Technology & Business
OnePlus is a $299 (no contract) Android superphone
The Nexus line of Google handsets are popular because they provide a stock (vanilla) Google Android experience but more importantly they provide a beautiful kit at an unbeatable price. People want great handsets at affordable prices and the market is hot for these types of devices (as opposed to the $800 iPhone 5s or Samsung Galaxy S5). A new Chinese company called OnePlus has finally revealed the specs on their upcoming (Q2) flagship phone the OnePlus One (link). The OnePlus One will offer :
This Atomic wristwatch is the most accurate available
Where possible, I try to buy clocks that automatically correct their time using the signal from the Atomic Clock in Boulder CO. The atomic clock loses 1 second every 300 million years... The magic of this always correct timepiece is the Cesium 133 core. It is the natural decaying of this isotope that allows the atomic clock to sat on track. Casio has a line of wristwatches called the Waveceptor series which can also automatically correct its time based on the Atomic clock signal.
Quebec court orders Telus to pay $2.6M for texting fees
The Quebec Superior court has ordered Telus to reimburse customers to the tune of $2.6M in text messaging fees. This is a result of Telus unilaterally changing terms and conditions for 172425 customers in Quebec (charging 15 cents per incoming text message). If you are one of the affected customers, you could receive a whopping $15 but know that Telus is reviewing the decision. They could of course appeal the decision so we'll have to wait and see. Martin c.
Very useful Free Android app you should download now
I test thousands of apps every year for Android and IOS, and after a couple of weeks, most end up being deleted. 2 weeks ago I discovered a very useful free android app I think every Android owner should download now. The app is called Agent (link) and offers 5 very useful pre-configured functions called Agents (which you see in the above image). The 5 functions are described as follows (by the manufacturer): Drive Agent is triggered by bluetooth and motion sensing (activity detection).
Buyer beware : Dangers of lifetime waranties
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”] Image by Chris Davis under Creative Commons License [/caption] As a consumer, I love the idea of buying a product once and having it forever. Thats what makes a manufacturer product lifetime warranty so attractive. Often these products are sold at a premium because of this additional coverage, but is it worth it? The answer is maybe but more often than not... NO! The problem is that the term lifetime doesn't have a legally recognized definition when it relates to a product.
Next Motorola Moto X to be called +1
Motorola Moto X + 1: coming soon pic.twitter.com/7c8Gy16rdl — @evleaks (@evleaks) April 6, 2014 EVLeaks has proven to be fairly reliable over the years and his latest prediction is that the next Motorola Moto X will be called the Moto X+1. We haven't seen too many rumours surrounding this upcoming device so we'll have to wait and see what the Lenovo owned unit will deliver. It is important to remember that many Android watchers still call the Moto X the best Android phone around (even though it was released August 2013).
Apple contributes 70M$ to fight AIDS
Great news to end the week! Apple's total for [@RED](https://micro.blog/RED) reaches $70 MILLION. 100% goes to fight #AIDS. Thank you all for buying (APPLE)RED. — (RED) (@RED) April 4, 2014 (Product)Red is a Bono charity to fight the global AIDS epidemic. Apple strongly believes in the cause and has a special line of (RED) products and accessories. For each (RED) product sold, Apple makes a donation to the charity and now those donations have added up to $70,000,000. (Product)RED has said Apple is single largest corporate benefactor.
Charge a smartphone in 30 seconds
WSJ (link) is reporting that a company called StoreDot has developed a biological battery that can be charged in 30 seconds. The technology comes from the nanotechnology department of the university of Tel Aviv. Fast chargers are nothing new but they are typically too big to be considered portable. StoreDot's technology is relative portable and can be adapted for use by almost any cellphone. The other benefit is cost. The company expects its technology to only cost twice the market price of a normal everyday charger.
EPOCH.2 for iPhone & iPad free this week (usually $5)
Epoch.2 is a well rated iPhone, iPod and iPad game that costs anywhere from $2-$6 normally on the store (currently it's priced at $4.99). “EPOCH has trekked across a war-ravaged country to find the one person he was programmed to protect: the Princess, Amelia. Now he must follow a final, desperate lead to reach her, with the two warring robot armies of Omegatroniks and Alphetekk standing in his way. But what surprises await EPOCH when the Princess is finally located?
OWA for Android coming this year
Google released an interesting blog post (link) regarding Office features. The most interesting revelation is that there will be Outlook Web Access OWA for Android. OWA will be released as a native Android app Expect this feature to roll out to Office 365 subscribers in 2014.