| Chromecast back in stock on Google Play, ships tomorrow Sep 13th 2013, 18:31, by Cory Gunther When Google announced their Chromecast media-streaming dongle back at the end of July, it was met with tons of excitement. So much in fact, that they’ve been having a rather tough time keeping it in stock. It’s been sold out and in and out of the Google Play Store for a few months, not to mention Amazon and Best Buy having the same troubles. Today though, Google finally has more. 
Due to a quick note from a few eagle-eyed readers (thanks for the tip, guys) it appears that Google finally has plenty of the Chromecast magical dongle back in stock. They’ve arrived for the standard and awesome $35 price tag, and shipping is even listed as 1-2 days. Which means they finally have things sorted out and can get these out the next day. Amazon has been shipping thousands out and their shipping estimates are still a few weeks out, and this week Best Buy finally received a steady supply of the hot item as well. For all you tech enthusiasts, $35 for this thing makes it an instant buy, and that remains true today. 
While we’re still waiting for Google to officially release the API limits so developers can release their apps, just know that many are working hard at developing awesome uses for the device. Koush, in particular, has some great apps that will allow for local streaming from your smartphone, dropbox, and more. And we even highlighted streaming right from a PC or laptop last month. Hit the links below in the timeline for more on Chromecast, and grab one from Google right this minute. VIA: Play Store |  | Facebook adds auto-playing videos to mobile news feeds Sep 13th 2013, 18:17, by Cory Gunther The Facebook app for Android received an update yesterday on the beta channel, and one new feature is about to make the app rather intrusive. Auto-playing videos are quite possibly my least favorite things on the internet, and Facebook has decided to make that a thing on our mobile devices. Which could also cause a lot of data overage charges. 
Videos on your news feed will soon auto-play, without audio, and a quick tap by the user will show that you’re interested and the audio will come alive. Facebook confirmed in a recent blog post that this new “feature” (aka annoying addition) is now present on the desktop, and will be rolling out in stages to mobile devices. We’re not sure if this is for the beta channel only, or if all Facebook for Android users will start seeing this, but it’s already active on all of my devices. Scrolling through Facebook you’ll find videos instantly playing on their own, even if you’re not interested one bit. Personally I don’t like the feature, especially on mobile, and hopefully this doesn’t make the final cut. Facebook says this will make your news feed more dynamic and exciting but we’re not sold on the idea. For those who aren’t interested, a long press will give you the option to turn off auto-play. Something I did immediately. In the long run this will be added to Facebook ads, which is the bigger picture here. Enjoy those news feed videos guys. | | HTC One Max fingerprint scanner spotted in latest leaked image Sep 13th 2013, 17:32, by Robert Nelson There has been plenty of rumor and speculation surrounding the HTC One Max. We have seen details touching on the specs and even some suggesting the handset would debut with Android 4.3 and Sense 5.5. But perhaps the most interesting One Max rumors at the moment are the ones dealing with the supposed fingerprint scanner. 
Just like the handset itself, details of the fingerprint scanner are still sitting firmly in the rumor category. There has been some convincing leaked images though. And coming off of that, it would appear as if yet another image has surfaced. This latest has come by way of the Chinese language Weibo and is showing what appears to be a working model. Though, details coming along with the pics list the One Max as being a prototype. These images do however seem to match up with what we had been seeing in the earlier leaks. That being said, these images are offering a look at the front and back of the One Max (sitting alongside an HTC One). And as you can see, the One Max still appears to have that fingerprint scanner sitting on the back of the device. Or more accurately, the handset has a square cutout sitting below the camera lens and that cutout is rumored to be a fingerprint scanner. 
Aside from chatter about the supposed fingerprint scanner, other rumors point towards the One Max as arriving with a 5.9-inch display and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. That processor is expected to clock in at 2.3GHz and other details include the handset having a 3000 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage along with an UltraPixel camera on the back. VIA: mobileaks.nl | | Google Street View gives us a stunning tour of the Galapagos Islands Sep 13th 2013, 17:26, by Cory Gunther Back in May Google teased us all with a few details stating they were taking their Street View and Trekker program to one of the most beautiful archipelagos on Earth. That being the Galapagos Islands. Where we can enjoy the Sea Lions, some of the largest tortoises in the world, and clear sky-blue waters. Today the project is complete, and below is the entire stunning journey. 
These beautiful and isolated volcanic islands are off limits to the majority of the world, and somewhere we can all only dream of visiting. Well, now you don’t have to because sitting at home you can take a beautiful and stunning tour all across the entire landscape, as well as under water. This otherworldly part of nature is certainly one of its finest. We can take virtual and audio guided tours on YouTube, as shown below, or feel free to wander aimlessly and enjoy the scenery all with Google Street View. The playful Sea Lions are my favorite but they also feature Tortoises, blue-footed bobby birds, marine Iguanas, and the Frigatebird. Out of everything, going underwater with Street View is by far the best part of the entire project. Google has continued to impress us with Street View and the Trekker program, and this is some of the best we’ve seen yet. From diving underwater, walking through lava fields and more. Google went on a 10-day journey of boating, diving, hiking, sightseeing and everything I’d like to do in order to get full 360 degrees images of the beautiful islands. For more details be sure and head to Google’s Street View landing page with all the information, as well as the Galapagos Islands specifically which we’ve linked to below. Enjoy!    VIA: Galapagos Islands | | DROID DNA Sense 5 update detailed, listed as coming soon Sep 13th 2013, 16:55, by Robert Nelson We had previously been told that Verizon and HTC would begin rolling out a Sense 5 update for the DROID DNA sometime this summer. Well, while we have yet to learn of a specific release date for that update, there has been a confirmation from Verizon Wireless. It seems Big Red has recently updated the DROID DNA support pages with mention of Sense 5. 
The support pages were discovered by Droid-Life and so far the update has been listed as “coming soon.” Verizon tends to have these updates available fairly soon after they update the support pages, but again, no timeline has been given. And to further that, we have yet to hear any reports from users about Sense 5 arriving. Putting that aside, for now we have the updated support pages which is touting this updates as being one that will “improve the performance of your DROID DNA.” The specific categories that are being mentioned include People, Calendar, BlinkFeed, Gallery, Quick Settings and the Smart Dialer. These options will likely be familiar to those who have been paying attention to Sense 5, however it will certainly be nicer to have them (as opposed to reading about them). 
While these all look and sound like worthwhile improvements, we suspect the Quick Settings option along with the new Gallery and BlinkFeed will be the items that stand out most. BlinkFeed (for those unfamiliar) will bring a home screen option that is personalized with news and information that you want to see. With that, one bit that we have yet to see mentioned is whether Sense 5 will be arriving as part of an update to Android 4.3 or if the DROID DNA will stick with Android 4.2. Of course, HTC’s president of global sales, Jason Mackenzie had said that Android 4.3 would be available for the DNA by the end of September. SOURCE: Verizon Wireless | | LG Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 KitKat tipped for October 14th release date Sep 13th 2013, 16:51, by Cory Gunther Google shocked everyone when they announced and confirmed the next version of Android wouldn’t be 5.0, and instead we’d see a minor bump to Android 4.4 KitKat. That was followed up with our first look at the LG Nexus 5 which leaked on accident, and recent FCC filings have shared all the physical details we need. Now, all we’re waiting for is a release date and more 4.4 details, a few of which we’ll talk about below. 
Today we’re seeing a few different reports, but they are all just rumors from “tipsters” so we’ll be taking them with a grain of salt. A few different sources are claiming October 14th will be the official release date for the LG Nexus 5, and it will come with Android 4.4 KitKat. Which also means the rest of the Nexus family will likely receive the same chocolaty treat that day and throughout the week. Ausdroid claims to have a good source on this 14th date, but they’re also taking this as a soft rumor as well, so make of it as you will. Their tipster says the 14th is the day, and even shared a few thoughts on Android 4.4 and what changes we’ll see. They confirmed the LG Nexus 5, as well as changes for Android. Things like a new color to replace the cyan blue text and accents, which I hope they leave alone, support for a wide array of older devices, and many will even be able to update to KK. Tons of new animations, APIs, gallery visualizations and tweaks, and a new notification widget. That last one sounds really interesting. 
Again, we’ll be taking all of this with a grain of salt, and we’ve actually heard a different date and will share more details on that soon enough. Their tipster had nothing to say about a new Nexus 10, but that’s reportedly in the works as well. Late October is when the Nexus 4 was released, and we’re thinking Google will try to stick to an October release this time around as well. Thoughts? | |
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