Showing posts with label Phone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phone. Show all posts
Monday, 30 September 2013
Friday, 27 September 2013
LG G2 review: An Android phone like any other
Even though LG was behind last year’s Google-backed Nexus 4, that wasn’t enough to launch it into the Android spotlight. What the company needs is a standout phone—something that differentiates it from the Samsungs and the HTCs. It’s on the right track with its focus on solid performance and a high-resolution display, but if you took a quick look at G2, you wouldn’t find much to set it apart from the crowd.
Image: Michael Homnick Almost nothing about the G2’s design stands out. It features an edge-to-edge screen, rounded corners, and an easy-to-hold chassis, but it looks like a stock phone. On its back you’ll find—in place of the Nexus 4’s glittery hexagonal design—a muted, striped pattern.
IMAGE: Michael HomnickLG's rear-facing buttons are oddly placed. LG decided to put the volume and power buttons on the rear of the device rather than on the side, supposedly to make the phone easier to use one-handed. It doesn’t work. You can hold down on the screen with your thumb to press the buttons on the back, or you can risk dropping the phone by cradling it and reaching one finger back. It’s weird, and more than once I managed to double-press a button by accident.
At least LG made the smart design decision to put the headphone jack on the bottom. If you’re using it as music player, this makes the process of pulling out the phone from your pocket a little easier.
IMAGE: Michael HomnickThe G2 feels great in your hand. 
IMAGE: Michael Homnick These days, many handsets, including the G2, come packed with a Snapdragon 800 system-on-a-chip (SOC). The power provided by its 2.26GHz processor and 2GB of RAM is obvious when you’re multitasking, launching apps, and playing graphic-intensive games. Apps start up quickly and close out fast, and that performance holds true across the myriad apps that LG bundles with the phone.
The G2’s 3,000mAh battery pack will get you through a full day of watching videos, if you’re on a binge. On a full charge, at half brightness and with Airplane Mode turned on, the phone managed a whopping 9.5 hours of video streaming—about an hour longer than both the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. LG made some tweaks under the hood to help save battery life when the screen isn’t doing much, significantly reducing the display’s energy consumption.
The company’s success in manufacturing TVs has trickled down to its mobile products. The G2’s vibrant, 5.3-inch, 1080p IPS display looks great from any angle, though it gets intensely bright when you crank it all the way up. That option comes in handy on sunny days when you need to use the phone outside. Unfortunately the display can be quite a battery sucker if you’re not using power-saving settings.
One particularly neat feature of the G2 is its support for 192KHz music: The G2 can playback WAV and FLAC files that produce sound at far better than CD quality.
IMAGE: Florence IonThe G2's 'night mode' (left) a photo taken outside during dusk with no camera modes (middle), and a photo taken in the morning with no camera modes. We’re living in an age when a phone that can’t capture the moment is not worth buying. To its credit, the G2’s 13-megapixel camera takes clear pictures, indoor and out. While it’s output can’t match that of Nokia’s Lumia Windows Phones, its bundled features—such as the ability to use a manual focus slider, and the the ability to home in on a subject in your videos with Audio Zoom—are enticing.
IMAGE: Florence IonA photo taken with the G2's manual focus mode (left), and an example of the camera's zoom capabilities. 
LG's Home screen and Notifications shade. Like most other Android phones, the G2 doesn’t use the stock Android interface. The notifications shade is crowded to make room for the G2’s brightness and volume settings and the QSlide apps, which are LG’s pop-up, multitasking apps. If only LG could find a way to include them without jamming everything together.
LG's QSlide. The G2 is packed with the latest top-tier hardware, and it features a long-lasting battery and a perfectly capable camera. But it’s beset by small problems—the crowded notifications screen, the awkward rear-facing buttons, its plain-Jane design. It makes you remember that LG is still missing the je ne sais quoi that sets other top phones apart from their competitors.
NSA: Surveillance court says no upper limit on phone records collection
A U.S. surveillance court has given the National Security Agency no limit on the number of U.S. telephone records it collects in the name of fighting terrorism, the NSA director said Thursday.
The NSA intends to collect all U.S. telephone records and put them in a searchable “lock box” in the interest of national security, General Keith Alexander, the NSA’s director, told U.S. senators.
“There is no upper limit” on NSA telephone-records collection, Alexander said. “I believe it is in the nation’s best interest to put all the phone records into a lock box that we can search when the nation needs to do it.”
The NSA would need to notify the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Congress before collecting some other types of U.S. communications, including mobile-phone location information, Alexander told senators. The NSA doesn't currently have plans to collect mobile-phone location information, he said.
Alexander, other intelligence officials and several members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence defended the NSA’s data collection and surveillance efforts during a committee hearing.
The NSA collection of U.S. phone records, disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden earlier this year, are “lawful, effective and constitutional,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and chairwoman of the committee.
Nevertheless, Feinstein said she's working on a bill that would add transparency to the data collection process at the NSA and the surveillance court. Some of the provisions she described would reinforce current NSA practices, but the bill would also give the NSA new authority to continue to conduct surveillance on foreign suspects who enter the U.S. while the agency seeks court-ordered warrants.
Feinstein, chairwoman of the committee that's supposed to oversee the NSA surveillance programs, at one point interrupted witness Tim Edgar, a former director of privacy and civil liberties for the White House, when he talked about the NSA's unauthorized collection of some U.S. communications. Feinstein defended the NSA, saying the agency immediately reported the mistake to the surveillance court.
"I really believe the NSA is extraordinarily careful in what they do," she said. "I have great faith in the NSA."
Alexander, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and some committee members blamed what they called inaccurate media reports on the Snowden leaks for creating an environment of mistrust in the NSA by the general public.
Some media organizations are feeding “raw meat to people who refuse to look at the facts” that the NSA’s data collections are legal and protect privacy, said Senator Dan Coats, an Indiana Republican.
“It’s very frustrating to know that we have programs that comply with the law, that have been approved by the Congress, that have been approved by the president of the United States, that are saving Americans’ lives, and there are efforts to compromise those programs to convince a nontrusting public,” Coats said. “Had we not had these programs in place, I’d hate to think of what we’d be talking about” at the hearing.
Clapper agreed with Coats. Intelligence officials are frustrated in their efforts to “counter the popular narrative” about the surveillance programs, he said.
But Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and critic of the NSA programs, pointed his finger back at U.S. intelligence officials. Abuses alleged in the NSA programs were bound to be made public, said Wyden, who introduced legislation Wednesday that would prohibit bulk collection of phone records by the NSA.
“I believe that any government official who thought that the intrusive, constitutionally flawed surveillance system would never be disclosed was ignoring history,” Wyden said. “The leadership of your agencies built an intelligence collection system that repeatedly deceived the American people. Time and time again, the American people were told one thing about domestic surveillance in public forums, while government agencies did something else in private.”
Updated at 3:25 p.m. PT with additional information about mobile-phone location data collection.
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service.
More by Grant Gross, IDG News Service
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
White House asks FCC to decriminalize cell phone unlocking
Nine months after it became a copyright violation to unlock your cell phone without permission, the White House has asked the Federal Communications Commission to do something about it.
This week, the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration filed a petition with the FCC, asking it to end the ban on unlocking wireless devices. The ban took effect in January, after the Librarian of Congress refused to exempt unlocking from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
“Americans should be able to use their mobile devices on whatever networks they choose and have their devices unlocked without hassle,” NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling said in a statement. The administration first showed its opposition to the ban in March, after a petition to the White House collected more than 100,000 signatures.
In many cases, users already can unlock their cell phones, allowing them to work on other wireless networks without running afoul of copyright law. Most wireless carriers, for instance, will unlock your phone upon request as long as your account is in good standing.
But there are some cases where users aren't free to unlock their phones. AT&T, for instance, will not unlock on-contract iPhones, so if you're in the middle of a two-year agreement, you can't use a SIM card from another carrier while traveling abroad. Also, the requirement that users' accounts must be in good standing can make it difficult to unlock a phone that you've just purchased, or purchased second-hand.
The NTIA wants the FCC to immediately start considering ways to lift the ban on unlocking in these cases. “As long as the original customer has complied with any contractual service obligations, and the mobile service provider does not have reasonable evidence that the wireless device was obtained unlawfully, the provider should unlock the device,” the petition says.
That part about “contractual service obligations” is important, because it addresses wireless carriers' concerns about protecting their business models, which revolve around subsidized phones and two-year commitments. Being able to unlock a phone has nothing to do with getting out of your contract early. It simply means you have more carrier choice if you buy an off-contract phone, or if you're planning to spend time overseas.
“Operators can—as they currently do—effectively prevent consumers from subverting that model through long-term service contracts, enforced by penalties or fees for early termination,” the NTIA's petition notes.
It's unclear how the FCC will respond. While former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski seemed open to FCC action, he resigned in March. His likely successor, Tom Wheeler, opposes the ban, but still needs full Senate approval to become Chairman. Meanwhile, commissioner Ajit Pai said in June that he supports legislative action instead of aggressive moves by the FCC.
In other words, the White House's petition isn't going to solve the matter on its own, but at least it's a sign that the issue hasn't fallen off the radar.
Monday, 9 September 2013
Leaked Nokia Lumia 1520 pics suggest a supersized, 1080p Windows phone coming soon
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Thursday, 5 September 2013
Here we go again: Samsung announces another huge phone with the Galaxy Note 3
Congratulations are in order for Samsung: The world’s most prolific smartphone manufacturer has managed to add yet another gargantuan device to its ever-increasing Galaxy lineup. The Note 3 phone-tablet hybrid naturally follows the Note II, adding a faster quad-core processor, a bigger battery, a higher-res display, and 4K video recording capabilities.
The improvements are minor, but they send an important message: The Note phablet line is a success, and won’t be going away anytime soon. We’re now looking at only iterative, generational improvements as these behemoth devices settle into the Samsung lineup.
The Note 3, which Samsung announced early Wednesday during the company’s IFA Berlin keynote, features a 1080p Super AMOLED display that measures 5.7 inches—just a bit bigger than its predecessor’s display, but less than an inch smaller than the display of the recently released Galaxy Mega.
Users can bring up Samsung’s Air Commands with the S Pen. The Note 3 comes with a dockable S Pen stylus, as the Note models before it did, but Samsung has added “Air Command” features to the new device. When you hover and "click" over the screen with the stylus, Air Command brings up a circular menu that gives you quick access to Samsung’s proprietary pen apps: Screenwrite, Action Memo, Scrapbook, S Finder, and Pen Window (an app that allows you to draw a window on the screen to bring up an app you’d like to use). Most of the apps included with Air Command could be replaced with a more functional, likely cross-platform application from the Google Play store, though the substitutes wouldn’t be fully compatible with the S Pen. Samsung has clearly indicated that it intends to woo consumers with an all-inclusive package of custom apps, luring users away from the Google Play store and toward the proprietary Samsung ecosystem.
Power users will appreciate the device’s quad-core, 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, which Qualcomm announced earlier this year at its CES keynote. The new system-on-chip comes paired with 3GB of RAM and the Adreno 330 graphics processing unit, which will drive the pixels of Samsung’s demanding 1920-by-1080 screen, as well as enable UltraHD 4K video recording (which captures video at twice the size of 1080p). Note that this isn’t the first handset capable of capturing 4K video; earlier this week Asus announced its 6-inch Liquid S2 handset with the same Snapdragon 800 processor and 4K recording capabilities. However, you won’t be able to view the content at its full resolution unless you have a display that’s capable of playing it back.
The Note 3 comes in a variety of colors and designs. Samsung stuck with its standard curved plastic chassis for the Note 3. It will also include a leather backing that houses a 3200mAh battery pack. Photo buffs will appreciate the 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, in addition to the Galaxy Note 3’s 4K video capture abilities. Samsung has also packed the Note 3 with Samsung Knox, a security suite that protects sensitive corporate data. On top of that, you’ll be able to use the Note 3 in conjunction with Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch.
The handset will be available in 32GB and 64GB variants on September 25 in most of the world. As for the United States, Samsung says only that the device will be available “later this year” on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Phone makers roll their own operating systems as Google and Microsoft close ranks
Sometimes, you can’t help but pay attention to what the man behind the curtain is doing. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Nokia’s device and services business for more than $7 billion, effectively seizing control of the entire Windows Phone experience, from software to hardware to services.
Just like that, the companies behind every major smartphone operating system now compete directly with their manufacturing partners. And while Google erected a "firewall" between Android and Motorola when it bought the handset maker in 2012, Microsoft has no plans to separate Nokia from the core Windows Phone business. It’s full steam ahead for Microsoft-made smartphones as Redmond tries to single-handedly turn Windows Phone from an also-ran into a contender.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Update: Microsoft to acquire Nokia's mobile phone business
By John Ribeiro, IDG News ServiceIDG News Service - BANGALORE - Microsoft is to acquire Nokia's Devices & Services business, which includes the smartphone and mobile phones businesses, and license the Finnish company's patents for a total of $7 billion in cash, the companies said Monday.
The Redmond, Washington, software company will pay €3.79 billion for "substantially all" of the Devices & Services business and €1.65 billion to license Nokia's patents at the close of the transaction.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will be coming back to Microsoft and lead an expanded devices team, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in an email to employees. Microsoft said it will draw on its overseas cash resources to fund the transaction.
"Building on the partnership with Nokia announced in February 2011 and the increasing success of Nokia's Lumia smartphones, Microsoft aims to accelerate the growth of its share and profit in mobile devices through faster innovation, increased synergies, and unified branding and marketing," it said in a statement.
Nokia has been building smartphones around Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system in a bid to boost flagging market share, besides focusing on feature phones for emerging markets.
Following the transaction, Nokia plans to focus on its network infrastructure and services business called NSN, its HERE mapping and location services, and Advanced Technologies, focused on technology development and licensing. It will continue to own and maintain the Nokia brand but will license it to Microsoft for a 10-year period to use the brand on current mobile phones and some subsequently developed phones.
Risto Siilasmaa will take over as interim CEO for Nokia while continuing to serve as chairman of Nokia's board. He will have four direct reports: Michael Halbherr, executive vice president of HERE; Elop as executive vice president of Devices & Services; Timo Ihamuotila, Nokia CFO and interim president; and Jesper Ovesen, executive chairman of the NSN board of directors, Nokia said.
The Finnish company will continue to have its headquarters in Finland. About 32,000 people are expected to transfer to Microsoft at closing, including approximately 4,700 people in Finland. Nokia employed about 56,000 people in addition at the end of the second quarter of 2013.
Microsoft will also acquire Nokia's design team, manufacturing and assembly facilities around the world, and operations, sales, marketing and support teams, Ballmer wrote in his email to employees. Ballmer announced recently that he was retiring at some point in the next 12 months from the post of CEO of Microsoft. Elop has been cited in reports as a possible contender for the post.
As part of the transaction, Nokia will give Microsoft a 10 year non-exclusive license to its patents as of the time of the closing, and Microsoft will grant Nokia reciprocal rights related to HERE services. Microsoft will have the option to extend the mutual patent agreement to perpetuity.
Nokia reported a net loss in the second quarter, even as sales of its Lumia smartphones picked up to 7.4 million units. Net sales totalled €5.70 billion in the quarter, down 24% year-on-year.
The company also reported a net loss of €278 million, which was smaller than the year-earlier loss of €1.53 billion. Nokia had a 15.8% share of the mobile phone market in the second quarter to Samsung Electronics' 27.7% and Apple's 8.1%, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
"This is a smart acquisition for Microsoft, and a good deal for both companies. We are receiving incredible talent, technology and IP. We've all seen the amazing work that Nokia and Microsoft have done together," Ballmer said in the email to employees.
Nokia decided to adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy as part of a large deal with Microsoft in February 2011, which included collaboration on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap.
Success in phones is important to success in tablets, which in turn would help PCs, Microsoft said in presentation slides. Integration of hardware and software will help Microsoft offer competitive alternatives to Apple and Google.
Microsoft's getting into selling smartphones and feature phones may not go down well with some of its hardware partners that use Microsoft software, as they are used to dealing with Microsoft as a supplier of software, rather than as a competitor.
Its own recent bid to counter Apple and Samsung in the tablet market has not been very successful, and the company said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July that its Surface tablet had earned revenue of $853 million in its fiscal year ended June 30. The company earlier took a charge for Surface RT inventory adjustments of approximately $900 million.
The transaction with Nokia is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Microsoft will submit the proposed acquisition for approval in the E.U., U.S., China, India, Brazil, Russia, Canada and other countries.
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com.
Reprinted with permission from IDG.net. Story copyright 2012 International Data Group. All rights reserved.Microsoft explains the Nokia deal: The phone is key to everything
In a Tuesday morning conference call to investors, Microsoft will justify why it acquired Nokia’s hardware business for a tad over $7 billion: It all starts with the phone.
In its “strategic rationale” explaining the deal, slide 15 of Microsoft’s presentation makes the case that the foundation for Windows PCs begins with Windows Phone, and pushes forward something of a domino effect toward platform dominance. Microsoft’s focus hasn’t shifted away from its “devices and services” message, but the balance of the company’s mantra seems to have tilted toward prioritizing hardware over software.
”Windows: 300M+ devices a year,” the slide notes. “Success in phone is important to success in tablets. Success in tablets will help PCs.” Elsewhere on the page, Microsoft notes that “high value experiences light up on great devices”.
”We will take additional steps to promote the app ecosytem for Windows,” the deck adds.
Slide 15 of Microsoft’s presentation to investors suggests the company is looking to juice all hardware sales with phone buzz. It firmly cements a drift away from Microsoft’s historical PC-centric focus. But Microsoft’s no stranger to realpolitik: If the market’s moving in the direction of the smartphone and tablet, Microsoft will follow.
The slide deck will apparently be used as the basis for Microsoft’s conference call with Wall Street analysts Tuesday morning, when Microsoft will explain how the Nokia acquisition will fit in with its current strategy.
In July, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer reorganized the company, flattening the company’s organizational structure and pushing technologies, not products, across Microsoft. What Ballmer and Microsoft clearly hope to do is continue that trend, and make the Windows Phone platform the focus of the Nokia deal, not the Lumia hardware. If hardware partners buy that argument, then Microsoft will have won a key battle of perception.
But that’s a long shot. Microsoft will have its work cut out to convince companies like HTC that they still have a place at the Windows Phone table. The smart money says that Microsoft may not bother: According to AdDuplex, Nokia’s phones represent under 10 percent of all Windows Phone ad traffic, and they’re declining. Nokia owns 85 percent of the Windows Phone market, and its own share is heading up.
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Lookout Antivirus & Security review: Basic protection for your Android phone
Lookout Security & Antivirus Free Lookout Security & Antivirus is a solid choice for families serious about mobile security, but you'll need to pay for a premium account in order to get the most out of the app.Smartphones are a treasure trove of personal information and it doesn't take much for people who would mean you harm to get at all that sensitive data. While putting a PIN lock on your phone helps deter physical threats, you still have to keep an eye out for sneaky apps that want your private info. Lookout Security & Antivirus is a security app that helps defend your phone against all kinds of evildoers, but you'll have to pay if you want comprehensive protection.
Lookout is available for free from the Google Play Store and offers both free and premium account levels. Signing up for a free account gives you access to all the basic tools, like a virus scanner and the ability to locate your phone remotely.
Lookout's privacy advisor gives you an at a glance look at which apps are accessing your information. If you decide to pay $3 a month, you'll get access to a privacy advisor that breaks down what information each app has access to. It's basically a simplified version of Google's permissions warning that pops up whenever you install an app, but Lookout presents the information in a way that's easier to digest. Lookout Premium also gives you a safe browsing tool that warns you if you're going to a known malicious website in your phone's browser.
Lookout's virus scanner automatically runs whenever you install a new app, and you can set it to scan your entire phone during certain times or initiate scans manually. According to data provided by AV-Test, a well-respected antivirus testing outfit, Lookout has a malware detection rate of 99 percent. The app compares favorably to other Android security apps and is ranked as the fourth best security app by AV-Test. In all the years I've used Lookout, I've never actually had the app alert me that it had detected malware, though—you're more likely to find a legit app that violates your privacy instead of one that carries a trojan.
A major downside to having Lookout run whenever you install an app is that it can slow down your phone—especially if you are installing multiple apps at once and aren't using a high-end phone like the HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S4. Having the virus scanner run in the background doesn't seem to adversely affect battery life, but if you're really worried about it you can set it so it doesn't activate each and every time you download an app.
Even if you don't decide to sign-up for Lookout Premium, the app is worth installing for its ability to remotely locate your phone. By logging into Lookout.com, you can see your phone's location on a map and even make it "scream" to make it easier to locate. The scream is helpful if you misplaced your phone at home, but it's disappointing that the two more useful options (remote lock and remote wipe) require you to have a premium account. The app can also send up a "flare" and email you its last registered location if the battery is starting to run low or the phone dies. Again, it's a helpful tool if your sofa ate your phone, but it isn't much use if some thief snatched it from your hands.
The remote wipe and remote lock options are sadly only available for paying customers. The free version of Lookout only offers basic protection, but it's a solid app that provide some piece of mind as you navigate the murky waters of the Google Play Store. Other security apps like TrustGo Mobile Security offer many of the same features that Lookout locks behind its premium service for free, making them better for individual users worried about their phone's safety. Lookout is a better choice for families, however, as you can use a single Lookout account to manage and track multiple devices at once. Just make sure to put a PIN lock on your phone if you choose against paying for a subscription.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
MLB At Bat 13 (for Windows Phone)
Pros Listen to live radio broadcasts of games. See live MLB scores. Watch video highlights.Cons No Gameday view. No news articles. No stats. Bottom Line The Windows Phone version of MLB's At Bat 13 app lacks some features found on other platforms, but heck, it's free.By Michael Muchmore
One of the go-to apps I missed when moving from an iPhone to a Windows Phone was MLB's At Bat. I probably place too much importance on the results of my local practitioners of the U.S. national pastime, but, if I can't get the latest scores, I'm not a happy camper. Being able to listen to the play-by-play radio coverage, watch highlight videos, and see current standings are big plusses, and the recently released MLB At Bat 13 app for Windows Phone lets me do all of that.
The icing on the cake? It's free. That compares well with the 10 bucks I shelled out for the iPhone version, but there's a catch: You don't get all of the iPhone version's features—sadly the case with so many popular apps making their debuts on Microsoft's new (and thriving) mobile platform.
Setup
Getting MLB At Bat 13 for your Windows Phone is a simple matter of visiting the Windows Phone Store. For this review, I installed the app on a spiffy new Nokia Lumia 928. I didn't need to sign into an MLB.com account to start using the app, though a Settings option lets you sign in. As with the Bing Sports app, At Bat lets you select your favorite teams, so they'll appear at the top of your home page.
Interface
At Bat 13 sports the characteristic (formerly known as Metro) design of a well-programmed Windows Phone app: You swipe side to side to move between functions, in this case Scoreboard, Video Clips, Teams, and More. The font isn't in the standard Segoe typeface most commonly seen on the mobile apps, but rather a more old-timey, baseball-y custom one. In all, the interface is as clear as you could want. As with the Bing app, you can pin a team's page of the app to your home screen.
Using and Features
First, let me quickly note the major missing features: You don't get the live Gameday view that you get on the iOS app and on the MLB website; and you don't get box scores, news, and stats. Those are awfully key features, but some of them—news, stats, are available on the MLB mobile website, and indeed, you get a lot of the missing stuff in the competing ESPN ScoreCenter Windows Phone app.
Now let's talk about what you do get: a full scoreboard, live game status, play-by-play audio from the team's local radio stations, highlight videos, and standings. You also get a live video under the right circumstances. In the following paragraphs I'll go deeper on each of these features.
The scoreboard does everything you'd expect it to do, showing not only the current score, but also the diamond indicating runners on base, and dots for balls, strikes, and outs. At first, I was a little disappointed in this feature, since it seemed to only show games for the current day, but I then discovered that pulling the list down loads the previous day's scores, and pulling up when you're at the end of the game list loads future matchups. If you get lost in the past or future, you can tap the Today button, or choose a date on a calendar accessible from another button.
Tapping on any game entry opens the line score, with the current pitcher-batter matchup indicated below. That's not much, compared with the Gameday view you get everywhere else; ESPN's ScoreCenter app offers a nice alternative to Gameday, if that's the most important thing to you. I also don't think it would be too much to ask to have a box score choice on this page, as is available on every other platform's At Bat app.
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
How to take screenshots on an Android phone
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How to take screenshots on an Android phone
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Plantronics' new Rig gaming headset lets you take phone calls without pausing the action
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Tuesday, 20 August 2013
Microsoft updates Windows Phone App Studio after developer projects soar
Microsoft is updating the recently launched beta of Windows Phone App Studio to improve performance and scalability after the new app development tool crossed 55,000 active projects.
The hosted service was launched two weeks ago in a bid by Microsoft to increase the number of applications available on Windows Phone by allowing users to create apps without writing any code. The service lets users choose from a number of templates to get started and then add content such as images, videos, RSS and Twitter feeds.
So far, the response has been well above what Microsoft expected, according to a blog post on Monday. In the first 48 hours, Microsoft saw more than 20,000 people from all over the world starting more than 30,000 projects, and on Monday it crossed 55,000 active projects. To help manage demand, the company implemented a temporary access code system, it said.
Microsoft is also making some fundamental changes to improve App Studio's overall performance and the scalability of the system. There have been a few hiccups in the first two weeks of availability, according to Microsoft. The company is also adding new functionality; users can choose from new templates and there are connections to more external data sources, including Flickr, which users have been asking for.
The company didn't provide any details on when Windows Phone App Studio would become generally available.
The availability of more apps is key for Windows Phone's continued growth, according to Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. Sales of Windows Phones to end users increased to 7.4 million during the second quarter, which was enough to surpass sales of BlackBerry for the first time. But the OS still only has a 3.3 percent market share, according to Gartner.
"While Microsoft has managed to increase share and volume in the quarter, Microsoft should continue to focus on growing interest from app developers to help grow its appeal among users," Gupta said.
Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com
Saturday, 17 August 2013
5 ways your smartphone's ‘smarts’ have become more important than the ‘phone’
It’s been headline news this week that smartphones outsold feature phones for the first time. Huzzah!
My first thought was, “They still sell non-smartphones?” My second thought was “Why do we even still call it a ‘phone’?” I mean, a PC is basically an evolution of a calculator, but we don’t get excited about whether or not PCs outsell calculators, and we don’t call PCs “supercalculators.”
If you think about it, making and receiving voice calls is one of the more minor functions of a smartphone. Sure, the devices we use today evolved from a basic mobile phone, and they’ve gotten “smarter” with new features and capabilities and a seemingly endless array of apps. But the term “smartphone” is a bit of a misnomer that doesn’t accurately describe what the device is.
It’s a personal communication and entertainment device (PCED). It’s a mobile pocket computer (MPC). It’s a personal digital assistant (PDA)—much more so than the devices that originally claimed that title. It’s an invaluable tool that enables business professionals to stay connected and be productive from virtually anywhere and at any time.
The “phone” part of “smartphone” doesn’t even scratch the surface of what the device is capable of. Here are five things a typical smartphone is used for more frequently than making or receiving voice calls:
Smartphones have made standalone GPSs virtually obsolete. One of the greatest things about a smartphone is that it’s capable of accessing and downloading email over either a Wi-Fi network or a cellular data connection. That means that your email is available in your pocket 24/7.
Texting or instant messaging is a nice middle-ground between email and voice calls. It’s an immediate form of communication, and it’s often way more convenient and courteous than a voice call.
This point started out being called “research.” Whether you need to keep up with breaking news in your industry, or you want to see how your investments or doing, the smartphone lets you surf the Web in the palm of your hand. You can compare features or research better prices while out shopping, book travel arrangements, or look up whether a narwhal is mythical creature or a real thing (Hint: it’s a real animal and it should have totally been called a “sea unicorn” or a “unicorn whale”).
Maps, and turn-by-turn directions are one of the most valuable functions of a smartphone. Whether you’re driving in your car or hoofing it, your smartphone can help you get from Point A to Point B as efficiently as possible.
5. Camera
One of the most common uses for a smartphone is as a camera or video camera. Just look at the phenomenal success of Instagram, Flickr, and Vine. The iPhone is the most-used camera in the world. It’s not that the smartphone is a better camera than a DSLR, or even a traditional point-and-shoot—in fact most pale in comparison. It’s simply a matter of convenience because most people have their smartphone with them everywhere they go, and don’t carry a camera around unless they know they need to.
As a matter of fact, the “smartphone” has done just as much to make standalone GPS units and point-and-shoot cameras obsolete as it has for standalone mobile phones, so we could just as easily call it a “smartgps” or a “smartcamera.” Actually, when it comes to Samsung, I guess the “smartcamera” is sort of a real thing thanks to the Galaxy Camera.
So, have fun using your PCED, or getting work done while on the go from your MPC. I was trying to stay focused on functions with some intrinsic value for business users, so I didn’t even cover the fact that you can watch Netflix, read a book, or play Angry Birds as well. Oh, and don’t forget it can also make phone calls if you’re into that sort of thing.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events.
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Friday, 16 August 2013
Google blocks Microsoft's YouTube app for Windows Phone (again)
Sometimes, it just ain’t easy being a Windows Phone owner.
A mere two days after a revamped, Microsoft-made YouTube app landed on the platform , bringing sweet relief to the poor Windows Phone users long saddled with an old and crappy port of the service, the new app has stopped working whatsoever. Why, you ask? Because Google blocked Microsoft’s access. Again.
“Microsoft has not made the browser upgrades necessary to enable a fully-featured YouTube experience, and has instead re-released a YouTube app that violates our Terms of Service,” YouTube spokespeople told bothThe Verge and TechCrunch. “It has been disabled. We value our broad developer community and therefore ask everyone to adhere to the same guidelines.”
Microsoft The Windows 8 YouTube app that Google objects to. While the situation stinks for Windows Phone owners, it’s pretty ironic for several reasons. Google has long refused to release an official YouTube app, so Microsoft has been forced to homebrew a band-aid of its own to keep Windows Phoners placated.
“YouTube is consistently one of the top apps downloaded by smartphone users on all platforms, but Google has refused to work with us to develop an app on par with other platforms,” Microsoft told TechHive when Microsoft first published a new YouTube app all the way back in May.
That release rankled Google for several reasons, most notably that the app allowed users to easily download videos—and it cut all the ads out of YouTube completely.
“We’d be more than happy to include advertising, but need Google to provide us access to the necessary APIs,” Microsoft said at the time. Clever, clever!
Barely a week later, Google took Microsoft up on the offer, and the companies announced that they were working together to create a YouTube app that “enable compliance with YouTube’s API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks.”
The Windows Phone YouTube app released earlier this week was assumed to be the result of that temporary union, but something must have revived the bad blood between the two to coax Google into cracking down so swiftly. Sources tell both The Verge and Engadget that the YouTube app released earlier this week was not, in fact, the joint effort touted months ago. Instead, the sources claim, the Windows Phone release was a native app that Microsoft built by reverse-engineering Google’s advertising network, rather than the HTML5-based app that Google wanted made.
No matter what caused the banhammer, one thing is certain: Windows Phone users are the ones suffering from this petty cat fight, and both Google and Microsoft have been left looking absolutely terrible.
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Brad Chacos spends the days jamming to Spotify, digging through desktop PCs and covering everything from BYOD tablets to DIY tesla coils.
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Thursday, 1 August 2013
US appeals court upholds warrantless collection of phone location data
Warrants are not required by the U.S. government to access historical cell site information, an appeals court ruled in an order.
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects only reasonable expectations of privacy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit wrote in a 2-1 ruling on Tuesday. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
"Because a cell phone user makes a choice to get a phone, to select a particular service provider, and to make a call, and because he knows that the call conveys cell site information, the provider retains this information, and the provider will turn it over to the police if they have a court order, he voluntarily conveys his cell site data each time he makes a call," the court added.
Cell site information is clearly a business record, collected by the service provider for its own business purposes, and without being asked to so by the government, the court said in the order.
The dispute hinged around whether law enforcement agents can access cell site data with a relatively easy-to-obtain order under section 2703 (d) of the Stored Communications Act, which is based on a showing of "specific and articulable facts," instead of using a search warrant after showing probable cause.
Rights groups American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation and others have argued that the government should be required to seek a warrant to access the location information, because it is sensitive and can reveal a great deal about a person. The groups argued in court that SCA grants courts the discretion to require the government to obtain a warrant based upon probable cause before accessing historical cell phone location data.
Ruling that compelled warrantless disclosure of cell site data violates the Fourth Amendment, a magistrate judge earlier denied a government request for the historical cell site data in three applications filed in October, 2010 under the SCA for seeking evidence relevant to three separate criminal investigations. The judge, however, allowed for providing subscriber information.
Following an appeal by the government, a district court held that data "disclosing the location of the telephone at the time of particular calls may be acquired only by a warrant issued on probable cause," as the records would show the date, time called, number, and location of the telephone when the call was made, which is constitutionally protected.
The Fifth Circuit court clarified that its ruling only covered section 2703(d) orders to obtain historical cell site information, and did not address, for example, orders requesting data from all phones that use a tower during a particular interval or "situations where the Government surreptitiously installs spyware on a target's phone or otherwise hijacks the phone's GPS, with or without the service provider's help."
The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled earlier this month that cellphone users have a reasonable expectation of privacy of their cellphone location information, and police are required to get a search warrant before accessing the information. People are not promoting the release of personal information to others when making disclosures to phone companies, the court said in an unanimous ruling.
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service.
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Thursday, 25 July 2013
Aviary (for Windows Phone)
Pros Lots of effective photo editing tools. Simple, clear interface. Photo effect filters. Cons No pinch zoom. No sharing options. No extra filters or effects available through in-app purchase. Bottom Line Aviary gives you a flock of excellent photo-editing tools for Windows Phone, but the app has yet to really take flight.By Michael Muchmore 
Aviary makes some of our favorite, easy-to-use photo editing software. It's available in many venues, including as the default online editor integrated with Flickr, as an iPhone app, and even as a Windows 8 app. It includes a dozen Instagram-like special photo-look effects, but adds loads of photo correction, adjustment, and enhancement tools, like text, stickers, cropping, blemish removal, and drawing brushes all in a super clear, simple interface. The app has recently been updated as a Windows Phone 8 app, and even though it's a top choice for image editing on that platform, the app still falls short of its iPhone counterpart and other Windows Phone photo apps.
Interface
I tested the app on a spiffy new Nokia Lumia 928. The startup interface for Aviary on Windows Phone differs in design from the iPhone version—not in a bad way, though: A large sample image takes up the largest part of the screen, followed by thumbnails of your camera roll and a camera button for snapping a shot on the spot. The app doesn't add any shooting features, but the excellent Windows Phone camera interface is less in need of that than the iPhone's, which doesn't give you access to ISO, exposure, and so on. A Browse button lets you traverse all your photo folders including any that reside in the cloud on SkyDrive or on Facebook (if you've hooked up your account to your Windows Phone). You can't swipe through images the way you can in the iPhone app, however.
After the initial screen, the Aviary Windows Phone app's interface is nearly identical to that of its iPhone app counterpart, once you select an image. It's also nearly identical to the top free photo app in the store—Picture Perfect, and to the top paid photo app, Instagraph, though the latter adds the actual Instagram filters and lets you share the picture on Instagram. Unlike the iPhone version of Aviary, however, I couldn't change the interface's button selection and order.
Like the iPhone version, Aviary for Windows Phone has a streamlined workflow from selection to image adjustment to enhancing to sharing. The editing interface sports a row of 15 cartoon-like but very clear, labeled icon buttons along the bottom. The first is simply Enhance, which offers four options—Auto, Night, Backlit, and Balance. On several test images, the Auto made very subtle fixes, while the Backlit and Balance tools noticeably improved problematic photos. Unfortunately, I couldn't unpinch to zoom, as I could on the iPhone version of Aviary and in Picture Perfect.
Filters and Other Effects
Aviary's Effects button leads to Instagram-like retro film looks and monochrome choices. There are 12 in all, and unlike the iPhone version of Aviary, there's no in-app up-sell option for getting more. When I asked an Aviary rep whether these would be offered at some point, I got this reply:
"For a limited time, Photo Editor by Aviary comes with a set of filters and stickers that are free to Windows Phone 8 users. Once we have a better sense of user dynamics and are ready to roll out the in-app purchases, users will have the option of purchasing additional filters and stickers while they are editing their photos."
Most of the effects have non-descriptive names, such as people's first names, which doesn't help much in selecting one. You do, however, get a sample image with the effect applied in the thumbnail. I like that once you use one tool, like one of these effects, you can go back and edit the photo more with any of the other tools, like cropping or brightness. This gives you a lot more control and customization than just applying a preset filter. One missing tool is tilt-shift, aka, selective focus. Free competitor Fhotoroom offers a well-functioning tool to produce this nifty effect.
The Stickers tool lets you overlay things like moustaches, eyeglasses, hats, speech bubbles, arrows, and other useful items on top of your photo. Again, you don't get the option to add more stickers at cost the way you can in the iPhone version.
The app's crop tool uses large touchable corner controls and offers preset aspect ratios, but the inability to zoom limits its usefulness. Another tool for which that's an even bigger problem is the blemish tool. Despite this shortcoming, however, I was able to remove a pimple from my test subject's forehead fairly convincingly.
No Sharing?
When I was done editing a test photograph, I had but one option, to save my new creation to a folder called Saved Pictures. No Facebook, no Flickr, no SkyDrive, no email. Of course, it's easy enough in Windows Phone to share to any of those places from the folder, but it's preferable for this to be a part of the app's workflow, the way it is in another Windows Phone photo app: Fhotoroom.
Does Aviary's Windows Phone App Take Flight?
This official Aviary app feels just like what it probably is: a proof-of-concept demonstration of the software's photo-editing capabilities, rather than a full-bodied photo app like the one the company has produced for iOS. There are no sharing options, to social networks or otherwise, and no configuration settings. Don't get me wrong, the app offers an abundance of effective photo tools that will serve many users' purposes. But if you want more than basic editing, you may be better off with another Windows Phone photo editing app, such as Picture Perfect; or for photo editing plus a community, the rather interesting Fhotoroom.
Kik Messenger (for Windows Phone)
Pros Free. No ads. Super simple to set up and ad contacts. Shows when messages have been delivered and read. Private—doesn't require cell phone number. Versions available for all major mobile platforms, including Blackberry and Symbian.Cons No video or audio messaging. Windows Phone offers fewer goodies than iPhone version. Bottom Line Kik Messenger is one of the simplest free, cross-platform messaging apps around. It's also more private than some major competitors, and doesn't' foist ads on you.By Michael Muchmore
If you've spent any time at all browsing the multitude of Instagram photos or Vine mini-videos, there's a good chance that you've seen posts with captions containing the phrase "KiK me" or those that include a Kik username. Kik Messenger has become the de facto standard for instant messaging among the new generation of mobile social communicators. It differs from competitors like WhatsApp and Viber by not requiring your phone number, but it too lets you include photos in your messages and engage in group chat.
Setup and Signup
I tested Kik Messenger on two phones, a Nokia Lumia 928's and a Samsung ATIV Odyssey. Signing up for a Kik account is a matter of entering your first and last names, a username, an email address, and password. The signup form recommends, but doesn't require entering you phone number. I really wish you could just sign up with your Facebook or Twitter credentials, though; all this filling in forms is so 2005.
The signup procedure asks if you want Kik to scan your address book for existing users of the service. Any user found will get a notification that they can now chat with you over Kik. In general, I had a much easier time connecting with my pals in Kik than in WhatsApp; I could also send invites to email or Facebook.
The Kik Windows Phone app has just two swipe-through pages: Contacts, and Conversations, making it one simpler than WhatsApp. On the Conversations tab, you can tap a gear button to get to settings for things like Notifications, Account, Privacy (you can add users to a block list), and interface color. It would be nice to be able to change the font and font size, but the color choice is already more personalization than you get with WhatsApp.
Kik has no pretensions of creating rich profiles the way that's become standard with social networks: You don't have to enter any personal info. Your contact info page is just a photo and your username.
Messaging
Kik was an innovator with its ability to show you whether your contact had read your message or not. When you first send a text, an S appears in a small box to its left; this turns to a D to indicated "delivered," and then to an R when the message has actually been read by the contact.
When it comes to energizing conversations with extra goodies, Kik lets you insert the standard selection of smilies to your chat, but they're not as impactful as Facebook Messenger's stickers. You also don't get as many message attachment options in the Windows Phone version of Kik as you do in the iPhone version: things like video sketches, YouTube videos, and memes (those photos with the big block text). But if an iPhone contact adds any of this, you'll be able to see it in the Windows Phone app. Nor can you create a video or audio message the way you can in WhatsApp. And forget about actual voice calling like you get with Viber or video calling like you get with Skype.
One thing you can do is engage in group chatting. Kik makes this a simple matter of tapping a big plus sign after tapping the Convo Info button at the bottom of the chat screen. You can add up to 10 group members, and anyone can leave at any time, using the same Convo Info page.
Will You Get a Kick Out of this App?
The choice of a messaging app depends a lot on whether people you want to chat with are using it. Though pretty bare-bones, Kik for Windows Phone has loads of users and a few good things going for it—its very simplicity is one of them. Kik also provides more privacy than competitors like WhatsApp and Viber, which require your cell phone number. That also means you don't have to worry about a small app developer ever selling your number to marketers. Another plus over WhatsApp is that you don't have to see ads in your inbox. But if you want free, ad-free, privacy protecting text messaging, stick with our Editors' Choice, Skype[], which adds voice and video chat.
Netflix (for Windows Phone)
Pros Excellent picture quality. Huge content library. Simple, clear interface.Cons No offline viewing. Bottom Line This Netflix app lets you take advantage of your Windows Phone's large high-res screen, with a deep library of movies and TV shows.
By Michael Muchmore
By Michael Muchmore Very few things with a screen of any size are without a way to play Netflix movies and TV shows, and the company is pretty consistent about its presentation in all the various player scenarios. Whether you're watching on a large screen TV using a Roku box, an iPad, or a mobile phone, you'll see that familiar bright red screen and logo, and a clear way to navigate around your account and start watching a video stream. The Netflix app for Windows 8 is no exception: You get access to your instant queue, top picks, and can start watching almost as soon as you install it.
Get Started with Netflix on Your Windows Phone
Of course, you'll have to have a Netflix account for this app to be of any use, but anyone with a smartphone these days is likely to already be a member of the leading streaming video entertainment service. For just $7.99 a month, you get a massive library of movies and TV shows, including exclusives like the wildly funny new episodes of Arrested Development. If you don't already have an account, a link takes you to the Web signup page.
Once you've signed in with your account, you'll see a Metro-style version of your Netflix account. The startup view shows Recently Watched, along with a button to continue watching a show you started and didn't finish. Swipe down to see the Top Ten recommendations for you, Popular on Netflix, Popular on Facebook, New Releases, and more shows in genres you've frequented.
Swiping right to left reveals a text selection of Genres, a Search box, and your Instant Queue. Tapping any show's "box" image launches playing of the show immediately. I'd prefer options to read its description and credits, perhaps watch a trailer, and to add to my queue. As it turns out, if you tap on the title text (which also shows the user star rating) instead of the thumbnail image, you'll get just those options.
So as you can see, there are plenty of ways to find tons of shows to watch. Though Netflix doesn't publicize the actual number of programs available, the company states that it's constantly looking for new deals with content producers and studios. Sometimes a current hit TV show will be available on Hulu but not Netflix, so you may want that app, as well. If the app's tools aren't floating your boat, there are a couple of excellent sites dedicated to nothing but finding good shows on Netflix by scanning new releases and ratings, including instantwatcher.com, A Better Queue, and the visually interesting Pivot View.
Watching Movies and TV
Unsurprisingly for a service that produces a pleasing HD picture on large-screen TVs, the picture quality on my Nokia Lumia 928's sharp AMOLED 1280x768 TrueColor screen was crystal clear. While playing a movie or TV show, the on-screen controls are at a minimum. Tapping on the screen reveals the title of the production at the top, and at the bottom there's a pause button and a scrubber, which let you slide forward and backward through the show. You also get a Subtitles icon in the shape of a text bubble.
And that's it. I do wish I could just tap to full-screen the view and remove the controls immediately: instead you have to wait for them to fade out after a few seconds. As with any streaming service, playback is dependent on connection speed and Neflix use volume, but during my testing I didn't encounter a single playback hiccup.
One main drawback of Netflix for Windows Phone is that there's no off-line viewing feature. It is, after all, a streaming service, and this limitation is shared with any other media playing app that streams. To get movies onto the phone for offline viewing, you have to transfer them from your PC using the Windows Phone app for desktop after downloading them from Xbox Video or another source of DRM-free video.
The Best Flicks for Your Windows Phone?
Netflix is a must for movie and TV buffs, and movies and TV shows look great in the Netflix app for Windows Phone. The app is a snap to navigate, and you can add any content from Netflix's huge library via browsing, searching, and seeing what the service proposes based on your viewing history. The ability to continue watching a show you started on another screen is a big plus. Don't expect offline viewing, but that's a limitation no matter what device you use to watch Netflix. All told, Netflix for Windows Phone is a big win for mobile couch potatoes.
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