Category: Articles

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It Can Wait Expands Message From Texting to Smartphone Use

I’m a big fan of the It Can Wait campaign, which works to reduce the number of traffic injuries and fatalities by educating people on the dangers of distracted driving.

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One key problem with their messaging however, has been the focus on “texting while driving”. As we now live most of our lives out of our phones. For many of us, the phrase “distracted driving” has been far more important, as there seems to be little functional difference in preoccupying a driver with a text over a Tweet, Facebook message, IM, email, or any other notification and interaction.

Happily It Can Wait is now moving their conversation to smartphone use of any kind. It’s a vitally important conversation for folks to have, as we move towards a world with more data enabled services, and we’re still a ways off from self-driving cars being the norm…

You can hit the video and press release below, or head to ItCanWait.com for more info and studies on distracted driving.

Continue reading “It Can Wait Expands Message From Texting to Smartphone Use”

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Asus Launching ZenFone 2 in North America

Asus is relative new to the smartphone market. They’re a brand really well known for their tablets and laptops. While their Zenfone 2 has been available in select countries for a couple months now, Asus took the stage in New York City to announce their plans to sell the phone here in the United States.

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Zenfone 2 marks some interesting hardware choices. Instead of turnign to Qualcomm or Mediatek for the processor, Asus is using Intel’s Atom, a chipset more commonly found in Windows tablets. The higher end ZenFone will also be the first smartphone to sport 4GB of RAM.

design-ergonomicThe rest of the hardware is nipping at the heels of the flagship market, with a 5.5″ 1080p display, a 13MP camera utilizing pixel merging and software stabilization, a 3000mAh battery, and MicroSD card storage expansion. Fast charging will provide a 60% charge in up to 40 minutes.

accessory-overview-zenflashIn terms of design, ZenFone 2 looks like the love child of HTC’s rounded edges and LG’s backplate mounted volume controls.

Asus has already built up a small ecosystem of accessories inculding a flip case, an LED flash which plugs into the headset jack, a Xenon flash which approaches proper camera flashes, a 10,050mAh small form factor powerbank and a pair of high quality ear buds.

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pixelmaster-lensWhat’s most interesting about this offering however is the price.

Asus is looking to compete by busting up flagship pricing. The faster Intel Quad-core paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage will sell for $299, while the slower Quad-core, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage will sell for $199. Really exciting price points to bring what looks like capable hardware to the North American market.

Lastly, also interesting, Asus looks to be side-stepping carrier partnerships. No word on if ZenFone will be sold in carrier stores, but starting tomorrow, the phone will be available directly to consumers via online retailers Amazon, NewEgg, and B&H.

Asus ZenFone 2 on Amazon.

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Friday Fun: Get Funky with ‘Ultron Funk’ Avengers Parody

Happy Friday!

If I had a complaint with Avengers: Age of Ultron, it would be that there wasn’t nearly enough choreographed dance sequences set to Bruno Mars. Thankfully Screen Team has our back with this riff on Uptown Funk, and some pretty sexy dance moves from Ultron. Enjoy!

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Reader Poll: LG G4 vs Galaxy S6 – UHD Video Showdown!

You decide the winner in this UHD Video showdown!

Watch the video embedded and then vote in the poll below! Who made the better smartphone camera? LG or Samsung? FIGHT!


Galaxy S6 Full Camera Review.
LG G4 Full Camera Review.

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Reader Poll: Galaxy S6 vs Lumia 930 – UHD Video Showdown!

Two phones enter! YOU decide which phone leaves!

Watch the video, pitting the Galaxy S6 against the Lumia 930 (Icon) in an Ultra HD showdown, make sure you go fullscreen and bump up the quality, then vote in the poll below!


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Dear Google: I Need Better Performance NOT Prettier Software…

Lollipop and Material Design are starting to filter out to more Android handsets. LG G3 and G Flex 2, Galaxy Note 4 and S6. Unfortunately my experiences have been somewhat mixed.

Google has taken some interesting steps in improving the look and feel of their newest operating system. Nice sliding transitions and animations, yet I’ve found issues with phones lagging and stuttering while multi-tasking. Button presses delayed long enough to make the user question whether the press was registered at all.

Screenshot_2015-05-08-09-58-40Most recently, formatting on Material Design apps breaking functionality. Running my Youtube channel, I LIVE out of the Youtube Creator app which helps me manage comments on my videos. It recently got a Material Design makeover! Terrific! It’ll be prettier to interact with!

Except, the app wont scroll up to show the comments field anymore.  The keyboard blocks the end of the comment and the area where I’d reply. Prettier doesn’t help me if I can’t interact easily with viewers while I’m on the go.

Of course it’ll get fixed in a future update, but I’m getting tired of waiting out a future update to address real and current concerns. I’m tired of the promise that eventually these things will work better in the future, especially when “updates” make them work less good than they used to work on older software.

Such is progress I suppose…

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Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition for Galaxy S6 Available Online for $199

samsung gear vr innovator edition galaxy s6VR tech is heating up and we’re getting more options for consumers.

If you’re a Galaxy S6 owner, you can now pick up a Gear VR headset built on Oculus Rift tech. Utilizing the screen and processing power of your S6, you can strap this puppy to your face to experience immersive gaming and video.

Samsung is also touting their Milk VR service which streams 360 degree video, similar to Youtube’s roll out of their 360 video service.

The Innovator Edition is available online now for $199 and thankfully works with both the S6 and the S6 Edge (unlike the Note 4 version of the Gear VR). The headset should be available to purchase in store at Best Buy later this month.

Gear Innovator Edition for Galaxy S6 (Samsung)

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Glucose Monitoring App Coming to Android Wear for Diabetics Using Dexcom Monitors

xdrip nightwatch glucose monitor app android wearThis is a perfect example of where we can start pushing the boundaries on consumer wearable technology.

Dexcom makes medical equipment to help manage diabetes. Patients were a small sensor, plugged into their skin, which continuously monitors their blood sugar. This is a far more convenient and accurate way to get a sense of trends and to manage health than solely relying on individual blood tests on strips.

Of course there’s always room for improvement. Dexcom’s CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) sends a Bluetooth signal to a little standalone unit, which is another little gadget to keep track of and charge. What if we could send that monitoring info to consumer devices like phones or watches to get near real-time data?

Dexcom has brought an official app to the Apple Watch which displays info and graphs, but using the same general connection protocols, a developer is working on the same connection for Android Wear watches. Unofficial Apps xDrip and NightWatch pull the info from the Dexcom unit and send it to an Android Wear watch.

Once connected, users can get updates every five minutes with their blood sugar and can see daily trends displayed as a graph.

You can check out the XDrip and NightWatch projects via Stephen Black’s page on GitHub for more info.

 

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