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Weak Control adds control to Android devices with mouse and keyboard

An app called Weak Control has hit Google Play in version 1.0 for Android devices running Android 4.4.x or higher. The app works for both tablets and smartphones and requires root permissions. The point of the app is to allow users to control their smartphone or tablet from a Chrome browser using a mouse and keyboard.



With the app, installed users will be able to stream full HD movies in real time, play games, and text. The app uses Chrome H.264 decoding capability to use less CPU power on the client devices. That means that just about any computing device including PCs, MacBooks, or Chromebooks can be used to control the smartphone.


In addition to being able to watch movies over the chrome browser, users can also use Weak control to Play games, chat with friends, and write using the keyboard. The app is 162k in size and is on Google Play right now.


Required permissions for the app include Superuser, Internet, WiFi state, Record audio, and license check. This sounds like an interesting way to control your smartphone or tablet from a computer.


SOURCE: Google Play


Moto G2 Indian pricing leaked

Last week some new images of the Moto G2 smartphone leaked showing what the device looks like and highlighting the removable back plates for the smartphone. We also know the pricing for the device in Europe thanks to leaks. In Europe, the smartphone will land on September 10 for €250.



This week the import data for India has surfaced for the Moto G2 smartphone showing some pricing information for the country. Import price for the 16GB version of the smartphone in India will be INR 10,640 ($176) for the 16GB version.


g2-india


That suggests that the retail price for the smartphone will be around INR 13,000 ($215). There are 70,000 of the black and white G2 smartphones heading to India and the smartphone will be sold by Flipkart.


Motorola has a launch event for the smartphone set for September 5 in New Delhi, which is before the European launch. All of the details on the Moto G2 smartphone will be offered at that event.


SOURCE: GSM Arena


Samsung to unveil new smart home products at IFA 2014

IFA 2014 is set to kick off very soon and ahead of the official start of the show, Samsung has announced that it will be rolling out new smart home products. Samsung says that the new smart home products will include services and products that will increase home safety, improve energy management, adapt to in-home locations, and can be operated using voice control.



Samsung's expanded smart home portfolio will also include third party devices and the hardware will run the gamut from digital door locks to IP cameras and smart plugs. The IP cameras will have a Home View function that allows a companion app to access the video feed to see who is at home and keep an eye on things from a distance.


Energy management products aim to help users control the power consumption in their home to save money and be green. Samsung Smart Home service will monitor energy consumption by things like air conditioners and display the expected cost of the appliance. Location aware services in the home allow the air conditioner or lights to switch on automatically when the user nears home.


Samsung is also talking up the ability to activate products and devices in their home using their voice with S Voice on Samsung Gear devices or Galaxy smartphones. Voice commands for Smart LED lighting, AC units, and robotic vacuums have been built into those Samsung devices.


SOURCE: Samsung Tomorrow





WhatsApp Messenger update adds Android Wear support

WhatsApp Messenger has been updated and has added in support for new devices and other improvements. The app is now at version 2.11.362 and the update went live on August 29. The exact size of the app will vary depending on the device you are installing it on.



WhatsApp Messenger has been very popular with between 500k and 1 million installs so far. Android 2.1 or higher is required for the app to function. The latest update brings with it Android Wear support, improved message storage reliability, and several bug fixes and improvements.


WhatsApp Messenger allows you to use 3G or WiFi to send messages to friends or family. There is no charge for the app for the first year of use and then it costs 99 cents per year after. WhatsApp Messenger supports multimedia video, images, and voice notes and group chats.


The update also adds support for stacked notifications, letting users see multiple notifications on their wrist by tapping the +1 button. Another cool Android Wear feature is the ability to dictate replies to messages from your watch. The app is available on Google Play right now.


SOURCE: 9to5Google and Google Play





Sony may go beyond 2m of water in new devices at IFA 2014

Sony may have established itself as the newest expert when it comes to waterproof devices ever since the advent of the Xperia Z series, but it still wants to push the aquatic boundaries even more. In their latest teaser before the start of the IFA 2014 in Berlin, they hinted that they may be going to a deeper level with the new devices that they will be announcing at their upcoming press event during the ubiquitous tech expo.



“We’ll be getting deep at #IFA2014. But how deep…?”, was the tweet that Sony sent out last August 31, with an underwater image in a swimming pool. The 2m and question mark text in the image may very well refer to the fact that the new devices they will be revealing may be immersed in 2 meters or more of water. The Xperia M2 Aqua, billed as having the “world’s highest level of waterproofing available in a smartphone” can only be dunked in 1.5-2 meters of freshwater for around 30 minutes, with its IP certification of IP68.


Now if indeed the new devices can go deeper than 2 meters, that would be a watery feat for the Japanese OEM. It can also boost the Sony Underwater apps, which they released last month and allows users of the Xperia Z1s or Xperia Z to enjoy underwater games with their devices. The apps will only work when the smartphone detects that it is underwater through the power of spectrograms.


The Sony event will be on September 4, in what promises to be another highly competitive exhibition of the latest gadgets that tech companies have to offer. So far Sony seems to have cornered the market in waterproof devices so let’s wait and see what they have to offer.


VIA: Xperia Blog





Yahoo Android app version 2.6 now with filter ability

With the average person spending 13 hours each week to go through their email, what has once been a convenient way of communicating is turning into an annoying chore. Thank goodness to the developers who have invented filters! A new update to the Yahoo! Mail app for Android now allows users to create, edit and delete filters that will help make your inbox more organized and lessen the time you spend just going through all the email you receive.



Gmail, arguably the most popular email service provider in the market, has had the ability to create and manage filters for some years now, but only on the desktop version. Their app, while nifty looking, doesn’t have this functionality yet. Enter Yahoo!, the former king of the email and now trying to get back into its users’ good graces. Its newly rolled-out version 2.6 has beaten Gmail in providing users a convenient way of managing their email’s filters in order to properly segregate the messages they receive.


Users can create and name their filters, use the "contains," "does not contain," "begins with," or "ends with” key words and separate the legitimate mail from the junk or even mailing lists. It is not difficult to create, edit and delete the filters as the setting for this is found at the bottom of the sidebar in the app. Other new features in the update includes having “nice cards” when there’s a link in the email you’re composing. The official emails from Yahoo! itself also now have special icons so there will be no confusion or risk of being victimized by spammers.


Hopefully, Gmail will also follow suit in having this feature in their Android App. But if you’re a Yahoo! Mail user, then take advantage of this capability and don’t waste any more time in painstakingly going through your mail without filters. You can download the Yahoo Mail app from the Google Play Store for free.


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Google mulling bitrates on Cast extension, beta available

The Google Cast extension for the Chrome browser is getting better and better, with Google exerting more effort to improve this aspect of its screen and tab casting to the Chromecast device. The beta extension now allows users to dictate minimum and maximum bitrates, capture framerates and the usage of an experimental 1080p stream cast.



Bitrate is usually measured in “kbps”, with the minimum setting dictating what value Cast can scale down to when there’s congestion on the network. Lower values will result in reduced visual quality, but will help avoid stuttering. The maximum bitrate setting does the opposite of course, setting the maximum value Cast can scale up if it sees that your network bandwith can take it.


Chromecast-Beta-Options


The “maximum capture frame rate” setting will tell Cast how many frames to capture per second. Normal browsing and file viewing is usually at 30fps. Games are playable at 60fps, but there’s very little content on a browser that needs 60fps. If you encounter something like that, this setting is where you control it.


Lastly, resolution can now be set higher than the usual 1280x720. If your host device can hack casting at 1920x1080, that option is available via the settings on this beta Cast extension. How do you get this? You will need to uninstall your current Cast extension for a while. Install Chrome Beta from here, and then download Google Cast (Beta) via the Chrome Web Store here. Remember, this is all experimental at the moment, so make sure to help out and report any bugs you may discover.


VIA: Ausdroid





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