Netflix’ Social Recommendation features now available for Android

One of the better things that have come out from this whole social network revolution is that recommending things we love to our friends has become easier and faster. The days when we listen to what critics or advertisements tell us to watch or listen to is all but over. One of the biggest pop culture enablers, Netflix, has finally added the Social Recommendation features for Android devices, months after it launched on other platforms.

Part of the joy of finishing a great movie or TV show episode is getting your friends to watch it too. Netflix makes it easy for you to do so by connecting your account to Facebook and then using the social recommendation feature. Don't worry, it will not tell the whole world that you've watched the One Direction documentary 13 times. All recommendations are private (unless you choose to post it on your FB wall) and will only be seen by those you want to see it. And if they watch it or add it to their list, you'll know that your pushing some buttons was not in vain.

Because of Android 5.0 Lollipop's push notification capabilities, the Netflix app has added images and buttons for you to quickly respond to recommendations from your own friends, to thank them, or watch a video they're telling you that you must see. And the latest update to the app now supports Android Wear integration, so you get your notifications on your wearable.

As video on demand streaming services continue to challenge the traditional way to consume video content, expect companies like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu to offer features and deals that will further convince users that this is the way to go now. If you haven't yet started on your VOD mobile journey, you can download the Netflix app for free from the Google Play Store, but of course you need a subscription to be able to access the videos.

SOURCE: Netflix

Gartner: Smartphones in emerging markets rise

The era of feature phones might be coming to a close. That is one of the possibilities coming from Gartner's analysis of this year's third quarter smartphone sales. The mobile phone market has practically stagnated compared to the same period last year, thanks to the rise of low-end Android phones. This is most especially seen in emerging markets like Eastern Europe and the Middle East, while Western Europe's smartphone sales reveal a disheartening downward trend.

Feature phones are usually chosen because of their price point and their simplicity but smartphones have started to cannibalize on the former with more and more budget models coming out. The lure of a smartphone that has a mobile phone price tag but with the functionality of an Android smartphone is just something too hard to resist. This particular push can be seen coming from Chinese vendors, who are starting to rise to prominence, at the expense of key players in the market. While they are a long way from toppling the top two smartphone sellers, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Lenovo do already make up the rest of the world's top 5.

While Samsung does remain ahead of the pack, it's position isn't exactly favorable last quarter. As already reported before, Samsung's sales saw an unprecedented drop in numbers, from around 80 million to 73 million. In contrast, Apple's sales rose last quarter as expected, due to the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the first large screen iPhones to date. And as mentioned before, Xiaomi's rise was quite remarkable, entering the top 5 within just a year. Gartner believes that this Chinese push will continue and other industry players should take heed.

In terms of platforms, of course Android has a far lead from Apple, making up 83.1 percent of the smartphone sales last quarter, up from last year's 82 percent. iOS similarly enjoyed a slight bump, from 12.1 percent to 12.7 percent, again attributed to the newly released iPhones. Windows Phone, on the other hand, experienced a slight drop in sales but still remains far ahead from BlackBerry.

SOURCE: Gartner

Viber Games to come soon to your Android smartphones

Nowadays, just being an "ordinary" messaging service may not be enough anymore, given the fierce competition with all the free messaging apps available for mobile devices. Viber is one of the most popular ones, but they're not resting on their laurels. They recently announced a new platform called Viber Games, which will be rolling out to several countries in the next few days and is expected to launch worldwide by January 2015.

Viber has teamed up with several game developers to come up with the first batch of simple but fun and possibly addictive games that you can play on your own or in competition with your Viber friends who are also on the platform. Viber Candy Mania is a puzzle adventure game featuring well-known characters from the messaging app like Violet and Legcat. Viber Pop meanwhile is a bubble puzzle game where your aim is to destroy the Evil Bubble Wizard (such a scary name yes?) and rescue the buddies that he has as hostage. Wild Luck Casino is dangerous for you if you're addicted to slot machines since it gives you an "authentic slots experience".

Aside from the games itself, Viber Games also gives you new things you can do with your Viber friends virtually. You can send virtual gifts to them and in return, you'll get rewards from Viber. If you're the competitive sort, you can interact with your friends who are also playing the games by telling them when you've beaten their high score, or constantly checking out the leaderboards and your friends' progress on the various games. You can also invite your friends who aren't on Viber Games yet.

Viber has been on a roll the past months, almost launching a new feature or platform every month. There was Mobile Video Calls and Viber Public Chats. Viber Games is now available in Belarus, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore and Ukraine, but will be rolling out to other countries soon.

SOURCE: BusinessWire

Story Timeline

• Viber sold for $900 million to Rakuten


• Viber transmits and stores images and videos insecurely


• Viber 5.0 brings video calling to Android devices

Samsung reportedly stopping its development of ‘U Series’

There were rumors last month of Samsung coming out with another series of smartphones which will parallel the single letter naming convention of the Galaxy S line and the more recent “A Series”. The then-upcoming “U Series” was rumored to be a high-end line, focusing on super-slim form factors. But whispers from within the company are saying that this development may be on hold.

The South Korean gadget giant’s flagging sales has been the catalyst for the outfit to ring the changes internally – these include changing the leadership of its phone business and visibly changing the strategy. There is now movement to decrease the number of models that the company has in the market, while consolidating products which have overlap in parts.

The “U Series” was supposed to be part of the consolidation, it’s first release rumored to be an ultra-slim phone at 6.15mm, sporting an octa-core Exynos 5433 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display, a 16-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB of expandable storage, a 2,360mAh battery, LTE connectivity, and Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Those are not bad specs at all, especially taking into consideration the super slim form. Ostensibly, some of these specs will overlap with other devices – like the Exynos 5433 proc, which looks to be Samsung’s standard octa-core proc for a long stretch. But that seems to be all for naught now, as development was cancelled. No reasons have been given to the halt in development.

VIA: Sam Mobile

Story Timeline

• Samsung to cut up to 30% of phone models, protect profit margins


• Insiders say Samsung Galaxy S5 sales 40% lower than expected


• Samsung’s Exynos reportedly developing a Cat.10 LTE modem

Huawei outs Honor T1 with aluminum unibody design, now available in India

Huawei just introduced a new Android tablet. The Honor T1 is yet another affordable slate from the Chinese manufacturer. This is another addition to Huawei's Honor series which the company has been trying to market all over the world. The new Android tablet is affordable at only $160 (€130). That's good enough for a functional tablet that can offer simple web browsing, media playback, social media access, chat, mobile games, and more.

The Huawei Honor T1 can't be considered high-end but it boasts an aluminum unibody design. The tablet looks expensive and ready for tough use. Specs include the following: 8-inch display screen, 800 x 1280 pixel resolution, 3G connectivity with voice calling, 5 megapixel camera, VGA front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB expandable internal storage, quad-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 processor, and a 4800 mAh battery. Battery life can last up to 20 days on stand-by. On regular usage, it can stand up to a maximum of 40 hours. That is made possible by the Huawei T1's ultra power saving mode. What's also good about the tablet's 3G connectivity is that it allows voice calling.

Huawei Honor T1 is readily available in India for only 9,999 INR which is about $157 in the US or €126 in Europe.

VIA: PhoneArena

Story Timeline

• Huawei Honor 4X arrives bearing 64-bit Snapdragon 410


• Huawei relents, Ascend Mate2 will get Lollipop next year


• Huawei Honor 6 Plus shows up at China’s TENAA

Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 land in Taiwan

The metal clad members of Samsung's family is slowly, very slowly, making their way to markets. Samsung has just officially launched the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 in Taiwan, giving buyers there a peek at the manufacturer's slight adventure away from plastic. Of course, no sign yet of the larger Galaxy A7.

Despite their lineage, having come from the somewhat high-end Galaxy Alpha, the Galaxy A3 and A5 are pretty much mid-range options. The Galaxy A3, for example, has a 4.5-inch screen with only a 960x540 qHD resolution. It runs on a 1.2 Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 410 and has that odd 1.5 GB of RAM. Storage is at 16 GB but fortunately it has a microSD slot unlike the Galaxy Alpha. The larger Galaxy A5, on the other hand, has 5.0-inch 720p display. CPU is the same Snapdragon 410 but RAM has been slightly bumped up to 2 GB. Internal memory is the same 16 GB.

The Taiwanese launch of the Galaxy A3 and A5 seems to have also focused a bit on the selfie features of these two smartphones. While they differ in rear cameras, with the Galaxy A5 sporting a 13 megapixel shooter while the A3 only has 8 megapixels, they have the same 5 megapixel camera on the front. In addition, that camera has a 120-degree wide angle, and a gesture activated timer. Simply place your palm in front and it will start counting down.

As for the price tag, the Galaxy A3 will cost 8,990 NTD, roughly $290, while the Galaxy A5 goes for 11,990 NTD, or almost $390. Available colors will only be black, white, and gold, though there is hope that the pink option will follow later on.

VIA: ePrice

Story Timeline

• Metal unibody phones Samsung Galaxy A3, A5 get official announcements


• Metallic Samsung Galaxy A5 gets a Chinese release

Ambush! – Tower Offense lets you be on the other side of the game

We're all familiar with tower defense games and how protecting your buildings and holdings from enemies is extremely important. But what about if you want to be that "enemy" attacking other players as they defend their property? A new Android game called Ambush! - Tower Offense lets you experience being on both sides of the equation, depending on whether you want to attack or defend.

The game is a blend of tower defense and a new kind called tower offense, which is pretty self-explanatory. The back story involves the Warlords who have defended their land and countered their enemies for years. But now, a group of warriors, upon the counsel of a Wise Man, believe that it's time for Great Invasions to win a few battles and grab their lands and castles from the Warlords. The traditional tower defense game is of course where you build your own buildings and destroy those who dare to invade your holdings. The offense part is where you attempt to grab other players' properties and claim the spoils for your own.

You can keep a record of who attacked you and what the result was, in order to craft your strategy either for a counter-attack or to defend better the next time. You can also evaluate the scores of other players. There are 20 kinds of towers and upgrades you can use. You also get to use 20 different battle units and monsters that you can mix and match, depending on which combination works better. You also get two kinds of battle grounds (Native and Inferno) and 5 kinds of lands that you can choose to build your holdings on.

Ambush! - Tower Offense is free from the Google Play Store but there are in-app purchases available as well. You would also need an Internet connection to play the game.