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Finally! Yahoo Aviate adds custom collections

This news is definitely a long time coming. Yahoo Aviate has announced the addition of a single, "small" feature that increases the launcher's usefulness quite dramatically. Now users will be able to create their own custom collections and will no longer be bound by the categories that Aviate has defined for them.



Aviate is made up of four "panels": the dynamic context-based Spaces panel, the space-limited Home screen, the semi-dynamic Collections, and the Apps list. The Collections part, which, as the name suggests, groups your apps into themes, is only partly dynamic because Aviate automatically tries to fill it up with related apps. These collections can then be used in their own specific panel or added to the dynamically changing Spaces panel. Unfortunately, ever since the launcher's debut, users were limited to choosing from among Aviate's curated set of default collections, ranging from Entertainment to News to Home to Cooking. Sure you can manually add apps to those collections, but you will inevitably hit a wall when it comes to mixing up your own preferences. Well, not anymore.


You can now create your own Collection, though it won't be as automated as pre-made ones and won't have the "Show suggested apps" button. Creating your own collection is quite simple. Scroll down to your list of collections, tap on the Add Collection button, and then scroll down to the bottom of the list again to see the Create Your Own label. All that's left for you to do is to give it a name and fill it with apps. Such a simple functionality that makes you wonder why it took them this long to implement.


Yahoo Aviate is an interesting take on an Android launcher. It adds a dash of context-based features and doesn't follow the conventional aesthetics of majority of launchers in the market. The update is already available on Google Play Store and should be rolling out to users. If you don't have it yet, give it a try. After all, it's free. Or you can also take a peek at our early hands-on experience or see how Aviate measures up to other "smart" launchers on Android.


SOURCE: Yahoo Aviate





Motorola’s Droid Razr M rebranded as Luge for Verizon

If Verizon’s new smartphone offering, Luge by Motorola, sounds and looks familiar, well, it should be if you know your Motorola stuff. It is actually a rebranded Droid Razr M and is now being positioned as a big screen device powered by the carrier’s 4G/LTE network. It is being offered as a pre-paid no-contract handset with a $100 discount from its original price.



Since it’s basically a 2-year-old phone, with the Droid Razr M having been released back in 2012, you would not expect specs that can match up to the standards of newer phones in the market today. It’s 4.3” qHD edge-to-edge display may be pretty attractive to those who prefer having bigger screens to read their emails and browse the web. They’re also showing off the Super AMOLED Advance display which allows you to take videos that have zero-motion blur.


The Luge runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, has 1GB RAM, an 8GB internal memory and has a 2,000mAh battery. Its main camera is 8MP but the front-facing camera is a bit dated with 0.3MP. One main difference the Luge has with the Droid Razr M is that it’s running on Android KitKat 4.4.2, which of course wasn’t in existence yet 2 years ago. It is also water-repellent and scratch-resistant, in case you live an active lifestyle.


The new/old smartphone is being offered under Verizon’s prepaid plan, which will not require you to be tied down to the carrier on any contract. The full retail price of the Luge is at $299.99, but Verizon’s online retail store is selling it at $199.99 starting Thursday.


SOURCE: Verizon


OneDrive for Android now combines Personal and Business

There used to be a time when our personal and business life, whether real-life or digital, were two separate entities. But as mobile devices and interconnectivity continue to dominate most of our lives, it suddenly becomes important that the two sometimes become seamlessly integrated. Microsoft's OneDrive for Android’s latest update does just that, giving you just one app to access both your personal and business accounts.



Previously, the mobile app only supported the OneDrive for consumers and you were only able to access your OneDrive for Business files through your desktop. But this time around, you just have one app where two can be found, but separately of course. Don’t worry, there will not be any confusion as to which photos are of your latest vacation and which are the ones to be included in your business presentation.


There is a shelf user interface that slides in from the left, where you can choose which of your OneDrives you should access. If you backup your mobile photos on OneDrive, they will only be saved in your personal files, not your work files. Another new feature is that you can protect your files by locking it with a four-digit PIN, an important option especially if you have sensitive office documents in your cloud. You can also now open files from OneDrive in your other apps, which makes it easier to integrate the app with other aspects of your mobile life.


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The update has already been rolled out to users. If you still don’t have OneDrive on your smartphone, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.


SOURCE: OneDrive





LG G Watch R revealed to have a hefty price tag

LG has just showed its new hand in the smartwatch market by unveiling the round G Watch R just days before IFA 2014 commences. But while it may have stolen the spotlight from the equally round Moto 360, LG's German outfit has revealed the Android Wear device's biggest, and perhaps only, flaw: it's price.



The G Watch R is practically the G Watch encased in a more stylish circular frame. You will enjoy the same hardware and same Android Wear features, including the 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of storage, and an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of IP67. But it also adds just a bit more, with a higher 410 mAh battery and, for the first time, a heartrate monitor. Unlike the Moto 360, however, LG utilizes the whole surface of the 1.3-inch 320x320 Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display, giving it a much bigger effective area to utilize.


But do those improvements, as well as the round watch face, warrant a drastic increase in price? Unlike the global announcement, LG Germany has revealed that the SRP for the G Watch R stands at 299 euros. Directly converted, that's around $395. In contrast, the LG G Watch only costs $229, and that is already higher than the Samsung Gear Live's $199. But even if it were to surprisingly only cost $299 in the US, that is still quite a price jump.


That said, we still don't know the Moto 360's price tag, or its features for that matter. Motorola's first Android Wear smartwatch might win against the LG in that category only. Plus wireless charging, if that indeed comes to pass. A bigger battery, a heartrate sensor, and a circular face are definitely enticing new features that would make you want to reach out for a LG G Watch R, but are you also willing to pay the price for it? Let's find out when come face to watch face at IFA 2014 next week.


SOURCE: LG





Project Wing revealed to be Google’s drone deliver moonshot

Google, or to be specific, Google X, really loves stretching the boundaries of technology, and maybe the law as well. Seemingly taking after Amazon's own drone-powered delivery plans, Google X has revealed it has its own "Project Wing" delivery system already in the works, with a slight twist.



To be fair, Wing isn't really an imitation of Amazon's drone dreams. Project Wing was said to have been in development for already two years now. And it wasn't initially conceptualized to deliver packages. It was first intended for emergency situations, delivering defibrillators to heart attack victims, where speed of deployment is of the essence. Unfortunately, the red tape involved in integrating it with a 911 system and other considerations negated whatever speed benefits Project Wing had to offer. And since Google has already started its own same-day express delivery service, why not reuse Wing for something less life critical and more sensational?


Project Wing neatly ties into Google's latest obsession: automation and robots. Unlike most commercial drones in the market, though, Project Wing is quite unique, part plane, part helicopter. Like a helicopter, it takes of vertically, almost like a rocket with its nose pointed up. Then it rotates on its pitch to a conventional lateral position as it flies to its destination. You might imagine it would then fly down to your door (and maybe even ring your doorbell) to deliver the package, but not so. It remains hovering in the air and will instead lower the package to the ground with a cable.




The public reveal of Project Wing was prompted by growing rumors and leaks, but Google hasn't said yet if it's ready to be delivered. Even if it technically ready, it still has to pass one of the hardest and most painstaking hurdle of all: getting it legally certified. At the moment, Google X is conducting its Project Wing tests in Australia, where drones aren't yet the subject of government scrutiny the way it has lately been in the US.


SOURCE: The Atlantic

VIA: SlashGear


MIPS Creator CI20 Linux dev board for Android debuts

DIY electronics fans will be glad to hear that the MIPS Creator CI20 development board for Linux and Android has arrived. The board has a 1.2GHz MIPS-based dual-core Ingenic apps processor running Debian 7 and Android 4.4 KitKat. The dev board is running Linux right now and the Android support will come soon.



The dev board measures 90.2mm x 95.3mm and has an Ingenic JZ4780 apps processor onboard. That chip is a low power, high performance unit. The MIPS32 dual-core CPU is paired with a PowerVR SGX540 GPU.


The burst architecture supports SIMD and FPU instruction sets with single and double floating point and IEEE 754 compatible formats. Other hardware features of the board include Ethernet connectivity and the CI20 is one of the only boards out there to offer integrated WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0.


Dual USB ports are integrated and a number of peripheral I/Os for GPIO, SPI, I2C, infrared, JTAG and others. A HDMI output is included for connecting to a monitor and it has an external 5V power supply. On board memory is 1GB and the board has 8GB of internal storage. A SD card slot supports directly booting to the OS. The initial release of the board will be limited and exact pricing is unannounced.


SOURCE: Imgtec


Fixd hardware and Android app combo monitors your car’s health

Fixd is a hardware and app combination system that is designed to keep an eye on the health of your car. The hardware portion of the Fixd device plugs into the OBDII port of your car and allows you to get information on the app about check engine lights and track service intervals.



The device works with any car sold in the US since 1996 and connects with a smartphone via Bluetooth. When connected the hardware sends information to the Fixd app running on the smartphone. The app is designed to sort any issues into categories based on severity.


The levels of severity are green, yellow, and red. The app will give people an idea of what might happen to their car if they don’t fix issues and will estimate what it might cost to get the problem fixed. Multiple cars can use the Fixd device and app with each car having its own profile.


A pledge of $50 or more will get you a Fixd vehicle sensor and the app with delivery estimated in November 2014. The project is on Kickstarter seeking $30,000 and has raised $14,178 so far with 17 days to go.


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SOURCE: Kickstarter


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