Android - page 12

Bluetooth luggage lock will keep the TSA out of your pants

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Keep it secret. Keep it safe. Photo: Dog & Bone

Cult of Mac CES 2016 full coverage We can officially add luggage locks to the list of things we kind of never expected to get smart versions.

Case and lock maker Dog & Bone is bringing out a keyless, TSA-approved, Bluetooth travel padlock that’s designed to keep unwanted people from getting their dirty hands on your underwear and hoard of duty-free booze. The company is showing off their new device at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

Razer’s first smartwatch isn’t quite as smart as it could be

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Not exactly a smartwatch, although it's definitely rugged.
Photo: Razor
Not exactly a smartwatch, although it's definitely rugged. Photo: Nabu
Not exactly a smartwatch, although it’s definitely rugged. Photo: Nabu

Razer may be best known for its gaming accessories, but the company just launched its latest creation: an activity-tracking, notification-giving Nabu Watch, which works with both Android and iPhone.

Just don’t call it a smartwatch!

Smart gadgets are getting their own Wi-Fi standard in 2018

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A new type of Wi-Fi is on the way.
Photo: Ming Xia/Flickr

A new type of Wi-Fi is on the way. Photo: Ming Xia/Flickr
A new type of Wi-Fi is on the way. Photo: Ming Xia/Flickr
With CES, aka the world’s biggest consumer electronics show, coming up this week, we’re about to hear a whole lot more about the Internet of Things and smart, connected gadgets.

Which makes this the perfect time for the announcement of a new type of Wi-Fi called Wi-Fi HaLow, which is an extension of the upcoming 802.11ah Wi-Fi standard, designed to end up inside fitness trackers, home sensors and other smart gadgets.

Android’s design guru says iPhone interface is ‘heavy and burdensome’

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iPhone 6
Damn that easy-to-use grid of apps!
Photo: Apple
Damn that easy-to-use grid of apps. Photo: Apple
Damn that easy-to-use grid of apps. Photo: Apple

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.”

Apple could ink deal with Samsung and LG for future OLED iPhones

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We’ve heard for years that Apple could incorporate OLED displays into next-generation iPhones, but over the past few months, those rumors have ramped up, suggesting that the power-sipping display technology could land as early as the iPhone 7.

Now, a new report buttresses those rumors, saying Apple is close to finalizing a supply agreement with Samsung and LG to give future iPhones OLED displays.

Here’s what the new, better Google Glass looks like

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This is the new Google Glass.
This is the new Google Glass.

The FCC has given us our first glimpse at Google’s next-generation Glass headset today, thanks to a public filing that includes detailed photos of the new glasses aimed at enterprise.

Tony Fadell was put in charge of redesigning Google Glass into something non-nerds would actually want to wear, and based on the FCC’s images, it looks like his team has done just that. Not only is the new Google Glass slimmer and durable, it also touts a bigger display prism while packing a hinge that will allow wearers to fold it up during travel.

We still don’t know when or if Google will officially announce the headset, but based on the FCC documents, it appears that the device is nearly ready to launch.

Take a look at its internals:

Verizon’s new deal showers switchers with cash, data

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Verizon is hungry for new and returning customers.
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr CC
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Verizon is hungry for new and returning customers. Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr CC

Verizon Wireless is just about matching the deal other carriers have offered for a while to entice customers on other networks. It’s essentially offering to buy you out of your contract with up to $650 per line, less the trade-in value of your current device. But Verizon also has a few extra bonuses to brag about.

iPhone 6s Plus vs. Nexus 6P vs. Lumia 950 XL: Who wins the smartphone NASCAR?

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How long does it take an iPhone to lap a Nexus and a Lumia?

If all of the big boys’ flagship phones – the iPhone 6s Plus, the Google Nexus 6P and Microsoft’s Lumia 950 XL – raced in NASCAR, which would be the fastest phone around? This speed-test video puts that concept to the test, making all three phones “run laps” to see which is the fastest.

Trippy game Katamari Damacy rolls onto mobile at last

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The King of All Cosmos is back, telling the Prince what to roll up. Photo: Bandai Namco
The King of All Cosmos is back, telling the Prince what to roll up. Photo: Bandai Namco

Describing the funky weirdness of Katamari Damacy has always been somewhat of a challenge. You play a pill-headed little person who must roll a big sticky ball around various environments, picking up weird stuff like rice candy, cows, and pencils, while taking your quests from some odd king-looking dude who speaks in an odd, english as a second language-flavored patois.

It’s bizarre, but super fun, and its coming to a mobile phone near you as Tap My Katamari on iOS and Android. Check out the teaser trailer below.

China defends its new anti-encryption law

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China argues new laws are necessary to keep citizens safe.
Photo: Apple
China argues new laws are necessary to keep citizens safe. Photo: Apple
China argues new laws are necessary to keep citizens safe. Photo: Apple

China’s Foreign Ministry said today that U.S. tech companies have nothing to fear from the country’s new anti-terrorism law, which could require companies to create “back doors” in products, or to hand over encryption information to the Chinese government.

You’ll soon be able to listen to The Beatles on Apple Music and Google Play

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The Fab Four are coming to streaming music services everywhere.
Photo: The Beatles
The Fab Four are coming to streaming music services everywhere. Photo: The Beatles
The Fab Four are coming to streaming music services everywhere. Photo: The Beatles

Forget The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles are coming to Apple Music, Google Play, and a variety of other online streaming music services — and just in time for Christmas, too.

Starting Christmas Eve, the Fab Four will be available for your listening pleasure on Apple Music, Spotify, Slacker, Tidal, Microsoft’s Groove, Rhapsody, Deezer, Google Play, and Amazon Prime.

Judge rules in Apple’s favor in lawsuit about disappearing Android texts

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The latest Android vs. Apple lawsuit is over.
Photo: Tsahi Levent-Levi/Flickr CC
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The latest Android vs. Apple lawsuit is over. Photo: Tsahi Levent-Levi/Flickr CC

Apple has claimed final victory in a lawsuit arguing that the company was purposely intercepting and failing to deliver texts sent from iPhones to Android owners.

The case was related to Apple’s iMessage service, which posed a challenge to Apple-to-Android switchers up until 2014, when Apple finally issued a fix for the problem.

Google and Ford may be teaming up to build self-driving cars

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Obama wants to give self-driving cars a boost.
Ford will lend Google some of its automotive expertise
Photo: Google
Ford will lend Google some of its automotive expertise. Photo: Google
Ford will lend Google some of its automotive expertise. Photo: Google

Google is reportedly teaming up with Ford for a self-driving car project that will combine Ford’s vehicles with Google’s technology.

According to sources supposedly familiar with the plans, the deal will be announced at next year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.

Target hopes for bull’s-eye with its mobile wallet

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Apple Pay, Android Pay, Walmart Pay... and now Target Pay?
Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr CC
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Apple Pay, Android Pay, Walmart Pay… and now Target Pay? Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr CC

Target is reportedly looking to become a player in the mobile wallet game. The fourth largest retailer in the U.S. would be joining a market that’s quickly becoming pretty crowded. The next mobile payment solution on your smartphone very well could be Target Pay, though it can’t be confirmed at this time.