 4, but that isn't doing it any favors, as the latter has also been criticized for playing up to Apple's design. The MX4 does have impressively thin bezels, but the seemingly raised frame keeps it from looking like an HTC One as well.

In terms of hardware specs, there are two sets floating around, one for a base model and one for a so-called premium variant. One set has a rather strange 1800x1080 resolution display, powered by an MT6595 MediaTek octa-core processor. The high-end version is more ambitious, said to carry a 5.4-inch QHD screen and running on a Samsung Exynos 5433, almost the same specs expected to be seen in the upcoming Galaxy Note 4, except for the screen size. Both models are also believed to sport 3 GB of RAM, a 20.7 megapixel rear camera, and an 8 megapixel shooter on the front.

Those are definitely interesting specs, some of which may sound too good to be true. Meizu is expected to unveil the MX4 next month around IFA 2014, so we'll be waiting to see if these hardware, plus whatever features Meizu might be throwing in, would be enough for the smartphone to rub shoulders with the brands and devices it seems to be trying to identify with.

SOURCE: Weibo (1), (2)

VIA: GSMArena