technology
Redesigned GMail for Android on the way
During a Google IO presentation, it seems one of the slides leaked information about an upcoming redesigned GMail client for android. The new version is cleaner and much more streamlined. A new drawer design provides easier access to key features. It seems this was shown without much constraint and the presenters email address was even left in.
How to get 50% more run time on your laptop
Intel's Architecture Group VP Rani Borkar is making some bold claims about the upcoming Haswell chipset: that it will allow laptops to deliver 50% more power out of existing batteries. 50% more runtime is an incredible claim and if true, may single-handedly drive increased laptop sales as customers jump to upgrade. He attributes the miserly battery usage to lower power requirements and better power management. I have to test a Haswell device before I can believe such a grandiose claim but it is music to my ears.
Angry Birds Space free (iPhone & Ipad versions) for first time
The Angry Birds series has become one of the most popular game franchises ever and now the Space version is free for the very first time. This is a quality game you should download today (while it's free). Angry Birds for iPhone free download here - Normally $0.99 Angry Birds for iPad free download here - Normally $2
Otterbox acquires LifeProof
Otterbox has acquired waterproof case maker LifeProof. Otterbox will start integrting LifeProof products into its own line and they will retain all the employees for now. The big question is "Could this be the start of consolidation in the accessory manufacturer space?" FORT COLLINS, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OtterBox®, the global leader in protection for handheld technology, today announced the acquisition of TreeFrog Developments Inc., DBA LifeProof®. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Diego, LifeProof is an award-winning maker of protective cases and complementary accessories for smartphones and tablets.
Amazon Android App store opens to Canadians
I have been jealously watching my American friends downloading the Amazon free app of the day (which is actually a pay for app made free for a day) from Amazon. I am happy to report that the Amazon Android App Store is now open to us Canadians. You will have to a setting on your device to "Allow Unknown Sources" to download the Amazon app store app. You use your standard Amazon.ca account to sign in. Download the Amazon App Store App here.
Amazon Cloud Drive available to Canadians
Dear Canadian readers, rejoice in the fact that Amazon.ca has finally made Amazon Cloud Drive available to you (in Canada). Using Cloud Drive Photos (for Android or IOS) you can upload your photos to Amazon's remote storage service. Cloud Drive allows users to store photos, files and music. Music purchases on Amazon's MP3 store don't count towards your storage limit. Songs stored on the service can be played back using the web interface or Android client. What is the storage limit you ask?
Share files of any size from a Mac for free
There are hundreds of free file sharing services littering the web but there is a new service [for Apple computers only right now] called Minbox that may be worth a second look. Benefit 1 - No wait sharing The issue with every other service is that they force your upload to complete before allowing you to send it to someone. Minbox allows you to configure the sharing info while the file upload which means you can get back to work while Minbox continues its magic in the background.
Nokia offers free music to Windows Phone owners in Canada
Nokia music is a streaming music service that is available for free to all Canadian customers using a Nokia branded Windows Phone device. Nokia music offers 18 million commercial free songs, doesn't require sign-up and works offline (after synching). You can always pay $3.99/month and upgrade to their premium package which offers unlimited song skipping and higher quality streaming. If you own a Nokia Windows Phone device, download the Nokia Music app from the Windows Phone AppStore here.
The CBC chooses Google Apps over Microsoft 365
The CBC is Canada's public broadcaster and offers an array of TV, radio , internet and mobile device oriented content in English, French and 8 aboriginal languages. Like most private companies, they are constantly trying to stretch every dollar and deliver the best bang for every buck. They evaluated the 2 major offerings : Google Apps Microsoft 365 They wanted an easy to deploy solution that offered flexible pricing, real-time collaboration and excellent availability guarantees. Once the decision was made to go with Google, the CBC leveraged the migration expertise of a Google Apps partner to transition its entire staff within 90 days.
Google asking users to validate telephone numbers?
When searching for a telephone number on my smartphone, I head straight to Google and enter the name of the establishment. I then clicked on the Call button and was presented with an interesting new dialog box (which I saw once the call was completed and I was returned back to Safari Mobile). Google was asking me to validate the number it had provided. I tried to reproduce this dialog box by clicking the call button (for the same establishment and some others in the area) but it never reappeared.
Slic-Sound Earbud Enhancers Review
I use In Ear Monitors (aka headphones) 95% of the time so I rarely test products made for typical button style earbuds (think the old Apple earbuds.) A couple of readers wanted me to review the Slic-Sound product so here it is. The manufacturer claims these enhancers will: help you hear better by sending the music deeper into your ear canal help keep the earbuds in place by going deeper into your ear canal help make your earbuds more comfortable because they will be held in place by soft silicone So are any of these claims true?
Nokia windowsphone with 41 megapixel coming?
The world warmly received the Lumia 925/928 this week and tech pundits already started complaining that Nokia should introduce a 41 megapixel equipped device leveraging its PureView technology. Now WMPowerUser belives they have information about an upcoming device that would answer the call for a windowsphone smartphone with a PureView camera. According to that post, the EOS camera will use a polycarbonate (plastic) shell and have the same physical caracteristics of the Lumia 920. The device is purported to have the same 4.
Bitcasa Windows Update 1.1 review
As much I loved the concept of unlimited cloud storage for $99 a year, the previous version of the Windows client was absolutely horrible. It was slow, buggy and crashed constantly. I was happy to read the Bitcasa blog that revealed version 1.1. The primary advertised benefit of this update is stability and performance. If you have the previous Windows version installed, you should already have seen a notification for the in-app upgrade. Mac users will receive the notification over the next couple of days.
White Nexus 4 and Android 4.3 launching June 10
The white Nexus 4 has the same properties of a unicorn, beautiful yet impossible to find. Fear not friend, if the rumors are true then the elusive white Nexus 4 will grace the Google Play store on June 10th (according to Android and Me). Expect Android 4.3 to also drop at the same time but don't expect major changes.
A cleaner, faster and more personalized Google Maps is coming
Although Google has kept most of its secrets close to the chest, it seems an updated Google Maps may be announced today at Google IO 2013 based on a discovery by DroidLife. They discovered a special landing page that says "tailored map for every search" Based on the screenshots they provided, it looks much more like a mobile influenced design with WebGL overviews (taken from Google Earth), built in Flight Search and a feature to compare multiple modes of transportation on the same map.
Best Business Card OCR App For The IPhone
As a leader in a multinational organization, I meet dozens of people every week and need a way to easily (and reliably) capture their contact information and make it available anytime/anywhere I need it. There are dozens of Business Card OCR apps in the Apple itunes AppStore but most have one fatal flaw, they rely on technology to recognize the information on the business card which means you will have to manually correct all of the transcription errors. Human transcription is better Enter the wonderful world of manually transcribed business cards provided for free by CardMunch.
Blackberry Chat (BBM) coming to IOS and Android
This is not a joke. Blackberry has confirmed that it will be opening its venerable messaging platform (BBM) to IOS and Android users. The ETA is sometime "this summer" conditional on approval from Google and Apple. It will launch as a FREE app on each of the appstores. They will bring straight one-on-one and group messaging at first but plan to introduce more advanced functionality is subsequent releases (voice, screen sharing, etc). Thorsten Heins, Blackberry CEO, said he is "
Google consolidating all your storage into one 15GB chunck
Until recently, each Google service had it's own distinct Google Storage and unused space couldn't be shared between services. As an example, you have 10GB of GMAIL storage but only 5GB for Google Drive. If you want to use 10GB for Drive and 5GB for GMAIL you couldn't.... until now. The sultant of search has informed its citizens that it will henceforth consolidate all storage into one giant shareable pool of 15 GB. This means you can use any of that storage with any Google service you want (no more artificial storage walls or barriers.
PicShop HD for IOS – Photo Editor - Free today on itunes
PicShop HD is a universal IOS app (works on iPhone, Ipad mini and iPad) and allows you to easily perform basic editing on the go. It includes basic photo improvement tools, frames, stickers and of course filters. You can save your masterpiece in the camera roll or upload it to Facebook or Twitter. Normally PicShop HD is $4.99 but you can get it free on the itunes store today.