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Atlas Web Browser is a free privacy-inclined browser

Whomever invented the pop-up advertising must surely be one of the most cursed persons in history, and now the huge stream of pop-up ads is following us even to our handheld devices. Thankfully, there are still some developers out there with enough nous to give us browser alternatives, including Tod Liebeck, who developed the Atlas Web Browser as an answer to browsing privacy.



The Atlas Web Browser – now a free app download via the Google Play Store – was designed to overcome the common irritations and problems we have in Android web browsers. But more than that, it also aims to defeat the obnoxious advertising, excessive Javascript and even the annoying mobile “optimized” pages that we view on our smartphones and tablets.


Atlas-Web-Browser-contentfilter


One of the main benefits from this app is content filtering, which utilizes AdBlockPlus’s filters to turn off advertising and privacy tracking that some websites (ok, most websites) employ. You can also choose browsing modes (Hi-Fi, Lo-Fi, and Text) – with Hi-Fi showing all website details for normal browsing, Lo-Fi disabling all Javascript, and Text mode which is just that – a text-only version of the website you’re looking at.


Atlas-Web-Browser-DualView


A few extras are available when you avail of the paid add-on, namely, that you are able to open more than four tabs in one browsing session. The unlocked mode also gives you a dual, side-by-side mode of two websites – a feature most users are asking to be built in to Android itself. Also, the app is designed via Android L’s Material Design, and so you can expect the app to be even more awesome when the latest version of Android rolls out. Check the source link for the download. Alternatively, you can also check the official XDA forum for bugs and other info.


SOURCE: Google Play Store





Samsung Galaxy Note 4 teaser banks on crafting using S-Pen

As D-day fast approaches, Samsung fans are waiting with bated breath on what the long-teased about Galaxy Note 4 will bring. On September 3, all will be revealed, but until then, we have to deal with all the leaks, speculations and teasers that are coming our way. One of the latest official teasers is a short video, part of their Ready To Note campaign, that crafting is a cognitive ability and how the S-Pen can bring it to digital life.



The video called "Ready to Note? Your Note for Crafting" opens with real-life “old school” ways of crafting and designing that we’ve developed over the years, from school room art projects to cartography to architecture design to playing classic video games. There’s even footage of the unpeeling of an apple, maybe a “shout out” to its closest competitor. Then it shifts to showing how the S Pen, introduced through the Galaxy Note series, has changed how we marry using the digital life of our smartphones with our artistic and creative impulses. It shows how we create artwork/caricatures, play games and even just use the S Pen for normal smartphone use.


While it is a good reminder for some of us to actually use the S Pen, it also doesn’t show anything yet of how the Galaxy Note 4 will maximize the use of this feature of the smartphone/phablet. But it’s quite obvious that they will be harping on the S Pen as a key differentiator for the newest member of the Galaxy family. They also released another teaser in the Ready to Note series entitled Your Note for Handwriting, which focuses on the S Pen’s handwriting features, which were fully realised when the Galaxy Note 3 was released last year.


The official announcement of the Galaxy Note 4 is slated for September 3 during Samsung’s event in Berlin, which happens a few days before IFA 2014 kicks off in the German capital. The leaked specs has fuelled the hype over the device, with the reported 2560x1440 QHD resolution of the 5.7-inch smartphone. The reported 4GB RAM has caused some Android users to salivate. And we’re also now very familiar with how they’re pushing the Ultra Power Saving Mode, which was first introduced with the Galaxy S5. We have just 9 days more to find out whether all this is too good to be true.







Microsoft to out Miracast dongle as Chromecast competition

Microsoft is planning to compete with Google in the screen-casting/media-casting market, this much is proven by a couple of unrelated sources that prove the Redmond-based software giant is planning to come up with its own Miracast dongle to compete with the Chromecast device.



The first evidence was information on the FCC website about a Microsoft device called the HD-10, but at that point it was still unclear what it was. The WiFi org certification of the device sealed the deal, and it was now clear that the HD-10 would allow Nokia Lumia users to cast their devices’ screens onto a bigger screen, much like what Chromecast is being used for at this point.


miracast


Windows Phone 8.1, the newest iteration of the OS, includes a “Project My Screen” feature that will dovetail perfectly with the HD-10, which uses Miracast technology. Most Nokia tech bloggers think that the dongle will be compatible with any device running Windows 8.1 – either tablet, laptop, or smartphone.


The information on the Microsoft HD-10 says that it will of course be compatible with current WiFi standards, it will have a USB connection available, and should be able to output to a bigger screen using HDMI. And as expected, this device will be one of the highlights for Microsoft’s event at IFA 2014.


VIA: SlashGear





OnePlus’ summer photo contest to give away 10,000 “invites”

Are you looking for a new smartphone that isn’t part of any of the established OEMs? Do you have a ton of summer photos just waiting to be uploaded? Do you like taking part in unique marketing gimmicks? Then you still have a few more hours to join OnePlus’ Summer Shots contest as it is as easy as uploading a photo on social networks and putting on some hashtags. The prize? They’re giving away 10,000 free invitations to be one of the first thousands to own their smartphone called, you guessed it, OnePlus One.



If you’re still not familiar with this particular brand and why you need an invitation, let us refresh your memory. OnePlus One is actually not yet available in the market and will not be for purchase on any of the usual retail sites yet. You need an invitation to be able to get one, and for the past few months, they’ve come up with several marketing and social media gimmicks to give away these invites. The latest contest is something close to the hearts of most smartphone owners: a photo competition.


But don’t worry, you don’t need to be an award-winning photographer to join. You can just post any picture that you’ve taken during the summer, use the hashtags #summershots #oneplus and share it on Instagram, Twitter, or on their forums. You are allowed to slightly alter the photo using Instagram’s filters, but the photo must have been taken by the uploader himself/herself. The prizes are 10,000 of these golden invites, plus 100 t-shirts that have the OnePlus logo on them.


There are some other things that you can to join the contest, if you don’t feel like taking summer shots. You can follow OnePlus’ various social networks (IG, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube) to get 1 entry each. Winners will be randomly chosen by Rafflecopter, so don’t worry if you’re not the next Annie Leibovitz. You have a few hours to join, as the deadline is August 25. There are over 142,000 entries already, so if you really want to get a chance to buy the OnePlus One, you better count on your lucky stars that you get picked.


SOURCE: OnePlus


VIA: PhoneArena





Meizu MX4 images leaked, good view of back cover

If you think that only the big players are excited for IFA 2014 then you’d be wrong. Some of the ambitious Chinese manufacturers are looking to impress in Berlin as well. Specifically for this article, we take a look at some newly leaked images of what is purportedly the high-end Meizu MX4, the outfit’s new flagship.



As always with these devices, rumors have been plenty about the MX4. There are reportedly two variants, one more budget-friendly (in relative terms) than the other. We do not know which of the two iterations we are looking at with these photos. There are also rumors of sexy thin bezels, much like the LG family of devices, as the MX4 has lofty ambitions of kicking it with the high-end products.


meizu-mx4-back-1 meizu-mx4-back-2 meizu-mx4-back-3 meizu-mx4-back-5 meizu-mx4-back-6


As we can see from these pictures, the MX4 may possibly be available in a dark gray or black version, to partner with the regular white that most Chinese manufacturers seem to love so much (we don’t know why). Then we see the top riding headphone jack that looks normal, as is the USB data cable receptacle at the bottom. What seems to be different from the rumors is the square-ish tactile button on the one image of the front that we have, dispelling rumors of a round iPhone-like home button.


The rumored spec list for the high-end MX4 is pretty off-the-charts for Chinese manufacturers – that is why tech blogs are saying that they might just be a little too good to be true. Be that as it may, a cheaper device with a 5.4-inch QuadHD screen and will supposedly have the Samsung Galaxy Note 4’s 64-bit capable octa-core Exynos 5433 chip under the hood. Do you think we should believe that? Or is that just way too much hype?


SOURCE: Weibo





OmniROM extends contact grouping to external syncing

Our phonebook lists have probably grown so long that the only way to tame these wild beasts would be to corral them into groups. While Android's People contacts app does have that capability, it is limited only to Google's proprietary syncing service or Microsoft Exchange. Ever an advocate of open source solutions, OmniROM has introduced a patch that opens the doors for other external syncing services to get the same functionality.



On the one hand, it's almost understandable that Google would give preferential treatment to its own services. On the other hand, contact grouping in this day and age of increasing mobile devices and Internet access seems pretty much a necessity rather than a special add-on. OmniROM's Pulsar, said to be the team's open source guy, wanted to level the playing field for other contact syncing solutions to get group syncing working as well.


The new feature practically revolves around CardDAV, an open protocol used by many services and apps for syncing contacts. The changes have already been accepted into OminROM's source code and is now rolling out into nightly builds. Once this feature hits users, they will be able to take contact syncing apps like the open source DAVdroid and use it with their service of their choice like ownCloud and get the exact same level of group functionality that is otherwise only available with Google and Exchange accounts.


This little episode definitely shows OmniROM's commitment to open solutions and open source thinking, which is all well and good. Unfortunately, the custom ROM still has a long way to go in terms of becoming more stable and more viable alternative to the likes of CyanogenMod or Paranoid Android. That said, the source code changes for this new feature is quite trivial and, of course, open source, so other custom ROMs could easily adopt it in order to give their own users a bit of new freedom.


SOURCE: OmniROM





OmniROM extends contact grouping to external syncing

Our phonebook lists have probably grown so long that the only way to tame these wild beasts would be to corral them into groups. While Android's People contacts app does have that capability, it is limited only to Google's proprietary syncing service or Microsoft Exchange. Ever an advocate of open source solutions, OmniROM has introduced a patch that opens the doors for other external syncing services to get the same functionality.



On the one hand, it's almost understandable that Google would give preferential treatment to its own services. On the other hand, contact grouping in this day and age of increasing mobile devices and Internet access seems pretty much a necessity rather than a special add-on. OmniROM's Pulsar, said to be the team's open source guy, wanted to level the playing field for other contact syncing solutions to get group syncing working as well.


The new feature practically revolves around CardDAV, an open protocol used by many services and apps for syncing contacts. The changes have already been accepted into OminROM's source code and is now rolling out into nightly builds. Once this feature hits users, they will be able to take contact syncing apps like the open source DAVdroid and use it with their service of their choice like ownCloud and get the exact same level of group functionality that is otherwise only available with Google and Exchange accounts.


This little episode definitely shows OmniROM's commitment to open solutions and open source thinking, which is all well and good. Unfortunately, the custom ROM still has a long way to go in terms of becoming more stable and more viable alternative to the likes of CyanogenMod or Paranoid Android. That said, the source code changes for this new feature is quite trivial and, of course, open source, so other custom ROMs could easily adopt it in order to give their own users a bit of new freedom.


SOURCE: OmniROM





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