Tag: Phandroid

Amazon and AT&T are busy gearing up for the release the Amazon Kindle Fire Phone next week, but before then, they gotta get the word out. The phone’s first commercial has been uploaded to YouTube and features 2 young children (acting like adults) bragging to nearby adults about their new Kindle Fire Phones.

It’s cute, but doesn’t show off any of the phones unique hardware features — like Firefly which scans over 100 million products, movies, songs, books and more — choosing instead to focus on media content and Amazon’s free 1-year subscription to Amazon Prime. A nice value, but one we don’t imagine will help move units from store shelves.

The phone will be available next Friday, July 25th at your local AT&T store, or through Amazon here . Check out the new video down below.

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The folks at HellomotoHK stumbled upon a mysterious batter cover for an alleged Motorola device, posting the image to their Facebook page for all to see. The image — which we’ve color corrected — shows black battery cover with kevlar-like material woven throughout. It’s not too unlike the back covers we’ve seen on the Motorola Droid line, currently exclusive to Verizon.

Although there appears to be 2 HTC One M8-style camera holes, we wouldn’t go that far in our assumptions. More than likely, the bottom hole will be used for the Motorola logo (which is absent on this battery cover), although we will admit it’s a bit strange to have a cutout for what is normally a printed logo.

Now, exactly which device this leaked battery cover belongs to is anyone’s guess. HellomotoHK lists off a few possible devices, naming the Motorola Moto X+1, a Google Play edition of the same phone, or some upcoming Motorola Droid 2014 device as likely candidates.

We hope this is only the beginning of a flood of leaks that will begin pouring out like we saw with last year’s Motorola Moto X.

from Phandroid http://ift.tt/1suM152

Ahead of their Q2 2014 earnings call, Google has issued an official press release for their Q2 earnings. Revenue is up 22% from last year, hitting a cool $15.96 billion.

Operating income came in at $4.26 billion (up from $3.47 billion the previous year), making for 27% of their revenue. When all is said and done, Google’s net income came in at $3.42 billion. For those curious about how Google did last quarter, they posted $15.4 revenue and $4.12 billion net (27% of revenue). That’s a nice 3% increase.

Google sites (Google owned properties like YouTube, Maps, etc.) accounted for $10.94 of their total revenue, a 23% increase from last year (partner sites accounted for $3.42 billion). Paid clicks saw a 25% increase from 2013, while cost-per-click dropped 6%.

Patrick Pichette, Google CFO Patrick Pichette said during the call:

“We are moving forward with great product momentum and are excited to continue providing amazing user experiences, with a view to the long term.”

Google also mentions they saw 300% increase in bringing traffic to businesses via smartphones and tablets and when it came to the Motorola team, they’re said to still hard at work, seeing “strong sales in emerging markets” with the wallet-friendly Motorola Moto E and Motorola Moto G.

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After the rumored NVIDIA Shield Tablet appeared in a Global Certification Forum database earlier this month, we were curious to see what NVIDIA had up their sleeves for the upcoming gaming tablet. Today, we may finally have our first look.

Rumored to usher in the NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, there’s no question the tab would be able to handle Android’s current crop of high-end games. But how will the thing look? Well, @evleaks is once back again doing the honors, presenting an alleged press shot for the upcoming tablet. In the render, you’ll notice stereo front facing speakers housed in what could be an aluminum body. Other than that, well, there’s really not much else.

Evleaks mentions the tablet is due out sometime this year (2014), but no word on exact timing of release. It was only a year ago NVIDIA launched their Shield handheld to lackluster sales. We suppose now is a good time as any to introduce something new. We’re sure to learn more about the NVIDIA Shield Tablet as the weeks progress, so stay tuned.

[@evleaks]

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A new update for Pressy has just arrived over at Google Play, tightening up something annoying bugs and bringing new features that users should be excited for. Let’s get the old out of the way first by seeing which bugs have been squashed:

• Fixed a bug where some Samsung users could not use the speaker-phone while Pressy was inserted.
• The earphones icon will no longer be displayed when Pressy is inserted (on all devices).
• Few issues with Bluetooth speakers and headphones are resolved.
• Fixed a bug where notifications volume was changed on some devices when Pressy was inserted.
• No email account found – users who get this error message during activation will now be able to input their email address manually.

The item listed in bold was a big annoyance for users since receiving their Pressy units so we’re glad to see it cleared up so fast. As for what’s new? You can score five new triggers to bring us to a total of 14. The 5 extra triggers will only be found within the “slow” mode so if you’re not fond of that then you’ll be limited to the original 9. Pressy exclaims that this is not because they want to be cruel, but due to a technical limitation. They’re the professional developers so we’ll definitely take their word for it.

You’ll also be able to assign a trigger to an app shortcut now instead of just apps, so if you want to be taken right to a folder, a specific page within the settings menu, or open a message to a specific contact you will finally be able to do all of that. It’s just another small piece that makes the entire puzzle look a lot better. If you’re lucky enough to have received your Pressy units already you can find the update waiting for you at the link below.

from Phandroid http://ift.tt/1mRQls5

We’ve already seen tons of great watch faces for Android Wear smart watches pop up in the Google Play Store, but Google says developers should hold their horses before going a bit too crazy. Wayne Piekarski revealed that the company is working to bring an official API that will make it easier for developers to create custom watch faces.

As it stands, he says apps have to be tweaked a great deal to make sure the watch faces act as behaved. That includes implementing ambient mode correctly, appropriately positioning status indicators and more. As such, when the latest API arrives there is a fear that current implementations might be broken or might not work as intended.

Google isn’t asking developers to stop making watch faces. Instead, they’re encouraging developers to keep their apps in “alpha” or “beta” status until the API is released and they can be be properly implemented. Otherwise developers might find themselves in a sea of complaints should users accept the platform update and find their favorite smart watches to be broken without apparent cause.

So when can we expect all this to happen? Piekarski said they’re planning to introduce the API once they migrate the Android Wear platform to Android L later this year, so we might still be a few months out from see anything. Develop on, we say, but make sure you keep an eye out for those new APIs as soon as they’re available.

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With the skyrocketing success of Netflix, many companies have been exploring low-cost monthly subscription models for many different services. Video is the obvious choice to copy for most people, but Amazon is looking to go a different direction — they want to do for eBooks what Netflix did for video.

The company was found to be testing a service called Kindle Unlimited that will cost $10 per month and give you unlimited access to over 600,000 eBooks and audiobooks. It wouldn’t be the first platform of its kind, but there’s no company with a backing as big as Amazon’s currently in the arena. Amazon’s clout and money give them a significant advantage to offer a service that provides a great deal more value than what’s currently out there.

This isn’t the first time Amazon would have tested such a model. They currently offer a much smaller incentive included with their Prime subscription program, allowing users to rent one free book per month alongside all the other benefits that come with Prime. Kindle Unlimited would be on a far larger scale.

That might come with a few drawbacks, though. For starters, the biggest, hottest and latest releases are probably out of the question — you want access to those right away, you’ll probably have to buy them. But that would be no different than having to wait for older shows and movies to reach Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Basically, you’d get what you pay for — the potential to read books at pennies on the dollar instead of the $5 or $10 they might otherwise cost if bought individually. We obviously wouldn’t recommend this to folks who don’t read a lot, but if you’re one to thumb through a stack of books each month it could be worth your while. Let’s hope we hear something official soon.

[via GigaOM]

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Card slingers and dice rollers should be pleased by this bit of news: Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalker is now available from Google Play. The game is a casual-focused offering of the popular Magic the Gathering card game where people duel with creatures, enchantments and spells to bring their opponents’ life to zero.

The 2015 release coincides with the launch of the latest core set in the physical trading card game, and as such will feature many cards from the new set as well as from years prior. So what’s new in this release that they’re hoping will get you to drop another $10 (minimum) to play? Let’s take a look:

• New, clean user interface that puts more emphasis on the attack phase of a turn
• A free-form deck building system that allows you to mix and match cars however you want
• Unlock cards using booster cards that can either be earned through gameplay or purchased via $2 premium purchases
• Online multiplayer (wasn’t present in last year’s Android version despite being available on iPad version)
• New advanced cards such as dual lands

And that’s just scratching the surface. For the story (which we never play Magic for, but it’s there anyway) you’ll be working to defeat Garruk, the planeswalker whose beast-hunting pastime was replaced by a thirst for human blood thanks to a nasty curse. Having beaten the game on PC already, let me just say you’ve never seen Garruk quite like this before.

Some will be disappointed to learn that there are cards that can only be unlocked using the $2 premium booster packs, though the fact that you can still get more than 85% of the game’s cards without paying more than the initial $10 cost of admission should be a bit comforting.

This download won’t be for weak-willed internet connections at a whopping 1.3GB, so be sure to hop on WiFi if you decide you want to play. You can give it a try for free if you’re interested (you’ll be able to play the tutorial and the first Innistrad planes), so hop on over to Google Play for the download and see if you can’t fall in love with Magic all over again. Be sure to check out the gameplay video above while you’re waiting for your download to see what awaits you inside the multiverse.

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Android users with Amazon Prime accounts haven’t had very many options when looking to stream videos through their Instant Video app. While it’s true an Android app has been awhile for quite sometime now, it’s been exclusive to Amazon’s line of Kindle Fire tablets. We’ve pretty much came to terms that it’s there the app would remain, but it seems the app is reportedly getting ready for its Google Play debut — and it’s about damn time.

PC Advisor is claiming the exclusive after they spoke with Amazon marketing director Russell Morris at a Christmas party (in July?). Morris apparently mentioned a Google Play release of Amazon Prime Instant Video is “imminent.” Other than that, details are scarce. No word on exact timing or whether the app will offer support for Google’s streaming Chromecast dongle, but we can only hope for the best.

With Amazon Prime Instant Video available on the iPad and Kindle Fire tablets, it only makes sense for Amazon to finally include their customers who own one of the many Android devices on the market.

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Hot on the heels of Google Wallet’s latest update, PayPal is here with an update to their own mobile payments app. According to their changelog posted on Google Play, the update adds even more convenient features to help make sending/receiving mobile payments on the phone easier than ever.

First off, a new quicker login has been added, allowing users to quickly jump inside the app by saving the phone number associated with the login. This means users will now only have to enter in their PIN to quickly access their account information.

They’re also adding support for loyalty cards, allowing users to add retailers like Albertsons, AAA, Bloomingdale’s and more. This should help slim up that George Costanza wallet you got in your back pocket.

But it’s not all additions, PayPal actually mentions they’ve completely stripped away the ability to scan checks from the app, although specific reasons weren’t given. You can find the update available right now on Google Play via the link below.

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