Android pisses all over Apple -- in Google Maps [Updated]
Google hides lots of Easter eggs in its products and services. Usually fun little extras designed to amuse. However, the latest one discovered in Google Maps is of questionable taste.
Tucked away in Pakistan, close to the New Islamabad International Airport, is a cartoon image of Google’s Android urinating on an Apple logo. Nice.
Send directions from your desktop to Google Maps on your Android phone
Dedicated satnav units are less popular than they used to be, and this can be attributed in part to the rise of direction-providing smartphone apps like Google Maps and Waze. If you are invested in Google Maps, you may well check out directions on your desktop computer and then have to get them set up on your phone as well.
Today that changes. Google has unveiled a feature that makes it possible to push directions from your desktop computer or laptop to your phone. This eliminates a step and makes the whole process of getting from A to B much easier.
Acer unveils new products -- Windows, Chromebooks, Android devices, and Predator gaming
Acer held a massive press conference today in Manhattan to unveil its new product lineup. BetaNews was there, live, at 4 World Trade Center. The views from the 60-something-th floor were magnificent, but even more awe-inspiring to a tech nerd like me, were the Acer products.
Acer is one of my favorite manufacturers because it focuses on value. Not only are the company's computers beautiful and powerful, but affordable too. While the company kept its focus on the affordable segment with Windows, Chromebooks and Android products, it also introduced its new Predator gaming computers. The star of the show? A small gaming-tablet running Google's mobile OS.
Conficker remains top of the threats as existing malware for Windows dominates
Though we're constantly being warned about the threat offered by new malware it seems that, for Windows systems at least, the old favorites continue to catch us out.
The latest threat report from security company F-Secure shows that Conficker continues to be the number one Windows threat, kept alive by the number of unpatched legacy systems still around.
Facebook Hello tells you who's calling before you pick up
It's easily forgotten with the number of apps available, but mobile phones are primarily designed for making calls on the move -- whodda thunk it? When you receive a call you'll usually see the number of the caller, but this may not be helpful in identifying them before you decide whether to pick up. Facebook's answer to this problem is Hello.
This new app comes from the Facebook Messenger team and aims to tell you more about the person getting in touch with you even if you don’t have their number saved in your address book. Currently available for Android, the dialer app also allows for the blocking of calls from individuals.
OnePlus One invites are dead, but OnePlus 2 will resurrect them
I am a huge gadget guy, and yet I have never owned an iPhone because it is too expensive and restrictive. Android is my mobile platform of choice for a number of reasons. It is a Linux-based operating system (sweet), it has an accessible file system (awesome), and the handsets can be affordable (woo-hoo). This is in stark contrast to Apple's rotten iOS ideology.
While the expensive (yet not restrictive) Nexus 6 is my current smartphone, I did consider a different, less costly model before I got it -- the OnePlus One. That Android phone is very affordable and powerful, but it had one fatal flaw -- a lame invite scheme. Whether invites were implemented due to strong demand or as a way to create perceived demand, it rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not into playing games when it comes to spending my hard-earned money. Luckily, this is changing. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of announcing the phone, OnePlus is killing the invite system for it. Yes, anyone can buy the One at any time (as long as there is stock). Unfortunately, not all of the news is good.
Now you can Direct Message (almost) anyone on Twitter
Twitter today announces a number of key changes to the way its messaging system works. Until now it has only been possible to exchange a private Direct Message with another user if you both follow each other. This all changes as Twitter introduces the ability to DM anyone as long as they have the feature enabled on their account.
Just last week, Twitter announced that it will use a Dublin-based branch to handle all non-US account data but today's news is all about communication. If you're happy to receive DMs from anyone on Twitter, you can flip the switch on a setting that makes this possible.
Android Wear update brings always-on apps, Wi-Fi support and improved navigation
Much as Apple would like you to think otherwise, Apple Watch is yet to blow other wearables out of the water. Smartwatches are still something of an emerging technology, but Google has managed to carve out yet another niche for itself with Android Wear. Today the company unleashes an update that aims to make Android-powered watches easier to use.
The first major addition is support for always-on apps. Most Android Wear watches included support for displaying the time round the clock (sorry!) but this feature has now been expanded to other apps. If you're using your watch to get directions or follow a shopping list, you can opt to keep the relevant app active at all times. The update has more to offer too.
Sony officially announces Xperia Z4 featuring Snapdragon 810, 3GB RAM and 1080p display
Sony has finally launched the much-awaited successor to last year's Xperia Z3. Called the Xperia Z4, the new flagship smartphone features a range of incremental improvements to its last generation handset. It features a 5.2-inch 1080p display with the latest and greatest (and controversial) 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor from Qualcomm. The smartphone runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The Xperia Z4's FHD (1920 x 1080) display might not please a lot of people given how most of the other flagship devices are offering QHD display these days, but Sony continues to value a longer battery life over bragging rights. Other specifications of the device include 3GB of RAM coupled with 32GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.
No, Microsoft isn't taking Android's future out of Google's hands -- here's why
Earlier this week, Cyanogen Inc announced that it has entered into a partnership with Microsoft to bundle some apps into its future Android-based operating system. While the companies meticulously chalked out most of the specifics of their collaboration -- and how it wouldn't much affect consumers in the coming months -- many people and even some news outlets are having a hard time understanding these facts, and have started to make bold, misleading conclusions.
Wired, for instance, believes that this tie-up between the two companies will end up taking Android’s future out of Google’s hands. I think they are wrong, and much to the contrary, I believe that this alliance will only be good for Google (and Android). Here’s why.
Microsoft makes mobile image searching a (nearly) typing-free experience
Microsoft thinks that typing on a mobile device is difficult. At the same time it understands that "you love to discover images" on the very same devices. To help make your mobile searches a little easier to conduct, the company is introducing a number of tweaks and changes to the iOS and Android Bing app.
Of course it is not possible to entirely eliminate the need to input words in order to conduct a search, but Microsoft has taken steps to reduce it to an absolute minimum. How has this been done? Enter simple search terms and you're provided with a couple of new ways to drill down to exactly what it is you're looking for with just a few taps.
Cyanogen will bundle Microsoft apps with its Android ROM
Future Android-based builds and ROMs from Cyanogen Inc will ship with bundled Microsoft apps, as the startup has signed a deal with the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant. The partnership will result in Microsoft apps and services such as Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, as well as productivity suite Office among others being prominently showcased on Cyanogen’s software.
The collaboration between the two companies doesn’t come as a surprise as many similar rumors started to crop up when a news outlet reported that Microsoft was making an investment in Cyanogen Inc. The partnership is a win-win situation for both of the companies.
Lost your phone? Just Google it
Becoming reunited with your lost phone just got a whole lot easier. It doesn’t matter if you're alone and don't have access to another phone to ring your cell to see if it has slipped down the back of the sofa. To make life a little easier, Google is rolling out a feature that enables you to conduct a Google search for your phone.
Whether you have mislaid it in the house, or somewhere further afield, Google will help you to track down your beloved handset. You just need to make sure that your phone is updated with the latest version of the Google app and you're ready to go phone hunting. It's a bit like an extension of the feature found in Android Wear, so how does it work?
Google hits back at European antitrust charges
Google abused its position in Europe to further its own online products, says the European Commission. Following a five-year investigation, Google stands accused of abusing dominance in Europe, violating antitrust laws. EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager says that Google gave its own shopping comparison service greater priority over rivals in search results.
The company's mobile operating system is also in the firing line. Android, it is said, has been used by Google to promote its own products and services over those of rivals.The Commission is also launching a formal investigation into Android to determine whether Google acted anti-competitively with its mobile operating system. Attention is focused on Google's bundling of its own apps after forming agreements with hardware manufacturers. Unsurprisingly, Google disagrees.
Nokia buys Alcatel-Lucent for $16.6 billion, considers selling HERE
Following on from yesterday's confirmation that Nokia was in talks with Alcatel-Lucent regarding a possible buyout, the Finnish company has now gone ahead with the purchase. Nokia is paying €15.6 billion ($16.6 billion) for the French telecoms equipment manufacturer. The deal is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2016, subject to shareholder approval.
The coming together of forces is very much a forward-looking venture. Nokia says that the combination of Nokia Technologies and FutureWorks with Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs will allow for "unparalleled innovation capabilities". Nokia also announced that it has initiated a strategic review of its HERE business, but it is not yet clear whether this will ultimately result in its sale.
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