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Chromecast now available in Austria and Hong Kong

While those of us in the US have had access to the Google Chromecast device for a long time, in some countries the device has been unavailable. Google has announced that the Chromecast has now been rolled out to a couple new countries.



Fans of streaming video to the big screen in the living room in Austria and Hong Kong can now purchase the Chromecast device. Folks in those counties not familiar with Chromecast may want to know a few basic specs for the device.


Chromecast sells for $35 in the US and is designed to plug into the HDMI port of a TV or monitor. It pairs with an app on Google Play and allows you to shoot supported content from your smartphone or tablet to the TV.


Supported content includes YouTube, Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus, and lots more. In some areas, the purchase of the Chromecast also gets the buyer 90 days of unlimited music from Google Play.


SOURCE: Google


HTC One M8 for Windows Review: It's No Lumia, But That's Just Fine

HTC One M8 for Windows Review: It's No Lumia, But That's Just Fine


Until recently, buying a Windows Phone probably meant buying a Nokia phone. But it doesn't need to be that way. HTC has just turned its flagship Android smartphone, the HTC One (M8), into the best all-purpose Windows Phone you can buy.


Read more...
















EA Sports adds controls, new gameplay to FIFA Ultimate Team app

Football fever isn’t over. I don’t think it will be over soon and EA Sports FIFA is adding to the craze by releasing the FIFA Ultimate Team. The new app allows two new modes to play on mobile – Matches of the Week and the FIFA Ultimate Team. New game plays have been added too: Classic or Casual Controls and Quick Simulation.



EA Sports also added new controller support for a better gaming experience. The games on the previous versions of the app are still included: Manager Mode, Penalty Kicks Mode, and Career Mode. The updated game is expected to give football fans control of their squad with the new Quick Simulation feature. You can act as team manager by controlling the effort, mentality, and approach of the whole team—all these while on an aerial view of the pitch. This way, you as the manager, can adjust play as you see player trends.


ea sports fifa

The other new feature, Matches of the Weeks, allows the gamer to play the big matches. You can also choose a favorite club to play their games.


The Casual and Classic Controls are new ways to control the football game. The developer added new tactical dribbling and through-ball options. Tactical Dribbling allows players greater control on the ball. Meanwhile, the Through ball will allow the player to send teammates through on goal simply by tapping a button.


To complete the FIFA 15 Ultimate Team experience, EA Sports has allowed more controllers to work on Android devices: Steelseries Stratus, Steelseries Pro Mobile, Moga Pro Power, Moga Hero Power, Moga Pocket Controller, and Mad Catz C.T.R.L.R Mobile Gamepad.


SOURCE: EA





Verizon Wireless to roll out WiFi calling next year

Verizon may have recently launched the official VoLTE and Advanced Calling 1.0 services but the carrier isn’t forgetting Wi-Fi calling. Voice over LTE may be more advanced than Wi-Fi calling but the latter’s introduction will be more convenient for the subscribers.



Wi-Fi calling isn’t really a priority for Verizon Wireless because there was never an urgent need for it. The company’s voice platform is already good enough that there was no need to connect to Wi-Fi to make a call. But with the rising popularity of instant messaging apps on mobile devices, there is now a need to improve the network when a Wi-Fi call gets through.


AT&T and T-Mobile already announced support for Wi-Fi calling that will roll out in 2015. However, AT&T’s service will only “complement Voice over LTE (VoLTE ) and 3G-based calling". This means Wi-Fi calling is only secondary. Meanwhile, T-Mobile is first to support Wi-Fi calling on the new iPhone.


The need for extensive Wi-Fi calling support came after Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo said that his company needs to do "some technological work in our network to make it available". Shammo, who recently spoke at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference, also mentioned Verizon’s latest plans including the early-upgrade program and the Edge-handset financing.


On the topic whether the Big Red would sell its wireless-tower assets, Shammo said that it’s an option. This supports Verizon Communciations CEO Lowell McAdam’s statement last week that, "Those deals are coming to us a little more now, and if an opportunity presented itself to increase shareholder value".


VIA: FierceWireless


Galaxy “Alpha” A500 spotted in TENAA with specs in tow

Giving a bit of credence to the rumors, a certain A5000 and A5009, variants of the same A500 model, have been seen in China's TENAA. Based on the images and specs hosted there, these would indeed seem to be lower spec'd variants of the Galaxy Alpha, a smartphone that heralded Samsung's excursion, or some would say return, into the realm of metal.



Just after the Galaxy Alpha was announced in August, rumors have started to come up that there will be more to come, albeit with a lower spec sheet than this supposedly premium-looking, though still somewhat mid-range, metal-clad smartphone. Leaks about some of those models, namely the A300, A500, and A700, mostly came from web page UAProf (user agent profile) or hearsay. These entries in TENAA now confirm their existence. Luckily for us, unlike the FCC, TENAA includes almost all the important specs for the device.


Those specs do concern what we've heard about the A500. It will have a larger 5.0-inch screen but the same 720p resolution of the Galaxy Alpha. Naturally, it has a lower processor, a 1.2 GHz quad-core, which would also match speculations of a Snapdragon 400 running on the device. RAM is also 2 GB and storage is capped at 16 GB. Here we see one of the other big difference between the A500 and the Galaxy Alpha, with the former shipping with a microSD card slot. The camera is strangely given with 3 figures: 13 megapixels, 5 megapixels, and 8 megapixels, leaving the door open for a 13/5 combo or 8/5 pairing like in previous leaks. Whichever way it goes, the front camera seems to be designed to cater to selfie lovers.


sm-a5009-tenaa-1 sm-a5009-tenaa-2 sm-a5009-tenaa-3 sm-a5009-tenaa-4


The TENAA entry, of course, also provides photos of the device and here we can notice a few things as well. The front and sides of the device do bear the marks of the Galaxy Alpha, but the back design strays quite a bit. It would seem that Samsung has split the flash and the heartrate sensor on both sides of the camera, if it does have a fingerprint scanner at all. Unfortunately, TENAA certifications do not usually include that information. The A5000 and A5009 are basically the same save for supported bands, with the A5009 supporting only CDMA while the A5000 does TD-SCDMA and WCDMA. Of course, both support GSM and TD-LTE.


VIA: TENAA (SM-A5000), (SM-A5009)





Starbucks app for Android gets digital tipping, Shake to Pay

Hanging out at Starbucks is a favorite of most geeks I know. The coffee shop is usually the default “office” or meeting place of anyone trying to survive work or school. To complete the Starbucks experience, an app was launched to allow people to pay with the phone and get rewards.



iPhone owners have been having fun with the Starbucks app but it’s only now that Android users are getting the mobile app. The app for Android is linked to the Starbucks rewards card so you can easily pay for purchases simply by showing the phone. Reloading card balance, finding the nearest store, and leaving a digital tip for the barista are also possible with the new Starbucks app.


The Shake to Pay and digital tipping features have been on the iOS version since March but the recent update released on the Google Play Store includes the two functionalities. The app is accepted in company-operated Starbucks stores in the U.S. plus other Target and Safeway locations.


Starbucks app for Android 2

Other features of the Startbucks for Android include easy transfer of balances between cards, view transaction history, reloading, check balance of Starbucks card, Track Stars, and redemption of My Starbucks Rewards. It also shows you available Earned Rewards, Birthday Rewards, as well as, Offer coupons on the barcode payment screen. Information like stores nearby, directions, store hours, and reviews can also be found on the app.


Download Starbucks app for Android HERE.


SOURCE: Starbucks





OnePlus stops production of Bamboo StyleSwap Cover

Bamboo-covered phones and cases are not exactly new. In fact, we’ve seen a bamboo-backed Moto X last year and a bamboo case for the Nexus 7. How about the ADzero phone with a bamboo back from a couple of years ago? This year, we’re anticipating the arrival of OnePlus One Bamboo cover but it quickly went out of stock when it was first released.




Looks like bamboo has a lot of fans and OnePlus One owners were promised that Bamboo StyleSwap covers will be released. Unfortunately, the OnePlus team had to make a complicated decision to stop production of StyleSwap covers for many reasons. For one, removal of the back cover is a bit tricky so switching covers can be a challenge.


OnePlus noted that their phone covers were an “ambitious and innovative concept” but now the company is stopping production covers for the OnePlus One. According to OnePlus Forum Administrator Carl, they “aren’t comfortable mass releasing a product that does not offer the best user experience”.


That’s brave of OnePlus to admit a mistake so much respect for the team. They’ve got a few Bamboo covers already produced and they plan on selling them as limited edition. OnePlus also said it will be providing instructions on how to properly replace the $49 cover without damaging the phone, battery, and the cover itself.


SOURCE: OnePlus





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