| Google Search "My Answers" update brings flights, reservations and more Aug 14th 2013, 19:28, by Robert Nelson Google has detailed the latest search related update. This one deals with the “My Answers” portion of search and basically means you will be able to ask questions about additional topics. Some of these will likely be familiar to Google Now users, but with that in mind, moving forward My Answers will be able to support flight, reservation, purchase, plan and image related questions. 
This update will be rolling out to US based Google users over the next “several” days and will be available by way of the desktop, tablet or smartphone. Basically, firing up Google you will soon be able to ask questions such as “Is my flight on time?” Keeping in mind the answers will likely vary depending on the situation, that particular question could return results based on your upcoming flight plans or the real-time status of a current flight. Other goodies here include asking for “my reservations” or “my hotel” which will offer details such as your upcoming dinner plans or the location of your hotel. Of course, extending this out a bit and this also means easy access (with one-tap) to get directions. Purchase related questions will be able to provide tracking details and plan related questions will bring details based on your upcoming schedule. The photos portion is a bit more interesting. This will allow the user to ask to see photos from a particular place. Google uses the example of asking to “show me my photos from Thailand.” In this case, that would allow you to see any images that you uploaded to Google+ from Thailand. Additionally, the photos portion also allows for more general questions such as for images of sunsets. Real-world usage may vary here, but Google has said they will “try to automatically recognize the type of photo you’re asking for.” As for those worried about privacy, Google has said these details are all stored securely and only visible when you are signed into Google. Those wishing to turn this off will be able to do so by heading into the settings and turning things off for an individual session or on a permanent basis. SOURCE: Official Google Blog |  | Verizon reconfirms August 20th release date for DROID Ultra and MAXX Aug 14th 2013, 19:10, by Cory Gunther At the end of last month Verizon and Motorola officially announced their all new DROID lineup. Those being the exciting Motorola DROID Ultra, MAXX with a huge battery, and the new DROID Mini smartphones. During the announcement they confirmed the release date was August 20th, but yesterday Verizon’s online store had all shipping dates slip a week to August 27th. Don’t worry though. 
With news of the HTC One release date being delayed, although never official to begin with, and now reports of a 29th release date for the Verizon Moto X, many are worried the DROID lineup will get delayed. After the report yesterday many were concerned so after reaching out to Verizon we have some good news. Verizon Wireless has confirmed to Android Community that the Motorola DROID Ultra and MAXX are still on schedule, and will launch as planned and be readily available in stores nationwide starting August 20th. However, the online store is a little behind on pre-orders, and if you order from Verizon’s from here on out, it won’t ship until August 27th. Here’s their exact words: The 20th is still happening, you'll still find the Ultra and Maxx in stores on that day. Those who pre-ordered prior the date changing, will have their device shipped by the original date. And, for customers pre-ordering now, the date on the website is when the phones will ship.” – Verizon PR
So just the online store is a week behind and not the actual release. So if you’re loving the idea of that 5-inch 720p HD smartphone with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and Motorola’s new software and voice action enhancements all wrapped in some DuPont Kevlar, you’ll want to snag one up. Stay tuned for a full review of the smartphone coming up quick! | | Canvas for Pebble app brings personalized watchfaces [Hands-on] Aug 14th 2013, 18:34, by Robert Nelson Pebble smartwatch owners can choose between thousands of watchface apps to personalize their experience a bit. They can also build completely custom watchfaces if they wanted. And while both of those options are nice to have, it looks like an app called Canvas for Pebble will give users an experience that falls somewhere in the middle. Basically, this app allows you to design custom watchfaces using nothing more than a smartphone or tablet. 
The app offers a few pre-built options that can be used as-is, or further customized. The customization options include the basics such as font style and font size, but you can also add plenty of different features. You can have your watch display everything from the current time or the time in another area of the world as well as the weather, upcoming appointments, battery status of your phone (or tablet) and more. 
Creating or editing a watchface is a fairly simple process, though it may take a bit of trial and error when it come to making sure you have all the options and text sized appropriately. In our experience that meant making an adjustment, sending it to our Pebble and checking how it looked — then repeating the process a few times. Nothing difficult though. We slightly modified the Weather option, switching up the date and weather layouts as well as some small adjustments to the font sizes. The entire process from downloading and installing the app to customizing the watchface to having it installed on our Pebble took roughly 15 minutes. As you will see in the gallery below, the editing process involves little more than going step-by-step through the process. Keep in mind, each item you see on the watch is an individual spot on the Pebble. Take the Weather option for example, that includes five total spaces including the Weather Image, Time, Temp, Date and Battery.    Those looking to start something from scratch can tap the “+” icon in the upper right corner. Going this route will get a “new screen” in your list and tapping that will allow the creating to begin. From here it is a matter of naming the face and beginning to add the additional layers. Options here can include the time and date, basic text or a countdown to a date and time or to a calendar event. There are also options for images, such as with the weather. You also have the option to add a dynamic layer which includes things such as the battery level (of your phone or tablet), an unread/missed message count, sensors and more. Bottom line here, we wouldn’t say the possibilities are endless, but this app does offer quite a bit. Plus, it is available for free. The one catch, we do have to admit that we haven’t used this particular face long enough to see what (if any) effect it will have on the battery life of the Pebble. Then again, with using the Pebble with RunKeeper we are already charging every other day anyway. SOURCE: Google Play Store | | Sony aims high, sets September 4th event ahead of Samsung Aug 14th 2013, 18:16, by Cory Gunther We can’t say exactly what most manufacturers have planned for early September at the annual IFA tech conference in Germany, but most likely both Samsung and Sony will be making huge announcements. Last month it was rumored that Sony would be making big waves on September 4th, and we also have confirmed Samsung’s unpacked event will be the same day. It’s a faceoff. 
So what will both sides be offering? Some extra large smartphones, dare I say phablets, in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Note III and the Sony Honami 5-inch flagship smartphone. Which will likely be called the Sony Xperia i1 with a 20 megapixel camera on board. Both devices will be impressive, and we have a feeling it will be all about software and the cameras this time around. So what’s the big deal here? Samsung’s pre-IFA Unpacked event is scheduled for September 4th, but today Sony has officially confirmed they’ll also be holding their event on the 4th, only it’s a few hours before Samsung. That means we’ll see what they have to offer first. They are taking charge front and center. Or trying to at least. 
The image above is the latest in a long, long line of leaks showing the Sony Honami smartphone, only this time in white. We know all there is to know at this point and are also expecting those Sony clip-on camera accessories to be the star of the show. More details on the Sony Honami, Galaxy Note III, and those rumored clip on camera options can be found below. As a reminder, we’ll be live on site at IFA in Berlin, Germany bringing you the latest news with tons of pictures and video. | |
No comments:
Post a Comment