Cult of Android - page 24

Call it karma if you want, but after years of copying Apple’s iPhone designs, Samsung’s much-praised Galaxy S6 smartphone has apparently already received its first knockoff.

Made by a company called No.1, the phone looks extremely similar to Samsung’s new device, only minus the Samsung logo, featuring the Note 4’s user interface instead of the S6’s, and sporting a wonky home button which looks like it’s a firm shake away from falling out.

Check out more of the incriminating photos below.

You know when you’re away from the kitchen and you really need to chop up some meat, but all you have with you is your phone? We’ve all been there, which is why Samsung is launching Galaxy Blade Edge, a brand new smartphone that doubles as a meat cleaver.

Google has kicked off the April Fools’ Day festivities early this year by putting Pac-Mac inside of Google Maps. The game turns real-life roads into a virtual maze, and the more roads there are, the trickier it gets.

Speed isn’t the only reason to buy a smartphone, but it’s certainly interesting to see how Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 stacks up against Apple’s bestselling iPhone 6.

Thanks to YouTube user Android GameE, we have our first speed test of what, undoubtedly, will be many. Given the fact that Apple’s latest iPhone has been the most successful in the company’s history, while Samsung is banking on its S6 to turn around its ailing mobile division, it certainly makes for interesting viewing.

Who wins? Check out the video below.

Apple’s selling more iPhones than at any point in its history, but that doesn’t mean it’s not looking to grow its user base even more.

To achieve this, the company today launched its new smartphone trade-in program at brick-and-mortar Apple Stores — allowing owners of selected Android, BlackBerry or Windows Phone handsets to swap their existing devices for credit that can be used toward buying an iPhone.

Whether it’s arguing over market share vs. profit margins, or Google Now vs. Siri, the war between Android and iOS users can sometimes can a bit heated.

But up until today, no matter how anti-Apple the crowd, I’ve never heard anyone stoop to compare Tim Cook’s company to Adolf Hitler, the mass-murdering Nazi Party leader.

That’s all changed now, however, as a new ad from Chinese Internet video site service, Jia Yueting, is drawing on the massively offensive parallel to promote its new Android smartphone.

YouTube has been supporting super-sharp 4K video for over a year now, as well as video playback at 60 frames-per-second. But for the first time, the world’s biggest video sharing platform will now allow viewers to combine the two.

Transferring your WhatsApp data to a new device can be a pain — particularly if you’re switching from Android to another platform, or vice-versa. But WhatsApp looks set to make it a whole lot easier by giving users the ability to backup their messages to Google Drive.

Today Facebook unveiled the future of Messenger, and it’s actually quite ambitious.

It’s clear that the social giant wants Messenger to be the one-stop for not just messaging, but all sorts of app interactions. Businesses will also be able to chat directly with customers through Messenger, which opens the door for communicating directly with brands like never before.

Short of Samsung, there’s no other company that gets as bad a rap for copying Apple as Xiaomi. The Chinese gadget maker, though, has just beaten Apple to market in at least one category. Although a proper Apple HDTV has been rumored by the likes of Gene Munster for ages, Xiaomi has beaten Cupertino to the punch with a beautiful — and affordable! — Android smart TV.

Apple is trying to make Apple TV more appealing than ever with a lower price tag and HBO Now exclusivity, but Amazon announced today that it’s bringing new features to its set top box too, and they won’t cost customers a cent.

Expandable USB storage, private listening via for wireless headphones, and hotel Wi-Fi support are being added to Amazon’s TV devices. The new features will rollout to customers over the coming weeks as a free, over-the-air software update for the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.

The list of new features includes the following:

Google’s first foray into wearables didn’t do as well as the company expected. Despite closing the Google Glass explorer program in January though, Eric Schmidt says the project isn’t dead yet. It’s just getting ready for users.

Nest founder Tony Fadell, took over the project earlier this year after the company decided to stop selling the first version of Google Glass. According to Schmidt the technology behind Glass is too important to scrap, so they’ve moved it out of the Google X research lab and are developing it into a standalone unit.

Google’s official Android Wear app for iOS could be right around the corner if you believe the reports, but one developer has been proving that the two platforms can already be forced to play nicely together without any jailbreaking.

We’ve seen Wear receiving iPhone notifications and taking calls, and in the latest video from Mohammad Abu-Gabreyyeh, we see that watches like the Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R are capable of controlling music playback, too.

Amazon is preparing a new app service for Android. It’s called Unlocked, and think of it as free Amazon Prime for apps. But there’s a catch. Apps that are given freely can also be taken away again.

With smartwatches set to take over the world, TAG Heuer is determined not to go down easy like other Swiss watchmakers. The company is teaming up with Google and Intel to build a high-end Android Wear watch that will give wealthy gadget lovers a premium alternative to Apple Watch.

While recent rumors have claimed that Google is working on bringing Android Wear support to the iPhone, the company hasn’t actually made anything official. But code found inside its firmware could prove that it has been working on making Android Wear devices compatible with iOS for some time.

The video game world rejoiced yesterday at the news that Nintendo is finally backing down on its anti-smartphone and tablet stance, and is working to bring its most beloved franchises to Android and iOS.

But gamers aren’t the only ones celebrating!

Nintendo shares shot up 21 percent in the 24 hours after the company said it was teaming with Tokyo-based mobile company DeNA to develop smartphone games. The result was Nintendo’s value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rising to its best closing price since June 2011.

Facebook is taking on Square, PayPal, and Venmo with its own digital payments service. Starting today, Facebook Messenger will allow users to instantaneously transfer real money at zero cost.

Google is said to be working on bringing Android Wear support to iPhone, but in the meantime, it’s up to third-party developers to marry the two.

One hack has already made it possible to display iOS notifications on Wear watches, and now it has been improved to take calls from your iPhone, too.

Nintendo has always been adamant it wouldn’t develop games for smartphones and tablets, but it has finally given in.

Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong and other popular franchises could soon be coming to Android and iOS after the Japanese company confirmed it will be developing new titles for smart devices with the help of game developer DeNA.

Trading up from an Android to iPhone is about to get a lot easier, as Apple plans to incentivize switchers by offering Apple Store credit to customers who bring in their old non-iOS devices for trade.

Apple plans to expand its iPhone Reuse and Recycling Program to include non-iOS devices, reports Buzzfeed’s John Paczkowski, who says Apple Stores will soon take everything from Blackberry’s to Windows Phone handsets.

Having spent more than a year throwing smartwatch concepts a wall, only to discover that very few of them stick, Samsung’s taking a bit of a break from the wearables game.

But a newly-unearthed patent suggests that the South Korean tech giant could come back with a vengeance, thanks to a ripoff Apple concept bold new interface design based around an iPod-style rotating bezel. The idea would be that this rotating bezel could allow users to scroll through different apps, lists and menus without having to obscure the miniature display with their finger.

So, yeah, it’s basically the Apple Watch’s digital crown idea — only “different” enough to not be a direct analog.

Can poor old Samsung catch a break? After a tough period during which its mobile business was squeezed to an inch of its life, Samsung finally has two promising smartphones – the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge — which are praised in the tech press, and racking up millions of pre-orders.

But things aren’t quite that straightforward. First of all, Samsung’s new devices suffered a reported display problem, stopping them properly reading touch inputs around the bezel. Now the unusually-shaped S6 Edge is apparently suffering from production issues — and the problems may stop Samsung shipping the quantity of phones they’re hoping to.

The Mickey Mouse face that ships with Apple Watch, and has twice been demonstrated by Apple at its Watch events, is now unofficially available on Android Wear — complete with moving hands and feet.

Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana has been pretty vocal about bashing rival services like Apple’s Siri. But she may soon get the chance to put her money where her mouth is.

That’s because, according to a new Reuters report, Cortana is about to bust out of the Windows Phone ghetto and make her way to both Android and iOS.

The version of Cortana set to arrive on non-Windows devices is reportedly a new, improved version, using research from an artificial intelligence project called “Einstein.” This same version will also be available on Windows 10 desktops this fall.