Android - page 20

AmpMe, the magical app that syncs multiple phones together to create one giant speaker, is getting a much needed update today that lets you take the party anywhere, even if you don’t have internet.

The Montreal-based startup revealed today that it has added a new ‘Offline Mode’ that will let users sync an unlimited number of phones together regardless of whether or not you have a data connection. And to make it easier to get the party started, the app has add a new ‘Auto-Join’ mode that makes it easier than ever to get the music listening party started.

I’ve never really understood the appeal of flexible smartphones before I saw this video. Now it’s changed things forever for me. I want a flexible iPhone! Or, better yet, a bendy iPad! Because flex tech is going to open up whole new ways to interact with devices.

If you haven’t already grabbed a free trial of Spotify, you’re in luck – this deal makes joining the streaming music service even more enticing.

Today through February 28, when you buy three months of Spotify Premium for $29.97, you’ll get a free Chromecast.

Google takes a leaf out of Samsung’s marketing playbook in its latest Android ad, with a subtle swipe at Apple and the lack of choice you get when you choose iOS.

“Monotune” is part of the company’s “Be together. Not the same.” campaign, and it’s nothing short of brilliant.

Android has long been the best platform for smartphone buyers on a budget, and now entry to Google’s ecosystem is even more affordable.

Indian handset maker Ringing Bells just launched the new Freedom 251, an ultra affordable device that looks a lot like an iPhone, priced at 251 rupees — or about $3.67.

If you’re planning to grab Nintendo’s first smartphone game when it lands next month — or any of the others it has planned for 2016 — then it’s time to claim your Nintendo Account before someone takes the username you wanted.

It’s not often we hear any major new features coming to Foursquare lately, but the service just announced something pretty huge. It has partnered with Delivery.com to allow users to order food, groceries and even liquor right from the app to get sent straight to their homes.

Apple today updated the official Apple Music app for Android to add support for saving their offline music to an SD card.

Google’s flagship Nexus 6P delivered significant design improvements last year, putting its hardware on par with the best devices from rival manufacturers. But Google wants the Nexus lineup to be even more like the iPhone.

To make that happen, the company will reduce its reliance on third-party manufacturing partners like Huawei and LG and assume greater control over Nexus hardware, according to one report.

Samsung is reportedly planning to launch its own upgrade program to give Galaxy smartphone fans an easy and more affordable route to its latest devices.

The move would be a direct response to Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, and could prevent long-time users from making the switch to iOS.

Samsung and Apple have been bitter smartphone rivals for nearly a decade now, but it appears that Samsung may be ready to finally embrace iOS.

Some of Samsung’s best apps (if not all) are coming to iOS soon, according to a new report that claims the Galaxy-maker plans to pull a Microsoft and bring its apps to Apple’s platform as part of its effort to increase adoption of its connected devices.

Android and iOS may be mortal enemies in some ways, but Google clearly realizes the value of having Apple’s hundreds of millions of customers use its search engine.

So much so, in fact, that in 2014 Google paid Apple a massive $1 billion to keep its search bar on the iPhone.

Android has reportedly earned Google $31 billion since the mobile operating system’s inception, according to a stat revealed during the company’s ongoing court battle with Oracle.

Are you willing to die with your boots on? Do you know the number of the beast? If so, you’ll want to keep an eye on this upcoming mobile game from heavy metal band extraordinaire, Iron Maiden.

In conjunction with Roadhouse Interactive and 50cc Games, the legends of metal are putting together a free-to-play role-playing game, due out this summer, on iOS and Android. It’s called Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast (naturally), and will apparently include characters from the long history of Iron Maiden album art, as well as a soundtrack that has previously unheard live recordings from the monsters of rock.

Android has long been available on desktops in some form, but it has never been done right. That’s going to change later this month with Remix OS, a platform that brings Android to almost any Mac and PC — and makes it usable by adding a familiar desktop interface.

For managing multiple mail accounts on the go, nothing beats the brilliant CloudMagic. It packs everything you need in an email app — and a whole lot more — and supports almost every mail service you can throw at it. And now it’s finally available on your Mac!

The iPhone may have fundamentally changed Google’s plans for its Android smartphone platform, but according to Google’s design chief, the iOS homescreen layout — consisting of grids of apps icons — is disappointingly stagnant.

“[The iPhone] crystallised a lot of other things that were kind of stayed even by that point, like the rows of icons, which don’t scale very well,” Matias Duarte, Google’s vice president of design, told Wired. “This idea of a tiny grid that you manually curate starts to feel very heavy and burdensome.”

Scribblenauts Unlimited, the latest version of a fun game that’s been on one device or another since 2009, is headed to mobile.

Main character and magic notebook owner Maxwell’s got a sister, Lily, who he’s gotten cursed, thanks to his smart-ass ways. The pair go to see Edwin, one of the 40 other brothers and sisters of Maxwell and Lily (go figure), and find out that doing nice things for people is the only way to earn starite, the magical cure for Lily’s curse.

Apple convinced us we couldn’t live without a smartphone. Now many of us have a smartphone in hand and Apple may be facing the curse side of the blessing — finding new customers for the iPhone.

Credit Suisse recently issued a report to investors that further fuels speculation that iPhone sales will dip for the first time since Apple introduced it in 2007. The upshot: Smartphone ownership is approaching 100 percent. We’re nearing “peak smartphone.”

The war between iPhone and Android will wage on for years to come, but in this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re not going to be bickering about which is best. At least not in terms of design, features, flexibility — and the other things normally discussed during a platform war.

Instead, we’re battling it out over the supposed class divide — the notion that the wealthy only buy iPhones, and the poor only buy Android because they can’t afford that Apple logo. It’s going to be a fun one!

So, join us below for one of our hottest Friday Night Fights yet, and be sure to weigh in at the end!

Google Maps offers a ton of local info when you use the navigation system on your Android or Apple smartphone, including local businesses, eateries, or interesting spots.

The company is expanding its Local Guides program in Google Maps, which will let you share your own discoveries directly to the map, making it more useful for others as well as competing with Yelp, which has a similar service.

But wait, there’s more. With every bit of local expertise you share with Google Maps through the Local Guides program, you’ll get points.

When it comes to smartwatch sales, Apple Watch has well and truly embarrassed the entire Android Wear ecosystem, even though it hasn’t spent anywhere near as long on the market. But with Google’s platform getting a high-profile supporter this week, is it time for change?

TAG Heuer’s new Connected is the first smartwatch from a luxury watchmaker, giving consumers a high-end alternative to the Apple Watch. It has beautiful hardware, great specifications, and even comes with an upgrade program that lets buyers swap it for a traditional TAG watch when it’s no longer useful.

So, is this the device Android Wear needs to mount a threat against Apple’s popular wearable?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!

All of the games Nintendo is currently planning for Android and iOS will be free-to-play titles, according to development partner DeNA. That means you won’t have to pay a penny to download them — but they will almost certainly be filled with in-app purchases.

Apple Music for Android has finally arrived on the Google Play Store today after being publicly demoed at WWDC in June.

The new app brings Android users over 30 million songs from the Apple Music catalog, Beats 1 Radio, Playlists, Connect, and more. Apple’s offering users a 3-month trial, just like iOS. Pricing starts at $9.99 for a single plan, but Apple says your’ll need a Mac or iOS to sign-up for a $14.99 family plan.

Apple VP Eddy Cue says the launch is part of Apple’s plan to do things in music for everyone:

As an Android user, you might feel a little saddened by the fact that you can’t use Apple’s 3D Touch system on your Android device of choice. It’s a pretty neat technology that lets an iPhone sense different pressures on the screen to produce some slick little tricks, like taking a selfie with a strong press on the Camera app icon.

Marco Chiappetta figured out a way to do something similar on his Sony Xperia Z3 using a pretty unexpected little trick.