Posts tagged android

Google I/O day one highlights. Google’s  I/O developer conference got underway Wednesday without anything like the headline grabbing demonstration of Glass at last years Day One keynote, but there were still a few interesting points: New-look Google Maps Google Play Music All Access Google Play Game Services Google Now voice search coming to desktop PC’s Three-columned new look for Google+ You can now send money via Gmail Also announced were some statistics: 900 million Android activations worldwide to date, and 48 billion apps downloaded from Google Play. That compares to 50 billion app downloads on iOS, which was reached earlier this week.

Google I/O day one highlights.

Google’s  I/O developer conference got underway Wednesday without anything like the headline grabbing demonstration of Glass at last years Day One keynote, but there were still a few interesting points:

Also announced were some statistics: 900 million Android activations worldwide to date, and 48 billion apps downloaded from Google Play. That compares to 50 billion app downloads on iOS, which was reached earlier this week.

Photos: Samsung Galaxy S4 Teardown.

Check out the full gallery here.

image

Google Glass specs confirmed, App released.

Google have released the Android App for their upcoming Glass device, and confirmed the specs on their website. As rumored, the device won’t have a traditional speaker for audio playback, instead using a bone conduction transducer. Battery life is said to last ‘one full day of typical use’.

The full specs:

Read more »

support.google.com

Curiosity experiment goes viral. ‘Curiosity’ is an app for Android and iOS by new developer 22 Cans: Our aim is to carry out 22 exciting, innovative experiments that demonstrate how incredible gaming can be. There’s Curiosity – what’s inside the cube and, as you soon will find out, something else. The idea of Curiosity is to chip away at a giant cube via the smartphone app, slowly revealing hidden layers and eventually see what’s in the middle. Every player is working on the same centralized cube, so the more players that join the experiment the faster the mystery at the center will be revealed. Some reports have said over one million players have tried to log onto the server which caused issues, although these seem to be resolved when I logged on today.  Deep in the centre of the Cube is something life-changingly amazing, but only the first person to reach the centre will discover what’s inside. Will the power of curiosity bring the world together? Check it out here.

Curiosity experiment goes viral.

‘Curiosity’ is an app for Android and iOS by new developer 22 Cans:

Our aim is to carry out 22 exciting, innovative experiments that demonstrate how incredible gaming can be. There’s Curiosity – what’s inside the cube and, as you soon will find out, something else.

The idea of Curiosity is to chip away at a giant cube via the smartphone app, slowly revealing hidden layers and eventually see what’s in the middle. Every player is working on the same centralized cube, so the more players that join the experiment the faster the mystery at the center will be revealed. Some reports have said over one million players have tried to log onto the server which caused issues, although these seem to be resolved when I logged on today. 

Deep in the centre of the Cube is something life-changingly amazing, but only the first person to reach the centre will discover what’s inside.

Will the power of curiosity bring the world together?

Check it out here.

22cans.com

It’s Nexus day! Google’s newest Nexus devices went on sale in the US today. Hopefully the high specs and low price push other smartphone manufacturers into dropping prices further. No word on when they will be released here in New Zealand so I’m still sitting on my already outdated Xperia Arc S. (Sony decided not to offer any further Android updates to the phone - it’s only last years model!)

It’s Nexus day!

Google’s newest Nexus devices went on sale in the US today. Hopefully the high specs and low price push other smartphone manufacturers into dropping prices further.

No word on when they will be released here in New Zealand so I’m still sitting on my already outdated Xperia Arc S. (Sony decided not to offer any further Android updates to the phone - it’s only last years model!)

Google and Apple both announce events.

It’s looking like a big week for technology next week, with Google sending out invitations for a launch event on October 29, with the style of the invitation hinting at something related to Google Now. The event can be live streamed here - it’s at 10am in New York City.

Apple’s invitation for an October 23 event could well be the rumored iPad Mini launch, although a smaller MacBook Pro has also been hinted at.

Meanwhile Google’s October 29 event coincides with Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 launch, which comes just three days after the October 26 launch of Windows 8 itself.

8bitfuture.net

Android App secretly reconstructs your environment using smartphone sensors. US researchers working with the Naval Surface Warfare Center have created a new type of ‘visual malware’, able to use smartphone cameras and sensors to record and later reconstruct a 3D model of a room. Called PlaceRaider, the app could potentially be loaded onto a users Android device under the guise of a camera app, which would allow it permissions to use the camera. It then works in the background, taking photos (with the speaker muted), and recording data about time, location, and orientation of the device. Unusable photos - such as those taken in a pocket - are filtered out, and the rest are sent to a central server where they can be automatically pieced together to form a 3D model of the environment. A malicious user can then browse this space looking for objects worth stealing and sensitive data such as credit card details, identity data or calender details that reveal when the user might  be away. In testing, infected devices were given to 20 people, and all 20 provided the server with enough information to provide detailed models of a room. The software runs on Android 2.3 or later.

Android App secretly reconstructs your environment using smartphone sensors.

US researchers working with the Naval Surface Warfare Center have created a new type of ‘visual malware’, able to use smartphone cameras and sensors to record and later reconstruct a 3D model of a room. Called PlaceRaider, the app could potentially be loaded onto a users Android device under the guise of a camera app, which would allow it permissions to use the camera.

It then works in the background, taking photos (with the speaker muted), and recording data about time, location, and orientation of the device. Unusable photos - such as those taken in a pocket - are filtered out, and the rest are sent to a central server where they can be automatically pieced together to form a 3D model of the environment.

A malicious user can then browse this space looking for objects worth stealing and sensitive data such as credit card details, identity data or calender details that reveal when the user might  be away.

In testing, infected devices were given to 20 people, and all 20 provided the server with enough information to provide detailed models of a room. The software runs on Android 2.3 or later.

technologyreview.com

Video: Google launches “Field Trip”

Google’s new Android app claims to be “your guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you”. It runs in the background on your device, and using GPS it alerts you to nearby places of interest.

Field Trip also detects when you’re driving, and can be set to automatically “talk” about interesting places and experiences nearby.

The app is currently only available for Android.

play.google.com

Video: The Evolution of Search.

A little bit of self promotion by Google about how great they are, but still interesting to see the history of how the different parts of search came together.

If you’re short on time skip to 5:15 where it discusses the next step for search. Google search engineer Amit Singhal discusses his dream to “build the Star Trek computer”, which could be in relation to Google Assistant (formerly called project Majel), which is an upgrade to Google’s Voice Actions and a competitor to Siri on iOS.

androidandme.com

I’ve been enjoying this augmented reality driving app I came across a few days ago, called iOnRoad. The website describes it best: iOnRoad improves driving in real-time using the power of advanced smartphones. The app uses the smartphone’s native camera and sensors to detect vehicles in front of the vehicle, alerting drivers when they are in danger. iOnRoad’s VisualRadar, maps objects in front of the driver in real time, calculating the user’s current speed using native sensors. As the vehicle approaches danger, an audio-visual warning pops up to warn the driver of a possible collision, allowing them to brake in time. It’s great to see an augmented reality app which finally works well and is useful, after finding disappointing results with Layar which should be useful but just doesn’t seem to work well or have enough information to make it worthwhile. The only downside with the system is the worry that when the phone beeps to alert you of an upcoming collision, you turn to look at the phone instead of looking at the road! If you’re on Android you can check out the free download here, with iPhone users having to wait for their version a while longer as the iPhone 4S is missing the “advanced power and multi-tasking capabilities of high-end Android handsets”, according to the company. Take that Apple fanboys!

I’ve been enjoying this augmented reality driving app I came across a few days ago, called iOnRoad. The website describes it best:

iOnRoad improves driving in real-time using the power of advanced smartphones. The app uses the smartphone’s native camera and sensors to detect vehicles in front of the vehicle, alerting drivers when they are in danger. iOnRoad’s VisualRadar, maps objects in front of the driver in real time, calculating the user’s current speed using native sensors. As the vehicle approaches danger, an audio-visual warning pops up to warn the driver of a possible collision, allowing them to brake in time.

It’s great to see an augmented reality app which finally works well and is useful, after finding disappointing results with Layar which should be useful but just doesn’t seem to work well or have enough information to make it worthwhile. The only downside with the system is the worry that when the phone beeps to alert you of an upcoming collision, you turn to look at the phone instead of looking at the road!

If you’re on Android you can check out the free download here, with iPhone users having to wait for their version a while longer as the iPhone 4S is missing the “advanced power and multi-tasking capabilities of high-end Android handsets”, according to the company. Take that Apple fanboys!

refer.ionroad.com