Samsung Galaxy S 4 is the world’s first smartphone to recieve coveted TCO certification

tagged galaxy s 4, Samsung, TCO certification

Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 smartphone is certainly comes with all of the bells and whistles out there for power users, but it is now environmentally-friendly thanks to its recent TCO certification— a first for any smartphone. In case you’re not familiar, TCO Development is an group that prides itself on identifying products that are environmentally-friendly, economically viable and socially responsible manufacturing. The construction of the Galaxy S 4 is confirmed to not only be a reliable device, but it is also free of harmful metals like nickel, which can allow the phone to be recycled safely at a future date:

“In the social category, Samsung demonstrated that it is committed to socially responsible manufacturing and is compliant with International Labour Organization and United Nation conventions. In the environmental category, it was found that the GALAXY S4 was free from many hazardous materials such as nickel, beryllium, and mercury which, if present, would have severely restricted its potential to be recycled at the end its lifecycle. In terms of economic viability, the power efficiency of the charger was praised, as was the smartphone’s industrial design which boosts reliability”.

Congrats to Sammy on this major milestone!

source: Android Central

Google Search gets expanded functionality for users, brings new cards and improved Voice Search abilities

tagged google io 2013, Google Now, Google search, Voice Search

One of the major pieces of awesomeness at Google I/O was the introduction of the revamped Search function. Right off the bat, the new Search function for you Google Now users includes not only new cards, but also the ability to set reminders or see real-time public transportation updates. So whenever you want that reminder to “take out the trash before 7am” or want to see continuous updates for the A train at New York’s Penn Station (or other select cities), then Google certainly has you covered. Voice Search users aren’t left in the dust either, as Google has gone ahead and implemented some extra functionality to the nifty tool— so users can ask more questions such as “what time it is my flight leaves Thursday” or something of that nature.

The update is already live in the Play Store now, so be sure to grab it by clicking on the Play Store link below.

Play Store download link

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Play Store will bring more personalized recommendation, apps that will be “Designed for Tablets” and new All Access music subscription service

tagged All Access, Google, google io 2013, Google Music, Listen Now

There’s no doubt that Google Play has seen some extensive improvements, but Google I/O is highlighting some of the cool functionality that users will see using the service moving forward. One of the great things that Google does for its users is learn about its users, so the Play Store can now give personalized recommendations of games, music, movies and whatever else may be good for users. Additionally, Google has implemented a new strategy for its ever-growing tablet users by showcasing a brand-spanking new “Designed for Tablets” section— ensuring the various tablet apps out there will operate at a smooth level. Oh and for you music lovers out there— Google Play Music All Access is Google’s first subscription-based music service, which allows listeners to enjoy the huge library of songs Google has— complete with the ability to customize your music as you choose— all for $9.99/month. “Radio without rules” is the motto of the All Access service, which means that we may have yet another means to enjoy our awesome music.

Look for the new improvements to start rolling out over the coming weeks.

Google I/O 2013 Keynote: Android activations account for nearly 1/7th of the world’s population with 900 million total activations

tagged google io 2013

The Google I/O Keynote is here and we have some fun stats for you. Not only has Android grown as the OS of choice for mobile users, but the platform has grown at an extraordinary pace. Activations have gone from 200 million activations in 2011 to a stunning 900 million activations as of today. While there are 7 billion people on the planet, the fact that Android accounts for nearly 1/7th of the world’s population is a impressive feat. Complimenting the number of activations is the stunning tally of 48 billion app installs, with an eye-popping 2.5 billion app installs in the last few months alone. Yes friends—- the Android platform is not just kicking some ass— but it’s here to stay.

Yup, Android 4.3 is confirmed thanks to a search result listing on a developer website

tagged Android 4.3, google io 2013, leaks

Google I/O is finally here and we have the first ~~official~~ unofficial confirmation of the day: Android 4.3 is very much real and is on the way. Thanks to what appears to be a major snafu, a search listing on Google’s developer website— clearly indicating that Android 4.3 is of a major focus. Of course Google quickly realized the major gaffe and quickly removed the listing from its developer website, but not before some crafty folks caught hold of it as seen in the below screenshot.

Of course we are still waiting to see what exactly the next iteration of the Android software will bring, but we’ll find out everything soon enough once everything finally kicks off.

source: The Verge

Sony Xperia Z smartphone receives minor software update

tagged android 4.1.2, sony, updates, Xperia Z

A quiet software update has surfaced for you Sony Xperia Z smartphone owners out there. The firmware update keeps the Android software version at 4.1.2, but brings the device to version firmware number 10.1.1.A.1.253 and brings performance tweaks, along with the display calibration tool, new software key and navigational bar colors going from grey to black and the ability to disable the pesky notification light. For now, it’s looking like devices in the French markets are getting the update first, but devices in other markets should follow sooner than later.

source: Xperia Blog
via: Phone Arena

New concept video surfaces, showcases how awesome, yet practical the head can truly be

tagged Google Glass

We certainly have an idea of the awesome potential the Google Glass headset can offer— but most of the tech world hasn’t gotten the opportunity to see some of the practical abilities the device can bring, until now. Among the noteworthy things that can be done are utilizing the Maps app and viewing/replying to emails, all while biking through windy roads; using the device’s built-in camera to scan all sorts of information and heck— even hailing a cab if necessary.

I mean sure some of the more practical uses won’t be as life-changing as others, but it’s looking like Google Glass will be more than just a gimmick for the general consumer. You can check out the video for yourself below.

Blackberry Messenger officially coming to Android devices this summer!

tagged BBM, blackberry, blackberry messenger

(Photo credit TechCrunch)

It’s been a long time coming, but the moment is finally here folks— Blackberry Messenger is officially on the way to Android devices! Announced at the Blackberry Live 2013 event, Blackberry CEO Thorsten Heins confirmed “the BB10 platform is so strong and the response has been so good that the time is right for BBM to become an independent mobile messaging platform“. As a result, the mobile giant will make BBM as a cross-platform messaging app that will be available for Android (and iOS-based) devices. Huzzah!

So now that one of the most popular and successful messaging apps is now available, it’s now just a matter of time before we see BBM hit the Play Store and on devices everywhere.

NVIDIA announces SHIELD pre-orders will begin May 20th and will have a cost of $349

tagged Android Gaming, nvidia, Project Shield

It’s been a while since NVIDIA announced its game-changing Project SHIELD handheld gaming system, but the wait is finally over gang as NVIDIA is finally taking pre-orders will begin as early as next week, May 20th. In case you’ve forgotten about this puppy— the Jelly Bean-powered handheld gaming system features a boatload of sweet features including the killer Tegra 4 chip + 2 gigs of RAM, a 5-inch 720p retinal multi-touch display, custom bass reflex tuned port audio system and a full-fledged control pad.

Oh and for those of you that want to stream the sweet gaming content to a larger display, SHIELD will also give you the power to wirelessly access your NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU-powered computer from the comfort of your couch with GeForce game streaming– while NVIDIA promises to bring PC streaming to SHIELD devices at a later date. Speaking of games, it’s looking like there will certainly be a nice lineup of titles for gamers to choose from once SHIELD is finally available. Among the games that will be headed to TegraZone are Broken Age, Costume Quest, Flyhunter: Origins, Skiing Fred and Chuck’s Challenge. Naturally, there will be more titles released as time moves forward and all that good stuff.

And now for the important deets— pricing and availability. As mentioned earlier, the device will be available for pre-order from Newegg, Gamestop, Micro Center and Canada Computers on May 20th, while devices will ship around sometime in June. Additionally, SHIELD will cost $349, so it won’t break the bank too much.

MedRef aims to help the medical field better, oh and it brings facial recognition to Google Glass in the process

tagged facial-recognition, MedRef

There’s no doubt the Google Glass headset is one unique and potentially revolutionary device, but it appears it’s about to get something really special— facial recognition technology thanks to an app called MedRef. Using special facial recognition software, MedRef allows hospital employees to easily access patient records and can actually allow medical workers to keep a log of their patient with all sorts of info and notes to help make things easier. The app works in a simple and straightforward way really— it simply takes advantage of Google Glass timeline cards that are managed through voice commands, giving medical employees to do things like ”Set Patient” or “Add Note”. Here are some thoughts by programmer Lance Nanek and his team on the significance of the app:

“Some people I talked to said hospitals are full of very busy people, often with their hands full, working with a lot of information. “So Google Glass making it wearable is especially looked forward to there… Hopefully in the future, we’ll have super advanced versions of this hardware that’ll be doing this constantly”.

Well said Lance. Well said.

source: PC Mag

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About Roy Alugbue

Conceived as Spock’s 4th cousin, Roy has had quite the life. He was born in beautiful San Jose, California, raised in Los Angeles, California and now resides in the greater New York City area. He has always been fascinated and obsessed with technology, especially the continuous advancements of mobile platforms. He was a Blackberry slave since his undergrad days at the University of Southern California until realizing in Feb. 2011, there were greener pastures in the land of Android. His first Android phone was the Motorola Atrix 4G, and he hasn’t looked back. He currently works in corporate media, enjoys following media and technology trends, reading a good book, weightlifting, playing on his XBOX 360 and conversing with total strangers.