Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Top 10 most popular Android apps from last week: Wallbase HD, Muzei, Google+

Every week we cover new Android apps with Fresh Meat on Wednesday, followed by Android Gaming on Thursday and Top 10 App Updates on Friday. When Monday rolls around, we look back to see which apps were the most appealing to our audience. Read on for the 10 most popular Android apps among your peers from last week.

1. Google Now Launcher

App info: Google Now Launcher makes it easy to access your Google Now cards with one quick swipe.
(Playboard) | (Play Store)

2. 500 Firepaper*

500 Firepaper
App info: 500 Firepaper is another great app to customize the look of your Android device. There is also an app available to integrate images from 500px into Muzei Live Wallpaper.

3. Stark Icon Pack*

Stark Icons
App info: The Stark icon pack may appeal to minimalists looking for sharp, flat icons for their device.

4. Minimal Wallpapers*

Minimal Wallpapers
App info: Staying with a minimalistic theme, we have Minimal Wallpapers and its simple yet elegant images.

5. Fuzz Wallpaper Pack*

Fuzz Wallpaper
App info: Fuzz Wallpaper Pack is yet another option for anyone in the hunt for minimal wallpapers.

6. Wallbase HD Wallpapers*

Wallbase
App info: This is an Android app for browsing the amazing wallpaper website Wallbase.cc.

7. Google+

Google+
App info: Google+ lets you follow what friends, family and interesting people around the world are sharing.

8. Muzei Live Wallpaper*

Muzei Live Wallpaper
App info: This new live wallpaper is one of the best out there. You can also find many plugins to give this app even greater value.

9. ZEDGE™ Ringtones & Wallpapers*

Zedge
App info: ZEDGE is a great app for finding wallpapers, ringtones and notification sounds.

10. White Line Go Apex Nova Theme

White Line Theme
App info: White Line is another choice for those looking to utilize white icons on their Android device.

Samsung releases introduction videos for Galaxy S5, Gear watches

Samsung Galaxy S5

Samsung announced a slew of new devices last week at the Unpacked event. This included the new flagship Galaxy S5 and the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit smartwatches. Until these products are released, all we can do is wait. However, Samsung has released introduction videos for the two sets of products to build some excitement.
The Samsung Gear introduction features the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit. Though they share many features, the Gear Fit stands out with its strange aspect ratio and sideways display. The improved user interface was shown off, along with the some of the new health features.
Samsung also released the Galaxy S5 advertisement that it showed during the Academy Awards. It’s a short ad that really doesn’t say much about the device, which is a bit disappointing. What do you think of these videos? Leave a comment!

Samsung removed benchmark-boosting code from KitKat updates for Galaxy S4 and Note 3

Samsung


If you were to look back about a year, the Samsung Galaxy S4 was just coming out into reviewers hands. Though the device had almost identical specifications to many other flagships of other makes, the Galaxy S4 benchmarked a bit better. This was later found to be code put in by Samsung to force the CPU to maximum speed during benchmark activity, artificially boosting benchmark numbers.This approach didn’t lie about how powerful the hardware was, it just pushed the hardware harder than it is usually pushed. While not a particularly fair or nice thing to do, it was irrelevant in the end because benchmarks really don’t matter. Soon after, the whole ordeal was forgotten and life went on.However, the short period of outrage apparently did spark some change. According to benchmark results and a developer examining the code, the new KitKat updates for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 removes that benchmark boosting code, letting the devices be naturally benchmarked.Again, this is absolutely unimportant and won’t make a difference to those who own the devices. They won’t perform any different. However, this is hopefully an indication of Samsung’s stance for the future. Hopefully the company won’t be pulling anything like this again.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Samsung introduces Exynos powered Chromebook 2

chromebook 2 angle

After being leaked this weekend, the follow-up to Samsung’s wildly popular Chromebook has finally been announced today.Dubbed the Chromebook 2, Samsung’s newest laptop running Chrome OS is an improvement over their previous model in nearly every way. Coming with either an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 or 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 display, both sizes of Chromebook 2 are powered by an Exynos 5 Octa (at 1.9 and 2.1GHz, respectively), 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage with a battery life of around 8 hours. Samsung’s Note 3 style faux leather is present on both models, but the 11.6-inch Chromebook 2 only comes in “Luminous Titan Gray” while the 13.3-inch Chromebook comes in “Jet Black” and “Classic White.”Samsung’s first Chromebook was a smash success (as far as Chromebook success goes). And the outlook on the Chromebook 2 is good. Samsung faces little real competition in the Chromebook space — something we don’t imagine drastically changing in the next several months.The Chromebook 2 will be available this April at $320 for the 11.6-inch model and $400 for the 13.3-inch model. While the price does seem a little high, it looks to be similar in pricing to other Chromebook models given the specs of the Chromebook 2.

Apple CarPlay integrates your iPhone with your car

Apple has announced CarPlay, a feature that will integrate your iPhone with your car, allowing you to access your phone more easily using just your voice or the controls on your car.

CarPlay works by connecting your iPhone to your car. After that, you can make and receive voice calls, messages and a lot more using Siri and your voice. Want to use maps for direction? Apple Maps will provide turn-by-turn navigation (where available) and show the map on the car's built-in display. Or you could listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. through your car's speakers. Once connected, your car will essentially turn into a massive docking station and let you access essential functions more easily without having to fiddle with the phone.

CarPlay will make its debut with vehicles being announced at this year's Geneva International Motor Show and cars from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will be the first to have the feature built-in. Apple also has a whole bunch of other car manufacturers onboard, including BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp, who will launch vehicles with CarPlay built-in sometime in the near future.

LG G Flex wins iF Design Award 2014

The LG G Flex smartphone was one of the winners of the iF Design Awards, getting a Gold Award along with 74 other products this year. According to LG, "The G Flex was commended by iF judges for implementing a new approach to the smartphone interface by putting controls on the back and adopting a curved display, thereby adding immensely to the smartphone experience in terms of both ergonomics and quality."

The G Flex is one of the first smartphone of its kind to feature a vertically curved display that follows the contour of your face. It also puts the controls on the back, same as the G2, that allows having thinner bezels. LG also used a special POLED or Plastic OLED display for this phone, which is flexible in nature. The back also features a unique self healing material that automatically hides minor scratches over a period of time.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Samsung Chromebook 2 revealed in leaked image, complete with faux leather exterior

When Samsung first took the wraps off of its new Galaxy Note 3 last year, one of the more notable features of the device was its back cover, which ditched the glossy plastic of its predecessors for a faux leather look. Samsung then used the same leather-like texture on its recently-announced Galaxy S 4 Black Edition, and now a new leak has shown that the South Korean firm has another leather-bound product in its pipeline.An image shared by @evleaks has given us our first glimpse of the Samsung Chromebook 2, the follow-up to the original Samsung Chromebook that debuted in late 2012. The new Chromebook 2 looks like a mashup of the ATIV Book 9 Plus and Note 3, borrowing the thinness and basic design of the former and combining it with the faux leather texture found on the latter’s backside.There’s not much known about the Samsung Chromebook 2 aside from what we can glean from this leaked image. The original Samsung Chromebook featured an 11.6-inch display and an Exynos processor, and while it’s definitely possible that the Chromebook 2 will sport similar features, we’ll have to wait until Sammy makes the thing official before we know for sure. It does look like Samsung’s got a new leather-clad Chromebook model on the way, though, and so anyone in the market for a new Chrome OS laptop may want to wait until Samsung’s official Chromebook 2 announcement before pulling the trigger on a new device.