Vine has an app update for its most loyal Android users. (Actually, any Android user that has access to v4.0 or higher.)

Vine is the best way to see and share life in motion. Create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see.

• Unlimited uploads and free
• Instantly post videos on Vine, then share to Twitter and Facebook!
• Find, follow, and interact with people close to you
• Explore trending posts, featured hashtags and editor's picks
• And so much more.

What's New

• Receive push notifications for new likes, comments, and mentions
• Share any public post to Twitter or Facebook
• Other bug fixes and improvements

Source: Vine Link

A smartwatch device patent has been discovered in South Korea, with concept images apparently revealing that the device could pack a flexible display of some sort.

According to SamMobile, the patent found with the Korea Institute of Patent Information mentions SM-V700 model number for the smartwatch, which is the same model number we've seen in recent Samsung Gear smartwatch rumors. The Gear name is yet to be confirmed though.

Registered on May 31, the model number SM-V700 is mentioned again in the patent filing, and the images show what seems to be a concept design that may or may not make it to the actual product, though the final design should be something similar. You can make quite a few things, such as the placement of the power button, USB port, speaker/mic, and capacitive back and menu buttons, though again, these could just be part of the concept and may be placed differently.

Samsung Galaxy Note III is a device that many folks are looking forward to, as Samsung has managed to prove that there's market for phablets - you just have to do (market) it right. The company has also re-convinced many people that there's still use for a stylus.  For a couple of months or so now, we've been gathering all kinds of intriguing details about the upcoming Note III, which is to be unveiled at IFA 2013 in September.

The Galaxy Note III is expected to have an octa-core Exynos 5420/quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM, 1080p display of 5.7-6″, a 13-megapixel camera possibly with optical image stabilization, LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) connectivity, and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with an improved TouchWiz UI.

Please take this as a grain of Salt as we don't know how fake this picture is.

Google plans to officially launch the Android Device Manager for all devices running Android 2.2 or higher. The Android Device Manager will be deployed to nearly all Android devices via Google Play Services. 

Here's a few simpel features you can use to keep your device-and the data you store inside-safe and secure.

• 1. Lock your device screen. Whether you're on a phone or a tablet, it's easy to set up a screen lock. This is important to do in case your device gets left in the back of a car, or you're worried about someone picking up your phone and scrolling through your stuff. You can lock your device with a pin, password, pattern (or even your face!) by going to Settings > Personal > Security > Screen Lock.

• 2. Protect your phone from suspicious apps. We automatically scan Google Play to block and remove harmful apps. That makes Google Play the safest place to get Android apps. But Google Play can also help protect you even for apps you get elsewhere, like the web or a third-party app store. The first time you start to install an app from an unknown source, a message will pop up asking if you'd like Google to scan the file to make sure it's not harmful. Tap "OK" to let Google help protect you from harmful apps.

• 3. Locate, ring and wipe a misplaced device. Have you ever lost your phone in between the couch cushions or left it in a restaurant? Later this month, you will be able to use a new service called Android Device Manager, which can quickly ring your phone at maximum volume so you can find it (even if it's been silenced), or locate it on a map, in real time, using Android Device Manager. If your phone can't be recovered, or has been stolen, you can quickly and securely erase all of the data on your device to keep your data from ending up in the wrong hands. The Android Device Manager will be available for devices running Android 2.2 and above, as part of Google Play. You can read the full announcement on the Android blog.

Source: google android

Google's Motorola today announced the upcoming launch of Moto X - the company's brand new flagship Android smartphone.

Moto X offers you that choice. It's designed by you, responds to you and is made for you by Motorola, a Google company. Once you turn it on, it's all yours. And every Moto X sold in the USA is assembled right here in the USA.

With the best of Google services baked in, Moto X helps you get everyday tasks done quickly and with less fuss. But it's also designed to sip battery, not chug it, so it will go all day and into the night.

Moto X Features

• a 4.7 inch HD (1280 x 720) display
• Motorola's own X8 Mobile Computing System (also featured by Verizon's new Droids) - this includes a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro applications processor, and a quad-core Adreno 320 GPU
• Android 4.2.2 - curious, since Android 4.3 is already out
• Touchless Control - enabling users to "do just about anything" via voice command
• LTE, HSPA
• NFC
• 2GB of RAM
• 10MP ClearPixel rear camera with improved low-light performance and fast capture time
• 2MP front-facing camera
• 2,200 mAh battery

Press Release

A South Korean version of the water-resistant Samsung Galaxy S4 Active called SHV-E470S popped up in GFXBench scores.

The benchmark detected a quad-core processor at 2.3GHz with Adreno 330 GPU in an MSM8974 chipset, a.k.a. Snapdragon 800. The score for the off-screen test is 25.9fps, when the Snapdragon 600 version did 16fps, the I9505 Galaxy S4 did 17.1fps and the Snapdragon 800-packing Sony Xperia Z Ultra does 23.1fps.

The Galaxy S4 Active supports IP67 standard for dust and water resistance and features 2GB of RAM, 8MP and 2MP cameras, 5-inch Full HD (1080p) TFT LCD display, 16GB of internal storage, microSD slot, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, NFC, 2600 mAh battery.

Complete source is here

Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note II each scored 84 on a scale of 100 in a smartphone brand study by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. They beat out a trio of Apple's phones-the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, which each got an 82, and the iPhone 4, which received an 81.

This is the ACSI's first study of individual smartphones, and the marginally higher scores of the Galaxy phones come at a time when Apple's iPhones are nearly due for a refresh, probably in September.

Apple is allegedly strongly pushing its development of the new iOS 7 platform, which aims to breathe new life into the aging mobile OS. It is rumored to coincide with the development of a new iPhone 5S model alongside a budget iPhone line, which should ideally give Apple a resurgence in the innovation department that's become characteristic of the Cupertino-based tech giant.

Unlike Apple, which has a smartphone-only lineup, Samsung offers both feature and smartphones. At 76, Samsung continues to lag Apple for overall customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, the company's 7% gain in 2013 is a clear reflection of the strength of Galaxy S III.

Source

If you are in a particular Starbucks coffee shop happens to be in the few areas where Google has its Fiber service set up, the speed bump will be up to 100 times faster than the current Starbucks WIFI connection

As TechCrunch points out, this isn't Google's first attempt at providing free Wi-Fi access in a public place. In San Francisco, the company is having talks about setting up free access points in key public spaces. Google's free hotspots should go live there in April, 2014. There are also numerous Wi-Fi access points in the surroundings of Google's Mountain View HQ, too.

Google will start rolling out the new networks this August. They appreciate your patience if it's still a little while before they get to your favorite Starbucks-you'll know your new network is ready to go when you can log in to the "Google Starbucks" SSID.

Source: Google

Samsung is planning to deck up its 4.3-inch Galaxy S4 Mini in three new color options, as a refresh from the drab black and white they're already sold in. These include Arctic Blue, Ruby Wine (red), and Brown Autumn.  

Samsung also plans to offer its 7-inch Galaxy Tab 3 in two color options of its own, Garnet Red and Gold Brown. Galaxy S4 Mini should roll out in its new trims in the week of August 26, while Galaxy Tab 3 should roll out in its shiny new trims in the week of September 30.

To Recap, the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini features a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 400 processor with Adreno 305 GPU, 1.5GB of RAM, a 4.3″ qHD (540 x 960 pixels) display, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, 8GB storage expandable via microSD cards, Wi-Fi, HSPA+, LTE and NFC connectivity, a 1,900mAh battery, and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0. Samsung also launched a dual-mode LTE variant of the S4 mini today, which might or might not get the new color treatment.

Souce:sammobile

Samsung Electronicstoday announced the world's first commercial devices capable of TDD-LTE (Time-Division Duplex) and FDD-LTE (Frequency Division Duplex) seamless handover technology. Samsung will launch TDD/FDD Dual Mode LTE versions of the Samsung GALAXY S4 and Samsung GALAXY S4 mini, which will enable continuous and seamless voice and data communications even as the devices switch between two different types of LTE networks.

Samsung Mobile's president quoted:

"Samsung continues to accelerate global LTE market deployment, addressing technical challenges faster than anyone else. With today's TDD / FDD LTE seamless handover devices announcement, Samsung again demonstrates the company's commitment to driving better, more convenient customer experiences. The first commercially available TDD / FDD seamless handover devices will allow customers to fully enjoy the benefits of fast mobile data communications no matter where they are," said JK Shin, president of Samsung's IT & Mobile Division.

Samsung is the first player in the global mobile industry to provide dual-mode (TDD-LTE/FDD-LTE) smartphones. Samsung will continue to launch TDD-LTE devices in other markets throughout third quarter.  Strategy Analytics estimates that there will be almost 400 million LTE devices sold in 2014, and almost 500 million in 2015. This year there should be about 270 million LTE devices shipped around the world.

AnandTech reveals Samsung is boosting the GPU clock frequency of the Exynos 5 Octa-powered Galaxy S4 that enables the device to achieve a higher score.  Some more digging also revealed whitelisted benchmark apps that when opened, bumped the GPU clock frequency to maximum (532MHz) while rest of the apps and games were limited to use 480MHz.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Exynos 5 Octa in these devices, the SoC integrates four ARM Cortex A15 cores (1.6GHz) and four ARM Cortex A7 cores (1.2GHz) in a big.LITTLE configuration. GPU duties are handled by a PowerVR SGX 544MP3, capable of running at up to 533MHz.

The CPU of the Galaxy S4 variants was also found to behave somewhat odd with its clock speed forced to the maximum possible the minute you run a benchmark. That's not technically cheating though, as the power is available if needed elsewhere - there's no overclocking.

So, it seems Samsung is trying to polish the octa-core Galaxy S4 reputation. Whatever the reason, we are hoping it doesn't become a habit - the company's flagships have enough power and they don't need to use such unfair practices to gain advantage.

Source: AnandTech

There were rumors about the release out of the Galaxy Note 3 to be September 4th, this information that was later confirmed by The Korea Herald. As we are getting closer to the highly-anticipated smartphone's launch, more details about Samsung's next-gen pahablet are starting to surface.

It will reportedly sport a 5.7-inch touchscreen, 3 GB of RAM, and Android 4.3 on board from day one. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset will be used for the LTE versions of the device, including the one to be sold in Korea. This will support LTE-Advanced, the fastest network standard there is. In parts of the world where LTE isn't yet available, we might see a variant of the Galaxy Note III powered by the new Samsung Exynos Octa processor that was unveiled a few days ago.  

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will most likely run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of the box, given that Google recently unveiled the latest Android iteration, and of course, the South Korean company will apply its proprietary TouchWiz Nature UX interface on top of it.

Thanks to AndroidGeeks for this news

There were rumors floating around the internets a few weeks ago saying that Samsung was working on a variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note II that used Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 600 chip instead of the company's own Exynos 4 Quad. Well, turns out those rumors were true.

China Mobile, the world's largest operator, just announced a device called the GT-N7108D on Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter), and yes, it uses the new Snapdragon. Why would Samsung make this variant? Because it'll be able to support the operator's complicated network, which right now uses TD-SCDMA, W-CDMA, TDD-LTE, and FDD-LTE.

We think there's really no reason to bring it to more markets - the Exynos 4 chip does a pretty darn good job. Not to mention the fact that the Galaxy Note 3 should be announced pretty soon, which is also rumored to have a Snapdragon 800 chip. It'd be almost pointless to bring a Snapdragon 600 powered Galaxy Note 2 to other markets with that in mind. 

What do you think?

According to Symantec, a well know security software company, a man who has won about $1.5 million in poker tournaments has been arrested and charged with running an operation that uses Android malware, and a fake dating website to scam victims out of $3.9 million.

Kagawa was already under investigation while playing in that tournament. Symantec explains:

From our observations, the operation began around September 2012 and ended in April 2013 when authorities raided the company office. We confirmed around 150 domains were registered to host the malicious apps during this time span. According to media reports, the group was able to collect approximately 37 million e-mail addresses from around 810,000 Android devices. The company earned over 390 million yen (approximately 3.9 million US dollars) by running a fake online dating service called Sakura in the last five months of the spam operation. Spam used to lure victims to the dating site was sent to the addresses collected by the malware.

What makes this story so sensational is that Masaaki Kagawa was already a successful person. He was the president of an IT firm called Koei Planning and was a successful gambler. Since 2008, he's won $1.5 million in high stakes poker games and, according to Ars Technica, was actually under investigation while he was at his last tournament.

The Samsung SM-P900 will feature a 12.2-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. The leaker suggested a mysterious device with a similar resolution, so SM-P900 could well be a device in the making.

The leak also mentioned that Samsung is working on a 10-inch tablet with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, according to evleaks. The slate is obviously targeted at users who would prefer a slate with a smaller display, while maintaining the high resolution.

The SM-P600 is reported to be powered by Snapdragon 800 processor to provide enhanced user experience.

There's no word on when either the SM-P900 or SM-P600 might be introduced. However, it's possible that we could see at least one at IFA in early September, which is an event that Samsung has used to unveil new mobile hardware in the past.

Source: Twitter

Google unveiled the new Nexus 7 tablet a couple of days ago and the company had announced that the Nexus 7 2 will be available in US from July 30. However, Best Buy has started shipping out the tablet to those who pre-ordered it.

The newly updated Nexus 7 features a 5-megapixel rear camera and an impressively dense 1920 x 1200 display to the successful formula that Google and Asus introduced last year with the original 7-inch tablet. The entry price is a little higher, starting at $229, but other upgrades like a faster processor, a doubling of onboard RAM, and an all around thinner and more elegant design would appear to justify the premium.

The Nexus 7 is also available in the Best Buy stores if you are planning to pick it up in person. Google has also revealed the pricing of the device and, as expected, the 16 GB model would cost you $230, while the 32 GB comes with a price tag of $270.

Samsung officially announced its Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition. The special edition tablet comes bundled with a desktop dock and a Bluetooth keyboard.  This combo works with Samsung's aim for this season's collection of students from sea to sea, pushing this "Student Edition" to the United States through brick-and-mortar stores like Office Max and Best Buy.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Student Edition is priced at $349.99 and is currently available in Best Buy, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R' Us, BJ's, P.C. Richard & Son and Office Max.  The dock and the keyboard then come essentially free where together they'd cost more than $60 USD - again, depending on where you shop.

Source: slashgear

Great news developers, Samsung has announced to host a developers conference of its own. The Samsung Developers Conference will be held in San Francisco, USA on October 27 where developers will get a chance to engage with industry leaders, meet other developers and even get a first chance to check out new Samsung tools.

Meeting at Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, Samsung is going right to the heart of development conferences. San Francisco is where Google hold their I/O conference annually, which is a precursor to Apple's WWDC. The landing page for this event is sparse, but notes that devs can "learn about Samsung tools and SDKs".

Samsung hasn't opened their registration for the conference but is currently inviting interested developers to register their interest.  We will keep you posted when the registration opens.

Source: SamsungDevCon

According to ETNews.com, the new upgraded Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A has been a huge hit in Korea, with 150 000 units shipped in 14 days since its launch.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A comes with the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC rather than the Snapdragon 600 that powers the international version, but is otherwise identical to its predecessor. The international variant comes with a 5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, 2 GB of RAM, 13 megapixel rear camera, 32 GB in-built memory, microSD card slot and IR port.

Except for iPhone, no foreign smartphone vendor has been able to crack Korean market in the last few years. And Samsung's main rival -LG - has scheduled the announcement of its first LTE-A supporting G2 smartphone for August 7th. Another major smartphone OEM in Korea - Pantech - hasn't even even announced when it plans to have its first LTE-A device ready.

Source: news.mk.co.kr

The latest update also brings more bug fixes, including a fix for an issue that prevented users from making calls or changing their availability status to online. The update awaits you in the Google Play Store, so get over there and download it so you can finally sign out.

Features:

• Find all your friends and family in an instant - With over 250 million people using Skype, you're bound to bump into someone you know.
• Talk with your fingers - No matter where you are, your friends are always at your fingertips with free instant messaging.
• Call your world from Skype - Talk to your heart's content with free voice and video calls to all your friends and family on Skype.
• Low cost calls to mobiles and landlines too - Keep in touch, even if they're not on Skype, with low cost calls and SMS to mobiles and landlines on the other side of town or the world.
• Share your favourite snaps - Got a favourite photo to share? Send it over Skype to friends and family and you won't have to worry about email size limits or expensive MMS charges.
• Chat with anyone, anywhere - Skype's available on smartphones, tablets, PCs, Macs, and even TVs. Whatever device your friends or family use, Skype just works. Simple.
• Video messaging - Record life's everyday amoments and share them with the people who matter most, with free and unlimited video messaging over Skype.
• Operator data charges may apply. We recommend using an unlimited data plan or WiFi connection.

What's in this version:

• It's still the all new Skype, only now it's better...
• Thanks to your feedback, you can now sign out from any of the home screens in addition to the profile screen. Just hit the menu key from any of them.
• For good measure we've fixed some more bugs too, including one that might have prevented you from making any calls or changing your status to online.

Source: Skype

Rovio Entertainment and LucasFilm join forces again to bring you Angry Birds Star Wars II, a sequel to the the blockbuster game of 2012! https://angrybirds.com/starwars2

The game will feature over 30 playable characters, as well as the ability to choose your side and more! For the time being be sure to keep an eye out for the Return of the Jedi story, which will feature in the original Angry Birds Star Wars.

Angry Birds Star Wars II will be available across app stores worldwide, starting from September 19.

Source: Rovio

After great success with the Angry Birds games, it looks like Rovio is all set to extend its collection of Angry Birds franchise, as the makers of the popular game say there is big news coming next week on July 15.

Attention, Angry Birds fans! Stay tuned on Monday, July 15th, for big news about a brand new game! We're talking the biggest character line-up ever, awesome new powers, and maybe even a few surprises!

Intrigued? Stay tuned for more news on #July15!

Source: Rivio

Pacific Rim is an all-new action fighting game inspired by the Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures film from acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Piloting weaponized robots known as Jaegers, Earth's defenders must train their jockeys from rookie to ace in a Story Mode or challenge themselves to last as long as they can against waves of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, in Survival Mode. Do you have the skill to survive these battles? Time is short-so start building your lethal combat skills and weapons today or the world will pay the price!

Exclusive Features:

• Story Mode: Play over 30 levels and challenge monstrous creatures in intense combat inspired by the motion picture.
• Survival Mode: Can you defend humanity from an endless wave of Kaiju? See how skilled you are with your
customized Jaeger.
• Command up to five different Jaegers with custom equipment and technology.
• Upgrade your Jaegers and weapons to dominate the battlefield.
• Discover and research new technology to increase your armor, power and speed.
• The game explores the Pacific Rim universe with new events, Jaegars, and Kaiju not fully revealed in the film.

The Pacific Rim game is available on the App Store and the Play Store for a steep $4.99.

Source: Google Play Store Link

As far as specs, the Samsung Galaxy Prevail 2 include 3G connectivity, a 4" WVGA display, Wi-Fi support, GPS navigation capability, Bluetooth 4.0, a 5-megapixel camera at the back that does High Definition video recording as well, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 1.4GHz processor, a microSD memory card slot, and a 1,750 mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy Prevail 2 has been certified by the independent UL Environment, so much so that it contains "environmentally preferable materials with a minimal environmental impact."

Boost Mobile is currently offering various other Samsung smartphones, including the Galaxy S III ($399.99), Galaxy S II ($199.99), Galaxy Rush ($99.99), and Transform Ultra (also $99.99). Even the old Galaxy Prevail is still available, costing $79.99.

Source: Boost Mobile

The Peloton Bike delivers live and on-demand indoor cycling classes to your home, while allowing competition & video chat with friends.  Designed from the ground up by Peloton in NYC, the Peloton bike merges high-design with modern technology-and there's nothing else like it. With a near-silent belt drive system and a magnetic resistance flywheel, this bike rides smooth and quiet. And its carbon steel, monocoque construction provides amazing strength and stability all while maintaing the gentle curves that make Peloton a perfect addition to any room in your home.

If the Peloton Exercise Bike sounds like your thing, it'll be available through Kickstarter until July 24 for the reduced price of $1,500. Peloton hasn't yet determined a retail release date or pricing.

Read more about it here.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, the first high-end waterproof smartphone is now available in the UK, a bit later than initially expected.

Customers can buy the handset SIM-free from various retailers, including Carphone Warehouse for £529.95, Unlocked-mobiles £494.98, and Clove UK.

As far as specs are concern, as you may already know, the Galaxy S4 Active has been available in the US since last month, when AT&T launched it, asking $199.99 for it on contract. The handset runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and features a 5 inch Full HD display, 8MP rear camera, 2GB of RAM, 1..9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 16GB of expandable internal memory, and a 2,600 battery.

Source: UK Car warehouse

If you're in the market for a tablet and don't fancy the Nexus line, Samsung is now asking for your money. The new Galaxy Tab 3 devices are for sale in the US. These devices come in 7, 8, and 10.1-inch versions.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 costs just $199.99, putting it safely in the budget tablet category - for that price, buyers get a tablet with a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 LCD display, a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM and 8 GB internal storage with microSD storage up to 64 GB. The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 comes with a larger display and a higher price point of $299.99 - for that, you get 1280 x 800 display resolution on an 8-inch screen, a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU, 1.5 GB RAM and 16 GB expandable internal storage. Specs-wise, the 8-inch Galaxy Tab 3 may actually be the most impressive member of the Tab 3 family, which is quite strange considering the Tab 10.1's specifications.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 does come with the fastest processor among the three - a dual-core, 1.6 GHz Intel Clover Trail - but it also comes with similar 1280 x 800 resolution to the 8-inch Galaxy Tab 3, and it only features 1 GB RAM under the hood. Internal storage is an expandable 16 GB, just like the 8-incher. Strangely, Samsung has also made the 10.1-inch Tab 3 incrementally expensive by $100, as this device costs $399.99. Both the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 and 10.1 ship with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, while the 7-inch edition includes Android 4.1.2 out of the box.

All three devices' features include a physical home button, much like Samsung's handsets, but a departure from the Galaxy Tab 2 line.

Source: Samsung

Check out this new game called Busy Beaver:  Help the Beaver DEVOUR Tetris-style blocks in a new ADDICTIVE arcade-style casual game from the team which brought you Frozen Bubble for Android.

Your task is simple: collect as many pieces as possible without letting a piece hit your head. To make things more EXCITING, you can win special BONUSES:

• - When you collect pieces quickly, each piece is worth more. Nimble fingers rack up a high score.
• - If deliberate STRATEGIZING is your strength, collect four identical pieces in a row to give the Beaver brick-blowing superpowers.
• - If that's still not enough, COMBINE BONUSES by quickly collecting four identical pieces for the ultimate score-raking extravaganza.

Source: Google Play Store

Google started testing free passes through the Field Trip app back in May, and now the program is expanding to many more locations.

Discover thousands of interesting places/experiences that fall under the following categories: Architecture, Historic Places & Events, Lifestyle, Offers & Deals, Food Drinks & Fun, Movie Locations, Outdoor Art and Obscure Places of Interest around you.

What's in this version in V1.09:

- Go on a Field Trip Anywhere! Now available in 30+ languages and 80+ countries.
- Automatically translate cards that are not in your native language.
- New zoomed-out view of map that aggregates cards to make discovering sights and stories easier.

Following locations are added:

• Museum of the City of New York, NYC
• The Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
• Conservatory of Flowers, San Francisco
• Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco
• Exploratorium, San Francisco
• Legion of Honor, San Francisco
• de Young Museum, San Francisco
• National Building Museum, Washington DC
• Crime Museum, Washington DC
• President Lincoln's Cottage, Washington DC
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
• The Field Museum, Chicago
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
• Pittock Mansion, Portland
• Portland Art Museum, Portland
• Portland Children's Museum, Portland
• Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, Reno
• Nevada Design Museum, NV
• Bronx Zoo, NYC
• Central Park Zoo, NYC
• New York Aquarium, NYC
• Prospect Park Zoo, NYC
• Queens Zoo, NYC

Google Play Store Link

Snapchat has been spiffed up with a much cleaner user interface, all new for version 3.0.1.

Snap a photo or a video, add a caption, and send it to a friend (or maybe a few). They'll view it, laugh, and then the snap disappears from the screen - unless your friend takes a screenshot!

The image might be a little grainy, and you may not look your best, but that's the point. It's about the moment, a connection between friends, and not just a pretty picture.

The allure of fleeting messages reminds us about the beauty of friendship - we don\'t need a reason to stay in touch.  Give it a try, share a moment, and enjoy the lightness of being!

New in 3.0.1:

- New Interface!
- Swipe to access snaps and friends
- Easy search for friends
- Faster camera
- Snapkidz
- Dancing ghost :)

Link: Google Play Store

The Samsung Galaxy Note had 1GB RAM, the Galaxy Note II had 2GB RAM and the Galaxy Note III will have... 3GB RAM. That's what Korean publication Hankyung claims anyway. So far from leaks we've seen that the Note III will pack either a Snapdragon 800 chipset or an Exynos 5 Octa.

Samsung's next flagship device the Galaxy Note III is currently rumoured to feature a 5.7″ or 5.99″ sAMOLED Full HD display, Octa-Core or Snapdragon 800 processor, 13 megapixel camera, Android 4.3, S Pen functions and Samsung's own TouchWiz nature UX interface. We expect Samsung to announce the Galaxy Note III at IFA 2013 in Berlin.

SamMobile reports that the Galaxy Note III will be 8mm thick and weigh 183g. That's a little thinner than the Note II and about the same weight

Korean Tech News

Samsung's has now shipped more than 20 million Galaxy S4 phones since the device launched in late April, according to multiple reports from South Korea on Wednesday. The reports cite Samsung mobile chief J.K. Shin as confirming the number.

Samsung shipped 10 million units of the Galaxy S4 by late May. The company is said to have taken around two months for reaching the 20 million mark with their handset. This is certainly great news for the South Korean giant when considering that it took them 100 days to hit the same mark with the Galaxy S3.

Mark Newman, senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein in Hong Kong seemed to reject the rumours too, saying to the Korea Times, "From conversations we had with some of the key suppliers of the GS4, we remain convinced that the production is in line with their original schedule, and well on track to reach our target of 22 million in the second quarter."

Source: yonhapnews

The Samsung Galaxy S® 4 is now available for pre-order online for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. The smartphone will be available for purchase online and in Verizon Wireless stores starting May 30.

The Galaxy S 4 introduces new photo features like Dual Shot, paired with a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera to take professional looking photographs. Dual Shot allows the use of both the rear and front facing cameras at the same time and lets phone users to include themselves in pictures or videos.

The Galaxy S 4 is Global Ready and can travel overseas with anyone, but the software may make it an essential item for the world traveler. S Translator operates as a multilingual pocket dictionary native to the phone, translating words and phrases when typed or spoken into the app.

Other apps on the Galaxy S 4 include WatchON, which turns the smartphone into a home entertainment remote and personal TV guide. Air Viewand Air Gesture let users interact with their smartphone without even touching it. Hovering a finger over the screen lets users preview emails and waving a hand over the phone can scroll up and down a webpage.

Source: verizon

Samsung officially unveiled their new Galaxy S4 model with a camera attached, properly called the Galaxy S4 Zoom last mont.  Today a few online retailers including Clove of UK are planning releasing the Galaxy S4 Zoom on July 8th.

As far as specs go, the Galaxy S 4 Zoom comes with a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1.5 GHz dual-core and 1.5 GB of RAM. Running on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and Samsung's TouchWiz this mini phone includes a 16 megapixel lens with 10x optical Zoom for all those photography moments. Then you can instantly upload those right to Facebook, Instagram etc.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Camera Features

• Xenon Flash
• 16MP BSI CMOS Sensor
• 24-240mm 10x optical zoom
• Optical Image stabilisation
• F3.1-F6.3 Lens
• 4fps Burst Shot
• ISO 100-3200
• 1080p video recording
• Dedicated shutter key
• Zoom Ring for quick sharing of photos and access of the handset\'s interface 1.9MP front facing camera
• Expert Mode for you to change shooting parameters
• Smart Modes to help you choose the best settings for your photo
• HDR Mode
• Panorama
• Best face to adjust smiles and eyes
• Several other filters and modes to enhance your photos

Source: clove.co.uk

Google Glass has received its sofware update code-name XE7, features including a boost of web browsing abilities, touch sensitivity, and oodles of sharing, in my opinion most exciting in very basic way - is the ability to browse the web.

While last month and the XE6 update improved the camera, added HDR, and slightly touched on voice controls. Today's update is much bigger while also addressing a few key limitations the wearable initially had. That being easy calling and messaging, web browsing, and full Google contact list support. We already received it today. Excellent stuff Google!

With XE4 and 5 improving battery life, XE6 fixing the camera, and now XE7 working on web browsing and voice commands it's obvious that Google is hard at work with Glass. 

Here's the full change log.

Image credit: knowyourmobile

Take this as a grain of sale, AndroidGeeks claims to have spoken to an insider, who said that Samsung would announce the Note III on September 4 - during one of its special Unpacked events that will take place in Berlin (as a pre-IFA 2013 event).

This info isn't verified yet. But it's not unusual for companies to announce new products one or two days before the official start of a major trade show (IFA kicks off on September 6).

A recent report was indicating that Samsung might use both Super AMOLED and IPS LCD displays for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the type of screen being market dependent, just like happens now with Samsung Galaxy S4′s processor. As far as the processor, it is speculated that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be underpinned by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400 CPU and Adreno 320 GPU. If you'd ask me, there are likely to be two Galaxy Note 3 variants: one equipped with the Snapdragon 800 and another sporting Samsung's proprietary octo-core Exynos 5 Octa SoC clocked at 1.8 GHz (200 MHz higher than the one of the Galaxy S4).

The Galaxy Note 3 will probably come pre-loaded with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, but since the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean rumors are hinting towards July release date, the Galaxy Note 3 might actually leave the factory gates with the latest Android iteration on board.

Source: unwiredview

Android Key Lime Pie to be launched this fall, internally, this version of also called "K Release".  We still don't know if Key Lime Pie is Android 4.3, or Android 5.0. We'll probably find out more on this in the couple of weeks.

Manufacturers that build devices using the official version of Android-which comes with Google's Web services preinstalled-weren't previously allowed by Google to use the Android name to promote devices other than smartphones and tablets. Over time, Google has changed its "compatibility" restrictions to allow for more device types.

Samsung has said it's working on an Android-based watch with smartphone-like capabilities. Wearable computing is a hot area of development for startups and technology giants. The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Apple was developing a watch-like device with smartphone features.

Earlier this week, Sony announced its new (own) Android-powered wristwatch, called Sony SmartWatch 2. This will be available starting September for $199.99.

SamMobile rumored that Samsung may have been working on a new Android handset that takes the Galaxy Note concept and puts it into a smaller form factor, but a 4.5 inch device. Reportedly, the new handset is called Samsung Galaxy Memo.

Samsung Galaxy Memo is a Galaxy Note device based on mid-range / high-end specifications. The Galaxy Memo will have a 4.5″ FULL HD TFT LCD screen, 1.4 quad core processor, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera Android 4.2.2 and Samsung's own touch-wiz nature UX. Cause the user who send us this mail is new for us please take everything with a pinch of salt. But O, the pictures look actually real... Let us know what you think about the rumoured Galaxy Memo.

Above images and the existence of a Galaxy Memo should have big question marks above them until more solid details arrive.  I would take it as a grain of salt for now.

HTC One is now available in 24-carat gold and platinum, that's right.  Retailing prices start at £1895, Goldgenie's Gold HTC One phone is available in a choice of Gold (£1895), Rose Gold (£1995), or Platinum (£2095) plating. Featured in either Silver or Black, users can choose 32GB or 64 GB of memory. All phones are delivered in a beautifully customised Goldgenie box, making this a complete gift-to-go.

That's exactly the thought that crossed the minds of the jewelry experts from Goldgenie, who have done a premium edition of the popular smartphone. The HTC One is now available with 24-carat gold plating, and, as expected, isn't what you'd call affordable. Not that the rest of the recent Goldgenie makeovers are.

ABOUT GOLDGENIE:

Having already achieved reasonable success gold plating company Goldgenie shot to fame its founder Laban Roomes successfully appeared on the BBC's popular show Dragon's Den (winning investment from multi-millionaire dragon James Caan) in 2007. Goldgenie now boasts franchises on several continents, as well as celebrity clients from the Beckhams, Elton John and Denzel Washington - not to mention a wealth of world-leading corporate brands. The company specialises in customizing and embellishing a wide range of items, from roses to game consoles, as well as supplying selected exclusive and luxury products to high end retailers such as Harrods and Selfridges.

For any enquiries please contact Kelly Taylor via kelly@mosaicpublicity.co.uk

Google's new Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One phones go on sale today, also called the "Google Play Edition"-- and in an unexpected twist, the devices are giving us a glimpse at some subtle changes that appear to be on the way to Android.

If you thought the version of Android installed on the Google Play Editions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One would be identical to AOSP, think again. Reviewers at some media outlets able to get their hands on test units noted a few, relatively minor differences between stock Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and the software pre-installed on the Google Play Edition phones. Though not much more than subtle UI enhancements, the incongruities are worth a quick look.

Here are some things that have caught my eye so far:

• A new Camera app interface
• A slightly tweaked app drawer design
• A new live wallpaper
• A new default lock screen clock
• A different boot animation

Check out all the details here

South Korea Telecom Co., the country's leading mobile carrier, introduced the next-generation mobile network on Wednesday, offering speeds twice as fast as the existing long-term evolution (LTE) network.

SK Telecom is the first mobile operator in the world to launch the so-called LTE-Advanced network service, which is 10 times faster than the old 3G network service, it said.

With the commercialization of the world's first LTE-Advanced network, Samsung Electronics Co., the largest smartphone maker, also released today the Galaxy S4 LTE-A, the world's first phone optimized to work on the country's LTE-A network.

Yesterday we have told you about Samsung Galaxy S LTE-A version.  The main difference between the Galaxy S4 LTE-A and the version we are familiar with already is the presence of a more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC under the hood. Other specs are very similiar, both include 5" 1080p Super AMOLED display, 13MP camera, 32GB of built-in memory, microSD card slot, and IR port.

Source: Samsung

SamMobile has received some information about a new upcoming colour for Samsung's Galaxy Mega devices. Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Mega 6.3 will soon be available in Plum Purple.  While no official image has surfaced, the following renders should give you some idea of what to expect.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 features a 6.3-inch display of 720p resolution, with dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait CPU, 8/16 GB of internal storage, and 1.5 GB of RAM. It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of box, and also has 8 MP shooter capable of 1080p video recording. Check out our full review here.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 has a qHD display, 8 GB of storage and 1.5 GB of RAM. It's got a dual-core 1.4 GHz Broadcom chipset, and the same 8 MP camera capable of 1080p video. It's also powered by Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and you can find out more about the Mega 5.8 here.

There were rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Note III will feature a 5.9-inch display, but the latest word is that it will only have a 5.7-incher. which isn't really surprising since the original Note had a 5.3-inch display and the Note II had a 5.5-incher. If you're doing the math, that's an upgrade of 0.2-inches. Add that to the current Note II and you get 5.7-inches. 

How the Samsung Galaxy Note III performs is critical for Samsung. There have been news reports suggesting that sales of Samsung Galaxy S4 have started to cool off. Further, ETNews.com is reporting that sales of Samsung smartphones in July are expected to drop by 20 to 30 percent. This news report is based on the information sourced from Samsung's suppliers. Given that Samsung Galaxy S4 is company's flagship smartphone, the company will now banking on the likes of Galaxy Note III to ensure that its overall sales are not impacted.

source: @evleaks

We all know Facebook-owned Instagram announced that they were introducing videos, major competitor Android app Vine feeling the heat from Instagram, has finally updated their Android application to version 1.1.0 bringing much needed improvements to the buggy app.

Vine is the best way to see and share life in motion. Create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see.

What's new in this version:

• Search for users and hashtags
• Share to Facebook
• Improvements to capture speed, quality, and audio/video synchronization
• Clear cache option available in Settings
• Other bug fixes and UI improvements

Click here for Google Play Store Link

Korean consumers are getting upset over the rumors that Samsung is set to soon roll out with a new variation of the Galaxy S4, the latest version of its flagship Galaxy smartphone line-up, which will access the so-called LTE Advanced network, industry sources said Friday.

A few days ago Samsung's co-CEO J.K. Shin confirmed an LTE-Advanced version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is in the works. As it turns out this version will run on the Qualcomm's most powerful chipset to date - the Snapdragon 800.

The new hardware will make the LTE-A model of the Samsung Galaxy S4 the new benchmark champ dethroning the current generation of Galaxy S4 smartphones (I9500, I9505, Active).

Just as expected the news about the new faster model of the Galaxy S4 has already upset lots of Galaxy S4 owners in Korea, where this faster and LTE-Advanced capable version is expected to launch.

"I might have not purchased the Galaxy S4 and waited for the newest model (the Galaxy S4 Advanced LTE network) if I knew my smartphone did not run on the LTE Advanced network," a consumer wrote on an Internet cafe.

I personally don't blame them.

In the first 24 hours after the switch was flipped, Instagram saw 5 million videos uploaded. That's a jaw-droppingly huge number for any day one feature, but remember: Instagram does have 130 million users. Even if we assume that each of the 5 million videos came from a unique user (an absolutely wild assumption, of course), that works out to around 3.8% of Instagram's userbase giving the new feature a spin.

Check out the video feature.

Features:

• 100% free custom designed filters: XPro-II, Earlybird, Rise, Amaro, Hudson, Lo-fi, Sutro, Toaster, Brannan, Inkwell, Walden, Hefe, Nashville, 1977, and others.
• Linear and Radial Tilt-Shift blur effects for extra depth of field.
• Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare
• Unlimited uploads
• Interact with friends through giving & receiving likes and comments
• Works with Android versions 2.2 and above that support OpenGL ES 2
• And much much more...

What's in this version:

• New in 4.0: Video!
• Introducing Video on Instagram and bring you a new way to share your stories!
• Recording videos is currently supported on devices with Jellybean (4.1) and above. All Android versions can already play videos on Instagram and we're working around the clock to enable capturing videos on many more Android devices.

Link: Google Play Store

AutomateIt is designed to make your life easier by automating various tasks on your Android smartphone or tablet.

Define a set of your desired behaviors in response to events on your Android device.

Each behavior/rule is defined as a pair of Trigger-Action listed below.

AutomateIt provides a default set of useful rules to get you started:

• Low battery warning
• Quiet at night
• Normal sound mode at morning
• Max volume when headset unplugged
• Lower volume when headset plugged
• Unmute by SMS

What's in this version:

• Enhanced Vibrate Action - you can define a vibrate pattern instead of a single vibrate time
• Improved support for Tablets (Both 7-inch and 10-inch)
• Have you visited our forums ? - https://automateitapp.com/forums
• Updated translation
• Stability improvements and bug fixes

More details at https://goo.gl/pE0C1

See video below:

Details about the Galaxy Note III continue to surface, with the latest salvo coming from a Chinese website that even included a supposed picture of the device.

The website, MyDrivers, posted the picture seen here over the weekend and reported a number of specs about the phablet, including a 5.99-inch, full HD display, 3 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of onboard storage (expandable via microSD). The device will supposedly run Android OS 4.2.2 and will be powered by an eight-core Exynos 5410 Octa processor, with the Cortex A15 cores clocking in at 2.0 GHz and the Cortex A7 core at 1.7 GHz.

To recap, check out specs listed as follows:

• Samsung Exynos 5410 octa Chipset
• Quad Core 2.0GHz ARM Cortex A15 + Quad Core 1.7GHz ARM Cortex A7
• 3GB Of RAM
• 5.99-inch 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display
• 32GB Of Internal Storage
• MicroSD Card Support
• Removable Battery
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• S-Pen

Samsung, most likely, will announce Galaxy Note 3 in early September, just before IFA trade show.

In an interview with DigiTimes, Mozilla's Asia Operations President said that the company doesn't plan to collaborate with ODMs for making and selling own-branded Firefox OS smarthpones. If there will be Mozilla-branded smartphones, these "would be primarily used as reference models rather than for large-scale sale."

Q: Can Firefox OS smartphones be regarded as Mozilla's own-brand products, or are they joint branded with vendors?

A: No. Mozilla just provides an operating system and online store of Firefox OS-based applications. China-based ZTE, TCL and Huawei as well as LG and Sony Mobile will launch Firefox OS smartphones for sale under their brands through cooperation with mobile telecom carriers.

Read rest of the questions and answers at the link below:

https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130619PD202.html