Sony announces Z3, Z3v for T-Mobile, Verizon

Today, Sony has offically unveiled their Xperia Z3 smartphone to the world. The natural iteration in their flagship lineup, the Xperia Z3 has at least one unique thing going for it. Sony will be bringing their handset to T-Mobile, which is something they’ve been doing for some time. We’re used to that, but with the Xperia Z3, Sony has figured out carriers a bit better, and will truck a variant over to Verizon, too. That Verizon model will also have one unique feature the other won’t.

Sony’s Xperia Z3v — the Verizon model — has Qi wireless charging built in. That will make it slightly larger than the T-Mobile version, but not by much. Aside from that, the spec sheet is identical:

Display: 5.2-inch, 1080 x 1920, 442ppi

Processor: Snapdragon 801

GPU: Adreno 330

Battery: 3100 mAh

RAM: 3GB

Memory: 16 or 32GB, expandable via micro SD up to 128GB

WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Bluetooth: 4.0

NFC: It’s there

Camera: 20.7 MP, 1/2.3” sensor

Video: 1080p at 60fps, 720p at 120fps, HDR, 2160p at 30fps

The Xperia Z3 is also IP68 certified, making it water resistant to about one meter for 30 minutes. Great for a quick dip under water, but not one you’ll take on a dive.

The Xperia Z3 will launch on October 23 via both carriers, and will likely sit right around $199 with a two-year subsidy for Verizon. The T-Mobile unlocked pricing hasn’t been announced yet.

Story Timeline

• Unlocked Xperia Z3 Bootloader affects camera quality


• Sony Xperia Z3 flagship device gets a full teardown


• T-Mobile Xperia Z3 page now up, device still coming soon

Chrome 38 comes out in Android with bug fixes, improvements

As the date for Android L (what it stands for is still a guessing game but it will surely be delicious) draws near, most of Google's apps have slowly been updated design-wise with the material design that will be implemented by the major update. That is precisely one of the things that Chrome for Android has updated with version 38. And while the changes aren't that strikingly obvious, it's always a good idea to update your mobile browser to fix bugs and security updates.

Once you've updated to version 38, you won't really notice anything that different as it is more under-the-hood. And according to the change logs, it isn't anything that major. They've just added a few API's like support for battery status and screen orinetiation. It also says they were able to fix several bugs and improve performance, which are always welcome things, even though we'd appreciate it more if they actually told us what these improvements were, so we can actually notice them. A security vulnerability for content spoofing with scrollbar has also been fixed as well.

In terms of the Material Design, the previous update for version 37 already laid the groundwork for giving us an idea of what the final look will be for Android L. In this latest update, there is more visual consistency, although the changes are really minor and may not be that obvious to those whose eyes aren't trained to observe these details. But it does make us all the more excited to see what the "final product" will be like when Android L finally comes out.

If you haven't yet updated your Chrome browser, go to the Google Play Store and My Apps section to see if there is one already. If there isn't, just be patient and wait a few more hours or days, especially since as we said, the changes aren't crucial to your browsing life.

SOURCE: Google Chrome

Story Timeline

• Chrome Browser v37 now has Google's material design


• Did Google confirm that Android L will be Lollipop?


• Very early Android L on the Galaxy S5: gorgeous but raw

Humble Mobile Bundle 9 on sale until Oct 22

It seems like we were just talking about the last version of the Humble Mobile Bundle, and that's mostly because it has only been a couple of weeks since the last version was here. The latest Humble Mobile Bundle 9 is here and it brings with it some cool and DRM-free games for mobile Android gamers to enjoy.

As with all Humble Mobile Bundle packs, you can pay what you want for this version, but how much you pay will determine how many games you get. Pay any amount and you will get Syberia, Neuroshima Hex, and Barbarian: Golden Axe Edition. Any payment amount will get you a free fourth game called Devil's Attorney.

If you pay more than the average amount, which is $3.19, you get three more games to enjoy. Those other games include Leo's Fortune, Out There, and First Strike. Buyers also get soundtracks for some of the games with the purchase.

Version 9 of the Mobile Bundle is doing very well with over 13 days to go at the time of writing it has already racked up 23,509 sales so far. The total amount raised by the bundle is over $75,000.

SOURCE: Humble Bundle

Story Timeline

• Humble Mobile Bundle 6 brings 6 into the fold


• Humble Bundle 7 brings Heroes of Loot, the Tiny Bang Story, and more


• Humble Mobile Bundle 8 packs 6 games

Google adds ‘Backdrop’ feature to Chromecast

A beautiful backdrop as screensaver is nothing new but Chromecast didn’t arrive with it. There really is no need but some Chromecast users have requested such feature on their TVs. Google has finally released this backdrop feature allowing anyone to customize a TV screen by displaying a favorite photo album from Google+, artwork from museums and galleries via the Google Cultural Institute, or satellite images from Google Earth.

Exclusive to the United States are news and lifestyle images from The Guardian, Saveur, The New York Times, and other magazines. For the active Google+ users, you can also display more beautiful photos from the community.

Customizing the Chromecast is easy. Open the Chromecast app on your smartphone or tablet, choose ‘Backdrop’ found on the left menu. Select the type of images you want to be displayed on the TV. Images would show randomly on the TV but you can read information about each photo by opening the Chromecast app on the TV, selecting Backdrop again, and tapping on the card to show information. For a cooler way, open the Google app on your Android device, click on the mic icon, and ask “What’s on my Chromecast?”. It’s like having a personal assistant.

Chromecast software will be updated to include this new feature. You should receive the app update anytime soon. More details HERE.

SOURCE: Chrome

How To Record Your Screen on an Android Phone or Tablet

In amongst the new features ushered in with Android KitKat was a screencasting capability—a native tool for capturing on-screen activity in a video file. Whether you want to show off your app, share your Angry Birds prowess or start a series of Android troubleshooting videos, it's not difficult to get the functionality up and running, as we'll explain in the steps below.

Read more...

Paranoid Android 4.6 Beta 4: Quick Settings, new wallpaper

Due to some technical difficulties, Paranoid Android had to delay the fourth beta of their 4.6 release series. Fret not PA fans, as that update is now upon us. For a slight change, this release doesn't focus on the Dynamic Status Bars, lovingly called DSB. Instead, it gives a bit of polish to the Quick Settings tiles feature. And as a bonus, Paranoid Android is introducing a new default wallpaper, one that has the project's AOSPA moniker clearly emblazoned for everyone to see and enjoy.

Unlike the vanilla Android experience from Google, custom ROMs such as CyanogenMod and Paranoid Android allow users to customize the Quick Settings tiles to their heart's content. PA even goes the extra mile and makes some of those tiles "flippable", exposing controls on both "sides" of the tile as needed. What's new in this release is that all tiles are now treated as equals. Previously there has been a demarcation between standard tiles, those that you will always see no matter what, and temporary ones, transient tiles like alarms that only pop up depending on the settings. Now you can mix and match as you please, ordering them how you see fit.

Another addition in this release is a new PA wallpaper with the AOSPA name on it, Paranoid Android's formal name, which stands for "Android Open Source Project (Paranoid Android)". Now, art is really a matter of subjective taste, so this new design might not sit well with some users. Of course, you are always free to change that. Moving forward, however, this will be the default that users will see when installing this version of PA 4.6. The wallpaper will also be listed first in Google Now Launcher's selection of wallpapers and can be found under the "Backgrounds" category of other launchers.

Just as PA 4.5 was all about the redesigned Recents View, PA 4.6 revolves around the new DSB. This (optional) feature updates the background of either the status bar or the navigation panel, or both, to match that of the window underneath. This was done to give PA a more Material Design feel on any app even while remaining on Android 4.4. Paranoid Android 4.6 Beta 4 is now available for download and so far no new officially supported device has been added to the ROM's roster.

SOURCE: +ParanoidAndroid

Story Timeline

• Paranoid Android 4.6 Beta 1 now available


• Paranoid Android 4.6 Beta 2 polishes colorful system bars

Snowball lets you read messages from many apps in one place

If you've found yourself confused by all the various messaging apps that you are now being "forced" to use (why can't all your friends and colleagues just use one app?) to communicate with various people in your life, then what you need is just one app where you can read all your incoming messages. That's the thinking behind the new app, Snowball, which is still in its beta version but may save your sanity to some extent.

If you use Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Snapchat, LINE, WeChat, Slack, Twitter and even your phone's own SMS, then you'll be able to just view them in Snowball. It follows the "Chat Head" design format of Facebook, and will just be floating on top of your homescreen. It will show you how many new messages you have in any of the apps that you use. Just tap on it to expand and read the messages and if you want to respond, you can launch the messaging app you need from the chat head and it should switch you to said app. To avoid confusion when viewing the messages, there is a small icon that tells you from where the message came from.

The developers don't want to become just another messaging app, and that is probably why you can't reply from the chat head itself. They want "to become synmbiotic" with all these apps and in fact, would like to work directly with these current apps that they are supporting, and those they'd like to add in the future. This could lead to an even better messaging interface and it might even lead to you being able to see what other messaging apps your friends are using.

Some user complaints have said the transition from Snowball to the other apps isn't that smooth, and of course, there are lots of other requests for other apps to be included, like Kik, Viber, Instagram, etc. Since the app is still in its beta phase, there will probably be more improvements in the later updates. Also, right now, it is only available in the US. So if you live in the country and would like this kind of app on your smartphone, you can download Snowball for free from the Google Play Store.