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Android - page 13

Evernote is killing Skitch, Clearly and its Pebble app

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evernote-is-killing-skitch-clearly-and-its-pebble-app-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201512Skitch-jpeg
Skitch will only be available on Mac after January 22. Screenshot: Evernote
Skitch will only be available on Mac after January 22. Screenshot: Evernote

Evernote’s efforts to streamline its business will see it chop a number of apps from its lineup, including the popular annotation app Skitch. Clearly, a browser extension for Google Chrome, is also getting the boot — as is Evernote’s Pebble app.

Use your words to save your sister in Scribblenauts Unlimited

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use-your-words-to-save-your-sister-in-scribblenauts-unlimited-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201512when-pigs-fly-jpg
This is what it sounds like when pigs fly.
Photo: Warner Bros./5th Cell

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.

BlackBerry CEO: Apple’s privacy stance is unethical

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Is Apple putting its own interests over the public good?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Is Apple putting its own interests over the public good? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Is Apple putting its own interests over the public good? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

BlackBerry CEO John Chen has waded in on the the question of whether or not Apple is right to refuse to help the government access smartphone data for security purposes.

“For years, government officials have pleaded to the technology industry for help,” Chen wrote in a recent blogpost. “Yet [the requests] have been met with disdain.”

Chen’s position is simple: that, “We are indeed in a dark place when companies put their reputations above the greater good.”

iPhone 6s tops Galaxy S6 in Google’s ‘Year of Search’ list

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We're all still obsessed with the iPhone apparently.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
We're all still obsessed with the iPhone apparently. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
We’re all still obsessed with the iPhone apparently. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

iPhone ranks as the no. 1 consumer tech gadget on Google’s newly-released “Year of Search” list, beating Samsung’s Galaxy S6 as the smartphone we were, apparently, all looking for this year.

Australia welcomes Android Pay, despite Apple Pay snub

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Australia says g'day to Android Pay, still won't put a shrimp on the barbie for Apple Pay.
Photo: Google
Android Pay is saying G'day to more Australian customers. Photo: Google
Australia says g’day to Android Pay, still won’t put a shrimp on the barbie for Apple Pay. Photo: Google

Australian banks including Westpac, ANZ and Macquarie have announced that they will soon accept contactless payments made via Android Pay — although would-be Apple Pay customers are still being left out in the cold.

The reason? Banks still aren’t happy with Apple’s terms for its mobile payments solution, and showing that they are willing to accept Android Pay is a way of forcing a better deal with Apple.

Facebook is finally fixing its ‘real name’ problem

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Facebook
You probably still won't be able to go by "Imperator Furiosa," regardless of how awesome she and her name are.
Photo: Thomas Ulrich/Pixabay

After some controversies and embarrassing missteps, social-media giant Facebook is introducing tools to let its users go by the names they most identify with.

The tools it’s rolling out today will change up both how account owners can both report on and respond to real-name challenges.

AT&T launches 2-for-1 sale on iPhone 6s and Galaxy S6

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iPhone 6s colors
The iPhone 6s is a steal at this price.
Photo: Apple

It's time for an upgrade. Photo: Apple
It’s time for an upgrade. Photo: Apple

There’s never been a better time to scoop up the new iPhone 6s if you’re on AT&T.

The carrier announced this morning that it’s having a huge ‘buy one get one free’ promotion that includes top of the line Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Install these battery-killing, storage-hogging apps at your own risk

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android apps
Which apps are the worst for your phone's battery, performance and data plan?
Photo: Pixelkult/Pixabay CC

Phone-killing apps
Which apps aren’t the best for your phone’s battery, performance, and data plan? Photo: Pixelkult/Pixabay CC
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The latest quarterly report from antivirus company AVG has outed the battery-killingest, storage-hoggingest apps currently available.

Some of the culprits are unsurprising, but a few might be murdering your phone’s performance without you knowing, like some kind of ninjas that have somehow taken app form. All of this and more happens in “Appsassins,” the screenplay I’m pitching to SyFy.

But here are the biggest offenders, because that’s really the more important information here.

Google Photos now lets you share your favorite albums with friends

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Google Photos makes sharing simple. Photo: Google
Google Photos makes sharing simple. Photo: Google

Google knows your best photos shouldn’t stay hidden away inside your camera roll, so it is making it incredibly easy to share them with friends.

A new Google Photos update, which is rolling out today on Android, iOS, and the web, introduces shared albums, which you can send to friends via SMS, email, or instant message.

Rivals pile on to mock Apple’s ugly iPhone battery case

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Classy, huh?
Photo: LG
Classy, huh? Photo: LG
Classy, huh? Photo: LG

Apple made a minor design faux pas with its newly-launched iPhone Smart Battery Case, so of course all of the company’s rivals are doing the mature thing and getting on with their own work, knowing that joining the pile-on will only come back to bite them.

Wait — that’s not what’s happening at all! In fact, LG and Asus today debuted two new ads poking fun of Apple, while at the same time advertising the alleged superiority of their LG V10 and Asus ZenFone Max phones respectively.

Walmart takes on Apple Pay and Android Pay with… Walmart Pay

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Walmart is launching its own mobile payment service.
Photo: Walmart
Walmart is launching its own mobile payment service. Photo: Walmart
Walmart is launching its own mobile payment service. Photo: Walmart

Walmart, a.k.a. the world’s largest retailer, has announced the launch of its new Walmart Pay service — a mobile payment service for both Android and iOS, designed to work with all major credit, debit, and Walmart gift cards in the retailer’s U.S. stores.

Google’s mind-bending quantum computer actually works

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Quantum computers will lead to advancements in artificial intelligence.
Photo: D-Wave Systems Inc.
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Quantum computers will lead to advancements in artificial intelligence. (Photo courtesy of D-Wave Systems Inc.)

A major breakthrough from Google’s quantum-computing team could eventually lead to artificial-intelligence systems complex enough to make sci-fi nerds lose sleep in fear of the robot apocalypse. The breakthrough sounds simple, but it has massive implications: The quantum computer the team co-operates with NASA actually works.

And not only does it work, but it can do the same process up to 100 million times faster than its predecessors.

Samsung on the up again as iPhone’s share falls in key markets

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Apple and Samsung return to court
Apple and Samsung are battling it out again.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Is Samsung back? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Is Samsung back? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Samsung saw its market share grow last quarter for the first time in 2015, as Android continues to dominate the market worldwide. Google’s platform also saw growth throughout Europe’s “big five” markets, while Apple’s fell for the first time in over a year.

Instagram brings 3D Touch gestures to Android

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Instagram
Who needs an iPhone?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Who needs an iPhone? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Who needs an iPhone? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

3D Touch isn’t just for iPhone users anymore!

The same 3D Touch gestures that Instagram integrated into its iOS app following the release of iPhone 6s are now available inside its Android app — and you don’t need a pressure sensitive display to use them.

Sony splits PlayStation Messages into standalone app

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PlayStation Messages gets its own app. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
PlayStation Messages gets its own app. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Sony’s PlayStation app for mobile has always been something of a disaster, with a poor user interface and painfully slow performance. That’s still true today — but now you don’t have to use it when all you want to do is message friends on the PlayStation Network.

In an effort to be a better messaging service, PlayStation Messages has gone solo. With the new PlayStation Messages app for Android and iOS, you can keep in touch with the rest of your clan without having to use the main PlayStation app at all.

Dropbox is giving up on Mailbox and Carousel

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One of the nicest email clients on mobile is dead. Photo: Dropbox
One of the nicest email clients on mobile is dead. Photo: Dropbox

Dropbox has announced that it is killing its Carousel and Mailbox apps in early 2016.

The company says it will use what it has learned from these products to improve its core Dropbox service, and to increase its focus on Paper, the tool that allows you to create new documents and collaborate on them in real-time in the cloud.