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Arq Dock 2.0: a gadget stand and charger in one

If you were one of those who backed the charging dock Arq Dock 1.0 and were pretty happy with it but wanted to see some improvements, well, then get ready to open your wallets again. Arq Dock 2.0 is now looking for more "investors" to bring you a much improved version of the original, and this time around, it has more options for your smartphones or slim tablets. It can support both Apple and Android devices and can be used as just a dock for cased and caseless devices or can be used as a charging stand as well.



The Arq Dock 2.0 is made from aluminum and comes with a micro USB cable among other components but is now built to support other cables as well, including USB 3.0, 30 pin, mini USB and of course, both kinds of lightning cables for Apple devices. You can adjust the connector height and the back support pins so you can use it with different devices like iPhones 4S, 5S, 6 and 6 Plus, iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad 4, plus other Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, Notes 2,3, and 4, plus the different Tabs (the slimmer ones though) as well.


Compared to the Arq Dock 1.0, this new product also has a similar shape and curvature, and also has the same pin support holes. Some differences between the two is that 2.0 is slightly taller and it has four cable grooves of different sizes and more cable tightening holes, since it can support more kinds of gadgets now. For those who have version 1, don't worry, they won't be useless as you can nest it with the newer Arq Dock now. It's available in three colors: Aurora Black, Apolo Silver and Titan Red


The makers are still trying to raise funding for the Arq Dock 2.0 over on Kickstarter. It's still around $3,500 short of its target of $12,000, but there are still 28 days to go for backers to sign up. If the first run is any indication, they will not have any problem reaching that goal. But the bigger question is, do you really need this stand/charger to add to your gadget accessories? (it does look pretty neat based on the the pictures on its page). If the answer is yes, you can pledge for as low as $22 (for 1 dock, US delivery, early bird backer) and for as high as $265 (10 docks, international delivery, main pledge backer).


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SOURCE: Kickstarter


Checky app tracks how often you check your phone

Have you ever wondered how many times per day you check your smartphone? Many of us probably check our phones lots more than we realize. A new app is available for Android devices called Checky that will track exactly how much of a phone checking habit you have.



The app is simple and gives you a big number on a white background surrounded by green that shows how many times in a day you have checked your smartphone. The app also shows how many times you checked your device the previous day.


The developers think that you might want to share the stats with your friends, and a sharing button is prominent below the tracker. If you are wondering, the app does nothing other than track how many times you check your phone during the day.


Checky has been around for roughly a month now and it has racked up as many as 100,000 installs. Apparently many people want to know how often they check their smartphone. The app is 2.3MB in size and requires Android 4.0.3 or higher.


SOURCE: Google Play


Flock messaging: communicate and colllaborate for work purposes

We know what you'll say after reading the headline: do we really need another messaging app, with all the FB Messengers, Vibers, LINES, WeChats, Hangouts out there? But Flock claims to be different from all these as it has one purpose only, and that's not to talk about the boss behind his back while at work. It's a messaging app created for you and your team to be able to collaborate and communicate while working on projects, both at the office and if needed, when you're outside.



You do not need your office's IT group or admin (if you have one) to set the app up on your desktop or mobile devices. You just simply sign up and ask everyone else to do the same. It has both 1-to-1 chats and group chats that have read and delivery receipts so that you know everyone is on the same page, so to speak. You can even invite your boss or your clients to chat rooms (separate ones of course) so you'll get easy approvals or feedback, as you can attach files to your chats. It can be used across multiple platforms: web, desktop and mobile. It also has a simple and clean UI so you will not be distracted from the job.


Now you say you can do practically all those things on the other messaging apps we mentioned above. But you also use those for your personal messaging needs, so there is sometimes a blurring of lines between work and family/social communications. If you're alright with that, then of course, those others are more convenient and you don't need to add another one to the message and app clutter. But if you want to keep the professional and personal separate, then this app is a good alternative. The updates also now include the ability to mute a chat if you're starting to get annoyed or something, optimized message syncing across the platforms and adding participants through their email addresses.




The best thing about this is that, unlike other enterprise messaging services that will cost your company a fortune sometimes, this one is free. You can download Flock for free from the Google Play Store.


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Updated Android Lollipop Preview Images – XDA TV

Jordan1020

The Android Lollipop Preview Images are now available! That and much more news is covered by Jordan when he reviews all the important stories from this weekend. Included in this weekend’s news is the announcement of Android L final API and marterial design support library going live and be sure the check out the article talking about the Micromax Canvas 5 which may ship with CyanogenMod! That’s not all that’s covered in today’s video!


Jordan talks about the other videos released this weekend on XDA TV. XDA TV Producer Jared shows off the Best 3 Pro Camera Apps. XDA TV Producer droidmodd3rx released a video showing you how to unlock and root a Nexus Device. Then XDa TV posted the opening keynote from Google at this years Big Android BBQ. And if you missed it be sure to check out Jordan’s Review of the Nvidia SHIELD Tablet. Pull up a chair and check out this video.



Links to stories mentioned:



Check out Jordan’s YouTube Channel and Jordan’s Gaming YouTube Channel


The post Updated Android Lollipop Preview Images – XDA TV appeared first on xda-developers.


Onyx E Ink smartwatch aims for battery life

Onyx is a company that has been making digital readers with E ink screens for a while now. The benefit of using an E Ink screen on a device is that battery power is only needed when the watch refreshes the display. That means it can run longer on a single charge.



Onyx has unveiled a new prototype smartwatch that uses an E Ink display. That screen is a 1.56-inch unit and the smartwatch itself is waterproof. The device syncs with a smartphone using Bluetooth and has built in apps like a pedometer.


Controls consist of three buttons on the side for changing watchfaces, menus, and other settings. This smartwatch is a prototype only right now and the company says that future versions could have a touchscreen, GPS, and other features.


It will be a while before the prototype smartwatch actually goes into production; Onyx is looking at 2015 to bring it to market. The watch sounds a lot like the Pebble available right now.


SOURCE: Liliputing


Paranoid Android 4.6 beta 5 “Playful Pitaya” goes live

Paranoid Android has made another beta release of the 4.6 branch of their custom ROM, and this time they're back on track at hammering out the feature set for Dynamic Status Bars, or DSB in the ROM's parlance. But although the dev team just ironed out some pretty major showstopper bugs, they seem to be inviting even more headache by letting users fine tune the DSB animation just the way they want it right down to the last millisecond.



Dynamic Status Bars try to mimic the new Material Design convention in Android L which matches the notification and navigation panels' colors with that of the underlying app's color scheme. This gives an Android Lollipop feel to PA version 4.6, which remains squarely on Android KitKat's turf. DSB, however, doesn't just simply swap out colors but instead animates the transition from one color to the next, which might be too slow or too fast for some.


PA devs will let users decide for themselves how fast or slow they want it, at least for now. The setting is labeled as a power feature and in fact, you'll have to know a bit of ADB command line to do it:



adb shell su -c 'settings put system experimentaldsbfrequency 2'



2 is the default and 20 is the absolute fastest, but PA doesn't recommend going below 0. The devs also warn users not to get too attached to this feature, as they might remove it later on before the final release.


As to when that final release comes, PA isn't saying yet. Paranoid Android 4.5 didn't get as many beta rounds before 4.6 took over, so we're hoping PA could close this door really soon before they starting making preparations for an eventual Android 5.0 shift. That said, the biggest question in mind right now is why is Paranoid Android starting to name its releases ala Ubuntu now?


SOURCE: Paranoid Android





Samsung Galaxy devices approved for US government classified use

Much has been said about Samsung’s very own KNOX security solution. Its launch has been delayed but Google was excited to partner with Samsung and bring KNOX to Android. This is even after we mentioned that it might not be that secure.



Samsung continues to target Android enterprise integration with KNOX. Actually, Google has fully adopted the security framework of Samsung’s KNOX into Android already. This we would probably see more of with the Android Lolllip.


To make things more official, Samsung recently made an announcement that KNOX security solutions and several Galaxy devices have been approved by the US government as the “first NIAP-validated consumer mobile devices” that can handle classified information. This means a number of specified Samsung devices are safe to use after being added to the Commercial Solutions for

Classified (CSfC) Program Component List. Models added to the list include the following: Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition), Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Tab S 10.5, Galaxy Tab S 8.4, and the Galaxy IPSEC Virtual Private Network (VPN) Client.


Samsung submitted the said devices for testing and certification under the Common Criteria Mobile Device Fundamental Protection Profile (MDFPP) and VPN Protection Profile (VPNPP) programs of the United States government. The results are good which means these Samsung devices can be used for classified work. They can handle important government data and networks, thanks to the Samsung KNOX’s security features.


Samsung’s CEO and President of IT and Mobile Business JK Shin proudly said:



“The inclusion of Samsung mobile devices on the CSfC list proves the unmatched security of Samsung Galaxy devices supported by the KNOX platform. At Samsung, we continue to address today’s increasingly complex security challenges, and are committed to delivering the most reliable mobile platform satisfying the needs of professionals in all industries, from SMBs and enterprises to governments and additional regulated markets.”



This isn’t surprising because Samsung mobile devices were included on the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Department of Defense Approved Products List for Sensitive But Unclassified Use earlier this 2014. Being on the CSfC lists only proves that Samsung devices meet the US government security standards and can be safe to use for classified work. Right now, Samsung is the only consumer brand that is on both lists.


SOURCE: Samsung Mobile Press





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