| Volkswagen SmileDrive app transforms your road trip into a game Aug 7th 2013, 14:38, by Robert Nelson Volkswagen has released an app for Android users. The app is called SmileDrive and it brings the promise of maximizing the fun of driving. Volkswagen describes this as being a social app that uses Google products and services along the way. In fact, you will be greeted with a Google+ sign-in (and powered by Google branding) at first launch. 
The app is said to be in beta and can be used with, or without a Bluetooth connection. Before we get into the Bluetooth aspect, how about we first take a look at the app as a whole. Volkswagen SmileDrive records where you drive. The app will take note of your location along with distance, time and weather and in return you will get a Smile Score. This score is basically a summary of your drive and there will also be Stickers and Punches awarded for those who manage to unlock some achievements. In an effort to make the SmileDrive app useful for short trips around town and for long journeys that involve multiple legs, Volkswagen has added something called Smilecasts. The Smilecasts will allow you to combine multiple short drives into one long drive. Basically, this seems like the option you will want for longer road trips. The social connection ties in with your Google+ login and will allow you to share images, maps and more. Passengers in the car can also share their images if you tag them from within the app. And similar to how Google+ can automatically upload images, the same can be done using the Smilecast option. Basically, it looks like Volkswagen is trying to make this as seamless as possible as to not interfere with the actual driving. The SmileDrive app will pair with the Bluetooth connection in the car, but can also be used in a manual mode for those who may be driving a VW without Bluetooth. Or alternatively, for those who think the app sounds fun, but aren’t driving a VW. SOURCE: Volkswagen, Google Play Store |  | AT&T 4G LTE further expands across 12 states Aug 7th 2013, 14:09, by Robert Nelson AT&T has once again expanded upon their 4G LTE coverage. This latest round includes new and expanded coverage across 13 markets and 12 states. This time around the good news comes for those in select markets in California, Colorado, Idado, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Virginia. 
With the exception of Mississippi, the remaining states all have just one market getting coverage with this latest LTE announcement. The Mississippi coverage is for those in the Greenville and Vicksburg areas. Breaking down the remaining locations and we have the following; - Stockton, California
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Coeur Delene, Idaho
- Topeka, Kansas
- Mt. Sterling, Kentucky
- Kirksville, Missouri
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Zanesville, Ohio
- Medford, Oregon
- Laredo, Texas
- Charlottesville, Virginia
This means those in any of those markets may want to start looking to take advantage of the 4G LTE speeds — as opposed to the 3G speeds. Basically, if you already happen to have an LTE compatible device you are all set. Otherwise, those without a 4G LTE device may want to start considering your next device upgrade. AT&T has several LTE capable smartphones and tablets and have been adding new on a regular basis. Some of the handsets include the Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy S 4 Active, a handset we recently reviewed. AT&T will also have the Moto X available fairly soon. They have yet to announce a specific release date, however the Moto X is expected to arrive later in August. | | HTC Desire 500 UK launch confirmed Aug 7th 2013, 13:37, by Robert Nelson HTC originally announced the Desire 500 smartphone a few weeks earlier. At the time the handset was heading to Taiwan, however HTC did say a wider global release would follow. Well, flash forward till today and we now have word of the Desire 500 coming to those in the UK. 
While confirming a UK release, HTC has yet to say exactly when the handset would be available or how much it would be selling for. The brief mention of those topics included how availability would begin sometime this month and how the handset would arrive at an “affordable” price. Those in the UK will have the Desire 500 available in Lacquer Black and Glacier Blue, but otherwise the specs should sound familiar to those who remember the Taiwan launch. As a recap, the HTC Desire 500 is sporting a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 800 x 480 and powered by a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 processor. The handset also has 4GB of internal storage along with a microSD card slot and 1GB of RAM. 
Other details include a 1.6 megapixel front-facing camera and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera that HTC promises will be able to capture “spectacular stills and HD video.” While clearly a mid-range device, HTC has tried to pack plenty in. Some of the other camera related features include smile recognition, filters and easy sharing with friends. The handset will also be able to create Video Highlights, which are a mix of still images an video rolled-into one 30-second clip. Otherwise, those looking towards the Desire 500 can also expect to see HTC BlinkFeed as well as a variety of models to include a dual-SIM option and one with NFC. | | LG G2 image leak offers Galaxy S 4 side-by-side compare Aug 7th 2013, 13:16, by Robert Nelson LG will be unveiling the G2 smartphone a bit later today and given the frequency of leaks, we suppose these last minute leaks shouldn’t come with much surprise. Yesterday brought a look at the display and digitizer assembly for the handset and today we are seeing a side-by-side compare with the Galaxy S 4. 
As we have seen in the past, this is basically offering another look at the LG G2. Of course, those official images should be here within a few hours time. It would be easy to point out some similarities between the Galaxy S 4 and the G2, but we wouldn’t say they are close enough to think that LG copied Samsung on the design. Sure, they are both white and they both have a centered rear-facing camera, but plenty of handsets have that these days. Perhaps more important here is what we know about the LG G2 at this point in time. Keeping in mind these details still need to be confirmed, but it is looking like the handset will arrive with a 5.2-inch 1080p HD display and quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. 
Other still rumored specs include 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of internal storage, a 2450 mAh battery, 2 megapixel front-facing camera and 13 megapixel rear-facing camera. And in addition, we saw a few details confirmed by way of the recent user manual leak. Details from that touched on the rear-facing volume rocker that has the power/lock button in the middle. Anyway, while we wait for the announcement from LG, we will offer these two reminders — first, the handset is expected to arrive with 100 carriers in 90 days and perhaps better for today, we will be live on-site for the announcement to bring the official news as well as some hands-on pictures and video of the handset. SOURCE: rbmen | |
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