Google announces add-ons for Docs and Sheets' mobile apps

Google announces add-ons for Docs and Sheets' mobile apps

Now you can use DocuSign, Scanbot, Appsheet, Easybib and more from your phone.

Ever wish you could do even more work on your phone? Then today's your day. Google just announced third-party add-on support for its Docs and Sheets Android app, allowing the mobile version of its office suite to seamlessly integrate with other productivity tools. Starting today, users will be able to sign documents, import CRM data or create apps from spreadsheets -- so long as they download the appropriate add-on, that is.

Want to be able to sign documents on the go? You can download the Android DocuSign app and prepare documents for signatures from inside the Google Docs interface. Need to add complex annotations to a document while riding the train? Use EasyBib to streamline the process. Users can add ProsperWorks to import CRM data, AppSheet to generate mobile apps from data sheets, Scanbot to capture physical documents with your smartphone camera and more.

While these add-ons seem like a great way to be more productive on your phone, there's not very many of them. Google's Docs and Sheets add-on page on Google Play lists just nine compatible apps -- a far cry from the massive library available to desktop users -- but it's a start. Check out Google's announcement post for more details.




source: engadget

Facebook Connectivity Lab’s Aquila Aircraft Takes Flight

Facebook Connectivity Lab’s Aquila Aircraft Takes Flight

Nearly one year ago, Facebook announced that its Aquila high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft was ready for flight testing, and the social network took the next step Thursday.

Global head of engineering and infrastructure Jay Parikh announced in a Newsroom post that the first full-scale test flight of Aquila was a success.

Xbox One S Launch

Xbox One S to launch on August 2

The first console to support 4K Ultra HD video, the smaller S version of the Xbox One will initially be up for grabs across 25 different countries.

Microsoft will kick off sales of its new Xbox One S starting Tuesday, August 2.

There is one catch. The Xbox One S will be available in three different capacities and price tags -- a 500GB version for $299, a 1TB version for $349 and a 2TB version for $399. However, only the 2TB version lifts off on August 2.

Launch dates for the other two models are currently unknown but "will be shared soon," Matt Lapsen, general manager for Xbox Devices Marketing, said in a blog post on Monday.

All three models are currently available for preorder through Microsoft, Best Buy, Amazon and GameStop. Anyone who preorders the 2TB version of the console will be able to grab it come August 2. You can also try walking into your local Microsoft, Best Buy or GameStop store. However, "availability is limited and demand is high," according to Lapsen, who advises preordering the console soon.

Microsoft has tried a number of tactics to boost Xbox One sales, including slashing the price, bundling free games and offering a Kinect-free version of the console. But the Xbox One S represents a new shift. The console is smaller, cheaper and throws in support for 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray discs and 4K streaming services as a way to do battle with both gaming consoles and Blu-ray players.

By supporting 4K (3,820x2,160-pixel) resolution, the Xbox One S will display more vibrant colors and darker blacks. The higher resolution is reserved for movies and TVs and won't work with games, however, and you'll also need a 4K compatible TV.

Those of you who have a 4K TV and are looking for a 4K Blu-ray player may be tempted by the Xbox One S since you also get the option to play games. The new console also supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) for video and gaming, which means certain games will look better due to a higher contrast ratio.

The Xbox One S will initially arrive in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and the US. Other regions will get dibs on the new console later this year.



source: cnet

ZTE Axon 7 Canadian Pre-Orders Open Ahead Of July 27 Launch

ZTE Axon 7 Canadian Pre-Orders Open Ahead Of July 27 Launch

ZTE Axon 7

Towards the end of May, the new ZTE Axon 7 was officially announced. ZTE initially launched the device in China, but it was expected that availability for international markets would soon follow. The European and the US markets were expected to be first in line, but ZTE said that Canada was soon to follow. Speaking of which, the retailer Newegg Canada is now taking pre-orders for the device with a release date of July 27. Newegg’s ‘low price guarantee’ shows a pre-order price of $509.99 plus $8.99 shipping for a total of $518.98. It is a steep price to be sure, but it seems like quite a bargain when you look at its specs.

The ZTE Axon 7 does resemble past ZTE models – however, ZTE went the extra mile and worked with Designworks, owned by BMW, to help design the Axon 7 and then hired the world-renowned pianist, Lang Lang, to endorse the device. The all-metal design has bold grilles across the top and bottom of the device, and the sides and back are slightly rounded, making it easy to hold for extended periods of time. It measures 151.8 x 75 x 8.7 mm, weighs in at 185 grams, and will initially be offered in Ion Gold for Canada. The device comes in two variants – 4GB RAM with 64GB of storage and 6GB RAM with 128GB of storage – however, only the 4GB/64GB model is being sold in Canada. Both variants will offer expansion up to 128GB via a microSD card. It will run Android 6.0.1 with ZTE’s MiFlavor UI 4.0 on top.

The ZTE Axon 7 comes with a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 534 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) ZTE picked the best processor currently on the market – the Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor to power the smartphone with dual cores clocked at 1.6 GHz and dual cores clocked at 2.15 GHz and an Adreno 530 GPU to handle the heavy graphics. The model sold in Canada packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 64GB of the new, faster UFS 2.0 memory that is expandable up to 128GB via a microSD card. A large 3,250 mAh non-removable battery powers the lot. The Axon 7 takes advantage of Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 to give you a full charge in 100 minutes. The main camera is a 20-megapixel ISO-Cell sensor with a sapphire lens, Phase detection autofocus (PDAF), OIS, EIS, and an aperture of f/1.8 for good low light shots. The front-facing camera (FFC) is an 8-megapixel camera for great selfies and video chatting. Lastly, it comes with a fingerprint sensor and NFC for mobile payments.




source: androidheadlines

Samsung Gets Ahead in Handsets by Not Phoning It In

Samsung Gets Ahead in Handsets by Not Phoning It In

Samsung’s preliminary earnings suggest it has struck gold with models that stand out

Water resistance is one of the features that Samsung’s Galaxy S7 boasts, which Apple’s iPhone doesn’t. PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL—The conventional wisdom is that smartphones have become commodities: ubiquitous, interchangeable slabs of metal and glass whose falling prices spell disaster for companies that have come to rely on selling them at high prices.

With its preliminary second-quarter earnings numbers, Samsung Electronics Co. is showing that, even if that is the case, there is still plenty of money to be made selling handsets that can stand out from the pack.

On Thursday, Samsung said it likely earned 8.1 trillion Korean won ($7.00 billion) in the three months that ended in June, a 17% increase from a year earlier and the biggest quarterly operating profit the technology giant has recorded since early 2014, during the glory days for smartphone makers.

The results are in contrast to those of longtime rival Apple Inc., which in April reported its first quarterly revenue decline in 13 years, raising questions about the sustainability of smartphones as a profit engine at a time when Chinese handsets can offer many of the same specifications, often at a fraction of the price.

For Samsung, the second-quarter earnings surprise highlights the Suwon, South Korea-based company’s ability to bounce back after a pair of underwhelming flagship smartphone releases the last two years.

While Samsung won’t break out the details of its second-quarter earnings until the end of the month, analysts have attributed the strong operating profit to the success of the Galaxy S7, which the South Korean technology giant introduced in early March to favorable reviews.

Unlike its two predecessors, the flagship Galaxy S7 combined a sleek curved-edged look that sets it apart from the iPhone, with practical features that consumers have long clamored for, including water resistance and expandable memory. Those features are missing from the latest iPhone. And Apple’s next iPhone, expected to be released in the fall, will likely offer only subtle improvements on existing models, further underscoring the challenge of standing out in an increasingly crowded field of look-alike smartphones.

Analysts estimate that Samsung shipped as many as 17 million Galaxy S7 smartphones in the second quarter, after moving about 10 million units in the last three weeks of the first quarter.

That puts the Galaxy S7 on a sales pace that is nearly twice as fast as that of last year’s Galaxy S6, which analysts estimate took Samsung about six months to hit 27 million unit shipments. The rollout of the Galaxy S6, a product that received upbeat reviews, was marred by supply constraints that hampered Samsung’s ability to profit off a potential hit product.

All of this makes the Galaxy S7 a rare blockbuster at a time when global smartphone sales growth is expected to slow to about 7% this year, about half last year’s growth rate, according to a report last month by research firm Gartner.

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 has proved a hit on which it is capitalizing. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Even as growth in the overall smartphone market slows and consumers replace their smartphones less often, Samsung’s success shows that there is still money to be made by creating a product that still stands out, says Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

Mr. Moorhead said smartphones, though they are becoming more similar, aren't yet commodities.

The question will be whether Samsung can continue to differentiate its smartphones from those of its rivals.

Samsung’s distinctive curved screen displays are likely to become a lot more common in the industry, as Samsung’s components business gains traction selling organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display panels, to outside customers like Apple and other Android handset makers.

While that would boost profits in Samsung’s components division, it could hurt Samsung’s mobile business by depriving the Galaxy S series of a key selling point.

If Samsung can continue persuading consumers that its smartphones are worth paying up for, it appears well-placed to fulfill its promise to investors of sustaining mobile profit margins in the low double-digit percentages, as executives have promised investors.

In the third quarter of 2014, Samsung’s mobile profit margin tumbled to 7.1%, from 18% the quarter before. Since then, the company has struggled to push it back to its peak levels, though in the first quarter of 2016 the mobile division reported an operating profit margin of 14%, the highest in about two years, thanks to strong sales and cost cutting.

That number could rise higher once final second-quarter results are reported later this month, analysts estimate, though the company didn’t disclose profit estimates by division.

Samsung said its second-quarter revenue likely rose 3% to about 50 trillion won from 48.5 trillion won a year earlier.

Samsung shares tacked on 2% on Thursday after the earnings release, bringing its year-to-date advance to 15% and putting the stock within striking distance of a fresh three-year high. Apple shares, in comparison, have fallen 11% this year.




source: WSJ

You can play Red Dead Redemption on Xbox One starting July 8

You can play Red Dead Redemption on Xbox One starting July 8

Fans of Red Dead Redemption will finally be able to play the open-world Western on the Xbox One later this week.

Rockstar has announced that the game will be added to the Xbox One's list of supported backward compatible games as of July 8. That means anyone with a disc or digital version of the 2010 Xbox 360 game can play it on Microsoft's current console as of Friday, at no additional charge.

Furthermore, the game will be added to the Xbox One's digital download store for new customers to purchase as well. (Price was not disclosed.)

The title has a Metracritic score of 95/100 and has consistently been one of the most requested Xbox 360 titles to be added to the Xbox One.

source: cnet

Patent Hints Triple-Lens Camera For Galaxy Note 7

Patent Hints Triple-Lens Camera For Galaxy Note 7

Recently filed patent applications suggest that Samsung is looking to implement facial scanning and iris recognition capabilities on Galaxy Note 7.

Image Credit: USPTO

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 triple camera technology

There has been a lot of rumors about the inclusion of a dual lens on the back of phones for greater zooming capabilities. But Samsung appear to want to take that a step further, with a triple lens on the front of the device, used mainly for security purposes.

It seems with the new patent application (20160180169), you may be able to unlock your phone or phablet with just a look. Trademarks have already been registered recently for ‘Samsung Iris’ and ‘Samsung Eyeprint’, and don’t forget the new tablet, the Galaxy Tab Iris already incorporates iris recognition.

From this, people are concluding that the new Galaxy Note 7, likely to be released in August this year, will include this interesting new feature.

The ability to unlock through just looking at the machine could be implemented on all Samsung products and not just smartphones and phablets, with laptops likely to be the next area to see this being implemented.

How it works

It appears from the patent that three front facing cameras will be able to capture images of both the whole face, and a specific eye/iris shot. By capturing the whole face, the scanner can determine distance from the phone and help to locate the position of the eyes.

Each lens is designed with a different scope, with two narrow-angle ones to capture only the eyes and a further one that can capture the face in its entirety. One of the lenses is likely to be a zoom lens too, which would be a first on the front side of a device.

The patent also includes an infrared illuminator to help with the iris scanning. By using one of the lenses to capture infrared images, it will be able to help the device in conditions where light is limited.

The camera system, after being used to allow access by the owner, can then by switched to a standard camera. This is interesting news for all the selfie fanatics out there who would be able to capture images of themselves with the improved front cameras.

It seems that if the system fails to recognize the user, a voice message will be given, accompanied by on-screen directions to re-try the scanning procedure.

Conclusion

Overall this is exciting news. Outside of the security aspect, the bottom line is that there will be a much better camera. The Kardashian wannabes will be able to take even better selfies, bad for humanity, good for Instagram.

The security aspect is also encouraging. While clever people will always be able to find loop holes, it is pretty hard to replicate someone’s iris and face structure, certainly harder than looking over a shoulder to learn a four-digit pin. The only problem will come with the practicality of the technology.

It needs to be reliable and easy to operate. The fingerprint scanner on the iPhone, while not perfect, is certainly pretty good. In the speed of life today, just touching the button to operate rather than typing a pin saves precious seconds, which people no longer are prepared to waste.

For this iris scanning to really take off it needs to be fast. It must be almost instantaneous or people will rapidly lose interest. Also, what about in the dark, should you want to turn your phone on in the middle of the night, will it still for well? what about in a really crowded place, like a packed train or music concert, where the device may struggle to identify your face among the all the others present.

These issues need to addressed and solved before the technology will become standardised and accepted by the population at large.





source: valuewalk