Skin and protect your Nexus 7 [Review]
The Nexus 7 has gone down well with the team here at BetaNews (despite a few teething problems) and it's proving popular with a lot of other people as well. Part of the tablet's appeal is that it offers great value for money. But just because something is relatively cheap, it does not mean that it should not be looked after.
Whatever phone or tablet you have, there are countless protective skins to choose from and also various ways in which to stamp your mark on your mobile device. With a couple of Nexus 7's (Nexi?) to take care of, I thought I'd take a look at some of the options that are available. The official sleeve has been available for a while and the official case has been unveiled. At $50 it's worth seeing what else is out there as well.
Microsoft updates Outlook.com Android app, adds multiple features
When Microsoft is not attacking Google with cheesy videos and questionable statistics, the software giant is busy trying to use the search company's platforms for its own gain. While we still anxiously await the arrival of Office (without a 365 subscription) on Android, we do have OneNote and Outlook.com, the latter of which is receiving a big update today.
"Our goal is to provide our customers with the best possible email experience, delivering the features that you've been requesting. We've listened hard to the feedback from you and made several improvements that you asked for", says Microsoft's Steve Kafka.
Archos announces the GamePad 2 -- Nintendo and Sony competitor?
I used to exclusively be a home console gamer -- I preferred playing games on a TV screen as opposed to a tiny handheld display. Heck, I even grew up during the GameBoy era but never got one. The NES was a better option for me, as portability was not a need at the time. Truth be told, I didn't get into mobile gaming until I got my first Android phone. Since then, I play all of my games on a smartphone or tablet. Sadly, platformer games are my favorite genre and virtual d-pads are a poor experience. I have always dreamed of an Android device with dedicated gaming buttons.
In July, the NVIDIA Shield was released. However, it serves as a dedicated gaming handheld -- it cannot realistically replace a tablet. It didn't make financial sense to buy both a tablet and the NVIDIA handheld. Today, Archos announces a new Android-based, 7-inch tablet that also serves as a gaming machine, called the GamePad 2 (the successor to the GamePad 1). In other words, it combines the functionality of a Nexus 7, with the gaming controls of the NVIDIA Shield. Amazingly, the company is releasing the product in Q4 of 2013, for the low price of $199.
Microsoft quietly announces new Remote Desktop apps for Android and iOS
In his "5 reasons Surface tablets blow away iPads for a mobile business workforce" piece, my colleague Derrick Wlodarz explained why Remote Desktop on Windows RT (and, by implication, Windows 8) is better compared to third-party clients on Android and iOS. Derrick says that the former offers a richer feature set, a smoother experience, improved stability, less compatibility issues and comes with no initial cost (because it is free, as a built-in feature). As you can tell, the lack of official Remote Desktop apps on Android and iOS tips the scale in Microsoft's favor.
That is about to change, as Microsoft has announced that it will release Remote Desktop apps on "a variety of devices and platforms", which include Windows, Windows RT, OS X, Android and iOS. The software giant says the offerings will be introduced with Windows Server 2012 R2, which launches later this month, on October 18, alongside Windows 8.1.
Samsung announces first curved screen smartphone -- but only in Korea
After what was possibly the shortest-lived leak in history, Samsung announces the Galaxy Round, a smartphone with a curved screen. Just days after LG announced mass production of the first flexible display, images started to leak online that depicted a curved Samsung device.
This was followed almost immediately by a Samsung announcement, complete with the news that the phone will be available in Korea from 10 October.
Microsoft updates Lync mobile client, no longer requires an account
Back in March of this year Microsoft released its mobile clients for Lync and Lync Server 2013 and, since that initial release, the company has twice updated the app. Today marks the third refresh for the enterprise communications tool, which is available across Windows Phone, iOS and Android (though the latter is not included in this update). This latest update brings two important new features to the platform.
First, is the ability to join and participate in a Lync Meeting without having to own a Lync account. "We’ve heard that many people want the ability to join Lync Meetings from their smartphones, even if they do not have a Lync sign-in. For example, contractors or partners may want to join your Lync Meeting while travelling or away from their PC", the team explains.
Nest Protect -- a Wi-Fi smoke and carbon monoxide detector
When it comes to fire, you can never be too safe. Sadly, I know all too well. You see, I once lived through a fire that destroyed my apartment and all of my belongings. While it was a devastating event, I came out of it uninjured and with a new respect for fire safety.
Today, Nest announces a new product that combines technology with not only fire safety but carbon monoxide protection too.
HBO lands on Google Play, Game of Thrones in tow
HBO original programming has become some of the most popular content on the small screen these days, including Game of Thrones, which holds the distinction of being the most downloaded show in BitTorrent history. Fortunately for the premium network, there are legal and profitable ways for viewers to obtain its shows.
Today, there is one more outlet being added to the mix -- Google Play. The search giant tweets that HBO is now a part of its app store, bringing along a number of its popular TV Series' to Android and Google TV customers.
Genymotion lets you emulate Android directly from your desktop
Ever wanted to emulate an Android phone or tablet on your PC or Mac? Perhaps you’re a developer who wants a more convenient way to test code, or you’re looking to demonstrate Android in some way. Or perhaps you’re simply someone who wants to give Android a test run without going the whole hog and spending good money before giving it a whirl?
There’s a simple solution to all of the above -- and that’s to install the free Genymotion 1.3.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Tesco Hudl -- the budget tablet with great aspirations [Review]
Many people are settling into the idea that a 7 inch screen is the ideal size for a tablet. The extra screen space provided by a 10 inch model sounds great in theory, but it does result in a device that is slightly more cumbersome to take from place to place. Looked at in terms of portability, 7 inches is perfect -- large enough to make most tasks easy, but small enough to easily slip into a bag, if not necessarily a pocket.
The slightly smaller size also makes an important difference to the price tag, and there is a burgeoning market for tablets of this size. It is interesting to see that as the screens of phones gradually get larger and larger, the general trend for the tablet is to shrink -- the two are on a collision course!
The most popular stories on BetaNews this past week: September 29 -- October 5
This has been a week with a lot of news about operating systems. As we near the official release OS X Mavericks went GM and was made available to developers, while in the world of Linux Red Hat Enterprise 5.10 was also unveiled. Windows 8.1 was made available for pre-order, but a study of sales figures revealed that Windows 7 continues to grow faster than Windows 8. Ahead of his retirement sometime in the next twelve months, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was punished for poor performance with a bonus reduction, with first generation Surface sales partly to blame.
Things look better for Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, with reports of the tablets selling out -- this is perhaps not surprising when Delta Airlines has bought 11,000 of the devices for its pilots. As well as looking forward, Microsoft also came over a little nostalgic, choosing to show off the capabilities of Internet Explorer 11 with a revived version of the classic Windows 95 game Hover.
CBS releases streaming app for Android and Windows 8
When the CBS app was launched for iOS in March, Android users felt slighted. After all, Android leads in market-share -- why shouldn't it get the app first? Not to mention, many Android users are very nerdy so Big Bang Theory is a natural fit. Today, CBS announces that not only is it finally releasing it for Android, but for Windows 8 too.
Jim Lanzone, President of CBS Interactive says, "when we launched on iOS in March, we promised fans we would bring the CBS App to all major platforms by fall premieres. Today we are doing exactly that".
Skype promises better message syncing and continued mobile improvements
In a blog post that looks forwards as well as backwards, Skype lays out details of planned improvements for the desktop and mobile versions of the app. Mark Gillett applauds the technological improvements that have been made over the past year and also gives a glimpse of the changes we can expect to see in the year to come. The post acknowledges that a large proportion of Skype usage is on mobile devices, and a number of mobile-friendly changes are revealed.
One particularly noteworthy feature specific to mobile users is the promise that chat synchronization across devices will be improved. This is something that anyone who used Skype on multiple devices will have noticed can be a problem. Send a large number of text based messages from the desktop version of Skype and when you launch Skype on another computer or a phone, you'll currently find that there can be quite a delay as message history is downloaded. While no details are provided, Gillet says:
Android and Windows Phone on one HTC handset? Who would want that?
According to a new report by Bloomberg, Microsoft last month reached out to HTC to see if the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer would be interested in adding Windows Phone as a second OS to its Android handsets.
The story claims Terry Myerson, head of Microsoft’s operating systems unit, suggested "cutting or eliminating the [Windows Phone] license fee to make the idea more attractive" to HTC. The Taiwanese firm makes the Windows Phone 8X and 8S, but reportedly has no plans for further devices running the tiled OS.
Chrome for Android updates swiping gestures, offers search by image
Google has released Chrome for Android 30 FINAL, a major new update to its mobile web browser. The main highlight in version 30 is updated swiping gestures, but other new features include the ability to search by image, faster searching through the Google Search app and improved password sync.
The chief changes are three updated swiping gestures. Users can now swipe horizontally across the top toolbar to quickly switch back and forth between tabs, or drag vertically down from the toolbar to enter Tab Switcher view.
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