Subscribe:

Ads 468x60px

Labels

OnePlus One pre-order flooded, take two on November 17

It isn't surprising to learn that OnePlus had technical difficulties when it opened the floodgates of its pre-order system, causing some probably now irate would-be customers to lose their slots and end up One-less. The startup, however, has come clean, at least according to them, about the problems they had. And in reparation, OnePlus will be conducting another special pre-order period on the 17th of November, hopefully more prepared for the onslaught of interested buyers.



Unexpected huge demand is always blamed for these mishaps. OnePlus claims that even though they had prepared their servers for heavy workload, they were still overwhelmed by the amount of traffic they incurred, leaving some users hanging at certain points in the pre-order process. This is both expected, since this always happens at events like these, but is also a bit surprising. It seems that despite OnePlus' many shortcomings and almost dated device, many are still flocking to the OnePlus One. That said, we can never really be sure how many of those are legit owners and how many are opportunistic resellers.


In any case, OnePlus will be holding yet another pre-order session, this time taking place on November 17, 3 PM GMT. Whether that will also last just an hour, they aren't saying, but it will most likely be so. They promise to come better prepared this time, but don't expect miracles. If Motorola, which is a much larger company with more resources than a startup, still had problems, we can expect to see some kinks in OnePlus' next system too. Hopefully not so much, lest they have an angry mob at their gates.


As for those who may or may have not gotten their orders in, OnePlus provides a short FAQ for their worries. If their payment from PayPal went through, then it means that their order has been placed even if they didn't get their confirmation email immediately. They can wait up to 72 hours and check their My Order status before sounding the alarm. Canadian orders had an amusing hiccup, as the system labeled their addresses as going to the US instead, which, of course, will be fixed. And for those who have mistakenly placed two orders, they can cancel one of those 24 hours after placing the order and before the order ships.


SOURCE: OnePlus





Turntable music app djay 2 now on Android

If it's been your life-long dream to become a full-fledged DJ or even just mixing music at your parties, but you don't have the equipment or talent yet to do so, then of course there's an app for that now. djay 2 is now available for Android devices and all you need is a wide library of music (or a Spotify account will do) and a sense of musicality (we're guessing that is needed), a bit of practice and you can let your smartphone or tablet do the talking, or rather, the singing.



When you download the app to your device, you'll get two virtual turntables and a whole plethora of tools that you'll need to make your friend's next party even more exciting. You can either do your mixing live, record the mixes that you come up with or if you're not that confident yet, just use the Automix mode. Just load music from your device or through Spotify (that is, if you have a premium account) and then you can loop, mix, splice, auto-drum, sync and record to your heart's content. The Automix mode will automatically mix any songs you choose, complete with "beat-matched, DJ-style transitions". It also has built-in sample packs, in case you still have no idea what to do with all the toys in the app.


Of course you'd expect that the aurally, this app will deliver exceptional sound, in spite of the audio latency issues of Android devices (which developer Algoriddim says they've fixed for this app). Visually speaking, the app is pretty cool as well, giving you a turntable interface, which will give you the feels of a real dj. It's neat on a smartphone, but even more awesome on the tablet's bigger screen. One drawback to the app is that it cannot integrate Google's own Play Music, but that is because Google doesn't have an official API for it.




If you want to get started on that djay-ing career, you can buy dhay 2 for an introductory price of $2.99, which is pretty cheap compared to the $10 cost of the iPad version. No word yet on what will be the actual price of the app, so better buy it now from the Google Play Store while it's still not that expensive yet.


djay for Android 1 djay for Android 2 djay for Android 3 Portrait Sampler Turntables Turntables Waveforms


SOURCE: djay 2


Taco Bell app takes your order even before you get there

There’s an app for everything. Even the most trivial stuff in the world has an app. Restaurant apps are a dime a dozen but only a few can actually receive your orders ahead of time before arriving at the food joint. Most apps just provide information about the resto, branches nearby, the complete menu and photos of food that will make you salivate.



With the new Taco Bell app, mobile ordering is now possible. Simply select the Taco Bell branch near you, choose your favorite meal, and then pay for your order. You don’t have to indicate pick-up time because food will be prepared when you arrive. This isn’t really an order-now-pick-up-later thing. What Taco Bell wants patrons to skip is the long waiting in-line and taking of orders. Maybe someday, the next app update will offer that.


The Taco Bell app also includes exclusive offers. Announcements of new food items will be listed first on the app for the benefit of faithful Taco Bell fans. App accepts credit or debit card payment so you don’t have to shell out cash at the restaurant.


You can also use your current Taco Bell Cards with the app, allowing you to add, buy, reload, and use. You can also give and get more Taco Bell E-Gifts for your family and friends. For the heath conscious, nutrition information of the dishes will be posted.


Download Taco Bell app from the Google Play Store


taco bell mobile app taco bell_2 taco bell_3 taco bell_4 taco bell_5





Oppo N3 and R5 smartphones get official

Oppo has been teasing us with the N3 smartphone and its rotating camera for a while now. Thankfully, the tease is over with Oppo unveiling the N3 officially today and spilling all the beans on what the device has under the hood. The N3 wasn't all the Chinese maker had to offer, it also unveiled the Oppo R5.



The official details on the Oppo N3 include the rotating 16MP camera packing a 1/2.3-inch sensor. One of the cooler features of the camera for people that like to take panoramic shots is that the rotating lens can be set to move itself slowly taking those panoramas without the user having to move the camera.




The N3 packs a 5.5-inch screen with 1080p resolution and uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor. Power comes from a 3000 mAh battery and it has a fingerprint scanner. Pricing for the N3 is set at 3999 RMB, or about $654 in the US.


As for the Oppo R5, this smartphone is one of the thinner devices out there, and may have the title of thinnest to its name with a profile 4.85mm thick. It has a 5.2-inch screen with 1080p resolution. Power comes from a Snapdragon 615 processor, which is a 64-bit octa-core unit operating at 1.7GHz. The rear camera is a 13MP snapper and power comes from a 2000 mAh battery. Pricing for the R5 is set at 2999 RMB or about $491.



oppo-2



SOURCE: Slashgear


Fleksy announces additional funding, Android app update

Virtual keyboard Fleksy announced that they have received an additional $2M funding from several investors to enable them to further develop new features moving forward. They have also released version 3.3.3 on Android, improving on its "core accuracy" plus adding a few new features to the alternative keyboard that aims to make your typing life easier. The best news? The paid app version will be on sale until Friday so if you've ever thought of upgrading, now would be the best time.



According to Ioannis Verdelis, the founder and current COO of Fleksy, the funding from such investors as Digital Garage, Eniac Ventures, Middleland Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Militello Capital among others, will enable them to build on the momentum they've gathered, not just in the Android community where they're already established. They have also recently ventured into iOS territory, and so they now have two platforms in which they have to constantly innovate to stand out from fierce competition.


The latest update to the app sees a new layout for the backspace and shift keys, given the user feedback they've received. But if you want to keep the old layout, you can keep it since it's a toggle option anyways. They've also made it a bit easier to change the language options by tapping, holding, and swiping to the bottom right or left corner. There are also new movements to enable the emojis, number keys and voice-to-text options. There is also now better accuracy when it comes to automatic word correction.


Until Friday this week, the paid version of Fleksy will be on sale for $0.99. But if you think you'll be happy with the free version features, you can download it from the Google Play Store.


SOURCE: Fleksy





Pushbullet update: Material Design, improved navigation

Pushbullet has received a major overhaul, ahead of the official release of Android 5.0 Lollipop. You don't have to wait for the Google update to experience what it will look like, well at least through this app. It has applied the Material Design, embracing the whole visual language to better improve the app as it seeks to apply the "focus on the user all else follows" philosophy. The update also brings improved navigation and better user control on its settings.



With this major update, users will now be able to quickly access channels and settings, as well as the ability to easily turn on and off the mirroring notifications from the drawer of the app itself. Another new feature is getting an at-a-glance view of the pushes from yourself or your contacts and even your favorite channels. The search feature is also now baked into the app, so it's more convenient now to search for friends, channels and devices. Pushing is also now more streamlined as you can view it in just one screen and there even is an option to view them full screen.


In terms of the Material Design, the visual upgrades include a card-like interface with floating action buttons, an overhaul of their icons, a more dynamic color theming, a new sliding drawer and better animation. The options for users is also now easier to access, and even the language used in the settings has been changed so you will have an easier time figuring out what it is you are enabling or disabling. All the options and settings are also now just on one screen so there will be less confusion.


If you haven't been using Pushbullet yet, it is an app that will mirror on your desktop the notifications you receive from your mobile devices, which is important if you're working on a desktop and you don't want to look at your phone or tablet every 10 minutes or so. You can download it for free from the Google Play Store. Version 15.0.1 should be rolled out by now to existing users, in all its Material Design glory.


drawer right_drawer push_floating push_fullscreen settings tablet


SOURCE: Pushbullet





Track Your Exercise Progress with Google Fit

Google-Fit-c

Without a doubts, Google has essentially become somewhat of a spy, as the Mountain View company seemingly wants to know what you are doing at any given moment. To help us all stay in (relatively decent) shape, Google announced Android Fit, a basic activity tracker that tells you how many steps you have taken, miles cycled, and so on. Android Wear, which was formally announced at Google I/O, promised to bring full Fit support with Lollipop.


Just a few hours ago, an application went live that allows you to see how many calories have been burned during your daily jogs and exercise sessions. Here’s what Google Fit can do:



Reach your fitness goals



  • Set goals based on either duration or steps and see your progress throughout the day.

  • Receive performance-based recommendations for activity goals.


A comprehensive view of your fitness – Connect third party devices and apps to Fit and we’ll show you all of your fitness data in one place.


Available everywhere – Compatible with all Android Wear devices. – Also access Google Fit on the web at www.google.com/fit and on your tablet.



Google prepared some APIs to give developers more tools to use these new activities. We should expect a large number of applications that use sensors to pop up in the Play Store. It’s important to note that installing Google Fit on your Android Wear device will wipe all your existing activity tracking.


The application will work with pretty much every device available on the market running Android 4.0 and higher, so you can play with it even now. Even without Android Wear, you can download the app from the Google Fit Play Store listing. Now, it’s time to go ahead and leave your chair and do some running!


[via Android Central]


The post Track Your Exercise Progress with Google Fit appeared first on xda-developers.


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)